Welcome to Aces and Tails

My name is Phil Blackmar and I will be your host, here at Aces and Tails (AT). I have a unique box of experiences from which to choose including the PGA TOUR, PGA TOUR Champs, golf instruction, working as a televised golf analyst, over 50 years fishing the south Texas coast and an obsession for fly fishing and fly casting. I even have a few recipes I'll share with you. Some of the content will be in the form of blogs and others will be in video form. Hopefully we can have some fun.

I'l kick this off with a story from my first Masters Tournament.

Part 1

It was Wednesday afternoon on the putting green the day before the tournament was to begin. I was having a discussion with another player about how we would each hit the 4 1/2 ft downhill putt we were staring at if we had it to win on the 72nd hole. It's important to note the greens were running at what we estimated to be between 15 and 17 ft on the stimp meter. If you doin't know what this means, it means the greens were really really quick, kind of like putting on a pool table.

I was confidently, or maybe even a bit arrogantly, stating that I would "fly it in the hole" when a squeaky little voice came out of nowhere and said "Say what?" When I glanced to my right, there was no mistaking the origin of the challenge. In fact, after just one glance my mind was already racing as the first drops of adrenaline had just arrived thanks to my sympathetic nervous system sensing danger. No, it wasn't a snake, it was a bear. A Golden Bear.

I had only met Jack on one occasion prior to that day and that meeting was nothing more than a handshake when he congratulated me on winning the Greater Hartford Open. As he came closer, he went on to say "Why wouldn't you hit it easy and if it goes in you win, but if it doesn't you only have a tap in left to get into the play-off?"

I fired right back with "I doubt I will have a chance to win the Masters the number of times you have had, and in fact, this may be my best chance. Since I like to hit my short putts firmly, and since I want to give myself the best chance I can to make the putt, I would hit this putt aggressively."

Jack's eyes intensified and a mischievous grin appeared and then he said. "Well. let's see it!!!".

Oh crap, what have I done I thought? All of the sudden I had cotton mouth. As I stood over the putt, my hands were shaking like leaves in the wind. My mind was racing as I struck the putt firmly, as intended, but my focus was distracted. I pulled the putt slightly, it lipped out and rolled another 10 ft off the green onto the fringe. The crowd moaned and I swear you hear them saying under their breath "the big man choked in front of Jack". I felt embarrassed, but it only got worse.

Jack said "Let me try" as he quickly stooped over his ball. He then set the behemoth putter, oh so carefully behind the ball and made an immeasurably short stroke. It was if he barely touched the ball and it began its slow as molasses in January like wiggle down the hill.

As we all watched, the ball took what seemed an eternity. The ball was moving so slowly as if still under the invisible control of the Hall of Famer. Once it reached the vicinity of the hole, gravity did the rest and pulled the ball over the front lip. In it went. The crowd erupted in joy and I looked for a rock to crawl under, embarrassed and defeated.

Well, the year was 1986 and one Jack William Nicklaus, nicknamed the Golden Bear, would go on that week to win his 6th Green Jacket.

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