a feel-good golf story
galaxy27
Posts: 7,840 ✭✭✭✭✭
sorry in advance, as this isn't about Bryson and Brooks mud-wrestling in their birthday suits. there's actually some gravity involved. even if you hate golf more than eggs or pickles, this is must-read. i wouldn't spend time flapping my fingers if it wasn't. i'd be willing to bet that at one time or another we've all been faced with the trials and tribulations associated with making ends meet while chasing a dream, and that's what this story is truly all about.
before i get to the gist of it, briefly this what the professional golf hierarchy looks like here in the states. being a member of the PGA Tour is synonymous with being on an MLB roster -- you've reached the pinnacle. a step below that is the developmental Korn Ferry Tour, which is synonymous with being in the minors in baseball. the fame, the fortune..........it's simply not there. below the Korn Ferry Tour are various mini tours, and when you grind on those not only are fame and fortune not there, but those two words aren't even in your lexicon. you're basically trying to keep your head above water before you drown financially and are forced to switch gears career-wise.
with that said...
a 27-yr-old named Michael Visacki had been plodding around on mini tours for years. a big, burly guy who still lives with his parents, believe it or not. he had never played in a PGA Tour event, but that all changed about a month ago when he Monday qualified for the Valspar Championship. his reaction when he called his dad to tell him the good news was priceless:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ja2Mq2lisVQ
he missed the cut, but one of his dreams had still been realized. now fast forward to last weekend -- Visacki received a sponsor exemption to play in the Charles Schwab Challenge, another stop on the PGA Tour. i was actually there last Thursday and saw this guy play a couple of holes. he once again missed the cut, but earlier in the week there was a touch of class.
Justin Thomas -- currently the #2 ranked golfer in the world and someone who will never have to worry about money for the rest of his life -- caught wind of Visacki being in the Charles Schwab field. he contacted him early in the week and asked him if he wanted to play a practice round together. naturally, Visacki accepted. unfortunately, the weather failed to cooperate and the round never happened. but Justin didn't let it go. instead, he decided to do this:
no one knows how much he gave him, but that matters not. a grand gesture by JT.
you'll never be able to outrun a bad diet
Comments
Good story.
It would be interesting to see if the guy could lose around forty pounds and get himself in better physical shape. I think perhaps he could then shave some strokes off his game and make the PGA tour on a regular basis.
He's got the drive to practice golf. Now he needs to practice discipline at the dinner table.
he is definitely an outlier. fitness is paramount in golf nowadays. very few of the guys on tour are going to place in a body building contest, but the overwhelming majority are very lean, fit, and geared for longevity.
you'll never be able to outrun a bad diet
i remember players such as Craig Stadler. Really even the greats such as Nicklaus and Trevino were a bit "chunky" most of their careers.
i think Tiger being lean and fit, changed the persona of many golfers. Although Arnie was always that way as well, Tiger definitely stepped it up a notch.
Maybe this guy thinks he can be like John Daly. But Daly is a freakishly good golfer. This guy obviously is not.
I think a good fitness coach could take this guy to the next level.
this was not mentioned in the Daly thread, but his lifestyle caught up with him. he was diagnosed with bladder cancer in 2020. he had it removed, but doctors told him he had an 85% chance of relapse. he proclaimed that wholesale changes would be made, but i personally saw him smoking (either real cigs or "vaping") and downing diet soda like it was going out of style about a month ago. so he's reverted to destructive habits.
he not as impervious as many think
you'll never be able to outrun a bad diet
thanks for posting. great story.
HOF SIGNED FOOTBALL RCS