Here's a follow-up to Joe Z's Cobblestone Park story. In 2011, I won practice round tickets to the Masters. We actually stayed in Columbia, S.C., because it was the closest place with decent golf courses and hotels that weren't $500 a night during Masters week. One of the places we played was Cobblestone Park, which was the home course for the University of South Carolina. When we checked in, the head pro informed us that the Old Ball Coach (Steve Spurrier) was playing two groups behind us, and tended to play fast, and would we please let him play through if he caught us.
Sure enough, Spurrier comes up behind us on the 5th tee, and asks to play through. I'm wearing an entire outfit of University of California golf gear, so I say to him, "Coach Spurrier, why don't you call up Coach Tedford and set up a home-and-home with California, so I can come back here and play again."
His reply, in the thickest drawl I've ever heard, was, "I cain't. You'all are toooo far awaaaay." What I should have said was, "We weren't too far away from Tennessee, until they came to Berkeley and we kicked their ass." Before I could do that, Spurrier hits his drive and zooms down the fairway in his cart, followed by three of his assistants.
I told one of the kids working at our hotel that we had met Spurrier, and noted that he used to be a pro quarterback, who played for the San Francisco 49ers. The kid, who was a Brit, asked, "Did he cover him self with glory?' to which I replied, "No he covered himself with interceptions," which was true, if you ever saw him play.