Brandel Chamblee Is A True Gentleman

[1badbadger]

With Colonial Country Club less than 8 miles away, we tend to get a lot of guests at our club when the Tour rolls into Ft. Worth.  From the CBS Television crew to groups of Tour caddies and other industry folks, it's a pretty busy week.  We also get some Tour players who come over to practice or play.  One notable who spent a lot of time at our club last week was Brandel Chamblee.  He was tuning up to play in the Principal Charity Classic in Des Moines this week, and would come over to practice after he was done with his Golf Channel duties.

I got a chance to talk with him for a little while every day, and I really enjoyed our conversations.  He was very approachable, and was happy to take pictures with anyone who asked.  He is very smart, and has a great memory.  He did not make a big production when he arrived or bring any attention to himself.  He flew under the radar.  He would set up quietly on the far left or far right of the range and hit wedge shots to various targets.  He didn't have a big staff bag with his name on it...just a normal carry bag with the NBC logo.

He gets a lot of flack for comments he makes, but I have to believe it's part of his job...generate controversy, get people talking, create some buzz.  And he's pretty good at it too.  But I've actually been a fan of his since his rookie year on Tour in 1988.  At the time, he wrote a column for Golf Week Magazine.  One article was about the excessive amount of product Tour players get.  He had gone through his closet and discovered he had around 50 pair of golf shoes, which was way more than he needed.  So he made an offer to the readers...if you wear a size 8 1/2 and would like a pair of shoes, just send him a note with your mailing address and he'd send them out.  I always thought that was pretty cool.  I mentioned it to him, thinking he might be surprised that I remembered that article from 31 years ago, and he told me people bring it up all the time!  Oh well...it was still a great experience to meet him!

[IowaGreg]

We've been having a lot of heavy rains and even a few tornados here in Iowa lately.  60% chance of rain Thurs.  20% Friday.  50% Sat.  10% Sunday.

Hopefully they have the good weather to the Principal Charity Classic in Des Moines.......  Best of luck to Brandel !!

 

[Bucki1968]

I have often found it to be a little funny when it comes to meeting professional golfers/tv golf people. Living where I live and playing golf around the state (and working in the golf business for years) I have been lucky to meet a lot of players/golf celebrities. Most of the people I have met have been really great to talk to and be around. You see them on TV or during interviews, they don't come off that way. I always go back to the comments that they usually make about playing golf and it "being their job" so when you see them in the "office" they are not the same. I'm not the same in my "office" as I am when I am out of it so I get their point. All that being said...there's about 5-10% who are not what they appear to be!