Chris DiMarco Talking Golf is a Must-Listen

The three-time PGA Tour winner joins 'Beyond the Clubhouse' to talk about taking on Tiger and Phil in their prime, and what you need to shoot to win on the PGA Tour Champions
Chris DiMarco Talking Golf is a Must-Listen
Chris DiMarco Talking Golf is a Must-Listen /

Hit the play button above to hear three-time PGA Tour winner Chris DiMarco share some great stories of taking on Tiger, Phil, and Vijay in their primes at the Masters and PGA Championship. DiMarco played in the final grouping in two straight Masters in 2004 and 2005 as Phil won and Tiger beat him in a playoff.

One of the things DiMarco says he can always take away from those epic close calls is even though he lost, he did so being aggressive and making birdies late. It’s also Tiger and Phil at the height of their powers, so we can give him a break on that too.

One of the best stories DiMarco recollects is Sunday morning of the 2005 Masters at Augusta. In what the 53-year-old called a moment of levity, he rolled a ball to Tiger (a die-hard Stanford fan) on the driving range and it said “Let’s Go Gators!” written on it. DiMarco’s alma mater had just won the NCAA college basketball title that Monday.

What did Woods do with it? Picked it up and wrote "F the Gators" on it and rolled it back to the player he would be playing against for a green jacket in a mere 20 minutes.

DiMarco loved it and said he thinks looking back on the moment that it helped relax both of them as they prepared for an unforgettable Sunday at Augusta.

Lastly, DiMarco reveals some helpful tips to improve our driving, irons, chipping and overall attitude on the golf course. The veteran advised that when we play with players who hit it further than us, we tend to over-swing to keep up with them. The key he says is to swing at 95 percent and “swing within yourself and hit it solid,” and that will allow the ball to actually go further than if we hit it 100 percent and not quite solid.


Published
Garrett Johnston
GARRETT JOHNSTON

Garrett Johnston has covered golf for outlets around the world for more than a decade, including the hometown papers of most players on the PGA Tour. He also has contributed to GolfDigest.com, Golf.com, USOpen.com, China Daily, The Irish Examiner and New Zealand Golf Magazine. Sadly, he has not improved his golf handicap since he left high school, and covering 30 major championship hasn’t helped him through osmosis. Twitter: @JohnstonGarrett