Are You Kiddin' Me? Rocco Mediate

Are You Kidding Me? is the story of Rocco Mediate's  battle with Tiger at the US Open in San Diego at Torrey Pines in 2008.... But not for me... For me the story is about drive and courage...about stickin' with it when things aren't going so well.... of course that happens in every round of golf... the trick is to get over it in one hole with perhaps two poor decisions and two bad shots at most... to win on tour there is very little margin for error... a bad round and the train just goes blowing by you.

In the product description on Amazon a reviewer states that this is a story about five life changing days.... Like the overnight success it took years... all most folks see is the five days... but the story is about a decent High School player who caught fire through a series of circumstances and made himself into a great player... a player who, though he hits the ball only reasonably long, is as smart and savy as anyone on tour.... and never stops talkin'.

What makes Rocco cool to me is this... like Fred Funk's wife who walks around Pebble barefoot, Rocco's main squeeze does the same thing.. I like the Peace Sign Belt Buckle and the beer he shared at 10 in the morning as he put on a clinic out there on one of those days that has made Pebble one of Golf's great destinations.... too bad the place isn't better run but that's a story for another post... one day at Pebble in a Pro-Am called the Callaway Invitational which is a low key, ~$80,000 to the winner, end of season event, Rocco has his girlfriend walking with his group... holding his cigar when he hits and sharing sips of beer that was only a 1/3 finished by the time it was warm... Or the time he showed for the ATT and walked down to the caddie bench before heading to the range to practice just to say hello to a couple of old friends...On the range he made bets on Ball games and chattered non-stop as he peppered every flag on the range.. talking in his own backswing ...excited to be alive on a beautiful day at Spyglass in Pebble Beach... He makes everyday great... A true hero of the spirit.. The game could use more Roccos... Oh and BTW he plays those darn easy to hit type clubs.. X-22 Cally's the last time I noticed.. why make the game more difficult than it is? Dunno my friend...Dunno...but Rocco's is my kinda hero... a decent guy with the good word for everyone... Great read BTW.

Author's note... I have never been a JF fan.. Loved  Bruce Edwards and what he did for the art of being a caddie... Tried "Caddy for Life" and was overwhelmed by the superlatives and overblown/over-the-top language... there is a little of that here... Golf is just a game... a glorious game, but play it long enough and though when you wake up you still want to get out there, some days you can wait... This is a little better than the life and death stuff... Any good?... there is a big difference between casual, competitive and tournament golf... but it ain't religion... Good job JF.. Great Story.