Nick Price - "Simon Hobday" SHORT TRACK

Nick Price 0:16

I remember Hobday, you know, I got I gotta tell you a story because you you knew you know you knew Hobday, who was a great friend of mine.

Intro Music 0:23

Terrific guy.

Nick Price 0:24

And I I'll just tell you a quick story. I traveled with him in 1979 in Europe. And so my second year, Simon was 17 years older than I was. So he it was really an experience for me, you know, and and he had a a reputation for being a party guy, drinking a lot of beer and staying out late. But he he never really was. Uh he never did that. He he he wasn't a big drinker. He would sip, you know, he would sit at a bar for four hours, but he'd drink like three beers he would sip, you know. Unless it was Sunday and there was no tournament or whatever, but he was a sipper, but uh he couldn't sleep, the poor guy. That's why he was always so nervous. You know, he'd wake up I guess it was because he was a farmer before he became a pro golfer, but he'd wake up at like, you know, four in the morning and he was ready to go. And uh anyway, uh he'd smoke a pack of cigarettes before I woke up in the room next to him, you know. And I mean it was just anyway. Cut a long story short, I get back home and you know, my buddies just can't believe I've traveled with Hobday because he is a legend at home.

Intro Music 1:27

Yeah.

Nick Price 1:28

And they said, Nick, you didn't travel with Hobday. I said, Yeah, I did. I traveled with a guy for you know three and a half months in Europe. And they said, What was it like? I said, Well, and then I told this thing, you know, he's not a much of a drinker, and you know, he's whatever. I said, but I did learn one thing really important from you know traveling with him. And I said, What's that? I said, if I'm ever going to be a professional golfer, I have to do everything totally opposite to him. And Simon got a big kick out of that story as well, because he was a terrible dresser, you know, always looked until he looked like an unmade bed the whole time, you know. But he had a beautiful golf swing and he was a great ball striker. And I remember when I was about 14, I was I went to the practice uh range, T, and he was hitting balls there, getting ready to go to Europe. And I said, Mr. Hobday, can I can I watch you hit balls? And he pointed, he said, sit down there. He says, and if you got any questions, you can ask me, you know. So he's hitting his fire irons, and I mean just flushing them, and the caddy was shagging, balls was picking them up all around the bag. And I said, uh at the end of it, I said, Mr. Hobday, how do you become uh a better ball striker? How do you become a great ball striker? So he says, Well, uh one thing I learnt, he says, when I was young, he says, and he pointed to the middle of the club face, which there was a you know, you know, a chrome, the chrome had been worn off. He says, if you hit it out of there more than the guy you're playing against, eventually you'll beat him. And so that was great, you know. So there was always that was I I guess one of the uh things that impressed me the most. So the strike was something that was important to me.

Mike Gonzalez 3:06

We hope you've enjoyed this short track of For the Good of the Game. And please, wherever you listen to your podcast on Apple and Spotify, if you like what you hear, please subscribe, spread the word, and tell your friends until we tee it up again for the good of the game.

Intro Music 3:24

So long, everybody smack down the fairway. It went smack down the fairway, and it's time to slice just smitch enough line. It headed for two, but it bounced off nine. My caddies, as long as you're still in the stage, you're okay. It went straight down the middle, file away.