Umbrella Man Returns to Caddie at Travelers Championship

(Plucked and updated from the ARMCHAIR GOLF archives.)

HE’S BACK. UMBRELLA MAN has a new bag this week at the 2011 Travelers Championship. It’s his second caddie appearance at TPC River Highlands.

“What have you been doing?”

Anyone who watched golf telecasts in 2009 probably heard Umbrella Man ask that question to the kiddos in Travelers’ TV spot. The friendly man wearing a gray three-piece suit and sporting a snappy bowler helped stranded circus performers cross a lake and offered two kids a ride on his umbrella when their bike broke down.

The whimsical commercial gave one PGA Tour player an idea as he waited out long weather delays at the 2009 U.S. Open at Bethpage.

“I could use a cheerful man like that on my bag,” he told ARMCHAIR GOLF. “I like the part when he and the kids fly away on his umbrella. That’s so cool.”

The player asked not to be named in case the new arrangement didn’t work out, although he admitted it would be hard to miss the pair on the course.

“He’s still learning how to read a yardage book and rake a bunker,” the player said. “But if we have buckets of rain, my little gray-suited friend has me covered in a big way.”

At the time, some readers expressed concern.

“I’ve always been a little afraid of Umbrella Man,” commented Bob. “There, I said it.”

“He seems like a nice man,” said Mike, “but I’ve always lived by the credo that I shouldn’t trust a well-dressed person with a massively huge umbrella.”

Perhaps Mike was right because the first caddie assignment didn’t end well. During the second round, Umbrella Man lost his grip on his giant red umbrella on the 7th tee. The falling umbrella knocked a player to the ground in the middle of his backswing. Sustaining a mild concussion, the player was unable to finish his round and withdrew from the tournament.

That was the first and last time Umbrella Man caddied—until this week. Things are going well thus far at this year’s championship, especially during Thursday’s six-hour rain delay. Umbrella Man has never been more popular.

−The Armchair Golfer

(This is an ARMCHAIR GOLF spoof.)

Backswing Watchers

“SO, THAT’S WHAT MY backswing looks like.” This is PGA Tour player Kevin Na taking what might have been an admiring look at his backswing on the practice range at TPC River Highlands, the site of the Travelers Championship. Or maybe not. Maybe, instead, Na was thinking, “What is going on here?” Or: “Where’s my swing coach?” Or: “I’m definitely firing that guy.”

Are you a backswing watcher? I’m not talking about watching the backswings of others. No, I’m talking about watching your own backswing. Taking it back slow and studying your shoulders, arms, right elbow, hands, wrists, trajectory. Checking your position at the top. Wondering about your swing plane. All that swing mechanics stuff.

A friend of mine who was a collegiate golfer was a backswing watcher. Russ could really stripe the ball. When he was hitting the ball well with his woods and irons, he would hit it high with a pretty little draw. When he wasn’t hitting it well (for him), that pretty little draw turned into a hook or a pull hook. And as Lee Trevino once said, “You can talk to a fade but a hook won’t listen.” I played as Russ’s partner in tournaments over the years, and he’d check his backswing a lot. I marveled at this, thinking I could never get that focused on my mechanics without it messing with my mind. I had a pretty good idea what Russ was doing. He was trying to get a little more upright on the backswing. If he could get the club in the right slot, the rest would take care of itself. At least that was the plan.

I remember Nick Faldo being a backswing watcher. Sir Nick always seemed like he was fidgeting with his swing between shots. Many other players are backswing watchers. I think some are rehearsing, some are correcting and some are probably completely stumped and trying to figure out how they’re going to get to the clubhouse with that mess of a golf swing.

I’m not a backswing watcher. I don’t want to see it or over-think it because I’m predominately a feel player rather than a technical player. I usually focus on a swing key or two and go from there. When my ball is flying in the wrong direction or I’m not striking it solid, I’m decent—not great, but decent—at self-correcting. Sometimes it’s my takeaway and sometimes it might be something as simple as shortening up my backswing. But I don’t watch it. That would be too scary.

−The Armchair Golfer

(Image: RGlasson/Flickr)