TUCK’ TALKIN’
A golf Q&A with MSU Football Coach Mel Tucker
With Tom Lang
Highly successful college football coach Mel Tucker is also a huge fan of the game of golf. He has a really sweet golf simulator in his house, according to MSU Golf Coach Casey Lubahn. In this Q&A we explore a perk like that, plus avoiding alligators, how golf is like the sport of football and so much more about why he loves chasing around a little white ball.
Question: Do you recall when it happened, and how you fell in love with golf?
(As a young kid Tucker’s dad took him to the local driving range at Highland Park Golf Course, where he grew up in University Heights, OH near Cleveland.)
Answer: “I’d ask him to go because I liked to ride in the cart at the municipal course, and they had the best hotdogs ever. They had the really big hotdogs and I’d get ketchup and mustard and relish on there. At that age I was going primarily to ride on the golf cart; that was so much fun. Then I’d go chase some balls, try to find some golf balls but stay out of the way and not get hit.”
(Tucker also followed his dad’s interest in baseball): “I found out pretty quickly, that I thought if I can hit a baseball, I can of course hit a golf ball that’s sitting there. But it’s not the same,” he said with a belly laugh.
“Also, with Jack Nicklaus being an Ohio guy, my dad and I would follow him. This was before Tiger Woods, and then my dad would tell me about (Detroiter) Calvin Peete, and how he would be one of the few black golfers you’re going to see on TV. So, I followed him too.
“As a kid, anything that had a ball in it, I was interested.”
Q: Do you see similarities between the sports of golf and football?
A: “I do. We tell our football players that each play has a life and history of its own. And it’s all about giving your undivided attention to that play. What has happened up until that point has created the situation that you’re in, but the most important thing is to play that play, and then learn from it, good or bad, and then move on to the next play.
“It’s the same thing in golf. Just because you hit a bad shot the play before, that doesn’t mean you’ll hit a bad shot on the next. And if you have a really good shot, it doesn’t mean your next shot will be good. It’s all about what you do next and focusing on that. It’s not about focusing on the (final) outcome.
“No matter what your end game plan is, to win the tournament or shoot a low score, or just par a hole, you have to take one shot at a time to get there.”
Q. A saw a quick TV clip on your indoor golf simulator at home. Do you use that in recruiting?
A: “When I have recruits come over on official business, I make sure I put that simulator on the putting games. I learned early on that I have to put the drivers away. It’s a lot safer that way; there’s no other clubs in sight (except putters),” Tucker said with a chuckle. “And it’s not the kids, it’s my staff. Darien Harris, I don’t know how he did it, but the head of a club (broke off), hit the screen, and bounced off the screen and hit two framed jerseys (mounted on the wall) and broke the glass on both; all in one swing. That was after someone else (in the span of one hour) had broken a driver. So, when I framed the jerseys again, I put those behind plexiglass.”
Q. You’ve had the good fortune to travel across the country. What do you like about Michigan golf courses compared to other areas of the country?
A: “I like golf courses that have a little bit of everything. Water and trees and some elevation changes, and you get all of that here. And of course, living here in Michigan you go through some tough winters. But then in the spring, when winter finally breaks, I think there’s an appreciation for the beauty of the state and the courses we have. It’s great living in a place where you have golf year-round (like when coaching at Jacksonville in the NFL), but, don’t you appreciate it more here in Michigan when the time comes to go play? And man, when you play in Florida and the ball goes near water, don’t even think about going over there, it’s not even an option (with potential alligators). At least in Michigan you can take a little peak,” he added with a laugh.
Q: What coaching tactics or motivation would you try if you could be a captain of the President or Ryder Cups?A: “I know you want the best players, the best competitive players you can have, but it’s important not to just have a collection of players, but that you have a team. You don’t want all guys that can knock the hell out of the ball, or all guys with really good short games. You have to have really good synergy, really good teamwork, cohesiveness and be able to compensate for each other’s weaknesses and play to each other’s strengths. And you have to have guys who will buy into something bigger than themselves. And I think that’s important when you’re basically putting together an All-Star team that’s not for exhibition, but that’s really for winning. You have to consider everything, and not just maybe someone’s ranking in the world.”
Q: What attributes of golf draw you into the game?
“I think golf can teach you a lot about yourself. For myself, if I am measuring up a putt, walk around it, look at it from all angles, pick a line then stand over the ball and second guess myself and hit it a different direction, I think I should have trusted my first plan. And then going on to the next shot and having to be ready. Having a routine, I think is critically important because we all want consistency in our performance. It’s really about self-discipline and self-control and being able to repeat something at a high level… golf just keeps you in the here and now, it’s all right there. It’s all reality and you have no one to blame but yourself.”
