By the time that I had reached the tender age of 12, golf hysteria had fully taken over my life. Never mind the fact that I didn’t own any golf clubs, I didn’t care, golf was in my soul. Fortunately, my mother was horrible at golf and she had an incomplete set of irons and woods that she never used. The plan was simple, I was just going to make due with the women’s clubs until I was sponsored on the PGA Tour. The more likely outcome was that I was just going to mow lawns until I had enough money to buy something that wasn’t embarrassing.
After a season of golf with my mother’s clubs, I had finally saved up enough money to purchase my first set of real golf clubs. There was no question about the type of clubs that I was going to purchase. I was going to be using the same golf clubs that Fred Couples was using… The Lynx Parallax irons and the Boom Boom driver. OH MY GOD. It was heaven on earth.
The stunningly beautiful 1993 Lynx Parallax irons. My first true love. I never got along with the driver, but we stuck it out for a while.
Of course, the only reason for selecting the Lynx Parallax irons was the man endorsing them, Fred Couples. His aura was 100% cool and I wanted to be a part of it in any way that I could. I certainly wasn’t as cool as Mr Couples, but I walked around the Arlington Park par 3 course like I was getting paid millions of dollars to play and endorse Lynx. In my mind, I was as cool as I could possibly comprehend.
27 years of golf later, I would finally hear the question that would bring this story full circle. “Are you interested in helping out with an upcoming photo shoot with Fred Couples?”
As you can imagine, it didn’t take me long to answer “Yes!” with enthusiasm. The plan was to highlight Fred’s long term partnership with Ecco and take some photos for an upcoming release. We were going to spend the morning capturing content and hanging out with Fred at Newport Beach Country Club.
Just like I had imagined, I was able to stay calm and capture some good behind the scenes action. One of the first things that I noticed about Fred is that he is no beginner when it comes to male modeling. He nails pose after pose with confidence. “Fred, we are gonna need this pose.” Nails it. “Fred, lets see another pose over here.” Nails it again. “I don’t have time for that amateur stuff.” says Couples. We were off to a good start.
The official photographer for the shoot was Mike Meyer. A quick scan of Mike’s website will let you know that he’s the real deal. When he’s not shooting the Scorpions, Tony Hawk, or Justin Timberlake, he’s out here in California with Fred Couples and I. It was a pleasure to watch the man work.
During the initial phase of the photo shoot, there were conversations about which type of blue goes with what type of pants and what type of pants make the Ecco shoes pop. You know, high end fashion discussions that were out of my pay grade.
After Mike got the specific images that he was looking for, it was time to hit the golf course and get some action shots. At some point during this phase of the photo shoot, Couples learns that I am a golf course photographer. His curiosity is awakened and he starts in with a bunch of questions about this course and that course. “What’s that new course in New Zealand?” “Are you talking about Tara Iti?” “Yeah that’s it!” Fred continued with questions and I continued with the answers. It’s a lot of fun to have the answers to Fred’s questions.
Couples remains cool at any level of closeness.
Fashion assistant duties never relented.
My favorite part of the morning with Fred Couples was the interview portion. By this point our team has established a rapport with Fred and the vibe is fun and casual.
It’s obvious that Fred likes to talk, and the good news is that Fred is fun to talk to. He is eager to share his stories and his passion with people that he feels comfortable around. I ask questions like “Is it possible to be too chilled out on the golf course?” and “Have you ever lost your temper and started punching things?”
Fred gives honest and insightful answers. It’s part of what makes him so cool. Maybe it’s just the way that he carries himself or perhaps it’s the delivery of his answers. Either way, its true and confident conversation and it’s a lot of fun to have the floor with Fred. I could have sat there and asked him questions for hours, but I don’t have my Feherty pedigree quite yet..
“Iv’e broken a few clubs, which is probably one of the most embarrassing things.”
A took a quick lesson in cool from Fred Couples. Own your embarrassment.
When I played the Valley Club of Montecito back in 2017, our host for the day shared a great Fred Couples story with us. He was playing with Fred one particular morning at The Valley Club and Couples was playing very well. So well in fact, that he had a chance for the course record and a 59 with a 10 foot putt on the 18th green.
There was a small group of fans and members watching the conclusion of the round next to the 18th green. As Couples was lining up his putt for birdie he noticed a little kid watching on. He called out to the kid and waved him over to the green. “Which way do you think this breaks? Maybe a little left to right?” The kid got down and excitedly did his best to give Fred the right read for the special occasion. Once Fred and the kid had agreed on the proper line, Fred stood over the putt and poured it right into the center of the hole for the course record.
I didn’t get the details of the kid’s reaction, but according to unofficial caddie law, 10 percent of that course record belongs to that young kid. The other 90% belongs to Mr. Cool himself.
Fred reacts to draining a 40 foot putt on his first attempt.
There is always time to admire a well struck golf shot.
Couples navigates the murky waters of male modeling.
It is not everyday that you get to hang out with one of your golf idols. This was one of my favorite days on the golf course and I didn’t even hit a single golf shot. Thanks to Ecco Golf and Newport Beach Country Club for hosting and allowing us to capture some of the cool that Fred brings to the course.