ON THE DL
US Open Preview with Jay Busbee From Yahoo Sports Devil Ball Golf
Jay Busbee from Yahoo’s Devil Ball Golf joins the program to help preview the best weekend in golf -- The US Open. Sure we love the Masters, but there’s something grittier and more accessible about the US Open, especially when its played at a municipal course like Bethpage.
But first, we talk with Busbee about his podcast, which has featured some big hitters in the world of golf. We talk about how podcasting is much like a round of golf in that it’s slow, meandering and isn’t beholden to a clock. And if you’re not careful, the dang thing can smack right into a tree. I wonder if the guests he’s had on, while older and perhaps not as podcast savvy as those in other sports, are drawn to the long form internet show format because it’s the interview equivalent to walking a round with friends.
Then a hard right turn back to the middle of the fairway, or in the US Open’s case, the deep deep rough. Busbee is from Atlanta, so he’s probably more of a Masters guy, but what is it about the US Open that’s special to golf? We discuss how having the tournament on a course like Bethpage that is so accessible to the regular golfers (if you don’t mind sleeping in your car for a night) adds to the aura of the national championship.
We discuss how technology, including video games, have changed people’s access to golf and made it much easier to not only follow the sport, but to learn the intricacies of the courses the tour visits each year. You can play Bethpage along with the pros this week. There aren’t other sports that can offer something like that.

With the news of Sammy Sosa breaking this week we talk about the potential for steroids in golf. Frankly, does anyone care if the players are using? Would steroids help a guy hit a six foot putt? That’s what golf is about.
We talk about Phil Mickelson’s return to the US Open -- the perpetual one that got away. With all that’s going on in his life, is he in the right frame of mind to win the thing this year? Could he miss the cut?

Back to this year, we discuss some names that could show up on the leaderboard this week. Busbee thinks Padraig Harrington has the stuff to win another major and mentions some of the other regulars as well as a few up and comers. But they’re all facing Tigers as much as they are the rough and greens of Bethpage.

Which leads to the last question of how to cover an event. With all the talk at Blogs With Balls about the importance of being at an event when you write about it, I ask Busbee which is easier for him to do -- cover an event from the TV and couch or from the gallery and press tent? And we get what he thinks of the golf writers who go to the events and don’t walk the grounds. Just being there doesn’t mean you were actually there.
The US Open starts today, and Busbee will be live chatting and posting many things over at Devil Ball Golf. Go check it out and I thank you for taking the time today.
Thursday, June 18, 2009


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Buy the new On the DL merchandise for 2009! While supplies last (which means forever).
Hey look, that’s me making SI’s Jimmy Traina go deep in thought. For more photos of BwB, check out Ken Vanderveer’s shots by clicking above.
Listen to the last time Busbee was on the show.