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.

We also talk about Busbee’s new book. No, it’s not a golf book, and it’s not a NASCAR book to go along with the other blog he runs at Yahoo. Busbee recently wrote a book with Jeff Carlisi from 38 Special! Hold on Loosely! It’s part autobiography and part business strategy but it comes chock full of classic tales of rock and/or roll.

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.

But how much has the PGA and USGA embraced technology? Will we see players Twittering from the fairway? Will we see media Twittering from the gallery? How far is golf willing to go to embrace new forms of communication?

It’s lazy sports talk conversation to ask Tiger vs. the field, so I ask Busbee if it’s Tiger vs. the field. And it is. We discuss the chances of he best player in the world, and wonder -- as Tiger nears Jack’s record for most majors -- if Tiger would be as good of a shot maker if he used the old clubs. He’s clearly the most dominant player of his generation, but would he be able to make the same shots as Jack if they were both using the same clubs in their prime? I think Tiger should try it. No more pitching wedges that go 160. Try hitting a one-iron off the tee from 210 and see how close you get it to the stick. Hell, Tiger’d probably knock it in just to prove a point.

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?

We also remember back 10 years ago to Payne Stewart’s victory at Pinehurst. Can you believe that was 10 years ago? Mickelson waiting for his first born and carrying a beeper (a beeper!). Stewart hitting that put on 18 with that everlasting pose. Amazing stuff to remember. The last decade, safe the last few months, have been great for Mickelson. It goes without saying that the same cannot be true for the Stewart family, as Payne died with several others in a plane crash just four months after the US Open. Amazing that it was 10 years ago this weekend, and Busbee was right to post about this week, so we discuss and remember the time.

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.

You know who is getting some of the biggest crowds at the range -- ESPN’s Chris Berman. I ask Busbee how important TV personalities are to the game, and to each telecast. Does the golf experience change when it’s Jim Nance and Nick Faldo or Dan Hicks and Johnny Miller? Do guys like David Feherty make viewing the game more or less enjoyable (we agree more, some don’t). How much of a made-for-TV event is golf?

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.

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