Dodson On Drum

Jim Dodson recalls the role Bob Drum played in creating the modern grand slam and also offers this, which got me thinking...

Bob Drum continued being, well, Bob Drum -- literally the loudest, largest, hardest-drinking character in the press caravan bumping along the Tour Trail and various by-waters of the game for the next two decades -- until a CBS producer had the crazy idea of making Big Bob Drum the color man on a celebrated broadcast crew that included the likes of Jack Whittaker and Ken Venturi.

Legendary CBS golf producer Frank Chirkinian later told Drum's wife, "M.J., this could be the best idea I've ever done -- or the worst."

Almost overnight, at age 68, however, six-foot-three, 290-pound Bob Drum became a large-than-life TV star -- a mountainous, rumpled, oddly comforting presence who spoke the language of the everyday golf fan. For eight years on a two-minute segment called "The Drummer's Beat," Drum's gruff and salty Everyman commentaries on the vagaries of golf and life in general -- most of which sprang from his oversized head only minutes before airtime and were recorded in one take -- comprised some of the most entertaining moments in golf broadcasting. He was eventually nominated for an Emmy.

Wouldn't it be fun of CBS posted some of these online or even put a DVD together of the best of Bob Drum?

Comments

[Martin Del Vecchio]

I've never seen any video of Bob Drum. I'd love to see a collection DVD!

[Hawkeye]

Forty years ago at S:t Andrews? Is the article eight years old?
One thing puzzles me, though: If the modern Grand Slam was "invented" in 1960, then how come people still talk about Hogan not being able to complete the same Slam in 1953 because the British Open and PGA collided on the schedule? It seems no one could have mentioned anything about it for seven years (at least), so is the whole issue nothing but a reconstruction after the event?
In any case, if the four major-concept was indeed invented only in 1960, it must have caught on pretty quickly, since both Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus thought it was a really big deal when they completed their career slams in ´65 and ´66, respectively.

[jneu]

Hawkeye -- yes, the whole issue about Hogan and the scheduling is a reconstruction after the fact. He hadn't played the PGA since his accident anyway (too many consecutive days of 36 holes), and the very fact of the timing overlap demonstrates what separate universes the Open and the PGA were in. Hogan was hailed for his remarkable feat of winning the three championships, and not a word was said about the one he didn't enter. The only mention of "Grand Slam" in that context was a jesting one from Isaac Grainger, USGA vice president, who said, "If Hogan could become an amateur, he might even go after [Jones's] record and score another Grand Slam."

[Dumb, uninformed]

Most of Drum's pieces involved etiher getting player comments/reactiosn or using some unusual footage--one of the famous ones had to do with Pete Dye's use of railroad tracks, and used old movie footage of the girl on the tracks being tied up, then saved at last moment from her demise.

These sort of things don't just occur or spring to mind moments before airtime--they take some planning to get the footage...dumb, uninformed comment to even suggest such a thing. A Howard Cosell and a few others in TV sports were known for being able to whip out a quick "essay'' on the spot, but this is not what "The Drummer" did, not even close. Dobson is usually a careful writer, but he got bamboozled on that one.

I believe Drum's son Kevin put out a tape compilation a few years back closer to his father's death.

[Tighthead]

I remember a great one featuring Clint Eastwood at Pebble in about the mid 80s - when Clint couldn't avoid being intimidating. I was a teenager and thought it pretty amusing, and do did my not easily amused father.

[taffy]

I had the great pleasure of meeting Bob at the bar in the Pinecrest Inn in Pinehurst. Spent an enjoyable afternoon listening to his opinions on all things- but I mainly remember discussing Bull Durham (the movie). Bob was a first class character.

[Chuck]

"Met Bob at the bar," was a normal happenstance. My occasion was at Royal Troon.