John Daly - The Wild Thing - Tommy Does Golf Podcast Transcript

Tommy Does Golf - The Podcast

EPISODE 14
SEASON 01
30 Jun 2026

Tommy: Welcome to Tommy Does Golf, the podcast where three old timers give you our opinions on everything golf. I'm Tommy Long, joined by fellow PGA professionals James Morgan and Paul Charman. With over 100 years and counting in the golf industry between us, we are well into our back nines. We'll do our best to stay on topic, but just like our tee shots these days, this podcast could go anywhere.

We're hoping you enjoy the banter and maybe, just maybe, we'll share a few pearls of wisdom along the way. Let's get into it.

I’ll kick this episode off with a question. How does a guy who chain smokes, drinks Diet Coke like water, and swings so hard it looks like he's trying to drive the ball through a barn door end up as one of golf's most unforgettable characters?

The answer is simple. It's because he was real. John Daly didn't fit with the establishment, not on the fairway and certainly not in the clubhouse.

But at the 1991 US PGA Championship at Crooked Stick Golf Club, as the ninth alternate, he found his way onto the biggest stage. And as a rookie, he blitzed his way to victory with raw, ridiculous power.

From that moment on, the blue-collar crowd had their guy. He wasn't perfect. He never pretended to be, and that's exactly why we're still talking about him decades later. So settle in, because this episode's for the Wild Thing.

Now, fellas, I don't normally do this, but I'm gonna kick this one off myself. I've made a couple of notes, but I'm gonna try my best to recite from memory, so please bear with me.

Apologies to everyone in advance. It's story time from Tommy, I'm afraid.

1995, I was midway through my PGA apprenticeship.

My boss, a proud Scotsman, kindly decided to take me to watch The Open Championship at St Andrews. Now, as luck would have it, one of his good friends, a guy called Rod Binns, just so happened to be the boss of the Spalding Tour truck. An absolute touch, because through that connection with Rod, we were able to get unrestricted access to the practice range.

So instead of being behind the railings 10 meters or so back, I was able to stand literally a few feet away from the players whilst they were hitting balls. Unobstructed views. Amazing. Now you could sense that the large crowd gathered at the range were waiting in anticipation for a certain someone to arrive, and that someone was the Wild Thing, John Daly. I guessed that he was about to arrive a few seconds before he did, because I saw this cloud trail of cigarette smoke hovering above the crowd corridor that players walk through on the way to the range.

JD sauntered onto the range with his caddy in tow and signed a couple of autographs before walking directly towards me. His mullet-style shock of blonde hair, the gold Mr. T chain hanging around his neck, and if my memory serves me correctly, he was wearing a green Reebok Windcheater Anyway, he strolls past me and stops when he finds a spot where he wants to hit balls from.

I remember his caddy, Greg Rita, placing the Wilson staff bag down. JB casually leant on it with his left hand and took some time to enjoy the last minute or so of his Marlboro Light. It was almost as if he was teasing the crowds. He knew that they were all amped up, eagerly awaiting to see him grip it and rip it.

Now, I don't know if he'd done any stretches in the clubhouse or changing rooms before he'd come to the range, but once he'd finished his smoke, he immediately reached for the big dog, his Wilson Killer Whale driver, . casually pegged one up, set up to it, and then without a practice swing, unleashed full throttle. The thwack of the impact immediately drew an appreciative ripple of applause from the crowd, even though he'd carved the ball 70 yards to the right. Completely unfazed, he pegs up another one, smashes it just as hard as the first, probably a little harder actually.

Same result. Now, I was close enough to hear it, but I won't repeat what he said as he calmly dropped the driver onto the ground and walked off the range.

Everyone was bemused as to what was going on, myself included. I thought maybe he'd gone off to answer a call of nature. But after 10 minutes or so, he hadn't returned, so I turned my attention to Ernie Els who had turned up and was by now hitting some mid irons. What a ball striker he was, by the way.

Anyway, after watching Ernie for about 20 minutes, mesmerized by his ball striking, a burst of noise from the crowd behind me brought me out of my trance. JD was back. He was holding two large burgers that he picked up from the tented village. He sits down on the plastic base of his Wilson bag and proceeds to eat them one after the other, whilst drinking a can of Coca-Cola, of course.

A couple of minutes after he'd finished his snack, he stands up, his caddy hands him back his driver. Same routine. Picks up a ball, addresses it, and again, with no practice swing whatsoever, just a couple of club waggles, he lets rip. Full noise. Pure ranch. This one, he absolutely flushed it into the netting at the end of the driving range, on the fly, by the way.

He then proceeded to do that another five or six times in a row. I can't remember how many it was exactly, but the crowd were absolutely loving it, as you can imagine.

He then passes the driver back to his caddy, and just like everyone else, I thought he was then gonna work his way through the bag, which is why I'll never forget what happened next. JD reaches into one of the bag pockets, pulls out his pack of smokes, sparks one up, and after a couple of drags and double dragons, that's the double nostril exhalation for those of you that don't know, he turns to his caddy and says, "Let's go putt."

That was it. Off they went. So in summary, my first time watching the Wild Thing live, two smashed but carved to the right drivers, a 20-minute interval, comes back to the range, devours two burgers with a can of Coca-Cola, of course, annihilates half a dozen drivers before sparking up another durry, then strolls off to the putting green to warm up the flat stick.

You couldn't make it up. And what makes that all the more legendary is that only a matter of days later on championship Sunday, he beat Costantino Rocca in a playoff and lifted the Claret Jug. Amazing.

I also have to mention that JD used a two-piece Wilson Ultra golf ball that week. That still amazes me. And of course, he was rolling the rock with the legendary Wilson 8802 blade putter. ...

The other thing about that Open Championship that made it so special for me was I was privileged to watch a very promising young amateur close up that week.

I watched this young fella hit balls on the range for about an hour, and honestly, the sound of his ball striking was different to that of anybody else. I was so impressed by it that I followed him for his entire practice round, which he actually played with Peter Jacobson and Ernie. Any guesses who that was, fellas?

Paul: It's got to be Tiger Woods

Tommy: Correct. Tiger played that open as an amateur.

Even though there was a bit of noise about him that week, it wasn't crazy. The hype was all about John Daly. You can probably tell that that Open Championship to this day, the only open I've ever been to, holds some very special memories for me.

Watching JD stand there and just be the world thing, pretty cool. Now, before we get into it, because the legend sometimes overshadows the resume, here's the stat that stopped me cold. In 1997, John Daly became the first player in PGA Tour history to average over 300 yards in driving distance for a season.

Just think about that for a few seconds. 30 years ago, the equipment was primitive compared to what we use today. This was before TrackMan, before launch monitors, before every kid new to the game started chasing ball speed. JD just stepped up, swung out of his shoes, and broke a barrier nobody had touched.

Daly led the tour in driving distance for 11 seasons.

From 1991 to 2002, nobody hit it past him. The only year in that 12-year spell he didn't top driving distance was 1994, when he was serving a tour suspension. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2024. Gents, thanks for your patience. I'm actually sick of the sound of my own voice now, so it's definitely time to crack on.

James, what do you think? Come on, give us some thoughts on JD.

James: So his idol was Jack Nicklaus when he was growing up, who was one of the longest players on tour when Jack was at his prime, and so that's part of where the grip it and rip it came from. But what he used to do is he used to practice on baseball fields. Okay. So there'd be three baseball fields, and he used to stand and try and smash it over them, which is roundabout- Was around about 250 to 300 yards, and that's what his goal was.

But then he'd then stand and practice slicing it from, the home plate over towards, the second base, and then he would then hit, like, three of those. Then he'd then hit three hooks to the third base, and that's what he'd keep doing. Shaping shots, just using his hands, just teaching himself how to do it, and then he would wind up, like, like his swing was wrapped round his neck, which no one has ever done before or since.

Well, they did in the old days with the wooden woods, but not quite as much. So he was grip it and rip it right from the word go, 'cause his first set of golf clubs were a set of Jack Nicklaus golf clubs. And then he practiced, and this is what he's not known for, is his short game.

So he used to practice flop shots to try and land it on the pitcher's mound, so that's all he was trying to do, is just trying to land it on the bag there. So not only did he have an amazing long game, he had, a really good short game, and I don't think he actually had enough credit as far as that was concerned.

So yeah, he just, that was it. He just wanted to absolutely bomb it, it's interesting because when he did, win that PGA, Nick Price was the person that pulled out, and his caddy, Squeaky, had been scouting the course with Nick for the first few days, and he hung around to see if he could get the job with John.

And John said, "Yep, you can caddy for me." And the second hole that they're playing, they've got 201 yards, and Squeaky turns to John Daly and says, ", what club do you think it is?"

And he goes, "Eight iron." So Squeaky goes, "Okay, now I know you'll - four clubs longer than Nick Price." Is that right? That's awesome. So for the whole tournament, all he did was, if he thought Nick Price was gonna hit a seven iron, he'd go one back. Bup, bup, bup. Okay, that's- Fantastic. Yeah, so that's how he worked it.

He worked all his yardages out from that. That's

Tommy: very,  very cool.

James: But for that PGA Championship, they'd set up the course, and they'd taken Greg Norman out, to hit tee shots, this is the weeks before, to see if people could fly bunkers and stuff, and they'd just put the bunkers at 270.

And they go, "No-one's getting past those. No-one's gonna bother taking them on." And that's what JD did, was he stood there. He could fly it 285. Thanks, Greg. So he took all the bunkers out of place. He just stood there and smashed it. And the funny thing was, Billy Andrade played with him in one of the rounds, and he said, "I didn't walk off the tee," he goes, "because he was taking it over corners, and I didn't know if he was gonna have to hit a provisional.

So I kept hanging back after he did his tee shot to wait and see where it had gone," he goes, "I never saw it. I just hadn't seen a ball come off a clubface like it."

Yeah.

Tommy: John Daly, he's got to be the coolest staff player Wilson have ever signed, hasn't he? I mean, come on, give me another.

A Wilson staff player, Wilson - Well - ... that's cooler than John Daly ...

James: Cooler. I don't know. You define cool. I mean, like, they've had a few winners.

Tommy: Oh, no, they've had winners. I and they have one in every decade, didn't Gary Woodland save that record and keep that record going-
Winning on the US Open?

James: I might be wrong, and If you're on a treadmill at the moment listening to this podcast, don't sort of stumble googling this one, but I think Wilson have had more major wins than any other, manufacturer.

Tommy: Potentially.

But then again, probably a lot of those were pre-1950, weren't they? Yeah, probably. I don't know. Maybe. All right. So, Paul, beyond the trophies, do you think Daly's trailblazing made golf exciting and relatable, like I just said to another audience, that might have found it stuffy and boring before he burst onto the scene?

What do you think?

Paul: Yeah, look, I've just put down here that, I think JD is the real-life Happy Gilmore. And I think it was ironic that, John Daly ended up with a part in Happy Gilmore 2.

Yeah. And do you know what? It was probably one of the best roles- you couldn't cast it. It was perfect for him. It was absolutely perfect. Even my daughter who doesn't play golf, she was like, "Oh, who was that guy that played that part of John Daly?" I was like, "That's John Daly."

Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know? That's cool. Interestingly enough, he was also the only player from either the US or Europe to have won two majors but never played in a Ryder Cup

I would love to have seen him in a Ryder Cup. Oh my God, could you imagine? Would've been hilarious. He also still has the record for the highest score carded in a tournament, which was 18 shots on a par five at the Bay Hill International.

I mean, seriously, that in itself, hats off to the guy, he is who he is. And I think that's what is relatable. We love him for who he is." There's no airs and graces about him, I think he lost a tournament in a playoff to Tiger Woods, and he went straight from the tournament to Vegas. I think he just picked up $750,000, something like that, for his second place or third place, whatever he came. And he went off, and he, lost the whole lot plus- More

More. He lost 1.5- Yeah ... or $6 million- Yeah ... okay, gambling. We've touched on the fact that he just, loves a pack of cigarettes, loves his Coke, you know? Um-

Tommy: Coca-Cola ... Coca-Cola. Let's just clarify for the listeners.

Paul: But then, you know, there's the other things, the temper tantrums, , the chucking of clubs and the disgust, that he hasn't been able to perform, at the level that he knows he can do, you know?

And I, I think sometimes, that must've been very frustrating for him knowing that he had it in him, had these shots. He had the ability. He's won two majors, but sometimes something else is going on in his life that hasn't quite just allowed those stars to align. But another thing as well is how many golfers are there on the European Tour, on the PGA Tour who have got two albums?

He's a singer-songwriter. He's sung with the likes of Willie Nelson and Kid Rock. And to be honest with you, my favorite song that he ever wrote has to be All My Exes Wear Rolexes.

Tommy: Classic title.

Paul: Classic title. Brilliant. Not that I've got any exes- Yeah

Or I've ever owned a Rolex. Yeah But I just think, that sums up JD- Perfectly ... John Daly. Perfectly Perfectly. Yeah. You know? Yeah. It's nothing to do with golf. It's a song-

Yeah ...

That he wrote.

Tommy: When I think about John Daly, I just think of that phrase, "Live fast, die young."

And he's still going, and thank God he is, because he's a breath of fresh air. Yeah. We'd all love to have a beer with him, not that any of us would probably keep up with him. When you think about his two major wins, so he wins his first one, 1991, Ninth alternate as a rookie. Rocks up, like you said, James, just blitzes it, wins it. Then his second major he wins, 1995, at the home of golf. So, the two major tournaments he's won have been pretty significant.

And maybe, he'd already climbed his Everest, I don't know. He was just, that carefree attitude, and maybe he just thought, "You know what, I've done pretty well here. I'm just gonna enjoy my life and, give back to the people and, smash golf balls out of David Feherty's mouth and have a bit of a laugh with everybody."

I mean, he rocks up at the Masters every year in his tour van, and he's outside, and he's there signing autographs people love him, james- Well, on, on that

James: One, at the, at Augusta, they've now closed it. Augusta have actually bought it out, the local Hooters, the bar.

He used to go and stay there. Mm. He was there all week. Mm. They had a bed for him out the back. Yeah. Yeah. His own room was made, and people just used to go there and, and go for autographs knowing JD would be in there. Mm.

Tommy: Yeah, he was real, wasn't he? Mm. And I think that, oh, I don't know many people that didn't like him.

I mean, he might not have been their favorite, but there weren't many people that were against him, were there?

James:I think people liked him or hated him. That's why he didn't get-

Tom:Do you think he was Marmite, do you? Love him or hate him.

James: Because, uh, uh, in his era, 'cause if you go back to the '90s when he was at his peak, and he said he reckoned he should have got into the 2004 Ryder Cup team.

But when you look at who's in there, you've got Davis Love, Jim Furyk, Jay Haas, all the old boys. You know, things have got to be done properly. This is not how we do things. Mm. He missed out on the Ryder Cup in '91 again, and he just goes, "I should have been in that one." But who's there?

Dave Stockton is the captain. Mm. Paul Azinger, Ray Floyd, Hale Irwin, Lanny Wadkins. They don't want- Yeah ... someone like that there. No. Whereas nowadays, with his talent, he'd be picked. Yeah. For sure. Wouldn't he? Yeah. For sure,

Tommy: 100%.

When Tiger burst onto the scene, the gym was taken seriously, and the Pilates, and the yoga, and what they were eating, just as that was starting to creep in, even before, Tiger's time, he kind of kicked back and went, "Hey, you can do without any of that, boys." You know? Yeah. "You can get on it-" Yeah ... have a really good night, rock up on the tee, hit a few drivers on the range,, and as long as I've got six packets of Durries in the bag and 15 Diet Cokes, we'll be right."

Mm. And yeah, it's just, just amazing. Just amazing- Mm ... to watch him. He was prime time. He was prime time. I think. Wasn't he?

James: I think. And, he's becoming more of a legend. Yeah. You know, as your memories fade of some of the stuff that he's got up to, you remember all of the- Yeah

Good stuff, and so that's what creates legends.

Tommy: It does. And I mean, like you say, the haters, would've been the establishment. Yeah. The stuff in the old days.

Paul:Well, they're all dead now, so.

Tom: but wasn't it fantastic? Right? That he rocks up in '95 at the home of golf Yeah, thanks very much.

I’ll take that little claret jug back over the Atlantic with me.

Paul: There were a lot of players, in that era, rocked up on the first tee, and in their golf bag was a pack of durries. There were lots of them, okay? But they were very, very much aware of when they were able to have a-

Tommy: He didn't care ...

Paul: he did not care. Crafty that way. He didn't care.

Tommy: Well Do you remember the famous picture of him where he's at the top of the backswing, and he's actually got the durry in his mouth. He's still got the cigarette on the go at the top of his backswing.

You know, just about to let rip with his driver.And he's just, very gently holding this cigarette between his lips- Yeah ... unbelievable. Yeah. I mean, don't get me wrong, we're not promoting smoking here. But if there was a definition of cool, he was it, wasn't he?

Cause he just didn't care. Yeah. This is me.

Paul: A definition of- You know? ... this is me.

Tommy: Absolutely. 100%. He was brilliant.All right. Well, look, that's, that's probably enough about JD. We could talk about him for a lot longer than we have, but,

He's still making people smile. Thanks for listening, everybody. That's a wrap. Well done, boys.

Tommy:

If you've made it this far, we hope it's because you've enjoyed listening to Tommy Does Golf.

So until next time, no matter how you are playing, smile, laugh, and most important of all, enjoy the walk.