Inside the Ropes at The Masters: Mark Bowden on Golf's Handheld Camerawork

Chi-Chi, Trevino, Palmer, Nicklaus, Erwin, Els and Tiger, oh my! On this episode of the ZoomPod, Professional Golf Cameraman Mark Bowden stops by to talk about his work covering golf's biggest stars from his perspective—inside the ropes with them! He also talks about the pressure of his office, a camera tower behind the par-3 12th green at the Masters! Can you say, "Amen Corner!?"

We're playing through during golf month in April!

EXPLORE MORE:

Check out our other great ZWOF podcast Episodes!

Grab my new Mastering Composition eBook!

Link and follow for more great #learnphotography content:

IG: @tvcommandomedia | FB @ZoomWithOurFeet 

Transcript

TMac 0:11

Hello and welcome to another edition of the Zoom with our feet podcast. The pod about learning creative media production with me, your host, T Mack, professional photographer, videographer, and teacher. On this episode of the Zoom Pod, golf cameraman G Mark Bowden takes us inside the ropes to talk about his time covering golf biggest stars from the fairway and his office at the Masters from behind the famous Par 3 12th green. Can you say amen corner? We're off from the first tee. Our guest speaker is in the lab. Let's talk to a pro. Mark Bowden, welcome to the Zoom with our feet podcast. How are you, sir?

SPEAKER_01 1:10

Good, thanks.

TMac 1:12

So, my friend, it is really good to see you, but I know you didn't start doing golf. How'd you start in this crazy business?

SPEAKER_01 1:24

Started uh right out of school, actually in school, I should say. Um was a photography major. And my buddy who I had grown up with threw a yellow pages at me and said, Look under photography. This was our junior year, I think. And I the, you know, it was that thick. And I'm talking the photography section. And he goes, How are we gonna make any money doing that? And I go, man, are you right? He goes, Well, the theater department or something is putting on a new class called TV Sports Production, and I'm like, Cool. So he goes, I'm taking it. I go, Yeah, I'm going with you. Let's go. So after that, it blossomed from there. I had a professor pull me aside, probably being my senior year, and said, G, Mark, if there's anything you're gonna do, this is your gig. He said, You are a pretty good camera guy. I've told this to maybe four guys in my 35 to 40 year career, and he said, You would be good at this. And I went, wow.

TMac 2:40

So what was the first camera they handed you that you had to make pictures with?

SPEAKER_01 2:47

Ikagami IPC 730. But that, I mean, that was relatively new in college stuff. I mean, but when I went to work in Hollywood, I I worked on an Uralko PC 70. I mean, that's with the cable that was a key, you know. I mean, on a pedestal and studio, and yeah, I mean, it was it was uh the way back machine was on.

TMac 3:18

So college program had lots of opportunities to work in the business or our uh live environments.

SPEAKER_01 3:30

A new TV station opened up in Orange County, California called KDOC Channel 56, and they came to the school and said we would like to have guys do internships. And I was all over that and literally learned how to do the business in the studio and and in we had our own TV truck, and we did they cut a deal with with the school to do sports events, they were division one of baseball, basketball, football. It was awesome. Guys in UCLA and USC couldn't believe it. But we were we were doing four remotes a week, it was awesome.

TMac 4:13

And that's where you learn the basics. That's where you learn all the positions.

SPEAKER_01 4:18

I had mentors, the engineers, one of the engineers actually we interviewed for the same job on the NBC uh soap opera Days of Our Lives. We interviewed for the same job, and he got it, and I got a job at ABC during General Hospital and other stuff. And Mike is probably retired by now, but he was an engineer at the school and taught me a lot of stuff about cameras and how they work, other stuff. Of course, we did it all audio, video, TD. I even directed a bunch of stuff on basketball shows and stuff, so it was cool.

TMac 5:18

Where does where does golf come into the picture?

SPEAKER_01 5:22

Played golf.

TMac 5:27

I want to he's a good player, folks. Don't let him let him. I'm gonna get out ahead of this hustle first. He's a good player.

SPEAKER_01 5:35

86 aside from you, of course. Um you know, you when you're in a freelance business like this, you learn real quick, certain sports you get paid more than others, and you get a more days than others. Um somehow I got hooked up with Steve Bahn, who was a top-notch director. I met him at the Olympics in Korea, and he worked, he was really good friends with Don Olmeyer, who was you know famous for everything. And Olmeyer Communications somehow hooked up with ESPN and they got the rights to do all the champ tour stuff, uh, senior tour at the time. And Steve got was he was their guy, and he remembered that I played golf. We had a great time in '88 Olympics in Korea. And he called me and said, Hey, this is your gig, this is where you belong. And it's probably started there. I mean, um, otherwise, I'd probably still be in the studio or doing day-to-day stuff, uh, getting paid by the day. But golf, you get five days or or more sometimes. So I've like not a math major, but that looks like a good gig to me. Make more cash.

TMac 6:58

What year? What year was that? 82, 83? 80, 82, something like that?

SPEAKER_01 7:07

Yeah.

unknown 7:08

Wow.

TMac 7:10

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 7:11

Skins games, all that stuff we did. That was awesome. 25 years of skins games, I did.

TMac 7:19

Uh, I was just le I was just explain the skins game.

SPEAKER_01 7:24

They call match play winner take all. And the money, if it if you tie, two tie, all tie, and the money carries over to the next hole. Next hole next hole. During Thanksgiving, it was the only thing to watch. Because it was all the big guys, Nicholas, Trevino, Palmer, Chi Chi, Freddie, Mickelson, Tiger. I mean, we knew that all eyes were all. I mean, that was it was number one, it was fun to work, but it was a you had to have your your and I I'll say S asterisk asterisk together. Because as a handheld guy, three handheld, four players, you better have a team that knows how to do a circus and operate out there. Because you gotta get every shot. It was great.

TMac 8:24

Great. So there's a I'll let you tell the story. There's a famous par three hole in one by Trevino, right? Trevino nipped.

SPEAKER_01 8:34

CGA West Stadium course. 87, probably, I think. 70s 80s, it had to be 87. Yeah, I'm up on the T-box with the camera on the ground, shooting the ball, probably super tight, with the logo of the skins game, T marker in the background, artist of you know, all-time artist shot.

TMac 8:59

And of course, he knocks. I'm making art, man. I'm making art.

SPEAKER_01 9:07

My dad wanted to see what kind of ball they were playing all the time, so that's why I started with the low stuff. People say the eye invented the ball and the whole stuff way back because my dad wanted to see it. And I started shooting ball and hole on putts and all sorts of stuff, and then low ball without tracers going away. You can see the ball with the sun behind, you can see the ball go in the trajectory. So um, but that particular hole, he knocks it in the hole, and I had you know, I was slowly trying to get it on my shoulder, and they took me because he was dancing around with Herman and everybody on the T-Box, and it was awesome. It's a memory for the ages, as they say. Yeah, it was great.

TMac 9:51

And they were like made for TV events, totally, totally, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:58

Nothing else, there was nothing up against us. What are you gonna watch at Thanksgiving? One pro game, maybe, and then we come off after that or before that. Awesome. Nine holes? Yeah, great for us. Yeah, nine holes. I can bust bust my booty easily. 16, 20 advil, I'm good to go.

TMac 10:20

I remember, I remember many a year where it came down to nine, and everybody's in, and everybody looking stern by that point, you know. A little bit of a little bit of yucking it up as we go, but we get to find it. We got you know, we got skins.

SPEAKER_01 10:41

Yeah, million dollars. And then a bonus skin for whatever if you do this or that. Yeah, you know. And we thought we were, you know, we we thought we had it made by with the the catering and the money and what we were getting paid. And but it was, you know, it was fun. That was fun.

TMac 11:03

First open. When did that come along for you?

SPEAKER_01 11:06

86. I want to say, I want to say Shnecock.

TMac 11:16

Floyd.

SPEAKER_01 11:17

Floyd won, I think. I was doing actually got asked to do E and G, which is squad and shoot uh peripheral stuff, and then all the cool looking stuff, and uh stuff in the town, tough what around Shnecock, and then during the actual it was on ABC, I think, and during the show I would shoot tight shots and stuff, you know, whatever aired later in the post-game show or something, or just whatever they did for features and stuff like that. It was awesome.

TMac 11:52

I I don't think that people realize how big a television show a US Open is. I mean, it's it's grown so much, and even in my years, because I picked it up when NBC picked up the uh contract in I want to say 94. So you mentioned uh a lot of years walking, stalking the fairways with the camera on your shoulder. Describe 32 that job.

SPEAKER_01 12:33

It's the best. I mean, when you're young and you want to be Mr. Creative, that's the place to be because you can do everything with that camera. Take it off your shoulder, put it on your shoulder, you know, walk with it like a I call it carrying the baby. Um, and you get to know the players, and you get to see stuff like nobody else gets to see right in front of you. Um yeah, I mean, I've seen shots that you, you know, I mean, I was yeah, Trevino, Tiger out of the bunker of the Canadian Open over water, it's getting dark. I mean, it's crazy stuff like that. I've seen Tiger hit shots, never thought he could hit. Um yeah, I mean, it was kind of fun to uh to be out there and see how the players react and know when to go get a guy and know when not to go get a guy.

TMac 13:31

Right.

SPEAKER_01 13:31

I've had guys try to walk me in the lake. So Palmer tried to walk me in the lake a couple times. Not fun. Not funny.

TMac 13:41

So the so the mandatory sort of stuff is you work behind the golfers, but you also I th I don't think people realize that that, especially Sunday at the open, back nine, there's multiple of you covering groups.

SPEAKER_01 13:59

Yeah, you know, it's it's normally when I was out there, and I don't want to, you know, toot my horn too much, but most camera guys would defer to the senior guy, so to speak, or the guy that's done more US opens or knows the players, or you know, they you I would tell the guys okay, I'll get this guy, you get the face, and then I'll go get the other guy reversed, and you get the you know, that kind of stuff. So um it was the same way in the skins game. I mean, I've done so many of them that when some new guys would come along, you'd know what to do. If you don't know what to do, you shouldn't be out there by now. That's kind of a level, I say.

TMac 14:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:43

Survival of the fittest, though, on Sunday at this at the US Open. All bets are off.

unknown 14:49

Yeah.

TMac 14:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:51

I mean, walk through, you know, there's nobody behind us, especially if it's not a well, it's playoffs the next day with normally 18 goals. So you walk in the bunkers across the bunkers, it didn't matter. You know, stand in front of photographers, hello, all bets are off. It's the US Open, and we paid to be here, and sorry about that. Next week you'll say, That's a great shot he had.

TMac 15:14

So it's a it's a crazy weekend. I mean, describe for people, golf fans, you know, they'll sit and watch, and it's majestic.

SPEAKER_01 15:26

And but I think Thursday and Friday doesn't really well the three worst four the four worst words in golf for a handheld guy, handheld guy are go back and get. When I think uh Steve um what's uh Jones won over Game and I think God, my memory coming back crazy. I did 18, and Bucky Gunz or somebody was directing and said, G Mark, go back and get. I'm like, go back and get right. This is like Thursday Friday because we're it's like a 12-hour show. Man, uh you know, you're a I'm already a dead man. You want me to go back and finish this guy for for 10 holes? You gotta be kidding me.

TMac 16:27

He's move, he he's making a move, but it doesn't matter.

SPEAKER_01 16:30

You go, oh, okay.

TMac 16:32

Advil. You're looping at that point. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:37

Good times, though, you know. I mean, I don't do them anymore, but um man, I can't even, I can't I'm trying to remember what my greatest US Open story would be, but uh I just don't even have any because I just I knew I was well at ABC I was camera one, you know, for a long time, and I can't remember well, probably Oakland uh Oakmont was a good one. Ernie Ells and those guys, but uh there's probably many more that I should remember that I do.

TMac 17:13

So come on, Paige Stewart.

SPEAKER_01 17:16

Yeah, I was there. I was standing on the uh the green when he knocked it in at uh Pinehurst. Good good point. I was standing behind Oh, I'll tell you another one when I was standing behind Mickelson when he shrimped it on 18 at uh geez, where was that? And it went elsewhere.

TMac 17:36

Is that New York?

SPEAKER_01 17:40

Uh yeah, uh yeah, was but what what course was it? I can't remember.

TMac 17:46

Uh there was a public course we did, wasn't it?

SPEAKER_01 17:49

Yeah, but that was Beth Page. Was it there? Maybe it was Beth Page. He shrimped it, and he was, I mean, he was gonna win. And it was so far, I mean it went left of Denver. You know, it was and it went off the tent, and I'm like, this guy just blew it.

TMac 18:06

And I've known Phil a long time, so I was like, wow, you are you handheld guys are so close to the players, as you said. What is the funniest exchange you've heard that even you chuckled?

SPEAKER_01 18:26

I tiger and Steve Williams used to have fart contests, and they do it sometimes. I would be in the fairway waiting for them to come up off the T, sitting in the well, I'd be at one knee, and they would stop on each side of me and fire them off. And I'd be like, and they would laugh and look at me. I mean, I was like, you gotta be kidding me, and uh not pleasant. That kind of I remember a lot, actually. They did that, you know, or Steve could do them on command.

TMac 19:12

Tiger just because yeah, what's the funniest? What's the funniest thing you've heard a caddy say, either to you or to the golfer? Or because I think the caddies are hilarious.

SPEAKER_01 19:28

Yeah, new guy, I can't remember who it was. Scotty McCarron was playing in the group. I remember that. Scotty and I have been friends for years. Freddie was there, I think somebody, some new rookie guy, and I was standing behind him on the I don't know, maybe the fairway or something. Maybe probably with a T-Box, and he goes, Hey, don't be moving back there. And I'm like, thinking, who's he talking to? They're the last group, you know, Sunday. This guy was playing for his life. And Freddy walked over and said, If this guy's standing behind you, it's money in the bank, my friend. All you want is this guy standing behind you. G mark, because it's like a gas pump flowing in your bank account. He goes, You don't have to worry about him.

TMac 20:19

That's right.

SPEAKER_01 20:22

But it was true. I showed up, you know, they knew that they were in contention or leading. A lot of times.

TMac 20:29

TV has come to the hole.

SPEAKER_01 20:31

Yeah, you know, I mean, how many times did I tell guys out of fun when they got on me, and they were kind of kidding. I said, listen, without this camera on my shoulder, you're playing for a dollar for a weight, so it's up to you.

TMac 20:48

They're like, he's right. There's so much travel involved. I, you know, uh just I don't have to tell you, but 3.5 million on United, by the way. How many?

SPEAKER_01 21:02

3.5 million on United. 1985. I started in their program.

TMac 21:11

That's crazy.

SPEAKER_01 21:15

I agree.

TMac 21:17

So everybody's got road stories. Here's here's the best one with you. Uh I believe it was an open out at La Jolla. You and I are looking for a place to eat. You say to me, Hey, ever been to PF Chang's? And I go, What's PF Chang's? And you're like, that's it. We're going. And we go, we we go to the yeah, it was walkable from the hotel. We show up and the place is mobbed.

SPEAKER_01 21:56

Who's standing there? Nicholson, whoever else is in the Tournament, the view it go, but they're all standing there trying to get in.

TMac 22:03

That's right.

SPEAKER_01 22:04

I'm like, ugh.

TMac 22:06

We do a lap around the bar, end up right where the right where the waitresses come to the bar. You know, they'll have those two little pipes that you're not. So we're kind of crowded in there, waiting on a drink. And a gentleman in a pair of khakis and a blue button-down, looking very managerial, shows up and says, You you take it from here.

SPEAKER_01 22:30

Thanks for coming in, guys. Appreciate the uh whatever. And I went, we haven't even sat down yet, man. We're looking for a place to sit and eat. We just did a lap. He's like, What? I go, yeah. Look at this place. See, we're just looking for a place to, we're out of here. And he goes, Hold on a second. Are you guys with the golf? We said, Well, yeah. Are you guys work for NBC? Yeah. Hang on a second. Next thing I know, we're following this guy to a table. We sit down. He says, Hey, let's uh let's chat a little bit. We start talking golf and talking about TV, and and I'm looking at you, T Mac, and I said, and he goes, I think he left and came back, but as he left, I said, is he trying to pick us up? Or is he is he the manager? Or we gotta find out who this guy is, right?

TMac 23:35

Oh well, then food starts showing up.

SPEAKER_01 23:38

Right. All of a sudden, all this drinks and stuff, and he comes back and goes, You guys mind if I eat with you? And I'm like, No, but who the hell are you? He goes, Well, I go, like, first we you know, Rick Frederico, we all meet. I said, Are you the manager here, Rick? And he goes, Well, kinda. And I went, kinda? What's kinda? He goes, Well, I'm more than a manager. And I go, really? Like, what? He goes, Well, I'm the CEO. I go, of what? He goes, of PF Changes. I go, step into my office. We had a great dinner. We became friends, right? Friends for a long time until he retired. Every time I'd go to the Phoenix Oakland where he would live, he would, I was always saying Rick, I'm in town. He goes, What night are we going? What night are we going to dinner? I said, any night.

TMac 24:35

I love telling that story saying, and I always say, Yeah, let me tell you the story of how I met the F in PF Chang's.

unknown 24:42

Yeah.

TMac 24:44

That's my guy. That was pretty awesome. Yeah. It's a lot of years, big boy. What's what's your most favorite? You gotta pick one. What's a favorite menu? Uh memory.

SPEAKER_01 25:02

Masters, always. This year will be my 35th year, 35 years. 31 on 12 Green. First three were on 15 Fairway. I go back to 89 is my first one. Frank Cherkenion is directing. I mean, really? Yeah. I mean, when I got asked to do the masters, I'll never forget at the LA Open they said, hey Mark, would you be interested in doing the masters? I'm like, how many times does the guy just say yes? And then it took off from there. Um just number one, it's the coolest place ever. And then a lot of the times, Sunday afternoon when the drama, and you can hear the roars. I could hear the roars. Well, I could see it a lot, but I don't have time to really look at what we call return of the show. I'm looking at my stuff, what's going on? Um, but you could hear and just know that it's coming. It all comes down to A Man Corner where I'm at, and I'm like, well, this is just great. You are looking at a guy with a target on him, and I'm a dead man if I don't get this ball in the air, you know, that kind of stuff. So it's pressure big time. I kid you not. It's big time pressure. The most I've ever felt.

TMac 26:35

And that shot is not easy with those stands back there. Patriot behind the T.

SPEAKER_01 26:42

50 feet tall of what do they call bleachers, I guess. Trying to find the ball out of that. Fun, baby. Tucker factor of one million, especially on you know, the last two groups.

TMac 26:58

Correct.

SPEAKER_01 26:59

Baby. It's I cannot tell you what a relief it is after they leave 13T or my green for Sunday afternoon. I'm just like, thank you, God. Yeah. Because I sit out there with, you know, I I mean it's it's the it for camera guys, what you want is to be in the mix. But you I've uh, you know, that particular camera on that particular hole, and I'm extremely lucky, okay? A lot of guys won't take it because they know it's a gigantic crosshairs. So I don't know. I mean, I've survived so far, so let's freak on this year.

TMac 27:47

Uh and the and and it's the place is immaculate. Uh there's always just crazy golf.

SPEAKER_01 27:56

You know, the one year we did it with no fans, COVID year, unbelievable. I could actually see what it looked like without leechers and patrons.

unknown 28:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 28:10

So awesome. So awesome. I mean wow.

TMac 28:17

Way back in the early 90s, I hooked up with uh a band of TV uh misfits doing all the prototype work for NHK and a little thing called HD TV at the time. And we did, I believe it was four, maybe five, uh at the masters, where they were prototyping all the lenses, all the all the gear, all the and and that was my experience, so I didn't have that kind of pressure, but I got to take in all of it. And it was awesome.

SPEAKER_01 29:03

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I had one of two lenses in the world on my camera once, a 107 Fuji when I went out there. All these guys were on my tower hanging around taking pictures. And I'm like, what is going on? I didn't, I just got there. And I look up there and I go, it's all these Japanese guys because they were they wanted to use it for a brochure sale stuff or whatever. I mean, it was awesome. It is an awesome lens that I'll give.

TMac 29:34

But NHK NHK is the sort of PBS of Japan, but they do it differently. It's a consortium of all of the commercial networks doing their technology developments. Yeah. And that's and that's why it was NHK, and that's why we were doing all that work.

SPEAKER_01 29:55

Yeah, TBS, Tokyo Broadcasting System, all those guys. Yeah. I used to get a shirt from them and a poster every year. Because they just they I think they had my camera direct. Actually, they had my camera direct and a camera underneath my tower, a uh robotic, and I would always unbag it for them, wipe off the lens, make sure it's working, and they love that. So they always took care of me.

TMac 30:24

Yeah, I mean, it's it's pretty awesome. It's such a cool place, yeah. So you and I both have had plenty of young guys come along. Um let me I'd love to get your thoughts on, and I'm sure you get this question now, uh being the gray beard that you are. What do you tell the young guys that want to do golf specifically? You know, what are a couple of things that you tell them they need to know if they're going to do that specialty within a specialty?

SPEAKER_01 31:13

Know the game first. Know the game, and then don't be the excuse that a guy turns around and says, What are you doing back there? Or points you out, and then concentrate on what your craft is, you know. I mean, if you're a camera guy, man, get the coolest angles there is, and don't be the guy that the guy yells at you and says, Get that camera out of my face. You know, I don't care if a director's screaming at you, go get him, go get him. Well, you go get him. But you do it about a 50-yarder, go get them. Unless you know the guy, but you don't want to see guys. I mean, I've been there when guys melt down and and blow the tournament, especially a major. It's just that. And you don't want to, I mean that they don't want to have a camera in their face, and some guys don't get it. So, you know, three things know what you're doing, know your game, what the game's all about, where to be, where not to be. You can't be in a guy's line when he's putting. If he doesn't know you, me, different. They trust me, I've earned it. Other guys, get out, get out, get out. Stuff like that. You know, I mean, that's that I think is huge. You gotta know your sport.

TMac 32:44

Yeah. I've mentioned this a couple of times to other other guys that I think the thing that I did personally was I sought out the replay guys and asked them what can I do better? Because I don't think people realize when they watch golf how they transition to we're going to 13, that may be recorded.

SPEAKER_01 33:10

And you know what I did, Timo, was I told the guys, I would go hunt down the guy at my machine, and I'd say, Don't cut off me. Don't cut off me. Wait, just wait, because I'll, I mean, like, especially when I have the putt, I won't cut to another camera with the reaction the guy's gonna react in my camera. I'm already right in front of them. Hello. Yeah, schooling them helps too. Because they all they do is cut, cut, cut, kick, cut, kick, kick, kick, kick, kick, kick. No, you know, don't cut, wait, and then you'll make your freaking academy awards.

TMac 33:51

Well, and different, and you know who the stoic guys are and who the guys that that are gonna react. I mean, some guys they just sort of take it in stride and robots, unless they're robots, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 34:09

Tiger, big react, big react guy. Well, you gotta follow him too, where he's going. Who knows where he's going? Right. Stuff like that. Then those other guys are just like Patrick Cantley, huh-huh.

TMac 34:24

Just taking a stroll.

SPEAKER_01 34:26

It's like Pat, you smile, crack a face, you know. Come on, show me something.

TMac 34:30

You're playing golf, brother.

SPEAKER_01 34:32

I mean, hello. What are you?

TMac 34:39

So, like many of the like many of the camera guys, you've done all different kinds of sports, Olympics. Is golf the hardest?

SPEAKER_01 34:50

I would say hockey was pretty hard. Okay. I did some hockey games. You I to this day, I don't even know what the blue line means, I gotta tell you. And I did the gold medal game in Calgary, and I did Gretzky breaking the record at the forum in LA, and I did some other hockey great stuff. I don't know what the blue line even means, to be honest. We did five hole. I got nothing. But yeah, I'd say golf, you can't take a football guy and put him on golf. I don't think, because it's you gotta know when to zoom out when the ball's in the air. Um, if you're a hard camera guy, you've got to know all sorts of how to frame it, when to zoom, when not to zoom into the hole, how to get back to a guy. If you're a one-camera show, I mean, yeah, you get your own, you're your own dude out there, man. A lot of times, how about being a handheld guy and they go, go to the front nine? I went to the I went on Autica's 59. I was the only with a beta camp. I'm out there on the front nine, her back nine, and she's going like the hello, making history. Yeah, we didn't have a camera till like I guess eight green, maybe nine, actually.

unknown 36:08

Right.

SPEAKER_01 36:09

And we could go live. Yeah, I had to sell them on like she was like eight under on the front or something, or and I had to sell them because the stupid camera was in the booth for the announcers to show you the heavenle cameras. So I had to sell and say, hey, I think she's going deep, like really deep. Like his show. And then she makes Bertie on T. G More, get the camera, go, go, go. It was uh, I think it was me, and Al Pollock was out there for golf central or something, but I had carte blanche and he didn't. And I documented the whole thing. In fact, that thing right there is signature and a ball from her 59. So yeah, I mean, it was I mean, that's yeah, it was awesome. I mean, that you know, that was the first woman in every history, nobody since, right?

TMac 37:05

Right. Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_01 37:07

That's being your own director, producer, and camera guy.

TMac 37:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 37:12

Go, go, go, go, go, go, go. Green, green, green, green, green.

TMac 37:17

My favorite memory was uh 2000, Pebble Beach, Tiger Lap in the field. We fog out on Friday. We got a replay or continue, finish on Saturday morning. And wouldn't you know the Woods group is coming up to the 5T, and I'm on the green right next to the ocean, and and I'm looking at the sky. I'm going, this fog, this fog hasn't lifted yet. And you know, I can see him and sort of see him, and I'm like, this thing's going into the soup, and as high as he hits it, I am never gonna find it. And I'm I'm getting myself ready, I'll get myself ready. And Bucky gun's real low, whispers, T Mac. Good luck.

SPEAKER_01 38:09

Isn't that the crazy? I mean, yeah. I get that from that's it, Buck.

TMac 38:14

That's all you got, and he hits it, and I go up, and it's totally gone. But you know, that's the thing, like you say, you know what you're doing, don't panic. I made that move another 200 times and I went up and I went down like I did the 25 shots before, and it sort of kerplunked at the same time, and then I went, all right, there it is. But but just in that moment, like there's there's no help, there's no other camera, there wasn't a low there. There, the folks, the the whoever was behind, you could barely see the tower. And they're like, I hear the horn go off. Yeah, I'm like, oh, this is bad.

SPEAKER_01 39:04

Try doing it at night. Yeah, I do the match that's on TNT for with Steve Vine directing. And yeah, he's such a schmuck that he'll just if if he always puts me on par threes, I guess. Ball goes out of the lights. Hello, bye-bye. Comes back in. Hey, vow! And then if you don't have it, he'll say, Oh, please go in, please go in, please, please, please, just to have ammo to rip you for the rest of the year. That kind of stuff.

TMac 39:38

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 39:39

Ammo guy.

TMac 39:42

Well, Mr. Mark Bowden, it is so good to see you. I miss your enthusiasm and friendship, and man, you know where the good places to eat are, my brother.

SPEAKER_01 39:56

Waffle House.

TMac 40:00

I love Waffle House.

SPEAKER_01 40:01

I got Waffle House and t-shirt and hat on your somewhere. I wear that a lot out there setting up, and guys come up and go, oh J Barr. That's the greatest hat I've ever seen. You know, it's a baseball hat with Waffle House on it.

TMac 40:16

Yeah, man. Good stuff. It was it was great to see you. I can't thank you enough for being a part of the project. Of course. Safe travels. Thanks. Uh be well. Uh talk to you soon.

SPEAKER_01 40:31

Okay. Thanks, D.

TMac 40:41

Thanks again to the cameraman of many stories, G. Mark Bowden. If the ball's in the air, you can check out his work behind the 12th green at the Masters. The Zoom With Our Feet Podcast is a production of TV Commando Media. The Zoom pod theme is by November, and they're Funky Groove Cloud 10. Until next time, sports camera operators, if you're not shooting, you're not learning.