Our own Tom Morton recently caddied for the 2009 Shell Houston Open winner, Paul Casey, during the TELUS World Skins Game that was recently held July 25th and July 26th, 2011, in Fairmont Banff Springs.
The 2011 TELUS World Skins Game benefited the Alberta Cancer Foundation and featured five PGA Tour Players: Anthony Kim, Jhonattan Vegas, Lucas Glover, Paul Casey and Stephen Ames.
Check out this awesome video of Paul Casey as he literally throws a golf ball from the tee to the green! Look carefully, and you can see Morton Golf’s own PGA Director of Player Performance, Tom Morton, taking the place of Casey’s regular caddy, Craig Connolly, during the event.
Jennifer: Tom, how did you end up in Canada for the TELUS World Skins Game?
Tom: I was asked by Nike Golf to be one of the golf professionals playing in the Pro-Am the day before the actual skins game…
JM: Tell us about this video. What made Paul Casey decide if he could throw the ball to the green?
TM: In the morning practice round when we got to that hole Paul said the hole looked short (it was 132 yards all carry over a pond) and that he thought he could throw it to the green…I thought to myself yeah right, and we decided what club to hit…When we came back around for the actual skins game in front of thousands of spectators and on live television, he said to Lucas Glover he believed he could throw it on the green…Lucas laughed and said no way so Paul took the challenged and did it…The video doesn’t do it justice actually, it was an amazing thing…They don’t call him Popeye on tour for nothing as his forearms are massive!
JM: What was the highlight of the day for you personally?
TM: The highlight for me was definitely being inside the ropes and near the players, especially Paul Casey…Getting to know those guys for a few hours was a lot of fun and educational…Talking through golf shots with Paul and seeing what he is thinking and feeling on the golf course was really amazing…It is really hard to fully grasp how talented and great those players are until you are that close…There is a reason they are PGA Tour stars and most of us are not J. Also, I must admit, a highlight was on the last hole (Paul had not won a skin yet and there was a couple carry-overs so it was worth around $65,000 or so) he had a 12 foot putt to win the skin and he asked my thoughts on the break of the putt…I said at first glance that the putt appeared move a little left but that I really believed due to a couple factors it would stay straight…He saw it moving a bit left but through our conversation decided to trust my read on hit it straight…He drilled the putt, dead center! I need to be honest, it felt better than me actually making it…
JM: Did you pick up any tips for your own game from watching and hanging out with the Pros?
TM: Probably the thing I picked up the most was something that I did understand previously but it really hit home watching them play…and that is how much they have control of the trajectory and distance control of the golf ball, especially from 125 yards and in…They have those distances dialed to the foot and can hit it any type of trajectory needed to fit the particular shot…It was fun to listen him talk through why he was doing what he would select for each shot.
