Cigars and Golf! In a world gone completely mad; I can cling to my cigars and golf and find my sanity! Well, that's assuming you can find a Doctor who will give me a clean bill of mental health after my psych examine.
DOC: “OK, Randy what do you see in this ink blot?”
ME: “ I see Sophia Loren. She's my caddy. She's smoking a “Ashton Churchill”. She's handing me the new Taylor Made R9 Driver. And we are playing at Pebble Beach.”
DOC: “Is that all?”
ME: “No. Sandra Bullock is also in our foursome. Along with Evel Kenieval and Don Rickles!”
DOC: “What time do we tee off?”
So I guess I'm as sane as anybody.
Cigars and Golf! I love them both! And here's the crazy thing. I never smoke a cigar while playing. They are two separate joys. The only man alive who ever successfully played a round of golf and had a stogie hanging out of his mouth was senior PGA player Jim Thorpe.
No, to me to fully enjoy both; I'll take them one at a time. Throw in some good friends and a buttery Chardonnay and I'm set.
Don't get me wrong; I'm no snob. I'm straight out of the Rodney Dangerfield school of golf.
Al Czervik: “Oh, this your wife, huh? A lovely lady. Hey baby, you must've been something before electricity. You're a lot of woman, you know that? Yeah, wanna make 14 dollars the hard way?”
OK all right! You're asking yourself, “Who the hell is Randy Tantlinger and why the hell is this guy qualified to write a blog about Cigars and Golf?” The short answer; because I have managed to avoid a real job for over fifteen years. “How the hell did you do that?”, you are asking your self.
Since you asked. Back in 1995 I quiet the family business in Cleveland, Ohio. NEVER work for your family. I had never produced a TV show. Played a round of golf or managed a golf tournament. But it was my dream. One year later I was hosting and producing my first “made for TV” celebrity golf tournament from Los, Cabos, Mexico!
For eight years I hosted the award winning “Golfin' Around TV Show” on Fox Sports Net. If you ever saw it you'd remember it. We once stuffed a golf ball into a cannon and blew it up. On occasion if I hit a ball into the water I would jump in after it. Always being true to my motto that "Golf is Phun!"
Today I host and produce the “HOT GOLF” TV show that is in over 80 Million households via syndication including Europe. Each week I take you the viewer to places like Mexico, Wales, Ireland, Texas, Florida and more. I play bad golf, tell bad jokes and play the best courses on the face of the earth.
Now for the writing credentials. I gotta say I was as shocked as anyone when the “Golf Writers Association of America” made me a member. Then back in 2006 “The International Network of Golf” awarded me the “Outstanding Achievement Award” for a story I wrote as a freelance writer for “Smoke” cigar magazine. Dude, seriously all I did was go play golf out in Idaho, drink some wine and smoke cigars and wrote a story about it. Next thing you know I get a hunk of wood to hang on the wall. “OK, I'll take it. Where's the damn check? I need drinking money!”, I said. “No check. A piece of wood with your name on it.”, they said. End of story.
Oh yeah, if you like boxing I also wrote a book called, "Leather and Blood: Pittsburgh, Pa. the Mecca of boxing Champions". Log onto www.leatherandblood.com and buy one. I need the money!
So with all this TV and writing stuff going on you have to imagine that I have “run into some people” along the way. And you would be correct.
It has been an honor and privilege to interview Arnold Palmer, John Daly, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson, Hale Irwin, Pete Dye, VJ Singh and others along the way. You think those boys love golf? As Singh told me once during his incredible 17 win season a couple years ago, “It's a state of mind.”
Courses? Boys I'm here to tell you I have shanked balls, made divots and hacked around the world's best. Oakmont, Pinehurst #2, Sawgrass, Carnouste and had my picture taken on the Swilcan Bridge at St. Andrews.
In short boys, I'm one lucky SOB. I don't spell real well and I suck at the grammatical aspects of writing. Normally, I have an editor do that. So I will ask you to please forgive my errors along the way.
Log onto www.golfingaround.com and you can read some of the stories and watch the TV shows.
So welcome to “Cigars and Golf” blog!
I'll be posting stories about my golf adventures, cigars and more.
So post a comment and tell me to shut up.
Thank you Old Tom Morris! Thank you Dove Jones! God Bless America!