Inland Empire Golfer
Give us a glimpse of Gary McCord in his early years and into High school for the sake of kids who aspire to play on the PGA/LPGA Tour.

Gary McCord
I was born in San Gabriel, California and left soon after for Garden Grove, just down the street, because the pain of birth was too vivid to deal with if I stayed. My freshman year at Garden Grove was non-eventful for golf. I played basketball and baseball; golf was only an afterthought. I had just started to play but was too embarrassed to really tell anyone I played golf in those days. It was the '60s and you were a pencil necked geek if you played the game. I went out for the team under the name of Morris Feldman. I failed miserably, but kept my upper status in the hierarchy of being a freshman with my rouse.

IEG
Who inspired you to play the game?

McCord
The man who inspired me to play golf was my father. He instilled in me the motivation to succeed. The inspiration to play golf was derived from a quote by H.L. Mencken: "If I had my way, any man guilty of golf would be ineligible for any office of trust in the United States." I did not want to work for the government.

IEG
Which professional golfer most influenced you in those early years?

McCord
As I was growing up learning the game, i did not have any professional golfers I looked up to for inspiration. There was a guy at the local club who rode around in a three-wheeled golf cart that had a parrot on his shoulder that I thought was kind of weird.

IEG
Your UCR golf record is stellar. What was your most memorable golf moment at UCR?

McCord
Albeit my golf record at UCR was fairly orbital, the fact that I graduated was the most impressive thing.

IEG
Take us back to the early years of your PGA career.

McCord
I made it to the PGA Tour in 1975. I was 25 years of age, married and had a 6-year-old daughter. I was thrown into the vat of life with little fanfare and minimal talent. My only goal was survival. At my level of mediocrity, you measured success by the mere fact you stayed out on the PGA Tour. You took the good and managed the bad. It was much better than government work.

IEG
More has been written about your golf failures than your achievements, yet you are viewed as a highly successful golf analyst, TV commentator, and guest speaker. Apparently the browbeating of the Masters committee didn't have much effect on your popularity. How do you view this mixed bag of sweet and sour grapes?

McCord
From the song by Janis Joplin, Me & Bobby Magee, comes the line, "Failure is just another word for nothing left to lose." If you play this game enough you will lose a lot more than you are going to win. Deal with it. My philosophy is, you try and make good things out of bad situations. I tried to do that with the Masters situation, and I'm still here.

IEG
Aside from the Masters' door slapping you in the back, what was your most frustrating or embarrassing moment in golf?

McCord
My most embarrassing moment on tour was one year when I was playing a tournament at Memphis and it was Tarzan hot. I had on a real tight pair of plaid, 100 percent cotton polo pants that were maybe one size too small, but very sexy. As I bent over to line up a putt on the 4th hole. a sound of ripping cotton filled the air. They unfolded from my fly all the way around to where the back panel meets the top of my buttocks. It was an around the world tear. The sad thing was I was going commando because of my poor laundry habits. After briefly going over the situation, I grabbed two towels and put one in front, tucked into my belt, and the other in the back, tucked into the other side of the belt. I looked like Chief Sitting Bull striding up the fairways.

IEG
If you could take back one moment on tour, or were give a 'do-over,' what would it be?

McCord
If I was to turn back the clock and had a re-do I would set the time machine way back to 1975 when I got my tour card, and I would explode that moment and then would have worked my way into the business of waste management. Ironic, isn't it?

IEG
What's behind the McCord mustache? When did you first grow it, and when did it become your patented look?

McCord
The handlebar mustache was a made-for-television event. I noticed my face wasn't on much so when that event did happen I figured a guy wearing an anchovy turned up on both sides under his nose would get noticed.

IEG
Now that you're playing the senior tour, has your competitive game changed?

McCord
I actually started playing better after I left the PGA Tour full-time. I had some valuable help from Mac O'Grady and couldn't wait for the Champions Tour to begin. I won two events my first year, and I was off to a good start for the second part of my golfing life.

IEG
With all your commitments outside of golf, do ou have time to practice and work on your game?

McCord
The preparation for a golf tournament between distractions of life takes a little more discipline than I normally have. I had to work on my management skills and get them better. Finding time to practice and play during TV weeks is difficult. I just deal with it!

IEG
What are your future goals and plans for your golf career?

McCord
My goal is to gain between 40 and 50 yards off the tee.

IEG
Any pearls of wisdom for the youngsters dreaming of playing on the tour?

McCord
I think wisdom is overrated: follow your heart and keep your head up. The smell of sweet success is just around the corner. "Life is far too important a thing to ever talk seriously about," Oscar Wilde.