My
debut with the CBS golf team came at the 1972 U.S. Professional Match Play
Championship. Despite the torrid August conditions at the Country Club of North
Carolina that year, my reception was a frosty one. Producer-director Frank
Chirkinian uttered not a word to me, except when it was my turn to speak,
throughout the weekend-long trial run.
But,
the Ayatollah, as Chirkinian was (somewhat) affectionately known, later had
plenty to say upon my first full-time appearance with his crew, at the
season-opening Los Angeles Open in 1973.
Two
factors fueled his open hostility toward me. First, I had been hired by then-CBS
Sports President Bill McPhail, who had not consulted Frank on the decision, a
cardinal sin. Second, I was late for rehearsal on Friday morning, an
unforgivable sin in the eyes of the Ayatollah.
The
day before, after driving eight hours to London, I had learned my flight to L.A. would be delayed at
least that long. I finally arrived at 4 a.m. Friday. Setting foot in California for the first
time, I checked in at the Bel-Air in a state of complete
exhaustion.
The
good news was that a white-coated Englishman greeted me with a fine pot of tea.
The bad news? Rehearsal began less than six hours later. I booked a cab for 9
a.m., but my driver could not find his way to Riviera Country Club, and I was of
little help.
When
I reached the CBS compound around 10:15 a.m., associate producer Chuck Will
informed me I had better hasten to the par-3 16th hole, which happened to be at
the far end of the course. I ran as fast as decorum would allow, with several
stops to avoid interrupting play, and finally flopped, breathless, into my seat
in the tower.
Then
the barrage opened up. "How kind it is of the Limey to condescend to join us,"
intoned Chirkinian in my headset. "Roll tape." What followed was an accelerated
recording of my erratic progress along the course, broadcast to the delight of
the assembled crew stationed throughout the grounds.
