((PKG)) PIA – MARK BROOKS
((Banner: Life on the Green))
((Executive Producer: Marsha James))
((Camera: Kaveh Rezaei))
((Map: Washington, D.C.))
((NATS))
((Mark Brooks, Professional Golfer))
Golf's supposed to be a game of, you know, testing oneself, against one's self. The golf course is just an element that's there to bring those things out. And I'd proved to myself that I had a chance and then worked hard enough, got lucky enough and made it for a long time. And I've played over eight hundred tournaments. Fortunately or unfortunately for me, I went straight to the PGA Tour. I never played any other tours. In our world, I went straight to the show and had to learn how to play once I got to the show. But I was very fortunate there.
((NATS))
((Mark Brooks, Professional Golfer))
My name is Mark Brooks and I'm a traveling PGA Tour Champions Tour golfer. I was fortunate enough to be able to go to University of Texas and played four years there, and by my junior year, I started playing a little enough good golf to consider, you know, maybe trying to as a professional and turned pro right after college.
((NATS))
((Mark Brooks, Professional Golfer))
You know, you think you're really good when you come out of college, you know, you're all American. So, you think you're gonna make it easily and you get out there and you start mixing it up with the guys that have been doing it for, you know, five, 10, 15, 20 years, that have become very proficient at their craft and you realize you have a lot of shortcomings.
((NATS))
((Mark Brooks, Professional Golfer))
You know, I think I learn something every day. You don't try to do it consciously. I mean life experiences come for me with stretches. You know just not going to happen in a moment.
((Courtesy of PGA Tour))
I think playing the PGA Tour as long as I have, that was probably my greatest achievement and I've played over eight hundred tournaments and when you start doing the math, you just go that's insane. I mean if you played, you know, 20 tournaments a year, that's 40 years.
((NATS))
((Mark Brooks, Professional Golfer))
((Announcer: Now, Mark Brooks for victory))
((NATS))
((Mark Brooks, Professional Golfer))
I think the game of golf does have some challenges. It's not just how long it takes to play or how difficult the sport is. It's gotten expensive in a lot of cases. So, we've got to figure out how to get golf, I'm not going to say cheap, that's the wrong term to use, but it's got to become affordable to a broader range of people.
((NATS))
((MARK BROOKS, Professional Golfer))
The cool thing about golf, which is changing a little bit now, but golf’s all about one thing. It’s the score that matters. You know, how tall or short or fast or strong or that you are, it was what score you shot. But today's world, a lot more analyzing of people from the outside, you know, even from their inner circle. I feel like golf was a sport for pretty much any size person, any strength, ability, and it's like trying to change it under our feet here, and if you're not, you know, some superhuman athlete, then you might as well pick something else.
((NATS))
((Mark Brooks, Professional Golfer))
In my opinion, it's to the detriment of sport and what sport's really about, which is the human endeavor to do something that you don't think you can do, but then you realize you can through hard work, perseverance and pain sometimes.
((NATS))
((Mark Brooks, Professional Golfer))
Golf has become more difficult as I've gotten older. Your mind wants your body to do certain things and then sometimes your body just doesn't listen. I mean, I've had knee issues, back issues, herniated disc. You know, when you're more prime years, you can go reproduce a shot eight or nine out of ten times. As you get older, it's far more difficult to have your body repeat those things. That should lead you to segue into what are you going to do for the rest of your life.
((NATS))
((Mark Brooks, Professional Golfer))
I would say having joy or satisfaction from playing golf, it's definitely evolved for me over the years. The biggest things I've done in my career, played over 800 events, more than anybody has ever played.
((NATS))
((Courtesy of PGA Tour))
((MARK BROOKS, Professional Golfer))
And number two, I’ve hit very few shots, very few shots right and give it my full utmost hundred percent effort and attention. I mean if you can go by those, you know, try on every shot, being professional, taking pride in what you do, it'll take you a long way.
((NATS))
