Roger Maltbie has led a charmed life.
He’s the first to admit that winning 12 professional tournaments, including the first Memorial Tournament at Jack’s Place and the old World Series of Golf at Firestone, exceeded his expectations and made for a pretty respectable playing career. Then he made a seamless transition into television, working for more than three decades for NBC/Golf Channel, and becoming a fan favorite.
As he discusses in part two of a Q&A with Golfweek that was conducted at Silverado Resort during the Fortinet Championship last month, Maltbie may be making his final appearance behind the mic this weekend at the Shriners Children’s Open in Las Vegas. (You can read part one of the Q&A here.)
Maltbie’s role was reduced this season to a handful of second-tier events and he doesn’t know yet if he’ll be asked back for next season in a similar capacity. But after chatting for a solid hour, Maltbie bid adieu with these classic words: “I’ve got to get suited up.” Here’s hoping he’s brought back for an encore.
GWK: What was it like being the so-called pro from Michelob Country Club?
RM: Truth in advertising! That was what that was. I enjoyed the 20 years I was with Michelob. I miss it to this day. They were great people to work for. That was their business, sports.
I remember there was a big vice president that ended up in how I ultimately got hired by Michelob because they had the Anheuser-Busch tournament right here in Napa. I had played golf in the pro-am with the tournament chairman from Michelob.
After the round, I went back to my room here and I changed my shoes, and I went over to the clubhouse to go see this big wig and see the amateurs and this and that.
Well, they had a private party going, and ABC laws or whatever in California, I wasn’t allowed in I said, well, I played golf with Mr. Burkhardt today and I wanted to thank him for the round, so on, so forth.
They got him, he came to the door, and he said, Roger, thank you for coming by. I wish you could come in, but we can’t do that. I said, well, I just wanted to thank you for the round.
Well, by the time I got back to my room, there was a case of Michelob sent from him, and I was hired right after that. This was very early ’80s, ’80, ’81, something like that. And I spent 20 years with them.
GWK: How did you deal with slow play?
RM: I’m not one of those players that hates slow players, you know. I’m not one of those guys. I used to argue with (PGA Tour rules official) Jack Tuthill when I was on the policy board, and they went to this timing system and warning system and this and that, and I didn’t like it, and I went to Jack and I said, listen, I said, you’re driving down the freeway doing 90. You get pulled over by a state trooper, and he comes up to your window and says, I’m not going to give you a ticket, but I’m going to be on your bumper the rest of the way. How many tickets do you think he’s going to give out? None. This warning thing. Get after them. You know who they are. If you have to time them, time them secretly and penalize them. That’ll light a fire in their saddle. That’s the way I looked at it.
Real slow players: Ronnie Black was really slow. The whole timing thing, what I didn’t like about it is you’d be behind, they’d come out and say, OK, we’re going to time you. You’ve been warned. You’re behind. We’re going to time you.
All of a sudden Ronnie would hit a shot and he’d walk over to the rope line and walk up ahead of you. So he’d be out there, fine, you’d play your shot, now he’s at his ball, he’s done whatever he’s had to do. You’re 40 or 50 yards behind him trying to get to the green. Now you’ve got to stop, wait for him to play. It just disrupted the flow of everything.
Then when you caught up, he’d go right back to being as slow as he was. It’s not just Ronnie. I’m not just singling him out. But Bernhard Langer, you know the guys.
GWK: Was there anybody that when you were walking that when you saw that he was in that final group, you’re like, oh, this is going to be a long day?
RM: We’ve had a few. It presents a real problem for the guys in the truck because they’d cut away to another shot and come back, and timing all that was not necessarily easy. So that presents some problems.
I told Tuthill back then, too, I said, do you want these guys to play faster? How about you give them time par and they come back under it and you get to take two shots off your card. Now you’re going to have a track meet, right? You want a kid to do something, you reward him for doing it, not penalize him for not doing it. He went, oh, we can’t do that.
GWK: What's the best shot you ever saw Tiger hit?
RM: Oh, boy. With my own eyes, not watching TV?
GWK: With your own eyes.
RM: He hit one at Torrey Pines, ’15. He drives it miles to the right. I think he was in a fairway bunker of the ninth hole, coming back the other way. He had to hit this big looping hook around a tree from this fairway bunker. How they even got a yardage, I don’t know. He hit it on the green like 20 feet from the hole. I was like, how does he do it? But that’s one that would probably stick out. Other than that, man, he hit a lot of great ones.
GWK: Do you think a golfer will ever possess all majors at the same time again like he did?
RM: I never thought he’d do it. No, I don’t think it’ll happen again. I really don’t. I don’t think anybody will dominate the game like he dominated the game.
Jack, you know, my age, in a lot of ways I feel very blessed. Some guys are like, don’t you wish you were playing for that kind of money? When I first played with Jack, we’re talking 1975, so he was pretty much in his prime. I even played with him when he won a major.
I think Jack Nicklaus is the greatest golfer of all time because the numbers demand that, not only the major championship wins but the seconds and the thirds. He was always, always there. But Jack was a little bit better than what was next, and he knew that. He was tougher and stronger mentally, but he was a little bit better than what was next.
Tiger was way better than what was next, leagues better, and it was obvious. 2000 U.S. Open, greatest performance of all time. I don’t think anything else is in the discussion. Yeah, it was fabulous. And he had all four on his mantle at one time, and I just don’t see anybody being able to do that. I just don’t. Could happen, I guess. Generational deal.
GWK: What current player would you want to have a beer with and why?
RM: Oh, gosh. Current young player? Do they drink beer? That’s a fair question, isn’t it?
You know, I really like Justin Thomas. I really do. He’s got some personality. He’s got drive, loads of talent. I am a big fan of him getting the captain’s pick, big fan. I’m not with the naysayers. Zach Johnson I think said it to us, he said, you just don’t leave him off the team. I agree with that. I just think he means too much to that team. He to me seems like he’d be really fun to have a good BS session with.
GWK: If you could buy stock in a player’s career, who would you buy?
RM: I’d buy (Ludvig) Aberg, wouldn’t I. All I’ve seen is what I’ve seen on TV, but the power he’s got, seems like he’s got a lot of wedge game, too, and putting, he seems to have pretty much all the pieces. So right now, I’d say he’s got the biggest upside.
GWK: Were you ever pissed at the version of yourself that NBC kind of projected, as kind of...
RM: Well, what do you mean by that? You’ve got to explain that.
GWK: As kind of a Wilford Brimley “aw shucks” fella?
RM: Well, I play into that a little bit. You know, I’ve always been of the opinion that people will be pretty nice to you if you’re nice to them. And so I’ve always liked being out there and having a little interaction with the fans and this and that. It’s always been a part of the job that I enjoy.
If I were to put a name on myself, it was the every man’s kind of pro, and whether that’s true or not, I don’t know. Would I like it to be true? Yeah, I would.
GWK: Do you like chocolate milkshakes?
RM: Of course. How could I not? I’ve been called “Milkshake” or “Malt” my whole life.
GWK: Is there anyone from NBC you still have a sour taste with, the way you were released, the way things ended?
RM: Yes, but they’ll remain nameless. I can’t do that. I’m still working some. And I was asked when the time came that they said Gary and I wouldn’t be back, I know there’s a lot of feelings. Do I like how it was handled? No. Do I like the reasoning behind what happened? Not particularly, no.
But there’s an enormous amount of gratitude. Not many people get to do this for over 30 years. So they were very good to me for a very long time. So I’ve got no hard feelings. But yeah, it was handled pretty sh**ty.
GWK: Do you know how much longer you’ll keep doing a handful like this?
RM: It’s a one-year deal. This could be it. The only reason I can’t pop off.
GWK: Is this the last one you’re doing this year?
RM: No, I’m doing Vegas. They offered me three, and I kind of counter-offered and said, you’ve got a couple out here on the west coast. I can drive to Napa, which is right up the road, and Vegas or something. They said, OK, you can do that. So I talked them up to five. But like I say, it’s a one-year deal. There’s no option clauses in it, no nothing. It’s a one-year deal, and I don’t know if they’ll offer it to me again next year or not.
I’d like to keep doing it as long as I can, yeah. Sure, why not? It’s fun. That was the whole process I’ve went through after being given the word that it was over was one day I’d wake up and say, why would I do that. And then the next day I’d wake up and say, it’s still fun; I still like it. It still gives me a chance to see some of my friends. So I ultimately decided to do it. But it wasn’t necessarily an easy decision. But I think it was the right decision for me in the long run.
GWK: Walking the fairways for several years with you it's obvious people still love seeing you out there. You know that, right?
RM: Well, that’s nice. That’s nice. I think there’s a mix. I don’t like listening to necessarily ongoing comedy routines because at some point it matters, and it could change somebody’s life, and it’s important. And they deserve the respect be shown them for their efforts and their skills. But with that said, this ain’t rocket science. It’s still a game. You’ve got to treat it like a game.
You know, maybe that’s what people like. I don’t know. You can have a little fun with it and still be respectful in my opinion.
GWK: I think I’ve about worn you out.
RM: I’ve got to get suited up here.
