Golf Central

When putting together our biography of our newest Hall of Fame member, Fred Couples, we couldn't resist compiling a list of some of our favourite quotes from the man with the beautiful swing and a way of twisting up sentences like none other ... From the bizarre to the blatantly obvious, there's a good chance of getting a great quote when Freddie Couples is around:

(By the way, Freddie is available as a corporate speaker through the All-American Speakers bureau, but he'll cost you at least $50,000. If you want Freddie for free, you've got to get yourself a press credential). Here then, is the quotable Freddie (updated March 6, 2008):

On the thrills of Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup competition:
I've been on nine teams. This will be the tenth team I've been part of. It can get extremely boring.

On his desire to play at Riviera as long as he is allowed:
I'm not going to not play. They are going to have to keep me from not playing.

On "greatness" being over-rated:
I'm not great. I'm good ... and good's not bad.

On his putting woes:
I hit the ball and when I make a few of them, I get a little bit of rhythm and I can make a few. Then when I start missing them, they don't go in. ...

On Michelle Wie:
When you see her hit a golf ball ... there's nothing that prepares you for it. It's just the scariest thing you've ever seen.

On being paired with Phil Mickelson in the 2006 Masters:
I mean, if a guy hits a good shot, I'm gonna say so, even if I hate him. And I like Phil.

On his reputation and the key to success:
The press still considers me one of the most laid-back athletes since Babe Ruth. That's supposed to be a criticism, but I consider it a compliment because I think being carefree on the course is one of the secrets to scoring well consistently.

On practice habits:
There is no truth in the idea that the person who hits the most balls will become the best golfer. Golf is a bizarre sport. You can work for years on your game, without making any improvement in your score.

On future retirement:
My days aren't numbered, but they're close to it.

On privacy:
I don't answer the phone. I get the feeling whenever I do that there will be someone on the other end.

On Tiger Woods' galleries:
I did get some of his strays. The way I play sometimes, I probably don't deserve two or three people out there.

On his heroic defeat in the '06 Masters:
I didn't hit the ball like I was 46. But I putted like I was 66.

On his heroic defeat in the '06 Masters (Part II):
I'm a lot older than I was when I was 30, which is kind of hard to believe.

On his good friend Davis Love III:
We can laugh at each other, ... In the World Cup I remember him whiffing a shot in a palmetto bush, and caddie Joe [LaCava] and I were just laughing, and I would never do that to anyone else. I wasn't laughing because he whiffed it. It was just funny.

On a putt that he missed in the Masters:
This is the kind of putt an old guy can make.

On longevity:
I'm playing as well as I've ever played, except for the years I played better.

On injuries:
I wouldn't be playing great golf every week if my back didn't hurt. I wouldn't be able to play golf if my back really, really hurt, and I don't. So therefore, I try to play.

On partnering Annika Sorenstam in the Merrill Lynch Shootout:
Greg [Norman] called, he just said, "Would you like to play with her," and I said, "You bet." (press snickers)

On his swing:
When I'm playing well, I don't even take aim.

On his condition:
I play better when I'm sick, but my head is the thing that's pounding, and it's very blurry.

On career reflection:
Could I have maybe won more tournaments? Sure ... but if that was the case then I would have won them.

On putting woes (Part II):
It would nice to have a longer, smoother putting stroke, but the clean and jerk is what I've got. If it was the Summer Olympics I would feel pretty good right now.

On Augusta National:
It was the hardest golf course I had ever played, ... I never bent over and fixed a ball mark. There weren't any. It was brutal. Then we got rain and it just destroyed the course... but it made us feel a little bit at ease.