My Shot: Jim Colbert

'The bucket hat's ready to make a comeback. A lot of young people, rappers especially, are wearing it, and where rappers go, a lot of young people follow.'

During my early years as a pro, being high on the money list didn't necessarily earn you an invitation to the Masters. One way to get in was to get a special invitation issued by the past champions. Now, Lee Elder was the first black man to earn an invitation to the Masters. He played in 1975. But Charlie Sifford was invited by the past champions years earlier. But that invitation was overruled by the higher-ups at Augusta National, and Charlie never played. Subsequently the past champions lost their vote. It wasn't right. But those were different times.

I admired Charlie more than anybody I played the circuit with. He didn't have a good swing or a great putting stroke, and he sure as hell didn't have a great life. The stuff he put up with at Greensboro and other places in the South was just unbelievable. I don't think any player today could survive it. But he did survive and made a living. He was the toughest guy mentally I ever saw.

One night I was staying in a hotel room directly below Charlie. That night I heard this awful thumping and couldn't imagine what was going on. The next morning I saw Charlie and asked him what he was doing. "Skipping rope," he said. "I skip the rope 600 times every night before I turn in. Gotta keep them wheels strong, man."

I played with Seve Ballesteros when he was 16, and he was the longest straight driver I ever saw. From 130 yards and in, he was the worst professional I'd ever seen. I played with Bernhard Langer in the European Open when he was 23, and on two par 4s he drove into the middle of the greens, but I watched him miss several putts from a little over a foot and a couple of others from six inches. Today Bernhard's short game is fantastic compared to his ability with the driver. Don't forget to maintain your strengths.

The trick to being a TV analyst is to see every shot as being played with any one of three clubs. When I was at ESPN, I got to know each player's bread-and-butter shot so I could present the options and predict what type of shot he'd play. One year Greg Norman was in contention and drove his ball into a stand of trees, his ball sitting on sandy soil. I got to the ball and told the audience, "Greg can take his medicine and just pitch out sideways, but there's also a little opening high in the trees he can choose to go through." At that point I had our camera man pan up to this small window in the pines. "Only two men in the world can hit the ball high enough off this sandy soil to find that window: One is Jack Nicklaus, and the other is Greg Norman. Greg can pull this off, but it's very high-risk." So Greg gets there, and with the camera tight on his face, you can see his eyes find that little window I'd pointed to. And he did hit the ball through it, and not only reached the green but then made the putt for a birdie. Whenever I think of that moment, I feel like doing TV again.

I haven't crouched to read a putt in 20 years because my knees are bad. But I read greens as well as anybody. The only reason golfers go into that crouch is because they see others doing it. Try standing tall when you read putts. I'll bet money it doesn't hurt your putting at all.

There are hundreds of players on the PGA and Champions tours, and not more than five wear a bucket hat. I don't get it. The bucket hat keeps the sun off the top of your head, ears, cheeks and face. The little brim is all you need to keep the sun out of your eyes. It's not good in the wind, but you can fix that by turning the sweat band in the back inside-out so it grabs the back of your head. But the bucket hat's ready to make a comeback. A lot of young people, rappers especially, are wearing it, and where rappers go, a lot of young people follow.

Blackjack rule No. 3: The last bet you lose is the largest bet of the night. The key is, the largest bet is always made with the house's money, not yours. If the biggest bet you make is with the cash withdrawal you just made at the ATM, you shouldn't be gambling.

I wore a toupee for years. I guess I was self-conscious about losing my hair at a young age, starting in high school. But when I turned 60 I threw it away. I figured at 60 it's permissible to lose your hair.