Denny Hamlin made his reputation as a driver.
Bubba Watson made his reputation with his driver.
But Watson, one of the longest hitters on the PGA Tour, left his driver in the bag during Wednesday's traditional Par-3 Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club, a day before competition in The Masters started in earnest at the vaunted club in eastern Georgia.
Hamlin carried Watson's bag during the par-3 event played on Augusta National's nine-hole executive course. The par-3 layout measures 1,060 yards compared with the championship course at 7,435 yards. Short irons, not the driver, are the order of the day on the short course.
Hamlin and Watson have become close friends through their mutual interest in golf. Born in Bagdad, Fla., Watson now lives in Scottsdale, Ariz., where Hamlin spent much of the most recent NASCAR offseason working on his game. Coincidentally, both Hamlin and Watson play golf left-handed
Hamlin reportedly lowered his handicap considerably during the winter, but he is loath to admit it, given the damage a single-digit handicap might do to his ability to get an edge in the occasional golf wager. But Hamlin's talent was in evidence last year when he acquitted himself admirably in the Wells Fargo Championship pro-am in Charlotte, NC.
Serving as a caddie to the men who can really play the game is a different matter, even if it is in the informal atmosphere of the par-3 tournament, where golfers' children have the run of the fairways and occasionally hit shots for their fathers.
Hamlin got his shot to join the pros Wednesday, but missed a putt for birdie on hole No. 9. Still, the experience of being a participant at one of golf's most famous venues made an impression on the Joe Gibbs Racing driver.
"It was a cool experience to come to Augusta and caddie for Bubba in the par-3 tournament," Hamlin said. "We have become pretty good friends over the past couple years, and I have to thank him for the opportunity. I'll be rooting for him in The Masters this weekend."
Hamlin wasn't the only driver who got a taste of Augusta National this week. David Ragan visited the course in his native Georgia for early practice rounds on Monday.
"Being from Georgia, we kind of take for granted that the Masters happens right in our backyard," said Ragan, who drives the No. 34 Ford for Front Row Motorsports. "Some friends of ours always get tickets every year, but typically we're always racing, coming off a race weekend and getting ready for another race the following weekend.
"But we have the off weekend this year, so this was the first time I had some down time to be able to do some of the things that normal people get to do."
Though golf and NASCAR racing take place on vastly different venues, Ragan sees similarities between the traditions of both sports.
"Golf is one of the sports, like NASCAR, that really hasn't changed in how it's played since its inception," Ragan said. "You look at NASCAR, running the Daytona 500 and the Southern 500 and those types of traditional races. They stick with a lot of the same procedures that have been in place since day one.
"Technology might help drive the ball farther on the golf course, just like technology helps give us more horsepower to go faster, but the core basics of the sport are still very much the same as they were when they first started."
