Over a 16-year major league baseball career, Mark Grace became known as one of baseball’s purest line-drive hitters. After he retired and found a second home on the celebrity golf circuit, he had an eye-opening encounter with a kindred spirit—another athlete adept at producing frozen ropes.
Speaking on this week’s Subpar podcast, Grace, a longtime AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am participant, recalled an unforgettable range session alongside Vijay Singh, who offered a masterclass in one of golf’s most valuable shots.
Like plenty of amateurs — even those accustomed to the spotlight — Grace said he was feeling jittery before his round at Pebble Beach, loosening up on the range when Singh, then at the height of his powers, set his bag down beside him.
Grace expected the three-time major champion to begin with wedges before working his way up through the bag.
But no. The first club Singh pulled was driver.
Rather than teeing the ball high and letting it fly, though, Singh did something surprising. He choked down on the club and started hitting low, piercing drives that barely climbed 15 feet off the ground. Golf’s version of a gap double.
“They were just bullets,” Grace said.
Grace introduced himself and asked Singh about his methods. He’d never seen a good player go to straight to drive on the range. What gave?
Singh offered a simple explanation.
“Mark, when you play Pebble Beach, you better have that shot right there,” Grace recalled him saying. “Because of the wind. It can be blowing 45 miles per hour. You better have that or you’re going home.”
The story prompted a broader conversation about Singh’s often-misunderstood reputation. Co-host Colt Knost said he’d always found Singh funny and engaging, while Grace drew a parallel to Barry Bonds, another superstar whose public image, he said, didn’t always match the person he knew.
You can listen to the full interview, along with more of Grace’s stories from Pebble Beach, on this week’s episode of Subpar.
