RUSH: I have played Pinehurst. The Boys & Girls Clubs, every other year, one of the chapters has a fundraising tournament where they sell foursomes to donors that then get to play the U.S. Open course as it is set up for the Open one month prior to the Open. Last year, it was Shinnecock. One of the years, it was Pinehurst, and it changes. That’s how I got to play Bethpage, which is where the PGA… (interruption) I need to turn that on, by the way. What am I doing sitting here? The PGA Championship.
Anyway, it’s at Bethpage Black. That is a monster of a golf course. I mean, these guys… Brooks Koepka at the end of the day yesterday was leading at minus 7 simply because he hits the ball a mile. Man, that course is a monster. (interruption) The most fun course? I don’t know. You know, golf, the most fun you have is the people you’re playing with. People ask, “What’s your favorite golf course?” It’s impossible to name a favorite golf course. They’re all unique.
I love Kukio on the Big Island Hawaii. Maybe that’s where I’ve had the best, because some of the most fun times I’ve had have been Kukio on the Big Island of Hawaii. But, man, you start naming golf courses, it’s like when people ask you what your favorite cigar is. If you don’t mention them all, you end up angering some people, and so I don’t. (interruption) The hardest golf course I have ever, ever played is the Olympic Club in San Francisco tied with Bethpage Black. They are just the hardest golf courses. But they’re all hard. They’re all hard.
Like, if you’re ever fortunate enough to play Augusta, you don’t care how hard it is. You’re just grateful that you’re there and get to experience it. In fact, the higher your score, the better. (chuckles) It means the longer you’re out there. (I’m just joking with you.) Pebble Beach is not… I mean, it’s just a beautiful place. There’s so many great places, but the most fun? Gee. I took a tour once with Tom Fazio, golf course designer, at some of his courses out in the Wyoming and Montana and Oregon, and you can’t beat that. Northern California.
They just opened a course out in Jackson Hole that we stopped and played. That was our last one on the way in to complete the trip. But, man, they’re just all great. It really depends on who you’re with, and most of the time they’re all good times, and then it gets down to if you’re playing well or not and do you get down on yourself? Do you start pouting if you’re not playing well? You’ve gotta fight through that. But just strictly difficulty? I found the Olympic Club to be impossible, and I was playing horribly that day. Plus, Bethpage Black is, and Winged Foot in New York is a gigantic challenge too.