Fred Couples Profile

Born: October 3, 1959 Birthplace: Seattle, Washington Height: 5'11" Weight: 185 lbs. Turned Pro: 1980 Bio Fred Couples is without a doubt the coolest player on the PGA Tour. The first golf tournament I can really remember watching from start to finish was the 1992 Masters which was of course won by Fred Couples. Since …

Born: October 3, 1959

Birthplace: Seattle, Washington

Height: 5'11"

Weight: 185 lbs.

Turned Pro: 1980

Bio

Fred Couples is without a doubt the coolest player on the PGA Tour. The first golf tournament I can really remember watching from start to finish was the 1992 Masters which was of course won by Fred Couples. Since then I have been hooked.

How can you help but cheer for Freddie? His easy going demeanor on the course coupled with the most effortless swing the tour has ever seen makes him a pleasure to watch.

In his prime Couples could do it all. He consistently ranked among the top in driving distance, hit his irons well, and had great touch around the greens. It was these finely honed skills that lead Couples to his '92 Masters title as well as the '91 and '92 PGA Player of the Year honors.

When growing up as a kid in Seattle, Couples had a love for all sports. He played baseball, basketball, and soccer in addition to golf. By the time he reached junior high though all of his attention turned to golf.

After high-school Couples accepted a scholarship to the University of Houston where he was named All-American twice in three years. After his third year at the University of Houston, Couples made the decision to turn pro, making it through the PGA Tour Q-School in his first attempt.

Freddie won three times in the eighties but in 1991 his career really started to heat up. He won twice in 1991 and three times in 1992 including The Masters and won Player of the Year both years.

Since 1992 Couples has won six times but back problems have hampered him on the course and diminished his passion for the game. Still he has competed on five Ryder Cup teams, three President's Cup teams and many other international competitions. When he decides to retire, Fred Couples will no doubt take his place in the World of Golf Hall of Fame and will always be remembered fondly by his millions of fans.

Quick Facts

PGA TOUR Victories

(15) 1983 Kemper Open. 1984 Tournament Players Championship. 1987 Byron Nelson Golf Classic. 1990 Nissan Los Angeles Open. 1991 Federal Express St. Jude Classic, B.C. Open. 1992 Nissan Los Angeles Open, Nestle Invitational, Masters Tournament. 1993 Honda Classic. 1994 Buick Open. 1996 THE PLAYERS Championship. 1998 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, Memorial Tournament. 2003 Shell Houston Open.

International Victories

(5): 1991 Johnnie Walker World Championship. 1994 World Cup [indiv]. 1995 Dubai Desert Classic [Eur], Johnnie Walker Classic [Eur], Johnnie Walker World Championship [Eur].

Other Victories

(18): 1990 Franklin Templeton Shark Shootout [with Raymond Floyd], Sazale Classic, RMCC Invitational. 1992 World Cup [with Davis Love III]. 1993 World Cup [with Davis Love III], Dunhill Cup [with John Daly and Payne Stewart]. 1994 Franklin Templeton Shark Shootout [with Brad Faxon], World Cup [with Davis Love III]. 1995 Skins Game, World Cup [with Davis Love III]. 1996 Skins Game. 1999 Franklin Templeton Shark Shootout [with David Duval], Skins Game. 2001 Hyundai Team Matches [with Mark Calcavecchia]. 2003 Skins Game, Tylenol Par-3 Shootout at Treetops Resort. 2004 Tylenol Par-3 Shootout at Treetops Resort.

Equipment

Couples is one of many tour players to use a Taylor Made driver. The biggest problem with the Taylor Made drivers is that there are so many prototypes out there it is tough to keep track of them all. The one Freddie uses is a Taylor Made 510 DF prototype. This is a 390 cc head with 8.5-degrees loft. It is fitted with a Harmon Tour Design CBX X-Flex shaft by UST at 44 ½"and a D3 swing weight.

Throughout the years he has stuck with the same fairway wood. A Callaway S2H2 3-wood with 15-degrees loft and a Harmon Tour Design GXX X-Flex shaft by UST.

Couples has just recently signed a new endorsement deal with Bridgestone. As part of his deal he will play the J33 combo irons. This is a forged set of golf clubs that feature a cavity back in the longer irons and a muscle back in the short irons. Couples carries them 2-PW with Dynamic Gold Sensicore X300 shafts at ¼" over length and a D2 swing weight.

There are two different wedges in Couples bag. The first is from his days as a Taylor Made staff player; it is a RAC black wedge with 54-degrees loft. The second wedge is a Cleveland 588 RTG with 60-degrees of loft.

Couples had a resurgence in has career a couple of years ago something which he attributes largely to his new "belly" putter, a Taylor Made Rossa Daytona putter at 44". Couples finds that his back doesn't bother him as much with this putter and he is able to practice a lot more with it.

The other part of his endorsement deal with Bridgestone is that he has to use the new B330 golf ball. Couples is very excited about this ball as he feels he gets more distance with it but still gets the feel he needs around the greens.

Update Feb 11/05 – Speaking of Mr.Couples… rumor has it that he is back to his TaylorMade equipment. A good friend of mine had a chance to talk to Fred over the Christmas holidays and Couples sounded really excited about playing his new Bridgestone equipment. My guess is that Bridgestone is tweaking some things for him and we should see the Bridgestone J33 Combo irons back in his bag soon.