Multi-Time Contestant of Golf Channel's Big Break, Audrey McCormick

242: Aubrey McCormick a contestant on Golf Channel’s Big Break Atlantis joins us to discuss what it took to get on the show for a third time, the level of anxiety that is part of the competition, and why she chose to play Dixon Golf balls on the show.

Golf Channel's Big Break was a reality competition show that ran from 2003-2015.

This conversation was originally published on May 25, 2012 as Golf Smarter episode #335

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
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(00:20):
that are no longer available in anypodcast app. So producers, when I
walked up for the third time,they all greeted me with open arms and
they welcomed me and said, Hi, Aubrey, great to see you again.
It was never that sort of feelingof oh, Greg, here she
is again. You know. Theywere very, very welcoming to me,
which made me feel like, Okay, wow, they remember me. The

(00:44):
reason why I believe I got onthe show this time was because I was
true to who I was, SoI wasn't trying to make anyone pick me.
I was being true to my roots, true to who I was meaning
answering questions, it's an honest answerinstead of what I thought. They wanted
to be here, and I believethat's very important. Sure I could have

(01:08):
gone in and been like, yeah, I want to be everybody on this
show, and I'm a tough guy. The truth is I'm not, and
I just wanted to get on theshow because I thought I really deserved a
chance. With another interview from thearchives of Golf Smarter, here's your host,
Fred Green. Welcome to the GolfSmarter podcast. Aubrey, Hi,

(01:30):
Fred, thanks for having me.Thank you for agreeing to participate since we
are just a lowly little podcast andyou are big time television. Now,
yes, I am a big greatAthlenis on a golf channel, The Big
Break Atlantis on the Golf Channel.I got to see episode number one last

(01:51):
night. Luckily it's on demand,and I was so excited to say,
oh my god, I get totalk to her, and now I have
somebody to root for for the entireseason. So you gotta gotta go deep
into the season here. I can'ttell you how I did, but I
tried my vest. So I'm hopingyou're gonna be excited with the show.

(02:13):
So tell me the process. Howonce we get to the show. We'll
get there in a minute. Buthow is it that you I guess,
is it an audition to get onthis show or what sort of competition did
you have to go through to getonto the show? Okay, so the
first step to getting on the showis you submit an application online through the

(02:36):
goolf channel dot com and then onceyou've submitted, you wait to hear back
and if you're chosen as a potentialcandidate, you will go for an in
person interview. So once I heardthat, then I chose to go down
to Ortlanta, Florida and do anin person interview. And in the interview,

(03:00):
they have you hit a couple differenttypes of shots and then they do
got a thirty minute interview face toface with one of the producers, and
then after that, whether you're chosenas a semi finalist or not, then
you'll move on to the next roundwhere they'll decide if you're chosen as a

(03:22):
finalist. So the whole experience isbased on I would say, a lot
of luck mixed with your story,your background, and your ability on the
golf course. And because it's thewomen's version of The Big Break, how
much of it is I don't wantto use the word exploitive, but how

(03:44):
much do you think of it?Their decision is based on, Oh,
she looks the camera loves this woman, and she's going to look great in
a bathing suit at Atlantis right,Well, not all of us were in
bathing suits. I would say thatthe one, you know, the show
was based for the audience, youknow, and if you have a lot

(04:08):
of people in the golf industry orthe sports industry and just in general,
you know, I think that they'replaying up to the assets that each player
has. So you know, ifyou've got somebody who's a little funnier,
they're going to catch that person oncamera making jokes. If you've got someone
that you know is a little bitmore let's say, intense. Yeah,

(04:31):
let's say if you have someone alittle bit more intense, then they're going
to put that person and you know, characterize them. It's sort of like
I guess you could say, thereare characters to the show, and the
producer's job is to enhance those characteristics, right, so that the viewers sort
of get the shock value out ofthis show. Right. Well, I

(04:54):
mean, so you can't discount thefact it's television. I mean, and
that's the point. It is television. It's entertainment. It's not for you.
It's a competition for us. It'seye candy and television. Right,
So they were going to have tofigure out ways to keep us entertained exactly,

(05:14):
and it's also a really great platformfor US professional golfers to showcase our
talents, our story and what we'reyou know, trying to do to make
our mark on call. So it'sfor the viewers. It's definitely entertainment,
but there's no discrediting the fact thatwe put our hearts into the show and

(05:38):
gave up all of our all ofour what's the word. I mean,
we've pretty much signed our signed ourimages and signed our likelihood over to the
producers. So so they own you. Now, I mean, you don't
that you didn't sell your soul,but they own the rights of your image
and as you progress not only inthe show, but as you progress it

(06:01):
as a professional golfer, they kindof have the rights to that. First.
Yeah, that's cret you know,part of the part of doing the
show you have to understand that you'regoing into television, and with television,
you're going to sign contracts and you'regoing to be, uh, you're going
to be legally tied to a networkfor a and it's not a crazy amount

(06:25):
of time, but you know,of course, and it goes both ways
to the player, because I thinkit's a blessing to be tied to the
Golf Channel because yeah, yeah,exactly, if you're trying to make it
as a professional athlete, what's betternetwork to be tied to? And the
Golf Channel and ABC Network, notthe Golf Smarter Podcast and the Golf Smarter

(06:49):
podcast. See, and you've alreadygot a leg up on every one of
them. Wow, I love it, thank you. So you know,
it's interesting. There's been times where, you know, everybody gets stuck or
hooked on watching some sort of realitytelevision show because they're everywhere now. And

(07:13):
I've had conversations with my younger sononce because the only thing he would want
to do is, oh god,not surviveor what's the one where they make
you eat live scorpions and stuff.I don't even know the name fair Factor.
That would be the only one thathe would ever do, because it's
so disgusting, it's so random.I mean, this is the kid who
only he wrestled for four years inhigh school because it was the hardest sport

(07:35):
they offered. So, I mean, he's the kind of kid who goes
after those kind of challenges. Butwhen we talk about other reality shows,
oh, you would be great onthe Bachelor, or you'd be you know,
one of those things. He's like, I would never submit myself to
that kind of stuff. I wouldnever let them just you know, take
take me like that and do whatthey want. So I guess my question,

(07:58):
but I think you almost answered already, but I'm gonna asking of it.
Why would you do this? Idid the Big Break because I am
looking to use my golf game asa vehicle for other initiatives that I'm very
passionate about, and also because Iwould like to get back into the game

(08:20):
of golf competitively. So I decidedto be the show because I see it
more as laying a foundation to somethinga lot more worthwhile than just being a
pretty face and you know, beingthe tall, skinny, pretty girl and

(08:43):
showing that there's more substance to me, whether it's the environment, or whether
it's mentoring foster children, or whetherit's the you know, just working towards
more substantial goals. And I thinkthe show definitely gave me the opportunity to

(09:05):
show that, you know, I'mnot just on here to flip my hair
and smile for the camera. I'mon here because I have an underlying mission
that will help a lot of people. Well, yeah, but you definitely
get to flip your hair and smilefor the camera and I certainly did.

(09:30):
And you don't you don't you don'tmind this. I mean, I'm sure
that you've had pictures taken of youforever. I mean, the beautiful all
beautiful women and you you're the you'reyou are the really tall one. And
when you put a group shot together, aren't you. Yeah, everyone has
pointed that out. I think it'sclearious to like, I know, I've

(09:52):
been living with it my whole life. I'm very tall. Yeah, I
mean it's like it's like people makingfun of your last name, what are
you going to do about that?Or even your first name. You can
change your last name, but yourfriend, it's like, well, I
didn't choose my name, somebody handedit to me. Right. You can't
help the fact that you're tall,exactly? And are you? I am
six foot? Oh? Are youreally? You're really tall? Yeah?

(10:16):
I'm pretty tall. So let's getto your passion on this. And you
have underlying themes that you're talking aboutof what it is that you're trying to
You have your own agenda on thisto help get that message out right this

(10:41):
since I got on the show,I auditions for the Big Break two other
times in my golf career, sotwice over the past five years, and
I never got a callback to beeven the semi finalist. And I think
the reason for that was because Iwas doing it for myself and I didn't

(11:05):
you know, I think my heartwasn't in the right place. It was
a little too self serving back then. And I took this past year to
work in Green America, which isan environmental nonprofit, and surround myself with
information that you know, I didn'tknow was there before. So the people

(11:30):
were different, the industry was different, the city was different. It was
just a completely one eighty shift fromwhat I was used to in the golf
world because a lot of times whenyou're an athlete, you're focusing all on
yourself. And yes, you cango volunteer time, but let's be honest,
most of it is spent on thepractice range and lessons with your sports

(11:54):
psychologists, and it's very self motivated. Yeah, like I understand, Yah,
Yeah, I mean I actually had. I was lucky enough one time.
Wow, you probably don't even know. There was a baseball player who
played in Chicago Hall of Famer namedErnie Banks. Did you ever hear of
him? No, No, youprobably haven't. You're too young. And

(12:18):
anyway, I interviewed him once andI asked him what he was. He
was retired at this point, hewas in his sixties, and I said,
well, what are you doing now? He says, well, I
played baseball during the sixties in Chicagowhen there was all this political upheaval going
on and there were riots in thestreets, he said, And I had
no idea any of that was goingon because I was playing baseball. And

(12:41):
so now I'm studying history and I'mfinding it absolutely fascinating. So you're right
when you when you're open, whenyou're an athlete focused on moving up to
the next level, you kind ofhave to have blinders onto what else is
going on? Right, Yeah,that is true. What's interesting, though,

(13:01):
is I believe that it's all aboutbalance. So you can have your
blinders on but still maintain that passioninside you for the causes that you hold
close to your heart. So forsome people, it maybe saving animals.

(13:22):
For the next person, it maybe you know, human rights, or
you know, whatever it may be, it's about Ballance, and it's about
having your blinders on, but havinga mission behind what you're doing, because
in essence, you will end upat the end of your life saying,
Wow, I wish I could havedone this. I wish I could have

(13:43):
helped more people, you know,And that's something that I don't ever want
to say. So by working withGreen America, by using the Big Break
as sort of a launching pad toget this message as your crossed about golf
and how we need to make theenvironment more sustainable in the golf industry,

(14:07):
and in essence, it's using peopleto help themselves. So I think,
you know, there's a way toit's sort of a balancing act and there's
a way to do it. Yeah, well, good for you. I
think that's fabulous and I think you'vepicked a an honorable message. And I'm
listen, I'm totally behind it aswell. Listen, I know I live

(14:30):
in northern California. How can youavoid it here? I look, you
look out the windows. Yeah,you look out the window, you see
it's beautiful, and say we gotto keep it this way. I mean,
what's what's the deal? You know, nothing against the people in Texas,
but when you look out in thewindow, you see air because everything's
flat. But hey, I loveTexas. Okay, I'm going to go

(14:50):
there. Orlando just as flat asTexas. Right, Orlando's flat. Right.
You auditioned to times before you goton this time, you said,
and when you came back this time, they went, oh she's back.
Oh Now, what I mean?How was it that you were able to
stand out? Was it that youfeel that you not only had the passion

(15:13):
for golf and you want to dothat, but you also had a better
story that moved you along. Didthey remember you? Well, this is
my thought. Okay, the producerswhen I walked up for the third time,
they all greeted me with open armsand they welcomed me and said,
hi, Aubrey. You know,great to see you again. So it

(15:35):
was never that sort of feeling ofoh great, here's here she is again.
You know. They were very verywelcoming to me, which, yeah,
which made me feel like, okay, wow, they remember me.
This The reason why I believe Igot on the show this time was because
I was true to who I was, So I wasn't trying to make anyone

(16:00):
pick me, so to speak.I was being who I was as being
true to my roots, true towho I was, meaning answering questions with
an honest with an honest answer insteadof what I thought they wanted to hear.
And I believe that's that's very important, because you know, I sure

(16:26):
I could have gone in and beenlike, yeah, I want to be
everybody on this show, and I'ma tough guy. But the truth is
is I'm not. And I justwanted to get on the show because I
thought I really deserved a chance.I do too, I think yeah.

(16:49):
And is there a point during theproduction of this while you know you're trying
to remind them that you have thisagenda? Is there something that they are
coming to you going, oh,we want to talk more about the environment
with you. We want to havehow do you incorporate that into breaking glass

(17:10):
with a golf ball. Well,I didn't push the environment or things that
I'm working on to them. Theone question I remember being asked was so,
what are you up to now,Aubrey, And I said, well,
I live in Washington, DC nowand I'm working at an environmental nonprofit
called Green America. And I justhad this sense that there, you know,

(17:34):
I sort of got a little widerand I didn't know anything, but
you know, I just felt youcan sense things, and so I didn't
really push that topic. You know, I went into it and said,
this is who I am, thisis what I want to do, and
take me for what it is.And how that translates into breaking the glass

(17:56):
or you know, even just makingit on the show is because I've always
believed that you have to achieve thesmall steps in order to get the major
goal. So whether you're breaking theglass, or whether you're taking the step
to recycle one thing out of yourhousehold, or you made it the flight

(18:19):
down for your third time interviewing,you know, it's about never giving up
and always taking the opportunity to head. So that could be translated into the
glass break in my opinion, becausethat's not your typical like most people would
say, oh, what's the bigdeal, But to a professional golfer,

(18:40):
breaking the glass and staying on theshow to achieve your dream, which is
the grand prize, is that smallstep to reaching your major goal. Well,
I mean they open the door alittle bit and it sounds like you
kick the door down, like,ah, my opportunity here. But also
the additive that you have is agolfer's attitude, right, You just just

(19:03):
gotta go for it. You gotta, you know, look for your opportunities.
Oh certainly, you know. Ilook at life with what's the point
in not knocking on the door?You know, there's that thing. It's
that all the doors are closed,Open a window and jump out. That's
what I believe, you know.And if you put a wall in front

(19:26):
of somebody, what are you supposedto do? Turn around and walk away
or figure out a way to climbover it, you know, And I
think that's the way to that's theway to just achieve what you want in
life. Even if you fall short, you're going to be a lot further
just because you try. The wayI went into business for myself, the

(19:52):
reason I had the courage to gointo business for myself a long time ago.
Well, this is a name droppingshow, and I apologize, but
I was John Madden's recording engineer forthree years and he used to say all
the time. He used to sayit to his football teams, and he
used to say it to me alot, and we had many discussions about
this is don't worry about the horsebeing blind, Just load the wagon exactly

(20:15):
right. And he said that whenhe would do that in football meetings,
you know before in his pep talkbefore the game. You know, he'd
get them all fired up and thenhe'd say, now, don't worry about
the horse being blind, just loadthe wagon, and the guys would go,
yeah, load and there would bea couple guys in there going what
you know, and the ones whodidn't get it, he was like,
you're not playing today until you figurethis out. If you don't get it,

(20:37):
then never mind. But you're right, you've got to if there's something
in your way, just go aroundit, just make it happen. Just
do what you gotta do. Andyou're doing that in now I want to
get back to the show. Imean, thank you for sharing your agenda,
and I'm makes me even more excitedto root for you. You know,

(21:00):
knowing a little bit more about youmakes me more excited to watch and
root for you. So there's there'sanother viewer on the Golf channel for you.
In the production of the show,they just treat you like royalty.
They bring you down to Atlantis,and how much of your own equipment,
of your own gear do you getto bring well? And how much do

(21:23):
they supply for you? You gotto bring your own gear. You get
to bring your own golf clubs andyour own clothing, and the only thing
that they supply for us are thecool big break Atlantis golf bags and then
some really cool logo rain gear.Thank god, we didn't really have to

(21:45):
use it this time. It's prettysunny there. But yeah, they do
treat us like royalty, and itwas you know, it's just such a
great experience. Yeah, because theyeven talk about one of the major responds
you the winner gets about one hundredthousand dollars shopping spree at this retail outlet.

(22:06):
But I'm sure that they provide youwith more. Really, just some
clothes to keep you dry and abag, yeah, because those are the
visuals. Those those work on thevisual side, right, exactly right,
And and so okay, it's good. You get to bring your own equipment,
so you have that confidence as youbring in your own your own clubs.

(22:29):
Actually I played yesterday. I usuallyplay with Dixon golf balls, okay,
and the Dixon Earth is like myfavorite ball, and I've given up
the Titleist balls, but Titleists sentme two four balls last week, saying
please test these out and let usknow what you think. I signed up
online, it's not because of thepodcast, and so I'm so I went

(22:51):
out and I played with these balls, and it's interesting. I'm so used
to playing with the Dixon earth Ballsthat I felt like I was using clubs.
I mean, I didn't know.Am I going to hit this ball
the same distance as I normally?Do you know if I pull out my
eight iron, which I usual hitabout one hundred and thirty five yards?
Am I going to hit this onehundred and thirty five yards? Or is

(23:11):
it going to go because it's atitleist? Is it going to go one
hundred and fifty? I had noidea. So do you do they supply
you with balls too? Do theyhave a sponsor for that or do you
get to bring your own? Well? Yeah, they do give us balls
if we request them. Okay,but I did bring my own and I
did play the Dixon Earth's golf ballon the show. Really well, see

(23:37):
how much we have in common.So you choose Dixon earth Balls because of
their you're consistent their consistency with yourmessage of sustainability. Correct, And you
know I cannot speak on the performanceadvantages between Dixon and any other brand.

(23:59):
But I I do commend them fortheir recycling program that they have with their
golf ball, and I believe that'sa stronger mission than I've seen, you
know, with a lot of equipmentcompanies. And to me, it's not
what ball you're playing. You know, you could play the titleist, you
could play Dixon golf ball, youcould play stricks On, whatever your preference,

(24:23):
but it's that balent, you know, of the recycling of the golf
ball, which is the small stepto the major final goal in my opinion,
and I think Dixon's doing a greatjob about that. I do too.
I couldn't agree with you more.And I think it's much more than
a small step because there's so manygolf balls that are lost each year and

(24:44):
people really think that they have animpact on their performance. But again,
it's a confidence thing. But that'swhy I'm such a fan. Although I
like the way they play, That'swhy I'm such a fan of the Dixon
balls because I just I love theirmessage. I love what they're trying to
do, and I just want tohelp support that and I'm glad that you
do that. Are they gonna isthere any way that you're gonna be able

(25:07):
to let the Golf Channel audience knowthat you are playing Dixon balls. Are
they gonna not bring that up atall? Do you know? Well,
I'm not sure. I'm not surebecause I don't know how they edited the
show. But I do know thatupon Dixon Golf's website they have me as
one of their professional athletes. Okay, and that's about it at the moment.

(25:36):
We'll see in the future if we'regonna add them and include them in
my sponsor portfolio, but for rightnow, that's the only place I've seen
that Dixon is being promoted. Okay. Okay, Now, I know that
you cannot reveal any details of what'sgoing on in the show other than episode

(25:57):
one has been aired at this pointas we're talking, and so do you
is are you guys done shooting?Are you have you finished all the Is
the season over as far as production? Yes, the season is over and
we are finished shooting. Okay,And now it's it's pretty much a surprise

(26:19):
for all of us who are onthe show what the each episode's gonna include.
And right, so that's good.Now I'm glad we're going there because
as somebody who produces video content,I'm so fascinated about about the production because,
first of all, it's very clearthat there's a tremendous amount of anxiety

(26:41):
intention from you guys as players,but it's also a TV show. I
mean, you have the anxiety ofI know, if I miss this shot,
that's it. I could be goinghome. It's it all rests on
this single shot. They made thatpoint very clear in this first episode.
But also I started like trying toread between the lines, and like,

(27:03):
even on the breaking of the glass, you have to every time they finish
with two people, they've got toreset the whole thing up. They've got
to clean up the broken glass,they've got to get a new set going.
Is there a lot of sitting aroundand waiting for something to happen?
Yeah, there is, like theysaid, and I think there's a behind

(27:26):
the scenes break the glass action ongolf channel dot com. But like they
said, you know, it takesthem about thirty five to forty five minutes
to put up a new plate ofglass, which means, yes, we
are sitting around and waiting in betweenshots, and it's sort of that hurry
up and wait mentality. So it'snot like your typical round of golf,

(27:49):
and it tests your nerves more thanI think any other situation on the golf
color. Yeah. So, andwhile they're setting up, are you guys
just sitting around chatting getting to knoweach other or do you get to go
out on the course and just keepplaying. Oh? No, we have
to sit around and wait and chat. Yeah, we're not practicing, we're

(28:12):
not warming up, nothing like that. And is there a large effort put
behind how to dull you guys up? I mean the makeup, the hair,
the photo shoots, the outfits.It seemed well they do that as
well, right, they've got todo that. Yeah, they've got a

(28:33):
hair and makeup team. You know, I think it's pretty close to any
other television show. But you've gota hair and makeup team, and you're
usually you know, when we're outon the golf course, we don't do
our hair and makeup. You know, that's where a lot of us are
ready to compete. So but youknow, in interviews and in the photos

(28:56):
you see online, we've had ourhair and nakeups. Okay, so the
first thing they had you do inthe in this first show, and if
you can remember these things. Idon't know how long ago this was shot,
but they had you. You're walkingalong the beach all by yourself,
as if it's not right, Likethere's nothing going on except you're enjoying being

(29:17):
out at the ocean, except there'sa camera crew following you. Oh yeah,
by the way, there's a guywith a camera in your face.
And then you come across a signand it says something. You're like,
hmm, what does that mean?And then all of a sudden you're standing
there barefoot, you know, inyour in your beach outfit, and you're
putting a one three or five footI guess it's a one yard, three
yards or five yard putt. Anddo you when they send you out for

(29:45):
a walk, what are they tellingyou? Just go read the signs,
go take a walk, we'll seeyou later, or all right, here's
what's gonna happen next? Is this? Like a producer sits down and says,
here's what you're gonna have to do. No, pretty much words lied
to walk eh rede signs and thengo up and make a putt. We
have to choose what put we wantto hit. I mean what you see

(30:07):
on TV, and that situation ispretty much what we had to do,
and you had no idea what theother girls were doing. You didn't get
to talk to them ahead of time, so they know. Nobody was like,
Okay, you're gonna be walking downthe beach and then there's gonna be
this sign. You don't talk toeach girl. No, the producers let
us know the situation and then wego one at a time. Uh oh,

(30:32):
is that why? They kept saying. So when there was the part
where you had to do the pitchshot and you had to land it on
the green and you had different pointsdepending how close to the pin you got,
they kept saying, and the othergirls don't know what the points are
because exactly so they keep you hiddenbefore they send you out. Are they
telling you, okay, you're gonnago just hit a pitch shot now,

(30:53):
or they keep you hidden from everybodyelse and then after you make your shot,
then you get to go and sitwith the other girls. Yeah,
it's pretty much what you see onTV, but it didn't make sense to
me. I couldn't understand. It'slike, wait, they're all sitting there,
how can they not know what thescore is? They're all sitting there
together. Yeah, okay, awesome. Well, I again this, I

(31:22):
don't know how many episodes they do. I honestly have never watched a full
season of The Big Break. I'msorry to admit, but I will now,
I absolutely will. Yeah, Ohlisten, and I'm going to be
bugging you. I know, I'mgoing to keep wanting to come back Because'm
gon always have more questions about this. But I'm as you progress farther and
farther, and again, I hopeyou make it all the way to the

(31:42):
finals. I would love to getyour feedback on how things go with that
and keep talking about the show ifyou don't mind, Yeah, no problem,
awesome. And of course, ifyou want to talk about well,
I'm not gonna say about Dixon Golf, but if you want to talk about
the sustainable of the golf industry,I'm really interested in talking about that and

(32:02):
see what other what other manufacturers aredoing with golf courses, are doing things
that you know about that you findinteresting that we can incorporate in golf.
I'd love to talk more about that, Okay, you I would love that
too, well. Aubrey Aubrey McCormickon Big Break Atlantis, Thank you,
so much for spending time with us, and best of luck to you,

(32:25):
not just only the big break buteverything that you attack. Thank you so
much. It's great chatting with you.