Golf agent Chubby Chandler appeared on Golf Channel's "Feherty" last night and host David Feherty said “after more than a decade on Tour, he won only once” so in ’89 he founded international sports management firm ISM. Feherty said as an “agent and manager, Chubby’s knowledge of the game and ebullient charm brought him to” some of the top golfers in the world. Feherty: “While they weren’t always marriages made in heaven, Chubby continues growing his talented stable of cricketers, footballers … and golfers.” Chandler said of former clients Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell leaving ISM, “Everybody’s different and the way we do things isn’t everybody’s cup of tea. Funny enough, Graeme left and Rory left, they went to the same agency and they went pretty much left for the same reason, that they wanted to be much more personally handled. Now I think we personally handle all of them.”
STYLE POINTS: Chandler said the “one thing I try to implore on a player is it’s all about us trying to help them reach their goal” and because he played, that is a “comfort to a player when he knows at the other end he’s got somebody that understands what he’s going through.” Feherty added, “Somebody that cares about him, not just a number on spreadsheet which is what you become with some of the larger management firms.” Chandler: “And it’s not all about cash. The cash can come later. You explain to a guy, ‘This deal’s bigger than that deal, but if we take this deal it’s better for your game and in three years time you might have won a couple of majors.’ That’s the way I try and play it, rather than say it’s all about trying to make some dollars now.” Feherty noted, “The common thread here is there’s a personable aspect to everything that you’ve done that’s come from not so much word-of-mouth, but actions. People have seen who you are.”
TOUR INFLUENCE: Chandler was asked how much influence he has on his clients' schedule, and he said, “The idea that I don’t like the PGA Tour is just ridiculous because the guys are trying to play here as much as they can. What they’re trying to do is be able to play everywhere and play the best tournaments if they can.” Feherty said also “make money if you’re being paid an appearance fee somewhere.” But Chandler asserted “it’s never my decision that, ‘You won’t play here and you must play there.’ It’s always the player’s decision.” Chandler said of his legacy, “If people remember me, he was an honest bloke who did his best and his players seemed to sort of react to that” (“Feherty,” Golf Channel, 6/25).
