SOUTHERN PINES, N.C. — Kay Cockerill does a lot of walking.
As an on-course reporter for Golf Channel and NBC, she walks with players during their practice rounds to earn their trust, and if there’s a player she doesn’t know, she walks right over and introduces herself.
She walks up and down the driving range, gathering intel from swing coaches and caddies.
And, before a single shot is hit in competition, she walks the whole course — fairways and greens and everywhere in between.
“I like to walk it to feel it under my feet,” she says.
That may sound like the kind of thing a bohemian on a spirit quest might say, but for someone in Cockerill’s role, it’s a sign of diligent prep work. The miles she logs — and things she learns along the way — are all part of the gig.
This week, she’s walking familiar ground.