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By John Maginnes
PGATOUR.com Contributor

Before players on the PGA TOUR were considered athletes, there was Mike Souchak. Mike played both football and golf at Duke University, and he was inducted into the school's Sports Hall of Fame in 1976.

Mike was long before the long ball was cool. He had the ability to overpower golf courses and the talent to blow away the competition.

During the 1955 Texas Open Mike opened with a 60 -- tying the previous low round in TOUR history. It took 22 years and a man named Al Geiberger to do the unthinkable and best that mark.

Mike left Texas that week with his first PGA TOUR victory in a record-shattering tally of 27-under-par 257.

This single tournament scoring record stood for nearly 50 years. Mark Calcavecchia shot 256 at the Phoenix Open in 2001 to finally break Mike's record. Two years later, Tommy Armour's 254 at the Valero Texas Open set the mark where it stands today.

Mike is both nostalgic and humble when he talks about his PGA TOUR career that spanned nearly three decades. His 15 career victories and 11 top-10s in major championships certainly leave Mike in the conversation of best never to win a major.

At 80, he still has excitement in his voice when he talks about his years on TOUR. He has never strayed too far from the game that brought him fame. I recently spoke with Mike about then and now.

John Maginnes: You held the all-time scoring record on the PGA TOUR for more nearly half a century. What was your reaction when it was finally broken?

Mike Souchak: That record should have been broken a long time ago. (laughs) I got a phone call from the GOLF CHANNEL. Kelly Tilghman called and I got to chat with Mark (on the air) and congratulate him. The record should have been beaten a long time [ago].

John Maginnes: I think that you are being a little too humble, Mr. Souchak.

Mike Souchak: Well, you know with the golf courses today and the condition that they keep them in, it is surprising that the record lasted as long as it did.

Then you throw in the equipment and the golf ball -- especially the golf ball -- I just think that the players are going to keep going lower and lower.

John Maginnes: Let's talk about that a little bit. What is the biggest difference between when you played your best golf in the 1950s and '60 and the way that these kids are playing today?

Mike Souchak: They are more athletic than we were. I came out of a football background. I was a little more athletic than most. There were only two or three guys at that time that played anything other than golf.

The last thing in anyone's mind was to go and lift weights or get on a bicycle. To get in shape we ran to the bar after we played.

John Maginnes: Have you kept up with all the equipment changes over the years --particularly in the last 10 years?

Mike Souchak: I have tried to. The golf ball is probably the biggest difference. They can do so many things with the ball these days. They have balls that will spin and balls that won't spin.

No one in our era knew much about equipment. The only guy that I knew that tinkered with his wedges was (Ben) Hogan. He took a file and filed his 3- and 4-woods so that he could spin them and stop them. That was the first time that I realized about the grooves and making the ball stop.

John Maginnes: The debate these days seems to be whether Jack Nicklaus or Tiger Woods is the greatest player of all time. But you played in an era where there were certainly some guys whose name belongs in the conversation.

Mike Souchak: With Jack, the record speaks for itself. I played a lot with Jack. When it comes to Tiger I think that he is very special. But I think that Hogan had the best control of the ball and club.

Ben Hogan (Getty Images)

Unfortunately, he had that accident. There is no telling how good he could have been without that accident. I played a practice round with him in 1971 at the Colonial. They had invited us back to play long after retiring. We ran into each other in the locker room and he invited me to play.

It was just the two of us. On the seventh hole he hit his second shot to the green and he went to the ground. His knee had gone out. He didn't want to make a big deal out of it. He tried to hit a shot on the par-3 eighth. We walked the last two holes together and he went off to the doctor.

If he hadn't had physical problems, there is no telling how many tournaments he could have won. No telling how many majors. No one has ever controlled their golf ball the way that he did.

John Maginnes: Where did I catch you today?

Mike Souchak: In my office. We have a little golf car company for the last 35 years. I come in at 9 o'clock every morning. I am a nine-to-fiver now. I have an office job.

John Maginnes: Do you keep up with Duke athletics?

Mike Souchak: Well, for the last three years the girls have won the national (golf) championship. Dan Brooks has done a wonderful job. And, of course, Coach K's team is always exciting to watch.