David Feherty’s struggles with drugs and alcohol are well known. He’s shared his problems to anyone who would listen and the latest interview is with Rolling Stone. As he prepares to go full-time at his NBC/Golf Channel after 19 with CBS, Feherty was open about his dealings with depression and being diagnosed with bipolar plus all this while maintaining his television career.

As usual, he discusses with his normal humor and one-liners.

On a typical day when he was high and got drunk:

A typical day was 30-40 Vicodin and two and a half bottles of whiskey…real whiskey. Whiskey with an ‘e.’ There was cocaine, there was dope. When I think about it now I’m like, “Why am I alive?”

On how Tom Watson helped him to get sober:

I was doing a TV thing in Canada with Jack Nicklaus and Tom, and at one point, Tom just put his hand over the camera and said, “You’re not well, are you?” and I said, “No, I’m not.” I asked him how he knew, and he said, “I can see it in your eyes.” And I said, “What do you see?'” and he said, “My reflection.'”

And I didn’t know that Tom had a problem at that point. Very few people did. He said, “You need to come with me when we’re done here.” And I’m trying to back out; we’re on Prince Edward Island, and Tom’s [lives in] Kansas City, so I said, “How am I going to get to Kansas City?” And I hear this voice behind me say, “I have a G5!” So I’m getting heckled by Jack Nicklaus, who sent me there with his G5, and I went with Tom and he looked after me for 2 or 3 days and I’ve been sober ever since.

Feherty has stressed that his wife also helped him in his struggles by showing him love and taking him in when he was at his lowest point.

About being good in television:

There are advantages to having a mental illness. You know, I tell people I don’t suffer from bipolar disorder, I live with it. And I’d rather not have it, but whether it’s Autism, those kids are brilliant at something. They are all able-minded people who are good at something and it’s our responsibility to find out what that something is. For me, I see from a different side of the street than most people. And I think one of the reasons I got hired to do commentary is the ability to describe something differently.

Feherty always gives great quotes and as he moves to NBC/Golf Channel to cover events that he never had a chance to at CBS like the Open Championship, Olympics and Ryder Cup, he’ll find a way to provide us with some hilarity throughout.

[Rolling Stone]

About Ken Fang

Ken has been covering the sports media in earnest at his own site, Fang's Bites since May 2007 and at Awful Announcing since March 2013.

He provides a unique perspective having been an award-winning radio news reporter in Providence and having worked in local television.

Fang celebrates the four Boston Red Sox World Championships in the 21st Century, but continues to be a long-suffering Cleveland Browns fan.