"Who knows what's in his mind? What twisted dreams he has? Who knows why he deems to cut the hole where he does?" questions the voice-over in a national campaign for Odyssey golf clubs out of San Diego-based agency matthews/mark.

"No one can truly understand the evil that dwells in the heart of the greenskeeper." Nobody, that is, except his creator, Michael Mark. Hired to rejuvenate the brand associated with one of golf's leading putters, Mark conceived the greenskeeper to uncover a hidden truth, long since buried in the age-old sport: its design.

"With golf we're taught it's you, the golfer, and the golf course," elaborates Mark. "This whole campaign is saying that's an outright lie." In fact, argues the creative director, there is a greenskeeper who manipulates the course. You'll find him lurking on the green, crossbreeding grass and positioning holes in the most diabolical of places.

"We are saying that as the leading maker of putters, Odyssey knows putting better than anyone," continues Mark. "We have uncovered a truth about golf and the mythology is shattered forever. That's what it's all about; this crazy little guy who is an evil genius out there to torture golfers. He's hiding behind trees, watching us grimace and fall to our knees as we miss these little putts."

"Is he really evil or is he just doing his job? Well, we're going to say that he might possibly be evil. There's no other way the ball could move in such unpredictable patterns."

Two 30-second spots, "The Evil" and "Knowledge" were shot on location in Los Angeles by Moxie Pictures/The Industry director Pam Thomas. Two additional: 15s were cut from the footage and titled "Misread" and "Opponent." The commercials are slated to air alongside a print campaign in "Sports Illustrated," Golf TV, the Golf Channel and news programs.

"There are many elements that affect a person's golf game," comments Thomas, a veteran commercial-maker who has directed episodes of Sex and the City. "I thought it was really wonderful to focus on the person who does that, create a character study, and look at it from that point of view. We went to great lengths to try to make this character very three-dimensional."

Actor Michael Buscemi, brother to actor/director Steve Buscemi, portrays the greenskeeper. "We were very lucky to get him," says Thomas. "He did a really great job and I felt that he had just the right level of weirdness, ambiguity and tension to bring the character to life."

What could be weirder than a caretaker sharpening tools in a caddyshack sparsely decorated with Polaroids and taxidermy? "This guy's taking cuticle scissors and cutting it so finely that you're tricked," says Mark. "He's figured out a way of bending the grain of the grass so that it forces the ball to go in a certain way. It's all part of his pre-game routine."

"We thought of taking a golfer and wrapping him up in duct tape and putting him in the corner," adds Mark with a maniacal laugh. And if that isn't a testament to the deviance and detail, fans of The Practice may recognize the foreboding voice-over as that of actor Michael Emerson a.k.a. serial killer "William Hinks."

"We talked to a lot of greenskeepers when we were researching this [campaign] and found that on every single green, there's a nasty spot where they want to get back at the golfers," spins Mark as if he were around a campfire.

"Think about these guys. They all seem sweet and nice but they're taking care of a golf course where all the doctors and lawyers and rich folks are playing who don't give them the time of day. Well, this is their revenge! You think they don't get their payback? When you miss your putt on the18th hole and lose your bet, that's payback!"

Contacts:

http://www.matthewsmark.com

http://www.moxiepictures.com

http://www.odysseygolf.com