A Conversation with Ryan Gerard

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Speaker 1: I miss a green, for example, I'm already upset.
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Speaker 2: When I find my ball in the bunker, I'm really upset. And when I find my ball.
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Speaker 1: In a brid Egg Frida Egg, the dreaded Frida Egg, Frida Egg, Frida Egg, Brian Egg, Frida Egg, Bride Egg Lie.
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Speaker 2: I'm about ready to run off the gump course game. Welcome back to another edition of the Frida Egg Podcast. I am your host, Andy Johnson. Today I'm excited to be joined by one of the breakout players of twenty twenty six, Ryan Gerard. He is fresh off a top ten at the Open Championship, his second top ten in his major career. He's had three runner up finishes on the PGA this year. He ranks now inside the top twenty five in the official World Golf rankings. Former North Carolina star has kind of broke out and he's one of the most promising young players on tour. So was really fun to chat with Ryan, kind of pick his brain about his assent and pro golf and his life on tour. So before we get to that, a quick moment to talk about ourselves. Here we have volume two of our book, Friday Golf Book. Volume two is up for pre order. This really helps us with understanding how many books we need to order. They will be delivered before the holidays. It is the second collection of golf course Profiles, which gives a sense of what we prioritize in our golf course coverage. It features full photography, original illustrations, and in depth writing from our team. In this edition, we hit some top one hundred golf courses everybody knows Oakmont, North Barrick, Fisher's Island, Royal, Saint George's Piners number two, but we also have some hidden gems like wild Horse, Saint Andrew's Beach to the best golf courses you can play anywhere for under one hundred dollars. One of my favorites is Garrett Profiles North Haven, a little nine holer on an island off the coast of Maine. So this is not just you know, your top golf course in the world. There's a real eclectic mix in this book. So we have pre orders open now through September fourth, and they'll begin shipping October seventh. These are great gifts. They are great things to have in your book collection, great coffee table book, and you can grab yours at proshop dot thefried egg dot com thanks to everybody who supported us with book one. If you go check it out, there are a lot of deals, whether you bundle volumes one and two, or you can buy those volumes one and two and a Friday Golf membership. Those are kind of the things that can really support what we do here. All right, let's get to Ryan Gerard. All right, Ryan h you had a video the PGA Tour came to your house or I don't know if it's a house or apartment in South Florida, and it went viral and it was mainly for the things that aren't in it, like like a table. I'd say it was spartan on cooking utensils. It was heavy on TVs and golf stuff. I'm curious if the house was on fire and you could only grab one thing, not your your golf clubs don't count. Your golf clubs do not count. You can't grab your golf clubs. What's the thing that you're saving from that house.
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Speaker 1: That's a really good question. I probably gotta go Samurai sword. Probably gotta go Samurai sword that I I smuggled back in the country from Japan. Uh I think I think that one, you know, because that's a twofold because if you're standing on the street when your house is on fire, you at least have something to protect yourself with, just a case someone rolls up. So no, I think a house, a house for twenty six year old dude doesn't really need a lot of decorations, just you know, strictly utilitarian and maybe some fun stuff sprinkled in there. So that's that's kind of the vibe that we were going for. And I'm sure in the future that will change, uh, But you know, while while we're young, we might as well have some fun with it and throwing some golf stuff, have some have some cool, cool memorabilia kind of put around the place, and yeah, we're just enjoying it.
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Speaker 2: When I wrote this question down, I was hoping that the sword was going to be the answer. You have, like you just like trading games out out in the living room. Is there anything about the house set up that you think has helped you improve as a golfer?
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Speaker 1: No, Like, maybe just the fact that I'm there and there's putting greens on the ground and putting mats everywhere, and we got training aids and stuff. So like you're almost like thinking about it, kind of like you're going to bed and you're hitting putts before bed, or you wake over in the morning and it's raining and you don't want to go to the course because the rainings you're hitting puts inside. But I don't think there's anything like in particular that's been like, yeah, like I'm crediting like two shots this year to this specific training aid. I think for the most part, it's just been like, you know, it kind of just kind of keeps the vibe light. One of my roommates plays on the corn Ferry Tour, so we kind of have a good you know, watch watch the NBA game or the the football game late at night kind of on one TV, still hitting putts, kind of testing things out, looking talking shop. So I think that's kind of more more the vibe that we're going for is if you're constantly thinking about golf, which I am. I'm sure most people are, you end up just like getting mental reps in and then it translates to good play. Hopefully that's that's what we're going for.
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Speaker 2: At least, I feel like the South Florida, you know, pro golfer roommate situation is pretty common. I would say most listeners probably aren't aware necessarily of this or lived in a situation where like you and someone else are are literally trying to, you know, crack the top you know fifty, you've already cracked the top twenty five of the world, And what are your conversations mostly about when you guys are actually there at the same time.
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Speaker 1: A lot of it's like just stupid shit, Like it's not we're not talking like legitimate strategy. But you know, if you if you have someone like Austin Hitlers with me, he's on the Cornferry Tour. He's been playing solid this year, but like, do you have someone that you could talk about, like, hey, man, like what do you think about this very specific shot at this point in time in the tournament? Like you know, downhill lie slightly kind of sketchy, Like I think it's going to come out lower because you know, there's not a lot of friction between the ball and the and the turf and slightly downhill, so it's gonna come out with less spin. And I'm trying to take on this front pin, like do you go hard at an eight or do you kind of trying two fingers of seven in there with a little cut like just like super nerdy, like into the into the weeds. Details that I'm lucky enough to have someone that I can like just bounce ideas off and say way vice versas. So I'd say from that that standpoint, it helps. But like, I don't know, we hang out all the time, we play golf all the time. Uh, when we're both in town, we're eating dinner. It's just it's kind of feeling like golf can be a lonely game sometimes when it's just you and your team out there, but it kind of feels like you have someone almost like a teammate at times to just kind of roll with you, kind of go through the the monotony and the grind a little bit and try and kind of push each other to become the best that you can be at your craft. Well you know, still trying to beat each other.
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Speaker 2: So, uh, something about you that caught my attention this year was you you were talking about the scott the shot that you got obsessed with after playing with Scottie Scheffler. Could you describe the shot that that he had, this weapon that he has that then you you know, kind of maniacally pursued for the next month and went in the moment of like, hey, I can actually hit this.
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Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean I'd say I'll go even further back for some of the some of the real kind of super super golf junkies. I played a college event with Matt Wolf in twenty nineteen and he hit this bunker shot where he got his hands so low and kind of just like kept speed up that the ball went straight in the air. And like, I spent probably the better part of three weeks trying to figure out how to get a ball to land that soft for the bunker shot. And obviously the way that he delivers the club into the ball allowed him to do that better than I could just with my swing path. But it kind of taught me that, you know, do you see someone do something, it may not necessarily be for you, but there's a reason and why learning how to do that or being able to replicate something similar is important. So I was playing with Scottie the final round in Houston last year, and I think he shot like sixty two and I know, up finishing second, just you know, very average for him apparently, but he's hitting some shots that you know, if I hit a nine iron and he might be hitting seven iron, and I'm like, well, I just know that that's he's not too clubs shorter than me. But just the way in which that he went about hitting some of these off speed shots, they almost seem to go just as high, if not a little higher than like a stock one, and the way they land is like super soft. But he can control distance with those like incredibly well, which is is very rare because when you normally hit an off speed shot or the way that I was taught, you know, you choke down or you kind of like finish low through it, and it's almost more of a punch than it is like just like a smooth full swing. And whenever you take speed off, it's it's really hard to get the ball in the air. And the reason why that becomes a up and for him is when you go play a US Open or Players or somewhere where the greens are really firm and pins are tucked really tight, all of a sudden, when you have an in between shot, he has a much larger area that he can land that golf ball in and have it stay kind of where he's looking than someone who's landing a lower trajectory flighted shot into a green. Not to say Scotty can't hit the lower shot, like I think he's probably better at hitting the lower shots than those guys. Not everyone is, But I went about trying to figure out how I could seemingly replicate kind of that shot, and for me, it was a feel that I found where it's a slight choke down, slight ball for it in the stance and you kind of feel like you're really smooth like into the ball and then I'm speeding up like right when I get to impact, and just like keeping the hands high through it. And it it worked for a bit for me. I don't think it's been as consistent as I want it to be, and I'm sure it's something that I need to work at more, but kind of when you get into the season and there's so much going on that I'm not really working on individual shots. I'm more just trying to encapsulate the game as a whole and make sure things are as sharp as possible on a week week basis that it's kind of felt with the cracks, but I think that's one of a couple of things that I'm to be looking at this offseason of how to kind of incorporate that into my repertoire a little bit more consistently, because when you want to hit a six iron one hundred and thirty feet in the air, you know, it's it's a really really hard task unless factors are lining up perfectly, and just to have that on a moment's notice when you need it, when it pins tucked or you know, green skit firm, or things are running away from you, it gets super down winding. You got to just twice one up there. It can make It can make all the difference in the world.
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Speaker 2: I found it fascinating, you know obviously, like I think so many times you hear players of your ilk talk about, oh, like you know, it's just a day, I got a lot of bad numbers, and you know, it's like kind of what you were talking about, where you're in between a lot of clubs and it's hard to get up pins because the ball's coming in a little bit flatter because you might be taking speed off or you're trying to muscle something. And like the idea of Scottie, you know, being you know at the top or near the top of every year an iron player, and it makes it It's like, oh, that's how he gets at all these pins because he could still hit these irons at a high level, you know, launch them high landhom sooft even if he's in between clubs. You seem like you're kind of a very astute spectator while you're inside the ropes. Is there if I said, you know, what's one thing that one guy on tour does that you're just always amazed about? Is there something that comes to mind?
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Speaker 1: I mean, jason days chipping is unfathomably good. I mean I could say the same about Danny McCarthy's putting. I've watched Denny put the eyes out of it, and then I've also listened to him talk at a clinic about how he putts, and for the life of me, I don't understand a single word that he's saying, but he just rolls the crap out of it. But I played with Jason a bunch this year, and he is probably the most creative player when it comes to chipping, pitching, bunker shots, stuff like that. And it's and it's because he feels so confident and where he's going to land the ball, Like he feels like he's got his landing spot so good that he's not afraid to try and flop one over a bunker and land it in a strip of fringe that's eighteen inches wide to kill it, Like he knows he's going to hit it there. So you see him hit all these shots that are really cool or have different spins, different trajets and stuff like that. And I mean I played with him at bay Hill this year. We were both shooting a billion on Thursday, and he was hitting it all over the lot and he was getting up and down. I mean he got up and down from like there's a bunker on fourteen at Bayhill, which is like not even in play, and he's not in the bunker. He's like in the left side of the bunker where there's a palm tree growing out of it. And he hits this perfect little shot and he hits it so good that he lands it like in a sprinkler head and it rolls out like ten feet further than it should have, and he had eight feet and it was like, dude, how so he If you ever just get a chance to go to a practice round, or if you ever had a master's practice round and you get a chance to watch Jason Day just get creative around the greens. It's it's special, man, It's really really cool.
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Speaker 2: Yeah. I remember years ago, you know, when he was like number one player in the world, hearing stories of him in Palm Desert where you know, he would just spend like eight hours at a chipping green just hitting shots all you know, all different types of spins. Like like I watched a social video once of him talking about hitting like a like a cut lob, and I remember like at that point I was I was more in ner vein of like I was single, uh, and I like I was living in Chicago, and I remember I literally got in my car and like drove forty minutes to go practice chipping because like it was like, you know, I'm watching this video, I'm like, God, like I've got this all wrong. You know how it hit like certain shots he is it's amazing. Like I it's always going to be what if, like with the injuries and the vertigo and everything that he's kind of had to deal with because the short game in the putting was just so incredible and in its age so well. I read an article that I think you wrote. It was a golf digest my shot, and you were talking about like an early career and being down. You were in Panama and you were down to ten thousand dollars in your bank account. You didn't really have many sponsors, and you said, I knew something good had to happen and soon. I wanted to understand as a player, what's the feeling like when you know you're running out of money as a pro golfer.
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Speaker 1: Yeah, and I think I would clarify for everyone. Ten thousand dollars there was a lot of money. But when you're spending twenty five hundred to three thousand a week on the corn Ferry tour just to like survive and do it kind of as mid level of as a cost as you can while still giving yourself a chance to succeed, it does. It does go quickly. There's something that kind of like beats at you a little bit when you know that your back's up against the wall, and it kind of triggers a little bit of a fight or flight, But it also kind of like brings out that that dog in you a little bit, and you have to have it if you're going to be super successful in anything, but especially the competitive sport. In my opinion, because you know, when you get in it, you get a chance down the stretch to win a golf tournament. You get a chance to close something out, like you kind of have to eventually find a way to step on someone's throat and just do it and get it done. And I just remember being in I was sharing a hotel room with Andrew Cosin and Panama, and We're sitting there like, well, I got to go to Colombia next week and then I got to go to Argentina and Chile the weeks after, and those are aren't cheap flights, and I'm living in my parents guest room, and it was like one of those were all right, man, Well, I've worked my entire life twenty two twenty three years up until that point to like get into a moment where like, you're playing golf at the most competitive level that I could, which was Cornferry Tour, which is third best tour in the world. So I felt like I was in the right spot, doing the right things. It was just, hey, you got to take advantage of your opportunities when you get them. And I remember I went out and shot like sixty four in the first round. I was leading and I ended up making the cut. Didn't play great on Sunday, but got got enough confidence, got enough points and some cash to go the next week in Colombia and I don't finishing like third and it was kind of just I felt freed up for the rest of the year. But remember sitting in that hotel like split a hotel room that's ninety five dollars a night with another dude in a country where you know you're trying to find a buffalo wild wings down the road to get a decent meal that isn't crazy expensive or completely weird to me, And it kind of there's something romantic about, you know, going through a struggle to appreciate the things that you have, But at the same time, it really makes you want it even more because you're so close to that next level, which is the PGA Tour, but at the same time, you're so far away from being the top dog, and it just kind of eats at you to keep working and keep pushing and just make sure that when you have that chance to kind of give yourself that next step, that you're going to do everything in your power to take it.
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Speaker 2: Do you feel like that experience sticks with you now you're top twenty five player in the world.
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Speaker 1: Yeah, definitely. I think you have to remember where you came from. You have to appreciate how you got there. And I'm super lucky that you know, things worked out for me at certain points, like I don't know, like the most important shot I ever hit in my career was probably a nothing gap wedge into a par five and the final hold of a PGA Tour Canada Q school like four years ago, so like that, I still remember that more than I remember shots at I don't know, US Open two years ago. But when you get to you know, the next level, then it's like, well, how do I get even further? And how and even further? And I'm sure even when you get to number one in the world there's still something that eats at those guys. It's like, well, how do I get better? How do I get better? I think that's something that's really cool about golf is there's no such thing as perfect. Like you can shoot fifty nine and still feel like Michael Kem probably still feels like he left a shot or two out there last week, and you just know that you want to get better, you want to push yourself, and just when you think you got to figure it out, I'll come kick you in the freaking face and you'll just have no chance, and you'll shoot seventy five and make no birdies in the final round of a major like I did two weeks ago, and all of a sudd and you're sitting there like, oh man, I thought I had it, but back to the drawing board. And I think that's what's humbling about this game, but also just really really awesome because everyone that goes through it on every different level feels the same way in one way or another. I mean, a ten handicap goes out there and stripes a seven iron, so you probably thinking about that for a week. I hit a really sick chip shot, I'm thinking about that same shot like two weeks from now. So we're all in the same boat. I'm just lucky enough that I have a bunch of time and resources I might dispose of to kind of do it as often as I can and just put a lot of effort into into the craft.
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Speaker 2: Yeah, the pictures, the visual pictures. I mean, I feel like so much has happened for the re the just the regular golfer they you know, the greatest inspiration for all of them should be the Rory clip of him saying, God, I suck this. I suck at golf, Like why do I like? It's like everybody feels the same range of emotions and in a way, you guys, I think, like the thing I often tell like my friends is like, you know, the tour pros are actually like more frustrated and think they suck more than more than you know, the people that only play on the weekends.
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Speaker 1: Dude, I probably call myself a loser like six times a day. And it's like not because I actually feel like I am, but it's just like that's what it does to you. Like the game is so frustrating, but that's why that's why I love it, Like I if it was easy, Like I get bored of it. And I think that's kind of why it captures my attention and probably capture you attention and millions and millions of people. Is you know, there's something so awesome about executing the perfect shot or hitting a great shot or making a birdie putt or making your first eagle or whatever it might be, that it just like it keeps you coming back and it's the same thing. It's like, man, like I made every part I looked at three days ago and it's like, oh, dude's best feeling in the world, Like, dude, I can't wait to put so.
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Speaker 2: And then the next day you probably will feel like you've never.
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Speaker 1: Put yeah, And then the next day it's like I need to switch putters, Like this is stupid.
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Speaker 2: Have you had like a moment where you you feel like that you made it or are you do you have you still not had that moment.
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Speaker 1: I don't think I've made it because I wouldn't say I haven't done enough in this game to consider myself like someone that has made it, Like, yeah, I won an event, but it's still like unnerving when you get recognized, like in the airport sometimes, or you know, if I'm wearing a titleist hat out and about near my house, like there's a pretty good chance that's someone comes up to me. But I haven't made it because I've seen the guys that have made it, like kind of what their life is like, and it's a whole different world, and that's not necessarily like something I'm like super stoked about, Like, but I think that's what the money's for. That's what the the good play gets you and if you want to be, you know, at that level, you want to win majors, you want to compete at the highest echelon of the game. Like that's part of it, and you just got to take it in stride because at the end of the day, man, Like, there's so many people that are giving up their hard earned dollars to come see you in person, or giving up their time and putting effort in to turn on the TV to watch you play. Like that's that's all you could ask for, is someone to care about what you're doing. And that's that's pretty special. So I don't think there's a whole lot of people tuning in to see Ryan Gillard play every Thursday afternoon on PGA Tour Live. But yeah, yeah, but you know it's it is cool, man, because like we appreciate like more than people can imagine. Like, dude, I would be able to do this if people didn't care about professional golf as a as a whole. And I'm lucky enough that I have the best job in the world because of this.
00:26:19
Speaker 2: Your dad was a great player, he played professionally. Uh for a bit I saw on UH in that same Golf Digest article, What what benefit do you think your dad being a golfer and somebody that played at a high level play in your development.
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Speaker 1: Yeah, my dad played. He played in college and then he turned pro and he played for a little bit and just kind of wasn't for him. Like he was better at, like you know, going and putting one hundred dollars in a pot and doing a winter take all than he was like trying to grind it out in a tournament. But I think, honestly, what what helped me is he had that mindset, like he knew how to get to that level. So he wasn't necessarily like easy on me. Like he was pretty hard on me when I was a kid because he knew that I had the desire to play well and that's all I wanted to do was going off for some play. But he instilled things like routine grip, putting a line that stick down on the range, just stupid stuff like that that when I was eight years old, I thought it was the dumbest thing ever because no one else was doing it. But when I look back now, like I rarely hit any sort of iron shot on the driving range without of alignment stick down, and like that's when my dad was saying to me eighteen years ago, and I thought he was stupid, but like, come to find out, he was really right. So I think just him being stubborn and being hard on me about those things that have like basically it's stilled the practice, the discipline, the mental kind of game a little bit, and just being a competitor, Like he didn't want to lose to me. We'd go out and play. That's all I want to do is go play golf of my dad. When I had a chance to, we'd go out and play, and he's like, do it his absolute best to not let me come close to beating him, until it was like he just couldn't, he couldn't be me anymore. But I think all those things that you grew up doing, Like I grew up because I want to spend time with my dad, but I grew up loving the game, and then I grew up understanding that it took a lot of effort, It took a lot of hard work, and then it also took you know, just luck and talent and intangible things that you can't really teach. And but it goes beyond that. You have to want it more than anyone else could want it for you, because if you don't want it, it doesn't matter how good you might be, Like you're never going to want to put in the amount of time or effort to make a worthwhile for everyone that's trying to get there with you.
00:28:55
Speaker 2: As you've kind of come up on the on the PGA tour and in the corn Ferry Tour, did you get any advice or messages from other players that that kind of stuck with you?
00:29:10
Speaker 1: Olan Brown Senior has given me some awesome, awesome tidbits. I mean, there's been a lot of guys that have been like super willing to help. And I think that's was surprising to me because you would think that as a competitor, you know, someone that you're not trying to gate keep young guys out, but like, hey, this is this is the job, Like I don't want to give someone an edge, But people have been like super thoughtful and super generous with their time to me. But something that Olin Brown Senior that stuck out to me as I was playing with them one day at Pedalist And the big things that he says are like put your phone down, like when you're out here it's time to work, Like cut off the distractions tournament week, you know you're playing good, you have three hundred missed text messages like get to a Monday, Like it's not it's not gonna hurt everyone if you wait two days. And I think the last thing is just like, if you're good enough to have gotten there with what you have, and you're good enough to be playing as well as you are with what you have, you're good enough to finish the job, or you're good enough to get to that next level. And I think that kind of goes hand in hand with you gotta work hard, you gotta you gotta be honest with yourself about where you stand. But you know, if you're on Sunday coming down the stretch of the back nine, but you've played good enough with what you have to get in that position, like you have what it takes to get it done. And I think some guys, the first couple of times they get in that situation, youll freaked out because you want it so bad that you're almost afraid of messing it up. I don't think people really fold because you know they don't know what they're doing, or they're losing it. It's because they want it so much that they're trying to do too much instead of not doing enough. And it's just something to kind of remember, is like, dude, if I played good enough to keep myself in this position, just keep doing what we've been doing because you know it's going to work out. And I think that's that stuck with me a lot, just in life, but also like trying to win golf tournaments is don't need to change anything just because there's three holes left, Like you've played sixty nine holes of great golf likes, so go keep making good swings.
00:31:39
Speaker 2: I think that's like, uh, it's incredible advice for golf obviously. I think like the you know notion of probably one of the harder things about the tour is like there's so many shiny new things everywhere you look, and the ability to do this, whether it's with your swing or your putting, or your short game or your equipment. How do you balance like trying new stuff with knowing what you got got you to at this point, top twenty five in the world.
00:32:11
Speaker 1: I think you're always looking to get better, and I think that's the kind of double edged short of having the world at your fingertips where I could go and ask for custom clubs, custom whatever, like it's really cool, Like it's awesome, and like the golf junkie and you was like, dude, well, what if you you know, what if we made this custom set of irons that had a little less offset and like you know, we had freeware on the leading edge so it got in the turf a little bit different and all like, yeah, it'd be awesome, like theoretically be sick and it would probably work, But you know, how much how much can I trust that that's that like those clubs that I've never hit in a single competitive round of golf, that have ever mattered in any way, shape or form, are going to be as good as the irons that I've been playing for four years. That when I pick the eight iron up, I know exactly what it's going to do. I know the numbers that it's going to fly with every different shot. Like you don't want to get lost in the process of trying to improve just for the sake of improvement, And like you could pick on guys like Bryson, who's probably gone down the rabbit hole so much that like they're looking at solving the equation with equipment instead of like marring golf swing and feel to what you have availed by your disposal. But for me, like if I find something great, I want to stick with it. But you do have to sometimes stay a long look in the mirror and be like this three iron is just not it. Like I, for the life of me, I don't know what it is. I've given a great shake. I feel like I'm making good swings with nine of the other clubs. It's just like this one needs work. Or you know, I just cracked a three wood couple of weeks ago, Like, hey, like I have to be real particular with whatever is going to go replace. The new club is going to feel exactly how I want it to feel. And that's just part of it. Like you got to you got to be one hundred percent committed to whatever you're going to put in play in a tournament that that's the right club. And you can't get nine holes in and be like, oh dude, why did I pick this putter or why am I playing this wedge grind instead of this wedge grind? And I should have just stuck with whatever. But I think you do learn sooner rather than later that being comfortable over a ball is the most important thing. Like, if for some reason you put something down and you just don't feel comfortable over it, you're not going to be able to make a great swing out it, just because you're not putting yourself in a position to succeed from the get go. So I think a time, you know, does it look good? Does it feel good? Do I feel like I can hit a good job? And if I feel like I can hit a good job, I probably can't with this golf club. Despite if the numbers don't say that it's perfect for me or this one's better, whatnot. You have to truly believe that you can, otherwise you're probably not going to put a good golf swing on it.
00:35:44
Speaker 2: All right, let's take a quick break for some words from our partners. You had to break out your last year, you won the Barracuda and then you took a last minute flight or last minute entry to the Barisius Open to qualify for the Masters, which you achieved with a runner up. Finished there. This year you've kind of continued your ascension. You have three runner ups. I haven't fact checked this, but I'm just gonna assume that second to Scottie on tour of most second place finishes. How does it feel that like where you're having this great year, but I imagine you're you feel like you're a little frustrated you didn't get across the line. What does it feel like to fall short in an event like the Memorial?
00:36:44
Speaker 1: That sucks? Dude? I would say, you know, I'm probably as hard on myself as anyone really could be, and that's because I expect, you know, good results. Have put a lot of effort, I want it. I'm willing to put in the time to effort, the sacrifice, and at the end of the day, I'm like probably one of the most competitive people that was out there. So yeah, it sucks like it's the fucking worst. Like I just, you know, I'm pissed that I couldn't get across the finish line, but I could hang my hat on the fact that I did everything that I could in all the moments to kind of hit golf shots down the stretch, execute under the gun. When I needed to make a putt on seventeen, I made a putt when I need to make a putt on eighteen. Of course, Platoff made the putt like I did so many good things and it just wasn't enough, which is almost worse because like it'd be easier to just point out like one stupid mistake that you made and be like, well, that's the reason. But I think it kind of just reaffirmed something to me that like seven two holes is so much golf, and sometimes you get hung up on what happened during a playoff or during the last six holes of the six holes of the golf tournament instead of you know, hey, I made a really really stupid decision on Friday morning and like made a boneheaded Bobie from the middle of the fairy of Little Ledge when you know that shot is is the difference maker at the end of the week, instead of you know, anything that you did on whole fifteen. So I think it just kind of, you know, it doesn't it eats at me in the way that I'm learning, I'm going to get better. It's it's making me work harder, it's making me more kind of like ready to get back out there. Like I want that feeling. I want that I want the ball in my hands in that situation. But like it's making we feel like I using all four rounds to be a little bit more. That's it particular. It is the word that I'm looking for with you know, shot seledge and stuff like that. You're not just kind of like not that anyone's really just like nailing it in on Thursday Friday, but you know, sometimes you just you played six weeks in a row and you're just tired, and you kind of fall asleep at the wheel of the third hole, and it's like whatever does matter, and it just kind of is a reminder to stay locked in, give every shot you're all and just kind of give everything complete focus when you're out there and really do the best that you can.
00:39:40
Speaker 2: I think, you know, interesting thing to think think about, like us people that work regular jobs, Like it's completely normal to have a day where you're just not feeling it, you know, does that happen on tour? Like you said, Oh yeah.
00:39:56
Speaker 1: Like I I remember Friday Colonial I just woke up. I was feeling horrible and I have no idea what was going on. I shot like sixty four or sixty five in the first round. I was like first or second place went out, made birdie on the first couples went ou. I'm feeling better then, I like hit a ball five yards left of the fairway on three paced, the tree kicks forty yards left out of bounds, and I'm like, I just like don't want to be here right now, man, Like what are we doing? And yeah, you're just like, dude, this sucks. Like I feel like crap, it's one hundred degrees out before it or like there's not enough ice on this planet to like keep these coolers like from melting, and you just kind of you kind of have to dig deep and suck it up. Sometimes it's like damn, Like I know ten thousand kids that would give their left arm for an opportunity to be where I am right now, And I know one hundred and fifty guys on the corn Ferry tour that I want to come take my job if I just want to bow out just not not put an effort right now. So you kind of gotta just dig deep and go out there and try and execute. You know, just give whatever you have that day. You know some days you know it's not feeling great, not feeling great, putting, not feeling great, whatever, Just go give it whatever you have with what you have that day, and that's kind of all you can you know, not saying like it's going to be perfect, but just find a way to kind of be greasy and get in a hole sometimes. And I think some guys are really really good at doing that, like John Perry or Rookie He's really good and just get on like like a day that he's just like not having a good one and stuff like that's impressive. It's almost more impressive sometimes than a guy that's just like blacked out hitting everything where he wants to. It's like I did, he's just feeling it. But like someone turning a seventy two into a sixty nine when clearly it's just not going the layer. They're just not in a good spot physically or mentally. It's that's almost more impressive than really really really elital.
00:42:16
Speaker 2: I feel like if you like look at a basic level, like the difference between PGA Tour golf, like and then like the different like if you thought of it as like tiers of golfers all the way down to the corn ferries, just like who who shoots sometimes the best bad round?
00:42:36
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think it's who's who's like C minus game is like the most consistent, right, Like you know, everyone can miss a cut. Everyone can shoot seventy five, but like you know, Xander Shoffley, when he shoots seventy one, it probably should be seventy three. He's just really good at shading two shots off. Like play with them Sunday at Augusta this year and he shot sixty eight and it looked like a seventy two the whole time, and it was just like, I felt like he didn't get anything out around and he turned it into something really solid on a day that was playing difficult. And that's super impressive, and that's why he's one of the best at what he does. You'll see guys on corn Ferry and America's Tour, many tours, and you know, hey, man, driver's just not there. We're still hitting drive and it's going sixty yards offline. We'll find it and we'll hit it again. It's like that that doesn't fly sometimes at the highest level. Sometimes you just got to find a way to get in the hole. Even if you know, even if your stats guy tells you can striver on the soul, dude, you got to make a decision in that moment. Three iron or four arm might be awesome, just like get let's just get it in the fair away figured out from there. And obviously, you know, some guys are really good at feeling you know, a shot or feeling good or stepping up to the plate executing something really spectacular. But it's the guys that can just kind of manage their misses, like they never really miss it in the wrong spot, They're just kind of missing it in the right spot all day. Like those are the guys that end up, you know, with really long, really successful careers.
00:44:30
Speaker 2: Do you think I I, you know, just spark something. Is there like an art to like really having a great feel of an event in a tournament and like when you need to push and when you need to just you know, is there is that an art in tournament golf.
00:44:48
Speaker 1: It's there's like an intangible momentum shift feel that some guys have when it comes to you know, stepping on the gas on like a Friday afternoon, Saturday afternoon, or you know, kind of finding a way to squeak in a mad cut, like like there are guys that just have that, and I think I'm I'm pretty good at that. But I'd say the biggest thing is, like, you know, for example, I've talked about this with my sports psychologists A decent amount if I just hit like a really bad shot or a make a really stupid three put or just something really ridiculous, or I'm upset, Like being pissed off is like a super power for me, Like I feel like the next shot that I hit is usually exactly what I want to do, and leaning into that being a little bit more aggressive when I have that feeling like not being stupid, but like, hey, like there's a couple of bunkers, Dude, hit driver, because like I'm going to hit it right where I'm like where I want to because I'm so frustrated with you know, a ball bouncing off a flagstick or this in a fore foot or whatever it might be, that I'm using all of that frustration and all that negative energy and it's just like I channel it somehow subconsciously into the next shot is always nine percent of the time it's right where I want it. So just understanding that I think some guys are really good at, you know, other things, but like I'd say, for me, that's kind of something that I've learned and something that I can kind of take advantage of. Obviously, it sucks because you have to play that in order to then use it.
00:46:39
Speaker 2: But you got to figure out how to get the urge, right.
00:46:43
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, just but then you then you end up being grumpy the whole day, and that's not really what I want. So it's it's a it's a happy medium. But i'd say there's there's a there's an art. It's it's not really describable, but it is. You can see it on some guys faces, Like if you want, Patrick can't lay. You can see the look on his face when like it's time to kind of go. It's it's a different look. You can see it on like I guess Rory's like bouncey walk is probably something that a lot of people have noticed. Like that's like an interconfidence thing about like when he knows he's feeling it and it's go time, like that's what comes out. And it's just like he's probably not even thinking about it. It's just subconscious, but like that's how he that's how you can kind of tell.
00:47:30
Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah, I was watching The three m yesterday and I felt like, you know, it's just like you know, there's some puts didn't drop for him, but you could just see Scotty just go into like full flight in the back half of that round where he's just it's felt like he was just like a little bit more locked it off the tee, but then the approach shots he he zeros in. And you see this at Majors though, on like Friday afternoon, where he knows he has like opportunities to put the pedal down and distance himself and it becomes like does he make the putts coming in or not? And that's the difference, you know. It's just it's wild to be watching some players and just how they have just a knack for kind of working themselves up the board at certain times in tournaments.
00:48:18
Speaker 1: Yeah. Just yeah, Saturday at Quail PGA last year, Scottie, I'm standing on sixteen fairway. I watch him hit the one to two feet on fourteen and he makes the putt and then obviously like I don't see the shots until after, but like you hear everything that he's doing the whole way and it's like that is that's where he won. That golf tournament was Saturday afternoon. Just stepping on Saturday afternoon Eagle Birdie's eighteen, Like you can see the emotion, like that that more in that moment, and like that's that's why he's the world number one. But he's awesome at what he does. But that inate ability to just kind of like push that hard on a Saturday and just kind of like run through the finish line. Like running through the finish line is a really important skill, Like you don't want to collapse on eighteen, but just the way in which he did it on that day, like that one an golf tournament.
00:49:17
Speaker 2: And didn's so much what you know, what you've been talking about is like it's like this idea like running through the finish line. Like the natural inclination is to like protect, you know, and it's like I just have to get this to the house, but you know it's breaking through and running. I'm curious with you your experience. You know, you've obviously you've contended a ton of tour events. I would say this, this major, this the Open Championship, was your first like real in the cauldron moment in a major. You you were in the second to last group on Sunday, What was it? What were the feels like in a major versus a PGA tour event and and kind of that was obviously your first Links experience, tell us a little bit about about how that week felt, and and and in the weekend in particular.
00:50:14
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think Link's golf is so sick, like like we played I played Renaissance last year and it was just like it's cool, like but then you get to like.
00:50:28
Speaker 1: Burked out. It's like, oh, okay, this is this is real, Like this is real golf. And just kind of finding a way to navigate around bunkers as a hazard is like such a foreign concept to me as an American who's like playing ninety nine percent of his golf in like the United States, where the ball is just like point and shoot that you have to be like so considerate with your targets, but also like landing number off the tee, being seventy short of a bunker or sixty short of a bunker, or flying this one that staying short of this one, Like that's it's never something that we really think about on PGA Tour because the ball doesn't roll that much. And like if you hitt in a bunker, like yeah, it's a hazard, but like ninety five percent of time and be able to hit a seven iron out of there and be just fine. So I'd say like just kind of learning that understanding that being able to get really comfortable hitting off turf that that's is that firm, it doesn't really have that much grass on it. It's almost like kind of like compact dirt and spots like that's that's kind of a skill. You know, if you're shallow or you're kind of a little stuck, like it's just not a good combo for that kind of shot, Like you're just never going to be able to hit any consistency off that off that surface. But also like the balls just not gonna fly properly because you're gonna have debris in a way, or it's it's almost like hitting a chunky bunker shot. It's just not it's gonna it's gonna not spin. So I'd say it was lucky enough for me. It's like I felt like I was compressing it nicely and it kind of to can choose my spots and hit hit the shots the way I wanted to off there. But just yeah, being in the being in the hunt on Sunday, I felt like I was hitting good golf shots and kind of got to a spot where I felt like I need to push a little bit. This a short putt for birdie on nine, and just kind of gave myself some chances on the back nine and just made no birdies, which is really really brutal, but yeah, it's just it was cool being in spot. It was cool being with ci Wu, who was leading for a decent part of the afternoon there, and just done, Like, man, it's not that far off, like like I needed to put that, or I needed to get something in the hole, I needed to you know, clean up a few things, but like I was right there and I didn't really I really didn't feel like I had my a game at all all week. It was just kind of like I was just doing a really good job of managing this is strategically a place in the ball and just kind of when I had a chance, I would, you know, make a fifteen footer occasionally. So I felt really good about just the way that everything kind of came together, and it was a little bit of validation of like, you know, the things that you are working on at home in the gym mentally, like they are paying off, because I played a lot better off than that this year and I had a chance to kind of win coming down a stretching major.
00:53:44
Speaker 2: So it's you know, it's it's fascinating like majors, right, like the only one player wins. And I think something that has kind of become really evident this year and it's probably been evident so many other years, is you know with between Aaron Raye at the PGA and uh and Ryan fox at this year's Open, is like you have the battles getting yourself into a position where you can go out and play the nine of a lifetime and and and snag one of them, and you know, like you it had to be incredible to know you were just right there and if you hit you know a lot of great shots, it could have been you lifting the cleric.
00:54:31
Speaker 1: Yet yeah, I mean I think a lot of things would have to go my way and Foxy stepped up and executed awesome shots and awesome puts down the stretch. But yeah, I think it. I mean, it just shows you that, like se'd like I played all four majors this year, it felt like we were playing Thursday in augusta two weeks ago. Like it's a very short compact period of time. They kind of fly by their there's so much noise and energy all of those weeks that you just kind of end up spending a lot more time than you think you're going to, like not doing just bs, but like there's so many more obligations, there's so much more logistical stuff that goes on, and you're just out there, you know, working hard, trying to make make sure that when you get to Thursday, you feel ready. You feel good about the golf course, you feel good about whether you're planning, feel so much sharp. But I think, you know, seeing that being in the mix, making a few cuts, you know, having having some later tea times on Sunday at Augusta and then at Birkedale, it kind of gives me a good feel for you know, how I want to go about things next year, like from a logistic standpoint, from a planning standpoint, from a planning the schedule around the major standpoint. I guess as like a first year playing all four of them, you know, you don't really know what you're getting into until you get into them. And now you can see why Adam Scott goes four days before tournament week to go play you know, Shinnacock for three days and then he takes a day off on Monday, like, guys have their own quirks, they have their things that they want to do, they have things that work for them. Some guys like playing the week before, some guys don't. And I'm starting to figure out what works best for me, and like how I can better incorporate my kind of schedule into how to prepare for those kind of bigger tournaments, because, like you said, there's only four of them, there's only one winner, and they need a heck of a lot more than everything else. So you got to go up and show up and be ready to buck, because you know, if you kind of lay an egg, it's like you're pissing away boned opportunity.
00:56:55
Speaker 2: You told my colleague Joseph Lamonia after Sunday at the Masters, I don't think my game the way it was this week was as prepared for the test of a Sunday at Augusta as I thought it was going to be. As you sit now done with all four majors, and reflect on that, what what what did you feel like you weren't really ready for?
00:57:23
Speaker 1: I played so good on Saturday at Augusta that I thought that I could just do the same thing on Sunday in different conditions and not have to change strategy at all and not whatever. I wasn't as sharp and that didn't lend itself to being successful. But you know, Saturday was gettable. It wasn't easy, but it was gettable. Sunday was not, and I didn't I didn't execute golf shots the way I needed to. But I also didn't put myself in a position to execute those shots because where I was looking off the tee or where I was looking into the green or some of the club selections, you know, I was almost playing for either of the perfect shot. And then once I didn't execute great shots early on that I was almost playing too safe because I was trying to just not mess up. And it's really hard to stand on twelve t at Augusta and not mess it up. It's not a fun feeling. And I'm not saying I hit bad golf shots, because I don't think I hit bad golf shots. I just think the line at that golf course, in particular, when it gets firm, when pins are tucked, the line between really good and really bad is so thin, and once you kind of get on the wrong side of it, you start kind of pressing a little bit. Then you learn very quickly that that's not what you should do, but you're already so far behind the eight ball that kind of like struggling. So I would say those are all, you know, things that you kind of pick up and it's really hard to diagnose in the moment standing on eleven tea box when you're three or four over and be like, hey, we gotta, you know, do this. But I think I have enough experience now where if you put myself back into that situation, I can get it in the house a lot better. And it's it's just it's it's hard to say it's just experience, but at a certain point, like you have to learn it for yourself before you can kind of truly believe it. And you can listen to a million people talk about how to hit a golf shot, but until you go swing the club for yourself, like it's it's really really hard to understand, you know, exactly the intricacies of what you want to do in that moment. So I think that's why I didn't feel like I was prepared is because I wasn't. I wasn't sharp enough on Sunday, I wasn't My strategy wasn't good enough, I was playing too aggressive early, and then when things weren't going great early.
01:00:09
Speaker 4: I I deviated from the strategy and not to a better strategy, to a one that was worst, which was, hey, let's just play really safe and like not hit it in the water and make big numbers.
01:00:21
Speaker 1: Well, if you don't make big numbersup because you're gonna make bogies, those aren't fun either because those pile up. So yeah, it was just a nice combination of things going on there.
01:00:30
Speaker 2: It's it's you know, it's amazing to hear a little bit, like you know, obviously the Augusta has a long history of like no no first time or winning since Fuzzy, and it's it's almost as like the golf course can to use a poker expression, it puts you on tilt almost quicker than anywhere else.
01:00:55
Speaker 1: It it puts you on tilt, but it also puts you in a position to to fail and like it's not a bad thing, but if you don't understand why you're hitting the shot to a certain spot, it's really hard to trust it. Like, you know, if you took I don't know, ped Scott's got probably the best record at Augusta or Stevie Williams. That's the best You took those guys out with the first timer. They could tell you to hit it exactly where you want to hit it. And there's a legendary caddy there, Steve Kling, He's fantastic. He could tell you exactly where to hit it. It's hard as a player to just trust that that's the shot, or that's the spot, or I'm standing over the wind, I'm sitting on the twelfth te I have no idea where the wind's coming from. It's blowing down wind on eleven, and it's blowing into the wind on thirteen, and it's colliding in the middle of somewhere. And for the life of me, the flag stick on eleven's going one way. The flag stick on twelve is going the other way. And how am I supposed to hit this one hundred and fifty yard web shot to a really tight target having absolutely no idea what I'm doing? Do? I just hope because that doesn't feel like a good strategy. So then it's like, well, why don't we play safe? And it's like, well, then you hit in the back bunker, you hit the goalie long, and like those aren't great spots, or then you get aggressive on Sunday and you're like trying to put it to the middle of the green and you just kind of hit you dump it somewhere, Like those are like the easiest things in the world. Happened because you haven't been in the position to step up and have listened to Jack talk about it or Tiger talking. Oh, you just gotta have the middle of gring on twelve, dude, the middle of green is seven yards wide, Like it's not like it's just like, yeah, just hit the middle of the green. Oh yeah, just hit that parking lot, dude, Like it's it's tight, like it's tiny. So but just getting up there and trusting, like, hey, the wind on thirteen, that's the wind that I want it. That's the wind that I'm taking in consideration when I'm on that tee, Like you get you get so blindsided that you just play eleven down the hill and the pin on eleven's bowing the direction that's probably down off the left. On twelve teen, it's probably not down off the left. It's probably in off the right because that's where it's blowing on thirteen. And it just takes you time to try and figure it out. And even if it doesn't blow into the wind off the right on thirteen and you miss it right and it goes in the middle of green or whatever, you have to trust that the next time you get up on that T shot or on that box and have to hit that T shot, you have to trust something again. And that's kind of the magic of the place. But you know, there's no let up, there's no there's no sigh of relief. On the back nine. You can make a lot of Jodey's and eagles, like you can execute good golf thoughts, but the whole time it's like, I'm have the land this five iron on fifteen within fifteen feet at the front edge of this green. Otherwise it's going long, and long is not good. But landing within fifteen p to the front edge meets bringing in the front water and that's really not good. So what do you do? You do you bail out or do you step up and xpet the golf shot? So it's it's it's a magical place. It's special. You talk to guys who have been there for a while and they start to understand certain tendencies, But dude, it's there's it's hard to describe to first time or right me being the first time er, like how you're going to feel on certain shots because I can play a million practice rounds, But when I stand up on sixteen t on Sunday to a weird pin and wins there and you just walked off doing whatever you did on fifteen, and it's like this is not what I hit two weeks ago on a Tuesday. Like this, I was hitting seven iron, not nine iron, And it's greens are so much firmer.
01:05:09
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, trust, trust and commitment are the hardest things. Like I can't I think about this all the time. I was just thinking about this the other day after I played last week. I like, will go, I'll look at a shot, I'll look where the flag is, and then like if I have to hit over like a hill or a bunker, and I come back to the ball and I'm like standing over the ball and I like know, I know where I'm supposed to be aiming, but I like freak out and I'll be like, well, what if it moved? What if I got it wrong? Like what if you know? It's like it's like crazy stuff when you're playing golf, Like and what you definitely always do is you air to the side of safety, but there's a safety safe spot in your mind that you think is safe as oftentimes maybe even worse than if you just commit. You know, it's just a it's a wild game. The mental struggles of commitment and golfer just insane. It's like, and I feel like when you boil down, like when do I hit my bad shots? It almost always is when well, like that was the least committed swing that I made all day.
01:06:11
Speaker 1: Yeah, and you have to commit to it. And I think guys on the PGA Tour are really get at committing the shots, but it's so hard to trust, Like I can commit to it. But if I don't trust that, like I'm hitting the right golf club, I'm committed, then are you committed? Like if my caddie tells me, like, HiT's into the wind, I'm like, dude, so it's not. And then we're arguing about it, and then we come through a conclusion that it isn't to the wind. It doesn't matter like whether or not we're right, It matters that there was so much thought that went into it, and there was confusion or we got a number wrong or whatever it might be that you're not as prepared to hit that golf shot as you would be if you just like walked up shot with a range finder and you just like striped it on like a Wednesday afternoon when you're playing in a car, Like you don't. I love you can't replicate that.
01:07:07
Speaker 2: I love how like every caddy player conversation, when it's a drawn out conversation, always has with the caddy being like, now trust it, trust it?
01:07:20
Speaker 5: Yeah, I mean, what else are you gonna say, like a dude, Like, I don't know, man, just do whatever? Like and I think if you if you notice, like most really long caddy player combos, like they end up with the player picking with whatever they were going to start to with anyway, So it's like it's probably not the right club because a caddie very rarely will step in and say something if he thinks it's right, So like it probably already, you know, with the wrong club or the wrong number or the wrong ballflight, and then there's indecision and then you're standing over it and it's like, well, now.
01:08:00
Speaker 1: Trust it, Like, well, what else do you want me to do? Man? Do you want me to just wait?
01:08:06
Speaker 2: Here and for the caddy that the next twenty seconds are the most uncomfortable periods of their day where they're just hope praying that a good jock comes out.
01:08:17
Speaker 1: It's like, please just just middle the face. I don't really care what I said, just like, please middle the face. We can figure it out from around the screen.
01:08:27
Speaker 2: Let's get you out of here with some more lighthearted uh questions. If you so, if you could transport one course that you play on tour to your backyard. This is a question I've never asked, And that was the course that you got to like work on your game at the rest of your life, where that like you're playing there the rest of your life when you're just home. Which one would it be? And why? You know? And this is like not necessarily as course, but where where would you want to go work on your game?
01:09:04
Speaker 1: And that's really tough one. I think like the obvious answer is Quail Hollow, which I know there's probably some uproar from the the egg folks about being picking that golf course here.
01:09:18
Speaker 2: Everybody loves Quail Hollow. Everybody I talked to you loves Quail Hollow.
01:09:23
Speaker 1: But from a getting your game prepared to play at a high level on the PGA Tour and compete. That golf course kind of does it. The practicilities are great, The shots that you have to hit are great. You hit a lot of different clubs. You're not really hitting a lot of wedges. You're hitting some wedges, submit iron, some long irons, a lot of t shots with small clubs fixing in left to right, right to left. Like I think it might not be the most architecturally significant golf course on the PGA Tour, but I think it is something that forces you to test a lot of your skills and then it would probably prepare me well for majors, just like a fun one, like someplace that I wish was just in my backyard. Yokohama Country Club in Japan, the new one for the Bank Current. That place is sick. That place is unreal. I don't know what time it is in the US when we're playing there, but set it. Set an alarm because it's it's awesome.
01:10:29
Speaker 2: I uh, I'll never forget this for the rest of Joseph's career. I was in I was in his town of Austin last year and I was like, hey, man, do you want to go out to dinner and he's like, no, I got to watch the bake Current. It was like Thursday night. I was like, all right, sounds good. But the but I could see that with Quail Hollow because like the other thing about Quayle Hollow is like I feel like there's enough space off the tee where you would get confident with the driver, like you wouldn't want to play somewhere where like it's like, Okay, if I have a good day driving driving it, I might hit like seven fairways, you know, like you can like hit a lot of fairways and then you as you said, the variety into the green, all the different irons you hit.
01:11:20
Speaker 1: Yeah, I'm not picking Tory for that reason. I'm not picking heritage. I'm not picking Yeah, a.
01:11:27
Speaker 2: Couple of kicks your ass.
01:11:30
Speaker 1: I don't know if the members at Memorial even want to play Memorial that much, but like it's Quil feels like a really good middle ground where you can work on your game, hit a lot of different shots, and it would just it prepares. In my opinion, it's probably the best prep for like modern PGA Tour, high level major championship golf that you kind of have if you just can do that every day.
01:11:57
Speaker 2: What's been your favorite city on tour to visit.
01:12:02
Speaker 1: I'm gonna go like US cities because like you can't like I can't say Cabo, I can't say Japan or something cool like that. Dude, It's like.
01:12:12
Speaker 2: Just stand at a resort.
01:12:14
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's great. Uh, you know, I really like I'm probably gonna do a lot of hate. I really like Hartford, Connecticut. The pizza is awesome. You can kind of just walk around. There's not a lot of there's not a lot of traffic. We don't we don't go to that many great cities. Uh, I don't know. Bring back the bring back the BMW to Chicago so we can go get deep dish.
01:12:46
Speaker 2: We got the You gotta just make the President's Cup team. Then you're you're in.
01:12:49
Speaker 1: We'll work on that.
01:12:52
Speaker 2: You're you're right on the doorstep. What was your favorite uh major host in twenty six and h which one of your most excited for in twenty seven? You've got a pressure on the twenty seventy.
01:13:04
Speaker 1: Yeah, give me please.
01:13:06
Speaker 2: So you got the Masters, You had PGA Frisco, which I'm sure some on the tip of your tongue. Uh, Pebble Beach in the old Course.
01:13:15
Speaker 1: Well, totally forgot that Frisco existed. Yeah, it's not gonna be that last I think, I think the old Course. I think the Old Course is probably said. I'm gonna say, hi, what's up?
01:13:29
Speaker 2: Joel?
01:13:30
Speaker 1: Can't hear anything you're saying in a lot of beerphones.
01:13:32
Speaker 6: But uh oh wait, this is the other fancy Andy, what's up?
01:13:38
Speaker 1: What do you guys? Hey? Friday Egg? Yeah, he's asking how the architecture is this week.
01:13:43
Speaker 2: I don't know. I haven't seen it. Looks cool. What did you think of it?
01:13:47
Speaker 1: I haven't seen it. I do nothing. Are you excited for PGA Frisco next year? Please?
01:13:52
Speaker 6: Can't wait to be at Homewa washing another mature of my couch. I'm all dude, I can't wait for that challenge series. I could hang out with the old people and not dealing with guys like dr Ark.
01:14:06
Speaker 2: What do you guys think of the new setup?
01:14:10
Speaker 1: I don't know, obviously, seems okay. I don't really know what's going on.
01:14:16
Speaker 2: That's true.
01:14:16
Speaker 1: We're hoping for the three one three challenge this week. Someone do.
01:14:21
Speaker 2: Somebody's got to do it eventually, you know, well enough simulations.
01:14:26
Speaker 1: Yeah, three five or something like a thousand years.
01:14:31
Speaker 2: From now, we can do it. Well, you know that we had an undergrad uh in foremost that it costs like the insurance policy for it costs like like less than five hundred dollars a year.
01:14:43
Speaker 1: Yeah, because it's impossible.
01:14:47
Speaker 6: The underwriters for like your local club championship with like a golf cart to win it is more expensive than the three ones retail is.
01:14:56
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, but this could be the year. My favorite is like when the problem is the middle being the one it routed, You're never gonna get close, Like nobody's going to go three to one. But if it was, there's no one, I feel like you have one.
01:15:18
Speaker 1: Make it on sixteen. You're not making three on sixteen after you just make one a drama for it, You're right.
01:15:26
Speaker 6: And also guys like me who hit like normal, I can't even reach the part five to get there in two.
01:15:33
Speaker 2: So PJ says to the pod, you might feel running up there.
01:15:39
Speaker 6: Yeah, great, can't wait. My layup got easier. I can take a ton an angle with the new architecture.
01:15:50
Speaker 2: Joel right, right didn't didn't really have an answer with this, what's the best city to visit on tour Orland.
01:15:59
Speaker 1: That's a good one, dude.
01:16:00
Speaker 6: The food if you don't stay down too late, like we're not supposed to and you all the spot New Orleans.
01:16:08
Speaker 1: That's my favorite.
01:16:10
Speaker 2: So you pick New Orleans over Hartford, that's what will or what?
01:16:14
Speaker 4: Uh?
01:16:15
Speaker 1: What?
01:16:15
Speaker 2: Ryan pas Well?
01:16:16
Speaker 6: West Hartford has phenomenal food as well, so like you can still find it, but it's just easier to find a New Orleans and it's walkable.
01:16:23
Speaker 1: So uh, I'm a I'm a big fan of New Orleans.
01:16:27
Speaker 2: Favorite restaurant in New Orleans.
01:16:29
Speaker 6: There you got, there's like four of them, but uhh, you put me on the spot. It's a divy spot. You have sugar teeth the door, there's cobbleins on the wall. It's like fried chicken and your red beans and rice. Hopefully one of your listeners will be oh man and so we've been going. My wife found it before we met each other, like fifteen years ago.
01:16:53
Speaker 1: It's our spot. Oh Coops Place.
01:16:55
Speaker 6: Coops Place is the spot, and it's like divy and it's gross and it's delicious.
01:17:00
Speaker 2: That's uh, that's great, great rats, good place.
01:17:04
Speaker 6: All right, I'm gonna go back to and maybe something I'll be smart enough to on this podcast.
01:17:11
Speaker 2: You were on the pod, you were on the pod years ago.
01:17:14
Speaker 6: It was a long time ago. Now you're like big and famous, these are great.
01:17:18
Speaker 2: We're we're not We're not. Uh, we're not big enough.
01:17:21
Speaker 6: And guys are big tire, yes, yeah.
01:17:27
Speaker 1: Give the platform. Now. When I was on, it was like the normal road.
01:17:30
Speaker 6: Guess he just tried to be getting kid, the funny guy on actually someone smart enough to be able to.
01:17:37
Speaker 2: I would say that you're too big for this podcast, because like when I when I go visit my friends, they're like, you know, I watched Full Swing and I really like that to old damon guy. Do you know him? And so I would say the same, that you're actually bigger than us.
01:17:55
Speaker 6: I'm at fourteen minutes and fifty five seconds of this thing, so the bucking hat and that looks only last so long that you gotta start winning golf tournaments.
01:18:03
Speaker 1: So I'm back. I'm back. I got I got a few seconds left of this.
01:18:09
Speaker 6: I'm not quite in my broadcasting career, but we're we're a few months away potential.
01:18:14
Speaker 2: No, no, see, this is this is Johnson Wagner.
01:18:18
Speaker 1: We got we got a chance. I gotta gotta fight and chance against.
01:18:22
Speaker 2: This is the self deprecation that everybody loves. A full swing in full force here.
01:18:28
Speaker 1: Well, just be careful. I've actually made four cuts in a row. I'm kind of hot. A couple of weeks more play, so that's yeah, I'm worried.
01:18:37
Speaker 2: Well, we'll get you back on, you know, I think.
01:18:41
Speaker 1: I do.
01:18:42
Speaker 6: I love to check off, all right, I'm inn let's let's Ryan. He was just looking lonely over here with an umbrella in the locker room. So if you're gonna chime in, Joe, see.
01:18:57
Speaker 1: Dogs coming on. That is the the one guy on tour that you want to see when you're when you're just like not feeling great, because he'll he'll come make your You'll make your life happy no matter what happens.
01:19:11
Speaker 2: Uh. That's a that's amazing. All right. Well, last boat at least? Uh, well, last boat not least. How do you feel about the North Carolina Athletic Department? That was my last question for you.
01:19:25
Speaker 1: That's a great question, Andy. Uh oh. I think we have a football general manager that is currently suspended for undisclosed reasons, so I couldn't possibly venture to guess what that might be. We did, we did have a we did have a top five draft pick to the Chicago Bulls. So I feel I feel really good about KAYLEB Wilson. He's a stud. You know, in a world where ni L is kind of reigning supreme, it's I think it's it's it's actually really difficult for a school like UNC or Stanford that has a lot of really really good sports. I think UNC is twenty eight sports or something like that between men's and women's to to really be able to fund all of them properly and with title nown and all sorts of other NCAA kind of restrictions that I have on it. I think it's there's almost like so much going on, and they're really good at They're unbelievable at like soccer and field hockey and swimming and diving and stuff like that. Obviously, you want them to be really good at basketball and football because that's where the most TV time and the most money comes from. But I think just in a world where there's so much of it is how much can you pay a guy to show up? It's it's hard to it's hard to compete when you don't have quite the budget We're not We're not in full of bullet Billy being moneyball territory with absolutely no budget, and I think they'll be pretty solid this year in the basketball basketball world. It's just gonna be really hard for us to keep with football. We're not an SEC school. You know. Coach Belichick has a has a has a very good history of coaching, but it'll be very difficult for him to turn the ship around in such a short period of time.
01:21:19
Speaker 2: That's such a good political answer.
01:21:24
Speaker 1: I don't know what else I could say.
01:21:25
Speaker 2: Man, I'm, you know, as a Chicago sports fan, I'm I'm now just you know, I'm I'm I'm wondering which Caleb w is gonna be gonna be the best Chicago sports icad.
01:21:39
Speaker 1: I mean, it's you have a you have pretty good options here. If if Caleb Wilson is anything close to what Caleb Williams was for you guys last year, I think everyone in Northeast Illinois is going to be stoked. But you know, it's got to give you guys some being to look forward to for six months out of the year.
01:22:03
Speaker 2: We've got We've got good history with the North Carolina.
01:22:05
Speaker 1: Picks, you know, so great great history.
01:22:09
Speaker 2: Ryan, thanks so much for coming on, Thanks for thanks for having Joel join. That was that was an unexpected addition, uh to the pod, and uh we look forward to you uh making a charge here and then seeing you in Chicago in a couple of weeks hopefully.
01:22:27
Speaker 1: Well, thanks so much for having me appreciate you guys. Thanks to Joel wherever he went off to. But yeah, keep keep killing it and hopefully we'll see you in a little bit in Chicago.
01:22:49
Speaker 2: All right, big thanks to Ryan, and in the Joel Damon, which we didn't expect, cameo there at the end. Big thanks to both of them, and huge thanks to you guys for for listening, supporting our show, and big thanks to p J. Clark for editing and producing podcast. As always, we'll be back next week with a new episode.