A Bandon Pilgrimage

Christina and Alan go deep on Bandon Dunes after she makes her first visit there. They also go delve into the many storylines around the upcoming Ryder Cup. 

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Christina Kim

Alan Shipnuck

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:04):
Hello and welcome to Full Send with Christina cam and
Alan Schipnuk. We are back at it again. It's kind
of a nice quiet week in the world of golf
for the PGA Tour and LPGA, but we've been busy
beavers as always. Um So, Christina, for the first time
in your golfing life, you you got to a little

(00:28):
resort on the Oregon Coast called Bandoned Dunes. Are you
still just blissed out from the experience? Oh? I am
going to be blessed out for a very very long time.
It was Holy shit, what an amazing experience. Um. Yeah.

(00:48):
I decided to after my foiled attempt to go up
north to New Jersey to try and get a a
handful of days of practice up there, and due to
Hurricane Ida and climate change, had to zoom back down
to Florida. Played stuck around in Florida for a few

(01:11):
days and then um then working on my game a lot,
then spending a lot of time on the range and
the golf course with my dad, which has been it's
been so fun. It's been really like nostalgic and sort
of kicking it old school a little bit. And I
really feel like I got my my game in a
good spot. I know I mentioned it a few weeks ago,

(01:31):
but I am no longer using a um An armlock putter,
which I'm very happy to say yes, who hoo um,
and just rolling the rock really well, swinging it really well.
I feel like if I'm swinging like if I can,
the thought that's going in my head is swinging like
Louis U Sasan, which is oh wonderful swing to try

(01:55):
and emulate. UM. But made it over to flew into
Portland and then scuttled on over. I actually played a
golf course called Tokyote which Um Todd my caddie who
caddies at Bandon. He's been there for nineteen years now.
His daughter Marley, she just recently broke forty five for

(02:19):
nine holes for the first time. She's an elite runner,
so golf is like a second passion of hers. It
doesn't get as much of a chance to play as um.
Definitely not as much of a chance to play as
Todd a like, although she's rammed it up recently. So
she broke forty five and the original plan excuse me,
fifty fifty and the original plan was for her to
go to Sylvie's Ranch, which is like in it's like

(02:44):
Oregon bordering on um Idaho down on the south. I think,
like I always hear about it, but keep going. Yeah,
they they it's a resort. They've got they've got golf,
they've got a TVs. Um obviously you can ski when
it's snowing and things like that, and they have these

(03:04):
adorable caddies that are goats and hickory sticks and everything
and so um. Todd had told Marley if she breaks fifty,
she'll be able to go to Sylvie's Ranch, and this
three weeks. It happened last week. And so the timing no, sorry,
a couple of weeks ago, but the timing of everything
because you know, five weeks in Europe and then you

(03:25):
only get three weeks at home, didn't quite work out.
So he said, hey, let's just go spend a few
days at Tokyo Te And so I met up with
them at Tokyote because it was sort of on the
way to Abandon and he was like, we'll go play
toky Ty and then we'll play with Christina as well.
So Todd, his his significant other Rochelle, Marley and I

(03:46):
went and played, had a great time, and then we
hit up some hot springs over there. Apparently there are
hot springs everywhere in Oregon, and they're not all necessarily
was wars. There's a bunch of them that are just
like you know, just off the beaten path and everything.
And so we we experienced that, which is really really

(04:07):
cool because because of Marley and the player Caddy dynamic
that you actually wore bathing suits. But I will say
for the in California, if you find the hot springs
in the wild, you are compelled to go nude. And
that's just a thing. And are you aware of this?
Christinagas Um full disclosure, I did not come with a

(04:31):
swimming suit, but I did have my gym clothes, so yes, um,
everyone everyone was was was clothed. But I will say
that my my dad is a hot spring sufficionado, like
all over California up in the mountains and whether it's
mammoth or of course there's there's some down in Big

(04:52):
sur And my dad's a great it's a great guy
when he slightly oblivious. So like we we to do that.
And then when I was a teenager, it was like, wow,
there's a lot of naked people here. But generally speaking,
it's it's like if you go to a water park
in Orlando, like the mom's wearing the thongs are probably
not the ones you would have chosen. It's the same

(05:13):
with the hot springs. The people, the people who are
nude are not the ones you want to be nude.
And I'm still slightly scarred from the experience. But anyway, well,
that's the thing I would look like if anybody's ever
watched Futurama, I would look like Dr Zoidberg once he
takes a shell off. That's the way that I would
describe myself. Redigress. Hot springs are amazing and when you

(05:36):
play the Dinah Shore next year, you have to go.
So I found this place out in Palm Springs is
called Bubbling Wells Rants and it is the coolest place
in the world, and that you can airbnb and have
all these hot springs and these different places you can
There's a giant house where a bunch of people can stay,
but there's these little cabanas and there's a lake you
can swim in. It's you know, it's just it's magical

(05:58):
spot of hot springs. I might go visit. Yeah, they're
so therapeutic. It was amazing. And so this hot springs,
it was like there was obviously a natural spring coming by,
and fifty feet away there was a there was a river.
I think it was the Mackenzie River, if I'm not mistaken.
And so I went into the hot springs and we

(06:20):
hung out for like fifteen twenty minutes or something like that,
and then we went for a little walk about and
then I hopped into the river and it was colder
than the ocean, which up here in the north the
PMW it's like fifty one degrees or fifty five degrees
or something like that. It was colder than I was like, ah,
contrast therapy. This is amazing. And Todd like he stuck
his hand in there and he's like no, no, he

(06:43):
got in a little bit uh farther down. But there
was some some of the hot springs were sort of
meeting up with the river. Like it's just so fucking
beautiful here. It's not fair. It really isn't fair, Pacific Northwest.
It's it's a special place and is so special. Yeah,
and so Bandon, you know, I was actually a little

(07:04):
late to the Bandon craze, you know, back when it
opened um, and as a West Coast guy, was kind
of shameful, and so I figured, you know, if I'm
gonna do it, I really got to do it. So
when Old Mac opened, my great friend Kevin Price and
I we went up and we played all four in
the same day and we had the Golf Channel. They

(07:24):
followed us with countras like no one had ever done it.
We just kind of like I came with this idea,
were like, let's make it happen. And we had you know,
we had different caddies and we were sprinting and the
whole thing, and and because of scheduling, we didn't get
to go in June, and obviously the days were long
and it was like late July I think, but we
made it with an hour to spare. And um. Anyway,

(07:46):
not that long after they started they started doing this
as a thing. Abandoned dunes where you could you could
play them all and now they're sheep Ranch. You can
do five and it's like a But that was that
was kind of like making up for lost time. But
I've been lucky that I've gotten there now, I guess
probably ten times. And it is, Yeah, it's so spoiled.
It's such a neat special place and for all for

(08:11):
all the hype, and you know you've been you've been
here about Bandon now for twenty plus years. Somehow it
just it always exceeds to expectations and there's are always
improving the golf courses and infrastructure and the restaurants and um,
I have have a trip coming in like six weeks
and the daily countdown there's a group thread with twenty
eight guys and we're already Oh I know, it's just

(08:34):
it's a it's a highlight of the year for all
of us. So um So, I know you didn't have
a ton of time, you didn't get to play them all,
but what were your thoughts of of of the courses
you got to play? Well? So I have so many
thoughts on so many aspects of Bandon. UM one you
may have started. It's called the Solstice. I think it's

(08:57):
on the twenty one July. Like, yeah, they they go
it's a whole to sun down. I know, Oh my gosh,
yeah it's I'm not saying that I'm the reason they
do it, but this was this was just kind of
a hair brained idea and it was like, of course
one it makes perfect sense. Yeah, yeah, four great golf courses.
He got playing well on one day, right, I mean
it was for sure, yeah, and it was fun because

(09:20):
of scheduling. It was so it was so mad cap.
I flew in the night before me and Kevin played
all four courses. I left the next morning. It was
like I was abandoned for like thirty six hours and
um and for like a couple of years afterwards, I
didn't get back and it was still sort of a
blur like which which course was that really cool hole?

(09:40):
Because it just it was like sensory overload. But I've
gotten to know a little more intimately now, Luckily that's amazing.
I um so, I quote unquote I didn't do quote
unquote the abandoned thing because I wanted to be able
to just thoroughly enjoy myself and really, you know, it'd
be like a um uh, instead of like having dinner

(10:06):
at a topas restaurant, it was just somewhere where I
had like two or three really good like little dishes.
I was able to sit and savor, so excuse me.
On on third Friday, we played Tokoti on Thursday and
then we drove over to Bandon Thursday evening. On Friday,

(10:28):
we went and played at Bandoned Dunes, the original the
First Little Baby, and um I played with Todd caddied
for me, which was so much fun because he was like,
I want to be able to he's he's I'm not
gonna sit here and say he's possessive. But you know,
we've built such an amazing rapport and you know with
everything going on, you know, originally from the band Indian's

(10:50):
Caddy Bandon Dunes Resort Caddy Relief Fund that we did
last year and everything, and so it's it's just so
cool to see it. You know, it's not come completely
full circle because I still have to get my round
golf in with Louis and and the boys were trying
to we're trying to shoot for next year and um,
so we are. We played Bandoned Dunes with Jeff Simons,

(11:11):
who is the UM I think he's he's the best, Like, yeah,
that the head of all operations, and his wife Marie,
and there was this other gentleman that joined us. His
name was Ryan, and you know we're talking a little
bit and you know we're they're all really good golfers.
Marie I think she said she just missed on the
US Women's mid and by one stroke. Um, she's I believe,

(11:34):
the Oregon State women's amateur champion. I mean, she illustrious career,
went to Boise State, probably one of the top five
players from Boise State. Just a beautiful golf swing. And um,
so we're all playing and everyone's got you know, everyone's
really good golfer. And on occasion, Ryan was, you know,
maybe a little bit a little bit off from the fairway,

(11:56):
and so he's like running back. He's like, he goes
off and to the booneyes, you go hit his shot,
and you just kind of see him running back and
and a few holes in. Jeff's like, well, so originally
it was just going to be him and I and
my wife, and then this is actually a little bit
of like a not not necessarily a job interview per se,
but you know, just just sort of like building relationships

(12:17):
and things like that. And and then he was like
and then I told him, you know, like sort of
last minute that you were going to join us. So
he is just doubly shitting himself right now. And so
I was just like, I'm like Ryan, I'm so sort
I'm like we're just here to have fun, this and
that whatever. They had a match going on. I birdied
the first three holes, and you know, they're like eight
or nine holes in and they're talking about their match,

(12:37):
and I was like, how come I wasn't invited? And
they're like, your first three holes told us everything, so no,
you're not welcome, and I was like okay, but it
was I mean, I didn't know what was happening, like
I was just and it was great because a lot
of times, like just the way that I am, if

(13:00):
like I like to set my sights on Okay, I
want to hit it here, and you know this is
this is it, this is that whatever whatever, and and
Todd was just like, you want to hit it at
you know that dune way off in the distance. And
I was like, it's dog like right. I thought it
was a dog like left, Like what what is going on?
And like I just implicitly listened to him like with

(13:21):
every single swing and was just it was just so
so good. Um so coming to like a new golf
course and working with someone that you know, knows every
blade of grass, it was so nice and so relieving,
and we had just so much fun. And then um

(13:45):
so Abandoned Dunes was just just incredible. And the round
started off not a breath of wind and like sixty
six degrees brilliant sunshine, and Todd was like, wow, okay,
so of course when the tour pro comes in it's
going to be you know, perfect conditions or whatever. And
then it did pick up, you know, and those last
like excuse me, five sick tolls or just breathtaking over

(14:08):
at Bandon Dudes are just so so beautiful and everything
just sort of you know, it just sort of it's
almost as if you're watching a flower as it's progressing
through its life. It just really blossoms coming down the stretch.
And I will say that the wind started picking up
as well, which was awesome. Yeah, and that finishes is
so epic. I mean, it's not a popular pick. You know,
every every guy who's ever every gal has ever been

(14:30):
to Bannon Dunes has their their ranking other courses and
it's like such a thing and I enjoy the debate,
but you rarely see Bandoned Dunes as number one on
that list. And a lot of people go Pacific, some
some go trails now sheep rants, but for me, Bannon
Dune's the original is my favorite course there because as
you're saying, there's just a flow to it and kind

(14:53):
of reaches this crescendo, and I just I just love
that golf course so much, and it's it's just incredibly
fun to play. I mean, you know, Pacific is is
so hard, and especially in the wind. And you know,
I love trails, and I love sheep ranch um, and
I admire Pacific and and some of the you know,

(15:15):
Pack Dunes is super fun. It's probably got the best
start and finish of any of the courses there in
the middles kind of man. But um, for me, it's
it's Banned Dunes. I just you know, there's just something
so special about about that golf course. And when you
get to fifteen, that's that incredibly hard part three, you know,
it's like twos always into the wind um and then

(15:40):
sixteen that part four along the cliffs that you can
you could drive and I'm seventeen is one of the
hardest holes on the planet, but it's so good. And
then you finished that part five on eighteen, like it's yeah,
and if if you usually if you time it right,
you played in the afternoon and the sun's getting low
and it's just like it's such a magical place. So
all right, I'm sorry I had to jump and keep going.
And by all means no, I love hearing all of

(16:03):
this um and and you know, when Todd listening to
this episode, he'll be so happy to know that that
band Indians is your favorite um in the gosh I
think of it. I'm thinking of it like like the
Open because you know, it's almost it's it's very similar
latitude to the courses that we played for the Open

(16:24):
Road US. I was about to say, I'm glad to
know he'll be glad to know that bandons your favorite
course in the rota. But um um. And then we
played Pacific Dunes on Saturday. And Saturday it was again
it was Todd did play along with Rochelle Marley and myself,
and I gotta say, I mean straight off the bat,

(16:46):
and Rochelle had told me Pacific was her favorite course
and three holes in I was like the massacrest the
Massacists slash status in me depending on whether I'm playing
or watching others play the first three holes and I
was like, no, it's got to be Pacific so far
of the of the courses that I've played and you know,
we finished the course and then for me, just I

(17:09):
would say that, um, there's no question that bandoned Dunes
was far more enjoyable. The flow, like you said, is impeccable.
Ending with that that that that the the not tension
in a negative way, but just everything the build up
that leads towards those last few holes is just amazing,

(17:32):
combined with the fact that it reminds me in in
certain ways to Tara E d In that like you
can bring your nine year old granny with you or
a tour player as long as you keep the ball
relatively you know, for the most part in front of you,
you can you can have a great Yes, it's so playable.

(17:53):
So it's so much more accessible to so many more
golfers by way of skill set, and it is so
much more um inclusive in that way. But the asshole
in me is like, oh man like in certain ways,
just the difficulty of it. I would say that, um,
Abandoned Dunes reminds me of Castle Rock because it's it's

(18:15):
got just enough, it's got that ruggedness. Um Like, the
every like every tuft and everything is is is beautifully placed.
It doesn't look like Um, you know, the council forgot
to take care of this place for the last twenty years.
It's just it just showcases its natural beauty. Whereas I
would say that, um, Pacific Dunes was a little bit
more like hard noosti, and that it's just going to

(18:36):
punch you in the gut. And we had like a steady,
probably seventeen mile an hour wind the whole day, so
I saw them in a bit of a different light. Um.
And so talking to Todd afterwards, he was like, all right,
so what's your favorite? And I'm like, so in my way,
it is Pacific Dunes because again, it reminds me of
of you know, it never gives up, It never ever

(18:58):
gives up. And I thought four was just an amazing hole.
We played all the way back from was like four
sixty nine or something like that. It was just it
was so so good. And I was like, that being said,
if I had to only pick one of those two,
since those are the only two that I've played so far,
that I had to play every single day by way

(19:20):
of the enjoyment, I would go Bandon Dunes every single day.
And I love the fact that the golf course that
holds the name of the resort has that, you know,
because if if while incredible, if all five golf courses
were basically replicas of Pacific Dunes, it wouldn't have nearly

(19:44):
the um sort of pilgrimage that you would get from
golfers of all skill sets, because it's just it's it's
very very hard. It's so good and it is absolutely breathtaking,
but it is just so hard and you can't you
can't have you need to have a great variety. Yeah, well,
I mean, Pack Dunes is awesome. Like I've I've come

(20:06):
to love it more and more, I guess for me,
I don't, I don't. I'm not a huge fan of
like the last four or five holes. It feels like
when you turn away from the ocean that last time,
it's kind of like, oh man, because you have that
Yeah yeah, and uh and we can we I mean,
you can nit pick it forever. But like you know,
fifteen is a part five, that long part five, and

(20:27):
I freaking hate that green. It's down wind. It's like
impossible for you know, a guy like me to hold
that green. It went down wind. And then sixteen is
that really quirky play? Yeah, you just go long and
then you're pitching back into the wind, so it's going
to actually slow down instead. Yeah, for sure, there you go.
You hear the strategist. Um, and the sixteen is that
that that drive will part four but that holds kind

(20:49):
of a mess. And then seventeen that part three. I mean,
it's a it's a really good golf all but it
like kills us. I've been in groups where like five
wins the whole. It's just it's so there's just nowhere
to miss, you know, winds always howling off the left,
and then um, I like eighteen, but you know that

(21:10):
second shot is super awkward, kind of blind and whatever.
I mean, this is this is complaining about you know,
the mole on Marilyn Monroe's face, like it's it's it's
it's a hell of a golf course. Um but um,
you know it doesn't happen. You're telling me that you've
only played this course with a with the prevailing winds

(21:31):
pretty much. Yeah, I mean, and which which is the
winds that I played in? Yeah? And uh, but you know,
the like the first third, teen and fourteen holes are
just utterly awesome, Like when when you get up to
the third t that long part five and the course
just spreads out in funny like that's one of my
favorite vistas there and um, you know it was back

(21:53):
to back part three's at the turn or awesome. Yeah,
that little stretch you kind of get down in the
meadow like, um, I guess six and seven like it's
it is. It is an A plus golf course. Um.
And that's the funny thing about Bandon is like even
your least favorite golf course on or whatever comes out

(22:14):
number five and you're ranking is still freaking awesome and
you played every day if you could, so that it's
such an embarrassment of riches. But um, yeah, that that's
so cool that, I mean, what I need experience. And
you mentioned the Bandon Dudn't Caddy Relief Fund. That's how
I got to know Todd, your caddy, because he was
he was instrumental in putting that whole thing together and

(22:35):
I was out there playing. He came to say hi
with Marley, his daughter. He's just the cutest little thing.
And so I mean it's like five six now six
or something like that. I saw that swing videos like,
oh my gosh, because she was just a little girl
when I met her and um, and she's definitely like
sprouted about, you know, a foot and um, it's just

(22:57):
a sudden you know, we know the golf world this small.
How cute is it that Todd and Marley are a
part of your life and I've gotten to to write
about them and I know them and yeah, there, that's
just what a special experience for you to kind of
be led around by someone like Todd who has so
much not only I mean he has the knowledge, but
he has he has the pride and the sense of

(23:18):
of place and ownership in that place. So absolutely he's
one of he's one of the o g s over
there for sure. Yeah, for sure, he's been there longer
than Simons has. Right, I know, it's um, it's Fay
this group that I go up um to Abandon with
every year. You know, it's um My my co partner,
Matt Janella. It's the Uncle Tony Invitational that he puts together.

(23:41):
And one of the guys who's who's part of it
is Josh Lesnick. He was the first general manager man
and Dunes like living in a trailer where they just
built the resort and um so and so of course
he knows every single person there at the resort. Um
or at least he did. Now it's gotten so big.
But so yeah, that Jeff Simons and all these people,

(24:02):
the Michael Chopkas. I mean, there's just all these o
g s that are still hanging around and that's really
what you know makes Bandon. So and of course their
shoe I'm guessing you got to meet shoe the what
the greater slab bring? What is this title director about?
Of outside happiness? I think? And um, you know, and
when you go back and you see these people and

(24:24):
they have such an amazing memory for their guests and
they know it's seen like there's a relationship there, and
I think that's why that's why people go back to
Bandon because you know, for for a lot of golfers,
they're only gonna take one big trip a year, right,
and so and there's just this incredible array of destinations
that are awaiting, but a lot of folks just go

(24:45):
back to Bandon without fail because the courses are great,
the services wonderful, all that stuff, but there's there's also
this kinship and there's familiar faces and they remember you,
and um, there's just a relationship there that is for me,
it's really unique in the whole golf world, like just
that that closeness and um and yeah, okay, so obviously

(25:10):
you know, I'm a Pell Beach guy. That's where I
worked growing up, and I still live in the area,
but there's not that same feel whatsoever, you know, and
people come and um they do. There's a lot of things.
You can drive down a big sur and you're gonna
go shopping and carmel and you know, it's it's a
whole trip, right, Um, And there's a lot, it's a
multi fascinated experience bandon. It's just that that sense that

(25:34):
we're just there to eat, sleep, play golf and drink
and have fun and the the pureeness of the experience
and this, you know, the pilgrimage, it's part of it
because last year we wound up driving up there because
with them the way the flights were, the pandemic and everything,
and um, you know, it's not easy to get to

(25:55):
no matter where you're coming from unless you have a
PJ and so um, you know you gotta wall on
it to get there, and that that's just part of it.
It's like it's it draws the hard os right like
like you've gotta it's you gotta want to be abandoned dunes,
and yeah, every everything about it is is just neat.
Did you get over to the labyrinth by chance? The Labyrinth,

(26:18):
I'm gonna say no. Yeah, it's one of there's all
these little you know, it's like the secret menu in
and out, so built in the forest, there's there's this
old fashioned labyrinth that's modeled after one that was on
the floor of a church in France, I believe, And
it's like a really meditative secret spot. And so that's
always how we end our trip. You know, everyone struggles

(26:38):
over there, wounded from the night before, and it's like
a little it's just a peaceful, beautiful way to end it.
You know. It's just one of those little grace notes
that you know, the Kaiser family, you know that it's
just all the little details. And so yeah, there's there's
always new things to experience. Yeah, but for sure that's
the thing, because I mean, and so that's why I say,

(27:00):
I quote unquote didn't do the bandoned thing of playing
a minimum thirty six holes a day doing this, doing that.
I remember, I was so immensely fulfilled after my round
at Bandon which is my first round there. And I
had gone to the parking lot put my clubs away,
and I was walking back. We were going to have

(27:21):
dinner at the Tufted Puffin although I think it's called
is it the Forage. It's at dinner time. Yeah. So
well they just they just opened a new steakhouse. I
just saw something about that. So pretty amazing. And oh
the food was amazing. Like for lunch, I had the

(27:42):
pork belly b lt on a lettuce wrap. It was
just it was out of this world. But anyway, so
I'm walking to the restaurant and then one of the
you know, myrriyad shuttles pulls up and then the doors
open and I see two guys come out and you know,
abandoned dunes is uh. You know, they've got the lodge

(28:04):
right there, They've got the cottages off in the background,
they've got the It's so funny because when I was
walking back from the um from the car and my
car is parked right in front of McKee's Pub, and
I looked off to the right and then I was
just like, okay, like maybe that's an extension of the lodge.
That whole thing. It's like a hundred yards long. That
whole thing is it says massage center. And I'm just like, yeah,

(28:25):
that makes like they have every detail figured out. So
I'm walking by and and the two there are two
older gentlemen that you know, sort of tumble out of
the shuttle um, but not like not like drunken messages
or anything. They're just like, man, that last step is
pretty far and and what the whole The first guy

(28:46):
comes and he's like, oh my god, I'm so sore.
And then the other gentleman comes out and I say, hi,
good evening, how are you And they're like hey, um, alright,
say hi, good evening. They're like how are you? And
I'm like I'm doing so amazing. I'm like, how are
you doing? I pointed out the first guy. I'm like,
I know your sore. I was like, how are you doing?
And they're like, well, this is like day three into
our five day trip, thirty six every day, and I'm

(29:07):
just like, man, like, you can't like I get it,
but I don't get it because I'm just like, yes,
I understand you want to like spend as much time
as you can on every inch of property and play
as much golf as you cannon, there is that beauty
behind it. Um. This is also like part of me
thinking like, man, I think I know where I want
to go when I retire. So it's sort of that

(29:27):
thing of like how I live in Florida now and
I'm like Disney World's right there. I can go anytime.
So there's that part of me that's like, Okay, well
I'll have all of my golden years to be able
to go and spend time abandoned maybe, and but it
was It's just it's so amazing. Yeah, it's a war
of attrition when you go to Bandon especially, you know

(29:48):
for this tournament that we do, all these guys like, um,
everyone's staying up super late and hit the dispensary on
the way in from the airport and the fire pit.
You know, there's just like fatigue becomes a major factor
because yeah, for sure we've actually thraveled back that itinerary

(30:10):
just slightly. So there's there's not May thirty six days
and there's always there's always a second eighteen that will
play alternate shot, but it's not part of the actual
tournament scoring. Just for fun. You know, they're going to
punch bowl which is that great putting of course, yeah,
putting green. Yeah, yeah, the Preserve, which is a little
thirteen whole part three so um. But yeah, it's true.

(30:35):
And of course there's also an economic imperative because I
don't know if you heard, but the second eighteen is
half off, and then if you play a third one,
it's free. So if you're you're traveling on a budget,
if you're traveling on a budget, like you gotta play
thirty six no matter what. And if you're really if
you're physically able, you might as well just keep going,

(30:56):
so um. And of course, or you can if you
own an RV, you just drive up there and then
not have to pay for your lodging and then still
just get one round a day and really savor it.
Yeah yeah, I mean sure, there's so many ways to
do it and that, and that's cool. Everyone has their
own Everyone has their own thing, you know, among among
the regulars, which, of course do they want to play
in the afternoon, like um, and what's the cadence of

(31:21):
the courses, And it's just all it's all part of
the fun. And you know, I was lucky to play
golf with Mike Kaiser earlier this year, which was awesome,
and I talked on the phone a few times. I'd
actually never met him, and that was that was a
really cool experience. And you know, he, I mean, Bannon
Dune is not cheap, like, let's not, let's not you know,

(31:43):
sugarcoat it. It's still an expensive trip. But absolutely, you know,
they haven't raised their greens fees in like five years.
And because the first round is still and I think
it's two ninety or something, and he's like, he said,
you know, there's just something psychological for me. I don't
want to I don't want to go across the three
dollar mark. That just seems like way too expensive for

(32:04):
vacationing golfers. And um, you know, demand has never been higher.
Like you know, they could probably charge five dollars around
without the replay rate and they would. I'm sure the
t sheets would still be full. The demand is so high.
But you know, it's almost un American, where we're trained
to try and squeeze every dollar out of every person
at all times, right, and you know that that mentality

(32:27):
and so uh, it's not that bandon is cheap, but
it is doable, especially if if if you go in
the shoulder season when the rates are much lower and
if you play a second round and um, there's ways
that it's it's within reads, uh for for most golfers.
And um, I think it was cool. It was just
you know that that KUIs would be aware of it,
and he's like, yeah, you know Kemper Sports, which they managed,

(32:49):
Like the guys at Kemper killed me. You know, we've
got to raise the rates. You know, it's time. It's
been it's been three years, it's been four years, been
five years. Like it's okay, we're good, guys, We're doing fine.
And uh, I just thought it was really cool and
for sure, yeah, but anyway, yeah, and as much as uh,
as much as the rates are going up everywhere else
like that, that just you know, I think what one

(33:13):
thing that Kaiser does is he does his best to
try and make golf as inclusive as possible in his
own way obviously, you know, it's just in the in
the grand scheme of things where you're just like, well,
you know, if you look at the rates of somewhere
like you know, like the Straits, or if you look
at the rates somewhere, um, you know, let alone the
courses that you can't even gain access to He's like, yeah,

(33:33):
I mean it's a it's a bit of a pilgrimage
to get out here. And no it's not cheap, but
we're not necessarily thinking we want to have the same
two and twenty people coming and playing the same playing
my golf courses every single day because that way it's
accessible to anybody that is able to make it out there.

(33:54):
Um And it's it is funny though, because I the
more I think about it, and it's silly because you know,
he Toadd the huge um fly fisherman, and he's got
his his spots over in the Greater banned in Esque region,
you know, in the North Bend and in Coos County
and all of that. And it's just one of th

(34:15):
things tours like. When I sit back and kind of
look at it, it's like, you know what the golfers
that go to abandon to an extent, you know, it's
like that's like the birthplace of golfer then by way
of the band in golf experience and they go out
and then it is a struggle, but they always, you know,
they always seem to make their way back up street

(34:36):
or back away, back out from the ocean up the
streams and then they come home like it's like we're
all a bunch of little salmon. I stepped on your punchline.
I'm sorry. I didn't know you were going there, but
oh no, no, it's no, it's it's perfect. But yeah,
we're all a bunch of steel head and co ho
and it's just it's so freaking cool. I love that

(35:00):
so much. Yeah, that's great. Well, um, I don't even
know we're gonna talk about bandon, but I love it.
I mean, that's the thing. If if you're if you're
a bandoned fan, you can you can, You're you're ready
to go, Like it's it's like, you know, it's like
a cowboy sleeps with his boots on. You want to
talk bandon, Let's talk banded. But absolutely, and there's so
many things you can talk about. I mean, the number,
the sheer number of the stars that you can see

(35:20):
at night, and the tiniest, tiniest like oh I saw whales,
like this is it's whales season? Oh, and another thing
like there there really is no like horrific time to
be abandoned because in the summer, the highs, you know,
it's very much like the UK, like like you know,
coastal um, UK, where the highs are generally like sixties

(35:42):
five sixties, six degrees maybe up to like seventies. And
then in the wintertime the highs are usually like around
fifty fifty five. So you're going to get fairly consistent
weather anyway, and then there's gonna be days in January
and February where it'll be just like when I went
over the weekend. So anybody like you gotta go fly
into Portland. It's a four hour drive. Fly into Eugene.

(36:05):
It's like a two whish hour drive. Like it is.
It's not as hard as you think it is to
get out there. It's just hard to find like a
direct flight unless you're ready on like the West coast
or the western half of the US. I know a
few folks who have been abandoned a bunch in February
is their favorite month. Um they just this is like
this like the stealth good weather month, and um it's

(36:28):
like half price, you know. It's yeah. So anyway, also
real quick, Sorry it's sorry to interrupt again. But one
thing that Todd was saying, because he says Bandon is
his favorite golf course, and one reason why he loves
it is that regardless like it's of course that three
sixty degrees of wind is still fantastic and phenomenal. And

(36:49):
so with regards to pack dunes, I've only played it
in the prevailing wind, which by all accounts it sounds
like you have to. But when the wind switches, the
course completely change ages. And it was basically built for
I think he said, prevailing wind is a southerly wind,
if I'm not mistaken, um, but it was. It was,
of course, I was pretty much ideally built for a

(37:12):
southerly wind, whereas bandoned dunes, it doesn't matter what's going on,
you're still going to have a great time. So sorry,
that was one thing that he said. Doesn't make it
his most favorite of the favorite, he said, And he
said the same thing. He's like, trust me, the golf
course is still a plus. This is by no means
a dig I just I am lucky enough to live

(37:33):
in a town where I have five A plus plus
plus plus golf courses. So he's so spoiled. And we
were making, um, you know, comparisons between because that when
we went to Europe, it was the first time that
he you know, had gone to the golf courses in
the UK and everything, and he was like looking at
the courses that um, you know inspired the Bandon Dunes

(37:56):
golf Resort and this and that, and he was like,
I came home and I it's such a new appreciation
for my golf courses, which is a scary thought to have,
but I was able to enjoy the golf courses and
and experience them in a completely different light. And I
was like, Oh, that makes me so happy. Yeah, no doubt, no,
it's yeah, it's really it's really like you've been dropped

(38:20):
in Ireland and um, it's that's that's part of what
what's so great about those courses. So the other big
thing that's happened in the world of golf beside your
Bandon trip is the Wryder Cup. Why don't we have
a quick Ryder Cup discussion just because it's it's fresh,
and you know, Patty Harrington just finalized his team, um,

(38:41):
and now now we have an idea of who's gonna
be a Whistling Straits. And I gotta say I like
this US team more than most of recent vintage you know,
six rookies, because that's so hard this is the irony.
You know, I wrote that column forecasting this long term
US dominance. Everyone thinks I'm like this big flag waving,

(39:02):
not not this not the same vein or sorry, not
the same story. But it's always why America should always win,
like I actually always know guy, because yeah, no, Like
nineties seven, I wrote this, people were calling that the
greatest US Ryder Cup team ever because it was Tiger's

(39:24):
first and you know, you had young Phil, and you
had all these Lee jan one, a bunch of US
opens recently, and you had all these other guys, and
both Golf World and Golf Week wrote the same story
about basically this is this is the greatest US Ryder
Cup team ever before the match and I wrote this
this rebuttal that was totally bitchy and over the top.

(39:45):
But I would never. I wouldn't. I wouldn't right the
same way I know I was young, What can I say?
Basically like calling the team totally overrated, I would like
player by player and like critique their record and their humanity.
And apparently the team was like literally passing around a
copy of it on the on the concorde over it
was like classic bulletin board material, and everyone was so

(40:07):
mad at me, like the players and the wives and
the caddies. I got so much ship in Valderrama. But
in the end, of course I was right and they
lost and it was semi redemptive. But I know, I'm,
I mean, I've when when the US loses, it's always
the backlash is always kind of delicious and so um,
you know, I'm that week, I travel on no passport.

(40:28):
I'm I'm not an American, I'm not anything. I'm just
an impartial observer. And yeah, George Spece said that to
me one time in an interview. He's like, well, you're
an American. I said, not really this week, like I'm I'm,
I'm neutral, But you know, I really I feel like
the US has a chance here. If they can get

(40:49):
it done at Whistling Straights, it'll be two out of three.
And they have this this incredibly young talented core I
mean six rookies, but included in that is a gold medal,
the guy who just won the British Open in Marikawa,
and then Patrick Catley, who of course we know has
been an almighty terror. So they the Ryder Cup rookies,
but they already have impressive resumes, and then you add

(41:11):
that to the core of Dustin and Brooks and j
T and Speed. Yeah, I mean Brooks. Honestly, I think
it will help the U S team if there is
no Brooks this year, because he hasn't been playing that great,
and it would eliminate all the weirdness, you know, because
even though he's you know, he's conde. Yeah not I

(41:33):
think Bryson. He's obviously a very specific personality, but you
take the Brooks dynamic away, and he's really gonna want
to blend and he's gonna want to win points for
the team because you know, he laid an egg in Paris,
even though he's like Mr Red, White and Blue and um,

(41:56):
So there's a redemptive arc here for for Bryce if
he can, if you can play well, and I'll win
the Cup. And but having Brooks there will obviously be
like complicated emotionally, not only for him but everyone else
in the room. And so I'm hoping that that Brooks
w d's and I'll take Billy Horsel, I mean, he's
obviously on a heater. I'll take Kevin naw Like. I

(42:17):
think they would bring more team spirit and spunk um
than than Brooks would and obviously kept because a hell
of a player, we know that. But he's he's a
little He's he's wounded, he's been a little diminished physically.
So UM yeah, I'm I'm a little I'm I'm I'm
conflicted by whether or not I want Brooks to participate

(42:39):
because if he doesn't, then that means that he's injured.
And I fucking I mean, I fucking hate being injured,
and because I've gone through my own injuries, I hate
seeing when others are injured. Um. Combined with the fact
that you know, obviously he did, he did make his
way on the team. I At the same time, UM,

(43:02):
if he were to withdraw, I don't necessarily. I still
feel like until someone physically invites Bryson into the group,
he's not going to try and just insert himself because
like on like a deep psychological level, like he because

(43:23):
you know, he has a very high i Q. He
does have a very in supposedly, as my old caddy
T J. Would say, supposedly with a b um he's
he is. He is very academically smart. He he may
have had some social foibles, and he may have some

(43:45):
emotional growth that he can still work on, which again,
when you can find growth, I find that very very
exciting because if you've got it all, like what more
is there to figure out? And what's the point in
all of this? Um. But he's I feel like he
seems like to me that he's always been in outsider

(44:07):
looking in UM whether you know, whereas tiger, he's for
the most part chosen to be more of a lone
wolf or a solitary tiger in that sense, whereas I
feel like Bryson, you know, I think, I think he
wants to be part of the group, but there's still
a little bit of that tentativeness where he's like, ah,
until someone invites me in, I don't know if I should,

(44:28):
And I would say I would. I can see someone
like Colin bringing him in, you know, just okay Bryson,
like come hang out with it, like all so chill.
You know, he's yeah, he's also he's also very intelligent,
So you know, there's that that sort of thing of
Bryson's like, oh he's smart, me smart, we smart together?
Something oh people good kind of a thing. UM. And

(44:52):
you know, again, at the same time you think about it,
I mean and I am I'm very much like you like.
I just love golf, I love team golf, I love
all of the cups. Um. Obviously I'm a little bit
more biased when it comes to the sole Time Cup
because it's something that I have experienced and losing fucking sucks. Um.

(45:15):
Although when we did lose in cleen Castle, I was like,
oh man, this is how you guys have felt so
many times. That stinks. Um, although we've been feeling it
as as the American team has been feeling it more
often than one I would like or anyone would like. However, sorry, um,
John Rom's the only player in the top ten of
the world rankings on the European team. Um. You know,

(45:38):
it's just something that people like to tout, but it's
just I mean the I just sort of feel like
this Ryder Cup, it's going to be like you just
grab a fist bowl of marbles and throw them in
a bowl and just kind of swirl the bowl around
like there is there for me. There's no way of knowing.
There's so many variables, one of which the largest one
is going to be whether or not Brooks is going

(45:58):
to be healthy enough to play. And then on top
of that, let's say he's borderline. If he chooses not
to play, is that going to be more for him
or is he going to make that decision for the
team as well, Like there's all these little weird things,
and then that's going to be whether or not there's, um,
just a bunch of marbles being rolled around, or if
there's all of a sudden just a big old rock
that gets tossed right in the middle of the bowl

(46:20):
that everybody has to kind of work around all of
a sudden, you know, I know, and Brooks, you know,
he's build his whole brand on being being this gun
slinger and being this big, tough, you know, athlete, not
a golfer, So of course he's he's even if he's hurt,
he's want to show up and prove how tough he is.
And even if that's to the detriment of the team.
So it's um, unless it's borderline where it will be

(46:42):
at the detriment of his career, correct, no doubt a
thin Yeah, which way he's going to go A interesting choice,
you know for Team Europe. Um, to me, this is
kind of the last stand of that amazing generation that's
helped Europe win seven of the last nine Ryder Cups.

(47:03):
You know, Westwood, Poulter, Garcia, they've been the heart and
soul of those teams. And I mean Westwood, but by
the time of the next Ryder Cup, Westwood and Poulter
are practically eligible for the Senior Tour. And you know,
Sergio there's obviously he's he still has a beautiful golf
swing and he's dangerous any given time, but his his
weekend we got performances definitely dipped over the last couple

(47:24):
of years, so you have to wonder. And of course
there's no stets in, there's no Rows like they were
the other kind of building blocks for those teams. They've
kind of aged out now and so this is really
the European team is in transition. And this this is
a big one if because you don't know what you're
gonna get going forward from the rest of that core.
And now there's you know, there's certainly um, you know,

(47:46):
John rom is gonna be a monster for the next
twenty years. We know that Rory Rory still Rory. I mean,
of course he's dangerous every time he laces up his spikes.
So you know, they're they're kind of team leaders for
Europe as far as the younger the younger set. But um,
you know, it's hard to imagine Team Europe without Poulter,
without Sergio, without Westwood, and but that day is coming,

(48:10):
and so this becomes a really monumental Rider Cup. They
can steal one more at the end of their run
um and if not, I mean certainly there's plenty of
of good young players coming up through the ranks of
the European tour um, but they don't have the pedigree
and they they don't have the institutional success of that
older generation. So uh, it's this is a big Ryder Cup.

(48:34):
Both teams are are kind of remaking themselves. I mean,
you know, this is the first Ryder Cup with for
the for the Americans, without Tiger or Phil competing, since
like it really is, it really is the end of
an era. Which not to say that they were they
weren't cornerstones of success. I mean we we both know that. Um,

(48:55):
they they have disappointing Ryder Cup records and their and
their their teams have really disappointing records. But nevertheless, I
mean they were the dominant personalities for going on three decades,
and so excuse me, So this this is a big
one for for Team USA. I mean they have to.
Now Phil is going to be in the room as
vice captain. You know, he's gonna suck up a lot

(49:15):
of oxygen just because he's Phil. But it's different when
you're not playing. So, um, they're gonna have to figure
out who their their leaders are. And you know, I
think Jordan Speech has that kind of personality and and
he's he's a he's a natural born kind of leader
of men type. But um, you know he's still a
little bit younger. You know, Dustin is by by age

(49:40):
and experience. You know, you would you would point to him,
but he doesn't have that personality like he'll go out
and play hard, but he's not given any speeches. And uh,
you know Brooks could be that guy, but he may
not even be there. So the identity of the U
S team is is kind of influx, and it's gonna
be interesting to see who steps forward and and really
helps shape the personality the team. Obviously, there's no no

(50:02):
Patrick Read, which I'm relieved about that that takes away
a whole other plot line of melodrama the the U
S team doesn't need. So I think it's a fascinating
Ryder cup in that, Um, both teams are kind of
searching for who they are and who they are going
to be, and whicheverone wins is going to have this

(50:22):
rocket fuel into this new era, and whichever team loses
it's going to be. Um, they're at a crossroads and
there's gonna be some big questions. So I'm I'm even
more intrigued than usual. Put it that way. For sure,
this is going to be a This is going to
be a fascinating study this cup around, because like you said,

(50:43):
it's it's it's it truly is more so than and
even in in you know, the last several cups of
a real changing of cards, because I remember they were
saying that, you know, when when Dustin was coming in,
when Jordan was coming in, that this was like the
changing of the guards. But you look at the sheer
number of the young guys that are on the American team.
I I gotta say, I mean, if I were to

(51:05):
pick for me, there's just something about how he carries himself.
I see Colin Morikawa as being the next leader. Um, Dustin,
and again, I mean, these guys are all great and
I don't know them at all. To be, to be
perfectly honest, but Dustin seems more like a soldier than

(51:29):
a colonel, if you will, or a lieutenant or anything.
And that's not there's nothing wrong with that. Like he's
he's he's more. I will, I will do what I
can for the team, but I'm not necessarily going to
be the one that has to go and pick up
the pieces if they start falling apart or something like that,
And there's nothing wrong with that. Jordan's um, I don't see.

(51:53):
I don't see in Jordan what I see in Colin.
In that UM, I don't know how to say. It's it.
These there's are, by no means any sort of a
dig at any of these guys. I just I just
see Jordan's as more of I'm gonna have to sit
and think on that. I might have to come back

(52:13):
to you on that. Well, spice it in later, don't worry.
I'm kidding And can't Lee though, can't Lee. I think
you know he's he's he's got that sort of stealing
nous and he's got like a Tom Watson esque kind
of vibe. To me, he's a killer. It's gonna be
fun to watch him at the Ryder Cup because imagine
Patrick Cantley with adrenaline, right, like, you know, when he's

(52:36):
it's gonna be fun to see how it comes out,
because I remember David Duval who who I think there's
some comparisons with can't Ley and the way they played
the game and their personalities, and you know, before his
first Ryder Cup, he's like, it's just an exhibition and uh,
it's overrated. And then he got there and he felt it.
He's pumping his fist and stomping his feet and you know,

(52:58):
huffing him puff and it's like, okay, double deed, Yeah,
you just found religion, and so uh yeah, it's that's
what's fun. And even like Mari Cowa, you know he's
such a low key personality on the golf course and
when you've get forty people clustered on two golf holes
and um, the energy of it all. I mean, it's

(53:18):
gonna be fun to see how what it brings out
in him. And you can go on down the list.
It's um, I'm stoked. I mean obviously we we lost.
We had the Rodder Cup got pushed back a year
because the pandemic, and it just feels like it's been
an eternity since Paris, and um, so that's a good things,

(53:39):
not a bad thing if you're if you're wanting to
root for the Americans. Things changed so much. I mean, like,
you know, Francesco Molinari was like the best player on
the planet at that moment and he's not even gonna
be on the team. You know, he's had he's had
injuries and psychological damage from the Masters and other things,
and um, you know, three years is a long time
in golf careers, and so um, you know Tommy Fleetwood,

(54:02):
who was a monster there, Like, I mean, he hasn't
one in two years. He's still dangerous and he could
still get put four points on the board because he's
an emotional player and whatever. But like, um, you know,
you thought coming out of that that that Mollywood was
going to be a bed rock team for for Europe
for the next two or three Cups and it just hasn't.
It's not gonna work out. I mean, who knows. So

(54:24):
there's there's the churn of it all makes it fascinating
and I'm just I'm just excited to be there. It's
the Ryder Cup. It just delivers no matter what, and
I think the era of the blowout is over. You know,
there's that period there where the US was getting getting
crushed and um, it happened in Paris. But I don't,

(54:49):
I don't I think they're gonna I think they're gonna
be this is gonna be a tight one, and I
think I think it's gonna stay that way for a
while because I just I like, I like the composition
of the teams and um, and even I have to
say it was Steve Stricker. I was very uncertain of
him as a captain. You know, it's almost an honorary
choice because in Wisconsin and all that, and I thought
he might be too nice to be a Ryder Cup

(55:11):
captain and you have to make tough decisions and you
have to be a little bit of a hard ass
on some level. But you know Billy Horshel saying he
did even get a phone call from Stricker, like I
actually like that. You know, I was worried that Stricker
was gonna call every guy in the top one hundred
of the FedEx Cup Points list and say, well, I'm
sorry you don't make the team, Like yeah, it's like
you're like, I'm from Chili, Why are you calling me

(55:32):
like maybe Stricker is kind of a baddie at heart,
and um, you know I liked his pitch absolutely, and
he's one of my favorites. He's not some, he's not strict.
He's a good good man. But that's not to say
that he is like a goody two. He is a
good man who makes good hard decision. You may turn
out to be like the Paul McGinley of for the

(55:54):
U S where does not have a humany Mr Bean,
Yeah exactly. You know, only didn't have a monster resume
as a player. And it was always this weird thing
from on the U S side, like, well you had
to be a major champion, you know, around age fifty
to be the Ryder Cup captain. But really, you're playing
success is not the same as being a team leader.

(56:15):
You know, they're they're that one has very little to
the other. And it was this weird template that that
the U S team was locked into. And so you know,
Stricker is not a Hall of Fame golfer. I mean,
hell of a player, but he didn't didn't win a major.
Like in some ways he might not have been he
might have gotten a call within the old the old
rigid thinking of the PG of America. But um, I

(56:36):
think I think that he might turn out to be
a really skillful captain. He's clearly done an incredible amount
of homework with analytics and everything else that he put
into his captain's picks. It wasn't willy nilly like you know,
Tom Watson getting talked and taken Web Simpson because a
few text messages on the day of the announcement, you know,
there's like there's clearly been thought and planning and analysis

(56:57):
and um, so I'm happy about that. Um. And there's
just a few little hints that that trigger might might
be Uh, he might be the right man at the
right time, So we shall see. But well, yes, for
his sake, I hope you're right because he was one
of my favorite players of all times. So I want

(57:17):
him to do nothing but succeed at everything that he does,
including um, he got Bobby through first age. I know, no,
I've He's one of my favorite people on the planet.
Don't get me wrong. I love the guy like everyone
loves him. And um, but I was I was just
kind of wondering, like, is he gonna get can he
make the tough call with a lot of personalities, a

(57:39):
lot of egos, and you know that's that's the hardest part,
Like who are you gonna sit? And if someone's playing bad?
You know that was like Jim Furick to me, made
so many bad decisions in Paris, and one of them was,
you know, he'd grown up in Tiger Woods shadow and
he was in awe of him, and so he couldn't
he couldn't bear to sit Tiger who was clearly exhausted

(58:00):
and beat down and his body wasn't working, and and
Furik still put him out there four times, and like
and then Phil, who couldn't keep it on the planet,
who never even should have been picked with that golf
course in mind, he kept throwing Phil out there. It
was just like he just is giving Europe points and
because he couldn't make the tough call of sitting down

(58:21):
his buddies and these legends of the game. But that
week on that golf course, you know, you play Tiger
once an alternate shot, and you save him for singles,
and you play you play Phil once in four balls,
and then you save him for singles, and instead he
just kept giving Europe points. And you know, well, and
that's part of the intrigue of this because you have

(58:43):
so many of these young guys that obviously we've been watching.
But like, it all comes down, I think for for
both American teams, it all comes down to cohesion, because
that's one thing that the Europeans, for both the men
and the women. I mean, because don't get me wrong,
You've got the best of the best, and you're not
just the best of Europe. You're getting the best players,

(59:08):
like among the best players in the world. And it's
not just like, oh, they're just the best Europeans, No,
fuck you. These are the best players of golf in
the world. And one thing, because we always talk about like, yeah,
you know, the Europeans, they have so much more experience
with match play because they play a lot more match
play than than we do in the States. They have um,

(59:28):
you know, their national teams, this that you know, blah
blah blah. So they have their their little clusters and
they have their groups, but they have the ability because
they yes, they have their little clicks, but they all
are able to band together. So even if you were
to put people in pods, those pods still have to coexist.
You can't just have three girls in one pod and

(59:52):
you know, four guys in one pod and you do
that in UM, you know, in in in clusters and
key them separated, that there is a flow and an
energy and a heart like I feel like when we
started doing the pod system UM UM, you know, back
in the day, and I only did it in UH,

(01:00:15):
like I was one of the prospects for UM. Oh
my god, which one was it? I can't remember which
one it was. When Julie was was captaining her first
her first team, UM, I experienced the concept of the
pod mentality and I thought it was awesome. But because
like I didn't we weren't necessarily disclosing saying, oh, well,

(01:00:37):
you're a dominant introvert with this kind of tendency and
this and that whatever whatever. But it's like, you know,
I was talking with the person that was conducting the
tests and saying, I don't need names, but if someone
is this, which is a clear opposite of me, how
do I communicate with them? And learning you know, the
different types of personalities that there are, it helped me

(01:00:59):
greatly learn how to communicate with them. And if someone
is more introverted one, you don't push the issue, but
you you ask questions without necessarily expecting there to be
a continuous back and forth, you know, and you know
where their comfort zones are. And so it's a matter
of not just knowing, oh, these are my people. I'm
going to hang out with my people because this is

(01:01:20):
you know, a dominant extrovert with uh, you know, a
tendency to this at whatever. I'm just like, okay, so
this is that kind of person. In order to have
that relationship with that kind of person, like you can
like also like you know, in junior high, I hung
out with the skaters. I hung out with the jocks.
I hung out with the Latin next community. I hung
out with like the uh, the um the the the

(01:01:42):
theater kids, the theater nerds. Like so you know, I'd
like to say that I can sort of come and
come and go between different groups. But understanding other people
is something that I think the Europeans do so so
well because they have to, you know, being within the
European Union, you know, and and and Great Britain and Ireland.
You know, you have to have that ability to not

(01:02:04):
not cooperate necessarily, but to be able to communicate amongst
one another even if there are differences, whether it's um
native language or personality types. And so I think that
that that could be the next step is not just
knowing what your personality type is and knowing these are
my partners because we're in the same pod or whatever,
but being able to reach out and take these well,

(01:02:30):
however many there are fork pods or there may be
as many as six pods or whatever, and turning them
you know, they're just they're they're pods. They're like different
they're all like petals of a single flower. So it's
it's a matter of just knowing that at the whole,
at the heart and at the core, we're still whether
you want to say American, whether you want to say human,
whether you want to say women or men, you know,
or or people with born with with the with that

(01:02:52):
those biological um, you know, body parts or what have you. Like,
it's you know, finding out what the core of it
all is beyond just this podularity or whatever you want
to call it. But that's because that's something that the
Europeans do, is well, that's the next step is Yeah,
they're all pods because they're all from you know, their
own countries and they all you know, whatever, but they

(01:03:14):
communicate in ways that I think, um is something that
that the Americans can grow, which again is not a
dig It's something that I'm so so excited about, and
that's something that can be cultivated. Absolutely, and this is
it's just it's so, it's just it's going to be
such an amazing weekend and that on on the heels

(01:03:36):
of the ladies having played, and that in itself was
it's its own, you know, new changing of the guards
because you had a lot of younger players on on
on both teams, you know, and you know you've got
like you know, mel Read and Carlotta Saganda are are
some of the UM the heroes, the heroines and the
leaders of this team. Therapy stupid young you know, Like

(01:03:59):
how amazing that for sure. But that's the thing that's exciting,
Like where are we going to go from here? How
do we get to be in a place where we
can we can get back to American dominance and and
American I'm not going to use greatness because I don't
like those tours together anymore. UM, But I would say

(01:04:19):
for me, the most intriguing, the most intriguing person. So
the two people I want to watch the most are
Victor hovland Um. But the most intriguing person in all
of this for me is going to be Terrell Hatton.
I just wanted to see like the half like it
be I can go psycho and I want to see
what happened like I think it will be so much fun,

(01:04:41):
just like as an observer and being able to see
if he can rein in his emotions or if he's
going to take those and use those a hit three
ninety yard drives like, because that's another thing, that first
he is. I don't care what the yard says on
the golf course. It is the shortest hole on the
golf course. That your first match. Oh my god, Oh
my god. I'm so stoked, you know. And yeah, I

(01:05:02):
mean he's he's comedy. I mean, Shane Lowry is you know,
he's he's such a fun character who doesn't love Victor
Hovel and he's just like Europe just has a lot
of fun characters. And that's that's how it's always been
and so it always will be. And uh it's it's
neat to watch the alchemy on that team. So yeah,
it's gonna be great. Well, we still have a couple

(01:05:22):
more weeks talk writer Cup before and after so um,
and of course we didn't even get the factor in
Portland playing one of the best tournaments of the year
on the LPG schedule and lots of food trucks, so
plenty of of material for next week's podcast. But I
feel like we should probably release our listeners at this point. Yeah,
absolutely so UM. Thank you all for listening to yet

(01:05:45):
another scintilating episode of Full Send with Christina Kim and
Alan chifnuk Out