June 27, 2024 • 35 mins
Shane and Marty welcome PING Brand Ambassador, Wayne 'Radar' Riley to the pod. They dive into how he got started in the game and his 20+ year career on the European Tour, his transition to on-course commentating, and the story behind his 'Radar' nickname.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
The guys from paying. They've kind of showed me how
much the equipment matters.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
I just love that I can hit any shot I
kind of want.
Speaker 3 (00:06):
We're gonna be able to tell some fun stories about
what goes on here to help golfers play better golf.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Hey, everybody, welcome back to the proven Grounds Podcast. I'm
Shane Bacon. That is Marty Jerts and Marty we got
a special guest. I've bit excited about this one.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
Yeah, Wayne Radar Riley. Yeah, I think that's a good
place to start. Cheane is wayn Why don't you tell
us where Radar came from?
Speaker 4 (00:26):
Well, when I was a young boy, I was actually
playing an apprentice golf profession in Australia. I had to
work at a pro shop for three years and because
my parents made me do that in case I didn't
make it as a golf bro and they would bang
on and I was in a place called Orange and
I was camping because we couldn't afford to stay in
a hotel playing this championship and Wayne Riley it was
right at the height of a TV show called Mash
(00:48):
and you're you know, with the helicopters and Radar Riley
out of mash and it upset me Bactually really I
was only about fifteen or sixteen years of age, but
they did me a favor really, So it's, uh, that's
where I get RADI Riley Nash.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
When you're walking the golf course, do you get radar
more than when polot you absolute?
Speaker 1 (01:07):
They're always their always screaming, don't you.
Speaker 4 (01:08):
Yeah, it's in the UK, Yeah, it's it's absolutely, it's
it's it's it's all Rader, all of it. And in
Australia it's all Rader.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
So you're from Sydney, Australia, you live in England now
encourse commentator for Sky Sports. You do an unbelievable job.
You're one of my favorite listens. How did you get
into that? Because a lot of people might not know
about your playing career, How did you transition from player
to encourse commentator?
Speaker 4 (01:29):
Well, I retired from the playing on the DP World
two European Tours, I know it as and I went
back to Australia and I actually bought a nine whole
part three golf course and what was it, Wayne Riley
Path three?
Speaker 1 (01:41):
And there you go?
Speaker 4 (01:42):
Yeah, And originally and and and I had that, and
I got a phone call from Channel seven back in
Australia and they said, would you like to come and
do some en course commentary? And I was eleven o'clock
or nine. I was half a say. I said, sure,
you got the right right guy usual you know what
Wayne Grady or someone like that like that. They said, not,
it's you. We think you can do it, and that
(02:03):
was it, and then Sky got me and the rest
is history. I didn't find it very difficult at all,
and which is which is a bonus. You know, some
people struggle with it, and but they learned to do it,
and that's fine. But straight away I just duck the water.
I'd been in every predicament as a golf pro, up
(02:25):
trees everywhere, so I kind of knew how to call
shots reder.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
Do you still own the PO three course?
Speaker 4 (02:31):
No? No no. I leased that out for two years
to this guy and he started to steal from me,
so I ended up selling it back to him. I
sold it to him, I mean true, yeah, I leased
it to him, and there's ways that I shouldn't say this,
but he didn't steal, did you?
Speaker 2 (02:49):
You just maybe a bit sketchy, I'm assuming it's not
Wene Riley P three.
Speaker 4 (02:56):
It's Silver Slvania waters Bath three.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
Now there you go.
Speaker 3 (02:59):
So after you were camping and working as a golf
pro playing these was it?
Speaker 1 (03:05):
Were they junior.
Speaker 3 (03:06):
Tournaments in Australia you were planning at that time sixteen seventeen, Well.
Speaker 4 (03:09):
No, they were. We call it an apprentice. I'm not
sure if it's the stay the same here in the States.
You have to work in a pro shop for three
years to become fully qualified, gotcha. Yes, you could fall
back on being a club pro if you didn't make
it on the circuit. So that's what I did, and
I did the whole three years, which was almost like
a jail sentence, basically selling Mars bars to the members
(03:32):
and cleaning their golf clubs and all that. I did
the whole lot. Do your lessons, No, I wasn't. You're
not allowed to us apprentice. Yeah you can now, But
when my day, it was, you know, thirty dollars a
week I used to get when I first started, and
it was it was very interesting. But I started that
when I was fifteen. It was a decent golf even
(03:53):
when I was fifteen. So I did it for three
years I was out at eighteen, but I'm fully qualified.
Never had to use it, but so it's been as
good as an Astronia motorbike. It's been useless really, but
I'm still a fully qualified golf brother.
Speaker 3 (04:07):
So you're a PGF Australia member of the.
Speaker 4 (04:10):
Oh absolutely, they always have been and pay it every year.
So whether they know I am.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
You pay your dues, I do.
Speaker 3 (04:18):
Wait, what what year did you turn pro and what
was the what were the early days like of your
professional career.
Speaker 4 (04:24):
Well, that was around nineteen seventy seven when I had
to go and work in the pro shop, and but
I was out at about nineteen eighty one. I started
to play pro am. We've got an unbelievably good pro
am circuit in Australia where Wayne Grady, a major champion,
Ian Baker Finch, Greg Norman back in the day played
this pro am circuit. We all honed our game on that.
(04:48):
You know, playing five thousand dollars was a total person
If you won, you won seven hundred dollars and you
could just keep on going on to the next event.
They were all year round, except when the big tournaments
in Australia were happening. So it was a great place
to hone your game. Every single day. You'd finish, you
get in the car and you go to the next
one and they all in the same vicinity as each other,
(05:09):
so off you'd go, and then you'd play on the
proper tour when it started like October through December, and
then they'd start up again and the finish late February
with the Australian Masters, and then when you got your card,
you go and play in Europe or you play in
the States. So Australia's and it's still got a great
it's a great honing ground for young pros, but there
(05:32):
aren't big championships. We used to have like thirteen or
fourteen big championships and now they're basically is the Australian
PGA and the Australian Open. Because of the world schedule.
Now it's a world schedule. People go, why haven't we
got big championships down in Australia. When I go back
to Australia, But it's very difficult now because you know,
the same time as Australian Open, Tiger's got his event,
(05:53):
the Hero and so many things going on now. Sponsors
aren't interested anymore unless you've got great fields. Basically Scottie
Smith if they had at leash and these are kind
of great Australian players. If they aren't playing, sponsors aren't
really interested.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
When did you start to show signs of being a
very good golfer? I'm always interested in when people see
a clicking, or when they start to see the results,
or if somebody tells them, hey, you've got some serious game.
When did you start to see your abilities click?
Speaker 4 (06:25):
About nineteen to twenty I started to sort of win
these pro am events and then start top tens on
the on the circuit, and I won my first tournament
when I was like twenty one, being in Baker Beating
and Baker Vench in a playoff, a big event Victorian
PG eight and yeah, it just went on from there.
(06:46):
And then twenty two I came over and got my
card in Europe and off you go.
Speaker 3 (06:52):
Was your first big win the ninety one Australian Open, No.
Speaker 4 (06:56):
The PGA. But see, as I say, the thirteen tournaments
we had back in Australia, Yeah, they are all big events.
You know. We've got like Bob Shearers and Jack Newton's
blust from the past Baker, Finches. You know, all these
guys played in the events that we won, but they
don't hear of them now. But they are big events.
But my big yeah, the Australian Open would have been
(07:17):
nineteen ninety one was my first big on. Everyone wants
to win the Australian openers in Australia even now it was,
but it was back then. You know there were three
and out of the four major champions in it. I mean,
it was a huge event in Australia Open. It is
it true?
Speaker 3 (07:30):
You went birdie, birdie, birdie, and tell us about that
putt on the last hole or the last the finishing
stretch of that tournament.
Speaker 4 (07:36):
Well, it's an interesting story because in nineteen ninety I
started with ping and and I won the Air New
Zealand Open by seven shots. And anyway, I hope we've
got all day and I got. I go back to
Europe in nineteen ninety one, and I parted it up
(07:58):
so badly. It was incredible with a short buttter. Nothing
to do with the part I just didn't line up well.
The holes were open and I found it hard to
square them up, and I thought I've got to start again.
So in about September, two months shy of the tour
finishing in Europe, I went back to Australia and I said, well, okay,
I'm going to start and I'm going to become a
child again in the respect of I'm going to get
(08:21):
a long putter and I'm going to go out there
and find something that's different than using the short putter.
So I went back for seven weeks and I practiced
so very much with the long part. It didn't hit
a shot seven weeks, just parted every single day. And
I went to defend the Air New Zealand I don't work,
(08:41):
which I won the prey previous year in nineteen ninety
by seven shots, and I ran about thirtieth and I
didn't put very well. I thought, oh jee, I just
wasted seven weeks. Next week, next week I get to
the Australian Open and I played unbelievably like I had
all year, but wasn't partying very good. And I'm on
the about third down on the board going into about
(09:04):
the five holes from the end of the championship, three
shots back and I'm winging and whining, and my caddy
then Lindsay, she said it was a lady's great caddy,
good player herself. And she said, if you don't stop
whinging when you burdy these last four holes, you're not
going to remember it.
Speaker 1 (09:23):
And I said, come come on, it's creak caddy advice.
Speaker 4 (09:25):
Yeah, yeah, that's all right, Shane. But then I hit
it to fifteen feet on the fifteenth miss of the game.
I said, what were you saying? So anyway, the next
path through I hit a five iron up there to
about nine feet behind it. Did then I hit a
one iron over the back of the green on a
par five seventeenth at Royal Melbourne, chip it down to
thirty feet because it was in a tangy light. It
(09:46):
was a good shot to get at thirty feet Ray
Melbourne Green's really fast in with this long part, absolutely marvelous.
So then all of a sudden I sling this six
iron right around the green on eighteen under the whole
thirty three feet. Well she didn't touched the sides in
she went as well, so and then they all started
to make a few boges, said coda. Uncle Rada prevailed
(10:08):
with the new putter. I mean you all should get
the long partter. It was a b ninety.
Speaker 2 (10:13):
This isn't twenty twenty four though. I mean, there weren't
a lot of long putters out there. I mean, this
is this something somebody built for you. You go have
to go find it. I mean, how did you get
your hands on something like that?
Speaker 1 (10:21):
What in the early nineties.
Speaker 4 (10:23):
I looked at rock O Mediate, really mediate, he had one.
They were already Peter Sing and Sam Trans were already
using the chin one, only two of them. But Rocco
had this thing in his chest, yes, and anchored, you
bet you we were anchoring and it was it was like,
(10:45):
you know, I thought that really and then I grabbed
it and I clawed it and it was like and
I just kept on thinking, TikTok, like a grandfather clock, TikTok, TikTok.
And it worked. It was brilliant.
Speaker 3 (11:00):
You see a lot of the you know, now the
stigma's gone, the ego's gone with the long putter, right,
it seems that you see a younger players doing it,
Folks struggling with the hebgb's doing it or not or
not the hebgb's. I mean, it's just a different technique.
I personally use it as well. It's not easy. There's
a skill to it. You need your stuff to do
a lot of things very mechanically with it, temple wise,
(11:22):
very important the pressure you apply to it. What advice
would you have for somebody that wants to try it,
they've never used a long putter, any technique things, and
any tips or tricks to somebody.
Speaker 4 (11:31):
Yeah, as long as you do get over that, as
I said, the Grandfather clock, as long as the putter
does hang vertically, I feel almost like the toe heel
up just a little bit and it hangs down. And
you can get that thing just given it the TikTok,
the old Grandfather clock. If you can give it that,
and you know, it's almost as well with the long putter.
(11:54):
You know, in my day it was almost showing off,
Like you get onto the green and people go, look
at this guy, what's just thing? Not many people, so
they're already looking at you. Yeah, they're looking at you.
They were looking at me, and I was going, yeah,
here I am. You might be looking at check what
I've got here. You know, So all of a sudden
(12:15):
you've gone from the short part of where you didn't
want people to watch because it was like a live
rattlesnak in your hand and now you've got this, you've
got this TikTok thing go and you hold them from
everywhere and they're all going whoa. And we went through
that stage in the nineties where everyone started using it
and then it stopped.
Speaker 3 (12:35):
It's coming back, though, Yeah, it is coming back.
Speaker 2 (12:37):
Rad Are you you went rattlesnake there? I mean you're
from Australia. You could have picked any other of the
most poisonous snakes in the world.
Speaker 4 (12:42):
You read belly black Sune, We've got a red bit.
Speaker 1 (12:44):
You're talking to the American audience.
Speaker 4 (12:46):
Well, that's what it's all about. Yeah, to know where
that came from.
Speaker 2 (12:49):
Jake, twenty years on the European Tour. Now we've heard
so long about the European Tour and kind of the
fraternity that is the European Tour. I can only imagine
what it was like in the eighties and nineties. I'm
assuming you've got a couple of good storre worries about
touring for twenty years on the euro tour with some
of your buddies and stuff. So if you could share
a couple of well of those.
Speaker 4 (13:06):
Types, it's just it's the stories are just you know,
because Basically, we didn't have courtesy cars like on the
PGA Tour. If you're a player, you get given the car. Yeah,
you pick it up from the airport, I suppose, and
you drive around. We used to have to get picked up,
you know, or catch a cab. And I remember it
was so strange to play on the European time. I
(13:27):
remember playing in Madrid once. So I'm playing in Madrid
and you had to get a golf club called Club
de Campo ported a hero, great course in Madrid. And
I get up and I jump in the cab on
Sunday morning, running about tenth in the championship, you know,
going in the week and not gonna win, but gonna
have a decent week. Get in the cab by myself. Anyway,
(13:50):
see all these people up the road, and I've got
an hour and a half until I head off. And
I stopped and I go, what's going on here? Matathon?
I said, what, So there's a marathon. Okay, so I've
got to get through this marathon. But I'm not allowed
to get through this marathons on there's police everywhere.
Speaker 1 (14:10):
They're blocking off the roads.
Speaker 4 (14:13):
So I've got the clubs in the boot of the cab.
Everyone's honking their car. If you've ever been a midman,
Madrid a magical place. So I ended up making my
Titan by three minutes. I had to run through and
a marathons. They shut a marathon down, and it's really wide.
It just isn't the street, it's the footpath people can run.
(14:34):
So I ran through a marathon with hundreds of people
with my bats ping of course on my back. I'm
running through all these people and they're all going, what's
going on? What's this guy doing running? But this is
the sort of thing we used to do. We didn't
get courtesy cars or go round marathons. They go, right,
(14:55):
today's a marathon, we've got to go around, so book
your car early. I had to run through things like that.
We used to have. Tuesday nights were legendary. We shouldn't
go into those too much. A little red eyed on
on Wednesday pro Am Day. But it's all The game's
changed so much for the better. But I wouldn't change
the days we used to. We used to play. If
(15:18):
you had an ordinary week, you wouldn't win that much money.
You had to play well the next week as well.
It was we didn't play for that much money back then.
It's changed. It's changed dramatically. These guys playing for twenty
five million a week and twenty million a week, it's
all and they're still winging.
Speaker 2 (15:34):
Still, they're silf whining they can win, are still whining.
Speaker 4 (15:38):
It's like, unreal. I can't get in that. We'll play
better man, go and play. Oh well, you have to
go back. You can't play for the twenty million with
the designated great events. You have to go and play.
Oh poor you, you have to go and play for seven.
Speaker 1 (15:54):
Really, I think you're gonna be okay.
Speaker 4 (15:55):
I think a lot of people should take a good
hard look of themselves and see how how lucky they are.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
When Rory got the Curtis the police escort at the
Ryder Cup that one time and made his tea time
by about half an hour? Were you sitting there going
there's no stress in that.
Speaker 4 (16:09):
I was there on that first jarge. I think it
was half an hour.
Speaker 1 (16:11):
Show a little quit, little tighter.
Speaker 4 (16:12):
Oh yeah, I'd say he he parked ten minutes before. Okay,
it wasn't much more because I saw him walk on
the tea and they cheered him and he smiled and
madonah it was I was right. I just laughed. It
was just unreal.
Speaker 1 (16:28):
Flashbacks to Madrid.
Speaker 4 (16:29):
Evans knows what he was doing that night.
Speaker 3 (16:33):
Radar, tell us a little bit going back to equipment.
Tell us a little bit about what ball driver. You
know you played in the eighties and nineties and and
and what your experience has been now you've played such
a broad spectrum of equipment much golf ball driver, metalwood, standpoint,
tell us all the job though.
Speaker 4 (16:53):
Yeah, the old driver, it's been so long ago. What
was the silver driver that Ping used to have. They
used to have a three with the same Yeah, there
you go, yeah, those but back when I started with Ping,
you you you had? It was great, it was the best.
I mean, you had to use thirteen of the fourteen clubs.
That's what cast has said. He said, you got to
(17:15):
use thirteen of the fourtune and I used fourteen, and
you had to use the putter. If you had a
Ping bag, There's no using someone else's butter, because that's
what Ping. It was the daddy of the butter. You know.
That's what and still is everyone's truck. If you look
at Scotty wats his name, I'm not going to mention
his second name. We're not even going to go there.
(17:36):
But if you have a look at that, it's a
copy of the answer, right, Tiger's putter that he hold
everything with that red dot. It's it's you just look
at it when it was down there. Well that's an answer.
So how how someone? I'm sorry, I'm not taken. You know,
I'm not upset in the apple card here, It's just
it is fact. I mean that. Well, you can't copy
(17:56):
what Carston did, but there it is, and everyone's going
Scotty's really really well, he's a few years late, I feel.
But I used all the clubs you had to and
it was an incredible time and I still do all
my clubs though I haven't got anything else in it.
I wouldn't dare because why there isn't anything as good.
Speaker 3 (18:15):
And you had the big white staff bag, right, that
was the classic and that still is with the brand today.
Speaker 4 (18:21):
You know what, Yes, I've got that big white staff
bag with my thing that I do I think called
round with Raider that comes out. But when I won
the Australian Open, I had a lady cat in for me, Lindsay,
and I had a little white bag that was the
same material. I'm not sure they still do it. I
really don't know, but it was the most unbelievably good bag.
(18:44):
It had the big Ping on there.
Speaker 1 (18:46):
Yeah you still have it, you start it at home?
Speaker 4 (18:48):
No, no, I don't. I might have gave it to Lindsay.
I probably did. But it's a beautiful bag and it's
not the big one. I've got the big one. Yeah,
but now you know, there's so many bags you can get.
I've got this little light bag that I carry around
when I'm in England and go and play it come,
you know, with a strap over. They're like, I'm wearing
a bra and you know, and I walk walk around
(19:09):
the golf course and it's you don't even know you've
got it on your back and it's you know, there's
so many golf bags that you can get now, and
you know Ping at the forefront of that as well.
Speaker 2 (19:18):
Yeah, Ping's still the best bag out there, that is
for sure. You mentioned around with Radar. How did that
come about? Because it's been a really really entertaining series.
I know people really enjoyed online.
Speaker 4 (19:26):
Dominic Griff is the main man in the UK for
the truck and he came up with the idea. He says, well,
let's do a series of and go and play with
some some ping staffers. And we've done that in Europe
where we're yeah, you know, going to get some guys
over here on the PGA too. It's just hard because
(19:46):
I'm in the UK. And however that works, will make
it work. But yeah, it's been it's been great fun.
It is great fun filming and is unbelievable. Get the
drone out and it's watch it on YouTube. It's around
with radar, ping around with they're they're great fun. I've
done him and as I've gone so many good players
and it's they're brilliant that take us long to do
(20:08):
and every and we've got one little we've got one
camera and we've got a drone and all that sort
of stuff and the sounds great. People go well, a
many camera and it's it's incredible the way it's done,
and it's and it comes up and they're so popular.
If I come to America through Sky because you don't
watch Sky over here. The other thing you get on
(20:29):
Sky over here as the Formula one and and the
golf goes back to the UK. But when I come
over here, most people the Americans come up to me
through around with radar and they I've never heard one
person go to you that rad of around with radars crap,
it's we love it. So that's positive.
Speaker 2 (20:45):
How's your game these days when you're playing with the pros?
I mean, do you still feel like you can kind
of get in their kitchen at all?
Speaker 4 (20:51):
No?
Speaker 1 (20:51):
Okay, not like you.
Speaker 4 (20:53):
I mean you're out there. You know, you're one of
those wannabe players. I see.
Speaker 1 (20:58):
I'm like, what about that. I'm like your garden with
the chipping. I'm like captain of the wanna be pro
the team.
Speaker 4 (21:06):
Yeah, but it's it's like, no, no, not really. I
played on Saturday and I was I wasn't very good,
but with my job, without jobs, you know what it's like.
I mean, you play for three weeks and you start
to become I'm shooting around par I'm having some funny here,
and it's it's great. Then you got a way for
through you don't touch a club and you go back
and you start again.
Speaker 1 (21:25):
That's right.
Speaker 2 (21:26):
It's literally like you with the long putter, right, It's
like going back to the first time you learned about golf.
Speaker 4 (21:30):
That's what it's about.
Speaker 3 (21:31):
Shane is such a wannabe pro. It's still questionable whether
he has his amates status's.
Speaker 4 (21:35):
Right, But I'm loving the us.
Speaker 1 (21:37):
Don't look in at this us.
Speaker 4 (21:39):
I'm loving the back of the garden. The backyard.
Speaker 2 (21:42):
What's the branding for it? Oh the griddle, the grid
shipping green. Unbelieve Yeah, look, look, you know what, you
know what. I messed up though. I did the bunker. Okay,
I did a little bunker off the green. Now I've
got two little kids, and that's now.
Speaker 1 (21:54):
Just the sand pit.
Speaker 2 (21:55):
Well that's it's it's fine for them to play in it.
But I come home from a trip like this, You're right,
sand everywhere. They'll be staying on in the halls on
the green, and I spend two hours cleaning it. So
the bunker might not have been a great play, but
I love having in the backyard.
Speaker 4 (22:07):
Of course you do. Yeah, fantastic. Can you spin it
out of the bunker? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (22:11):
Yeah, you know it's I really don't hit a lot
of bunker shots there. It's truly a sandbox for you.
Speaker 4 (22:16):
Just when you have people around for a barbecue, it's like.
Speaker 1 (22:19):
I'll break it up and clean.
Speaker 4 (22:20):
Oh you don't go to the bunker.
Speaker 2 (22:21):
Yeah, but other than that, it's just the trucks and
stuff are in there. Where'd the hat come from?
Speaker 4 (22:25):
By the way, My mom my mother, and she said,
you know you're going to do this on core stuff.
You know, you have to keep your complexion. You you know,
you're a good looking man, so you don't want to
sort of the sun to sort of spoil those rugged
good looks. So mom bought me a hat, and and
every time I now she doesn't buy me hat, so anymore,
I just go and buy one. Every couple of years,
I just go and and get one. In Australia's an
(22:47):
Australian hat. And it's it's been great, you know, it's been.
It's been. I didn't think I at the start, I
didn't want it to be something to make me known.
It was just I'm wearing the hat. That's the way
it is. And now everyone's you know, the hat in
america's not that cowboy and I'm like, yeah, mate, whatever,
(23:08):
pretty good American, right, Yeah. Well it's a it's a
good hat. They're good hats, and it helps you know
over here, especially the sun shining all the time, and
it gets a bit hard when you're in Scotland or Ireland.
That's blowing that you need the string a thousand. There's no,
it's amazing. It doesn't really come off and it's it
must be something to do with having a big fat
(23:29):
head mate.
Speaker 2 (23:30):
You've done encourse commentating for a long time. Can you
name the three players that you enjoy watching the most
or when you get their groups you get the most
fired up?
Speaker 4 (23:39):
You know, I'm so lucky, Shane that I don't have
to worry about I know. It's like I even so
much that I don't care who wins. Okay, I really
don't care who wins. I don't really have to know
what people say, What score do they? What score are
they on radar?
Speaker 1 (23:55):
It's not my job.
Speaker 4 (23:56):
It's not my job. My job is to concentrate on
how that was lying. My job is sight, sound, smells, really,
I mean, what they are facing, what is going on?
Is my job to know if he's one under or
two under? Is like I didn't know the first round
of the Masters. When I was out this year with
(24:18):
Scottie first round shot six under, I could have sworn
he was two. Really, I stood up on the eighteenth
green behind the ground and looked up on that big
wide board and I went, no, no, no, no, they've
got that wrong. Then you think this or no, there's
no way they've got that wrong. Here at the Master,
there's no way they're having it wrong. Six under couldn't
believe it. Well, I mean, I just I just I
(24:38):
just call what you guys, the viewing audience want to know.
So I don't Brory all these guys tigers, you know
back in the day that was I saw some things
with him. I mean I think we all saw some
things with him. You just shook your head and just
started laughing. And yeah, but watching guys, I like watching
guys play with long players. It was short watched the
(25:01):
way you know Kevin case New or someone like that
playing with Rory McElroy. See how he gets around and
there's a great job.
Speaker 2 (25:08):
Well, I mean I think people that I mean, I've
done on course a little bit in my career, and
I don't think people quite understand the cadence that you're
going through. I mean, you're trying to stand one hundred
yards or maybe a couple hundred yards away from the
tee so they can't hear you. Maybe you can see
the club or you're just going up to the fairway
to get up there, so you get a number and
you can kind of look at the lie and you
can get out of their way. I mean, it's really
(25:29):
this kind of song and dance that I don't think
people that have either been out to a golf tournament
before are obviously done on course commentary understands that there's
this you're it's like a four and a half hour,
you know, dance party you're basically having with the golf
course and try not to get in the player's kitchens
while also trying to get the information, you know, out
on the telecast.
Speaker 4 (25:46):
Yeah, that's a very good point. Over here in America,
a lot of the on courses seem to stand just
on the off the tee where I am up with
the landingside right on is way ahead and I go
to sometimes I used to go to Bones. I said
what east, and well, I want to see what they
head off the team. I said, well, I can ask
(26:08):
my producer of the tea. I could just press a button.
They go, that's the last of the job for me.
Speaker 2 (26:15):
That's the information you can see too that that's that's
not my first producer when I did it on course,
he said, that's not your job telling them driver a
three wood, it's like a poor three is different.
Speaker 1 (26:24):
You know less.
Speaker 4 (26:26):
But I can find that whether it's a five iron,
because what you've got to do is match. If he's
hitting the five iron on a past three, it comes
up on the screen. I can't go six one because
they're going to go on home. This guy doesn't know
what he's doing. So you've got a little bit of help.
But when it comes down to the meat of it all,
I have to be in front. I have to save
that balls in a divot. If it's over there under
a tree in the grass, I have to be up there.
(26:47):
And then I keep on going forward. And then I
when they hit the green, I can get up there.
Line the putts up, move to a high spot. I'm
nowhere near them. They don't even know they know I'm
out there, but I'm never in their way. And and
that's the way standing behind them, as a lot of
(27:08):
Americans do.
Speaker 1 (27:09):
I'm not you know, everybody's situation does.
Speaker 4 (27:12):
Everyone's different. But I just don't see why they do that.
They're getting too close to them, and well there's potential
there for them to tell them to go away. Where
I'm seeing everything, but I'm just way in front of them.
Speaker 2 (27:26):
Radar, if you didn't get a chance to read a pipe,
let's say you were Russian, or you couldn't get up
there in time, and the host says, Radar, what does
this putt do? What's your go to line when you
don't know what the putt does?
Speaker 4 (27:36):
Well, I always see it because, to be honest with you,
the only reason I would do that is because if
I can't read it. Sometimes it's interesting, you know, with us,
even as golfers, you go, I don't.
Speaker 1 (27:51):
Know what this is going to happen here.
Speaker 4 (27:52):
Most of the time, I'll say it on it I've
got no id ot to do. But my go to
line if I'm in a little bit of trouble out there,
Jeez tear what the smell of Burger's over there is
just unbelievable. The hot dogs, I mean, I mean, the
miss ohios that are out here are just unreal. Oh,
the winds just got up, gee, wiz might affect this part,
(28:14):
which is just a little uphill.
Speaker 2 (28:17):
I remember I missed maybe but one of my first
time courus Marty, and I was like, I know, is
this is a really tough read?
Speaker 1 (28:23):
Is what I said, Just throw it out there.
Speaker 4 (28:27):
Sometimes you've just got to come out with things that
you know, other things. If you can't pick that.
Speaker 3 (28:32):
En coourse commentaries or you carry Green's books, is that
a thing?
Speaker 2 (28:35):
Yeah, I mean some do. Some bring Greens books. Some
have yardage books.
Speaker 4 (28:38):
I mean there's there's there's there's arrows in our Greens books.
But to be perfectly, you know, this is a one
that if I'm out there with Maltby, say Maltby or
another few guys will go together. We'll all because is
the same as me. He's always in front, even though
Roger's got a buggy and and and we we go
(28:59):
up there, we'll look at me and I'll look at
him right left, and they'll full go.
Speaker 3 (29:05):
So there's a few of us crowdsourcing it.
Speaker 4 (29:09):
You know, you get a line, we're all only human.
I maybe you get a read wrong. I mean, you
know it's going to happen, but you don't want to
get too many wrong because that's your job. I mean, look,
it's fun stiff on courses to me.
Speaker 1 (29:25):
I just go on play now.
Speaker 4 (29:27):
And there's a lot of them out there. I'm not
going to mention any name and I'm like, wait a second,
come on, let's just get something. Give me something here,
give me, give me something, because it's at the end
of the day, it's golf is entertainment. This is entertainment.
What we're doing right here. We are here to give
them something, and you know we're just you know, boring.
(29:47):
I just don't think it cuts it.
Speaker 2 (29:48):
But how do you mix that in because your job
is I mean, your job is to be informative, but
you're also very funny and you're entertaining. So how do
you weave that in as it's just your personality.
Speaker 4 (29:58):
I don't try to be an. I'm not. I'm just
I'm like this away from it, I'm just a bit mad.
Probably they should just lock me up. I suppose it's
a rubber room somewhere. But you know, yeah, yeah, yeah,
all of us. I mean it's like, you know, it's
just as I always believe it. It's entertainment and if
you can bring entertainment to it. Look, there's nothing wrong
(30:18):
with being stiff. And you know, this is an uphill hug.
There's a seven nine the winds out of the right
hand side. I mean it's like, I mean, you know, yeah,
all right, okay, but let's talk about something else. There
might be something funny. There's a streaker running down the
middle of the fairway. Well the cat the producer is
not going to show the streaker, but we can talk
about the streak.
Speaker 1 (30:38):
That's right.
Speaker 4 (30:39):
It's like, where did that happen? Tory Pines, wasn't it
Tory Pines? There was a streaker in the US Open.
Speaker 2 (30:44):
Famous one was the daily one at the Open was
like the most famous I think streaker he chases it's.
Speaker 4 (30:49):
Right, yeah, but yeah, whatever's going on. There's so many
things to talk about out there in our job that
some people just miss a trick. But when they listen
to your podcast, guys here, yeah they're gonna go well
yeah maybe, but maybe they'll go non.
Speaker 1 (31:04):
Must not red or.
Speaker 3 (31:05):
We've had a lot of tour players on the podcast.
I've liked auson the question of.
Speaker 1 (31:09):
Like shaping the ball.
Speaker 3 (31:10):
I like when I like when watching the elite players
move the golf ball high, low, left, right, right, the left,
who have in the modern era right now, Baba curves
it a lot.
Speaker 4 (31:22):
Baba, yeah, Bubba, he just comes straight to mind, Yeah
doesn't he? I mean, just bend it like Bubba. I mean,
he just that shot at the Masters down the right
hand side with that wedge, what was at one hundred
and fifty or something around there. That was an incredible
shot that made Bubba that shot. I'm not sure if
that was his first Master's win or his second Masters
(31:43):
win first first. Yeah, and he he just bends the
ball so so so it just it's quite incredible. But
now we are looking at Scotty. Scotty, Scotty, he can
he can shape it, especially with the driver he gets.
Seems does this seem to miss a fairway?
Speaker 1 (32:05):
Scotty Scheffler, It's a really long and really straight. It's crazy.
Speaker 2 (32:08):
He just finds a lot of fairways, you know, for
a longer player.
Speaker 4 (32:11):
It's just an incredible golfer and an incredible person.
Speaker 1 (32:15):
Yep.
Speaker 4 (32:15):
He really is always remembers my name and he's just
a lovely, lovely guy. But the golf ball, I don't
believe lends itself to bending it. Like when we were younger,
I was younger that the old remember the old tool Bilata.
Oh yeah, yeah, it was like chewing gum was like
a piece of like a piece of putty.
Speaker 1 (32:35):
You could get your finger and.
Speaker 2 (32:37):
Oh you could you could you could run old one.
I had irons when I was a kid. This was
before pro v days. I had irons and it had
a little globe in the middle of the iron, right
in the sweet spot. And I remember I was playing
a tour blata and I was, you know, ten, eleven,
twelve years old, and I munched one and it was
one of the first times I could really feel like
compression with the iron. And I got up there in
(32:57):
the little globe in the middle of the iron had
been imprinted in the middle. Oh yeah, likes, I'm taking
this out of the play.
Speaker 4 (33:06):
Yeah, I mean bending the golf ball. It's a very
good question. They seem to bend the golf ball now
a lot with the driver predominantly from left to right.
Can't really do it from right to left trampoline effect now.
But you know, Rory is about the only guy who
draws when he's driving the golf ball. He's best hits
a soft right to left draw. There aren't many guys
(33:26):
that do it. Scotty can do it. Tiger obviously back
in the day, could do it. But if you look
at the guys that you know, you know they want
to just fair way find it and hit that. They
hit it low and they just peel it, but when
it comes to their eyns, they don't move it that much.
Speaker 3 (33:41):
Yeah, that's kind of what I've noticed. But I'm interested
in that. You know, I see like a player like
Justin Thomas. Yeah, you know, curving it into different pins
and things that.
Speaker 4 (33:50):
But he's unreal. He's beautiful. When he was playing his best,
that driver, that low.
Speaker 1 (33:55):
Thing is like when he won the players.
Speaker 2 (33:57):
Remember he hit the shell on sixteen, that was the
swinging dry and then on eighteen he hit the low
one EGA.
Speaker 4 (34:03):
A couple of years ago, he had that thing going.
Speaker 3 (34:05):
Yeah, he had Yeah, But then we had Victor on
right after, right before he won the Tour Championship, when
he was playing his best, and we asked him and
he's like, I just hit a dead straight with parents.
Speaker 1 (34:15):
He don't want it to fall in when he was
playing his best.
Speaker 4 (34:18):
Yeah, Victor, right now, you know he tinkered. Victor's going
to be back in five seconds. I mean, Victor's going
to be absolutely funny. He's just one of those guys.
I don't know what he why he did it, you know,
tried all this stuff and he's not playing awful. But
he's Look, this guy works so hard and he's a
golf junkie, junkie and he will be back within either.
(34:42):
Don't worry about Victor, Victor. Do you've worried about Victor? Amus?
Did he win last year thirty five million?
Speaker 1 (34:46):
Ye, he had a pretty decent year.
Speaker 4 (34:47):
He's about twenty twenty three and he could own Oslo
where he comes from.
Speaker 2 (34:52):
Red Or how often you're on the road, Like, how
many weeks a year you on the road? Twenty two
weeks a year?
Speaker 4 (34:57):
Twenty two weeks. I just a few other things for ping.
And you know, I love twenty two. I used to
do like twenty seven, but now it's twenty two. It's
perfect for me. Well, he's me trying to play golf.
Speaker 2 (35:10):
And I mean, I met you at the President's couple
years ago at Liberty National, and I've been a fan
ever since. I find you again. I think you do
a lot of what I love about golf. You make
it fun, you make it entertaining, you kind of keep
it light and at the same time, you know what
you're talking about. So I've been a big fan for
a long time and we really appreciate the time.
Speaker 4 (35:29):
And it's been great thank you ever so much, loving you,
loving your work.
Speaker 2 (35:32):
Though Radar Wayne Riley, thank you so much. This is
the ping proven Grounds podcast
The guys from paying. They've kind of showed me how
much the equipment matters.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
I just love that I can hit any shot I
kind of want.
Speaker 3 (00:06):
We're gonna be able to tell some fun stories about
what goes on here to help golfers play better golf.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Hey, everybody, welcome back to the proven Grounds Podcast. I'm
Shane Bacon. That is Marty Jerts and Marty we got
a special guest. I've bit excited about this one.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
Yeah, Wayne Radar Riley. Yeah, I think that's a good
place to start. Cheane is wayn Why don't you tell
us where Radar came from?
Speaker 4 (00:26):
Well, when I was a young boy, I was actually
playing an apprentice golf profession in Australia. I had to
work at a pro shop for three years and because
my parents made me do that in case I didn't
make it as a golf bro and they would bang
on and I was in a place called Orange and
I was camping because we couldn't afford to stay in
a hotel playing this championship and Wayne Riley it was
right at the height of a TV show called Mash
(00:48):
and you're you know, with the helicopters and Radar Riley
out of mash and it upset me Bactually really I
was only about fifteen or sixteen years of age, but
they did me a favor really, So it's, uh, that's
where I get RADI Riley Nash.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
When you're walking the golf course, do you get radar
more than when polot you absolute?
Speaker 1 (01:07):
They're always their always screaming, don't you.
Speaker 4 (01:08):
Yeah, it's in the UK, Yeah, it's it's absolutely, it's
it's it's it's all Rader, all of it. And in
Australia it's all Rader.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
So you're from Sydney, Australia, you live in England now
encourse commentator for Sky Sports. You do an unbelievable job.
You're one of my favorite listens. How did you get
into that? Because a lot of people might not know
about your playing career, How did you transition from player
to encourse commentator?
Speaker 4 (01:29):
Well, I retired from the playing on the DP World
two European Tours, I know it as and I went
back to Australia and I actually bought a nine whole
part three golf course and what was it, Wayne Riley
Path three?
Speaker 1 (01:41):
And there you go?
Speaker 4 (01:42):
Yeah, And originally and and and I had that, and
I got a phone call from Channel seven back in
Australia and they said, would you like to come and
do some en course commentary? And I was eleven o'clock
or nine. I was half a say. I said, sure,
you got the right right guy usual you know what
Wayne Grady or someone like that like that. They said, not,
it's you. We think you can do it, and that
(02:03):
was it, and then Sky got me and the rest
is history. I didn't find it very difficult at all,
and which is which is a bonus. You know, some
people struggle with it, and but they learned to do it,
and that's fine. But straight away I just duck the water.
I'd been in every predicament as a golf pro, up
(02:25):
trees everywhere, so I kind of knew how to call
shots reder.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
Do you still own the PO three course?
Speaker 4 (02:31):
No? No no. I leased that out for two years
to this guy and he started to steal from me,
so I ended up selling it back to him. I
sold it to him, I mean true, yeah, I leased
it to him, and there's ways that I shouldn't say this,
but he didn't steal, did you?
Speaker 2 (02:49):
You just maybe a bit sketchy, I'm assuming it's not
Wene Riley P three.
Speaker 4 (02:56):
It's Silver Slvania waters Bath three.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
Now there you go.
Speaker 3 (02:59):
So after you were camping and working as a golf
pro playing these was it?
Speaker 1 (03:05):
Were they junior.
Speaker 3 (03:06):
Tournaments in Australia you were planning at that time sixteen seventeen, Well.
Speaker 4 (03:09):
No, they were. We call it an apprentice. I'm not
sure if it's the stay the same here in the States.
You have to work in a pro shop for three
years to become fully qualified, gotcha. Yes, you could fall
back on being a club pro if you didn't make
it on the circuit. So that's what I did, and
I did the whole three years, which was almost like
a jail sentence, basically selling Mars bars to the members
(03:32):
and cleaning their golf clubs and all that. I did
the whole lot. Do your lessons, No, I wasn't. You're
not allowed to us apprentice. Yeah you can now, But
when my day, it was, you know, thirty dollars a
week I used to get when I first started, and
it was it was very interesting. But I started that
when I was fifteen. It was a decent golf even
(03:53):
when I was fifteen. So I did it for three
years I was out at eighteen, but I'm fully qualified.
Never had to use it, but so it's been as
good as an Astronia motorbike. It's been useless really, but
I'm still a fully qualified golf brother.
Speaker 3 (04:07):
So you're a PGF Australia member of the.
Speaker 4 (04:10):
Oh absolutely, they always have been and pay it every year.
So whether they know I am.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
You pay your dues, I do.
Speaker 3 (04:18):
Wait, what what year did you turn pro and what
was the what were the early days like of your
professional career.
Speaker 4 (04:24):
Well, that was around nineteen seventy seven when I had
to go and work in the pro shop, and but
I was out at about nineteen eighty one. I started
to play pro am. We've got an unbelievably good pro
am circuit in Australia where Wayne Grady, a major champion,
Ian Baker Finch, Greg Norman back in the day played
this pro am circuit. We all honed our game on that.
(04:48):
You know, playing five thousand dollars was a total person
If you won, you won seven hundred dollars and you
could just keep on going on to the next event.
They were all year round, except when the big tournaments
in Australia were happening. So it was a great place
to hone your game. Every single day. You'd finish, you
get in the car and you go to the next
one and they all in the same vicinity as each other,
(05:09):
so off you'd go, and then you'd play on the
proper tour when it started like October through December, and
then they'd start up again and the finish late February
with the Australian Masters, and then when you got your card,
you go and play in Europe or you play in
the States. So Australia's and it's still got a great
it's a great honing ground for young pros, but there
(05:32):
aren't big championships. We used to have like thirteen or
fourteen big championships and now they're basically is the Australian
PGA and the Australian Open. Because of the world schedule.
Now it's a world schedule. People go, why haven't we
got big championships down in Australia. When I go back
to Australia, But it's very difficult now because you know,
the same time as Australian Open, Tiger's got his event,
(05:53):
the Hero and so many things going on now. Sponsors
aren't interested anymore unless you've got great fields. Basically Scottie
Smith if they had at leash and these are kind
of great Australian players. If they aren't playing, sponsors aren't
really interested.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
When did you start to show signs of being a
very good golfer? I'm always interested in when people see
a clicking, or when they start to see the results,
or if somebody tells them, hey, you've got some serious game.
When did you start to see your abilities click?
Speaker 4 (06:25):
About nineteen to twenty I started to sort of win
these pro am events and then start top tens on
the on the circuit, and I won my first tournament
when I was like twenty one, being in Baker Beating
and Baker Vench in a playoff, a big event Victorian
PG eight and yeah, it just went on from there.
(06:46):
And then twenty two I came over and got my
card in Europe and off you go.
Speaker 3 (06:52):
Was your first big win the ninety one Australian Open, No.
Speaker 4 (06:56):
The PGA. But see, as I say, the thirteen tournaments
we had back in Australia, Yeah, they are all big events.
You know. We've got like Bob Shearers and Jack Newton's
blust from the past Baker, Finches. You know, all these
guys played in the events that we won, but they
don't hear of them now. But they are big events.
But my big yeah, the Australian Open would have been
(07:17):
nineteen ninety one was my first big on. Everyone wants
to win the Australian openers in Australia even now it was,
but it was back then. You know there were three
and out of the four major champions in it. I mean,
it was a huge event in Australia Open. It is
it true?
Speaker 3 (07:30):
You went birdie, birdie, birdie, and tell us about that
putt on the last hole or the last the finishing
stretch of that tournament.
Speaker 4 (07:36):
Well, it's an interesting story because in nineteen ninety I
started with ping and and I won the Air New
Zealand Open by seven shots. And anyway, I hope we've
got all day and I got. I go back to
Europe in nineteen ninety one, and I parted it up
(07:58):
so badly. It was incredible with a short buttter. Nothing
to do with the part I just didn't line up well.
The holes were open and I found it hard to
square them up, and I thought I've got to start again.
So in about September, two months shy of the tour
finishing in Europe, I went back to Australia and I said, well, okay,
I'm going to start and I'm going to become a
child again in the respect of I'm going to get
(08:21):
a long putter and I'm going to go out there
and find something that's different than using the short putter.
So I went back for seven weeks and I practiced
so very much with the long part. It didn't hit
a shot seven weeks, just parted every single day. And
I went to defend the Air New Zealand I don't work,
(08:41):
which I won the prey previous year in nineteen ninety
by seven shots, and I ran about thirtieth and I
didn't put very well. I thought, oh jee, I just
wasted seven weeks. Next week, next week I get to
the Australian Open and I played unbelievably like I had
all year, but wasn't partying very good. And I'm on
the about third down on the board going into about
(09:04):
the five holes from the end of the championship, three
shots back and I'm winging and whining, and my caddy
then Lindsay, she said it was a lady's great caddy,
good player herself. And she said, if you don't stop
whinging when you burdy these last four holes, you're not
going to remember it.
Speaker 1 (09:23):
And I said, come come on, it's creak caddy advice.
Speaker 4 (09:25):
Yeah, yeah, that's all right, Shane. But then I hit
it to fifteen feet on the fifteenth miss of the game.
I said, what were you saying? So anyway, the next
path through I hit a five iron up there to
about nine feet behind it. Did then I hit a
one iron over the back of the green on a
par five seventeenth at Royal Melbourne, chip it down to
thirty feet because it was in a tangy light. It
(09:46):
was a good shot to get at thirty feet Ray
Melbourne Green's really fast in with this long part, absolutely marvelous.
So then all of a sudden I sling this six
iron right around the green on eighteen under the whole
thirty three feet. Well she didn't touched the sides in
she went as well, so and then they all started
to make a few boges, said coda. Uncle Rada prevailed
(10:08):
with the new putter. I mean you all should get
the long partter. It was a b ninety.
Speaker 2 (10:13):
This isn't twenty twenty four though. I mean, there weren't
a lot of long putters out there. I mean, this
is this something somebody built for you. You go have
to go find it. I mean, how did you get
your hands on something like that?
Speaker 1 (10:21):
What in the early nineties.
Speaker 4 (10:23):
I looked at rock O Mediate, really mediate, he had one.
They were already Peter Sing and Sam Trans were already
using the chin one, only two of them. But Rocco
had this thing in his chest, yes, and anchored, you
bet you we were anchoring and it was it was like,
(10:45):
you know, I thought that really and then I grabbed
it and I clawed it and it was like and
I just kept on thinking, TikTok, like a grandfather clock, TikTok, TikTok.
And it worked. It was brilliant.
Speaker 3 (11:00):
You see a lot of the you know, now the
stigma's gone, the ego's gone with the long putter, right,
it seems that you see a younger players doing it,
Folks struggling with the hebgb's doing it or not or
not the hebgb's. I mean, it's just a different technique.
I personally use it as well. It's not easy. There's
a skill to it. You need your stuff to do
a lot of things very mechanically with it, temple wise,
(11:22):
very important the pressure you apply to it. What advice
would you have for somebody that wants to try it,
they've never used a long putter, any technique things, and
any tips or tricks to somebody.
Speaker 4 (11:31):
Yeah, as long as you do get over that, as
I said, the Grandfather clock, as long as the putter
does hang vertically, I feel almost like the toe heel
up just a little bit and it hangs down. And
you can get that thing just given it the TikTok,
the old Grandfather clock. If you can give it that,
and you know, it's almost as well with the long putter.
(11:54):
You know, in my day it was almost showing off,
Like you get onto the green and people go, look
at this guy, what's just thing? Not many people, so
they're already looking at you. Yeah, they're looking at you.
They were looking at me, and I was going, yeah,
here I am. You might be looking at check what
I've got here. You know, So all of a sudden
(12:15):
you've gone from the short part of where you didn't
want people to watch because it was like a live
rattlesnak in your hand and now you've got this, you've
got this TikTok thing go and you hold them from
everywhere and they're all going whoa. And we went through
that stage in the nineties where everyone started using it
and then it stopped.
Speaker 3 (12:35):
It's coming back, though, Yeah, it is coming back.
Speaker 2 (12:37):
Rad Are you you went rattlesnake there? I mean you're
from Australia. You could have picked any other of the
most poisonous snakes in the world.
Speaker 4 (12:42):
You read belly black Sune, We've got a red bit.
Speaker 1 (12:44):
You're talking to the American audience.
Speaker 4 (12:46):
Well, that's what it's all about. Yeah, to know where
that came from.
Speaker 2 (12:49):
Jake, twenty years on the European Tour. Now we've heard
so long about the European Tour and kind of the
fraternity that is the European Tour. I can only imagine
what it was like in the eighties and nineties. I'm
assuming you've got a couple of good storre worries about
touring for twenty years on the euro tour with some
of your buddies and stuff. So if you could share
a couple of well of those.
Speaker 4 (13:06):
Types, it's just it's the stories are just you know,
because Basically, we didn't have courtesy cars like on the
PGA Tour. If you're a player, you get given the car. Yeah,
you pick it up from the airport, I suppose, and
you drive around. We used to have to get picked up,
you know, or catch a cab. And I remember it
was so strange to play on the European time. I
(13:27):
remember playing in Madrid once. So I'm playing in Madrid
and you had to get a golf club called Club
de Campo ported a hero, great course in Madrid. And
I get up and I jump in the cab on
Sunday morning, running about tenth in the championship, you know,
going in the week and not gonna win, but gonna
have a decent week. Get in the cab by myself. Anyway,
(13:50):
see all these people up the road, and I've got
an hour and a half until I head off. And
I stopped and I go, what's going on here? Matathon?
I said, what, So there's a marathon. Okay, so I've
got to get through this marathon. But I'm not allowed
to get through this marathons on there's police everywhere.
Speaker 1 (14:10):
They're blocking off the roads.
Speaker 4 (14:13):
So I've got the clubs in the boot of the cab.
Everyone's honking their car. If you've ever been a midman,
Madrid a magical place. So I ended up making my
Titan by three minutes. I had to run through and
a marathons. They shut a marathon down, and it's really wide.
It just isn't the street, it's the footpath people can run.
(14:34):
So I ran through a marathon with hundreds of people
with my bats ping of course on my back. I'm
running through all these people and they're all going, what's
going on? What's this guy doing running? But this is
the sort of thing we used to do. We didn't
get courtesy cars or go round marathons. They go, right,
(14:55):
today's a marathon, we've got to go around, so book
your car early. I had to run through things like that.
We used to have. Tuesday nights were legendary. We shouldn't
go into those too much. A little red eyed on
on Wednesday pro Am Day. But it's all The game's
changed so much for the better. But I wouldn't change
the days we used to. We used to play. If
(15:18):
you had an ordinary week, you wouldn't win that much money.
You had to play well the next week as well.
It was we didn't play for that much money back then.
It's changed. It's changed dramatically. These guys playing for twenty
five million a week and twenty million a week, it's
all and they're still winging.
Speaker 2 (15:34):
Still, they're silf whining they can win, are still whining.
Speaker 4 (15:38):
It's like, unreal. I can't get in that. We'll play
better man, go and play. Oh well, you have to
go back. You can't play for the twenty million with
the designated great events. You have to go and play.
Oh poor you, you have to go and play for seven.
Speaker 1 (15:54):
Really, I think you're gonna be okay.
Speaker 4 (15:55):
I think a lot of people should take a good
hard look of themselves and see how how lucky they are.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
When Rory got the Curtis the police escort at the
Ryder Cup that one time and made his tea time
by about half an hour? Were you sitting there going
there's no stress in that.
Speaker 4 (16:09):
I was there on that first jarge. I think it
was half an hour.
Speaker 1 (16:11):
Show a little quit, little tighter.
Speaker 4 (16:12):
Oh yeah, I'd say he he parked ten minutes before. Okay,
it wasn't much more because I saw him walk on
the tea and they cheered him and he smiled and
madonah it was I was right. I just laughed. It
was just unreal.
Speaker 1 (16:28):
Flashbacks to Madrid.
Speaker 4 (16:29):
Evans knows what he was doing that night.
Speaker 3 (16:33):
Radar, tell us a little bit going back to equipment.
Tell us a little bit about what ball driver. You
know you played in the eighties and nineties and and
and what your experience has been now you've played such
a broad spectrum of equipment much golf ball driver, metalwood, standpoint,
tell us all the job though.
Speaker 4 (16:53):
Yeah, the old driver, it's been so long ago. What
was the silver driver that Ping used to have. They
used to have a three with the same Yeah, there
you go, yeah, those but back when I started with Ping,
you you you had? It was great, it was the best.
I mean, you had to use thirteen of the fourteen clubs.
That's what cast has said. He said, you got to
(17:15):
use thirteen of the fourtune and I used fourteen, and
you had to use the putter. If you had a
Ping bag, There's no using someone else's butter, because that's
what Ping. It was the daddy of the butter. You know.
That's what and still is everyone's truck. If you look
at Scotty wats his name, I'm not going to mention
his second name. We're not even going to go there.
(17:36):
But if you have a look at that, it's a
copy of the answer, right, Tiger's putter that he hold
everything with that red dot. It's it's you just look
at it when it was down there. Well that's an answer.
So how how someone? I'm sorry, I'm not taken. You know,
I'm not upset in the apple card here, It's just
it is fact. I mean that. Well, you can't copy
(17:56):
what Carston did, but there it is, and everyone's going
Scotty's really really well, he's a few years late, I feel.
But I used all the clubs you had to and
it was an incredible time and I still do all
my clubs though I haven't got anything else in it.
I wouldn't dare because why there isn't anything as good.
Speaker 3 (18:15):
And you had the big white staff bag, right, that
was the classic and that still is with the brand today.
Speaker 4 (18:21):
You know what, Yes, I've got that big white staff
bag with my thing that I do I think called
round with Raider that comes out. But when I won
the Australian Open, I had a lady cat in for me, Lindsay,
and I had a little white bag that was the
same material. I'm not sure they still do it. I
really don't know, but it was the most unbelievably good bag.
(18:44):
It had the big Ping on there.
Speaker 1 (18:46):
Yeah you still have it, you start it at home?
Speaker 4 (18:48):
No, no, I don't. I might have gave it to Lindsay.
I probably did. But it's a beautiful bag and it's
not the big one. I've got the big one. Yeah,
but now you know, there's so many bags you can get.
I've got this little light bag that I carry around
when I'm in England and go and play it come,
you know, with a strap over. They're like, I'm wearing
a bra and you know, and I walk walk around
(19:09):
the golf course and it's you don't even know you've
got it on your back and it's you know, there's
so many golf bags that you can get now, and
you know Ping at the forefront of that as well.
Speaker 2 (19:18):
Yeah, Ping's still the best bag out there, that is
for sure. You mentioned around with Radar. How did that
come about? Because it's been a really really entertaining series.
I know people really enjoyed online.
Speaker 4 (19:26):
Dominic Griff is the main man in the UK for
the truck and he came up with the idea. He says, well,
let's do a series of and go and play with
some some ping staffers. And we've done that in Europe
where we're yeah, you know, going to get some guys
over here on the PGA too. It's just hard because
(19:46):
I'm in the UK. And however that works, will make
it work. But yeah, it's been it's been great fun.
It is great fun filming and is unbelievable. Get the
drone out and it's watch it on YouTube. It's around
with radar, ping around with they're they're great fun. I've
done him and as I've gone so many good players
and it's they're brilliant that take us long to do
(20:08):
and every and we've got one little we've got one
camera and we've got a drone and all that sort
of stuff and the sounds great. People go well, a
many camera and it's it's incredible the way it's done,
and it's and it comes up and they're so popular.
If I come to America through Sky because you don't
watch Sky over here. The other thing you get on
(20:29):
Sky over here as the Formula one and and the
golf goes back to the UK. But when I come
over here, most people the Americans come up to me
through around with radar and they I've never heard one
person go to you that rad of around with radars crap,
it's we love it. So that's positive.
Speaker 2 (20:45):
How's your game these days when you're playing with the pros?
I mean, do you still feel like you can kind
of get in their kitchen at all?
Speaker 4 (20:51):
No?
Speaker 1 (20:51):
Okay, not like you.
Speaker 4 (20:53):
I mean you're out there. You know, you're one of
those wannabe players. I see.
Speaker 1 (20:58):
I'm like, what about that. I'm like your garden with
the chipping. I'm like captain of the wanna be pro
the team.
Speaker 4 (21:06):
Yeah, but it's it's like, no, no, not really. I
played on Saturday and I was I wasn't very good,
but with my job, without jobs, you know what it's like.
I mean, you play for three weeks and you start
to become I'm shooting around par I'm having some funny here,
and it's it's great. Then you got a way for
through you don't touch a club and you go back
and you start again.
Speaker 1 (21:25):
That's right.
Speaker 2 (21:26):
It's literally like you with the long putter, right, It's
like going back to the first time you learned about golf.
Speaker 4 (21:30):
That's what it's about.
Speaker 3 (21:31):
Shane is such a wannabe pro. It's still questionable whether
he has his amates status's.
Speaker 4 (21:35):
Right, But I'm loving the us.
Speaker 1 (21:37):
Don't look in at this us.
Speaker 4 (21:39):
I'm loving the back of the garden. The backyard.
Speaker 2 (21:42):
What's the branding for it? Oh the griddle, the grid
shipping green. Unbelieve Yeah, look, look, you know what, you
know what. I messed up though. I did the bunker. Okay,
I did a little bunker off the green. Now I've
got two little kids, and that's now.
Speaker 1 (21:54):
Just the sand pit.
Speaker 2 (21:55):
Well that's it's it's fine for them to play in it.
But I come home from a trip like this, You're right,
sand everywhere. They'll be staying on in the halls on
the green, and I spend two hours cleaning it. So
the bunker might not have been a great play, but
I love having in the backyard.
Speaker 4 (22:07):
Of course you do. Yeah, fantastic. Can you spin it
out of the bunker? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (22:11):
Yeah, you know it's I really don't hit a lot
of bunker shots there. It's truly a sandbox for you.
Speaker 4 (22:16):
Just when you have people around for a barbecue, it's like.
Speaker 1 (22:19):
I'll break it up and clean.
Speaker 4 (22:20):
Oh you don't go to the bunker.
Speaker 2 (22:21):
Yeah, but other than that, it's just the trucks and
stuff are in there. Where'd the hat come from?
Speaker 4 (22:25):
By the way, My mom my mother, and she said,
you know you're going to do this on core stuff.
You know, you have to keep your complexion. You you know,
you're a good looking man, so you don't want to
sort of the sun to sort of spoil those rugged
good looks. So mom bought me a hat, and and
every time I now she doesn't buy me hat, so anymore,
I just go and buy one. Every couple of years,
I just go and and get one. In Australia's an
(22:47):
Australian hat. And it's it's been great, you know, it's been.
It's been. I didn't think I at the start, I
didn't want it to be something to make me known.
It was just I'm wearing the hat. That's the way
it is. And now everyone's you know, the hat in
america's not that cowboy and I'm like, yeah, mate, whatever,
(23:08):
pretty good American, right, Yeah. Well it's a it's a
good hat. They're good hats, and it helps you know
over here, especially the sun shining all the time, and
it gets a bit hard when you're in Scotland or Ireland.
That's blowing that you need the string a thousand. There's no,
it's amazing. It doesn't really come off and it's it
must be something to do with having a big fat
(23:29):
head mate.
Speaker 2 (23:30):
You've done encourse commentating for a long time. Can you
name the three players that you enjoy watching the most
or when you get their groups you get the most
fired up?
Speaker 4 (23:39):
You know, I'm so lucky, Shane that I don't have
to worry about I know. It's like I even so
much that I don't care who wins. Okay, I really
don't care who wins. I don't really have to know
what people say, What score do they? What score are
they on radar?
Speaker 1 (23:55):
It's not my job.
Speaker 4 (23:56):
It's not my job. My job is to concentrate on
how that was lying. My job is sight, sound, smells, really,
I mean, what they are facing, what is going on?
Is my job to know if he's one under or
two under? Is like I didn't know the first round
of the Masters. When I was out this year with
(24:18):
Scottie first round shot six under, I could have sworn
he was two. Really, I stood up on the eighteenth
green behind the ground and looked up on that big
wide board and I went, no, no, no, no, they've
got that wrong. Then you think this or no, there's
no way they've got that wrong. Here at the Master,
there's no way they're having it wrong. Six under couldn't
believe it. Well, I mean, I just I just I
(24:38):
just call what you guys, the viewing audience want to know.
So I don't Brory all these guys tigers, you know
back in the day that was I saw some things
with him. I mean I think we all saw some
things with him. You just shook your head and just
started laughing. And yeah, but watching guys, I like watching
guys play with long players. It was short watched the
(25:01):
way you know Kevin case New or someone like that
playing with Rory McElroy. See how he gets around and
there's a great job.
Speaker 2 (25:08):
Well, I mean I think people that I mean, I've
done on course a little bit in my career, and
I don't think people quite understand the cadence that you're
going through. I mean, you're trying to stand one hundred
yards or maybe a couple hundred yards away from the
tee so they can't hear you. Maybe you can see
the club or you're just going up to the fairway
to get up there, so you get a number and
you can kind of look at the lie and you
can get out of their way. I mean, it's really
(25:29):
this kind of song and dance that I don't think
people that have either been out to a golf tournament
before are obviously done on course commentary understands that there's
this you're it's like a four and a half hour,
you know, dance party you're basically having with the golf
course and try not to get in the player's kitchens
while also trying to get the information, you know, out
on the telecast.
Speaker 4 (25:46):
Yeah, that's a very good point. Over here in America,
a lot of the on courses seem to stand just
on the off the tee where I am up with
the landingside right on is way ahead and I go
to sometimes I used to go to Bones. I said
what east, and well, I want to see what they
head off the team. I said, well, I can ask
(26:08):
my producer of the tea. I could just press a button.
They go, that's the last of the job for me.
Speaker 2 (26:15):
That's the information you can see too that that's that's
not my first producer when I did it on course,
he said, that's not your job telling them driver a
three wood, it's like a poor three is different.
Speaker 1 (26:24):
You know less.
Speaker 4 (26:26):
But I can find that whether it's a five iron,
because what you've got to do is match. If he's
hitting the five iron on a past three, it comes
up on the screen. I can't go six one because
they're going to go on home. This guy doesn't know
what he's doing. So you've got a little bit of help.
But when it comes down to the meat of it all,
I have to be in front. I have to save
that balls in a divot. If it's over there under
a tree in the grass, I have to be up there.
(26:47):
And then I keep on going forward. And then I
when they hit the green, I can get up there.
Line the putts up, move to a high spot. I'm
nowhere near them. They don't even know they know I'm
out there, but I'm never in their way. And and
that's the way standing behind them, as a lot of
(27:08):
Americans do.
Speaker 1 (27:09):
I'm not you know, everybody's situation does.
Speaker 4 (27:12):
Everyone's different. But I just don't see why they do that.
They're getting too close to them, and well there's potential
there for them to tell them to go away. Where
I'm seeing everything, but I'm just way in front of them.
Speaker 2 (27:26):
Radar, if you didn't get a chance to read a pipe,
let's say you were Russian, or you couldn't get up
there in time, and the host says, Radar, what does
this putt do? What's your go to line when you
don't know what the putt does?
Speaker 4 (27:36):
Well, I always see it because, to be honest with you,
the only reason I would do that is because if
I can't read it. Sometimes it's interesting, you know, with us,
even as golfers, you go, I don't.
Speaker 1 (27:51):
Know what this is going to happen here.
Speaker 4 (27:52):
Most of the time, I'll say it on it I've
got no id ot to do. But my go to
line if I'm in a little bit of trouble out there,
Jeez tear what the smell of Burger's over there is
just unbelievable. The hot dogs, I mean, I mean, the
miss ohios that are out here are just unreal. Oh,
the winds just got up, gee, wiz might affect this part,
(28:14):
which is just a little uphill.
Speaker 2 (28:17):
I remember I missed maybe but one of my first
time courus Marty, and I was like, I know, is
this is a really tough read?
Speaker 1 (28:23):
Is what I said, Just throw it out there.
Speaker 4 (28:27):
Sometimes you've just got to come out with things that
you know, other things. If you can't pick that.
Speaker 3 (28:32):
En coourse commentaries or you carry Green's books, is that
a thing?
Speaker 2 (28:35):
Yeah, I mean some do. Some bring Greens books. Some
have yardage books.
Speaker 4 (28:38):
I mean there's there's there's there's arrows in our Greens books.
But to be perfectly, you know, this is a one
that if I'm out there with Maltby, say Maltby or
another few guys will go together. We'll all because is
the same as me. He's always in front, even though
Roger's got a buggy and and and we we go
(28:59):
up there, we'll look at me and I'll look at
him right left, and they'll full go.
Speaker 3 (29:05):
So there's a few of us crowdsourcing it.
Speaker 4 (29:09):
You know, you get a line, we're all only human.
I maybe you get a read wrong. I mean, you
know it's going to happen, but you don't want to
get too many wrong because that's your job. I mean, look,
it's fun stiff on courses to me.
Speaker 1 (29:25):
I just go on play now.
Speaker 4 (29:27):
And there's a lot of them out there. I'm not
going to mention any name and I'm like, wait a second,
come on, let's just get something. Give me something here,
give me, give me something, because it's at the end
of the day, it's golf is entertainment. This is entertainment.
What we're doing right here. We are here to give
them something, and you know we're just you know, boring.
(29:47):
I just don't think it cuts it.
Speaker 2 (29:48):
But how do you mix that in because your job
is I mean, your job is to be informative, but
you're also very funny and you're entertaining. So how do
you weave that in as it's just your personality.
Speaker 4 (29:58):
I don't try to be an. I'm not. I'm just
I'm like this away from it, I'm just a bit mad.
Probably they should just lock me up. I suppose it's
a rubber room somewhere. But you know, yeah, yeah, yeah,
all of us. I mean it's like, you know, it's
just as I always believe it. It's entertainment and if
you can bring entertainment to it. Look, there's nothing wrong
(30:18):
with being stiff. And you know, this is an uphill hug.
There's a seven nine the winds out of the right
hand side. I mean it's like, I mean, you know, yeah,
all right, okay, but let's talk about something else. There
might be something funny. There's a streaker running down the
middle of the fairway. Well the cat the producer is
not going to show the streaker, but we can talk
about the streak.
Speaker 1 (30:38):
That's right.
Speaker 4 (30:39):
It's like, where did that happen? Tory Pines, wasn't it
Tory Pines? There was a streaker in the US Open.
Speaker 2 (30:44):
Famous one was the daily one at the Open was
like the most famous I think streaker he chases it's.
Speaker 4 (30:49):
Right, yeah, but yeah, whatever's going on. There's so many
things to talk about out there in our job that
some people just miss a trick. But when they listen
to your podcast, guys here, yeah they're gonna go well
yeah maybe, but maybe they'll go non.
Speaker 1 (31:04):
Must not red or.
Speaker 3 (31:05):
We've had a lot of tour players on the podcast.
I've liked auson the question of.
Speaker 1 (31:09):
Like shaping the ball.
Speaker 3 (31:10):
I like when I like when watching the elite players
move the golf ball high, low, left, right, right, the left,
who have in the modern era right now, Baba curves
it a lot.
Speaker 4 (31:22):
Baba, yeah, Bubba, he just comes straight to mind, Yeah
doesn't he? I mean, just bend it like Bubba. I mean,
he just that shot at the Masters down the right
hand side with that wedge, what was at one hundred
and fifty or something around there. That was an incredible
shot that made Bubba that shot. I'm not sure if
that was his first Master's win or his second Masters
(31:43):
win first first. Yeah, and he he just bends the
ball so so so it just it's quite incredible. But
now we are looking at Scotty. Scotty, Scotty, he can
he can shape it, especially with the driver he gets.
Seems does this seem to miss a fairway?
Speaker 1 (32:05):
Scotty Scheffler, It's a really long and really straight. It's crazy.
Speaker 2 (32:08):
He just finds a lot of fairways, you know, for
a longer player.
Speaker 4 (32:11):
It's just an incredible golfer and an incredible person.
Speaker 1 (32:15):
Yep.
Speaker 4 (32:15):
He really is always remembers my name and he's just
a lovely, lovely guy. But the golf ball, I don't
believe lends itself to bending it. Like when we were younger,
I was younger that the old remember the old tool Bilata.
Oh yeah, yeah, it was like chewing gum was like
a piece of like a piece of putty.
Speaker 1 (32:35):
You could get your finger and.
Speaker 2 (32:37):
Oh you could you could you could run old one.
I had irons when I was a kid. This was
before pro v days. I had irons and it had
a little globe in the middle of the iron, right
in the sweet spot. And I remember I was playing
a tour blata and I was, you know, ten, eleven,
twelve years old, and I munched one and it was
one of the first times I could really feel like
compression with the iron. And I got up there in
(32:57):
the little globe in the middle of the iron had
been imprinted in the middle. Oh yeah, likes, I'm taking
this out of the play.
Speaker 4 (33:06):
Yeah, I mean bending the golf ball. It's a very
good question. They seem to bend the golf ball now
a lot with the driver predominantly from left to right.
Can't really do it from right to left trampoline effect now.
But you know, Rory is about the only guy who
draws when he's driving the golf ball. He's best hits
a soft right to left draw. There aren't many guys
(33:26):
that do it. Scotty can do it. Tiger obviously back
in the day, could do it. But if you look
at the guys that you know, you know they want
to just fair way find it and hit that. They
hit it low and they just peel it, but when
it comes to their eyns, they don't move it that much.
Speaker 3 (33:41):
Yeah, that's kind of what I've noticed. But I'm interested
in that. You know, I see like a player like
Justin Thomas. Yeah, you know, curving it into different pins
and things that.
Speaker 4 (33:50):
But he's unreal. He's beautiful. When he was playing his best,
that driver, that low.
Speaker 1 (33:55):
Thing is like when he won the players.
Speaker 2 (33:57):
Remember he hit the shell on sixteen, that was the
swinging dry and then on eighteen he hit the low
one EGA.
Speaker 4 (34:03):
A couple of years ago, he had that thing going.
Speaker 3 (34:05):
Yeah, he had Yeah, But then we had Victor on
right after, right before he won the Tour Championship, when
he was playing his best, and we asked him and
he's like, I just hit a dead straight with parents.
Speaker 1 (34:15):
He don't want it to fall in when he was
playing his best.
Speaker 4 (34:18):
Yeah, Victor, right now, you know he tinkered. Victor's going
to be back in five seconds. I mean, Victor's going
to be absolutely funny. He's just one of those guys.
I don't know what he why he did it, you know,
tried all this stuff and he's not playing awful. But
he's Look, this guy works so hard and he's a
golf junkie, junkie and he will be back within either.
(34:42):
Don't worry about Victor, Victor. Do you've worried about Victor? Amus?
Did he win last year thirty five million?
Speaker 1 (34:46):
Ye, he had a pretty decent year.
Speaker 4 (34:47):
He's about twenty twenty three and he could own Oslo
where he comes from.
Speaker 2 (34:52):
Red Or how often you're on the road, Like, how
many weeks a year you on the road? Twenty two
weeks a year?
Speaker 4 (34:57):
Twenty two weeks. I just a few other things for ping.
And you know, I love twenty two. I used to
do like twenty seven, but now it's twenty two. It's
perfect for me. Well, he's me trying to play golf.
Speaker 2 (35:10):
And I mean, I met you at the President's couple
years ago at Liberty National, and I've been a fan
ever since. I find you again. I think you do
a lot of what I love about golf. You make
it fun, you make it entertaining, you kind of keep
it light and at the same time, you know what
you're talking about. So I've been a big fan for
a long time and we really appreciate the time.
Speaker 4 (35:29):
And it's been great thank you ever so much, loving you,
loving your work.
Speaker 2 (35:32):
Though Radar Wayne Riley, thank you so much. This is
the ping proven Grounds podcast
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Special Summer Offer: Exclusively on Apple Podcasts, try our Dateline Premium subscription completely free for one month! With Dateline Premium, you get every episode ad-free plus exclusive bonus content.
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!