February 5, 2025 • 28 mins
Shane and Marty sit down with Jim Knous, former PING Pro turned Fitting Science Manager, to talk about his transition from life on Tour to an engineer at PING. They revisit his experience at the 2024 WM Phoenix Open and dive into his strategy to continue to try and qualify and play at the highest level.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
The guys from Ping. They've kind of showed me how
much the equipment matters.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
I just love that I can hit any shot.
Speaker 3 (00:05):
I kind of want we're gonna be able to tell
some fun stories about what goes on here to help
golfers play better golf.
Speaker 4 (00:11):
Hey, everybody, Welcome back to the Pink proven Grounds Podcast.
I am Shade Bacon, joined as always by Marty Jerts
and Marty. I get excited about guests. This is like
high on my excitement level of guests. A guy you know, well,
a guy you've played a lot of golf against.
Speaker 3 (00:26):
Yeah, it's Jimmy hard K Welcome to the pod. Hey,
Jank you Jim went to the Colorado School of Mines,
my alma mater.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
What's up with that?
Speaker 4 (00:34):
By the way, if you go to the School of Minds,
do you immediately get a job at Ping? Is that
kind of how this pipeline works. There's a little pipeline there. Yeah,
I think we're just counted up. We have a total
of eight engineers now from the School of Minds, including
Corey Bacon, who's been on the pod. Fellow Bacon, Yeah, yeah, yeah,
and Jim You know, I went to the School of minds.
It was a D two school and you know, set
(00:55):
a few records, you know for wins and things of
this nature, and was it the you know, I got
in the Athletic Hall of Fame and then a long
come ten years later, Hard k here and just obliterated
every single record I set there. So you're so, you're done,
You're out, and he's in. First of all, thanks for
taking some time and joining the pod. I want to
(01:16):
kind of talk about your twenty twenty four because I
know it was extremely interesting with you kind of both
personally and then a career in career wise. I mean,
you're a guy that's played professional golf most of your life.
You've had a lot of success as a pro. You've
played on the PGA Tour, You've played on the corn
Ferry Tour. I know you've won a ton of Mini
tour events and I want to see if you actually
even know the number to that at some point. But
you made a transition in twenty four after that great
(01:37):
run at the waste management. How has twenty twenty four
gone for you and how's it been working a ping?
Speaker 2 (01:43):
Yeah, it's been a whirlwind of a year for sure, Shane. Yeah,
and you like you touched on getting into the Waste
Management Phoenix Open in twenty twenty four, Monday and incredible
dream week. I had already I had known that I
was going to come work at Paying. I had lost
my status the prior year on both PG Tour and
the Corn Forry Tour. Reached out you know, for for
(02:04):
for a few different places Paying, especially because I know,
you know, the heritage and the and the family feel,
the small uh the small field, the small family feel
here at Paying. Wanted to be here. Whirlwind year. Got
the job with with Paying. Thank you to John k
and thank you to Marity. I was really excited to
start it started. I mean my start date I think
(02:24):
was end of February and mondayed into the Phoenix Open
early February. I was going, okay, well let's do this.
You know, no pressure, Pressure's off, playing loose and free,
played great that that week, had a lot of fun,
a lot of publicity, and then and then came to
work here paying, and family moved here to Phoenix. It
was it was a whirlwind of year.
Speaker 1 (02:42):
It's it's interesting.
Speaker 4 (02:43):
I mean, you know, we we don't dive into the
lives of pro golfers or mini tour golfers that often.
But I mean your guy you have you have three kids?
Speaker 1 (02:51):
Is that correct?
Speaker 2 (02:51):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (02:52):
I mean married three kids.
Speaker 4 (02:53):
You know, you obviously know you have the game to
go out there and compete and play, but at some
point you've kind of got to look at the future, right,
and you've got look at where am I gonna make
consistent money? How can I make life a little bit
more consistent? How was that conversation with you and your
family to get to that point to maybe hang it
up a bit. I know you're still playing on I
want to get into that as well, but how did
you get to that point where you said, maybe playing
(03:13):
full time is not gonna be my life and let
me see if there's a there's an option elsewhere.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
Yeah, that's right, Shane. Is is a really hard discussion
and a hard conversation to have with my wife. But
but we had kind of honestly come to that realization
in that conversation when we had we had two kids
another one on the way. This was the end of
twenty twenty two. I had lost my PGA tour status.
I was going into the twenty twenty three season with
conditional corn Ferry touristatus, not even great Cornferries, which is tough.
Speaker 4 (03:38):
Yeah, you've got to You've got a priority early in
the season to have a chance at that Ryan.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
And early in that season I had some back issues.
I wasn't playing well. We had kind of had a
conversation throughout the year saying, hey, if you know, if
I if I continue with corn Ferry Tour or you know,
best case scenario, get the PGA Tours status, We're going
to continue this journey. But if not, I'm gonna have
to look elsewhere. I'm gonna have to look at you know,
different because my priorities have changed, right with the three kids,
(04:03):
With the three young kids, I needed a good place
to earn a steady paycheck, if you will. I can't
do another year on the mini tours. As as fun
as that is. Sometimes it's really nice early in your career,
you know, there's nothing, there's not really any uh.
Speaker 1 (04:18):
Well, it's just you. I mean you know that.
Speaker 4 (04:20):
That's that's what happens early in your life. It's just you,
and the focus is on you, and this is my
dream and I'm gonna play. And then you start to
add those other factors in and all of a sudden,
it's like, well, I gotta I've got to provide for
these people. I mean this, these are these people look
at me.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
For Yeah, no, I'll say I add to the second
part of that decision came about when I was going
on I think a three or four week tournament stretch
and in that corn Ferry Tour season, and I think
my son was he was four or five at that time,
and I was I was about to pull out of
the out of the garage the head of the airport,
you know, to go who knows where, and my son goes, Dad,
(04:54):
I don't want you to go, you know, and he
gives me the the soft eyes in the in the
you know. Oh, I just I was crushed at that moment,
you know, And I said, well, maybe maybe this is
for the best. Maybe my priorities are changing in the
right way at that time.
Speaker 3 (05:09):
Jim, So, going back to the w M a year ago, now,
was that the first time where you felt this kind
of I don't know, loose or freedom, like like you
didn't have your livelihood on the line anymore? And how
how what was your headspace like there?
Speaker 2 (05:24):
Yeah, it was Me and my wife were joking about
this because It's funny. As a professional golfer, you're always
working to get into the flow state, you know, the
zen state where it just it's easy and nothing, nothing's
bothering you, and your swing is absolutely perfect and you're
chipping and making everything on the greens. And I think
I finally reached that state. But it had to be.
It had to be because I was I was stopping
(05:45):
playing professionally a full time, right, you know. I read
all the books Doctor Geo and then Bob Rotella and
how to how to get into this flow state and
how to I couldn't do it, you know, any everything
I tried. Finally I had this position where I was
taking a job here the pressure was actually off that
I literally had no pressure. I could have finished fifth
(06:07):
that week. I could have miscut would have felt the
exact same to me. Obviously, I wanted to play well,
but there was nothing on the line. My career wasn't
riding on the line, if you will, so I was
able to just go out there have fun. Like I said,
I really think I got in the flow state. Like
my swing was just on plane, you know. I was
just hammering the driver just so well all week, making
Potts like it was just it was just so fun.
Speaker 4 (06:29):
Seventy two, sixty six, seventy sixty eight, you finished TI
twenty eight that week at the WM. Marty, I know
you've played at the WM as well. Can you just
kind of chat about to I'd like to hear from
both of you guys just about that experience, what it's
like playing in that environment. Marty, I know you've talked
a little bit about on the pod throughout some of
these episodes, But you know, like Matt McCarty you know,
(06:52):
you think about Matt McCarty this year in twenty twenty five,
get an opportunity to play in this event, you know,
growing up going to it, and you think about Max
home On when he won at Riviera. Like, major championships
are huge to play in. But for somebody that's local
to this area or somebody that has lived in this area,
the WM is everything. So can you just kind of
chat about those experiences of what it's like to stand
on sixteen for people that'll never get that opportunity.
Speaker 3 (07:12):
Yeah, it is truly like the Super Bowl and growing up,
you know, it's like it hits me close. I grew
up being a standard bearer there when I was a kid, so,
you know, taking a couple of days off school, carrying
the sign, getting the autographs, doing that whole thing. It
was always like the pinnacle, like you know, and I
had played in plenty of majors. I knew what that
experience was. The WM is a next level, which is
(07:36):
really cool. Jim's first tournament he played on the PGA
Tour was in seventeen the WM. Corey Bacon caddied for
him in the Monday and to get in. And so
when I got in in twenty Jim was, I think
you had risk surgery or you were recovering or something
at the time. He came out and walked a few
practice rounds with me and gave me some tips, which
(07:57):
was really fun. It was a surreal experience. It was
just so fun to have like all my coworkers here
at ping, my local family, all my friends out there
following along. Super magical. Obviously I got to play Victor
Hoblin too, when he wasn't even on the tour yet
he got a sponsor's exemption. Very magical. A sixteen was
(08:20):
I was not as nervous on sixteen as I thought
I would be, and I think it was because a
you're hitting a short iron, you're hitting a wedge and
you can just rip it, so you'd like, okay, maybe
it's like you're hit your pitching wedge, like you know
one forty seven, you got one sixty two hole, you're
just ripping the pitching wedge.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
Don't pull left, but I'm gonna hit wedge.
Speaker 3 (08:39):
And I hit two great shots on sixteen. That was
super memorable, And I loved having my family there, like
like my wife and kids. Most people don't know this,
but when you play, they have a little special pathway
for your family. They get you right in because you're
kind of like, hey, how do I get in there right?
You know? So they have a couple thunderbirds fast track
your family right in their front row seat. Boom, they
get to be right there. I will.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
I'll never forget that, Jim, your experience. I'd love to
hear both of them.
Speaker 2 (09:04):
Right, yeah, the w and Phoenix op it. I mean
really it kind of bookends everything for me, even as
a as a as a kid at in college at
at Corloro School of Minds, me and my buddies would
me and the golf team, we'd take a trip. We'd
come down here and we'd watch the tournament. We'd go
to sixteen and watch the guys come through there, and
then like like Marty said, I mondayed in twenty seventeen,
(09:24):
had Corey Bacon on the bag, fellow engineer here and
he was a classmate of mine, same class, and we
just had a blast that that week. I missed the cut, unfortunately,
I missed, I think by one or two. But on sixteen,
like Marty said, you're you're walking up there, you're playing
fourteen and fifteen, and you just kind of hear the rumble,
you hear the roar, and like that's more of a
(09:45):
like heartbeat when you walk in, Marty said. Like Marty said,
it's like a steady rumble. It's like a steady buzz. Yeah,
So hitting the shot is actually not that bad, you know.
It's more when everybody's quiet and then there's like a
lot of noise closed, that's when it really gets to
you. It wa it's a steady buzz. It's really not that bad.
Speaker 3 (10:03):
I always thought on sixteen if everybody literally went quiet,
that would.
Speaker 4 (10:07):
Be crazy racking crazy. Got all these people and you
got the surrounding grand stands. But yeah, the constant noise
probably makes it little.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
Yeah, it would be for sure, that would be for
sure worse if everybody was just dead silent. But the
constant buzz I was happy to part. I've parted six times,
missed the cut the first time in twenty seventeen, but
I parted all the time. It was hilarious too. The
first time I went through there was early in the day,
hit the green gout and cut some cheers. Hit it
to like thirty feet and two putt and kind of
got some cheers. The second time I went through there
(10:34):
on Friday, I was the last group. We were literally
the last group to go through there. Hit the green
at thirty feet, got boots, gonna say, make a whole one.
If your last group, they're not going to be a
happy Yeah. Lagged it down there to a foot and
tapped it in you know from my par and walked
out of there with it. But it was it was
so much fun. That's a that's a great hole on
UH Saturday's round. This this this past year twenty twenty
(10:55):
four at wmpn SO. But I almost made a whole one.
It was that front left location. Hit it just passed
the hole and buzzed it back and almost went in
and unfortunately missed the putt but almost made a home
white crowd went crazy, you know, Saturday w It's it's amazing.
Speaker 4 (11:09):
So I mean I mentioned maybe not your last start
on the PGA Tour because I mean, I know you're
working a ping and I want to get into how
that's gone for you over the last year. But are
you still playing? Are you still you know, trying to
play in state opens, are you still trying to money
qualify to events? Like how are you approaching job at
paying family? And then also obviously still have an interesting
(11:30):
game to play professional golf for sure, great question.
Speaker 2 (11:33):
I'm definitely keeping the game up because I want to
keep playing. I'm following in your co host here, Marty's
footsteps with the PGA PGM program. So I'm going through
the PGM program. I'm going to get my PGA Class
A membership so i can play in the Southwest PGA
section of events.
Speaker 1 (11:53):
Marty sent an emails on the back end get him
out of here. We don't want this guy.
Speaker 2 (11:57):
The main reason I have to beat the I have
to beat the boss, right, And so yeah, I played
a couple events this this last summer, the Colorado Open
being one of them, played well there, finished second, unfortunately
lost in the playoff. Played well at the Arizona Open,
but I was I was second engineer. Marty beat me
in that event, so a low engineer. Yeah, we gotta
keep we gotta keep the game up so I can
(12:17):
beat the boss listed Martin.
Speaker 4 (12:18):
Marty's no joke. You had a good summer, Marty. Marty
played very good, solid golf throughout the summer, as he
tends to do.
Speaker 1 (12:23):
But I mean, will there be any money qualifiers?
Speaker 4 (12:25):
Will you try to do any of that stuff or
will it be focused mostly on state stuff?
Speaker 1 (12:28):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (12:29):
For sure, I'll play the money qualifiers that are kind
of close in region to Phoenix. You know, I'll play
with WM. I'll play farmers out in out in California,
you know, the the SA Safeway whatever that's called now,
so you know, if you here and there until at
least until they're around, I guess, you know.
Speaker 3 (12:48):
Yeah, and Jim a couple of close calls in Fall
twenty four, right.
Speaker 2 (12:52):
Yeah, Fall twenty four, Yeah, up and up in Napa,
I played really well. Uh, and then and then in
Utah yeah, Utah, Yeah, I missed by one in Utah
and Las Vegas, So I was kind of I was
kind of bummed about that, but playing really good golf. Still,
I'm still happy to be shot sixty one a coror
(13:12):
Oude Open, So I mean, hey, it's still there.
Speaker 4 (13:15):
Still there can burn it up. You've played a ton
of Monday qualifiers, and Marty, i'd like your your kind
of thoughts on this as well. But what, like, you know,
so many people look at them. Obviously, everybody follows Ryan
on Instagram and on Twitter, and he's a great job
kind of chronicling Monday qualifiers and people trying to get
into events. You go on the first tea of a
Monday qualifier, like where's your head at versus playing a
(13:36):
four day golf tournament? You know, is it? Is it
like you know, a closer in baseball coming out and
just trying to throw his arm out for you know,
two innings or one inning, or like, how do you
approach a money qualifier versus an Arizona Open or a
car Rude Open?
Speaker 2 (13:50):
Completely different, completely different than than a tournament tournament round.
I mean you probably agree with this, Marty, and that
you step on the first tee and a lot of
times you know that you're gonna have to shoot seven eight,
potentially nine hunder par when I'm starting. When I'm starting
a tournament, I know it's potentially three rounds or four rounds,
and the main goal is to not make many mistakes.
(14:13):
In a Monday qualifier. If you make a mistake, that's fine,
You're probably just not gonna Munday qualify. I mean four
players for a BJ Tour qualifier, three for WM out
of however many one hundred. You gotta be. You gotta
be on fire that day. You gotta be. You gotta
feel it. You gotta make a lot of putts. You
gotta make a lot of birdies. There might be a
mistake here and there. That's fine. It just means you're
(14:33):
not gonna make it. But in a tournament, I'm trying
to limit the number of mistakes that I make over
the over the of course of the tournament. Would you
agree with.
Speaker 3 (14:40):
That, I'm in a Monday qualifier. It's a binary result.
You're either the jury or out. Yeah, you're playing. You're
playing a four round tournament. You know if you don't win,
you know it's it's hard rare to win. So you know,
your risk calculus changes you know, basically right from a
strategy standpoint.
Speaker 4 (14:56):
Interesting, I mean, you know you you think, like, do
you guys like cut up the who holes like you're
playing eighteen holes and it's like, all right, I need
to be one under through three, or I need to
be a couple under through three, or or break it
up that way or is it just simply you know,
foot on the pedal, let's go.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
Uh yeah, that's a good question. I think. I think
you kind of know in your mind that the horse
the holes that you can score.
Speaker 1 (15:14):
On, right, like the poor five short part four or
someone like that.
Speaker 2 (15:17):
Part five short, part four us. I think in the
case of I play when I was up in Utah,
I was I was like one under through eight or
something like that. Nothing crazy, but I'm thinking, Okay, now
I gotta now, I gotta kind of step on the
gas a little bit, make the turn it I think
I made the turn of two under. I'm going, okay,
I gotta get things going. So you still, I'm you're
still kind of calculating in my mind. I have this
(15:38):
weird sense of like I know what the number is
gonna be even while I'm playing.
Speaker 1 (15:41):
Like nailing it, Like you feel like you always get incredible.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
I'm super good, so weird, Marty.
Speaker 1 (15:49):
Marty said, this is like there's worst golf and you're
saying that's your best guard. Was very interesting.
Speaker 2 (15:53):
Yeah, even this Utah one, I'm going I'm I'm thinking
it's gonna be a it's gonna be eight, and I'm
standing on the last hole at six. I'm going, well,
if I birdie at least, maybe i'll be at sat.
You know, I'll be at seven. Maybe there's a chance.
Well I roll it in for birdie and I get
to the clubhouse and I'm still in the playoff currently,
last group comes in eight on.
Speaker 1 (16:13):
Eight and I get nailed it.
Speaker 4 (16:15):
Yeah, Marty, what is what does Jim do so well
in terms of the way he plays? Like what you've
You've played a lot of golf with him, You've seen
him up close in personal and tournament golf. Like, what
does what does he do that impresses you?
Speaker 3 (16:25):
Driving the golf ball? Well, I mean the two staples
driving the ball. So Jim's got a high ball speed
one eight, you know, high one seventies, one eighty ish
ball speed with the driver and hits it high. Okay,
so he's got the towering trajectory that you're like, I
wish I could do that. Uh, and then he rolls
the rock. I mean, his putting is absolutely incredible.
Speaker 1 (16:46):
That what you say, that's the best part of your game.
Speaker 2 (16:47):
Yeah, I would agree with that. Those are probably the
two strongest parts of my game, and in rolling the
rock is number one. That's that's Honestly, when I came
out of college and I needed things to work on,
I was watching these mini tour guys down here in Phoenix,
I was I was competing against them. One of the
things I need to do better drive the ball better, longer,
and make more putts. And that's that's what I did.
And I would say putting is now my number one.
Speaker 1 (17:07):
What putter you got in the back right now?
Speaker 2 (17:09):
I still use an old school ping vault two point
zero Dale answer that I believe our co host designed
over here.
Speaker 1 (17:16):
Is that right.
Speaker 3 (17:16):
I haven't done many putters, but I did do all
the design and cat work on that Dale answer, which
is really fun. And yeah, no, Jim didn't even know that.
But that's the putter.
Speaker 4 (17:27):
We'll throw a photo up if you're watching this on
YouTube so you get a feel for the putter. How
long has it been in the bag.
Speaker 2 (17:31):
It's been in there, oh gosh, probably since twenty eighteen,
So what is that? You know, well, six years. So
I was playing at a conventional length for a year,
and then I think right around there was a time
when like Bubba was using the armlock putter. If you
remember this, he went to I think it was the
Arna model, and he was just he was rolling pretty well.
(17:54):
It wasn't it didn't stay in his back very long.
But that was also the time when Coocher was rolling armlock,
and I mean he just absolutely rolled everything in. I
was on the PGA tour at that point or early
in twenty nineteen, and I was going, hey, you know, Tony,
can I experiment with this? You know, do we have
anything available? So I let Antnia at Serrano, our designer.
He was out at Innisbrook in Tampa. There. I was
(18:17):
playing the Valspar Championship and so we were just messing
around with it. It felt, it felt amazing. I already
had the shaft angle aligned with my forearm, so then
I and I already had a bit of a forward press,
so both of those things. Then you just extend the
shaft a little bit longer in the grip and put
it against your arm and bow. You got an armlock putter,
(18:38):
so it came really naturally to me. And then anything
inside eight feet, you know, ten feet just feels almost automatic.
Speaker 3 (18:45):
Scary to play somebody like that, Marty, Yeah, Jim's putting
is I remember that at the WM a year ago
you made this pot on eighteen I think you described
any interview as drippy.
Speaker 2 (18:55):
You know, just the speed is just a great way
to put it.
Speaker 3 (18:57):
It's so perfect. It was drippy.
Speaker 4 (18:59):
Let's lean in your work at Ping because I'm interested
in what you've done the last year. So can you
kind of explain to people what your role is, what
you do, how maybe your day to day looks in
week to week.
Speaker 2 (19:09):
Yeah, really fun role here at Ping. Thanks so, Marty.
He kind of he kind of brought me in with
a broad spectrum of responsibilities, which is really cool for me.
I get to see a lot of the different part
of the company. I get to work with the design engineers,
I get to work with ant I get to work
with engineering, I get to work with the fitters, I
(19:30):
get to work with the education team. So I would
I would break my role up into kind of three chunks,
being fitting performance, kind of working on the tools on
the back end that our accounts can use it, our
national accounts can use to help fit the average golfer better.
And part of that is designing new tools. I'm working
on a really cool tool that are internal master fitter
(19:54):
putter fitters can use when people come in the lab.
So that's really exciting working with the education team team
when accounts come in account visitations, getting the knowledge for
the new product that's coming out, and then also helping
on the back end with with our digital UH education
platform called ping Academy that you know, that's a big
(20:16):
that's a big thing for them. They can go on
there and learn about the new product and and about
our fitting foundations. That's another thing I've been working on.
And then the third the third thing being just kind
of jack of all trades. I'm just you know, if Paul,
doctor Paul Wood comes to me, hey can you do this? Yes,
you know, we we ran an awesome putter study with
a sports psychologist measuring brain activity that was really cool.
(20:37):
Anything Marty brings to me, you know, Okay, can you
do this tour research? Hey can you do these player tests? Hey?
Can you you know, run over to.
Speaker 1 (20:45):
Like do you pick up lunch sometimes? And I feel
like you're I mean, it hasn't come to that. Have
you ever been bored.
Speaker 2 (20:51):
Ever?
Speaker 1 (20:52):
It's like, what do you do everything?
Speaker 4 (20:53):
And I'm like, I do almost everything if asked, And
by the way, that's a good way to be in
the first year at a job.
Speaker 1 (20:58):
Can I do this? Sure, I'll do it, and maybe
i'll goog go ahead on the back end, but I'll
do it exactly.
Speaker 2 (21:02):
My answer is just yes, yes, yes, I can do that.
Speaker 4 (21:05):
It's a big part of sports broadcasting too, like, hey,
can you do baseball? You're like, oh, it's my favorite
sport and you go home and you're like, what is baseball?
I think, I don't know what this is, but I
could handle it. Marty, How has it been, I mean,
how did how did the conversation go when you guys
were chatting about potential work at paying And how has
it been the last year together?
Speaker 3 (21:21):
Yeah? No, I think with Jim. I mean, to be honest,
it's there's been a few times where we've had that
conversation over your career. You know, I don't know if
it didn't just happen last year, It didn't just happen.
You know, I think a few years into the mini tours,
maybe it's kind of like, hey, you know, you know,
I should I keep this thing going. And then Jim
then it got on the corn Ferry and it's like, Okay,
I don't need to talk to Jim for a few years.
(21:43):
He's good.
Speaker 2 (21:44):
Mark's been a really good mentor for me in that aspect.
Speaker 3 (21:46):
Yeah, and then Jim gets on the PGA Tour. It's like, Okay,
I really don't need to talk to him for a while.
But then yeah, I mean, obviously I think I think
Jim got a little unlucky with some wrist injuries and
things of that nature that you know. Yeah, it was
kind of like, okay, we kind of stayed in touch
a little bit having that conversation, and it was during
(22:07):
the fall of twenty three as Jim talked about where
he got a little bit more serious, like, hey, you know,
three kids, it's time to kind of think about a transition.
I love Jim's approach, which is no golfer ever really
retires from golf, right, you know, it's kind of like,
Jim had this amazing PGA Tour, corn Fairy career, It's
time for the next phase of this thing. Let's help
(22:28):
let's help build someat build and fits some great golf equipment,
keep playing? Why not?
Speaker 2 (22:32):
It's right?
Speaker 4 (22:33):
Hey, I mean, Marty, are you carving out a space
for him? Is there a role that he fits into?
Or when you have somebody coming your way that obviously
has an elite level of play and a great knowledge
of the game and obviously went to an amazing school, like,
can you carve out a space for him within the team?
Speaker 5 (22:50):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (22:50):
I think that's a good question. I think Jim described
his role. It's kind of a choose your own adventure role.
What we want to maximize for Jim. You know, he's
spent ten years out there on the tour with all
the little nuance of playing the game, which I admire,
and I have a lot to learn. You're asking Jim questions.
I'm like tuned in, like what's the answer to qualifiers?
But yeah, we wanted to create a situation for Jim
(23:10):
to like learn, So how do we maximize his learning?
And that's the kind of the scenarios in here, looking
backward at about exactly one year now, Jim is give
him in a spot where he can learn where see
where he has the most interest. It's been kind of
in the putter space, putter fitting, putter design, brain wave stuff.
I mean that's you know, he's such a good putter,
(23:31):
that's kind of where he's he's naturally gravitating towards. But yeah, no,
that's been that's been been the spot. And we have
him in a role where he's on that our ping
academy team. This is our team that teaches all of
our fitters how we fit here, kind of educates him
on new product. So there's also this philosophy in teaching
is where you do the most learning. So that's also
(23:53):
where we've had Jim kind of lined up.
Speaker 1 (23:55):
Where did hard k come from? When did that start?
Speaker 2 (23:57):
Yeah? Nickname came about really in my professional career when
I came down here to play the Gateway Tour. You
guys probably remember remember.
Speaker 5 (24:04):
The on the Gateway Tour Back in the day, I
was a Gateway Tour boy on the gate I absolutely
lost money as well on the Gateway Tour. You know,
you know, you know how there were like two people
that played Gateway Tour. There were the people that took
the checks home and the people that sent checks in.
I sent the checks.
Speaker 2 (24:18):
Yeah, I hear that. One of the starters, uh, you know,
found out the pronunciation my name canals the hard K.
So so from there on out, every time he you know,
I come up to Hey, hard Ka, Hey, Jimmy hard
k you know. And so when I got out on
the tour, that kind of just stuck. Everybody's just calling
me hard Kale over the plays.
Speaker 3 (24:35):
It.
Speaker 2 (24:35):
It's just kind of a nice it's a nice right.
Speaker 1 (24:37):
It is a great. It's a really really good thank you.
Speaker 4 (24:40):
How many many tours and tours do you think you've
played on? Do you think you could even count them?
Do you think it's like twelve? Uh No, I don't
think it's that many. It's probably it's probably eight ish,
you know, something like that, including Cornfery and PJ Tour.
Speaker 2 (24:53):
Yeah, yeah, I didn't. I didn't branch out a ton
to be to be perfectly honest, I played Gateway Tour.
My my granda parents live here in Phoenix, so right
out of school I came down and lived with them.
Played the Gateway Tour solely got me, you know, like
what you were saying, I got my butt kicked by
everybody does down here, just playing NonStop, which was good
for me, my game got better because of that, and
(25:14):
then then a little bit on the East Coast, but
then mainly my goal was to get on the Corn
Forry Tour on the PGA Tour. So it was a
priority for me to play Corn Ferry Tour Q school
every single year. Saved up money, you know, to play
that every year, and finally got through i think five
five years in twenty sixteen, got through fall of twenty
sixteen on the Cornfory Tour.
Speaker 1 (25:34):
How many wins do you know the amount of wins
you've had.
Speaker 2 (25:38):
It's probably it's probably in the ten to fifteen area
somewhere in there. Pro wins. Nothing on the corp for
your tour and PGA Tour, unfortunately, nothing yet. Thank you.
Speaker 1 (25:52):
Yeah, we've got a future ahead.
Speaker 2 (25:53):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (25:54):
What's been some of your funnest moment or your the
funnest moment on the most memorable moment on the PGA Tour.
Speaker 2 (26:00):
Most memorable moment on the PGA Tour for sure was
Hole in one at Tory Pine South number three, Sunday
Sunday Hole on one Tory Pines number three South, the
picturesque you know, down hill hole and to boot I'm
playing that hole with with Sung JM and Mark Leaschmann.
(26:22):
Great group following Tigers group. Tiger's playing that was twenty nineteen.
He's playing. There's like two hundred thousand people there. He's
playing number six, which, if you know, the course goes
back right, but the t the teaser right there. This
this whole area is.
Speaker 1 (26:38):
Just catching yeah way too.
Speaker 2 (26:42):
And we're right in front of Ricky and JT. So
they got a massive crowd right behind us. So I
hit this shot and it's just a beautiful curving, you know,
just a slight draw. I played this nice little draw
penskin on the right side, bounces once, kind of trickles
three feet and go in, and I mean people just
went crazy, and I went crazy too. And I had
(27:05):
a friend playing with Tiger and he supposedly gave me
like a little clap clap, and you know, hey, I'm
just saying that he said that happened. But I take
I throw the clock, I take off running down the hill,
if you know. And I'm just I'm doing the high
five line. You know, everybody's just there. I'm just high
five all the way to the hole. It was best
moment by far on the PGA tour that it it.
(27:28):
You know, I bought some beverages for the clubhouse afterwards,
so that that put me back a little bit, but
it was worth it. I mean it was incredible.
Speaker 4 (27:35):
Yeah, I mean, can we talk about the hole in
one rule, about the buying the drinks?
Speaker 1 (27:40):
Oh?
Speaker 4 (27:40):
Man, I don't love it. I do think that it
should be switched. I do feel like you should be
rewarded for the one.
Speaker 1 (27:47):
Now.
Speaker 4 (27:48):
I get the idea that you had something great happen,
so you can kind of celebrate with everybody.
Speaker 1 (27:52):
Else, But shouldn't you.
Speaker 4 (27:53):
You know, like everything else you do successful in sport,
you're the person that receives accolades.
Speaker 3 (27:58):
Right, then there's the interns thing, you can do it
in your club and all that. I mean, then it
gets all complicated.
Speaker 4 (28:03):
So complicated, so complicated Europe, and then will be good exactly. Well, Jim,
it's been great chatting obviously, h I know everybody at
PING has been pop fired up to have you here,
what a resource you are, and obviously we're going to
continue to root for you in terms of your playing
as well, because, uh, it seems like you're still hungry,
it seems like you're still interested in Oh, absolutely, compeding.
Speaker 2 (28:24):
Yeah, absolutely, and thank you for having me today. And
like I said, I just gotta I just gotta be
good enough to beat Marty. I mean that's that's really
what it comes down to. It's gonna be hard looking
back on twenty four.
Speaker 4 (28:32):
It's not gonna be easy the way that the way
that Marty's playing, in the way that Marty is training.
But uh, the hard K, the hard K, the man.
Fun to have you on the podcast. This is the
Ping Proven Grounds Podcast.
The guys from Ping. They've kind of showed me how
much the equipment matters.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
I just love that I can hit any shot.
Speaker 3 (00:05):
I kind of want we're gonna be able to tell
some fun stories about what goes on here to help
golfers play better golf.
Speaker 4 (00:11):
Hey, everybody, Welcome back to the Pink proven Grounds Podcast.
I am Shade Bacon, joined as always by Marty Jerts
and Marty. I get excited about guests. This is like
high on my excitement level of guests. A guy you know, well,
a guy you've played a lot of golf against.
Speaker 3 (00:26):
Yeah, it's Jimmy hard K Welcome to the pod. Hey,
Jank you Jim went to the Colorado School of Mines,
my alma mater.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
What's up with that?
Speaker 4 (00:34):
By the way, if you go to the School of Minds,
do you immediately get a job at Ping? Is that
kind of how this pipeline works. There's a little pipeline there. Yeah,
I think we're just counted up. We have a total
of eight engineers now from the School of Minds, including
Corey Bacon, who's been on the pod. Fellow Bacon, Yeah, yeah, yeah,
and Jim You know, I went to the School of minds.
It was a D two school and you know, set
(00:55):
a few records, you know for wins and things of
this nature, and was it the you know, I got
in the Athletic Hall of Fame and then a long
come ten years later, Hard k here and just obliterated
every single record I set there. So you're so, you're done,
You're out, and he's in. First of all, thanks for
taking some time and joining the pod. I want to
(01:16):
kind of talk about your twenty twenty four because I
know it was extremely interesting with you kind of both
personally and then a career in career wise. I mean,
you're a guy that's played professional golf most of your life.
You've had a lot of success as a pro. You've
played on the PGA Tour, You've played on the corn
Ferry Tour. I know you've won a ton of Mini
tour events and I want to see if you actually
even know the number to that at some point. But
you made a transition in twenty four after that great
(01:37):
run at the waste management. How has twenty twenty four
gone for you and how's it been working a ping?
Speaker 2 (01:43):
Yeah, it's been a whirlwind of a year for sure, Shane. Yeah,
and you like you touched on getting into the Waste
Management Phoenix Open in twenty twenty four, Monday and incredible
dream week. I had already I had known that I
was going to come work at Paying. I had lost
my status the prior year on both PG Tour and
the Corn Forry Tour. Reached out you know, for for
(02:04):
for a few different places Paying, especially because I know,
you know, the heritage and the and the family feel,
the small uh the small field, the small family feel
here at Paying. Wanted to be here. Whirlwind year. Got
the job with with Paying. Thank you to John k
and thank you to Marity. I was really excited to
start it started. I mean my start date I think
(02:24):
was end of February and mondayed into the Phoenix Open
early February. I was going, okay, well let's do this.
You know, no pressure, Pressure's off, playing loose and free,
played great that that week, had a lot of fun,
a lot of publicity, and then and then came to
work here paying, and family moved here to Phoenix. It
was it was a whirlwind of year.
Speaker 1 (02:42):
It's it's interesting.
Speaker 4 (02:43):
I mean, you know, we we don't dive into the
lives of pro golfers or mini tour golfers that often.
But I mean your guy you have you have three kids?
Speaker 1 (02:51):
Is that correct?
Speaker 2 (02:51):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (02:52):
I mean married three kids.
Speaker 4 (02:53):
You know, you obviously know you have the game to
go out there and compete and play, but at some
point you've kind of got to look at the future, right,
and you've got look at where am I gonna make
consistent money? How can I make life a little bit
more consistent? How was that conversation with you and your
family to get to that point to maybe hang it
up a bit. I know you're still playing on I
want to get into that as well, but how did
you get to that point where you said, maybe playing
(03:13):
full time is not gonna be my life and let
me see if there's a there's an option elsewhere.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
Yeah, that's right, Shane. Is is a really hard discussion
and a hard conversation to have with my wife. But
but we had kind of honestly come to that realization
in that conversation when we had we had two kids
another one on the way. This was the end of
twenty twenty two. I had lost my PGA tour status.
I was going into the twenty twenty three season with
conditional corn Ferry touristatus, not even great Cornferries, which is tough.
Speaker 4 (03:38):
Yeah, you've got to You've got a priority early in
the season to have a chance at that Ryan.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
And early in that season I had some back issues.
I wasn't playing well. We had kind of had a
conversation throughout the year saying, hey, if you know, if
I if I continue with corn Ferry Tour or you know,
best case scenario, get the PGA Tours status, We're going
to continue this journey. But if not, I'm gonna have
to look elsewhere. I'm gonna have to look at you know,
different because my priorities have changed, right with the three kids,
(04:03):
With the three young kids, I needed a good place
to earn a steady paycheck, if you will. I can't
do another year on the mini tours. As as fun
as that is. Sometimes it's really nice early in your career,
you know, there's nothing, there's not really any uh.
Speaker 1 (04:18):
Well, it's just you. I mean you know that.
Speaker 4 (04:20):
That's that's what happens early in your life. It's just you,
and the focus is on you, and this is my
dream and I'm gonna play. And then you start to
add those other factors in and all of a sudden,
it's like, well, I gotta I've got to provide for
these people. I mean this, these are these people look
at me.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
For Yeah, no, I'll say I add to the second
part of that decision came about when I was going
on I think a three or four week tournament stretch
and in that corn Ferry Tour season, and I think
my son was he was four or five at that time,
and I was I was about to pull out of
the out of the garage the head of the airport,
you know, to go who knows where, and my son goes, Dad,
(04:54):
I don't want you to go, you know, and he
gives me the the soft eyes in the in the
you know. Oh, I just I was crushed at that moment,
you know, And I said, well, maybe maybe this is
for the best. Maybe my priorities are changing in the
right way at that time.
Speaker 3 (05:09):
Jim, So, going back to the w M a year ago, now,
was that the first time where you felt this kind
of I don't know, loose or freedom, like like you
didn't have your livelihood on the line anymore? And how
how what was your headspace like there?
Speaker 2 (05:24):
Yeah, it was Me and my wife were joking about
this because It's funny. As a professional golfer, you're always
working to get into the flow state, you know, the
zen state where it just it's easy and nothing, nothing's
bothering you, and your swing is absolutely perfect and you're
chipping and making everything on the greens. And I think
I finally reached that state. But it had to be.
It had to be because I was I was stopping
(05:45):
playing professionally a full time, right, you know. I read
all the books Doctor Geo and then Bob Rotella and
how to how to get into this flow state and
how to I couldn't do it, you know, any everything
I tried. Finally I had this position where I was
taking a job here the pressure was actually off that
I literally had no pressure. I could have finished fifth
(06:07):
that week. I could have miscut would have felt the
exact same to me. Obviously, I wanted to play well,
but there was nothing on the line. My career wasn't
riding on the line, if you will, so I was
able to just go out there have fun. Like I said,
I really think I got in the flow state. Like
my swing was just on plane, you know. I was
just hammering the driver just so well all week, making
Potts like it was just it was just so fun.
Speaker 4 (06:29):
Seventy two, sixty six, seventy sixty eight, you finished TI
twenty eight that week at the WM. Marty, I know
you've played at the WM as well. Can you just
kind of chat about to I'd like to hear from
both of you guys just about that experience, what it's
like playing in that environment. Marty, I know you've talked
a little bit about on the pod throughout some of
these episodes, But you know, like Matt McCarty you know,
(06:52):
you think about Matt McCarty this year in twenty twenty five,
get an opportunity to play in this event, you know,
growing up going to it, and you think about Max
home On when he won at Riviera. Like, major championships
are huge to play in. But for somebody that's local
to this area or somebody that has lived in this area,
the WM is everything. So can you just kind of
chat about those experiences of what it's like to stand
on sixteen for people that'll never get that opportunity.
Speaker 3 (07:12):
Yeah, it is truly like the Super Bowl and growing up,
you know, it's like it hits me close. I grew
up being a standard bearer there when I was a kid, so,
you know, taking a couple of days off school, carrying
the sign, getting the autographs, doing that whole thing. It
was always like the pinnacle, like you know, and I
had played in plenty of majors. I knew what that
experience was. The WM is a next level, which is
(07:36):
really cool. Jim's first tournament he played on the PGA
Tour was in seventeen the WM. Corey Bacon caddied for
him in the Monday and to get in. And so
when I got in in twenty Jim was, I think
you had risk surgery or you were recovering or something
at the time. He came out and walked a few
practice rounds with me and gave me some tips, which
(07:57):
was really fun. It was a surreal experience. It was
just so fun to have like all my coworkers here
at ping, my local family, all my friends out there
following along. Super magical. Obviously I got to play Victor
Hoblin too, when he wasn't even on the tour yet
he got a sponsor's exemption. Very magical. A sixteen was
(08:20):
I was not as nervous on sixteen as I thought
I would be, and I think it was because a
you're hitting a short iron, you're hitting a wedge and
you can just rip it, so you'd like, okay, maybe
it's like you're hit your pitching wedge, like you know
one forty seven, you got one sixty two hole, you're
just ripping the pitching wedge.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
Don't pull left, but I'm gonna hit wedge.
Speaker 3 (08:39):
And I hit two great shots on sixteen. That was
super memorable, And I loved having my family there, like
like my wife and kids. Most people don't know this,
but when you play, they have a little special pathway
for your family. They get you right in because you're
kind of like, hey, how do I get in there right?
You know? So they have a couple thunderbirds fast track
your family right in their front row seat. Boom, they
get to be right there. I will.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
I'll never forget that, Jim, your experience. I'd love to
hear both of them.
Speaker 2 (09:04):
Right, yeah, the w and Phoenix op it. I mean
really it kind of bookends everything for me, even as
a as a as a kid at in college at
at Corloro School of Minds, me and my buddies would
me and the golf team, we'd take a trip. We'd
come down here and we'd watch the tournament. We'd go
to sixteen and watch the guys come through there, and
then like like Marty said, I mondayed in twenty seventeen,
(09:24):
had Corey Bacon on the bag, fellow engineer here and
he was a classmate of mine, same class, and we
just had a blast that that week. I missed the cut, unfortunately,
I missed, I think by one or two. But on sixteen,
like Marty said, you're you're walking up there, you're playing
fourteen and fifteen, and you just kind of hear the rumble,
you hear the roar, and like that's more of a
(09:45):
like heartbeat when you walk in, Marty said. Like Marty said,
it's like a steady rumble. It's like a steady buzz. Yeah,
So hitting the shot is actually not that bad, you know.
It's more when everybody's quiet and then there's like a
lot of noise closed, that's when it really gets to
you. It wa it's a steady buzz. It's really not that bad.
Speaker 3 (10:03):
I always thought on sixteen if everybody literally went quiet,
that would.
Speaker 4 (10:07):
Be crazy racking crazy. Got all these people and you
got the surrounding grand stands. But yeah, the constant noise
probably makes it little.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
Yeah, it would be for sure, that would be for
sure worse if everybody was just dead silent. But the
constant buzz I was happy to part. I've parted six times,
missed the cut the first time in twenty seventeen, but
I parted all the time. It was hilarious too. The
first time I went through there was early in the day,
hit the green gout and cut some cheers. Hit it
to like thirty feet and two putt and kind of
got some cheers. The second time I went through there
(10:34):
on Friday, I was the last group. We were literally
the last group to go through there. Hit the green
at thirty feet, got boots, gonna say, make a whole one.
If your last group, they're not going to be a
happy Yeah. Lagged it down there to a foot and
tapped it in you know from my par and walked
out of there with it. But it was it was
so much fun. That's a that's a great hole on
UH Saturday's round. This this this past year twenty twenty
(10:55):
four at wmpn SO. But I almost made a whole one.
It was that front left location. Hit it just passed
the hole and buzzed it back and almost went in
and unfortunately missed the putt but almost made a home
white crowd went crazy, you know, Saturday w It's it's amazing.
Speaker 4 (11:09):
So I mean I mentioned maybe not your last start
on the PGA Tour because I mean, I know you're
working a ping and I want to get into how
that's gone for you over the last year. But are
you still playing? Are you still you know, trying to
play in state opens, are you still trying to money
qualify to events? Like how are you approaching job at
paying family? And then also obviously still have an interesting
(11:30):
game to play professional golf for sure, great question.
Speaker 2 (11:33):
I'm definitely keeping the game up because I want to
keep playing. I'm following in your co host here, Marty's
footsteps with the PGA PGM program. So I'm going through
the PGM program. I'm going to get my PGA Class
A membership so i can play in the Southwest PGA
section of events.
Speaker 1 (11:53):
Marty sent an emails on the back end get him
out of here. We don't want this guy.
Speaker 2 (11:57):
The main reason I have to beat the I have
to beat the boss, right, And so yeah, I played
a couple events this this last summer, the Colorado Open
being one of them, played well there, finished second, unfortunately
lost in the playoff. Played well at the Arizona Open,
but I was I was second engineer. Marty beat me
in that event, so a low engineer. Yeah, we gotta
keep we gotta keep the game up so I can
(12:17):
beat the boss listed Martin.
Speaker 4 (12:18):
Marty's no joke. You had a good summer, Marty. Marty
played very good, solid golf throughout the summer, as he
tends to do.
Speaker 1 (12:23):
But I mean, will there be any money qualifiers?
Speaker 4 (12:25):
Will you try to do any of that stuff or
will it be focused mostly on state stuff?
Speaker 1 (12:28):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (12:29):
For sure, I'll play the money qualifiers that are kind
of close in region to Phoenix. You know, I'll play
with WM. I'll play farmers out in out in California,
you know, the the SA Safeway whatever that's called now,
so you know, if you here and there until at
least until they're around, I guess, you know.
Speaker 3 (12:48):
Yeah, and Jim a couple of close calls in Fall
twenty four, right.
Speaker 2 (12:52):
Yeah, Fall twenty four, Yeah, up and up in Napa,
I played really well. Uh, and then and then in
Utah yeah, Utah, Yeah, I missed by one in Utah
and Las Vegas, So I was kind of I was
kind of bummed about that, but playing really good golf. Still,
I'm still happy to be shot sixty one a coror
(13:12):
Oude Open, So I mean, hey, it's still there.
Speaker 4 (13:15):
Still there can burn it up. You've played a ton
of Monday qualifiers, and Marty, i'd like your your kind
of thoughts on this as well. But what, like, you know,
so many people look at them. Obviously, everybody follows Ryan
on Instagram and on Twitter, and he's a great job
kind of chronicling Monday qualifiers and people trying to get
into events. You go on the first tea of a
Monday qualifier, like where's your head at versus playing a
(13:36):
four day golf tournament? You know, is it? Is it
like you know, a closer in baseball coming out and
just trying to throw his arm out for you know,
two innings or one inning, or like, how do you
approach a money qualifier versus an Arizona Open or a
car Rude Open?
Speaker 2 (13:50):
Completely different, completely different than than a tournament tournament round.
I mean you probably agree with this, Marty, and that
you step on the first tee and a lot of
times you know that you're gonna have to shoot seven eight,
potentially nine hunder par when I'm starting. When I'm starting
a tournament, I know it's potentially three rounds or four rounds,
and the main goal is to not make many mistakes.
(14:13):
In a Monday qualifier. If you make a mistake, that's fine,
You're probably just not gonna Munday qualify. I mean four
players for a BJ Tour qualifier, three for WM out
of however many one hundred. You gotta be. You gotta
be on fire that day. You gotta be. You gotta
feel it. You gotta make a lot of putts. You
gotta make a lot of birdies. There might be a
mistake here and there. That's fine. It just means you're
(14:33):
not gonna make it. But in a tournament, I'm trying
to limit the number of mistakes that I make over
the over the of course of the tournament. Would you
agree with.
Speaker 3 (14:40):
That, I'm in a Monday qualifier. It's a binary result.
You're either the jury or out. Yeah, you're playing. You're
playing a four round tournament. You know if you don't win,
you know it's it's hard rare to win. So you know,
your risk calculus changes you know, basically right from a
strategy standpoint.
Speaker 4 (14:56):
Interesting, I mean, you know you you think, like, do
you guys like cut up the who holes like you're
playing eighteen holes and it's like, all right, I need
to be one under through three, or I need to
be a couple under through three, or or break it
up that way or is it just simply you know,
foot on the pedal, let's go.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
Uh yeah, that's a good question. I think. I think
you kind of know in your mind that the horse
the holes that you can score.
Speaker 1 (15:14):
On, right, like the poor five short part four or
someone like that.
Speaker 2 (15:17):
Part five short, part four us. I think in the
case of I play when I was up in Utah,
I was I was like one under through eight or
something like that. Nothing crazy, but I'm thinking, Okay, now
I gotta now, I gotta kind of step on the
gas a little bit, make the turn it I think
I made the turn of two under. I'm going, okay,
I gotta get things going. So you still, I'm you're
still kind of calculating in my mind. I have this
(15:38):
weird sense of like I know what the number is
gonna be even while I'm playing.
Speaker 1 (15:41):
Like nailing it, Like you feel like you always get incredible.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
I'm super good, so weird, Marty.
Speaker 1 (15:49):
Marty said, this is like there's worst golf and you're
saying that's your best guard. Was very interesting.
Speaker 2 (15:53):
Yeah, even this Utah one, I'm going I'm I'm thinking
it's gonna be a it's gonna be eight, and I'm
standing on the last hole at six. I'm going, well,
if I birdie at least, maybe i'll be at sat.
You know, I'll be at seven. Maybe there's a chance.
Well I roll it in for birdie and I get
to the clubhouse and I'm still in the playoff currently,
last group comes in eight on.
Speaker 1 (16:13):
Eight and I get nailed it.
Speaker 4 (16:15):
Yeah, Marty, what is what does Jim do so well
in terms of the way he plays? Like what you've
You've played a lot of golf with him, You've seen
him up close in personal and tournament golf. Like, what
does what does he do that impresses you?
Speaker 3 (16:25):
Driving the golf ball? Well, I mean the two staples
driving the ball. So Jim's got a high ball speed
one eight, you know, high one seventies, one eighty ish
ball speed with the driver and hits it high. Okay,
so he's got the towering trajectory that you're like, I
wish I could do that. Uh, and then he rolls
the rock. I mean, his putting is absolutely incredible.
Speaker 1 (16:46):
That what you say, that's the best part of your game.
Speaker 2 (16:47):
Yeah, I would agree with that. Those are probably the
two strongest parts of my game, and in rolling the
rock is number one. That's that's Honestly, when I came
out of college and I needed things to work on,
I was watching these mini tour guys down here in Phoenix,
I was I was competing against them. One of the
things I need to do better drive the ball better, longer,
and make more putts. And that's that's what I did.
And I would say putting is now my number one.
Speaker 1 (17:07):
What putter you got in the back right now?
Speaker 2 (17:09):
I still use an old school ping vault two point
zero Dale answer that I believe our co host designed
over here.
Speaker 1 (17:16):
Is that right.
Speaker 3 (17:16):
I haven't done many putters, but I did do all
the design and cat work on that Dale answer, which
is really fun. And yeah, no, Jim didn't even know that.
But that's the putter.
Speaker 4 (17:27):
We'll throw a photo up if you're watching this on
YouTube so you get a feel for the putter. How
long has it been in the bag.
Speaker 2 (17:31):
It's been in there, oh gosh, probably since twenty eighteen,
So what is that? You know, well, six years. So
I was playing at a conventional length for a year,
and then I think right around there was a time
when like Bubba was using the armlock putter. If you
remember this, he went to I think it was the
Arna model, and he was just he was rolling pretty well.
(17:54):
It wasn't it didn't stay in his back very long.
But that was also the time when Coocher was rolling armlock,
and I mean he just absolutely rolled everything in. I
was on the PGA tour at that point or early
in twenty nineteen, and I was going, hey, you know, Tony,
can I experiment with this? You know, do we have
anything available? So I let Antnia at Serrano, our designer.
He was out at Innisbrook in Tampa. There. I was
(18:17):
playing the Valspar Championship and so we were just messing
around with it. It felt, it felt amazing. I already
had the shaft angle aligned with my forearm, so then
I and I already had a bit of a forward press,
so both of those things. Then you just extend the
shaft a little bit longer in the grip and put
it against your arm and bow. You got an armlock putter,
(18:38):
so it came really naturally to me. And then anything
inside eight feet, you know, ten feet just feels almost automatic.
Speaker 3 (18:45):
Scary to play somebody like that, Marty, Yeah, Jim's putting
is I remember that at the WM a year ago
you made this pot on eighteen I think you described
any interview as drippy.
Speaker 2 (18:55):
You know, just the speed is just a great way
to put it.
Speaker 3 (18:57):
It's so perfect. It was drippy.
Speaker 4 (18:59):
Let's lean in your work at Ping because I'm interested
in what you've done the last year. So can you
kind of explain to people what your role is, what
you do, how maybe your day to day looks in
week to week.
Speaker 2 (19:09):
Yeah, really fun role here at Ping. Thanks so, Marty.
He kind of he kind of brought me in with
a broad spectrum of responsibilities, which is really cool for me.
I get to see a lot of the different part
of the company. I get to work with the design engineers,
I get to work with ant I get to work
with engineering, I get to work with the fitters, I
(19:30):
get to work with the education team. So I would
I would break my role up into kind of three chunks,
being fitting performance, kind of working on the tools on
the back end that our accounts can use it, our
national accounts can use to help fit the average golfer better.
And part of that is designing new tools. I'm working
on a really cool tool that are internal master fitter
(19:54):
putter fitters can use when people come in the lab.
So that's really exciting working with the education team team
when accounts come in account visitations, getting the knowledge for
the new product that's coming out, and then also helping
on the back end with with our digital UH education
platform called ping Academy that you know, that's a big
(20:16):
that's a big thing for them. They can go on
there and learn about the new product and and about
our fitting foundations. That's another thing I've been working on.
And then the third the third thing being just kind
of jack of all trades. I'm just you know, if Paul,
doctor Paul Wood comes to me, hey can you do this? Yes,
you know, we we ran an awesome putter study with
a sports psychologist measuring brain activity that was really cool.
(20:37):
Anything Marty brings to me, you know, Okay, can you
do this tour research? Hey can you do these player tests? Hey?
Can you you know, run over to.
Speaker 1 (20:45):
Like do you pick up lunch sometimes? And I feel
like you're I mean, it hasn't come to that. Have
you ever been bored.
Speaker 2 (20:51):
Ever?
Speaker 1 (20:52):
It's like, what do you do everything?
Speaker 4 (20:53):
And I'm like, I do almost everything if asked, And
by the way, that's a good way to be in
the first year at a job.
Speaker 1 (20:58):
Can I do this? Sure, I'll do it, and maybe
i'll goog go ahead on the back end, but I'll
do it exactly.
Speaker 2 (21:02):
My answer is just yes, yes, yes, I can do that.
Speaker 4 (21:05):
It's a big part of sports broadcasting too, like, hey,
can you do baseball? You're like, oh, it's my favorite
sport and you go home and you're like, what is baseball?
I think, I don't know what this is, but I
could handle it. Marty, How has it been, I mean,
how did how did the conversation go when you guys
were chatting about potential work at paying And how has
it been the last year together?
Speaker 3 (21:21):
Yeah? No, I think with Jim. I mean, to be honest,
it's there's been a few times where we've had that
conversation over your career. You know, I don't know if
it didn't just happen last year, It didn't just happen.
You know, I think a few years into the mini tours,
maybe it's kind of like, hey, you know, you know,
I should I keep this thing going. And then Jim
then it got on the corn Ferry and it's like, Okay,
I don't need to talk to Jim for a few years.
(21:43):
He's good.
Speaker 2 (21:44):
Mark's been a really good mentor for me in that aspect.
Speaker 3 (21:46):
Yeah, and then Jim gets on the PGA Tour. It's like, Okay,
I really don't need to talk to him for a while.
But then yeah, I mean, obviously I think I think
Jim got a little unlucky with some wrist injuries and
things of that nature that you know. Yeah, it was
kind of like, okay, we kind of stayed in touch
a little bit having that conversation, and it was during
(22:07):
the fall of twenty three as Jim talked about where
he got a little bit more serious, like, hey, you know,
three kids, it's time to kind of think about a transition.
I love Jim's approach, which is no golfer ever really
retires from golf, right, you know, it's kind of like,
Jim had this amazing PGA Tour, corn Fairy career, It's
time for the next phase of this thing. Let's help
(22:28):
let's help build someat build and fits some great golf equipment,
keep playing? Why not?
Speaker 2 (22:32):
It's right?
Speaker 4 (22:33):
Hey, I mean, Marty, are you carving out a space
for him? Is there a role that he fits into?
Or when you have somebody coming your way that obviously
has an elite level of play and a great knowledge
of the game and obviously went to an amazing school, like,
can you carve out a space for him within the team?
Speaker 5 (22:50):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (22:50):
I think that's a good question. I think Jim described
his role. It's kind of a choose your own adventure role.
What we want to maximize for Jim. You know, he's
spent ten years out there on the tour with all
the little nuance of playing the game, which I admire,
and I have a lot to learn. You're asking Jim questions.
I'm like tuned in, like what's the answer to qualifiers?
But yeah, we wanted to create a situation for Jim
(23:10):
to like learn, So how do we maximize his learning?
And that's the kind of the scenarios in here, looking
backward at about exactly one year now, Jim is give
him in a spot where he can learn where see
where he has the most interest. It's been kind of
in the putter space, putter fitting, putter design, brain wave stuff.
I mean that's you know, he's such a good putter,
(23:31):
that's kind of where he's he's naturally gravitating towards. But yeah, no,
that's been that's been been the spot. And we have
him in a role where he's on that our ping
academy team. This is our team that teaches all of
our fitters how we fit here, kind of educates him
on new product. So there's also this philosophy in teaching
is where you do the most learning. So that's also
(23:53):
where we've had Jim kind of lined up.
Speaker 1 (23:55):
Where did hard k come from? When did that start?
Speaker 2 (23:57):
Yeah? Nickname came about really in my professional career when
I came down here to play the Gateway Tour. You
guys probably remember remember.
Speaker 5 (24:04):
The on the Gateway Tour Back in the day, I
was a Gateway Tour boy on the gate I absolutely
lost money as well on the Gateway Tour. You know,
you know, you know how there were like two people
that played Gateway Tour. There were the people that took
the checks home and the people that sent checks in.
I sent the checks.
Speaker 2 (24:18):
Yeah, I hear that. One of the starters, uh, you know,
found out the pronunciation my name canals the hard K.
So so from there on out, every time he you know,
I come up to Hey, hard Ka, Hey, Jimmy hard
k you know. And so when I got out on
the tour, that kind of just stuck. Everybody's just calling
me hard Kale over the plays.
Speaker 3 (24:35):
It.
Speaker 2 (24:35):
It's just kind of a nice it's a nice right.
Speaker 1 (24:37):
It is a great. It's a really really good thank you.
Speaker 4 (24:40):
How many many tours and tours do you think you've
played on? Do you think you could even count them?
Do you think it's like twelve? Uh No, I don't
think it's that many. It's probably it's probably eight ish,
you know, something like that, including Cornfery and PJ Tour.
Speaker 2 (24:53):
Yeah, yeah, I didn't. I didn't branch out a ton
to be to be perfectly honest, I played Gateway Tour.
My my granda parents live here in Phoenix, so right
out of school I came down and lived with them.
Played the Gateway Tour solely got me, you know, like
what you were saying, I got my butt kicked by
everybody does down here, just playing NonStop, which was good
for me, my game got better because of that, and
(25:14):
then then a little bit on the East Coast, but
then mainly my goal was to get on the Corn
Forry Tour on the PGA Tour. So it was a
priority for me to play Corn Ferry Tour Q school
every single year. Saved up money, you know, to play
that every year, and finally got through i think five
five years in twenty sixteen, got through fall of twenty
sixteen on the Cornfory Tour.
Speaker 1 (25:34):
How many wins do you know the amount of wins
you've had.
Speaker 2 (25:38):
It's probably it's probably in the ten to fifteen area
somewhere in there. Pro wins. Nothing on the corp for
your tour and PGA Tour, unfortunately, nothing yet. Thank you.
Speaker 1 (25:52):
Yeah, we've got a future ahead.
Speaker 2 (25:53):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (25:54):
What's been some of your funnest moment or your the
funnest moment on the most memorable moment on the PGA Tour.
Speaker 2 (26:00):
Most memorable moment on the PGA Tour for sure was
Hole in one at Tory Pine South number three, Sunday
Sunday Hole on one Tory Pines number three South, the
picturesque you know, down hill hole and to boot I'm
playing that hole with with Sung JM and Mark Leaschmann.
(26:22):
Great group following Tigers group. Tiger's playing that was twenty nineteen.
He's playing. There's like two hundred thousand people there. He's
playing number six, which, if you know, the course goes
back right, but the t the teaser right there. This
this whole area is.
Speaker 1 (26:38):
Just catching yeah way too.
Speaker 2 (26:42):
And we're right in front of Ricky and JT. So
they got a massive crowd right behind us. So I
hit this shot and it's just a beautiful curving, you know,
just a slight draw. I played this nice little draw
penskin on the right side, bounces once, kind of trickles
three feet and go in, and I mean people just
went crazy, and I went crazy too. And I had
(27:05):
a friend playing with Tiger and he supposedly gave me
like a little clap clap, and you know, hey, I'm
just saying that he said that happened. But I take
I throw the clock, I take off running down the hill,
if you know. And I'm just I'm doing the high
five line. You know, everybody's just there. I'm just high
five all the way to the hole. It was best
moment by far on the PGA tour that it it.
(27:28):
You know, I bought some beverages for the clubhouse afterwards,
so that that put me back a little bit, but
it was worth it. I mean it was incredible.
Speaker 4 (27:35):
Yeah, I mean, can we talk about the hole in
one rule, about the buying the drinks?
Speaker 1 (27:40):
Oh?
Speaker 4 (27:40):
Man, I don't love it. I do think that it
should be switched. I do feel like you should be
rewarded for the one.
Speaker 1 (27:47):
Now.
Speaker 4 (27:48):
I get the idea that you had something great happen,
so you can kind of celebrate with everybody.
Speaker 1 (27:52):
Else, But shouldn't you.
Speaker 4 (27:53):
You know, like everything else you do successful in sport,
you're the person that receives accolades.
Speaker 3 (27:58):
Right, then there's the interns thing, you can do it
in your club and all that. I mean, then it
gets all complicated.
Speaker 4 (28:03):
So complicated, so complicated Europe, and then will be good exactly. Well, Jim,
it's been great chatting obviously, h I know everybody at
PING has been pop fired up to have you here,
what a resource you are, and obviously we're going to
continue to root for you in terms of your playing
as well, because, uh, it seems like you're still hungry,
it seems like you're still interested in Oh, absolutely, compeding.
Speaker 2 (28:24):
Yeah, absolutely, and thank you for having me today. And
like I said, I just gotta I just gotta be
good enough to beat Marty. I mean that's that's really
what it comes down to. It's gonna be hard looking
back on twenty four.
Speaker 4 (28:32):
It's not gonna be easy the way that the way
that Marty's playing, in the way that Marty is training.
But uh, the hard K, the hard K, the man.
Fun to have you on the podcast. This is the
Ping Proven Grounds Podcast.
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