September 23, 2025 • 29 mins
PING Pro Harris English joins Shane Bacon ahead of his second Ryder Cup to discuss Bethpage Black, what it’s like to play for Team USA, and how he’s continued to elevate his game and prepare for the biggest events in golf.
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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 1 (00:06):
We're gonna be able to tell some fun stories about
what goes on here to help golfers play better golf.
Speaker 3 (00:11):
Hey, everybody, welcome back to the Ping proven Grounds Podcast.
I'm Shane Bacon, joined by Harris English. As we get
set for the Ryder Cup. Harris, you're playing a lot
of big events. You're playing a lot of big golf events.
What is the pressure like as we kind of ench
towards Ryder Cup week versus maybe a Master's week or
a US Open or something like that.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
Man, There's there's nothing like it. I mean, this is
the pinnacle of our sport for a reason. The atmosphere
is unlike anything I've ever been a part of. But
my prep, I mean I've been starting my prep the
last couple of days, coming off NAPA, just kind of
getting get in the mode. I mean it feels like
I'm getting ready for the Masters, getting ready for the
(00:50):
US Open. I'm trying out some guys other some of
my teammates golf balls, kind of figuring out of potential
alternate shot partners and whatnot. So there's a lot that
goes into it. And I was sexing with uh with
snoeds this morning about getting with the scouts and kind
of doll dollon in what yardages I need to hone
(01:11):
my game in and and uh, yeah, man, there's there's
a lot of moving parts, moving pieces, and we're trying
to be as tactical as we can.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
What are those yardages?
Speaker 3 (01:21):
Was there anything specific like ninety longer, I mean, bet
pages of beasts, like anything specific you're kind of focused
on club wise?
Speaker 1 (01:30):
Yeah, for for my potential alternate shot partners, definitely like
that one seventy five to two twenty five part threes,
some of the longer part four. So I'm I'm then
that's kind of the practice which I don't really do
a whole lot of, is hitting a lot of four
and five irons on the range and doing some of
(01:50):
my track man games. I'm trying to work on that
and getting really comfortable with uh with kind of those
four or five six irons.
Speaker 3 (01:59):
Is I was gonna ask you this later, but you
mentioned the golf ball thing. I think people always wonder
about that, you know, how.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
Who picks the ball.
Speaker 3 (02:07):
I've always thought it felt like whoever's approach shot was
probably the ball that you're using. What is kind of
the behind the curtain philosophy on golf ball. If you're
playing one golf ball and the guy you're playing with
plays a different one, who's team off with what ball
considering the hole?
Speaker 1 (02:23):
Yeah, I think it's all on who's sitting that approach
shot getting those irons in your hands. So for me,
I'm hitting whoever the partner I have, I'm hitting his
ball off the tee, say one number one, and then
he's sending the approach shot in the green. But we're
pretty much switching on every hole. I'm sure some teams
have one ball and they choose one ball if guys
(02:46):
played the similar ball, But I mean the guys I've
been trying out, we all play different balls. I play
a twenty seventeen pro V one and there's probably four
or five guys on the PJ Tour to play it.
Play Taylor made, Ben Griffin plays Max Fly, Zander plays Callaway.
So there's a lot of different golf balls that people play,
(03:08):
and that's something that kind of gets overlooked a little
bit of how you're going to attack that and just
for us more of the spin rate and kind of
the launch conditions, especially if it gets windy or into
the wind, you want to make sure your ball's not
falling out of the air or coming up shorter than
you used to, So trying to get ahead of that
as much as possible.
Speaker 3 (03:28):
I know you've played bet Page a couple of times
kind of in tournament conditions and tournament style events over
the course of your career. Give people that maybe don't
know a ton about bet Page, or maybe don't remember
much from twenty nineteen, or you know, back in the
day US Opens, maybe give people like a player's breakdown
of what the golf course asks, what it looks like,
and maybe some of the things that are a little
(03:50):
bit different than maybe a whistling Straits or a different
type of golf course that you're playing in and around
an event like this.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
Yeah, I mean, unfortunately I didn't play it in twenty nineteen.
I feel like I've played it first year on tour.
I think it was the Barclays, yeah, which was a
sponsor back in twenty twelve, and I remember playing really
well and I think I was maybe in the top
five or six, and I made just like one of
the worst triple bogies on eighteen that you could ever
And I remember hitting three it off the tee and
(04:17):
I pulled it just a hair and it goes in
the rough and I try to force it up by
the green, getting in the wispy grass by the green.
I just made a complete mess of the last soul.
But I really love the golf course. I can't remember
who designed it, but it's such an old school field,
just like your classic US Open. And I think how
we're gonna set it up. It's not going to look
(04:38):
like US Open. It's not going to have the chop
out rough. They're gonna move some tea's around. I mean,
I think where the grand stands are on one, they
had to move the tee up and guys can almost
drive the green. I mean, I'm sure you're going to
see Bryson and Rory like literally try to hit it
on the green on number one, which would be pretty cool,
kind of like he did at Whistling Straight. It's gonna
(05:00):
be a different vibe. I obviously haven't seen it with
the setup and where all the stands are going to
be placed, but playing Whistling straight. So it's kind of
coming out of COVID and I'm not sure if they
limited the ticket the tickets that week, but man, it's
going to be in full force out there. I know
a lot of people have been having the Circle on
their calendar for a while now, and it's going to
(05:20):
be one of the ultimate sporting experiences. But I'm looking
forward to get up there. We're going to play i
think eighteen holes on Monday and play nine whole Tuesday,
nine Wednesday, ninth Thursday, probably getting more like alternate shot
best ball stuff and kind of figure out who we're
playing with. But I'm looking forward to getting back up there.
I love how the course is framed. It's tree lined
(05:41):
it and it kind of gives you some good visuals
off the tea, which I really like. So I'm looking
forward to it. There's a lot of different holes. There's
not a whole lot of water. I think there's maybe
water short of the par three on what seven, So
that's pretty unique on a golf course to just have
one water has just short of the green. But it's
(06:01):
gonna be awesome. I'm so so much looking forward to
getting up there.
Speaker 3 (06:05):
Yeah, I mean your second time doing a Ryder Cup. Obviously,
as you mentioned, Whistling straits a little bit different kind
of coming out of COVID and all that. I mean,
it was raucus there as well. I was lucky to
kind of be around there that week and it was
wild obviously very dominant performance by the US, you know.
But I think something unique about the Ryder Cup is
you know it starts on Friday, right, so the anticipation,
you know, you're thinking about it. You qualify on points,
(06:27):
so you're on the team, you know, before Captain's picks happen.
As you get into Ryder Cup week, like you're playing
these practice arounds, you're having these team meetings. Is are
you just itching by Wednesday, like to get on the
golf course and actually start playing, Like is it the
most anticipation you feel in terms of any golf week
you play?
Speaker 1 (06:46):
It is for sure. I mean we're all getting up
there Sunday afternoon and you do trying on all your
clothes and getting everything dialed in. And what's unique about
this event is you have stuff to do pretty much
every night, and it kind of gets us out of
our routine, our normal routine. Everybody has a different routine
and tournaments and majors and all that, but you got
(07:08):
to kind of set that aside and like I'm doing
whatever the team's doing, I can tailor my routine around that.
So that's that's something I kind of learned at Whistling Straights.
And and like you said, like it's it's such a
slow build to Friday, and then once Friday hits, it's
like a blur Friday, Saturday, Sunday and then you kind
(07:28):
of wake up and you're you're hopefully partying in the
team room on Sunday night. Man, it's awesome. We we
do a lot of cool things, the team dinners, the
even going to a dinner with the European team, which
I didn't get to do a Whistling Straights because of
COVID opening ceremonies. Amazing. So yeah, I mean, it's it's
(07:51):
a build up to a tournament like like no other,
and with it's starting on Friday, it just feels like
it creeps along you get there, and then once it starts,
it's a blur.
Speaker 3 (08:00):
You're a pretty cool, calm, collected player, I'd say throughout
your career, you're somebody that seems pretty even keel, no
matter the situation out of the golf course, no matter
if that's not the case between your ears, when you're
watching a match at a Ryder Cup, when you're watching
your teammates play a match when you're not playing, What
does it feel like internally for Harris English?
Speaker 2 (08:19):
Are you more nervous or are you are you.
Speaker 3 (08:22):
Kind of like like looking at the lie I mean,
how do you kind of go about being a viewer
when you're not out there playing in a certain format.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
Yeah, it's like watching my friends play on PGA Tour, Like,
I'm so much more nervous watching golf than I am
playing it. Like I know that first t is going
to be nerve wracking and the butterflies and you got
the adrenaline through the roof. But we like kind of
once once that first t shot gets out of way
and you kind of kind of start getting the road
in the round, you kind of settle down and kind
(08:50):
of go through your your routines and all that. But man,
watching golf, watching your teammates play and pulling as hard
for them as anybody. I mean, it's it's and I
don't know how people do it.
Speaker 3 (09:02):
Yeah, I mean, like I always think about like wives
of players or like husbands of players on the OPGA tour,
or your dads. You know, you see Scotti Scheffler's dad
always around the eighteenth Green, and just what that feeling
must be, you know, as a parent or a partner
of somebody, because when you're playing, your playing and you
kind of have a bit of control, But when you're
not hitting the golf shots, you have no control of
(09:22):
it and you're just hoping for the best.
Speaker 2 (09:24):
It's a completely different.
Speaker 3 (09:25):
Uh, it's a completely different kind of mind game as
a as a golf fan because you know probably what
they're going through and maybe how hard the shot is
or how intimidating all of that stuff might be. I
wanted to ask you about you know, I know you're
not going to give out who you're playing with or
who you might be playing with, but I did want
to ask about input because you know, we live in
an analytical, analytical world, and I know analytics have become
(09:46):
a huge part of the Ryder Cup. Is there a
certain style of player that you'd prefer to play with,
A great driver of the golf ball, great iron player,
great short game. You know, do you get any of
that input to somebody like Keegan versus them kind of
telling you maybe who you're going to play with.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
They they kind of do that, him and him and
all the assistant captains kind of do that with our
scouts that they go all over all the analytics. And
what I thought Hegan did a good job of is
he took a personality test from Kirby Smart that I
guess Kirby has has a guy he works with the
Georgia that does all these personality tests on his team,
(10:23):
and he did that for us and he can kind
of put us in groups. And I don't know if
he used that for me, Like I stay pretty even
keeled on a course, but I like the guy that
I play with that has a lot of fire because
I feel like that brings it out of me and
I want that, Like I always want to do that
on the golf course, but sometimes I don't. But I
(10:43):
like having a guy like that to kind of get
me going. So personally for me, I like that, But
I think it's more for Keegan of guys that get along,
guys that enjoy playing with each other, Like he would
send me a list of like, hey, name some guys
you want to play with, and he'll do that with
every player and just kind of find the like mindedness
(11:04):
of all everybody's list and get with the analytics team
and like, all right, we put this guy with Harris,
what holes are they going to play? Or best ball?
How are they going to match up? So there's a
I'm sure there's a lot of stuff that goes on
behind the behind the curtains that I don't hear about.
I don't see, but they've they've been working on this
for a long time. And for me, I'm like, just
(11:26):
tell me who I'm playing with, tell me what hold
I'm teeing off of, and what I need to practice
to get ready, and I'm going to be ready.
Speaker 3 (11:33):
Yeah, what's where's the first team? What's the course record?
That's kind of the mentality for you as you get
ready for a Ryder Cup. You know, you played so
good in the majors this year, I'd say easily your
best major season of your career. Did you change anything
in terms of the way you played the majors you
went into them? I mean, obviously a couple of second
place finishes at the PGA in the Open, but you
played ball at August as well. Did anything shift in
(11:53):
terms of your mentality approach or was it just good
golf A little bit of everything.
Speaker 1 (11:58):
I've really been working on kind of my off course habits,
off course routines that kind of bleed into tournament play.
Of I feel like I've become a more efficient practicer.
I'm better with my body, I'm better with my hydration
and all of this stuff, better with my sleep. All
of this stuff kind of adds up. And I've been
(12:19):
working with a performance coach for now right about a year,
and he's been great just pacing myself through these majors
because it's I put them in categories like regular PGA
Tour events, and the majors are obviously above that, and
then I feel like the Ryder Cups above that, but
the Majors there's just more going on. You have more obligations,
(12:42):
the pressures ramped up, you want to play good so bad,
and it's kind of the culmination of having a lot
of experience in these tournaments. I've been to the Masters
now five six times. Obviously the US Open venues changed,
but kind of the cadence stays the same, and I've
become better at being more efficient, and now with a
(13:02):
two year old daughter, I kind of have to be
and I'm not out there practicing eight or nine hours
a day. I'm getting if I'm practicing four or five hours,
I'm being super efficient with it, and I'm having a
plan for the day and I'm getting it done and
getting back home.
Speaker 2 (13:16):
Is it something that you know?
Speaker 3 (13:17):
I feel like people probably answer the question can you
win a major?
Speaker 2 (13:21):
Or do you think you can win a major?
Speaker 3 (13:22):
And most professionals golfers or athletes are going to say yes, right,
But has there been a little bit of that transition
internally with you, where like the belief has grown as
well in terms of the biggest events in golf. You know,
You've always been a great player, and you've always been
a very consistent player, but it feels like the consistency's
gone up and the results have gone up.
Speaker 1 (13:41):
Yeah. I mean I've had people tell me that for
most of my career, of like, You're gonna win a
major someday. Your game is built for majors, And maybe
I'm starting to believe that more. And I love playing
really hard golf courses. I love playing really hard tests,
and I feel like I can use my tactical ability
and the cool, the cool and calmness, I guess of
(14:05):
not letting the moment get too big and kind of
sticking to my plan and sticking to my gun. So
I feel like it's been a big jump for me
this year and majors I've had. I mean, really since
twenty twenty, You've had a couple of top fives in
the US Open, and I kind of parlaid that into
playing really well at Quail this year and my best
finish by far at the Open Championship at Port Rush.
(14:29):
So yes, it's a little more belief, some good golf,
and some of my Sunday rounds of the Majors this
year have been some of my best. I feel like
that's kind of the day I'm feeling the best and
going to get it and getting the most out of myself.
Speaker 3 (14:42):
What about the putting anything changed in that department? You've
been incredible on the greens. I feel like this season,
would you say best putting year of your career?
Speaker 1 (14:50):
I have to look at the stats. I feel like
I've been pretty consistent in the last ten years or so,
which is weird because in college I feel like I
was a really good ball striker and my putting was
was very sporadic, like when I I think I won
four times in college, but it's like the tournaments I
played really well, I putted well, and now it's kind
of the backbone of my game. And I've been very
(15:12):
consistent with my practice. Been working with the same guy
for probably twelve years now, done in Jacksonville. Just my
my drills that I do. I'm very consistent with. Literally
every day I'm doing this stuff for an hour, an
hour and a half, and it pays off. I mean,
it's boring work, it's it's uh, it's not flashy, but
(15:34):
I'm I'm probably one of the few I'm still putting
with the same putter I've putt it with my senior
year at college. Like, I don't like changing a whole lot.
Like if I'm going to put in the hours and
the effort and all that, I'm going to know what
that putter is doing. And I don't really like changing.
So I sticking with the routine, sticking with my drills,
and if something's off, then I know it's probably me.
Speaker 3 (15:56):
Do you have a backup of that gamer just in
case something happens to it? I mean that's something you know,
I remember facts and telling me you had a couple
of backups of his game or just in case?
Speaker 2 (16:05):
Right do you have?
Speaker 3 (16:06):
Do you start to kind of when you realize this
was gonna be your baby for a while, you started
to figure out a way to get more just in case.
Speaker 1 (16:12):
Yeah, I've probably got three or four whenever, whenever this
one starts acting up, and I've I got them all
grip the same and all the same loft and lives.
If this one started acting up, it's going to go
in the in the golf closet.
Speaker 3 (16:27):
Anything new kind of in the bag over the last
couple of months, as you get closer and closer to
this Ryder Cup, anything than a change in the bag,
you know.
Speaker 1 (16:34):
For bet page, I've been tinkering with I've never really
played a hybrid before. I've kind of tinkered with the
five wood over the years. I haven't really found the
five The five woods are so hot now, Like that's
that's the hard thing for us is it's hard for
me to look down at a seven wood loft and like,
(16:54):
all right, I'm gonna head this two fifty five and
not try to lean on it and match it. But
I've played this three iron kind of driving iron for
a long time now. I played a two iron at
the same version at the at the Open at Port
Rush and it just came out with a three three
iron driving iron that's a newer version. I can't remember
the name of it, but i've I was actually testing
(17:15):
some of it today with my coach and it goes
a little bit further. But that's kind of the gap
in my bag. I hit my flour in about two
twenty five and I hit my three wood close to
two seventy, so I actually had it a lot last
week where I'd have two forty five as a whole,
and it's kind of the gap in my bag of
(17:36):
finding the club that goes probably consistently two forty five
two fifteen. You can hit it high, you can hit
it low. You're going to hit it off the tea.
Some hit it in the par fives. So that's that's
a tough club for me to find. And sometimes it
varies based on what course you go to and what
yardes and flights that you want to have in the greens.
Speaker 3 (17:54):
Obviously a captain's pick of whistling straits and you qualified
this time around, is a is that a goal of
yours to start the season? And be does it take
a little pressure off qualifying for the team versus maybe
being a captain's pick and having a feel like you
might have to go out there and quote unquote prove yourself,
you know, amongst your peers.
Speaker 1 (18:12):
Yeah, that's that's a good point. That was that was
the goal of mine starting the year. I had two goals,
make the Roder Cup team, make the Tour Championship, and
that was kind of always at the forefront of my
mind going in these big events, goes into majors. But yeah,
I mean, a good thing that Keegan has done throughout
the this year is being very open and honest with
(18:33):
this and he would text me positive stuff throughout the
year and I'm like, I'm I want to qualify for
this team on points. I don't want you to have
to they come down to me and somebody else, and
I don't want to put you through that because that sucks.
And I wanted to make this team on my own
and it was an awesome feeling to do that and
(18:55):
kind of prove of myself that I belong on the
team and I made it on my own. But yeah,
I mean making it on the team on points, me
and a captain's pick. We're all there trying to do
the best we can and we're going to have I mean,
it's it's a lot of pressure. I mean it's it's
a lot different than you team it up by yourself
(19:15):
and some of these majors of I'm always in control
of good, bad, and different of what I do. And
now you're playing for yourself, you're playing for the other
eleven guys, you're playing for Keegan, you're playing for the
assistant captains, for your family, for your country. I mean
there's a lot more so all of we're at a
very heightened state and we don't take this lightly. And
(19:39):
everybody on this team is grinding their ass off this
week to get ready and doing everything they can because
they don't want to bet the wink the weak link.
And that's awesome. I mean, we're not going out there
playing for four million dollars at the Roder Cup. We're
playing for each other and playing for that flag on
our chest and on our hat, and just uh, it's
(20:01):
a whole lot of different feeling and and it's what's
golf's about. I mean, it's it's awesome.
Speaker 2 (20:08):
Who texts the most in the group chat.
Speaker 1 (20:12):
Keegan will fire off some some good stuff. Justin's always
uh into it. Xander's Xanders always coming up with some
good stuff. I'm kind of surprising.
Speaker 3 (20:22):
I figured I thought Zander would be like a two
hour screen time guy. I'm surprised by that.
Speaker 1 (20:27):
Xander. Xander sneaky and one of one of the funniest
guys I've ever I've ever been around, and he doesn't
shy away from uh banter at all.
Speaker 2 (20:36):
He loves it.
Speaker 1 (20:37):
So we've got we've got some good group text going
on the last few weeks, and had a good time
at NAPA getting all together and and getting on the
same page and watching some inspirational stuff, and and Keegan
getting up and commanding the room. And we all know
how much this means to him and and how proud
he is to be the captain, and and we all
(20:58):
know that he had a tough decision to make of
of not picking himself, and we understood it both ways.
I mean, he's one of the best players in the world,
and if he was in the captain this year, he
would one hundred percent be on the Rider Cup team.
But I know that he's spent a lot of time
and effort into getting this thing the way it is,
and he's going to have everything the t's crossed and
(21:19):
the eyes dotted and ready to go, and he's going
to put all this heart and soul him to being
the best captain that he can be and let us
go do what we do.
Speaker 2 (21:28):
Harris.
Speaker 3 (21:28):
I was thinking about that Whistling Straights team today. You know,
you think about how dominant the performance was, but also
just thinking about some of the players on that team,
and I think, you know, like our side of stuff
in the media. You know, you looked at that team
and Brooks and DJ and Jordan and kind of the
crew Tony, like the crew that was a part of
that team. It felt like, Wow, this is going to
be that American squad for the next five, six, seven, eight, nine,
(21:50):
ten years, right, And there's been so much change over
in terms of the players on that squad. What does
it say, like when you kind of look at that
team versus twenty nineteen, what does it say about your
consistency longevity in the game that you're still on that
team when maybe some of those names we thought would
likely be a shoe in to be on that team
are going to be.
Speaker 2 (22:09):
There in the red, white and Blue.
Speaker 1 (22:10):
Yeah, And that's what I've talked about with some of
the guys on the team, is like, you can never
take this for granted. I mean, once you're on some
of those teams, once you're playing really good golf, you
never think it's going to go away and making that
team in twenty twenty one, not making the team in
Rome and it's like you kind of have some serious
fomo of not making those teams because you know how
much fun it is, and like I said, it's a
(22:33):
pinnacle of our sport. And that's kind of what I've
talked to some guys about, is just like slow it
down as much as you can take it all in,
because we don't know where we're all going to be
in two years or four years or six years. You
don't know how many more teams you're gonna make. And
Keegan has definitely hammered that home with us, and like
he said, like he said that I might may have
(22:55):
hit my last shot in the Ryder Cup and he's
okay with that, and we all have to be okay
that and leave it all out there because you have
no idea where this game is going to take you,
and you certainly can't take it for granted of playing
in these Roder Cups.
Speaker 3 (23:09):
Yeah, Harrison almost feels like, you know, the rookies that
make their Super Bowl their first year and they lose
and it's kind of like, oh, we'll be back, you know,
and then it's like you might not be back, right,
And the fact that it's it's so awesome, it's so
much fun. I mean, hearing players talk about the Ryder Cup,
it's just such a different feeling in golf versus anything
else you hear, right, Solne Cup, I'd say, very very similar.
(23:30):
I'm assuming the Walker Cup has those same vibes for
amateur players, Curtis Cup and beyond. But just being there,
you know, getting the outfits, getting the bag, getting the
head covers, you know, seeing like the hats that your
teammates are wearing, being in the team room. I think
it's why fans just feel so different about it, and
the excitement that fans feel as well. I mean, you
(23:51):
see this circle for years out, you know, in terms
of which golf tournament people are the most the biggest
fans of, and it's so cool to see the players
feel same way. Because fans have long thought the Ryder
Cup is the best, and it really does feel like
this generation of player kind of equals that excitement to
the fans out there.
Speaker 1 (24:10):
Yeah, I mean, it's it goes back to being in
the team room, hanging out with these guys, and you
get an insight to everybody on a deeper level of
being in there with Scotti, Scheff, learn like what he's
thinking about, what he's going through and all these different
guys and stuff that you normally don't get to do
because we're all competing against each other every week of
(24:32):
the year. So it's it's unlike anything else I've ever
been a part of high school teams. Being at Georgia,
we had some really good teams and super close with
those guys, played played in a Walker Cup at Aberdeen.
There's nothing like it. And I love team Golf and
it takes me back to playing basketball or soccer football
(24:53):
back in the day, Like that's what we crave is
being a part of that team and being wanted and
being being kind of in the mix and being amongst
some of the best players in the world. So I
love it and something. I mean, it was my number
one goal this year. I'm thirty six years old. Who
(25:14):
knows if this is going to be my rid, my
last Ryder Cup, and I'm gonna give it everything I have.
I'm gonna really practice hard this week and show up
prepared and ready. If Kegan wants me to play five matches,
I'll be ready. If he wants me to play singles
on Sunday, I'll be ready, and I'm gonna bring on
my pom poms and cheer as hard as I can
(25:35):
because I want that Ryder Cup back.
Speaker 3 (25:38):
What's the comedown like? Like, what's like the Tuesday after
a Ryder Cup win? I mean, is it like leaving
camp when you're a kid, where you just go like
what do I do now?
Speaker 1 (25:47):
Like?
Speaker 2 (25:47):
What's that come down? Like? The week after.
Speaker 1 (25:51):
You're adrenaline never really comes down. I mean it probably starts.
It's probably gonna start Wednesday or Thursday. I know, probably
the opening ceremony probably gonna start when you oh the
national anthem, they read the pairings out like there. For me,
it's like playing the eighteenth hole in a Major. Literally
every hole from number one to eighteen, you're playing eighteen
(26:14):
coming down the stretch like one shot back at the Masters.
That's what it feels like. So that's what I said, like,
you got to pace yourself and kind of I mean,
this is only my second one, so I'm sure other
guys will relay this too, but you got to pace
yourself and not not try to get up too early,
and to have energy for Sunday because it's a it's
(26:37):
a long week. We've got lots of practice rounds, lots
of dinners, lots of kind of extra stuff that we
don't normally do, and it's it's easy to kind of
weigh yourself out, but it's unlike anything else, and waking
up Monday after the party on Sunday is pretty tough,
and you're you're definitely mentally uh mentally dead for for
(26:59):
a few days and you have to come back to reality,
all right.
Speaker 3 (27:04):
Last thing for you, obviously, the Jordian Tennessee game was
kind of an epic one. Can you give me your
your novice scouting report and maybe prediction for Georgia football
this year.
Speaker 1 (27:17):
Number one. I'm very impressed with Gunner Stockton from kind
of an I don't know the guy at all. I
followed Georgia football, I follow recruiting. I know how talented
he is, and he seems like you're made for Georgia football.
He's made to be the quarterback from Georgia. North Georgia
(27:39):
guy drives around is like Granddad's nineteen seventy something forward
pick up. Like, I love everything what this guy's about.
I have no idea what he's getting paid in the Nile.
It's not Flashy's at all. He brings his lunch pale,
plays hard football and that's it. So I like everything
about it and what they did at Tennessee, Like we
(28:01):
literally stole that game, and yeah, just the back and forth.
We're not used to having those shootouts like that. I mean,
we're used to playing really good defense, having a twenty
to thirteen game and it got out of hand. Defense
blew some coverages, but our offense kept up. And that's
what impressed me the most. I know, our defense will
get solidified and Kirby, you will get on those guys
(28:24):
a little bit and get that short up. But I
was impressed with how are our receivers played and how
we're all. Gunner handled the moment and that fourth and five,
fourth and eight pass down the sideline to Humphreys was
incredible and he kind of went for it all and
(28:44):
got it in two point conversion, so everything lined up,
but I was so impressed with how he handled the moment.
Speaker 3 (28:52):
You get your moment. This week, we'll be excited to
watch Harris. Congrats again, I'm making the Ryder Cup. Thanks
so much for taking the time go out there and
play your game. And you've been so impressive this year
throughout the big events. Obviously the win and all that stuff,
so we're excited to watch it. Thank you for the time.
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 1 (00:06):
We're gonna be able to tell some fun stories about
what goes on here to help golfers play better golf.
Speaker 3 (00:11):
Hey, everybody, welcome back to the Ping proven Grounds Podcast.
I'm Shane Bacon, joined by Harris English. As we get
set for the Ryder Cup. Harris, you're playing a lot
of big events. You're playing a lot of big golf events.
What is the pressure like as we kind of ench
towards Ryder Cup week versus maybe a Master's week or
a US Open or something like that.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
Man, There's there's nothing like it. I mean, this is
the pinnacle of our sport for a reason. The atmosphere
is unlike anything I've ever been a part of. But
my prep, I mean I've been starting my prep the
last couple of days, coming off NAPA, just kind of
getting get in the mode. I mean it feels like
I'm getting ready for the Masters, getting ready for the
(00:50):
US Open. I'm trying out some guys other some of
my teammates golf balls, kind of figuring out of potential
alternate shot partners and whatnot. So there's a lot that
goes into it. And I was sexing with uh with
snoeds this morning about getting with the scouts and kind
of doll dollon in what yardages I need to hone
(01:11):
my game in and and uh, yeah, man, there's there's
a lot of moving parts, moving pieces, and we're trying
to be as tactical as we can.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
What are those yardages?
Speaker 3 (01:21):
Was there anything specific like ninety longer, I mean, bet
pages of beasts, like anything specific you're kind of focused
on club wise?
Speaker 1 (01:30):
Yeah, for for my potential alternate shot partners, definitely like
that one seventy five to two twenty five part threes,
some of the longer part four. So I'm I'm then
that's kind of the practice which I don't really do
a whole lot of, is hitting a lot of four
and five irons on the range and doing some of
(01:50):
my track man games. I'm trying to work on that
and getting really comfortable with uh with kind of those
four or five six irons.
Speaker 3 (01:59):
Is I was gonna ask you this later, but you
mentioned the golf ball thing. I think people always wonder
about that, you know, how.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
Who picks the ball.
Speaker 3 (02:07):
I've always thought it felt like whoever's approach shot was
probably the ball that you're using. What is kind of
the behind the curtain philosophy on golf ball. If you're
playing one golf ball and the guy you're playing with
plays a different one, who's team off with what ball
considering the hole?
Speaker 1 (02:23):
Yeah, I think it's all on who's sitting that approach
shot getting those irons in your hands. So for me,
I'm hitting whoever the partner I have, I'm hitting his
ball off the tee, say one number one, and then
he's sending the approach shot in the green. But we're
pretty much switching on every hole. I'm sure some teams
have one ball and they choose one ball if guys
(02:46):
played the similar ball, But I mean the guys I've
been trying out, we all play different balls. I play
a twenty seventeen pro V one and there's probably four
or five guys on the PJ Tour to play it.
Play Taylor made, Ben Griffin plays Max Fly, Zander plays Callaway.
So there's a lot of different golf balls that people play,
(03:08):
and that's something that kind of gets overlooked a little
bit of how you're going to attack that and just
for us more of the spin rate and kind of
the launch conditions, especially if it gets windy or into
the wind, you want to make sure your ball's not
falling out of the air or coming up shorter than
you used to, So trying to get ahead of that
as much as possible.
Speaker 3 (03:28):
I know you've played bet Page a couple of times
kind of in tournament conditions and tournament style events over
the course of your career. Give people that maybe don't
know a ton about bet Page, or maybe don't remember
much from twenty nineteen, or you know, back in the
day US Opens, maybe give people like a player's breakdown
of what the golf course asks, what it looks like,
and maybe some of the things that are a little
(03:50):
bit different than maybe a whistling Straits or a different
type of golf course that you're playing in and around
an event like this.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
Yeah, I mean, unfortunately I didn't play it in twenty nineteen.
I feel like I've played it first year on tour.
I think it was the Barclays, yeah, which was a
sponsor back in twenty twelve, and I remember playing really
well and I think I was maybe in the top
five or six, and I made just like one of
the worst triple bogies on eighteen that you could ever
And I remember hitting three it off the tee and
(04:17):
I pulled it just a hair and it goes in
the rough and I try to force it up by
the green, getting in the wispy grass by the green.
I just made a complete mess of the last soul.
But I really love the golf course. I can't remember
who designed it, but it's such an old school field,
just like your classic US Open. And I think how
we're gonna set it up. It's not going to look
(04:38):
like US Open. It's not going to have the chop
out rough. They're gonna move some tea's around. I mean,
I think where the grand stands are on one, they
had to move the tee up and guys can almost
drive the green. I mean, I'm sure you're going to
see Bryson and Rory like literally try to hit it
on the green on number one, which would be pretty cool,
kind of like he did at Whistling Straight. It's gonna
(05:00):
be a different vibe. I obviously haven't seen it with
the setup and where all the stands are going to
be placed, but playing Whistling straight. So it's kind of
coming out of COVID and I'm not sure if they
limited the ticket the tickets that week, but man, it's
going to be in full force out there. I know
a lot of people have been having the Circle on
their calendar for a while now, and it's going to
(05:20):
be one of the ultimate sporting experiences. But I'm looking
forward to get up there. We're going to play i
think eighteen holes on Monday and play nine whole Tuesday,
nine Wednesday, ninth Thursday, probably getting more like alternate shot
best ball stuff and kind of figure out who we're
playing with. But I'm looking forward to getting back up there.
I love how the course is framed. It's tree lined
(05:41):
it and it kind of gives you some good visuals
off the tea, which I really like. So I'm looking
forward to it. There's a lot of different holes. There's
not a whole lot of water. I think there's maybe
water short of the par three on what seven, So
that's pretty unique on a golf course to just have
one water has just short of the green. But it's
(06:01):
gonna be awesome. I'm so so much looking forward to
getting up there.
Speaker 3 (06:05):
Yeah, I mean your second time doing a Ryder Cup. Obviously,
as you mentioned, Whistling straits a little bit different kind
of coming out of COVID and all that. I mean,
it was raucus there as well. I was lucky to
kind of be around there that week and it was
wild obviously very dominant performance by the US, you know.
But I think something unique about the Ryder Cup is
you know it starts on Friday, right, so the anticipation,
you know, you're thinking about it. You qualify on points,
(06:27):
so you're on the team, you know, before Captain's picks happen.
As you get into Ryder Cup week, like you're playing
these practice arounds, you're having these team meetings. Is are
you just itching by Wednesday, like to get on the
golf course and actually start playing, Like is it the
most anticipation you feel in terms of any golf week
you play?
Speaker 1 (06:46):
It is for sure. I mean we're all getting up
there Sunday afternoon and you do trying on all your
clothes and getting everything dialed in. And what's unique about
this event is you have stuff to do pretty much
every night, and it kind of gets us out of
our routine, our normal routine. Everybody has a different routine
and tournaments and majors and all that, but you got
(07:08):
to kind of set that aside and like I'm doing
whatever the team's doing, I can tailor my routine around that.
So that's that's something I kind of learned at Whistling Straights.
And and like you said, like it's it's such a
slow build to Friday, and then once Friday hits, it's
like a blur Friday, Saturday, Sunday and then you kind
(07:28):
of wake up and you're you're hopefully partying in the
team room on Sunday night. Man, it's awesome. We we
do a lot of cool things, the team dinners, the
even going to a dinner with the European team, which
I didn't get to do a Whistling Straights because of
COVID opening ceremonies. Amazing. So yeah, I mean, it's it's
(07:51):
a build up to a tournament like like no other,
and with it's starting on Friday, it just feels like
it creeps along you get there, and then once it starts,
it's a blur.
Speaker 3 (08:00):
You're a pretty cool, calm, collected player, I'd say throughout
your career, you're somebody that seems pretty even keel, no
matter the situation out of the golf course, no matter
if that's not the case between your ears, when you're
watching a match at a Ryder Cup, when you're watching
your teammates play a match when you're not playing, What
does it feel like internally for Harris English?
Speaker 2 (08:19):
Are you more nervous or are you are you.
Speaker 3 (08:22):
Kind of like like looking at the lie I mean,
how do you kind of go about being a viewer
when you're not out there playing in a certain format.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
Yeah, it's like watching my friends play on PGA Tour, Like,
I'm so much more nervous watching golf than I am
playing it. Like I know that first t is going
to be nerve wracking and the butterflies and you got
the adrenaline through the roof. But we like kind of
once once that first t shot gets out of way
and you kind of kind of start getting the road
in the round, you kind of settle down and kind
(08:50):
of go through your your routines and all that. But man,
watching golf, watching your teammates play and pulling as hard
for them as anybody. I mean, it's it's and I
don't know how people do it.
Speaker 3 (09:02):
Yeah, I mean, like I always think about like wives
of players or like husbands of players on the OPGA tour,
or your dads. You know, you see Scotti Scheffler's dad
always around the eighteenth Green, and just what that feeling
must be, you know, as a parent or a partner
of somebody, because when you're playing, your playing and you
kind of have a bit of control, But when you're
not hitting the golf shots, you have no control of
(09:22):
it and you're just hoping for the best.
Speaker 2 (09:24):
It's a completely different.
Speaker 3 (09:25):
Uh, it's a completely different kind of mind game as
a as a golf fan because you know probably what
they're going through and maybe how hard the shot is
or how intimidating all of that stuff might be. I
wanted to ask you about you know, I know you're
not going to give out who you're playing with or
who you might be playing with, but I did want
to ask about input because you know, we live in
an analytical, analytical world, and I know analytics have become
(09:46):
a huge part of the Ryder Cup. Is there a
certain style of player that you'd prefer to play with,
A great driver of the golf ball, great iron player,
great short game. You know, do you get any of
that input to somebody like Keegan versus them kind of
telling you maybe who you're going to play with.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
They they kind of do that, him and him and
all the assistant captains kind of do that with our
scouts that they go all over all the analytics. And
what I thought Hegan did a good job of is
he took a personality test from Kirby Smart that I
guess Kirby has has a guy he works with the
Georgia that does all these personality tests on his team,
(10:23):
and he did that for us and he can kind
of put us in groups. And I don't know if
he used that for me, Like I stay pretty even
keeled on a course, but I like the guy that
I play with that has a lot of fire because
I feel like that brings it out of me and
I want that, Like I always want to do that
on the golf course, but sometimes I don't. But I
(10:43):
like having a guy like that to kind of get
me going. So personally for me, I like that, But
I think it's more for Keegan of guys that get along,
guys that enjoy playing with each other, Like he would
send me a list of like, hey, name some guys
you want to play with, and he'll do that with
every player and just kind of find the like mindedness
(11:04):
of all everybody's list and get with the analytics team
and like, all right, we put this guy with Harris,
what holes are they going to play? Or best ball?
How are they going to match up? So there's a
I'm sure there's a lot of stuff that goes on
behind the behind the curtains that I don't hear about.
I don't see, but they've they've been working on this
for a long time. And for me, I'm like, just
(11:26):
tell me who I'm playing with, tell me what hold
I'm teeing off of, and what I need to practice
to get ready, and I'm going to be ready.
Speaker 3 (11:33):
Yeah, what's where's the first team? What's the course record?
That's kind of the mentality for you as you get
ready for a Ryder Cup. You know, you played so
good in the majors this year, I'd say easily your
best major season of your career. Did you change anything
in terms of the way you played the majors you
went into them? I mean, obviously a couple of second
place finishes at the PGA in the Open, but you
played ball at August as well. Did anything shift in
(11:53):
terms of your mentality approach or was it just good
golf A little bit of everything.
Speaker 1 (11:58):
I've really been working on kind of my off course habits,
off course routines that kind of bleed into tournament play.
Of I feel like I've become a more efficient practicer.
I'm better with my body, I'm better with my hydration
and all of this stuff, better with my sleep. All
of this stuff kind of adds up. And I've been
(12:19):
working with a performance coach for now right about a year,
and he's been great just pacing myself through these majors
because it's I put them in categories like regular PGA
Tour events, and the majors are obviously above that, and
then I feel like the Ryder Cups above that, but
the Majors there's just more going on. You have more obligations,
(12:42):
the pressures ramped up, you want to play good so bad,
and it's kind of the culmination of having a lot
of experience in these tournaments. I've been to the Masters
now five six times. Obviously the US Open venues changed,
but kind of the cadence stays the same, and I've
become better at being more efficient, and now with a
(13:02):
two year old daughter, I kind of have to be
and I'm not out there practicing eight or nine hours
a day. I'm getting if I'm practicing four or five hours,
I'm being super efficient with it, and I'm having a
plan for the day and I'm getting it done and
getting back home.
Speaker 2 (13:16):
Is it something that you know?
Speaker 3 (13:17):
I feel like people probably answer the question can you
win a major?
Speaker 2 (13:21):
Or do you think you can win a major?
Speaker 3 (13:22):
And most professionals golfers or athletes are going to say yes, right,
But has there been a little bit of that transition
internally with you, where like the belief has grown as
well in terms of the biggest events in golf. You know,
You've always been a great player, and you've always been
a very consistent player, but it feels like the consistency's
gone up and the results have gone up.
Speaker 1 (13:41):
Yeah. I mean I've had people tell me that for
most of my career, of like, You're gonna win a
major someday. Your game is built for majors, And maybe
I'm starting to believe that more. And I love playing
really hard golf courses. I love playing really hard tests,
and I feel like I can use my tactical ability
and the cool, the cool and calmness, I guess of
(14:05):
not letting the moment get too big and kind of
sticking to my plan and sticking to my gun. So
I feel like it's been a big jump for me
this year and majors I've had. I mean, really since
twenty twenty, You've had a couple of top fives in
the US Open, and I kind of parlaid that into
playing really well at Quail this year and my best
finish by far at the Open Championship at Port Rush.
(14:29):
So yes, it's a little more belief, some good golf,
and some of my Sunday rounds of the Majors this
year have been some of my best. I feel like
that's kind of the day I'm feeling the best and
going to get it and getting the most out of myself.
Speaker 3 (14:42):
What about the putting anything changed in that department? You've
been incredible on the greens. I feel like this season,
would you say best putting year of your career?
Speaker 1 (14:50):
I have to look at the stats. I feel like
I've been pretty consistent in the last ten years or so,
which is weird because in college I feel like I
was a really good ball striker and my putting was
was very sporadic, like when I I think I won
four times in college, but it's like the tournaments I
played really well, I putted well, and now it's kind
of the backbone of my game. And I've been very
(15:12):
consistent with my practice. Been working with the same guy
for probably twelve years now, done in Jacksonville. Just my
my drills that I do. I'm very consistent with. Literally
every day I'm doing this stuff for an hour, an
hour and a half, and it pays off. I mean,
it's boring work, it's it's uh, it's not flashy, but
(15:34):
I'm I'm probably one of the few I'm still putting
with the same putter I've putt it with my senior
year at college. Like, I don't like changing a whole lot.
Like if I'm going to put in the hours and
the effort and all that, I'm going to know what
that putter is doing. And I don't really like changing.
So I sticking with the routine, sticking with my drills,
and if something's off, then I know it's probably me.
Speaker 3 (15:56):
Do you have a backup of that gamer just in
case something happens to it? I mean that's something you know,
I remember facts and telling me you had a couple
of backups of his game or just in case?
Speaker 2 (16:05):
Right do you have?
Speaker 3 (16:06):
Do you start to kind of when you realize this
was gonna be your baby for a while, you started
to figure out a way to get more just in case.
Speaker 1 (16:12):
Yeah, I've probably got three or four whenever, whenever this
one starts acting up, and I've I got them all
grip the same and all the same loft and lives.
If this one started acting up, it's going to go
in the in the golf closet.
Speaker 3 (16:27):
Anything new kind of in the bag over the last
couple of months, as you get closer and closer to
this Ryder Cup, anything than a change in the bag,
you know.
Speaker 1 (16:34):
For bet page, I've been tinkering with I've never really
played a hybrid before. I've kind of tinkered with the
five wood over the years. I haven't really found the
five The five woods are so hot now, Like that's
that's the hard thing for us is it's hard for
me to look down at a seven wood loft and like,
(16:54):
all right, I'm gonna head this two fifty five and
not try to lean on it and match it. But
I've played this three iron kind of driving iron for
a long time now. I played a two iron at
the same version at the at the Open at Port
Rush and it just came out with a three three
iron driving iron that's a newer version. I can't remember
the name of it, but i've I was actually testing
(17:15):
some of it today with my coach and it goes
a little bit further. But that's kind of the gap
in my bag. I hit my flour in about two
twenty five and I hit my three wood close to
two seventy, so I actually had it a lot last
week where I'd have two forty five as a whole,
and it's kind of the gap in my bag of
(17:36):
finding the club that goes probably consistently two forty five
two fifteen. You can hit it high, you can hit
it low. You're going to hit it off the tea.
Some hit it in the par fives. So that's that's
a tough club for me to find. And sometimes it
varies based on what course you go to and what
yardes and flights that you want to have in the greens.
Speaker 3 (17:54):
Obviously a captain's pick of whistling straits and you qualified
this time around, is a is that a goal of
yours to start the season? And be does it take
a little pressure off qualifying for the team versus maybe
being a captain's pick and having a feel like you
might have to go out there and quote unquote prove yourself,
you know, amongst your peers.
Speaker 1 (18:12):
Yeah, that's that's a good point. That was that was
the goal of mine starting the year. I had two goals,
make the Roder Cup team, make the Tour Championship, and
that was kind of always at the forefront of my
mind going in these big events, goes into majors. But yeah,
I mean, a good thing that Keegan has done throughout
the this year is being very open and honest with
(18:33):
this and he would text me positive stuff throughout the
year and I'm like, I'm I want to qualify for
this team on points. I don't want you to have
to they come down to me and somebody else, and
I don't want to put you through that because that sucks.
And I wanted to make this team on my own
and it was an awesome feeling to do that and
(18:55):
kind of prove of myself that I belong on the
team and I made it on my own. But yeah,
I mean making it on the team on points, me
and a captain's pick. We're all there trying to do
the best we can and we're going to have I mean,
it's it's a lot of pressure. I mean it's it's
a lot different than you team it up by yourself
(19:15):
and some of these majors of I'm always in control
of good, bad, and different of what I do. And
now you're playing for yourself, you're playing for the other
eleven guys, you're playing for Keegan, you're playing for the
assistant captains, for your family, for your country. I mean
there's a lot more so all of we're at a
very heightened state and we don't take this lightly. And
(19:39):
everybody on this team is grinding their ass off this
week to get ready and doing everything they can because
they don't want to bet the wink the weak link.
And that's awesome. I mean, we're not going out there
playing for four million dollars at the Roder Cup. We're
playing for each other and playing for that flag on
our chest and on our hat, and just uh, it's
(20:01):
a whole lot of different feeling and and it's what's
golf's about. I mean, it's it's awesome.
Speaker 2 (20:08):
Who texts the most in the group chat.
Speaker 1 (20:12):
Keegan will fire off some some good stuff. Justin's always
uh into it. Xander's Xanders always coming up with some
good stuff. I'm kind of surprising.
Speaker 3 (20:22):
I figured I thought Zander would be like a two
hour screen time guy. I'm surprised by that.
Speaker 1 (20:27):
Xander. Xander sneaky and one of one of the funniest
guys I've ever I've ever been around, and he doesn't
shy away from uh banter at all.
Speaker 2 (20:36):
He loves it.
Speaker 1 (20:37):
So we've got we've got some good group text going
on the last few weeks, and had a good time
at NAPA getting all together and and getting on the
same page and watching some inspirational stuff, and and Keegan
getting up and commanding the room. And we all know
how much this means to him and and how proud
he is to be the captain, and and we all
(20:58):
know that he had a tough decision to make of
of not picking himself, and we understood it both ways.
I mean, he's one of the best players in the world,
and if he was in the captain this year, he
would one hundred percent be on the Rider Cup team.
But I know that he's spent a lot of time
and effort into getting this thing the way it is,
and he's going to have everything the t's crossed and
(21:19):
the eyes dotted and ready to go, and he's going
to put all this heart and soul him to being
the best captain that he can be and let us
go do what we do.
Speaker 2 (21:28):
Harris.
Speaker 3 (21:28):
I was thinking about that Whistling Straights team today. You know,
you think about how dominant the performance was, but also
just thinking about some of the players on that team,
and I think, you know, like our side of stuff
in the media. You know, you looked at that team
and Brooks and DJ and Jordan and kind of the
crew Tony, like the crew that was a part of
that team. It felt like, Wow, this is going to
be that American squad for the next five, six, seven, eight, nine,
(21:50):
ten years, right, And there's been so much change over
in terms of the players on that squad. What does
it say, like when you kind of look at that
team versus twenty nineteen, what does it say about your
consistency longevity in the game that you're still on that
team when maybe some of those names we thought would
likely be a shoe in to be on that team
are going to be.
Speaker 2 (22:09):
There in the red, white and Blue.
Speaker 1 (22:10):
Yeah, And that's what I've talked about with some of
the guys on the team, is like, you can never
take this for granted. I mean, once you're on some
of those teams, once you're playing really good golf, you
never think it's going to go away and making that
team in twenty twenty one, not making the team in
Rome and it's like you kind of have some serious
fomo of not making those teams because you know how
much fun it is, and like I said, it's a
(22:33):
pinnacle of our sport. And that's kind of what I've
talked to some guys about, is just like slow it
down as much as you can take it all in,
because we don't know where we're all going to be
in two years or four years or six years. You
don't know how many more teams you're gonna make. And
Keegan has definitely hammered that home with us, and like
he said, like he said that I might may have
(22:55):
hit my last shot in the Ryder Cup and he's
okay with that, and we all have to be okay
that and leave it all out there because you have
no idea where this game is going to take you,
and you certainly can't take it for granted of playing
in these Roder Cups.
Speaker 3 (23:09):
Yeah, Harrison almost feels like, you know, the rookies that
make their Super Bowl their first year and they lose
and it's kind of like, oh, we'll be back, you know,
and then it's like you might not be back, right,
And the fact that it's it's so awesome, it's so
much fun. I mean, hearing players talk about the Ryder Cup,
it's just such a different feeling in golf versus anything
else you hear, right, Solne Cup, I'd say, very very similar.
(23:30):
I'm assuming the Walker Cup has those same vibes for
amateur players, Curtis Cup and beyond. But just being there,
you know, getting the outfits, getting the bag, getting the
head covers, you know, seeing like the hats that your
teammates are wearing, being in the team room. I think
it's why fans just feel so different about it, and
the excitement that fans feel as well. I mean, you
(23:51):
see this circle for years out, you know, in terms
of which golf tournament people are the most the biggest
fans of, and it's so cool to see the players
feel same way. Because fans have long thought the Ryder
Cup is the best, and it really does feel like
this generation of player kind of equals that excitement to
the fans out there.
Speaker 1 (24:10):
Yeah, I mean, it's it goes back to being in
the team room, hanging out with these guys, and you
get an insight to everybody on a deeper level of
being in there with Scotti, Scheff, learn like what he's
thinking about, what he's going through and all these different
guys and stuff that you normally don't get to do
because we're all competing against each other every week of
(24:32):
the year. So it's it's unlike anything else I've ever
been a part of high school teams. Being at Georgia,
we had some really good teams and super close with
those guys, played played in a Walker Cup at Aberdeen.
There's nothing like it. And I love team Golf and
it takes me back to playing basketball or soccer football
(24:53):
back in the day, Like that's what we crave is
being a part of that team and being wanted and
being being kind of in the mix and being amongst
some of the best players in the world. So I
love it and something. I mean, it was my number
one goal this year. I'm thirty six years old. Who
(25:14):
knows if this is going to be my rid, my
last Ryder Cup, and I'm gonna give it everything I have.
I'm gonna really practice hard this week and show up
prepared and ready. If Kegan wants me to play five matches,
I'll be ready. If he wants me to play singles
on Sunday, I'll be ready, and I'm gonna bring on
my pom poms and cheer as hard as I can
(25:35):
because I want that Ryder Cup back.
Speaker 3 (25:38):
What's the comedown like? Like, what's like the Tuesday after
a Ryder Cup win? I mean, is it like leaving
camp when you're a kid, where you just go like
what do I do now?
Speaker 1 (25:47):
Like?
Speaker 2 (25:47):
What's that come down? Like? The week after.
Speaker 1 (25:51):
You're adrenaline never really comes down. I mean it probably starts.
It's probably gonna start Wednesday or Thursday. I know, probably
the opening ceremony probably gonna start when you oh the
national anthem, they read the pairings out like there. For me,
it's like playing the eighteenth hole in a Major. Literally
every hole from number one to eighteen, you're playing eighteen
(26:14):
coming down the stretch like one shot back at the Masters.
That's what it feels like. So that's what I said, like,
you got to pace yourself and kind of I mean,
this is only my second one, so I'm sure other
guys will relay this too, but you got to pace
yourself and not not try to get up too early,
and to have energy for Sunday because it's a it's
(26:37):
a long week. We've got lots of practice rounds, lots
of dinners, lots of kind of extra stuff that we
don't normally do, and it's it's easy to kind of
weigh yourself out, but it's unlike anything else, and waking
up Monday after the party on Sunday is pretty tough,
and you're you're definitely mentally uh mentally dead for for
(26:59):
a few days and you have to come back to reality,
all right.
Speaker 3 (27:04):
Last thing for you, obviously, the Jordian Tennessee game was
kind of an epic one. Can you give me your
your novice scouting report and maybe prediction for Georgia football
this year.
Speaker 1 (27:17):
Number one. I'm very impressed with Gunner Stockton from kind
of an I don't know the guy at all. I
followed Georgia football, I follow recruiting. I know how talented
he is, and he seems like you're made for Georgia football.
He's made to be the quarterback from Georgia. North Georgia
(27:39):
guy drives around is like Granddad's nineteen seventy something forward
pick up. Like, I love everything what this guy's about.
I have no idea what he's getting paid in the Nile.
It's not Flashy's at all. He brings his lunch pale,
plays hard football and that's it. So I like everything
about it and what they did at Tennessee, Like we
(28:01):
literally stole that game, and yeah, just the back and forth.
We're not used to having those shootouts like that. I mean,
we're used to playing really good defense, having a twenty
to thirteen game and it got out of hand. Defense
blew some coverages, but our offense kept up. And that's
what impressed me the most. I know, our defense will
get solidified and Kirby, you will get on those guys
(28:24):
a little bit and get that short up. But I
was impressed with how are our receivers played and how
we're all. Gunner handled the moment and that fourth and five,
fourth and eight pass down the sideline to Humphreys was
incredible and he kind of went for it all and
(28:44):
got it in two point conversion, so everything lined up,
but I was so impressed with how he handled the moment.
Speaker 3 (28:52):
You get your moment. This week, we'll be excited to
watch Harris. Congrats again, I'm making the Ryder Cup. Thanks
so much for taking the time go out there and
play your game. And you've been so impressive this year
throughout the big events. Obviously the win and all that stuff,
so we're excited to watch it. Thank you for the time.
This is the Ping proven Grounds podcast.
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