July 1, 2025 • 39 mins
Rich Easton returns to podcasting with reflections on why changes matter less than their effects on others, and how finding your happy place leads to fulfillment throughout life's transitions. His candid observations about social dynamics, competitive pressure, and personal boundaries offer wisdom that extends well beyond the golf course.
• The 10-minute rule: limiting health complaint conversations to preserve positive energy and relationships
• Keegan Bradley's Ryder Cup dilemma: should he be player-captain in 2025?
• New smart golf tracking technology that changes colors mid-flight based on shot trajectory
• The three-day rule for house guests - why day four creates tension and disrupts routines
• Nerves of steel vs. nerves of jelly: what separates champions from competitors who crumble
• Finding your happy place in retirement through intentional activities and connections
• Camp Richie: creating a personalized routine of activities that bring fulfillment
• Father Time's undefeated record and why we must seek joy while we can
Talk to you soon, thank you.
Spotify
Apple podcasts
Amazon Music
all other streaming services
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
you're tuned into another episode of tales from
the first tee.
I'm rich easton telling talesfrom beautiful charleston, south
carolina.
You know I was convinced I wasthrough with podcasting.
(00:30):
I mean I'd share the reasons,but really, who cares?
Do people care why?
Anybody makes a concerted effortto quit something, make a
right-hand turn or 180 change intheir lives.
Make a right-hand turn or 180change in their lives, decide to
relocate, change jobs, changehobbies, change spiritual
(00:51):
beliefs, change politicalaffiliations or change partners?
Well, you may think you want toknow, but in most cases the
reasons people give might becontrived to mitigate the pain
for those who aren't taking thenews too well.
Oh my god, who the hell cares?
(01:12):
I was raised to believe thatmost people don't want to hear
your problems, particularly thesecond or third time you lay
your shit on other people.
The second or third time youlay your shit on other people.
I have a good friend who, in agrandiose beachside celebration,
turned 80.
(01:33):
I consider him to be wisebehind his years, and his lovely
wife would say that I feel thatway because he's told me so.
He, like most other superactive agers, suffer the
occasional injury from eitheroverdoing something or just
being a certain age, or maybeboth.
When he and his friends gettogether, conversations always
(01:57):
polarize to the topic of bodybreakage, health, knees, hips,
body breakage, health knees,hips, back, shoulders, ankles or
some other organ that's beenworking overtime for years.
My buddy, aware of thecontinued moaning and groaning,
came up with a new rule.
(02:18):
It's called the 10-minute rule.
No more than 10 minutes intotal talking about health
issues, unless it's about acertain world leader.
Then a grace period is extendedto allow anybody to weigh in on
their hopes and dreams aboutthat person's health.
(02:39):
I love the 10-minute rule.
I think it serves two purposes.
One body breakage talk.
While informative and possiblyan example of another type of
solution for your problem, it'salso very deleterious to your
positive outlook on life.
(03:00):
You see, I dropped anothercrowd pleaser.
Deleterious, damaging, harmful,injurious.
And for my Northeast bros,talking about your back for the
hundredth time makes everybodywant to stick a fork in their
eye while they're jumping off a10-story building.
Deleterious, deleterious.
(03:30):
The second purpose for the ruleis a 10 minute shot clock
forces, guys.
To sum it up, I can't takenothing.
I got up last night at threeo'clock in the morning to go
take a piss.
I stubbed my toe down for 58minutes when you're talking
about body breakage, it'sclearly a challenge for some of
us to get to the point and leaveroom for questions which, in
(03:53):
most cases, will never be asked,which is basically the best way
to let you know they've alreadyheard the story or they just
don't give a shit.
Most people are concerned aboutthemselves.
Look, something else might bemore fun to talk about,
interesting or more lighthearted, than a story about your
(04:16):
bunions or your aunt's goiter.
Ah, who needs his business?
His wife has diabetes.
Diabetes, is that an excuse?
Diabetes?
He had a coronary.
In order to assure that you keepyour friends, I highly advise
(04:40):
not to bring a giant stopwatchor alert your friends that the
10-minute moan session startsnow.
I would just suggest a generalawareness of the length of the
moaning and look for a break inthe conversation and perhaps say
something like hey, I believeour time's up, let's order
another round and talk aboutanything that doesn't end up in.
(05:03):
So maybe I should see aspecialist.
So I started this conversationby saying it's a rarity that
(05:24):
somebody cares about the whysbehind changes in your life.
That doesn't mean they don'tcare about the changes.
It just might be they careabout how it affected them.
I decided to jump back on themic because, quite frankly, I
miss doing it, and others whom Irespect implied that it was
(05:49):
good for them as well.
So there you go.
I gave you the why in mydecisions on why I'm jumping
back in, and you know what.
Nobody really gives a flying Foh my God, who the hell cares?
They just want to know when,not why.
So here you go, my next episode.
(06:20):
In this episode, I'll talk aboutKeegan Bradley, ryder Cup
player captain, or just captain,the new multicolored smart
tracker, the three-day rule,nerves of jelly, and find your
happy place.
I think I'd be off-brand if Ididn't lead the episode stories
(06:57):
with a golf observation KeeganBradley player captain, or just
captain of the 2025 Ryder Cupmatch in my old hunting grounds,
bethpage, long Island.
Good, great, awesome,outstanding, amazing.
And for those listeners wheregolf stuff makes your eyes glaze
(07:24):
over, then just fast forward toaround 22 minutes into the
episode and I promise I'll talkabout something other than golf.
Make no mistake about it theRyder Cup is a big deal.
I've been to two in the fleshand stayed through the end of
(07:45):
Sunday's match.
If you like golf under pressure,like the feeling a golfer gets
on the back nine on Sunday atany major event.
Well, that feeling is times ahundred at the Ryder Cup.
Feeling is times a hundred atthe Ryder Cup.
(08:06):
Yeah, let me offer an example.
It's one thing, while you'replaying in a major and you're on
the back nine and you'releading the tournament, to start
visualizing what your new lifewill be once you've won the
trophy and hoisted it in frontof the crowd.
Because everybody says it, ifyou win a major, your life
changes.
Media exposure, money, all ofthose things.
(08:28):
And obviously they have tofocus on the shot at hand, but
it's got to be impossible not tostart thinking about your
potential future.
Start thinking about yourpotential future.
It's another thing, playing inthe Ryder Cup, to know that your
(08:49):
teammates, their plus ones,your coaches, your caddies, are
all depending on every singleshot, every single drive,
approach shot, every putt.
Every time you go up a hole,every time you go down a hole,
every time you half a hole.
And did I mention not only areyou playing for your team
(09:15):
coaches, plus ones, caddies,that whole group, you're also
playing for your country men,country women, and you're
playing against players that areplaying for theirs.
So every time you take a shot,you get to listen to cheers or
(09:38):
jeers.
It never ends until the lastputt on Sunday.
Imagine the physical and mentalprep that a player wants to
repeat to get an edge when theyplay in the Ryder Cup.
Imagine what you need to do tomake your competitors crumble
(09:58):
under pressure and know thatboth sides are executing similar
drills to sharpen their teams.
Failure is not an option.
Now imagine what the coacheshave to do to exact the best out
of their teams, half of whichthe coaches had a way in to
(10:21):
select and build the team mostlikely to win.
And this brings us to Keegan,bradley, travelers Cup winner
twice in the last three years.
This is his hometown, these arehis people, and so imagine the
emotion it took for him to fighthis demons and win twice in
(10:44):
three years.
Now I don't want your eyes toglaze over with all of his
accomplishments.
Let's just say that he haspositioned himself to be on the
team if he wasn't captain.
He's top 10 in all majorcategories leading up to the
coach's selection on who's goingto be on the team.
Now, six players from both theEuropean and the American team
(11:08):
are automatically placed becauseof their ranking.
It's a two-year ranking.
So those are positions that thecoaches don't have to deal with
.
These players have earned theright to be on the team, but
then each of the coaches foreach team have to select six,
and you would think they'reselecting the six also because
(11:30):
of how they've been playingcurrently, how they are as team
players, how they meld with thefirst six players that have
earned the right to play.
So it's a pretty big deal.
And Keegan wasn't chosen twoyears ago to play on Zach
Johnson's teams.
Matter of fact, I think he wasranked eighth or ninth.
(11:53):
Basically, if you're ranked inthe top 12, there's a really
good chance you should beplaying, because that means
you're playing better than mostother people over the last two
years.
And he missed it.
So now, it's needless to say,keegan has this New England
style chip on his shoulder toprove his worth.
(12:15):
But here's the dilemma how muchdoes Keegan need to prove?
How much does Keegan need toprove?
Because of his outstandingplaying trend the past two years
, he's positioned himself to bein the top 10 rankings.
So, world ranking, fedex Cupranking, ryder Cup standings he
has earned the right to be onthe team.
(12:36):
I mean, in other words,wouldn't it be a no-brainer to
pick himself, as well as fiveother US golfers, to fill out
this squad of 12?
It seems like it's a no-brainer.
The fans love him, particularlywhen he's playing on US soil,
(12:58):
and his game is as good as I'veseen it in years.
If Keegan were a currency, he'dbe crypto.
When he won the Travelers a fewweeks ago, the crowds were
yelling USA, usa.
That's what they do at theRyder Cup, and all four days of
(13:19):
hearing that they willed him tocome from behind and win on
Sunday.
So now you've got the crowdsnot only encouraging him to win
tournaments but encouraging himto be a player coach, and the
media is relentless in trying topush him into a decision that
(13:41):
will be great for likes andviews.
And when interviewed by themedia, other PGA players are
answering by saying, oh, it'd begreat if Keegan maintains his
current playing edge and pickshimself.
So here are the questions I'dask before I weighed in and
(14:03):
wagered on Keegan being a playercoach.
Number one what are the dutiesof the captain?
Number two how has that role,if any, changed in the last five
years?
Has that changed?
If there is any affected timemanagement, can Keegan optimize
(14:26):
his captain role by addinghimself to the roster.
There are a total of fivematches during the three-day day
tournament Four team matchesand one individual match.
If Keegan is on the winning end, it seems like it would have a
(14:49):
positive effect on the team.
He could rally the troops.
But if he loses, how is hegoing to use that to motivate
the rest of the team?
Motivate the rest of the team?
And in the Ryder Cup format,not all 12 players play all of
the matches.
All 12 players play the lastday, but in the two matches on
(15:12):
Friday and two matches onSaturday, only eight players
play in each of the matches.
That means four have to be leftoff the roster.
So this is a big deal.
When does Keegan choose himselfto play in those matches and
when does he pull out?
I think when the coaches talktogether and this is before the
(15:33):
selection.
I think it's going to come downto who's going to give the US
team the best chance of winning.
If Keegan does a great job inselecting the team, training the
team and playing on the teamand that ends up as a win for
the USA, then it was a gooddecision.
(15:55):
If he picks himself and theylose, he ends up making what the
media would call a selfishdecision, and if he passes on
himself and they lose, he madean honorable but boneheaded
decision.
It really comes down to onething which 12 players are going
to give the USA the best chanceof winning?
(16:19):
And if Keegan's one of them,how does he manage as well?
(16:46):
Hey, before I get off the golftopic, I wanted to weigh in on
the new and improved smart golftracker on PGA Telecasts.
Before any kind of telecastedball tracker, we had to watch to
see where the pros were hittingtheir balls after the ball
landed.
The beauty of this newtechnology gives us a way to see
(17:11):
where golf balls are headingtheir trajectory, the apex, the
distance while the ball is inflight.
While the ball is in flight,it's art in motion.
Tv coverage for golf, as mostwould say, is actually better
than being on the course, as itpertains to seeing everything
(17:31):
that's happening on the courseand having a clear view of each
shot.
And, of course, like attendingany sporting event, the emotion
of being part of a rooting crowdto manifest a victory for your
favorite team.
That's hard to match, but ifyou want to watch it, tv is the
place to do it.
(17:54):
This year, the televised balltracking took a leap in
technology, I think for thebetter Before this year.
When a pro hit a shot, youwould see a side-by-side view of
the shot, you'd see trajectory,you'd see where the ball was
going it was basically AIillustrated and give you a
(18:15):
pretty good idea of what toexpect when the ball comes to
rest.
It served to help thebroadcaster to comment on the
shot in midair, as well as goodentertainment viewing to see
where the ball was heading.
Yeah, I know what some of youwere thinking.
Look, the NHL tried this for awhile, but too many viewers were
(18:37):
getting headaches watching allof the puck trails back and
forth.
It was way too fast and itchanged directions way too many
times.
This year, in 2025, ai rearedits head at the RBC Canadian
Open to show us an even moreentertaining way to watch the
(19:01):
trajectory of a shot.
It's called the smart shottracker and when a pro hits a
ball, the tracer starts offshowing the trajectory of the
ball in the color green and itshows the color green as it's
going in the air in its arc andif the ball is heading to a
(19:23):
fairway or a green an intendedplace for the ball to land the
best possible place for the ballto land for the next shot, it
stays green.
But if, during that flight, theball starts veering off left or
right, short or long, and theAI projection is that the ball
(19:46):
is going to land in anunintended area, it either turns
yellow or red.
Yellow is basically probablynot on the fairway, probably not
on the green, but it'll be okay.
Red basically says your ball isgoing to land in a bunker in
the water.
(20:06):
It's basically going to be aplace where you might not have
another shot or certainly thenext shot you're going to have
is going to be a challenge.
So if you're betting on agolfer and you're watching, and
your golfer gets up and he hitsa drive and you're watching and
(20:27):
it starts off green, but then inmidair or when it's hitting its
apex, it starts turning red,your mind turns to fuck, fuck,
fuck.
Then you get to watch the ballcome to rest and in most cases,
when that line has turned red,you're not going to like the
(20:48):
result no more than the golferwho just hit that shot.
So now, with this technology,when you see a ball in flight
and let's say, most shots takearound 10 seconds from the time
a golfer hits it until the timeit lands, you now get an
(21:08):
additional five seconds ofeither hope or dismay.
Your mood could change in asecond, well before the ball
hits the ground.
Isn't that wonderful?
The infamous three-day rule.
(21:42):
I always look forward tofriends and family visits Well
most of the time.
Time to catch up and sometimesact silly if the occasion calls
for it.
Now some of my friends have anopen policy with no visitation
(22:11):
restrictions, no time clock.
My European friends spend weeks, sometimes months, with friends
and family.
I mean, they've got it down pat.
They have together time,separation times, and they just
figured out the dance so thatwhen their guests or family
leave, they give them big hugsand kisses and can't wait till
(22:33):
they see them again.
It's admirable.
I admire people that can openup their houses for guests and
family with really no specifiedgotta-go time.
It's just not how I'm built and, in speaking to a lot of my
(22:56):
friends, it's not how they'rebuilt as well.
Now, with the exception of Susan, who could stay for a lifetime,
I've enacted a three-day rulefor visitation.
That could be two or threenights depending on the
circumstances.
My experiences suggest that wecould leave as happy and excited
(23:21):
after three days, as we werebefore we visited or they
visited us.
A lot could happen in threedays to keep everybody in good
spirits.
You know, and I think I learnedthe three-day rule not from
family and friends, I learned itfrom going out to Vegas.
(23:42):
I learned it from going out toVegas.
If any of you have ever goneout there for longer than three
days, you know what I'm talkingabout.
And I've gone out forconferences, for meetings where
I am just not at the tables, notat the golf courses.
All the time I've been inmeetings which could be anywhere
.
(24:02):
We chose Vegas because whenyou're done with your meeting,
you're all going to go out andeat and entertain.
Why not do it in a place wherethose things are the best they
have to offer?
But what happens in Vegas is,you know, there are rumors that
they pump oxygen into thecasinos.
There are rumors that they pumpoxygen into the casinos.
(24:23):
I don't believe that, butcertainly there's a lot of
flashing lights to keep youentertained and wanting more.
And there are so many timeswhen I've left Vegas on day
three and thought to myselfthere is no way I could continue
at this pace.
That's why what happens inVegas.
(24:45):
Stays in Vegas really pertainsto shorter trips, because if
you're there longer, you don'twant to stay in Vegas.
It's too much, and so I think Ilearned it from that and then
it started applying to mytraveling with family.
It started applying to mytraveling with family, with
(25:11):
friends.
Three days is perfect.
I don't know what it is aboutday four and five that seems to
be so different from days onethrough three, but I think we
get into habits and when they'rechanged to accommodate somebody
else's needs that take it outon our habits.
We tend to go on tilt.
We're like I just want thatnormalcy again.
(25:32):
I thrive for that.
I happen to be in relation withsomebody who likes to be back
at her home.
She has a comfort level whenshe's surrounded by her things,
her people, her house, herroutines.
I get it.
When somebody stays for fourdays or more, seconds become
(25:56):
minutes, minutes become hoursand hours become days.
Now you might be listening tothis and say God, rich is a dick
.
I'm sorry.
I can't adapt for more thanthree days and maintain my
happiness unless there are somany things to do and you mix it
(26:20):
up so much that you're notdoing the same things with the
same people all day long fordays, then that has a chance of
greater than three likevacations.
On vacations, I tend to findmyself doing what I call Camp
(26:40):
Richie, which is something I'vedone in retirement and I try to
do as often as my body lets me.
Okay, I talked about bodybreakage.
I'm not going to talk for morethan 10 minutes of it.
But basically my Camp Richie,like the other day wake up in
the morning, go to the beach,take my dog for a walk she loves
(27:04):
it until she goes in the water,drinks salt water, becomes a
sugar cookie and then hasexplosive diarrhea because she
can't correlate the cause andeffect from drinking salt water
and having a volcano of crapcome out of her butt maybe an
hour later.
So it's up to me to try andwatch her and keep her from
(27:27):
doing that.
But Camp Richie, go take herfor a walk, come back, go swim.
I've gotten back into swimmingagain.
20, 30 minutes Lap pool, greatfor breathing.
Come back, go to the beach.
Write this episode.
Get on my bike.
Drive down to Solomon's Island.
Go to at least two or threebars.
(27:47):
Get back on my bike Littletipsy Riding back to my car.
Go back out to the beach.
Finish this, go back to myplace, take Sammy for a walk and
then go to a golf course toplay nine holes, come back and
cook myself a pizza.
That's Camp Richie.
Now, that doesn't mean onvacation.
I do the same thing.
(28:09):
It depends on who I'mvacationing with.
But if we are of the samemindset, then we can enjoy
ourselves and then spread outour time to do things that
interest both of us and thatthings ourselves that just
interest ourselves, and thencome back and talk about it at
dinner.
So if you could find friends orfamily that know how to do the
(28:34):
dance, like my Swedish friendsdo, then have at it.
But until that happens, Iadhere to the three-day rule.
Noives of jelly or, as mostpeople would say, nerves of
(28:59):
jelly.
The human race values anindividual or group of
individuals who could overcometheir fear of whatever might be
(29:19):
causing most others to flinch,cringe, winch, cower and shrink.
Cringe, wench, cower and shrink.
We use terms.
We use terms like man of steel,nerves of steel, ice in their
veins, iron will, unflappable.
Cool under pressure, courageunder fire, calm as a cucumber I
(29:41):
don't get that one, but whenyou say it, everybody knows what
you're talking about.
These are descriptors for ourhonored war heroes, first
responders and law officers thattend to see a problem and move
through it.
They're our heroes because mostmortals display nerves of jelly
(30:03):
when their head's in a vice.
Now, I'm not saying that mostof us are cowards, I'm just
admiring the few that somehowdisengage their flight mechanism
and always choose fight.
Now, in the Art of War by SunTzu, he emphasizes strategy over
(30:23):
brute force.
War by Sun Tzu he emphasizesstrategy over brute force.
Sometimes the best way to winis to subdue the enemy without
fighting.
You could still have nerves ofsteel and choose not to fight
this battle today, and you couldstill demonstrate an iron will,
as long as that strategypositions you to win the battle,
(30:45):
the next battle that might endthe war.
Nerves of jelly are on displayin most sports.
Eventually, the weak succumb tothe strong, and when I say weak
, I'm suggesting that someone orsomeones not playing to their
(31:05):
strengths while theircompetitors are Golf majors,
elevated events on the PGA, theRyder Cup and the FedEx Cup
underscore the leaders at onepoint that fought through their
challenges.
People on top of the leaderboardand then at one point something
(31:28):
happens go south and the ice intheir veins melt.
It doesn't take much to meltthe ice.
I mean two consecutive badshots followed up with a three
putt would put any golfer ontilt finding a hazard when you
needed a great shot.
Or it's sunday, you're leadingthe field by one, going into the
(31:54):
last hole and understand, youwere leading the field by three
when you started sunday morningand now you're playing against
the hometown favorite and thisguy is pulling birdies out of
his ass because the crowd isbehind him and yelling.
I mean it doesn't help yourcomposure when the home team
(32:18):
crowd morphs their player intoSuperman from Clark Kent by
yelling USA, usa, usa.
And you happen to be fromacross the pond.
I mean this is what happenswhen nerves of jelly take over
from nerves of steel, and I seeit every weekend on the tour.
(32:42):
That's what we liked aboutTiger.
And if you liked watching Tiger, regardless of what his off
course antics were, if you likedwatching an individual overcome
anything, everything and justfind a will to win and watch
(33:04):
their competitors wilt, than youliked watching Tiger.
I mean it's a rarity, but whenyou find that person, pick them
first to be on any squad, team,company or family, because how
someone does anything is howthey do everything, and if
(33:25):
you're that person,congratulations.
You're amongst the few.
My last segment is find yourhappy place.
(33:45):
I meet new retirees every year.
(34:08):
I mean there are a millionstories in the big city
Government employees hittingtheir 20 or 25 year service
threshold and hanging it up.
Teachers holding on until thenumber looks best or they age
out or just lose enthusiasmbecause the education system has
changed, and not to the better.
(34:28):
Professionals hitting theirnumber for retirement, adjusting
it again and then hitting thatnumber, and then the market
takes a shit and they worklonger until they hit the next
number, but finally they throwtheir hands up and say that's it
, I want that other life.
It all brings us to the sameplace.
(34:50):
What now?
I mean?
For years you were humping tomake ends meet.
Send your kids to highereducation if you had the
wherewithal, coaching them withthe life skills and being
hypocritical at times, like allof us, hoping you don't get
called out for it too many times.
We all eventually age to a pointof less involvement with our
(35:14):
careers and more of aconsultative role with our kids
and family.
That leaves us with a timepredicament.
How do you fill the rest ofyour hours If you own lots of
stuff, the more you own, themore it owns you and your time.
To some, counting their gold istheir happy place.
(35:38):
To some it's leisure activityyou heard Camp Richie.
To others, to some, it'sleisure activity you heard Camp
Richie.
To others, it's a calling or apurpose in life, where you want
to spend your time to helpothers.
It's different for most, all ofus and so we find the community
that's like us, that has thesame goals, that basically wants
(36:01):
to spend their free time.
Similarly, for me, finding myhappy place keeps me fulfilled
Life with Susan and her family.
Check a box.
Staying connected with my kids.
Check, helping my mom navigatelife in her mid-90s.
(36:22):
Check a box, despite thechallenges we all face when our
parents get to that point.
Being able to visit the localbeaches.
Check, swimming several times aweek while meditating in the
pool.
Check, I just remember to haveto breathe.
That's it.
Cooking and baking pizza andbread helps me contribute to our
(36:46):
division of labor and,unfortunately, to caloric intake
.
But check, traveling with Susanand discovering new places.
Check, check, check.
And, of course, a pursuit ofgolf perfection.
A pursuit of golf perfection.
(37:09):
Check that box.
It's unattainable, but stillworth the time and effort I put
in practicing training socialmedia.
When I say social media, it'sbasically watching a thousand
videos, trying them out on thecourse, and just keep doing them
until you find that one thingthat makes sense Playing with my
(37:35):
buddies, that's fun.
Hey, life is short.
Find your checklist of thingsthat bring you joy and then go
after it.
Find your happy place and findreasons to stay there.
And if doing the things thatused to bring you joy, stop
checking your box, try and findsomething else.
And if that fails, find help toget you back in the saddle,
(37:56):
because life can be difficult,particularly as we age and deal
with the challenges of health,finances, detachment,
discrimination and loss.
No one is immune from theobstacles in our lives.
And here's a newsflash Fathertime has a no-loss record.
(38:17):
Nobody gets out alive.
My only point here is that idleminds and bodies lead to a
bottomless pit.
So find the things thatdistract you from stagnation,
and that's all I have to sayabout that.
Happy place, find, find, findyour happy place, find, find,
(38:41):
find your happy place.
You gotta find your happy place.
Thanks for staying to the end.
You've been listening toanother episode of Tales from
the First Tee.
I'm your host, rich Easton,telling tales from beautiful
Charleston, south Carolina.
(39:02):
Talk to you soon, thank you.
you're tuned into another episode of tales from
the first tee.
I'm rich easton telling talesfrom beautiful charleston, south
carolina.
You know I was convinced I wasthrough with podcasting.
(00:30):
I mean I'd share the reasons,but really, who cares?
Do people care why?
Anybody makes a concerted effortto quit something, make a
right-hand turn or 180 change intheir lives.
Make a right-hand turn or 180change in their lives, decide to
relocate, change jobs, changehobbies, change spiritual
(00:51):
beliefs, change politicalaffiliations or change partners?
Well, you may think you want toknow, but in most cases the
reasons people give might becontrived to mitigate the pain
for those who aren't taking thenews too well.
Oh my god, who the hell cares?
(01:12):
I was raised to believe thatmost people don't want to hear
your problems, particularly thesecond or third time you lay
your shit on other people.
The second or third time youlay your shit on other people.
I have a good friend who, in agrandiose beachside celebration,
turned 80.
(01:33):
I consider him to be wisebehind his years, and his lovely
wife would say that I feel thatway because he's told me so.
He, like most other superactive agers, suffer the
occasional injury from eitheroverdoing something or just
being a certain age, or maybeboth.
When he and his friends gettogether, conversations always
(01:57):
polarize to the topic of bodybreakage, health, knees, hips,
body breakage, health knees,hips, back, shoulders, ankles or
some other organ that's beenworking overtime for years.
My buddy, aware of thecontinued moaning and groaning,
came up with a new rule.
(02:18):
It's called the 10-minute rule.
No more than 10 minutes intotal talking about health
issues, unless it's about acertain world leader.
Then a grace period is extendedto allow anybody to weigh in on
their hopes and dreams aboutthat person's health.
(02:39):
I love the 10-minute rule.
I think it serves two purposes.
One body breakage talk.
While informative and possiblyan example of another type of
solution for your problem, it'salso very deleterious to your
positive outlook on life.
(03:00):
You see, I dropped anothercrowd pleaser.
Deleterious, damaging, harmful,injurious.
And for my Northeast bros,talking about your back for the
hundredth time makes everybodywant to stick a fork in their
eye while they're jumping off a10-story building.
Deleterious, deleterious.
(03:30):
The second purpose for the ruleis a 10 minute shot clock
forces, guys.
To sum it up, I can't takenothing.
I got up last night at threeo'clock in the morning to go
take a piss.
I stubbed my toe down for 58minutes when you're talking
about body breakage, it'sclearly a challenge for some of
us to get to the point and leaveroom for questions which, in
(03:53):
most cases, will never be asked,which is basically the best way
to let you know they've alreadyheard the story or they just
don't give a shit.
Most people are concerned aboutthemselves.
Look, something else might bemore fun to talk about,
interesting or more lighthearted, than a story about your
(04:16):
bunions or your aunt's goiter.
Ah, who needs his business?
His wife has diabetes.
Diabetes, is that an excuse?
Diabetes?
He had a coronary.
In order to assure that you keepyour friends, I highly advise
(04:40):
not to bring a giant stopwatchor alert your friends that the
10-minute moan session startsnow.
I would just suggest a generalawareness of the length of the
moaning and look for a break inthe conversation and perhaps say
something like hey, I believeour time's up, let's order
another round and talk aboutanything that doesn't end up in.
(05:03):
So maybe I should see aspecialist.
So I started this conversationby saying it's a rarity that
(05:24):
somebody cares about the whysbehind changes in your life.
That doesn't mean they don'tcare about the changes.
It just might be they careabout how it affected them.
I decided to jump back on themic because, quite frankly, I
miss doing it, and others whom Irespect implied that it was
(05:49):
good for them as well.
So there you go.
I gave you the why in mydecisions on why I'm jumping
back in, and you know what.
Nobody really gives a flying Foh my God, who the hell cares?
They just want to know when,not why.
So here you go, my next episode.
(06:20):
In this episode, I'll talk aboutKeegan Bradley, ryder Cup
player captain, or just captain,the new multicolored smart
tracker, the three-day rule,nerves of jelly, and find your
happy place.
I think I'd be off-brand if Ididn't lead the episode stories
(06:57):
with a golf observation KeeganBradley player captain, or just
captain of the 2025 Ryder Cupmatch in my old hunting grounds,
bethpage, long Island.
Good, great, awesome,outstanding, amazing.
And for those listeners wheregolf stuff makes your eyes glaze
(07:24):
over, then just fast forward toaround 22 minutes into the
episode and I promise I'll talkabout something other than golf.
Make no mistake about it theRyder Cup is a big deal.
I've been to two in the fleshand stayed through the end of
(07:45):
Sunday's match.
If you like golf under pressure,like the feeling a golfer gets
on the back nine on Sunday atany major event.
Well, that feeling is times ahundred at the Ryder Cup.
Feeling is times a hundred atthe Ryder Cup.
(08:06):
Yeah, let me offer an example.
It's one thing, while you'replaying in a major and you're on
the back nine and you'releading the tournament, to start
visualizing what your new lifewill be once you've won the
trophy and hoisted it in frontof the crowd.
Because everybody says it, ifyou win a major, your life
changes.
Media exposure, money, all ofthose things.
(08:28):
And obviously they have tofocus on the shot at hand, but
it's got to be impossible not tostart thinking about your
potential future.
Start thinking about yourpotential future.
It's another thing, playing inthe Ryder Cup, to know that your
(08:49):
teammates, their plus ones,your coaches, your caddies, are
all depending on every singleshot, every single drive,
approach shot, every putt.
Every time you go up a hole,every time you go down a hole,
every time you half a hole.
And did I mention not only areyou playing for your team
(09:15):
coaches, plus ones, caddies,that whole group, you're also
playing for your country men,country women, and you're
playing against players that areplaying for theirs.
So every time you take a shot,you get to listen to cheers or
(09:38):
jeers.
It never ends until the lastputt on Sunday.
Imagine the physical and mentalprep that a player wants to
repeat to get an edge when theyplay in the Ryder Cup.
Imagine what you need to do tomake your competitors crumble
(09:58):
under pressure and know thatboth sides are executing similar
drills to sharpen their teams.
Failure is not an option.
Now imagine what the coacheshave to do to exact the best out
of their teams, half of whichthe coaches had a way in to
(10:21):
select and build the team mostlikely to win.
And this brings us to Keegan,bradley, travelers Cup winner
twice in the last three years.
This is his hometown, these arehis people, and so imagine the
emotion it took for him to fighthis demons and win twice in
(10:44):
three years.
Now I don't want your eyes toglaze over with all of his
accomplishments.
Let's just say that he haspositioned himself to be on the
team if he wasn't captain.
He's top 10 in all majorcategories leading up to the
coach's selection on who's goingto be on the team.
Now, six players from both theEuropean and the American team
(11:08):
are automatically placed becauseof their ranking.
It's a two-year ranking.
So those are positions that thecoaches don't have to deal with
.
These players have earned theright to be on the team, but
then each of the coaches foreach team have to select six,
and you would think they'reselecting the six also because
(11:30):
of how they've been playingcurrently, how they are as team
players, how they meld with thefirst six players that have
earned the right to play.
So it's a pretty big deal.
And Keegan wasn't chosen twoyears ago to play on Zach
Johnson's teams.
Matter of fact, I think he wasranked eighth or ninth.
(11:53):
Basically, if you're ranked inthe top 12, there's a really
good chance you should beplaying, because that means
you're playing better than mostother people over the last two
years.
And he missed it.
So now, it's needless to say,keegan has this New England
style chip on his shoulder toprove his worth.
(12:15):
But here's the dilemma how muchdoes Keegan need to prove?
How much does Keegan need toprove?
Because of his outstandingplaying trend the past two years
, he's positioned himself to bein the top 10 rankings.
So, world ranking, fedex Cupranking, ryder Cup standings he
has earned the right to be onthe team.
(12:36):
I mean, in other words,wouldn't it be a no-brainer to
pick himself, as well as fiveother US golfers, to fill out
this squad of 12?
It seems like it's a no-brainer.
The fans love him, particularlywhen he's playing on US soil,
(12:58):
and his game is as good as I'veseen it in years.
If Keegan were a currency, he'dbe crypto.
When he won the Travelers a fewweeks ago, the crowds were
yelling USA, usa.
That's what they do at theRyder Cup, and all four days of
(13:19):
hearing that they willed him tocome from behind and win on
Sunday.
So now you've got the crowdsnot only encouraging him to win
tournaments but encouraging himto be a player coach, and the
media is relentless in trying topush him into a decision that
(13:41):
will be great for likes andviews.
And when interviewed by themedia, other PGA players are
answering by saying, oh, it'd begreat if Keegan maintains his
current playing edge and pickshimself.
So here are the questions I'dask before I weighed in and
(14:03):
wagered on Keegan being a playercoach.
Number one what are the dutiesof the captain?
Number two how has that role,if any, changed in the last five
years?
Has that changed?
If there is any affected timemanagement, can Keegan optimize
(14:26):
his captain role by addinghimself to the roster.
There are a total of fivematches during the three-day day
tournament Four team matchesand one individual match.
If Keegan is on the winning end, it seems like it would have a
(14:49):
positive effect on the team.
He could rally the troops.
But if he loses, how is hegoing to use that to motivate
the rest of the team?
Motivate the rest of the team?
And in the Ryder Cup format,not all 12 players play all of
the matches.
All 12 players play the lastday, but in the two matches on
(15:12):
Friday and two matches onSaturday, only eight players
play in each of the matches.
That means four have to be leftoff the roster.
So this is a big deal.
When does Keegan choose himselfto play in those matches and
when does he pull out?
I think when the coaches talktogether and this is before the
(15:33):
selection.
I think it's going to come downto who's going to give the US
team the best chance of winning.
If Keegan does a great job inselecting the team, training the
team and playing on the teamand that ends up as a win for
the USA, then it was a gooddecision.
(15:55):
If he picks himself and theylose, he ends up making what the
media would call a selfishdecision, and if he passes on
himself and they lose, he madean honorable but boneheaded
decision.
It really comes down to onething which 12 players are going
to give the USA the best chanceof winning?
(16:19):
And if Keegan's one of them,how does he manage as well?
(16:46):
Hey, before I get off the golftopic, I wanted to weigh in on
the new and improved smart golftracker on PGA Telecasts.
Before any kind of telecastedball tracker, we had to watch to
see where the pros were hittingtheir balls after the ball
landed.
The beauty of this newtechnology gives us a way to see
(17:11):
where golf balls are headingtheir trajectory, the apex, the
distance while the ball is inflight.
While the ball is in flight,it's art in motion.
Tv coverage for golf, as mostwould say, is actually better
than being on the course, as itpertains to seeing everything
(17:31):
that's happening on the courseand having a clear view of each
shot.
And, of course, like attendingany sporting event, the emotion
of being part of a rooting crowdto manifest a victory for your
favorite team.
That's hard to match, but ifyou want to watch it, tv is the
place to do it.
(17:54):
This year, the televised balltracking took a leap in
technology, I think for thebetter Before this year.
When a pro hit a shot, youwould see a side-by-side view of
the shot, you'd see trajectory,you'd see where the ball was
going it was basically AIillustrated and give you a
(18:15):
pretty good idea of what toexpect when the ball comes to
rest.
It served to help thebroadcaster to comment on the
shot in midair, as well as goodentertainment viewing to see
where the ball was heading.
Yeah, I know what some of youwere thinking.
Look, the NHL tried this for awhile, but too many viewers were
(18:37):
getting headaches watching allof the puck trails back and
forth.
It was way too fast and itchanged directions way too many
times.
This year, in 2025, ai rearedits head at the RBC Canadian
Open to show us an even moreentertaining way to watch the
(19:01):
trajectory of a shot.
It's called the smart shottracker and when a pro hits a
ball, the tracer starts offshowing the trajectory of the
ball in the color green and itshows the color green as it's
going in the air in its arc andif the ball is heading to a
(19:23):
fairway or a green an intendedplace for the ball to land the
best possible place for the ballto land for the next shot, it
stays green.
But if, during that flight, theball starts veering off left or
right, short or long, and theAI projection is that the ball
(19:46):
is going to land in anunintended area, it either turns
yellow or red.
Yellow is basically probablynot on the fairway, probably not
on the green, but it'll be okay.
Red basically says your ball isgoing to land in a bunker in
the water.
(20:06):
It's basically going to be aplace where you might not have
another shot or certainly thenext shot you're going to have
is going to be a challenge.
So if you're betting on agolfer and you're watching, and
your golfer gets up and he hitsa drive and you're watching and
(20:27):
it starts off green, but then inmidair or when it's hitting its
apex, it starts turning red,your mind turns to fuck, fuck,
fuck.
Then you get to watch the ballcome to rest and in most cases,
when that line has turned red,you're not going to like the
(20:48):
result no more than the golferwho just hit that shot.
So now, with this technology,when you see a ball in flight
and let's say, most shots takearound 10 seconds from the time
a golfer hits it until the timeit lands, you now get an
(21:08):
additional five seconds ofeither hope or dismay.
Your mood could change in asecond, well before the ball
hits the ground.
Isn't that wonderful?
The infamous three-day rule.
(21:42):
I always look forward tofriends and family visits Well
most of the time.
Time to catch up and sometimesact silly if the occasion calls
for it.
Now some of my friends have anopen policy with no visitation
(22:11):
restrictions, no time clock.
My European friends spend weeks, sometimes months, with friends
and family.
I mean, they've got it down pat.
They have together time,separation times, and they just
figured out the dance so thatwhen their guests or family
leave, they give them big hugsand kisses and can't wait till
(22:33):
they see them again.
It's admirable.
I admire people that can openup their houses for guests and
family with really no specifiedgotta-go time.
It's just not how I'm built and, in speaking to a lot of my
(22:56):
friends, it's not how they'rebuilt as well.
Now, with the exception of Susan, who could stay for a lifetime,
I've enacted a three-day rulefor visitation.
That could be two or threenights depending on the
circumstances.
My experiences suggest that wecould leave as happy and excited
(23:21):
after three days, as we werebefore we visited or they
visited us.
A lot could happen in threedays to keep everybody in good
spirits.
You know, and I think I learnedthe three-day rule not from
family and friends, I learned itfrom going out to Vegas.
(23:42):
I learned it from going out toVegas.
If any of you have ever goneout there for longer than three
days, you know what I'm talkingabout.
And I've gone out forconferences, for meetings where
I am just not at the tables, notat the golf courses.
All the time I've been inmeetings which could be anywhere
.
(24:02):
We chose Vegas because whenyou're done with your meeting,
you're all going to go out andeat and entertain.
Why not do it in a place wherethose things are the best they
have to offer?
But what happens in Vegas is,you know, there are rumors that
they pump oxygen into thecasinos.
There are rumors that they pumpoxygen into the casinos.
(24:23):
I don't believe that, butcertainly there's a lot of
flashing lights to keep youentertained and wanting more.
And there are so many timeswhen I've left Vegas on day
three and thought to myselfthere is no way I could continue
at this pace.
That's why what happens inVegas.
(24:45):
Stays in Vegas really pertainsto shorter trips, because if
you're there longer, you don'twant to stay in Vegas.
It's too much, and so I think Ilearned it from that and then
it started applying to mytraveling with family.
It started applying to mytraveling with family, with
(25:11):
friends.
Three days is perfect.
I don't know what it is aboutday four and five that seems to
be so different from days onethrough three, but I think we
get into habits and when they'rechanged to accommodate somebody
else's needs that take it outon our habits.
We tend to go on tilt.
We're like I just want thatnormalcy again.
(25:32):
I thrive for that.
I happen to be in relation withsomebody who likes to be back
at her home.
She has a comfort level whenshe's surrounded by her things,
her people, her house, herroutines.
I get it.
When somebody stays for fourdays or more, seconds become
(25:56):
minutes, minutes become hoursand hours become days.
Now you might be listening tothis and say God, rich is a dick
.
I'm sorry.
I can't adapt for more thanthree days and maintain my
happiness unless there are somany things to do and you mix it
(26:20):
up so much that you're notdoing the same things with the
same people all day long fordays, then that has a chance of
greater than three likevacations.
On vacations, I tend to findmyself doing what I call Camp
(26:40):
Richie, which is something I'vedone in retirement and I try to
do as often as my body lets me.
Okay, I talked about bodybreakage.
I'm not going to talk for morethan 10 minutes of it.
But basically my Camp Richie,like the other day wake up in
the morning, go to the beach,take my dog for a walk she loves
(27:04):
it until she goes in the water,drinks salt water, becomes a
sugar cookie and then hasexplosive diarrhea because she
can't correlate the cause andeffect from drinking salt water
and having a volcano of crapcome out of her butt maybe an
hour later.
So it's up to me to try andwatch her and keep her from
(27:27):
doing that.
But Camp Richie, go take herfor a walk, come back, go swim.
I've gotten back into swimmingagain.
20, 30 minutes Lap pool, greatfor breathing.
Come back, go to the beach.
Write this episode.
Get on my bike.
Drive down to Solomon's Island.
Go to at least two or threebars.
(27:47):
Get back on my bike Littletipsy Riding back to my car.
Go back out to the beach.
Finish this, go back to myplace, take Sammy for a walk and
then go to a golf course toplay nine holes, come back and
cook myself a pizza.
That's Camp Richie.
Now, that doesn't mean onvacation.
I do the same thing.
(28:09):
It depends on who I'mvacationing with.
But if we are of the samemindset, then we can enjoy
ourselves and then spread outour time to do things that
interest both of us and thatthings ourselves that just
interest ourselves, and thencome back and talk about it at
dinner.
So if you could find friends orfamily that know how to do the
(28:34):
dance, like my Swedish friendsdo, then have at it.
But until that happens, Iadhere to the three-day rule.
Noives of jelly or, as mostpeople would say, nerves of
(28:59):
jelly.
The human race values anindividual or group of
individuals who could overcometheir fear of whatever might be
(29:19):
causing most others to flinch,cringe, winch, cower and shrink.
Cringe, wench, cower and shrink.
We use terms.
We use terms like man of steel,nerves of steel, ice in their
veins, iron will, unflappable.
Cool under pressure, courageunder fire, calm as a cucumber I
(29:41):
don't get that one, but whenyou say it, everybody knows what
you're talking about.
These are descriptors for ourhonored war heroes, first
responders and law officers thattend to see a problem and move
through it.
They're our heroes because mostmortals display nerves of jelly
(30:03):
when their head's in a vice.
Now, I'm not saying that mostof us are cowards, I'm just
admiring the few that somehowdisengage their flight mechanism
and always choose fight.
Now, in the Art of War by SunTzu, he emphasizes strategy over
(30:23):
brute force.
War by Sun Tzu he emphasizesstrategy over brute force.
Sometimes the best way to winis to subdue the enemy without
fighting.
You could still have nerves ofsteel and choose not to fight
this battle today, and you couldstill demonstrate an iron will,
as long as that strategypositions you to win the battle,
(30:45):
the next battle that might endthe war.
Nerves of jelly are on displayin most sports.
Eventually, the weak succumb tothe strong, and when I say weak
, I'm suggesting that someone orsomeones not playing to their
(31:05):
strengths while theircompetitors are Golf majors,
elevated events on the PGA, theRyder Cup and the FedEx Cup
underscore the leaders at onepoint that fought through their
challenges.
People on top of the leaderboardand then at one point something
(31:28):
happens go south and the ice intheir veins melt.
It doesn't take much to meltthe ice.
I mean two consecutive badshots followed up with a three
putt would put any golfer ontilt finding a hazard when you
needed a great shot.
Or it's sunday, you're leadingthe field by one, going into the
(31:54):
last hole and understand, youwere leading the field by three
when you started sunday morningand now you're playing against
the hometown favorite and thisguy is pulling birdies out of
his ass because the crowd isbehind him and yelling.
I mean it doesn't help yourcomposure when the home team
(32:18):
crowd morphs their player intoSuperman from Clark Kent by
yelling USA, usa, usa.
And you happen to be fromacross the pond.
I mean this is what happenswhen nerves of jelly take over
from nerves of steel, and I seeit every weekend on the tour.
(32:42):
That's what we liked aboutTiger.
And if you liked watching Tiger, regardless of what his off
course antics were, if you likedwatching an individual overcome
anything, everything and justfind a will to win and watch
(33:04):
their competitors wilt, than youliked watching Tiger.
I mean it's a rarity, but whenyou find that person, pick them
first to be on any squad, team,company or family, because how
someone does anything is howthey do everything, and if
(33:25):
you're that person,congratulations.
You're amongst the few.
My last segment is find yourhappy place.
(33:45):
I meet new retirees every year.
(34:08):
I mean there are a millionstories in the big city
Government employees hittingtheir 20 or 25 year service
threshold and hanging it up.
Teachers holding on until thenumber looks best or they age
out or just lose enthusiasmbecause the education system has
changed, and not to the better.
(34:28):
Professionals hitting theirnumber for retirement, adjusting
it again and then hitting thatnumber, and then the market
takes a shit and they worklonger until they hit the next
number, but finally they throwtheir hands up and say that's it
, I want that other life.
It all brings us to the sameplace.
(34:50):
What now?
I mean?
For years you were humping tomake ends meet.
Send your kids to highereducation if you had the
wherewithal, coaching them withthe life skills and being
hypocritical at times, like allof us, hoping you don't get
called out for it too many times.
We all eventually age to a pointof less involvement with our
(35:14):
careers and more of aconsultative role with our kids
and family.
That leaves us with a timepredicament.
How do you fill the rest ofyour hours If you own lots of
stuff, the more you own, themore it owns you and your time.
To some, counting their gold istheir happy place.
(35:38):
To some it's leisure activityyou heard Camp Richie.
To others, to some, it'sleisure activity you heard Camp
Richie.
To others, it's a calling or apurpose in life, where you want
to spend your time to helpothers.
It's different for most, all ofus and so we find the community
that's like us, that has thesame goals, that basically wants
(36:01):
to spend their free time.
Similarly, for me, finding myhappy place keeps me fulfilled
Life with Susan and her family.
Check a box.
Staying connected with my kids.
Check, helping my mom navigatelife in her mid-90s.
(36:22):
Check a box, despite thechallenges we all face when our
parents get to that point.
Being able to visit the localbeaches.
Check, swimming several times aweek while meditating in the
pool.
Check, I just remember to haveto breathe.
That's it.
Cooking and baking pizza andbread helps me contribute to our
(36:46):
division of labor and,unfortunately, to caloric intake
.
But check, traveling with Susanand discovering new places.
Check, check, check.
And, of course, a pursuit ofgolf perfection.
A pursuit of golf perfection.
(37:09):
Check that box.
It's unattainable, but stillworth the time and effort I put
in practicing training socialmedia.
When I say social media, it'sbasically watching a thousand
videos, trying them out on thecourse, and just keep doing them
until you find that one thingthat makes sense Playing with my
(37:35):
buddies, that's fun.
Hey, life is short.
Find your checklist of thingsthat bring you joy and then go
after it.
Find your happy place and findreasons to stay there.
And if doing the things thatused to bring you joy, stop
checking your box, try and findsomething else.
And if that fails, find help toget you back in the saddle,
(37:56):
because life can be difficult,particularly as we age and deal
with the challenges of health,finances, detachment,
discrimination and loss.
No one is immune from theobstacles in our lives.
And here's a newsflash Fathertime has a no-loss record.
(38:17):
Nobody gets out alive.
My only point here is that idleminds and bodies lead to a
bottomless pit.
So find the things thatdistract you from stagnation,
and that's all I have to sayabout that.
Happy place, find, find, findyour happy place, find, find,
(38:41):
find your happy place.
You gotta find your happy place.
Thanks for staying to the end.
You've been listening toanother episode of Tales from
the First Tee.
I'm your host, rich Easton,telling tales from beautiful
Charleston, south Carolina.
(39:02):
Talk to you soon, thank you.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Special Summer Offer: Exclusively on Apple Podcasts, try our Dateline Premium subscription completely free for one month! With Dateline Premium, you get every episode ad-free plus exclusive bonus content.