July 1, 2025 • 37 mins
We're back to our original name - Tales from the First Tee - and reflecting on what truly matters as we enter a new year, from holiday decorations to golf course ethics.
• New Year's celebrations force us to compartmentalize our lives into 365-day periods and compare ourselves to others
• Inflatable Christmas decorations look like "holiday carnage" when deflated during daylight hours
• Jon Rahm signed with LIV Golf for a reported $500 million after previously pledging loyalty to the PGA Tour
• Selfish behavior at the swimming pool reveals character traits that likely extend to other areas of life
• A Gen-Z toy store employee lectures about non-violent toys while selling fantasy weapons and violent imagery
• Workers in golf course bunkers create an ethical dilemma for players who must hit shots over their heads
• Most golfers continued playing without concern, while others recognized the potential danger
Take some time to consider the unwritten rules and ethical choices we make every day - whether at the pool, on the golf course, or in how we respond to others' life decisions.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Welcome to another episode of Just Tales,
originally named Tales from theFirst Tee.
I changed the name after ahundred episodes and foolishly
lost a shit ton of listeners, solet's see how many more I can
shake as I claim the originalname back again.
So, like I said, welcome toanother episode of Tales from
(00:29):
the First Tee.
I'm your host, rich Easton,streaming from beautiful
Charleston, south Carolina, sokick back and listen.
Hey, happy New Year.
I'm not much of a traditionalist, particularly in celebrating
(00:51):
New Year's.
I don't stay up late, I don'tdo anything spectacular.
There were times in my lifewhere I used to go on these
trips and celebrate in differentcountries and different cities
in a big way, and after that Ithink everything else just it
just pales in comparison.
Like I kind of get it when wetake pause every time we
(01:12):
celebrate another year.
It gives us all pause toreflect on where we are in life
compared to others.
You're a toddler.
Should you be walking by now?
Are you finally out of diapers?
Did you graduate fromkindergarten and every grade
after that like the rest of us?
Did you progress through highereducation or start a trade job
(01:35):
after high school?
Did you land a job or aprofession, and how have you
advanced relative to the rest ofus?
Did you find a mate and haveyou chosen to procreate or
decide that this planet is justtoo fucked up to bring another
life into it?
By the way, I always find thatstatement to be a void of true
honesty.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
So here's why I'm never having kids.
Okay, first off, kids areexpensive.
I mean, kids are expensive andI'd rather spend that money on
things that make me happy, likemy animation projects and such.
I'm kind of a nut job.
Honestly, I'm a little bitcrazy and I don't want to pass
any of those traits on toanother generation.
Kids themselves have you metkids?
There are a lot.
It feels unfair, like it feelsunfair to bring a kid into this
(02:18):
world right now, like with theeconomy and climate change, like
the future is looking a littlebleak.
Kids take up time.
Any parent will tell you.
Kids are really, really timeconsuming and I'd rather spend
that time doing something thatmakes me happy Gaming.
Look, I have one gaming consoleand I'm going to be the one
that plays it my wife.
Like I love my wife a lot and Ilove spending time with her and
(02:39):
I wouldn't want anything tointerrupt that time and I feel
like having kids would interruptmy time with her.
The screaming you know thathigh pitched screaming that kids
do when they run around.
Speaker 2 (02:49):
It sounds like bullshit.
Let's say, you go on to have afamily.
Did your children progress theway you did at certain ages and
are they progressing the sameway as their peers?
And then, as you get much older, can you still walk and are you
back in diapers?
All these milestones havesomething in common they
(03:13):
basically are packed withpersonal and comparative
measuring sticks, mostly allassociated with your age and
everybody else you know orfollow that's your age.
So every year that we celebratea new year, you're always
comparing your life to how is itgoing for my age and how am I
doing versus everybody else.
(03:35):
Golfers make it clear that ageand performance are in lockstep.
You'll hear things like he orshe was the youngest to shoot a
certain score, win a certaintournament, amass the most wins.
And of course, you'll hear whenpeople get older that they're
able to shoot their age, a signof virility and a notable
(03:56):
comparison to the field of otherseniors.
Hey, maybe I'm confusing NewYear's celebrations with
birthdays.
Shit, it's January 1st.
I need to go on a diet,exercise more and just do more
for others.
What I find ironic about uscelebrating calendar years is
(04:17):
that it forces us tocompartmentalize accomplishments
and runs of disasters and badluck into a 365-day period, for
instance.
You'll hear somebody say 2023,it was a good year, or I can't
wait till it's over.
I don't think anything fitscomfortably into a 365-day
(04:40):
period, but we like to do that.
It makes us feel better andgives us something to compare
against.
I try not to group events,accomplishments or unhappy
circumstances into any givenyear.
I mean, certainly now that I'mout of a publicly traded company
where every quarter mattered.
Everything you had to dodepended on your quarterly
(05:01):
results.
Speaker 4 (05:02):
Well, I'm not there anymore.
Speaker 2 (05:04):
I purchased a Powerball ticket for $3 the
other day and I think the totalstakes were up to close to $800
million.
Now, if I would have won onDecember 30th, do you think I
would have said 2023 was a greatyear?
No, but December 30th was, youknow, and let's say, a disaster
(05:26):
hit the end of the year.
Would you smear the entire yearfor that?
Probably not.
Anyway, enough of that.
Happy freaking new year to allof you.
I've been drinking too much,for sure.
I gotta hangover.
Whoa, I got an empty cup.
(05:48):
Call me tomorrow so I can go.
In this episode I'll rant aboutJohn Rahm, professional PGA
golf extraordinaire, and hischoice to join the LIV Tour.
I'll talk about selfish people,how to spot them, toy story in
Virginia, workers in the bunker.
(06:09):
But first I'll share mythoughts on inflatable Christmas
yard decorations.
Speaker 1 (06:15):
Yeah, as you guys can see behind me, the family's
decorations are still down, butthey are working to piece them
back together.
Speaker 2 (06:23):
Who doesn't love that holiday feeling during the
month of December when peopledecorate their homes, buildings
and yards?
There's something about stringsof white lights that lights
something inside of me.
It's a spirit that's justawoken every time I pass them.
I also appreciate the family,or perhaps just that one family
(06:46):
member, that goes all out duringthe holidays to enlighten their
yard with a production ofvisual entertainment.
I think we all know somebodylike that.
When I lived outside of Chicagowe had friends in Libertyville,
illinois, that would spend aweek putting up lights and
animatronics that were alllinked to this music theme and
(07:10):
you could actually get them whenyou turn your car radio to a
specific FM dial.
It was pretty cool.
I think one of their sons ranlighting for the drama
department at the high school sowe, like many other people in
the area, would drive over, parkour cars in front of the yard,
turn to the FM dial and listento how the music was
(07:33):
synchronized with what they weredoing with animatronics and
light show.
I mean it was so cool.
Here in Charleston there's ahouse on Rifle Range Road that
goes all out with lights andprop decorations for the
holidays Because of the lack ofstreet lights.
This illuminates and decoratesthe entire yard.
(07:55):
It's really a cool thing.
I find myself when I could taketwo or three different ways home
, traveling on Rifle Range Roadin December just so at night I
could see their decorations.
I appreciate Somebody lovesdoing it.
They went all out and Iappreciate it.
So this year during Christmasweek we traveled up to
(08:17):
Harrisonburg, virginia, for theholidays and noted all of the
inflatable Christmas yarddecorations in the yards Santa
Claus, reindeer, elves, evenGodzilla, go figure.
They all made a sizableimpression at night, albeit not
(08:38):
the same impact to me as stringsof white lights outlining trees
and gabled roofs, but they madea big impression and I think
it's something new that'shappened.
Now that the technology makesit affordable, most all blow-up
decorations, like outdoor lights, have timers to turn them off
(08:59):
at night.
This means the next morning.
What used to be this vision ofglorious Santa with his support
team looks like the scene fromHangover 1, where everybody is
just laid out on the ground.
No one knows how much I loveyou.
(09:25):
No one knows how much I loveyou.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
No one knows how much I care.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
Control yourself, man .
God damn it.
Will you put on some pants?
Speaker 4 (09:43):
Phil, do not go in the bathroom.
Speaker 2 (09:55):
Al, just calm down, phil.
There is a tiger in the daytime.
You're looking at theseuninflatables and basically you
see Santa is on his back likehe's on another bender.
Frosty is melted and thereindeer look like they were
rode hard and put up wet Holidayinflatables.
When they're uninflated itlooks like roadkill.
It looks like somebody's havinga yard sale.
(10:16):
It's like Christmas carnage.
Look, I get it.
It's probably far lesslaborious to put those out on
the yard, probably cheaper thanlights, and you don't have to
stand up on a ladder.
So it makes perfect sense to me.
And the fact that technologyhas been commercialized makes it
more cost effective for mostfamilies to decorate.
(10:39):
Again, it's new technologycomes out but people really
don't know what to do with itthe next day when it's not
inflated.
But it's like every time newtechnology is commercialized,
there's always unintendedconsequences that follow, and we
all see them.
I mean think of loud talkers oncell phones in crowded areas,
(11:02):
face planters on smartphones ingroup settings, chronic texting
while driving and bike riding,term papers professionally
written with chat, gpt and, ofcourse, pornography attaches
itself to every new innovation,since silent films, adult movie
theaters, home movies, homevideo, dvd, internet becomes
(11:26):
internet porn, streaming,streaming porn, vr, vr porn and
remote control for just abouteverything, and now it's used
for sex toys.
You see, the thing is this newtechnologies don't come with a
playbook on how not to encroachon others while you're enjoying
your new thing.
Inflatable Hollywooddecorations shouldn't be
(11:51):
uninflated and left on the ballsof their asses during daylight
hours.
Instead, if the companies thatmanufactured them would just
create these cute holiday boxesthat they could deflate into,
these cute holiday boxes thatthey could deflate into, then
your lawn would look like youhave all of these gift boxes
until the night comes and youinflate up your inflatables
(12:12):
again.
They pop out of the boxes.
Everybody's happy.
Because here's the thing Idon't think we need to be
visually reminded about the waywe felt the morning after a
holiday party, and that'sexactly what these deflatable
inflatables remind me of.
(12:32):
Just saying no one knows howmuch I love you, no one knows
how much I care.
John Rahm signs with LIV.
(12:52):
How indignant Now.
Speaker 1 (12:57):
I'm really mad.
Speaker 2 (13:00):
Hey, whatever became of loyalty?
There's this famous quote hey,whatever became of loyalty?
There's this famous quotethere's something wrong with
your character if opportunitycontrols your loyalty.
Now, I think that's a greatcoaching aphorism, particularly
when the opportunities thatthreaten loyalty are falsely
posed or not fully thoughtthrough.
(13:20):
I mean, do we not think thatJon Rahm thought through his
opportunities in the future?
It's just like these new NCAAathletes that enter the transfer
portal, collect a huge pot ofgold, an incredible limelight.
They have to be able torecognize the opportunity going
(13:40):
in compared to the loyalty ofstaying exactly where they are.
So that begs the question whyare all of us okay, some of us
okay, maybe just you indignantabout Jon Rahm declaring his
allegiance to the Live Tour?
Perhaps it's because he alreadyresponded to the media, like a
(14:05):
year ago, claiming fealty to thePGA Tour and an undenying
belief in Jay Monahan and hisproduct of the PGA Tour.
According to some of thesoundbites from Jay Monahan in
the past, there's a lot more forindividuals to play on the PGA
Tour.
There's a lot more than justmoney.
(14:25):
There's history, there's legacy, there's playing against the
best in the world.
Now fast forward to December2023.
Jon Rahm announces his fealtyto the LIV Tour for an
undisclosed amount of money,projected to exceed $500 million
(14:46):
.
So we learned that the price offealty to John in these
inflationary times is more thana half a billion dollars.
Well played John, well played.
Speaker 4 (14:57):
There's a lot of things that LiveGolf has to
offer that were very, veryenticing, right Starting with
TeamGolf.
Speaker 2 (15:06):
Team golf.
The story I'm telling myself isthat John is spewing from a
script.
The four aces fireballs,cliques or smashes are certainly
not comparable to universitysquads or Ryder Cup teams, where
playing for your team hashistoric consequences as well as
(15:28):
a collective swell of emotionalsupport across the globe.
Who is excited about the fouraces besides the four aces?
Or perhaps anybody who put awager on them?
Speaker 4 (15:43):
And simply the growth that Live Golf has brought to
the game of golf.
Right, it's something fresh,it's something new, something
with a ton of potential andopportunity and something I'm
really excited about.
Speaker 2 (15:52):
You know that's hard to argue against.
It's growing because it startedfrom ground zero.
And it's growing the gamebecause more fans can watch and
attend more pro golf.
Speaker 3 (16:05):
You've said before that it wasn't about the money,
but it's a bit of a change fromwhat you've said before talking
about PGA and live.
Speaker 4 (16:15):
Yeah, the money is great.
Obviously it's wonderful, butwhat I've said before is true I
do not play golf for the money.
I play golf for the love of thegame and for the love of golf
play golf for the love of thegame and for the love of golf.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
Now John goes on to speak to his flexibility to
co-parent his children in lessmandated events than the PGA.
I mean, all those reasons makeperfect sense to me Team golf
growth driver, less timecommitment and I would have
taken the money.
I would have done exactly thesame thing but if not for the
fact that all three of thosedecision drivers existed when
John said no to $400 million.
(16:51):
It seems likely that the moneydrove John to the contract table
, and we're talking about thisbecause the media constantly
pokes at the golfers repeatingtheir questions to get a
possible aha soundbite that willdrive more listeners, viewers
and subscribers.
My advice to John is take themoney pay him pay that man his
(17:19):
money.
Speaker 1 (17:38):
All the selfish people.
Where do?
Speaker 2 (17:41):
they all come from.
When I finally motivate myselfto move.
I like to lap swim, so I go tothis lap pool and I swim, for I
try to swim for 30 minutes and Iused to count laps, but after
15, 20 or so my mind wanders andI lose track of the laps.
So I found, instead offrustrating myself or making up
(18:04):
numbers, I just look at a clockoutside the pool and I try and
go to for 30 minutes or longer,depending on how I feel that day
, what's going on for me thatday and who else wants to share
my lane.
Sharing lanes is a thing,particularly when it's peak
swimming time.
There's this unwritten rule atthe pool and that's always be
(18:25):
willing to share your lane andnever feel embarrassed about
getting into someone else's laneto swim next to them.
The fact that it's an unwrittenrule gives some people the
audacity to ignore you, ignoreyou when you're standing at the
end of the pool waiting to beacknowledged, so that you just
(18:48):
don't jump into the lap whilethey're swimming.
Now I go to the pool countlesstimes when all six lanes are
filled with one or two swimmersat a time, so that kind of
limits to which lane you'regoing to walk up to.
It's pretty simple math Ifthere's nobody in the lane, you
jump in, it's yours, and ifthere's only one person swimming
(19:12):
, then you try and wait for themto come back so they could see
you and you join them.
And the one thing that I'verealized recently is typically
guys end up doubling up withguys and women with women, and
don't ask me why, I reallyhaven't thought it through.
Maybe it's subconscious thought, where you just don't want to
accidentally bump into somebodyfrom the opposite sex and have
(19:36):
that misconstrued as a pass.
Yeah, the other thing might beI'm just above average size Most
of the women aren't and I'mclumsy and I just don't want to
have an uncontrollable strokethat hits him in the head.
Next thing, you know, the ERsquad is there.
Everybody's trying to reviveher because I'm a clumsy oaf.
(19:58):
Maybe it's that.
So anyway, when I swim, as I getto the end of the lap,
particularly when it's facingthe locker rooms, I can see if
there's anybody standing at theedge waiting for me to get in,
and my first thought is oh shit,why couldn't they find another
lane?
But I think that's a naturalreaction when you share a lane.
(20:20):
There's always that two orthree seconds when you have to
pass the other person.
You don't want to hit them, youdon't want to splash them and
so and it creates a littleanxiety.
So certainly it's better whenyou swim by yourself.
But I'm very self-awareUnderstand, this is not my
private pool, so I have to becourteous to others, but I still
(20:44):
say why me?
So when I get to the end of thepool and I see them standing
there, I usually lift my head up, give them some kind of sign
like go ahead and take the otherside and come on and swim.
Sometimes I'll even stop andsay to them hey, you want to get
in.
You know, we'll have a littledialogue.
It's very courteous, very nicething to do.
(21:04):
And then you're off, you'reswimming and then you're
basically staying in, let's say,half of the lane and they're
going to get the other half.
That's kind of how it works.
But too often when I'm cominginto the pool and all of the
lanes are filled with singleswimmers, I stand at the edge of
the pool looking for thatsingular lane swimmer to look up
(21:27):
, acknowledge me and then giveme some kind of sign.
But what's happening too often?
Speaker 4 (21:35):
is they're not doing that.
Speaker 2 (21:37):
So I'm coming up and I've got my goggles and my
earplugs and I've got my finsand I'm walking up back and
forth looking for somebody toacknowledge me, and people are
putting their heads down,they're doing flip turns and
recently, all of a sudden,there's this new group of mask
and snorkel people taking upfull reins while it seems like
(22:00):
they're on the hunt for aqualife in the bottom of the pool.
Now, maybe they never learnedhow to turn their heads to take
a breath when they're swimminglaps.
Or perhaps recently they took atrip to Turks and Caicos, did a
half-day snorkeling excursionto a sunken pirate boat and just
never kicked the habit.
Now they're in the lap pooldoing the same thing, taking up
(22:23):
full lanes.
And the one thing is thesnorkel people never look up.
When they get to the end of thepool, where likely swimmers
could be waiting for a lane,they keep their heads under the
water, touch the edge, turnaround and start swimming the
other way.
Now, you know that.
(22:44):
They know there could be peoplewaiting to jump in.
The worst is that they probably.
You know that, they know that.
You know that they're beingselfish, but it's in their
nature.
You know.
It's funny when I think aboutit.
There are never snorkel peopleswimming in the same lane with
other snorkel people.
(23:05):
You know why?
Because they're both selfish.
As I'm looking to swim andyou've got these pretty good
swimmers they're not looking up.
I'm trying to wave my arms andthey'll actually be other people
standing at the poolside andsay why don't you just get in?
And they'll let you swim, andI'm like I'll do that, but it
(23:26):
just feels like why?
I know I could see people whenI'm swimming.
They have to be able to seepeople too.
Are they trying to play thegame of hey, I don't see you, so
maybe find another lane to swimin?
I think that's what they'redoing, but I think that's an
asshole move, as this hashappened to me way too often
(23:47):
recently.
I start looking at these peopleand I think are these the same
people that, when you're driving, won't let you in their lane or
cut you off?
Are these the same people thatcome to a golf course, sign up
as a foursome, come with twopeople and when they get there
and you try and pair them upwith other two people, they
(24:11):
start balking or they startmaking up shit like my buddies
are going to be here any minute.
We're just going to start.
They'll catch up to us laterand there have been too many
times when I've worked as astarter.
Where I'm sitting, I could notonly see who's starting on the
first tee, but I could seepeople that are making the turn
from nine to ten so I could seeif their buddies ever caught up
(24:34):
with them.
And I would tell you, 99% ofthe time when people tell me
that they're a twosome but theother two are coming, when I see
them making the turn, it's onlytwo people.
Maybe I'm just living longenough to figure out what others
have learned earlier in theirlives.
There are a lot of selfishpeople.
Maybe I'm just living longenough to figure out what others
have learned earlier in theirlives.
There are a lot of selfishpeople.
Hey, maybe these are the peoplewho say hey, with all that's
(24:58):
going on in the world right now,I'm not sure it's a good time
to bring a baby into this world.
Speaker 1 (25:06):
And if I was them, I wouldn't See.
The world is going down, I feelnothing, I'm not sorry for your
misery or your worry.
Be happy me, happy me.
Oh, happy me, happy me, happyme, happy me, not happy you.
Happy me, happy me Happy me ToyStory.
Speaker 2 (25:29):
in Harrisonburg, virginia, you've got a friend in
me.
Speaker 1 (25:38):
You've got a friend in me when the road looks rough
ahead and you're miles and milesfrom home.
Speaker 2 (25:48):
Susan and I spent Christmas week at our hometown
in Harrisonburg, Virginia, asmall mountain town home to JMU
and the Dukes.
A few days before Christmas, wewandered into town to pick up
some stocking stuffers.
You know, whenever you thinkyou're done holiday shopping,
there's always one more thing toget.
(26:09):
So we wander into the AgoraMarket.
This is an eclectic, old-timeyestablishment with a store
within a store merchandisingformat.
You've all probably been inshops like this, where one
section had handmade soaps,another cooking knickknacks,
another $20 mini bottles of hotsauce and soups.
(26:31):
Handmade decorative mugs.
I think you know what I'mtalking about.
In the back of the store was asection for toys, games and
puzzles, and as we walked backthere I had this epiphany hey,
for one of the kids, what abouta pack of little green army men,
all in different actionpositions, you know, like the
(26:53):
kind that Ted Lasso gave asgifts.
So I walk around but I couldn'tfind them.
So I take this chance, I walkup to this Gen Z-er behind the
register to ask him where theywere, if I'd missed them.
Hey, I'm not proud of the factthat I even can't find a milk
(27:14):
container in the refrigerator,even when it's staring me right
in the face.
But I'm evolved and self-awareand aware of my shortcomings.
So I ask for help whenever Ineed it.
So I go up to the employeeExcuse me, but do you have any
of those small plastic army men?
(27:36):
You know, like the kind in theshow Ted Lasso?
That's what I said to him.
Now, that witty reference wenttotally unnoticed.
But the employee let's call himZayden looked at me up and down
and proceeded to school me onthe virtues of child-friendly,
non-aggressive toys, and he saidsomething like this hey, dude,
(28:02):
this company doesn't supportviolence, weaponry or any type
of toy that promotes war,weaponry or any type of toy that
promotes war.
Speaker 4 (28:09):
Maybe you should check the big box stores you
know, like Walmart or Amazon forthose types of things.
Look whenever a youth.
Is it possible?
Speaker 2 (28:25):
to two youths.
Speaker 1 (28:26):
To what?
What was that word?
Speaker 4 (28:33):
What word?
Speaker 1 (28:34):
Two what?
Speaker 2 (28:35):
What Did you say?
Utes?
Yeah, two utes.
What is a ute?
Oh, excuse me, your Honor, twoutes, yeah.
So, like I was saying, whenevera youth goes out of their way to
school me on social injustice,corporate greed or anything else
where the generations beforethem made the world worse, I
(28:58):
have to take a pause and thinkis this kid on to something, or
is it just like some 25handicapper trying to break 100
all the time giving advice to ascratch golfer?
So as he said that, in a splitsecond my eyes wander behind the
counter to see a Lego set ofWorld of Warcraft with knights
(29:21):
with swords, crossbows and onhorses with axes.
And in front of the counterthere were these translucent
bins filled with severed handsand feet.
So I just said something likeat least you guys are consistent
with your messaging.
I mean, the kid could have justsaid I'm sorry, we don't have
(29:42):
what you're looking for.
Can I help you find somethingelse?
Or just hey, no man, we don'thave any army men, but no.
Or just hey, no man, we don'thave any army men, but no.
Zayden had to make a pointabout the fact that giving kids
toys representing the militaryand war was bad and their store
was good.
This kid's gonna grow up to bea dick.
Speaker 1 (30:12):
You got a friend in me.
You got a friend in me.
You got a friend in me.
Speaker 2 (30:27):
Can you believe there are workers in the bunkers?
Speaker 1 (30:39):
I like to call this segment guacamole.
Speaker 2 (30:52):
Every year, golf course managers, superintendents
and owners meet to review theirbudgets and capital projects At
one of the more popular coursesin the Charleston area.
The bunkers have been a soresubject and cause for rules
adjustments to allow fair playfor all and pleasure.
(31:14):
We saw trucks line up to dropoff pure white sand to prepare,
refill all the bunkers andre-irrigate them as well as the
days passed, we saw teams ofworkers with bulldozers, mini
earth movers, fill their frontblades with this pure white sand
to make their way to each holeto work on the rebunkering.
Like many private clubs, whenwork like this happens, they
(31:36):
close the entire course tocomplete their work.
That being said, private clubscollect monthly dues and,
depending on the club and thesize of the work, collect an
assessment from all theirmembers to pay for the work.
This business model isdifferent for semi-private and
(31:56):
public courses.
They depend on daily green feesto keep their operations afloat
and the doors open.
Thus, when work is being doneat semi-private courses, the
course is typically not closed.
Sometimes, depending on thework to be done, a hole or two
might be closed, but then theycreate something called
(32:19):
temporary greens, where theyjust cut the grass tighter in
the middle of the fairway.
That allows them to do the workon the greens and allows golfer
to play their 18 holes.
And most people that pay for around of golf don't want to play
15 holes or 12 holes.
They want to pay for 18 holesand play 18 holes.
(32:40):
So the story continues.
This one local course didn'tclose any of the holes during
construction, didn't set uptemporary greens, likely because
the work for each hole wasprobably only going to take a
day or two.
They didn't even instruct theworkers that were working on the
greenside bunk yard to, let'ssay, even a 95 yard approach
(33:20):
shot.
And you had to hit it over abunker that's protecting the
front of the green, with threeto five workers in the middle of
the green not looking up.
When you got there, let's sayyou even yell to try and get
their attention before you hitthese shots over their heads.
The situation hit me.
(33:41):
It was so peculiar that I hadto ask others if they were
thinking the way I was thinkingor how did they play the hole.
So I talked to the guys I wasplaying with and in a little bit
I'll tell you what we did.
But then I went back to theclubhouse.
I'm sitting in the bar.
I talked to 10 other guys.
(34:01):
Everybody had exactly the sameresponse and they're saying hey
look, the course didn't shutdown, they didn't make any
temporary greens, the workers inthe bunkers didn't look up at
all.
So basically, go ahead and hityour shot, go ahead and hit it
(34:25):
over their heads.
That's what everybody said andeverybody's kind of laughing
about the shots that they hit.
Some were pretty shitty shots,some made the green.
But now one person said I'm notplaying this hole.
So then I guess I played my handwhen I asked this question and
I said what if you hit thisHousel rocket straight into one
(34:45):
of the workers?
Hit them right in the head?
And I think the collectiveresponse was I'm not thinking
about that, I'm thinking aboutlanding it on the green.
This is an interesting humanbehavior story.
I played the course twice thatweek while they're working on
the bunkers and every time I goup to my ball when I have an
(35:07):
approach shot, I pick it up inthe fairway, go back to the cart
and go to the next hole.
And that's what we did and ourfoursome.
But again, maybe we're seniors,maybe we've been sued before,
maybe we understand litigationor maybe we're just evolved
humans who understand you couldtake somebody out.
(35:29):
So then I posed this questionto some of the guys at the bar
and I said okay, imagine you goto this park and there's a
family having a fiesta in thearea between you and this target
area behind them, like ahundred yards away.
Now would you take out a bucketof balls to hit it over their
(35:52):
heads so you could land it inthis area?
And they all said the samething it's not the same thing.
It's not the same thing.
You're not at a golf course.
The owners of the golf coursedidn't close the course, they
didn't create a temporary green.
So that's a bullshit scenario.
Rich, or is it?
Speaker 4 (36:12):
it's a bullshit question.
Does that mean that you can'tanswer it?
It's a bullshit question, it'simpossible to answer.
Speaker 3 (36:18):
Impossible because you don't know the answer.
Speaker 2 (36:21):
Nobody could answer that question anyway, it just
seems odd to me just saying.
Just saying You've beenlistening to another episode
from Tales from the First Tee.
I'm your host, Rich Easton,telling tales from beautiful
(36:43):
Charleston, South Carolina.
Talk to you soon.
Welcome to another episode of Just Tales,
originally named Tales from theFirst Tee.
I changed the name after ahundred episodes and foolishly
lost a shit ton of listeners, solet's see how many more I can
shake as I claim the originalname back again.
So, like I said, welcome toanother episode of Tales from
(00:29):
the First Tee.
I'm your host, rich Easton,streaming from beautiful
Charleston, south Carolina, sokick back and listen.
Hey, happy New Year.
I'm not much of a traditionalist, particularly in celebrating
(00:51):
New Year's.
I don't stay up late, I don'tdo anything spectacular.
There were times in my lifewhere I used to go on these
trips and celebrate in differentcountries and different cities
in a big way, and after that Ithink everything else just it
just pales in comparison.
Like I kind of get it when wetake pause every time we
(01:12):
celebrate another year.
It gives us all pause toreflect on where we are in life
compared to others.
You're a toddler.
Should you be walking by now?
Are you finally out of diapers?
Did you graduate fromkindergarten and every grade
after that like the rest of us?
Did you progress through highereducation or start a trade job
(01:35):
after high school?
Did you land a job or aprofession, and how have you
advanced relative to the rest ofus?
Did you find a mate and haveyou chosen to procreate or
decide that this planet is justtoo fucked up to bring another
life into it?
By the way, I always find thatstatement to be a void of true
honesty.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
So here's why I'm never having kids.
Okay, first off, kids areexpensive.
I mean, kids are expensive andI'd rather spend that money on
things that make me happy, likemy animation projects and such.
I'm kind of a nut job.
Honestly, I'm a little bitcrazy and I don't want to pass
any of those traits on toanother generation.
Kids themselves have you metkids?
There are a lot.
It feels unfair, like it feelsunfair to bring a kid into this
(02:18):
world right now, like with theeconomy and climate change, like
the future is looking a littlebleak.
Kids take up time.
Any parent will tell you.
Kids are really, really timeconsuming and I'd rather spend
that time doing something thatmakes me happy Gaming.
Look, I have one gaming consoleand I'm going to be the one
that plays it my wife.
Like I love my wife a lot and Ilove spending time with her and
(02:39):
I wouldn't want anything tointerrupt that time and I feel
like having kids would interruptmy time with her.
The screaming you know thathigh pitched screaming that kids
do when they run around.
Speaker 2 (02:49):
It sounds like bullshit.
Let's say, you go on to have afamily.
Did your children progress theway you did at certain ages and
are they progressing the sameway as their peers?
And then, as you get much older, can you still walk and are you
back in diapers?
All these milestones havesomething in common they
(03:13):
basically are packed withpersonal and comparative
measuring sticks, mostly allassociated with your age and
everybody else you know orfollow that's your age.
So every year that we celebratea new year, you're always
comparing your life to how is itgoing for my age and how am I
doing versus everybody else.
(03:35):
Golfers make it clear that ageand performance are in lockstep.
You'll hear things like he orshe was the youngest to shoot a
certain score, win a certaintournament, amass the most wins.
And of course, you'll hear whenpeople get older that they're
able to shoot their age, a signof virility and a notable
(03:56):
comparison to the field of otherseniors.
Hey, maybe I'm confusing NewYear's celebrations with
birthdays.
Shit, it's January 1st.
I need to go on a diet,exercise more and just do more
for others.
What I find ironic about uscelebrating calendar years is
(04:17):
that it forces us tocompartmentalize accomplishments
and runs of disasters and badluck into a 365-day period, for
instance.
You'll hear somebody say 2023,it was a good year, or I can't
wait till it's over.
I don't think anything fitscomfortably into a 365-day
(04:40):
period, but we like to do that.
It makes us feel better andgives us something to compare
against.
I try not to group events,accomplishments or unhappy
circumstances into any givenyear.
I mean, certainly now that I'mout of a publicly traded company
where every quarter mattered.
Everything you had to dodepended on your quarterly
(05:01):
results.
Speaker 4 (05:02):
Well, I'm not there anymore.
Speaker 2 (05:04):
I purchased a Powerball ticket for $3 the
other day and I think the totalstakes were up to close to $800
million.
Now, if I would have won onDecember 30th, do you think I
would have said 2023 was a greatyear?
No, but December 30th was, youknow, and let's say, a disaster
(05:26):
hit the end of the year.
Would you smear the entire yearfor that?
Probably not.
Anyway, enough of that.
Happy freaking new year to allof you.
I've been drinking too much,for sure.
I gotta hangover.
Whoa, I got an empty cup.
(05:48):
Call me tomorrow so I can go.
In this episode I'll rant aboutJohn Rahm, professional PGA
golf extraordinaire, and hischoice to join the LIV Tour.
I'll talk about selfish people,how to spot them, toy story in
Virginia, workers in the bunker.
(06:09):
But first I'll share mythoughts on inflatable Christmas
yard decorations.
Speaker 1 (06:15):
Yeah, as you guys can see behind me, the family's
decorations are still down, butthey are working to piece them
back together.
Speaker 2 (06:23):
Who doesn't love that holiday feeling during the
month of December when peopledecorate their homes, buildings
and yards?
There's something about stringsof white lights that lights
something inside of me.
It's a spirit that's justawoken every time I pass them.
I also appreciate the family,or perhaps just that one family
(06:46):
member, that goes all out duringthe holidays to enlighten their
yard with a production ofvisual entertainment.
I think we all know somebodylike that.
When I lived outside of Chicagowe had friends in Libertyville,
illinois, that would spend aweek putting up lights and
animatronics that were alllinked to this music theme and
(07:10):
you could actually get them whenyou turn your car radio to a
specific FM dial.
It was pretty cool.
I think one of their sons ranlighting for the drama
department at the high school sowe, like many other people in
the area, would drive over, parkour cars in front of the yard,
turn to the FM dial and listento how the music was
(07:33):
synchronized with what they weredoing with animatronics and
light show.
I mean it was so cool.
Here in Charleston there's ahouse on Rifle Range Road that
goes all out with lights andprop decorations for the
holidays Because of the lack ofstreet lights.
This illuminates and decoratesthe entire yard.
(07:55):
It's really a cool thing.
I find myself when I could taketwo or three different ways home
, traveling on Rifle Range Roadin December just so at night I
could see their decorations.
I appreciate Somebody lovesdoing it.
They went all out and Iappreciate it.
So this year during Christmasweek we traveled up to
(08:17):
Harrisonburg, virginia, for theholidays and noted all of the
inflatable Christmas yarddecorations in the yards Santa
Claus, reindeer, elves, evenGodzilla, go figure.
They all made a sizableimpression at night, albeit not
(08:38):
the same impact to me as stringsof white lights outlining trees
and gabled roofs, but they madea big impression and I think
it's something new that'shappened.
Now that the technology makesit affordable, most all blow-up
decorations, like outdoor lights, have timers to turn them off
(08:59):
at night.
This means the next morning.
What used to be this vision ofglorious Santa with his support
team looks like the scene fromHangover 1, where everybody is
just laid out on the ground.
No one knows how much I loveyou.
(09:25):
No one knows how much I loveyou.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
No one knows how much I care.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
Control yourself, man .
God damn it.
Will you put on some pants?
Speaker 4 (09:43):
Phil, do not go in the bathroom.
Speaker 2 (09:55):
Al, just calm down, phil.
There is a tiger in the daytime.
You're looking at theseuninflatables and basically you
see Santa is on his back likehe's on another bender.
Frosty is melted and thereindeer look like they were
rode hard and put up wet Holidayinflatables.
When they're uninflated itlooks like roadkill.
It looks like somebody's havinga yard sale.
(10:16):
It's like Christmas carnage.
Look, I get it.
It's probably far lesslaborious to put those out on
the yard, probably cheaper thanlights, and you don't have to
stand up on a ladder.
So it makes perfect sense to me.
And the fact that technologyhas been commercialized makes it
more cost effective for mostfamilies to decorate.
(10:39):
Again, it's new technologycomes out but people really
don't know what to do with itthe next day when it's not
inflated.
But it's like every time newtechnology is commercialized,
there's always unintendedconsequences that follow, and we
all see them.
I mean think of loud talkers oncell phones in crowded areas,
(11:02):
face planters on smartphones ingroup settings, chronic texting
while driving and bike riding,term papers professionally
written with chat, gpt and, ofcourse, pornography attaches
itself to every new innovation,since silent films, adult movie
theaters, home movies, homevideo, dvd, internet becomes
(11:26):
internet porn, streaming,streaming porn, vr, vr porn and
remote control for just abouteverything, and now it's used
for sex toys.
You see, the thing is this newtechnologies don't come with a
playbook on how not to encroachon others while you're enjoying
your new thing.
Inflatable Hollywooddecorations shouldn't be
(11:51):
uninflated and left on the ballsof their asses during daylight
hours.
Instead, if the companies thatmanufactured them would just
create these cute holiday boxesthat they could deflate into,
these cute holiday boxes thatthey could deflate into, then
your lawn would look like youhave all of these gift boxes
until the night comes and youinflate up your inflatables
(12:12):
again.
They pop out of the boxes.
Everybody's happy.
Because here's the thing Idon't think we need to be
visually reminded about the waywe felt the morning after a
holiday party, and that'sexactly what these deflatable
inflatables remind me of.
(12:32):
Just saying no one knows howmuch I love you, no one knows
how much I care.
John Rahm signs with LIV.
(12:52):
How indignant Now.
Speaker 1 (12:57):
I'm really mad.
Speaker 2 (13:00):
Hey, whatever became of loyalty?
There's this famous quote hey,whatever became of loyalty?
There's this famous quotethere's something wrong with
your character if opportunitycontrols your loyalty.
Now, I think that's a greatcoaching aphorism, particularly
when the opportunities thatthreaten loyalty are falsely
posed or not fully thoughtthrough.
(13:20):
I mean, do we not think thatJon Rahm thought through his
opportunities in the future?
It's just like these new NCAAathletes that enter the transfer
portal, collect a huge pot ofgold, an incredible limelight.
They have to be able torecognize the opportunity going
(13:40):
in compared to the loyalty ofstaying exactly where they are.
So that begs the question whyare all of us okay, some of us
okay, maybe just you indignantabout Jon Rahm declaring his
allegiance to the Live Tour?
Perhaps it's because he alreadyresponded to the media, like a
(14:05):
year ago, claiming fealty to thePGA Tour and an undenying
belief in Jay Monahan and hisproduct of the PGA Tour.
According to some of thesoundbites from Jay Monahan in
the past, there's a lot more forindividuals to play on the PGA
Tour.
There's a lot more than justmoney.
(14:25):
There's history, there's legacy, there's playing against the
best in the world.
Now fast forward to December2023.
Jon Rahm announces his fealtyto the LIV Tour for an
undisclosed amount of money,projected to exceed $500 million
(14:46):
.
So we learned that the price offealty to John in these
inflationary times is more thana half a billion dollars.
Well played John, well played.
Speaker 4 (14:57):
There's a lot of things that LiveGolf has to
offer that were very, veryenticing, right Starting with
TeamGolf.
Speaker 2 (15:06):
Team golf.
The story I'm telling myself isthat John is spewing from a
script.
The four aces fireballs,cliques or smashes are certainly
not comparable to universitysquads or Ryder Cup teams, where
playing for your team hashistoric consequences as well as
(15:28):
a collective swell of emotionalsupport across the globe.
Who is excited about the fouraces besides the four aces?
Or perhaps anybody who put awager on them?
Speaker 4 (15:43):
And simply the growth that Live Golf has brought to
the game of golf.
Right, it's something fresh,it's something new, something
with a ton of potential andopportunity and something I'm
really excited about.
Speaker 2 (15:52):
You know that's hard to argue against.
It's growing because it startedfrom ground zero.
And it's growing the gamebecause more fans can watch and
attend more pro golf.
Speaker 3 (16:05):
You've said before that it wasn't about the money,
but it's a bit of a change fromwhat you've said before talking
about PGA and live.
Speaker 4 (16:15):
Yeah, the money is great.
Obviously it's wonderful, butwhat I've said before is true I
do not play golf for the money.
I play golf for the love of thegame and for the love of golf
play golf for the love of thegame and for the love of golf.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
Now John goes on to speak to his flexibility to
co-parent his children in lessmandated events than the PGA.
I mean, all those reasons makeperfect sense to me Team golf
growth driver, less timecommitment and I would have
taken the money.
I would have done exactly thesame thing but if not for the
fact that all three of thosedecision drivers existed when
John said no to $400 million.
(16:51):
It seems likely that the moneydrove John to the contract table
, and we're talking about thisbecause the media constantly
pokes at the golfers repeatingtheir questions to get a
possible aha soundbite that willdrive more listeners, viewers
and subscribers.
My advice to John is take themoney pay him pay that man his
(17:19):
money.
Speaker 1 (17:38):
All the selfish people.
Where do?
Speaker 2 (17:41):
they all come from.
When I finally motivate myselfto move.
I like to lap swim, so I go tothis lap pool and I swim, for I
try to swim for 30 minutes and Iused to count laps, but after
15, 20 or so my mind wanders andI lose track of the laps.
So I found, instead offrustrating myself or making up
(18:04):
numbers, I just look at a clockoutside the pool and I try and
go to for 30 minutes or longer,depending on how I feel that day
, what's going on for me thatday and who else wants to share
my lane.
Sharing lanes is a thing,particularly when it's peak
swimming time.
There's this unwritten rule atthe pool and that's always be
(18:25):
willing to share your lane andnever feel embarrassed about
getting into someone else's laneto swim next to them.
The fact that it's an unwrittenrule gives some people the
audacity to ignore you, ignoreyou when you're standing at the
end of the pool waiting to beacknowledged, so that you just
(18:48):
don't jump into the lap whilethey're swimming.
Now I go to the pool countlesstimes when all six lanes are
filled with one or two swimmersat a time, so that kind of
limits to which lane you'regoing to walk up to.
It's pretty simple math Ifthere's nobody in the lane, you
jump in, it's yours, and ifthere's only one person swimming
(19:12):
, then you try and wait for themto come back so they could see
you and you join them.
And the one thing that I'verealized recently is typically
guys end up doubling up withguys and women with women, and
don't ask me why, I reallyhaven't thought it through.
Maybe it's subconscious thought, where you just don't want to
accidentally bump into somebodyfrom the opposite sex and have
(19:36):
that misconstrued as a pass.
Yeah, the other thing might beI'm just above average size Most
of the women aren't and I'mclumsy and I just don't want to
have an uncontrollable strokethat hits him in the head.
Next thing, you know, the ERsquad is there.
Everybody's trying to reviveher because I'm a clumsy oaf.
(19:58):
Maybe it's that.
So anyway, when I swim, as I getto the end of the lap,
particularly when it's facingthe locker rooms, I can see if
there's anybody standing at theedge waiting for me to get in,
and my first thought is oh shit,why couldn't they find another
lane?
But I think that's a naturalreaction when you share a lane.
(20:20):
There's always that two orthree seconds when you have to
pass the other person.
You don't want to hit them, youdon't want to splash them and
so and it creates a littleanxiety.
So certainly it's better whenyou swim by yourself.
But I'm very self-awareUnderstand, this is not my
private pool, so I have to becourteous to others, but I still
(20:44):
say why me?
So when I get to the end of thepool and I see them standing
there, I usually lift my head up, give them some kind of sign
like go ahead and take the otherside and come on and swim.
Sometimes I'll even stop andsay to them hey, you want to get
in.
You know, we'll have a littledialogue.
It's very courteous, very nicething to do.
(21:04):
And then you're off, you'reswimming and then you're
basically staying in, let's say,half of the lane and they're
going to get the other half.
That's kind of how it works.
But too often when I'm cominginto the pool and all of the
lanes are filled with singleswimmers, I stand at the edge of
the pool looking for thatsingular lane swimmer to look up
(21:27):
, acknowledge me and then giveme some kind of sign.
But what's happening too often?
Speaker 4 (21:35):
is they're not doing that.
Speaker 2 (21:37):
So I'm coming up and I've got my goggles and my
earplugs and I've got my finsand I'm walking up back and
forth looking for somebody toacknowledge me, and people are
putting their heads down,they're doing flip turns and
recently, all of a sudden,there's this new group of mask
and snorkel people taking upfull reins while it seems like
(22:00):
they're on the hunt for aqualife in the bottom of the pool.
Now, maybe they never learnedhow to turn their heads to take
a breath when they're swimminglaps.
Or perhaps recently they took atrip to Turks and Caicos, did a
half-day snorkeling excursionto a sunken pirate boat and just
never kicked the habit.
Now they're in the lap pooldoing the same thing, taking up
(22:23):
full lanes.
And the one thing is thesnorkel people never look up.
When they get to the end of thepool, where likely swimmers
could be waiting for a lane,they keep their heads under the
water, touch the edge, turnaround and start swimming the
other way.
Now, you know that.
(22:44):
They know there could be peoplewaiting to jump in.
The worst is that they probably.
You know that, they know that.
You know that they're beingselfish, but it's in their
nature.
You know.
It's funny when I think aboutit.
There are never snorkel peopleswimming in the same lane with
other snorkel people.
(23:05):
You know why?
Because they're both selfish.
As I'm looking to swim andyou've got these pretty good
swimmers they're not looking up.
I'm trying to wave my arms andthey'll actually be other people
standing at the poolside andsay why don't you just get in?
And they'll let you swim, andI'm like I'll do that, but it
(23:26):
just feels like why?
I know I could see people whenI'm swimming.
They have to be able to seepeople too.
Are they trying to play thegame of hey, I don't see you, so
maybe find another lane to swimin?
I think that's what they'redoing, but I think that's an
asshole move, as this hashappened to me way too often
(23:47):
recently.
I start looking at these peopleand I think are these the same
people that, when you're driving, won't let you in their lane or
cut you off?
Are these the same people thatcome to a golf course, sign up
as a foursome, come with twopeople and when they get there
and you try and pair them upwith other two people, they
(24:11):
start balking or they startmaking up shit like my buddies
are going to be here any minute.
We're just going to start.
They'll catch up to us laterand there have been too many
times when I've worked as astarter.
Where I'm sitting, I could notonly see who's starting on the
first tee, but I could seepeople that are making the turn
from nine to ten so I could seeif their buddies ever caught up
(24:34):
with them.
And I would tell you, 99% ofthe time when people tell me
that they're a twosome but theother two are coming, when I see
them making the turn, it's onlytwo people.
Maybe I'm just living longenough to figure out what others
have learned earlier in theirlives.
There are a lot of selfishpeople.
Maybe I'm just living longenough to figure out what others
have learned earlier in theirlives.
There are a lot of selfishpeople.
Hey, maybe these are the peoplewho say hey, with all that's
(24:58):
going on in the world right now,I'm not sure it's a good time
to bring a baby into this world.
Speaker 1 (25:06):
And if I was them, I wouldn't See.
The world is going down, I feelnothing, I'm not sorry for your
misery or your worry.
Be happy me, happy me.
Oh, happy me, happy me, happyme, happy me, not happy you.
Happy me, happy me Happy me ToyStory.
Speaker 2 (25:29):
in Harrisonburg, virginia, you've got a friend in
me.
Speaker 1 (25:38):
You've got a friend in me when the road looks rough
ahead and you're miles and milesfrom home.
Speaker 2 (25:48):
Susan and I spent Christmas week at our hometown
in Harrisonburg, Virginia, asmall mountain town home to JMU
and the Dukes.
A few days before Christmas, wewandered into town to pick up
some stocking stuffers.
You know, whenever you thinkyou're done holiday shopping,
there's always one more thing toget.
(26:09):
So we wander into the AgoraMarket.
This is an eclectic, old-timeyestablishment with a store
within a store merchandisingformat.
You've all probably been inshops like this, where one
section had handmade soaps,another cooking knickknacks,
another $20 mini bottles of hotsauce and soups.
(26:31):
Handmade decorative mugs.
I think you know what I'mtalking about.
In the back of the store was asection for toys, games and
puzzles, and as we walked backthere I had this epiphany hey,
for one of the kids, what abouta pack of little green army men,
all in different actionpositions, you know, like the
(26:53):
kind that Ted Lasso gave asgifts.
So I walk around but I couldn'tfind them.
So I take this chance, I walkup to this Gen Z-er behind the
register to ask him where theywere, if I'd missed them.
Hey, I'm not proud of the factthat I even can't find a milk
(27:14):
container in the refrigerator,even when it's staring me right
in the face.
But I'm evolved and self-awareand aware of my shortcomings.
So I ask for help whenever Ineed it.
So I go up to the employeeExcuse me, but do you have any
of those small plastic army men?
(27:36):
You know, like the kind in theshow Ted Lasso?
That's what I said to him.
Now, that witty reference wenttotally unnoticed.
But the employee let's call himZayden looked at me up and down
and proceeded to school me onthe virtues of child-friendly,
non-aggressive toys, and he saidsomething like this hey, dude,
(28:02):
this company doesn't supportviolence, weaponry or any type
of toy that promotes war,weaponry or any type of toy that
promotes war.
Speaker 4 (28:09):
Maybe you should check the big box stores you
know, like Walmart or Amazon forthose types of things.
Look whenever a youth.
Is it possible?
Speaker 2 (28:25):
to two youths.
Speaker 1 (28:26):
To what?
What was that word?
Speaker 4 (28:33):
What word?
Speaker 1 (28:34):
Two what?
Speaker 2 (28:35):
What Did you say?
Utes?
Yeah, two utes.
What is a ute?
Oh, excuse me, your Honor, twoutes, yeah.
So, like I was saying, whenevera youth goes out of their way to
school me on social injustice,corporate greed or anything else
where the generations beforethem made the world worse, I
(28:58):
have to take a pause and thinkis this kid on to something, or
is it just like some 25handicapper trying to break 100
all the time giving advice to ascratch golfer?
So as he said that, in a splitsecond my eyes wander behind the
counter to see a Lego set ofWorld of Warcraft with knights
(29:21):
with swords, crossbows and onhorses with axes.
And in front of the counterthere were these translucent
bins filled with severed handsand feet.
So I just said something likeat least you guys are consistent
with your messaging.
I mean, the kid could have justsaid I'm sorry, we don't have
(29:42):
what you're looking for.
Can I help you find somethingelse?
Or just hey, no man, we don'thave any army men, but no.
Or just hey, no man, we don'thave any army men, but no.
Zayden had to make a pointabout the fact that giving kids
toys representing the militaryand war was bad and their store
was good.
This kid's gonna grow up to bea dick.
Speaker 1 (30:12):
You got a friend in me.
You got a friend in me.
You got a friend in me.
Speaker 2 (30:27):
Can you believe there are workers in the bunkers?
Speaker 1 (30:39):
I like to call this segment guacamole.
Speaker 2 (30:52):
Every year, golf course managers, superintendents
and owners meet to review theirbudgets and capital projects At
one of the more popular coursesin the Charleston area.
The bunkers have been a soresubject and cause for rules
adjustments to allow fair playfor all and pleasure.
(31:14):
We saw trucks line up to dropoff pure white sand to prepare,
refill all the bunkers andre-irrigate them as well as the
days passed, we saw teams ofworkers with bulldozers, mini
earth movers, fill their frontblades with this pure white sand
to make their way to each holeto work on the rebunkering.
Like many private clubs, whenwork like this happens, they
(31:36):
close the entire course tocomplete their work.
That being said, private clubscollect monthly dues and,
depending on the club and thesize of the work, collect an
assessment from all theirmembers to pay for the work.
This business model isdifferent for semi-private and
(31:56):
public courses.
They depend on daily green feesto keep their operations afloat
and the doors open.
Thus, when work is being doneat semi-private courses, the
course is typically not closed.
Sometimes, depending on thework to be done, a hole or two
might be closed, but then theycreate something called
(32:19):
temporary greens, where theyjust cut the grass tighter in
the middle of the fairway.
That allows them to do the workon the greens and allows golfer
to play their 18 holes.
And most people that pay for around of golf don't want to play
15 holes or 12 holes.
They want to pay for 18 holesand play 18 holes.
(32:40):
So the story continues.
This one local course didn'tclose any of the holes during
construction, didn't set uptemporary greens, likely because
the work for each hole wasprobably only going to take a
day or two.
They didn't even instruct theworkers that were working on the
greenside bunk yard to, let'ssay, even a 95 yard approach
(33:20):
shot.
And you had to hit it over abunker that's protecting the
front of the green, with threeto five workers in the middle of
the green not looking up.
When you got there, let's sayyou even yell to try and get
their attention before you hitthese shots over their heads.
The situation hit me.
(33:41):
It was so peculiar that I hadto ask others if they were
thinking the way I was thinkingor how did they play the hole.
So I talked to the guys I wasplaying with and in a little bit
I'll tell you what we did.
But then I went back to theclubhouse.
I'm sitting in the bar.
I talked to 10 other guys.
(34:01):
Everybody had exactly the sameresponse and they're saying hey
look, the course didn't shutdown, they didn't make any
temporary greens, the workers inthe bunkers didn't look up at
all.
So basically, go ahead and hityour shot, go ahead and hit it
(34:25):
over their heads.
That's what everybody said andeverybody's kind of laughing
about the shots that they hit.
Some were pretty shitty shots,some made the green.
But now one person said I'm notplaying this hole.
So then I guess I played my handwhen I asked this question and
I said what if you hit thisHousel rocket straight into one
(34:45):
of the workers?
Hit them right in the head?
And I think the collectiveresponse was I'm not thinking
about that, I'm thinking aboutlanding it on the green.
This is an interesting humanbehavior story.
I played the course twice thatweek while they're working on
the bunkers and every time I goup to my ball when I have an
(35:07):
approach shot, I pick it up inthe fairway, go back to the cart
and go to the next hole.
And that's what we did and ourfoursome.
But again, maybe we're seniors,maybe we've been sued before,
maybe we understand litigationor maybe we're just evolved
humans who understand you couldtake somebody out.
(35:29):
So then I posed this questionto some of the guys at the bar
and I said okay, imagine you goto this park and there's a
family having a fiesta in thearea between you and this target
area behind them, like ahundred yards away.
Now would you take out a bucketof balls to hit it over their
(35:52):
heads so you could land it inthis area?
And they all said the samething it's not the same thing.
It's not the same thing.
You're not at a golf course.
The owners of the golf coursedidn't close the course, they
didn't create a temporary green.
So that's a bullshit scenario.
Rich, or is it?
Speaker 4 (36:12):
it's a bullshit question.
Does that mean that you can'tanswer it?
It's a bullshit question, it'simpossible to answer.
Speaker 3 (36:18):
Impossible because you don't know the answer.
Speaker 2 (36:21):
Nobody could answer that question anyway, it just
seems odd to me just saying.
Just saying You've beenlistening to another episode
from Tales from the First Tee.
I'm your host, Rich Easton,telling tales from beautiful
(36:43):
Charleston, South Carolina.
Talk to you soon.
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