May 28, 2025 • 47 mins
Standing on the first tee of the Old Course at St. Andrews, a strange calm washed over me. The nerves that typically plague my game had vanished. Six holes later, after holing out an eagle on the ninth, I turned to where my father would have stood and whispered, "That's for you, Dad." Twenty years after his passing, I broke down in tears on golf's holiest ground, feeling his presence in a way I hadn't experienced since losing him.
This transformative journey through the UK revealed the stark differences between American and Scottish golf cultures. While American courses often emphasize manicured aesthetics and cart-based play, Scottish links golf embraces the natural terrain and walking. At Carnoustie, I watched children and women casually enjoying the same championship courses the pros struggle with during major championships. The local clubs function as community centers where golf is accessible to all – with memberships at world-class venues costing a fraction of American prices and programs ensuring every child receives free lessons and equipment.
Course design philosophy differs dramatically as well. Conversations with architect Mike DeVries reinforced that great courses should be playable and engaging for everyone, not just elite players. This contrasts sharply with American golf's obsession with length and difficulty that caters to professionals while forgetting that most golfers shoot in the 90s and drive the ball modest distances. The Scottish approach treats golf as more than a game – it's a communal experience, an honor code, and a way of life connecting generations.
After playing 169 holes in seven days (all rounds under four hours while walking!), I've returned with a renewed connection to why I love this game. The experience at St. Andrews wasn't just about golf – it was about reconnecting with joy on the course and feeling my father's influence once more. If you have the means to take the person who introduced you to golf to St. Andrews, do it. There simply isn't a better way to honor what this game truly means.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello and welcome to another episode in a new season
of the Measured Golf Podcasthosted by myself, michael Dutro,
where we kind of take a look atall things golf and try to make
a little bit of sense or maybeadd a different viewpoint or,
who knows, maybe we're justrambling into the golf ecosphere
, but at any point we're excitedto start a new season.
(00:22):
I was really kind of thinkingabout, you know, how this season
is going to look, what we'regoing to try to do, what we want
to accomplish, and you know inthe past that you know this all
started with me just ramblingdriving down the road in my, in
my Honda Accord.
It gave me something to dobecause that car didn't have
many frills.
But yeah, you know it startedthere and it was just me.
(00:45):
And then we've had a lot ofguests and we've had a couple of
seasons where it's pretty muchbeen a guest on every episode
and the feedback's beenincredible and the guests we've
been fortunate to have have beenjust amazing and shared so many
great insights.
But you know, this season ismaybe going to be a little
hybrid of the two and maybethere will be an episode or two
(01:06):
where maybe it's just me andmaybe there will be more
episodes where there's guests.
But, to be honest, we're justkind of shooting this one from
the hip a bit and I'm excitedbecause I know we've got a few
people that I'm really excitedto have on as guests and I know
they're going to bring a lot tothe table and I think we're
going to try to maybe look atsome differing perspectives,
(01:26):
dive into some different thingsthan what we normally have and
(01:46):
maybe try to I don't know justbe more fans of the game of golf
and maybe a little lesscritiquing golf swings and golf
swing evolution and things likethat.
So, without further ado, somesad news.
I wanted to start by, you know,expressing the loss, you know,
that the golf industry has feltin the past week of Mira San,
you know the founder of MiraGolf.
And a little personal story.
I kid you not.
(02:06):
You can ask my wife.
We've been married for 15 yearstogether, for 17.
On the second date I took herto a golf store.
By the way, that's not not agood move.
Don't do that.
It's not why we've been marriedall these years.
But on our second date, I tookher to a golf store and I showed
her a set of Mira Blades.
On our second date I took herto a golf store and I showed her
(02:27):
a set of Mira Blades and Iremember being like baby, one
day I'm going to, I'm going toafford these and I'm going to
play golf with these.
And you know, I'm veryfortunate.
I just got back from the UKplaying golf and I was playing
with my Mira Blades.
So it's kind of a full, fullcircle story a little bit for me
and my Mira obsession andpassion and my appreciation of
that brand and what it strivedto be.
(02:48):
And I just wanted to take amoment and recognize Mira San.
It's just a, it's a big loss,you know it's.
It's just, it really botheredme, to be perfectly honest, and
I since, since it's happened,you know it's just, you know
I've never met him.
We were supposed to go in Apriland that trip was canceled.
(03:10):
We were supposed to go toHomenji and tour the facility
and that was kind of canceledlast minute and maybe now I
understand why.
A little bit more.
But long story short, you know,to take nothing away, I'm just,
I'm a big fan of what he stoodfor and what he believed in and
he really did change theindustry.
I mean, he quite literally wasa maverick and it's one thing to
(03:34):
be a maverick in an environmentto where change is constant and
change is current, but at thesame time, where he was at that
time, in that place, in a verytraditional old world sense, you
know, nobody was being liftedup to be a maverick, nobody was
was inspired to go against thegrain.
But he did in a very real way,in a very old industry making
(03:59):
steel, and he had a vision andhe had a belief system and you
know, in my opinion, I think hefound a better way through it
all and I think a lot of peoplefeel that way.
So I just wanted to spend a fewmoments and share that.
It's just heartbreaking news.
And I know his sons are thereand I know, you know, I don't
(04:20):
want to be a stick in the mudever.
I never want to be this personwho just stands on something and
refuses to budge forward.
And change is good anddefinitely I believe change will
happen at Mira, not necessarilybad change, but change
Nonetheless.
It's already started happening,as the sons of you know, taking
a more vested role within theorganization over the past you
(04:42):
know, 10 years.
But I hope that, you know, wedon't lose.
We don't lose what Mira, whatMira Sun stood for and we don't
lose his vision and I hope thatwe find a way to honor him and I
hope that the golf industry atlarge, you know, kind of finds a
way to recognize his incrediblecontribution to the game.
(05:05):
So, without further ado, um, Ijust wanted to share that.
If, uh, if you're interested inMira man, there are, there are
so many great things online youcan find.
Um, there's some.
There's an amazing video withAdam Scott, uh, visiting the
Mira factory.
I've watched it probably 10million times, but, uh, there's
some really great stuff outthere, but it's, it's very
(05:25):
interesting.
Uh, if you appreciate golfclubs and you appreciate, you
know, people trying to dosomething different and better
and for reasoning uh, other thanjust because they think so, uh,
I encourage you to check it out.
It's pretty cool stuff.
So, as I alluded to, um, youknow, I just got back from the
UK.
(05:45):
Uh, actually, believe it or not, went on a golf trip to play
golf.
It was weird.
I took my golf clubs.
It was kind of surreal, uh, butwe played golf in London.
Uh, played golf in the.
Scotland was fortunate enoughto be at the home of golf and
play at St Andrews the oldcourse, which was just
absolutely unbelievable.
(06:06):
I'll talk more about that in alittle bit.
I'm going to save that.
So they call that, you know,baiting the hook, I think.
So I'm going to make you staytuned a little bit.
But I do have a pretty coolstory, a pretty personal story
that happened to me, anexperience at St Andrews that
definitely goes well above golf.
So, uh, I'll warn you now.
Maybe, uh, if you're one ofthose people who tears up a
(06:29):
little bit at the father sonstuff, maybe have the Kleenex
ready for later.
Uh, I know I've got some righthere, so, but I think it's worth
sharing because I think that'swhat you go to St Andrews for.
I think you go to connect to thegame of golf and, and you know
it's kind of where it startedand you feel that and I've said
this before, but you know I'vebeen fortunate and been there a
(06:52):
couple of times, but you knowthe game of golf is just so much
more than a game of golf whenit comes to St Andrews, it's
just it's it's, it's an honorcode, it's a way of life, it's
your standing in society, it'sjust it's a lot and it means
different things and I thinkthat you know a lot of Americans
(07:14):
go over there and kind of gettaken aback with how serious the
game is taken over there andit's just a lot different.
American golf is way more aboutdriving the cup holder and
taking five and a half hours andtrying to hit the ball far and
it's really just about hitting aball.
And I think that most people inthe US who play golf hit a golf
(07:37):
ball and I think that's nottheir fault.
I don't see that as a less thanstatement, but that's the way
the game is played in the US.
To where the courses are long,the courses are soft and the
ball doesn't really advance veryeasily.
When you get over to link stylegolf courses in the UK or if you
(07:59):
get over to Australia and youplay some link style golf there,
if you really play some truelink style golf, the ground is
very hard and firm and whilethere are bunkers, there isn't
typically a lot of water hazards.
So essentially you can kind oftop the ball and beat it around
and get it up to the holerelatively quickly within two or
(08:19):
three strokes, just because theball will roll 30, 40, even 50
yards, so you can get away witha lot when it comes to ball
striking over there, whichcreates the opportunity at a
much earlier stage ofdevelopment for the golfer to
start working on hitting thosepitch shots and those chip shots
and making putts.
And I think that over there,when you play golf in the UK,
(08:42):
where you play these link stylegolf courses, it just it turns
into more of playing shotsversus trying to hit perfect
shots and it's just, it's reallybeautiful over there that way.
Um, it's, it's really amazing,it's an incredible opportunity.
We're going to kind of dive intothat, uh, a little bit, because
I've had so many people ask meabout the trip, the trip that
(09:04):
saw the pictures that I sharedon social media.
If you don't already follow me,you can find me at the force
plate guy on Instagram.
I've got a ton of photos upthere of the trip.
Please, you know, make sure youtake a look at those are pretty
amazing.
But yeah, just you know, Ithought that it's a cool story
to share.
A lot of people were interested.
(09:24):
I definitely want to be thebest ambassador that I could be
to encourage you to go tomorrow.
Don't wait.
A lot of Americans don'tunderstand that the buggy, or
the drink holder as I call ithere in the United States, or
the cart as most of you call it,it doesn't really exist when
you get over there.
So you know, if you're one ofthose people who's thinking
(09:46):
about saving that trip for lateron in life, you know, think
about your health, think aboutyour well-being, think about
being able to carry the bag for18 holes and enjoy a round of
golf, you know, even with acaddy it's still you've got to
be able to walk.
So if you get out to the castlegolf course it's a tough walk.
So, you know, make sure you'redoing these, these trips, when
(10:07):
you can really enjoy them, whenyou're physically fit, when you,
uh, when you still kind of haveyour game about you, because
nothing could be worse thangoing to one of these places and
just playing.
Awful, because if you get onthe wrong side of some of these
golf courses especially likewhen we played at Carnoustie you
can just see where there's justthere's nothing you can do and
honestly, there's certainpositions on that golf course to
(10:29):
where you can just kind of hitit, bunker to bunker, back and
forth, and just be there all day.
So I really, uh, I reallyappreciate you know the
differences in the styles.
Like I said, I've I've been overbefore, but this was kind of
the first time I really spent alot of time playing golf and
appreciating it.
And, like I said, as much as Ilove golf in England and I think
(10:51):
English golf is amazing, youknow St Andrews is just it's the
home of golf and there's thegolf which is incredibly pure
and amazing but seems kind oflike how it is in Scotland, at
least the courses I've played inScotland.
And then there's like theexperience that you have there
as well and it's just incrediblethe experience that you get
playing the old.
(11:11):
It's so much, it's so farremoved from golf in a way, but
everything about golf in thesame way.
It's just really incredible.
So, um, that trip wasabsolutely amazing.
Um, right before that trip, Ihad been out to LA, uh, los
Angeles, and had played at theNorth course at Los Angeles
(11:34):
country club and my businessmanager was nice enough to take
me out there and let me checkout the golf course and see what
I thought Incredible experiencebeing able to go out to LACC,
kind of.
You know, it's one of thosevery storied courses.
You know they're most famousfor not letting the celebrities
be members.
(11:55):
It's a pretty big deal outthere, but really cool golf
course.
Obviously he's hosted the USOpen, but just a very, uh, very
different presentation and andnot, once again, not in a bad
way at all.
But I had literally just comeback from Augusta national.
I'd been in Augusta nationalall week for the masters and
(12:17):
when you think of Augusta youthink of perfect, and I honestly
think that Augusta national issome kind of simulation because
it's so perfect.
And I honestly think thatAugusta National is some kind of
simulation because it's soperfect.
I go year over year and justreally can't find anything that
isn't perfect on that propertyand it's just manicured wall to
wall, and not just the golfcourse, but the concessions, the
(12:38):
bathrooms, the merch shops,every piece of pine straw is
immaculate.
It's just the place ismanicured wall to wall and the
presentation is just off thecharts.
And you know, I think that'swhy we're all so mesmerized by
it in a way.
But in the same way that youknow, augusta is manicured wall
(13:01):
to wall.
I would say LACC very much feelslike a unfinished painting in a
lot of ways and they've takenthe center of the canvas and
they filled it with the hole andthe surrounds.
But then out towards the edgeof the canvas they've just kind
(13:21):
of left it blank a little bitand it's not finished
wall-to-wall's, it's notfinished wall to wall and it's
not manicured to a tee.
But even though thepresentation isn't this illusion
of perfect, it plays very, very, very well and it plays firm
and fast and it's it's reallycool how they've done that and
(13:41):
when you think of la, you kindof think of glitz and glam and
then you get out to LACC and itreally feels more like something
that's evolving and changingand growing with time and it's
just a very different experienceand very, very cool, um, just
different presentations.
So, uh, to say I've been on alittle bit of a run here with
(14:02):
golf courses, uh is a bit of anunderstatement and has just been
really wild.
But you know, the privilege andthe honor of getting to go to
some of these places and play atthem and enjoy them and walk
them and just experience them isamazing.
And they all offer differentthings.
(14:23):
They all kind of bring adifferent presentation or a
different spirit or a slightlydifferent spin on what they want
to show you, as you know, theirversion of golf, and I think
that's what makes golf so greatis you could.
You know, and I've done this,and you know I've played some
(14:43):
golf courses that are ranked inthe top, you know 30, 40 courses
in the in the country and I Ihonestly I didn't, didn't really
get it, didn't really see it,didn't really didn't really feel
that, didn't appreciate that,um, but I've also played some
golf courses that are nowherenear any list and I thought that
they were utterly amazing andtruly spectacular.
(15:04):
So, you know, I think one thingthat we lose sight of is, you
know, golf courses, you knowthey, they have stature based
off the tournaments that they'vehosted or the members that they
have, or the size of theclubhouse, or their ability to
to manicure and present theirgolf course in a certain way.
But at the end of the day,every golf course you know, has,
(15:26):
you know, golf has a way ofcontributing to what golf is
going to look like, movingforward.
And I just think that all ofthese golf courses do that in a
very different way, and I thinkthat a lot of these golf courses
are really starting to envelopthese ideas of being playable,
(15:52):
and I think that's where golf isreally changing a bit in terms
of design.
And you know, we were very,very fortunate last September to
go.
I took a few of my friends outto the Kingsley club.
Uh, mike DeVries, the designerof the Kingsley club, was so
nice, uh, to join us for theround.
(16:12):
I've had him on the podcast.
Mike's an incredible guy.
If you don't know much ofMike's work, check him out.
Mike DeVries golf architecturehe's Clayton DeVries, dupont.
Just they do amazing stuff.
But I would really recommendchecking that out.
But Mike took us out and we wereplaying golf with him and I
(16:35):
really am not much of a golfcourse architecture snob.
I don't really I haven't doveinto that yet.
Uh, at this point in my golfingjourney, I just I haven't got.
I want to.
I have some books I'd reallylove to read about this, but I
just haven't had the time yet.
But I was talking to MikeDeVries about this and I was
like you know, when you'redesigning a golf hole, I mean,
(16:56):
is it?
Are we going for spectacular?
Are we?
Are we looking for somethingthat's understated?
Are we just looking at what theland provides?
You know how, how do you goabout making a hole of golf and
you know, I kind of expectedthis like mystical kind of
evangelistic answer almost fromMike and he was like it's just
(17:18):
got to be playable and he, he,he went into further detail but
he was talking about the, thecourse being playable and
enjoyable and intriguing and,most importantly, engaging for
everybody.
For everybody, whether you know, they're a very, very good
player, maybe they're a collegeplayer trying to play
professionally, or whetherthey're somebody who's a
(17:40):
relatively new golfer, who's ona golf trip and they're playing
maybe the forward tees, you know, those things are very, very
different.
How that hole presents from theback tees versus the forward
tees is very, very different.
So how do we make the hole asengaging for everybody?
How do we make it doable foreverybody?
How do we make it to wheresomebody can only hit a ball,
(18:02):
you know, maybe 180 yards, andhas a dispersion rate of 50
yards?
How can we make it to wherethis is still doable for them
and they can enjoy this a littlebit?
And I, I, I can see that inMike's design and I can see that
in the courses that are reallythese, these courses that are
considered to be top-notch golfcourses, and, like with LACC,
(18:25):
like with a gut.
You can play Augusta Nationalor LACC from any place on the
property you want to play itfrom and the whole is still
great, like that's that's design, that's the ability to really
maximize that piece of land, andit's it's so funny because when
you, when you, look at LACC,you know it feels and, like I
(18:47):
said, they've done an amazingjob with their presentation of
making it feel like it's not andI mean no disrespect, but it
just almost feels like it'sunfinished and like it's
changing and evolving andgrowing, kind of, almost as
you're playing it.
And it's a very surreal kind ofthing.
And Augusta even really feelsdifferent now and you know
(19:09):
there's a lot of trees thataren't there anymore, that were
there A lot of trees, and a lotof trees that aren't there
anymore, that were there a lotof trees, and a lot of the sight
lines are different.
And I think that we saw AugustaNational play a little bit
different this year because ofthose trees not necessarily
being as dense as they have inyears past.
So I mean it's got to beinteresting, it's got to be
intriguing, it's got to play foreverybody and that's where I
(19:35):
think great course design comesfrom.
I haven't.
I mean, I don't want to takeanything away from any of these
great golf courses, becausethey're works of art, they truly
, they're living, breathing art,and we need to thank the
superintendents and thecommittees and the crews and and
the and the people who justwork hourly maintaining these
pieces of art and keeping themperfect.
(19:57):
For us, I mean, it's the jobthat they do is incredible.
But you know, if you go to aplace like Pine Valley uh I
don't think I'm talking out ofschool it's a tough track and
it's not necessarily doable foreverybody and it's certainly not
doable for a lot of people whoplay golf.
And I think that that's whereyou know there's this kind of
(20:18):
like what do we do?
Do we go for spectacular?
Do we go for the list?
Do we go for sublime?
Do we go for holy smokes I'venever seen anything like this in
my life or do we go for hey,everybody can enjoy it and
everybody can have a good time,because that's how I think you
know, golf has got to really seethings moving forward.
It's, it's gotta be enjoyablefor more than just the tour
(20:40):
player.
And so much of what's talkedabout in the industry whether it
be swings or whether it beequipment or whether it be
courses or whether it bewhatever.
So much of this is driven bywhat the professional players do
.
Where play like whatever right,the professional players the
top 0.0001% are the ones thatare literally driving the game
(21:06):
and at the end of the day, thatdoesn't pay the bills for the
game and the game is played bypeople who are playing exactly
that a game.
And if you think about this,like, I have a Monopoly set at
my home, you have a Monopoly setat your home.
I hope everybody has Monopolyset at their home and I hope you
turn off the TV and play someboard games with each other
every now and then.
(21:26):
It's good for everybody.
But, with that being said, ifyou come to my home, we play
Monopoly by my rules.
If we go to your home, we playMonopoly by your rules and
that's totally fine because it'sa game and nobody cares.
But if we were to go and playMonopoly for the world
championship the Monopoly worldchampionship we have to play by
the written rules and nobodycares about our interpretation
(21:48):
and like.
That's what playingprofessional golf is.
We play by the rules and it'svery serious and there's
millions of dollars to play andit's a whole different
environment than where 99.9999%of the industry is, and that is
just people generally who shootabout 90 to 95, who hit it about
(22:09):
200 to 220 yards, and they kindof aren't great golfers.
That's the industry, that's whoplays the game, that's who pays
the bills, and I get it Likethere is prestige and there is
these things associated withjoining a club.
But I think if you're, you knowsomebody who has a golf course
and you're trying to think aboutlong-term strategy and you're
(22:31):
trying to think about developingthat next generation, I think
you've got to find ways toreally make the golf course
interesting for everybody whoplays it.
And it's not always making itlonger, it's not always making
it harder, it's not always doingthese things that every other
club is doing, because it's avery monkey-see, monkey-do
industry.
It's about figuring out ways toinclude more youngsters.
(22:52):
It's about figuring out ways toinclude more youngsters.
It's about figuring out ways toget kids on the golf course.
It's about figuring out ways toget women on the golf course.
Uh, if you look at Asia, halfthe people that play golf are
women.
It's awesome, like that's great.
We need this to happen because,honestly, like if, if, golf
isn't inclusive and we don'thave access, then golf
(23:13):
eventually goes away.
And after being over in the homeof golf and seeing the purity
and seeing what we saw, I meanit's no wonder it's lasted
through the generations.
I mean it's unreal.
The, the, the generations, Imean it's.
(23:33):
It's unreal.
I I can't begin to count.
So a lot of Americans aren'taware of this, but a lot of the
golf courses that you hear aboutover there have more than one
golf course.
So, for example, st Andrews isactually seven golf courses.
Uh, they have the old course,which is the one that we're most
familiar with, but they alsohave six other golf courses.
(23:54):
If you go to Carnoustie theyhave, I believe, two other golf
courses, two.
They call them junior courses.
They're nothing junior.
One of the junior courses atCarnoustie that we played called
Burnside.
It's actually one of the topten courses in Scotland as well.
So they have the championshiplengths, which is obviously very
highly ranked, and then they'vegot Burnside as well.
So they have the championshiplinks, which is obviously very
(24:14):
highly ranked, and then they'vegot Burnside as well.
So when we were playing Burnsideat Carnoustie after we'd played
the championship links thatmorning, I think we counted
three or four children that wereout with parents or
grandparents and we countedthree or four women that were,
just, you know, out playingleisurely golf by themselves,
and I can't tell you how awesomethat is.
And when we were talking to thelocals who we were playing with
(24:37):
about it, they were telling usthat all the youngsters in the
community get so many freelessons a year as long as they
use them or, I'm sorry, as longas they play golf and they get
free equipment and there's nocharge, and they're literally
developing and getting thesekids into the game at a very
early age and getting them thetraining they need and getting
them the resources they need andinvolving them in the golf club
(25:00):
.
And and the same with women,there's so many more, there's so
much more women, women'sinvolvement in the, in the club
and in the courses, and it'sit's a community effect.
And the reason I bring that upis because I think really, golf,
uh over in the UK, what I'vewitnessed personally, the golf
course is the center of thecommunity and it's it's almost
(25:23):
revered.
It really is.
It's it's almost like thechurch that the town shares and,
unlike churches that tend to bedivided based off belief
systems, everybody believes inthis church and this golf course
slash church within thiscommunity creates an opportunity
for people to come together, dosomething that they both enjoy
(25:45):
and both can engage in, whilepotentially discussing topics
that maybe are a little tough,but it gives them space and it
gives them time and it and itcreates an opportunity for
discussion.
So I think that the, the, thegolf courses in the UK, uh, in
Scotland in particular, justreally they serve a higher
(26:07):
purpose, almost they.
They are there, as you know,pillars of the community.
It's beautiful.
I wish that we did more ofthose things here.
Memberships there are very, veryinexpensive.
You hear people throwing aroundnumbers of less than $10,000 to
(26:29):
join one of these top coursesin the world, than $10,000 to
join one of these like topcourses in the world, and it's
it's just when you go to a golfclub outside of the U?
S, you're you're likely to seea bunch of golfers.
When you go to a golf clubwithin the U?
S, you're likely to see a lotof business people, and it's
it's just a different, differentgame, altogether different kind
of societal viewpoint of whatgolf does.
(26:50):
And, like I said, I think youknow for the most part, outside
of the US.
Golf is very much this communalthing that brings people
together and is shared, enjoyed,and you know, it's just this
kind of like almostsemi-religion, if you will.
But then when we get to the USit's more of a leisurely game,
it's more of an activity, it'smore of something we do maybe to
(27:14):
get away from.
You know the work stress, thelife stress.
You know why is golf played soslow here in the US?
Well, there's two reasons.
One I don't think people wantto go home.
I think that's the biggestreason.
It's much more fun to be out inthe sun drinking beers and your
cart holder, that you're yourcup holder, that you drive
around that's.
(27:34):
That's like way more fun thangoing home and dealing with the
kids and the wife and all thatstuff.
So I understand it from thatperspective.
But I think the biggest thingthat really slows us down is the
cart, the drink holder.
It just, you know, the guy sitsthere and watches his buddy do
his thing and then they driveover and watch him and it's just
, we're tied at the hip.
(27:54):
And the funny thing is is I Ican't remember I believe we
played 169 holes, um in aboutseven days.
And I believe the wildest thingis that every round we played
was under four hours and wewalked every hole, um, and I
mean a lot of those holes thatwe walked.
(28:15):
We didn't have caddies.
It wasn't like we had a caddyand we were hustling.
No, it's, it's just it's.
It's a brisk walk, you move, um,and it's, it's, it's great.
You know, it's gets the heartrate up a little bit.
You, uh, you gotta like controlyour breath, maybe over a shot
if you had a long run to thatone.
Uh, but it just it.
(28:38):
It connects you more, I think,to to the environment.
It connects you more to thegame.
It's easier to stay present.
Um, I love it.
I've I've been a walker.
I committed to walking a coupleof years ago.
Uh, I've been walking a lot andit just has brought so much joy
back to the game for me that Ireally I just I hate being in
the golf cart now.
It's just not.
It's a different experience.
I love walking.
I'd love to get to a point.
(28:59):
My feet aren't really toughenough, but I'd love to play
barefoot, like if I couldguarantee that I wasn't going to
step on something sharp andhurt myself.
I'd probably play barefootbecause that sounds pretty good
too, but I just think thatthere's there's a lot of good
that comes from being able to goout and, you know, play a golf
shot and connect to theenvironment and try to gauge the
wind and engage the bounces andthe rolls and the humps and the
(29:21):
bumps, and you know, and andtry to play golf shots and and
worry less about being you knowtech, you know technically
perfect or creating this optimallaunch and spend because of the
green, super hard and you'rehitting it in there from 185.
And it's, you know, that's.
That's a lot different game.
So I think it's great and Ithink you know coming up with
(29:42):
ways to make the golf courses,you know, more accessible.
You know making them more, youknow, within the community's
reach, making them more of agood steward of the game and
less of a profit center and lessof a real estate play.
You know, I think that thatwould be good, but it's just.
(30:02):
You know I'm very much ridingthe high of St Andrews.
I left my heart in St Andrews,if you will, and maybe I'm
romanticizing a little bit morethan I usually do, but you know,
it's just.
It was a great experience.
I consider myself to be a bitof a golf hipster, if you will.
And you know the place justreally speaks to, speaks to me
(30:26):
over there and there's somethingabout it, to where you know the
clothes you're wearing, theclubs you're using, like none of
that matters.
You know the ball, it doesn'tmatter, like you're just there
and it's.
You know the caddies it was sofunny, the caddies actually
warned us before the round.
They're like hey guys, justreally take every chance you
(30:46):
have to like soak it up, becauseit's going to go by quick.
And I was like thinking tomyself like you know, I've
played a lot of golf like howquick can I go?
And by the time I got my witsabout me.
We were on like the sixth orseventh hole and it's like wow,
that just flew by and it justkind of stayed that way the
whole day.
But Kleenex morning, here herecomes the Kleenex talk.
(31:07):
But you know I'll be a hundredpercent honest.
If I was to show up to a golftournament at a PGA section
level or show up to just anevent and play golf, and if I
just played like I normally play, like I know how to do,
(31:29):
everything would be totally fineand I would shoot a score,
probably right around par, maybea couple under, and life would
be just peachy right.
But in reality what happens ismy internal things get in the
way, like most of us, andsometimes I don't manage them as
well as I do others.
And when I don't manage themwell, I tend to shoot higher
(31:50):
scores, like we all do, becauseof the stress and the pressure
and just not managing ourselvesand regulating our emotions very
well.
So, generally speaking, I wouldconsider myself to be a bit of
a nervous, kind of twitchyplayer, especially now that I
don't play much competitive golfat all and I generally spend
most of my time teaching andcoaching.
(32:11):
So, with that all being said,you know I know some people in
St Andrews.
They're very, very nice people.
They were great with us.
But I kind said, you know, Iknow some people in St Andrews.
They're very, very nice people.
They were great with us, but Ikind of, you know, waited a bit
too long and did not get myrequest in for a old course tea
time in time.
So essentially what we had to dowas we had to go into the
(32:33):
ballot.
So we as a group went into theballot and found out that we did
not make it through.
So that was a bit dishearteningand we were all a bit bummed
out and it didn't matter.
We were still going to playgolf at St Andrews and it was
all going to be amazing.
We were there for a few days.
But long story short, the oldcourse.
(32:54):
Obviously everybody wants tohave that experience.
So we went into the singlesballot the next day, uh, and
Aram, my trainer, uh, that workshere at measured golf.
He's amazing, but Aram wasfortunate enough to get in, as
was I.
So Aram and myself both wereable to get through the singles
ballot, uh, and I was able.
I had a tee time.
Aram actually was on standby.
(33:16):
He was able to get out about anhour, hour and a half after me,
I believe.
But I teed off at 6.40 AM,bright and early on the old
course, and I wake up thatmorning at about five and I am
it's like a kid on Christmasmorning and I'm very excited and
(33:36):
my stomach's in knots and Ifeel like I'm going to a US Open
and I'm just beside myself alittle bit and it's just, you
know, a little surreal.
But I'm very aware of me.
So I kind of know I'm on edgeand I'm kind of trying to take
it easy and I'm trying to calmmyself down and I get over to
(33:59):
the starters starter shed andthen there's a little bit of a
of a mess around and theneventually we get everything
sorted out and we're gettingready to go.
And keep in mind, it's 6 40 AM.
No range balls have been hitand no practice putts have been
rolled either.
There's no swings, no, nothing.
640, they call your name.
(34:21):
You're up, they're in front ofthe RNA club apps with my caddy,
jim, best caddy.
I've ever.
Had More on him later.
But there I am.
We're at the old and if thereever was a tee shot you wanted
to see to open a hole, it mightbe the opening tee shot at the
(34:41):
old course of St Andrews.
Because literally you don'twant to hit driver because you
don't want to hit it into theberm, so you can hit whatever
you want and you can like theshort of the berm, which I think
was playing about 250 max, andyou can just hit it forever left
and as a player that has a leftmiss like that's kind of
something comforting to see.
(35:02):
So, like I said, I'm aware thatI'm a little nervy, I'm aware
that this is a big moment.
This has been something I'vebeen dreaming of my whole life
and I could not have been calmer, if I tried, never been so calm
, just unreal.
And I actually posted the videoof the tee shot.
Aram took the video of mehitting the tee shot Thanks, bud
(35:22):
and I just smoked this thingdown the middle and just felt
calm as could be, and then feltcalm hitting the approach, shot
in and just felt so calm theentire day, calm the entire day.
So after a couple of holes, um,it kind of dawned on me that my
(35:43):
dad passed away 20 years agoand, uh, it dawned on me that it
felt like my dad was with me inlike a very kind of tangible,
real way and it was just likethe most calming feeling.
But it felt like my dad waswith me every step of the way.
So it was just like a very kindof nice.
I'm having a nice walk, theweather is incredible, my like,
there's no wind.
My caddy gym is incredible,just feeding me great
(36:05):
information and justunbelievable great caddy.
So we get to, uh, the ninth holeand I blast a really nice drive
, a ripa up, uh up about.
And I blast a really nice drive, a rip up, up, uh up, about you
know, 30, 40 yards short of thegreen, yeah, the 34 yards short
of the green.
And uh, I pitch it up and itgoes in, goes right in the hole.
So I make a whole out Eagle andthe guys that I was paired up
(36:35):
with because I went through thesingles ballot, all congratulate
me and kind of throw theirhands up and everybody gets
excited for a moment and like Igo get the ball out of the hole
and uh, kind of walk over theside and, and you know, hand the
ball to Jim to clean, and andhe's like, hey, man, great shot.
And I said thank you andeverything was pretty normal.
And uh, jim's like hey, I'mgoing to run get your water
bottle filled.
Why don't you head over to 10and I'll meet you there.
Sure, jim, no problem.
So I'm not overly excited.
(36:56):
It's not like I'm wound upbecause I just hold out.
Um, so I make the Eagle and I'mwalking over to 10.
Jim just went to get the waterand I turned to my right and
I've done this before on thegolf course, but I turned to my
right and I'm like, just say itout loud, I go hey, dad, that's
for you, bud, I love you, I wishyou were here.
And I just absolutely lost it,and I do mean lost it, like I
(37:21):
had to put my hat over my face,bald, hysterically for about
three minutes and then, likeproceedly proceeded to double 10
.
And it was just the mostsurreal thing, but it it just it
kind of stayed with me thewhole day.
Uh, it felt like he was with me.
(37:42):
Uh, if most people don't knowthis, my the, the the bag inside
of my bag that I used to putall my teas and ball markers and
stuff in.
It's the one my dad used.
So I always have that with me.
So I, I, I play golf because ofmy dad.
It's all kind of dad driven.
So it was just this very I feellike I'm with my dad for the
first time in 20 years.
(38:03):
It's this great experience.
I played really well.
I think I shot 75 at the oldNice trip around, great day,
whatever.
So we get done with the round.
Shake hands, thank Jim, takecare of him, everything's
settled.
And it hits me again and I justcried like a baby.
And you know it's so funnybecause I don't know, you know,
(38:24):
and my wife is a therapist andI'm sure a few therapists to
reach out to me and explain thisto me.
But you know, it was just likea lot of therapy for me and I've
just had this great sense ofcalm, uh sense, and it's just
been really, really nice.
And you know, I've I playedgolf once since I've been back,
I was, you know, fortunate onceagain.
(38:45):
Murderers row went down to theInverness club and played golf,
um, and it's it's like.
You know, it's easy to get awayfrom what makes us happy on the
golf course and it's easy tokind of lose that joy.
But you know, the greatestthing probably from the trip,
especially the part when we werein St Andrews, is just finding
(39:07):
my joy on the golf course againand remembering why you love it
and letting yourself kind offall back in love with the game.
And you know I was with youknow, my business partner, paul,
who I love to death.
He, and you know I was with youknow, my business partner, paul
, who I love to death.
He's like my older brother, uh,aaron was with us.
I and I love Aaron.
He's he's like my youngerbrother, uh, and just to like
have your mates with you and tohave that experience.
(39:29):
Man, it's just been this.
You know it feels verylife-changing, uh, but it's been
great.
I mean, it's just beenwonderful.
I can't recommend going enough.
Carnoustie was, you know, stAndrews is the experience and
you have the city and it's justunreal and it's very Harry
Potter and I don't know HarryPotter at all, but it's just a
(39:52):
very it feels like a fairy tale.
It's just a very it feels likea fairy tale.
But then you know you go toCarnoustie and it's like, hey,
this might not be the fairy taleyou're looking for, it might be
a little bit more of anightmare, but at the end of the
day it's like.
The golf is so pure, the courseconditioning is so great.
It's not what we're accustomedto seeing here it's a lot of
(40:14):
greens and browns I love brownson a golf course accustomed to
seeing here it's a lot of greensand browns I love browns on a
golf course but it's justamazing the way it plays and the
quality and the rollout.
I mean it's just phenomenal,just incredible.
I mean just a great tripaltogether.
So I don't know if weaccomplished anything with any
of this, but I wanted to take afew moments to share a few
(40:35):
thoughts about of this.
But I wanted to take a fewmoments to share a few thoughts
about, you know, st Andrews,carnoustie.
Um, I want to give a specialshout out to James Day.
Uh, urban golf over in London.
Um, james, thank you brother.
Uh, didn't deserve that good ofa trip, but James is, uh is a
cool dude.
Uh, really cool dude Actually.
Uh, if you're looking for somecool threads and you don't want
(40:57):
to look like everybody else,check out sounder golf.
Uh, they're incredible, theymake really cool golf stuff.
But, uh, my mate James, youknow, had us.
We started in London so we werefortunate enough to get.
I mean, listen to this.
So day one we go to St George'shill just incredible, like I
mean incredible.
The second day we go over toHankley Common, which it's just
(41:23):
not what you expect to see.
I mean just so cool.
Such a big piece of property,incredible conditions, every
hole, just breathtaking,beautiful right.
Then we go to probably myfavorite place in the world and
we go down on the EnglishChannel and go to the Rye Club
and have a day at the Rye.
So we had our 13 holes at theJubilee in the morning, which
(41:47):
was incredible, and then went in, had our lunch, coat and tie.
You have to do that lords andladies kind of place, uh.
And then back out on on the bigcourse at the rye, which is
always a treat, always special,uh, and then we finished it up
with going over to, um, highgate, and highgate maybe had some of
the best greens that we saw onthe whole trip.
(42:08):
I mean incredible, just great,super hilly golf course, a lot
of fun, a lot of character tothe land, um, but you know that
that was London.
And then it's like, hey, we'regoing to St Andrews and then hey
, we're going to pop in, uh, popin on Carnoustie to finish this
thing out.
So, and then landing and goingto Inverness.
So pretty good round, a prettygood little lineup and, uh, and
(42:31):
and golf Mecca there that we'vegot to enjoy in the past month.
So I just I wanted to take sometime and tell you that if
you're thinking about going, youknow, do it.
If you have the means to takethe person that introduced you
to the game, take them, sharethat with them.
I don't think you could spendyour money any better than that.
(42:56):
Just truly an incredibleexperience.
I mean, I can't say enough goodthings.
I'm also not being sponsored tosay any of this, so maybe it
would be nice.
You know I'm happy to go back,so but I just I think it's
incredible and I think, I think,I think you can go and you can
have an incredible personalexperience there.
(43:17):
But I also think that you canhave an incredible kind of
community experience andunderstand what golf means to
the community there and thenbringing some of their grassroot
initiatives and efforts thatthey have been doing for years
(43:38):
over there and start applyingthem to some of the places
around our country, because Iknow that the biggest problem
that we have right now isthere's just no access and it's
not getting any better.
You know, the more golfers weadd, the worse it gets.
And people tell me that's nottrue.
But I strongly disagree and thereason I disagree is because
there hasn't been a public golfcourse built in the past 10
(43:59):
years in this country and peoplego well.
That's absurd and I go well.
If it's over $50 for the greenfee, it's not public and that's
the facts Like I get it.
Like you know, a lot of thesedestination golf courses are
public, but at 500 to 1250around, I don't think that's
obtainable for very many people,plus the flight, plus the hotel
(44:22):
, plus the food, plus the caddy,like you're talking about,
really serving a very smallpercentage of the golfing
population.
And once again, that is a bithow golf is here in America.
So I don't know what the answeris and I don't know if both
models are sustainable, but Iknow that the way they've been
(44:43):
doing it in Scotland has beenthe longest way possible for
golf and people rake the bunkersand people fix the ball marks
and people really respect thegame.
So I think if we could find away to incorporate some of that
back into the game and then alsofind a way to ensure that golf
(45:08):
has a future, I don't see why wewouldn't be inclined to do
those things.
So, just food for thought.
I I'll get off my high horseand stop lecturing, but it's
awesome, man, if you can getthere.
Go Um and yeah, check out,check out the photos, man.
I posted a ton of them.
I was going to do kind of likea photo slideshow, uh, with the
(45:30):
podcast, but I was like, well,that's kind of weird.
So, uh, yeah, they're posted.
You can check them out.
Like I said on Instagram, theForceplate guy If you want to
follow us at Measured Golf, it'sat Measured Golf.
A lot of people don't know this,but we actually do have a
YouTube channel.
We actually post the videosfrom this podcast to the YouTube
(45:51):
.
But then we also have a lot ofswing instruction stuff there on
YouTube as well, where we talka lot about ground forces and
golf biomechanics and all thatfun stuff as well.
But you can go to YouTube, youcan search measured golf and
it'll all pop up for you rightthere.
Make sure you hit thatsubscribe.
That really helps a ton.
And then, if you want, leave acomment.
Let us know what you think.
(46:12):
If you've got a question, hitus up.
If you want to see something inthe future, let us know.
And we're always taking thatstuff under consideration,
because there's no reason tomake this stuff if it's not the
stuff that you guys areinterested in.
So, with that being said, Idon't know if this was
interesting to anybody otherthan me, but I sure enjoyed it
and I hope you did as well.
(46:32):
So, if you haven't already,make sure you subscribe to this
podcast.
Once again, helps us a ton.
And otherwise, you know, letyour friends know if they're
looking for a golf podcast.
We're going to kind of coversome different stuff this year.
Somebody that's coming on thenear future is a good friend of
mine.
We're going to talk a lot aboutkind of the juniors and not so
(46:53):
much the juniors that have theirown logo and their name on
their bag and all that stuff butwe're actually just going to
talk about like hey, maybeyou're a young parent and maybe
you're like wondering if it'stoo early to introduce a plastic
golf club or things like that.
So we're going to talk a littlebit about that and how to get
your kids interested in golfwithout kind of shoving it down
their throat, because,unfortunately, I think that's
(47:15):
why a lot of the youngstersreally don't attach to golf all
that well.
So it's going to be a funconversation.
We'll talk about some of theserious stuff as well, like we
always do, but, like I said, Ithink that there's a lot of
different avenues to golf and alot of different topics that
bear a little further discussion.
So we're going to try to getinto a little bit of that and
(47:35):
try to keep you entertained atthe same time.
So, once again, you can find uson Instagram, you can find us
on the podcast, you can find uson YouTube.
Got a lot of different thingsout there for you and a few
other things coming in thefuture that we're excited to
share more about coming up.
So thanks again for listeningand until next time, keep
grinding.
Hello and welcome to another episode in a new season
of the Measured Golf Podcasthosted by myself, michael Dutro,
where we kind of take a look atall things golf and try to make
a little bit of sense or maybeadd a different viewpoint or,
who knows, maybe we're justrambling into the golf ecosphere
, but at any point we're excitedto start a new season.
(00:22):
I was really kind of thinkingabout, you know, how this season
is going to look, what we'regoing to try to do, what we want
to accomplish, and you know inthe past that you know this all
started with me just ramblingdriving down the road in my, in
my Honda Accord.
It gave me something to dobecause that car didn't have
many frills.
But yeah, you know it startedthere and it was just me.
(00:45):
And then we've had a lot ofguests and we've had a couple of
seasons where it's pretty muchbeen a guest on every episode
and the feedback's beenincredible and the guests we've
been fortunate to have have beenjust amazing and shared so many
great insights.
But you know, this season ismaybe going to be a little
hybrid of the two and maybethere will be an episode or two
(01:06):
where maybe it's just me andmaybe there will be more
episodes where there's guests.
But, to be honest, we're justkind of shooting this one from
the hip a bit and I'm excitedbecause I know we've got a few
people that I'm really excitedto have on as guests and I know
they're going to bring a lot tothe table and I think we're
going to try to maybe look atsome differing perspectives,
(01:26):
dive into some different thingsthan what we normally have and
(01:46):
maybe try to I don't know justbe more fans of the game of golf
and maybe a little lesscritiquing golf swings and golf
swing evolution and things likethat.
So, without further ado, somesad news.
I wanted to start by, you know,expressing the loss, you know,
that the golf industry has feltin the past week of Mira San,
you know the founder of MiraGolf.
And a little personal story.
I kid you not.
(02:06):
You can ask my wife.
We've been married for 15 yearstogether, for 17.
On the second date I took herto a golf store.
By the way, that's not not agood move.
Don't do that.
It's not why we've been marriedall these years.
But on our second date, I tookher to a golf store and I showed
her a set of Mira Blades.
On our second date I took herto a golf store and I showed her
(02:27):
a set of Mira Blades and Iremember being like baby, one
day I'm going to, I'm going toafford these and I'm going to
play golf with these.
And you know, I'm veryfortunate.
I just got back from the UKplaying golf and I was playing
with my Mira Blades.
So it's kind of a full, fullcircle story a little bit for me
and my Mira obsession andpassion and my appreciation of
that brand and what it strivedto be.
(02:48):
And I just wanted to take amoment and recognize Mira San.
It's just a, it's a big loss,you know it's.
It's just, it really botheredme, to be perfectly honest, and
I since, since it's happened,you know it's just, you know
I've never met him.
We were supposed to go in Apriland that trip was canceled.
(03:10):
We were supposed to go toHomenji and tour the facility
and that was kind of canceledlast minute and maybe now I
understand why.
A little bit more.
But long story short, you know,to take nothing away, I'm just,
I'm a big fan of what he stoodfor and what he believed in and
he really did change theindustry.
I mean, he quite literally wasa maverick and it's one thing to
(03:34):
be a maverick in an environmentto where change is constant and
change is current, but at thesame time, where he was at that
time, in that place, in a verytraditional old world sense, you
know, nobody was being liftedup to be a maverick, nobody was
was inspired to go against thegrain.
But he did in a very real way,in a very old industry making
(03:59):
steel, and he had a vision andhe had a belief system and you
know, in my opinion, I think hefound a better way through it
all and I think a lot of peoplefeel that way.
So I just wanted to spend a fewmoments and share that.
It's just heartbreaking news.
And I know his sons are thereand I know, you know, I don't
(04:20):
want to be a stick in the mudever.
I never want to be this personwho just stands on something and
refuses to budge forward.
And change is good anddefinitely I believe change will
happen at Mira, not necessarilybad change, but change
Nonetheless.
It's already started happening,as the sons of you know, taking
a more vested role within theorganization over the past you
(04:42):
know, 10 years.
But I hope that, you know, wedon't lose.
We don't lose what Mira, whatMira Sun stood for and we don't
lose his vision and I hope thatwe find a way to honor him and I
hope that the golf industry atlarge, you know, kind of finds a
way to recognize his incrediblecontribution to the game.
(05:05):
So, without further ado, um, Ijust wanted to share that.
If, uh, if you're interested inMira man, there are, there are
so many great things online youcan find.
Um, there's some.
There's an amazing video withAdam Scott, uh, visiting the
Mira factory.
I've watched it probably 10million times, but, uh, there's
some really great stuff outthere, but it's, it's very
(05:25):
interesting.
Uh, if you appreciate golfclubs and you appreciate, you
know, people trying to dosomething different and better
and for reasoning uh, other thanjust because they think so, uh,
I encourage you to check it out.
It's pretty cool stuff.
So, as I alluded to, um, youknow, I just got back from the
UK.
(05:45):
Uh, actually, believe it or not, went on a golf trip to play
golf.
It was weird.
I took my golf clubs.
It was kind of surreal, uh, butwe played golf in London.
Uh, played golf in the.
Scotland was fortunate enoughto be at the home of golf and
play at St Andrews the oldcourse, which was just
absolutely unbelievable.
(06:06):
I'll talk more about that in alittle bit.
I'm going to save that.
So they call that, you know,baiting the hook, I think.
So I'm going to make you staytuned a little bit.
But I do have a pretty coolstory, a pretty personal story
that happened to me, anexperience at St Andrews that
definitely goes well above golf.
So, uh, I'll warn you now.
Maybe, uh, if you're one ofthose people who tears up a
(06:29):
little bit at the father sonstuff, maybe have the Kleenex
ready for later.
Uh, I know I've got some righthere, so, but I think it's worth
sharing because I think that'swhat you go to St Andrews for.
I think you go to connect to thegame of golf and, and you know
it's kind of where it startedand you feel that and I've said
this before, but you know I'vebeen fortunate and been there a
(06:52):
couple of times, but you knowthe game of golf is just so much
more than a game of golf whenit comes to St Andrews, it's
just it's it's, it's an honorcode, it's a way of life, it's
your standing in society, it'sjust it's a lot and it means
different things and I thinkthat you know a lot of Americans
(07:14):
go over there and kind of gettaken aback with how serious the
game is taken over there andit's just a lot different.
American golf is way more aboutdriving the cup holder and
taking five and a half hours andtrying to hit the ball far and
it's really just about hitting aball.
And I think that most people inthe US who play golf hit a golf
(07:37):
ball and I think that's nottheir fault.
I don't see that as a less thanstatement, but that's the way
the game is played in the US.
To where the courses are long,the courses are soft and the
ball doesn't really advance veryeasily.
When you get over to link stylegolf courses in the UK or if you
(07:59):
get over to Australia and youplay some link style golf there,
if you really play some truelink style golf, the ground is
very hard and firm and whilethere are bunkers, there isn't
typically a lot of water hazards.
So essentially you can kind oftop the ball and beat it around
and get it up to the holerelatively quickly within two or
(08:19):
three strokes, just because theball will roll 30, 40, even 50
yards, so you can get away witha lot when it comes to ball
striking over there, whichcreates the opportunity at a
much earlier stage ofdevelopment for the golfer to
start working on hitting thosepitch shots and those chip shots
and making putts.
And I think that over there,when you play golf in the UK,
(08:42):
where you play these link stylegolf courses, it just it turns
into more of playing shotsversus trying to hit perfect
shots and it's just, it's reallybeautiful over there that way.
Um, it's, it's really amazing,it's an incredible opportunity.
We're going to kind of dive intothat, uh, a little bit, because
I've had so many people ask meabout the trip, the trip that
(09:04):
saw the pictures that I sharedon social media.
If you don't already follow me,you can find me at the force
plate guy on Instagram.
I've got a ton of photos upthere of the trip.
Please, you know, make sure youtake a look at those are pretty
amazing.
But yeah, just you know, Ithought that it's a cool story
to share.
A lot of people were interested.
(09:24):
I definitely want to be thebest ambassador that I could be
to encourage you to go tomorrow.
Don't wait.
A lot of Americans don'tunderstand that the buggy, or
the drink holder as I call ithere in the United States, or
the cart as most of you call it,it doesn't really exist when
you get over there.
So you know, if you're one ofthose people who's thinking
(09:46):
about saving that trip for lateron in life, you know, think
about your health, think aboutyour well-being, think about
being able to carry the bag for18 holes and enjoy a round of
golf, you know, even with acaddy it's still you've got to
be able to walk.
So if you get out to the castlegolf course it's a tough walk.
So, you know, make sure you'redoing these, these trips, when
(10:07):
you can really enjoy them, whenyou're physically fit, when you,
uh, when you still kind of haveyour game about you, because
nothing could be worse thangoing to one of these places and
just playing.
Awful, because if you get onthe wrong side of some of these
golf courses especially likewhen we played at Carnoustie you
can just see where there's justthere's nothing you can do and
honestly, there's certainpositions on that golf course to
(10:29):
where you can just kind of hitit, bunker to bunker, back and
forth, and just be there all day.
So I really, uh, I reallyappreciate you know the
differences in the styles.
Like I said, I've I've been overbefore, but this was kind of
the first time I really spent alot of time playing golf and
appreciating it.
And, like I said, as much as Ilove golf in England and I think
(10:51):
English golf is amazing, youknow St Andrews is just it's the
home of golf and there's thegolf which is incredibly pure
and amazing but seems kind oflike how it is in Scotland, at
least the courses I've played inScotland.
And then there's like theexperience that you have there
as well and it's just incrediblethe experience that you get
playing the old.
(11:11):
It's so much, it's so farremoved from golf in a way, but
everything about golf in thesame way.
It's just really incredible.
So, um, that trip wasabsolutely amazing.
Um, right before that trip, Ihad been out to LA, uh, los
Angeles, and had played at theNorth course at Los Angeles
(11:34):
country club and my businessmanager was nice enough to take
me out there and let me checkout the golf course and see what
I thought Incredible experiencebeing able to go out to LACC,
kind of.
You know, it's one of thosevery storied courses.
You know they're most famousfor not letting the celebrities
be members.
(11:55):
It's a pretty big deal outthere, but really cool golf
course.
Obviously he's hosted the USOpen, but just a very, uh, very
different presentation and andnot, once again, not in a bad
way at all.
But I had literally just comeback from Augusta national.
I'd been in Augusta nationalall week for the masters and
(12:17):
when you think of Augusta youthink of perfect, and I honestly
think that Augusta national issome kind of simulation because
it's so perfect.
And I honestly think thatAugusta National is some kind of
simulation because it's soperfect.
I go year over year and justreally can't find anything that
isn't perfect on that propertyand it's just manicured wall to
wall, and not just the golfcourse, but the concessions, the
(12:38):
bathrooms, the merch shops,every piece of pine straw is
immaculate.
It's just the place ismanicured wall to wall and the
presentation is just off thecharts.
And you know, I think that'swhy we're all so mesmerized by
it in a way.
But in the same way that youknow, augusta is manicured wall
(13:01):
to wall.
I would say LACC very much feelslike a unfinished painting in a
lot of ways and they've takenthe center of the canvas and
they filled it with the hole andthe surrounds.
But then out towards the edgeof the canvas they've just kind
(13:21):
of left it blank a little bitand it's not finished
wall-to-wall's, it's notfinished wall to wall and it's
not manicured to a tee.
But even though thepresentation isn't this illusion
of perfect, it plays very, very, very well and it plays firm
and fast and it's it's reallycool how they've done that and
(13:41):
when you think of la, you kindof think of glitz and glam and
then you get out to LACC and itreally feels more like something
that's evolving and changingand growing with time and it's
just a very different experienceand very, very cool, um, just
different presentations.
So, uh, to say I've been on alittle bit of a run here with
(14:02):
golf courses, uh is a bit of anunderstatement and has just been
really wild.
But you know, the privilege andthe honor of getting to go to
some of these places and play atthem and enjoy them and walk
them and just experience them isamazing.
And they all offer differentthings.
(14:23):
They all kind of bring adifferent presentation or a
different spirit or a slightlydifferent spin on what they want
to show you, as you know, theirversion of golf, and I think
that's what makes golf so greatis you could.
You know, and I've done this,and you know I've played some
(14:43):
golf courses that are ranked inthe top, you know 30, 40 courses
in the in the country and I Ihonestly I didn't, didn't really
get it, didn't really see it,didn't really didn't really feel
that, didn't appreciate that,um, but I've also played some
golf courses that are nowherenear any list and I thought that
they were utterly amazing andtruly spectacular.
(15:04):
So, you know, I think one thingthat we lose sight of is, you
know, golf courses, you knowthey, they have stature based
off the tournaments that they'vehosted or the members that they
have, or the size of theclubhouse, or their ability to
to manicure and present theirgolf course in a certain way.
But at the end of the day,every golf course you know, has,
(15:26):
you know, golf has a way ofcontributing to what golf is
going to look like, movingforward.
And I just think that all ofthese golf courses do that in a
very different way, and I thinkthat a lot of these golf courses
are really starting to envelopthese ideas of being playable,
(15:52):
and I think that's where golf isreally changing a bit in terms
of design.
And you know, we were very,very fortunate last September to
go.
I took a few of my friends outto the Kingsley club.
Uh, mike DeVries, the designerof the Kingsley club, was so
nice, uh, to join us for theround.
(16:12):
I've had him on the podcast.
Mike's an incredible guy.
If you don't know much ofMike's work, check him out.
Mike DeVries golf architecturehe's Clayton DeVries, dupont.
Just they do amazing stuff.
But I would really recommendchecking that out.
But Mike took us out and we wereplaying golf with him and I
(16:35):
really am not much of a golfcourse architecture snob.
I don't really I haven't doveinto that yet.
Uh, at this point in my golfingjourney, I just I haven't got.
I want to.
I have some books I'd reallylove to read about this, but I
just haven't had the time yet.
But I was talking to MikeDeVries about this and I was
like you know, when you'redesigning a golf hole, I mean,
(16:56):
is it?
Are we going for spectacular?
Are we?
Are we looking for somethingthat's understated?
Are we just looking at what theland provides?
You know how, how do you goabout making a hole of golf and
you know, I kind of expectedthis like mystical kind of
evangelistic answer almost fromMike and he was like it's just
(17:18):
got to be playable and he, he,he went into further detail but
he was talking about the, thecourse being playable and
enjoyable and intriguing and,most importantly, engaging for
everybody.
For everybody, whether you know, they're a very, very good
player, maybe they're a collegeplayer trying to play
professionally, or whetherthey're somebody who's a
(17:40):
relatively new golfer, who's ona golf trip and they're playing
maybe the forward tees, you know, those things are very, very
different.
How that hole presents from theback tees versus the forward
tees is very, very different.
So how do we make the hole asengaging for everybody?
How do we make it doable foreverybody?
How do we make it to wheresomebody can only hit a ball,
(18:02):
you know, maybe 180 yards, andhas a dispersion rate of 50
yards?
How can we make it to wherethis is still doable for them
and they can enjoy this a littlebit?
And I, I, I can see that inMike's design and I can see that
in the courses that are reallythese, these courses that are
considered to be top-notch golfcourses, and, like with LACC,
(18:25):
like with a gut.
You can play Augusta Nationalor LACC from any place on the
property you want to play itfrom and the whole is still
great, like that's that's design, that's the ability to really
maximize that piece of land, andit's it's so funny because when
you, when you, look at LACC,you know it feels and, like I
(18:47):
said, they've done an amazingjob with their presentation of
making it feel like it's not andI mean no disrespect, but it
just almost feels like it'sunfinished and like it's
changing and evolving andgrowing, kind of, almost as
you're playing it.
And it's a very surreal kind ofthing.
And Augusta even really feelsdifferent now and you know
(19:09):
there's a lot of trees thataren't there anymore, that were
there A lot of trees, and a lotof trees that aren't there
anymore, that were there a lotof trees, and a lot of the sight
lines are different.
And I think that we saw AugustaNational play a little bit
different this year because ofthose trees not necessarily
being as dense as they have inyears past.
So I mean it's got to beinteresting, it's got to be
intriguing, it's got to play foreverybody and that's where I
(19:35):
think great course design comesfrom.
I haven't.
I mean, I don't want to takeanything away from any of these
great golf courses, becausethey're works of art, they truly
, they're living, breathing art,and we need to thank the
superintendents and thecommittees and the crews and and
the and the people who justwork hourly maintaining these
pieces of art and keeping themperfect.
(19:57):
For us, I mean, it's the jobthat they do is incredible.
But you know, if you go to aplace like Pine Valley uh I
don't think I'm talking out ofschool it's a tough track and
it's not necessarily doable foreverybody and it's certainly not
doable for a lot of people whoplay golf.
And I think that that's whereyou know there's this kind of
(20:18):
like what do we do?
Do we go for spectacular?
Do we go for the list?
Do we go for sublime?
Do we go for holy smokes I'venever seen anything like this in
my life or do we go for hey,everybody can enjoy it and
everybody can have a good time,because that's how I think you
know, golf has got to really seethings moving forward.
It's, it's gotta be enjoyablefor more than just the tour
(20:40):
player.
And so much of what's talkedabout in the industry whether it
be swings or whether it beequipment or whether it be
courses or whether it bewhatever.
So much of this is driven bywhat the professional players do
.
Where play like whatever right,the professional players the
top 0.0001% are the ones thatare literally driving the game
(21:06):
and at the end of the day, thatdoesn't pay the bills for the
game and the game is played bypeople who are playing exactly
that a game.
And if you think about this,like, I have a Monopoly set at
my home, you have a Monopoly setat your home.
I hope everybody has Monopolyset at their home and I hope you
turn off the TV and play someboard games with each other
every now and then.
(21:26):
It's good for everybody.
But, with that being said, ifyou come to my home, we play
Monopoly by my rules.
If we go to your home, we playMonopoly by your rules and
that's totally fine because it'sa game and nobody cares.
But if we were to go and playMonopoly for the world
championship the Monopoly worldchampionship we have to play by
the written rules and nobodycares about our interpretation
(21:48):
and like.
That's what playingprofessional golf is.
We play by the rules and it'svery serious and there's
millions of dollars to play andit's a whole different
environment than where 99.9999%of the industry is, and that is
just people generally who shootabout 90 to 95, who hit it about
(22:09):
200 to 220 yards, and they kindof aren't great golfers.
That's the industry, that's whoplays the game, that's who pays
the bills, and I get it Likethere is prestige and there is
these things associated withjoining a club.
But I think if you're, you knowsomebody who has a golf course
and you're trying to think aboutlong-term strategy and you're
(22:31):
trying to think about developingthat next generation, I think
you've got to find ways toreally make the golf course
interesting for everybody whoplays it.
And it's not always making itlonger, it's not always making
it harder, it's not always doingthese things that every other
club is doing, because it's avery monkey-see, monkey-do
industry.
It's about figuring out ways toinclude more youngsters.
(22:52):
It's about figuring out ways toinclude more youngsters.
It's about figuring out ways toget kids on the golf course.
It's about figuring out ways toget women on the golf course.
Uh, if you look at Asia, halfthe people that play golf are
women.
It's awesome, like that's great.
We need this to happen because,honestly, like if, if, golf
isn't inclusive and we don'thave access, then golf
(23:13):
eventually goes away.
And after being over in the homeof golf and seeing the purity
and seeing what we saw, I meanit's no wonder it's lasted
through the generations.
I mean it's unreal.
The, the, the generations, Imean it's.
(23:33):
It's unreal.
I I can't begin to count.
So a lot of Americans aren'taware of this, but a lot of the
golf courses that you hear aboutover there have more than one
golf course.
So, for example, st Andrews isactually seven golf courses.
Uh, they have the old course,which is the one that we're most
familiar with, but they alsohave six other golf courses.
(23:54):
If you go to Carnoustie theyhave, I believe, two other golf
courses, two.
They call them junior courses.
They're nothing junior.
One of the junior courses atCarnoustie that we played called
Burnside.
It's actually one of the topten courses in Scotland as well.
So they have the championshiplengths, which is obviously very
highly ranked, and then they'vegot Burnside as well.
So they have the championshiplinks, which is obviously very
(24:14):
highly ranked, and then they'vegot Burnside as well.
So when we were playing Burnsideat Carnoustie after we'd played
the championship links thatmorning, I think we counted
three or four children that wereout with parents or
grandparents and we countedthree or four women that were,
just, you know, out playingleisurely golf by themselves,
and I can't tell you how awesomethat is.
And when we were talking to thelocals who we were playing with
(24:37):
about it, they were telling usthat all the youngsters in the
community get so many freelessons a year as long as they
use them or, I'm sorry, as longas they play golf and they get
free equipment and there's nocharge, and they're literally
developing and getting thesekids into the game at a very
early age and getting them thetraining they need and getting
them the resources they need andinvolving them in the golf club
(25:00):
.
And and the same with women,there's so many more, there's so
much more women, women'sinvolvement in the, in the club
and in the courses, and it'sit's a community effect.
And the reason I bring that upis because I think really, golf,
uh over in the UK, what I'vewitnessed personally, the golf
course is the center of thecommunity and it's it's almost
(25:23):
revered.
It really is.
It's it's almost like thechurch that the town shares and,
unlike churches that tend to bedivided based off belief
systems, everybody believes inthis church and this golf course
slash church within thiscommunity creates an opportunity
for people to come together, dosomething that they both enjoy
(25:45):
and both can engage in, whilepotentially discussing topics
that maybe are a little tough,but it gives them space and it
gives them time and it and itcreates an opportunity for
discussion.
So I think that the, the, thegolf courses in the UK, uh, in
Scotland in particular, justreally they serve a higher
(26:07):
purpose, almost they.
They are there, as you know,pillars of the community.
It's beautiful.
I wish that we did more ofthose things here.
Memberships there are very, veryinexpensive.
You hear people throwing aroundnumbers of less than $10,000 to
(26:29):
join one of these top coursesin the world, than $10,000 to
join one of these like topcourses in the world, and it's
it's just when you go to a golfclub outside of the U?
S, you're you're likely to seea bunch of golfers.
When you go to a golf clubwithin the U?
S, you're likely to see a lotof business people, and it's
it's just a different, differentgame, altogether different kind
of societal viewpoint of whatgolf does.
(26:50):
And, like I said, I think youknow for the most part, outside
of the US.
Golf is very much this communalthing that brings people
together and is shared, enjoyed,and you know, it's just this
kind of like almostsemi-religion, if you will.
But then when we get to the USit's more of a leisurely game,
it's more of an activity, it'smore of something we do maybe to
(27:14):
get away from.
You know the work stress, thelife stress.
You know why is golf played soslow here in the US?
Well, there's two reasons.
One I don't think people wantto go home.
I think that's the biggestreason.
It's much more fun to be out inthe sun drinking beers and your
cart holder, that you're yourcup holder, that you drive
around that's.
(27:34):
That's like way more fun thangoing home and dealing with the
kids and the wife and all thatstuff.
So I understand it from thatperspective.
But I think the biggest thingthat really slows us down is the
cart, the drink holder.
It just, you know, the guy sitsthere and watches his buddy do
his thing and then they driveover and watch him and it's just
, we're tied at the hip.
(27:54):
And the funny thing is is I Ican't remember I believe we
played 169 holes, um in aboutseven days.
And I believe the wildest thingis that every round we played
was under four hours and wewalked every hole, um, and I
mean a lot of those holes thatwe walked.
(28:15):
We didn't have caddies.
It wasn't like we had a caddyand we were hustling.
No, it's, it's just it's.
It's a brisk walk, you move, um,and it's, it's, it's great.
You know, it's gets the heartrate up a little bit.
You, uh, you gotta like controlyour breath, maybe over a shot
if you had a long run to thatone.
Uh, but it just it.
(28:38):
It connects you more, I think,to to the environment.
It connects you more to thegame.
It's easier to stay present.
Um, I love it.
I've I've been a walker.
I committed to walking a coupleof years ago.
Uh, I've been walking a lot andit just has brought so much joy
back to the game for me that Ireally I just I hate being in
the golf cart now.
It's just not.
It's a different experience.
I love walking.
I'd love to get to a point.
(28:59):
My feet aren't really toughenough, but I'd love to play
barefoot, like if I couldguarantee that I wasn't going to
step on something sharp andhurt myself.
I'd probably play barefootbecause that sounds pretty good
too, but I just think thatthere's there's a lot of good
that comes from being able to goout and, you know, play a golf
shot and connect to theenvironment and try to gauge the
wind and engage the bounces andthe rolls and the humps and the
(29:21):
bumps, and you know, and andtry to play golf shots and and
worry less about being you knowtech, you know technically
perfect or creating this optimallaunch and spend because of the
green, super hard and you'rehitting it in there from 185.
And it's, you know, that's.
That's a lot different game.
So I think it's great and Ithink you know coming up with
(29:42):
ways to make the golf courses,you know, more accessible.
You know making them more, youknow, within the community's
reach, making them more of agood steward of the game and
less of a profit center and lessof a real estate play.
You know, I think that thatwould be good, but it's just.
(30:02):
You know I'm very much ridingthe high of St Andrews.
I left my heart in St Andrews,if you will, and maybe I'm
romanticizing a little bit morethan I usually do, but you know,
it's just.
It was a great experience.
I consider myself to be a bitof a golf hipster, if you will.
And you know the place justreally speaks to, speaks to me
(30:26):
over there and there's somethingabout it, to where you know the
clothes you're wearing, theclubs you're using, like none of
that matters.
You know the ball, it doesn'tmatter, like you're just there
and it's.
You know the caddies it was sofunny, the caddies actually
warned us before the round.
They're like hey guys, justreally take every chance you
(30:46):
have to like soak it up, becauseit's going to go by quick.
And I was like thinking tomyself like you know, I've
played a lot of golf like howquick can I go?
And by the time I got my witsabout me.
We were on like the sixth orseventh hole and it's like wow,
that just flew by and it justkind of stayed that way the
whole day.
But Kleenex morning, here herecomes the Kleenex talk.
(31:07):
But you know I'll be a hundredpercent honest.
If I was to show up to a golftournament at a PGA section
level or show up to just anevent and play golf, and if I
just played like I normally play, like I know how to do,
(31:29):
everything would be totally fineand I would shoot a score,
probably right around par, maybea couple under, and life would
be just peachy right.
But in reality what happens ismy internal things get in the
way, like most of us, andsometimes I don't manage them as
well as I do others.
And when I don't manage themwell, I tend to shoot higher
(31:50):
scores, like we all do, becauseof the stress and the pressure
and just not managing ourselvesand regulating our emotions very
well.
So, generally speaking, I wouldconsider myself to be a bit of
a nervous, kind of twitchyplayer, especially now that I
don't play much competitive golfat all and I generally spend
most of my time teaching andcoaching.
(32:11):
So, with that all being said,you know I know some people in
St Andrews.
They're very, very nice people.
They were great with us.
But I kind said, you know, Iknow some people in St Andrews.
They're very, very nice people.
They were great with us, but Ikind of, you know, waited a bit
too long and did not get myrequest in for a old course tea
time in time.
So essentially what we had to dowas we had to go into the
(32:33):
ballot.
So we as a group went into theballot and found out that we did
not make it through.
So that was a bit dishearteningand we were all a bit bummed
out and it didn't matter.
We were still going to playgolf at St Andrews and it was
all going to be amazing.
We were there for a few days.
But long story short, the oldcourse.
(32:54):
Obviously everybody wants tohave that experience.
So we went into the singlesballot the next day, uh, and
Aram, my trainer, uh, that workshere at measured golf.
He's amazing, but Aram wasfortunate enough to get in, as
was I.
So Aram and myself both wereable to get through the singles
ballot, uh, and I was able.
I had a tee time.
Aram actually was on standby.
(33:16):
He was able to get out about anhour, hour and a half after me,
I believe.
But I teed off at 6.40 AM,bright and early on the old
course, and I wake up thatmorning at about five and I am
it's like a kid on Christmasmorning and I'm very excited and
(33:36):
my stomach's in knots and Ifeel like I'm going to a US Open
and I'm just beside myself alittle bit and it's just, you
know, a little surreal.
But I'm very aware of me.
So I kind of know I'm on edgeand I'm kind of trying to take
it easy and I'm trying to calmmyself down and I get over to
(33:59):
the starters starter shed andthen there's a little bit of a
of a mess around and theneventually we get everything
sorted out and we're gettingready to go.
And keep in mind, it's 6 40 AM.
No range balls have been hitand no practice putts have been
rolled either.
There's no swings, no, nothing.
640, they call your name.
(34:21):
You're up, they're in front ofthe RNA club apps with my caddy,
jim, best caddy.
I've ever.
Had More on him later.
But there I am.
We're at the old and if thereever was a tee shot you wanted
to see to open a hole, it mightbe the opening tee shot at the
(34:41):
old course of St Andrews.
Because literally you don'twant to hit driver because you
don't want to hit it into theberm, so you can hit whatever
you want and you can like theshort of the berm, which I think
was playing about 250 max, andyou can just hit it forever left
and as a player that has a leftmiss like that's kind of
something comforting to see.
(35:02):
So, like I said, I'm aware thatI'm a little nervy, I'm aware
that this is a big moment.
This has been something I'vebeen dreaming of my whole life
and I could not have been calmer, if I tried, never been so calm
, just unreal.
And I actually posted the videoof the tee shot.
Aram took the video of mehitting the tee shot Thanks, bud
(35:22):
and I just smoked this thingdown the middle and just felt
calm as could be, and then feltcalm hitting the approach, shot
in and just felt so calm theentire day, calm the entire day.
So after a couple of holes, um,it kind of dawned on me that my
(35:43):
dad passed away 20 years agoand, uh, it dawned on me that it
felt like my dad was with me inlike a very kind of tangible,
real way and it was just likethe most calming feeling.
But it felt like my dad waswith me every step of the way.
So it was just like a very kindof nice.
I'm having a nice walk, theweather is incredible, my like,
there's no wind.
My caddy gym is incredible,just feeding me great
(36:05):
information and justunbelievable great caddy.
So we get to, uh, the ninth holeand I blast a really nice drive
, a ripa up, uh up about.
And I blast a really nice drive, a rip up, up, uh up, about you
know, 30, 40 yards short of thegreen, yeah, the 34 yards short
of the green.
And uh, I pitch it up and itgoes in, goes right in the hole.
So I make a whole out Eagle andthe guys that I was paired up
(36:35):
with because I went through thesingles ballot, all congratulate
me and kind of throw theirhands up and everybody gets
excited for a moment and like Igo get the ball out of the hole
and uh, kind of walk over theside and, and you know, hand the
ball to Jim to clean, and andhe's like, hey, man, great shot.
And I said thank you andeverything was pretty normal.
And uh, jim's like hey, I'mgoing to run get your water
bottle filled.
Why don't you head over to 10and I'll meet you there.
Sure, jim, no problem.
So I'm not overly excited.
(36:56):
It's not like I'm wound upbecause I just hold out.
Um, so I make the Eagle and I'mwalking over to 10.
Jim just went to get the waterand I turned to my right and
I've done this before on thegolf course, but I turned to my
right and I'm like, just say itout loud, I go hey, dad, that's
for you, bud, I love you, I wishyou were here.
And I just absolutely lost it,and I do mean lost it, like I
(37:21):
had to put my hat over my face,bald, hysterically for about
three minutes and then, likeproceedly proceeded to double 10
.
And it was just the mostsurreal thing, but it it just it
kind of stayed with me thewhole day.
Uh, it felt like he was with me.
(37:42):
Uh, if most people don't knowthis, my the, the the bag inside
of my bag that I used to putall my teas and ball markers and
stuff in.
It's the one my dad used.
So I always have that with me.
So I, I, I play golf because ofmy dad.
It's all kind of dad driven.
So it was just this very I feellike I'm with my dad for the
first time in 20 years.
(38:03):
It's this great experience.
I played really well.
I think I shot 75 at the oldNice trip around, great day,
whatever.
So we get done with the round.
Shake hands, thank Jim, takecare of him, everything's
settled.
And it hits me again and I justcried like a baby.
And you know it's so funnybecause I don't know, you know,
(38:24):
and my wife is a therapist andI'm sure a few therapists to
reach out to me and explain thisto me.
But you know, it was just likea lot of therapy for me and I've
just had this great sense ofcalm, uh sense, and it's just
been really, really nice.
And you know, I've I playedgolf once since I've been back,
I was, you know, fortunate onceagain.
(38:45):
Murderers row went down to theInverness club and played golf,
um, and it's it's like.
You know, it's easy to get awayfrom what makes us happy on the
golf course and it's easy tokind of lose that joy.
But you know, the greatestthing probably from the trip,
especially the part when we werein St Andrews, is just finding
(39:07):
my joy on the golf course againand remembering why you love it
and letting yourself kind offall back in love with the game.
And you know I was with youknow, my business partner, paul,
who I love to death.
He, and you know I was with youknow, my business partner, paul
, who I love to death.
He's like my older brother, uh,aaron was with us.
I and I love Aaron.
He's he's like my youngerbrother, uh, and just to like
have your mates with you and tohave that experience.
(39:29):
Man, it's just been this.
You know it feels verylife-changing, uh, but it's been
great.
I mean, it's just beenwonderful.
I can't recommend going enough.
Carnoustie was, you know, stAndrews is the experience and
you have the city and it's justunreal and it's very Harry
Potter and I don't know HarryPotter at all, but it's just a
(39:52):
very it feels like a fairy tale.
It's just a very it feels likea fairy tale.
But then you know you go toCarnoustie and it's like, hey,
this might not be the fairy taleyou're looking for, it might be
a little bit more of anightmare, but at the end of the
day it's like.
The golf is so pure, the courseconditioning is so great.
It's not what we're accustomedto seeing here it's a lot of
(40:14):
greens and browns I love brownson a golf course accustomed to
seeing here it's a lot of greensand browns I love browns on a
golf course but it's justamazing the way it plays and the
quality and the rollout.
I mean it's just phenomenal,just incredible.
I mean just a great tripaltogether.
So I don't know if weaccomplished anything with any
of this, but I wanted to take afew moments to share a few
(40:35):
thoughts about of this.
But I wanted to take a fewmoments to share a few thoughts
about, you know, st Andrews,carnoustie.
Um, I want to give a specialshout out to James Day.
Uh, urban golf over in London.
Um, james, thank you brother.
Uh, didn't deserve that good ofa trip, but James is, uh is a
cool dude.
Uh, really cool dude Actually.
Uh, if you're looking for somecool threads and you don't want
(40:57):
to look like everybody else,check out sounder golf.
Uh, they're incredible, theymake really cool golf stuff.
But, uh, my mate James, youknow, had us.
We started in London so we werefortunate enough to get.
I mean, listen to this.
So day one we go to St George'shill just incredible, like I
mean incredible.
The second day we go over toHankley Common, which it's just
(41:23):
not what you expect to see.
I mean just so cool.
Such a big piece of property,incredible conditions, every
hole, just breathtaking,beautiful right.
Then we go to probably myfavorite place in the world and
we go down on the EnglishChannel and go to the Rye Club
and have a day at the Rye.
So we had our 13 holes at theJubilee in the morning, which
(41:47):
was incredible, and then went in, had our lunch, coat and tie.
You have to do that lords andladies kind of place, uh.
And then back out on on the bigcourse at the rye, which is
always a treat, always special,uh, and then we finished it up
with going over to, um, highgate, and highgate maybe had some of
the best greens that we saw onthe whole trip.
(42:08):
I mean incredible, just great,super hilly golf course, a lot
of fun, a lot of character tothe land, um, but you know that
that was London.
And then it's like, hey, we'regoing to St Andrews and then hey
, we're going to pop in, uh, popin on Carnoustie to finish this
thing out.
So, and then landing and goingto Inverness.
So pretty good round, a prettygood little lineup and, uh, and
(42:31):
and golf Mecca there that we'vegot to enjoy in the past month.
So I just I wanted to take sometime and tell you that if
you're thinking about going, youknow, do it.
If you have the means to takethe person that introduced you
to the game, take them, sharethat with them.
I don't think you could spendyour money any better than that.
(42:56):
Just truly an incredibleexperience.
I mean, I can't say enough goodthings.
I'm also not being sponsored tosay any of this, so maybe it
would be nice.
You know I'm happy to go back,so but I just I think it's
incredible and I think, I think,I think you can go and you can
have an incredible personalexperience there.
(43:17):
But I also think that you canhave an incredible kind of
community experience andunderstand what golf means to
the community there and thenbringing some of their grassroot
initiatives and efforts thatthey have been doing for years
(43:38):
over there and start applyingthem to some of the places
around our country, because Iknow that the biggest problem
that we have right now isthere's just no access and it's
not getting any better.
You know, the more golfers weadd, the worse it gets.
And people tell me that's nottrue.
But I strongly disagree and thereason I disagree is because
there hasn't been a public golfcourse built in the past 10
(43:59):
years in this country and peoplego well.
That's absurd and I go well.
If it's over $50 for the greenfee, it's not public and that's
the facts Like I get it.
Like you know, a lot of thesedestination golf courses are
public, but at 500 to 1250around, I don't think that's
obtainable for very many people,plus the flight, plus the hotel
(44:22):
, plus the food, plus the caddy,like you're talking about,
really serving a very smallpercentage of the golfing
population.
And once again, that is a bithow golf is here in America.
So I don't know what the answeris and I don't know if both
models are sustainable, but Iknow that the way they've been
(44:43):
doing it in Scotland has beenthe longest way possible for
golf and people rake the bunkersand people fix the ball marks
and people really respect thegame.
So I think if we could find away to incorporate some of that
back into the game and then alsofind a way to ensure that golf
(45:08):
has a future, I don't see why wewouldn't be inclined to do
those things.
So, just food for thought.
I I'll get off my high horseand stop lecturing, but it's
awesome, man, if you can getthere.
Go Um and yeah, check out,check out the photos, man.
I posted a ton of them.
I was going to do kind of likea photo slideshow, uh, with the
(45:30):
podcast, but I was like, well,that's kind of weird.
So, uh, yeah, they're posted.
You can check them out.
Like I said on Instagram, theForceplate guy If you want to
follow us at Measured Golf, it'sat Measured Golf.
A lot of people don't know this,but we actually do have a
YouTube channel.
We actually post the videosfrom this podcast to the YouTube
(45:51):
.
But then we also have a lot ofswing instruction stuff there on
YouTube as well, where we talka lot about ground forces and
golf biomechanics and all thatfun stuff as well.
But you can go to YouTube, youcan search measured golf and
it'll all pop up for you rightthere.
Make sure you hit thatsubscribe.
That really helps a ton.
And then, if you want, leave acomment.
Let us know what you think.
(46:12):
If you've got a question, hitus up.
If you want to see something inthe future, let us know.
And we're always taking thatstuff under consideration,
because there's no reason tomake this stuff if it's not the
stuff that you guys areinterested in.
So, with that being said, Idon't know if this was
interesting to anybody otherthan me, but I sure enjoyed it
and I hope you did as well.
(46:32):
So, if you haven't already,make sure you subscribe to this
podcast.
Once again, helps us a ton.
And otherwise, you know, letyour friends know if they're
looking for a golf podcast.
We're going to kind of coversome different stuff this year.
Somebody that's coming on thenear future is a good friend of
mine.
We're going to talk a lot aboutkind of the juniors and not so
(46:53):
much the juniors that have theirown logo and their name on
their bag and all that stuff butwe're actually just going to
talk about like hey, maybeyou're a young parent and maybe
you're like wondering if it'stoo early to introduce a plastic
golf club or things like that.
So we're going to talk a littlebit about that and how to get
your kids interested in golfwithout kind of shoving it down
their throat, because,unfortunately, I think that's
(47:15):
why a lot of the youngstersreally don't attach to golf all
that well.
So it's going to be a funconversation.
We'll talk about some of theserious stuff as well, like we
always do, but, like I said, Ithink that there's a lot of
different avenues to golf and alot of different topics that
bear a little further discussion.
So we're going to try to getinto a little bit of that and
(47:35):
try to keep you entertained atthe same time.
So, once again, you can find uson Instagram, you can find us
on the podcast, you can find uson YouTube.
Got a lot of different thingsout there for you and a few
other things coming in thefuture that we're excited to
share more about coming up.
So thanks again for listeningand until next time, keep
grinding.
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