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August 18, 2024 15 mins

Hey y'all, I'm Elliot Hall, and welcome to another episode of the Journey to St. Andrews. It's been a while, so I'm just going to dive right in. I believe the last time I did a recording was mid-June, early June, and we are now into mid-August, and we are less than a week away from going to St. Andrews to play a bunch of rounds of golf and, of course, the old course. So very excited to share that experience with y'all when I get back.

This episode marks a significant milestone—our 25th episode! Reflecting on the journey, it's noteworthy that less than 2% of podcasts reach this point. Persistence is key, much like in golf. Life has been busy, and some episodes were missed, but we’re back and catching up.

I’ll recount recent golfing adventures, including playing at the Ohoopee Match Club in Vidalia, Georgia, and the Creek Club at Reynolds, where I shot the best round of my life and made my first eagle. Despite a few setbacks, these experiences have been incredible.

As we gear up for the big trip to St. Andrews, I’ll share more about my preparation and excitement. Join me as we celebrate milestones, reflect on memorable rounds, and look forward to new golfing adventures.

If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with others, and don't forget to like, follow, or subscribe. You can also find me on social media @elliottphall. Until next time, I'm Elliott Hall.

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Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Music.

(00:07):
Hey y'all, I'm Elliot Hull, and welcome to another episode of the Journey to St. Andrews.
It's been a while, so I'm just going to dive right in. I believe the last time
I did a recording was mid-June, early June, and we are now into mid-August,
and we are less than a week away from going to St.

(00:27):
Andrews to play a bunch of rounds of golf and, of course, the old course.
So very excited to share that experience with y'all when I get back.
I did just want to go ahead and touch on the fact that it's been a couple of
months since I've made a recording.
We're going to catch up a little bit, but also this is the 25th episode.
So I think I told a stat about how less than, I believe, I believe less than

(00:54):
80% make it beyond 10 or 11 episodes.
And I think it's something like less than 2% make it to 25 episodes.
So we at least cleared that together.
Just like with golf, a lot of things in life are just about being persistent, but we are all human.
We have very busy lives and the summer, this summer was no different.

(01:14):
And also that means that some things that aren't as big a priorities,
although this is a priority in my life, but there's some definitely bigger ones
like family and business that just has to keep moving forward.
So a lot of changes happening right now, a lot of things going on just in my life in general.
So hate that I missed a few episodes, but I'm going to play some catch up and

(01:36):
get ready for the big, exciting week in St. Andrews.
We are leaving out on a Friday, and we're going to be there for a little over a week.
It is my brother's 50th birthday. It's sort of his dream birthday,
ideal 50th birthday gift to himself, and he's invited a bunch of us along.

(01:58):
Really looking forward to that, as y'all know, if you've been following this podcast.
So really, really excited that it's right here on the horizon for us all.
But let's go back to where I left off, more or less. in Georgia,
it gets pretty damn hot, especially with the humidity that we got.
So if you're going to get out and play golf, you got to get out and do it really early.

(02:20):
I have a new, not a new kid, but a two-year-old kid or about to be two and just
getting out super early and being one of the first people off the tee box just
isn't as big of an option as it used to be.
So when the heat rolls in, everything seems to slow down.
I was playing or at least practicing about once a week in anticipation for this

(02:40):
trip and just improve my game in general.
And after we hit the end of July, everything slowed down to at least every other week.
And then I straight up went three weeks without playing from July,
from mid-July until the end of or the beginning of August.
So I'm going to catch you up on some of the courses I played and the best round

(03:00):
of golf that I've played in my life, at least since I've been drastically documenting
it like I have been over the past year.
And that first, well, the first, let me start with the big course that I got
to play, which is if you're in Georgia, you know, it's a big course.
It's a hoopie match club.
And that is out of a small town called Vidalia, Georgia, which is,

(03:23):
I believe, the biggest producing city of onions.
That's where Vidalia onions come from in the nation,
if not the world, world they're way up there so
i mean they got you know if you if you're from
the south you know vidalia onions so it's that's
a very small town it's actually near where i went to college and
met my wife georgia southern in statesborough georgia just outside of savannah

(03:46):
a bit so always neat just go down that way and you know drive some of the roads
i did for a few years while i was in school a lot of memories but went down
there got to play two rounds this was set up through scott at the Georgia PGA.
Appreciate him getting us on the course for a couple of rounds.
Went down there with my brother, one of his friends.

(04:08):
I brought one of my business associates and a friend out there as well.
We played the first day there, then we stayed in Vidalia, and my dad came and
joined us the next day to play because one of the guys in the original foursome had to get back to work.
So it's called the Hoopie Match Club because the course is laid out to play match style golf.

(04:31):
And we were out there during a PGA sanctioned event.
So it was also set up for guys who are much better golfers than I am.
So I think it was 8000 yards or something like that we were playing from.
So definitely not the best numbers or strokes around a golf in my life.

(04:52):
But I played pretty well, actually.
At that point, I've been playing a lot.
This is right after my last post. So as you can tell, just listening to it,
I was ready to go and I was very excited. I was prepared for it. I got to play it twice.
Played much better the second day out there. There, my putting was really on,
which helped make up for the distance I had to cover, which is outside my normal,

(05:16):
you know, 6,000 to 6,500 that I'm generally playing in.
But it was a beautiful course. It was hot. We were further south than we are here in Atlanta.
So it was kind of that first like, wow, it's going to be a hot one.
But the weather was pretty good for us.
I think we had a little bit of wind, just a hint of rain.

(05:37):
But it was a good time good
conversations and of course we drank some calamity janes as
well so no complaints there played well and this goes back to what i talk about
just because you might not have the score at the end of the round on your golfing
journey doesn't mean that you didn't play well it all just depends and biggest
thing is walk walk away from it wanting to come back so so.

(06:03):
Also, it's one of the few times I've actually been hit with a golf ball.
So my brother was hitting out of a sand trap, but he didn't bring a sandwich.
So he had just his putter and he thought, you know, he could just kind of mess
around and put it out from, you know, using the back end of the putter with the little scoop on it.

(06:23):
And with that, he ended up taking it, lipping it up.
And then he had no direction.
He had no aim with it at all. and it came and caught me right in the right
in the chest but that wasn't bad
at all you know we went on to the next round but just funny
be alert out there you never know if that gone up and hit me
in the nose that might have been a bad day

(06:45):
so anyways it was a it was a fun time glad i got to be out there with everybody
and so then the next thing i the next maybe not the next time i played i might
have jumped out to bobby jones or did a practice but y'all i'm doing this from
memory off the cuff like this podcast is mostly.
The course I want to talk about, the round I want to talk about is playing the

(07:08):
Creek Club out at Reynolds.
And I went out and played that with my dad and my brother-in-law, Ryan.
And that is the best round of golf I've ever shot in my life since documenting it this well.
Also, I got to join a new club in that round.
I made my first First Eagle, which, you know, if you've been playing golf a

(07:31):
short time or a long time, you know, that's pretty difficult.
A lot of people have them out there. It's not a hole-in-one by any means,
but it's nice when it's your first.
So that was my first one, and it was a pretty unique one, too.
I hit a great tee shot on a par 4 and was only about 130,
135 yards away from the green, and I holed out from 130 yards out.

(07:58):
So that was pretty darn cool.
It was an elevated green, too. So it was that scenario where you just say,
you just say, well, damn, that was a, that was a good shot.
I wonder, you know, that's going to be pretty close because you can kind of
see that it was going to be, you know, rolling towards the flagstick and,
you know, 130 yards out for me on the green.
I'm excited, much less when I'm like, that's going to be pretty close.

(08:19):
That's great. Now I've got a, definitely a two putt chance. I'm,
I'm looking at par. and one of the maintenance guys was actually sitting up
on the elevated green behind the green. We couldn't see him quite yet.
We come rolling up in the cart and all of our shots were great.
And there was two shots, two of the balls were on the, on the green near the
flag, fairly close, you know, you know, 20 feet, 10 feet, whatnot.

(08:40):
And then when we got up there, the maintenance guy was like,
yours went in and he pointed over at me and I was definitely a a little shocked.
But anyways, that's my first eagle story. And it was a good day.
I shot. Then I turned around and birdied the next hole and parred the hole after that.
So I went on a little run there, but I had one of the best nines I've ever shot.

(09:04):
I don't have a scorecard in front of me, so I can't tell you, but very low 40s.
And I have yet to break 90 in just stroke play. So I'm, of course,
thinking that's the front nine.
I'm at the turn. I'm like, Like, wow, just don't blow up and you've got a real opportunity here.
And I never blew up on the back, but I could not get it together and stop some

(09:25):
very unfortunate double bogeys that some was a little bit of bad luck.
Some was on me and I ended up getting a 91.
So once again, that mindset, I left the course feeling like shit.
And it's just you look back on it, you're a little I'm a little disappointed
in myself because I had a great round.

(09:47):
I got an eagle, I got a couple of birdies and a few pars, and then I just had
some blow-up holes that just slid my score above that 91, but I had this vision
that I was going to be walking off the course with an 87,
88, I got this game figured out, and it's just stupid.
It's not how golf works, and it kind of helped, unfortunately made me miss out

(10:08):
on enjoying what was some pretty cool stuff that I did out there. Anyways.
Played very well. That was around the 4th of July. So I was still with family,
still having a good time.
And then didn't play much. Went on a couple of vacations.
One was a baseball road trip and then also down to a big family beach trip.

(10:31):
So not much golf. We did. So once I got back from that, dove back in and I played.
It's called the Legacy Links.
And it's 18 holes, but mostly par threes varying from 100 to 150 yards,
which was great. And I played very well.
Actually, I just made a bunch of pars and simple bogeys. Not like I really need

(10:57):
this for bogeys and did really well.
It actually has a slope rating. So I entered that in my handicap index and also
I was out there with actually Scott from the PGA.
So just just a good day and then went to the Braves game after that. So it was a nice day.
And but I will say I probably could have shot even better. I unfortunately I

(11:18):
got held up at the house early.
So I was parking and walking onto the first tee.
You know, no warming up. I didn't even have time to put on my my golf shoes.
I played in my loafers, kind of, and I still played well, but that's just all
about that mindset, going out there and being ready for it.
So, played well, or at least decent, and walked away from that.

(11:41):
And it was neat just getting to play a bunch of par threes, because,
I mean, that's where you can really dial in your strokes. Then the next time
I got to play, which was just recently, was at Bobby Jones.
I went out, played nine by myself, just really trying to shake off these cobwebs
of going from playing almost weekly to really only a couple of times a month

(12:02):
over the past ones getting ready for this.
Got a couple more rounds scheduled next week.
So hopefully, you know, be a little more prepared going into St.
Andrews and all this work I've been doing.
But the one at Bobby Jones, I didn't do anything awful.
I just, a lot of three putts, a lot of three putts, and I shot a 49 on nine

(12:23):
on a course I know very well.
Normally, I shoot 45 to 47 on that.
So, just, I mean, as low as 44, 42.
So, just, but there wasn't anything like, I just keep blowing up.
It just was, I don't even think I had a triple.
Just too many doubles. Couldn't turn those doubles into bogeys and couldn't

(12:45):
turn the few par opportunities into pars.
So I think I only had one on the nine.
But anyways, consistency.
And this is what I'm talking about. So I guess this is more of a mindset catch
up episode is, yeah, I haven't played a lot.
It's that consistently going back, realizing that, oh, you're not,

(13:07):
I'm not where I was a year ago, where I was shooting at easy 110 plus,
especially on bad days, and then maybe 102 on good days.
So I'm right in that shooting between 90 to 100, closer to 90 on my good days.
And just got to be careful that if I'm not paying attention,
if I'm not focused, I can jump up to 100.

(13:28):
No problem. So I know that breaking 90s coming, it would be great if it was
in Scotland with the family at St.
Andrews. And of course, the goal of this podcast was to help me get to 85 if possible.
But, you know, if I don't, I'm going to try to take a little lesson from the

(13:50):
Creek Club and still appreciate that I am in a different country with with with
with family and out at some of the most beautiful courses in the world and getting to play them.
So even if I don't break 85 like this podcast was originally set up to help
motivate me to do, I think the podcast has helped me just appreciate golf more.

(14:13):
And I am definitely a better golfer than I was. And that's probably the most important thing.
But damn, it'd feel great to break 90 over there. And if 85 is possible, then hell yeah.
So I think that's good for a catch-up episode. I'll try to get one more of these
in before, yeah, I'll try to get one more of these in before St.

(14:33):
Andrews, before the St. Andrews trip, and then come back and hopefully do a.
Bonus, a bigger episode, a two-part
episode, kind of going through all the stuff we played and how I did.
So anyways, as always, if you think somebody might like this podcast,
please share it with them.
If you haven't already, please like, follow, or subscribe.

(14:55):
You can also find me on social media at Elliott P. Hall.
And I will come back around to this next week. Until then, I'm Elliott Hall.
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