Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome back to the Ticket seven sixty Golf Show. This
is Daked Munosi and for Andy Everett. Andy is away
in Scotland for his trip that he does about every
four years or so, and he's there with a group
of guys in studio with us right now as a
president and CEO of the Alamo City Golf Trail, Andrew Peterson.
We're going to get back with Andrew and talk more
about the alimal City Golf Trail here in just a
little bit. Right now, we welcome to our tickets seven
(00:24):
sixty phone lines calling all the way from Scotland, Andy Everett, Andy,
how is it going over there?
Speaker 2 (00:30):
It is fantastic. And if you like the history of golf,
and if you like to play Scottish links courses in
whether that we sometimes would probably not play in San Antonio,
this is perfect for you. But you do as I'm
a win Rome guy, so when you're here, you just
kind of deal with the elements from time to time
(00:51):
and enjoy golf because you can't duplicate this anyplace else
in the world.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
So you've been there now a full week. You've played
what eight rounds or seven rounds?
Speaker 2 (01:00):
So we played seven today is round eight.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
Okay, and what golf course are you guys playing today?
Speaker 2 (01:06):
Royal Aberdeen. It has hosted several Scottish Opens. Often it's
a qualifier for the Open Championship. I think Paul Laurie
is from the Aberdeen area. He won the ninety nine
Open Championship after the John Vandeveld collapse. So we're playing
a golf course. I don't know if he's a member
or not, but I'm pretty sure he's familiar with this place.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
Andy, Andrew Peterson, good morning, how are you.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
It's great, Andrew. I know you've had a chance to
come over here before, but it's awesome. I recommend this
golf trip to anyone who loves golf.
Speaker 4 (01:38):
Well, I know we talked before you left about Royal
Aberdeen because I've had the chance to play there.
Speaker 3 (01:42):
Make sure you go into that little golf shop.
Speaker 4 (01:44):
It's aside from the clubhouse, a separate building, a neat
little place to buy yourself.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
Something we've already contributed to the local economy.
Speaker 4 (01:52):
Well, the number one T is right outside the window
of the men's grill in the clubhouse, so make sure
you hit it good off the first tea of a
few eyeballs on you.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
Yeah, we'll have a gallery for sure.
Speaker 3 (02:04):
Have you had any good caddy stories yet?
Speaker 2 (02:07):
Well, I don't know that we've had any any great
caddies as far as telling stories and history and that
kind of stuff. But I played really well at Miarfield
on Tuesday, shot three over seventy four there, and a
lot of that was caddies reading the putts properly. When
you play here, there's a lot of subtle breaks in
all the greens, and you know, in San Antonio a
(02:28):
lot we've played grain or wind or slope and you
got to figure out that. But it's hard to pick
out where what little grain there is in these greens.
I think they are a combination of mostly fascue grass,
which I've never played on there except for here, and
so it all makes for a little bit of a
challenge trying to figure out, you know, which way the
ball is going to go on the green. But he
(02:51):
was pretty helpful in that round.
Speaker 4 (02:53):
I saw via your first couple of days of social
media posts, it looks like you would be better off
flying a kite than playing golf.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
Yeah, we've had some some pretty windy days Tuesday and
Wednesday or Sunday and Monday, especially at North Berrick and
at the Glen it was thirty thirty five maybe gust
to forty and par fours that are four fifteen, four
to twenty are not reachable in two shots and no
matter how good you hit them. And then you looking
(03:21):
at some of the other days, we've had some some
fifteen to twenty mile hour winds as which we kind
of expect, and I think that's what we're going to
get today. Yesterday we didn't have hardly any wind, but
we played in the light drizzle all day, so it
was kind of annoying there.
Speaker 4 (03:36):
I think last question is how's your strength holding up.
I know you put a lot of preparation into working
out and getting ready for this.
Speaker 3 (03:42):
Your your legs holding on there?
Speaker 2 (03:44):
Yeah, the legs are fine. I've had a few days
where I was kind of tight and a little bit
sore afterwards, but through seven rounds and getting ready to
go for eight, I am able to continue to do this.
So you do need to either workout or work on
keeping your legs strong. Walk as much as you can
because there are no golf carts here.
Speaker 1 (04:03):
Andy, when will you be setting foot on the old
course again?
Speaker 2 (04:06):
Our team time is at four to twenty on Tuesday,
which is the last round that we'll play before heading
back home on Wednesday, so that's booked. We have Carnousti
tomorrow and we have one of the other courses, the
Castle Course at Saint Andrews, on Monday afternoon, and.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
Of memory serves correctly, I think you've said Carnousti is
possibly the most difficult golf course.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
It is for me. I don't think there's any easy
hole on that golf course. I think you have to
hit perfect shots or near perfect shots on every hole
to have a chance to make par, and if you
get lucky and make a putt or chip one in
or something, you can make verdie. I've played it four
times before, I've never broken eighty on it. If I
(04:46):
can break eighty tomorrow, that would be a monumental round
of golf, and especially if we have inclement weather. I
haven't looked at tomorrow's forecast for that area yet, but
it is to me the first hole may be the
easiest hole. And a lot of golf courses in Scotland
don't have driving ranges. Most of them have warm up
nets or chipping and pitching areas, but you don't get
(05:09):
to hit balls into us open space like we do
at home and kind of get an idea where the
ball's going that day. And a lot of golf courses
were designed with the first hole kind of getting you
into the round a little bit, and then the golf
course gets harder after that. There are a few golf
courses where the first hole is one of the hardest,
and I think Mierfield is that, especially when the wind
is into you at Mierfield. But for the most part,
(05:32):
all the golf courses have a pretty easy opening hole
to kind of get you going and then it's time
to hang on.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
If you want it.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
To me, the first hole at Carnostie's the easiest, and
after that you've got seventeen holes that you just better
play great golf on if you want to make a
par have a chance for a birdie.
Speaker 1 (05:49):
So when will we see you here in the office again? Thursday? Thursday?
All right, I expect to see you, bright eyed and Bud,
you go here.
Speaker 2 (05:57):
I will be there at some point. I can't tell
you what time it'll be, but we'll be there at
some point on Thursday.
Speaker 1 (06:02):
Well, congrats again on this trip. I know this is
your fourth trip or fifth trip over there.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
This is my fifth and and the thing is, as
I start to get older, and it's also getting more
and more expensive. I mean, I look back at the
price of this in two thousand and seven when I
went for the first time, and what it costs now.
Merchandise is more expensive, green fees are more expensive, caddies
are more expensive. So it's starting to get more and
(06:27):
more pricey than it was in the past. So we'll
see when and if there's the next time. But I'm
going to soak in this for the next four days
and then see what we can do down the road.
Speaker 1 (06:37):
Well, enjoy it very much. We look forward to seeing
you back here on Thursday in the office. Andy.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
All right, thanks guys, Thanks very much again.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
All Right, Andrew Peterson now back in studio from the
Allible City Golf Trail, you know, with any just talking
about how things have gone up. And I'm going to
take you way back now because when I was a
high school student here in San Antonio, they had four
golf courses brack Willow almost at Riverside back then, and
(07:04):
they had a little card that was called the San
Antonio Junior golfer's card, and if you had that card
signed by your high school principal, you could play any
of the four municipal courses back then for fifty cents
all day if you wanted to play two rounds. It's incredible.
Speaker 4 (07:20):
Yeah, well I think that Obviously the price of things
has gone up and it's hard to compare past. But
there's a program now called youthon Course that the Alimal
City Golf Trail is part of, and it's in injunction
with the Texas Golf Association, and kids can buy an
annual program, annual membership for twenty five dollars, and then
the Alimal City Golf Trail they can play our golf
(07:41):
courses for five dollars. So obviously not the fifty cents
that you had when you were a youngster, but still
five dollars for kids these days, it's an absolute heck
of the deal. And I'm a byproduct municipal golf. I'm
a by product of junior golf. When I was a kid,
this was probably in I was twelve thirteen years old,
it would have been the mid eighties at that point
in time. At the Lester Park Golf Course in Duluth, Minnesota.
(08:05):
We could buy a season pass for sixty five dollars
and we could walk and play all summer long, and
granted in Duluth, Minnesota, which is right on the Tipple
Lake Superior. The season is a little bit short, so
it's a memorial date to Labor Day type season. But
we played for sixty five dollars and we really got
our money's worth and learned to appreciate it. So I
think trying to pass on those savings now while I'm
(08:25):
in San Antonio absolutely heavy on my heart to do.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
So it's just basically relative to what it was back
then versus what it is now. Sure, and yes, people
here in the office know me that I go to
Waterburger a lot. I go back to the days in Waterburger.
A Waterburger costs fifty five cents back then. Now it's
six twenty seven or six twenty nine including tax. Still great,
of course, but prices have gone up. All that's got
to be just for the sandwich only then that is
(08:49):
what you say.
Speaker 4 (08:49):
Yeah, I was going to say the whole meal's got
to be ten north of ten bus yeah, something like that.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
Now, I have not been out to Cedar Creek. Since
you all reopen that, how's that course been doing. It's
absolutely fantastic.
Speaker 4 (09:02):
I can't say enough positive things about it, and I
think the accolades that it's received since it's been open
are well due. We hosted the qualifier for the United
States Open a couple of weeks ago. The low score
was sixty nine, so it stands up really, really well.
And granted, the Texas Golf Association that was administering the
event had it's set up quite difficult, stretched out to
(09:24):
its extent, but the golf course is fantastic. The renovation
team did a fantastic job, or o agronomy team there
has done a magnificent job.
Speaker 3 (09:32):
You get everything that you want there.
Speaker 4 (09:34):
The downside is we get people that play it that
maybe want to play it a little bit longer than
their abilities would dictate. So we just make sure and
try to caution people that when you go play there,
recognize it's a difficult golf course.
Speaker 3 (09:48):
You will lose some golf balls.
Speaker 4 (09:49):
Pace to play will slow down if you're not playing
ready golf and not trying to keep up with the
group in front of you. So make sure you go
there prepared for as fast around as you can.
Speaker 1 (09:58):
Before we wind down this segment. Ever since you are reopened,
ever since you'll reopened Riverside, what have been the comments
about how you changed up the number sixteen hole from
a disliked par five to a short par four.
Speaker 4 (10:10):
Now, you know interesting that you say that, David, because
I think if you would have pulled, golfers in San
Antonio that have played Riverside throughout their life would say
the sixteenth hole was the worst hole in the city,
and it was just a got off a hole, this
double dog like that goes around to lake and it
just penalizes you off the tea, It penalizes you on
your second shot, you know, just a hard hole. Well
we converted into this par four. That's that's you know,
(10:32):
kind of a shortest hole. Makes it a little bit easier,
but lack of a lot more fun. And now everyone says, oh,
I like the sixteenth hole the way that it was,
So I don't think you can win sometimes, but I
think the consensus overall it was it was a very
nice change.
Speaker 1 (10:45):
Well, I know I mentioned this to Ruben when he
was in studio with us recently, that when they first reopened,
I mean when they first opened those seven holes on
the south side of the river back in nineteen seventy three,
the sixteenth hole, the trees were just barely planted, right,
you really go for the green if you wanted over
the lake on your second shot. Now you couldn't do that,
of course in recent years because the trees have all grown.
(11:07):
So then you had a layup and then you hit
your third shot like most par fives anyway.
Speaker 4 (11:10):
Yeah, it's amazing what happens with trees over time, Right,
they can bigger.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
All right. It is Andrew Peterson, President and CEO of
the Alamos City Golf Trail and Studio. If you'd like
to give him a call, Our number is two ten
seven three six nine seven sixty