Four Things About the 2023 Players Championship with Shane Bacon

00:00:00
Speaker 1: I miss a green, for example, I'm already upset.

00:00:02
Speaker 2: When I find my ball in the bunker, I'm really upset. And when I find my ball in a brid egg Frida egg, the dreaded Frida egg, Frida egg, fridagggg, Frida egg, bride egg Lie.

00:00:11
Speaker 1: I'm about ready to run off the golf course and Welcome back to another edition of the Frida Egg Podcast. Today's episode is a preview for the twenty twenty three Players Championship. For this one, I called up a good friend friend of the program, Shane Bacon. Shane is obviously the host of the Get a Grip podcast also the author of a new children's book that I highly recommend. My daughter loves it, The Golfer Zoo. It was good to catch up with Shane. It's been a while since we had him on the show to break down what we're looking forward to at this year's Players. We did our annual Four Things about the Players Championship, so before we get into that, obviously there's a ton of change on the PGA Tour. There's been new elevated I guess designated events and the structures being reworked. I think more and more details are going to come out from that, but real quick. With the Dell Matchplay coming up soon, let's talk a little bit about that. That tournament appears to be no more on the PGA Tour after this year. This will be likely the very last year of the match play event on the PGA Tour, and I just have to say it's really sad. I think that, you know, when you look at the origin of the game of golf, match play was really where the game started, what the game was based on, and the evaporation of it as a form of the game at the highest level is just kind of tragic. I think it's really cool to see the best players go at it head to head, and we see it every year with the Ryder Cup and the President's Cup, the Curtis Cup, the Walker Cup, Solheim Cup, different forms of the game, and these are wildly popular events. And you know, I think the Tour, I don't know if they ever really wanted it to work. It was more of a we should do this, this will be fun, and it has been really fun. Some of my best memories of golf in the last few years have been at the match play and it's really too bad that it's not going to work. Hopefully at some point it comes back in some form. I would love to see match play use more often. I know it's difficult, and that stroke play provides kind of a way to measure people against each other. I think that's been the big problem is when you look at pro golf, everybody wants to measure everybody against everybody else. You could shoot a seventy eight and win, but that's kind of the charm of it, and it fits with the charm of golf, and I think this is really a sign of the americanization of golf and how everything has to be fair. It's not fair that somebody could shoot sixty five and lose a match and somebody that could shoot seventy five and win a match.

00:03:19
Speaker 2: You know.

00:03:20
Speaker 1: I think if we got to an event where everything was at a equal playing field, where everybody felt like everybody belonged, that's how match play could thrive. And if you think about what match play would be like in other sports, I think of like the playoffs. I think that's a great example. You get into the playoffs and every other sport based off of your body of work, how you played against everybody else over the course of the year in a way, that's like the stroke play version of golf is like the regular season in all other sports. Obviously you're playing matches against each other, but once you get to the playoffs, everything's cast aside and it's it's kind of mono imano format, and I think that's where the match play could work. Where the component of head to head competition could really work well is if we looked at the Tour Championship. Obviously this has been talked about a lot over the last few years, but it would make sense. It'd be a nice ode to the origin to the game, which we're all centered around match play. And I think the more and more that professional golf leans stroke play heavy, it's worse for the game. I think that recreational golfers should be looking to play match play and it makes the game more fun, it makes the game more approachable. You know, when you make a seven, it's not a huge deal. I think these are all good things for recreational golf, and I think a lot of the stuff that the professional Golf Tour is doing is damaging the recreational aspect of golf. So really sad to see the match play go and it'll make this year's musty TV as it will be the last time that we see the PGA Tour conductive matchplay tournament probably for a very long time. So sad to see that go, but excited about the players this week and we'll get into it here with Shane. All about the players right now. Thanks all right, mister Bacon, welcome back. It's been a little while since you've been on the pod, and I'm excited to talk about the players. What's what's new with you?

00:05:31
Speaker 2: Well, I'm writing for your newsletter now. Andy. I called you my boss the other day on the phone. You told me not to do that ever again. So that's been excited and I've really enjoyed that experience in getting to dive into the Frida Egg slack world. You know, just another app in my life that I needed to be involved in. But yeah, it's been fun obviously.

00:05:50
Speaker 1: Respect What you needed was another app that people can message you on.

00:05:55
Speaker 2: I did. I got talked into this new social app. It's like at a certain time every day, it tells you to post a picture. And some younger people that that I work with were telling me about it, tried to get me involved. I think I lasted four days and let's call it. I don't even remember one second or something like that. But the idea is that it's supposed to be a little bit more spontaneous of a social media app. But again, I just like I you and I've talked about TikTok, I can't do it. I just I don't have the capacity for it. I mean, I'm I should do it. I don't do it.

00:06:31
Speaker 1: Mm hmm. Yeah, that's hard. That's uh. Social media is tough, man.

00:06:36
Speaker 2: Are you gonna get into the TikTok world this year? Is that your goal?

00:06:38
Speaker 1: I think, well, we'll dip ourtelling. I don't know. I'm I'm on the TikTok. I'm in the TikTok world personally. I mean, I haven't posted a video since we did. We did the the birth reveal on TikTok oh nice, so you know we did like the remember the flip the switch video? Yeah, we did that for the for the reveal that we were having a kid.

00:07:02
Speaker 2: But I haven't been and Josie. Josie's what two and a half years old, so that's so you've used it once three and a half.

00:07:07
Speaker 1: Three three years three and a half years ago, about I got the app rolling, but that was that was literally the last time that I posted anything on TikTok. I don't understand how to use it. It is my problem. I feel like a real old person, Like I open the app and it just starts showing me videos. And I guess that's the point of it, is that I don't like, I get disoriented because I don't know what's going on where these videos are coming from. You know, I'm used to having like you know, there's no home. I feel like for yourself there. But enough TikTok stuff. This is we could start a technology podcast, maybe, you know, some some late or early millennials try and figure out the world, the app world in twenty twenties, just.

00:07:55
Speaker 2: What people want, Like like how I keep floating to you that I want to do an NBA podcast with you, Like just what the world needs? Another NBA podcast?

00:08:02
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, that's if I told my wife I was doing another podcast, she might she might leave me. So let's talk about the players. Uh, this is obviously uh the first I you know, one of the things. We'll dive right into it. My one of my big things is like, does this event actually feel a little bit smaller this year because of the elevated events leading into it, Like we've you know, usually this is like the first time we see everybody, but I feel like we've kind of seen everybody minus the live guys, like in the same fields three times coming into the event.

00:08:38
Speaker 2: I thought of something similar and I touch on this a little bit in some of the things I wrote down in terms of the stuff I'm looking forward to with the players. I think there's two reasons that to your point, Andy, it feels maybe smaller than the players typically feels. One is, to your point, we've seen everybody go at each other already. I wrote this on Twitter over the weekend. I mean, the PGA Tour has to be so thrilled with how the elevated status events have gone thus far, with you know, in Hawaii, Rom catches more Kaalis, so you've basically got two of your marquee faces going at it in Hawaii to kind of start the season. And then you get Scheffler in Phoenix, and you get Rom and Homa at riv and obviously you know you got by the time you guys are listening to this, you'll know who won API. But the leaderboard going into the weekend has been exceptional. So to your point, we've seen the big names go at it, and so we've already got a taste of what it feels like to get to a major championship or a players and then on top of that, not having the live players here when the live players will be at the majors, I feel like takes a little bit away from the players field, you know, I mean guys like you know, not having the live players there really comes down to three or four names. It's Bryce, and it's Brooks, it's DJ, it's Cam and really outside of that, it is what it is. But I think not having those people here when they're going to be at the major championships does take, if it's two percent or three percent, away from what the event might look like and what it's looked like in the past. I think you're onto something. I think that's fair to say.

00:10:00
Speaker 1: I really wonder about the decision making in one of the reasons that they went to seventy and no cuts for designated events. I honestly think that there was there had to be some conversation about the players and how the players kind of loses its identity. If they had just designated events with one hundred and twenty player fields like regularly, does that then take away from the luster of the players? And I think it absolutely does, you know, to hit on you know, just one of the things without having live players here. The top three finishers last year were all live players, now right, you know, so you had cam Laheery and Paul Casey all gone. So it's pretty crazy. It's it's wild, But I do kind of think that that was one of the things I wrote down, is like, what's going to be the atmosphere here and how is it going to be different than what we've seen leading in with Riviera, bay Hill and UH and Scottsdale.

00:11:02
Speaker 2: And he can ask you a question about the live players. Because I knew we'd get into this eventually, I don't know we'd get into it right off the top.

00:11:08
Speaker 1: Yeah, I didn't plan on having it right at the top.

00:11:10
Speaker 2: Do you miss him, like do you miss Bryson, DJ, cam Kopka and even somebody like Patrick Reid in the fields at these week to week events.

00:11:19
Speaker 1: I think I miss I miss some Yeah, I do miss him. I think we we lose a little bit of the interest in the sport because of the Obviously it's been talked about a lot, like the tour doesn't have villains anymore. You know, when you when you take Brooks, Patrick Reid and Bryson, those are three of the most polarizing players, and I think it's important to say polarizing. They aren't like you know, like if you watch Bryson play golf, he has like hardcore fans. You know that the right term is polarizing right where they draw. They kind of get people on different edges. I think the same thing with Brooks, Like there are people that love Brooks, people that you know, don't care for Brooks. So I think when you remove those guys from your weekend week out product, it definitely you miss him. And then obviously cam Smith is such a fun player to watch play golf. I think, like you know, I don't think he's a big loss on like the personality front. I think he gives you a little bit. Obviously the mullet is big social media content, but in terms of the play of the mullet, I think, so do.

00:12:26
Speaker 2: You still haven't seen him and I haven't seen him in month, so I don't. I mean I had all of it. St Andrews, I guess kind of last time I have seen him.

00:12:32
Speaker 1: What about you? Do you feel that way?

00:12:34
Speaker 2: You know, it's funny. I've I wrote something for the Friday newsletter of The Friday Egg about Bryson in twenty twenty one, and the reason I wrote it was I'd been thinking a lot about it because it was such a moment in golf for so many reasons, and I touched a little bit on it and what I wrote, I mean it was it was a big moment because we needed these moments in sports that are At the time we just got out of twenty twenty, the pandemic had just happened, so much stuff had been canceled, no fans were around, and this bolted up. You know, potential superstar is trying to do stuff that really only John Daley had ever tried in the history of golf, and he successfully pulled it off. I mean, he just trying to in theory hit a drive up around the green at six, and he nearly did it. And the social content was there to follow, and the fans loved him, and it was on the real tournament and he won the tournament and it was this really, you know, enormous moment for Bryson, the shamble kind of coming off the US Open victory into another big victory in the early parts of twenty twenty one. And as much as somebody like Bryson might annoy me or frustrate me in terms of the stuff he says, in the way he acts, and the way he even goes about his business, I've continually going back to something you've already said, Andy, is the idea of having somebody to root against or somebody to put up against a Max Homer or Rory McElroy, who is universally liked or loved depending on where you sit in the golf space. It's a good thing for the sport. And even a Kopka coming off full Swing and watching those segments and episodes of Full Swing, all I can think about with brooks Kepkel now is what it must feel like sitting at home watching the golf world gets so excited about some of those events I'd already listed off. I mean, rom going up against you know, Max Homer, who are two of the three best players in the world over the last you know, two years, and you get Scotti Scheffler kind of holding off this unbelievable leader board in Scottsdale, and I think about a Brooks Koepka and what he would be like in the mix at these events, because you know he'd want to be in the mix, and you know he'd love and hope for that feeling of kind of getting in the in the mix in the battle over the weekend with some of these big names. So I've missed him. I've missed him just simply because I think they do a good job of adding whatever layer needs to be added to our sport week to week, and those layers make it more intriguing if you don't like the people.

00:14:45
Speaker 1: Yeah, And I think also if you think about the depth that the tour, it would add to the depth, Like the tour is in an incredible spot. I think golf, just professional golf in generals, in an incredible spot in terms of talent and stars. You know, there are a lot of recognizable names and players. But you start to think about the world rankings, like if you just use that as your barometer, and let's just say that, like to add in two more guys into the top twenty, you know you're moving like Jordan Speith and or you know, like Jordan Speed's can be like the nineteenth ranked player in the world. If two of those guys like DJ and one other is in the top twenty, I just think, you know, you start to look at the depth of fields and you know, it would just be especially when you think about seventy players, it would be incredible. Like the talent level would would be insane in those fields. And that's the biggest thing that it did, is chip Away, Like Joaquin Neeman is a great example. Like I think he's you know, he doesn't get talked about as much as Bryson or Brooks. Like Bryson and Brooks are interesting because like what are they right now? You know, are they really professional golfers right now? But Joaquin Neeman, we saw him, you know, effectively reaching the highest points of his career and I think he's still only twenty three, you know, right, And it's like that's the one that to me, like him Matthew Wolf, like how do we conceptualize those careers and to be those are two of the guys that, like, whatever you want to say about what Matt Well said about like, you know, he's supremely talented. You know, he's a guy that could go out and shoot seemingly sixty four any day of the week at any place. And so that's the thing that I kind of I get hung up on a lot too, is like those young talents that now we just don't know where they go to.

00:16:42
Speaker 2: Right, there's going to be a hole in this history dependent on what happens in two, three, four, five years with live in the PGA Torrance relationship and how it goes about things. Because I think you and I are probably in agreement that eventually something's going to happen in terms of that professional relationship. I don't know if we can exist in a small sport, you know, a pretty small sport by sports standards, with these two individualized leagues that don't really cross over except for the major championships. What's going to be so interesting? And one of the things you tasked me with writing four things down about the players. My fourth thing that I'll bring up now is how many times are we going to hear about Cam Smith this week? And I'm very interested in how we go about that. I mean, we've seen this happen, and we've already seen it happen in terms of the way we've commercialized the players. I mean, look at what commercials are rolling on your screens over the weekend at the Arnold Palmer in weeks before leading up to it. It's the guy that won it two years ago who is the headlining voice behind the Players Championship commercial and Justin Thomas and I don't love thee And again, listen, I understand the business side of it, Andy, I understand that it's a PGA Tour event and it's the PGA Tours, you know, quote unquote crown Jewel, whatever you want to call it. But in a few years if we do have some sort of partnership and we've just kind of shoved aside a huge victory last year, Andy, I mean, when you think about great wins at the Players and the way Cam played on Sunday and the way he putted and that birdie on seventeen, and just the way I kind of a shot iconic shot and sixty six in the final round, all of those things should be a huge part of the legacy that is the Players. How often are we shoved on our throat what Ricky did in the final round right when he won the Players And to me, Cam played very similarly to Ricky and the year Ricky Fowler won this. I just I don't love the idea of just ignoring it. That's the one thing that I don't love. I feel like you could talk about past champions of these events that went to live, explaining what happened, you know, this person, a band in the PGA tour, whatever terminology needs to be set around that. But I hate the idea of just not mentioning it at all or not talking about it at all, because it was a part of this championship's history, and it was an awesome victory and Cam had one of the great modern seasons we've seen winning the Players in the Open at St. Andrews. I just I hope it's at least brought up a couple times. I don't want it to be totally ignored for the whole week.

00:18:56
Speaker 1: Yeah, you know, if you took it, took away that obvious part of Cam going to live. The idea of Cam winning the Players and then winning the last major of the year is kind of like storybook stuff for the players, you know. And if you so, if you take apart the you know, which is a big part, you can't really it's not you know, him abandoning the PGA tour to go to Live, Like if you take that away, like you know, how would this have been portrayed, and it would have been it would have been jammed down our throat. They would have had so much content about the mullet. They would have had like you know that we would have we would be like, can we can we get a little bit less cam Smith at this point? And for them to completely ignore it's difficult, but I think it has to be talked about. I owe a lot of times like to think about like the vein in which another sports league might handle this. And if if the NBA, you know, if if let's just say, like Damian Lillard is just gone and he goes to play basketball in China, It's not like they would just like ignore the fact that he was like that. Every time the Portland Trailblazers were on, they would be like, you know what, like Damian Lillard just deciding to leave the team and go to China has like set this franchise into a tailspin. Like that would be the conversation every single time, every single time. It'd be like if if the NBA just pulled John Morant from all its posters because of what he did on Instagram and obviously getting spinn it for a couple of games. Sure, you're gonna slap his wrist and go yo, man, you're the face of the NBA right now, behind Steph Curry and Dame and these types of players. But we still need you to be a superstar. So here's your slap on the wrist. Don't post pictures with guns like an idiot. But at the same time, we're not just gonna ignore everything you've done this season, because again, you're a big part of the legacy and the lineage that is the NBA, and I think the same thing about you know, the players, And again that's just my one of my last things I was gonna throw out there, but I felt like because we were talking about live, it made sense to bring it up. I just I don't know if they're gonna roll out a highlight package andy about twenty twenty two, but I do think some images of the win and remembering some of the shots he had, especially over the weekend, is worth bringing up. Even if he if he left and said but if he gave the middle finger to the PGA Tour, I don't think the PGA Tour needs to also give a middle finger back, if that makes sense. I think that it's like a thing of confidence, and at this point, I think in something like I think that the PGA Tour has sorely lacked through this whole you know, kind of soap opera we've been in for golf is they've lacked confidence, and right now they should be about as confident as you could possibly be.

00:21:37
Speaker 2: Ever ever, ever, ever, this is like six months in the gym, finally got the six pack, like ripped up, let's go to the beach. I am ready for this peach vacation.

00:21:47
Speaker 1: So if you're a very confident organization, you would put cam Smith out there during the tournament and be like, yeah, he's not here. You know, we've got great field despite this, it was a great win by him last year. He made a decision like that's what somebody that was very confident would would do, you know in this in this situation. But I don't think they will be and they haven't been through this whole thing, and I think some confidence would go a long way in how they portray this whole situation. I've been impressed that, like I think, like CBS talked about it pretty openly at the beginning of the year. I was really impressed with that. I've been a little bit less impressed with with what you know. I'll let you stay out of this obviously as somebody in that industry, but I've been a little bit less impressed with with NBC and it kind of tempers my my excitement for the Championship what we've been seeing from the NBC side in telecast. Let's go to as we've already gotten derailed. This is uh, you know, we're already each one thing again into this, Andy.

00:22:49
Speaker 2: This is this is on the rail as any podcasts you and I've ever done. I don't know what you're talking about. I mean, this is like pretty on online so far.

00:22:56
Speaker 1: So we're doing four things. Obviously, we do five things before all the majors. This isn't a major, so we do four things here. We each have one thing in what's your next thing?

00:23:07
Speaker 2: Okay? My first thing on my list is and this is a big part about the Players. I mean, I've talked to you about this online, I've talked to you about it an offline before. When I think about the Players Championship, I go back to nineteen ninety nine. I remember where I was when I watched the ninety nine Players. I remember how big it felt. I've said these to you before. The Players is the biggest event that's not a major. I think that's a very comfortable place to live in. So who needs this the most in terms of legacy? Okay? So I went through Andy and wrote down legend y type that have won the Players. Okay, And of course it started after the major championships, so it doesn't have as much of a history in terms of the old school players, but players that have won the Players, Jack Trevino, Floyd Sutton, Couple's Kite, DL three Price, Norman Lee Jansen, Leonard Daval, Tiger, Adam Scott, Phil Sergio Stinson, Jason Day when he was world number one, Rory JT and Cam. So when you think about modern players that have won the Players in terms of big names that are going to be historical figures, really, who you have is Ricky in twenty fifteen. And I just put Ricky in there because he's a popular player.

00:24:12
Speaker 1: I don't know, I absolutely should be in there. Yeah, So rick fromah impact on the game totally.

00:24:19
Speaker 2: Ricky in twenty fifteen, epic win, unbelievable, Jason day. As I mentioned world number one when he won in twenty sixteen. Rory in twenty nineteen was a huge win for Rory considering the drought in the major championships, and then of course Justin Thomas in twenty twenty one. Andy, all of this leads me to there are a lot of names in professional golf that have not won the Players Championship. So I throw this year away first, because I have my name down. Who do you feel like needs this the most in terms of their legacy, in terms of what they're trying to put down on the Wikipedia page.

00:24:51
Speaker 1: So I would go in the direction of guys like, we have a lot of players in the top twenty in the world. This was like what I was thinking about using this for the intro of this pod because it was kind of my fifth thing. But there's eleven players in the top twenty in the world that don't this would be the biggest win of their career. Okay, now, like I just did some remedial checking. I went back to five years ago that number was eight, and then in twenty thirteen, so ten years ago that number was also eight. So eight players in the top twenty in the world rankings would be their biggest win of their career, and so there's significantly more. And I think that has to do with the youth invasion. Obviously, if Dustin Johnson was in there, this number would be like ten, right, you know, And I you know, if Brooks or I think I don't think Brooks or Bryson would be in the top twenty in the world based off of how they played recently, So I don't think we should even consider that in there. So you say this is ten to me, I think like I might go with a Xanderschoffley who doesn't have like it has like a very high profile resume to date. I think, like to me, like can't Ley and Schofle are in this bucket here? Just so you know, just say the names the top twenty players in the world that this would be the biggest win of their career. Can't Le, Xander, Xalatorus, Max Homer, Victor Hovland, Tony Finow, Sam Burns, Tom Kim, Cam Young Sung Jay and Billy Horschel. So that's that's year eleven. But to me, it's gotta be Cantla or Xander, because like, those are two guys that have done a lot They've ben at the top eight of the world rankings for a very long time, and neither of them have like that super high profile win that this would give them.

00:26:42
Speaker 2: What about you? Yeah, So I wrote down three names. I wrote down can't Lexander and Tony.

00:26:47
Speaker 1: I feel like, yeah, fenw would be the other one that just like feels like he should win something like this.

00:26:53
Speaker 2: Needs to win something big. Feels very much like what we felt like with Ricky Fowler in twenty fifteen, had the victories, had the popularity, had the status in the game, but didn't quite have the resume to follow it up. So I feel like we're on the same page with those names now outside of the players that don't have that massive win. I had Jordan Speed at the top of my list. You know, he has three of the four legs of the Grand Slam. Still needs a PGA of course, And I was thinking about this. So we call in tennis, if you win the Grand Slam and a gold medal in the Olympics, we call it the Golden Slam, Right, That's what they say in tennis. So I've decided I've got a new term. I think you're gonna like this. So if you win the Grand Slam and a player's I'm calling it the gold Boys Slam. Okay, so that lamb, that's the gold Boy Slam. And I feel like Speith is again two steps away from the gold Boys Lamb Layers. He's one step away. He's a players away, and he needs obviously a PGA as well. And when you think about Jordan Speed, he has a dreadful record here. He has one top ten. I think he's first start it hates a T four and twenty fourteen. He's missed five cuts in seven starts since then. But I feel like Jordan's Speace's relationship with Sawgrass could be very much like Phil Mickelson's relationship with Sagress. Phil hates the golf course, always did, but of course he got that win one time when he got hot. So I feel like in terms of the legacy building players, you look at a Can't Let, you look at a Xander, and you look at a Tony Fenow, and then when you start to build in you know the goady type of players who are greatest of an era or greatest of their generation. I look at at Jordan's Speeth, what's interesting Andandy is I was thinking about some of the live names in terms of building the legacy, and I feel like if they were all in the field here, Kep could be high on the list, as with Dustin Johnson, Like those two players could really use this championship to really kind of like lift them up another step in what they've done already. But to me, when you're looking at the great players out their speeds on the list, and when you look at the players that could really jolt what they're doing in terms of resume and who they are in the game, I think it's the three names we mentioned earlier.

00:28:52
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think I think I would throw Hovlin and zell Torus on a short list too because of like they've done so much out or stuff. Hobland obviously is like kind of this young emerging star and we finally saw him compete. I mean, he's like a perfect fit for Sawgrass, like super accurate player. You know, it is interesting, like you talk about Spith and Michelson how they like both hate this golf course but love Augusta nastional and I think it right, you know. One of the cool things about this this will roll right into mine, is like this is such a different tournament golf course than so many others. And I think that, like one of the things I love about this tournament in particular is that it is like anybody's ballgame, Like any you roll, like everybody goes out and it's anybody can win. There's no like this is a golf course that doesn't, like it curbs distance so well obviously, like you're penalized for big misses like this is you know, of the tournament courses that we see, like big tournaments hosted at, this is the rare one that was like designed to for tournament golf exclusively, Like you know you go to like LACC for the US Open, that's a members course most of the time. You know, Augusta Nashvill while it has always hosted a tournament and has become more of a tournament course, that golf course wasn't designed strictly for tournament play. This golf course was designed for tournament play. And I think it's aged fairly well. Obviously, I think like some of the distance stuff hasn't impacted it as much because of like the crossing hazards out there, Like they have a lot of places where where hazards cross across a fairway and it keeps people back. But anyways, this is golf course like is open to all players. It doesn't like it has a de emphasized distance advantage. And what that does is like we can and we see it with the history, such a wide range of players can win this tournament. And it doesn't just automatically play into the hands. It almost makes it more impressive when you see players like a Tony Finale win this tournament. Is that like if you are going to draw up exactly the type of golf course that like or Rory, even Rory winning like Rory has such an advantage when he tees it up everywhere, that advantage is muted here. So like the guys that are long bombers, like they typically go to a tournament and they almost have like a one shot two shot advantage before they tee it up because they know they're going to gain it on distance, and here it's a little bit different. They have a much less, much smaller advantage when they start the tournament. So that is something that I love about this event. Love about this golf course is that really you know, you could see a real surprise winner.

00:31:45
Speaker 2: I was thinking about Dustin Johnson when you win the travelers. And I always kind of go back to that example. I mean, it's not a golf course necessarily built for a player like Dustin Johnson to contend or to win at And to your point, on this golf course, again, it's almost feels in a weird way, Andy, like it's old school, you know. I mean it's not old school at all. It's one of the newer championships in terms of the great events that golf has, but it almost feels old school and its ability to allow so many different players to get in the hunt and contend. And I always go back to ling Mirth and that all ridiculously red outfit on Sunday, I mean, battling guys like Tiger Woods, and you sit there and go, that guy should not be in this position at this big championship. I was going to ask you, and I think you kind of answered it as you were finishing up your thought there. But do you like this golf course? Is this a golf course that you like to watch tournament golf on? Yeah?

00:32:34
Speaker 1: I do. I like it a lot. I just think that it requires people to hit shots, like the fairways move in different directions. I like, you know, so everybody talks about the close at Sagrass and they consider it sixteen seventeen eighteen. What people don't include, which should be included, is like fourteen and fifteen being these like really tough part fours, and it makes that sixteen seventeen. You know, anything can happen seventeen, but it's a wedge, you know, it makes that. It amplifies that because you have to get through fourteen to fifteen where you have these really tough holes like fifteen for example, tight driving hole. You have to keep it. You obviously have that creek that crosses through it, so you have to hit a mid iron, like you see every guy in the field hit a mid iron to a small target, which that greens really cool, kind of runs off in all directions, like you like, that's a nervy mid iron and it just like everybody just like doesn't include that part of the finish into what makes uh Sagres such a great finish. But like those are two exacting par fours that lead into sixteen seventeen eighteen, which everybody obviously talks about and that should be included. But I do like it. I think that like they're it does a lot of great stuff for the for the professional game, Like it is a golf course where it's you've got base to play. But I think like what it does do really well and I don't think this is a good quality for a course that's not a tournament course is like the more you miss it, the worse your worse position you're in. Like you can't miss big out there and get away with it like we see it some other courses where you could like spray it into another fairway and have a good shot in Like, if you miss big out there, if you're mapping it, you're going to be in a lot of trouble. Now for a quick word from our sponsor, Club TFE, for those that are unaware, we launched a new membership called Club TFE this winter and it's been it's been great so far. I think we've gotten a lot of positive feedback from people that have been part of the club. What it is is for people that want more, we we are producing basically a daily article Monday through Friday. These articles have a lot of variety. Just this last week we had Joseph Lamania writing about why Bayhill is a solvers golf course so kind of looking at the analytics behind what test Bayhill presents as a golf course for the professionals. But then we also have weekly course write ups, so this week I dove in in detail to TPC Sawgrass and what I think of it, along with a rating. So it's been home and along. We're going to do a team discussion this week, so that's like kind of like an open Q and A that'll be Friday likely, so we're doing a bunch of stuff and it is I think it's a good deal. I think people have said it's got really good value. It's one hundred and twenty dollars for the entire year, so just ten bucks a month and you get all that. You get early event access obviously our events are all up and available now that aren't sold out, but for next year. If you sign up now, you'd get early access to next year's events as well as ten percent off the pro shop and many more little perks. So if you want to sign up, if you're interested, to go to Membership dot thefrieda egg dot com and you can sign up there and hope to see everybody in Club TF. Thanks and now back to Shane Bacon.

00:36:28
Speaker 2: Yeah, I remember Curtis Strange telling me a story of playing here, you know, years ago, and he said he was either leading or tied for the lead, and he hit it way way offline, and he was in some trees and he punched out, hit a tree, went deeper into the woods, and he said he let out like a classic Curtis Strange rant that had plenty of explicit lines in it. And he said he turned around and there was a boom mic sitting right above him, and he was like, well, I'll be getting a fine very very soon. But to your point, it's when you get in trouble, it almost feels like you're in San Antonio right where there's nowhere to go. I mean, you're just in more trouble and you have to go out almost sideways in certain places. I'm with you, you know. I always say that Sagress and Scottsdale remind me of each other. I mean, Scottsdale is an easier golf course, but the front nines are relatively forgettable, I think to the average golf fan. But you get to the back and there's so much excitement on those holes, and I'm with you. I feel like, actually, basically from eleven t on on that back nine. It's pretty fun to watch, and there's opportunity for some double circles, and there's opportunity for doubles as well.

00:37:28
Speaker 1: Yeah, the par fives out there are amazing. Those are I would say that's the strength of the golf course. Like two, two and nine are two really interesting par fives that don't get a lot to do. And then eleven and sixteen obviously are We see him every year play out like incredibly dramatic par fives that have huge impacts on the tournament. What's your next thing?

00:37:49
Speaker 2: All right? My second thing is how dominant does John Rahm want to be? Is my thought this week. How dominant do you want to be? John? Because he's set himself up Andy four or arguably the most dominant modern season that we've seen. Okay, and I'm talking modern, I'm not I'm going post Tiger VJ right, I'm talking about the current crop of players. Dan Speed both won five times in fourteen fifteen, JT won five times in sixteen seventeen, Scheffler four times last year, DJ four times in sixteen seventeen. Can't lay four times in twenty twenty, twenty twenty one, if he improves around the greens. You know, he didn't. He didn't play great at at the API. It was pretty loose and he hit some bad golf shots and missed a lot of putts. But there's an opportunity here for John Rahm to start to put together a season that I wasn't sure was gonna exist anymore in the modern game, Andy, I mean, this is really an opportunity to potentially have the greatest season that we have seen a modern player have. If he you know, I mean, if he wins at the Players, he'd have four wins before we get to the first major championship. Now you're talking maybe a six to seven even eight win season, which I think, with the way he's able to win anywhere and everywhere, is not out of the question, and he'd already have an enormous win after all the elevated stuff he did, including obviously winning Riviera. I mean, you're talking about him doing stuff that I didn't think was gonna exist. So my question for John ram is how dominant do you want to be? And if he can tick off another win at another huge event with a big field, we're really gonna start circling some of these major championships. If he can pick off one of those, I'm telling you, I mean, this is gonna feel like we felt like with Speed, you know back when he went five times.

00:39:30
Speaker 1: So I would I would echo that on one of mine I have, but I have Rory and Scheffler on there too. To me, John Rom's been the story of golf. It's been incredible. But you know Rom obviously has three wins. If Scotty Scheffler wins this players, we're talking about him the exact same way, you know, you know, if Rory wins this players, like we're talking about Rory like we're in this amazing spot, and I think, like it's a bummer we've already talked about him. But like cam Smith probably should be in this conversation too, like he belongs in this group and but like this is the top echelon of the game. I don't think that again, like we just talked about with the with the golf course, this golf course doesn't do these three players any huge favors. Like it's not like a place where they come and they have this huge power advantage that works itself out like it usually does. So this is obviously they're special because they can play and win anywhere they tee it up. And I think like you're having a similar discourse if if Scheffler in particular wins this event, because like he might win the API we're taping this Sunday morning. He's very in the mix like he could win that, and it's like, oh, he went back to like he's basically doing the same thing he did last year, except he won. Now he won. The players also like and now you're starting to talk about shit, like you're starting getting in this this conversation about Scheffler. Where what what is his long term potential in the game of golf, Like if Scheffler wins a major or players like quickly we're talking about like where is he going as a player? And I think the same thing like with Rory and what he did in the fall. You know, it's a it's a it's a great time for golf. I think I've been really envious of what's been going on in the women's game with Nelly Jin, Young Koe minj Lee, Lydia Coe, like these like superstars having exceptional years, and part of me kind of wants a Rory or Scheffler win because that would launch it into overdrive. But if rom wins, absolutely agree like where it's just like it's out of control. You know where where we could be going in terms of a year, and and really historically.

00:41:56
Speaker 2: Andy, I would agree one hundred percent with you on Scheffler. My only pushback on you bringing up those two names is with Rory. I think people like you and me would push Rory ahead into another category he's I mean when you think about multiple players champions, there are not many at this golf course. I mean I was scrolling through the names as you were talking. Tiger did it, DL three did it, Elkington, Couples, and I believe that's it. I mean Jack did it on another golf course, right, I mean that wasn't when they were playing Sagress. So I mean winning two players is rarefied air and I think in that space we'd be impressed with Rory. But to me, the conversation around ry McElroy will forever be major championships until he wins one, and even if he ticks off five players in five FedEx Cups, it'll be wins. He gonna win the next major, which is such a detriment to what he does on the golf course and so silly because to Rory, it's like, why do I even play in these other golf tournaments if you're not gonna give me credit for the wins when I have them. But I totally agree with you on Scheffler. I looked at Scheffler's season last year. It was in such a concertraded you know time of the year. When you look at how many wins he had, you go, wow, what an impressive run. What a heater he was on. And I'm with you. If he wins. Let's say he wins on Sunday at bay Hill and he gets himself in contention and somehow wins at the players, it's not a heater anymore. Man. This is his career and this is just who he is.

00:43:17
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean speaking of like Rory, I think like something that and everybody loves to talk about the back door top ten to majors, right because there's so many over the years. But it's like I think we do sleep on like how he has these like off weeks and majors and we'll finish eighth.

00:43:37
Speaker 2: Always always, I mean Riviera Rivier a week. Yeah, he was like playing batt riv whered he finish top ten, right.

00:43:44
Speaker 1: Yeah, And I think that's like an underrated aspect of him, is like we talk about like, I mean, like John rom last year was like pretty much insignificant in the majors. I mean, right, he had you know, he was obviously like you know, he was really a big factor of the year before. But last year, I mean he didn't do anything. It's like, when was the last time that Rory went through a Major's Like these were ROMs finishes last year T twenty seven, forty eight to twelve, T thirty four. What would the Rory discourse be if that was his major year? You know, like and I and obviously like Rom's come out gangbusters and is like a completely different player. But you know, like last year's big events like this, obviously the players and the majors, he didn't have a top ten. We didn't we have even seen him in contention, Like we didn't even get to talk about him being a threat on the weekend last year.

00:44:41
Speaker 2: Rory has never had a full season without a top ten in a major in his career. He's had a top ten in every single season of his professional career when he's been playing major championships. I mean, you think about twenty twenty one with Rory McElroy and it's like kind of a sleepy year. But he taught t seventh at the US Open. I mean, he shows up and I'm with you, the back door thing needs to just go away. Yes, he wasn't in contention, but Sunday is in theory another day to play good golf, and maybe the pressure is a little bit lighter for somebody like Rory if he's at eighteenth that he shoots sixty five, But hey, he shot sixty five and other guys didn't.

00:45:14
Speaker 1: It might be why cuts matter? You know.

00:45:16
Speaker 2: There you go. Rory's career, interesting enough, is gotten to the point where we don't appreciate it as much as we should. And this happens with great athletes. It happens with Lebron each and every year. It happened with Tom Brady when he's making all these Super Bowls, and it's like, do we understand what this guy is doing? That he's making the Super Bowl every year? What did Lebron make ten NBA Finals in a row? Like this is incredible stuff.

00:45:40
Speaker 1: I would I would say that there's an asterisk there that if Derrick Rose doesn't tear his ACL he probably doesn't make ten NBA finals.

00:45:48
Speaker 2: For the listeners out there, Andy and I have talked about the Derek Rose season on the phone, not on the podcast, forty percent of our conversations lifetime, and we brought Derek Rose's name is brought for the time we're on the we're on the horn. But uh, but yeah, that's the last. That's all I got to say about.

00:46:06
Speaker 1: The historical footnote there. You know, with the Lebron discourse.

00:46:11
Speaker 2: If he didn't get hurt, he's not making the finals that season. Do you want to go through how well the Bulls played that season or do you want to move on?

00:46:17
Speaker 1: No, I don't. I don't think we need to do that on a golf podcast. You can say, well, we can save that for the whatever the NBA podcast launches. There you go, it could be the first episode.

00:46:28
Speaker 2: What do you got? What's your next thing?

00:46:31
Speaker 1: Let's see I've got uh, can we get just some good luck for the for the players? Okay, So that has been like absolutely snake bitten the last few years. I mean it all started with the COVID situation. Like you know, it's like everybody in the world's like, what are they doing, Why are they playing this event? The Chase Smokers are having a concert Jaymon Hans on CNBC. They don't want to talk about the PGA Tour. They want to just talk about why they're having a golf event, right, So, like from that moment on, it's been just like kind of like this like obscure history of the players, like no fans. Obviously the one year then you have like just awful weather, horrendous we weather, like so this event, can we just get one that runs well? Like it's it moved to March, and ever since it moved back to March, it's kind of been a disaster between weather, the pandemic and so like one of my things is like can we please just get this like without huge weather delays without like so I think it might happen this year. I saw there might be rain in the forecast of the weekend. Could it just stay away? Can we get like a great iconic players week with nothing that like is out of your control happening to the tour? You know, that's one thing. I just think that this event has been almost cursed.

00:47:59
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean it really is a good point to remember those remember that run Andy we had at Augusta where it just rained every year for like eight years straight, and you were just thinking yourself, can we just get one year where the weather stays away for four days? We just need four days in April. This is Jacksonville, Florida. The weather should be good in Jacksonville. My only pushback will I will be to this Andy is maybe the most fun Players Day in years was the wind Day and the gold Boy Day last year. Now again, I know that disrupted the event and it kind of threw things off, but my god, was that not one of the great Twitter days in Players history?

00:48:35
Speaker 1: It's incredible. I like, I remember where I was. I was. I was in Calforida. We're yeah, I was watching it just like popcorn kind of day. I think, like, one of the things I thought about this is, uh, this is obviously a thought experiment that like you know, you you could spend some mental energy on, but has no hope of ever happening, Like, no chance ever happening. How much better with the Players be if it was the like first week of April, and then like the Masters, you could easily push to the first week of May.

00:49:09
Speaker 2: Listen, listen, listen. The Master schedule ain't changing.

00:49:13
Speaker 1: I know, I know it's not. But like but in theory, so May is too late for the players, it's too hot. March is too early for the players. There's one month that makes a lot of sense, April. And one of the things that I think both courses, I'm not an agronomic expert, Like, one of the things that sucks about the March players is the overseed situation. They have to do this overseed. The course plays like super wet, soft, like no matter what because of the amount of water they have to put down b you know. And then I can I feel like I could do this on this podcast because it's it's a golf architecture turf podcast. It's extremely like a bad look for golf is these these overseeded golf courses. Like when you talk about golf courses in the next hundred years, sustainability is gonna be a big thing. It is super unsustainable to do these overseed projects that just like consume buckets heaps of water, you know. So I think both of the golf courses wouldn't have to be overseed. It is this other thing like Augustin n Ashwell would play faster because if you go to May, you probably got a full growing, so you know, again, don't think about it, and don't think about this too much because it's never happening. But both tournaments would be better if you I mean, like the majors would just be better, you know, if it was May Masters, June US Open, July Open Championship. I think, I don't know. I think the PGA has gotten more juice in May, but it probably deserves to be in August.

00:50:47
Speaker 2: It's gonna be interesting if it's cold. That's what I keep I keep getting very very nervous about driving to Okill and just be fre eat my car, saying it's forty seven degrees on the way up there. But I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

00:50:58
Speaker 1: Is the ideal time for the PGA? Would it be the weekend before the NFL starts if you were like creating a major schedule, Yes, without like the PGA Tours, FedEx Cup playoffs in mind, wouldn't that be the best time you could possibly Like a Monday finish major on Labor Day, I think would be the best possible fourth major spot.

00:51:22
Speaker 2: Andy I wrote. I wrote this for the Frida Egg a few weeks ago. About just kind of the West Coast Swing being my favorite part of the season, and how I think the Tour could end it season on the West Coast Swing and then restart it, you know, ahead of the Masters, and kind of do the wrap around season that way. All I think about with golf, and I think about this with golf, I think about this with tennis, and I think about this with hockey. You are not the NFL, you are not the NBA. Okay, you are a sport that is in need of eyeballs and in need of interest. Just find holes, man, There's twelve months. There's a lot of days on the calendar. Try to find a hole where there's not a their stuff going on. And what's nice about a week like Bayhill Week, there's not a lot going on, Like you've got conference championship basketball just ramping up and getting going. It's ahead of the of the tournament, so not everybody's focus is on their bracket and how well their team's could do. There's an opportunity here, and there's a hole in the schedule. Take advantage of those holes. Because you know what sports people do, andy, you know what they do on Saturday and Sunday. They go to the gym, or go get food or take their kids to do something, and they get home at two or three pm and they turn the TV on and they look for something to watch. And if golf is front and center and it's a major championship, or it's a Players or it's the FedEx Cup and there's nothing else on TV, you know what you're gonna do. You're probably gonna watch that.

00:52:43
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's almost like this week should be the Players the Bay hell week because of like next week it going up against conference servement. Basketball is hard.

00:52:54
Speaker 2: It makes no sense that you're the only You're the only thing in town right now. If the Players is this week, you're the only thing that exists. Take advantage of American laziness. We are looking for sport on television. That's all we do. You know what I did this morning, Nandy, I woke up at six point thirty, my daughter was awake, grabbed a bottle, I turned the TV on, and I looked for the DP World Tour on television because it's live sport. Do I care who won? Do I have any money on it? Do I have to write anything or podcast about it? Absolutely not.

00:53:25
Speaker 1: I was watching by col of Guard this morning. Is it was it on the replay?

00:53:30
Speaker 2: Yeah, there you go. Well that's a replay that's not live.

00:53:33
Speaker 1: Well, it's just what popped on start. That's what started up.

00:53:36
Speaker 2: You're just looking for sport. All you're doing is looking for sport, as so many.

00:53:39
Speaker 1: Is either Sports Center or the Cold Guard replay. And I got to hear about how much Jerry Kelly is doing for the Cold Guard.

00:53:46
Speaker 2: Shat out Tucson a wit a rough game on Saturday. I don't want to talk about it.

00:53:50
Speaker 1: Yeah rough? Bill Walton and how good is Bill Walton? Go Tom, it's a champions I had this question if we just brought Bill Walton into call golf, would he be good?

00:54:00
Speaker 2: Don't Andy, don't do this. We've been doing this with Barkley for like eight years. You know.

00:54:04
Speaker 1: It's it's just Bill, like thet can't do everything. Is Bill Walton the first iteration of Barkley.

00:54:11
Speaker 2: Yes, maybe maybe Madden was, Maybe Madden was, and then it was Walton and then it's Barkley. But Walton on these calls is both infuriating and incredibly entertaining all at the same time. And I love it my last thing because I already mentioned my last one, which was the cam Smith thing is and we touched a little bit on this, But is this a random winner returning week? And when I say that, I mean the big events, not just the players. Andy. I'm gonna list off the major champion since twenty seventeen, ready for this? Mm hmm, Sergio J. T. Kopka, Speith, Reed, Keopka, Kepka, Mullinari, Tiger, Kepka, Woodland, Lowry, DJ Morikawa, Bryson Hadecki, Phil Rahm, Morikawa, Scheffler, Justin Thomas Fitzpatrick, cam Smith in that same stretch at the see WU who at the time a bit of a random web Rory JT. Cam Smith. Random people don't win these big events anymore. Is this the week we actually see a quote unquote random player down the odds list actually winning something like this? I was looking at Sepstraka and Taylor Montgomery as a couple of names down the list that I think could get themselves in contention just as random names. But I feel like we are due for this. We brought this up last year around the Majors, But I'm just wondering, are we finally going to get a ling mirth or you know a Sean O'Hare or someone like that in contention on the weekend that actually go on to win one of these big events.

00:55:39
Speaker 1: I feel like, yeah, I mean, this is the place to have it happen. Right, The best players in the game are the longest players. Like you if you think down that list of guys that won majors, like outside of Moulinari and Molinari was hitting it along the year he won, but like Patrick Reid and Mori Kaala are the ones that that stand out as like kind of short hitters, right, not like super long. So like when you think about like long players win majors, and this is a golf course, the curves distance like what we talked about. So if you're looking for a flukey winner at a major, or the players, the players is where's probably gonna happen more likely. So I would throw out even a couple other names like Joel Damon. This could be a great Tom Kim course, you know, I don't think he would be like a no name winner. We'd probably go back and say that's a big name winner. But like driving accuracy is big out here, Like Kyle, what are we talking about if Kylin Moore Cowell wins this tournament, like we you know, we talk about like what we what we're saying about Scheffler. If he wins, If Klin more Kawa wins this, and he has two majors and a players and effectively like three years on tour, there's there's a real conversation about historic stuff. You know. I think he he deserves like to be in that bucket of like you know, Rory winning this doesn't really change the way we perceive his career. Rom winning this, I think it's another like it's another big moment because he had hasn't gotten to like a Rory level of accomplishment yet. Scheffler, same thing. I think Marikow is the other one that goes into like there's like a historical context conversation and the golf course fits him really really well because of how accurate he is.

00:57:23
Speaker 2: Is Scotty Scheffler who we thought Colin Morkowa was going to be. I know Morikawa has more majors, but is Scheffler Again, Let's say he wins today, Let's say wins a bay Hill, which you know everybody listening will obviously known at this point if he did or not but is he kind of who we thought maybe Morikawa was going to be because you know, morecow has the two majors, but he's played pretty poorly in late round situations over the last year. So when he's had real opportunities.

00:57:47
Speaker 1: To win, I'm not ready to do that. I just say that. I mean in terms of like I think that Morikawa like one of the things that got disguised because of that hot start. And I'm even gill of it is like he is at a huge disadvantage because he only hits the ball three hundred yards, which is crazy to say, but like he's at a big disadvantage at every tournament now. His iron play is so elite. I don't think he's ever going to be a great putter. And you know, and I think that if the short game becomes elite, then all of a sudden, I don't know, the consistency still there. And I think he's played sneaky. He's been under the radar really good this year. So I think like that I said that for a reason, is like he's kind of a pick here, good course fit and you know, been playing good golf this year and it's just a matter of whether the Putter shows up, but like, I think Scheffler and him are just such different types of players. It's hard to say, like, right, I think Scotty Scheffler is kind of who we thought maybe Matt Wolf would.

00:58:52
Speaker 2: Be, Okay, right, I mean, just like I just look at these guys. Is when Scotty Scheffler seems to get in contention on Sunday, he seems to make one step close, like one step closer to his greatest golf. And I've seen over the last year, year and a half, two years with Colin Morrikawa, it feels like when he gets in contention, he doesn't quite take that next step. If anything, he takes that step back. And you know, a lot of the greats, especially earlier in their career, they step up and win, you know. And I mean, I think that's what We've been waiting for this for John Ram for years, right, Andy, I mean, we've kind of been waiting for John Ram to do this. And I feel like a Tory he stepped up, he made those putts, and all of a sudden it was like, oh wow, this guy clutched up and won a big event when he needed to. And now we're seeing rom do that and what feels like week to week.

00:59:40
Speaker 1: Yeah, we haven't even brought up Max Homa. I feel like he'd be uh, that'd be something else if he won this.

00:59:47
Speaker 2: Max Max was if you remember Andy, Max was sneaky in it. Last year. He was finishing on the other side of the golf course. It wasn't a Monday finish, right, it was that weird Monday finish. And I remember he birdied. I think he birdied six or seven. And when he did that, he was like two off the lead. And it's like, hey, man, if he could make pour on eight and maybe make eagle on nine and finishes round, who the hell knows of this golf course?

01:00:09
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, I mean it's a good fit for him too. He's a good iron player, you know all I said, all aspects of the game. He's free, rock solid in which this golf course test. It's uh so, who's your pick to win?

01:00:23
Speaker 2: Hmmm. I didn't write down a pick to win, but uh, you know what I will go. You know what I'm gonna I'm gonna do something you said. I'm gonna go off script. I'm gonna take a name you mentioned. I'm gonna go with one of the stars of Full Swing. I'll take Joel Damon. I'm gonna take Joe Damon to win the players.

01:00:41
Speaker 1: How about you? I'm taking more Kawa. He's uh his finishes this year uh not not including bay Hill. He's got a second tournament champions, third at Farmers, miss cut at Phoenix, but then a six at uh at Genesis. I think he uh he but breaks out here. Nobody's nobody taking Rob Shuffler or or Rory after we talk so much.

01:01:06
Speaker 2: Of us any this is this is like country Club two point zero over the weekend. If we have more to Kala and Joel Damon, you know there, this will just have to be another episode of Full Swing if they go at.

01:01:14
Speaker 1: It seriously seriously. All right, Shane, appreciate you coming to talking players. I think we got through all four, right, we both got our four off. Yeah, you don't have a check takes left in the chamber here, right, So that's that's.

01:01:27
Speaker 2: All I got. Hey, I do have a question. We see gold Boy this week. I mean we have to, right if we how disappointed will you be if we don't.

01:01:36
Speaker 1: Like on a level of like on one to ten, like probably nine. I mean, you can't have something that was such a sensation and just not go back to him this year, right, I mean, I imagine all the money they spent, they he could send go back out there. I haven't seen anything about him though, coming back.

01:01:56
Speaker 2: They haven't made this. They hadn't sent the all caps emails out about go boy. Make it a quick return. But maybe they're waiting for Monday or Tuesday. Reach out to the famous group. I think that was the people that made him, so they reach out to you. Yeah. I remember after last year's players thinking, I know one thing's for sure, We're gonna see a mulleted gold Boy next year. That's without a doubt gonna happen. And then of course, who the hell knows now with with liv and Cam. But I'm excited for gold Boys return. I'm excited for the good weather. I'm excited for Joel Damon to get his his biggest win of his career. And I'm opening out last Colin Mora cow. We'll see what happens.

01:02:32
Speaker 1: Did you see his Damon's comment about full swing. I guess I'm a golfer with no confidence.

01:02:40
Speaker 2: You know what's interesting is that the way the way he talked about the US Open and the confidence about winning a major championship. I do wonder of those middling PGA Tour players that aren't top twenty or aren't top twenty five, a little bit of what we talked about in terms of the randomness of the winners here, which hasn't been the case as of late. But I do wonder if players like Joel Damon show up to the players thinking I have a better chance of winning this or I have a more likely chance of winning this event, then maybe I do when I show up to a US Open or a PGA Championship, just because of the history of.

01:03:11
Speaker 1: The event, I think they have to and just the way the golf course like they're hitting, they're more often. I mean, this is the bigger thing. I don't know if I explained it this way, but like shorter hitters are hitting where longer hitters hit their second shots from more often than almost any other course in America. So that's why it becomes anybody's game. Is that when you remove that like in everybody's it's like, you know, a couple of stats that you could look at, maybe are like par three scoring, because like it's a placement course and then a second shot in and there are a lot of like tough second shots that would be similar to a par three second shot. But then also like driving accuracy, that's the other part of it, Like you've got to be in the fair way to hit into these screens. And I think that's where why Speed has struggled with it, right, is that it it's similar to Augusta National in that it's like devastating around the greens, but you know, it's not like Augusta National where there's a pretty wide berth. But then it's like, you know how at Augusta it's super easy when you miss to get it out into the into the front areas of greens right for sure. And I think that's where like Jordan Speed's magic at Augusta is like his ability to go from the pine straw and hit it into like an area he knows he can get up and down regularly, And that's like that old like I don't know how he just shot sixty eight after the places we saw him at Augusta. At Sawgrass, there's these crossing hazards that like make you lay back, like if you're out of position, you almost have to lay back to like one hundred yards and you're not hitting those chip shots around the greens. And that's where like Phil and Jordan speed, like they had this ability to miss off the tee and then cover into a place that they wanted to and TBC sawgrass kind of prevents you from your recovering to a a good spot, if that makes sense.

01:05:09
Speaker 2: Yeah, easy to make, easy to make a lot of bogies when you're hitting it wayward. And we know it's Jordan' speed, He's gonna inevitably hit it wayward off the tee.

01:05:15
Speaker 1: How about that? How about that t shot? It had a payhill.

01:05:19
Speaker 2: When he hit it left. He hit it when he left and then got the drop. I was just bummed he didn't go lefty. I was really hoping to see the speed lefty swing. But I tell you that a Dustin Johnson hit my driver one time and the third one he hit it went to seventy five dead center. No. I asked him how many times he'd done that, and he said it was the first time he'd ever done it, like the first time he'd ever swung a lefty driver. And the third swing was two seventy five sea level right down the middle. It was incredible to watch him figure it out that quickly.

01:05:47
Speaker 1: Yeah, I would have loved to see Speth hit that lefty.

01:05:50
Speaker 2: Yeah, totally.

01:05:51
Speaker 1: That's a whole conversation. What what's that fence doing there?

01:05:57
Speaker 2: What's the fence doings right on the path? I always love when you're like, why does this exist? That's like one of my favorite andisms about anything in golf. It's like, why is this the thing? Why is it? What do you call it a straight It's just a straight line. It's my favorite thing.

01:06:11
Speaker 1: You say the putt tracer, Well, you've said it about tracer.

01:06:16
Speaker 2: You said it about tracer, you said it just a straight line.

01:06:18
Speaker 1: But the putt tracer is terrible. All right, we'll leave on that. Thank you, Shane. Everybody can follow you on social media.

01:06:27
Speaker 2: I'm excited for the players. I really, really, I really do get up for this event and I do find it extremely intriguing from start to finish, and I think the golf course is the reason for that, and so I always get I just jazzed, you know, as kind of corny as seventeen can be at times, I get very jazzed up to see players over the weekend play those last three holes in the background.

01:06:47
Speaker 1: It's amazing, amazing TV hole. It's just it's an amazing hole in general. So all right, have a good one and we'll we'll talk to you sometimes soon. Thank you for listening to another edition of the Friday Podcast. Today's episode was edited by Matt Rush's Thank you Matt. As a reminder if you're not signed up, this is a great week to do for the fridayk newsletter. It will be out every Monday, Wednesday Friday. It is free. Brendan Porath is on the ground, so you'll get some reporting from on the ground at Sawgrass. I think people widely consider it one of the best, if not the best, golf newsletter out there. It's free and we are writing about two to three basically mini articles per newsletter, so you get different perspectives as well as what's going on in the golf world. So if you want to sign up for that, go to the Friday dot com. It is humming and you know it's been it's been fun having additional voices added into that, such as Shane Bacon as he remarked in Joseph Leamania and others. So sign up for the Friday Newsletter and we will be back on Friday with a new episode of the podcast