An Early Preview of the 2024 Masters

00:00:00
Speaker 1: I miss a green, for example, I'm already upset. When I find my ball in the bunker, I'm really upset.

00:00:05
Speaker 2: And when I find my ball in a brid egg Frida egg, the dreaded Frida egg, Frida egg, frid egg.

00:00:11
Speaker 1: Bride egg Lie, I'm about ready to run off of the course. Welcome back to another edition of the Friday Egg Golf Podcast. Today's episode it's going to be me and Joseph Lamania talking about, you know, doing an early look at the Masters, a little bit on the golf course, and a little bit on the players as we had to do. I mean, we're six weeks away from the Masters, really really close, So just doing an early look, early talk on the Masters as we head into the floor to swing here on the PGA Tour. Also talk a little bit about the golf course. There were some changes, rather small changes, but could play some sign could have some significance in the championship. But first, Joseph, what are you in on this week?

00:01:21
Speaker 2: This isn't something new, Andy, but I'm in on the walk and talks. Did you see the Matt Wallace walk and talk on Saturday at the Mexico Open.

00:01:31
Speaker 1: Right after he hit it in the water, right, It was awesome.

00:01:34
Speaker 2: Yeah, He's got like a pretty demanding approach shot and rinses it, hits it into the water. He'd talked a little bit about what he was going to try to do on the shot, hits it in the water and then has to put the air pods back in and kind of talk through what went wrong. And I think it's maybe more compelling to listen to a player talk through what went wrong while he's in contention of the tournament then to see somebody hit a shot to thirty feet and just have a casual, easy conversation. So I thought it was endearing. Matt Wallace came across really well, and Brad Faxon made the point that obviously he's self interested in making this point, but it came across genuine. These are a great opportunity for players to show a little bit of their personality, earn some fans, and you know, spruce up a Saturday slow broadcast. So I thought it was great.

00:02:24
Speaker 1: I was, uh, you know, I maybe they should start to do players at the bottom of the leader board rather than players at the top. On Friday afternoon, who's in last place, seek them out and talk to the talk to them about their week.

00:02:38
Speaker 2: I you're joking, but I mean talking to somebody that you wouldn't expect them to talk to I think is interesting. And if you always pick guys in contention, maybe they're going to be a little more focused and not you know, expresses some of their personality as much. So I honestly think you're kind of onto something there with going off the board a little bit.

00:02:57
Speaker 1: Well, I'd mean, the reality is if you're at the top of the leaderboard, a lot of things are going well, like you're in full control of your game. I mean, Jake Knapp obviously only hit two fairways that was that was beaten into the ground on Sunday, but he led the tournament in approach play, so and he hits the ball really far. So what is there to talk about, really like, Oh, yeah, I'm not maybe not hitting the driver as well as I have the rest of the week, but I'm still hitting great approach shots. And and you know that that's the thing is that there is especially on Saturday, I think there'll be maybe they expand it, do more walking talks. I don't know how much more production this takes. I imagine it's like a little bit, but like this seems like something simple to do on Fridays and Thursdays that could you know, add some some interest on telecast days that are a little dull, Yeah, or.

00:03:56
Speaker 2: Do a little research and figure out that this guy's close on the aon Swing five and ask them, Hey, do you even know like what you would need to finish this week to finish in the in the aon Swing five? Like, I think if you do a little bit of research and pick the right names, the product can be really good. So that's what I'm in on, Andy, What are you in on this week?

00:04:13
Speaker 1: I am in on Ak's return? This is a lukewarm in. Am I in on how it's happening, where it's happening. No, Am I in on the premise of Ak coming back and playing golf for the first time in twelve years. Yes, I I'm kind of It's kind of a tepid in here. I think. I I've been thinking about, like do I want to jump in. I'm not jumping in head first, but I am dipping my toe in on the Ak return. I'm just super curious with the only real, the only other golfer, like big time golfer that we've seen have a super extended break from golf as Tiger, and we've seen the Russ be an issue, but we've seen him. We're two form. I think this is fascinating. This is gonna be fascinating in terms of you know, a lot of people we did a podcast about a month ago about Ak really dove in Deep. A lot of people are now saying Ak wasn't a great player. Was Ak was a very very good player. He was a great player in in in you know, in a short sample size. He didn't play he didn't have a ten year career, but his highs were very high. That being said, I'm just I'm fascinated about how his game ages.

00:05:36
Speaker 2: I do.

00:05:37
Speaker 1: I think, like, if he doesn't play well, I'm not gonna be really I'm not gonna care after three events. But I think this is actually, uh something that I'm going to be interested in watching from live, which is a rare thing to say about live.

00:05:53
Speaker 2: Yeah, I was gonna ask you. I mean, I'm in on it too, Andy, where would he have to finish on this leader board for you to have a takeaway either in either direction?

00:06:03
Speaker 1: I think like twenty four or better. Yeah, top half of the field. I mean there there's there's fifteen really good players on live. Yeah, maybe twenty really good players without just just thinking through So I think if he finishes in in the realm of like I even think like if he if he finishes thirty and there's a really good round, it's it's an encouraging sign. I kind of think we're gonna be looking at like forty forty finishes. If I had to guess, I mean, what would you set the over under on his finish at for if lot.

00:06:44
Speaker 2: It's a good question. I was trying to think of other situations that are sort of like this.

00:06:50
Speaker 1: There's no sit it's twelve years off.

00:06:53
Speaker 2: Well, the real conver. I was thinking in my head, like where is he compared to Michael Block Like all jokes aside, like that would be kind of an interest matchup. I think over.

00:07:02
Speaker 1: Under it it just needs to get blocky.

00:07:05
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think an over under for Anthony Kim this week is like forty eighth, right, No.

00:07:11
Speaker 1: There's forty eight. There's fifty guys in the field.

00:07:15
Speaker 2: What is it fifty six because it's.

00:07:18
Speaker 1: The fifty six Yeah, because they have thirteen teams.

00:07:20
Speaker 2: Now, I'm not kidding like it, I actually think it's near the bottom. I mean it's forty eight. Crazy. You think he's gonna beat ten guys.

00:07:28
Speaker 1: I think it's I think it's like I think it's fortieth forty point five.

00:07:32
Speaker 2: I'll slam the over on forty and a half. I think he's finishing worse than forty first place.

00:07:40
Speaker 1: You know a lot of things have happened in the twelve years since Ak has been gone, and Blandy is riding a top fourteen streak. He's never had to go up against Dick bland This.

00:07:54
Speaker 2: Is a fun one. I'm gonna set the over under at forty eight, and that might sound crazy. Forty eight. You said it at forty. We'll see what happened.

00:07:59
Speaker 1: Forty seven and a half. You got to get on the on the half lit alright? All right, I'll go under. I'll go under. You could take over deal.

00:08:09
Speaker 2: All right?

00:08:10
Speaker 1: What are you out on?

00:08:11
Speaker 2: Andy? I am out on court storming, which may not sound golf, but I'm getting there. On Saturday night, Duke Wake Forest basketball fans rush the court ends up hurting one of the star players on Duke. Don't know how serious the injury is, but tweaked his knee and had it was kind of limping off the court. And this is gonna sound again like an old old man yelling at the clouds. But I think in golf we've had these break contain situations a couple of times over the last few years, major championships, the Phil Mickelson one, which you were a part of, that stampede east part.

00:08:48
Speaker 1: Of both, part of the Saint Andrew's one too.

00:08:52
Speaker 2: Saint Andrews. We had the East Lake one with Tiger. They did at the US Open last year, not as close to Windham Clark, but the fans came running around. I'm out on that. I think eventually like that can go wrong, especially when people have been drinking. I think there does need to be some protection for players. You can't protect every player, like there's so many guys spread out across the course that fans are gonna get close to him. It's really hard. But the break contained thing on eighteen, when you have a stampede, I'm out on that, and I think this hopefully, this court storming on Saturday night was a wake up call to all sports leagues that when you have a bunch of fans rushing at athletes, it can actually get pretty unsafe, So I'm out on that. Hope it doesn't happen at majors this year.

00:09:38
Speaker 1: I think Brooks actually got dinged at the Kiola one. He talked about it after, like somebody hit his knee, and that was the thing. Everybody was focused on Phil in that moment, Brooks had a chance to win and none of the The problem is there's no way to stop it in golf. You know how many security guards you need to stop a horde of people that want to charge the whole.

00:10:04
Speaker 2: I think they need to think about that.

00:10:07
Speaker 1: I just don't think they have enough volunteers. Yeah, it's a legit have it been a part of two of them. I just I don't know how you stop it.

00:10:16
Speaker 2: I hear you. But if it happens and somebody gets hurt, they're gonna figure out a way to make sure it doesn't happen again. So I think they should.

00:10:23
Speaker 1: Get out of How is basketball gonna stop it? I don't know how basketball is going to Yeah, they're gonna have to impost fines. Not every court or every conference has fines for storming the court, and I think that's probably an effective way. So I don't know what the solution is in golf if it's more security. But I do think this is the type of thing that no one thinks is a big deal until it happens, and then everyone reacts to it, almost like the phoenix open and not getting out of control. Like the athletes do need to be protected, Andy, what are you out on? I am out on the rules of golf and their applications at the professional level, at the PGA Tour level, in particular, this weekend, we had a situation. This weekend at Mexico, we had a situation with a boundary line. S H. Kim got a free drop in the final group. On Sunday, Sammy Valmachi took an unplayable I just think this is insane that they were in basically the same situation and two different outcomes happened because one guy claimed that he was going to play a ridiculous shot from over the fence. I just think there needs to be some uniformity of this, right. It's a struggle with rules in every league. The NBA struggles with refereeing MLB they want to go to like the people want robot umpires the NFL. There's constant complaints about what is and what isn't holding. This is a struggle. But at a golf level, I think there should be like an equitable way to treat everyone there. I don't necessarily I think there should be like an O, gotcha, I know the rules a little bit better than you, when there's a rules official right there administering the rule. I think like the aspect of understanding the rules to help yourself is a good thing when it's a situation where you're out on your own. It's like, hey, I'm going to take a drop from here because this is impeding my swing. I just don't like the general idea of using the rules to gain an advantage on the field. I don't think that's a good motive for players to be charged with. And then it puts the referees in this place where they're enablers, and they look bad, and the whole sports league looks bad. And that's what happened, Like all of golf looked ridiculous on Sunday, and I you know, thankfully it was a low stakes event, Mexico Open. But had this happened in like a US Open, it would have been insane. So Valmachi doesn't get a free drop, but s h Kim gets a free drop because he just basically lies to the rules official that he's going to play a preposterous shot from the other side of the fence. So anyways, that is what I'm out on. I I just think that if there's a rules official, it is the same rules official there. He should have said something to Valmachi and yeah, I mean he had to be thinking, oh man, this is the same exact situations Thursday.

00:13:32
Speaker 2: Couple things. Yeah, so Ashkim's on Thursday. Basically it seems like the what happened is that the sandy area to the right of the cart path is considered part of the cart path.

00:13:42
Speaker 1: So if he why why is that?

00:13:44
Speaker 2: That's crazy? Totally crazy. It's saying with you, with you. So his ball is underneath the fence and he basically says that he would want to play it sideways and go on the other side of the fence. Therefore he's standing on the cart path and that's why he gets relieved, I believe is the true ruling. The question that I think needs to be asked is why would he try to hit it sideways? That's gonna put him in the same spot as if you were to take unplayable with a stroke, So why why I think there should have been some pushback from the rules official on why would you attempt that shot You're not going to get closer to the whole, or like it seems like a highly unlikely shot that a player would attempt.

00:14:21
Speaker 1: He wouldn't have This is the thing the rules official needs to be like, you would never play that shot.

00:14:27
Speaker 2: Yeah, so the sand shouldn't have been considered part of the path. I don't think that I would maybe disagree a little bit. I don't think the rules official is supposed to help volamach.

00:14:36
Speaker 1: I know he's not supposed to. I'm just saying it's it's just like this idea of manipulation of the rules is a bad thing to go down, and where you have players trying to like I gotcha, the rules officials constantly like, I mean, we see this where guys are just asking for free drops all over the place, and then they get almost upset if they don't like the entitlement of the drop.

00:15:02
Speaker 2: Right in another thing, Andy, I don't know if this is priority one, but some of the players who English isn't their first language, like they might almost be at a competitive disadvantage because they can't go back and forth with the rules official sometimes on like what are all of my options? And yeah, I want to play this ridiculous shot from across the fence, Like that's a small thing, but that honestly is relevant. So I'm with you trying to game the rules by some kind of conversation with the rules official. It was. It was absurd. Vallamachi probably could have gotten a free drop if he'd asked for it, And that's crazy.

00:15:35
Speaker 1: I don't you know. And this is like a departure from the tradition of the game, but at the highest level with millions of dollars at stake like the PGA Tour, should the rules officials just be the people that make the rulings.

00:15:52
Speaker 2: It'd be a huge change.

00:15:55
Speaker 1: And it's not anymore the players asking or and maybe you have you know, this is the thing. They've got a big cash infusion into the game. Is there a walking rules official that does you know I scoring and rules for each group at every tournament? Is that a feasible thing, to.

00:16:18
Speaker 2: Be honest, I don't think that's necessarily the answer, but I think there's situations like this where sand is being considered part of the car path. It is kind of the problem here, like that's a crazy way to set that hole up, and we could have easily avoided all of this by just not having the sand to be considered part of the cart path. So I don't know if they need an overall overhaul to how these rulings are made, though I don't. I think it's worth exploring that option. But just having that sand as part of the car path was the problem.

00:16:45
Speaker 1: All right, let's get into our master's conversation. But first I got a little announcement to make. I'm pretty excited about this. Brendan Poorth, myself, Matt Rusche's and Cameron Hurdis from our team are embarking on a big trip to Northern Ireland next week. I've been dying to see Northern Ireland golf. On my list in club TFE of like courses I wanted to see this year. I didn't know I was gonna be doing this trip at that time. I put like the number one course I wanted to see this year was Royal County Down. So we are seeing the best of golf in Northern Ireland. We're gonna We're gonna fit in some hidden gems as well. We're gonna see Royal County down, Ardglass, Royal Port Rush, Port, Stewart, Castle Rock, and then we're gonna kind of fit in some of the coastal courses that are fly a little bit under the radar. I'm super excited about it. I'm also really excited to immerse myself in the culture see some of the other sites. It just looks like a stunning place. So I will be going to Northern Ireland next week. I cannot wait to really. I think it's one of the things I love doing the research of a trip and putting together trip. One of the things I thought about a lot is there aren't a lot of places that you can play two courses of the standard of Royal Port Rush and Royal County Down in terms of the way they're thought of across the world that are very in One of the neat things too with them is they're both connected to really it seems like vibrant towns. So what I love about this trip is that you can kind of limit your driving time. It's mostly on highways and we are staying in Newcastle and Port Rush, but like we're staying there for significant periods of time, so I can't wait for this trip. And there'll be a lot more on this podcast feed as well as the shotguns start and on the website about our trip and socials. So buckle up and pay attention to the Northern Irelands that's gonna be coming down the pipe. Joseph, let's talk about the Masters. Let's start with the course. What are your thoughts on the golf course from just you know, you look at courses a little bit different than I do, or Garrett does. What are your thoughts on the Masters and what stands out to you about Augusta Nashville.

00:19:17
Speaker 2: Yeah, super excited to do this, Andy, because I don't think you and I have really talked that much about Augusta as a golf course. You've been there multiple times and played it, so excited to get into it. I think I do have a different view on Augusta than a lot of people. I feel like what always gets thrown around is that it's a bomber's course and you can just spray it. I actually disagree with that, and I don't think that. I think that narrative's overblown. So personally, I find Augusta to be much more demanding off of the te than it's often given credit for, and you haven't have to keep the ball in play. A lot of holes out there. If you miss by a little bit, there's a little bit of a penalty, and if you miss by a lot, you start to get into problems. I think the first hole is a great example of that, where if you spray it right or left, like you can start to bring some big numbers into play. So I was curious from your perspective, Andy, when you played it for the first time last year, did you find it more demanding off the tea than you expected, Because that's something that when I talk to players, they tend to agree with me on that it's more demanding off the tea than it's given credit for. So I really wanted to get your perspective on that.

00:20:23
Speaker 1: I always find in a way, when you're under the gun, the more demanding te shots can almost be easier because they narrow your focus. So if you have like water right and bunkers left, you might look at that hole like what I usually will say to myself is like, you know what, you just got to make a great swing, and that actually frees me up to just make a great swing. Where golf gets you is when they pray on your weakness, like when you prey on your uncomfortable bowl feelings. Right, so when you say to yourself, oh, and I think, like the best players in the world are so great at this, right they know where they can miss, but they also know sometimes they just have to hit a great shot. With Augusta, what I found interesting was I was like really nervous to play last year. It's like one of those rounds where it felt like I was playing like a state am when I teed off because I was nervous about playing Augusta. This is of course you dreamed about playing your whole life, Like you get these nerves. And I think people probably like, so when you play a great course in your area, you're a little uncomfortable that like you've been really wanting to play.

00:21:37
Speaker 2: In a while.

00:21:38
Speaker 1: And what I noticed was I played really well. The holes that I drove it well, and the holes that I didn't drive it well, I struggled with Like that was a very you know, and I think like I was playing obviously a persimon driver. I think everybody's probably heard that the listeners to this podcast, but like it was a smaller head, and when I get a little quick, I miss I miss T shots, you know, out to the right, and I missed a lot of the I missed a lot of T shots early, and my score reflected that like particular a whole like perfect example is I hit it right on five and that is a very wide fair way. It's a wide corridor. But if you miss the corridor, you're in a lot of trouble. Like I was punching out sideways, I made a double there. You know, I'm punched out sideways. I think I hit a good punch shot had a third shot that I street putted like it. So the way I think, like what happens at Augusta in particular, is that mistakes compile. And the key to Augusta when you get out of position is the number one thing is understanding you're out of position and getting your next shot back into a position to avoid big numbers. Because what happens there is you're out of position, you try and hit a great shot because one of the things that it does do is allows you really heroic recovery options. And when you try and recover and you don't recover, you find yourself in a worse spot and then you get out of that and next thing you know, you're like, I got a really grind to not make a double, And if you could just limit yourself, like a perfect example is like I made I think I made four birdies in the round. I hadn't played golf for a week, I was coming off of covering a golf event. I was nervous, and I made four birdies, right, Like, you can make a ton of birdies. The key out there, and this sounds simplistic, is avoiding the big numbers. And you usually make the big numbers when you hit a bad t shot.

00:23:47
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think, and I'm glad you brought up five. People always when they talk about golf courses only focus on the with the fairways and think that that tells the whole story. And that is not the right way to look at professional golf courses and how it tests. You have to consider if you miss by a little bit, what's the penalty, And if you miss by a lot, what's the penalty associated with that. I think the fifth hole is a great example where it is pretty wide, but if you hit it three hundred and ten yards three hundred and twenty yards, like some of these guys and you get offline either left or right, you're starting to bring some big numbers into play if you don't play it smart. So I think that's a great example of a hole there's a lot right. Like I think seven not my favorite hole, but you got to hit the ball straight off the tee.

00:24:31
Speaker 1: See. I think that's one of actually the easier t shots out there because it's a tunnel right and and you what happens is those trees narrow down your focus. I felt like I stood on that tea and I was like, well, I just got to hit it straight. What's harder about the course is is when you have the wider corridor, the wider space, but you have the challenge like what we're talking about with five, where if you miss wide life after wide right on five you're in a really bad spot. But on five you've got that deep bunker on the left and you're trying to shade to sides of the fair away. I'm not saying you're ever trying to hit it down the left side, but as a player, you're shading. Okay, I want to push this left center. And when you start to shade out there, what it does is it brings those bigger misses in versus seven seven's like Okay, I just have to hit this straight and it gives you a defined shape and shot to hit, whereas I found the really tough driving holes to be the ones that are a little bit more Choose your own adventure, pick a line. I something that's interesting. This happened at Aaron Hills. A few players talked about it. I remember Jason Day talked about how much he struggled. So that's a place also that had really penalizing. It was wide, but when you missed wide, it was super penalizing. And Jason Day talked about how it was hard to find things to aim at, and I think when you get wider corridors that becomes a struggle. It's not as defined. These guys are so good when the when the target is defined. That's what they all are trying to do is pick a target. Commit You hear Kaddy say that so much in these like pick a car target, commit, commit to it. And when they're a little when it's a little bit wider, As a player, you're kind of looking at the fairway thinking, oh I could maybe I'll be over here, maybe I go over there. And I think that's challenging.

00:26:37
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a different type of shot, so I don't disagree that, like what's a harder shot might be the te on five versus the t on seven. But broader point, I think the underrated part of the entire golf course is that when you spray it a little bit, you're in real trouble. So I also think what you're hitting on with the site lines is an interesting point and maybe why you see certain golfers have more success there may be a little bit more predictiveness to how they've done in the past at Augusta because that's a little bit of a different type of shot. So I think we'll get into some names later, but certain guys who are comfortable with that, you see them year in and year out near the top of the leader board. I think that's an interesting thing to call out anyone. I wanted to get into a couple holes, nothing super in detail, but I think for me, two of the holes that have never popped as much that I haven't been there in person, So I would love your perspective on are fourteen and seventeen. And I know the green complexes are pretty severe and that's a big part of the appeal. But can you give people something about those two holes, because I've never felt like they maybe present as well on TV. I've always thought they're like fine, but I never really get been engaged with either of those holes. So curious for your perspective from playing it and seeing it in person.

00:27:52
Speaker 1: Start with fourteen. I think they're both amazing. Two of the best greens on the golf course, and that's saying a lot on the golf course that maybe has the best greens in the world. So with fourteen, it's a classic. You're fighting land. So you've got like a severe left to right slope that I don't think like the camera nobody ever explains this. I think great is where that slope is so severe you feel like you need to turn it over into it if you hit a fade and the fairways are running like that ball is going to bounce really far right. And what you want here is, like I feel like we see in these in the Masters, that's a hole where you can take advantage of it, especially on the weekend. You can make birdies there if you hit a good t shot. So it's so important to have the ball in the fairway and have control of your ball, but it's actually a very It's like one of those fairways that it's wide, but it functionally plays a lot smaller because of the slope. The other thing about the T shot is that it's blind, so you also have the discomfort of, Okay, I can't really see where this is going. With seventeen, that's a narrow tea shot like seven, you got to really like stand up and execute. One of the cool things about seventeen, and I experienced this firsthand, is that green sits the green site sits at such a severe left to right slope and it's built up super super It's super built up on the right and it looks like that right that back right, for example, whole location that's brutally tough. It looks like that is elevated. But that shot from and putts from left to right. There are so fast from the left side of the green to the right side of the green because it's gravity right. Your eyes will tell you that it's you're putting up, but it's it's so fast, So if you're chipping left to right, it's crazy fast. I think the green is just marvelous, where a lot of greens at Augusta. So one of my big things at Augusta. Everybody talks about it's approach course. It's an approach course. It's an approach course. And the seventeenth a great example of this. What it is is it's an approach course. Slash a lag putting course and chipping, yeah, chipping too. You're gonna people you have to hit great approach shots to generate birdies out there. But when like, you're not gonna hit seventy two great approach shots, and when you don't hit great approach shots out there, if you hit average approach shots, you have really hard two putts. If you hit poor approach shots, you have really hard two putts or difficult up and downs. And a lot of the reasons they are is what happens is the slopes have they go up and then a lot of them on the backside go down. So you are putting up and over slopes and you you're having to gauge. And what they do is they put the whole locations close to these slopes, so you're having to gauge the up and then the down. So you're worried, you're you're a lot of times you're just trying to get it over the slope, because then the back slope of it's going to take it right to the hole, and if you put a little too much gas on it, you've got eight feet coming back. I don't I didn't find like the speed of Augusta's greens to be a problem as much as I found the slopes of them right where they feel so fast because of how where they put whole locations and how they interact with the slopes. So you're you're putting over slope and then it's a downslope away and you're like, I have to get this over the slope, and you can look really silly and not get it over the slope and the ball comes back to you. But then if you get it over the slope and you're a little like you're you're thinking about, oh, I got to hit this heart. You have to be so free mentally in all parts of your game. Is really the thing there is that you have to be able to let go of where of what could happen, because when you're thinking about what could happen, things inevitably go wrong. Does that make sense?

00:32:21
Speaker 2: Yeah? And I think what you're hitting on and I think this is another big misconception about Augusta. I think you're hitting on how crucial it is to have control over your ball and how much you can separate your self tee to green, and even include lag putting in that a little bit. But I where I'm going with that is I think putting is just not Short range putting especially is not nearly as important at Augusta as it is a lot of places. And it often I kind of cringe when I hear people say, like, you gotta put well at Augusta. I think lag putting, sure, right, but short range putting that can be a weekness of yours and you can still win. And I think some of the concepts you are articulating are why that is true, right, these big sloped greens where you can create a lot of separation tea to green, and if you hit a bad one, that's a huge difference between hitting a good one. When we see players like Will's alatorres Hedeki Matsuyama, guys who struggle with the putter but can be good lack putters, especially Will's Alataurus, it's interesting to hear you articulate some of those same concepts, and I think that's a good representation of why when I hear people say like, oh, it's all about putting inside ten feet, it's just not.

00:33:33
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean you're going to generate, Like what you're hoping for is those putts to be you know, birdie putts right, which maybe carry every put's worth the same. But in terms of I think and Augusta in particular, it's about it's just keeping momentum going out there because there's so much so many birdies to be had, but there are also so many bogies like that. That's the crux of the course. It's just a variable golf course. There's high a high range of outcomes on almost every hole, and I think, like where the criticism for the golf course are the holes that they've narrowed them and narrowed them and reduced the number of outcomes, because that's the beautiful thing about the golf course. It's just how every hole you can conceivably make a birdie on, Like it's none of them are like, oh my god, nobody's going to make a birdie on this today. Like when you put the pin on the back of the shelf at fifteen at Riviera, like you know, one or two people might make birdie, but Augusta, everybody's got really good chances of making birdies on holes every day. But also in that same regard, like you take, you lose sight of what you're trying to do out there for a split second, and doubles just creep up.

00:35:03
Speaker 2: Yeah. So, with your explanation of fourteen and seventeen, maybe altering my opinion a little bit, one take I've had that maybe is a little out there, but I'd just love to hear your reaction to it. I think the front nine might be as good as the back nine, and I know that's like blasphemy for a lot of people, but outside of hole seven, I think the front nine is awesome. The opening hole is probably my favorite opening hole in professional golf, and just watching I mean, the par threes are excellent on the front especially six, five is an amazing hole. Like I think nine's an underrated hole at Augusta, I might enjoy watching professional golf as much on the front nine as on the back nine. Is that crazy to you?

00:35:39
Speaker 1: No, I don't think so. I think like if you thought about it from a land standpoint, I think you probably have a little bit more interesting topography on the front nine, I think the par threes are stronger. People are going to look at say, oh, how can you say that about twelve and sixteen? Six I think is the best part. Three on the golf court, I'm super excited that green got reworked this year, so that green there's I think more space on that back right section section, which I think is is good. Yeah, that's an that's just an amazing, amazing green. It's so there's gonna be more space on the back right and left there, so that I think, like, from that standpoint, I don't disagree I two. I think two is an amazing hole. I think three three is one of the ones you see. So I think there's this like evolution of Augusta to where you you watch it on TV, you go there in person and spectate. So this is my evolution, Right, you watch it on TV, you go there in person to spectate, and you you learn so much, right, It's it's amazing to spectate. But then when you play and you can actually step on the greens, your feet are on the greens, there's like a whole other realm of stuff you learn. And one of the things that the second shot into three is it's one of the hardest webshots in the world. It's nuts, and I get why guys drive it up to a extremely undesirable location to hit that, like forty yard pitch up in a way because the web shot you're standing in the fairway. I hit one and I was right on the plateau, and I was like, this might be the hardest wedshot I've ever had to hit.

00:37:36
Speaker 2: Yeah, and I think maybe an underrated part of that that shot is spin control, right, Yes, like that where.

00:37:41
Speaker 1: The green pitches insanely away and you have a false front in front. It's like the hardest shot where they put that pin on Sunday, like you you have to hit. I hit a great like a legitimately one of the best wedges of my life, and I had eighteen feet.

00:38:03
Speaker 2: It's it's kind of the spin control as a skill thing Like that is one shot where I kind of think like somebody like Patrick Reid who can kind of hit the one bound stop versus the high spin throw it way up in the air. He's giving himself a little bit of a bigger landing area. That's something I've always thought about whole three. So it's interesting to hear you say similar echo a similar sentiment that there's just nowhere to land that webshot.

00:38:25
Speaker 1: Well, what happens is you end up long because you can't end up shore.

00:38:30
Speaker 2: Which is a problem. Long pong's a problem too.

00:38:34
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's that's an amazing, amazing second shot. So I think, like, I'm not. I mean, I don't think that's crazy. I think eight to nine, or like if you went hole by hole, right, I mean ten tens. If we let's do a match play ten versus one one for.

00:38:57
Speaker 2: Me, like, I just think hoole one's awesome, and maybe that's some of the history of it and everything seen.

00:39:03
Speaker 1: The second shot into ten is insanity.

00:39:07
Speaker 2: I love I love whole ten.

00:39:09
Speaker 1: So we'll just call the push then, since we can't reach consensus. Eleven verses two.

00:39:16
Speaker 2: I mean for me, it'd be whole two me too, So.

00:39:19
Speaker 1: One up on the front nine three verses twelve.

00:39:22
Speaker 2: That's tough. I like whole three a lot. I think I have to defer to twelve.

00:39:26
Speaker 1: There, all right, I agree with you there, so it's all square. Thirteen verses four.

00:39:30
Speaker 2: This is a Stephen Ames tiger Wood Steven Ames thirteen. I think crushes four.

00:39:35
Speaker 1: Yeah, all right, so one up the back nine five verses fourteen.

00:39:40
Speaker 2: I mean I would pick five, but I haven't. You're giving me some reasons that to like fourteen, But I hohole five is like one of my favorite long par fours in professional golf.

00:39:50
Speaker 1: I would I hate, I really dislike the dow bunkers on five where they sit. I would prefer them a little bit more to the left. That being said, the second shot into five is pretty unbelievable. That green's unreal, like that would be on the list of best green to AUGUSTA National. I'll push it so that we get five in there so it's all square. Then we go to six versus fifteen. This is a tough one. This is a controversial one. Yeah, I feel like I have to go with six here. I think six five has produced a lot of awesome Sorry, fifteen has produced a lot of awesome moments. In terms of what I value in professional golf and optionality, I think six is kind of more interesting, especially that right pin watching guys try to two putt from down low left.

00:40:40
Speaker 2: I'm gonna go with six here. What about you?

00:40:43
Speaker 1: Man? This is I I think I like six as a whole more. Maybe that being said, I think that like they offer. I mean, the second standing on the hill, hitting the second shot on fifteen is one of the most manning shots in all of golf. So I'm probably going fifteen on top of like the moments that it's produced in especially the recent year. I think it's been the hole that's decided the most masters in the last ten years. So I'm going fifteen will push that is still all square. Here's the pooh poop platter battle seven versus sixteen.

00:41:26
Speaker 2: I'm taking sixteen, not my favorite hole, but I actually really enjoy watching that back right pin location on sixteen. Seven. I just think it's a stinker. So I'm taking sixteen.

00:41:39
Speaker 1: This is I don't know what to do here. I think I've taken seven. I like the approach to seven from the fairway more than I like the approach to sixteen. I think that's a really neat different varied green on the on the front nine, I think the shallow nature of it this how it's got the shelf in between it. That is a really really great green that really showcases the variety of greens at Augusta National. And I think sixteen is the weakest green at Augusta Nationals, so I can't.

00:42:15
Speaker 2: Those are funnally right. Both Sunday pins get really funnily on seven and sixteen, or historical Sunday pins.

00:42:22
Speaker 1: That's where like seven. I like that. It's you gotta have the ball in the fairway, and I think if they widened it it'd be even better. Where like everybody's and it's like, you got to hit the shot. It's gonna be a wedge to this funnel pin. But if you're in the rough then it gets tough. So let's go to eight. It's still all square. Eight versus seventeen. I think we probably are both taken eight.

00:42:46
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm taking eight. That's a tough one, but I'm taking eight.

00:42:49
Speaker 1: Nine versus eighteen for me not close.

00:42:52
Speaker 2: I actually hate the eighteenth tot it Augusta, so i'd pick nine going away.

00:42:57
Speaker 1: I'm taking nine too. I think that second shot dynamic on ninth so fun to watch. Sweet, just an impossibly tough lie to and elevated green like everything with the lie downslope, the ball is gonna come out low sidehill lie. The ball's gonna tend to squeeze out right, and the thing you can't do is hit a weak, short right shot that doesn't carry. So you're general like you're innate reaction as a golf course is to compensate, come over it a little and cover the ball, and that produces a long left shot and from there you just you're just that Tiger Lag putt when he won in twenty nineteen one Sunday.

00:43:37
Speaker 2: There have been a lot of cool shots. Going back and watching some old masters on YouTube, there have been a lot of cool shots on nine that Sunday pin the way that, Yeah, the Tiger Lag putt. That's one of the most fun second and third shots out there on the golf course. So I levell nine, So.

00:43:52
Speaker 1: I think that's a really cool I think one of the things that aspects of Augusta from the course standpoint is how your lies always work against the shot you want to hit into the green, the interaction of the ground with the green orientation. So we just talked about nine. Fourteen's the same way the balls below your feet, and what the struggle with fourteen is is keeping the ball left and staying on the shelf. All the shelves run down to the right, and that's the tended miss from that hanging lie is right how about thirty. You think about thirteen. You want to hit a fade and a high fade into thirteen, and they give you the world's biggest hook. Lie. So you just think about all the ways that the ground interacts with the and it's always running counter to the shot you want to hit.

00:44:46
Speaker 2: It's awesome. Yeah, It's something we don't see very often on in professional golf right these And you need a lot of space to do that, right Andy, Because if you had narrow fairways, how heavily contoured could they be? So I think it is a kind of a ironment that you have a bunch of space, which not every golf course can replicate. But that's why Augusta's special.

00:45:06
Speaker 1: All right, have we covered the course?

00:45:09
Speaker 2: I think so. I think we got through all my notes. I wanted to get into some of the players and some of the storylines entering this Masters. I mean, it's interesting that we're not seeing a lot of them square off head to head entering the Masters.

00:45:23
Speaker 1: Pretty fragmented and desjoined at top of the world right now and.

00:45:27
Speaker 2: Go yeah, So I kind of wanted to put you on the spot and make you rank Scotty, rom Rory and Brooks, who do you think best chances if you had to order them or pick one or two that you your life depended on them being in the top five. Those top four names, where are you right now?

00:45:47
Speaker 1: I think I think it's hard to not take Scotty number one, and I know the putters an issue, but you know that the ball striking is going to be there, So I think I'd probably go rom and Scotty one and two. And I think Brooks and Rory present somewhat variable wild cards. You know, we saw Brooks play great early in the Majors, then he wasn't really much of a factor of the last two majors. We saw Rory play really really well at LACC. When Rory seemingly plays poorly now it's still a top ten last year's Masters, you know that was the only one that he hasn't finished in the top ten in the last eight, right, I mean, he's a great question. I think what would be awesome is of all four of those guys were playing on the same tour and we got to look at all of them in the similar environment. But right now we only we get ROMs and Brooks, who I think it both played pretty well at the start of this year, they haven't won, but both of them played well on Live and then you get Rory and Scotty. Rory's played on two different tours, dominated on the DP World Tour and headed over to the US Tour hasn't been the same. I wonder, you know, if part of it's just everything that's going on off the course with the US Tour. If being on the DP World Tour offered like, Wow, this was a chill week where nobody's asking me all these questions. But Scotty, I don't know, how would you go?

00:47:27
Speaker 2: Maybe this is no over correction to last year, but I feel pretty strongly that rom should be the favorite, and they're all kind of those top three are kind of co favorites, with Brooks a little behind them. I think the accuracy with his driver is a big thing, and kind of going back to what we've talked about earlier in this pod with big misses being penalized, Like Rory out there, how far he hits it and he can get a little stray. A lot of t shots make me nervous, where I don't have that concern with John Rahm, who just hits it appreciably straighter and with Scotty how bad the short putting is. I know it's not the most important spot to put lights out, but every hole can turn into a bogie for Scotty pretty quickly, whereas John Rahm just doesn't have those holes in his game. So I think John Rahm should be the favorite this year, even though who knows what his game is going to look like entering. I think we saw last year that a lot of the live guys were fine, So I think John Rahm should be the favorite.

00:48:25
Speaker 1: I had question for you, do you think Rory should throttle back? We saw at LACC a similar Yeah, I think there's some similarities there, but we saw like a distinct difference in his game plan. He hit irons, which he still hits really far. He had a lot of three woods. Do you think a three wood's easier to turn over right to left? Do you think that Rory should be thinking about maybe hitting less drivers, knowing that he's plenty long with throttling back.

00:48:57
Speaker 2: I love this, I didn't. I'm glad you asked it. That's a that's something that I've felt, Yes, he should, and I know that runs antithetical to what gets discussed a lot in the golf analytics circles always hit driver. Augusta is different in how it penalizes wide misses where it's a lot different than somewhere like Tory Pines. So I don't think Rory should just plod his way around with three wood, but there are opportunities where I think he should. The first hole is a good example of that, and we've seen him hit some spray drivers. The final round twenty eighteen with Patrick Reid, where Rory starts to day by just flaring one way out right into the trees on one, I think one is a three wood. I think ten for sure is a three wood that you can turn over right to left. So there are some opportunities out there where I think he should be throttling back.

00:49:41
Speaker 1: Yeah, I don't think it's a crazy idea, Like I don't. He's one of my big takeaways last year from the Majors is it is astonishing how much further he hits the ball, or farther it'd be farther for a giving farther he hits the ball than people we consider very long. If the golf course is like firm and rolling, he will He was, you know at La he was regularly twenty five past shuffler. I mean, that's insanity, and he can give up some of that for preferred shape. And I know that statistically a lot of times, like in a bulk sample, when you look at every player, dispersion patterns of a three wood and a driver aren't that much different. They are different, though they are different that much different. I think this is at the top level of the game. We need to look at like personal dispersion patterns, not bulk. And I'd be really curious to see what worries dispersion with the three wood is versus a driver and if it if it keeps one ball out of the jump out of like the trees out of the pine straw, that that really plays into to his hand. That's the big number that we just talked about with the golf course.

00:51:05
Speaker 2: Yep, and look the some of what gets discussed as bulk, but people do look at that kind of thing. I can tell you for a fact, Rory's dispersion is appreciably tighter with the three wood, which makes sense most golfers are not, just because the ball is traveling farther offline. Also that you do hit it straighter from it like this perspective of the dispersion angle with the three wood, So I'd like to see us a loft right Yet, Yeah, you said more control over the ball in general, I mean, I'm sure some of that if Rory's I'm sure he has certain swings with driver that tighten the dispersion, So you could get into some of that. But in general, I agree with you he needs to be thinking about where those big misses could come into play and consider hitting a three wood there, especially if it doesn't have changed the approach difficulty that much. Like that's a big thing I think generally at augusta like if twenty yards is worth a different amount on different holes. Right on fifteen, an extra twenty yard is a huge deal, but on the first hole it's not.

00:52:02
Speaker 1: As I wouldn't say hit three would there?

00:52:05
Speaker 2: Exactly exactly? Andy wanted to ask you this. So golfers who have played at least twelve rounds since twenty ten at the Masters, top strokes gained by round rom is two, Scheffler's three, Rory's five, and Brooks is six. Can you guess one in four?

00:52:25
Speaker 1: Hmmm, one in four by round Jordan Speith, Jordan.

00:52:32
Speaker 2: Spif number one and then he's very close to Rom and just those three all pretty close. Sorry Justin Rose, Justin Rose number four. So I think that that's interesting. You get the top three there, spif Rom and Scheffler all around two point two to two point three strokes around, then a pretty big half a shot gap to Rose at one point seven, one point eight, and then Rory and Brooks at five and six. So I think the speF conversation and you're just a guy, take this is an interesting use case this year for what Speed's gonna have. He s he's number one.

00:53:06
Speaker 1: I mean you talk about a place that fits fits his game really well, Like if he could just keep the ball in the corridors from there on, from from the basically the t shot on, you couldn't design a better golf course for Jordan Speed.

00:53:23
Speaker 2: I think similar with like somebody the Cam Smith, right, I think it's kind of reasonable to some ump those two golfers together.

00:53:29
Speaker 1: Those are that is actually a really good comp Those are two players that play a very similar style. I think Cam, I'm excited. I want to see Cam. One of the things that I wish we had, was like shot link, a similar data across the two Tours. Has Cam lost some speed? It seems like he's not in the same shape that he was in when he went to Open You look at pictures, it's it's very very different. Has he lost speed? Is he the same? You know? Is it? Is it that these are things that I wonder right because like I think with with Cam the two years preceding the Open Wind, which at that point I think he was very much on a trajectory to get to number one in the world before he went to Live the improvement of the t Degreen game was astounding and there was there is substantial speed which helped him get to the short irons, which the short irons and wedge play. I don't know if I would if if if coming down the stretch, I don't know if there's anybody in the world I have more confident confidence with a short iron in the in their hand, I don't think so. But you know, if you if you even lose a fraction of that speed, it has such a big impact down through the bag because if it's one one extra club into every green, it might seem like such an inconsequential number. But like this, the difference between ultra elite male professional golfers and above average is fractional stuff.

00:55:14
Speaker 2: Totally, and if it could be the difference between having an eight footer for Birdie and an eleven footer for Birdie. And he's such a good putter that he's burying a lot of those eight footers. So I think a huge part of the cam Smith ascension was, yeah, picking up that speed, which gives him more short irons and those putts that you can convert. So was just pulling some stats. I don't want to bore people with stats, but was just pulling together some I kind of set the range from twenty ten onward, but andy players who've played at least five events since twenty ten and made the cut in all of them. Cam Smith is one of those players seven to seven made cuts here and he's has four top tens in that span. Rom has also made all of those cuts, seven of seven and another player that we're going to see, Adam Scott fourteen of fourteen made cut. Think it's pretty impressive since twenty ten fourteen to fourteen. He's the only golfer that's made all the cuts in that span who's played at least a ten events. So those are a couple of names to be thinking about, not just them potentially doing well at Augusta, but why do those golfers do well at Augusta and what might that reflect about skill sets of other players who could do well.

00:56:18
Speaker 1: Are there any newcomers that you're particularly interested in excited to watch.

00:56:23
Speaker 2: I think Wyndham Clark might be the most exciting name. I'm really excited to see what Wyndham Clark can do at Augusta. I mean, he's not a newcomer.

00:56:31
Speaker 1: I don't know if you can I feel like, I mean he's a newcomer in the sense of he really started to put it together last May, and.

00:56:39
Speaker 2: He's ever played Augusta.

00:56:41
Speaker 1: He hasn't.

00:56:43
Speaker 2: No, I mean he wasn't. He wasn't in Augusta last years.

00:56:47
Speaker 1: That's insane.

00:56:48
Speaker 2: It's crazy.

00:56:49
Speaker 1: You got two you got two players that are in the top eleven in the world rankings that are going to be playing their first Masters.

00:56:56
Speaker 2: It's crazy. I know because that was the story with Wyndam Clark. He won US Open and he hadn't even been qualified for the Master.

00:57:02
Speaker 1: Forgot about that.

00:57:03
Speaker 2: I'm pretty excited to see what he can do. And you're you're kind of alluding to blood, big Blood, big Obert. What do you, yeah, what are your expectations for him? How excited are you to watch him for the first time at Augusta.

00:57:14
Speaker 1: I'm super excited. I think this is just uh. I think it's a golf course that's hard to get comfortable on, and the number one thing that that is required for success at Augusta is being comfortable. It's about being able to free yourself and and really commit to targets, make swings, and not be worried about where it could go or what might happen. Because the only thing worse than hitting a bad shot is worrying about hitting a bad shot out there, because that that's going to lead to one. So I think that's probably why first time or struggle at Augusta is just not being comfortable enough to let it go. That being said, I think he's been a super impressive talent. I think his game presents itself pretty well. I think we saw in the Ryder Cup his approach play was a little leaky, and that's a super small sample size, but the way he played there under similar I think pressure, similar uncomfortable, uncomfortable situation. That's what would make me hesitant about Ludwig.

00:58:32
Speaker 2: I think it's one of the most interesting stories in golf, is like, what does Ludwig's long iron play look like? Because you just don't see it that often on the PGA tour. He kind of cleaned up last late summer and through the fall. But that's not a lot of long irons, you're right. And Marcos Simone struggled a little bit with the long irons, and then Genesis he was fine. I mean, he's shown he can hit a long iron, like the guy's an amazing ball striker. But what's he going to do with Augusta is a great question.

00:58:57
Speaker 1: Last year. Last year a player told me that had played with Ludwig. When I was asking them about him, he said, he's no Rom.

00:59:11
Speaker 2: In what way the long iron?

00:59:13
Speaker 1: Just like that was the general thought. And I think they've been on a similar trajectory in terms of their play early in their career. But it was illuminating to me that that was the comment. He's really good, but he's no Rom And maybe that I don't know. That was obviously before he went on a crazy run that he's gone on. But I thought that was illuminating.

00:59:41
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think this is going to be a big opportunity to find out a little bit what Ludvig's game is. So that's probably one of the most compelling names to keep an eye on his debut at Augusta. Golfers have done well in their debuts at Augusta. It's not impossible. And that's one name I was going to throw at you, Andy that I think isn't a long shot, but some it's not on the first sheet of names. I think Sahith is a super interesting name this year. He made his debut at Augusta last year and finished ninth solo ninth.

01:00:07
Speaker 1: Played well at the Old Course.

01:00:09
Speaker 2: He's he's a good ball striker. He's got the power off of the tea and some of the long iron play the short there's enough.

01:00:17
Speaker 1: There's a little bit more space too, which I think he can get a little bit wild and that space, yep, it helps him out. He's got a lot of shots. He knows how to hit golf shots. I think that's like the This sounds simplistic, but the guy's got a lot in his bag.

01:00:37
Speaker 2: He does and even some of Like I know, Phoenix isn't necessarily the best comparison, but it has some similarities. To Augusta, especially controlling those approach shots into kind of big firm Greens finished fifth Phoenix this year and he almost won, as we remember previously. So I think Sahith's kind of an interesting name to keep on an eye on. Andy. Do you have anybody that wouldn't be on the sheet of names that you think is either gonna play well or you're just excited to see how he stands up.

01:01:06
Speaker 1: I mean, I'm excited to see Nieman play, and obviously we we he's played so well. I this has been a controversial topic in golf with him the exemption, he got the live thing, but I I've been I got to commend him for playing all over the world and tempt to get this and get it. He's played well there in the past. It's I he's one of the people that like, is one of the more the people that I missed more that went to live like I would say camp Smith, him Brooks, and I mean he's only twenty five years old. It's crazy. I mean, this is the thing when you turn pro at eighteen, he's he's a household name, but he's still only twenty five. So there's you know, a extreme you know, he a familiarity, and this is when when guys and I just I think I like him being from Chile. I just I guess he's someone that I'm excited to see. Just a general, min Wu Lee could be fun to watch out there. Who will be in there? Just I think he's shown up in some some big moments. He's had some flashes. Uh again, Like I think min Wu's older than than Neiman just his reference point, right, everybody thinks about min Wu is this like young star And I think he's older than Neeman if I If I'm correct.

01:02:37
Speaker 2: He is older than Neman, just by a few months. But yeah, I love the Neemen call andy. I think one thing we've seen some guys who do well at Riviera show up and do well at Augusta, right Adam Scott, Bubba Watson h a lot of similarities there sort of and the long Iron test, the complex screens. Nemen won by multi shots at Riviera in twenty twenty two. I think he might be the name that if he showed up at the top of the leaderboard on Thursday at this year's Masters, it would sneak up on some people, but it really shouldn't. Like he's somewhere around fifty to one on depending on what book you're looking at. And I think him having longer odds than like a female. As much as I like few, I think Neven's got a better chance of winning this golf tournament than Tony Finow.

01:03:27
Speaker 1: I guess like something that I'm just fascinated to watch is Justin Thomas. Just in general. You know, he's never he's played okay there. I think he had a real shot to win in twenty twenty. He hasn't played great. He played really well at some soft setups. Once we ratcheted up here in the last few weeks, he hasn't played as well. So listen, like I think it's this is hard. Is JT's best golf beyond him? Behind him? And I think this year's majors. He's thirty years old.

01:04:12
Speaker 2: That's a big question.

01:04:15
Speaker 1: You look at superstar players, and Justin Thomas is a superstar, and golf usually superstars are like five years, seven years, ten years of really high level play. We're at, like there are really special superstars get to ten years of high level play. For JT, we're at about seven years of really high level play. I don't think this is a crazy question to ask. I think the same thing could be said about Jordan Speith. I think Rory's the outlier of this generation where his high level of play has surpassed ten years. I mean, anybody that disagrees with this, go find me how many superstars had more than ten years of extremely elite play in the history of modern professional golf. The list is super short. I mean, Faldo's cliff is like ten years, and that guy won six majors. Duval was really short. VJ. Singh had a really strong ten years. Ernie Els was about ten to twelve years. I mean, you're talking about generational players right there. It is extremely hard to play this game at a top ten, top fifteen level for a really long time. And I and Rory might be you know, I think Rom is poised to do it just because of how repeatable his swing is, how sound his game is. But it's very hard to do this. And if this year's majors aren't great for I think it really opens up a question because the young young talent, he's not long anymore. And we saw this happen with Ricky. Ricky's game started to fall off when he went from being an above average player off the tee to an average player with youth speed, and the same thing is happening now. You know, these young players are so fast and long that what it does is it takes above average skills and makes some average skills off the tee. The only player that seemingly like really kept up and continued to be a speed king is Rory, Like it's really hard to do.

01:06:41
Speaker 2: I love this call. I mean JT still has some speed, like he's still gaining distance on the field, but he's not going to be right near the top. And when he was like a top twenty guy. Yeah, and some of winning is getting yourself in the mix a lot. He hasn't really gotten himself in the mix out Augusta like he should. I mean, he's been there before, but we're not looking at a ton of amazing finishes from JT at Augusta. He was cut last year, eighth year before twenty first, the year before. There's a lot in that ten to twenty five range. I think a big thing with Justin Thomas to watch is his t shots on the thirteenth hole. I know I've called this out before, but he's not somebody you don't like get lily smacking with this like whip draw off of that tea. I don't like the shot with the driver, and he's cost himself a lot of strokes on that hole, so that is a big one to watch.

01:07:34
Speaker 1: My question is I don't think he would ever try and hit that shot if he hadn't gotten that great bounce on this eighteenth hole at Tpgress. It was one of the great bounces in golf history. That ball was snapping and managed to bounce straight because it caught like that little slope. If that ball ends up in the water there, he probably never hits that shot again. And that's a big way golf works. I hear you and guys trying to hit the big draw with driver. It's just with the modern technology, it's not really something that is advised. I think the tenth hole at Augusta is another example where if JT tries to do that with driver, I'd hold your breath. Ten and thirteen those are big shots to watch. Yeah, I agree the I think, yeah, it's that's where distance and advantage. That's where you know, could Rory get around the corner on thirteen with a three wood and turn it over probably right.

01:08:33
Speaker 2: One maybe last question for you, Andy Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schaffley, both in contention at Riviera, pretty weak performances on Sunday. Are you giving either golfer a chance of winning this Masters?

01:08:49
Speaker 1: Yeah, I've given them a chance. There are two of the best players in the world. I am I'm always fat. The thing that's really drawn my attention the last couple of years with them is there they are marching up the top tens or top ten weeks in the top ten of the OWGR without a major. They are They are unassailably both. I doubt both of them will win the one this year, but one of them at the end of this year, assuming they both don't win, one or both of them will be near They will be the top modern player, you know, non like uncompetitive. The only people ahead of them will be Westy and Colum Montgomery. For weeks in the top ten without a major.

01:09:36
Speaker 2: Pretty crazy, unbelievably consistent. Not a lot of looks at winning a major.

01:09:43
Speaker 1: Xander had a ton early.

01:09:45
Speaker 2: Twenty nineteen, for sure. Yeah, he's had some looks.

01:09:48
Speaker 1: But it's it's almost I don't know this again. This goes to this, this career understanding the career of a superstar. They are, they aren't long. And you could ask the same thing about Cantley and Xander is are we getting to the end of their maybe five to seven year run as a top player. I don't necessarily think so, but these are There is a shelf life on players and understanding that history says this is important when you're considering these players.

01:10:27
Speaker 2: So Jake Knap's not going to be a star that at age thirty that just won for the.

01:10:32
Speaker 1: Future he could. I think one of the things that has happened with the tour is like we've become so fascinated with the prodigy that we lose we've lost sight of like the normal career progression. And I think Wyndham Clark is a great reminder of that, where Wyndham Clark's run as a star might be starting now and we might look back seven year years ago and be like, you know, he didn't figure it out until he was twenty eight.

01:11:04
Speaker 2: Pretty crazy that Wyndham Clark could. I mean, we talked about a lot of golfers and you've talked about this just not getting it done. Recently, Andy Wyndham Clark has won, He's won wells Fargo US Open at Pebble shortened event, like he's actually starting to win. Be pretty impressive if he gets himself in the mix at the Masters and shoots up the world rankings. I know the world rankings are a little distorted right now, not ranking live guys, but Windham's got a real shot at becoming the number one golfer in the world, which is a pretty crazy climb and.

01:11:34
Speaker 1: A real takeaway from Riviera. He's got serious horsepower. He's one of the few players that I've ever seen keep up with Rory McElroy off the tea.

01:11:45
Speaker 2: God bombs it.

01:11:47
Speaker 1: So I think that you talk about this modern game of golf that is always going to be an extremely important thing, and he puts well and he could be a good iron player in spurts. Yeah, all right, that does it for our early You know, we'll obviously cover the Masters in much greater detail as we get closer, but we wanted to kind of set the stage, give a look as we get closer to the Masters at kind of the big things going into it. Joseph recommendations on our on our way out, Do you have a recommendation this week?

01:12:21
Speaker 2: I do. Let me grab the name there's this I'm not a soccer fan, Andy, that's like the one sport that I don't watch, or football. For the European listeners, let's call it European football. True football is in America. But uh, somebody would.

01:12:37
Speaker 1: Recommend you have people riled up there.

01:12:39
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's that's what I'm going for. Somebody had recommended me this sub stack from John Mueller m U L L e R. And he kind of gets into some of the tactics in European football and applying some concepts from other sports. So it's a sport I know almost nothing about, but I'm pretty interested and reading a little bit about the tactics, understanding the sport at a little bit of a deeper level, and maybe that'll be something that gets me into it. So if somebody reads this and thinks this is very basic, I have a better recommendation for you and has something that I can read, feel free to tweet it or post it at me. But I've been enjoying learning a little bit more about the ins and outs of soccer.

01:13:17
Speaker 1: I feel like there's some overlap with soccer strategies and hockey strategies, probably just with how the offense is initiated. I grew up playing hockey and I just whenever I watch soccer, I feel like it's similar, where there's like a patience to the offense and it's about moving the puck or the ball around enough to get a defense imbalanced and then attacking, which there when you can watch them at a deep level. I always love watching playoff hockey. I feel like I have less and less time in my life as I get older, and that's one of the things that's fallen by the wayside. But that's it's just fun to watch because it's a patient game, right, It's not everything doesn't just unravel really quickly, similar to golf in that aspect. My recommendation is uh which is coming out in a couple of weeks. Full Swing two Season two. I've watched two episodes. I think so far it's I like it a lot more than season one. There's a little bit more depth to the show. I could be completely wrong, but by the time I watch the rest of it, but so far, I think it's pretty good.

01:14:33
Speaker 2: Super excited. Uh Yeah. I think this season has a lot of potential and kind of laying the groundwork season one, Season two can expand upon that and you know some of the characters already, so maybe they can get a little bit deeper into some of their backstories and what's been going on in the last year. So I'm very excited about it.

01:14:51
Speaker 1: And this episode was edited and produced by Mega Atkins Meg back on the production share with Matt traveling this week. Thank you, and as a quick reminder, join Club DFE. We got lots of stuff going on there. We just posted a review of the park we dive in deep there. On top of that, we'll have you know we have weekly designed notebooks and monthly videos, so there's a ton of content that's being produced in CLUBDFE. It's one hundred and twenty dollars for the year and that really goes to help support everything we're trying to do as we continue to grow and evolved here at Friday Golf. So thank you and we will be back later this week. H