Takeaways from the 2024 Players with Sean Martin

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. And when I find my ball in a.

00:00:06
Speaker 2: Bride Egg Friday Egg, the dreaded Frida Egg, Friday, Fridagg, Fridagg, bride Egg.

00:00:11
Speaker 3: Lie, I'm about ready to run off of the hump.

00:00:34
Speaker 4: Welcome to the Friday Egg Golf Podcast. I'm Garrett Morrison. And that was a tremendous Players Championship Scotti Scheffler battled through a neck injury to win his second PGA Tour event in a row and his second players in a row. He is in a kind of dominant form that we rarely see in modern professional golf. It's really exciting, but he really had to earn it. This week. He's sixty four on Sunday, and even so Xander Schaffle, Brian Harmon and Wyndham Clark. We're all very close to forcing a playoff. In Wyndham's case, he was a one to eighty lipout away from forcing a playoff. But Scheffler got it done and we're going to talk about all of it in today's episode. Later we'll be joined by PGA Tour editorial lead Sean Martin to do takeaways from the Players Championship. But first let's bring on my co host Joseph Lamannia for our in and out segment where we talk about what we're in on and what we're out on in the golf world this week. Joseph, what are you in on?

00:01:37
Speaker 2: You said golf world. We'll use that loosely, but I'm connecting it to golf. Garrett I am in on a recent directive from the NBA Professional Basketball League to kind of curb foul hunting in the in the NBA, where for it's kind of been a growing problem that.

00:01:58
Speaker 4: So, is this like a James Harden rule or something.

00:02:00
Speaker 2: Kind of yeah, where basketball players when they're going to the basket are kind of launching themselves into the defender and then flailing their head and making it look like they've drawn a foul. That there's a lot of ways in which they've kind of been foul hunting.

00:02:14
Speaker 1: It's described.

00:02:15
Speaker 2: And scoring has been way up in the NBA this year, like fifty point games at unprecedented levels from individuals. It's kind of turned NBA scoring into defenders. There's almost nothing that they can do that has changed over the past couple weeks, seemingly since All Star Break, and the NBA has sort of admitted that they kind of directed officials to just curb the foul hunting. A little bit unclear if maybe there are any other rules that they're implementing, but it seems like at least the foul hunting that offensive players have been able to do has been stopped, and the game is so much better.

00:02:54
Speaker 1: It's so much more fun to watch.

00:02:56
Speaker 2: There's more defense, guys aren't constantly in foul trouble, And the point I would make with that, to me, it's kind of similar to a rollback in that when the gameplay is suffering on the court or on the course for one reason or another, whether it's athleticism, technology, it's nice to see some leadership kind of step in and restore the gameplay back to where it should be, to where there's a defense and to where scoring still matters, and where you're not gonna see fifty point nights at as high of a frequency. You're not gonna see guys go on fifty nine watch all of the time. If we were to maybe implement some rule changes to bring scoring back to equilibrium a little bit, it's nice to see some leadership from the NBA, and I think that's kind of a symptom of a member run organization, right like the PGA Tour. I'm sure the NBA players wouldn't implement this rule if they were the ones making all the decisions, But when you have people who are recognizing, hey, gameplay has suffered a little bit, there needs to be leadership to step in and kind of rein it in. I think it's a good example here at the NBA making sure the gameplay is maximized, not being willing to compromise on that. And I'd like to see golf follow suit with a rollback. So is connecting foul hunting to a rollback? Does that feel appropriate?

00:04:16
Speaker 3: Garrett?

00:04:17
Speaker 4: I think you've made the connection well, But to me, the main difference is that there's no industry that has its interests tied up in keeping foul hunting alive, whereas there is a massive equipment industry in golf that has its interests tied up in preventing a rollback, and so that to me is the main difference. Maybe the structure of the two leagues also plays into this, but yeah, certainly I can see the connection between a league making a rule that will help the product overall and make truly great scoring nights meaningful. And that's kind of what we want out of golf. We want truly great ball striking to be meaningful.

00:05:06
Speaker 1: Right.

00:05:06
Speaker 2: You need somebody who's watching the sport and recognizing when we're compromising on playing playability a little bit. And I think the NBA clearly had that issue and addressed it. I think golf clearly has that issue and is yet to address it in a meaningful way.

00:05:22
Speaker 1: So I agree.

00:05:22
Speaker 2: It's not a perfect apples to apples comparison here. Nothing is, but I think it's a good example of a league stepping in and bringing back the entertainment value a little bit. I mean, that's ultimately what we're after here is the best version of the sport. So I think it was a good example of that. Garrett, what are you in on this week in the golf world? I'll use that term loosely.

00:05:42
Speaker 4: I am in on Scotty Scheffler's beard.

00:05:44
Speaker 1: Wow.

00:05:46
Speaker 4: Does it make him look a little bit like John Rahm? Yes, but I think he wears it well and it makes him look a bit less like, you know, an assistant manager at a Regional Bank in North Carolina, which I think is what he looks like when he's cleanly shaven, just everything that, the haircut, the face. You know, it's just like, this guy doesn't look like a badass professional golfer, but with the beard, it looks like he's been through some stuff. He looks like a guy who's been through some putting struggles and is a bit weathered and grizzled, and that, to me is appealing. I'm very much in on that this week, Joseph, What are you out on?

00:06:26
Speaker 2: So I'm sure I'll get some pushback for this, especially among people that know a little bit more about the handicap system than I do, because admittedly I'm not somebody that keeps up with posting a bunch of scores and maintaining a handicap. I think I'm out on there being specific seasons for the USGA where you can post a score, and having some of my friends in the Midwest who can't post scores like in January or February because we're out of season.

00:06:55
Speaker 1: I'm out on that.

00:06:56
Speaker 2: I was reading a little bit about it this morning, and I think the USGA is rationale is well, like the slope and the rating of a golf course are based off of normal playing conditions, And if you were to post a score in Chicago in February, like, that's not actually representative of your score, and so we're going to start to see handicaps skewed in those months. But like, you can post a score in June when it's forty miles an hour of wind. Playing conditions aren't standardized anyway, So I think I'm just out on there being specific times of the year that you can post a score. It doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Am I crazy here? I mean, I know the USGA, they're a partner of Friday Golf. I'm sure they've got a good response to this, But am I off base here?

00:07:41
Speaker 1: Garrett?

00:07:42
Speaker 2: It doesn't make sense to me that if I catch a warm day in February. Yeah, if there's temporary greens, sure don't post the score. But there's subjectivity in posting a score anyway. You're not supposed to give yourself putts like, this isn't a perfect science. Why can't I post a score in mid February if I live in Indiana?

00:07:58
Speaker 4: Yeah, I'm not sure why the line is there, right, because that is an instance of line drawing. We're saying scores that are posted during these months of the year are not representative of the golfer's overall ability. But as you say, why not draw the line with a very windy day or an unseasonably rainy day, or maybe it's hailing on you and you manage to finish eighteen holes. Can you post that score as long as it happens in June?

00:08:29
Speaker 2: I mean, how about pin locations, Garrett, You have a crazy pin and everyone's four putting because it's just on a ridiculous slope, Like the handicapped system doesn't know about that. Conditions aren't standardized anyway. I can't post a score on a hot day in February.

00:08:41
Speaker 4: Superintendent has had a melt down and just the greens are rolled and the pins are in crazy places. Yeah, I agree with the general point that conditions in golf are always always not standardized. That's part of the game. And the thing is, if you post a lot scores than some of those outlier days are going to come out in the wash.

00:09:04
Speaker 2: It's not the biggest deal in the world. To be clear, there are better things to get outraged about on a Monday morning. But I want to be clear, I'm not outraged about it. I'm just out on it.

00:09:12
Speaker 4: None of this is the biggest deal in the world. It is a golf podcast. So what I'm out on this week and a lot of people are out on this. This is going to be an unoriginal take here, but I am out on social media videos of maintenance excesses at golf courses.

00:09:30
Speaker 1: Here we go.

00:09:31
Speaker 4: The PGA Tour posted one of these at TPC Sawgrass on Tuesday or Wednesday of last week of just a bunch of the maintenance staff at TPC Sawgrass hand mowing push mowing the rough. There were like, you know, twenty five people out there with you know, gas powered push mowers mowing the rough. And of course this is a massive over expenditure of resources on area of the golf course that could be maintained in a much more simple and sustainable way. Now, yeah, I almost hesitate to go too hard on this because people have already gone really hard on this video. There was a really big blowback to it, and so I don't necessarily need to pile on here. But I just want to point out that this is not the direction that the golf course industry should be going. Now, are they doing this on a day to day basis, I don't know. Maybe they just did this for a social video, in which case is just kind of out of touch and weird. If they are actually hand mowing the rough in this way, then yeah, that's pretty wasteful and they should probably explore a different way of doing that. But in general, it would be nice to see the big organizations in golf, including the PGA Tour, try to push the idea that you can maintain a golf course to a high level without going totally overboard on you know, resource usage, and you know what The Masters is included in that. If Augusta National had posted the same video, people would have liked it, right, Yeah, people would have gotten so excited for this video just at Oh god God, I love the Masters. And they had the opposite reaction to the PGA Tour doing it at TPC Sawgrass. Now, I'm not saying that people shouldn't have gotten mad about the video a TPC Sawgrass. I'm just saying keep up this energy.

00:11:45
Speaker 1: Yeah.

00:11:46
Speaker 2: The only thing that I'd offer is maybe any level of pushback would be that I don't know that the feedback to that tour video was unanimously outraged because there was some backlash to the backlash of a lot of people.

00:11:58
Speaker 4: There was definitely some backlash to the back Yet.

00:12:00
Speaker 2: It's completely fine, like this is one week a year. I don't think that this is the biggest carbon emissions issue we have. Are these lawnmowers today? But Garrett, not to put words in your mouth is your bigger point about what message it sends to other golf courses, and that if they want to emulate TPC Sawgrass and to be a world class golf course, this is the kind of care you need to put into your golf course. I mean, do you have a bigger problem with the messaging or the actual action itself?

00:12:32
Speaker 4: I mean I would object to both, sure, but I also you know, and this is how things go on social media. When people object to something or object to the objection, everybody gets too extreme with it. Clearly, there are things that humans are doing right now that create more environmental problems than TPC Sawgas sending out a bunch of push mowers to take care of the rough at a golf course. That's a drop in the bucket when it comes to environmental problems. I'm just saying it's a small problem if they're doing that, And it's also a small problem if TPC, SAGAS and the PGA Tour aren't pushing the message of golf course sustainability, because that is a direction that the golf course industry should be going overall.

00:13:23
Speaker 2: And maybe this is going a little bit of a different direction than you wanted to go in, but I'd just love to see a little bit of a mindset shift for the PGA Tour to be promoting playability, not playability in terms of level of difficulty, but maxing out how a golf course is supposed to play, and not compromising on how it looks on television, Like, not prioritizing how it looks on television as opposed to how it should play. Like the lush, green, thick rough generally is coupled with softness, right, I mean, it requires a lot of water to achieve that level of lush appearance. And I'd like to see the firmness prioritized and how a golf course is supposed to play as opposed to what the television product is supposed to be. Like, I think fans can get over a little bit of brown turf if they understood that that's actually what promotes the best playing condition. So I'd just like to see all golf organizations prioritize playing conditions and how golf course should play over the television appearance. A little bit of a different point than where you're going with it, but I think it's related.

00:14:29
Speaker 4: No, one hundred percent agree that's that's a very good point as well. All Right, So we are going to bring on Sean Martin in a minute here to talk about some takeaways from the Players Championship. But first a word from our sponsor for this episode, Club Champion. Club Champion helps golfers of any skill level play better golf through custom fitted and custom built equipment. They have extensively trained master fitters who provide in depth, data driven tour level fitting processes. Is They've got fifty thousand hit able, head and shaft combinations as well as sixty plus brands available. They use industry leading technology like track Man and sam Putt Lab, and they build to the tightest tolerances in the industry. That last point, there is a really important one. Club Champion builds these clubs and they do a good job of actually executing the golf club, which is an important part of the process. You don't want to just get fit, you also want your club to be built the way that you wanted to be built, the way that you got fit to. So Club champions fittings produce real results for every level of player. This is not just for scratch players. This will also help your ten and twenty handicap player. There are averages of twenty two yard increases off the tee and averages of ten yard improvements in dispersion. So for Frida Egg listeners, the deal that Club Champion is offering is this right now, you can use the code fried egg to get fifty percent off the cost of your fitting with the purchase of a club. So go to club Champion dot com and book You're fitting today. Again, that's code fried egg all one word.

00:16:14
Speaker 3: All right.

00:16:14
Speaker 4: We are joined by Sean Martin, lead Comma editorial at the PGA Tour. Sean was of course on site this past week for the Players Championship and we're very excited to run through some takeaways with him. So Sean, a quiz question for you right off the bat. Could you list all of the majors, just all of them. I'm not going to give you a number, Could you just list all of the major championships in men's golf.

00:16:43
Speaker 3: I know what you're trying to do here. I think I think the PGA Tour is very comfortable with the position of the players and where it is in the world of golf. And I say this for a couple of reasons. You know, One, when we released the schedule this year and all this stuff, we had the categories of events, right, and you have the eight magnature events, and then it's the four Majors, and the players are kind of on their own. You know, no one's trying to you know, Ramrod five Majors. But I actually think moving the players back to March is a proof of sort of the comfort of where the tournament is and the identity it's built. Because one of the reasons that moving it to May was to get out of the shadow of the Masters. You look at like two thousand and one when Tiger arrived at Deep Sea Sawgrass, a few weeks from trying to fulfill the Tiger Slam, and all anything one want to talk about is what the players meant for his Master's chances. The Masters is still only four weeks away let's say, and really there was not much talk about August National this week or last week, and I think I don't think the Tour would have moved the players back into March if there was a fear that it would just live in the Master's shadow. So I think I don't think I'm gona get any trouble from my colleagues by saying that there are four major championships and the Players Championship is also a very prestigious title played on a historic golf course.

00:18:01
Speaker 4: Look, this is an extremely competent and diplomatic answer from you, Sean. I'm really proud of you, But I also happen to very much agree. I think that there's a danger in making too much of one tournament and one week, but there's no doubt that there's no other tournament on the PGA Tour schedule that could generate what the players generated this weekend, and I feel comfortable in saying that. What do you think, Joseph?

00:18:31
Speaker 1: I agree.

00:18:32
Speaker 2: I also think the move to the signature events model with limited fields has placed the Players Championship in a little bit of a different light as well, where you have a lot a full field, not all the PGA Tour members, but a significant number of PGA Tour members coming together and playing their championship.

00:18:52
Speaker 1: So I think the signature event.

00:18:53
Speaker 2: Model is almost elevating the Players Championship in a little bit. Even though I'm in favor of the signature events model, I do think that's kind of dignified the event in a little bit of a different way than in years past.

00:19:04
Speaker 4: Yeah, and and the uh, the banishment of gold Boy has really done a great good for the for the gravitas of the Players Championship. I gotta say that. So, uh, let's run through some some takeaways. And Sean, I'm being genuine here, not joking at all when I say I consider you the premier scottiologist in golf media. You were on the podcast. I think it was just last year. Yes, it must have been last year because we were talking about Scotty's win and we we kind of delved a little bit into his approach to golf, which is not a unique approach mental approach to golf, but but certainly one that that works well and that he embodies to a degree that is maybe even unique on on the PGA Tour, that that kind of acceptance of flaws, right, and so his mental approach clearly works. His ball striking is clearly working. This week, his putting rounded into form. I wonder if you have any Scotty related takeaways from this players.

00:20:12
Speaker 3: You know, when we spoke last year, I think we were focusing really on his ability to kind of accept mistakes. Like you said, I think this year it's a much different story because we saw a different side of Scotty. I feel like the year between victories, he really had to deal with a lot of maybe the scrutiny that comes with being the number one player in the world because of the putting struggles and being asked about them constantly. And you know, you could see the frustration at times with the focus on his putting, even Ted Scott when they won at bay Hill. I was down there and Ted teared up and was almost crying when they hugged on the eighteenth green, and I asked him why and he was said, you know, there's been so much focus on like the one thing that Scotti Scheffler does poorly that now this way and allows to focus on all the things he does well. And you know, I counter that all of the narrative last year, it was still a supreme focus on what he was doing well with the ball striking. There's plenty of discussion of that, but you know, we've seen the frustration bubble over with Scotty. We saw, you know, there's the clip of him hawking his ball in the woods at Genesis. Doug Ferguson talked about I think he had received a push notification on his phone Scotty had from like ESPN. It's like Scheffler struggles with putting again, and so the biggest story I think this time around is a the guy doesn't seem to that he can be beat even when he's injured. But be that, we have a Scotty now who is just I think becoming accustomed, as difficult as it is at times, to what being the number one player in the world really means and what you have to undergo because the spotlight is always on you, especially now when he is the unquestioned number one player of the world, and it's going to take weeks, if not probably months or even more than a year for someone to supplant him.

00:21:58
Speaker 4: Joseph any Scotty related takeaways from.

00:22:01
Speaker 2: You, Yeah, I mean, I'm gonna be kind of drifting off of what Sean was just saying, but I think the big takeaway from this week, and maybe this was a takeaway after Bayhill anyway, but Scotty Scheffler is the clear favorite to win the Masters, and as big of a favorite as we've had in a few years. The Dustin Johnson year when he had to pull out with when he fell on the stairs, like that was another instance where we had a pretty strong favorite coming in. But I think Scotty Scheffler pretty clearly now has solidified his position as the number one player in the world, and it's not particularly close. I think we've seen a lack of sharpness from Rory to start the year. He hit five balls in the water this past week, and then at bay Hill it was at least four balls in the water. Like just hasn't been sharp. John Rahm, you don't really know. I mean, I'd never worry too much about the status of Ram's game, but I think to suggest that he's on the same level as Scotty Schffler right now would be crazy. Victor Hoblin was arguably the best player in the world at the end of last year. He's struggling right now. The only other player I think you could really throw in the mix is Wyndham Clark, who's been playing very well, but I think is still a clear step below Scotty Scheffler. So I think it's cool for professional golf that for the first time in a while, we have this dominant, undisputed number one player in the world. It bounced around a little bit last year. It's not bouncing around this year like it is Scotty Scheffler. And I think the chance is that he wins the Masters by multiple shots, like that's in play, and I haven't felt that way in quite a few years. So I think that's really exciting for golf fans.

00:23:37
Speaker 3: People are thrown around the T word, you know, and really not getting pushback. There were a lot of Tiger comparisons last night, and usually it's on Twitter. It's people, you know, pushing back and saying you can never compare to Tiger, and I didn't see quite as much as that as usual.

00:23:51
Speaker 1: I think it's reasonable.

00:23:52
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean it's interesting. There was the similarity with the feeling on Sun Day Scotty Scheffler being injured but still kind of inevitably rolling towards a win. This is what Tiger did a number of times, most notably at the US Open at Torrey Pines when he was very injured. I'm not saying that Scotty was equally injured as Tiger was at that tournament, but there was a similar feeling that even though this guy is not one hundred percent, he can still win this tournament. He will still win this tournament. That was the first time I really got that from Scotty Scheffler, that that feeling that any other player would not be in contention here, but somehow inevitably Scotty is going to win this week.

00:24:46
Speaker 3: And it goes back to the third round. I mean, he burdied his last three holes of the third round just to pull within five. And if those don't happen, you know, this whole thing doesn't happen. And then you know, every big win of his is punctuated by a hole out. You know, there was a chip in at a go on the third hole after Cambridge Smith had pulled within one the Player Championship last year. He chipped in for eagle on the third round, and then he chipped in for Bertie on the eighth hole of the fourth round to start five straight birdies. And then yesterday he started slowly part of the first three holes which all played under par, and kind of lost ground to the field and he holds out from ninety two yards. There's this weird It reminds me also maybe Speed twenty fifteen of just magical stuff happens. It feels like holeouts from you know, unpredictable situations in clutch moments, you just yeah. I think the inevitive inevitability is a great point.

00:25:39
Speaker 1: With I think, similarly.

00:25:42
Speaker 2: Record breaking where I'm going Scott this A lot of the traditional stats don't seem to apply to Scotty. He's showing consistency at a level that we haven't seen consistently finishing the top fifteen week in and week out. Nobody's won the Players Championship back to back years, Scotty did it. Some of those things don't feel like they matter with Scotty Scheffler, where you might count them as a negative against other players, but it's kind of Tiger like and that we might start seeing some statistics that are unique to Scotty. He's the first person to do X or he's the second person behind Tiger Woods to do X and it doesn't feel like there are too many other players in the world who are capable of that. But with Scotty, it's like, Yeah, I don't care that it's hard to win back to back or that a player who's struggling with the putter can't generally win like Scotty seems like the exception, and I think we're going to continue to see that.

00:26:34
Speaker 3: Aug I think the fact that he's come out on the other side of the putting and maybe better than ever, I think is really can't be understated. And I think one reason why I feel like these two wins feel even different than the four wins in twenty twenty two, when he was kind of this surprising story of the spring it. You know, he talked in his press conference yesterday, we all marveled at the consistency late last year, right, We're like, oh, look all the top five, top tens, et cetera. But you know, for us, that's amazing. For him, he talked about how frustrating it was because what it means is you're continually getting close and you're continually failing, and then you're getting asked consistently about the one part of your game that you're struggling with, and you know that can drive you really in two directions and can drive a lot of people in the wrong direction. And instead of spiraling downhill and just you know, losing his mind, losing his game, He's come out on the other side of it, and I'm sure I would bet he would say he's stronger for it.

00:27:29
Speaker 4: Yeah, you know, I do wonder if we're on the other side of the putting, at what point does the new car smell of the mallet putter wear off? How long does that usually last? And are we really out of the woods with Scotty fairful putting? I don't know, you know, because where he went to the mallet at bay Hill?

00:27:53
Speaker 3: Right?

00:27:53
Speaker 4: Did he go earlier?

00:27:55
Speaker 3: There was one he used for two weeks in the playoffs, a different mallet, but then and he went back to basically your traditional answer style.

00:28:02
Speaker 4: Putter right, And now he's using one of those tailor made spider But this is not an ad spider putters with a with a plumber neck, which I guess is sort of similar to the answer style, but it has just a little more junk in his trunk. And and so.

00:28:19
Speaker 1: That's the way they.

00:28:21
Speaker 4: I don't know what one thing, but yeah, so that's what he's using. But like we'll see how long is that going to last.

00:28:27
Speaker 3: The one thing too, it is coupled with the work with phil Kenyon that started in the fall, so we're also, you know, about six months now into the you know, working with phil kenyons. So I do agree, you know, I mean, I've recently bought a new putter because I felt like i too, as I'm sure people are wondering how to switch to the mallet because of some struggles on the greens. But he also been working with Phil Kenyon, who seems to work wonders with people. He's obviously one of the most respected putting coaches on tour, so that gives a little more optimism to this. But sure, I mean, you know, you get a new putter, to get a new car feel good for a couple of weeks. You got to see what it feels like six months later.

00:29:00
Speaker 2: Other point I would add, too, is there are golf courses where putting is more important than others. We kind of we went through a large stretch where putting would be more important generally, I mean some of these wedge fests that were early on in the year. So like a little bit of concern with the potter generally not a huge issue at the Masters, for example, So I think Scotty's gonna have a little bit of a wider margin for air on some of these demanding golf courses where you can separate yourself a lot tea to Green. We've seen plenty of bad putters win out Augusta, and so if you just got through a little bit of a stretch early in the year, early in the calendar year, that oftentimes putting can be more important than he came through that even if he's not an amazing putter going forward, but if he's just fine, I really love his chances in some of these major championship setups.

00:29:46
Speaker 3: Can we park here for a second, because I think people's heads might have exploded when you said putting doesn't matter to Gusta. I don't disagree, but I just want you to explain for the people who are you remembering the days of Ben Crenshaw and explain why you say that putting doesn't matter as much at Augusta.

00:30:02
Speaker 2: Well, there's there's there's a bigger opportunity to separate yourself, Tee de Green. At Augusta, you're not going to have as many shots into the key putting ranges of seven, you know, six to twelve feet. So it's not to say that it doesn't matter, and especially if you want to win the golf tournament, you're gonna have to make some putts down the closing stretch. But it's not like a lot of these soft setups where a bunch of players are going to have putts from six to twelve feet over and over again. When Scotty misses a seven and a half footer for Birdie, it's probably going to be on a hole more often than not that a lot of golfers don't have seven and a half footers for Bertie, They've got twenty footers for Bertie. And so you know, the more that those holes play closer to par over par, a lot of those short range misses aren't going to cost you as much as they would at another golf course. So I think just generally, like Will's Alatorre, Saideki Matsuyama, there's a there's a lengthy track record of players that haven't had success with the putter doing well to gusta National, and I think Scott is just going to be another one of those names that we look back on that multiple wins, probably at Agusta and not the best putter.

00:31:08
Speaker 3: It's also different when a GUS is, you know, a seventy five hundred yard course than like a firm and fast sixty nine hundred yards.

00:31:13
Speaker 1: Absolutely, all right, Garrett, what's your first takeaway?

00:31:17
Speaker 4: My first takeaway is that a great course and a great television product will cover for a multitude of weaknesses. And that's what we got this week. I mentioned gold Boy earlier. We did not need gold Boy. That's not something that we needed from the Players Championship. What we needed was for jayme Onahan to step up there and say we're going to have limited commercial interruptions this week. And we needed Golf Channel NBC to step up and say we're going to bring back Roger Maltby and Gary Cooke. We're going to put on the best possible TV product for the fans. We're not going to absolutely overwhelm them with commercials. We're going to hold a tournament at a fantastic golf course and we'll let the golf speak for itself in that way. I think if you have those things, the great course and the really effortful television product where we're not throwing bells and whistles at people and convincing them that that's what they need, where we're just limiting the ad breaks and emphasizing the quality of that telecast. If we do those things, then we're going to get more tournaments like this, And so I guess I'm also wondering whether we can keep up this energy on normal weeks on the PGA Tour going forward. We hadn't so far this year. It was notably lackluster in January February, when it's usually quite energetic and exciting on the PGA Tour. We've turned those things around, and I guess maybe part of that is that we have Scotti Scheffler winning. We finally have a superstar player rising to the top of the heap, and that also compensates for a multitude of weaknesses. But as soon as I saw jam On Ahand at this press conference step up and say it's we're not going to have as many ad breaks this time, I was like, Yeah, that's what you need.

00:33:25
Speaker 1: I totally agree, Garrett.

00:33:26
Speaker 2: I think NBC has been really bad recently, like they've been notorious so bad cutting costs.

00:33:33
Speaker 4: To the degree that CBS has clearly surpassed them as the superior you know, broadcaster of PGA Tour Golf.

00:33:42
Speaker 2: Absolutely, and I think you hit on it when you said it's a great golf course. Like I don't think it's this coincidence that Scotty Scheffler had this statement. Win that's exciting for golf fans on a phenomenal test of professional golf. So you take that you have limited commercial interruptions, you bring back some.

00:33:58
Speaker 1: Of that talent.

00:33:59
Speaker 2: Roger Malt, Gary Cook. That was an unbelievable broadcast. I found it very seamless easy to watch. I think the flip side of it is calling it a limited commercial limited commercial broadcast kind of implies that it's a one off, right like right, which.

00:34:17
Speaker 4: Which is the thing. It can't happen all the time, I mean, and the formula is not unprecedented. The Masters obviously for years and years did the limited commercial interruption thing and benefited from it tremendously.

00:34:31
Speaker 2: Right, So I guess the expectations shouldn't be super high moving forward necessarily, But at least in one week, it was a glimpse into what golf could be if it was presented that way every at least week in and week out.

00:34:41
Speaker 1: Go ahead, Sean.

00:34:42
Speaker 3: I was just say, this is a week where I'm out on the golf course more than you know at the TV screen, So I'm not just sitting this out so I don't get fined, but I think I want to hear Joseph's take, especially on how much the golf course each of the last two weeks really contributes. You were at bay Hill, you know, we had Scotting Wyndham at bay Hill, and then we Scotty and Windham again this week, as well as Xander and Brian Harmon. And I'm wondering if getting to big boy golf courses has helped get bigger leader boards, because I think when I was looking back at the West Coast and we were talking about the winners and the lack of star power among the winners, It's like man like Scottie and Speeth and Rory were all in the fields, they just weren't doing anything. In the last two weeks, we finally have had players, familiar names, top names rising to the top of the leader board. And I want to hear at least Joseph's take on.

00:35:28
Speaker 1: That, no doubt.

00:35:29
Speaker 2: And I think Garrett and I'm glad we spoke about this a little bit on the pod last week where I think equipment is a huge factor here, and it's gotten easier to drive the golf ball consistently straight and far. It allows you to swing harder at the golf ball. That's bringing more wedges into play. It's bringing more putting variants into play. And on a golf course like Sawgrass where there's often wind and steep penalties to wide misses, it kind of rains you in a little bit. You can't swing with reckless abandon with driver, So you saw Wyndam Clark kind of plotting his way around with three foot off of the tee. You see a diversity of strategies, but I think a lot of these soft setups where you can swing away with driver and have a lot of wedges in like at AMX, like at Sony when it's not windy, right like at Kapalua when it's not windy. We've seen a bunch of these wedge fests over and over again. That's gonna bring a lot of putting variants into play. A little bit more demanding setups the last couple of weeks and strong fields, you're gonna get a good leader board. So I think the main exception so far this year would maybe be Pebble right where you have a stacked field, but it didn't quite materialize. I mean that was weather shortened. And also that's a pretty short golf course that's bringing a lot of wedges into play.

00:36:38
Speaker 1: Kind of I don't remember.

00:36:40
Speaker 3: I mean, we had a good leaderboard heading into the fun round with wind and Ludwig.

00:36:44
Speaker 4: Yeah, could have been something, but it wasn't quite because of the weather. Yeah, I mean at Sawgrass. One of the big differences between Sagrass and a lot of PGA Tour courses is that players are for the most part playing from the same positions in the whole corridors that they were back in the eighties and nineties. You know, that's not at every hole. There are some holes where they're able to get farther up than you know, Mark o'meira was in nineteen eighty eight or whatever. But you know, it's a golf course where you on a lot of holes want to just play to a certain position, right, and now players are kind of doing that with irons sometimes.

00:37:29
Speaker 2: Just quickly on that gear would would heavily emphasize that it's that coupled with the penalty associated with a wide miss at sawgrass right, which is different than a lot of courses on towards very high and if you spray something, what kind of penalty you're going to incur. So I think it's yeah, that's strategic. Those angles mattering, believe it or not, especially with some of the tree trouble that you might have out there that impedes the airspace a little bit. And the penalty associated with the wide miss is it kind of rains golfers in.

00:37:56
Speaker 1: A little bit.

00:37:57
Speaker 3: Go ahead, Sean, I'll just say, you know, I do love they're the talking point of the variety of the holes, not only their length, but the way they move requires a well rounded game. You can go through the whole course and it kind of varies, draws and fades off the t's there's a great variety of long part threes and short part threes like seventeen obviously, and the contrast is number eight. So I think Pete Di did a great job of designing a golf course with just a wide variety of holes in shape and distance, which means you have to have a well rounded game, which I think is probably why it's no surprise that Scottie Scheffler is won here two years in a row, so I think TC Sawgrass really is a great venue, a great test as well.

00:38:36
Speaker 4: Now getting back to the telecast subject, now, since Sean was on site, he didn't see a lot of it, and actually I'd like to get some insights from what the on site experience was like as well, because that's important, and the players is known for having a very good fan experience for a number of reasons. But another element of the telecast that went well this week, for whatever reason, I don't exactly know, all the off course stuff, the social content, the willingness of players to talk honestly to the media. It felt to me like there was just an eagerness to kind of share in the process of playing this tournament, which I very much appreciated. And then finally Johnson Wagner out there, you know, throwing fastballs into the turf and you know, trying to recreate Rory's recovery on whatever hole it was six or seven. You know, just great stuff. They came up with some really creative, fun ideas that translated extremely well to social media this week, and so there was just a bit more energy around the whole thing, and I thought that that translated very very well from telecast to social media and to all the things that we as medium members like to do. It gave us. It gave us so much material.

00:40:04
Speaker 3: I mean, I can tell you that is from no lack of planning and this is not a one hundred and eighty meeting rooms joke, but especially being the fiftieth, players been planning this for months. Also, it's an all hands on deck situation where there's no you know, limitless resources. But I think too it's just an underrated aspect of that is the leaderboard itself and who the players were that we're talking. Scotty's great in the right environment, and I think especially when he's not constantly getting questions about the putting. I think now that he's had some good putting weeks and one back to back, he's been a little more open about it. But Wyndham is one of my favorite people to hear talk. Honestly, Brian Harmon is one of my favorite interviews on tour. You know, the whatever, the Liverpool Butcher or whatever he was called. I think sells him short and I think he gets kind of short changes like this Southern hunting you know yokel but Brian's a smart, intelligent interview And.

00:40:53
Speaker 4: Then yeah, and it has to be said, Brian Harmon dealt with all of that at the at the Open so well. He dealt with it with class and equanimity and didn't didn't make the situation worse and came out looking really good, whereas some other people maybe didn't come out looking as good from that week.

00:41:15
Speaker 3: And too, he eats what he kills, So I'm like, if you eat a hamburger like you're doing the same thing as Brian Harmon, you're just cutting He's cutting out the middleman.

00:41:24
Speaker 4: Yeah, in any case, we don't need to get into a deep discussion about pointing.

00:41:27
Speaker 3: That some of those guys talking were some of the some of my favorite people to talk to on tour.

00:41:32
Speaker 4: Yeah, you mentioned Xander? Is is he really a fun person to talk to? You were about to talk about Xander?

00:41:37
Speaker 3: You know, I think a lot of these guys it's if you ask them good questions, they'll give good answers. And obviously what they're experts in is golf, right, So I think when the questions start to veer off into other topics and not just what's going on off the golf course with a tour right now. But just you know, in the world of content that we're in, sometimes they get inane questions maybe, but when you guys, and maybe with the players, the focus is more on the golf because of the golf course and the weight of the championship. But I think those four guys, especially, like when you get them talking about golf and what they do for a living in their craft, like, they give great answers. So I think, yeah, I think that's a big part of it.

00:42:18
Speaker 4: Okay, yeah, I trust you. I've found Xander to be a bit of a dial tone, but I know that he is very intelligent, that's like and then and kind of an interesting guy. I just feel like he hasn't been traditionally super willing. I mean, if you if you get a lame question, then I don't know. Part of what a player can do is try to turn it into a more interesting question. The best, the best interview interviews on the PGA Tour do that. That's what That's what Rory does, right he and that's what Jordan Speed does to a degree. They get a lot of lame questions, but they tend to give interesting answers.

00:42:54
Speaker 3: Nonetheless, I think with Xander, Uh, he did a really great job the last couple of weeks that really the focus has been on his work with Chris Como and some players, you know, they want the attention to be all about them, but I thought he gave a great walkthrough of the changes they were making in pretty good detail. And then even on Saturday, you know, I kind of asked him, how are you in contention here when you're in the midst of a swing change on a golf course where you've really struggled in March, and he blamed himself for the bad shots. He basically said, I trust Chris Como. When I hit a bad shot, it's because I wasn't doing what he told me. And I thought that was amazing ownership that you don't usually hear from a player of like, hey, it was my fault and no one else's fault. So I think, you know, I haven't really talked many subjects with Xander outside of golf, but talking about Xander about golf, I think he's great.

00:43:44
Speaker 4: Okay, I believe you and uh and obviously uh, you know his uh he gets he's getting really really close to the big wins. But there's something mysterious going on where he doesn't doesn't quite finish, and so I'm curious to learn more about what that might be. What's that factor that he seems to be missing on these sundays.

00:44:09
Speaker 3: I think, frankly back to the real quick on the interview thing. Also, with all that's going on and all of the questions about you know, board seats and equiting all that stuff, I think guys are really enthusiastic to answer questions about golf because it means they're not talking about the other stuff. So it's probably like their ears almost perk up when golf actually comes up.

00:44:25
Speaker 4: It's a relief. Okay, why don't we get into our second takeaways? Why don't we start with Joseph here? Joseph, what is your second takeaway from the Players Championship.

00:44:36
Speaker 2: One of the biggest takeaways for me is that Ludwig Oberg is legit and he hasn't played a major championship yet. This is one of the biggest individual events he's played, right the Players Championship, He's played in a Ryder Cup, so it's not like he's a complete stranger to a big stage. But Ludwig finished solo eighth this week looked really good. Lost strokes ranked pretty high tee to green. I'm optimistic about what Ludbig's gonna do come major season. I think he's a great fit for almost any major championship set up. His driver is a nasty weapon. He's long, he hits it straight, He's going to keep himself in play. I've had some questions around what does his long iron game look like, what does this short game look like, because we haven't seen him on that many demanding tests. Just from watching him a lot over the past few days, thought he looked excellent. And there are a lot of golfers who didn't show up this past week and who've kind of made a career of not necessarily showing up on the biggest stages. I mean Patrick Cantley and Max Homa, like these were big weeks for them this past week didn't show up, and I want another golfer in the mix who's showing up on the biggest stages. I think Ludbig could be that golfer, and I'm really excited to see what he can do at AUGUSTA. A solid finish here this past week made me really optimistic about what that could look like I'm pretty excited to see what he can do in a couple weeks.

00:46:02
Speaker 3: Do you think, because we haven't seen much from him this year, obviously the second at Pebble, do you think, like some of the other guys you mentioned that he was maybe not hurt, but maybe some of the courses earlier in the season weren't great fits for his game, and now when you get to the Players and Majors, those are places where he will shine because of his skill set.

00:46:21
Speaker 2: I agree with that, but I honestly think he's been pretty good this year. I mean, he finished his Hawaii swing was bad. He finished tied for forty seventh at Century, which is near the bottom of the field, and t. Thirty at Sony. I mean that's not terrible. But then top ten to Tory, second at Pebble, T nineteen at Genesis, T twenty five at bay Hill, eighth at the Players, Like, he hasn't been bad. But I agree with you that I think especially at Augusta, that's a golf course that's going to set up really well for him. The biggest question mark is the long irons, and to your point, we haven't seen a lot of long iron contests so far this year on the PGA Tour, we've seen a couple now, but I'm pretty I mean, I'm pretty optimistic based on what his data looks like in some of those events. He was unbelievable his iron player both at Toy and pretty good at Genesis and then really good again at the Players. So yeah, I think the golf courses will reward his skill set August.

00:47:15
Speaker 1: August is the big one. I mean, I think he could have a strong debut.

00:47:17
Speaker 4: I mean, he won my RSM, right.

00:47:21
Speaker 3: That's the funny thing is the RSM is a place that usually rewards a lot of short hitters, I think in part because they can only go so far off line and then it is a short iron setup. It's a birdie fest.

00:47:33
Speaker 4: Yeah, well, it allows them to compete on a kind of level playing field with some of the longer guys, and so usually it just means that there are more guys who can win that tournament, including the Web Simpsons, and I don't know, I don't want to call out Web Simpson for this particularly, but the Kevin Kissner's and that type of player. But it was striking that that was where Oberg broke through and it showed that he can. He could do a number of things in a number of courses.

00:48:02
Speaker 2: I would say with respect to the RSM Classic, though, Ludvig's kind of he's despite being a great ball striker, he's also going to do well on some of those soft setups because generally they bring a lot of putting in and he's a great putter. So I think the rsm's a lot of keeping it in play and then a lot of wedge and putter. Ludvig can do well on that type of setup. That's where the long irons have been more of a question for me, because he didn't play great at Marco Simone. He was fine, but clearly struggled with.

00:48:31
Speaker 1: The long irons.

00:48:33
Speaker 2: Now we've seen a couple of weeks where he's hit long irons, especially at Genesis and at Farmers where he was fine there. So I think he can do well on a lot of different setups, and that's part of why I'm optimistic about his career.

00:48:43
Speaker 1: He could be a.

00:48:45
Speaker 2: Big game hunter, and I also think he's going to do well on some of these wedge putting contests.

00:48:49
Speaker 3: That's interesting because I haven't heard a lot of discussion about the putting just because so much focus has been on the driving.

00:48:54
Speaker 4: Yeah, he's been a good tear. That's a new one for me. There has been a focus on his golf swing, his driver swing. But yeah, if he if he pairs that with excellent putting, then we've we've definitely got something. And that's uh, you know, it's a it's a little bit what we have with with Wyndham Clark, right, Wyndam Clark is a great putter. I guess he's a bit of a wild driver and that's the that's the difference between him and what we're seeing from Oberg's game so far.

00:49:20
Speaker 2: Absolutely, I think that's a huge question with Wyndham. And I don't know if this relates to anybody, if anybody's takeaways or Wyndham related, but expectations for him at a gust are pretty interesting and where he stacks up, because I do think the off the tee stuff could get a little hairy, just depending on how much he can keep it in play. It's not really a golf course where you're gonna plod your way around with three wood and irons off the tea as much as at Sawgrass like you're gonna have to step up and hit some accurate drives, so we'll see. I'm interested in the way Wyndham can recover out there.

00:49:50
Speaker 1: He's shown that he can.

00:49:51
Speaker 2: I mean, I think he should be viewed as one of the favorites, but I don't know if he's as high as like him versus a Will's Ala Taurus, him versus some of the these other names.

00:50:00
Speaker 1: It's pretty interesting, all.

00:50:02
Speaker 4: Right, Sean. Do you have a second takeaway for us?

00:50:05
Speaker 3: Yeah? I think for me, going back to Scotty is just you know. I love golf instruction content. I grew up around a lot of good teachers. I've known Chris Como since we were in high school. I wrote instruction content and Golf Week. I love what Luke Kurdanin does. I love going Instagram and watching people parse down swings, including the I don't know who the screaming irishman is if we've all seen him but him on Instagram. I love instruction content. But Scotty's winn to me just says me that there still is something innate. There's an innate gift among the best players, and the best ball strikers and hands still matter. Scotty couldn't turn through the ball like he normally would, and so he had to rely on his hands all week, had to take less club or sorry, more club on his approach shots because he couldn't swing full speed and then use the hands to shape shots. And it was a reminded him to at least to me that like, this is still a sport. It's still an athletic endeavor. And you know, it's not just about hitting P six and P four and having the right pace positions and what is your swing plane and what are your matchups at the end of the day. A lot of it and this feels really cheesy to say a lot of It's like just heart and talent, and that's what Scotty used this week to get through and win.

00:51:13
Speaker 4: I have a takeaway that's related to this, and I specifically wanted to run it by you, Sean, because I know you have this interest in the golf swing and technique and knowledge of it that that far exceeds my own. This is an area of golf that I'm not very knowledgeable about and generally not super interested in, but Scotty Scheffler kind of makes me more interested in it. One big takeaway is that maybe steep golf swings are okay, maybe we've gone too far in the in the direction of shallowing out and let me, you know, put some more meat on this point. My understanding is that Scotty Scheffler's golf swing is fairly steep, especially compared to a lot of his competitors now on the modern PGA Tour. The modern swing is very much about being kind of upright in your backswing and then shallowing out, shallowing out, shallowing out on your down swing and really trying to you know, come through very shallow and down the line and keeping that face kind of stable and square through impact. And I think Scotty, you know, from seeing him in person, he does look very stable at impact, but he's maybe a little bit steeper and maybe a little bit, you know, apparently more reliant on timing than a lot of guys out there on the PGA Tour right now. And in fact, I think that his footwork, which gets a lot of attention, the way he kind of contorts himself and throws his legs around on his down swing, is somewhat a symptom of a fairly steep angle of attack because he's trying to just get his body out of the way, like trying to make it so that club doesn't go plunging into the ground, and that's a compensating move sort of, and a lot of times it would be considered a flaw. But clearly he's the best ball striker in the world, so there's something about it that works. Now. Really, what got me thinking about all of this is that Luke Donald responded to a post I think by the PGA Tour that showed a bunch of golf swings of the past, and Luke Donald's response was this, interesting, how back in the day swings were much shallower, too steeper, as in the backswing was more kind of inside or shallower and then a little more quote unquote over the top coming through. He says, now, pretty much the opposite is taught. Shallowing definitely helps stabilize the club face it impact better, which is needed at higher ball speeds. Golf Balls back in the day spun so much more, though, so why were they steeper into the ball? More spin equals more accuracy and ja so maybe accuracy was more important than the distance. Analytics show the opposite now, so you can hear Luke kind of grappling with this question why are so many of these golf swings of the past apparently kind of steep compared to what we see today? And I think it's notable that our winner this week, and by far the best ball striker in the world at the moment, in a way, has kind of an old school golf swing where he wasn't taught to kind of shallow out the club in the way that a lot of guys on the PGA Tour now have been taught. And so I thought I'd just throw that out there. Does that bring anything to mind for you, Sean as far as technique is concerned.

00:54:46
Speaker 3: I don't think I can go there, but I do think that you owe so much credit to Randy Smith, who's been Scotty's coach basically his entire golf career, that he never changed anything. That's the swing Scotty showed up with when he was seven. They've refined it, obviously, and they work on it, but you know, I think a lot of coaches would have seen that footwork and would have addressed that right of.

00:55:05
Speaker 1: Way or right away.

00:55:06
Speaker 3: Another thing I think that's interesting is Ted Scott did a podcast recently and he said that when they started working together, Scotty told Ted like, hey, I'm a bad ball striker. I'm not as good as the other guys. I need to think my way around a golf course. Obviously that's changed. Scotty says that's a testament somewhat to improved health. He had some back problems during college when he had a huge growth spurt. I think for people haven't seen Scotty in person. I mean, the guy's a unit. He's like six'. Five he is, huge which that also. Helps and then also he said the distance control is really his separator from the. Field he feels like and he works really hard on. It it's a fruit of. That but he can control his distances really, well and then he knows where to pick his. Spots he, says like his course management's really. Good of you, know you might see one flag and you, think, oh that's a. Flag he's got to shoot at that. One he's got to hit you go for that. Flag if he doesn't feel, comfortable he's okay with laying. Off but at the same, time if he's you, know got a long iron in, hand but it's a perfect distance and the flag might be, tucked he's going to go for it and SO i think it's it's a lot of it's a lot of natural, talent it's a good head on your, shoulders it's a lot of good course. Management it's funny BECAUSE i, don't you, know we've seen great players have initiated like trends in golf, instruction. RIGHT i don't know That Scottie scheffler's swing is one that you, know people are going to try to. Emulate BUT i think it does show it's the results of a TREND i think we have seen ever since really launch monitors came out Of, hey let's get less concerned with, positions making sure top of the backswing looks, textbook and now that we can measure what goes on basically from waste high to waste high and through, impact, like let's get those numbers dialed and get them. Ideal how we get there matters much less than. Before and so, YEAH i can't explain to you Why Scotti scheffler's golf swing works as well as it, does BUT i do think and obviously there are. Reasons there are. Matchups i'm sure people can break. Down BUT i think a lot of it, is you, know just innate. Talent it's those, hands and a lot of it is good course management of knowing your, missus knowing when to, attack and those sorts of.

00:57:20
Speaker 2: Things sean can ask you two, questions two quick questions About Scotty scheffer's golf.

00:57:24
Speaker 1: Swing, Doctor does it remind you at all of bryson?

00:57:29
Speaker 2: Swing WHEN i Watched scotty, swing something about the way that AND i, Think i'm Not i'm not an expert on the golf, swing BUT i think something about the way his right arm delivers impact and how straight it seems to be coming through square there's something that has always reminded me a little bit Of bryson's. Swing do you see any of?

00:57:49
Speaker 3: THAT i. Don't so you, Know bryson worked With Chris, como and you know Now xander is and the big Thing xander's working on THAT i think you'll. SEE i don't Think chris is like a method teacher at. All he would kill me for even saying the. Word BUT i Think bryce was similar in that you get it kind of across the line and then and then flatten, it and THAT i think helps with the generation of ground forces and kind of getting you into an athletic. POSITION i don't see that With scotty as much BECAUSE i, think Like garrett, said he's not shallowing the club on the, Downswing SO i don't see. IT i don't.

00:58:26
Speaker 2: KNOW i don't know something about the. WAY i don't know THAT i can articulate. It but WHEN i watch those two, swings they kind of resemble one another to. Me but maybe THAT'S i could just straight up be. Wrong the other question for you a little. Sillier do you think, that Because i've seen this point made a few times in the Way scotty's feet slide, around do you think there's a little bit of concern when tea boxes are wet that he you could see some stray balls From, Scotty like we've seen it At tori a couple of times on some of the tea boxes that are a little, Slippery And i'm, wondering, like if we get some rain At, augusta obviously that place dries out pretty, well but, like is that a legitimate thing to watch.

00:59:04
Speaker 3: FOR i don't know that it, is though he's one of the few guys that still wear, spikes so that obviously. Helps and then you, know there's the video that went viral From Pebble beach where like he almost fell over and still hit the. Fairway and then on number, twelve his third Whole, friday like right after the neck issue, hit you, know we had that swing where again he like spun, out almost fell over and he hit the. FAIRWAY i mean you probably. YOU i don't think you want to be slipping on every, shot BUT i think if there's a guy who can save, it it's definitely. HIM i could definitely get. Into you, know it's like the Anti rory of like you know, before every time it, rained we're, like, Oh roy is the favorite this, week and now, like, oh you gotta Discount Scotty shuffler because he, can't you, know keep his feet in the.

00:59:48
Speaker 4: Ground i'd, like, YEAH i like that as a reason not to Bet Scotty scheffler going into The. MASTERS i think.

00:59:56
Speaker 3: The one thing going, back, SORRY i go back instruction real. QUICK i think another like move instruction THAT i feel Like scotty embodies is just. That AND i WISH i could remember the name of the just crazy long Haired irish, guy but he does it really. Well but there are just innate ways that our bodies create. Power AND i think that now instruction is more towards emphasize and again because it is a power, game, right and there is the forgiveness in the equipment to swing, hard but there's more of a focus on finding out the ways that your body is going to generate, power and a lot of those are the, innate you, know kind of throwing, motions the things you see for example from like discus, throwers they're trying to generate a lot of power in their similarities in the golf swing that it's more about just using the natural ways the body creates. Power then, again having this aesthetically beautiful golf.

01:00:44
Speaker 2: SWING i believe you're talking about speed golf on. TikTok the guy That INSTAGRAM i love.

01:00:50
Speaker 4: Those that's the that's the Crazy irish. Guy i'm not, familiar So i'll have pa. Well AS i said, Before i'm not necessarily inclined to go too far down a technique rabbit, hole But Scotty shuffler almost makes me want to because there's something a little bit unexplainable about how he does what he. Does people can really explain How rory generates power and accuracy with the, driver and then you, know along with that why he might struggle a little bit with his wedges with the you, know the move that he puts on the driver kind of doesn't translate quite as well to some of those touchy wedge. Shots but there's something just a little bit inexplicable About scotty's. Swing it violates a lot of the tenets of the golf swing THAT i feel like are sort of circulating out there right. Now and the way he just gets to impact is a little bit different and pretty, unique and it's hard to learn any less from. It and that's the sign of a really individual golf, swing a really individual way of getting it. Done and, again you, know if you were just a good ball striker on THE Pga, tour it wouldn't be as. Fascinating but the fact that he is so out of the, norm that he is so much better right now than everybody else and he is swinging in this way makes it interesting to.

01:02:25
Speaker 3: Me and that's that's WHY i think the biggest separator is in. Technique IT'S i think IT'S i really. DO i think it's the hands and just having a talent for hitting the golf. Ball you, KNOW i, mean all of us play enough golf that you know. That you, know, AGAIN i think there's this miss or this miss misconception that you, know if you can master the, technique you can master the. Game. Right the golf balls just sitting there at, Stationary so IF i can control my, movements THEN i can master. It and we all know that's not, true especially when a golf club or a clubhead is moving it more than one hundred miles an. HOUR i think the separator is that just having the feel to save it when you don't make a perfect swing or you slip or your neck, hurts and being able to control with your hands through. Impact you, know we've talked forever about minimizing the role of the hands and the golf swing and using the big muscles because they are more, dependable but the hands are still a necessary part of the. Swing they're holding the. Club they're the only thing that's touching the. Club AND i JUST i am more and more convinced that it's just like this innate talent and athleticism that's the separator For.

01:03:29
Speaker 4: Scotty and you also mentioned the strategy as. Well, YES i is that where you were going to.

01:03:34
Speaker 2: GO i was gonna say you mentioned this, Already, sean but would reiterate not only is he better at striking the ball consistently and unbelievable distance. Control he's hitting shots that are smart, Right he's minimizing his missus with the actual shot that he's, selecting and he's also picking targets that give him the widest margin of. Air he mentioned that specifically On live from last night after his. Win he mentioned when he was hitting his shot into, sixteen, like, YEAH i pick lines that give me the widest margin for, air AND i picked Shots i'm comfortable. WITH i think his dedication and commitment to that concept is a huge, separator and that if he had the same, swing the same, hands but didn't stick to that, philosophy his ball striking numbers wouldn't look like they look right.

01:04:21
Speaker 3: Now the interesting thing with, him, too is that not only did he obviously have the record SETTING stros Gain approach The green, numbers but he led in greens in regulation in twenty twenty, two twenty twenty, three and he leads THE Pga tour now in that number while also playing the toughest. Setups and USUALLY i feel Like Stros Gained approach The green is similar to stroskaned off the, tee and that greens and regulation is more like driving, Accuracy like you, know the guys behind him in that it's a it's a sexy stat that we remember and is a big. Part we know what it. Means it's it's part of golf statistics for, decades but it's become less. Meaningful you, know the guys Behind Scotty scheffler in greens and regulation last year Were Peter. Quest ludwig was, third but Then Kevin, You Russell, Knox dug gimm Then Colin, Morikawa Will Gordon, Tyler Duncan luke list that was your top ten and saying that there wasn't this huge correlation necessarily between success on tour and just greens and regulation because obviously he doesn't tell you proximity or how close they're hitting. It BUT i Think scotty consistently being on top of that statistic is Like joseph, saying like picking good targets and just finding ways for your misses to find the. Greens BECAUSE i, mean if you look at probably his greens and regulation percentage related to like the field average in the events he played last, YEAR i think he would be a top that by even like a longer, shot because, AGAIN i mean he's playing a very different schedule Than Peter quest And Kevin you And Russell. Knox they're playing courses where guys hit a lot of. Greens he's playing major championships and signature events and things like. That so being able to pound greens like, THAT i think is a gift and attestament to some of the things we've talked.

01:06:04
Speaker 2: About also led this week At sawgrass in driving accuracy among players who made the cut in Fair Ways. Hit SO i, mean that's just we're talking about a scary combination of factors that are working In scotty's.

01:06:15
Speaker 4: Favor, yeah all, Right, so, Uh, SEAN i wonder if there's anything that we haven't covered, yet any general subject area from this players that was meaningful to you that we haven't talked about yet in this podcast that you'd like to address.

01:06:28
Speaker 3: Now, YEAH i think a couple Things i'll hit him on pretty, quickly go back to. Back but ONE i THINK i really think we can't understate the importance of The Scotty meredith, dynamic and it really. IS i THINK i love. It it's a great. DYNAMIC i think they're awesome, together and it's this is his, wife, yes, yeah, yeah and she's obviously expecting their first child soon and that's going to be a big life change for, him and it'll be interesting to see how that, impacts you, know life on the course for him as, well if it does it. All BUT Pga tour posted a video From Players Media, day which was The monday Of, bayhill and he kind of stood on eighteen and relived the moment of holding the par putt in his twenty twenty three victory that ended, it and he talks about Seeing meredith and he starts crying and tearing, up which is a side that we don't often see about or see from. Him he talked about crying before The, masters but you, know you're not gonna see guys shed tears very. Often but he talks about how how Much meredith means about h or means to, him and he says he tears up every time he starts talking about, her and because she understands what it takes and she's his biggest. Supporter and then, yesterday SINCE i was kind of On scheffler, beat after he, finished he went to the range AND i followed him there instead of seeing what was happening with the rest of the. Groups and you, know he's hitting balls and you get the moment where you Realize wyndham is missed and it's, over and he's. Happy he's hugging his agent And Ted. Scott but by far the happiest he was was when he was driving a golf cart and he Sees meredith come out of the clubhouse and he just raises his arms in victory and he's got this huge. Smile she's really, pregnant she's running towards, him and it's just a cool. Moment and he talked again in the press commerce about how you know he can't go home and lay his trophies around and be, like, ah you, Know i'm the number one player in the. WORLD i can't do dishes like she would slap him upside the. Head AND i, think you, know his family isn't a golf. Family i'm ninety percent sure his parents didn't play. Golf AND i just, think, like it's a real testament to the power of unconditional. Love we're all seeking. It scotty has found it In. Meredith he has it from his. Parents it's a big reason why he says his identity is not in, golf WHICH i think helps him endure the hard, times and SO i just think it's a, great like wholesome story Is scotty And. Meredith and then the other thing WAS i just love the cadence OF Tpc sawgrass is back. Nine you have birdy opportunities on, eleven, twelve and, thirteen especially eleven and twelve are must. Birdie fourteen is the hardest part far on the. Course fifteen is really. Difficult sixteen's another birdy. Opportunity In seventeen's like, this anything can, happen chaos agent where you've got a short iron in, hand you've got a funnel, pin and yet it was the hardest hole in the golf course, yesterday and it just makes for great. Theater there's movement on the. Leaderboard you, Know scotty pulls ahead because he goes through that birdie stretch and he makes a couple and but you know that the guys behind him are about to play those holes and they're going to make a, move and it just it really just shows the importance of cadence in a golf course and how it, matters you, know where you put the birdie holes in the hard holes and things like, that because it does make for all this movement in great theater and it's not just you, know guys pounding out.

01:09:32
Speaker 2: Pars that's a huge note THAT i. Have that's like the other big NOTE i have THAT i almost uses to take Away. SEAN i think the What sagrass does so brilliantly is it kind of couples the interesting architecture with the unbelievable cadence in a way that is so well suited for. Television and then if no matter WHAT i, mean you could be up by three shots and still going into that closing, stretch it's not, over especially if seventeen is, firm like you can make a seven on that, Hole and that's something that it does to hold fan interest and keep people engaged longer than on a lot of other golf. Courses LIKE i even Think augusta the closing, stretch once you get through, fifteen there's not that much that's gonna. HAPPEN i kind of think eighteen leaves you wanting a little bit more and a little bit more excitement down the stretch in a way That sawgrass nails between sixteen and eighteen. ESPECIALLY i THINK Tpc scottsdale's another example where there's an unbelievable cadence to that back nine and it produces a lot of, Excitement SO i totally. AGREE i Think sawgrass couldn't be more tailored FOR. Tv not just the amphitheater and the way that fans can sit in a stadium like environment gets, loud gets, exciting but also the sequencing of the holes and the way penalties are. Introduced it's unbelievable for television.

01:10:47
Speaker 3: And even eighteen it's a very difficult hole, obviously but The sunday pain was down in that bowl where it is a place that you can make birdies while also putting the pin very close to the. Water you, know there was some consternation on, SETUP i, think and it being, soft BUT i asked some guys this AND i feel like they responded, positively of, like just because scores are, low does that mean that this place is? Easy and they still said. No of you, know the reward was high if you hit fairways because the greendersoft you make, birdies but like you've, Said, joseph the penalties were high enough when you miss that it also penalizes, mishits WHICH i think is another reason why we had a good.

01:11:23
Speaker 1: Leaderboard IS i think it's still kind of, Soft. OKAY i MEAN i think the.

01:11:28
Speaker 4: Design is so, good, yeah that it holds up even even with this, SETUP i. THINK i think that's the takeaway. HERE i think that that the it's not the action this past week is not necessarily an endorsement of. Setup to, me it's more an endorsement of the design of the golf.

01:11:47
Speaker 2: COURSE i didn't think the setup was, terrible to be, clear but there's there's also a trade off in trying to get one hundred and forty four golfers through a, course which kind of speaks to some of the incentives of trying to maximize playing. Opportunities but when you have to set up a golf course that's going to be playable in the morning and in the, AFTERNOON i think you have to be a little bit, cautious which THE Pga tour has been in it being a little bit of a softer. Setup SO i would have liked to see some more fire in the golf. COURSE i, Know, GARRETT i think you feel. SIMILARLY i think it plays better and we saw some brown on the. Weekend that's the most exciting the course is like when seventeen is a firm green that's when it's. Exciting BUT i didn't have a huge problem with the. Setup it was softer Than i'd like to, see but it is what it.

01:12:33
Speaker 4: Is, Yeah, well the main thing about the course this week is that it was, great and so you, know it's very possible that the setup was it was better THAN i thought it. Was but, yeah certainly they turned it up a little bit on the weekend and that is what we like to, see and arguably we could go a little bit further with. That all, Right, Well, sean thank you so much for being on the podcast and running through some takeaways with. Us, well of, course have you back again, soon but enjoy the come down from an exciting week at The Players. Championship, well, thanks.

01:13:10
Speaker 3: GUYS i always appreciate you having me.

01:13:11
Speaker 4: On all, right big thanks To Sean martin for joining us for that. Segment last up, Here, joseph let's do some. Recommendations what are you recommending this, Week.

01:13:33
Speaker 2: Garrett i'm just recommending people engage a little bit with Some Scottie scheffler content maybe, today but also just moving forward and specifically two THINGS i wanted to call. Out there's a couple of really interesting YouTube videos of him guessing his yardages both. Before there's a video where he says what yardage he's going to try to hit, something and then he hits, it and it's unbelievable how close he is time after. TIME a great YouTube, video think's a tailor made. Video it's called something Like Scotty scheffler guesses his yardages before he. Hits there's also one where he hits the ball and then he tells you how far he hit. It slightly less, impressive but still ridiculous to watch him just get yardage after yardage. CORRECT i think his distance control is. Unbelievable this, video these two videos in, particular unbelievable examples of. That i'd recommend it's really cool to. Watch outside of, THAT i think people should Watch Scotty schefler's press.

01:14:26
Speaker 1: CONFERENCES i take a lot away.

01:14:28
Speaker 2: From watching him in front of a, microphone the way he illustrates his. Mindset he's just clearly somebody that has the mental game pretty well solved right, now at least Right maybe that'll change down the line if he battles some, demons but right now he really seems to be in control of the mental.

01:14:47
Speaker 1: GAME i think.

01:14:48
Speaker 2: Last year's Players championship press conference twenty twenty. Three that's a great watch on YouTube where he really exhibits command over the mental game and over what he's trying to do on the golf. COURSE i always love listening to him in advance of major, Championships SO i would recommend people watch his press conference upcoming At. Augusta and if you have, kids or if you yourself aren't aspiring professional, GOLFER i would recommend they watch the fifteen to twenty minute press conference Of Scotti. Scheffler get inside his head a little, bit see how he accepts his imperfections and how that's obviously translated to encourse. Success SO i think those press conferences are among the most insightful in. GOLF i know people say That Scotty scheffler can be. BORING i don't find him, boring and i'd encourage people to give him a chance and watch some of those press.

01:15:37
Speaker 4: Conferences get to Know Scotti. Scheffler Those tailor made videos are, great, actually The tailor made videos featuring their players on. Staff there's a really good one or maybe a couple of them Where scotty is chipping With tiger and love those they kind of go into their technique for different kinds of short game shots that they use around the. Green very very, cool all, Right so my recommendation very different domain here The light And magic. Documentary this is a six part documentary On Disney plus About Industrial light And, magic better known AS. Ilm so this is the company That George lucas founded to create visual effects for The Star wars series and it went on to become probably the most famous and influential special effects company in the film and. Business so this documentary is directed By Lawrence, kasden who's a legit director and is really really well. Done has a ton of behind the scenes footage from The Star wars, movies The Indiana jones, Series Jurassic, park things like. That the documentary does have this weakness of being one of those documentaries that is produced essentially by its, subject. Right it's produced By Lucas, Film so if you're looking for an expose or a critical take ON, ilm this is not. It but it's still really. GOOD i would have watched at least six more episodes of, it so check that. Out it's Called light And, magic and you, Know Disney plus is basically for parents with young, Kids. Joseph Disney plus is essentially like attacks you have it, Anyway so any parents out, THERE i know you've got A Disney plus, subscription check Out light And.

01:17:26
Speaker 1: Magic DO i need to be into some of those? Movies?

01:17:29
Speaker 2: Like DO i need to be A Star wars person to appreciate this? Documentary would you recommend it to?

01:17:33
Speaker 4: ANYBODY i am not A Star wars, person at Least i'm not an Original Star wars series. PERSON i think those movies are mostly pretty. Bad this is this is probably my hottest. Take this Is this is gonna get me the most tate mail of any take That i've had on the. PODCAST i Think Empire Strikes back is a great. MOVIE i think the First Star wars And return of The. JEDI i wasn't a kid when these movies came. OUT i was Not i'm not old enough to have. Experience it's these movies in the. Theater i'm sure the impact was tremendous when they came. Out So i'm not devoted to that series those. MOVIES i love the series and or that came, out and that's the first kind Of Star wars universe thing that really appealed to. Me and SO i love. That so, YEAH i think that if you're not A Star wars, Person i'm definitely An Indiana jones. Person love those, movies Love Jurassic, park love a lot of the stuff THAT ilm worked, on and SO i was interested in that. Stuff BUT i was also just fascinated by the process of creating the effects For Star, wars which were undoubtedly, revolutionary nothing like it had really ever been. Done and kind of seeing the process of making those. Things you, know they were doing, it of course without, computers and so it was all these miniatures And matt paintings and you, know puppets and things like, that and the craft that went into these objects is just, extraordinary and so that's what that's what this this documentary is. About so really recommend. It all, right that's it for, Today, joseph thanks for being on the.

01:19:11
Speaker 1: Pod thanks for having, Me, Giarrett it's.

01:19:12
Speaker 4: Fun this episode of The Frida Egg Golf podcast was produced By Matt. Ruschius thank, You. Matt if you would like to Support Frida Egg golf on another, level we have a membership. Available it's CALLED clubtfe and you can check out everything that comes WITH clubtfe at The Friday egg dot com slash. Membership we offer exclusive, content early access To Frida egg golf events and ongoing discount and the pro shop all sorts of stuff. There it's been really fun to develop the community WITHIN. Clubtfe we have a lively comment section on each of our posts in, there and it's just been great to get to know people in. There so join us in the club The friday dot com slash. Membership hope to see you there and thank you for listening to this. Episode we'll be back again soon with another