1 00:00:04,519 --> 00:00:08,840 Speaker 1: Here's the scary similarities. I had an idea just like Carston. 2 00:00:09,480 --> 00:00:12,160 Speaker 1: I started the company with the mill, just like Carston, 3 00:00:12,240 --> 00:00:15,720 Speaker 1: the exact same mill. And I went around in the 4 00:00:15,760 --> 00:00:18,560 Speaker 1: trunk of in my superrew. I didn't have his call, 5 00:00:18,640 --> 00:00:25,239 Speaker 1: but I had a super brew outback, and I drove around, uh, California, 6 00:00:25,360 --> 00:00:29,880 Speaker 1: in Nevada and uh and would sleep in the back 7 00:00:29,920 --> 00:00:33,640 Speaker 1: of the car and sell potters and do demo days. 8 00:00:32,960 --> 00:00:33,080 Speaker 2: Uh. 9 00:00:34,240 --> 00:00:35,800 Speaker 3: Uh, you know, just going on. 10 00:00:35,880 --> 00:00:38,080 Speaker 1: So I hire a babysitter for my daughter, and then 11 00:00:38,200 --> 00:00:40,760 Speaker 1: I'd hit the road and then come back. 12 00:00:45,840 --> 00:00:56,040 Speaker 4: Put another log on the fire. 13 00:00:52,000 --> 00:01:00,240 Speaker 5: Here is given time. Welcome to the fire Pit with 14 00:01:00,280 --> 00:01:02,480 Speaker 5: Matt Chanella. 15 00:01:02,640 --> 00:01:05,560 Speaker 6: Thanks again to Joe Horowitz for our theme song. In 16 00:01:05,600 --> 00:01:07,959 Speaker 6: case you missed it, we produced a podcast on the 17 00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:10,760 Speaker 6: writing and recording of the song with Grammy Award winning 18 00:01:10,760 --> 00:01:15,399 Speaker 6: producer Jakir King, which Joe called The Story. If you 19 00:01:15,400 --> 00:01:17,640 Speaker 6: haven't heard it, it's worth scrolling through our archive and 20 00:01:17,720 --> 00:01:20,480 Speaker 6: listening in on the process of producing a song from 21 00:01:20,520 --> 00:01:24,440 Speaker 6: start to finish. As for this story, how and why 22 00:01:24,480 --> 00:01:27,720 Speaker 6: Bill Pressey invented not only a putter, but game changing 23 00:01:27,880 --> 00:01:31,320 Speaker 6: putter technology. How and why a guy like Sam Hahn 24 00:01:31,400 --> 00:01:34,319 Speaker 6: would push all in and evolve and grow Pressy's invention 25 00:01:34,640 --> 00:01:36,240 Speaker 6: in a way that it ends up in the bag 26 00:01:36,319 --> 00:01:39,080 Speaker 6: and hands of Lucas Glover, who used it to win 27 00:01:39,160 --> 00:01:42,080 Speaker 6: back to back PGA tour events in twenty twenty three. 28 00:01:42,400 --> 00:01:45,960 Speaker 6: We're just getting started. In Part one, you hear from 29 00:01:46,000 --> 00:01:49,000 Speaker 6: both Pressy and Han how and why they met, and 30 00:01:49,040 --> 00:01:52,080 Speaker 6: you get a sense of why they work so well together. 31 00:01:52,920 --> 00:01:55,520 Speaker 6: While Pressey had a good idea, he needed Han for 32 00:01:55,640 --> 00:01:59,760 Speaker 6: capital rebranding and to get the unconventional tool in the 33 00:01:59,800 --> 00:02:04,640 Speaker 6: hands of prominent influencers and tour players. But before we 34 00:02:04,680 --> 00:02:08,080 Speaker 6: go any further, another quick appreciation for Dormy Workshop, the 35 00:02:08,120 --> 00:02:12,160 Speaker 6: Canadian based company that only makes quality, handmade leather goods 36 00:02:12,200 --> 00:02:15,960 Speaker 6: such as custom headcovers and accessories. The Bishop Brothers are 37 00:02:15,960 --> 00:02:18,440 Speaker 6: good golfers, good friends, and we're lucky to have them 38 00:02:18,440 --> 00:02:22,640 Speaker 6: putting our logo on their products. All available at Firepitcollective 39 00:02:22,639 --> 00:02:26,960 Speaker 6: dot com. For their complete collection of originals, headcovers and classics, 40 00:02:27,160 --> 00:02:29,440 Speaker 6: go to Dormy Workshop dot com and use promo code 41 00:02:29,440 --> 00:02:32,560 Speaker 6: fire Pit fifteen for fifteen percent off your next purchase. 42 00:02:32,960 --> 00:02:35,280 Speaker 6: For a quick recap of Part one of this series, 43 00:02:35,639 --> 00:02:39,399 Speaker 6: Sam Hahn is an Oregon based golf enthusiast who managed 44 00:02:39,440 --> 00:02:42,119 Speaker 6: a band and a bar by night, played a lot 45 00:02:42,120 --> 00:02:45,720 Speaker 6: of golf by day, and on one day in twenty seventeen, 46 00:02:46,120 --> 00:02:50,400 Speaker 6: Bob Duncan, Han's friend and swing instructor, presented a new putter. 47 00:02:50,960 --> 00:02:54,440 Speaker 7: Bob comes up and, you know, shows me the reno 48 00:02:54,520 --> 00:02:57,480 Speaker 7: two point one by a company called Directed Force at 49 00:02:57,520 --> 00:02:59,600 Speaker 7: the time was how it was kind of branded, and 50 00:02:59,639 --> 00:03:01,400 Speaker 7: I was like, what the am I. 51 00:03:01,320 --> 00:03:03,720 Speaker 2: Allowed to swear? Yeah, of course you are, Yeah, yeah. 52 00:03:03,760 --> 00:03:04,919 Speaker 2: I was like, what the fuck is that? 53 00:03:05,040 --> 00:03:05,200 Speaker 8: Like? 54 00:03:05,760 --> 00:03:07,960 Speaker 7: Barf likes full on barf. I mean, it was just 55 00:03:08,000 --> 00:03:10,040 Speaker 7: the most ridiculous looking thing I'd ever seen. I was like, 56 00:03:10,040 --> 00:03:11,560 Speaker 7: there's no chance I'm putting with that. 57 00:03:12,360 --> 00:03:14,480 Speaker 6: Duncan doesn't take no for an answer. 58 00:03:14,919 --> 00:03:17,200 Speaker 2: You know, the revealer is profound. 59 00:03:17,240 --> 00:03:20,560 Speaker 7: I mean, it's incredible to see a putter flopping around 60 00:03:20,639 --> 00:03:24,720 Speaker 7: and not doing what you know, the golf putter gurus 61 00:03:24,760 --> 00:03:26,919 Speaker 7: of the world have told you a toe hangg putter 62 00:03:26,960 --> 00:03:28,440 Speaker 7: is supposed to do, or a face balance butter is 63 00:03:28,440 --> 00:03:29,800 Speaker 7: supposed to do. And then you see this one staying 64 00:03:29,840 --> 00:03:32,560 Speaker 7: square all by itself, and it's intriguing. So he's like, 65 00:03:32,600 --> 00:03:36,640 Speaker 7: just give me nine holes, grab a cart, went out 66 00:03:36,680 --> 00:03:39,240 Speaker 7: on the golf course and I one putted the first 67 00:03:39,240 --> 00:03:42,240 Speaker 7: seven greens for a total of one hundred and fifty 68 00:03:42,280 --> 00:03:43,280 Speaker 7: feet worth of putts. 69 00:03:43,720 --> 00:03:46,440 Speaker 6: Like lots of people who get past the look of 70 00:03:46,520 --> 00:03:49,760 Speaker 6: what was directed for us, and now lab Golf, the 71 00:03:49,880 --> 00:03:52,800 Speaker 6: investment for Han was paying significant dividends. 72 00:03:53,720 --> 00:03:56,000 Speaker 7: There's no more tinkering, there's no more tweaking, like this 73 00:03:56,080 --> 00:03:58,160 Speaker 7: is the this is the putter. It's stay square by itself. 74 00:03:58,160 --> 00:04:00,040 Speaker 7: So all I gotta do is let it And and 75 00:04:00,120 --> 00:04:02,480 Speaker 7: so I went through my own process and figuring out 76 00:04:02,480 --> 00:04:04,880 Speaker 7: how to utilize the technology and ultimately ended up with 77 00:04:04,880 --> 00:04:09,040 Speaker 7: a very different technique than I had ever used with 78 00:04:09,080 --> 00:04:11,560 Speaker 7: a putter. And then and then the results became off 79 00:04:11,640 --> 00:04:14,600 Speaker 7: the chart. So starting then after I kind of found 80 00:04:14,640 --> 00:04:17,040 Speaker 7: my groove with it. I was a one handicap at 81 00:04:17,040 --> 00:04:18,640 Speaker 7: the time, I was a plus three and a half. 82 00:04:18,839 --> 00:04:22,480 Speaker 6: Six weeks later, Hans says, there are four very serendipitous 83 00:04:22,560 --> 00:04:26,760 Speaker 6: moments in this company's history. Ironically, the first is when 84 00:04:26,800 --> 00:04:27,680 Speaker 6: his putter breaks. 85 00:04:28,680 --> 00:04:30,600 Speaker 7: One of the fun things about these putters is that, 86 00:04:30,720 --> 00:04:33,360 Speaker 7: because you know, when you start spinning them around, there 87 00:04:33,360 --> 00:04:35,880 Speaker 7: isn't some massive torque pulling in one direction or another. 88 00:04:35,960 --> 00:04:38,000 Speaker 7: This was kind of like my fidget, right, Like I'm 89 00:04:38,120 --> 00:04:40,320 Speaker 7: just always walking around the grain, spinning the potter, spinning 90 00:04:40,320 --> 00:04:41,640 Speaker 7: the putter, and one day I'm. 91 00:04:41,560 --> 00:04:44,720 Speaker 2: Spinning it and I hear a little click. That's not good. 92 00:04:45,600 --> 00:04:49,640 Speaker 2: I kind of go, you know, kind of go like 93 00:04:49,680 --> 00:04:51,120 Speaker 2: this with the head. It goes. 94 00:04:53,080 --> 00:04:55,919 Speaker 6: Fuck Bob Duncan strikes again. 95 00:04:56,560 --> 00:05:02,960 Speaker 9: I knew Sam's background a little bit, and I knew 96 00:05:03,000 --> 00:05:07,640 Speaker 9: that if I got him together with Bill, they'd probably 97 00:05:07,680 --> 00:05:08,239 Speaker 9: go crazy. 98 00:05:08,800 --> 00:05:10,240 Speaker 6: Bill Pressey on chemistry. 99 00:05:10,800 --> 00:05:12,040 Speaker 3: When Sam called me. 100 00:05:14,320 --> 00:05:18,240 Speaker 1: My head fell off, of course, she's like, hey, you know, 101 00:05:18,360 --> 00:05:21,320 Speaker 1: my head fell off, And I kid you not. As 102 00:05:21,320 --> 00:05:23,800 Speaker 1: soon as I heard his voice, and I think he'd 103 00:05:23,839 --> 00:05:27,960 Speaker 1: probably experienced this, I was like, this guy, it was 104 00:05:28,000 --> 00:05:28,359 Speaker 1: game on. 105 00:05:28,839 --> 00:05:31,280 Speaker 7: They were about to close the doors, and I'd ask 106 00:05:31,320 --> 00:05:32,599 Speaker 7: Bill to put me in touch with the guys that 107 00:05:32,600 --> 00:05:36,240 Speaker 7: he was partnered with, worked out a deal with them, Me, 108 00:05:36,520 --> 00:05:39,920 Speaker 7: my dad, and my brother all put everything together and 109 00:05:40,440 --> 00:05:43,920 Speaker 7: bought out Bill's existing partners. And that's how the whole thing, 110 00:05:43,960 --> 00:05:48,760 Speaker 7: that's how LAB started. So then at that point, so 111 00:05:48,800 --> 00:05:53,400 Speaker 7: that was late twenty seventeen. I think we were officially, 112 00:05:53,760 --> 00:05:58,880 Speaker 7: you know, business married in early twenty eighteen, and we 113 00:05:58,880 --> 00:06:01,480 Speaker 7: were off to the races, and or so I. 114 00:06:01,400 --> 00:06:06,039 Speaker 1: Thought Sam possessed the traits I don't. And and and 115 00:06:06,120 --> 00:06:09,680 Speaker 1: it's a ham and eggs thing. I'm a complete uh 116 00:06:09,960 --> 00:06:14,240 Speaker 1: inventor wild you know. It's you're not gonna rain me 117 00:06:14,320 --> 00:06:18,440 Speaker 1: in ever and so uh, which is not a thing 118 00:06:18,480 --> 00:06:22,240 Speaker 1: that you want running a company. And so so Sam 119 00:06:22,279 --> 00:06:26,919 Speaker 1: possessed all those skills and and once uh, you know, 120 00:06:27,040 --> 00:06:32,200 Speaker 1: he expressed interest in in doing a buyout, and we 121 00:06:32,240 --> 00:06:34,279 Speaker 1: could buy out the company and I'll come along and 122 00:06:34,320 --> 00:06:35,760 Speaker 1: we'll reform another company. 123 00:06:38,520 --> 00:06:39,360 Speaker 3: We we did that. 124 00:06:40,120 --> 00:06:42,760 Speaker 6: So consider yourself caught up. And we're going to get 125 00:06:42,760 --> 00:06:46,000 Speaker 6: to more serendipitous moments in this company's history as it 126 00:06:46,040 --> 00:06:50,480 Speaker 6: relates to Tim Wilkinson, Jeff Sluman, Von Taylor, Kelly Slater, 127 00:06:50,839 --> 00:06:53,080 Speaker 6: Adam Scott. And then we do a deep dive into 128 00:06:53,120 --> 00:06:56,919 Speaker 6: Lucas Glover and lab Golf's impact on his career. But 129 00:06:57,040 --> 00:07:00,000 Speaker 6: before we get to all of that, those people and players, 130 00:07:00,720 --> 00:07:02,440 Speaker 6: I felt compelled to go back. 131 00:07:02,320 --> 00:07:04,920 Speaker 5: A bit lie angle balance. 132 00:07:05,600 --> 00:07:10,360 Speaker 6: I understand what all those things are, but is that 133 00:07:10,440 --> 00:07:13,600 Speaker 6: the that's the essence of all of this? That is 134 00:07:13,640 --> 00:07:16,760 Speaker 6: the essence. It's it's you know, like, if you're going 135 00:07:16,800 --> 00:07:19,920 Speaker 6: to like summarize all of that. That's the magic dust. 136 00:07:22,560 --> 00:07:25,520 Speaker 7: Li angle balance is the magic dust. Absolutely, Bill's invention 137 00:07:25,640 --> 00:07:27,200 Speaker 7: is the magic dust. And when you get to talk 138 00:07:27,200 --> 00:07:28,840 Speaker 7: to him and find out how he came up with this, 139 00:07:29,080 --> 00:07:34,560 Speaker 7: it's it'll blow your mind. I mean, happy accidents, man, incredible, incredible, 140 00:07:35,480 --> 00:07:38,680 Speaker 7: just stars aligning for him to discover this thing, because 141 00:07:38,680 --> 00:07:41,440 Speaker 7: it's so fucking simple, right, Like, why wouldn't we Why 142 00:07:41,440 --> 00:07:44,280 Speaker 7: didn't somebody think, shouldn't we have the putter balance to 143 00:07:44,320 --> 00:07:45,640 Speaker 7: go where the fucking ball goes? 144 00:07:46,560 --> 00:07:48,480 Speaker 2: And nobody thought of it? 145 00:07:48,880 --> 00:07:52,240 Speaker 7: And he, uh, he did, and so yes, that is 146 00:07:52,240 --> 00:07:55,880 Speaker 7: the magic dust. And what the magic dust does is 147 00:07:55,960 --> 00:07:59,240 Speaker 7: unlocked people's potential. And that's why we play golf, right, 148 00:07:59,280 --> 00:08:01,080 Speaker 7: it's because we know that that the potential is there. 149 00:08:01,480 --> 00:08:04,240 Speaker 7: We know we know that we could have shot two 150 00:08:04,240 --> 00:08:06,840 Speaker 7: shots better every single fucking round we play. 151 00:08:07,360 --> 00:08:12,760 Speaker 2: And with lab you get that much closer the hope. 152 00:08:12,840 --> 00:08:15,560 Speaker 2: The hope becomes real and it's a lot. 153 00:08:15,400 --> 00:08:17,200 Speaker 7: Of fucking fun when you get these things dialed. 154 00:08:17,720 --> 00:08:21,120 Speaker 6: Meet Bill Pressey, a fifty four year old journeyman. He's 155 00:08:21,160 --> 00:08:25,160 Speaker 6: a good player, an instructor, an inventor. He told me 156 00:08:25,200 --> 00:08:27,840 Speaker 6: that as a kid in mcwan, Wisconsin, in a basement 157 00:08:27,880 --> 00:08:31,400 Speaker 6: tinkering with clubs. His grandfather once told him there are 158 00:08:31,400 --> 00:08:35,480 Speaker 6: four ways to making money. You can win it, marry it, 159 00:08:36,480 --> 00:08:40,080 Speaker 6: sell it, or invent it. The take me back to 160 00:08:40,160 --> 00:08:44,360 Speaker 6: the beginning, Why or when or where did you get 161 00:08:44,400 --> 00:08:49,240 Speaker 6: the idea that you had some sense of technology that 162 00:08:49,640 --> 00:08:52,320 Speaker 6: was game changing and that this was something you were 163 00:08:52,360 --> 00:08:53,880 Speaker 6: willing to kind of push all in on. 164 00:08:56,640 --> 00:08:56,880 Speaker 3: Gouss. 165 00:08:56,960 --> 00:09:00,920 Speaker 1: It must have been twenty twelve or something. I missed 166 00:09:00,920 --> 00:09:04,520 Speaker 1: the Monday qualifier for the Reno Tahoe Open that I 167 00:09:04,559 --> 00:09:07,240 Speaker 1: was playing in, and I just hit the ball te 168 00:09:07,360 --> 00:09:10,920 Speaker 1: the green. This I think I hit sixteen or seventeen 169 00:09:10,960 --> 00:09:15,840 Speaker 1: greens and ended up shooting seventy two. I just about 170 00:09:16,440 --> 00:09:18,640 Speaker 1: I want to go home and cut my wrists. But 171 00:09:22,559 --> 00:09:28,959 Speaker 1: so it was really the thing I did. I had 172 00:09:28,960 --> 00:09:33,000 Speaker 1: a pain SeeU five face balanced putter from the ping 173 00:09:33,080 --> 00:09:37,760 Speaker 1: works department, you know, custom machine line in it and everything. 174 00:09:37,800 --> 00:09:42,520 Speaker 1: And I back in the day when I got in 175 00:09:42,559 --> 00:09:45,600 Speaker 1: the golf business, this is in the eighties, early mid 176 00:09:45,679 --> 00:09:50,120 Speaker 1: mid eighties, they had the Cobra tricep cutter and they 177 00:09:50,160 --> 00:09:53,120 Speaker 1: would go outside your arm, so you'd hold it down 178 00:09:53,160 --> 00:09:56,480 Speaker 1: here in the shaft with slide outside your arm, so 179 00:09:56,559 --> 00:10:00,760 Speaker 1: you couldn't do any risk motion and it was it 180 00:10:00,840 --> 00:10:04,560 Speaker 1: was the tricep putter. So I had one of those, 181 00:10:04,840 --> 00:10:08,080 Speaker 1: and I cut the grip off my pin and put 182 00:10:08,080 --> 00:10:12,680 Speaker 1: a uh you know, steel shaft extension just wedged it 183 00:10:12,720 --> 00:10:15,240 Speaker 1: in the end of the shaft so I could lock 184 00:10:15,320 --> 00:10:18,920 Speaker 1: it outside my shirt and start making strokes. 185 00:10:19,440 --> 00:10:21,800 Speaker 3: And my hands were so greasy. 186 00:10:23,200 --> 00:10:27,679 Speaker 1: From you know, like the sunloation and the sunblock, and 187 00:10:28,040 --> 00:10:31,440 Speaker 1: my shirt was slippery and it was a little sweaty, 188 00:10:31,800 --> 00:10:35,560 Speaker 1: and I could not keep that putter face square just 189 00:10:35,640 --> 00:10:36,920 Speaker 1: holding the steel shaft. 190 00:10:36,960 --> 00:10:38,200 Speaker 3: It kept rotating. 191 00:10:38,720 --> 00:10:42,000 Speaker 6: A rotating face is the issue here, and it becomes 192 00:10:42,000 --> 00:10:46,120 Speaker 6: a theme. It's the basis for Pressy to keep tinkering 193 00:10:46,240 --> 00:10:47,000 Speaker 6: and testing. 194 00:10:47,360 --> 00:10:50,440 Speaker 1: If face balance putter isn't staying square, which I could 195 00:10:50,440 --> 00:10:55,760 Speaker 1: see just in my just holding it on my shirt, 196 00:10:56,200 --> 00:11:00,440 Speaker 1: then then maybe these other putters have some something different 197 00:11:00,440 --> 00:11:03,760 Speaker 1: that I was never told as a young professional. And 198 00:11:05,040 --> 00:11:08,360 Speaker 1: long story short, I go and I say, well, I'm 199 00:11:08,400 --> 00:11:10,840 Speaker 1: going to make something to hang the putter because people 200 00:11:10,880 --> 00:11:14,920 Speaker 1: aren't going to believe me that this tricep that I'm 201 00:11:14,920 --> 00:11:19,720 Speaker 1: doing that. And I invented their first revealer in my 202 00:11:19,800 --> 00:11:23,439 Speaker 1: garage with a with an old handrail stick and a 203 00:11:24,120 --> 00:11:28,680 Speaker 1: shelf bracket and a string and a hook at the bottom, 204 00:11:29,000 --> 00:11:31,680 Speaker 1: and I could just suspend putters. So I went down 205 00:11:31,760 --> 00:11:35,559 Speaker 1: my arsenal of fifty something cutters, and none of them, 206 00:11:36,120 --> 00:11:38,520 Speaker 1: none of them did what I thought they were going 207 00:11:38,600 --> 00:11:38,960 Speaker 1: to do. 208 00:11:39,800 --> 00:11:42,280 Speaker 6: As we learned in part one of this series, Pressey's 209 00:11:42,320 --> 00:11:45,960 Speaker 6: homemade revealer is key to this story and ultimately the 210 00:11:46,000 --> 00:11:49,679 Speaker 6: success of his brands and the business. It was a 211 00:11:49,679 --> 00:11:52,840 Speaker 6: cobbled together tool that he eventually made out of a crutch, 212 00:11:53,440 --> 00:11:56,200 Speaker 6: the type you'd use if you broke your leg. He 213 00:11:56,360 --> 00:11:58,880 Speaker 6: used the two metal rods of the crutch and created 214 00:11:58,920 --> 00:12:01,840 Speaker 6: a bridge between the two rods that he could suspend 215 00:12:01,960 --> 00:12:06,280 Speaker 6: any putter from which ultimately revealed the marketing behind face 216 00:12:06,360 --> 00:12:10,839 Speaker 6: balanced and toe hank putters is just that marketing, and 217 00:12:10,880 --> 00:12:13,959 Speaker 6: that both types of putters face balance in toe hang 218 00:12:14,320 --> 00:12:17,400 Speaker 6: required manipulation by the player to get the putter face 219 00:12:17,559 --> 00:12:19,040 Speaker 6: back to being squared impact. 220 00:12:19,840 --> 00:12:22,880 Speaker 1: So the revealer, the next stage of that was was 221 00:12:22,920 --> 00:12:26,360 Speaker 1: like a cane, like an old man's cane, instead of 222 00:12:26,360 --> 00:12:29,160 Speaker 1: the stick and hook. And then then I took it 223 00:12:29,240 --> 00:12:32,280 Speaker 1: up to the broken crutch, and the broken crutch got 224 00:12:32,360 --> 00:12:34,760 Speaker 1: quite a bit of attention. 225 00:12:35,840 --> 00:12:39,440 Speaker 3: Early on in the forums, there's crazy guys out there 226 00:12:39,480 --> 00:12:43,560 Speaker 3: with this broken crutch. Well, you hauled the putter right, 227 00:12:44,320 --> 00:12:48,360 Speaker 3: and so we said, well that got quite a reaction, 228 00:12:48,520 --> 00:12:51,760 Speaker 3: and it's showing that all these other putters are It's 229 00:12:51,800 --> 00:12:55,480 Speaker 3: just miss marketing. You know, it's no in no way 230 00:12:55,679 --> 00:12:58,400 Speaker 3: in physics does a face balanced putter stay square to 231 00:12:58,880 --> 00:13:02,000 Speaker 3: a straight back straight There's zero connection. 232 00:13:02,520 --> 00:13:05,320 Speaker 6: One more time, because I know this part of the story. 233 00:13:05,520 --> 00:13:09,400 Speaker 6: It's technical. The term face balance is in reference to 234 00:13:09,440 --> 00:13:12,120 Speaker 6: the idea that if a putter is suspended perpendicular to 235 00:13:12,160 --> 00:13:15,400 Speaker 6: the ground, the face of the putter will sit square 236 00:13:15,520 --> 00:13:19,400 Speaker 6: to the sky. A toe hangputter, if suspended perpendicular to 237 00:13:19,440 --> 00:13:22,280 Speaker 6: the ground, the toe of the putter will point down 238 00:13:22,360 --> 00:13:25,119 Speaker 6: at the ground. And if you hear the term torque, 239 00:13:25,320 --> 00:13:28,079 Speaker 6: that's the twist of the putter face and any additional 240 00:13:28,120 --> 00:13:30,680 Speaker 6: weight you feel as the putter head is opening or 241 00:13:30,679 --> 00:13:34,280 Speaker 6: closing throughout the putting stroke. What press he is trying 242 00:13:34,320 --> 00:13:37,760 Speaker 6: to create was a putter with no torque, a putter 243 00:13:37,800 --> 00:13:41,160 Speaker 6: that essentially didn't twist or turn as you make the 244 00:13:41,200 --> 00:13:45,000 Speaker 6: putting stroke. A putter that actually did what face balance 245 00:13:45,040 --> 00:13:48,280 Speaker 6: and toe hang putters claimed to do, which is b 246 00:13:48,440 --> 00:13:50,720 Speaker 6: square at the point of impact and get that ball 247 00:13:50,800 --> 00:13:55,079 Speaker 6: rolling online press. He didn't stop tinkering and testing until 248 00:13:55,080 --> 00:13:59,680 Speaker 6: he achieved lie angle and balance for his set up 249 00:13:59,679 --> 00:14:00,520 Speaker 6: and putty stroke. 250 00:14:01,200 --> 00:14:06,200 Speaker 1: In my mind, you know, being the creative type, I 251 00:14:06,240 --> 00:14:09,840 Speaker 1: already envisioned what it should look like, right. You got 252 00:14:10,000 --> 00:14:12,760 Speaker 1: to you got to grab onto something and say, this 253 00:14:12,920 --> 00:14:17,559 Speaker 1: is what it should look like, regardless of your predisposed 254 00:14:18,960 --> 00:14:24,160 Speaker 1: thoughts or or or expectations of what something is doing 255 00:14:24,240 --> 00:14:27,680 Speaker 1: when it's not doing. And so I just went about 256 00:14:27,960 --> 00:14:31,640 Speaker 1: making something that did what I thought it should look like, 257 00:14:31,720 --> 00:14:35,560 Speaker 1: which is lyingle balancing. And it started with the old 258 00:14:35,680 --> 00:14:41,680 Speaker 1: bett Ardy hour glass big bend putter I had. I 259 00:14:41,720 --> 00:14:45,400 Speaker 1: had a knockoff of the big bend from in his 260 00:14:45,520 --> 00:14:50,480 Speaker 1: Zone Diamond Tour component company in Chicago. Anyways, it's a 261 00:14:50,480 --> 00:14:53,320 Speaker 1: great little platform because it's aluminum and it's flat, and 262 00:14:53,400 --> 00:14:56,800 Speaker 1: it's got all the holes running through the side. You know, 263 00:14:56,880 --> 00:14:58,840 Speaker 1: if you look at the side of a big ben putter, 264 00:14:58,880 --> 00:15:01,360 Speaker 1: there's all these little hole and so they take weight 265 00:15:01,400 --> 00:15:02,920 Speaker 1: and they put it in the front and back. But 266 00:15:03,120 --> 00:15:06,640 Speaker 1: on top of it looked solid, but inside it's all 267 00:15:06,680 --> 00:15:09,200 Speaker 1: wayfered out, and I'm thinking that's a really good idea. 268 00:15:09,800 --> 00:15:12,920 Speaker 6: Listening to Bill Pressey can make my mind feel wafered out, 269 00:15:13,320 --> 00:15:15,440 Speaker 6: and I'm guessing you might feel the same. But that's 270 00:15:15,480 --> 00:15:19,360 Speaker 6: exactly why he was capable of inventing the original directed 271 00:15:19,360 --> 00:15:24,440 Speaker 6: force putter and no one else did. Another quick step 272 00:15:24,480 --> 00:15:27,440 Speaker 6: back in history and important to note it was nineteen 273 00:15:27,520 --> 00:15:31,040 Speaker 6: seventy six when Raymond Floyd used the ram Zebra putter 274 00:15:31,120 --> 00:15:34,280 Speaker 6: to win the Masters. The Zebra was among the first 275 00:15:34,640 --> 00:15:38,560 Speaker 6: D shaped mallet putters that was quote face balanced. 276 00:15:39,280 --> 00:15:41,040 Speaker 1: When the Zebra came out, that was kind of like 277 00:15:41,880 --> 00:15:43,800 Speaker 1: it was hot and heavy on the market and King 278 00:15:43,920 --> 00:15:46,920 Speaker 1: was losing. Ping was getting their butt kicked in sales, 279 00:15:46,960 --> 00:15:49,560 Speaker 1: and I was selling them. I was in the shop 280 00:15:49,560 --> 00:15:52,240 Speaker 1: in the eighties, you know, fitting and selling pings, and 281 00:15:54,320 --> 00:15:57,200 Speaker 1: all of a sudden, the Zebra and ray Floyd came out. 282 00:15:57,600 --> 00:16:01,960 Speaker 1: So then Ping's counter to face ballotalancing was well, the 283 00:16:02,000 --> 00:16:05,480 Speaker 1: potter doesn't really do that. We have toe hang tow 284 00:16:05,560 --> 00:16:10,760 Speaker 1: hag flows and there was nothing to substantiate that. This 285 00:16:10,920 --> 00:16:17,880 Speaker 1: was just the marketing tool to stop the bleeding. A 286 00:16:18,000 --> 00:16:21,040 Speaker 1: term that was developed to stop the bleeding to face balance, 287 00:16:21,160 --> 00:16:25,160 Speaker 1: because the face balancing was the greatest buzzword that had 288 00:16:25,160 --> 00:16:30,720 Speaker 1: come out in putters since whatever healed tow waiting. So 289 00:16:31,000 --> 00:16:33,760 Speaker 1: the whole story you know of how we got to 290 00:16:33,760 --> 00:16:36,960 Speaker 1: toe hang and face balancing, and this is just my 291 00:16:37,080 --> 00:16:43,160 Speaker 1: opinion forty something years in the business. It came about 292 00:16:42,280 --> 00:16:48,440 Speaker 1: when when Ray Floyd was started rolling the Zebra and 293 00:16:48,560 --> 00:16:52,240 Speaker 1: ping was getting crushed in the post shops, and so 294 00:16:52,360 --> 00:16:56,800 Speaker 1: they decided to come out with toeflow. Prior to this, 295 00:16:57,600 --> 00:17:00,480 Speaker 1: and if you go back in the history books, toflo 296 00:17:00,600 --> 00:17:02,520 Speaker 1: did not exist before. 297 00:17:02,200 --> 00:17:05,440 Speaker 3: Face balancing in any marketing or advertising. 298 00:17:05,600 --> 00:17:09,760 Speaker 1: Ever, it was not even talked about until face balancing 299 00:17:09,800 --> 00:17:10,960 Speaker 1: came out. 300 00:17:10,680 --> 00:17:14,399 Speaker 6: Almost thirty years later. What Pressey came up with where 301 00:17:14,480 --> 00:17:18,160 Speaker 6: he inserted the hazzle and how he manipulated and placed 302 00:17:18,280 --> 00:17:23,400 Speaker 6: the weights throughout the manufactured knockoff putterhead he had his 303 00:17:23,520 --> 00:17:27,840 Speaker 6: garage invention did in fact stay balanced throughout the stroke 304 00:17:27,920 --> 00:17:31,120 Speaker 6: and was square at impact with no manipulation from any 305 00:17:31,160 --> 00:17:36,080 Speaker 6: outside agency. He achieved lie angle balance. That's what his 306 00:17:36,240 --> 00:17:41,359 Speaker 6: revealer in fact revealed not only to Pressy, but eventually 307 00:17:41,760 --> 00:17:43,119 Speaker 6: the industry and marketplace. 308 00:17:44,240 --> 00:17:49,520 Speaker 1: Once I had the product doing what the original protos 309 00:17:49,600 --> 00:17:52,840 Speaker 1: doing what they were supposed to do, then I started 310 00:17:52,880 --> 00:17:58,359 Speaker 1: expanding and making the revealer. I took it to work. 311 00:17:58,400 --> 00:18:00,280 Speaker 1: At the time, I was the director of his stroduction 312 00:18:00,400 --> 00:18:05,280 Speaker 1: at Golf Tech, and you know, just teaching teaching, teaching, teaching, 313 00:18:05,880 --> 00:18:08,479 Speaker 1: and so I take it to work and show some 314 00:18:08,560 --> 00:18:13,119 Speaker 1: of my clients and they were blown away, you know, 315 00:18:13,280 --> 00:18:16,600 Speaker 1: putting their putter in this little funky looking broken stick 316 00:18:16,640 --> 00:18:19,040 Speaker 1: thing and standing around and they're like, well, what does 317 00:18:19,080 --> 00:18:21,320 Speaker 1: that mean? I hold the putter. I'm like, I know, 318 00:18:21,359 --> 00:18:23,159 Speaker 1: you hold the potter. You hold your steering wheel on 319 00:18:23,200 --> 00:18:26,080 Speaker 1: your car too, but your car drives straight right. 320 00:18:28,040 --> 00:18:31,080 Speaker 6: Bill Pressey got the patent for his product and his brand, 321 00:18:31,280 --> 00:18:33,880 Speaker 6: the Directed Force Putter, in twenty fourteen. 322 00:18:34,320 --> 00:18:39,640 Speaker 1: My initial launch of the company, man that I get 323 00:18:39,680 --> 00:18:42,000 Speaker 1: some heat and some angry folks. 324 00:18:42,080 --> 00:18:42,159 Speaker 7: And. 325 00:18:43,680 --> 00:18:45,879 Speaker 1: Then a lot of great a lot of great comments, 326 00:18:45,920 --> 00:18:48,200 Speaker 1: and those outweighed the angry ones. 327 00:18:49,119 --> 00:18:55,920 Speaker 3: And the reviewer was then like the thing. 328 00:18:56,040 --> 00:19:01,879 Speaker 1: And and so that showed really what was happening. And 329 00:19:01,920 --> 00:19:07,760 Speaker 1: from an unbiased perspective, when you're going up against marketing 330 00:19:07,840 --> 00:19:12,960 Speaker 1: dollars from major OEMs and you don't have marketing dollars, 331 00:19:14,160 --> 00:19:18,919 Speaker 1: because you know, the people can be brainwashed and and 332 00:19:19,000 --> 00:19:21,480 Speaker 1: through marketing, and we see it right now in our 333 00:19:21,720 --> 00:19:23,600 Speaker 1: in our social. 334 00:19:25,280 --> 00:19:28,160 Speaker 3: And the media and just in Americans in general, it's 335 00:19:28,200 --> 00:19:28,640 Speaker 3: really easy. 336 00:19:28,680 --> 00:19:33,000 Speaker 1: Well, one thing happens, and then the next person is 337 00:19:33,160 --> 00:19:34,680 Speaker 1: just assumes that that's right. 338 00:19:35,440 --> 00:19:35,960 Speaker 3: And so. 339 00:19:37,800 --> 00:19:40,359 Speaker 1: The revealer was great because it cut through all of 340 00:19:40,400 --> 00:19:44,960 Speaker 1: that and there's no batteries, it's just gravity and no 341 00:19:45,160 --> 00:19:49,159 Speaker 1: smoking mirrors. Here's what your cutter is doing. It doesn't flow, 342 00:19:49,880 --> 00:19:53,920 Speaker 1: that doesn't stay squere. And so they were there were 343 00:19:54,040 --> 00:19:58,760 Speaker 1: years and years of you know, just trying to make 344 00:19:58,840 --> 00:20:03,600 Speaker 1: headway in the industry in overcoming the perception and changing 345 00:20:03,640 --> 00:20:07,639 Speaker 1: the paradigm of what we perceive a putter is doing 346 00:20:08,560 --> 00:20:12,640 Speaker 1: because of marketing dollars and a message that was sent 347 00:20:12,720 --> 00:20:14,440 Speaker 1: out over generations. 348 00:20:14,560 --> 00:20:15,879 Speaker 3: Like I was one of those pros. 349 00:20:15,920 --> 00:20:19,840 Speaker 1: You probably were too, uh that for I don't know 350 00:20:19,880 --> 00:20:23,040 Speaker 1: how long I thought face balance was going to be 351 00:20:23,080 --> 00:20:24,240 Speaker 1: square backs, square through. 352 00:20:24,359 --> 00:20:26,360 Speaker 3: It's just not. And so. 353 00:20:28,160 --> 00:20:31,600 Speaker 1: As a connoisseur of golf clubs and a master club repairman, 354 00:20:31,800 --> 00:20:34,800 Speaker 1: and you know, I was like the go to guy 355 00:20:34,880 --> 00:20:40,480 Speaker 1: for golf tech for clubs, like on the national level, and. 356 00:20:42,160 --> 00:20:45,600 Speaker 3: I was so embarrassed. I was kind of mad, Like 357 00:20:46,320 --> 00:20:47,000 Speaker 3: I really was. 358 00:20:47,080 --> 00:20:51,040 Speaker 1: I was, you know, director instruction and people what my 359 00:20:51,160 --> 00:20:56,080 Speaker 1: word carries credibility, and so when I'm talking to my clients, 360 00:20:56,200 --> 00:21:01,520 Speaker 1: credibility and accuracy of comments and accuracy information and what 361 00:21:01,560 --> 00:21:05,240 Speaker 1: you're telling people has to be good. And so yeah, 362 00:21:05,280 --> 00:21:10,120 Speaker 1: I was pretty offended as a pro when I found 363 00:21:10,160 --> 00:21:12,840 Speaker 1: out that when I figured out none of this was real, 364 00:21:13,400 --> 00:21:18,680 Speaker 1: and so LAB was ultimately started as a as a 365 00:21:18,720 --> 00:21:23,159 Speaker 1: desperate attempt to fix my own yips, because I had 366 00:21:23,160 --> 00:21:27,840 Speaker 1: the yips really mad, like I was shaking, like the 367 00:21:27,880 --> 00:21:32,080 Speaker 1: plutter when I took it back, maybe rotated in thirty 368 00:21:32,760 --> 00:21:35,000 Speaker 1: three different directions by different degrees. 369 00:21:35,040 --> 00:21:35,320 Speaker 8: It's just. 370 00:21:36,840 --> 00:21:37,680 Speaker 3: I couldn't stop it. 371 00:21:40,400 --> 00:21:44,720 Speaker 6: The USGA and RNA announced the ban on anchored strokes, 372 00:21:44,760 --> 00:21:48,280 Speaker 6: all anchored strokes, not just putting, in May of twenty thirteen, 373 00:21:48,680 --> 00:21:51,840 Speaker 6: and although it wouldn't go into effect until twenty sixteen, 374 00:21:52,240 --> 00:21:54,400 Speaker 6: press he had to go back into the garage and 375 00:21:54,920 --> 00:21:57,840 Speaker 6: back to the drawing board and called a slight audible 376 00:21:57,880 --> 00:21:58,800 Speaker 6: on his invention. 377 00:22:00,000 --> 00:22:03,800 Speaker 1: Original grip was called the billboard bill and then this 378 00:22:03,880 --> 00:22:07,680 Speaker 1: grip was twenty one inches and real wide, and there's 379 00:22:07,680 --> 00:22:09,960 Speaker 1: a flat grip that went outside your arm. 380 00:22:10,080 --> 00:22:11,880 Speaker 3: The USGA changed those rules. 381 00:22:12,840 --> 00:22:15,479 Speaker 1: At the time, I just three D printed the original 382 00:22:15,560 --> 00:22:17,879 Speaker 1: press gript, which was not lap. It was just a 383 00:22:18,160 --> 00:22:21,639 Speaker 1: it was just a tricep locking grip. To bring the 384 00:22:22,240 --> 00:22:28,439 Speaker 1: tricept putter grip back into the mainstream. So USJA dropped 385 00:22:28,440 --> 00:22:32,640 Speaker 1: their ruling about anchoring, which prohibited tricep locking. 386 00:22:34,000 --> 00:22:36,040 Speaker 3: And that that type of nature. 387 00:22:36,240 --> 00:22:42,919 Speaker 1: So when I got back and they did that, I 388 00:22:43,119 --> 00:22:47,040 Speaker 1: realized that my original putters that were just shafted in 389 00:22:47,080 --> 00:22:47,800 Speaker 1: the back. 390 00:22:49,600 --> 00:22:50,480 Speaker 3: Were not balanced. 391 00:22:50,520 --> 00:22:53,080 Speaker 1: And that's where they'd all kind of like I did 392 00:22:53,119 --> 00:22:56,240 Speaker 1: grips and. 393 00:22:53,760 --> 00:22:57,040 Speaker 3: Then and then they changed the ruling, and then I 394 00:22:57,080 --> 00:22:57,560 Speaker 3: took it. 395 00:22:57,480 --> 00:23:01,680 Speaker 1: Off, and then I removed the shaft to a balance position. 396 00:23:02,840 --> 00:23:05,359 Speaker 1: And this all happened like I don't know if you 397 00:23:05,359 --> 00:23:08,800 Speaker 1: remember when they changed the rules. They came about pretty quick, 398 00:23:09,119 --> 00:23:10,959 Speaker 1: like there was a little bit of chatter about it 399 00:23:11,000 --> 00:23:13,879 Speaker 1: for a week or two and then bang it's that 400 00:23:14,040 --> 00:23:17,280 Speaker 1: was that. And so I was in the process of 401 00:23:17,280 --> 00:23:20,840 Speaker 1: trying to start my first company at the time based 402 00:23:20,920 --> 00:23:24,439 Speaker 1: upon these rules, and they'd changed the rules like that, 403 00:23:25,200 --> 00:23:29,359 Speaker 1: and so I scrambled to invent LAB because I couldn't 404 00:23:29,400 --> 00:23:34,560 Speaker 1: lock it anymore. And that's how the balance thing kind 405 00:23:34,560 --> 00:23:37,000 Speaker 1: of came about. You know, I was tinkering. This is 406 00:23:37,000 --> 00:23:39,760 Speaker 1: all over the course of like two weeks or some 407 00:23:39,840 --> 00:23:40,840 Speaker 1: three weeks or something. 408 00:23:41,440 --> 00:23:44,119 Speaker 6: I asked Press if he had any financial backing or 409 00:23:44,160 --> 00:23:46,920 Speaker 6: partners who were helping him produce his product. 410 00:23:47,240 --> 00:23:49,919 Speaker 1: I was teaching and one of the guys I was teaching, 411 00:23:50,040 --> 00:23:54,720 Speaker 1: nick Off Tech, owned a piston company, and so he 412 00:23:54,800 --> 00:23:59,480 Speaker 1: made pistons for race cars, and he had basically the 413 00:23:59,520 --> 00:24:02,600 Speaker 1: ability to make putters. I saw that right away too. 414 00:24:02,720 --> 00:24:05,280 Speaker 1: I was like, well, I know what machines you need. 415 00:24:05,400 --> 00:24:11,440 Speaker 1: And so he had the capability and the passion for golf, 416 00:24:11,560 --> 00:24:15,040 Speaker 1: and so did I. So, you know, he was my 417 00:24:15,080 --> 00:24:17,719 Speaker 1: original partner, and I was, you know, I was the brains. 418 00:24:17,760 --> 00:24:23,080 Speaker 1: He used the money and the ability to manufacture and 419 00:24:23,080 --> 00:24:27,560 Speaker 1: bring something to market, and that was down in Carson City. 420 00:24:27,960 --> 00:24:32,320 Speaker 1: So we partnered fifty to fifty, and that's how we 421 00:24:32,359 --> 00:24:34,160 Speaker 1: started direct to Force putters. 422 00:24:34,920 --> 00:24:37,520 Speaker 6: In addition to the trials and tribulations of trying to 423 00:24:37,560 --> 00:24:42,040 Speaker 6: invent a putter, the pivot based on changing rules and regulations, 424 00:24:42,440 --> 00:24:45,520 Speaker 6: getting a patent, going to market, and competing with the 425 00:24:45,560 --> 00:24:51,680 Speaker 6: power and marketing dollars of the OEM's original equipment manufacturers. 426 00:24:52,320 --> 00:24:56,240 Speaker 6: Pressey was a single dad, widowed in two thousand and six. 427 00:24:56,920 --> 00:24:59,159 Speaker 6: His partner and five year old daughter were in a 428 00:24:59,200 --> 00:25:03,280 Speaker 6: car accident. His partner died, his daughter survived. Roughly eight 429 00:25:03,359 --> 00:25:06,040 Speaker 6: years later with his daughter at the age of thirteen, 430 00:25:06,160 --> 00:25:09,919 Speaker 6: Pressy and Directed Force were forging the aluminum heads in 431 00:25:10,000 --> 00:25:13,880 Speaker 6: Los Angeles. They machined the product in house or through 432 00:25:13,920 --> 00:25:17,920 Speaker 6: a local vendor, and the anadizing stage was outsourced. 433 00:25:18,680 --> 00:25:21,879 Speaker 1: The whole thing was starting lab I look back, I 434 00:25:21,880 --> 00:25:25,280 Speaker 1: don't even know how I got off the ground because 435 00:25:25,280 --> 00:25:26,800 Speaker 1: it was you know, we were just shoe straining in 436 00:25:26,840 --> 00:25:30,640 Speaker 1: it and literally like there was there was marketing dollars 437 00:25:30,760 --> 00:25:34,240 Speaker 1: was zero. Like And I'll tell you what's interesting, Matt, 438 00:25:34,320 --> 00:25:37,840 Speaker 1: this is the first I think most people would consider 439 00:25:37,920 --> 00:25:40,400 Speaker 1: us an OEM. Now, this is the first time an 440 00:25:40,440 --> 00:25:44,840 Speaker 1: OEM company, from start to finish, has been tracked on 441 00:25:44,880 --> 00:25:50,359 Speaker 1: social media. Anything that was important from very day one 442 00:25:50,960 --> 00:25:54,159 Speaker 1: to current to current I put on my social my 443 00:25:54,200 --> 00:25:58,480 Speaker 1: Facebook page. So all the old protos, all the old 444 00:25:58,640 --> 00:26:00,879 Speaker 1: you know, when Bryson turned pro, oh he was rolling 445 00:26:00,920 --> 00:26:04,760 Speaker 1: director for us and I had him down in Vegas. 446 00:26:05,160 --> 00:26:09,240 Speaker 1: So all the all the old protos, new accounts, the 447 00:26:09,480 --> 00:26:14,880 Speaker 1: entire history of a company going from startup to boutique 448 00:26:15,000 --> 00:26:18,679 Speaker 1: to OEM has all been documented on social media. 449 00:26:20,240 --> 00:26:21,720 Speaker 3: First time ever, it's kind of cool. 450 00:26:22,320 --> 00:26:22,639 Speaker 2: Bill. 451 00:26:24,240 --> 00:26:29,880 Speaker 6: So twenty twelve, twenty thirteen, twenty fourteen, how many how 452 00:26:29,880 --> 00:26:32,640 Speaker 6: many putters? How many putters are you selling? 453 00:26:33,400 --> 00:26:33,960 Speaker 2: Per year? 454 00:26:34,119 --> 00:26:38,919 Speaker 6: Like you out there, you're onto something. You've got this revealer. 455 00:26:39,400 --> 00:26:45,720 Speaker 6: Some people are like, quack, bullshit, get the fuck. Some 456 00:26:45,760 --> 00:26:47,920 Speaker 6: people are like, hold on, let me see that, let 457 00:26:47,920 --> 00:26:50,080 Speaker 6: me try it. How many are you selling? You're going 458 00:26:50,119 --> 00:26:54,720 Speaker 6: to merchandise shows. You're out of your trunk. Basically, how 459 00:26:54,720 --> 00:26:57,040 Speaker 6: many are you selling a year? In those first few 460 00:26:57,160 --> 00:26:59,119 Speaker 6: lean years. 461 00:26:59,000 --> 00:27:04,800 Speaker 1: You know, I would order heads at like a thousand 462 00:27:04,840 --> 00:27:09,320 Speaker 1: at a time, fifteen hundred at a time, and we 463 00:27:09,400 --> 00:27:14,200 Speaker 1: would we would show a few thousand a year. 464 00:27:15,359 --> 00:27:18,080 Speaker 6: That's a lot, a few thousand putters a year. 465 00:27:18,840 --> 00:27:23,040 Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, yeah, we would show you know, my demo 466 00:27:23,240 --> 00:27:25,919 Speaker 1: and I'm gonna be I'm gonna give this a shout 467 00:27:25,920 --> 00:27:28,280 Speaker 1: out to this guy. So there's a fella is a 468 00:27:28,280 --> 00:27:32,520 Speaker 1: PGA professional name. His name is Matt Holmes, and he's 469 00:27:32,560 --> 00:27:34,720 Speaker 1: down in Palm Springs now. He was one of my 470 00:27:34,800 --> 00:27:40,479 Speaker 1: early sales reps and he sold. We brought him in 471 00:27:41,640 --> 00:27:44,399 Speaker 1: as a sales rep for NorCal and he was a 472 00:27:44,440 --> 00:27:50,320 Speaker 1: fitter of the Year in Northern California. PGA. He sold 473 00:27:50,400 --> 00:27:56,240 Speaker 1: so many putters in one trip with his credibility and 474 00:27:56,480 --> 00:27:59,800 Speaker 1: the revealer and some demos and a little pop up 475 00:28:00,080 --> 00:28:04,600 Speaker 1: it and you know the table with the directive force. 476 00:28:04,840 --> 00:28:08,280 Speaker 1: He went around arcount and so so many putters he 477 00:28:08,359 --> 00:28:11,040 Speaker 1: had me back ordered for six months. 478 00:28:11,840 --> 00:28:14,479 Speaker 6: Meet Matt Holme. He's a PGA teaching pro at Desert 479 00:28:14,480 --> 00:28:17,240 Speaker 6: Willow Golf Resort in Palm Desert, California. 480 00:28:17,760 --> 00:28:20,560 Speaker 8: Twenty twelve. It's the first time I saw a directed 481 00:28:20,600 --> 00:28:23,080 Speaker 8: forest putter. I believe it was at a like a 482 00:28:23,119 --> 00:28:28,160 Speaker 8: local trade show in the Northern California PGA section. Twenty thirteen. 483 00:28:28,359 --> 00:28:30,720 Speaker 8: I'd seen several guys in our section use a putter. 484 00:28:31,680 --> 00:28:34,199 Speaker 8: Finished second. I finished second in the stroke play, so 485 00:28:34,280 --> 00:28:36,960 Speaker 8: the senior stroke play at Halfmoon Bay, and the guy 486 00:28:36,960 --> 00:28:39,920 Speaker 8: that wanted shot out sixty seven in the wind. Stuart Smith, 487 00:28:39,960 --> 00:28:43,080 Speaker 8: I'm sure you know Stuart, great professional at Areno, and 488 00:28:43,120 --> 00:28:45,040 Speaker 8: he ended up winning the tournament, beat me by five 489 00:28:45,080 --> 00:28:48,440 Speaker 8: and then and then it kind of rolled from there 490 00:28:48,480 --> 00:28:50,760 Speaker 8: and I was I was not a user at that point. 491 00:28:50,800 --> 00:28:52,920 Speaker 8: It was a bullseye guy, right, So I was an 492 00:28:52,960 --> 00:28:58,040 Speaker 8: old school of And twenty fifteen I did a little 493 00:28:58,040 --> 00:29:01,800 Speaker 8: stint on the Radio with Golf Guys show a nine 494 00:29:01,960 --> 00:29:06,600 Speaker 8: seventy at of Modesto, and he came on the show 495 00:29:06,680 --> 00:29:08,600 Speaker 8: and I just talked about the putter a little bit, 496 00:29:08,600 --> 00:29:09,800 Speaker 8: and that's how kind of get started. 497 00:29:10,720 --> 00:29:12,120 Speaker 2: Is Bill Pressy a genius? 498 00:29:13,400 --> 00:29:16,840 Speaker 8: Bill Press he is a genius. Don't tell him that though. 499 00:29:18,080 --> 00:29:21,680 Speaker 8: And he's a very creative, outside the box kind of guy. 500 00:29:21,920 --> 00:29:25,280 Speaker 8: And he's one of these guys that he has the 501 00:29:25,720 --> 00:29:28,040 Speaker 8: ability to look at something for what it is and 502 00:29:28,080 --> 00:29:29,640 Speaker 8: not kind of what it's been marketed to. 503 00:29:29,760 --> 00:29:31,239 Speaker 2: He's not a marketer. I told him. 504 00:29:31,280 --> 00:29:34,320 Speaker 8: In fact, I ended up spending my own money. I said, hey, Bill, 505 00:29:34,480 --> 00:29:36,160 Speaker 8: you're going to do this, I'm going to spend some money. 506 00:29:36,240 --> 00:29:38,120 Speaker 8: I bought a tent, I bought a staff bag with 507 00:29:38,160 --> 00:29:40,520 Speaker 8: my name on it. I bought a tablecloth. 508 00:29:40,520 --> 00:29:40,959 Speaker 2: At had thing. 509 00:29:41,040 --> 00:29:44,719 Speaker 8: He was basically operating it like a scientist, not as 510 00:29:44,760 --> 00:29:46,640 Speaker 8: a marketing guy. And I've had a background a little bit. 511 00:29:46,800 --> 00:29:49,680 Speaker 8: He was a PG pro and managing golf courses and 512 00:29:49,720 --> 00:29:53,920 Speaker 8: seeing presentation, and he was not into that. He was 513 00:29:53,960 --> 00:29:55,920 Speaker 8: just into this is how it works. And I said, well, Bill, 514 00:29:55,920 --> 00:29:58,520 Speaker 8: you got to have both to really be successful in 515 00:29:58,560 --> 00:30:02,720 Speaker 8: this business. He kind of jumped on board with that 516 00:30:02,920 --> 00:30:04,960 Speaker 8: and then the rest of his history. 517 00:30:05,080 --> 00:30:07,440 Speaker 6: You almost put him out of business. You were so 518 00:30:07,720 --> 00:30:12,000 Speaker 6: good at your job and doing what you did. You 519 00:30:12,080 --> 00:30:14,560 Speaker 6: had him back ordered for like six months. He said, 520 00:30:14,560 --> 00:30:15,920 Speaker 6: you almost put him out of business. 521 00:30:16,200 --> 00:30:18,880 Speaker 8: Well, I think that's kind of he's kind of jokes 522 00:30:18,920 --> 00:30:20,880 Speaker 8: about it. But yeah, I sold a few putters. I 523 00:30:21,040 --> 00:30:22,960 Speaker 8: traveled around a lot. I had, Like I said, I 524 00:30:22,960 --> 00:30:25,000 Speaker 8: had a big Lincoln town car with a big trunk 525 00:30:25,080 --> 00:30:27,240 Speaker 8: and threw a bunch of putters in there in a 526 00:30:27,280 --> 00:30:30,360 Speaker 8: tent and drove around. And I think the most putters 527 00:30:30,360 --> 00:30:32,000 Speaker 8: I sold them one day. And again, this is a 528 00:30:32,000 --> 00:30:34,200 Speaker 8: putter that no one ever heard about, and a lot 529 00:30:34,240 --> 00:30:36,240 Speaker 8: of these people were buying putters, weren't even in the 530 00:30:36,280 --> 00:30:39,320 Speaker 8: market for putters, so I think they My most I 531 00:30:39,400 --> 00:30:41,360 Speaker 8: ever sold was like sixteen. 532 00:30:40,920 --> 00:30:41,480 Speaker 2: In one day. 533 00:30:43,000 --> 00:30:46,920 Speaker 8: Those small club Turlock Country Country Club in northern California, 534 00:30:47,880 --> 00:30:51,160 Speaker 8: a great little membership there. But and then I kept 535 00:30:51,160 --> 00:30:52,480 Speaker 8: calling him up and saying, when a they going to 536 00:30:52,480 --> 00:30:54,000 Speaker 8: show up? When they're going to show up. And so 537 00:30:54,080 --> 00:30:55,880 Speaker 8: it was like he was, you know, hand making him 538 00:30:55,880 --> 00:30:58,760 Speaker 8: in this friend's machine shop in Rino, and you know, 539 00:30:58,760 --> 00:31:01,320 Speaker 8: there's like one or two employees, and it was as 540 00:31:01,320 --> 00:31:02,959 Speaker 8: hard because he was you know, I was selling them 541 00:31:03,000 --> 00:31:05,479 Speaker 8: much as I can. And then you know people are 542 00:31:05,520 --> 00:31:06,360 Speaker 8: they want it right now. 543 00:31:06,640 --> 00:31:10,440 Speaker 6: So Home ended our conversation with some insightful perspective and 544 00:31:10,560 --> 00:31:11,560 Speaker 6: a useful analogy. 545 00:31:12,320 --> 00:31:13,640 Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean it's interesting. 546 00:31:13,720 --> 00:31:15,960 Speaker 8: I mean I'm a big Ernest Jones fan, and a 547 00:31:15,960 --> 00:31:18,000 Speaker 8: lot of people don't know mister Jones, but mister Jones 548 00:31:18,080 --> 00:31:21,000 Speaker 8: is a very famous instructor. Unfortunately he lost his leg 549 00:31:21,000 --> 00:31:23,480 Speaker 8: in World War One. The end of his book Swing 550 00:31:23,520 --> 00:31:25,600 Speaker 8: the Club that he makes a statement and this really 551 00:31:25,680 --> 00:31:31,000 Speaker 8: validates Bill's product. The truth is first derided and then 552 00:31:31,080 --> 00:31:34,280 Speaker 8: debated and then accept it as a matter of course. 553 00:31:34,640 --> 00:31:36,800 Speaker 8: So when I got in, everybody was like, oh, that 554 00:31:36,840 --> 00:31:38,680 Speaker 8: thing's junk. To look at that thing, it looks like 555 00:31:38,680 --> 00:31:41,840 Speaker 8: a spaceship. And then people started seeing what was happening. 556 00:31:41,880 --> 00:31:43,440 Speaker 8: Then they kind of did a debate about it and 557 00:31:43,440 --> 00:31:46,600 Speaker 8: started inquiring and now it's like boom, Okay, now it's 558 00:31:46,600 --> 00:31:50,360 Speaker 8: accepted as something that's really true. So it doesn't really 559 00:31:50,480 --> 00:31:52,880 Speaker 8: validated for me because I knew it. I saw it, 560 00:31:52,920 --> 00:31:55,720 Speaker 8: and I understood it. The only thing I had to 561 00:31:55,800 --> 00:31:57,920 Speaker 8: do is I just had to change my perspective little 562 00:31:57,960 --> 00:32:00,480 Speaker 8: bit on how I teach putting, because a lot of 563 00:32:00,480 --> 00:32:03,040 Speaker 8: it was just manipulation, trying to manipulation the putter, keeping 564 00:32:03,080 --> 00:32:05,400 Speaker 8: pressure in a certain position. It's just like if you're 565 00:32:05,480 --> 00:32:07,720 Speaker 8: driving a car. You you're a kid and your dad 566 00:32:07,760 --> 00:32:09,800 Speaker 8: hands you down a twenty year old Lincoln and it 567 00:32:09,880 --> 00:32:12,360 Speaker 8: always pulls to the right and you just hold onto 568 00:32:12,360 --> 00:32:14,320 Speaker 8: the steering wheel. The thing's always pulling to the right. 569 00:32:14,360 --> 00:32:15,680 Speaker 8: And then you get in a new car and it's 570 00:32:15,680 --> 00:32:18,080 Speaker 8: not pulling to the right. It's like, well, okay, I 571 00:32:18,160 --> 00:32:19,960 Speaker 8: learned to drive with this car wanted to pull to 572 00:32:20,040 --> 00:32:21,760 Speaker 8: the right. I learned to pot with a face wanted 573 00:32:21,800 --> 00:32:25,200 Speaker 8: to open. That's what this did. It didn't want to 574 00:32:25,200 --> 00:32:27,440 Speaker 8: do that. The face stays square point. You're driving a 575 00:32:27,480 --> 00:32:29,760 Speaker 8: car that doesn't pull the right. But it's basically a. 576 00:32:29,720 --> 00:32:32,200 Speaker 6: Good analogy back to Bill Pressey. 577 00:32:33,560 --> 00:32:35,320 Speaker 5: How much were you so? How much were you selling 578 00:32:35,360 --> 00:32:35,600 Speaker 5: him for? 579 00:32:37,320 --> 00:32:37,520 Speaker 6: Oh? 580 00:32:38,160 --> 00:32:44,240 Speaker 1: Yeah, so I think when he first started, ah, it 581 00:32:44,320 --> 00:32:48,240 Speaker 1: was like two seventy five or something, and I thought 582 00:32:48,240 --> 00:32:54,360 Speaker 1: that was crazy, but I so. Another key person in 583 00:32:54,920 --> 00:32:58,320 Speaker 1: how this kept going with Stuart Smith. He's a PGA 584 00:32:59,480 --> 00:33:03,520 Speaker 1: member in the Northern California. He's an excellent player on 585 00:33:03,560 --> 00:33:09,640 Speaker 1: the national lever played for UCLA. So he played with 586 00:33:10,360 --> 00:33:16,400 Speaker 1: Todd Yoshitaki, who is the director of golf at Riviera, 587 00:33:16,600 --> 00:33:22,600 Speaker 1: and Todd is a super cool guy. So Stewart called Todd. 588 00:33:22,640 --> 00:33:24,640 Speaker 1: He's like, hey, you got to check out this putter 589 00:33:24,720 --> 00:33:28,160 Speaker 1: by this local pro. And and so I got the 590 00:33:28,240 --> 00:33:30,920 Speaker 1: invite to go down and do a demo day at Riviera. 591 00:33:32,080 --> 00:33:34,600 Speaker 1: And I drove down on my subie with with a 592 00:33:34,680 --> 00:33:38,680 Speaker 1: trunk full of putters. I sold twenty something putters on 593 00:33:39,000 --> 00:33:42,800 Speaker 1: that demo day at Riviera and or no, not twenty. 594 00:33:42,880 --> 00:33:46,480 Speaker 1: I show like twelve. And then Todd said, I'll never 595 00:33:46,560 --> 00:33:51,560 Speaker 1: forget this. He says, what you I the revealer and 596 00:33:51,600 --> 00:33:55,240 Speaker 1: watching that and you show people what their putters are 597 00:33:55,280 --> 00:33:59,280 Speaker 1: doing and what your putter does. He says, my members, 598 00:33:59,600 --> 00:34:03,480 Speaker 1: you could I sold twice as many putters if you 599 00:34:03,480 --> 00:34:07,160 Speaker 1: would have charged three fifty or four hundred bucks because 600 00:34:07,200 --> 00:34:11,160 Speaker 1: they're not seeing the perceived value at two seventy five 601 00:34:11,560 --> 00:34:15,799 Speaker 1: if you charge more, and sure I should you not. 602 00:34:16,400 --> 00:34:18,799 Speaker 1: I ramped up to three to fifty and I sold 603 00:34:18,840 --> 00:34:20,520 Speaker 1: twice as many putters. 604 00:34:20,760 --> 00:34:21,640 Speaker 2: I'm Stuart Smith. 605 00:34:21,760 --> 00:34:24,800 Speaker 10: I'm the PGA Director of Golf at Somerset golfam Country 606 00:34:24,840 --> 00:34:29,040 Speaker 10: Club here in Reno, Nevada. That was certainly my initial 607 00:34:29,360 --> 00:34:34,359 Speaker 10: tie in with Bill Pressey. And after using a long 608 00:34:34,400 --> 00:34:38,200 Speaker 10: putter for nineteen years and the band coming with taking 609 00:34:38,239 --> 00:34:42,480 Speaker 10: that anchoring out of my my repertoire after a long stint, 610 00:34:42,600 --> 00:34:46,560 Speaker 10: you know, I just I that the lab Hutter was 611 00:34:46,560 --> 00:34:50,000 Speaker 10: the way to go for me. So here I am. 612 00:34:50,120 --> 00:34:51,720 Speaker 10: I mean, I've used it ever since. 613 00:34:52,840 --> 00:34:56,400 Speaker 6: Both Matt Holme and Bill Pressey mentioned Stuart Smith as 614 00:34:56,440 --> 00:34:58,600 Speaker 6: a critical component to the company's evolution. 615 00:34:59,160 --> 00:35:01,960 Speaker 10: I gave him a lot of fe back on what 616 00:35:02,040 --> 00:35:05,560 Speaker 10: I liked, and he I mean, I must have. I 617 00:35:05,600 --> 00:35:07,360 Speaker 10: have quite a few of them here, even still in 618 00:35:07,400 --> 00:35:12,239 Speaker 10: my office. I have a couple of the prototypes and grips, older, 619 00:35:12,320 --> 00:35:15,759 Speaker 10: older grips that he used with the press grip. And 620 00:35:15,960 --> 00:35:18,799 Speaker 10: I think, you know, he appreciated, appreciated me as a 621 00:35:18,800 --> 00:35:23,160 Speaker 10: sounding board. He appreciated, you know, my ability at that time. 622 00:35:23,200 --> 00:35:25,279 Speaker 10: You know, I played in some nice tournaments the last 623 00:35:25,480 --> 00:35:29,040 Speaker 10: ten eleven years, so he knew I was a good 624 00:35:29,040 --> 00:35:32,799 Speaker 10: accomplished player. And of course as his Bill, you know, 625 00:35:33,360 --> 00:35:35,319 Speaker 10: don't ever sell Bill short. You don't want to give 626 00:35:35,360 --> 00:35:40,160 Speaker 10: him to a side or anything. So that's how our 627 00:35:40,200 --> 00:35:43,040 Speaker 10: relationship started, and we kind of went back and forth. 628 00:35:43,080 --> 00:35:45,440 Speaker 10: He dropped some putters. I did some things here at 629 00:35:45,440 --> 00:35:48,640 Speaker 10: my golf course trying to get the members involved with 630 00:35:48,800 --> 00:35:52,520 Speaker 10: LA B. And I would say, I have probably fifteen 631 00:35:52,600 --> 00:35:55,440 Speaker 10: or twenty of my members that used the lab putter. 632 00:35:55,680 --> 00:35:59,200 Speaker 10: And it's still and I get funny enough, now is 633 00:35:59,480 --> 00:36:02,400 Speaker 10: I'm a wreck ignized fitter? I mean I get even 634 00:36:02,560 --> 00:36:05,440 Speaker 10: I get calls all the time. I should say all 635 00:36:05,480 --> 00:36:08,040 Speaker 10: the time. I mean I'll fit one or two every 636 00:36:08,040 --> 00:36:09,240 Speaker 10: couple of weeks, it seems. 637 00:36:10,160 --> 00:36:12,880 Speaker 6: I asked Smith what exactly he liked about the putter 638 00:36:12,920 --> 00:36:13,799 Speaker 6: and technology. 639 00:36:14,360 --> 00:36:15,320 Speaker 5: First of all, the feel. 640 00:36:15,640 --> 00:36:17,920 Speaker 10: You know, I know a lot of people sometimes maybe 641 00:36:18,560 --> 00:36:20,000 Speaker 10: can't get over maybe the looks of it. 642 00:36:20,040 --> 00:36:20,319 Speaker 11: I use. 643 00:36:20,440 --> 00:36:24,719 Speaker 10: I use the big reno slash, two point one slash 644 00:36:25,120 --> 00:36:27,440 Speaker 10: whatever we call it now, you know, the big mallets. 645 00:36:27,480 --> 00:36:28,760 Speaker 5: So I think. 646 00:36:31,120 --> 00:36:35,040 Speaker 10: Just of course, the feel of the solidness of strike, 647 00:36:35,800 --> 00:36:38,920 Speaker 10: and just in my mind knowing that that thing depends 648 00:36:39,600 --> 00:36:42,279 Speaker 10: irrelevant of how long a putt I have. I know 649 00:36:42,400 --> 00:36:47,840 Speaker 10: what's I know that work is absent, So to me, 650 00:36:48,040 --> 00:36:50,560 Speaker 10: that's allowing the putter to do work, do a little 651 00:36:50,560 --> 00:36:51,320 Speaker 10: bit more of the work. 652 00:36:52,560 --> 00:36:55,600 Speaker 6: Meanwhile, back to Bill Pressey, where there was maybe a 653 00:36:55,600 --> 00:36:57,280 Speaker 6: little too much work for the startup. 654 00:36:58,040 --> 00:36:59,960 Speaker 3: And this is a good time to set this straight. 655 00:37:00,040 --> 00:37:02,520 Speaker 1: People think that I ran directed for us, and I 656 00:37:02,680 --> 00:37:06,200 Speaker 1: wasn't the brains my partners. My partner, Scott was the 657 00:37:06,960 --> 00:37:12,000 Speaker 1: company officer, and so a lot of the decisions. 658 00:37:13,520 --> 00:37:15,200 Speaker 3: Or we're not what I wanted. 659 00:37:15,760 --> 00:37:18,400 Speaker 1: And and me being in the golf business, and I'm thinking, 660 00:37:18,680 --> 00:37:20,880 Speaker 1: you know, just if you just listen to me, we'll 661 00:37:20,920 --> 00:37:23,760 Speaker 1: do good. But people want to make their own input 662 00:37:23,800 --> 00:37:26,239 Speaker 1: and do things, you know, the way you might run 663 00:37:26,280 --> 00:37:30,200 Speaker 1: another company. Golf business is not like that. And you 664 00:37:30,280 --> 00:37:40,319 Speaker 1: know that. And so when my my father, uh, who 665 00:37:40,480 --> 00:37:43,080 Speaker 1: was kind of a strange for most of my life, 666 00:37:44,120 --> 00:37:46,440 Speaker 1: he kind of came back into my life and he 667 00:37:46,560 --> 00:37:49,920 Speaker 1: wanted to, you know, be involved. And I wanted him 668 00:37:49,960 --> 00:37:51,520 Speaker 1: to try to, you know, because I had a granddaughter, 669 00:37:51,600 --> 00:37:55,160 Speaker 1: he had his granddaughter and stuff and uh and and 670 00:37:55,239 --> 00:37:59,920 Speaker 1: so he wanted to get involved with company, and uh, 671 00:38:00,080 --> 00:38:02,600 Speaker 1: he invested a little bit and then he became the 672 00:38:03,560 --> 00:38:06,720 Speaker 1: kind of like Scott put him in as the company 673 00:38:06,760 --> 00:38:13,759 Speaker 1: manager or whatever. Well, I don't roll like that. And 674 00:38:13,840 --> 00:38:19,080 Speaker 1: so my father classic father's son, crap, you know, whatever 675 00:38:19,120 --> 00:38:23,520 Speaker 1: you think could happen happens. And and so I stepped 676 00:38:23,520 --> 00:38:27,080 Speaker 1: away because they didn't like the decisions that were being made, 677 00:38:29,040 --> 00:38:34,360 Speaker 1: especially with some of the social media forums and burning 678 00:38:34,400 --> 00:38:38,680 Speaker 1: some bridges, and it was just it was not good. 679 00:38:39,160 --> 00:38:42,800 Speaker 6: And now we've come full circle. Twenty seventeen. This is 680 00:38:42,840 --> 00:38:45,719 Speaker 6: when Sam Hank called Pressy because his putter head had 681 00:38:45,760 --> 00:38:50,200 Speaker 6: fallen off. It was instant chemistry again. Pressy described the 682 00:38:50,280 --> 00:38:51,719 Speaker 6: relationship as ham and egg. 683 00:38:52,360 --> 00:38:57,600 Speaker 1: And once, you know, he expressed interest in doing a buyout, 684 00:38:59,239 --> 00:39:01,760 Speaker 1: and we buy out the company and I'll come along 685 00:39:01,800 --> 00:39:07,640 Speaker 1: and we'll reform another company. We we did that and 686 00:39:07,640 --> 00:39:12,239 Speaker 1: and so uh, I took I didn't get I mean 687 00:39:12,280 --> 00:39:16,080 Speaker 1: I did get bought out, but my my equity and 688 00:39:16,160 --> 00:39:19,120 Speaker 1: shares and everything that I had just transferred into LAB. 689 00:39:19,800 --> 00:39:23,200 Speaker 1: And then we bought out the original investors and partners 690 00:39:23,280 --> 00:39:28,640 Speaker 1: and and then Sam and uh and myself and his family. 691 00:39:29,880 --> 00:39:32,640 Speaker 1: You know that the Hans took Lion, you know, the 692 00:39:32,640 --> 00:39:35,960 Speaker 1: Lions share of the company, and which was which was 693 00:39:36,520 --> 00:39:39,040 Speaker 1: nothing new to me that I was never in the 694 00:39:39,080 --> 00:39:45,239 Speaker 1: controlling seat. So it worked out great. And uh, and 695 00:39:45,280 --> 00:39:50,000 Speaker 1: as we started LAB over the years, it taken quite 696 00:39:50,000 --> 00:39:56,480 Speaker 1: a toll on my on my psyche, and so I 697 00:39:56,520 --> 00:39:59,560 Speaker 1: had to step away for mental health and and just 698 00:39:59,640 --> 00:40:05,400 Speaker 1: find myself and you know, society and and just starting 699 00:40:05,400 --> 00:40:05,960 Speaker 1: a company. 700 00:40:07,000 --> 00:40:09,080 Speaker 3: You know that they beat you up pretty good. 701 00:40:09,480 --> 00:40:14,040 Speaker 1: And you know, especially people feel threatened by new technology 702 00:40:14,160 --> 00:40:15,920 Speaker 1: and uh and. 703 00:40:15,920 --> 00:40:17,160 Speaker 3: Everything and just burnt out. 704 00:40:17,320 --> 00:40:21,239 Speaker 1: So I stepped away from day to day operations a 705 00:40:21,280 --> 00:40:25,360 Speaker 1: couple of years ago from LAB to do some things 706 00:40:25,640 --> 00:40:29,640 Speaker 1: and and fulfill some of my own goals that have 707 00:40:29,800 --> 00:40:35,759 Speaker 1: just been totally swamped out and neglected by the enormous 708 00:40:36,280 --> 00:40:40,440 Speaker 1: task of labbing, getting LAB to where it was and is. 709 00:40:40,560 --> 00:40:44,360 Speaker 1: And yeah, it'll it'll take it right out of it. 710 00:40:44,640 --> 00:40:48,640 Speaker 1: So uh, it's Sam is an amazing person because he 711 00:40:48,680 --> 00:40:51,759 Speaker 1: can he can do things that I can't do, and 712 00:40:51,880 --> 00:40:59,680 Speaker 1: vice versa. But together it's it's really a powerful uh concept. 713 00:41:00,080 --> 00:41:05,719 Speaker 1: And and you know, when when you're a CEO, you 714 00:41:05,800 --> 00:41:08,320 Speaker 1: have to have a good product. To be a good CEO. 715 00:41:08,520 --> 00:41:10,840 Speaker 1: You know, you're not gonna you're not going to find 716 00:41:11,960 --> 00:41:14,280 Speaker 1: same you know, and the same thing. A good CEO 717 00:41:14,440 --> 00:41:17,160 Speaker 1: can crash a great product. But those two have to 718 00:41:17,239 --> 00:41:22,400 Speaker 1: exist coherently to be successful and to scale the company 719 00:41:22,760 --> 00:41:25,120 Speaker 1: and to garner you know, when we go out on 720 00:41:25,200 --> 00:41:25,799 Speaker 1: social media. 721 00:41:25,920 --> 00:41:29,040 Speaker 3: Now I give the whole respect. 722 00:41:29,160 --> 00:41:33,879 Speaker 1: I mean, it's cool, but you know for years, oh 723 00:41:33,920 --> 00:41:35,280 Speaker 1: my gosh, it was brutal. 724 00:41:35,320 --> 00:41:39,960 Speaker 3: I just stayed off social media and what some of them? 725 00:41:40,280 --> 00:41:43,040 Speaker 6: But what were some of the comments that that you remember, 726 00:41:43,040 --> 00:41:49,240 Speaker 6: you you know, probably personal, calling you crazy? What? 727 00:41:49,440 --> 00:41:52,120 Speaker 1: Oh yeah, yeah, there's all starts. Well I put the 728 00:41:52,160 --> 00:41:57,440 Speaker 1: hands on my potter or you know, the uh, the 729 00:41:57,480 --> 00:42:02,800 Speaker 1: branding irons. At a certain point it became at first 730 00:42:02,840 --> 00:42:05,840 Speaker 1: it was pretty offensive. But you know, I got some 731 00:42:05,960 --> 00:42:09,920 Speaker 1: stones and so I said, all right, well I've called 732 00:42:10,239 --> 00:42:14,680 Speaker 1: I called the the the old power pod driver, some 733 00:42:14,840 --> 00:42:16,560 Speaker 1: various things back in the day. 734 00:42:16,719 --> 00:42:19,800 Speaker 3: So the branding iron and that that came with the territory. 735 00:42:19,840 --> 00:42:26,239 Speaker 1: But yeah, it's it's really uh, when you when you're 736 00:42:26,239 --> 00:42:30,520 Speaker 1: putting something out there in the public, you're gonna get 737 00:42:30,600 --> 00:42:32,200 Speaker 1: judged and you have to accept that. 738 00:42:33,840 --> 00:42:35,040 Speaker 3: But when people start. 739 00:42:34,840 --> 00:42:39,160 Speaker 1: To get personal, that's where that's kind of where the 740 00:42:39,160 --> 00:42:43,360 Speaker 1: line gets drawn. And uh, no, people don't know my story. 741 00:42:43,400 --> 00:42:46,880 Speaker 1: They don't know how much crap I've overcome to to 742 00:42:46,960 --> 00:42:47,839 Speaker 1: be successful. 743 00:42:47,880 --> 00:42:50,920 Speaker 3: From accuse you not, I was homeless in. 744 00:42:52,600 --> 00:42:57,440 Speaker 1: Two thousand, like literally homeless, and so yeah, I mean 745 00:42:57,440 --> 00:43:01,600 Speaker 1: there's a lot, Uh, there's a lot more than than 746 00:43:02,719 --> 00:43:06,520 Speaker 1: just like creating a putter to get to get to 747 00:43:06,640 --> 00:43:11,040 Speaker 1: overcome the crap that the big oams pull on you, uh, 748 00:43:11,239 --> 00:43:12,759 Speaker 1: to you know, to try to keep you out of 749 00:43:12,800 --> 00:43:18,600 Speaker 1: stores or to keep you away from players. It's savage, savage, 750 00:43:19,120 --> 00:43:19,799 Speaker 1: and uh. 751 00:43:21,480 --> 00:43:21,920 Speaker 2: It takes. 752 00:43:22,040 --> 00:43:22,840 Speaker 3: It's exhausting. 753 00:43:22,960 --> 00:43:27,560 Speaker 6: So any examples, any any specific examples or any stories. 754 00:43:27,360 --> 00:43:32,400 Speaker 1: You'd yeah, I mean, well, here's an interesting story. So 755 00:43:32,600 --> 00:43:36,680 Speaker 1: when Bryson turned pro, I flew to Vegas. I drove 756 00:43:36,760 --> 00:43:40,120 Speaker 1: to Vegas, brought him some putters. Mike Shi, his coach, 757 00:43:40,239 --> 00:43:43,200 Speaker 1: was in Sack and so you know, Mike had seen 758 00:43:43,280 --> 00:43:47,640 Speaker 1: my putters and Stuart Smith and whatnot. Anyways, so you 759 00:43:47,680 --> 00:43:52,520 Speaker 1: remember when Bryson went to this side arm lock or 760 00:43:52,560 --> 00:43:56,799 Speaker 1: this side saddle thing that got banned. So I was 761 00:43:56,880 --> 00:44:01,920 Speaker 1: at I was at Whisper Rock Cavin lunch with McCord 762 00:44:02,600 --> 00:44:04,600 Speaker 1: and Case tends. 763 00:44:04,640 --> 00:44:07,600 Speaker 3: He sleans over with his phone. 764 00:44:07,600 --> 00:44:11,440 Speaker 1: He says, look at this and and Bryson was in 765 00:44:11,520 --> 00:44:15,040 Speaker 1: his living room. He's like his apartment living room, showing 766 00:44:15,080 --> 00:44:17,200 Speaker 1: me the stroke that he wanted to do. And if 767 00:44:17,200 --> 00:44:20,600 Speaker 1: I would make a putter that suited that li angle, 768 00:44:21,520 --> 00:44:25,200 Speaker 1: you know, eighty degrees and with this lean and and 769 00:44:25,280 --> 00:44:27,959 Speaker 1: I'm looking at the stroke and I look back at Gary, 770 00:44:28,000 --> 00:44:31,520 Speaker 1: I'm like, Gary, that's a non conforming stroke, like that's 771 00:44:31,719 --> 00:44:36,839 Speaker 1: that's an intentional breach of USGA, which was I don't 772 00:44:36,840 --> 00:44:40,960 Speaker 1: know how else he can look at it. So he 773 00:44:41,080 --> 00:44:45,319 Speaker 1: wanted me to move the shaft or make a really 774 00:44:45,440 --> 00:44:50,040 Speaker 1: upright thutter with the shaft length and the lean amount 775 00:44:50,280 --> 00:44:52,279 Speaker 1: hand drilled so that he could do that. 776 00:44:52,640 --> 00:44:56,280 Speaker 3: So so and I and I this is the biggest 777 00:44:56,280 --> 00:44:56,759 Speaker 3: no I ever. 778 00:44:56,960 --> 00:44:59,399 Speaker 1: I said, no, I'm not going to do that because 779 00:44:59,440 --> 00:45:01,719 Speaker 1: I think it's not unconforming and it's not in the 780 00:45:01,760 --> 00:45:05,880 Speaker 1: spirit of the rules, and I just I'm not going 781 00:45:05,920 --> 00:45:10,319 Speaker 1: to make that. So then the next week, two weeks later, 782 00:45:10,360 --> 00:45:15,000 Speaker 1: he shows up at that at that Bears event, you know, 783 00:45:15,160 --> 00:45:18,160 Speaker 1: doing his side saddle arm locked in with the beer 784 00:45:18,200 --> 00:45:22,279 Speaker 1: can the half beer can putter. And then and then 785 00:45:22,320 --> 00:45:25,080 Speaker 1: the USGA saw that and they made they made that 786 00:45:25,120 --> 00:45:28,719 Speaker 1: guy's putter, which was conforming, they made it non conforming 787 00:45:28,760 --> 00:45:30,719 Speaker 1: unless he moved the shaft to the back of the head. 788 00:45:31,640 --> 00:45:33,919 Speaker 1: That's how that stuff works. And if you get caught 789 00:45:33,920 --> 00:45:36,759 Speaker 1: in those traps. The best know I ever said was 790 00:45:36,840 --> 00:45:40,040 Speaker 1: right there, because that putter is no longer in existence, 791 00:45:40,200 --> 00:45:42,760 Speaker 1: and they made him change the shaft location and everything 792 00:45:42,840 --> 00:45:48,920 Speaker 1: because it could be effectively used in this certain condition 793 00:45:49,239 --> 00:45:50,200 Speaker 1: of vertical. 794 00:45:50,840 --> 00:45:54,400 Speaker 6: You said, the biggest, the most important know you made 795 00:45:54,600 --> 00:45:58,640 Speaker 6: was to Bryson on what would have ultimately have been 796 00:45:58,760 --> 00:46:01,319 Speaker 6: non conforming. What were is your best yes? 797 00:46:04,800 --> 00:46:11,320 Speaker 12: Ah, that was yes to Sam buying the company, and 798 00:46:11,320 --> 00:46:19,279 Speaker 12: and and basically, uh, because because I had so many 799 00:46:19,360 --> 00:46:22,520 Speaker 12: shares in the original BF that I was able to 800 00:46:23,520 --> 00:46:26,720 Speaker 12: kind of force a buy out. 801 00:46:27,040 --> 00:46:28,919 Speaker 3: And uh, that was the best. 802 00:46:29,000 --> 00:46:32,520 Speaker 1: Yes when he said he wanted to to make a 803 00:46:32,560 --> 00:46:35,879 Speaker 1: move at buying the company, that was my best Yes, Yes, 804 00:46:36,040 --> 00:46:36,800 Speaker 1: let's do it. 805 00:46:38,239 --> 00:46:38,680 Speaker 3: By far. 806 00:46:43,800 --> 00:46:47,720 Speaker 6: So that's Bill Pressey's story within the Directed Force Lab 807 00:46:47,760 --> 00:46:50,279 Speaker 6: Golf story, and one that I really felt that I 808 00:46:50,320 --> 00:46:52,279 Speaker 6: needed to tell before we can get to more of 809 00:46:52,320 --> 00:46:55,879 Speaker 6: Sam Han's four magical moments that lead to Lucas Glover 810 00:46:56,000 --> 00:46:59,520 Speaker 6: winning not one PGA Tour event using lab putter, but 811 00:46:59,680 --> 00:47:04,839 Speaker 6: two back to back Pressi's life is now very much 812 00:47:04,840 --> 00:47:09,200 Speaker 6: in order. He's a grandfather, he's lost fifty pounds, and 813 00:47:09,320 --> 00:47:12,000 Speaker 6: on Super Bowl Sunday twenty twenty four, he will be 814 00:47:12,120 --> 00:47:15,960 Speaker 6: sober for three years. In episode three, you'll hear from 815 00:47:16,040 --> 00:47:20,240 Speaker 6: Jeff Sluman, Von Taylor, Kelly Slater Adam Scott and several 816 00:47:20,320 --> 00:47:24,720 Speaker 6: other protagonists. As we build to August of twenty twenty three, 817 00:47:24,760 --> 00:47:29,680 Speaker 6: you went from like selling five putters a week or 818 00:47:29,680 --> 00:47:30,640 Speaker 6: whatever the number was. 819 00:47:30,719 --> 00:47:32,520 Speaker 7: We sold more broomsticks in the last week than we 820 00:47:32,560 --> 00:47:33,880 Speaker 7: had in the last two years combined. 821 00:47:44,600 --> 00:47:47,120 Speaker 5: Put another long on fire. 822 00:47:50,640 --> 00:48:03,200 Speaker 4: Nobody here is getting tired, settled down, and the story 823 00:48:03,320 --> 00:48:13,640 Speaker 4: hears about to begin, The circles starting to take its shape, 824 00:48:14,160 --> 00:48:25,399 Speaker 4: seats filled, and the tired, some lands ANSI escape. 825 00:48:23,000 --> 00:48:27,960 Speaker 5: And everybody's got some glory. Just wait on to unfold. 826 00:48:29,200 --> 00:48:33,520 Speaker 5: Everybody's got some story. Just wait on to be too. 827 00:48:36,280 --> 00:48:43,360 Speaker 11: The place for that is here, all those smiles and 828 00:48:43,600 --> 00:48:47,359 Speaker 11: all those tears, Let them go. 829 00:48:50,840 --> 00:48:53,240 Speaker 5: Put another long five. 830 00:48:56,840 --> 00:49:05,279 Speaker 4: Nobody hears getting tired, settle down, and settle in. 831 00:49:08,760 --> 00:49:11,360 Speaker 5: The story he is about to begin. 832 00:49:17,120 --> 00:49:21,320 Speaker 4: The tales were told of war, and that was lost 833 00:49:21,480 --> 00:49:30,040 Speaker 4: in a lifetimes dreams that were so Maybe you should 834 00:49:30,080 --> 00:49:35,759 Speaker 4: stop and listen at the wisdom and me maybe you 835 00:49:35,840 --> 00:49:37,200 Speaker 4: shoulpoil your heart out. 836 00:49:37,760 --> 00:49:44,120 Speaker 5: We ain't going the way. Bind you mercy and the 837 00:49:44,280 --> 00:49:54,240 Speaker 5: sound as the smoke gets pushed around in your soul. 838 00:50:28,640 --> 00:50:37,480 Speaker 5: Put another log on the five. Nobody hears getting tired, 839 00:50:41,239 --> 00:50:43,279 Speaker 5: settle down, and settle in. 840 00:50:46,800 --> 00:50:54,480 Speaker 13: The story. Hears about to begin the story, hears about 841 00:50:54,880 --> 00:51:01,600 Speaker 13: to begin the story here was about to begin. 842 00:51:08,719 --> 00:51:08,759 Speaker 9: H