WEBVTT - Fire Drill 099: State of the Union 0:00:03.360 --> 0:00:06.560 The majors pulsate with that tension. As you mentioned earlier, 0:00:06.600 --> 0:00:09.200 they become more major, like they have more meaning and 0:00:09.280 --> 0:00:11.200 so let's see it like these next three months are 0:00:11.200 --> 0:00:12.399 gonna tell us a lot. 0:00:12.880 --> 0:00:16.079 But it's also a throws. 0:00:15.840 --> 0:00:18.599 Into sharp relief that the events that matter are not 0:00:18.720 --> 0:00:21.599 on the PGA Tour or on livcol there are these 0:00:21.600 --> 0:00:24.720 other things, and that's another structural problem for the game. 0:00:26.040 --> 0:00:29.400 So yeah, it's it's thank god the Masters this year, 0:00:30.760 --> 0:00:33.239 all these background issues will subside for at least four 0:00:33.320 --> 0:00:35.040 days and we can just enjoy the competition. 0:00:35.159 --> 0:00:35.960 But then as soon as. 0:00:35.880 --> 0:00:39.720 It's over, who wins and who loses takes on different 0:00:39.760 --> 0:00:43.200 shades of meaning. So uh, it's it's a fascinating moment. 0:00:43.280 --> 0:00:44.800 I mean, and it's not. 0:00:44.920 --> 0:00:48.360 It's just it's not done that got daunts. 0:00:49.840 --> 0:00:54.600 Can't get them and not the thing what I'm thinking about, 0:00:57.440 --> 0:01:02.200 can't get them out the thing well I'm thinking about. 0:01:10.160 --> 0:01:13.400 All right, Hello and welcome back to another fire drill. 0:01:13.480 --> 0:01:16.039 It's been a little it's been a minute here with 0:01:16.080 --> 0:01:19.720 the Matt Janella. We are excited to kick off Masters week. 0:01:19.920 --> 0:01:21.440 Talk about a whole bunch of things. 0:01:22.920 --> 0:01:27.800 Hi, Matt Alan, great to be with you. As always 0:01:27.800 --> 0:01:32.000 and excited to hear about what you know. I think 0:01:32.040 --> 0:01:35.840 a lot of people have been asking you us and 0:01:35.920 --> 0:01:36.399 it's time. 0:01:37.640 --> 0:01:41.480 Indeed, Yeah, we're gonna we're gonna focus on what's happening 0:01:41.480 --> 0:01:44.480 to professional golf and what's happening with the company. But 0:01:45.200 --> 0:01:47.600 let's just real quick redirect folks if you haven't had 0:01:47.640 --> 0:01:53.720 a chance to listen to Matt's episodic podcast about lab Hutters, 0:01:54.440 --> 0:01:56.600 which is it's more than a golf story. It's really 0:01:56.640 --> 0:01:59.880 a cool business story. It's about entrepreneurship, it's about dream 0:02:01.440 --> 0:02:03.960 and there's all these colorful characters who come in and 0:02:04.000 --> 0:02:07.360 out of the tale. Why did you want to tell 0:02:07.360 --> 0:02:07.760 this story? 0:02:07.760 --> 0:02:08.959 Matt? Just give a little tease. 0:02:09.320 --> 0:02:12.960 I said it in part one. I had no intent 0:02:13.480 --> 0:02:16.959 of actually an eight part. Now it's actually a nine 0:02:17.000 --> 0:02:20.720 part of dropping a bonus today as we're recording this 0:02:21.320 --> 0:02:23.440 in which you get, you know, a little more reflections 0:02:23.440 --> 0:02:27.160 and anecdotes from people like Kelly Slater on Surfing Ireland. 0:02:27.560 --> 0:02:31.280 But I you know, as I said in part one, 0:02:31.320 --> 0:02:33.880 I was introduced to this concept of lab putter in 0:02:33.919 --> 0:02:39.320 the January twenty nineteen PGA Merchandise show, in which an 0:02:39.360 --> 0:02:42.799 old college friend told me to meet this guy, Sam 0:02:42.840 --> 0:02:47.400 Hahn and see this revolutionary product that he was selling. 0:02:47.800 --> 0:02:49.720 I'm not, as you know, I'm not an equipment geek. 0:02:50.200 --> 0:02:54.120 I've had the same putter for like fourteen years. I 0:02:54.240 --> 0:02:57.160 saw what was presented to me as the revealer, which 0:02:57.200 --> 0:03:00.840 I've learned a lot about since, and I just I 0:03:00.880 --> 0:03:04.120 didn't I really kind of didn't comprehend what I was seeing. 0:03:04.360 --> 0:03:08.760 Cut two years later and knowing what we know about 0:03:08.840 --> 0:03:12.160 Lucas Glover, having seen what we've seen from Lucas Glover 0:03:12.440 --> 0:03:16.320 with a horrific case of the yips playing out you 0:03:16.360 --> 0:03:21.239 know on TV with tight you know, zoomed in cameras 0:03:22.040 --> 0:03:26.440 that culminated with push putting, to have him go from 0:03:26.720 --> 0:03:32.320 that at the beginning of twenty twenty three to eventually 0:03:32.400 --> 0:03:35.440 winning back to back PGA Tour events, the Windom And 0:03:35.840 --> 0:03:40.600 and the FedEx the start of the playoffs, and I 0:03:40.760 --> 0:03:43.640 was like, wait, is this the putter that I saw 0:03:43.720 --> 0:03:46.040 back in twenty and led to a phone call to 0:03:46.120 --> 0:03:49.520 Sam Han, the CEO and co owner, which led to 0:03:49.520 --> 0:03:53.360 Bill Pressey, which led to Von Taylor and Jeff Sloman 0:03:53.400 --> 0:03:56.120 and Tim Wilkinson and Brett Rumford and Kelly Slater and 0:03:56.160 --> 0:04:01.000 Adam Scott, and you know people like Jason who's now 0:04:01.080 --> 0:04:06.000 you know, this kind of mental coach, and Mac Barnhart, 0:04:06.000 --> 0:04:10.240 Michael Simps, I mean, eighteen interviews later, and to your point, 0:04:10.280 --> 0:04:14.480 it is so much more than just a story about 0:04:14.760 --> 0:04:18.480 a putter. It's it's all those things that you mentioned, 0:04:19.440 --> 0:04:22.719 and it also kind of I just think it gives 0:04:22.800 --> 0:04:28.520 people hope who have struggled on putting surfaces in life 0:04:28.520 --> 0:04:32.320 in general. I mean, it just it's you know, at 0:04:32.360 --> 0:04:34.280 the core of it, it's it, you know. In One 0:04:34.320 --> 0:04:37.320 of the sweet things is that Lucas Glover kind of 0:04:37.320 --> 0:04:41.359 shows his kids that what he preaches to them and 0:04:41.400 --> 0:04:44.360 what we all preach to our kids is don't give up, 0:04:44.480 --> 0:04:48.559 grind it out. You know, hard work eventually pays off. 0:04:48.800 --> 0:04:53.640 And he did that and showed them and and that 0:04:53.839 --> 0:04:56.880 story is just one of many stories that's told in 0:04:56.920 --> 0:04:57.440 this series. 0:04:58.320 --> 0:05:00.480 Yeah, no, it it was really really well and I 0:05:00.520 --> 0:05:02.280 would anyone who's listened to this, I would encourage you 0:05:02.279 --> 0:05:06.240 to go back and check that out. Another thing that 0:05:06.279 --> 0:05:09.120 you might look at that will accentuate your enjoyment of 0:05:09.120 --> 0:05:14.480 this particular podcast is Bloomberg Business Week rang me up 0:05:14.480 --> 0:05:17.640 and asked if I would write a story about the 0:05:17.720 --> 0:05:22.400 chaotic state of professional golf and really get granular on 0:05:22.440 --> 0:05:24.680 the money, the finances, the details. 0:05:25.800 --> 0:05:27.960 And it was a fun challenge. Of course, I said, Yes. 0:05:28.720 --> 0:05:30.719 The editor is a good friend of my book editor, 0:05:30.800 --> 0:05:34.040 and he's a golfer. The deadline of the piece was 0:05:34.080 --> 0:05:36.120 built around his trip to Pinehurst, you know he was 0:05:36.360 --> 0:05:38.320 He said, I never get to get golf stories in 0:05:38.360 --> 0:05:38.800 the magazine. 0:05:38.800 --> 0:05:40.039 I'd love for you to do this one. And so 0:05:40.160 --> 0:05:41.240 it was a fun challenge. 0:05:41.920 --> 0:05:44.440 I'm it's linked on my Twitter and of course you 0:05:44.440 --> 0:05:47.640 can find it through any of the Bloomberg business Week 0:05:48.760 --> 0:05:49.640 channels as well. 0:05:49.680 --> 0:05:52.200 And so I sent it to Matt. 0:05:52.240 --> 0:05:54.960 He's got a sneak preview of it, and one of it 0:05:55.040 --> 0:05:57.760 seems like a good jumping off point to talk about 0:05:57.760 --> 0:05:59.960 where we are. You know, the Masters is kind of 0:06:00.040 --> 0:06:02.920 this inflection point where we're getting all the players together 0:06:02.960 --> 0:06:04.440 for the first time since last July. 0:06:04.920 --> 0:06:06.640 You have all the best players in the same place. 0:06:06.680 --> 0:06:09.440 Although shout out Taylor Gooch, he's getting left behind. 0:06:10.800 --> 0:06:14.960 And all the all the power brokers, all the ballers, 0:06:14.960 --> 0:06:17.400 shot callers are hanging out under the tree like there's 0:06:17.400 --> 0:06:19.440 never going to be any movement on the So called 0:06:19.480 --> 0:06:22.160 framework agreement. You would think that Masters we could could 0:06:22.160 --> 0:06:25.680 push it along. And so Matt, you read the story 0:06:25.839 --> 0:06:28.000 kind of what's on your mind and what do you 0:06:28.000 --> 0:06:28.920 want to know more about? 0:06:30.240 --> 0:06:32.040 I want to know more about all of it. And 0:06:32.080 --> 0:06:35.520 the April Fools jokes about Taylor Gooch getting a last 0:06:35.520 --> 0:06:38.760 minute invitation to the Masters were I mean, cruel and 0:06:38.880 --> 0:06:45.159 unusual but delicious but also you know, slightly funny. And 0:06:45.240 --> 0:06:46.960 before we get to that, I just want to also 0:06:47.120 --> 0:06:49.680 just pay a few bills here and just thank Dormy Workshop, 0:06:50.040 --> 0:06:53.680 the quality leather goods company, Canadian Base, the Bishop Brothers 0:06:53.760 --> 0:06:56.800 who have become good friends of ours, big supporters of 0:06:56.839 --> 0:06:58.520 what we do and how we do it. We can't 0:06:58.520 --> 0:07:01.479 thank them enough for their partnership. And we'll get to 0:07:01.600 --> 0:07:03.880 more of how we're going to evolve that partnership later 0:07:03.960 --> 0:07:06.960 on in this podcast. But shout out to Dormy Workshop 0:07:07.320 --> 0:07:10.440 and if you go to Dormy Workshop dot com and 0:07:10.480 --> 0:07:14.040 see all their quality leather goods, especially their headcovers, double bags, 0:07:14.080 --> 0:07:18.400 putter covers, of which some of is available at Firepitcollective 0:07:18.440 --> 0:07:20.800 dot com. If you go to Dormy Workshop dot com 0:07:20.840 --> 0:07:22.920 and use fire Pit fifteen, you get a fifteen percent 0:07:22.960 --> 0:07:24.640 discount off your next purchase. 0:07:24.720 --> 0:07:27.679 So just thank you for that. I'm always I'm always 0:07:27.720 --> 0:07:31.160 so hasty. Sorry, sorry, Dormy. I love you guys too. 0:07:31.400 --> 0:07:34.840 I didn't mean the gloss over that that's important. 0:07:34.240 --> 0:07:37.800 Now to the to the good stuff here as it 0:07:37.880 --> 0:07:44.040 relates to your story, your reporting. And again I say 0:07:44.080 --> 0:07:47.240 this all the time, I just don't know where we 0:07:47.360 --> 0:07:53.480 are in this world of golf without your your grit, 0:07:53.760 --> 0:07:59.000 your grind, your reporting, your spine through all of this, 0:07:59.360 --> 0:08:03.880 as you've taken shrapnel from from from it from so 0:08:04.000 --> 0:08:07.760 many different directions. It seems like you can't write something 0:08:07.840 --> 0:08:12.640 without equally pissing off both sides every time you hit send, 0:08:13.040 --> 0:08:15.960 which boggles my mind. It just means to me that 0:08:17.080 --> 0:08:20.160 people I think want the truth, but maybe they don't 0:08:20.200 --> 0:08:23.120 actually like reading it or seeing it or hearing it. 0:08:23.680 --> 0:08:28.640 And I just I just marvel at at at at 0:08:28.720 --> 0:08:33.240 your professionalism and your willingness to just do what you 0:08:33.320 --> 0:08:35.720 do and how you do it. So on that note, 0:08:36.320 --> 0:08:42.200 the state of men's professional golf specifically is as you know, 0:08:42.480 --> 0:08:44.480 as told by Alan Schipnutt. 0:08:46.080 --> 0:08:50.520 It's it's it's messier than it's ever been. I mean, no, 0:08:51.559 --> 0:08:55.160 you know, everyone wants a resolution, and there was this 0:08:55.160 --> 0:08:57.840 this fantasy floating around that they're gonna they're gonna have 0:08:57.920 --> 0:09:01.200 everything worked out by the masters. I mean, the end 0:09:01.280 --> 0:09:05.640 of twenty four might be ambitious. There's so many moving parts, 0:09:05.840 --> 0:09:11.000 and the SSG investment into PGA Tour enterprises has just 0:09:11.120 --> 0:09:15.040 muddied the waters because you know, which. 0:09:14.880 --> 0:09:17.760 Is just to explain that for a second, SSG investment 0:09:17.800 --> 0:09:19.520 really quick for people who don't yeah. 0:09:19.400 --> 0:09:21.600 Yeah, if you haven't been following this on a granular level, 0:09:23.640 --> 0:09:27.560 the PGA Tour and Live Golf had got into this 0:09:27.559 --> 0:09:31.920 this death spiral of you know, mutually assured destruction. Neither 0:09:32.000 --> 0:09:34.840 business was going to work. Live is hemorrhaging money. The 0:09:34.880 --> 0:09:39.160 tour product has been badly devalued, the sponsors were fleeing, 0:09:39.840 --> 0:09:42.160 so they kind of recognize that. And that was what 0:09:42.280 --> 0:09:44.960 the framework agreement came out, you know now nine months ago, 0:09:45.080 --> 0:09:48.040 saying all right, we'll drop the lawsuits and we're going 0:09:48.080 --> 0:09:51.280 to find a way to work together. But that was 0:09:51.520 --> 0:09:54.920 that was It was not a legal document. It was 0:09:55.040 --> 0:09:59.400 basically like a handshake saying, okay, we'll drop the lawsuits 0:09:59.400 --> 0:10:01.959 and we'll figure out it. Anything else, we'll figure that 0:10:02.040 --> 0:10:04.920 out later. And Of course, as it became more clear 0:10:05.559 --> 0:10:08.079 that it was just aspirational and there was there was 0:10:08.160 --> 0:10:12.120 no teeth, there was no penalty if either side walked away, 0:10:12.720 --> 0:10:15.920 then all the sharks started circling from Wall Street and 0:10:16.000 --> 0:10:20.679 Silicon Valley and even Hollywood, and ultimately the tour had eleven, 0:10:21.080 --> 0:10:25.199 you know, twenty different parties signed NDAs. Eleven submitted bids 0:10:25.559 --> 0:10:28.920 to invest in this new PG Tour Enterprises, which kind 0:10:28.960 --> 0:10:32.360 of reshapes the old fashioned, outdated model of the tour 0:10:33.000 --> 0:10:35.360 where it was just a pass the organization that kind 0:10:35.360 --> 0:10:38.800 of collected money, gave it to the players into charity, 0:10:38.840 --> 0:10:41.840 but could never really invest in itself. I mean, the 0:10:41.840 --> 0:10:43.760 mandate of the tour has always been whatever you make, 0:10:43.800 --> 0:10:46.600 you have to give away either to the players or 0:10:46.640 --> 0:10:51.400 to charity. They couldn't they couldn't do any long term 0:10:51.440 --> 0:10:55.200 strategic investment to grow the business as a five oh 0:10:55.240 --> 0:10:59.280 one C six. So by becoming PG Tour Enterprises, a 0:10:59.360 --> 0:11:03.800 for profit company, now all the ideas they've had through 0:11:03.840 --> 0:11:06.800 the years, but they could act on. They finally have 0:11:06.880 --> 0:11:11.240 that ability. And so the partner they chose in this SSG, 0:11:11.920 --> 0:11:16.280 which is this consortium of team owners like John Henry, 0:11:16.360 --> 0:11:19.520 the Red Sox and Arthur Blank of the Falcons and 0:11:19.600 --> 0:11:23.839 these private equity superstars. These guys put in a billion 0:11:23.880 --> 0:11:27.160 and a half dollars right away, and that was for 0:11:27.280 --> 0:11:29.360 which is not public but they will find out, is 0:11:29.360 --> 0:11:33.080 for an eleven point five percent stake in the new company. 0:11:33.800 --> 0:11:37.600 The tour can access another one point five billion dollars 0:11:37.640 --> 0:11:39.520 by selling off more equity, and it doesn't have to 0:11:39.559 --> 0:11:42.120 be all at once if they because basically this first 0:11:42.160 --> 0:11:43.920 billion and a half is just going to the players 0:11:43.960 --> 0:11:47.280 just as a reward for those who didn't leave and 0:11:47.360 --> 0:11:50.719 go to live. So they took this money. They had 0:11:50.720 --> 0:11:52.600 to make the players hole the guys who turned down 0:11:52.679 --> 0:11:54.040 live and stayed. 0:11:54.559 --> 0:11:55.880 But now if. 0:11:55.720 --> 0:11:58.000 They are going to actually grow their business, they're going 0:11:58.040 --> 0:12:00.000 to need more money. So they can sell off another 0:12:00.120 --> 0:12:03.000 or five percent and take another eight hundred million. 0:12:03.080 --> 0:12:04.959 And and so. 0:12:05.040 --> 0:12:06.960 The mandate of the story, because it was for you know, 0:12:06.960 --> 0:12:09.800 Bloomberg Business Week, was to understand the business. 0:12:09.800 --> 0:12:11.320 And I learned a heck of a lot. And I 0:12:11.400 --> 0:12:12.240 talked to top. 0:12:12.040 --> 0:12:16.079 Executives on both tours Live and PGA Tour, talk to 0:12:16.120 --> 0:12:18.559 players on both sides of the Great Divide. 0:12:18.920 --> 0:12:21.760 I talked to some independent analysts and. 0:12:21.800 --> 0:12:24.719 Wait players still talk. I thought they've been told I 0:12:24.760 --> 0:12:26.840 have to talk to you. I can't believe you're actually 0:12:26.880 --> 0:12:28.320 still talking to players. 0:12:28.400 --> 0:12:31.320 I know that it's funny that there's that perception. I mean, 0:12:31.360 --> 0:12:33.480 both of the Phil Book and the Live, Live and 0:12:33.559 --> 0:12:37.400 Let Die actually increased my credibility with players. What i've 0:12:37.480 --> 0:12:38.120 what I've ad. 0:12:38.440 --> 0:12:40.920 Course, you're one of the few people who are actually 0:12:40.960 --> 0:12:44.840 fighting for something outside the top twenty players in the world. Like, 0:12:45.120 --> 0:12:48.440 who who is their voice if it's not you. 0:12:49.160 --> 0:12:50.200 Yeah, it's interesting. 0:12:50.400 --> 0:12:52.880 I went to what it used to be the Honda 0:12:52.920 --> 0:12:56.440 Classic in Palm Beach Guards now it's the whatever Cognizant, 0:12:56.440 --> 0:13:00.079 whatever lame title has and I did so many interviews 0:13:00.480 --> 0:13:01.640 and it was actually funny. 0:13:02.600 --> 0:13:05.000 Here Dixon was in the vicinity where I was doing 0:13:05.000 --> 0:13:06.320 a lot of the interviews. He's like, wow, you talked 0:13:06.320 --> 0:13:07.120 to everybody. 0:13:07.200 --> 0:13:09.400 I said, well, that's my job, and like, you know, 0:13:09.559 --> 0:13:11.680 a member of the play of the board of directors 0:13:11.720 --> 0:13:13.080 gave me a hug at the end of our interview. 0:13:13.720 --> 0:13:16.400 He's like, he's like, thanks for treating us fairly. It 0:13:16.440 --> 0:13:16.840 was just funny. 0:13:16.920 --> 0:13:20.480 So, yeah, players still talk to me, thankfully it all. 0:13:20.600 --> 0:13:22.520 Sometimes it's more fun when they don't because then it 0:13:22.559 --> 0:13:24.960 forces you to go other avenues. But yeah, I got 0:13:25.000 --> 0:13:28.160 a lot of voices in this piece, and. 0:13:27.679 --> 0:13:30.360 Some of them were actually on the record too, which. 0:13:30.200 --> 0:13:33.400 Is very Yeah, yeah, most And so. 0:13:35.480 --> 0:13:37.960 It is interesting, how is the tour going to make 0:13:38.080 --> 0:13:42.120 money so it can it can it can grow their 0:13:42.160 --> 0:13:45.959 business so all these private equity sharks can get their 0:13:45.960 --> 0:13:47.960 money back and actually make a profit. 0:13:48.520 --> 0:13:49.959 They don't have a great answer for that. 0:13:50.040 --> 0:13:52.800 I mean, the SSG has been very patient and they 0:13:53.720 --> 0:13:56.040 you know, the typical when private equity comes into a business, 0:13:56.040 --> 0:13:58.400 the first thing they do is fire everybody and cut 0:13:58.440 --> 0:14:00.959 costs and strip it down to its parts, and they 0:14:01.000 --> 0:14:03.120 try and sell pieces off. And that's kind of how 0:14:03.160 --> 0:14:05.520 they how they make their money. It's a ruthless game. 0:14:06.880 --> 0:14:09.400 They have assurances that you know, from everyone at SSG 0:14:09.480 --> 0:14:11.320 that they're in this for the long term. They're not 0:14:11.360 --> 0:14:13.440 in a rush. They're not going to be looking at 0:14:13.520 --> 0:14:17.679 quarterly reports for a while. And so, I mean one 0:14:17.679 --> 0:14:19.240 of the things that the tour wants to do is 0:14:19.680 --> 0:14:23.200 real estate, which is really interesting. You know that Rory 0:14:23.240 --> 0:14:24.960 mentioned this to me. Some of the tour guys mentioned 0:14:25.000 --> 0:14:27.240 it to me. They have this TPC network that they 0:14:27.240 --> 0:14:30.040 can really grow they can gobble up distress courses, they 0:14:30.040 --> 0:14:33.880 can rebrand it, they can sell housing like okay, that's 0:14:33.880 --> 0:14:35.400 an interesting business. 0:14:36.520 --> 0:14:36.840 They have. 0:14:38.080 --> 0:14:40.960 They've invested a lot in what they're calling PGA Tour Studios, 0:14:41.000 --> 0:14:43.640 which will come online the end of this year, and 0:14:43.680 --> 0:14:45.560 a state of the art facility which a tour has 0:14:45.600 --> 0:14:49.760 never had, where they can customize their feeds. Because the 0:14:49.880 --> 0:14:55.120 tour creates the feed that the networks us. To a 0:14:55.200 --> 0:14:58.920 large degree, it's been consolidated, but now they're going to 0:14:58.960 --> 0:15:01.880 be able to custom it. So they can have a 0:15:01.920 --> 0:15:06.080 special feed that goes to Korea that's in Korean with 0:15:06.240 --> 0:15:10.440 Korean announcers that heavily shows the Korean players, and of 0:15:10.440 --> 0:15:12.680 course they'll show the leaders as well. They can do 0:15:12.720 --> 0:15:16.840 that for Japan, they can do that for Australia. They 0:15:16.880 --> 0:15:21.560 have a plan to really make their product more appealing globally. 0:15:22.560 --> 0:15:25.640 Now it's not easily monetizable right now because they're locked 0:15:25.680 --> 0:15:29.160 into all these these rights deals they go through twenty thirty. 0:15:29.680 --> 0:15:35.040 But if they create this much better entertainment product, they 0:15:35.080 --> 0:15:37.480 will be able to cash in in you know, five 0:15:37.520 --> 0:15:39.400 to six years when they negotiate the new deal. 0:15:39.440 --> 0:15:41.600 And apparently ssg's. 0:15:41.080 --> 0:15:41.640 Willing to wait. 0:15:41.720 --> 0:15:44.400 I mean that may be the bonanza is thet the 0:15:44.440 --> 0:15:49.840 next media rights deal, So you know, I asked they 0:15:49.920 --> 0:15:53.240 really want to lean into gaming, and there's probably going 0:15:53.280 --> 0:15:55.440 to be a moment in time where the PGA Tour 0:15:55.480 --> 0:15:59.000 app you can place bets right on the site. They're 0:15:59.000 --> 0:16:01.800 trying to figure that out. It's complex because different states 0:16:01.840 --> 0:16:05.120 have different rules. And you know, if you're driving in 0:16:05.120 --> 0:16:08.440 Georgia and you cross over to the Florida across the 0:16:08.440 --> 0:16:11.320 invisible boundary into another state, you know, different states have 0:16:11.320 --> 0:16:14.560 different rules that pass to be able to just shut 0:16:14.600 --> 0:16:19.120 off in those scenarios. This is some complicated tech. But 0:16:20.600 --> 0:16:23.880 you know, the most of the most valuable proprietary data 0:16:23.920 --> 0:16:27.440 that the tour has shot link and there's some people 0:16:27.480 --> 0:16:31.640 who want to basically make that a subscription service for betters, 0:16:32.080 --> 0:16:36.720 and so all these degenerate betters who you know, golf 0:16:36.760 --> 0:16:39.240 is the ultimate sport for gambling, right, It's dawned to 0:16:39.360 --> 0:16:41.320 dusk four days a week, so. 0:16:41.840 --> 0:16:44.320 You know, you make I mean every ship, it's like. 0:16:44.280 --> 0:16:46.800 Yeah, so, and the data is so granular now and 0:16:46.880 --> 0:16:49.200 you can bet on everything, so you could charge five 0:16:49.280 --> 0:16:51.520 hundred dollars a year one thousand dollars a year and 0:16:51.560 --> 0:16:54.200 a lot of people would subscribe to that. Now, talking 0:16:54.200 --> 0:16:56.360 to the tour guys, they're like, everything that we decide 0:16:56.440 --> 0:16:59.240 on going forward, it's a mix between how do we 0:16:59.400 --> 0:17:03.240 maximize revenue and how do we not piss off fans 0:17:03.320 --> 0:17:05.760 because people liked it just everyday fans like to look 0:17:05.800 --> 0:17:08.320 at shot linked data too, So these are the tough 0:17:08.359 --> 0:17:10.000 decisions they're going to have to make. 0:17:10.320 --> 0:17:12.439 But you know, I got. 0:17:12.280 --> 0:17:16.040 Something pissing off fans, That's that's at the core of 0:17:16.080 --> 0:17:18.040 all of this. But I know we can get more 0:17:18.080 --> 0:17:19.000 to that later, but go ahead. 0:17:19.080 --> 0:17:19.560 Yeah. 0:17:19.640 --> 0:17:21.880 You know Rory mcelright, I got someone on one time 0:17:21.880 --> 0:17:24.520 with him, and you know, he said, we've got to 0:17:24.520 --> 0:17:26.960 make every tournament an event. Every tournament has to be 0:17:26.960 --> 0:17:29.160 like the Phoenix Open. We have to bring in non 0:17:29.280 --> 0:17:32.119 golf fans and we have to we have to grow 0:17:32.200 --> 0:17:34.280 our audience. We have to make it fun and make 0:17:34.320 --> 0:17:37.119 it a party and have music. And of course I 0:17:37.200 --> 0:17:40.879 mentioned this to Lee Westwood and the look on his 0:17:40.960 --> 0:17:43.040 face was just priceless, because of course that's what Liv's 0:17:43.040 --> 0:17:45.399 been trying to do all along. They've been criticized for it, 0:17:45.440 --> 0:17:49.119 but you know, the products are merging, right, Like the 0:17:49.200 --> 0:17:51.919 tour product is looking more and more like Live in 0:17:51.960 --> 0:17:55.040 that they're trying to get all the players together for 0:17:55.080 --> 0:17:59.600 these big money events with no cuts, small fields they're 0:17:59.600 --> 0:18:02.399 gonna try and leaning on the entertainment aspects. 0:18:02.000 --> 0:18:02.160 So. 0:18:03.920 --> 0:18:08.600 Each each tour is kind of helping the other one evolve. 0:18:08.600 --> 0:18:12.520 And on the live side, you know, certainly they are 0:18:12.880 --> 0:18:16.480 their banking on selling their franchises, which there's many jokes 0:18:16.480 --> 0:18:18.440 about who's going to want to buy the four aces, 0:18:19.000 --> 0:18:22.159 but in their mind there is there is a market 0:18:22.200 --> 0:18:26.920 out there. And the the TGL, you know, the Tech 0:18:26.960 --> 0:18:29.320 Golf League that's obviously the air went out of that one, 0:18:29.359 --> 0:18:31.520 literally and figuratively they're going to launch it next year. 0:18:31.560 --> 0:18:34.080 But also even. 0:18:35.920 --> 0:18:39.199 What's what's happening in sports at large. I mean, you 0:18:39.240 --> 0:18:43.640 see the investment from private equity into every professional sport, 0:18:43.760 --> 0:18:46.000 and you know, Goldman, Sachs and these other big companies 0:18:46.040 --> 0:18:50.040 have now have dedicated sports divisions, and you look at 0:18:50.040 --> 0:18:53.400 what what teams are selling for across the board. They 0:18:53.400 --> 0:18:55.800 feel like Live, they are confident they're going to be 0:18:55.800 --> 0:18:58.679 able to find buyers and they feel like they I mean, 0:18:58.720 --> 0:19:00.919 the guys have told me and I leave them up 0:19:01.000 --> 0:19:03.600 to a point that there's been a big uptick in 0:19:03.680 --> 0:19:08.200 interest in the last six months because you know, eight 0:19:08.240 --> 0:19:09.760 of the events this year for Live are going to 0:19:09.800 --> 0:19:11.520 go international. They're going to go to Korea for the 0:19:11.520 --> 0:19:15.040 first time, They're going to Hong Kong. They're definitely gonna 0:19:15.040 --> 0:19:17.320 get a Japan tournament on the schedule for next year. 0:19:17.880 --> 0:19:20.960 And in those markets, there's a lot of there's a 0:19:21.000 --> 0:19:23.800 lot of wealthy people who are dying to get into 0:19:24.240 --> 0:19:27.199 professional sports and have a have a you know, a 0:19:27.200 --> 0:19:29.720 toe hold in American sports. But you can't buy the 0:19:29.800 --> 0:19:34.280 Dallas Cowboys because that's that's eight billion dollars and you know, 0:19:34.280 --> 0:19:37.639 the owners unofficially only want to sell to other Americans, right, 0:19:37.720 --> 0:19:40.280 They're like, there's the collusion not to allow foreign buyers 0:19:40.280 --> 0:19:43.840 in it to some degree. But Live will happily sell 0:19:43.920 --> 0:19:46.280 you one of their teams for three or four or 0:19:46.280 --> 0:19:48.320 five hundred million dollars. And now you're part of this 0:19:48.400 --> 0:19:53.520 sports ecosystem. Now you have access to the public investment 0:19:53.600 --> 0:19:56.040 fund and all the deals that can come with that. 0:19:56.520 --> 0:19:58.919 You get to party on the yacht with Dustin and Paulina. 0:19:59.119 --> 0:20:01.080 Like I do think that Lives gonna be able to 0:20:01.119 --> 0:20:03.520 sell their franchises and that's how the public Investment fund 0:20:03.560 --> 0:20:06.959 gets their money back. Because there's thirteen teams now on 0:20:07.040 --> 0:20:10.880 Live Golf. They put John Rams together real quick. They're 0:20:10.880 --> 0:20:13.439 going to have two more expansion teams at some point, 0:20:14.200 --> 0:20:17.480 and so that that's fifteen teams, and if they sell 0:20:17.520 --> 0:20:20.920 them for let's say three hundred million dollars, that's four 0:20:20.920 --> 0:20:24.399 point five billion. The PIF gets seventy five percent of that. 0:20:24.440 --> 0:20:26.399 You know, they would get their money back in a hurry. 0:20:26.480 --> 0:20:29.040 So that's a big part of it. 0:20:29.119 --> 0:20:32.240 But can I can I just can I just ye. 0:20:32.320 --> 0:20:34.760 Jump in and interrupt his monologue? Please I I. 0:20:36.320 --> 0:20:40.640 Because you're you're you're you're sort of painting. You're trying 0:20:40.720 --> 0:20:45.040 to paint a picture for me and us of like 0:20:45.680 --> 0:20:51.720 how this might ultimately be pieced together. You're talking about 0:20:51.800 --> 0:20:58.640 you know, TV contract so distribution, you know, sale teams, 0:20:58.800 --> 0:21:03.760 you know, how how the investors might actually get you know, 0:21:03.840 --> 0:21:08.960 make this make sense that an actual business standpoint. The 0:21:09.080 --> 0:21:14.280 thing to me is, you know, at some point, is 0:21:14.359 --> 0:21:16.760 there going to be a point where it's too late? 0:21:16.880 --> 0:21:20.840 So Tiger forty eight, Phil like fifty what is he 0:21:20.920 --> 0:21:26.560 fifty three? You know, John Rahm is not being seen 0:21:26.680 --> 0:21:30.120 unless he's really playing at the the The actual eyeballs 0:21:30.280 --> 0:21:36.359 on the men's professional game is in the nose of 0:21:36.400 --> 0:21:42.720 that plane is pointing directly at the ground. And you 0:21:42.880 --> 0:21:49.840 have the most interesting protagonists off to this other league. 0:21:50.520 --> 0:21:55.120 They got their money. Whether that's they're still ambitious from 0:21:55.119 --> 0:21:59.200