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Speaker 1: It drives on tour every week and you seek Golfers Bay.

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Speaker 1: You hit a drive and you just pick up the

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Speaker 1: tea and you walk off. You can't pick up the

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Speaker 1: tea at the Old Course. You never know where it's

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Speaker 1: going to finish. You know, there's no it's because down

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Speaker 1: when the ball runs a hundred yards and it's like

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Speaker 1: the ball can go. You could land on the right

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Speaker 1: hand soil of the fairway and miss the fairway to

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Speaker 1: the left. You know if it's going to run a

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Speaker 1: hundred yards but sort of bounces it gets so you've

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Speaker 1: never got to pick up the team moment at the

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Speaker 1: Old Course, which is I don't know. People think it's

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Speaker 1: flukey and there's a bit of luck involved, but there's

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Speaker 1: no luck involved. If that if Tom Own, Nicholas sevy Faldo,

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Speaker 1: Tiger one, there so much that's that's actually removing luck.

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Speaker 1: If you actually analyzed it, probably put another log on

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Speaker 1: the fire nobody hears. Give it time. Hello, This is

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Speaker 1: Alan ship knocked back for another Fire Drill podcast, delayed

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Speaker 1: to be joined by Michael Bamberger, Matt Janella and US

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Speaker 1: Open champion Jeff Ogilvie. We're talking about the Old Course

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Speaker 1: and the Open Championship and all the related fun issues

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Speaker 1: real quick. Want to thank our corporate sponsors will help

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Speaker 1: us keep the lights on here at the Firebit Collective

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Speaker 1: that's part Points, Seed Golf and Link Soul. We've talked

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Speaker 1: about each of these companies individually. We believe in them,

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Speaker 1: we use our products, we love them, and so thank

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Speaker 1: you for the support to all those fine places. And

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Speaker 1: so let's just let's just jump right in here, Jeff.

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Speaker 1: What makes the Old Course such a charming test of

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Speaker 1: golf and such a fun tournament venue? Wow? I mean

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Speaker 1: the name helps you know a minutes the O g right,

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Speaker 1: it's the original golf course. Um, it's been there forever.

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Speaker 1: Just driving from Edinburgh an exciting experience. I feel like

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Speaker 1: the closer you get to the town, the me start

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Speaker 1: saying sort of the buildings and it's just so old

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Speaker 1: and it's just such a just the town I think

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Speaker 1: makes it as much as anything else. There's grooves in

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Speaker 1: the sidewalk from the metal spikes over the last few

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Speaker 1: hundred years walking up the side. You're actually out of

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Speaker 1: place if you're not wearing golf clothes when you go

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Speaker 1: anywhere there, And it's truly just it's just in the

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Speaker 1: it's just in the buildings, and it's in the town,

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Speaker 1: just the culture of the game over the last four

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Speaker 1: or five hundred years, and the golf course itself, it

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Speaker 1: is just it's the best first team in golf place

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Speaker 1: by some stretch. I think it's a very nerve wracking, exciting,

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Speaker 1: thrilling sort of experience. Just tearing off on the old

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Speaker 1: course and you've got this very docile, gentle first hole

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Speaker 1: which doesn't really give you any sets of what's to come.

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Speaker 1: And then you get in the second hole and you

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Speaker 1: just get further and further away and sort of spotted

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Speaker 1: with these random bunkers all over the place, and the

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Speaker 1: course makes no sense at all. And then the more

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Speaker 1: you play it, the more you play it, gradually it

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Speaker 1: it sort of shows itself. And it doesn't you can't

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Speaker 1: work it out. It'll show you when it's ready to

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Speaker 1: show you, you know, and you've got to play it

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Speaker 1: lots and lots of times and lots of different way

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Speaker 1: the conditions, and gradually it sort of starts making it

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Speaker 1: a sense. To the point when you get to the

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Speaker 1: you come to a realization or and a waking or

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Speaker 1: a moment of enlightenment that you realize that this is

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Speaker 1: actually why golf is such a great sport, because this

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Speaker 1: is the starting point of the whole thing, and it's

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Speaker 1: set it off in such an amazing direction, and it

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Speaker 1: just makes you. It makes you a better golfer, and

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Speaker 1: it makes you like golf more than you did before.

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Speaker 1: And as you come back into town, you're getting closer

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Speaker 1: and closer and closer and closer to town. The spires

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Speaker 1: on the cathedrals in the buildings are getting taller and taller,

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Speaker 1: and you're getting closer to the seventeenth. Sort of you've

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Speaker 1: gotten your mind for the last few holes, and then

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Speaker 1: you get to come up eighteen, which is the flip

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Speaker 1: of which is the flip of the first with this

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Speaker 1: big wide fairway, and you've even outside the open, you've

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Speaker 1: got spectators. They're crossing the fairway. When you've got to

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Speaker 1: wait for spectators cross the fairway while you're about to

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Speaker 1: play eighteen. People clap applaud good approach shots on eighteen,

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Speaker 1: even on a public play day. And you come all

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Speaker 1: the way back into town and I'm into the clubhouse

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Speaker 1: at a loss. It's just everything. As I said, I

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Speaker 1: just think golf is such an amazing sport because it

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Speaker 1: got set off in such a good direction by the

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Speaker 1: all course to begin with. I think we should just

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Speaker 1: end this podcast like that, that's a rap, saying it's

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Speaker 1: a rap? What do we say on top of that?

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Speaker 1: Transcribe it printed out for your grandchildren, because you're not

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Speaker 1: going to get a better description. I mean, I'm literally

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Speaker 1: about to I'm like, actually, I am, I am, I

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Speaker 1: have a tear in mynd Like I was like, oh

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Speaker 1: my god, that was That was like the only only quibble, Jeff.

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Speaker 1: I would say, it's the trolleys that create the rut

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Speaker 1: in the sidewalks. In other words, the jets come down

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Speaker 1: with their trolleys right down through your town, and it's

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Speaker 1: that was beautiful, Jeff. Well, I mean, Matt and Michael,

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Speaker 1: you guys like myself, we've been privileged to be there,

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Speaker 1: for to be in Saint Andrew's during open weeks and

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Speaker 1: just during regular play. I mean, what are some of

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Speaker 1: your your favorite memories and some of your favorite experiences there. Well, yeah,

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Speaker 1: I was very fortunate. I got a trip over to

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Speaker 1: the UK with dad. My dad was visiting his sort

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Speaker 1: of aging mother who I've basically never met, and she

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Speaker 1: lived in the Isle of Man, this little island between

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Speaker 1: the UK and Ireland. So the whole purpose is the

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Speaker 1: trick was to visit her so he could see her

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Speaker 1: one last time. But he sort of took me with

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Speaker 1: him and we sort of landed London and we got

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Speaker 1: a rental car and we just drove around and I

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Speaker 1: was already frothing on golf and I'd read a lot

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Speaker 1: of books by then, which is kind of weird for

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Speaker 1: a sixteen year old kid. But we ended up traversing

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Speaker 1: the country and got to the Old Course at one point,

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Speaker 1: and just as I said, it's just the excitement when

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Speaker 1: you come into the town is worth the trip, just

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Speaker 1: to go to the town and visit. And normally when

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Speaker 1: you play the Old Course, you've got to go in

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Speaker 1: the ballot. You can't book a tea time, really, you

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Speaker 1: go and you've got to put your name down with

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Speaker 1: the startup for every time the next day. And so

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Speaker 1: we did that. We were laid into town four or

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Speaker 1: five o'clock the day before and we put our name down.

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Speaker 1: The guys like, you're doubtful here, but you never know.

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Speaker 1: You'll see how you go. And we missed out on

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Speaker 1: the ballot. But he said, if you don't get the ballot,

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Speaker 1: come down as a two ball, there might be a

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Speaker 1: two ball who gets on and they might let you join.

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Speaker 1: So he turned up at like seven or eight in

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Speaker 1: the morning and waited around, and finally there's this Swedish

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Speaker 1: couple who said, yeah, we'd love to play with another

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Speaker 1: two So we got out that first day we were there,

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Speaker 1: which was incredibly fortunate. We went out with them and

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Speaker 1: played and played it at sixteen, and I was in

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Speaker 1: love for the first moment. I mean, I kind of

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Speaker 1: want to hate it because everyone historically has hated it

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Speaker 1: first time and Bobby Jones tore up his card and

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Speaker 1: walked off the course. I mean, there's a lot of

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Speaker 1: stories like that. But I loved every minute because I

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Speaker 1: knew I wanted to like it before I got there,

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Speaker 1: so it wasn't really a fair thing. But I had

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Speaker 1: beautiful weather, played it, had a great time, so I

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Speaker 1: was lucky to play it at sixteen. And then I

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Speaker 1: played the Sandrews Lynks Trophy and amatea tournament probably the

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Speaker 1: coolest ammuate tournament in the world by a long stretch.

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Speaker 1: It used to cost US forty pounds to play the

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Speaker 1: Sandrew's Links Trophy, which was around on the Old and

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Speaker 1: the new first day and then thirty six on the

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Speaker 1: old on the Sunday, so you would or the second

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Speaker 1: day so you would get a practice round on the

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Speaker 1: older the new, and three rounds around the Old and

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Speaker 1: another round on then for forty pounds. This is the

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Speaker 1: best deal in the world with all the best golfers

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Speaker 1: in the world played with Justin Rose in that and

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Speaker 1: a tone of the guys that you sort of see

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Speaker 1: today or you've seen over the time. Everyone who can't

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Speaker 1: play that tournament does and it was so I played

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Speaker 1: it a lot growing up as an amateur. And then

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Speaker 1: the three opens there a few eyes, a few other visits.

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Speaker 1: Scottie and I Adam used to come and go and

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Speaker 1: camp a couple of times. We camped in the Old

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Speaker 1: Course hotel before and opened. When it opened was somewhere

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Speaker 1: else and we'd stay there and you would play all

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Speaker 1: around five Fleet, London Links and leaven Links and Krayle

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Speaker 1: and all the Sandrew's courses and it's just an incredible region.

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Speaker 1: But the Old Course is just the place. Yeah, And

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Speaker 1: my first Open I finished, I wasn't playing very well

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Speaker 1: the whole time, and I'd just snuck in and make

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Speaker 1: the cut. I think I parted Birdie the eighteenth at

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Speaker 1: nine twenty on Friday night to make the cut and

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Speaker 1: had a nice week, and it was really slow playing

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Speaker 1: in the Open at Sandrew's, which is my only pick

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Speaker 1: probably playing the Open at Sandrew's because all the double greens,

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Speaker 1: like in US Precious Pros, we're not going to hit

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Speaker 1: when somebody else is hitting, so we're always waiting for

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Speaker 1: somebody else to part and hit a shot. You're always

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Speaker 1: you're often playing the holes from the other fairway, the

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Speaker 1: corresponding fairway on the way in because the strategy a

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Speaker 1: long times just to go up the other side. Had

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Speaker 1: finished fifth in the end, that one that Tiger won

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Speaker 1: his second one sort of had a backdoor fifth Birdie

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Speaker 1: sixteen thirty, fifteen, seventeen and eighteen. I've had a birdie

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Speaker 1: seventeen on Sunday, was pretty nice feeling, hit it up

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Speaker 1: on the green about twenty five feet and made the part.

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Speaker 1: That was a pretty nice feeling, and you get that

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Speaker 1: fantastic raw that you get the British Open that's unique

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Speaker 1: only to that tournament. And then Birdie the last to

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Speaker 1: finished fifth. Felch was pretty exciting, so lots of good memories.

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Speaker 1: It's been a pretty learn how to drink scotch whiskey

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Speaker 1: on that top floor, that whiskey bar up the top

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Speaker 1: of the Old Court hotel. That's sort of taught me

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Speaker 1: how to like scotch. So um a lot of times.

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Speaker 1: It's an address, that's true. I think there's only one

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Speaker 1: slight note we could add to everything that's been said.

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Speaker 1: It's so obvious, but there maybe some people don't know.

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Speaker 1: It's a muni. I was going to say it's closed

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Speaker 1: on Sundays and used as a park land for the locals.

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Speaker 1: That's the best part about it. And I think it's

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Speaker 1: and that's Scotland again. It's not only the old course

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Speaker 1: that's set off golf in the right direction. It's Scotland.

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Speaker 1: We all everywhere. All the other countries managed to mess

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Speaker 1: it up, but they started it off so well. It's

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Speaker 1: it's the it's the town's land. It's public land. You

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Speaker 1: can't nobody owns it. There's a golf club that operates

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Speaker 1: and sort of looks after the land, but nobody owns

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Speaker 1: it and the golfers generally, the public has a right

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Speaker 1: away over the golfers. You know, it's their lands, Like

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Speaker 1: you can play golf here if you lock, but don't

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Speaker 1: get in the way of anyone who's just trying to

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Speaker 1: have a good time. You know. Such a fantastic athos

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Speaker 1: and golf kind of lost its way, and the place

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Speaker 1: is sort of grasp that concept that this is sort

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Speaker 1: of a game for all and a bit of this

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Speaker 1: is a nice area and you can play golf if

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Speaker 1: you want to let everyone out out here enjoy it

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Speaker 1: as well. I think it's fantastic when you go there

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Speaker 1: Sunday and there's people walking their dogs on the eight eighth,

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Speaker 1: that's sitting down having a picnic in the valley of

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Speaker 1: sin and stuff. It's just incredible. It's just makes it

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Speaker 1: even more special. It's which I just I just I

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Speaker 1: just saw it for the first time on a Sunday,

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Speaker 1: after having gone there several times and played fortunate enough

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Speaker 1: to play the course several times. The first time I

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Speaker 1: played it was actually with Alan, which is a whole

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Speaker 1: separate story which I hope we get to. But I

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Speaker 1: rolled up on a Sunday and was just captivated and

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Speaker 1: astounded by the visuals, which was the way of the dogs,

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Speaker 1: the throwing the balls with kids, the picnicking in the valleys,

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Speaker 1: and like it was all happening right there, and I

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Speaker 1: was like, oh, this really is closed on Sundays and

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Speaker 1: this really is open to the public. And that it

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Speaker 1: made me feel exactly that same sentiment, which is, how

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Speaker 1: did we lose our way? How did we get so

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Speaker 1: far removed from what this is as it relates to

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Speaker 1: the game of golf, And we were just chatting just

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Speaker 1: before coming on, and the beauties of some municipals haven't

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Speaker 1: lost their way, like goat Hill Park where dogs are allowed,

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Speaker 1: where you can where John Ashworth essentially has created that ethos,

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Speaker 1: which is that golf for all, come as you are.

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Speaker 1: This is your recreational time. Who am I to say

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Speaker 1: what you were or how you know? Yeah, they're general rules,

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Speaker 1: but otherwise, go have fun, utilize this land in a

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Speaker 1: way that makes sense as a community. It's just so

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Speaker 1: special when you come upon it and feel like you

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Speaker 1: know and and again the idea that the old course

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Speaker 1: is it and has been it for hundreds of years.

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Speaker 1: It's like, just look back to that as your guide

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Speaker 1: if you're managing a municipal, if you are in you know,

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Speaker 1: if you are a municipality, this is it, Well might

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Speaker 1: add to that, it's also it's truly our mecca and

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Speaker 1: when you go there, there's a very large expectation that

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Speaker 1: you'll play with people who do not speak English. People

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Speaker 1: come from all over the world to play that golf

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Speaker 1: course because people all over the world love this game.

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Speaker 1: I think that's part of the beauty of it as well.

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Speaker 1: I can't think of another golf course where you would

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Speaker 1: say that so clearly. Yeah, well, okay, since Matt mentioned it,

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Speaker 1: we just have to tell the story. We'll do the

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Speaker 1: short version of the first time we played the old course.

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Speaker 1: This was ninety seven. We went on this bender that

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Speaker 1: was organized by some other sports illustrated guys. It was

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Speaker 1: sixteen rounds and nine days. First time I've ever been

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Speaker 1: in Scotland. Really somewhat uneducated about the links golf experience,

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Speaker 1: and so we got to the Old course and didn't

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Speaker 1: realize he had to show proof of handicap. We did

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Speaker 1: not have any cards. This is before smartphones and this

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Speaker 1: there's a grumpy old starter in the shack said well,

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Speaker 1: you'll have to provide proof if you're going to play

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Speaker 1: the course. And so this was in the this was

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Speaker 1: early morning and so in Scotland. We were racking our brains.

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Speaker 1: You know, everyone in New York we knew was asleep.

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Speaker 1: Even in California. It was probably eleven o'clock at night.

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Speaker 1: But match brother was living in Hawaii, so would the

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Speaker 1: time change. So we were like, oh, we got to

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Speaker 1: call Sean. And so we rang them up on some

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Speaker 1: public phone and explain the situation and asked if he

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Speaker 1: could concoct some counterfeit letter attesting to our handicaps. And

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Speaker 1: so he had some graphic design skills, so he made

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Speaker 1: up was at the Bay Country Club like a phony

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Speaker 1: letter head and instead and not only did he write

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Speaker 1: like our our handicaps, it was like this long, flowery

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Speaker 1: letter about how we were upstanding members of the club

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Speaker 1: and we we were the chairs of this committee, and

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Speaker 1: we had volunteered for for this and that, and it

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Speaker 1: was this an unbelievable letter that he faxed over to

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Speaker 1: the starter and I'll never forget this. This this like

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Speaker 1: wrinkly um, you know, old Scottish dude with the gin

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Speaker 1: blossoms on a those like wraps on the glass. He's like, gentlemen,

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Speaker 1: your letter has been received. And it was like, oh,

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Speaker 1: thank God, And we got to go and play the

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Speaker 1: old course, but it was one of the all times Shenanigans.

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Speaker 1: Well yeah, and then then the thing was is that

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Speaker 1: we had to get picked in the ballot, like we

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Speaker 1: had to wait, we had to get it. We had

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Speaker 1: to get an available time because we didn't get the

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Speaker 1: ballot box. We had to get an available time, and

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Speaker 1: we had to get this this proof of handicap. And

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Speaker 1: so while we were waiting for a spot, we went

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Speaker 1: to that little pay phone that I still think i've

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Speaker 1: I saw recently right down the street, right near the museum,

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Speaker 1: and that's what we called. We called my brother and

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Speaker 1: he pretended to be some sort of director of golf

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Speaker 1: at Turtle Bay Golf Club down the street in Hawaii.

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Speaker 1: And that's how we were able to get on. I

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Speaker 1: mean we had we had a handicap. We weren't we

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Speaker 1: weren't in theory sort of you know, violating any kind

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Speaker 1: of came out of play golf. But we didn't have

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Speaker 1: any of the necessary credentials. That's actually the lowest my

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Speaker 1: handicaps ever been. I think he made me like a

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Speaker 1: plus one or something. And then we went out back,

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Speaker 1: we went out again. We went back out for another

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Speaker 1: eighteen holes, we got separated, but we went back out

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Speaker 1: and we got to play two eighteen hole rounds in

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Speaker 1: one day. Yeah. And to your point, Michael, I got

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Speaker 1: paired with these airline pilots and they were Scandinavian. I

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Speaker 1: can't remember which country they hailed from, and you know,

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Speaker 1: they weren't speaking English, and but they were good players

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Speaker 1: and it was just like, um, it is. It is

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Speaker 1: an amazing melting pot. And and you know, let's talk

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Speaker 1: about the merits of the old course, Jeff. I want

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Speaker 1: your take on this as as it's become so much

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Speaker 1: of a power game and they have tipped it out

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Speaker 1: as much as they can. You're now teeing off on

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Speaker 1: three or four different golf courses. It feels like where

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Speaker 1: they've they've put these new teas for the open to

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Speaker 1: try and keep up. And I mean, for for the

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Speaker 1: recreational golfer's it's as fun as it gets and the

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Speaker 1: challenge is never ending. Um. But for for the best pros,

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Speaker 1: I mean, does does the old course still stay in

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Speaker 1: the test of time? What was your take on that?

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Speaker 1: I think so. I mean, it's disappointing someone where that

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Speaker 1: some of the teas are now that you kind of

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Speaker 1: have to um because the coolest part about the old

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Speaker 1: course is probably you you finished the first I mean

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Speaker 1: one of those ten original rules. Are those one of

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Speaker 1: the eight original rules of golf. It's like tea up

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Speaker 1: within one club length of the previous hole. Used to

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Speaker 1: just you just put out and you're tee it up

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Speaker 1: next to the hole and you'd go that was the rules.

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Speaker 1: The old course actually does that. The traditional original teas

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Speaker 1: are basically touching the previous grain. You play the first,

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Speaker 1: you walk to the edge of the first green, you play,

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Speaker 1: the second, you walk to the edge of the second green,

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Speaker 1: you play the third. You do that all the way around.

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Speaker 1: Now we walk back one hundred yards in every hole,

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Speaker 1: which is necessary. And that's a debate for a different time,

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Speaker 1: but I think it generally does. I don't think par.

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Speaker 1: You've got to take par away from the equation and

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Speaker 1: just see what questions does it ask, and it just

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Speaker 1: it asks every question. You've got to move the ball

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Speaker 1: both ways. You've got to understand. You've got, as I

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Speaker 1: said before, you have to play the course a lot.

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Speaker 1: Because everyone's complaint when they first play the old course,

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Speaker 1: as they say it's blind, but it isn't blind. It's

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Speaker 1: actually it shows you where to hit it. You just

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Speaker 1: have to play the hole that you play the course

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Speaker 1: enough to sort of start learning what to look at

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Speaker 1: you it. Gradually she shows herself over time and playing

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Speaker 1: it in lots of different conditions. Bunkers that you thought

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Speaker 1: were just made no sense at all, and this place

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Speaker 1: is weird. The next day when it blows into the wind,

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Speaker 1: all of a sudden, you're hitting it into those bunkers

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Speaker 1: you didn't even think. We're sort of relevant bunkers. And

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Speaker 1: as time goes on, it's the ultimate sort of think

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Speaker 1: test for a golfer. It's an execution test because you're ball.

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Speaker 1: You're never on a flatler. Your ball is always above

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Speaker 1: your feet or blow your feet down slope, up slope.

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Speaker 1: The bunkers have some other worldly mystical magnetism to them

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Speaker 1: that it just goes from you think you've given it

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Speaker 1: forty thirty forty yards, I mean you give it twenty

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Speaker 1: yards of sort of air on the right or left

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Speaker 1: of some of these bunkers. It's the width of the

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Speaker 1: viewers open fairway and the ball will still find its

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Speaker 1: way into it. So you've got to really understand the course.

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Speaker 1: What wind does to a lynx and hit all the shots.

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Speaker 1: I mean it looked historically back I mean Peter Thompson

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Speaker 1: won there, Jack won there, Tiger dominated their Foaldo one

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Speaker 1: there when he was number one in the world. It's

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Speaker 1: a it's a sort of a platform for the best

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Speaker 1: to show why they're the best, because it's a complete

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Speaker 1: test of golf. And I don't think that changes even

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Speaker 1: with shorter clubs into the holes. I really don't, because

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Speaker 1: the question you're doing it with different clubs, but the

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00:19:04,720 --> 00:19:09,320
Speaker 1: questions are still asked. And I think often wedges into

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Speaker 1: greens at the old course is sometimes a disadvantage because

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Speaker 1: it's easier to be running the ball in with a

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Speaker 1: sixth n sometimes than it is with a wedge. So

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Speaker 1: I think the scores get a lot lower and it's

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Speaker 1: a lot longer than it used to be. But I

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Speaker 1: think the fascination there isn't really they're hitting it straight

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Speaker 1: up the fairway and hitting it straight on the green.

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Speaker 1: It's finding your best way around it, and sometimes that

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Speaker 1: can be thirty forty degrees off to the left or

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Speaker 1: thirty forty degrees off to the right, and then quite

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Speaker 1: often you'll play it up the fifth on the fourteenth hole,

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Speaker 1: which is you're making a five hundred and fifty yard

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Speaker 1: hole six hundred and fifty yards, but it's avoiding the

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Speaker 1: bunkers and making sure you don't hit it into hell

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Speaker 1: bunker on your second shot. You're making sure two shots

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Speaker 1: before that that you can't hit it into hell bunker

399
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Speaker 1: and stuff like that. So I think that's all still there.

400
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Speaker 1: I think you'll see great players win there or players

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Speaker 1: with complete games putting. It's an amazing test. I mean,

402
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Speaker 1: I think one of the funnest parts about the open

403
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Speaker 1: there is that the fairways and the greens are basically

404
00:20:04,480 --> 00:20:07,760
Speaker 1: the same speed. You know, the last a couple of

405
00:20:07,760 --> 00:20:10,480
Speaker 1: times we've been there, they've had to put dots around

406
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Speaker 1: the edge of the green just so we can see

407
00:20:13,320 --> 00:20:18,919
Speaker 1: where the pin position is is measured from, because it

408
00:20:18,960 --> 00:20:22,040
Speaker 1: really is irrelevant. The ball acts the same fairway degreen,

409
00:20:22,119 --> 00:20:26,280
Speaker 1: and I think that's sort of beautiful and when we

410
00:20:26,359 --> 00:20:28,080
Speaker 1: lost that in golf, and you can't really create it

411
00:20:28,119 --> 00:20:29,880
Speaker 1: in any other places but links. But I think that's

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Speaker 1: one of the coolest part about it. And I think

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Speaker 1: maybe the best part about it why I think it's

414
00:20:33,480 --> 00:20:36,480
Speaker 1: a great test is the Yadish books are almost irrelevant.

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Speaker 1: You know, you cannot play the Old Course of a

416
00:20:41,000 --> 00:20:42,680
Speaker 1: Yardish book. I mean the Yardist books are a lot

417
00:20:42,680 --> 00:20:44,919
Speaker 1: better now and they sort of give you lines and

418
00:20:45,000 --> 00:20:47,040
Speaker 1: stuff and all that. But you, as I said, you

419
00:20:47,040 --> 00:20:49,040
Speaker 1: just have to play the course so much and have

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00:20:49,200 --> 00:20:54,199
Speaker 1: the imagination to realize how to avoid the bunkers and

421
00:20:54,400 --> 00:20:56,399
Speaker 1: best get around there. And that's not a yardist book thing.

422
00:20:56,440 --> 00:20:59,879
Speaker 1: That's just an open minded sort of use your experience,

423
00:21:00,520 --> 00:21:03,440
Speaker 1: use all of your requisite skills to sort of navigate

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00:21:03,480 --> 00:21:06,800
Speaker 1: around it with avoiding the bunkers and creating angles where

425
00:21:06,800 --> 00:21:08,320
Speaker 1: you can actually play it from. And I don't think

426
00:21:08,359 --> 00:21:10,080
Speaker 1: that's got anything to do with distance, So I think

427
00:21:10,080 --> 00:21:14,320
Speaker 1: that's um it's a deeper version of golf, which I

428
00:21:14,320 --> 00:21:16,480
Speaker 1: think is always interesting regardless of how low it is

429
00:21:16,480 --> 00:21:20,080
Speaker 1: relative to part. It's still to me one of the

430
00:21:20,080 --> 00:21:22,359
Speaker 1: most amazing things that Tiger Wood's ever did in his

431
00:21:23,720 --> 00:21:26,119
Speaker 1: unparalleled careers that he played sevent two holes in an

432
00:21:26,160 --> 00:21:28,359
Speaker 1: Open Championship at the Old Course and didn't hit it

433
00:21:28,400 --> 00:21:34,159
Speaker 1: into a single bunker. It's just incredible. It's main biggling

434
00:21:34,160 --> 00:21:35,960
Speaker 1: because as you said that, you know a lot of

435
00:21:35,960 --> 00:21:40,760
Speaker 1: the land slopes towards they're like funnels. They you can

436
00:21:40,840 --> 00:21:43,120
Speaker 1: hit a good shot and it's still just by one yard,

437
00:21:43,160 --> 00:21:46,399
Speaker 1: it catches the wrong bounce and it just funnels fifteen

438
00:21:46,480 --> 00:21:49,359
Speaker 1: yards into the bunker. Like it's just it's absolutely incredible.

439
00:21:51,400 --> 00:21:53,320
Speaker 1: You can almost not pick up You see pros pick

440
00:21:53,400 --> 00:21:55,720
Speaker 1: up the tea. You know that drives. It drives on

441
00:21:55,760 --> 00:21:57,560
Speaker 1: tour every week and you see golfers. But you hit

442
00:21:57,560 --> 00:21:58,760
Speaker 1: a drive and you just pick up the tea and

443
00:21:58,760 --> 00:22:00,359
Speaker 1: you walk off. You can't pick up the See the

444
00:22:00,400 --> 00:22:02,600
Speaker 1: Old Course, you never know where it's going to finish,

445
00:22:02,840 --> 00:22:05,600
Speaker 1: you know, there's no it's because down when the ball

446
00:22:05,680 --> 00:22:07,439
Speaker 1: runs one hundred yards and just like the ball can go,

447
00:22:07,600 --> 00:22:08,760
Speaker 1: you could land on the right hand side of the

448
00:22:08,760 --> 00:22:10,719
Speaker 1: fairway and mister fairway to the left. You know if

449
00:22:10,720 --> 00:22:12,320
Speaker 1: it's going to run a hundred yards but sort of

450
00:22:12,320 --> 00:22:14,159
Speaker 1: bounces it gets so you've never got to pick up

451
00:22:14,200 --> 00:22:16,800
Speaker 1: the team moment at the Old Course, which is I

452
00:22:16,800 --> 00:22:19,119
Speaker 1: don't know. People think it's flukey and there's a bit

453
00:22:19,119 --> 00:22:21,680
Speaker 1: of luck involved, but there's no luck involved. If that

454
00:22:22,359 --> 00:22:26,439
Speaker 1: if Tom Own, Nicholas Sevy Faldo Tiger one, there so

455
00:22:26,520 --> 00:22:29,560
Speaker 1: much that's that's actually removing luck. If you actually analyzed it,

456
00:22:29,560 --> 00:22:34,720
Speaker 1: probably Um, it's fantastic, Michael. You've you've been referred to

457
00:22:34,840 --> 00:22:38,879
Speaker 1: as the poet of the lynx Land. Um. You know, Jeff,

458
00:22:39,040 --> 00:22:41,920
Speaker 1: Jeff plays the course one way with his boundless skill.

459
00:22:42,800 --> 00:22:45,119
Speaker 1: You love the ground game to the point that the

460
00:22:45,600 --> 00:22:49,040
Speaker 1: e club you invented was in Lee Trevino's bag at

461
00:22:49,080 --> 00:22:53,320
Speaker 1: the Old Course. Um, so what is it about about

462
00:22:53,320 --> 00:22:57,720
Speaker 1: that canvas that particularly, you know, stirs your soul? Well,

463
00:22:57,760 --> 00:23:00,280
Speaker 1: thank you for remembering that, Alan, And I think it's

464
00:23:00,320 --> 00:23:03,800
Speaker 1: telling that Jeff just referred You never hear this anymore,

465
00:23:03,840 --> 00:23:06,119
Speaker 1: but people used to refer to ships is with a

466
00:23:06,200 --> 00:23:09,240
Speaker 1: feminine pronoun and Jeff just referred to the Old Course

467
00:23:09,320 --> 00:23:14,000
Speaker 1: with she and and Trevino after he went to Mary

468
00:23:14,040 --> 00:23:15,639
Speaker 1: and said, you know, I just fell in love with

469
00:23:15,680 --> 00:23:17,720
Speaker 1: a you know, a girl named Mary, and I don't

470
00:23:17,720 --> 00:23:19,919
Speaker 1: even know her last name or something like that. But

471
00:23:20,000 --> 00:23:22,439
Speaker 1: in other words, the point being is that a really

472
00:23:22,480 --> 00:23:26,520
Speaker 1: great golf course does come alive and part of the

473
00:23:26,600 --> 00:23:30,840
Speaker 1: life of this golf course. This wouldn't just be true

474
00:23:30,880 --> 00:23:35,360
Speaker 1: for Jeff and Jeff's level, it would be true for everybody.

475
00:23:35,640 --> 00:23:38,560
Speaker 1: There are so many ways to play every single shot there,

476
00:23:38,600 --> 00:23:40,000
Speaker 1: like if you go to if you go to the

477
00:23:40,000 --> 00:23:42,320
Speaker 1: press room, a Quad Cities guy will say, you know

478
00:23:42,480 --> 00:23:44,359
Speaker 1: I hit a three when you know the Ferway hit

479
00:23:44,359 --> 00:23:46,560
Speaker 1: a six armhole high, I made the putt. You could

480
00:23:46,600 --> 00:23:49,280
Speaker 1: never go through your car that quickly at the Old

481
00:23:49,280 --> 00:23:52,320
Speaker 1: Course for any of us, because there's so many options

482
00:23:52,359 --> 00:23:55,080
Speaker 1: on every single shot and h and that's part of

483
00:23:55,119 --> 00:23:58,000
Speaker 1: the fascination, you know. I had this conversation with with

484
00:23:58,080 --> 00:24:03,199
Speaker 1: with Fred Couples for us pardon me. First Open Championship

485
00:24:03,320 --> 00:24:07,160
Speaker 1: was eighty four at the Old Course, and he fell

486
00:24:07,200 --> 00:24:10,600
Speaker 1: in love with it completely. This was astounding to me.

487
00:24:10,680 --> 00:24:12,720
Speaker 1: But I'm gonna I'm gonna do it in the form

488
00:24:12,800 --> 00:24:16,200
Speaker 1: of a question, Jeff, what is the longest shot you've

489
00:24:16,200 --> 00:24:21,960
Speaker 1: ever hit into eighteen at at the Old Course? I

490
00:24:22,040 --> 00:24:24,320
Speaker 1: had a couple of times in the Links Trophy where

491
00:24:24,320 --> 00:24:26,600
Speaker 1: it played into the wind and we really struggled to

492
00:24:26,640 --> 00:24:29,560
Speaker 1: get it to the road. Um, which is what one

493
00:24:29,800 --> 00:24:34,160
Speaker 1: twenty front, one hundred hundred and twenty front something like that. Um. Yeah,

494
00:24:34,240 --> 00:24:37,400
Speaker 1: so probably an eight on from one hundred and ten

495
00:24:37,600 --> 00:24:40,840
Speaker 1: or something. Probably that's Fred had the exact same thing.

496
00:24:40,840 --> 00:24:42,439
Speaker 1: I couldn't believe it because I played in a lot

497
00:24:42,480 --> 00:24:44,639
Speaker 1: of different wins, but I've never played anyone, you know.

498
00:24:44,680 --> 00:24:47,760
Speaker 1: And even that even for the ordinary golfer, you know,

499
00:24:47,920 --> 00:24:51,320
Speaker 1: to hit driver into the valley center in still conditions

500
00:24:51,400 --> 00:24:53,800
Speaker 1: or down wind, it's not that hard. But Fred in

501
00:24:53,920 --> 00:24:58,560
Speaker 1: his first year on Sunday hit driver that maybe just

502
00:24:58,640 --> 00:24:59,760
Speaker 1: made it to the road and then he hit a

503
00:24:59,840 --> 00:25:03,040
Speaker 1: nine are in which he holds uh to end his day.

504
00:25:03,119 --> 00:25:06,560
Speaker 1: So on any given day the golf course is so

505
00:25:06,560 --> 00:25:12,119
Speaker 1: so different. Um, just to add one little thing to

506
00:25:12,200 --> 00:25:14,880
Speaker 1: this that we would we would all know instinctively, but

507
00:25:14,880 --> 00:25:17,320
Speaker 1: but just to say it out loud, when you think

508
00:25:17,320 --> 00:25:20,720
Speaker 1: about how how old the old course is and that

509
00:25:20,920 --> 00:25:26,719
Speaker 1: there's really no known architect, and that Charles Blair McDonald, uh,

510
00:25:26,960 --> 00:25:30,119
Speaker 1: you know, great American aristocrat who basically invented golf in

511
00:25:30,160 --> 00:25:32,560
Speaker 1: American away went over there, fell in love with the

512
00:25:32,600 --> 00:25:36,000
Speaker 1: game and brought it back and started building golf courses

513
00:25:36,000 --> 00:25:38,720
Speaker 1: around the turn of the last century. And then this

514
00:25:38,840 --> 00:25:42,439
Speaker 1: Golden Age period of architects. And Jeff Smida said this

515
00:25:42,440 --> 00:25:45,240
Speaker 1: because he's working at Mednah, but Medignah and Maryon which

516
00:25:45,240 --> 00:25:47,920
Speaker 1: we've already mentioned, in Pine Valley and Riviera and almost

517
00:25:47,920 --> 00:25:53,119
Speaker 1: every other course, they're sort of interpreting what McDonald already

518
00:25:53,119 --> 00:25:57,400
Speaker 1: brought to the United States right from Saint Andrew's. So

519
00:25:57,480 --> 00:25:58,760
Speaker 1: I guess what I'm trying to say is that that

520
00:25:58,880 --> 00:26:02,320
Speaker 1: multiplayer and feed effect of Saint Andrew's is built everywhere

521
00:26:02,320 --> 00:26:09,399
Speaker 1: in golf. How about how about this if you take

522
00:26:09,920 --> 00:26:13,960
Speaker 1: Old Tom and his impact on architecture, and you take

523
00:26:14,600 --> 00:26:18,560
Speaker 1: Donald Ross who came and spent time with Old Tom

524
00:26:18,600 --> 00:26:21,800
Speaker 1: and essentially learned from Old Tom, and then Donald Ross

525
00:26:21,840 --> 00:26:26,320
Speaker 1: comes to the US and builds Fort Bragg. I believe

526
00:26:26,359 --> 00:26:28,879
Speaker 1: in Pete Dye worked at Fort Bragg and used to

527
00:26:28,920 --> 00:26:31,040
Speaker 1: call Donald Ross from time to time to sort of

528
00:26:31,080 --> 00:26:35,680
Speaker 1: better understand the essence of Fort Bragg as maybe even

529
00:26:35,720 --> 00:26:38,399
Speaker 1: a superintendent at the time. Pete Dye goes on to

530
00:26:38,440 --> 00:26:42,000
Speaker 1: be an architect, and then Bill Core works for Pete

531
00:26:42,040 --> 00:26:44,400
Speaker 1: Dye and then goes on to be an architect. Essentially,

532
00:26:44,440 --> 00:26:46,800
Speaker 1: you have lineage from Old Tom all the way to

533
00:26:46,840 --> 00:26:53,439
Speaker 1: Bill Kore, who's currently still building golf courses. It's beautiful, Yeah,

534
00:26:53,480 --> 00:26:55,880
Speaker 1: I mean, how cool is that? It's really cool? Very

535
00:26:56,000 --> 00:26:59,320
Speaker 1: very cool. You know, these lines through the game are

536
00:26:59,400 --> 00:27:02,520
Speaker 1: part of why we love it so much. And and

537
00:27:02,840 --> 00:27:05,120
Speaker 1: you know, and Augusta National is neat and we all

538
00:27:05,119 --> 00:27:09,160
Speaker 1: love being at Augustina National. But you know the fact

539
00:27:09,160 --> 00:27:11,000
Speaker 1: that the starting point here is that the whole world

540
00:27:11,040 --> 00:27:13,040
Speaker 1: can come and play this place. By the way, I've

541
00:27:13,080 --> 00:27:15,280
Speaker 1: never had the experience of showing up at Saint Andrew's

542
00:27:15,320 --> 00:27:17,000
Speaker 1: and not being able to get on the old course.

543
00:27:17,040 --> 00:27:18,959
Speaker 1: And I'm not talking about calling friends you know who

544
00:27:19,040 --> 00:27:21,359
Speaker 1: are members places. I just mean showing up at the

545
00:27:21,400 --> 00:27:23,879
Speaker 1: shack like like Jeff did with his dad, giving them

546
00:27:23,920 --> 00:27:25,680
Speaker 1: your name and sitting there and reading a book until

547
00:27:25,720 --> 00:27:28,719
Speaker 1: they call your name. What do you talk about? Augusta

548
00:27:28,720 --> 00:27:33,480
Speaker 1: Augusta that was Jones's Saint Andrews in America. Um, that

549
00:27:33,600 --> 00:27:35,240
Speaker 1: was his whole point. If you when you play holes

550
00:27:35,240 --> 00:27:37,880
Speaker 1: like five and fourteen, it's like that's just that's all

551
00:27:37,920 --> 00:27:39,760
Speaker 1: that is, is the old course. It's just it's just

552
00:27:39,840 --> 00:27:43,480
Speaker 1: so obviously the Old course, so America's most famous golf course.

553
00:27:43,880 --> 00:27:46,639
Speaker 1: A direct connection. It was. He was trying to mimic

554
00:27:46,640 --> 00:27:49,359
Speaker 1: the shots you needed it the old course in Tuja,

555
00:27:49,840 --> 00:27:55,240
Speaker 1: Like it's the effect is incredible. Yeah, I mean, that's

556
00:27:55,280 --> 00:27:57,520
Speaker 1: that's why it stands a test of time, is because

557
00:27:57,560 --> 00:28:04,000
Speaker 1: it inspires us and um, the shot values and the

558
00:28:04,080 --> 00:28:08,040
Speaker 1: strategy and you know, I remember the first time I

559
00:28:08,080 --> 00:28:11,400
Speaker 1: played it, just standing there looking at those double greens

560
00:28:11,440 --> 00:28:15,240
Speaker 1: that you know, we're one hundred yards wide, and I

561
00:28:15,280 --> 00:28:19,119
Speaker 1: think on on fifteen or was it maybe it might

562
00:28:19,119 --> 00:28:21,320
Speaker 1: have been sixteen, but I hit like a vicious hook

563
00:28:21,680 --> 00:28:23,800
Speaker 1: and I had about one hundred and twenty yard put

564
00:28:23,840 --> 00:28:26,919
Speaker 1: from the you know, the other green, and um, I

565
00:28:27,000 --> 00:28:28,280
Speaker 1: lag it up to like eight feet. It's one of

566
00:28:28,280 --> 00:28:31,800
Speaker 1: my favorite memories. And all golf like, um, you know,

567
00:28:31,840 --> 00:28:34,520
Speaker 1: I'd never seen that before. And then um and then

568
00:28:34,560 --> 00:28:36,600
Speaker 1: you go, you go to these these neo courses and

569
00:28:36,640 --> 00:28:38,840
Speaker 1: they're excited because they've built a couple of double greens

570
00:28:38,840 --> 00:28:42,840
Speaker 1: and and um, like it's like the these these these

571
00:28:42,920 --> 00:28:48,160
Speaker 1: ideas are so enduring, and they're the simplicity. Everybody know,

572
00:28:48,280 --> 00:28:51,520
Speaker 1: the demonic to remember the double greens. They always add

573
00:28:51,600 --> 00:28:55,440
Speaker 1: up to what, oh the magic number of a magic

574
00:28:55,520 --> 00:29:00,360
Speaker 1: numbers eighteen? Yeah, yeah, there's But it's so great. It's

575
00:29:00,360 --> 00:29:04,480
Speaker 1: so great because there's no human ego involved. Like the course,

576
00:29:04,680 --> 00:29:07,280
Speaker 1: the old course created the game. The game didn't create

577
00:29:07,320 --> 00:29:12,720
Speaker 1: the old course. I mean, people build golf courses to

578
00:29:12,880 --> 00:29:15,960
Speaker 1: play golf on. The old course created the game. That's

579
00:29:16,000 --> 00:29:17,640
Speaker 1: why it's so great. That's why all that bunkers are

580
00:29:17,640 --> 00:29:19,560
Speaker 1: in the right place, and the whole place makes sense

581
00:29:19,600 --> 00:29:23,239
Speaker 1: because the game evolved around that piece of land, you know,

582
00:29:23,320 --> 00:29:26,400
Speaker 1: and that game that of land created the game we

583
00:29:26,440 --> 00:29:29,520
Speaker 1: play now. You know. That's that's why it's timeless and

584
00:29:29,560 --> 00:29:33,840
Speaker 1: it works because it's everything is where it is because

585
00:29:33,880 --> 00:29:36,880
Speaker 1: that's just where the game was best played from and

586
00:29:36,920 --> 00:29:41,240
Speaker 1: the property created that. You know. That's why they're such

587
00:29:41,280 --> 00:29:43,880
Speaker 1: magnetic bunkers because they weren't bunkers and the boards just

588
00:29:43,920 --> 00:29:45,760
Speaker 1: always ended up there and so it ended up being

589
00:29:45,760 --> 00:29:47,920
Speaker 1: a hole, so it created it just became a bunk

590
00:29:47,960 --> 00:29:49,760
Speaker 1: as that's where the ball always ended up. You know,

591
00:29:49,800 --> 00:29:53,440
Speaker 1: it's fantastic. Jeff, have you have you ever played the

592
00:29:53,480 --> 00:29:57,600
Speaker 1: Old Course reverse? Do you know about this? Yeah? They

593
00:29:57,600 --> 00:29:59,640
Speaker 1: do it once or twice a year. I think it's fascinating.

594
00:30:00,040 --> 00:30:01,640
Speaker 1: Ever actually done it. You've got to pay there on

595
00:30:01,720 --> 00:30:03,800
Speaker 1: that day Rot. Yeah, well you've got to plan it

596
00:30:03,840 --> 00:30:05,600
Speaker 1: all out. It would be really interesting because a lot

597
00:30:05,600 --> 00:30:08,480
Speaker 1: of the holes make a lot of sense the way

598
00:30:08,480 --> 00:30:09,720
Speaker 1: we play them now, but a lot of them make

599
00:30:09,800 --> 00:30:12,200
Speaker 1: no sense, like the twelve Holes, the most ridiculous Old World,

600
00:30:12,200 --> 00:30:14,400
Speaker 1: and you play it backwards, it's like, oh, okay, now

601
00:30:14,440 --> 00:30:17,440
Speaker 1: I get it exactly. I did it in two thousand

602
00:30:17,520 --> 00:30:20,320
Speaker 1: and four, it's on it's on April Fools Days when

603
00:30:20,360 --> 00:30:22,080
Speaker 1: when they do it, which shows that RNA does have

604
00:30:22,080 --> 00:30:25,280
Speaker 1: a sense of humor. And um, if you can think

605
00:30:25,280 --> 00:30:28,440
Speaker 1: of the you know, the course is basically a loop,

606
00:30:28,600 --> 00:30:32,520
Speaker 1: and normally you play it counterclockwise, but for most of

607
00:30:32,520 --> 00:30:35,120
Speaker 1: the history of the older course they played it month

608
00:30:35,200 --> 00:30:38,800
Speaker 1: by month in different other direction. One time you go clockwise,

609
00:30:38,840 --> 00:30:42,520
Speaker 1: but times you go counterclockwise. And I'm not saying this

610
00:30:42,560 --> 00:30:45,160
Speaker 1: to be like a hipster. I actually liked it better

611
00:30:45,400 --> 00:30:48,360
Speaker 1: in reverse. Some of the holes made more sense and

612
00:30:48,400 --> 00:30:51,520
Speaker 1: some of the shots were more fun. And but you know,

613
00:30:51,600 --> 00:30:54,560
Speaker 1: in after after World War two, and it depends if

614
00:30:54,560 --> 00:30:58,360
Speaker 1: you're Missus Rowles if you miss it rot. Yeah, it

615
00:30:58,680 --> 00:31:03,400
Speaker 1: totally does, totally does. But um, and it's wild to

616
00:31:03,480 --> 00:31:06,160
Speaker 1: think that that's possible. Now Tom Doe can mimic the

617
00:31:06,200 --> 00:31:09,480
Speaker 1: whole concept um at Forest Dunes and did an incredible job.

618
00:31:09,520 --> 00:31:13,640
Speaker 1: But um, the it just it melts your brain to

619
00:31:13,720 --> 00:31:16,440
Speaker 1: think about like this golf course can you can play

620
00:31:16,440 --> 00:31:19,480
Speaker 1: in either direction? And um, and you know when when

621
00:31:19,480 --> 00:31:21,600
Speaker 1: you play in reverse, the iconography is totally different, Like

622
00:31:21,600 --> 00:31:24,360
Speaker 1: you're hitting a draw around the old course hotel down

623
00:31:24,360 --> 00:31:27,479
Speaker 1: the road hole and um, stuff like that. You know,

624
00:31:27,520 --> 00:31:32,400
Speaker 1: it's it still works and um, anyway, I'll have to

625
00:31:32,600 --> 00:31:34,120
Speaker 1: oft to see if I can find my old story

626
00:31:34,160 --> 00:31:35,720
Speaker 1: that Rover for Sports Illustrating. If we can, if we

627
00:31:35,720 --> 00:31:38,440
Speaker 1: can show, I'll link to it on on Firepick Collective

628
00:31:38,480 --> 00:31:42,360
Speaker 1: dot com. Because it's just it's it tells you how

629
00:31:42,400 --> 00:31:46,040
Speaker 1: great that piece of land is, how clever the hazards

630
00:31:46,080 --> 00:31:48,680
Speaker 1: are and and the bunkers that you can go either

631
00:31:48,720 --> 00:31:54,560
Speaker 1: direction and it's still a fabulous test. You know. Um,

632
00:31:55,600 --> 00:31:58,640
Speaker 1: we spent some time over there, the fire Pick Collective

633
00:31:58,720 --> 00:32:01,160
Speaker 1: rolled in there, you know, we were we were hired

634
00:32:01,200 --> 00:32:05,080
Speaker 1: by MasterCard to do some stories leading into the Open

635
00:32:05,160 --> 00:32:08,040
Speaker 1: one hundred and fiftieth Open, and so the idea we

636
00:32:08,080 --> 00:32:10,920
Speaker 1: came up with was pay homage to old Tom Morris.

637
00:32:11,640 --> 00:32:14,760
Speaker 1: And we went in with just sort of the general

638
00:32:14,840 --> 00:32:17,080
Speaker 1: sense of like, let's try to learn as much as

639
00:32:17,080 --> 00:32:20,680
Speaker 1: we can about old Tom Morris. And we started reaching

640
00:32:20,720 --> 00:32:26,840
Speaker 1: out to historians and teachers, and you know, we stopped

641
00:32:26,840 --> 00:32:30,240
Speaker 1: by the museum, We went to local business owners like

642
00:32:31,200 --> 00:32:34,480
Speaker 1: the the and then we ran into and got access

643
00:32:34,520 --> 00:32:39,200
Speaker 1: to Sheila Walker, his great great granddaughter. Michael. You wrote

644
00:32:39,240 --> 00:32:43,400
Speaker 1: a beautiful a little basically little mini essay about Sheila

645
00:32:43,480 --> 00:32:45,400
Speaker 1: Walker because you happen to bump into her in one

646
00:32:45,440 --> 00:32:48,160
Speaker 1: of the open uh you know, wandering around it during

647
00:32:48,160 --> 00:32:50,560
Speaker 1: one of the Open Championships, which we read leading into it,

648
00:32:50,600 --> 00:32:52,560
Speaker 1: and the whole goal was like can we find Sheila

649
00:32:52,640 --> 00:32:55,600
Speaker 1: Walker too, which we ended up getting a two and

650
00:32:55,600 --> 00:32:58,280
Speaker 1: a half hour interview with her that we ultimately ended

651
00:32:58,360 --> 00:33:01,200
Speaker 1: up being the spine of our four part series that's

652
00:33:01,200 --> 00:33:04,680
Speaker 1: on Firepit Collective dot com now. And then we got

653
00:33:04,720 --> 00:33:08,760
Speaker 1: to go back for Patron's Day. But I have I

654
00:33:08,800 --> 00:33:11,800
Speaker 1: always was fascinated by old Tom and then getting a

655
00:33:11,880 --> 00:33:14,959
Speaker 1: chance to speak to his great great granddaughter, who, by

656
00:33:15,000 --> 00:33:19,680
Speaker 1: the way, lives still above the shop, looking out over

657
00:33:19,720 --> 00:33:23,040
Speaker 1: the window, out of the window overlooking the eighteenth Green.

658
00:33:23,160 --> 00:33:25,920
Speaker 1: She still lives there. She's in her seventies. She's like

659
00:33:26,080 --> 00:33:29,320
Speaker 1: one of the most magnificent people I've ever interviewed in

660
00:33:29,440 --> 00:33:34,360
Speaker 1: my life. She tends her garden in the backyard of

661
00:33:34,400 --> 00:33:38,080
Speaker 1: what literally is the home at the Home of Golf.

662
00:33:38,120 --> 00:33:40,080
Speaker 1: I mean, this is the home of Golf. On the

663
00:33:40,120 --> 00:33:43,960
Speaker 1: door it still says like old Tom Morris, you know house,

664
00:33:44,080 --> 00:33:48,840
Speaker 1: like this is the Tom Morris house. And we got

665
00:33:48,840 --> 00:33:51,080
Speaker 1: to wander her garden with her and Michael. You would

666
00:33:51,080 --> 00:33:53,160
Speaker 1: ask her like, oh, do you you know, do you

667
00:33:53,200 --> 00:33:55,719
Speaker 1: have the same green thumb that he had, you know,

668
00:33:55,880 --> 00:33:59,360
Speaker 1: sort of as his contributions to the agronomy of golf,

669
00:34:00,120 --> 00:34:02,600
Speaker 1: most notably top dressing, which is still used, you know,

670
00:34:02,760 --> 00:34:04,720
Speaker 1: wildly today. And she said, oh, no, no, no no, I

671
00:34:04,760 --> 00:34:07,720
Speaker 1: have green it's green fingers. It's not green thumb, it's

672
00:34:07,760 --> 00:34:12,520
Speaker 1: green fingers. She to this day still walks across the

673
00:34:12,640 --> 00:34:17,480
Speaker 1: eighteenth Green and the first tea out to the beach,

674
00:34:17,840 --> 00:34:21,400
Speaker 1: collects a little bucket of sand that she then brings

675
00:34:21,440 --> 00:34:25,240
Speaker 1: back to her yard and top dresses her little patch

676
00:34:25,280 --> 00:34:29,200
Speaker 1: of grass that she has in her backyard. It is like,

677
00:34:29,600 --> 00:34:32,680
Speaker 1: this is still happening right now as we speak. Great

678
00:34:32,760 --> 00:34:35,000
Speaker 1: marketing op for fire Pick Collective. We go over there

679
00:34:35,000 --> 00:34:38,400
Speaker 1: with water bottles, fill it with Saint Andrew's Bay Beach sand,

680
00:34:39,080 --> 00:34:43,080
Speaker 1: put it on ebit, sell it, sell it. Actually, she

681
00:34:43,200 --> 00:34:49,799
Speaker 1: said that the beach, not all beaches are what's that

682
00:34:49,920 --> 00:34:56,239
Speaker 1: movie out? And yes, yeah, they use that beach, but

683
00:34:56,320 --> 00:34:59,479
Speaker 1: you know, she points out Sheila points out that that

684
00:34:59,680 --> 00:35:04,360
Speaker 1: not all beaches have the kind of minerals that help,

685
00:35:04,880 --> 00:35:08,120
Speaker 1: you know, grass grow and Fortunately the Saint Andrew's Beach

686
00:35:08,160 --> 00:35:11,480
Speaker 1: does and we get top dressing because, as the story

687
00:35:11,560 --> 00:35:14,320
Speaker 1: was told to us, that one of Old Tom's workers

688
00:35:14,480 --> 00:35:18,520
Speaker 1: was walking through the course with a wheelbarrel full of

689
00:35:18,560 --> 00:35:21,840
Speaker 1: sand and it toppled over, and so they scooped it

690
00:35:21,920 --> 00:35:24,839
Speaker 1: back up and they continued on with the wheelbarrow, and

691
00:35:25,040 --> 00:35:29,000
Speaker 1: afterwards noticed that where that sand had dropped and there

692
00:35:29,160 --> 00:35:32,200
Speaker 1: was this top dressing of sorts. This the grass was

693
00:35:32,320 --> 00:35:35,200
Speaker 1: growing better than the other grass. So we incorporated that

694
00:35:35,239 --> 00:35:37,279
Speaker 1: and said, well, let's put it all over the golf course.

695
00:35:37,360 --> 00:35:44,319
Speaker 1: And that's top dressing. Amazing. Jeff, do you have any

696
00:35:44,360 --> 00:35:49,080
Speaker 1: memory Can you remember specifically being announced on the first

697
00:35:49,120 --> 00:35:51,040
Speaker 1: tea the first time you would have played the old

698
00:35:51,040 --> 00:35:55,719
Speaker 1: course in an opened I imagine by Iva Robeson. Yeah,

699
00:35:55,840 --> 00:35:58,440
Speaker 1: I don't specifically remember it because I don't think I

700
00:35:58,440 --> 00:36:02,520
Speaker 1: would be hearing it. I'll be just sort I've opened

701
00:36:02,600 --> 00:36:05,239
Speaker 1: or not. I don't think the headspace changes on that team.

702
00:36:05,280 --> 00:36:09,920
Speaker 1: It's a nervous experience. It's just it's an incredible there's

703
00:36:09,960 --> 00:36:12,319
Speaker 1: an incredible and there can be nobody there and there's

704
00:36:12,360 --> 00:36:14,920
Speaker 1: atmosphere just for you. I mean, it's a self created

705
00:36:14,960 --> 00:36:17,200
Speaker 1: atmosphere in it when you hit that t shot, it's

706
00:36:18,640 --> 00:36:20,799
Speaker 1: I've always the best. I mean, he's had such that

707
00:36:21,440 --> 00:36:26,440
Speaker 1: most distinct voice. M No real specific memories, but completely

708
00:36:26,440 --> 00:36:28,960
Speaker 1: freaking out. Like I you get nervous on the first

709
00:36:28,960 --> 00:36:32,719
Speaker 1: team mages, but it's different, it's different there, there's a

710
00:36:32,719 --> 00:36:35,000
Speaker 1: whole other element to it. Getting the ball on the

711
00:36:35,000 --> 00:36:37,040
Speaker 1: tea is pretty tough and you just hope to make contact.

712
00:36:37,239 --> 00:36:42,120
Speaker 1: It's very thankful that it's an easy shot generally, just

713
00:36:42,200 --> 00:36:44,640
Speaker 1: bump a the line down there and on your go.

714
00:36:44,800 --> 00:36:47,560
Speaker 1: But just to your story about Freddie. Before, I've seen

715
00:36:47,600 --> 00:36:49,239
Speaker 1: the first I've played the first hole where I've hit

716
00:36:49,280 --> 00:36:51,839
Speaker 1: driver six iron short of the burn. Wow. And I've

717
00:36:51,840 --> 00:36:53,440
Speaker 1: played it where I've hit five, and I've played it

718
00:36:53,440 --> 00:36:56,120
Speaker 1: where I've hit five iron in the burn off the tea.

719
00:36:56,400 --> 00:36:59,200
Speaker 1: So yeah, the course changes every day. But yeah, it's

720
00:36:59,239 --> 00:37:02,719
Speaker 1: a freaky. It's a it's a special nerves though it's

721
00:37:02,719 --> 00:37:05,520
Speaker 1: a happy it's not a scared nervous that too, is it.

722
00:37:05,520 --> 00:37:09,640
Speaker 1: It's just a respect for the whole place nervous and um,

723
00:37:10,360 --> 00:37:11,840
Speaker 1: you're kind of a bit on your own too, Like

724
00:37:11,920 --> 00:37:14,800
Speaker 1: the first teas and majors, due usually there's people everywhere.

725
00:37:14,800 --> 00:37:18,520
Speaker 1: It's quite. It's quite a rowdy atmosphere. The spectators don't

726
00:37:18,520 --> 00:37:20,719
Speaker 1: really start there until you get down to sort of

727
00:37:20,719 --> 00:37:22,319
Speaker 1: one hundred meters off the tea sort of thing on

728
00:37:22,360 --> 00:37:24,839
Speaker 1: the right and they're way away on the left. Um,

729
00:37:25,080 --> 00:37:26,880
Speaker 1: so you kind of just with the group in the

730
00:37:26,880 --> 00:37:28,480
Speaker 1: start there, which is a kind of a nice and

731
00:37:28,600 --> 00:37:31,520
Speaker 1: a few of the the bluecoats on the steps with

732
00:37:31,640 --> 00:37:33,279
Speaker 1: a gin and tonic or a glass around or something

733
00:37:33,320 --> 00:37:36,040
Speaker 1: having a look at having a look down the fairway

734
00:37:36,080 --> 00:37:39,080
Speaker 1: with you. But yeah, it's a fantastic first tea shot. Wow.

735
00:37:39,719 --> 00:37:42,680
Speaker 1: Like Jordan Speet just said this last week, you know

736
00:37:42,719 --> 00:37:46,280
Speaker 1: that that an Open at Saint Andrew's is the best

737
00:37:46,480 --> 00:37:49,160
Speaker 1: tournament we play. I think you arguably in there, which

738
00:37:49,160 --> 00:37:51,960
Speaker 1: I wish he hadn't, but um, I think that was

739
00:37:52,080 --> 00:37:54,320
Speaker 1: he was just being played. I mean, you know, a

740
00:37:55,719 --> 00:37:59,840
Speaker 1: US Open at Pebble Beach or at at Oakmans, you

741
00:38:00,040 --> 00:38:03,319
Speaker 1: know that's special. But um, can we say without a

742
00:38:03,360 --> 00:38:07,160
Speaker 1: doubt that this is this is the greatest feather in

743
00:38:07,200 --> 00:38:09,680
Speaker 1: the cap of any golfer to win the Open at

744
00:38:09,680 --> 00:38:11,960
Speaker 1: the Old Course? Is there that even in a debate

745
00:38:14,200 --> 00:38:17,479
Speaker 1: and to that point, Alan and I know we don't

746
00:38:17,520 --> 00:38:21,960
Speaker 1: do this easily but the career of Zack Johnson is astounding.

747
00:38:22,160 --> 00:38:25,319
Speaker 1: For for Zack Johnson, who might be sneaky long, but

748
00:38:25,440 --> 00:38:27,920
Speaker 1: isn't long long to have one at the Old Course

749
00:38:27,920 --> 00:38:32,080
Speaker 1: in Augustine National is a real incredible statement on his

750
00:38:32,200 --> 00:38:36,799
Speaker 1: golfing skill and his intelligence. He just he forever and

751
00:38:36,800 --> 00:38:38,840
Speaker 1: now he's a writer Cup captain for whatever reason, he

752
00:38:38,880 --> 00:38:43,799
Speaker 1: doesn't really he's not in the pantheon conversation. But and

753
00:38:43,920 --> 00:38:46,279
Speaker 1: he's not, but he's damn damn close. And those two

754
00:38:46,320 --> 00:38:50,120
Speaker 1: things alone, you know, for John You know, John Daly,

755
00:38:50,400 --> 00:38:54,680
Speaker 1: how he didn't win a Masters is almost a mystery,

756
00:38:54,680 --> 00:38:57,080
Speaker 1: but the fact that he did win there playing it

757
00:38:57,200 --> 00:39:00,440
Speaker 1: totally differently, I imagine, from the way that plays it.

758
00:39:00,840 --> 00:39:04,000
Speaker 1: I remember Nicholas was almost freaking out by some of

759
00:39:04,000 --> 00:39:06,839
Speaker 1: the shots that Daly was playing when he won there,

760
00:39:06,880 --> 00:39:08,799
Speaker 1: because it's just like, that's not how you played the

761
00:39:08,800 --> 00:39:11,200
Speaker 1: Old Course. But but the truth is it is how

762
00:39:11,239 --> 00:39:13,520
Speaker 1: he plays the Old Course, because there's numerous ways to

763
00:39:13,560 --> 00:39:16,040
Speaker 1: play it. In fact, Fred said the same thing the

764
00:39:16,080 --> 00:39:17,919
Speaker 1: other day. He was playing with Gary Player those first

765
00:39:18,080 --> 00:39:21,040
Speaker 1: rounds and eighty four, and Gary Player said, sound you

766
00:39:21,080 --> 00:39:23,080
Speaker 1: a good golfer, but that's not how you paid the

767
00:39:23,120 --> 00:39:25,759
Speaker 1: old course, and Fred's like, I didn't know any better.

768
00:39:26,239 --> 00:39:29,560
Speaker 1: That's awesome. Oh so, Michael, you're you're actually a voter

769
00:39:29,680 --> 00:39:31,640
Speaker 1: for the Hall of Fame. Let's put you on the spot.

770
00:39:31,960 --> 00:39:33,920
Speaker 1: Is Zack Johnson a Hall of Famer? He's got I

771
00:39:33,920 --> 00:39:36,960
Speaker 1: think a dozen wins. He's got those two majors at

772
00:39:37,080 --> 00:39:40,080
Speaker 1: the holiest of holies. Yes or no Hall of Famer.

773
00:39:41,840 --> 00:39:44,759
Speaker 1: I can say this because I said it to Fred's face.

774
00:39:44,800 --> 00:39:49,160
Speaker 1: I didn't vote for Fred. Uh so uh I h

775
00:39:50,920 --> 00:39:54,680
Speaker 1: and he's in. So now that Fred's in, it would

776
00:39:54,680 --> 00:39:57,960
Speaker 1: be completely totally unfair not to have zach in Davis

777
00:39:58,080 --> 00:40:00,440
Speaker 1: is in Fred's and yes he's you know, fore Yorick's

778
00:40:00,480 --> 00:40:03,320
Speaker 1: getting in. I'm voting for Ogilby just because of the

779
00:40:03,440 --> 00:40:08,719
Speaker 1: introduction he gave to the old person Lifetime Lifetime game.

780
00:40:08,960 --> 00:40:10,719
Speaker 1: Just a very quick note for those who don't know

781
00:40:10,800 --> 00:40:13,960
Speaker 1: Iver Robes and that name will fade in time over

782
00:40:14,000 --> 00:40:15,360
Speaker 1: the years, but you know, the four of us know

783
00:40:15,440 --> 00:40:18,440
Speaker 1: that name. He was a long time starter. He had

784
00:40:18,480 --> 00:40:21,960
Speaker 1: any eccentric habits which won't get into now, but one

785
00:40:21,960 --> 00:40:24,120
Speaker 1: of his things, and Jeff helped me, if I don't

786
00:40:24,160 --> 00:40:26,120
Speaker 1: have this quite right, is he would he would say

787
00:40:26,160 --> 00:40:29,239
Speaker 1: the name of the player he would say on the

788
00:40:29,280 --> 00:40:31,759
Speaker 1: tea and then well, I'll just do it like he

789
00:40:31,840 --> 00:40:34,920
Speaker 1: did on the tea from Australia, and then there'd be

790
00:40:34,920 --> 00:40:36,400
Speaker 1: a little pause and then it would be like he

791
00:40:36,400 --> 00:40:39,000
Speaker 1: would be surprised, but like he's got the name there

792
00:40:39,040 --> 00:40:42,680
Speaker 1: and he's looking at the guy on the tea from Australia,

793
00:40:42,960 --> 00:40:48,000
Speaker 1: Jeff Ogilby. That was very good. Yeah, but it was

794
00:40:49,040 --> 00:40:54,719
Speaker 1: the pause. Yeah, No, it's a dramatic pause, dramatic effect.

795
00:40:54,880 --> 00:40:57,280
Speaker 1: Janella has stuck onto the first tea on the tea

796
00:40:57,360 --> 00:41:02,239
Speaker 1: from USA, not Jella, and he would stand on the

797
00:41:02,280 --> 00:41:05,239
Speaker 1: first tea at the open from seven o'clock till four

798
00:41:05,440 --> 00:41:09,640
Speaker 1: twenty and never leave the first tea for anything. It's unbelievable,

799
00:41:09,760 --> 00:41:15,439
Speaker 1: like four days, absolutely on le legend. And by the way,

800
00:41:16,320 --> 00:41:18,640
Speaker 1: I know you players don't like it, but we like it.

801
00:41:18,800 --> 00:41:21,120
Speaker 1: The idea of starting everybody on that first tea and

802
00:41:21,120 --> 00:41:24,120
Speaker 1: everybody finishing on eighteen is absolutely part of the appeal

803
00:41:24,200 --> 00:41:27,080
Speaker 1: of the whole thing. And they killed that US Open

804
00:41:27,120 --> 00:41:29,279
Speaker 1: at Marion when they did this weird, weird way of

805
00:41:29,560 --> 00:41:33,040
Speaker 1: starting things. But you know, you get unlucky, but you

806
00:41:33,080 --> 00:41:37,840
Speaker 1: get lucky. But it plays out over time. Can I

807
00:41:37,840 --> 00:41:40,600
Speaker 1: I'm realizing my role and my role on this podcast

808
00:41:40,719 --> 00:41:44,719
Speaker 1: is just to randomly insert some really cool Old Tom anecdotes.

809
00:41:44,760 --> 00:41:49,760
Speaker 1: But in the in the in the record, in the

810
00:41:49,800 --> 00:41:53,960
Speaker 1: production of what we created this four part series, we

811
00:41:54,440 --> 00:41:56,560
Speaker 1: there was a snow day one of the days. We

812
00:41:56,600 --> 00:41:59,479
Speaker 1: woke up, we looked out the window and the old

813
00:41:59,520 --> 00:42:03,200
Speaker 1: courses covered in snow. It was like it was like

814
00:42:03,320 --> 00:42:06,399
Speaker 1: two inches of snow on the old course, I mean,

815
00:42:07,280 --> 00:42:10,760
Speaker 1: and we were like, oh my god. And we essentially

816
00:42:10,760 --> 00:42:12,840
Speaker 1: went out and you know, we had snowball fights, we

817
00:42:12,920 --> 00:42:16,239
Speaker 1: built snowman. It was We've flew the drone. It was

818
00:42:16,320 --> 00:42:18,720
Speaker 1: like it was like a playground. And by two o'clock

819
00:42:18,719 --> 00:42:21,800
Speaker 1: and it all burnt off. But we ended up calling

820
00:42:21,880 --> 00:42:25,880
Speaker 1: and meeting up with Gordon mckeeth, the current superintendent, the

821
00:42:25,920 --> 00:42:29,520
Speaker 1: course manager, they call him and would you believe that

822
00:42:29,560 --> 00:42:34,959
Speaker 1: he's only the ninth course manager since Old Tom Morris's

823
00:42:35,320 --> 00:42:37,880
Speaker 1: He's and he says to this day that you know,

824
00:42:37,920 --> 00:42:40,960
Speaker 1: Old Tom's face is in the side of the RNA

825
00:42:41,040 --> 00:42:45,680
Speaker 1: clubhouse near the clock, I believe, overlooking the old course.

826
00:42:45,760 --> 00:42:48,719
Speaker 1: And he says, you know that matters to him, like

827
00:42:48,960 --> 00:42:54,080
Speaker 1: he thinks about him every day that he's managing this

828
00:42:54,120 --> 00:42:58,520
Speaker 1: piece of turf, which is just tremendous. The ninth superintendent

829
00:42:59,560 --> 00:43:01,839
Speaker 1: that is, I think there's something we're leaving out here.

830
00:43:02,480 --> 00:43:05,080
Speaker 1: Of course, it's a great university town, it's got wonderful museum,

831
00:43:05,080 --> 00:43:07,720
Speaker 1: it's got night restaurants. One of the great drinking towns

832
00:43:07,719 --> 00:43:10,360
Speaker 1: of all time ever anywhere. Now, Jeff Cheff made a

833
00:43:10,400 --> 00:43:13,440
Speaker 1: reference to it, Uh, you know, drinking Scotch whiskey on

834
00:43:13,520 --> 00:43:16,440
Speaker 1: the whiskey on the up in the old Coursey tail.

835
00:43:16,480 --> 00:43:18,120
Speaker 1: But it's a load of it bars and of course

836
00:43:18,160 --> 00:43:20,600
Speaker 1: you walk to your hotel. I say this not as

837
00:43:20,600 --> 00:43:22,880
Speaker 1: a heavy drinker myself, but if you choose to be

838
00:43:22,880 --> 00:43:24,480
Speaker 1: a heavy drinker, it's a great place to be a

839
00:43:24,480 --> 00:43:26,480
Speaker 1: heavy drinker, as long as you look both ways before

840
00:43:26,480 --> 00:43:30,000
Speaker 1: crossing the street, because traffic can be can't be wild there.

841
00:43:30,040 --> 00:43:33,000
Speaker 1: But basically, you're playing golf, you're gonna have for dinner,

842
00:43:33,239 --> 00:43:35,520
Speaker 1: having a drink or two and stumbling in your room

843
00:43:35,520 --> 00:43:37,960
Speaker 1: and then doing it again and then and then, as

844
00:43:38,120 --> 00:43:42,080
Speaker 1: as we've all alluded to, um more good golf courses

845
00:43:42,080 --> 00:43:43,520
Speaker 1: than you can shake a stick at right in the

846
00:43:43,560 --> 00:43:46,839
Speaker 1: surrounding area. I had the experience when when Harrington. When

847
00:43:46,840 --> 00:43:49,880
Speaker 1: Harrington won at Carnousti, I was staying in Saint Andrews

848
00:43:49,960 --> 00:43:52,480
Speaker 1: my friend Burtistowns, and one night I wanted to pay

849
00:43:52,480 --> 00:43:53,680
Speaker 1: a green fee, but there was no one to pay

850
00:43:53,680 --> 00:43:55,040
Speaker 1: a green fee two so I just went out in

851
00:43:55,080 --> 00:43:57,640
Speaker 1: the first hole and started playing the old course. And

852
00:43:57,680 --> 00:44:00,759
Speaker 1: then somehow I made a mistake and like am I

853
00:44:01,400 --> 00:44:05,239
Speaker 1: and I had sort of we found my way from

854
00:44:05,239 --> 00:44:07,600
Speaker 1: the old course onto the new. At that moment, Tom

855
00:44:07,640 --> 00:44:10,240
Speaker 1: Doku used to who counted one summer at the old course?

856
00:44:10,480 --> 00:44:12,239
Speaker 1: He called. He just happened to call and he said, well,

857
00:44:12,280 --> 00:44:14,120
Speaker 1: tell me where you are, and I described it. He said, oh, yeah,

858
00:44:14,120 --> 00:44:16,080
Speaker 1: I know where you are. Yeah, you slipped over onto

859
00:44:16,120 --> 00:44:17,880
Speaker 1: the new He said, you see that dune played for

860
00:44:17,960 --> 00:44:20,440
Speaker 1: over that June. You'll be back back in action. And

861
00:44:20,480 --> 00:44:24,640
Speaker 1: then I played and I played literally right through seventeen two.

862
00:44:24,640 --> 00:44:26,440
Speaker 1: When I got to seventeen two was about ten o'clock

863
00:44:26,480 --> 00:44:27,879
Speaker 1: at night, and there was a gang, you know, waiting

864
00:44:27,880 --> 00:44:30,200
Speaker 1: to finish. But you know, I played sixteen holes by

865
00:44:30,239 --> 00:44:33,840
Speaker 1: myself and two hours out of outstanding, Michael, what is

866
00:44:33,880 --> 00:44:36,040
Speaker 1: the best part I've ever made in my entire life?

867
00:44:38,320 --> 00:44:40,120
Speaker 1: The best part that you've ever made an entire life

868
00:44:40,600 --> 00:44:45,560
Speaker 1: under the eternal condition. The answer, I do know the answer.

869
00:44:45,600 --> 00:44:46,919
Speaker 1: I don't know if I should share it. I'm gonna

870
00:44:46,960 --> 00:44:50,520
Speaker 1: leave it to you. Two thousand and fifteen open. You

871
00:44:50,560 --> 00:44:52,719
Speaker 1: know I'm not one for discretion. You know that, you

872
00:44:52,719 --> 00:44:56,160
Speaker 1: guys know that. At this point, me, Michael and our

873
00:44:56,200 --> 00:44:59,400
Speaker 1: young colleague shan Zac sneaked out to play the eighteenth

874
00:44:59,480 --> 00:45:02,920
Speaker 1: hole at the Old Course at midnight or so, and

875
00:45:03,000 --> 00:45:05,720
Speaker 1: we just took a took a couple of clubs and

876
00:45:06,200 --> 00:45:08,120
Speaker 1: I had a pretty good drive, you know, it's all feel.

877
00:45:08,200 --> 00:45:11,719
Speaker 1: It was dark, got it across the road and I

878
00:45:11,719 --> 00:45:13,560
Speaker 1: think only had a seven iron, had a little little

879
00:45:13,600 --> 00:45:18,680
Speaker 1: knock down seven and hit it to about twenty feet

880
00:45:19,760 --> 00:45:22,839
Speaker 1: pretty good. First put left myself like three feet. And

881
00:45:22,880 --> 00:45:25,680
Speaker 1: now some some dudes materialized on the back rail. They

882
00:45:25,719 --> 00:45:27,960
Speaker 1: were overlooking the green. We thought they were security. So

883
00:45:28,000 --> 00:45:29,680
Speaker 1: we're all nervous, we're gonna get, you know, sent to

884
00:45:29,719 --> 00:45:32,920
Speaker 1: the clink. But the great ones find a way to

885
00:45:32,920 --> 00:45:35,800
Speaker 1: steady their nerves even under tremendous pressure. And I somehow

886
00:45:35,880 --> 00:45:38,920
Speaker 1: rattled in this breaking three foot or for par And

887
00:45:38,960 --> 00:45:40,600
Speaker 1: it turned out they weren't security guys. They were just

888
00:45:40,600 --> 00:45:43,399
Speaker 1: some drugs who were watching us play golf, and that

889
00:45:43,480 --> 00:45:46,640
Speaker 1: was definitely the best part of my life and treasured memory.

890
00:45:46,680 --> 00:45:49,799
Speaker 1: That was fun. That was fun. You know, just to

891
00:45:49,800 --> 00:45:51,879
Speaker 1: follow up on some of that that Jeff said about

892
00:45:51,880 --> 00:45:53,839
Speaker 1: how the bunkers, you know, all the balls rolled into

893
00:45:53,840 --> 00:45:55,399
Speaker 1: there and before you knew it had a bunker. Now

894
00:45:55,440 --> 00:45:58,239
Speaker 1: I imagine that they're really worst shape on that golf course.

895
00:45:58,280 --> 00:46:00,600
Speaker 1: That probably got the bunkers there in the first But

896
00:46:00,760 --> 00:46:02,680
Speaker 1: leaving those but with those two things of mind, Fred

897
00:46:02,719 --> 00:46:05,319
Speaker 1: was saying the other day, you're gonna play shots out

898
00:46:05,320 --> 00:46:07,879
Speaker 1: of divots there because just for the reason Jeff said,

899
00:46:07,880 --> 00:46:10,680
Speaker 1: there's so many collection areas. And then I said, and

900
00:46:10,760 --> 00:46:12,680
Speaker 1: then I said to Fred, the whole things you did it.

901
00:46:12,800 --> 00:46:15,399
Speaker 1: And Fred's like, yeah, the whole things that did it.

902
00:46:16,760 --> 00:46:19,319
Speaker 1: You know, it depends on the year, and there are

903
00:46:19,400 --> 00:46:22,000
Speaker 1: years that it's green, but at best it's pale green.

904
00:46:22,280 --> 00:46:25,239
Speaker 1: I guess really, you know, as getting deeper in this conversation,

905
00:46:26,200 --> 00:46:28,719
Speaker 1: it's the anti Augusta National, which is a very good

906
00:46:28,719 --> 00:46:30,640
Speaker 1: golf course, but like, I don't think you can talk

907
00:46:30,640 --> 00:46:32,800
Speaker 1: about Augusta National and Saint Andrew's in the same breath

908
00:46:32,840 --> 00:46:36,719
Speaker 1: because it's pale. It loves pale, and you know, to

909
00:46:36,760 --> 00:46:39,000
Speaker 1: that phrase of Rhes Jones is that scruffiness is a

910
00:46:39,080 --> 00:46:43,359
Speaker 1: traditional golfing value. It's like such a beautiful phrase. I'm

911
00:46:43,400 --> 00:46:45,160
Speaker 1: saying it fast because they've viewed it so often. I

912
00:46:45,160 --> 00:46:48,120
Speaker 1: believe it so much, But it is so hard to

913
00:46:48,160 --> 00:46:51,600
Speaker 1: get people understand because every year CBS bombards us with

914
00:46:51,640 --> 00:46:55,080
Speaker 1: these spectacular images of Augusta National Green, green green. But

915
00:46:55,160 --> 00:46:58,000
Speaker 1: if we saw Saint Andrews in drought conditions or you know,

916
00:46:58,080 --> 00:46:59,920
Speaker 1: dry summers, even though they do of watering on the

917
00:47:00,040 --> 00:47:01,960
Speaker 1: of course, now you know irrigation system on the golf course.

918
00:47:02,080 --> 00:47:07,160
Speaker 1: Now pale is the really beautiful golf course color. And

919
00:47:07,320 --> 00:47:09,080
Speaker 1: of course it's different in different parts of the world,

920
00:47:09,120 --> 00:47:13,680
Speaker 1: depending on the diplomatic conditions. But I wish more places

921
00:47:13,680 --> 00:47:16,120
Speaker 1: really had the confidence to understand that, and I appreciate

922
00:47:16,200 --> 00:47:20,080
Speaker 1: that inact accordingly, I think you have to hit off

923
00:47:20,080 --> 00:47:24,080
Speaker 1: the fairways first, though, Like you haven't hit an iron

924
00:47:24,120 --> 00:47:25,880
Speaker 1: shot that felt good until you've hit it off a

925
00:47:25,880 --> 00:47:28,759
Speaker 1: proper links fairway, Like there is nothing like it. I mean,

926
00:47:28,760 --> 00:47:31,600
Speaker 1: people talk about blades, I mean blades or make a

927
00:47:31,600 --> 00:47:34,000
Speaker 1: golf shot feel better, but that is a smaller jump

928
00:47:34,040 --> 00:47:36,200
Speaker 1: from a cavity to a blade than it is from

929
00:47:36,239 --> 00:47:38,880
Speaker 1: a green Augusta fairway to an old course fairway. I mean,

930
00:47:39,520 --> 00:47:42,120
Speaker 1: especially the first and eighteenth fairway, that might be the

931
00:47:42,280 --> 00:47:47,239
Speaker 1: best grass that that's ever grown anywhere to hit a

932
00:47:47,239 --> 00:47:50,960
Speaker 1: golf shot off. I mean it is. It's a feeling

933
00:47:51,000 --> 00:47:53,239
Speaker 1: unlike any other. And I think if people played on

934
00:47:53,880 --> 00:47:58,080
Speaker 1: turf like that and it's not really planted, they don't

935
00:47:58,600 --> 00:48:00,799
Speaker 1: put specific seeds of us out the I think they've

936
00:48:00,800 --> 00:48:02,960
Speaker 1: tested that fairway a few times and there's like eight

937
00:48:03,040 --> 00:48:07,799
Speaker 1: hundred different sorts of fescues and clovers and different things

938
00:48:07,800 --> 00:48:09,799
Speaker 1: in there, and it's just again like the course has

939
00:48:09,840 --> 00:48:13,879
Speaker 1: evolved strategically and architecturally, the turf is evolved to being

940
00:48:14,280 --> 00:48:17,239
Speaker 1: perfect for golf, and it's I think if you played

941
00:48:17,239 --> 00:48:19,560
Speaker 1: off a little bit more often, people would understand that

942
00:48:20,320 --> 00:48:22,239
Speaker 1: it's not really what it looks like to play golf

943
00:48:22,280 --> 00:48:25,960
Speaker 1: on and how it plays and the links fairways generally,

944
00:48:26,280 --> 00:48:28,640
Speaker 1: and the old course is probably the best version of it.

945
00:48:28,600 --> 00:48:31,760
Speaker 1: It's the best to play golf on. It just sounds

946
00:48:31,760 --> 00:48:36,000
Speaker 1: the best, it feels the best. It drains, it never

947
00:48:36,040 --> 00:48:38,359
Speaker 1: gets wet. If it's brown or green, it doesn't matter.

948
00:48:38,480 --> 00:48:41,239
Speaker 1: It's just great fun to play golf on. It's well

949
00:48:41,320 --> 00:48:43,600
Speaker 1: and when guys like you hit a really good shot

950
00:48:43,680 --> 00:48:46,520
Speaker 1: at the old course with an iron off the fairway,

951
00:48:46,880 --> 00:48:49,040
Speaker 1: I love. It's like a little puff of smoke. It's

952
00:48:49,040 --> 00:48:51,640
Speaker 1: like just a little like little explosives, not a divot even,

953
00:48:52,120 --> 00:48:54,759
Speaker 1: and it's like the divot sort of dissolves into the air.

954
00:48:54,800 --> 00:48:59,400
Speaker 1: It is. There's something that's so pleasing about that. And

955
00:48:59,440 --> 00:49:01,560
Speaker 1: then and then to that point, you guys are just

956
00:49:01,640 --> 00:49:05,160
Speaker 1: making all those different grasses. Well, of course it's wind.

957
00:49:05,239 --> 00:49:07,799
Speaker 1: Wind is the element and not you know, the the

958
00:49:07,840 --> 00:49:10,920
Speaker 1: American Midwest is not blessed with wind in the you know,

959
00:49:11,120 --> 00:49:13,480
Speaker 1: in July and August for the most part. But the

960
00:49:13,520 --> 00:49:16,399
Speaker 1: wind circulating all these different grasses and then the sea

961
00:49:16,480 --> 00:49:21,640
Speaker 1: air moderating the temperatures. You do have perfect conditions. And

962
00:49:22,000 --> 00:49:24,239
Speaker 1: you can't create those conditions throughout the world, but to

963
00:49:24,239 --> 00:49:27,400
Speaker 1: the degree that you can borrow the philosophy of it

964
00:49:27,480 --> 00:49:30,759
Speaker 1: and the idea of in the mood of it especially uh,

965
00:49:30,840 --> 00:49:32,600
Speaker 1: it's neat and it would be better if more places

966
00:49:32,600 --> 00:49:35,160
Speaker 1: did it. And it does show up in weird places,

967
00:49:35,200 --> 00:49:38,000
Speaker 1: and of course one of them is specific growth. You know,

968
00:49:38,040 --> 00:49:43,160
Speaker 1: those those those those oceanside holes at Pacific Growth. They

969
00:49:43,160 --> 00:49:45,760
Speaker 1: are right out of the same Angews playbook. The turf,

970
00:49:45,800 --> 00:49:48,480
Speaker 1: the feel of it, the scruffiness of it, everything about it.

971
00:49:49,080 --> 00:49:55,400
Speaker 1: And it's public ready for another old time different seven minutes.

972
00:49:58,320 --> 00:50:01,239
Speaker 1: Well yeah, I mean he lived to be eighty six

973
00:50:01,320 --> 00:50:06,239
Speaker 1: years old. He outlived his wife and five children. He

974
00:50:07,520 --> 00:50:12,680
Speaker 1: woke up every morning, crossed that eighteenth Green and First

975
00:50:12,680 --> 00:50:16,239
Speaker 1: Fairway and jumped in that ocean every morning. That's the

976
00:50:16,239 --> 00:50:21,279
Speaker 1: way he started his day. It's like cryout therapy. And

977
00:50:21,400 --> 00:50:24,480
Speaker 1: now Colt Needler and I are actually in Ireland where

978
00:50:24,560 --> 00:50:26,920
Speaker 1: we've been spending the last few mornings going to the

979
00:50:26,960 --> 00:50:29,279
Speaker 1: forty foot and jumping into the North Sea in the

980
00:50:29,320 --> 00:50:32,880
Speaker 1: morning at like whatever temperature it is, and bobbing around

981
00:50:32,880 --> 00:50:35,359
Speaker 1: with a bunch of irishmen, feeling like we're old Tom

982
00:50:35,440 --> 00:50:38,600
Speaker 1: Morris as we are about to embark on the Saint

983
00:50:38,680 --> 00:50:41,800
Speaker 1: Andrew's at the week in Saint Andrews, and I feel

984
00:50:41,800 --> 00:50:44,239
Speaker 1: like we should be starting our day every day, you know,

985
00:50:44,320 --> 00:50:46,880
Speaker 1: walking out there and jumping in. At some point we

986
00:50:46,920 --> 00:50:52,800
Speaker 1: should do it as a group, Okay, Matt can I

987
00:50:52,840 --> 00:50:55,239
Speaker 1: s one other thing about Saint Andrews. Some of the

988
00:50:55,280 --> 00:50:57,120
Speaker 1: best coffee I've ever had in my life is in

989
00:50:57,200 --> 00:51:01,920
Speaker 1: Saint Andrews. I mean, there's really wonderfully rich. Everything sort

990
00:51:01,960 --> 00:51:04,560
Speaker 1: of a little richer there. I think, like I feel

991
00:51:04,600 --> 00:51:08,879
Speaker 1: more aware of things that I'm there. But but I'm

992
00:51:08,880 --> 00:51:10,800
Speaker 1: think I took a photograph of this cup of coffee

993
00:51:10,880 --> 00:51:12,440
Speaker 1: my last time there. I was like, man, if I

994
00:51:12,440 --> 00:51:14,759
Speaker 1: could hear a cup of coffee this, this good aguar

995
00:51:14,840 --> 00:51:18,080
Speaker 1: would be so happy. Where do you where, Jeff? Where Jeff?

996
00:51:18,080 --> 00:51:20,640
Speaker 1: Where have you stayed there when you've played? Where have

997
00:51:20,680 --> 00:51:24,280
Speaker 1: I stayed? A few places we've the Old Course hotels

998
00:51:24,280 --> 00:51:27,520
Speaker 1: are pretty nice. Place to play, stays to play, place

999
00:51:27,600 --> 00:51:30,680
Speaker 1: to stay when you played the tournament. You just walk

1000
00:51:30,760 --> 00:51:33,600
Speaker 1: up eighteen. You can walk to work, you know, which

1001
00:51:33,640 --> 00:51:35,520
Speaker 1: is pretty nice. You can actually just walk straight across

1002
00:51:35,560 --> 00:51:38,520
Speaker 1: seventeen and two because we warm up on the Eden

1003
00:51:38,520 --> 00:51:42,640
Speaker 1: and the new course right and we often use the

1004
00:51:42,640 --> 00:51:47,359
Speaker 1: Sanders Links Trope Guard Clubhouse for the for the set

1005
00:51:47,480 --> 00:51:49,920
Speaker 1: up rather than the RNA one because we're not allowed

1006
00:51:49,960 --> 00:51:52,440
Speaker 1: in there because we're professional golfers aren't really welcome in

1007
00:51:52,480 --> 00:51:56,960
Speaker 1: the RNA. UM. I think it's better now. Um So

1008
00:51:57,000 --> 00:52:01,440
Speaker 1: the Old Course hotels great, um but I've we've rented out,

1009
00:52:01,440 --> 00:52:03,160
Speaker 1: I've done a B and B. We rented the house

1010
00:52:03,200 --> 00:52:08,920
Speaker 1: a little bit out of town. So the Old Course Hotel,

1011
00:52:09,000 --> 00:52:10,319
Speaker 1: or if you can get in one of those rooms

1012
00:52:10,360 --> 00:52:12,239
Speaker 1: up the eighteenth Fairway on the right hand side, they're

1013
00:52:12,280 --> 00:52:14,640
Speaker 1: Old Tom's Shop, one of those one the Russacks or something,

1014
00:52:14,640 --> 00:52:16,920
Speaker 1: one of those sort of places. They're pretty fantastic. They

1015
00:52:16,920 --> 00:52:21,880
Speaker 1: get booked out years in advance. But I like the

1016
00:52:21,880 --> 00:52:23,960
Speaker 1: Old Course Hotel. There's just something about it. You've got

1017
00:52:23,960 --> 00:52:26,680
Speaker 1: the jigger in right there, which is fantastic. As I said,

1018
00:52:26,719 --> 00:52:30,160
Speaker 1: the top floor whiskey bars fantastic. At the restaurant, we

1019
00:52:30,200 --> 00:52:32,319
Speaker 1: can walk to work, which is very rare in a

1020
00:52:32,360 --> 00:52:36,799
Speaker 1: major we're normally in a traffic jam. Yeah, so that

1021
00:52:36,840 --> 00:52:38,279
Speaker 1: would be my pick. If you're going to go to

1022
00:52:38,280 --> 00:52:39,960
Speaker 1: town and you can, if it's in your budget, I'd

1023
00:52:40,000 --> 00:52:41,480
Speaker 1: stay at the Old Course Hotel. I would see for

1024
00:52:41,480 --> 00:52:45,879
Speaker 1: the people listening at home. There are bucket list experiences

1025
00:52:45,960 --> 00:52:49,759
Speaker 1: in golf, and being in Saint Andrew's for and Open

1026
00:52:49,880 --> 00:52:52,600
Speaker 1: as a spectator would have to be at the top

1027
00:52:52,640 --> 00:52:54,320
Speaker 1: of the list. It's even more fun than the Masters

1028
00:52:55,239 --> 00:52:57,440
Speaker 1: and some of these other events. The Old Course is

1029
00:52:57,440 --> 00:53:00,600
Speaker 1: actually not a great spectating experience because a lot of

1030
00:53:00,600 --> 00:53:02,719
Speaker 1: the they have all these double fairways. You can't get

1031
00:53:02,719 --> 00:53:05,359
Speaker 1: in the middle, and so you're sometimes far away from

1032
00:53:05,360 --> 00:53:07,439
Speaker 1: the action, and some of the landscapes a little flat

1033
00:53:07,480 --> 00:53:11,160
Speaker 1: and you don't have the views. But despite that, they

1034
00:53:11,200 --> 00:53:14,920
Speaker 1: have all these great grand stands, which gets you up high.

1035
00:53:14,960 --> 00:53:17,480
Speaker 1: But more than anything, it's just the town is on

1036
00:53:17,600 --> 00:53:20,560
Speaker 1: fire and everyone is talking about golf, and everyone is

1037
00:53:20,719 --> 00:53:24,279
Speaker 1: part of the tournament in some way, and listening to

1038
00:53:24,320 --> 00:53:26,600
Speaker 1: these guys talk about it just reminds me how special

1039
00:53:26,680 --> 00:53:30,040
Speaker 1: that week is. And if you have if you have

1040
00:53:30,080 --> 00:53:32,279
Speaker 1: the chance, you absolutely have to do it as a

1041
00:53:32,320 --> 00:53:34,000
Speaker 1: golf fan. And then of course you stay on and

1042
00:53:34,040 --> 00:53:36,279
Speaker 1: you keep playing your way through Scotland like that. That

1043
00:53:36,360 --> 00:53:39,279
Speaker 1: was the trip of a lifetime. But you know, a

1044
00:53:39,320 --> 00:53:41,279
Speaker 1: lot of these opens, they there's there's a little town

1045
00:53:41,320 --> 00:53:43,960
Speaker 1: nearby that becomes kind of central to the experience, but

1046
00:53:44,040 --> 00:53:46,960
Speaker 1: there's nothing like Saint Andrew's, which is gothic and beautiful

1047
00:53:47,040 --> 00:53:49,719
Speaker 1: and charming, and you don't even need a car. You

1048
00:53:49,760 --> 00:53:53,520
Speaker 1: can walk to everything. So just I'm still in California,

1049
00:53:53,560 --> 00:53:55,560
Speaker 1: I'm leaving tomorrow morning to get over there, and I'm like,

1050
00:53:55,640 --> 00:53:58,000
Speaker 1: all of a sudden, so incredibly excited to get to

1051
00:53:58,000 --> 00:54:00,040
Speaker 1: Saint Andrew's just thinking about it and talking about it.

1052
00:54:00,040 --> 00:54:07,640
Speaker 1: It's such a unique and special place. I'm giddy. I'm

1053
00:54:07,680 --> 00:54:12,120
Speaker 1: totally and completely giddy about what what's about to transpire

1054
00:54:12,360 --> 00:54:16,560
Speaker 1: visually and sort of socially that you know, like the town.

1055
00:54:16,800 --> 00:54:21,000
Speaker 1: I can't wait to immerse myself in what's about to transpire.

1056
00:54:21,280 --> 00:54:25,959
Speaker 1: I think golf, you know, especially professional golf, has had

1057
00:54:26,000 --> 00:54:29,360
Speaker 1: these ebbs and flows of zaniness over the last couple

1058
00:54:29,320 --> 00:54:33,960
Speaker 1: of weeks and months, and I just think this is

1059
00:54:33,960 --> 00:54:36,080
Speaker 1: going to be such It's going to be a nice

1060
00:54:36,080 --> 00:54:40,880
Speaker 1: little opportunity to not unlike what the US Open was,

1061
00:54:41,440 --> 00:54:46,440
Speaker 1: to get back to what really matters and which is

1062
00:54:46,600 --> 00:54:51,000
Speaker 1: you know, in theory major championships, especially a major championship,

1063
00:54:51,360 --> 00:54:55,160
Speaker 1: the one hundred and fiftieth playing of the Open Championship

1064
00:54:55,640 --> 00:54:59,239
Speaker 1: at the old course, Tiger Woods. Will be there. Phil

1065
00:54:59,280 --> 00:55:05,760
Speaker 1: Mickelson will be there. This band of youngsters and they'll

1066
00:55:05,760 --> 00:55:09,720
Speaker 1: all be there. This is you know, word at at

1067
00:55:09,960 --> 00:55:15,360
Speaker 1: jp McManus program that was whipping around, you know in

1068
00:55:15,400 --> 00:55:19,320
Speaker 1: a way that seems to make it, you know, uh

1069
00:55:19,360 --> 00:55:22,680
Speaker 1: makes sense, but that this will be Tiger's last Open.

1070
00:55:23,200 --> 00:55:27,600
Speaker 1: He's brought a big group of people over. Um, he's

1071
00:55:27,920 --> 00:55:33,239
Speaker 1: not doing well physically, um spiritually. This you know, a

1072
00:55:33,320 --> 00:55:35,359
Speaker 1: couple of sources I talked to, don't be surprised if

1073
00:55:35,360 --> 00:55:39,040
Speaker 1: he's going an early morning Thursday and a late afternoon Friday,

1074
00:55:39,640 --> 00:55:43,000
Speaker 1: and that there could be some sort of not necessarily

1075
00:55:43,040 --> 00:55:46,480
Speaker 1: swilken Bridge wave, but a a a tip of the

1076
00:55:46,560 --> 00:55:49,560
Speaker 1: cap and a you know, I'm done with I'm done

1077
00:55:49,560 --> 00:55:53,279
Speaker 1: with opens um and uh. And because this would be

1078
00:55:53,280 --> 00:55:55,799
Speaker 1: the place where he would do that, that's amazing. Let's

1079
00:55:55,800 --> 00:55:58,120
Speaker 1: say this. We're gonna be doing more fire drills, and

1080
00:55:58,239 --> 00:56:01,720
Speaker 1: we'll do one on one Wednesday when we're all over there,

1081
00:56:02,160 --> 00:56:05,000
Speaker 1: and we'll get into the players and the subplots, and

1082
00:56:05,040 --> 00:56:09,040
Speaker 1: we can talk about Greg Norman getting disinvited from the

1083
00:56:09,040 --> 00:56:13,520
Speaker 1: the honorary festivities and some of the larger storylines. But

1084
00:56:13,640 --> 00:56:15,600
Speaker 1: let's table that, because this has been such a fun,

1085
00:56:15,800 --> 00:56:19,080
Speaker 1: romantic conversation about a place that's clearly special to all

1086
00:56:19,080 --> 00:56:21,839
Speaker 1: of us, that let's let's end on that. Notever, Mike,

1087
00:56:21,880 --> 00:56:24,640
Speaker 1: Michael and Jeff in any party thoughts just about about

1088
00:56:24,640 --> 00:56:28,279
Speaker 1: Saint Andrew's and the old course and the weekend. M Well, yeah,

1089
00:56:28,520 --> 00:56:30,960
Speaker 1: it's just a great tournament, and it's the it's the oldest,

1090
00:56:31,080 --> 00:56:34,520
Speaker 1: it's the original golf tournament at the original golf course.

1091
00:56:34,600 --> 00:56:38,480
Speaker 1: It doesn't get any better than that, I mean special.

1092
00:56:38,520 --> 00:56:41,240
Speaker 1: Hopefully the weather's grit has been a little bit annoying

1093
00:56:41,280 --> 00:56:43,160
Speaker 1: the last I think ten and fifteen there were weather

1094
00:56:43,200 --> 00:56:46,239
Speaker 1: delays and for the wind and um sort of takes

1095
00:56:46,239 --> 00:56:47,759
Speaker 1: a bit of the show and offer. Hopefully the weather

1096
00:56:47,880 --> 00:56:51,360
Speaker 1: is sensible and the good players play well and we

1097
00:56:51,440 --> 00:56:54,640
Speaker 1: get a compelling, interesting tournament. It's some great to watch

1098
00:56:54,640 --> 00:56:57,080
Speaker 1: great players play well around the old course. It's probably

1099
00:57:00,120 --> 00:57:02,600
Speaker 1: detractive golf that you'll say if it gets played properly

1100
00:57:02,600 --> 00:57:05,640
Speaker 1: in sensible conditions. So just look forward to watching it,

1101
00:57:06,080 --> 00:57:12,200
Speaker 1: which I was there. I'm very happy for all the

1102
00:57:12,200 --> 00:57:14,040
Speaker 1: people who are going to have the experience that we've

1103
00:57:14,080 --> 00:57:19,240
Speaker 1: all had, but especially happy for the people who watched this.

1104
00:57:19,640 --> 00:57:22,960
Speaker 1: Oh Ben, I can't believe I'm getting emotional things, but

1105
00:57:23,000 --> 00:57:25,280
Speaker 1: watching this open at Saint Andrew's for the first time,

1106
00:57:25,280 --> 00:57:28,040
Speaker 1: whether there in person, on TV, and to have the

1107
00:57:28,120 --> 00:57:30,440
Speaker 1: chance to fall in love with this game that shaped

1108
00:57:30,480 --> 00:57:32,280
Speaker 1: my life, I gotta hang up. This is crazy. I

1109
00:57:32,360 --> 00:57:36,160
Speaker 1: cannot practically crying, but that's how I feel about it.

1110
00:57:36,560 --> 00:57:39,120
Speaker 1: That's it. This is a Fire Drill Podcast. We're ending

1111
00:57:39,120 --> 00:57:42,320
Speaker 1: it with that thought, thank you all for listening. We'll

1112
00:57:42,360 --> 00:57:46,640
Speaker 1: be doing him every day from Saint Andrew's. Jeff will

1113
00:57:46,680 --> 00:57:48,240
Speaker 1: be a part of it as much as he can.

1114
00:57:48,320 --> 00:57:50,919
Speaker 1: He'll be actually competing at the Reno Tahoe Open, which

1115
00:57:50,960 --> 00:57:53,440
Speaker 1: is awesome, so if we can shang Hi Jeff a

1116
00:57:53,440 --> 00:57:55,880
Speaker 1: couple of times, but Michael and Matt and I will

1117
00:57:55,920 --> 00:57:58,280
Speaker 1: be over there and we'll try and open a few

1118
00:57:58,280 --> 00:58:02,640
Speaker 1: special guests as well. So thanks for listening. As Michael

1119
00:58:03,000 --> 00:58:05,360
Speaker 1: heads to the airport, you know, tears in his eyes

1120
00:58:05,400 --> 00:58:07,040
Speaker 1: and tells you how much this means that this guy's

1121
00:58:07,080 --> 00:58:08,640
Speaker 1: have been doing this for a long time. But there's

1122
00:58:08,640 --> 00:58:11,400
Speaker 1: just something there's something special and romantic about about the

1123
00:58:11,400 --> 00:58:14,640
Speaker 1: Open Championship. So the z Island Ship NUK from Michael Bamberger,

1124
00:58:14,720 --> 00:58:17,920
Speaker 1: Matt Chenella, Jeff Ogilvie. Thank you for listening and we'll

1125
00:58:17,960 --> 00:58:36,280
Speaker 1: be back. We're back at it soon. Put another log

1126
00:58:36,440 --> 00:58:43,440
Speaker 1: on the fire nobody hears. Give the time