WEBVTT - Reporting and Sharing the Hayden Springer Story. 0:00:04.400 --> 0:00:10.680 When she was born, she was not breathing. M We 0:00:10.680 --> 0:00:13.040 were just crying because we felt like pretty much that 0:00:13.119 --> 0:00:16.760 it was over at that point and out of pretty 0:00:16.800 --> 0:00:18.840 much nowhere. She was just laying on my chest and 0:00:18.880 --> 0:00:21.560 I was just rubbing my finger on her chest like this, 0:00:21.680 --> 0:00:25.840 and um, she just kind of went, you know, just 0:00:25.960 --> 0:00:31.760 like this tiny raspy breath. We're told we have you know, 0:00:32.159 --> 0:00:34.640 four to seventy two hours at most, and so Hate 0:00:34.640 --> 0:00:36.520 and I were just staring at her all the time, 0:00:36.640 --> 0:00:39.879 like how much longer are we going to have? You? 0:00:40.200 --> 0:00:41.839 You know, is it going to be an hour? Is 0:00:41.840 --> 0:00:43.159 it going to be through the night? Is it going 0:00:43.240 --> 0:00:47.760 to be two nights? You know, we had no idea 0:00:50.360 --> 0:01:02.640 put another lag. Nobody here is good time. Welcome to 0:01:02.640 --> 0:01:10.120 the fire Pit with Matt Joneller. So, by now, if 0:01:10.120 --> 0:01:13.039 you're listening to this particular podcast, I'm going to assume 0:01:13.040 --> 0:01:15.880 you've either read or watched the Hayden Springer story on 0:01:15.880 --> 0:01:19.920 the fire Pit Collective dot com. If you haven't, I 0:01:20.000 --> 0:01:23.520 strongly suggest you had paused. Now read the story, which 0:01:23.560 --> 0:01:26.720 was written by Ryan French, and then watch the story, 0:01:27.319 --> 0:01:30.360 which was produced by Ben Van Hook, shot by Henry Link, 0:01:30.760 --> 0:01:35.400 and edited by Adam Showen. While you're doing that, I'll 0:01:35.400 --> 0:01:37.520 take a second to thank our partners at link Soul 0:01:38.000 --> 0:01:42.360 who don't just make clothes. They foster and cultivate community golf, 0:01:43.120 --> 0:01:46.520 junior caddies, and a culture that has quickly become the 0:01:46.560 --> 0:01:51.080 answer key for municipalities all over the country. Go to 0:01:51.120 --> 0:01:53.080 link sol dot com and use promo code fire Pit 0:01:55.080 --> 0:01:59.080 off your next purchase. Okay, back to the back story 0:01:59.200 --> 0:02:03.280 of the hay and Springer story. As you all probably 0:02:03.280 --> 0:02:05.880 know by now, the fire Pit Collective's first hire was 0:02:05.960 --> 0:02:10.080 Ryan French, whose personal story was also a recent podcast. 0:02:11.280 --> 0:02:13.520 In just a few weeks of working with Ryan, I 0:02:13.560 --> 0:02:17.799 guess I'm stunned and yet not surprised at his relentless 0:02:17.840 --> 0:02:22.400 delivery of compelling observations on aspiring tour pros. And when 0:02:22.440 --> 0:02:25.040 he sent in his first draft of the Hayden Springer story, 0:02:25.120 --> 0:02:27.840 I couldn't believe what I was reading. And it's not 0:02:27.960 --> 0:02:31.519 just that Sage Springer took that first breath and then 0:02:31.840 --> 0:02:36.720 so many more, or that while Sage is surviving, Hayden 0:02:37.080 --> 0:02:41.080 was qualifying for the US Open, or that Emma lives 0:02:41.120 --> 0:02:44.520 and works as a nurse all day every day to 0:02:44.639 --> 0:02:48.919 make both the surviving and qualifying possible, and it's even 0:02:49.000 --> 0:02:51.840 deeper than they do it all with such ease and 0:02:51.919 --> 0:02:54.760 selfless grace. For me, it's also about the fact that 0:02:54.800 --> 0:02:58.919 I'm a parent, that our son had complications at birth, 0:02:59.000 --> 0:03:01.160 and if it wasn't for staff at the Winni Palmer 0:03:01.240 --> 0:03:05.399 Hospital in Orlando, he wouldn't be alive today. So it's 0:03:05.400 --> 0:03:08.440 all of that, which is why when watching the story 0:03:08.520 --> 0:03:11.160 produced by Ben van Hook, my wife and I sobbed. 0:03:12.639 --> 0:03:15.880 But it was an oddly good cry, and I'm happy 0:03:15.960 --> 0:03:19.560 for them cry. As Ryan French said to me, you 0:03:19.639 --> 0:03:22.720 think it's supposed to be a sad story, but it's not, 0:03:24.240 --> 0:03:27.200 And I think that's the true miracle here. It's that 0:03:27.320 --> 0:03:34.360 they're all refusing sadness, that Sage is denying death, and 0:03:34.440 --> 0:03:37.000 that with Dad on the bag and the whole family 0:03:37.080 --> 0:03:39.520 in the crowd this week, Haydn could win the whole 0:03:39.600 --> 0:03:43.320 damn thing. So with that, I recently spoke to Ryan 0:03:43.400 --> 0:03:47.400 and Ben together about how they reported their stories and 0:03:47.440 --> 0:03:50.320 as that they share their perspective on why this story 0:03:50.440 --> 0:03:54.480 matters to them. I start with Ryan French on how 0:03:54.520 --> 0:03:57.520 he became aware of what Hayden Springer was going through 0:04:00.000 --> 0:04:03.240 follower sent me a message and and I think it's 0:04:03.280 --> 0:04:07.760 just a very delicate story, and stories like this, I 0:04:07.920 --> 0:04:11.400 want to make sure I have the player's input, and 0:04:11.440 --> 0:04:14.440 I put in uh, you know, I put it in 0:04:14.480 --> 0:04:17.720 their words what they want out there. Um. And so 0:04:17.880 --> 0:04:19.520 I talked to Haydon after I had heard from a 0:04:19.560 --> 0:04:22.440 story and had heard the story from a follower who 0:04:22.520 --> 0:04:24.880 was a family friend. He's like, you know, we're not 0:04:25.080 --> 0:04:28.200 We're not quite ready there. That was right when Sage 0:04:28.279 --> 0:04:31.120 was being born, and I think even before she was born, 0:04:31.120 --> 0:04:35.560 I'm not sure. And then Emma has become kind of 0:04:35.600 --> 0:04:38.719 an advocate of of babies with trying send me eighteen 0:04:38.760 --> 0:04:41.320 has been outspoken about their life, and so I talked 0:04:41.360 --> 0:04:43.800 to him again he wanted to share, but again it's 0:04:43.839 --> 0:04:47.120 just a serious, heavy story that I wanted to do 0:04:47.240 --> 0:04:50.880 justice too. And then um, yeah, we were in Las 0:04:51.000 --> 0:04:56.000 Vegas and I saw him outside the clubhouse and um, 0:04:56.040 --> 0:04:59.719 he had just Monday qualified, which is again amazing, and 0:05:00.040 --> 0:05:03.520 him and I had message you know, multiple times leading 0:05:03.600 --> 0:05:06.600 up to that, and we just set outside the clubhouse 0:05:06.640 --> 0:05:09.120 and talked for ten or fifteen minutes about what his 0:05:09.200 --> 0:05:12.880 life is in his story and and how amazing I 0:05:12.920 --> 0:05:16.200 thought it wasn't I tell it if you wanted to 0:05:16.240 --> 0:05:20.240 tell it? And so, um, well he agreed, and I 0:05:20.279 --> 0:05:23.320 talked to Emma after that, and um, you know, I've 0:05:23.360 --> 0:05:26.400 been connected with Hayden and Ema since then. It's just 0:05:27.560 --> 0:05:34.760 it's it. It's the heaviest but best story, uh that 0:05:34.839 --> 0:05:36.920 I want to you know, back to what Ben said, 0:05:37.000 --> 0:05:39.960 this does not feel sorry for it. It's an appreciation 0:05:40.560 --> 0:05:45.080 for what Emma does and what Hayden does on the 0:05:45.120 --> 0:05:48.520 golf course. The first version of the story was written 0:05:48.680 --> 0:05:53.160 before Springer had qualified for the US Open. It was 0:05:53.560 --> 0:05:57.000 Gary in the fire pit queue and then by way 0:05:57.040 --> 0:05:59.760 of the US Open qualifier at the Dallas Athletic Club, 0:06:00.200 --> 0:06:05.160 by one shot, Springer was bound for Tory Pines. So 0:06:05.200 --> 0:06:09.039 now what do we run the story right away? I 0:06:09.080 --> 0:06:11.520 know Ryan and I were inclined to go that route. 0:06:11.800 --> 0:06:14.800 Seemed to make sense. Just qualified for the US Open, 0:06:15.839 --> 0:06:22.200 Ryan has written this crazy, amazing, inspirational, emotional feature. I said, 0:06:22.800 --> 0:06:26.200 I think you update it and let's hits end. But 0:06:26.279 --> 0:06:29.360 we opted to wait for Shipnock. To Chaiman, Alan suggested 0:06:29.720 --> 0:06:32.640 that we wait all the way through and essentially build 0:06:32.680 --> 0:06:36.360 our US Open coverage around the Springer story. His point 0:06:36.400 --> 0:06:38.440 was that even if someone else would write or produce 0:06:38.520 --> 0:06:41.040 a version of the story, that no one would have 0:06:41.120 --> 0:06:44.120 the story Ryan was telling and Alan was right. We 0:06:44.240 --> 0:06:47.599 all opted to wait. But while waiting, why not tell 0:06:47.640 --> 0:06:50.440 it visually as well? Which is what I called Ben 0:06:50.520 --> 0:06:53.400 van Hook, an Orlando based photographer who I used to 0:06:53.440 --> 0:06:56.880 work with at both Sports Illustrated and Golf Digest. Van 0:06:56.920 --> 0:06:59.839 Hook had made the transition into producing and shooting videos 0:07:00.000 --> 0:07:02.479 a variety of clients, and although we used to play 0:07:02.520 --> 0:07:05.520 Winner Park nine together, we hadn't really worked together in 0:07:05.560 --> 0:07:08.080 eight years. I sent him the story and asked if 0:07:08.080 --> 0:07:10.000 he and his team would be interested in a quick 0:07:10.000 --> 0:07:14.840 tripped Dallas. They were obviously in. We were shocked when 0:07:14.840 --> 0:07:19.680 we went there and and met them because like, you know, 0:07:19.760 --> 0:07:23.040 I read I read the story and you know, super 0:07:23.080 --> 0:07:25.920 touched by that. And then I had a FaceTime call 0:07:26.040 --> 0:07:29.320 with them, and you know, her personality is just like 0:07:30.400 --> 0:07:33.800 you know, it's just so explosive, and it's like she's 0:07:33.800 --> 0:07:36.960 got this this aura about her, this personality, and I 0:07:37.040 --> 0:07:39.400 was like, oh, this is great. You know, she's really 0:07:39.480 --> 0:07:43.920 outgoing and it's very articulate, and it's very convicted, and 0:07:43.920 --> 0:07:46.600 and then um, and then when we got there and 0:07:46.640 --> 0:07:49.760 we met them, it was just like, I mean, it 0:07:49.840 --> 0:07:54.960 was really overwhelming emotionally because they the family has got 0:07:55.040 --> 0:07:59.240 this giant heart, you know, everybody in the family does, 0:07:59.320 --> 0:08:02.160 and it's like, you know, a group effort to try 0:08:02.200 --> 0:08:05.640 to make this machine work and um and then they 0:08:05.680 --> 0:08:08.760 were just so open and you know, they really want 0:08:08.800 --> 0:08:12.320 to tell their story for especially for other people going 0:08:12.360 --> 0:08:15.040 through the similar kinds of things that they're doing, and 0:08:15.080 --> 0:08:19.440 it's just very h very touching, you know, to to 0:08:19.440 --> 0:08:22.360 to be there and to like witness it firsthand. I 0:08:22.400 --> 0:08:25.760 told Matt Um when when we were interviewing Emma, like 0:08:26.120 --> 0:08:28.360 the whole crew was crying, like we were all like 0:08:28.880 --> 0:08:33.559 in tears because it was so touching. You know. Ryan 0:08:33.600 --> 0:08:36.160 French and his wife, who's a nurse, also had a 0:08:36.160 --> 0:08:39.240 serious health scare with their son Jack, which made Ryan 0:08:39.320 --> 0:08:41.960 even more empathetic to what the Springers were going through. 0:08:42.559 --> 0:08:45.000 I haven't they haven't gone through exactly that, but I 0:08:45.040 --> 0:08:50.640 think when you have a child could potentially, you know, 0:08:50.840 --> 0:08:55.880 die from something, and in our case a surgery. Like 0:08:56.000 --> 0:08:58.680 you WRT to stories like this more, you you can 0:08:59.040 --> 0:09:02.520 you can feel what are feeling. You can you you 0:09:02.600 --> 0:09:08.320 know what that meeting with dr means you know what 0:09:08.320 --> 0:09:11.920 what you don't know what tomorrow is? Uh, you know. 0:09:12.120 --> 0:09:15.760 I think that's why I'm happy to tell this story 0:09:15.800 --> 0:09:18.319 because yeah, I can relate to it on on some 0:09:18.320 --> 0:09:20.959 some way. When Jack was in the hospital and and 0:09:21.120 --> 0:09:24.960 gone through all this and was vomiting every night, I 0:09:25.040 --> 0:09:27.800 could hardly function. I was running a group of restaurants 0:09:27.880 --> 0:09:31.840 right like, I wasn't at my best and this guy 0:09:31.920 --> 0:09:34.240 is doing I mean I can relate on that end 0:09:35.160 --> 0:09:37.520 a's like I don't. It just gives me such an 0:09:37.520 --> 0:09:40.960 appreciation for the level of Golfe's playing because you know, 0:09:41.080 --> 0:09:43.079 we weren't sleeping, weren't doing those things, and that is 0:09:43.120 --> 0:09:46.160 in a short term, not close to what these folks 0:09:46.160 --> 0:09:49.480 are going through. And you know I wasn't at my 0:09:49.520 --> 0:09:52.320 best or even close to my best. So it just 0:09:52.480 --> 0:09:57.080 again just gives another level of appreciation for the golf 0:09:57.120 --> 0:10:00.920 that he in the family structure, it lets him play 0:10:01.520 --> 0:10:04.040 like that. We didn't have a long time to get 0:10:04.160 --> 0:10:07.080 Ben to sync up with the Springers and their schedule 0:10:07.160 --> 0:10:10.240 as they braced for whatever the US Open week would entail, 0:10:11.040 --> 0:10:14.240 but they agreed to let us in their home. And 0:10:14.280 --> 0:10:17.680 then the fear was what was the exact situation Ben 0:10:17.679 --> 0:10:21.719 would be going into. The baby had survived the necessary 0:10:21.760 --> 0:10:25.200 heart surgery at four months old, it was gaining weight 0:10:25.280 --> 0:10:28.559 and strength, but it's still incredibly vulnerable to something like 0:10:28.800 --> 0:10:32.240 the common cold, and it's definitely safe to say every 0:10:32.320 --> 0:10:37.480 day four stage is literally a miracle. Originally, you know, 0:10:38.000 --> 0:10:40.520 my thought as a filmmaker was like, Okay, this is 0:10:40.520 --> 0:10:47.240 gonna be very fast cutting um chaotic situation, you know, 0:10:47.280 --> 0:10:50.480 with you know, she works nights as a nurse, he's 0:10:50.520 --> 0:10:54.280 gone all the time. The family, they're living with his parents. 0:10:54.559 --> 0:10:57.760 That's the house he grew up man, which is like unbelievable. 0:10:57.840 --> 0:11:00.240 You know, they're living there because they don't have the 0:11:00.360 --> 0:11:02.600 choice right now. They need this help this family out. 0:11:02.880 --> 0:11:05.559 And when she talks about the family and the friends 0:11:05.600 --> 0:11:07.640 that have really stepped up to help, that's when she 0:11:07.640 --> 0:11:11.400 gets the most emotional about about the story, and um, 0:11:12.040 --> 0:11:14.600 it just it shows how like close it is to 0:11:14.679 --> 0:11:17.880 her heart that all these people have rallied around them 0:11:17.880 --> 0:11:21.280 to help help them, and um, and that was very 0:11:21.320 --> 0:11:26.400 touching and but but but in my mind I was like, Okay, 0:11:26.440 --> 0:11:30.320 this is gonna be like like total chaos, because you know, 0:11:30.360 --> 0:11:34.120 it's like there's no you know, there's no schedule. Really, 0:11:34.320 --> 0:11:37.720 the baby needs twenty four hour, seven day a week care, 0:11:38.000 --> 0:11:40.320 I mean really in reality. And that's the reason that 0:11:40.360 --> 0:11:43.520 you see them drag their mattress into the bedroom of 0:11:43.559 --> 0:11:45.960 the baby and they sleep there when they're both home, 0:11:46.440 --> 0:11:48.960 because it's a queen sized bed and the baby won't 0:11:48.960 --> 0:11:50.280 fit in the bed with them, so they need to 0:11:50.280 --> 0:11:52.120 be in the room with the baby all night. So 0:11:52.160 --> 0:11:55.760 you can imagine that going on for eight months, and 0:11:55.840 --> 0:11:58.200 the lack of sleep and all that. So in my mind, 0:11:58.200 --> 0:12:01.840 I was thinking, Okay, it's gonna be very chaotic, but 0:12:02.200 --> 0:12:05.120 in essence, when I got there, it was. It was 0:12:05.200 --> 0:12:08.760 so elegant the way that they were living their lives. 0:12:08.800 --> 0:12:12.080 And like I think because it's just driven by this 0:12:12.679 --> 0:12:17.440 deep love that they have for Sage and and and 0:12:17.480 --> 0:12:20.640 it's reflected in like everything that they do, like how 0:12:20.679 --> 0:12:23.760 they care for her, how they treat each other. You know, 0:12:23.880 --> 0:12:27.080 it's like you can see that in the daily life, 0:12:27.080 --> 0:12:29.320 how they all pitch in. I mean, there was never 0:12:29.360 --> 0:12:35.840 a you know, a stern moment or you know, everybody's tired, 0:12:36.320 --> 0:12:40.559 so everybody's in the same boat. And but they but 0:12:40.679 --> 0:12:43.319 they really make it work. I mean, it's I mean, 0:12:43.360 --> 0:12:47.720 it's like you said, it's like the superhuman feet that's 0:12:47.760 --> 0:12:51.480 going on with this family right now, because it's you know, 0:12:51.679 --> 0:12:53.240 I mean, I don't I don't know if I could 0:12:53.240 --> 0:12:56.280 do it, but they're they're certainly doing it. And I'm like, 0:12:56.440 --> 0:12:58.560 I'm old enough to be their father. I mean, these 0:12:58.600 --> 0:13:03.000 people are young, you know, years old of either they're 0:13:03.040 --> 0:13:06.800 just getting started. It's like, it's incredible. I asked Ryan 0:13:06.840 --> 0:13:10.400 about marveling at the totality of this story when I 0:13:10.400 --> 0:13:13.400 wrote the article. Man, it made me really think, because 0:13:13.559 --> 0:13:15.920 I mean, this is part of a lot of players stories, 0:13:16.000 --> 0:13:19.760 is that that you know, they have to they have 0:13:19.880 --> 0:13:22.800 to make a check to get to the next check, 0:13:22.840 --> 0:13:27.880 to to grind and travel and all those kind of things. Um, 0:13:27.880 --> 0:13:30.319 you know, it made me reflect on two things, and 0:13:30.480 --> 0:13:34.320 of of Hayden's stories. One is that you know that 0:13:34.559 --> 0:13:38.600 pro golf on this level is such a family sport, 0:13:39.120 --> 0:13:44.680 right Uh. I mean, Emma is more important or important 0:13:45.080 --> 0:13:49.439 to be a part of Hayden's uh playing career as 0:13:49.520 --> 0:13:52.320 anything that he can go and leave that at home. 0:13:52.400 --> 0:13:54.880 He's talked about it that she's a hero and you 0:13:54.920 --> 0:13:59.160 know he can go and that. But I mean, Hayden 0:13:59.280 --> 0:14:02.160 is a very accomplished golfer. I mean, he was an 0:14:02.200 --> 0:14:05.480 All American at at TCU. He beat Victor Hoveland at 0:14:05.480 --> 0:14:08.640 the at the Big Twelfth Championship. He's in the top 0:14:08.679 --> 0:14:11.040 twenty of the All Pro Tour, which is a very 0:14:11.880 --> 0:14:18.000 uh good developmental tour, mini tour. Uh. He's Monday qualified twice. 0:14:18.080 --> 0:14:20.280 He just lost in a playoff the week before, and 0:14:20.320 --> 0:14:23.080 now he's gotten through to the U s Open. I 0:14:23.080 --> 0:14:27.640 am really but I'm astonished by the level of play 0:14:27.800 --> 0:14:30.800 of anyone that can get to the US Open. It 0:14:30.920 --> 0:14:34.320 is the next level. And Hayden is outside of his 0:14:34.440 --> 0:14:37.480 home life, Hayden is in that group of people that 0:14:38.560 --> 0:14:41.880 you're I mean, he's a very decorated players also, man, 0:14:41.920 --> 0:14:44.760 as you know, there's plenty of All Americans who have 0:14:44.880 --> 0:14:47.760 the resume that that Hayden has, that never played the 0:14:47.880 --> 0:14:50.640 US Open and never have the accomplishment but that he's 0:14:50.680 --> 0:14:55.120 had in his young career. And to think about he's 0:14:55.160 --> 0:14:59.480 playing against players who are single, who have gym memberships, 0:14:59.480 --> 0:15:02.920 who don't who sleep perfectly every night, who wear a 0:15:02.920 --> 0:15:07.800 whoop band and talk about recovery, and uh. To to 0:15:07.960 --> 0:15:12.240 think that he's competing at above a lot of players 0:15:13.680 --> 0:15:18.040 when he's has the odds stacked against you. I mean 0:15:18.280 --> 0:15:20.240 I was talking about that with my wife this morning, 0:15:20.240 --> 0:15:24.760 Like the odds are stacked against every player out there. Uh. 0:15:24.800 --> 0:15:26.600 I mean that's just the fact of the manners. Like 0:15:26.800 --> 0:15:30.320 there's gonna be roughly five new people on the PGA 0:15:30.400 --> 0:15:34.520 Tour this year next year one of twenty five of 0:15:34.680 --> 0:15:39.480 thousands chasing it. And those are people that there's there's 0:15:39.520 --> 0:15:42.360 players out there who have money, who have personal trainers 0:15:42.400 --> 0:15:44.360 and all that kind of stuff. And to think that 0:15:44.400 --> 0:15:46.080 he has to come home at three in the morning 0:15:46.960 --> 0:15:49.880 there and care about it and and do those things, 0:15:49.920 --> 0:15:54.560 just it's astonishing his level of play. Van hook on 0:15:54.720 --> 0:15:57.440 how and why Hayden Springer is capable of the hyper 0:15:57.440 --> 0:16:00.640 focus on golf in the midst of such extreme and 0:16:00.760 --> 0:16:04.520 heart wrenching distraction. But we don't touch on in the 0:16:04.560 --> 0:16:09.680 film is that that his father was in the Navy 0:16:09.760 --> 0:16:14.280 and he was an F fourteen UH pilot in uh 0:16:14.320 --> 0:16:16.720 in combat. I mean he you know, he the guy 0:16:16.800 --> 0:16:19.360 landed on aircraft carriers at night. You know, it's like 0:16:19.640 --> 0:16:24.280 really top level intense stuff. And he's, uh, you know, 0:16:24.280 --> 0:16:27.800 his dad's a farm boy from Tennessee, and you grew 0:16:27.880 --> 0:16:29.720 up on a dirt road, he told me. And all 0:16:29.720 --> 0:16:32.720 of a sudden, he finds himself, you know, in the Navy, 0:16:32.800 --> 0:16:34.800 and they and they even you know, he gets in 0:16:34.880 --> 0:16:37.080 aviation and they teach him how to fly these jets. 0:16:37.520 --> 0:16:40.240 So the one thing he said that they really drilled 0:16:40.280 --> 0:16:44.600 into them in the military was this idea of compartmentalization 0:16:44.720 --> 0:16:47.200 and whatever problems that you have in your life and 0:16:47.240 --> 0:16:49.680 you have at home, you leave that behind when you 0:16:49.720 --> 0:16:52.120 get in the cockpit of a jet like that, and 0:16:52.240 --> 0:16:55.440 you have one mission and one purpose and that's what 0:16:55.480 --> 0:17:00.840 you do. So it's super focused attention. And he said 0:17:00.880 --> 0:17:04.720 that he um tried to instill that in Hayden growing 0:17:04.800 --> 0:17:07.040 up from a little boy. And I thought that was 0:17:07.080 --> 0:17:12.880 fascinating because that's exactly what's you know, that's what's happening 0:17:12.920 --> 0:17:16.760 now because he has to have that. And I asked 0:17:16.800 --> 0:17:19.159 Hayden about it, because you know, I mean over my 0:17:19.280 --> 0:17:21.480 career and I've worked with you at a bunch of 0:17:21.520 --> 0:17:26.480 different publications, Matt that I photographed, you know, almost everybody 0:17:26.480 --> 0:17:30.879 who's anybody in professional golf, and and I'm fascinated with 0:17:31.200 --> 0:17:33.879 how mental of a game it is, you know, on 0:17:34.000 --> 0:17:36.600 any given day, any of these guys could win. I mean, 0:17:37.119 --> 0:17:40.800 you have to be so sharp and tough mentally to 0:17:41.000 --> 0:17:45.959 win at that level. And so they I think they 0:17:46.000 --> 0:17:48.880 all have some degree of this, But Hayden is like, 0:17:48.920 --> 0:17:51.440 you know he I think that's the way he grew 0:17:51.480 --> 0:17:53.560 up because of his dad, and I think that's the 0:17:53.680 --> 0:17:57.080 reason that he's performing at this level right now. Is 0:17:57.160 --> 0:18:00.320 Dad say, you know, it's he's even amazed that he's 0:18:00.320 --> 0:18:02.840 playing the best golf of his life in the middle 0:18:02.920 --> 0:18:06.880 of this storm of you know, emotion and everything that's 0:18:06.920 --> 0:18:09.200 going on at home. And and then you know, when 0:18:09.200 --> 0:18:12.199 you see it, it's like you just can't you know, 0:18:12.280 --> 0:18:15.600 you can't believe somebody could operate at that level. Do 0:18:15.640 --> 0:18:20.080 you have high hopes for Hayden Springer the golfer? Yeah, 0:18:20.240 --> 0:18:23.120 I mean I think of what he's gone through and 0:18:23.160 --> 0:18:25.880 to accomplish the things he's done. I mean, but let's 0:18:25.920 --> 0:18:28.160 just take his family out of it. I mean, he's 0:18:28.200 --> 0:18:31.400 a very accomplished golfer. He's Monday qualified, which is, as 0:18:31.400 --> 0:18:34.359 we know, difficult to do. He's got to the US Open, 0:18:34.600 --> 0:18:38.920 he's top twenty. I mean, he's beaten Victor Houghland in college. Uh. Yeah, 0:18:39.080 --> 0:18:42.840 he can be out there of course, as the people 0:18:42.840 --> 0:18:45.720 who have filed the account now that it's really hard 0:18:45.760 --> 0:18:49.560 to do, and now adding what he has to deal 0:18:49.640 --> 0:18:51.119 with and his family have to deal with on a 0:18:51.240 --> 0:18:54.399 on a daily basis. But if someone came to me 0:18:54.440 --> 0:18:57.200 and said, hey, name you know the top ten players 0:18:57.440 --> 0:19:01.120 that don't have status right now that you think are 0:19:01.200 --> 0:19:06.119 going to make it, Hayden would be in there. Um. 0:19:06.200 --> 0:19:10.080 So all of this shows how amazingly gifted the golf 0:19:10.119 --> 0:19:13.159 course because he has the odds stacked against him. So 0:19:13.640 --> 0:19:17.080 if he makes the cut at the US Open, there's 0:19:17.080 --> 0:19:19.040 gonna be a whole, a whole bunch of people cheering 0:19:19.040 --> 0:19:22.200 for him, having just been with him. I asked Ben 0:19:22.240 --> 0:19:25.160 what he knew about the specifics of the Springers US 0:19:25.200 --> 0:19:28.560 Open week. You know, his dad has caddied for him 0:19:28.600 --> 0:19:31.120 more than anybody, and I think he was in one 0:19:31.160 --> 0:19:35.320 PGA Tour event and he actually hired a caddy and 0:19:35.359 --> 0:19:37.320 it wasn't a great experience for him. I think he 0:19:37.720 --> 0:19:40.080 was like, you know what, why do I need? You know, 0:19:40.240 --> 0:19:44.199 my dad knows my game better than anybody. Um, you know, 0:19:44.320 --> 0:19:47.320 even though neither one of them been Torrey Pines, his 0:19:47.400 --> 0:19:49.520 dad's gonna be caddying for him. At the US Open 0:19:50.000 --> 0:19:52.280 and and his dad had the conversation with him and said, look, 0:19:52.520 --> 0:19:54.800 this is business. You know. If you want to hire 0:19:54.840 --> 0:19:58.120 somebody or you want somebody that's that's you know, that's 0:19:58.160 --> 0:20:00.920 been there before, that knows the lay out, that knows 0:20:01.040 --> 0:20:03.560 you know, the yard. He said, I won't be offended 0:20:03.600 --> 0:20:06.080 at all. Take it. Don't make a decision right now, 0:20:06.119 --> 0:20:08.159 take a day and talk about you know, think about it. 0:20:08.760 --> 0:20:11.280 And he uh, he came back the next day and said, 0:20:11.440 --> 0:20:13.359 you don't want you. I want you on the bag. 0:20:13.480 --> 0:20:17.639 So that uh, that's one thing to his family affair. 0:20:17.960 --> 0:20:22.280 And then before we left Dallas, um and just in 0:20:22.400 --> 0:20:24.600 casual conversation it didn't even come up in the film, 0:20:24.640 --> 0:20:28.960 but casual conversation, Emma said to me that depending on 0:20:30.440 --> 0:20:34.720 stages um prognosis for I think she had a little 0:20:34.760 --> 0:20:37.840 bit of a low oxygen level the baby did, and 0:20:37.920 --> 0:20:39.760 so she's gonna go back to the doctor I think 0:20:39.800 --> 0:20:42.959 on Monday maybe and and get checked out. And if 0:20:43.000 --> 0:20:46.040 everything checks out and they give her the green flag 0:20:46.080 --> 0:20:50.680 to travel, well, Uh. Emma and Sage already have tickets 0:20:51.040 --> 0:20:53.600 to fly to San Diego to be there with him 0:20:53.640 --> 0:20:56.280 and watch him. And she said, I know that It's 0:20:56.400 --> 0:20:58.399 like a lot of people would look at it and 0:20:58.440 --> 0:21:01.000 say like, oh, you've got this, you know this baby 0:21:01.240 --> 0:21:03.800 that special needs and it's really hard to travel and 0:21:03.800 --> 0:21:06.520 you probably shouldn't travel with them. And her attitude is like, 0:21:06.600 --> 0:21:09.200 this is the reason that they gave her this chance 0:21:09.240 --> 0:21:11.879 at life, because they want her to live her life. 0:21:12.320 --> 0:21:15.520 And part of that is being there to see her 0:21:15.560 --> 0:21:17.840 dad play in the U S Open. So I mean 0:21:17.920 --> 0:21:22.520 that's like, that's like pretty amazing that you know, you know, 0:21:23.000 --> 0:21:26.800 fingers crossed, you know she's gonna be there, and I 0:21:26.840 --> 0:21:30.679 mean that's you know, part of the amazing story is 0:21:30.720 --> 0:21:34.560 like to watch him, you know, compete the first two 0:21:34.640 --> 0:21:37.639 days trying to make the cut. Ryan. I mean, you know, 0:21:39.240 --> 0:21:43.560 if if if you're not rooting for Hayden Springer, for 0:21:43.800 --> 0:21:48.400 Sage Springer, if you're not in awe of Emma Springer 0:21:49.320 --> 0:21:54.560 and all that's happening, that inner circle and that force 0:21:55.400 --> 0:22:01.040 that's bound for Tory Pines, if you're not in that camp, uh, 0:22:01.200 --> 0:22:05.119 you're no friend of mine. Yeah. I mean, you know, 0:22:05.320 --> 0:22:08.440 I always I think that golf is a family, a 0:22:08.600 --> 0:22:12.720 fair mat but there's nothing, there's no story that I 0:22:12.760 --> 0:22:17.520 know about there that's that's likeness and uh, and it's 0:22:17.560 --> 0:22:20.719 a true family affair. And I mean I forgot that 0:22:20.760 --> 0:22:24.199 it's Father's Day coming up Sunday with his dad on 0:22:24.240 --> 0:22:27.119 the bag. I mean it is if he's able to 0:22:27.160 --> 0:22:32.040 make the cut, I'm not sure they're They're definitely shouldn't 0:22:32.080 --> 0:22:35.199 be a dry eye as they walk up eighteen. I 0:22:35.240 --> 0:22:39.600 can't thank you enough for doing what you did to 0:22:40.600 --> 0:22:43.320 write the story, and it moved all of us immediately, 0:22:43.640 --> 0:22:48.240 you know when we first read it, and then obviously 0:22:48.320 --> 0:22:52.160 passing the baton to Ben and teen to go do 0:22:52.280 --> 0:22:56.639 their version of the story. Um, this is yeah. I 0:22:58.119 --> 0:23:02.399 sent Hayden and hay and then um and my text 0:23:02.400 --> 0:23:06.359 to Night, you know, and I said, thanks for trusting 0:23:06.520 --> 0:23:11.600 us to tell your story. Uh, you know, it's uh 0:23:13.840 --> 0:23:17.679 a story that needs to be told, and I'm happy 0:23:17.680 --> 0:23:24.120 they trusted us to do it. Mhm. Did she respond back, Yeah, 0:23:24.680 --> 0:23:27.280 but uh, yeah, thank you. We can't we can't wait 0:23:27.320 --> 0:23:33.200 to see it so um and then I've been lucky 0:23:33.280 --> 0:23:36.119 enough to tell a lot of all stories, but nothing 0:23:36.160 --> 0:23:39.480 has been left before. What do you think when you 0:23:39.520 --> 0:23:44.919 saw Ben's story? Yeah, I mean my wife and I 0:23:45.560 --> 0:23:49.000 uh yeah, I sent it to my wife and we 0:23:49.119 --> 0:23:55.440 grad together it brings up but at the beginning, you know, um, 0:23:55.640 --> 0:24:01.000 never want to face your own child's mortality. Uh, I 0:24:01.119 --> 0:24:05.760 just appreciate what's I go through with. It's just powerful, 0:24:06.440 --> 0:24:11.800