WEBVTT - Episode 68: Erik Anders Lang 0:00:00.320 --> 0:00:02.320 The guys from paying They've kind of showed me how 0:00:02.400 --> 0:00:03.840 much the equipment matters. 0:00:04.080 --> 0:00:04.880 I just love that. 0:00:04.840 --> 0:00:05.760 I can hit any shot. 0:00:05.880 --> 0:00:07.440 I kind of want we're gonna be able to tell 0:00:07.480 --> 0:00:09.480 some fun stories about what goes on here to help 0:00:09.520 --> 0:00:10.600 golfers play better golf. 0:00:11.440 --> 0:00:13.960 Hey, everybody, welcome to the Ping proven Grounds podcast. Shane 0:00:14.000 --> 0:00:16.680 Bak and Marty Jersen got Eric anders Lang with us 0:00:16.720 --> 0:00:19.200 and Eric, I was thinking about your journey the last 0:00:19.200 --> 0:00:21.840 couple of days into golf. Did it start with adventures 0:00:21.840 --> 0:00:24.560 in golf? Is that kind of your first step into 0:00:24.600 --> 0:00:26.439 that space, like the media golf world. 0:00:27.560 --> 0:00:31.040 I mean, that's like the that's like the evidence that 0:00:31.160 --> 0:00:33.320 exists in the world. But there's there was a couple 0:00:33.280 --> 0:00:34.080 of years before that. 0:00:34.159 --> 0:00:35.440 Okay, what were you doing before that? 0:00:35.560 --> 0:00:36.360 But you were a part of it? 0:00:36.440 --> 0:00:36.640 Yeah? 0:00:36.720 --> 0:00:38.920 Yeah, what was that at back nine Network? 0:00:39.000 --> 0:00:41.160 Oh? Yeah, that network, babe? 0:00:41.440 --> 0:00:41.920 You remember that? 0:00:42.040 --> 0:00:44.600 Yeah? My fit that was my first step into TV 0:00:44.720 --> 0:00:45.640 was back then. Word. 0:00:45.760 --> 0:00:48.199 I didn't realize that you were that involved early into it. 0:00:48.240 --> 0:00:50.120 I mean, I know you'd had a part in it, 0:00:50.200 --> 0:00:51.920 but what were you doing with that crew? 0:00:52.000 --> 0:00:52.159 Well? 0:00:52.159 --> 0:00:56.480 The only reason I was on Back nine Network, which, 0:00:56.640 --> 0:00:58.960 by the way, I can't believe that was your first 0:00:58.960 --> 0:01:01.560 foray into being camera because you were such a professional. 0:01:01.600 --> 0:01:02.560 Ill appreciate it. 0:01:02.760 --> 0:01:04.319 And I had the best time over there. But that 0:01:04.400 --> 0:01:06.960 was when we were talking about a film that is 0:01:06.959 --> 0:01:10.920 this kind of it's this kind of piece of lore. Right, 0:01:10.959 --> 0:01:13.840 So I was working on this documentary about golf and meditation, 0:01:14.600 --> 0:01:17.760 which has never seen the light of day. It exists, 0:01:19.360 --> 0:01:22.640 it's edited, it's sort of so they have a term 0:01:22.640 --> 0:01:25.600 in Hollywood for a film that gets made but doesn't 0:01:25.600 --> 0:01:30.800 get released, and it's called turnaround. And so basically, you know, 0:01:30.840 --> 0:01:34.560 the film exists, and we've actually had some conversations recently 0:01:34.600 --> 0:01:38.760 with the PGA Tour, whom is a large you know, 0:01:39.440 --> 0:01:42.440 they're entitled to a lot of the rights of the footage. 0:01:42.520 --> 0:01:45.640 So it's a lot of like mid twenty ten's kind 0:01:45.640 --> 0:01:50.640 of archive. But anyway, so that film was about golf 0:01:50.640 --> 0:01:53.000 and meditation, and so we did an experiment where we 0:01:53.720 --> 0:01:57.920 taught golfers of different skill levels to meditate with no 0:01:58.000 --> 0:02:02.000 other swing instruction, to see if meditation alone could improve 0:02:02.120 --> 0:02:05.760 your results in golf. And the answer was unanimous. All 0:02:05.760 --> 0:02:08.160 the fifty golfers who went through the study got better 0:02:08.200 --> 0:02:11.639 at the game. But that then then there's like a 0:02:11.680 --> 0:02:16.639 dovetail within that where I made this trailer to raise 0:02:16.680 --> 0:02:18.880 money for the film on like Kickstarter, and I got 0:02:18.880 --> 0:02:20.639 a phone call from the PGA tour and they were like, hey, 0:02:21.400 --> 0:02:23.520 you need to take this video down or we're gonna 0:02:23.520 --> 0:02:26.400 sue you. Gotcha? And I was like, well, I'm a 0:02:26.520 --> 0:02:30.239 child and I have no assets that you could get. 0:02:30.160 --> 0:02:31.400 You if you want to assume me, you can have 0:02:31.480 --> 0:02:33.680 like my shirts in a couple of kairs. 0:02:33.520 --> 0:02:35.720 Of I was like, my pants don't even fit, so 0:02:35.840 --> 0:02:37.520 taking them away from it was a thrift store guy. 0:02:38.840 --> 0:02:41.040 But then I got another phone call from a gentleman 0:02:41.080 --> 0:02:42.360 from the tour and he said, hey, this is SO 0:02:42.400 --> 0:02:44.440 and so from the PGA tour and I said, look, 0:02:44.480 --> 0:02:47.120 I'm sorry. I don't know what to do. You know, 0:02:47.160 --> 0:02:49.440 I'm in the middle of raising money and I apologize 0:02:49.480 --> 0:02:51.280 and he was like, what are you talking about. We 0:02:51.320 --> 0:02:53.799 want to hire you to be the face of a 0:02:53.840 --> 0:02:56.760 new generation of golfers, right, golfers changing, and we think 0:02:57.520 --> 0:03:00.000 your take on the game as a host could be interested. 0:03:00.200 --> 0:03:02.160 And I was like, oh, yeah, no, thanks, I don't 0:03:02.160 --> 0:03:04.000 want to be a host. And then he was like, well, 0:03:04.000 --> 0:03:05.200 we'll pay you to do whatever you want and I 0:03:05.240 --> 0:03:08.400 was like, never mind, I'll do whatever whatever I have 0:03:08.520 --> 0:03:11.240 to do to receive this job. So that was really 0:03:11.320 --> 0:03:13.040 the beginning. Yeah, and Adventures in Golf was the first 0:03:13.080 --> 0:03:15.240 thing that people saw, But there was a handful of 0:03:15.320 --> 0:03:19.360 years of becoming fascinated by golf, falling in love with golf, 0:03:19.400 --> 0:03:21.359 you know, just watching golf clips, and there wasn't a 0:03:21.400 --> 0:03:23.440 lot out there at that time in twenty ten. 0:03:23.520 --> 0:03:25.240 Well, I mean, the interesting thing I want to ask 0:03:25.280 --> 0:03:27.240 you about you and meditation, because I mean, you were 0:03:27.240 --> 0:03:28.920 always trying different stuff and I'd love to know if 0:03:28.960 --> 0:03:31.000 you've ever tried to, Marty. But you know, the interesting 0:03:31.040 --> 0:03:33.120 about back in my network not to like talk about 0:03:33.120 --> 0:03:36.040 our past, but kind of feels a little ahead of 0:03:36.080 --> 0:03:37.880 its time now that you look back on it. I mean, 0:03:37.920 --> 0:03:39.680 this is twenty fourteen, twenty fifteen. I don't know how 0:03:39.720 --> 0:03:41.760 much you new about it, Marty, but it was a 0:03:41.760 --> 0:03:43.880 group of people that were trying to talk about golf 0:03:43.920 --> 0:03:46.840 in a different way and bring in younger people. And 0:03:46.880 --> 0:03:48.240 some of the videos and some of the even the 0:03:48.680 --> 0:03:50.200 some of the stuff they bought in, like those are 0:03:50.200 --> 0:03:52.320 the range Picker team and like the ones that would 0:03:52.320 --> 0:03:53.640 go out on the swamps and stuff. 0:03:53.680 --> 0:03:53.880 Like that. 0:03:53.920 --> 0:03:56.280 I mean some of that stuff now would would play 0:03:56.400 --> 0:03:57.440 you know well. 0:03:57.240 --> 0:04:00.600 I mean, you know, actually, you're totally right. Back nine 0:04:00.720 --> 0:04:04.480 was sort of this this really great like roll up 0:04:04.520 --> 0:04:07.080 of golf content that right now you see it in 0:04:07.320 --> 0:04:10.800 st Andrey, right, you see it in Roger Steel, right, 0:04:10.880 --> 0:04:13.440 you see it even in Good Good almost like you 0:04:13.480 --> 0:04:15.960 know you're a great player, you were involved. I think 0:04:16.640 --> 0:04:22.000 it's hard to make something grassroots and real, like you 0:04:22.040 --> 0:04:24.600 think about music, right, like Nirvana that was started in 0:04:24.680 --> 0:04:27.159 a garage, that was just pure passion. And when you 0:04:27.200 --> 0:04:29.880 look at all the names I just listed, like individuals 0:04:30.279 --> 0:04:33.800 taking advantage of the ability to you know, create and 0:04:34.240 --> 0:04:36.680 post and host their own content, have their own POV, 0:04:37.040 --> 0:04:39.840 that's hard to do from a corporate standpoint, right, And 0:04:39.880 --> 0:04:42.640 so I think back nine it was totally ahead of 0:04:42.680 --> 0:04:45.880 its time, but it would also be hard to really, 0:04:45.920 --> 0:04:49.760 I think, maintain that sense of authorship, right. And I 0:04:49.760 --> 0:04:54.120 think on some level it was also just too early content. 0:04:54.200 --> 0:04:55.159 What content did you like? 0:04:55.600 --> 0:04:55.840 Eric? 0:04:56.360 --> 0:04:59.560 Just of older content, older storytelling and golf, like even 0:04:59.600 --> 0:05:02.520 before the two thousands, you don't do anything come to 0:05:02.520 --> 0:05:03.520 mind for well. 0:05:03.279 --> 0:05:05.320 I didn't get into golf until two thousand and nine. Ok. 0:05:05.800 --> 0:05:08.559 So I was like, actually not even not into golf. 0:05:08.600 --> 0:05:11.160 I was like anti golf, right, I did not want 0:05:11.200 --> 0:05:13.119 to play golf. I was not interested in the game. 0:05:13.279 --> 0:05:15.560 My brother, ten years older than me, was sort of 0:05:15.600 --> 0:05:18.160 the traditional golfer and I didn't want to. 0:05:18.080 --> 0:05:19.120 Be like him. 0:05:19.160 --> 0:05:22.000 So really not. But when I got into golf, Matt Janella, 0:05:22.880 --> 0:05:28.680 he was kind of this adventurer, storyteller, great writer, great photographer, 0:05:28.960 --> 0:05:33.000 and I remember me one of my good good friends 0:05:33.000 --> 0:05:35.760 from childhood. He and I had gotten into golf separately, 0:05:36.360 --> 0:05:37.880 and I remember we were both talking one day and 0:05:37.920 --> 0:05:41.520 we're like, there's this guy, Matt Janella who goes out 0:05:41.560 --> 0:05:44.799 and just plays these great golf courses and takes photos 0:05:45.080 --> 0:05:47.120 and writes stories about it. And we were both so 0:05:47.240 --> 0:05:50.000 inspired by that. And this was the time where Instagram 0:05:50.160 --> 0:05:52.480 had no video, right yeah, and you couldn't zoom into 0:05:52.480 --> 0:05:53.840 the photos and it was like I don't even know 0:05:53.839 --> 0:05:54.680 if there were carousels. 0:05:54.920 --> 0:05:57.440 Yeah, you only was like one picture, one photo, that 0:05:57.480 --> 0:05:57.760 was it. 0:05:57.839 --> 0:05:59.240 And so like Janella to posts a picture of the 0:05:59.240 --> 0:06:01.160 ghost Tree and he would tell you about the ghost Tree, 0:06:01.279 --> 0:06:05.160 and it was really like a really novel concept of 0:06:05.200 --> 0:06:08.120 like how can I learn more about this game that 0:06:08.240 --> 0:06:14.800 is like truly rich in terms of you know, personality, place, culture, 0:06:14.839 --> 0:06:17.599 all these things. And so Janello was really for me 0:06:17.839 --> 0:06:21.920 like inspirational figure in terms of what's possible. 0:06:22.480 --> 0:06:24.320 I mean, you think about golf now in your journey, 0:06:24.360 --> 0:06:26.080 I mean twenty twenty five and you're doing so many 0:06:26.160 --> 0:06:28.480 different things in terms of what you do around golf, 0:06:28.520 --> 0:06:30.720 Like what is your relationship with it now? I mean 0:06:30.720 --> 0:06:31.400 are you in love? 0:06:31.520 --> 0:06:31.599 Like? 0:06:31.720 --> 0:06:33.360 Is it something that you love? I mean, it's part 0:06:33.360 --> 0:06:35.120 of your business, it's part of who you are. But 0:06:35.600 --> 0:06:37.880 like do you get excited to go out and play still? 0:06:37.920 --> 0:06:39.159 I mean is it something that you want to do 0:06:39.200 --> 0:06:40.039 on a daily basis? 0:06:40.360 --> 0:06:43.720 Yeah, I've gone up and down, as I'm sure you 0:06:43.760 --> 0:06:46.200 guys have as well, right, I mean you spend every 0:06:46.360 --> 0:06:50.440 day kind of thinking about some version of golf, whether 0:06:50.480 --> 0:06:52.480 it's the business of golf or the golf swing or 0:06:52.520 --> 0:06:57.560 the equipment right or the content. But yeah, right now 0:06:57.680 --> 0:07:02.239 I am absolutely in love with golf, and I'm ashamed 0:07:02.240 --> 0:07:04.679 to admit that it's because I watched a thirty second 0:07:05.440 --> 0:07:08.240 swing tip that really just figured everything out for me. 0:07:08.400 --> 0:07:11.520 And now you sound like my uncle right now, my 0:07:11.600 --> 0:07:13.440 uncle's on Instagram like figuring out golf. 0:07:13.480 --> 0:07:15.240 On the thirty second YouTube, it. 0:07:15.640 --> 0:07:18.240 Was it's a video of Rory. I've screen recorded it 0:07:18.240 --> 0:07:20.200 so I don't lose it. And it's a video of 0:07:20.240 --> 0:07:24.360 Rory at night, like after sunset, and there's even bleeps 0:07:24.360 --> 0:07:25.960 in the video, like it's just a cell phone video 0:07:26.000 --> 0:07:30.120 of him talking to maybe his friend about his takeaway 0:07:30.480 --> 0:07:32.600 and how he's trying to keep his arms outside. And 0:07:32.640 --> 0:07:35.320 then the swing really is just one move and so 0:07:35.440 --> 0:07:37.200 and for me, I've got this. 0:07:37.160 --> 0:07:40.080 Problem the chicken for people listening, yeah, yeah, And. 0:07:40.080 --> 0:07:42.440 This is why you never want to emulate Scheffler swing. 0:07:42.640 --> 0:07:44.440 You don't even want to watch him swing. In my opinion, 0:07:45.880 --> 0:07:48.160 him and Norman and everybody just like, don't even get 0:07:48.520 --> 0:07:50.320 so anyway, this is this Rory. Rory's got the best 0:07:50.360 --> 0:07:52.440 swing on tour, I think. So it's so compact, and 0:07:52.480 --> 0:07:55.840 it's so the tempo is so nice, and he moves 0:07:55.880 --> 0:07:57.720 so well through the ball that I just watched that 0:07:57.800 --> 0:08:00.840 video about seventy times, and the last three rounds I've 0:08:00.840 --> 0:08:03.640 played have gotten lower and lower and lower, and as 0:08:03.640 --> 0:08:06.800 a six handicap, I can easily shoot mid eighties and 0:08:06.880 --> 0:08:09.880 right and still kind of be satisfied. But now I 0:08:09.880 --> 0:08:12.040 feel like I'm about to just sort of hit several 0:08:12.120 --> 0:08:13.080 rounds in the seventies. 0:08:13.280 --> 0:08:13.600 Marty. 0:08:13.880 --> 0:08:16.480 Your love of golf, I mean, it's your business, and 0:08:16.520 --> 0:08:18.120 I mean you've created golf clubs and it's been a 0:08:18.160 --> 0:08:21.040 big part of who you are. Does how you play 0:08:21.800 --> 0:08:23.880 kind of coincide with how much you like it at 0:08:23.880 --> 0:08:24.200 the time? 0:08:24.480 --> 0:08:24.680 Oh? 0:08:24.720 --> 0:08:25.680 Absolutely, Yeah. 0:08:25.760 --> 0:08:25.840 No. 0:08:25.960 --> 0:08:29.320 I think if it's like I get, I go in waves, 0:08:29.360 --> 0:08:32.280 just like you Eric, like little highs and lows. Last 0:08:32.320 --> 0:08:34.240 summer I was on a high, like I was into it, 0:08:34.360 --> 0:08:37.920 My kids were into it, My equipment was good. You know, 0:08:37.960 --> 0:08:40.480 I had a good groove on practicing, the scores were 0:08:41.520 --> 0:08:43.800 were showing up with the works. I was getting rewarded. 0:08:44.120 --> 0:08:45.239 I just got that momentum. 0:08:45.320 --> 0:08:45.600 Yeah. 0:08:45.600 --> 0:08:47.520 So yeah, but I've had other times where you got 0:08:47.520 --> 0:08:49.520 a lot of life, a lot going on in life, 0:08:49.559 --> 0:08:51.440 and you just got to let it down. But what 0:08:51.520 --> 0:08:54.240 I love about golf is a game for a lifetime. 0:08:54.440 --> 0:08:54.640 Yeah. 0:08:54.679 --> 0:08:56.560 So it's like it's okay if you have a bad year, 0:08:56.720 --> 0:08:58.760 like you can get it back, just put the effort in. 0:08:59.200 --> 0:09:01.839 I remember focus second twenty two I had that. I 0:09:01.880 --> 0:09:03.559 had a good summer and like you know, qualify for 0:09:03.600 --> 0:09:04.839 the amateur and do all this stuff, and then I 0:09:04.840 --> 0:09:06.920 remember the next year, the first two tournaments I played in, 0:09:07.120 --> 0:09:09.480 I played like a total dog and it's like. 0:09:09.679 --> 0:09:11.160 Is this who I am now? You know, like is 0:09:11.200 --> 0:09:12.640 this the golfer that I am now? And you have 0:09:12.679 --> 0:09:15.800 to remind yourself that it's that's such a micro version 0:09:15.840 --> 0:09:17.319 of who you are as a golfer, and like, look 0:09:17.360 --> 0:09:19.120 at the macro and what you're able to accomplish. I mean, 0:09:19.120 --> 0:09:21.120 you've done so many things, Eric. I want to talk 0:09:21.120 --> 0:09:24.480 about the random golf club because when this popped up, 0:09:24.520 --> 0:09:26.960 I remember it was a novel concept. 0:09:27.000 --> 0:09:28.600 I was very interested in what you were doing with it. 0:09:28.880 --> 0:09:30.640 And then it's you know, you were a guy like 0:09:30.760 --> 0:09:32.559 you've talked about being a country club guy and then 0:09:32.800 --> 0:09:36.280 kind of stepping away from that and wanting to following 0:09:36.360 --> 0:09:39.840 what you're talking about. So when you do these mad 0:09:39.840 --> 0:09:41.400 scrambles and you get all these people out of the 0:09:41.400 --> 0:09:43.040 golf course like Dobson Ranch, I know you've done that 0:09:43.240 --> 0:09:47.000 in Arizona. Like, what's the fulfillment for you at the 0:09:47.080 --> 0:09:47.600 end of the day? 0:09:47.960 --> 0:09:51.400 Oh man, I mean, uh, well, it's interesting to come 0:09:51.400 --> 0:09:54.160 off of the previous question, which is you know my 0:09:54.320 --> 0:09:57.440 golf game right right, and I have this kind of 0:09:57.960 --> 0:10:00.400 it's sort of a weird, weird take, but I actually 0:10:00.440 --> 0:10:03.520 think golf is an inherently selfish game for sure, which 0:10:03.559 --> 0:10:09.960 is okay. But the best example is you're playing mediocre. 0:10:10.000 --> 0:10:11.520 I feel like you guys are probably beyond this in 0:10:11.600 --> 0:10:15.080 terms of a social awareness golf, I Q standpoint. But 0:10:15.920 --> 0:10:18.000 for me, I've experienced this on my own, which is 0:10:18.320 --> 0:10:22.480 I'm playing below what I was expecting, and it's all 0:10:22.559 --> 0:10:24.880 that it's about. Yep, no matter who's around me, no 0:10:24.880 --> 0:10:26.040 matter who I'm playing with, Like. 0:10:26.000 --> 0:10:28.719 You kind of get quiet, you're not talking like yeah, 0:10:28.720 --> 0:10:29.680 and you're not being rude. 0:10:29.760 --> 0:10:31.439 Nope, you're not being like mean to other people. 0:10:31.440 --> 0:10:31.880 I'm sulking. 0:10:31.960 --> 0:10:33.880 Yeah, you're kind of in your own little like bubble. Yeah. 0:10:33.920 --> 0:10:35.640 Yeah. And I'm allowed to salve for sure, because I 0:10:35.640 --> 0:10:37.839 should have made that putt. And there's a story of 0:10:37.840 --> 0:10:39.760 Bill Murray story where he's playing in a prom. These 0:10:39.760 --> 0:10:41.680 guys have paid ten thousand dollars to bee in his 0:10:41.679 --> 0:10:45.560 group and he's on the tenth te box. So he's 0:10:45.559 --> 0:10:49.480 halfway through the round and he says, look, if I 0:10:49.559 --> 0:10:51.960 hit a good drive, I'll be happy in jovial for 0:10:51.960 --> 0:10:53.080 the rest of the round. But if I had a 0:10:53.080 --> 0:10:55.680 bad drive. I'm not talking for the rest of the round, 0:10:56.080 --> 0:10:57.360 and you know, you hit a bad drive and didn't 0:10:57.360 --> 0:11:00.280 say another word. And I mean he's obviously, you know, 0:11:00.400 --> 0:11:03.400 involved in some other type of experience of being a human. 0:11:03.480 --> 0:11:06.400 But yeah, I think I think golf has that inherent 0:11:06.720 --> 0:11:10.840 selfishness too, where it's like my attitude and my ability 0:11:10.880 --> 0:11:12.960 to kind of ask other people about their shots or 0:11:12.960 --> 0:11:16.600 their lives or like what's going on at work, it 0:11:16.600 --> 0:11:19.000 goes away the worst I play, which is sort of 0:11:19.880 --> 0:11:22.600 I believe that maybe the biggest lesson in golf is 0:11:22.600 --> 0:11:27.320 to let my score and my ball striking be secondary 0:11:27.360 --> 0:11:30.560 to my experience. Yep. And so that's one side of it. 0:11:30.640 --> 0:11:33.520 But the other side is your question about random Golf 0:11:33.520 --> 0:11:37.760 Club is you know for me, you know, we host 0:11:37.760 --> 0:11:40.080 these great events. It's one hundred people come out. Everyone 0:11:40.080 --> 0:11:41.760 gets a chance to hang out and play and hit 0:11:42.200 --> 0:11:44.200 and you know, we all are on the same team 0:11:44.240 --> 0:11:47.480 and so we pretty much birdy every hole except for 0:11:47.520 --> 0:11:50.760 the holes we eagle. And you know, it's wild and 0:11:50.800 --> 0:11:54.400 you can be a part of something without even really 0:11:54.480 --> 0:11:58.720 contributing to whatever the score is. But but you're a 0:11:58.760 --> 0:12:02.240 part of this kind of like really like a metaphor 0:12:02.320 --> 0:12:05.120 of like, together we're greater than we are as a 0:12:05.480 --> 0:12:09.839 as an individual and so. And really the crescendo of 0:12:09.880 --> 0:12:11.480 that for me is at the end of those events, 0:12:11.520 --> 0:12:14.760 when people come out and they're nervous and you're hitting 0:12:14.800 --> 0:12:17.040 a ball in front of one hundred people. It's like 0:12:17.160 --> 0:12:21.560 not normal. Most of us out there are you know, 0:12:21.720 --> 0:12:26.240 high single digits, double digits, new to golf. And at 0:12:26.240 --> 0:12:28.920 the end of it all, there's this kind of glow 0:12:29.000 --> 0:12:33.240 where people realize they've found a group of people. 0:12:33.360 --> 0:12:35.520 There's a kinship involved in all the Oh you're doing. 0:12:35.520 --> 0:12:39.040 It totally and and and what's funny is very rarely 0:12:39.160 --> 0:12:41.000 if we were playing golf, three of us were playing 0:12:41.000 --> 0:12:43.960 golf and you topped it, I would laugh. 0:12:46.400 --> 0:12:47.480 I would expect you to laugh. 0:12:48.120 --> 0:12:50.840 And that's because that's something I've learned, right, is that 0:12:50.840 --> 0:12:51.920 that is what should happen. 0:12:52.160 --> 0:12:54.560 Well, I remember, you know, there's different cultures in the 0:12:54.559 --> 0:12:56.880 way we react to golf, and America is probably the 0:12:56.880 --> 0:12:59.320 most serious culture about it. But you know, if you 0:12:59.360 --> 0:13:01.000 go to like Asian countries and you've traveled over the 0:13:01.040 --> 0:13:03.720 world and played golf everywhere, but there is that laughing 0:13:03.760 --> 0:13:05.720 about bad golf clups. That was something when I caddied 0:13:05.720 --> 0:13:08.520 at the old course, you know, out of college, and 0:13:08.559 --> 0:13:11.319 you'd get these groups of players from Korea and you're 0:13:11.360 --> 0:13:12.920 being a bunker leaving in the bunker, and they would 0:13:12.920 --> 0:13:15.680 be laughing at their friend, and the friend wouldn't be 0:13:15.679 --> 0:13:17.800 taking it offensively, right, they would be kind of in 0:13:18.520 --> 0:13:21.439 on the joke. And I just love that approach to 0:13:21.480 --> 0:13:23.640 the game because again, I do feel like the moment 0:13:23.679 --> 0:13:26.800 your buddy starts going south, everybody kind of wants to 0:13:26.800 --> 0:13:28.480 step away from them because you know they're either going 0:13:28.520 --> 0:13:30.240 to blow up or they're struggling, or they're kind of 0:13:30.240 --> 0:13:31.600 going to that place we were talking about earlier. 0:13:31.679 --> 0:13:33.760 And that's and that's the unfortunate thing is because then 0:13:34.040 --> 0:13:37.640 as a spectator or a partner, you're co signing the sulk, right, 0:13:38.080 --> 0:13:40.560 And that's what Random Golf Club really aims to, like, 0:13:41.200 --> 0:13:43.560 you know combat, which is like, oh my god, you 0:13:43.559 --> 0:13:46.200 missed the ball completely, that's amazing. You know, you get 0:13:46.240 --> 0:13:48.719 a whole other shot and nobody cares. 0:13:48.840 --> 0:13:49.280 It's all good. 0:13:49.520 --> 0:13:52.440 That's where did you get inspiration? Where where do your 0:13:52.440 --> 0:13:54.520 ideas come from? You know you see them from in 0:13:54.559 --> 0:13:55.280 other places. 0:13:56.200 --> 0:13:56.679 Well, well, the. 0:13:56.640 --> 0:14:00.920 Random Golf club inspiration was really too experienced. One is 0:14:01.120 --> 0:14:04.120 I was. They happened around the same time. One was 0:14:04.160 --> 0:14:06.280 I was lucky enough to be married to a woman 0:14:06.280 --> 0:14:09.920 who insisted that we joined a private club. I said, fine, 0:14:10.200 --> 0:14:11.680 I couldn't afford it on my own, but but we 0:14:11.760 --> 0:14:13.559 joined and I thought it was great. And after three 0:14:13.600 --> 0:14:15.160 years I realized I didn't need to be a member 0:14:15.200 --> 0:14:17.520 there anymore because I just felt like there were so 0:14:17.600 --> 0:14:19.720 many other types of people that play golf. And I 0:14:19.800 --> 0:14:23.880 really liked the municipal golf courses in LA. They're so rich, 0:14:24.280 --> 0:14:28.040 they're so real, and the golf was fine. Yeah, but 0:14:28.120 --> 0:14:30.480 the golf was very The greens were great, and they 0:14:30.520 --> 0:14:32.920 weren't the problem, right, My problem was the stuff, and 0:14:32.960 --> 0:14:35.040 it's around the greens. And so I drove out of 0:14:35.040 --> 0:14:37.000 the golf course after quitting one day, and I just 0:14:37.040 --> 0:14:38.400 walked in the club and I said, I quit. I 0:14:38.400 --> 0:14:39.640 don't want to be a member anymore, and they were 0:14:39.640 --> 0:14:41.440 like WHOA. I was like, you know, everything's fine, you 0:14:41.440 --> 0:14:44.280 guys are cool. I'm cool. I'm just doing a different thing. 0:14:44.560 --> 0:14:46.080 And on my way out, the door opened and I 0:14:46.120 --> 0:14:47.760 was like, man, they're the gate. You know, there's a 0:14:47.800 --> 0:14:49.960 gate to the parking lot. I guess you can't get it. 0:14:50.040 --> 0:14:53.720 You can't sneak in, which is amazing. And I was 0:14:53.920 --> 0:14:55.200 the gate open and I was like, man, it'd be 0:14:55.200 --> 0:14:57.720 cool there was a club where anyone could play golf 0:14:57.760 --> 0:15:02.800 with anyone else anywhere. And then I sort of chuckled 0:15:02.880 --> 0:15:05.120 as I rolled over the spike strip, you know, and 0:15:05.160 --> 0:15:06.200 I was like, it'd be cool if it was called 0:15:06.240 --> 0:15:09.400 Random Golf Club. So that was kind of the original idea. 0:15:09.480 --> 0:15:12.560 And then right after that, I was in Australia and 0:15:12.600 --> 0:15:14.440 I had gotten a couple dms from some dudes that 0:15:14.480 --> 0:15:16.920 wanted to play golf, and I said yes to everybody, 0:15:17.160 --> 0:15:20.240 and after four days I had somehow accepted eleven invitations 0:15:20.280 --> 0:15:22.320 to play golf, and I realized, I only have two 0:15:22.400 --> 0:15:26.040 days left in this country. Let's all meet at Royal Park, 0:15:26.200 --> 0:15:28.160 which is a little nine hole executive course right in 0:15:28.160 --> 0:15:29.800 the middle of Melbourne. I was like, let's just all 0:15:29.800 --> 0:15:32.160 meet there, and so we get to the clubhouse on 0:15:32.200 --> 0:15:34.440 Friday at five o'clock. I walked into the pro shop 0:15:34.440 --> 0:15:37.440 and I said, Hey, what's your name, Tom, Tom? Look, 0:15:37.640 --> 0:15:40.320 is there any chance the eleven of us could play 0:15:40.720 --> 0:15:43.320 as one group? And he was like, no, ilet's say 0:15:43.320 --> 0:15:46.440 a problem with that, And so first hole little awkward, 0:15:46.600 --> 0:15:48.320 second hole less awkward. By the time we're at the 0:15:48.360 --> 0:15:51.320 ninth hole were old friends. And Tom comes out of 0:15:51.360 --> 0:15:53.920 the pro shop and he says, hey, I got glow balls. 0:15:53.960 --> 0:15:56.400 If you want to keep playing, I'll join you. So 0:15:56.440 --> 0:15:58.160 we play four more holes in the dark. We get 0:15:58.200 --> 0:15:59.840 back to the clubhouse again. Yeah, and now we got 0:15:59.880 --> 0:16:02.160 to twelve and then there were twelve and we get 0:16:02.160 --> 0:16:03.680 back to the press shop and he says, hey, look, 0:16:03.800 --> 0:16:05.480 I'll open up if you guys want to grab some drinks. 0:16:05.480 --> 0:16:07.600 We can hang out here forever, hung out till midnight. 0:16:07.640 --> 0:16:10.160 We all exchange numbers. And that was when I first saw. 0:16:10.560 --> 0:16:12.560 When I left the parking lot at Wilshre Country Club 0:16:12.560 --> 0:16:14.200 in LA, That's when I first saw how a golf 0:16:14.240 --> 0:16:19.000 club can be created in a truly random environment where 0:16:19.520 --> 0:16:22.600 all of us had really one thing in common. And 0:16:23.000 --> 0:16:25.720 that almost seemed richer than being a member of a 0:16:25.760 --> 0:16:28.320 private club where there's a selection committee. You obviously have 0:16:28.360 --> 0:16:31.760 a certain salary, you live in a certain area for 0:16:31.800 --> 0:16:34.200 some reason. You also happen to sell insurance. Whatever it 0:16:34.280 --> 0:16:37.200 is you know, whatever type of club you're at. Random 0:16:37.200 --> 0:16:39.680 golf club really seemed like there was an opportunity to 0:16:39.720 --> 0:16:43.360 just bring together people who really love golf. And the 0:16:43.400 --> 0:16:47.840 difference is that we have actually strengthened what we can 0:16:47.960 --> 0:16:49.280 learn from each other on the golf course. 0:16:49.400 --> 0:16:51.840 Well, you know, you did one of your mad scrambles 0:16:51.840 --> 0:16:53.840 at Doobts and ran. So when I lived in Arizona, 0:16:54.400 --> 0:16:55.800 I played in a money game. And we've talked a 0:16:55.800 --> 0:16:57.800 lot about Friday Adopts and which has kind of gone away, 0:16:57.800 --> 0:16:59.880