WEBVTT - A Monterey Golf Guide 0:00:00.120 --> 0:00:02.880 I miss a green, for example, I'm already upset. When 0:00:02.880 --> 0:00:05.000 I find my ball in the bunker, I'm really upset. 0:00:05.080 --> 0:00:06.400 And when I find my ball. 0:00:06.200 --> 0:00:09.000 In a brid egg Frida egg the dread and Frida Egg, 0:00:09.080 --> 0:00:11.920 Frida Egg, fridagg Frida egg, bride egg. 0:00:11.800 --> 0:00:13.760 Lie, I'm about ready to run off the golf. 0:00:34.479 --> 0:00:37.479 Welcome back to the Frida Egg Podcast. I'm Garrett Morrison. 0:00:37.800 --> 0:00:42.000 Today we're talking about golf in the Monterey, California area, 0:00:42.360 --> 0:00:45.200 where I lived for five years, and here to discuss 0:00:45.240 --> 0:00:47.920 that with me is Brendan Porath. Brendan, how you do? 0:00:48.400 --> 0:00:50.440 I'm great, Garrett, Thanks so much for having me excited 0:00:50.479 --> 0:00:51.400 to talk about this today. 0:00:51.720 --> 0:00:54.920 So the reason we're focusing on Monterey today is that 0:00:55.120 --> 0:00:58.600 this week the US Women's Open will be held at 0:00:58.600 --> 0:01:01.560 Pebble Beach for the first time. So we can start 0:01:01.560 --> 0:01:04.160 off just by talking about US Women's Open a little bit. 0:01:04.680 --> 0:01:08.760 Talk about Pebble Beach. You know, as this tournament is approaching, 0:01:09.200 --> 0:01:11.440 what are you looking out for? What storylines are you 0:01:11.520 --> 0:01:13.319 tracking going into the week? 0:01:14.160 --> 0:01:16.880 I think a prominent story and an obvious one is 0:01:16.920 --> 0:01:19.200 the venue, right, and you know we tend to focus 0:01:19.240 --> 0:01:22.800 that on that regardless at the Frida Egg and we're entering, 0:01:23.080 --> 0:01:26.759 or have entered, been, in this era of I think 0:01:27.040 --> 0:01:31.840 venues taking on an increased emphasis in prominence, certainly from 0:01:31.880 --> 0:01:35.920 the outside consumer, but also from the governing bodies and 0:01:35.959 --> 0:01:38.560 the organizations. And I think when I talk venue, I'm 0:01:38.600 --> 0:01:41.760 talking about the golf course itself. I'm not necessarily talking 0:01:41.800 --> 0:01:45.039 about infrastructure. I'd say the Ryder Cup remains kind of 0:01:45.040 --> 0:01:48.920 the lone wolf there where the primary concern is commerce 0:01:49.080 --> 0:01:51.720 and what can be achieved on the grounds. But the 0:01:51.800 --> 0:01:57.800 venue push has certainly morphed into the women's game, or 0:01:57.840 --> 0:02:00.600 transitioned over into the women's game. It's been a primary 0:02:01.240 --> 0:02:06.160 area of emphasis, with the PGA, the LPGA a little 0:02:06.200 --> 0:02:09.200 bit less so. But but the other bodies out, you know, 0:02:09.240 --> 0:02:13.680 the USGA being the primary one. And there's some cognitive dissonance. 0:02:13.720 --> 0:02:16.240 Why has this not happened? But you're you're happy to 0:02:16.240 --> 0:02:19.120 be there, You're excited about women's golf going to Pebble Beach, 0:02:19.600 --> 0:02:23.160 and I think it's it's, you know, something to celebrate, 0:02:23.160 --> 0:02:27.960 while also understanding it's twenty twenty three and the women 0:02:28.680 --> 0:02:32.520 should have been playing in the cathedrals of American golf. 0:02:32.600 --> 0:02:35.320 They should have been It shouldn't have taken until now. 0:02:36.200 --> 0:02:39.880 There's been some you know, championships here, but not a 0:02:39.880 --> 0:02:42.520 major like this, right, and not a modern era major. 0:02:43.120 --> 0:02:46.040 And I think it elevates the women's game in a 0:02:46.040 --> 0:02:49.960 way that it should have been before. But happy that 0:02:50.040 --> 0:02:53.720 it's doing so now. I saw you this is just 0:02:53.760 --> 0:02:56.840 a random aside. I saw there was someone was sharing 0:02:56.880 --> 0:03:00.480 Ted Williams's Hall of Fame induction speech on Twitter and 0:03:00.680 --> 0:03:03.560 I hadn't really seen it. I'd read it before, and 0:03:03.600 --> 0:03:06.200 he used it as a moment, kind of an amazing 0:03:06.280 --> 0:03:10.760 moment to advocate for Negro League's players, being like, this 0:03:10.800 --> 0:03:13.560 isn't a true Hall of Fame, this isn't like Satchel Page, 0:03:13.600 --> 0:03:15.800 like they never had an opportunity to play against me. 0:03:16.520 --> 0:03:19.760 Of course, women's golf is a separate league and a 0:03:19.760 --> 0:03:22.240 different sport, and I'm not suggesting, you know, they should 0:03:22.240 --> 0:03:27.160 be playing against the men, but it is the game 0:03:27.200 --> 0:03:30.880 of golf, and they should have had access to these 0:03:30.960 --> 0:03:33.280 kind of cathedrals. And we've seen it a little bit 0:03:33.320 --> 0:03:36.880 with Anwan now. But that's what I'm most excited about 0:03:37.320 --> 0:03:42.400 this championship, this sport being elevated and having this access 0:03:42.440 --> 0:03:43.480 in this stage. 0:03:43.480 --> 0:03:46.720 Absolutely and So there are two things that you know, 0:03:46.760 --> 0:03:49.240 you sort of keep present at all times. One is 0:03:49.280 --> 0:03:52.720 that we're happy that the US Women's Open is going 0:03:52.720 --> 0:03:55.960 to Pebble Beach. That's a great thing and it's a 0:03:56.120 --> 0:03:59.240 moment in history that needs to be recognized. At the 0:03:59.280 --> 0:04:01.680 same time, we also can feel a little bit of 0:04:01.720 --> 0:04:05.880 regret that for a long time, the US Women's Open 0:04:06.000 --> 0:04:10.800 did not go to worthy venues every year, and that 0:04:11.160 --> 0:04:14.480 history needs to be remembered as well. You know, this 0:04:14.600 --> 0:04:17.279 adjustment should have been made a long time ago, but 0:04:17.400 --> 0:04:20.440 it is good that it's being made now. So, Yeah, 0:04:20.600 --> 0:04:24.359 gonna be really cool to see Pebble Beach this coming 0:04:24.400 --> 0:04:26.760 week with a different set of players. Are so used 0:04:26.760 --> 0:04:29.520 to seeing the men play it. I'm very curious to 0:04:29.560 --> 0:04:33.360 see how it goes for the women. Are there any 0:04:33.400 --> 0:04:36.640 holes in particular for you that you're excited to see 0:04:37.040 --> 0:04:41.760 the women grapple with as opposed to how we've gotten 0:04:41.839 --> 0:04:43.760 used to seeing the men play this course? 0:04:44.520 --> 0:04:48.000 I think you know, six, obviously for me, is just 0:04:48.440 --> 0:04:51.920 the stunner hole, right, There's many stunners for me. I'm 0:04:51.920 --> 0:04:55.080 not kind of covering new ground here with suggesting six 0:04:55.160 --> 0:04:57.880 is a good golf hole, but I'm curious to see 0:04:58.440 --> 0:05:00.839 how they set it up, how the women, how you 0:05:00.880 --> 0:05:02.760 know where the tea box is, how they play it. 0:05:03.880 --> 0:05:07.040 I'd say for the men, it's largely, you know, smash 0:05:07.080 --> 0:05:10.880 it up the left, regardless of whether it's you know, 0:05:11.000 --> 0:05:13.960 fairway or not, and then you launch one to the 0:05:13.960 --> 0:05:17.719 front of the green right and runs on. I'm just curious, like, 0:05:17.880 --> 0:05:21.680 is that second shot a real sort of blind I mean, 0:05:21.839 --> 0:05:24.520 it's obviously a blind shot, but but what is how 0:05:24.560 --> 0:05:27.000 will that play? How far back will it play? Is 0:05:27.040 --> 0:05:30.839 it a real three shot hole, you know? Or is 0:05:30.880 --> 0:05:34.640 it that the second shot getting home a real heroic shot? 0:05:34.760 --> 0:05:34.960 Right? 0:05:35.160 --> 0:05:37.880 To get there it's already a tough blind shot, but 0:05:38.040 --> 0:05:40.240 to get it there is it? Is it an extra 0:05:40.600 --> 0:05:44.839 bit of heroism that that maybe was intended? So I'm 0:05:44.839 --> 0:05:49.320 certainly excited about six. And then I'm curious generally, like 0:05:49.440 --> 0:05:51.480 where the tea boxes are positioned. You know, we've seen 0:05:51.480 --> 0:05:54.320 the PGA Tour dabble with that t at nine right 0:05:54.440 --> 0:05:57.320 that that's kind of to the right of eight, Like 0:05:57.680 --> 0:06:00.600 where do they experiment with this? So I my time 0:06:00.640 --> 0:06:02.960 to you, though you are intimately familiar with the venue. 0:06:03.000 --> 0:06:06.000 I've been there, I've seen championships there, But for me, 0:06:06.400 --> 0:06:09.359 some of these part fives and six being prominent is 0:06:09.400 --> 0:06:10.640 what I'm looking at. 0:06:10.960 --> 0:06:13.840 Yeah, I mean, I suppose I am familiar with it 0:06:13.920 --> 0:06:16.760 at this point. But the funny thing is is that 0:06:17.360 --> 0:06:22.440 when I lived very close to Pebble Beach Golf Links, right, 0:06:22.600 --> 0:06:25.240 I wasn't all that familiar with it because I didn't 0:06:25.440 --> 0:06:28.080 spend that much time out there. I went to still 0:06:28.120 --> 0:06:31.839 Water Cove on picnics with my family, using the coastal 0:06:31.839 --> 0:06:34.400 access that they provide out there pretty frequently. So I 0:06:34.440 --> 0:06:37.960 saw a lot of holes four and five and seventeen, 0:06:38.000 --> 0:06:40.839 which are kind of the holes that you see when 0:06:40.880 --> 0:06:43.640 you go out to Stillwater Cove and use that sort 0:06:43.680 --> 0:06:47.760 of public portion or public access portion of the property. 0:06:48.240 --> 0:06:50.400 But I didn't, I mean, I didn't play Pebble Beach 0:06:50.440 --> 0:06:53.360 a whole lot. When I lived in Pebble Beach, I 0:06:53.400 --> 0:06:55.800 was living on the campus of Stevenson School, which is 0:06:55.839 --> 0:06:58.400 a boarding school where I used to teach. I lived 0:06:58.400 --> 0:07:01.080 in a house on campus with my family, and so 0:07:01.120 --> 0:07:03.479 we were right next to Spyglass Hill, right next to 0:07:03.520 --> 0:07:06.239 Poppy Hills, right next to Pebble Beach. But the place 0:07:06.279 --> 0:07:09.680 that I played was Poppy Hills. So but since then, 0:07:10.400 --> 0:07:13.240 you know, as a number of the golf media, I've 0:07:13.280 --> 0:07:16.720 gotten the privilege of playing the course a few times 0:07:17.000 --> 0:07:21.640 and that has been really exciting. And you know, there's 0:07:21.640 --> 0:07:23.640 a lot of critiques to be made of Pebble Beach, 0:07:23.760 --> 0:07:26.440 but you have to remember that at the base of it, 0:07:27.040 --> 0:07:32.960 this is an extremely stunning, remarkable golf course. One set 0:07:33.000 --> 0:07:37.200 of holes or one hole really that I'm excited to 0:07:37.200 --> 0:07:40.239 see the women play. And it's a set of holes 0:07:40.280 --> 0:07:42.000 in the sense that there are other holes at Pebble 0:07:42.040 --> 0:07:45.840 Beach that functions sort of like this, But focus in 0:07:45.920 --> 0:07:49.680 on the tenth hole, which is supposed to be a 0:07:49.920 --> 0:07:54.400 long brute of a par four right along the coast. 0:07:54.960 --> 0:07:58.560 The big challenge of the hole is not just that 0:07:59.000 --> 0:08:02.080 cliff and then Carmel Beach below it. You know, that's 0:08:02.160 --> 0:08:06.240 the the hazard that everybody focuses on. Your eye goes 0:08:06.240 --> 0:08:09.720 straight there when you're standing on that tee. But I 0:08:09.760 --> 0:08:12.400 think the real challenge of the hole is the left 0:08:12.440 --> 0:08:16.560 to right tilt of the fairway. That tilt is so 0:08:17.080 --> 0:08:21.600 significant there. That slope is a lot more severe than 0:08:21.720 --> 0:08:24.400 it looks on TV. On TV, it looks kind of flat, 0:08:24.960 --> 0:08:28.240 but when you're there, it's a very high left side 0:08:28.240 --> 0:08:31.680 to a very low right side. It's a little bit 0:08:31.720 --> 0:08:36.200 flatter the closer you get to the coastline. And that's 0:08:36.200 --> 0:08:38.880 a principle that you see throughout Pebble Beach. That's the 0:08:38.920 --> 0:08:42.280 same case on nine, it's the same case on six. 0:08:42.960 --> 0:08:47.280 So on ten you have that massive tilt right, and 0:08:47.360 --> 0:08:49.560 the more you play away from the coast off the tee, 0:08:50.080 --> 0:08:53.199 the more you have to grapple with that slope on 0:08:53.240 --> 0:08:55.839 your approach. The ball is going to be below your 0:08:55.880 --> 0:08:59.079 feet as a right hander, or well above your feet 0:08:59.160 --> 0:09:01.600 as a left hander, which is going to promote a 0:09:01.640 --> 0:09:05.600 ballflight that takes your ball to the right, which is 0:09:05.679 --> 0:09:08.960 toward the coast, and so everything is going to be 0:09:09.000 --> 0:09:13.199 pushing you that direction, especially if you play away from 0:09:13.240 --> 0:09:15.640 the cliffs off the tee. If you go a little 0:09:15.640 --> 0:09:18.680 bit nearer to them, then you'll have somewhat more level 0:09:18.760 --> 0:09:22.319 of a lie, and you'll also have a safer angle 0:09:22.400 --> 0:09:27.360 into the green which does open up from the coastline stretch. 0:09:28.160 --> 0:09:30.560 And so that's how the hole is supposed to function. 0:09:31.160 --> 0:09:35.560 Now for the men, ten has become a much shorter hole. 0:09:36.080 --> 0:09:38.160 That hole is just you know, it's not what it's 0:09:38.160 --> 0:09:40.200 supposed to be that should be like a driver three 0:09:40.200 --> 0:09:43.400 wood hole. And so I'm curious to see what it 0:09:43.440 --> 0:09:46.760 becomes for the US Women's Open, what teas they use, 0:09:47.400 --> 0:09:52.760 and what that hole is like for the distance that 0:09:52.800 --> 0:09:55.840 the women hit the ball, and whether the strategies of 0:09:55.880 --> 0:09:58.280 it having to do with the slope and the angles 0:09:58.720 --> 0:10:00.800 become more relevant for them. Uh. 0:10:00.840 --> 0:10:04.040 An interesting aspect to that for a championship like this too. 0:10:04.880 --> 0:10:07.200 And Jeff Ogilvie I think has mentioned this to Andy 0:10:08.240 --> 0:10:12.319 or somewhere in a podcast starting on ten split teas. 0:10:12.520 --> 0:10:15.079 I mean, this is is pretty dramatic difference. It is 0:10:15.160 --> 0:10:18.560 certainly a pebble beach, with the one and two being 0:10:18.880 --> 0:10:19.640 fairly gentle. 0:10:19.760 --> 0:10:22.720 Obviously, it's something that tour would do. The Patrick read right. 0:10:23.000 --> 0:10:25.920 Right right, Yeah, I mean you get that, you know, 0:10:26.240 --> 0:10:29.120 you get that first tea time, early morning tea, you 0:10:29.200 --> 0:10:33.000 go early at off ten and it's kind of a 0:10:33.120 --> 0:10:35.280 it's a real way to wake up, right, It's a 0:10:35.280 --> 0:10:37.280 real real way to kind of slap you in the 0:10:37.280 --> 0:10:39.760 face compared to going off one. Right, and you have 0:10:39.840 --> 0:10:42.880 some tough cold holes. Fourteen can kind of you know, 0:10:42.960 --> 0:10:47.880 punch you, and you know one through four aren't the hardest, right, 0:10:47.960 --> 0:10:50.560 It's a pretty dramatic difference, and so that I know 0:10:50.640 --> 0:10:52.480 Ogilvy has talked about that, it can be a pretty 0:10:52.480 --> 0:10:56.040 significant impact depending on what time you catch your off 0:10:56.120 --> 0:10:57.560 ten tea time. 0:10:57.760 --> 0:11:02.920 So yeah, so you know that brutality of the tenth hole. 0:11:03.520 --> 0:11:06.360 I'm excited to see whether that comes back. And I 0:11:06.400 --> 0:11:09.160 don't mean that in a sadistic way. I'm just saying 0:11:09.360 --> 0:11:12.160 that's what the hole should be. It hasn't been that 0:11:12.320 --> 0:11:16.640 for a long time for fields in men's golf, and 0:11:16.679 --> 0:11:19.160 so I'm just curious to see if it comes back 0:11:19.200 --> 0:11:21.839 in that way. The same case for thirteen. A lot 0:11:21.920 --> 0:11:25.040 of a lot of similar dynamics are relevant there. And 0:11:25.080 --> 0:11:28.880 then eighteen. You know, like you were discussing with six, 0:11:30.160 --> 0:11:33.440 what is eighteen? Is it reachable at all? Is in 0:11:33.440 --> 0:11:37.040 an automatic three shot hole? Are the women going to 0:11:37.040 --> 0:11:41.760 be trying to play kind of close to the little 0:11:41.760 --> 0:11:44.400 cliffs there or are they going to shy away from 0:11:44.400 --> 0:11:49.520 it and take the long route around. I really would 0:11:49.600 --> 0:11:53.120 like to see the position of those balls in the fairway, 0:11:53.160 --> 0:11:56.360 and I hope that the telecast shows us some of that. 0:11:56.520 --> 0:12:00.319 But relying on things from the telecast, especially when it 0:12:00.360 --> 0:12:03.720 comes to women's majors, has become a little bit difficult, right. 0:12:04.040 --> 0:12:06.760 Sure does a tree come in to play there more 0:12:06.800 --> 0:12:10.120 prominently than it has obviously for the men. You know, 0:12:10.200 --> 0:12:12.920 Andy and I made a note often of Chez Rev 0:12:13.120 --> 0:12:14.880 playing that hole. I think it was like he hit 0:12:14.920 --> 0:12:17.680 at the exact same distance in twenty nineteen. It was 0:12:17.760 --> 0:12:22.560 like two seventeen or something deliberate sort of I don't know, 0:12:22.640 --> 0:12:25.760 hybrid of some sort. I'm not sure. But what how 0:12:25.800 --> 0:12:27.360 do they play that? How do they set it up? 0:12:27.480 --> 0:12:32.160 I think six eighteen. Certainly, it's just great to see 0:12:32.160 --> 0:12:35.720 a place that we are so familiar with play perhaps 0:12:36.520 --> 0:12:39.319 a little differently, and hoping the USGA and the telecast 0:12:39.520 --> 0:12:41.199 bring that out, bring that aspect. 0:12:41.640 --> 0:12:45.800 Now, speaking of the USGA bringing it out, I have 0:12:45.840 --> 0:12:48.280 to mention some of the mowing lines that we saw 0:12:48.600 --> 0:12:52.160 at the media day for the US Women's Open. You know, 0:12:52.200 --> 0:12:56.280 it's pretty typical stuff for championships at Pebble Beach. We're 0:12:56.320 --> 0:13:00.000 familiar with the shrinking of the fairways that happens between 0:13:00.480 --> 0:13:03.200 the pro am and a US Open at Pebble Beach, 0:13:03.400 --> 0:13:06.800 Like this is not unprecedented. I had a little bit 0:13:06.800 --> 0:13:10.080 of hope that they wouldn't do the same thing for 0:13:10.320 --> 0:13:14.080 this field, that it wouldn't be as necessary in their 0:13:14.160 --> 0:13:18.120 minds to narrow the fairways because the length of pebble 0:13:18.160 --> 0:13:22.320 Beach is still a great defense, I think for the 0:13:22.480 --> 0:13:25.680 US women's Open field in a way that it's really 0:13:25.720 --> 0:13:29.840 not for a men's field. But when we went to 0:13:29.880 --> 0:13:32.920 the media day, we saw some mowing lines that, in 0:13:32.960 --> 0:13:36.320 my opinion, are just in the wrong place, and I 0:13:36.400 --> 0:13:40.000 understood why they did it, but I was still a 0:13:40.000 --> 0:13:43.800 little bit sad and stricken about it. They've brought in 0:13:44.200 --> 0:13:47.920 the mowing line from the left on number four. The 0:13:48.000 --> 0:13:51.880 left on that hole is the bailout away from the ocean, 0:13:51.920 --> 0:13:55.600 So they're essentially forcing players to play toward the coast 0:13:55.640 --> 0:13:59.600 on that hole. And fine, you know, you can do that. 0:14:00.679 --> 0:14:05.040 Maybe people will like seeing the players not get to 0:14:05.080 --> 0:14:08.079 bail away from the coast. But the way that hole 0:14:08.200 --> 0:14:11.040 works is that it should be an option that you 0:14:11.160 --> 0:14:15.080 play near the ocean right. That should be a choice 0:14:15.080 --> 0:14:18.640 that you make, a risk that you've decided to take, 0:14:19.280 --> 0:14:22.520 because if you go out to the left, that angle 0:14:22.800 --> 0:14:25.560 on your next shot into the fourth green is terrible, 0:14:26.240 --> 0:14:30.120 Like it's such a hard short iron or wedge from 0:14:30.160 --> 0:14:34.160 over there, it's really really difficult and so that's the 0:14:34.240 --> 0:14:36.560 punishment for going out to the left. But now that 0:14:36.600 --> 0:14:41.000 punishment has been doubled by the rough, and nobody would 0:14:41.160 --> 0:14:44.320 miss there intentionally, and so the choice has been taken away. 0:14:44.520 --> 0:14:47.000 It's not meaningful to play near the cliffs on that 0:14:47.040 --> 0:14:50.440 hole because everybody needs to and so that's my objection 0:14:50.520 --> 0:14:55.000 to that mowing line on four. They've also, maybe more tragically, 0:14:55.920 --> 0:14:59.160 brought in the mowing line on six from the right. 0:15:00.120 --> 0:15:04.480 The right side of six is the cliffs. Yes, so 0:15:04.520 --> 0:15:06.560 if you play near the cliffs, if you take the 0:15:06.680 --> 0:15:10.320 risk of playing near the ocean on the sixth hole 0:15:10.840 --> 0:15:13.240 in this tournament, then you're going to be in the rough, 0:15:13.920 --> 0:15:16.800 which is just backwards. You should be able to play 0:15:16.840 --> 0:15:20.760 out there for the reward of a more level lie, 0:15:21.360 --> 0:15:23.160 because if you play up to the left, the ball 0:15:23.200 --> 0:15:25.560 is going to be below your feet for a right 0:15:25.560 --> 0:15:27.440 hand or above your feet for a left hander, and 0:15:27.520 --> 0:15:30.080 it's just going to be trickier to try to reach 0:15:30.120 --> 0:15:33.680 that green in two. Now I get why for a 0:15:33.800 --> 0:15:36.920 men's field they might narrow that fair way and say, 0:15:37.480 --> 0:15:40.440 you know, nobody's going to be playing near the coastline anyway, 0:15:40.840 --> 0:15:43.320 we want them to have that challenging shot with the 0:15:43.480 --> 0:15:46.800 unleveled lie and see if they can execute it. They're 0:15:46.840 --> 0:15:49.080 probably going to be hitting an iron, and so we 0:15:49.200 --> 0:15:52.760 need to provide that extra challenge for them. But I 0:15:52.760 --> 0:15:54.840 don't think it's going to be irons for most of 0:15:54.880 --> 0:15:57.480 the women's field. I think it's going to be some 0:15:57.560 --> 0:16:01.360 headcovers coming off. And I would have loved to have 0:16:01.440 --> 0:16:04.680 seen them get to play near the coast, take that 0:16:04.800 --> 0:16:07.800 risk so that they have a better lie and a 0:16:07.800 --> 0:16:11.160 better chance of pulling out that four wood, that three 0:16:11.200 --> 0:16:15.400 wood and going after the green from near the cliffs. 0:16:15.800 --> 0:16:18.840 It would be it's it's such a great shot, like 0:16:18.920 --> 0:16:23.000 it's such such a great hole, and that that that 0:16:23.080 --> 0:16:26.480 new fairway line. It just sort of it. This might 0:16:26.520 --> 0:16:29.280 sound a little melodramatic, but it really it breaks my heart. 0:16:29.640 --> 0:16:32.160 What did they bring it in? Are we talking about? 0:16:32.240 --> 0:16:35.360 You know, fifteen twenty yards of rough now on the 0:16:35.440 --> 0:16:39.600 on the coastline there. That's right Tiger's shot in two thousand, 0:16:39.720 --> 0:16:42.760 right that the famous, not infamous, but famous shot was 0:16:42.840 --> 0:16:45.840 that was that was buried in rough? No where you 0:16:45.960 --> 0:16:47.520 kind of muscle is one up. 0:16:48.280 --> 0:16:50.760 To it might have been, Yeah, I mean he was 0:16:50.800 --> 0:16:52.920 definitely hitting out a rough there. That may have been 0:16:52.960 --> 0:16:55.960 the mowing line at the that might be the state. 0:16:56.080 --> 0:16:57.800 That may have been the mowing line at at that 0:16:57.960 --> 0:17:00.680 US Open. I'm not exactly sure. I'd don't think it 0:17:00.720 --> 0:17:04.119 was the mowing line at the twenty nineteen US Open. 0:17:04.160 --> 0:17:06.359 I believe that fairway was all the way out to 0:17:06.400 --> 0:17:08.560 the cliffs. Now, somebody can fact check me on that. 0:17:09.040 --> 0:17:12.040 I'll check it outter this podcast, because yeah, I could 0:17:12.040 --> 0:17:14.399 go back to the shot link. But pretty sure that 0:17:14.520 --> 0:17:18.000 was a new fangled thing as far as recent history 0:17:18.040 --> 0:17:20.800 is concerned at Pebble Beach, because we did talk to 0:17:20.960 --> 0:17:24.040 a couple of people who may have been involved in 0:17:24.480 --> 0:17:28.480 that decision, and they described it as as something that is, 0:17:29.160 --> 0:17:33.280 you know, fresh for this championship, we're forcing players to 0:17:33.320 --> 0:17:35.920 take on the bunkers on the left and go up there, 0:17:36.320 --> 0:17:38.600 and again it's just taking away that choice. 0:17:39.160 --> 0:17:41.280 Well, it's similar to what you just described about what 0:17:41.320 --> 0:17:44.520 you're excited for with ten right. I mean, there's an 0:17:44.520 --> 0:17:46.480 option there to play a flatter and. 0:17:46.960 --> 0:17:48.760 Can you imagine if they brought in that mowing line 0:17:48.760 --> 0:17:50.000 for I mean, they may have brought it in a 0:17:50.000 --> 0:17:51.879 little bit from the left so that there's less of 0:17:51.920 --> 0:17:53.800 a bail out over there. I'm not exactly sure on 0:17:53.840 --> 0:17:55.400 that one, but if they had brought that in from 0:17:55.440 --> 0:17:57.639 the right, on that little peninsula that's out there on 0:17:57.680 --> 0:17:59.920 the fairway, that would have been really tragic. 0:18:00.200 --> 0:18:03.480 Right right. I Just like with the best players in 0:18:03.520 --> 0:18:07.080 the world, we want to see them wrangle with variables 0:18:07.160 --> 0:18:09.919 that quite honestly, the rest of us don't. Like the 0:18:10.000 --> 0:18:12.399 rest of us just more often than not, hit it 0:18:12.440 --> 0:18:16.119 and try to successfully move the ball forward. We don't have. 0:18:16.240 --> 0:18:19.160 We rarely have the ability to execute the strategy we want, 0:18:19.200 --> 0:18:22.160 like playing to a flatter part or having to hit 0:18:22.200 --> 0:18:24.480 off an uneven lie. Like, we want to see them 0:18:24.720 --> 0:18:27.280 have to wrangle with those variables and make the choice 0:18:27.359 --> 0:18:31.760 between executing a strategy or executing an you know, a 0:18:31.800 --> 0:18:34.240 shot off and uneven lied. What's the choice there? And 0:18:34.320 --> 0:18:35.760 so I think we want to see that from the 0:18:35.760 --> 0:18:37.720 best in the world. And it's a little unfortunate to 0:18:37.760 --> 0:18:40.520 hear maybe that some of that is being taken away 0:18:40.760 --> 0:18:45.199 in favor of I don't know, brutality or score keeping, 0:18:45.240 --> 0:18:46.440 score protecting. 0:18:46.320 --> 0:18:50.879 And we often hear from people who focus on data 0:18:50.960 --> 0:18:55.600 driven course management that angles as we're discussing them here 0:18:56.040 --> 0:19:03.920 aren't really relevant for elite pro players. Given their dispersion cones, 0:19:04.520 --> 0:19:08.399 they can't reliably aim at a particular spot and hit it, 0:19:08.960 --> 0:19:13.400 and so that affects the way that you should approach 0:19:13.560 --> 0:19:17.440 a golf course in terms of hunting angles. Now, when 0:19:17.440 --> 0:19:20.560 it comes to the players in the US Women's Open field, 0:19:21.240 --> 0:19:24.760 you know, what they can do is hit really accurate shots. 0:19:25.760 --> 0:19:28.840 They can be really precise. If they have a wide fairway, 0:19:29.480 --> 0:19:33.520 they can choose not necessarily a particular spot, but at 0:19:33.600 --> 0:19:37.600 least like a section of that fairway that is more 0:19:37.680 --> 0:19:41.439 aggressive or more conservative than another. And I think that 0:19:41.480 --> 0:19:44.760 if we gave this field wider fairways that they would 0:19:44.800 --> 0:19:46.879 get to make those choices a little bit and it 0:19:46.880 --> 0:19:49.639 would be interesting to watch. Now, on the other hand, 0:19:49.720 --> 0:19:53.200 there's an argument that, you know, narrow fairways for extremely 0:19:53.240 --> 0:19:56.119 accurate players, they can still work with those, And I 0:19:56.119 --> 0:19:58.720 think they'll still be able to work with a lot 0:19:58.760 --> 0:20:00.840 of the playing fields out it Pebble Beach. I think 0:20:00.840 --> 0:20:03.840 it'll be fine. It won't be something that's maybe even 0:20:03.880 --> 0:20:08.080 super noticeable to non nerd golf fans, but just had 0:20:08.119 --> 0:20:10.159 to note that it did. Yeah, it did make me 0:20:10.200 --> 0:20:12.360 a little sad to see some of those changes. 0:20:12.840 --> 0:20:15.560 Before we move off completely on four and six, and 0:20:15.600 --> 0:20:19.120 some of the mowing lines. Obviously those dispersion cones are 0:20:19.200 --> 0:20:21.200 a little tighter, as you mentioned for the women, that 0:20:21.240 --> 0:20:24.000 there's a little more accuracy there. On four. Do you 0:20:24.000 --> 0:20:26.600 think they set that up as drivable as it is 0:20:26.680 --> 0:20:29.480 for the men or maybe they did. Maybe they didn't 0:20:29.520 --> 0:20:31.840 intend for to be drivable in nineteen, but there were 0:20:31.880 --> 0:20:34.600 certainly most a handful of guys taking a rip and 0:20:34.640 --> 0:20:38.080 just trying to run it through that neck. I wonder 0:20:38.080 --> 0:20:39.960 if that's an element for the women, if there's a 0:20:39.960 --> 0:20:43.960 tea box they set up that makes it, in theory drivable, 0:20:44.320 --> 0:20:45.119 it's a good question. 0:20:45.240 --> 0:20:49.000 I don't know. I'm not sure where they would need 0:20:49.040 --> 0:20:52.680 to put that tea box. I think something like it 0:20:52.720 --> 0:20:56.320 probably exists because there are a lot of different teeing 0:20:56.359 --> 0:21:00.639 areas at Pebble Beach, given that it's a resort course. Yeah. No, 0:21:00.880 --> 0:21:03.080 I'd be curious to see that they do. They do 0:21:03.160 --> 0:21:06.400 love having, you know, a driveable part four. 0:21:06.840 --> 0:21:09.000 Yeah, and to make clear that you know, it's not 0:21:09.080 --> 0:21:11.479 driveable in the way that they're they're landing it on 0:21:11.600 --> 0:21:14.720 top of it. You know, there were guys taking driver 0:21:14.880 --> 0:21:16.359 and trying to run it up as far as they 0:21:16.359 --> 0:21:18.440 could some rent it onto the front edge. It's it's 0:21:18.480 --> 0:21:22.000 not a pure sort of you know, aerial attack there. 0:21:22.080 --> 0:21:25.399 So yeah, all right, Brendon, let's take a quick break 0:21:25.440 --> 0:21:28.359 for an ad and then when we're back we'll do 0:21:28.600 --> 0:21:32.480 a little Moderey Golf Guide. We'll kind of improvise it, 0:21:32.520 --> 0:21:34.959 but we're going to be talking about Monterey golf in 0:21:35.080 --> 0:21:48.920 general outside of Pebble Beach that's coming up. This episode 0:21:49.119 --> 0:21:52.080 is brought to you by Golf Genius. Your club may 0:21:52.240 --> 0:21:55.480 use the golf Genius Tournament Management system for your club 0:21:55.520 --> 0:21:58.879 events and tournaments. 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