WEBVTT - Fire Drill 089: Around the World with the FPC 0:00:03.600 --> 0:00:06.000 When you're in a sport and you know so much, 0:00:06.320 --> 0:00:07.520 the temptation is there. 0:00:07.960 --> 0:00:10.880 Sergio Garcia before he won the Masters, I heard the 0:00:10.920 --> 0:00:12.920 father in law gave him a big cage rattle like 0:00:13.160 --> 0:00:16.640 quit acting like the game, like owes you something, go 0:00:16.680 --> 0:00:19.119 out and earn it, like go win, like stop being 0:00:19.160 --> 0:00:22.000 such a little basically, And I was like, oh wow, 0:00:22.120 --> 0:00:24.560 that that might be exactly the pep talk that Sergio 0:00:24.640 --> 0:00:29.120 needed anyone the Masters and I benefited, you know, I 0:00:29.160 --> 0:00:32.279 mean that's I felt a little like, I mean, this 0:00:32.360 --> 0:00:34.280 is really good info. 0:00:35.680 --> 0:00:40.720 I got thoughts in my head. Can't get him not 0:00:40.920 --> 0:00:45.240 to think what I'm thinking about, thoughts in my head, 0:00:45.880 --> 0:00:51.080 can't get him out not to think, well, I'm thinking about. 0:00:57.400 --> 0:01:00.920 Hello, this is Alan Chipnook back for another fire podcast. 0:01:01.680 --> 0:01:05.360 I am in Denver, Colorado for the US amateur Matt Janella. 0:01:05.480 --> 0:01:09.920 After a long sojournto Ireland is back in Oceanside at 0:01:10.000 --> 0:01:12.720 Firepit World headquarters. Welcome home. Man. 0:01:15.480 --> 0:01:18.520 To say it's been a rough re entry into reality 0:01:18.560 --> 0:01:21.759 would be a complete and total understatement. Thirty one hours 0:01:21.840 --> 0:01:28.160 from Waterville, the Villa Maria little hotel in the middle 0:01:28.200 --> 0:01:37.160 of town. Bus Shannon JFK mechanical troubles La Uber de 0:01:37.280 --> 0:01:42.920 San Diego home thirty one hours later, and yeah, yesterday 0:01:42.959 --> 0:01:44.760 I was borderline coma. 0:01:46.480 --> 0:01:49.680 Well, thanks for shaking over the cop Yeah, thanks for 0:01:49.680 --> 0:01:51.680 shaking off the cob webs here for our listeners. So 0:01:52.200 --> 0:01:53.960 we thought today would be a little bit of a 0:01:54.200 --> 0:01:56.880 state of the fire pit. There's a lot going on here. 0:01:57.240 --> 0:01:59.400 I've been living the amateur life. I was at bel 0:01:59.440 --> 0:02:03.320 Air Country for the Women's Amateur. I'll be Cherry Hills 0:02:03.360 --> 0:02:06.240 this week for the US Amateur. And we want to 0:02:06.240 --> 0:02:08.399 talk a little about the Ireland trip, and we thought 0:02:08.400 --> 0:02:11.960 we'd relive some of the fallout from our Billy Walters 0:02:12.000 --> 0:02:15.680 excerpt last week. We kind of podcasted as it dropped. 0:02:15.800 --> 0:02:18.880 But it's been a very eventful you know, basically six 0:02:18.960 --> 0:02:23.959 days since then, so let's get into it. But I 0:02:24.240 --> 0:02:25.919 will say, you know, and I was writing every day 0:02:25.919 --> 0:02:29.320 for Firepak Collective dot com from bell Air and it 0:02:29.400 --> 0:02:32.400 was just so refreshing to be at a at a 0:02:32.480 --> 0:02:36.640 high level amateur event. I've been as people probably know, 0:02:36.680 --> 0:02:39.680 I've been covering this war between the PGA Tour and 0:02:39.720 --> 0:02:43.520 live golf, and while it's been fascinating, it's also just 0:02:43.560 --> 0:02:45.800 all about the money, and everyone sueing each other or 0:02:45.800 --> 0:02:48.680 they were, and all the bitchiness and all the name 0:02:48.760 --> 0:02:53.240 calling and the mud slinging, and the overwhelming feeling at 0:02:53.240 --> 0:02:56.400 bell Air was just sort of joy and gratitude. And 0:02:56.760 --> 0:02:59.280 these young women were just so delight to be on this, 0:02:59.280 --> 0:03:02.000 this really fascinating golf course, to be in LA with 0:03:02.040 --> 0:03:05.840 all the excitement and competing for a national championship, and 0:03:06.240 --> 0:03:09.960 it was just an absolute like palate cleanser. And you know, 0:03:10.480 --> 0:03:12.320 I have no doubt this week that the Westampster is 0:03:12.320 --> 0:03:15.359 gonna be the same. So it's been. It's been a nice, 0:03:15.480 --> 0:03:16.880 nice break, nice change of scenery. 0:03:19.440 --> 0:03:20.840 And I want to know, I want to know more 0:03:20.880 --> 0:03:24.240 about it. I will say on the subject of money, Uh, 0:03:24.760 --> 0:03:26.760 just in order in order for us to pay some 0:03:26.800 --> 0:03:27.560 of our bills. 0:03:27.880 --> 0:03:30.800 Yes, I want to thanks thank. 0:03:30.680 --> 0:03:33.079 Some of the sponsors that we have not only a 0:03:33.120 --> 0:03:35.600 part of the Fire Drill but also the Fire Pit Podcast, 0:03:35.640 --> 0:03:38.960 but also just a sponsor and supporter of everything we 0:03:39.040 --> 0:03:41.960 do here at the Fire Pit Collective. And that's first 0:03:42.000 --> 0:03:44.800 Dormy Workshop, which as you know, is an incredible golf 0:03:44.840 --> 0:03:48.720 family business based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where all they 0:03:48.760 --> 0:03:52.560 do is make quality leather headcovers and accessories. As you know, 0:03:52.640 --> 0:03:55.320 Ali found the Bishop Brothers at the PJ Merchandise Show 0:03:55.360 --> 0:03:58.560 almost ten years ago, been promoting their people and products 0:03:58.560 --> 0:04:01.400 ever since. Go to dorm Workshop dot com and use 0:04:01.400 --> 0:04:05.160 promo code fire Pit fifteen for fifteen percent off your 0:04:05.280 --> 0:04:08.240 next purchase. Or go to the pit shop at Firepitcollective 0:04:08.280 --> 0:04:12.880 dot com and order one of our exclusive Dormy Workshop 0:04:12.960 --> 0:04:14.920 headcovers or stash bags. 0:04:14.960 --> 0:04:15.320 Plus. 0:04:15.920 --> 0:04:17.840 Link Sol is a big sponsor of everything we do. 0:04:17.880 --> 0:04:22.520 We have a much more immersive relationship going forward as 0:04:22.520 --> 0:04:25.479 of recently. In fact, John Ashworth is now sharing some 0:04:25.560 --> 0:04:29.320 of our office space here in Oceanside. And you know 0:04:29.440 --> 0:04:32.400 we play all of our home golf at Goathillpark, all 0:04:32.480 --> 0:04:35.640 that he's done up there, any and all things link Soul, 0:04:35.800 --> 0:04:39.320 John Ashworth Goatthillpark. We're a big fan of supporter of 0:04:39.760 --> 0:04:43.320 Go to linksoul dot com and use fire Pit twenty 0:04:43.360 --> 0:04:46.919 five for twenty five percent off your next purchase of 0:04:47.240 --> 0:04:51.360 all things link Soul. On that note, Al, I mean, 0:04:51.440 --> 0:04:57.560 you know that comparison and contrast of ProLife versus am life, 0:04:58.200 --> 0:05:03.080 and that refreshing kind of of look at not only 0:05:03.520 --> 0:05:07.120 you know, amateur golf but specifically women's amateur golf at 0:05:07.160 --> 0:05:11.080 a place like bel Air. What are your kind of 0:05:11.120 --> 0:05:12.480 big big takeaways. 0:05:13.839 --> 0:05:15.560 Well, one of the things, and this is I'm not 0:05:15.600 --> 0:05:17.960 breaking new ground here, but to see it up close 0:05:18.040 --> 0:05:21.440 in personal and such intimate setting, is how much more 0:05:21.440 --> 0:05:24.680 fun it is to watch the top women play an 0:05:24.720 --> 0:05:27.880 old classic golf course because they can't blow it over 0:05:27.960 --> 0:05:31.080 every bunker and every dog leg, and they don't hit 0:05:31.120 --> 0:05:33.640 it so high that it just stops dead on the 0:05:33.680 --> 0:05:36.280 green like they really do have to play the dog legs. 0:05:36.480 --> 0:05:39.200 They have to use the contours of the green, they 0:05:39.279 --> 0:05:42.920 have to use the ground more. It's just so pleasing 0:05:43.160 --> 0:05:46.919 esthetically to watch. And I'd played bel Air once since 0:05:47.440 --> 0:05:50.960 the Tom Doak restoration. It really came away with a 0:05:51.000 --> 0:05:54.600 new love and appreciation for it because they it was 0:05:54.640 --> 0:05:57.520 a race track. I mean, they'd shave the grass down everywhere, 0:05:57.520 --> 0:05:59.680 and so it really brought out the contours around the 0:05:59.720 --> 0:06:04.719 green and so the recovery shots were fascinating. Like just 0:06:06.279 --> 0:06:09.200 and again, you know, I think that the top male 0:06:09.279 --> 0:06:12.320 pros and even amateurs, they can impart so much spin 0:06:12.360 --> 0:06:14.400 even in the short game, and they just kind of 0:06:14.440 --> 0:06:15.760 throw it up in the air and stop it by 0:06:15.800 --> 0:06:18.000 the hole and that's cool. It's fun to watch, but 0:06:18.800 --> 0:06:22.400 you know, there's fifteen sixteen seventeen year old girls out 0:06:22.400 --> 0:06:25.480 there playing in the US Women's Amateur and they don't 0:06:25.600 --> 0:06:27.600 have that kind of strength, and so it's much more 0:06:27.640 --> 0:06:30.680 about bumping it into the slopes and feeding it off 0:06:30.720 --> 0:06:33.320 of the hills. And it was just super fun to watch, 0:06:33.400 --> 0:06:38.360 So that aspect of it was great. And you know, 0:06:38.800 --> 0:06:40.560 Rachel Heck was one of the stars of the week 0:06:40.600 --> 0:06:43.800 from Stanford and she's just such a breath of fresh air. 0:06:43.839 --> 0:06:46.320 I mean, she was coming in straight from rotc training 0:06:46.720 --> 0:06:48.760 at the Air Force, didn't touch a club or her 0:06:48.800 --> 0:06:53.360 phone for eighteen days and was absolute grunt, you know, 0:06:53.560 --> 0:06:56.279 doing pre dawn jogs and all the things you've seen 0:06:56.279 --> 0:07:01.880 in the movies. And previous to that, she'd had, you know, 0:07:01.960 --> 0:07:05.160 surgery to remove a rib because she had this very 0:07:05.279 --> 0:07:08.120 unusual disorder that was affecting her nerves. And so she 0:07:08.240 --> 0:07:11.840 played one round of golf since October competitively, and she 0:07:12.000 --> 0:07:14.040 was just so happy to be there and every and 0:07:14.080 --> 0:07:17.320 she just every win was a blessing and I mean 0:07:17.360 --> 0:07:19.480 she's like my new life coach. Talking to her, it 0:07:19.600 --> 0:07:23.480 was great. She just has such a fantastic perspective on life, 0:07:23.560 --> 0:07:25.320 and she knows. 0:07:25.880 --> 0:07:29.040 I mean, I'm I'm out on the life coaching is that. 0:07:28.680 --> 0:07:31.520 That you're You're my backup like ill you know, and 0:07:31.560 --> 0:07:34.720 I need to go to the bullpen, I'll signal the right hand. 0:07:35.200 --> 0:07:39.520 Uh uh so that makes it right making. She was 0:07:39.560 --> 0:07:42.280 a delight and you know, the champ for Megan Schoolfield 0:07:42.360 --> 0:07:47.640 was of Auburn just really naturally fun, funny personality and 0:07:48.720 --> 0:07:51.640 she was like the other finalists, Latana Stoone, they were 0:07:51.680 --> 0:07:55.680 both fifth year They've they've had long journeys in college. 0:07:56.120 --> 0:07:58.560 Both have had very nice careers but never had a 0:07:58.560 --> 0:08:01.760 big breakthrough of this level, and so it just meant 0:08:01.800 --> 0:08:04.160 so much to them. I mean, Schofield she burst into 0:08:04.200 --> 0:08:06.360 tears after winning her semi final match, so just the 0:08:06.440 --> 0:08:09.240 relief and the happiness, and she was a mess after 0:08:09.320 --> 0:08:12.320 the championship match. It was just so sweet, you know, 0:08:12.360 --> 0:08:14.560 talking about her parents and her college coaches who took 0:08:14.560 --> 0:08:18.160 a chance on her, and it's just great. I mean, 0:08:18.360 --> 0:08:22.160 it's really it's really a joy to be around that energy. 0:08:22.280 --> 0:08:25.640 And uh, I think everyone who was watched on TV 0:08:25.800 --> 0:08:27.720 or those who made the trek out to Bela or 0:08:27.800 --> 0:08:29.880 just came away with a new appreciation for how good 0:08:29.920 --> 0:08:32.559 these players are, how funn it is to watch golf 0:08:32.559 --> 0:08:35.199 at that level, and and just the good vibes of 0:08:35.200 --> 0:08:35.920 the amateur game. 0:08:37.200 --> 0:08:41.320 Is that the fifth year senior stuff is that is 0:08:41.360 --> 0:08:45.600 at all pretty pretty a direct sort of riple effect 0:08:45.640 --> 0:08:46.120 of COVID. 0:08:47.120 --> 0:08:49.000 Yeah, they did grant all the players the ability to 0:08:49.000 --> 0:08:51.120 take a fifth year if they wanted it, and a 0:08:51.160 --> 0:08:55.640 lot of them have and like they're getting there, Stone 0:08:55.720 --> 0:08:58.240 and Schofield, the two fives, they're getting master's degrees, like 0:08:58.280 --> 0:09:03.040 you know, they're they're really taking advanceage of it. And 0:09:03.080 --> 0:09:06.240 it was interesting the final four players. There was a 0:09:06.280 --> 0:09:09.480 third fifth year player out of Michigan and then Heck 0:09:09.559 --> 0:09:12.920 is in her fourth year, and that was an interesting 0:09:12.960 --> 0:09:14.559 part of the week. Is kind of a subtext to 0:09:14.600 --> 0:09:17.319 this is not only the COVID stuff, but also the 0:09:17.440 --> 0:09:21.079 arrival of ni L the name, image, likeness, money. The 0:09:22.000 --> 0:09:26.120 top players now are not incentivized to go to the 0:09:26.280 --> 0:09:30.760 LPGA or you know, Heck could have turned pro two 0:09:30.840 --> 0:09:32.960 years ago she wanted to, and would have been would 0:09:32.960 --> 0:09:35.760 have been coveted in the marketplace. But she has various 0:09:35.800 --> 0:09:38.920 deals that are giving her a nice cushion and take 0:09:38.920 --> 0:09:41.520 away any of the injury risk. And she's not even 0:09:41.520 --> 0:09:43.360 sure she wants to turn pro. We talked about she said, 0:09:43.400 --> 0:09:46.120 I'll probably try and see how it goes, but you know, 0:09:46.240 --> 0:09:47.920 I'll have a Stanford degree and I'll have a lot 0:09:47.960 --> 0:09:50.320 of options, and I'm just gonna take it as it comes. 0:09:50.320 --> 0:09:54.880 And an interesting subtext to that is that the the 0:09:54.920 --> 0:09:58.480 international players, because they're on student visas in the United States, 0:09:58.559 --> 0:10:01.440 cannot take nil money. It's it's kind of a violation 0:10:01.679 --> 0:10:05.800 of the visa the way it's worded. So fifteen of 0:10:05.840 --> 0:10:09.840 the sixteen quarter finalists at this Women's Amateur we're American 0:10:10.559 --> 0:10:15.320 and and in the last this century, almost every winner 0:10:15.320 --> 0:10:18.600 has been a teenager, and whereas all the two finalists 0:10:18.600 --> 0:10:21.280 were both you know, twenty two. And so I think 0:10:21.280 --> 0:10:23.120 you're going to see a change in the women's amateur 0:10:23.160 --> 0:10:25.360 where it's going to be more heavily American and it's 0:10:25.400 --> 0:10:27.480 going to be older. These players who stick around for 0:10:27.640 --> 0:10:30.520 because of because of il money makes it an easy choice. 0:10:30.559 --> 0:10:36.160 So I think that's I think that's good for the championship. Yeah, 0:10:36.200 --> 0:10:38.560 these players, they've been around, you've kind of gone on 0:10:38.559 --> 0:10:40.319 there on this journey with them, especially in the case 0:10:40.320 --> 0:10:42.360 of Rachel Heck, who was his freshman phenom and then 0:10:42.440 --> 0:10:44.400 had two years of injury and it's now back like 0:10:44.600 --> 0:10:47.079 you're just more invested than in a seventeen year old 0:10:47.080 --> 0:10:49.679 who hasn't lived any life and hasn't been through any adversity. 0:10:51.240 --> 0:10:53.800 And you know, I think for for US fans, for 0:10:53.880 --> 0:10:55.559 better or for worse, you know, they kind of gravitate 0:10:55.559 --> 0:10:58.200 towards the American players. That's just where their rooting interest 0:10:58.240 --> 0:10:59.920 goes when they don't have a lot of history with 0:11:00.040 --> 0:11:02.520 the players. So I think it's good for the championship. 0:11:02.559 --> 0:11:05.640 It's it's going to be the demographics are changing, and 0:11:06.320 --> 0:11:09.480 it's been it's been forty years since any player mid 0:11:09.520 --> 0:11:12.079 am you know, to find is someone who's twenty five 0:11:12.200 --> 0:11:15.320 or older won the US Women's Amateur but and almost 0:11:15.320 --> 0:11:18.520 as long on the US amateur side. But I think 0:11:18.760 --> 0:11:20.400 you're gonna you're gonna have a lot more twenty two 0:11:20.400 --> 0:11:23.000 to twenty three year olds, which is getting creeping up 0:11:23.000 --> 0:11:27.280 on the midam's cutoff. So it's funny how how these 0:11:27.360 --> 0:11:31.040 market forces and big picture things affect these tournaments. 0:11:32.440 --> 0:11:34.640 I know we'll get into Ireland here in a second, 0:11:34.640 --> 0:11:39.680 but I was with Anya donegan at La Hinch just prior, 0:11:39.760 --> 0:11:42.720 you know, after the Women's US Opening, before she left 0:11:42.760 --> 0:11:46.199 for the Women's US Amateur, And that was a big 0:11:46.240 --> 0:11:50.160 part of our conversation. You know, here she was talking 0:11:50.160 --> 0:11:53.600 about a breakout star at Pebble Beach and how she 0:11:53.720 --> 0:11:57.160 kind of won the hearts of the golfing world with 0:11:57.360 --> 0:12:00.760 her first round sixty nine, her walk in talk on Friday, 0:12:00.840 --> 0:12:03.720 you know, all that she went through, you know, lost 0:12:03.760 --> 0:12:07.680 and then broken clubs coming into the Women's Open, you know, 0:12:08.360 --> 0:12:10.360 to talk about a breath of fresh air. I mean 0:12:10.480 --> 0:12:14.320 just just could not say more about being around her. 0:12:14.320 --> 0:12:17.600 But the big topic of conversation for her was, you know, 0:12:17.920 --> 0:12:22.280 now with all this business stuff coming at her and 0:12:23.160 --> 0:12:26.839 you know, potential opportunities, but then her going to school 0:12:26.840 --> 0:12:30.360 at LSU and not being able to get any nil 0:12:30.480 --> 0:12:33.600 money because of the visa she's on, She's had a 0:12:33.800 --> 0:12:37.760 huge disadvantage. You know, she comes from a small town, 0:12:38.520 --> 0:12:41.000 you know, in Ireland. You know, I know I know 0:12:41.080 --> 0:12:43.600 her parents, you know, work and stuff, but it's you know, 0:12:43.640 --> 0:12:47.199 I don't think they're very well off. And international travel 0:12:47.240 --> 0:12:50.120 and all the costs that go along with golf in general. 0:12:51.120 --> 0:12:53.480 I mean she you know, I just don't know how 0:12:53.600 --> 0:12:57.400 this all gets sorted, if and when it does, or ever. 0:12:58.840 --> 0:13:03.920 But to your point, I think us women, you know, 0:13:04.040 --> 0:13:08.000 us amateur golfers are going to be greatly benefiting from 0:13:08.480 --> 0:13:11.640 the NIL deals and the international players are at a 0:13:11.720 --> 0:13:12.800 huge disadvantage. 0:13:13.920 --> 0:13:16.480 Yeah, I mean this, this, this could all change, of course, 0:13:17.520 --> 0:13:23.200 through some tweaks to the student visa language or advocacy 0:13:23.240 --> 0:13:27.040 by various groups. So it's not forever, but that's certainly 0:13:27.040 --> 0:13:29.320 the landscape right now. And I know Anya came into 0:13:29.320 --> 0:13:32.640 bel Air very late because of that, and she, you know, 0:13:32.720 --> 0:13:34.800 she never quite looked like she got her footing. And 0:13:34.880 --> 0:13:38.040 it's a heck of a long journey. It was. It 0:13:38.160 --> 0:13:39.800 was the wrong week to come in late because a 0:13:39.800 --> 0:13:43.760 lot of the players stayed with families of bel Air 0:13:43.800 --> 0:13:47.520 members and some unbelievable houses right there, and they were 0:13:47.520 --> 0:13:48.960 having the time of their life and they're in these 0:13:49.040 --> 0:13:53.200 mansions in bel Air and bopping around Los Angeles like 0:13:53.400 --> 0:13:57.840 Latana Stone her her host family had this murdered out 0:13:57.920 --> 0:14:01.160 Rolls Royce like Black Home Black. She was, you know, 0:14:01.240 --> 0:14:04.240 she was going to and from the golf tournament and 0:14:04.240 --> 0:14:06.440 it's like, I mean, it was just it was just 0:14:06.480 --> 0:14:11.000 a funny. There's there's a lot of nice clubs out there, 0:14:11.000 --> 0:14:13.040 but the Beller people like to like to show off, 0:14:13.400 --> 0:14:16.640 and so the cars and the houses. And I made 0:14:16.640 --> 0:14:18.520 a I made a joke on not a joke and 0:14:18.559 --> 0:14:20.960 observation on Twitter that got a lot of pickup because 0:14:21.480 --> 0:14:24.200 all the Beller members they got the club crest on 0:14:24.240 --> 0:14:28.000 their hat, their shirt, their belt, their socks. I mean 0:14:29.040 --> 0:14:32.160 we needed to yeah, fourteen club, you know limit in 0:14:32.200 --> 0:14:34.160 your in your bag. We needed like a two logo 0:14:34.280 --> 0:14:35.920 limit out there at bell Air because they were all 0:14:35.920 --> 0:14:39.720 in violation of it. But I will say the club 0:14:39.760 --> 0:14:42.440 did it. They were extremely welcoming like that. They did 0:14:42.440 --> 0:14:46.840 a great job. It's a very hilly golf course and 0:14:47.120 --> 0:14:49.520 they had an army of staffers out there and carts 0:14:49.560 --> 0:14:51.800 to just get fans around if you need it, if 0:14:51.800 --> 0:14:54.720 you needed a boost, and they were pulling. Everyone was 0:14:54.720 --> 0:14:56.560 carrying waters and there was a place where they had 0:14:56.600 --> 0:14:59.080 you know, cold towels you could cool off because there 0:14:59.160 --> 0:15:02.760 was some hot days. They were very hospitable. So I 0:15:02.760 --> 0:15:05.000 guess we'll allow them the logos because they did a 0:15:05.040 --> 0:15:06.400 nice job with the fans. 0:15:08.040 --> 0:15:12.200 I was saying to Anya Man coming in on Friday 0:15:12.240 --> 0:15:16.840 before I'm dealing with the jet lag of coming west 0:15:17.400 --> 0:15:20.160 on that far of a trip, you know, from Ireland 0:15:20.240 --> 0:15:24.280 to the West coast, eight hour difference, that's a real thing. 0:15:24.440 --> 0:15:26.400 And for her to get in and have to turn 0:15:26.440 --> 0:15:30.200 around and adjust to that and also play that, you know, 0:15:30.200 --> 0:15:33.800 play an unfamiliar golf course, there was a lot stacked 0:15:33.920 --> 0:15:36.000 against her. I tried to put her in touch with 0:15:36.040 --> 0:15:40.120 Gunner Weby, son of Mark Weeby, and then who played 0:15:40.160 --> 0:15:42.920 on the PGA Tour obviously, and then Gunner is now 0:15:42.920 --> 0:15:47.320 at the DP World Tour and having some good success 0:15:48.280 --> 0:15:52.880 and not long after Covid sort of recommitted to playing professionally. 0:15:52.880 --> 0:15:52.960 And. 0:15:54.440 --> 0:15:56.920 I think he has tie. He has a tie for 0:15:57.000 --> 0:15:59.680 the course record or almost shot fifty nine at Bella 0:15:59.840 --> 0:16:02.600 not not that long ago. So I tried, you know, 0:16:02.680 --> 0:16:04.920 I put them in contact. I don't know if they 0:16:04.960 --> 0:16:08.480 were ever to ever talk, but wanted to get any 0:16:08.520 --> 0:16:11.000 a little inside scoop on the on the ins and 0:16:11.040 --> 0:16:12.960 outs of bell Air, just to try to give her 0:16:13.520 --> 0:16:17.040 a little help going into going into it. So I 0:16:17.040 --> 0:16:18.560 don't know whether or not that. 0:16:18.720 --> 0:16:21.280 Yeah, I didn't ask for that. Yeah, there's a lot 0:16:21.280 --> 0:16:23.440 of inside knowledge to be gleaned, like I was staying 0:16:23.480 --> 0:16:28.240 at the Trophy Championship in Jim Bones Mackay's brother came 0:16:28.280 --> 0:16:29.960 up to say hi, I never met him before and 0:16:30.440 --> 0:16:33.200 he's a member out there, and so you know, it's like, oh, 0:16:33.240 --> 0:16:35.120 it could have some so mu sort of ring up Bones. 0:16:35.120 --> 0:16:38.160 He's played a lot at bell Air. There's there's some 0:16:38.200 --> 0:16:40.560 fun connections you make out there. But let's talk about 0:16:40.600 --> 0:16:43.480 Ireland a little bit. Because you were you were kind 0:16:43.480 --> 0:16:49.440 of keeping people apprized of your travels on social but 0:16:50.520 --> 0:16:53.000 I'm privy to more of the details. I mean when 0:16:53.320 --> 0:16:56.680 the content's coming and we'll talk about in more detail 0:16:57.840 --> 0:17:00.400 various stages, but we just tell the listeners like some 0:17:00.440 --> 0:17:03.440 of the highlights and how long you were there and 0:17:03.640 --> 0:17:05.640 how many rounds you played and how much you saw 0:17:05.680 --> 0:17:07.680 of the entire island, because it's pretty incredible. 0:17:09.720 --> 0:17:15.040 So, even going back pre COVID, my dream was always 0:17:15.119 --> 0:17:18.760 to play in The Father Daughter with our daughter Kylie, 0:17:19.880 --> 0:17:23.679 who is now nineteen. We started talking about this and 0:17:23.680 --> 0:17:27.919 actually had entered The Father Daughter pre COVID when she 0:17:28.440 --> 0:17:34.840 was about fifteen, and it didn't happen, and for a 0:17:34.880 --> 0:17:37.320 variety of reasons, but it just didn't work out. So 0:17:38.119 --> 0:17:40.120 the goal was to play in the Father Daughter with her, 0:17:40.840 --> 0:17:43.760 do some work in Ireland and then play in the 0:17:43.800 --> 0:17:46.760 Father Son. It's something I've played in now for over 0:17:46.800 --> 0:17:48.080 ten years, and. 0:17:50.080 --> 0:17:51.159 We've talked a lot about that. 0:17:51.160 --> 0:17:53.240 I've done features on that. That's obviously one of the 0:17:53.320 --> 0:17:56.440 greatest events in golf in the world, there's no question 0:17:56.520 --> 0:18:01.000 about it. Ninety six teams, Fathers and Sons, thirty fourth year. 0:18:01.080 --> 0:18:05.159 This year it was the fifteenth year of the Father Daughter. 0:18:06.119 --> 0:18:10.680 And I will tell you that Kylie is had played 0:18:10.680 --> 0:18:14.800 a lot of hockey growing up. We've gone to Gohill Park. 0:18:15.480 --> 0:18:19.760 She played a year on her high school golf team 0:18:19.800 --> 0:18:22.639 when we were in Florida. But at that point that 0:18:22.720 --> 0:18:24.680 high school golf team was really just almost like an 0:18:24.680 --> 0:18:28.040 introduction to the game. It wasn't a very hyper competitive 0:18:28.760 --> 0:18:31.320 so she had never actually played eighteen full holes of golf. 0:18:31.320 --> 0:18:34.480 She had played Winter Park nine with me. She'd you know, 0:18:34.680 --> 0:18:38.760 hit some range balls at Goahill Park. The Father Daughter 0:18:39.160 --> 0:18:44.000 up to forty teams this year. It's not you know, yes, 0:18:44.080 --> 0:18:46.080 there are there are a lot of There are a 0:18:46.119 --> 0:18:48.640 lot of you know, young women out there who can 0:18:48.680 --> 0:18:52.480 play really good golf. And obviously there are some the 0:18:53.240 --> 0:18:56.160 variation of Dad's skill levels is all over the map, 0:18:56.240 --> 0:19:01.080 from you know, plus to twenty five handicaps. It's it's 0:19:01.840 --> 0:19:03.800 it's really you know, even the father son. It's not, 0:19:04.400 --> 0:19:06.080 as I say, if you show up to win, you're 0:19:06.080 --> 0:19:08.320 probably not at the right kind of event. If you 0:19:08.400 --> 0:19:10.600 happen to win, then let's celebrate, you know what I mean. 0:19:10.640 --> 0:19:13.760 It's not about that. It's about the networking and the 0:19:13.760 --> 0:19:18.040 camaraderie and the conversations and the it's just it's just 0:19:18.080 --> 0:19:21.359 about so much more that we've talked about a million 0:19:21.400 --> 0:19:24.399 times that golf provides. It's about the course, it's about 0:19:24.400 --> 0:19:27.520 the community around that golf course. It's it's so much. 0:19:28.400 --> 0:19:33.320 So Kylie goes in. We get three incredible days of weather, 0:19:33.640 --> 0:19:37.600 thank god, because if it was raining sideways, I think 0:19:37.640 --> 0:19:38.480 she would have looked at me. 0:19:38.520 --> 0:19:40.119 Like is this really what? Like? 0:19:40.520 --> 0:19:43.320 You play in this? I mean, you know, like she's 0:19:43.359 --> 0:19:46.359 just way more sensible than anybody that I know, So 0:19:46.400 --> 0:19:48.040 she would have looked at me like this just makes 0:19:48.080 --> 0:19:50.400 no sense. I mean we got to go again, and 0:19:50.960 --> 0:19:54.440 so we had great weather. She had her first pint 0:19:54.440 --> 0:19:57.520 of guinness. She's nineteen drinking age there is eighteen, So 0:19:57.560 --> 0:19:59.760 she had her first pinted guinness, first shot a whiskey, 0:20:00.240 --> 0:20:02.000 She had her first eighteen holes of golf, she had 0:20:02.000 --> 0:20:06.600 her first tournament of golf. She got her first you know, 0:20:06.680 --> 0:20:09.480 little tattoo. Her and her mom went to Dublin Inc. 0:20:09.680 --> 0:20:14.520 And she got three little daisies on her arm representing her, 0:20:14.600 --> 0:20:18.399 her mom and her grandma. You know, she you know, 0:20:18.880 --> 0:20:23.239 as you know Alan A, teenagers dealing with COVID and 0:20:23.320 --> 0:20:28.680 in high school really handcuffed their social growth. Kylie moved states, 0:20:28.800 --> 0:20:33.960 she moved high schools. Her social growth was seriously stunted 0:20:34.040 --> 0:20:37.840 by this global pandemic. She had become very you know, 0:20:38.560 --> 0:20:42.600 shellish as far as her social endeavors. She works hard. 0:20:42.720 --> 0:20:45.000 She gets a four point two GPA. She's an amazing 0:20:45.080 --> 0:20:48.320 human being, talented in so many different ways. This trip 0:20:48.359 --> 0:20:52.560 to Ireland, that tournament the father daughter not only helped 0:20:52.760 --> 0:20:58.040 us in our relationship, it helped her social growth, you know, immensely. 0:20:58.160 --> 0:21:03.840 Like Katie and I, we watched her literally blossom. And 0:21:03.920 --> 0:21:12.080 she was with three great, young, incredible women in Julia Carr, 0:21:12.480 --> 0:21:15.000 Sophie Grace Carr. So Julia Carr is the son a 0:21:15.080 --> 0:21:17.440 daughter of Marty Carr. Sophie Grace is the. 0:21:17.440 --> 0:21:18.359 Daughter of. 0:21:20.440 --> 0:21:28.040 Roddy Carr and then and then Aide Malloy's daughter. She 0:21:28.800 --> 0:21:32.960 is Adriana Molloy. These girls have been playing in the 0:21:32.960 --> 0:21:35.960 Father Daughter for so long, and they took Kylie under 0:21:35.960 --> 0:21:39.840 her wing and you know, helped kind of shepherd her 0:21:39.880 --> 0:21:42.560 as a golfer but also as a young female in 0:21:42.600 --> 0:21:46.160 a foreign country. It was you know, so that in itself, 0:21:46.160 --> 0:21:48.360 if you're looking for highlights, and we did a we're 0:21:48.359 --> 0:21:50.240 going to do a whole feature on the Father Daughter 0:21:50.320 --> 0:21:54.800 and why this particular tournament matters in the bigger scheme 0:21:54.840 --> 0:21:57.160 of things for the fathers the daughters in the greater 0:21:57.200 --> 0:22:00.639 game of golf. So that to me is where we 0:22:00.720 --> 0:22:04.600 started and that was like the the biggest highlight. 0:22:05.880 --> 0:22:08.960 In addition, by the way, yeah, by the way, her 0:22:09.000 --> 0:22:10.880 first round was at Waterville, Like I mean, you're talking 0:22:10.880 --> 0:22:12.639 about one of the great links courses in the world 0:22:12.840 --> 0:22:15.400 like that, it's all it's not all downhill from there, 0:22:15.400 --> 0:22:20.120 but it's close. And but yeah, that that's that's so cool. 0:22:20.119 --> 0:22:22.040 I mean, of course, I've I've gotten to know Kylie. 0:22:22.400 --> 0:22:26.120 She's just such a sweetheart and delighted you guys had 0:22:26.119 --> 0:22:32.920 that experience. Yeah, she'll never forget it. That's special. 0:22:34.040 --> 0:22:36.359 No, And I think it's changed the way she's looking 0:22:36.400 --> 0:22:37.200 at her life. 0:22:37.240 --> 0:22:37.800 She's changed. 0:22:37.840 --> 0:22:39.760 It's changed the way she's looking at you know, the 0:22:39.800 --> 0:22:42.680 future of of where she wants to go to school, 0:22:42.920 --> 0:22:44.800 or to live, or to travel. 0:22:45.520 --> 0:22:45.720 You know. 0:22:45.800 --> 0:22:50.119 I think travel is such a gift, getting out and 0:22:50.160 --> 0:22:53.680 seeing the world around us. It's why, you know why 0:22:53.800 --> 0:22:56.679 my life, my professional life has been such a blessing 0:22:56.800 --> 0:22:59.280 to be able to you know, move around and meet 0:22:59.640 --> 0:23:03.159 the people I meet at some of these destinations or 0:23:03.240 --> 0:23:06.760 events like a father daughter or father son. So yeah, 0:23:06.800 --> 0:23:11.280 that's she's come back and she wants to play more golf. 0:23:11.280 --> 0:23:13.080 She wants to win it next year. She got better 0:23:13.160 --> 0:23:16.840 every swing by the end. Her last hole of her 0:23:16.920 --> 0:23:20.840 last round was the eighteenth water glass along a watervill 0:23:20.920 --> 0:23:25.879 along part five along the water. She had hit the 0:23:25.920 --> 0:23:30.880 green in three on the previous day and I think 0:23:30.920 --> 0:23:34.440 four putted and she was getting too she was getting 0:23:34.440 --> 0:23:35.080 two shots. 0:23:35.200 --> 0:23:36.199 She was getting two shots. 0:23:36.600 --> 0:23:40.280 On this particular day, she lipped out for what would 0:23:40.280 --> 0:23:42.720 have been a five net three, which would have been 0:23:42.720 --> 0:23:46.600 an egle four point in Stableford, and it just hung 0:23:46.600 --> 0:23:48.440 on the edge and we all collapsed. It's a picture 0:23:48.480 --> 0:23:54.160 I posted on Instagram. Mel McLain of Momentum Golf Photography. 0:23:54.200 --> 0:23:56.840 He shot and so she made a six for four 0:23:56.880 --> 0:23:58.920 and made a birdie. But like that's where it ended, 0:23:58.960 --> 0:23:59.919 and she is hooked. 0:24:00.080 --> 0:24:03.119 She's hooked. So anyway, that's so great. 0:24:04.359 --> 0:24:09.159 In addition to all that good, Yeah, in addition to 0:24:09.160 --> 0:24:12.560 all that, we played lahinch ardglass Port, Marnick Port, martin Port, 0:24:12.640 --> 0:24:16.679 Marnick Lynx a dare from the tips. I stopped by 0:24:16.760 --> 0:24:21.720 and saw the changes to Donebeg, you know, obviously keeping 0:24:21.760 --> 0:24:24.959 all politics aside. You know, what Hawtrey did to what 0:24:25.000 --> 0:24:28.800 the original Greg Norman design was was something I wanted 0:24:28.800 --> 0:24:33.400 to get eyes on. And next door to Donebeg is 0:24:34.760 --> 0:24:39.119 Michael Boland's original home going back to the eighteen hundreds. 0:24:39.119 --> 0:24:41.560 Michael Boland, if you did, if you saw our Dublin 0:24:42.000 --> 0:24:45.879 travel show, is my great great grandfather. So we knocked 0:24:45.920 --> 0:24:50.360 on doors, talk about a highlight. Katie, Kylie and Bandon 0:24:50.400 --> 0:24:52.560 and I the four of us knocked on doors, found 0:24:52.560 --> 0:24:54.879 a farmer who knew what we were talking about. Brought 0:24:54.960 --> 0:24:58.840 us out to my great great grandfather's old farm. We 0:24:58.960 --> 0:25:03.600 found the ruins of his house where my great grandfather, 0:25:03.720 --> 0:25:07.320 Francis Bolan was born before he emigrated to San Francisco. 0:25:07.560 --> 0:25:10.360 So I mean I've been out there now twice. We've 0:25:10.359 --> 0:25:13.119 shot some stuff there that's we pieced together from the 0:25:13.119 --> 0:25:15.679 epic immigration museum in the Family History Center and all 0:25:15.720 --> 0:25:18.919 the information we got there and connected the dots to 0:25:19.200 --> 0:25:22.240 the home in which they used to live. And as 0:25:22.280 --> 0:25:24.439 of this morning, I took a couple of stones we 0:25:24.480 --> 0:25:26.760 took from the old ruins and put them in our 0:25:26.760 --> 0:25:30.919 backyard into kind of a ceremonial like situation with bandon 0:25:30.920 --> 0:25:33.879 and I bringing it next to this other little collection 0:25:33.920 --> 0:25:37.680 of rocks we have in the backyard. So that those 0:25:37.720 --> 0:25:41.280 are just two highlights I mean not to mention two 0:25:41.359 --> 0:25:44.800 all Irelands, the football, the Gaelic football and the hurling. 0:25:45.520 --> 0:25:49.040 The courses we played the forty foots we went to 0:25:49.119 --> 0:25:54.960 Portumna and Portumna Golf Club, like the Portumlak golf course 0:25:55.800 --> 0:25:59.919 is my new best value golf course in the world, 0:26:00.200 --> 0:26:05.160 not just in the world. For thirty euros, you can 0:26:05.240 --> 0:26:08.440 play Portumda Golf Club. And I'm going to do a 0:26:08.440 --> 0:26:11.119 whole feature in a little breakdown on you know it's 0:26:11.160 --> 0:26:13.800 it's you know it's you can get it. Get to 0:26:13.920 --> 0:26:15.800 it from an hour and a half from La Hinch. 0:26:16.480 --> 0:26:21.960 It's next to like a national forest. It is immaculate condition. 0:26:22.640 --> 0:26:25.159 Thirty euros. You're going to play a golf course in 0:26:25.200 --> 0:26:29.639 which you think it's three hundred euros. It's it's phenomenal. 0:26:29.680 --> 0:26:33.320 So I've got to spend time with Owen Lynch, his 0:26:33.359 --> 0:26:37.000 family and Portumna friend I've made in my travels. I 0:26:37.040 --> 0:26:39.920 got to play backyard hurling with his kids. They roughed 0:26:39.960 --> 0:26:41.199 me up a little bit, but I was able to 0:26:41.200 --> 0:26:44.720 hold my own. I went out with a guy named 0:26:44.760 --> 0:26:48.520 Noel Ryan port pints in La Hinch at the Nineteenth 0:26:48.600 --> 0:26:51.520 Bar in La Hinch for two hours. I was well 0:26:51.520 --> 0:26:56.879 overserved myself. I barely survived the night, you know, I 0:26:57.000 --> 0:27:01.320 just did. We have stories out of this trip to 0:27:01.400 --> 0:27:03.800 Ireland and the previous trip to Ireland that are going 0:27:03.880 --> 0:27:05.920 to last us for the next twelve months and then some. 0:27:07.359 --> 0:27:09.239 Well. I think the listeners can probably pick up on 0:27:09.280 --> 0:27:12.159 your excitement and your passion for this, So it's going 0:27:12.240 --> 0:27:13.679 to be I can't wait to see it all come 0:27:13.720 --> 0:27:16.399 to life. I mean you should. All this everything you 0:27:16.520 --> 0:27:18.880 just talked about has been captured on camera, like it's 0:27:18.880 --> 0:27:24.280 going to be some spectacular content and you know, we've 0:27:24.640 --> 0:27:28.439 we've kind of recommitted to these this the long form 0:27:28.720 --> 0:27:33.480 travel pieces because you know that's Matt so good at 0:27:33.520 --> 0:27:37.119 it and they're timeless and who doesn't get swept up in, 0:27:37.720 --> 0:27:40.199 you know, wanting to visit these amazing places. So that 0:27:40.760 --> 0:27:44.760 the Dublin version is already out on you can find 0:27:44.760 --> 0:27:47.840 it on our YouTube channel or I think when this 0:27:47.880 --> 0:27:49.960 podcast drops, of course we'll link to it and maybe 0:27:50.040 --> 0:27:53.119 we'll reup it on our homepage. And this this is 0:27:53.200 --> 0:27:56.320 kind of part two of Ireland Focus in Belfast, but 0:27:56.400 --> 0:27:59.200 has a lot of other facets as well, so that'll 0:27:59.240 --> 0:28:03.640 be coming hopefully next week. So it's it's fun. It's 0:28:03.640 --> 0:28:07.600 fun to a lot of people do travel, and you 0:28:07.640 --> 0:28:10.960 can certainly if you type in ten best golf courses 0:28:10.960 --> 0:28:14.399 in Ireland, you're going to get various lists and various opinions. 0:28:14.440 --> 0:28:17.920 But the thing I love about these immersive stories you do, Matt, 0:28:18.040 --> 0:28:20.920 is that it's the golf is part of it, obviously, 0:28:20.960 --> 0:28:24.320 but it's really a cultural excursion. You're sort of like 0:28:24.359 --> 0:28:27.600 the Anthony Bourdain of the golf beat, where it's like 0:28:27.720 --> 0:28:31.280 really burrowing into these places you visit and finding the 0:28:31.359 --> 0:28:35.960 characters and finding the history and I mean there's much 0:28:36.000 --> 0:28:40.640 an anthropologist as you are a golfer, and so I 0:28:40.720 --> 0:28:42.800 just love, you know, just as a fan. I love 0:28:42.840 --> 0:28:44.880 to watch them because they make me feel connected. I've 0:28:44.880 --> 0:28:46.479 been to these some of these places, not all of them, 0:28:46.560 --> 0:28:48.640 but I feel closer to them after I watch the 0:28:48.840 --> 0:28:52.360 videos because it's you get the context and the history 0:28:52.440 --> 0:28:55.280 and it's it's neat. So I can't wait for this 0:28:55.320 --> 0:28:57.760 one because I've been lucky to play through Northern Ireland 0:28:57.840 --> 0:29:00.000 and it's phenomenal, but I want to learn. 0:28:59.840 --> 0:29:04.120 More well that you know, the whole I think we're 0:29:04.440 --> 0:29:07.479 we're both kind of refocused. Our whole team here at 0:29:07.480 --> 0:29:11.440 the fire Pro Collective is refocused on our core, you know, 0:29:11.440 --> 0:29:15.480 our core objectives inform and inspire, entertained, and make people 0:29:15.520 --> 0:29:17.680 smart about the world they live in, inspire them to 0:29:17.680 --> 0:29:20.200 go see it and do it for themselves, and entertain 0:29:20.240 --> 0:29:22.280 them if and when we can make them laugh or 0:29:22.320 --> 0:29:25.760 cry or do both. And that's the way I've looked 0:29:25.760 --> 0:29:28.840 at any and all things I've done from a travel perspective, 0:29:29.560 --> 0:29:34.400 and I don't rate courses on tea to green on 0:29:34.920 --> 0:29:40.120 the architecture or architects. That certainly factors into my overall 0:29:40.760 --> 0:29:44.800 rating of a golf course, but or a travel trip 0:29:44.880 --> 0:29:48.440 or a destination. But for me, it's about the overall experience. 0:29:49.000 --> 0:29:51.440 And the experience is at a course from when the 0:29:51.480 --> 0:29:54.400 time you pull in to the time you leave. What 0:29:54.560 --> 0:29:57.400 is that experience? What do you feel? You know, it's 0:29:57.400 --> 0:29:59.480 not just do I want to go back and play 0:29:59.480 --> 0:30:01.360 that course again? It's do I want to go back 0:30:01.400 --> 0:30:04.920 and experience that course again? And all that comes with it. 0:30:04.920 --> 0:30:07.560 It's you know, it's the person, the first greeting you make, 0:30:07.640 --> 0:30:11.760 to the to the sendoff you get, and whether or 0:30:11.800 --> 0:30:14.960 not you feel like you feel that warmth, and it's 0:30:14.960 --> 0:30:19.240 something you can't really sometimes describe, but it's something that 0:30:19.720 --> 0:30:23.280 you can articulate in what you feel. And so I 0:30:23.320 --> 0:30:25.920 look at that in all of my trips and all 0:30:25.960 --> 0:30:30.960 of my travel logs. My journeys is and we don't 0:30:31.560 --> 0:30:34.840 when we go and move around, we don't just experience 0:30:34.880 --> 0:30:37.600 the golf course. You go out to dinner, you go 0:30:37.640 --> 0:30:40.080 out for a pint or a beer or a drink. 0:30:40.360 --> 0:30:42.840 You've got to go find a place to stay, you 0:30:42.840 --> 0:30:47.400 have to get to your next location. So that's what 0:30:47.520 --> 0:30:49.440 journeys or away games is. I used to do at 0:30:49.440 --> 0:30:52.080 golf die just before I did journeys at Golf Channel 0:30:52.120 --> 0:30:54.840 and now what we're doing at fire Pit and partnering 0:30:54.920 --> 0:30:57.520 with in some cases Golf di just in Golf Channel 0:30:57.600 --> 0:31:02.120 is to is to try to continue on that whole experience, 0:31:02.160 --> 0:31:05.400 which is, yeah, it's forty to sixty percent golf, and 0:31:05.440 --> 0:31:09.040 it's forty to sixty percent of what's happening off the 0:31:09.080 --> 0:31:13.160 golf course. And and we are sticking to that formula 0:31:13.200 --> 0:31:17.840 because it's something that has always worked and why change now. 0:31:17.960 --> 0:31:20.920 And you know, you and I have done a lot 0:31:20.960 --> 0:31:24.719 of trips together. You've written about our trips. You know, 0:31:25.320 --> 0:31:27.840 we've you know, socially posted about our trips. We're going 0:31:27.880 --> 0:31:31.280 to be doing more trips together in the future as well. 0:31:31.280 --> 0:31:33.440 And look forward to some of some of that as 0:31:33.520 --> 0:31:36.360 you know, as we continue to kind of team up 0:31:36.400 --> 0:31:39.040 on all things, you know, golf. 0:31:40.280 --> 0:31:44.040 Yeah, absolutely, I look forward to that. Yeah, we were 0:31:44.040 --> 0:31:46.800 talking about some some destinations this morning that I've been 0:31:46.800 --> 0:31:48.160 in touch with us as we're starting to put out 0:31:48.160 --> 0:31:50.400 all these videos and they want us to come do it. 0:31:50.400 --> 0:31:52.120 It's like, do you want to go to Iceland? I 0:31:52.160 --> 0:31:53.560 think we want to go to Iceland. We want to 0:31:54.560 --> 0:32:02.240 gone down the list it's Montana, yes, check Hawaii. But yeah. 0:32:02.280 --> 0:32:06.240 So let's talk about another big event in the recent 0:32:06.360 --> 0:32:08.840 history of the Firepit Collective, which was the Billy Walters 0:32:08.840 --> 0:32:14.120 Phil Nicholson excerpt that we dropped last Thursday. It just 0:32:14.120 --> 0:32:18.800 took over the golf media, the sports media, crossed over 0:32:18.880 --> 0:32:22.240 into the business page. I get. It was just the 0:32:22.320 --> 0:32:26.000 amount of energy as we knew what would happened. Like, 0:32:27.320 --> 0:32:30.520 you know, Bennett, one of our our key support guys, 0:32:30.680 --> 0:32:34.040 he actually called this, uh word Press, which that's the 0:32:34.280 --> 0:32:37.440 kind of the what our what runs are the organization 0:32:37.480 --> 0:32:40.880 that runs our website. Excuse me, Bennett called WordPress to say, Okay, 0:32:40.880 --> 0:32:43.000 we're expecting a lot of traffic, like we got like 0:32:43.440 --> 0:32:46.560 let's let's uh get the girders in plays, like, let's 0:32:46.560 --> 0:32:48.680 button things up. It's like, you know, here, when the 0:32:48.760 --> 0:32:51.160 hurricanes come, you start putting plywood over the windows and 0:32:51.200 --> 0:32:53.840 stuff like That was kind of the vibe. We knew 0:32:53.840 --> 0:32:57.560 this was gonna go crazy, and of course it did. Uh. 0:32:57.640 --> 0:33:00.840 It's it's always fun and interesting to be the center 0:33:00.880 --> 0:33:04.040 of these storms, you know. This was this was Billy's story. 0:33:04.080 --> 0:33:06.480 These are Billy's words, not not minor yours. But we 0:33:06.520 --> 0:33:10.040 were a delivery system. And it was actually interesting because 0:33:10.040 --> 0:33:11.760 a guy came up to me at bel Air. He's 0:33:11.840 --> 0:33:14.400 just he was just a fan at the tournament and 0:33:14.400 --> 0:33:15.640 he's just a fan of the fire but I've never 0:33:15.640 --> 0:33:17.960 met him before. He introduced himself and said, I just 0:33:18.000 --> 0:33:19.840 got to ask you, like, what was it like, you know, 0:33:19.880 --> 0:33:22.800 right before you pressed publish on that on that excerpt, 0:33:22.800 --> 0:33:24.760 because you know, you knew things were gonna get crazy. 0:33:24.800 --> 0:33:26.560 And he's like, did you think about it? You take 0:33:26.560 --> 0:33:28.240 a deep breath, you say a little prayer, like he 0:33:28.360 --> 0:33:30.800 was like, it was, it was sort of he understood 0:33:30.800 --> 0:33:33.080 sort of the cinematic moment of like when you press 0:33:33.120 --> 0:33:36.719 the button, then these things go live. It was, it was. 0:33:36.760 --> 0:33:40.800 It was a perceptive question, but you know, I was, 0:33:42.760 --> 0:33:45.480 I mean, I'd been I'd been immersing this for so long, 0:33:45.600 --> 0:33:48.160 Like I guess I'm I'm not immune to it. But 0:33:48.360 --> 0:33:50.240 it's like, okay, here we go. You know, it's just 0:33:51.440 --> 0:33:54.840 because it does take over your life socially as far 0:33:54.880 --> 0:33:57.320 as I spent two days on the fire pit handle 0:33:57.480 --> 0:34:02.880 just engaging with people, answering quot questions, adding context, and 0:34:03.160 --> 0:34:06.360 that was fun. But it's I felt I felt I 0:34:06.400 --> 0:34:07.880 frew time had to lay down and close my eyes 0:34:07.920 --> 0:34:10.160 because my brain was scrambled. There's just so much coming 0:34:10.160 --> 0:34:11.960 in and so much going out at the same time. 0:34:13.600 --> 0:34:15.759 But uh yeah, it was It was interesting, and of 0:34:15.840 --> 0:34:20.520 course Phil is he's remarkable. He's at the live event 0:34:20.680 --> 0:34:23.200 at Trump Bedminister when all this stuff goes on, and 0:34:23.840 --> 0:34:25.800 played the first two rounds. He played some of the 0:34:25.840 --> 0:34:27.120 best golf of the year. I mean he was he 0:34:27.200 --> 0:34:29.960 was right, he was nipping it cam Smith's heels and 0:34:30.000 --> 0:34:33.520 then in classic Mikelsonian fashion, made an eight on a 0:34:33.560 --> 0:34:35.960 par three and crashed and burned and just set himself 0:34:36.000 --> 0:34:38.040 on a fire. I mean, it would have been epic 0:34:38.040 --> 0:34:40.400 if he could have actually won his first live event 0:34:40.440 --> 0:34:42.319 the same week this drops, it would have been so 0:34:42.480 --> 0:34:46.719 in character. The guy just somehow thrives on the on 0:34:46.760 --> 0:34:49.760 the juice, you know, he just that's that's the whole 0:34:50.840 --> 0:34:53.080 that's the whole subtext of the excerpt and to my 0:34:53.120 --> 0:34:55.160 book about him and just his life, like he needs 0:34:55.160 --> 0:34:58.839 the juice and everything, and you know, maybe it all 0:34:58.880 --> 0:35:02.120 caught up with him during the fire around. But what 0:35:02.440 --> 0:35:06.080 were you over Ireland? I mean you were far away geographically, 0:35:06.120 --> 0:35:08.799 but everyone's in the golf world there so was what 0:35:08.840 --> 0:35:09.680 was your action like. 0:35:09.600 --> 0:35:13.600 There, No, it was I was on the seventeenth tea 0:35:13.640 --> 0:35:18.520 of Waterville, A very good part three. And one of 0:35:18.560 --> 0:35:22.239 the drastic improvements that that Tom Fazio made to that 0:35:22.320 --> 0:35:26.359 golf course was that whole seventeenth green. You can look 0:35:26.400 --> 0:35:29.560 out beyond, you can see the Waterville house in the distance. 0:35:29.280 --> 0:35:29.600 And. 0:35:31.040 --> 0:35:34.399 Rain and wind are are at its peak. I mean, 0:35:34.440 --> 0:35:38.319 it is coming sideways. It's totally out of control. I've 0:35:38.360 --> 0:35:41.719 got both rain gloves on, you know, everything is so 0:35:41.920 --> 0:35:45.800 too total breach of rain gear at this point. I 0:35:45.880 --> 0:35:49.080 mean I was, you know, I literally poured water out 0:35:49.080 --> 0:35:52.160 of my shoes after the round. And at that moment 0:35:52.400 --> 0:35:57.040 was when was when, you know, the send button happened 0:35:57.520 --> 0:35:59.960 and my phone is going crazy and I'm getting tech 0:36:00.200 --> 0:36:04.839 and comments and commentary and I'm trying. I'm trying to 0:36:05.320 --> 0:36:10.239 respond to some of the most important ones. I think 0:36:10.280 --> 0:36:13.879 even a text to you at that point in both 0:36:14.040 --> 0:36:17.320 rain gloves with a rain soaked face of my iPhone, 0:36:17.360 --> 0:36:19.160 and I was like, I just I can't do that. 0:36:19.200 --> 0:36:22.400 I can't do this right now, this is not happening. 0:36:22.440 --> 0:36:24.920 I'm gonna have to hit pause on But it was, 0:36:25.520 --> 0:36:28.080 you know, we're with you know, ninety six fathers and 0:36:28.160 --> 0:36:31.600 sons and all of whom you know, care and consume 0:36:31.680 --> 0:36:35.360 the game, not unlike anybody probably listening to this podcast. 0:36:35.480 --> 0:36:39.960 And I think it's a general mixed reaction, which is, 0:36:40.840 --> 0:36:44.760 no one's surprised that Phill bets or bet a lot. 0:36:45.440 --> 0:36:49.600 I think the numbers were staggering when you put a 0:36:49.640 --> 0:36:52.720 B instead of an M, as we discussed previously, that's 0:36:53.719 --> 0:36:57.000 that's amazing. Then running the numbers of how many bets 0:36:57.160 --> 0:37:00.319 on average per day or specific days in which made 0:37:00.640 --> 0:37:02.520 a ton of bets, and that was kind of a 0:37:02.640 --> 0:37:06.440 and then and the in the attempt to bet on 0:37:07.120 --> 0:37:12.080 you know, I guess, which he denies, but Billy says 0:37:12.200 --> 0:37:14.200 he made that phone call and want to bet on 0:37:14.239 --> 0:37:17.120 the US team in twenty twelve. It was just a 0:37:17.160 --> 0:37:20.080 massive headshake, which is just like, wow, I you know, 0:37:20.360 --> 0:37:26.680 obviously you know all that being true. Uh, that's just 0:37:27.080 --> 0:37:31.799 that's that's that's insane. That's that there are people who 0:37:31.840 --> 0:37:35.520 have problems, you know, gambling issues, and that takes it 0:37:35.560 --> 0:37:37.040 to a level that I don't think a lot of 0:37:37.040 --> 0:37:40.680 people can even process or imagine to be to be realistic. 0:37:41.440 --> 0:37:46.680 Yeah, although you know, importantly, in his very artfully crafted statement. 0:37:46.680 --> 0:37:50.600 You know, Phil didn't deny calling Billy and requesting him 0:37:50.600 --> 0:37:52.760 to take the bet. He just said he didn't wind 0:37:52.840 --> 0:37:56.239 up betting on the Ryder cut. So it's you know, 0:37:56.360 --> 0:38:01.080 it feels he's His legal ease is always interesting to parse. 0:38:01.280 --> 0:38:03.320 But I will say. 0:38:03.320 --> 0:38:06.160 Armand Katayin, by the way, not to not to you know, 0:38:06.360 --> 0:38:09.799 like armand Katain's response to all of that and what 0:38:09.880 --> 0:38:13.840 he filed in response to that on our website as well. 0:38:14.440 --> 0:38:18.000 I just thought was was really important, and I think 0:38:18.000 --> 0:38:21.640 we're gonna we're gonna get Arman on a podcast here 0:38:21.680 --> 0:38:24.360 in the near future. But I just you know, I 0:38:24.480 --> 0:38:27.400 go back to playing softball with Army Katain at Sports 0:38:27.400 --> 0:38:32.560 Illustrated in Central Park, and I've always respected and marveled 0:38:32.600 --> 0:38:36.640 at his you know, much like yourself, people like Haimi Diaz, 0:38:36.760 --> 0:38:41.120 Tim Rose of Fort, John Hawkins, Bob Verdi. I've always had, 0:38:41.160 --> 0:38:44.919 you know, some of my favorites, and he's always been 0:38:44.960 --> 0:38:45.800 one of my favorite. 0:38:45.840 --> 0:38:45.960 You know. 0:38:46.000 --> 0:38:48.000 Bill Knack is another guy I ad mentioned, but like 0:38:48.160 --> 0:38:51.680 armand Katayin is, he is no mess around as it 0:38:51.760 --> 0:38:55.920 relates to journalism, writing, reporting, and the sum total of 0:38:56.000 --> 0:38:58.600 his of his his work portfolio it's incredible. 0:38:59.480 --> 0:39:01.320 Yeah, and you know, Army and I we've been talking 0:39:01.320 --> 0:39:03.640 off and on for a while, and I mean it 0:39:03.680 --> 0:39:06.120 was a three year project to get this book in print. Yeah, 0:39:06.760 --> 0:39:11.160 it was almost the way he describes it, I'm on paraphrase, 0:39:11.200 --> 0:39:12.840 but it was like he was writing his Bucking Bronco 0:39:12.880 --> 0:39:16.200 because Billy Walters has stories upon stories and that, and 0:39:16.880 --> 0:39:21.200 but fact checking them and running down the other people 0:39:21.200 --> 0:39:23.440 who were part of the tale and confirming it all. 0:39:23.480 --> 0:39:26.439 I mean, it was like the mother of all fact 0:39:26.520 --> 0:39:29.520 checking jobs. And you know in the story you mentioned 0:39:29.520 --> 0:39:32.200 that on Firepay Collective that Armand wrote, he does get 0:39:32.200 --> 0:39:36.879 into some of the methodology and but it was, Yeah, 0:39:36.920 --> 0:39:40.280 it was I think the writing the book that actually 0:39:40.280 --> 0:39:42.319 typing up the stories was the easy part. It was 0:39:42.400 --> 0:39:45.319 all the vetting and all the investigating and and all 0:39:45.320 --> 0:39:48.600 the fact checking that was the real challenge. And hats 0:39:48.600 --> 0:39:51.840 off to Arman because that was, no doubt complex. But 0:39:52.600 --> 0:39:56.040 I will say what one one of the primary reactions 0:39:56.520 --> 0:39:59.839 that came through on social is as I was as 0:39:59.880 --> 0:40:02.000 I I was engaging with so many different golf fans, 0:40:02.000 --> 0:40:04.760 but people saying, you know, this makes me like Phil Moore, 0:40:04.800 --> 0:40:07.919 you know what a legend like as we talked about 0:40:07.960 --> 0:40:09.839 last week, I mean, Phil's going to survive this because 0:40:09.880 --> 0:40:13.000 he survives everything. And I think a lot of people 0:40:13.000 --> 0:40:15.200 are like, hey, it's his money, he can do whatever 0:40:15.239 --> 0:40:17.839 he wants. Like if I had that kind of money, 0:40:17.880 --> 0:40:19.919 I would I would I would bet on everything too. 0:40:20.440 --> 0:40:24.080 And there was I think this is partially because sports 0:40:24.120 --> 0:40:27.719 betting and gambling has become such a part of the 0:40:27.760 --> 0:40:33.759 mainstream culture. People were just more amazed than than outrage. 0:40:33.840 --> 0:40:35.640 You know. It was just like, wow, that's crazy. But 0:40:35.760 --> 0:40:38.600 you know that kind of makes me like Phil, So 0:40:39.440 --> 0:40:41.879 I'm agnostic, you know, I'm I think I'm not trying 0:40:41.880 --> 0:40:44.960 to convince anyone of anything when it comes to Phil Nicholson, 0:40:44.960 --> 0:40:46.799 like I are my attitude of my book, and I 0:40:46.800 --> 0:40:49.440 think Billy Walters was the same, like I'm just gonna 0:40:49.640 --> 0:40:51.560 tell the story. These are the facts, and people can 0:40:51.640 --> 0:40:55.000 draw their own conclusions. And with that was interesting. I mean, 0:40:55.080 --> 0:40:58.400 I think, you know, I just I read that the 0:40:58.440 --> 0:41:01.120 Cincinnati Reds baseball seam they have a sports book on 0:41:01.200 --> 0:41:03.080 the ground, you know, and Pete Rose, of course his 0:41:03.160 --> 0:41:07.320 banned for betting, Like the society has changed a lot, 0:41:07.520 --> 0:41:11.319 and of course a bunch of NFL guys are getting 0:41:11.320 --> 0:41:14.160 suspended right now for betting. You know, it's it's a 0:41:14.200 --> 0:41:18.960 fine line when you get into the the participants of 0:41:19.080 --> 0:41:22.759 the games. And you know one I was talking about 0:41:22.800 --> 0:41:25.399 to Bamberger about this and he was close to Bart 0:41:25.480 --> 0:41:30.920 Giamatti actually wrote a play about Bart Giammotty that was 0:41:30.960 --> 0:41:34.360 produced in Philadelphia, and Giamatti was the commissioner of baseball 0:41:34.360 --> 0:41:39.719 who banned Pete Rose. And Michael's also friendly with this guy, 0:41:40.160 --> 0:41:42.359 John Dowd, I believe is his name. He was kind 0:41:42.400 --> 0:41:44.680 of look, he was the person who did the investigation 0:41:44.719 --> 0:41:47.719 of Pete Rose. And Michael's takeaway, if I can speak 0:41:47.719 --> 0:41:50.319 for him, is that what these guys say is even 0:41:50.360 --> 0:41:53.239 if you're betting on your own team, that shows a 0:41:53.320 --> 0:41:57.520 level of desperation. And what happens is that when you're 0:41:57.560 --> 0:42:00.360 betting that much and that really eventually the book is 0:42:00.400 --> 0:42:02.520 going to own you. And that was the whole lesson 0:42:02.520 --> 0:42:04.880 of the Black Sox scandal, going back to nineteen nineteen 0:42:04.920 --> 0:42:07.799 the Chicago White Sox is when you're betting on your 0:42:07.800 --> 0:42:11.919 own sport, you're gonna lose, and you're gonna you're gonna 0:42:11.920 --> 0:42:15.640 eventually owe the bookie your life. On some level, and 0:42:15.680 --> 0:42:17.680 then you can be manipulated, and then you can they 0:42:17.680 --> 0:42:20.160 can extract information, and then they can they can nudge 0:42:20.200 --> 0:42:22.440 you to go to the dark side. And that's really 0:42:22.480 --> 0:42:26.200 the danger. And I thought that was inching perspective when 0:42:26.200 --> 0:42:29.640 it comes to phil Is again, he's denied betting on 0:42:29.680 --> 0:42:31.359 the Ryder Cup, and we'll have to take that at 0:42:31.360 --> 0:42:34.960 face value, but that he was considering it, and that 0:42:35.040 --> 0:42:37.359 he gambles so much. I mean, it would be very 0:42:37.360 --> 0:42:40.000 easy for him to start dabbling and betting on golf 0:42:40.040 --> 0:42:43.080 because there he has real proprietary information. You know, he's 0:42:43.360 --> 0:42:45.040 he's in the locker room on Wednesday and he knows 0:42:45.080 --> 0:42:49.200 that some guy you know wrenched his back or found 0:42:49.200 --> 0:42:51.959 a magic putter and made thirteen birdies in their practice round, 0:42:52.040 --> 0:42:54.200 or you know, you can imagine that someone on the 0:42:54.200 --> 0:42:58.840 inside what kind of information they're privy to, and that 0:42:58.840 --> 0:43:02.359 that it was wishing perspective from Michael is That's where 0:43:02.360 --> 0:43:06.000 it gets dangerous. Is when you start betting on your 0:43:06.000 --> 0:43:09.600 own sport. You've gone, you've you've already broken a very 0:43:09.640 --> 0:43:12.359 important barrier, You've sort of crossed the rubicon, and then 0:43:12.800 --> 0:43:17.160 what how susceptible are you to to keep pushing that, 0:43:17.280 --> 0:43:18.200 and again we don't have. 0:43:18.120 --> 0:43:21.759 Any isn't that in that isn't that called insider like 0:43:21.960 --> 0:43:25.480 insider trading, which ironically is ultimately what what Billy? 0:43:25.680 --> 0:43:29.880 You know? Yeah time, I mean, I told this story 0:43:29.920 --> 0:43:31.680 not even that long ago on this podcast, but when 0:43:31.680 --> 0:43:34.759 I was, you know, in two thousand and four, when 0:43:34.800 --> 0:43:38.640 I extracted one thousand pounds from our Sports Illustrated editor 0:43:38.719 --> 0:43:42.400 Jim Harry to go over to the Open Championship and bet, 0:43:42.600 --> 0:43:45.239 you know, at lad Brokes on the corner stores, and 0:43:45.840 --> 0:43:48.480 I was run around talking to every caddy, swing coach, 0:43:48.680 --> 0:43:52.400 physio wife I could find. I was pumping them for information, 0:43:53.480 --> 0:43:57.440 like I'm you know, it was totally unethical, but I 0:43:57.480 --> 0:44:00.719 was having a great time, and so I I understand 0:44:00.760 --> 0:44:04.279 that that rush. You know, you hear something about some 0:44:04.360 --> 0:44:06.560 obscure player who'd got in a fight with his wife 0:44:06.560 --> 0:44:08.280 the night before, You're like, oh, I'm gonna bet against 0:44:08.280 --> 0:44:11.080 that guy. Like I totally went down that rabbit hole. 0:44:11.120 --> 0:44:14.080 And I'm coming this is my confessional now twenty years later, 0:44:14.120 --> 0:44:16.480 but you know it was when it was in the 0:44:16.480 --> 0:44:18.439 service of the readership I wrote about it was all 0:44:18.600 --> 0:44:20.560 really for fun. I'm not really a gambler. That was 0:44:20.680 --> 0:44:23.360 a one off, but I kind of picked up on 0:44:23.360 --> 0:44:26.600 that adrenaline, like, oh god, I think Nick Price just 0:44:26.640 --> 0:44:28.839 sprained his ankle, like I gotta go bet against him 0:44:28.880 --> 0:44:32.560 in the in his matchup against kJ Choy, like you know, 0:44:32.640 --> 0:44:36.480 like it's it's just funny, like how I can see 0:44:36.520 --> 0:44:38.640 it that. I'm not talking about Phil, I'm talking about 0:44:38.640 --> 0:44:41.920 anybody when when you when you're in a sport and 0:44:41.960 --> 0:44:45.759 you know so much, the temptation is there, and so 0:44:45.880 --> 0:44:49.200 that's why you need that firewall because then things can 0:44:49.280 --> 0:44:52.239 can go off the rails very quickly. Uh. 0:44:52.760 --> 0:44:59.000 Aaron Hills, Ricky Elliott practice round talking about ultimately Port Stewart, 0:44:59.120 --> 0:45:01.359 which we just did the story on which we'll drop 0:45:01.400 --> 0:45:04.719 in our Northern Ireland piece, told me, you know his 0:45:04.760 --> 0:45:07.919 guy Brooks Keepka has never hit the driver better, never 0:45:07.960 --> 0:45:10.239 hit it farther, never hit it straighter. I put one 0:45:10.280 --> 0:45:12.279 hundred bucks thirty five to one. I think Brooks was 0:45:12.360 --> 0:45:17.080 at that time thirty five hundred bucks later. And then 0:45:18.160 --> 0:45:21.040 Sergio Garcia before he won the Masters. I heard the 0:45:21.080 --> 0:45:23.120 father in law gave him a big cage rattle like 0:45:23.520 --> 0:45:28.840 get over yourself, like quit acting like you know the 0:45:28.960 --> 0:45:31.520 game like owes you something, go out and earn it, 0:45:31.560 --> 0:45:34.800 like go win, like stop being such a little bitch basically, 0:45:35.320 --> 0:45:37.920 And that was the father in law. You know, it 0:45:38.000 --> 0:45:39.840 comes from like a you know, kind of a football 0:45:39.880 --> 0:45:42.000 family and kind of gave him, gave him that shake up. 0:45:42.040 --> 0:45:44.000 I had heard that and I was like, oh wow, 0:45:44.080 --> 0:45:46.920 that that might be exactly the pep talk that Sergio needed. 0:45:47.239 --> 0:45:51.080 Anyone the masters and I benefited. But you know, I 0:45:51.120 --> 0:45:54.239 mean that's I felt a little like, I mean, this 0:45:54.320 --> 0:45:57.960 is really good info. I'll put a little couple of dollars. 0:45:57.560 --> 0:45:58.640 On this one. 0:45:58.920 --> 0:46:01.399 And I know, I can't tell you how many golf 0:46:01.400 --> 0:46:03.959 bets I've lost when I thought I had insider info. 0:46:04.080 --> 0:46:07.720 But those two in particular, uh stuck with me because 0:46:07.760 --> 0:46:08.600 they were big wins. 0:46:09.760 --> 0:46:12.600 Yeah, and it's interesting. I mean a guy like Jason Sobell, 0:46:12.640 --> 0:46:14.759 you know, he was at ESPN. Now he writes for 0:46:14.800 --> 0:46:17.240 the Action Network, and we have we have other colleagues 0:46:17.280 --> 0:46:19.600 who were on the beat and now they're they're writing 0:46:19.640 --> 0:46:22.239 for gaming sites. You know, Teddy Greenstein, he's he was 0:46:22.280 --> 0:46:26.120 in Chicago trib like ye. You know, they're out there 0:46:26.160 --> 0:46:29.000 talking to people. So it's I don't know where you 0:46:29.080 --> 0:46:32.279 draw the line on this it's it's or can you 0:46:32.480 --> 0:46:37.239 like how like how how? I don't know it's but 0:46:37.360 --> 0:46:41.680 I think how you do it for the players is 0:46:41.760 --> 0:46:43.759 you just you just say this, this is the red 0:46:43.800 --> 0:46:47.400 line you can't cross. And so I will be curious 0:46:47.880 --> 0:46:55.160 if if there's any formal investigation into Billy Walter's accusation, 0:46:55.280 --> 0:46:57.120 if the PGA of America will look into it because 0:46:57.120 --> 0:46:59.920 it's their championship. You know, Phil was a PG to 0:47:00.080 --> 0:47:03.440 remember then he's not now, but if if the framework 0:47:03.480 --> 0:47:06.719 agreement gets consummated, he would have access to go back, like, 0:47:07.960 --> 0:47:10.640 are the the powers that be just going to completely 0:47:10.680 --> 0:47:13.160 sweep this under the rug and and just dismiss it. 0:47:13.200 --> 0:47:14.960 Are they going to feel compelled to look into it? 0:47:15.000 --> 0:47:19.480 And you know, it's an interesting question. We'll see. Of course, 0:47:19.960 --> 0:47:21.919 if it's the tour, they don't talk about these things 0:47:21.920 --> 0:47:25.360 at all. Golf is always so hush hush, But I 0:47:25.400 --> 0:47:28.320 think it's probably a wake up call for professional golfers, 0:47:28.360 --> 0:47:31.759 like you know, you got you just you just can't 0:47:31.760 --> 0:47:34.560 cross that line. Even even ten, eleven, twelve years later, 0:47:34.600 --> 0:47:40.320 it might it might come out and when again Phil's 0:47:40.320 --> 0:47:44.520 denied it, Billy says in the excerpt, like we hung 0:47:44.560 --> 0:47:45.920 up I don't know if he plays a bet with 0:47:45.920 --> 0:47:48.160 somebody else, So we're gonna have to take Phil's word 0:47:48.840 --> 0:47:51.560 that he didn't. But to even make the call and 0:47:51.600 --> 0:47:56.399 even to consider it is very interesting and revealing. And 0:47:57.960 --> 0:48:00.400 this whether this is a point of inflect for the 0:48:00.440 --> 0:48:02.440 game or not, I don't know. But you know, the 0:48:02.480 --> 0:48:05.719 PGA Tour has gotten really big into sports betting. Live 0:48:06.160 --> 0:48:09.560 Golf just announce the relationship with sports bet. They're going 0:48:09.600 --> 0:48:12.239 to I think it's sports bet. I I don't keep track. 0:48:12.280 --> 0:48:14.600 There's so many of them now, but they're they're literally 0:48:14.719 --> 0:48:18.680 just and there's so many. Yeah, there's there. Live is 0:48:18.680 --> 0:48:21.719 going to offer, like you know, official channel to to 0:48:21.760 --> 0:48:26.440 bet on their rounds. So it's so pervasive. Whether the 0:48:26.640 --> 0:48:28.839 whether the sport wants to take a hard look at 0:48:28.840 --> 0:48:33.680 this or not. I mean there's already language. But if 0:48:33.960 --> 0:48:36.600 if things are going to get are going to get 0:48:37.120 --> 0:48:39.080 taken a little more seriously, and if there's going to 0:48:39.120 --> 0:48:41.799 be any fallout from this particular case remains to be seen. 0:48:44.719 --> 0:48:52.400 Man, At times, we go from you know, am life, 0:48:52.600 --> 0:48:56.719 you know, n I L deals to UH to to 0:48:57.239 --> 0:48:59.160 you know, where we are in the state of gambling, 0:48:59.840 --> 0:49:02.879 uh with a little you know, father, daughter, father son 0:49:02.920 --> 0:49:07.040 in the middle, you know, Little Ireland, the purity of 0:49:07.080 --> 0:49:11.279 the Irish, the Irish where amateurs actually play for borderline 0:49:11.360 --> 0:49:14.640 nothing by the way, to talk about all All Ireland finals. 0:49:14.640 --> 0:49:16.879 And you're got you got guys like Joe Canning, who 0:49:16.920 --> 0:49:20.080 are the Steph Curries of their game, telling me that 0:49:20.480 --> 0:49:24.080 who's a prominent figure in our Dublin piece. Joe Canning 0:49:24.120 --> 0:49:26.960 fourteen years one in all Ireland, you know, won four 0:49:27.040 --> 0:49:32.279 club four club championships, all Ireland's for Portumna, you know, 0:49:32.520 --> 0:49:35.239 just all everybody agrees he's one of the greatest to 0:49:35.280 --> 0:49:37.759 ever play the game. And at the height of his 0:49:37.920 --> 0:49:41.279 powers was making about forty thousand euros a year in 0:49:41.800 --> 0:49:46.000 endorsement deals. If he was lucky forty thousand a year, 0:49:46.080 --> 0:49:47.719 you know, and you know he would have been he 0:49:47.719 --> 0:49:50.640 would have been making, you know, forty million a year 0:49:50.640 --> 0:49:51.240 in the US. 0:49:51.520 --> 0:49:53.280 I mean, he's like, he's he's. 0:49:53.200 --> 0:49:57.840 Messy, he's Gretzky, He's Steph Curry, he's game changer. And 0:49:57.840 --> 0:50:00.719 and they did it for the love of each other, 0:50:00.800 --> 0:50:04.080 their town, their county, and still do to this day. 0:50:04.120 --> 0:50:06.520 It's changing a little bit, and I think there's more 0:50:06.560 --> 0:50:10.200 money floating around things to the people like a JP McManus, 0:50:10.200 --> 0:50:13.680 who you know, sort of realizes like this is kind 0:50:13.680 --> 0:50:16.600 of ridiculous. Let's try to help these people out where, 0:50:17.120 --> 0:50:19.520 you know, but the GAA and some of the people, 0:50:19.560 --> 0:50:22.680 you know, Joe Canning tells me he's a shot from 0:50:22.680 --> 0:50:26.320 the sideline as time is running out, ties up the game, 0:50:26.680 --> 0:50:28.520 and in a tie game at the end of hurling, 0:50:29.000 --> 0:50:32.200 and an all hurling final means they come back like 0:50:32.239 --> 0:50:36.000 two weeks later and replay the game. So another eighty 0:50:36.040 --> 0:50:40.120 three thousand tickets are sold, all the concessions, all the merchant, 0:50:40.160 --> 0:50:42.160 all that stuff. It happens all over again. 0:50:42.680 --> 0:50:43.720 How much does Joe. 0:50:43.560 --> 0:50:48.520 Cannon get to that, you know, zero amazing And the 0:50:48.600 --> 0:50:52.000 difference between that and the PGA Tour players and all 0:50:52.040 --> 0:50:57.040 that's happening in professional golf versus the purity of you know, 0:50:57.160 --> 0:51:02.200 the GAA sporting life in Ireland. You couldn't couldn't get uh, 0:51:02.280 --> 0:51:05.080 you know, further ends of the spectrum. So it's just fascinating. 0:51:05.960 --> 0:51:10.919 Well yeah, I mean, in summary, I think if people 0:51:10.920 --> 0:51:12.719 are fans of fire pay collective, it's because we sort 0:51:12.760 --> 0:51:15.800 of were eclectic and we follow things we're passionate about, 0:51:15.840 --> 0:51:18.439 and we're never going to be like a golf dot 0:51:18.480 --> 0:51:20.319 com or Golf Digest dot com, and we try and 0:51:20.320 --> 0:51:23.759 cover everything. It's just there's enough of that out there already. 0:51:23.920 --> 0:51:25.359 You know, we don't want to write five hundred word 0:51:25.360 --> 0:51:28.520 stories about Rory McElroy's new putter. You know, we'll let 0:51:28.560 --> 0:51:31.600 that other people do that, but we kind of immerseer 0:51:31.600 --> 0:51:32.600 o Lucas Glover. 0:51:32.960 --> 0:51:36.239 Lucas Glover's new putter is a pretty hot topic. Yeah, 0:51:36.280 --> 0:51:38.239 that is interesting if you want to hear more on that. 0:51:39.040 --> 0:51:42.280 Yeah, yeah, yeah, Lucas poor some out. I mean, Lucas 0:51:42.320 --> 0:51:44.799 is what a run he's been on. But you know, 0:51:44.880 --> 0:51:47.279 we're we just kind of follow our hearts and so 0:51:47.320 --> 0:51:49.080 like I'm on this little run of amateur events. It's 0:51:49.120 --> 0:51:50.880 been fun and I'll be writing every day about the 0:51:50.920 --> 0:51:53.000 US amateur People can check that out on our website 0:51:53.040 --> 0:51:58.640 and your Island. Content's coming, you know, it's now two 0:51:58.640 --> 0:52:00.920 months from the book release of my live book. There 0:52:00.920 --> 0:52:04.200 will be a content bonanza around that. We've got various 0:52:04.200 --> 0:52:07.320 other projects in the works, so it's nice to surprise 0:52:07.400 --> 0:52:09.600 the listeners and the readers. I think maybe they don't 0:52:09.640 --> 0:52:12.279 necessarily know what's coming next to me. That's a good thing. 0:52:12.440 --> 0:52:15.880 Like I think, you always want to surprise and delight 0:52:15.960 --> 0:52:18.640 the people who are falling along, So I can't wait 0:52:19.000 --> 0:52:22.160 to watch all these these videos unspool. Matt. I know 0:52:22.160 --> 0:52:25.239 you're gonna be busy on the editing and the back 0:52:25.320 --> 0:52:27.719 end of all this, so it'll be it'll be great fun. 0:52:27.760 --> 0:52:29.400 We will of course put that on all our channels 0:52:29.400 --> 0:52:31.480 and let everyone know what to look for and when. 0:52:31.600 --> 0:52:35.319 But I think this is a fun chat, so thanks 0:52:35.360 --> 0:52:39.400 for taking the time. Any party shots before we release 0:52:39.440 --> 0:52:40.040 the listeners. 0:52:41.120 --> 0:52:43.120 No, good to be back, Good to be home. I 0:52:43.160 --> 0:52:45.000 love being away, but it's always good to be home. 0:52:45.440 --> 0:52:48.520 Good to be back in Oceanside. I've missed my goat 0:52:48.560 --> 0:52:50.920 Hill Park community. We got a monthly medal on Saturday. 0:52:51.080 --> 0:52:55.400 I'm hoping my links golf experiences and the shots that 0:52:55.440 --> 0:52:59.320 I was hitting over there translates into something fun come Saturday. 0:52:59.360 --> 0:53:01.799 But you know what, you know, the curse of having 0:53:01.840 --> 0:53:05.279 any expectations going indie golf round is the death of 0:53:05.800 --> 0:53:10.120 all good scores. So yeah, but good to be back here, 0:53:10.160 --> 0:53:12.560 Good to be back on with you and uh and 0:53:12.680 --> 0:53:15.719 can't wait for what's next because it's a lot and. 0:53:16.160 --> 0:53:18.600 Yeah, it's always something coming all right. Well, this was 0:53:18.600 --> 0:53:22.160 another fire Drill podcast. I am Alan Schipnak. That was 0:53:22.200 --> 0:53:25.200 Matt Janelle. We appreciate you for listening. Thanks to Link 0:53:25.239 --> 0:53:28.080 Soul and Dormy for sponsoring us and helping us keep 0:53:28.120 --> 0:53:31.439 doing what we're doing. And we back at it again soon. 0:53:31.600 --> 0:53:37.000 So that's the end. Thanks. I'm bed big again. 0:53:37.080 --> 0:53:41.279 I played the wind, made a fortune when my ship 0:53:41.400 --> 0:53:45.279 came and I ran the table and never thought I 0:53:45.320 --> 0:53:48.560 could fall. Then the wind and hit me. Lack of 0:53:48.719 --> 0:53:54.920 canon the ball, and now I can't shake this, lose. 0:53:54.760 --> 0:53:55.640 In the stream. 0:53:56.200 --> 0:54:01.440 Every road I take is a dead end street. I 0:54:01.600 --> 0:54:06.040 got thoughts in my head, can't get them out, trying 0:54:06.320 --> 0:54:10.120 not to think what I'm thinking about. I got thoughts 0:54:10.200 --> 0:54:10.879 in my head. 0:54:11.360 --> 0:54:12.080 I can't get 0:54:12.120 --> 0:54:16.360 Them out, trying not to think what I'm thinking about.