WEBVTT - Final Thoughts on the 2024 Masters with Shane Bacon 0:00:00.040 --> 0:00:02.800 I miss a green, for example, I'm already upset. When 0:00:02.800 --> 0:00:04.920 I find my ball in the bunker, I'm really upset. 0:00:05.000 --> 0:00:06.200 And when I find my ball in. 0:00:06.240 --> 0:00:09.800 A Friday Egg, Friday egg, the dreaded Friday Friday, Frida 0:00:09.840 --> 0:00:12.639 Egg Egg, Friday Bride Egg, Lie, I'm about ready to 0:00:12.760 --> 0:00:13.640 run off of the hump. 0:00:34.560 --> 0:00:38.240 Welcome back to another edition of the Friday Golf Podcast. 0:00:38.440 --> 0:00:41.519 I am Andy Johnson and I am back from Augusta. 0:00:42.200 --> 0:00:45.839 What a week? What a I mean, it's always a whirlwind. 0:00:45.920 --> 0:00:49.400 You get to Augusta and we get you know, we 0:00:49.479 --> 0:00:52.880 got in on Saturday, Saturday night, and then before you 0:00:53.000 --> 0:00:55.840 know it, it's like Saturday night the next week and 0:00:55.960 --> 0:00:59.680 you're you're looking at the final round right down the barrel. 0:00:59.800 --> 0:01:04.640 So what a win from skyt Scheffler. Unbelievable performance and 0:01:04.920 --> 0:01:09.720 really quite the run that he's been on. It's I mean, 0:01:10.080 --> 0:01:14.560 it's just been amazing. So I had Shane Bacon. Shane 0:01:14.720 --> 0:01:20.080 was working doing Future Groups coverage for Masters, and it 0:01:20.200 --> 0:01:21.960 was fun to just kind of we didn't talk a 0:01:22.000 --> 0:01:25.200 lot during the week. It's funny, you know, you got 0:01:25.240 --> 0:01:28.559 all your media friends there, and Shane's a good friend 0:01:28.600 --> 0:01:30.800 of mine, and you know, we We see each other 0:01:30.880 --> 0:01:33.600 in passing, but we don't really talk about what's going on. 0:01:33.959 --> 0:01:36.360 So it was fun to fun to chat with Shane 0:01:36.440 --> 0:01:40.919 and kind of unload each of our notebooks and stuff 0:01:40.959 --> 0:01:43.800 we wanted to get off our chests from this year's Masters. 0:01:44.160 --> 0:01:48.840 So before we get to Shane, today's podcast is brought 0:01:48.880 --> 0:01:54.800 to you by Bushnell. Bushnell has a new rangefinder. It's 0:01:54.880 --> 0:01:58.160 probably the best one yet. Is the Bushnell pro X 0:01:58.440 --> 0:02:03.520 three Bushnell Golf pro X three plus. It's precision perfected 0:02:03.760 --> 0:02:07.560 and this is next level performance because it now has wind. 0:02:08.400 --> 0:02:12.079 It is able to gauge the wind. It's gonna tell 0:02:12.080 --> 0:02:15.480 you which speed, the speed and which direction is coming 0:02:16.400 --> 0:02:20.160 along with the compensated distances. So it's gonna factor and 0:02:20.320 --> 0:02:23.880 win when you're shooting these these numbers. I'd say one 0:02:23.919 --> 0:02:26.040 of the things you notice on tour is that when 0:02:26.080 --> 0:02:29.720 you look at a golf a player's bag, almost all 0:02:29.840 --> 0:02:33.240 of them are always using Bushnell. It's trusted by ninety 0:02:33.280 --> 0:02:37.359 eight point six percent of PGA tour players. It's of 0:02:37.440 --> 0:02:42.080 course got all the convenient things as range finders have evolved. 0:02:42.240 --> 0:02:46.560 I remember back to junior golf, my first Bushnell. I mean, 0:02:46.600 --> 0:02:49.600 it was huge they're so much smaller now. It was 0:02:49.720 --> 0:02:52.680 like the wide one. You felt like you were looking 0:02:52.760 --> 0:02:55.160 through like a pair of binoculars. On the first one 0:02:55.280 --> 0:02:59.520 it was wide, it had one eye. But then now 0:02:59.639 --> 0:03:02.280 they've got and so far they obviously have the slope 0:03:02.600 --> 0:03:05.640 and it's super easy to turn off and on. Same 0:03:05.680 --> 0:03:09.680 with the wind for tournament play. Uh it it grabs 0:03:09.720 --> 0:03:12.760 a pin super quick, It has the magnetic amount for 0:03:12.880 --> 0:03:15.359 people to ride in carts. And one of the big 0:03:15.440 --> 0:03:18.239 things it is waterproof, so you don't have to worry 0:03:18.280 --> 0:03:21.200 about it if it's raining. So learn more about the 0:03:21.320 --> 0:03:24.639 new pro X three plus uh with the wind gage 0:03:24.720 --> 0:03:29.239 and all that good stuff, and visit bush Nell Golf 0:03:29.520 --> 0:03:37.840 dot com. That's Bushnell Golf dot com. All right, I'm 0:03:37.840 --> 0:03:40.160 here with Shane Bak and Shane was on the featured 0:03:40.200 --> 0:03:44.640 groups calls this week. Great job with thanks, Thanks, you 0:03:44.720 --> 0:03:50.040 know a lot of fun. I miss covering the Masters 0:03:50.080 --> 0:03:52.840 from home a little bit because I miss out on 0:03:52.960 --> 0:03:56.480 all like the Master's coverage because I'm kind of running 0:03:56.480 --> 0:03:58.880 around and I'm not really connected to it that much. 0:03:59.040 --> 0:04:02.560 I'll like occasionally I'll sit inside for like half of 0:04:02.680 --> 0:04:07.080 day and and I'll get to, you know, watch and 0:04:07.240 --> 0:04:09.640 listen to it, but you know, a lot of days 0:04:09.720 --> 0:04:12.400 I'm out, so I didn't. I didn't hear a lot 0:04:12.480 --> 0:04:14.400 of your work. I heard a lot of your work 0:04:14.520 --> 0:04:15.080 was great though. 0:04:15.480 --> 0:04:17.800 Oh that that's that's nice. Who told you that was that? 0:04:17.960 --> 0:04:22.000 Like like friends of friends or did I text you. 0:04:22.080 --> 0:04:22.719 That it was great? 0:04:22.839 --> 0:04:25.760 Like three three three of your friends? It was an 0:04:25.800 --> 0:04:29.920 anonymous group chat chat. I got that. I didn't even 0:04:29.960 --> 0:04:33.000 have their numbers on my phone. They texted me Shane 0:04:33.120 --> 0:04:33.719 was really great. 0:04:33.920 --> 0:04:35.440 Yeah, I passed. 0:04:35.600 --> 0:04:37.240 By the way, case your wondering, I always send your 0:04:37.279 --> 0:04:39.919 number of people anytime they were like any course recommendations, 0:04:39.960 --> 0:04:41.000 I'm like, text Andy. 0:04:41.040 --> 0:04:43.279 He loves giving those out. So I'm always just passing 0:04:43.320 --> 0:04:44.040 your number to people. 0:04:44.760 --> 0:04:47.800 Yeah, so that's that's who told me that you were perfect? 0:04:48.240 --> 0:04:50.320 By the way, I know, I consumed a lot of 0:04:50.360 --> 0:04:53.000 your podcasts this past week, and I've read a lot 0:04:53.080 --> 0:04:54.600 of your stuff and I thought it was great. So 0:04:54.720 --> 0:04:58.200 that's actually that's a first person compliment right there. 0:04:58.320 --> 0:05:02.120 Well, I will say there's like I've imagined with boothe 0:05:02.240 --> 0:05:07.120 and working with people you've worked with Colton Kratz Hurt 0:05:07.320 --> 0:05:09.840 a couple of years now running I'm imagining that you 0:05:09.920 --> 0:05:10.720 get better every year. 0:05:11.040 --> 0:05:14.080 Right, Oh, I mean I think uh, I think, you know, 0:05:14.240 --> 0:05:16.600 one of the main things about covering the Masters that's 0:05:16.600 --> 0:05:19.360 different than covering ever of the golf tournament is constantly 0:05:19.440 --> 0:05:22.679 remind yourself that people are there to watch the golf 0:05:22.760 --> 0:05:25.560 course first, i'd say, is probably the most likely thing, 0:05:25.640 --> 0:05:28.760 and second is the golf tournament. And so we try 0:05:28.839 --> 0:05:31.920 as best we can to be minimalist in terms of 0:05:31.960 --> 0:05:35.200 the broadcast, and Kratz is the best at it, i'd 0:05:35.279 --> 0:05:37.160 say in the group. I mean, Kratz is so good 0:05:37.240 --> 0:05:40.400 at interjecting when he's got an amazing point to be made. 0:05:41.160 --> 0:05:43.240 Colton I can be a little sillier at times, I mean, 0:05:43.279 --> 0:05:44.799 as silly as you're going to be doing the Masters, 0:05:44.920 --> 0:05:46.760 but I feel like, yeah, I mean, I think this 0:05:46.920 --> 0:05:49.880 is our third or fourth year as a team doing it, 0:05:50.279 --> 0:05:52.600 and you know, we kind of jump in those seats 0:05:52.640 --> 0:05:53.320 in rock and roll. 0:05:53.400 --> 0:05:55.200 But you know, I mean, it's the best week of 0:05:55.240 --> 0:05:56.240 the year. I mean, it really is. 0:05:56.360 --> 0:05:59.120 I Like, it's hard for me not to call the 0:05:59.160 --> 0:06:02.360 Open my favorite major championship just from my kind of 0:06:02.839 --> 0:06:05.360 roots across the pond, if you will, like growing up 0:06:05.600 --> 0:06:08.320 and caddy and things like that. But in terms of 0:06:08.760 --> 0:06:10.520 the most fun work week of the year, I think 0:06:10.560 --> 0:06:12.040 the Masters is easily number one. 0:06:12.560 --> 0:06:16.800 Yeah, yeah, I think. I think there's times where you 0:06:16.880 --> 0:06:21.800 can be really excited about a course on one of 0:06:21.880 --> 0:06:27.000 the other major championships because they rotate. Like this morning, 0:06:27.240 --> 0:06:31.480 the news that Kiowa got another PGA came out and 0:06:31.600 --> 0:06:34.800 I was like, oh, I'm really excited because last time 0:06:35.279 --> 0:06:37.880 Kia was awesome. It was awesome to cover. It was 0:06:37.920 --> 0:06:40.560 an awesome tournament, like one of the most memorable majors 0:06:40.600 --> 0:06:44.880 of the last ten years. And for my job, it 0:06:45.000 --> 0:06:47.520 was awesome to cover because like I was just at 0:06:47.640 --> 0:06:51.520 Kiwa Resort, could go home, I ride ride a bike 0:06:51.600 --> 0:06:55.080 to the golf course and be back and it was 0:06:55.240 --> 0:07:00.960 just like the life. Yeah life. So from that that standpoint, 0:07:02.000 --> 0:07:04.479 you know, there are majors in like last year's LACC. 0:07:04.680 --> 0:07:08.400 I was probably more excited for LACC last year than 0:07:08.440 --> 0:07:11.280 I was for the Masters, just because it was something 0:07:11.360 --> 0:07:13.320 that we don't get all the time. So I think 0:07:13.400 --> 0:07:16.160 that's kind of the push and pull. But especially this 0:07:16.320 --> 0:07:19.640 year with the weather, I mean, the the golf course 0:07:19.880 --> 0:07:23.240 was just we haven't seen it, we haven't seen it 0:07:23.440 --> 0:07:28.480 like that forever. I can't even recall going back when 0:07:28.560 --> 0:07:32.720 the last time we had really like four solid days 0:07:35.000 --> 0:07:37.960 of you know, Thursday was a little soft because of 0:07:38.040 --> 0:07:40.320 the rain, but I mean it dried out so quick 0:07:40.360 --> 0:07:40.840 with the wind. 0:07:42.360 --> 0:07:44.680 So you know, I was thinking about this during the 0:07:44.720 --> 0:07:48.200 week last week, Andy, to your point about Augusta Nastional. 0:07:48.280 --> 0:07:50.760 And I got a little out out of Brendan's article 0:07:50.800 --> 0:07:53.680 about this as well, when he obviously got a chance 0:07:53.720 --> 0:07:54.920 to play it, and then he wrote a great piece. 0:07:54.960 --> 0:07:56.320 If you haven't read it, by the way, absolutely go 0:07:56.440 --> 0:07:57.440 check that out. It was awesome. 0:07:57.560 --> 0:07:59.800 But we all know. 0:08:00.160 --> 0:08:02.160 And when I say we, I mean golf fans, right, 0:08:03.160 --> 0:08:07.000 diehard golf fans know Augusta National, and we learn more 0:08:07.040 --> 0:08:09.440 and more about it every single year. And when I'm 0:08:09.560 --> 0:08:12.080 calling the golf, I've never played Augusta National. I mean 0:08:13.000 --> 0:08:15.480 I've never been between the ropes, right, I mean, I 0:08:16.200 --> 0:08:18.480 don't know what it's like to play the golf course 0:08:18.920 --> 0:08:22.160 and experience certain golf shots. But I know on every 0:08:22.320 --> 0:08:25.800 single hole where a guy's in trouble and if a 0:08:25.840 --> 0:08:28.800 guy's in a good spot. And I'd say that's pretty 0:08:28.880 --> 0:08:31.320 much across the board for anybody that's a golf fan 0:08:31.400 --> 0:08:35.280 that pays any amount of close attention to golf courses. 0:08:35.320 --> 0:08:38.679 I'd say people listening to this podcast probably understand, like 0:08:38.800 --> 0:08:40.920 you see a t shot with the tracer headed left 0:08:41.000 --> 0:08:44.360 on eight, and you know that guy's in trouble instantaneously. 0:08:44.760 --> 0:08:47.240 And I can't think of another golf course where you 0:08:47.440 --> 0:08:50.760 know right away if the person has a shot or 0:08:50.840 --> 0:08:53.800 does it. I was thinking thirteen. You'd see the second 0:08:53.840 --> 0:08:57.559 shots on thirteen, especially Friday and Saturday. You'd see those 0:08:57.600 --> 0:09:00.319 second shots creep over the back of thirteen in that 0:09:00.400 --> 0:09:03.839 little swale and you know, again without having played the 0:09:03.880 --> 0:09:06.760 golf course and having no real course knowledge, you know 0:09:06.880 --> 0:09:08.760 how hard that golf shot is. And there's no other 0:09:08.840 --> 0:09:11.760 course on the planet like that where people truly know 0:09:12.400 --> 0:09:14.920 the goods and the bads of where players can hit shots. 0:09:14.920 --> 0:09:16.679 And I think that's what makes it so cool is 0:09:16.720 --> 0:09:19.199 you almost have personal roots to it, even though almost 0:09:19.240 --> 0:09:20.160 everybody's never played it. 0:09:21.320 --> 0:09:24.079 I think you know you hit on something here, just 0:09:24.240 --> 0:09:27.800 overarching it. Just so people have the premise of the episode, 0:09:28.200 --> 0:09:28.560 We're just. 0:09:30.440 --> 0:09:32.800 We're dead beats right now, just so you know, but yeah, 0:09:32.840 --> 0:09:33.280 go ahead. 0:09:33.920 --> 0:09:36.600 The premise of the episode is we're just gonna unload 0:09:36.960 --> 0:09:41.600 thoughts on the Masters. I was planning to write something, 0:09:41.960 --> 0:09:44.920 and I was writing it on my flight back. It 0:09:45.040 --> 0:09:47.959 was a late night flight back, and I was literally 0:09:48.240 --> 0:09:50.719 just like nodding off while I was writing. At one 0:09:50.800 --> 0:09:53.520 point my head hit the monitor of my commuter because 0:09:53.520 --> 0:09:57.520 I had fallen asleep. And it just seems like this 0:09:57.640 --> 0:10:02.319 is better served for the podcast. So so this is 0:10:02.360 --> 0:10:05.439 the ideas we're gonna kind of unload some thoughts on that. 0:10:06.360 --> 0:10:09.120 But what you were saying about the course, Like, I 0:10:09.280 --> 0:10:15.880 do want to point out pro golf, male pro golf especially, 0:10:16.720 --> 0:10:21.000 and I think women's pro golf is the same way. Unfortunately, 0:10:21.600 --> 0:10:24.560 they don't play. They play like a handful of courses 0:10:24.880 --> 0:10:28.600 where there are good and bad spots every weekend, week out. 0:10:29.040 --> 0:10:33.520 You know, at TPC sod Farms, TPC Minnesota, it really 0:10:33.600 --> 0:10:35.520 doesn't matter if they hit it on the right side 0:10:35.640 --> 0:10:38.040 or the left side of the fairway or the rough, like, 0:10:38.440 --> 0:10:40.959 it doesn't matter. And I think that's one of the 0:10:41.040 --> 0:10:46.280 big problems with professional golf and with the PGA Tours events, 0:10:46.400 --> 0:10:48.720 like they don't have a ton of an identity. They 0:10:48.840 --> 0:10:51.000 go back to the same place, but it's you know, 0:10:51.040 --> 0:10:53.800 a lot of them just aren't great golf courses. And 0:10:54.240 --> 0:10:56.319 one of the reasons that this has happened is like 0:10:56.440 --> 0:11:00.839 pro golf has outgrown a lot of the great golf 0:11:00.920 --> 0:11:04.719 courses in America. And I think, you know, one of 0:11:04.760 --> 0:11:07.640 the things I in the lead up, I in the 0:11:07.720 --> 0:11:11.000 lead up of the of the Masters, I looked at 0:11:11.440 --> 0:11:15.839 the work on six and I think Augustin National is 0:11:15.840 --> 0:11:20.520 in a really weird spot in terms of identity. I 0:11:20.600 --> 0:11:22.920 think Joel Beale hit on this in his article Great 0:11:23.000 --> 0:11:26.920 Golf Digest article last year. You know what what is 0:11:27.000 --> 0:11:32.120 Augusta National? Is it a great club? Is it a 0:11:32.240 --> 0:11:35.640 club or is it a tournament host? 0:11:36.240 --> 0:11:36.719 You know it? 0:11:37.320 --> 0:11:41.000 Does it run and host the biggest golf tournament in 0:11:41.040 --> 0:11:45.040 the world. And when you think about it through the 0:11:45.200 --> 0:11:47.559 lens of that, the golf course through the lens of that, 0:11:48.200 --> 0:11:51.400 I think they've been doing a lot of work and 0:11:51.559 --> 0:11:53.800 they're probably the only ones with the means to do 0:11:53.960 --> 0:11:56.760 this to keep their golf course relevant. And we saw 0:11:56.800 --> 0:12:00.959 it on full display this week. Like I have a 0:12:01.080 --> 0:12:03.520 hard time believing that there was a better test of 0:12:03.600 --> 0:12:06.960 golf in the world than what we saw this week. 0:12:07.120 --> 0:12:11.280 Like I couldn't you just looked at the golf course, 0:12:11.360 --> 0:12:14.599 you watched the shots that you had to hit and like. 0:12:14.800 --> 0:12:19.400 As the tournament went on, the leaderboard just separated more 0:12:19.480 --> 0:12:22.719 and more, and it was very, very clear who the 0:12:22.880 --> 0:12:26.520 best players in the world were at that time, who 0:12:26.640 --> 0:12:30.400 had all the shots, who had all the tools to 0:12:30.520 --> 0:12:34.920 play because it was demanding everything of everyone. And you 0:12:35.040 --> 0:12:37.760 look at that leaderboard and you go through the top 0:12:37.880 --> 0:12:40.559 ten and it's like every one of those guys in 0:12:40.640 --> 0:12:43.520 the top ten is a stud. Those were the only 0:12:43.640 --> 0:12:47.360 guys that could handle this golf course this week. And 0:12:47.600 --> 0:12:50.000 sure there were some great players who didn't have their 0:12:50.040 --> 0:12:53.679 best stuff and that got snuffed out. And at a 0:12:53.760 --> 0:12:59.040 lot of places that doesn't happen. But August is in 0:12:59.120 --> 0:13:02.439 this weird spot where if you were you know, I 0:13:02.840 --> 0:13:06.599 look at the work that they've been doing and you know, 0:13:06.679 --> 0:13:09.560 it's like some of it the six holes, the big 0:13:09.960 --> 0:13:11.520 one of the big things they did this year, or 0:13:11.640 --> 0:13:15.079 the second te I don't love the work, right, I 0:13:15.120 --> 0:13:17.320 don't love the idea of the work. If I'm looking 0:13:17.400 --> 0:13:19.439 at it through the lens of were great club, you're 0:13:19.480 --> 0:13:21.640 now you have an Alistair McKenzie course, and some of 0:13:21.679 --> 0:13:25.160 this work takes it further away from being an Alistair 0:13:25.240 --> 0:13:27.439 McKenzie course. And if you're looking at it through a 0:13:27.520 --> 0:13:32.439 club standpoint, I don't like the work now if you're 0:13:32.440 --> 0:13:35.600 looking at it through a tournament venue standpoint, like moving 0:13:35.640 --> 0:13:38.280 the tea back on two made a big difference in two. 0:13:38.840 --> 0:13:42.439 Adding that little like back runoff that dips down on 0:13:42.640 --> 0:13:45.680 six made that shot on six more difficult and there's 0:13:45.760 --> 0:13:49.320 more consequence to you when you missed. Is that change 0:13:49.360 --> 0:13:52.200 on six in the spirit of what Alisair McKenzie wanted 0:13:52.559 --> 0:13:56.520 and Bobby Jones wanted, No, like they don't want to 0:13:56.600 --> 0:13:59.600 have like a little shelf in these sharp edges. They 0:13:59.640 --> 0:14:03.480 were very it was very artistic, and that sharp edge 0:14:03.559 --> 0:14:06.959 is very anti mackenzie. But if you're looking at it 0:14:07.000 --> 0:14:09.920 through the lenses of a tournament venue and demanding the 0:14:10.000 --> 0:14:14.120 best out of the pro golfers, you know, maybe that 0:14:14.280 --> 0:14:17.439 change was good. So I think it's just like I 0:14:17.600 --> 0:14:22.160 kind of leave. I really believe, you know, more so 0:14:22.320 --> 0:14:25.560 than maybe in years past that listen, this is this 0:14:25.760 --> 0:14:30.320 is a this is a tournament venue and a golf 0:14:30.440 --> 0:14:35.000 tournament organization that operates as a club fifty three weeks 0:14:35.040 --> 0:14:37.760 of the year. But like the main reason for it 0:14:38.120 --> 0:14:41.600 is this tournament. And when you look at the changes 0:14:41.680 --> 0:14:45.800 through that lens, it does make a difference. I will 0:14:45.920 --> 0:14:52.200 say one parting thing. I the changes are one thing. 0:14:52.320 --> 0:14:55.320 The work is sloppy, and I don't think it's great 0:14:55.440 --> 0:14:59.400 work that they're been doing, Like from the technical, artful 0:14:59.640 --> 0:15:01.840 nature of the work, it could be done much better. 0:15:02.040 --> 0:15:04.160 And I would say that's my one big critique. 0:15:04.760 --> 0:15:06.720 Well, expand on that a little bit, because when you 0:15:06.880 --> 0:15:09.280 say it's sloppy, is that going back to what you 0:15:09.360 --> 0:15:13.240 said about the Alis McKenzie proto like layout if you 0:15:13.280 --> 0:15:15.760 will initially is that your point on the on either 0:15:15.840 --> 0:15:16.920 quote unquote sloppiness. 0:15:17.320 --> 0:15:19.640 I just think when you look at the this is 0:15:19.720 --> 0:15:22.200 stuff that a lot of people won't care about. Like 0:15:22.400 --> 0:15:25.520 the changes are the changes, and I understand that, but 0:15:26.120 --> 0:15:30.120 it's just like shoddy construction work. You know, there are 0:15:30.440 --> 0:15:33.200 they're just the way that the stuff ties in. There's 0:15:33.280 --> 0:15:35.200 ways that they could tie it into the landscape a 0:15:35.240 --> 0:15:41.200 little bit better. The way they are utilizing drains, the 0:15:41.280 --> 0:15:44.440 way you know, just the way the edges and everything 0:15:44.520 --> 0:15:47.760 flows together. It just it doesn't look great. I would 0:15:47.880 --> 0:15:51.120 compare it to like, you know, you could get a 0:15:51.280 --> 0:15:53.440 plus work on your house or you could go with 0:15:53.600 --> 0:15:56.760 a cheaper option. And if to me it feels and 0:15:56.880 --> 0:15:59.280 I'm not saying they're spending less money. In fact, I 0:15:59.320 --> 0:16:02.040 bet they're spending more money, but they're just getting less 0:16:02.080 --> 0:16:05.960 quality work than is out there with other options. So 0:16:06.440 --> 0:16:06.680 I did. 0:16:06.800 --> 0:16:08.520 I wanted to ask you about a couple of things 0:16:08.640 --> 0:16:11.960 because I think the last two years you talked about 0:16:12.040 --> 0:16:13.640 changes to the golf course, and I think the big 0:16:13.760 --> 0:16:15.680 changes to the golf course over the last three years 0:16:16.080 --> 0:16:19.160 have been thirteen and fifteen. And I've seen a couple 0:16:19.240 --> 0:16:23.000 of articles and podcasts that have talked about how these 0:16:23.120 --> 0:16:25.840 changes have now made the second night on Sunday less exciting. 0:16:26.600 --> 0:16:29.040 And my pushback to that, Andy, and I wanted your 0:16:29.080 --> 0:16:32.000 thoughts on this. The guy that won, the guy that 0:16:32.080 --> 0:16:34.280 won the Masters the best player in the world by 0:16:34.320 --> 0:16:35.880 an enormous gap. And I'm going to get into that 0:16:35.920 --> 0:16:37.320 gap in a little bit because it's a point I 0:16:37.360 --> 0:16:40.320 want to throw your way. That guy hit thirteen and 0:16:40.440 --> 0:16:42.320 fifteen and two on Sunday when he went on to win, 0:16:42.440 --> 0:16:45.920 that guy easily hit thirteen and fifteen and two. And 0:16:46.040 --> 0:16:48.680 so if you're pushing those teas back to make it 0:16:48.880 --> 0:16:51.560 more challenging to hit those shots, the second shots into 0:16:51.600 --> 0:16:53.640 those par fives, not only does it make it obviously 0:16:53.680 --> 0:16:55.160 harder to hit the second shot in because you're hit 0:16:55.200 --> 0:16:57.440 more club. But it makes those tea shots more demanding. 0:16:57.440 --> 0:16:59.200 And I know you've been on this on the shotguns. 0:16:59.200 --> 0:17:02.480 Start about Max hitting three wood on thirteen. You have 0:17:02.640 --> 0:17:04.040 to stand on that team and hit a really good 0:17:04.080 --> 0:17:05.560 t shot and it's got to move a little bit 0:17:05.640 --> 0:17:08.399 right to left. Probably less than people think on thirteen, 0:17:08.480 --> 0:17:10.320 but it does need to move a little bit if 0:17:10.359 --> 0:17:13.160 you're a long hitter, and Scotty is an extremely long hitter. 0:17:13.200 --> 0:17:16.080 It's something Colin Moricowa talked a lot about playing alongside 0:17:16.080 --> 0:17:16.320 the guy. 0:17:16.440 --> 0:17:16.560 Right. 0:17:17.320 --> 0:17:19.440 He easily hit it on the green in thirteen and 0:17:19.480 --> 0:17:22.440 fifteen easily. I mean, you know it's not like it 0:17:22.640 --> 0:17:25.560 wasn't he didn't need to do it, but he did 0:17:25.640 --> 0:17:28.360 it because it takes the serious trouble and the big 0:17:28.480 --> 0:17:30.720 numbers out of play. And so for people out there 0:17:30.800 --> 0:17:34.399 that say we've lost some of the roars because of 0:17:34.480 --> 0:17:37.600 the distance added to thirteen and fifteen, my only pushback 0:17:37.640 --> 0:17:40.560 at that is the dude that wins the golf tournament, 0:17:40.680 --> 0:17:42.719 the best golfer on the planet, the guy that's been 0:17:42.760 --> 0:17:45.560 on this crazy run over the last twenty five months, 0:17:46.119 --> 0:17:48.600 took on those par fives and pulled the golf shots off, 0:17:49.040 --> 0:17:52.879 and so that's more to me. The dude's chasing the 0:17:52.960 --> 0:17:54.840 guys that want to win the Masters that haven't won 0:17:54.920 --> 0:17:57.920 it yet, Colin Moricow and Max Homa and Ludvig who's 0:17:57.920 --> 0:18:00.000 playing in his first Masters. The guys that were closed 0:18:01.119 --> 0:18:03.639 didn't hit those golf shots that the holes are asking 0:18:03.720 --> 0:18:06.119 in modern times. And if you want to see the 0:18:06.160 --> 0:18:08.679 guys be able to hit mediocre T shots and hit 0:18:08.760 --> 0:18:12.359 seven irons in, then so you have more eagle putts, 0:18:12.440 --> 0:18:15.280 that's your distinction on the golf tournament. But to me, 0:18:16.000 --> 0:18:18.560 what we're seeing in the modern times with these second 0:18:18.720 --> 0:18:21.879 nine par fives forces the guys to hit awesome T 0:18:22.040 --> 0:18:25.680 shots and awesome second shots, and the best player in 0:18:25.720 --> 0:18:27.239 the world is pulling those shots off. 0:18:27.680 --> 0:18:29.800 Yeah, and if you don't hit an awesome T shot, 0:18:29.880 --> 0:18:34.160 say you hit a good a mediocre T shot, then 0:18:34.359 --> 0:18:37.119 it just raises the bar on the next shot you 0:18:37.280 --> 0:18:39.639 have to hit if you'd want to get home in two, right, 0:18:40.080 --> 0:18:42.960 which I saw with what about Tiger when he pulled 0:18:43.040 --> 0:18:44.840 lumber was on Friday. 0:18:44.840 --> 0:18:47.520 On fifteen on Friday, when nobody was getting there, everybody 0:18:47.640 --> 0:18:49.960 was laid up. This dude's forty eight years old, and 0:18:50.000 --> 0:18:52.240 I know he still got speed, but he took on 0:18:52.359 --> 0:18:54.879 that golf shot. He probably had a good number, but 0:18:55.000 --> 0:18:57.000 he took on the shot and hit an awesome shot there. 0:18:57.520 --> 0:19:00.760 And again, this is what these holes have asked of 0:19:00.960 --> 0:19:03.000 past generations. You and I have talked a lot about 0:19:03.040 --> 0:19:05.520 eighty five with Curtis Strange over the years, when he 0:19:05.560 --> 0:19:07.520 had hit three wood into both those part fives and 0:19:07.600 --> 0:19:10.080 didn't pull the shots off. But he had to hit 0:19:10.119 --> 0:19:11.880 three wood, and that's a really hard shot with three 0:19:11.920 --> 0:19:13.280 but it's not that hard of a shot with an 0:19:13.320 --> 0:19:13.760 eight iron. 0:19:14.320 --> 0:19:17.000 I think we're in a little bit of an adjustment period. 0:19:17.240 --> 0:19:20.840 You know, These these changes happen and the holes change 0:19:20.840 --> 0:19:25.040 a little bit. And what we've gone from is, you know, 0:19:25.760 --> 0:19:29.480 we used to we used to be like what a shot? 0:19:29.920 --> 0:19:34.240 What an eagle? Then we moved to all of a sudden, 0:19:34.359 --> 0:19:39.720 everybody's hitting these shots. Everybody's got eagle putts, and it's 0:19:39.880 --> 0:19:42.680 like a little bit like it take away the specialness 0:19:42.840 --> 0:19:46.359 of getting home into and now we're restoring some of that. 0:19:46.560 --> 0:19:49.560 But there is like a trailing aspect of like, wait, 0:19:49.640 --> 0:19:53.280 what about all these eagles? You know, I, for one, 0:19:53.520 --> 0:19:56.679 like I was lucky to be in the grand stands 0:19:57.240 --> 0:20:00.520 when Shuffler made his eagle on thirteen. I'll tell you what, 0:20:01.320 --> 0:20:05.879 on Saturday, that was a massive moment. I'm not going 0:20:05.960 --> 0:20:07.920 to forget about that, with the way the ball just 0:20:08.040 --> 0:20:10.760 kind of like crawled up and in over the front 0:20:10.880 --> 0:20:14.240 edge of the cup. Like I'll I never forget that. 0:20:14.480 --> 0:20:17.720 The roar, the roar from people because this was like 0:20:17.880 --> 0:20:20.960 this monumental eagle. After it looked like he was kind 0:20:21.000 --> 0:20:23.680 of playing himself out of the tournament, he makes this 0:20:23.840 --> 0:20:26.480 eagle and then I think he burned fifteen as well, 0:20:27.359 --> 0:20:29.960 maybe one other hole coming in and it's like, oh 0:20:30.080 --> 0:20:32.359 my god, like this guy like as soon as you 0:20:32.480 --> 0:20:35.920 think he's out, he's back in and I think you 0:20:36.040 --> 0:20:39.560 look at Scheffler overall like ParvE. I think one of 0:20:39.640 --> 0:20:41.560 the things I took away this year is just how 0:20:41.640 --> 0:20:44.800 important it is to pick a part of the par fives. 0:20:44.920 --> 0:20:50.040 Scheffler played him nine hunder. Everybody since Sergio Garcia's played 0:20:50.040 --> 0:20:55.760 them at least eight under par. The golf course and 0:20:55.840 --> 0:20:59.920 the way they've been able to modernize it has the 0:21:00.160 --> 0:21:02.600 par three's in the par fours are just so difficult. 0:21:02.800 --> 0:21:06.040 They are they just wear on you like, there aren't 0:21:06.119 --> 0:21:09.520 many easy birdies out there. The par fives are where 0:21:09.560 --> 0:21:13.040 you have to get them, and I think par fives 0:21:13.400 --> 0:21:17.880 par five performance is just generally, especially with elite players, 0:21:17.960 --> 0:21:21.760 like a really good barometer of how where they're where 0:21:21.800 --> 0:21:25.600 players are at in their game because you have to 0:21:25.640 --> 0:21:29.320 hit good t shots to score on par fives. You're 0:21:29.400 --> 0:21:32.520