Speaker 1: The guys from paying They've kind of shown me how
Speaker 1: much the equipment matters.
Speaker 2: I just love that I can hit any shot I
Speaker 2: kind of want.
Speaker 3: We're gonna be able to tell some fun stories about
Speaker 3: what goes on here to help golfers play better golf.
Speaker 4: Hey, everybody, welcome back to the Ping proven Grounds Podcast.
Speaker 4: I'm Shane Bacon, joined as always by Marty Jerts and Marty.
Speaker 4: There's an argument to be made that our guest today
Speaker 4: is the current best golfer in the world.
Speaker 2: I think that's fair to see.
Speaker 3: Indeed, indeed, I mean I was thinking the same thing
Speaker 3: on my own, Shane.
Speaker 4: Matt McCarty is joining us. Matt McCarty, I think someone
Speaker 4: both Marty and I know pretty i'd say pretty well
Speaker 4: better than we know most of the players I think
Speaker 4: that we have on staff. And Matt's a guy who
Speaker 4: played some golf with back in the day, and obviously
Speaker 4: the run he's been on on the corn Faery Tour
Speaker 4: has been incredible. Match just picked up his third victory,
Speaker 4: became the thirteenth player in Corn Faery Tour history to
Speaker 4: be promoted to the PGA Tour. Matt kind of an
Speaker 4: interesting time to land the promotion, considering you're in kind
Speaker 4: of the final stretch on the corn Ferry Tour and
Speaker 4: obviously now you get get a chance to play in
Speaker 4: the FedEx Fall. But when in that third time, you know,
Speaker 4: were you hoping to be able to go play instantaneously
Speaker 4: on the PGA Tour.
Speaker 2: You kind of happy you get to finish out the season.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's definitely interesting, and thanks for having me on.
Speaker 1: I appreciate the intro. I don't know if I'm exactly
Speaker 1: there yet, but trying to get there on my way,
Speaker 1: so but yeah, it is it is kind of interesting.
Speaker 1: I mean even for me too, like it's all kind
Speaker 1: of happened really fast. I mean, all three of these
Speaker 1: wins in the last six weeks, and so I think
Speaker 1: now like having a week off and next week off
Speaker 1: as well and trying to kind of, you know, figure
Speaker 1: all that out. Like I've just honestly tried to keep
Speaker 1: my head down and keep playing for the last six
Speaker 1: weeks and that's worked out pretty good. But yeah, now
Speaker 1: I got some new options in front of me for sure,
Speaker 1: so kind of, you know, got to figure out what
Speaker 1: I want to do and it's all good decisions. But yeah, definitely.
Speaker 3: Maw what is uh Man, Just tell us the story
Speaker 3: of what exactly clicked here in the last last couple
Speaker 3: of months. You know, we've seen some really fun things
Speaker 3: from your statistics, how much you've kind of improved your
Speaker 3: driving distance and things in that nature. But what what
Speaker 3: was this journey like here that put you on this
Speaker 3: ultimate golf heater.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean it's been I think it's been like
Speaker 1: all a lot of things from the last three years
Speaker 1: of honestly like led up to this. But yeah, I
Speaker 1: mean just kind of like early this year was wasn't
Speaker 1: playing bad golf necessarily, but just kind of like leaving
Speaker 1: a lot out there, especially like on weekends and Sundays
Speaker 1: and stuff. And you know, to kind of be able
Speaker 1: to put myself in the mix early this year and
Speaker 1: kind of get those experiences under my belt was helpful.
Speaker 1: And then to do that more so, you know, over
Speaker 1: this last stretch of the summer as well, and to
Speaker 1: be able to you know, coming up short in Denver
Speaker 1: the week before I won in Springfield was tough. Like
Speaker 1: you know, having a few shot lead going to the
Speaker 1: last round kind of a different situation for me. So
Speaker 1: just like learning how to kind of play, you know,
Speaker 1: with that pressure and everything being on the line with
Speaker 1: the tour card and everything has been great. But then
Speaker 1: also after Springfield of like having a little bit more
Speaker 1: freedom and kind of refocusing and going towards that number
Speaker 1: one spot to be able to like continue to play,
Speaker 1: you know, some really high level golf has been really
Speaker 1: satisfying as well, and to kind of show that you know,
Speaker 1: this this journey has been like kind of moving towards
Speaker 1: this point. And it wasn't just like one or two
Speaker 1: good weeks, but you know, six or seven now in
Speaker 1: a row has been been really cool to see.
Speaker 4: So, yeah, Matt, you mentioned the ascendant and that's you
Speaker 4: know what you mentioned. It's all happened extremely fast. I mean,
Speaker 4: you're looking at dates of these tournaments.
Speaker 2: This was in July. It doesn't seem like it was
Speaker 2: that long ago. But you have this, the fifty four
Speaker 2: hole lead, you.
Speaker 4: Shoot seventy five in the final round, and we've mentioned
Speaker 4: it a lot on the broadcast doing some of the
Speaker 4: corn fiery events. But you know, you talked after the
Speaker 4: win the next week about that fine a round, the
Speaker 4: importance of kind of being in the moment, having a
Speaker 4: chance to win, not playing your best. You open the
Speaker 4: very next week shoot sixty five to go on obviously
Speaker 4: to win that week for the first time on the
Speaker 4: corn Ferry Tour. What did you take from that week?
Speaker 4: Like what what was learned or earned over the course
Speaker 4: of that eighteen holes when you don't play your best
Speaker 4: golf to be able to flip the switch the very
Speaker 4: next week and win for the first time.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean I think it kind of like lit
Speaker 1: a fire under my ass a little bit going into
Speaker 1: the next week. But then also like like I didn't
Speaker 1: really play that bad, Like I had like a few
Speaker 1: kind of like I missed a few shots that really
Speaker 1: cost me, and like honestly just didn't putt very well,
Speaker 1: but like I didn't play bad enough to shoot a
Speaker 1: seventy five, but like I scored poorly that day, if
Speaker 1: that makes sense. So I think kind of like understanding that,
Speaker 1: you know, it's a process and like you gotta just
Speaker 1: kind of put yourself in those positions and you definitely
Speaker 1: have to like learn how to win. I mean, forget now.
Speaker 1: It was like, you know, my sixty eighth or seventieth
Speaker 1: event was my first win out here, Like it's it's
Speaker 1: been you know, I've played a lot of golf tournaments
Speaker 1: that on the corn Ferry and you know it's been
Speaker 1: a long time coming, but yeah, all those experiences add
Speaker 1: up for sure. Definitely.
Speaker 3: Now do you feel like it was you had something
Speaker 3: going on your mechanics that improved or you're putting or
Speaker 3: was it truly just this kind of like hey, mostly
Speaker 3: your self belief, your confidence and kind of to go
Speaker 3: along with that question, do you feel like you played
Speaker 3: more aggressively, like at least coming down the stretch, because
Speaker 3: obviously the scores are are pretty low on the Corn
Speaker 3: Ferry Tour, You're making the most birdies of anybody out there.
Speaker 3: How has like your attitude or your approach to like
Speaker 3: those final rounds or your final nine holes that you
Speaker 3: know evolved or changed here?
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think it's evolved a lot. I mean my
Speaker 1: first year out, I was kind of happy to make
Speaker 1: cuts and then I'd be in like, you know, tenth
Speaker 1: fifteenth on the weekend and just kind of trying to
Speaker 1: hold on. And then last year it was more so
Speaker 1: kind of pushing towards, you know, getting in the lead
Speaker 1: or close to it, and this year even more so
Speaker 1: that like you, I mean, you can have a three
Speaker 1: shot lead going into the weekend out here and shoot
Speaker 1: three under three under and it really doesn't mean it
Speaker 1: like you you have to keep going, and yeah, definitely
Speaker 1: like it's it's a big thing of like and learning
Speaker 1: how to how much golf four days is four rounds
Speaker 1: of golf, like how many shots you hit and everything,
Speaker 1: like you can allow yourself to make mistakes, but you
Speaker 1: also have to like take advantage of you know, birdie
Speaker 1: and eagle opportunities when they come out here for sure,
Speaker 1: and like being able to play a little bit more
Speaker 1: aggressive and a little bit more free. You know. The
Speaker 1: last four or five weeks after I won in Springfield
Speaker 1: has definitely been helpful for that. But yeah, I mean
Speaker 1: it is it is crazy, like you just you got
Speaker 1: to go, you know, learning how to shoot you know,
Speaker 1: seven eight under and do it two or three days
Speaker 1: in a row is a lot different than kind of
Speaker 1: just shooting three or four under and playing some really
Speaker 1: solid golf every day. So well too, So Matt, like.
Speaker 4: Have you and Dev had an opportunity to just kind
Speaker 4: of sit back and just say, this is really sick
Speaker 4: what we're doing right now, because you know, I mean,
Speaker 4: like midsummer, you're a guy not tour bound don't have
Speaker 4: a PGA Tour card. You know, you're you've improved every
Speaker 4: year on the corn Ferry Tour since you started there
Speaker 4: a couple of years ago. But like, if you guys
Speaker 4: had a chance to sit back and go, yo, look
Speaker 4: what we're doing right now.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, I'm trying not to be too surprised
Speaker 1: by it, but I think, okay, it's a little bit,
Speaker 1: you know, but yeah, no, it's been cool. We've had
Speaker 1: some fun, you know, car rides home from the golf
Speaker 1: courses last few weeks and just go into it and yeah,
Speaker 1: it's it's it's been really cool to like we've had
Speaker 1: our moments, but also like it's been kind of like
Speaker 1: just keep going like every week too, So it's been
Speaker 1: kind of weird, like it's it honestly feels like the
Speaker 1: last few weeks have been just like a blur. Honestly
Speaker 1: a little bit too. But yeah, we've enjoyed it as well.
Speaker 2: Yeah, Marty.
Speaker 4: I sent Matt a text after he won, I think
Speaker 4: it was his second event, and I said, starting to
Speaker 4: get the sense you liked this whole winning thing, and
Speaker 4: he goes, won't get tired of it, I can tell
Speaker 4: you that much, and that was after that was after
Speaker 4: win number two. And Marty, I mean you watched this,
Speaker 4: you watch players progress and you see improvements and players
Speaker 4: and something that I noticed, Matt, this is the week
Speaker 4: you did not win, by the way, but we were
Speaker 4: doing Utah, Marty, and we had Matt in our window
Speaker 4: in the opening round and he hit it pretty good,
Speaker 4: didn't make a lot of puts. I think he shot
Speaker 4: around even part which Marty, as you know on the
Speaker 4: corn Firy Tour, is like shooting seventy six and the
Speaker 4: very next round I think he shot sixty two or
Speaker 4: sixty three. In the next round he shot sixty one.
Speaker 4: And that was one of those indicators to me that
Speaker 4: you said it, Matt, seventy two holes is a long time.
Speaker 4: Four days is a long time, and understanding that even
Speaker 4: eighteen holes where you don't play your best, like the
Speaker 4: next day's new day. And Marty, I'm always interested when
Speaker 4: you see players figuring out pro golf, figuring out golf
Speaker 4: in general, and understanding that one day, don't get that
Speaker 4: frustrated one tournament, it's not that big of a deal.
Speaker 4: Like we can find other days, other rounds, other holes
Speaker 4: to take advantage.
Speaker 2: And it's part of kind of the whole, you know,
Speaker 2: progressing and learning curve.
Speaker 3: Yeah. Absolutely, And I feel like Shane, there's like you know,
Speaker 3: when you know you're playing good and mad. I'd love
Speaker 3: to get your thoughts on this. It actually, you know,
Speaker 3: helps your patience level because you know that your good
Speaker 3: stuff's coming out. You know, what what was your attitude
Speaker 3: and how what was your frustration level. Were you super
Speaker 3: frustrated after that first round in Utah or did you
Speaker 3: kind of have this inner confidence, inner belief that you
Speaker 3: can get back in there with a low one.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean I think it was very similar to
Speaker 1: like the last round in Denver, Like I knew that,
Speaker 1: like I was playing good golf, like you said, and
Speaker 1: just like you have that confidence that you can like
Speaker 1: do it and tomorrow's a new day and just kind
Speaker 1: of like wake up and it. Honestly, it's that mental
Speaker 1: toughness of just kind of shaking it off and moving
Speaker 1: into the next day, but also like having that belief
Speaker 1: that you know you can do it and not like
Speaker 1: you know, what's in the past is in the past
Speaker 1: and you can't do anything about it. All you can
Speaker 1: do kind of do is hit the next shot, go
Speaker 1: find your ball. And hit it again, you know, Like
Speaker 1: I mean, when it kind of boils down to it,
Speaker 1: it sounds simple and easy. But I think that's kind
Speaker 1: of the way that I've been trying to like think
Speaker 1: about golf, you know, last year and this year even,
Speaker 1: and it's definitely a helpful way to think about it.
Speaker 1: Just hit it as close as you can, try to
Speaker 1: make a putt, and if it doesn't go in, just
Speaker 1: hit the next one, you know.
Speaker 4: So yeah, simple, simple, as simple as it comes. Where
Speaker 4: where does that perspective come from, Matt? Is that something
Speaker 4: that you've had your whole life? Is that relatively new
Speaker 4: or you learning that or you working with somebody to
Speaker 4: help in terms of, you know, the mental side of it.
Speaker 4: Where does the perspective come from?
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean my dad. Like I grew up playing
Speaker 1: with my dad, you know, at Dobson. Obviously Shane's familiar
Speaker 1: and like so he you know, he he was a
Speaker 1: good golfer as well, so like he kind of taught
Speaker 1: me growing up. And I started working with my swing instructor,
Speaker 1: Dave Williams in Scottsdale, like when I was like twelve
Speaker 1: or thirteen, So like right after I think I beat
Speaker 1: my dad for the first time when I was like
Speaker 1: twelve thirteen, and then like a week later he's like,
Speaker 1: all right, we're going to lesson Like you're not gonna
Speaker 1: listen to me anymore, like you think you're better and
Speaker 1: I have already, so uh but yeah, I've been working
Speaker 1: with Dave since I was twelve thirteen. It's been awesome.
Speaker 1: And you know, he's honestly like as much of a
Speaker 1: philosopher as he is a golf coach of just like
Speaker 1: you know, I'll be out there, you know, growing up
Speaker 1: and even recently, I'll be out there for you know,
Speaker 1: three hours and we're probably working on golf swing or
Speaker 1: mechanics or something for an hour or that and kind
Speaker 1: of just talking about, you know, how to play tournaments,
Speaker 1: like like what I'm kind of thinking out there and everything.
Speaker 1: And then I've been working with like a mental performance coach,
Speaker 1: Jeff beck Becker as well for the last you know,
Speaker 1: three or four years, and he's been super helpful. Are
Speaker 1: kind of like mantra we've developed is be where your
Speaker 1: feet are, so like that's kind of you know, I
Speaker 1: think goes along with just kind of giving each got
Speaker 1: each moment as much you know, emphasis and focus as possible,
Speaker 1: and then just kind of going from there, what's in
Speaker 1: the past, don't get too far ahead of yourself, don't
Speaker 1: get too upset on you know, what's happened in the past.
Speaker 1: But yeah, I'm lucky to have, you know, such a
Speaker 1: great family, but also great people around me that have
Speaker 1: been kind of you know, mentors and you know, helped
Speaker 1: me kind of get the best out of myself as well.
Speaker 3: So it's awesome, Mat. I want to we have a
Speaker 3: lot in common here listening to you talk. My wife
Speaker 3: actually grew up playing Dobson and played high school golf there.
Speaker 3: My aunt Sue was in the first graduating class at
Speaker 3: Santa Clara. I want to hear a little bit about
Speaker 3: your journey. Like you know, I'm always curious about golfers
Speaker 3: who grew up in Arizona. I grew up in Arizona.
Speaker 3: There's not a lot, a ton of diversity in the grasses,
Speaker 3: not a ton of wind and things of that nature.
Speaker 3: Tell us about how you ended up at Santa Clara,
Speaker 3: and then how your game of all there in college
Speaker 3: with with regards to you know, playing in different conditions.
Speaker 3: I think that's one of the biggest things Arizona golfers,
Speaker 3: at least for myself, kind of learn when you're when
Speaker 3: you're playing college golf.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean it was like I think you're familiar,
Speaker 1: but it's you know, I don't think it's tough to
Speaker 1: get recruited coming out of Arizona, Like you kind of
Speaker 1: grow up playing in a dome. I think, like really
Speaker 1: the only thing we kind of learned grass wise is
Speaker 1: how to play off some dormant bermuda and some burns
Speaker 1: stuff in the summer, and then obviously the overseated conditions
Speaker 1: are pretty perfect. But yeah, like it was like, I
Speaker 1: you know, I got an opportunity to go to Santa Clara,
Speaker 1: Like my dad was a big advocate for that, like
Speaker 1: going somewhere that I know I could play, like have
Speaker 1: a good chance playing all four years, just get a
Speaker 1: lot of reps, get a lot of experience that way.
Speaker 1: But as soon as I went up there, I mean
Speaker 1: being able to play golf in the Bay Area, like
Speaker 1: the amount of courses that we went out to, like
Speaker 1: the opportunities that we had up there. And but yeah,
Speaker 1: I was in a I mean qualifying The only event
Speaker 1: college I didn't qualify for was the first one is
Speaker 1: like a week before school started, so basically just flew
Speaker 1: up there, started qualifying. I caught like a foggy day
Speaker 1: and in San Francisco for one of those qualifying round,
Speaker 1: was probably shot like an eighty four, and I was like,
Speaker 1: I just have like, how is like a full nine
Speaker 1: iron going like one hundred and five yards right now?
Speaker 1: You know, like just you know, nothing played. No courses
Speaker 1: play longer than those courses do up there on like
Speaker 1: you know, so like a windy or foggy day like that.
Speaker 1: So but yeah, and then obviously like kind of the lush,
Speaker 1: thick rough up there, but like you know, all those
Speaker 1: kind of experiences over you know, took me probably a
Speaker 1: good year or two to kind of get used to it,
Speaker 1: and then they all kind of add up. And I
Speaker 1: think it was helpful though kind of growing up in
Speaker 1: Scottsdale then going up there, like I kind of had
Speaker 1: an idea for like different golf. So like once I
Speaker 1: started traveling professionally, and like you know, we got to
Speaker 1: go to lot of different places in college as well,
Speaker 1: but you kind of learned how to you know, play
Speaker 1: on different grasses and stuff. I think I'm still trying
Speaker 1: to figure that out, Like we don't have a ton
Speaker 1: of tournaments on, Like I haven't played a ton of
Speaker 1: golf in Florida and stuff, so some of like the
Speaker 1: Bermuda and that aspect will be a little you know,
Speaker 1: learning curve for me still next year. Some of that.
Speaker 1: That grass in the south's a little bit different, but uh,
Speaker 1: but yeah, it's it's been a it's been a lot
Speaker 1: of you know, kind of different experiences, I think, but
Speaker 1: going up there for college was really cool. And to
Speaker 1: be able to, you know, be the one of the
Speaker 1: first person to play on the PGA Tour from Santa
Speaker 1: Clair in a long time is a really cool kind
Speaker 1: of achievement that I wasn't really aware of until you know,
Speaker 1: a few a couple like a month ago, So that
Speaker 1: that is awesome as well.
Speaker 3: What was your guys home course up there? What did
Speaker 3: you play? A little rotation of them in the Bay Area.
Speaker 1: Yeah, so like San Jose Country Club was kind of
Speaker 1: like our home course when I was there. It's changed
Speaker 1: a little bit, so we practiced out there a lot.
Speaker 1: We'd we went out to Ruby Hill and Pleasanton a lot,
Speaker 1: but they had like us Open local qualifying out there.
Speaker 1: It's a good course. We played court of all every
Speaker 1: Monday pretty much while I was there, which used to
Speaker 1: host the Frive. So it was a great, you know,
Speaker 1: kind of tournament golf test. But yeah, I mean we'd
Speaker 1: go up, we'd play Olympic Club, we'd play Lake Merced,
Speaker 1: we'd go down play in Monterey MPCC spy like you know,
Speaker 1: like we got to play a lot really cool places
Speaker 1: and a lot of places that have a lot of
Speaker 1: you know, tournament history as well. So I think kind
Speaker 1: of like understanding you know that not every course is
Speaker 1: exactly like Scottsdale in February, and like, uh, you know,
Speaker 1: it was a little eye opening, but but good for sure.
Speaker 4: So Matt, you just got back from an awesome golf
Speaker 4: trip kind of in the midst of this run you've
Speaker 4: been on. You just played Pine Valley for the first
Speaker 4: time probably what was that two or three weeks ago?
Speaker 2: Yeah, how was it?
Speaker 1: Yeah it was it was awesome. I mean when we
Speaker 1: were uh dos like he you know, he's claimed the
Speaker 1: title of America's guest now so uh.
Speaker 4: Yeah, hey, man got the hats man. I mean I
Speaker 4: said it on the broadcast today. Dude's got a hack
Speaker 4: coection I might be jealous of.
Speaker 1: Yeah, he's very proud of it, but yeah, no, it's
Speaker 1: it was really cool. Like, uh, you know, our host
Speaker 1: that we stayed with that week, Fred Price, is an
Speaker 1: awesome guy, so like to have us out it was
Speaker 1: a really special day. And you know, I think like
Speaker 1: while we're on the road and playing like a lot
Speaker 1: of tournament golf, like it's nice to have these opportunities
Speaker 1: to go play like some of these awesome golf courses,
Speaker 1: but also to like kind of just play for fun
Speaker 1: on some of these like really cool tracks. And like
Speaker 1: like me and I tell Das all the time, like
Speaker 1: after like a bad week or something like, we'll go
Speaker 1: play somewhere fun, like you know, fall in love with
Speaker 1: the game again, and then we'll be fine, who do
Speaker 1: we tee it up again on Thursday? So I think
Speaker 1: that's definitely helpful as well, just to like, you know,
Speaker 1: we play a lot of serious golf and sometimes it's
Speaker 1: you know, it's fun when you're playing well. Sometimes it's
Speaker 1: tough when you're not, but it's always fun just to
Speaker 1: get out with buddies and play golf. It's like that's
Speaker 1: why you know, we had such a great team at
Speaker 1: Santa Clara. That's why my experience up there was so great,
Speaker 1: you know, there was eight ten of us, and like
Speaker 1: we were all so close. We'd hang out off the course,
Speaker 1: but we'd have fun, like going to practice playing golf
Speaker 1: every day. And like I kind of grew up in
Speaker 1: Scottsdale with buddies like that as well that I played
Speaker 1: high school with too, So like I've kind of had
Speaker 1: that around, you know, like my whole life, which I've
Speaker 1: been super lucky, you know.
Speaker 3: So I'm kind of an undermanned here. I'm a righty.
Speaker 3: I throw lefty, you know, but I'm a right handed golfer.
Speaker 3: I got two lefties on the pod here today. I
Speaker 3: want to know Matt what like in one instance, because
Speaker 3: I always think about this where you're in a serious
Speaker 3: strategic advantage being a lefty on a certain hole or
Speaker 3: a certain course. I always think, Shane, you know, from
Speaker 3: an architectural standpoint, which I know you're really into, I
Speaker 3: wish somebody would build like a instead of Bears Best,
Speaker 3: like a mirrored version of Augusta go play every hole
Speaker 3: as if I'm a leftie right.
Speaker 2: Big cuts varieties. Yeah, I like that idea.
Speaker 3: I want to play a mirrored number thirteen, you know,
Speaker 3: but Matt can you think of an instance as kind
Speaker 3: of a legitimate question in one of your wins recently
Speaker 3: where you felt like you were in an advantage being
Speaker 3: a left handed player.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I don't know. It's tough because I go back
Speaker 1: and forth a lot, and I'm sure Shane's the same way,
Speaker 1: because I think everybody like always says like you always
Speaker 1: notice the holes that like don't set up well for
Speaker 1: you, you know, like yeah, so like a lot of writings
Speaker 1: are like total holes perfect for a left dude. But
Speaker 1: it's like, yeah, but like three holes ago, like that
Speaker 1: one was perfect for you guys, and I had to
Speaker 1: do like kind of something different. So I think it
Speaker 1: honestly kind of evens out where I do think it's
Speaker 1: like somewhat of a like you know, if there's like
Speaker 1: a back right pin and I like kind of pull it,
Speaker 1: like I know, I'm not going to go long, like
Speaker 1: it's kind of flip flop that way. So where those
Speaker 1: show up in the tournament sometimes might be a little different,
Speaker 1: you know, if it's like a Saturday or Sunday versus
Speaker 1: like it being on a third. But I think for
Speaker 1: the most party, yeah, it's like over Like I don't know,
Speaker 1: I don't like to think about it that much, but
Speaker 1: the part I do, like being a lefty and like
Speaker 1: even like with my dad growing up, like he sees
Speaker 1: you know, in dev now, like you see shots differently,
Speaker 1: So I think like when you have a cat, like
Speaker 1: my dad caddied for me through Q school a lot
Speaker 1: of amateur events when I was younger, and like we
Speaker 1: see shots differently, like when we're reading putts, you kind
Speaker 1: of if one's breaking away versus towards, you kind of
Speaker 1: like read those a little bit differently. But I think
Speaker 1: that is like an interesting level, especially like with dev
Speaker 1: out here is like sometimes we'll see something you know,
Speaker 1: completely different than each other, and like sometimes it's because
Speaker 1: I'm right, sometimes it's because he's right, but like kind
Speaker 1: of having like that different perspective I think, like around
Speaker 1: the greens, and like I think like with chip shots,
Speaker 1: because like if I'm hitting like a chip that's below
Speaker 1: my feet kind of running away from me, he would
Speaker 1: have it above his He could probably like get more
Speaker 1: height and spin. So it's interesting, like I can't really
Speaker 1: hit that, you know, it's like and then vice versa,
Speaker 1: like maybe I'm seeing like a little bit more aggressive
Speaker 1: of a shot than he is at that moment, So
Speaker 1: I think that's probably more so than like necessarily like
Speaker 1: how the whole sets up, but like just kind of
Speaker 1: like different spots you find yourself on the course, like
Speaker 1: might be better for a lefty versus aliety kind of depending
Speaker 1: where you're at.
Speaker 4: So, Matt, you spent the off season filling out, I think,
Speaker 4: as the term you used, trying to get a little
Speaker 4: bit bigger, trying to pick up some distance.
Speaker 2: What'd you do to pick up the distance? Would you?
Speaker 4: And when'd you see it? When did you realize this
Speaker 4: is something I need to focus on?
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean my first year out here, Like I
Speaker 1: kind of noticed that year like I wasn't you know,
Speaker 1: not that I wasn't long enough to like be competitive,
Speaker 1: but it was definitely like a hindrance. So I've made
Speaker 1: that the focus, you know, kind of every year, and
Speaker 1: honestly like moving forward to like especially with just playing
Speaker 1: twenty six events and being on the road so much
Speaker 1: and taking care of your body, your energy levels, like
Speaker 1: I think it all goes hand in hand. But yeah,
Speaker 1: I've been working out with you know, a great place
Speaker 1: THHP and Scottsdale, and like they've been super helpful for me,
Speaker 1: but like it's been you know, I was kind of
Speaker 1: like a late bloomer as well, like in terms of
Speaker 1: growing and just height wise and obviously like filling out.
Speaker 1: I was always like a skinny kid and stuff. But
Speaker 1: making that more of a priority has been huge. But
Speaker 1: it's and then kind of so gained some distance my
Speaker 1: first my second year, and then probably last offseason probably
Speaker 1: picked up, you know, honestly, like another ten yards and
Speaker 1: four or five miles an hour of ball speed, and
Speaker 1: then kind of with uh, you know, with paying kind
Speaker 1: of tinkering around with the technology as well, and like
Speaker 1: I kind of I went through you know a few
Speaker 1: different driver heads early this year, and then we finally
Speaker 1: you know, because I'd always played like a ten to
Speaker 1: five because I launched it super low, so I kind
Speaker 1: of need the height. And then also like yep, a
Speaker 1: little bit, I spin it a lot as well, so
Speaker 1: trying to find winded up going you know, the ten
Speaker 1: to five turned down, put some hot melt in the
Speaker 1: face to get some spin down, and then that like
Speaker 1: allowed me to launch it a little higher with some
Speaker 1: less spin. So I think honestly that has been very
Speaker 1: helpful in terms of like the keeping the consistency while
Speaker 1: also like I think you kind of gain the speed
Speaker 1: in the gym, but then you got to figure out
Speaker 1: kind of how to keep hitting it straight with the
Speaker 1: speed kind of with some of the technology stuff as well.
Speaker 1: So yeah, I think that's been huge, Like and I
Speaker 1: didn't grow up like I'm sure she hitting the same way.
Speaker 1: I think like when you grow up a lefty, you
Speaker 1: kind of just play whatever gets put in your hands,
Speaker 1: like you know, like.
Speaker 2: For the first fifteen years. That's exactly right.
Speaker 1: So it's like you just try to figure it out.
Speaker 1: And I've like, you know, obviously, now with being on
Speaker 1: the corn ferry and like with paying and everything, you
Speaker 1: have the opportunity to kind of learn more about equipment
Speaker 1: and kind of like what you can do with it.
Speaker 1: So it's it's been more of a learning process with me.
Speaker 1: But they've like you know, obviously been super helpful and
Speaker 1: like kind of explaining everything as well, and like not
Speaker 1: like necessarily just handing you something, but like telling you
Speaker 1: what it's supposed to do, what it and then you
Speaker 1: kind of notice it from there and then also feeling
Speaker 1: comfortable with it too, So it's been cool.
Speaker 3: So Matt, you have a G four to thirty LST
Speaker 3: with the Ventus Blue six X I believe tipped about
Speaker 3: an inch. That's a super popular I think build the
Speaker 3: David Bray and our tour reps like to do at
Speaker 3: forty five and a quarter inches ten to five. Do
Speaker 3: you know what hazzle position you have that in?
Speaker 1: It's a degree flat and then I think it's down
Speaker 1: like to like a nine nine or nine eight or
Speaker 1: something now with loft.
Speaker 3: Yeah, okay, so it's probably in the yeah flat little
Speaker 3: minus position, and that allowed you to get your launch
Speaker 3: up little hot melt forward LST to get your spin optimized.
Speaker 3: So that's been kind of that. It's fun to hear
Speaker 3: you talk about that combination of like gaining speed through
Speaker 3: your rob you know, swing speed potential, and then marrying
Speaker 3: it up with the driver fit. Such an important thing
Speaker 3: to kind of get those two things working together.
Speaker 1: Yeah. Also, and yeah, and I have been I've been
Speaker 1: using the stack for you know, a couple of years too.
Speaker 1: I'm not as diligent with it on the road as
Speaker 1: I as I probably should be, but in the off season,
Speaker 1: like it's been very helpful just to kind of like
Speaker 1: I think, like before that, like every time I swim
Speaker 1: faster like I swung super far down, so I kind
Speaker 1: of like, you know, it's like the technology in that
Speaker 1: app like helps you kind of have your normal swing
Speaker 1: and kind of figure out how to make that faster
Speaker 1: versus just swinging like as hard as you possibly can,
Speaker 1: like all the time. Yes, but yeah, matching up like
Speaker 1: the technology and also like the stuff in the gym
Speaker 1: is definitely like an element of it as well too,
Speaker 1: So it's important.
Speaker 2: Man.
Speaker 4: I had a question about the rest of your corn
Speaker 4: Fairy Tour season because you get this promotion, which obviously
Speaker 4: means you could play FedEx Fall on the PGA Tour,
Speaker 4: but you got some events left on the corn Ferry
Speaker 4: Tour and you're atop the points list, and for people
Speaker 4: out there they don't follow the corn Fairy Tour closely.
Speaker 4: You finish the year number one on the points list,
Speaker 4: you get an invite into the players in the US
Speaker 4: Open next year on the PGA Tour obviously, and priority
Speaker 4: is crazy.
Speaker 2: The priority for number one versus two through thirty is
Speaker 2: very very different. So are you gonna finish out KFT season?
Speaker 2: Are you gonna play early FedEx Fall events? Like what's
Speaker 2: the schedule look like for kind of the rest of
Speaker 2: your year.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean it's kind of weird because, like I
Speaker 1: guess it's like my decision. So I wasn't really like
Speaker 1: expecting all that, but I've been thinking about it and
Speaker 1: I'll play there's no event during Columbus, I'll play Columbus,
Speaker 1: I'll play French Lick. I'm just like I've been talking
Speaker 1: to like kind of a bunch of players and just
Speaker 1: other people around and stuff of like you know, who knows,
Speaker 1: like basically Nashville or NAPO, like either way, like it's
Speaker 1: a good decision to have.
Speaker 3: I can't.
Speaker 1: I don't have like a solid answer for you yet.
Speaker 1: I hope hopefully I will soon. But yeah, I mean
Speaker 1: like it's all like I kind of just realized, like
Speaker 1: you know, talk to the tour on Monday and they
Speaker 1: kind of like told me what my status was now.
Speaker 1: Like you know, I wasn't really sure like with the
Speaker 1: three win promotion in the fall, because I don't think
Speaker 1: it's happened like under the new system yet, so I
Speaker 1: wasn't you know, kind of some uncertainty after the wind
Speaker 1: was a little weird. But yeah, I mean it's it's
Speaker 1: it's good, but uh, yeah, I think you know, the
Speaker 1: players the US opened that number one spot, you know
Speaker 1: how important that is. And also like for me, like
Speaker 1: kind of shifting after Springfield to make that my goal
Speaker 1: and obviously you know after the last you know month,
Speaker 1: to be able to put myself in like a really
Speaker 1: good position for that is something. So I'm definitely like
Speaker 1: looking forward to kind of finishing out the corn Fair
Speaker 1: season strong, you know, earning those spots and you know,
Speaker 1: kind of making it a little easier on myself next year,
Speaker 1: but also having a lot of like really cool opportunities
Speaker 1: you know for me too, So it'll be fun.
Speaker 3: Now I want to talk a little bit about your
Speaker 3: your bag set up, So you go driver three wood
Speaker 3: than seven wood in the four iron, Is that right?
Speaker 1: Yeah? Seven Wood's been a good addition that thing is. Uh,
Speaker 1: it's been pretty pretty lethal for us over the last
Speaker 1: like year and a half. So it's it's been nice
Speaker 1: because I played I always would kind of have like
Speaker 1: a two three iron, never been like a huge hybrid person.
Speaker 1: I used to play like a five wood a lot.
Speaker 2: Is that Yes, you're steep?
Speaker 4: Like, is that is that steepness with the hybrid because
Speaker 4: I've always struggled with that as well. I felt like
Speaker 4: I felt like when I came in on top of
Speaker 4: the ball, I had a hard time kind of controlling
Speaker 4: the spin with it.
Speaker 2: I always felt like the lofted woods made more sense
Speaker 2: to me.
Speaker 1: Yeah, a little steep. I think there's something with just
Speaker 1: like the look of it. I feel like it's so
Speaker 1: easy to turn it over too, like interesting to kind
Speaker 1: of hit like, yeah, I feel like with the seven wood,
Speaker 1: I can kind of just like hold like a high fade.
Speaker 1: And but yeah, it's it's become like a good especially
Speaker 1: for you know out here, like having like a lot
Speaker 1: of really gettable part fives, but being in like you
Speaker 1: know that two thirty to two forty range a lot,
Speaker 1: and like it's been you know, good to have something
Speaker 1: that you know you can hit on the green and
Speaker 1: kind of stop even if it's a little bit firm.
Speaker 1: And yeah, so it's yeah, it's definitely different. But I've
Speaker 1: I've liked it, and I think it's kind of been
Speaker 1: like a more common club You've seen a lot of
Speaker 1: guys play lately, especially like some of the ping guys
Speaker 1: like a six or like a seven wood, Like you know,
Speaker 1: like it sounds like a little bit like amateurish. I
Speaker 1: guess if that makes sense, but if you've become really
Speaker 1: good with it, it could be like a kind of
Speaker 1: a unique club for you too.
Speaker 3: So so you hit that maybe full somewhere in the
Speaker 3: two forty range, and then what what what type of
Speaker 3: shots can you hit with it? Like if you got
Speaker 3: can you hit it, you know, a high cut in
Speaker 3: there two twenty five or what's your kind of window
Speaker 3: for that seven with Yeah, I mean.
Speaker 1: I can hit it like two twenty five, probably like
Speaker 1: two forty five if I kind of turned it down
Speaker 1: and hit a hot one with it, But kind of
Speaker 1: fills that gap nicely like I've I've always I still
Speaker 1: play the four ten three wood as well, which I
Speaker 1: like because I feel like it can kind I can
Speaker 1: kind of take something off that and hit it like
Speaker 1: two forty five two fifty if I need to as well.
Speaker 1: Like yeah, So I think it's kind of melded that
Speaker 1: gap well the seven wood, And I think even like
Speaker 1: with some wind and everything, like I'm able to kind
Speaker 1: of flight it down enough and you can kind of
Speaker 1: hit some different shots with it too. It's just a
Speaker 1: lot more versatile than having like a two or three
Speaker 1: iron in your bag that you can only hit so
Speaker 1: high you know, and yeah, the spin's a little tough.
Speaker 2: Yeah, Marty, I've been messing around with a nine wood lately.
Speaker 2: Do you know this? But I'll tell you this.
Speaker 4: I got so so man, I'm official seven wood guy.
Speaker 4: Now I've been I've been on the team seven wood
Speaker 4: for last year. Love it, obsessed with it. Marty's now
Speaker 4: got me in the double driver team as well. So
Speaker 4: now I've got I've got the the gamer driver, like
Speaker 4: nine degree driver, you know, and then I've got the
Speaker 4: twelve degree cut down to the three with this is
Speaker 4: all Marty, uh and something.
Speaker 2: I love it.
Speaker 4: It's kind of the baby driver. And then seven wood
Speaker 4: and then Bill built me a nine wood about a
Speaker 4: month ago, and I literally I'm like, I might just
Speaker 4: have like thirteen headcovers at some point, and I'm okay
Speaker 4: with it.
Speaker 2: I'm at the point of my life where I'm fine
Speaker 2: with this.
Speaker 1: Yeah. I was joking with dB too. I was like,
Speaker 1: we hit the seven wood so well, like we should
Speaker 1: just get a nine wood. We could just four iron,
Speaker 1: no five iron, and then a nine wood instead and
Speaker 1: then go to the six from there or something. And
Speaker 1: He's like, I'm not kidding any one of us.
Speaker 3: I'm not hitting the nine wood keep Stacking Trophy. It's
Speaker 3: not gonna matter, you know what I mean.
Speaker 2: Does not matter at all.
Speaker 3: Now tell us tell us about your history with a
Speaker 3: center shafted putter. Have you have you always been center shafted?
Speaker 3: Is this kind of new use the center you use
Speaker 3: our our PLD tyme cee which C is for for
Speaker 3: center shaft Your putter has been hot lately? Tell us
Speaker 3: a little bit about rolling the rock.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I uh so, I switched to center shafted probably
Speaker 1: like just before my fifth year in college, like my
Speaker 1: fifth year COVID year at Santa Clara. Yeah. My first
Speaker 1: one I had was like that hepler C like you know,
Speaker 1: the half dome. Yeah, so I had that, you know,
Speaker 1: for my first year out here as well, and then
Speaker 1: got this PLD at the beginning of the end of
Speaker 1: the year after my first year. So I had it
Speaker 1: at the beginning of the year last year. So I
Speaker 1: had it now for two years and it's been great.
Speaker 1: But honestly, like I went to the center shafted, I
Speaker 1: think I was just watching golf. I think I was
Speaker 1: watching like Sung j Pud I think, and it was
Speaker 1: just like down the line on like you know, six
Speaker 1: or seven foot he had like probably like just outside
Speaker 1: right edge and it was like right behind it just
Speaker 1: take it back like right, And I was like that
Speaker 1: just like looks like it makes sense, you know, Like
Speaker 1: it's just like it just kind of puts the shaft
Speaker 1: like on the back of the and like, so I
Speaker 1: mean I think for me to like kind of grow
Speaker 1: up playing a mallet and you know, I'd love to
Speaker 1: play a blade, but like I just don't think that's
Speaker 1: the cards for me. Like it just looks nice, you know,
Speaker 1: but I think like the center shafted of just kind
Speaker 1: of being able to still kind of like see the
Speaker 1: face like rotate a little bit better. Like I think
Speaker 1: it's been helpful. And I just like, like I think
Speaker 1: the ball comes off like consistently with pace when you're
Speaker 1: kind of just like all the weights in one spot.
Speaker 1: I guess, I I don't know. I mean, Marty you
Speaker 1: know a lot more about like the technology other than
Speaker 1: I do. But yeah, it's been great, and I think
Speaker 1: it's just it kind of helps me. I think it's
Speaker 1: visually more so than a lot of things of just
Speaker 1: kind of being able to line up in the right
Speaker 1: spots and like kind of being confident of where I'm
Speaker 1: where I'm aimed with that, butter for sure.
Speaker 4: Matt, when you think about your career, where does the
Speaker 4: match up with you and your dad versus Ashton and
Speaker 4: I and that two man event years ago in Phoenix
Speaker 4: kind of lineup? Like is that a big part of
Speaker 4: who you are today?
Speaker 2: Do you feel like?
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean I think very motivating, you know, to
Speaker 1: kind of see like, uh but yeah, no, I forgot
Speaker 1: about that, honestly.
Speaker 2: But yeah, that's a good I played with.
Speaker 4: I remember I played with Matt at Dobson probably in
Speaker 4: high school for the first time, and then I remember
Speaker 4: you coming you were a college player at this point,
Speaker 4: and you came back as a college player and it
Speaker 4: was like totally different, dude, you know, like game was
Speaker 4: more sharp or fine, like it seemed very easy to you.
Speaker 4: I remember, I think you shot like six seven under
Speaker 4: that day, like super ohum around Dobson, and uh, it
Speaker 4: is so funny to watch those progressions right from your
Speaker 4: a sixteen seventeen year old kid that's a good player
Speaker 4: to a nineteen twenty year old collegiate kid that's starting
Speaker 4: to understand how to get and then to see you
Speaker 4: now at this point, it just wild those progressions. Do
Speaker 4: you look at a current tour player or a past
Speaker 4: tour player as somebody you see yourself in, like in
Speaker 4: terms of how they came up, the way they play
Speaker 4: the game, how their careers progressed. Like, do you look
Speaker 4: at anybody you know? I think kind of Zach Johnson,
Speaker 4: like you know, not highly recruited out of high school
Speaker 4: obviously kind of came into his own. Is there a
Speaker 4: player out there that you kind of feel you resemble
Speaker 4: in a way.
Speaker 1: I mean, I don't know, like I haven't really thought
Speaker 1: about it like that, but yeah, I mean I guess
Speaker 1: like I've not to like but like almost like you know,
Speaker 1: underestimated a little bit. I think at certain points like
Speaker 1: going into college and then kind of coming out turning
Speaker 1: pro as well of like you know, I made it
Speaker 1: through uh h school like my first fall of doing it,
Speaker 1: but I played in like you know, some state opens
Speaker 1: and mini tours that stuff that summer and like you know,
Speaker 1: didn't have any status. So like I think I've kind of,
Speaker 1: like you know, it's kind of been quickly through some
Speaker 1: of that, but I've played you know, at pretty much
Speaker 1: kind of every level and professional you know, golf via
Speaker 1: outside you know, at least a professional golf but yeah,
Speaker 1: so it's like, yeah, you know, Zach Johnson sounds you
Speaker 1: know similar of like even like you know, like home
Speaker 1: kind of talking about like his story and stuff like
Speaker 1: seeing those guys. And I think Xander's kind of said
Speaker 1: some stuff lately to about like you know, how difficult
Speaker 1: it is huge school to get your card, like it's
Speaker 1: and it's you know, it is tough. Like so it's
Speaker 1: like I've been grinding for three years and I felt
Speaker 1: like last year like I played some really good golf
Speaker 1: as well, and you know, obviously finished like thirty fifth
Speaker 1: and came up a little bit short, but like it's
Speaker 1: it's not easy and to kind of have you know,
Speaker 1: this whole process, like I guess, you know, obviously just
Speaker 1: getting started in terms of playing the PGA Tour and
Speaker 1: kind of like where I want to be. But to
Speaker 1: have it like payoff in these last six weeks has
Speaker 1: been super satisfying for sure.
Speaker 3: Now you mentioned playing the Mini Tour. Is that one
Speaker 3: summer tell us about your your your fifty nine up
Speaker 3: there at the Wyoming Open.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think that's when I knew that the center
Speaker 1: shafted putter might be the answer for me, Uh yeah.
Speaker 2: I show you a lot about your game.
Speaker 1: Yeah, but yeah, no, it's just like kind of like
Speaker 1: super tight, short tree line course and just like I
Speaker 1: think honestly turned at like five under like a good
Speaker 1: day going, but then like eagle ten, thirty to eleven
Speaker 1: and twelve and then I was like, oh damn, like
Speaker 1: I actually you know, it's in the cards. So I
Speaker 1: think it was the first time I had like genuinely
Speaker 1: been on fifty nine watch I think, so to like
Speaker 1: do that the first time was good, but yeah, it
Speaker 1: was weird, Like it was cool. It was like that
Speaker 1: was like one of my probably like my second or
Speaker 1: third professional event honestly, and is like the next day,
Speaker 1: like after shooting fifty nine, I think I had like
Speaker 1: a three or four shot lead. Is like that was
Speaker 1: probably one of the most nervous. It's like you shoot
Speaker 1: like even today and it doesn't matter, you know. It's
Speaker 1: like so it was nice to play well the next
Speaker 1: two days and like win that and kind of like
Speaker 1: get a professional win under my belt because I only
Speaker 1: won one event in college and it was like my
Speaker 1: sophomore year, so you know, and then I won that
Speaker 1: obviously a couple like Asher events, you know, mini tour
Speaker 1: stuff in Arizona, but you know, basically that win in college,
Speaker 1: those things, and like I never won like a huge
Speaker 1: am event during the summers like until that corn Ferry
Speaker 1: win in Springfield. You know, it had been you know,
Speaker 1: a couple three years since I've won. So it's I
Speaker 1: think when you go through that, it's like, you know,
Speaker 1: the the belief, like the doubts like come in a
Speaker 1: little bit, but like just to have that and like
Speaker 1: kind of feeding off those back experiences of like some
Speaker 1: of those mini tours stuff and like you know, it's
Speaker 1: like you can kind of go back down there and
Speaker 1: like you know, feed off those experiences but also like
Speaker 1: give you some confidence kind of going into like a
Speaker 1: corn Ferry Tour season too, is useful Like at that
Speaker 1: early stage in a professional career, for sure.
Speaker 4: Mat can you tell the story of the butterfingers stamping
Speaker 4: on your wedge?
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, it's still.
Speaker 1: There, but yeah, so we uh we got the the
Speaker 1: glide Forge pro wedges, you know, and uh but so
Speaker 1: I We're like on the eighth hole in Sarasota on
Speaker 1: Sunday and like middle of the fairway, like grab my club,
Speaker 1: putting my glove on, you know, standard and just right
Speaker 1: out of my hand right onto the ball. Like ball
Speaker 1: goes like kind of skirting like three yards down the
Speaker 1: fairway to me and me and Dasrich is there like
Speaker 1: kind of like giggling right like it's like, you know,
Speaker 1: everything's kind of with the rules. It's like about intent now,
Speaker 1: so we're like, all right, like that is stupid, like
Speaker 1: cal rules official over. So we're kind of like giggling.
Speaker 1: And then he's like he's like, oh, like you know,
Speaker 1: I tell him what happens. He's like, oh, like you know,
Speaker 1: dev didn't drop the club on it, like the bag
Speaker 1: didn't move. He's like, was their wind? And I'm like, whoa,
Speaker 1: it was wind. I mean there's always some wind, you know,
Speaker 1: but like now I dropped it like so and then
Speaker 1: he's like, all right, so it's a stroke and then
Speaker 1: you move it back so whatever. I mean. We we
Speaker 1: were in like twenty at twenty fifth we actually got
Speaker 1: it up and down made Parlar are three for four,
Speaker 1: I guess, but yeah, so finish and then the the
Speaker 1: ping truck is in the next week in Arlington. For us,
Speaker 1: it's like, you know, one of the events of the
Speaker 1: year that they actually have like the full tour truck
Speaker 1: for us. So it's like cool week because we always
Speaker 1: you know, go in it kind of look at all
Speaker 1: the stuff, like what they're doing, if you need anything done.
Speaker 1: So dB comes up to me and he's like, hey,
Speaker 1: like dev handed me your fifty degree, like he said
Speaker 1: something was wrong with it like last week, like it
Speaker 1: wasn't working. And I'm like what, Like I thought it
Speaker 1: was fine, Like I don't know, and so he pulls
Speaker 1: it out. It's just got butter fingers righten on it now,
Speaker 1: So I think I think it's like stuck enough and
Speaker 1: since then and we've hit it well enough that I
Speaker 1: think every fifty degree I have moving forward is going
Speaker 1: to have to have butterfingers on it. But it's been
Speaker 1: something everybody as about. It's kind of like yeah, dos
Speaker 1: thinks it's really funny. Like I mean, I'm okay with
Speaker 1: it at this point, so yeah, but it's cool. It's
Speaker 1: a cool story.
Speaker 2: What's your relationship with the candy butterfingers? Are you into
Speaker 2: it or no? Like, are you Is it a top
Speaker 2: five candy for you?
Speaker 1: Uh? Not top five? But I mean I don't I
Speaker 1: like candy, Like I'll eat whatever so.
Speaker 4: Yeah, it'll venture like if it's if there's hanging around
Speaker 4: on Halloween, you're gonna have one.
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, exactly.
Speaker 2: I love that.
Speaker 3: Now, what's your what's your favorite course to play in
Speaker 3: Phoenix or Scutstill when when you're in town, what are
Speaker 3: your top maybe two or three favorites.
Speaker 1: In high school? I think Truan Country Club is like
Speaker 1: one of my favorite desert courses honestly, like ever, like
Speaker 1: its really challenging, like fair in the sense of like
Speaker 1: there's kind of places to miss it. It's not super
Speaker 1: tight off the tea, but if you do miss, like
Speaker 1: you really get penalized. I've been lucky enough to kind
Speaker 1: of get out to Silver Leaf a lot. It's always
Speaker 1: a cool experience to be out there, having somebodies out there,
Speaker 1: and like those are fun days. Grew up playing McDowell Mountain,
Speaker 1: which you know, like I think it's like those places
Speaker 1: that like they have memory, Like I still have a
Speaker 1: lot of fun playing Dobson like I like with my
Speaker 1: dad and his buddy, Like I during COVID it was
Speaker 1: like I came home from school, but it's like they
Speaker 1: had like that Friday game out there still is like
Speaker 1: one of the only kind of things like still going
Speaker 1: during COVID is Like I played that like, you know,
Speaker 1: basically every week for you know whatever three or four months,
Speaker 1: and like I think they had me up to like
Speaker 1: a plus eight or plus nine, but after like the
Speaker 1: summer and I was like, I can't play out here anymore.
Speaker 2: I'm just kidding donating money. That's It's like you and
Speaker 2: Guyona are like plus ten.
Speaker 1: But uh yeah, I mean I don't know, Like Papago
Speaker 1: is a great public golf course that kind of grew
Speaker 1: up playing doing like that Monday Skins game and stuff too.
Speaker 1: But yeah, there's a lot of there's a lot of
Speaker 1: good golf up there for sure, and like now like
Speaker 1: being able to practice and kind of play at TPC
Speaker 1: has been nice, and like it's cool just to kind of,
Speaker 1: you know, play that course a lot more because we'd play,
Speaker 1: like growing up, it'd be like fifteen bucks to walk
Speaker 1: champions across the street like throughout the year, so we'd
Speaker 1: go out there, I mean, play out there at like
Speaker 1: one or two o'clock every day with us, and like
Speaker 1: that was awesome, but like I didn't I honestly hadn't
Speaker 1: really even played stadium until kind of I got my
Speaker 1: corn Freight card. So it's been kind of cool to
Speaker 1: play that course a little bit more too, But yeah,
Speaker 1: it's sweet.
Speaker 3: The stadium, Shane is kind of oddly. It's like Arizonan's
Speaker 3: living here and not going to the Grand Canyon. You know.
Speaker 3: It's like a Locals never have played the stadium.
Speaker 4: It's it's like you come in, you pay four hundred,
Speaker 4: you play. It's like no Locals is gonna go play it.
Speaker 4: They'll play Champs or somewhere else. That's right.
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's the other thing too, It's like four hundred
Speaker 1: and fifty bucks to like, yeah, like so but yeah,
Speaker 1: and it is cool like being out there now for sure.
Speaker 4: So so, Matt, I was gonna ask because we kind
Speaker 4: of wrap things up. I mean, you you are headed
Speaker 4: to the PGA Tour, You're gonna get a chance to
Speaker 4: play in some of the FedEx Fall events and obviously
Speaker 4: kind of reset for twenty five and what the schedule
Speaker 4: is going to look like when you think about pinch
Speaker 4: me moments in your career.
Speaker 2: Let's say you get into the WM this year, you know,
Speaker 2: like you're playing in the Phoenix Open. Where does that
Speaker 2: sit in terms of I was a kid watching this event.
Speaker 2: I've been out watching this event. I got through pro golf,
Speaker 2: I went through the corn Ferrareer, I went through many tours.
Speaker 2: Now I'm a PGA Tour player and I'm now a
Speaker 2: part of the event. I got a chance to watch.
Speaker 2: Like where where does that fall in terms of things
Speaker 2: you're looking forward to or crazy moments that you know
Speaker 2: are on the horizon.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean it'll be unreal, Like I think that's
Speaker 1: kind of like the one like I've had circles of
Speaker 1: playing in. But yeah, like I you know, growing up
Speaker 1: out there, like in high school, we'd literally like you know,
Speaker 1: borderline like sneak in the gate too early to get
Speaker 1: to sixteen like stuff like that. Like in like we
Speaker 1: did the standard bearing there growing up, so like being
Speaker 1: able to like experience that, like walking into sixteen like
Speaker 1: with all those people like inside like you're not playing obviously,
Speaker 1: but you're still like inside kind of feeling the atmosphere.
Speaker 1: So it's like, I mean it's awesome, Like it is cool,
Speaker 1: and it's like to have like so much family and
Speaker 1: friends out there that week and like the support of
Speaker 1: all that will be awesome as well. But yeah, and
Speaker 1: like even like in college, like we went our senior year,
Speaker 1: like there were six of us in the house, all
Speaker 1: on the team, and it was kind of like we
Speaker 1: didn't have a tournament that weekend, so like we always
Speaker 1: kind of did normally in college, I think. So we
Speaker 1: went out there for like two or three days. You know,
Speaker 1: we're all twenty one, twenty two, and we've like we
Speaker 1: had a lot of fun out there for you know,
Speaker 1: two or three days as well. So it's like, you
Speaker 1: know that to be playing in it, you know, like
Speaker 1: four or five years after that is kind of cool
Speaker 1: as well. Uh but yeah, that'll it'll be a lot
Speaker 1: of fun. I mean it's it's it's a party, but
Speaker 1: like it's it's like a cool event as well. And
Speaker 1: I think that adds to how difficult that place is
Speaker 1: to win as well, like like sneaky, like you know,
Speaker 1: if you can kind of like went out I mean
Speaker 1: you saw it with like you know, kind of Scheffler
Speaker 1: one of like I don't know if that was his
Speaker 1: first win or one of them, but like winning out
Speaker 1: there is like you know kind of you know, if
Speaker 1: you can kind of handle that pressure in that environment,
Speaker 1: I think you can play a lot of different places
Speaker 1: honestly too.
Speaker 3: So that's a really good point.
Speaker 4: Yep, Yeah, Marty, I was gonna ask you, I mean,
Speaker 4: somebody that had been obviously to the Phoenix Open a
Speaker 4: whole bunch of times when you play in the event,
Speaker 4: do you walk away at the end of the week
Speaker 4: not liking golf fans? Like how do you leave? Because
Speaker 4: you've been the fan? You know what I'm saying, Like,
Speaker 4: you've been the dude that's cheering on the guys. Maybe
Speaker 4: you've had a few beers over the years, Like whatever
Speaker 4: the case may be, What is it like in the
Speaker 4: ropes as a player seeing everybody being ridiculous, crazy, screaming, yelling,
Speaker 4: all that stuff as a player, like, how do you
Speaker 4: how do you walk away from that event after a
Speaker 4: few days of getting this ridicule?
Speaker 3: But you know, I got a similar story. You know,
Speaker 3: I got a similar perspective on his matt because I
Speaker 3: grew up as a standard bear there when I was
Speaker 3: like seven, whatever, eight, nine, ten years old, I was
Speaker 3: a standard bearer and and then having played it, I
Speaker 3: played it in twenty twenty man I got paired with Victor,
Speaker 3: which was unbelievable because he got a sponsor exemption and
Speaker 3: I was a section Championship Section Championship here locally and Shane,
Speaker 3: it's like this serene there's like a piece out there
Speaker 3: to being inside the ropes. You know, it's like a
Speaker 3: serene experience. You got all the buzz happening. And I
Speaker 3: remember Matt Kevin Stadler gave me some advice. I was
Speaker 3: playing a few practice rounds with him and he goes, hey,
Speaker 3: whatever club you think you're gonna hit on sixteen, make
Speaker 3: it one less, because he's like, you're adrenaline will be
Speaker 3: pumping like you can't even believe. But and I hit
Speaker 3: great shots on sixteen, Shane. It's really fun. Like I
Speaker 3: flushed him right at the pin, like to where you
Speaker 3: know you hit a shot Matt, where you're like, oh,
Speaker 3: that's got a chance to go in. I actually did
Speaker 3: that both days on sixteen. It got me like my
Speaker 3: heart rates started going really crazy, but it was like
Speaker 3: a sense of calm, Like sixteen wasn't as scary as
Speaker 3: I thought it'd be.
Speaker 2: Okay, because there's so.
Speaker 3: Much buzz that it's not like every if everyone, if
Speaker 3: the whole you know, everyone inside sixteen went dead, calm,
Speaker 3: I think you would be very I would be very scared.
Speaker 3: But it's like this constant buzz that actually, you know,
Speaker 3: kind of gave a little sense of calm there. So
Speaker 3: there's like a serenity to being inside the ropes that
Speaker 3: week that you know, is it gives It gives you
Speaker 3: a whole different perspective.
Speaker 4: Crazy, I mean, Matt, I know it's gonna be awesome
Speaker 4: for this upcoming season. We're pumped to follow along Pump
Speaker 4: to watch you. Obviously appreciate all the time you got.
Speaker 4: You got work left to do this season, so we'll
Speaker 4: be keeping one eye on that. And then obviously when
Speaker 4: I on the PGA tour schedules, you get into the fall.
Speaker 2: But congrats on all the success. It's been so cool
Speaker 2: to see.
Speaker 4: Congrats on obviously the summer Ryn and enjoy kind of
Speaker 4: living in post Chicago and Scottsdale. That seems like the
Speaker 4: way to do it. I feel like you're doing it
Speaker 4: the right way right now.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's kind of nice to turn into like a
Speaker 1: snowbird myself. You know, you kind of always hated him
Speaker 1: growing up. But it's a pretty good lifestyle for sure,
Speaker 1: So yeah, not too bad. But yeah, thanks guys for
Speaker 1: having me, and you know, thanks to Ping. Obviously Ping's
Speaker 1: been awesome for me and I'm grateful for you know,
Speaker 1: kind of the relationship we have too, So it's it's
Speaker 1: it's been awesome.
Speaker 4: That's Matt McCarty, obviously number one on the points list
Speaker 4: and three time winner this season on the Corn Ferry Tour.
Speaker 2: This is the Ping Proven Grounds Podcast