Speaker 1: It's the Son of a Butcher podcast. I'm your host,
Speaker 1: Claude Harmon. This week the first major of the year,
Speaker 1: The Masters. I just got to Augusta and I was
Speaker 1: trying to think of what to do this week for
Speaker 1: the podcast. And I think the Masters is so special
Speaker 1: because of a lot of things, right, But I think
Speaker 1: one of the things that makes it so special is
Speaker 1: it's the only major to where it's at the same
Speaker 1: course every single year. So there are so many memories
Speaker 1: at Augusta. Because the golf course is the same, the
Speaker 1: venue is the same, the location's the same, you kind
Speaker 1: of know what you're going to get. You kind of
Speaker 1: know what the week is going to be like. Throughout history,
Speaker 1: so many iconic moments. And my grandfather won the Masters
Speaker 1: in nineteen forty eight, and our family, we have a
Speaker 1: pretty rich history here. My dad's worked with a bunch
Speaker 1: of players that have won here, Tiger and Phil and
Speaker 1: a bunch of the players that he's worked with. My
Speaker 1: uncle Billy caddied for Jay Haas here. They had a
Speaker 1: chance to win in eighty six when he was on
Speaker 1: the bag for Jay Haas. But I just wanted to
Speaker 1: talk about kind of my memories at Augusta that kind
Speaker 1: of stand out to me and the first real one
Speaker 1: for me. And it's actually the first time I went
Speaker 1: to Augusta National and went to the Masters. It was
Speaker 1: nineteen eighty seven. That's the Larry Mees chip in with
Speaker 1: Greg Norman, and I was going through and looking at
Speaker 1: and doing some research for it. And one hundred and
Speaker 1: sixty two thousand dollars Larry Mayes one in nineteen eighty seven,
Speaker 1: which is, you know, given what players are winning tournaments now,
Speaker 1: it's kind of crazy. When my grandfather won in nineteen forty,
Speaker 1: I think he made twenty five hundred dollars US. But
Speaker 1: the Masters in nineteen eighty seven was my first trip
Speaker 1: to Augusta National, And if I'm honest, it was really
Speaker 1: kind of the first time that I really kind of
Speaker 1: understood kind of what my family did. I didn't play
Speaker 1: a lot of golf growing up. I really didn't. I
Speaker 1: didn't play junior golf at any level. I think I
Speaker 1: tried out from my high school golf team because I
Speaker 1: think I thought I was supposed to try out for
Speaker 1: it because my dad was a golf pro. And I
Speaker 1: mean I shot a million for nine holes. I was
Speaker 1: not a good golfer and never was a good golfer,
Speaker 1: still not a great golfer. So I never played golf
Speaker 1: at any level, so I didn't really kind of understand,
Speaker 1: you know, who my grandfather was and kind of his
Speaker 1: place in history. And you've got to remember, in the
Speaker 1: late eighties, golf was not cool. It wasn't what it
Speaker 1: is today. To me, growing up, golf was, you know,
Speaker 1: funny clothes and a bunch of old people playing lots
Speaker 1: of rules, and it just wasn't something that I was
Speaker 1: really drawn to. And I think because my father grew
Speaker 1: up having a famous father like I did, I think
Speaker 1: he felt a lot of pressure, right, I think he
Speaker 1: felt a lot of pressure to play. My dad had brothers,
Speaker 1: all four of them played, and I think my dad
Speaker 1: felt a lot a lot of pressure. I never felt that,
Speaker 1: and my dad never really pushed golf on me. So
Speaker 1: when we went to the Masters in eighty seven, it
Speaker 1: was very much an eye opener because it was really
Speaker 1: the first time that I actually really spent any time,
Speaker 1: if I'm honest, around my grandfather. My grandfather was. He
Speaker 1: was old school, very much like my dad. He wasn't
Speaker 1: the most warm and fuzzy type of person, but that week.
Speaker 1: I don't know what it was about that week, maybe
Speaker 1: the fact that my father chose to name me after him,
Speaker 1: that he saw something that was the year. I think
Speaker 1: I was graduating from high school that year in nineteen
Speaker 1: eighty seven, and every single almost every single day, he
Speaker 1: took me for breakfast up to the old Champions locker room,
Speaker 1: which was tiny. I mean, the Champions locker room, even
Speaker 1: in twenty twenty five is not very big. I think
Speaker 1: people would be very surprised at just how small it
Speaker 1: is today. But back then, in the late eighties, I mean,
Speaker 1: it was tiny. But he took me up there for breakfast,
Speaker 1: and it was very much kind of an eye opening
Speaker 1: experience for me because I saw how he was treated,
Speaker 1: the praise and the respect that he was shown by
Speaker 1: all the great players. And I just remember going up
Speaker 1: into the locker room and Byron Nelson was there, Sam
Speaker 1: Snead was there. I mean, I saw Sevy for the
Speaker 1: first time, Arnold Jack, all these you know, just icons
Speaker 1: in these you know, heroic kind of figures in the
Speaker 1: game of golf. And I don't know why he chose
Speaker 1: to do that, because I didn't really have any real
Speaker 1: relationship with the guy. I mean, you know, I was
Speaker 1: a high schooler. I didn't play golf, so in that respect,
Speaker 1: I was kind of an outsider. But it was a really,
Speaker 1: really kind act that he did, and he took me.
Speaker 1: We had breakfast, and it was just I'll always remember that,
Speaker 1: and every time I come back to the Masters, it's
Speaker 1: always a memory that's that's very fresh in my mind,
Speaker 1: even though it was a really long time ago. I
Speaker 1: also think that we got in trouble because we were
Speaker 1: staying in a house and you know, I was bored,
Speaker 1: and again, I wasn't really into golf back then, and
Speaker 1: I wanted to go see a movie. Take the car
Speaker 1: and go see a movie, and both my parents you're
Speaker 1: not going to see a movie. So if I remember correctly,
Speaker 1: I walked to the movie theater and saw Angel Heart,
Speaker 1: which had just come out with Mickey Rourke and Robert
Speaker 1: de nirof anybody's seen that movie. And I think I
Speaker 1: got grounded for going out and got in a lot
Speaker 1: of trouble for that. But that's really the first kind
Speaker 1: of Master's memory that I have. The second one that
Speaker 1: stands out nineteen ninety seven, my dad was organ with
Speaker 1: Tiger Woods. Tiger wins eighteen under wins by twelve and
Speaker 1: going back and looking at the prize money in that year,
Speaker 1: so ten years later, four hundred and eighty six thousand
Speaker 1: total perse was two point seven million, which is just
Speaker 1: again crazy to think of, But there seemed to be
Speaker 1: somewhat that year of almost an inevitability about Tiger winning there.
Speaker 1: And I think it was the way in which he won.
Speaker 1: He shot forty on the front I think a lot
Speaker 1: of people forget that. On Thursday Tiger Woods went out
Speaker 1: and shot forty on the front nine at Augusta in
Speaker 1: the Masters and went on to win by twelve and
Speaker 1: shoot eighteen under, which kind of gives you an idea
Speaker 1: of the iconic week that that was. And I just
Speaker 1: remember it was on the old driving range, which is
Speaker 1: kind of behind the clubhouse now. So when you drive
Speaker 1: down Magnolia Lane, you get to the clubhouse where everybody
Speaker 1: takes their pictures, and then you go over to the
Speaker 1: right the members driving ranges all along the right hand side.
Speaker 1: And now when you come in, you come to the
Speaker 1: clubhouse and you take a writ and the past champions
Speaker 1: now park there, But back in the day, that's where
Speaker 1: the driving range was, and I just remember watching and
Speaker 1: sitting on the driving range and watching my dad work
Speaker 1: with Tiger. And you know, I'd known Tiger since nineteen
Speaker 1: ninety three. The first golf lesson my dad ever gave
Speaker 1: Tiger Woods in August of ninety three in Houston at
Speaker 1: Lock and Bar. I ran all the video and shut
Speaker 1: all the video for that. So I'd spend a lot
Speaker 1: of time around Tiger, and you know, knew him pretty well.
Speaker 1: And I just remember waiting. I came around from the
Speaker 1: driving range and got on the other side of the clubhouse,
Speaker 1: which is where the golf courses, and there's the big
Speaker 1: tree by the clubhouse where everyone hangs out, and I
Speaker 1: just wanted to see him before he went out, and
Speaker 1: so I kind of positioned myself to where I knew
Speaker 1: he was going to have to pass me, and he
Speaker 1: saw me, made eye contact and everything, and I said
Speaker 1: to him, go have fun, you know, go out and
Speaker 1: have fun today. And I just remember that week. It
Speaker 1: was just I mean, it was just crazy, the things
Speaker 1: that he was doing, the shots that he was hitting.
Speaker 1: But the thing that I always remember about that week
Speaker 1: was it was like golf changed overnight. In ninety seven
Speaker 1: at the Masters and the players that Tiger beat that week.
Speaker 1: I mean, he beat Tom Kite by twelve shots. You know,
Speaker 1: you had Ton of Montgomery in an interview talking about
Speaker 1: you know, he just plays a game that you know,
Speaker 1: nobody really has ever seen before, and he was doing
Speaker 1: things and hitting the golf ball. I mean, I can
Speaker 1: remember in the early nineties Tiger had I think, gosh,
Speaker 1: the first off listening he came to take with my dad.
Speaker 1: I think he had either Mazzuno MP twenty seven's or seventeen's.
Speaker 1: The seven always stands out to me. Played the Max
Speaker 1: Fly HT ninety golf ball. They had the Berner Flex twist,
Speaker 1: the tailor made Berner Flex twist driver and back then
Speaker 1: he hit shots as far with that old equipment as
Speaker 1: he definitely hit his irons as far as you know
Speaker 1: they do today. I mean, it's crazy to think like that,
Speaker 1: but there was just so much hype, and I don't
Speaker 1: think there's ever been Rarely do we see an athlete
Speaker 1: live up to the hype like Tiger did, right. I mean,
Speaker 1: he came out, he was a superstary when all the usams.
Speaker 1: He was supposed to be the next great thing. He
Speaker 1: played at Augusta in the past as the Usam champion,
Speaker 1: and there was just something about him and at that time,
Speaker 1: and I consider myself incredibly lucky to have been there
Speaker 1: in ninety seven to watch everything that he did, because
Speaker 1: it was just it was fascinating to watch him just
Speaker 1: overpower a golf course and overpower a field that you know,
Speaker 1: almost at times made professional golfers who had had incredible
Speaker 1: careers look just mediocre and ordinary. I mean, you know,
Speaker 1: Tom Kite was an unbelievable player. You know, the players
Speaker 1: at that time in the day, Davis Love, Greg Norman,
Speaker 1: I mean, Tiger just he just changed golf overnight. And
Speaker 1: it was pretty special to be there. It was warm.
Speaker 1: I remember. I remember being on the old eleventh fair
Speaker 1: way when he hit one over to the right and
Speaker 1: I was standing by his mom. And there was a
Speaker 1: guy back then who was kind of Tiger's guy at
Speaker 1: Nike named Greg Nard, and he was kind of, you know,
Speaker 1: escorting Tiger's mom around. But just all of the buzz
Speaker 1: and all of the hype that week and to see
Speaker 1: Tiger do that and to do the things that he
Speaker 1: did that week in ninety seven was just magical from
Speaker 1: a golf standpoint. And that was the first of his
Speaker 1: fifth Masters, and just like being at the Masters in
Speaker 1: eighty seven with my grandfather, to be there in ninety seven,
Speaker 1: ten years later. I was in the golf you know,
Speaker 1: trying to get in the golf business at that time
Speaker 1: and trying to find my way as a young professional,
Speaker 1: and yeah, ninety seven always sticks out to me as
Speaker 1: something really really special. The three DP Tour iron utilizes
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Speaker 1: ultimate consistency that aspirational golfers desire. Two thousand and four
Speaker 1: sticks out to me. That was the Phill year where
Speaker 1: he burdied the eighteenth hole to win the Masters finally
Speaker 1: against Ernie Els. But at that time I was working
Speaker 1: with Trevor Immlman, and obviously Trevor now kind of one
Speaker 1: of the voices of the Masters with CBS. But I
Speaker 1: started working with Trevor. I was living in Europe at
Speaker 1: the time, living in Scotland and traveling on the European
Speaker 1: Tour and started working with Trevor in two thousand and
Speaker 1: two when I moved from Las Vegas to London and
Speaker 1: lived in London for a year and then moved to Glasgow, Scotland.
Speaker 1: And you know, the goal was when I started working
Speaker 1: with Trevor, he was outside, you know, he wasn't He
Speaker 1: had had a ton of hype. I mean, he made
Speaker 1: the cut at the Masters, you know, as an amateur.
Speaker 1: But our goal was to get to the Masters, right,
Speaker 1: and so it took two long, hard years of a
Speaker 1: lot of work, a lot of travel in Europe, all
Speaker 1: over the world. And I remember going to the Masters
Speaker 1: for the first time. Obviously my grandfather had won there,
Speaker 1: my dad had you know, helped Tiger win there, and
Speaker 1: you know all of the history of the fan and
Speaker 1: I just remember walking on again to the old driving
Speaker 1: range and I felt like I wasn't an impostor anymore.
Speaker 1: I mean, imposter syndrome is real, right, and I had
Speaker 1: that for a long time in my life and in
Speaker 1: my career. And you know, there's still times where I
Speaker 1: struggle with confidence, wondering if I'm good enough, wondering if
Speaker 1: I'm ever going to get to the next level, and
Speaker 1: you know, all of those things, and when Tiger won
Speaker 1: in ninety seven, to go back there in two thousand
Speaker 1: and four, I said to myself in ninety seven, I'm
Speaker 1: going to come back here one day with a player
Speaker 1: that was my goal. That was that was really my
Speaker 1: dream to do that, to come back and be a
Speaker 1: part of that, and to know what that felt like
Speaker 1: to walk onto the range with the player that you
Speaker 1: were working on, because to me as a golf instructor,
Speaker 1: it's the pinnacle of I think what we do to
Speaker 1: work with a player that is good enough to get
Speaker 1: into a major championship, but to work with a player
Speaker 1: that is good enough to get into a Master's he's
Speaker 1: to me something very, very very special. And I just
Speaker 1: remember walking onto the range with Trevor. If I remember correctly,
Speaker 1: that was Arnold's last Masters in two thousand and four,
Speaker 1: and Trevor was supposed to play a practice round with him.
Speaker 1: I remember, I don't know if I guess I still
Speaker 1: can't remember if they actually played that practice round, but
Speaker 1: I just I had a huge sense of pride in
Speaker 1: myself that I had watched you know, my dad have
Speaker 1: this unbelievable career as kind of the goat of professional
Speaker 1: golf instruction, and you know, all the work that he
Speaker 1: did with all the majors that Tiger won there, and
Speaker 1: the history of the family and my grandfather and stuff,
Speaker 1: and I just I still to this day remember walking
Speaker 1: onto the driving range and just saying to myself, Yeah,
Speaker 1: you did it, because that was a goal that I
Speaker 1: had set for myself back in ninety seven when I
Speaker 1: watched Tiger win there and watching my dad work with
Speaker 1: him on the driving range and watching you know, David
Speaker 1: Ledbetter at that time was just you know, a larger
Speaker 1: than life character. He was an icon. You know, the
Speaker 1: work that he did with Nick Faldo and all of that.
Speaker 1: It just in ninety seven, it left a really big
Speaker 1: impression on me. And so when I started coaching and
Speaker 1: started teaching and started doing it full time in two
Speaker 1: thousand and two, I met Trevor and you know, he
Speaker 1: asked me the first time I worked with him, Hey,
Speaker 1: what would the goal be? And I said, Hey, the
Speaker 1: goal would be to get you inside the top fifty.
Speaker 1: Back then top fifty got you into all the majors.
Speaker 1: And I said to him the goal is to get
Speaker 1: you back where you kind of belong. Because Trevor was
Speaker 1: always going to be a great player, he was always
Speaker 1: going to be an amazing golfer. But when I met
Speaker 1: him in Europe in two thousand and two, I was traveling.
Speaker 1: I was working with Adam Scott and Darren Clark at
Speaker 1: that time, and he asked me for some help. And
Speaker 1: I said to him, I said, listen, if we worked together,
Speaker 1: the goal would be to get you into all the
Speaker 1: majors and for the rest of your life, you know,
Speaker 1: get you to play in all the golf tournament it
Speaker 1: doesn't matter. And so the two of us kind of
Speaker 1: set out a goal to do that, and you know,
Speaker 1: we didn't make the cut that week, but it was
Speaker 1: a very very important week for me and and in
Speaker 1: my life. And I do remember he was working with
Speaker 1: Bob Rotella at the time, and Trevor was incredibly technical.
Speaker 1: I mean, I couldn't give Trevor enough information. I just
Speaker 1: I mean it was information overload. I mean it was
Speaker 1: cracked to the crack addict. And you know, if I
Speaker 1: had it to do over again, I probably wouldn't have
Speaker 1: listened to him tell me to give him more information.
Speaker 1: More things to work on. We worked, I mean, we
Speaker 1: worked our asses off for the three four years that
Speaker 1: I worked with Trevor. I mean, I think it broke
Speaker 1: the both of us. He broke his body, we broke
Speaker 1: each other. But I remember he was working with Bob
Speaker 1: Rotella at the time, and Rotella was really trying to
Speaker 1: get him to kind of get out of technique and
Speaker 1: get out of thinking so much about his golf swing,
Speaker 1: something that you know I talk a lot about on
Speaker 1: the pod and a fore iron. And again this was
Speaker 1: the old range, So the back end of the range
Speaker 1: has still to this day has netting because Washington Road
Speaker 1: is just behind it and the balls could go into
Speaker 1: Washington Road. So Roteller was like, all right, let's get
Speaker 1: out of the technique and let's get into kind of
Speaker 1: hitting a shot. And so he said, what I want
Speaker 1: you to do is I want you to pick a
Speaker 1: fore iron. I want you to pick out a very
Speaker 1: very small target, like a really really small target, and
Speaker 1: the only thing I want you to do is start
Speaker 1: the golf ball at the target. That's the goal of
Speaker 1: this test drill whatever he called it. And he said,
Speaker 1: after each shot, I'm going to ask you one question.
Speaker 1: Did the ball start at your target, and it's a
Speaker 1: yes or no answer, and that's the only thing I
Speaker 1: want from you. So Trevor stands up, picks out you
Speaker 1: know something, and then I remember Bob saying no, no, no,
Speaker 1: I need something. So Trevor said, I wanted to kind
Speaker 1: of start it at that tree and I'm going to
Speaker 1: hit a fade. And I remember Bob saying, okay, what
Speaker 1: part of the tree needs you to be really really specific?
Speaker 1: And so tred picked out a bunch of really specific targets.
Speaker 1: And so the first one he hits four and beautiful
Speaker 1: four starts at his intended target. He had like a
Speaker 1: little branch on a tree, started it and kind of
Speaker 1: hit a little beautiful high, little cut fade. And he
Speaker 1: came back and Bob said, did the ball start at
Speaker 1: the target? And he said yes, and then he went
Speaker 1: into an explanation of something else, and Bob said, no,
Speaker 1: I don't I don't care about any of that. Did
Speaker 1: the ball start at the target that you told me
Speaker 1: you had? He said yes, And he said, all right,
Speaker 1: pick out another target, same forearn and very specific target.
Speaker 1: Do it again. And every time Trevor hit a good one,
Speaker 1: he would want to expand on the shot. Every time
Speaker 1: he hit a bad one, he would want to expand
Speaker 1: on it even more. And I'll always remember this that
Speaker 1: Bob Rotella said to him, Listen, you're hitting a Foearn
Speaker 1: two hundred and something yards. You've picked out an incredibly
Speaker 1: specific small target for where you want the golf ball
Speaker 1: to start. How much more control do you really think
Speaker 1: that you have over what you're doing. And that's another
Speaker 1: thing that's always stuck with me about and I've talked
Speaker 1: about this a lot on the podcast, about finding start lines,
Speaker 1: finding you know, all of these things. That was kind
Speaker 1: of if I look back at it now, maybe I
Speaker 1: think that was kind of the impetus of that is
Speaker 1: picking out something really really small and where does the
Speaker 1: ball need to start? And even though Trevor didn't make
Speaker 1: the cut that week, it was a huge week for
Speaker 1: me professionally, but I think more personally because I kind
Speaker 1: of finally felt like I belonged in our family, because
Speaker 1: I never really felt and even to this day, I
Speaker 1: sometimes feel like a complete outsider in the Harmon family.
Speaker 1: But it was the first time that I felt like
Speaker 1: I belong. I've done the work and I've helped a
Speaker 1: player get to kind of the pinnacle of golf, which
Speaker 1: is playing in the Masters. And I'm incredibly proud of
Speaker 1: that moment, and I think about it a lot, and
Speaker 1: I think about the journey that I've been on since then,
Speaker 1: you know, almost over twenty years later. And I do
Speaker 1: also remember that was the same year we were at
Speaker 1: the Players Championship and Trevor qualified again being in the
Speaker 1: top fifty. My dad was working with that Scott, this
Speaker 1: funny one, and so my dad says to me, we're
Speaker 1: on the range, Trevor's hitting balls and talk to my
Speaker 1: dad and you know, I was living in Europe at
Speaker 1: the time, and back then, you know, I didn't have
Speaker 1: the greatest relationship with my dad. It's it's a little
Speaker 1: better now, but back then it wasn't great. And my
Speaker 1: dad said to me, you know, how's your man playing
Speaker 1: this week, Trevor Immelman. And I said, you know, I
Speaker 1: think he's playing really good. I think he's got a
Speaker 1: chance to win. And my dad said win. He said, man,
Speaker 1: your guy's never going to win a golf tournament. And
Speaker 1: I said, and at the time he's worked with with
Speaker 1: with Adam Scott. I said, I'll bet you one hundred
Speaker 1: dollars that Trevor wins a major before Adam Scott. And
Speaker 1: my dad always carries his money in a He wraps
Speaker 1: his credit cards around, you know, one hundred dollars bills
Speaker 1: and then puts a rubber band around it. And he
Speaker 1: took his we're on the range at TPC Sawgrass, Jacksonville.
Speaker 1: He takes his money out of his pocket and he
Speaker 1: throws it onto the ground on the range and he goes,
Speaker 1: I'll bet you all the money i've got that. Your man.
Speaker 1: Never anyone even went a tournament on the PGA tournal,
Speaker 1: let alone win a major. And I said, well, I'll
Speaker 1: bet he wins one hundred dollars a major before Adam Scott.
Speaker 1: And like I said, Trevor and I we just wore
Speaker 1: each other out. We broke each other. And then I
Speaker 1: think it was four. We were at the where were
Speaker 1: we We were at the World Cup in Spain. Trevor
Speaker 1: and Roy Sabatini had won the World Cup in three
Speaker 1: at Kyawhile and they're defending champions and I just I
Speaker 1: was going through divorce. I was living out of my car,
Speaker 1: and you know, Trevor was we were just in full
Speaker 1: grind mode and I just I quit. I just said,
Speaker 1: I just can't take this anymore. And we didn't really
Speaker 1: talk for a long time, and it was, you know,
Speaker 1: it was a really bad breakup as breakups go, because
Speaker 1: we just were so close, we spent so much time together,
Speaker 1: and I just couldn't take it anymore. I was just
Speaker 1: at a time in my life to where I was
Speaker 1: just so broken at that time, both personally and professionally.
Speaker 1: And when Trevor won in eight, I sent him a message.
Speaker 1: We hadn't really talked a lot, you know, we kind
Speaker 1: of started to say hi to each other, but we
Speaker 1: really didn't have much of a relationship, and he responded
Speaker 1: almost immediately and said, tell your old man to give
Speaker 1: me my one hundred dollars bill. So four was was
Speaker 1: huge for me. And then when Adam Scott won his
Speaker 1: first major in the rain was at eleven twelve, I mean,
Speaker 1: I can't even remember. That was such a special moment
Speaker 1: because I'd worked with Adam when he was younger, and
Speaker 1: I love Adam like a brother. I mean, he's just
Speaker 1: such an amazing, amazing person. He's such an amazing golfer.
Speaker 1: And the year before he lost you know, enormous lead,
Speaker 1: I think he bow you the last four holes at
Speaker 1: the Open Championship at Royal Lythm And I was working
Speaker 1: with Ernie Els at that time, and it was the
Speaker 1: first major that I'd been a part of, and I
Speaker 1: just remember going to the back of the clubhouse there
Speaker 1: to watch Ernie get the trophy and seeing Adam and
Speaker 1: he was in tears, and you know, he hugged me
Speaker 1: and said he was proud of me, and still makes
Speaker 1: me emotional. So to see Adam win at Augusta the
Speaker 1: way he won, I mean, I'll never forget it. And
Speaker 1: then that iconic picture of Scotty's standing there in the
Speaker 1: rain in the dark with all of the flash photography,
Speaker 1: with his arms kind of open, and I was watching
Speaker 1: it with Arnola board from Rolex, and you know, Adam
Speaker 1: one and I went outside underneath the tree and I
Speaker 1: just started crying because I was just so happy for him.
Speaker 1: And I think that's you know, there are wins, but
Speaker 1: Augusta just it brings out all of these amazing moments
Speaker 1: and these amazing, you know, victories. And I think most golfers,
Speaker 1: if they could win one major, I think a lot
Speaker 1: of the Europeans would probably say the Open championship, which
Speaker 1: I totally one get, but I think everybody wants to
Speaker 1: be a Master's champion, and when you do win one,
Speaker 1: there is so much that goes along with that. So
Speaker 1: Adam went. I just remember it was raining. That's Sunday
Speaker 1: in thirteen. It was cold, it was raining, It rained
Speaker 1: all day on Sunday. And to see Adam do that,
Speaker 1: you know, with the amount of time that my dad
Speaker 1: and I had spent with him in the early part
Speaker 1: of his career, traveling around Europe with Adam, and yeah,
Speaker 1: it was it was really really cool to see that. Obviously,
Speaker 1: Tiger in nineteen stands out, you know, from a memory
Speaker 1: for me for loads of reasons. The first, I was
Speaker 1: working with both Brooks and DJ at the time and
Speaker 1: they both lost by a shot. Brooks had the tournament
Speaker 1: ri instant in the water at twelve, and I think
Speaker 1: in nineteen that was really kind of the first time
Speaker 1: that younger generation had ever seen Tiger be Tiger right
Speaker 1: at full flow, Tiger at a major at the Masters,
Speaker 1: not making mistakes, and to be a part of that
Speaker 1: one in nineteen, having been there when for Tiger to
Speaker 1: win his fifth, having seen him win his first in
Speaker 1: ninety seven, and the heartbreak for me for having two
Speaker 1: guys had had a chance to win. I thought Brooks
Speaker 1: was going to do it. I really did, and DJ
Speaker 1: kind of came out of nowhere on that Sunday to
Speaker 1: give himself a chance. And I just remember walking up
Speaker 1: from eighteen and I saw Trevor Immlman and we were
Speaker 1: just sitting there and just we were kind of standing
Speaker 1: and scoring. Brooks was there, and you know, it's that
Speaker 1: scene where Tiger walks up with Charlie and he kind
Speaker 1: of walks into that scoring area and I'm kind of standing.
Speaker 1: I think I'm standing behind Zach Johnson. There's video of it.
Speaker 1: He kind of goes down the line and kind of
Speaker 1: gives everybody a high five. I got a high five,
Speaker 1: and I just was standing there with Trevor, and you
Speaker 1: know the story I told you O four. The first
Speaker 1: player I worked with in professional golf, really on my
Speaker 1: own was Trevor and and for the two of us
Speaker 1: to be there standing watching Tiger, I mean Tiger was
Speaker 1: you know, he he's everybody's idol. I mean he's Brooks's idol,
Speaker 1: but I mean he was Trevor's idol, right, And Trevor
Speaker 1: grew up and played in the Tiger era, right, So
Speaker 1: for the two of us to just be standing there
Speaker 1: and for all the time that you know, the years.
Speaker 1: You know, my dad worked with Tiger from ninety three
Speaker 1: to two, and I spent so much time around him,
Speaker 1: both on and off the golf course. I mean, he
Speaker 1: used to come stay at our house when he was
Speaker 1: sixteen seventeen. I used to go pick him up the airport.
Speaker 1: You used to have to go wake him up in
Speaker 1: the morning when he stay at our house. He had
Speaker 1: these big coke bottle glasses before he got the Lasik,
Speaker 1: and my dad would go to work and he'd say, hey,
Speaker 1: go down and wake you know, make sure Tiger. You know,
Speaker 1: you bring him to Locking Bar in Houston. So I'd
Speaker 1: go down and I'd set my alarm, go down and
Speaker 1: wake him up, take a shower, get dressed, and have
Speaker 1: to go down and wake him up again. So to
Speaker 1: see him win the Masters for the fifth time, and
Speaker 1: to be there when he walked into scoring, I mean,
Speaker 1: it's pretty damn cool, right, I mean, it's something that
Speaker 1: I'll always remember. And then the following year, in twenty twenty,
Speaker 1: the COVID year November DJ winning no fans which is
Speaker 1: just because the thing about the Masters and the thing
Speaker 1: about the golf course is because it is so undulated
Speaker 1: and because there are so much elevation change. You know,
Speaker 1: for people listening that have been, you know that if
Speaker 1: you haven't been, I think the one thing for the
Speaker 1: first timers at Augusta, they're just blown away by the
Speaker 1: topography on how much elevation change. So when you stand
Speaker 1: on the eighteenth green and you're up by the clubhouse,
Speaker 1: and if you're walking from the clubhouse down to the
Speaker 1: golf course, especially on Sunday, you kind of hear roars
Speaker 1: echoing through the trees, through the crowds. And there are
Speaker 1: certain players. You know, there's Tiger rars, there were Jack roars,
Speaker 1: there were Greg Norman roars. Now there are Rory mckel
Speaker 1: roars and Scottie Scheffler roars. But they're they're very distinctive
Speaker 1: and they kind of rumble and echo through. You'll hear
Speaker 1: or someone if someone makes a hole in one, Like
Speaker 1: there'll be times during the practice rounds where we'll be
Speaker 1: on the driving range and there'll be skipping balls across
Speaker 1: the sixteenth pond and you'll hear the crowd. You can
Speaker 1: hear it, and to go there in twenty with no
Speaker 1: fans and coming out of the pandemic and all of
Speaker 1: the things and all the regulations and having to wear
Speaker 1: a mask, and it was just very eerie. It was
Speaker 1: in November, so it was cold, it was wet, so
Speaker 1: it was a very different experience than being there in
Speaker 1: April with fans and our patrons as they call them.
Speaker 1: And I just remember it being I could actually get
Speaker 1: out and walk around and see the golf course really
Speaker 1: really up close, because the only people on the golf
Speaker 1: course were some of the members and some of the officials,
Speaker 1: and then those of us that were part of player
Speaker 1: support coaches, we were allowed to go out and follow
Speaker 1: and just like in ninety seven, DJ came in having
Speaker 1: I mean, he was the best player in the world.
Speaker 1: Everybody knew it. He knew it, we knew it, the
Speaker 1: media knew it, everybody knew it. He was the favorite,
Speaker 1: and yeah, it was it was pretty special. I never
Speaker 1: thought that that would happen, you know, in my life.
Speaker 1: In my career, my goal was just to work with
Speaker 1: a player that got to the Masters, that played in
Speaker 1: a Master's So to be working with DJ in twenty
Speaker 1: twenty and to be a part of that, and having
Speaker 1: watched Tiger the year before win and being in scoring
Speaker 1: when he came in there and win, And then I
Speaker 1: was standing with aj DJ's brother by the putting green
Speaker 1: and Tiger Woods walked out with DJ, and I just
Speaker 1: remember just it really was incredibly surreal for me to
Speaker 1: be standing on the putt and green and watching a
Speaker 1: player that I worked with about to have a green
Speaker 1: jacket put on him by I mean by Tiger Woods.
Speaker 1: I mean, I mean, it's just, you know, you have
Speaker 1: these moments in your your life and in your professional
Speaker 1: career where they just almost don't seem real, and that
Speaker 1: one is crazy. I just remember standing behind the putting
Speaker 1: green with you know, Paulina, DJ's wife and David Winkle's agent,
Speaker 1: and I remember Bubba Watson came down and Bubba whispered
Speaker 1: to me. He said, I think we're gonna see our
Speaker 1: boy cry here if he wins this thing, and you know,
Speaker 1: obviously won and everything like that. And I do remember
Speaker 1: when Tiger put the green jacket on DJ, and and
Speaker 1: Amanda Balionis went to interview DJ, and Tiger was standing
Speaker 1: next to me and put his arm around me and
Speaker 1: he said, I'm proud of you, and it meant a
Speaker 1: lot to me. And DJ started crying and Tiger said
Speaker 1: to me, the green jacket will do that to you.
Speaker 1: So it is emotional. It is an emotional place, and
Speaker 1: there were so many historic things that happened there, and Yo,
Speaker 1: when I thought about doing this pod, I didn't think
Speaker 1: I'd be as emotional as I am. But it's just
Speaker 1: such a place. It's got a lot of history, and yeah,
Speaker 1: it's special. And so anytime I'm able to come back
Speaker 1: here and work with the player DJ this week and
Speaker 1: then I'm working with Noah Kent, who by getting to
Speaker 1: the finals of the US AM he gets into the
Speaker 1: Masters and the US Open. So it's going to be
Speaker 1: really cool to see Noah here for the first time.
Speaker 1: But the emotion that this place gets out of you,
Speaker 1: whether you win or lose, I mean, I just remember
Speaker 1: in nineteen when Tiger won and Brooks didn't win and
Speaker 1: finished second, and I remember waiting. I waited until he
Speaker 1: finished his media and waited and he came into the
Speaker 1: parking behind the tournament driving range and he was crying.
Speaker 1: I gave him a hug. Ricky Ellitt was there with us,
Speaker 1: and you know, we didn't really say much and he left,
Speaker 1: and you know, Brooks won the PGA not long after that.
Speaker 1: So but yeah, it's a special place. It's iconic, and
Speaker 1: it holds a very special place in history, and certainly
Speaker 1: in my life and my family. It's a special place
Speaker 1: and in my career. It has played a huge role.
Speaker 1: The times that I've been at Augusta, the moments and
Speaker 1: the years that I was lucky enough to be here
Speaker 1: in some of the things that I've been lucky enough
Speaker 1: to see in my lifetime. Is it's special. There's a
Speaker 1: lot of rules. It's an interesting week. It's a very
Speaker 1: different week for golf instructors like myself. We're not allowed
Speaker 1: inside the ropes for practice rounds, which is the only
Speaker 1: tournament that were not allowed, which is kind of interesting.
Speaker 1: I remember when DJ was defending champion in twenty one.
Speaker 1: I got to come back and he played a practial
Speaker 1: I think it was the week before in twenty one,
Speaker 1: and I got to walk around with him. And I'll
Speaker 1: be fifty six next month. I've never played Augusta National.
Speaker 1: I've never played the golf course. So in twenty one
Speaker 1: I got to walk around the golf course and actually
Speaker 1: got to get and stand on some of the greens
Speaker 1: because again as an instructor at Augusta, were not allowed
Speaker 1: inside the ropes. So being in twenty one, I just
Speaker 1: another memory that comes up. It was first time I
Speaker 1: had actually ever been on the golf course and ever
Speaker 1: been inside the ropes, ever been on the first green,
Speaker 1: ever been on the fifth green. I mean, I mean,
Speaker 1: if you've never been on the fifth green, it's just
Speaker 1: so much undulation. And I got to walk over to
Speaker 1: the twelfth green, which I mean there are very few,
Speaker 1: I mean, out of all the people on this planet,
Speaker 1: to be able to play Augusta and to play the
Speaker 1: golf course is very very rare. I just remember walking
Speaker 1: across the bridge. It took a picture with DJ on
Speaker 1: the bridge, but I just remember walking across the bridge
Speaker 1: and I'm like, damn, I'm on the twelfth green, gust
Speaker 1: So the golf course is iconic, the city, the town,
Speaker 1: the entire thing is incredibly special. I know, it's something
Speaker 1: that for everyone listening, if you're a fan of golf,
Speaker 1: it's something that you mark on your calendar. And when
Speaker 1: you hear that kind of iconic Master's song from the broadcast,
Speaker 1: it's always special. And one last story that I'll tell.
Speaker 1: It's not my story, but it's another thing that is
Speaker 1: always a memory for me. My grandfather used to love.
Speaker 1: My uncle Billy has told this story. It's kind of
Speaker 1: a famous one in our family. My uncle Billy was
Speaker 1: caddying and my grandfather would always have dinner, and he'd
Speaker 1: have breakfast and lunch up in the in the locker room,
Speaker 1: in the champions locker room, and then they would put
Speaker 1: a chair on the range for him and he would
Speaker 1: just sit and watch people hit golf balls and watch
Speaker 1: players hit golf balls. He loved to watch golf swings.
Speaker 1: And evidently he had he had the green jacket on,
Speaker 1: and he had he had like a food stain on
Speaker 1: his green jacket. And my uncle Billy, he's caddying for
Speaker 1: Jay Hasso. He's got the you know, the the white
Speaker 1: you know jumpsuit that all the caddies here at Augusta
Speaker 1: wear famously. And he took a towel and he wet
Speaker 1: the towel and he went to go wipe the food
Speaker 1: stain off my grandfather's green jacket. And my grandfather wiped
Speaker 1: his hand away and he said, Billy, you just worry
Speaker 1: about keeping that white tuxedo clean. This week, I'll take
Speaker 1: care of the green jacket. So honestly, every time The
Speaker 1: Masters comes on television and that sound plays the music
Speaker 1: with the you know, the piano and all of the
Speaker 1: iconic song that that is, it's synonymous with the golf
Speaker 1: course and the tournament. I just always think about my
Speaker 1: grandfather telling him keep that white tuxedo clean. So anytime
Speaker 1: I see any of the caddies, the first thing that
Speaker 1: jumps into my head is keep that white tuxedo clean.
Speaker 1: So yeah, I mean it's a special place. It's special week,
Speaker 1: and I am excited. I think we're in for a
Speaker 1: good one. You know, does Rory complete the Grand Slam?
Speaker 1: Does Scottie Scheffler win? Does somebody get their first major?
Speaker 1: Does someone step up? Do we have an incredible battle
Speaker 1: on the back nine. I think a lot of people
Speaker 1: are looking at what does Ludvig Oberg do? His game
Speaker 1: looks like it's made for majors, had a chance to
Speaker 1: win last year. Do we get a surprise winner? Do
Speaker 1: you know we get somebody that isn't one of the favorites.
Speaker 1: It's a long week, it's an amazing week, and it's
Speaker 1: a week that I'm always incredibly proud and excited to
Speaker 1: get to be a part of And you know, when
Speaker 1: I look back at the arc and the trajectory of
Speaker 1: my life and my career, the Masters is a huge,
Speaker 1: huge part of my professional life and my professional career.
Speaker 1: So really excited. Hopefully the weather holds off and we
Speaker 1: get a really, really good twenty twenty five. Masters. Can't
Speaker 1: thank everybody enough for listening. I say that all the
Speaker 1: time when I close these podcasts. But I've traveled so
Speaker 1: far this year. I've been to Saudi Arabia, I've been
Speaker 1: to Australia, I've been to Bangkok, I've been to Hong Kong,
Speaker 1: and I've been to Singapore, and in every one of
Speaker 1: those cities someone has come up to me and said,
Speaker 1: big fan of the podcast. So I continue to be
Speaker 1: blown away that people listen. So I can't thank everybody enough.
Speaker 1: Rate review, subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Do a
Speaker 1: little Master's recap next week.