WEBVTT - Ben Crenshaw 0:00:07.840 --> 0:00:10.840 It's very interesting Bed they talk about great pudders and 0:00:11.600 --> 0:00:15.680 brand as you know did that story. Yeah, almost impossible 0:00:15.720 --> 0:00:19.200 to put the ten best pudders down because you forget 0:00:19.239 --> 0:00:23.680 people forget about Jerry Barber. I'll never forget winning the 0:00:23.720 --> 0:00:28.720 PGA against Don January in Chicago at something Feels. What 0:00:28.800 --> 0:00:32.400 does the name of that golf course something Olympia Fields, 0:00:32.479 --> 0:00:36.440 Olympia Field, he must he hold, There's never ever been 0:00:36.479 --> 0:00:39.120 an exhibition of pudding like that other than you at 0:00:39.159 --> 0:00:42.120 the Master's when I had my friend Dave King caddy 0:00:42.159 --> 0:00:44.440 for me, I said, I'm so pleased you're cadding for 0:00:44.520 --> 0:00:47.760 me because today you'll see for yourself what this man 0:00:47.840 --> 0:00:50.720 crench or does. And I'll never forget on the fourth 0:00:50.720 --> 0:00:53.760 hole on the fifth hold, I mean they're the flag 0:00:53.840 --> 0:00:56.360 the front right on that big no. And you were 0:00:56.400 --> 0:00:58.440 sure of the grid. And he said, well, now he 0:00:58.480 --> 0:01:06.199 will never get out of two older. He was convinced. No, Gary, 0:01:06.319 --> 0:01:10.080 I I remember reading about what what Jerry Barber did 0:01:10.120 --> 0:01:13.320 to Don January. It was some like the last three 0:01:13.400 --> 0:01:19.920 putts were all over thirty ft, but you know he 0:01:20.000 --> 0:01:24.240 putted his method was I've never seen a method like that. 0:01:24.319 --> 0:01:29.160 He putted really close to his feet, very upright, and 0:01:29.240 --> 0:01:32.119 he had an old Natzi putter, kind of a blade 0:01:32.160 --> 0:01:36.400 looking thing, but god, that guy putt he It was 0:01:36.520 --> 0:01:39.240 very interesting. I saw him later on in his career. 0:01:39.280 --> 0:01:41.760 He played a couple of tournaments and he was out 0:01:41.760 --> 0:01:44.840 on the putting green and he was putting right across 0:01:44.880 --> 0:01:48.800 the green sixties seventy ft and we said, what are 0:01:48.800 --> 0:01:51.560 you doing? He said, well, I feel like if I 0:01:51.600 --> 0:01:54.360 can gauge the speed of these long putts and then 0:01:54.360 --> 0:01:56.600 go knock the short puts. And I said, I've got 0:01:56.600 --> 0:02:00.440 a field for these greens this particular week. It was 0:02:00.520 --> 0:02:03.520 very interesting. You know, it is Ben and he had 0:02:03.560 --> 0:02:06.280 a he welded something on the thing that was the 0:02:06.320 --> 0:02:09.480 work most wicked looking putty you've ever seen. And yet 0:02:09.720 --> 0:02:12.680 find people say, well, you know, they forget that you've 0:02:12.720 --> 0:02:14.919 got to have a good eye and that you've got 0:02:14.919 --> 0:02:17.040 to have a good touch. And I mean you look 0:02:17.040 --> 0:02:19.880 at Bobby Locke. He aimed everything three ft right as 0:02:19.880 --> 0:02:22.840 a whole, even the left or right breaking hole, took 0:02:22.840 --> 0:02:25.760 the put away inside and then didn't follow through an inch. 0:02:26.080 --> 0:02:29.320 But he Casper never followed through our apartment, never followed through. 0:02:29.400 --> 0:02:32.680 Doug Ford ever followed through they gave it a good rap, 0:02:32.840 --> 0:02:36.000 a good acceleration, hitting down on the ball, and then 0:02:36.080 --> 0:02:39.280 you get guys cross handed the claw. But these were 0:02:39.320 --> 0:02:42.200 all things that were done a hundred years ago. This 0:02:42.320 --> 0:02:46.200 wasn't discovered as of today. And that's why I must 0:02:46.240 --> 0:02:49.720 just tell the folks how much I enjoy you being 0:02:49.720 --> 0:02:52.720 the host at Augusta because you always give us such 0:02:52.800 --> 0:02:56.960 lovely stories. And that's what always transpired at the Master's Dinner, 0:02:57.000 --> 0:02:59.320 which is one of the greatest evenings that you will 0:02:59.360 --> 0:03:03.720 ever experience. Into all those champions there, particularly when Bobby 0:03:03.800 --> 0:03:06.880 Jones was there, and Clifford Roberts, and you know that 0:03:07.000 --> 0:03:10.959 we also met President Eisenhower there. But you bring back 0:03:11.000 --> 0:03:14.600 these great stories. And you know, Jack Nichol has always 0:03:14.600 --> 0:03:17.160 told me what a great golfer Bobby Jones was, and 0:03:17.240 --> 0:03:20.480 I was very naive. I didn't quite appreciate that. And 0:03:20.560 --> 0:03:23.680 now as I get older, I realized he was a 0:03:23.720 --> 0:03:27.280 phenomenal golfer. And I love the story. You always tell it. 0:03:27.639 --> 0:03:29.720 Tell me when you see me, you imitate him, and 0:03:29.760 --> 0:03:32.640 I'll never forget you. Said Bobby Jones said, it is 0:03:33.200 --> 0:03:38.600 absolutely impossible, in fact inadequate to hit a bad shot 0:03:38.840 --> 0:03:45.200 and still have the club in your hands. I tell 0:03:45.240 --> 0:03:48.080 you that he was such an intellect, and he wrote 0:03:48.280 --> 0:03:52.320 so well. As a matter of fact, Gary, when I 0:03:52.360 --> 0:03:56.880 was preparing for this discussion, I have I have a 0:03:57.000 --> 0:04:01.480 quote from him that I think apply to our putting 0:04:02.640 --> 0:04:06.360 little treatise here, and I kept it for you, and 0:04:06.480 --> 0:04:11.880 it says, anyone who hopes to reduce putting, or any 0:04:11.920 --> 0:04:14.920 other department of the game of golf for that matter, 0:04:15.040 --> 0:04:19.760 to an exact science, is in for serious disappointment, and 0:04:19.800 --> 0:04:24.440 will only suffer from the attempt. It is wholly a 0:04:24.440 --> 0:04:29.000 matter of touch, the ability to gauge a slope accurately, 0:04:29.120 --> 0:04:33.359 and most important of all, the ability to concentrate on 0:04:33.400 --> 0:04:36.200 the problem at hand, and that of getting the ball 0:04:36.279 --> 0:04:41.840 into the hole, and nothing more. I mean he could write, 0:04:42.240 --> 0:04:44.440 he could write for all of us, really, and not 0:04:44.640 --> 0:04:49.880 describe what you and I were thinking in the most 0:04:49.920 --> 0:04:54.919 important aspects of our career. I mean those putts that 0:04:55.040 --> 0:05:00.280 you you made, uh, you know it lit them. Uh. 0:05:00.480 --> 0:05:03.960 That was my first Open championship and you won that week. 0:05:04.400 --> 0:05:09.240 That was the big ball, the American ball, and you 0:05:09.240 --> 0:05:12.960 you won that tournament. And you know, I know that 0:05:13.000 --> 0:05:16.800 you hold your old putts at critical times, but you 0:05:16.839 --> 0:05:21.040 know another when you won that that masters that when 0:05:21.040 --> 0:05:23.680 you made the incoming rush on the back night and 0:05:23.800 --> 0:05:28.440 you hold some putts that were just incredible. And uh 0:05:28.880 --> 0:05:34.880 you did mention too that Uh our big fellow who 0:05:35.040 --> 0:05:39.880 won the US Open, who's John Rob Those two putts 0:05:39.920 --> 0:05:42.400 were some of the prettiest putts I ever saw, both 0:05:42.480 --> 0:05:45.359 big left to right breaking putts. They had to have 0:05:45.440 --> 0:05:49.839 the perfect speed on them. They were two beautiful putts. 0:05:50.240 --> 0:05:54.320 And uh, you know, putting it has always been an 0:05:54.440 --> 0:05:58.520 art to me. And I never saw Bobby lock putt, 0:05:58.600 --> 0:06:02.760 but I saw him in film. But uh, you know 0:06:04.520 --> 0:06:07.479 that man had such a touch and an ability to 0:06:07.600 --> 0:06:14.800 read slopes, and no one would ever teach that method. Uh. 0:06:15.200 --> 0:06:17.960 You and I have seen so many different methods work, 0:06:18.000 --> 0:06:21.760 and I think that's what's fascinating about putting. Uh there's 0:06:21.760 --> 0:06:23.960 no right or wrong way to go about it. And 0:06:24.040 --> 0:06:26.960 you know you you mentioned Brad Faxson and Brad Faxson 0:06:27.080 --> 0:06:29.800 is one of the prettiest putters I ever saw. He 0:06:29.920 --> 0:06:33.239 just gets up and hits it. No practice stroke, He 0:06:33.240 --> 0:06:37.320 he sizes it up and makes that beautiful stroke. Great touch. 0:06:37.400 --> 0:06:39.919 He's just got beautiful touch in his in his hands 0:06:39.960 --> 0:06:45.239 and fingers. But um, uh, it's a part of the game. 0:06:45.279 --> 0:06:49.880 It's mystifying to some, but we do know Gary that 0:06:50.120 --> 0:06:55.039 you in order to win a tournament, and win big tournaments, 0:06:55.040 --> 0:06:58.640 the putts have to go down. That's the only way 0:06:58.880 --> 0:07:04.000 that you're gonna reduces your scores. H But in tight 0:07:04.120 --> 0:07:06.520 situations it's a tough thing to do. But you have 0:07:06.640 --> 0:07:10.400 to have belief in yourself. Right, that's right. And then 0:07:10.480 --> 0:07:14.200 the thing is, there's so much I think hogwash spoken 0:07:14.240 --> 0:07:16.680 about long hitting. Now that's all you hear is about 0:07:16.720 --> 0:07:21.200 long hitting. And even though the guy like Deschambro, I 0:07:21.280 --> 0:07:23.200 think he has a very nice but he gets a 0:07:23.200 --> 0:07:27.160 bit slashy oft times, as Tiger did. And it's unnecessary 0:07:27.160 --> 0:07:29.920 because if you hit it hard and you slash it, 0:07:29.960 --> 0:07:32.280 there's only a difference about ten yards, which is not 0:07:32.400 --> 0:07:36.000 really any significance. But if you look at the way 0:07:36.520 --> 0:07:39.680 they putted every time, you wouldn't have torment. I say, 0:07:39.680 --> 0:07:42.360 what wins a golf Torment is keeping the ball in play, 0:07:42.800 --> 0:07:45.800 having a very good mind. I can't explain of mind 0:07:45.880 --> 0:07:48.800 as you know that to be able to put extremely well, 0:07:48.880 --> 0:07:52.120 because it makes you feel like Tarzan instead of Mickey 0:07:52.160 --> 0:07:56.760 Mouse three putting it. And what I've just really irritates me, 0:07:56.840 --> 0:07:59.520 and I suppose it shouldn't. I don't think it should 0:07:59.560 --> 0:08:01.360 be allowed odd that you should be allowed to have 0:08:01.440 --> 0:08:04.600 a book on helping you read a dream. The greatest 0:08:04.920 --> 0:08:07.920 putters that ever lived, none of them ever had a book. 0:08:08.200 --> 0:08:11.120 And there's nobody putting today that could put better than 0:08:11.160 --> 0:08:14.120 those guys. In fact, I don't believe the best pudders 0:08:14.160 --> 0:08:17.280 today can put as well as the better put as 0:08:17.280 --> 0:08:20.400 of yesterday, because they play on greens and are twice 0:08:20.440 --> 0:08:23.480 as good as what we played on. And you never 0:08:23.560 --> 0:08:27.040 saw anybody bringing a book out. Where is the game 0:08:27.120 --> 0:08:29.240 to that you've got to have a book to tell 0:08:29.240 --> 0:08:31.840 you the slope. If you can't read a pot, surely 0:08:31.920 --> 0:08:35.800 reading a put is part of the game. Yeah, I 0:08:35.880 --> 0:08:40.040 totally agree. I you know, I don't play any tournaments anymore, 0:08:40.120 --> 0:08:44.320 but I have heard Gary that lately the chorus is 0:08:44.360 --> 0:08:48.680 getting louder about getting rid of the books. And one 0:08:48.679 --> 0:08:51.000 of the one of the players that I really respect 0:08:51.040 --> 0:08:55.360 a lot, and Rory McIlroy, I think that he is uh. 0:08:56.280 --> 0:08:58.559 I think he's a he's a member of the policy board, 0:08:58.559 --> 0:09:01.120 I guess on both sides of the Atlantic, but I 0:09:01.120 --> 0:09:04.679 think he I think that he If I'm not incorrect, 0:09:04.800 --> 0:09:07.439 I think that he's in favor of getting ready to 0:09:07.600 --> 0:09:13.160 grind of the books. Um it is. It's no, no question, 0:09:13.280 --> 0:09:17.280 simply a part of the game to read, to read 0:09:17.320 --> 0:09:22.800 a green, that's part of golf. I just think of 0:09:22.840 --> 0:09:26.480 all the time that it would save as well as 0:09:26.720 --> 0:09:33.240 as uh as. Golfers now, especially professionals, are scrutinized about 0:09:33.320 --> 0:09:37.640 the time that it takes them to play. So I 0:09:37.679 --> 0:09:44.640 don't know, I I I I'm old enough to know 0:09:44.880 --> 0:09:47.560 that I can't believe a lot of the things that 0:09:47.720 --> 0:09:55.480 I see these days. The distances are just mind boggling. 0:09:55.920 --> 0:09:58.240 I never thought that people would be hitting the ball 0:09:58.280 --> 0:10:02.840 as far as they do. Uh uh. You know, it's 0:10:02.880 --> 0:10:08.199 interesting about Bryson de Shambo. Ah. Yes, people are enamored 0:10:08.240 --> 0:10:12.360 with his long hitting, but people forget how well he 0:10:12.520 --> 0:10:16.120 putted those greens at wingfoot exactly. You and I know 0:10:16.360 --> 0:10:20.720 that those greens are difficult to part. There's some undulations 0:10:20.760 --> 0:10:22.800 there that you really have to work out. He put 0:10:22.800 --> 0:10:29.199 it unbelievable that way, lucky, but that's a you have to. 0:10:29.400 --> 0:10:33.040 The putts have to go down, there's no question about that. 0:10:33.040 --> 0:10:37.359 That's right. And reading the greens is such an important 0:10:37.440 --> 0:10:40.040 part because if you don't, if you don't pick the 0:10:40.160 --> 0:10:43.520 right line, you're not gonna hold him. And you've only 0:10:43.559 --> 0:10:46.000 got to look today. I think the best putter on 0:10:46.000 --> 0:10:51.640 the tour today is Jordan's speed. I mean his His 0:10:51.760 --> 0:10:56.320 long game is a lot to be improved on. He 0:10:56.640 --> 0:10:59.600 misses a lot of fairways and greens that I really 0:10:59.640 --> 0:11:02.559 admire him because he gets in there and he can 0:11:02.760 --> 0:11:05.560 He can play poorly and still score, and that to 0:11:05.640 --> 0:11:08.360 me is a big thing. He's really got that little 0:11:08.400 --> 0:11:11.680 thing called it. He's a great competitor. He's a wonderful 0:11:11.760 --> 0:11:14.880 young man. He's a good family man, a good all 0:11:14.920 --> 0:11:17.720 American guy. Pull for him. If he could get his 0:11:17.760 --> 0:11:20.440 swing right, my goodness, may be careful. He will be 0:11:20.559 --> 0:11:23.439 number one on the tour. There's no question about it. 0:11:23.480 --> 0:11:27.120 But you know the thing is that it's very interesting. 0:11:27.160 --> 0:11:30.880 I spoke to Brandon Grace in South Africa last September 0:11:30.960 --> 0:11:32.680 when I was in South Africa, and he said to me, 0:11:32.720 --> 0:11:36.360 you know, when you and Arnold and Jack and the 0:11:36.440 --> 0:11:39.480 guys won the tourments, there are only about thirty players 0:11:39.480 --> 0:11:41.600 that you had to beat, whereas we got to beat 0:11:41.640 --> 0:11:43.920 eighty ninety players. Now I said, yes, you do have 0:11:43.960 --> 0:11:46.680 to beat eighty or ninety players now. Then I came 0:11:46.760 --> 0:11:50.360 back during COVID. I was in Philadelphia and I went 0:11:50.480 --> 0:11:54.199 through on our tour, and we had fifty nine major 0:11:54.360 --> 0:11:57.520 champions that played the tour when we played, fifty nine 0:11:58.800 --> 0:12:02.880 nine major champions champions playing the tour right now. So 0:12:02.920 --> 0:12:05.120 you've always got to be very careful what you say 0:12:05.160 --> 0:12:09.719 about I don't see anybody hitting the boat. I've been 0:12:09.800 --> 0:12:14.280 Hogan today. This is a long time ago. I mean 0:12:14.440 --> 0:12:17.559 Sam Sneed and Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson and Jimmy 0:12:17.640 --> 0:12:20.559 de Merritt, Lloyd Mangram. You can go down the line. 0:12:20.640 --> 0:12:24.480 Those guys could really play. And when you think about it, 0:12:25.520 --> 0:12:28.360 we're in our infancy right now. Ben, I mean, you're 0:12:28.360 --> 0:12:31.400 getting guys coming out We've never there's never been even today, 0:12:31.520 --> 0:12:34.720 no really big men playing golf. You know, the physique, 0:12:35.720 --> 0:12:40.200 you know, I suppose Gary that the the RNA and 0:12:40.280 --> 0:12:44.439 the U. S. G A are are obviously being scrutinized 0:12:44.480 --> 0:12:47.760 about the distance of the ball is going with club 0:12:47.800 --> 0:12:50.719 heads and implements and the ball and this and that. 0:12:50.920 --> 0:12:56.480 But you really can't take away people's physical abilities. That's 0:12:56.840 --> 0:13:00.680 that's that's something that that you know, no one ever 0:13:00.720 --> 0:13:03.200 thought of. I know that you were a proponent of 0:13:03.320 --> 0:13:06.480 really keeping a strong body, and you always have and 0:13:06.559 --> 0:13:11.160 there was there was there was one guy, Frank Stranahan. 0:13:11.320 --> 0:13:13.960 I guess way back who who's one of the first 0:13:14.040 --> 0:13:22.400 I guess, But no, you can't discount that. The sad 0:13:22.520 --> 0:13:26.400 part is Gary that you know, you and I build 0:13:26.400 --> 0:13:32.480 golf courses and you I sort of cringe when you know, 0:13:32.640 --> 0:13:35.559 you to offer up a championship test, you know, when 0:13:35.600 --> 0:13:37.760 people are saying, well this, of course, there's got to 0:13:37.800 --> 0:13:42.199 be seventy seventy six hundred yards. And it's very difficult 0:13:42.280 --> 0:13:46.480 to make a golf course be a lasting enough that 0:13:46.480 --> 0:13:50.800 that everybody could enjoy the game. It's very difficult to 0:13:50.840 --> 0:13:54.520 put those things together. But we're sort of at that 0:13:54.640 --> 0:14:00.080 threshold now. I I'm always of the opinion that of 0:14:00.120 --> 0:14:06.040 for a golf course that yes has the framework of 0:14:06.040 --> 0:14:08.880 of trying to reach everyone, and it is difficult to do. 0:14:09.080 --> 0:14:12.079 But in a nutshell, if you have a golf course 0:14:12.160 --> 0:14:15.360 that has a couple of part fives, a couple of 0:14:15.400 --> 0:14:19.440 strong par fours on either side, a couple of short 0:14:19.560 --> 0:14:22.480 par fours on either side that are great and testing 0:14:23.160 --> 0:14:27.040 and you have four part three's that are of different lengths. 0:14:27.120 --> 0:14:32.000 You've reached a lot of people and to where those 0:14:32.000 --> 0:14:38.080 golf courses nestle against the countryside and look natural. That's 0:14:38.080 --> 0:14:42.320 that's what we that's our aim and objective. And you 0:14:42.360 --> 0:14:44.600 and I have studied the world's best courses and it's 0:14:44.680 --> 0:14:49.400 fascinating to me that they're sort of a kinship and 0:14:49.520 --> 0:14:56.080 all of them, that they're naturally placed. They offer a test. Uh. Yes, 0:14:56.360 --> 0:15:01.240 they're difficult in spots, but they're not completely overbear. I 0:15:01.280 --> 0:15:08.680 don't think anyone enjoys a slug fest every hole. Uh. Interest, 0:15:09.400 --> 0:15:16.480 well Jones said it interest supersed link every time. It's 0:15:16.520 --> 0:15:19.480 a kind of a an alarming quote. But you know, 0:15:19.520 --> 0:15:22.440 when you think about it, you want to hold people's 0:15:22.480 --> 0:15:28.440 interests as much as you can. And uh, some of 0:15:28.480 --> 0:15:33.120 the world's greatest holes, Ah well, let's started by the 0:15:33.320 --> 0:15:37.800 number twelve that Augusta. I think that holds people attentions 0:15:37.840 --> 0:15:43.880 pretty well, confounds everyone. Uh, but are you thinking of 0:15:44.080 --> 0:15:46.560 some of the great short part forwards in the world 0:15:46.680 --> 0:15:49.800 that are just fascinating to watch? The tenth hole at 0:15:49.880 --> 0:15:55.480 Riviera in Los Angeles, and uh, uh, they're they're they're, 0:15:55.560 --> 0:16:01.240 they're just wonderfully done. They're fascinating they But Ben, the 0:16:01.280 --> 0:16:03.680 thing is that we've got to be very careful of 0:16:04.160 --> 0:16:06.280 one of the things that my brother was the world's 0:16:06.320 --> 0:16:10.440 leading conservationist, and fifty years ago he said to me, 0:16:10.600 --> 0:16:14.120 water is going to be the big problem in your 0:16:14.200 --> 0:16:17.960 children's lifetimes. And were finding that out right now when 0:16:17.960 --> 0:16:20.120 you see the drafts that are taking place all over 0:16:20.160 --> 0:16:22.960 the world and the big lakes that we automatically got 0:16:23.000 --> 0:16:29.200 water from Lake Mead I e down to. We cannot 0:16:29.240 --> 0:16:31.720 afford to have golf courses that are, you know, eight 0:16:31.760 --> 0:16:35.280 thousand yards long, because we don't have the water unless 0:16:35.360 --> 0:16:37.800 we use In fact, I think in time to come, Ben, 0:16:38.280 --> 0:16:40.760 we will not be able to use portable water for 0:16:40.920 --> 0:16:45.200 golf courses. Will have to use the the you know, 0:16:45.320 --> 0:16:48.440 the sewerage water that's been refined. We will not be 0:16:48.480 --> 0:16:50.840 allowed to use that fresh water because and the other 0:16:50.920 --> 0:16:55.320 thing is the fertilizer. Fertilization continuously. I know on my 0:16:55.400 --> 0:16:59.200 crops on my farm, if I kept using fertilizer, the 0:16:59.280 --> 0:17:02.840 soil det aiorated. So and then the other thing is 0:17:02.920 --> 0:17:06.720 the expense. How much it costs to buy the machinery. 0:17:06.880 --> 0:17:10.200 It costs a living fortune. So I think to me, 0:17:10.320 --> 0:17:12.480 my advice to everybody who talks to us about a 0:17:12.520 --> 0:17:15.399 golf course, I say, look, the odds of having a 0:17:15.400 --> 0:17:18.399 tournament on your golf course are remote. Let's build a 0:17:18.440 --> 0:17:22.200 golf course for the future where your your people are 0:17:22.240 --> 0:17:25.640 going to enjoy it as members. You'll have good youth programmed, 0:17:26.040 --> 0:17:29.200 you'll have a great camaraderie that exists, a good practice 0:17:29.280 --> 0:17:33.879 tea facilities. But forget about a tournament golf course because 0:17:34.200 --> 0:17:36.600 it just upsets the members anyway, They're not going to 0:17:36.720 --> 0:17:41.320 enjoy it. And the expense, Wow, the expense is enormous. Ben, 0:17:41.400 --> 0:17:43.199 you know what it costs just to put sand in 0:17:43.280 --> 0:17:48.800 bunkers been, Oh, it is. And I'd like to to 0:17:48.840 --> 0:17:52.960 echo your thoughts about conservation too, because if you really 0:17:53.040 --> 0:17:57.879 consider what kind of research is done now with the 0:17:57.920 --> 0:18:01.560 turf grass universities and the U. S g A with 0:18:01.640 --> 0:18:06.280 their Green Section, you have to really scrutinize what varieties 0:18:06.280 --> 0:18:09.000 and species you're gonna put on on that golf course. 0:18:09.040 --> 0:18:13.840 And some of the grasses now are just fantastic. Uh. 0:18:13.960 --> 0:18:16.639 Some of the zoises that we've worked with are just 0:18:16.960 --> 0:18:21.040 wonderfully adapted to heat. And you don't have to water 0:18:21.119 --> 0:18:24.720 them that much. You don't have to fertilize them that much. Uh. 0:18:24.800 --> 0:18:28.639 We're the golf industry is constantly looking for species of 0:18:28.720 --> 0:18:33.800 grass that that will thrive in these conditions. But you're 0:18:33.880 --> 0:18:37.080 right at the cost of upkeep for a golf course 0:18:37.920 --> 0:18:42.239 is enormous. That costs everyone, costs everyone, the members of 0:18:42.240 --> 0:18:48.320 your club. Uh. You dues are are expensive. But you 0:18:48.359 --> 0:18:54.479 have to consider these things. Uh. One thing is is unbelievable, though, Gary, 0:18:54.560 --> 0:18:59.520 when you start thinking about golf as a worldwide recreation 0:19:00.160 --> 0:19:05.080 is people are playing golf. It's amazing how popular it is. 0:19:05.960 --> 0:19:10.040 You know, of course we've had this rotten pandemic, but 0:19:10.240 --> 0:19:14.680 it is rekindled a lot of people's romance with the game. 0:19:15.840 --> 0:19:19.560 Every club around North America is full and a lot 0:19:19.600 --> 0:19:22.920 of people are coming to the game for the first time. Ah. 0:19:23.760 --> 0:19:26.560 I know that where you are in the UK, people 0:19:26.560 --> 0:19:31.720 would like to get out more and recreate. Ah. But 0:19:32.080 --> 0:19:37.880 if you consider golfs ability to thrive, and you know, 0:19:38.720 --> 0:19:42.040 our game, Gary has been around over five dred years. 0:19:43.000 --> 0:19:49.920 It's amazing that the thought of it hasn't changed that much. 0:19:50.200 --> 0:19:54.720 The aim and the objective of the game. Uh. And 0:19:54.760 --> 0:19:57.439 it's amazing when you talk to people who take up 0:19:57.480 --> 0:20:00.680 the game what it means to them, and they the one, well, 0:20:00.680 --> 0:20:04.000 that's the game for a lifetime. Well it is, and 0:20:04.080 --> 0:20:09.639 it's something to learn every day. Uh. But you know, Gary, 0:20:09.720 --> 0:20:15.760 going back to the Masters and the Champions dinner, it's 0:20:15.760 --> 0:20:18.840 such an honor to stand up there and and talk 0:20:18.920 --> 0:20:23.160 to you guys. I never dreamed that Byrone Nelson would 0:20:23.160 --> 0:20:25.040 call me on the phone. He said, Been, I want 0:20:25.040 --> 0:20:29.080 you to take over for the dinner. I went, wow. Uh, 0:20:29.320 --> 0:20:33.320 it's an honor. Uh. And it's when you wouldn't look 0:20:33.359 --> 0:20:36.960 out at all of your champions. We have a kinship 0:20:37.119 --> 0:20:41.720 because we've been through it and we're proud that we've 0:20:41.760 --> 0:20:47.520 got through it to do something like that, um common 0:20:47.640 --> 0:20:51.560 thread of all of us. But the chance for us 0:20:51.640 --> 0:20:57.680 to be together and relive old stories. Uh. And just 0:20:57.720 --> 0:21:01.679 a number of people, number of professionals who'd like to 0:21:01.720 --> 0:21:07.480 be in that room. We're very very lucky. Yes, absolutely, absolutely, no. 0:21:07.720 --> 0:21:10.399 Being it's a it's a game. When you think about it, 0:21:10.600 --> 0:21:15.160 you can play forever. That can help a young man. 0:21:15.840 --> 0:21:19.240 He should choose his sport very wisely because it comes 0:21:19.240 --> 0:21:22.080 a day when he cannot play anymore, and golf and 0:21:22.359 --> 0:21:26.800 can help him in his business enormously, and if you're 0:21:26.800 --> 0:21:30.240 not a champion golf or whatsoever, it's the most difficult 0:21:30.240 --> 0:21:33.000 game ever invented. I mean, my wife and I have 0:21:33.080 --> 0:21:37.720 great debates. My favorite sport to watch on television is tennis. Now, 0:21:38.440 --> 0:21:42.320 I tell her, I said, you know, when you win Wimbledon, 0:21:42.359 --> 0:21:45.960 you've got to beat property six or seven guys. I said, 0:21:46.440 --> 0:21:51.000 when we win the British Open or the US Open, 0:21:51.119 --> 0:21:53.000 or whatever it may be, we've got a hundred and 0:21:53.000 --> 0:21:56.200 fifty six guys teeing off in the tournament. And every 0:21:56.280 --> 0:22:00.600 day we're playing against a lot of guys, and you 0:22:00.680 --> 0:22:03.439 might get an early morning time and the wooden blows. 0:22:03.480 --> 0:22:06.320 I said, when you played tennis, it's the same conditions 0:22:06.400 --> 0:22:09.320 for you as against that other man. We play against 0:22:09.480 --> 0:22:13.399 rain and wind and sunshine in the afternoon and completely 0:22:13.520 --> 0:22:16.480 different conditions. The greens are not as good in the afternoon, 0:22:16.520 --> 0:22:19.160 the bunkers are not as good. Nothing is as good, 0:22:19.200 --> 0:22:22.560 So you know to win. To me, we have the debate. 0:22:23.000 --> 0:22:26.639 And nobody had admis an athlete more than Djokovic than 0:22:26.720 --> 0:22:30.560 I do. To see the way he's exercise and the 0:22:30.600 --> 0:22:34.760 way he eats and his mindset. I'm such a fan 0:22:34.880 --> 0:22:38.560 of his. And we saw what bul Micholson did that 0:22:39.320 --> 0:22:42.360 the PJ this year. He lost X amount of pounds. 0:22:42.400 --> 0:22:45.080 He looked young, he was focused. There was a great 0:22:45.160 --> 0:22:48.800 encouragement for young people to to avoid obesity, which is 0:22:48.840 --> 0:22:52.520 the biggest killer of mankind. So it was very The 0:22:52.600 --> 0:22:55.800 golf can set such a great example to so many 0:22:55.840 --> 0:22:59.800 people watching and learning about it, and the more they learned, 0:23:00.600 --> 0:23:04.760 the more intrigued they are with the game. I think 0:23:05.080 --> 0:23:09.159 it is Djokovic was an athlete. You know his range e, 0:23:09.440 --> 0:23:13.919 he's his capacity, he stays healthy. In the next few years, 0:23:13.920 --> 0:23:17.639 he's gonna set so many, so many records. It's incredible 0:23:17.640 --> 0:23:25.400 what he's achieved now he's he's a lethal uh competitor. Uh. 0:23:25.480 --> 0:23:28.120 And and really, and if you consider what Phil Nicholson 0:23:28.160 --> 0:23:30.119 did that that is one of the great achievements of 0:23:30.400 --> 0:23:34.640 of of of our sport. He you know, he looked 0:23:34.680 --> 0:23:40.400 like he was in a trance the last two days. Focus, 0:23:40.520 --> 0:23:44.040 his focus was on believing his brother on the bag 0:23:44.160 --> 0:23:49.119 really helped him. But god, he was calm. And uh, 0:23:49.160 --> 0:23:54.840 you know one thing too, I noted Gary that he 0:23:54.920 --> 0:23:58.200 inserted a club in his bag. I think that really 0:23:58.200 --> 0:24:01.960 helped him win. Was that was that too, would Brassy? Yes, 0:24:02.119 --> 0:24:04.760 we kept the ball in play off the tea. Yes, 0:24:04.920 --> 0:24:08.080 because a guy like that can score so well, he 0:24:08.240 --> 0:24:11.400 just needs to keep it in play. What a victory 0:24:11.480 --> 0:24:15.359 that was. Oh, it was really remarkable. And Ben, you know, 0:24:15.480 --> 0:24:18.800 I remember fifty years ago saying one day because Raymond 0:24:18.840 --> 0:24:22.280 Floyd came very close to winning at fifty, and I said, 0:24:22.280 --> 0:24:24.240 one day there will be a man of fifty winning 0:24:24.240 --> 0:24:26.760 a major. Now, and I've been known as a bit 0:24:26.760 --> 0:24:29.480 of a cook with my predictions, I said, weight training 0:24:29.480 --> 0:24:32.480 will become part of the game. Uh, they will, said 0:24:32.480 --> 0:24:35.560 you mad, Even Ardole and Jason don't talk nonsense about 0:24:35.720 --> 0:24:38.439 using weights. And then I said, somebody will win a 0:24:38.480 --> 0:24:40.960 major at fifty. Now I'm going to say another cook thing, 0:24:41.400 --> 0:24:44.000 somebody will win a major at sixty one day. Because 0:24:44.320 --> 0:24:48.560 we're now going into a new mindset eating properly. No athletes, 0:24:48.560 --> 0:24:53.760 student professional golfers are not good eaters. But any I mean, 0:24:53.800 --> 0:24:55.480 you put any food in front of the man, they 0:24:55.480 --> 0:24:57.760 eat it. So I mean, but now there's a new 0:24:57.880 --> 0:25:00.800 trend of watching their diet game to the game, to 0:25:00.840 --> 0:25:04.399 the gym, getting psychiatrists. I mean, it's a it's a 0:25:04.480 --> 0:25:09.160 completely different game. I played with Taysom Hill, the guy 0:25:09.400 --> 0:25:13.600 who plays a football for the Saints. Let me tell 0:25:13.640 --> 0:25:17.600 you something. He's squatting with five hundred pounds. Oh my god, 0:25:17.720 --> 0:25:20.840 he hit when I hit a drive and a three 0:25:20.920 --> 0:25:23.000 iron and he had a drive in a sandwidge and 0:25:23.080 --> 0:25:26.919 that's not mad, but I still waxed him anyway. But 0:25:27.000 --> 0:25:32.159 the thing is that these guys, they're going to be 0:25:32.240 --> 0:25:34.440 hitting the ball close to five hundred yards. I'm telling 0:25:34.440 --> 0:25:37.080 you right now, we as they say in the classics, 0:25:37.320 --> 0:25:40.000 we ain't seen nothing yet. And so the U s 0:25:40.080 --> 0:25:43.280 g A and the RNA and all the leaders the 0:25:43.359 --> 0:25:46.880 p g A have got to slow the ball down. Ben. 0:25:47.040 --> 0:25:49.600 If they don't slow the ball down, it's going to 0:25:49.680 --> 0:25:52.480