WEBVTT - Bernhard Langer on Augusta National, the “Big Five,” & His Life in Golf 0:00:00.040 --> 0:00:02.800 I miss a green, for example, I'm already upset. When 0:00:02.800 --> 0:00:04.920 I find my ball in the bunker, I'm really upset. 0:00:05.000 --> 0:00:06.920 And when I find my ball in a brid. 0:00:06.720 --> 0:00:11.080 Egg Friday Egg, the dreaded Frida Egg Friday, Fridagg Fridagg 0:00:11.160 --> 0:00:11.840 brid Egg. 0:00:11.720 --> 0:00:14.080 Lie, I'm about ready to run off of the course. 0:00:37.720 --> 0:00:40.720 Welcome back to the Friday Golf Podcast. I'm your host, 0:00:40.760 --> 0:00:45.320 Andy Johnson. Today I am thrilled to be joined by 0:00:45.720 --> 0:00:50.720 one of golf's all time legends, Bernard Longer. Bernard won 0:00:50.840 --> 0:00:54.760 the Masters two times obviously, has been one of the 0:00:54.760 --> 0:01:01.120 most prolific golfers, had one of the greatest careers, particularly 0:01:01.160 --> 0:01:05.000 when you consider the longevity in the history of the sport. 0:01:05.440 --> 0:01:08.760 So was really excited to chat with him ahead of 0:01:08.760 --> 0:01:13.360 this year's Masters about his career, his experiences at Augustin National, 0:01:14.680 --> 0:01:18.279 and you know, just a lot about his golf life. 0:01:18.560 --> 0:01:22.520 So could have done this for hours and hours. Really 0:01:22.600 --> 0:01:25.119 excited for you guys to have listened to this one, 0:01:25.640 --> 0:01:29.640 and thank you for listening. As a reminder, we will 0:01:29.680 --> 0:01:36.160 be out on Sunday with our preview for next week's Masters. 0:01:36.600 --> 0:01:40.040 I can't believe it's here. We have been hard at 0:01:40.120 --> 0:01:43.039 work in the lab the last few months getting ready 0:01:43.080 --> 0:01:46.640 for this. I would urge you to go check out 0:01:46.680 --> 0:01:50.880 the Frida egg dot com. We just posted a whole 0:01:50.920 --> 0:01:56.080 by hole of Augustin National and it's cool. We put 0:01:56.120 --> 0:01:59.520 some time and energy into the website design on this one. 0:02:00.800 --> 0:02:04.200 It kind of breaks down the history of each hole, 0:02:04.360 --> 0:02:08.840 the strategy of each hole, famous shots on each hole, 0:02:09.040 --> 0:02:13.520 and has a wonderful set of photos from present and past. 0:02:14.600 --> 0:02:17.440 That's at the Frida egg dot com. Go check that out. 0:02:17.480 --> 0:02:21.160 That's kind of kicking off all of our coverage of 0:02:21.200 --> 0:02:25.799 the first major this year, so be sure to check 0:02:25.840 --> 0:02:30.920 that out. 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All right, Bernard, 0:03:43.360 --> 0:03:46.000 I I've got a big birthday coming up, and I'm 0:03:46.040 --> 0:03:49.960 hoping that golf and relatively high level golf for for 0:03:50.080 --> 0:03:54.560 my my expectations are part of my life as I 0:03:54.760 --> 0:03:58.880 as I age, I gotta ask you off the top, 0:03:59.200 --> 0:04:04.000 what are what are your keys to longevity of playing 0:04:04.040 --> 0:04:05.839 golf at extraordinarily high level. 0:04:07.480 --> 0:04:09.720 Well, it's a lot of things. I always say, it's 0:04:09.840 --> 0:04:13.320 like a puzzle. There's lots of pieces that have to 0:04:13.400 --> 0:04:17.120 fit together. I think I have pretty good genes. I 0:04:17.160 --> 0:04:21.320 think I have got given talent, a good work ethic. 0:04:21.640 --> 0:04:25.280 I've worked out all my life. Enjoy working out, I 0:04:25.400 --> 0:04:30.599 enjoy practicing hitting balls and all of that, and I 0:04:30.720 --> 0:04:35.919 enjoy competing. So you need all of that and probably 0:04:35.960 --> 0:04:42.039 more to be successful. Because you know, I say, the 0:04:42.120 --> 0:04:46.360 champions Tour is maybe the most competitive tour there is. 0:04:46.440 --> 0:04:49.119 And you may not agree, but I tell you why, 0:04:49.240 --> 0:04:53.040 because there's only seventy eight guys from the whole world 0:04:53.800 --> 0:04:56.679 who can play on this tour. Seventy eight guys. There's 0:04:56.720 --> 0:05:01.200 no fallback. There's no other tour, you know. The European 0:05:01.240 --> 0:05:04.839 Tour has a few senior events, but it's not even 0:05:05.120 --> 0:05:09.920 comparable to the competition or the prize money or any 0:05:09.960 --> 0:05:13.280 of the other stuff. So everybody that can play golf 0:05:13.600 --> 0:05:16.039 very well over fifty will try and get on the 0:05:16.120 --> 0:05:21.039 Champions Tour. And there's always young guys coming and some 0:05:21.080 --> 0:05:23.040 of the other guys have to leave when you know, 0:05:23.600 --> 0:05:25.880 like last couple of weeks ago we had Sec Johns 0:05:25.920 --> 0:05:32.039 and join us Ben Crane, you know, And there's every 0:05:32.040 --> 0:05:34.480 other week every month, there's a few new ones, and 0:05:34.680 --> 0:05:37.880 it's difficult to hang on to be one of those 0:05:37.920 --> 0:05:44.840 seventy eight. But I've enjoyed it immensely. I still play 0:05:44.880 --> 0:05:49.520 a pretty full schedule and just enjoy the camaraderie we 0:05:49.600 --> 0:05:52.680 have on this tour. As I said, I work out, 0:05:52.960 --> 0:05:56.760 and you know, I practice a little less than I 0:05:56.839 --> 0:05:59.480 used to. My body can't take it. I can't hit 0:05:59.520 --> 0:06:03.000 five six son of balls anymore, I would be hurting, 0:06:03.520 --> 0:06:06.880 So I spend more time recovering and more time stretching 0:06:07.680 --> 0:06:11.719 and trying to loosen up and be ready when the 0:06:11.720 --> 0:06:12.800 tournament starts. 0:06:13.560 --> 0:06:17.039 The thing about the Champions Store too, I imagine, And 0:06:17.240 --> 0:06:20.919 I'm curious your perspective on this is that different players 0:06:21.000 --> 0:06:24.120 are at different points in their career. Where you have 0:06:24.520 --> 0:06:27.640 some guys that are coming out there that haven't had 0:06:27.680 --> 0:06:32.160 the huge accomplishments of others. Do you see a different 0:06:32.279 --> 0:06:38.280 level of competitiveness depending on you know, obviously people's mental archetype, 0:06:38.320 --> 0:06:40.599 but also what they've done in their career. 0:06:42.160 --> 0:06:44.919 Yeah, then you know, there may be five or six 0:06:45.000 --> 0:06:49.280 guys out here that have had tremendous success when they 0:06:49.320 --> 0:06:53.640 were younger, and they benefit from that and they may 0:06:53.680 --> 0:06:57.520 not be quite as competitive. But I would say three 0:06:57.640 --> 0:07:02.760 fours off the field or more are extremely competitive. They're hungry, 0:07:02.839 --> 0:07:08.440 they want to extend their career. Some of them may 0:07:08.440 --> 0:07:13.720 even need the money, I don't know, and they need 0:07:13.760 --> 0:07:16.040 to perform. They need to finish in the top thirty 0:07:16.040 --> 0:07:20.600 six to have a job next year, and that's hard 0:07:20.640 --> 0:07:23.360 to do when you play against Hall of famers and 0:07:23.440 --> 0:07:28.120 major winners and very accomplished players from all over the world. 0:07:29.760 --> 0:07:33.600 You just hit on that you worked out basically your 0:07:33.640 --> 0:07:37.720 whole career. What you were hitting the gym in the eighties. 0:07:38.120 --> 0:07:42.840 What percentage of the players your peers would you say. 0:07:42.760 --> 0:07:44.120 We're working out regularly? 0:07:44.680 --> 0:07:48.040 And how do you think your fitness regimen has changed 0:07:48.480 --> 0:07:50.960 over the last you know, forty years? 0:07:51.520 --> 0:07:54.000 Yeah, great question. I think in the eighties there was 0:07:54.080 --> 0:07:58.480 maybe thirty percent of the guys who were working out seriously. 0:07:59.280 --> 0:08:03.920 Now I would say ninety five. So it's changed dramatically. 0:08:05.440 --> 0:08:08.200 And I call that the Tiger Woods effect because when 0:08:08.240 --> 0:08:11.040 he came out and dominated, everybody was trying to find 0:08:11.040 --> 0:08:14.120 out why and see so good? Why see so long? 0:08:14.160 --> 0:08:18.640 Why see mentally so tough? And you know, every percentage 0:08:18.760 --> 0:08:22.880 you can gain somewhere in your game may save a 0:08:22.920 --> 0:08:27.240 stroke and may make you more successful. So that's when 0:08:27.760 --> 0:08:30.560 people really paid attention. I mean, Gary Player showed us 0:08:30.640 --> 0:08:34.880 the way many years ago, and you can see the 0:08:34.920 --> 0:08:39.479 benefit now. If you compare Gary Player to Check Nicholas. 0:08:39.520 --> 0:08:44.360 You know, Gary player is still very mobile, very fit 0:08:44.520 --> 0:08:47.520 for his age. He's ninety years old, but the guy 0:08:47.559 --> 0:08:49.839 can still do all sorts of things like a thirty 0:08:49.920 --> 0:08:53.200 year old. It seems like while most ninety year olds 0:08:53.240 --> 0:08:58.640 they can hardly walk or shuffle along and just they're 0:08:58.720 --> 0:09:02.679 not flexible, they're not strong. So Gary Player was really 0:09:02.760 --> 0:09:05.400 to me. He was always my golfing idol, and I 0:09:06.640 --> 0:09:09.400 think he set a great example that many of us 0:09:09.480 --> 0:09:10.480 are following now. 0:09:11.920 --> 0:09:15.640 With Gary Player being your idol growing up. Like, what 0:09:15.760 --> 0:09:19.720 was it about his game that drew you to him? 0:09:20.360 --> 0:09:22.840 I obviously am in the Tiger era, and I could 0:09:22.920 --> 0:09:25.600 go on about what I loved about Tiger growing up, 0:09:25.640 --> 0:09:29.040 But what about Gary Player for you growing up? 0:09:29.320 --> 0:09:32.240 Was the thing that drew you to him? 0:09:32.720 --> 0:09:34.720 Well, there were a number of things. First of all, 0:09:34.720 --> 0:09:36.560 when I met him, he was very kind to me 0:09:36.840 --> 0:09:42.720 and very helpful. But he was my size. He swung 0:09:42.760 --> 0:09:46.480 a little flatter than most people did in those years. 0:09:47.400 --> 0:09:51.480 He comes from a country where golf is not very popular, 0:09:51.600 --> 0:09:54.800 and he had to really work hard to make it, 0:09:55.559 --> 0:09:59.200 you know, to Europe, to America, to the highest stage. 0:09:59.679 --> 0:10:03.240 He had to travel all over the place to get 0:10:03.280 --> 0:10:08.280 there with wife and kids in those days with apartheid, 0:10:08.320 --> 0:10:12.079 extremely difficult for him. So I just kind of identified 0:10:12.120 --> 0:10:14.200 with him a little bit. And fitness was a part 0:10:14.240 --> 0:10:18.600 of it. You know, I'm only five eight and he 0:10:18.760 --> 0:10:24.400 was about five eight or something like that. We're competing, 0:10:24.480 --> 0:10:29.240 trying to compete against these six two sixty four athletes 0:10:29.679 --> 0:10:34.640 who have a huge advantage just by size. But those 0:10:34.679 --> 0:10:38.040 were the main attractions. And you know, now we're both 0:10:38.200 --> 0:10:42.880 believers in Jesus Christ and family people and other things 0:10:42.960 --> 0:10:48.240 were philanthropic. We realize how much we've been blessed and 0:10:48.920 --> 0:10:52.000 we give back and help those that are in need. 0:10:53.360 --> 0:10:59.239 With with growing up in Germany obviously not particularly before 0:10:59.559 --> 0:11:02.400 you you know, rose to the top of the golf world, 0:11:03.000 --> 0:11:06.720 not at all a golf hotbed. What was it like 0:11:06.880 --> 0:11:10.040 growing up in a place where golf was a very 0:11:10.160 --> 0:11:13.960 you know, unpopular sport and becoming a golf icon and 0:11:14.000 --> 0:11:16.840 seeing the country's golf popularity grow. 0:11:18.640 --> 0:11:21.880 Yeah, it was very different than I remember when I 0:11:21.920 --> 0:11:25.280 was about ten years old. We didn't even have one 0:11:25.320 --> 0:11:28.920 hundred golf courses in Germany, and there was a very 0:11:29.040 --> 0:11:33.360 leadish kind of game. We had maybe, as I said, 0:11:33.400 --> 0:11:36.040 eighty ninety golf clubs, and they were all very private, 0:11:36.440 --> 0:11:42.840 so difficult to get into the game. On top of that, 0:11:43.040 --> 0:11:48.040 it was expensive and people had no idea what golf was. 0:11:48.280 --> 0:11:50.760 You know, if you said, well, I'm I'm a golfer. 0:11:50.840 --> 0:11:54.120 They thought you're playing putt putt or miniature golfer, you know, 0:11:54.200 --> 0:11:59.760 something like that. So it was not easy to break through. 0:12:00.000 --> 0:12:02.360 I give you a quick example. When I was fifteen, 0:12:02.440 --> 0:12:06.320 I finished my basic schooling of nine years and went 0:12:06.360 --> 0:12:09.320 to the Institute of job Placement. I had my two 0:12:09.400 --> 0:12:12.040 parents with me. I was fifteen. The guy across the 0:12:12.120 --> 0:12:16.160 desk was the so called you know person who was 0:12:16.200 --> 0:12:17.880 going to advise me. So he asked me, what do 0:12:17.880 --> 0:12:20.280 you want to do with your life, young man? I said, 0:12:20.280 --> 0:12:22.680 I want to be a golf professional, and he looked 0:12:22.720 --> 0:12:25.280 at me like I'm from a different planet, he said. 0:12:25.360 --> 0:12:28.439 He left the room and came back and said, actually, 0:12:28.520 --> 0:12:32.040 it's not a recognized profession, and I highly recommend for 0:12:32.040 --> 0:12:35.120 you to learn some decent so you know, that's what 0:12:35.240 --> 0:12:37.559 golf was like in Germany. 0:12:37.640 --> 0:12:40.960 And we have any recommendations for you. Was there a 0:12:41.040 --> 0:12:43.680 job he recommended you do instead of being a golf thro. 0:12:44.200 --> 0:12:47.560 Well, he said, why don't you learn a proper trade, 0:12:47.640 --> 0:12:51.600 you know, and get something, learn something, and then in 0:12:51.679 --> 0:12:54.560 three or four years of five, whenever you've achieved that 0:12:54.720 --> 0:12:57.520 and you still want to be a golf professional, maybe 0:12:58.000 --> 0:13:00.439 you can do that, and I said, I want to 0:13:00.520 --> 0:13:04.480 waste three or five years. I had a job offer 0:13:04.600 --> 0:13:08.760 as an assistant pro in Munich, and I somehow convinced 0:13:08.800 --> 0:13:12.720 my parents. I guess I was pretty stubborn. That's all 0:13:12.760 --> 0:13:15.200 I wanted to do. That was my dream. And they 0:13:15.520 --> 0:13:17.800 drove me over there, got the interview, and then got 0:13:17.800 --> 0:13:18.240 the job. 0:13:19.520 --> 0:13:20.760 Awesome, awesome. 0:13:22.640 --> 0:13:26.680 You know, it's been forty four years. Really, you know, 0:13:26.880 --> 0:13:30.439 obviously there's been two years in there that you didn't. 0:13:30.200 --> 0:13:32.000 Play the Masters. 0:13:32.480 --> 0:13:36.439 How are you feeling about returning to Gusta National without 0:13:36.480 --> 0:13:39.280 playing for the first time in forty four years. 0:13:39.760 --> 0:13:41.400 I'll tell you in a couple of weeks. It's going 0:13:41.480 --> 0:13:44.640 to be bittersweet. I imagine it's going to be strange to, 0:13:45.360 --> 0:13:47.600 you know, go out near the putting green or the 0:13:47.640 --> 0:13:50.560 first tea without the golf club and just be walking 0:13:50.600 --> 0:13:55.199 around knowing you're never going to compete again in this 0:13:56.480 --> 0:14:01.120 wonderful tournament. But I knew sooner or later it would 0:14:01.160 --> 0:14:03.640 be time to call it quits. I didn't want to 0:14:03.679 --> 0:14:08.120 make a fool of myself out there. The Cortius gotten very, 0:14:08.280 --> 0:14:12.080 very long. I'm't getting shorter. They mow the fairways from 0:14:12.559 --> 0:14:15.760 the green toward the tea box, so the grain of 0:14:15.880 --> 0:14:18.920 their fairways into you. The ball doesn't run as much 0:14:19.800 --> 0:14:23.160 as it does in other places. And the greens are 0:14:23.200 --> 0:14:27.200 really designed to be hit with eight nine irons, shorter 0:14:27.440 --> 0:14:30.160 to medium irons, and I don't have any of those 0:14:30.200 --> 0:14:32.760 clubs anymore, and they're around the gust. I'm hitting three 0:14:32.760 --> 0:14:36.320 woods and eyebrids and the ball just doesn't stop. So 0:14:36.440 --> 0:14:39.400 I hit a perfect shot, it hits the green somewhere 0:14:39.440 --> 0:14:41.800 and bounces over and that's you don't want to be 0:14:41.840 --> 0:14:43.160 over those greens. 0:14:43.800 --> 0:14:49.200 No, but some bad spots over the greens. What would 0:14:49.240 --> 0:14:51.680 you say is the worst spot to be at Augusta 0:14:51.760 --> 0:14:55.200 nashvill What if you if I if I placed a 0:14:55.280 --> 0:15:00.000 ball for you, and you know this is the worst 0:15:00.280 --> 0:15:01.760 you could possibly place a ball. 0:15:02.920 --> 0:15:06.800 Well, there's many of them. Depending on the pin position, 0:15:07.520 --> 0:15:12.040 you could pretty much choose one on every green, like 0:15:12.840 --> 0:15:17.080 for instance, number sixteen. If you miss the green right 0:15:17.160 --> 0:15:20.400 and the pin is right, you have no chance. You 0:15:20.480 --> 0:15:24.000 just you're in the bunker, or you're lucky to keep 0:15:24.000 --> 0:15:25.880 it on the green and it doesn't go on the water. 0:15:26.000 --> 0:15:29.040 If you hit a good chat and it's like that fourteen, 0:15:29.560 --> 0:15:31.720 if the pin is left, you miss the green left, 0:15:32.160 --> 0:15:34.760 you're facing a chip that slopes away from you and 0:15:34.800 --> 0:15:37.240 you have no green, and it goes forty to fifty 0:15:37.320 --> 0:15:41.120 sixty feet. Similar on nine if you go along there. 0:15:41.640 --> 0:15:44.280 I potted off the ninth green once the pin was 0:15:44.360 --> 0:15:47.120 up front. It's a three tier green. I was in 0:15:47.160 --> 0:15:50.680 the back. I hit it maybe three inches too hard 0:15:50.720 --> 0:15:53.840 afore and it went forty yards down the fairway. I mean, 0:15:54.120 --> 0:15:57.480 it makes you look like a fool, but it's a 0:15:57.520 --> 0:15:58.360 fine line there. 0:16:00.400 --> 0:16:05.240 Why is it that we see more experienced players have 0:16:05.360 --> 0:16:08.480 such an advantage at Augusta National all the. 0:16:08.480 --> 0:16:12.160 Very reasons I just told you. You have to position 0:16:12.320 --> 0:16:16.080 your second shot. It often starts with a T shot. 0:16:16.080 --> 0:16:18.000 If you hit the T shot in the right part 0:16:18.040 --> 0:16:20.080 of the fairway to the right side or the left side, 0:16:20.120 --> 0:16:23.360 you have a better angle. I think Augusta was all 0:16:23.400 --> 0:16:29.320 designed about angles initially. Then they introduced the semi cut, 0:16:29.440 --> 0:16:32.400 or I call it rough. So the fairway is about 0:16:32.400 --> 0:16:34.280 half the size now than it used to be, so 0:16:34.840 --> 0:16:37.880 they took some of the angles away. But angles are 0:16:37.920 --> 0:16:41.760 still important because you have a better angle into these screens, 0:16:42.480 --> 0:16:45.960 you can position your second shot. If you hit it 0:16:46.120 --> 0:16:49.200 perfectly or execute it well, you can position it below 0:16:49.280 --> 0:16:52.640 the hole or at least levels, so you don't have 0:16:52.960 --> 0:16:56.800 too many downhill putts, and that's the goal. It's really 0:16:56.880 --> 0:16:59.480 to me a second shot golf course, or it used 0:16:59.520 --> 0:17:02.680 to be. Now now it's pretty tight driving as well, 0:17:02.800 --> 0:17:07.520 because of the introduction of planting five thousand trees some 0:17:07.720 --> 0:17:11.800 years ago made it a lot tighter, and then the 0:17:11.840 --> 0:17:15.040 inclusion of the rough, which also makes it harder to 0:17:15.080 --> 0:17:18.159 put spin on the ball. So those are the things 0:17:18.200 --> 0:17:21.919 that are extremely important. And somebody's played the Masters several 0:17:22.000 --> 0:17:25.680 times of the course understands that and knows, well, if 0:17:25.680 --> 0:17:28.240 the pin is here, I can't go there. I got 0:17:28.240 --> 0:17:31.880 to play on this side of it or short of it, 0:17:32.000 --> 0:17:34.040 or whatever it is to have a chance to make 0:17:34.080 --> 0:17:35.400 two pots to get up and down. 0:17:37.240 --> 0:17:40.480 You won your first Masters and your third appearance of 0:17:40.560 --> 0:17:46.520 the Masters. What do you think you understood about augusta 0:17:46.600 --> 0:17:48.480 earlier than most players. 0:17:49.720 --> 0:17:51.960 Well, I got a very harsh lesson the first time 0:17:52.000 --> 0:17:56.680 I played. I missed the cut by one. I had 0:17:56.720 --> 0:18:00.359 eleven three puts and they had the ten shot. So 0:18:00.440 --> 0:18:04.800 if I wouldn't have three potted in the first two rounds, 0:18:04.840 --> 0:18:07.280 I would have been tied for the lead. But I 0:18:08.280 --> 0:18:10.720 was eleven behind the leader and I missed the cut. 0:18:11.480 --> 0:18:14.240 So when I as I look back at my two rounds, 0:18:14.320 --> 0:18:18.840 I'm going, this is crazy. You've never had eleven three 0:18:18.840 --> 0:18:21.680 pots in thirty six holes. You've got to study these 0:18:21.720 --> 0:18:25.400 screens and figure out why this happened and you know 0:18:26.200 --> 0:18:29.639 how to avoid that in the future. And that was 0:18:29.720 --> 0:18:34.359 the key when I paid much more attention to where 0:18:34.400 --> 0:18:37.320 to place my second shot, so I wouldn't three pot, 0:18:37.440 --> 0:18:39.960 I would hopefully one pot more than three. 0:18:39.760 --> 0:18:44.439 Put what's an example of a hole where you know 0:18:44.560 --> 0:18:50.000 positioning really matters at Augusta in your opinion. 0:18:51.720 --> 0:18:55.800 Yeah, great question, and I would say every one of them, 0:18:56.240 --> 0:18:59.880 every single green. I'm not kidding. You know, you take 0:19:00.920 --> 0:19:03.720 a simple hole like the third hole, a short part 0:19:04.040 --> 0:19:08.879 for you need to be left of the hole. If so, 0:19:08.960 --> 0:19:11.520 you have an apple putt. If and if the pin 0:19:11.680 --> 0:19:14.679 is on the left side of the green four yards 0:19:14.680 --> 0:19:16.639 from the edge, it's hard to be left of the 0:19:16.680 --> 0:19:19.600 hole right you have four yards to mess with with 0:19:19.680 --> 0:19:23.320 a nine iron or something coming in or wedge whatever. 0:19:24.000 --> 0:19:28.359 So it's literally you know, first green, you want to 0:19:28.400 --> 0:19:30.240 be shorts, you have an upple putt. If you long, 0:19:30.320 --> 0:19:33.920 you have a download putt. Same on the second third 0:19:33.960 --> 0:19:35.639 you got to be left. Fourth, you've got to be 0:19:35.680 --> 0:19:39.520 short and left. It's on and on and on, same 0:19:39.600 --> 0:19:43.919 on the sixth to part three and the seventh. It's 0:19:43.960 --> 0:19:46.760 pretty much I would say sixteen out of the eighteen 0:19:46.800 --> 0:19:51.280 greens where you have a huge advantage or disadvantage depending 0:19:51.320 --> 0:19:56.080 on where your ball ends up with iron shut. Yeah. 0:19:56.160 --> 0:19:59.479 I you know, I was watching you last year play. 0:20:00.160 --> 0:20:02.200 You know, one of my favorite things to do is 0:20:02.480 --> 0:20:05.880 to go out and watch the more experienced players play 0:20:05.880 --> 0:20:09.240 Augusta because you know, like at the length you're playing, 0:20:09.760 --> 0:20:12.600 and as you described the greens that aren't receptive, you 0:20:12.720 --> 0:20:16.720 have to play to the best spots in order to score. 0:20:17.320 --> 0:20:19.119 And it amazed me. 0:20:19.200 --> 0:20:21.600 On the second hole, you know, the pin was kind 0:20:21.640 --> 0:20:25.879 of kind of in the back left bowlish area, and 0:20:25.960 --> 0:20:29.159 you played, you laid your ball up, so is the 0:20:29.200 --> 0:20:31.880 furthest right I've ever seen somebody lay the ball up, 0:20:32.160 --> 0:20:35.920 and you kind of got jammed because the fringe held 0:20:35.960 --> 0:20:39.320 your approach shot up from funneling back in. But I 0:20:39.400 --> 0:20:43.359 just saw it was just an amazing mastery. Like as 0:20:43.480 --> 0:20:45.399 your power diminished, as. 0:20:45.200 --> 0:20:49.480 The the the the golf holes got longer. 0:20:50.160 --> 0:20:52.639 Were there holes that you felt like changed the most 0:20:52.640 --> 0:20:54.359 for how you had to play them. 0:20:54.800 --> 0:20:59.160 Absolutely when they introduced more links. You take the whole 0:20:59.240 --> 0:21:05.000 number seven, they lengthen it by seventy five yards. It 0:21:05.160 --> 0:21:06.840 used to be in my prime, I would hit a 0:21:06.880 --> 0:21:09.480 one iron off the tee and a nine iron o wedge. 0:21:10.160 --> 0:21:13.359 Now I'm hidden driver for sure. And I got a 0:21:13.400 --> 0:21:16.560 five iron off a downhill lie into an uphill green 0:21:17.119 --> 0:21:21.760 that is twelve to fourteen yards deep, and that's very punishing. 0:21:21.840 --> 0:21:25.639 That's another example. If you go along there you have nothing, 0:21:26.080 --> 0:21:29.879 You got nothing. You know, you gotta be short. Maybe 0:21:29.920 --> 0:21:31.840 in the front bunker you might have a chance to 0:21:31.840 --> 0:21:34.680 get up and down, but if you're long, you pretty 0:21:34.720 --> 0:21:38.480 much have bogie written on the score card. Not the 0:21:38.520 --> 0:21:44.119 whole would be number five. They've lengthened that tremendously. That 0:21:44.320 --> 0:21:46.040 used to be a drive and eight iron. Now I'm 0:21:46.119 --> 0:21:49.560 hitting drive a three wood just about every time. The 0:21:49.640 --> 0:21:52.199 last year it is. And that's not a green to 0:21:52.240 --> 0:21:57.720 come in with a three wood, just tough. It's similar eleven. 0:21:58.600 --> 0:22:01.600 You know, eleven is on the best day of four 0:22:01.640 --> 0:22:03.800 iron on the worst day. Last year, I had a 0:22:03.840 --> 0:22:06.040 hit driver driver one time and I got it to 0:22:06.119 --> 0:22:09.240 the front edge. And you have water left and all 0:22:09.280 --> 0:22:13.840 sorts of trouble. So it's it's that long. You know, 0:22:13.920 --> 0:22:19.800 some people even seventeen and eighteen, it's often anywhere from 0:22:19.840 --> 0:22:23.480 a three wood on eighteen to three iron into the green, 0:22:23.560 --> 0:22:27.240 and seventeen is anywhere from a six iron to a 0:22:27.320 --> 0:22:31.040 two hybrid into greens that are meant for eight and 0:22:31.160 --> 0:22:32.160 nine irons. 0:22:32.800 --> 0:22:36.240 Obviously, you had the first best cut at the Masters, 0:22:36.440 --> 0:22:39.399 you go on to win, you know, two Masters later, 0:22:39.560 --> 0:22:45.080 three years later. You know, we've seen players that seem 0:22:45.160 --> 0:22:48.320 to have this charmed existence at Augusta National over the 0:22:48.480 --> 0:22:51.919 course of their career. I would place you in this bucket. 0:22:51.960 --> 0:22:55.440 You contended deep into your career where you had chances 0:22:55.480 --> 0:22:58.919 to win late in your career. You will obviously won 0:22:59.000 --> 0:23:03.639 two Green jackets, while others it becomes somewhat of a 0:23:03.680 --> 0:23:08.240 torture chamber for them in the sense of like everything 0:23:08.320 --> 0:23:10.439 goes wrong. You know, you think about the likes of 0:23:10.680 --> 0:23:12.760 Ernie Els and some of the bad beats he had, 0:23:13.160 --> 0:23:16.280 Rory McElroy until he won, until he won last year. 0:23:16.440 --> 0:23:18.679 You know, people had described it as this is this 0:23:18.760 --> 0:23:21.320 is a horror horror, a place of horror for him. 0:23:22.119 --> 0:23:25.520 What and obviously you know, famously Greg Norman would would 0:23:25.520 --> 0:23:27.320 come to this, come into this group. 0:23:27.760 --> 0:23:31.080 What about it. 0:23:30.000 --> 0:23:33.120 Creates that dynamic where certain players it seems like everything 0:23:33.160 --> 0:23:36.080 goes right and other players that can just you know, 0:23:36.240 --> 0:23:38.240 it just goes wrong for him. 0:23:38.960 --> 0:23:41.040 It's a wonderful question, and I'm not sure I have 0:23:41.119 --> 0:23:43.919 the answer, but you mentioned some names. You know, Greg Norman, 0:23:43.960 --> 0:23:47.520 he was definitely one of the dominating players. He had 0:23:47.560 --> 0:23:50.919 the game, and so does Ernie else. But that course, uh, 0:23:51.600 --> 0:23:53.760 they hit the ball long, they hit it high, they 0:23:53.800 --> 0:23:57.640 can spin it. They got a wonderful touch around the 0:23:57.640 --> 0:24:01.639 short the short game, you know, the potter. They're both 0:24:01.680 --> 0:24:05.679 world number ones and at times in his career and 0:24:05.800 --> 0:24:10.479 had chances to win, and specifically Greg Norman, you know, 0:24:10.560 --> 0:24:15.880 he blew several chances there. And I'm not sure why. 0:24:16.119 --> 0:24:19.760 You know, there's like you said, maybe it gets harder 0:24:19.760 --> 0:24:24.000 and harder the longer you don't win. You know, the 0:24:24.600 --> 0:24:28.400 bad memories come back and haunt you, and it's hard 0:24:28.440 --> 0:24:32.240 to stay focused. But as I said at Augusta, the 0:24:32.240 --> 0:24:37.680 golf course, it's a very fine line of shooting sixty 0:24:37.720 --> 0:24:41.800 five and maybe seventy five. You could play really good 0:24:41.800 --> 0:24:45.560 golf and shoot seventy five and you look back and go, man, 0:24:45.600 --> 0:24:49.480 I've played great golf. What happened? You know? Just you 0:24:49.560 --> 0:24:53.840 were foot off here, a couple of inches there, you 0:24:54.000 --> 0:24:57.280 made a bad judgment here or something. It takes very 0:24:57.359 --> 0:25:00.600 very little. It's just that fine of a line around 0:25:00.600 --> 0:25:05.399 those screens. And then you know you have breaks like 0:25:05.640 --> 0:25:09.879 remember Fred Couples when he won. You know, when the 0:25:09.920 --> 0:25:12.280 ball stayed up on twelve. I mean that ball goes 0:25:12.320 --> 0:25:15.119 in the water ninety nine out of one hundred, actually 0:25:15.160 --> 0:25:17.960 one hundred out of one hundred, but his student and 0:25:18.040 --> 0:25:20.680