WEBVTT - The Superintendents' Masters 0:00:00.360 --> 0:00:02.560 This episode of the Frida Egg Podcast is brought to 0:00:02.600 --> 0:00:05.400 you by the Toro Company. For more than a century, 0:00:05.440 --> 0:00:09.200 with cutting edge turf equipment and irrigation solutions, Toro has 0:00:09.200 --> 0:00:11.799 had your front nine covered and your back nine to two. 0:00:12.200 --> 0:00:15.680 In fact, Toro's always had your back period. Toro is 0:00:15.720 --> 0:00:18.600 as committed to your long term success as tour pros 0:00:18.640 --> 0:00:21.239 are committed to their shot. That's down to top notch 0:00:21.320 --> 0:00:25.319 customer support from Toro and its dedicated local distributors, both 0:00:25.320 --> 0:00:28.440 of whom are passionate about delivering turf equipment and irrigation 0:00:28.520 --> 0:00:32.680 solutions that solve real world problems. Follow at Toro Golf 0:00:32.720 --> 0:00:35.560 on Twitter and reach out to your local Toro distributor. 0:00:35.640 --> 0:00:38.839 Today I miss a green, for example, I'm already upset. 0:00:38.960 --> 0:00:41.240 When I find my ball in the bunker, I'm really upset. 0:00:41.320 --> 0:00:42.720 And when I find my ball in a. 0:00:42.680 --> 0:00:45.840 Bright egg Friday Egg, the dreaded Frida Egg, Frida Egg, 0:00:45.920 --> 0:00:48.680 Frida Egg, Egg, Frida Egg Bride Egg Lie, I'm about 0:00:48.720 --> 0:00:50.000 ready to run off the the hump. 0:01:11.600 --> 0:01:15.080 Welcome to the Friday Podcast. I'm Garrett Morrison, and today 0:01:15.200 --> 0:01:18.639 we have a little something different for you. We're telling 0:01:18.680 --> 0:01:24.600 the story of the GCSAA Golf Championships. GCSAA stands for 0:01:25.200 --> 0:01:30.200 Golf Course Superintendent's Association of America, and the GCSAA Golf 0:01:30.240 --> 0:01:34.120 Championships is the biggest tournament of the year for competitive 0:01:34.200 --> 0:01:38.280 golf course superintendents. I went to last year's edition of 0:01:38.400 --> 0:01:40.959 the event at Torrey Pines. It was really cool. I 0:01:40.959 --> 0:01:43.639 think it's an event that not many people know about 0:01:43.680 --> 0:01:47.440 but is really worth kind of looking into. This episode 0:01:47.520 --> 0:01:50.240 will be not only about that event, but also about 0:01:50.280 --> 0:01:53.760 what makes this tournament special. So I'm going to talk 0:01:53.760 --> 0:01:57.720 to three different people. Scott Hollister, the editor of Golf 0:01:57.760 --> 0:02:02.400 Course Management, which is the gcsaa's monthly publication. Then I'll 0:02:02.440 --> 0:02:05.680 talk to two players who contended for last year's championship. 0:02:06.160 --> 0:02:08.320 It really actually came down to the two of them 0:02:08.400 --> 0:02:12.360 in the end, Tanner Westbrook from Dallas, Texas and Seth 0:02:12.360 --> 0:02:16.120 Strickland from South Florida. First, you'll hear from Scott about 0:02:16.160 --> 0:02:18.640 the history of the tournament and what it's all about. 0:02:19.240 --> 0:02:22.120 Then you'll hear from Tanner and Seth about their backgrounds 0:02:22.160 --> 0:02:25.040 and their careers in the game. And finally, I'll bring 0:02:25.080 --> 0:02:27.600 back all three voices to tell the story of last 0:02:27.680 --> 0:02:33.600 year's GCSAA National Championship, so slightly different structure to this episode. 0:02:33.639 --> 0:02:35.919 I hope you enjoy it, and let's just get right 0:02:35.919 --> 0:02:36.280 into it. 0:02:41.240 --> 0:02:41.520 Yep. 0:02:41.560 --> 0:02:45.240 I'm My name is Scott Hollister. I'm the editor in 0:02:45.320 --> 0:02:49.240 chief of Golf Course Management Magazine, which is the official 0:02:49.280 --> 0:02:52.560 publication of the Golf Course Superintendent's Association of America. 0:02:53.120 --> 0:02:55.040 All right, so Scott, we're here to talk about the 0:02:55.120 --> 0:03:01.040 GCSAA Golf Championships, which occur annually, and specifically we're going 0:03:01.080 --> 0:03:05.280 to get into last year's tournament at Torrey Pines. But 0:03:05.840 --> 0:03:09.000 first of all, for people who don't know about this, 0:03:09.600 --> 0:03:12.640 what is this tournament? What are kind of the basics? 0:03:13.400 --> 0:03:17.000 Well, the GCSA Golf Championships are an annual event. It's 0:03:17.040 --> 0:03:21.600 been annual since nineteen sixty eight, largely annual before that. 0:03:21.720 --> 0:03:26.920 It's San Diego marked the seventy second plane of the event. 0:03:27.639 --> 0:03:31.919 And it is a golf tournament for members of GCSAA, 0:03:32.560 --> 0:03:36.800 primarily working golf course superintendents, whether they are head superintendent's 0:03:36.800 --> 0:03:41.480 assistant superintendents. We have some flights for what we call 0:03:41.520 --> 0:03:46.040 affiliate members, so maybe folks that work for industry companies 0:03:46.040 --> 0:03:50.160 who want to participate in the event. There are multiple time, 0:03:50.480 --> 0:03:52.720 multiple portions to the event. We do a four ball 0:03:52.800 --> 0:03:55.480 championship to start things off, so a little four ball 0:03:55.520 --> 0:03:58.800 fun event that always attracts a good crowd. And then 0:03:58.800 --> 0:04:02.280 there are two days basically quote unquote championship play. And 0:04:02.320 --> 0:04:04.960 so we have a Golf Classic, which is a flighted 0:04:05.000 --> 0:04:08.280 play where the point quota system is used to score 0:04:08.360 --> 0:04:11.400 those and that ranges from we you know, first flight 0:04:11.480 --> 0:04:16.120 competitors are pretty good players down to you know, once 0:04:16.160 --> 0:04:19.080 you get into the fifth and sixth flights would fit 0:04:19.160 --> 0:04:22.760 much more my game, a little higher handicap players. And 0:04:22.800 --> 0:04:25.760 then we have an annual National Championship, and that is 0:04:25.880 --> 0:04:30.800 the top event that we offer. These are folks typically 0:04:30.839 --> 0:04:36.520 with very low handicaps from you know, we're talking scratched, one, two, 0:04:36.680 --> 0:04:40.760 three handicaps in this field. And these are accomplished players 0:04:41.080 --> 0:04:44.160 who just happen to be working golf course superintendents. It's 0:04:44.200 --> 0:04:48.279 a great event, We have a great time. It's typically 0:04:48.600 --> 0:04:51.280 leads into our annual conference and trade show. So it's 0:04:51.279 --> 0:04:54.840 a great way to start what for most of these 0:04:54.839 --> 0:04:57.040 guys and myself and my fellow staff members is a 0:04:57.080 --> 0:04:59.640 pretty long week in whatever city we happen to be 0:04:59.680 --> 0:05:01.400 in or that event, right. 0:05:01.440 --> 0:05:05.800 And we'll get into the twenty twenty two National Championship 0:05:05.960 --> 0:05:08.680 later in the podcast by talking with two of the 0:05:08.720 --> 0:05:12.440 players who contended for it. But before we get there, 0:05:12.760 --> 0:05:14.960 maybe you could just tell me a little bit about 0:05:15.520 --> 0:05:19.120 the history of this tournament. How did it start, why 0:05:19.160 --> 0:05:21.720 did it start, any of that kind of stuff that you. 0:05:21.680 --> 0:05:26.240 Know, well, when it first started, what was behind the 0:05:27.240 --> 0:05:31.480 founder's decision to start That was obviously GCSAA and its 0:05:31.520 --> 0:05:35.880 predecessor organizations has had various names over the years as 0:05:35.960 --> 0:05:39.240 the title of the profession has largely shifted in the 0:05:39.240 --> 0:05:42.040 public's mind from greenkeeper at least here in the States, 0:05:42.120 --> 0:05:44.960 to superintendent. I know, you get into Europe and everyone 0:05:45.000 --> 0:05:48.240 is still a greenkeeper there. But back in the thirties, 0:05:48.240 --> 0:05:53.880 the organizers of the association wanted a way to connect 0:05:53.960 --> 0:05:56.560 with the game of golf. The golf course superintendents are 0:05:56.600 --> 0:06:00.840 maintaining the playing fields for our game, and it seemed 0:06:00.880 --> 0:06:04.400 only natural that we would have some form of event 0:06:05.080 --> 0:06:08.280 for these folks to display their golf skills. And as 0:06:08.279 --> 0:06:12.200 I mentioned earlier, there's a wide variety of skill levels involved. 0:06:12.560 --> 0:06:15.920 It happened largely annually, but off and on. Obviously took 0:06:15.920 --> 0:06:18.760 a break for World War Two and various times such 0:06:18.800 --> 0:06:21.400 as that, but as I mentioned, starting in nineteen sixty eight, 0:06:21.400 --> 0:06:23.880 it became an annual event. As time went on, it 0:06:23.920 --> 0:06:26.400 became attached to our conference and trade show, so it's 0:06:26.440 --> 0:06:30.200 a vital part of that. And every year we've had 0:06:31.040 --> 0:06:35.120 anywhere from I've worked events in my twenty plus years 0:06:35.200 --> 0:06:39.200 with GCSAA where we've had as many as seven hundred participants, 0:06:39.800 --> 0:06:45.320 and now the event typically pulls in between four hundred 0:06:45.360 --> 0:06:51.240 and five hundred participants every year, so it ranks among 0:06:51.320 --> 0:06:55.160 the largest amateur golf events in the US every year, 0:06:55.320 --> 0:06:57.839 especially back in those days when we were getting seven 0:06:57.960 --> 0:07:01.120 hundred to seven hundred and fifty competitors. We're using six 0:07:01.160 --> 0:07:04.640 different golf facilities, and you know in San Diego we 0:07:04.760 --> 0:07:07.360 used three different ones, but a lot of multi course 0:07:07.400 --> 0:07:12.880 facilities as well, so we could utilize that. So we 0:07:12.960 --> 0:07:16.480 have a really loyal crew of participants in the event 0:07:16.960 --> 0:07:18.800 who just would not miss it for the world. There's 0:07:18.800 --> 0:07:21.040 an amazing amount in addition to the great golf, it's 0:07:21.120 --> 0:07:22.280 time of year when a lot of people want to 0:07:22.280 --> 0:07:24.080 play golf. Special if you're living in the northern part 0:07:24.120 --> 0:07:26.560 of the country getting too San Diego in February. It's 0:07:26.560 --> 0:07:29.560 not such a bad deal. But it's an amazing networking 0:07:29.760 --> 0:07:32.680 event as well, where superintend's from all over the country 0:07:32.680 --> 0:07:36.800 get together, meet friends, trade war stories, things of that nature. 0:07:36.880 --> 0:07:40.120 And so it's got a lot of loyalty among a 0:07:40.120 --> 0:07:41.600 lot of GCSA members. 0:07:42.560 --> 0:07:46.640 So for you, Scott, as a writer who covers this event, 0:07:46.840 --> 0:07:50.600 goes to this event looking for stories, what makes it 0:07:50.880 --> 0:07:53.720 special to you? What makes it like different from covering 0:07:53.880 --> 0:07:58.200 say a PGA Tour tournament or another kind of golf championship. 0:07:59.680 --> 0:08:03.360 Yeah, I've had an interesting kind of view of that. 0:08:03.520 --> 0:08:05.480 Prior to my days at GCSA, I spent about a 0:08:05.520 --> 0:08:08.080 decade in newspapers and I was a sports writer and 0:08:08.160 --> 0:08:13.160 had an opportunity to cover professional football, baseball, and some 0:08:13.280 --> 0:08:16.360 professional golf as well. When I took this job and 0:08:16.560 --> 0:08:18.720 I got the opportunity, I was that people looked at 0:08:18.720 --> 0:08:21.880 my resume and they said, hey, you you've covered golf 0:08:21.960 --> 0:08:24.920 before the actual playing of the game as opposed to turf, 0:08:24.920 --> 0:08:27.640 grass management and things of that nature. Why don't you 0:08:27.680 --> 0:08:31.320 go to this event? So I did, and what struck 0:08:31.400 --> 0:08:37.400 me at first is how many high quality players there 0:08:37.440 --> 0:08:41.520 are among those that participate in the tournament, and really 0:08:41.520 --> 0:08:45.640 among the GCSA membership as a whole, there are there are. 0:08:46.200 --> 0:08:50.280 There are certainly superintendents who are not low handicapped players 0:08:50.400 --> 0:08:53.280 or who play very infrequently yet do an excellent job 0:08:53.600 --> 0:08:58.000 of maintaining their golf courses. But there are also a 0:08:58.080 --> 0:09:01.559 number of very low handicapp player who have great stories 0:09:01.559 --> 0:09:04.240 behind their games and how they made the decision to 0:09:05.320 --> 0:09:08.120 These are guys that perhaps that played at a high 0:09:08.160 --> 0:09:12.280 level in college, entertained a professional career, whether that was 0:09:12.360 --> 0:09:15.720 as a touring professional or even a PGA professional, but 0:09:15.800 --> 0:09:18.920 at some point made the decision, hey, I wanted the 0:09:18.960 --> 0:09:21.240 side of this business, The turf crast management side of 0:09:21.280 --> 0:09:24.719 this business appeals to me. So this event kind of 0:09:24.760 --> 0:09:27.240 for them is a way to still demonstrate, Hey, I'm 0:09:27.280 --> 0:09:29.719 a stick I can still play this game at a 0:09:29.840 --> 0:09:32.120 very high level. So what I've enjoyed is is learning 0:09:32.160 --> 0:09:37.160 some of these stories we've had past champions. I'll mention 0:09:37.400 --> 0:09:42.760 like Steve Gilly for example, Steve Gilly one I believe in. 0:09:43.080 --> 0:09:43.880 I'm going to check my. 0:09:43.840 --> 0:09:46.640 Notes here because I do have this officially in twenty 0:09:47.280 --> 0:09:50.280 twenty nineteen, Steve Gilly one. Steve is a superintendent in 0:09:50.320 --> 0:09:55.120 the Dallas area. He just this last year made it 0:09:55.160 --> 0:09:58.920 to the final round of Q School for the Champions 0:09:58.960 --> 0:10:02.480 Tour and had a chance to get on to get 0:10:02.480 --> 0:10:06.520 onto the Champions Tour. He's been twice. He in his 0:10:06.920 --> 0:10:10.280 younger days led after the first day of Q school 0:10:10.320 --> 0:10:13.679 for the regular tour. And he also has the awesome 0:10:14.360 --> 0:10:19.199 distinction of apparently karting the lowest verified round of golf 0:10:19.480 --> 0:10:23.319 in history, a fifty five that he played shot at 0:10:23.360 --> 0:10:27.280 Lynnwood Country Club. He had like like three eagles and 0:10:27.480 --> 0:10:29.520 you know, a nine or ten bird. It was insane, 0:10:29.520 --> 0:10:29.880 but it. 0:10:29.840 --> 0:10:31.920 Is That is where I heard his name. I was 0:10:31.960 --> 0:10:34.240 trying to think, where have I heard this guy's name. 0:10:34.280 --> 0:10:36.160 I know I've heard of Steve Gilly. 0:10:35.960 --> 0:10:41.800 But yes, he is a legitimate champion. We had a 0:10:41.920 --> 0:10:45.000 champion in four, Tommy Robinson, and Tommy was a longtime 0:10:45.040 --> 0:10:48.520 superintendent in the Chicago era. He went on to qualify 0:10:48.640 --> 0:10:51.679 for the two thousand and nine Senior Open at Sahali. 0:10:52.640 --> 0:10:55.000 Going back even further, and I'm not sure if this 0:10:55.040 --> 0:10:57.000 is the name some of the listeners may be familiar with. 0:10:57.000 --> 0:11:00.319 His name is Paul Jet and Paul was super tenant 0:11:00.360 --> 0:11:03.640 at Pinehurst number two for a long time prior to 0:11:03.679 --> 0:11:07.280 the renovations at number two, so he was the superintendent 0:11:07.679 --> 0:11:10.520 in ninety nine when they hosted the US Open. Paul 0:11:10.600 --> 0:11:14.200 was an unbelievable player. Never won the GCFA event, but 0:11:14.320 --> 0:11:17.680 was a four time runner up, and the stories of 0:11:17.880 --> 0:11:20.880 the touring professionals that would seek him out in advance 0:11:21.000 --> 0:11:24.600 of those big events that were contested at Pinehurst to 0:11:24.679 --> 0:11:28.400 play with them. Phil Mickelson was one in particular. I 0:11:28.440 --> 0:11:31.760 think he's played with Tiger, but these touring pros that 0:11:31.800 --> 0:11:35.760 we all know trusted Paul enough to get out there. 0:11:36.080 --> 0:11:38.600 As I said, hey, listen, you'll be able to teach 0:11:38.640 --> 0:11:40.480 me something about this golf course because you're the person 0:11:40.520 --> 0:11:42.599 who maintains it every day. But you're also going to 0:11:42.640 --> 0:11:44.040 be able to keep up with me. You're going to 0:11:44.080 --> 0:11:46.120 be able to play the game the same way I 0:11:46.240 --> 0:11:49.240 do see things that I'm going to potentially see on 0:11:49.280 --> 0:11:52.520 the golf course. And Paul's not the only one. There's 0:11:52.520 --> 0:11:54.160 other stories like that, but those are the kind of 0:11:54.160 --> 0:11:57.679 things that always jump out to me that this membership 0:11:57.720 --> 0:12:02.079 has some really talented players and whether they decided they 0:12:02.120 --> 0:12:04.440 were going to come up just shy of having a 0:12:04.480 --> 0:12:08.160 successful tour career, or they didn't want to work in 0:12:08.200 --> 0:12:10.880 the golf shop they preferred to be outdoors. Whatever the 0:12:10.920 --> 0:12:13.440 case is, they've made the move into this business, but 0:12:13.480 --> 0:12:15.240 they still love the game and they still played at 0:12:15.280 --> 0:12:16.120 a very high level. 0:12:16.800 --> 0:12:19.679 I'll tell you what's impressive to me about what I 0:12:19.760 --> 0:12:22.880 saw at the twenty twenty two Championship. I was out 0:12:22.880 --> 0:12:25.760 there at torry Pine's. You were as well, looking at 0:12:25.800 --> 0:12:29.320 these guys play. I was just thinking the whole time. 0:12:29.960 --> 0:12:32.840 I kind of know what goes into a superintendent's job, 0:12:33.440 --> 0:12:36.720 and it is not easy, right. They are long hours, 0:12:36.760 --> 0:12:40.800 you get up really early. It's just not the easiest 0:12:40.840 --> 0:12:43.040 job in the world. It's a very satisfying job for 0:12:43.160 --> 0:12:47.199 many people. It's a wonderful job, but it's not easy, 0:12:47.440 --> 0:12:51.120 and it's not sort of like light on a time commitment. 0:12:51.800 --> 0:12:54.760 And yet somehow these players have found a way to 0:12:54.840 --> 0:12:58.080 keep their games really, really sharp. And I also sort 0:12:58.120 --> 0:13:02.320 of know what goes into that, right, and that's another 0:13:02.400 --> 0:13:04.840 thing that takes a lot of time. So I just 0:13:04.880 --> 0:13:07.559 don't know how these guys do it right, how they 0:13:07.600 --> 0:13:11.480 stay so good at golf while also you know, succeeding 0:13:11.559 --> 0:13:15.760 at the job of superintendent, which itself is pretty overwhelming. 0:13:16.320 --> 0:13:19.640 Yeah, you're exactly right. And the other complicating factor at 0:13:19.640 --> 0:13:22.640 that time of year. We traditionally play this event in 0:13:22.760 --> 0:13:27.640 early February, So depending on where you are, where you reside, 0:13:28.280 --> 0:13:31.160 your game will be in a totally different state. For 0:13:31.360 --> 0:13:35.600 the folks, say in South Florida or even Texas, Arizona, 0:13:35.800 --> 0:13:39.240 southern California, they may still they may have an opportunity 0:13:39.240 --> 0:13:43.680 to play. The weather may offer them the ability to 0:13:43.679 --> 0:13:46.680 get out practice play. Now, if you're in South Florida, 0:13:46.760 --> 0:13:50.240 it's also your high season, so you probably have far 0:13:50.320 --> 0:13:51.960 more job demands than you might in the middle of 0:13:51.960 --> 0:13:55.199 the summer. But then you look at superintendents in the Northeaster, 0:13:55.480 --> 0:13:59.760 you know, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, anywhere in the upper Midwest 0:14:00.080 --> 0:14:04.720 and into the Dakota's, it's you've got snow on the ground. 0:14:05.000 --> 0:14:08.400 So your only opportunity to get yourself, you know, get 0:14:08.440 --> 0:14:10.880 your game up up to snuff for this event is 0:14:10.960 --> 0:14:14.680 to basically bang balls out of a you know, enclosed 0:14:14.760 --> 0:14:19.640 driving you know, driving bay somewhere maybe when the snow melts, 0:14:19.640 --> 0:14:21.680 getting out and put a little bit on a green 0:14:21.720 --> 0:14:24.760 that hasn't been mode and god knows how long, and 0:14:24.880 --> 0:14:27.800 so there's just a whole different variety and everyone comes 0:14:27.800 --> 0:14:33.160 in facing you know, different challenges and you hear folks. 0:14:33.800 --> 0:14:36.560 I heard comment slash in San Diego early in the 0:14:36.600 --> 0:14:38.760 week about the weather there. 0:14:38.800 --> 0:14:39.440 It was cool. 0:14:39.800 --> 0:14:43.200 There was kind of a heavy marine layer that folks 0:14:43.240 --> 0:14:45.320 were playing, especially when they were playing the Tory Pines 0:14:45.360 --> 0:14:48.480 courses and if they were coming from Texas, where there was, 0:14:48.760 --> 0:14:51.600 you know, just a totally different atmosphere. They were finding 0:14:51.960 --> 0:14:54.000 they were having to adjust what clubs they were using 0:14:54.000 --> 0:14:57.000 for what shots because the ball wasn't either wasn't carrying 0:14:57.040 --> 0:14:59.600 as far. They were just they weren't quite as limber 0:14:59.600 --> 0:15:01.360 as they might have normally been because they're used to 0:15:01.360 --> 0:15:04.760 different conditions. So I know that for all golfers, we 0:15:04.840 --> 0:15:07.320 all deal with with this for one way or the 0:15:07.360 --> 0:15:09.520 other depending on what time of year we're playing. But 0:15:09.560 --> 0:15:11.960 when you're going out to compete for a national championship, 0:15:12.200 --> 0:15:14.760 which is what this is, those are those are those 0:15:14.760 --> 0:15:17.400 are real factors for these guys. So it's just kind 0:15:17.440 --> 0:15:20.760 of another added layer as you as you look at 0:15:20.760 --> 0:15:23.120 the at the competition that takes place at this event. 0:15:23.800 --> 0:15:26.360 Well, let's talk a little bit about the two players 0:15:26.600 --> 0:15:32.080 slash superintendents who contended for last year's national championship. They 0:15:32.080 --> 0:15:37.840 were Seth Strickland and Tanner Westbrook. So, without giving anything 0:15:37.880 --> 0:15:42.000 away about how the tournament ended up, because we'll kind 0:15:42.040 --> 0:15:44.480 of save that for a little bit later in the podcast, 0:15:45.080 --> 0:15:46.960 could you just tell me a bit first of all 0:15:47.000 --> 0:15:48.320 about Seth Strickland. 0:15:49.760 --> 0:15:54.440 So, Seth is one of the most decorated UH players 0:15:54.520 --> 0:15:57.760 in the i'll say modern modern era, but he's he's 0:15:57.800 --> 0:15:59.880 now climbing the list in terms of the overall his 0:16:00.040 --> 0:16:04.240 three of the event coming into twenty twenty two in 0:16:04.280 --> 0:16:09.280 San Diego, he had won four previous national championships. He 0:16:09.360 --> 0:16:13.080 won back in five, he won back to back in 0:16:13.360 --> 0:16:15.920 eight and nine, and then he had a bit of 0:16:15.920 --> 0:16:19.760 a gap and he was definitely a contender in those 0:16:19.760 --> 0:16:23.640 intervening years, but he didn't win his fourth title until 0:16:23.680 --> 0:16:26.480 twenty twenty one, which was in Palm Springs. And I 0:16:26.480 --> 0:16:30.800 mentioned earlier that our event is traditionally in February. Because 0:16:30.800 --> 0:16:33.320 of the pandemic, our annual conference and trade show in 0:16:33.360 --> 0:16:36.800 twenty twenty one went virtual, so we had an event 0:16:36.840 --> 0:16:39.240 in October as things started to kind of open back 0:16:39.320 --> 0:16:42.120 up in Palm Springs and he won that event. So 0:16:42.680 --> 0:16:46.080 Seth is a superintendent at Miami Shores Country Club down 0:16:46.080 --> 0:16:50.320 in Miami, so he's one of those players who gets 0:16:50.360 --> 0:16:54.640 an opportunity to actually play the game in advance of 0:16:54.680 --> 0:16:57.680 the tournament, although he's also very very busy with his 0:16:57.720 --> 0:17:01.160 golf course in the intervening time. Also, he and his 0:17:01.200 --> 0:17:04.080 wife had two children, so his life changed a little bit, 0:17:05.040 --> 0:17:09.879 but he is still he is still a thoughtful, focused 0:17:10.080 --> 0:17:14.480 player when you follow him over the course of typically 0:17:14.840 --> 0:17:20.359 I will see the contenders play anywhere from nine to 0:17:20.480 --> 0:17:23.960 twelve thirteen holes on the final day of the event. 0:17:24.000 --> 0:17:28.120 I've seen a lot of Seth playing golf and he's 0:17:28.160 --> 0:17:34.600 a focused, thoughtful, really sticks to his routine, doesn't make 0:17:35.040 --> 0:17:37.800 too many If he makes a mistake, it's not because 0:17:37.800 --> 0:17:40.639 he hasn't thought through what he wants to do on 0:17:40.680 --> 0:17:46.080 that next shot. So he's a really, really talented player. Still, 0:17:47.760 --> 0:17:51.560 he's in his mid forties now, still has enough length 0:17:52.160 --> 0:17:55.280 to contend with some of the younger competitors in the 0:17:55.320 --> 0:17:58.639 field and has really just has really been just a 0:17:58.680 --> 0:18:03.200 great champion. To see that him able to stretch over 0:18:03.240 --> 0:18:05.840 the course of more than a decade between events and 0:18:05.960 --> 0:18:08.920 still be a factor is something else. 0:18:09.880 --> 0:18:12.879 So the other player who really had a shot at 0:18:12.920 --> 0:18:17.240 the twenty twenty two Championship was Tanner Westbrook. What should 0:18:17.240 --> 0:18:18.200 we know about him? 0:18:19.280 --> 0:18:22.359 Tanner's a younger player in fact, as well as I 0:18:22.400 --> 0:18:25.600 know Seth, and I've known him obviously since he first 0:18:25.600 --> 0:18:28.359 won to know five San Diego's first time I had 0:18:28.359 --> 0:18:31.479 an opportunity to meet Tanner. Tanner's at Merida Golf Club 0:18:31.920 --> 0:18:35.760 in Texas, Carrollton, Texas. And fun fact, I don't know, 0:18:36.040 --> 0:18:37.239 it's a fun fact for me. I don't know it's 0:18:37.240 --> 0:18:40.560 a fun fact for anyone else. But a previous superintendent 0:18:40.720 --> 0:18:44.800 at Merida Golf Club won the GCSA Championship in twenty sixteen, 0:18:45.160 --> 0:18:48.800 that is Sean Westcott, and Shawn moved on still plays 0:18:48.800 --> 0:18:53.040 in the event, but Tanner was his assistant at that time, 0:18:53.160 --> 0:18:56.840 so when Shawn left, Tanner was promoted. What I know 0:18:56.920 --> 0:19:00.280 about Meredo is that it was built in designed for 0:19:01.200 --> 0:19:03.520 very accomplished players. Those were the people that were in 0:19:03.560 --> 0:19:06.720 mind when that course was designed, built and opened. And 0:19:08.000 --> 0:19:11.000 I can't speak to whether they specifically look for superintendents 0:19:11.320 --> 0:19:14.760 who also had a high level of playing ability or not, 0:19:14.880 --> 0:19:20.280 But obviously Sean and Tanner both fit that. Bill Tanner 0:19:20.480 --> 0:19:24.320 from what I saw and my conversations with him during 0:19:24.480 --> 0:19:29.160 and following the event, He's a lot like Seth, very thoughtful, 0:19:29.520 --> 0:19:33.600 hits the ball a mile, really thinks his way around 0:19:33.600 --> 0:19:37.080 the golf course. Had a background playing some college golf, 0:19:37.560 --> 0:19:39.160 much like a lot of the others I talked about. 0:19:39.160 --> 0:19:43.119 He kind of got to that crossroads in his professional 0:19:43.240 --> 0:19:45.879 life and had to make a decision and ended up 0:19:45.880 --> 0:19:49.840 on the turf management side, but still plays regularly. His 0:19:50.000 --> 0:19:54.040 length gives him an advantage over typically someone like Seth. 0:19:54.080 --> 0:19:56.600 As I said, Cetel hits the ball a long way, 0:19:56.400 --> 0:20:00.600 but Tanner was going to have an advantage off the 0:20:00.680 --> 0:20:05.679 tee against someone like Seth. And boy, he's he you 0:20:05.680 --> 0:20:09.000 know from what I saw that week. You know, he 0:20:09.680 --> 0:20:13.800 fits the mold of what a GCSA, a golf champion 0:20:14.040 --> 0:20:14.560 looks like. 0:20:15.640 --> 0:20:17.199 All right, So now we're going to toss it to 0:20:17.359 --> 0:20:21.080 Seth and Tanner. I talked to them separately, but we're 0:20:21.119 --> 0:20:25.200 going to basically weave the interviews together. Will also bring 0:20:25.240 --> 0:20:28.199 Scott back in for a couple of things. And the 0:20:28.240 --> 0:20:30.520 idea here is not just to tell the story of 0:20:30.720 --> 0:20:33.960 the tournament, which ended up being really exciting, but also 0:20:34.160 --> 0:20:37.560 just to find out how two people with such a 0:20:37.600 --> 0:20:53.280 demanding job can be so good at golf. This episode 0:20:53.320 --> 0:20:55.159 of the Frida Egg Podcast is brought to you by 0:20:55.160 --> 0:20:58.880 the Toro Company. Americans like our utility vehicles the way 0:20:58.920 --> 0:21:00.480 we like our US open horses. 0:21:00.800 --> 0:21:01.159 Rugged. 0:21:01.600 --> 0:21:03.919 A winner needs to do it all in tough conditions, 0:21:04.200 --> 0:21:07.320 and Toro's new Workman UTX line is here to get 0:21:07.320 --> 0:21:11.120 the job done. Any job, snow and ice removal, tree maintenance, 0:21:11.200 --> 0:21:15.080 transporting equipment or materials. Whatever you need, this commercial grade, 0:21:15.160 --> 0:21:19.080 smooth riding four wheel drive monster has your back. The 0:21:19.119 --> 0:21:24.480 Workman utx's proprietary governing system unpairs ground speed and RPM, 0:21:24.680 --> 0:21:27.879 so the operator can limit the machine speed without gutting 0:21:27.920 --> 0:21:32.200 the power. Higher RPMs when more oomph is required, less RPMs, 0:21:32.240 --> 0:21:35.080 and less fuel consumption when it isn't. That kind of 0:21:35.119 --> 0:21:38.720 all around performance is what champions are made of. Follow 0:21:38.800 --> 0:21:41.159 at Toro Golf on Twitter and reach out to your 0:21:41.160 --> 0:21:50.440 local Toro distributor to schedule a demo. 0:21:50.640 --> 0:21:54.840 Okay, my name's Tanner Westbrook. I'm a director of Agronomy 0:21:54.840 --> 0:21:57.080 at Marrido Golf Club in Dallas, Texas. 0:21:57.640 --> 0:22:01.080 All Right, so how did you start playing golf? 0:22:03.200 --> 0:22:06.400 So my dad's a golf course superintendent, so I've been 0:22:06.680 --> 0:22:10.359 around golf my whole life. Had the Plastic golf club 0:22:10.480 --> 0:22:13.000 since I was a baby, the whole deal. He would 0:22:13.080 --> 0:22:15.320 hook up a car seat and his golf cart and 0:22:15.359 --> 0:22:17.159 take me out there when I was a baby. It 0:22:17.240 --> 0:22:21.600 was It's just been in my blood forever. And started 0:22:21.600 --> 0:22:27.680 playing more competitively probably twelve ish years old, started playing 0:22:27.680 --> 0:22:30.119 in a lot of junior tournaments and just fell in 0:22:30.160 --> 0:22:33.120 love with it. So just wanted to play as much 0:22:33.119 --> 0:22:36.119 golf as I could, And that's kind of how it 0:22:36.160 --> 0:22:36.800 all started. 0:22:38.160 --> 0:22:40.959 At what point, if at any point, did you realize 0:22:41.320 --> 0:22:43.560 that you were good at golf, like that you were 0:22:43.600 --> 0:22:45.800 skilled at this particular game. 0:22:46.440 --> 0:22:51.520 Oh, it took a long time. Actually. In my head, 0:22:51.560 --> 0:22:53.840 I always knew I should be better. I played a 0:22:53.840 --> 0:22:56.800 lot of junior tournaments and it like the scoring just 0:22:56.920 --> 0:23:01.000 didn't ever come. I was the My golf coach always 0:23:01.000 --> 0:23:03.040 told me, you could put me on the range at 0:23:03.040 --> 0:23:05.679 any PGA Tour event and you would think I was 0:23:05.680 --> 0:23:08.240 supposed to be there. But when I went out on 0:23:08.280 --> 0:23:11.800 the golf course, it just would never click, and I 0:23:11.840 --> 0:23:14.720 would make little mistakes and it would just kind of 0:23:15.160 --> 0:23:19.400 snowball into a bad score. And then when I got 0:23:19.440 --> 0:23:24.000 done with school high school, I didn't take the conventional 0:23:24.080 --> 0:23:26.880 college route. I went and worked at a country club 0:23:26.880 --> 0:23:29.720 in southern California for a general manager that my dad 0:23:29.800 --> 0:23:32.639 knew at the time, with the goal to try to 0:23:32.680 --> 0:23:42.400 pursue a golf career, and essentially my dogs essentially went 0:23:42.440 --> 0:23:44.800 down there with the goal. It was actually my golf 0:23:44.840 --> 0:23:47.440