Speaker 1: The guys from paying They've kind of showed me how
Speaker 1: much the equipment matters. I just love that I can
Speaker 1: hit any shot I kind of want.
Speaker 2: We're gonna be able to tell some fun stories about
Speaker 2: what goes on here to help golfers play better golf.
Speaker 1: Hey, everybody, welcome back to the Pink proven Grounds Podcast.
Speaker 1: Shane Bacon, Marty Jerts, and we got Tristan Lawrence with
Speaker 1: us for the first time. And before we get into golf,
Speaker 1: I think we got to talk about the most important thing.
Speaker 1: We were just talking about fishing before we got going.
Speaker 1: Would you say fishing's number one passion over golf right
Speaker 1: now in your life?
Speaker 3: Definitely, you love it. I think golf is all be
Speaker 3: at the moment for me, especially when I'm back home.
Speaker 3: You know, don't tend to play a lot of golf
Speaker 3: back home, so golf is definitely saken when I'm home.
Speaker 3: But over obviously golf is golf is pretty ority. But yeah,
Speaker 3: fishing is amazing.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean is like, I mean, golf's the job.
Speaker 1: I mean, golf is what you do for a living.
Speaker 1: Did you get into fishing as a kid. Was this
Speaker 1: something you just recently got into or have you always
Speaker 1: kind of been into it.
Speaker 3: Yeah, said my father loved golf fishing so always always,
Speaker 3: as I can remember as a you know, always went
Speaker 3: into lakes and we had cold fishing and always had
Speaker 3: a bass road you know involved, so you know, I
Speaker 3: would catch myself just standing in the water and just casting,
Speaker 3: casting away. So it's always been a thing that I
Speaker 3: remember as a kid. And then obviously when you travel,
Speaker 3: you need to try and find a hobby out there
Speaker 3: when you're traveling, and I just thought, you know, fishing
Speaker 3: is the perfect example.
Speaker 4: You know, if I play in the morning.
Speaker 3: After practice in afternoon, I can go fish for a
Speaker 3: couple of hours and it gets my mind away from
Speaker 3: from golf, you know.
Speaker 4: So it's yeah, I just love it.
Speaker 1: I mean, Marty, I think about like yelping a restaurant
Speaker 1: when you're on the road and I see Tristan, Like
Speaker 1: what lake is near the golf where I go? Is
Speaker 1: that something you're doing? Like researchers, you're going to a
Speaker 1: new place.
Speaker 4: Definitely.
Speaker 3: When we arrived here on Monday, check straight away if
Speaker 3: there's a bass pro shop. So we went there on
Speaker 3: Tuesday morning, got myself to your rods and everywhere with
Speaker 3: there's water, there's a there's a chance to maybe catch
Speaker 3: my baby.
Speaker 4: So yeah, it's amazing.
Speaker 2: What does the travel look like for I mean, I
Speaker 2: know you just picked up a ride in the past
Speaker 2: pro shops, but what does the travel look like? Do
Speaker 2: you get a do you get a ride you can
Speaker 2: break down, put in your in your golf bag.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 3: So I actually find myself buying a new one every year.
Speaker 3: I've got like two three piece rods back home that
Speaker 3: I can travel with, but just thought, you know, it's
Speaker 3: admin to travel with it and whatever. And then because
Speaker 3: I played in to buy my first tournament, so I'm
Speaker 3: not going to fish there, so I just thought, I'll
Speaker 3: I'll get myself a new one. Yeah, but then managed
Speaker 3: to buy two so but overweight. But yeah, definitely the
Speaker 3: ride always needs to be in play wherever I go.
Speaker 1: Definitely got to be there. Can you take us back
Speaker 1: to the Open last year, because obviously I think that
Speaker 1: was when you really burst on the scene for kind
Speaker 1: of worldwide golf fans. What was that week like? What
Speaker 1: was it like kind of sitting on the lead, obviously
Speaker 1: competing against some of the best players in the world
Speaker 1: in that level of an environment, and as you look
Speaker 1: back on it like would you do great that week?
Speaker 1: And what did you? Could you have kind of maybe
Speaker 1: buttoned up towards the end.
Speaker 4: Yeah, it was an amazing week.
Speaker 3: You know, that final round in the final group of
Speaker 3: the Open Championship is just point to dream come true
Speaker 3: for me.
Speaker 4: But you know, arriving there, it's a normal tournament.
Speaker 3: It's a Lynx golf course where I I've won before
Speaker 3: on in South Africa, in England. You know, my first
Speaker 3: ever amateur event was the Lettam Trophy in England and
Speaker 3: I won that, so very you know, familiar with Lyn's
Speaker 3: golf and you know, I think.
Speaker 4: It's it's a sort of golf I like, you.
Speaker 3: Know, there's no perfect picture when it comes to Lynch.
Speaker 3: You know, I was probably the only guy that did
Speaker 3: drive on almost every hole that week, So I just
Speaker 3: feel like there's there's so many ways to play, not
Speaker 3: just that golf course, but any Links golf course. So
Speaker 3: I just felt comfortable when I arrived there. You know,
Speaker 3: the golf was fairly good. You know, mister cut the
Speaker 3: Scottish Open the week before, but unfortunate made Boguan the
Speaker 3: last smester cut by one. But golf always felt good
Speaker 3: and like I said, I love Lynks Golf and just
Speaker 3: just the way I stay patient that week, you know,
Speaker 3: not lways to help people. It's still just a normal
Speaker 3: golf tournament, you know. Whether it's a major or waste
Speaker 3: management or a sunshine to a tournament, it's a tournament.
Speaker 4: I want to win.
Speaker 3: I want to compete, and yeah, it never got to
Speaker 3: my head that it's bigger than what it actually is.
Speaker 3: And I think that's why I managed to stay patient
Speaker 3: and do well.
Speaker 2: It's playing in those elements, you know, or the weather,
Speaker 2: wind conditions, something you enjoy. You feel like you have
Speaker 2: an advantage in those conditions.
Speaker 4: Definitely. You know, I'm not your stock standard stock shape guy.
Speaker 2: You know.
Speaker 3: I like to work it and I feel like when
Speaker 3: there's something in the air, I can make it happen.
Speaker 3: I feel like I've got the all round game to
Speaker 3: eat a lot of different shots. And I mean, I'm
Speaker 3: not too used to rain, so that was it's never
Speaker 3: fun when it's raining, But when it comes to win
Speaker 3: and stuff, I know how to manage myself. And yeah,
Speaker 3: I've played in all types of conditions, so definitely gave me,
Speaker 3: especially playing in Europe where you can get if you're
Speaker 3: playing Denmark. It could either be twenty degree celsius or
Speaker 3: maybe zero the next day.
Speaker 4: It can changed so quickly.
Speaker 3: So that's where I think it also helped me that week.
Speaker 2: You're iron player. You mentioned shot shapping. What about on
Speaker 2: a conditions when it's calm, You got left pins right pins?
Speaker 2: Are you the type of player that hits your stock
Speaker 2: ball flight in there? Are you curving it into left
Speaker 2: pins and right pens?
Speaker 3: I would say depends on firmness of greens, you know,
Speaker 3: slope and stuff. This week it's not firm firm, but
Speaker 3: it's not soft, and there is a couple of slopes
Speaker 3: you can work it from, So it all depends on
Speaker 3: the golf course.
Speaker 4: I never tend to do the same thing every week.
Speaker 3: Whatever I see in front of me that instance, I
Speaker 3: try and figure out what's base for me and what
Speaker 3: I feel comfortable with.
Speaker 4: I've never been a.
Speaker 3: Guy that just say, okay, this is your stock a
Speaker 3: tie and you need to stand like this. Nothing is
Speaker 3: ever flat out there. It's flat as the driving range
Speaker 3: and that sort of confuses me. So I just trying
Speaker 3: to get comfortable over it, because that's when I know
Speaker 3: I'm going to be at my base committed through a
Speaker 3: shot to be comfortable. But I mean, I can, I
Speaker 3: can hit it high, I can eat it low, I
Speaker 3: can I can feel like I can spin it whenever
Speaker 3: I want to. So, I mean, when it's calm and
Speaker 3: you feel like you're playing in a dome, I'll be
Speaker 3: very aggressive and try not to eat much shape.
Speaker 4: Trust.
Speaker 2: And one thing at the Open that got a lot
Speaker 2: of attention was the length of your driver. And I
Speaker 2: always I'm kind of a proponent in general of players
Speaker 2: playing a little bit longer drivers. And we've seen a
Speaker 2: lot of our tour players go a little longer with
Speaker 2: our drivers being more forgiving and and just the premium
Speaker 2: on distance over accuracy. Your driver length is forty three
Speaker 2: and three quarters, I think somewhere in that neighborhood. How
Speaker 2: did that come to be? And what advantage do you
Speaker 2: think that that gives you playing a little shorter length
Speaker 2: than most.
Speaker 3: Yeah, once again, being comfortable over it, like I always
Speaker 3: felt like short Like ladies golf clubs, for instance, if
Speaker 3: I have to take a lady's driver, it feels unbelievable.
Speaker 3: Like the shorter the better it just my body feels
Speaker 3: like it's in a good position over the ball and
Speaker 3: that's the most important thing for me is being confident
Speaker 3: and comfortable over the golf ball. So I mean I
Speaker 3: was very short when I was young. I only stretched up,
Speaker 3: you know, probably when I went to high school I
Speaker 3: got a bit taller, but so always short. I have
Speaker 3: a short drive, and then when I got tall, I
Speaker 3: just sticked to the short to drive.
Speaker 4: It felt like I say, comfortable.
Speaker 3: That's my main thing in golf is to be comfortable,
Speaker 3: because I mean it's never perfect.
Speaker 4: You can't be perfect in this game.
Speaker 3: But if you're comfortable and you commit it over it,
Speaker 3: it's just going to make it mentally much better.
Speaker 4: I think share.
Speaker 2: I just think that's a great case for custom fitting Shane,
Speaker 2: and why it's so important to bring in the X
Speaker 2: factor of your comfort level.
Speaker 1: Well, I think about linked like you play longer.
Speaker 2: Driver, right, yeah, I mean close to forty six.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean yours is long, long long. I mean
Speaker 1: I'm more in kind of Tristan's world where I, you know,
Speaker 1: like you and I kind of dove into this driver world,
Speaker 1: you know, the twelve degree driver that's kind of replacing
Speaker 1: the three wood YEP. And again, like comfort levels, like
Speaker 1: if I got a tight hole and I'm not comfortable
Speaker 1: with the big boy using the shorter one, being able
Speaker 1: to kind of grip all the way up on it
Speaker 1: and it feeling short your hand. Even the nine wood.
Speaker 1: I mean, I don't necessarily have the nine one in
Speaker 1: the bag right now, but I've been messing around with
Speaker 1: the nine one.
Speaker 2: By the way.
Speaker 1: I really like the shortness of it. It just kind
Speaker 1: of feels it almost feels fun to play with. I mean,
Speaker 1: I love what you were saying about. Just you know,
Speaker 1: as long as you're comfortable with what you're swinging, I mean,
Speaker 1: that's obviously the key.
Speaker 4: To success exactly.
Speaker 3: I mean I went to top Golf Top Golf a
Speaker 3: couple of times in Dubai, and they drive a limbs
Speaker 3: are like almost like mine, so it just a normal drive.
Speaker 4: It just feels awful for me, like I always hit
Speaker 4: it out of the yell.
Speaker 3: I don't know if it's mental how I swing it,
Speaker 3: but it just it doesn't feel comfortable. It feels like
Speaker 3: I need to get my elbows really tucked in and
Speaker 3: it's just not normal for me. I don't know, it's
Speaker 3: my arms are long as I don't know. It's just
Speaker 3: always feel comfortable and if I could choose. I would
Speaker 3: maybe make it an if you know, like Brice and
Speaker 3: it just it just feels.
Speaker 4: Unbelievable about that world. But obviously what's working for you exactly?
Speaker 1: When you got a top golf what game are you playing?
Speaker 1: Are you like competing against your buddies?
Speaker 3: Are you going to have more just eating shots? You know,
Speaker 3: take family that they haven't haven't been there, so just
Speaker 3: see them eat I eait a couple of shots and
Speaker 3: mess around and eat shapes and stuff and try and
Speaker 3: dunk it, but not really play any games.
Speaker 1: Intimidating one of the best players in the world's next
Speaker 1: to you in the bay at top Golf. More, this
Speaker 1: is probably got a little bit done, Yeah, christer, what
Speaker 1: you just got on to do?
Speaker 2: G four forty driver and tell us a little bit
Speaker 2: about that process. What are you noticing there?
Speaker 3: Yeah, So it took me a while to change spens
Speaker 3: and the guys fit me with the with the four
Speaker 3: thirty in in l A what was it two years ago?
Speaker 3: Years open and I've been using that driver since and
Speaker 3: I got it. I got the new four forty November
Speaker 3: in November last year at the Bang Golf Challenge, and
Speaker 3: you know, it was good but it wasn't it wasn't
Speaker 3: the same.
Speaker 4: Obviously, they explained to me how they had differs a
Speaker 4: little bit.
Speaker 3: But yeah, that's some good work at being this week
Speaker 3: or last week at HQ, and managed to find a
Speaker 3: lower degrade driver. You know, I normally played ten ten
Speaker 3: and half, so we tried the ten and half head
Speaker 3: and didn't really work, and then managed to get a
Speaker 3: nine degree head too and loft it up to ten
Speaker 3: and it just worked straight away. It looked more like mine,
Speaker 3: felt like it felt way better off the face, a
Speaker 3: lot softer. I could definitely see a bit more like
Speaker 3: better spin control where mine was sometimes it just it
Speaker 3: lacks spin and it just falls out of the end.
Speaker 3: This one just feels like especially the one my bad
Speaker 3: shot is out of the hill and sometimes with the
Speaker 3: old old driver just falls out of the sky, where
Speaker 3: this one keeps the spin and doesn't want to deviate
Speaker 3: as much as the previous one. So dispersion wise, it's
Speaker 3: it's way better. It looks amazing, it feels this sound
Speaker 3: is great, like I like that softer, softer sound.
Speaker 1: And every crow, yeah, every crow just like talks about
Speaker 1: the sounds. I remember when we first started talking about
Speaker 1: drivers the acoustics being a thing. Obviously you were pushing
Speaker 1: so hard, but it's just so funny. Every tour player
Speaker 1: wants to hear good sound with the driver. It's something
Speaker 1: that it's like something stands out right away when you
Speaker 1: hit something new.
Speaker 3: For sure, you know, even even the yells strikes that
Speaker 3: with the old driver, it's it's not as nice on
Speaker 3: the Yeah you can year, it's not a good drive,
Speaker 3: but even the yells strikes now it's it sounds more
Speaker 3: like the middle of the of the previous one. So
Speaker 3: overall it's unbelievable. The Fairway boots are the best I've
Speaker 3: ever played it.
Speaker 2: What do you got in?
Speaker 4: What do you?
Speaker 2: What do you got in the bag?
Speaker 3: This week three with five wood and then I've got
Speaker 3: a new five ibrids that replaces the.
Speaker 1: Four iron hybrid replacing the four irony. What's the reason
Speaker 1: for that?
Speaker 3: So, like we spoke this week at HQ, like the
Speaker 3: Fine is more of a short part four off the
Speaker 3: tea where I can run it. There's no I don't
Speaker 3: need to laughter it and get it onto the green.
Speaker 3: And then when I actually had to use the fine,
Speaker 3: like into long part fives or shortish part fives, I
Speaker 3: couldn't keep it on the like the ball flights just
Speaker 3: to penetrating the spin levels down, so I would always
Speaker 3: maybe go to the five with and slice the five
Speaker 3: with rather than eat the foine. So it was a
Speaker 3: club I sort of didn't want to use when I
Speaker 3: actually had to, so it just made sense to spend
Speaker 3: such as says straight away, why don't we try ibrid,
Speaker 3: And I was like, okay, last time I used the
Speaker 3: ibrid was like eight years ago and it was a
Speaker 3: two iron hybrid and it went miles.
Speaker 4: It was almost like a three wood for me, So.
Speaker 3: I wasn't sure, you know, I felt like I'm still
Speaker 3: too young to get into the ibrids and stuff. But i'
Speaker 3: mean straight away, it gave me the exact same distance
Speaker 3: I needed. It gave me the ball flight needed. The
Speaker 3: spin was great, like it's supposed to be four fine,
Speaker 3: and yeah, it's just a no brainer. So now I
Speaker 3: actually want to eat a four five ibrids it's fun
Speaker 3: and into a far five the.
Speaker 1: Then hit it exactly so you can stop it on
Speaker 1: the green.
Speaker 3: And like spin said, you know, why have a club
Speaker 3: in your bag that you don't use, You know, why
Speaker 3: deviate away from something that could actually be beneficial for you.
Speaker 3: So yeah, no brain and it's in the bag and
Speaker 3: ye are very excited.
Speaker 1: Can you talk us through your journey into golf, like
Speaker 1: who taught you golf? How old were you when you
Speaker 1: when you started playing? And when did you start to
Speaker 1: realize like I'm actually good at this.
Speaker 4: Yeah, so I think age of five I started.
Speaker 3: Well, that's where I can actually remember, you know, getting
Speaker 3: a set of clubs from my grandfather.
Speaker 1: Your granddad was a golfer.
Speaker 3: He was a golf Both my father's father and my
Speaker 3: mother's father loved golf. So yeah, I just got into
Speaker 3: it straight away. But being in South African, you play sports,
Speaker 3: that's that's a common thing. You go to to primary
Speaker 3: school and you play everything, and I did. My my
Speaker 3: father was a very good tennis player, so I played tennis, cricket, rugby, golf.
Speaker 3: But just yeah, and then I just felt like individual sports.
Speaker 4: Is what I wanted to do.
Speaker 3: I knew it's probably just my personality, but I'm very competitive,
Speaker 3: and it felt like team sports. It's you're never going
Speaker 3: to be the best in your team because it's a
Speaker 3: team sport.
Speaker 1: Right, and you've got to trust everybody else.
Speaker 3: Felt like, you know, trust your teammates and sometimes like
Speaker 3: I was, I was scrum off in rugby and I
Speaker 3: would pass a great pass and then the fly with
Speaker 3: knock the ball or whatever, and then it feels like
Speaker 3: somebody is holding you back. And when in individual sports
Speaker 3: it's it's up to you. There's no blaming anybody. It's
Speaker 3: up to you to put in the work and and succeed.
Speaker 3: So that definitely gave me the mindset that individual sports
Speaker 3: the one is my my direction.
Speaker 4: And then golf is what I loved.
Speaker 3: My father ended up doing his PGA professional degree and
Speaker 3: he started coaching me, and yeah, he's been my coach
Speaker 3: ever since.
Speaker 1: It still your coach, now, still my coach.
Speaker 3: There was like a two year period where I saw
Speaker 3: someone else just to get like a different perspective. You know,
Speaker 3: when it's a father son relationship, especially me going into
Speaker 3: my teens, you know, there's fights and yep, because he's
Speaker 3: my dad, he's right, I'm the player, I'm right, So you.
Speaker 4: Get your differences. But it was good for me as well.
Speaker 3: You know, I got taught, you know, learned a lot
Speaker 3: of new things from someone else. And but yeah, I
Speaker 3: mean my father is the one that that gave me
Speaker 3: what I have today and taught me what I what
Speaker 3: I know today, and it's just the relationship is good
Speaker 3: and it's it's worked ever since.
Speaker 1: So when there's a there's a college basketball coach that
Speaker 1: had his son on the team, and I remember reading
Speaker 1: a story and he said, like when they went to practice,
Speaker 1: I'm not dad, like I'm coach. Like, how did you
Speaker 1: guys handle that? As you started to progress and get better?
Speaker 1: Was it could you talk to each other as coach,
Speaker 1: you know, player and not kind of do the dad
Speaker 1: something like did you guys have a way of discussing
Speaker 1: things where it wasn't like you said Dad's wrong, Son's wrong,
Speaker 1: whatever the case may be.
Speaker 3: Definitely, I think when I got older, like to fifteen sixteen,
Speaker 3: he was also Mike Caddy in my first like amateur
Speaker 3: you know, stent over in Europe, and as as professional,
Speaker 3: I think the first six seven months he was my caddy.
Speaker 4: Caddy as well, so he was dad caddy coach. And
Speaker 4: I think when I was like fourteen fifteen, I just
Speaker 4: we had a fight on a driving range or something
Speaker 4: and I just told him, listen, I respect to you
Speaker 4: as my father, but when were on the drive range,
Speaker 4: you might coach.
Speaker 1: And I'm you said that to him. Yeah, it's interesting.
Speaker 4: I'm technically the boss because i'm the player, and then
Speaker 4: when we're on the golf course and you might gaddy,
Speaker 4: you might caddy, and then I'm still the boss. But
Speaker 4: I wouldn't.
Speaker 3: I wouldn't be unreasonable or anything. You still respect whether
Speaker 3: it's your father or not. You respect your caddy, you
Speaker 3: respect your coach. That's a big more I have. But
Speaker 3: we just set that bar clear, you know, early on,
Speaker 3: because if I want to excuse me, if I want
Speaker 3: to swear on the golf course, I don't know, my father,
Speaker 3: tell me listen, you're being disrespectful because I'm your father,
Speaker 3: and I'm like, I understand it. But today you might
Speaker 3: caddy on the golf course. I need to get my
Speaker 3: emotions out in a way like I feel I haved.
Speaker 3: So it was important to get that, you know, levels
Speaker 3: of what relationship it is at that moment. And I
Speaker 3: mean that's why we have a good relationship today and
Speaker 3: had great relationships on the golf course on the driving rage.
Speaker 2: What type of things do you guys work on. Are
Speaker 2: you more technical side looking at numbers or is it
Speaker 2: more feel sided things? You know, what type of instruction and.
Speaker 3: Yeah, so so growing up, I played a lot of golf,
Speaker 3: so it was never, never really technical. I mean, if
Speaker 3: you look at my swing, it doesn't look technical, it
Speaker 3: doesn't look like the normal swing.
Speaker 4: I just played golf.
Speaker 3: So we obviously worked on fundamentals and basics and stuff
Speaker 3: that I have in place. And it's not the best,
Speaker 3: but I think what helped me a lot is playing
Speaker 3: a lot of golf. I was fortunate enough to we
Speaker 3: lived on a golf course for about six years and
Speaker 3: my father was the local pro the golf course at
Speaker 3: the pro Shop was in charge of the golf course.
Speaker 3: So I would after school, grab a card, play thirty
Speaker 3: six holes. Holidays, five o'clock in the morning, play thirty
Speaker 3: six in the morning, play. I would play seventy two
Speaker 3: holes in a day. Sometimes just take a six sign
Speaker 3: and play thirty six holes just on a six sign.
Speaker 3: So that's sort of the way I learned golf and
Speaker 3: what I still believe in that works for me. I mean,
Speaker 3: I think it's tough to one wants to get better technically,
Speaker 3: but if you this type of golfer, you can only
Speaker 3: improve on how I feel like, how you've been taught
Speaker 3: and how you actually play, because to go from a
Speaker 3: field player to a technical player, it's.
Speaker 1: Just not who you are.
Speaker 4: It's not who I am. It's not what I want
Speaker 4: to be.
Speaker 3: And that's why I feel like I have an edge
Speaker 3: when condition gets tough or I really need to get
Speaker 3: into the fairwell, I can hit a forty yard slice
Speaker 3: and know for sure I'm not missing it left bad.
Speaker 4: I'll tried.
Speaker 3: I can hold a fairway if I want to. So yeah,
Speaker 3: for now, we just work on. Obviously, I take videos
Speaker 3: every week. He's not here every week, and we send
Speaker 3: it through just to see that the fundamentals he's still fine.
Speaker 4: And I use the g sy.
Speaker 3: Quad to look at numbers only actually distance, it's not
Speaker 3: I can see the shape in the air.
Speaker 4: I don't need to.
Speaker 3: Look at a system that tells me it's moving left
Speaker 3: or right. I can see out it's moving and just
Speaker 3: believe that, you know, believe in the distances and work
Speaker 3: on that.
Speaker 1: Yeah, what was your big moment as an amateur player?
Speaker 1: You know, talking about kind of coming up in golf
Speaker 1: and you have this family that's golfers and you're getting
Speaker 1: tied and your dad's kind of involved. What was your
Speaker 1: big breakthrough moment where you kind of started to realize
Speaker 1: how good you are.
Speaker 3: I would say junior golf. Like in South Africa, we
Speaker 3: have a system. It's called the Junior Golf Foundation. It's
Speaker 3: every Sunday, there's a tournament, thirty six holes.
Speaker 4: And I think.
Speaker 3: When I started, you know, winning quite a few of
Speaker 3: that every Like I mean, you can be eighteen and
Speaker 3: still play those, but I was twelve thirteen beating those,
Speaker 3: eating those guys, and even before that playing I played
Speaker 3: the Calaway Junior Ward two thousand and I think seven
Speaker 3: and eight maybe in San Diego, and I finished I
Speaker 3: think sixth or something in my first first try. I
Speaker 3: think it was the UNDERD twelves or was eleven at
Speaker 3: a time, and I just knew, like that, if if
Speaker 3: I can finish top ten in a tournament that everybody
Speaker 3: in the world plays in, I mean, if you're looking
Speaker 3: at America, the size compete to South Africa, the amount
Speaker 3: of golfers in America compete to South Africa. Finishing that
Speaker 3: inside the top ten just gave me like sort of
Speaker 3: that confidence that I'm good enough and that's what I
Speaker 3: want to pursue. And like I say, winning a lot
Speaker 3: of junior tournaments. Being a youngster competing against eighteen year
Speaker 3: olds made it just logic for me that when I
Speaker 3: think I'm good enough.
Speaker 1: When you were growing up, you know, you're kind of
Speaker 1: like Ernie higher power. You have this kind of retief
Speaker 1: run and things like that. Who was the golfer you
Speaker 1: were looking up to thinking about, you know, wanted to
Speaker 1: see in person, like who was that kind of golfing
Speaker 1: idol in your country to you?
Speaker 4: Definitely Ernie Ils I think growing up.
Speaker 3: I mean I was five in two thousand and one,
Speaker 3: that sort of Tigers Prime. Ernie was involved there as well,
Speaker 3: one and two in the world. So definitely Ernie. He
Speaker 3: was the big easy for us. He was the ultimate guy,
Speaker 3: the nice guy. You know, I was fortunate enough to
Speaker 3: I grew up and now it's a town called now Spirit.
Speaker 3: It's forty minutes from Leopard Creek and every year in
Speaker 3: the Semur it was the Oldfra Daniel Championship there and
Speaker 3: Ernie was the big shot.
Speaker 4: You know, he was the guy to look out for.
Speaker 3: So going there, you know from Thursday to Sundays just idolizing,
Speaker 3: you know, just be in awe every single time when
Speaker 3: you see him swing. So yeah, he was the guy.
Speaker 3: And then you know, I was fortunate enough to be
Speaker 3: in his foundation as well as a kid, and he
Speaker 3: helped me. You know that the foundation helped me to
Speaker 3: actually get the tournaments, pay entries, pay flights, accommodation. So
Speaker 3: he's I'm very grateful for him. He's personally never done
Speaker 3: something for me, you know, like it's the foundation that
Speaker 3: he created. You know, I know him sort of well
Speaker 3: when I see him. We don't chat over the phone
Speaker 3: or whatever, but he knows what he's done for me,
Speaker 3: and I know what he's his foundation has done for me.
Speaker 4: So yeah, he's he's the guy.
Speaker 3: I mean, Tiger's obviously, everybody's Tigers, everybody's Heero, but being
Speaker 3: a South African, Ernie's the one.
Speaker 2: Yeah, we talked about being kind of a field player.
Speaker 2: I want to talk a little bit about your short
Speaker 2: game equipment. You use our S one grind. Tell us
Speaker 2: a little bit about how you got into that grind,
Speaker 2: any changes you're making, uh and and why you like
Speaker 2: that with your your technology style.
Speaker 3: To be honest all around eight Shtrins is the beast
Speaker 3: for me, but sometimes I do put him the six grind.
Speaker 3: I think it's t t I think this week, I
Speaker 3: might put it in play, especially bunkers. Bunkers, there's quite
Speaker 3: a bit of SAand but it's tough to get through
Speaker 3: so that eight bounces too much. So the sixers helps
Speaker 3: to dig a little. But the eight, like my short game,
Speaker 3: is really good. But it felt like playing American grass
Speaker 3: like putt Meda and stuff like that. The six sort
Speaker 3: of made me a bit tentative, like I wasn't as confident,
Speaker 3: like it felt like it digs too much, and I
Speaker 3: got like a bit, you know, I don't know, not
Speaker 3: too confident.
Speaker 4: And where the ah just bounces.
Speaker 3: And glides through that grass like it's supposed to, so
Speaker 3: soft conditions firmed the conditions. The eight is just overall amazing. Yeah,
Speaker 3: it's just the bunkers where I feel like, especially Links
Speaker 3: golf course, where the bunkers are quite deep, that it
Speaker 3: just doesn't feel it looks like it's coming out too low.
Speaker 3: Probably doesn't, but just for those type of bunkers this
Speaker 3: week as well, there is quite a few deep ones
Speaker 3: that you really need to short sighted ones that you
Speaker 3: need to get it up so that.
Speaker 4: Where the six might be might be a little better.
Speaker 4: But the eight's been overall amazing for me.
Speaker 2: Seane, that's a question we get a lot from our listeners,
Speaker 2: like do the tour places should I carry two different
Speaker 2: languages and change based on conditions? I think a lot
Speaker 2: of the time that every day golfers playing mostly at
Speaker 2: one course, right, I mean, I.
Speaker 1: Mean that's part of some of the tools you have
Speaker 1: online too, Right, It's like you're playing your golf at
Speaker 1: one golf course for the most point. I mean, I'm
Speaker 1: sure you have the data on that, but the players,
Speaker 1: I mean it's probably what eighty ninety percent of golfers
Speaker 1: probably playing most of their golf, if not all their
Speaker 1: golfers in plays.
Speaker 2: So Tristan, you carry both both the H and the
Speaker 2: tea grind with you most of.
Speaker 3: The yea most most of the time between the fish
Speaker 3: and ride exactly.
Speaker 4: What's good separation for me to know? We had always?
Speaker 3: But yeah, definitely, like I said, I didn't have the
Speaker 3: tea this week, so Spencer and the guys pulled me
Speaker 3: one this week. I just fell straight away because I
Speaker 3: know last year it was a lot softer, so the
Speaker 3: H would have been better maybe, but I know it's
Speaker 3: it's firming up, and really, especially around the greens, it's
Speaker 3: quite tight, so that sixty just outs because it doesn't
Speaker 3: dig as much. It's still it's still you know, fair,
Speaker 3: but it definitely works better than the.
Speaker 1: Than the h This week, Tristan, last thing for you,
Speaker 1: you play the well in the Open Championship, it gets
Speaker 1: you into the Masters. I mean, you know you talk
Speaker 1: about a week to week not making an event bigger
Speaker 1: than it is, or a tournament bigger than it is.
Speaker 1: As you kind of think ahead to April, how excited
Speaker 1: are you to play in the Masters, and how do
Speaker 1: you keep yourself from getting kind of too amped up
Speaker 1: for it?
Speaker 4: Yeah? I think you can see it in my smile.
Speaker 4: I just think the way they actually.
Speaker 3: Run the Master is insane, Like how you get your
Speaker 3: invitation in December, I mean for the PGA Championship you
Speaker 3: get an email or for the Open you get an
Speaker 3: email for them.
Speaker 4: It's written and written.
Speaker 1: Were you like checking the mail on a daily basis?
Speaker 3: So we actually I was back home, it was just
Speaker 3: off just before Christmas, sorry, and we got a goal.
Speaker 3: We we live in like a security state, And got
Speaker 3: a call from the from the gate and say UPS
Speaker 3: is and I was like, I didn't even know UPS
Speaker 3: works in South Africa it's like the one yes and
Speaker 3: I didn't order something and I'm like, I looked at
Speaker 3: my golf girlfriend, I'm like, I think this is it,
Speaker 3: you know, this is this is maybe the invite. And
Speaker 3: then I saw straightaway you know, Gusta National and whatever.
Speaker 3: So that just makes me excited. But just looking at
Speaker 3: the tournament as a kid, how special held like limited feel,
Speaker 3: but the amount of people that golf course, I'm very excited.
Speaker 3: But once again it's it's all tournament. I'm probably gonna
Speaker 3: be playing the week before, so I'm only going to
Speaker 3: arrive on Monday. I'm really going to try and get
Speaker 3: there before and just to even if I just walk it,
Speaker 3: just to be familiar with the grounds.
Speaker 1: Have you ever been before?
Speaker 4: Never? Never been, So I think that's important.
Speaker 3: Not I know, I've been told like from Monday to Wednesday,
Speaker 3: have a condition of the course like changes gets firmer,
Speaker 3: it gets quicker and whatever. But I think it's important
Speaker 3: to see it first and before the tournament. I don't
Speaker 3: want to get there and you know, Worry wears everything
Speaker 3: and wears the first ty and hour. There's the first look.
Speaker 3: I mean you can see it on TV, but it
Speaker 3: doesn't do justs and whatever. So but I'm very excited.
Speaker 3: It's an amazing opportunity. It's a it's a dream come true.
Speaker 3: I mean to play in any majors a dream come true.
Speaker 3: But I haven't played the Master's yet. I've played all
Speaker 3: that is and I'm very excited and yeah, day to win.
Speaker 1: So it'll be, it'll be. It'll be fun to watch it.
Speaker 1: And you know what, I learned something today ups is
Speaker 1: in South Africa to know that, So that's you taught
Speaker 1: me something as well. Well, good luck the rest of
Speaker 1: the year. It's been fun to watch you kind of
Speaker 1: go out there and do your thing and play the
Speaker 1: way you play. I hope it goes well obviously, Augusta
Speaker 1: National and uh and yeah, Tristan, it's a it's just
Speaker 1: been a fun chat and also keep enjoying that fishing
Speaker 1: and in the fishing boat. I'm I'm excited to see
Speaker 1: where you land in the States. This is the Paying
Speaker 1: Prove and Grounds podcast.