WEBVTT - John Bodenhamer on USGA Championship Setup 0:00:00.240 --> 0:00:04.480 Welcome back to another edition of the fridayk podcast. Today's 0:00:04.519 --> 0:00:08.039 episode is brought to you by Riomar. Summer is here, 0:00:08.039 --> 0:00:10.039 and there's no better time to get a new pair 0:00:10.039 --> 0:00:13.840 of summer shoes. Rio Mar makes wonderful shoes that perfectly 0:00:13.880 --> 0:00:16.840 bridge the gap of classy and casual. They come in 0:00:16.880 --> 0:00:20.599 a variety of styles such as deck drivers, loafers, and chuckas, 0:00:20.840 --> 0:00:24.799 and feature waterproof and no smell leather. 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Before we get 0:01:20.040 --> 0:01:22.919 to John, a quick reminder to sign up for our newsletter. 0:01:23.440 --> 0:01:25.800 Our team with Will Knights and Garrett Morrison have been 0:01:25.800 --> 0:01:28.080 cranking this out three days a week with some really 0:01:28.120 --> 0:01:29.119 interesting stories. 0:01:29.720 --> 0:01:30.680 You can sign up for it. 0:01:30.680 --> 0:01:34.160 It's completely free at the fridaygg dot com and it 0:01:34.160 --> 0:01:37.160 will make your mornings every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Now, 0:01:37.200 --> 0:01:39.640 without further ado, here's John Bodenhammer. 0:01:39.920 --> 0:01:42.680 I miss a green, for example, I'm already upset. When 0:01:42.720 --> 0:01:44.840 I find my ball in the bunker, I'm really upset. 0:01:44.920 --> 0:01:46.160 And when I find my ball in. 0:01:46.120 --> 0:01:49.160 A brid egg Frida egg, the dreaded Frida egg Frida, 0:01:49.200 --> 0:01:51.960 egg Frida eggg Frida egg bride egg Lie. 0:01:51.840 --> 0:02:15.720 I'm about ready to run off the golf course. I 0:02:15.760 --> 0:02:18.959 saw some quotes in an interview you did with Brendan 0:02:19.000 --> 0:02:23.160 Porath last year about moving out of the Northwest. What 0:02:23.360 --> 0:02:25.840 was your you know, what was your favorite part about 0:02:25.880 --> 0:02:26.760 living up there. 0:02:26.639 --> 0:02:31.919 The summers, especially after July fourth through September and October. 0:02:33.240 --> 0:02:35.040 If you play golf, it's a magnusum part of the 0:02:35.040 --> 0:02:39.240 world to play golf. Beautiful golf courses, the mountains, the 0:02:39.560 --> 0:02:43.519 evergreen trees, it's just beautiful in the summer and earlycall. 0:02:43.880 --> 0:02:47.520 How's the transition been moving over to New Jersey. 0:02:47.760 --> 0:02:50.000 You know, it's been great. I actually, as a young boy, 0:02:51.600 --> 0:02:54.480 we would venture back here most summers and spend a 0:02:54.480 --> 0:02:58.400 few weeks in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts. I 0:02:58.440 --> 0:03:01.200 had lots of relatives back here. My mom was from 0:03:01.240 --> 0:03:06.919 back here, grew up in Pennsylvania, went to school in Philadelphia, 0:03:06.960 --> 0:03:10.280 and so I knew the area quite well, and it 0:03:10.320 --> 0:03:12.440 wasn't a big surprise. It was certainly a cultural change. 0:03:12.440 --> 0:03:15.840 I spent most of my life in the Pacific Northwest, 0:03:15.919 --> 0:03:18.400 Washington and Oregon and went to school in Utah, and 0:03:19.360 --> 0:03:21.400 so it was a big change. 0:03:21.400 --> 0:03:23.639 Anytime you changed. 0:03:23.320 --> 0:03:25.920 Careers after twenty two years in one job and moved 0:03:25.960 --> 0:03:28.360 to another, you have a lot to learn. But it 0:03:28.440 --> 0:03:31.880 has been a magnificent ride. I love the USJA always have, 0:03:32.040 --> 0:03:33.960 and it's a great honor to. 0:03:33.960 --> 0:03:34.480 Work with them. 0:03:34.600 --> 0:03:37.840 You had a very good amateur college career. Obviously, you 0:03:37.880 --> 0:03:41.000 won a national title at BYU and played with some 0:03:41.640 --> 0:03:44.800 great players. Talked to us a little bit about that experience, 0:03:44.840 --> 0:03:48.040 and then you tried to play professionally. 0:03:49.360 --> 0:03:51.760 Yes, boy, you've done your homework. That's many years ago. 0:03:51.880 --> 0:03:55.400 But I grew up playing competitive golf. From the time 0:03:55.440 --> 0:03:58.680 I was eleven twelve years old, I started the game, 0:03:58.720 --> 0:04:00.800 and by the time I was thirteen and fourteen, I 0:04:00.880 --> 0:04:03.640 was playing in everything that I could tee it up in, 0:04:03.920 --> 0:04:06.200 and as a junior, I had the great fortune of 0:04:06.640 --> 0:04:10.720 winning the Washington State Juniors at Northwest Junior and some 0:04:10.800 --> 0:04:15.240 other things and had some good success and was greatly 0:04:15.280 --> 0:04:18.800 benefited by coach Carl Tucker at Brigham Young University who 0:04:18.839 --> 0:04:21.120 offered me a college golf scholarship to play at the 0:04:21.320 --> 0:04:25.040 YU and the early nineteen eighties, and boy, we had 0:04:25.040 --> 0:04:28.919 some great teams, people like Bobby Clampett and Dick Socle 0:04:29.000 --> 0:04:36.039 and Rick Fair and goodness East Clearwater. 0:04:36.360 --> 0:04:36.800 Help. Yeah. 0:04:36.839 --> 0:04:40.200 He was probably my best friend on the tour on 0:04:40.240 --> 0:04:42.160 the team and went on to be Rookie of the 0:04:42.200 --> 0:04:43.839 Year on the tour and went a few times. I 0:04:43.880 --> 0:04:46.520 still stay in touch with Keith and all the guys. 0:04:46.560 --> 0:04:49.240 There are so many other names I could share with 0:04:49.320 --> 0:04:50.960 you that were on and off the tour. But it 0:04:51.000 --> 0:04:53.680 was a great experience. The guys were really close knit. 0:04:53.720 --> 0:04:55.440 There were fourteen of us on the team. It was 0:04:55.480 --> 0:04:58.720 a beautiful place to play. We traveled a lot, we 0:04:58.760 --> 0:05:00.719 played in all the big events and win a national 0:05:00.800 --> 0:05:03.479 championship in nineteen eighty one. It was it was a 0:05:03.520 --> 0:05:07.920 great experience. And you know, Coach Ducker was an incredible man. 0:05:08.040 --> 0:05:10.440 He was a great mentor to me. I learned a 0:05:10.480 --> 0:05:13.599 great deal from him, both on and off the golf course, 0:05:13.640 --> 0:05:16.520 how to treat people, how to dress, how to make 0:05:16.560 --> 0:05:21.320 first impressions, how to make sure you graduate with a degree, 0:05:21.720 --> 0:05:24.839 and some of the most important lessons in my life 0:05:25.120 --> 0:05:26.400 came from him, and I'll always be. 0:05:26.320 --> 0:05:26.960 Grateful for it. 0:05:27.080 --> 0:05:30.800 And recently I've become fascinated with the life and career 0:05:30.839 --> 0:05:31.880 of Bobby Clampett. 0:05:31.880 --> 0:05:33.359 What was it like being his teammate? 0:05:34.360 --> 0:05:37.719 Well, I played one year with Bobby, Bobby was you know? 0:05:38.200 --> 0:05:42.200 It's truly a fantastic question. 0:05:42.000 --> 0:05:44.120 Because today a lot, especially a lot of the young 0:05:44.200 --> 0:05:48.120 kids that play competitively, whether as amateurs now in college 0:05:48.160 --> 0:05:50.920 or on the tour, really that's a name that maybe 0:05:50.960 --> 0:05:54.320 a few have heard of, maybe associate him more with 0:05:54.920 --> 0:05:58.279 his announcing career's broadcast career with CBS. 0:05:59.120 --> 0:06:01.080 But he was the. 0:06:01.160 --> 0:06:05.080 Dominant college player while he was at BYU. And when 0:06:05.080 --> 0:06:08.000 I say that, he won multiple Fred Haskins Awards, which 0:06:08.040 --> 0:06:11.080 at that time was the heisman of college golf. He 0:06:11.120 --> 0:06:14.159 didn't just win events. He won going away. I remember 0:06:14.279 --> 0:06:18.039 his junior year in California and in Arizona. I think 0:06:18.080 --> 0:06:22.360 in three or four consecutive weeks he won by seven 0:06:22.520 --> 0:06:26.720 to twelve or fifteen shots against the best players in 0:06:26.760 --> 0:06:27.440 college golf. 0:06:27.480 --> 0:06:29.240 He was just exceptionally dominant. 0:06:30.320 --> 0:06:34.440 He played under the golfing machine methodology and hit it 0:06:34.520 --> 0:06:37.000 quite long, but boy could he put and he could 0:06:37.000 --> 0:06:40.240 shoot some low, low numbers, and he just had no fear. 0:06:40.480 --> 0:06:43.040 And it really was and he remains a great friend. 0:06:43.960 --> 0:06:45.680 But only played one year with him, And you know, 0:06:45.920 --> 0:06:48.560 it was his junior year that we were particularly to 0:06:48.600 --> 0:06:52.400 win the national championship and didn't. And then he departed, 0:06:52.440 --> 0:06:54.360 and I think guys like Dick Zogel and Rich Fair 0:06:54.360 --> 0:06:58.880 and Keith Clarewater and others really blossomed and we were 0:06:58.920 --> 0:07:01.240 able to win it, which was a right thrill for everybody. 0:07:02.160 --> 0:07:07.520 But Bobby was, you know, he just everybody thought he 0:07:07.600 --> 0:07:11.520 was a can't miss and I think I think he 0:07:11.720 --> 0:07:14.840 just had such a great game. And we all still 0:07:15.120 --> 0:07:16.480 talk about that when we get together. 0:07:17.000 --> 0:07:20.400 That's the cruel thing about golf is that it can 0:07:20.560 --> 0:07:23.760 go as quick as it comes. And there are certain 0:07:23.800 --> 0:07:27.840 guys like Crunshaw and Sevy, for example. A lot of 0:07:27.840 --> 0:07:31.280 people say they played their best golf at age sixteen 0:07:31.360 --> 0:07:35.280 to twenty, you know, and Clampett was definitely in that 0:07:35.320 --> 0:07:38.160 same bucket where you know, the he was one of 0:07:38.200 --> 0:07:41.400 the probably best players in the world at age twenty, 0:07:41.640 --> 0:07:45.240 you know, And it's just an odd game that way. 0:07:45.560 --> 0:07:47.520 I'll tell you a couple of things I could share 0:07:47.560 --> 0:07:49.800 with you. You know, you remember how creative he was 0:07:50.840 --> 0:07:52.720 hitting golf ball, one of the first hick golf balls 0:07:52.720 --> 0:07:54.480 off of his knees, and he could hit it two 0:07:54.560 --> 0:07:56.400 hundred and sixty two hundred and seventy yards And those 0:07:56.400 --> 0:07:58.960 are the days of Persimin and Ballada. A lot of 0:07:59.000 --> 0:08:02.360 the young kids have never experience that like some of 0:08:02.400 --> 0:08:05.240 us did growing up in that area. But he did 0:08:05.640 --> 0:08:09.240 a lot of amazing things. And you know, I can 0:08:09.320 --> 0:08:12.200 remember one year he was on his way to the Masters. 0:08:12.280 --> 0:08:15.400 He had been I can't remember how he became exempt, 0:08:15.480 --> 0:08:17.040 but he had an invitation. Might have been because he's 0:08:17.080 --> 0:08:19.320 low amter and the US Open, which he led the 0:08:19.400 --> 0:08:22.280 US Open at Cherry Hills, I believe through twenty seven 0:08:22.360 --> 0:08:25.520 holes as an amateur nineteen years old. But I remember 0:08:25.560 --> 0:08:27.040 that it was a year or two later, was going 0:08:27.040 --> 0:08:29.720 to the Masters, and like I was having a conversation 0:08:29.920 --> 0:08:33.360 with coach Tucker and he said, you know, John, Bobby's 0:08:33.400 --> 0:08:35.679 going to a guest of this week and he really 0:08:35.720 --> 0:08:39.480 really believes he can win. And I believe the first 0:08:39.480 --> 0:08:42.720 couple of days, yeah, he was even or one under 0:08:42.760 --> 0:08:45.720 par and was within range and didn't. But it was 0:08:45.760 --> 0:08:49.640 just a mindset had. He had absolutely no fear. He 0:08:49.760 --> 0:08:52.840 believed in himself more than anybody I've ever known and 0:08:52.880 --> 0:08:57.319 I at that time, and he did some remarkable things. 0:08:57.360 --> 0:09:00.120 I think more than anything, Bobby was a perfection. This 0:09:00.280 --> 0:09:02.960 pretty good with his golf swing. He constantly strove to 0:09:02.960 --> 0:09:06.840 get better and that might have been something that was 0:09:07.200 --> 0:09:10.280 his biggest achilles heel because he was never satisfied. All 0:09:10.280 --> 0:09:13.040 of us would watch him play and just kind of 0:09:14.080 --> 0:09:16.959 you know, wow, it was the wow factor behind it, 0:09:17.000 --> 0:09:19.719 but he was never satisfied. And I remember when he 0:09:19.760 --> 0:09:23.800 went on tour. Peter Jacobson later told me he thought 0:09:23.840 --> 0:09:25.720 he had the best swing on tour. All he had 0:09:25.760 --> 0:09:27.600 to do was let it go to work. But he 0:09:27.679 --> 0:09:31.080 kept changing it and tinkering with it. 0:09:31.280 --> 0:09:32.080 But that was Bobby. 0:09:32.120 --> 0:09:34.640 He was a very bright guy, graduated with a degree 0:09:34.640 --> 0:09:37.320 in three years for BYU, which is a great school. 0:09:37.400 --> 0:09:40.040 But he's a He's not. He was not only a 0:09:40.040 --> 0:09:42.920 great player, he was a great human being. He'd be 0:09:42.960 --> 0:09:47.480 fun to be around and chuckle with him, but he 0:09:47.520 --> 0:09:50.080 had a hard goal, still does and he remains a 0:09:50.080 --> 0:09:50.520 good friend. 0:09:50.640 --> 0:09:52.760 You mentioned the hitting the ball from his knees. 0:09:52.800 --> 0:09:56.120 I read an old article that that cited he was 0:09:56.160 --> 0:09:58.960 doing that at the US Open at Invernet. 0:10:00.080 --> 0:10:00.440 That's right. 0:10:01.040 --> 0:10:06.120 In fact, I remember that I was not at BYU. 0:10:06.160 --> 0:10:07.920 I think I was a year before I went to BYU, 0:10:07.960 --> 0:10:11.080 if I'm not mistake, and I was still playing junior golf, 0:10:11.080 --> 0:10:14.480 and I remember I remember reading about that and they 0:10:14.640 --> 0:10:17.160 Bobby had missed the cut at Inverness Club that year. 0:10:17.160 --> 0:10:20.960 In Toledo and the USJA, he was a great favorite 0:10:20.960 --> 0:10:25.400 of the USJA phenom and they asked him to be 0:10:25.440 --> 0:10:27.439 a playing marker because they had an odd number of 0:10:27.480 --> 0:10:29.079 players and made the cut. I can't remember who he 0:10:29.120 --> 0:10:31.600 played with in the very first year about but you know, 0:10:31.640 --> 0:10:35.160 Bobby Score wasn't counting. He wasn't in the championship any longer, 0:10:35.200 --> 0:10:37.560 and so he began to put on an exhibition. He 0:10:37.640 --> 0:10:42.600 began to try and hit different shots, big big fades 0:10:42.679 --> 0:10:46.000 or hooks, or just different low shots and putting greens, 0:10:46.120 --> 0:10:49.120 as I recall reading. But then he began to hit 0:10:49.240 --> 0:10:53.640 drives off of his knees, and the crowds were mesmerized 0:10:53.679 --> 0:10:55.480 by it, and he had never seen that, and I 0:10:55.559 --> 0:10:58.080 mean drive it straight down the middle two undred and sixty, 0:10:58.080 --> 0:10:59.560 two hundred and seventy yards from his knees. 0:10:59.600 --> 0:11:00.600 Nobody could believe it. 0:11:00.559 --> 0:11:02.960 But I think the powers would be at that time, 0:11:04.160 --> 0:11:07.000 they were still wearing the blue blazers out there, and 0:11:07.040 --> 0:11:10.440 I'm one of those now didn't take too kindly to that. 0:11:10.559 --> 0:11:15.160 And so on the tenth toll they asked Bobby to depart, 0:11:16.440 --> 0:11:18.839 and he did, and I think he felt very badly 0:11:18.880 --> 0:11:20.600 about that. I think he was just trying to be 0:11:20.679 --> 0:11:23.080 a bit entertaining, and I think they felt it was 0:11:23.120 --> 0:11:24.400 maybe a distraction, but. 0:11:25.400 --> 0:11:26.120 He was that way. 0:11:26.280 --> 0:11:29.320 He just he was very creative and didn't have any fear. 0:11:29.400 --> 0:11:30.640 It was fun to be around. 0:11:30.720 --> 0:11:33.280 That whole US Open had a bunch of stuff. 0:11:33.280 --> 0:11:36.839 They had the Impostor, the great Impostor snuck in right, 0:11:37.040 --> 0:11:42.840 played the practice round the Hinkle Tree. That was Yeah, incredibly, 0:11:42.880 --> 0:11:45.160 It's kind of an incredible US Open to go back 0:11:45.160 --> 0:11:45.839 and read about. 0:11:46.040 --> 0:11:47.960 We had a great US junior there this year with 0:11:48.000 --> 0:11:48.600 Preston Summer. 0:11:48.640 --> 0:11:50.920 He's winning. We still love IMPNUS Club. It's one of 0:11:50.960 --> 0:11:52.040 America's great clubs. 0:11:52.280 --> 0:11:56.400 Oh god, that that in that restoration renovation work that 0:11:56.480 --> 0:11:59.360 they recently did is fantastic. Some of those the new 0:11:59.400 --> 0:12:02.559 holes are our tremendous golf holes out there. 0:12:02.640 --> 0:12:05.400 They really are. Andrew Green did a magnificent job there. Yeah, 0:12:05.480 --> 0:12:06.280 it's fantastic. 0:12:06.360 --> 0:12:06.839 We love it. 0:12:07.040 --> 0:12:09.640 Yeah, that's a cool place. And if you're not on 0:12:09.679 --> 0:12:11.160 your game, you're going to have a long. 0:12:11.120 --> 0:12:11.800 Day out there. 0:12:12.320 --> 0:12:12.920 That's right. 0:12:13.200 --> 0:12:17.120 And your personal estimation, how does big a former player 0:12:17.200 --> 0:12:20.160 help you when you do these setups for championships? 0:12:20.640 --> 0:12:23.000 Well, I think it does. I think I have you know, 0:12:23.040 --> 0:12:26.480 I never played on tour. I did play at a 0:12:26.559 --> 0:12:29.640 high level of amateur golf, won a state amateur, won 0:12:29.640 --> 0:12:32.120 a couple of state opens, played into US Amateurs, and 0:12:32.200 --> 0:12:38.239 played in a lot of USJ qualifying and several NCAA championships, 0:12:38.280 --> 0:12:41.080 and so, you know, I understand it to that level. 0:12:41.120 --> 0:12:42.880 I've never played in a tour event. I did get 0:12:42.920 --> 0:12:45.200 to the second stage of tour school qualifying a couple 0:12:45.160 --> 0:12:48.080 of times, but never got out on tour. But I 0:12:48.120 --> 0:12:50.040 was around a lot of really good players who did 0:12:50.120 --> 0:12:53.439 get out into a multiple tour winners. Johnny Miller used 0:12:53.440 --> 0:12:55.280 to come out and play with his Billy Casper, and 0:12:55.320 --> 0:12:57.520 I used to pick their brains. Mike Reid is a 0:12:57.559 --> 0:13:00.280 close personal friend, played a lot of golf off with 0:13:00.320 --> 0:13:04.760 those guys and would continuously talk strategy with. 0:13:04.679 --> 0:13:08.520 Them about how you know, they would they would. 0:13:08.320 --> 0:13:11.520 Play and what they would play around with their games. 0:13:11.640 --> 0:13:14.000 You know, Billy Caster was probably the greatest wedge player 0:13:14.040 --> 0:13:16.240 ever saw, and what he would think about and how 0:13:16.240 --> 0:13:18.000 he would set up his t shots so that he 0:13:18.080 --> 0:13:20.800 could really have a wedge in his hand and make 0:13:20.840 --> 0:13:22.240 a dance around the hole. And then of course he 0:13:22.360 --> 0:13:24.480 was a great putter, where Johnny Miller was maybe the 0:13:24.480 --> 0:13:27.920 greatest iron player that I've ever seen. Next Keith clare 0:13:28.000 --> 0:13:30.360 Water too, and they would play around that and really 0:13:30.400 --> 0:13:33.280 hit the ball close to the hole and and and 0:13:33.360 --> 0:13:37.040 really score that way. I think being around that and 0:13:37.360 --> 0:13:40.880 I was I've always been one to be to be 0:13:41.679 --> 0:13:45.080 curious about what the great players or even just good 0:13:45.080 --> 0:13:47.600 players think about as a strategize around a golf course. 0:13:47.679 --> 0:13:50.320 And it was benefited by a lot of that, and 0:13:50.520 --> 0:13:56.560 growing up and in college and afterwards, and I think 0:13:56.600 --> 0:13:59.000 going to the USJ, and even before going to the 0:13:59.080 --> 0:14:04.280 USJ with Pacific Northwest and Washington Stakeoff associations, I loved 0:14:04.720 --> 0:14:07.080 course set up the most. I would always be involved 0:14:07.120 --> 0:14:09.920 in that or win the Pacific Coast Amateur Championship. We 0:14:10.040 --> 0:14:12.439 ran as well at some great GoF courses and thinking 0:14:12.440 --> 0:14:18.080 about how players would approach a whole and approach putting 0:14:18.080 --> 0:14:20.760 green and approach shot. And then when I came to 0:14:20.760 --> 0:14:22.200 the USJA, it was one of the great lorest to 0:14:22.240 --> 0:14:23.880 come to the USA to be able to work with 0:14:23.920 --> 0:14:28.160 Mike Davis, who in two thousand and six don that 0:14:28.280 --> 0:14:32.240 mantle for US and succeeded Tom Meeks with course set up. 0:14:32.320 --> 0:14:36.280 And in those days Mike's graduated rough and some of 0:14:36.320 --> 0:14:39.920 what he did with herman past conditions was pretty revolutionary 0:14:41.360 --> 0:14:44.160 for the USGA and the US Open, and coming and 0:14:44.200 --> 0:14:46.920 beginning to work with him in twenty eleven was a 0:14:46.920 --> 0:14:48.880 great joint. I've learned a lot there as well. In 0:14:48.880 --> 0:14:50.920 some of our great US Open courses. 0:14:50.800 --> 0:14:52.720 Mike Davis did a lot of things, and one of 0:14:52.720 --> 0:14:56.480 the big things was introducing that day to day variety 0:14:56.560 --> 0:14:58.920 and setups where all of a sudden it wasn't just 0:14:59.160 --> 0:15:01.560 you know, automatic, We're going to put the tea here 0:15:01.640 --> 0:15:05.120 every single day, and it came with Obviously there's beend 0:15:05.120 --> 0:15:08.000 mixed feedback from players about it. I'm curious, how do 0:15:08.080 --> 0:15:13.760 you guys approach providing that variety without doing too much 0:15:13.880 --> 0:15:16.240 to get, you know, to push it over the edge. 0:15:16.400 --> 0:15:20.480 Sure, well, Mike, you're right, Mike, I think is just 0:15:20.600 --> 0:15:25.440 really us He's a brilliant thinkers as it pertains to 0:15:25.520 --> 0:15:29.080 really pushing things hard on a golf course and really 0:15:29.120 --> 0:15:31.120 developing an ultimate test. 0:15:31.240 --> 0:15:34.280 And you know, I think part of what we. 0:15:34.160 --> 0:15:38.080 Think of the US Open is that it is it 0:15:38.160 --> 0:15:41.480 is unique to major championships, any championship in the world, 0:15:41.480 --> 0:15:44.520 and that the way we think about set up, it's 0:15:44.520 --> 0:15:48.160 not just where the team the teas are on the 0:15:48.160 --> 0:15:50.400 teeing area or the holes are on the putting greens. 0:15:51.160 --> 0:15:54.160 It's about fairway with it's about angles, it's about weather, 0:15:54.280 --> 0:15:58.360 it's about firm and fast and really it's also not 0:15:58.480 --> 0:16:02.760 just about being able to to to really. 0:16:02.560 --> 0:16:04.160 Control your shot making. 0:16:04.520 --> 0:16:07.800 But it's about the ability to control it once it 0:16:07.880 --> 0:16:11.160 lands on the ground and it runs out a little bit, 0:16:11.280 --> 0:16:15.480 and and and and really premium on driving accuracy and 0:16:15.480 --> 0:16:18.000 and I think risk reward. But even above that is 0:16:18.040 --> 0:16:20.480 the mental side of the game. And I think the 0:16:20.520 --> 0:16:24.600 ability or the the opportunities to present something to players 0:16:25.480 --> 0:16:29.400 that might be a little unexpected. You'll find those that 0:16:30.840 --> 0:16:33.600 will say, wow, Okay, let's see this is an opportunity. 0:16:33.680 --> 0:16:36.640 Maybe maybe others are going to think this, think about 0:16:36.680 --> 0:16:38.560 this a little negatively. I'm gonna think positively and take 0:16:38.560 --> 0:16:42.440 advantage of it. Or I don't have this yardage, what 0:16:42.440 --> 0:16:44.920 what do I do? Or I didn't think about this angle? 0:16:45.760 --> 0:16:47.960 What am I going to do? We think that enhances 0:16:48.080 --> 0:16:51.120 the tests that the US Open provides. It's not just 0:16:51.160 --> 0:16:52.320 about length, it's not. 0:16:52.280 --> 0:16:53.520 Just about whole locations. 0:16:53.560 --> 0:16:58.320 It's about curving your ball left and right, up and down, 0:16:58.600 --> 0:17:00.640 and what happens to it when it's on the ground. 0:17:01.480 --> 0:17:04.920 And also the mental approach. Just you know, after you've 0:17:04.920 --> 0:17:07.560 made a couple of bog he's gathering yourself and making 0:17:07.560 --> 0:17:09.639 a couple of pars. Maybe not a birdie right away, 0:17:10.160 --> 0:17:12.440 not shooting at a at a flag stick or a 0:17:12.440 --> 0:17:17.400 whole location, but also maybe when you get that unexpected 0:17:18.240 --> 0:17:24.680 forward t it you manage it properly, and your emotions 0:17:24.720 --> 0:17:25.439 are a big part of that. 0:17:25.520 --> 0:17:27.840 We think that's that's an important part of the test. 0:17:28.080 --> 0:17:29.560 Yeah, I completely agree. 0:17:29.600 --> 0:17:31.600 I think you know, they and a lot of golf 0:17:31.680 --> 0:17:34.720 what we see it kind of has been reduced sometimes 0:17:34.760 --> 0:17:37.679 to an execution test, and it's so much more of 0:17:37.720 --> 0:17:40.360 a game, difficult of a game when when you have 0:17:40.400 --> 0:17:42.919 to think and the element of doubt comes in. I 0:17:42.920 --> 0:17:45.119 think like one of the great examples of the change 0:17:45.200 --> 0:17:49.119 tee was Jim Furi US Open years ago when they 0:17:49.160 --> 0:17:51.560 switched the te and they didn't know what the number 0:17:51.680 --> 0:17:53.359 was and he hit one of the worst shots of 0:17:54.160 --> 0:17:57.119 his tournament and one of the shots that cost him 0:17:57.119 --> 0:17:57.840 the championship. 0:17:57.920 --> 0:17:58.960 It did. I was there. 0:17:58.960 --> 0:18:03.360 It was two thousand and twelve at the Olympic Club 0:18:03.400 --> 0:18:07.399 and Jim was leading. Being area was quite a bit 0:18:07.480 --> 0:18:10.800 upfront again risk reward. I think some of the longer hitters. 0:18:10.840 --> 0:18:15.480 Could you know, if they if they hit a sweeping 0:18:15.480 --> 0:18:17.760 hook around the corner, could knock it on into and 0:18:17.800 --> 0:18:20.399 that's six hundred plus yard Part five. And you know, 0:18:20.520 --> 0:18:22.879 really given out, given players an opportunity to take a 0:18:22.920 --> 0:18:25.000 little bit of a risk if they wanted to, They 0:18:25.000 --> 0:18:27.080 didn't have to, could have laid back a little bit 0:18:27.119 --> 0:18:29.159 and maybe knock it on into and make up birdie 0:18:29.200 --> 0:18:31.760 late and late in the game and change the outcome 0:18:31.800 --> 0:18:34.880 of the championship perhaps or even make an eagle. And 0:18:35.760 --> 0:18:37.560 I think Jim was trying to hit that shot and 0:18:37.359 --> 0:18:39.880 just didn't. And I'll tell you what I know Jim 0:18:39.920 --> 0:18:42.960 Ferrick a little bit. I've had a numerous conversations with him. 0:18:43.000 --> 0:18:45.680 He's a pass champion of the US Open, and really 0:18:45.720 --> 0:18:49.800 admire his thinking. He is one of the steeliest competitors. 0:18:50.119 --> 0:18:53.119 He's a prototype US Open champion. He drives it in 0:18:53.160 --> 0:18:56.520 the fairway, he never gives up. He's an ultimate grinder. 0:18:57.160 --> 0:19:01.040 Refereed his group numerous times at the British Open. I'd 0:19:01.080 --> 0:19:04.199 have great admiration for Jim that I think it was 0:19:04.320 --> 0:19:07.800 just Jim taking a risk to knock it around the 0:19:07.800 --> 0:19:11.480 corner and unfortunately just didn't execute. It wasn't wasn't anything 0:19:11.520 --> 0:19:13.639 more than that. But but that's that's why we do 0:19:13.720 --> 0:19:16.640 what we do. We think that with the US Open 0:19:16.720 --> 0:19:20.080 doing those things, it's it's not an attempt to see 0:19:20.119 --> 0:19:22.960 players make bogey or double bogey. It's an attempt that 0:19:23.040 --> 0:19:25.159 when they do succeed, and those players that do hit 0:19:25.200 --> 0:19:26.560 it around the corner and knock it on and make 0:19:26.600 --> 0:19:31.280 eathl or birdy and do something like that, they've done 0:19:31.320 --> 0:19:35.720 something very special. They've achieved something. That is when when 0:19:35.760 --> 0:19:39.080 they when they hoist that trophy, they'd known they've done 0:19:39.160 --> 0:19:43.080 something amazing. It's like Tom Tom Watson says often. You know, 0:19:43.200 --> 0:19:46.680 my my dad said, boy, if you can win the 0:19:46.760 --> 0:19:49.240 National Open, you've really achieved something because you've wanted on 0:19:49.280 --> 0:19:50.320 the toughest tests. 0:19:50.080 --> 0:19:50.480 Of the year. 0:19:51.600 --> 0:19:55.040 I can remember quote Jeff Ogilvie, Uh I think it 0:19:55.119 --> 0:19:58.199 was might have been after his win at Wingfoot A 0:19:58.200 --> 0:20:01.280 couple of years later, he was asked in the media 0:20:01.320 --> 0:20:05.560 center after his round, how did you have fun shooting 0:20:05.600 --> 0:20:08.920 your sixty seven today? And Jets a real cerebral guy, 0:20:09.080 --> 0:20:12.399 and he thought for a minute and he said, I 0:20:12.440 --> 0:20:16.400 don't know if I would really describe what I did 0:20:16.440 --> 0:20:20.359 today as being fun because it's a grind. At the 0:20:20.400 --> 0:20:23.560 US Open, it's hard, but I've got I've got a 0:20:23.560 --> 0:20:25.920 great deal of satisfaction out of my round today. I 0:20:25.960 --> 0:20:28.960