1 00:00:00,400 --> 00:00:02,400 Speaker 1: The guys from PING. They've kind of showed me how 2 00:00:02,480 --> 00:00:05,120 Speaker 1: much the equipment matters. I just love that I can 3 00:00:05,200 --> 00:00:05,800 Speaker 1: hit any shot. 4 00:00:05,920 --> 00:00:07,520 Speaker 2: I kind of want we're gonna be able to tell 5 00:00:07,560 --> 00:00:09,560 Speaker 2: some fun stories about what goes on here to help 6 00:00:09,600 --> 00:00:10,640 Speaker 2: golfers play better golf. 7 00:00:11,280 --> 00:00:13,640 Speaker 3: Well, welcome to the first episode of the Ping Proving 8 00:00:13,680 --> 00:00:16,599 Speaker 3: Grounds Podcast. I'm Shane Bacon, joined by the vice president 9 00:00:16,640 --> 00:00:19,400 Speaker 3: of Fitting and Performance Marty Jertsen. You might have heard 10 00:00:19,440 --> 00:00:21,639 Speaker 3: the name. You might have to see him play and golf tournaments, 11 00:00:21,680 --> 00:00:24,239 Speaker 3: made cuts in major championships in his career, and he's 12 00:00:24,239 --> 00:00:25,840 Speaker 3: also built a whole bunch of golf clubs that you've 13 00:00:25,840 --> 00:00:27,960 Speaker 3: played over the years. But before we kind of get 14 00:00:27,960 --> 00:00:29,840 Speaker 3: into what we're going to talk about today, Marty, I 15 00:00:29,880 --> 00:00:31,480 Speaker 3: want to hear about you. I want to find out 16 00:00:31,640 --> 00:00:33,199 Speaker 3: a little bit more about you and how you got 17 00:00:33,200 --> 00:00:35,199 Speaker 3: into this business, how long you've been at PING, and 18 00:00:35,240 --> 00:00:36,400 Speaker 3: what you've done over your years. 19 00:00:36,920 --> 00:00:39,320 Speaker 2: Yeah, Shan, I feel like I'm in a very lucky 20 00:00:39,320 --> 00:00:42,640 Speaker 2: spot to combine what I'm passionate about along with my 21 00:00:42,760 --> 00:00:46,920 Speaker 2: technical skills. So I grew up in Arizona, Phoenix area. Yeah, 22 00:00:46,920 --> 00:00:49,720 Speaker 2: a little suburb globe, Arizona, Okay, a little small mining town, 23 00:00:49,920 --> 00:00:51,159 Speaker 2: and the fact that it was a mining town is 24 00:00:51,200 --> 00:00:54,040 Speaker 2: important because that's when I kind of learned about, you know, 25 00:00:54,160 --> 00:00:57,480 Speaker 2: copper mining and going back to the connection to ping, 26 00:00:58,240 --> 00:01:00,040 Speaker 2: we knew that from the supply chain, some of the 27 00:01:00,080 --> 00:01:02,680 Speaker 2: copper that was mine there went into brillium copper irons. 28 00:01:03,080 --> 00:01:05,240 Speaker 2: They wanted to playing irons out of globe. So I 29 00:01:05,240 --> 00:01:08,479 Speaker 2: grew up in that little small town love golf. Played golf, 30 00:01:08,600 --> 00:01:10,440 Speaker 2: kind of turned it into my only sport, you know 31 00:01:10,520 --> 00:01:13,640 Speaker 2: about high school timeframe, and I was always kind of 32 00:01:13,640 --> 00:01:15,679 Speaker 2: a tier below some of the best players that grew 33 00:01:15,720 --> 00:01:18,360 Speaker 2: up in Arizona, the Charlie Belgians and the chess reviews 34 00:01:18,400 --> 00:01:21,640 Speaker 2: of the world. So I was always just below them, 35 00:01:21,680 --> 00:01:24,000 Speaker 2: not quite good enough to play D one golf or 36 00:01:24,280 --> 00:01:26,319 Speaker 2: if I did, you know, they weren't too excited about me, 37 00:01:26,520 --> 00:01:29,319 Speaker 2: you know, study engineering. So I went to the Corraail 38 00:01:29,360 --> 00:01:32,720 Speaker 2: School of Mines, awesome school in Golden Colorado, played D 39 00:01:32,800 --> 00:01:36,360 Speaker 2: two golf and was able to ski and do engineering 40 00:01:36,480 --> 00:01:38,640 Speaker 2: and then got a little bit better at golf. 41 00:01:39,080 --> 00:01:41,000 Speaker 3: What year did you feel like you kind of switched 42 00:01:41,080 --> 00:01:42,600 Speaker 3: like it switched on for you in college. 43 00:01:42,680 --> 00:01:46,000 Speaker 2: Yeah, So I started school in ninety eight and then 44 00:01:46,120 --> 00:01:48,600 Speaker 2: year two thousand is when I kind of just got better. Okay, 45 00:01:48,600 --> 00:01:51,040 Speaker 2: you know, I was playing a lot of amateur tournaments 46 00:01:51,080 --> 00:01:54,000 Speaker 2: up there. I won the Colail Stadium, I played in 47 00:01:54,040 --> 00:01:57,120 Speaker 2: the USGA pub links that did chess, actually won out 48 00:01:57,160 --> 00:02:00,480 Speaker 2: of San Antonio, and that's where I was like, oh man. 49 00:02:00,520 --> 00:02:02,360 Speaker 2: And I was playing the Colorado Open one year and 50 00:02:02,800 --> 00:02:04,720 Speaker 2: one of my buddies was like, hey, what are you 51 00:02:04,720 --> 00:02:07,160 Speaker 2: gonna do when you graduate? You know, are you gonna 52 00:02:07,160 --> 00:02:08,720 Speaker 2: go work in an oil and gas job on an 53 00:02:08,760 --> 00:02:11,280 Speaker 2: oil rig like the rest of your guys or colleagues, 54 00:02:12,160 --> 00:02:14,720 Speaker 2: or this could be your office and we're staying this 55 00:02:14,720 --> 00:02:17,280 Speaker 2: beautiful course, sunning alp up in veil, and I'm like 56 00:02:17,600 --> 00:02:20,280 Speaker 2: that sounds pretty good. That was the moment I was like, 57 00:02:20,440 --> 00:02:22,799 Speaker 2: maybe I should try playing professional golf. And that kind 58 00:02:22,800 --> 00:02:25,960 Speaker 2: of made my decision literally right there, or remember being 59 00:02:26,000 --> 00:02:27,280 Speaker 2: on that range. I made that call. 60 00:02:27,560 --> 00:02:29,880 Speaker 3: So you get in, I mean, you go try to play, yep, 61 00:02:29,919 --> 00:02:31,280 Speaker 3: and how many years did you try to play? 62 00:02:31,600 --> 00:02:33,400 Speaker 2: Not that long? And I think I was wise for 63 00:02:33,440 --> 00:02:33,800 Speaker 2: doing that. 64 00:02:33,880 --> 00:02:37,400 Speaker 3: I have a similar story in terms of my many 65 00:02:37,400 --> 00:02:40,799 Speaker 3: tour golf experiences, but my first ever Mini tour round, 66 00:02:40,840 --> 00:02:43,560 Speaker 3: I shot sixty eight. I finished Birdie Birdie here in Phoenix, 67 00:02:44,040 --> 00:02:45,640 Speaker 3: and I was in like thirty eighth place I shot 68 00:02:45,680 --> 00:02:47,880 Speaker 3: sixty eight. I was like on Cloud one hundred, you know, 69 00:02:48,040 --> 00:02:50,120 Speaker 3: and you go, oh, I'm five back. Okay, maybe this 70 00:02:50,160 --> 00:02:51,480 Speaker 3: isn't what I'm what I should be doing. 71 00:02:51,480 --> 00:02:54,200 Speaker 2: Welcome to the Gateway Tour. You know. I did Monday 72 00:02:54,240 --> 00:02:56,000 Speaker 2: into my very first I think it was a buy 73 00:02:56,080 --> 00:02:58,720 Speaker 2: dot Com time, you know, corn Fair event today, and 74 00:02:58,800 --> 00:03:00,480 Speaker 2: I was like, oh man, this is going to be easy. 75 00:03:00,520 --> 00:03:02,120 Speaker 2: I got this thing made. But I went to Q 76 00:03:02,280 --> 00:03:04,560 Speaker 2: school and I just kind of petered out, you know, 77 00:03:04,840 --> 00:03:06,960 Speaker 2: too much pressure on myself and all that stuff. And 78 00:03:07,280 --> 00:03:10,040 Speaker 2: I made the call right away to quote unquote retire 79 00:03:10,760 --> 00:03:12,880 Speaker 2: from trying to chase the game professionally as my full 80 00:03:12,880 --> 00:03:15,400 Speaker 2: time deal. And then I started working at Pining kind 81 00:03:15,400 --> 00:03:17,680 Speaker 2: of part time work in manufacturing, and kind of through 82 00:03:17,680 --> 00:03:19,920 Speaker 2: a friend of a friend, got in got in the door. 83 00:03:20,000 --> 00:03:20,760 Speaker 1: What year is this? 84 00:03:20,760 --> 00:03:22,799 Speaker 2: This around two thousand and three, okay, so kind of 85 00:03:22,800 --> 00:03:25,079 Speaker 2: got in the door. And when I decided to hang 86 00:03:25,120 --> 00:03:27,400 Speaker 2: it up from playing full time, which was which was quick, 87 00:03:28,160 --> 00:03:30,440 Speaker 2: I started. I moved into the design group here and 88 00:03:30,480 --> 00:03:33,400 Speaker 2: started shadowing under some of the other engineers and kind 89 00:03:33,400 --> 00:03:35,200 Speaker 2: of learning the trade, you know, and that's how we 90 00:03:35,240 --> 00:03:37,840 Speaker 2: bring on new engineers. Now, it's kind of this apprenticeship 91 00:03:37,880 --> 00:03:41,280 Speaker 2: model of studying under some of the more senior designers. 92 00:03:41,600 --> 00:03:45,000 Speaker 3: So when did you feel like you had this let's 93 00:03:45,000 --> 00:03:47,520 Speaker 3: call it a vision of building golf clubs, because I mean, 94 00:03:47,560 --> 00:03:49,440 Speaker 3: I know, you start off on a certain level and 95 00:03:49,480 --> 00:03:51,800 Speaker 3: you're trying to work your way up, but not everybody's 96 00:03:51,840 --> 00:03:53,800 Speaker 3: going to be able to kind of think their way 97 00:03:53,840 --> 00:03:57,560 Speaker 3: through that business and actually kind of conceptualize golf clubs 98 00:03:57,600 --> 00:03:59,480 Speaker 3: in general. How did that begin for you? 99 00:03:59,720 --> 00:04:02,480 Speaker 2: Yeah? It wasn't like I went to college thinking, oh, right, 100 00:04:02,640 --> 00:04:05,120 Speaker 2: be a golf club designer. I was kind of intimidated 101 00:04:05,160 --> 00:04:07,560 Speaker 2: by how do you even get in the industry? I mean, 102 00:04:08,040 --> 00:04:09,720 Speaker 2: and I knew the industry and the grand scheme of 103 00:04:09,760 --> 00:04:12,760 Speaker 2: things is relatively small compared to the oil and gas 104 00:04:12,840 --> 00:04:16,080 Speaker 2: or automotive or aerospace where most you know, mechanical engineers go. 105 00:04:16,240 --> 00:04:18,640 Speaker 2: So you know, I kind of got lucky, you know, 106 00:04:18,720 --> 00:04:21,480 Speaker 2: and then once I got in the door here, there 107 00:04:21,520 --> 00:04:24,560 Speaker 2: was so much opportunity your colleagues that, you know, like 108 00:04:24,600 --> 00:04:28,000 Speaker 2: that's where the curiosity about making golf clothes better really 109 00:04:28,000 --> 00:04:31,600 Speaker 2: flourished is being in this environment. Being inside, you know, 110 00:04:32,440 --> 00:04:35,640 Speaker 2: is where it is really where you know, for me, 111 00:04:36,040 --> 00:04:38,880 Speaker 2: I've flourished and being able to ask questions or explore 112 00:04:39,200 --> 00:04:40,800 Speaker 2: a certain area I was curious about. 113 00:04:41,120 --> 00:04:44,160 Speaker 3: It's it's wild walking around the grounds here at pain 114 00:04:44,320 --> 00:04:46,440 Speaker 3: because you run into somebody that's been here for thirty 115 00:04:46,520 --> 00:04:50,080 Speaker 3: nine years, and nineteen years and fifteen years and forty 116 00:04:50,160 --> 00:04:53,760 Speaker 3: years in some cases. It's that environment that kind of 117 00:04:53,880 --> 00:04:55,960 Speaker 3: lends itself to people wanting to stay around. 118 00:04:56,440 --> 00:04:58,680 Speaker 2: Yeah. I think the culture is awesome here, you know, 119 00:04:58,720 --> 00:05:00,520 Speaker 2: and I think you, Shane, you're going to since that, 120 00:05:00,640 --> 00:05:02,960 Speaker 2: you know, spending time here, being around here, meeting employees, 121 00:05:03,000 --> 00:05:06,719 Speaker 2: whether it's in production, whether it's in engineering, whether it's administrative, marketing, 122 00:05:06,800 --> 00:05:10,599 Speaker 2: what have you. It's it's that culture and it's not 123 00:05:10,680 --> 00:05:13,360 Speaker 2: we're not rested on, you know, things we've done in 124 00:05:13,360 --> 00:05:16,000 Speaker 2: the past where we're loyal to our heritage, we know 125 00:05:16,040 --> 00:05:18,279 Speaker 2: what God is here, we know our core principles, but 126 00:05:18,320 --> 00:05:20,920 Speaker 2: we're not afraid to take chances, try things that are 127 00:05:20,960 --> 00:05:23,200 Speaker 2: going to fail. And that's that's exactly what we do 128 00:05:23,279 --> 00:05:25,799 Speaker 2: here on the proving grounds, which is where we're sitting today. 129 00:05:26,720 --> 00:05:29,680 Speaker 3: And you continue to play and you're still very good. 130 00:05:30,000 --> 00:05:31,160 Speaker 3: And how old are you now? 131 00:05:31,279 --> 00:05:33,440 Speaker 2: Yeah? Forty two? You're forty two? Have you? 132 00:05:33,520 --> 00:05:35,960 Speaker 3: I know, once you turn thirty, just lose track of 133 00:05:36,000 --> 00:05:37,719 Speaker 3: what age you are well, And that's I mean, I 134 00:05:37,720 --> 00:05:40,000 Speaker 3: get confused. I've been off by two years at times before, 135 00:05:40,040 --> 00:05:43,279 Speaker 3: which is very sad. You still play and you're still 136 00:05:43,360 --> 00:05:46,080 Speaker 3: very competitive, and you played in multiple major championships, You've 137 00:05:46,080 --> 00:05:47,920 Speaker 3: made a cut in a major champions You've played in 138 00:05:47,960 --> 00:05:50,200 Speaker 3: PGA Tour events. Are you better now at your age 139 00:05:50,200 --> 00:05:52,440 Speaker 3: than maybe you were it twenty one twenty two? Trying 140 00:05:52,440 --> 00:05:52,880 Speaker 3: to chase it? 141 00:05:53,120 --> 00:05:56,039 Speaker 2: Definitely? And I think, yeah, I think about that a lot, 142 00:05:56,080 --> 00:05:58,239 Speaker 2: like why am I better now? I got a family, 143 00:05:58,400 --> 00:06:01,279 Speaker 2: I work forty plus hours a week and all these things, and. 144 00:06:01,200 --> 00:06:03,200 Speaker 1: Your boss is near, say sixty hours, it's. 145 00:06:03,080 --> 00:06:05,680 Speaker 2: Sixty seventy eighty hours a week. I have done that 146 00:06:05,680 --> 00:06:07,720 Speaker 2: at times. You got a big design deadline, you got 147 00:06:07,800 --> 00:06:09,760 Speaker 2: to you gotta ramp it up a little bit. But 148 00:06:10,040 --> 00:06:14,080 Speaker 2: I'm just way more efficient with my practice, my training. Obviously, 149 00:06:14,160 --> 00:06:16,400 Speaker 2: I have access to some knowledge here that we're going 150 00:06:16,480 --> 00:06:18,640 Speaker 2: to share on this pod, so that to the everyday 151 00:06:18,680 --> 00:06:20,720 Speaker 2: golfer of some things that can be helpful from a 152 00:06:20,760 --> 00:06:25,200 Speaker 2: performance equipment training, when green reading, what have you. I 153 00:06:25,400 --> 00:06:28,440 Speaker 2: just have embraced like just trying to learn more about 154 00:06:28,440 --> 00:06:31,240 Speaker 2: this sport, every single aspect, every aspect of it, whether 155 00:06:31,279 --> 00:06:36,280 Speaker 2: it's design, training, fitness, equipment, strategy, stats, And I've tried 156 00:06:36,320 --> 00:06:38,080 Speaker 2: to just kind of it's kind of like compound interest. 157 00:06:38,200 --> 00:06:39,720 Speaker 2: You know, over all that time you just kind of 158 00:06:39,720 --> 00:06:42,359 Speaker 2: added up. And even though I'm practicing less than ever, 159 00:06:42,680 --> 00:06:44,960 Speaker 2: I am probably you know, still better than I've ever been. 160 00:06:45,040 --> 00:06:46,960 Speaker 3: Yeah, find an efficiency when you do have the time 161 00:06:47,000 --> 00:06:48,719 Speaker 3: away from the kids, in away from work to actually 162 00:06:48,760 --> 00:06:50,840 Speaker 3: spend forty five minutes on the driving range doing something 163 00:06:50,880 --> 00:06:52,960 Speaker 3: that's actually got to be effective because we've all spent 164 00:06:53,040 --> 00:06:54,520 Speaker 3: you know, spent two hours on the range. You have 165 00:06:54,520 --> 00:06:56,160 Speaker 3: absolutely no idea what you did those two hours. 166 00:06:56,240 --> 00:06:58,480 Speaker 2: Yes, what are you doing? Actually having too much time 167 00:06:58,600 --> 00:07:00,400 Speaker 2: is a bad thing, you know. I think you can 168 00:07:00,440 --> 00:07:01,320 Speaker 2: get better with less time. 169 00:07:01,360 --> 00:07:04,120 Speaker 3: Yeah, that whole perfect practice makes perfect in general. So 170 00:07:04,640 --> 00:07:06,040 Speaker 3: for people that don't know me, I mean, I've been 171 00:07:06,040 --> 00:07:09,040 Speaker 3: in the media world. I've worked a lot of golf 172 00:07:09,120 --> 00:07:11,880 Speaker 3: jobs in my life. I mean I've I've picked the 173 00:07:12,000 --> 00:07:13,400 Speaker 3: range in East Texas. 174 00:07:13,400 --> 00:07:14,080 Speaker 1: Back in the day, I. 175 00:07:14,040 --> 00:07:17,000 Speaker 3: Watched golf carts. I've worked in a pro shop, I've 176 00:07:17,000 --> 00:07:21,440 Speaker 3: been outside service, I've i caddied both professionally. I caddied 177 00:07:21,440 --> 00:07:24,000 Speaker 3: for SMELLPJ friends of mine. My first ever caddy job 178 00:07:24,040 --> 00:07:26,360 Speaker 3: was here in Phoenix at Papago. We made the cut, 179 00:07:26,400 --> 00:07:27,880 Speaker 3: by the way, it was a very very good moment. 180 00:07:27,880 --> 00:07:30,560 Speaker 3: And out of college, cadid at Saint Andrew's. But yeah, 181 00:07:30,640 --> 00:07:33,280 Speaker 3: my journey has always been kind of my adult journey 182 00:07:33,640 --> 00:07:34,840 Speaker 3: has been in and around golf. 183 00:07:34,880 --> 00:07:36,880 Speaker 1: I mean my whole life. I was a writer out 184 00:07:36,880 --> 00:07:37,280 Speaker 1: of college. 185 00:07:37,280 --> 00:07:38,880 Speaker 3: I wrote for the student newspaper in two Soon I 186 00:07:38,880 --> 00:07:41,360 Speaker 3: went to University of Arizona, tried to play, as I mentioned, 187 00:07:41,760 --> 00:07:44,560 Speaker 3: did Gateway Tour, got my amateur status back as I 188 00:07:44,600 --> 00:07:47,440 Speaker 3: learned very very quickly that professional golf is very very hard, 189 00:07:47,600 --> 00:07:49,640 Speaker 3: and you've got to shoot low scores all the time. 190 00:07:49,680 --> 00:07:51,280 Speaker 3: You can't go out there and shoot sixty five once 191 00:07:51,280 --> 00:07:52,640 Speaker 3: in a while. You've got to shoot a lot of 192 00:07:52,640 --> 00:07:55,320 Speaker 3: sixty fives. And so got into the media space, was 193 00:07:55,360 --> 00:07:57,400 Speaker 3: a writer, and then kind of got into the TV side, 194 00:07:57,440 --> 00:07:59,600 Speaker 3: And yeah, I mean been podcasting and doing these types 195 00:07:59,600 --> 00:08:01,760 Speaker 3: of things over the last few years, and very very 196 00:08:01,760 --> 00:08:03,760 Speaker 3: excited to be a part of the Ping family with 197 00:08:03,840 --> 00:08:06,160 Speaker 3: the Proving Grounds podcast and our kind of you know, 198 00:08:06,160 --> 00:08:08,080 Speaker 3: our ability and our goal here is to share as 199 00:08:08,120 --> 00:08:11,800 Speaker 3: much information as we can with people listening, because golf 200 00:08:11,840 --> 00:08:14,240 Speaker 3: can be hard to understand, not just in terms of 201 00:08:14,280 --> 00:08:17,480 Speaker 3: playing it, but how fast it's growing and how much 202 00:08:17,880 --> 00:08:20,600 Speaker 3: information and technology is involved in and around the game, 203 00:08:20,800 --> 00:08:22,880 Speaker 3: and trying to simplify that is a very hard thing 204 00:08:23,240 --> 00:08:25,440 Speaker 3: to do for people that are at home going wait, 205 00:08:25,480 --> 00:08:27,120 Speaker 3: what does all this mean? And what are you guys 206 00:08:27,120 --> 00:08:29,320 Speaker 3: talking about. I'm just trying to find a good driver exactly. 207 00:08:29,400 --> 00:08:31,640 Speaker 2: Yeah. I think it's making the complex simple because our 208 00:08:31,640 --> 00:08:34,920 Speaker 2: products got more complex, got more nuanced, we're more targeted 209 00:08:34,920 --> 00:08:37,920 Speaker 2: who we're designing for. But I think you hit the 210 00:08:37,960 --> 00:08:40,560 Speaker 2: nail on the headshand we how do we simplify that message? 211 00:08:40,600 --> 00:08:42,360 Speaker 2: And we're gonna be able to tell some fun stories 212 00:08:42,400 --> 00:08:44,880 Speaker 2: about what goes on here to help golfers play better golf. 213 00:08:44,960 --> 00:08:47,320 Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, we're gonna tell stories. We'll interview players. 214 00:08:47,679 --> 00:08:49,600 Speaker 3: We'll have some interviews coming up very soon with some 215 00:08:49,640 --> 00:08:51,880 Speaker 3: of the players and asking them their journey not just 216 00:08:51,880 --> 00:08:53,840 Speaker 3: through golf, but kind of in their experiences with ping 217 00:08:54,080 --> 00:08:56,200 Speaker 3: and how it's gone and you know, things we've learned, 218 00:08:56,200 --> 00:08:58,320 Speaker 3: and golf clubs they've used, and maybe things that have 219 00:08:58,400 --> 00:09:00,960 Speaker 3: changed in their game simply by proving things here on 220 00:09:01,000 --> 00:09:02,800 Speaker 3: the grounds. And that's something I wanted to ask you. 221 00:09:02,800 --> 00:09:04,960 Speaker 3: You hear the turn proving grounds and obviously you see 222 00:09:04,960 --> 00:09:05,679 Speaker 3: it on the podcast. 223 00:09:05,760 --> 00:09:06,880 Speaker 1: What does that mean here at Ping? 224 00:09:07,120 --> 00:09:09,320 Speaker 2: Yeah, so proving grounds is exactly where we're sitting today. 225 00:09:09,320 --> 00:09:11,000 Speaker 2: So we're sitting on the test field. This is our 226 00:09:11,080 --> 00:09:14,040 Speaker 2: driving range. We've evolved this a lot over the years. 227 00:09:14,160 --> 00:09:17,600 Speaker 2: I think the early days we had ultrasonic sensors out 228 00:09:17,640 --> 00:09:20,040 Speaker 2: on the range that measured where the balls were landing. 229 00:09:20,040 --> 00:09:21,960 Speaker 2: We have weather stations you can see right over there 230 00:09:22,000 --> 00:09:25,520 Speaker 2: as an antonometer, real time weather station. We're collecting tons 231 00:09:25,600 --> 00:09:28,080 Speaker 2: of data all the time. I think we look over there, 232 00:09:28,080 --> 00:09:29,800 Speaker 2: we have our player test going on. So if you're 233 00:09:29,800 --> 00:09:33,199 Speaker 2: an employee at Ping, you get scheduled on your outlook calendar, 234 00:09:33,280 --> 00:09:35,320 Speaker 2: show up at the range at eleven o'clock. You better 235 00:09:35,360 --> 00:09:37,920 Speaker 2: not be late, get warmed up, bring your golf shoes, 236 00:09:38,160 --> 00:09:40,600 Speaker 2: and we focus you in on a specific test design. 237 00:09:40,720 --> 00:09:43,320 Speaker 2: Right That's where we validate our new product designs over there, 238 00:09:43,400 --> 00:09:45,760 Speaker 2: so we runt tons of player testing. We have decades 239 00:09:45,840 --> 00:09:49,520 Speaker 2: worth of data from player testing, and it's everything we 240 00:09:49,600 --> 00:09:51,280 Speaker 2: do on the R and D side as well. So 241 00:09:51,320 --> 00:09:53,960 Speaker 2: we have our ping putting lab that we use not 242 00:09:54,000 --> 00:09:56,720 Speaker 2: only to fit players from a putting standpoint, but we 243 00:09:56,800 --> 00:09:58,120 Speaker 2: run a lot of tests in there. We have a 244 00:09:58,120 --> 00:10:01,679 Speaker 2: putting robot in there covers our robot like our ping 245 00:10:01,760 --> 00:10:04,360 Speaker 2: man robot. And we have the bay there. We call 246 00:10:04,440 --> 00:10:07,720 Speaker 2: that kind of the flight in collision depot. Okay, so 247 00:10:07,800 --> 00:10:10,720 Speaker 2: that's where we can hit golf. We can hit balls 248 00:10:10,720 --> 00:10:15,120 Speaker 2: on our robot to validate our new product designs. We 249 00:10:15,200 --> 00:10:17,400 Speaker 2: have a machine you took a look at it called 250 00:10:17,400 --> 00:10:20,200 Speaker 2: the sling Man, so that we can use that to 251 00:10:20,240 --> 00:10:23,480 Speaker 2: test aerodynamics of golf balls, right, which is really fun. 252 00:10:24,240 --> 00:10:26,920 Speaker 2: And the and our our ding Man, which is our 253 00:10:27,000 --> 00:10:30,280 Speaker 2: durability machine, is where we make sure our products durable. 254 00:10:30,440 --> 00:10:30,600 Speaker 1: Right. 255 00:10:30,920 --> 00:10:33,120 Speaker 2: So all of these little pieces kind of go into 256 00:10:33,200 --> 00:10:35,120 Speaker 2: the proving grounds. We have the Gold Putter Vault. 257 00:10:35,720 --> 00:10:35,840 Speaker 1: Uh. 258 00:10:36,040 --> 00:10:38,240 Speaker 2: We have ping works where we build all of our 259 00:10:38,240 --> 00:10:41,400 Speaker 2: tour players equipment uh in Ping works in our R 260 00:10:41,440 --> 00:10:44,280 Speaker 2: and D area. So all that umbrella here is where 261 00:10:44,280 --> 00:10:46,640 Speaker 2: we're sitting. So is where we test and develop new 262 00:10:46,679 --> 00:10:49,679 Speaker 2: product We test and develop new fitting tools. Where we 263 00:10:49,760 --> 00:10:52,480 Speaker 2: test and fit with our tour players, and we try 264 00:10:52,520 --> 00:10:55,320 Speaker 2: things out, we prove them. We're not afraid to fail here, 265 00:10:55,760 --> 00:10:58,040 Speaker 2: and we have a culture of learning and that keeps 266 00:10:58,160 --> 00:10:59,360 Speaker 2: driving the innovations. 267 00:10:59,679 --> 00:11:01,600 Speaker 3: Marty, you mentioned tour players a couple times, but I 268 00:11:01,600 --> 00:11:03,559 Speaker 3: mean the average golfer is not a tour player, and 269 00:11:03,760 --> 00:11:05,920 Speaker 3: PING is speaking to the average golfer more than it 270 00:11:06,000 --> 00:11:08,360 Speaker 3: is somebody that can play like Victor Hovelin. When you 271 00:11:08,360 --> 00:11:10,280 Speaker 3: guys have employees come through and you're testing out in 272 00:11:10,320 --> 00:11:12,840 Speaker 3: new equipment, how important is it to get a five 273 00:11:12,880 --> 00:11:15,559 Speaker 3: handicap and a handicap and a fifteen handicap here on 274 00:11:15,600 --> 00:11:17,720 Speaker 3: the proving grounds to hit some golf shots and see 275 00:11:17,720 --> 00:11:20,640 Speaker 3: what a regular in theory golfer looks like versus maybe 276 00:11:20,800 --> 00:11:21,440 Speaker 3: a tour player. 277 00:11:21,520 --> 00:11:23,920 Speaker 2: Yeah, Shane, that's crucial. Like for example, I mean, what 278 00:11:23,920 --> 00:11:26,360 Speaker 2: would the point of Victor Hoblin hitting? Are our lightweight 279 00:11:26,440 --> 00:11:29,640 Speaker 2: SFT driver? Right? We have to get the golfer archetype 280 00:11:29,760 --> 00:11:32,680 Speaker 2: that's going to fit into that product. And we have 281 00:11:32,800 --> 00:11:36,040 Speaker 2: the entire spectrum of skills and handicaps that are employees 282 00:11:36,040 --> 00:11:38,520 Speaker 2: here at PING. You know the eight hundred plus employees. 283 00:11:38,920 --> 00:11:41,920 Speaker 2: We know different handicap groups. We have them all measured 284 00:11:41,920 --> 00:11:44,439 Speaker 2: in our three D motion capture system. We know people 285 00:11:44,440 --> 00:11:46,120 Speaker 2: who are over the top and they're not even going 286 00:11:46,200 --> 00:11:47,840 Speaker 2: to work on it and try to fix it. So 287 00:11:47,920 --> 00:11:51,360 Speaker 2: if we're developing a product targeted for them, we can 288 00:11:51,480 --> 00:11:53,640 Speaker 2: cherry pick that group of golfers, get them down the 289 00:11:53,720 --> 00:11:56,440 Speaker 2: range and prove it with them. Make sure make sure 290 00:11:56,520 --> 00:11:59,800 Speaker 2: the product that we're designing for meets the requirements and 291 00:11:59,880 --> 00:12:02,080 Speaker 2: is going to be better than its precessor. 292 00:12:01,679 --> 00:12:03,520 Speaker 1: There's history involved here. 293 00:12:03,600 --> 00:12:05,640 Speaker 3: I mean, it's twenty twenty three and you're looking at 294 00:12:05,720 --> 00:12:08,679 Speaker 3: very very new equipment and drivers that you know, if 295 00:12:08,720 --> 00:12:10,760 Speaker 3: you looked at it in nineteen eighty people would have 296 00:12:10,800 --> 00:12:13,560 Speaker 3: like blown their minds seeing some of the new equipment. 297 00:12:13,600 --> 00:12:15,400 Speaker 3: But I mean it's been a big part of the 298 00:12:15,480 --> 00:12:18,080 Speaker 3: history of ping here in terms of fitting players for 299 00:12:18,160 --> 00:12:20,680 Speaker 3: exactly what they need. And that's really the essence of 300 00:12:20,679 --> 00:12:21,680 Speaker 3: what this company has been about. 301 00:12:21,960 --> 00:12:25,120 Speaker 2: Yeah. Absolutely, it's that marriage of great designs in a 302 00:12:25,240 --> 00:12:30,040 Speaker 2: perfect fitting. Right. It's almost like you know a ven diagram, right, 303 00:12:30,080 --> 00:12:32,360 Speaker 2: you got great designs and then you have great fitting 304 00:12:32,480 --> 00:12:34,880 Speaker 2: where you can play your best golf is where you 305 00:12:34,920 --> 00:12:35,520 Speaker 2: marry those two. 306 00:12:35,520 --> 00:12:36,959 Speaker 1: You guys want to live in that in that overlap. 307 00:12:37,040 --> 00:12:39,360 Speaker 2: Yeah, you want to marry that together. And that's what 308 00:12:39,679 --> 00:12:41,600 Speaker 2: we want every golfer to have access. 309 00:12:41,280 --> 00:12:45,360 Speaker 3: To tell me about the story about this place because 310 00:12:45,360 --> 00:12:47,200 Speaker 3: you look around here and you see a range, and 311 00:12:47,240 --> 00:12:49,439 Speaker 3: you see a lab, and you see all of this stuff, 312 00:12:49,720 --> 00:12:52,199 Speaker 3: and it seems like it's just continually expanded because this 313 00:12:52,240 --> 00:12:54,280 Speaker 3: is where you know, what, are we two hundred yards 314 00:12:54,280 --> 00:12:57,920 Speaker 3: away from the first ever building? How has this expanded 315 00:12:57,920 --> 00:12:58,640 Speaker 3: in your time here? 316 00:12:58,880 --> 00:13:01,480 Speaker 2: Yeah? Just a lot of time, technology, a lot of technology. 317 00:13:01,559 --> 00:13:03,120 Speaker 2: I mean, I think we're looking at a brand new 318 00:13:03,200 --> 00:13:04,800 Speaker 2: short game area that we just built a couple of 319 00:13:04,880 --> 00:13:07,000 Speaker 2: years ago. So that's brand new, and we want to 320 00:13:07,040 --> 00:13:09,760 Speaker 2: have an area that we could prove our wedges to 321 00:13:09,880 --> 00:13:13,679 Speaker 2: develop a game like fitting protocol that we have people 322 00:13:13,840 --> 00:13:17,720 Speaker 2: folks evaluate their shortcame right. So we're constantly upgrading the 323 00:13:17,720 --> 00:13:22,400 Speaker 2: facility and the technology. The putting lab was not even 324 00:13:22,440 --> 00:13:24,600 Speaker 2: built when I started here, right, So we developed the 325 00:13:24,600 --> 00:13:29,920 Speaker 2: putting lab. Camera technology, we've added launch monitors have come 326 00:13:29,960 --> 00:13:33,360 Speaker 2: a long way since we first started kind of developing 327 00:13:33,400 --> 00:13:36,520 Speaker 2: product and advancing all the technology that's at the proving grounds. 328 00:13:36,520 --> 00:13:41,160 Speaker 2: So we're constantly upgrading the facility. Technology is always advancing 329 00:13:41,520 --> 00:13:43,720 Speaker 2: our three d motion capture system is only about a 330 00:13:43,760 --> 00:13:46,600 Speaker 2: decade old, and we've used that to generate a ton 331 00:13:46,679 --> 00:13:49,880 Speaker 2: of insights. But with that we've had to have new 332 00:13:49,920 --> 00:13:53,200 Speaker 2: skill sets of employees. I think the people is what 333 00:13:53,320 --> 00:13:55,200 Speaker 2: makes the difference here at the proving grounds and with 334 00:13:55,280 --> 00:14:00,000 Speaker 2: our company. We've developed this culture where the people are cure. 335 00:14:00,679 --> 00:14:02,679 Speaker 2: You come in, you go play golf on the weekend, 336 00:14:03,720 --> 00:14:07,160 Speaker 2: you have a frustration with a certain issue, you come 337 00:14:07,160 --> 00:14:10,080 Speaker 2: into the office on Monday morning, and you're motivated to 338 00:14:10,120 --> 00:14:12,360 Speaker 2: go solve that problem, right, And that's the culture here. 339 00:14:12,400 --> 00:14:14,320 Speaker 3: It's interesting because we've talked to a lot of employees 340 00:14:14,320 --> 00:14:16,400 Speaker 3: over the last couple days in terms of that mix, 341 00:14:16,520 --> 00:14:20,080 Speaker 3: because you want to have a plus handicap golfer that 342 00:14:20,320 --> 00:14:22,320 Speaker 3: has played at the highest level, and you also want 343 00:14:22,360 --> 00:14:24,160 Speaker 3: to have people that don't play golf at all, and 344 00:14:24,200 --> 00:14:26,600 Speaker 3: you want to mix that in terms of what you're 345 00:14:26,600 --> 00:14:29,040 Speaker 3: going to get out of the best possible employees. 346 00:14:29,400 --> 00:14:29,920 Speaker 1: Is that mix. 347 00:14:29,960 --> 00:14:33,200 Speaker 3: You talk about a ven diagram of really two different camps. 348 00:14:33,280 --> 00:14:35,080 Speaker 3: And so you're going to go out and play golf 349 00:14:35,080 --> 00:14:37,320 Speaker 3: on Saturday and you come back on Monday and go 350 00:14:37,800 --> 00:14:40,240 Speaker 3: this ball, did this weird thing off the face of 351 00:14:40,240 --> 00:14:40,680 Speaker 3: my club? 352 00:14:40,960 --> 00:14:42,040 Speaker 1: Let's figure out why. 353 00:14:42,480 --> 00:14:44,320 Speaker 3: And you can lean on people that don't understand what 354 00:14:44,360 --> 00:14:46,560 Speaker 3: a flyer is and don't understand what hitting a golf 355 00:14:46,560 --> 00:14:49,720 Speaker 3: shot fat is, but they understand the science behind what 356 00:14:49,760 --> 00:14:50,480 Speaker 3: you're talking about. 357 00:14:50,560 --> 00:14:53,280 Speaker 2: Yeah, we have some great meetings where we have synergy. 358 00:14:55,080 --> 00:15:00,360 Speaker 2: Some of our funnest meetings are PhDs literally, you know, 359 00:15:00,720 --> 00:15:05,840 Speaker 2: aeronautical engineers PhDs and astrophysicists that are in a room 360 00:15:06,160 --> 00:15:08,520 Speaker 2: with folks like me. I'm an engineer too, but I'm like, 361 00:15:08,640 --> 00:15:11,800 Speaker 2: I'm bringing in my golfer perspective, right, and the conversations 362 00:15:11,800 --> 00:15:15,240 Speaker 2: we have are so healthy that they can take a 363 00:15:15,280 --> 00:15:17,000 Speaker 2: look at it from a very what's called a first 364 00:15:17,040 --> 00:15:19,640 Speaker 2: principle standpoint, like what is the physics of what's going 365 00:15:19,680 --> 00:15:21,760 Speaker 2: on here? How can we get down to that? Having 366 00:15:21,760 --> 00:15:23,840 Speaker 2: that level of understanding, then you got me on the 367 00:15:23,840 --> 00:15:26,160 Speaker 2: other end, wearing my golf hat where I'm like, hey, 368 00:15:26,280 --> 00:15:28,480 Speaker 2: I don't know why it happened, but let's figure it out. 369 00:15:28,640 --> 00:15:30,280 Speaker 2: If this happens a lot, right, you know, and this 370 00:15:30,840 --> 00:15:32,200 Speaker 2: is a big problem for the golfer. 371 00:15:32,680 --> 00:15:35,320 Speaker 3: What are we trying to accomplish with this podcast? In 372 00:15:35,360 --> 00:15:37,360 Speaker 3: your mind, what is the point of this and what 373 00:15:37,360 --> 00:15:38,880 Speaker 3: are you hoping that the listeners get out of this. 374 00:15:39,040 --> 00:15:42,160 Speaker 2: Yeah, I would love to empower the listener, educate them 375 00:15:42,160 --> 00:15:44,160 Speaker 2: on what goes on at the proving grounds, and help 376 00:15:44,320 --> 00:15:47,200 Speaker 2: empower them on what's important for them to go look 377 00:15:47,200 --> 00:15:49,680 Speaker 2: at when they're evaluating new equipment. Right, And I think, 378 00:15:49,760 --> 00:15:51,960 Speaker 2: Shane you said it really goes make the complex simple, 379 00:15:52,160 --> 00:15:55,160 Speaker 2: don't be intimidated by the fitting process. Give them some 380 00:15:55,360 --> 00:15:58,280 Speaker 2: very important insights. What do you look for when you're 381 00:15:58,320 --> 00:16:01,000 Speaker 2: going to evaluate new equipment? And then understand some of 382 00:16:01,040 --> 00:16:03,920 Speaker 2: the cool you know, tools and technologies, get some really 383 00:16:03,960 --> 00:16:08,000 Speaker 2: fun stories of how we solve those golf problems, like 384 00:16:08,040 --> 00:16:10,880 Speaker 2: what's the engineering insight and then how do you evaluate 385 00:16:10,920 --> 00:16:13,880 Speaker 2: that in the fitting process, and you know everything in 386 00:16:13,880 --> 00:16:16,880 Speaker 2: between learning from our tour players and being able to 387 00:16:16,920 --> 00:16:20,640 Speaker 2: interview some experts in some key areas and go deep 388 00:16:20,680 --> 00:16:22,360 Speaker 2: on a few topics. I think we're gonna go We're 389 00:16:22,360 --> 00:16:25,360 Speaker 2: gonna have fun going deep on some physics topics. 390 00:16:25,680 --> 00:16:27,800 Speaker 3: Some personal questions for you. You've been around for a while, 391 00:16:28,440 --> 00:16:32,440 Speaker 3: what's your single favorite ping club ever made? And you can't, 392 00:16:32,440 --> 00:16:34,920 Speaker 3: I mean, you can say the latest stuff, but I'd 393 00:16:34,960 --> 00:16:36,480 Speaker 3: like you to get a little deeper in this history. 394 00:16:36,520 --> 00:16:37,240 Speaker 1: You know what I'm saying. 395 00:16:37,720 --> 00:16:40,440 Speaker 2: I so I kind of trust my instinct on this one. 396 00:16:40,480 --> 00:16:43,600 Speaker 2: I would say the answer putter, okay, because it's the 397 00:16:43,640 --> 00:16:46,040 Speaker 2: most copy putter in golf, and it put us on 398 00:16:46,080 --> 00:16:48,240 Speaker 2: the map as a brand. The answer putter, Gotta go 399 00:16:48,280 --> 00:16:48,760 Speaker 2: with that one. 400 00:16:49,000 --> 00:16:51,080 Speaker 3: You've been involved in a lot of clubs. You've been 401 00:16:51,080 --> 00:16:52,960 Speaker 3: a lot of a lot of like innovative work. I mean, 402 00:16:52,960 --> 00:16:55,360 Speaker 3: the Targulators are something you worked very hard on. Is 403 00:16:55,360 --> 00:16:57,000 Speaker 3: there a club that you're the most proud of that 404 00:16:57,040 --> 00:16:59,000 Speaker 3: you've been a part of in your time here at Ping? 405 00:16:59,600 --> 00:16:59,720 Speaker 1: Who? 406 00:17:00,160 --> 00:17:02,840 Speaker 2: Man? I think a couple fun ones come to mind. 407 00:17:02,960 --> 00:17:06,359 Speaker 2: I mean my first one was fun. The Rapture Hybrid. Okay, 408 00:17:06,400 --> 00:17:07,560 Speaker 2: the last driver I was. 409 00:17:07,920 --> 00:17:08,520 Speaker 1: You were telling me. 410 00:17:08,560 --> 00:17:10,040 Speaker 3: You were telling me the first time you saw the 411 00:17:10,119 --> 00:17:12,560 Speaker 3: Rapture Hybrid and a store. I mean you were like 412 00:17:12,600 --> 00:17:14,760 Speaker 3: almost like an author with their book, you know, and 413 00:17:15,040 --> 00:17:17,919 Speaker 3: diplay stand aby it, pointing people towards the hybrid. 414 00:17:17,680 --> 00:17:20,080 Speaker 2: Watching them look at it, watching them go hit in 415 00:17:20,840 --> 00:17:21,040 Speaker 2: on that. 416 00:17:21,080 --> 00:17:21,840 Speaker 1: I can get that for you. 417 00:17:22,000 --> 00:17:24,040 Speaker 2: I still get goosebumps kind of thing about that moment. 418 00:17:24,119 --> 00:17:27,000 Speaker 2: You know, that was really fun. The G four I 419 00:17:27,040 --> 00:17:29,280 Speaker 2: worked on the G four ten driver in the G thirty. 420 00:17:29,720 --> 00:17:32,359 Speaker 2: So I would say the G thirty was probably my 421 00:17:32,400 --> 00:17:34,919 Speaker 2: favorite because that was when we brought in turbulators for 422 00:17:34,960 --> 00:17:37,320 Speaker 2: the first time. That was a fun project to give 423 00:17:37,640 --> 00:17:40,000 Speaker 2: folks two miles an hour club at speed for free. 424 00:17:40,080 --> 00:17:41,879 Speaker 2: When I say for free, I didn't have to sacrifice, 425 00:17:42,320 --> 00:17:44,520 Speaker 2: make it smaller or do anything else, and they look cool. 426 00:17:45,200 --> 00:17:47,240 Speaker 2: Was really fun. And then we and that's really whenhere 427 00:17:47,280 --> 00:17:49,919 Speaker 2: we brought that concept of three simple driver models to 428 00:17:49,960 --> 00:17:52,119 Speaker 2: the market. We had an s FT we kind of 429 00:17:52,119 --> 00:17:54,240 Speaker 2: brought that concept to the market that turns over and 430 00:17:54,280 --> 00:17:57,640 Speaker 2: then we introduced the lst LS tech at the time 431 00:17:57,720 --> 00:17:59,080 Speaker 2: is kind of what we called it in it not 432 00:17:59,119 --> 00:18:01,800 Speaker 2: only did have turbu but it had this kind of 433 00:18:01,840 --> 00:18:04,960 Speaker 2: scratchy face on it which reduced the spin and so 434 00:18:05,119 --> 00:18:07,720 Speaker 2: that driver had a ton What really put us on 435 00:18:07,760 --> 00:18:09,840 Speaker 2: the map in terms of being a driver company, and 436 00:18:09,840 --> 00:18:11,800 Speaker 2: that's kind of what we're you know, we're very strong 437 00:18:11,840 --> 00:18:13,760 Speaker 2: in drivers right now and that that kind of started it. 438 00:18:13,800 --> 00:18:16,040 Speaker 3: What's the oldest club you currently have in your bag 439 00:18:16,200 --> 00:18:18,160 Speaker 3: and what's the newest club you've put in your bag? 440 00:18:19,160 --> 00:18:22,040 Speaker 2: Oldest club would be my potter. I gotta catch, I 441 00:18:22,080 --> 00:18:24,320 Speaker 2: gotta catch long putter I've probably been using that thing 442 00:18:24,480 --> 00:18:26,639 Speaker 2: like five years, okay, five or six years. 443 00:18:26,720 --> 00:18:28,360 Speaker 1: Does it ever get taken out? Does it ever get 444 00:18:28,359 --> 00:18:29,000 Speaker 1: part closet? 445 00:18:29,119 --> 00:18:31,240 Speaker 2: Oh? Yeah, okay, that thing goes in the closet. I 446 00:18:31,280 --> 00:18:33,960 Speaker 2: think every every every player puts their putter in the 447 00:18:34,080 --> 00:18:36,800 Speaker 2: closet for a little while. Uh so that thing, that 448 00:18:36,840 --> 00:18:39,160 Speaker 2: thing's in there. And I had to make some modifications 449 00:18:39,200 --> 00:18:41,040 Speaker 2: with with the anchoring rule and all that stuff to 450 00:18:41,080 --> 00:18:43,359 Speaker 2: shorten it, tweak the liingole a little bit. But I 451 00:18:43,400 --> 00:18:45,760 Speaker 2: got that thing pretty dialed. And then newest one in 452 00:18:45,760 --> 00:18:49,760 Speaker 2: the bag, newest one G four thirty Driver and three wood, 453 00:18:50,080 --> 00:18:52,560 Speaker 2: and I'm absolutely loving both of them. Driver is my favorite. 454 00:18:52,560 --> 00:18:54,639 Speaker 3: Oh, I've been obsessed. I've been obsessed. I think I 455 00:18:55,160 --> 00:18:56,480 Speaker 3: ten yards with the four thirty. 456 00:18:56,520 --> 00:18:57,080 Speaker 1: It's so good. 457 00:18:57,200 --> 00:19:01,200 Speaker 3: Yeah, when you're you're so, what's going on in terms 458 00:19:01,200 --> 00:19:02,960 Speaker 3: of things here at ping? You know what's coming down 459 00:19:03,000 --> 00:19:05,480 Speaker 3: the pipeline. How hard is it not to always be 460 00:19:05,520 --> 00:19:07,320 Speaker 3: tweaking the bag? How hard is it for you to 461 00:19:07,320 --> 00:19:09,560 Speaker 3: be content with what you currently are playing? 462 00:19:09,640 --> 00:19:11,600 Speaker 2: Yeah? No, it is tough. It is tough. I've tried 463 00:19:11,600 --> 00:19:14,120 Speaker 2: to almost put a little rule for myself, like, hey, 464 00:19:14,200 --> 00:19:16,480 Speaker 2: let's get fit early in the season. My season is 465 00:19:16,480 --> 00:19:19,520 Speaker 2: like US opened locals generally speaking, until you know our 466 00:19:19,560 --> 00:19:20,400 Speaker 2: section championship. 467 00:19:20,400 --> 00:19:23,160 Speaker 3: You're thinking like maybe like late April, early May, basically 468 00:19:23,280 --> 00:19:24,159 Speaker 3: through September. 469 00:19:24,240 --> 00:19:27,280 Speaker 2: Yep, okay, exactly through September. So in the winter I'll 470 00:19:27,320 --> 00:19:29,399 Speaker 2: tinker around with all kinds of stuff, you know, go 471 00:19:29,400 --> 00:19:31,320 Speaker 2: out there in the winter. But then I kind of say, hey, 472 00:19:31,720 --> 00:19:34,240 Speaker 2: this time of year around you know, March April timeframe, 473 00:19:34,800 --> 00:19:37,800 Speaker 2: let me get my clubs dialed and not and give 474 00:19:37,840 --> 00:19:40,040 Speaker 2: myself permission to tweak them a little bit, but let's 475 00:19:40,040 --> 00:19:41,480 Speaker 2: not stray too far. And we have a lot of 476 00:19:41,480 --> 00:19:43,560 Speaker 2: tour players that are like that. They'll come in at 477 00:19:43,600 --> 00:19:45,760 Speaker 2: the beginning of the season and get pretty well dialed. 478 00:19:45,840 --> 00:19:47,720 Speaker 2: They'll make a little micro tweaks throughout the year, but 479 00:19:47,760 --> 00:19:49,760 Speaker 2: they won't do anything too exotic or too crazy. 480 00:19:50,119 --> 00:19:52,879 Speaker 3: What's the wildest thing a tour player has asked to 481 00:19:52,960 --> 00:19:55,159 Speaker 3: have built over the years of you being here in 482 00:19:55,240 --> 00:19:58,480 Speaker 3: terms of a club loft, Maybe something that you would 483 00:19:58,480 --> 00:20:00,560 Speaker 3: have never in a million year's thought where player might 484 00:20:00,600 --> 00:20:01,640 Speaker 3: be interested in having in their bag. 485 00:20:01,880 --> 00:20:04,880 Speaker 2: Oh man, that's a good question, I think. I mean. 486 00:20:04,920 --> 00:20:07,480 Speaker 2: We were talking to Christian Pana, our tour rep the 487 00:20:07,520 --> 00:20:09,960 Speaker 2: other day about high loft at fairwy woods, and we've 488 00:20:10,000 --> 00:20:17,199 Speaker 2: built like Daniel Chropra built in elwood ellwood, like lobwood 489 00:20:17,359 --> 00:20:20,840 Speaker 2: yel for lob that he used in the major championships 490 00:20:20,880 --> 00:20:22,600 Speaker 2: to gouge it out of the rough. So I was 491 00:20:22,600 --> 00:20:23,600 Speaker 2: a little bit shocked by that. 492 00:20:23,800 --> 00:20:25,720 Speaker 1: I mean, is that, like, what what's the loft on 493 00:20:25,760 --> 00:20:26,240 Speaker 1: an elle? 494 00:20:26,280 --> 00:20:28,920 Speaker 2: I think that thing had thirty loft right and in 495 00:20:29,040 --> 00:20:31,760 Speaker 2: kind of a knife's edge, and but he I remember 496 00:20:31,800 --> 00:20:33,119 Speaker 2: he hit it out of the rough and could just 497 00:20:33,200 --> 00:20:35,560 Speaker 2: gouge it out there. So that one was kind of shocking. 498 00:20:35,560 --> 00:20:38,720 Speaker 2: But we've had a lot of interesting requests over the years, 499 00:20:38,720 --> 00:20:41,119 Speaker 2: but it comes from their own friction, like hey, I'm 500 00:20:41,160 --> 00:20:43,080 Speaker 2: out playing the rain, I see this happened, or what 501 00:20:43,160 --> 00:20:44,879 Speaker 2: have you? Hey, help me solve that problem. 502 00:20:45,119 --> 00:20:47,840 Speaker 3: You mentioned playing the US Open at wing Foot back 503 00:20:47,920 --> 00:20:50,240 Speaker 3: in twenty twenty and you said players are hitting some 504 00:20:50,400 --> 00:20:52,600 Speaker 3: thirty two percent of the fairways. Yeah, and you were 505 00:20:52,640 --> 00:20:55,399 Speaker 3: thinking yourself, more loft on a wood helps, you know what. 506 00:20:55,359 --> 00:20:57,720 Speaker 1: I feel like, that's that's a thought. 507 00:20:57,800 --> 00:21:00,679 Speaker 3: Maybe not every golfer would have and that instance, but 508 00:21:01,000 --> 00:21:02,879 Speaker 3: you know, you mentioned l wood in seven Woods and 509 00:21:02,880 --> 00:21:05,560 Speaker 3: even nine Woods at times for tour players, it's so 510 00:21:05,640 --> 00:21:08,679 Speaker 3: interesting how you can change and tweak your bag slightly 511 00:21:08,960 --> 00:21:10,920 Speaker 3: depending on the golf course and what that golf course 512 00:21:10,960 --> 00:21:11,280 Speaker 3: is asking. 513 00:21:11,359 --> 00:21:13,800 Speaker 2: Yeah, absolutely, I mean wing foot, you get in the 514 00:21:13,880 --> 00:21:14,280 Speaker 2: rough there? 515 00:21:14,359 --> 00:21:16,360 Speaker 1: Holy, I find your off ball first? 516 00:21:16,560 --> 00:21:18,240 Speaker 2: Yeah, yes, correct, hopefully. 517 00:21:17,920 --> 00:21:19,960 Speaker 1: There's a spot there. Yeah, exactly, good caddy. 518 00:21:20,240 --> 00:21:24,040 Speaker 2: Yeah, So you know, the PG the majors are next level, 519 00:21:24,080 --> 00:21:25,720 Speaker 2: even for the tour players. You get to a major 520 00:21:25,760 --> 00:21:27,520 Speaker 2: and they have to do things very different that the 521 00:21:27,520 --> 00:21:30,240 Speaker 2: everyday golfer. You'll never even need that, you would never 522 00:21:30,440 --> 00:21:33,119 Speaker 2: even need to be in that type of scenario, but 523 00:21:33,359 --> 00:21:36,399 Speaker 2: you'll get. You get players like Victor Hovelin putting a 524 00:21:36,520 --> 00:21:39,480 Speaker 2: seven wood in the bag for two holes at Augusta 525 00:21:39,520 --> 00:21:43,280 Speaker 2: this year, and they were awesome. You know, on thirteen 526 00:21:43,320 --> 00:21:45,720 Speaker 2: and fifteen. He hit him like when I was watching, 527 00:21:45,720 --> 00:21:48,119 Speaker 2: it seemed like every round and he hit on the 528 00:21:48,119 --> 00:21:50,240 Speaker 2: green you know, a bunch of times and made a 529 00:21:50,280 --> 00:21:52,080 Speaker 2: bunch of birdies on those two holes. If he would 530 00:21:52,080 --> 00:21:54,600 Speaker 2: have been hitting his normal driving iron, he'd be toasted 531 00:21:54,640 --> 00:21:55,359 Speaker 2: on those two holes. 532 00:21:55,720 --> 00:21:59,000 Speaker 3: So interesting to watch the tour players switch week to week. Yeah, 533 00:21:59,000 --> 00:22:00,800 Speaker 3: I mean, obviously they have so many information about their 534 00:22:00,800 --> 00:22:03,439 Speaker 3: golf games. And they can gain some information about what 535 00:22:03,560 --> 00:22:06,800 Speaker 3: works best for golf courses in particular. But I always 536 00:22:06,840 --> 00:22:09,200 Speaker 3: find that so fascinating. You always we creep up closer 537 00:22:09,240 --> 00:22:12,440 Speaker 3: to the open and everybody move into that drive and Iowa, everybody's. 538 00:22:12,040 --> 00:22:13,760 Speaker 1: Trying to get sound low and find the fairway. 539 00:22:13,840 --> 00:22:16,120 Speaker 2: Yeah, so you know, a lot of times it's it's 540 00:22:16,160 --> 00:22:19,760 Speaker 2: the three wood hybrid, driving iron, seven wood, nine wood. 541 00:22:20,119 --> 00:22:22,639 Speaker 2: They're just mixing and matching, depend on the conditions and 542 00:22:22,840 --> 00:22:25,760 Speaker 2: occasionally they're changing the bounce in or grind on their 543 00:22:25,800 --> 00:22:28,040 Speaker 2: on their wedges right specific to those conditions. 544 00:22:28,160 --> 00:22:29,640 Speaker 1: Yeah, very very interesting. 545 00:22:29,960 --> 00:22:32,560 Speaker 3: As you can see, we're outside, it's nice, it's it's 546 00:22:32,600 --> 00:22:35,400 Speaker 3: it's relatively warm in Phoenix. You can check out everything 547 00:22:35,400 --> 00:22:37,520 Speaker 3: if you follow Ping on social. All these clips will 548 00:22:37,520 --> 00:22:40,360 Speaker 3: be on video and things like that, and also on YouTube. 549 00:22:40,400 --> 00:22:42,480 Speaker 3: That is Marty Jerts and I'm Shane Bacon. This is 550 00:22:42,480 --> 00:22:43,960 Speaker 3: the Ping Proving Grounds Podcast.