WEBVTT - Is an Equipment Rollback on the Horizon? 0:00:00.040 --> 0:00:02.800 I miss a green, for example, I'm already upset. When 0:00:02.800 --> 0:00:04.920 I find my ball in the bunker, I'm really upset. 0:00:05.000 --> 0:00:06.320 And when I find my ball. 0:00:06.120 --> 0:00:08.960 In a bright egg Frida egg, the dreaded Frida egg, 0:00:09.039 --> 0:00:11.880 Frida egg, Frida egg, egg, Frida egg, bride egg Lie, 0:00:11.920 --> 0:00:13.640 I'm about ready to run off of the hump. 0:00:35.600 --> 0:00:39.000 Welcome back to another edition of the Frida Egg Podcast. 0:00:39.320 --> 0:00:43.120 Today's episode is with Jeff Shackelford. He is the owner 0:00:43.159 --> 0:00:47.080 of Jeff Shackleford dot Com also runs the uh A 0:00:47.200 --> 0:00:52.040 substack newsletter called The Quadrilateral. Jeff and I talk about 0:00:52.040 --> 0:00:55.360 the latest on the Distance Insights Report. Obviously that's a 0:00:55.400 --> 0:00:59.520 hot topic in golf uh and Jeff is very well 0:00:59.640 --> 0:01:03.880 versed in distance and the issue, having you know, basically 0:01:03.880 --> 0:01:07.120 written about it for the last twenty years. So we 0:01:07.160 --> 0:01:10.880 talk about the the latest updated interests of that, as 0:01:10.920 --> 0:01:14.480 well as a little bit on the Saudis and Augusta National. 0:01:15.000 --> 0:01:19.559 So this will be a episode that kind of covers 0:01:19.560 --> 0:01:21.800 a lot of things that's going on in regular golf 0:01:21.800 --> 0:01:24.440 as well as pro golf. So, without further ado, here 0:01:24.520 --> 0:01:34.160 is Jeff Shackelford. All right, we're we're back our Distance 0:01:34.280 --> 0:01:40.800 correspondent our external distance correspondent, Senor Jeff Shackleford from Jeff 0:01:41.000 --> 0:01:45.520 Shackleford dot com, also the author of the Quadrilateral, a 0:01:45.560 --> 0:01:48.400 substack newsletter that everybody should subscribe to. 0:01:49.360 --> 0:01:51.440 It is a what is it, fifty bucks a year? 0:01:52.320 --> 0:01:52.960 Fifty four? 0:01:53.200 --> 0:01:54.160 I RaSE it. 0:01:54.200 --> 0:01:58.160 I don't anticipate raising inflation for a while. Inflation and yeah, 0:01:58.760 --> 0:02:01.480 just inflation. That's all or six bucks a month. 0:02:01.880 --> 0:02:04.880 The keys are getting more. They they're charging you more 0:02:04.920 --> 0:02:06.080 every time you hit the key. 0:02:06.640 --> 0:02:06.880 Yeah. 0:02:06.920 --> 0:02:07.520 The bandwidth. 0:02:07.600 --> 0:02:13.040 Yeah, so we're back. We got another update on the 0:02:13.080 --> 0:02:16.160 distance report. It seems like years ago when I was 0:02:16.200 --> 0:02:20.000 in Los Angeles when this first came about and you 0:02:20.440 --> 0:02:26.440 came over with the two fully printed out insights report. 0:02:26.760 --> 0:02:29.840 This was pre COVID. It was right before COVID. I 0:02:29.840 --> 0:02:30.320 mean it was. 0:02:30.280 --> 0:02:34.839 February of twenty nineteen, twenty twenty, and now we're here 0:02:35.440 --> 0:02:40.920 another update added areas of interest another six weight is 0:02:41.000 --> 0:02:46.920 six month kind of feedback loop. Jeff, what did you 0:02:46.960 --> 0:02:49.519 think of the latest updates? 0:02:50.320 --> 0:02:52.480 I thought it was really good. I mean, obviously the 0:02:52.480 --> 0:02:56.600 bad news is it's feeling like we're we're not going 0:02:56.639 --> 0:03:00.280 to really address this for a while. When all is 0:03:00.320 --> 0:03:02.680 said and done. So that's a bad news. I think 0:03:02.680 --> 0:03:04.880 the good news, though, is that it's a little more 0:03:04.919 --> 0:03:09.400 aggressive than expected, and obviously we don't have all the 0:03:09.440 --> 0:03:12.480 details of what they truly have in mind. You know, 0:03:12.560 --> 0:03:15.600 it's the same kind of thing as the last one. 0:03:15.639 --> 0:03:20.680 They're throwing out the areas of interest and and teasing 0:03:21.000 --> 0:03:24.800 some of them. Others are more explicit, and so I 0:03:24.840 --> 0:03:30.720 think that's fascinating how it'll play out. But if it 0:03:30.760 --> 0:03:34.720 is what it reads like, it's it's it's it's the 0:03:34.880 --> 0:03:37.120 R word. It's a there's a rollback for for the 0:03:37.560 --> 0:03:42.240 top guys, and that's that's a big deal. And it's 0:03:42.360 --> 0:03:44.080 kind of shocking. I mean, I realize we have a 0:03:44.080 --> 0:03:46.120 lot going on and we can discuss why this is, 0:03:46.200 --> 0:03:51.160 but there's been nothing from players, and I you know, 0:03:51.200 --> 0:03:53.200 I have a few theories, but that's kind of shocking. 0:03:53.240 --> 0:03:56.840 I thought we'd get one sort of whiny meltdown from 0:03:56.840 --> 0:03:59.840 a manufacturer bending somebody's ear, and there's been nothing. So 0:04:00.480 --> 0:04:04.280 I think that's key because this thing could get derailed quickly. 0:04:04.560 --> 0:04:07.480 It's, you know, just like reading the tea leaves and 0:04:07.680 --> 0:04:12.480 the way it feels, it seems like the manufacturers are 0:04:12.600 --> 0:04:14.240 somewhat on board. 0:04:15.080 --> 0:04:16.960 Yeah, I think that's right. You know, David Dusk had 0:04:17.000 --> 0:04:21.000 a good piece in Golf Week a few weeks before 0:04:21.040 --> 0:04:25.920 this came out where he had anonymous submissions to questions 0:04:25.920 --> 0:04:29.040 from manufacturers, and the tone in that was a really 0:04:29.080 --> 0:04:33.080 good sign. You saw for the first time a realization 0:04:33.320 --> 0:04:36.960 or it just wasn't that knee jerk reaction, and they 0:04:37.000 --> 0:04:39.080 may have had a good sense of what was coming. 0:04:39.920 --> 0:04:42.600 And this is the thing I think was most impressive 0:04:42.640 --> 0:04:44.760 in the in the rollout. And we've been you know, 0:04:44.960 --> 0:04:49.480 wanting this for however long, but they're trying to throw 0:04:49.520 --> 0:04:55.839 them some bones to actually help the recreational golfer because 0:04:55.920 --> 0:04:57.760 all the data. They won't come out and say it, 0:04:57.760 --> 0:05:00.719 but the data shows the average person has not gotten 0:05:00.720 --> 0:05:03.320 the benefits from from the equipment. The people who are 0:05:03.320 --> 0:05:06.520 paying for the equipment haven't gotten the benefits that the 0:05:06.560 --> 0:05:09.039 people who are not paying for the equipment who just 0:05:09.080 --> 0:05:12.120 show it off are getting. It's it's not even close. 0:05:12.320 --> 0:05:15.120 And so they finally are saying, hey, look, we're going 0:05:15.200 --> 0:05:17.560 to give you some things that you've wanted or that 0:05:17.600 --> 0:05:21.320 we think will help you innovate for the average person 0:05:21.360 --> 0:05:25.200 who's actually paying, and we're going to though, you know, 0:05:25.400 --> 0:05:28.040 throttle these guys back, and there might be some ways 0:05:28.080 --> 0:05:32.120 they've done it where you know this addiction the companies 0:05:32.160 --> 0:05:34.520 have to marketing off of the pros. They can keep 0:05:34.560 --> 0:05:38.599 doing that. You know, they're just in love with that 0:05:38.720 --> 0:05:41.520 idea and maybe there's just no other way to sell equipment. 0:05:41.560 --> 0:05:44.600 I don't know, but I don't think. I don't think 0:05:44.680 --> 0:05:48.839 that's true, and so I like that they try to 0:05:48.920 --> 0:05:53.160 give them some things and give them that opening to 0:05:53.160 --> 0:05:55.440 to come back with with stuff, because it makes it 0:05:55.560 --> 0:06:01.320 very hard for them to whine about these chain when 0:06:01.320 --> 0:06:04.480 you've given them some room to innovate. 0:06:04.960 --> 0:06:09.159 So just to you know, give a quick overview the air. 0:06:09.279 --> 0:06:14.240 Updated areas of interest are ball testing, so you know, 0:06:14.360 --> 0:06:16.919 one of the things they haven't been doing is testing 0:06:16.960 --> 0:06:20.160 golf balls at high swing speeds on tour. They've been 0:06:20.160 --> 0:06:23.799 testing them at below the highest swing speeds on tour, 0:06:24.120 --> 0:06:26.680 which will be an update. They still aren't going all 0:06:26.720 --> 0:06:28.920 the way up, which is kind of a head scratching 0:06:28.960 --> 0:06:32.520 move in my opinions. It's just going to go faster 0:06:32.600 --> 0:06:36.039 and faster in the next couple of years, and then 0:06:36.120 --> 0:06:42.320 obviously a potential for a ball that's faster for slower 0:06:42.360 --> 0:06:45.880 swing speeds, yeah, if I read it correctly, and slower 0:06:45.920 --> 0:06:48.760 for high swing speeds, which I think is kind of 0:06:49.000 --> 0:06:52.080 that's what you're talking about, blending the two really helping 0:06:52.160 --> 0:06:55.800 the average player out and you know, not helping I 0:06:55.839 --> 0:06:58.479 think the ball has been the opposite. 0:06:58.480 --> 0:06:59.960 The ball and the equipment's been the opposite. 0:07:00.080 --> 0:07:03.320 The higher you swing, the higher speed you swing it, 0:07:03.360 --> 0:07:05.520 the more benefits you get from the average player. 0:07:05.640 --> 0:07:06.880 That's been kind of the thing. 0:07:07.000 --> 0:07:08.960 So this is kind of flipping it on its head, 0:07:09.000 --> 0:07:11.960 which is, in my opinion, probably the way it shouldn't 0:07:11.960 --> 0:07:14.840 have been for a long time. And then you know, 0:07:14.920 --> 0:07:20.680 the big one is different driver faces for professional golfers potentially, 0:07:20.720 --> 0:07:26.280 where we might see a less forgiving driver face where 0:07:26.360 --> 0:07:30.120 the moi, you know, where off center hits aren't as 0:07:30.280 --> 0:07:33.080 rewarded as they have been. You'd see more of a 0:07:33.240 --> 0:07:38.119 distant drain if you miss the center of the club face, 0:07:38.160 --> 0:07:41.640 which I mean I can't I can't see how any 0:07:41.720 --> 0:07:44.440 golf fan in the right mind wouldn't want to see that. 0:07:44.560 --> 0:07:47.080 One want to know who's actually hitting the center of 0:07:47.080 --> 0:07:49.920 the club face coming down the stretch at a major championship. 0:07:51.120 --> 0:07:54.520 Yeah, absolutely, Now how that's done is beyond me. I 0:07:54.800 --> 0:08:00.360 saw one report imply that would that would mean shrinking head. 0:08:00.560 --> 0:08:02.640 I don't think that was the impression I got. 0:08:02.960 --> 0:08:04.239 It's not what I got either. 0:08:04.600 --> 0:08:08.120 Yeah. So, and that's where I was saying, they can 0:08:08.200 --> 0:08:12.360 still market the club whatever it is, the Rogue carbon 0:08:12.400 --> 0:08:18.800 Wood four, and and but there would be a marking 0:08:18.840 --> 0:08:21.120 on it that would make clear that this this, this 0:08:21.200 --> 0:08:26.360 one is for the elite player or the the serious golfer, 0:08:26.440 --> 0:08:29.560 whatever that is. And it's on the conforming list. And 0:08:29.560 --> 0:08:34.280 then there's the one that's sold to the to the 0:08:34.320 --> 0:08:38.520 recreational player. And so that to me is really fascinating. 0:08:38.559 --> 0:08:42.480 And I think we don't know but the combination of 0:08:42.559 --> 0:08:46.440 all these things and then what that does to change 0:08:46.480 --> 0:08:51.200 the player's attack of the ball, that's the part. We 0:08:51.240 --> 0:08:57.040 don't know how much that might reduce distance. So I 0:08:57.080 --> 0:08:59.440 don't know what the final number is, but it seems 0:08:59.440 --> 0:09:02.679 like it's a solid ten percent right now that it 0:09:02.679 --> 0:09:05.640 would take off those elite guys. I would push back slightly. 0:09:05.679 --> 0:09:08.360 I think that I feel like the clubhead speed bump. 0:09:08.760 --> 0:09:11.160 I mean, they're talking about going to a number that 0:09:11.320 --> 0:09:13.920 is the average of the top ten drivers on the tours. 0:09:14.000 --> 0:09:19.840 So and they're also it's also more flexible. It's it's 0:09:20.000 --> 0:09:25.040 it's it's it's optimum launch conditions. It's not a set number, 0:09:25.640 --> 0:09:27.360 and I think that's really important. I mean, I wrote 0:09:27.800 --> 0:09:30.000 the Future at Golf. I wrote about the need for 0:09:30.040 --> 0:09:32.400 that a long time ago, and now that was before 0:09:32.480 --> 0:09:34.199 you had guys walking out on the range with their 0:09:34.240 --> 0:09:39.520 track man, and so it seems like a logical step 0:09:39.880 --> 0:09:42.400 when you know that the players have this ability to 0:09:42.160 --> 0:09:48.760 be fine tuning and honing their launch conditions daily with 0:09:48.840 --> 0:09:51.360 adjustments to the equipment and some of its adjustable and 0:09:51.360 --> 0:09:55.840 all that. So I think that that's a natural progression 0:09:55.920 --> 0:09:59.360 of the testing, but it's also gonna Yeah, that was 0:09:59.360 --> 0:10:04.080 a pretty stagger statement that John Spitzer made to Mike's 0:10:04.080 --> 0:10:04.760 the Tour and golfed. 0:10:04.840 --> 0:10:05.120 I just. 0:10:06.600 --> 0:10:09.040 Probably pretty much every ball on the tour right now, 0:10:09.080 --> 0:10:11.000 other than a guy playing a pro v from three 0:10:11.080 --> 0:10:14.520 years ago because he likes the way it feels, might 0:10:14.559 --> 0:10:17.000 be non conforming. That's kind of that. I mean, that 0:10:17.120 --> 0:10:20.760 was that was shocking, and there's just been no I've 0:10:20.800 --> 0:10:22.520 seen very little reaction. I've been watching a lot of 0:10:22.520 --> 0:10:24.600 the NCAA tournaments, so I can't say that I've been 0:10:24.679 --> 0:10:30.040 mining on the internet for reactions, but I haven't seen much. 0:10:30.280 --> 0:10:32.840 It's been uh, you know, we talk about the balls, 0:10:32.960 --> 0:10:36.840 they would be illegal under these new testing guidelines. But 0:10:36.960 --> 0:10:40.160 in a way it seems like, you know, the Taylor 0:10:40.200 --> 0:10:44.160 Baide was puffing their chest out about the stealth. The 0:10:44.240 --> 0:10:48.520 equipment companies, you've set parameters, they're always going to innovate 0:10:48.520 --> 0:10:51.640 against them. I think that's if you go back to 0:10:51.679 --> 0:10:54.520 the history of the golf ball with when John Lowe 0:10:55.120 --> 0:10:59.280 and got his regulations he was excited about way back 0:10:59.320 --> 0:11:04.079 when you know, the next day the golf ball manufacturers 0:11:04.080 --> 0:11:08.360 came out with something that was longer and faster than 0:11:08.880 --> 0:11:12.319 the golf ball he fought so hard to regulate against. 0:11:12.320 --> 0:11:14.760 So you know, this is what engineers do. You give 0:11:14.800 --> 0:11:17.880 them parameters, they are going to innovate against it. And 0:11:17.920 --> 0:11:21.600 it seems like recent the recent innovations have been kind 0:11:21.640 --> 0:11:26.880 of finding loopholes that make illegal equipment. For like you know, 0:11:27.040 --> 0:11:30.440 with the stealth, they're talking about how this actually you know, 0:11:30.880 --> 0:11:34.000 it goes beyond the CT because of carbon right where 0:11:34.160 --> 0:11:38.880 it actually is faster than they'll allowed, but they found 0:11:38.880 --> 0:11:42.320 a loophole to get to that, and it I think 0:11:42.360 --> 0:11:44.959 the resetting is going to be great. I The one 0:11:45.000 --> 0:11:46.920 thing I'll say is that we're going to reset and 0:11:46.960 --> 0:11:49.280 we're probably going to get you know, they talk a 0:11:49.320 --> 0:11:51.760 lot about like allowing for innovation. We're probably going to 0:11:51.840 --> 0:11:55.720 get back here in another fifty years. Is the reality right? 0:11:58.240 --> 0:12:00.640 Maybe? Maybe? I mean right now, I feel like it's 0:12:00.640 --> 0:12:07.080 so aggressive, and it may be aggressive to with the 0:12:07.120 --> 0:12:11.120 idea that they'll end up having to negotiate a spot 0:12:11.160 --> 0:12:14.160 in the middle, But I feel like it's going to 0:12:14.240 --> 0:12:18.000 make a significant dent. And then but I think the 0:12:18.000 --> 0:12:21.439 bigger question is does it put an end to to 0:12:21.720 --> 0:12:24.840 your question about fifty years? Does it does it slow 0:12:24.880 --> 0:12:31.040 down or and the potential pursuit of speed the Bryson 0:12:31.160 --> 0:12:34.280 esque type or I don't want to say, but I 0:12:34.320 --> 0:12:37.720 watched a young golfer. I saw a clip on Twitter 0:12:38.720 --> 0:12:41.040 just from a tournament over the week or last week. 0:12:41.080 --> 0:12:45.680 I couldn't believe how hard the player swung. And does 0:12:45.720 --> 0:12:51.000 that do these changes permanently put an end to to 0:12:51.200 --> 0:12:55.520 kind of that long drive contest type swinging out of 0:12:55.559 --> 0:13:00.599 your shoes and return a little bit more of a 0:13:00.600 --> 0:13:04.320 premium on a variety of things and skills. Uh So 0:13:04.480 --> 0:13:09.760 that's I. Yeah, I just feel like the injury thing 0:13:10.160 --> 0:13:15.079 and the possibility that the driver phase changes could could 0:13:15.360 --> 0:13:19.839 really stop players from trying to swing that way. I 0:13:19.880 --> 0:13:22.400 mean maybe I'm maybe I'm that's a wishful thinking, I 0:13:22.559 --> 0:13:25.120 I but we'll take We'll take anything. 0:13:25.160 --> 0:13:27.920 Right now, years ago I did this. 0:13:28.200 --> 0:13:30.520 I did a podcast with a guy who did a 0:13:30.559 --> 0:13:35.720 study on tennis, and this is what happened when the 0:13:35.880 --> 0:13:39.120 oversized racket came about. And if you look at the 0:13:39.160 --> 0:13:42.640 world's top ten ranked golfers now, it's the youngest they've 0:13:42.679 --> 0:13:45.800 ever been. And this is this parallels tennis. Tennis had 0:13:45.800 --> 0:13:49.680 a period where youth dominated and it was the youngest. 0:13:49.880 --> 0:13:53.280 They had the youngest major championship winner at every venue 0:13:53.880 --> 0:13:56.120 in the same year. And this is what prompted the 0:13:56.120 --> 0:13:59.800 guy to look into it. And I think we're at 0:13:59.840 --> 0:14:02.880 that same impass here right now, where we have, you know, 0:14:02.960 --> 0:14:05.320 the youngest top ten in the world we've ever seen, 0:14:05.480 --> 0:14:09.000 and it's by it's shattering. I mean, Sam Burns just 0:14:09.040 --> 0:14:11.199 got into the top ten. Another twenty five year old 0:14:11.240 --> 0:14:16.040 bumped out DJ. So we're at this impass. What's interesting 0:14:16.160 --> 0:14:20.880 to me, I think about the whole situation is if 0:14:20.920 --> 0:14:24.160 this gets say, this gets implemented in a couple of years, 0:14:24.160 --> 0:14:27.920 and it's a less forgiving face that that in a 0:14:27.960 --> 0:14:29.160 ball that spins more. 0:14:30.200 --> 0:14:31.440 Could we see. 0:14:31.280 --> 0:14:35.560 A a window for the guys like Adam Scott and 0:14:35.600 --> 0:14:40.200 Sergio and these older players that actually have experience hitting 0:14:40.200 --> 0:14:42.640 the center of the face, because I remember when I 0:14:42.680 --> 0:14:44.480 was in high school and I sound like an old 0:14:44.520 --> 0:14:47.040 man saying this now, but I used to stand on 0:14:47.080 --> 0:14:51.240 the first t terrified of hitting like a low quacker 0:14:51.480 --> 0:14:51.960 off the top. 0:14:52.000 --> 0:14:53.560 Oh yeah, that was the worst. Yeah. 0:14:54.000 --> 0:14:56.760 And you see now with drivers that you want to 0:14:56.840 --> 0:15:00.560 hit the driver, you you, that's like the best club 0:15:00.600 --> 0:15:02.920 you can hit when you're nervous, because it's impossible to 0:15:03.240 --> 0:15:05.720 really miss it. You know, if you hit one off 0:15:05.720 --> 0:15:08.800 the bear, off the hazzle, it's going to go fifteen 0:15:08.840 --> 0:15:12.080 yards shorter and in the same you know, frame of 0:15:12.120 --> 0:15:14.880 space if you nut one, you know, And I think 0:15:14.920 --> 0:15:18.480 that's going to be the interesting thing is that if 0:15:18.520 --> 0:15:22.960 you do this, there is going to change the trajectory 0:15:23.000 --> 0:15:25.960 of golf and which golfers are the best golfers. 0:15:28.080 --> 0:15:30.920 See. I still feel, and maybe it's wishful thinking, I 0:15:30.960 --> 0:15:33.000 still feel like if you look at that top ten 0:15:33.280 --> 0:15:36.280 right now, not not to focus too much on them. 0:15:36.120 --> 0:15:36.280 But. 0:15:38.400 --> 0:15:41.320 Colin Markyle will be given time to adjust to that 0:15:41.400 --> 0:15:45.280 driver face and he won't have any trouble. Will Zalaturus 0:15:45.440 --> 0:15:47.160 won't have it, and he's on the top ten, but 0:15:47.400 --> 0:15:52.160 he's a great ball striker and he'll adjust. I do 0:15:52.200 --> 0:15:58.080 feel like it will put a little bit more premium 0:15:58.120 --> 0:16:02.520 on certain skills or other skills, and that's a positive. 0:16:02.600 --> 0:16:05.440 So yeah, maybe that that keeps some older players around. 0:16:06.600 --> 0:16:08.960 But my sense is that part of the reason we're 0:16:09.240 --> 0:16:11.640 part of it is just a generational thing. At the moment, 0:16:11.680 --> 0:16:14.960 we've had some older players who lasted a long time 0:16:15.080 --> 0:16:19.920 are kind of retiring or going away. But I'm having 0:16:19.920 --> 0:16:22.880 a hard time with the money involves and the way 0:16:22.880 --> 0:16:26.880 the game's played. I just feel like there's going to 0:16:26.880 --> 0:16:29.160 be a lot of turnover no matter what. So I 0:16:29.160 --> 0:16:32.280 don't know, and that has very little to do with 0:16:32.320 --> 0:16:34.920 the equipment in some ways, unless you get into the 0:16:34.920 --> 0:16:39.920 injury speed stuff, then that does have a direct tie 0:16:40.000 --> 0:16:43.400 to how the equipment is what the equipment allows the 0:16:43.400 --> 0:16:46.760 player to do. So I think it's a positive when 0:16:46.800 --> 0:16:49.120 the game has a lot of different ways to play, 0:16:49.200 --> 0:16:51.200 it has a lot of different age groups. I think 0:16:51.200 --> 0:16:56.280 it's the thing that makes our sport special and my 0:16:56.840 --> 0:17:00.480 sense is that those those truly special players will continue 0:17:00.520 --> 0:17:05.840 to be. In fact, I feel strongly, with no evidence whatsoever, 0:17:06.000 --> 0:17:10.800 that those extra they're all great out there, but the 0:17:10.840 --> 0:17:13.399 ones that are extra special, I think they may stand 0:17:13.400 --> 0:17:16.520 out more if this happens. You know, that would be 0:17:16.560 --> 0:17:18.960 the case i'd make to somebody like Rory McElroy, who's 0:17:19.040 --> 0:17:21.880 kind of I mean I briefly mentioned it at Riviera. 0:17:21.880 --> 0:17:23.600 He's kind of all over the map on it and 0:17:23.920 --> 0:17:27.040 he rolls his eyes at people like us on this stuff. 0:17:27.080 --> 0:17:29.720 But I think you could make a case that he, 0:17:29.880 --> 0:17:32.119 you know, players like him, would stand out just a 0:17:32.160 --> 0:17:36.359 little bit more, or that player like Tiger Woods or 0:17:36.440 --> 0:17:39.520 Phil Mickelson actually would have won even a little bit 0:17:39.520 --> 0:17:43.840 more if the equipment hadn't changed so much and then 0:17:43.960 --> 0:17:45.960 gone the way it did in the last ten to 0:17:45.960 --> 0:17:46.840 twelve years. 0:17:47.359 --> 0:17:51.199 You know, co Crack better get his Saudi check asap. 0:17:51.760 --> 0:17:55.919 I think he's getting it soon. He'll be probably in London. 0:17:56.000 --> 0:17:58.440 Picked it up the first of eight Biggies. 0:17:59.119 --> 0:18:02.520 It's I think the one thing I forgot to mention 0:18:02.720 --> 0:18:05.879 was the key thesis of that of that podcast was 0:18:05.960 --> 0:18:11.600 when technological change is introduced, new skills are rewarded and this, 0:18:11.600 --> 0:18:15.480 this rollback at the professional level would be an introduction 0:18:15.600 --> 0:18:20.639 of technological change, and I think what the overall point 0:18:20.680 --> 0:18:23.720 would be is that it would be more the skills 0:18:23.800 --> 0:18:27.159 would be more similar to skills of past, which is 0:18:27.240 --> 0:18:31.280 where you know, these where older players hanging on might have, 0:18:31.720 --> 0:18:34.760 you know, a significant advantage because they don't have to 0:18:34.800 --> 0:18:39.199 relearn these skills or relearn new skills. And that I 0:18:39.200 --> 0:18:42.440 think that's where these young players are at such an advantage, 0:18:42.520 --> 0:18:45.640 is that they never learned the skills of hitting a 0:18:45.680 --> 0:18:47.360 small head and a spinny ball. 0:18:47.440 --> 0:18:49.159 They don't even know what that was like. 0:18:49.640 --> 0:18:52.720 And whenever you have to relearn skills or learn new 0:18:52.760 --> 0:18:55.560 skills at an older age, you're at a huge disadvantage. 0:18:56.000 --> 0:18:59.040 Yeah, there's no question I but I just feel like 0:18:59.080 --> 0:19:02.160 the timingness will be, this will be easy, will ease 0:19:02.200 --> 0:19:05.919 into this, and there will be and and I'm you know, 0:19:06.000 --> 0:19:10.399 with launch monitors now and fitting and how good people 0:19:10.440 --> 0:19:15.280 are at doing that, I just feel that there's nothing 0:19:15.640 --> 0:19:20.080 that they're talking about that's so extreme that that's the 0:19:20.119 --> 0:19:24.440 equivalent of going from a big headed driver to persimmon 0:19:24.600 --> 0:19:28.600 or something. It's just nothing that's that great of a leap. 0:19:28.880 --> 0:19:31.720 And so the combination of what they have in terms 0:19:31.760 --> 0:19:38.080 of availability, in testing, free, free equipment, the timing. You know, 0:19:38.080 --> 0:19:41.200 we're looking at this happening over a couple of years, 0:19:41.600 --> 0:19:45.440 three years, probably four years. I think they'll be able 0:19:45.440 --> 0:19:47.879 to adapt. And those players you're talking about, some of 0:19:47.920 --> 0:19:50.720 those guys, will you know four years from now, Sergio 0:19:50.840 --> 0:19:55.520 Lee Westwood, you know, well they yeah, yeah, I don't 0:19:55.520 --> 0:19:58.280 want to say, but the chances of them still being 0:19:58.560 --> 0:20:02.600 U relevant or not great. 0:20:02.840 --> 0:20:06.440 You look at Ricky Fowler and he's kind of I think, 0:20:06.480 --> 0:20:10.439 like I who knows, like everybody loves it, but I 0:20:10.440 --> 0:20:12.320 think he's one of the guys that you could look 0:20:12.320 --> 0:20:19.320 at and concretely, you know, hypothesized that distance really cost 0:20:19.960 --> 0:20:22.919 a very very He's had a very good career, but 0:20:23.440 --> 0:20:27.520 a longer great career because when he came on tour, 0:20:27.880 --> 0:20:30.320 as you know, he was the young guy. He was 0:20:30.359 --> 0:20:33.040 like a top twenty five driving distance guy, and you 0:20:33.080 --> 0:20:38.479 can see like he just got completely outpaced with with 0:20:38.560 --> 0:20:41.560 that new wave of golfers where he became average and 0:20:41.720 --> 0:20:44.720 length and all of a sudden that has you know, 0:20:44.840 --> 0:20:48.119 disastrous effects down down the rest of your game and 0:20:48.200 --> 0:20:50.720 through the bag. And I think, you know, puts more 0:20:50.720 --> 0:20:51.520 pressure on putting. 0:20:51.520 --> 0:20:52.240 He hasn't put it. 0:20:52.200 --> 0:20:54.160 As well, he hasn't hit the ball as well as 0:20:54.200 --> 0:20:57.240 he's tried to stay relevant in the distance race. 0:20:57.800 --> 0:21:00.399 You could throw in a there's a Looke Donald before him. 0:21:00.440 --> 0:21:02.840 I mean, there's quite quite a few cases. And yeah, 0:21:02.880 --> 0:21:05.560 there's no question that watching what guys were doing, he 0:21:05.960 --> 0:21:09.040 felt the pressure to adjust. It's very hard to hold 0:21:09.080 --> 0:21:13.679 your ground. And again you could make the case there 0:21:13.680 --> 0:21:16.800 are a couple of people who have sort of just decided 0:21:16.880 --> 0:21:18.640 they play it a certain way and they'll play well 0:21:18.760 --> 0:21:22.679 certain courses and they're happy to make a living doing that. 0:21:22.840 --> 0:21:25.760 But he had aspirations to do something a little bit 0:21:25.800 --> 0:21:33.120 more profound in his career. But then you also can't 0:21:33.400 --> 0:21:36.679 really gauge what kind of money he has made and 0:21:36.720 --> 0:21:40.800 what that does to your drive. I mean, he has 0:21:40.880 --> 0:21:43.639 done he and I mentioned this before on other shows. 0:21:43.840 --> 0:21:46.280 You know, Forbes never puts him in that top one 0:21:46.359 --> 0:21:51.320 hundred list of athlete athlete income and it's just laughable. 0:21:51.520 --> 0:21:54.399 I mean, he's he's doing as well as anybody in 0:21:54.440 --> 0:21:57.560 golf or has been in the last few years, so 0:21:58.040 --> 0:22:01.120 it's hard to so I just think those career windows 0:22:01.720 --> 0:22:03.480 are going to shorten a little bit and that's what's 0:22:03.520 --> 0:22:09.360 fascinating about not really necessarily positive about them, the Saudi 0:22:09.440 --> 0:22:14.080 situation and all the money that's going into these towards 0:22:14.119 --> 0:22:19.639 the players. Look, I mean it's it's there, they have, 0:22:20.119 --> 0:22:21.959 they can give it to them, but it's you do 0:22:22.000 --> 0:22:23.879 wonder what kind of effect it's going to have on 0:22:23.960 --> 0:22:29.040 longevity in a sport where we need. We We like 0:22:29.119 --> 0:22:31.880 getting to know players, we like watching their career arc. 0:22:32.320 --> 0:22:34.119 It's one of those things that makes up for the 0:22:34.160 --> 0:22:37.600 fact that the sport's kind of boring to watch. We 0:22:37.680 --> 0:22:40.800 get invested in them and it's really fun when they 0:22:40.840 --> 0:22:44.280 still do something later in their career after we saw 0:22:44.320 --> 0:22:47.960 them emerge, And yeah, I just love that about the 0:22:47.960 --> 0:22:49.840 sport and I feel like we're losing that. 0:22:50.280 --> 0:22:52.399 I mean, you don't have to look at any further. 0:22:52.600 --> 0:22:55.000 And this is if we could just you know, forget 0:22:55.000 --> 0:22:59.119 the last six months of his life. But look at 0:22:59.119 --> 0:23:02.000 Phil Micholson with the PGA. You know, that's the perfect 0:23:02.040 --> 0:23:06.159 example of a career arc. And you know, you know 0:23:06.320 --> 0:23:10.000 Watson at at uh at the Open years ago, it's 0:23:10.080 --> 0:23:13.679 you get this, you you hold on because the sport 0:23:13.920 --> 0:23:17.960 allows for players to age so gracefully in comparison to 0:23:18.760 --> 0:23:21.680 a sport like football or basketball, where one day they're 0:23:21.840 --> 0:23:24.560 relevant and the next day they're washed, and it's so 0:23:25.400 --> 0:23:28.840 visually apparent that they're washed. But this sport allows for 0:23:28.960 --> 0:23:32.520 some grace and some some aging and and you know, 0:23:33.040 --> 0:23:36.280 moments of of where they shine and they they still 0:23:36.320 --> 0:23:40.280 have it. And and that was Phil at the PGA. 0:23:40.400 --> 0:23:43.359 And you know, that's the thing that you when you 0:23:43.400 --> 0:23:46.280 introduce more and more money the drive. I think the 0:23:46.359 --> 0:23:48.480 one thing I would push back on is like the 0:23:48.560 --> 0:23:53.159 really special players will will stay special. Like Tom Brady 0:23:53.400 --> 0:23:56.359 is a perfect example of of that, and like where 0:23:57.440 --> 0:24:00.800 you know, great, great players will defy this thing because 0:24:00.840 --> 0:24:04.639 that what drives them is not the money. But for 0:24:04.840 --> 0:24:07.879 a lot of players, and maybe that's the case, is 0:24:07.920 --> 0:24:10.280 like a lot of players that were never that great, 0:24:10.800 --> 0:24:13.280 the money will will make them, you know, kind of 0:24:13.359 --> 0:24:14.840 fade out a little bit faster. 0:24:15.560 --> 0:24:18.199 Yeah, And that's I think something we take for granted 0:24:18.240 --> 0:24:20.600 with Tiger and Phil, how much they just kept coming 0:24:20.960 --> 0:24:24.800 at you even when they had seemingly plenty of money. 0:24:24.800 --> 0:24:26.679 And I think Jordan Speed's one of those players who 0:24:26.680 --> 0:24:30.760 will be that way. Most of the events considered the 0:24:30.800 --> 0:24:33.600 greatest in the history of the game were the ones 0:24:33.600 --> 0:24:37.119 where there was a convergence of generations and and the 0:24:37.160 --> 0:24:39.320 new guy was coming and the old guy was hanging on, 0:24:39.440 --> 0:24:41.560 and the and the and the elite player of the 0:24:41.640 --> 0:24:44.879 day was involved. And I think that's a really a 0:24:44.920 --> 0:24:47.760 good reminder, like sixty at Cherry Hills and the eighty 0:24:47.800 --> 0:24:49.040 six Masters. 0:24:49.080 --> 0:24:51.480 Pebble Pebble with Watson and Jack. 0:24:51.880 --> 0:24:54.840 Absolutely yeah. So there, and you can go way back 0:24:54.880 --> 0:24:58.159 even into the you know, pre pre war years, and 0:24:58.280 --> 0:25:01.359 same kind of thing happened. And that's it's just one 0:25:01.400 --> 0:25:04.320 of those things in our sport that we really really 0:25:04.359 --> 0:25:07.000 love that they and we're very lucky a lot of 0:25:07.000 --> 0:25:09.560 them like to travel. They like the life, and they 0:25:09.560 --> 0:25:11.439 don't really know any other way, so they play a 0:25:11.440 --> 0:25:15.359 lot and it's one of those intangibles for golf. So 0:25:15.520 --> 0:25:18.480 and that's what. But one other thing on this, you know, 0:25:18.520 --> 0:25:20.560 on the distance thing, I think that's really interesting. I've 0:25:20.560 --> 0:25:22.639 been kind of mulling. I'll probably write something to the 0:25:22.640 --> 0:25:25.679 newsletter about it. But part of the reason I have 0:25:25.680 --> 0:25:27.960 a theory that we haven't gotten the reaction from players 0:25:30.080 --> 0:25:35.520 is that the manufacturer's money just doesn't matter as much 0:25:35.640 --> 0:25:39.800 to most of the players like it used to again, 0:25:39.880 --> 0:25:42.359 you know, a new player coming out on the tour. Yes, 0:25:42.840 --> 0:25:45.040 I'm well aware that that whatever that one hundred and 0:25:45.040 --> 0:25:47.120 fifty thousand dollars advance at the start of the year 0:25:47.160 --> 0:25:54.320 to where ball, hat and glove is huge, And I 0:25:54.400 --> 0:25:57.520 understand that five million a year for somebody is not 0:25:57.680 --> 0:26:01.239 laughed at. But I think when you look at the 0:26:01.280 --> 0:26:03.240 money that's coming to them from the tour or the 0:26:03.280 --> 0:26:09.359 options they could have somewhere else, that manufacturer bending their 0:26:09.400 --> 0:26:11.919 ear about Hey, you got to tell everybody this is 0:26:12.000 --> 0:26:14.359 terrible for the game, and it's mean and it's cruel, 0:26:14.480 --> 0:26:17.000 and it's going to take the average person back thirty 0:26:17.080 --> 0:26:21.520 yards and all that nonsense that you might get. I 0:26:21.600 --> 0:26:23.600 just don't think they have that ability to sway the 0:26:23.640 --> 0:26:26.520 players and have them do their bidding like that. And 0:26:27.240 --> 0:26:29.320 maybe they're not even pushing them. 0:26:29.200 --> 0:26:29.800 That way anymore. 0:26:29.840 --> 0:26:33.000 Maybe they really realize with the pandemic that the game. 0:26:33.160 --> 0:26:36.720 They will sell equipment if the game is healthy and 0:26:36.800 --> 0:26:40.040 being played, and what the pros do has not very 0:26:40.040 --> 0:26:46.040 little to do with their bottom line. Ultimately, if they're 0:26:46.080 --> 0:26:48.480 moving equipment, it's because people are playing golf. 0:26:51.320 --> 0:26:54.720 Now for a quick word from our sponsor, Elijah Craig. 0:26:55.560 --> 0:27:00.760 Discover the Greatness within Elijah Craig small Batch Bourbon. Elijah 0:27:00.760 --> 0:27:04.520 Craig Bourbon never settles for less than best. Every bottle 0:27:04.520 --> 0:27:07.720 of their award winning small batch carries a signature warm 0:27:07.800 --> 0:27:12.920 spice and subtle smoke flavor. 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Discover the 0:27:54.200 --> 0:27:58.800 greatness within Elijah Craig at Elijah Craig dot com slash 0:27:58.840 --> 0:28:02.520 Frida Egg. That's Isijah Craig dot com slash Frida Egg. 0:28:02.640 --> 0:28:05.200 The Frida Egg is brought to you by Elijah Craig, 0:28:05.320 --> 0:28:10.320 Kentucky Straight bourbon whiskey, Bardstown, Kentucky, forty seven percent alcohol 0:28:10.359 --> 0:28:14.359 by volume. Elijah Craig reminds you to think wisely and 0:28:14.440 --> 0:28:19.440 drink wisely. Now back to Jeff Shackelford, so on a 0:28:20.040 --> 0:28:24.800 different topics. Obviously, I think overall everybody's happy about this. 0:28:24.800 --> 0:28:27.840 This is a good positive development for the game of golf. 0:28:28.040 --> 0:28:31.600 What's your what's your read on the Saudi situation? Obviously, 0:28:31.640 --> 0:28:35.639 they last week they announced their their host sites, which 0:28:35.760 --> 0:28:39.680 was quite underwhelming. Greg Norman has gone on a media 0:28:39.760 --> 0:28:43.080 tour and from what I've seen, with the exception of 0:28:43.400 --> 0:28:48.959 Gary Williams, was met with with softball questions, what what 0:28:49.000 --> 0:28:51.440 do you expect now that the schedule set? Do you 0:28:51.480 --> 0:28:54.120 do you expect to see some players defecting in the 0:28:54.160 --> 0:28:57.960 near future and challenging the PGA tours attempt to ban 0:28:58.560 --> 0:29:00.480 players who go play. 0:29:01.560 --> 0:29:03.360 Well, I just don't know the rules well enough to 0:29:03.440 --> 0:29:06.120 understand because the way the dates are set up, it 0:29:06.160 --> 0:29:09.480 looks to me like you could play I believe three 0:29:09.640 --> 0:29:12.400 is the number that they can get a release on. 0:29:12.560 --> 0:29:14.800 You can play three before the FedEx, and then the 0:29:14.840 --> 0:29:18.360 three when the schedule flips to the New twenty two 0:29:18.800 --> 0:29:22.280 twenty three year. So I don't know is anybody can 0:29:22.440 --> 0:29:25.280 unless they try to play four or is anybody gonna 0:29:25.320 --> 0:29:31.080 really initiate a battle with the tour? And then so 0:29:31.160 --> 0:29:33.560 that's number one and then number two. It just seems 0:29:33.600 --> 0:29:36.240 like that he's rolled out a schedule. There's no requirement 0:29:36.280 --> 0:29:39.480 to play. So the thing that that the model they 0:29:39.520 --> 0:29:43.760 stole from the Premier Golf League group required you to 0:29:43.760 --> 0:29:45.920 be involved in all the events. The whole thing only 0:29:45.960 --> 0:29:49.720 works if you're you're really all in on every half one. 0:29:50.440 --> 0:29:54.040 Yeah, exactly that you know, whether Lewis Hamilton wants to 0:29:54.400 --> 0:29:57.760 or he's a dude. He's at Saudi Arabia, And you know, 0:29:58.160 --> 0:30:01.440 I think that's the thing that what made that speech 0:30:01.520 --> 0:30:03.920 that he made a few few months ago so endearing, 0:30:04.120 --> 0:30:06.480 was like I have to be here. I'm not happy 0:30:06.520 --> 0:30:09.760 about it, right, but you know this is the you know, 0:30:09.920 --> 0:30:12.760 the the requirement was a big appeal to the model 0:30:13.000 --> 0:30:15.320 is that the top players are going to be playing 0:30:15.480 --> 0:30:17.360 every time we tee it up. 0:30:17.760 --> 0:30:19.880 Right, So what's the point of this if it's they 0:30:19.880 --> 0:30:22.400 can just dip in and dip out. And I think 0:30:22.400 --> 0:30:24.520 a few guys will and can you blame him. I mean, 0:30:24.520 --> 0:30:28.000 could you blame Richard Bland for playing that event in 0:30:28.360 --> 0:30:32.440 London at this point in his career and probably not 0:30:33.040 --> 0:30:37.360 that field that much better than the ones he's placed 0:30:37.400 --> 0:30:39.480 played against in Europe and he can make a check 0:30:39.520 --> 0:30:43.400 that is phenomenal. I wouldn't blame him, and he doesn't 0:30:43.400 --> 0:30:46.040 have to make any commitment. Although Greg mentioned I noted 0:30:46.080 --> 0:30:48.040 this on my blog today. He mentioned in the Gary 0:30:48.040 --> 0:30:52.520 Williams interviews contracts. So I don't understand again this independent 0:30:52.600 --> 0:30:55.760 contractor thing, and then you're signing signing contracts, you know, 0:30:55.800 --> 0:30:57.520 like what's in that? They're they're kind of all over 0:30:57.520 --> 0:31:00.400 the map, and I get it. They're trying to pivot 0:31:00.480 --> 0:31:04.240 here in a reaction to the tour, and they dump 0:31:04.320 --> 0:31:07.240 the Asian Tour event in London like a hot potato 0:31:07.760 --> 0:31:10.040 and turn that into one of their events, just to 0:31:10.120 --> 0:31:13.120 what six weeks after announcing it as a centerpiece of 0:31:13.160 --> 0:31:16.880 the Asian Tour. So they're moving all over the place 0:31:17.240 --> 0:31:20.720 and the courses are totally uninspired. And we know more 0:31:20.760 --> 0:31:25.520 and more that I mean, we were goofy. We look 0:31:25.520 --> 0:31:28.200 at a venue and that's what gets excited about a tournament. 0:31:28.560 --> 0:31:31.040 But I think more and more people are appreciative of 0:31:31.040 --> 0:31:33.960 the role the venue plays and the romance and the 0:31:34.040 --> 0:31:37.200 history or the character of the design, whether it or 0:31:37.240 --> 0:31:40.200 even you know, the players championship and the finishing holes. 0:31:40.400 --> 0:31:44.400 People just are more drawn to certain places and they 0:31:44.440 --> 0:31:50.640 don't have the most inspired group of venues, is probably 0:31:50.640 --> 0:31:53.240 the best way to put it. So it just seems 0:31:53.280 --> 0:31:55.880 to me like, yeah, they'll get some players, but I 0:31:55.920 --> 0:32:02.040 don't ultimately, I'm not seeing the long term wisdom of 0:32:03.120 --> 0:32:05.680 wanting to join it. I'm not getting the long term 0:32:05.800 --> 0:32:09.640 vision that can that a player can can trust signing 0:32:09.680 --> 0:32:15.920 on for and that that's uh, that's a problem because 0:32:16.480 --> 0:32:18.680 and the Saudis could pull the plug at any minute. 0:32:18.800 --> 0:32:22.480 They could, they could lose interest in no time, and 0:32:23.720 --> 0:32:26.320 they're not trustworthy that way. I don't think this. You know, 0:32:26.360 --> 0:32:29.600 Norman talks about going back, you know, back to twenty nineteen. 0:32:29.640 --> 0:32:32.160 They've been involved in the game. Oh wow, it's like 0:32:32.240 --> 0:32:34.920 they were, you know, practically at leaf Links at the 0:32:34.960 --> 0:32:37.120 founding of the sport. I mean, give me a break. 0:32:37.280 --> 0:32:39.760 That's like one of my pet peeves is when when 0:32:39.800 --> 0:32:42.880 somebody has in their logo, like you know, whether it's 0:32:42.880 --> 0:32:47.200 like a coffee shop established twenty twenty, Yeah, like, what 0:32:46.480 --> 0:32:48.040 what does that mean? 0:32:48.480 --> 0:32:52.160 Yeah, big deal, unless it's ironic, unless they're just trying 0:32:52.200 --> 0:32:55.760 to be funny. But yeah, so that part of his 0:32:55.920 --> 0:32:58.440 case is just really strange to me. And then yeah, 0:32:58.520 --> 0:33:01.080 that he hasn't I mean, tell you what you need 0:33:01.120 --> 0:33:03.600 to know about the saudis that he can't say. Look, 0:33:04.280 --> 0:33:08.400 there's no question that they they they there's some things 0:33:08.440 --> 0:33:11.360 in the past they would like us to forget. They 0:33:11.440 --> 0:33:12.600 want to forget, they want. 0:33:12.440 --> 0:33:14.840 To move forward in the near pass. 0:33:16.400 --> 0:33:21.840 A couple last weekend. But he can't even bring himself 0:33:21.840 --> 0:33:24.240 to do that because it's not what they want to hear. 0:33:24.320 --> 0:33:28.280 And so when you put that together with everything, it's 0:33:29.520 --> 0:33:31.320 it's a it's a high risk thing for a player 0:33:31.320 --> 0:33:33.360 to leap. On the other hand, you know, I don't 0:33:33.400 --> 0:33:39.920 know how many people truly understand what who they are 0:33:39.960 --> 0:33:41.040 and what you're getting into. 0:33:41.320 --> 0:33:43.600 I don't think that that I think that's the thing. 0:33:43.680 --> 0:33:48.600 I don't think that the general public understands. I happened 0:33:48.600 --> 0:33:52.160 to run into somebody on a golf course who you know, 0:33:52.680 --> 0:33:56.080 was like, oh, I listened to golf dot com subpar 0:33:56.240 --> 0:34:01.520 podcast about Greg Norman and he which you know they 0:34:02.160 --> 0:34:05.920 Colton Drew did an interview. They they didn't really ask 0:34:06.040 --> 0:34:10.920 many tough questions. I don't think they identify themselves as journalists, 0:34:11.600 --> 0:34:14.280 so you know, whatever that may be. But they didn't 0:34:14.280 --> 0:34:17.960 ask any questions. But the guy was like, it's pretty interesting, 0:34:18.000 --> 0:34:21.440 there are some interesting ideas. And I think that's the 0:34:21.520 --> 0:34:25.520 issue with you know, the general public just I don't 0:34:25.520 --> 0:34:30.120 think it necessarily understands the the you know, impetus and 0:34:30.200 --> 0:34:33.080 why they're doing this. And like you said, they could 0:34:33.120 --> 0:34:34.440 get bored and pull the plug. 0:34:34.480 --> 0:34:34.640 There. 0:34:34.719 --> 0:34:38.480 They're kind of they're kind of deploying what what Uber deployed. 0:34:38.640 --> 0:34:41.960 You know, we're going to kill the taxi industry, which is, 0:34:42.080 --> 0:34:45.040 you know, by offering an attempt to offer a better 0:34:45.080 --> 0:34:49.200 product that pays pays more or in Uber's case, is 0:34:49.239 --> 0:34:51.440 way cheaper for the consumer and more convenient. 0:34:51.960 --> 0:34:53.879 And then once we. 0:34:53.920 --> 0:34:57.400 Have killed off all the competition, we can do whatever 0:34:57.440 --> 0:34:59.879 we want with it. And that's the thing I think 0:35:00.040 --> 0:35:02.759 it's scary is that it could start as something and 0:35:02.840 --> 0:35:06.160 if they effectively kill the PGA tour then it could 0:35:06.320 --> 0:35:10.160 evolve into something that's even worse, you know than the 0:35:10.160 --> 0:35:11.400 PGA tourist product. 0:35:11.400 --> 0:35:14.520 Ever was right right, and then one player one day 0:35:14.560 --> 0:35:17.120 could say Holy cow, I just read a book about 0:35:17.160 --> 0:35:19.759 this whole kushogi thing. This is terrible. And they could 0:35:19.840 --> 0:35:21.719 they could, I mean the whole thing. You just don't 0:35:21.719 --> 0:35:25.120 know what could set them off. And that's uh, you know, 0:35:25.160 --> 0:35:28.319 that's something where the the agents and people involved have 0:35:28.440 --> 0:35:31.160 to to do the homework for the players and explain 0:35:31.200 --> 0:35:32.960 that to them. Because I had a conversation with a 0:35:33.000 --> 0:35:36.080 player at Revier this year and it was an amazing 0:35:36.239 --> 0:35:38.839 description of what this was and you know, I had 0:35:38.880 --> 0:35:41.880 no concept of it was just to this player, it 0:35:41.920 --> 0:35:44.120 was just a it's a rich guy who really wants 0:35:44.120 --> 0:35:49.440 to get into golf. Well, it's a little more complicated 0:35:49.520 --> 0:35:52.279 than that. And then the fund and and and then 0:35:52.280 --> 0:35:56.880 it's obviously complicated because the public investment fund is involved 0:35:56.880 --> 0:35:58.880 in a lot of well Uber you just mentioned. 0:35:58.960 --> 0:35:59.799 Yeah, Well that's the. 0:35:59.800 --> 0:36:03.520 Hard thing is I mean, you you live your daily 0:36:03.560 --> 0:36:07.200 life and you're probably contributing some money to to this, 0:36:07.360 --> 0:36:10.680 you know, regime, and you know that is something that's 0:36:10.719 --> 0:36:13.920 important to point out, is that they are involved in 0:36:13.960 --> 0:36:16.719 our lives every day almost you know, as is. 0:36:17.360 --> 0:36:20.439 Yeah, and so that's one of those things where it's 0:36:20.480 --> 0:36:23.200 a it's hard for a lot of people to call 0:36:23.280 --> 0:36:29.200 out this group and the way they're behaving. And but 0:36:29.280 --> 0:36:30.840 again I just I just go back to, you know, 0:36:30.840 --> 0:36:34.080 at least you know, the premier goth Leete concept. Uh, 0:36:34.400 --> 0:36:38.560 there was with with you know, the franchise concept that 0:36:38.600 --> 0:36:45.320 they are building a lot of their dream or idea around. 0:36:45.960 --> 0:36:48.759 Obviously is a money play. It creates value and their 0:36:48.840 --> 0:36:52.080 tax implications and great things, but it also is a 0:36:52.120 --> 0:36:56.440 statement about creating something for the long term. And so 0:36:56.520 --> 0:36:59.759 now that the Saudis have dropped the that element of 0:36:59.840 --> 0:37:05.160 the or concept and it's a startup. It's a beta. 0:37:04.400 --> 0:37:09.680 Yeah, billions of dollars and no product billions. Yeah, it's 0:37:09.719 --> 0:37:13.319 a pre they got a pre money valuation. They you know, 0:37:13.680 --> 0:37:16.040 they got a huge pre money valuation. 0:37:16.760 --> 0:37:17.600 Yeah, of course. 0:37:17.840 --> 0:37:20.839 The thing is Greg's the founder of this startup that 0:37:20.920 --> 0:37:25.040 has zero equity, you know, zero control. Is it's just 0:37:25.160 --> 0:37:27.440 like a pre money valuation startup. 0:37:27.760 --> 0:37:31.160 Yeah, it is. And and what's the long term vision? 0:37:31.200 --> 0:37:34.360 Now when you strip away the one thing that would 0:37:34.760 --> 0:37:41.480 be the incentive for players and for investors, uh, to 0:37:41.480 --> 0:37:44.279 to build and to build into something bigger and bigger 0:37:44.320 --> 0:37:46.759 and bigger and create that value of the franchise. And 0:37:46.840 --> 0:37:51.080 so that's the brilliance and also where you get the 0:37:51.200 --> 0:37:58.080 comfort level with what the PGL concept does and now 0:37:58.160 --> 0:38:02.319 whether that has any gain, any traction with people. You know, 0:38:02.440 --> 0:38:07.360 I still have my doubts about the team element working 0:38:07.400 --> 0:38:09.919 if there's only really one team event at the end 0:38:10.719 --> 0:38:15.680 and they're small teams. Yeah. Anyway, those are all details, 0:38:15.719 --> 0:38:17.480 and you can look at team Tennis and say, well, 0:38:17.520 --> 0:38:19.759 that didn't work, and that could be the same thing 0:38:19.800 --> 0:38:22.560 in golf. I don't know. 0:38:22.880 --> 0:38:27.520 Yeah, yeah, I think. And from all this, the PGL 0:38:27.680 --> 0:38:31.480 has come out way ahead in terms of their image. Unfortunately, 0:38:31.840 --> 0:38:35.960 you know, the Saudi's kind of hijack their idea and 0:38:35.960 --> 0:38:39.520 and you know, just in terms of you know, their 0:38:39.560 --> 0:38:43.480 intentions and what they're looking for onto positive things. 0:38:43.880 --> 0:38:48.400 We're right around the corner from Augusta. Yeah, but what's one. 0:38:48.280 --> 0:38:53.799 Storyline you're particularly keen heading into the Masters this year? 0:38:54.160 --> 0:38:57.760 Well, as somebody who loves golf architecture, naturally, I'm totally 0:38:57.760 --> 0:39:00.600 fascinated by the changes at the eleventh hole and how 0:39:00.640 --> 0:39:02.600 that's going to play. You know, we've gotten a teaser 0:39:02.680 --> 0:39:05.759 which we don't normally get thanks to Eureka Earth, so 0:39:05.760 --> 0:39:08.920 we get to see what's going on, and it's intriguing, 0:39:10.040 --> 0:39:12.719 the fifteenth a little bit longer. There's some there's been 0:39:12.920 --> 0:39:15.640 talk of some greens being redone. You've written a piece 0:39:15.680 --> 0:39:20.080 about some some widening. The last aeriels did look it 0:39:20.120 --> 0:39:22.200 did look a little wider, but the rough also looked 0:39:22.239 --> 0:39:24.399 pretty pretty healthy. Who knows, it may have just rained 0:39:24.400 --> 0:39:26.480 for a few days and then cut it. Excuse me, 0:39:26.520 --> 0:39:28.239 the second cut. I got to start getting into my 0:39:29.480 --> 0:39:34.480 into my master speak mode, and so I'm always interested 0:39:34.480 --> 0:39:36.359 to see what they've done with the golf course, how 0:39:36.360 --> 0:39:40.719 it plays, how the players react. You know, it's it's 0:39:40.760 --> 0:39:44.360 another fascinating thing I've been. I've been, you know, at Riviera. 0:39:44.400 --> 0:39:47.600 I talked to players about something I was working on 0:39:47.640 --> 0:39:49.600 for the old course, and you know, we haven't really 0:39:49.600 --> 0:39:52.040 had many reports the players going there and playing. You know, 0:39:52.040 --> 0:39:53.799 that used to be such a thing and now it's 0:39:53.880 --> 0:39:58.760 more of rest and get there. Caddy figures out the lines, 0:39:58.840 --> 0:40:02.560 we discuss it the tea, we crunch the numbers, and 0:40:02.600 --> 0:40:05.919 we go play. So we really haven't gotten I mean, 0:40:06.280 --> 0:40:08.959 by now we should have gotten some players speaking about 0:40:08.960 --> 0:40:12.080 what they've seen, and there just hasn't been much, or 0:40:12.120 --> 0:40:14.440 if they've been, they just haven't been asked and all that. 0:40:14.600 --> 0:40:18.680 So I'm I think there's the there's so much other 0:40:18.719 --> 0:40:19.520 stuff going on. 0:40:19.880 --> 0:40:20.920 Yeah, that's part of it too. 0:40:21.120 --> 0:40:23.359 I can't remember a Masters where it's been. 0:40:23.800 --> 0:40:26.880 You know, the conversation's been so quiet about it coming 0:40:26.960 --> 0:40:30.480 up because of everything that's going on in the sport. 0:40:30.600 --> 0:40:33.920 You know, usually like each week is kind of this 0:40:34.120 --> 0:40:37.480 Master's build, and it seems like each week now is 0:40:37.520 --> 0:40:39.880 the latest in this soap opera we've been watching with 0:40:40.000 --> 0:40:41.840 the Saudi's. 0:40:41.520 --> 0:40:43.919 Well, and also it's just the time we're in where 0:40:43.960 --> 0:40:48.279 we have some parody Tiger and Phil. Well, Tiger's not 0:40:48.320 --> 0:40:52.040 playing who knows what Phil. Hopefully Phil plays, if he's 0:40:52.080 --> 0:40:54.319 gonna play, Hopefully he plays at the Valeros. So it's 0:40:54.320 --> 0:40:58.800 not a full spectacle when he arrives at Augusta. Rory's 0:40:58.840 --> 0:41:03.240 Grand Slam West has been done now for several years, 0:41:03.360 --> 0:41:06.520 so that's yeah, that's lost a little of its luster. 0:41:06.680 --> 0:41:08.759 And the way he's putting you don't really feel like 0:41:08.920 --> 0:41:14.680 right now his game is shaping up for Augusta. But 0:41:14.760 --> 0:41:17.719 who knows, he could anything could happen, but it doesn't 0:41:18.160 --> 0:41:21.520 doesn't look great. So yeah, there's not any great storyline 0:41:21.560 --> 0:41:25.239 with players coming in. Somebody's not on a streak, and 0:41:25.280 --> 0:41:27.000 the Major's Brooks is cooled. 0:41:26.719 --> 0:41:29.640 Off speed spend kind of quiet too, very. 0:41:29.560 --> 0:41:33.600 Quiet, and he's that the swing looks strange. And by 0:41:33.600 --> 0:41:35.879 the way, speaking of duck hooks, he had a few 0:41:36.000 --> 0:41:39.520 riv I saw, so it still can be done with 0:41:39.680 --> 0:41:42.280 modern equipment. But yeah, he cooled. 0:41:42.040 --> 0:41:45.080 Off Smith on sim Smith. 0:41:45.400 --> 0:41:47.719 Oh my gosh, that was a quacker. That was an 0:41:47.760 --> 0:41:52.279 old school which made his T shot on eighteen so 0:41:52.400 --> 0:41:55.480 incredible because again, like you said earlier, once you hit 0:41:55.520 --> 0:41:58.719 one of those, uh, and again there's a whole bunch 0:41:58.760 --> 0:42:00.840 of players who just don't know what that feels like. 0:42:00.880 --> 0:42:02.600 And once you hit one, it's the same as a shank. 0:42:03.040 --> 0:42:04.399 It's the same same kind of thing. 0:42:04.440 --> 0:42:06.680 It gets you here. Next one's going way right no 0:42:06.719 --> 0:42:07.120 matter what. 0:42:07.560 --> 0:42:10.040 Yeah, and he hit that beautiful T shirt on a teen, 0:42:10.239 --> 0:42:12.400 Like my gout, he kept it on the planet. I would. 0:42:12.880 --> 0:42:13.480 I was impressed. 0:42:13.560 --> 0:42:15.920 I think the thing with the snaphook that is like 0:42:16.320 --> 0:42:20.080 so many times you hit it so flush and it's 0:42:20.200 --> 0:42:23.640 just so far it doesn't feel that as bad as 0:42:23.719 --> 0:42:26.520 like you know, when you block one, right, but that 0:42:26.680 --> 0:42:30.680 snap hook can can sometimes feel pretty good. 0:42:31.160 --> 0:42:35.359 Yes, I'll believe me. Uh, I'm from the era when 0:42:35.400 --> 0:42:38.319 when we transitioned and shafts were not like they were, 0:42:39.040 --> 0:42:42.160 and there were certain shafts you you you'd like if 0:42:42.280 --> 0:42:45.800 you look up, you felt great and impacting. Where why 0:42:46.000 --> 0:42:47.520 what happened? How did that happen? 0:42:47.840 --> 0:42:49.439 That was a good swing, that felt good? 0:42:50.400 --> 0:42:53.360 Yeah, And I think that's the thing about the hook 0:42:54.120 --> 0:42:56.879 is where it can feel really good and then then 0:42:56.920 --> 0:42:59.400 to the next one there's no way that's you know 0:42:59.600 --> 0:43:02.200 that that one is going right no matter what. 0:43:02.480 --> 0:43:04.560 Yeah, And I don't miss that part of the game, 0:43:04.600 --> 0:43:06.200 and I don't think we want to bring it back, 0:43:07.280 --> 0:43:09.400 and I don't think these rule changes are intending to 0:43:09.440 --> 0:43:11.799 do that, and they it's very hard to with again 0:43:11.880 --> 0:43:14.719 with the quality of the equipment, But I do think 0:43:14.760 --> 0:43:18.759 we'd love to see that that just slight throttling back 0:43:19.320 --> 0:43:21.880 out of fear of missing the sweet spot would be 0:43:22.719 --> 0:43:24.759 I think it would do a lot of good and 0:43:24.800 --> 0:43:27.240 it would also help. Yeah, that's the thing we've got 0:43:27.280 --> 0:43:29.960 to you know. The Green Reading Books, I think is 0:43:29.960 --> 0:43:33.200 a great example of where the players actually took the initiative, 0:43:33.840 --> 0:43:37.160 either because they saw how stupid it looked, you know, 0:43:37.360 --> 0:43:39.920 guys standing there watching another player plot and looking over 0:43:39.920 --> 0:43:42.120 to the crowd and seeing people laughing at a guy 0:43:42.320 --> 0:43:44.440 with the book up to his face. So they watched 0:43:44.440 --> 0:43:48.080 it at home and it and somehow maybe the PGA 0:43:48.160 --> 0:43:51.680 to a rule staff did it. They got it to 0:43:51.800 --> 0:43:54.560 their ego and said, look, you know you guys, you 0:43:54.719 --> 0:43:57.720 all time, you really good players, you Brooks's and your rories. 0:44:00.120 --> 0:44:02.799 You're this is stupid. You look stupid. You're gonna you're 0:44:02.800 --> 0:44:05.680 not gonna appreciate this. Your generation is gonna look dumb. 0:44:06.160 --> 0:44:08.640 And those guys took the initiative to kind of get 0:44:08.680 --> 0:44:11.560 a skill of green reading back, whether it was for 0:44:11.600 --> 0:44:14.040 optics or whatever it was. And I think on the 0:44:14.200 --> 0:44:19.200 distancing that's the job of Jason Gore and the various 0:44:19.280 --> 0:44:23.320 player representatives. The PGA Tour role staff is like this, 0:44:23.320 --> 0:44:25.520 this is not to humiliate you. We're not trying to 0:44:25.560 --> 0:44:29.240 embarrass you. We want you, We want that that really 0:44:29.280 --> 0:44:33.799 great player to just be separated a little bit more, uh, 0:44:33.920 --> 0:44:36.399 with these these changes, and if they can buy get 0:44:36.400 --> 0:44:40.040 that buy in and not feel like they're gonna be 0:44:40.120 --> 0:44:42.200 we're trying to make them snaphook it and look bad. 0:44:42.360 --> 0:44:44.200 I think it'll it'll sail through. 0:44:45.520 --> 0:44:48.240 I think this is one other aspect we talk about 0:44:48.320 --> 0:44:51.279 the Masters and having a little bit less pop. One 0:44:51.320 --> 0:44:56.560 other aspect of a really, really, really young tour is 0:44:56.600 --> 0:44:59.520 that we don't have these built up storylines for for 0:44:59.800 --> 0:45:03.279 a decade, we don't have I mean, Sam Burns is 0:45:03.400 --> 0:45:05.680 in the top ten in the world, has won three times, 0:45:05.680 --> 0:45:07.720 and he hasn't played in the Masters. 0:45:08.400 --> 0:45:18.440 Yeah. I'm really starting to get concerned about that in 0:45:18.560 --> 0:45:21.600 terms of getting to know players, and I feel like 0:45:21.719 --> 0:45:25.839 this and television still really matters. So I have PJ 0:45:26.000 --> 0:45:28.279 Tour live on a lot and every once in a 0:45:28.320 --> 0:45:33.719 while for a bathroom break for the announcers, they'll go 0:45:33.800 --> 0:45:37.640 to a pre canned feature on a player and they're short, 0:45:37.800 --> 0:45:40.360 you know whatever, they are a minute or something. But 0:45:40.400 --> 0:45:43.600 I'm like, that's great, Wait, that was good. We need 0:45:43.600 --> 0:45:46.440 to do more of that. And the network model now 0:45:46.640 --> 0:45:51.799 is so shot driven, and I think this is going 0:45:51.840 --> 0:45:54.560 to be looked back on as a disaster. You know. Again, 0:45:54.600 --> 0:45:58.480 golf is not thrilling, and you need reasons for people 0:45:58.480 --> 0:46:01.320 to watch. And it used to be a sport that 0:46:01.320 --> 0:46:05.879 that that old old ladies. I knew. I knew a few, 0:46:07.160 --> 0:46:09.680 you know. A friend of my mom's mom love golf, 0:46:09.760 --> 0:46:13.160 never play in their life and they're there. I think 0:46:13.200 --> 0:46:17.719 we're losing touch with with a broader audience by just 0:46:17.760 --> 0:46:21.359 showing shot after shot after shot and not you know, 0:46:21.440 --> 0:46:23.719 going into the let's let's do thirty seconds where the 0:46:23.760 --> 0:46:25.719 catty just shows us what the player has in his 0:46:25.800 --> 0:46:29.080 bag and it shows a little personality or whatever it 0:46:29.200 --> 0:46:32.960 is we're missing out. Of course, we're getting no sound 0:46:33.000 --> 0:46:36.319 from the course, which every other sport is bringing you 0:46:36.480 --> 0:46:39.960 sound so you get to to hear these people. The 0:46:40.000 --> 0:46:43.040 players don't want to be heard whatever. I just feel 0:46:43.040 --> 0:46:46.080 like we're moving in a very dangerous direction along with 0:46:46.160 --> 0:46:50.080 what's going on with the parody where uh it's it's 0:46:50.120 --> 0:46:54.360 gonna be hard for a casual fan to uh to 0:46:54.480 --> 0:46:57.520 really kind of get invested. Plus, you know, let's face it, 0:46:57.560 --> 0:46:59.239 the old broadcast used to be a little bit of 0:46:59.320 --> 0:47:03.040 a yeah it's beauty, and we got that. CBS especially, 0:47:03.120 --> 0:47:06.040 it's just killing it with the visuals and the drone 0:47:06.120 --> 0:47:11.200 and the blamp and camera angles and improved, but uh, 0:47:11.360 --> 0:47:15.200 you know, the travelogue element to a broadcast, the length 0:47:15.200 --> 0:47:19.759 of the broadcast, you know, I just I'm kind of 0:47:19.840 --> 0:47:22.240 weird in that I almost think like the network shows 0:47:22.239 --> 0:47:25.520 should be a little tighter and a little bit more 0:47:25.560 --> 0:47:28.799 produced and less about shots. So I and I don't 0:47:28.840 --> 0:47:31.400 know how you measure how that has an impact, but 0:47:31.480 --> 0:47:32.400 I feel like it does. 0:47:32.800 --> 0:47:36.040 It's also on the TV network that has doesn't do 0:47:36.120 --> 0:47:37.280 any features anymore. 0:47:37.640 --> 0:47:38.600 No, No, that's what I mean. 0:47:38.719 --> 0:47:42.839 Yeah, I mean, are they beyond it's beyond just the broadcast. 0:47:42.880 --> 0:47:45.799 But I think you know, you look at print journalism 0:47:46.000 --> 0:47:49.160 when Brenda and I on the Shotgun start to those spotlights. 0:47:49.200 --> 0:47:51.640 You know, you go back and you read these these 0:47:51.680 --> 0:47:55.120 feature pieces from sports illustrated from from you know, the 0:47:55.200 --> 0:47:58.520 nineties and the eighties and seventies, and you just think 0:47:58.520 --> 0:48:03.120 to yourself, God, this whole era of golf is devoid 0:48:03.360 --> 0:48:05.920 of that. You know, the idea of sending a journalist 0:48:06.000 --> 0:48:10.840 to right Sevy or to uh Jose Maria ol Thabo's 0:48:10.920 --> 0:48:15.120 town too, you know, in Inhi May, I believe it 0:48:15.120 --> 0:48:17.640 was him, didn't even have an interview set, and he 0:48:17.760 --> 0:48:19.400 was there for a week and he just talked to 0:48:19.440 --> 0:48:22.560 the people that knew Jose Maria and and and you know, 0:48:22.719 --> 0:48:27.360 and you're just missing the storytelling and in the uniqueness 0:48:27.360 --> 0:48:30.200 and and everything now is run through a filter through 0:48:30.239 --> 0:48:33.200 the agent. So I think that's an important thing to 0:48:33.239 --> 0:48:36.640 point out is when you see these appearances on podcasts, 0:48:36.960 --> 0:48:39.319 These are set up through the agent. Then they've got 0:48:39.400 --> 0:48:43.000 really strict talking points and different things with with some 0:48:43.080 --> 0:48:45.480 of them. You know, some are better, some agents are 0:48:45.480 --> 0:48:50.759 better than others. But you know, this is everything's kind 0:48:50.760 --> 0:48:55.719 of of uh doled out on a kind of fed 0:48:55.760 --> 0:48:58.120 out in a in a manner as opposed to the 0:48:58.200 --> 0:49:02.239 authenticity of the player profiles and different things is so 0:49:02.360 --> 0:49:03.120 much less now. 0:49:03.160 --> 0:49:06.600 And I think Golf. 0:49:06.880 --> 0:49:10.000 The telecast is an interesting subject because I think this 0:49:10.080 --> 0:49:12.680 is a knee jerk of swings, like they can swing 0:49:12.719 --> 0:49:16.920 in different directions and maybe it was too produced and 0:49:16.960 --> 0:49:20.560 now they're pushing for more shots. Obviously there's all these 0:49:20.600 --> 0:49:23.839 features and sponsor features that need to be put in there, 0:49:24.640 --> 0:49:28.879 and and that you know, maybe that's the next thing 0:49:28.920 --> 0:49:32.200 that's pushed against, is that, you know, really, what is 0:49:32.239 --> 0:49:33.919 the FedEx Cup updates doing? 0:49:33.960 --> 0:49:34.560 What are they doing? 0:49:34.680 --> 0:49:38.760 Yeah, the FedEx Cup file? Yeah, he likes to go fishing. Yeah. 0:49:38.800 --> 0:49:39.080 Great. 0:49:39.760 --> 0:49:42.839 Although I think they've trimmed some promos this year, which 0:49:42.880 --> 0:49:45.399 is kind of the other interesting thing. We're getting more 0:49:45.440 --> 0:49:48.120 shots in part because they've they have trimmed a few things. 0:49:49.800 --> 0:49:52.479 Instruction is another thing I mean, I don't I don't 0:49:52.520 --> 0:49:54.719 need a golf lesson. But guess what, most of the 0:49:54.719 --> 0:49:57.960 people watching the broadcast would love more instructions Johnny Miller. 0:49:58.200 --> 0:50:02.160 You realize Johnny was so masterful one because he called 0:50:02.160 --> 0:50:04.920 it like he saw it. He knew how to create drama, 0:50:06.760 --> 0:50:09.320 and then he also knew how to educate you a 0:50:09.360 --> 0:50:12.560 little bit about the game and say, hey, now look here. 0:50:12.600 --> 0:50:14.680 You know, and some people didn't like his swing analysis 0:50:14.760 --> 0:50:16.919 and thought he was dead wrong and whatever, but that's 0:50:16.920 --> 0:50:21.399 some that's controversial. Those little things that are are being 0:50:21.480 --> 0:50:25.239 chipped away at I think are really problematic. And then 0:50:25.280 --> 0:50:27.880 to your point, yeah about I mean, look at the reaction. 0:50:28.320 --> 0:50:31.920 Uh Dan Rappaport's piece on Morgan Hoffman got and that 0:50:32.080 --> 0:50:36.000 was kind of that used to be done as a lot, Yeah, 0:50:36.040 --> 0:50:38.640 and now it's not done and they spent the money 0:50:38.680 --> 0:50:41.279 he went, He traveled a long way and it must 0:50:41.280 --> 0:50:43.160 have been, you know, in the works for a while 0:50:43.360 --> 0:50:46.880 and is and it wasn't a great and a fascinating read. 0:50:46.960 --> 0:50:48.960 And there are more stories like that, but yeah, those 0:50:49.000 --> 0:50:52.600 are all gone. And uh yeah, the Masters build up 0:50:52.719 --> 0:50:54.480 used to be. I used to I couldn't wait to 0:50:54.480 --> 0:50:58.880 get the golf World Preview issue, the SI Golf Plus issue, 0:50:58.960 --> 0:51:03.440 the Golf Digest, Golf magazine did great blowout stuff, and 0:51:03.520 --> 0:51:08.440 they'd usually be pretty original, and that stuff now is 0:51:08.520 --> 0:51:10.400 just kind of I mean, I did a piece of 0:51:10.440 --> 0:51:14.759 my newsletter just kind of revisiting one I wrote in 0:51:14.800 --> 0:51:17.799 twenty ten for Golf World about the links between Saint 0:51:17.840 --> 0:51:21.400 Andrews and Augusta National. And it's amazing how many people 0:51:21.440 --> 0:51:24.200 when I did the piece or they still stumble on it, 0:51:24.600 --> 0:51:28.240 like I had no idea and I saw the headline 0:51:28.239 --> 0:51:30.160 and that sounds stupid. And then you you know, you 0:51:30.280 --> 0:51:35.360 explained all the backstory of Bobby Jones and and like 0:51:35.440 --> 0:51:37.239 those kinds, and so it was fun for me to 0:51:37.280 --> 0:51:39.279 revisit it and not hate what I wrote and then 0:51:39.280 --> 0:51:42.480 add a few things that have been we've learned since. 0:51:43.880 --> 0:51:48.920 But yeah, there's no place doing that now, and I 0:51:48.920 --> 0:51:52.399 think all that adds up to being not great for 0:51:52.520 --> 0:51:57.359 the sport. That said, but at the same time, those 0:51:57.440 --> 0:52:01.399 podcasts you're talking about, they're still great that they're they're 0:52:01.440 --> 0:52:05.920 doing those even if they are you know, their guidelines. 0:52:06.480 --> 0:52:10.120 And then social media is a tool that I you know, 0:52:10.120 --> 0:52:12.600 would love to see that the TV networks just don't 0:52:12.680 --> 0:52:16.239 use very well to to do a little feature and 0:52:16.280 --> 0:52:18.560 if the worst case scenario is they put it on 0:52:18.600 --> 0:52:20.839 the social feed, that's it. But then if they get 0:52:20.840 --> 0:52:22.640 a rain delay or something, they can put it on 0:52:22.640 --> 0:52:25.279 the broadcast. They just go right to the tape of 0:52:25.320 --> 0:52:28.480 the replay of the rain or the tournament before, the 0:52:28.560 --> 0:52:31.080 year before. And they're also doing, by the way, very little. 0:52:31.080 --> 0:52:34.759 I haven't looked, but I haven't seen anything lately of 0:52:35.719 --> 0:52:38.960 old Masters. CBS had built that they were going to 0:52:39.040 --> 0:52:42.240 do a lot of old retro broadcasts of tour events 0:52:42.280 --> 0:52:44.920 this year, so little stuff. All those little things kind 0:52:44.960 --> 0:52:47.480 of add up, and I don't I think they're kind 0:52:47.480 --> 0:52:48.839 of being reflected in the ratings too. 0:52:49.040 --> 0:52:51.239 The players has done a wonderful job, and it's like 0:52:51.440 --> 0:52:54.920 adding time you an old Players is on, there's buzz 0:52:54.960 --> 0:52:55.399 about it. 0:52:55.440 --> 0:52:56.239 You know. 0:52:56.640 --> 0:52:59.680 It's like people are like enjoy going back and watching 0:52:59.760 --> 0:53:04.279 nine nine players and in different things. But so we're gonna, 0:53:04.320 --> 0:53:06.680 we're gonna wrap up here, We're gonna see you in 0:53:06.880 --> 0:53:10.920 uh in Augusta and uh you're gonna you're you're ramping up. 0:53:10.920 --> 0:53:13.600 This is quadrilateral season. This is what people should be 0:53:13.640 --> 0:53:17.399 signing up for. So you'll be on site, and uh, 0:53:17.440 --> 0:53:19.200 how do people go about signing up? 0:53:19.800 --> 0:53:22.480 Ah, well, they can just go to my my main 0:53:22.520 --> 0:53:25.799 website just spelled g Off Jeff g E O F 0:53:25.920 --> 0:53:28.520 F and golf on Google and Jeff Shackle for dot 0:53:28.520 --> 0:53:33.239 com comes up the sign ups there it's free and uh, 0:53:33.400 --> 0:53:38.359 or you can try and spell quadrilateral. It's not that hard, 0:53:39.000 --> 0:53:42.160 but but it'll it'll turn up somehow, and or go 0:53:42.200 --> 0:53:44.839 to substack they have a ranking. And so yeah, it's 0:53:44.880 --> 0:53:47.719 going really well. And I'll be doing daily reports. I 0:53:47.719 --> 0:53:50.359 don't know, you know the majors where I stayed home 0:53:50.480 --> 0:53:53.319 during the pandemic. Uh, it was more of news and 0:53:53.360 --> 0:53:55.960 notes every day. I hope to be a little bit more, 0:53:57.719 --> 0:53:59.759 try to bring something a little more from on site. 0:53:59.800 --> 0:54:01.200 So we'll see. I'm a one man fan. 0:54:01.440 --> 0:54:04.040 So well, Jeff, we'll talk to you soon. 0:54:04.360 --> 0:54:06.759 And and thanks for coming on. 0:54:06.800 --> 0:54:08.520 All right, my pleasure. 0:54:18.600 --> 0:54:22.120 Thank you for listening to another episode of the Friday Podcast. 0:54:22.320 --> 0:54:26.439 Today's episode was edited by meg Atkins. Thank you, mech 0:54:27.080 --> 0:54:31.960 And just a reminder, we have another show, the Shotgun Start, 0:54:32.000 --> 0:54:33.880 if you're ever looking for more podcasts. 0:54:34.400 --> 0:54:36.320 The Shotgun Start is a three day. 0:54:36.200 --> 0:54:40.240 Week Monday Wednesday Friday podcast that delves into the world 0:54:40.239 --> 0:54:43.360 of professional golf mostly so if you want more takes 0:54:44.080 --> 0:54:46.160 on pro golf, this is a great spot to go. 0:54:46.560 --> 0:54:50.080 So it is on wherever you get your your podcasts. 0:54:50.160 --> 0:54:53.440 I host it with Brendan Porath. It is a it's 0:54:53.440 --> 0:54:56.480 a wonderful listen. It's it's something that you can get 0:54:56.560 --> 0:55:00.040 habitually into a little bit different speed than the f 0:55:00.719 --> 0:55:03.640 So thanks for listening. We will be back on Friday 0:55:03.719 --> 0:55:21.400 with another new episode.