Speaker 1: That's why golf such a funny game. You know, I
Speaker 1: worked really hard for six months to get worse. Um, like,
Speaker 1: it's quite funny. I got thoughts in my head. Can't
Speaker 1: get them Joan. Nothing what I'm thinking about that in
Speaker 1: my head, can't get them out, jo not think what
Speaker 1: I'm thinking about. Hello, this is Alan Ship knocking back
Speaker 1: from their Fire Drill podcast. This is a special one.
Speaker 1: It's like going to accompany a new episode of the
Speaker 1: grind Our docuseries that kind of takes you the viewer
Speaker 1: slash listener, kind of deep into the world of professional
Speaker 1: golf and those who aspire to get there and um.
Speaker 1: This this episode that we're dropping here Masters Week follows
Speaker 1: Laird Sheppard. He was the British Amateur champ by way
Speaker 1: of an epic come back. He fought his way to
Speaker 1: the Masters in two thousand and twenty two and we
Speaker 1: were our cameras were there through for everything in Scotland.
Speaker 1: We've got some great stuff from from his whole journey
Speaker 1: and of course we were with him in AUGUSTA. So
Speaker 1: we're just going to talk about kind of bring things
Speaker 1: up to date, uh, match Nell and I and then
Speaker 1: we'll have lair to jump on and and and talk
Speaker 1: through with this. Last year has been like and reminisce
Speaker 1: about the Masters. And but let me throw it over
Speaker 1: to Matt before we get too deep into this. He
Speaker 1: wants to thank some of the people who make this possible. Matt,
Speaker 1: the floor is yours. Thanks all new sponsor this week
Speaker 1: for all things that we're doing out of out of
Speaker 1: Augusta and the Masters. And that's Robin Golf. Finally have
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Speaker 1: thanks for their sponsorship and highly recommend. That's awesome. Well,
Speaker 1: so let's talk about Lair Sheppard a little bit without
Speaker 1: giving away too much. You know, he struggles with the
Speaker 1: Masters and that's how the episode ends, and the podcast
Speaker 1: here will bring folks up to date on everything that's
Speaker 1: followed in the last year. You give us a little teaser, Matt,
Speaker 1: because you went deep in Layer and you followed the
Speaker 1: story all the way through. Well, I, Laird is amazing.
Speaker 1: He's had several comebacks physically, spiritually, you know, mechanically from
Speaker 1: a golfing standpoint, obviously as you mentioned, coming back nine down,
Speaker 1: eight down with nineteen holes to play in the in
Speaker 1: the British Amateur and uh as you will see in
Speaker 1: this episode. And no, we did a multipart podcast on
Speaker 1: Laard Shepherd a year and a half ago celebrating this
Speaker 1: incredible comeback. So this is a guy, you know, we
Speaker 1: talked about the grind and you know, we met up
Speaker 1: with the multiple times in Scotland. We went out and
Speaker 1: hit balls with him at Duke's in you know, snow
Speaker 1: covered driving range. He was the only one on the
Speaker 1: range had to be you know, thirty degrees and he's
Speaker 1: having to pick his own balls up off the driving range.
Speaker 1: You know, he's physically trying to get stronger. He's preparing
Speaker 1: for the Masters and these opportunities he got after he
Speaker 1: wins the British Amateur and he's just a very compelling character.
Speaker 1: He's very intense and very committed to his craft and
Speaker 1: for Laird, it's almost and we talk about it on
Speaker 1: this podcast. For him to get to a place where
Speaker 1: he actually lets go is when he becomes dangerous. So
Speaker 1: getting down eight with nineteen to play is when he
Speaker 1: started playing his best golf going into the Masters, and
Speaker 1: he talks about all the distraction and the pressures and
Speaker 1: sort of the claustrophobia of the of the patrons, and
Speaker 1: you know that he's his biggest challenge is his own mind.
Speaker 1: And he really has been always very open and honest
Speaker 1: and very thoughtful for up to us. As he talks
Speaker 1: about this struggle and people in his inner circle, his
Speaker 1: girlfriend and his friend and caddy at the British Ampshire
Speaker 1: talk about it. He just has to find this balance
Speaker 1: between working towards getting better and backing away and freeing
Speaker 1: himself up to play better. It's you know what I mean,
Speaker 1: It's there's that fine line and you think about it.
Speaker 1: We talked about Jordan Spieth, when is he the most
Speaker 1: dangerous when he was young and had no you know, no,
Speaker 1: he had no inhibitions, free of all the kind of
Speaker 1: the mental craziness. Rory, he was the best when he
Speaker 1: was just a kid playing golf. Tigers always had that
Speaker 1: ability to sort of play the game. He's playing the game.
Speaker 1: You know, I think Laird is going to have a
Speaker 1: really good career as soon as he's able to sort
Speaker 1: of turn it off. Yeah. That that mental challenge is
Speaker 1: so fascinating, and it really comes through in the sort
Speaker 1: of the grind where, um, it's having watched a few times,
Speaker 1: you know, he's We follow him early in Master's Week
Speaker 1: and he's just so a bulliant and he's just so
Speaker 1: happy to be there, and and then and we interview
Speaker 1: him after he's missed the cut and he's just you know,
Speaker 1: his eyes are watery and he's he's just so crushed,
Speaker 1: and you can't have a more perfect distillation of how
Speaker 1: brutal tournament golf is. And I mean, Bobby Jones is
Speaker 1: what chased him out of the game at twenty eight,
Speaker 1: you know, after won the Grand Slam, was the Houston
Speaker 1: drink two inches of corn liquor after every round. He
Speaker 1: was just it just took such a toll on him.
Speaker 1: And so um, that's what I love about about this show,
Speaker 1: that is we have that intimacy and you've been and
Speaker 1: we we we capture those tough moments as well as
Speaker 1: the moments of triumph. They're both there, they're both in
Speaker 1: this this one episode, and I think that's why it's
Speaker 1: so compelling. You also find out that Laird tried to
Speaker 1: change his change his swing going into the Masters because
Speaker 1: he knew he needed to hit a little higher and
Speaker 1: hit them, hit that d all and under pressure, it
Speaker 1: didn't it didn't hold up. And he was, you know,
Speaker 1: going to the US Open at the country Club and
Speaker 1: sort of under the same kind of set of pressures
Speaker 1: and it wasn't working. And he gets to that Wednesday
Speaker 1: before the for the US Open and when he finally
Speaker 1: decides that's it, I'm going back to my going back
Speaker 1: to what got me here, and it finally clicks and
Speaker 1: he misses the cut at the US Open. But you know,
Speaker 1: he talks through that whole process too, and in his
Speaker 1: mind he's still trying to get back to that swinging
Speaker 1: game he had got him to win at the British Amperature,
Speaker 1: and that that's just again goes back to sort of
Speaker 1: this inherent need for these guys to continue to always
Speaker 1: be tweaking and tinkering and trying to hit a higher
Speaker 1: or laugh versus right or what. You know. It just fascinating.
Speaker 1: It's just fascinating to me. And Laird is a is
Speaker 1: a real deep thinker and very he's a very intellectual
Speaker 1: and and I just think as soon as he's able
Speaker 1: to do that work on the range and stop doing
Speaker 1: work on the course, and if he's if he's able
Speaker 1: to sort of let it go, he's very dangerous with
Speaker 1: the putter when he gets hot, and I think he's
Speaker 1: got a great career ahead of him. I look forward
Speaker 1: to seeing where it goes for him. It's amazing how
Speaker 1: many players have fallen into that trap. And it takes
Speaker 1: like a real confidence and sort of strength. Of course,
Speaker 1: you always want to get better. I mean to quote Tiger,
Speaker 1: if you're not getting better or getting worse, so that
Speaker 1: that that quest for improvement. But the flip side is
Speaker 1: you have to know who you are as a golfer
Speaker 1: and you can stay on the range and say, oh,
Speaker 1: I want to swing it like Adam Scott or I
Speaker 1: want to You know, it's very easy to just start
Speaker 1: chasing someone or something that that's not really who you are,
Speaker 1: as it's in your in your competitive DNA. And so
Speaker 1: that's a tough lesson for Laird, but it's better to
Speaker 1: learn it at you know, twenty three than thirty three
Speaker 1: and even forty three. I mean, that's what happened, whether
Speaker 1: it's Ian Baker, Finch or David Duval. I mean guys
Speaker 1: have gone. Happened to Savy biosteros like players have lost
Speaker 1: their natural gift could chase in something and so um,
Speaker 1: if it made it made last last year's master is tough.
Speaker 1: But if that was the less then if he can
Speaker 1: stay true to himself and he can play to his
Speaker 1: own strength, and it was worth it, So it'll be
Speaker 1: fun to follow him on this journey. But um, maybe
Speaker 1: we should let Laird speak for himself. I mean, you
Speaker 1: did a great conversation with him, and I think listeners
Speaker 1: want to hear it from Laird. So I'm going to
Speaker 1: step aside and let you guys get to get to
Speaker 1: your your whole conversation. UM, certainly if you're if you're
Speaker 1: into this podcast, you've probably already watched the episode. But
Speaker 1: if not, I would employ you to go to fire
Speaker 1: Pit Collective dot com or go to our our YouTube
Speaker 1: and you can you can catch not only this episode,
Speaker 1: which is number six in the series, being they're the
Speaker 1: first five, are also there as well and on some
Speaker 1: really compelling golfers who have just tremendous stories, and and
Speaker 1: the way we're able to tell it with a lot
Speaker 1: of a lot of authenticity, a lot of a lot
Speaker 1: of intimacy. It's um to me, it's just just fabulous storytelling.
Speaker 1: So UM, anyway, that's that's all I have to say
Speaker 1: on the matter. This is allienship. Like, I'm going to
Speaker 1: sign off and we're gonna turn this whole the rest
Speaker 1: of podcast over to Matton Laird. We last left you
Speaker 1: at AUGUSTA right, and UM talked me through sort of
Speaker 1: that whole experience and that week as you kind of
Speaker 1: now almost a year later, a sort of kind of
Speaker 1: looking looking back and reflecting on all that transpired. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean it was a full on week, like the
Speaker 1: most full one week out of any of the other,
Speaker 1: um things that went along with I guess whinning the
Speaker 1: brush amateur Like the Open, I guess the more sort
Speaker 1: of familiar topic golf made that a bit more easy.
Speaker 1: And again the US Open also felt maybe a little
Speaker 1: bit more low key, but um, I guess for myself,
Speaker 1: I didn't get to play a whole lot of golf
Speaker 1: over the winter leading up to the Masters, and so
Speaker 1: he kind of, you know, working towards that one tournament
Speaker 1: for the best part of sort of six months really,
Speaker 1: and I think that made it quite difficult not to
Speaker 1: over prepare over age in some ways. And so you know,
Speaker 1: when I did come, it was just like a lot
Speaker 1: going on and it was a very intense week. I
Speaker 1: think as well. One of the things I really took
Speaker 1: from it was how close everyone is to you on
Speaker 1: the golf course, like physically, the crowds so close and
Speaker 1: there's so many people, and I think maybe that's the
Speaker 1: slight Tiger effect as well, that he was obviously playing
Speaker 1: that week, and I just felt like there was sort
Speaker 1: of fifteen percent more people and just the sort of
Speaker 1: energy around him as well was just um like there's
Speaker 1: just so many different little things I suppose they're go
Speaker 1: into just they're ramping up of the adrenaline and um
Speaker 1: yeah it was. I mean it was awesome. Um but
Speaker 1: it was I found it probably you know, looking back,
Speaker 1: and it difficult to to acclimatized quick enough, so almost clausterrophobic.
Speaker 1: Almost Did you feel a little almost tight? Um yeah,
Speaker 1: I guess. I guess so the golf course in parts
Speaker 1: can feel quite claustrophobic. And then you know, with with
Speaker 1: all the patrons as well, it's just um yeah, you're
Speaker 1: you know, you're hitting certain shots from I remember nine
Speaker 1: as an example. You're hitting like a full nine nine
Speaker 1: um to a back pin and you've got you know,
Speaker 1: people sat pretty much like seven yards from the hole.
Speaker 1: Um Like, you know, it's just like you're very, very crowded,
Speaker 1: and I guess that's what makes the atmosphere because you know,
Speaker 1: everyone is but it's allowed to get so close to you,
Speaker 1: so close to the green and whereas you know opens
Speaker 1: and us opens, you definitely probably have a bit more space.
Speaker 1: It's more like a stadium field, whereas like August, there's
Speaker 1: really not that many grand stands apart from maybe arounds
Speaker 1: of amen corner, but the rest of it it's just
Speaker 1: you know, sort of feet on the floor and um,
Speaker 1: just sort of galleries that are ten deep. I mean
Speaker 1: obviously not not the group I was in over the
Speaker 1: first two days. But on the Monday, for example, we're
Speaker 1: playing a paract around coming down nine and Tiger was
Speaker 1: going up the first and it's just like a stampede
Speaker 1: of people. I mean, it's just absolutely I've never seen
Speaker 1: anything like it. So um and I think you only
Speaker 1: really get that at the AUGUSTA So that week. Do
Speaker 1: you think back upon that week, do you think you know,
Speaker 1: obviously you wanted to play better. You probably if you
Speaker 1: had things to do all over again, you would have.
Speaker 1: You know, A guy only knows how that continues to
Speaker 1: run through your mind, But it does it still run
Speaker 1: through your mind? Do you still almost feel like you
Speaker 1: could go back and and and uh and sort of
Speaker 1: do it all over again? Um less so now, um,
Speaker 1: but now it's rolling around again this year, I definitely
Speaker 1: think about it a little bit but um, yeah, I
Speaker 1: mean I wish, I wish I've done a lot of
Speaker 1: things differently, but you know that's not how life works,
Speaker 1: is it. So Um, as much as possible, you try
Speaker 1: to I'll try to, um learn why I count from it. Um,
Speaker 1: And I guess just use it as motivation because you know,
Speaker 1: I don't want that to be my only experienced there.
Speaker 1: So UM yeah, no, definitely for for a large part
Speaker 1: of last year. UM, it definitely was on my mind. UM.
Speaker 1: And you know it wasn't it wasn't helpful, and so
Speaker 1: it's taken a lot too, I guess to work through. Um. Well,
Speaker 1: I guess playing bear. You know, playing bear helps, you know,
Speaker 1: you try and try and get out there again and
Speaker 1: play better and try and forget about it. But I
Speaker 1: mean it's yeah, it's um, it's it's it was tough
Speaker 1: to take at a time, but it's a valuable failure.
Speaker 1: I suppose it's how I tried to look at it.
Speaker 1: But it's that's that's quite easy to stay in conversations
Speaker 1: like this, but you know, deep down, it takes quite
Speaker 1: a lot of convincing yourself that was the case. And
Speaker 1: but that's it's it's you know, I guess. It's never
Speaker 1: black and white like that. It's sometimes where it does
Speaker 1: pop up in my head and I'm like, yeah, I wish,
Speaker 1: I wish i'd you know, done X, Y and Z differently,
Speaker 1: But you can't. You can't change. You can only just
Speaker 1: use that and try and improve. So will give me
Speaker 1: one thing, you know, if you're going to one thing
Speaker 1: that if you had to do it all over all
Speaker 1: over again, what would you have done? I mean, I
Speaker 1: guess the major thing for me was I went about
Speaker 1: trying to improve my golf swing over that winter. UM,
Speaker 1: and I wouldn't have done any of that. UM if
Speaker 1: I could go back, because I'm still working my way
Speaker 1: out of it. I mean, it's um, it's pretty um.
Speaker 1: That's why goal such a funny game. You know, I
Speaker 1: worked really hard for six months to get worse. UM,
Speaker 1: Like it's quite funny. UM. So I wish I wish
Speaker 1: I had just kept to my sort of DNA what
Speaker 1: I was doing and just try to make that, you know,
Speaker 1: one percent better, because how it performed at times, you know,
Speaker 1: the Open and obviously to win the British Amateur in
Speaker 1: the first place, you know, it was it was as
Speaker 1: good as it needs to be. You know, Earnie needed
Speaker 1: tweaks here and there, but I sort of tried to
Speaker 1: wholesale change a bunch of different things, not only in
Speaker 1: my long game, but all sorts of different things. And
Speaker 1: you know, it's it's you hear it on. Yeah, a
Speaker 1: lot of players talk about the dangers of it, and
Speaker 1: you know you end up jumping from coach to coach
Speaker 1: and and sort of danger of trying to search too much.
Speaker 1: And um, when you're listening to it, you're like, yeah,
Speaker 1: that makes sense, and then you find yourself making the
Speaker 1: same mistake. It's just quite difficult. When you're wired in
Speaker 1: a way that wants to improve and wants to work hard,
Speaker 1: it's quite easy to find a lot of things to
Speaker 1: to waste your time on. Basically, So, um, that's the
Speaker 1: number one thing. I would have just kept what I
Speaker 1: was doing because I was, I was it was good enough,
Speaker 1: Um how it was. Um. But you know, that's is
Speaker 1: what it is. Like a lot of things positive came
Speaker 1: out of having to prepare for the Masters. I ended
Speaker 1: up putting much better this last year than I had
Speaker 1: ever done before. Um, So you know, my mindsets trying
Speaker 1: to put all pieces together, try and get some long
Speaker 1: game performances that I was getting pre um twenty twenty two. Um,
Speaker 1: and I put that together with the sort of hutting
Speaker 1: and sort of short game bits I've improved, and we
Speaker 1: should be good to go. But as you know, it's
Speaker 1: never that simple. But that's the plan specifically. I remember
Speaker 1: when we were at Dukes and you hit in both
Speaker 1: you talked about feeling like to match what he did.
Speaker 1: Happened at Augusta. You were you were essentially trying to
Speaker 1: go from hitting a little bit of a cut to
Speaker 1: a drawer. Is that is that correct? Yeah? Yeah, um
Speaker 1: and yeah I probably would. Um, I probably didn't need
Speaker 1: to make the wholesale changes that I did to be
Speaker 1: able to do that. I could have just worked on
Speaker 1: him a bit more of a draw um. Like I
Speaker 1: can see how guys like Martin Kaymer comes to mind,
Speaker 1: or someone who fades it. Um, and I can see why,
Speaker 1: having played Augusta now that he might have went away
Speaker 1: and thought, you know, I need to be better at
Speaker 1: hitting the ball right to left. But um, that didn't
Speaker 1: really work for him trying to change. I think you
Speaker 1: need to stick to what got you there in the
Speaker 1: first place. Obviously, for him it was world number one.
Speaker 1: So yeah, I was trying to work hanging it more
Speaker 1: rights left and a bit higher, and you know I've
Speaker 1: probably succeeded with that now, but just a long winded
Speaker 1: way of doing it. Um. But it's interesting when you play,
Speaker 1: when you play the golf course and then you go
Speaker 1: and think about it. You know, really you could probably
Speaker 1: get away with not having to do you know, hit
Speaker 1: too much, too many draws. You could probably play your
Speaker 1: own game and just play it a little bit smarter. Um.
Speaker 1: You know, you might give up twenty thirty yards here
Speaker 1: and there, but um, it's probably a better option than
Speaker 1: trying to hit shots that you're not quite comfortable with.
Speaker 1: It's funny because that golf course, we see a lot
Speaker 1: of it in a lot of ways shapes and forms,
Speaker 1: but it's it's that two dimensional version of what we're seeing.
Speaker 1: Then you get out there and you you know, everybody
Speaker 1: talks about like, oh, I can't believe how much undulation
Speaker 1: and slope and and you know, you you can't understand
Speaker 1: the tenth hole until you've stood on that tee and
Speaker 1: then ended up on that green and in front of
Speaker 1: that green, the runoff in front of that green and
Speaker 1: around that green, to the left. No one can understand,
Speaker 1: like that's that's like fifteen feet of drop. I mean,
Speaker 1: it feels like you can't even see up there. And
Speaker 1: I've covered a lot of you know, Masters and been
Speaker 1: out there, But until you're in the ropes and down
Speaker 1: there and having to hit that shot or or to
Speaker 1: the left side of number three and to a front
Speaker 1: left pin, and what the precision and accuracy that it
Speaker 1: takes to land that, you know, the greens within those
Speaker 1: greens and the shelving of like number six for a
Speaker 1: back left pin, and if you miss it right, you've
Speaker 1: got absolutely no chance to get up and down. You
Speaker 1: got no to try to get up, you know, to
Speaker 1: try to get down in three from that to try
Speaker 1: to you know, like it takes such accuracy. So that's
Speaker 1: it kind of makes sense to understand why first timers
Speaker 1: or amateurs or people who are just coming to that
Speaker 1: that that that venue. Then layer in the claustrophobia of
Speaker 1: the patrons and just the enormity of the idea that
Speaker 1: it's the Masters, and then you've got friends and family
Speaker 1: in town that might not normally have made the trip.
Speaker 1: All of that combined it almost feels like you got
Speaker 1: no to to set any kind of expectations of like,
Speaker 1: oh I want to finish, you know, make the cut
Speaker 1: or top fifteen or try to like it just almost
Speaker 1: feels unfair to yourself to try to set you know,
Speaker 1: I don't know, I mean, it's it's a lot. It's
Speaker 1: a lot, ye, I think, I mean, And I guess
Speaker 1: the issue is that you make those realizations ten days
Speaker 1: off to the things finished. Um, because like obviously you know,
Speaker 1: as a comparitor, like you try not make those excuses
Speaker 1: for yourself and you know, it's a it's a golf tournament,
Speaker 1: like you've played many golf tournaments. But it really is
Speaker 1: like nothing else, even from from why I was sort
Speaker 1: of obviously getting to speak to a few of the guys,
Speaker 1: they they treat it as this one off event. You know,
Speaker 1: it's it's it's very intense. Um played nine ols of
Speaker 1: with Rory on the Wednesday, and you could tell he
Speaker 1: was he was sort of get up ready to go,
Speaker 1: like he It felt like he was very intense, very focused.
Speaker 1: Not why I expected on a pratch round of someone
Speaker 1: who you know has achieved what he has, but um,
Speaker 1: you know, it's just a lot of So it's just
Speaker 1: it's just a perfect venue for creating that kind of anticipation,
Speaker 1: I suppose and anxiety because as as you say, it's
Speaker 1: so it's so difficult to put your way around there
Speaker 1: and not make mistakes because it's it really is chess.
Speaker 1: You know, you need to see where the pin is
Speaker 1: and you need to plan backwards from that because there's
Speaker 1: certain places around the Green complex is that you just
Speaker 1: can't too part from and you can't ga up and
Speaker 1: down from and so um, yeah, you definitely see once
Speaker 1: you're there, you realize, you know, how how difficult it
Speaker 1: is for people that haven't been there before to compete
Speaker 1: because there's just such a library of dudes and don'ts
Speaker 1: that you only really find out from from playing in
Speaker 1: the event. Um. So I mean I was, I was
Speaker 1: literally saying that, Andy M the other day we were
Speaker 1: practicing and saying, you have such a better idea what
Speaker 1: you're going to do now than this time last year,
Speaker 1: because um, you know, having watched the guys play on
Speaker 1: the sort of torment conditions and play it yourself, you
Speaker 1: just you know, you realize this so many um little
Speaker 1: trap's been set basically for you, So um, it's gonna
Speaker 1: you're really interested to watch having played it, so I'm
Speaker 1: looking forward to to that. How do you get back, Laird?
Speaker 1: What's what's your pet from from the Masters last year?
Speaker 1: Talk me through then what you know? I guess before
Speaker 1: I having get there. It must have felt like from
Speaker 1: the time that you get into the Amateur and you
Speaker 1: go on and you win, and then you play the
Speaker 1: Open a couple of weeks later, and then you know,
Speaker 1: you start, you know, in theory, you start almost preparing
Speaker 1: for like you know, you've got the Masters, in the
Speaker 1: US Open, you get to Georgia Cup. Between that whole
Speaker 1: stretch you you would on from like COVID and and
Speaker 1: UM and just uh, you know, lack of confidence and
Speaker 1: you've got injuries and surgeries and you're in a swing chain,
Speaker 1: you know, sort of self doubt. Then you get into
Speaker 1: get into the Amateur, you start being able to swing again,
Speaker 1: you're now healthy. You win. Then then this magic carpet
Speaker 1: right unfolds that whole stretch from the moment you win
Speaker 1: to the time you know, say, to the to the
Speaker 1: to the day you leave Augusta must have felt like
Speaker 1: some sort of massive blur, like you got on too
Speaker 1: a conveyor belt or or a treadmill going at like
Speaker 1: eight and a half and you just didn't get off.
Speaker 1: I would imagine for a long time. There's not day
Speaker 1: goes by when you don't think about, I'm planning the
Speaker 1: Master's in April. You know, some's it's kind of difficult
Speaker 1: to I mean, obviously it's absolute blessing, but it's also
Speaker 1: difficult in its own way because you're so hyper focused
Speaker 1: on one tournament and trying to peak for one tournament, um,
Speaker 1: and you put so much emphasis on it, and that's
Speaker 1: just not how these guys. It's not how anyone succeeds.
Speaker 1: You know, they they they try and play the best
Speaker 1: every week that they play, they prepare for their sort
Speaker 1: of schedule. But you know, Rory's not hanging around all
Speaker 1: year waiting for next week or for for the for
Speaker 1: the Masters like he's He's you know, no one's doing that.
Speaker 1: And obviously he's got the sort of pressure of the career,
Speaker 1: Grand Slam and stuff, hasn't he, But you know, it's
Speaker 1: just not how people succeed. You can't really decide when
Speaker 1: you peak. That's the difficult thing, and trying to force
Speaker 1: things that never works, and it's it's quite difficult to
Speaker 1: turn up to the Masters and just let it happen
Speaker 1: because you know, you've been waiting to play for it,
Speaker 1: playing it so long. So yeah, yeah, it was. It
Speaker 1: was certainly a wild ride. Um. And I remember saying
Speaker 1: to my family, UM, after I'd won the British Amateur,
Speaker 1: you know, now's a good time to start making some
Speaker 1: good decisions and um, ultimately I I didn't do that. Um,
Speaker 1: but that's only with a benefit of hindsight really, but it's, um,
Speaker 1: it's a journey. I suppose you learn, you learn from it,
Speaker 1: but no, it was. The whole experience was amazing. I mean,
Speaker 1: obviously getting to play the Open when you're riding that
Speaker 1: high still and then you know, having an opportunity to
Speaker 1: to be the answer champion for the year and um,
Speaker 1: obviously go and go and play knowingly, um, the Majors,
Speaker 1: but get some invites to tour events and just have
Speaker 1: the opportunity that not many people get to learn on
Speaker 1: this crash course of how to become a professional golfer. Really, Um,
Speaker 1: so that was really really fun. And then obviously until
Speaker 1: until I turn pro after the US Open, it was
Speaker 1: I never really had a chance to draw breath really
Speaker 1: until you know, probably in November time or December this
Speaker 1: this last year, because you know, you're you're going from
Speaker 1: being I'm a champion too, then turning pro and then
Speaker 1: you've got this sort of um notorieties I suppose of
Speaker 1: just having turned pro as yet exam's champion. Then you
Speaker 1: want to try and make the most of the opportunities
Speaker 1: that come with that in terms of getting invites into events,
Speaker 1: and you know, it was it was a very difficult
Speaker 1: year because I didn't have my game really, I was
Speaker 1: trying to find, find, um, my goal swing and um,
Speaker 1: so it was stressful because you feel like you want
Speaker 1: to make the most of this sort of opportunity and
Speaker 1: try and get ahead. But um, you know, you it's
Speaker 1: gotta keep keep going and you know good things are
Speaker 1: going to happen again, so UM, you know it's um no,
Speaker 1: it's been a blessing. It really has been been a
Speaker 1: lot of fun. So where are you now on the journey?
Speaker 1: Where do you sit in terms of status and plans
Speaker 1: and your focus and your swing and your health, your body,
Speaker 1: your mind, My body is all good, health, all good.
Speaker 1: So I mean that's something definitely be thankful for. Um.
Speaker 1: I had a few issues at the end of last year.
Speaker 1: But it's probably more mechanic goals and mechanic related and
Speaker 1: probably a bit of stress at the same time in
Speaker 1: terms of where I sit. So I guess it's it's
Speaker 1: quite liberating to say probably at the bottom of the pile.
Speaker 1: You know, I'm back at the start again in some ways.
Speaker 1: So you never, um, you never unwin the amateur So
Speaker 1: that's obviously something that I'll have to to my use
Speaker 1: in terms of hopefully getting some invites. But that's literally
Speaker 1: what it is at the moment, just hoping to get
Speaker 1: invites into pretty much anything, um, playing some miniature stuff
Speaker 1: back in the UK, um, and then you know try
Speaker 1: and you know look at Q school and stuff at
Speaker 1: the end of this year and I guess you know,
Speaker 1: Key School for the DP World tour um, and then
Speaker 1: just to see where see where other opportunities come because
Speaker 1: there's always there's always stuff that comes up and hopefully, um,
Speaker 1: if you can get a few invites and then you play,
Speaker 1: well you can get things snowballing. And that really is
Speaker 1: how a lot of how a lot of it happens.
Speaker 1: So but yeah, I mean it's just it's that's that's
Speaker 1: the pew your golf. Really It's like last year I
Speaker 1: was playing these top events, you know, with the best
Speaker 1: players in the world, and then next year you've got
Speaker 1: to earn the right to do that all over again. So, um,
Speaker 1: I'm looking forward to I'm looking forward to, you know,
Speaker 1: trying to win some events and just get in the
Speaker 1: thick of it againswer. So you're sending letters, you're seeking
Speaker 1: out opportunities, You're you're you're you're building relationships out there
Speaker 1: or trying to reach tournament directors. You're also tracking tours
Speaker 1: and trying to figure out how you can get to
Speaker 1: and qualify for you know, you need a place to play, right,
Speaker 1: you want to you know, whether you know, whether it's
Speaker 1: dp World Tour or the Asian Tour what like. You
Speaker 1: just got to find a play yea to sort of
Speaker 1: play regularly. Is that is that the plan? Yeah, it's um, yeah,
Speaker 1: it's all those things. It's it's just um and then
Speaker 1: you know, just trying to to make sure you've got
Speaker 1: everything in place for when you get those opportunities. UM.
Speaker 1: I've you know, I played played Asian Q School at
Speaker 1: the end of last year and that was interesting experience.
Speaker 1: It's um, you know, a lot of guys are in
Speaker 1: this position where they're they're just going to take any
Speaker 1: any chance they can get. You know, I can't say
Speaker 1: the thought of playing on the Asian Tour is there
Speaker 1: anything that I had thought about previously? But it's a
Speaker 1: case of if you can play golf and getting two events,
Speaker 1: then you go and do it, no matter sort of
Speaker 1: where it is. So, um, that's that. I guess that's
Speaker 1: a reality for a lot of people. Um, So that's
Speaker 1: it will be the interesting and hopefully see a few
Speaker 1: new parts of the world and the process. But it's um, yes,
Speaker 1: it's it's it's the grind, isn't it. It's like you're
Speaker 1: starting at starting again, and you know, you just try
Speaker 1: and make the most of ef chancies that come come
Speaker 1: your way and try and pick up any any so
Speaker 1: good fortune that comes along. Really, so, your work ethic
Speaker 1: is you know, unmatched, right you the time you put
Speaker 1: into it, whether that's on the range or in the
Speaker 1: gym or mentally spiritually thinking about I mean, I you know,
Speaker 1: I've spent enough time with you, I've talked to you
Speaker 1: and your inner circle enough to know that some people
Speaker 1: would say he might work too hard? Is that even
Speaker 1: something that you would even acknowledge or do you feel
Speaker 1: like or is there a balance that you're always seeking,
Speaker 1: trying to make sure that you're not you're not sort
Speaker 1: of putting too much pressure on yourself or you're working
Speaker 1: too hard for something specific. Is that something you're continuing
Speaker 1: You're trying to balance the balance. Yeah, it's really I
Speaker 1: find it really difficult, um to try and find that balance.
Speaker 1: But I've often found when I just take the foot
Speaker 1: off the gas slightly that good things start to happen,
Speaker 1: which is really bizarre. Um. But it's hard to do. Um.
Speaker 1: It's hard to sit there and and and not be
Speaker 1: working and thinking someone else's you know. But I think
Speaker 1: I think it is about hitting that balance. I think
Speaker 1: that the message of working hard is obviously it's a
Speaker 1: positive one, but I think it's one that a lot
Speaker 1: of people get wrong. And I'm definitely guilty of that.
Speaker 1: You know, I can burn myself out very quickly, and
Speaker 1: it's just when you add in the lifestyle of the
Speaker 1: toll prom with with the traveling, and especially in my
Speaker 1: position where I just don't know when my next opportunity is,
Speaker 1: you know, I kind of have to stay half fresh,
Speaker 1: if you know what I mean to go and play torments,
Speaker 1: so that's a difficult thing. And not being able to
Speaker 1: set a schedule, um, you know, just you're just sort
Speaker 1: of waiting around and you know, if you get told
Speaker 1: last minute you've got to travel to Thailand or where
Speaker 1: it is, you know, you don't want to be um
Speaker 1: of work they've been working flat out for two weeks
Speaker 1: before that, you know, because you're going to be going
Speaker 1: to find it difficult. Um. So it's definitely something I'm
Speaker 1: I'm trying to do better, trying to sort of engage
Speaker 1: other aspects of my life and trying to have some
Speaker 1: some time away from it because it's it's so all consuming,
Speaker 1: you know, especially when you've got social media full of
Speaker 1: golf swings and other people's stuff. You know, it's like, yeah,
Speaker 1: I can find myself sat there looking at golf swings
Speaker 1: that you know, one o'clock in the morning, like it is.
Speaker 1: It's some and thinking about stuff. So the more the
Speaker 1: more I can simplify that stuff and simplify what I'm
Speaker 1: working on and take that thinking out of that, I
Speaker 1: think for me the back because um, you know, I've
Speaker 1: got no problem with putting into time, but you need
Speaker 1: to be getting something from it, which is the most
Speaker 1: important thing. So um, but I think a lot of
Speaker 1: people have us saying issue. I'd say it's funny because
Speaker 1: you you know you're down. You were down eight with
Speaker 1: nineteen holes to play. You go to the turn at
Speaker 1: the amateur down seven, and it was like, hey, I
Speaker 1: just I just want to make sure I don't embarrass myself.
Speaker 1: It was almost like you let go, right like you,
Speaker 1: You let go, you stopped, you stopped thinking, you shrunk
Speaker 1: your expectations into something way more manageable, and then the
Speaker 1: ball started going in the hole right, and one hole
Speaker 1: after the next, and you know, and then you go
Speaker 1: on to win. You know, I would imagine that's that's
Speaker 1: the hurdle. That's your biggest hurdle is your own is
Speaker 1: yourself right like you If you can get to a
Speaker 1: place where you Laird Shepherd sort of mentally detach and
Speaker 1: allow the work and effort and energy that you've put
Speaker 1: into it to take over. If you can put your
Speaker 1: mind aside, you know, and let your let your playing
Speaker 1: ability and your competitive nature, athleticism, and your your effort
Speaker 1: and energy take over, that's probably where you're at your best.
Speaker 1: Getting there is the is the issue, right, just because
Speaker 1: to turn a brain off. That's why, like we've talked
Speaker 1: about Dustin Johnson is probably that's part of his his
Speaker 1: magic is he just doesn't He just almost like doesn't care,
Speaker 1: you know what I mean. He's he does put in
Speaker 1: the work, he's obviously talent, and he gets out there
Speaker 1: and he just plays the game. Jordan speech at his
Speaker 1: height of his powers was when he was just playing
Speaker 1: a game. He gets into and he gets a mechanical
Speaker 1: and he guys starts thinking too much. Rory at the
Speaker 1: height of his powers was when he was a kid
Speaker 1: like playing his game. Tiger kept that kid like spirit
Speaker 1: of just I just want to win. I want to
Speaker 1: get the ball in the hole. I want to beat
Speaker 1: these guys. Is there something to all of that for you? Yeah?
Speaker 1: Something that really helped me. Um, it was specifically aimed
Speaker 1: at like my putting, but I mean it generally works
Speaker 1: for most things in life. I'd say, is that, Um,
Speaker 1: you know, I was told basically, you know you do
Speaker 1: all all the right things. You know, you do the
Speaker 1: right work and the right practice, So once you're out there,
Speaker 1: you know, you've got to trust that you've done all
Speaker 1: that and then just just kind of let it go.
Speaker 1: You can't be trying to control it the same way
Speaker 1: you are in practice, because it just you know, that's
Speaker 1: not where you play your best um. And I use
Speaker 1: this stuff some names there. I mean, like, I think
Speaker 1: most of the best players in the world are artists
Speaker 1: when they're playing their best um. And I know that
Speaker 1: that goes for me. You know, when I'm playing my
Speaker 1: best I'm just seeing shots, you know, I'm seeing shapes,
Speaker 1: and I guess this in this technage, it's quite difficult
Speaker 1: to remain in that mindset because it's so easy to
Speaker 1: get dragged away. I remember actually doing something about Padreck Hyington.
Speaker 1: He said that for majors he would basically go through
Speaker 1: this process of trying to you know, like turn his
Speaker 1: brain off in terms of thinking about technical stuff because
Speaker 1: he you know, he self professed. He says he loves
Speaker 1: that side of the game. He said he would basically
Speaker 1: take him three weeks before each major to you know,
Speaker 1: get that technical sort of thought away and move to
Speaker 1: just where he was playing golf. And I think that's
Speaker 1: you know, where essentially, like everyone wants to be. That's
Speaker 1: where I want to be. It's a lot less stressful
Speaker 1: than than it is when you you know you're you're
Speaker 1: trying to play under pressure, but you also have got X,
Speaker 1: Y and Z to think about technically, it's I mean,
Speaker 1: it just strange you. It's really difficult to do. So
Speaker 1: UM yeah, that's definitely something that I think and you
Speaker 1: trust that I'm putting in the right world. But you've
Speaker 1: got to be doing the right thing first of all.
Speaker 1: But then if you're doing that, then that's all you
Speaker 1: can do. And then when you go and play, just
Speaker 1: go and be as sort of athletic and creative and
Speaker 1: three as possible. I suppose what are your goals and
Speaker 1: aspirations now where we sit here, you know, the end
Speaker 1: of end of March twenty twenty three and going forward,
Speaker 1: what's on your list? I mean this year is just
Speaker 1: to win, um some events basically, UM, I want to
Speaker 1: win again this year because I feel like that's what
Speaker 1: it's all about every level. If you can win at
Speaker 1: every level, you're you're going to be in a good spot.
Speaker 1: I mean, if you can win on a mini tour,
Speaker 1: there's no reason why you can't win at the next level.
Speaker 1: And that that's I think how you breathe confidence. But
Speaker 1: also to me, like I guess I'm a big dilemma.
Speaker 1: I think a lot of guys when they turn pro
Speaker 1: is that something is their job and you start thinking
Speaker 1: about making money. And I guess it's taken me a
Speaker 1: few months to kind of realize that, you know, if
Speaker 1: you go and play golf professionally, you can't start out
Speaker 1: doing it for the money, because one, there's not a
Speaker 1: lot of cash at the lower levels, but also it's
Speaker 1: not a good motivator. I've always played golf to try
Speaker 1: and win tournaments, and because I, like you, I love
Speaker 1: the game. I love playing golf. Um. So that's my
Speaker 1: main goal is just to win. It doesn't matter what
Speaker 1: tour is, doesn't matter what event you know, it's just
Speaker 1: to win events. Um. And then I think it would
Speaker 1: be to secure a basic gear, a card on whether
Speaker 1: it be Challenge Tour or DP World Tour or wherever.
Speaker 1: To be able to set a schedule for next year, um,
Speaker 1: because I feel like that's that's really when you feel
Speaker 1: like you are a professional golfer, when you're able to
Speaker 1: sit down in January and set out what you're going
Speaker 1: to play and then be able to plan your whole year. UM.
Speaker 1: I feel like if you don't get to do that.
Speaker 1: You aren't giving yourself a chance really to see to
Speaker 1: see even whether you know you're going to enjoy this,
Speaker 1: because it's very difficult to play without without being able
Speaker 1: to do that, because at no other point in your
Speaker 1: career are you going to be basically just sort of
Speaker 1: waiting around opportunities. If you're at top amateur, you know
Speaker 1: what you're playing in for that year, and if you're
Speaker 1: you know, a top pro or you're on some kind
Speaker 1: of tour, you can you be able to plan your
Speaker 1: your year. So that's my two main goals in terms
Speaker 1: of sort of outcomes. But I guess the main goal
Speaker 1: is just to keep getting better. And despite having a
Speaker 1: tough year last year, I feel like I did show
Speaker 1: signs that I probably was getting better still. It's just
Speaker 1: the competition is much tougher. You know. The few events
Speaker 1: I played on tour ends up making the cut that
Speaker 1: the don Helm and played pretty decent, and even at
Speaker 1: the times where I was missing cuts, I missed cuts
Speaker 1: by one or two shots, and I knew I wasn't. No,
Speaker 1: I didn't have my game. I didn't have my I
Speaker 1: didn't really have my my C game really for a
Speaker 1: lot of it it was. It was very much sort
Speaker 1: of trying to survive. But you know, if I can
Speaker 1: I can miss cup by one or two when I
Speaker 1: don't really know where the balls going, then I'm going
Speaker 1: to be able to I'm my best to compete. And
Speaker 1: that's what I kind of showed him September. So it's
Speaker 1: kind of that's the goal, is to keep keep keep
Speaker 1: getting better, but also keep refining my understanding of what
Speaker 1: I need to do, what my blueprint is, because I
Speaker 1: think everything becomes um less stressful when you have that
Speaker 1: under control. There's no way no one's not rooting for
Speaker 1: you and for me having now established this relationship and
Speaker 1: watching from afar and and just you know, obviously rooting
Speaker 1: for you, you know, beyond beyond just the game of golf,
Speaker 1: but just as a person and in life. But I
Speaker 1: see these rounds that you have, these moments, you know,
Speaker 1: sixty seven opening round Dunhill, you know, sixty nine Hero Open,
Speaker 1: BMW seventy one, seventy shoot, sixty nine second round of
Speaker 1: the Open, almost you know, barely, you know, just barely
Speaker 1: missing that cut listen, seventy five, seventy six at the
Speaker 1: US Open. You know, and again if you're not even
Speaker 1: feeling like that's your best that you've got and knowing
Speaker 1: that what's in there, the rounds that you can shoot,
Speaker 1: and the golf that you can play when you need to,
Speaker 1: and the puts you can make when you have to.
Speaker 1: You know, it just seems like the inevitable is you're
Speaker 1: going to get there. It's just a matter of it's
Speaker 1: not if, it's when, and it's for me, it seems
Speaker 1: so clear if you can just find that place that
Speaker 1: you need to get to. You know, almost men saying
Speaker 1: it mentally meaning to that you can not be engaged
Speaker 1: mentally is where you're you're at your most powerful. You know,
Speaker 1: that's your that's your strength, and and it's hard for
Speaker 1: you because it goes against everything that you do on
Speaker 1: a daily basis. Like you get up, you're consumed by
Speaker 1: your work, you're you're you're making yourself better. And then
Speaker 1: somehow you have to flip a switch and almost go
Speaker 1: back to like the kid that you know, kid in
Speaker 1: the backyard trying to learn, you know, just trying to
Speaker 1: see shots, be that artist that you're talking about and
Speaker 1: that you know, Bubba's won two masters, and DJ is
Speaker 1: one at Oakmont, and and and Augusta and Tiger the
Speaker 1: ultimate artist and and and creativity and that that those
Speaker 1: early days of Rory and Jordan, Well that's you. That's
Speaker 1: in there. You know you have all the shots and
Speaker 1: you have all the takes to get there. It's really
Speaker 1: just a matter of of of the stars aligning. And
Speaker 1: that is the grind, right like Dad's the grind. It's
Speaker 1: it's nice when you know what you need to do. Um.
Speaker 1: The real difficult thing is when you don't know what
Speaker 1: you need to do. UM Like at the US Open,
Speaker 1: for example, Um, I was I literally had no idea
Speaker 1: what I was doing really until Wednesday afternoon. I went
Speaker 1: to the range and just started to try some old things,
Speaker 1: old things that used to work for me, like completely different.
Speaker 1: I've been working on some stuff with I've working on
Speaker 1: some some swing stuff for probably about six weeks that
Speaker 1: point seven weeks and for whatever reason, just like you know,
Speaker 1: it wasn't comfortable, wasn't working. So yeah, Wednesday, just decide, right,
Speaker 1: this is what I'm gonna have to do. Um and
Speaker 1: like stress levels for me or through the roof. Obviously,
Speaker 1: I've definitely had a lot of scars from Augusta, but
Speaker 1: also thinking like I can't believe this happened again. You know,
Speaker 1: I worked work quite hard, and you know, just don't
Speaker 1: feel comfortable that I'm trying to do. And I'm here
Speaker 1: on the Wednesday before the event, just making up as
Speaker 1: I go along on the driving range basically, um, and
Speaker 1: you know, actually was relatively happy with how I played,
Speaker 1: but the thought of going into when the US Open,
Speaker 1: obviously it's it's the toughest test in golf. Um, that
Speaker 1: was pretty That was pretty daunting. I'll admit I was
Speaker 1: a bit stressed, but that Yeah, but it was a
Speaker 1: lot of a lot of fun in the end. To
Speaker 1: be able to get through it and be like, I
Speaker 1: think that was important as well. Um after Augusta too,
Speaker 1: and I know that I missed the cut by quite
Speaker 1: a few shots, and but to to just play better
Speaker 1: and realize and not it's not that far away, um
Speaker 1: was was good because it would have been difficult to
Speaker 1: deal with another sort of really tough result. So yeah,
Speaker 1: you're exactly right. It's just about it's about getting some
Speaker 1: consistency and what I'm trying to do, and then that
Speaker 1: basically leading to me being able to just sort of
Speaker 1: not think about things as much. And then then good
Speaker 1: things happen, and I know that. I think one one
Speaker 1: thing that I'll take with me from this experience for
Speaker 1: the rest of my career is that, um, it's for me,
Speaker 1: it's all about winning golf tournaments. And I know that
Speaker 1: if I put myself in that position, as you know
Speaker 1: multiple times last year where I didn't have my game,
Speaker 1: but you know I had to do X, Y and
Speaker 1: Z to make a cut or to feel like I
Speaker 1: was going to make a cut, and I was able
Speaker 1: to pull through some of those, and UM, you know,
Speaker 1: I know I've got that respect in me, which I
Speaker 1: think is quite a difficult one to teach. So UM,
Speaker 1: I just need to put myself in a position to win,
Speaker 1: and I know i'll I'll have a good opportunity. So UM,
Speaker 1: I'm very much looking forward to getting going, competing again
Speaker 1: and working way up the ladder because once you have
Speaker 1: seen the top of the tree the major championships, it's, um,
Speaker 1: it's it's really motivating because they're just so much fun.
Speaker 1: They're just so much fun, and obviously with the crowds
Speaker 1: and everything, it's just you know, you want that feeling,
Speaker 1: that buzz again. So yeah, I'm looking forward to to
Speaker 1: thinking less and playing better. My sense is, if you
Speaker 1: weren't a golfer, Laird, you'd be a mountain climber, because
Speaker 1: you seem to just love you love you love the climb.
Speaker 1: You know, you you you've had, You've overcome so much
Speaker 1: adversity in these last several years. Uh not unlike what
Speaker 1: a lot of people have dealt with, whether that that's
Speaker 1: covid or or or you know, professional you know, curveballs
Speaker 1: and and everybody you know, and we say this all
Speaker 1: the time, everyone's on their own personal grind, but you
Speaker 1: just you, it is not going to be surprising to me.
Speaker 1: Like again, it's not if it's when when I start
Speaker 1: seeing you know, you at the top of leader boards
Speaker 1: on a consistent basis, And I don't know where that's
Speaker 1: going to be, uh you know, I don't know who
Speaker 1: that will be up against, but I like, you know,
Speaker 1: you just you got too much fight and you and
Speaker 1: I think you, I think you you're willing to put
Speaker 1: in the climb and therefore you get to the tops
Speaker 1: of the mountains. You know, you get that's how you
Speaker 1: get there is because you're willing to put in the
Speaker 1: put in the time and the effort and energy and
Speaker 1: I think your effort, your energy, your you know, my
Speaker 1: biggest away from all my time I've spent with you
Speaker 1: and also talking to people around you, is the inspiration
Speaker 1: of your of your passion, your inspiration for your and
Speaker 1: dedication to the craft. And I think that's that will
Speaker 1: result in success. I just I just you have too
Speaker 1: much talent and too much doggingness to not get to
Speaker 1: the tops of whatever mountain you set to climb. And
Speaker 1: I so I can see you, you know, I know
Speaker 1: you're climbing again, and there's going to be someday soon
Speaker 1: where we see you at the top again, and then
Speaker 1: you're gonna probably have to you know, you'll go back
Speaker 1: down in the mountain. You'll climb again. I just feel
Speaker 1: like that's the way. You know, Look at how many
Speaker 1: mountains Tiger has climbed, or look how many mountains you know,
Speaker 1: guys like Justin Rose or Different, you know different Adam Scott.
Speaker 1: You know these guys have climbed mountains multiple time. Darren Clark,
Speaker 1: you know how look at how long it took for
Speaker 1: him to win a major. I mean, it just it
Speaker 1: just it's all out there. And I think to see
Speaker 1: Laird Shepherd again holding a big, you know, meaningful trophy
Speaker 1: feels like that's the inevitable, So well, I hope you're right, Um,
Speaker 1: yeah I am. Occasionally I'll go back and look at
Speaker 1: just the final sort of like two minutes from the
Speaker 1: amateur on the on the highlights and kind of relive
Speaker 1: that moment a little bit um and come to the
Speaker 1: realization that at times when I'm feeling like I'm not
Speaker 1: getting anywhere, you know, it was so worth it, um
Speaker 1: and again that if you go, I go, I've seen it, amor.
Speaker 1: But that's you playing golf. That is like you at
Speaker 1: the height of your powers in which you're hitting shots
Speaker 1: and you're hitting into us, but I gotta get here
Speaker 1: your strategy, you're plotting your your get on the green,
Speaker 1: you're making the ball goes in the hole. And then
Speaker 1: it's like that momentum you feed off I can see
Speaker 1: you know. Then you get that when you get that
Speaker 1: swagger and you get this that that that pep in
Speaker 1: your step. It's like, I don't know that just you
Speaker 1: look very hard to beat at that point when you
Speaker 1: get there, it's it's not going to be easy to
Speaker 1: knock you out. So yeah, get back there. You know,
Speaker 1: as often as possible because it's fun. It's fun to watch,
Speaker 1: and then it's probably fun for you too. And then
Speaker 1: when you do that, when you do that, you know
Speaker 1: you got to you gotta probably also remind yourself to
Speaker 1: enjoy it, you know, like it just uh, it's it's that,
Speaker 1: it's the balance. So, um, we're following, we're rooting you
Speaker 1: on were uh we're you know, I speak on behalf
Speaker 1: of a lot of people I know, um, not just
Speaker 1: family and friends, but all the all the people who
Speaker 1: have who have been along on this journey with you.
Speaker 1: So um JN. Thank you enough for a share in
Speaker 1: your story with us multiple times allowing us to sort
Speaker 1: of tag along at times that are that have been
Speaker 1: you know, pressure packed and distracting, and being so forthcoming
Speaker 1: with your with your thoughts and emotions and what you're
Speaker 1: going through. It means means a lot has been an
Speaker 1: honor to sort of help tell your story because it's
Speaker 1: one hell of a story. And like you said, they'll
Speaker 1: never then never take away that amateur championship from you,
Speaker 1: and you're forever on that trophy into the annals of
Speaker 1: the greatest you know, record book and all of golf
Speaker 1: and and uh and keep going. It's it's you know,
Speaker 1: look forward to watching where you where you end up. Well,
Speaker 1: thank you very much, it's been it's been surreal to
Speaker 1: to meet you and be able to share this story.
Speaker 1: It's funny. I was thinking to myself, it's some before
Speaker 1: this happened, I was sometimes, um imagine myself like speaking
Speaker 1: on a podcast, because I listened to so many of them, um,
Speaker 1: you know, not just on golf, but randomly on other topics,
Speaker 1: and you know, you always kind of like think what
Speaker 1: would I say if I was on one? And I
Speaker 1: guess that's what people talk about in terms of sort
Speaker 1: of trying to manifest stuff into happening, you know, And
Speaker 1: so I just find it really really a privilege to
Speaker 1: be able to sort of speak to you guys and
Speaker 1: haven't met you guys. It's just been been great And yeah,
Speaker 1: well we'll continue climbing. See you back at the top
Speaker 1: of another mountain, that's for sure. I've been big pleaded
Speaker 1: to win, made a fortune with my sho round the
Speaker 1: table and never thought I could find them, but Win
Speaker 1: hit me like a cannon ball. Now she is losing
Speaker 1: the street. Every road I take is a dead end street.
Speaker 1: I got thoughts in my head. Can't get them out,
Speaker 1: trying not to think what I'm thinking about. I got
Speaker 1: thoughts in my head, can't get them out. Trying not
Speaker 1: to think what I'm thinking about.