WEBVTT - The PGA Show & Golf Innovation 0:00:01.520 --> 0:00:04.880 It's the son of which podcast. I'm your host Claude Harman. 0:00:05.600 --> 0:00:08.280 This week solo episode of the pod. I am back 0:00:08.360 --> 0:00:12.399 on the road currently in Adelaide, Australia for Lives in 0:00:12.680 --> 0:00:14.960 Saudi last week Underneath the Lights, but just kind of 0:00:14.960 --> 0:00:18.840 wanted to talk about the off season. I mean, just 0:00:18.880 --> 0:00:20.919 like the players, I got an off season and just 0:00:20.960 --> 0:00:22.760 want to kind of talk through some of the stuff 0:00:22.800 --> 0:00:25.480 that I did on my off season, which is always 0:00:25.480 --> 0:00:28.720 good to kind of recharge, live a normal life, get 0:00:28.760 --> 0:00:30.720 off the road. I think I did twenty two weeks 0:00:30.720 --> 0:00:33.319 on the road last year or so it's always nice 0:00:33.360 --> 0:00:34.880 to have an off season. One of the big things 0:00:34.880 --> 0:00:37.680 I did off season was I went to the PJ 0:00:37.840 --> 0:00:40.600 Merchandise Show, which is always, I think, a really interesting 0:00:41.120 --> 0:00:44.040 kind of state of where professional golf is. And I 0:00:44.080 --> 0:00:47.440 was really impressed with the crowds that I saw up 0:00:47.479 --> 0:00:51.360 in Orlando. I think there were some big manufacturers that 0:00:51.479 --> 0:00:54.480 came back to the PGA show and you kind of 0:00:54.480 --> 0:00:58.240 get a good buzz of kind of finger on the 0:00:58.280 --> 0:01:01.160 pulse of what's going on people, and I saw a 0:01:01.160 --> 0:01:04.040 lot of people really excited about golf. One of the 0:01:04.080 --> 0:01:06.000 big things I think I saw at the PGA show 0:01:06.120 --> 0:01:09.000 was It seems like there was a lot of tech, 0:01:09.840 --> 0:01:13.920 a lot of simulator tech. Obviously, TGL launched in the 0:01:13.959 --> 0:01:17.040 off season, and yeah, I watched some of it and 0:01:17.520 --> 0:01:19.520 I liked it. I liked what I saw. I thought 0:01:19.560 --> 0:01:22.840 the venue looks amazing down there in Palm Beach Gardens. 0:01:22.840 --> 0:01:26.240 I thought the way it looked on television was really 0:01:26.319 --> 0:01:28.120 really cool. I know they're having some issues with the 0:01:28.160 --> 0:01:30.040 technology and stuff like that, but I do think that 0:01:30.600 --> 0:01:33.399 there is a place for that kind of golf. And 0:01:35.440 --> 0:01:37.560 I don't know how many people are watching or what 0:01:37.720 --> 0:01:40.800 other people are thinking, but I liked it. I thought 0:01:40.800 --> 0:01:43.400 it was interesting, the team concept of it. I talked 0:01:43.400 --> 0:01:46.800 to Adam Scott in November. He was in Dubai. I 0:01:46.800 --> 0:01:49.000 was in Dubai. He was doing some practice at my 0:01:49.040 --> 0:01:50.600 academy and got to catch up with him and we 0:01:50.600 --> 0:01:53.760 talked about it and got to watch him play on 0:01:53.840 --> 0:01:57.280 his TGL team. You know, over the last three years, 0:01:58.040 --> 0:02:00.360 Live has made the move to go to team golf. 0:02:00.400 --> 0:02:03.720 And find it interesting that the PGA Tour is going 0:02:04.040 --> 0:02:06.120 to the same thing. Yeah, it's in a simulator, but 0:02:07.000 --> 0:02:09.440 it's cool. I mean, I think the guys really they 0:02:09.480 --> 0:02:12.840 look like they like it. I saw Matt Fitzpatrick at 0:02:12.840 --> 0:02:15.680 the Grove down in Jupiter a couple of weeks ago, 0:02:15.720 --> 0:02:18.400 and he had played in the TGL, and DJ and 0:02:18.440 --> 0:02:20.360 I were there. We were asking him about it and 0:02:20.440 --> 0:02:23.240 what he thought about it, and so I do think 0:02:23.280 --> 0:02:25.560 there is a place for that, and I think Lives 0:02:25.800 --> 0:02:29.919 has shown that team golf has a place. It's fun, 0:02:30.160 --> 0:02:33.600 and I think the guys you've watched on the TGL broadcast, 0:02:34.040 --> 0:02:36.399 to me, they look like they're having fun. And that's 0:02:36.400 --> 0:02:38.280 always been one of the things that I think has 0:02:38.320 --> 0:02:40.200 been hard for a lot of people to understand that 0:02:40.240 --> 0:02:42.880 haven't been, you know, a part of Live. I think, 0:02:43.000 --> 0:02:45.959 you know, it's twenty twenty five and everybody has talked 0:02:45.960 --> 0:02:47.440 about it. I've talked about it, and you know, I 0:02:47.440 --> 0:02:50.040 think everybody's tired of talking about it. But the team 0:02:50.120 --> 0:02:52.720 stuff is fun and it has been fun over the 0:02:52.840 --> 0:02:54.600 last three years for those of us that have been 0:02:54.639 --> 0:02:58.239 on Live and have been part of kind of a team. 0:02:58.520 --> 0:03:02.160 You know, the practice round, the way that the players travel, 0:03:02.720 --> 0:03:06.079 the way the players practice together and play together and 0:03:06.360 --> 0:03:09.359 hang out together. So in that respect, I think it's 0:03:09.400 --> 0:03:13.040 been cool to watch TGL kind of have that same 0:03:13.160 --> 0:03:16.200 concept and I think they're taking some of their cues, 0:03:16.400 --> 0:03:19.679 you know, from Live, which, hey, imitation is very flattering. 0:03:19.760 --> 0:03:21.320 So I think Team Golf is here to stay. I 0:03:21.320 --> 0:03:22.959 think it's here to stay on Live. I think it's 0:03:23.160 --> 0:03:26.360 here to stay in TGL and we'll see where it goes. 0:03:26.400 --> 0:03:28.440 But at the PJ Merchandise Show, I saw a lot 0:03:28.440 --> 0:03:33.680 of simulator tech. It seems like every simulator company is 0:03:33.720 --> 0:03:37.960 coming up with some sort of putting articulated floor, kind 0:03:38.000 --> 0:03:40.880 of where the floor can move, where you can put 0:03:41.160 --> 0:03:44.480 a monitor in the ceiling and kind of show you 0:03:44.520 --> 0:03:47.120 the line of the putt platform. Golf is a new 0:03:47.120 --> 0:03:49.160 company that I started doing some work with. They're going 0:03:49.240 --> 0:03:51.040 to be putting in some of their units in my 0:03:51.080 --> 0:03:54.480 academy in Dubai and in Thailand, and they've got an 0:03:54.600 --> 0:03:58.640 articulating surface so you can hit balls and the floor 0:03:58.720 --> 0:04:03.000 moves different lives uphill, downhill, side hill, something that's been 0:04:03.160 --> 0:04:06.840 very difficult for a lot of people to simulate if 0:04:06.880 --> 0:04:09.600 you practice on a driving range. So that tech is 0:04:09.640 --> 0:04:12.480 really cool, and it seems like every single company now, 0:04:12.840 --> 0:04:16.159 simulator wise, is coming up with some sort of moveable 0:04:16.240 --> 0:04:20.320 floor for putting, which, again we as golf instructors and 0:04:20.360 --> 0:04:23.640 as golfers, you're always trying to find a way to 0:04:23.839 --> 0:04:26.719 simulate what's on the golf course. So if you are 0:04:26.760 --> 0:04:31.080 in a simulator setting, having that type of movement to 0:04:31.120 --> 0:04:34.039 where you can see how the putts move. I've always 0:04:34.040 --> 0:04:37.280 thought that putting from an instruction standpoint, and we've been 0:04:37.320 --> 0:04:39.719 part of the problem as instructors, has been kind of 0:04:39.760 --> 0:04:44.840 taught backwards, right. We teach stroke first and then then 0:04:44.960 --> 0:04:47.920 work on feel. And I try with a lot of 0:04:48.160 --> 0:04:52.480 players now that are that are starting out juniors, beginning golfers, 0:04:52.480 --> 0:04:56.200 and even competitive golfers, is hey, let's not just go 0:04:56.279 --> 0:04:58.800 to mechanics first. Let's go ahead and look at what 0:04:58.880 --> 0:05:02.520 your feel is like onlaw pots, what your perception of 0:05:02.839 --> 0:05:06.200 break and speed, and how you're matching the line to 0:05:07.360 --> 0:05:09.520 the speed. I think that's huge, and I think all 0:05:09.600 --> 0:05:13.120 the companies out there are coming up with products that 0:05:13.160 --> 0:05:16.520 are going to allow golfers, whether they're in a home situation, 0:05:16.680 --> 0:05:19.839 whether they're in an academy or a studio type situation, 0:05:20.000 --> 0:05:23.800 lesson type situation, there is products out there. There are 0:05:23.920 --> 0:05:26.120 products available that are going to help that. So I 0:05:26.160 --> 0:05:29.080 saw a lot of that at the PGA show. I 0:05:29.160 --> 0:05:32.040 got to spend some time with Greg Rose and Dave Phillips, 0:05:32.040 --> 0:05:35.520 both from TPI, co founders of the titles Foremust Institute. 0:05:35.560 --> 0:05:37.440 It's always a great opportunity for me to catch up 0:05:37.440 --> 0:05:40.480 with them. I've had them on the pod and kind 0:05:40.480 --> 0:05:43.119 of pick their brains on where they see things going. 0:05:43.320 --> 0:05:45.240 There seems to be a lot of companies out there 0:05:45.320 --> 0:05:49.680 right now trying to do three D tech with just 0:05:49.760 --> 0:05:53.320 your camera, sports Box AI. I mean they're on the 0:05:53.320 --> 0:05:56.320 broadcast now on PGA Tour. It's an app you can 0:05:56.320 --> 0:05:58.599 put on your phone and kind of film yourself and 0:05:58.640 --> 0:06:01.000 then it puts mark on your body stuff. So I 0:06:01.040 --> 0:06:03.279 think we are going to see more of that, more 0:06:03.920 --> 0:06:06.719 tools for the average golfer to be able to say, Okay, 0:06:06.839 --> 0:06:12.000 let me video myself and use technology, use AI to 0:06:12.160 --> 0:06:15.040 see kind of what my body's doing. I think they've 0:06:15.040 --> 0:06:16.400 got to work some of the tech out, and I 0:06:16.400 --> 0:06:19.680 think they're trying to figure out how accurate it is. 0:06:19.800 --> 0:06:23.520 But my view on technology for golfers is I think 0:06:23.560 --> 0:06:25.320 there are a lot of people. When I go to 0:06:25.360 --> 0:06:28.520 these PGA merchandise shows and we look at new tech, 0:06:28.640 --> 0:06:32.080 it's always funny to me that within the instruction community 0:06:32.120 --> 0:06:35.039 you'll see other instructors at the PGA show talking about 0:06:35.080 --> 0:06:39.120 various products, talking about new technology, and a lot of 0:06:39.160 --> 0:06:43.880 times it's a lot of guys and people arguing over 0:06:43.880 --> 0:06:45.880 the tech. Who's got the right tech, who's got the 0:06:45.880 --> 0:06:49.039 best tech. Their tech doesn't work, their measurements don't work. 0:06:49.839 --> 0:06:52.760 I look at technology and I think that technology can 0:06:52.839 --> 0:06:56.520 help the majority of golfers get better. I think launch 0:06:56.560 --> 0:07:00.240 monitor technology, I think three D technology. I think all 0:07:00.279 --> 0:07:02.880 of the tech out there in some way can help 0:07:02.920 --> 0:07:05.520 golfers get better. So I think we are going to 0:07:05.560 --> 0:07:08.560 continue to see that. I think we are probably just 0:07:08.640 --> 0:07:12.400 at the beginning of AI and what AI can do 0:07:12.680 --> 0:07:16.400 in golf, what it can do for golf instruction, what 0:07:16.440 --> 0:07:21.200 it can do for golf diagnostic technology. So I'm really 0:07:21.240 --> 0:07:25.000 excited to kind of see where that goes. But it's 0:07:25.000 --> 0:07:27.280 always fun for me to just walk around the show 0:07:27.800 --> 0:07:31.520 and see what's out there. The companies that I work with, Cobrapuma, 0:07:31.840 --> 0:07:34.160 got to spend some time in their booths looking at 0:07:34.200 --> 0:07:37.640 all their new product and listen, if you listen to 0:07:37.680 --> 0:07:40.080 the podcast, you know that I'm a Cobrapuma guy. But 0:07:40.320 --> 0:07:44.200 when you get to see all the products from whatever manufacturer, 0:07:44.200 --> 0:07:47.480 you're associated with, from whatever clothing company that you're associated with. 0:07:47.520 --> 0:07:49.400 For me, it's always fun to kind of talk to, 0:07:50.240 --> 0:07:52.720 you know, the guys that are designing the clubs, the 0:07:53.120 --> 0:07:56.320 people that are designing the clothing. So I think Cobrapuma 0:07:56.360 --> 0:07:58.360 is doing a really, really good job. I think they've 0:07:58.400 --> 0:08:02.240 got some really innovative tech. Their new driver. You've heard 0:08:02.240 --> 0:08:04.360 me talk about it. I really like it. It's fast 0:08:04.640 --> 0:08:07.640 scene players put it in the bag, and then they're 0:08:07.640 --> 0:08:10.720 three D printing with their irons. Kyle Westmoreland, who I've 0:08:10.720 --> 0:08:12.480 had on the pod before, he just won with their 0:08:12.520 --> 0:08:16.520 iron on the corn Ferry, and I think that technology 0:08:16.560 --> 0:08:19.720 I'm excited to see. You know what that could look like. 0:08:19.880 --> 0:08:22.400 Is there a world if the companies can three D 0:08:22.560 --> 0:08:26.760 print irons? Is there a world maybe five ten years 0:08:26.800 --> 0:08:29.880 from now, where you, as a player just are able 0:08:29.920 --> 0:08:32.760 to go online and say, Okay, this is what I 0:08:32.840 --> 0:08:35.520 want my iron to look like. Do I want offset? 0:08:35.600 --> 0:08:37.200 Do I want it to be more of a blade? 0:08:37.280 --> 0:08:40.120 Do I want it to be more game improvement, more 0:08:40.160 --> 0:08:43.600 top line less top line? What shape do I like 0:08:43.800 --> 0:08:46.360 in my Iron? So I think, just like I said 0:08:46.360 --> 0:08:49.480 about AI, I think we're scratching the surface of what 0:08:49.600 --> 0:08:52.320 building a golf club and building an iron could look 0:08:52.440 --> 0:08:56.000 like down the road, and I think Cobra he's kind 0:08:56.000 --> 0:08:58.160 of at the forefront of that. And I've got their 0:08:58.160 --> 0:09:01.240 three D iron in my bag. I love it. It's 0:09:01.320 --> 0:09:06.040 kind of got a blade looking, kind of old school 0:09:06.520 --> 0:09:10.439 iron look to it, but the tech involved in it 0:09:10.920 --> 0:09:13.920 with where you can hit it on the face, the forgiveness, 0:09:14.880 --> 0:09:17.560 I think all of that is we're just touching the surface. 0:09:17.559 --> 0:09:20.080 So it's going to be cool to see where that goes. 0:09:20.240 --> 0:09:24.560 On the Puma side, Puma's shoe company first and foremost, 0:09:24.640 --> 0:09:26.800 and I think Puma's got some really really cool stuff 0:09:26.840 --> 0:09:30.240 coming out, kind of some retro old school Puma golf shoes. 0:09:30.280 --> 0:09:34.000 So excited to see all of that stuff. Later this year, 0:09:34.200 --> 0:09:36.440 got to hang out with Steve Malbone from Malbon Golf, 0:09:36.440 --> 0:09:38.920 who you know, he's he's a friend. I think he's 0:09:38.960 --> 0:09:40.640 doing some really cool stuff. We kind of talked about 0:09:40.679 --> 0:09:43.360 all the stuff that they're doing with Jason Day and 0:09:43.400 --> 0:09:46.559 all the craziness in what surrounds kind of the stuff 0:09:46.559 --> 0:09:48.560 that they're trying to do in the golf space. And 0:09:48.720 --> 0:09:51.120 I think we're in an interesting place in kind of 0:09:51.120 --> 0:09:54.319 golf fashion as well. I think, you know, I think 0:09:54.320 --> 0:09:57.559 there's space for everybody, and I think there are a 0:09:57.600 --> 0:10:00.600 lot of cool new companies and I think it's going 0:10:00.640 --> 0:10:04.360 to make the bigger companies adapt and look at trends 0:10:04.440 --> 0:10:06.960 and stuff like that. So I think I saw more 0:10:07.160 --> 0:10:12.280 influencers at the PJ Merchandi Show as many influencers and 0:10:12.320 --> 0:10:16.120 people in that space as I did just regular golf instructors, 0:10:16.600 --> 0:10:19.679 regular PGA pros. You know, normally when you go to 0:10:19.679 --> 0:10:23.960 the PGA Merchant Show, merchandise show, it's khakis, it's blue blazers, 0:10:24.240 --> 0:10:26.400 it's you know, it's very much old school. But this 0:10:26.520 --> 0:10:30.760 year it seemed like there's just big armies of social 0:10:30.800 --> 0:10:33.920 media people walking around. And I think that's a trend. 0:10:33.960 --> 0:10:36.160 I mean, I think the YouTube golf stuff is here 0:10:36.200 --> 0:10:39.560 to stay. Like I said, I'm down here in Adelaide 0:10:39.600 --> 0:10:42.280 at the Live event and today Rick Shields was out. 0:10:42.679 --> 0:10:45.439 He signed a big deal with Live. You know, YouTube extraordinaire. 0:10:45.480 --> 0:10:48.520 It's got a huge channel, huge following, and he's now 0:10:48.559 --> 0:10:51.240 doing content for Live. We've seen the PGA Tour do that. 0:10:51.280 --> 0:10:53.680 We've seen the PGA Tour do their content creator. The 0:10:53.720 --> 0:10:57.520 pg Tour has hired influencers to kind of come out 0:10:57.520 --> 0:10:59.360 on tour to be a part of what they're doing. 0:10:59.400 --> 0:11:01.840 And I think that is here to stay. But you 0:11:01.840 --> 0:11:03.400 could just see it at the PGA show. You just 0:11:03.440 --> 0:11:06.320 see these armies of content creators just walking around with 0:11:06.360 --> 0:11:11.199 their videographers and sound people and so listen. I think 0:11:11.240 --> 0:11:13.920 the golf space is big. I think there's room for 0:11:13.960 --> 0:11:15.559 all of it. And I think you are seeing. You're 0:11:15.559 --> 0:11:20.400 seeing the manufacturers get more involved with YouTubers and influencers. 0:11:20.480 --> 0:11:23.680 You're seeing clothing companies do that, and now you're seeing 0:11:23.760 --> 0:11:25.960 tours do that. You're seeing the PGA tour do that. 0:11:25.960 --> 0:11:27.520 You're seeing live and I think that's here to stay. 0:11:27.559 --> 0:11:29.360 You're going to see that on the LPGA as well. 0:11:29.400 --> 0:11:30.839 I think they're trying to find a way to get 0:11:30.880 --> 0:11:33.840 more eyeballs in a non traditional way. I think the 0:11:33.880 --> 0:11:38.760 way that all of you listening to the podcast. Everybody 0:11:38.800 --> 0:11:44.360 consumes their content differently. Everybody has a way in which 0:11:44.400 --> 0:11:49.000 they like to produce their content or absorb their content, 0:11:49.080 --> 0:11:51.760 and I think the content creators right now, I mean, 0:11:51.880 --> 0:11:54.280 we've never been in a time to where it's easier 0:11:54.320 --> 0:11:58.000 to produce content. So if that's something you're interested in, 0:11:58.200 --> 0:11:59.720 I think it's here to stay, and I think we 0:11:59.760 --> 0:12:01.600 are going to see more of that. And I had 0:12:01.720 --> 0:12:04.080 a pretty extensive talk about that with Rick Shields today 0:12:04.120 --> 0:12:07.640 about what he's trying to do, what you know Live 0:12:07.760 --> 0:12:10.040 wants him to do, and that's happening on the PGA 0:12:10.120 --> 0:12:12.920 Tour as well. At Waste Management over the weekend we 0:12:13.000 --> 0:12:15.440 saw basically, I mean, you couldn't look at your social 0:12:15.480 --> 0:12:18.439 media feed if you're a golfer and not see somebody 0:12:18.960 --> 0:12:24.080 in the influencer social media space at Waste Management. The 0:12:24.120 --> 0:12:26.080 PGA Tour, I think has done a great job at that. 0:12:26.240 --> 0:12:30.000 They've got their sixteenth hole, their stadium, and it seemed 0:12:30.040 --> 0:12:33.240 like that was kind of the melting pot for all 0:12:33.280 --> 0:12:36.600 of the stars people outside the golf space that love golf. 0:12:36.720 --> 0:12:39.960 They're hitting shots, they're trying things, and then all the 0:12:39.960 --> 0:12:42.760 influencers and all the content creators are are at that 0:12:42.920 --> 0:12:45.880 as well. So again, that's not going anywhere. That is 0:12:46.080 --> 0:12:52.760 here to stay. One of the other crazy things that 0:12:52.840 --> 0:12:56.840 happened in the offseason Noah Kent finalist in the US Am. 0:12:56.880 --> 0:12:59.080 He'll play in the Masters and the US Open this year. 0:12:59.080 --> 0:13:01.959 He was at the University of Iowa, made the decision 0:13:02.000 --> 0:13:04.640 to go into the transfer portal, And for those of 0:13:04.640 --> 0:13:09.480 you listening in America college sports right now, it is 0:13:09.880 --> 0:13:13.480 absolutely crazy with all of the nil stuff, with all 0:13:13.520 --> 0:13:16.920 of the money that are being paid to now college 0:13:17.000 --> 0:13:20.840 athletes and college golfers are in that same boat. Now. 0:13:20.880 --> 0:13:25.199 There is a big shift in college golf right now 0:13:25.240 --> 0:13:29.520 to where the NCAA is reducing team and squad size 0:13:29.559 --> 0:13:32.160 if down to kind of eight nine, and I think 0:13:32.160 --> 0:13:34.280 a lot of the college coaches are kind of scrambling. 0:13:34.360 --> 0:13:37.520 So Noah, who I've had on the pod, made the 0:13:37.520 --> 0:13:40.400 decision to go into the transfer portal lead the University 0:13:40.440 --> 0:13:45.760 of Iowa, and it was just crazy the amount of 0:13:45.760 --> 0:13:49.920 offers from schools and what schools are now able to offer. 0:13:50.440 --> 0:13:52.920 And that is the wild wild West right now. I 0:13:52.920 --> 0:13:57.199 don't think college golf coaches ever envisioned time to where 0:13:58.840 --> 0:14:01.720 college athletes would be getting paid, that they could pay 0:14:02.200 --> 0:14:06.480 college athletes. College athletes could then say listen, I want 0:14:06.480 --> 0:14:10.560 to move, and another program saying hey, listen, we've got 0:14:10.559 --> 0:14:12.800 some money, we want you to come. And I think 0:14:12.840 --> 0:14:16.000 that's new. And I think everybody in college golf on 0:14:16.040 --> 0:14:19.800 the playing side, the players and the universities, the coaches, 0:14:20.200 --> 0:14:23.040 everybody who's trying to figure out where and how we 0:14:23.160 --> 0:14:27.120 navigate this kind of new world. But college athletes now 0:14:27.120 --> 0:14:31.640 in America that play college sports, specifically on the golf side, 0:14:31.680 --> 0:14:34.320 they're getting paid. Now, they're getting paid to play. And 0:14:35.160 --> 0:14:37.040 I don't have a problem with that, I really don't. 0:14:37.560 --> 0:14:39.480 I think it's been a little bit upside down. I mean, 0:14:39.520 --> 0:14:41.720 if you look at college football in America, I mean, 0:14:41.720 --> 0:14:44.360 if you look at the number of college football coaches 0:14:44.560 --> 0:14:47.640 that are making over ten million dollars a year, and 0:14:47.960 --> 0:14:52.040 historically the athletes, it's been illegal to pay them. I 0:14:52.040 --> 0:14:55.600 mean it's been illegal for college athletes who are on 0:14:55.640 --> 0:14:58.720 scholarships to get a job, to get a part time job. 0:14:58.880 --> 0:15:03.520 So I can remember when Tiger was at Stanford, he 0:15:03.600 --> 0:15:06.480 got taken out to dinner by Arnold Palmer, and Arnold 0:15:06.480 --> 0:15:09.040 Palmer paid for the dinner, and it was it turned 0:15:09.080 --> 0:15:13.480 into a really really big deal. The NCAA was talking 0:15:13.480 --> 0:15:16.400 about sanctions. Tiger had to write a check I think, 0:15:16.720 --> 0:15:19.000 to Arnold Palmer for the dinner and stuff like that. 0:15:19.040 --> 0:15:22.040 So those days are over. So college athletes now across 0:15:22.080 --> 0:15:25.040 the board. But in golf, if you're good, you can 0:15:25.040 --> 0:15:27.120 get paid. You can get paid to go to school, 0:15:27.160 --> 0:15:32.160 and you can get paid basically a salary to play 0:15:32.320 --> 0:15:35.520 college golf. So Noah kind of made the decision to 0:15:35.600 --> 0:15:37.800 leave Iowa and ended up it went to a bunch 0:15:37.840 --> 0:15:40.320 of different schools. I was part of that process, and 0:15:40.400 --> 0:15:43.000 we looked at a lot of different programs. It was 0:15:43.040 --> 0:15:45.040 like a two week period where I think I was 0:15:45.080 --> 0:15:47.720 basically every single day on the way to work or 0:15:47.760 --> 0:15:49.600 on the way home, I was talking to a college 0:15:49.600 --> 0:15:53.160 golf coach about their program, about the fit and stuff, 0:15:53.200 --> 0:15:56.840 and ultimately Noah did a lot of visits and chose 0:15:56.880 --> 0:16:00.520 the University of Florida J. C. Deacon and the Gators. 0:16:00.560 --> 0:16:02.440 They won the national championship a couple of years ago. 0:16:02.560 --> 0:16:04.880 Jac has been on the pod. Noah's a Florida kid 0:16:04.880 --> 0:16:07.600 from Naples, and so that's where he's going to play 0:16:07.600 --> 0:16:10.640 his college golf. So the interesting thing is Noah played 0:16:10.640 --> 0:16:13.200 in the fall for Iowa, and you can't play for 0:16:13.280 --> 0:16:16.320 two schools in the same calendar year. So even though 0:16:16.320 --> 0:16:18.400 he's at the University of Florida now as part of 0:16:18.440 --> 0:16:21.960 the University of Florida Gator golf program, can't play. So 0:16:22.520 --> 0:16:25.440 that was a big deal for trying to figure out 0:16:25.800 --> 0:16:27.920 what we were going to do. He's going to play 0:16:28.360 --> 0:16:31.280 as a finalist of the US Am you get into 0:16:31.360 --> 0:16:33.520 the Masters and the US Open. So Noah will play 0:16:33.520 --> 0:16:35.960 in the Masters, He'll play in the US Open, but 0:16:36.240 --> 0:16:40.400 he isn't going to play any tournaments in college golf 0:16:40.680 --> 0:16:43.520 in the spring. He can play on the team, can 0:16:43.520 --> 0:16:45.680 practice with the team, he can work out with the team, 0:16:45.800 --> 0:16:49.400 he can qualify with the team. He just can't compete 0:16:50.040 --> 0:16:52.240 for two schools in the same years. So the next 0:16:52.240 --> 0:16:54.440 time he'll be able to compete for the University of 0:16:54.440 --> 0:16:57.680 Florida is in the fall of twenty twenty five. So 0:16:57.720 --> 0:16:59.600 we're scrambling to try and figure out, Okay, what is 0:16:59.640 --> 0:17:03.000 that land look like from a competitive standpoint. I think 0:17:03.000 --> 0:17:05.720 we're going to try and look at having him do 0:17:05.880 --> 0:17:08.159 some of the Monday qualifiers for some of the Florida 0:17:08.160 --> 0:17:11.920 events on the PGA Tour. Is there a world where 0:17:11.960 --> 0:17:17.520 maybe he can get some invites, maybe Asia, maybe DP 0:17:19.600 --> 0:17:21.760 I mean, maybe even PGA Tour. I mean, that would 0:17:21.760 --> 0:17:24.520 be unbelievable if he could get a PGA Tour event. 0:17:24.560 --> 0:17:28.080 But it has just been fascinating to watch in a 0:17:28.400 --> 0:17:31.600 very very short period of time the landscape of college 0:17:31.680 --> 0:17:35.640 golf change literally overnight, and I don't know where we're 0:17:35.640 --> 0:17:38.600 going to go with this. I think it's just the 0:17:38.640 --> 0:17:42.480 infancy of paying college athletes and paying college golfers. Listen, 0:17:42.560 --> 0:17:45.960 whatever side of the fence you're on on that, I 0:17:45.960 --> 0:17:47.920 don't have a dog in that fight. But I don't 0:17:47.960 --> 0:17:51.760 have a problem with college athletes being paid. I really don't. 0:17:52.080 --> 0:17:55.120 I think it's the world we live in and it's 0:17:55.160 --> 0:17:58.280 going to be really interesting to see kind of where 0:17:58.359 --> 0:18:01.480 that goes as well. And then I'm back on the road. 0:18:02.359 --> 0:18:06.040 Did Saudi last week and Saudi for Live they played 0:18:06.119 --> 0:18:08.359 under under the lights. They played at night, which was 0:18:08.359 --> 0:18:10.960 a really it was cool, but I gotta be honest, 0:18:11.000 --> 0:18:13.879 it was a weird experience. I think everybody was coming 0:18:13.920 --> 0:18:16.919 to Saudi Arabia that's associated with Live, the players, the caddies, 0:18:16.960 --> 0:18:20.280 the coaches, all of us on the team side. You know, 0:18:20.280 --> 0:18:24.600 you're flying. I flew from Miami fifteen hours to Doha 0:18:24.640 --> 0:18:27.520 and stuff, so the time difference, but then you're playing 0:18:27.680 --> 0:18:32.960 at night, so it's a really weird experience because normally 0:18:33.160 --> 0:18:35.080 you get up first thing in the morning and you're 0:18:35.119 --> 0:18:38.719 getting to the golf course early. It was the complete opposite. 0:18:38.760 --> 0:18:41.240 So everybody was jet lagged. We were trying to get 0:18:41.280 --> 0:18:45.240 to the golf course kind of mid afternoonish. I was 0:18:45.280 --> 0:18:48.200 getting to the golf course around three four o'clock every day, 0:18:48.240 --> 0:18:51.640 which normally I'm getting to the golf course between six 0:18:51.800 --> 0:18:56.360 seven eight o'clock at the latest, but three o'clock at night, 0:18:56.480 --> 0:18:59.879 having some food and then going out. And everybody was 0:19:00.000 --> 0:19:04.919 trying to practice underneath the lights at night, so teeing 0:19:04.960 --> 0:19:09.520 off at like six thirty seven o'clock at night pro 0:19:09.640 --> 0:19:12.359 am time. One of the pro ams DJ played in 0:19:12.400 --> 0:19:15.479 Saudi is tea off time seven thirty at night. So 0:19:15.800 --> 0:19:17.840 the other part of that is we were getting back 0:19:17.880 --> 0:19:20.720 to the hotel after the round. You're trying to eat, 0:19:20.800 --> 0:19:22.640 we're getting back. I think the earliest I got back 0:19:22.640 --> 0:19:25.440 to the hotel for the week was around eleven o'clock 0:19:25.480 --> 0:19:28.879 to midnight. And then your jet lag, you're wide awake, 0:19:29.000 --> 0:19:31.840 You're trying to sleep, but then you realize you don't 0:19:31.880 --> 0:19:34.600 have to do anything the following day until you know, 0:19:34.720 --> 0:19:36.680 four or five o'clock in the afternoon. So it was 0:19:36.720 --> 0:19:40.280 a really interesting experience. But the experience of playing night 0:19:40.320 --> 0:19:43.240 golf it was cool. I don't think I'd want to 0:19:43.400 --> 0:19:46.760 do that all the time, but I think lives trying 0:19:46.800 --> 0:19:49.159 to innovate. I think that Lives trying to bring some 0:19:49.240 --> 0:19:52.640 different things, and I think the PGA Tour is trying 0:19:52.640 --> 0:19:55.080 to do that as well. So I think all the 0:19:55.119 --> 0:19:58.280 tours are trying to figure out in twenty twenty five 0:19:58.320 --> 0:20:01.239 how they can innovate the product. But I said this 0:20:01.280 --> 0:20:03.560 to someone at the PJ Merchandise Show, and I think, 0:20:04.160 --> 0:20:07.640 whether you like Live, whether you don't like Live, that's 0:20:08.040 --> 0:20:10.320 I mean, we can talk about that forever, and that's 0:20:10.320 --> 0:20:14.480 a personal choice. But five to seven years ago, I 0:20:14.520 --> 0:20:17.560 never heard anyone talk about the product, what the product 0:20:17.640 --> 0:20:20.439 was of professional golf. Professional golf was, what it was, 0:20:20.520 --> 0:20:22.919 the tours played, where they played, the tours played, the 0:20:22.920 --> 0:20:26.040 tournaments they played, and I never heard anyone talk about 0:20:26.119 --> 0:20:29.720 the fan experience, what the fans wanted, what the product was, 0:20:29.760 --> 0:20:32.400 how the product can could be better. And I think 0:20:32.480 --> 0:20:36.359 Live coming along has made everybody in professional golf say, Okay, 0:20:36.359 --> 0:20:39.040 what do the fans want, what are the fans don't want, 0:20:39.080 --> 0:20:42.160 and how can we make that experience better. So, if 0:20:42.160 --> 0:20:44.080 you're on the anti Live side and you think there 0:20:44.080 --> 0:20:46.800 are a lot of negatives associated with that, one of 0:20:46.800 --> 0:20:49.960 the positives is it is made all the tours kind 0:20:49.960 --> 0:20:52.679 of pivot and go, Okay, how can we make the 0:20:52.720 --> 0:20:56.399 experience better for the fans? And the way professional golf 0:20:56.480 --> 0:21:00.760 is being televised and packaged and brought to all of 0:21:00.800 --> 0:21:04.159 you that are listening that are golf fans is changing. 0:21:04.200 --> 0:21:08.840 It's changing on a regular basis. Five years ago, there 0:21:08.880 --> 0:21:12.240