No Laying Up - Golf Podcast - 881 - Max Homa on the 2024 Masters, mental game improvements and team golf

Episode Date: August 13, 2024

He's back! Max Homa stops by for a look back at his 2024 season to date, highlighted by the top 5 finish at the 2024 Masters. We also talk through his process and journey toward a stronger mental approach to the game, some Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup discussions and more. If you enjoyed this episode, consider joining The Nest: No Laying Up’s community of avid golfers. Nest members help us maintain our light commercial interruptions (3 minutes of ads per 90 minutes of content) and receive access to exclusive content, discounts in the pro shop, and an annual member gift. It’s a $90 annual membership, and you can sign up or learn more at nolayingup.com/join Thank you to Duer Jeans (go to shopduer.com/nlu for 20% off) and Omni Golf. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Be the right club. Be the right club today. That's better than most. How about in? That is better than most. Better than most! Expect anything different? better than most expect anything different ladies and gentlemen welcome back to the no laying up podcast soli here got an interview coming shortly with max homa talking about a lot of stuff his golf game the majors how they went this year a lot of stuff about augusta rider cup upcoming president's cup what's going on the golf world you know max brings heat. He brought it in this one like he always does. I want to give a shout out to today's sponsor. That

is Dewar. Dewar Jeans spelled D-U-E-R. I said Dewar Jeans, but they've got so many offerings. If you're watching this on YouTube, which hopefully you are, this is the t-shirt. I reach for this one immediately in the morning. It's like half cotton, half polyester, spandex. I don't know what exactly it is, but it just feels like a slightly more formal t-shirt, just a more quality t-shirt than your run of run-of-the-mill t-shirt. I love how they look and feel I reach for their shorts almost every single morning. You can wear them several times that I'm going to wash them. Hope you know you haven't smelled anything different coming from me but if they're fantastic they're really good quality that's always a sign of

good quality materials when you can wear it multiple times without having to wash it. I love their jeans. I love the no sweat pants they have. They're kind of like the chinos. They're called the no sweat pants. Check those out. You can go to shopdewer.com right now. It will give you a fantastic offer of 20% off your first order when you use that exclusive URL. That's shopdewer.com. It's a great deal. Go now, get 20% off at shopdewer.com. It's a great deal. Go now, get 20% off at shopdoer.com slash nlou. Without any further delay, here's our podcast with Max Holman. So a little bonus travel on the back end of the UK trip.

I was simultaneously so excited and also heartbroken that you didn't ask for recommendations in Amsterdam. It was, I was just absolutely, as soon as I saw exactly where you were staying and everything, I had to get on my horse. It was tough. I was super, and Lacey was too appreciative of the recommendations. The reason I didn't ask anybody anything is we were there for such a consolidated amount

of time. Lacey did set up a sweet boat tour thing, so I knew that was going to take up a day. We didn't end up doing a ton other than seeing as much as we could, which was, I mean, Amsterdam is really cool. And then you add that with a toddler and it was just like, man, we were here for two days. Felt like I didn't do a lot, but had a really enjoyed myself. People were cool, very clean city, didn't get hit by a bicycle. So successful, successful trip.

But I get what you guys mean when you talk about that place now. Cause I think like average brain human, not cultured Amsterdam is I'm going to get super stoned and wasted. Like that's what I picture. So when Lacey was like, Hey, I think we should go to Amsterdam after the open. I was like, is Cam going to take his first flight alone home? Like, what are we, what are we doing? But it turned out to be so cool.

That's what everybody's, you know, it it's the it's the red light district and you can smoke pot everywhere is like oh yeah knows about it, but it's like the coolest frickin city in the world. It's it's just absolutely great. How are you doing all this with a toddler on the road? I mean I you know, we're we're annually entering toddler phase I'm not a huge hurry to get on a bunch of planes with this with this little thing running around my house How do you do it all this? I'm not sure. A lot of, a lot of heart, a lot of heart out of my wife. It is really difficult.

I obviously would never change a thing. I love what I do. And you know, all of this is very fun. I didn't like flying before. That was the least favorite part of my job. Flying with a kid is infinitely worse. It's definitely the hardest bit. Now I like flying when he's not there.

It's like I always joke, like, you know, tell the plane to go around another loop. Like I haven't watched a movie in forever and I'm sitting there just vegging out. So it's very hard. I think in five-ish years, 10 years, and especially in like 20, 30 years, we're going to be so thankful we did it. I found it really heartwarming, selfishly. I think about, you know, this past year, he went to the hero and he was acting up at dinner. So, I walked him out on the beach and we're kind of like walking along the water.

And I was thinking, you know, I was kind of joking with him, not that he knows what I'm talking about, but like, you know, dad brought you to the Bahamas. Like that's pretty cool. And like dad brought you to Amsterdam and you've seen Scotland and I know he's not going to care much, but I think myself and Lacey will be very fond of those memories and little things like that. So I think that's what keeps you going, but definitely have gone to some dark places on some flights. That eight and a half hours from Amsterdam to Minnesota was, that was a mental experience. If I could have called Julie, Ellie, and while we were flying, I probably would have.

That was a tough one. 45 minutes of sleep in an eight and a half hour flight and more walking up and down an aisle than I do on a golf course. So, it's tough. So, I don't recommend it, but I keep telling myself in the future, I'm gonna be very proud of us and happy that we did it. How does it affect your, first of all, walking up and down the aisle,

eight hour flight, do people recognize you on that? Like is, does anybody say anything to you? Like you've gotten, you got a lot more famous since you started coming on this podcast, especially coming back from Europe, I guess you wouldn't be coming back from Scotland on that. But do people recognize you when you walk up and down the aisle on a plane?

Yeah, it's definitely something that's happened quite a bit more in the last three-ish years, thanks to you guys and all the videos, thanks to a lot of people. And then there was definitely a big jump after the Ryder. The Ryder Cup was the biggest change. I'm not trying to say this a big jump after the Ryder. The Ryder Cup was the biggest change. I'm not trying to say this.

This is just the real thing. When I go out even before the Ryder Cup, like I would get, you know, especially the place I'll go, I'll frequent is my age range. And I've noticed that my demographic is 18 to 40 year old men. There's maybe been one woman. I actually remember in Nashville, one girl came up to us and asked for a picture and my friends were so sick of it. It was my buddy Zach's bachelor party and they're like, oh, you know, they got used to what I was kind of going off about laughing about. It's always for someone's boyfriend or husband.

So they all joked and popped off like, oh, where's your, you know, for your boyfriend, where is he? And she goes, no, no, for me. And we all like jumped up and down. Like we finally found the one person, the one girl in the, in the world. So my demographic 18 to 40 is like the place I go, you know, get, you know, get, meet a lot of people and whatnot. After the rider cup, it started to be just be like everywhere. You know, I was on flights, especially people like the stewardess on one of them, like the first flight I came home from. That stuff was kind of funny. So now it really helps with the toddler because when we got to Scotland to fly to Amsterdam, the airport was a mess. It was a zoo. It was the middle of all

that chaos. And, you know, Cam is running around. He's not really wanting to just stand in a line for an hour and a half as no one does, but especially a one and a half year old. And a lot of people were there, you know, a lot of golf fans and there's a lot of attention. But with the toddler, you get so much sympathy. Everyone's so much nicer about moving out of the way. And it was a good, it was a really good sweet spot. So yeah, when I was walking up and down the aisle on that flight, there was a man sitting in the front row. And at one point I was just kind of bouncing him. Oh, no, no, I, I took cam up to change his diaper, then dropped him back off and then went back to, uh, you know, I wasn't wearing my diaper. So I had to, I had to use the restroom myself.

And the guy, you know, said, made a funny joke about just basically like, you know, back to back bathroom trips, usually not very fun. And I laughed, you know, and then he was like, you know, big fan, like loved the golf. So I get like that a lot and that's fun and still kind of weird, but little stuff like that on a plane, I feel like you get a lot of, a lot more patience when your kid isn't exactly

the golden person on that flight. I thought you were going to say that you got people volunteering to, you know, take a lap with them or something like that. That would be the ultimate. Shout out to the older crowd that has probably had their kids and they've moved on to college or maybe out of the house. They are, I'm not going to give my kid to some stranger,

but I appreciate the volunteering. They all are like, oh, we'll take him. We'll walk him up and down. And you're just like, yeah, I mean, thank you. I'm not going to do that. No offense. I'm sure they to do that. No offense. I'm sure they're lovely. But still my responsibility here.

But it is amazing how kind people are, especially when you have a child. We did a psychology thing back in college. And it was like, if a woman falls with a bunch of papers, men would run over to help pick them up. But when I did it, no one really runs over. It just must be a biological type thing or societal thing. Men with toddlers also get a lot of help.

I've noticed when you're solo. They look at you because I think everybody knows moms are just better at it. They have better patients. They are smarter. They are just better equipped for all of it. And so I think they see a guy with his baby by himself. I think they everyone's ears perk up and they're like, oh, this guy probably needs a lot of help.

How does having a toddler, I wasn't, I'm not looking for parenting advice necessarily here. I wasn't planning on talking about kids this long, but we've seen, as we are getting older, our audience is aging with us as well. People are kind of going through a lot of the same life stuff of like, we watch a lot of guys go through getting married and then having

kids and how it may potentially affect your career in some way, shape or form. You've played great golf since having a kid. You've you know, you've had ups and downs and whatnot. But how does it actually affect your golf career? I mean, that's we've talked, you've added stress in the travel part, these actual tournaments, which is already a stressful part. But how does it affect, you know, kind of practice at home, life at home, life on the road, all of it? Like, how does it, what kind of effect has it had on your game?

Yeah, I actually was talking to my friend about it today. He was asking if like the slip in the last few tournaments has been, or I guess a couple of months has been because of having a kid. And it's interesting, I probably would have to answer that question years down the road to know when you're in it. I don't think you can notice it. I don't think it's been any kind of problem. It's just you get good with your time. I don't think I've practiced any less. I don't think I've worked any less hard. You might be a little more tired. I've definitely drank more energy drinks than I typically would have maybe two years ago. But yeah, there's definitely more stresses, but it's interesting. Julie and I talk a lot about how it makes golf

almost your sanctuary. You can almost appreciate more, like I really love playing golf. It's a nice break from watching Moana at times when you're having a really busy week, especially like a late tea time at the open. Friday, I had a late tea time at the open., I had a late tea time at the open and you know, the mornings, late tea times used to be my favorite sleep as late as I could lounge around in bed roll like put on TV, watch a movie, go on TikTok, go to, you know, do whatever

I wanted. And, you know, now it's like, I'm still like, I'm going to wake up at seven or 645 and immediately, you know, be breakfast and parent mode. And it's great. But when you have a round coming up, it's like your brain is spinning. So that's great, but when you have a round coming up, it's like your brain is spinning. So that's changed a bit. But then once you like get to say, okay, I'm going to the course, it's my time now. I selfishly, my wife doesn't get that, unfortunately for her,

but I get to go to work and it makes me appreciative of what I get to do more so I think. So I think there's a tons of benefits. So obviously learning the time management part is critical and I'm sure people slip in their work, but I'm very lucky with the foundation we have at home that I don't feel like I've dropped off anywhere in the work area. Maybe when I look back in a few years, I'll be like, man, I was more tired than I realized or more stressed out, but I don't know.

I really enjoy it. It's difficult and there's a lot that goes on with it and I only have one, I don't really know how people do multiple, but you just kind of go with the flow and it makes the good times just like literally a million times better. So that's the fun of it. Yeah.

You've spoken a lot about the mental side of golf, your work with Julie, how that's led to some successes. What is having a good mental process do when things aren't going as well? Obviously, keeping perspective on the dip you've had in play. You have more than three FedEx Cup points this year. It's not quite... It's not that bad. You've had some deeper recesses into your play, but how does having good mental exercise

stop you from going farther into a funk, stop you from searching for something? What's your mental journey been like the last couple months? Yeah, thanks for asking. I like to talk about this because I think I talk about it a lot, Wyndham talks about it a lot. There's definitely a new movement of athletes speaking up on this and it's not to garner pity and talk about how hard our jobs are. I think it's fascinating because I could talk about

it and tell you what I'm trying to do, but it's not like I'm great every week. You asked Joe, I'm miserable some weeks and I'm sure he has a really hard time with it. And some weeks I'm good and have a friend like that mentally. I'll go off the deep end, even though my plan was to just be so rock solid. A year like this has been tricky., play great in the Ryder Cup, play great in the Masters and think, okay, I finally like, you know, I'm turning that corner, let's go chase down Scotty. And then you kind of hit the E break. And so it goes in ebbs and ebbs and flows a bit. Having a team around like Joe and Lacey and Julie and Mark and PK and everybody has been like that really helps because they'll call me out and and and I want to make them proud like I what I found is I I'm the most happy with myself when I feel like Joe and

Lacey especially are the most proud of how I acted and how I bounced back from things whether it's a birdie or a bogey but just like emotionally like how I took that on and so it's harder now because I feel like I get it and I know when I do slip and I go too deep and too dark, but it's human, like it's human nature. Like we have our expectations, hey, I'm gonna go out and I'm gonna be a really, I'm gonna be a pro. I always say that I'm gonna be a professional,

but kids watching like this is a kid, I'm gonna be somebody to learn from and then I'll have these, I'll make a bogey on my third hole and I'll just be like, dude, like, what are you, you're not good, like, you figure it out. So I think having the process helps because I catch myself doing it. It does, it's not great

because I'll still let myself linger in it a little too long. But like, if I have a bad day on the golf course and then mentally I'm like, I was not good that day, I feel like I leave the course thinking that more so than just the physical. And like I have more of an emphasis the next day to do a better job. So again, everything in life is learning.

I mean, it's recently biased, but like, I really feel like I found something interesting at the open on that Friday. Thursday, I wasn't bad mentally, I don't think I really hung in there. I finished the round off well. But like I just the whole year just feels like it was I haven't hit the ball well off the tee and I just hit awful the first day and Friday I was like, you know what, I just I don't think

I'm going to make the cut. Like it's going to blow 30. I'm not hitting the ball well and I need to shoot, you know, somewhere between 100 and one over to make this cut. So I was like, all right, this is a very good time to just buckle the hell down and be a pro. Just stay in it. Who cares? Just stay in it. Find something mentally because you're just not going to find your golf swing in 30 miles an hour.

It's not going to happen. And I felt like I really did a good job. So I think you take from that. What was I thinking before that round? Obviously it's not always going to be the same. It's not like I'm going to walk on the first tee at Memphis and say, well, I'm not going to play well today, but I'm going to do a great job.

I'm going to take the good of that and kind of how that process went about and find that little nugget and use that throughout the day for the good and the bad. So I think that like having a plan, I've journal a lot so I can look back on days, you know, like what was I writing about? Like what was on the tip of my mind? You know, week of Valero, week of Augusta, week here, like what seems to work? What seems to be tangible that I like hold on to throughout an entire day or

tournament? And then you just kind of keep compiling things. When you think about I've been hitting a golf ball here for 30 years, I've been working on my brain for two and a half of those. So I have a lot of things to keep catching up on and a massive of Rolodex of things to look back on in my golf swing and in my mentals. I'm just starting to get all those and compile them. So pretty proud of what has been going on in the last few weeks on that side.

Still a long, long way to go. You wanna be consistent. You wanna do it every single round and not have that be a variable anymore. So that's what I'm hopeful for. But yeah, the process of it is interesting. And again, it's just learning. You're kind of shape shifting all the time,

trying to find the right pocket to be in. If I'm hearing you right, I feel like I've kind of reached this conclusion as well in terms of at times when I feel like I've gotten mental golf like figured out. It's not it's not something that once you, you know, pass that test or whatever that you just have forever, right? Like maintaining that is more challenging than than maybe people would think if you

if you've never tried to take care of your mental approach in golf, like there was definitely a point in my golf career where I was like, I've got this figured out. I got this. Here we go. And then went into the deepest mental hole I've gone in. Never gone in. Not that far along. Right?

And it's, Wyndham has not had the same success this past year. He's talked a lot about how the mental leaps have helped him. And I'm just, I'm really curious about the maintenance of this and how you think about things and how you, we're talking about this with JT too of like when you when things are not going great or as great as they have gone are you trying to find your way back to what you're doing or are you trying to find a new path forward a new swing feel a new and how do you make these are important decisions you make in trying to play your best golf how does all of that tie together? Changes you're making, adjustments you're making in the mental side all tie together.

Well, it's obviously tricky. I think it does go to the latter of what you said, at least to me. I'm just trying to take what yesterday was and make it better today. I've learned a lot from other people. Jordan was on your guys podcast years ago and you guys were talking about

what happened with the golf swing and he's made a great point about how you're just never gonna have that exact feel because your body's gonna be different. So I don't try and like find an old feel. Now there are feels or swing keys I had maybe that I'll dabble into, but I know it's not gonna be the exact same.

So I try and just get better from like the day prior and keep chasing. You're gonna have years that aren't as good. So I'm looking at this year, for instance, as there's a lot of good in there. The short game has been awesome. The wedges are still really good. It's just the tee balls have been not as good, but there's still been weeks where it's been good. So I'm not trying to chase my tail. I'm just trying to find the next recipe to sustain it. And then mentally, the middle part of the year

around Quail Hollow, PGA that time of year, I was pretty deeply invested in this mental thing and that I thought I was doing a poor job right after Augusta and then, you know, Hilton had, I was terrible. And I, you know, you think you have it at Augusta and then the next week it's just like awful, miserable. And then you go home and you're moping and it's like, all right,

get back into the mental. It's just mental. That's all we're going to focus on. And I kept telling Julie and I hadn't been playing, I hadn't been driving it well. And I kept telling Julie like, okay, like it's just going to take a little breakthrough and like the brains caught up and every, it just seemed like every round for like, however many in a row, I bogeyed the first hole. And I kept telling Julia at some point, I can't just get punched in the fucking mouth right off the bat. Like I had, like, I know it's not a mental thing. It just

was like, I was, the first hole would be really hard and I hit a bad tee shot in or a bad second shot or whatever. And I'd make a bogey and I'm like, I can't keep getting tested within eight minutes of each round. Like, cause then you feel like you're tested for the next five hours. I didn't have a lot of coasting early in rounds. But the whole point of that was it's like, cool, yeah, you're not guaranteed anything. You don't deserve anything more in this life

because you're trying harder or whatever. So it started to just become, okay, just, again, you learn. Just take it on the chin and move along. Just cause you did that on the first hole doesn't mean anything about the next 17. You have great showings of that on paper. For me, mostly, I know the weeks I did a good job. I know the weeks I did a poor job, whether the score was good or bad.

There's some rounds that turned out to be pretty decent that I was bad mentally. There's been a lot of rounds where I shot maybe not the best score, but I felt like I was really like good. So not taking too much to heart on the score and knowing that you're, you're really feeling like you're doing a good job. Again, trying to make one part of it, a variable that, that doesn't fluctuate a constant, you know, like that's, that's the end goal of this, I think. Have you watched this year's masters back? You finished solo third, uh, Scotty ended up kind of separating near the end.

You were in the second to last group. You were right in it until the 12th. Well, have you watched any of it back on YouTube? Sadly, the only shot I've watched back or shots is my second shot in 11 and my two shot on 12. I haven't seen anything else. There was, I followed a lot of that round. I don't think I necessarily came to this conclusion,

but I've heard more than one person question your, I guess, strategy of that round. I don't think I necessarily came to this conclusion, but I've heard more than one person question your, I guess, strategy on that day, say you were not aggressive enough. I'm just completely, just upfront on that question. What is your reaction to that question? Yeah, I actually, I listened to your guys podcast drive in from Augusta to Hilton Head in the morning. And it was funny because Big Randy said,

I had mentioned to you early in the week that like that second shot on 13 with the ball way above my feet, I was gonna need to have like a four iron or probably less to go for it, maybe five iron because that shot, the club's been really stuck behind me this season. So I need to feel like it's coming kind of out and over.

So when a ball is way above your feet, it feels like when you do that, you're gonna toe, you're not going to if you're already under, but you're gonna toe chunk it. So if I'm swinging with the hill, I'm just going to be under his under get. So it's going to be a very difficult shot to hit. So I like was pretty committed. I wasn't going to deal like have to deal with that. Of course, if it was Sunday and I was on, on our Sunday, I had, I had a terrible tee shot. So he dogged me for not hitting enough club off that team. And this is no, no knock on Randy. This is

just like the ins and outs of how it goes. I heel wiped a three wood to the right and I had 290 or 80 yards in. There's no, like three people on the planet are ever going to try that on the 13th hole at Augusta. Had nothing to do with anything else. It just like was it unfeasible golf shot. Ludwig hit his three wood down there and had iron in. Had I hit a good three wood, I would have been able to go for the green. It made no sense to do so. Then Randy also said, Scotty's able to hit these shots. You guys should be learning how to hit them. It's like, yeah, I'm fucking trying. That golf shot just did not feel comfy. So for Thursday through Saturday, it was like, I'm not going to press it. I'm one, two back of the lead. I, my wedges are fantastic.

Like I do not need to do that. 15 we did every day. Every day we laid up my proudest moment with the whole conservative strategy was on, it's always me saying to go. Joe is much more level-headed and not, he doesn't react to things. And on 15 on Saturday, he goes,

is this the time we go for one? And I flat out said, no, like this just is not the time. Like this is working. Uh, we do not need to be hero. And the shots just, it was so crispy and so, and so windy, it was absolutely not the time to do it. So my strategy on Sunday was the same. I'm obviously going to react or not obviously I'm going to

react to how the, the, what the scores are. It pained me that on 13, I hit such a bad tee shot because I really didn't have a play. I don't know a lot of people that do, but off a hang line, I don't fly my 3 with 290 yards and landed on the left edge of the green. I'm just basically hitting 3 wood and saying, this is either going to maybe hit the green one out of 20 tries or I'm just hitting it in the water. That's what it felt. So it pained me not to hit a better tee shot there because I would have played more aggressively.

But if you dog the conservative kind of nature I was playing off the par fives, my only rebuttal to that was one of the worst bounces I have personally ever seen on the 12th hole away from being tighter one back of Scotty going into the last six holes. I don't think that that was I was in a bad spot. I make a bad swing on 13 and half to lay up and it just became like, oh, you know, the red was like I was playing to conserve. I was playing just to get third place. It really wasn't that just a really shitty swing. I went for it on 15,

had a great drive and had iron in and hit a pretty good shot just over the green. It wasn't an intentional thing. It's just the par five second, I draw my three would better and I was getting it way like down there far enough to go for it. And I played that hole pretty well. So some of the holes that you had to like turn the ball right to left, I was just hitting three wood because it was getting, it would go nearly as far as my driver would and I kind of knew it was going to be in the fairway.

It just sucked that that what happened on 12 did. And I would say for the week, the 13th few was the least in my, like in the present I was. I was pretty rattled by what had happened. I thought my ball flew the green and I was like, how did I get the, how did we get the club so wrong? And I was just like, what are the odds?

You know, I was just thinking of all the things. I landed one foot of Ivy that is there for an aesthetic. I was just like, man, what happened? I just was really rattling. I made this a really bad golf swing on 12 or 13, trying not to mess up basically. It sucked because then I just didn't have a chance to make an eagle. I was making it hard to make birdie. That sucked.

I get it. I do. But that's what's going on in our head. It was working very well, I was playing to my strengths, and again, had I been in that fairway and I had even a seven-wood in or something, something reasonable, I would have tried it just from 2.90. You're pretty much just saying, okay, I'm just going to whack this to look cool and I'm going to hit it right into the water and then chip on and hopefully make par. Now for a word from our friends at Omni Hotels, the official hotel and

resort of the PGA Tour, let's check in on the inaugural Omni Hotels, the official hotel and resort of the PGA Tour. Let's check in on the inaugural Omni Generation Cup, the first of its kind nationwide tournament where generational teams of two can compete in this year-long celebration of golf. The next qualifier up is at Omni Mount Washington up in New Hampshire on August 14th. It's on to Omni Grove Park Inn in September. I stopped by earlier there this summer and walked away shooting. Listen, this is in their copy. I didn't want to say this. An impressive 69. I wouldn't call it impressive. It was from 5,700 yards. If they want to call it that, that's fine. It was

a lot of fun. Really fun golf course, incredible shape. If you're ever in Nashville, I would strongly recommend checking that out. Registrations for the full fall and winter slate are now open. So if you're looking to get away and find some sunshine during those winter months, check out the upcoming events at Omni Amelia Island in December, that's our way, and Omni Orlando Resort at Champions Gate in January to compete with a family member and qualify for the national championship at Omni PGA Frisco Resort

in May right before the course hosting 2025 KPMG Women's PGA Championship next year. Don't miss out on this year-long celebration of golf, family, and competition. Find your nearest Omni course and register today at OmniHotels.com slash Generation Cup. That's OmniHotels.com slash Generation Cup. All that and more only at OmniGolf.

Play the possibilities. Back to Max Homa. That's what it was being out there was like, man, at no point did I feel like watching any of the golf throughout that entire week was I like, oh, it's just, we're just waiting for the time. This golf course is gonna start giving it up, man. It's gonna start. like, oh, it's just, we're just waiting for the time. This course is going to start giving it up, man. It's gonna, it was so, it was so.

It was supposed to Saturday and it blew 20 again. Yeah, it was, it just felt like not to pick on Randy on that, but I've heard that from more than one person that said that. I'm just kind of like, man, I kind of feel like if you're in the top five of the masters, you kind of know exactly what you've got and what you don't got at the moment. And like that specific thing you gave me earlier in the top five of the Masters, you kind of know exactly what you've got and what you don't got at the moment. And like that specific thing you gave me earlier in the week about the feels that shot at a 13. It just, if it was soft out

there, all of a sudden, the decision tree on a lot of stuff changes, I would imagine in terms of how perfect you got to be on some of those shots to get after it. And yeah, like it was it was a test that the test that week was a test and patience, right? And it's Augusta is so interesting as well because I feel like a lot of conservative strategy in pro golf and on the PGA tour, aiming towards fat parts of greens and all that stuff

works really well when they're quadrants of the greens aren't as severe as they are in Augusta. Like you don't gain a ton or you don't really get really many or any good birdie looks from the middle of those greens to the corners, right? Whereas the formulas for aiming away from pins and stuff like that in regular golf feels like

you can gain a lot more than you can in Augusta. Am I onto something with that? Yeah, you are. And it also lies in fairways. So another thing is I hit three wood off five every day that week. I played five, one under. I also lies in fairways. So like another thing is I hit three wood off five every day that week. I played five, one under. I had a lot of club in, but what I, it's like, it's funny.

Cause you get told like it's conservative just because you're hitting less club off the tee. I know I'm going to hit that fairway with a three wood. And I knew where I was hitting it to. I was having a relatively flat lie. And the opposite of conservative is I think I'm a damn good five iron player. So I basically walked up onto that hole every day and said I'll take my five iron versus your seven iron every day and like it's it was I was

aggressive with the five iron it just was like Joe always says one of the on really hard holes he's like one of these shots is going to be really hard which one do you want it to be and like 11 at Bay Hill it's like I'll do the drive I'm going to take the drive on on five at Augusto, I'm going to take the second shot on. And I played the whole brilliant lead. But then you get to six back right pin, and I'm going right at it. So I hit that one close. So it's again, it's an ebb and flow.

I'm not super confident in and in my golf abilities at all times. I don't put myself into contention as much as I'd like to. However, one thing I am damn sure of is I know how to win golf tournaments. I have a very good track record at the end of knowing when to take a chance and when not to. I think I've shown that in the dozen or maybe just less than a dozen times I've been right around the lead. I know how to play a golf course. So again, if I'm not going for it on 13 every day, that's fine. But when I

get there on Sunday and I know now's the time, I feel like I know when to push, to change strategy. So that's fine. But when I get there on Sunday and I know now's the time, I feel like I know when to change strategy. So that's the tricky part of all this is it's not just a linear A to B, like this is what you do. And the idea on 13 was to snap a three wood around the corner and have what Ludwig did was like a four or five iron and then hit one in close and make an eagle. You hit a bad shot and it's like, again, it would be like going to a par four, this is the best way to put it, I guess, a par four and you carry your driver 306 on a good one, and there's water at 305 and then the green starts.

And it's like, okay, you're two back, go for it. And it's like, but it's not the last hole, it's the 13th hole and it's a go for it. It's like, yeah, you know what? Sometimes you're like, let's do it I'm gonna take it on but more often than not it's like dude Like I'm just going to hit it in the water Like this is gonna take everything I've got and and again if I had hit a better tee ball, we have a different story

so it's interesting that's why I am fascinated listen to all your guys podcast because I like to hear how people think and what they see and To understand because I'm a fan too. It's just like I have been around more. I think it's why it's great. You know, Trevor Immelman is in the booth. When you have ex players, like they can go one step past that thought of like, why didn't he go for it?

It's like, all right, that's not that's a question. Now let's answer ourselves and be like, here's my estimation of why. And everybody's trying to win every golf tournament, I would assume. I mean, you're not trying to just hold on to whatever place you're in. You're trying to catch, it's much harder to catch someone like Scottie

because they're going to, you know, he's a gimme on par fives because he drives the ball so freaking well that like he's going to be in the right spot. So yeah, you need to play better, but such is life at times. I mean, I wish with everything in me, that ball on 12 would just have done what I thought it should

have and I make par, because I would have liked to test my hand at him for six holes. And then maybe I learned, hey, maybe it was too conservative or whatever, but I can't sit on that one knowing what I had been doing and the control I had on my golf ball that that could that could might have ended differently. And I mean, all things considered what he's done,

he probably still waxes me. But like, I liked my chances after walking off the 11th hole. And I was I knew how hard the hole was playing. I knew what I was doing. I was like, I and I and I hit the shot on 12 while it's in there. And I'm like, man, I was the first time I was like, I'm doing it like this feels right. And so I just wish I had those last six holes back from one back instead of three or whatever. Again, could have ended the exact same way, not sure. But it's just, things don't just work out in so black and white, I guess.

Take me to that 12th hole. What is your yardage? What is your, where are you aiming? What's the calculus of, it's a fascinating shot, right? Of if you're going at the pin, it might be a different club than if you're going at the center of the green. And it's just a total mental, I've played it exactly one time. But it messed with my head.

Like, it's just so freaking cool. And when you're at contention on Sunday at Augusta, I'm guessing your yardages are going a little bit different than a normal round of golf. So take me to the whole calculus. Yeah, it actually hadn't been going too different. And it's there's not a lot of holes in the world that you play on a Tuesday, Wednesday, and have a plan for like Sunday because you

know, it's iconic hole, we all know where the pins gonna be. And you know how to play the hole. So like throughout the week, you know, when you play all the practice rounds, it's like, I know I had picked my my line like basically in my dreamland head of where I'm going if I'm in the lead on Sunday on 12th. So it was fascinating. I hit the best iron shot of the week on 11. I was watching them, probably gonna make a bogey on 11

and I'm on 12 and it was a very, almost like a freeing fun feeling as I walked to that tee and I knew exactly where I was gonna aim it. Like there's like a lip of the bunker and it was just gonna be like right there, it's gonna be right in the middle of the green. If I had any remorse or regret on that tee shot, the only thing I've thought of is I was hitting it

so freaking well with my irons, I wish I would have just said screw it, do the normal three steps left of the pin, you don't need to play as conservative as you are as far as the line goes. But like that's how you always see people play the 12th and you play it to right over like the middle to left center of that front bunker. Like that's how you play the hole, especially, you know, it's an

uncomfortable position to be in. So the number was somewhere like in the one 55 something like that. One 55, one 60, my max carry on the line I was taking was probably like one 52 ish. And, uh, it was a bummer because you are you are nervous like you have a lot of You're fighting a lot of thoughts and it's one of those things where you you know You have those moments, you know here and there and you don't know what's gonna come out You don't want to flip, you know, you're the the white B one to the right, you know that's kind of what you're avoiding, but you get back in your process and you just trust yourself and

Hit like my soft nine iron which goes like That's kind of what you're avoiding, but you get back in your process and you just trust yourself and Hit like my soft nine iron which goes like 145 ish 150 so I'd have you know a few yards to spare and I'm gonna hold it up just a little bit and it was one of those where I hit it and you look up real quick and try to find it and it was a Foot left of where I was looking and it was just like falling just like just gentle And I can vividly remember in my head being like, holy shit, you fucking like did it. Like you don't know that feeling you're gonna have on the 12th hole.

You've watched it a trillion times on TV. You don't know what you're gonna feel like on that T and how you're gonna react. And I was like, fuck me, I reacted so well. I nailed that. And I don't have gray eyes and there's a shadow back there. And I hear people behind me groan. And I was like, holy shit,

that flew all the way in the bunker. And as I'm walking up, I see someone go look for it. I'm like, it's in the Ivy. And I was like, there's no way I guessed that. It's also one of those, like again, being in that spot a few times, like I'm very comfortable with like, I know this is gonna go a bit farther.

And for me, it's not like I take a lot less club. It's just like, I really control my pace of my golf swing. I don't let the adrenaline take it anywhere. I control the pace of it. And I knew I did a good job. It wasn't until I walked off 18 and I got out to my agent Kipper and I was like, man, what a break on 12.

And I was talking about that it hit the one strip of whatever that it's so small. And he goes, yeah, he goes, worst bounce ever. And I'm like, worst bounce? What are you talking about that it hit the one strip of whatever that like it's so small and he goes Yeah, he goes worst bounce ever and I'm like worst bounce. What are you talking about? he goes, oh it hit the French and I'm like I Couldn't believe it Like I thought it flew that I thought it flew there and then I texted Joe and he didn't know either obviously and he said He felt way better because he's like he wanted to cry He thought we got the number like the club that wrong that we flew it like five past the pin

When we were trying to land a few short of the pin, like the club that wrong that we flew it like five past the pin when we were trying to land a few short of the pin. So it was eerie. The whole thing was weird, but I guess again, going back to the mental stuff is I took a lot from that painfully. I took a lot that like, if you told me that ball halfway up in the air,

I would have said you did a damn good job. I made a five, but I was proud of the execution. Again, I will go back to maybe just being like screw it. Let's make a hole in one type thought. But that's how I plan on playing the hole. That's how you watch everybody play the hole. You go right over the middle of the bunker and you two putt.

And that's, I think the right play. It's just two feet too long or one bounce too firm. I don't really know. And there is something about that corner too about the wind. Like it's just really hard to figure out what if you know, you could have got a little gust or a little upward blast of wind. Like it is a weird, weird little thing that I know it's a cliche about that corner, but you just have to be one or two yards off and it changes your whole golf tournament.

Like it's a beautiful, it's amazing hole. Amazing hole. It is for all the stuff that you know about golf. It's like still, you have to pass through that toll booth. Right? Yeah. It's fascinating. Cause even if you aim left, you like Jordan,

like what happened with Jordan in 2016, he said it out loud. He's like, yeah, I aimed left. And then like subconsciously, like trying to push it back towards the end. Lean yourself over it. Yeah. you're just used to doing it. It's just, it's an interesting hole. It's a lot like 17 at Sawgrass where you stand on it

and you know what you're trying to do and you make it as easy on yourself as possible. And then you have, you're rushed with a flood of thoughts. And yeah, it's a brilliant, it's a brilliant hole and an interesting spot in the round too, because it's not necessarily make or break. And it makes you overthink yourself into thinking it's make or break. You had talked, you have talked a bunch about like just openly,

like I need to get better at majors. I need to get better at majors. Need to get better at majors. What's that Saturday night like knowing like, all right, now I've got this incredible opportunity. And like, this is, I don't want to say it's in your head, but this was something you all like publicly acknowledge, like I need to be better in these situations. What were the nerves and anticipation like going into that late freaking tea time on Sunday? It's a late tea time. Like, you've talked about how well you've handled it and the

pride, you know, how proud you are like that shot on 12 and whatnot, but like how I just can't as much as you love golf as much as you care about your career. I don't know how you don't stand over every freaking shot and freak out at the Masters. I was freaking out watching it and it just been so open about all those emotions, right? And I don't know, it was really cool to see a play as well as you did. Yeah, I think playing with Thank you very much. I think playing

with Tiger helped a lot just because it was pretty chaotic. When you play with Tiger, it's not even just playing with them. It's really like the buzz around it when you get the tee time, like everyone texting you and it becomes a big deal. And playing so well with him. And then I really, you know, I was pretty, more so to your question, I was more nervous Saturday because that's the day I thought I could blow up and not get to, you know, chase the win. So really proud of that round. I made no birdies, one bogey. It was one of the weirder rounds of golf, I would have dreamt of but I was pretty proud of that. So I think that stabilized me going into Sunday. Saturday night was

fine. Sunday morning was brutal. Such a long morning. I was like a kind of a wreck at times, you know, I got kind of what Scotty had been talking about it, like, am I ready to do this? And I ended up, something I'm fond of, but I had this idea that I was going to write myself a letter from me in 2017 and then I wrote a letter back from 2024. And basically what it dumbed down to is, dude, fuck it. We were never supposed to be here. 2017 me would never think this is possible and 2024 me is so fucking proud to like even have a chance and it's not a loser mentality.

I wanted to win that damn golf tournament. I'm saying that is what settled me. It's like yeah, I might shoot 80 but I think being comfortable with the fact that that's a possibility freed me up to shoot 66 had I done it. I really believe that I needed to release myself of the worry that I was going to really ruin my tournament because that's not what it was about. It had nothing to do with that. I showed myself I could play in majors, especially at Augusta, especially when it's hard, especially with playing with Tiger and all the noise around it. I was like, you proved it, dude.

So let's be proud of ourselves and then let's go to the golf course and win a golf tournament. So it was like kind of releasing that fear of just combusting in front of everybody and just saying, yeah, okay. I might shoot 80 today. It might be bad, but that's how I'm going to shoot 66. That's how I'm going to win this golf tournament is I'm going to free myself up from any, any kind of inhibition. I'm just going to go play like I play and it's going to be fun and I'm going to go with

the round and see what happens. But I don't know. That was a weird morning and one I look back on fondly because it's like you said, it's late and the gravity of that event is is insane. So to find something I could latch on to were kind of good or bad. I felt like I was seeing the big picture really helped because again, like I'm really proud of that final round. I played very well. Other than two swings, I was pretty stoked about it. Just obviously wasn't good enough to beat the dude. But I know, I know I will be back doing that again. And if I'm not, I'm quite proud of how I at least, again,

trying to eliminate a variable, I felt like I did a good job of that. The golf just wasn't good enough, clearly. Had you told that story about the letter? I don't think I've heard that. I don't think so. I only think a few people know it. But again, I'm a I like telling people I do. I'm pretty think I've heard that. I don't think so. I only think a few people know it. But again, I'm a I like telling people what I do. I'm pretty, I'm pretty proud of the idea. Because I thought it was a smart idea. And I thought about it, like, I think about where I've, where I what I get to do nowadays, like, sometimes you forget to pinch yourself, I think everybody always talks

about it, like, Oh, do you pinch yourself for your life? And you kind of like, yeah, you know, and you say, kind of go about your business, like, you know, again, it's not like I jumped seven years, like I it's like each day, you just like, kind of try to get better. And some things are really cool. And some days aren't so cool. But like, you have these big moments at times walking across the bridge to the Ryder Cup, last fall, things like that, where you're like, can you at least catch yourself and be like somewhat proud of like how you've done this and then you know turn the brain back

on to like I'm gonna I'm gonna shine things like that So I thought it because Sunday was so hard and Sunday morning was so difficult just like on everything I was like I think this is the time to kind of reach out and be like dude This is cool. Like that's okay to say that this is really freaking cool and let's go Enjoy it smell the rose along the way or the freaking cool. And let's go enjoy it. Smell the rose along the way or the azaleas and let's go wear a green jacket at the end of the day.

This is a weird segue, but I know you're a big tech guy. So you'll like this one, but I saw a tech. I fuck with tech talk. I saw a tech talk that like legitimately changed a little bit of my mindset on, on life or when I'm in a, having a bad day was like, it was like some drunk guy on the street, like, Hey, what's, what advice would you have for in this? Like obviously drunk guy. I was like, it will use a different,

a different dollar amount for you as you get, you get PIP dollars. But the question was just like, you know, if you got $10 million, like, what would your reaction be? What? And the guy's like, yeah, I'd be, I'd be stoked. It'd be amazing. But if I told you, like, you won't wake up tomorrow, then what would you take it? And you'd be like, no, it's like every single day you live is more valuable than like $10 million. Like live your day like that.

And every single time I start to get mopey about something like that, I'm like, you know what? Do I have a $10 million attitude today? Like, no, I don't. Like, I'm gonna flip that around. So that's just so interesting in terms of when you live it every day, every day of improvement you've had since 2017,

it doesn't feel like you probably stop pinching yourself along the way, right? It becomes your norm. It becomes like your regular every day. And you realize you still have the same, you still have a lot of the same stresses in life. You still just want to play good golf, you know? It's not like you, I don't know where I'm going with that other than say it's not like it's a joy ride 24-7. I don't know where I'm going with that other than say it's not like it's a joy ride 24 7 even for sure. I think it's like it of course when you're in it and like right now in my life and until I hang up the golf clubs like I just want more. I want to win more.

I want to determine to do you know whatever my goals are or whatever. But when I'm 80 years old and I'm sitting on a rocking chair like what is going to make me proud of myself or what am I going to look back fondly on? I think a great person to ask that question to one day is Scotty because Scotty has great perspective on so many things and he's such a well rounded dude with so thoughtful and no offense to his career and he's going to win a zillion times. But I think when his grandkids come up to him and be like, you know, Papa, Papa, you played golf? I don't think he's going to be like, yeah, I won 42 times in this night. He's going to say, yeah, I really was dedicated

to what I did. I tried to have the most fun I could. I tried to work as hard as I possibly could and I think I did that. And like that's what is gonna be passed down. It's not gonna be the, yeah, I made a putt on, you know, 17 at the Olympics and gave a big fistful. I think you, you of course are fond of those memories, but it's the things that went into it that matter. And I don't know, I'm obviously a huge Kobe Bryant fan. I've watched a zillion of his videos.

And if you deep dive deep into those, the answer to all of, to every question, when people ask him, they ask him how he feels about losing. And he says, he goes, I like it. And ask 99% of people about Kobe, they would, they always say, you read it in comments, like, oh, this is not the attitude Team USA would have if Kobe was on the team. It's like, No, it's exactly the attitude you put one foot in

front of the other. losing is okay, because he says, you know, you find something now that you can get better at winning is more fun. And he says losing sucks. But the point is, is like, I'm not going to make every shot, I'm not going to win every game, I'm not going to hold every putt, I'm not going to whatever. But if I control all these things, I'm going to watch it add up at the end of a lifetime. And those are the things we end up being very, very proud of. So trying to have that perspective, I think is

quite important. Because I think it's also what makes you great. Like I think it's what takes you to what Scottie's doing and what people like Colin have done and Rambo and Tiger and Phil, I think all those guys have the exact same mentality. You know, I talked to Justin a lot about mental stuff and like, that's what it is. It's just a foot in front of the other and stick to what your process is.

And yeah, then you win. Like it's not, those are the things I think that get just so surpassed. Oh, he hates to lose. It's like, I don't think that's it, man. I think he just has a, I think to lose. It's like, I don't think that's it, man. I think he just has a, I think he's really understanding that like some are good and some are bad. But if I approach them all the right way and I work my ass off in the right ways, I'm going to make more than

I miss. And like, that's, that's going to end up good for me. But isn't it really challenging to, like, I, you're talking about Scotty. I think he is truly released from the result and is focused on the process. And I think that's harder to do than even, even if you're- It's possibly hard. It's like very, very hard to do, right? It's his greatest skill. Yeah.

I mean, I know he's the best at hitting. He, it's his greatest skill. Jason Day said something really interesting playing with Tiger Thursday at Augusta. Tiger had a bad drive on 13 and it's windy. And I mean, Tiger is the best iron player I've ever seen. Scotty's up there, but Tiger, Tiger just, I don't know how to explain it. Maybe it just, maybe it's just our fondness of him, but like it, it just, he works it

a little bit different. It's just really fascinating to watch him hit golf shots and he hit a bad drive on 13 was our last hole. It's cold, sun's going down. It's windy and he had to lay up on 13 was our last hole. It's cold, sun's going down, it's windy. And he had to lay up on 13 way back. He had like a six iron in maybe to the right pin. And it's not like he hit it close. It was just a really hard golf shot.

He hit it right to the middle of the green, right below the hole, probably 30 feet or so. And I walk with Jason and Jason goes, it's just amazing to me how committed he is to hitting the golf shot. Cause those shots, your brain gets fogged with a lot of what could happen, good and bad. And it just seems like those two guys, from what I hear in their interviews and what I've

seen, I guess with Tiger, it's just like they just picked a shot and they are absolutely into that. And that is such a hard thing to do over and over and over again. And it is as great a skill as whatever Scotty is the best at. He is so freaking good at it and he talks about it. And it is something I'm very jealous of how great he is at it. But I know he works at it. He seems to talk about that a lot and it's clearly something that he's put time into.

Is it a little bit different being in contention, like with that guy, especially at a major in terms of like, knowing what he's capable of, did that add any extra pressure on your margin of error? Like knowing what your margin of error might be thinner just when you're going up against this guy. I mean, it is like, it's just a fact, but I kind of said it like how LA went for me last year,

playing against Rom in the last two days. It's a comforting's just a fact but I kind of said it like how LA went for me last year playing against Rom in the last two days. It's a comforting in a way because you know that they're not going to like fall off. So you just go play like you're not waiting for anybody to combust. So you just go play the round. So I honestly You're there's pressure regardless But yeah, it's like it's almost like you you expect them to keep hitting good shots. So you just have to keep doing that. So I don't know you're factually yeah, you're like, margin fair is small, and they're smaller than normal. But I don't think it makes it any more intimidating. It's almost, like I said, it's almost like a barometer. Like, I know Scottie's getting to 14. If I get to 14, I'll be in a playoff type thing.

Yeah. What have you learned about major championship golf? You know, you've had success, obviously, with the Masters this year. You had a top 10 that they opened last year. You've talked a lot about some of the lessons you've learned, coming off a full season of it. Another round of just a variety of tests that came out of this year. What have you learned about major championship golf? A couple things. Brooks said something years ago, how he thinks majors are the easiest to win because like

half the field or quarter of the field, whatever, like is qualified for it and probably aren't ready to win. Another quarter of them are going to mentally play themselves out of it. Another quarter, whatever he goes, you're playing 30 guys. It's obviously a bit aggressive with the numbers, but that mindset I think is partial. And I say that because when he said that, I was like, that's me. I'm one of those quarters that he ain't worried about. So I think that's part of what I've learned is like, if you mentally stay in it, like it is, they're grind, they're grinding the whole week because you're over prepping, if anything. Secondly, it really is the most not a game of perfect it gets. I had struggled, I've struggled

mightily in the US Open. I have one made cut in like five or six tries. And the made cut I had was awful. So the US Open exposes me in every way that I think the other majors do as well, but maybe a little bit dumbed down in that I get impatient. I try to beat the golf course. I can't accept a bogey. Like I have to make par and I make double instead. And then all of a sudden it's like, well, you make a double to US Open, you ain't making two birdies back to back very often. So it's like, well, now make a double at US Open, you ain't making two birdies back to back very often. So it's like, well, now what do you do? And this year was a good example.

I mean, I'm gonna give myself some credit. I was sick on Friday. And so I was being very like kind of impatient and you know, you're kind of irritated when you're sick. And I did such a poor job, but there was like, I ended up missing the cup, I won. And it was this impatience between like the, somewhere between like the seventh through 12 holes,

that little five hole gap. I just like was trying to make things happen. And when they didn't go my way, I was moping. And you know, one of those holes, I three putt from like 25 feet. And it wasn't cause I was trying to make it. It was just, I was a lapse of mental fortitude. And I run at five feet by a miss and it's just like

you end up missing the cut by one. Now the game is not to make the cut, but that's, I think the US Open has shown me what I need to do in all majors. I've found it easier in other ones because I enjoy so much playing the open. It is such a fun golf tournament. I love the elements. I love the golf courses. I feel like I'm, I get it, you know, just like the, I play those with joy. The Masters similar like golf course sets up pretty good for me. I have fun there. The PJ is definitely the most like a PJ tour event. So again, fives are still going to be okay. You

can't you can't have that same impatience I was mentioning with the US Open. And the US Open, I think it's just like a microcosm of all of them in one event where it's like you can learn so much from how difficult it is. And I do think even this year when the PGA had low scores, it was very similar. You're going to run into some hard golf shots, and maybe a couple bogeys, but you got to understand that those aren't going to kill you. It's like the doubles and maybe like, again, like a five hole window of impatience that's going to get you. And so I think that's the learning. I found it funny. You'd missed the cut at the US Open at Pinehurst, but you were raving

about the actual golf course. You said it was- Yeah, one of my favorites ever. ... one of my favorite setups ever. I found that warm my heart, right? It's like, yeah, golf course got the better of me, but it was freakingicking amazing. It was such a good, such a good time. I'm obsessed with that place. I want to go back for fun, play a couple of the other ones and that one again, but that's just how I like golf in the States at least.

Like that's my kind of vision for it. So it was cool to get to play one that suited how I like to look at golf courses. Where, where do you think stand in your mind for a president's cup spot? You've had your, I think, ninth on the points as of right now. Are you involved in the process for forming the team? Do you feel like you're on the outside looking in?

Do you feel like you're on the inside looking out right now? Have you done any petitioning? What's the status of everything? No, you'll never catch me petitioned. So I want them to have the best team. I think I'd be a good part of that team. Hasn't been, like I said, the greatest last couple of months, but golf games, golf games doing all right. It's just it's just been, you know, it's golf.

So yeah, I don't know if I'm on the inside looking out, outside looking in, you know, talk to some people. They think it's a lot to talk to other people's, you know, who knows? But obviously, I'm just doing whatever I can to make that team. I've looked at this playoffs as a really good chance to solidify that spot. Obviously I've had success on the last two teams and I would hope that for my sake, that would put me in good standing. But at the end of the day, I want Team USA to have the best team possible to win.

And if Captain Furyk does not think that's me, then that's his choice and totally would respect it. But I'm working like a dog and I want to be on that team really badly. So it's fun. As much as the lull has been the last couple few events, it's getting to be reinvigorated to go to Memphis with a chance to not only make Eastlake But also I think you know work my way on to to solidify my spot on that team I mean it's fun. It's a cool spot to be in so yeah, we'll see I mean, I love them so much the team events are like nothing you'll ever be a part of it's as cool as it gets Being with the fellas is incredible

And then the the vibe on the course. So hopefully I'll be on it, but all I know is I'm at no point will I think that I have not exhausted myself to make that team. So at least I'm trying. Well, it seems to me just from listening to people talk about how teams are formed, there's in my mind, I watched it go through this with the JT thing last year.

It's like, you don't, people like on the outside are really concerned with how you're trending, how you're playing results, exactly, you know, how they would be in stroke play. And I've maybe evolved a little bit over time at this to say like, no, you're picking the dude. Like you're picking like a guy that you think is gonna rise to the occasion in a different format, right?

And it's, as much as I love to talk about strokes, gain and trends and all that stuff, Like when the gun goes off for a totally different format, we see guys that aren't the best stroke play guys go crazy. And that was kind of my rationale for really riding for JT last year. And he didn't play great and he admitted he didn't play great and it didn't necessarily work out. But I just, I find it people are so willing to play the hot and cold game. Whereas like, I don't know if you had any takeaways after Rome in terms of just what you've learned from watching Europe in terms of team building and things that team USA can do better as a whole for their process for winning these team

events that kind of shine the light on any of that, maybe how that works in your own qualification for, or they're trying to get a pick or what not into this team. I'm curious if you have any reaction to any of that. Yeah, I guess it's tricky because you're, you're balancing right. Like the dude. And also you look at trend lines, like this first off, does it fit the golf course we're playing?

I would imagine that factors into it. Is there somebody that a partner that maybe one of the guys that will be on the team like does that person play well with somebody does it mesh? Thirdly, like is it just because the person is making a couple doubles here and there like maybe, you know, in a match play, it's not going to be as big of an issue and maybe just like sustain bad golf. I'm not really sure about that one. But just something maybe I've thought of the playing overseas for the Ryder Cup is just like a whole different thing to me. Now I haven't played it in a way, President's Cup, but it was just so different than playing at home and, and not just like really the crowd, just the. I don't know how you ever turn this one around and I know we've done it. So this is not any kind of knock, but the fact that, you know, that, that team gets a fully set up the golf course golf course cannot be understated how massive that is. I think Eduardo Molinar, we had heard before, had found that they were better than us from 180 to 200. It is amazing that they can do this. We

had it between 180 and 200 so many times. I write all my yardages on my pin sheet to whatever. And just every time I'm like, geez, we have one. And I liked it because I'm quite proficient there. And so I liked it, but I was like, man, what an amazing, like, I guess point that you can manipulate a golf course that hard to like really fall into someone's hands. Now I know we did it, I think it was at Hazel team where we made it a birdie fest

because our team was making so many birdies. We grew the rough like nothing. So it's like matching it to your team is a big thing. Now they've done a better job coming over here. I think the most important thing that could go on, I don't know how exactly this goes about but a tough hurdle we had was I think myself and Justin were the only people to play within the last four weeks before the event and it was in Napa, which is not exactly close to Rome. A lot of them played I think all of them

might have played the BMW PGA in Wentworth. It would be great if we went over there and played it but the tricky part is there's another week in between then and like we don't live over there. I don't have a friend or house over there. I have nothing to do over there so now I'm gonna be kind of out of my element looking for a golf course to practice at for a week before then I go over. So I think that's probably a tricky part for us where I think a lot of those guys maybe,

they do live in the States or maybe they're more comfortable there as opposed to us going over seas. But yeah, I don't know. That's the only thing I can take away. I don't have a big sample size, but that seemed like a tricky spot for us where there's a lot of other things we could do better. But in just like the tip of my, on the tip of my mind is that like getting to play the BMW 2X4 and stay over there, not have to do the time change

thing as much. And, and I don't know, like, cause our team was great. Everyone felt good. Yeah, it's just like everyone. It's not a team building thing. It's like maybe it's, it doesn't feel like a stats thing. It just feels like there's little, you're looking for a percent and like we haven't found our way to like nudge that percent in our way going over there. I guess. Well, when you say it doesn't feel like a team building thing, I think there's a, I've heard a lot of- So I mean like chemistry. That's what I'm at. It's like, I don't, you guys are kind of responded to any, a lot of people in the press comments were saying

like, this is the closest team we've ever had. Like it's a really close team, close team, close team. I don't disagree with all of that. I still think the difference in a close team and a team that's best prepared to win is, I think it's two different things, right? And there's things that you, you know, you guys, it should not have snuck up on you guys as a team overall, like, oh, gosh, we're kind of rusty going into

this thing. Yeah, man, you knew the dates were on the calendar for this event for a long time. Like there's just I hear that. But like, I'm just like, the devil's advocate, and my opinion is, you're trying in all events, any event I've ever played to be as prepared for that event as possible. The two options to play were to go play Napa, which I think is a move. Like I think that was, I'm glad we did that personally. But the other option was to play the BMW over there.

And again, like the thing is, is you're weighing options and you're like, man, is it better for me to go over to England? All of us from America go over to England, get on that time zone, play that event, then come all the way back home, do it all over again, or stay over there, be kind of uncomfortable out of our element, not have a place to go practice. Even if we did, it's like you're again, living out of suitcase another week and then go like, I'm not saying that's wrong. It's just like when you're weighing options, it's like, or do do I go home get some rest after the long season

grind my ass off for two three weeks and then be ready like I can see where people all have that same idea because that definitely peaked my interest too it's just like I was sponsored by Fortinet and like wanted to go play or go play Napa like it all made sense to me it's different for everybody I also live on the West Coast it's like a hour hour and a half flight for me to get up there. Like, I don't know, I get everyone's opinion. I do think that playing that having four weeks off is brutal, but it's just like our other options aren't exactly like ideal. Yeah. And I don't think it, yeah, I wouldn't distill it all down to just, you know, anyways.

No, no, it's not that. That's just a first. That's a general timeline of like, right when you get there and you look back, you're like, damn, like, that makes a lot of sense. You know, and you know, they played fucking awesome too. So it's not no discrets that I'm just, I always try to like, we've been looking at it as like, what's 1% more we could like get into 5149 instead of the opposite. Yeah, there's a million other things I give you, but like that one, that one is a pretty, I think just a simple one to kind of air out. What's your, I mean, pretty big shakeup going with Keegan Bradley as the next captain of the team. What's your, to me, that's where I'm kind of going with this.

So like, it feels like there is going to be a shift in culture in some way, right? Of, uh, again, not just a guy's getting along, but that man seems extremely, extremely motivated to win the trophy back and is willing to probably, I would guess, do things a little bit different. Have you had any conversations with him? Were you surprised when this came about? Kind of take me into how you see this playing out

and how it has played out. Yeah, I was shocked only because I kind of knew who I thought it was gonna be, or at least the candidates, and he wasn't one that I had heard of. So I was shocked in that. I was also shocked that they just made such a big shakeup, like Keegan significantly younger than, and kind of, it was just like, I think like everybody, this was a bit out of left field for what we typically do. So I was excited and yeah, I ran into him at the open. And I mean, we had a pretty long conversation about it. It's really exciting to see somebody that fired up. I'm not

saying the other cabins aren't fired up, but that he he buzzes with energy when he's excited about something you get him talking about the Red Sox or the Celtics like he buzzes a little different, you could tell he was like buzzing and he wants to win real bad. He's already got that like, you know, kind of chip on his shoulder to go win it. So I think it's really cool. I don't think there's any wrong pick to any of this. And it's cool to see somebody with that much kind of vigor about

the event be selected. And you know, I know he's gonna, he's gonna pour his heart and soul into it. That's great. What is the trillion dollar question you can't hang up on me or you can hang up with me on this point because it's been an hour on but what's going on with the pro golf world behind the scenes I honestly stopped asking a lot of you guys about it because I don't get a lot of answers you can be as vague or as detailed as possible and where things are trending and whatnot but golf fans

are looking for for some nuggets and some hope on reconciliation. What can you give us? It's far away because of like the lot, like the, the courts like cases. I don't think that's a secret. Yeah. Like, I mean, they sued us for a monopoly and now we're all going to join hands. Like that's not how monopolies get like flatlined out. Like that's the opposite. So I think that'll be a hurdle. I know that, you know, obviously in deep talks with them, I think they're, I don't, I don't really know good or bad.

I just know that like, if like at best this isn't happening exactly soon and that's a shame. I mean, I'm incredibly biased as to like who is to blame for that for the fans I am, but I am all for a Reconciliation, I don't know what it would look like. It's definitely really complicated. I've talked to Jay about a lot You know, I'm on the pack We've talked about a ton like what would it even look like and it's it's pretty tough to like

Figure all that because they all have their own deals and like their teams and stuff. So it gets it's tricky I don't want to like be theer of bad news and say nothing's going to happen. I will say that a lot of people, myself included, have turned on to the side of, let's just figure it the hell out. But the problem is, figure out the hell out is still going to take some time because of them leaving. That's been a big thing. I'm not saying the tour handled it perfectly by any means, but yeah, there had to be something. It was a competitor. I think the tour did what they thought at the time was best to make sure that we didn't get crushed. And what ended up happening is like the fans got killed on it. So I can promise that everybody is working really hard and everyone is aligned with just let's make

the fans as happy as we can. But again, I can't snap my fingers and say, hey, Bryce, you can come back to the tour. There were rules that were contract signed, whether people liked them or not. There's a lot going on that is just not like a magic wand. So it might take some time. It's upsetting and the majors have been so fun having everybody there. But again, we also are just working on continuing to make who we have now,

like make it as good as we can for the fans. There's a lot of thought goes into it, a lot of work from people that you would never, I mean you might, but like the general person would never even know their name, like a lot of thought. So that's, I'm quite proud of that from everybody, but yeah, it's just a tricky business now, you know, they, they have their thing that they've got going on and it's not, it's not as seamless as just like, oh yeah, let's all just get back together.

Cause I know a lot of people would love to do that. Uh, there's just like things that are actually pending and real like lawsuits or and stuff for the DOJ that like, I, it's not like we can just call them up and say, Hey, you know, Rambo's coming back. Like, how about that? I it's not like we can just call them up and say hey, you know Rambo's coming back like how about that? I don't think it works like that. So yeah, it's a it's it's still a bummer but I don't think it's bad news that a lot of the guys have again like myself have changed their tune of being like let's just figure this out because at first I think a lot of us were quite annoyed and Spite like not spiteful.

And that is, I don't make a decision, but I was spiteful of like, yeah, screw them, whatever. Now it's like, I, that was immature. And well, it sucks. Like you, you got put into the spot without doing anything, right? Like you guys didn't ask for this. I come down to, that's where I come down to the part that does bother me.

If I'm being completely honest, is the tour, just using the grand scope of that word, the tour gets blamed for the separation. What's frustrating is none of us have done anything. We didn't change. Just kept playing your golf. We just, I've been doing the same fucking thing for the last 11 years. I did nothing. If anything, I thought I was trying to help because I didn't want to leave and go to this

ride full tour. I thought, you think you're doing the right thing't want to leave and go to this like rifle tour. I thought, you know, you think you're doing the right thing for the fans and now it doesn't matter because you're afraid. So that part pisses me off with the, with the discourse. It's not with the players that have gone, they've all made the best decision for them. And like, I honestly do like, I might not agree with it, but like to each their own, like that is not, that is not on me to decide if that's right. But I just, the backlash that, that the tour gets from fans, we get to do Q and A's

with these companies all the time. They all ask and hearing the thing of like, when's the tour going to figure out? It's like, dude, I don't, I don't, I can't listen to that, you know, because it's crazy how this responsibility has fallen on the people who got like, left. It's like somebody broke up with us and then they want us to figure out. What did you do wrong? Yeah. What did I did wrong?

Like it's just, it's very silly to me. So that part really irks me. But again, the, the, the most important part is like just making golf as most as fun to watch as possible. And that's with all of the guys. But it's a, it's an interesting. Because I don't know, I just keep coming down to this thing. How do you decide who comes back? And then how do you say who kick off? It's fucking it is

tricky. I think about it all the time. They have a little better over there, because they do have one that kind of owner. And he basically says like, what goes our side has, you know, we have a FedEx cup that top 125 make it. We don't have captains with exemptions. There's not that same dynamic. So I really don't know how that would work. I've thought about it quite a bit.

It'll be very fascinating. But again, I know it's going to get resolved. I just don't know how fast that's going to be. Yeah, and I think it, I still can't picture what it's all going to get resolved. I just don't know how fast that's going to be. Yeah, and I think it I still can't picture what it's all going to look like. But I think I'm trending towards giving up. I don't want to say giving up. I'm trending towards giving up.

Give up on trying to how it's going to look. Because that's going to drive you insane. I just don't think this is not to be taken out of context by the bots online. But I don't think Liv is going to. I don't see a world like what we're talking about with DOJ and what, like the competitor still has to be there in some way. Right. Like, so how do the worlds coexist and there be more interaction between the two is the most likely solution. It seems like to me, and I honestly have been so freaking removed from this

for months, right. I felt like I was, had my on this for a while. And I Yeah, me too. It's honestly, because it just doesn't seem like it's actually going anywhere. But I don't see like a world where there's a clean break from live at this point with how deep in these guys like Phil are to it. And it just it's like, man, I keep going down these rabbit holes of like, well, all right, if it the longer it goes on, like, aren't some of these contracts going to be ending? So like, are they going to be doing a whole new wave of big offers? Or like, did the wrong thing not work out the way they want? Like

is the end game not to come together anyways? But did everybody screw this up by competing with each other so freaking hard? And now anything that merges them is anti-competitive? Like, it just puts you in this thing of like, dude, I just, I've resigned myself to once you can tell me how the competitive golf events are going to shake out and what that's going to look like, like I'm just, I've resigned myself to, once you can tell me how the competitive golf events are gonna shake out and what that's gonna look like, like I'm interested, but the rest of it,

like I just, it sucks, man. And honestly, going back to what you said too, like Scotty at the players changed my mindset a little bit too, like it was one of the most direct things Scotty's ever said is like, if you wanna be mad. I texted him about that, I was stoked he said that. Be mad, he should be a leader, you know, as the number one player in the world,

but like, be mad at the guys that left. Like, don't be mad at us. Like, we're doing the best we can. Entertain. It's like, that was a snap moment for me because I just I was taking a lot of my bitterness out on the tour. And you know, there's a lot of reasons to be critical.

But like, man, you guys have had to take a lot of barrel fire and all this. And I think that's where we net out is like, again, past all the players leaving, honestly, even when John left, which is like the most recent, no, I guess, Tyrell and John, it was like, yeah, you're gonna get used to go for it, dude, like, that's fine. So with all of like the players, I think like it's I'm cool. Like, I think everyone's pretty cool. Like we just are living different lives. And that's because we have That's because we have all been compensated like in way too well, right? Like it's just like competition drives like drives this like dollar amount up

and everyone's come out clean on that end. So I'm not saying that's why I'm like cool. I as I've gotten old, like, like older as I've gotten more thoughtful about this whole thing you just start to get like everyone's gonna make their decisions and to them That's a great one. And that's that's awesome It's just again

It is hard to live on this tour being asked questions about why we can't fix it When we didn't break it like I think that's the tricky part like I didn't drop the the vase on the ground like It's it's kind of it's kind of just like a tricky thing where no hard feelings there, but we're also still spending inordinate amounts of time trying to fix something. We had no hand in, players I mean, no hand in messing up in the first place. I think it just gets old, but honestly, dude, I've been so removed from it. This's the first time I've talked about it in forever. As far as like a, like a friend to friend, because it has just become like the new world order and it's a bummer for golf. But I, and I get on bias here. I still think that watching golf on

tour is really fun. I really like the schedule. I think as think time goes on, SSG gets their claws deeper in. Like I think you're going to see more fun, exciting things, I think as think time goes on, SSG gets their claws deeper in, like I think you're gonna see more fun, exciting things. I think as we have a bigger ear in the broadcast, like how they go about it, like that stuff will clean up and things will just look better. Cause this, I think the timeline went wrong, but as much as the compensation went up, I think now is the time where,

which should have been step one, but now it's step two, is like, okay, now let's formulate this to be, because the competition, like, we need to get as many eyeballs on this damn thing as possible. So it should be unique, it should be better for people watching, and I really do mean that. Like, I don't know if that's how it works, but like, I do know that a lot of people echo that sentiment,

and at the very least, like, that's most I can, I can kind of hope for at this point. Yeah, that's well said. Has this made golf, like has your job felt more like a job, like dealing with the PAC stuff, PIF stuff, SSG, subcommittees, all that? Like,

How little? Has it felt more like a job? How have you dealt with all that? How would you say you're dealing with it? It's kind of fun. I've enjoyed being on the PAC the last two years. I almost didn't come back this year, but I ended up doing it because I really liked

watching people or listen people argue It's very very very fun Yeah, some of the like we have a subcommittee now So those phone calls feel like work, but I I'm on the fan engagement side And it's something I actually am passionate about so I've I really enjoyed that part. It's you know broken down You know three of my buddies are on that in that little thing I really enjoyed learning about what I should be bitching about and what is a waste of time. That isn't a realistic possibility.

I like learning about that. So that's been fun. So no, it hasn't felt like more like a job, but you definitely feel that you, I think maybe one thing I've gained like knowledge-wise is I feel like you do realize you have a responsibility to the golf fans and the golf at large to like put your best foot forward and make it right for everybody because we're the lucky ones I get to play golf every week like it's a pretty sweet gig for people to spend their downtime and their hard earned downtime watching us play golf on TV or watching us in person we should

feel very thankful for that and we should give back best we can. I know it does not always look like that. But I guess my point is, is that I think a lot of us are very driven to make sure that that is reciprocated best we can. And every decision that's made is, is towards that goal. It doesn't always land, it's a hard, tricky, fickle thing. But I think that's, again, probably not the perfect way to answer the question. It does feel like a job more, but I feel like I understand the gravity of our position just as entertainers a bit better. And that goes to this. You've given up an hour plus of your time to just like, I mean, just that contributes interest, right? And you've always done that. And the guys that

are continuing to do that are helping your product out. It's it's a good thing for golf. All right. Well, I know you got a solo weekend. So I know you got some some this is Saturday night, we're, we're recording this. Do you watch USA basketball game today, by the way? Oh, we played early me and Wyndham played early and it was it was parsley. So we sat on the couch and watched the entire game. I have thoroughly enjoyed.

I love basketball and I thoroughly enjoyed watching it. And that game, you know, two games or last game, semi-final game was unreal. But that the end of that this this championship game was 12 out of 10 fun. I'm so jealous of Warriors fans. You get to watch Steph Curry every single night. But it was really fun. Just the whole I mean, that lineup of, uh, book Steph, LeBron, Katie, and Anthony Davis is like, it just hanging in the Lou.

I'd never been so excited in my life. It's I, FIBA basketball. I've, I've don't watch the NBA anymore, but I was, I, I loved it. I I've loved the flow of it. I loved. Yeah. I don't need to take the rim, the cylinder, not being a thing. I loved the flow of it. I loved, just see, I don't- You need to take the rim, the cylinder not being a thing. They need to add that to the NBA.

I thought that was really clever. Well, the game just flowed so much better. I don't know what the actual rules are with hand checking or whatnot, but like, just no, no tiki-tac fouls. Like it just felt like what real- Yeah, this, the head thing doesn't really go a lot. It'd go very far in the, in the FIBA.

Steph was fricking incredible, man. It was so much fun to watch. It was cool. So, all right, we're gonna let you go. Thanks for spending your Saturday night with us. It's coming out a couple of days later. Best of luck in the playoffs. We really appreciate your time as always.

And let's get a dub. Let's get a playoff dub. They've given a lot of money in these last few weeks. Let's go get that. Yeah, I'm in. I can't wait. So thank you for having me, a humongous fan of the show. So keep it up.

Cheers. Be the right club today. Johnny, that's better than most. How about him? That is better than most. How about in? That is better than most. Better than most!