No Laying Up - Golf Podcast - NLU Podcast, Episode 105: Club Pro Guy

Episode Date: October 31, 2017

From a legendary career on the mini tour circuit in Mexico, to the glory of the life of a club pro. With his identity masked as he avoids the chase of the Mexican cartels, the... The post NLU Podcast, Episode 105: Club Pro Guy appeared first on No Laying Up. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

All right, we've got a great episode for you today before we get to the Club Pro guy. I want to remind you guys that now is the time to start thinking about subscribing for PGA tour live for the next season. 39, 99 annually and with that you get $40 off T times at toff.com. Essentially, you get to watch golf for free for the entire year, Thursdays and Fridays as well as the weekends. I've said enough about how much I believe in this product. So make sure you're subscribed to this for the start of the season put on your Christmas wish list

Also, did you know that Travis Matthew makers of men's apparel for work and play they just released a new collection of footwear That's right. That's shoes by Travis Matthew from the lightweight comfortable slip-ons like the tracers to stylish lace-ups Like the Quincy and the cruisers. It's time to say hello to your new favorite shoes. Go to TravisMathU.com slash shoes for more details. Now let's get to the Club Pro guy. Get the right club. Beat the right club today. Yes!

Yes! That is better than most. That is better than most. Better than most. All right, before we cut right to the club, Rogai, I hate that I have to do this, but do want to at least give it provide a little bit of background information for those that potentially don't follow him on Twitter He is at club pro guy on Twitter It is a parody account that a comedic genius has made

With a whole backstory of how he played for years on the Mexican mini tours and is now a club pro in Kansas City. We did have to mask his voice for this. He is hiding from some debts that he owes the Mexican cartels that are apparently looking for him. But we had him on here today to tell his just fascinating backstory of his tumultuous life on the road in Mexico and what it's like in the glorious world of a club pro in Kansas City. So I hope you enjoyed it. It's a bit off the cuff and he he lets a few things loose and we don't

necess his views are not necessarily of the same opinion of ours. So that's our disclaimer and please enjoy the club pro guy. All right. Now, welcoming on a very special guest his name is the club pro guy and after a legendary run on the Mexican tour, he has settled into what we can all agree is a dream job and it's his dream job. Club pro guy, when did you know that being a club pro was your dream job? I think for me it was early on, you know, early. It goes way back actually, probably all the

way to my junior instructor who told me way back then that he thought I had the talent to someday be a club pro. You know, it was something he saw and what a great guy he was. He was like a poor man's Jack Grout or Cameron McCormick or Jerry Sandusky. He just knew the game, you know, and he related to Junior so well. And it was nice to be armed with the knowledge that I could fall back on being a club pro, you know, because, because toward the end of my career, you know, I wasn't making cuts. I was, I was dealing with a nasty, fraternity suit, you know, my, my mental game slash attitude coach had just committed suicide. So, you know, the writing was on the wall. It was, it was time. And, and once I decided to make the moves,

you know, the benefits, the benefits were immediate. You know, when I started working here, I was making 35K right out of the gate, you know, okay. And after that, the staff deals came pretty hot and heavy. You know, I signed early on with Aureus, nights of the round table, dockers, you know, I got all their stuff that cost plus. You know, on the equipment side, I signed early on with the perfect club, you know, back when they were hot. Nick and golf, Blue Ridge golf balls, you know, Castle Bay Iron Covers, all of this early, you know, they sent me all their stuff at cost. So, I don't sell this to brag, you know, I know it sounds like that, but I'm just trying to paint a picture of what it was like for me to make the transition from tour player

to club pro. And it was really easy, and I think a lot of that was because of my pedigree, you know, my resume, and you, and the industry pretty much welcomed me with open arms. Well, I'm flowing with envy over here, but I do want to go back to your playing career. I mean, you were a legend on the mini-tour scene in Mexico. What would you say is your favorite memory of playing across the border? You know, reflexively, I want to say it was my eight-hole par streak back in

97. And I think that's probably what I'm most known for. But, you know, cinnamonally, you know, and personally, I think it was probably the scene on the 18th green in the second round of the 02 Las Moches Masters, I had just made a great two-putt bogey to make the cut on the number. And my third wife, Brandy, came sprinting out onto the green. I'll never forget, she had on yoga pants and a mesh tube top that were both just way too small for her.

And this was actually right before she'd had the breast reduction and we just embraced and you know I'll never forget her cigarette burned a hole on the shoulder of my limo sweat or best But at that point I didn't even care, you know the emotions just poured out and you know I think part of it's because I just you know I was just coming off missing the prior 22 cuts in a row and my game was a mess I I was going through equipment changes. You know, I was in a bad way mentally and physically. You know, I was drinking a lot and this was about the time where I

had adopted the stack and tilt method and I found out about four months into it that I was actually tilting the wrong direction. And you know, my school was just a mess, a mess. And before the tournament, I actually had just decided to go ahead and just embrace my double cross. I just said, screw it. So I just, I just would aim dead right and just play a cut and then hope it double cross down the fairway. And the hard work was validating. I mean, it really was. It paid off. And, you know, I can laugh about it now, but, you know, the next day I actually got BQed for having a non-conforming chipper in the bag, but, you know, that's golf. That's golf. That's going to happen. But, you know, sadly, Brandy and I got divorced two or three months after that, but I think

if you were to catch up with her and ask her, I think she would agree that that was a really special moment for her as well as for me. Well, it's got to be pretty easy for you with your background in the dating scene. I mean, do you include your mini tour results in your bio and your various dating apps that you use? It's just such a different world now than when I play it. It's just such a different world now that when I play it's totally different. I remember a time when I could walk into a cantina or even a chileysier state side and nothing but a cut-and-buck mock neck and my dexter teaching shoes and just have to pick

up the litter. I mean, it was so easy. It's so different now. Everything's online. It's all about the internet. You've got to be online's all about the internet. I mean, you know, you've got to be online to be in the game. And I've done that. You know, I'm a little bit old school. I still have dial up in my condo, but I have memberships to a couple sides. I currently

have full paying memberships to Zeus, Blender. I have a platinum membership, the Christian Mingle, Planet Romeo, what else? Okay, cupid, plenty of fish, farmers only, our time, let's see, be naughty. I actually have a, I actually have a provisional membership with black people meet that I'm thinking about dropping, but you know, I like to start with quantity over quality first. You know, I'll just get in bed at night, log on to Tinder and just swipe right, swipe right, swipe right, swipe right, right, right, right, right, right, right. You know, it's, to me, it's like golf, you know, you might make 50 bad swings before you finally catch one flush, and that's kind of my strategy with online dating. And so to answer your question,

I don't put specific many to a result of my bio because, you know, there's not enough room. I just I just like to say I'm a former professional athlete, you know, which is true. And it gets a ton of hits and that's kind of the name of the game. You know, once I meet these women, you know, and they find out that I'm that I'm still making payments on an O2 Miata and that I've got a I've got a gambling habit that's clearly out of control. Things don't go as well, but that's dating. It's going to happen. Social media makes it so easy for these players today. You know, so easy. You look at guys like Fowler, JT, Keppka, you know, Cari Webb.

I mean, these players have no problems scoring with the ladies. You know, I didn't have Instagram when I played. You know, if you didn't subscribe to Mexican Mini Tour Monthly, you didn't know what was going on. So, you know, I wasn't profiled by Rich Larner. I wasn't on Faraday. So, you know, these players have a huge advantage

over what I had, but, you know, that's the way it is. It's just a different generation, and, you know, I wish them the best. There's not a lot of footage from your days on the Mexican tour, but from what we do know, collecting stats on the internet. In 96, you led the Mexican tour in strokes gained punching outside ways.

Would you say that's a teachable skill? Absolutely, absolutely, but, but, solid, you have to be willing to put in the work, okay? You know, it was, was Lin Matisse born a great ball striker? Or did he put in the work? He had to work at it, and for me, punching out is no different, you know? It's, it's all about pre-round preparation.

You know, back when I played, I would get to the course, you know, two to four hours before my tea time. And I would do what everybody else would do. You know, I would, I'd go to the range and hit some shots. You know, I'd go to the short game area, hit some pots, hit some ships, you know, hit a few bunker shots, but for me, where the rubber met the road was when my caddy Ernesto and I would head off to the side of the range and find a patch of trees, you know, a wooded area, and we'd go to work, okay? We'd have a monster bucket and we'd drop it

and I'd go through the bag. So, you know, I might start with a wedge and hit six to 10, you know, solid punchouts, you know, and work on different trajectories, you know, high mid-range low. And then again, we'd work through the bag. So I'd go nine, eight, seven, you know, when I got to the seven, I'd work on some longer punchouts,

maybe from two fairways over, which would happen on occasion. And continue through the bag, five, four, three, all the way down to the chipper. And then once I got them with those, I would do what I would, but we used to call alternative punchouts. So I might, I might turn a club over and get my back to the target and do some, you know, some one-armed flip punchouts, you know, if you're right up against a tree,

I'd take 10 or 15 balls and get on my knees and do what we used to call baseball swing punchouts. So to get under really low-end. So this stuff just doesn't happen. I mean, you don't get great at something without work. And I certainly put in the work, and one final post script of this, something amateurs don't realize that us pros do

is we script the first shot of the day. So if the T-Bull off number one calls for a high cut, the last shot we hit on the range is gonna be a high cut. But because I liked it, you know, over prepare, you know, I would script the first two rounds of the day. So the first T called for a high cut, you know, I'd pull out my driver and hit a high double cross. And then I'd pull out a seven iron that hit a nice firm punch.

And then I'd head to the first T ready to go. What was, what would you say the low point was of your of your playing days? Well, you know, you're talking to a guy who missed his first 44 cuts on two. Okay, so so I know a couple of things about low points, you know, I think if you played as long as I've played, you're going to have some low points and I don't think it's different from any of the top players today. I don't know if you've had them on your podcast, but go talk to Frank Licklider. Go interview, Brianny Barrett. I think they've had low points as well.

When I'm no different, if you want specifics, the one that stands out is probably the 94 to Cot take up, which as you know is was our tourers version of the Ryder Cup. We played Guatemala every other year. And in 94, we had a great team and we're favored to win. But for me, personally, it was a disaster. Not only did I go 05 and 0 in the matches, but, but I found like, I found out shortly after that my second wife, Mercedes, you know, slept with

three of my teammates and two of the Guatemalan players during the event. So, you know, that's a low point. You know, you want low points. You know, I decided to deal with US kids golf in 95 and didn't realize in the fine print that I had to play their equipment. Okay. I played the better part of two seasons for the 35-inch driver. Okay, killed my game. Killed it. You know, you want low points. You know, I'm just the entire 98 season with Climidia. You know, I had to use a major medical exemption. That's a low point. You know, I didn't find out until midway through my 30 year old tour that distances in Mexico were measured in meters

You know that explained a ton So, you know, obviously I was blessed to have a lot of highs in my career But you know, there were a few lows as well Let's talk about some of those highs. What is what's the record you've had for the most consecutive cuts? It's a great question. The answer is three. And it's actually something I'm pretty proud of. I'm not saying the same thing like Tiger Woods is three,

because I think which I think is over a dozen, but mine's nothing to sneeze at. Golf is such an interesting game, because players just get hot. And you don't know, and you don't know why you don't know when it's coming, when it's going, it's crazy. I remember earlier this year, you know, Justin Thomas wins in Maui to open the season. Then the next week he wins it at the Sony. You know, he's wide hot, you know, he can do it wrong. And then, you know, then he kind of

falls off, you don't, you don't hear from him again. But it's like that South Korean gal on the LPGA tour, I can't remember her name, but she's hot all the time. But for me, it was in 2000, when I just kind of called Lightning in a bottle. It was on the Baja swing, and it went through San Jose, Cabo San Lucas and Totos Santos, made the cut in all three events. I think I went sub 150 in the first two rounds in each event.

I finished, I don't know, my mom's got this somewhere, but I think I was a T-44 in San Jose. I had a really, really bad WD in Cabo. And then a solo 12th in a limited field event in Totos Santos. So I was able to catch just a couple checks, which was great. But the funny thing is, the next week, when I got to La Paz, the game was gone. Totally gone.

And I think part of that is, I put in three new swing thoughts, all having to do with my right elbow, and I think it had a negative effect. But golf's pickle that way. The key is recognizing when you're hot and writing it, you know, and that's certainly what I did for those three events. We've heard the club pro guy talk about the importance of iron head covers in the game today. What did you know that Calloway is the number one iron brand engulf and they just announced two new options for better players that the x forged and

apex mb's aside from being probably the best looking iron I have ever seen the x forged irons are designed based on extensive feedback from tour players and are engineered with the tremendous combination of performance control turf interaction and incredible feel from the triple net forging calibagolf.com for more details to order your x forged or apex mb irons today let's get back to the club pro guy. Well I can only imagine what the list of top players you've played with looks like. I mean, what are some of the highlights that in your opinion? Well, I was blessed. I mean, I was blessed. There's no doubt about it. You know, I played in a great era. You know, it reminds me a little bit of an arnie past, you know, the king.

I remember the golf channel did a show or a piece on it where they talked about not only his golf highlights, which were numerous, but they talked about the people he was able to play with during his career, you know, the celebrities, the athletes, you know, and I kind of feel like my career mirrored that a little bit, you know. I was lucky to play it in Arab with so many big names, like Ramon Torres and Benzintek Hal Verone and Esteban Toledo's half brother Pablo and Sergio Lobataz, Amilo Mendez. I mean, I could go on, but you get the idea. But it's funny how after I retired, I learned that former athletes and celebrities they all run in the same circles, you know, it was so interesting

You know, I remember back in 2009. I played in a charity event and I'm on the range and I'm hitting balls directly between Tommy Tolls and Mark Carnivale Okay, that was a striped show by the way. Carnivale's got a great move You know on the celebrity side, you know, I played with Eric Astrada Okay, that was a striped show, by the way. Carnival has got a great move. You know, on the celebrity side, you know, I played with Eric Astrada. I played with Mario Lopez back when saved by the bill was at his peak, you know, I played with Craig T Nelson

Stepson. I played with Tygers from different strokes. So, you know, the list goes on. It's funny, I remember a year or two ago, Tony, and I took a day trip down to my timeshare in Branson. I get a dayage February, and I get to the first tee, and I'm paired with Robbie Shaw, you know, from Golf Channel's Big Break 10 Michigan.

So, you know, I know this all sounds braggadocious, and I don't mean it to, you know, you're the one that asks the question, but the bottom line is famous people want to play with tour players. It's just human nature. They're drawn to us. And something I actually embrace, just one final little tidbit. A couple of years ago, I'm sitting in the office, I get a call from from one of Justin Timberlake's handlers. He's coming through town for his World Tour, or not in a solid Gino JT is a big time golfer.

I don't know if you knew that, but he didn't know much about courses in Kansas City, so they were asking some questions, trying to get them on. I said, listen, we'd love to have him out. Love to. You know, you have 164 men corporate outing going on in three temporary grains,

but having come out, I'll only charge on a cart fee And he can kind of just play through each group as he goes and you know, he never called back and I'm not sure why but the point is I got that phone call, you know, that's the type of calls I get, you know, so You know to just to tie this up. I think you know, that's kind of the parallel I had with Arnie, and it's I think a lot of former two employers go through the same thing. I mean, you have a lifetime worth of lessons you would have learned playing the tour. I mean, do you take those valuable lessons you've learned to the juniors at your club today? Well, you know, there's a question that hits close to home for me because aside from single

moms, you know, there's nothing more important to me than juniors. You know, and more specifically, my junior camp. You know, despite what you hear, you know, I know you talked to a lot of people. Despite what you hear, you know, golf is in decline. There's no doubt about it. Golf is in decline. You know, Jeff Magger and Billy Mayfair, they're not here to carry the tour anymore, okay?

We need new blood, you know, as solely as much as you wanted to, you know, Jadon Blake isn't walking back through that door any time soon. You know, we need today's young stars to pick up the mantle, you know, you know, Ches Revy, you know, Alex Chica Brendan De Jong we need these guys to step up, you know, but when it comes to the juniors, you know, the kids I worry about what we're producing. I really do. I feel like we're producing mindless robots, you know

Go to a top junior tournament. Just go to one and look around. It's nerd city. I'm talking nerd bill. These are young boys and girls, many of Asian descent, who have no clue about the real world. No. Can they put it, maybe, do they have technically solid swings, you know, debatable? But my question is, are they being taught actual skills? You know, can they calculate an asshole? You know, no. Can they manipulate their handicap in the gym system? Okay, this is huge.

You know, I teach this in my camp. You know, think about it. You shoot a great score. Do you post it today? Do you wait a few days? Do you back date posted? These are skills. These are skills that need to be taught that aren't being taught.

Can they negotiate a winning bet on the first tee? I teach that in my camp. How valuable is that to learn how to win a bet before you even hit a shot? These are huge. Now, of course, we teach the golf swing. We teach them the 747 swing thought system. We teach them the importance of iron covers, et cetera,

but all that's really secondary to be honest. My junior camp is more of a life camp than a golf camp, and I think you'll find that my graduates are way more prepared than the students that go to a heavier lead better camp. Well, we've only begun to scratch the surface on what your role is as a club pros. I mean, you also manage the merchandise in the pro shop, but what's a good sales day look like for you guys?

Well, it just depends on the day. I mean, it varies. I remember last year on Black Friday, we had a big day, we had a door buster deal on alien wedges with custom grinds for 10% off. I think we sold two. After a huge rain, we'll move some ball retrievers because our bunkers fill up so much with water.

But, you know, when it comes to merchandising, I feel like I'm at a big disadvantage because I have to compete with the big box stores, you know, like Walmart or Target. You know, I had a, I had a member come in a couple of weeks ago. He said he found the same Nitro 17 piece golf set at Walmart. The same one that I saw in the shop, but he found it at Walmart for $600 cheaper, okay? And that might be true. I didn't double check it, but it sounds about right, but my question back to him was, okay, but does Walmart offer custom fitting? Does Walmart do personalized web stamping? You know, and of course the answer was no and no.

You know, it's like people don't want to pay for service anymore. You know, have fun, you know, asking that that teenager that's told you that said at Walmart about shaft tolerances and kickpoints, okay? Enjoy his response when you ask him what the bounce is on that nitrogap

wedge because it's going to be crickets. You know, club members are just, they're so ungrateful. You know, it's crazy. It's like when my members bitch that I carry 90% to basketball chili wear a peril. You know, A, it's the best looking apparel in the game today. And B, I'm not about to discontinue an item.

I make 300% margin on, okay? This is my livelihood, you know, item I make 300% margin on. Okay, this is my livelihood. You know, and I take merchandising very seriously. So, you know, to answer your question, you know, the shop, I like where the shop is, and I think we're in for a pretty good shape. Well, what are some of your best selling items at the moment? Well, the staple's always moved well. You know, me and pre-9, however, plastic club tubes, big scoring beads, any of my manual stroke

counters always move well. You know, I like, I'm a little bit progressive. I like, I like to stay just out ahead of the trend. So I like to bring in stuff that's just now getting hot or about to get hot. So you know, this fall I brought in white belts big. I'm starting to see those everywhere. Golf sandals, you know, huge. You know, everything's kind of going business casual now,

so it's moving to golf. So I brought in golf sandals and I know, I know foot joy led the way with this, but I'm on credit hold with them. So I brought in some sketchers and some mtonic golf sandals which are great Here's one that you probably haven't heard of yet. This is This is a ball marker that looks exactly like a poker chip Okay, yeah, this is this is something new and it's unique and I brought in some of that so

You know overall, I think I've got this shot merchandise really well right now What I mean, your lifestyle, I imagine, is pretty wild with the way you make a living. What's the most hungover at work you've ever been? Oh my God. Oh, what a question. Oh, man. Oh, I think I got to think on that one. Oh, slowly, you try to get me in trouble here.

think on that one. Oh, so you're trying to get me in trouble here. If you had to pin me down, I would probably say it was the morning after the 2015 ladies member guest party. It's embarrassing. I woke up in the bedroom completely naked, spooning a life-size cardboard cutout of Aaron Oberholzer from our XC1 wedge display. I think a couple of the bag boys actually got a couple pictures of it that I pray doesn't go viral, but I made it through the morning, and I remember that afternoon, I took a dump in the lady's locker room so bad that my GM literally had to call serve pro. Okay, I think I'll just leave it at that.

What, what would you say is the best part about your job? Well, the money, the money, no doubt about it. I say that without hesitation. You know, I made $42,000 last year. And that was before I skimmed a dime out of the range machine. So the guys like you or people who don't know me may say I'm overpaid, but I think if you ask the members they'll disagree, I think they recognize my value.

Imagine being a member here, being able to say to people, you know, the pro at our clubs, the former tour player. I mean, think how neat that is, you know, how unique that is. And I think it just elevates the club, you know, so do I make a great salary? Yes. But I've heard from talking to other pros and like when I go to the PGA show, I heard this pros on the coast, you you know the east and west coast to make more than I do okay Hell I've got a I've got a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend who knows Michael Buried and I heard He makes 90 grand a year Okay, you know personally

Personally, I need to see his W2 to believe that but anything's possible, you know, this is the golf business There's a lot of money in this industry, but aside from the money, I'd say it's the prestige. You know, I love having the ability to say, I'm a professional, okay? Think about that word, professional. It means to me that I've reached the pinnacle of my Joseph Field.

You know, it says, it says, I've mastered my craft. How many people can say that? It's like, solely it's like, you are you a professional podcaster, and I don't mean any offense by that. But no, you're just a guy with a laptop and a microphone, and I think that's the difference. To answer your question, the best part about this job is definitely the money and the difference. Okay. So, you know, to answer your question, you know, the best part about this job is definitely the money and the prestige. Well, with all that money flowing in, what is what's your investment portfolio look like? Oh, I'm pretty set, you know, I'm set, you know, I've got a I've got a pension from my

playing days. It's that's unfortunately it's based on career earnings and not service time, but at least I've got it. I laugh at my GM and some of the guys in the shop for contributing to a 401k, it's just hilarious. Personally, I'm not gonna spend a bunch of money for something I won't see for 20, 25, 30 years. That's crazy. I've never understood people who do that. I mean, do they not realize how far away 20, 30 years, you know, that's crazy. I've never understood people who do that.

I mean, do they not realize how far away 20, 30 years is, you know, I liked to invest in things with big and immediate upsides, you know, like lottery tickets or college football par leagues, you know, I liked to invest a little, you know, with the potential to win a lot. I mean, that's how you build wealth fast, okay? You know, a couple years ago, I went 400 bucks on a scratcher's ticket, a $1 scratcher's ticket. You know, you know, go find me, those returns on Wall Street, you know, Mr. Buffett. Good luck. Okay?

Other than that, I like to keep things liquid. You know, I like cash. I've got a $200 emergency fund set aside for college football games that just leap off the page at me. You know, if I see a line that just screams at me, I've got $200 set aside to make an investment in that. But, you know, on top of that, my mom's not going to live forever and she's diabetic, you know, which is nice. So I've got her nest egg to look forward to, which will be in the high-forward digit amount. So I feel like with my current income and some of these supplemental things I've got going, I feel like I'm more than taking care of.

I mean, you've given us a great behind the scenes. Look at what life is like for a club pro, but what are your work hours like? Well, they're long. I they're long by anybody's standards. There's no doubt about it, but what are your work hours like? Well, they're long. They're long by anybody's standards. There's no doubt about it. But let's see, you guys signed up for it. So I don't complain.

In season, I get here about 6 a.m. when I leave about 9.30 p.m. Give or take an hour. But off season, it's much better. That's the great thing about this industry. We work hard in season, but we dial it way back in the off season. So, you know, off season, I work 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., which is great. You know, it gives me a chance to really recharge my batteries. You know, and I have, I have off time as well.

You know, I've got, I've got the afternoon of December 8th off, and I've got all day February 6th. So, you know, I plan on making those count. You know, maybe maybe just spend some time with Tony, you know, relaxing, you know, I think a work life balance is important, you know, but on the other side of the coin, you get to remember, you know, I've got a lot of hats here. I run the golf operations. I run the retail piece. I give lessons. I manage the staff. I need to be here. Okay, when I'm here, the train's run on time. And I want to make this the best semi-club pro,

or semi-private club it could be, and to do that, I need to be here. Well, I mean, working those kind of hours, just doing the quick back of the napkin math, it doesn't seem like you have a lot of time to practice. I mean, what's the current state of your game? Well, if you follow me on Twitter, you know my game solid right now. I'd even say super solid. I shot 76 in June from the White Tees. I broke 83 more times in July.

In September, I was part of a key part of a four-man scramble team that shot one under, you know, that's red numbers. We did have five feet of string, but I'm playing as well as I ever have. You know, and part of that is I'm hitting it long. I mean, it really long right now, just kind of bombing and gouging it. And I think part of that is I just put new TI bubble shafts in my woods, you know, they're making a big, big difference. But, you know, that's not to say there are things to work on. You know, even pros work on things and I'm no different. You know, some of the things I'm working on, I'm trying to get my pre-shot routine under 120 seconds, okay. I think two minutes is kind of the magic mark for me and I work on that all the time.

I'm working on provisional T-Balls, huge, okay? You know, that's another thing a little difference between pros and amateurs. Proves to realize how important provisional T-Balls are. You gotta get those in play to keep a hot round going. What else? Anchoring, huge for me. You know, I, these new rule changes have really affected me.

I use a belly putter and really, really jam it into my belly. So I'm working on ways to kind of untuck my shirt, if you will, and let it drape a little bit to kind of to give that illusion to my playing partners that I'm not anchoring. So that's something, something I can actually work on on my condo at night. That's big for me. You know, I'm working on getting more creative when asking if putts are good. You know, this is important. You know, I, you know, I don't just stand there

and wait for somebody to give me a putt. I like to ask for it. So I'll look, I'll look and competitive right in the eye and say, you know, do need to see that. Or, or I might bend over like I'm about to pick up a five footer and give my opponent a look and say, can I pick this up? You know, you want to put them in an awkward position.

You know, a lot of people have trouble saying no, so I like to work on that. Quick raking, you know, I've been working on quick raking. You know, this is huge. I get a lot of people come up to me and say, you know, CPG, how can I cut a stroke or two off my game right away? And I tell them quick raking, you know, this is, this is when you have a four or five footer, you know, CPG, how can I cut a stroke or two off my game right away? And I tell them quick raking, you know, this is, this is when you have a four or five footer,

you know, and you hit the putt, you immediately realize it's going to roll past the hole, you know, out of give me range, get over to it quick and then break it up as it's rolling. Okay. This really puts your opponents in an awkward position not to give you that putt. You know, they won't make you put it back down because, you know, hell, you don't even know where to put it back down. So quick breaking, you know, huge. But, you know, this is golf. There's always stuff to work on. But as far as my swing goes right now, I feel really, really good. What about, we haven't talked a lot about you as an instructor, but what's been some of the most rewarding moments you've had as an instructor at the club? Well, you've got to remember, I've had six former students win net club championships.

Okay, and I've got two guys right now that if I can get them in the right flight, could win one this year or maybe next. So there's a resume there. I mean, there's an impressive, impressive body of work. And, you know, I'm not going to make a huge deal out of it, you know, especially on this podcast, but I just don't feel like I've ever been properly recognized for my contributions to golf instruction. And, you know, it goes back to this, this golf digest top 50 or golf magazine top 100 instructor thing. You know this thing really gnaws at me. Okay. It's people who don't play golf don't realize that it's it's also subjective.

Okay. It's so political. You know, I don't want to name any names, you know, but you're telling me David lead better is a top instructor. Why? You know, because he taught Faldo, you know, last I checked Faldo couldn't break 80. Okay. So I honestly believe that lead better didn't have an Australian accent, you know, he'd be given lessons at a golf galaxy in Jacksonville. Okay, I'm just not buying the accent. You know, and today, today with these big-time t- teachers, it's all about technology. It's all they care about. It's all they care about is the track man.

They rely too much on it. There's no more field teachers. You know, I don't use a track man because A, I can't afford one. And B, I don't need a computer to tell me that you just said your last ten hybrids, dead right. Okay? I can see that. You know, this track man think so silly. I love

these members who come into my office that can't break 90 asking me about spin rates and attacking angles. You know, you know, it's crazy. You know, here's an idea. When you stop double hitting chips, I'll start talking to you about smash factors. You know, how's that sound? You know, today's players just need to get back to fundamentals. Period. And you know, has that sound, you know, today's players just need to get back to fundamentals period. And you know, that's part of the reason why I teach the 747 Swing Thought System. It's the easiest way to play your best golf. Well, what is the 747 Swing Thought System? It's the first time hearing of this. It's a proprietary system I developed. You know similar to the Hankani Blue Printer Jim McLean's X Factor.

It's comprised of seven specific swing thoughts that you need to recite during the takeaway, four swing thoughts that you need to recite during the transition, and then seven final swing thoughts that you recite from transition to impact, you know, hence 747. Now a little side note under under the gun or under pressure, this becomes the 12, 7, 11 system, but I, you know, I don't think we need to go into that here. Well, what are the swing thoughts? It's proprietary. You got a pay for that. Well, give me a few. What's Swing Thought Number Two on the takeaway?

OK. Swing Thought Number Two on the takeaway is hinge the wrist 90 degrees. All right, now give me Swing Thought Number Five on the takeaway. Swing Thought Number Five is, are you sure you hinge 88 degrees? Because it felt like it could have been 70 or 75. And then, for the example of, like, say, swing thought

three of the transition. Let's see, three on the transition is, oh, whatever you do, don't go right. And what about the final swing thought at impact? Flip it, flip it, flip it. You know, these are just basic instructions. They're checkpoints. You know, you got to remember that the golf swing is a very, very complicated set of movements.

Okay, I drive me nuts when these teachers today say, oh, just be athletic. You know, just let it happen. That's crazy. I mean, solid, that'd be like me putting you in an F-17 and telling you to land it on an aircraft carrier and say, solid, just be athletic. Just let it happen. It wouldn't work. It wouldn't end well. So anyways, the 747 system is just a great way to keep my students swing in sync. And I think it's hard to argue

with the results. Well, I know you're vacating your shop here for a long time so I won't keep you much longer but what kind of events do you have going on at the club this week? Oh, we've got a ton going on. We always do, you know, it's always busy here and I think part of that is because we're semi-private. So we have members and then we have non-members who have purchased our group on. So we have member-only events. For this Friday, for example, we've got the couples Twilight, three club-glo global, modified, which is an event exclusively for our members.

We also have open member only T times, typically on Saturday and Sunday after 3pm. So that gives them that air of exclusivity. Membership has its privileges, if you will. Now, for our friends with a group on, we give them a taste of country club life, you know, and it also generates some revenue for us. So, we set aside teetimes for our Groupon folks on Saturday and Sunday mornings.

And it's just, you know, a little side note, our Groupon folks actually had better access to the club and pay about a quarter as much, but that's just kind of a hidden secret. But another piece I didn't mention was the corporate outings. You know, the charity scrambles, corporate events, and we hold those every day of the week, Monday through Friday. And typically those are gonna have, you know, anywhere between 144 and 172 players, you know, we'll get them all around 9 a.m.

and they'll get off the course around six or six 30. And then after that, of course, we'll get them all around 9 a.m. and they'll get off the course around 6 or 6.30 and then after that, of course, we have wide open play for our members and our group on folks. But, you know, very busy. We like the hybrid aspect with the semi-private and, you know, it keeps us hop in. Do you have a favorite member? Uh, you know, to me, any member that doesn't give me a detailed account of their round or update me on their game as a whole is a favorite member of mine. You know, if I wanted to know how many edges you burned and route to your 92, you know, I'd volunteer to Cady for you and hold a camcorder all day and then take it home and watch it on a continuous loop.

You know, nobody. And I mean, nobody cares about you're up and down on 16 today. Okay. And I'm talking not just to my members right now. I'm talking about, you know, I'm talking to members of clubs anywhere. You know, your head pro does not care about anything you did on the course today. Nobody cares that you almost hold a bunker shot or that 20-foot slider you had ripped out. You're a 14-handicat. There's nothing special or interesting about your game. It would be like me going out today and bowling on 115 and coming to your place of work and walking you through it frame by frame. How would you like that? Your A.E.A. that you shot yesterday, it might impress your wife. It might impress the guys in your Wednesday night Bible study, but it doesn't impress me and it doesn't impress your head pro either.

You know, short of the beverage cart girl giving you multiple inadvertent beaver shots, there's nothing you tell me about your round that's going to interest me. You know, so just save your breath. You know, and that actually goes for golf trips as well. You know, I don't, I don't need a whole by whole-whole description of Harvard Town. I've seen it on TV a million times. Oh, you played Tory Pines on a business trip? Great, go tell someone who cares,

because it's not me. So to answer your question, my favorite member is the guy who comes in and doesn't say anything about his game. So last question, we'll let you get out of here. You've been more than gracious with your ever demanding time and schedule. But what kind of effect does this demanding job have on your personal life? And do you find it hard to hold a relationship? Well, I think that goes without saying, you know, I, I get off work about the same

time Tony heads into dance every night, you know kind of like two ships, you know, passing in the night. I might stop by her club on the way home and watch her dance is said, but typically she's in the private champagne room with multiple guys, so it's tough. It makes it tough. But I think this is where I have parallels with Tiger. When you're singularly focused on being great at something, I think that relationships suffer. And I think that's what happened to Tiger,

and that's what happened to me. I've had three marriages all destroyed because I've been so driven towards greatness. And that's the way it was in my playing days. Now it's a little bit less stressful. You know, do I want to settle down again someday? Sure, sure. But right now, I'm just not able to.

And I would love in the future to get a part-time job and go off where I'm only working 80 hours so I can spend more time with the folks that are close to me. But right now, I'm needed here and I'm focused on the job at hand, and that's what I'm going to do. Well, in that note, I know you've got to get back to the shop and help out with those alimony payments. So we're going to let you go, but thank you so much for your time, best of luck with the rest of the season. I want you to enjoy that afternoon off on December

8th, and hopefully we can catch up again sometime soon in the future. Anytime, Sully. Enjoy it. Thanks Club Pro. Okay. Get it right Club. Feed the right club today.

Yes. That is better than most. How about him? That is better than most. How about in? That is better than most. Better than most.