No Laying Up - Golf Podcast - NLU Podcast, Episode 26: Billy Horschel

Episode Date: October 15, 2015

I was joined by the winner of the 2013 Zurich Championship, the 2014 BMW Championship, the 2014 Tour Championship, and the 2014 FedExCup for nearly an hour to discuss PGA Tour life, the wraparound schedule,... The post NLU Podcast, Episode 26: Billy Horschel appeared first on No Laying Up. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Better than most. How about him? That is better than most. Better than most! Alright ladies and gentlemen welcome back to the No-Lang Up Podcast. I am thrilled to have on the show for the first time. Mr. Billy Horschl winner of the 2014 BMW Championship, Torch Championship and FedEx Cup. Billy, what have you done with your so-called offseason and what are you up to today? Yeah, it always created a offseason. The last couple years has sort of been not existed.

I didn't take time off between a two-term championship and started a new year. I didn't play really well at the ball. I think I sort of carried over to the first part of the year. So this year I decided to take six weeks off. And the first two weeks I then touched a club. I just hung out with my wife, Bernie, and my little one's guy learned just relaxed and sort of just been in the gym working hard trying to get my fitness to level that I want to try a little bit stronger. So just doing the right things.

And then I just started back when they practice again to get ready for my next event, which will be HSBC China. Okay, that was my next question. What do you, what events are you playing this fall? What do you think actually about the wrap around the new wrap around schedule? I think this is probably the third year that's been in place, but what are your thoughts on it so far? Yeah, you know, I think the wrap around schedule. I think this is probably the third year that's been in place, but what are your thoughts on it so far? Yeah, I think the wrap around schedule,

you know, a lot of people don't like it. A lot of players don't like it, but I think it's a good, I think the tournaments that have been after through a championship and years past haven't got there. Do share of exposure, really good good events and I think they needed to do something to bring more attention to them. At the same time, I actually, it helps the web.com guy.

Yeah. In the sense that, you know, they're two or a season in, the two championship ended a week or two ago, and then if you get your PGA tour card, you're right back out in the plane. So you don't have to think about it for, you know, you should have to think about three or four months until you play it another tournament, you know, play on the PGA 2 or well, now you're going right back out in the plane. So, you know, the great thing is that you come off some momentum of those Web.com finals.

You know, you can carry that into the PGA 2 receipt and get off to a quick start, which, you know, that's what you're really looking to do when you first get your PGA tour card. Yeah and it's not related to my schedule. I play HSC China, I'm playing at a band in Japan two weeks later that then lock Phoenix. I played there two years ago, a great event, really good food and then I'm playing the Hero World Challenge Tigers event and Shark Shootout. Yeah, I was just starting up to say that relating to those web.com guys rolling onto the PGA Tour.

It's interesting because the fields aren't obviously as strong as the main regular season events, but you also get some guys like Rory's playing this week at the Fries, that's pretty good field this week at the Fries, so they get kind of a chance to ease their way into PGA Tour golf, but yet it's not the strongest field, they don't have to fight through the priority system

to get spots in the field, and they can kind of hit the ground running, like you said. But yeah, I think it's a great thing. I think it's also another thing you look at it too, is that they get to play a couple of events, they get to see what the PGA Tour lifestyle, like what the courses are like and everything. And then they get a little bit of a break,

a month and a half break to sort of regroup and maybe put together maybe possibly a different plan than they may have had for the first five, six events that they got in. Yeah, so one of my first questions I wanted to ask you is in regards to scheduling actually and you touched on it a little bit, it's interesting when you, the reason you cited for Japan was based on good food, but when you're making out your schedule for the year, are you looking, what are the main factors, and I don't know if you have a priority system, but what are the main factors you think about when you make out, you know, deciding whether or not you want to play an event?

You know, for me, the first thing is a golf course. Do I like playing a golf course? And for the most part, I like playing every golf course on PG2, I think there is not one golf course. Do I like playing the golf course? And for the most part, I like playing every golf course on PJ2, I think there is not one golf course that doesn't fit my game, but there's courses that I played well at in the past and I like playing those courses. And some of those reasons why I played well at the courses is the way the tournament is set up in the sense of way that the tournament staff and everyone involved with it, tournament, do an unbelievable job of taking care of the players or families. You know, the fans also, so I look at that and then also the city. What's around you? I like being in that city.

I like the food and that city are the friends from that meadow of the years that I like going back and visiting on a regular basis. So, you know, there's a lot of different factors that go in, but really the first thing would be the golf course, and the last thing I looked at, which a lot of people may understand may not, I don't really give a, don't care about the first. I don't care if it's $7.00 or $5.5 or $6.00, winning's winning, and you win, you make a lot of money and then you make more more off the golf course. So I said the person, I never think about person at all, it's more or less golf course, you know, the term staff

the way they care of players and what's around the city. Yeah, you touched on my next question actually too and that when when you're deciding on a golf course that fits you and I struggle with this when it comes to you because I tend to like your game on almost any course and that you hit the ball very straight, you're not the longest guy on tour, but you are more than adequate in the distance department and you're a great ball striker with your irons.

What kind of courses don't fit your game? You know, I would say the courses don't fit my game and I'm working on that side of my game is the course that may is more or less a wedge golf course. You know, where you have a lot of wedges, you have a lot of wedge opportunities. The weeks that I'm, you know, I'm really good at my wedges, I compete on a regular basis in the weeks where I'm a little more inconsistent. I struggle at those events and, you know, I'm working at becoming a little bit more consistent

wedge player on a regular basis so I can compete on a regular basis with those guys at those golf courses. So those are the courses. I mean also I think you look at the courses where the winning scores are around 8 to 15 on the par. Those are my type of golf courses. I like those because it challenges both striking and challenges, you know, course management, you know, just not a bomb and gouged golf course where, you know, you hit it all over the

map and still able to play, you know, still able to play your golf. Yeah, no, yeah, that definitely, that makes sense. I think from a standpoint, here's what I've struggled to figure out with your game as well, is that you've been on two of the most amazing hot streaks I've really ever seen from PJ Tor players outside of the Tiger Woods realm, and that when you finally won the Zurich in 2013, that was not an outlier. You were trending towards that as well. And last year year when you finished

seconds in Boston, then you went followed that up by winning in Denver and then you want again, obviously at Atlanta and the tour championship. It seems like when you are hot, you are absolutely as hot as they come. What is the biggest difference, I guess, in your mentality when you're in one of those hot streaks? What is it? Just a confidence thing? Is it good play breeds confidence, which breeds even better play? It's hard for me to figure out as an outsider. Yeah, I would agree with that. I think for me, I think when I start playing well,

I continue to play well. I get that confidence that it doesn't matter, you know, how I'm hitting that week or making puns or whatnot. I'm gonna find some way to to play well. You know I can't you know other players you know you see I'm trying to play well one week for the win the second next week I've never understood that. Yeah. And my in my mind is like man you playing well you know last week in just one like we're what happened to next week I understand there's a lot of stuff that happens in between.

But in my think, I'm thinking, man, it's just be able to keep playing well because you got so much confidence. Well, minimum, you got something to draw back off last week. Great play. And for me, that's why I look at it. I got something I can draw back off right there immediately that reminds you half-blank. Great. There's no reason why I can't continue to play great this week.

Yeah, I think maybe some guys get caught up a little bit celebrating their victories, which that reminds you how flight great. There's no reason why I can't continue to play great this week. Yeah, I think maybe some guys get caught up a little bit celebrating their victories, which is understandable at the same time, but I do like that mentality. I'm not going to pull on the stand. Yeah, that mentality to get right back out there, I think, is something that you've kind of thrived on. But what I'm always curious when I talk to BGA tour players is I'm, you know, we see your golf, we see the golf on TV and it looks like the most glorious possible job

You could ever possibly imagine But in my experience over the last couple years and meeting some of you guys It's it's it's all it's not always a Glory ride the entire time. There's a lot that goes on behind the scenes. It's a little bit more difficult What is what's a typical week like as far as how you get to an event when you get there? How many practice rounds you play, can you walk me through kind of what your mindset is going into a tournament, how you get there, do you travel with your family every week, and what is a week like on the PGA tour for you?

Yeah, you know, I think a lot of people that are outside the game are golfed, out of just fans, look at the whole thing, it's really, you know, we fly. And privately we get to every play called crack sounds and we go out and play golf at the, you know, that's not really the case. You know, a lot of guys don't fly privately. A lot of the top guys that do fly privately, they're media requirements that we call quite a bit, you know, with doing probably 34, 30 to 45 minutes of media, either on a Tuesday or Wednesday and then maybe they haven't done it that they go to the sponsor, that tour is asked for.

There's a lot of stuff outside to go off course that we do. But for me, you know, week would be a usually flying on Monday night. I played nine holes early Tuesday morning practice for about three hours afterwards. I'll go into gym for about an hour workout. Next day, program day, more likely I'll be in the program. Obviously, plays, if holes get done, probably practice for maybe an hour or a half, mostly probably on short game and putting. Then go into gym for another half, half, 30, 45 minutes. You know, then when you leave the golf course, you know, it used to be easy because for me, I just had my wife and we got the dinner or having to relax and even now you got your kids

and now you've been away from your kids for six, eight hours day and now you want to spend time running your kids and whether you go out and two or two or amusement park or something with them, you know, I do that with them and it's not easy to go out and two or two or amusement park or something with them, you know, that's, you do that with them. And it's not as easy to go out to dinner with them when they're younger because obviously you're on their time frame and when they eat and when they got to go to bed. So like I said, it's not, we do live a glamorous lifestyle. There's a lot of great things that come from this game of golf, but it's not as easy

as people think on a regular basis with basis with our schedule on living out of hotel rooms, you know, every rent a house, week to week, you know, it's just not as easy as everyone thinks it looks. Yeah, no, I think you've had obviously had a big adjustment in your life and that your daughter was born right after you won the tour championship. And one of the questions I also wanted to ask you and that I find it funny sometimes when certain media or critics are, we'll look at a player's social habits

and point to, well maybe if he wasn't so focused on Instagram, he would be a better player. And there was a little bit of that going on with the Soulheim Cup this year and there were some articles written. Like some of these players are more worried about substance, our style, over substance,, etc. I've always made the case like you don't know what a player is doing in their free time and it's like I would imagine

that the adjustment to being a parent, especially with a newborn, is a very significant social adjustment in your personal life. How has that affected your practice routines, your playing schedule, and your golf games since you've become father? Everything changes obviously when you introduce a little baby into this world and it does not, as you play golf or not, your lifestyle is going to change. And for me, I become a patient person, I think. I'm hoping so. I think it's helped me become more patient. But you know, for me, my practice with teen, he hasn't changed so much when I'm out of tournament because my wife understands, completely, she plays

off at a level, a university supporter. So she understands the time we, you know, restrictions and everything else that, you know, how much time I got to put it and everything. Now when I'm home it's a different cage, I used to wake up early, go out practice right away. Well now I don't wanna go out practice right away, I wanna spend, you know, it was my little one in the morning.

And then, you know, I go out practice and then I go out and work out with my trainer and then I come back and maybe back a little bit more. So, you know, at home it's a little bit different and I'm also trying to get my wife some time to, you know, either go hang out with her friends or go do whatever she needs to do when we're all. So she can get away from our little one and get some doubt patched herself. Because I get plenty of it when I'm out on the golf course and playing and everything. But she doesn't get nearly as much as I do. So at home I'm helping her out and everything.

You know, we talked about the social media and media and other critics talking about people being too involved in Twitter and Instagram and everything that's in that. You know, we live in a world now that this is a great way to interact with our fans and we're trying to do everything we can to interact with our fans. At the same time what people also need to understand now is that if you're a big hit on social media or Instagram, that goes a long way with sponsors. When you're reworking a deal, you talk to a new sponsor. But during the time when my manager goes and talks with a new sponsor or even and we work a new deal, she always like how many followers do we have on Instagram?

How many followers do you have on Twitter? Because the more followers you have, realistically the more dollar you have because you're going to send out tweets that your sponsors want you to, that promotes their company or you're going to just now you own tweet using their product or whatever. And that goes a long way to them out in the long line and what you guys are both a partner, you know, everyone calls us a sponsorship and it is, but we call it a partnership. A lot of people do call it a partnership

because you guys are both getting stuff out of it. They're paying you to use your lightness and everything and return you getting the money you're doing then to help them out their product or brand or whatever it is that you may be representing. So it goes a long way and both being as social active as possible on any media outlet. Yeah no I totally agree there and you guys are basically golfers are unique kind of as the same way that tennis players are and that you're responsible for building your own brand.

You're not part of a team. There's not a team that's really out there promoting you. I think the PJ Tour does a decent job. They do a great job actually of promoting their biggest stars. I think that they could do a better job of promoting some of their younger stars and some of their up and coming stars. But the same time, you're the only one.

You were, I mean, you might not be the best example, considering the $10 million paycheck you got at the end of last year, but at the same time, you, PJ Tore players aren't guaranteed any money. You're not under any contract, other than your sponsorships, as far as athletic money comes from. You earn that on your own. I mean, it's, it's, if you're injured, you're not earning money from the PJ Tore.

So I see absolutely no problem in building your own brand. And otherwise, other people are going to be making money off of you in some way. You should be responsible for building your own brand of some kind. Totally agree. We don't have a franchise or anything as a pain. We make money on our golf course. We don't play well. We don't make money.

Obviously, we have our sponsorship, our partnerships with companies that pay us money, but we don't play well on a regular basis, we don't get paid. If you're not playing well, you're not going to get sponsorship or partnership because you're not playing well in our scene on TV, or you're not going to get the dollars that you want out of it. We live in a golf, we do make a great deal of money, and I will not blame Emma. How much money I make. But when people try to compare it to football star, NBA star, the MLB, when you look at it, I just debate with somebody recently, this probably 30 to 40 guys and baseball, football, basketball, and all these other, you know, team sports that are making probably 20 to 25 plus million a year.

30 guys are making that much money. There aren't that many guys on PGA Tour that are making 20 to 25 plus million. There may be, you know, five to seven guys. So when you see, you know, players, you know, whether they switch companies, because they're getting more money or whatnot, you know, you can't fault the guy, because you never know what's going to happen. You got to make it much more as possible in the windows that you have, because as much as we said, we want to make, you know, we have a really long window

of golf that we can make money all the way into our 50s, that's very true. For the make it top dollars, your window is very small. So when you're in that window, you got to take as much advantage of it as possible. Yeah, it helps to win the FedEx cup as well. So I'd say you've done fine in that department bill. Yeah, that doesn't hurt that not really. So I think I last year at the moral tournament, I caught up with you on a Tuesday or Wednesday

afternoon. And it was clear, anytime you see tour pros in a practice round, playing in a four-some, you know one thing is going on and that's there's some kind of game. So how frequently are you playing a practice round game and who are the main guys you link up with to play a game? You know, I used to play a lot more, you know, early on when I was on tour,

but you know, I love doing that. I love playing for money. It's fun, you know, whether when I was on tour but you know what I love doing that I love playing for money it's fun you know whether you want to lose it to get you in a great you know get you in a great game mode early game mode early in the week but I learned early on that you know I was on other people's time schedule and you know they wanted to play at this time I want to play this time so someone's making a shocker bite that doesn't always help out. So I just realized I'm going to do my thing on my practice round and if someone wants to play with me or you know we want to get a little game together then we'll get a game together. I probably do maybe five games a year out in the golf course or a practice round and of the time Matt Evers probably is playing a game with Matt Evers who is a really good friend of mine.

Obviously a Florida Gator so we're either teaming up and playing together against some guys for money or doing something else. I remember playing with Matt Evers Steve Irino and I'm trying to think of the fourth guy we played with this year at the US Openout. Chambers play replay the game, I think, on Wednesday. And we had a lot of fun with that. So I don't do deal as much as I used to, but I still like playing for money. Doesn't matter if it's money by the PJ tour or money by my fellow pros.

How's that work at the end of the round? Is there a wire transfer? You got to have the money in cash on you? I'm always curious. You know, it's all just tens on who it is. You know, me and me and Matt, we probably play a lot. A game, you know, just between the two of us. They're worth playing instead of a horse on. Um, and sometimes, you know, if I lose money to him or he lose money to me, it's not like, hey, you got to pay a price in and and sometimes you know why lose money the ham or he lose money the meat It's not like hey, you got a pair of bikes in and there you know We keep that tab running and then sometimes you know someone wind up paying out whenever they want you know We don't really not got bigger deal and I said I don't you know I don't really care you know you have the money there You know

That like it's not like a $1.00 I'm gonna go broke if I don't get that $1,000, I'm going to go broke. If I don't get $1,000, I'll buy. I'm not hurting for money. Whenever you want a pay me, go ahead and pay me. It's not the biggest thing. Right. It's the principal though.

It's the principal. But when you came out onto the PGA tour, was there anyone that kind of an older guy or someone that maybe mentored you a little bit, showed you the ropes, maybe, or even somebody that still does that to this day. Is there anyone you can think of that kind of helped you easier way into the tour? Yeah, obviously, you know, being here from University of Florida, it's been playing a guitar on the PGA tour. And one of them that helped me out a big time was Chris de Marco, who was a fellow kid as well. The first couple of years he was very good meant to me, tell me what to do and what not to do. Telling me to play these events, shut these events out, where to stay, where to eat.

There's a whole bunch of different things that he did to help me eat my weight into the PJ Tour. And one thing I did that I helped me transition into the PJ Tour was I was very, obviously, I'm a very social guy. On the golf course, off course, on social media, I love to talk. So whenever I saw a veteran, I always, you know,

my first couple months out, too, or if I didn't met him yet, wasn't a situation where I was going to be bugging and caressing and whatnot. I go up and introduce myself and say, hey, I'm Bill Horsham, I'm a work-out, a PJ, too, just want to introduce myself, you know, whether we had a conversation or not, not a big thing. But, you know, the next time I saw him,

he's gonna hopefully remember my face. Doesn't have to remember my name because obviously it's tough to remember everybody's name. But he's gonna remember meeting me and then maybe there's a conversation that goes down the road and everything. And maybe there's a way to get a practice round so you can learn tricks of the trade from them.

There's some different guys. So like I said, there's a lot of guys out there that helped me, but Chris and Mark are obviously one of the most influential guys and one of the biggest mentors in my early years on Fiji Tour. And now I think that you as you being a more established player, I think you're ranked 26 now in the world, defending FedEx Cup champ this past year. Do you see yourself kind of on the other side of this point where guys coming up to you that are maybe new to the tour, introducing themselves, and do you feel kind of the,

not necessarily the responsibility, but do you feel encouraged to kind of mentor and help some of the young guys as well? Yeah, you know, I just, I sort of, you know, I try to introduce myself to you with the new guys when I see them. You know, I, you know, I just say, hey, you haven't even asked me any questions. No free too.

I just sort of have an open door policy and such that there's no questions that I won't answer with the guys. They want to ask me about this or that or not. I feel free too, but I'm not going out of my way trying to to miss or anybody or trying to find someone you know I can put on their other my wing. You know I just sort of let it happen if someone wants to sort of gravitate me gravitate towards me and learn from me or ask the questions or whatnot. You know I'm more than willing to help because listen it's a we're family out there obviously

with the beating against each other and and what not but you know you want to leave the game in a better place. Yeah. You know what you came into it and help as many people as you can. I mean that's the way I do it. I'm going to help everyone as much as possible. And you know if it happened to me once or twice in the golf course I'm not going to be upset about it.

It's not really. We play for a lot of money on a regular basis. So you know you're going to get beat on a regular basis by people. So, I just try and be open to them whenever a question may arise, or if they have any questions, or if they just want to come out and hang out, or not, it's not, you know, I'm not closed off like that. I try to help them as much as I can when they want to come towards me with it Cool cool. Well, you you set yourself up there by saying that you won't I know you were talking about other Torplayers but by saying that there's no question you won't answer because the next one's gonna be a little more difficult

But I'm not asking you to name names. You're more than welcome to if you want to but are there guys out there that You've either had stups within the past or just kind of inherently, you don't necessarily like or you guys that you're really kind of not friends with and if you get paired with, you're like, oh yeah, this is not going to be fun today or don't really care for that guy. You know what? I mean, like I said, I'm a very social guy. I feel like I get along with, I'm still like, you get along with anyone out there.

I feel like the guys that people think are assholes, like get along with those. The guys that are very religious guys, and this is not that way or very religious, I get along with those guys. I just feel like there's not one type of person that I can't get along with. But if you do something towards me

I'm not a big fan of or whatnot then there's an issue. I may not like you at all, but for the most part I get along with a lot of people You know for me, I just want you to be who you are if you're if you're an asshole being an asshole I'm going to try to get for it and if you're a guy who is very religious and and lids by the Bible and everything, be that person on the radio basis and always be for that. You know, I just want you to be who you are. Don't be someone who you're not. And I guess that's when it comes down to it. Those are the people I just don't like. I just it's tough being around those guys because you just don't know who they really are or who they're really trying to be So it's a tough tough for me because you know sometimes like you know What is this guy trying to do or what what's personality like? So that's why I said at least like the people who who are treated themselves on a regular basis and and

Majority guys are like that out and two and I get along with all of them. Yeah, I noticed this in the few rounds too that I've followed you for an extended period of time, is that you, in different than the other Tor Pros I've seen, and that you almost kind of promote a team atmosphere like within your three. So maybe more of a Thursday, Friday thing, than a weekend thing if you're in contention, but I hear you hear you you know I've saw you watch play with Chris Kirk at Hilton Head in 2014 and it felt like you were trying to get him going trying to get him excited he's obviously not the most excitable guy but almost feel like you're rooting for other guys in your force and you're like hey great shot kind of going out of your way to

compliment them and talk to them is that something you kind of do consciously or is that just a natural thing to you to kind of get the mojo of the group going? You know, I just think it's something I do naturally. It's not something that I consciously do. You know, obviously like I said, we are all competing against each other, but you don't want to ever see someone playing bad. You don't want everyone to see someone down.

So, you know, for me, I just want to, you know, help the person out as much as I can, you know, obviously, as long as I'm not affecting my game at all, you know, I'll move for someone and it's not that favorite deal with me. But, like I said, Thursday, Friday, you know, maybe towards the beginning a little bit different, because, you know, you get into the heat of it. But, you know, it's not that hard, you know, just someone,

a high five, a little fist bump, when they, you know, the whole dark shot or hit an unbelievable, got up and down from an unbelievable spot or made a 40 footer. I mean, it's not that, you know, it's not that hard to be respectful and nice to, you know, what playing competitor and show him to do respect that he's a good or a great shot. Yeah. Playing it said, I mean, it's, it's who I am, I mean, it's not something that I consciously, consciously do or why try to overdo trying to be like looking like I'm a nice guy. That's that's who I am. And that's to always be. Yeah. No, I can tell you for a

both a fan a fan standpoint that the fans eat that kind of stuff up and that kind of sportsmanship and that kind of enthusiasm is always encouraging to see. Anytime any chance players get to show some personality, I welcome that. I think it's kind of the way the reason we all started this website is we like to embrace the personalities of the game and the people that just have this aggressive nature to them and aren't just sitting back trying to top 10 and guys that are going for it and trying to win and be competitive and have some fun out there. So I think that's kind of what drew us to become in such big fans of you.

So when you're playing in a group in general on the PGA tour, how much pride is there about something like driving distance on being able to out drive somebody. I know you're not known as a bomber, but is that something you really think about? Are there certain guys you're like, I wanna hit it past this guy, or I know I can blow it past this guy. How much pride do somebody like you

and other guys on tour taking that? For me, I take none of it. I'm playing with someone who I know is gonna out drive me on a regular basis. Then I'm not trying to get up there and hit it, you know, as hard as I can, to hopefully out drive them. You know, I know there's no realistic candidates I out drive them. Now, you know, I may give those guys a hard time by hitting a driver and they hit the

three when I out drive them. I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I just, I Smoke to buy you I have to smoke to buy you how about that you know just a good little fun nature Ripping obviously they hit through it. I just driver. It's just sort of fun Now now now when you get someone who's similar distance as you and either they out drive you or you out drive them by considerable distance and the pen on here it is, you know, they'll give you a little We'll give you know either either person a little good ribbing about it, just let them know that yeah, I just thought Joey would be by 25.

John's pretty equal all day. And yeah, if I just smoked it by my 25, so it's a good little fun. I mean, I know Jordan, Jordan's speed, obviously, and we have a lot of fun together when we play. We like to give each other a little good ribbing There's a lot of other guys the same way that are like that Not just fun to play with that you know you can beat against each other go go at us

Far you guys want and you're battling for you know not against not only against each other but battling to to win this turn up But at the same time you have a lot of fun out the golf course and give each other a little ribbing here and there. Well, you know the, I'm assuming you know the out driving joke about Walmart, don't you? Yeah, yeah, I mean, it was funny, it was Walmart, this was super Walmart, you know, you gotta come up with something, you know, like a dance club or a Costco type deal.

So, there's all those stuff. I remember the first time I heard that, I've never heard the floor and I'm a freshman in college and there's a kid on the team by name of Jesse Mudd. He's a head dog coach now at Le Mans University. He's a lefty really talented player and he could smoke it. And we're playing the four-hole out the University of Florida golf course. And I had a good drive and he had said that he smokes a climbing, I don't know, maybe 20,

30 yards. I mean, he was a one way past me. And he goes, hey, do you hear about that new super warm up that building here? And I said, no, we're the building right between our two balls. I know. First time I heard it, I sort of like sort of laughed and everything I thought was pretty good. It's a good one.

It's still my go too. I still go for it. Even if my buddies know it's coming, I still go for it. Yeah, exactly. It doesn't matter if they know it's coming or what. Now, you still got to give it to them. Just love them. No, you just, you smoke to buy them.

Changing gears a little bit. Uh, in this past season, 2015, what's a, is there a particular shot that you look back at? And you're like, if you could pick one shot to redo from 2015, what would it be? You know, it's fun to have a similar question. Uh, a couple of weeks ago, they were, uh, uh, we were outing for, uh for UBS, but that question came up. Is it one shot that stands out, or a bad shot, or a good shot, or what not, that sort of defying your season? And I said, now that I look back at it, shot out at the Humana Challenge, formerly the Humana Challenge, Bob O'Clastic got on Palm Springs to the final round.

We were on the 14th of the part five, and I was like maybe two in the par. It was in really good position going in the day to contend for the lead, but I didn't really get any going early. So I was like five back, four five back, maybe with five holes to play on this part five, that's usually very unreached point of view. That's usually the spirit unreachable.

And if you do, it's always a tough decision to go forward too, because the way the green angle is and everything else that's around it. And I had five with my hands on about 230. And my five was trusty rusty. I mean, this is quite a lot of hit from anywhere. I just, I barely hit a bad shot with it. And so I needed a crazy finish. I needed to go something like birdie.

I mean, eagle, birdie, birdie, birdie, eagle to have a chance to win. And so my caddy Mike and I are talking about it, we decided to go for it because I said, hey, if we're gonna win, we've got to make eagle here. So I go for it and I hit it just the touch further right than where I wanted it and it wound up in the rocks. And I made some stupid decision and wound up walking off the boat with I don't know like a nine or something on the part five and

you know wound them making couple birdies coming in and I don't know why I shot either far or what not but that's what just I look back and I'm like man that shot almost defines my season because there's changes that I had to either win tournaments or attend and get up there and have a chance to win. And I would hit a shot that I just wouldn't turn out the way I wanted. I didn't hit that bad of a shot. And I just think if a warded forward had a bad break or whatnot, and so I looked back at that and that shot toward the fine on season since that.

I went forward, I just didn't pull it off and that's just way to went this year. Along the same lines, you know I would have killed you, right, though, if you'd have laid it up from 230, that wasn't the option, right? Well, that's the thing, I'm thinking, man, it's 230, how can you lay it up? This is like, just like go-ring, it's not like it's not an, you know, impossible to get there in two. Sometimes you can get those tweeners in that yardage though as well when you're not going to be fully committed to it.

But are there ever moments or is there two questions made within this? What's the most shameful layup you've had on the PGA tour? And are there ever moments where you're like, oh, if I lay it up for here, from here, no hang ups going to be all over me on this one. You know, I think about that, I think about the second question more than I do or I think about the first one. I think about that though when I have a chance either on a part four when you know I have a bad line. I'm like, I think I can get this, you know, through this gap or whatnot. I want to pitch out and have a, you know,

West shot into the green. I want to give it a chance to go because Because I think I can pull off any shot. And there is, then I always see just part vibes. But you know, you got like 245. You know, I know I can get there, but there's water, you know, all around the green, or there's OB, or there's something that just doesn't put you in the right spot of your misde Green.

And so then I lay up and I'm like, oh my gosh, I hope there's no way enough out here. I know one that's fans. I hope I'm not being seen on TV as laying out. I feel I'll get a handwritten by those boys and everything. But I can't think of a shot where I actually know what I can do. I can think of one shot. I can remember this is 2014, Tiltlehead.

It would do the first or second round. You guys out there watching. And I mean, that day was so cold that we're Been blowing 30 miles for our head industry and I remember the 50 total part by it's just never part by you can ever go pull that let's just down when But it was dead into our face and I mean in place maybe like five fifty five sixty And so that day it's cold and balls going nowhere. So it's gonna be planned at least six hundred yards. So I'm laying up obviously. But the layup shot

is so tough. I mean it's very tight. There's water left in the streets right. It's just a tight little area to fit the ball into. And then you add the wind and everything else that is the element into it and become just, I mean, you know, it's sort of like, unfortunately, if your man stuff is shrieking up on you because you're just like, scared to hit the shot, I feel. And I hit it and I hit a great layup shot. I remember looking on Twitter later that day, like, you know, we don't ever commit the way it up, but the layup shot that Billy Horne was directed at the scene at, uh, Hell and Head. That was, that was awesome. That was, I remember this exact moment that was like the most aggressive layup I've

ever seen. So we absolutely gave you a free pass. You got absolutely all you could out of that layup. I'm so glad you remember that moment because that was, we, we, we, we didn't even see you hit the shot or we saw you we were way off in the distance and like up ahead I think it'd be get to a round where you hit the third you'd be playing your third shot from and we saw you hit and we'd never see a ball and we like look way down the fairway we were like did he seriously just lay it up way up there like it almost seemed unnecessary so I'm glad that that's definitely not a shameful layup that that's a prideful layup. You

should take pride. What is, and I may be a tough question to answer on the spot. What's a hole that you think of on the PJ tour where you're just like a golf course that you play normally. I term it, you play it every year. You're just like, you know what? This is not a good golf hole. I really don't like this hole. Is there one that you can think of or a few? Man, that's tough. You know, trying to think of any of it comes, you know, on top of my head, I sort of run through the courses and on my, you know, for the most part, I don't think there's a hole that of that. It is really a bad hole.

I would say if anything, sometimes, you know, I praise our rules officials a lot, for the way it's going to force us, I think they do a good job. But, you know, we're all human, we all make mistakes. I think there's times when, when they do make a mistake, where the conditions of the golf course, you know,

that day and the way the elements are and they just make a bad decision on how they set the whole up whether it's a TV position or the whole placement or whatnot. You know I actually know what I mean along those lines but I think I'm the whole that I think is stupid right now and I'm not a big fan of the golf course, even though it's a big tournament held there on a regular basis or it's held there annually, and it's a draw out. I think that course, the redo is a better than what it was for, yeah, because I remember playing

as a kid, you know, playing junior best out there, and everything, it was a very easy golf course. And now it's a very tough, yes it is, but I think it's sort of to the extreme that it favors one golfer, one type of golfer more than the others, and I think it favors a bomber out there. And so they are making changes to the golf course to make it a little bit more challenging for the bombers. And since that, you know, some of those bunkers are tearing you if you can fly as 300 or 305 in the air, then you miss all the bunkers

and a lot of the trouble. Well, you know, I carry it 290, maybe 295, you know, I'm not in great spot as those are the guys aren't featured to her. So they're supposed to be making some changes a little bit, but the one hole there that I think is a little bit ridiculous. I mean, it's a tough hole no matter what. It's 18. You know, they got it back to the key box there now where you know, the clear of the water is 300, 305. There's only a handful of guys out on tour that can do that. And if you can't clear the water, you got to land

the ball on a landing strip, literally a landing strip. And the other thing about landing on the landing strip, if you land it in the left side of the fairway, 10 yards made, 12 yards from the water, it all slopes and kicks left towards the water. So it's sort of a little bit of a ridiculous hole. I think it's a better hole if they made it where the water here is probably maybe 290 because the wind usually is flying.

I mean, coming into here there. So it's a tough one no matter what. Where the length, but then you add it, and make it longer, and the wind direction is flying. I mean coming into you there. So it's a tough no matter what with a length, but then you add it and make it longer and the wind direction is usually blown into you and it's just sort of a super hole in my mind, but I was just a Johnson hat as an issue with it. Yeah, well that fits the bomber part, I guess you could say. But do you feel like a lot of courses are in general, the tour courses are trending too much toward the bombers? You know, that's a tough one. I want to say that trending too much towards the bombers. I think what is trending to in my opinion is taking a little bit of the challenge of accuracy off the tee. I think too many courses have come a little bit too much wide open

receive off the tee. I think too many courses have come a little bit too much wide open off the tee and they're not being nearly as penal as they need to be. I'm a fan, I always tell people I said you know everyone wants to think about making golf courses longer, but I don't think the longer is really the solution. I think the longer you make the golf course, the longer the easier the more advantage in the longer hair is high right because all the shorter hitters and all the medium length hitters are going to be you know at a disadvantage you're going to have to you know chip and put it really well that week and have hit unbelievable long line of the degree. So I've always said you know if you want to make a course challenging make it penal off the tee not like

ridiculously penal but you know make it where if you hit a shot 30 yards off line you get penalized for it now if you hit one 10 to 15 you know we all hit one 10 to 15 off line here and there so you shouldn't be nearly as penalized but further you hit a lot of line the more penalize you should get for it and then you know if you have rough and you have firm fast greens firm greens being really the key, then the golf course plays tough. So, oh, like I said, I don't think the length is the key. I just think two-meet courses now are becoming a little bit too much wide open off the tee, which is giving hitters, not just short,

not just long hairs, but short hairs as well. The advantage of hitting way off line is still be able to play it a little nowhere. Yeah. What, I guess, other than that lengthening, of course, issue, what do you see as the bigger issues on tour? Because I know you and I had done discussions in the past about pace of play. And I just was curious what you thought of issues something like is there a major, still a major problem

with pace of play these days? Or what are your thoughts on the status of the golf ball? What's going to happen? Because distances are growing at these exponential rates, and there's no sign of it ever stopping. Where do you stand as far as what should happen with equipment? Yeah, in my opinion, I think the equipment is good as fine at the point it is right now. I don't think we need to do much to it.

I think the driver has been restricted now for five, seven years now. I think we put a limit on that. I don't think the golf ball, I mean, I don't know enough about the technology and everything about it, but do I think, you know, researchers can get another 20 yard dollar golf ball, no, can they get a couple of yours, sure? But I think there's a reason why you're seeing guys hit it longer now, or because, you know, their benefits will shape their athletes. Now, they're working hard in the gym to take care of the body. I think that's why you see

you know this is right. Not only is because the equipment sort of say like you see back in the mid to 2000s but I think the guys are in better physical shape on a stronger, faster, you know all that and that's why they have to fall farther. And then you know the issue that I still think the biggest you to challenge PJ Tours is pay to play. I think it's ridiculous that we're the best players in the world and we can't play under a five-hour round the golf and at 3 o'clock. And we almost came to play under a four-hour round the golf and at 2 o'clock. Maybe that's the course can be tough and be challenging. But I mean, I see guys on a regular basis, not, you know, they're not ready when they hit. I could name 20 guys like, now I'm not gonna do it, that, you know, usually one of the last guys

to hit on a regular basis, because of how far they hit it. And they're never ready to hit, you know, and when it is, they're trying to take two to three minutes. I mean, it's just ridiculous. I mean, you know, there is a rule in the, and the rule of golf that says, you can't take more than 42nd over a golf shot to hit your golf shot.

And you can take five, I think you can do the first guy to hit. And I just don't understand, you know, if you got a 155 yard golf shot, you know, there's not many clubs that I can be. Probably only two or three clubs, you know, if the wins down win, it's probably either the club that goes 155 or the one that goes less. Everything to the wins, probably the club that it's probably either the club that goes one-fifty-five or the one that goes less.

Everything to the wins, five-fifty-five or the club that goes one more. That's the OSNOT. That part to figure this all out. And I think a lot of it to come down to sports psychologists and listen, they are very helpful. I've used them in the past. But I think they're teaching in the sense of, don't hit a golf shot until you're ready, it's so

wrong because you're slowing the game of golf down. You do the wrong thing. I mean, be prepared. Think about your golf shot before you get up to it or while you're waiting to hit. I mean, it's just awful. And I just, I think I wish it to or take a harder stance on it. I wish to or penalize guys strokes, not money. Because, you know, everyone says people on tourists say, well, $40,000 to $20,000, you know, that is a lot of money. Yeah, but if you make $2.5 million by playing your game,

by playing slow, you're like, man, you know, I don't mind running $20,000 check. Then me having to speed up and maybe you want to make you're like, man, you know, I don't mind running a $20,000 check. Then me having to speed up and maybe you want to make a million dollars, type of deal. So, I wish True would just take a heart of stance on it and penalize the guys with strokes and be more, you know, I know they're aware of it, and they know who all the slow players are. It's not rocket science, it's common knowledge who the slow guys are and just do something about it because I think you know playing five and a half hour rounds ago, sometimes six hour

rounds ago, it's just, it's really aft nine in my opinion. I just wish we'd do a better job of playing because as a fan I know I want to want to watch a golf five and a half hours and even when I play with my buddy that home Or go somewhere or even talking with my dad. Your buddies don't want to play more than four hours a golf on the golf course Yeah, there's no point for it. You know you play four hours on the golf course You got an hour and a half to hang out in the ball or after one. Yeah, you played five and a half hours You only got ten minutes because then you got to go back to your wife No, I think you the you nailed the point is I never understood why players at all level, not just

Tor Pros, but I think Pros, maybe more guilty of it, is why you can't all read putts at the same time. Even if it's not your turn to putt, you can be reading your putt. You can be ready to go when it's your turn. I'm fine with doing a cursory, one more look at the break before you hit the putt, but you can go around the other side of the hole, walk around as long as you're not walking to somebody's line. I know it can be difficult when you're in a threesome

and whatnot and not being, and feeling like you're in somebody's way, but there are things you can do before it's your turn to just be ready when it's your turn to actually get the action moving. But some guys just don't prioritize it. It comes down to preparation before you hit your shot. You know, I have no problem with people reading puns when I'm reading puns and this and that

and, and you know, and then if you want to give it one last look when it's your turn, that's fine. But you've already done a lot of the work, so now, you know, you should only take maybe 15, 20 seconds to look at it one more time and then hit your pun. Yeah. My opinion, you know, that's my one more time. And then hit your butt. Yeah. Not my opinion. If you prepared for it, you turn. Yeah, it's not the time spent standing over the ball. That's the really bad part.

No. I don't think anyone make that argument. But there are some guys that spend a little bit of time. I know, over the ball. Yeah. So exactly. Just being prepared. It goes all the way down to the lowest level

of amateur golf as well. So. Yeah. All right. I'll get you out of here on a few more questions. We're going to lighten it up a little bit. Exactly just being prepared once it goes all the way down to the lowest level amateur golf as well So yeah All right, I'll get you out of here on a few a few more questions. We're gonna lighten it up a little bit I want you to rate yourself Compared to the rest of the tour players as far as if you're making making a power rankings of the best and most Torsoce guys out there. Where do you see yourself on the list? You know, I think I'm decent at I mean there's times when I think when I'm a mother where do you see yourself on the list you know i i i think uh... i'm decent at i mean there's times when

i think when i'm emotional my true self self is really really good and then i think there's times where i'm sort of very uh... calm and relaxed that you know i don't show much and everything and i think uh... i feel the joint speed to some of the best you know to speed to some of the best. His points are some of the greatest. Right after he hit the ball, he's pulling right away.

He doesn't even look. He just sort of looks down and points. And then just the way he talks to the ball and everything, I mean, I think his stuff, some of the best. Yeah, that's what's going to be my next question is, who is ahead of you, I guess, in the rankings? And who's pulled something like your favorite Torsaus moves that you've seen.

You know, one of the funniest things I've ever seen and it's Torsaus moment. And this guy, you know, can rub people the wrong way. But I get along with a fine is Roy Stavitini. We're playing. Travelers, I think in 2012, maybe 2013. And he hits, I think, in 2012, Warren No. 16, he's found around the pin sort of in the front middle of the green. And he hits the shot. And in the middle of the, right off the he hits it. He says, go and ball, go in the hole. and he called the shot he literally said I

mean was that a good looking shot he said go in it just it's going in and it went in the hole for a hole in one and I just I just started cracking out laughing I was like right off the club I mean it wasn't like you was coming down it was like right after he hit it he said it right away and I just thought that was a fall Z move type deal that may be a torso-sus record there. So last question I'm going to ask you, just in general, I don't want to lead you into a question that's going to make you headlines.

But when you guys, as far as in the locker room, how much attention do you guys pay to what the media says and the things that they focus on and do you ever kind of roll your eyes inherently at some of the narratives and some of the stuff that they come up with? You know I think we all are aware of it. Some guys look at it more than than others. You know there's obviously there's a big headline that you know some media person on news outlet reported. We just talked about in the locker room.

There's no doubt about it. And there's other cases where the person didn't see the headline about them. It wasn't really that favorite deal, but you bring it up to them and they don't know anything about it. And then you feel bad because you don't want them to, you know, if they weren't even going to read it or hear about it, then you bring it up to them and then they start thinking about it and I'm looking at it. So, you know, I think we're all aware of stuff to assert. I think everyone's obviously a little bit different of asserting me to headlines

and this and that. And then there's just certain me that people that we know are just that way. They try to create some stir the pot too much. And it really sort of got a bad rap out of it to what certain media are guys doing. And maybe some of guys like them some don't, but I would say the majority of them don't like dealing with that person on a regular basis and answering their questions. Yeah. Do you think that the media plays favorites with certain players at all, do you think? I don't know.

I mean, I think the media in general does a great job. I've never had an issue with any media person face-to-face. I mean, there's some media people that I'm not fans of. You know, they've written some stuff that I don't think I've liked and then probably portrayed me in a bad light that I think is false. But obviously that's their opinion, that's what they want to write about. And you know, I look at it as I, you know, I just really don't want to deal with them when I don't have to on a regular basis. You know, I think, but I think the most important,

media does a great job. Do they play favorites to certain guys and this nature? You know, I don't. Yeah. You're going to play favorites to the guys that they talk to on a regular basis because they're the best players in the world. And they want to make sure that they've always got an article that's right about them.

That they're giving them great times, great amount of time to do an interview or giving them great answers or whatnot. So they're going to make sure that they're a little bit nicer and their articles are a little bit different. But I said, to the most part, 95% of the media people that we deal with are real faces. They're a great job.

I just think that there's some people don't like. And I just wait with anything like that. Like some people don't like it. And I just wait with anything like that. Like everyone you come across. Right. Makes sense. Makes sense. All right, I'm promising for the last time.

This is the final question. What kind of goals do you have for 2016? Are you willing to say I'm out loud? Do you have, do you write them down? What is your approach to planning for the 2016 season? You know, I've never written down goals really, and I've never sort of stated them in a really public atmosphere. Obviously, I did say last year that my main goal, one big goal I want to have was to

to to to the thing that that I've got to be the first person to win the better cup back to back. That was my goal. And obviously, I didn't do a very good job of achieving that goal, but you know, when you're not gonna achieve every goal you look at it, and I like setting my goals really high, some people don't because they don't achieve it, then they build down that they didn't accomplish anything. Like I said, I'm really,

I understand my goal really high, you're not gonna always look at everything, but you got other smaller goals that are more accomplished. You can accomplish a lot easier with working on your game, getting better in this aspect of the game. And those are the goals that are more realistic. And then those goals where you hope you can achieve these

by achieving smaller goals. And those are being able to win, major, being able to win four times, that's your being part of the right-of-cuff team. And so, you know, I set some really high goals and hope that if I can accomplish smaller goals, then the bigger goals will get accomplished. Yep. Well, I'll say, I do have a goal for you in 2016, and I want to see you running around the 18th green at Hazel team with an American flag celebrating a victory. So I would love to be on I mean, I was just a big goal. I've always stated and anything I've done that

being able to represent your country and any sport is awesome thing. Yeah, and the more I would love to do it now looking forward to hopefully playing well and being on that body cup game and following it and getting a victory for us. Yeah, that would be a dream come true for myself as well. So, Billy, listen, you kept you for almost an hour. I cannot thank you enough for your time, and I hope you can do it again sometime. Best of luck with the rest of the off season and with the 2016 season, and we will definitely be keeping up with you as well on Twitter. Thanks Bill.

Be the right club today. That is better than most. How about him? That is better than most. Better than most. Better than most!