Without Greg Manley introducing me to the amazing people at TaylorMade, this episode would never have happened. Thank you, Greg!
Welcome to a gripping conversation with golf legend Chris "Trottie" Trott, the OG Onion Master, who candidly reveals intriguing insights into balancing a global golf career and family life. Chris's inspiring journey from earning minimum wage to living his dream as a golf professional, and his unique perspective on parenting and youth sports, promise to keep you captivated throughout. As the father of twins, Trottie shares the love and gratitude he has for them. After spending over 15 years on global golf tours fitting the most talented golfers in the world, he is now a content creator and influencer for TaylorMade & SkyCaddie (Skygolf).
As we journey through Chris's life, we learn about #self-belief, #gratitude, and the art of staying in the #present #moment. Experience his transformation from growing up in a blue-collar town in East London to spending time at the Carnoustie & the Belfry, which was initiated by his hardworking father. As you will hear, Trottie is one hell of a storyteller, and his engaging style will leave you inspired and filled with laughter, too!
We also dive into deeply emotional moments reflecting on Chris's father's influence and his experiences escaping Dubai as the leading golfer during the Gulf War. As the conversation wrapped up, Trottie shared how he and his wife aspire to develop a work ethic, patience, and desire in his children. It's a conversation that transcends golf and ventures into life's valuable lessons and the personal life of a dedicated father and golf professional.
To learn more about Trottie, you can follow him @trottiegolf or on YouTube, Instagram, Tik Tok, and Twitter. His #TourTruckTuesday is a must-follow!
Please don't forget to leave us a review wherever you consume your podcasts! Please help us get more dads to listen weekly and become the ultimate leader of their homes!
Without Greg Manley introducing me to the amazing people at TaylorMade, this episode would never have happened. Thank you, Greg!
Welcome to a gripping conversation with golf legend Chris "Trottie" Trott, the OG Onion Master, who candidly reveals intriguing insights into balancing a global golf career and family life. Chris's inspiring journey from earning minimum wage to living his dream as a golf professional, and his unique perspective on parenting and youth sports, promise to keep you captivated throughout. As the father of twins, Trottie shares the love and gratitude he has for them. After spending over 15 years on global golf tours fitting the most talented golfers in the world, he is now a content creator and influencer for TaylorMade & SkyCaddie (Skygolf).
As we journey through Chris's life, we learn about #self-belief, #gratitude, and the art of staying in the #present #moment. Experience his transformation from growing up in a blue-collar town in East London to spending time at the Carnoustie & the Belfry, which was initiated by his hardworking father. As you will hear, Trottie is one hell of a storyteller, and his engaging style will leave you inspired and filled with laughter, too!
We also dive into deeply emotional moments reflecting on Chris's father's influence and his experiences escaping Dubai as the leading golfer during the Gulf War. As the conversation wrapped up, Trottie shared how he and his wife aspire to develop a work ethic, patience, and desire in his children. It's a conversation that transcends golf and ventures into life's valuable lessons and the personal life of a dedicated father and golf professional.
To learn more about Trottie, you can follow him @trottiegolf or on YouTube, Instagram, Tik Tok, and Twitter. His #TourTruckTuesday is a must-follow!
Please don't forget to leave us a review wherever you consume your podcasts! Please help us get more dads to listen weekly and become the ultimate leader of their homes!
Hi, I'm Riley.
Speaker 2:And I'm Ryder and this is my Dad's Show. Hey everybody, it's KCJ Cox with the quarterback Dadcast. I'm excited to announce we have a brand new sponsor joining the show, which is called LatitudeSitkacom, a Latitude 57. Now this company's mission is to provide an unparalleled Alaskan experience that will enable their customers to explore everything that the region has to offer. Additionally, they are dedicated to supporting and promoting the local community, the culture, as well as protecting and preserving the natural beauty that the resources of the region have to offer us. So I'm going there in June. I can't wait. And whether you're looking to find a wellness retreat, if you're looking for a place to take your favorite customer, if you're looking for a way to maybe take your leadership team, check out LatitudeSitkacom, because they will give you some amazing sea exploration from fishing to commercial fishing, wildlife tours, beach excursions, scuba diving, snorkeling, even paddle boarding. If none of those sound interesting to you, well then go. Stay on land and go ITVing, hiking, hot springs, yoga, take a massage in. The team has over 20 years of local knowledge to serve you, and they also will be able to cook amazing meals while you are there staying in their facility. So go to LatitudeSitkacom now and book that next wellness retreat. You won't regret it. The majestic views will blow you away and, as I mentioned, I cannot wait to get there in June. So with that, let's welcome LatitudeSitka to the podcast and get right to today's episode. Hey everybody, it's KCJ Cox with the quarterback dadcast. We come, we are at the tail end of season four and, for all the golf fans out there, you are in for a treat.
Speaker 2:Today. Our next guest is the one only Chris Trot, or Trotty as they call him in the golf world you might have seen him on all probably all over YouTube or all over Instagram is the OG, the onion master we're going to learn about. That guy spent north of 15 years on global golf tours, with working with fantastic companies such as tailor made, recent promotion or partnership with SkyCatty I used to be a SkyCatty guy. Maybe this is the reason for me to go back on the bandwagon. Get it. I met him at the kingdom, the invitation of which I might have won. That event with my boys, dwayne and Perry, shout out to you boys. And all this episode, though, is only possible without the famous Greg Manley, who introduced me to tailor made a few years ago. But, more importantly, we're going to have Chris on today to talk about what life is like for Chris the dad, and how he's working hard to become the ultimate quarterback or leader of his household. So without further ado, trotty, welcome to the quarterback dadcast.
Speaker 1:KCJ, thank you for having me and belated congratulations on the kingdom invitation or win.
Speaker 2:Well, if you can smell it, that's. That's the smell of rich mahogany in my office. The little, the little prize we got. I think it's my first golf tournament I've ever won in my life.
Speaker 1:Oh, there you go, I heard you were a stunt, though the boys did say that you play great. You guys were just going for it.
Speaker 2:I drove it well that day, but it was like the best ham and egg ever, where everybody stepped up, everybody stepped up and my main man, dwayne, was draining putts and it was actually fun. A pair usually is a long hitter, but I deflect on him a couple of times and blast one past him a couple of times.
Speaker 1:You got to make the big man. You got to make him realize at times, haven't you? I like it.
Speaker 2:Oh boy, all right. Well, I always like to start every episode with gratitude, so tell me, what are you most grateful for as a father today?
Speaker 1:I think having everything I've done and we'll get into it in my life, just having two healthy, inquisitive, competitive, just great, kind kids, very, very lucky. I think for all the dads out there it's a lot. I mean I've got twins, so let's just start kick off with that Like also nailed it in that sense, but just how great they are and I get in many ways I'm thankful that they're just little sort of rep because of my wife and I, but on the same note, you see all the things that you did as a kid in them and you try and guide them through that. But I know that just two happy, healthy children for sure.
Speaker 2:It's a popular answer, but it's one that's not to be overlooked. Every time I wake up, I do a gratitude practice in the morning and I talk about, I literally write down with God universe I say thanks for waking me up, thanks for my health today, thanks for my kids. It's amazing, when you just start with that mindset, how it just gets you positive, get you going in the right direction, because when you don't have it, it sucks. Yeah, no for sure.
Speaker 1:Yeah, for sure. And I would say that in certain times in my life I maybe don't have the balance right for sure, and it's for good reason as well, like I'm not standing there criticizing myself for that. If the balance is off, it's off because I need it off, because I need to fill up the bucket somewhere else rather than the bucket of what I'm doing. And I think as I get older I'm realizing that some buckets are not as important as others, and we touched this podcast, starting talking about golf.
Speaker 1:I love the game of golf, but my own personal golf game sometimes is a bucket that is just not that important and I've realized that, which I'm glad I've realized it now, and it will be important again. But when kids soccer maybe isn't taking place, or when kids my daughter's into animals, horse riding, gymnastics, you know, and I haven't got to be somewhere like that, then the golf bucket will get filled up properly. But right now it's kind of always two thirds, three quarters, four, which some people think is great. But for me personally that it's not where I want it, you know. But it is what it is.
Speaker 2:Love it. Just so you know there's gonna be no judgment here. If you want to, if you're mates across the pond, we can call it football you know, you need to call soccer for me.
Speaker 1:Good. Well, I just saw a quarterback dad podcast. I was like, okay, quarterback, I think that's like the center back in football, but I don't actually think it is, so we'll get to that.
Speaker 2:There we go, there we go. Well, what I'm most grateful for, I think, when I met you on the range, I told you that I had an aspiring collegiate golfer. My son is a. He's a senior and he literally last night signed his letter of intent. He's gonna be playing golf at Southern Oregon University. Wow, and that's cool. Yeah, coach, coach Hortsman, who is a tailor made guy, and we had we had the visit last weekend and such a surreal process to go through actually played football, american football against Southern Oregon back in 1998.
Speaker 2:There's a picture right here you can't see, but it's a picture of my dad when he was. My dad passed away December 29, 2021. I have a picture of the South end zone of the arm around him and I walked when I dropped my son off for the visit. I walked by and I saw that the end zone. Like Holy shit, this is what my picture me and my dad were. And it just brought back all these memories. And I sent texts to my coach, bo Baldwin, who's now the offensive coordinator, arizona State, and I called my FaceTime, my receiver, and I was like where am I at? I just scanned the field. He's like shit, I don't know. I go and I just pointed up to the. The big banner says Southern Oregon. He's like what are you doing? And we literally just said memory lane. And you know what Uncle Rico is, by the way? No, no, napoleon Dynamite.
Speaker 1:No, but that's I mean, it's a great story.
Speaker 2:Well, if you ever watch a great one, a great movie, watch Napoleon Dynamite. It's, it's hilarious. But there's his uncle, named Uncle Rico, and so whenever and he's like the guy that's stuck in high school and whenever he lives in high school football memories. So when I live my college football memories, I got to give love to Uncle Rico. So people at home will probably get in the giggle of that, but I love it. I love it. Anyway, I'm grateful for that experience because it was his journey and I had so many times I tried to not talk him out of it, but I'm like dad's got no eligibility left. This is your journey. Do not do this for us. Do not do this for anybody Like this. If you want to do this, I you know, compete and work hard, but this is your journey, bro.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and it was so fun to just watch him come through it. So I'm grateful for that life experience we had so that's brilliant, that's amazing.
Speaker 1:I bet it's a proud moment when the call comes and you do that. I'm sure it's a. It's a huge, huge thing, which is, you know, I guess, just as an international guy that we've already alluded to the college culture I'm not a bit, which is disgusting. Really I should be a bigger American sports fan than I am. Obviously I've got buddies and colleges who I know coaches of, or friends who've got, who went certain colleges, so I have the ones I like and the ones I follow, but it's a piece of American culture that you really have to truly try and understand and grasp. So, without doubt, to get your own child into a college of that level and in a golf team situation, I get it. It's, it's massive, it's massive.
Speaker 2:I just. The only thing I don't like is he's probably going to get a lot better than me, and right now I can still get him a couple of times, but I'm going to start getting whooped, which is not good, you got to fill up that golf bucket then quick.
Speaker 2:Seriously Okay. So I was like I was like to go inside the. So when I say a huddle, that's like American football, like the huddle right, and so tell me inside, tell me who is inside the, the trot huddle, and tell me a little bit about each, each member of the squad and how you and your wife met.
Speaker 1:So first off would be, my wife would be in that huddle for sure, and she's. She's great, she's big personality and she's a very protective, passionate, loyal, good advisor and good listener. So she'd be in there for sure. And then I'd have my old man in there, sometimes a little bit of a black cloud, but always pushing you on always has driven me on very high standards which I've certainly adopted myself for myself and for my own kids, which is Is good I maybe sometimes worry about.
Speaker 1:I live in California, so Everything's participation, trophy world and all that kind of stuff and everything's you know it's great place to live in, a great place to bring kids up. But I also pride myself on where I'm from and and the way in which I love where I'm from. But the way in which I got out of there and chased after what I wanted which is something that my father instilled into me, and when I met my wife in Carnousty at the open championship the one that Harrington one which I think was like 07 I loved Ben Hogan, who was a golfer who won at Carnousty. Carnousty is a very tough golf course. It's. It's demands a lot from you as a player, and I happen to meet her there. She's working in the golf industry. She's not a golfer, she's far from it and Just met her there and it was almost like her background where she's from, which is East London. It's quite similar to where I'm from, so she's got similar values and that's really held strong as you travel. We've lived in three different continents and move around and I know that I have someone there in my huddle and life partner who Believes a lot the same things I do and having seen people who've started relationships with you know Aussies and Indonesians or English and Americans it obviously works, but it's just a different dynamic when you don't quite have the same values. I mean it's great. It makes for a totally different dynamic. But just for us that's something that I've appreciated over time.
Speaker 1:I think in my huddle for sure would have been my mom as well. She's sadly no longer with us, hasn't been for a while but still lives on, definitely in my mind. Let me just like all mom's biggest supporter ever. You know great, great person.
Speaker 1:Then I have Couple of people about my best friend for sure who's now working as my agent, which is just through circumstance I could have in golf. I could have gone any route with many forms of different people, but he's always been a big, big supporter, big fan, smart guy, smarter than me, so I'm happy with that. And then I have another guy who's in finance same situation, just more intelligent than I am. I can ask him anything, tell him anything, he's not going to judge and he'll help me through it. And then another just passionate buddy back from the UK. So three sort of mates and a couple other people who'd be in business that I would turn to. They're definitely in the huddle. A guy I met in there I met in Scotland 20 years ago a bit older than me, super successful and, uh, just Sets a high standard like anyone in it kind of sets a high standard.
Speaker 1:So I'd say, like one friend, that I can joke around with two friends who sort of lean on for a bit of business stuff. One kind of mentor, if we had to label it as anything, and then parents and wife would be the group for sure love it and tell me.
Speaker 2:Tell me about the twins. What did tell me what they're in do?
Speaker 1:So Molly and Jacob they're both nine Um, like all kids, they, uh they just 100 mile an hour for sure. My son is into sport. He's very much into soccer, football. Um, I kind of would like him to be multi-sported at such a young age, but he seems to just only love that and that's great because here in San Diego there's a couple of good soccer teams around.
Speaker 1:There's the female wave team and he's been and seen some wave games. He went rexum came here off of the hulu documentary. He got to hang with them. He got to hang with the guy called gareth bail, who is a legit player from the uk who doesn't play anymore, so all through golf. So he's really been exposed to the games and great people in the game. As a result it looks to me like he plays great baseball. I wish he'd play more of that. I wish he'd play more golf. I wish he he can snowboard pretty good.
Speaker 1:He's one of those kids who can turn his hand to everything. I think I wish he'd do more of it and not get so intense on one at so young, at such a young age. But I also think that the business of kids soccer in San Diego Kind of makes you go down that route and I don't know if I love it. But the truth is I don't know if I really am that bothered, because golf, which obviously I love, is a hard, hard game to get if you're a kid and it moves slow. And I think if he turns to me at 14 and says I'm kind of done with this and I want to do something else. And that turns out that it's golf. And you know, I'm confident with the people I know and what I know about the game. I can really turn him into a great golfer and that's a game that you can have for life.
Speaker 1:And then if I switch and turn to my daughter, she just she's got the best assets of everyone, personality-wise, of myself and my wife. She's just, she's creative, she's chill, she is doing her own thing when she wants to. She's independent, she's competitive when she needs to be. She knows she has to work hard, she knows she has to try. Maybe doesn't come as easy to her as her brother and I'd say a brother, it comes too easy but she seems to have all the things that drives her on. And then she's got this brother that she idolizes, which is also great.
Speaker 1:Um, so she's got all the best traits of everyone in this household. Sport-wise, yes, she loves animals, which is obviously expensive for horse riding stuff, so that's a nightmare, but it is what it is. Um, and then she's it was into gymnastics in a big way. She's playing soccer now, in the fall, just as a as a recreative sort of sport, but it's good. She loves it, she's, uh, she's, she's. Always when I look down and look at her, I'm like I need to just be a little bit more like she is at times, for sure which is amazing that you can learn lessons from your kids, but you can every day, 100%.
Speaker 2:Do you guys have a horse?
Speaker 1:No, no chance. We have a dog that's quite small, so she's not riding that thing, but no, we don't have a horse.
Speaker 2:I was thinking, if you did, I mean you could Mean strap on the jockey and have her go take down the derby. Yeah, exactly, exactly.
Speaker 1:It's interesting because her relationship with it is for coming from such a pure place, and it reminds me of my relationship with the game of golf, and I'll catch her running around the house playing, pretending to be a horse or whatever, and it's uh, it's a different relationship that he then he has with soccer. Um, you know, he has this determination that he wants to play it all the time and he wants to Practice it, and it's just. I look at it and I'm like, does that come in from a place of love, or is it coming from a place that you know You're good at something, so you want to keep doing it? Um, I don't know, things I tend not to give too much time to anymore, but I definitely think about it every now and again.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's important, man, when you were saying that, maybe. So, my daughter's a sophomore and? Um, she played soccer growing up or football growing up and I mean she, she was super aggressive but just like, wasn't her jint didn't like it. Um, she played in one golf tournament, took second. I was like sweet, no, I don't want to anymore. I'm like, oh my god, what do you mean? But she loves hoop like, loves everything about basketball, loves the grind, loves the physicalness, loves weightlifting, loves running like, and she plays Like 10, 11 months out of the year. And I am constantly thinking like, hey, I'm fun, like, but she's, I mean she loves it. I mean she's been a made varsity as a freshman. She's, um, played in a? U tournaments all around the on the United States and just loves it, and so, like, I think that's okay.
Speaker 2:But sometimes I definitely agree to like some of these youth sports. They're out of control. Sometimes people are doing it for the wrong reasons. Um, you know, it can be a money grab at times, but I think as long as, as long as we're checking out their kids and making sure this is what they want to do and not what we want them to do, then it's, you know it's great, but when you talked about your son, Like my son was a hoop kid and then when covet hit he was a late bloomer of golf. He was like a 13 handicap when during covet started and then at the end of it he was down to like a three or two. And so I mean you know way more about this golf stuff than I do, but like I almost feel like golfers kids who do it are late bloomers or better because they don't burn out. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:No, I think that covers with soccer for sure. I mean, at the end of the day, in England, you know you can be 16, 17, and you can go and play in a pro team. I thought obviously he's a little different here and college is such a driving force and, like I touched on earlier, I don't have that cultural drive for the college thing. So you look at the whole team and there are, you know, there's parents on that team that are doing this purely in the thought that they want to get their kids into college. If you want to go to college, go to college. If you don't want to go to college, don't go to college. If you want to play sport at college, play sport at college if you like playing sport. But having added that a little bit with golf for like two semesters and I'm like you got to manage your time because it's really difficult it kind of changes the whole college experience.
Speaker 1:From my experience, when I went I was studying or on the road playing golf and it didn't bother me because that's all I wanted to do. The schoolwork or the college work was the nightmare, not the playing golf. It's like none of that bothered me, but I knew what I wanted to do. I knew I was always going to be in the golf industry. That was never a question for me. There was never.
Speaker 1:I remember we do this thing in the UK called work experience. I went and did it. I like technical drawing. Dad was like go and do this architecture. I spent some time with an architect I did the first day and we both agreed that I'm not coming the rest of the week here, I'm just going to play golf. It is what it is. It's like I'm just not coming. He was like okay, I get it. What do I tell your dad? I'm like I don't know. Tell them what you want.
Speaker 1:I remember my mom saying to me through the summer holidays we have a long summer holidays in the UK. I remember my mom checking in with me with a week and a half to go. She's like are you happy? You've played golf every day, dorm till dusk. What do you want to do today? Do you want to play golf again? Yes, I want to play golf again. It's like, okay, that's what you want to do. But it wasn't. It just was what I wanted to do. I would say now sometimes get burned out now, like I recognize now that I want a little break, and maybe that's why I don't compete too much now. But I don't know For me I'm all in or I'm not. Maybe that's why my son is how he is. He's very much all in or nothing.
Speaker 2:Yeah Well, I'd love to go back in time and learn what was life like growing up for you and talk about the impact your parents had on you now that you're a dad.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think. For me, growing up agricultural UK, north of England, northwest, just south of a town called Liverpool, so Liverpool is pretty famous, obviously for the Beatles, but the way the city is would be a little bit like a Pittsburgh it's blue collar-ish, people work hard, it's cold, it rains a lot, two big, big, big sports teams in the city. That defines the outlying areas of which. We lived about 15 minutes away from the center of town, maybe 20 minutes just across a peninsula, stretch of water called River Mersey that the Beatles sang about. And when you lived across that into that sort of stretch of turf, that peninsula, then you were a little separated from Liverpool, from the people from there. They were like, oh, they live on the Whirl, which is the piece of land they lived on. But the Whirl had the most golf courses per square mile in the UK.
Speaker 1:So dad played golf, dad worked his ass off. He was extremely hardworking, came from a South Wales family that ran a pub. He got out of there, traveled around the UK, met my mother Well, literally, I'm talking born till dusk and got to where he got to, following the corporate structure and working from all hours before the internet. And you know he'd work on Sundays, get ready for the week ahead, and then he'd hammer it and he'd do a lot. So golf became the basis of our relationship and we would play golf come frost, rain, wind, sunshine, and we'd go down to like the Working Man's Golf Course and we would play. And that started in a public course and it developed to a low entry level private club, their country club, as you guys would call it, which, by the way, very loosely used. It was a Working Man's Golf Club. Then we joined another one that was a bit better and then he realized, like I, used to play loads of cricket.
Speaker 1:Cricket is not but version of baseball. Dad didn't understand cricket at all. Okay, where his up cricket is, it's not really an affluent sport, but you might list it as that. Dad, the start he had, the upbringing he had, that wasn't an option. So the way he wasn't playing cricket he's like you kidding me, that's not what kids from, where he's from. So he didn't play golf. You know what I mean. He picked it all up along the way. So he had no interest in watching cricket, just maybe, like I wouldn't having something. If my son plays a Friday night lights game, which has been asked to play it. I'm turning to the dad next to me going what's the score, how's this work, what's that play? And that's how dad was a cricket and he wasn't going to go and watch a game, even though I was into it. So at 14 years old I pretty much packed everything in that I played. And I played a lot of stuff all sports, everyone, by the way, an England play, soccer, everyone. I even play that today. So that's not an option. So when I say I quit everything, I didn't quit that, but everything other than golf and golf became the full on thing to do. And that's then when I got in a club about a year later, because I was showing promise. That was like.
Speaker 1:We have these Royal patron clubs in the UK. The open championships, often played at a Royal, always played at a Royal club. It means that someone from the Royal family has given their name to be like the lead ambassador for the club. It doesn't mean they're there every week, but they've given it the Royal seal. And then it becomes these Royal golf clubs, now different to the US. It doesn't mean it costs X thousands of dollars to get in. No, quite opposite. It's more like the network you know who you know, but if you're a great player as I was a 15 year old, I managed to get into this club. It then meant my dad couldn't get in. So I actually spoke to my dad about this in the last three or four years At 15, I went from playing golf for 14 every week with him to then playing pretty much every opportunity I had.
Speaker 1:At this fantastic golf course there was a links course, which means it's really windy, very firm ground, so it stayed good in the winter you could play all the time, but it was exposed. He became a gritty player, like fighting in bad weather and stuff like that. But of course dad couldn't go because he wasn't at the club. So I said to my old man like what happened to you then then and it turned out that's when he joined a different club again and he developed his own circle of friends. But to him the only connection he had with his son really was through the game of golf. So we would talk about things through the game of golf and we'd spent a lot of time together and obviously I was getting his work ethic through viewing it, not really through guidance.
Speaker 1:I would obviously at this stage schools getting more serious in the UK and you'd have like homework and stuff and I remember like he would often want to see it, so he'd finish his work and then he'd want to view what I was doing. He's quite involved in school. Education was a big deal to him. He didn't really have a great education and I think he felt he then had to make up for it with the amount of work he'd had to do.
Speaker 1:And maybe when we talk about my huddle, the guy who is an American friend of mine, who's in finance perhaps that's why sort of I gravitate to him because I think he's a very well educated guy, good college degree here in the States, good business acumen, and the bottom line is is like I'll ask him a lot of the questions that are sort of beyond me. And dad was always like if you have this skill set, nothing can take it away from you. You've got to have a skill set, you've got to have something that no one can dictate. Whether you have a job or you don't, it's important. You need to get qualified in something. So obviously at 16, turning around and saying to him as one of the best juniors in the country, I want to play golf for a living dad and then he turned to him I don't want to go on this work experience. I'm going to do one day and then I'm going to play golf all week. He obviously sat there going.
Speaker 3:Intention integrity. It recruitment. We are McCann Partners and I am Megan McCann, the CEO and founder. Mccann Partners is a Chicago based IT recruitment firm. We support a growing portfolio of innovative organizations, from Chicago based startups to companies with a global footprint. We are dedicated to creating a more equitable and diverse workforce and are proud that more than 70% of our talent placements since 2020 have been diverse hires. We take pride in our work and invest time to hone our skills. Case in point, our work with Casey Casey helped me and my team learn new habits of success and unlock the skills we already have been using the superpowers of humility, vulnerability and curiosity. If you, the listener, are curious about our experience with Casey and his impact on the team and our business, please reach out to me via LinkedIn.
Speaker 1:It's not a good idea and I'm like that. It's like I love it. I'm on the brink of getting into the England team. This is what I want to do. And he's like and this is something that I'm not going to do with my children. I haven't done or refused to do it and I've had to train it out of me and it really caused a void between me and my father for about the next five to seven years.
Speaker 1:He would say to me do you know the percentages of success of making it on? It was? The European tour was a much bigger deal then than it is now. You know you had names that you would know, like a Faldo, a Lyle and Ernie Ells Real names were playing the European tour. Now everyone comes and plays in America. The business of golf is in America, hence why I'm sat talking to you from Carlsbad, california. All that's good, but back then you know he's like do you know the percentage of people that make it on the European tour? Like it's? And he was starting calling out the number, which we all know as sports fans how low they are. But at a stage in your life as a kid who's got some talent and is sure as hell prepared to work. It's not what you want to hear.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:So dad then kind of dragged on that I had to get qualified, I had to get through a certain. Our college in England is a little different to you. We do a couple of years add on from high school, then we go to university. And he was like I want you to do this, you need to do that. If you do this and you get to this stage, with this qualification, you can go back. You can go back, you can go and play. Doesn't really work like that, to be honest, looking back, but I get what he was trying to do.
Speaker 1:So, in the scheme of things, applied for college in the States late, got a scholarship late. Applied for a graphic design school in the UK, got in, tried to get into a big golf school in the UK but because I kind of dropped classes I didn't have the education side covered so I couldn't get in there. It was one in Scotland, really high level of education. I was like, okay, couldn't get in there. Then there was a sports one didn't qualify for that Cause. Again, I dropped classes to play more golf. So I didn't have the credits or the points. I think you guys are called a grade point average. Mine had dropped a bit and the classes I'd done I was scoring really highly on, but I just was sure I wasn't taking enough classes.
Speaker 1:Anyway, long story short, came to the States, fell out of that after two months, got the wrong place, didn't work out, went back, studied England, start delivering pizza, and that's like this same. And I'm like well, I'm actually entered into play the British sham, the English sham, the Spanish, the Portuguese. This is what I'm going to do. I'm going to travel with these buddies down to Portugal. We're going to drive, which is like a three day drive. I'm saving the money for this. I'm playing golf in the days and delivering pizzas at night. He's just like Jesus, this ain't, this ain't the plan. It's like you got to get a plan. So with that, our British PGA, which is the straight teaching qualification, is a slightly larger deal than I guess the US one is, but back then you can use it as a qualification.
Speaker 1:So I went into this Royal Club that I was still connected to, basically asked for a job as a bit of a punk kid outsider who was too good at golf, winning all the men's stuff there. The old boys at the club didn't really love that. It was sort of kicking around playing golf all the time, not really what they wanted, but kind of was a good player, a bit of a personality, but what's his kid doing? You know it was so. Anyway, the guy says, well, there's a job here. And he throws me a magazine across the table and it was the headquarters for the PGA, which is in Birmingham, a golf course where the rider cut was played, called the Belfry. I applied for the job. I get the job.
Speaker 1:A week later I'm pulling out of those tournaments I've mentioned and I'm going to do this and I'm saying to my dad we'll screw you, I'm going to get this qualification and then you're going to be off my back and then I can just play golf because you said that. And he goes it's a four year qualification, this thing. And he's like, yeah, you do that and fine, I'll agree that you can go and do what you want and, by the way, at that stage you'll be 22. So do what you want with your life. It is what it is. And you're I just know you're going to make money then because you're going to be able to give someone something which will be for you teaching golf. So he's like that is fine, you've done good by me. Off you go. So I leave home, go to Birmingham. Long story short, I do really well and there was a guy there called Simon Wordsworth who now runs a private secret shopping community around the golf industry that has branched out to be in all sorts of different industries. Very smart guy. I spoke to him on a training thing for his company last week Yorkshiremen, which for anyone from the UK, they're kind of hard-nosed but they're also friendly.
Speaker 1:You've got to work hard. If you don't work hard you're screwed. Basically in England, to give you a bit of a cultural thing, you've got London, which is very affluent. Anything outside of London, everyone kind of has this chip on their shoulder that you've got to graft. You've got to work. It's like Matt Fitzpatrick in the golf world. He's worked his ass off to win the US Open and it's a very northern way of being and I'm very proud of it because it's driven me and shaped me, as these conversations I'm having with you about my father have shaped me to have a level.
Speaker 1:Even all this, by the way, my mom is there in the background who just can't do any wrong. She's the eternal good cop and becomes your as a boy or a male as all males, literally your best friend. You know what I mean. There's nothing that you can do wrong in her eyes and that was just who. She was Very patient, you know what I mean. So fast forward back to this belfry journey and I think just remembering the original question because I'm rambling on you wanted a background on the whole journey. That's awesome. I keep going bro so we get into.
Speaker 1:And I only said this to this guy, simon, his nickname's wordy, and he's probably now like late fifties, mid fifties, maybe a hair older, maybe a hair younger, but like I was on the call to him and I actually never said I wouldn't spend for 20 years, and I said to him, like you know, you haven't spent some for 20 years your first boss, first real boss, and I just said, like I never really said thank you to you, and he's like right. I was like, in all fairness, I left Liverpool at 17, 18, pretty young, went down South, two hours away, which may have well have been a different country, and you pretty much just took over the role of my old man without even saying that you wanted it. You basically said to about 12 new employees, kids, that you'd got in on minimum wage, which, looking back, was a smart business move. They're all golfers. You basically said if you're prepared to work, you can have anything you want in this industry, but if you don't work, you've got a job at this place, which is the home of the British PGA. You'll be all right, you'll make some money, you'll have a nice life, but if you are prepared to deliver me 10 out of 10 documents and work. I'll check it for you which no pro, no golf director was doing that he's like. I will go through your work before you hand it in and I will tell you what you need to change in order to score higher or to learn more. If you want to change it, change it. If you don't, providing you've hit the base level to qualify, by the way, which are our establishment isn't the level to pass. It is too above, providing you've hit too above. You do what you want, but if you want excellence, this is what you'll have to do, and that to me, obviously then was A a bit of a challenge B coming from someone who was talking very factual, like it is what it is Do the work, you get the results. So I gravitated to him and I did well and succeeded and before you know it, I didn't know but connections through this rider cup course.
Speaker 1:I was stood in the Middle East working in Dubai on a winter program. One other guy who ended up in the huddle as one of my best mates me and him had been selected from a ranking system where we worked that we were going to go and do this work exchange. Three months later, I was one shot off qualifying for the Dubai Desert Classic and I was leading what's now become the Middle East tour in the Middle East. And it wasn't the Gulf War, it was the one after broke out and we decided we were going to leave Dubai because it wasn't safe, and I was sat there going. I'm four weeks away from winning the Order of Merit here. There's two more events left. Like I don't want to leave.
Speaker 1:And my buddy's like mate, it's going to be a war about half an hour away on an airplane. We're English in Dubai. Dubai wasn't what it is today. It wasn't quite as established. He's like we need to go, we need to leave, like there's no golf. He says I'm not staying. He said it's on you. He said, but I'm not staying. And he said and I strongly advise that you leave too. And obviously CEOs of companies and executives were leaving town and Dubai was coming to the golf town and there's me and a set of Mizuno irons and I'm like, well, I can stay and try and make this tournament that might not even be on or I can leave. So obviously I left.
Speaker 1:And then when we got back, simon Wordsworth again had created and remember this is back in 03. He created a million pounds. So what would that be today? Like $1.3 million, which isn't a lot in the scheme of things, but it is for the UK, outside of London, a million pound driving range. So golf academy he's made the biggest academy in the UK and he had all these brands come in. He had TaylorMade Titles, ping Callaway, all come in, fit out a fitting center and then he put his members of staff which was us guys who'd done well into the individual rooms. After three months TaylorMade had become the number one sold account at Greengrass and we me and one other guy running the TaylorMade suite had become the leading sales people for TaylorMade.
Speaker 1:I was still working for the Bell Free book represent TaylorMade and I had six months left of my qualification and I was first in Europe at that as well, because I was working hard and I had a good golf game and basically what happened? Then a guy comes in and he's wearing what was called triple branded TaylorMade Max, fly and Adidas, so three different logos on his clothing. And I fit this guy and he turns around and says to me oh, that's my exact driver, you fit before there. I'll never forget it. It was a which won't mean anything to non golfers, but drivers have different laughs and I remember all the specs as I can through some key clubs I've made in my life. And he said to me that's my exact driver. And I'm obviously sat there thinking, jesus, mate, I'm on commission here. Like well, if you already own this club, why have you come here? And he says to me I haven't come for the driver, I've basically come to see if you want to travel the world and work for TaylorMade and work on the European tour and become one of our lead club fitting representatives on the tour, which I mean I obviously took the job there and then and to speed this up a bit I qualified.
Speaker 1:I finished my qualification out of in Australia and Singapore on tour. I got a hundred percent. I didn't drop a point on equipment. In four years. I finished third overall because basically I was working a full time job.
Speaker 1:At the end I quit that job after nine months, to which my dad said to me you are stupid, they're paying you a pension. And my old man obviously worked through the eighties when pensions were what they were 401ks and he's like you're an idiot. And I said you told me that I could play golf. When I got qualified I finished third in Europe. I'm going to play golf. And he said to me I did, but the agreement was never that you'd be working for this company with a career path out in front of you. I said I don't care. And he said no, a deal is a deal. We agreed you do what you want, I get it. So I moved back in home. I played golf for about 16 months. I got a neck and a shoulder injury.
Speaker 1:I got on the second tour loosely as a poor card in Europe Game I realized was harder than what I thought and the same guy that came for the secret fitting offered me the job back. He said I've kept this job open because you were brilliant for the year that we had you. I've waited 16 months. You've just missed your card in Asia. Are you going to carry on or are you going to come back Because I cannot hold this any longer? And I said are you going to pay me more money? He said no, we're going to pay you the same. And I looked at it, thought about it, looked at my back, looked at where I was at, thought am I good enough? And that day I pretty much quit golf and went back to work. Then I worked with TaylorMade, which was amazing in Europe, for seven or eight years.
Speaker 2:Can I ask a quick question?
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:So one thing you said earlier that I want to go back on, that I think is so important, and you didn't say. You said something like I won't do this for my kids and if I'm reading, you're right, trotty, it's about the word behind me which people can't see, which is belief. Yeah, and shout out One of my buddies probably listened to this. Shout out to Steve Nadell, if you're listening. This is his son, riley.
Speaker 2:This kid was one of my sons, one of my son's best buddies. When he was like seven years old, he wasn't the fastest, he wasn't the fastest on the flag football team, but now the kid's like jacked, he's hockey player on the East coast. He's a probably he's a single digit, never plays, but when he plays he's just a good player and his mom and dad been such a good job of like. When he was younger, he was like I'm going to play in the NHL and I'm going to play a major league baseball and if I have time, maybe I'll play in the PGA tour too. And they never once said are you a dipshit? Like, what are you doing? They just said awesome, go do it bro, have fun.
Speaker 2:And like what a gift I think, as parents, we can give our kids and like you're living a dream life and I'm sure you probably, hopefully I mean like you're frigging, fitting Rory and Tiger and you've mentioned Carnoustia. You and I talked about the range that they've been to Augusta Like these are things that people will never do in their life and you're living your dream, but like I think that's so important. I don't know if I was, I'm saying this to you if it triggers any thoughts, but I think it's so important that you captured that and we as dads can help inspire the dream for our kids, because we never know what they're going to, what they're going to do.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, a couple of things on that. I think confidence is a big thing in sport. It's a big thing in life and I've got a lot of it. And it's like I don't think my old man maybe had as much confidence in himself from because he thought he had a real tough start, whereas my take is the start that he gave me. And I've said this to him like the sky is the limit on what he gave me and if I'd have not done what I've done, then I'd have been doing a disservice to what he's done, and that's kind of the way in which I've come to live with this situation. And I also think that I'm a big believer.
Speaker 1:When I was in Dubai years ago, we pulled up to one of the hotels and it was one of the few. It was, Dubai was a desert. There was a couple of high rises and that was it. And it said like if you reach for the stars, you know the worst you're going to do. You're never going to come up with a hand of sand. You never. And I wanted to win the Open Championship and be the best rider cup player in history. It's like you say to me you live in the dream, am I. I didn't play in any rider cups or any Open Championships, so it's like it's hard.
Speaker 1:And the older you get, you realize it. Just, I think it's where you set your bar and I think that the way I'm wired up, which I need to I worry that my son is a little bit this way. Like I keep saying to him you got to enjoy the Under Nine's soccer tournament. If you don't enjoy it, there's no point doing it. And when we play on the 10s, if you play on the 10s because we ain't playing, if you play on the 10s, you have to enjoy that.
Speaker 1:And the moment that you don't, or the day you come home and tell me that you didn't give 120%, like we address the why you didn't give 120%, and if it's because you know anything we can control, then you change that for you, Because that's life lessons and I try not to have the lessons around the game and I try and teach him for what it might, because if you give 120 and everything, you can't not eventually live the dream. And I think that I am living the dream. I think, as I've got into my 40s, I'm able to just chill out a little bit and look at that and go like you are, and now that I'm doing independent stuff, I can get the fruits of my labor, and the reason that people trust me with their brands is because of what I've done. So everything I've done has led to this point, and I'm by no means coasting. Right now I'm loving it more, as much as ever.
Speaker 4:Hello everybody. My name is Craig Coe and I'm the senior vice president of relationship management for beeline. For more than 20 years We've been helping fortune 1,000 companies drive a competitive advantage with their external workforce. In fact, beeline's history a first to market innovations have become today's industry standards. I Get asked all the time what did Casey do for your organization? And I say this it's simple. The guy flat out gets it. Relationships matter. It's down to earth presentation, his real-world experience applied to every area of our business. In fact, his book when the relationship and not the deal has become required reading for all new members of the global Relationship management team. If you'd like to know more about me or about beeline, please reach out to me on linkedin. And if you don't know, casey Jay Cox, go to Casey Jay Cox, calm, and learn more about how he can help your organization. Now let's get back to today's episode but I've I did.
Speaker 1:I do this too late? No, because I loved. I loved traveling on the European tour. I loved it. I love traveling the Asian tour. I loved the PGA tour. In the last couple of years I didn't, but you know what I changed it. But I think before we even kicked off recording I said it took me four years to make that change. But I'm loving that.
Speaker 1:I've done it and now I'm in control of it and I think in terms of parenting and kids, I think believe is a big one. But it can't come from us as parents, like they have to do it themselves. Like I have a buddy that has a son who's just played in the note of the gay tournament. He's ran top ten, he's done great and I was. Obviously the dad is not a massive golfer. I've tracked his results. He finished poorly, one one bad hole, chasing a result I get it. The kids 14, 15 years old, you always chase a result in any sport. But you know the kid was bummed and I was like you can't be bummed, you've ran top 10. And he wrote me a text back and it just said look, my son has. We've gone there and he knows he can compete. And I just wrote back and said all the effort, all the journey to leave the west coast, east coast, west coast, go the east to play the tournament Time. You put in all the practice. If you've come away with that, then that, therefore, was the best thing. You could have done this last week with your son. So it doesn't matter if I and that's where my old man would say that to me he's like I believe in you, I believe in you, you don't know, because you're not really managing it particularly well. It is what I would say to him and it's like it really, looking back, doesn't matter what he thinks, doesn't matter when anyone thinks you got to Think it yourself and you got to have a process in place that allows you to think it yourself. And I think that all the junior sports are just building blocks to that. And it doesn't matter if you really make it in the sport you choose to, because you can have a career in it, like I have. You just learn from what you've done before you know, because some of these people that you meet, I got to work with Aaron Rogers the talent level.
Speaker 1:That was an eye-opening day for me. So he came to, tailor-made to the kingdom that we alluded to, which is a private fitting place for golf clubs, and he, pardon, it's golf heaven. Golf heaven it is, it's great. And then again, like Casey, I get to work there, mate, I get to hit balls there. So again, you have to have a moment when you just pinch yourself and I like, dude, you've come all the way from the outskirts of Liverpool to this, enjoy it, I'm getting better at that. But Rogers comes and Love the fact that I knew nothing about American football, loved it and I'm like, okay, great. And we just we just start chatting away. I really thought he was a great guy.
Speaker 1:I don't read any media and anything. I do know now afterwards that he can be quite polarizing and people are opinionated. I didn't notice at the time, I didn't know anything. I'm just like, hey, mate, what's up? Let's get through this. What cameras everywhere, people start turning up from everywhere.
Speaker 1:He starts hitting balls and I start getting into him as a golfer and getting better and just the ability to hit golf shots. Within half an hour he's hitting the ball Better than me, I would say, with a three-wooden, a driver. So there's still areas of the short game that you'd have to tune that will weigh off. But with the long stuff, just hitting shots, and you're just looking at him and you're like Jesus, like I thought I was gonna have a career in sport, this is the level. This is the level you could put this guy in any sport and he'd be immense. Same happened with Teemu Solani, who is a 50 odd year old hockey player who won, who had the quickest rookie goal of all time finish guy, the finish flash. I don't anything about hockey, just watching this guy talking to him about hit me this, do that, and his hands and his ability. And Again I'm stood there like, okay, that's another, another eye opener as to why you're doing what you're doing and they're doing what they're doing.
Speaker 1:And then the third one was JR Smith, the basketball player. He came, I got nothing about basketball, I like him a lot and after a while I'm like realized this guy doesn't want the fluff, he wants the real. So I give him the real stuff and he's like reacting to it and I'm like, mate, that's not very good what you've just done there. I know you got a camera on, a microphone on, I know you're playing, but that was awful, like you've not done what I've asked you to do. And his eyes though case they lock in. And he's like what are you watching? And I tell him what I'm like this is what I want you to do. This guy's like huge, I'm not the biggest guy and I'm going up to him and going don't you wait, and I've got my friends. I'm like you're wasting my bleeping time. We can, you can drop it up on go.
Speaker 1:Okay, I'm like you're wasting my time. And he look, he gets all and he's like whoa. And I'm like I don't care if you make a good documentary. I said the people back there editing this they'll make this good because that's what they're gonna do. I said, but for the next 10 minutes, how about you just lock in and we get you better at golf rather than wasting time? And he was like we found a Gear that was probably seven up from where he was and I'm stood there looking at this guy and I'm like Jesus again.
Speaker 1:It's like I can't. I can't relate to that and I want I thought I could as a 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 20. I thought I had the. At that moment I'm like I had the cheek to think that I was good enough to be one of these guys.
Speaker 1:They're a different level and that's when I've not why, as a parent, I give you those answers. I give you, yeah, because the sports are there as an important part of everyone's development. I think, as I'm not an academic Like I'm sure you can learn stuff from studying for hours and if you're into sort of physics and brilliant, but sports can teach. I know my kids a lot and that's why they're important to me and that's how I use them. And look, if I'm sat with a great sports player in one of these two kids down there, then it will be because of them. But I think it's teaching them things that are important and I think that as you go into big corporations and teams and you go and do your own thing, you realize all that and as you get to meet these people like I have, you realize that and it can Obviously knock down a lot of great barriers.
Speaker 1:I can tell you that all three of those guys at the end of that time and bail, like all of them, are like. I love what I said. Here's my number. Can you, can we call it? Can we help you? Pro got pro athletes just want to be spoken to in a way that is cut through the BS. Let's get this done, you know.
Speaker 2:One of the things that you say you made me think of a story. So my, as I mentioned earlier, my son's going through his college process and in that we had a red, a college essay, and His topic he chose was in lesson he learned at nine years old on the golf course. This is when he kind of he got into golf tournaments early and then said, I don't want to do anymore, I played baseball, got it back, and who then came back to it? But at nine years old I think it was an inner time. We're like this district tournament in eastern Washington and I don't realize. But when he's writing this he he wrote about how nervous I was as the dad.
Speaker 2:No, of course I was nervous because that golf parent like you can't they can't like go up there and talk shit to him and bang him the Chet, let's go. You know it's like you got to just like be quiet and when they struggle you have to just watch them struggle. It's so hard at least for me it was and he hits, hits. It's like I know back then you know, 300 yard hole, which is, you know, but not that far for us, but for kids that ages part good par 4 and bangs on the right side my kid good raffa tee with some play, and he hits a shot just right of the green like sweet, we're gonna get off it.
Speaker 2:Well, bogey at the worst here. He chips on close like 10 feet and it and him. He gets up there and he looks at his ball and he's looking at it and looking at he turns it, looks at again and I kind of from the side to see it, I'm like there's a big black mark. I'm like shit, that's not his ball. I'm like how did this happen? And it was, and it was like it was right where we went right and there's no reason why he would have hit the wrong ball. Way he hits the wrong ball.
Speaker 2:And now I'm like, right there now all of a sudden it's like the cartoons, the angels pop up my shoulders, the little devil's like just keep going, dude. And the angels like you better not frickin play this, you better own it. He better be truthful. And he walks up to the score, a guy and says, sir, I hit the wrong ball. I don't know what I should do now. And he wrote about that experience and it was like probably one of the more proud moments, him, because it's like thank God he's got character, thank God he's got integrity, thank God, like the eight years up to that, nine years up the my family, we taught him it's like now was you got put to the test and you passed, and shit. He's 17 years old. He's still remember that. Yeah, yeah, you know so huge, huge.
Speaker 1:It's a humbling game and that's the hard part about it like I remember being a kid, first tournament I played I just been playing with dad all the time and and you know he'd give you pots. If it was this, he'd be like, yeah, give you that. And remember I took it on 17, I was leading this thing by 10 Manette and because I was way, but I didn't play anything was way better than my handicap and I just took the pot and I'm like that good, like yeah, it's good. And then they're like no, you've got to finish it. So then he ended up making like a huge Penalty because of all that and I hadn't just picked the ball up, like I tapped it away and then tapped it again with the potter and walked to the edge of the green and Huge penalty for that and end up not winning that.
Speaker 1:And obviously you look back and you're like it is what it is. I mean you took it on the chin, but you at the time, your world is falling in and that's. I think that I watched something on Michael Jordan the other day and Someone was sort of say it was some social media thing, but they were just saying that Michael Jordan had the ability, more than any other athlete that they've been around, to stay in the present moment, no matter what, and if you can do that and I've not done that very well throughout my whole life If you can, I still struggle with it now. If you can do that, it's immense, because if you're worrying about the result and the outcome, you're in the future and if you're thinking negatively, you're in the past, because you're thinking of previous experiences where it didn't work out Mm-hmm. If you're in the present, though, it always works out and it, but it's so hard to do.
Speaker 3:It is that's what.
Speaker 1:All these breathing techniques and all that, it's all just to pull you into the present.
Speaker 2:Well, mindsets. I work on mindset a lot. I teach mindset to like business and sales leaders I I was lucky I work for I did some consulting work for for a short time called Limless Mind, which is Russell Wilson's company, and learned a lot about some neuroscience stuff and one of the couple of stats that really stood out to me a lot. They're really kind of slowed me down to realize like I've been doing visualization my whole life. I've been really focused on self-talk my whole life about being consciously competent about it. But as humans we have north of like thanks science, as I'm guessing you're like 80,000 thoughts a day. I know those thoughts, like north of 70 to 80 percent, are negative. So once you realize that you're okay, instead of like beating myself up I'm thinking that would kid, that's normal. But what can we do to kind of trigger the thought, trigger the mindset of how to get past them? So those are things as a dad I work on with my kids about. Like you know from my daughter I joke through like when you get on the basketball court, visualize you are a pit bull With a leash you haven't eaten in months and when I let this leash off, there's bunnies everywhere go get them and she's. She turns into the psycho and, like you know, my son wasn't as aggressive as that, but like trying the same thing, like one shot at a time.
Speaker 2:A golf mental coach taught us a great, a great, two powerful words called even though. And even though. For people at home, like what the hell does that mean? Well, think about it. Like you have a bad day at work, a bad day, a bad business in quarter, a bad sports game, I bad me, your bad days of dad. Well, you say to yourself, even though I wasn't my best, I'm still good at these three things. Even though I'm not, even though this didn't go like I wanted to, I'm still good at these three things. And allows you to kind of stay in the present moment. So I love you. You mentioned that trotty.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think definitely, you've just have the ability to get in that moment and stay in it. It's huge, yeah, I think, having the ability to do that. But I I don't know how, even now, at the age I am, there are certain things that happen, because there's more stuff that happens. There's more stuff that comes in as you get older, there's stuff that prioritizes over perhaps the sport that you play and you know, I don't know how you stay in the best state of you all the time, but I do know that my Third state, if gear one is my best and gear three is my Three down, then it's still pretty damn good, and if gear one shows up, no one's beating me. You know what I mean. It's, I know that, but it's a talent and and it's having the desire to stay in that area and try and learn from each time.
Speaker 1:I think, and that's what I'm trying to and I think, in all fairness, maybe I've given my old man a bit of a hard time here in the last 20 minutes as well.
Speaker 1:I think what I would say is that very thankful for a lot of the things that he ingrained in me, 100%. And I think that I saw something else on on the internet the other day that talked about, like your surroundings and the area you live in dictate the person you become. My north of England upbringing 100% shaped the way I am and then his desire to not accept the outcome for him because he was from a Far way out the way in the sticks place in South Wales where there's not much for many people. They're happy, but I mean they're happy because of what they have and he didn't want that and I think I Inherited that from him for sure. And then I inherited some of the local sort of chip on the shoulder vibe which has led me to where I am, which is, you say, and as I should realize, like living the dream for sure, for sure if you had to describe three words, the skill sets, mindsets, characteristics that your dad, mom, shaped you, that will be important for your kids.
Speaker 2:Tell me what comes to mind.
Speaker 1:Work ethics, which is to, I guess, or we could use it as one, but what work, you know? Um, I don't do this well and I wouldn't say it's been demonstrated to me, but I'm aware of it, and that's patience, and dad is. You know, that was through something that came to me through psychology and golf, and my old man would often say like patience, patience. So if we do like work, patience, and then I think desire would be the next one. Which did that? Come from my parents? Maybe it came from my dad. I think the lessons have all come from my dad. You know, the good stuff, the really great stuff that probably makes you a little bit happier was all from my mom. But I would still prioritize those three and I would say they'd come from my old man for sure. Like he just played a big part, I think, especially talking about it in this podcast. He played a much larger part maybe than sometimes I give him credit for, to be honest.
Speaker 2:And your dad's still with us.
Speaker 1:Yeah, he is, he is. He's actually sick at the moment, unfortunately, but he's hanging in there. Does he still get to play golf? He does, he's horrific, he's not good.
Speaker 2:Why are you letting him play Orla Mars? You should get him into TaylorMates, man.
Speaker 1:Maybe he should play Orla Mars. He might be better if he did.
Speaker 2:Uh-oh, so good, so good. Okay, I would love to dislike a couple stories before we get into lighting around some of your golf journey that took you around the world. Now you're independent, like you said, but you still work with. You got a great relationship, taylormate great relationship, a new relationship with SkyCatty. Maybe tell a story of your most like fun moment in this journey that, like when your kids get really older, they'll be like what dad that's so cool.
Speaker 1:This one on golf course moment would be. When I was, I was kind of realizing that I was just having a reality check. I was playing a really small event in the UK and I was doing well. I was like three off the space and there was a ruling that was done incorrectly and I knew it was wrong after I'd done it and I'd taken guidance off a playing partner Instead of being patient and waited for the rules official. We'd done the wrong thing. We then played two more holes. It was on my mind. Rules official was there. I asked the rules official. He confirmed it was wrong. I then turned to the guy that had advised me, the playing partner, and looking back, I was like I remember saying to him you knew that was wrong. Obviously much more aggressive than that. He was like I didn't, I didn't. Looking back, I actually think the guy was trying to get me dequeued, which is so not what you do in golf. No, I erupted on him and there was a friend of mine caddying for me at the time.
Speaker 1:That would be a very funny story. Not that it has any famous names in it, or just how not to handle, how to handle something and then how not to handle it how to be classy because you are aware the mistake has happened and it's not right. And then just how completely not to handle it on a golf course because you're too young, you're too frustrated, you're not clear with what you're doing and you're reacting in a very poor way. And 20 years on, that person will still remember the way that whole situation went down and probably think I'm an asshole as a result of that, Right. And so that's how to carry yourself and how not to carry yourself. There are a thousand and one stories similar to that of just golf and lessons learned on a golf course.
Speaker 1:So then, maybe one of the greatest ones was Martin Kimer. I tell this one quite a bit. Martin Kimer and the driver he was with a different company than TaylorMade he was. We went on to become world number one for the non-golfers here, and I had the confidence to build him a club that went on to be a huge part in this journey to being world number one, and I was advised by the guys in the States at the time that were running the company to leave him be, leave him alone, let him just get into his contract slowly. Don't put pressure on him, don't engage beyond friendly conversation with him and obviously I went against all that guidance and basically thought F you, I'm getting this guy into this club, I'm going to be the hero, I'm going to force the situation. I think I can help him. I can't watch this guy hit a golf shot that I think that golf club gives him. I'm going to give him what I think I can do. And absolutely nailed it. And he went on three weeks later to win his first major.
Speaker 1:And I think that story is important because I just had the belief to be like I'm not going to do what I'm getting told to do when I know that what I can do is better than what I'm getting told to do. And I think that all stories, all athletes, have a stage like that. It's when you maybe I've watched something with Tom Brady the other day on the internet and him saying how he would get two throws in practice and he basically was bummed about getting two throws and other quarterbacks were getting like 11 and 15 in the practice session and he'd get two plays and someone said to him like play those two as if it's the Super Bowl final. And then the next week he got four and the next week he got eight and for me, like that in my career was a huge moment, because if I'd have not engaged in that and not got it done and just followed the line, I'd have never have been sat here in Carlsbad talking to you so that's how important that moment was I just went for it.
Speaker 1:And confidence again, we touched on that patience because I'd waited for the right time, and belief that you're going to get it done. And it was yet no brainer, so that would be one that you can learn from.
Speaker 2:So good, so good, so powerful. Those are stories that I think kids and dads can learn from and still believe. Have patience. My dad rest in peace.
Speaker 2:Trotty was he could drop the best, most intentional, powerful goddammit at me, goddammit, casey. And it was so powerful and like you're giggling now I would giggle and my sister and it'd be. We would like do something stupid, like throwing fricking eggs at a house or wrestling, doing acting like idiots, and but my dad would just lose his bananas, fricking, go, freak out, voted us, and then when he would start dropping GD bombs on us, we would just start laughing more, which made him go further ballistic. And now we're like, oh shit, we're going to get fricking DDT, it's going to be a WWF match here, and then he would start laughing eventually, but like God, he would right before he like passed away. I was just like telling those stories and we were laughing.
Speaker 2:And so, pops, if you're up there, we're living your, you're living through your brother's show with the GD bomb. Okay, if people want to learn how to follow, I'm sure they already know, but if they don't and they want to learn more about trotty golf, they want to learn more about what you're doing with Taylor, me and Skycat and any other cool brand you're supporting. Tell me what's the best way people can follow you.
Speaker 1:Instagram and YouTube at trottygolf T-R-O-T-T-I-E-G-O-L-Fcom is also the website, and that'd be the best areas. I'm obviously on TikTok as well, but YouTube is probably where I'm going to focus a lot of the attention the next year and a half. A lot of good stuff, a lot of educational stuff, all based around golf equipment. At the end of the day, I've worked with the best players in the game for the last 20 years, so it's aimed at anyone who's a mediocre golfer through to the best in the game, and it's obviously centered around. There's a lot of TaylorMade product in there, but that's for good reason. They're a great company and then the other companies that I partner with on this content. It's all very educational stuff. So, yeah, that's where you can find it, love it.
Speaker 2:I've seen him give a clinic everybody when I was at the kingdom. It was fantastic and it was a football perspective audible already. Like had a couple of thoughts and just was engaging and all level of players, and so take him up on that advice. It's content you can see every Tuesday, two or truck Tuesday, but make sure we follow him on YouTube. All right, sir, it's now time to go into the lightning round which I go random on you. You're going to see the effects of a guy taking too many hits not bomb hits, but football hits in the head and I'm going to ask you just crazy, random questions. I have not prepared any of these things. Your job is to answer them as quickly as you can. My job is to try to get a giggle at you. Okay, I'm ready. I'm ready. Okay, true or false? You once beat Brooks Kepke in arm wrestling False, definitely false. Okay, got a giggle, I'm not.
Speaker 1:I could have lied, but you're 100% false.
Speaker 2:Who would win in a race, you or Dwayne? Oh me for sure He'd probably pull a hammy.
Speaker 1:He'd pull a hammy walking up to the start line.
Speaker 2:Who would win in a wrestling match, you or Manly?
Speaker 1:Me because I cheat, I think and do something, although he's pretty nasty as well. He'd be close. I'd be a good arm wrestle, but me still.
Speaker 2:All right, If I went into your phone right now and listened to and pulled up like one of the last songs played. What song would surprise people that you listened to?
Speaker 1:Well, my kids get hold of it. So Taylor Swift Swiftie, because my daughters are Swiftie and I am not Swiftie. So yeah, that.
Speaker 2:Okay, if I was to come to your house for dinner tonight, what would we have?
Speaker 1:If I knew I would be cooking and which, by the way, is a good thing my wife's not a good cook, she'll kill me for saying that. So I would be cooking and we would have something that would be quite spicy and I'd probably do my best to get. I love Indian food. So hard to cook here in America it's done so well in the UK. I do my best to find some form of spicy food with an Indian twist on it if I could. But if I didn't know what you like that much, I'd just go with hot food, spicy, and maybe tame it a bit. I might even send you a text before. Can you handle this, or do you need me to calm it?
Speaker 2:down. Well, please calm it down, because I don't want to ring a fire the next morning.
Speaker 1:So yes, and then I'd probably default and get the grill out and just do something.
Speaker 2:I can do a couple of stars but like the north of five it might be a little rough walk the next day.
Speaker 1:We've traveled a lot to the UK with a lot of Americans and when we get there straight up in the Middle East with a lot of Americans and Asia with a lot of Americans, and obviously I'm well traveled, so it's like any food anywhere. All the Asian guys are like you eat pretty hot food for a white guy. And I'm like yeah, yeah, don't work for a round eye. I'm like don't worry about me, guys, let's go wherever. And the only thing I refused was in Korea, at the Korean Open. We were eating these things and they looked like calamari, but not breaded, just a fresh calamari. And then you'd put your hand into the jar, you'd pick them up with your fingers and you were drinking it with a beer and a strong alcohol and you basically, when you picked it up, it would wiggle and move, put it in, it would latch, yet to wait until it latched onto your throat and then you had to neck the alcohol because that would kill it and wash it off and it was a delicacy.
Speaker 2:I was like I'm going to go hard pass.
Speaker 1:Trotty, I had one, but just like after that I was like guys, this is not good. And then I found this thing called Sam Jam with Korean barbecue pork belly. So bad for you, so good. Sam Jam was maybe the hottest thing I'd ever had. And the boys were like, oh, you really like that Sam Jam? I was like, yeah, I regretted that Sam Jam for about six days, but man, it was nice, it was good food.
Speaker 2:I've stepped into a Slim Jam, but I think it's a different thing than a Sam Jam. Yeah, it was good. It was good Korean food, it's good. Okay. If you were to book a vacation right now no kids, where are you and your wife going? Baldives, for sure, fantastic. Okay. If there was to be a book written about your life, tell me the title.
Speaker 1:It's hard because everything would have a swear word and it would be extremely abusive A book written about my life? That's a great question, hard to answer quickly. I think I'd determined Okay, I would write it.
Speaker 2:Okay. Now Trotty, determined, is crushing it. Every airport is picking it up, every bookstore, and now Hollywood has found out about this and we're going to make a movie out of it. And I need to know, as you are now the casting director, who is going to star Trotty in this critically acclaimed, hit new movie that's just crushing it in Hollywood Decaprio. Oh, I like it, I like it.
Speaker 1:I like Tom Hanks and Decaprio, so that's an easy one, decaprio.
Speaker 2:But Hanks would take a second. Sorry, Tommy you just lost.
Speaker 1:This is a bit too old, unfortunately, Otherwise I'd love him I think he's too tall too. Oh yeah, definitely too tall, but Decaprio would work for sure.
Speaker 2:I like it. Okay, and then last word, last question.
Speaker 1:Tell me two words that describe your wife Heart, and I was going to say beautiful, but heart. It should be like, don't call me that. And loyal.
Speaker 2:So good, so good. So when the game is over, I giggle probably more as the host, I think, so I'll give you the dub Congratulations. I wish you'd get a free t-shirt. If I don't have one, I do have a. I will send you something when we're done here, but I want to say thanks for spending time with us today. I want to say thanks to our friends at Latitude Sica for supporting this podcast since really day one, and if you've not been to Alaska, I would encourage you to go up to Sica and go to a place called Latitude Sica. They have this island. I went there in June. Fantastic spot, all these cool cabins. You can fish, you can take hikes, you can have some soda pops, you can just actually Jared Hoffman went there with me. There you go.
Speaker 2:Yeah that's Jared, but without further ado, I'll make sure these are all tagged in the show notes. I want to say thanks again for spending time with your brother and hope our paths continue to cross. But appreciate you spending time with me today.
Speaker 1:Really good. Thank you so much for having me on and I wish you all the best for the podcast and everything else. Doing a great job. Thank you, bye.