My Golf Source
Attention Golf Enthusiasts! Level up your golf game with hosts Darren Penquite and Noah Horstman, PGA as they keep you up to date on the latest trends, equipment, training aids and more. Learn tips and tricks from PGA Professionals to lower your score and grow your love for the game of golf.
My Golf Source
Beyond Par: The College Golf Life
Darren and Noah explore the evolving balance between training and entertainment at Golf Garage, while celebrating college golfer Kira Chang's remarkable achievements and growth as a team leader.
• Golf Garage's expansion from training facility to entertainment destination with sushi restaurant and Smashburger concept
• Importance of collaborative partnerships in creating unique member benefits and business growth
• Tournament season challenges with extreme heat and the value of choosing fun playing partners
• Kira Chang's journey from introvert to team leader and her impressive conference championship performance
• The power of confidence and visualization in putting improvement using Tour Putt technology
• Upcoming events including putter fittings, golf ball comparisons, and a break 80 challenge between Darren and Noah
We'd love to have you join us for our member event on Wednesday from 5:30-6:30 at Golf Garage where we'll be hosting a cocktail party with complimentary ball fittings from our professionals.
Welcome to the my golf source podcast. Welcome to my golf source. I am Darren and I'm Noah. How's your week been?
Speaker 3:It's been busy, buddy.
Speaker 2:I stayed here till midnight last night working. I was here at like four o'clock and he said yeah, no. I called you at 3.30 and said I'm on my way down there, you're like, I won't be here, I'm going home. And you were here when I got here at four o'clock.
Speaker 3:I know it's the life of an entrepreneur, apparently, which is something exciting that you're doing. You got another podcast.
Speaker 2:We are. That's awesome we are. It's called the unfiltered founders. It's a little um little less polite podcast, but if you haven't heard about it, check it out.
Speaker 3:That's awesome Congrats. Yeah, you're doing that. Co-host is another local guy.
Speaker 2:Andy Baker yeah yeah, good friend of mine too. Super cool guy, member here at the golf garage as well.
Speaker 3:Yes, he is, and his kiddos have done youth golf, I guess with Toby probably pretty much, since Toby's played a few years at least a few years so yeah, that's awesome.
Speaker 2:Um tournament season is in full swing. Oh my gosh.
Speaker 3:You're playing this weekend and it's supposed to be 104 degrees.
Speaker 2:Yeah, not in the golf garage, it's not 70 degrees, it will be.
Speaker 3:Yeah, we're playing at seven, 30 in the morning, thank goodness.
Speaker 2:Oh my gosh, you got a good tea time.
Speaker 3:We got the good tea time and and I I just start thinking about when I play golf. I want to play golf with the fun people I want to play in good events.
Speaker 3:I used to always just do whatever anyone wanted, right? Hey, I need you to play with me in this and that. And as a golf pro, you just kind of feel like you've got to play with your students and all of it, especially when you're at a private club. And and now, um, you know time's so valuable you start thinking about how much fun you really want to have on the golf course. Or is it going to be a lesson the whole time? You know?
Speaker 2:two weeks ago we played in the um local uh military support tournament and, uh, my buddy, steve first, was on the team, who's been on the podcast. He's the CEO of David's Chair and we had Kukula with us.
Speaker 3:Oh yeah, How'd that go?
Speaker 2:He won the long drive. Nice, it was a scramble. We shot a 59. That's good. At Stone Ridge, and then last week we played in the David's Chair tournament. Evan was on the team. Yes, he's a solid golfer too. Man, he's yeah, he's just an athlete Taking leaps and bounds in his skills month over month. We shot a 56, but we bought a couple of her scores.
Speaker 3:As long as you don't tell Ryan you bought your score and you just, you know, let Evan rub that salt in the wound a little bit that he got him by two. That's all that matters, because when we played out at Stone Ridge and the Southern Oregon sports commission, we shot 48. Wow, yeah, that's a big score, it's. It was uh incredible. But same thing, you know, mulligan, a person you know, I think it was like throw the ball One mulligan on the front, nine, one mulligan on the back, nine.
Speaker 2:At the David's, your tournament on hole one, par five, if you paid a hundred 140 bucks. So I donated 140 bucks and we were hitting our first shot from seven feet out from the pin oh, do you make it?
Speaker 3:yes nice, yeah, so there was a group that did the throw on the first hole and I heard they got a hole in one on the first hole because somebody was hitting the drive. So it counted as zero if you paid him something right and then they threw their ball up there close to the green, which didn't count as a stroke, and then they chipped it in for a one.
Speaker 2:Goodness, yeah, that's how we did. Par five, whole one. We we had a one.
Speaker 3:So that goes into a lot of entertainment value. And it's something I'm really curious about, because I built golf garage specifically as a training facility. It was 15 years of just man, I want to teach golf.
Speaker 2:I'm sure it's fun for a training facility, I know.
Speaker 3:How did that happen? And I know, and it wasn't even part of the plan. And so now you look at it and all the families and all the kids and all the coaches and it just seems like there's such a balance of training and entertainment and I'm trying to figure that out in the coming years of like where's that balance going to shift and how do I get ahead of that balance in the golf industry, because this is such a new being for golf?
Speaker 2:you know, getting getting ahead of the balance is a good thing, but also just letting it take its own shape oh, without question is important too.
Speaker 3:And I mean, look, don't you think that it is right? I mean, we're putting the sushi sushi like pop up in that now is turning into a full time restaurant. You know, chef Ethan's done two pop ups here now. Well, three days of pop ups and we're building out a bar. He's going to be here full timetime. He's going to be doing this as his full-time job, which is amazing. And then we're proving a concept right now with a Smashburger, because our area has McDonald's and Burger King and Fast Food joints all over the place, right, and all the mom and pops have. Just, you know, they didn't have anybody take over for them.
Speaker 2:I mean they have come on, give In they didn't have anybody take over for them. I mean they have come on, give it in and out, and five guys some credit.
Speaker 3:But there's still it's still a chain. It's still a chain right. So, the consistency of the food is there, but it's not something that is handmade by somebody that cares enough. That's getting that quality meat that's going out and finding the right potato behind that tastes with it Right. So ultimately, you know we're going to be the place in town for the burger, we're going to be the place in town for the top quality sushi, the freshest ingredients, and it goes hand in hand with what Golf Garage is anyway.
Speaker 2:We're the pitcher of beer and 18 holes of golf in air conditioning In Australia, yes, or Scotland, wherever you want to be, yeah in the next day, let's just go place to place.
Speaker 3:You know, the other thing, too, that's really unique about this type of a facility is I used to be a tournament director at Centennial Golf Club up the road, so the year it opened. Another pro is over at Stone Ridge, vince Domanzine started Centennial with OB Sports and I was brought in as an assistant golf professional. Didn't know a thing. I worked in the golf industry since I was 12, but working behind the counter is a little different and you know, what's unique about it is you're trying to collaborate with everybody, and at a golf course you can only collaborate so much in season because you're bound by what the weather's going to allow you to do. Um and so here it's really unique.
Speaker 3:I just had three hotel general managers come in and talk to me, cause I saw them at that Southern Oregon sports commission tournament and I made a bet with them that if I knocked it on the green on the par four and one down the Hill on number four, that I'd get a free hotel nights stay. And I did nearly do it. It actually kicked over, hit the rake and kicked off the green. If the rake wasn't there I would have. So they all come in unannounced and they're they're trying to talk about a collaboration One's in Eugene, one's in band and one's here talking about expanding golf garage and then also talking about how we can help each other. And I was just like man, this is so cool. And I started, you know, kind of going through the things that I could help them with and how we could do golf trips, and I said would you discount your room rates if I put you on our website for our members? So now when our members go to your town, they're going to call you before any other hotel. That's a win.
Speaker 2:It's that saying it's not what you know. Yeah, it's who you know.
Speaker 3:Indeed, yeah, and that was just a lucky one, right, but it's that constant I want to partner with everybody. Mentality that's going to grind this out and make this a really unique spot for the members, and that's what I'm trying to do is even the members get a dollar off the burger. They get a dollar or two off sushi, the food truck. I told them they need to do a discount for members. Like when do we get a dollar off for next?
Speaker 2:pint of beer tonight.
Speaker 3:Okay, simley, you got it, man, it's, I got you, so it's it's pretty good. Um, you know, kind of switching it up a little bit. We had a really really good season at SOU, so you had your awards banquet last night? We did, and you know we had some team photos the night before last. Yeah, so we had our. Yeah, so we did a team event only at golf garage and had this awesome charcuterie board.
Speaker 3:That was good Gourmet hostess shout out for her. She just rocked it and now because of that, um, I don't want to give the cat out of the bag, but there's going to be a little gift, another gift for our members on the one year that gourmet hostess is going to bring to the table, and it's not edible. So I'm really excited about the gift that keeps on giving gourmet hostess.
Speaker 3:It's not edible I know it's, I know I know. So you'll just have to be here on 7-11 and get that gift, since you're a member um cocktail party that night. So it was really fun and we thank you for those photos. You may. You just take awesome photos.
Speaker 3:Obviously you know the one of uh, thanks yeah and and just you know, taking the photos, the golf garage too. So so shout out for you, buddy, um, but we had our uh end of the year party for all of athletics. So this was national championship, for softball was rowdy, you know, it's like who cheered the most at a game like that, you know, honestly. And then you have your all voted upon by your peers and the staff of you know athletes of the year for each sport. But what was unique was they had a raffle going on in between, and Western beverage, which is like Budweiser, and you know the beer company donated all of this stuff. So it was pretty funny to see, you know, all the kids that are under 21, if they win a raffle prize, and three of the golfers won raffle prizes and it has a beer logo oh man yeah.
Speaker 2:Whiskey logos yeah yeah.
Speaker 3:I think, uh, the coolest raffle prize was won by Oliver Oslin. He got a uh, tito's cooler no, he got a Bush cowboy hat or something like that. It was kind of funny, um. But no, I mean in all seriousness, super excited. I mean we had three all conference this year. Um, you know, and I think that moving forward, we had two more that were literally within one stroke to three strokes, so like 0.00, whatever, and scoring average. So in that tournament, only if they would have dropped one to three strokes, we would have had two more all conference. So we're really moving up the ranks in the CCC and it's all done by leadership. It's. It's helpful when you have a golfer or golfers that are shooting the scores. It makes recruiting so much easier and we have one of those leaders with us here tonight. Kira Chang, welcome back to the my Golf Source podcast.
Speaker 1:Thank you for having me.
Speaker 3:We're so excited to have you, kira, again, yeah, again, and I'm really excited to hear what you have to say about how you finish the season.
Speaker 2:She's a lot less nervous this time and just seems more relaxed.
Speaker 1:I am relaxed, school's almost over yeah.
Speaker 2:I'm going to get smart. You told me how many more finals do you have? Two, two in person. And then it's done.
Speaker 1:Then we're done.
Speaker 2:Back to SoCal.
Speaker 3:Yep, all right, it's exciting. What is the first thing you're going to do when you go to SoCal?
Speaker 1:Play golf.
Speaker 3:Yes, yes.
Speaker 2:It's not just because I'm on this right now. I mean she was prepared for that question apparently All right.
Speaker 3:Well then, I'm going to ask this question because, uh, in a year's time you've gone from I'd say, mediocre introvert to you're kind of finding your own way right now. You're not afraid to speak the way you need to, You're not afraid to ask for things, You're becoming a leader, a very good leader, not only by example, but you know in everything you do. So what's the change? How did it happen?
Speaker 1:I would say from new, the new girls coming on. That was a big change, especially them being younger and closer to age, and me and our other teammates. I feel like we could bond a little better and I began to find myself, began to find myself and, yeah, overall, just new experiences has definitely shaped me too being around better people, more people, and yeah, just yeah.
Speaker 2:So what are you going to miss? Most about college golf. The people yeah, Just yeah. So what are you going to miss most about college golf?
Speaker 1:The people yeah, yeah, I would say that's awesome.
Speaker 3:So you had a heck of a run going down the stretch in conference, darren, and I've talked about this on the podcast a little bit, how we were kind of waiting to see if you were going to nationals, and that's an exciting thing and that's congratulations. Um, I don't say it to you enough, probably because I'm always trying to just keep you going, but it's a big feat and if you're ever in that situation, um, there's butterflies and there's nerves and there's all sorts of things and it's out of your control, right, just like golf in a way.
Speaker 3:you know it's out of your control on right, just like golf in a way you know it's out of your control on if the ball deflects and goes in the water and what you do with it. So I've seen this so many times where people do not persevere after certain instances happen and oddly enough, I felt like your spring was a good season, but I don't think you absolutely crushed it and then you start out shooting the first round 10 over par, Like you were in the middle of the pack of all the ladies and I want you to tell us about rounds two and three and how you came back and what happened there.
Speaker 1:Yeah, after the first round it was a little disappointing, but I knew that it wasn't over yet. I still had two more days of golf which a lot can happen in between and I knew that all I had to do was just finish strong and that's just about what I could do. And yeah, I knew going into the second day that it wasn't over and I still had a lot more opportunities out there and I just kept grinding and I typically know that I play better the second or third day, depending how long the tournament is. So after the first day I knew the course already and I knew what mistakes I made in the first day and I wasn't going to repeat them the second and third day.
Speaker 2:You got it out of your system.
Speaker 1:Exactly and I knew what shots I had to hit and which spots to avoid, and that definitely helped with my scores and I just overall I felt super comfortable. My ball striking was super good, I was the most confident I've probably ever been, super good, I was the most confident I've probably ever been throughout the whole season and I just, yeah, I have carried that energy and feeling with me ever since and now I know what it's like to play in that environment.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and so it's funny when you say that you stayed out of trouble spots, because I remember rolling up on you and you were in the most odd situation I've seen you. I think you had a good drive, so I wasn't even thinking about driving up on you too quickly and I thought your ball was up on the green. So I'm just nonchalantly walking up and then all of a sudden I see you disappear over the back of the green. And this is like the one green. You don't go long on the pins, three feet from the edge, back edge, and it's about a 30 foot drop off down into pine straw and trees.
Speaker 3:And here's Kira under this tree in pine straw and you know she'd come off some good up and downs and a few things happen. She's kind of like in that, that phase of like. Maybe I'm not hitting it real close on these holes, but I'm getting up and downs and a few things happen. She's kind of like in that, that phase of like. Maybe I'm not hitting it real close on these holes, but I'm getting up and down. So I'm still grinding and I'm feeling good about my game, but this is one of those, a double or triple bogeys looking at you in the face. If you don't pull the shot off, I know what that feels like I'm there all the time.
Speaker 3:I took video of this shot that we will post. It was one of the most remarkable shots I've ever been a part of and to the fact that I got to help coach you through it. I still get goosebumps and I think about that shot when I want to pull something good off. So, going through that shot, you know what I'm talking about, right, I do. Will you walk us through that shot and how we kind of went through that scenario? Cause I think you were thinking differently than what we when I paced it off and kind of talked to you through it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean I got there because I was put in that situation because of myself. I had a lapse of judgment with my distance and I wasn't thinking too clearly and I kind of just pulled a club that I shouldn't have and I hit it at the back of the green.
Speaker 2:I'm going for the back of the green.
Speaker 1:Yeah, exactly, and I peered my shot so that I mean it didn't really help with that. So I end up like 15 yards, like past the green, and I'm like, oh my gosh, this is awful, I have no green to work with, it's straight uphill. I can't even see the hole or the green in general, barely the flag. Yeah, exactly, and you came over to me and you just you were very calm, which calmed me down too, and you walked me through the shot and you had such a clear vision of what you wanted me to pull off and I was confident that I could pull it off as well, because we had pulled off a pretty tricky shot before, even before that one, and so I felt, I felt pretty comfortable doing whatever you wanted me to do and I did it and I pulled it off, and then I still had about eight feet left for par, but I was putting so good that day that I it wasn't even, it didn't even occur to me that.
Speaker 2:I can miss it. You're 15 feet down. You're 50 feet off of the green. You're in big trouble. The pin, you have no green to work with and you put it within eight feet.
Speaker 3:Yeah, awesome, she had this punch shot into the side of the hill that pops straight up and almost flies into the hole with some check on it and goes to eight feet.
Speaker 2:See, that's where it takes a pro to say hit the bad stuff in front and let it bounce up there where people like me are like I want to put it up there and drop it just barely onto the green and it's such a precise shot that it's not realistic. And there was a tree branch in her way.
Speaker 1:Yeah, if Noah hadn't been there I probably would have done something a lot different. That would have cost me at least a double bogey. But I miraculously walked away with a par and even my parents came up to me after the round and they were like we for sure thought you were at least going to get a bogey. I'm like yeah, so did I.
Speaker 2:But Noah said not today yeah.
Speaker 3:Well, you pulled it off. That's awesome. And it's interesting because you put a lot in that story and it's sometimes lucky that a coach can stumble upon a player when they're in a situation, because when you're out there and there's five to six of your golfers, depending on the event, and they could be two miles apart from each other and you don't know why they made double bogey, but the scorecard popped up and then you get up there and all of a sudden they're back on track. But if you go up and say, hey, is everything okay? Well, then all of a sudden their thought process changes. So every player's mindset is so different that it's unique.
Speaker 3:When you have 20 golfers between two teams, you have to get to know those mindsets really quickly. To know who to run up on who to see if they're on tilt. You know give quickly. To know who to run up on who to see if they're on tilt. You know give them an extra hole, don't just rush over because you saw something good or bad and sometimes it's the good that you're actually paying attention to and you're like, okay, well, they're playing a little out of their comfort zone. How do I go get them comfortable going lower Right and keep that motivation up.
Speaker 3:And so for Kira it was just literally um know, made a couple mistakes coming down the stretch and I would say like, oddly enough, that was a great up and down. And then there was a couple blemishes on the scorecard on some scorable holes and then she gets up on the second to last hole, which is a par five, and hits his awesome drive down the right center. But that wasn't even the shot. She knocks three wood or five wood onto the green to like 20 feet and proceeds to lip that out for Eagle. So she was never done.
Speaker 3:You know like you make two bogeys and all of a sudden you do that, you know, and then you end up shooting under par again, you know. So now you've got two rounds this last season that were under par. So you know you can do it everywhere and you've accomplished your goal. I think that's really the unique part about it. You could have been upset about that round and gone back through and said, well, I could have shot 66, but that's not the point. You ended up finishing top four in conference and you beat the number one and the number eight player in the country.
Speaker 1:Congratulations that week, thank you.
Speaker 3:So no, it just shows that you can play with anybody and beat anybody, and that's just where she is right now.
Speaker 2:Awesome, you got a big future ahead of you.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think so.
Speaker 2:So when you land your first job in the golf industry in Southern California, you're going to have to come back on the podcast.
Speaker 3:Yeah, from there, there, we can do it by phone and yeah, I'd love to problem that she's going to be traveling playing a lot, so maybe you're just practicing California but you're traveling to Texas to play.
Speaker 2:I mean she can still connect with us by phone.
Speaker 3:Absolutely.
Speaker 2:Love that.
Speaker 3:Hey, you know what's funny too, Darren, what she was on my team when we shot 48. What, yeah Go partner Her putter was in Fuego that day too. I don't think I only putted twice, but how about the?
Speaker 2:where was it? Where was that?
Speaker 3:At Stone Ridge. Wow, yeah, did. Did I tell you, I think I talked about the bet? You were there for the bet, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:Oh, tj Holmes was getting lippy with me. You know, tj, he's in the group ahead of us and we're on the 16th green and I'm last to putt and he watches everyone miss it. And I'm up over the ball and he's like 10 bucks, you miss. I'm just like make it 30. I immediately respond he's just like no, no, no, he starts driving. I'm like all right, we'll make it 30. Cause he's like 10 bucks, nope. So then I get over it again. He's like 20. I said 30. And he says he starts driving. I'm about to putt and he's like okay, 30.
Speaker 3:I was like okay, and I stepped back because I I thought I was going to make it anyway. I was just kind of waiting for him to like get it. And it wasn't an easy putt by any means. It was 15 feet. I had about 18 inches of break from right to left, but I had seen three before me and I was reading it for them and they just didn't quite hit the spot that I was giving them. Anyway, I get up there three feet from the hole, I walk it in and it snapped about that 18 inches, the last three feet, so I don't know.
Speaker 2:I mean, we talked about that at the end too just about the confidence and the self-belief in the game, because you always talk about the game being hard. That's the thing about scrambles, though, is you have so much data that you otherwise wouldn't have watching your teammates do putts. You, you know there's, there's really. No, I don't see. I don't think we missed any putts inside of 15 feet. Yeah, between the four of us. It's impressive because we can see, see the line.
Speaker 3:Yeah there's a sense of I take that back.
Speaker 2:There was one eagle putt that we had. It was about 12 feet. We had it was about 12 feet and two of us lipped it just barely, barely missed it and we used the mulligan on that. And the first person who used the mulligan made it so nice.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's, it's interesting too. I don't feel like there's the same kind of pressure as if you're by yourself. You know, I think that mentally, especially amateurs put that on themselves, that you know I've got to get it back on the next hole when you have 17 more to go and you're like, well, that guy's not going to play very good and there's something to be said for the mindset of, you know, having a really, really bad first couple of holes to be going.
Speaker 3:Hey, I got that out of my way, I'm done now, so Kira how did you learn to play the game, who did you, how did you start the game and why?
Speaker 1:I used to play, like you're talking about golf, right when you started golf. Yeah, I used to play softball before I played golf, but my brother was the first one to play in our family and one day my parents just asked me if I wanted to try it out and go play with my brother. And I don't know why, but I just loved it. For some reason I was just like drawn to it and I was like this is a lot of fun and I was a naturally far hitter. So I was like if I can automatically hit it far and just dial up my short game, then I could be decent. And I mean, obviously I'm still grinding and working and lots of more steps to go, but you know it's all been such a fun process that's led me here.
Speaker 2:So and being a far hitter. That that brings up the point. You know, golf pros always talk about putting and chipping. Putting and chipping that's your most important thing, which has a lot of truth. But playing in a scramble playing, playing with somebody who can hit the ball 330 yards I'll tell you what. It makes the game a whole lot easier to start hitting greens in regulation when somebody can hit hit a big drive it really does.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and one of the biggest disadvantages in women's golf is their distance, so I feel like I was pretty blessed with being able to hit it far.
Speaker 2:So the pga tour plays at what?
Speaker 3:74, 7500 yards depends on the course, anything over 7 000 up000 up to 76. Sometimes. Lpga uh, they're in that, 63 up to seven, depending on where that's still.
Speaker 2:that's a lot, that's a lot of yardage.
Speaker 3:Yeah, but it is still doing.
Speaker 2:You know, 560 yard par fives, 600 yard par fives.
Speaker 3:Yeah, the ladies, once in a a while we'll get something up there in that 540, 550 in like an open um. You know, when you break down yardages just depends on course setup right, they can make it one hole really long and then a couple of them really short to even it out. Yeah, I mean kira's definitely right on. I mean she's a great putter but she drives it so good. You know finding a lot of fairways when you're hitting it 270 to 300 is awesome right.
Speaker 3:That is a good position to show you can go play with the on on the tour. Honestly, because if you're hitting it that far and you're hitting in the fairway, on tour fairways it's going more than 300 than two. So that's really exciting stuff. And I know that in a recruiting standpoint or in a coaching standpoint, it's a lot easier to coach somebody that can already hit it far, because everyone else is always searching for that distance. Therefore, they're swinging harder than their ability. Therefore, you're always trying to get them to hone back in until they can create the proper technique to get that or go out and work out harder. And now, when you're working out harder, you got to have the right trainer or you're going to injure yourself.
Speaker 2:Right Indeed and and playing and playing with a big hitter I I found there was a lot of clubs in my bag that I would normally use, that I don't use. Yeah, you know, my long irons were kind of out, because if you hit a big drive you're only a nine iron in on a par four.
Speaker 3:Welcome to my world, right? So good, hey, so we've got some fun stuff coming up too. It'll be fun to get maybe Kira involved sometime too. Maybe she'll come out and coach you a little bit. That'll be fun. But I'm thinking, kira, I don't know if you know this, but we are going to start videotaping Darren's game. I'm going to teach him Basically. We're going to try to break 80.
Speaker 2:I shot an 83 in Simlick last week.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so we're going to go full putt out on golf course and we started with a little bit of chipping and there was a realization of what the club was supposed to do by Darren, and he's a little more excited now to probably get out there and do it. So our goal is we're looking at probably eight to 10 weeks of this and we're going to report back on all this as we go. We're going to videotape some of it, um, but that's the challenge and I mean I think again, if I get you to do this, I want to steak dinner deal. Yeah, you got to make it, though.
Speaker 3:You bet, that's the only way, no, kiss the cook like clothing or anything like that. No, no, awesome, yeah, no, it's, it's going to be really good and um.
Speaker 2:I'll do brisket.
Speaker 3:I need that. What are we pairing it with?
Speaker 2:Oh, good question. What's for dessert? I don't't know, that's something I asked my wife hey.
Speaker 3:So the other thing that's kind of exciting up and coming for both of us too, is that you're going to be producing some videos, um, for the local tv station. Also, I'm going to teach one of the anchors and it's a new golfer and how to improve. So it's going to be really unique to get.
Speaker 2:First set break 100, then break 90.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:Can you go from 105 to 85 in 90 days?
Speaker 3:Well, maybe it's even nine holes, maybe it's break 60, and then it's break 50, right?
Speaker 2:Speaking of that, we just started the OP 36 program again.
Speaker 3:OP 36 is awesome, so much fun, I shot a 27. Yeah, but you missed awards. We had a certificate for you.
Speaker 2:You know, we were the first tee time and we were done early and we waited for about five minutes and then we said peace out.
Speaker 3:Yes, yes, you did.
Speaker 2:Speaking of that, and we said peace out. Yes, yes, you did. Speaking of that, my I, I'm, I'm extremely encouraged with my putting. Lately my putting's been on point um. I've avoided all three putts, even if I've on centennial screens where I can have a 70 foot putt. You know, absolutely, I've been, I've been, I've been putting well, I've been making a lot of putts that have been in the 8 to 15 foot range. So if I can keep everything at a 1 or a 2 putt, I'm excited to see where the score can go. We get the long irons and driver and everything else in place.
Speaker 3:I have a question for you, kira. I've never asked you this. What do you think about tour putt and what do you think the advantages are of that here, since you get to use it whenever you want?
Speaker 1:I can tell you that about um two weeks before conference championships up in portland, um, every time I practiced putting I was using the tour putt. And I say I can contribute my putting to the tour putt because it allowed me to visualize my putts so much better and see it going in the hole. And especially with those short putts, it's super easy to misread them and, um just yeah, just miss them. But I felt really really confident with my like three to six footers and those are the putts that you, you need to make.
Speaker 3:So well, I got to tell you I was doing a putter fitting yesterday for somebody and the putter fitting software is so cool because it's all about start line and it's about distance control. So start line would be your aim and how you deliver the club um for it to go where you want it to go. And distance controls are arguably the most important thing that we look at in putting. And I'm I'm watching this woman that I teach and she told me how bad she putted and she shot 84 with like seven, three putts and she's like 15 handicaps. I'm like, wow, you're getting better. This is great. So we go over to the tour putt. I put her on it.
Speaker 3:Nothing has to go on your putter, which is so cool, so there's no weight changes when you're doing the fitting process and she starts out and I'm just watching her leave everything short, especially when you go uphill, so it forces you to go 3% uphill trying to get good speed, and she's just like short, short, short, one long, but way long, short, short, short, way long.
Speaker 3:And I'm just like, okay, so she's fixing something at a fault to make it go long and everything. She's adding loft and I'm just like, hey, you know, I know we're not done with the process yet and I'm watching all this, but because of the way that the test is done you can kind of get an idea already that that putter is not going to fit. I said, hey, your putter is not going to fit you without giving her too much. And I said your putter is too light for you. Number one you know just from watching what was happening and then seeing it and knowing how she kind of hits it. And then we went through the test and we gave her a putter that was so much heavier and immediately the ball started getting there right. But then we changed lie angle and a few other things too, and then it gave you preferences on the sight line. It gives you the style, the weight to a gram it gives you the you know the neck design like it's.
Speaker 3:It's so cool. Um, it also gives you preferences, so it gives you three different putters usually that it recommends based on the putting style of the player, and then, um, it's up to the pro to decide. Well, I got a text that night and she was extremely excited because of how well she was putting. She went right out with it. Luckily, I had a putter that I could sell her. Um, cause sell her? Because it was awesome to see, awesome. So those are the things that are cool and why technology can help you and, kira, I'm glad it helped you as well and really excited for you to get home to see your family and get some rest, and I know that you're going to not rest that much. But at the same time, when we get back here, you're going to be the leader and and everyone's chasing you. You just keep moving forward and extending those leads. I'm looking forward to it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm excited.
Speaker 2:Congratulations.
Speaker 1:Thank you.
Speaker 2:Thanks for joining us.
Speaker 1:Thank you for having me. Thanks, kira.
Speaker 2:All right, one more thing that we promised that we would do and we haven't done it yet. We were going to compare, in a blind comparison review, the data of the Costco Kirkland balls and a TP5. Oh, because we had a whole podcast episode on golf balls.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and I'm actually going to be doing on Wednesday that might be the day to do it. So on Wednesday I'm doing a member event where I'm doing golf ball.
Speaker 2:Fitting that's awesome and I just went out and bought two brand new boxes of Costco Kirkland balls Perfect and the reason I bought those balls cause I don't play those balls anymore. But there's a reason. It's because you have set up all these reciprocating memberships right. We're going down to Shasta Lake tomorrow to play and I know that course is narrow and it's woody and it's hard and I don't want to lose $4 golf balls.
Speaker 3:I have to tell you I was playing in an event and I can't name names. But we get up to the seventh hole at rug Valley country club and it's a short downhill hole with a pond and I'm in the cart with my playing partner and we're all talking and he pulls out this ball and any. We're for some reason out of left field. He's like here's my water ball. I'm like I like second, like what do you? What? What's your water ball? Oh, it's my water ball, cause we're on the water hole.
Speaker 3:This is what I'm not scared to lose this is the one because I always go in the water. I'm going to get my water ball and had dirt on it.
Speaker 2:I'm like he just doesn't. He gave up, he doesn't care, yeah.
Speaker 3:Well, this was the cool part he was having the round of his life. Gets up there, hits a great hybrid down to 100 yards out in the middle of the fairway with this water ball and he almost hits it in the water. But he gets over right barely to a really tough spot. Gets up and down for par. This is like a 24 handicapper Ended up shooting, I think, 90 or something that day, 90 maybe.
Speaker 2:Even I played the country club two weeks ago and I had a tiger woods moment on that hole where I had a really bad drive. It was short right and I had, I was in the rough and I had major tree trouble. Um, and I was a hundred and I think I was 158 out and I'm in pretty deep rough. I'm like I'm to take an eight iron and I'm just going to hit it as hard as sloppy as I probably can.
Speaker 2:I'm going to hit it as sloppy and as hard as I can and hopefully my old super hard slice will come back. And sure enough, I just sliced it right around that tree, landed within five feet of the hole and had a one foot birdie putt oh, man, shot of the tourney.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's awesome.
Speaker 2:Well, I think we need to do that comparison which moment I get one or two of those a year. Was that a Kirkland ball?
Speaker 3:no, it was a tp5x oh nice, the ball I would pick, hey. So Wednesday the 11th, we're going to do that 5.30 to 6.30 here at the garage for members, a little cocktail party. I'm going to talk about it, we're going to go through some of it, I'm going to do a few blind tests and then every member will get a complimentary ball fitting from one of the professionals here. So I think it'd be really fun to go through and actually test that Kirkland ball that night against a premium ball and see what it's going to do.
Speaker 3:Then we can report back on what we noticed. As far as for sure, I think I'd look at driver a little bit and I might look at some wedge spin numbers, maybe a mid iron, but for the most part I want to see what the spin rate's doing. I want to see if there's any distance changes. Um, what I noticed with dimples a lot of times is you're going to see the aerodynamics change where it goes higher or lower. So I'm really curious to test because I haven't had a chance to do that in a few years and we'll take some up close pictures of them versus a premium ball.
Speaker 2:Well, they say they're, they are a premium ball.
Speaker 3:Apparently they're like a trophy, and see if there's any difference in the dimple pattern. Yeah, absolutely. I'm excited about that. It's going to be great. All right, man, until next time, right, until next week, yeah.
Speaker 2:We took a week off because we needed it.
Speaker 3:We needed it.
Speaker 2:We were both busy in tournaments.
Speaker 3:Supporting the community though Supporting the community.
Speaker 2:They were charity tournaments. Tell me about the tournament tomorrow.
Speaker 3:So tomorrow's the BMW Southern Oregon Classic. It's one of the largest party tournaments and when I say that it's a big deal in the tournament realm, but then there's a huge party with all the local fair, all these companies coming in, live music, live music, big band stage I think there's a few thousand people that come to it. Really expensive tickets if you're not playing in the tournament. Yeah, exactly, and we are defending our honor tomorrow. Team Rutledge was last year and I believe this is Tyler Lake's team tomorrow. So we're going to go out and see what we can do. All right, can't wait to hear about it. All right, thanks buddy Take care.
