Greens, Diamonds & the Unscripted Connection

What happens when two athletes who both left baseball behind end up finding each other through a mutual friend and a shared love of Vermont? Ryan sits down with Franklin Pierce sophomore and Division II golfer Sam Arnold for a conversation that covers it all — the baseball careers they both miss, the mental grind of competing at the college level in golf, and what it's like growing up in a small Vermont town with big athletic dreams.

The two also dive deep into the sports they can't stop watching — Red Sox and Mets, March Madness breakdowns, and World Baseball Classic takes. If you've ever loved a sport you had to walk away from, or wondered what college golf actually looks like behind the scenes, this one's for you.

New friendship. Real conversation. Completely unscripted.

Thanks for listening! 

Unscripted with Ryan brings you authentic stories from campus and beyond — covering sports, friendships, leadership, and the moments that shape us. New episodes air live Wednesdays at 4 PM on The Talon and are available on all podcast platforms.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Live on the Talon, that's WFP CLP 105.3 FM radio. Welcome back to Unscripted with Ryan. I'm your host, Ryan Fitzpatrick. And today's guest is someone I've known for about a week and a half now. About a week. About a week and a half. But sometimes, sometimes when you you meet someone right away, you click with them immediately. That's this guy right here. He plays Division II golf here at Franklin Pierce University. And uh yeah, someone I clicked with, buddy of mine. We bonded over baseball. Oh, yeah. Some ties to Vermont. The guest today is Sam Arnold.

SPEAKER_00 0:37

Sam, how you doing, man? Good man. I'm super excited for this. I've never done uh never done something like this before, so I was pumped.

SPEAKER_01 0:44

I'm pumped to have you, man. I'm pumped to have you. When I told you about this, um we were supposed to have another guest today. He uh he was going to the knall or something. Something like that. Something like that. And uh and it turns out that uh opening entered and told you you want to hop on. Jumped on it. You were so excited.

SPEAKER_00 0:59

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:00

You talked about it a lot.

SPEAKER_00 1:01

Mm-hmm. Yeah. I was like, dude, I'm in and I'm serious about this. Let's go.

SPEAKER_01 1:04

Yeah. You ever you ever do something like this, man?

SPEAKER_00 1:06

No. No. Just first time. So first time ever.

SPEAKER_01 1:09

How you feeling in here? You good?

SPEAKER_00 1:12

It's just like I'm chatting with my buddy. It is hot, but it's hot in here. That's okay.

SPEAKER_01 1:16

Not gonna lie. But yeah, I'm gonna set the scene. We both met about a week and a half ago. We both um chilling on the couch, was it? We when did we meet?

SPEAKER_00 1:25

Could be, it could have been on the couch. Yeah. Or buddy's fish's house.

SPEAKER_01 1:29

We knew Nick Fish. Yeah. And uh that's our mutual buddy, and um you know you guys have been hanging out. Somehow you cross we crossed paths, and and uh it's nice that we got to meet. Oh yeah, it's I knew I started liking you when you were like I had the USA game or something on.

SPEAKER_00 1:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:45

And you were just shooting it about wherever you're like verbatim talking about baseball, and um and that got me pumped up. I'm like, alright, this guy's actually kinda sick, dude.

SPEAKER_00 1:55

Let's go, big sports fans over here. Big sports fans, man.

SPEAKER_01 1:58

So yeah, you're baseball, you're into uh also basketball, that stuff. Um also that world baseball classic moment really pumped me up. Unbelievable. Um, but also we both like the garlic as well over in Rutland, Vermont, dude. Yeah, shout out the garlic. Shout out the garlic. So you're from Rutland, Vermont, man. Yeah. So what's that like? Just you staying up here, you're in the northeast, and you just move a little state over to the right.

SPEAKER_00 2:21

Yeah, I mean it's not some people ask me that what it's like. I mean, honestly, I'd say it's New Hampshire and Vermont are pretty similar in most ways. A little more stuff to do up in uh down here in New Hampshire, not around Ringe, but other areas. Um Vermont's cool. There's a lot of uh cool, you know, things to do there, but a lot more stuff here in uh New Hampshire.

SPEAKER_01 2:43

You think so?

SPEAKER_00 2:44

Yeah, I mean Dude, you live next to Killington. Yeah, skiing's big. I've never uh never been huge in the skiing, but when I was younger I did. Um but yeah, Killington's cool. The World Skiing World Cup, awesome. So yeah, it's they're pretty similar, I'd say.

SPEAKER_01 3:03

Besides the skiing, I know Killington Mountain is Killington Mountain, but you said you live right next to that town. That access road right there, oh yeah. You know that that town is sick, dude. Oh yeah. That town's sick.

SPEAKER_00 3:12

Restaurants, lots of places, great restaurants, dude. You said you didn't really fan of that place. Yeah, I I I find myself there sometimes, um, with family and friends. Just uh Okay. It's expensive, it is. Yeah, it is. It's a it's a good time though, if uh once in a while.

SPEAKER_01 3:30

I mean the town you're from, it's more so of like a touristy town, right?

SPEAKER_00 3:33

Yeah, it is uh pretty like Killington, Rutland area. Rutland's a little smaller, but you see a lot of people staying in Rutland when uh they come to ski to k at Killington. So we see a lot of tourists uh in Rutland. I work at a restaurant in Rutland and during the wintertime there's a lot of uh tourists from you know your New York and New Jersey, so coming up to ski. It's always always see those guys there on winter time.

SPEAKER_01 3:59

What is it what is it like like to serving some tourists, like coming across tourists, man?

SPEAKER_00 4:04

You know, they're not all bad.

SPEAKER_01 4:06

Whoa, so most of them are bad.

SPEAKER_00 4:08

Some of them. Not bad, I'd say, but Verbatum. Verbatim, uh, New Jersey. New Jersey guys. Yeah, I would say less New York, but I respect that, dude.

SPEAKER_01 4:19

I respect that. Long island when you get to Long Islanders, a lot of Long Islanders go up north, dude. When I went to Vermont, what, two weeks ago? Went skiing with my buddy about a week and a half ago, verbatim. Um, skied with my buddy Nolan, went to Mount Snow. How far are you from Mount Snow? That's Dover.

SPEAKER_00 4:34

Mount Snow is far. Mount Snow's like an hour and a half, two. Yeah, two, I'd say, give or take.

SPEAKER_01 4:39

Yeah, but still, I uh the amount of Philly fans and Long Islanders and like New York fans that I've met there, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:47

Yeah. When the times you go up there, it's definitely not a lot of locals up there. No.

SPEAKER_01 4:53

Well, I go the winter, so that makes sense. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:56

Um, I'd say the summers and the spring are the least. I mean, obviously the fall gets a lot of tourist action due because of the leaf peepers and stuff like that. Um Killington does a lot of mountain biking stuff too, I know, so it stays pretty busy up there.

SPEAKER_01 5:13

I mean, it's a beautiful venue.

SPEAKER_00 5:15

It is summer unbelievable.

SPEAKER_01 5:16

You know yourself. You didn't grow up a big skier, but you are a golfer. As I mentioned, you're a golfer here at Franklin Pierce. Um, do you but like how the golf venues like? I know there's beautiful courses.

SPEAKER_00 5:26

A lot of really good courses in Vermont. Um they're really like there's few and far between, but they're always in good conditions because it's not like down south where they get a ton of play. True. So the courses are in pretty good shape around the Vermont areas and in the mountains and stuff. There's some pretty nice ones. Oh yeah, I mean I'm I'm lucky enough to live or to have uh Rutland Country Club, which is an awesome course. I've been a member there for a couple of years and everyone there's pretty cool, so yeah, definitely. I mean, having that is just the best thing you can have as a golfer is somewhere to just go and play and have it be nice and do you know well that one off of Route 100?

SPEAKER_01 6:12

It's by the Trailside Inn.

SPEAKER_00 6:14

Um, Green Mountain National. Green Mountain National. Yeah, that's a good one.

SPEAKER_01 6:18

Shout out to my family. We actually would uh go there to golf uh go there to sled all the time. Really? Because I lived down the road from there. I lived a little more off of that road, off the top of a mountain, went down in the mountain a little bit. It's right to the right going down. Um and we would sled there my whole life. Yeah. To Bogging. Yeah, going to these golf courses and sledding is so much fun.

SPEAKER_00 6:38

That's funny you say that because um we do that at Rutland too. There's uh one big hole, it's downhill, and everyone goes up there, hikes up, and sleds down. So yeah, it's pretty funny.

SPEAKER_01 6:47

It's a bit of a tro like a bit of a trot to get over there to get into the goods parts of it to sled. What what course was it?

SPEAKER_00 6:54

Rutland. Rutland Country Club. Oh, it's like a Rutland Country Club. Okay. That's what it's called.

SPEAKER_01 6:58

Is it restrictions? Because I was young, so I don't remember there being restrictions. Also, this is what, 2005 to 2015, 16. Like, I don't know if it's different for Rutland Country Club. Is there like any restrictions?

SPEAKER_00 7:09

Yeah, um I think the only thing is they have the greens roped off. So I guess you don't like when it's that checks out completely. No, I mean I think it's it's open to like snowshoeing and stuff like that. So yeah, they're pretty good with that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:26

Yeah, like I imagine, I I I grew up in that area. It's so beautiful over there. It is. It's a big touristy town. I mean, I didn't grow up. I ta I technically lived there growing up. I had a house there, but we would go there almost every weekend, every other weekend, verbatim, and and just and just go there and and uh hang out with my family. But we're we grow more so skiers, but yeah. When I was there as a kid, like I didn't think it was like a much of a sports town. You were a big sports guy. Yeah. What what's the sports life like, especially as a young kid trying to play? I know you played ball a little bit too. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 7:55

What's it like? Yeah, I mean, uh just there's a lot of uh New England sports fans. Like, I know like me, my family were huge Red Sox fans, Bruins fans, so the New England sports is kind of a whole, like, we have the Boston teams, but it's almost every team is New England, pretty much. Um, the sports scene's good. There obviously is low numbers, uh, being in a small state like Vermont, but it almost I would say kind of helped me build friendships along the way. Like, I've played baseball since I could walk, and I've been playing baseball with the kids that I've known for 12, 13 years all up through school, so it's it's good that I kind of got to build these bonds with these kids, and I would definitely say that helped me with just growing my love for the game of baseball. That's awesome. Yeah, that's cool.

SPEAKER_01 8:43

I missed the new third baseman, right? Third baseman shortstop, short. Shortstop. But yeah, did you play third baseman uh yeah?

SPEAKER_00 8:49

I played played around all around the infield, a little second, a little third.

SPEAKER_01 8:52

Because I think you told me in your last uh last game in the playoffs you were at third? Shortstop. Okay, but you made a nice play where you're charging on the ball. Yeah, the third.

SPEAKER_00 9:01

It went off the third baseman's glove. That's like last play was third base. Okay. Yeah, but no, that was cool. That was like my last kind of hoorah as a baseball player, just something I'll remember for the rest of my life.

SPEAKER_01 9:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:12

It's funny how that works.

SPEAKER_01 9:13

We both talked about it, like that last baseball game. Yeah. Last baseball game, we both lost in the playoffs. Um tough. And it's it's tough walking away from the game you did. Did you think of any career aspirations baseball wise at any time growing up?

SPEAKER_00 9:29

Yeah, I mean, when I was younger, I mean everyone everyone wants to play in the MLB. Of course. Um, but yeah, I mean, I there was definitely a point in my life where I wanted to play college baseball before I kind of got introduced to golf and serious about it. So yeah, I mean, I always loved baseball. I I still honestly think I could do something with baseball in my career. So uh yeah, I'd say I could definitely see a sports future job kind of thing.

SPEAKER_01 9:57

Nice. Yeah, you like the media side at all? Oh yeah. Well come and join it, come enjoy the side, get on RSN.

SPEAKER_00 10:02

Let's go.

SPEAKER_01 10:03

You want to be on Ravensports Network?

SPEAKER_00 10:04

Yeah, we can figure something out.

SPEAKER_01 10:05

We can figure something out. I c we could do this right like right after this, dude.

SPEAKER_00 10:10

Yeah, we can figure something out. How long's golf season in b like We so we have the fall and the spring for golf. Right. So we have about four or five tournaments each season. Um we which basically span around a month, month and a half, and then we do we obviously have our preseason and we do stuff after until in the fall, it's until the courses close. Um now we will we go to Florida on Saturday for our first tournament of the year.

SPEAKER_01 10:39

Tell me about that.

SPEAKER_00 10:40

And then we play until school gets out. So it's it's a good we have a good three or four months of winter break and obviously the courses are all closed up here where we do indoor stuff. Um but yeah, this it's it's nice having two seasons where you can kind of play and both take advantage of the good weather.

SPEAKER_01 10:58

It's exciting stuff, man. Yeah. Especially that this time of year where you took a little time off. I know you've probably hitting golf sims, right?

SPEAKER_00 11:04

Yeah, yeah, for sure. I mean we were lucky enough to have a a good setup in the bubble here at on campus, and you know, we take good advantage of that. So it's it's good. Is it tough?

SPEAKER_01 11:13

Is it like tougher than being out on the course, or you find it like sa same type of thing?

SPEAKER_00 11:18

Yeah, it's it's definitely a lot different. Um some people say that it's it messes you up, but which I don't entirely believe.

SPEAKER_01 11:26

Well, because it's not completely true.

SPEAKER_00 11:28

Right, exactly. I I think it's good, um, but I think some people get too wrapped up in the numbers and stuff, so nothing nothing really equates to being outside hitting balls. Oh yeah. But, you know, the track bands and stuff help us get something like it.

SPEAKER_01 11:43

100%, dude. Like, I don't know. Do you do ones that have putts on them too?

SPEAKER_00 11:48

No, we we actually have a little putting green setup down there. So in the in the bubble? Yeah. Oh. It's it's right next to our hitting uh hitting mat, so it's it's yeah, we we use that for putting stuff. Which is good.

SPEAKER_01 12:00

Yeah, because the golf, I mean the p uh the sims I've been going to, uh not a lot of them have had putts or and or something. It's usually like auto.

SPEAKER_00 12:09

Yeah, it's it's really tough. But all the the short game stuff with the simulators is really where it starts to get weird.

SPEAKER_01 12:15

So you gotta be consistent over this time. You have to be good at golf, you have to a lot.

SPEAKER_00 12:22

It's tough. I saying this about our tournament coming up in Florida, it's like we're going down there and we get one practice round and then it's alright, play tournament golf, which is like really tough because pretty much all of us haven't seen a ball fly for three or four months. So it's it's pretty tough to like yeah, we get to hit balls in the simulator, but it's once you get on grass, it's way different.

SPEAKER_01 12:45

What are what are tournaments even like?

SPEAKER_00 12:47

I've never Um oh yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:49

I don't watch a lot of golf tournaments, obviously.

SPEAKER_00 12:51

No, the tournament's like a big one. Yeah, the golf the tournaments are fun. We there's usually like seven or eight teams, all any ten. Um and the formatting is we'll have five guys that represent Franklin Pierce, and by round we take the top four scores. And usually the tournaments are two or three rounds, so it's pretty much just the top four scores from all three rounds, and lowest score wins, obviously, but yeah. It's cool. There um it's cool because you get to know a lot of the other players from other schools, and I've built a lot of good connections with the kids we play with a lot. It's good. So that's a good part about it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:31

You definitely calm your nerves out there too. No one getting to know people when you're when you're for sure.

SPEAKER_00 13:35

Yeah, it's it's especially like golfing with someone you know is obviously gonna calm the nerves and play. You'll play a lot with that.

SPEAKER_01 13:42

I hate playing with people at home. Yeah, that is tough. Now I'm like an amateur computer. Like I I don't know, it throws me off. Does you let nerves ever like like get in your head when you're about to swing? How do you calm it down? Yeah, I mean for sure.

SPEAKER_00 13:53

Nerves definitely are a real thing for everyone. I mean, even the pros, they talk about the nerves. Um honestly, I just for me the best way to do it is deep breaths, but honestly, just think about it in the long run, like take it shot by shot, and you know, this shot is it's just a it's just a golf shot. That's what you know.

SPEAKER_01 14:13

What you've been doing your whole life.

SPEAKER_00 14:14

Yeah, exactly. So it's like, you know, you you try not to let you hit a bad shot and some people let it linger with them and you know It's the worst, I always do that. Yeah, I mean I do it too. I find myself guilty of it all the time. But um the best thing to do is just take it shot by shot and just not think about the past mistakes. I mean it even with the good shots, it's like yeah, nice, but like you have to keep going and stuff, so it's it's good to kind of just it's tough. It's easier said than done. Yeah, yeah. I find myself getting uh frustrated on the golf course a lot, but it's um it's definitely something that's a huge part of golf that people don't think about a lot is the mental aspect, which is um you know, people it can make or break your golf game.

SPEAKER_01 15:00

I mean it happened a lot in baseball too, sure. Because baseball for me was very mental.

SPEAKER_00 15:04

Oh yeah, baseball is a mental sport as much as golf is, you know, you have to know the situation, it's very situational. Exactly, yeah, especially like if you ever pitched, it's like you're you're controlling the game right now. So it's it's yeah. I've played I've played a lot of sports w that are very mental in my life, so it's it's definitely a huge aspect of sports that people don't think about a lot. You could be athletic and you know, be a head case and not be successful.

SPEAKER_01 15:33

Exactly. Yeah, it's tough. I mean, doing that stuff is huge. Do you think that your mental suit is a strong point for you?

SPEAKER_00 15:39

Um I wouldn't say a strong point, but I wouldn't say a weakness. Okay. It's kind of like in the middle, because there's definitely kids that I've played with that I've are really mental and I'm like, geez, I could never be like that. So people that I look up to and be like, How are you so even keel right now? Yeah. It's like it's I'm definitely at a middle point.

SPEAKER_01 16:01

That's good. Yeah. Who do you look up to in terms of like staying even keeled in the in the golf game?

SPEAKER_00 16:06

Um, you know, there's a lot of guys on tour, but one of my buddies from back home, he's an unbelievable golfer. His name's Lucas. Shout out Lucas Palitano. Uh he plays at uh Rutgers and I've caddied for him a couple of times. Yeah, Jersey. I've caddied for him a couple of times, and it's his mental is really unbelievable. Like the way he just stays one shot at a time. I definitely like have tried to model my mental game around that, which is I haven't been able to get to where he is yet, but that's definitely someone that I look up to in the golf world.

SPEAKER_01 16:45

How do you model a mental makeup?

SPEAKER_00 16:48

Just you know, I like I said, being like his caddy, I s I talk to him in between every shot and it's kinda like he'll get he'll hit a couple bad shots and he just he's on to the next. He'll he won't let it get to him. And uh kind of when I keep saying take it one shot at a time, I got that from him. So I kinda just think like, you know, you gotta just let it go. Yeah. Which is tough, but how long have you been playing golf for? Um, so I started playing I've been I've hit been hitting like golf balls in the backyard since I was really young, but I really got serious about it um at the start of high school because that's the first time you really get put onto a team.

SPEAKER_01 17:34

Right.

SPEAKER_00 17:34

And um there's a I met a lot of of my teammates in high school and we were lucky enough to have a pretty good team and I got to meet, you know, a lot of my closest friends on the team, so they definitely inspired me to become more serious about the game and practice more and like we'd go out there until sunset and chip and putt and talk, and you know, those are some of the best nights of my life. So just hanging out, talking with your buddies, putting and messing around something that I definitely took for granted having high school golf. Verbatim. Verbatim.

SPEAKER_01 18:11

Don't you d was that with the point where you realized this is what I want to take seriously?

SPEAKER_00 18:15

Yeah, so there was a a point when I got into high school where I was super serious about baseball, and I definitely like loved both of those sports, and I was like, I was talking to my dad a lot because my dad helped me get close, uh, he helped me kind of he's the reason I played baseball growing up, and he's definitely one of the reasons why I love baseball so much. So it was we definitely had some tough conversations of like, you know, he never put any pressure on me, like he was always very supportive of whatever I wanted to do, but he never put any pressure on me to like be a big college baseball player, so there was definitely some tough talks, like having to tell him that I think I want to play college golf instead of college baseball was was definitely tough. But no, to go back to that, um I think it was I started to see like after being on the golf team at high school, like and when I got more serious into it, that this is what I wanted to do in college. And I also was starting to get better at golf than I was at baseball. So I was come to the conclusion that playing golf in college is the better decision for me than to play baseball.

SPEAKER_01 19:27

Yeah, more and more I talked to you, the more and more I realized how bigger a part of baseball was in your life, dude. Yeah. I didn't realize that because you you also told me when I first met you that you're not are you are you like a ginormous fan of the Boston Red Sox? Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 19:40

Oh you are. A big, big Red Sox fan. So you're like into the M L B. You're into that like stuff. Yeah, I love I love the Red Sox. I've been going to Fenway since I, you know, could remember.

SPEAKER_01 19:49

Exciting year.

SPEAKER_00 19:50

Yeah. It's an exciting year coming off. Oh yeah, I'm pumped about it. It was so much young talent on the Red Sox.

SPEAKER_01 19:54

So what's his name that's going off like in the in the WBC?

SPEAKER_00 19:57

Roman Anthony. Roman Anthony. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:00

It's it's that's exciting stuff for you guys.

SPEAKER_00 20:01

Oh yeah, it's number one prospect, you know.

SPEAKER_01 20:03

And that was just going off like crazy. Our young guy for the Mets known Nolan McLean uh pitch last night.

SPEAKER_00 20:10

Yeah, yeah. Didn't go very well, but still promising. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:15

It's still early, so it is early, but I mean obviously yesterday was a big game for USA. Yeah. We're watching that together. We're pumped. Uh oh yeah. I'm sure if you folks saw it out there, MLB was I mean MLB. The uh USA was trying to fight back in the game with Italy and just came up short, man. That was a tough one. It was nice being with the buddies.

SPEAKER_00 20:35

Yeah, that was fun. You know, we were just uh hanging out watching the game and PCA rips a bomb and we're all going crazy, and that's you know, that was definitely a really, really fun, fun night.

SPEAKER_01 20:48

How about that when a group of chicks come in and like at the time where it's like the where it matters most, and we're like, Yeah, it's like what are we doing here? Frank, why'd you invite the kids?

SPEAKER_00 20:56

Yeah, that was definitely like we're just glued to the screen.

SPEAKER_01 21:00

All glued to the screen, they're like, uh okay.

SPEAKER_00 21:03

Yeah, that was funny. That was definitely funny.

SPEAKER_01 21:05

We were like, you guys are good to go. Yeah, we're we're we're we're locked in.

SPEAKER_00 21:10

Come back in two hours and we'll pay attention. Yeah, no, that was that was funny. I was like, this timing is gonna suck. Because especially if the game went into overtime or action innings, or blasting like kid rock. You know, that's like one of the girls are definitely like, what do we just walk into here?

SPEAKER_01 21:30

We don't know these people.

SPEAKER_00 21:31

Yeah, that was funny. Shout out Frank.

SPEAKER_01 21:34

Shout out Frank for doing that. But yeah, that was fun and exciting to watch. Uh, but I'm very excited for the mess of this season, dude.

SPEAKER_00 21:40

Yeah, dude, I've been telling you the Mets are the Mets are sleeping.

SPEAKER_01 21:43

Sleepers, because they got they lost a lot of talent. You got Pete Alonso gone, you got um uh you know, you lose Edmund Diaz going to the tough Dodgers and stuff, but we picked talent.

SPEAKER_00 21:54

Yeah, I mean you guys still have Juan Soto, so Juan Soto in the door, man.

SPEAKER_01 21:58

And then we got we got obviously. Freddie Peralta through that trade and you know. Yeah, you guys will be fine. Yeah, Marcus Simeon. Oh yeah. Sneaky.

SPEAKER_00 22:07

Yeah, he's a good player.

SPEAKER_01 22:09

Sneaky. And Jorge Polanco, he also went two for two yesterday. And those boys play again tomorrow. But uh yeah, I'm excited for the MLB season. Yeah. I'm excited.

SPEAKER_00 22:17

I uh I've been to City Field, I told you this before, I've been to City Field. Great place to watch a baseball game. Yeah. Definitely, and it's like it's like nice. I mean I honestly, being a Red Sox fan, I have some bias, but I've been to Yankee Stadium and I thought City Field was better, and my f my dad agreed. That's good.

SPEAKER_01 22:37

That's good. That's good. I mean, I mean it's obviously uh bias is probably in there. Yeah, you know, I don't want to say anything too good about the Yankees, but I've heard Yankees fans say they've they think it's better, but then my fri so a lot of my friends are like, no way, man, it's not me.

SPEAKER_00 22:51

The only thing is it's just newer.

SPEAKER_01 22:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:53

But y you can't take away the history of like Fenway Park. It's like You can't.

SPEAKER_01 22:57

It's just I loved Fenway when I went to the state. Fenway's unbelievable. Sat in center field the one time I went.

SPEAKER_00 23:02

The Green Monster. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 23:04

No other stadium has that. No. It's just it's it's it's legit, it's old.

SPEAKER_00 23:08

It's so unique, too. It's so new unique, man.

SPEAKER_01 23:10

But I also went to Fet uh Wrigley in Chicago.

SPEAKER_00 23:13

I haven't been there. That's that's one that I definitely would want to go to. That's a really cool Wrigley was awesome, dude. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 23:19

It was it was really good. Really historic, the environment. Everyone's so into it.

SPEAKER_00 23:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 23:24

The whole thing.

SPEAKER_00 23:25

The Cubs fans are huge, you know. Our guy Alex Bregman is gonna be playing there this year.

SPEAKER_01 23:28

So we went from old to older.

SPEAKER_00 23:31

Yeah. Tough bill to swallow, but yeah.

SPEAKER_01 23:34

You guys are still sick.

SPEAKER_00 23:35

We'll be alright. Yeah, with more money in our pockets.

SPEAKER_01 23:38

What are you looking forward to most as a fan? Like, you're gonna go to some games.

SPEAKER_00 23:40

Oh, yeah, dude. I mean, we've been talking about going opening weekend. Me and uh Nick, we're gonna be. That's awesome. I'm gonna go to Mets opening weekend. We were all saying we're just gonna go to our team's opening weekend. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 23:50

March 28th, I'm going down there. Just the city field and with my pops and my brother.

SPEAKER_00 23:54

Yeah. So excited about it. Unbelievable times, you know, when it starts to get warm out.

SPEAKER_01 23:59

It's gonna be cold. It's gonna be cold.

SPEAKER_00 24:01

Yeah, you might get a lucky day like the couple of days we've been having here, but yeah.

SPEAKER_01 24:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 24:05

Yeah. But yeah, opening weekend, see some baseball, nothing like it.

SPEAKER_01 24:10

Yeah, that's the experience as a fan I'm talking about. But as a player, you know, I I'd I've never I didn't realize this. I mean, the more we talk, like I said, the more I realize a big of a part of the leader life it was.

SPEAKER_00 24:21

Yeah. What do you miss about it the most? Um, everything. Just like, you know, but no, if I was to th pick a one part I loved playing the field.

SPEAKER_01 24:35

You did say that yesterday.

SPEAKER_00 24:37

Playing the field, you know, because I was never like a unbelievable hitter that I'd say that was the weakness of my game. I mean, I could hit for contact, but I wasn't a big home run hitter. Uh so just playing the field was so fun. I mean, there was nothing like making a good play at short and like picking up your pitchers, like your buddy. Yeah. And if that was that's definitely something I miss most about the baseball aspect. But another thing that I miss, you know this in high school, the bus rides to the games, and this is with any sport, you know, I still get some of that with uh the van rides to the the tournament venues.

SPEAKER_01 25:12

But in Florida.

SPEAKER_00 25:13

Oh yeah, the but um just being on the bus with your buddies coming home from a game, especially if you won, was one of the better times in your life, you know, just sitting in the back of the bus doing stupid shit.

SPEAKER_01 25:26

Did you play Mafia?

SPEAKER_00 25:27

We did. We did play Mafia, we played Wavelength. Contact is another good one. Contact's a good one.

SPEAKER_01 25:35

Wow. I I've only heard of Mafia and I've heard of it after graduating college.

SPEAKER_00 25:40

Mafia's great. Mafia's a good one to play like when we're we're just hanging out. Like maybe we could incorporate that, you know, the next time we hang out with the boys. You know, we have a ton of games we play. So many, so many.

SPEAKER_01 25:52

We gotta do it, bro.

SPEAKER_00 25:53

Yeah, we have fun.

SPEAKER_01 25:54

So much fun. That's awesome. But um, yeah, I do miss it too. Definitely miss baseball. I was more um were you the type of fielder that like really wanted the ball hit to them?

SPEAKER_00 26:04

Um You're like, it's me, me, me, right here. Yeah, I I wouldn't say wanted, but I wasn't like, don't hit it to me.

SPEAKER_01 26:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 26:13

But it's I wouldn't I would say I was more on the side of wanting the ball.

SPEAKER_01 26:17

Right.

SPEAKER_00 26:18

Um, I did find myself, it's funny you say that, I I did find myself sometimes in like important game situations. It's like, alright, if the ball comes to me, I gotta figure something out here. I gotta I gotta be the guy, but yeah, no, it's definitely wanted would say I'd want the ball more than not.

SPEAKER_01 26:37

As any fielder does, but yeah. If you're saying it's your favorite part, I just wanted to make sure.

SPEAKER_00 26:42

Yeah, oh yeah. Definitely would.

SPEAKER_01 26:44

But yeah, but you chose golf. You chose golf. What what's the part of golf that you're like, uh this is my favorite part of golf. I love it so much.

SPEAKER_00 26:53

Um, you know, there's a ton of stuff about golf that I love, you know. Hanging out with the boys in the cars. That's why everyone loves it. And then the feeling of hitting a good shot is just like you can't replicate that. You you you go up there and you're with your buddies on the first hole, you know, first round, back out. We've been talking about it for months. You get up there and you step up and you hit one right down the middle. I mean, no much, no many better feelings in the game. No breakfast balls, you're just if you hit one good, there's no better feeling than that, to be honest.

SPEAKER_01 27:25

No breakfast balls in the tournament, huh?

SPEAKER_00 27:26

No breakfast balls on the D2 college tournaments either, even though I wish it's been a couple of times that I wish there was, but yeah, it's tough. It's it's fun though. Yeah, there's there's a lot of unbelievable parts about golf. And I I as much as I talk about how much I love and miss baseball, I'm made the right decision, was sticking with golf.

SPEAKER_01 27:48

And you know, I've I mean we were talking about this the other night when we're hitting shots out of nowhere late at night. Um you uh you're like you're you play the sport everyone wants to be good at, but isn't.

SPEAKER_00 28:01

Yeah what I'm saying? Yeah, no, when I that's a sick feeling. Yeah, it's it's cool when I tell everyone, you know, I'm on a golf team, they're like, oh like I love golf. I've it's it's pretty much almost always like I love golf, but I suck at golf, you know. Like people are always like that, and they're like, what's it like to play college golf? Like, and I'm like, it's honestly like the best, you know, it's it's nothing too serious, like I know you played football. That's football is like the most serious sport here. So we've had different experiences uh with our sports, but very different.

SPEAKER_01 28:36

Like like that's what it is. Like people view golf as really different, like you just you know, you I don't know, it's just so different. But the fact that you're good at something that people everyone I I feel like so much of the population wants to be good at golf.

SPEAKER_00 28:51

Yeah, is it's like you know, once you're done with the sport you play now, like everyone as a guy, it's like that's what I'm doing right now. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 28:58

I I I just got into golf this past summer. I've golfed before a few times, scattered around before my knee surgery. Um then when I got healthy fully this summer, I'm like, I really want to get into golf, hit the course every now and then. Yeah, it's easy to fall in love with the game. It's so much fun because you can just sit bruise with the boys. Like you said, you mentioned hanging out with the boys. Like, obviously you can't do this when you're competing, but like s drinking when you're when you're playing. Oh yeah. Um, hanging out with your friends, um, you know, cart girls giving you the booze, it's like a good time. Yeah, unbull. We'll go with my brother and dad's like cigars.

SPEAKER_00 29:29

It doesn't even matter, it's what you're how you're playing.

SPEAKER_01 29:32

And that's the important part about I obviously in tournaments and competing, yeah. But I've realized, and I'm I obviously I would have to keep reminding myself this when I golf, it I gotta stop caring about what I'm shooting. I'm not competing, so I need to relax, and then I find myself doing better when I stop caring.

SPEAKER_00 29:50

Yeah, I was talking to Dougie about this the other night. I was like, it's funny I tell people, you know, the less you care about your score, the better you'll play. Dude, serious. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 29:59

Dude, it's and it's such a good time when you're like actually just chilling and just uh with the boys. Like, it's the it's the experience around golf, driving on the golf course, uh cart. Do you have any like funny experiences driving around a golf cart when you're just messing around with the boys? I feel like everyone's done some something.

SPEAKER_00 30:17

Yeah, I've got a I've got a couple funny stories. Um, you know, back in high school we uh weren't allowed to take carts out, the high school team, but sometimes me and my buddies would go play and maybe drift the golf carts around the course, allegedly having a good time, you know, never anything too crazy, you know, it'd be disrespectful to the course, but we we'd have fun. I had a couple buddies in high school who, you know, they weren't going on to play college golf, but they still were, you know, going out there and playing, and we'd have some fun. So that was fun. I also uh have another funny story about um me and my buddies were out playing around, and uh this guy, one of the uh restaurant employees, because uh the golf course I play at, there's a restaurant. So I think he was coming around, maybe like to asking if we wanted anything, whatever. Um he comes up to this hole we're on, and the car passed kind of like a hill, and he parks his car, his cart, on the hill, and he's like, you know what, I'll uh stick around and watch you boys tee off. So he gets out of his cart and start to hear the thing roll down the hill. Never parked it. Never hit the parking brake, so it was the hill, and then there was a bridge, you know, like the golf course bridge over a river, and this guy's cart was beelining straight towards the river. Me and my buddies are sitting there like with our jaws on the floor. We're like, your cart, your cart. He runs back, grabs the front bar of the cart, swings himself in and smashes the brake with his hand. It's the most insane thing I ever have experienced on the golf court. And he he gets out and he's like, Wow, uh, that could have been bad, and we all just start dying laughing, and then we haven't even hit our t-shots yet. So this guy's still watching us. We're trying to control ourselves. We're all spraying it all over because we're just thinking about the.

SPEAKER_01 32:12

You said do you know this guy?

SPEAKER_00 32:14

Uh just from being on the golf course, yeah. He's like a funny guy. Older? Um, no, he was probably in his twenties. Uh 30s, maybe. Yeah, so funny, funny experience. And um, you know, what's funny about that is I've never seen him on the golf cart after that. So maybe something happened there where word got around and he can't have one anymore. Who knows, but good guy.

SPEAKER_01 32:41

And honestly, that's like a genuine. I've done it before. That's a genuine mess up. Yeah. Dude, and he saved it.

SPEAKER_00 32:48

Yeah, that was it was pretty sick. I told him I was like, that's the sickest thing I've ever seen.

SPEAKER_01 32:52

So if they ban, no, there's no chance. Maybe he's just scared of doing that again. Yeah, probably. I've seen people really mess around with carts. Like I know our buddies really I I think our buddies got into something with carts.

SPEAKER_00 33:04

Yeah, the um actually uh some some guy in Vermont was coming. He was like sitting in the passenger seat trying to move his cart, and he was going down a hill too fast, and he wiped out into the trees and actually had to get airlifted to the hospital. Yeah, they had to land the helicopter on the fairway and airlift this guy. It was really scary situation.

SPEAKER_01 33:30

Uh going too fast?

SPEAKER_00 33:32

Yeah, he was going too fast, going down a hill, lost control. I I think I think they said that he was like he was like going back to he might have forgot his club or something. Going back, driving in the passenger seat, not really being too serious, got going too fast, wiped out, and he's okay, but he he's he he was hurt and he had to get airlifted. It's a scary situation, but he was messing around or he was just in a hurry. Probably just in a hurry to get back, and you know, it's one of those things where you're not paying too much attention. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 34:06

Because I know the kids like I play with at home. I've never been a part of it, but like they've sunk their carts in like.

SPEAKER_00 34:11

Yeah, that happens.

SPEAKER_01 34:12

But you know what? They've gotten it out of there and it's still wet. Like they just compare it. That's crazy.

SPEAKER_00 34:17

Yeah, that's I've definitely, you know, seen stuff on Instagram with people, you know, with their carts in the ponds and stuff, you know, something that could happen after a couple beers. So, yeah, that's funny, but if if no one gets hurt, it's a funny story. It is, it is. Yeah, you know, might have to pay a far in, but at the end of the day, it's something you could tell your buddies.

SPEAKER_01 34:39

You're not getting into that here at Franklin Pierce, though.

SPEAKER_00 34:41

No, that's something we uh we probably shouldn't do. No, no chance. No chance. Our coach probably wouldn't be too happy with us about that one.

SPEAKER_01 34:50

So what brought you to Franklin Pierce from uh from uh the neighboring state of Vermont?

SPEAKER_00 34:54

Yeah, it was um college golf is recruiting is definitely an interesting thing. It's pretty easy for coaches to recruit golfers because it's the evidence is right there. You know, you send the turnover.

SPEAKER_01 35:09

That's actually so true, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 35:11

So pretty much everything what you have to do to get recruited as a college golfer is make uh email, a paragraph about yourself and w what you were you're interested in. So it's basically like I'm Sam Arnold, I go here, I'm from here, I'm interested. Good kid verbatim. Um and then here's a link to all of my tournament scores and courses and the yardages of the courses, and I, you know, was just everyone on my team has the same story. We're firing out emails, and the old coach here, first one who reached out to me and was like, you know, if you're real in interested, come for a visit. So Franklin Pierce was really, you know, the only school I visited, and I was I hopped on the opportunity. He's like, You have a spot on the team. Let's go, man. I want you to come play here, and you know, best season of my life.

SPEAKER_01 36:04

Well, I'm glad you're here, dude. Yeah. Now you're uh two years later, you're into your sophomore year. Yeah. Um you have uh obviously like the second half of the season to look forward to. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 36:13

Pumped.

SPEAKER_01 36:14

Um so as as a sophomore, uh, what does the next two years at Pierce uh look like for you, man?

SPEAKER_00 36:20

Yeah, I mean, uh we we have a great coach. Shout out Coach Boo. He's uh a really good guy, and you know, I'm really excited for the next two and a half years of golf that I'm gonna play here. Um our the guys on the team, we're pretty close, we're pretty tight knit. Um, and we know, you know, obviously w when to be serious and you know when we can have a good time. And it's just it's really been a good experience for me. I haven't there hasn't been anyone on the team that I've disliked. And it's you know, we share the same interests in golf, so I'm definitely really excited to, you know, spend the rest of my college experience here. Oh man. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 37:04

Pumped to have you here. It's always been a great time with you.

SPEAKER_00 37:07

Yeah, we've had a bunch of fun this past week.

SPEAKER_01 37:09

It's the week of knowing each other. Yeah, and we're we're gonna keep it.

SPEAKER_00 37:12

The one week of knowing everyone.

SPEAKER_01 37:14

But yeah, if you guys go follow along Sam's journey. Good luck this weekend, brother. Thanks. Franklin Pierce Athletics, go check it out. Um, and um, yeah, everyone tune in, see Sam play this this spring, and uh hope you continue success, man. I'm happy to pick Franklin Pierce, and I'm happy um we get to talk now. And um thank you for joining me.

SPEAKER_00 37:34

Yeah, this was super fun. I'm glad I did this. You know, I was pretty pumped. It lived up to the expectations. I'm pumped, man.

SPEAKER_01 37:39

Alright, awesome. So verbatim, literally, allegedly, verbatim. Allegedly. Um thank you guys all for tuning in today on Unscripted with Ryan every week, every Wednesday live on the WFPC LP105.3 FM radio that is on the talent. Wednesdays at 4 o'clock, we're live, but you can check it out wherever you want on your podcast platforms. Uh and yeah, verbatim. Verbatim. This is Unscripted with Ryan. I'm Ryan Fitzpatrick. See you folks next week on a very important guest coming up. By the way, Joe Castiglione, Red Sox broadcaster, coming in hot as a guest next week. So don't forget to tune in. I will be tuning in today. Definitely live on next Wednesday. But also, like I said, if you don't miss if you missed that, you can catch on any podcast platform. But catch me at Sam's as well, because it's Sam. Yeah. Thank you all for tuning in. Ryan Fitzpatrick signing off. Peace.