Buckets & Birdies
The Buckets & Birdies Podcast hosted by @cbills23 and @mg1nyard
23 minutes of hoops, golf and sports across the state of North Carolina.
Buckets & Birdies
The Cradle of American Golf
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Buckets & Birdies goes to Pinehurst! Marcus, Carter, and Producer Pablo spend an unforgettable weekend at the Cradle of American Golf — staying in the cottages at No. 8, teeing it up at the brand new No. 10, playing The Cradle, and capping it off with dinner at Wiregrass. The guys break down their round at No. 10 and the full Pinehurst experience, dive into the latest NBA free agency moves and trades, and congratulate Michael Brennan on winning the Wyndham Championship.
Plus, a big announcement: Redvanly joins the show as a new partner and sponsor — the guys are decked out in their gear with a promo on the way.
Some places just live up to the hype. It's a beautiful day in Pinehurst! ⛳
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Buckets and Birdies Podcast. Buckets and Birdies is a weekly glimpse into the worlds of basketball and golf.
SPEAKER_02We'll also balance national sports trends with ACC Insights and provide a lens of notable happenings of sports in our home state of North Carolina.
SPEAKER_00Two friends and industry professionals getting together to bring you 23 minutes of fun each week with shared experiences around buckets and birdies. He's Carter Bills, sports agent and seasoned consultant in the golf space.
SPEAKER_02Joining me on the mic is national champion, Tario Great, Marcus Guineard. Welcome to Buckets and Birdies.
SPEAKER_01Welcome to a really cool episode of the Buckets and Birdies podcast.
SPEAKER_02We are into August now, Marcus, when everyone's hearing this one. It will be August 14th, and we're in Pinehurst. Good to see you, man.
SPEAKER_01My man. It's beautiful out here.
SPEAKER_02Always better to be in person. It's a beautiful day in Pinehurst.
SPEAKER_01It's a beautiful day in Pinehurst, my friend.
SPEAKER_02Absolutely.
SPEAKER_01Yes, sir.
SPEAKER_02And we'll start this episode as we do always, Marcus, here in Pinehurst with a quote of the day. And today is if you want to get to know a man, take him out to the golf course. Donald Ross.
SPEAKER_01All right. That's perfect. As we're here in Pinehurst, Donald Ross has done some of these courses out here. I'm pretty sure number two is the one that he's pretty well known for. That's it. Um, but you definitely get to know a man out here on the golf course, no doubt about that.
SPEAKER_02You do. So Donald did number two, he did number three out here. I believe he did or finished number one, Marcus. And we played number 10 yesterday. We certainly got to know one another a little bit better. And uh I think the spirit of that quote is to build character, and 10 definitely built some character, I think, with us.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, uh built some character and it built some leg muscles. No doubt. It was a crazy walk out there, uh, but a lot of fun.
SPEAKER_02So off the top, we walked how long? Couple, what what'd we decide with Pablo? A couple 5Ks we walked?
SPEAKER_01I think we walked a 10K. A 10K. Okay. Now, this was not flat, by the way. We were going uphill, downhill. I was going in the woods, out of the woods. So um, yeah, we we walked a lot.
SPEAKER_02I don't know that it captured all of our steps when you consider the undulation to your your point. The sand mines property is where we were. Thank you, first of all, to Pinehurst for having us. Marcus is rocking the logo. What a cool logo. You got kind of a sneaky iteration of the number 10 and the number 11 built in the sandmines logo. So really cool. An old sand mines property. Um, Pinehurst has done an amazing job with that asset that they've had building an unbelievable golf course. We know 11 is coming, they're working on it. Uh, but walking Tim with you and Pablo yesterday, what an unbelievable piece of property. What a big golf course, Marcus. What did you think about 10?
SPEAKER_01It was incredible. Everybody that I talked to, and I was like, hey man, we're gonna play 10. Everybody's going crazy. You're gonna love it. It's amazing. And and they were absolutely right. Um, it was perfect out there. It was a beautiful day. It was a little hot, but um really had a great time out there. It it it took my lunch money and more, I'll tell you that. But um, we really had an awesome time, man. It's beautiful, and then look forward to getting back down here to play some of the other ones.
SPEAKER_02I'm a big fan. I'm with you on that. People do say that about 10. Like, ooh, you get a ooh, you're playing 10. It's everyone knows two. What they've done at four, what they've done at eight, here where we're we're sitting out here on Pine Hirst number eight right now, is unbelievable. But this new asset they have out at the Sand Mines property, number 10, you almost get like a private course feel, right? Like we we looked at each other at one point yesterday, like, is anyone else out here? We knew they were out there, but it's just such a big property, such a big walk, such a peaceful walk that it's you feel like you're all by yourself. And we had a day. So we decided to make a game of it, right? Marcus, we said we're at Pine Hurts number 10. We need some strokes. So Pine Hurts number 10 is gonna give us 10 strokes, and we're gonna see if we can beat Pine Hearts number 10 with 10 strokes, and I'll be darned if we didn't do it.
SPEAKER_01We needed every one of them, though, didn't we?
SPEAKER_02We needed every one of them. Nine over. We were five over as a team on the front. Okay, four over on the back. We did chart a couple of team birdies, some crucial team pars. Yes, yes, and we came in one one under our goal. We were nine over as a team, and we beat Pine Hearst number 10.
SPEAKER_01All right, hey, we did it. Sell it on the birdies, by the way. What'd you have? Three birdies? Two, I think. Two circles. So you bring it out of me.
SPEAKER_02We have to do it. Whenever we're playing for the pod, it's like, gosh, we got to get circles on the card. So you bring it out of me. So thank you.
SPEAKER_01I gotta figure out how to get it out of myself because um I never bring it. No, but I had a had a fun time out there, and like I said, uh played a lot better on the back nine. You did. You had a four or five whole stretch where par par bogey par, which for me is like winning a NBA championship.
SPEAKER_02Let's look. We got the card, little little cradle score card right here.
SPEAKER_01We got out to the cradle. It was 14 that got me started.
SPEAKER_02On 14, yeah.
SPEAKER_01You had a best shot of my day.
SPEAKER_02Best shot of the day. Clipped, compressed the iron, nine iron, I think.
SPEAKER_01Eight iron.
SPEAKER_02Eight iron, eight iron.
SPEAKER_01Eight iron off the T.
SPEAKER_02Eight iron off the T.
SPEAKER_01So about 40 feet. What did you mean, but long?
SPEAKER_02Almost hold it. I mean, Pablo and I got pretty excited. You almost hold it. Yep. Had a similar look on the next hole 15, about 47 feet, we called it, and you made it. You sunk the thing right in. Unbelievable putt. We needed that par. That was the only par we had on that hole. So we went nine over, and we don't do it without that par right there. That was huge.
SPEAKER_01I mean, those are the stretches that bring you back. I mean, I played a terrible round of golf. I shot like a 112. I mean, those four holes I'm gonna be dreaming about, I'm gonna be thinking about, and that's gonna get me back on the golf course very soon.
SPEAKER_02No doubt that's what keeps you coming back. Exactly. That's what we love about it. And being out at the sandmines property, Marcus, it was amazing. I think the most memorable moment for me, and there was a lot of beauty out there, was number eight. When you hit the T-Box and you see this massive sand dune in front of you, and they told us those were natural to the property. They left them, which I thought was really cool. We come around and you think, wow, that that's a big sand dune. The whole hole was undulated. You got a lot going on. The green is hidden behind another natural sand dune. And you and Pablo and I looked from the T-Box and we're like, wow, this is cool. We looked from the green back and it might have been even more beautiful. I think that's one of the more beautiful scenes in all of golf. It feels like Pinehurst because we talked about this course feeling like a private property, but but you get that sand and that Pinehurst feel right there. Looking back on eight with you guys, I was like, wow, this this might be my favorite moment in Pinehurst, my favorite look on a golf hole in Pinehurst now, Marcus, on number eight at Pinehurst number 10.
SPEAKER_01You know, it was a pretty hole, like you said, just up and down all over the place. Pretty sure I almost lost my push cart trying to get down one of those hills. But um, like you mentioned, the entire property is just stunning, absolutely perfect. Um, and really excited that we had the opportunity to do this, man.
SPEAKER_02No doubt. Thank you to the team here. Uh, the vision of Mr. Deadman, the leadership of Tom Pashley, what Eric Kuser and his sales team have been able to do to help continue to drive the dollars that let them build these courses and these beautiful facilities that we're in, uh, and then what they're doing on the golf course. You know, Matt Barksdale, Ben Bridgers, that team, unbelievable. But um let's talk about where we stayed. I know one of the things Pinehurst is trying to do is not just deliver experiences on the golf course, but with dining, with lodging, and the holistic experience that leave you with memories that you want to come back. I think you said it yesterday. Why haven't you booked your trip to Pinehurst yet if you haven't? And um that's the truth. We stayed out here where we are now in the beautiful cottages at Pinehurst number eight. We're sitting in the centennial cottage. What a place, Marcus.
SPEAKER_01It's massive, first of all. Yes, and it's so amazing. You get to bring all of your friends under one roof. Everybody's got a room and beds and bathrooms and plenty of space for everybody to come together. Um, I love the TVs everywhere and the golf simulator downstairs, the pool tables. I mean, it's just such a great place to build that community around golf, right? Because that's what you want to do when you're playing golf. You're trying to build that community, you're trying to get to know people. And so having a place like this to bring everybody together is just really perfect.
SPEAKER_02I love that. I love that. I think I was I was thinking back to this spot on eight having come out here before. I think it was just pine trees. What a beautiful job they've done to build this cottages at eight community. Like you said, whether it's a guy's weekend, a girls' weekend, um, just some friends, maybe a corporate trip. You want to spend some time with your clients or have a leadership retreat. You don't get this setting. It's like going to a tournament and being in a house with somebody, which we've both been privileged to do, right? Like at the Masters. But Pinehurst is bringing that feel, I think, to your point, Marcus, under one roof. You know, it's not just about the round of golf. It's the the pool game afterwards or the cards at night or the camaraderie and the dinners and the drinks.
SPEAKER_01Being out on the on the porch until one o'clock in the morning, listening to the music, right? It's like that's what it's about.
SPEAKER_02Absolutely. Well done, Pinehurst.
SPEAKER_01Yes, well done.
SPEAKER_02And speaking of the cottages at eight, Marcus, that brings us to our buckets section because it reminds me, I think earlier this summer, D'Angelo Russell had the Backyard Cup, kind of a rider cup style match he does with some other basketball players and celebrities and golfers that's hosted here at Pinehurst. I believe all the guys stayed out here at the cottages on eight. I remember seeing uh, you know, Austin Reeves and Bronny James and D'Angelo posting. I'm like, oh, these guys are down here at eight and knew we were coming, so it got me excited about it. Uh, we've talked about this a lot. Everybody's playing golf now. We talked about all the basketball players and former players we saw at the Masters. Everybody wanted to talk about golf.
SPEAKER_01I mean, basketball players, celebrities, seen some tennis players out there on the golf course recently. Yep. I mean, this is it's really cool to see all these different worlds coming together and all of them loving golf.
SPEAKER_02And we talked about earlier in the summer the NBA draft. We talked a little bit about summer league. The biggest news since you and I last sat down has really been about what's going on in the offseason. They're calling it maybe the biggest offseason in NBA history, or at least in a long time. Giannisanta Tacumpo goes to Miami. You had Jalen Brown go to Philly, but Philly was not done. The LeBron James decision 3.0, 4.0, wherever we are. LeBron has ended up as a Philadelphia 76er as well. Uh, we hadn't even talked about that much. How did that news hit you? What did you think about that? What does this season look like with LeBron James in a Sixers jersey?
SPEAKER_01I mean, it just immediately won with Jalen Brown coming to Philly. You taking that team to another level. He's great. And then obviously you get LeBron on your team, and now you are a for sure contender. Even his 24th year playing in the NBA, he also takes your team to another level with his experience, his playmaking ability. I mean, just the fact that he's still playing at such a high level. Um Philly's gonna be a team to watch. And then Joel Embiid, right? Does he stay healthy? Can he continue to be the player that that we've known him to be at when he's at his best? Uh I think they've put together a really interesting roster that's gonna get a lot of eyes, obviously. But at the end of the day, I think that they're gonna be a a contender in the East and really making a push to get the Sixers back into the finals. No doubt. It's been a long time.
SPEAKER_02No doubt it's a passionate fan base. It's good to see when Philly's good. I think Philly's gonna at least be good this year, to your point. I think health and age is gonna play a large part of it, but Tyrese Maxie is on that roster and he's an all-star and uh he can get hot and he's also consistent. So do you play LeBron James at the point guard on that team? And let to your point as a facilitator, let him magic Johnson, the that all-star cast around him?
SPEAKER_01It's gonna be interesting to see his role. It's obviously changed since his early days in the NBA. Right. Kind of watched him and his various teams and the different roles that he plays on those teams, even just recently with the Lakers and having some of that young talent on the team and seeing him maybe take a bit of a step back. Uh so it's gonna be interesting to see what happens in Philly. But at the end of the day, they they've put together the talent, they've put together the experience. Uh, I think they've got all the pieces that are necessary. And I think LeBron's gonna look at Tyrese Maxie and Joel Embiid and Jalen Brown and say, hey, this is your team. I'm here to support us getting to where we're trying to go. I know how to get there, I've been there, I've done that. Um, but again, this is gonna be an interesting uh season to see. We like as you mentioned, there's been a lot of movement. You got Giannis now in Miami. That's gonna be a little strange watching him in the Miami Jersey, but him and Bam and gosh, some of that supporting cast. That'll be interesting to watch. I'm trying to think what happened out in the West. There's uh probably been some major news out in the West, too. What are the Warriors looking like right now? Yeah, they have any big news?
SPEAKER_02There's some news of what's gonna happen with the future of them and Steph, because I think they, you know, we're sitting here thinking, are we gonna get one of these big stars, a Jalen Brown, a Giannis, uh, a LeBron, who could run at the three? I I thought if I had to be a betting man, Marcus, that he might end up at the Warriors. Just the relationship, the dynamic and the chemistry that he and Steph had at the Olympics a couple years ago, right? Which was pretty special. And LeBron played a lot of facilitator and seemed to do well with that. They seemed to need that three, you know, in their early years. They had it with Harrison Barnes, they then had it with Kevin Durant and obviously won championships. And I wondered, does this happen? Uh, one of the greatest parts about LeBron's legacy is everywhere he's gone, he's won a championship, right? I think you and I both, needless to say, are Michael guys, deservedly so. Michael is the GOAT. But LeBron is amazing, and everywhere he's gone, he's won a championship. I would have had on my bingo card, he's going to Miami or to Cleveland because Marcus, no matter what happens, he's already won a championship there. It sort of takes that pressure off. That makes sense. He goes somewhere and wins a championship again and goes four for four. That's pretty strong. Like, good on him.
SPEAKER_01Listen, everybody gets their panties all in a bunch about this, you know, argument who's the GOAT or not. At the end of the day, if you're in the argument, I think that's saying a lot. And for him to go to a fourth team and win a championship, uh, you know, you you gotta give him credit where credit's due. You gotta give him his fires. He's an incredible talent, a generational talent player on and off the court. Um, yep. But yeah, this will be fun. This will be fun.
SPEAKER_02This will be fun. And it's cool to see some of the guys who know him best. They even said, wow, we didn't have Philly on our bingo card. I've seen Dwayne Wade comment, J.R. Smith. And one of the things they're saying, with LeBron now getting this golf bug, Philly is a sneaky like, is it the Mecca of golf in America? You know, I think we're sitting in a place where Pinehurst would say, Yes, we're the mecca of golf, and and rightfully so here at the cradle of American golf. But the Philly area, I mean, you've got Marion with the U.S. amateur going on right now. You've got Pine Valley, you've got Aronomic, where the PJ Championship just occurred, you've got Philly Cricket Club, and we could go on and on. But those four iconic venues. I think LeBron's gonna have the connectivity to play where LeBron might like to play. He might become a member at these places. But um, the the joke that these guys are making is yes, LeBron picked a great roster, but he actually picked a phenomenal golf market to go play golf.
SPEAKER_01So interesting here. He's able to do that, right? Like let me pick the team I want to go to and the golf courses I want to play at. That's right. That's pretty badass.
SPEAKER_02Unbelievable.
SPEAKER_01And Carter, one more that we didn't talk about. Made headlines, kind of big news. We'll see what actually happens with it. But let's talk about Lamelo Ball going to Minnesota, teaming up with um with Edwards. Again, you got two young, dynamic guards. Uh, can't remember exactly what they got going on with their bigs right now, but getting those two together, I think.
SPEAKER_02Big man, right?
SPEAKER_01I believe so. So it's interesting, you know. Maybe not as exciting as you know, thinking about the Sixers and some of the other folks, but you know, Anthony Edwards has shown that that he's ready to compete at a high level, he's got his team in the playoffs, and so does LaMelo ball help? That could be interesting.
SPEAKER_02I forgot about that. That's a good point. They're gonna be dynamic. As much as LaMelo is a scorer, he's a facilitator, and I think Ant's a scorer and a closer. So if Lamello can dish the ball to Ant and he's getting his 20 or 25 while his running mate beside him is getting 25 or 30, that's gonna be dangerous because you said what's out west. Maybe they're saying this is our time out west in Minnesota, and and that's fun. We saw what happened when when Kevin Garnett and what was it with Sam Cassell and Latrell Sprewell. You might have had a Wally Zerbiak in there.
SPEAKER_01Like I believe so, yeah.
SPEAKER_02That that seemed like a fun market to bring exciting basketball to. So uh I love that point you made. That's that's awesome.
SPEAKER_01Well, those two are fun and exciting to watch. There's no doubt about that. So they will definitely have that um alive and well in Minnesota. All right, Carter, as always, as we transition from Buckets to Birdies, our Nets and Jackets game. Uh, today we're gonna have the number one draft pick in the NBA. Okay. And we're gonna have, since we're here in Pinehurst, one of the last major tournaments that we had here was the U.S. Open. We're gonna have U.S. Open champion here in Pinehurst and number one draft pick. Okay. And your year is 2014.
SPEAKER_022014 was Martin Kimer won the U.S. Open here. I was here, so I remember that. Martin Kimer. Gosh, he might have propelled the one in the world at that time, Marcus. And um I I think it was a one-hit wonder on the majors. He was a great player and still plays on the Lyft circuit, but um Martin Kimer, I'm gonna final answer with confidence on on 2014. And I'm going, I mean, Duke had a lot of guys at this time. I think Jalil Ocofort didn't go one, and I think that'd have been 15 after after they won. I I think 14 was a guy that I was sure was gonna be a Tar Hill when we recruited him, but he went to Kansas. Andrew Wiggins, number one, 2014.
SPEAKER_01Yep, Andrew Wiggins.
SPEAKER_02Andrew Wiggins. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01All right. Hey, solid brother. Two for two on that one. Yes, sir. Andrew Wiggins and Martin Kymer.
SPEAKER_02I didn't know where you were going with that. I felt the pressure, so I'm glad we got that one.
SPEAKER_01Yes, sir. So tell us what's going on in the world of golf right now. I know we haven't been together in a while. What's what's happening?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, we just saw the end of the Windham Championship in Greensboro here in North Carolina, a tournament you and I love going to. And uh shout out to that team for putting on an unbelievable tournament. Wake Forest product, Michael Brennan, so also of the triad close by Greensboro, wins the Windham, and we just saw the emotion pour into his face. What a cool moment for a young player, Marcus. Uh, being young and winning something meaningful. You know something about that. Tell us what that's like. That emotion, I remember you reacting, you could like wow. And I'm like, yeah, that means something. He's made the playoffs, he's made the masters. Now, I mean, it's a big deal.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, man. It was really fun to watch him get that big hug from his mom and dad. You know, we talked about that when we watched that. And it was very similar. Uh, you know, when we found success at Carolina, it was really cool to be able to share that with your family and your close friends. Um, and really just happy for him, knowing that that's gonna definitely propel him to move forward. As you mentioned, as a young player, you get that success. Now you have that confidence that you've been there, you you've succeeded at the highest levels. And and now, man, the sky's the limit for this kid, right? He's got everything that he needs to continue to push forward, and hopefully he'll continue to find that success. But I mean, what a great stage to win on. Um, and really, like I said, let's see what happens in the future for him.
SPEAKER_02No doubt. It's life-changing, and he's a great guy. He we were talking a little bit about him before, right? He he played on the PGA Tour Americas, got a sponsor's exemption last fall, uh, wins the tournament on the PGA Tour in the fall, off a sponsor's exemption, changes his life there, and now he's he's won on the PGA tour during the regular season here to close out the regular season in Greensboro. So congrats to Michael. It's been a hot streak for great young players, Marcus, since we last were together. Michael Thor Bjornsson winning Rocket in Detroit. You had Jackson Coivin from Chapel Hill, of course, national champion from Auburn, who's now turned pro, but from Chapel Hill won the 3M. Uh, and just his third or fourth start. Just unbelievable crop of young talent that that's here and uh is making their statement that we're here to stay, we're here to be reckoned with and are gonna win golf tournaments. And did Godter up have one recently as well? Good call, yeah. He won his third of the year going back. Chris Goderup did a few weeks back as well. And then we had the fourth of four majors happen since we set down Marcus. Ryan Fox uh from New Zealand won the open championship. Uh, and what a great champion he was. It was awesome to see so many guys come out and be there for him. He's really been a journeyman for many years that the past few years he's really caught fire and is playing as well as anybody in the world, clearly. And uh you would love this guy. I'm trying to think. I feel like you may have been in the room with him before and you didn't even realize he's just an everyday guy, great family guy. Um, you might not even have known it was Ryan Fox sitting over there, but he loves wine. So he is already uh self-proclaimed to have had some great red wine out of the claret jug. And um, so I would love to be a fly on the wall listening to you and and Ryan talk wine. You would uh you would love Ryan. We'll have to make that happen.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, let's definitely get that on the books, man. That'd be cool.
SPEAKER_02Love it. Well, all this golf, we talk about it heating up. It's heated up here in August in Pinehurst, no doubt, but we're having a great time. I tell you what, Marcus, look no further for me. I'd rather play some more golf out here. This is one of my favorite places in the world.
SPEAKER_01I'm ready. I'd love it. I'm ready. Let's do it. Let's do it. Well, you love golf in Pinehurst. What is the ideal day for you here in Pinehurst?
SPEAKER_02I love that. And and Marcus, we might have just had it. I'd say you stay in the cottage with your buddies. You wake up, you play Pinehurst number 10, because I'm blown away by that course. I know we talked a lot about number 10. You play number 10 into a much more relaxed round at the cradle, right? A much shorter walk called the most fun 10 acres in all of golf, the cradle. And it is.
SPEAKER_01It is, man. No shoes, two clubs, drink in your hand.
SPEAKER_02It's all you need. And your buddies. And then dinner. I'll tell you, we had dinner last night at Wiregrass. The last time I was in that venue, it was just an old ballroom. What an incredible job the Pinehurst team has done to create a fine dining experience right there in the clubhouse to have another nice dinner option. Really cool experience we had at dinner. Farm to table kind of food. Um, enjoyed some good wine. Absolutely. Uh, and then back to the cottage at number eight. I'm I'm blown away by these places. So I'll go number 10 into cradle, wire grass dinner, uh, maybe a maybe a cocktail or or a beer on the the porch of the deuce, watching some people come in off the iconic number two is a special part of a perfect day at Pinehurst for me. But I think we pretty much did it yesterday, Marcus.
SPEAKER_01I agree with you, Carter. Yesterday was perfect.
SPEAKER_02And I tell you, it it wouldn't have been near as good if we didn't have this sharp clothing we have on. I meant to tell you, by the way, you look good. I know to tell us about what you're wearing. It certainly helped us yesterday because this stuff feels like air, which is awesome, right?
SPEAKER_01Man, Red Vanley has been great to us. Uh, really excited to have their gear. Uh, we always look good. I don't play as well as I look, but um it's it's really awesome to have some some great clothes out there that I wear on the course and off the course. So uh shout out to Red Vanley.
SPEAKER_02All right, Marcus, that's all the time we've got for today.
SPEAKER_01Thanks for joining us for another episode of Buckets and Birdies.
SPEAKER_02That's 23 minutes of our thoughts for you. For Marcus Guineard, I'm Carter Bills.
SPEAKER_01We'll catch you next time.
SPEAKER_02It's a beautiful day in Pinehurst.
SPEAKER_00Good work.
SPEAKER_01Love it.