Shownotes
The primary focus of this discussion centers on the remarkable resurgence of golf during the ongoing challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. We delve into the significant increase in rounds played at golf courses, highlighting that our local club has experienced a doubling of participation, an unprecedented phenomenon that underscores golf's appeal as a safe and socially distanced outdoor activity. The conversation also encompasses the preparations for the upcoming LPGA event in Portland, elucidating the extensive planning involved and the collaborative efforts required to ensure a successful tournament. Furthermore, we reflect on the transformative impact of the pandemic on the golf industry, particularly in maintaining reasonable pricing structures to facilitate continued growth and accessibility for players. As we navigate these topics, we underscore the profound social aspect of golf, emphasizing its role as a vital outlet for connection and camaraderie amidst the current climate.
Companies mentioned in this episode:
- Painted Hills Natural Beef
- LPGA
- Clearwater Bay
- Golf Channel
- Morning Digest
- Morning Read
This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy
Transcripts
This is Grilling at the Green with JT After Hours.
Speaker B:You know, the conversation that took place after the broadcast ended.
Speaker A:Hi, everybody, it's JT and this is a special version of Grilling at the Green.
Speaker A:Grilling at the Green is brought to you in part by Painted Hills Natural Beef, beef you can be proud to serve your family and friends.
Speaker A:That's Painted Hills Natural Beef.
Speaker A:Hey, everybody.
Speaker A:Welcome to After Hours here on Grilling at the Green.
Speaker A:I'm JT along with Jim Myers today, who is the golf course superintendent and the proud owner of a new putting green and chipping facility in his backyard, along with television and other accoutrements.
Speaker A:This is the show where we have a lot of fun, and this is the part where we can actually swear and tell real stories because we're not governed by the FCC on this particular part of the show anyway.
Speaker A:And we'd like to thank the folks at Painted Hills.
Speaker A:I'm sure you just heard a little blurb about them, and so we really appreciate them being so kind to me over the years.
Speaker A:You and I talked about a year ago, Jim, I think was.
Speaker A:Well, it was earlier.
Speaker A:We're in a new year, so it was six months ago, whenever it was, and with the COVID and everything dramatically changed.
Speaker A:You know, I'm not one that's going to sit here and say it's a, you know, it's a.
Speaker A:It's a new way of doing things.
Speaker A:It's a new world order, all that.
Speaker A:It's just we had something and we're dealing with it and we're going to move forward.
Speaker A:What have you learned through all that?
Speaker B:Yeah, well, I mean, golf has kind of been a big plus for that.
Speaker B: nth of December, we'd do like: Speaker B: We did: Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:So, you know, golf has really picked up.
Speaker B:You know, it's unfortunate.
Speaker B:I was just talking to my friend Chris Chase, who's at Clearwater Bay in Hong Kong, who.
Speaker B:His golf course is closed right now.
Speaker B:The members aren't even allowed to play, which I think is kind of unfortunate.
Speaker B:Golf is a nice thing where you can get outside social distance, you can walk and get some exercise.
Speaker B:And with not being able to, most people can't travel.
Speaker B:Holiday plans were canceled, vacations were canceled.
Speaker B:I just think golf is a great opportunity to get outside social distance, be with friends and get some good exercise.
Speaker A:You know, it's kind of funny because they did not close down the courses in Oregon Right across the river in Washington.
Speaker A:They did.
Speaker A:So we had a lot of immigrants, golfers coming across the border, so to speak, and taking up a lot of tee times, which some of my friends that live in the Vancouver area, I would, you know, jazz them a little bit on that.
Speaker A:But in talking to the guys that are kind of regulars on the show, like Gary Van Sickle and John Hawkins, couple of writers that if you've watched, you know, Golf Channel or read Morning Digest or Morning Read or any of those types of things, you'd be familiar with them.
Speaker A:Well, one of them lives in Pennsylvania.
Speaker A:The other lives in Connecticut, and both of those were closed.
Speaker A:The courses were closed.
Speaker A:And so they would get real chippy with me when I was saying, well, you know, we're still open and we can play.
Speaker A:And I think you.
Speaker A:I think a lot of people, when the states where people where their courses were closed, really couldn't figure out why they were closed.
Speaker A:The restaurant, they could understand that.
Speaker A:But being outdoors and stuff and either walking or taking a cart or whatever, however you get around the course, people really couldn't wrap their arm around or their head around why the courses were closed.
Speaker A:Didn't make any sense to me either.
Speaker A:I thought the courses should have been open all across the country.
Speaker B:Yeah, our governor was really good.
Speaker B:Obviously, she saw that there was a need for outdoor exercise and golf could really give that.
Speaker B:So it's been great for us and great for me.
Speaker B:So obviously, being a golf fanatic myself, it'd be nice to get out and play.
Speaker B:It's a good outlet away from work and family or just a great avenue to spend some time with friends.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:We didn't talk about this on the regular show, but as far as I know, the LPGA is coming back to Portland this year.
Speaker A:And walk us through your prep for that.
Speaker A:How far in advance do you start, and then how intense does it get right before the event?
Speaker B:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker B:We've already started planning.
Speaker B:Our event is scheduled in September, and our turf team is already putting together a game plan for that week.
Speaker B:It's amazing how much planning and organization goes into hosting a televised event, especially when it's so far out.
Speaker B:You would think that you wouldn't need to plan that much, but I've already been dealing with my assistants on what our objectives are going to be over the next few months, where we want to be.
Speaker B:We'll have a couple of meetings as we go through, making sure that we're hitting our targets and our goals for what we need to accomplish for that upcoming event.
Speaker A:Do you get the dreaded visits from LPGA officials along the way and say, we want this, we want this, we want this.
Speaker B:Yeah, we do get the visits.
Speaker B:I don't know if they're dreaded because I always like spending time with the officials that we work with.
Speaker B:Our rules official Annie and Sue are really good.
Speaker B:I actually just saw sue when I was at the US Open down in Texas.
Speaker A:Sure.
Speaker B:But we do have an agronomist that comes on staff and he'll do a couple of visits.
Speaker B:I've known our agronomist for a while, so it's pretty easy.
Speaker B:He knows what he's going to get from me as far as product and that kind of deal.
Speaker B:But yeah, we really try to start focusing really once January comes around and our club is really busy.
Speaker B:So, you know, we need to be organized moving forward.
Speaker A:Well, and you guys don't play the course for the tournament as it's laid out for the membership.
Speaker B:Yeah, we reverse the nines, number nine as our 18 finishing hole, which is right by the clubhouse.
Speaker B:It really kind of sets the golf course up for a great little finishing hole.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:Usually when you have an event, it comes down to.
Speaker B:Usually it's amazing.
Speaker B:Like most golf events come down to the last day, the last few holes on the back nine, you know, and that's true with Hannah Green winning.
Speaker B:She came all the way down to hole number nine and she clinched it on her second shot into the green.
Speaker B:So number nine, which plays as 18 for the LPGA, is a great finishing hole.
Speaker A:I wasn't so hot on it the last time I played out there because just of my general lack of ability.
Speaker B:It is a tough hole.
Speaker B:When you're standing on that tee, you got to hit a pretty straight drive.
Speaker B:You've got tight landing zone in a fairway bunker on the right hand side.
Speaker B:So you've got to hit that.
Speaker B:And if you can hit a nice second shot into there, into that green, it's kind of a two tier green.
Speaker B:Depending on what the pin location is.
Speaker B:If you can get that second shot in there, usually set you up for a nice birdie.
Speaker A:Yeah, that wasn't the way it worked for me, I can tell you that, Jim.
Speaker A:It just.
Speaker A:The mental image was there.
Speaker A:The physical prowess was not.
Speaker B:That's how my game is.
Speaker B:I stand on that tee every time and I'm like, I play the hole in my head and I know exactly how it's going to go.
Speaker B:So you hit that tee shot and you're like, oh, okay, so now I'm hitting a three wood into this green and hopefully it holds.
Speaker B:And hopefully you.
Speaker B:There's obviously water on the left hand side, right?
Speaker B:So you cheat to the right and there's a bunker guarding on the right hand side.
Speaker B:So yeah, it's.
Speaker B:It never goes the way you want it to, but that's, I think the best part of golf is you envision what you want and it doesn't happen on that first shot.
Speaker B:So you gotta improvise.
Speaker A:When I'm walking around that green when the tournament's on, taking pictures, and then when you play it like on Monday afterwards, you know, it does.
Speaker A:It's not the same.
Speaker B:It's never the same.
Speaker A:It's just not the same.
Speaker A:For some reason.
Speaker A:I haven't figured that out yet.
Speaker B:Yeah, I think that's why it's so great to watch players.
Speaker B:You know, when you can play your golf course and then you watch a player.
Speaker B:I recently played with Caroline, she's a member at our club and lpga.
Speaker B:And just watching her play, it's amazing like professionals, how good they are.
Speaker B:Same thing as I play hockey.
Speaker B:When you step on the ice rink, you think you're good until you step on the ice rink with a professional player.
Speaker B:And it's just total different worlds.
Speaker B:And that's the same thing, is just there's a huge gap between, you know, a decent amateur and a really good professional or just a, you know, professional in general.
Speaker A:Yeah, I've noticed that over the years.
Speaker A:And I'm being sincere, not my normal smart ass type remarks here, but the first time I ever heard a pro hit a golf ball, and I remember this still, and I've said this a few times on the show, was Andy Bean.
Speaker A:And he's long retired from the everything.
Speaker A:Now I don't know what he's doing.
Speaker A:But Andy Bean was playing in a pro am over at the Portland Golf Club with Jack Whitaker.
Speaker A:This was a Jacobson's deal, you know, quite a long time ago.
Speaker A:And Andy Bean comes.
Speaker A:Him and Whitaker had been at the bar already that morning because they were teeing off at 11 and they came out and they were looking pretty rosy and pretty happy about life, you know, and he walked up there and he hit that golf ball.
Speaker A:And I heard that sound, which is a different sound than when I hit it.
Speaker A:And probably when you hit it.
Speaker A:Yep.
Speaker A:You know, and you heard that, that rocket explosion and it just.
Speaker A:And I'm like, wow.
Speaker A:Of course, then later on, you know, I get to covering golf tournaments and being around golf tournaments, pros, some amateurs, but pros.
Speaker A:And you hear that and you and you think, well, I can hit it that way.
Speaker A:No, you can't.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:No, you can't.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:It's not even close.
Speaker B:It's amazing.
Speaker B:The sound or just, you know, standing next to a professional golfer playing golf.
Speaker B:When we were down at Royal Melbourne and in Australia, Adam Scott had donated his clubs that he won the Masters with, and they're on display at the golf club.
Speaker B:And on the club face, there's a little tiny, like, worn out spot that is like the sweet spot where you're supposed to hit.
Speaker B:And it's interesting, you know, like when I hit a ball, you pick a seven iron, there's like five different yardages you could get out of that because you never hit it in that spot.
Speaker B:And you can never make that sound that you hear when you're playing with a professional player.
Speaker A:Right, right.
Speaker A:Mine looks like a road map of Cleveland.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:There's just stuff all over it.
Speaker B:Yep.
Speaker A:You know, every once in a while I get that spot, though.
Speaker B:And that's why golf keeps you coming back.
Speaker B:That's every once in a while you can hit it because you hit it.
Speaker A:You feel it, and you go, wow.
Speaker A:And one of your playing partners goes, hey, great shot, man.
Speaker A:Oh, yeah, I'm good.
Speaker A:You know, you walk up there, then you scull the next one, then it goes about 30ft into the bushes.
Speaker A:That's why we play, though.
Speaker B:Yep, absolutely.
Speaker A:That's why we play.
Speaker A:It's always.
Speaker A:It's that elusive feel and sound.
Speaker A:I think.
Speaker A:I don't, you know, because I really don't even keep score anymore.
Speaker A:Honestly, I really don't.
Speaker A:I just like to go to have a good time.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:I have a friend on the scorecard.
Speaker B:She writes a smiley face or a frown face for the whole.
Speaker B:No, no score.
Speaker B:Just smiley face and frown face.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:So I thought that was pretty neat.
Speaker A:Yeah, well, I just, you know, I sign up for my handicap thing.
Speaker A:You know, I hadn't for a couple of years.
Speaker A:I redid it this year because.
Speaker A:Just something I thought I should do, but I don't.
Speaker A:I really don't.
Speaker A:And I played a lot of scrambles.
Speaker A:So you one guy with a card and he's like, did we birdie or did we not?
Speaker A:You know, and that's really all you care about in those things.
Speaker A:And, and, but that's fine for me, where I'm at with my game and, and my stage of life and stuff.
Speaker A:I'm, I'm, I'm good with it.
Speaker B:Golf is social.
Speaker A:Golf is social.
Speaker A:I will tell you a story a few My buddy Steve and I were playing down at Langdon, and we were playing with this doctor and his son.
Speaker A:Nice, very nice people.
Speaker A:And the son could really.
Speaker A:And he wasn't a young kid.
Speaker A:He was in his probably late 30s, early 40s, but he could just blast it off the tee.
Speaker A:You know, he had kind of a weird stance and a weird swing, but whatever.
Speaker A:That's not my concern.
Speaker A:But he could really powder that thing down there.
Speaker A:Problem was the short game and stuff, you know, but his dad was so proud of him because he could.
Speaker A:He could just knock the.
Speaker A:The face off that ball.
Speaker A:But when he came down to it, they didn't play that much better than we did because, I mean, his dad played two or three times a week together, you know.
Speaker A:Anyway, I'm just saying there's more to it than being able to take a driver and pound at 290 yards.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:It goes to show with Bryson Dechambo.
Speaker B:You know, he's changed his putting.
Speaker B:His putting stats weren't very high.
Speaker B:He obviously hits a really long ball, but he changed his putting, worked on his putting big time, and now his putting stats are much better.
Speaker B:And obviously that puts him in a better positions for winning events.
Speaker A:Well, he had to do that, too, with.
Speaker A:With Koepka a few years ago.
Speaker A:He did the same thing.
Speaker A:You know, he.
Speaker A:He was great until he got real, you know, on the fringe and stuff.
Speaker A:And then it was.
Speaker A:It was rough for him.
Speaker A:So he really put some work into it, and, you know, you look at the result.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Hopefully with my new backyard putting green and chipping area and bunker, my short game will improve and my putting will improve.
Speaker A:Did you get a bunker in there, too?
Speaker B:I did.
Speaker B:I actually got a pretty small bunker in there, which is pretty nice.
Speaker A:You never told me that the last time.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Did you steal sand from the country club?
Speaker B:No, but I did use the same quality sand that the club uses, so it kind of matches.
Speaker B:I think my bunker is more just for visual and that kind of deal, you know, I'll probably play out of it.
Speaker B:Right now, my daughter's using it for a sandbox more than anything else.
Speaker A:There you go.
Speaker A:Just be careful, you know, check when you go in there.
Speaker A:There might be a little shovel or a Barbie or something buried in there.
Speaker B:Yep.
Speaker B:She's left some stuff for me.
Speaker A:All right.
Speaker A:Kind of the last thing today.
Speaker A:Jim and I do this with most of my professional guests.
Speaker A:Give me your prognostication for where golf is and where you think we're going real quick.
Speaker B:Yeah, well, I mean, like we were talking about earlier, with COVID and rounds, our club just did 3,000 rounds for the month of December, which is a normal 1,500.
Speaker B:So that's a big push.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:We did 48,000 rounds for the year.
Speaker B:That's a lot for our club, goes to show you, with that many rounds that members are out playing.
Speaker B:So I think the game's growing and I think that's a benefit that's come out of the COVID So let's hope that it continues to grow.
Speaker A:I think so.
Speaker A:And I think one of the things, I actually think one of the things that golf, the industry has taken a look at is trying to keep the prices in line because as we had that growth spurt a few years ago, you know, and they.
Speaker A: se, right after, in the early: Speaker A:Okay, well, that obviously slowed down.
Speaker A:A lot of golf courses closed because they didn't sell out the developments or they couldn't keep the memberships up, up or what have you.
Speaker A:Fine.
Speaker A:But I think the industry got cognitive about the costs to.
Speaker A:To players.
Speaker A:I think they.
Speaker A:And maybe I'm wrong because I don't see any stats on this, or I haven't yet, but I think they've kind of leveled off a little bit and they've become.
Speaker A:Some of the clubs, the public courses and stuff have become more creative with different, you know, men's clubs, ladies clubs, little sub tournaments, different things like that.
Speaker A:I think they've gotten very creative and made it.
Speaker A:It's not cheap and it's not free, but it's also not going to probably break the bank if you go do this stuff now.
Speaker B:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker B:I think like you said, golf's growing and if we keep it at a reasonable price, it'll continue to grow.
Speaker A:Yeah, we like that.
Speaker A:Jim, thanks for being with it.
Speaker B:Yeah, thank you, J.T.
Speaker B:always a pleasure being here.
Speaker A:No problem.
Speaker A:We'll be back next week with another edition of Grilling at the Green.
Speaker A:Until then, just smile.
Speaker A:Everything's going to get better eventually, I promise.
