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Is Jon Rahm Going to LIV and Will He Leave the PGA Tour?
Episode 11 • 3rd November 2023 • Golf Lovers United: Discussing Golf, the Fair Way • Golf Lovers United
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Is Jon Rahm going to LIV? Will Jon Rahm leave the PGA Tour?

Jay and Mark delve into the swirling rumors about Jon Rahm's potential move to LIV Golf after his withdrawal from the inaugural TGL season.

They dissect the implications of Rahm, a player at the peak of his powers, possibly jumping ship from the PGA Tour. The conversation takes a look at Rahm's career trajectory, his fit within the LIV Golf ethos, and what his departure would mean for the traditional bastions of golf.

We also discuss the long game as Jay and Mark explore the elements of LIV Golf that may stand the test of time and contribute to its legacy while making it more compelling as a product. They analyze the innovative aspects of the series, from its team format to its audience engagement strategies, and speculate on how these might influence the evolution of golf.

The duo also casts a speculative eye towards the TGL, Tiger Woods' and Rory McIlroy's Monday night golf league, pondering its potential to rejuvenate interest in the sport and draw in a new generation of golf enthusiasts. They conclude with reflections on how TGL's format, media strategy, and star power could serve as a catalyst for growth in a sport that is battling to retain its relevance in an ever-changing sports entertainment landscape.

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If you like the show, remember to tell your golf-loving friends that they can subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and at https://www.glugc.com.

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Golf Lovers United is produced by Mark (@MrAsquith), Ben (@GolfLoverUK) and J (@ProGolfCritic) every week.

Transcripts

Speaker:

Hey there and welcome to Golf Lovers

United where we discuss golf the fair way.

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And what an episode we have today, despite

the absence of our longtime friend and the

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Fox Mulder of the golfing world.

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That is of course, Mr.

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Ben at Golf Lover UK.

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He's out traveling the world, seeking out

the world's worst golf courses, tweeting

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about them and getting free rounds for

everyone.

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:

If you're wondering what the heck I'm

talking about, go and check out at Golf

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Dad UK

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Instagram, but of course I'm joined as

usual with Jay at Pro Golf Critic and

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:

we're going to go into that really

fascinating live team championship as won

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:

by none other than Crushers and perhaps

even more interestingly we're going to

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spend a little bit of time on the rumor

mill because only today as we record this

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we've had something that may be pivotal,

something that may not be pivotal, but

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that's why it's called the rumor mill so

stick around for that as we...

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get through this episode.

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:

If you enjoy the show, check out last

week's episode where we talked about SNC

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strength and conditioning in a fantastic

interview that Ben did with personal

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trainer and golf enthusiast Jamie Greaves.

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Episode 10 is available now in Spotify,

Apple and of course at glugc.com.

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And if you liked the show, let us know.

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If you hate the show, let us know.

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It's just as much fun over on Twitter at

glugl.

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I'm Mark at Golf Dad UK and without

further ado, let me bring on Jay.

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How are you my friend?

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You've had quite the whirlwind couple of

weeks out there in Miami and be following

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your antics over on the grammar as well.

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So how's that been, man?

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All right.

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Yeah, it's been great.

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It's been kind of a whirlwind last couple

of weeks.

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A fair amount's happened the last couple

of weeks.

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Sort of, you know, it's kind of funny.

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Whenever you're on the ground at a live

event, especially me nowadays, because I

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am getting, I'm starting to get recognized

more and more.

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I think people see me in my four aces hat

and kind of flag me down.

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I was taking pictures of.

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with folks, it was actually kind of a

little bit of a surreal experience.

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And also just having various like players,

you know, seek me out and.

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Sort of thank me for my contributions to

the conversation about.

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Live and professional golf and sort of the

things that I've written about all of the

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sort of takes that I've had, like that's

it was really validating for me.

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But, you know, this, the show is about me.

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It's about.

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golf, it's about professional golf, it's

about the future of professional golf.

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So we have a lot to, uh, to talk about.

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So yeah, it was a great time.

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Good, good, good.

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I also saw you got eyeballed by DJ at the

press conference you sat there.

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I saw that, I saw that.

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Hehehehe.

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I did, it was surreal.

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I mean, it was one of those things where,

so the press was sort of getting seated.

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I decided to sit next to my colleague,

Teddy from Luckiest Golfers.

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He was sitting front row.

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We didn't exactly know how sort of the

seating arrangements were gonna work.

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It just happened to be I was sitting right

in front of DJ and I had to.

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my high flyers hat on to support Phil

because they had just come off the course

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and high flyers obviously won their

competition against smash and literally

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I'm not even thinking about the hat that I

have on at the time and DJs just kind of

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eyeballing like oh yeah I have my high

flyers hat on so I take off the hat and he

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literally like

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30 seconds later picks the high flyers to

a plan the matches the following day,

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which they obviously won.

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So, um, I was back in my four aces hat the

next day, which was, um, you know,

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obviously the aces are my, uh, team and I

obviously I'm always going to support Phil

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in the high, high flyers, but you know, we

always have to have priorities.

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And obviously the aces are my squad and.

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You know, so, uh, you know, it was a

great, uh, great pressure.

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Um,

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It's always really interesting being a

part of the sort of press core at one of

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these events because it's really a motley

crew of folks.

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I mean, you have people that are sort of

golf influencers and you have people that

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are more traditional press, like people

from golf week and golf digest and ESPN

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and sports illustrated and all that, uh,

golf channel.

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Um, and then you have people like, like me

that, that sort of, uh, what I like, like

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to call new golf media.

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where it's not something that's really a

career for me.

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It's something where it's obviously just

something where I'm independent, but yeah,

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it's always kind of an interesting thing

interacting with folks.

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I know Ben has had his own very

interesting interactions with more

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traditional golf media, as have I.

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I've...

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heard through various rumor mills that I

am somewhat hated in the traditional golf

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media space, which I honestly don't mind.

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I think I'm totally fine with that, but,

um, it is really interesting to sort of be

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a part of that conversation.

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So, uh, yeah, proud to be proud to be

representing golf lovers, United, uh,

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proud to be representing myself, um, in

the expressers and, uh, just having the

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opportunity to ask questions to, you know,

players that I've followed for.

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years and years and years.

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And yeah, it was really a really great

time.

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So.

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Good man, I was thinking in these kind of

situations, when you're doing something

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like this, whether it's a podcast, whether

it's your writing that you do, which a lot

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of people follow, I'm a firm believer in,

it's better to be hated than to be not

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noticed.

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And I always say this to people that at

work, I work in podcasting, I work in

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audio, I work in this audio space and also

massive golf enthusiast as well, which is

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how we ended up here.

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But I always talk about this idea of just

not

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being the gray person, not being the

person no one notices, not being the

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wallflower.

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And there's going to be people that you

piss off.

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There's going to be people that hate you.

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There's going to be people that love you.

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And I think there's a fine line between

contrarian for the contrarian sake or

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being contrarian because it needs a bit of

contrarianism to actually get out of a

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fair and diverse range of views.

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And I find that.

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especially in the world today, you get so

many people that are trying to be

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influencers that are just contrary and for

the sake of it, they're not really doing

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anything factual.

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They're not really doing anything that is

opinion based yet data backed.

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You know, we know your background is an

analyst, like everything you do is backed

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by data, which I think is amazing.

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Um, so I love that mate.

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And one question I'm going to ask you,

which is very, it's very, very timely.

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Um, you mentioned the press conference.

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I just listened to Gary Williams of five

clubs podcast with, uh, with Alan

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Shipnook, I just listened to that just

today.

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He's got the Live and Let Die book out,

which I think will be interesting to read.

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Goes into quite a lot of depth on that

one.

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One thing he did mention and he coins the

phrase new media.

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I mean, new media is the phrase has been

around for such a long time.

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Anyway, there is sort of just media now,

which is wild.

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But the idea that Alan Shipnett brought to

Gary Williams was that actually.

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There's a lot of traditional media and

even some new media potentially that

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simply refused to go and refused to go.

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to the live events, which I think is wild,

given the influence that live has, whether

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you like it, whether you hate it, whether

you agree with it, disagree with it, it's

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there.

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It's big enough to wield power.

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It's big enough to wield influence to the

point where even things like the BBC News

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website just has a live section now, which

it didn't what six months ago.

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So do you have you?

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How have you noticed that change?

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Have you seen more and more people turning

up at these events that maybe wouldn't

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have gone?

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Or is that

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Do you think that divides still there?

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What's the, what's that climate like on

the ground at the minute?

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Yeah, you know, the divide is definitely

still there.

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You know, that's something that I sort of

tapped into very early on in this whole,

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you know, process.

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And I was actually there sitting next to,

uh, live golf nation.

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Shout out to, uh, to him.

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Um, we were actually talking about the

origin of the corrupt golf media while we

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were, while we were actually sitting next

to each other and one of these press

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conferences.

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And I will give him credit.

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I'm going to publicly do this.

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We went back into the tweets.

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He was the first person ever to mention

corrupt golf media.

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So shout out to live golf nation.

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I got to give him credit.

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But I will say that, you know, I think

there is definitely a few sort of forces

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at play here.

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One of the things that I've noticed and I

honestly can't blame them is the fact that

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I do think that Liv has sort of

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noticed folks in the golf media who have

been particularly, particularly biased and

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particularly negative against them from

the beginning.

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I think that has been pretty obvious and

sort of clear to sort of anybody paying

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attention.

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Then there's been others that have sort of

called things a little, a little more down

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the middle.

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I know we talked to Jerry Foltz about

that, you know, earlier in the year, where

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we

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talked about folks that have been a little

bit more fair to live.

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And I think that that's really anyone that

is part of the sort of traditional golf

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media.

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That's kind of to me, in order to be fair,

like that's you do have to report

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unbiasedly.

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I think it's a really, really important

thing.

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And I think there's not enough of that in

this sort of new age of media,

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unfortunately.

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So.

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No, I do think that there are some outlets

that refuse to cover.

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I think that there are more and more that

are starting to warm up to it, especially

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because the golf landscape is sort of

changing, you know, seems like a month to

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month, week to week, day to day.

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So I think that a lot of these media folks

need to sort of get out in front of that.

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I think this was a really important thing

because so many were predicting that like,

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Liv wasn't even gonna be a thing in 2024

and that allegedly Jay Monahan is gonna

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kill Liv for next year, which is obviously

not gonna happen.

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So, and I do think that it's starting to

become a little bit more clear sort of how

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the golf landscape is gonna look in the

next few years.

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And I do think that it's important for

more and more outlets to sort of call live

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fairly.

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And I think if they do that, live is going

to be a little bit more sort of open to

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inviting, being a little bit more open to

sort of all outlets that aren't

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necessarily just going to go in order to

bash them.

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Because I know for a fact, there's been

certain outlets that...

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you know, requested credentials and they

got denied for various reasons.

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And one of those has been, they've been

obviously biased against Liv from the

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beginning.

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And it's like, if I'm anyone in Liv

communications, like why would I extend

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that olive branch to those people that I

feel like haven't been treating me fairly?

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So I think that's totally fair.

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I do think that things are going to, I can

see a world where in:

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sort of relax a little bit.

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I think that obviously things are

changing.

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I do think that there's gonna be more and

more press at the live events next year,

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especially if some of these rumors that

we're sort of hearing and sort of

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gathering steam sort of bear out.

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So, you know, and I do think that the, you

know, courses and locations are gonna be

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really interesting for next year.

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I think there's obviously gonna be new

players, there's gonna be new talent,

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there's gonna be new teams, there's gonna

be people sort of switching teams.

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and I've already sort of tapped into some

of that stuff and I'm happy to sort of

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share that with our listeners.

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I'm not under any NDAs at this point, so

any information that I gather, anything

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that I share with the listeners, I am

gonna preface it with, you know, this is a

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rumor or this is what I'm hearing, or if

there's things that I know for a fact are

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already on the horizon, I'm gonna preface

it with that.

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So.

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when everybody would take everything with

a grain of salt.

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But yeah, there's a lot going on.

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And yeah, 2024 live season is setting up

to be really, really interesting.

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Love it.

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Interesting stuff.

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Yeah.

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We'll get to that rumor mill in just a

bit.

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I think you mentioned something there that

I'm interested in, which is the landscape

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smoothed out a little bit.

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I had a bit of a discussion with Ben on

Twitter, actually.

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Was it yesterday or the day before?

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And it's I agree.

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I think that the landscape will smooth out

a little bit, because as you said, lives

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not going anywhere, you know, like it or

loathe it.

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It doesn't really matter.

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Because you like all of the PGA, the DP

will do it.

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They all exist.

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And the goal is for them all to coexist

and for golf to

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to continue to grow and to just become

better as a product, you know, the world

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stage to become more diverse and much

better as a product overall.

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One of the things that I really struggle

with is like the tribalism with all this,

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you know, the tribalism of, and I think

we're all guilty of it, you know, I'm not

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excluded, I'm not standing on high and

saying, okay, now this is you doing this,

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I think it's everyone.

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It's like the tribalism of

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I am Liv, you're PGA, I am PGA, you're

Liv.

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Like I equate it to almost like Star Wars

and Star Trek.

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I'm a huge Star Wars, I'm a huge pop

culture guy, right?

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If you hate the sequels, then to someone

that loves them, it's not just that's cool

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to have an opinion.

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It's like, I hate you, I hate your family,

and I hope your neighbors like lose their

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job as well.

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Yeah, it's that fricking extreme, man.

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And I'm seeing this with Liv and PGA on

Twitter all the time.

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It's not like...

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But we almost do it like we can fall into

that trap.

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Like, you know, I'll do it on Twitter.

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You do it on Twitter.

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Ben falls into the trap on Twitter.

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We all do where you might tweet something

that is okay.

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Well, tell me why you don't like it.

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And then you get the information and

you're still like, well, you're wrong.

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And they're not, they can't be wrong.

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Cause opinions are opinions.

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So it's, I don't even think there's a

question in this, but I just see that as,

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it's a stopper, isn't it?

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And I wonder if there's people like,

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Certainly you and Ben that actively write

about this, that actively go out and seek

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to help this.

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Right, it's part of our job to go out

there and say, look, actually, let's trim

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the edges, let's get rid of the peaks and

the troughs, and let's all just try and

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become a little bit more centralized here

and try and just soften things a little

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bit.

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You know, that was something that I wrote

about and since something that I thought

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was really kind of an important thing that

I wanted to sort of put out there right

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after the merger happened.

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And it's something that I feel like is

really important for me that I wanted to

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get across.

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You know, look, I feel like I've been

fighting a battle.

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on social media of the past year.

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Like it's been exhausting.

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It's been, you know, more stressful than I

probably would have liked.

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You know, and I have to sort of put my

beefs aside and sort of keep that sort of

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North Star that I think is really, really

important.

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To me that North Star has always been.

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sort of fighting for what I feel like is

the best for a global professional golf.

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Like that's something that I feel like is

really, really important to me.

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And feeling like I'm, I've been sort of

thrust into the fray of sort of being a

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part of this conversation.

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You know, I do feel like, and you know, a

lot of people see me as obviously a voice

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of the live fan, a voice of sort of the

anti-establishment, which I'm

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very, very proud to sort of take that

torch.

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I think that it describes me very, very

well because I've been sort of

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anti-establishment pretty much my entire

life.

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So just because I've always been a little

bit independent and it's like, it's one of

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those things where it doesn't really

matter what you tell me, I'm gonna make my

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own choice, my own decisions.

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And that's a lot of the reasons why, you

know, a lot of folks have decided to.

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you know, follow Liv and be a fan of Liv.

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I think that there's, you know, a lot of

components to that.

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I think people are a fan of the players

that went.

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There's certain people that don't get me

wrong.

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There's certain people out there that

absolutely hate the PJ tour for a variety

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of reasons.

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There's a lot of people that hate the

establishment, the golf establishment.

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There's a lot of people that sort of hate

golf culture, especially here in the

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United States.

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All of those things sort of coalesce with

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the sort of Advent of Live.

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And I do think that it's created this like

cool community of folks that have sort of

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been galvanized by like all of these

various things.

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You know, some of them are, you know,

Trump supporters that have been sort of

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gravitated towards live because we've

played a lot of Trump courses and Donald

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Trump's been sort of front and center at a

lot of events.

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So I think all of those things are in

play.

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Um, and I will say, you know, people have

sort of gotten on me, uh, for, they feel

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like I'm getting soft.

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They feel like I'm sort of getting, uh,

not as angry as I was, you know, three,

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four months, months ago, prior to the, uh,

to the merger.

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And that's, that's totally fine.

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Like that's their opinion.

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No, um, except I wanted to put it out

there that like my number one thing is, is

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really trying to reunite the golf world

and sort of, uh,

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trying to influence it in a way that's

gonna make it as good as it can be.

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And I do think that global golf is gonna

be the beneficiary of everything that sort

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of happened in the last year and a half.

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And I do think that in the next few years,

like I mentioned on the last podcast two

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:

weeks ago, I do think that we're gonna be

looking at a brand new world of

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:

professional golf.

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It's gonna be more global.

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It's gonna be more.

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Uh, way more interesting.

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If you ask me like regular run of the

mill, sort of 50 weeks of regular PJ tour

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events, like as someone that's been a fan

of professional golf for 25 years, has

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just been very monotonous.

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And it's like, I started seeking out other

tournaments, other tours, because I was

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:

like, I mean, how, how many Honda

classics, like, can I watch that are like

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the same course, like the.

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uh, with a deteriorating fields, uh,

quality over the course of the last 10

336

:

years.

337

:

It's like, I mean, I'd rather watch

another tournament for, um, a course that

338

:

I'm not as familiar with, uh, you know, so

I think that all of these things are in

339

:

play, I think that interest is, um, on the

rise, I think we have all of these.

340

:

Uh, factions that are driving interest.

341

:

And I think that it's really important for

the, the powers that be.

342

:

in the professional golf world that we

really need to sort of harness all of

343

:

these sort of new emotions, these new sort

of rivalries that have sort of popped up

344

:

between tours and players.

345

:

Like I think it's like very, very critical

that we actually harness this to make it,

346

:

to make the professional golf world as big

as it can be.

347

:

And you know, one of the biggest examples

that I...

348

:

kind of go back to earlier in the year is

the tournament on the European tour in

349

:

Dubai.

350

:

That's like, you know, it's usually like,

yeah, it's an important event on the DP

351

:

World Tour, but the fact that you had this

Rory Patrick Reed element to it like made

352

:

that tournament like 10 times more

interesting than it usually is.

353

:

So it's like, if you're,

354

:

part of the powers that be in golf and you

didn't see the interest being drummed up

355

:

by that and you think oh we need to

Continue moving here where we banned

356

:

Patrick Reed from this tournament And and

the tournament isn't nearly as interesting

357

:

as a as it was last year Like you really

need to like you probably need to not be

358

:

running professional golf in that case so

while it's important to

359

:

acknowledge the divisions that we have.

360

:

I think it's also equally important to

sort of use that to galvanize interest in

361

:

professional golf to make it more

interesting, to make it a better product.

362

:

Because I do think that that's where

things are going.

363

:

And I do think that that's sort of where

we're going to be in the next few years.

364

:

Again, we'll have to see how that all pans

out, but I'm very optimistic about that.

365

:

Like Vince been saying from the beginning,

I know people are starting to poo the

366

:

merger, but I still think that it's still

the most likely scenario.

367

:

Just might take a little bit more to more

time, but yeah.

368

:

So that's what I'm hoping for, that in the

next couple of years, we just have a more

369

:

interesting golf product.

370

:

And I really do think that that's where

things are headed.

371

:

And I think that

372

:

directly ties into the rumor mill that we

have with what's currently going on.

373

:

Yeah, one thing I think that Liv will

benefit from as well is time.

374

:

You know, I agree.

375

:

I'm a huge fan of.

376

:

The PGA Tour's legacy, and it's I will

often watch.

377

:

Well, I'm in the UK Sunday nights, the

golf is on, generally speaking, having

378

:

said that.

379

:

The same format gets tiresome.

380

:

It used to be a case I would sit down and

I would watch the golf.

381

:

Now the golf is on.

382

:

And I'm tinkering, I'm doing something,

I'm practicing my putting, I'm doom

383

:

scrolling on the old cell phone or

whatever.

384

:

And I have to admit that the, let's call

them elevated events, whether that is a

385

:

genuine elevated event as we're seeing

them now become, or whether that's like an

386

:

elevated event in my mind.

387

:

So that might be something like the waste

management, where it's like, OK, every

388

:

year I tune in.

389

:

Almost like the majors, you tune in.

390

:

You don't really care that it's the same

format as every year because it's a major,

391

:

it's got legacy, it's interesting there

will be storylines that come out of it.

392

:

But week by week, meh, you're right.

393

:

There's not that much to see.

394

:

And I think a lot of that for me as well

is that the PGA Tour is the most prevalent

395

:

tour.

396

:

It's the same golf.

397

:

If we look at the Ryder Cup and our

discussion about the Ryder Cup, very often

398

:

the DP World Tour and even

399

:

I think it's like the the the the Justin

Rose ladies series on Sky Sports that

400

:

comes on on a Tuesday at whatever time or

whatever it is.

401

:

They're often more interesting because

it's not just long drive, who can get it

402

:

closest with a wedge.

403

:

You know, and it's not it's not just pin

seeking all the time.

404

:

And so that it's become less interesting

because of that you've took a lot of the

405

:

big I don't want to change makers, but you

know, we're out of the tiger era now.

406

:

There aren't there are storylines.

407

:

but they all seem quite individualized

now.

408

:

It's the story of Jordan coming back.

409

:

It's a story of Ricky's tumultuous season.

410

:

It's a story of Justin doing such and

such.

411

:

It's a story of Bryson going away through

COVID, bulking up and hitting mega

412

:

distances and then coming back, trimming

down, still hitting the distances, doing

413

:

the long drive contest and so on.

414

:

There's not the storylines out there, but

what I would say as well is, like I'm

415

:

interested in Liv, but I'm not like you

guys.

416

:

And I would equate this to like tech in

that

417

:

bleeding edge adopters of everything.

418

:

And you are bleeding edge adopter.

419

:

I'm an early adopter.

420

:

I love it.

421

:

I'm really interested.

422

:

I've been interested in Liv from day one.

423

:

And when it was the premier golf league

before that, I was interested in the

424

:

story.

425

:

I was interested in seeing what was going

on.

426

:

I was interested in the Phil story and

whatever else, you know, how he was

427

:

maneuvering.

428

:

The thing that I'm yet to get into as

deeply as you guys is the storylines on

429

:

Liv.

430

:

And I think...

431

:

Yes.

432

:

That's what it will benefit from in terms

of timing and legacy is that three years

433

:

in rivalries will have started to happen.

434

:

Teams will have, you know, the Man City,

Man United, soccer, football rivalry

435

:

didn't happen day one.

436

:

It took a hundred years, you know, so it's

I think that's the thing for me that is

437

:

still missing a little bit from Liv.

438

:

That's not to poo poo the format.

439

:

It's just that I care about Liv as much as

I care about the PGA Tour.

440

:

And I want to.

441

:

elevate the caring of all of these things

by being more interested in the

442

:

storylines.

443

:

Unless you're as deeply embedded as you

are, the storylines for the average viewer

444

:

like me aren't quite there yet because

they're just not, they're just not deep

445

:

enough.

446

:

Yeah.

447

:

I mean, like the worst thing is probably

like Bryson and Brooks making up like

448

:

screw that like be enemies, at least do

the first year as enemies.

449

:

Like you, you, you made up a year too

early guys, you know.

450

:

No, that's those are all fair, fair

points.

451

:

I definitely think that live is gonna

benefit from time.

452

:

And I think that honestly, some of these

rivalries, these natural rivalries that

453

:

have come out of this schism the last

couple years, like people are very much

454

:

living in the present, like there is also

some other popular podcasts that I follow

455

:

that they're like, oh, they're like, so

upset that the landscape is fractured.

456

:

But it's

457

:

You guys need to see this is all a chess

game.

458

:

Like you have to see a few steps ahead

here.

459

:

Like, yes, the game does seem very, very

fractured now, but it's like that fracture

460

:

some, some time.

461

:

And this is the sort of anatomy analogy

that I make.

462

:

Like, you know, sometimes you need to

break a bone in order to make it stronger.

463

:

So that's where I feel like we are in golf

where we've had these various fractures

464

:

that like, if you

465

:

take some of the animosity that's sort of

been galvanized over the past few months,

466

:

a couple of years, like, and you could

sort of channel that into certain events.

467

:

I'm going to run through a scenario for

you for you guys just to sort of try to

468

:

crystallize this a little bit more.

469

:

So let's say for our for argument's sake,

John Rom.

470

:

He does decide to go to live in 2024.

471

:

And he decides to become part of this all

Spanish fireballs team that has a home at

472

:

Valderrama in Spain.

473

:

Let's say that is sort of galvanized over

the next couple of years where it's Ram,

474

:

it's Sergio, it's Eugenio Chikara and it's

David Puj.

475

:

And by the way, David Pooj going to the

fireballs, I've been told is a done deal.

476

:

So part of this has already been sort of

galvanized.

477

:

So let's just say that happens.

478

:

There's certainly going to be a little bit

of animosity from the PJ tour contingent

479

:

that, oh, Rom is a turncoat.

480

:

Like he is, you know, we don't we don't

like him anymore.

481

:

there's gonna be stuff in the press,

there's gonna be fallout from that 100%.

482

:

Now from John Rahm's perspective, he's

able to galvanize this all Spanish team

483

:

that if you open up the doors to other

events, like in this global golf series

484

:

that we've been sort of touting for the

last, probably month or so, what if he...

485

:

that he's able to take that team and like

travel to some of these, these legacy

486

:

events, like the waste management, Phoenix

open is that fire?

487

:

Is that fireballs team going to get, get

booed?

488

:

I know Sergio isn't very well liked in the

United States.

489

:

If he's able to convince John around the

coma, come over to his team, that

490

:

animosity is going to be even higher than

what it was before.

491

:

And then you can start transitioning that

over to the writer cup too, where I've

492

:

proposed that I.

493

:

felt like a future Ryder Cup team could

include all four of those guys with maybe

494

:

Sergio being a captain with Rom leading

the charge with push and Chikara being

495

:

like a really formidable four ball team.

496

:

Like, I do think that that's possible.

497

:

Like all of a sudden, the public interest

in golf, you're able to capture some of

498

:

that energy that maybe comes from these.

499

:

this team becoming a little bit more of a

sort of traveling.

500

:

I don't want to call it traveling circus,

but it is in some ways where you're going

501

:

to these various parts of the world.

502

:

Now you have a clear identity with this

team.

503

:

There's emotion around it.

504

:

There's, there will be a huge amount of

sort of Spanish pride with this particular

505

:

team.

506

:

So if you're traveling to other parts of

Europe,

507

:

You're traveling to the UK.

508

:

I'm really interested to see a team like

fireballs.

509

:

Like what's the reception going to going

to be with a John Rommel on the team.

510

:

So, um, I think that all of these things

could lead to, uh, sort of tapping into

511

:

that sort of pop culture element of sort

of casual fans that maybe you could bring

512

:

into the game a little bit more than what

they are now.

513

:

Those are the things people need to look

to in the future in two, three years that

514

:

we could potentially have.

515

:

So much we could potentially have more

interest in professional golf than we've

516

:

ever, ever had.

517

:

And maybe all of this culminates in the

:

518

:

Maybe it culminates a couple of years

later at a dare manner.

519

:

I think that this everything in the

landscape just, it makes things so much

520

:

more interesting, all the possibilities

out there.

521

:

So if you're a

522

:

that aside, look, your traditional events

are probably still going to be around.

523

:

For the most part, I think there are going

to be some casualties moving forward.

524

:

Except looking at the long term health of

the game, like in a few years, this could

525

:

be exactly what golf needs to get a

younger audience, to get more of an

526

:

audience, to get more of a global

audience.

527

:

I think that all these things are in play

to make.

528

:

professional golf way more interesting and

bigger than it's ever been before.

529

:

So I do think that these things do take a

little bit of time to sort of formalize

530

:

things and sort of develop more rivalries

and seeing what happens with the mergers,

531

:

seeing what happens with the potential

global golf landscape changing in the next

532

:

few years.

533

:

All of this is in play.

534

:

Personally, I'm really, really excited to

see how this.

535

:

plays out over the next few years.

536

:

Like I've never been more excited about

the feature of professional golf than I am

537

:

now.

538

:

And you could probably hear it in my

voice.

539

:

So this is something that I'm super

passionate about.

540

:

I think it's something that everybody

needs to sort of think about ways that

541

:

like the golf world can improve from all

this rather than being negative.

542

:

Because I know that most golf fans have

this.

543

:

Maybe it's something in our DNA just with

our golf games, just being generally

544

:

negative about anything related to golf.

545

:

If we hit a bad shot, we're really, really

negative about it.

546

:

I want people to try to flip that and try

to be optimistic about what the future

547

:

professional golf could look like, because

I do think that we're headed into some

548

:

very, very exciting times here.

549

:

I think the growth of the game with a

different audience, I think is very, very

550

:

important.

551

:

And I love the excitement, the enthusiasm,

because I see so many people getting into

552

:

golf.

553

:

I'm reasonably tapped into the indoor

virtual space in the UK and a little bit

554

:

in the US as well, mainly just through

building a sim.

555

:

And then my toxic trait is that every time

I do, if I do something I'm interested in,

556

:

I'm gonna build a business and do this for

reals.

557

:

So now I'm like looking for a space to

build a fucking Simba.

558

:

You know, I want to put like six spaces in

there, get a bar and whatever.

559

:

So I'm actually looking for units for that

right now.

560

:

But the point that I'm getting at is that

a lot of my friends, you know, you've got

561

:

people that have played golf with me for

20 or 30 years.

562

:

30 years, which is a shock.

563

:

I know looking at me, you wouldn't think

so, Jay, but 30 years hitting a five iron

564

:

around a field.

565

:

And then I've got friends that are just

getting into it.

566

:

Right?

567

:

And...

568

:

They started out by going on a Muni in

their work clothes and some with some

569

:

borrowed clubs.

570

:

They got addicted to it.

571

:

They bought their own clubs.

572

:

They They revere going out on a course.

573

:

No more than they revere going down to an

indoor simulator with a beer and getting

574

:

the pizza and hitting some balls there as

well.

575

:

It's the eggs to them golf is golf and

sure they turn up their respect.

576

:

replace their divots, they fix their pitch

marks, they wear the right clothes, they

577

:

wear the joggers, they wear the hoodies,

this is a golf hoodie I've got on.

578

:

And they, so my point is that that

generation of people getting into this now

579

:

don't necessarily want to join a club like

my club that I'm at right now, lovely

580

:

club, amazing club, it's in a Mackenzie

design course, big Heathland place,

581

:

really, really outstanding course.

582

:

You got to get a frigging referral.

583

:

You got to go on the boards for two weeks.

584

:

I got told off for wearing this very golf

hoodie at the course when I bought it from

585

:

their pro shop.

586

:

And it was by a member, Grant, and I just

said, oh, listen, dude, I got it from the

587

:

actual pro shop.

588

:

This is ridiculous.

589

:

Go away.

590

:

But the guys that you're talking about and

the

591

:

The boys, the girls that are coming up

through and wanting to get into golf.

592

:

To them, there is no distinction.

593

:

It's golf is golf.

594

:

If you play it indoors, cause it's

raining, it's virtual golf.

595

:

Live is interesting to them.

596

:

The PGA, the heritage of, you know, me

telling my daughter about Tiger winning

597

:

the masters, the 97, you know, that's

great.

598

:

All it translates to is I'm watching the

masters.

599

:

I know about this, but I'm not beholden to

the PGA.

600

:

So I think the point that I'm getting at

is that everything is generational and

601

:

everything.

602

:

Yes.

603

:

You know, look what Tiger did for the

game.

604

:

Look what the big three did for the game,

you know, a generation before that or two

605

:

before that.

606

:

This is just another inflection point,

isn't it?

607

:

You know, we all benefit if we get it

right.

608

:

Exactly.

609

:

People think that because you have new

things, all this, this legacy stuff goes

610

:

away and that's totally not the case.

611

:

Like I think that it, um, if anything, if

you are continuously growing the game and

612

:

sort of having these other leagues, other

things that are peaking interests, like

613

:

it's only enhancing the legacy of those

great players, like, you know, looking

614

:

ahead.

615

:

I had sort of 20, 30 years, like seeing

someone like, like Tigers won 82 PGA tour

616

:

events, like no one's ever going to come

close to that.

617

:

So, and I think that that's only going to

increase his legacy.

618

:

No one's ever, ever going to win 82

worldwide events, whether they're live PGA

619

:

tour, DP world tour is not going to

happen.

620

:

His legacy is going to elevate

substantially because I do think that

621

:

we're having more competition.

622

:

We're having more as you grow golf.

623

:

you're not going to have this huge gap of

talent.

624

:

Like you're going to have everybody who's

involved is going to be at a very, they're

625

:

going to be at a higher level in the

future than they are now, because when you

626

:

have more people participating in golf,

you're going to have more golfers, you're

627

:

going to have more top golfers, and that

very, very top is only going to continue

628

:

to get better.

629

:

So it's going to be very, very hard to

sort of separate yourself at that elite

630

:

level.

631

:

And I think that

632

:

Uh, you know, having all of these sort of

new things like, like live and then TGL is

633

:

another one that look, I've talked to a

lot of live fans.

634

:

I know people are down on the TGL for a

variety of reasons.

635

:

Number one being just how.

636

:

Team golf has been totally sort of poo

pooed by PGA tour, traditionalists and

637

:

all, um, all that.

638

:

And I do think that honestly, some of

those seeds that they planted anti-live

639

:

seeds are going to.

640

:

uh, germinate against TGL too.

641

:

So I do think they're going to have more

headwinds than they probably should.

642

:

But it's like, look, this is the

environment you created to try to defend

643

:

your product that was a losing battle from

the beginning.

644

:

Anybody with a brain saw that this was not

going to end well for that particular

645

:

argument.

646

:

It just wasn't.

647

:

So, you know, I do think that, um, all of

these things, new things are only going to

648

:

ink.

649

:

the sort of global footprint of golf.

650

:

Like I love simulator golf.

651

:

Like honestly, I like simulator golf maybe

even more than like getting out on a

652

:

regular golf course because I just play

way better in a simulator.

653

:

I just do.

654

:

Like I, my score, you would be shocked at

how good some of my scores are in the

655

:

simulator where I would shoot.

656

:

I don't want to toot my own horn here, but

on the front night at San Andrews, I shot

657

:

28 at Torrey Pines from the very, very

back tees.

658

:

I shot six 63.

659

:

Guess what?

660

:

I'm not doing that in real life.

661

:

So, um, no, but I, I do think that I've

known enough people that have played

662

:

simulator golf.

663

:

And like I grew up kind of being a video

game junkie when I was a kid and

664

:

You know, being able to sort of combine

those two worlds of video games and golf,

665

:

like two of the things that I grew up sort

of loving and sort of gravitating to, like

666

:

I know that like a lot of these kids that

are not part of these fancy clubs and

667

:

country clubs, like they're just regular

kids that maybe get on a public golf

668

:

course a few times a year.

669

:

Like if you do have these,

670

:

Simulators are a little bit more

accessible where they could go there with

671

:

their friends It's like an after-school

thing like I could see there.

672

:

They're being clubs at schools that are

like simulator golf clubs like that's

673

:

Certainly looking into the future five ten

years.

674

:

I 100% think that that's on the table I

think that there's so many of these places

675

:

that are currently being constructed I

think that TGL is

676

:

going to tap into that.

677

:

And I think it helps them substantially

that they're gonna be on these very big

678

:

networks here in the United States that, I

wish that sort of Liv could sort of tap

679

:

into a little bit more, because I think

that the more exposure it gets on those

680

:

more traditional networks, the more

interest is gonna be galvanized.

681

:

And look, I love CW.

682

:

I have been...

683

:

touting them ever since they started

broadcasting live.

684

:

But I will say, it's not an ideal

situation.

685

:

Like you want to be able to broadcast

every event live, no matter what time of

686

:

day it's on.

687

:

Having this sort of tape delay thing for

the international events, I just, I don't

688

:

see that as being a viable solution for

the longterm.

689

:

Like I really do think that you have to

sort of figure something else out.

690

:

Which I think that they,

691

:

They will, I've already sort of been

tapped into some of the things going on at

692

:

Liv talking to various executives when I

was boots on the ground in Miami.

693

:

They are still, one of the great analogies

one of the executives told me was that,

694

:

you know, Liv has been like a, they have

been building the airplane while flying it

695

:

the last year and a half.

696

:

Like they're not even close to tapping

into their full potential.

697

:

They've had so many headwinds the last

year and a half, mostly caused by the PJ

698

:

tour and its partners.

699

:

Um, I wrote a whole piece on, on that.

700

:

It's been a running theme in some of our

writing that if you want to go to a

701

:

Twitter profile and check, uh, check it

out, feel free.

702

:

You know, they've had so many headwinds

now that those things are being cleared

703

:

out.

704

:

All these barriers are being cleared out.

705

:

like now they can really start to

supercharge the tour to sort of galvanize

706

:

interest.

707

:

And I think a lot of this negativity is

going to go away as we just go through

708

:

time.

709

:

Like I think that that's 100% the case and

it's gonna happen in the next couple of

710

:

years.

711

:

So again, we'll have to see how things pan

out.

712

:

But I do think that it's part of the

reason why I also wrote

713

:

a piece, like even if there is a part of

professional golf you don't like, if you

714

:

don't like Liv, you don't like the TGL,

you don't like the PJ tour, that's totally

715

:

fine.

716

:

You just can't be super negative about it

that's going to maybe turn somebody else

717

:

off to it that may potentially like it

because you just don't want to be a

718

:

barrier.

719

:

If we can all agree that we want global

golf to be as healthy and big as it can

720

:

be.

721

:

Part of that is you just don't want to be

a barrier to entry for other people.

722

:

So, because there's so many entry points

now to golf and it's only gonna increase.

723

:

So you being negative about any part of

that isn't helping things, it's just not.

724

:

So I just want everybody to keep that in

mind as we continue to move forward.

725

:

I think that's a really important thing

that people need to keep in mind.

726

:

And it's something that I've been keeping

in mind for the last...

727

:

three, four months, like I've been trying

my best not to be negative about the PJ

728

:

tour.

729

:

I really have.

730

:

I fail a lot of those times because I am

so frustrated by some of the things that

731

:

the PJ tour has done, some of the things

that they continue to do, some of the

732

:

lies, some of the just things that really,

really grind my gears.

733

:

So, and I think some of that's going to be

resolved when new leadership comes in and

734

:

sort of has a whole

735

:

sort of vibe, it's a little bit more, it

just clearing out some of this culture

736

:

that's just rotten at the PJ Tour, I think

is gonna be the healthiest thing for a

737

:

global golf as a whole.

738

:

So hopefully that's gonna be, you know,

one of those barriers that gets removed

739

:

and in the future we're gonna be living in

a much, much better golf.

740

:

fingers crossed, and I'm sure it will

shake out.

741

:

I think 2024 will be a bit of a pivotal

year.

742

:

I think now that, as you said, now that

some of the live, it's funny that you look

743

:

at the time of like when the premier golf

league disappeared or the notion of it

744

:

disappeared, and then suddenly how quick

live came about, there's no surprise that

745

:

they've been flying the plane while

building it.

746

:

That's absolutely no surprise.

747

:

And as someone that, to equate this to

like the startup world, been in that for a

748

:

long time, and that's what you do.

749

:

And if you've got the backing of a fund of

that size, you can do that at a much

750

:

greater scale, but you still face teething

problems.

751

:

It's just they're way more public.

752

:

And I think we've seen that.

753

:

And I think that's a really useful mindset

to keep, is that actually this is almost

754

:

like an alpha.

755

:

Now let's get to beta.

756

:

And then we'll see where the product goes.

757

:

Let's finish up on the roomamil.

758

:

My friend, we've all seen it today as

we're recording.

759

:

I would like to personally thank John Rahm

for saving this until the day that we

760

:

record.

761

:

It's a real pleasure.

762

:

So thank you, John.

763

:

He's pulled out of, it really is, it

really is, man.

764

:

So he's pulled out of the TGL.

765

:

We've seen some of the teams get

galvanized a little bit.

766

:

There's still a couple more to be

announced.

767

:

There's one more team to be announced, and

then the full rosters of the teams.

768

:

We know JT has been placed.

769

:

Um, we've seen Rory and Terrell today has

been announced at being at Boston and, uh,

770

:

you know, he's starting to take shape now,

but one notable absence now then is John

771

:

Ram.

772

:

Now I'm not going to lie to you.

773

:

Ben was tweeting this, go and check it out

at Gulf of the UK.

774

:

We've seen he was implying he's going to

live and I'm not going to lie, mate.

775

:

I tweeted him and I said, no chance, no

chance.

776

:

Um, and yeah, I was, I could be way wrong.

777

:

I was wrong about cam Smith.

778

:

Like one of my guys, Kieran was like, he

was, he's going.

779

:

I'm like,

780

:

not going, man, that's bullshit.

781

:

And then he went, but my, so I read into

this, right?

782

:

I basically read into this, that, you

know, we don't have Scheffler in the TGL.

783

:

If you, yeah, Ram's pulled out, but no

one's saying, well, Scheffler is going to

784

:

live because he's not on the TGL.

785

:

So that was, that was my initial logic.

786

:

And then I started to think about it a bit

more.

787

:

And I just thought, well, Ram's got a kid.

788

:

I've, I've got a kid that's like two years

old.

789

:

I get the whole

790

:

You've got to be a bit close to home.

791

:

If you play in the weekend, you've got

some tournaments to defend.

792

:

You're in the peak of the career where you

just come off the back of a Masters win.

793

:

You are going to probably want to prepare

for a year of majors.

794

:

A little bit like Vic, in my opinion,

Hovland, you know.

795

:

You know, I just read that as it might be

just too much of a commitment.

796

:

I could be completely wrong.

797

:

And you have got way more insight than me.

798

:

So what's your take on this, man?

799

:

Yeah.

800

:

So there's been a lot going on with John

Rahms, a lot going on with, with a few

801

:

players that I've heard.

802

:

And look, a lot of this is speculation,

but a lot of this is, look, people that

803

:

are very tied into these situations that

feel very, very confident that John Rahm

804

:

is going to live.

805

:

Now, I don't feel necessarily that

confident.

806

:

Um, although look, I know the, these

sources and they're pretty like,

807

:

They're pretty strong.

808

:

So, so me, what I'm doing is I'm taking

all the information that I have.

809

:

I'm looking at John Rom statements, what

he said before.

810

:

I'm also looking at the future of golf.

811

:

Like we've already talked about with this

potential global series of events and sort

812

:

of all these things that are potentially

out there in the ether that are going to

813

:

happen in golf, John Rom obviously won the

masters.

814

:

He's got his major exemptions.

815

:

The next.

816

:

Five years minimum, he's in the Masters

for life.

817

:

If I'm John Rahm and I am sort of tied

into what the future of golf is going to

818

:

be, which I didn't know six months ago

when he made all these statements about

819

:

Liv and sort of, I wouldn't call them

necessarily negative statements, but they

820

:

were basically saying all the reasons why

it wasn't gonna go.

821

:

Knowing what the future of professional

golf is going to potentially look like,

822

:

there is a lot of things that have changed

in a few months time that are gonna

823

:

continue to.

824

:

So I can see a scenario where John Rahm

sees that and is like, hmm, maybe it

825

:

behooves me to get a little bit more

serious about potentially going to live

826

:

because I know he's got surgery when his

ear, I know he's got fill in his ear.

827

:

He's got a lot of guys at live that are in

his ear 24 seven about the stuff, may not

828

:

24 seven, but very, very frequently that

are constantly feeding him.

829

:

information and John Rahm is also really

big in a global golf.

830

:

Like he loves going home to Spain.

831

:

He loves sort of participating in sort of

Spanish golf.

832

:

Does he really love being on the PJ tour?

833

:

I don't think that he does like I feel

like he enjoys particular events.

834

:

Just like a lot of the guys that live talk

about Bryson.

835

:

We talked about Brooks.

836

:

We talked about Phil.

837

:

Talked about a variety of guys that still

love some of those legacy PJ Torvats.

838

:

Except maybe we are looking at a future

golf where you're still able to play all

839

:

of those legacy events that you love,

you're still able to play all the majors.

840

:

And in addition to that, you're playing in

this global golf series that includes live

841

:

events too.

842

:

So if you're seeing all of that, and you

and you realize, oh, you know, I can

843

:

still do everything that I want to do in

golf.

844

:

I could still play in the waste

management.

845

:

I could still play in various PJ to I

could still play in Riviera.

846

:

All those places that I love to play.

847

:

And you're going to tell me that I'm going

to be three hundred million dollars

848

:

richer.

849

:

And you're telling me that I can also go

home to Valderrama.

850

:

That's going to be like my home course for

my team.

851

:

And I get to play the Spanish Open and I'm

going to make a ton more money on top of

852

:

it.

853

:

You would be silly to just say, oh no,

forget all the, forget everything that

854

:

you're telling me.

855

:

Like I'm not even gonna consider it.

856

:

If I'm a smart man and I know John Rahm is

very, very astute, I'm listening to all

857

:

this and my interest is piqued.

858

:

So again, none of this is guaranteeing

it's gonna happen.

859

:

I'm just sort of laying the sort of

groundwork for everybody here about what's

860

:

going on in golf.

861

:

John Rahm sees all this.

862

:

He's tied into all the right people.

863

:

The people that I've talked to that are

pretty convinced that he's going are very

864

:

tied into the golf agency world, which is

a very, very important thing.

865

:

So we'll have to see how John Rahm pans

out the next few months.

866

:

I'm still on the fence.

867

:

We'll have to see how things actually play

out, but.

868

:

I do have a couple other names for the

rumor mill for you guys that are a little

869

:

bit more, I'd probably say they're closer

to happening than not.

870

:

One of those names that I have sort of

thrown out on Twitter recently has been

871

:

Tony Finau.

872

:

Now, did you?

873

:

Mm-hmm.

874

:

literally today.

875

:

Yeah, it's, that's interesting.

876

:

he's an interesting case.

877

:

And again, let me sort of lay the

groundwork for people here.

878

:

Tony Finau, obviously, is a very popular

player on the PJ tour.

879

:

He's made a fair amount of money.

880

:

Like he's got really, really good

endorsement deals, all that stuff, Nike,

881

:

Ping and others.

882

:

One of the things that people need to look

at, and you can Google this, you can look

883

:

it up.

884

:

Uh, he is currently in some legal matters

with former agents and managers that are

885

:

looking for money from him, uh, you know,

basically because he decided to sign it

886

:

with, with another agent, another

management, and they're looking for, um,

887

:

uh, basically restitution from him that it

sounds like the case is not going to go

888

:

his way.

889

:

So he's looking at potentially shelling

out millions of dollars out of his own

890

:

pocket.

891

:

Now, if I'm Tony Fino and I'm like, man,

I've got this lawsuit, but I also have

892

:

this potential option where I can get 40,

$50 million from Liv.

893

:

Like I gotta look into that.

894

:

Like if I am a family man and I care about

the future of my family, like why would

895

:

you not look at that?

896

:

Like the...

897

:

And I know this for a fact with Tony, his

family and his family situation is more

898

:

important to him than anything.

899

:

It's more important than playing in

majors.

900

:

It's more important than his world

ranking.

901

:

It's more important than his legacy on the

PGA Tour.

902

:

None of that stuff matters more than his

family does and that sort of family

903

:

situation.

904

:

So if I have that option to potentially go

to live and make some life-changing money,

905

:

which he could still do very well for

himself on the PGA Tour,

906

:

The thing that I have learned a little bit

more about golfers contracts with their

907

:

agents is that a lot of their on the

course earnings, they're not paying that

908

:

to their agents and managers.

909

:

The agents and managers are basically

getting zero percent of that money, except

910

:

they're getting a larger percentage of off

course endorsements and things like that.

911

:

Now, if you go to live, a lot of those

endorsements kind of go out the window.

912

:

And you're looking at entirely on course

earnings that he gets to basically keep

913

:

all for himself.

914

:

So that's where I think people need, need

to sort of look, look into that a little

915

:

bit deeper.

916

:

I think that there was something to that

rumor mill.

917

:

I think that I would be shocked if Tony

Fina wasn't on live next year.

918

:

I definitely think that that's a

possibility, but again, it's not like I've

919

:

talked to Tony and he's told me a hundred

percent.

920

:

I am.

921

:

I'm not doing what I do.

922

:

I am analyzing the landscape.

923

:

I am also listening to what people are

telling me and I'm reading the tea leaves

924

:

and I'm looking at sort of the way the

wind is blowing.

925

:

And that seems like that would make a ton

of sense to me that he's gonna go to live.

926

:

So again, we'll have to see how that plays

out here in the next few months, but I

927

:

think that that's something people need to

definitely look at.

928

:

And I hope it happens because I'm a Tony

Finau fan.

929

:

And I think he would be great on live.

930

:

He'd be amazing on.

931

:

Yeah, he's got the personality for it,

hasn't he?

932

:

I think that one of the interesting

questions that I've got then off the back

933

:

of that is, do you think that a way, I

don't want to say a way back to the PGA

934

:

Tour, but a way for the two to coexist and

a pathway for them, I don't want to say

935

:

pick and choose because I don't think it's

as simple as that, but a pathway for

936

:

players like Fianna and Ram, Ram in

particular, to continue to

937

:

build a legacy around the PGA tour.

938

:

Do you think someone like Ram going to

live?

939

:

Do you believe that it's contingent on

that pathway existing?

940

:

I think that's an important point.

941

:

I think it's something that is very sort

of critical to his decision making

942

:

process.

943

:

I don't think there's any question about

it.

944

:

And I think that that's the reason why if

things are changing with Jon Rahm, that's

945

:

the primary reason because, you know, this

saying that a lot of the PJ Tour players

946

:

have been saying about Liv Flair is that

you can't have your cake and eat it too.

947

:

Like I think that these players are gonna

have their cake and they're gonna be able

948

:

to eat it too.

949

:

So I think that is one hundred percent

because that's the best thing for the

950

:

health of the game.

951

:

Like the worst thing for the health of the

game would be continuing these bans on

952

:

these players that went to live that I

think are totally ridiculous if you are

953

:

trying to grow golf and make it as big as

it can be.

954

:

I just don't think that that's the way to

go.

955

:

So I think that the powers that be know

this, especially if they are gonna be

956

:

making the PJ tour, they're gonna be

creating this, what I call umbrella

957

:

corporation, AKA Newco, AKA PJ tour

enterprises.

958

:

Again, I'm calling it umbrella

corporation.

959

:

If you are gonna have this thing as a

for-profit entity, that changes everything

960

:

because now everything is about.

961

:

What are you doing to increase eyeballs?

962

:

What are you doing to increase interest in

the game?

963

:

What are you doing to increase money being

funneled to these tours, to the players?

964

:

Like all of those things are in play now.

965

:

And I think that the bans are one thing

that is just totally goes against, if

966

:

you're trying to be a for-profit company,

you just can't do that.

967

:

So I think that

968

:

the more the information about what global

love is gonna look like in the next couple

969

:

of years starts to leak out to the players

and things get a little bit closer to

970

:

being agreed upon with these, the merger

and everything that goes on.

971

:

Like if they get to this critical point

where everybody realizes, oh yeah, this is

972

:

definitely gonna happen, this is the way

it's gonna be.

973

:

Like I think that that's gonna open things

up.

974

:

And I do think that there, we're gonna see

virtually every single big name player

975

:

that's on the...

976

:

a PJ tour within two years, probably by

:

977

:

They will almost all be playing in at

least a few live events.

978

:

I don't think there's any question about

it in my mind.

979

:

And that doesn't mean they can't continue

playing the PJ tour.

980

:

I think that they're all gonna be working

in lockstep.

981

:

I think it's all gonna be under one

umbrella.

982

:

Like, are they gonna be able to play in

every single event?

983

:

No, because there's going to be too many

events and nobody's going to want to play

984

:

35 events in the future.

985

:

So they are going to have to pick and

choose a little bit.

986

:

But I think that everybody has their

priorities.

987

:

I think that everybody has to figure that

out for themselves.

988

:

And for some people, those priorities are

going to align more with the sort of live

989

:

side and other players are going to align

more with the PGA Tour side like Rory and

990

:

Tyre.

991

:

Interesting stuff.

992

:

We will see what comes.

993

:

I think Finau is a shout and we'll see

what happens with Mr.

994

:

John Ram.

995

:

We're going to stick a pin in it.

996

:

Actually, my friend, we could talk about

this all day long, but we should probably

997

:

save a little bit for when Ben gets back.

998

:

So always good to chat, but I'll see you.

999

:

We'll see you as normal next week.

:

00:59:27,014 --> 00:59:28,794

We'll be back into the rhythm next week.

:

00:59:30,363 --> 00:59:31,043

That sounds good.

:

00:59:31,043 --> 00:59:34,564

Yeah, we could literally talk about this

stuff for hours.

:

00:59:34,804 --> 00:59:39,106

But again, I'm really excited about things

and excited to continue the conversation.

:

00:59:39,106 --> 00:59:42,647

Excited to get Ben back in the mix next

week.

:

00:59:42,647 --> 00:59:46,949

I know he's hanging out with his family in

Florida, sort of doing a whole US tour.

:

00:59:48,050 --> 00:59:50,691

We're going to, before everything is said

and done, we're going to turn him into a

:

00:59:50,691 --> 00:59:52,311

golf lover US.

:

00:59:52,331 --> 00:59:54,692

We'll have to see how that fans out.

:

00:59:56,293 --> 01:00:00,202

No, looking forward to getting him back

and fold next week.

:

01:00:00,202 --> 01:00:03,023

We will be back with Ben next week.

:

01:00:03,023 --> 01:00:06,585

And thank you, the other present listener,

for joining us this week.

:

01:00:06,585 --> 01:00:09,287

It's always a pleasure if you have any

opinions on this.

:

01:00:09,287 --> 01:00:12,388

Is John Rahm indeed going to head over to

the live camp?

:

01:00:12,388 --> 01:00:12,949

What about Mr.

:

01:00:12,949 --> 01:00:18,492

Fino himself, the Green Power Ranger, as

we saw on Twitter this week, is he heading

:

01:00:18,492 --> 01:00:19,992

over to live as well?

:

01:00:19,992 --> 01:00:24,715

Do let us know on Twitter at GLU Golf Club

and tell your friends if you enjoy this

:

01:00:24,715 --> 01:00:29,457

podcast, that they can also tune in their

podcast app of choice or GLU.

:

01:00:31,148 --> 01:00:34,341

Until next week, enjoy yourself, stay

cool, see you soon.

:

01:00:34,341 --> 01:00:35,061

Bye bye.

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