WEBVTT 1 00:00:01.439 --> 00:00:02.720 Hi, I'm andre Ato. 2 00:00:02.960 --> 00:00:06.480 I'm from Henderson, Nevada, and I play at Revere Golf Club. 3 00:00:06.759 --> 00:00:08.279 And this is Golf Smarter. 4 00:00:08.080 --> 00:00:09.759 Number four hundred and fifty eight. 5 00:00:09.960 --> 00:00:15.000 Welcome to golf Smarter Mulligans, your second chance to gain 6 00:00:15.039 --> 00:00:18.640 insight and advice from the best instructors featured on the 7 00:00:18.640 --> 00:00:24.679 Golf Smarter podcast. Great Golf Instruction Never gets Old. Our 8 00:00:24.760 --> 00:00:29.559 interview library features hundreds of hours of game improvement conversations 9 00:00:29.679 --> 00:00:33.200 like this that are no longer available in any podcast app. 10 00:00:33.320 --> 00:00:35.240 Well, I think, just like the golf swing, there are 11 00:00:35.359 --> 00:00:38.240 certain basic fundamental things that everybody needs to go through. 12 00:00:38.359 --> 00:00:41.159 You have to have a very sound fundamental putting grip. 13 00:00:41.359 --> 00:00:45.159 Whether it's the traditional reverse overlap grip or whether it's 14 00:00:45.240 --> 00:00:48.479 left hand low or the pencil grip or the claw 15 00:00:48.560 --> 00:00:50.399 or whatever you like to do. You have to have 16 00:00:50.479 --> 00:00:53.359 a sound fundamental grip that does what your grip is 17 00:00:53.399 --> 00:00:55.520 supposed to do in the putting stroke, and that's to 18 00:00:55.600 --> 00:00:58.200 work together with your arms and do not break down 19 00:00:58.240 --> 00:01:00.359 an impact. I think you need to have a great 20 00:01:00.399 --> 00:01:03.359 setup position. You have to have good eye position, good 21 00:01:03.399 --> 00:01:07.000 ball position, good hand and arm position, because all those 22 00:01:07.040 --> 00:01:09.680 things take care of where the putter is going to swing. 23 00:01:10.079 --> 00:01:12.079 So if you have a good setup position and your 24 00:01:12.079 --> 00:01:14.840 body is ready, the putter will swing on your target 25 00:01:14.879 --> 00:01:16.920 line a lot easier than if it doesn't. 26 00:01:21.840 --> 00:01:25.680 Head professional Steven Snyder with important tips you may have forgotten. 27 00:01:25.959 --> 00:01:31.400 This is Golf Smarter. Welcome to the Golf Smarter podcast. Steve. 28 00:01:31.840 --> 00:01:33.920 Hello, Fred, how are you good? How are you? 29 00:01:34.239 --> 00:01:36.719 I'm doing well, Thank you very much good. I'm so 30 00:01:36.840 --> 00:01:38.879 glad that you joined me here in the studio today. 31 00:01:39.560 --> 00:01:42.519 We've known each other for a long time. Our kids 32 00:01:42.519 --> 00:01:45.879 played little league together before the baseball strike, that was 33 00:01:45.959 --> 00:01:50.000 pre ninety four. We've known each other a long time. Yeah, 34 00:01:50.239 --> 00:01:55.400 but we've never discussed golf in all these years. And 35 00:01:55.439 --> 00:01:57.200 I've you know, I've already been playing. I didn't even 36 00:01:57.239 --> 00:01:58.959 know that's what you did at the time. I didn't 37 00:01:59.000 --> 00:02:02.200 start playing until like ninety six or something, ninety eight. 38 00:02:02.799 --> 00:02:07.040 So yeah, I am so excited to have this conversation 39 00:02:07.120 --> 00:02:08.120 with you finally. 40 00:02:08.400 --> 00:02:10.280 Thanks for having man, I'm gonna enjoy it. 41 00:02:10.599 --> 00:02:14.080 Well, great, great, So let's talk about first of all, 42 00:02:14.120 --> 00:02:16.280 Indian Valley Golf Course. How long have you been there? 43 00:02:16.280 --> 00:02:18.840 What do you do I've been there about eleven and 44 00:02:18.879 --> 00:02:23.960 a half years. I'm the PGA head golf professional. I 45 00:02:24.039 --> 00:02:26.840 work some hours in the golf shop every day. I 46 00:02:27.000 --> 00:02:30.479 merchandise the golf shop. I do all the inventory of 47 00:02:30.639 --> 00:02:33.199 clubs and clothing and things for the members and for 48 00:02:33.280 --> 00:02:37.800 the public, and I teach in the afternoons. I organize 49 00:02:38.240 --> 00:02:42.479 our junior golf program for the summer, and everything that 50 00:02:42.560 --> 00:02:47.319 a head golf professional would do working for a Indian 51 00:02:47.360 --> 00:02:48.120 Valley corporation. 52 00:02:48.960 --> 00:02:51.680 Okay, it's interesting because I think that most people have 53 00:02:51.800 --> 00:02:53.599 this idea that it would be great to be a 54 00:02:53.639 --> 00:02:55.439 golf pro because then I can just play golf and 55 00:02:55.439 --> 00:02:58.960 give lessons. No, no, it's much more than that. 56 00:02:59.280 --> 00:03:02.400 Now we have a very very active men's and ladies 57 00:03:02.439 --> 00:03:04.439 club and I play. I try to play with the 58 00:03:04.479 --> 00:03:07.400 men's club once a week. I don't make that happen, 59 00:03:07.439 --> 00:03:09.080 but I try to play with the men's club once 60 00:03:09.120 --> 00:03:12.439 a week, and they encourage us to play. All the 61 00:03:12.439 --> 00:03:15.840 golf professional staff, but once a week is about what 62 00:03:15.919 --> 00:03:16.240 I do. 63 00:03:16.599 --> 00:03:17.919 Really, do you miss it? 64 00:03:19.080 --> 00:03:23.599 I do, But it's my business. I'm not in the 65 00:03:23.639 --> 00:03:25.960 business of playing golf. I'm in the business of golf, 66 00:03:26.639 --> 00:03:29.960 so I do all the different things around the playing 67 00:03:30.000 --> 00:03:33.000 part of it. And I think I have and I've 68 00:03:33.000 --> 00:03:36.280 been a PGA member since nineteen eighty, so I think 69 00:03:36.280 --> 00:03:38.759 I have a pretty good knowledge of the operation of 70 00:03:39.560 --> 00:03:45.159 the golf industry and enjoy all facets of it. 71 00:03:46.319 --> 00:03:50.159 When you're studying to be a golf professional teaching professional, 72 00:03:50.840 --> 00:03:54.360 do they also teach you like business? I mean, it's 73 00:03:54.400 --> 00:03:56.400 like you're going to have to run a pro shop. 74 00:03:57.560 --> 00:03:58.680 Here are the things you need to know. 75 00:03:59.039 --> 00:04:01.759 Yeah, they do. I think you learn a lot of 76 00:04:01.759 --> 00:04:03.759 it through the School of Hard Knocks. But yeah, the 77 00:04:03.759 --> 00:04:08.400 PGA has an education program that takes about four years 78 00:04:08.479 --> 00:04:10.520 or five years to go through, depending on how long 79 00:04:10.560 --> 00:04:13.680 you stretch it out, and they teach you everything from 80 00:04:14.120 --> 00:04:17.399 owning your own golf shop and open to buy program, 81 00:04:18.160 --> 00:04:23.319 turf grass maintenance, golf cart operations, and golf cart mechanics. 82 00:04:23.920 --> 00:04:26.199 You know, they give you a little introduction on all 83 00:04:26.199 --> 00:04:29.000 the different parts and then expect you to gain the 84 00:04:29.000 --> 00:04:31.279 rest of it through working knowledge. 85 00:04:31.240 --> 00:04:34.800 The hard knocks. What's the biggest surprise for you. 86 00:04:35.360 --> 00:04:37.040 The biggest surprise with the golf industry. 87 00:04:37.120 --> 00:04:40.560 Yeah, since you've been doing it and when you came 88 00:04:40.600 --> 00:04:42.439 out of school and stuff, it was like, WHOA, I 89 00:04:42.480 --> 00:04:43.240 didn't expect that. 90 00:04:43.319 --> 00:04:45.639 Well, I think like everybody, I mean, we get into 91 00:04:45.680 --> 00:04:48.160 the golf business because we like to play golf, and 92 00:04:48.240 --> 00:04:50.879 I think that's probably the biggest surprises. You don't play 93 00:04:50.920 --> 00:04:53.199 as much golf as you would like to or think 94 00:04:53.240 --> 00:04:56.360 that you should, because you're too busy, and by the 95 00:04:56.360 --> 00:04:58.800 time you've worked your eight hour day or nine hour day, 96 00:04:59.480 --> 00:05:01.959 who wants to go out and play nine holes. We 97 00:05:02.079 --> 00:05:05.600 do it, but it's a little harder to motivate yourself 98 00:05:05.600 --> 00:05:07.439 to play golf under those circumstances. 99 00:05:07.560 --> 00:05:11.680 I can't Every teacher I've ever had a conversation with 100 00:05:12.000 --> 00:05:14.120 doesn't play as much golf as they'd love to. And 101 00:05:14.160 --> 00:05:16.839 when people ask me, oh, I love to play golf, 102 00:05:17.160 --> 00:05:18.879 I would love to be a teacher, and it's like, well, 103 00:05:19.360 --> 00:05:21.800 those are two real different things they are. Being a 104 00:05:21.800 --> 00:05:27.120 teacher is one thing. Being a golf instructor it adds 105 00:05:27.120 --> 00:05:30.319 to that. But if you love to play golf, you 106 00:05:30.399 --> 00:05:32.839 may not want to get into the golf business because 107 00:05:33.160 --> 00:05:34.959 you're going to get burned out, you're going to start 108 00:05:34.959 --> 00:05:35.399 hating it. 109 00:05:35.639 --> 00:05:38.079 Yeah, there's a lot of people that they get in 110 00:05:38.120 --> 00:05:40.519 and they get out shortly after, and they get into 111 00:05:40.560 --> 00:05:43.360 a regular job, and they end up playing more golf 112 00:05:43.399 --> 00:05:46.079 than when they were in the golf business, you obviously 113 00:05:46.160 --> 00:05:48.279 lose some of the perks of being able to play 114 00:05:48.800 --> 00:05:51.920 your golf course, but you probably play more golf when 115 00:05:51.959 --> 00:05:52.839 you're not in the business. 116 00:05:53.240 --> 00:05:57.399 Yeah, you probably do, Probably do so. Indian Valley is 117 00:05:57.399 --> 00:05:59.600 a course that I've talked about many times on the 118 00:05:59.639 --> 00:06:02.959 show because it is my home course. I leave next 119 00:06:03.000 --> 00:06:04.680 to a golf course that I don't play that much. 120 00:06:04.720 --> 00:06:07.160 But it's only, you know, a ten minute twelve minute 121 00:06:07.240 --> 00:06:11.199 drive for me to get there, and it's a challenging course. 122 00:06:11.240 --> 00:06:15.959 It's a fun course. It's a great walk and a 123 00:06:16.000 --> 00:06:18.480 lot of people probably don't do it. It's like seven 124 00:06:18.519 --> 00:06:20.199 and a half miles or something. 125 00:06:19.959 --> 00:06:21.360 Pretty good size walk, and. 126 00:06:21.319 --> 00:06:24.879 There's only one level hole. In my head, there's only 127 00:06:24.920 --> 00:06:29.639 one level hole on the course. Right. Everything is you're 128 00:06:29.720 --> 00:06:33.279 hitting your lot ups and downs, lots of ups and downs, 129 00:06:33.399 --> 00:06:34.879 lots of ups and downs. And that's one of the 130 00:06:34.879 --> 00:06:37.040 things I want to go over is how to play 131 00:06:37.040 --> 00:06:40.160 those shots, how to take advantage of a course that 132 00:06:40.319 --> 00:06:43.399 is far from level. I mean, the greens are fair, 133 00:06:44.000 --> 00:06:47.279 they're quick, and you've got to play your shots. But 134 00:06:47.800 --> 00:06:51.040 it's a it's not an easy walk. It's a great walk. 135 00:06:51.120 --> 00:06:54.279 It's yeah, it's a great walk. A lot of people 136 00:06:54.399 --> 00:06:56.920 of older people, younger people do like to walk the 137 00:06:56.959 --> 00:06:58.920 golf course. So the front nine is a little easier 138 00:06:58.920 --> 00:07:01.399 walk than the back nine. The back nine gets a 139 00:07:01.439 --> 00:07:03.319 little bit more up and down the hills once you 140 00:07:03.360 --> 00:07:08.879 get to fourteen right fourteen through seventeen, but it's a 141 00:07:08.920 --> 00:07:13.079 good challenge. It's not overly long distance wise, it's even 142 00:07:13.079 --> 00:07:15.800 from the championship teas. It's about sixty three hundred and 143 00:07:15.800 --> 00:07:19.079 fifty yards, so not horribly long. But you have a 144 00:07:19.120 --> 00:07:23.240 lot of uphill, downhill, side hill, lies to some small 145 00:07:23.279 --> 00:07:25.959 greens and then to some big greens, so you have 146 00:07:26.000 --> 00:07:28.560 a good variation of shots that you're gonna play. 147 00:07:29.160 --> 00:07:31.879 So it tests you, yep, and there's a lot of 148 00:07:31.920 --> 00:07:35.959 blind shots to greens. You know, it's always good to 149 00:07:36.040 --> 00:07:38.839 have course knowledge of what you're doing, but you don't 150 00:07:38.839 --> 00:07:41.000 always see where you're going. You can see the flag tip, 151 00:07:41.639 --> 00:07:44.079 but that it ends up being it. 152 00:07:44.199 --> 00:07:46.680 Yeah, there's a number of shots where you're hitting up 153 00:07:46.720 --> 00:07:49.480 to a green or you're hitting over a little bit 154 00:07:49.480 --> 00:07:52.079 of a rise, so yeah, you're gonna have some some 155 00:07:52.199 --> 00:07:54.560 blind shots, not a lot of blind shots, but some. 156 00:07:56.000 --> 00:08:00.439 And also that back nine it can get pretty windy 157 00:08:01.079 --> 00:08:01.759 on that too. 158 00:08:02.040 --> 00:08:04.480 Fifteen sixteen, yep, yep. 159 00:08:06.160 --> 00:08:08.680 But there is one of the greatest features of any 160 00:08:08.759 --> 00:08:11.839 golf course, definitely in the county, that I've ever seen, 161 00:08:12.600 --> 00:08:18.560 is you have an elevator. It goes between fourteen and thirteen, 162 00:08:18.680 --> 00:08:22.480 fourteen and fourteen. What's the history of that? How did 163 00:08:22.519 --> 00:08:23.120 that happen? 164 00:08:23.360 --> 00:08:27.079 Well, the boss likes to say Jeff McAndrews is the 165 00:08:27.160 --> 00:08:30.240 general manager and Jeff Senior is the director of golf. 166 00:08:30.759 --> 00:08:31.639 And they like to say. 167 00:08:31.519 --> 00:08:32.519 Any family business. 168 00:08:32.519 --> 00:08:36.320 It's a family business. Oh, they like to say, anybody 169 00:08:36.360 --> 00:08:38.440 that would build a golf course it has an elevator, 170 00:08:38.480 --> 00:08:42.720 that's got to be an idiot. But the elevator's been 171 00:08:42.720 --> 00:08:45.600 there and been redone and remodeled several times. And it's 172 00:08:45.600 --> 00:08:48.720 basically a tram ride for the walkers to get him 173 00:08:48.720 --> 00:08:51.360 from the thirteenth green to the fourteenth tee. And it's 174 00:08:51.399 --> 00:08:54.200 a beautiful ride. I've done a couple of times just 175 00:08:54.240 --> 00:08:56.399 to take the ride up there. And you have a 176 00:08:56.480 --> 00:08:58.759 view of Stafford Lake and you have a view of 177 00:08:59.279 --> 00:09:02.399 about five or six holes on the golf course. So 178 00:09:03.039 --> 00:09:05.440 and it helps a little bit with the speed of play. 179 00:09:05.559 --> 00:09:08.879 And obviously cart writers ride the cart path up, but 180 00:09:09.200 --> 00:09:11.679 the walkers can jump in that tram ride and get 181 00:09:11.840 --> 00:09:12.879 right up to the next team. 182 00:09:13.639 --> 00:09:16.840 Last time I played, when I had my really spectacular 183 00:09:16.960 --> 00:09:21.200 round after I came back from vacation, and we got 184 00:09:21.200 --> 00:09:26.919 matched up with these two brothers, middle aged, big boys, 185 00:09:27.320 --> 00:09:30.639 big like. These guys had to take the cart. These 186 00:09:30.679 --> 00:09:34.399 are not walking guys right their cart. I had to 187 00:09:34.399 --> 00:09:37.399 push their car, produce my cart to push their cart 188 00:09:37.480 --> 00:09:39.799 up that hill because they were going, ah. It's things 189 00:09:39.879 --> 00:09:41.960 running out of steam and it's like no, you're kind 190 00:09:41.960 --> 00:09:45.799 of waiting it down. It made it a little tough. 191 00:09:47.320 --> 00:09:50.679 You mentioned Stafford Lake, which is pretty much the water 192 00:09:50.720 --> 00:09:55.039 source from Marin County. It's looking really sad right now. 193 00:09:55.320 --> 00:09:58.679 What is Indian Valley And we've talked about this about 194 00:09:58.720 --> 00:10:02.919 other courses. Pasa Tiempo did a show recently with the 195 00:10:02.960 --> 00:10:08.679 Presidio and their efforts during our drought. What do you do? 196 00:10:08.919 --> 00:10:12.039 What is Indian Valley doing to deal with the drought 197 00:10:12.120 --> 00:10:12.519 right now? 198 00:10:12.639 --> 00:10:16.720 Well, Indian Valley actually is on water District property, so 199 00:10:16.879 --> 00:10:19.919 the owners of the golf course don't own actually the property, 200 00:10:20.759 --> 00:10:24.639 but we do get our water to irrigate from Stafford Lake. 201 00:10:24.960 --> 00:10:27.720 They've asked us to cut back twenty to twenty five percent, 202 00:10:27.759 --> 00:10:31.039 which we've done. So a lot of the perimeter areas 203 00:10:31.039 --> 00:10:35.080 that normally would get irrigated this year did not get irrigated. 204 00:10:35.600 --> 00:10:40.240 And you'll see some areas where some of the questionable 205 00:10:40.279 --> 00:10:42.759 grasses have burnt out, but the basic golf course has 206 00:10:42.759 --> 00:10:46.320 stayed in great shape all year. Tea to green, Yeah, 207 00:10:46.360 --> 00:10:46.960 it really is. 208 00:10:47.000 --> 00:10:51.039 So that's the strategy here is just to avoid the 209 00:10:51.080 --> 00:10:52.279 outside areas. 210 00:10:52.000 --> 00:10:54.360 Eliminate all the perimeters that you don't need to water. 211 00:10:54.720 --> 00:10:56.799 The area from tee to green on a par three, 212 00:10:57.360 --> 00:11:00.080 you don't see those getting watered at all, and they 213 00:11:00.240 --> 00:11:03.279 they have gotten watered in the past. So we've cut 214 00:11:03.320 --> 00:11:05.279 back as much as we can and as much as 215 00:11:05.799 --> 00:11:08.919 they've asked us to, and we're all keeping our fingers 216 00:11:08.919 --> 00:11:09.879 crossed for this winter. 217 00:11:11.000 --> 00:11:13.919 Right I'm really hoping for some lousy weather here. 218 00:11:14.879 --> 00:11:18.000 We'd like to sell some rain gear. Yeah, you've got 219 00:11:18.039 --> 00:11:20.639 a lot of backgear. You've got a. 220 00:11:20.639 --> 00:11:22.399 Lot in the back room that you haven't been able 221 00:11:22.399 --> 00:11:24.639 to get rid of for least the last three years. 222 00:11:24.799 --> 00:11:25.799 Yeah, we've got plenty. 223 00:11:25.960 --> 00:11:32.320 Oh man, that's a shame. One of the other features 224 00:11:32.720 --> 00:11:35.879 that I just love about your golf course, and I 225 00:11:35.919 --> 00:11:38.039 had this idea one day. It's like, you know, I 226 00:11:38.080 --> 00:11:40.840 have to walk my dog every morning, why don't I 227 00:11:41.000 --> 00:11:43.320 just take her with me on a golf course. So 228 00:11:43.360 --> 00:11:46.960 I googled dog friendly golf courses, thinking I'd never even 229 00:11:47.039 --> 00:11:49.879 heard of such a thing, and just that weekend there 230 00:11:49.919 --> 00:11:52.720 was an article about two courses in Marine Indian Valley 231 00:11:52.720 --> 00:11:56.600 in San Geronimo that are dog friendly. How did that 232 00:11:56.679 --> 00:11:58.080 come about? And what does that mean? 233 00:11:58.440 --> 00:12:00.879 You know what, I don't even know how it's come about. 234 00:12:00.960 --> 00:12:03.600 It's a great feature, and we have a lot of 235 00:12:03.639 --> 00:12:07.120 people that take advantage of bringing their dog up of 236 00:12:07.240 --> 00:12:10.519 some on a leash and some just on command that 237 00:12:10.559 --> 00:12:14.039 are well behaved. And we haven't had any problems from 238 00:12:14.200 --> 00:12:17.440 the dogs or from customers saying that I don't like 239 00:12:17.480 --> 00:12:20.080 to play when people have their dogs, or it's just 240 00:12:20.159 --> 00:12:23.399 a great feature and we all love our dogs, so 241 00:12:23.519 --> 00:12:27.080 a little bit more quality time and a little exercise 242 00:12:27.159 --> 00:12:29.320 for the pooch. And I know quite a few of 243 00:12:29.399 --> 00:12:32.279 them by name that come up on a regular basis, 244 00:12:32.320 --> 00:12:34.639 the owner and the dog, so we have a lot 245 00:12:34.679 --> 00:12:36.039 of fun with it. 246 00:12:35.120 --> 00:12:39.559 It's amazing. And you know, some people just put the 247 00:12:39.559 --> 00:12:43.000 dog in the cart and drive from the car. I thought, no, 248 00:12:43.080 --> 00:12:46.159 I'm just going to bring her with me and I'll 249 00:12:46.240 --> 00:12:48.440 keep the leash on her and let her drag it, 250 00:12:48.480 --> 00:12:50.000 and then if I need to grab her, I will. 251 00:12:50.080 --> 00:12:52.600 You know, if a skunk runs across the fairway or something, 252 00:12:52.679 --> 00:12:54.639 or a deer and she wants to go after it. 253 00:12:54.799 --> 00:12:56.120 We do have some wildlife, you know. 254 00:12:56.279 --> 00:12:59.279 Yeah, you do some beautiful wildlife out there. It's great 255 00:12:59.320 --> 00:13:02.679 because you're pretty isolated. We are, which is really nice 256 00:13:02.679 --> 00:13:08.000 in West Morin, and it's there's no houses on the 257 00:13:08.039 --> 00:13:08.799 course at all. 258 00:13:09.559 --> 00:13:13.159 The closest house, I guess would be left of three fairway. 259 00:13:13.279 --> 00:13:15.840 There's a couple of homes back on ranches, but they're 260 00:13:15.840 --> 00:13:17.039 not right on the golf course. 261 00:13:17.120 --> 00:13:19.120 No, there's a lot of room between that house and 262 00:13:19.159 --> 00:13:23.320 the and the fence. You're right there is that house 263 00:13:23.799 --> 00:13:26.320 two houses over on number three fairway, which is a 264 00:13:26.320 --> 00:13:28.639 par five, and you're spend more time looking for your 265 00:13:28.639 --> 00:13:30.879 ball than you notice. The only thing you would notice 266 00:13:30.960 --> 00:13:34.000 is if their horse comes up to you and wants 267 00:13:34.000 --> 00:13:36.120 to say hello, and you're walking by the fence looking 268 00:13:36.159 --> 00:13:36.720 for your ball. 269 00:13:36.840 --> 00:13:38.919 The horse is pretty well trained. He comes over when 270 00:13:38.919 --> 00:13:41.840 he sees the somebody bringing him an apple or a carrot, 271 00:13:41.919 --> 00:13:43.279 and that happens quite a bit. 272 00:13:49.320 --> 00:13:51.639 The first time I brought my dog out to the course, 273 00:13:52.720 --> 00:13:54.440 my friends that I was playing with that day, they 274 00:13:54.480 --> 00:13:59.399 were like, really, you brought your dog, and I'm like, yeah, 275 00:13:59.639 --> 00:14:01.799 it's a dog friendly chorus. I'm gonna just give it 276 00:14:01.840 --> 00:14:03.840 a shot. Well, by the end of the round they 277 00:14:03.840 --> 00:14:07.200 were thanking me for having the dog out there because 278 00:14:07.679 --> 00:14:11.639 it calmed everybody down. Whenever they got like frustrated or 279 00:14:11.679 --> 00:14:14.440 angry upset, they go over and pet the dog and 280 00:14:14.559 --> 00:14:18.600 their whole attitude with therapy. It's it's amazing with canine 281 00:14:18.720 --> 00:14:20.159 therapy can do to your golf game. 282 00:14:20.200 --> 00:14:21.600 Yeah, there's no doubt about it. 283 00:14:21.639 --> 00:14:25.000 So why do and you've never had I mean, hopefully 284 00:14:25.080 --> 00:14:27.720 each person that does this is a good dog citizen 285 00:14:27.759 --> 00:14:30.320 and they'll clean up after their dog, because you would 286 00:14:30.360 --> 00:14:32.960 hate to find, you know, your ball and a pile 287 00:14:32.960 --> 00:14:33.480 of poop. 288 00:14:34.480 --> 00:14:36.720 Right, Yeah, we don't have any problems with that. 289 00:14:36.919 --> 00:14:40.919 No. I brought bags with me and she you know 290 00:14:41.080 --> 00:14:43.279 one time, Okay, fine, just put it in the trash 291 00:14:43.279 --> 00:14:44.600 in the next hole. No one's gonna care. 292 00:14:44.879 --> 00:14:48.039 Yeah, right, no, they the dogs are fine. The dogs 293 00:14:48.039 --> 00:14:52.039 are are so well behaved. Probably more behave than some 294 00:14:52.080 --> 00:14:53.360 of the players from time to time. 295 00:14:53.399 --> 00:14:56.000 Oh yeah, yeah, I never had a dog bark at 296 00:14:56.000 --> 00:15:00.200 the time that I was on a backswing. I can 297 00:15:00.240 --> 00:15:03.919 tell you how many times each round that we're all 298 00:15:03.919 --> 00:15:06.440 be in a backswing and I'll hear somebody who's probably 299 00:15:06.440 --> 00:15:11.720 missed a putt. You can hear them from another Okay, okay, 300 00:15:11.720 --> 00:15:17.480 calm down, guys. Yeah exactly. Is there anything that you 301 00:15:17.519 --> 00:15:20.960 guys treat the ground with that we should be concerned 302 00:15:20.960 --> 00:15:23.679 that our dog might be sniffing and licking around? And 303 00:15:24.440 --> 00:15:27.360 is there any chemicals or anything that keep your course 304 00:15:27.399 --> 00:15:28.919 so green that I'd be worried about. 305 00:15:29.120 --> 00:15:31.759 No, we're pretty restricted by the water district because we 306 00:15:31.840 --> 00:15:34.720 are on water district properly. That's interesting that there are 307 00:15:34.759 --> 00:15:37.919 a lot of chemicals that we cannot use. So no, 308 00:15:38.080 --> 00:15:40.759 we're we're very animal friendly. Yeah. 309 00:15:40.799 --> 00:15:43.360 Absolutely, it's such a I don't know why more courses 310 00:15:43.399 --> 00:15:46.000 don't even consider it. Have you heard of other courses 311 00:15:46.039 --> 00:15:49.000 that are have had trouble with it, or even courses 312 00:15:49.000 --> 00:15:51.559 that do it? No, the two here in this county. No, 313 00:15:51.639 --> 00:15:55.679 I have not really, No, it's bring it up. 314 00:15:55.759 --> 00:15:58.240 Yeah, it's a fun feature. 315 00:15:58.559 --> 00:16:02.000 Yeah, well, what so, so you know bring When I 316 00:16:02.039 --> 00:16:04.480 say bring it up, I mean like an upcoming PGA 317 00:16:04.799 --> 00:16:08.360 professionals meeting. You guys have regular meetings and conferences and things. 318 00:16:09.559 --> 00:16:12.399 What are the struggles that everyone's discussing these days? As 319 00:16:12.440 --> 00:16:15.960 far as you know, we're all losing business left and right. 320 00:16:16.240 --> 00:16:17.120 How do we get them back? 321 00:16:17.240 --> 00:16:20.200 Well, we got to a point where we overbuilt, so 322 00:16:20.320 --> 00:16:22.679 there were too many golf courses and too many options, 323 00:16:22.720 --> 00:16:24.320 and play was just going. 324 00:16:24.600 --> 00:16:26.879 Through the roof, and which was a great thing. 325 00:16:27.039 --> 00:16:30.480 Nobody saw a decline happening, and all of a sudden, 326 00:16:31.240 --> 00:16:33.960 the economy hits and people either have a budget for 327 00:16:34.039 --> 00:16:37.360 time or for dollars and they can't play as much golf. 328 00:16:37.519 --> 00:16:41.559 Right. So well, and you also have the Tiger factor. 329 00:16:41.639 --> 00:16:45.519 You have somebody who's not as charismatic, who's leading the 330 00:16:45.559 --> 00:16:48.159 tour and making headlines of people going, oh, I want 331 00:16:48.159 --> 00:16:50.159 to do that, I want to do that. There's really 332 00:16:50.200 --> 00:16:52.679 I mean, Rory is a great player, but he doesn't 333 00:16:52.720 --> 00:16:56.639 have the or the you know, the press appeal of 334 00:16:56.679 --> 00:16:59.000 a Tiger. And I'm talking about press appeal. Even before 335 00:16:59.120 --> 00:17:03.519 Tiger's mishaps, he's still the press loved him, right, and 336 00:17:03.559 --> 00:17:06.240 that's going to generate a lot of business for the industry. 337 00:17:06.359 --> 00:17:09.319 Well, I think we're looking at areas where we can 338 00:17:10.000 --> 00:17:16.359 expand the golfer base. Everybody has now an email list, 339 00:17:16.920 --> 00:17:19.400 a base of emails that you can send out specials 340 00:17:19.400 --> 00:17:22.960 and invitations and promotions that you might have from time 341 00:17:23.000 --> 00:17:25.920 to time to try to expand on who you're advertising to. 342 00:17:26.680 --> 00:17:29.039 I think the inevitable thing is that there are going 343 00:17:29.079 --> 00:17:32.319 to be some golf courses that close, and that does happen. 344 00:17:33.400 --> 00:17:36.920 But we're trying to go from the positive standpoint, how 345 00:17:36.960 --> 00:17:38.720 do we get a few more people to play golf? 346 00:17:39.079 --> 00:17:42.279 And a couple of years ago it was trying to 347 00:17:42.319 --> 00:17:44.240 get the people that play six times a year to 348 00:17:44.240 --> 00:17:47.599 play twelve times, and that's what it is, and those 349 00:17:47.720 --> 00:17:52.039 kind of things, and expanding the junior population and expanding 350 00:17:52.079 --> 00:17:55.079 the ladies' population so that you get a few more 351 00:17:55.119 --> 00:17:58.359 players that way, and we're working at it. 352 00:17:58.519 --> 00:18:02.319 Do you have a sense of the average customer at 353 00:18:02.359 --> 00:18:06.279 Indian Valley how many times a year they play at 354 00:18:06.319 --> 00:18:09.720 your course, Because, like I'm one of the members, you 355 00:18:09.720 --> 00:18:13.960 know when you're lesser members. But I recently did a 356 00:18:14.039 --> 00:18:16.680 check because my son was asking me, and of the 357 00:18:16.759 --> 00:18:19.160 last thirteen rounds that I had played, I played eleven 358 00:18:19.200 --> 00:18:24.160 different courses in Marin, Sonoma, and San Francisco, so I 359 00:18:24.200 --> 00:18:26.240 don't always go to Intow Valley it's my go to, 360 00:18:26.400 --> 00:18:28.359 but I play a lot of courses. So do you 361 00:18:28.359 --> 00:18:30.079 have any sense of how often. 362 00:18:30.400 --> 00:18:33.400 Well, we have an annual membership right with about two 363 00:18:33.480 --> 00:18:37.160 hundred and twenty five or so, either single members or 364 00:18:37.160 --> 00:18:41.559 family members, and they play more golf, obviously than the 365 00:18:41.599 --> 00:18:47.160 general public plays. I think the average family member probably 366 00:18:47.200 --> 00:18:51.319 plays two to three times a week. Then the one 367 00:18:51.359 --> 00:18:53.960 extreme would be we have one member that played three 368 00:18:54.079 --> 00:18:57.480 hundred and eight rounds last year. Wow, they weren't all 369 00:18:57.519 --> 00:19:01.039 at Indian Valley, but he posted three hundred and eight 370 00:19:01.119 --> 00:19:02.720 rounds of golf. That's a lot of golf. 371 00:19:02.799 --> 00:19:04.599 That's a lot of golf. Well, that's the beauty of 372 00:19:04.640 --> 00:19:06.319 living on the West Coast when you can play twelve 373 00:19:06.400 --> 00:19:06.839 months a year. 374 00:19:07.000 --> 00:19:10.000 And we had a year where the weather was more 375 00:19:10.039 --> 00:19:12.240 conducive to playing. We didn't have much rain, so he 376 00:19:12.279 --> 00:19:12.880 played golf. 377 00:19:13.599 --> 00:19:16.119 I have a listener who I actually just did a 378 00:19:16.119 --> 00:19:19.440 show with because he's a physical therapist as well and 379 00:19:20.039 --> 00:19:28.519 is a certified TPI instructor and he lives in Ottawa, Alberta. 380 00:19:28.640 --> 00:19:31.720 He lives in Alberta, Canada, and he's already had over 381 00:19:31.759 --> 00:19:34.960 two hundred and fifty rounds this year. And he doesn't 382 00:19:34.960 --> 00:19:36.480 get to play for like more than five or six 383 00:19:36.519 --> 00:19:39.039 months a year, right, but he plays two rounds of 384 00:19:39.039 --> 00:19:43.839 golf every day, at least two. He'll play thirty six holes. 385 00:19:43.960 --> 00:19:45.759 That's a lot of golf and he's only been playing 386 00:19:45.799 --> 00:19:48.559 six years and he's down to a three. 387 00:19:49.000 --> 00:19:52.079 So you eat a sink or swim there, get better 388 00:19:52.119 --> 00:19:53.200 or ya kuia one or the. 389 00:19:53.160 --> 00:19:56.920 Other exactly exactly. So of all the conversations that are 390 00:19:56.960 --> 00:19:59.079 going on these days about how do we bring more 391 00:19:59.119 --> 00:20:04.160 people in, there's some outrageous ideas being you know, the 392 00:20:04.200 --> 00:20:08.119 first one comes to mind, like fifteen inch hole and 393 00:20:08.200 --> 00:20:10.839 you know, moving the t's up to play it forward concept. 394 00:20:11.920 --> 00:20:14.759 Have you guys done anything or you would you consider 395 00:20:14.799 --> 00:20:19.279 doing anything that is special to bring bodies in or you. 396 00:20:19.319 --> 00:20:24.359 Just yeah, I think we would, And we wholly support 397 00:20:24.400 --> 00:20:29.039 the play It Forward program and we've promoted that, probably 398 00:20:29.039 --> 00:20:31.119 not as much as we should, but we have promoted 399 00:20:31.160 --> 00:20:33.559 it some. I think everybody would have a lot more 400 00:20:33.599 --> 00:20:36.000 fun if they played a golf course where they could 401 00:20:36.000 --> 00:20:38.119