1 00:00:03,560 --> 00:00:07,240 Speaker 1: What up few sticks. My name is Brodi McPherson. 2 00:00:07,519 --> 00:00:10,439 Speaker 2: I'm from Nova Scotia, Canada and I play out a 3 00:00:10,599 --> 00:00:11,560 Kabact Brett. 4 00:00:11,960 --> 00:00:13,839 Speaker 1: Welcome to Golf Smarter Boys. 5 00:00:14,080 --> 00:00:17,679 Speaker 2: Hi, I'm Thad Thomas from Cottage Grove, Minnesota and I 6 00:00:17,719 --> 00:00:19,280 play at River Oaks Golf Course. 7 00:00:19,760 --> 00:00:21,280 Speaker 1: Welcome to Golf Smarter. 8 00:00:21,120 --> 00:00:23,079 Speaker 3: Episode one twenty four. 9 00:00:23,399 --> 00:00:26,199 Speaker 2: When I was writing, the publisher that I worked for 10 00:00:26,359 --> 00:00:29,039 owned a little golf magazine in Philadelphia, and I was 11 00:00:29,079 --> 00:00:31,719 the staff writer for that magazine and I interviewed Barbara 12 00:00:31,839 --> 00:00:34,560 Tello once. It was really cool. It was me another 13 00:00:34,600 --> 00:00:37,200 writer in him for like an hour, just firing questions 14 00:00:37,200 --> 00:00:39,200 at him. He said, if you went to the range 15 00:00:39,240 --> 00:00:41,600 at a tour event and you took away the name plates, 16 00:00:41,679 --> 00:00:43,759 so you didn't know who anybody was, and you just 17 00:00:43,960 --> 00:00:46,679 went up and down and watched each person swing the 18 00:00:46,679 --> 00:00:49,799 golf club, except for like Jim Furick or Tiger or 19 00:00:49,799 --> 00:00:52,119 somebody like that, you knew what their swing was like. 20 00:00:52,240 --> 00:00:54,560 You wouldn't know if they were the fifth best player 21 00:00:54,560 --> 00:00:56,600 in the world or the five hundred and fifth best 22 00:00:56,640 --> 00:00:58,479 player in the world because they hit the ball so 23 00:00:58,640 --> 00:01:01,759 well and so something had to separate them. And it's 24 00:01:01,880 --> 00:01:04,560 the mental game. Can you do it when it matters most? 25 00:01:04,760 --> 00:01:06,599 Can you manage your waywhere on the golf course? Can 26 00:01:06,640 --> 00:01:09,560 you swallow your pride a play for four rather than 27 00:01:09,760 --> 00:01:12,599 going for a pin tuck behind a bunker or over 28 00:01:12,680 --> 00:01:15,519 the water hazard. So he'd said, you can't recognize the 29 00:01:15,519 --> 00:01:17,400 fifth best player from the five hundred and fifth best 30 00:01:17,400 --> 00:01:19,719 player in the world. So something has to separate them, 31 00:01:19,719 --> 00:01:21,519 and that's what it is. But mental game for sure. 32 00:01:26,599 --> 00:01:29,239 Speaker 3: Oh Caddie at Marion Golf Club wrote a fun golf 33 00:01:29,319 --> 00:01:33,239 novel for all ages called The Philly Phenom by Nate Osman. 34 00:01:33,560 --> 00:01:38,719 This is Golf Smarter, sharing stories, tips and insights from 35 00:01:38,840 --> 00:01:41,760 great golf minds to help you lower your score and 36 00:01:41,959 --> 00:01:46,840 raise your golf IQ. Here's your host, Fred Green. Welcome 37 00:01:46,840 --> 00:01:48,159 to the Golf Smarter podcast. 38 00:01:48,239 --> 00:01:48,400 Speaker 2: Nate. 39 00:01:49,200 --> 00:01:51,680 Speaker 1: Thanks Fred, appreciate you having me here. 40 00:01:52,359 --> 00:01:57,519 Speaker 3: Well, I'll be completely honest with you. When your publicity 41 00:01:57,560 --> 00:02:02,599 people reached out to me about your book, I'm like, really, 42 00:02:03,560 --> 00:02:06,159 I don't know about this book. It's like they said, 43 00:02:06,239 --> 00:02:08,000 just can you just read it and let us know. 44 00:02:08,719 --> 00:02:10,000 I couldn't put it down. 45 00:02:10,080 --> 00:02:11,319 Speaker 1: Oh, thanks so much. 46 00:02:11,560 --> 00:02:13,680 Speaker 3: Well, let's just say this I read when I go 47 00:02:13,719 --> 00:02:15,520 to sleep. So I fall asleep reading. So I put 48 00:02:15,520 --> 00:02:18,599 it down all the time. But I couldn't let me 49 00:02:18,680 --> 00:02:20,719 say it this way. I couldn't put it down till 50 00:02:20,719 --> 00:02:22,879 I finished. I had to get to the ending of 51 00:02:22,919 --> 00:02:25,319 this story to see how it turned out. 52 00:02:25,800 --> 00:02:27,360 Speaker 1: That's awesome, that's what I want to hear. 53 00:02:28,000 --> 00:02:30,759 Speaker 3: Yeah, I really enjoyed it. I had a lot of 54 00:02:30,759 --> 00:02:31,840 fun with this book. 55 00:02:32,240 --> 00:02:33,439 Speaker 1: Thanks. That's the whole goal. 56 00:02:33,520 --> 00:02:37,159 Speaker 2: You know, it's geared towards you know, younger kids, you know, 57 00:02:37,240 --> 00:02:39,520 ten to fifteen, but I was really hoping that adults 58 00:02:39,560 --> 00:02:41,560 would enjoy you two and would help spread the word 59 00:02:41,599 --> 00:02:44,400 for me, you know, for their children or their grandchildren 60 00:02:44,479 --> 00:02:48,039 or kids at their country club or whatever. So thanks 61 00:02:48,039 --> 00:02:49,759 so much for your kind words. And I'm glad to 62 00:02:49,800 --> 00:02:51,759 see that I'm doing something right. 63 00:02:52,479 --> 00:02:54,520 Speaker 3: Well, I am a ten to fifteen year old, so 64 00:02:55,879 --> 00:02:58,919 it falls right in line. At least I act like 65 00:02:58,960 --> 00:03:03,520 it most of the time. But it's a unique story. 66 00:03:03,520 --> 00:03:05,240 And we'll get into the story because there's a lot 67 00:03:05,280 --> 00:03:09,000 of things in it that were golf lessons. That's why 68 00:03:09,039 --> 00:03:12,360 I was so intrigued about having this conversation with you. 69 00:03:12,360 --> 00:03:15,560 You really sneak in some great golf instruction on this 70 00:03:16,319 --> 00:03:20,520 But give me the background story of what this book 71 00:03:20,560 --> 00:03:22,879 is about, or give us an overview of what the 72 00:03:22,879 --> 00:03:23,639 book is about. 73 00:03:24,080 --> 00:03:29,000 Speaker 2: Sure, it's a middle grade sports fiction novel, you know, 74 00:03:29,120 --> 00:03:31,840 focused on golf. The main character is a ten year 75 00:03:31,879 --> 00:03:35,439 old boy named Lima Lomax, who's based on me. You know, 76 00:03:35,719 --> 00:03:37,719 a lot of the stories in that book are based 77 00:03:37,759 --> 00:03:41,319 on my childhood growing up at this really blue collar 78 00:03:41,520 --> 00:03:44,479 country club in Philadelphia that really shouldn't have been called 79 00:03:44,479 --> 00:03:48,000 a country club. No pool, no tennis, nothing, just golf. 80 00:03:48,039 --> 00:03:49,680 But I guess they wanted a sound. 81 00:03:49,639 --> 00:03:51,080 Speaker 3: So it was a private golf club. 82 00:03:51,240 --> 00:03:52,960 Speaker 2: It was a private golf club, but they called it. 83 00:03:52,960 --> 00:03:55,840 It was called Edgemont Country Club. And in you know, 84 00:03:55,879 --> 00:03:59,759 a crazy golf rich as far as private golf goes 85 00:03:59,800 --> 00:04:03,840 there in Philadelphia, this place was at the bottom. And 86 00:04:03,879 --> 00:04:05,919 I don't think the members, you know, it's no longer there, 87 00:04:06,159 --> 00:04:08,080 but I don't think the members would disagree with me 88 00:04:08,199 --> 00:04:12,039 on that. And my my dad was a member there. 89 00:04:12,199 --> 00:04:15,599 He worked across the street at this safety equipment company, 90 00:04:15,719 --> 00:04:17,480 you know, and I tell people all the time, there's 91 00:04:17,560 --> 00:04:21,720 no no coincidence that he picked a golf club right 92 00:04:21,720 --> 00:04:25,480 across from his work, so he played there when he 93 00:04:25,519 --> 00:04:27,360 was younger, and then you know, when I got old 94 00:04:27,480 --> 00:04:30,759 enough to play, you know, he would bring me with him, 95 00:04:30,879 --> 00:04:32,319 and I just fell in love with the place. It 96 00:04:32,439 --> 00:04:35,639 was a place with you know, where plumbers and electricians 97 00:04:35,680 --> 00:04:38,680 would tee it up, with doctors and lawyers and all 98 00:04:38,720 --> 00:04:42,439 sorts of people, you know, Philly sports athletes. So I 99 00:04:42,560 --> 00:04:45,360 kind of gathered all these stories from my childhood just 100 00:04:45,399 --> 00:04:48,399 observing all these people you know, on the on the 101 00:04:48,439 --> 00:04:51,879 golf course, on the practice range, in the bar, and 102 00:04:51,959 --> 00:04:55,920 I filed them away, and then you know that kind 103 00:04:55,920 --> 00:04:59,120 of built into this book. And I first started writing 104 00:04:59,120 --> 00:05:00,920 it maybe ten years ag go when my kids were 105 00:05:00,920 --> 00:05:02,720 little and I was you know, up late at night 106 00:05:02,920 --> 00:05:05,759 feeding them bottles, and you know, I couldn't sleep after that, 107 00:05:05,800 --> 00:05:07,879 so I would just like kind of hammer away a 108 00:05:07,920 --> 00:05:10,800 few pages at a time. And then I read a 109 00:05:10,800 --> 00:05:13,920 book by John Strgy called When War Played Through about 110 00:05:13,920 --> 00:05:17,680 how you know, the major stopped and because so many 111 00:05:17,720 --> 00:05:21,399 of the professional golfers you know, enlisted, and you know, 112 00:05:21,480 --> 00:05:24,959 they had these Red Cross exhibition matches staged around the 113 00:05:24,959 --> 00:05:27,439 country to raise money for the war effort. You know, 114 00:05:27,920 --> 00:05:31,079 local PGA pros or local amateurs would play against these 115 00:05:31,120 --> 00:05:34,079 touring professionals, and I thought it'd be cool to kind 116 00:05:34,079 --> 00:05:36,279 of bring that to modern times and weave nine to 117 00:05:36,279 --> 00:05:39,560 eleven into that. So the main character Lee experience is 118 00:05:39,600 --> 00:05:41,879 nine to eleven when he's home from school one day, 119 00:05:42,519 --> 00:05:44,959 and I kind of tie that in, bring in that 120 00:05:45,120 --> 00:05:49,279 Red Cross exhibition match into this country club, and you know, 121 00:05:49,439 --> 00:05:51,600 Lee's goal throughout most of the stories to get his 122 00:05:51,720 --> 00:05:54,360 dad to be able to be one of the participants 123 00:05:54,360 --> 00:05:55,000 in that match. 124 00:05:56,360 --> 00:05:59,639 Speaker 3: I figured as much that this was something from your 125 00:05:59,720 --> 00:06:03,720 childlihood the way this book was reading. But I'm curious 126 00:06:03,759 --> 00:06:06,279 about when you said your dad worked across the street 127 00:06:06,360 --> 00:06:09,079 from the golf club. Well, this is a chicken and 128 00:06:09,120 --> 00:06:12,600 egg story. Yeah what came first? Did the country club 129 00:06:12,639 --> 00:06:15,160 come first or his job come first? And he was like, oh, 130 00:06:15,199 --> 00:06:16,800 there's a golf course across the street. 131 00:06:17,839 --> 00:06:20,040 Speaker 1: Yeah, I probably didn't say that right the first time. 132 00:06:20,120 --> 00:06:23,680 Speaker 2: So I guarantee he picked that job because the office 133 00:06:23,720 --> 00:06:27,240 was right across the street from a golf club. And then, 134 00:06:27,399 --> 00:06:30,160 like you, he later went into business for himself. So 135 00:06:30,240 --> 00:06:32,160 he runs his own business and he makes his own 136 00:06:32,160 --> 00:06:34,040 hours and has played golf, you know, two or three 137 00:06:34,040 --> 00:06:36,199 times a week since I was a little kid. I'm 138 00:06:36,240 --> 00:06:38,920 forty four, So for thirty years he's been playing golf 139 00:06:39,000 --> 00:06:41,800 two or three times a week. He and my uncle 140 00:06:41,839 --> 00:06:44,040 caddied on the PGA Tour before I was born in 141 00:06:44,079 --> 00:06:47,639 the seventies, so there was no choice. You know, I 142 00:06:47,680 --> 00:06:49,160 was going to be a golfer whether I liked it 143 00:06:49,279 --> 00:06:51,360 or not. And you know, I'm happy that he put 144 00:06:51,360 --> 00:06:52,759 a club in my hands when I was like eight 145 00:06:52,839 --> 00:06:56,560 years old, and it's been a great love affair with 146 00:06:56,600 --> 00:06:57,360 golf ever since. 147 00:06:58,199 --> 00:07:00,360 Speaker 3: Uh. Yeah, we use the word love of fair but 148 00:07:01,360 --> 00:07:08,399 we know better, Na, we really do. Your history is 149 00:07:08,480 --> 00:07:12,680 but you know you started playing at a your dad 150 00:07:12,720 --> 00:07:15,720 was a caddy, your uncle was a caddy, and then 151 00:07:16,040 --> 00:07:19,399 did you start caddying as well before you you know, 152 00:07:19,519 --> 00:07:23,000 got married, had kids, started your professional career or how 153 00:07:23,000 --> 00:07:23,600 did that work? 154 00:07:23,920 --> 00:07:26,439 Speaker 1: Yeah? I did, So we were lucky. 155 00:07:26,600 --> 00:07:29,360 Speaker 2: Again, there's so many private clubs here in Philadelphia, and 156 00:07:29,680 --> 00:07:32,399 you know we have Marion Golf Club, you know, top 157 00:07:32,439 --> 00:07:35,240 ten club in the country, top fifteen club in the world, 158 00:07:35,399 --> 00:07:38,480 you know, literally right in our backyard. So when I 159 00:07:38,600 --> 00:07:42,360 was I was born in the town where Marion is, 160 00:07:42,399 --> 00:07:44,519 and then you know, when we were in second grade, 161 00:07:44,560 --> 00:07:47,279 we moved to a town an adjacent town, but it's 162 00:07:47,319 --> 00:07:49,079 still only a mile and a half from the club. 163 00:07:49,480 --> 00:07:51,319 And then when I was fourteen years old, I don't 164 00:07:51,360 --> 00:07:53,560 remember my dad, you know, asking me if I wanted 165 00:07:53,560 --> 00:07:55,800 a caddy. He just took me in his van one 166 00:07:55,839 --> 00:07:58,000 day and dropped me off and said, go up there 167 00:07:58,040 --> 00:08:00,519 and ask the caddy master if you can caddy. And 168 00:08:00,560 --> 00:08:03,360 I was crazy shy when I was a kid, you know. 169 00:08:03,439 --> 00:08:06,439 He used to take me to PGA Tour events in 170 00:08:06,480 --> 00:08:09,720 the area, and the Champions Tour, I remember, was in 171 00:08:09,759 --> 00:08:12,000 the same cut a neck in the woods, and you 172 00:08:12,040 --> 00:08:14,759 know Jack Nicholas and Palmer and Chiechi Rodriguez and Lee 173 00:08:14,759 --> 00:08:17,240 Trevine was when they were like big time on the 174 00:08:17,279 --> 00:08:20,519 Senior Tour before the Champions Tour, and I would be 175 00:08:20,720 --> 00:08:23,079 deathly afraid to ask for their autograph, so he would 176 00:08:23,160 --> 00:08:25,959 have to do it. But for some reason I was 177 00:08:26,000 --> 00:08:28,279 okay with going and asking for this job. I don't 178 00:08:28,319 --> 00:08:30,600 know if just something inside me, you know, the caddy 179 00:08:30,680 --> 00:08:34,399 in me was already there, right, And so I started 180 00:08:34,440 --> 00:08:36,759 when I was fourteen, and I caddied all through high 181 00:08:36,799 --> 00:08:39,480 school and college, and then when I was I studied 182 00:08:39,519 --> 00:08:41,799 journalism at Penn State. And when I was looking for 183 00:08:41,840 --> 00:08:45,600 a full time gig. I was still caddying, and then 184 00:08:45,799 --> 00:08:48,120 you know, I found that full time writing position. I 185 00:08:48,159 --> 00:08:50,480 took a couple of years off, and then I went 186 00:08:50,519 --> 00:08:53,639 back to school to get certified to teach. And when 187 00:08:53,679 --> 00:08:56,080 I did that, I went back to Maryon. So I 188 00:08:56,159 --> 00:08:59,360 pretty much have been there since nineteen ninety five, with 189 00:08:59,440 --> 00:09:02,080 the exception of two thousand and seven, two thousand and eight, 190 00:09:02,360 --> 00:09:05,440 those two years I took off. You know, so thirty 191 00:09:05,519 --> 00:09:09,120 years roughly of carrying golf bags. A pretty great place 192 00:09:09,159 --> 00:09:11,279 to do it at Marion. 193 00:09:11,639 --> 00:09:16,559 Speaker 3: At Marion, Wow, you got to give me a story 194 00:09:16,559 --> 00:09:18,279 about looping at Marion. 195 00:09:19,360 --> 00:09:21,519 Speaker 2: I tell a couple of quick ones a lot. So 196 00:09:22,080 --> 00:09:26,559 I maybe fifteen years ago I caddy for Patty Harrington. 197 00:09:26,679 --> 00:09:30,759 He was like, you know, making an appearance for some 198 00:09:30,919 --> 00:09:34,120 company at charity outing on a Monday, and it was 199 00:09:34,159 --> 00:09:36,120 my job to drive him around in a golf cart 200 00:09:36,200 --> 00:09:38,559 and you know, play a hole with each group. And 201 00:09:38,600 --> 00:09:40,960 he got to number eleven, which is, you know, a 202 00:09:41,000 --> 00:09:44,440 famous hole in golfer. Bobby Jones clinched the Grand Slam 203 00:09:44,480 --> 00:09:48,159 in nineteen thirty and he stood on the tee and 204 00:09:48,399 --> 00:09:50,440 he was just going to hit like a probably like 205 00:09:50,480 --> 00:09:52,679 a five or six iron down the fairway because there's 206 00:09:52,720 --> 00:09:54,879 a creek that wraps around and cuts off the end 207 00:09:54,919 --> 00:09:59,200 of the hole, makes you force carry into the green. 208 00:09:59,759 --> 00:10:01,559 And and then he went back and got his driver, 209 00:10:01,759 --> 00:10:04,919 and he took like five steps behind the back of 210 00:10:04,960 --> 00:10:07,799 the tee and I didn't know what he was doing. 211 00:10:07,879 --> 00:10:10,320 And then he started running toward the ball and he 212 00:10:10,399 --> 00:10:13,000 did the happy Gilmore and hit it over the green 213 00:10:13,639 --> 00:10:15,919 like so it was at least a three hundred and 214 00:10:15,919 --> 00:10:18,320 forty yard carry and it probably ended up, you know, 215 00:10:18,399 --> 00:10:20,679 traveling three hundred and sixty yards or so. 216 00:10:20,679 --> 00:10:22,440 Speaker 1: So that's one of my favorite stories. 217 00:10:23,240 --> 00:10:26,080 Speaker 3: That's a great one. I mean, you must have been 218 00:10:26,519 --> 00:10:30,960 just completely bamboozled by the fact that he's standing, that 219 00:10:31,039 --> 00:10:32,279 he starts running at the ball. 220 00:10:32,399 --> 00:10:33,679 Speaker 2: Yeah, I didn't know what he was gonna do. He 221 00:10:33,720 --> 00:10:36,320 didn't announce it, he didn't say like watch this or anything. 222 00:10:36,399 --> 00:10:38,960 He just kind of did it. And I think the 223 00:10:39,000 --> 00:10:41,919 other guys who were playing were just like, oh my god. 224 00:10:42,679 --> 00:10:45,000 But it's pretty cool, you know. You see so many 225 00:10:45,080 --> 00:10:47,799 celebrities come through there. I've been lucky enough to caddy 226 00:10:47,879 --> 00:10:51,960 for you know, Troy Aikman and Darius Rucker. So I'll 227 00:10:51,960 --> 00:10:55,000 tell Darius Rucker story. So I caddied for him. Maybe 228 00:10:55,240 --> 00:10:58,799 let's see, my oldest daughter is just turned thirteen, So 229 00:10:58,879 --> 00:11:01,840 it was when my wife was pregnant with her and 230 00:11:01,919 --> 00:11:04,399 I caddied for him, and then he gave us tickets 231 00:11:04,440 --> 00:11:08,519 to his show and we got to go backstage afterwards, 232 00:11:08,559 --> 00:11:10,240 and you know, they were about to go to the 233 00:11:10,279 --> 00:11:12,440 after party, and she was like, you guys are gonna 234 00:11:12,440 --> 00:11:15,000 come right and I just like pointed to my wife's belly. 235 00:11:15,039 --> 00:11:18,200 I'm like, now we got to get home. And he's like, well, 236 00:11:18,240 --> 00:11:20,279 I'll make a deal with you. If you name your 237 00:11:20,399 --> 00:11:23,639 baby after me, I'll pay for her to go to college. 238 00:11:23,960 --> 00:11:26,879 He was like, you can call her Darisa or something. 239 00:11:28,000 --> 00:11:30,960 And we didn't end up doing it. But I caddied 240 00:11:30,960 --> 00:11:33,240 for him like five years ago and I brought up 241 00:11:33,240 --> 00:11:33,720 that story. 242 00:11:33,759 --> 00:11:35,519 Speaker 1: He was like, yeah, he's like sounds like something I 243 00:11:35,519 --> 00:11:36,000 would say. 244 00:11:37,879 --> 00:11:40,159 Speaker 3: You didn't take him up, or you could have told 245 00:11:40,200 --> 00:11:42,080 him you couldn't give him the kid the middle name. 246 00:11:42,279 --> 00:11:45,399 Speaker 2: I know that's what people say they should have, like 247 00:11:45,600 --> 00:11:47,200 just make it the middle name. 248 00:11:47,240 --> 00:11:48,279 Speaker 1: He would have been cool with it. 249 00:11:49,399 --> 00:11:53,000 Speaker 2: He was fun to caddy for super competitive, you know, 250 00:11:53,200 --> 00:11:56,360 very focused, but he was fun. Oscar Robertson I Caddy 251 00:11:56,440 --> 00:11:59,399 for which was pretty cool. I'm a huge basketball fan. 252 00:11:59,440 --> 00:12:03,360 My dad was a big basketball player and golfer, so 253 00:12:03,879 --> 00:12:05,759 those guys are pretty cool, and you know, you see 254 00:12:05,799 --> 00:12:08,360 so many different people come through, it's cool to be 255 00:12:08,399 --> 00:12:09,000 a part of it. 256 00:12:15,080 --> 00:12:18,759 Speaker 3: I'm still kind of stuck on you not naming someone 257 00:12:18,799 --> 00:12:22,600 else paid for the college education, I know, especially. 258 00:12:22,759 --> 00:12:25,080 Speaker 1: Right now, Like what are you thinking. 259 00:12:24,919 --> 00:12:27,679 Speaker 2: In like five years, it's going to be astronomical, even 260 00:12:27,720 --> 00:12:28,320 though I guess. 261 00:12:28,440 --> 00:12:32,200 Speaker 3: Oh, it's it already is. Yeah. Yeah, I kind of 262 00:12:32,240 --> 00:12:37,000 had a story. I tell people that my dog that 263 00:12:37,080 --> 00:12:39,639 I had from the time I was fifty till like 264 00:12:39,799 --> 00:12:46,480 mid mid sixties. We named the dog Lulu. But when 265 00:12:46,519 --> 00:12:49,080 I got the dog, I wanted to give it a 266 00:12:49,080 --> 00:12:52,519 real good golf name, and we ended up long story. 267 00:12:52,559 --> 00:12:55,360 I'm gonna cut him down here because I've told it before, 268 00:12:55,519 --> 00:12:57,120 but I need to share it with you. It's like 269 00:12:58,039 --> 00:13:02,639 someone suggested which named the after Tiger's mom because I 270 00:13:02,639 --> 00:13:04,960 wanted a real good golf name for my dog, right 271 00:13:04,960 --> 00:13:06,919 and I didn't want to divot and I didn't want Bogie. 272 00:13:06,919 --> 00:13:09,440 It's overused. They're like Tiger's mom, and I'm like, I 273 00:13:09,440 --> 00:13:11,360 don't get it. Why would I name the dog after 274 00:13:11,399 --> 00:13:14,799 Tiger's mom, He goes, well, because then you know her 275 00:13:14,879 --> 00:13:17,720 name is Caltita and they call her Tita, and the 276 00:13:17,759 --> 00:13:22,919 dog's name would be Tita Green. Oh my god, that's great. 277 00:13:22,960 --> 00:13:26,320 So I've told every golfer my dog's name is Tita Green, 278 00:13:26,360 --> 00:13:30,879 but her real name is Lulu. Everyone knew her as Nancy. 279 00:13:33,200 --> 00:13:35,919 Do you love the Marian golf Course? 280 00:13:37,000 --> 00:13:40,120 Speaker 2: Oh yeah, it's you know, people say all the time 281 00:13:40,159 --> 00:13:43,039 that it's the best inland golf course in the country, 282 00:13:43,240 --> 00:13:46,559 and I firmly believe it. One of the best things 283 00:13:46,559 --> 00:13:48,720 about it I tell guests all the time who haven't 284 00:13:48,720 --> 00:13:51,840 been there before, is that there aren't two holes anywhere 285 00:13:51,919 --> 00:13:55,600 close to like one another, and there aren't two greens anywhere, 286 00:13:55,799 --> 00:13:58,360 you know, close to being like one another. So you 287 00:13:58,440 --> 00:14:01,559 have eighteen different holes kind of on this tight property 288 00:14:01,639 --> 00:14:04,240 less than one hundred and thirty acres. The greens are 289 00:14:04,279 --> 00:14:07,240 really cool, really tough to read, really tough to putt. 290 00:14:07,720 --> 00:14:09,799 And this time of year, you know, May in October 291 00:14:09,919 --> 00:14:11,919 the two best months to play. And we were in 292 00:14:11,960 --> 00:14:15,440 a great stretch with you know, cool nights and on 293 00:14:15,519 --> 00:14:18,240 the temperatures, you know, hovering in the low sixties. So 294 00:14:18,840 --> 00:14:21,559 you know, they're running fourteen and the wind's blowing a 295 00:14:21,600 --> 00:14:26,399 little bit and it's really, really, really tough. So it'll 296 00:14:26,399 --> 00:14:29,080 be interesting to see next year if we get some 297 00:14:29,159 --> 00:14:31,559 dry weather in May for the US M You know 298 00:14:31,639 --> 00:14:33,480 what those kids are able to do, because they hit 299 00:14:33,519 --> 00:14:34,039 it so far. 300 00:14:34,159 --> 00:14:34,759 Speaker 1: Let's see if. 301 00:14:34,639 --> 00:14:38,759 Speaker 2: They can you know, bomb and gouge their way around. 302 00:14:39,279 --> 00:14:41,360 And you know, I got to caddy the last time 303 00:14:41,399 --> 00:14:43,240 the US Amateur was there in two thousand and five, 304 00:14:43,360 --> 00:14:46,080 so it'd be cool, you know, maybe fingers crossed to 305 00:14:46,080 --> 00:14:48,159 get to caddy in that next year. 306 00:14:49,039 --> 00:14:50,200 Speaker 3: Oh, that would be awesome. 307 00:14:50,440 --> 00:14:52,960 Speaker 2: Yeah, a caddy for a California guy the for two 308 00:14:53,000 --> 00:14:57,200 thousand and five, Kevin Chapel, you know UCLA NCAA individual champ, 309 00:14:58,000 --> 00:15:01,320 which was fun. He im original guy missed the cut. 310 00:15:01,320 --> 00:15:03,600 And then I was writing for a small newspaper in 311 00:15:03,639 --> 00:15:07,240 the city. And again, like I said before, I only 312 00:15:07,279 --> 00:15:09,120 lived a mile from the club, and I was in 313 00:15:09,120 --> 00:15:11,080 the shower getting ready to go to work. My mom 314 00:15:11,240 --> 00:15:14,240 like knocks on the door. This is I don't think. 315 00:15:14,360 --> 00:15:16,080 I didn't have a cell phone then I don't think. 316 00:15:16,480 --> 00:15:18,519 And so my boss for Mary and called and said 317 00:15:18,519 --> 00:15:20,600 a caddie didn't show up. Can you meet us on 318 00:15:20,679 --> 00:15:22,960 the first green? So my mom drove me to the 319 00:15:23,000 --> 00:15:24,720 back of the first green and I run up the 320 00:15:24,720 --> 00:15:28,399 little hill and everybody's standing around the green and this 321 00:15:28,519 --> 00:15:31,159 Marian member was carrying Kevin Chappele's bag for the first 322 00:15:31,200 --> 00:15:33,480 hole because his caddie didn't show up, and he just 323 00:15:33,519 --> 00:15:35,120 took his bib off and handed it to me and 324 00:15:35,159 --> 00:15:37,639 I put it on. And he had this like fifty 325 00:15:37,679 --> 00:15:41,440 foot putt, huge left to right swinger, and she's like, 326 00:15:41,639 --> 00:15:43,480 what do you think. I don't even think he introduced 327 00:15:43,519 --> 00:15:45,080 himself to me. He just asked me to read the 328 00:15:45,080 --> 00:15:47,080 putt and I just pointed to a spot and he 329 00:15:47,200 --> 00:15:48,720 buried it and we were off. 330 00:15:49,000 --> 00:15:50,200 Speaker 1: Yeah, it was cool. 331 00:15:50,519 --> 00:15:57,720 Speaker 3: Oh that's a good one. Wow. Wow. But you didn't 332 00:15:58,039 --> 00:16:04,039 maintain being you know, a caddie as your career, right. 333 00:16:04,559 --> 00:16:07,919 Speaker 2: I mean I would have if I could have, But 334 00:16:07,960 --> 00:16:10,519 then you got married. I got married and my wife 335 00:16:10,559 --> 00:16:13,840 was a teacher, and when I was writing for the newspaper, 336 00:16:13,879 --> 00:16:15,879 I was covering a ton of high school sports, so 337 00:16:15,919 --> 00:16:18,039 I would go write, you know, go cover a high 338 00:16:18,080 --> 00:16:21,600 school baseball game, then go back to the office write 339 00:16:21,600 --> 00:16:23,639 the story, and then help lay out the newspaper. So 340 00:16:23,639 --> 00:16:26,679 I was working pretty much, you know, three pm to 341 00:16:26,720 --> 00:16:29,320 three am most nights, and my wife was on the 342 00:16:29,360 --> 00:16:32,879 opposite schedule, and she quickly laid down the law and said, 343 00:16:32,919 --> 00:16:35,720 you know, if this is something that we want to pursue, 344 00:16:35,799 --> 00:16:42,039 we probably need to make a change. And I yeah, yeah, 345 00:16:42,080 --> 00:16:42,600 for sure. 346 00:16:42,960 --> 00:16:43,440 Speaker 1: And I was. 347 00:16:43,519 --> 00:16:46,080 Speaker 2: I was a coach, a basketball coach, you know, even 348 00:16:46,120 --> 00:16:48,120 when you know, I just graduated high school. So I 349 00:16:48,159 --> 00:16:51,399 loved working with kids. And you know, as a shy person, 350 00:16:51,440 --> 00:16:54,480 I was a little hesitant to kind of dive into teaching. 351 00:16:54,600 --> 00:16:57,519 But you just kind of either I think have it 352 00:16:57,600 --> 00:17:00,919 or you don't. And somehow I'm able to to bond 353 00:17:01,000 --> 00:17:03,879 and connect and motivate, you know, ten to twelve year 354 00:17:03,919 --> 00:17:05,839 old kids. You know, I have a hard time still 355 00:17:06,759 --> 00:17:10,119 speaking in front of adults, but my time in the 356 00:17:10,119 --> 00:17:11,960 classroom is great. You know, it's kind of like the 357 00:17:12,000 --> 00:17:14,240 doors closed and it's it's our own little world. And 358 00:17:14,640 --> 00:17:16,119 you were able to be who you want to be 359 00:17:16,160 --> 00:17:17,880 and let the kids see that and let the kids 360 00:17:17,920 --> 00:17:19,559 kind of let down their guard, which is what it's 361 00:17:19,599 --> 00:17:21,839 all about. You know, if you create a great environment 362 00:17:21,839 --> 00:17:25,200 where the kids are ready to be themselves, and you know, 363 00:17:25,279 --> 00:17:27,200 to take risks and you're going to get them to 364 00:17:27,240 --> 00:17:29,559 do great things. So I've enjoyed that over the last 365 00:17:31,039 --> 00:17:34,039 you know, fifteen plus years. And I still work out 366 00:17:34,079 --> 00:17:36,279 Marian too as one of the assistant Caddy Masters, but 367 00:17:36,799 --> 00:17:37,759 teaching is my full time. 368 00:17:38,359 --> 00:17:41,240 Speaker 3: But your tea are you teaching writing to these kids? 369 00:17:41,599 --> 00:17:44,359 Speaker 2: I taught sixth grade English and language arts, so reading 370 00:17:44,359 --> 00:17:47,240 and writing for a little more than ten years, and 371 00:17:47,279 --> 00:17:49,480 then the last few years I switched over to math 372 00:17:49,559 --> 00:17:52,920 because it was just a little bit less of a workload, 373 00:17:53,000 --> 00:17:55,920 and with young kids and another job, it was really 374 00:17:55,960 --> 00:17:58,000 hard to give it everything I had. You know, when 375 00:17:58,000 --> 00:18:02,640 you're grading ninety essays every week and it's a lot. 376 00:18:03,440 --> 00:18:04,720 Speaker 3: Oh but Matthew can. 377 00:18:05,039 --> 00:18:06,519 Speaker 1: Matthew can manage. You know. 378 00:18:06,640 --> 00:18:09,359 Speaker 2: It's it's much easier to grade. But I miss it 379 00:18:09,440 --> 00:18:13,400 for sure. I missed teaching Elah. 380 00:18:12,039 --> 00:18:16,319 Speaker 3: Interesting uh And and you're still writing though, and and 381 00:18:16,440 --> 00:18:17,839 out came a book. 382 00:18:17,759 --> 00:18:18,920 Speaker 1: Out came a book. Yeah. 383 00:18:18,920 --> 00:18:21,960 Speaker 2: I took a sabbatical to finish my masters about three 384 00:18:22,039 --> 00:18:24,920 years ago, and I had some extra time, so I 385 00:18:25,000 --> 00:18:27,519 finished the manuscript and then I shopped it around to 386 00:18:27,559 --> 00:18:32,119 a few publishers and this small independent press from Austin 387 00:18:32,200 --> 00:18:34,559 picked it up. So that was like a year and 388 00:18:34,599 --> 00:18:38,039 a half maybe two years process, just editing and chopping 389 00:18:38,039 --> 00:18:40,720 it down and proofreading, and you know, it was really 390 00:18:40,759 --> 00:18:41,559 really tough. 391 00:18:41,359 --> 00:18:43,960 Speaker 1: To go back in and reread my work. 392 00:18:44,000 --> 00:18:46,319 Speaker 2: I've always hated that, even when I was a student, 393 00:18:46,480 --> 00:18:48,480 just hated reading what I wrote, and when I was 394 00:18:48,519 --> 00:18:53,000 a journalist too. But you know, you're your reputation kind 395 00:18:53,000 --> 00:18:54,839 of stands on the product you put out right, So 396 00:18:54,920 --> 00:18:57,200 if you're it's full of you know, grammatical errors that 397 00:18:57,559 --> 00:18:59,680 you know an editor's not catching it too in the morning, 398 00:18:59,720 --> 00:19:02,640 you know, going to hurt your credibility, especially like in 399 00:19:02,640 --> 00:19:05,279 twenty twenty five with so much social media, people are 400 00:19:05,279 --> 00:19:07,640 going to ram you with posts, you know about you 401 00:19:07,640 --> 00:19:10,519 didn't catch this capitalization mistake or you use this word 402 00:19:10,559 --> 00:19:14,400 incorrectly or whatever. So I really tried to force myself 403 00:19:14,440 --> 00:19:17,480 to go back and proofread, you know, as carefully as 404 00:19:17,559 --> 00:19:19,839 I could, you know, with the help of the publisher, 405 00:19:19,920 --> 00:19:25,960 because I wanted it to be a great product. And yeah, yeah, 406 00:19:26,000 --> 00:19:30,000 so I got it done. It came out June seventeenth, 407 00:19:30,039 --> 00:19:33,119 and the response has been great. I'm gonna see if 408 00:19:33,160 --> 00:19:35,119 I can keep pushing it and get into the hands 409 00:19:35,160 --> 00:19:37,559 of as many kids as possible. I think it's a 410 00:19:37,599 --> 00:19:40,480 great book for kids who know golf already and as 411 00:19:40,480 --> 00:19:42,920 well as for those who've never picked a club up before. 412 00:19:43,079 --> 00:19:45,240 You know, I try to give you know, as much 413 00:19:45,279 --> 00:19:48,359 explanation on some complicated golf terms as I could and 414 00:19:48,440 --> 00:19:51,599 try not to make it too overwhelming or harder to 415 00:19:51,599 --> 00:19:53,480 break down for the kids. Yeah, that was one of 416 00:19:53,519 --> 00:19:54,000 the goals. 417 00:19:54,799 --> 00:19:55,000 Speaker 1: You know. 418 00:19:55,039 --> 00:19:58,240 Speaker 2: We we were so close to the city here and 419 00:19:58,279 --> 00:20:02,000 there's so many young people who are I think, you know, 420 00:20:02,119 --> 00:20:04,119 kind of closed it off from the golf world. The 421 00:20:04,119 --> 00:20:07,119 public golf scene in Philly isn't great, and it's going 422 00:20:07,200 --> 00:20:10,039 to be. It's gonna be elevated big time once. You know, 423 00:20:10,079 --> 00:20:13,519 the municipal course that's being redone right now, Cobbs Creek 424 00:20:13,960 --> 00:20:17,400 opens up in a couple of years. Gil Hanson, Jim Wagner, 425 00:20:17,759 --> 00:20:20,440 you know, kind of tweaked the routing a little bit, 426 00:20:20,480 --> 00:20:23,240 bringing it back to how it was in nineteen sixteen. 427 00:20:23,960 --> 00:20:26,160 You know, it's really it was one of the best 428 00:20:26,319 --> 00:20:29,319 municipal courses in the country when it opened up. We 429 00:20:29,359 --> 00:20:31,920 had Hugh Wilson, who designed Marion came and did some 430 00:20:32,000 --> 00:20:34,720 more designing the golf course at Cobbs Creek, and he 431 00:20:34,759 --> 00:20:37,559 brought in some of the other architects from Philly, William 432 00:20:37,599 --> 00:20:41,480 Flynn and George Thomas and Tillinghast and Crump who did 433 00:20:41,519 --> 00:20:44,279 Pine Valley. All those guys came to the land the 434 00:20:44,359 --> 00:20:46,839 site at Cobbs Creek and you know, gave their two 435 00:20:46,880 --> 00:20:48,839 cents about what they could do to build a great 436 00:20:48,880 --> 00:20:51,920 golf course. And it was a phenomenal golf course. The 437 00:20:52,960 --> 00:20:57,000 land is unbelievable, tons of elevation, changes, cool creek that 438 00:20:57,039 --> 00:21:01,880 flows through the property, and it's going to be, you know, 439 00:21:01,960 --> 00:21:05,160 one of the top fifty golf courses in the country, 440 00:21:05,359 --> 00:21:07,680 public or private. I think when it opens it has 441 00:21:07,720 --> 00:21:10,400 that potential. And it's so it's the Tiger Woods, says 442 00:21:10,640 --> 00:21:13,799 is involved his learning lab. There's one in Anaheim, California. 443 00:21:13,880 --> 00:21:16,759 His second one opened in the spring here in Philly. 444 00:21:16,880 --> 00:21:19,440 So you know, there's a big education piece too, and 445 00:21:19,440 --> 00:21:21,200 we're going to teach They're going to teach the kids 446 00:21:21,200 --> 00:21:23,240 how to play golf. So if I can use this 447 00:21:23,279 --> 00:21:27,279 book to help reach some kids too, then I'm doing something. 448 00:21:27,319 --> 00:21:37,200 Speaker 3: Well, well, it's interesting you talk about reaching out kids, 449 00:21:37,240 --> 00:21:40,240 getting kids, but I'm telling you this is an entertaining 450 00:21:40,240 --> 00:21:43,680 book for adults as well, and if you have kids 451 00:21:43,680 --> 00:21:47,240 at home, especially if you you know people who are listening, 452 00:21:47,279 --> 00:21:50,359 if they if they have a kid that is interested 453 00:21:50,400 --> 00:21:53,240 in golf or want to get interested in golf. The 454 00:21:53,640 --> 00:21:56,480 parents want the kids to get interested in golf, and 455 00:21:56,519 --> 00:22:00,440 they like to read these, uh these you know, teen 456 00:22:00,519 --> 00:22:03,160 novels and whatnot. This is this is a great one 457 00:22:03,240 --> 00:22:06,720 because I'm sure there's not a lot of golf content 458 00:22:06,880 --> 00:22:10,799 for teenagers. Yeah, in novel form. 459 00:22:11,160 --> 00:22:13,720 Speaker 2: Yeah, I thought so too, And you know, I think 460 00:22:13,720 --> 00:22:17,079 it's it's also great for hopefully for you know, kids 461 00:22:17,079 --> 00:22:19,039 who are interested in golf or want to get interested 462 00:22:19,079 --> 00:22:22,640 in golf, but aren't readers. You know, there's I remember, 463 00:22:22,799 --> 00:22:25,319 you know, as a as an English Language arts teacher, 464 00:22:25,759 --> 00:22:27,720 you know, there were so many kids who just got 465 00:22:27,720 --> 00:22:31,240 turned off to reading because we were spending ninety minutes 466 00:22:31,279 --> 00:22:34,480 a day just dissecting every single word an author chose 467 00:22:34,519 --> 00:22:37,160 to use and you know, why did a character do this, 468 00:22:37,319 --> 00:22:39,400 and why did the setting change? And they just got 469 00:22:39,400 --> 00:22:41,519 turned off to reading. They lost their love for it 470 00:22:41,559 --> 00:22:44,440 because they were asked to do so much analysis. And 471 00:22:44,519 --> 00:22:47,000 I really try to write this book, you know, in 472 00:22:47,039 --> 00:22:50,559 a way that the kids could follow the plot without 473 00:22:50,599 --> 00:22:52,519 any problems. You know, they didn't have to stop and 474 00:22:52,559 --> 00:22:55,240 reread and you know ask themselves what's happening here? Why 475 00:22:55,240 --> 00:22:57,240 did the character do this? It was just you know, 476 00:22:57,279 --> 00:23:02,200 an easy light reads. 477 00:23:00,240 --> 00:23:01,400 Speaker 1: Could relate to the character. 478 00:23:01,880 --> 00:23:05,759 Speaker 2: There's a an antagonist, you know, this old crotchety member 479 00:23:05,799 --> 00:23:08,559 at the club who battles with the ten year old. 480 00:23:09,240 --> 00:23:11,039 And I think I did a really good job of 481 00:23:11,079 --> 00:23:14,519 creating that old antagonist. His name is Hal Rustin and 482 00:23:14,519 --> 00:23:17,079 he's based on a few guys who I knew at 483 00:23:17,079 --> 00:23:19,960 Marian when I was a kid, and some guys from 484 00:23:20,200 --> 00:23:22,400 you know Edgemont Country Club, which. 485 00:23:22,279 --> 00:23:24,319 Speaker 3: Yeah, well I wanted to I wanted to get into hell. 486 00:23:24,400 --> 00:23:27,000 And like the where is where did he come from? 487 00:23:27,119 --> 00:23:29,319 Is this something that you I mean, it's kind of 488 00:23:29,359 --> 00:23:34,119 like a movie character. Yeah, where he came from. But 489 00:23:34,240 --> 00:23:37,640 it's like there's got to be something behind this, right Yeah. 490 00:23:37,640 --> 00:23:39,839 Speaker 2: I won't I won't name any names, but you know 491 00:23:40,480 --> 00:23:42,759 when I was a kid, when I was a kid, 492 00:23:42,880 --> 00:23:47,359 like there were you know members at Marion who like 493 00:23:47,440 --> 00:23:50,960 were really old school and you know it was their 494 00:23:51,039 --> 00:23:54,160 way or the highway, and you know, if you were 495 00:23:54,240 --> 00:23:56,759 the caddy, they didn't want they wanted you to carry 496 00:23:56,759 --> 00:23:58,839 the bag and clean the clubs and give them the 497 00:23:58,880 --> 00:24:01,279 right yardage, and if you said a word you know 498 00:24:01,440 --> 00:24:03,680 other than that, you know, they were going to jump 499 00:24:03,720 --> 00:24:06,960 down your throat or they were really quick to like 500 00:24:07,039 --> 00:24:09,599 pick out something that you did wrong, you know, or 501 00:24:09,640 --> 00:24:11,039 something that you could have done better. 502 00:24:11,079 --> 00:24:12,880 Speaker 1: So I I. 503 00:24:12,880 --> 00:24:17,079 Speaker 2: Definitely basically, well, that was like, you know, maybe five 504 00:24:17,119 --> 00:24:20,400 percent of the membership. And it's changed over time, right, 505 00:24:20,519 --> 00:24:23,400 you know, you know, ninety nine point nine percent of 506 00:24:23,400 --> 00:24:24,880 the membership now is phenomenal. 507 00:24:24,920 --> 00:24:26,640 Speaker 1: Everywhere you go, you're going to have, you know, some 508 00:24:26,720 --> 00:24:27,519 tough characters. 509 00:24:27,519 --> 00:24:29,200 Speaker 2: But when I was a kid, there were a lot 510 00:24:29,240 --> 00:24:32,480 of old school guys who again like things a certain way, 511 00:24:33,400 --> 00:24:36,480 and just the kind of the cat caddy player dynamic 512 00:24:36,519 --> 00:24:39,279 has changed, I think overall in golf, you know, it's 513 00:24:39,319 --> 00:24:44,440 there's more of a a collaborative relationship rather than just 514 00:24:44,519 --> 00:24:46,359 the you know, the member of the guest you're caddying 515 00:24:46,400 --> 00:24:48,079 for telling you what to do. You know, this is 516 00:24:48,119 --> 00:24:50,400 what I want. You know, give me this information now, 517 00:24:50,480 --> 00:24:52,559 don't talk to me, you know. Other than that, I 518 00:24:52,599 --> 00:24:54,720 think it's you know, there's a bond most of the 519 00:24:54,720 --> 00:24:57,759 time that forms pretty quickly, you know, once the member 520 00:24:57,759 --> 00:24:59,960 of the guests trust you and knows that you know 521 00:25:00,079 --> 00:25:02,680 you're there to help them, especially a Marian where you 522 00:25:02,720 --> 00:25:04,680 know there are so many blind shots and it's such 523 00:25:04,680 --> 00:25:06,920 a difficult course that if you can't trust the caddy, 524 00:25:07,400 --> 00:25:08,960 no matter how good of a player you are, you're 525 00:25:09,000 --> 00:25:09,440 in trouble. 526 00:25:10,119 --> 00:25:16,680 Speaker 3: Right absolutely. Uh Oh, I had a question in my head, 527 00:25:16,680 --> 00:25:19,519 and now it's not there anymore. Okay, So we can 528 00:25:19,599 --> 00:25:23,359 talk about one of the things. That the character the 529 00:25:23,400 --> 00:25:26,400 book is Philly phenom. We haven't even mentioned the name 530 00:25:26,440 --> 00:25:31,559 of the book, so you were the editor created that name? 531 00:25:31,759 --> 00:25:32,400 Speaker 1: That was mine. 532 00:25:32,799 --> 00:25:35,359 Speaker 2: I wanted, you know, a catchy title, you know, so 533 00:25:35,440 --> 00:25:38,559 the alliteration I think works there and you know, the 534 00:25:39,359 --> 00:25:42,680 title of the book comes out at the end, and 535 00:25:42,839 --> 00:25:44,319 I just really thought that it worked. 536 00:25:44,559 --> 00:25:44,720 Speaker 3: You know. 537 00:25:44,799 --> 00:25:47,400 Speaker 2: I was hesitant at first to include the word Philly 538 00:25:47,440 --> 00:25:49,640 because I didn't want to limit the audience. But you know, 539 00:25:49,680 --> 00:25:51,720 the more I thought about it, I didn't think it 540 00:25:51,759 --> 00:25:55,160 was a big big deal, and I think it fits. 541 00:25:55,160 --> 00:25:56,640 Speaker 1: I don't know what else I would have called the book, 542 00:25:56,799 --> 00:25:56,920 you know. 543 00:25:57,240 --> 00:25:59,880 Speaker 3: Yeah, No, the fact that it's Philly and not Philadelphia 544 00:26:00,440 --> 00:26:03,240 or Maryan or anything like that kind of it works 545 00:26:03,279 --> 00:26:06,839 because it could be a person from Philly living anywhere. 546 00:26:06,920 --> 00:26:10,880 I mean, you know, the Philly phenom. It could be that. Yeah, 547 00:26:11,119 --> 00:26:14,200 I find it interesting again. You know you talk about 548 00:26:14,240 --> 00:26:19,559 that it was partly your story growing up, you pulled 549 00:26:19,559 --> 00:26:24,799 from it. But the main character here he would draw 550 00:26:24,920 --> 00:26:28,799 golf holes. He would design golf holes. That part of 551 00:26:28,839 --> 00:26:30,720 your story as well. How did that. 552 00:26:31,480 --> 00:26:35,359 Speaker 2: I'm a terrible, terrible artist, terrible, Like I can't even 553 00:26:35,440 --> 00:26:39,119 draw stick people, So I definitely didn't draw any golf holds. 554 00:26:39,200 --> 00:26:41,599 Speaker 1: But I U to math right, yep. 555 00:26:42,039 --> 00:26:45,000 Speaker 2: But I used to, you know, make like a miniature 556 00:26:45,000 --> 00:26:47,480 golf course in my house, like going up you know, 557 00:26:47,559 --> 00:26:49,680 not up the stairs, going down the stairs and through 558 00:26:49,720 --> 00:26:50,559 different rooms and. 559 00:26:50,519 --> 00:26:51,359 Speaker 1: Down the hallway. 560 00:26:51,599 --> 00:26:54,599 Speaker 2: And then my backyard was not huge, but big enough 561 00:26:54,599 --> 00:26:56,440 where I could make a couple of little golf holes, 562 00:26:56,519 --> 00:26:59,200 chip and putholes. And then you know, as I got older, 563 00:26:59,319 --> 00:27:01,960 you know, maybe like an eighty yard pitch shot. And 564 00:27:02,000 --> 00:27:04,039 then in the book, the book starts out, you know, 565 00:27:04,079 --> 00:27:07,079 where the lead is out his elementary school kind of 566 00:27:07,119 --> 00:27:09,680 hitting balls on the fields there, And I used to 567 00:27:09,720 --> 00:27:12,880 do that too, just go up. Before you know, I 568 00:27:12,920 --> 00:27:14,839 was able to go to this COF club, my dad 569 00:27:14,880 --> 00:27:16,240 was a member. He used to go up to our 570 00:27:16,279 --> 00:27:19,000 elementary school in the summer and just knock balls around. 571 00:27:19,400 --> 00:27:21,039 And then I got my friends to come and do 572 00:27:21,119 --> 00:27:23,079 it too, and then before we knew it, you know, 573 00:27:23,119 --> 00:27:25,240 we made a golf hole from the top of this 574 00:27:25,359 --> 00:27:27,480 hill down to one of the baseball diamonds. We dug 575 00:27:27,519 --> 00:27:29,880 a little hole in the pitcher's mound and that was 576 00:27:29,920 --> 00:27:35,319 the hole. So we definitely did that too until one 577 00:27:35,400 --> 00:27:37,240 of my friends broke one of the windows in the 578 00:27:37,279 --> 00:27:39,200 school and that that story's in the book. 579 00:27:39,000 --> 00:27:42,839 Speaker 1: Too, Yes it is. And then we kind of stayed 580 00:27:42,880 --> 00:27:44,440 away for for a little while. 581 00:27:44,480 --> 00:27:46,559 Speaker 2: And then, you know, I talked about this in the 582 00:27:46,559 --> 00:27:49,000 book a little bit that you know, there was a 583 00:27:49,079 --> 00:27:51,200 sign that got put up that said, you know, no 584 00:27:51,319 --> 00:27:54,160 golfing on school grounds. After that window got smashed by 585 00:27:54,200 --> 00:27:56,160 one of my buddies. We didn't get in trouble or anything, 586 00:27:56,200 --> 00:27:59,119 but they figured out that it was probably from a. 587 00:27:59,039 --> 00:28:00,200 Speaker 1: Golf a golf ball. 588 00:28:01,319 --> 00:28:03,000 Speaker 2: And by then I was old enough, you know, to 589 00:28:03,079 --> 00:28:07,279 start going to this club, Edgemund Country Club with my dad. 590 00:28:07,279 --> 00:28:09,480 And then you know, when I started caddying at Maryan 591 00:28:09,480 --> 00:28:12,680 when I was fourteen, I used to play at Marion's 592 00:28:12,720 --> 00:28:15,240 other course, the West Course on Mondays and in the summer, 593 00:28:15,720 --> 00:28:17,440 and I spent a lot of time at this place 594 00:28:17,480 --> 00:28:19,599 that I talked about before, this municipal course in the 595 00:28:19,640 --> 00:28:23,359 city called Cobbs Creek. My dad would drop me off 596 00:28:23,359 --> 00:28:25,640 and I would go and you know, mess around on 597 00:28:25,680 --> 00:28:28,000 the range and the practice screen. And they had two 598 00:28:28,039 --> 00:28:30,680 courses too, and one of them was pretty bare bones. 599 00:28:30,720 --> 00:28:32,279 Speaker 1: So you used to go out and do whatever you. 600 00:28:32,200 --> 00:28:34,640 Speaker 2: Wanted out there, and then you know, kind of hang 601 00:28:34,680 --> 00:28:37,119 out and have lunch in the clubhouse and listen to 602 00:28:37,200 --> 00:28:39,920 stories and people argue about who won this bet, who 603 00:28:39,960 --> 00:28:44,000 lost this bet, and that. Like Edgemont, the course that 604 00:28:44,200 --> 00:28:46,200 the you know, the course in the book is based 605 00:28:46,200 --> 00:28:48,839 off of where there were just so many different people 606 00:28:48,839 --> 00:28:51,000 from all walks of life. Cobbs Creek was like that too. 607 00:28:51,039 --> 00:28:53,519 You had people coming from the city, you know, who 608 00:28:53,599 --> 00:28:56,160 could you know, maybe just afford to pay their green fee. 609 00:28:56,200 --> 00:28:58,119 And then you had people coming from the suburbs who 610 00:28:58,160 --> 00:29:01,240 weren't a member somewhere, you know, but you know we're 611 00:29:01,519 --> 00:29:03,480 you know, as a doctor or a lawyer, you know, 612 00:29:03,559 --> 00:29:06,839 playing with you know, just these average people. And it 613 00:29:06,880 --> 00:29:09,319 was a really cool place to learn how to play. 614 00:29:11,319 --> 00:29:13,640 Speaker 3: Are you still getting free golf at Marion? Is that 615 00:29:13,640 --> 00:29:16,599 why you keep keep pulling carrying bags. 616 00:29:17,200 --> 00:29:19,839 Speaker 2: I'm very very fortunate. You know, I've been an assistant 617 00:29:19,839 --> 00:29:23,400 caddy master since two thousand and nine. So in the summer, 618 00:29:23,440 --> 00:29:27,279 if i'm you know, closing as the caddy master, you know, 619 00:29:27,359 --> 00:29:29,640 if if people are off the golf course, I'll sneak 620 00:29:29,680 --> 00:29:31,839 out and play a few holes from seven o'clock or 621 00:29:31,839 --> 00:29:35,799 so until dark. So that's definitely a big perk, you know. 622 00:29:36,000 --> 00:29:38,920 I I can pretty much play when I want, as 623 00:29:38,920 --> 00:29:40,640 long as I don't do anything stupid. 624 00:29:41,160 --> 00:29:45,720 Speaker 3: If a Golf Smarter listener finds you at Marion and says, hey, 625 00:29:45,759 --> 00:29:47,440 I heard the podcast. 626 00:29:47,319 --> 00:29:50,480 Speaker 2: Yeah I could help them. I could help them out 627 00:29:50,519 --> 00:29:51,759 if they if they're nice to me. 628 00:29:52,440 --> 00:29:55,640 Speaker 3: Okay, there you go there, right there, you want to 629 00:29:55,680 --> 00:29:58,720 go out and play at Marion. You have an inn now, 630 00:29:59,799 --> 00:30:02,240 just got it to mention Golf Smarter. Yeah. 631 00:30:02,279 --> 00:30:04,039 Speaker 2: That's one of the cool things that there's people who 632 00:30:04,160 --> 00:30:06,400 come from all over the country and all over the world, 633 00:30:06,440 --> 00:30:09,519 you know, yeah, flying on their private plane and play 634 00:30:09,599 --> 00:30:10,519 and then fly off. 635 00:30:10,559 --> 00:30:15,759 Speaker 3: And it's not a Golf Smarter listener. I can almost 636 00:30:16,319 --> 00:30:18,680 almost be assured of that and if you do have 637 00:30:18,720 --> 00:30:21,559 your own plane, please write to me Golf Smarter Podcast 638 00:30:21,599 --> 00:30:23,799 at gmail dot com and let's make a date to 639 00:30:23,799 --> 00:30:25,359 go play golf. You can pick me up here at 640 00:30:25,400 --> 00:30:30,680 Nossfield and there you go. That would be fun. Have 641 00:30:30,759 --> 00:30:32,480 you ever been a golf instructor? 642 00:30:34,079 --> 00:30:35,759 Speaker 2: No, but I was a high school golf coach for 643 00:30:35,799 --> 00:30:39,119 like six years, so I could, you know, I'm I 644 00:30:39,160 --> 00:30:41,279 think my index is a little over five. So I'm 645 00:30:41,839 --> 00:30:43,880 on a good day, you know, I can shoot you know, 646 00:30:44,240 --> 00:30:46,279 seventy five and on a bad day, I could shoot 647 00:30:46,759 --> 00:30:47,559 you know eighty five. 648 00:30:48,519 --> 00:30:50,720 Speaker 1: That's golf, Yeah, exactly. You know. 649 00:30:50,799 --> 00:30:52,279 Speaker 2: So when I was a I was a high school 650 00:30:52,319 --> 00:30:55,319 golf coach for six years and my dad was my assistant, 651 00:30:55,359 --> 00:30:57,880 which was pretty cool. I didn't pay him. He was 652 00:30:57,920 --> 00:31:01,720 my volunteer assistant. So you know, we used to help 653 00:31:01,799 --> 00:31:06,599 kids on you know, alignment and grip and tons of 654 00:31:06,599 --> 00:31:10,039 course management stuff. Not too much on swing, you know, 655 00:31:10,160 --> 00:31:12,079 unless you know, we it was clear that somebody was 656 00:31:12,079 --> 00:31:14,599 coming over the top, you know, or doing something you know, 657 00:31:14,720 --> 00:31:17,799 blatantly obvious like that. But you know, as long as 658 00:31:17,839 --> 00:31:20,440 you can help the kids, you know, care and focus 659 00:31:20,480 --> 00:31:24,119 on every shot and really focus on course management, you're 660 00:31:24,160 --> 00:31:26,680 going to get them to put up good numbers. Our 661 00:31:26,720 --> 00:31:30,519 home course was Marion's second course, the West Course, and 662 00:31:30,640 --> 00:31:33,279 we played a lot at the Cops Creek Municipal Course too, 663 00:31:33,359 --> 00:31:35,440 so it was it was fun to get to do 664 00:31:35,519 --> 00:31:38,359 that for six years before we had our third daughter. 665 00:31:38,400 --> 00:31:40,400 And my wife said, please stop. 666 00:31:47,880 --> 00:31:49,920 Speaker 3: I'm curious because when I go through the book, and 667 00:31:49,960 --> 00:31:52,319 I mentioned this already, but there's a lot of great 668 00:31:52,359 --> 00:31:56,160 little golf nuggets, instructional golf nuggets in the book, and 669 00:31:56,160 --> 00:31:59,160 that's why I was asking me if you've taught, because 670 00:31:59,240 --> 00:32:02,440 you know, that's a lot of what I'm trying to 671 00:32:02,480 --> 00:32:05,759 do here with the podcast is get nuggets from my 672 00:32:05,839 --> 00:32:08,359 own game. Right. I'm just I'm not a golf professional. 673 00:32:08,400 --> 00:32:10,960 I just have a lot of questions. So I look 674 00:32:11,039 --> 00:32:14,160 through the gamut of the golf world to get insights 675 00:32:14,160 --> 00:32:18,759 and instruction and things. And there are some things boy 676 00:32:19,039 --> 00:32:22,079 like here, chapter twenty eight, page two nineteen. When putting 677 00:32:22,119 --> 00:32:24,759 from front to back, the ball usually moved right to 678 00:32:24,839 --> 00:32:27,440 left here, but when you get far enough over to 679 00:32:27,480 --> 00:32:30,319 the left side, it straightened out and sometimes even sloped 680 00:32:30,480 --> 00:32:33,319 ever so slightly the other way. I mean, this is 681 00:32:33,599 --> 00:32:36,759 a subtle way of helping us read the Green. There's 682 00:32:36,799 --> 00:32:40,279 a lot of these things in the book. So where's 683 00:32:40,319 --> 00:32:44,599 your primary motivation on this to tell a story or 684 00:32:44,640 --> 00:32:46,759 to give golf instruction? Yeah? 685 00:32:46,960 --> 00:32:47,799 Speaker 1: Both for sure. 686 00:32:48,119 --> 00:32:51,000 Speaker 2: You know, I figured that it'd be boring if I 687 00:32:51,079 --> 00:32:54,079 just said, okay, let's talk about green reading, right, And 688 00:32:54,160 --> 00:32:57,680 I wrote some kind of you know, non fiction instructional 689 00:32:57,839 --> 00:33:01,119 story for ten to fifteen year olds. So I tried 690 00:33:01,119 --> 00:33:03,759 to weave in that those little, you know, instructional bits 691 00:33:03,799 --> 00:33:07,240 like you mentioned into the story. As Lee was kind 692 00:33:07,240 --> 00:33:09,279 of learning the game and getting better at the game. 693 00:33:09,359 --> 00:33:11,079 You know, these are things that he picked up from 694 00:33:11,119 --> 00:33:13,799 his dad and from you know, some other people at 695 00:33:13,799 --> 00:33:17,039 the club, and I wanted to you know, tell that 696 00:33:17,079 --> 00:33:19,160 in a way that was easy to understand for their 697 00:33:19,160 --> 00:33:21,920 reader right through these words. And like I said before, 698 00:33:22,240 --> 00:33:24,759 I wanted to make it a light, easy read. So 699 00:33:24,920 --> 00:33:27,880 the every word I chose was something that you know, 700 00:33:27,960 --> 00:33:31,920 I really paid great attention to and asked to myself, 701 00:33:32,160 --> 00:33:33,559 you know, is this a word a ten year old 702 00:33:33,599 --> 00:33:36,039 kid would say? And thankfully, since I've been a sixth 703 00:33:36,039 --> 00:33:39,240 grade teacher for so long, you know, I've been observing 704 00:33:39,400 --> 00:33:41,079 you know, ten to twelve year old kids for a 705 00:33:41,119 --> 00:33:43,119 long time, so it was easy for me to write 706 00:33:43,440 --> 00:33:45,960 in a language I think that you know, those kids 707 00:33:46,000 --> 00:33:49,079 would understand, and the little things like you know, if 708 00:33:49,160 --> 00:33:51,359 you if you're just learning how to read greens right, 709 00:33:51,400 --> 00:33:53,400 and you dump a bucket of water on the green, 710 00:33:53,440 --> 00:33:55,359 you know, where's the water go to pool? You know, 711 00:33:55,559 --> 00:33:57,960 so you find a low point on the green, and 712 00:33:58,240 --> 00:34:00,759 you know, if you're really unsure of which way putts breaking, 713 00:34:00,839 --> 00:34:03,319 you know, maybe pick that way. You know where they 714 00:34:03,400 --> 00:34:06,559 think the water would end up. So little things like 715 00:34:06,599 --> 00:34:10,320 that elevation changes, you know, adding and subtracting yardage, and 716 00:34:10,360 --> 00:34:12,519 paying attention to the wind. I weave those things in 717 00:34:12,559 --> 00:34:16,320 there too, just because those are much more important than 718 00:34:16,440 --> 00:34:18,079 you know, where your hands are supposed to be an 719 00:34:18,119 --> 00:34:21,320 impact and you know those kinds of things. Course management, 720 00:34:21,360 --> 00:34:24,800 I think, is a way for people to shave strokes 721 00:34:24,840 --> 00:34:27,440 without you know, beating balls on the range for hours 722 00:34:27,440 --> 00:34:29,000 and hours and hours, don't you think? 723 00:34:29,599 --> 00:34:29,719 Speaker 1: Uh? 724 00:34:30,119 --> 00:34:33,480 Speaker 3: That was the primary premise of this podcast. I know, 725 00:34:33,519 --> 00:34:36,079 I literally I I had because I was new to golf. 726 00:34:36,119 --> 00:34:37,719 I didn't start playing until I was in my forties, 727 00:34:37,800 --> 00:34:41,400 and I was like, wow, I figured, if you understand 728 00:34:41,480 --> 00:34:46,760 course management, you know the strategy of golf, and you 729 00:34:46,880 --> 00:34:50,519 have a strong mental game, emotional game that you can 730 00:34:51,159 --> 00:34:53,360 lower your scores faster than if you just work on 731 00:34:53,519 --> 00:34:54,400 swing mechanics. 732 00:34:54,559 --> 00:34:55,400 Speaker 1: Yeah, I remember. 733 00:34:55,559 --> 00:34:57,719 Speaker 3: That's been supported the entire. 734 00:34:57,519 --> 00:35:02,119 Speaker 2: Time when I was writing full time. You know, the 735 00:35:02,599 --> 00:35:05,519 publisher that I worked for owned like Little Golf magazine 736 00:35:05,519 --> 00:35:08,000 in Philadelphia, and I was the staff writer for that 737 00:35:08,079 --> 00:35:10,159 magazine and I interviewed Barbara Tello once. 738 00:35:10,559 --> 00:35:14,199 Speaker 1: Wow, it was really cool. 739 00:35:14,360 --> 00:35:16,559 Speaker 2: It was me, me, another writer and him, you know, 740 00:35:16,639 --> 00:35:19,360 for like an hour, just firing questions at him. And 741 00:35:20,400 --> 00:35:23,320 obviously there are exceptions to this, but he said, if 742 00:35:23,360 --> 00:35:25,360 you took away if you went to the range at 743 00:35:25,360 --> 00:35:27,559 a tour event and you took away the name plates, 744 00:35:27,599 --> 00:35:29,679 so you didn't know who anybody was, and you just 745 00:35:29,920 --> 00:35:32,559 went up and down, you know, and watched each person 746 00:35:32,719 --> 00:35:35,760 swing the golf club, you know, except for like Jim 747 00:35:35,840 --> 00:35:38,480 Furick or Tiger or somebody like that, you know who 748 00:35:38,480 --> 00:35:40,800 you knew there's what their swing was like, right, You 749 00:35:40,840 --> 00:35:43,400 wouldn't know if they were the fifth best player in 750 00:35:43,480 --> 00:35:45,679 the world or the five hundred and fifth best player 751 00:35:45,679 --> 00:35:47,880 in the world because they hit the ball so well. 752 00:35:48,239 --> 00:35:48,400 Speaker 1: You know. 753 00:35:48,440 --> 00:35:52,320 Speaker 2: Again, there are exceptions, some are you know, unbelievable ball strikers. 754 00:35:52,320 --> 00:35:55,000 But for the most part, you know they could they 755 00:35:55,039 --> 00:35:57,719 could hit the ball just as well, no matter you know, 756 00:35:57,840 --> 00:36:00,400 where they were on the money list, right, and so 757 00:36:00,599 --> 00:36:03,039 something had to separate them, you know. And it's you know, 758 00:36:03,079 --> 00:36:04,960 the mental game. You know, can you do it when 759 00:36:05,039 --> 00:36:07,880 it matters most, right? And can you manage your waywhere 760 00:36:07,880 --> 00:36:10,239 on the golf course, can you swallow your pride and 761 00:36:10,280 --> 00:36:13,559 you know, play for four rather than you know, kind 762 00:36:13,559 --> 00:36:16,079 of going for a pin tucked behind a bunker or 763 00:36:16,159 --> 00:36:19,719 you know, over the water hazard or something. So he 764 00:36:19,800 --> 00:36:22,519 talked about that, and he said, you can't recognize, you know, 765 00:36:22,559 --> 00:36:24,360 the fifth best player from the five hundred and fifth 766 00:36:24,360 --> 00:36:27,519 best player in the world. You know, So something has 767 00:36:27,519 --> 00:36:29,760 to separate them. And that's what it is. Mental mental 768 00:36:29,760 --> 00:36:30,400 game for sure. 769 00:36:31,000 --> 00:36:35,000 Speaker 3: Oh that's an excellent tip. The dad in the book. 770 00:36:35,440 --> 00:36:37,719 I'm bouncing on a little the place here. The dad 771 00:36:37,760 --> 00:36:43,760 in the book is he's in enigma to me in 772 00:36:43,800 --> 00:36:49,679 the sense that he's a great golfer. We're not giving 773 00:36:49,679 --> 00:36:53,599 away the ending. He's a great golfer, but he doesn't 774 00:36:53,599 --> 00:36:57,559 play much, right, He doesn't I apparently need to, but 775 00:36:57,719 --> 00:36:59,800 I mean he just he's and he's kind of a 776 00:36:59,800 --> 00:37:04,639 loo about the game itself. The main character that the 777 00:37:04,719 --> 00:37:08,599 kid is really attached to his grandfather, right, I mean 778 00:37:09,239 --> 00:37:13,079 that's the relationship and how his his interests and his 779 00:37:13,159 --> 00:37:16,679 passion for golf grows through the grandfather. But the dad, 780 00:37:17,039 --> 00:37:18,480 how much of that is your story? 781 00:37:20,039 --> 00:37:24,239 Speaker 1: That isn't you know? We're pretty close to my story. 782 00:37:24,079 --> 00:37:27,960 Speaker 2: My dad, like I said before, played you know all 783 00:37:28,039 --> 00:37:30,159 the time from the time as far back as I 784 00:37:30,199 --> 00:37:33,199 can remember, and he was great about bringing me to 785 00:37:33,239 --> 00:37:35,480 the golf club or taking me to Cops Creak and 786 00:37:35,559 --> 00:37:38,760 dropping me off there. So I don't know, I think 787 00:37:38,800 --> 00:37:40,400 it was just something that kind of developed. 788 00:37:40,880 --> 00:37:41,360 Speaker 1: I wanted. 789 00:37:41,559 --> 00:37:44,159 Speaker 2: I wanted there to be some conflict with you know, 790 00:37:44,360 --> 00:37:47,679 the dad wanted to play, but you know, had other 791 00:37:47,760 --> 00:37:50,239 things going on in his life that prevented him from playing, 792 00:37:50,719 --> 00:37:52,639 and that allowed lead to kind of be at the 793 00:37:52,719 --> 00:37:54,920 club by himself for a lot of the time because 794 00:37:55,159 --> 00:37:56,760 I wanted him to have you know, a bunch of 795 00:37:56,840 --> 00:37:59,960 run ins with the antagonist, and I wanted the great 796 00:38:00,079 --> 00:38:02,039 and father to kind of you know, be a part 797 00:38:02,079 --> 00:38:04,159 of that conflict too. And you know, he has a 798 00:38:04,159 --> 00:38:09,360 little backstory with hal Rustin, so it's I never I haven't. 799 00:38:09,519 --> 00:38:10,559 Speaker 1: You're the first person. 800 00:38:10,360 --> 00:38:12,280 Speaker 2: That's asked me that, and I'm glad I'm able to 801 00:38:12,320 --> 00:38:16,280 reflect on it, because I don't think I intended to 802 00:38:16,360 --> 00:38:18,199 do that when I started out, but it just kind 803 00:38:18,199 --> 00:38:20,639 of developed and I thought it worked well held. You know, 804 00:38:20,679 --> 00:38:24,000 the dad's being pulled a couple different directions raising a family, 805 00:38:25,360 --> 00:38:28,440 you know, working, and you know, he wants to play. 806 00:38:28,519 --> 00:38:30,239 He loves the game, but not as much as he 807 00:38:30,239 --> 00:38:32,119 did when he was younger, before he had kids. And 808 00:38:32,119 --> 00:38:34,199 that's something I'm going through, you know, as a forty 809 00:38:34,239 --> 00:38:36,719 four year old with three kids. You know, it's very, 810 00:38:36,840 --> 00:38:40,039 very tough to get away, especially since I have two jobs. 811 00:38:40,119 --> 00:38:42,440 To play golf, you know for four hours. So like 812 00:38:42,480 --> 00:38:44,199 I said, I play a lot of like two three 813 00:38:44,280 --> 00:38:46,679 four holes at the end of the night, and then 814 00:38:47,360 --> 00:38:50,039 I try to take a couple of big, big trips 815 00:38:50,039 --> 00:38:50,400 a year. 816 00:38:51,320 --> 00:38:53,199 Speaker 1: So I try to make account when I do when 817 00:38:53,239 --> 00:38:53,840 I do play. 818 00:38:54,519 --> 00:38:56,039 Speaker 3: And how old are your kids? 819 00:38:56,559 --> 00:39:00,679 Speaker 2: I have three girls, thirteen, nine six, and I'm interested. 820 00:39:02,400 --> 00:39:07,239 The younger two like it. I can bribe them with, 821 00:39:07,440 --> 00:39:10,840 you know, riding the golf cart, a soda, a chocolate 822 00:39:10,920 --> 00:39:14,039 chip cookie or something, some ice cream afterwards, but they'll. 823 00:39:13,440 --> 00:39:15,519 Speaker 3: All sugar if you come out and play golf with me. 824 00:39:15,880 --> 00:39:18,599 Speaker 2: Yeah, we'll hacking around the backyard. And then in the 825 00:39:18,639 --> 00:39:21,639 summer we go on vacation to this little place in 826 00:39:21,639 --> 00:39:24,760 the mountains where there's a really cool old William Flynn course. 827 00:39:24,840 --> 00:39:28,199 So they'll hang hang out with me for an hour 828 00:39:28,280 --> 00:39:31,079 or so. But I'm not going to force it on them. 829 00:39:31,119 --> 00:39:33,400 My oldest had a great swing when she was a kid, 830 00:39:33,440 --> 00:39:36,199 but her friends don't play, so it's hard for her 831 00:39:36,280 --> 00:39:39,000 to kind of, you know, pick pick out that as 832 00:39:39,000 --> 00:39:42,039 her sport when she's trying to find her way. 833 00:39:42,519 --> 00:39:44,079 Speaker 3: Well, we're not going to spoil We're not going to 834 00:39:44,119 --> 00:39:47,639 spoil the story. But the antagonists at the club and 835 00:39:47,679 --> 00:39:52,360 the grandfather there, I thought I thought for sure the 836 00:39:52,400 --> 00:39:55,199 grandfather was going to run them over golf cart. I'm 837 00:39:55,239 --> 00:39:57,360 not giving anything away, but I thought for sure this 838 00:39:57,360 --> 00:39:58,559 guy was going to get hit in the head with 839 00:39:58,599 --> 00:39:59,639 a golf club. Yep. 840 00:40:00,400 --> 00:40:02,719 Speaker 2: Yeah, I figured there could be something like that that 841 00:40:02,760 --> 00:40:05,159 would happen, but I didn't want to make it too. 842 00:40:06,519 --> 00:40:10,719 Speaker 3: No audience, right, yeah, right, right? And how's the book 843 00:40:10,760 --> 00:40:11,440 being received? 844 00:40:12,159 --> 00:40:13,440 Speaker 1: Uh? Pretty well. You know. 845 00:40:13,599 --> 00:40:16,320 Speaker 2: I one thing that I need to start pushing to 846 00:40:16,360 --> 00:40:18,559 be honest with you is you know the reviews on Amazon, 847 00:40:18,599 --> 00:40:20,840 which I guess you know are really important, but to me, 848 00:40:21,280 --> 00:40:23,679 you know, I'd rather I'd rather hear you know, great 849 00:40:23,719 --> 00:40:25,880 things like you mentioned you know that you enjoyed it. 850 00:40:25,920 --> 00:40:29,239 So I've gotten a lot of positive verbal feedback. I've 851 00:40:29,280 --> 00:40:35,079 won a few awards that I applied for, so but 852 00:40:35,199 --> 00:40:41,119 let's see, I won UH Pencraft Awards for UH Summer 853 00:40:42,239 --> 00:40:46,400 Let's see preteen Best Like Summer Fiction Award. 854 00:40:46,400 --> 00:40:48,119 Speaker 1: I should have these, like a list of them. 855 00:40:48,199 --> 00:40:50,440 Speaker 2: I just got a third place award for something called 856 00:40:50,440 --> 00:40:54,320 the Collective of Independent Publishers and Authors. I've won a 857 00:40:54,360 --> 00:40:58,280 couple other local awards, so it's nice to have that 858 00:40:58,360 --> 00:41:01,159 confirmation that I did something well. Because even when it 859 00:41:01,199 --> 00:41:04,000 got published, right, that was the first show, right, getting 860 00:41:04,000 --> 00:41:05,639 a publisher to pick it up, so I said, okay, 861 00:41:05,639 --> 00:41:08,239 there's something there. And then when we went through the 862 00:41:08,239 --> 00:41:10,960 publishing process, you know, I had some of my former 863 00:41:11,000 --> 00:41:13,440 students read it and they said, okay, you know this 864 00:41:13,599 --> 00:41:17,440 is interesting, but we're not golfers, so you know, we 865 00:41:17,480 --> 00:41:21,039 don't know, you know, if it's going to be relatable 866 00:41:21,079 --> 00:41:24,039 to those kids too. And then you know, when I 867 00:41:24,159 --> 00:41:26,920 submitted it for some more awards, you know, and one 868 00:41:27,000 --> 00:41:30,280 a few I was like, okay, somebody thinks it's you know, 869 00:41:30,360 --> 00:41:34,400 worth reading too. So I'm just happy that that, you know, 870 00:41:35,039 --> 00:41:37,760 all that that hard work has paid off, even if 871 00:41:37,760 --> 00:41:39,920 it's not paying off with dollars and cents. 872 00:41:40,280 --> 00:41:43,800 Speaker 3: Well, you know, it depends what you're motivated by doing. 873 00:41:43,840 --> 00:41:45,960 And you wrote a book to get a great story 874 00:41:46,000 --> 00:41:48,800 out there, and you really did it again. The book 875 00:41:48,880 --> 00:41:52,639 is called Philly Phenom by Nate Oxman. I'm sure it's 876 00:41:52,679 --> 00:41:55,840 available at local bookstores will order it for you if 877 00:41:55,880 --> 00:41:58,119 they don't carry it, but you can. Finally, you can 878 00:41:58,119 --> 00:41:59,639 get it at Amazon, I'm sure. 879 00:41:59,760 --> 00:42:04,519 Speaker 2: Yeah, yep, in Amazon and other retailers online, Target, Walmart, 880 00:42:04,639 --> 00:42:05,960 all the Barnes and Noble. 881 00:42:06,360 --> 00:42:10,239 Speaker 3: Excellent, excellent. Well again, I really enjoyed it. And I 882 00:42:10,280 --> 00:42:13,119 have a nephew that this book is going to definitely 883 00:42:13,159 --> 00:42:17,440 be going to awesome. He's a twelve year old kid 884 00:42:17,480 --> 00:42:22,480 who is incredibly passionate about golf, and I think this 885 00:42:22,480 --> 00:42:24,760 would be this is the perfect book for him. So 886 00:42:25,360 --> 00:42:27,639 I'm going to do that. And I'm really glad that 887 00:42:28,480 --> 00:42:31,239 I ended up reading it because I enjoyed it tremendously 888 00:42:31,239 --> 00:42:33,679 and I hope everyone else thinks about it. For this 889 00:42:33,719 --> 00:42:36,480 holiday season. If you have young people in your life 890 00:42:36,519 --> 00:42:40,360 that are interested in golf, get him this book. They'll 891 00:42:40,360 --> 00:42:44,199 really enjoy it. Nate, it's been a pleasure speaking to you. Congratulations, 892 00:42:44,280 --> 00:42:45,239 good luck for the future. 893 00:42:45,480 --> 00:42:47,320 Speaker 1: Thanks Fred, thanks for having me on. This is a 894 00:42:47,400 --> 00:42:48,880 lot of fun and appreciate it very much.