Start from Scratch
If there’s one thing that always stirs up a debate for our family… it’s golf. Some of us provide sensible, measured and articulate points. Others, chat complete s**t from start to finish. You can decide who’s who for yourselves!
Start from Scratch
S2 E6: Best Job in the World with David Jones UK Golf Guy, Golf Enthusiasts Unite and Hoylake Preview
We're joined by David Jones UK Golf Guy who has THE bets job on the planet... he rates golf courses! Yes, that's true. The mere thought of it should make you want to quit your job! An enthusiast and true golfing fan, Dave provided us with the type of insight that we've been craving since beginning season 2.
We take you to the heart of the Open Championship, sharing our observations from the practice day and how we're excited for our Friday day at the Open. We recount our close encounters with golfing greats such as Jason Day, Abraham Ancer, and Jordan Spieth. We also discuss the course conditions and landscapes of our favorite golfing spots in Scotland. From the flatness of Hoylake to the success of Tiger Woods during the 2006 season, join us as we traverse the landscapes of Craigielaw, Kilspindie, Gullane, and the exquisite Muirfield.
The episode draws to a close with a spirited golf trivia competition and a chat about the controversies that arose during the Open Championship. We delve into the effect of the PGA Tour's involvement in the Scottish Open on fans' experiences and stir up a lively debate about the predictions for the Open Championship. Will Rory McIlroy, Ricky Fowler, or Dustin Johnson take home the claret jug? Join us for this rollercoaster episode filled with golf talk, friendly banter, and much more!
Disclaimer Eddie, you hit a beautiful ball. You hit it a long way, trist, you actually don't. You're a fucking pussy off the tee.
Speaker 4:For the first time in it probably is three years now, josh, since you took the sabbatical it is me, eddie and Josh on the same podcast.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I know, to be fair, it's been like you say, best part three years and given like that I've had to put up with Liam and Jack so far this season, it's made me realise just how shit you were dead.
Speaker 3:I heard the episode that I featured on did the most numbers, so I'm back through popular demand.
Speaker 4:I want to touch on last week's episode. Actually I'm never doing that again. It's just an hour long argument. That's what it was. It was just, and actually that's what it's like all the time. So for anyone who doesn't know us as a family, that's it I saw you need to know just an hour long. Me and the am Josh and Jack, two separate, complete kind of pairs of brothers and that was tame.
Speaker 3:That was honestly that was tame. It was really funny and I would say that you need to do it again. But yeah, it was tame in comparison. If you're there, live, I think, if anybody is going to be the Texas scramble, it'd be perfect because you'll get to see the bombs are unfiltered.
Speaker 4:I'll be on the same team in Texas scramble.
Speaker 1:Yes, believe it, or yeah, yeah, yeah, oh, that's all we need. It's Liam, jack, david Glenn and John Bingham or maybe it might be some figure, john Bingham or one and full doubt. But yeah, liam and Jack on the same team, it sounds like a shit team.
Speaker 4:It's the type of team we're probably going to look at and go. Not a threat whatsoever.
Speaker 3:No, they haven't been to you being the start of our group. Josh, that was something that came out of the last episode. What, from the visit, the practice, is it you shooting 17 points in a capacity of random golf? That's making you think that you're going to be the star of the show.
Speaker 1:It's like no, the way, the way I would analyze it, have you ever bought something for really cheap? This is going to be like, oh, this and you've won it, and you're like, fucking hell, this is meant. And then someone goes out with that 20 quid, 20 quid for this. It's not like that and that's what. Yes, it's like that. So when I come on the thing, but fucking hell, that guy's amazing 18. Wow, you got a bug in there, can I?
Speaker 4:tell you why it isn't like that, because those purchases that you're referring to are always surprises. Right? You're not surprised, we know your shit.
Speaker 1:No, I'm telling you, I'm going to be surprised. I'm like the kids you get from the age gate. You pay literally like 13 pound for P for it and it comes on its class. People go to the pub. You go down the pub and people like whoa, where'd you get that from?
Speaker 3:I bought something that is like you recently and it was a signed shirt, rugby shirt from Nigel Owens, the ref. Okay, I bought a charity auction. They shipped it to my house and it was in pieces.
Speaker 1:What do you mean? It was in pieces. And curious, how's it like be sure it pieces?
Speaker 3:No, the glass in front of it was free.
Speaker 1:A by cheap, by twice, mate. That's all I'm going to say. But not with me. You don't buy twice. With me, you buy cheap ones, and I can clutch. We'll see, because it'll all be in video, hopefully.
Speaker 3:So the Scotty Cameron's coming out for the touch scramble, right, because you just don't know whether you want to touch it. If the list is because you just change putters, I don't know whether Is it been the work on the track man that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I've. Recently I've gone back to the old Scotty Cameron and I'm putting like Kam Smith at the moment just to feel off the face. Start on the correct line. I've got an eye for it. It's custom black paint courtesy of a friend of ours and it's just got the ball rolling and so it's funny. Actually, I went to put and I was just literally like knocking three balls, so whichever one fancy the making sure I did a two put. Liam went there, pulled out this alignment stick and put eight balls around one hole and was losing his shit because he could not make more than five parts and I tried to like give him a bit and he just got rattled straight away. I should have reported that he was absolutely losing his mind, mate. I swear to you, I should have videoed it really, but they are.
Speaker 3:I can't remember. Do you play a you? Do you play probing? One approval next, I can't remember.
Speaker 1:Jokes on you, ed. It's an AVX. I bought ball I play the. Avx, yeah, I went on this, it's no, I put too much spin on the ball and it suits my introduction, you see. So it goes high, but land soft. So also, like I said, that's where this, that's where the Scotty comes in my proximity to the hole. It suited me better. My swing, you're. You're probably after. You probably need something. I don't like a really soft ball. Could you like distance off the team?
Speaker 3:yeah, but AVX is a spinny ball.
Speaker 4:Now I know that, now that you said that about early, because I will I will say this right, 5% of me or less was rattled last week. But now that I know that you said isn't long off the team that this is an inside Joe, you're just saying it to people To see to get a reaction. So you must only be asking. People, as you know, can hit the ball really far.
Speaker 1:Disclaimer Eddie, you have a beautiful ball. You hit it a long way. Trust you, actually don't. You're fucking pussy off the team he is like it's like I don't know, like watching trust. It's the opposite. It's. You know how I'm a bargain For Texas granddad yeah, trust a con. Oh, this guy's a five. You see him at a boy like, oh, that's awesome, this is a horrible, horrible five handicapper, do you know? I mean he's not.
Speaker 4:Well, I'm not. I'm not a five, I'm not a category one golfer. But secondly, I don't get. I don't understand it. You know I can't believe I'm in this discussion because I honestly don't care. I wouldn't care in the least bit if I hit the ball only 250, because that's golf. I'd find a way around it. But you know I don't.
Speaker 1:So I don't understand why you think that is like I think it's got something to do with the fact that me and Eddie Were this is going to be shit. No, we were, we were, we were conceived naturally and we came out the right way. And then I think you came out the but I think you came out the but there's nonsense.
Speaker 3:I think this conversation is ended here.
Speaker 1:Well, of course I do. You know what? That's the one thing I do need to remember about coming on with you to. It's just so far in each other's asses that I'm not going to get either. To turn on another.
Speaker 3:I just need to go with it. That's the dynamic that we bring. One thing that we should do with you though it just came to me when we're talking about whether you play Pro 1, pro 1 X or AVX is we should do what's in the bag for you.
Speaker 1:So that's fine.
Speaker 3:So just do it now.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean the ball I play is like I said it's the AVX and that joke. So I actually play the pinnacle, pinnacle, whatever's in my bag, really pinnacle hit.
Speaker 3:The perfect ball if you, if you could get free golf balls, what? For life you play yeah, for life, yeah, TP5. What's that?
Speaker 4:What's that pin?
Speaker 1:formed on. I just like the way it looks. And then do you find it in that, you find it in the bush. Oh, that's a good one, right, go on wedges, wedges. I've got the Ping Gly 2.0 recently bought, or had honestly mate from about 100 yards and then 120, and then I'm better, you know, is that saying?
Speaker 3:You're not no and no, but what you did say the other day was you hit a butter cut, which is something that I never want to hear again.
Speaker 4:You said the butter cut fade.
Speaker 3:Oh my god, you know you've got that from Rick Shields. I hate him.
Speaker 4:Rick Shields you'll never come on this podcast. I saw Rick yesterday, actually, funnily enough, did you?
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 4:You can't hit a wedge 120 yards.
Speaker 3:What would you hit them? 20 yards, 50 degree, no, no, do you know what I'm almost?
Speaker 1:sorry, I feel a little bit torn because you two are going to benefit the most from my wedge play. Come, taxis scramble. I can't even say it like, stick it. I'm like, oh yeah, look at that, lads, because you'll be like, yes, get in there. Well then you're off, you know. And I'm like, get down there, coffee knees, get back up. Come on, carry on, we've got golf, we've got golf into in it, but that's the thing. You'll see it, how do you?
Speaker 3:all wedge play when you shot 17 points, the same as what it was this weekend and I shot 19.
Speaker 1:No, it's 40 degree 40, whatever you call it. My now wins mate, so that was the reason why I'm so happy I walked off nine. Oh, my god. So it, your wedges are paying your irons. Ap 2 7, 16s.
Speaker 1:But then the summer we were doing the pod 20, 20 covered just for town cup, and they are far too hard to hit for me. Three, sorry, seven, 16 tight list AP 2s. And then we've got then a tailor made P, 7, 90, 2 iron and M, 2, 3 wood and the pink 4 G, 4, 2, 5 driver, low spin technology. There's no, what. How do you get on with the 2 iron? I don't need to be truthful with it, all right, okay. No, I don't.
Speaker 3:For those of you who have a low spin technology, I'll give you a little insight to what happened on the 10th on Saturday.
Speaker 1:So I'm out doing this now both. Yeah, I'm on the 10th tee. The wind is left to right. Anyway, my ball hit the house on the seventh. Which house on the seven? How I'm sure. I'm sure, if I give you a start point and an end point, I'm sure you can put the rest together. Mate, it did. That's what happened.
Speaker 4:I shanked it 150 yards away yeah, I had it quite far mate, so I'm beginning to realize that I actually have a less and less time for you, and I don't know where it's coming from, because I know that we are biologically brothers and technically we're not. We should have a lifetime ahead, but we don't. You know, I just I just started to think that I've got less and less time for it. I really do, that's what. So that happened now, mmm, I would say definitely over the last three weeks okay.
Speaker 1:Well, you that happened to me 27 years ago and I'm 26 said that's how much little time I've got for you, not just you, liam, I'm not screwed with a little brother. You've got that little sister. The other's Jack, he's your.
Speaker 4:We've said this from the start Liam is my brother, jack is your brother, and no see, I'm not like.
Speaker 1:I'm not like you and Eddie, the ones who won't go on each other's back and what turn and show that. I'll turn on Jack at every top of the tuning. I can't. I just tend to use him in my ammo against you and Liam yeah, but there's no reason.
Speaker 3:You know you talk at nonsense, do you know?
Speaker 1:what's your opinion on them? Sequel Zed. I'm just asking what should I'm there's genuine? What's your opinion on sequels?
Speaker 3:sequels yeah what you mean, like in a movie sense yeah, like never is good yeah well in this case, the sequel was much better than the prequel.
Speaker 1:Me moment, I nailed it with me. And, jack, people say that to me all the time they stop in the street and go, is your, your brothers, just sit from, trath away and gather. That's the actual. That's the actual reality of it, mate, is with. They nailed it better with us than they did with them. I think so, surely. Surely you think that you degree without some extent to me.
Speaker 3:No, you loser and it depends what you're using. Using as a metric?
Speaker 1:yeah, as a metric just overall sound, banter, cox, eyes, ass, whatever you want, yeah, every, every metric. You want me, we come up top.
Speaker 3:You can't be rivals for the shit that you both speak, because it's funny.
Speaker 1:I have to say the last of last week's episode was really good it was really funny, but in every other way I think your characters need questioning and scrutinising you tend to to be fair when, when we all get together and play golf, ad tends to be the but the joke, the button mining jocks jokes most of the time that you had, but you take it well yeah, and then I rip it off to you and usually be definitely never happens. Definitely happens. Trish, you've got someone on your mind that looks like you don't know you're trying to fart. You constipated what's going on.
Speaker 4:That had the oz, my, and just trying, constantly trying to work you out. That's all.
Speaker 4:You never do that mate, you'll never know that yesterday I was at the High Lake for a practice day and I've gotten how huge the openness, how big and tears as I was walking through. They've really made a lot of small changes as well to the, to the fan experience. It was really good. As you walk in, they've got speakers dotted around in different areas just playing past champion interviews and it just builds an atmosphere as you go into the, to the course, and they've obviously got the stadium grandstands and now we're going back on Friday and you're there on Wednesday, yeah, and it it looks really good. So I hope that they don't. I hope they don't get awful weather, but the weather is what it is, but it looks like a good set up.
Speaker 1:We saw a few faces did you forget how well they, how good they are?
Speaker 4:last year 2014 yeah, I should be honest, I would probably look well, the the opens we go to is just how you like, isn't it? So we went to 2006. We saw Tiger win. In 2014, we saw Rory win and hopefully we see Rory do it again. But I would. I would. From now on, I'd probably be inclined to go to a practice day if possible, because obviously I can't go in in in term time, and so we were lucky to go on a Sunday.
Speaker 4:But it was a bit like you know, watching snooker players, or that's players in practice. They would just sort of they were just messing around with the pins. We saw one pro that we didn't. We saw Tony Fino. He was the first to come through. He just looked super relaxed, as, if you know, he was.
Speaker 4:Just, he wasn't a practice ground, I'm not saying, but he just didn't seem fazed by at all. He was just hitting shots. He was quite long over the ball, which shocked me personally, but he hit he was about 210 yards out hit what must have been four of the three, iron into the wind and stiffed it's about six foot. Hit another one, done the same if it was like yeah, it was, that was the difference, but then he went to go and get his balls and one of the things that was quite interesting was they weren't none of them were chipping to the flag. Hmm, they had these were throwing little discs around the green, so they were chipping to the caddy's discs and it was. I don't know if it was the mental aspect of don't aim for the flag because you don't know is there for a reason, to try and perceive it as safety, I guess. But it isn't.
Speaker 4:We saw cam Smith. We saw who did we see? So celebrities here? Yeah, we saw them. At the end we saw we. We weren't planning to, but on our way out they were teeing off. So Bradley Walsh is it?
Speaker 3:yeah, well, there's a match yesterday, yeah well, there's a few matches on there. I have to say I've watched the, the coverage today, the on the range stuff yeah, watch they've really stepped it up. I have to say like, in comparison to the other majors, I think it's been a lot more accessible and doing interviews with the players and stuff which I don't. I'm not a huge fan of them doing on the course because I think they sometimes they force it, but on the range I think it's it was. It's quite good, the course good.
Speaker 1:I think it's the only one that obviously the masters don't. They the masters is the same. Obviously it's not as interactive for people on the ground because it's more it's harder to get into. But the opens always been pretty good that having like set up, say, that show the fan more of the players, but more so. To your point about the discs, I'd imagine that's because they either know or have a strong idea of where competition pins are gonna be well, it would be a strong.
Speaker 4:There's no way they know. Well, you want to thought that they know because I think they have.
Speaker 1:They'll have strong. I mean, there's only so many places you can put the pin.
Speaker 4:Yeah, yeah, so that's what that would have been trying to think of who else we saw. We did see, if you, we were surprised because Jason day, we saw Jason day. Yeah, we got up close to Jason day. He was chipping out of rough practicing on the edges of the green. We saw Abraham answer Phil Mickelton was there playing with Patrick Reed. I wanted to see Phil, but I can't be bothered gonna see Patrick Reed, but we didn't get to them anyway, they were on the back of the course.
Speaker 4:As we were on the on the start, jordan's beef showed up and that was a surprise. I didn't expect them all I was. I would have made my way over to where he was. So we were in the car on the way home and the opener tweeted and saying guess who's arrived? So, yeah, there was a good good few faces there, a lot of, a lot of crowds, actually a lot of people. Anyone did you watch? Anyone hit driver? Yeah, abraham answer I'm Patrick Cantley. But they weren't. You know, those two aren't particularly known fit in the driver, are they? But I think as well, with the drivers these days it's hard. I don't know. We'll wait and see what Rody's capable of doing with his stealth, but no, he'll be a little bit even thing.
Speaker 4:It wasn't particularly impressive. I don't mean that as an insult at all. It was just just like a golf hitting driver. Apart from a hit the target they wanted to hit, so that was it talking a ball striking to receive all these two iron?
Speaker 3:I was gonna.
Speaker 1:I was gonna ask you about that because I bet yesterday you were, I had an unbelievable day yesterday between watching that in the morning and watching the women's final and then the match played out. But that's who I am, because he hits it me and Jack will watch and he hits it and there's like a second delay between the shot when he hits it and the shot tracer. So we were like, oh, I don't know if he's gonna come in clutch, so he hits it. And he was like he does something to make it a bad shot. And then the shot tracer and we were like, geez, that's all over it. And to do that, to be between a two iron and a four iron and to decide to club up and hit a fade, a cut into the wind, to get it to about ten foot from 200 and 200 yards I think it was dead on. Have you heard him talk about it? Yeah, he says it's the one of the best shots he's hitting. Is us in his career? Definitely the best shot he's hit this season?
Speaker 4:but he also says that he hits his two iron to 260 to 65. So he said that's a 60 miles per hour headwind it was a hell of a close.
Speaker 3:I didn't think he was. I know it's a hell of an ass to try and make Verdi on the last two and yeah fair play, jesus. I mean I would do it again.
Speaker 1:I don't know, but I thought, when he missed that put on, when he had that short, short, tish birdie put on 16, I thought hold this, and then he's got a task then parting out to make the playoff. He missed the pertinels. I call his. He's probably not gonna do it now, but your birdie, birdie is insane, insane. Yeah, five I am, yeah, they're gonna have to keep it.
Speaker 3:He's gonna have to keep out those fairway bunkers this week, though, because they are so penalizing yeah in the Highlake.
Speaker 3:I would watch the. There's a great video like every shot of Tiger Woods is final round at Highlake 21 and you kept it out about all of the fairway bunkers. But after playing toilet you realize you've got to keep on the fairway Because otherwise you are, you're gonna rack up doubles everywhere. But yeah, they asked to come Smith about that and he said well, this year will be different. Everybody's gonna be here, driver everyone, because it's a lot softer. Yeah.
Speaker 1:Yes, green. They've seen for the well you there, and it was a lot greener than usual. It won't get any. It won't get any worse I.
Speaker 4:Just, yeah, just, you don't really even for the, for the pros, even when it's wet, the links courses aren't exactly bombing courses, I think I have to see how it goes.
Speaker 1:It'll be an interesting one, though I really hope Rolly does it. Rolly, or Ricky, that's what I want.
Speaker 4:Do you know with that, that Tiger round. One of the statistics attached to that was that he was able to do it because his strokes gained. Average that year was 2.07. The record since then is 1.54, I think, or 1.45. So when he won, there's, you know him on. The two-iron is still a Deadlier combination than your best golfers these days with the drive there?
Speaker 1:did you see the stat where his stats from 2000 strokes gain off the tee with something like three or something? And if and if you added all the the, the leading Player from each category added all their strokes gained in from the season, they still, combined, wouldn't have beaten what Tigers was over the season. So that's the best of the best Versus one guy through one season and he comes out on top, it's like, yeah, that's just insane.
Speaker 3:That's too why is still is in the in the clubhouse or Hoi Lake. Have you seen it? No, yeah, in a glass cabinet it's.
Speaker 1:I've been there as well.
Speaker 3:It's all gas make Josh you, you would be in a whole world the trouble that the Hoi Lake Clubhouse is cool.
Speaker 1:It's so cool being inside that the views are there. It's quite a flat course, isn't it? Hoi Lake?
Speaker 4:Right, so we're gonna introduce our guest shortly, let him on and bring on to the call and We'll meet David Jones, uk golf guy. Welcome, david, if you introduce yourself, just so we have an idea of the listeners, have an idea of what you do.
Speaker 2:Yeah, my name is David Jones. I live in Scotland's Gulf Coast, east Lothian, little place for the gullan, which I'm sure lots of your listeners have heard of. I'm not Scottish, as you can tell. People expect me to have this wonderful Scottish accent and the terrible disappointed. Yeah, I lived up here for God almost 35 years, but, but the accent just just hasn't taken, I'm afraid.
Speaker 3:So yes, so.
Speaker 2:I run a website called UK golf guy and there's a Twitter account as well called UK golf guy. I've got an Instagram account called the UK golf guy because some other guy got in first before me Hasn't posted for years, but you won't let go of it, and what I do on there is I kind of talk about my experiences in golf. I'm lucky enough to play lots of really interesting golf courses and I tried to review them from the point of view, not of the scratch golfer, I'll be honest. You I'm a 12-handicap of, but but kind of what they're like for the average person to play, what, what the experiences like in the club, in the course, what other places to see in the area, if you put them together, a trip and kind of just talking about all things golf. I'm kind of just talking about all things golf, right? Yeah, great, I want to.
Speaker 4:I want to break out so much in that, want to break it down. First of all, golan, best place on earth. It's just amazing. Just, we were obsessed with it. We, we try and go every year and we just picked few from the Gulf Coast and we just but Golan. I mean, eddie, were lucky enough last year, got onto Muirfield, oh, and you're fresh from Renaissance. You were just telling us, yeah and yeah, we are disappointed, but at least we don't have to translate the Scottish accents where we're there we are.
Speaker 2:No, it's. It's a fantastic place to live. I mean, I've moved out here 15 years ago from Edinburgh and my son was six months old and it's like live again, 1977 again. It's like. It's just incredible. The kids can walk to school. I mean, they've been walking to school since they're six. Everyone knows everyone in the village. You walk into the pub and you'll immediately know half the people in the pub and the other half are keen to tell you what they're on a golfers like that day. So it's, it's a pretty cool place to live. It's.
Speaker 1:For, for a non-golfer, these slow things a it's a really beautiful place anyway, but especially for golfers, it's it's one of the best places to live in the world If you're if you're a golfer, isn't it? I mean the the amount of courses that you're disposable. I also know some of them have to get to get on to them than others, but, like you say, trust We've been there a couple time. It's unbelievable, isn't it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and, and actually I mean it's it's pretty good all year round In terms of the courses here. They kind of pride themselves and slow the end of not using winter greens, not using with teas. You might need to use a mat at North Berwick, but that's about it. So when I go over and play on the West Coast in the winter it's like Jesus is just and over here again. I mean God, I don't think we had a single round this year of the winter. I couldn't play because of any frost. We're right next to the coast and tend not to get that. We might get two days of snow a year for lucky or for unlucky. So you can kind of play all year rounds.
Speaker 2:Um, and actually take, for example, muirfield. They're pretty quiet during the offseason so you can literally look at the weather forecast a couple of days out for Tuesday or Thursday. And I think last year was 125 pounds to play. But the conditioning over the winter it's as good as it is in the summer. In fact, arguably for someone like me it's even better because the rough can be pretty juicy in the summer you play. In the winter it tends to be thinner and and it's just a great experience. Now I wouldn't necessarily recommend planning a trip months out in the winter because there's a risk it's bloody, freezing, driving, rain and you're unlucky. But that is unlucky if you, if you anywhere, who can get here in three or four hours drive and have a look at that, where the forecast you'll get on all the courses pretty easy and the conditions great.
Speaker 1:Just that that reminds me how much so in the winter it's 125 pounds. How much does it cost in the summer?
Speaker 2:Oh, so they've got a few different packages now in play. They've actually changed it. You can only play on a Tuesday and Thursday. You can play 36 holes of the day. You play your own ball in the morning and alternative shots after the famous Muirfield lunch. That's about 500 pounds around yes, and it'll be over that next year. Or you can just play it in holes and that's over 300 pounds. So it's a huge amount of money. But, believe it or not, the tea times for this year they put up in the middle of March last year. They released them in the morning. They sold them all out by the afternoon that day, and when I say sold about, that's from May to September time and it's the same for next year. You'll be lucky to get a tea time for next year at that time of year, but in the winter the tea sheets pretty open.
Speaker 1:Do you? How much did you pay? Tristan, are they?
Speaker 4:well, we were very, very, very, very, very times a thousand fortunate that I made a friend on Twitter years ago now, kenny Yule, and Kenny is a caddy at Muirfield and through Kenny I've actually got onto Muirfield, found a link to get onto St Andrews. We've played Craigie Law, kilspindi, gullern, we've played, so that that friendship has definitely come to fruition Well, it has, but I don't know if he'll keep on liking you.
Speaker 2:Now you've told everywhere that there's that guy on Twitter who can get your video filled.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Sure, he'll be a popular man.
Speaker 4:No, he told me explicitly at the time. He said listen, you know this is a, you know you're very, very, very lucky. And, to be honest, talking about the Green fees, it was me and Eddie. We both said, once we walk through that there's a big Cast iron gate and it's got HCEG on the front and you don't see anything, you can't see the trees line the entire front of the course and you walk down this just like a stunning sort of driveway down to this big black gate and once that opens up, the whole golf course presents itself in front of you and Right there, and then the 495 green fee. And you know what I'm like. I would have paid it right there. And then, because you just it was a, it was a twilight evening. Cost of the maze in there was, it was fairly quiet, wasn't it Ed? And I just thought, wow, it's, it's the best golf experience I've ever had.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's an interesting one because there are some people who say it's not got the drama. You know you haven't got the drama of a turnbry on the coast or or some of the history and the tingles you get at the old course. But I've been lucky. I've played it quite a few times now and every time I just enjoyed more and more. Yeah, it's.
Speaker 3:It's such a special place yeah, you're killed. For me is that is the best course I've ever played. Hamlet's down and bit of an unpopular opinion and I'm not sure whether people at St Andrews will Take offense to this, but I thought it was a much better golf course than St Andrews and I actually think that I thought going to with a better course than st Andrews, your field was out of this world and we were so lucky because there was hardly any wind, was there, tristan?
Speaker 4:no, it was lovely.
Speaker 3:Sunshine, it was out. But both times we've been to Scotland We've had great weather, don't we? It's just, it's just another world and we. You wouldn't want to play golf anywhere else on the planet when you have no, it's like that and weather like that. It's, it's a really special place.
Speaker 4:I did have one time in Kilspindi when I went with my family and the front nine was just pouring down with rain and the back nine was great and sunny. It's just a typical British weather.
Speaker 1:So how many courses have you played? I presume, Dave, that you've played all courses within your vicinity.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I've played about 80 of the top 100 in Scotland. I reckon about that. I've played a lot others which haven't made the top 100. And in East Lothian, yeah, I've been to all of them over the years. So there are some I'd like keep going back to If I get an invite to.
Speaker 2:You know you, just like I love North Berwick, I'm on the waiting list for North Berwick Again, an interesting one, right, it seems quite polarising. You get some people who just adore everything about North Berwick and as other ones who just think it's pitch and putt. I'm definitely in the former cap. I just adore it. I think it's most wonderful golf course there is. I am on the waiting list to get in as membership, but don't hit me up on Twitter because I think it's many years still to go before. But we are really lucky because even you know you talk about playing at number two. You go to Gullum three and I love Gullum three and you can whirl around there in an evening for 30 quids and you've got some of the best green complexes you're going to find in Scotland. So we are really lucky.
Speaker 4:North Berwick has eluded me. There was the year we came out of Covid. My wife had actually booked a tea time and she bought us a break in North Berwick, but we ended up not being able to go. The next year I went with the lads and we were calling and calling and calling and they said you might do, you might get on, you might get on, and we didn't get on. And then the year after the next as well, it turned from almost on to there's a chance of being on to. They said you haven't got a hope in hell, you two years in a backlog here.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I think that that's beginning to unravel now out of Covid. The big difference is, somewhere like North Berwick is they'll have I don't know making up maybe 10,000 visitors around the year and the rest of time is going to be members play. You go to somewhere like Castle Stuart or Kings Barns and every single tea time is a visitor's time. So that's why they are protective, because they've got a bunch of members that they need to keep happy as well. But again, you know, you can come up off season. The only thing I'd say with North Berwick is these mats from, I think, november to February, which I don't mind because it's only from the fairway and I'm not there that often, so it's all right. But again, I know that that would take a little bit away from some people, but well worth looking. In October or March you'll probably get a tea time.
Speaker 1:Mike, I've got a quick question for you. David, you mentioned that you've played roughly about 80 of the top 100 courses in Scotland. Now, I'm not asking you to give me an exact figure at all no figure actually but is that? How much, if at all, deviation is there, would you say, from what is considered the top 80 to what your top 80 would be?
Speaker 2:if you see what I'm going, Well, so the top the list there's. There's kind of three ranking lists for Scotland there's a top 100 website, there's the today's golf or golf world and there's National Club Golf. I think they're the three that are printed and they're pretty similar. There's maybe 10 or 20 that are in one and not in the other. I'm on the panel for the golf world one actually. So that list I'm quite heavily involved with and I think it's a really good list. But once you get outside of the top 50, say, you get to the position where you could perm those in pretty much any order depending on your personal tastes, and if you look at the next 20 or 30 outside of that list, there'd be plenty of candidates that could get in there. I mean, I played last summer but Ireland in the coast of life Now burnt Ireland, hasn't been in one of those lists.
Speaker 2:I think it cost me 30 pounds to play it, the most gorgeous linked course, really cute. Got ran in two and a half hours in the morning and just just just loved it. And I came back and said to the editor there I said you know, so spoil in this country. Because frankly I can, I can kind of see why it's not the list but it. But it absolutely could. So I think once you get outside of that top 50, you could. You could really mix them up quite a bit. But again, scotland, right, we would be just keep saying it's so spoiled. Take, take some of that I do. Now.
Speaker 2:Part of what I do is organize trips for guys coming over from the States and organize trips that I escort people on as well and I just try and get everyone into Ely. Now Ely's, I think it's in the top 80 in the UK, so it wouldn't be on the radar of lots of guys coming over from the States who want to do the big names. But boy, oh boy, as soon as they play that, they're just raving about it. You know, amazing setting, really strategic course, but quite a forgiving course, so it's not going to kill you but equally to score. Well, you got to execute well. Lovely setting.
Speaker 2:And like how many people, even in Scotland, have been in play DD as a hell of a lot who have them. In fact, again, because I am a bit of a golf nerd and I am into this, I'm constantly amazed at people I speak to who haven't driven an hour to one of these golf courses which are like so good and so special. So, so yeah, there's a lot out there to see and I've still got loads that I want to see. I keep on making lists and I keep getting longer and longer. And also, you know, as I said, I played 80, but but I've been playing them over a long time, over many, many years, and some of the courses have changed. What I remember about them has also changed.
Speaker 1:So I need to get back to I suppose the chances of you coming across a poor course in Scotland is, you know, compared to the rest of the UK. Suppose it's slimmer, isn't it? I mean the course, like you said, I bet there's loads of him in hidden gems that people just have.
Speaker 2:I mean, I think they're obviously his personal taste right in terms of just certain courses suit certain eyes. The factors of that list of the top 100 in Scotland? Probably three quarters of links courses, at least that and I love links courses. So as a result of that, you know, even on a links course you sometimes get some which you play 18 holes. Take Peter heads right up in the north east of Scotland. The first four holes at Peter heads are pretty bland, pretty straightforward, you're not sure what it's about. And then you go into the dunes and you've got an amazing stretch of a 14 holes. One course I've not played which I'm going to play later this year. I'm going to play Stonehaven, which reaches again out. That way I'm actually going to do a walk. I'm going to do a walk for charity.
Speaker 2:A few years ago I walked from here North Berwick to St Andrews. I played golf every day and carried my bag and went all the way around that for 10 days. And now this year I'm going to try and do St Andrews up to Aberdeen. And in Aberdeen is a bit harder than it is in five, because his golf course is ever in five. You got the Aberdeen bit and there's quite long stretches about. So I'm going to go to Stonehaven and a friend of mine guy called Sam Cooper, he during lockdown got into a campervan and played every single links course in the UK. So he went back to 225 courses and he says coming back to Stonehaven and I'm interested to see myself would be an amazing nine hole course. But maybe the other nine they shouldn't have bothered with, but if they stuck it might be great. Now I want to see that and understand it myself. I'm probably slightly paraphrasing him, but yeah, we've got plenty to see.
Speaker 3:Maybe a bit of a controversial on it. I don't know whether you have played it or not, but I used to go up to Aberdeen quite a lot with work and drive past the I think it's the Trump International Golf Links in Aberdeen, yeah, and now apparently I've read that that is one of the best courses in the world. But I don't know whether you've played it.
Speaker 2:I don't know where you read it. It's oh gosh, you've bought up a controversial one. It's amazing. As you walk to the first team, there's a sign up cast in bronze which says, according to many people, this is the finest golf course in the world. The problem is, when you research it, I cannot find a single living human being who says it's actually the finest golf course in the world. But okay, if you take that point to one side, I think it's so polarizing, right, you get some people. Whatever I put anything on Twitter, whatever I put in these rankings out, trump should be the number one, the best course in Scotland, and I obviously don't agree with that. It's the most spectacular, sorry. The other thing they say is but you're just letting politics get into that. And I'll say now I'm not a huge fan of Trump or his politics, but Turnberry, which he redid, I think it's got way better and I've put that up the rankings significantly since that work.
Speaker 2:Trump Abideed is set in these amazing tunes very controversial project. But again, putting that aside to these amazing tunes, the slight criticism I've got of it is it feels almost like they scooped the fairways out. They're pretty straightforward fairways, whereas I love the rumpels and the crumples and the land and all that changing. They're fairly straightforward. And then every green they're stuck the green up using what they took out, and you go up and down the dunes is only one hole that goes across and as a result, it just feels to me this amazing, semi gorgeous views. Could you've been a bit more imaginative with the golf course that you built? Now the conditioning is fantastic. It tends to be that stronger players prefer it because when you go off of the fairways the rough is pretty tough. The time I played it I was having a good day and it wasn't too windy and I didn't see much of that, but I still just felt could have been more.
Speaker 2:Now, having said that, I Shades of great. It's in the top 10 courses in Scotland. For me it would be pretty much just about there. I've got a review of it on my website. I score it really highly. So it's just. I feel sometimes people go a bit overboard about it and I guess what I did with North Berwick is. A problem is that when you go a bit overboard about something and people then turn up, you might be slightly disappointed. The other thing I'd say about Trump Aberdeen is one of the most expensive green fees in Scotland. It's 325 pounds I think this year or something, and there are some golf courses. To your point about Muirfields, I would say save up as much as you can for as long as you can. If it takes you about five years of putting a quid away a week, do it. I wouldn't say that for Trump International, but other people would right and that's it right.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's interesting because I've never spoken to anybody who's played it, but I've read a lot and seen a lot of the photographs and they look they do look, absolutely stunning. So, if we were going to put you on the spot and take North Berwick out of it, what would you say is your favourite course? In one in the UK and then one outside of the UK?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I've actually got a thing on my website where I got a bunch of personalities and golf to list there to top 10, not exactly your question the ones which are their personal favourites and a load of them had played Augusta. I think almost all of them played Augusta and only one picked it, which is interesting. So when it comes to favourites, I think let's take North Berwick out, because I probably would answer that I'm a big fan of Ely, but it's probably not the favourite. I can tell you're not going to like this answer, eddie, but I do love the old course, do you? And people say yeah, and people say yeah, but it's just the history, it's just a big, it's just a big fat field and you just love the history and I'll be honest with you, the history is a large part of it. You make to the turn and you come back and the town is behind and you're walking in. But I also think it's an incredibly strategic course. It's a course that plays different every single time you play it. You know when I talk about Trump International and the fairways there being flat, at St Andrews there's so much movement you can hit the same shot on the tee 20 times on the truck and, depending on the random bounce that it takes or the winds doing, one day it'll end up in a different place. I actually played it once with a guy called Clyde Johnson and Clyde's an architect who's building the new course at Castle Stuart at the moment and Clyde actually lived there for quite a while and he reckons he's played it five or six hundred times, I think. And he says the thing that Piazza is really good going, the thing that people don't see, they tend to put the pins whenever we're playing it in pretty bland places because it's a long round anyway, they've got to get people around and actually we're only seeing a slightly blander version of the course Now. They went pretty far with the Oakland last year right when they put it on every single tucked pin, on every little hump that they could find. Maybe that was a bit too far, but again, for that bit around the strategy depending where the pin is, you will play those holes massively different. Depending where the wind is, you'll play those holes so, so different. So I do love it. It probably is. If you said you've got one more round in Scotland that wasn't North Burrick, I'll probably go there In terms of international, all, without trying to name too many.
Speaker 2:I've had a couple of trips to Australia. I'm actually taking some people there next year again and I love the Melbourne sand belt. It's phenomenal. Royal Melbourne West is, without a doubt, of course you can respect, and the scale of it's great. Again, the strategy is great. Kingston Heath is, of course, you can love. They've got the President's Cup there in a few years time and it's just a lot more intimate as a golf course but for such a beautiful, look lovely place to play.
Speaker 2:And then you get on a little plane and you fly to an island off of Tasmania called King Island and there's a cool circle, kate Wickham, have a look at some of the photos. It is the most stunning place 18 holes of just beauty, everyone on the water. So that's a really, really special place. I've played a few in the States. I'm not playing Cyprus yet, which I want to do. I play Pine Valley and that again is of course you can respect and all that stuff. But are you going to love it as one of your favorites? Probably not. So I think I'll be torn between a couple of those Australian ones.
Speaker 4:I actually went on your website and I found myself just going from trip to trip to trip to trip and I have to be honest, the value although you would look at them and go, that's expensive the value when you look at the itinerary is really, really good because I could pick out the Australian one that you picked for next year, the one that you've got going to Ireland. If you're a golf enthusiast, what you've got in the itinerary is brilliant. Like you break it down for what you'd be doing on the days, the golf courses and what's involved and what's included. So I found myself going through them thinking, right, okay, if I start saving for that, I can maybe make it in time to go to.
Speaker 2:Australia next year, it's really good, yeah, and what I guess I'm trying to do because I've only been doing these trips for a couple of years. I used to have a proper job.
Speaker 3:It's like I'm done quite a bit of time and it'd be nice to do something in golf.
Speaker 2:Maybe, and what I'm trying to do there is the kind of insight I had was there's lots of people, there's a few people who are really, really into their golf. They love seeing lots of different interests in golf courses, but maybe they just haven't got the same passion. So when it comes to them organizing a golf trip, they are absolutely happy and have a fantastic time going to Portugal, going to Spain, going to Turkey. But they're craving something a little bit more. And actually what I found with these we did one to Paris a couple of years ago which was kind of the first one as a bit of a test, and it was lots of individual, solo people came from all around the world and they've stayed in touch with each other and they're coming on the next trip.
Speaker 2:We had one over to a Dona Gol last year which is a fantastic place to go and that one not crazy expensive, really nice place. Some of them came on that. They met some more people and then they're coming the next one. It's just trying to have the way to discover different courses with like-minded people and what I try and do on top is get the architects who have been involved in some of the courses involved. So they'll either come along or they'll do a bit of a chat beforehand on a Zoom call, just to make it slightly different. Now, I'm not pretending that's where everyone was it's absolutely not but it seems to hit a bit of a nerve with a few.
Speaker 4:No, I think if you look at that package and, like you've just said, meeting the architects and like-minded people and having a tour and deeper insight into the golf courses you're about to play, I'm sure that a lot of golfers, if they could afford it, would look at it and go. That's actually brilliant money spent. Because that is for an adult now, because if we look into the world of golf and kind of like an adult version of Disneyland, it's an amazing trip, isn't it? Especially if you know you're abroad. You go away with like-minded people that are playing golf and have a few drinks and make the most of the social aspect. You'd come back and you think to yourself like, actually, I've just been for a whole week I've been playing golf course after golf course, learning about them and just having a nice time. So no, I think that there was some which, logistically, people think it's just quite hard.
Speaker 2:So I'm doing one next year to the West Coast of Scotland and we're going to go around the islands, we're going to Islay, we're going around Kentire, we're going to Arun, and it's just the logistics of all of that and having someone else drive. He's quite nice as well. So, yeah, it seems to be going quite well and I get to play even more golf courses, which is nice.
Speaker 4:Well, I am. My next golf trip is. We're all very, very thankful that I don't know where he is on your screen, but Eddie there proposed to his girlfriend and what we actually gained from it was a golf trip, because I'm arranging this thing due to Alicante next year. We're busy with options there.
Speaker 1:I'd say it was either way. You, Katie, got a proposal out of a golf holder, didn't you?
Speaker 3:Sorry, let's just say it worked out for everyone.
Speaker 1:Dave, I've got a question and I'm sure a lot of listeners would want to know as well is how did this come about? How did this career of what you're doing now come about?
Speaker 2:Yeah, let me give you the relatively short version because I can waffle on about it for ages. So I worked in various different jobs. The last few jobs were financial services. I was kind of a commercial marketing type person. So I was the managing director of a company called Money Supermarket If you remember the really annoying adverts on the television.
Speaker 1:Mia.
Speaker 2:Cats yeah, no, not the Bloody Mia Cats, that was the other ads. A hundred million quid a year we spent on advertising and you said the.
Speaker 3:Mia Cats.
Speaker 2:So, yeah, so did various different jobs really in a commercial world, and then I set up this Twitter account and a blog, kind of 10 years ago, just as much as anything, to record which golf courses I've been to and I've got a little bit of a ranking system and sticking on there. And actually, I'll be honest, it was Twitter really which a lot of people say such a poisonous place. I found it really nice. Just managed to meet lots of people with similar interests To your point about Kenny, getting you onto Muirfield. There was a Chai member who just saw what I've been doing and said I'm going to look over and this weekend your fantasy coming, went along with him there, stayed really good friends with him, met people the guys who are helping me out in Australia met them. A lot of the people into golf architecture and the architects were kind of on there as well and it was a very friendly community. So met lots of people there. Just kept on playing more courses, kept on putting on more reviews.
Speaker 2:I'm quite into drone photography and other photography as well. So a couple of years ago I did a video of a place called Ardfinn which had opened up on the West Coast of Scotland, which is a very spectacular course with the drone. That did really well. So I got some other drone work. A couple of people started offering to pay me for that and to pay me for some writing, and then when my last job came to an end, we had a restructuring and I was restructured out, kind of got the position this is June COVID of saying, well, do I want to go into another financial services job like that, or indeed some other industry or do something that I love? Now there's not really enough money, as anyone will tell you, of taking some nice pictures and writing, certainly for the kind of lifestyle that I've got. I've got a young family and like going on nice holidays and all that.
Speaker 2:So then kind of stumbled into the golf travel area and started organizing trips, like I said, which went really well. And now I've actually partnered with an American society called the Outpost Club and what I do with them is really we organize trips overseas for their members whether that's a score to trips, that one of us will go on and these are guys with an incredible passion for golf. So we're starting in Argentina in February next year. We're ending up in New Zealand in November via Japan, holland, france, uk, ireland and putting all that together, or if they or anyone else just wants to organize a golf trip, and for a lot of those guys from the States may have never been over here helped them really navigate through that, put all that together. So started that up last year and that's going really well.
Speaker 2:So it took me quite a long time, I guess, to build it up to, a long time trying different things and this one seems to work. But equally I'm really keen to do some writing. I'm doing some writing for a few publications at the moment, keep doing little videos and it helps me live in Scotland right, because I can go to any course almost and if there's an hour in the morning or an hour in the evening when the sun's out and the shadows are long, you can make any golf course look amazing. Unfortunately, most of them are anyway.
Speaker 4:Going back to what you said about being on Twitter, I love Twitter and I think the culture in Scotland, in particular East Lothian as well, is when I came up with just my family without the lads, I used to go on Twitter often and say, oh, thinking of playing this course, any members available. I would get streams of replies just from people saying Listen, I'm playing at two o'clock. Jump on with me One guy. Even when I turned up at Andy Brown, it was when I went to play live in links, had paid my green fee and everything by the time I got on and I was thinking, god, I think the culture in Scottish golf is really friendly and for anyone who wants to go there, get on Twitter just at the golf course and say any members that can have a round or a knock with me, I'm just here with my wife or whatever, and I think it's love it.
Speaker 2:I think people are really proud of it. Right, scottish golf is great. It's going the world over. It was like last weekend get to show it off and people are really proud of it. So if someone shows a passion especially if you don't come across as a complete dick, you know then then you know people don't want to spend some time and clearly on this occasion it worked out for you.
Speaker 4:No, yeah, josh, don't you go mate, because they'll just and you know I was going, do you think we should? We'll go on to the quiz.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 4:Yeah, Okay, Okay, right, David, the rules I say are fairly simple, but they change weekly. One thing's for certain Josh is the undefeated champion, so there's a pint of whatever you want from him If you beat him. But if he beats you, then he's coming up to Gullin and you basically going to pay his green fee on Northbury.
Speaker 1:Oh, you'll feel, you'll feel, you'll feel Speak. Speaking of pints, david, is that a? Is that a glass of liquid gold? I see there, and if it is what, what's the brand you're drinking? It is.
Speaker 2:We actually have a holiday home here in Gullin called One Fairways, so if you are looking for somewhere to stay, go on to our website. And one of the great advantages of it is that when people check out, they tend to leave stuff at the fridge, so so my beer of choice is normally what was ever was left in the fridge. This is a, I believe the people who are up for the Scottish Open last week and checked out this morning left. So that's it. There's a sign that's a good one.
Speaker 4:When me and Eddie arrive, there's a sign. It's usually a pint of tenants means we've made it. This is this is time, yeah.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 4:Nice, okay, right. So, josh, I think David's a threat.
Speaker 1:To be honest, I think I think this could be my first loss. I think it's gonna be my first loss.
Speaker 4:I don't think Eddie's a threat, but there you go. No, never, husband. It's first, first to answer. It's an open themed question. Right Question one what was unique about Tigers first open win at St Andrews?
Speaker 2:Can you repeat it? So I didn't get the full question going.
Speaker 4:What? What was unique about Tiger Woods first open win at St Andrews?
Speaker 3:He didn't hit any. He didn't hit the ball in any fairway bunkers.
Speaker 4:True, he didn't hit any bunkers at all. Wow, that's a yes, that's a good one. That's a point to Eddie.
Speaker 1:Eddie snuck up from behind me and David worried about each other, and then he's coming. Look how smug he is as well. Yeah, he's always got a smug look though.
Speaker 4:Right, a record that Rory will need to match if he takes on the clavich jug, who's the only player to have won the Scottish open and the open in the same year, phil Mickelson. Yes. There's like a competitive spirit in there, then he's got straight onto it. Yes, right.
Speaker 3:Castle.
Speaker 4:Stewart, yeah Castle Stewart to Muir filled to the 13. What is the only venue to host the open outside of the mainland?
Speaker 2:Foot rush. Yeah, eddie, first on that one, go and listen back to it, listen back to it, we'll have to have all your replay.
Speaker 1:then maybe retrospect the point.
Speaker 4:Okay.
Speaker 1:Four losing here, Two one zero.
Speaker 4:Yeah, the founding champion is an Aussie. How many Australians have won the open? One no, three, no.
Speaker 1:No, ted, you can answer that.
Speaker 3:Two. I've said sorry, I've answered.
Speaker 4:No, so you can all go again.
Speaker 2:Four, four.
Speaker 4:No, come on, you're doing a Liam on us here.
Speaker 1:Yeah, this is quick fire Five.
Speaker 4:Correct, so it is Cameron Smith, greg Norman, baker Finch I was there as well. Nagel, I think, is that correct? And Thompson?
Speaker 2:Yeah, Ken Nagel yeah.
Speaker 4:Yeah, nagel, and. Thompson Six times, though who's won it twice?
Speaker 3:Greg Norman.
Speaker 4:Yeah, norman. Okay, so Ed is more or less. You secured the win there, ed, but number five Okay.
Speaker 3:Number five I won't say that was a win.
Speaker 4:No, royal Liverpool has a member playing in the field. Who is it? Matthew Jordan, yes, yeah.
Speaker 1:He's been a member since he was seven, I think can he.
Speaker 4:I think he's, I think 17 years, I think something like that. He's been a member, got in through the open qualifying last round and he fair play to him. That's cool. Hope he does well. Well, josh, honestly I don't think you're going to live this down. The first time you had to ride with Eddie and you lost, so that will go down.
Speaker 1:He got lucky then, and I think Dave got the first point anyway. So you know, that's the way it goes.
Speaker 4:Yeah.
Speaker 1:He's not. He's telling you what me and Dave aren't giving a cheater a pint. Are we, david? No chance. He doesn't buy a pint anyway.
Speaker 3:Good one, good one.
Speaker 4:Right this week's debate and this was courtesy of you, mr David Jones, asking us on Twitter. So it was the fact that the Scottish Open moved the. So it was Genesis sponsored and there was actually PGA tour involvement in the running of the event. Scottish Open moved the tea times on the Sunday due to I'm going to put in inverted commas here which is a wind forecast. They moved to a water to the first and 10th starts between 6.45 and 8.57 in the morning.
Speaker 4:So I just want your comments on this and your thoughts, considering the fans, when the fans would arrive, especially if you're travelling, knowing that if you even arrived by 9, the whole field is out and the fact that British weather is where it is. There are a lot of the comments that people would. If I go first, a lot of the comments that I'd read on Twitter was about the PGA tour involvement and actually it makes sense because in the UK if it's not raining, it's good golf weather. Unless it's a thunderstorm or a hurricane wind, we'll play in it. So I don't understand why they needed to make that. Even consider that change myself personally.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so they actually did it on the Saturday as well. So on Friday afternoon about 3 o'clock they announced that Saturday was going to be the same. Now, on Saturday, at that time there was lightning in the forecast, and on Friday there was lightning in the forecast for the Saturday Only a little bit. We hardly ever get any lightning here, but I think when they saw that in the forecast people kind of understood it for the Saturday. But then on Saturday lunchtime they announced they were doing it for Sunday and I don't think it's the PGA influence, I think it's the European tour and the Scottish Open. They are absolutely paranoid of the event going into Monday. That would be a disaster because the players have to get to wherever the open is on the Sunday night. They're all lined up to go. They've got no desire to be here on the Monday morning. So the forecast for Sunday was wind. It was like 25 mph gusting to 40 mph. I reckon that's here one weekend and six, maybe something like that, perhaps a little bit more than that. But they cut the greens on the Saturday. They didn't cut them again, they were stimping at 8.5 yesterday. The ball was never going to go off, certainly not for a prolonged period of time, but they were just scared stiff. It was going to go into Monday because then the players wouldn't come back next year. But the problem is it sold 15,000 tickets for yesterday.
Speaker 2:The first train gets into Long Nidry, which you guys all know, which is about, I think, transfer on the bus. It was another half an hour. That didn't get into 10.20. When you get to the car park there's another 20 minutes to the course, so you couldn't get on the course after 11 o'clock unless you were driving. A lot of people were coming from the West Coast or whatever. So as a result of that, I was out first thing. The car park was packed, so it was a real pain to get out, but the course didn't feel as busy as it should have because of that.
Speaker 2:So there's a lot of really pissed off people on Twitter. Some people, which I just do not understand, says it's because the PJ2 are detecting Rory. God knows where they're coming from. There's certainly conspiracy theories. The weather was going to be actually dropping in the afternoon or certainly going to be consistent all the way through, so that was just complete nonsense. But hey, it doesn't stop some people, does it? No, but no, I think it was just because they wanted to get it finished, in which case I came up with why not move it to Wednesday, to Saturday, because then everyone gets you know if it is going to run over. Now, that will never happen, because they're detecting the facts of all that stuff I get out, and that's understandable. But it did seem, though, that being ultra-conservative was my idea.
Speaker 1:I never even considered that. I hadn't given it much thought as to why they'd done it. To be honest, I didn't really look much further than the weather, but it's a very, very interesting point you raise about them being terrified of it running over, which is understandable, but myself, personally, I wasn't really bothered. I didn't understand why people were kicking off. I could understand why people who were attending the event would be annoyed, but for people watching it on TV or who weren't even attending, I don't know why they would kick up a fuss. It's the same with golf. It's the same for everyone, isn't it? But yeah, it's a very interesting point. I never thought about them being terrified of running into them, given that they open beyond the bat on the straight after it, isn't it so?
Speaker 3:yeah, ed. Yeah, I thought that would be the reason why, because it's a Rolex event, it's a huge event that they'll want the biggest and best players in the world to continue to come to, and if they think that if they go through an experience where maybe they have to play on a Monday and it impacts their chances I mean, you saw, I was watching the range coverage today. You see all the players that are there. You know, even on a Monday they're hitting balls and they're playing nine holes. The last thing I think David's absolutely right the last thing that they need is any bad press and potentially people de-risking and not going in the future Because the Scott is open. I know it's been a big tournament for a long time, but it seems to have grown arms and legs over the last few years. It's become massive and especially with the likes of Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas Ricky Fowler, rory are there every year that they don't want to put that in any jeopardy. I hadn't done. The frustration from the fans, definitely.
Speaker 2:I think it's just. You know, had the forecast been really bad, hadn't it been for 50 mile an hour wins, you'd say good God, yes, you're going to be called off tons of times. Just do whatever you can to finish the day's play. Being done and dusted by a two o'clock when you couldn't get to the course 11, you know, was a bit of a pain. It's ironic because in previous years I've complained it's been on too late because of the American TV. They was running to late o'clock at night and the problem was either a lot of fans were pretty half-cut by then, to be honest with you, or actually just left the golf course. So I was there last year when a Xander Shoffay won and there was hardly anyone left because it was on at like 8 o'clock at night. So I think somewhere in between we'd still give them the contingency if they needed for a few hours extra, and I think that could maybe work.
Speaker 4:Yeah, yeah. I just think maybe another point against it would be the Scottish Open, although they're riding on the coattails of the Open for the success of building up of recent years, because you don't want it to be a standalone event as well, you don't want it to be at the the warm-up yeah well, it is the warm-up, but I'll never change that because it's any event before a major is. But if I was them, I wouldn't want to be starting messing with tea times based on that fact, because I'd want to be offering a Scottish Open experience first and it ends If, on the right occasion, it goes into a Monday. Nobody wants it, of course they don't. But it makes sense to the other players because, as you said, we saw them arriving one by one and half of them, probably half of them, travel in partnerships, don't they?
Speaker 4:So I know that Speed, thomas and Ricky have come together, haven't they? So it's difficult if one of them is in contention, the other two have to wait, and then they're probably going to be saying to each other well, I'll tell you what, we'll make our own way down, we'll meet you in Liverpool. But I don't know. I just though they went a bit too far, likely because I was like guys, because of wind, come on, like it's windy there every single day. There's far less days that it isn't windy than it is windy. But speaking of wind, and one thing I don't want us to miss the opportunity is, david, I want to go back to the very beginning when you told us that you were at Renaissance. You were there for Rory's two irons, so I don't want to miss the chance to talk us through that.
Speaker 2:It was good. Actually I followed. I was there with my daughter she's 11, was really keen to go up and we followed him around the first nine but he got a bogey or eight and I knew it was kind of dropping back and four pounds. Hatton was on the 12th and McIntyre was going well. So we ran up to see McIntyre and we watched him play. On the 14th got a birdie. We saw the most amazing approach on the 15th. So we followed him all the way to 17. And then stayed in a stand behind 17, watched them. All came up.
Speaker 2:Rory's shot at the 17th and everyone's going to talk about that shot on 18. His I think he had 160 yards was a strong of that Hit an amazing shot to 10 foot, perhaps even less than that hold the pot, which for those of us who watched Rory so much over the years isn't guaranteed. So we sprinted out along with everyone else in the grandstand, ran halfway up the fairway, didn't see his tee shot, saw where it landed and then kind of stood, I guess maybe from a 15 yards to his left, just behind it, and we got a great view and just just saw this come up. Now I didn't know it was a two iron at the time. You know, when you've got 200 yards in, not often you see these guys hitting two irons, is it? And just but the noise that it made as it came out of the trajectory. And then, because there were so many people around the green, by then everyone would go off the train. Luckily, because I kind of thought it might happen, I pushed the door to those a few people going on to the fairway and in a very orderly fashion we all went up. Behind there was a blue rope, a bit like you see the open, and we got into the front row of that and we got all the way I guess 20 yards short of the green, and saw him hold it. So you know, just tremendous. And I have to say, everyone loves Rory, right? So even though the fans clearly wanted McIntire to win, I was. I was actually lucky I was.
Speaker 2:Earlier in the year I went to Los Angeles for the Riviera event over there, which is sponsored by a Genesis as well. Rory and Tiger were playing in that event. The love for Rory on that golf course was equal to Tiger and I'd say it wasn't quite the same as McIntire this week, but it wasn't such a popular winner is just wherever he goes, it seems People just love it. And it was what an amazing finish for only three players to get a birdie at 18 the whole of the day, and one was McIntire and one was McRoy. What a class of a finish. You couldn't ask for any more than that.
Speaker 2:And as a course over the years the Renaissance hasn't had a lot of love, even for Rory. You know he was pretty, pretty clear in his views a few years ago but this year he decided he wanted to have a warm up week before every major and the course had never played in the wind like this before and it gave such a great test to see them have to hit shots like that. And it happened all day. You know, all day we saw guys having to manufacture shots with clubs they would never hit. Rory said in an interview early in the week can't remember the last time he hit a five iron into the par four when I had to hit two iron. You know, to see that kind of stuff. It's what makes Lynx golf so special and I just hope we get a bit of that this week at Hoylake. You know there's a bit of breeze. Wouldn't be great if that breeze on a couple of rounds took into a little bit of wind.
Speaker 1:Yeah, definitely my. My quick question to you would be we have to have your open prediction, david the four Um.
Speaker 2:I, I, yes, so I assume you three have already picked yours, have you? Before I came on?
Speaker 1:We haven't. That's what we can all do, oh oh, there we are.
Speaker 2:I mean, look it's. It would be very easy boring, to say, mcelroy Schaeffler. I'm not so sure about Rahm, although he does play well, lynx, but you know, schaeffler, the guy's putting stats compared to the rest of his game is just amazing and arguably, at the open is putting as important, maybe not because of because of the type of green, so I think he'd have a good shout. I think when you go a bit further down, it's amazing how the Americans do so. Well, you know, but how often do you turn on the TV at the end of day one and then there's like eight US flags out there.
Speaker 2:Um, you know, johnson and Fowler, obviously. Um, johnson hasn't been playing over here, didn't Penny Lynx go last week? Ricky Fowler didn't have a great week but he's been in good form. He just loves those courses. I think either of those two. If you're looking for a little bit longer odds. Um, you know, I think Rory's under 10 to one now I've probably Scottie's about the same, but if you go up to Ricky and to Johnson, you're probably closer to 30. I don't know, um, that would feel like you'd get a good one.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that'd be hard to disagree with that. I'm going, I'm going with my uh, my man, rory, back in, yeah.
Speaker 3:I'm going with Cam Smith, I'm going with. I think he's going to get it done again. He's ice-cooled. He is absolutely ice-cooled and the way that he closed out the open last year was out of this world. I mean that put from the back of the bunker on 17 and also that put on 18, he rolled it up to yeah, there's many people less than him.
Speaker 1:Him and Rory have both won on their last start before the open.
Speaker 4:Cam Smith doesn't take long over the ball. You know, I followed him for two holes on Sunday and impressively he doesn't take long over the ball at all. But there was something I would say something in the air on Sunday and there's just a lot of support for Rory and I think this could be his biggest win. I think this is it for Rory. I'm hoping so, obviously, but I think that might be tainting my prediction. But you know, there's just an atmosphere Coming in the Hoi Lake on Sunday was saying Rory.
Speaker 1:The only time in, let's say, from 2014 onwards, but obviously he played better before that as well. The only time where I can rely on Rory to play well and buy into the hype is that I had the cup, and I think he needs to treat this similar. I think he's starting to do that. So, in the fact that he needs to buy into that, the fact that the pressure's on him he tries to offload, sometimes tested on the Masters but I think he needs to buy into the fact that all these people are going to be behind him in the Hoi Lake.
Speaker 4:Can I just cut across there? Please don't give Rory McRoy any advice.
Speaker 1:I mean, I'm here if he needs it.
Speaker 2:I'm here if he needs it, but I think he'll do it this week it seems to have got a little bit of grit if you look earlier this year when he was up against Patrick Reed in Dubai and had a proper back to your rider cut point and then, yes, yesterday, two bogeys, eight and nine other guys are charging through and he came back and fall under To do that. There's a lot of times when you looked at Rory in the past and suddenly the shoulders go down. He's not walking with a swing in his step and you just know he's not going to hold apart. Well, that didn't happen yesterday, whereas it'd been very easy for different versions of Rory to have done that. So I think that was a great sign, had he not shot that on the back line yesterday and come into it with another disappointing another. Put yourself in the position but didn't get there. Maybe tough, but I think it's going to have helped him.
Speaker 1:I read a quote from him where someone had asked him what his mentality was like 2010 to 2015, should we say when he first came on the tour, and he said that it was a very aggressive, almost tiger-like mindset he'd try and take to the course, but the reason he stopped because it was so hard to maintain. So he thought he'd try and adopt a mindset that was easy to bring to the course. But, like you say, I think he's got a bit more grip now, david. I think he's had to, isn't he? Because people were in majors around him and he's just standing still.
Speaker 4:I think that's a good time to show it to a close, Josh.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it was awesome. That's a pleasure.
Speaker 4:Could spend hours with him. We enjoyed it.
Speaker 2:Well, let us know when you're up and you slow down next time, eh.
Speaker 4:Yeah, definitely this will come out Friday, Josh.
Speaker 1:Friday 6am yeah.
Speaker 4:Friday morning If you could just retweet it when we post it and things. But then hopefully, what we like to do is link with people, so if you know someone that would be interested for us to have a chat with, or in your travels you come across someone that you think would give us a really unique point of view like we've had with you. I was really actually glad that you were wanting to come on with us, because it's something that we wouldn't used to have when someone that travels and plays golf courses. It's a point of view that we've never had before. So we'd love to thank you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's been great. Well, absolute pleasure, really good talking to you all, and I will definitely do both those things Right.
Speaker 4:Nice one, thanks, david.
Speaker 2:Okay, all the best guys have a good week.
Speaker 1:Bye, thank you. Yeah, big thanks to David for coming on. We'll link all his socials and his blog to the post that we put on social media as well, if you're not going to give him a like and maybe have a look at what he puts out.
Speaker 4:Yeah, eddie, will you just give us as our sign off how it felt to be back with Josh.
Speaker 3:Well, it felt even better to beat him in the quiz that he is trouncing Liam in. That was good. It just shows that you can pace off against the low bar. You can look at somebody who's got a bit of pedigree, got a bit of that. It's different, isn't it, Josh? It's different.
Speaker 1:Don't get cocky, mate, I'll clap your cheeks Now. No, I'm sorry, he has to come on again. You have to come on again, eddie, because I might have a need. I was just trying to let the guest have a good chance. I'd smash you in a golf quiz.
Speaker 3:Well, I let him have Phil Mickelson. Trust me, I let him have Phil Mickelson because it felt bad.
Speaker 1:No, you didn't.
Speaker 3:I did Trust me. I'm not a liar.
Speaker 1:Yes, you are Right.
Speaker 4:Well, Josh, Eddie, it's a pleasure.
Speaker 1:I would like to say that I enjoyed that episode. I really did enjoy, david, but seeing you two, ben Boy's, back together is something I hope we don't see in a long time again.
Speaker 4:Yeah, ok, I'll probably cut it there.
