Is LIV Golf boring, The Open preview, does golf score matter? EP138

Welcome back to the rickshaws golf show podcast everybody i'm your host rick shields episode 138 here with co-host guy um we've just been out on the golf course we've been blown away quite literally my skills [Laughter] breaking 90 just i think maybe by the irish sea um yeah we've literally this morning. But this the episode won't come out for a few weeks we played at royal liverpool this morning we did. For a break 75 6 45 a.m we teed off so if this podcast lacks a little bit of energy a little bit of enthusiasm a little bit of passion blame it on the fact we bought both got battered around royal liverpool i've got i've had two cans of monster this morning i'm ready to go so i'm not going to be tired. And down i'm raring to go the golf course beat me destroy me i can give away my score yours is a secret because obviously people want to wait. For the episode and what an episode it will be i got beat up um. But you know what rick golf in the wind is hard golf is hard golf is hard golf on a link's course in the wind uh off quite far back tease with thick rough is hard. And the wind obviously makes the holes harder when it's into the face clearly but it's not just the tee shots that are daunting it then.

Obviously leaves you a longer second shot in you naturally end up hitting that further away from the hole sometimes off the green you then.

Got a chip the wind then.

Blows the ball on your chips as well yeah. And then.

Potted yeah it's nice you know what i honestly i don't i don't like downhill downwind holes off a tea i do that's it yeah they are they're hard to get close to the flag. So yeah that episode's going to come out next.

Week we also um last friday we've actually we're going to be banking three break 75s really close together. So apologize apologize to everyone last week that didn't get one one i was cutting in open qualifying. For my mate john beasley which you've probably seen the clip on youtube now and two um my foot was still a bit injured. So we couldn't really start going shooting. And filming a lot more so on friday we did more town in leeds which honestly i thought it was one of my favourite course i've played yeah more town what a golf course heathland style golf course just off the main road bizarrely. And when you're on the golf course you would never think you're right near a busy like street. And stuff so that's going to be coming out this friday yes then.

We did royal liverpool which will be coming out open week friday. And very well timed because it's actually next.

Year's open venue so even though the circus will be at saint andrews that week you'll be watching me at royal liverpool where the circus will be next.

Year circus was there today.

The clown was there don't you worry i was with my jester pants [Laughter]. So yeah no it's all good fun um. And then.

We've got a busy week as well going up to scotland tomorrow uh filming some very exciting videos which will be coming soon. And also we'll have a guest fingers crossed i don't want to say anything too early but we've got a major winner as a guest on the show hopefully i say hopefully just in case anything goes not to plan yeah everything should be going to plan on wednesday. And if it does it'll mean in the next.

Few weeks we'll have a banger of a video where i take on a tour pro again starting 10 on the par yeah no disrespect to tommy fleetwood only westwood because they are absolute legends of the game. And not only that the really nice blokes this guy is that next.

Level up i would say well he's a major winner yeah he's got a green jacket. So that'll be coming up very soon and then.

Also while we're up in scotland we're going to film another break 75 at a iconic venue um. And then.

Back down the road only for a really a long weekend um away from saint andrews because we'll be back up there again the following tuesday for the 150th open championship at saint andrews i'm feeling excited. For that now shut up i am ready honestly i'm seeing now obviously we were there a few weeks ago. And well i was there a couple weeks ago when i finished my walk i i'm actually gonna have to have a count of how many times i've been there this year because it's been a lot it has been a lot i am gonna buy a house there definitely i've probably timed it wrong i should have bought it before this year. But either way um i'm getting excited now because all the grandstands are properly up. So we'll see them tomorrow because we're staying in saint andrews tomorrow night yes. And we are seeing um tour pros. And players that are playing in the open already getting sneaky practice rounds in yeah i've seen justin rose getting a sneaky practice round in play players like harry higgs. And a few others there are still players qualifying to get in the open. And there will be again this weekend with the scottish open etc. So there's still going to be spots available. For the open it's just don't come around and claiming now that you like the open as much as i did you're only a masters guy yeah i can't be the masters guy in july july i'm the open guy all year round i wear this hat all year round. And you wear an open hat sometimes july i'm open masters i am april [Laughter] you're never the uspga so yeah it's it's exciting times tiger is currently right now as we speak playing in ireland at their manor the jp mcmanus pro-am uh the field there looks incredible it's kind of a charity day pro am laxing looks phenomenal definitely got to get out to a dare manner very soon there was talks we might have been going this week. But it never quite materialized um but he's he's there he's playing i've just literally before this podcast started i saw him hitting warm-up shots on the range he looks like he's got about 15 layers of clothes on because obviously he's acclimatizing but he's gonna have a couple of weeks of acclimatizing to english uk weather not english uk weather ireland and then.

I think from what i know of tiger he spends quite a lot of about time quite a bit well do you when he texted it he spends quite a lot of time in ireland in preparation. For the open so we'll kind of stay away um where does he go on practice now uh mount ah mount julia i wanna say mount juliet. But that's why they've just done the irish open and that's not a lynx course is it he practices somewhere really linksy i can't think what it's called in golf dublin on a simulator oh what's it that's going to frustrate it. But anyway he's there he's hitting golf balls he's he's done what he promised he he's doing what he promised back in the masters in april when he said i'll play in the open he's doing it seems to me unless he's gets injured in this next.

Couple of weeks. But um yeah. So it's all going on well the thing is if the episode that we're hoping to record on wednesday goes ahead with this amazing topo which fingers crossed it will that might be the next.

Podcast out potentially. So this today.

Might be our chance to have an open preview um obviously it is the best mage in golf i think we can we can agree on that certainly this month you can go back to the masters in april that's fine um. But i'm excited obviously we're going which you just said i can't wait. For it and i actually just can't wait to watch the golf as well because it's a course i now feel i can know quite well there's obviously certain iconic calls that most people know. And certainly if you're watching the videos of break 75 people know them even more now i just can't wait to see how those guys play around there because there's different ways you could literally try and vomit at miles which i'm sure some some guys will. But you can be a bit more strategic off the tee. And then.

Hopefully use the fairways use the run and get kind of there with a two iron who's gonna do well who's gonna win what do you think well. For me unless something dramatically changes it's not gonna be a really burnt out gold course this year like it's only a week away really isn't it so so we have seen in the past again going to royal liverpool today.

I remember back in 2014. Or in 2006 when tiger won it was it was as hard as just it was really really really hard the weather in the uk at the moment certainly. For our us audience it has been quite wet we've had quite a wet summer so far so everything's actually quite lush and green it's weird it's been wet but it has been quite nice and that combination that you said made it lush. And actually a lot of growth yeah. So it's super super green on that's not typical for for links golf courses this time of year and it's probably made the rough juicier like thicker and kind of graspier so i don't know who that really plays in the the hands of because the short hitters aren't getting the advantage of the bounding balls down the fairway even though you'll still get run yeah the long hitters aren't getting the advantage of really wispy you know light rough they're getting really juicy thick heavy rough if they hit it offline. So it hits patrick it's certainly yeah he's going straight now he's long. And straight he's picked up some real ball speed so i feel like the conditions are going to play a massive part again after we've just played the royal liverpool this morning it's astonishing how much the wind does affect every single shot now i've been lucky enough to play the old course three times now in the correct way round how different was the first time we played with your dad. And your brother compared to like the time when we last played it all the time or even sorry very quick one the time when we played it first then.

I played king's bars the day after then.

I played the old course reversed then.

I played the old course again the the conditions were totally different every day it's no secret that you can score around the old course. And i'll sometimes get chance people at the driving range or whatever who say oh i've actually played i'm lucky enough to have played it and certainly decent players will often say oh yeah shot level. Or a shot one under or shot one over whatever it might be around par and that's a score you can easily see if it's calm. Or does that certain win would you say it's best where you've got it kind of off the back right on 18. And 17. so it's like the win we had last time we played hell yeah yeah well if you play in those conditions you can't get a good score. But equally at the first time we played was horrendous borderline unplayable yeah you can shoot a million um. So it the weather obviously comes into it massively with the open championship that that's a given we know that but what i think as well this year could be different is the fact that every major is massive. And certainly the guys going in always trying to claim that they treat like any other week which i guess in preparation they might do because they don't suddenly have a different routine. And feel weird but surely they feel a bit more nervous in a major not only is it a major it's arguably the biggest. Or the sec you know it's the opening of the masters i think we could say are the biggest. For most people but it's also the 150th and again it's at saint andrews so do you want to throw a little tiny bit more um tigers playing tigers playing. And also don't forget all the controversy that's been going. For the last two months with liv yeah pga tour banning dp world tour strengthening their alliance with the pga tour there's going to be a lot of locking of horns this this that that week at the open it's not going to be everyone's not going to be as friendly with each other there's going to be a lot more kind of hidden plot lines where there's we're going to find there's going to be a situation where someone like a rory who's very strong pinned his master the pj tour inevitably getting drawn out with dj yeah do you know what i mean it's. Or bryson de chambeau it's going to happen. And there's gonna be some kind of tension or some kind of hostility between those those players really from the pj tour and live now exactly and that's you know both of those two tours will want one of the players to win because that just gives them even more kind of credibility. But yeah i just think maybe these players don't feel like this i i i'm surprised if they don't though they're gonna go into feel like this is a big one to win obviously all majors are. But again this one does feel very very different. So it you think is does that favor someone that's done it before that's already won a major that's been down that 70-second hole. And held the nerf together i don't know but one thing i do know is i'm going to be glued to it well we'll get there aren't we going to be watching it. So much but um right write three names in your phone of players you think gonna win um okay i'm gonna i'm gonna do it quickly okay i'm gonna say him i'm gonna say um mine are quite rubbish really um i've only got one name at the moment i've got three very um kind of standard ones at the minute okay are we saying we've never written them down. So these are locked in okay okay your answer's locked in yeah they're locked in no hands okay first name scotty sheffler okay no i don't know listen great shout out i didn't even think of him yeah i didn't even think of him i'm weird he's gonna be up there isn't it drastic happens. So why not rory he's my name yeah i've got him as well next.

One well i've got those two my last one again very bait one. But will de la tourist yeah i've gone tony fee now yep good shout out. And last one fleetwood yeah i'm not sure on tommy i've just gone. For a bit of a love yeah i'd love i would actually love any of those three to play yeah i mean play to win i would love i think i would love rory to do it i think he's been playing really well i think he's been playing very very good good golf this year he's not won a major. For a long time now how many is it eight years now yeah well this is another thing. So last night i was going to bed this is a weird thing i was thinking about like rory that sounds weird what was it the drives yeah it's. So long and straight no i was just thinking about um the fact that like you just said it's eight years ago i think i know what it was it's because today.

We obviously went. And played roy liverpool which way last one is open 2014.. So that's eight years ago i was trying to work out what was the last iphone what was the iphone that was current then.

It was the iphone 5s okay. So what do you think about that i know it sounds ridiculous way of explaining it well think about iphone 5s6s go on. And on that's how long it actually was wow like eight years ago scotty sheffler was just 18 years old he was a little kid essentially it's a long time i had no kids you had no kids i just i'd literally just got married i had no kids you had 175 ball speed yeah i have more hair uh lesser in some ways because i know beard that's true. So probably not the same amount of hair and how many how many subscribers reckon maybe fifty thousand yeah i don't know fifty yeah. But what's mad if you just have to boil completely that would be like oh yeah whatever happened to aurora macaroon he's. So good still he will win another one top 10. For so much of that time it's outrageous how good he is. But tell you what i did see another start when you talk about um scottie scheffler it was like he's been world number one now. For x amount of weeks oh sorry we've seen this he's now only got five years and x amount of months to catch up to tigers reign of longest world number one so it's like you know what it's madness i absolutely love tigers that's that's no secret he's my favorite golfer he's legend. And blah blah i think. So much great whatever but i love him but at the same time i do feel like i kind of can sometimes see a little bit why people who aren't that kid in him get a bit sick of the hype like. For example the open i'm absolutely made up his play and i really am gonna obviously see him in the flesh and hopefully i mean if he won it that would be my dream if he waves to you listen to the problem just just cheers with the kind of monster um i might even wear a leg sleeve just. For the sake of it um but like there will be a lot of attention on them won't it. And then.

Rightly so but then.

Can you see a little bit why people do get a bit annoyed with it when he's not really doing much at the moment obviously competing we've been playing never mind competing i just think he's still i don't i just think he's still how's that going forever yeah yeah he's won that he's got that mantle he deserves it yeah yeah i don't disagree i'm just saying i can't understand a little bit why people who aren't huge tiger fans do get a little bit annoyed that there's probably some other well there's definitely other guys who are playing really good golf at the moment who won't get anywhere near the coverage you probably deserve it on there it right now i'd actually like to meet a non-tiger fan. And ask them why why why do they not like tiger why do you hate the god. But anyway that's a different time different topic um apart from that i didn't watch a great deal of golf this weekend well so i'm not gonna listen to the last thing on the open though before we close it i mean obviously we will point we might be doing some bonus podcasting andrew's not definitely sure on that if we do there might only be potential on the actual audio stream oh what are you thinking about this yeah i don't think you're sure you look a bit light you're not sure we did discuss it i know yeah oh yeah now i feel like you're looking everything i don't know anything about this what do you think i don't know we might do. But if we do it will be on the podcast feed it won't be videoed probably because it's harder to do it over up there. And stuff so make sure you subscribe to apple or spotify even if you're normally someone that watches the podcast subscribe to them so you don't miss them correct uh but also just a quick thing i always wanted to call this out um there's actually something really cool on monday so a week to well a week today.

Yesterday when you listen to this what will that be monday the 11th is that right yeah. So obviously it's the week of the open um there is the celebration of champions which is basically 48 champions will play this is cool 1 2 17. And 18 of the old course which you did with tom watson um. But normally it's done with like obviously past champion male golfers this year they've got a little bit of a different format um so it's champions women's golf obviously the men's game and disability golf you got rory he's playing um i think maracao is playing obviously like a guy like tom watson i believe are playing. And obviously the women's champions disability champions but it's on tv it's on well it's on youtube so it's on um starts at 2 30 through till about 6 30. it's on theopen.com uh the opens youtube and they'll be on sky in the uk nbc in the us and it's on um radio on the open.com that's awesome so i'm i'm not are you going we're not going up that monday now are we no i don't think we are playing there that's a plug. For the rna i'm hoping i get some tickets for my family so i'm joking um however. another quick plug then.

For the open and the rna but this this is something you really really need to get paid. For these plugs this week yeah this week the videos i've filmed a few weeks ago are starting to be released yes. So the itinerary and a lot of these are on the opens youtube channel. So make sure you check out the open on youtube make sure you subscribe because you're going to see your boy tom watson making some videos you're going to see the boy enough. And just while you're there just go on go on videos and go on most popular videos on the opens youtube channel the open the best major in the whole of the world way better than the masters channel go on videos most popular and up there at the top just a quick one was it your birthday yesterday is your boy how old did you turn uh old enough one 36 36. And you sat this in your boy and a microphone i'm trying to be cool with the kids that's what's happening i've got a mid-life clock crisis would you like to know this is what you're doing your boy she just thinks i play golf like every day you do really that's true. So um oh nearly unsubscribed from the open then.

Accidentally right so today.

Yesterday sorry the first video goes live where it's me. And iona stephen doing the skyline challenge it's your boy it's your boy and i owner booyah we are doing um a challenge i was like i like saying it almost like it's not been done we did a challenge where we hit golf balls from the roof the actual bloody roof of the old course hotel down to 17th green me. And iona doing the closest to pin challenge that's going out today.

On the youtube sorry yesterday monday then.

Tuesday is the road hole challenges again me versus iona we hit shots from the roadhog bunker from the wall. And actually from the road itself which i actually did very well from the road itself then.

On wednesday is the biggie wednesday is the one you need to put in your diary tomorrow you not missed it it's coming this is on my channel the big boy channel four whole challenge kind of kind of we didn't mention it last week that we did we explained it last week i didn't explain it i'll explain it again it's a big andrews playing with legend tom watson yes in reverse four holes me. And him can we break power that's coming wednesday tunnel. And on thursday we do the monster put challenge it's not a scary one it's oh that's that's saying saturday now uh monster putt challenge where me. And iona tried to hold 200 foot puts on the biggest green in europe um on the 5th and 13th at the old course and then.

The last one is oh that was the surprise challenge on thursday where we took a couple of fans from the um who are watching around the 18th. And they could win tickets to the open it's all gonna be amazing it's all build up and hype for the best major championship in the world it better than the masters yeah um that's it that's it down there i was just trying to say that i didn't know if you were going to pretend people didn't know what's happening. And go against the golfer and then.

Like i can't remember what i said like yesterday man i'm getting old now it's not really 67 six i can't i can't like remember all these things that i said last week what did you get. For birthday um after shave nice what flavor i got a really nice um bottle of paco rabanne nice i got two bottles of boss and i got i got a bottle of oh what's it called uh it's like the silver one it's nice i can't think what's going on my wife got me as well i probably should remember that um i got some other bits wine chocolate yeah you don't get that you don't get that much tea okay would you have loved what if someone could get your present worth let's just say 200 quid what would you have absolutely loved what i wouldn't see oh that's class um little second around scotty why is it clear we have a thin worn out grip. But the head comes in decent condition and like really like she's like she puts in like a golf club box i'm like she's bought me a golf club what the hell's she doing and then.

Like you say it's a class one the only requirements 35 inches oh it's nearly perfect but i still love it yeah i'm not sure actually i don't the thing is if yeah i don't know birthdays are rubbish aren't they when you get older yeah it's a bit depressing really i drank a lot yeah yeah i had some nice food i went. For a nice italian got my hair cut and uh watched the minions at the cinema yeah which by the way everybody listening terrible film terrible terrible i mean i shouldn't have gone on my own i should you've watched it four times on your own it's gonna get a bit boring my wife did say take the kids will you i'm right no it's my birthday i'm going to the cinema rick want minions joe i did very quick story though i was a bit annoyed. And i kind of spat my dummy out a bit so about halfway through i was a bit peckish we had a few bits. And food i've been eating really well recently and uh i thought you know what i really fancy a hot dog just really listening really really fancy a hot dog right so i went it's 5 000 pounds please so luckily for me my my daughter need the toilet so i was like right here's my opportunities took her to the toilet then.

Went. And queued up for a hot dog took forever forever and ever and ever to get served it was. So slow got this hot dog they asked me what do i want just hot dog with ketchup right seven pound fifty seven pound fifty it's like over ten dollars people this i bought a can of monster two pounds seventy yeah that takes up with you i've never fallen asleep well we had taken snacks yeah all that. So you'd like mangled this bun and put the put the sausage in squid load of ketchup on which i appreciated i must admit but then.

The packaging it got put on the desk on like in front of me and as i went to pick up the packaging it like tipped sideways the sausage fell out onto the actual payment desk and i was like you know i'm. So much in a rush and so hungry i just picked it up with all of its germs and everything and then.

Continue continue to eat it so that's how i got some some salmonella salmonella what's that called food poisoning salmonella salmonella this week um well anyway it should make me stronger um golf yes. So yeah golf basically i am not sure about live golf okay i know we've talked about before. And you know what it's part of the world of golf now we have to talk about we have to talk about talk about it be odd right so this week they had um the portland event that's even i don't know what you really called each one massively like just the place it was at yeah pumpkin the second event second event um. And it started on thursday and it was again it was a thursday friday saturday obviously 54 holes three days. And because it was in portland oregon it was a really big time difference to us it's like minus eight hours. So only they started like nine pm hour time yeah which isn't ideal because you know even though it's a shorter package you're not gonna be able to watch it all the way through. So nine o'clock comes or five to nine whatever i've got onto youtube it's a live stream again on youtube it's free which is all big ticks in my opinion put it on countdown kind of clock comes on what what started them off this this time um because last last those planes again i can't remember it was uh it was just a hole. And i think do you mean yeah what started the shotgun i think it was just a horn i can't remember um there's a couple things i noticed this time that i hadn't possibly noticed much last time. Or i wasn't aware of it wasn't as bad arlo white the guys kind of lead commentator they're absolutely bigging it up too much like people are tuning in to watch the golf. And we understand that they have to try and sell it to us and have to try to set to other potential golfers want to try and sign but all they keep talking about is how much fun the players all have a huge smile on their face this week they look. So happy um and it's like right okay that's great. But i i don't want the place to be unhappy but i only care i don't know what's called golf so that was a bit over the top. And so i kind of put it on it's again time was ticking down it was like then.

The first t. And as soon as the t like they teed off he just is golf yeah like it's not revolutionary it still is just golf yeah. So i watched a bit of it it was getting late. So i turned it off and didn't watch much at all on friday and then.

Saturday again it was on. So late so i woke up sunday morning again one of the huge benefits of being on youtube is you can just the stream there's like a five hour six hour livestream that stays on youtube you can press play. And watch it in its entirety if you wanted to or i like just skipped across to like last few holes and watched it and there's the highlights videos videos so in that way it's it is a good product. But i just watched it like pat perez shot like a million because his team won he got like a share of a cameron it was it sure of quarter million each. Or something stupid or whatever it might have been more than that i think he made 750 grand right well there you go. So just just stupid money which again great i'm sure i'm sure each team it each event is three million dollars split four ways right. So it's like seven hundred and fifty thousand it's just insane and i was reading the product about on online at the weekend. And each player the caddy gets accommodation paid for yeah the players get four flights per tournament apparently. So one in first class which imagine they take two i think in premium economies maybe the wife. And somebody else in the coach and then.

One in just normal class which i think is. For the cabbage or whoever they want to use it for they get all put up in obviously five-star hotels all um like rides from the hotels the golf course are all covered in obviously like them big massive mercedes. Or whatever so the players on the minimum they're gonna win 120 thousand dollars i understand why the players are. So happy right they've got smiles on their faces yeah. But i don't know i just watched i just wasn't sure this time i mean i wasn't 100 sure last time. And then.

Obviously at the end taylor good said it felt like i've never played in the ryder cup. Or uh played in the presence cup but i can't imagine much difference to this which is a ridiculous comment everyone's seen the crowd at the ryder cup. And inherited the prestige of it so that was a bit stupid it just felt this time. And it probably was last time i didn't feel it as much it just felt very much trying to sell it to us. And also sell it to players who haven't yet signed up who they're trying to sign yeah i felt like this this week around compared to london i felt like london whether it was because it was in the uk. For us and it facts it was on our time zone everything else it felt like a bigger deal it was the first event it felt really like oh my goodness something's happening maybe people in portland had that same feeling as we had when when it was in london. But i just felt like yeah the time difference does play the big part certainly if you're here in the uk i mean i was really busy this weekend anyway like celebrating partying going out every night it's what i do. For my birthday you know what i mean rock. And roll lifestyle but like nine o'clock on friday we had friends around i'm not gonna suddenly turn on live and kind of watch the golf so i didn't watch a great deal of it on on thursday i didn't really watch any on friday and then.

Kind of saturday i was i was with the family. And everything else and you know nine o'clock at night i'm not gonna start flicking it on but there's a couple of things i did see from when i when i watched it the crowds still seemed very strong again am i right insane though they weren't free tickets this time. Or were they still free i think they were still free. But again it's a weirdo in the crowds because they do look busy. But i think it's with certain groups right. So your dj's groups etc naturally have a big following there was one i saw online. And again people things can be made looks worse online you have to take that into account though i think it was um kevin nar's group there was like literally nobody walking around that's mad. So i don't know i mean. For the winner brandon grace believe it or not if you go back way into the history of my youtube channel he was like my second. Or third video ever on the channel he used to come down he used to live in manchester when he first turned pro he was signed by ism the management company. And he used to practice loads at um at mia when i used to be there and then.

When i left me and joined trafford he kind of jumped over to me we were quite friendly. And he'd come and whack balls and i'd take a bit of data for him and send him videos back to his coach over in south africa and um you know for him brilliant he just won a ridiculous amount of money like four million this year four million this event sorry last event he made a fortune because that team won his team won i'm guessing the team did pretty well this time again like. For the golfers like i say not surprised to walk around with a smile but i still think it's still too grotesque in the money i don't still don't want to watch because they're making money like i think whether you said it. Or i watched the f1 a little bit this weekend again not loads i had a busy weekend so i've not managed to watch loads of sport in general but when the f1 is on this weekend i'm not watching it because i know how much each driver's making like when carlos science wins i'm like brilliant he's won i love the fact he's won he's not one. Yet brilliant he deserves it amazing lewis hamilton gets on the podium amazing they've got the trophy is amazing all looks like liv that's what's happening at liv at the end of each event the champagne's being popped the ceremony at the end brilliant. But there's one event there the f1 i don't i don't care i don't really care how much they get paid i don't need to know like the golf i don't care how much get they get paid and i don't really need to know i just feel like it's still too wrapped up in the money yeah what does that disappear does it not does that become even more bold as these as these kind of events come on are the pga tour gonna start to talk about a lot more money because obviously they're trying to pump more money into it i just don't want it to become a sport where it's about money yeah i think yeah you're right. And i think the money at the minute is to get the big players playing. And they want the big players playing to get the eyeballs and they want the eyeballs to make the product worth something which it kind of does make sense i think my issue with it is that well my issue with golf wasn't watching golf as i sat down on thursday i think well it was thursday. And put the pj tour on and without being disrespectful most of the guys names i didn't know when you look at the leaderboard it was a pretty wheat yeah. And that's i mean obviously still if you win that event you've still won a pj tour event hats options incredible that's great golf. And they'll win a load of money and rightly so but you should be watching the pj tour and seeing the best players so i do think they have got some issues the pga tour. And how many events they've got i'm not always having the strongest field and they have obviously addressed that for i think it's next.

Year. But more importantly the year after 2024 this new kind of whole um the way it's gonna be so i i'm kind of stuck i think the idea of liv. And the shorter formats and being on youtube and things that i quite like it doesn't feel right and i'm still not sure the pj tour is quite right i don't know what i want as a fan. But it's still not quite there i i feel like i've with all of this taking place has made me possibly we've obviously alluded to it a lot this um this podcast already i think it's made me fall in love more with the open. And the masters because you get everything you do you get the heritage yeah you get the best players prestige you get the fact that although it's still four rounds of golf it's still it's not that much equipment. For a few days just to watch it and get it all in because you can do it twice. Or three times a year yeah like i said to my wife it's the open this week she's like okay you're gonna be sat in front of the tv every minute of every day watching this she'll take the kids to dancing as a one-off she knows that's what's gonna happen where on the pga talk i won't do that every week i'm not watching seven eight hours of golf every night every day i just don't it's just not what i do unlike the dp world talk unlike live golf i'm not watching five hours on a saturday night when i want to be having a good time. And enjoy my enjoying my life well i can't get my head around as well with liv is that they have got now some massive names let's be honest. And they've just signed paul casey he's going to get you know even more big big names it will get to the point soon where at the moment there's still a few names in that i wouldn't know if they walk past me in the street i imagine it'll get to the point in not too long distant future where you know every single one. But equally as good as i feel they have gotten they've obviously got some really good names i e dustin johnson and bryson etc the strongest names still are on the pj tour. And they've kind of come out now and said i'm not going. And surely the amount they've been offered is only going to get less from now on. So if rory let's just say i'm going to make a number let's just say rory has turned down 200 million dollars which may. Or may not be true but let's just say that's the amount that he's been offered he's turned that down surely that was that the most it was ever going to be it's going to go down now as their field does get stronger if they're not going now they're never going to go. So if those the best players like your scotty shefflers your rory's your marrakawas you wills alatorro says don't jump ship the pj tour is still gonna be the strongest field. So what does liv then.

Become yeah does it just become i don't know i think the only difference is is what's the new breed of these superstars yeah. And where where's this new breed of superstar gonna put their alliance like now let's say in 10 years time okay the year is 2032. And you've got you're the best amateur in the world and you've ready to turn pro and you're thinking right i'm gonna turn pro i want to make the most money i wanna have the most successful career when i get the highest world ranking well then.

They're gonna have there's gonna be players who who actually have decisions on whether to go pga tour whether they go live tour like they're gonna have those decisions i do think liv will be uh well ranked at some point i think they're gonna either co-sanction with the asian tour. Or whatever they're gonna the players are gonna be able to get world ranking points um it's just going to come down to money. And heritage and whether whether it kind of aligns in their own in their own kind of mindset and it still comes down to the majors because let's just say you had a young guy who was a great amateur who decided i'm going to go the lift tour because the money's better. And he goes to live tour and he wins six events in a row let's just say that happened six events in a row obviously like oh my god this guy is amazing. But then.

He plays in the open where you've got your rory's your speeches all tauruses and he comes tied 30th and then.

He plays in the masters the next.

Year and he comes tied 50th if you could even get in these tournaments that is you still think all right yeah you win every week. Or every time there's a live event on but you rubbish in the open like when the real guys are playing. So you still still have to perform in the majors to prove that actually they are good do you get what i mean yeah you do it's really interesting time the other thing as well did you see this weekend whether it was on the final day greg norman on the 18th pouring beer down people's throats. And stuff and like chucking beers out and stuff it's different in it i'm not against that in principle if he's doing it being genuine if it's just done for the cameras to make it look really cool that's a bit cringy it's just it's it just appears different like you're liking it though you're not getting jay monahan doing that on the 18th like i must admit before this week so jay monham is the commissioner of the pga tour i reckon if you'd asked a lot of quite hardcore pj tour fans pick jay monaghan in a group of ten i don't reckon people would be able to do it because he's just not publicly is that a public face possibly yeah. But yeah he's interested yeah yeah the the differences like greg norman's the ceo of live golf it's like he is very much is it a vanity project. For him though like i don't get wrong his name being such a big name in golf and a major champion would have helped have these conversations with the players and give it that more bit more credibility i suppose but how much does the viewer need to know about greg norman. And he's in it or is all over it yeah he is is that just him getting a bit good like pulling people's beard like throwing cans of beer out to the crowd like it's like come on mate you're the commissioner you're the ceo check out champagne if you're gonna do properly yeah i don't know. And it's as always very keen to hear people's thoughts if you're watching people are liking it people are. And also i've noticed more people getting behind the team element some people still cringe at the names and i am some of the names of trash um and again reading online that that's where this big you know liv are putting a fortune into this. And initially it's not about making any profit obviously they're not going to do. For a couple of years well few years the big thing is around getting his team franchise. So again using the f1 analogy red bull come in and they spend however. many million or billion to have a team and that's where red bull crushers yeah no exactly. And that that is that side of things i think does excite me. But at the moment the teams are massive in after thought. And i wasn't watching it thinking oh well if that goes in then.

That team get this many points and then.

Well that they score this it just felt like it was something to throw in after yeah if they can really work that correctly that could be exciting that could be different i think once the team wants the players. Or the 48 players that they want or is the actual 48 that's going to be playing every week i think that's when you can start really building on this team element because at the moment the teams are still quite fluid like paul casey is he going joining the crushers which is oh yeah you see their little skype zoom calls yeah i tell you what is quite interesting how much the players are posting about it considering i think that's part of the deal i know. But considering they wanted all this free agency and all this kind of well exactly all these controls the opposite they are they must be getting told what their employees yeah you've gone from in theory i mean i don't know the ins. And outs but as a pga tour player to now you're the opposite because you're under contract to play the eight events this year that 14 i think it's actually going to be next.

Year because it was going to be 10 where they've jumped into 14 right i think they have don't quote me on that. And it will be 40 in the year after they're all doing the post the correct hashtags the correct obviously it'll be the management doing it i guess it feels like they're actually less of a. And again you know players like paul casey knows respect to him an amazing golfer done very well in the majors although he's never won a major when if he was on the first signing okay does he add much to it now to you does he make you think pat perez as well look at them. And think oh it's names i've heard of admittedly. But does that really add that much. And you think they're on like just a two-year lease almost a two-year contract well possibly obviously paul casey's been out with injury got a bad spot i think it is. So easy just looking at the money um because there's got to be a point if if it does go really positive. And suddenly you are getting a much bigger tidal wave of pga tour players coming along there's got to be a point where pat perez gets pushed down 100 because he's just not the guy he's not the best. For the guy for now yeah yeah interesting times getting a bit deep here i thought we were deeper basically um i get annoyed like most people that i don't play the level of golf when i go play that i expect to to shoot. Or to play like for example so i know when i play well i can shoot around level par on my local golf course. But i also more often than not don't do that i think that's just golf isn't it like we've said this many times we don't really play to our true potential very often. And we recently as we did a little uh well in that video on the main channel last week which was like like a podcast style you can if your friend john beasley at the open qualifying if you want to watch that we'll look on rick's channel it's one of the last videos that's been out there watching those guys made me realize something about golf. And it's gonna sound a bit weird this i'm i'm hoping i can articulate how i want to. And i'm hoping it might give a few people out there a bit more of a realization about potentially what golf is. And what it can be. So we were walking around in anzo links. And there was guys who are tour professionals elite amateurs who are trying to play in the open. And to someone like john your friend that was just more of a dream why not nailed it. And got through the first stage got to the final bit and obviously didn't perform as well as he could do. And didn't get through you know you see some tall pros there who really need to be getting in to try and make money to survive to pay the bill to pay the mortgage and we've seen that tour school we went to european tour qualifying school and there's guys out there who are literally playing six rounds of golf whatever to try. And make ends meet and it's not always as as glorified beyonce we've said this before like we have a james probably hard it is. And it's really good for these guys if they miss a putt on the last hole that means that they miss out on playing in the open or getting the european tour card or making some money for that week that really means something yeah that's their job. For people like me who play golf for fun it doesn't really and it got me thinking that like actually watching these guys it made me feel better about myself that i am an all right golfer a club standard on probably a bit well better than average but not brilliant for me golf doesn't have to be about score it doesn't have to be about how well i play it's more about what golf actually is. And i was thinking this does sound a bit weird a bit deep. But i'm hoping again i can say i want to say it. But like for me golf is about the places that you go see not even just the actual golf courses. But the local places around if you go away for it when we've been filming and you go to a a random town or something you would never go to other than to go to local golf course or the people that you meet that you you end up playing golf with and there was a weird one the other day where i went to my local golf course to play in the pro shop. And the ladies go to school with came into the pro shop and he was going out playing he said you want to come join me i'm not sitting. For probably let's just say five or six years he went to my school and used to play the golf with him but we're not like best pals but like we're kind of friendly gotcha on facebook kind of thing and for nine we played 11 holes near the 9 and 17 and 18. we didn't stop talking right chatting chatting chain hitting golf shots obviously and whatever now i'm fairly confident lad and he's quite a confident lad as well but if i just had to like sit in a car with him for two hours i'd have felt dead awkward like what do i talk about what do i do yeah on the golf course you just. For me it just comes dead naturally and i don't know for this weird like realization of the day that like actually if you we get emails so often from people saying oh i've quit golf or want to quit golf because i can't break this certain score that's such a shame i think like unless you are playing. For your living you need to see it as just more than just getting a score it's everything that the friends that you make the memories that you make if you start when you're a junior it's the man as it teaches you you know being honest and respectful how to talk to adult things like that i don't know i just i don't i don't know what i'm trying to get other than just that golf isn't just about school and it just it's sad when you see get so many emails people saying i'm gonna quit as a cat break hundred does there's more to it yeah it's not it's not all about score. And it's and it's not all about um like money as we just thought about a minute ago i feel like that's what's being shown a lot at the moment in golf and it's not like i'm going to read this very quick text actually got from john after watching that video on the weekend. And it's it's really interesting cause i felt i felt a bit strange after cutting from last week's it was like he just didn't play as good as he could do. So he watched the video and he really enjoyed it and he said um i watched the video uh thank you. So much you did me proud considering i had a nightmare um great two days. And i think it's brought our friendship closer than it already was you're a great friend to me ah. And i thought that's mad that because that that was like i also felt that as well like we went through something together there that was like brings us closer together. And we'll talk about it in 20 years time like set over a whiskey hopefully i was like you know in my in my penthouse suite at saint andrews. But it's that it's that idea that like i met him through golf yeah a load of my like literally a load of my friends i met through golf like if it wasn't from golf growing up it was go through college. Or being a professional golfer or playing in different events or different circumstances like even now right now like we might be filming with tubes we wouldn't have met him through golf would we poor sturges yeah i wouldn't have met him through golf like tommy fleetwood. Or lee westwood or any of these guys that now are considered somewhat friends like that's it's an amazing kind of sport that none of that have i just said meant score yeah did it none of what i just said then.

Meant about school like he said that to me john said that to me after having a nightmare. But it was like it was actually more the experience 100. And that's you know it's so unique that you can go. And play these golf clubs that the open is held at now i know some of them are very hard to get on. And very expensive it's not as easy as that but equally you can you can go. And play a golf course where tiger rolled in a famous portal there was a savvy shot whatever it might be it's very rare in other sports to do that you know you can also play it till you are very old as well again which is very hard. For most sports we have the handicapped system so you can play a friendly match someone. And have it fairly competitive even though you're very different inabilities which again is quite hard to get in other sports you know you can play with children you play with your wife all the different i don't know i just think. And i don't kind of know what i'm should i get at other than the fact that for people listening who get annoyed about playing badly which i certainly do i'm really trying to take a different mindset too. And just look at golf as being more about actually what it brings other than just the art because if you're just playing to play well unfortunately it's gonna be one every ten times probably at best and the other nine you'll be disappointed if you look at it it's just more than that i think you'd be more often happy than you are sad yeah i agree nice touch thank you i don't know what that was right there it was a little bit yeah you start wearing the cap backwards. And hey man how are you doing it's your boy um. But yeah. So that was a bit of a random kind of i like it. But yeah i don't know i just think it's frustrating um. So another thing to talk about i was at the range yesterday trying to hit some balls yes. And i was having a go of the new top tracer game which i know you've done an instagram reel on i wanted to talk with this game because we've obviously discussed top tracer a lot before. And how it does let's be honest it's fun it elevates your practice it can be quite competitive if you go with a friend they've just launched a new game where you hit 30 shots it's called top tracer 30. i think this could be revolution to practice talk to me well first off i think it's very important. And this is why i wanted to set up the podcast in the very very first instance that. And this is not officially announced just. Yet but i've just signed to be a top trace ambassador global ambassador i know you know this i'm saying like you didn't know what a shock so um because to be honest with you i think. So highly of the software and and the system because it has definitely made practice and go into driving range more enjoyable for the masses yes it really has. So whether that's going to top golf which is owned by kind of top trace. Or similar business or actually just going to a top trace driving range where where now it is. So accurate it's so enjoyable the games are. So realistic and top tracer 30 is this new concept where it's 30 golf shots. And all 30 golf shots are different sometimes you're hitting a tee shot sometimes you hit an approach shot sometimes you're hitting a short pitch it from the shot that you hit. And the handicap you've inputted into the system it will give you a strokes gained yep whether it was positively. Or negatively so if you've hit a better shot than than the system would say your handicap would mean you would do you're going to get a shot back yeah if you've hit a worse shot if you put in a bunker. Or you missed the green from short range or you or you short side yourself you're going to lose shots on the shoulder. And what's good with that is because you put in your handicap before it. So again my handicap is four don't i've really played it anymore i put that in. And i hit some shots like some good drives that were quite long. And down the middle of the fairway so it was like positive 0.2. And what that basically means is that if you're playing with let's just say 100 of the four handicappers. And we all hit our tee shots i would be better than the average but then.

Equally in a seven iron in and you mr green as a full handicap you probably should be putting that on the green within a maybe let's say 35 40 foot whatever it would be you then.

Might kind of lose strokes gained so it actually helps you realize what parts of your game are good. For your standard and what parts you need to work on well it showed me that my driving is my strength yeah my pitching's my weakness yeah. And it doesn't lie quite simply the other good thing as well it can it can track it on the app. And the absolutely easy to use that you can continue to go to your top tracer range. And actually work on your previous score like can you beat it can you get better. And better and better and better um but the other thing is you mentioned it puts pressure on your practice. And i think that's sometimes really hard to do like certainly when you're on your own i think sometimes if you go with a mate. And it becomes a bit of a nearest ping competition or you know we'll buy a drink at the end you might feel your heart race a little bit faster but doing that on your own is very very difficult unless you're competing against yourself almost. And that's what top tracer allows you to do. So the system's really good it's definitely worth trying a lot of ranges now i certainly know what traffic becomes free with the golf balls that you buy um i think still some ranges you have to actually hire top tracer. But it is bloody good well you know what's really funny i am one of these people that always says how i hit the ball well on the range. But i can't take the golf course my eyes were opened at the weekend. So the other day i think i've been to the range twice this weekend though recently i did this top trace of 30. For the first time put my handicap in his four did the 30 shots i got 4.9. So i was i was over the moon with yeah i was really literally played attention to my handicap over the moon i went yesterday. And hit some warm-up shots what i thought was quite good did the top tracer 30. Or attempted to got to about shot 15 a handicap was like 18. i was like oh my god i'm hitting it terrible i'll start again right started again got to about shot 20. And it was like your handicapped 12. And i was like oh i'm going to start again right started again i thought actually i can't bother i'm going to just go back into normal mode. And hit some more balls hit some more balls and hitting it what was perceived as quite well. And then.

Went home and i was on the phone to my wife bourne to death i'm saying oh it's in the ball really well the range. But then.

I'll go to the course tomorrow but i can't keep it straight and i actually thought wait a minute i've not yet well the range i've hit some nice strikes but both times i tended the top race to 30 and quit each time i was well over my handicap yeah. And that's i think because when i'm at the range i i classified off strike if i strike one that's quite good i think i'm hitting it well. But actually when you've got a target to aim at a certain distance try and get it to you might hit a quite good strike but pull it or push it it might be 25 foot away from the green it might be more that would actually be a bad shot on the golf course i think the other thing on driving range as well most of the time you're trying to hit it fairly full out yeah well let's say when you're on top tracer 30. Or just on top tracer in general trying to get to a pin sometimes you've got to hit those like little three-quarter contr you're in between clubs and you never really practice them let's be honest nobody really practices getting that absolute gauged in but when you're hitting more into a simulated situation you've got to try and play about with it a little bit more i agree um just a quick one that how far in are we matt 55 i think i'm going to wrap this one up now. But um we would love some more emails so if you are watching this. Or listen to this and you want to email us and the email address is really simple it's podcast rickshield.com we'll also if you're watching this on video we'll put it below there you just literally see it that easily because when we do the podcast in andrews if we do that which i think is a good chance we will the audio ones we might do some kind of randoms just like read loads of emails just do a bit. So if you've got anything you want to ask us if you've got a dear rick for rick obviously um email them in and we will get through some of them a bit of a bonus banter podcast love it banter podcast you asked the question before on twitter i'm gonna answer something quickly matty rowan says will rick ever try. And qualify for the open again or even the us open no no. And no no no no no no i realize it's too bloody hard uh where's rick going to be hanging out at the open i'm not coming all the way from nc hey north carolina potentially yeah the revelations profile let me stalk him give me a second this is alex drake someone said hey guy how many times have you beaten rick when recording breaks 75 i actually don't ever have have i um [Music] where have we played together bert dale i tell you what jokes aside andrew should have been close. But i obviously messed up big time on 16-17 if i'm playing well i keep score and as soon as i have a bad hole or lose a ball i just stop counting yeah um where am i going to be hanging out alex has asked um sky sports banter zone [Laughter] i'm working. For mastercard so anywhere the mastercard hospitality is i'll be boozing um james t what's happened to ricky fowler i don't know how can i jim sign him. For liv yeah there's been he's really good friends with jt. And and jordan does friendship get lost. For money yeah um he earns a lot of course that was well done i feel need it hamish walker said did you sort your friend out with a new driver after he broke his at the range um no um because we need a shaft there was one in there. But it's not actually yours it's a golfbidder one so you need to bring one in please alex mccann is sam horsfield wasting his career by joining live hmm that's just real it's just. So hot i don't know yeah time will tell i don't know you know as well like you never know this isn't about sam i'm not. But you never know with some of these guys that have what other situations they might have outside they might have family who might have needs for money you just don't know if someone gets after a load of money at you engage it's up to them isn't it john whitehurst if a youtubers team were invited in to live the tubers i'd change the name first off would rick be tempted as long as i'm captain. And i'm on more money than dj and if i shoot 85 every time come dead last i don't think. So now um while rick did question old bluey not long ago he did rock it in the last great 75. yeah you were saying you were questioning it you weren't sure oh. And that part five i don't know what last yeah i i don't want it three would enough i'm tempted to change my three iron which speaking at us earlier today.

But i don't know why should that's so good today.

I know i have it really good to be honest yeah you know i think you need to do probably more which i don't think you do is have them well you've got a lot of golf clubs have like a rotating set. So i've got like 16 clubs now i've got a seven wood and a two iron and a three eye and i'll alternate which we're even going some parcels all knives yes um that'll be some news soon. So maybe you should do that a bit more maybe you should have like a five that you sometimes put in. Or a two high independent bad shot so i think today.

Three iron was actually not that bad of a choice. And then.

Actually use it quite a lot but all the two iron have been on paper better but i hit three once that was it i honestly think this is a silly thing to say. But i'm going to say it i would rather sometimes have no thrill in the bag. But i feel like only having one wood with a head cover on looks and feels weird yeah. So i could go three i could drive it two iron and then.

Three i'd like to two and three today.

And not have a three yeah that's true maybe i need some rotating clubs um well there's lots of live questions um i think how many holes do you think you could play using one ball only honestly five would be great. For me at the minute i played all the way around not lost the ball today.

Um how are you no really how are you me either of us all right i'm good anyway i think that's the last question um thanks. For listening everybody we'll see you next.

Week we've got a really good video coming this week all right oh it's got always got good videos coming every week everything sometimes the ones aren't as good sometimes ones are quite bad. And i might be playing golf four times this week today.

Was once yeah tomorrow wednesday possibly friday too much golf right thanks. For listening everybody we'll see you guys soon um like and subscribe and that is a little dance to. And the podcast so that people have to come and watch it oh wow that yeah. So if you little wowzers if you're listening to this you need to watch the youtube version yes i'm out.