This week on The Tavern, we’re fired up to welcome 2025 Scottish Open Champion Chris Gotterup! Presented by Bridgestone Golf! We’ll dive into his incredible win in Scotland, his strong third-place finish, and his run to the Tour Championship.
Chris will also share how the Bridgestone Mindset Golf Ball fuels his performance on the PGA Tour, plus the story of getting “the call” from Ryder Cup Captain Keegan Bradley.
This is an episode you won’t just want to watch, you’ll want to tell your friends about it too.
📅 Tune in Tuesday night at 8 PM!
#ScottishOpen #ChrisGotterup #PGATour #GolfPodcast #RyderCup #TeamUSA #GolfLife #GolfTalk #TheTavernPodcast
Tonight on a very special episode of the golfing dad’s Tavern, we feature an interview with the number 26 golfer in the world, the Scottish Open champion and Bridgestone golfer himself, Chris Gotup. Let’s get right into it. Welcome to the tavern. [Music] [Applause] [Music] last week. I think he’s back to form. He fell off a little bit last year, but he also became Ryder Cup. Give me [Music] Hey, you know, I find our I find our intro intriguing, especially as tonight is going to go, the whole part about you taking the guy who was recently named Ryder Cup captain, Greg, uh, and and Dave getting upset with you. And we are upset with our Ryder Cup captain. He made good picks, but our guest tonight, we do feel should have made that squad. Correct. And he worked hard. But he’s a young kid. He’s 26 in the world. He’s our Scottish Open champ. Yep. And And uh be Hey, before we get in the interview, before we get in the interview, I got one thing I do want to talk about. Uh hey Dave, happy birthday buddy. How was your birthday yesterday? Hey, cheers. Oh, we got the chalkboard now. We got chalkboard action in the back. We’ve got Woody Page now. We can finally page. There we go. That uh that show is uh in uh TV heaven. We all miss um Around the Horn, but yeah. Yeah, Dave will keep the legacy of Woody Paige in the background here. You need a more color colorful one that has the the red and the blue and the yellow. I have it somewhere. I need to go find it. I need to I know you had you had you used to have it on your fridge, but yeah, it’s No, my little chalkboard action from Yeah, but uh it was a it was a busy week. We had our uh in town festival, so uh um I’ve been busy slinging wine for the last couple days. So, uh, we, uh, we did a little bit of, uh, family dinner last night for my birthday, but we’ll try and, uh, uh, celebrate a little bit later on this week as well, too. So, I appreciate all the all the calls and texts and, uh, smoke signals and everything else. Let’s raise a glass. If you’re out there watching the tavern, raise a glass to Dave. Happy birthday. Cheers, y’all. Cheers. So, with that being said, I say let’s get right into into first round. Let’s go into the interview. I I I feel like Greg, Greg, you and I you and I conducted this interview. This was a few days ago. Um and I was in Disneyland. You were at Disneyland. You were not on your My background has will change a little bit in this interview. Um um but um sadly I was not there. There’s a lot packed into this 30-minute interview. So um let’s get right let’s get right into it everybody. Let’s get right into it. Yeah. [Music] Hey everybody, welcome back. And we are here super excited. We have got uh Chris Goddarup joining us. Chris just played this past weekend at the Tour Championship. Uh obviously one of the 30 best players in the PJ tour, winning at uh Scotland, winning the Scottish Open this year. Um, and one of the things that Chris does that we love is he is on staff with the Bridgestone Mindset team. Um, and plays that Bridgestone Mindset ball. So, Chris, we’re going to jump right in and kind of jump around a little bit here. So, uh, we first want to talk about the ball, the Bridgestone Mindset. Um, you joined the Bridgestone team in 2023, uh, before the Mindset came out. Um, and you were the first player on tour to win with the Mindset technology. So, what made you change over to that Mindset Technology? Um, I talked to, so I know it’s Jason Jason Day’s kind of, you know, thinking and, um, with him and his coach, he kind of brought it to life a little bit and he talked to me about it a little bit and it’s just something for me, I know the use is, you know, much more analytical than I like to be, but for me, it’s very um, just thinking about something else other than golf, like other than what my swing feels like and you know that stuff. It takes me out of my body a little bit and uh and for me it just simplifies my thinking and and really just makes my my life easier. Oh, that’s awesome. That’s, you know, one of the reasons that we switched to it in 2024. Um it helped all three of us improve our game on the course. And one of the things that it did is it created for all three of us a pre-shot routine. So um at the tour level, at the amateur level and at the tour level, pre-shot routine is super important. So, how does the process of identify, visualize, and focus help you on tour win a win a tournament? Yeah, it’s it’s like I said before, it’s it’s all about simplifying um how I’m thinking and and you know, making sure I’m thinking through things thoroughly because I think when you get in trouble, especially on tour, it’s when you aren’t clear about what your your goal is with the shot or with what you’re doing and and just having that, you know, intention. um and a clear one at that. It makes it makes you know it makes executing easier, but it also makes fixing problems easier if you know exactly what you know the goal was and if you didn’t accomplish that you can go back to the drawing board where if you’re kind of in between and you know I don’t know and then it you kind of just get stuck with like a a loop of you know not being able to figure out what what caused what which is the worst place to be. Yeah. No, it makes sense. Chris, I mean, I noticed when you were playing in Scotland and you got put on the clock there, they actually zoomed in and I noticed the ball, the mindset logo was right there and that’s when I really saw you focus and uh finish that tournament out brilliantly. So, yeah. Hey, whatever whatever it takes to to get it across the line, it takes it takes every every ounce of energy to to get that thing across the line. So, speaking of getting it across the line, uh, two weeks ago when you were at the BMW Championship, you were right on the line of of the cut there, and we were watching that tournament. The announcers even said that they brought up your name and that you weren’t you didn’t stick around that day. You got in the car and you drove back to your parents uh, place, they said. So, what was that drive like? Were you listening to the broadcast or were you just saying, “Hey, whatever happens, it happens.” Yeah, I I was not watching anything. Um, I I turned on a podcast that I listened to in the car and I drove back with my mom and uh and I was like I you know I left it out there. I I tried my best and you know wherever the chips fall they they fall and um and then by the time we got to where we were going um it had been settled. So, it was it was I was trying to take myself out of out of the, you know, thinking and and stress stressfulness of of dealing with that. And um and I’m happy it worked out how it did. What was it like when you when you finally got the news that you had made the cut and you were going to East Lake? Uh it’s, you know, it’s exciting. It’s it’s, you know, one of the biggest tournaments all year and and it’s more of just like a a reward in like, you know, a lot of hard work this year, a lot of good golf. And there’s plenty of guys that play good golf this year that weren’t there, but it’s kind of just like a nice feeling to be like, all right, you know, top 30, like that’s a pretty good spot to be with. Um, and and it’s nice, too, with um, you know, obviously me being team Bridgestone down there, it it’s nice to catch up with the guys. because we got to go to dinner on Monday and um anytime you’re at the tour championship, it’s a good good sign. So, I was I was uh I was happy to be there. So, you get in, you’re 28th when you get in. Um and and you talk about and you you know, you were out to dinner with Bridgestone, the Bridgestone guys on Monday night. Um how that mindset technology as you get through the tour championship, you’re the only player in the field utilizing that mindset technology. um not only in the field in Atlanta but playing well but I mean do you think that that mindset technology really helped you get to Atlanta and and was one of the difference makers in getting you there? Yeah, I wouldn’t say you know the mindset technology is the only thing I think the Bridgestone ball itself um has been a huge huge change in my you know golf. Um I when I switched in 2023, I switched at Q school actually. Um that was the first time I played an incompetition and I came in third and I was like, “All right, that was pretty good.” Like, you know, I should probably look into this. And um and then I ever since then, I’ve been part of the team. And it’s been it’s been a really really helpful part of my game. I feel like around the greens, my game has gotten better. And um and you know pairing that with the mindset too is is it’s just been a good it’s been a good thing that I can fall back on. Um and it’s just something that you know is marked off my list as something I don’t have to think about. You know I’ve have faith in the ball and when I’m on the course I can use the mindset and it’s just another you know another less variable that I don’t have to worry about on the course which is you know when we’re out there we want about zero on our minds or at least I do. So, if it’s one less thing I have to worry about and one less one more thing I can trust, it’s it’s a good thing. That’s awesome. So, Chris, you and I both grew up in the great state of New Jersey. Uh, you went to my dad’s alma mater of Ruckers University, so I know he’s a huge fan of yours and then you finished up at Oklahoma with growing up in the shadow of Beth Paige and we just had the announcements yesterday uh about that. Are you disappointed that uh your name wasn’t called out yesterday uh and not getting to play uh Beth Paige? I mean, yeah. I I was disappointed, but it’s more of a you know, I when I had the phone call with Keegan, I he was like, “Hey, you know, we’re going to go in a different direction.” But, you know, and I was like, I listen, I left it all out there. I I gave it everything I had and that’s all I could do. and you know he’s he was very you know complimentary of my year and um and it stinks but it’s also like I was in the mix to make a RDER Cup team and at the start of the year if you told me that I mean I would have I would have said you know you’re probably crazy but um yeah now I can you know I’ll be rooting for them and but I I I do like after being in the mix and and talking to those guys it’s like I want to make one of those teams teams and whether that’s a President’s Cup, Rder Cup, but so my my focus will now be on to Madina next year. So, um, for the President’s Cup. So, you know, disappointing, but a lot to a lot to look forward to as well. Well, I will say that that’s awesome because we had you we all picked you on our Rder Cup picks. We thought that we were hoping you would get that uh selection and it was uh it’s great that you have that mindset. I’m going to use that term there. And we’ll hope to see you next year at at Madina, too, because I’m now I live out in Indiana. So, there you go. I’m I’m close to Chicago, so I have to make the trip up there for that. Yeah, that’d be nice. So, uh you’re wearing that sweatshirt from the open and uh I was actually over there uh early in the week. Followed you around Port Rush for a practice run on Tuesday for a few holes. You were with Sam Burns and Johnny Vegas that day. Um and you played great at the Open. It was your first major. finished third and that was coming off of winning in Scotland where you got to stare down literally mono emano against Roy Mroy um the number two player in the world who had just you know is coming off of obviously winning the career grand slam. How much confidence does a win like that give you going into your first major and then as you continue on now into 2026? Yeah, I mean anytime you win it’s it’s a big uh big deal and um obviously you know to play against a field like that and and come out on top is is very rewarding and and hard to not put confidence uh you know into you and um also just carrying that momentum over is is something I haven’t done when I played well in the past and and I wanted to really take advantage of that and I thought like I was playing really well and obviously carried it over to the British and uh and then carried that over to 3M, too. So, um I mean I think you know it it’s it’s just fun to play against the best and when you have control of your golf ball like I felt like I did those couple weeks, it’s it’s a lot of fun to play, too. So, um you try to ride those those streaks out as long as you can and you know they’re not going to last forever, but um yeah, I mean it’s exciting and I and it just sh goes to show that I like I know I’m capable of playing very well and at a big stage and it was just you know kind of another notch under the belt I guess uh for for those stages and and how I know I can perform. Okay, so Chris, obviously Lynx Golf, it looks like it suits you. Obviously the winner of the Scottish Open, third place at the uh Open Championship, by the way. Nice, nice hoodie. We complimented on that that earlier. So what is it about uh your game that fits to that link style or that European style of courses? you know, I I don’t I don’t know, but I think it’s, you know, playing in Oklahoma and playing in New Jersey and stuff like that, we can get some wind, especially Oklahoma. I mean, it blows 20 out there and it’s calm. Um, so I think I am very I’m a creative player, I would say, in general. And then you add some wind. You add the, you know, a lot of the slopes and a lot of the kind of shots that you can hit around there with how firm it all is. And, you know, you could have an 130 yard shot and you can hit you can hit seven different shots to that hole and get them all close if you hit the right shot. So, I think it’s the imagination that it requires, the shot shaping and and just, you know, the style of golf. I it’s hard to explain because every time it’s different out there. Even even 20 minutes, you know, it could be sunny, no wind, and then 20 minutes later it’s rainy and blowing 40 and it’s just like you don’t know what’s coming. So, you kind of just have to be able to move on the fly. And I think it’s I think it’s just like an exciting kind of golf and something that we don’t play much over here in the States. So, it’s just like different. That’s true. Yeah. Yeah. Um, a lot of people may not know this. The open was actually your first major, right, that you played in. Uh, no, I didn’t want to correct you on it before, but that was my fourth. It was your fourth major. All right, you can correct me. That’s all right. We don’t mind you. We’re good. We sleep all the time. Yeah, they correct me all the time. I don’t have a drink in front of me. A PGA and an open. Okay. um when you you you win and then you go to the open as a major and obviously the open moves around every year and it’s at Port Rush Northern Ireland. What you know not being able you know Augusta every year is at the same place. Um you know going into the open how hard is that to prep for and get ready as you go to Port Rush coming off of a win? uh vary. I I it’s it’s shocking how draining winning a tournament is. I guess it’s not that surprising, but like you know, your adrenaline’s just pumping. I I didn’t go to sleep until 2 a.m. and I didn’t even have anything to drink the night before. Um I I just couldn’t go to sleep. And then we’re up at 6:00 a.m. the next morning flying to Northern Ireland. And you just you just it’s it takes a while to get caught back up to like, you know, I needed to take all of Monday off, relax, get settled in, Tuesday, slow day, you know, maybe only play nine holes and then and then kind of get back into like, all right, I have a tournament coming up in two days and, you know, be ready to go. So, it takes a couple days to kind of get back to earth and um settle down. And I thought I did a really good job of of that. And I learned from my last when I won last year, I played in the PGA and I tried to go out there on Monday and get ready and, you know, I kind of overdid it where this year I felt like I tried to really be slow and and kind of get my feet back underneath me before I started, you know, getting after it again. No, that’s that’s a I I do have one question for you. I um I fell in love with the fifth hole at Royal Port Rush. Um was that your favorite hole out there? And how cool was that hole to play? It’s a really cool hole. It’s it’s it’s just like it’s so visually wild in terms of like, you know, you could have a 50 yard wedge shot that’s downwind and you could hit it out of bounds. You know, it’s just a crazy hole. Like with the OB right over the green, it’s it’s not a hard shot, but he just it throws a mental wrench into your into your head. Um, and it’s just you can play it eight different ways, but I wouldn’t I wouldn’t say it’s my favorite hole out there. I thought um I thought four was my favorite hole. Um Okay. I just thought it was really unique and like it was the hole that everyone knew that you had to step up and hit a great drive or else you were going to make bogey. Like there was nothing Yeah. There was nothing else you could do. Um, and it was just a crazy unique green, unique look and but there was so I mean I can name eight holes out there that were awesome that week and um it was just a really cool course but yeah five is a crazy crazy hole. Yeah. So we talked this a little bit earlier. You’re at the Genesis. I’m going to just hop back to the week before and you were put on the clock. The coverage has that mindset ball there. uh you’re got the number two player in the world breathing down your neck. How did the the Bridgestone Ball the Mindset technology uh help you when it seemed like all the odds were against you and you got a few holes to play there? How did you keep your composure and finish off and become this year’s Scottish Open champion? Yeah, I think you know it’s a lot of things. It’s it’s having the right head on my shoulders at the right time. And I think, you know, me and my caddy were talking about it at the start of the day. It’s like something is going to go wrong today. We don’t know what it is. Like you just have to be ready for it when it comes. Um because usually, you know, throughout a round of golf, especially when you’re trying to win a tournament, something like something weird’s going to happen and you just got to be ready for it. And um that was that moment. And I thought we talked through it really well and we try not to change our process and we tried to be, you know, diligent while also not trying to get a penalty with the with the, you know, questionable ruling. But, um, yeah, it was just it was something that, you know, was going to be an obstacle and that was that happened to be the obstacle and I thought we did a really good job of, you know, powering through and but also just keeping our composure and not letting it get to us. I’d say you did a pretty good job with the trophy at the end. So, you play in uh proams a lot being on tour and so you’re playing with a lot of like your everyday golfers when you’re playing in proams. Now, you talked about how in uh was it Q school that you switched to the Bridgestone golf ball? How important is it to, you think, the average player, not just the tour pro, to find a golf ball that’s fit correctly for them or use that mindset technology? How important is it to maximize the right golf ball to the right golf game? Yeah, I mean, it’s no different than if you have a driver that has the wrong shaft in it, um, you’re going to be in trouble. I mean, uh, for for us, it’s it’s really important to be able to, you know, have faith in in what we’re doing. It’s also important just as a normal golfer to trust, you know, the ball is going to do what you want it to do and it’s going to have the right feel. And you know, obviously we are playing at a super high level, so the margins matter, you know, a little bit more than the average golfer. But if if your ball is wrong and you’re missing three more greens around just because you’re playing the wrong ball, if you are in the right ball, then it could save you a couple shots whether you’re even thinking about it or not. So, um I think I think it’s very important. It’s one of, you know, it’s the it’s the thing you use for every single shot. So, um, and it’s a really simple process to go get it done. You just have to go do it. And it’s got to be something you think about. And I would say it’s probably one of the more underlooked things that, um, the average golfer doesn’t really think about. That’s true. It’s the one thing you use the most in the round. You change clubs every shot, but the golf ball stays the same. Yeah. Yeah. So, Chris, when you were like figuring out which golf ball you wanted to use and you decided on the Bridgestone brand, what was the most important factor? I mean, besides finishing in the top three, but what was the most important factor that you looked for uh in that process? I just like I’ve been saying, I I wanted something that I could trust and something that f I’m a big feel guy, so I can tell in two or three shots if I like the feel of the ball or not. Like there’s a couple that I hit on the range and I’m like no. Like just doesn’t feel right. Whether it the numbers are great or not. It just it it had the right feel, you know, around the greens. It’s got the right like grab to the wedge and it it it had the right trajectory, the right everything. So for me it was simple. It was actually funny. We went to Georgia when I when I was doing testing and it was blowing like 30 miles an hour at the facility and we were hitting other companies balls and they were like going way up in the air and the wind was pounding them and then we were hitting bridge tones and they were just going right through the wind and I was like why have I never like who why have I not told me like no one’s told me this and so it’s funny when I signed with them I talked with Jason Day for a while and he was like you’re gonna hit some shots where you’re expecting the wind to like move it, you know, left to right if the wind’s off to the left. And he’s like, the ball’s not going to move and it’s going to go in the bunker. Like it’s it’s so good in the wind that you’re going to like mess up a couple times and you’re going to have to realize like you can be more aggressive kind of thing. And it was it was really true. And and it just goes to show the consistency though that you’re going to get with the ball that um you know with other things that I didn’t think I had. And uh I think it, you know, it’s been it’s been really helpful and now it’s something that I don’t even think about. Um it’s just been a steady, you know, three years has probably been the only thing that’s been in my bag for three years. Um you know, when you talk about how much we play and it’s something that I, you know, can rely on. Yeah, that’s I gotta say when I switched to Bridgestone, I kind of didn’t even realize that that it just cuts through the wind. It has that great feel and it’s not like anything else that’s out there. So that’s that’s why I never want to switch back from this ball. Yeah. And my I’ve got boxes in my in my room and my brother and my dad always come in and sneak them out of here. They’re they’re using them. So um yeah, that’s a good sign when other people are stealing your golf ball because they work. That’s great. So, let me ask, I mean, not everybody gets the luxury of uh going into the Bridgestone headquarters to test golf balls. I’m kind of jealous. I’m not going to lie. Um, so when you talk about the Bridgestone brand and you talk about whether it’s the Tour series, the E-series, both of them come with mindset. Now, um, they they’ve got a ball for every player and to help everybody improve their game. Why should everybody be watching the show tonight and going to Bridgestone do bridgestone golf.com and doing the ball fitting to figure out what ball they need to switch to? Yeah, I I I personally can’t speak on the E-series because I just don’t I don’t know much about it. But the tour series um it’s it’s just it’s something that you one you just grab a lot of people just grab prov because it’s the thing that people think of and it’s just like oh yeah I’ll just grab a title list whatever. Yeah, but it’s probably not the right ball for you. And not to throw Titus under the bus. They’re they make good stuff, too. But, um, with the Bridgestone though, it’s just something that is they have a lot of options and they’re all in the same ballpark, but they do different things. And it’s just something that if you can get a little bit of leverage in a department that let’s say you swing it faster than your friend or something or if you swing it not as fast, you can play a ball that’s molded better for you rather than just playing the same ball that everyone else plays just because. So, I think there’s um there’s merit to playing something that is better for you and you might hit it further or you might you might hit it straighter and you might not even notice it, but it’ll just shrink those margins. Like when we talk about how we get better out on tour, it’s like I want to bring my margin from this to this and I I will play better just because. Um, and it’s just something that you don’t really think of and you might not even see to the eye, but you know, over time it’s just something that will be very beneficial for your game and, you know, you have to be paying attention to it. But, um, you obviously want to be playing stuff that is, you know, fit for you as well. Yeah, that’s that’s the game of inches. So, that’s where those margins come in. It really makes a a big difference. So Chris, just changing gears here a little bit. Uh in your career, you’ve had the privilege of playing some of the greatest courses. Uh we talked earlier, one of uh Stephen, my favorite courses of all time is the die course at Colton River, which you’ve played, uh both in the junior and I think you played in college, too, at the collegiate out there as well. So I just want to ask what’s your favorite either course or type of course that uh you like playing? Um, for me, my favorite course, if I had one more round, you know, left, uh, I’d play Pebble Beach. I just think it’s it it’s so hard to beat, um, the views and the course itself. But my type of golf that I like to play, I like I like playing in like New Jersey and the Northeast. Just kind of like the big treelined kind of dead straight par4s or with the little dog legs here and there like where they’re framed by the trees like a Ridgewood or you know a court like a Balter Straw and those type of like when you pull in it feels like you’re going to a major. Um those those type of courses are really cool to play. I don’t get to play him that much, but um when I do, I definitely jump on the opportunity. What is your favorite course in Jersey? It kind of depends. It’s I have a couple that are like I mean, Pine Valley is amazing. Well, number one, that’s the that’s the I don’t have to say that without We got a lot of good courses to choose from in Jersey. There’s there’s a place called Hollywood um golf club in deal that is like super underrated. One of the best most enjoyable courses that you’ll play. Um not very long. They’re not going to host tournaments really, you know, other than local ones, but it’s just so much fun to go play. Um and then I like my course at home, Rumson Country Club, too, but that’s more nostalgia than anything. But it’s a great course and a lot of fun to play. Um I mean playing field is great. I can go on for 20. Yeah, there’s a million courses there. My dad’s my dad caddy when he was younger and I used to play uh uh the Ruckers uh course a few times cuz I I went to Penn State but my dad went to Ruckers. Uh so we’d play that course with some of my friends that I went to high school with. And obviously my first US Open that I went to and this is going to date myself was the US Open at Balta Straw. uh uh in what was that 94 93 somewhere around there. So yeah, I don’t know. That was before I was born. I’m myself there. You’re welcome. You’re welcome. Well, if I knew you went to Penn State, I wouldn’t have come on this either. Hey, come on, man. Hey, Chris, let me let me ask you. Um top 30 obviously in getting to Atlanta gets you into a lot of events next year. Uh all four majors. um in the signature series as well. Um obviously looking forward to Augusta and I think that’s what the one course everybody looks forward to playing on tour every year, but uh I want to ask what course next year that you haven’t played on tour yet are you looking forward to getting to the most? It’s a good question. I I”d be hardressed to not say Riviera. Um that’s that’s definitely I played it but not in the tournament. Um, and obviously that’s an awesome tournament. And trying to think of what one I haven’t played that I’m excited to play, too. Oh, I mean, well, Pebble for Pebble Beach for AT&T will be pretty, too. So, um, those two are probably the ones I’m most excited for, but they’re all awesome tournaments and ones that I haven’t played much. Um, so yeah, those would be my two of the signatures. Um, and then uh I mean Shaina Cox for the US Open will be great. Yeah. PJ Aronomic will be great. The Masters will be great. They’re all I mean, yeah, the schedule next year is is pretty pretty nice. Well, I make it out to Harbortown every year, so hopefully I’ve never I’ve never been there. So, I’m excited to get like all these places I just have never been when I’ve been on tour yet. So, it’ll be nice to go play. Well, if you need a place to play uh to warm up, I’m pretty sure my dad will invite you over to Carlton if you want to play. Yeah. Well, I I usually don’t have too much time to go warm up and hang out anywhere. Oh, I figured. I I’ll take him up on it if I if I do. Um I catty It’s funny you said Riviera. I caddyy the Pum at Bayill every year the Wednesday and every year I ask the same question to the guys that we’re with is what’s your favorite spot on tour? And every one of them says Riviera. Like it’s not even close. Everyone’s like Riviera. Riviera. Riviera. So yeah, it’s just it’s a cool place and yeah, I’m sure the tournament’s great, too, but it’s just a cool course. It’s hard to describe. Yeah. Um Chris, thank you for joining us tonight. We really appreciate you joining us in Tavern. It’s been awesome talking your journey, big year you’ve had this year, Bridgestone Mindset, and the things that help you get there. Uh before we let you go, one last question. Um is there one final piece of advice you’d give to golfers out there at any level? uh that are trying to bring that mindset to their game. Yeah. I think a lot of the times when I play proams and stuff and even playing with my buddies, it’s the amount of times I hear guys say like, “Oh, I I don’t know why I went for that. I should have just punched it out or whatever.” Like the the simple like it’s the hardest thing to do in golf, even for us. It’s the hardest thing to without changing a swing, without changing clubs, just making like turning a six into a five will save so many shot where you know instead of trying to pull off a hero shot, hit it to 40 yards short of the green, pitch it up, try to make a putt rather than going for it out of the rough, you know, from 220 and you know you have no chance but you’re going to do it anyways and then you make a double and it’s just like where if you take three of those doubles and bring them down to bogeies, you save three shots and you probably could easily do that. Where I think that having the having the mental like ability to be like, “All right, I’m not capable of this. I’m going to take a step back and play this hole and play for bogey.” I think that’s like uh or par, whatever that means. Um I think that’s like the biggest thing that will help save people shots over over time. That’s perfect advice, Chris. Yeah. Thanks, Chris. Hey, thank you for joining us tonight. We really appreciate it. Um, best of luck. Are you playing any of the fall series events or are you gonna take some time off? Uh, I am gonna take some time off, but I’m gonna play. I don’t know where yet, but I’m going to be playing somewhere. Um, we’re gonna figure that out here shortly hopefully. Dad will be rooting for you. Awesome. Thank you. Thank you. Appreciate it, guys. So, I mean, phenomenal uh interview, phenomenal guy. We appreciate uh Chris for coming on the show talking Bridgestone Golf uh with us. It was a fun interview to to do. Actually, Chris was a super nice guy. Uh really uh casual and just loved talking golf. you could tell he really has a passion for what he does and it was just it was a it was a pleasure talking to Chris out there. So once again, Chris, thank you for uh taking time out of your uh busy schedule to come talk to the golfing dads. We really really uh appreciate it. Dave, like my my mic was still off, but just just wow. Um, I’m sorry I missed that one just with work and everything else going on, but uh um thanks to to Bridgestone and the Mindset and Chris and uh kind of jealous of you guys for getting to sit down and do that. But you know, the only the only words I can muster right now is just wow. It was a fun interview. Um it was, you know, it was a good 30 minutes and he um did a great job and um you know, he’s had a great year and I think 2026 is going to even be a better year. Well, you know, I’m I’m sitting here thinking during the show and um I I got an odds with Dave for coming up from from that show for coming up with odds with Dave. Um I got a new number in mind after that show. I got an Odds with Dave futures pick coming up here. Oh, I like it. Well, with that I got two different futures picks with Odds with Dave just after that show. Let’s do Let’s do things a little bit differently and let’s go into a first round now and just talk some some topics in in the golfing world. [Music] Ready to take your game to the next level? Desert Fox Golf’s collegiate gear is growing fast with over 25 universities and counting. Show off your favorite team on the course with the phone caddy and DJ10 speaker. Built for easy access for every round. Perfect for students, alumni, and college sports fans looking to show off their school spirit. Gear up today at desertfoxgolf.com. [Music] So, uh, I will say if you I know, uh, Chris was upset that, uh, I mentioned Penn State, but they do have Ruckers University now on Desert Fox. So, Chris, go get your I think they’ve got his other school, too. I think they got U as well. So, they got some Oklahoma out there. I tell you what, I had my I had my Desert Fox speaker with me at my booth um, all weekend. Um, and it it just kept the tunes to a minimum. I streamed uh college football all day on it. Um, I only I didn’t have to plug it in until about 6 o’clock at night starting at uh about 8:30 in the 8 n o’clock in the morning. Uh, catching co coach Corso and his last one. So, um, outstanding life and the built-in uh charging cord on the bottom, you know, game changer. Uh, I’m going to bring that first in in first round. I just checked, by the way. No U. Okay. I I wasn’t sure that they had OU yet, but I know they have Ruckers because I’ve been uh waiting for that one uh for my dad. So, Chris, go get your Ruckers DJI 10 speaker because I’m sure they they’ll they’ll love that on the PGA tour if he carries that around uh blasting some music on the next his next event. Is this is this a Happy Gilmore? Is this the Maxi tour? Oh, exactly. But so we talked to the RDER Cup this week and there’s been a lot of comments with everything that’s going on here. Uh and Europe picked their squad and there’s been a whole bunch of takes that have kind of gone on with did the Europeans pick the right people? Did they pick from the right tours? And I think the right people turned a page. Close the book. Let’s move on. Yeah. I I I think that we’re we’re we’re nitpicking there. And I think you can always have there’s always going to be more than six people uh that are perfect for the captain’s picks there. But when you’re criticizing that you didn’t pick people from certain tours and that you versus other tours, you really got to go with who’s your best team that’s that’s out there. And sometimes, unfortunately, people get left off uh of that choice. And sometimes that’s the decision that you have to go with and the team you have to go with. But Steve, you had uh you had some thoughts on this. I do. Um you know, it’s been funny to read online the comments that people have been having about this that guys uh like Penge or uh Matt Wallace or even Aaron Ry who basically plays a PJ tour schedule now. I think he plays a handful of European events on the DP World Tour. Um, I’m going to say this, you can mark this down as a hot take. The DP World Tour has always been and will continue to be a feeder tour to the PGA Tour. The reality of it is if the DP World Tour and the players out there were any good, you wouldn’t have had players like Colin Montgomery win seven European tour order of merits and never win on the PGA Tour. You wouldn’t have had Tommy Fleetwood take 164 tries to win on the PGA Tour. A and what also an order of merit. So the the the quality of play on the DP World Tour is not even close to this pace to what is happening in the PJ tour. I saw somebody say, “Oh, well, they shouldn’t have taken Se.” Se won twice this year, including a signature series event. I would take Se over anybody on that DP World Tour, even if he’s got his BAME, because at this point, his BAME is better. So, yes, I will take the hot take and say it. The DP World Tour, the quality of playing the DP World Tour is comparable to somewhere between the Coronair Tour and the PGA Tour. Well, and here’s the thing. I think that the DP World Tour is a great tour that has great players out there and players play on both uh the DP, they play on live, they play on the PGA, they play in those events that are out there. But when you’re looking at it, you’re taking the best of the best of the best for Europe and for team USA. Now, you even said about Seep not being on the team. I would have picked Se for the USA team if correct he was uh chose to go with his other citizenship that he has. So I don’t know that comment being valid. I get like you want people from the DP World Tour. It would do um it would do better for the tour and better for like the game of golf in in a sense, but you’re right. It’s not as strong of a field over there compared to what you have in the PGA Tour. And to be honest, Liv has a stronger set of golfers that are there as well. So that’s why you have and I think there was a third person on Liv that rightfully was left off the team but could have easily been on the European team because he had a good year. Sergio. Yeah, I think Sergio was someone who you could consider for the European team. And I know your feelings on Sergio, Steve, but I I still think he’s a good golfer. And to be honest, he wouldn’t have been on a 6,700 yard golf course. He can’t win on a big on a on a big I get that. But what I’m saying is when we’re comparing the DP World Tour and players like that, like you have to look at there’s players like he’s had a good year on live compared to who’s had a good year on the DP World Tour. And I just think from a European standpoint, some of those players that may not play well dur look at Ian Palter for years as a European player. Um he just those guys brought a different energy to team Europe than what we’re used to seeing out of um some guys on on the US side. And sometimes it’s it’s not always about wins. It’s about getting those right locker room people in there. And we talked about that with Keegan’s picks. And I think that’s just something Sergio brings to team Europe. And Sergio knows how to win. He may not hit it the farthest anymore. may not do anything the best anymore, but you know, when it comes to a RDER Cup style format with especially team Europe, Sergio fits that game for the way that they go about playing in the RDER Cup. So, I’m going to ask this question because Sergio gets, we’ll say, snubbed just for lack of a better term here. Mhm. Is he the captain of the team Europe in a few years? Kind of like Keegan was snubbed and got to be captain this year. They’re going back to Spain in a few years. The next one’s not. The next I think in six years they’re back in Spain. I think by that point this whole thing with Liv will have calmed down enough that yes, I think Sergio will be the captain when they go back to Spain. Do you think Sergio will make a good captain? I’m asking this because Sergio is always has that kind of controversy controversy, right? And that’s I I’m I’m watching what I I’m I’m trying to collect my words here because I also think that when you look at will Sergio be a good captain? Will he be Sevy? Because I think Sevy will go down in history as the greatest Spaniard to ever captain a Rder Cup team. Do I think Sergio will be Sevy? No, I don’t. But do I think that Sergio um and in the RDER Cup greatness is measured by wins. Let’s be real. If you lose a RDER Cup, you are you are shunned away. If you win a Ryder Cup, you are a goat. Um I I again, you have to win to be measured great in the Ryder Cup as a captain. Yeah. And I I think that I think six years from now Sergio is a different person than Sergio is right now. And I think a shining example of that is Bryson. Bryson six years ago and Bryson of today are two completely different people. Yeah. But I think with that analogy, Bryson when he went to live kind of changed, got to be more of his personal personality, dropped this whole I’m going to be the the heel uh type thing where Sergio didn’t change when he went over there. He’s still kind of the same same person. So I it it’ll be interesting. But I think Sergio as a captain would be a fun uh rivalry to have on the tour and would be a fun thing to have for the RDER Cup or a President’s Cup. Well, not a present for the RDER Cup um out there. So, all right, Dave. Uh you have Let’s get into these. I want to hear these futures. I want to hear these futures bets. I’m pretty excited. Yeah, let’s get into Let’s get into some odds with Dave. [Music] [Music] All right, Dave Odds. So, presented by Nikon. Yep. Official golfing dad’s Tavern rangefinder and the official rangefinder of the LPGA Tour. So, before you know, we’ll just we’ll run a couple quick NFL odds because the season starts on Thursday. Um, if you haven’t adjusted your lineups yet, I would highly recommend taking a look at uh that and uh watch everybody go and manically pick up the Packers defense now that Mike Parson that much closer to being on the East Coast. Um, boy’s not a cowboy anymore. Thank God. I know. Um, so speaking of that, the Eagles are uh minus 7 and a half. The overunder on that is 47 and a half. Um, that’s at home in Philadelphia. Um, I think they’re going to cover the spread on that. I I think the Eagles win that one. Um going away, but I also I don’t like the Cowboys and um I just think that that’s an organization in the weeds. Yeah. Well, yeah. What’s we can go that there’s all the other games. It’s week one. You never know what’s going to happen. Um I’ve been in several eliminator pools. Greg and I have done them for years. Um, and I lost out on the first week last year. So, you know, sometimes what do I know when it comes to these? But segment and lost out. That’s great. It was I got to be honest, his pick was a good pick and it was just one of those where a team that actually made it to the playoffs had a bad week one. That’s what it was. Yeah. I because I had the I had the Bengals in week one and I was done. Had a bad start. Yeah. Yeah. But so let’s talk about some futures picks here. And uh Chris Goddup is is going to be the um key to the to these futures picks here. First futures picks the three of us. The overunder total times we take God up is set at six between the three of us. Next season between the three of us the overunder is set at six. Us taking him over under collectively. So that’s at least two collectively six. So that’s two times each for a push. And one of us would probably pick them three times. All right. I’m gonna go with the under. You’re going to take the under. I’m take the under. I’m gonna take the under, too. And I’m gonna tell you why. Scotty Shuffler. That’s That’s the same reason. and and Dave and Dave stable of picks of Rory, Ricky, and Tommy Flewood. Here’s the thing. Here’s the thing. I set I set the mark. I’m taking the over. Okay. I I like that. Um I like the way he that he’s playing. I like the way that his um his mental game is. When we interviewed him, you could tell he is really focused. he is really trying to to do better and he is focused on making Madina for the president’s cup and he has these goals set for himself that I think if he keeps that mindset to use the uh speaking speaking of speaking of goals to win next year is set at three to one right now I think he gets another win next year. I do. I think that he he gets a win. Bold pick. I think he can get a major next year. Oh, that’s my next one. Oh, I knew that was coming. Major major finish in the top five. 10 to one. I’d put money on that right now. Yeah, I think I I think he makes he makes a top five in one of the majors. I think he wins one of the majors. Um if if he focuses uh next year, I think that that is a What’s the bet on him to win, Dave? Is there a bet on him? I will I I will look and um I feel like I just 25 to one. All right, Dave, do you have any do you have any other future bets for us? Nope. That that’s that’s what I got right now. All right. What’s up? With that, I think uh let’s go into some smack of the week. Yes. Um I’m going to let this one roll and we might have to watch it twice. Oh shoot. We’ll rewind that. Oh, shoot. You all right, Grandpa? Oh, hold up. First off, why is grandpa standing there? Grandpa obviously. So, he knows this is the possibility. Yes. Oh, cute. And Gristoff, if you hit Grandpa, you just leave the course, man. Hey, he kept it in bounds. Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on. No, I have to ask I have to ask the Orlando golfer, one of our uh our favorites on the show, uh is that what you say to Steve uh on the golf course? [Laughter] Uh, let’s go to last call. We’ll wait for that. We’ll wait for that answer in last call. [Music] I’m going to say this because I say it every time and it is the best driver I’ve played in years. and it is the first driver that I’ve seen that truly actually can help your game with the future fit 33 technology. Please, please go out and try and trust me, you’re going to love it. The Cobra DS adapt. Great driver. So, I I I have from DraftKings a futures, the only futures on Godup right now because he finished third um there at the Open Championship. So that is his one official invite right now for next year because all the other ones haven’t gone out. He is 65 to1 as the outright winner of the open next year. Okay. Okay. All right. We picked people with uh worse odds than that. Worse odds than that. Yeah. So we we will keep I will keep I will keep a track of that one on what we did there. And uh but that just kind of came to me while we were doing that interview. Hey, he’s official sitting here the official um golfer of the golfing dad’s tavern. We’re just going to make that official right now. Um so two years ago at the RDER Cup, there was a lot of controversy with Team USA regarding Hatgate um and two individuals in Patrick Kentley and Xander Schoffley. Um, Xander is the only player that is currently on the RDER Cup team that is eligible to play in Napa that has not committed to playing in Napa. And and this has been a big deal. The event’s next week and he has until Friday to commit. Big deal or not a big deal? I think it’s a big deal because this was a thing that Keegan, our captain, has said he wants everyone on the team to play in this. And yes, the big story was that Bryson the PGA would not give an exemption to to play in this. So Xander, if you have the opportunity, and the big thing that we have always said is that team USA doesn’t have the unity that Team Europe has every year. Correct. This helps build that unity when you’re playing out in this event. That’s the purpose for this. Cuz I said, Bryson, you don’t have to play in the event, but go out there and be with the team, root them on, and be part of that. That’s where I think Bryson should do, too. But Xander, you can play. So if you don’t play, which I don’t blame you if you don’t play. If you want to rest up and do that, that’s fine. But be there with your team. Be there and root your team on. But you have the opportunity to play. Dave, I’ll be right back to that one in just a second. New segment. Ask odds with Dave a question. But so Steve, what’s your what’s your take on this while Dave’s looking up? I think come Friday 5:00, Friday at 5:00 Eastern time, if his name’s not in the field, huge deal. And I think we’re back to where we were two years ago with the problems. I think if Friday at 5:00 his name is on the list of players in the field playing, especially because let’s be real, if it wasn’t for Xander’s two wins in majors last year in 2024, Xander wouldn’t be on the team because he didn’t play at all in form this year. So, I think that that is that’s what makes that a big deal. Um, I think he needs to be there and I think he needs to play and I have a funny feeling that the tour is working with the PGA and Keegan Bradley and pairing these players together. I bet you Keegan gets paired with two of them the first two days. Um, and I bet these guys all play together. And I also think you see Bryson out there. I wouldn’t be surprised if you saw Bryson out there in his Team USA uniform cheering these guys on. I want him to caddy for Keegan. That’s what I want. I want him to caddy for the captain. I want him, you know what I want him to do? I want him to wear a red speedo, red, white, and blue speedo around and cheer on Team USA just because. your obsession with Bryson is is just getting very disturbing that you want to see a mosquito around. But no, like I want to see something crazy. I want to see Bryson be a I want college freshman. I want to see him as a college freshman in Wyoming um in a in a Blizzard game wearing no shirt. Like I want to see Bryson out there literally just cheering on. You want I want him to march on uh uh Faulk the uh or marsh on Lynch the uh steal the golf cart and drive it around the field. Like that’s the flag on the back. Let’s go. Yep. Let’s go. Like that’s what I want. I want team USA to get hyped, to get pumped because you are going to New York City to play in the RDER Cup and that crowd is going to be fantastic. [Laughter] right there. There’s no odds on USA getting put on the clock yet. I think that’s too much of a futures. Uh but I would take it as a as a as a pretty good bet that they I I I think at the RDER Cup it’s not going to happen that a team gets put on the clock just because there’s only four groups out there at one point in time. Um but we’ll have to see what the pairings look like. All right. Well, with that, we are looking forward to some great uh more great content coming up on the Golfing Dads Tavern. We got a lot of fun stuff coming up here. This was just uh the start. Thank you to Chris Gotup for giving us your time to be on the show. And with that, Cheers everybody. Cheers. I’m really opportunity to build something that’s [Music] And remember folks, use code golfing dads to get 15% off your order at desertf foxgolf. Also, use code golfing dads to get 15% off your order at golfish.com. Use code golfing dads to get 20% off your order at jacket sunscreen. And use the golfing dads tavern to get 5% off your order at the lights. [Music]
