On this post-US Open winners circle Monday episode the Big Drive Bros are joined by media darling Colin Prater. Prater is a high school biology teacher in Colorado Springs who earned one of the coveted qualifying spots to play in the 124th US Open at Pinehurst.
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[Music] big Drive energy Monday Winners Circle Edition big Drive Spence here with my brother Mitch and we’ve got a special guest kicking off the show today uh one of the real winners of the entire week we have really good golfer Colin Prader uh fellow UCCS Alum thanks for coming on the show and taking some time with us um we have some questions to ask you obviously but the first one I want to start with is are you annoyed by being called the biology teacher you’re like I have a name and I’m also really good at golf I’m not just a biology teacher did that ever like annoy you throughout this whole week no not at all no I I kind of like I kind of almost accepted it as like my identity so no it was good I love that all right well then I’ve got a question for you a really hard-hitting question can you give us the six steps to the scientific method oh okay um yeah my freshman my freshman B kids are going to uh probably Pro probably roast me on this one right um but first of all right you have to formulate a question so you got to think about what it is exactly you you want to do some research on so formulating a question would be first uh secondly you have to come up with a h hypothesis so you have to decide uh what are you trying to figure out right and you have to take what we always call as like an educated guess and then there’s this pretty much unlimited cycle of you’re testing things uh you’re writing down your observations you’re collecting data and you’re formalizing or creating some sort of conclusion and then the process just starts over and over and over again so that’s kind of like the six steps he nailed he nailed it I just Googled ninth grade biology flashcards and that was the first one that came up so you nailed it well done thank you thank you very much that that sounded like my high school teacher like that gave that was giving me a little bit of like PTSD like I feel like I have homework that’s late all of a sudden um one other Science question what is your favorite element on the periodic table okay uh so it’s really tough uh to decide between like carbon oxygen and hydrogen um because every yeah well they’re all they’re all the bases of your macro molecules and macro molecules make up living things um but uh pretty much to have any sort of organic materially carbon so I would definitely say that carbon is the the most important and I think it’s neat because it can be coal or it can be Diamond so I like that answer I was going to say burum because aren’t isn’t there Putters made out of burum like hasn’t Scotty Cameron made a few brilliant Putters yes you are correct yes metals are metals are super unique hell yeah well I don’t think you were expecting us to hit you with science questions but let’s get to the US Open um because obviously it’s been a whirlwind we’ve seen your name all over the news uh it’s been really cool to follow being a fellow colorin and seeing you uh you know get through but give us a a little synopsis of what the last two weeks looked like and if you’re just going to sleep for like three days straight now that it’s all over um yeah it’s been it’s been crazy um ever pretty PR much ever since the longest day in golf um it’s been a jam-packed 14 days uh for sure um so played really good uh got a spot in the US Open uh did about a gazillion interviews um and everyone kind of latched onto the story of the teacher making its Theos open um and then crazy enough the last week was probably one of my fastest weeks of my entire life um getting to Pinehurst hitting golf balls next to Windam on Sunday uh playing a practice round on Monday with zot Taurus and theala playing with Windam and hubs on Tuesday playing with spe and H burns on Wednesday uh then playing really poor golf Thursday and Friday um being a fan uh Saturday and then I was on 18 green last night uh I had have a video I’m I’m probably like 30 feet away from 18 green when when Bryson hits the bunker shot and makes the putt um and then caught a 5: am. flight this morning out of Raleigh and uh I’ve been up since 12:30 eastern time this morning so I’m I’m running on fumes right [Music] now holy cow well yeah we appreciate you doing this because I know you’re running low on sleep um so that was another one of the questions we had too was like uh playing with all those different guys that you mentioned we actually just had hubs on uh like last week but did you ever get like Star Struck obviously you know Tiger Woods but who is another guy where you’re like holy [ __ ] like I’m I’m playing a practice round with you know Jordan spe or whatever yeah uh speed and burns were really good really good to me uh they were just kind of like normal guys same with same with zot Taurus and theala um windham’s Windam right so he he Tes he takes real serious um I think I was pretty much a fly on the wall to him uh but hubs was a super awesome dude like very laid-back very chill um yeah it was it was just really crazy I mean I got to meet Rory and like shake his hand and he gave me a little bit of advice in the tunnel underneath Pinehurst um yeah I was just crazy I mean to see Sergio and and Adam Scott um guys that I’ve watched play on tour for 20 years um and tried to do some things that they do so well yeah did you ever think to give Rory some advice on the three Footers he was giving you advice maybe you should have shot some back at [Laughter] him yeah uh yeah I mean right it’s that’s tough I’ve never obviously had some puts to to win a major championship but um yeah coming on the stretch there you just you feel something a little bit different and and maybe you don’t go through your routine or uh maybe you start thinking about it or your mind kind of goes blank I I don’t know um it’s tough to see that happen especially kind of he’s been so close the last couple years but um kind of like desan said he’s gonna win at least a couple more Majors he’s too good yeah there’s a few coming down that he’s about to win again I feel like I had a quick question about so the practice rounds you were talking about that you got to play with some pretty high level names what does cu people actually asked us and you know I’ve just been just a hair short of quite a few tour events in my day but like what does a practice round look like in terms of you are you hitting one ball off the te and then you know you you see guys putting like little holes down practicing around the greens you kind of have an idea of where flags are going to be or is it just like practicing to certain areas and how many balls are you hitting at on a on a hole in a practice round oh yeah no um it’s normally a t-shot unless like you hit poor one or you’re thinking that the USGA may move T’s it’s normally just one um and then into the greens it’s it’s kind of Hit or Miss uh you make a real poor swing you can you can hit another one but like I said maybe maybe you’re hitting a couple different clubs off the T so you want to kind of see how does seven iron react into the green versus let’s say like pitching wedge or gap wedge um and then they gave us all the pins from the 2014 US Open um um and crazy enough they were all the exact same this the 2024 US Open used the same four pins that the 2014 US Open did so I mean it obviously right it’s a pace here or a pace there um but for the most part that we pretty much already knew where the pins were going to be so then you’re just practicing to those pins so they they had 10 years to uh mole over the last Us open and they decide to roll out all the exact same pin locations that they did 10 years ago that’s that’s kind of maybe the USGA in a nutshell for you um but let’s just go back to your qualifying because you qualified you went through locals at the Broadlands correct um so we played the Broadlands in high school we I haven’t played there in at least a dozen years uh but good track I actually remember enjoying it in high school and then so you go up to sectionals in Bend Oregon so tell us a little bit what sectionals were like because you got in uh shooting three under which obviously is very good but you know it hubs uh sectional he shot 15 under I think seven or eight under got through so give us an idea cuz I’ve heard Bend is an awesome spot for golf I’ve never played up there but give us a little bit of an idea the style of golf that there was in Bend and if that was your first choice for a sectional because I know they you know they give you kind of a a list you select three and then you kind of get thrown in one once you get through so uh was that your first choice yeah so funny enough I i’ never even been to Oregon until the day before uh so flew to Portland Sunday morning uh drove three hours from Portland to bend and then I got sick at the golf course that was pretty awesome uh so I had the flu uh so the practice round was real miserable for me um wa was this your Blu game then yeah that’s awesome holy cow yeah so I was my caddy was hilarious because I would literally get out of the cart hit a shot jump right back in the cart I was wearing like three jackets rain pants it was like 65 degrees like it was it was miserable um so yeah uh 45 guys for two spots um course played really tough it was probably 7600 yards it was 55 60 degrees the wind blew 30 the whole time the greens were concrete so um played my first nine and chot even so I wasn’t playing super great but uh kind of was getting the golf ball in the hole played my middle nine of my first round four under so I was tied for the lead with Davis Bryant from Colorado after 18 holes and then I played the back nine again right after and shot two under again on the back nine so I was six under with nine to go uh and realized I had a three shot lead and and was four clear third and maybe a little bit of nerve set in um and I just stopped playing the golf I had played all day so I made a couple dumb mistakes and made a couple Bogies but thankfully it was it was good enough so um very similar to Colorado um in that uh bent grass little bit more grain than what we we were used to here in Colorado but uh for the most part real similar I mean it’s a Nicholas design so uh he likes to make it super intimidating off the T box um and so you really have to drive the golf ball well in order to score um in at Pronghorn there was a lot of like little Juniper juniper trees and Juniper bushes um and so if you if you miss the Fairway you were pretty much chipping out or taking unplayable so that was definitely the key to to me qualifying was I drove the golfball so so well I only missed two Fairways all day and that was really impressive with the wi blow and 30 the whole time yeah I think I miss two Fairways about every two Fairways I play generally speaking so um missing two an entire 36 whole rounds pretty impressive did so being sick was it there’s obviously no like no like strategic advantage or health physical advantage to that but was it almost like you’re just like all right I’m here like I don’t feel great I’m just gonna you know do my best but it it was almost like a not a built-in excuse you know as golfers we always have those but you were just like I’m I’m going to do the best I can and and not like overreact and overthink any of these golf shots I’m just going to hit it find it and hit it again you know the basis of golf essentially yeah well I I really think it it kind of helps you lock in because you know you can’t waste any energy um my caddy went and got me Chipotle the night before um and that was obviously slapping as always and I took a bunch of medicine and and drank a ton of water and got to bed early um and so I woke up feeling a little bit better better but I was definitely like not at 100% um so I just knew I had to kind of lock in real early um I rolled the golf ball really well I made some really important clutch eight to 10 Footers for par pretty much the entire first 18 holes uh to kind of keep my momentum going and then um really to be honest with you I was never really nervous um until those last nine holes I was just playing golf um and I think that’s honestly what led to to me earning a spot was just trying to turn it into another round and stick to the game plan we created um and get a little bit of luck too yeah I mean when you’re competing at that level and and vying for a spot at the US Open you kind of have to stick to your game but it’s one of those obvious simple things that sounds cliche but you legitimately just have to play it one shot at a time not get ahead of yourself and you know stick to your game plan um but with you being sick was there any element of like if I’m playing like [ __ ] I’m calling it after the first 18 like I I’ve I’m not going to lie I’ve done that in qualifiers I I got sick at a US Junior am qualifier I was already sick and then I shot like 76 in the first round and I just left the course because I’m kind of a quitter like that but there was no element in your mind of like I’m gonna be done after 18 here if I’m not playing well uh no I mean right it’s it’s easier said than done uh being in the position I’m in now but um I also think if I were to do that like Denver to Portland drive three hours now I got to drive back 18 holes like I would I would have probably stuck it out but right who knows I mean if I was feeling really crappy or shoot I couldn’t hit a go shot to save my life then maybe it would have been different but fortunately the the Chipotle gave me enough energy and I was able to kind of stick it out and and earn a spot that’s incredible let’s go to your day job for a little bit so teaching biology but also coaching the high school is it boys and girls golf teams correct so we coached at Elizabeth which is a school pretty close to shine Mountain we I don’t think we played you guys in a ton of stuff but we’d play in the springs a lot with our kids and I wanted two two-part question number one what’s the what’s your favorite vocabulary word well you get it a lot too from your students that you’ve heard from your kids because we heard like sus that’s how we heard that a 16-year-old kid said sus to us and we had no idea we’re driving him to a tournament no clue what that means so what is the what is your favorite word that you’ve heard from a kid and how much street cred do you now have with all the not only the kids on your golf team but like the entire school that they were all behind you the whole Colorado Springs was all behind you playing in the US Open yeah the the student vernacular these days is is crazy um so I to be honest with you like I’d have to have a kid in front of me or like listen to a conversation and then like I’d pick up like every third word and then I’d be like okay like I need you guys to explain this to me um I did I did already use it right I I have been using the term slap in a lot to mean like really good um so I always I think that is one of the most hilarious uh terms of all time right like just say yes or just say like good like I don’t know why we’re saying bet um or okay right like when was it when was it not okay to say okay um but uh and then sorry second second part of that question was what again uh the how much Street Credit do you now have with all your your kids in golf because when we coached the golf team I hooped a bunker shot from like 135 yards in front of the whole team teaching them how to hit a fairway bunker shot and it was like the greatest I was like yeah they they all like know I’m Legit now even though I’m semi not but they they thought it was incredible thing we all like ran up to the green I’m sure qualifying for us opens a little above that but you never know yeah see to to to extend that right vernacular hooped it um Ballin right all these terms that like when we were in school buckets yeah Drano I don’t mean shoot all these terms that I guess maybe we started to use when we were in school I don’t I don’t know um yeah the support’s been amazing right um everyone in town uh former students when I used to teach and coach at dhy high school that they’ve reached out that’s been amazing Uh current students and players um I had a couple of my uh boys players a kid named Ethan ivany and Charlie Doyle who actually flew down to Pinehurst and watched me play for a couple days so that was really neat and cool um so we’ll see I mean I’m not the I’m not the outlandish type so I’m sure probably half of the shy Mountain population still has no idea um freshman always the first week when I start to talk a lot about Golf and they’re like are you any good and I’m just like you could Google me um so there’ll be more street cred now because even be more stuff on me after after this whole summer so oh yeah well speaking of bets real quick I got to get to one of our ad reads and that’s bet 365 use that code All City at signup and you get to choose between two offers of first bet safety net of $1,000 or betting $5 to get 150 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Co use bde to get 20% off and always free shipping the cans they have their automatic disposal part in the top so you don’t even have to like throw your C your uh pouches on the ground you just dispose of them right at the top there and makes it super easy so make sure uh to get the Lucy here comes the fine print Lucy products are only for legal age everyone every order is age verified this product contains nicotine nicotine is an addictive chemical all right away from the the nicotine and the bedding and back to the golf um okay so let’s let’s get into the golf course a little bit because so they announced that Pinehurst is going to be a an anchor site one of the three anchor sites I think there Maran and Pebble Beach um so there’s they’re going to host I want to say four in the next uh 20 25 years something like that there’s going to be quite a few coming up here I think every six years for the next or five years six years whatever uh what did you think of the golf course as a US Open site relative to like what we grew up watching on TV you know you’re your shinicok Hills your wing foots your Maran the real traditional the thick rough the you know the the different conditions where this week you were dealing with wire grass which is a term I probably heard 1,800 times during the broadcast um and upside down cereal bowl greens like what give us an idea of what that was like and if you genuinely like enjoy the test or not yeah um first and foremost right Hurst is spectacular um the whole area uh they just they just know how to do it correctly like from getting there to playing in the tournament um obviously it’s the US Open it’s golf’s biggest stage so it was the best tournament I’ve ever been a part of um and that’s not talking smack to any of the CGA events or other USGA events I’ve played in um yeah right I I think it’s Piner is so unique um because not like all those courses you were just talking about I think the USGA maybe got in trouble for a little bit there using that cookie cutter uh US Open style um fast greens long small Fairways thick rough like you just said um kind of to be honest right what I experienced at uh Cherry Hills last fall in the US amp um so by all means does that test every part of your game and I think that’s that’s the usj’s ultimate goal is to is to test every single aspect of your game but Piner is just so cool um it’s a little bit easier off the te but again if you do miss the Fairway uh it’s there’s a little bit of luck uh you can get a great lie and and a clean line you can advance it and get it on the green um to be honest it’s a lot like a a fairway bunker shot right um or kind of be up next to a bush or potentially even in a bush um I mean I think we all watched it yesterday with Bryson he was spraying it all over the country um but he was playing smart U making good decisions and still making pars and that’s what got him to win so um I love it I think it’s going to be awesome uh every five or six years I think it’s a little bit different so so so demanding um as far as your iron play is concerned uh so that’s what I think what makes makes it such a great Us open track is you have to be perfect like there’s no there’s no two if ANS and butts about it um I was joking with my caddy that I played multiple holes this week uh where I hit the drive exactly where I wanted to I hit the iron shot right on the green where I wanted to um I hit the chip or the long putt exactly how I wanted to um and I still made bogey so that’s just I mean I think that’s that’s stuff that’s going to happen when you’re play in US Open um I was telling multiple people when they asked me about what kind of test it was and I was like it the the it was there was such a fine line between hitting a good shot and hitting a poor shot uh I could hit a putt and I could feel like I hit it a little bit too soft and it would come up six feet short I hit that same putt again if I could redo it and hit it a touch harder and it would go seven 10 feet but um so I think that’s what I wasn’t just prepared for mentally is how precise how perfect you had to hit every single golf shot in order to go shoot close to par I guess um and I wasn’t and every time I wasn’t Piner teeth kind of stuck out and grabbed me and I made it made a bogey or made a double so um I love it I think it’s awesome I think every five or six years them going back there is going to be spectacular um and it’ll be interesting to see the players that come up like can their game trans translate to Pinehurst especially if maybe let’s say they’re kind of on a heater very similarly to like Scotty sheffler currently um he wasn’t 100% so he didn’t have a chance to win so and I think that’s what the US Open wants they want excitement they want energy they want they don’t want just the the favorite to always win yeah so talking about the you know the wire grass like we heard the buzzword a million times but was it basically like every it felt like every drive you hit that wasn’t in the Fairway that you could tell was offline you’re you don’t know what you’re dealing with until you get up there because it could be almost an easier shot from some of that just like basically kind of a little hard pan almost like a fairway bunker or you could be right behind it where you have and I was impressed with Rory’s second shot on 18 yesterday because that was basically screwed right Behind The Wire Grass I didn’t think he’d be able to advance It Forward he ends up hitting it just in front of the green but it was it kind of like a you’re you almost got like a pit in your stomach every time you hit one offline off the te because you you don’t know what it’s going to be could be great but it also could just be a disaster if you’re four feet off the Fairway yeah absolutely um so I was lucky enough to play in the 19 amateur there um and that’s when they just pretty much planted the wire grass and ball would land and go in the bush um and I think that’s what made it kind of difficult because the bushes weren’t very large back then um this time around I never saw a golf ball all week that was actually like in a bush it just happened to be like where your golf ball was in relation to those bushes right so if the if the if the Bush was outside your golf ball then you were fine clean lie easy peasy um if it was in front of the Bush you at least could get good clean contact on it um I think the difficulty was for guys is when that golf ball was directly in front of a of a bush or if it was like on the inside um and it could like kind of grab your shaft I had I had a shot um on five when I made triple and I did everything in my power to like hold the face open and hit this big high cut and I hit a 60 yard snap hook like into the woods um and I mean I guess I I may I probably should have just taken out like sand wedge and chopped like 50 yards down the Fairway but I was I was trying to hit it up next to the green so um yeah exactly like you just said uh it forced you to want to hit good golf shots and hit good t- shots because it was literally like spinning a roulette wheel uh when you would get up to your golf ball um yeah that it looked like it was pretty much just a crapshoot whether you know even if you hit the Fairway it could run off into the wire grass I did see I think Victor havin had one shot this week that like levitated it sat up in one of the bushes like six or eight inches off the ground and he had to like basically hit it like a low fast ball it was just floating up in the air but that was really the only one I saw um stick in the bush I did uh look at like Strokes gained and I saw the different um stats from the week and it looked like you were pretty pretty close to zero in most things besides putting it looked like putting was like the toughest thing for you so would you say that like and obviously how much would you attribute that to like knowledge of the golf course or lack thereof you know just kind of playing it relatively speaking for the first time in a while or would you just say that the conditions were that hard and like everybody was putting it pretty poorly um yeah I I put it horrendously to be honest with you um I I had never putted on Champions Bermuda before um so them rolling at about 14 uh there’s a little bit of grain sometimes you may not know is it uphill is it downhill um and I I burned a ton of edges to be honest with you like I hit a lot of really good putts that just didn’t go in um I pulled a lot of Roy if you want to use that bacular um where five six feet out I think it’s right in the middle of the hole um yeah yeah looking at my stats for the first day and and realizing I I lost 4.8 shots to the field um in putting that’s a pretty I I guess that’s a that’s a a hard pill to swallow um because I I really didn’t hit the golf ball that bad even though I kind of thought I did um and it just tells me like something that I I need to work on putting is is normally like the strongest part of my game and I think I just kind of I let the moment and maybe the the the Nuance of playing in the US Open um and not not being very familiar with those types of greens and that type of atmosphere uh kind of get the best of me I I was going to say that you could look at it from the other side where you actually hit the ball as well as you know the average guy at the US Open or you know above that which is the best ball Strikers in the world so you can kind of take that positive way you’re like hey I hit the ball pretty freaking well I just couldn’t putt for [ __ ] you know and everybody has those days where you know you’re making everything but you maybe only have three or four looks decent looks at birdie all day you’re hitting it poorly and then on the other of it you could keep giving yourself looks and make nothing so that is just kind of the epitome of golf but I I think you have a little bit of a an excuse because those greens looked like just about the hardest thing you could possibly putt on yeah I gotta give those guys that that finished up there near the leaderboard some some mad props I mean I’ve been such a fan for for such a long time and and watched endless golf tournaments but um you don’t really truly know like the pin locations and the green speed and and everything um until you’ve actually um been there and done it right so crazy enough right I I I have mad respect um for all those guys and what they do on a on a week- toe basis yeah well speaking of mad respect we want to give you some mad respect too because everybody sees everybody that’s like a kind of a generic golf fan right just your average player a guy that shoots 90 sees 29-year-old biology teacher qualif for us open and then they’re like oh maybe if I practice really hard we we have a running joke we used to work at a course and this guy came out and was shooting no joke 90 had like the old Ram irons and he’s like I’m gonna be on the I’m gonna be on the corn fairy tour in four years if I just practice enough and I’m like okay and so we used to call him corn fairy behind his back but you were a four-time All-American um you were the first let’s see let me make sure I get this right you were uh the second person since 1985 to win the Colorado Golf Association amateur and match play in the same year and first since 1974 to also take Colorado open Colorado open low amateur so like you’re this isn’t just you’re not just some normal 29y old biology teacher like you’re really good at golf and that’s what I want people that are listening to this to understand is like yeah you’re you’re still on another level from everybody that we you just see your you know everybody every course has their scratch golfer and then there’s still another universe and then you and so I want to give you some props for not only qualifying playing two days at Pinehurst in the US Open but you like I said four time All-American you went to UCCS I want to talk about that just for a little bit because I’m a UCCS Alum as well I was in the PGM program so you guys were the actual golfers we they were like oh you play golf in college I’m like well we played on Fridays and some like dick around tournaments but we we’re not like being recruited and going and playing and you know you played in Alabama you guys played in National Championship down there in Alabama in 2018 so what was it like going to UCCS and how how do you think that helped your golf game you started at Colorado Mesa went for a year and then went over to UCCS yeah um it was it was awesome um I would I would strongly recommend it if if you’re a kid who can go play college golf like go do it like it’s it’s the most fun you’re ever going to have in your entire life um just becoming best friends with a bunch of other weird dorks who love to play golf and uh it becomes your life and you get to go to school and play golf every day for years like I would give anything to go back and do it again um yeah my college coach Phil Trill was amazing he was a great mentor to me he taught me a lot about myself and how to be um a good husband a good father a good person a good teacher um so I learned a lot of of very valuable life skills from him and UCCS was really good to me too um I I was very fortunate to to be able to get a biology degree and and get my teaching license at the same time um and yeah like you said I I had some success uh in college uh I played a lot of good golf I learned a lot um crazy enough actually a better player now than I than I ever was in college um I’m just more mature I think I think a little bit better I don’t let my emotions get the best of me um and I think that’s because I’m a dad to be honest with you and I’m a h husband and um I have other priorities so I don’t get nearly as much time to practice anymore and so I have to be very conscientious and and come up with a plan uh before I get out there and sneak in and hit some golf balls or go play nine uh so we got a question here this is our friend Greg um he actually went to UCCS as well and he we had like multiple requests to get you on the show after you had qualified so thanks so much for fulfilling those requests but did you get someone to take a picture of you at the second after your Birdie on the on your first hole of in second so you are currently T2 in the US Open yeah no there’s I’ve gotten some a couple screenshots I was actually uh funny enough people sent me it um I was T1 there for a little bit with tiger um so oh wow that’s all time yeah so pretty neat to I mean um pretty neat to leing the US Open even if it was just for a hole or half a hole um but yeah it was and then also too me and my caddy we were joking I don’t know if there’s many guys out there that birdi their first toll at the US Open and then birdi their last um so I birdied my first toll which was one I hit it to about a foot even though I think shot link says it was like 18 inches like there’s no chance it was 18 inches um and then I birdied I birdied the ninth hole which was a really really tough part three that stru up made a hole in one on and Franchesco monari made a hole in one to make the cut um I didn’t hit that good of a shot but I hit went into about eight feet um and made it on my final hle so pretty cool yeah that’s that’s got to be a good feeling to walk off of your first US Open you know birding the last like everybody likes to make a decent score on their last hole just to want them to come back again um so wanted to thank you first of all for coming on but I have one last question uh do you feel like you’re going to go on some sort of heater now that you just got done playing like the toughest golf course you’ve ever played like are you just going to step up to any regular golf course now and be like this [ __ ] is so easy yeah that that’s exactly that’s exactly the feeling I’m hoping to have uh to be honest with you right like oh this is a four iron from 230 oh Green’s wide open like this is easy right um yeah we’ll see I mean uh to be honest with you I don’t I don’t know how much golf I’m going to play here like in the next couple days like you guys said um I may sneak out and get some practice but I I really want to spend some time just just hanging out with my wife and my little one um because I was gone for eight days so really just cherish some family time but yeah then to be honest with you it’s nose back to the grindstone uh trying to prep and get ready for uh really the usam which isn’t until the second week of August at Hazel te um but I’m fully exempt into that as well as the mid am so those will be the two real big tournaments on my plate this summer my wife’s also due in six weeks with our second child so uh I’ll probably spend a lot of time mentally preparing for that making sure the crib’s secure for the 70c time right doing any last minute painting or putting together whatever the heck my wife Buys so um I got a pretty bougie life right now uh being on summer break and I just get to spend time and hang out with my little girl I love that I’ve got a 11-month-old at home he’s about to turn one and I’ve already got him trying to swing a golf club he’s not not quite there yet but we’re working on it so I know what that that life is like but it’s incredible that you got to get out and go go to Pinehurst play it and what course so my last question is what course do you normally play down there there in the springs or uh the surrounding areas that because obviously you got to get ready for the US Open somehow so do you play some tough ones down there some of the some of the more exclusive ones how were are you uh playing down there oh I am I am so incredibly fortunate right I I pretty much have a connection everywhere um I grew up practicing and playing at the Broadmore and I caded out there for seven years um so I haven’t been out there in the last couple years but uh maybe I’ll use this to to reach out to Russ Miller the director of golf and and sneak out and play there um our high school team practices at Country Club of Colorado so um have some connections down there and I can kind of normally go out there and play once or twice a week I know the head pro at kissing camels um my college coach works at Eisenhower and then the little Niner uh Cherokee Ridge is about 12 minutes from my house um and the super always has really fast and good greens so uh I’m really lucky I kind of just sneak out anywhere I can um and don’t try and burn any Bridges Cherokee Ridge I was gonna say Spencer’s got a story to tell about Cherokee Ridge real quick Cherokee Ridge uh I so a couple things c i when I was in the PGM program they made us do like a basically work as greens Keepers uh for one Friday a week for like a month straight and so we worked at Cherokee Ridge and it’s low like you said it’s actually a really good like for everybody thinks nine-hole course when we talk to Mark hubard he the course he plays almost exclusively down in Texas to practice and play on for the PGA Tour or is a nine-hole course and Cherokee Ridge has always been great but like it was like the third day we were out there and they gave me the the uh the greenside bunker uh Mower and I threw it out out of the bunker and like onto the green and like totally [ __ ] up the side of the green [ __ ] up the bunker and yeah you like scalped the green right yeah I scalped the green so they were just like okay well you’re gonna be [ __ ] rake exclusively from here on out so uh and then like the the third time we were there or the last day we were there it was our last day they were like we only had like two or three hours left to work they got broken into the night before somebody stole like entire Pro Shop of clubs and all [ __ ] so they were just like hey guys you guys can go home we don’t need you we got other [ __ ] to deal with than you guys scalping our greens yeah no Cherokee’s awesome it’s amazing uh I’ve been out there probably the last like five or six years um so I gotta add to my total I got 10 hole in ones out there so I gotta add add to that total Jes holy [ __ ] that is that’s a large number well and I was also going to mention um if you grew up playing the broad more then Piner screens probably looked like a walk in the park cuz those are the craziest screens I’ve ever played on in my life I actually played a few uh US Open locals probably seven eight years ago on the East course and it was the biggest I I made the turn in one under one of the times and ended up shooting like 78 um and I’ve never put it on tougher green so that might explain why you’re so good with the flat stick yeah no funny enough um 2015 uh there was a local qualifier out there at Broadmore East I had 21 putts um I hit I hit six greens had 21 putts and and shot three under 68 and and made it to Final Call um but yeah no it’s they’re really good to me um like you said earlier right like I have so much course knowledge out there um I think it makes it a little bit easier I know where I can and can’t hit it um I know where the uphill putts are and I think you’re absolutely right when it comes to kind of to to local knowledge at Pinehurst I I can guarantee you right with with the USGA going back every five years you will see PJ tour guys going down there to Pinehurst every single year in hopes of preparing and and playing and getting ready for for for for future US future us openings yeah playing a little like boys trip down to Pinehurst and just tell your wife you know it’s it’s us open prep cuz I’ve heard it’s a great uh one of our buddies actually is going to have a bachelor party early next year and he was talking about doing Pine nurst I don’t think he’s going to but I mean the amount of golf you can get in out there I’ve heard is just insane yeah I mean shoot you and like you got so many courses just beside Piner like Tobacco Road and pine needles and Southern Pines and Country Club North Carolina I mean there’s there’s so many good places you can play down there real quick last one Mark Cal Becky has said that Pinehurst number two is not even the closest or not even near the best course in the area do you agree or disagree well shoot I haven’t I mean I haven’t played everything right so I wouldn’t know um but as far as it being a US Open test and being spectacular um and forcing y I mean like you said earlier with with guys could hit great t- shots and they land in the Fairway and they roll into the native because they don’t shape it the correct way I mean I think it it does exact what the USGA wants and it it forces you to to hit the correct golf shot to play smart um it’s really easy for them to make Pinehurst competitive um and they defend par really well so um he can say whatever he wants to say but and I haven’t played all the golf that he’s played in all their tremendous places but it’s definitely at the top of my bucket list that’s for sure that’s awesome for you to cross off a bucket list item well Colin thanks so much for joining us man enjoy your summer break uh good luck with the new kiddo and then good luck in the midam and the USA amateur will’ll be you got two new fans in us we’ll be cheering you on uh thanks for coming on and uh uh the request of all of our listeners getting you on from UCCS so we appreciate that man enjoy your summer take care and good luck coming up thanks for having me on guys I really appreciate you go get some thanks man appreciate it yeah go go get a nap in yeah nap time for sure thanks again man take care that was awesome what an interview yeah that was great what a what a cool dude um I was going to mention obviously you having a kid him having a kid but it sounds like he’s way better at golf than you are I mean that’s pretty obvious yeah do you do you need to uh sort that out a few notes that I wanted to ask him that I just feel like we didn’t have time for I think the US said they they paid each dude that qualified for the US or for the US Open they each got a $10,000 check just for qualifying no regardless if you make the cut or not so I wanted to ask him if that was true because you know that’s that’s a decent little payday if you’re uh getting into the US Open at least covering all your expenses and everything oh absolutely yeah just a matter of the things that aren’t talked about is because you see all the guys on TV that have these huge deals and have played on the PGA tour for years and blah blah blah like entry costs don’t even become a thing and obviously when you qualify for the US Open like Colin Prader did you’re not going to not go you’re not going to be like oh I can’t afford it you’re taking out a loan you’re doing whatever you need to take but the cost to get down to pineur stay for eight days practice rounds food all that stuff that’s not cheap um obviously you’re not paying for the rounds of golf you’re not paying a green fee over there but um luckily because I heard it’s not cheap out there yeah exactly uh real quick before we get into our final winners final addition rendition of Winner Circle Monday for this US Open Bryson to Shambo I want to tell you guys about our great friends over at Shady Rays I’ve got my Shady Rays on right now they are by far the Best glasses in the game wear them all the time on the golf course I have them in my golf bag in their little nice pouch they come in the green wolf glasses they’re polarized they make the course look incredible I accidentally wore them the other day off the golf course and I forgot so I’ve had him in my house for a few days need to get him back in the golf bag because I’m really bad about remembering sunglasses so need keep my Shady rays in the golf bag Shady Ray is giving you the best deal of the season if you use that code ac35 you’re getting 35% off polarized sunglasses try the shades rated five stars by over 300,000 people also want to tell you guys about our great friends over at coers light C’s light when you need a moment to chill drink a CO’s light I was drinking plenty of them this weekend Father’s Day US Open uh working from home Thursday and Friday with the US Open on you know babysitting or doing whatever I was doing um but definitely get yourself a KS light they’re by far the best beer the best drinking beer for the golf course they’ve got the Twist Off cans so it doesn’t spill all over your golf cart and all over the cup holders Kors light is by far our favorite beer the only beer that we drink especially on the golf course it’s not too heavy not too light still gets you the nice kind of drunk I we have a bachelor party coming up next weekend and I’m going to delete about I’m going to try to get to like 60 Coors Lights 60 to 80 in the four days responsibly 60 is actually a lot that’s when I divide it by four days kind of three and a half days H let maybe let’s go for 40 let’s go for go for packs you’re G to be blown up like a balloon if you put away 60 beers you’re going to float out of Breen Ridge well I would like to float because when it’s time to chill C’s light is the beer I reach for go when you want to hit reset grab the beer that’s made to chill get Co light delivered straight to your door at instacart by going to kite.com dnvr celebrate responsibly CO’s Brewing Company Golden Colorado Bryson dambo BD Bryson just an incredible back nine finishing that tournament out a 1.7% chance to get it up and down according to data Golf and our boy loose stagner from 55 yards in the bunker and actually we’ll Workshop this while we’re on the podcast but RK mentioned to me we need to create some content I may try to get out there this week and do a 55 Yard bunker shop for content and try to see how many like I can hit to a foot if I can hit it on the [ __ ] green like who knows where that goes but that’d be some good content just an incredible finish from him in general well yeah I mean such a clutch shot and honestly so they pulled up uh his bio on the Liv on the Liv website and they it asked him the toughest shot for him what his like shot is that he struggles with the most and it says 60-yard bunker shot is the shot that he dislikes the most out of any single shot so pretty crazy that he ends up getting up and down from 55 yards to win the US Open but the other funny thing was the Pinehurst Resort replied to Smiley Kaufman’s tweet about uh air mailing the green on that bunker shot and they go there’s a reason that we find golf balls on the roof of the clubhouse every single day so imagine just a regular amateur like you just have a public play day as one of the pros at Pinehurst and it sounds like a [ __ ] hail storm because there’s just people’s golf balls hitting the top of the clubhouse over and over on that that tin roof so that was pretty funny um but I mean we we can’t talk about Bryson’s rise without talking about Rory’s claps you know it’s it sadly enough in your eyes do you think that Rory lost this event or Bryson won this event or somewhere in between uh wow well the thing that I was thinking on 14 green on Sunday was Rory went and won this event and good for him like Bryson didn’t play great it was uh I believe we texted and I said it’s over I was going full sad mode full uh Earth is Earth is falling mode and thought it was over when he was eight under and Bryson was six and Bryson missed a putt that was like probably closer to makeable and that but I never felt like Bryson was going to lose the tournament I felt like Rory had won it and then after missing uh you know he was 396 for 396 and putts inside of three feet on the year missed his first one at 15 I believe and then missed his uh you know the the one at 18 that would have really put the pressure on Bryson because the funny thing about golf is he can’t he maybe will quantify it if you asked him the specific question but I guarantee you getting up and down for par to tie the US Open was a lot harder than getting up and down for par to win the US Open and if you’re gol if you’re a golfer you know what I mean by that and if you’re not you don’t but I I think gryson won it and Rory just Rory did give it away I’d say no I’d rather say like Rory gave it away because he was eight under had a two- shot lead once he missed the green at the par three and and made bogey there the wheel started kind of coming off and he didn’t make Bogies by like getting in weird spots or being hosed like he didn’t hit a great t- shot at 18 which caused him to have uh have to get up and down but he hit a great chip in there so the putter really failed him I don’t know how long that putter is going to stay in the bag probably about as long as it took him to get out of off the premises and onto a flight uh back to Florida after that event was over yeah he uh he hit everybody with the Irish goodbye um true to his Heritage he that’s a good one I like that he he dipped out didn’t say a word to anybody the media no one and just got off the uh off the premises I did see a tweet somebody said well he’s got to rush home cuz his wife’s making dinner and she’s already pissed cuz the round took more than in four hours um so that was another pretty funny one but yeah I mean Rory it feels like he finds new ways to lose uh every single major whether he pisses it away in the third round the front nine of the fourth round the back and ey in the fourth round um but I don’t know if you saw a still picture of the contact he made with that putt on 18 He legit hit the top 50% of that ball like he was swinging so far up on it he like [ __ ] thinned so he definitely did not like if he would have hit it on that line and actually squared up the putt it would have gone in because it just ran out of pace and died off on the the low side so that’s kind of funny like of all the things you don’t think about squaring up a putt but if he would have hit that putt Square on the on the club face then there would have been a playoff you know and then at that point like does Bryson play 18 differently um and you know then we get into the conversation of like Bryson shot one over he did not have his best stuff on Sunday um yes Rory is the Dallas Cowboys Greg he uh he finds new ways to lose every week the radio station Mitchell was on this morning before he hopped on they called him the Buffalo Bills just getting there four years in a row and losing the Super Bowl four years in a row well well at first they called him at first they called him the Chargers and I’m like well he’s had some sort of success so you can’t call them the Chargers because they’ve literally never had any in the the history of their franchise um but yeah I mean I feel for the guy but at the same time and everybody like it’s gotten to the point where everybody feels bad for Rory like which is insane you’ve got a dude worth half a billion dollars he’s living the dream he’s he’s won Majors he’s gotten to the point where he’s gotten so close this many times and pissed it away that people legit feel bad like Colin Prader you know the guy we just had on or Bryson saying that yo you know he going to get one it’s like dude you don’t have to you know pump the other guy up but I will say and obviously it’s been a big headline but Bryson has really like turned in the most into the most endearing dude in all of golf in my opinion like he brings kind of everybody together uh he he truly loves the game of golf so much like just the ultimate tinkerer he loves [ __ ] with his equipment by the way what let’s get into the names of his equipment real quick I I think he named uh was it eight iron was it uh 42 for Jackie honoring Jackie Robinson like the dude is just the biggest Square in the world to the point where you can’t do anything but just appreciate how big of a nerd he is here we go so the three iron gamma third letter in the Greek alphabet the five iron aelia favorite par five at Augusta the six iron Juniper six hole at Augusta seven iron Tin Cup tin Cup’s favorite Club eight iron eightball enjoys playing eight playing eightball I know a lot of my friends that enjoy playing with eight balls uh nineiron Jackie 42 oh 42 degrees honoring Jackie Robinson pitching wedge Herman Kaiser 46 the 1946 Masters champ uh gap wedge Jimmy dear dearit 1950 Masters champion 50 degrees uh San wedg Mr Ward Harvey Ward low am at the 1955 US Open can you imagine like [ __ ] kicking your wedge kicking your sandwich snap it in half goddamn Mr Ward like you get it like Adam Sandler and [ __ ] uh Happy Gilmore he like gets up in his face and he’s like calling it by his first name and then his lob wedge King aring honoring Arnold Palmer I will say I think that list is a little bit old and specifically for the reason that there’s no way his nineiron is 42 Dees now I think it’s probably somewhere in the 35 degree ballpark um and I’m not [ __ ] you dude I’m not [ __ ] you he he has them like cranked down like six to eight degrees uh because he and I guess from what I heard like the actual definition of why he does what he does with his irons and their Lofts and [ __ ] is he’s trying to get he’s trying to dial in Apex so he’s trying to get ideal Apex launch and [ __ ] he’s going like third dimensional rocket scientist type [ __ ] where he’s actually worrying about how every Club launches he doesn’t care what Loft it is as long as it’s launching at that that certain number and getting to that certain Apex height so it actually kind of makes sense but it’s absolutely insane to like I have you ever once thought about like hitting a club and you’re like wow that’s coming off like that’s exiting a lot higher than I’m used to like do you ever does that ever cross your mind or is it more just I think for you it’s more of just a directional thing like if you look up and it’s going at your target I don’t think you really give a [ __ ] no and Michael Kim tweeted something about Bryson’s clubs and was like they’re so upright and so obviously all the same length and the grips are so fat he’s like it would take me multiple rounds to even get remotely close to hitting the ball in the center of the face and and he you know we talked about the Salted balls um finding the the uh Apex point where the the weight is and putting a DOT on it so he knows I mean this guy’s just next level and the way I kind of described it to people is is people were annoyed with Bryson because he was the smartest guy in the room or or had that aura of the smartest guy in the room there’s that [ __ ] term for you again and but now that everybody’s trying to use analytics it become he becomes cool and his personality is now very YouTube he’s funny he was you know he said something to the crowd in the middle of a Saturday round was like I’m I’m laying up don’t boo me you know just that that humanized part of it has helped make his rise for how people have done a 180 on him including both of us but I think what’s helped is there’s so many numbers in golf and everything is track man and how far am I spinning it and how how my you know my Apex flight and my ball speed and my trajectory and all this stuff that he was the one that kind of started this and now everybody’s like huh I I guess he was right all along and and being douchy is you know that’s tough to you know some people may still think he is whatever I think him losing the [ __ ] Payne Stewart hat as much as it shout out to p Stewart and SMU product and won the you know us open here too as well uh losing the Hat helped him a lot helped him a good bit in his and he wears this like those foot Joys that just the comfy foot Joys and he he wears the same shoes every day I respect that too he’s not like a you know he’s making enough on live he doesn’t need these these clothing deals but just wearing the same shoes every day wearing a normal hat I think I enjoyed that yeah he’s definitely a form over aesthetic or function over aesthetic type of guy he he likes to wear what’s comfortable and he actually does look pretty good not going to lie he’s he’s a pretty good-look guy like he uh I may have a little bit of a man crush on him at this point um but watching the dude hit those irons like you mentioned they’re so upright and then you take into account you’re watching him hit that 55 Yard bunker shot he’s swinging a lob wedge that or a a wedge that’s the length of a seven iron in that trying to hit hit a bunker shot with that like I obviously it works for him and he hit a fantastic shot and got up and down won the US Open but I feel like I would hit six inches behind that ball you know obviously he’s a taller dude whatever and and they’re he’s used to it but another actually a little piece of insight that I found interesting is he was talking to Johnson Wagner um after the round when Johnson Wagner the icon was in that bunker trying to hit pull off that shot um he Bryson came up to him and just the coolest dude ever but uh Johnson Wagner was asking him about how uh like what was going through his mind when he was trying to hit that shot and he said I actually I actually caught it a little bit more cleanly than I wanted to he was like I was just trying to play like a massive chunk and run and he’s like I actually caught it a little bit more on the clean side so he almost Mish hit it a little bit I think ideally it would have come out a little bit heavier and ran a little bit more obviously worked out but it’s just crazy to hear that for the Fantastic shot that he hit it wasn’t actually the exact shot he was trying to hit you know what I mean like he didn’t hit it exactly how he wanted and it ended up perfect yeah golf just has a funny way of humbling us but also sometimes you just get lucky and things happen for a reason and he you know he got hosed on that approach shot wanted a did you hear he wanted a line of sight drop and didn’t get it on that approach shot on 18 and then because he also had that route which was impossible and that was like the worst place he could hit it because when Rory missed that bunker on 18 He they were like oh that’s a horrible spot to be trying to get that up and down and then headed it to a three feet and missed it real quick so we do have some break not breaking news but Rory just released a statement he just wded from The Travelers so uh Mitchell will be at The Travelers next week we’re going to have live coverage from Cromwell Connecticut and The Travelers shout out to you but he just WD and released a statement here quote yesterday was a tough day probably the toughest I’ve had in my 17 years as a professional golfer I like firstly I’d like to congratulate Bryson he is a worthy Champion exactly what professional golf needs right now I think we can all agree on that as I reflect on my week I’ll r a few things over over the course of the tournament mostly the two Miss putts on 16 and 18 on the final day but as I always try to do I’ll look at the positives of the week that far outweigh the negatives as I start as I said at the start of the tournament I feel closer to winning my next major than I ever have this one the one word that I would describe my career as is resilient I’ve shown my resilience over and over again in the last 17 years and I will again I’m going to take a few weeks away from the game and process everything and build myself back up for the defense of the Scottish Genesis Scottish open and the open at Royal TR see you in Scotland peace um yeah I mean well so kind of in nothing to do with Rory but kind of to do with Rory I think Mark if one other guy wd’s out of The Travelers he will get in which we want our boy hubs in The Travelers I want to see Mark out there um on the weekend this upcoming weekend in Connecticut but yeah I think Rory obviously had to I I didn’t know he was going to take to the notes app you know that’s when you know it’s real serious but he probably just could have talked to the media and in all honesty like what was he going to say at that press conference they’re they’ve given him he them more to talk about he’s given the media more to talk about by not showing up to the press conference than if he would have shown up at the press conference like what’s he going to say yeah I miss two three Footers like what the [ __ ] else is he supposed to do you know he’s not g to dump his guts in front of everybody on National Television after he just pissed down his leg the final three or four holes so you know I think it’s kind of a non-story type of story but this is going to be like if Rory wins another major this will be like a career defining day for him where he had a two- shot lead like you said with what three or four holes left and couldn’t get it done and it was just it was tough to see but you know it’s that’s golf Bryson did what he needed to do and Rory didn’t yeah and shout out to Bryson to Shambo obviously very close for a winning the PGA Championship very close to winning the Masters and now breaks through at the Uso open I’m already looking forward to the Genesis Scottish open uh Travelers this weekend the Open Championship we’ve got the Olympics coming up so still a lot of fun stuff thanks for rocking with us always if you’re watching on the YouTube give us a thumbs up hit that subscribe button on the way out did you have something to say before we get out of here yeah real quick um I think the PJ tour needs to address these events preceding and proceeding the US Open we’ve had back-to-back Signature Events book end the US Open so even Scotty mentioned that he probably shouldn’t have played the memorial like he felt worn down this week part of you know part of the reason why we haven’t mentioned his name this entire time which is insane because he’s been the hottest dude on the planet but uh you know the memorial the week before the memorial is such a grind right before the US Open so Scotty kind of uh for lack a better term blew his load at the uh at the memorial and didn’t have enough gumption to get it done at at the open but then you turn around lasted all the way through the US Open yeah yeah he had too much Clarity going this last weekend um but then you’ve got another signature event excuse me at with The Travelers championship and it’s like you really expect these dudes to play three weeks in a row at three of the biggest events of the year I just think it’s ridiculous so they need to figure that [ __ ] out yeah we’ll be back on Wednesday afternoon or Wednesday morning excuse me afternoon EAS eastern time 12 Eastern Time 10: a.m. Mountain for a full preview of the travel R we’ll talk some more of the uh coming outs of the US Open what we heard from the rest of this time shout out to Colin Prader for joining us what a great story it was all week and him taking the time to join us was awesome we’ll be back on Wednesday live on the YouTube hit that thumbs up button on your way out subscribe we will talk to you guys on Wednesday peace peace [Music] 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