Braden Thornberry joins the Chris Vernon Show to discuss the US Open, Ole Miss Golf and why there’s discussion around USGA and PGA TOUR changing golf balls.
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look who it is Our favorite uh touring PGA proton Thornberry is here in studio Which you know I remember years ago I was at SEC media days and I was interviewing uh Jay Barker and this was after Sabin won his first national championship and Jay Barker got to live off of being the last national championship Alabama quarterback Like it’s from 1992 all the way to like the 2000 I mean it was a long time before Jay Barker had to surrender But so he was the last guy So we may get to live that life as Jay Barker the last one How does it feel now that another Old Miss rebel has now become the last national champion in college golf This uh Dalva Daloaso Daso Lasasso Lassaso Yeah Michael Lasasso Have you seen this guy by the way he Oh they kill him on Instagram He wears short shorts and they call him like the quad god He wears short shorts and he gets really low when he swings and he kills the ball One of my best friends is is like acting as like his agent you know the college guys have that Yeah And he um he’s like I’m glad he has something like any sort of branding is good though Like puts him apart So even though it’s like I wouldn’t wear the shorts he’s he’s like it’s good for for branding and stuff What’s his name michael Lasasso By the way just just Lasasso Go look him up and watch him swing a golf club It’s crazy Also a subtle flex I typed in Old Miss Golfer and the first person I first person that came to my Google machine There we go Was you see that’s what I say Do you resent him a little bit for winning the thing because you were the you were the the national champion Well I guess so One of my friends actually text me about that He’s like are you like kind of rooting against him because you want to still be and I was like my answer to that was like I feel like me winning cuz like the program wasn’t great before I got there Oh yeah So I think you set the stage You crawled so he could walk Exactly I think I think Steve Kerr to the Mark Jackson you know Yeah I think that it put Look at this guy swing Short so short Uh look you watch you got the comments That’s what everything is about is Oh everybody just kills him for his short Oh so golf golf cuz he wears five inches No that’s not like a it’s not like a trend He just does it I don’t know what the deal is because he’s got the biggest quads on earth Yeah I mean he pulls him off more than some I guess But but hey nobody swings like that Nobody He like dips down like he’s doing a squat and then just snaps that thing He hits it far too We played a good bit down in Oxford Oh you played with him Is he cool yeah he’s pretty cool Except for the short time Hey it’s it’s all marketable Love it bro I bet the chicks down there love that boy Hey they like low scores so Yeah they do Whatever gets the job done Shout out to And he But that kid did win the national championship What was that two two three weeks ago Yeah probably Yeah something like that And he’s playing in the US Open right now He got you get to if you win it Yeah So when I won it in 2017 you got literally nothing I mean obviously like recognition and stuff Now you get in the Masters the US Open I think you get in the British Open like all this stuff Wait if you’re the college golf individual champion you now get it to play in majors And when what did you get like a trophy yeah I got a trophy Same as him And then he’s playing in the Masters next year US Open this week Yeah You didn’t get to play in any tournaments because of it nothing Oh that’s crazy I think they kind of a couple years in a row guys that did win NCAA’s had a lot of success like “Oh maybe we should start.” Cuz it’s been weird because the US amateur like first and second place would get in the Masters US Open all that And NCAA’s no one did So I thought that was always weird So they finally changed that I don’t think it’s an official like if you win you’re not guaranteed in the Masters but the last like three or four years they have invited the NCAA winners So it’s not like an official thing like some of the others but Gotcha All right Well let’s talk about what you’ve been doing on tour Uh because you and we even you had been in studio since you were a top tener in uh the what’s it called the congratulations in the Zurich right so that was huge And this was it was not long after you had had this discussion with us and you had described uh you had described to us uh what it was like in terms of you know when you place it takes money out of the kitties Right Right like you don’t actually get a new champ We’re still working on that right now Is that right you’re still working against the money that they they fund with you All right So you played in 25 events so far We’ve got seven cuts made We’ve got one top five one top 10 or two top 10 One top 10 I don’t have a top five I’m I’m sorry Okay Uh two top Wait one top 10 One top 10 One top 10 All right And then we’re seven for 25 on the cuts made How many of those the These are wrong stats That’s not where you get talking about right here Yeah they got fixed stats online You want to fix that corn Ferry from last year What that was I wish it was as good as that Oh here we go 14 events played Yes 14 events played Okay Four of four or 14 yes Is that right yes Okay So we got top 10 in Zurich Since we’ve talked I’ve played I think four events and I finished uh 10th at Zurich and then like 40th in uh Dominican So finally got some points a little bit Got So that was kind of get some little momentum I think I have like 55 points or something now which actually puts you ahead of a lot of people which is nice You’re I think you’re at what 185 Is that right something like that Yeah 185 on the FedEx and we got to get to 70 right or top Yeah top 100 keeps full status Top like 150 all stay on the PJ tour Got So that’s kind of that’s like the weak goal is finish top 150 obviously because you stay a PJ tour player But the top 100 which is tough for rookies There won’t be many to do it but top 100 is like the real goal of like you are a full PJ tour player Okay So wait if we’re So if we’re keeping up on this on this 150 thing right this is the FedEx number So you’re 185 right now So when this season ends if you are in the top 150 what happens uh it will be like a conditional status kind of thing Okay And I’ll be kind of honestly close to a similar spot that I am this year cuz like the rookies don’t have great status either It’ll be where like you know instead of maybe playing 25 events I get in 15 or something So it’s enough to like play well and then keep status for the next year So like guys all the time that are full-on PJ tour players will you know finish 140 but then they play well the next year and they finish in the top 100 or 125 or whatever and like stay out there So that’s the 150 is the I don’t want to call it realistic goal because 100’s very realistic too but that’s like the easy goal like that’s the first thing Check that off Then we try to get top 100 Then we try to get top 70 for f to come to Memphis and get in the playoffs and stuff So that’s kind of the the progression Yeah Okay So 150 is the stay on the PJ tour That’s where you’re like when this season ends you need to be in the 150 If you’re not you have to play your way back to the PGA tour Yes That’d be back to the corner if you finished 151 Oh wow So that’s And that happens every year to a whole group of guys right 70 guys 80 guys probably Yeah So that Zurich thing was mass to get back in the mix to where like you know now if I go I’m playing in Detroit in like a week and a half you go finish I don’t know have a good week there finish top 10 there I’ll be kind of right on that line That’s Rocket Mortgage Yeah Yeah So that one it’s you know everything’s so close because there’s just 200 people are all playing tournaments the point you move up you get 10 points you move up 15 20 spot so it’s all so close so hopefully go have I’m playing like six in a row coming up so hopefully we’ll get on a little run which last year I kind of was struggling early same thing and then I think I finished like top 28 or so like six events in a row in the summer So hopefully we get on that same kind of path and get some momentum That’s when you feel like you play your best Like you get in the groove and Yeah Cuz like it’s been kind of like shaky weather a little bit and like that’s not an excuse I haven’t been playing how I want But like it’s a little you know you play two weeks and you miss a week all that kind of stuff where this will be six in a row I know what I’m doing I know the schedule have it planned out So that’s always kind of been when I’ve played my best golf Hopefully that’s the case this year And so how many of these cuts do you think you should have made like when you realistically look back you go “Dude how did I miss the cut that week?” like of the of the events you’ve played in where you didn’t play on the weekend how many of those like bother you that you realistically think I should have been there i haven’t really had any where I was like inside and like double the last hole anything like that but I’ve been if you could look on there I don’t know if it says the scores but I’ve just been shooting 70 or 71 like every tournament And that’s not good enough on the PGA tour right it’s like the courses are it’s not good enough on the corn ferry but the corn ferry courses are easier So shooting 7071’s not that good necessarily but like these courses are hard Like there’s 7,400 yards rough both sides that you can barely get to the green Like this last week in Canada I mean it was a hard golf course And like we went out there it was raining the first day like 58 degrees all that and somebody just shoots nine And you’re like that’s just good golf Like it’s just like there’s no other way to put it other than that Like I shot I shot one over the first day and like really didn’t play that bad Honestly I was kind of middle of the pack Like it wasn’t like I was getting lapped or anything but it just kind of shows like people are really good and you really have to play really well to beat people Like it’s the best people in the world So it’s just you have to go go do it Is there any of these that you have played in where you looked at the score and you’re like what the hell dallas a little bit Scotty shot like 32 or 31 under and that course was like 7500 yards thick rough Like cuz you see what did you what did you shoot i shot I missed a cut I was like three under or something for two days Like played fine It’s kind of saying I shot 7071 or 77 but it’s a ridiculous thing for the guy to I mean he won by like eight so like it’s obviously an outlier but like these golf courses if you had a normal person play them like that from those TE’s those conditions everything like they’d be like “Man this place is tough.” And Scotty just got shoot 63 66 62 like just just Well that’s where he grew up on that course too There were like some extenduating circumstances and whatever else That was some good golf though Yeah Unbelievable All right Have you played at Oakmont i I’ve actually played like 13 holes there before it I played and then it got rained out on like 13 But it’s Was it for college no this was I was playing like some tournaments or Monday qualifiers or something my first year as a pro and they were like driving up through there through like Cleveland and then Pittsburgh and then I know Bob Ford who’s like you’ve probably seen him on some of the coverage and stuff like the you know pregame stuff and all that He um he’s the head pro there I guess that’s his position and he’s the head pro at Simol down in Florida and I’d met him at Simol and um I like texted him going through and I was like hey like can we like I’ll set you up with some members and do it So that was cool and I wish I’d got to play the full 18 but honestly don’t remember that much of it though it was like six years ago looks miserable that day I mean getting it out of that rough like when I watched yesterday and I was watching and watching Shane Lowry and Roy Moy hit the ball five yards and they are taking the biggest hack they can at it and it goes like it just five more yards I’m like okay Anytime like normal thick rough you can hit like a nine iron out hit it 110 yards or something like in Canada stuff like that But like this week it looks like you take a sand wedge and hit as hard as you can it goes 40 yards Like that’s crazy for those guys especially a guy like Rory or someone that has a lot of speed and stuff It’s I don’t think a normal I’ve seen some YouTube videos where people say like “Oh what would a 15 handicap shoot at Oakmont or whatever but like they’re playing it a few weeks before no pressure all this kind of stuff and they’re shooting 110 or whatever.” I think if you played it in the tournament conditions on Thursday it would be very very high I’d never get the ball out of that I don’t think I seriously I’d never get the ball It’s so long If you see a guy like you can hardly They said they got 90 people spotting balls cuz you can’t see it unless you’re straight so far under like the weeds Yeah it looks it looks really tough Yeah I’m not with that I think it’ll be based on the leaderboard right now I think it’s going to be if everything stays the same overpar win for sure Oh you do yeah I think so Right now what is it still spawn there’s like seven people under par total I think it’s uh Oh no Burned Burn He’s playing good today isn’t he burns He He was five under for the day That’s going to be You just That’s making every putt Seriously That video you showed me of the John Rum losing his mind Oh yeah Yeah That look like That look like an easy putt You do from my They caught him on the They caught him on the mic screaming the I love Mike stuff Yeah Oh one thing I I meant to ask you Uh so last week you remember the whole uh you know there you you know on uh social media it went super viral that Max home was carrying his own bag the longest day in golf and Cam Young uh you know got that spot for the US Open or whatever and so I was looking through all those qualifiers and I saw your name and did you withdraw yeah I didn’t play any good the first round and since I was playing Canada that week and I’d never played the course Most guys if they don’t like if they’re not going to get in through the third they’ll like There’s no reason Yeah there’s no reason I wasn’t hurt or anything like that There’s no reason to play 36 holes and then have to play 18 the next day then the next day then go into the tournament So a lot of guys if you I didn’t play well the first round and I would have had to shoot nine under 10 under or something the second round cuz I was going to take like seven or eight under and um so I was like I’m just going to like go rest practice when to register at the course and everything So I was able to play So how does that work can you explain that to me just from your your perspective as a PGA Tour pro when you’ve not qualified for the US Open and we see that stuff obviously it’s open to everybody Everybody can do it But we do see these PGA Tour pros trying to get into the US Open Do you if you’re a PGA Pro are you paying for that the same way i think it’s like I think it’s cheap It’s like 100 or 200 bucks to try It’s nothing crazy to try to something like that But they um Yeah So like the US Open is weird because it’s only the top 60 in the world and then like you know guys that have won majors in the past or whatever Like there’s probably 75 80 guys that are exempt and then the rest are all qualifiers Like you could be se like um you had to play your way into it Yeah Like unless you’re an elite of the elite player you’re not in Like Taylor Moore is ranked I think he’s like 90 in the world one of my good friends and he’s like had to do qualifying and miss and it’s just not there So it’s like it’s like the elite of the elite and then the qualifiers So it’s kind of a weird tournament which we were talking the other day that it’s kind of crazy that there’s not one tournament that is just like the top 156 players in the world Like there’s you know the Masters is only 85 people PGA has a ton of the PGA pros and then both the the British Open and the US Open has all you know 75 qualifiers Oh wow So it’s kind of weird that there’s not like one major that’s just like truly the best players in the world all the way through Yeah Right It’s kind like no one thinks of that but it’s kind of it’s kind of weird So there’s a cut off Yeah I mean you said there’s only the top 60 get auto bids Yep So So Davis Riley another one of my friends he played good at the PGA finished second and that got him he was probably 110 in the world or something that got him in the top 60 So he was automatically in But had he not finished second there if he finished fifth he’s probably not in So it’s crazy how the how thin the line is there And then the only way to get in so if you could describe to us right so like let’s just say uh like the British Mhm is the only way you could get in the British if you won a tournament Win a tournament They have a couple like the ones coming up I mean you specifically right like how couldy how could Braden Thornberry How could we look up and you’re playing in the last major so I’m not doing qualifying So the only way because it’s like during other tournaments and stuff the only way I will get in is if I finish usually the couple tournaments before it they’ll have this like qualifying series they call it Okay And it’s like the top three finishers say at Rocket Mortgage that aren’t in the tournament get in They’re not already qualified Yeah So like you know you finish top six or seven a lot of times that’ll get you in So that’s kind of the a very realistic way to get in You know maybe I don’t know not all the tournaments do it I don’t know how they decide but you know maybe three or four tournaments heading into it right before if you play well then you can like get one cuz the Masters is like super hard to get into right yeah Masters is pretty much like you have to win a tournament Top 50 in the world or win Yeah And it has to be a full field It can’t be like I said Dominican earlier If you win that it doesn’t get you in Myrtle Beach doesn’t get you in Really it has to be like a full field Yeah Like 156 of like the top guys in it You have to win say something like the Rocket Mortgage and then you’re in the Masters right but other than that that’s Yeah that’s the only way other than winning you know NCAA’s USAM there’s some amateurs and stuff in there but yeah it’s pretty those US Open You have to qualify What about PGA pga does like top hundred in the world and then there’s a lot of the you know exemption stuff with like winning majors in the past and then there’s like 30 of those PGA professional guys in that one like the Michael Blocks like that type of thing Yeah So it’s kind of weird that every major issue [Music] Plus you’re adding in these guys from Liv Yeah Right Like those guys obviously they’ve gotten the ROMs and the Keepas and the Phil Mickelson’s and the Those guys all get spots Yeah People’s like what’s interesting is the Masters is probably like everyone that’s the tournament they’d want to win if they can win one Sure But it’s like you could argue it’s probably the easiest just because there’s only 85 people and it’s not all pros It’s amateurs old people like Burnhard Langanger will play Sandy Lyle like stuff like that So like there might only be 65 guys that are like competitive and like trying to win the tournament You know what I mean so right I don’t want to say but but the field is smaller Yeah It’s the same odds Yeah Like the elevated events It’s the best players but a lot of guys have said it’s still harder to win against a PJ tour field of 156 than the best 70 You know what I mean it’s just randomness Somebody can shoot minus 9 like you like they did in Canada Yeah Somebody that’s Cameron Champ was the eighth alternate to get in Canada He’s playing on the corn ferry this year and Cameron Champs on the corn ferryy Yeah he finished well I said like in like 145 last year or something and he hasn’t been getting in events So and he’s like a past champion from you know 5 years ago or whatever Yeah Yeah He’s on the corn ferryy happened to get in Canada Shoots nine under the first day So it’s like you got to compete against everybody at those fullfield events where like you know the 70 it is the best players and it is very difficult but like finishing 20th is easier in 70 people and it is 156 obviously So it’s kind of an interesting dynamic Wow All right Let me ask you about this Uh so I was watching the Golf Channel the other night and I have not talked to you about this yet but I want to get your thoughts on it and I’ll explain it to these guys the best way I possibly can So there’s this huge debate in golf The USGAA kind of runs golf right the rules of golf etc And the USGA Mike Juan I believe is the guy’s name They want to roll back the ball They say guys like Braden Thornberry and the rest of them it’s all the golf is now turned into slam it out there and pitching wedge into the green and now we’re putting right and so they’re not going to mess with the equipment much like they put limits on the equipment but the best way in their mind is to roll back the ball The players don’t want the roll back Nobody wants to roll back right but they’re saying for the future of the game this would be like if uh you know if the commissioner of Major League Baseball said we’ve got to change the ball and either way right we’ve got to make it hotter so that we get more home runs or we’ve got to deaden it because we’ve got too many home runs whatever the case may be But they’re basically saying we want to go back to a ball that and of course the golf ball companies hate this too right and because now the golf ball companies have to change literally everything they do zillions of dollars And so then there’s this whole it’s called bifurcation which would basically mean that guys like Braden and guys that are on the PGA Tour or guys that are in the cornfairy the pros right they have to use a different ball Like they’re using a different ball but everything else stays the same for guys like me like amateurs you guys are all still using the same ball but these guys are going to be using a different ball which a lot of people support because they say those guys play different TE’s and those guys have better equipment you know and different equipment than everybody anyway And honestly the problem is not with amateur golf right amateur golf the best thing to do is be able to hit the ball farther And everybody sells speed and distance anyway Whereas on the PGA Tour if you’re trying to roll something back and change the game to make it a more skill-based game right instead of just uh who can cuz there’s going to come a time where a guy like this Lassaso or whatever there’s going to be somebody come along that hits the ball freaking 380 yards right and so that’s and and their idea is the athletes there really is going to be a happy Gilmore The athletes in this just keep getting bigger and stronger and they swing speeds and you saw what Bryson did I s I was watching yesterday Bryson hit a fiveiron 37 yards off the tea Yeah I said what the My five goes 90 yards Yeah 307 Yeah Okay So there they’re not the same levels right yes They’re not the same Like you’re probably what you’re probably tour average right now right but you consistently drive the ball over 300 yards carry right i carry it like 295 probably roll It’s averaging three 10 or 15 Yeah three or 10 or 15 right that’s not what anybody I play with Maybe one guy but like that’s just not what amateurs do But the pros are all against this bifurcation They don’t want a different ball than everybody else Yes and and so they don’t want the different ball than everybody else and now everybody’s basically standing up against the USGA and everybody’s kind of aligned themselves saying yeah USGA is saying we want to do this and this is what’s best for golf and everybody else is saying don’t do this and then the pros are saying but we don’t want to have one ball for us and one ball for everybody else it’s all just a mess right this whole ball roll back controversy and so I watched the whole debate that was going on on Golf Channel the other night and I want to know as a as as a PGA Tour player where you kind of stand on this whole when they’re talking about rolling back the golf ball to make it less hot and make the game a little bit different I don’t totally have a side yet But I what I will say I don’t think the bifurcation is the way at all You don’t i don’t think because where does so like Lasasso he wins NCAA’s are they playing it in that tournament or no and then like the next week if he’s playing in the US Open he’s just got to play a whole different ball that he’s ever played So that’s the the tricky part is like playing with a ball for 15 years It’s like “All right I’m turning pro because I’m so good at with my game.” And then you have to play a completely different product that you never never played I think that’s the biggest like you know Monday a guy Monday qualifies in It’s like “All right here’s your ball you never played before.” So like stuff like that I think that’s probably the biggest problem and the whole thing because you would have to cut off competition What competition would include that it’s like playing basketball like you you hoop with a 29 all your life in high school like college and you get to the league and they’re like you’re going to play with 30 now You’re playing with a bigger a bigger ball cuz it’s bigger athletes right when you go pro it’s like here’s game one good luck shooting this heavier ball and you’re like god you’re like I’ve literally been working my whole life to dial in what I got here Exactly It’s like baseball I mean the ma like minors and majors you’re using a wooden bat the rest of the time you play baseball college little league like you’re using about which I think even those things wouldn’t make as big of a difference as golf because it’s like you’re using it every time You have to be so precise Like think about how painful it would be though to like I mean and this is why they they they say governance is hard That’s what the guy keeps saying because bro I bet I have 200 golf balls at my house right like and everybody’s got golf balls that plays golf and it’s causes a lot of problems No but what I’m saying is how long till those sift their way out right you know what I’m saying like we’re not testing guys are playing for 10 years Yeah We’re not testing your golf ball and and then people are stocking up on golf balls for the next I mean you could theoretically have 20 years worth of golf balls I have a lot Yes Right And then what are they going to do test your golf ball like you’re using the old Prov1 but the new Prov1 doesn’t go as far Not it just seems like they got a mess on their hands What’s if they’re going to try to do Yeah What’s interesting is I think too one golf is in a great spot Like I feel like about as good as it’s been in in a long time Like there’s a lot of people are watching It’s people are loving it More people are playing it All that kind of stuff So I think it’s that’s like that’d be the most massive change like in golf history So it just seems risky But also like to what you say with Bryson like not everyone can do what he did and two puts in the work to do what he did So I think that like it’s not like he was just born and can hit a 5 iron 300 yards like you said Like he literally for like a year and a half gained 50 lbs bulking doing all this crazy gym stuff drinking eight protein shakes a day and all that and swinging the club literally like swinging 300 times a day as hard as he can all this crazy stuff There’s a video you can find and he’s he’s telling people how to hit the ball farther or whatever bro He’s swinging the club as hard and as violently as he can like 500 times in a I don’t know how he didn’t get I mean he had a lot of good people around him that knew what they were doing with like the science part of it butchan so yeah so he was like it’s basically a 2-year thing I’m going to gain all this weight get as strong bulky as I can swing as I can now he’s lost like 40 lbs he looks great now like kind of thicker but like in good shape and like that was a lot of work and I think he which you always will be rewarded even if they make the golf ball shorter he’s still going to hit farther than someone else but I think that like that’s not always discussed about like in the part of like yeah he’s hitting it far but it’s not just the club like or just the ball right like he did a lot of work and like earned that advantage because like not every guy on the PJ tour even is hitting it 300 in the air Like there’s a lot of guys that fly at 275 and like stuff like that And I I do see the USGA’s part of like wanting more courses back in the mix and stuff but at the same time all these courses are taking trees out Like you’ve seen Oakmont take all the trees out The trees are the best real defense for for golf really and rough because Yeah If you Well even mainly the trees though because rough can honestly make the longer people more of an advantage cuz if everyone’s sitting in the rough they that’s what happened at Wingfoot when Bryson won They made the fairways 18 yards wide So the guy that hits at 280 and Bryson hits at 340 are all in the rough So of course he has the advantage So it needs to be like a good balance of like rewarding straight driving where like you know if there trees right off the tea Bryson can’t hit it over the corner at 350 He’s got to he’s got to hit the four iron out here and stuff Maybe he’s hitting four iron when Brian Harmon’s hitting a 3-wood but like they still have to play the same game So I think there are other ways to combat it I just think that no other sport like tones back technology when like people are liking everything that’s going on in the sport So I don’t know I just think like they’re not raising the rim to the honest Do you buy that we’re going to look up in 15 years though and it’s going to be ridiculous because now all of a sudden guys are I mean people aren’t hitting it that much farther than they were probably like 15 years ago really Like if you look at it it’s like six yards It’s like yeah that’s something but is it I think they cap it where it is now I just think the safest thing there’s only a couple of Rories that are hitting that ball 335 Victor Mana shows up in golf That’s right You know what I’m saying who’s going to be the Victor though but like part of that is like here’s the golf course people play and like we play a lot harder courses than the casual course But like part of it if if Victor shows up and he can hit 400 yards like that’s cuz he’s good not because the course is too short necessarily Like I think you know going out and dunk on people it’s not cuz the rim’s too short You’re just a beast Like so there’s part of that too And I just think in an ideal world the ball would go say 10% shorter whatever it is But I think they should have done that 15 20 years ago instead of letting it get to the point now where like we got to take it back I just think that’s it just opens so many problems that I think are they just don’t need to do What about equipment they can make the driver smaller probably Like that would definitely make things harder cuz like right now way harder Yeah You can hit stuff a little off center and if you’re like swinging well it still will like go in the fairway 300 yards So like you know to me that would be the easiest thing to fix is to make the driver head smaller Like even if you look back at like the Tiger stuff I mean it’s way easier than the ball That’s stuff his driver looks like a hybrid now Like just make it it’s 460 cc’s or whatever right now Just say like 370 max or whatever They could do whatever number they want And the manufacturers they’re always making like new clubs That wouldn’t be that hard Like you know all the companies are making many drivers and stuff The other thing is some I I say this as somebody who’s not good You get some of these new these new like fairway woods and hybrids It’s almost impossible to suck Yeah I’m not kidding They’re that hot Yeah I went and hit some of those the other day and I mean they all just Yeah All the And you don’t even have to hit it on the face and they fly and the dispersion’s short Yeah I think that’s definitely a misconception cuz they no one I feel like talks about the driver and stuff They all talk about the ball but like the ball from like 15 years ago is not I mean it is different It’ll fly straighter now and like with a little bit but I just don’t think that’s I think if you made the driver smaller if you’re going to do anything but I really don’t think the distance is as bad You know like how stuff goes like pace of play was the big thing people were talking about last year early in the year like stuff kind of comes in and out Like when I play a golf course like last week in Canada I don’t I’m not like overpowering the golf course Like no like maybe Rory is but again I don’t care if some people are if that’s your strength Like if I my strength’s putting and his is driver like I don’t care if he overpowers a certain hole Like I think it’s part of having skill but like I just don’t think the courses we play are necessarily everyone acts like everyone’s hitting driver lob wedge every hole Like a lot of these holes are 490 and you have 210 in and stuff like that Like it’s not like even like Spring Creek you play the back TE’s like you’re not hitting driver wedge every hole All the par threes are 220 Like so I don’t know I think that yes you do lose some courses that are in you know downtown like a Memphis Country Club stuff like that But like I don’t know other sports you just don’t compare to what like worked in 1950 You know what I mean are you married to your golf ball have you used the same one forever yeah I’ve always used a pretty much a variation of the Pro1X And you you’ll like this Dev I wonder like you know how like some guys especially basketball guys like they might be married to a type of shoe or they might be whatever right I’m always interested do you think so you use what proy 1x okay if I just gave you a call chrome tour do you think it makes any difference for you for sure yeah you do yeah for there a big difference yeah I mean you could figure it out with it and like a lot of guys play good with it obviously I’m saying if I if we went out today and I just said no you’re using these you think you would have a profound effect on your game I mean I could shoot a good score with it but it certainly on the first couple holes I’m going to see differences in height spin maybe it’s worse than the wind or whatever It It definitely is a lot different That big that big a difference to how you are For example just the Titalist Pro 1X is very different year to year So I played the 2023 one still cuz the 2025 is a little spinny and the 2021 was super spinny Like I couldn’t even hardly get it through the wind Like it would hurt it 15 more yards than the one I’m playing right now And then like the left dash I don’t know if you’ve seen that Like it’ll probably it goes probably 10 yards farther with like a five iron than like mine Like it makes a big difference if you’re like if you’re on Trackman or something actually looking at the spin rates and ball speeds and all that It’s it’s a big difference Not to say they’re not consistent because the and you think that’s the thing that and the reason I’m bringing this up is because the ball is like the that’s the controversy right now as as much as you want to say it’s a contro the discussion that the debate they’re having a lot in on the golf channel in the golf world and it all came to a head obviously because everybody’s there at the US Open so everybody spoke about it I was telling these guys the other day right there was this caddy that um and and I saw I I actually No I I watched this video um of Scotty Sheffller and he was with like those uh the foreplay guys uh from Bar Stool right and he had to use Trent’s clubs Yeah I mean he’s throwing freaking darts at everything And it’s like okay like it’s me right and I I’ve had that I’ve had that happen before right it was like damn Right I’ve had that happen before where I told them we had a caddy for this event It was a college golfer and I was like “Hey man Just go ahead You can hit the drive on this one.” And he got out He hit the damn thing 350 yards down the middle And I was like “Okay.” So my driver right something’s going on here And so I I wonder right do you think it would have a bigger effect if you had to go play with my clubs today or my ball today what ball do you play if it’s a different ball let’s just say I have a Callaway uh Chrome Tour Um I would say which is a bigger difference for you The I’d rather play I would rather play a different ball with my clubs than my ball with your clubs It’s kind of weird like you play so much to me Like the Pro1X the 2023 is like kind of the perfect ball for me And like to me it’s like it’s the ball is zeroed out Like everything else is a factor but like I know exactly what it’s doing So it’s nice to have like everything like the wind I can only worry about the wind I don’t have to worry about this coming out different than I think and all that So like if I played a different ball if you gave me whatever a Cowboy stricks on different titles whatever I do think it would be I one I would know what the ball does already because I kind of know like why people play certain balls if they’re spinnier or launch high or whatever But I would rather play a different ball If you gave me your clubs with my ball like the ball is not going to like overcome like my clubs Yeah Well it’s not even necessarily I don’t know what clubs you have but it’s not even necessarily the club It’s the shafts If I took your ping driver head and put like the shaft that I use in it it would probably be fine for the day Like it might not be as dialed in as what mine is right now But like I think the shafts with like a driver makes a bigger difference probably than the head if I had to just go do you know one Oh that’s for sure I I can even tell you that because I was playing with these guys a couple weeks ago and and the guy’s like “Just tip hit it with mine.” And he gave it to me and it was like a senior shaft Oh my god Have you had those i mean it’s like hitting it’s like hitting the ball with a noodle Yeah You time it up because there’s just no way there So because seniors are trying to get more punch out there cuz they’re not bringing the club back and swinging it hard So so the thing it Well it bends You know what I’m saying like if you swing it hard So if anybody that swings it with any kind of velocity that thing just Yeah The thing just bends completely Whereas you know a senior just Yeah It’s perfect He’s just tinking it down the middle right yeah for sure Have you seen those autoflex shafts those pink ones nuhuh They’re like $900 or something crazy but they’re like Adam Scott used it for a little bit and like a couple people have tried it but like they’re a senior shaft like flex times three and it’s like for like high speeds though and it feels crazy but you can just rip it like if you on the range it’s amazing It’s legal Yeah If you hit on the range it’s amazing but like on the course it’s like terrifying cuz there’s like water right and you’re feeling the club head just bend up there and everything But you should try it one time and see somebody snaps back It snaps back like perfect in theory but it’s I mean you’ll see like Adam Scott used it for like two weeks and he’s like “Nah I can’t do this anymore.” Like it feels weird You do get more speed though Like at the time I’ve hit like higher ball speeds now but like maybe four or five years ago I’d never hit like 120 club head speed before I always could get like 118 119 First swing with that 121 like first swing like kind of cold everything Like it adds speed It’s just like I mean it has to be more inconsistent when it’s snapping that much and everything But you should try it if you ever got ever get the chance All right So let me get your final say on the whole you just wouldn’t roll the ball back at all I just don’t think it’s worth it I think I would rather it go You’re against the roll back It’s kind of a weird take I guess I would rather it go shorter but I don’t think it’s worth it I don’t think the risk is worth the reward Oh let me ask you another thing I meant to ask you when you mentioned the whole because this was crazy You said that what is it 2023 Titus Pro V1X So you’re Titus gives you balls right because you’ve got a Titus D Do you have to tell them do they just have 2023s like that they have all the way back to I think they Oh so you request a specific year from them yeah every Yeah because they have like they’re like “Yeah we have 17 ball.” I don’t know how many is some like 17 ball variations you can play from And most of them are the year Like obviously like there’s two each year So that might account for like eight but then there’s like the Prov1x Star the Dash the Prov1 Dot Like there’s all these different variations that are and I think the dash is the only one that’s available like to the public but because they’re they are like subtle stuff like unless you’re like really good you’re not gonna like see the difference like but like the stars a little spinnier the dot spins a little less and launch a little lower So like stuff like that it’s good when you’re like have people that are dialed in but like for the regular golfer they’re still like prov1 and pro1x they’re just like tweaked a little bit Well I’m saying you tell them I need more 2023 Pro V1X They just have like if I need more at home I just like text my guy and like he sends it and like they’re super fast Like next day or two days How do you know they’re 2023s he just The box looks different too And the line on it is different too You can always tell off that the little like you know stamp over the Pro 1X I’ll be damned If you look at them they’re all completely different But the But I couldn’t buy 2023s right i mean no you probably have to get off off eBay or something but there I mean they’re very little difference in the years but the um so I they just have it on my like file cuz the Tylus guys are there every week So just in my locker they put like three dozen of whatever ball you play every week And they’re like they’re always right in there So it’s nice Wow Whatever glove you play whatever ball you play whatever So all right Uh on the on the whole what do you got going forward you say when do you start the six in a row um so what’s the day friday Yes So I’m leaving next Saturday to go up to Detroit I’ll play like I don’t know the order Detroit John Deere uh the one in Kentucky Reno Minneapolis and then something else There’s like six in a row coming up So have you played with anybody super cool yet i told you you can’t play with anybody hardly your rookie year It’s like they don’t put you with anybody It’s all just it’s people that they got to be up there on the final people that are going to get no gallery We were near Rory We were near We were near Did you wave to him yeah In Where are all those people going i’m playing You wouldn’t believe last week around Rory’s group and even though he shot nine over whatever like there was probably six deep there’s this dry ball par four like number six out there or something It was six or seven deep around the entire hole It was cra probably half the fans on the whole golf course are there It’s crazy Yeah Damn But the uh where has been the best crowd that you played m Zurich where I you’re like this is a scene like this is fun Zurich was not the most people but like so I was with Hayden Buckley was my teammate We’re both from the south and they liked us a lot So that was probably the most on our team and you played great Yeah So that was the most like we were in the mix Like when I was saying Rory he was like the group two groups behind us or something So it was a a lot of energy people rooting for us and all that Canada last week was a lot of people Uh Dallas was a lot of people Well they’re honestly all the ones that are like full field in big cities I mean there’s I don’t know what the number is It’s got to be 50,000 people or something like on the course It’s pretty there’s a it’s like honestly pretty chaotic out there Like there’s carts going everywhere people walking yelling each other concession Like you definitely have to like learn to block that stuff out which luckily I’m not bothered by that stuff as much as some But like have you had you had to respond to anybody in the crowd has anybody turned you there was one in Dallas that um he was like we were like one of the last through it was like kind of that party hole like number 16 at Scottsdale type thing It was on 17 there and like we came through late so there wasn’t quite as many people there and this guy’s like “Yeah this putt doesn’t break left.” Like people think everybody’s missing it high or whatever And like you never know if you should listen or not because you don’t know if they’re like messing with you But so like and then like I walk off and like he’s still chirping I think it’s just like a drunk fan or something It’s one of the volunteers like of the tournament Like what are you doing bro like you can’t be like chirping people when they’re literally like working the tournament So that was that was that was probably the weirdest one of the year Dude honestly the the fans aren’t at that distracting cuz like when they’re outside of the ropes they’re doing their thing talking like white noise basically like whatever A lot of times my personal issue is the volunteers always are like staying quiet cuz I play super fast So like I’m over the ball and about to pull it back and they’re like telling people to stand still and be quiet and honestly like they’re sometimes more distracting for me personally So like that’s a little frustrating cuz you also like you want to be nice to them cuz like they’re obviously helping out and you need them at the tournaments all that but it’s always frustrating when it’s like all right everything’s good and they’re telling people to be quiet and you’re like all right oh because a lot of guys take a long time to set up at their ball and swing So I’m almost like pulling it back You stand over the ball and swing Yeah So it’s like sometimes you don’t right Yeah But overall it’s Oberg does that too Yeah He’s super Oberg walks up He does his one little move backwards and then just hits it and starts walking God And Cupcake does it too Yeah And I think that’s the best way to do like Of course it is Overthinking bro All that waggling and all that You look at the best like in any sport they’re all fast Like Steph Curry shooting free throws the best kickers all of them It’s like there’s not overthinking and all this stuff It’s all reaction Just hold it and think about what you’re about to do Yeah Tom Sha and Tom Steph Curry and see what the Toms are You know what I mean like Oh for real Just trying to catch him I do I do I do want to ask you this This is just total hypothetical Would you rather win six majors and it just be like three PGAs three US Opens or would you rather win four majors and it be one of each you win all you probably four majors one of each You’d rather just win the you’d rather you take I think so cuz that is I feel like some people’s careers are like I mean six majors is really good but like it is kind of tainted when people win like all of the same one a little bit cuz I feel like you could argue you’re not as like well-rounded But I would say if you win all four that means you’re amazing Like there’s only any style you can do everything What did they say when Rory did it there was only like what four guys Yeah something like that First off you have to win four majors and that’s there’s not a big list of that Probably 15 people or something and to spread them all out cuz like Scotty I think’s only won masters Is that right and the PGA He won Okay He just won PGA So yeah Yeah So he’s only won two and he’s had a crazy run And like a lot of the guys like Brooks is like still two away Like a bunch of these guys It’s just hard to It’s hard to do Yeah Let’s say Brook Yeah that I thought that up because Brooks is kind of there He’s he’s he’s around there and it would be three He’s got three PGAs and it would be three US Opens He’s finished second at the Masters twice I think the one everyone wants to win but I feel like the US Open when you’re like multiple time US Open champion it like it’s kind of like a cool like uh like vibe to it cuz like it’s the hardest turnable Yeah you’re the guy that can overcome stuff stuff stuff like that Which the Masters is probably just as hard with the way the Greens are and stuff but like the US Open you’re just like just tough and get it done So that’s kind of a cool If you had to win one multiple times that’s probably the coolest one Is the US Open the every year is it the one where you would hear the most F-words from golfers on the You hear a lot of F-words everywhere I mean honestly it’s all I always say it’s all relative cuz a lot of the courses that like it’s super easy Sometimes guys will be playing great but just like missing putts and like that honestly that’s just as frustrating as making double bogeies at the US Open when like you feel like you’re getting lapped when you’re like one under through five and the guy next to you is birdied all five So it just it’s all relative really to like what the scores are You want to trash talk no not really You said I mean you went with your friends but you said you I wish it was more like that honestly Trash talk You said you always get stuck with like rookies and whatever Like that’s the way it goes when you’re a rookie on tour Um any of the big guys gone out of their way to be super nice well I’ve met most of them because like when I was playing really well in college and I had invites and stuff like guys that seen my name so like probably the nicest interaction I’ve ever had and they’ve all been good to me Like no one’s been a prick or anything The nicest one I’ve ever had is Tommy Fleetwood came like out of this was in 2019 Came out of his way from like 50 feet away I wasn’t even looking over there Came up like he’s like “Oh I’ve seen you Good playing lately Like I’m Tommy or whatever.” And I was like “Obviously I know you’re cool.” So that was and he he is probably one of the nicest guys on tour like just genuinely a good person He seems like the nicest guy Yeah So he that was probably the one that stands out of like he completely went out of his way to do that But no they’ve all been good Like I’ve like Fen was in my group one time at Tory He was great I’ve had uh played his proam a couple times in Utah and he’s always just super like thankful for everyone being there all that So I mean most guys are cool So it’s really everyone has respect I think for people that have like made it out there Have you had to play in the proams no the amateurs yet or no i’ve been I’ve played some Mondays and then a couple on the Wednesday Not really Like most rookies don’t really play them because there’s you know 80 teams and there’s 150 guys so it’s usually guys that have kept their card and stuff but um No it’s been good though Honestly overall been I wish I could shoot a little bit lower scores but everything’s been going well and everything’s kind of lining up to do that So So we got these six in a row We got to make at least three of those cuts Hopefully we’ll make all six of the cuts Yeah we got to make at least three Yeah at least three Hopefully I’ve always been a very like momentum style golfer Once you get going you get going I’m not someone that’s gonna go like a lot of people go like miss cut miss cut eighth miscut Like I’ve never been that style I always kind of been like play my way into a little bit like couple 30th then you have that one week where you finish fifth and you kind of like that’s what happened last year and then pretty much all my years on the corner where I’ve played like well So hopefully we can get some momentum and get in the mix So I mean it’s June we’re in the middle of June So June to July Yeah we’re right around halfway through the season So obviously still well there’s we’re about to hit the stretch Yeah there’s like seven or eight events before like the playoffs for me to get top 70 but then there’s the whole fall of another seven events or something like that to that’s when I need to finish in the top 100 or 150 or whatever So gotcha So we got some time but we need to get on it You got to pick for this US Open I will tell you right now the leaderboard JJ Spawn is four under Then you’ve got Sam Burns Thirsten Lawrence Ben Griffin Victor Havland who had a really good day Seiwoo Kim Adam Scott Xander Shoffley’s gotten up there now Uh Thomas Dietri Sam Stevens which uh Brooks went plus four today so he’s in 15th He’s two over I think I still like Brooks I think that’s my pick Brooks I think he’s just been playing Me and Rose are both bet on him last night He’s got a good He’s got a good mindset I feel like he’s kind of I don’t know if you saw the interview or something I did His coach screamed at him for 45 minutes I don’t know if I should look into that more or it doesn’t matter but I just think I think he’s u I don’t know I think he’s kind of pissed off that he’s like kind of falling off a little bit Did you hear what he said about the last time the guy screamed at him like that was Aaron Hills yeah So I I don’t know I I think Brooks is I I don’t think the scores are that important right now as long as you’re like two over better Really three over better cuz I think it’s going to be an even parish winning score So I think if if he’s right there and can shoot 200 tomorrow he’s right in the mix So and I I wouldn’t want to play against Brooks in the mix He also doesn’t make mistakes That puts That puts Scotty I mean Scotty’s Scotty went one over today so he’s four over I think he’s still in the mix too Scotty Scotty’s got to be pretty far down to be out of the mix Yeah You think it’s under that wins it i don’t think so How many people are under par right now like four six Yeah cuz I mean it’s Yeah I don’t think it’ll be under unless there’s rain or no wind or something If it’s normal it’ll be it’ll be even or over for sure Xander’s always the one at this tournament Like the dude’s never he’s played in eight US Opens The worst he’s ever finished is T14 Wow That’s crazy That’s crazy That is crazy All right Well we’re gonna be rooting for you every week brother Braden Thornberry our favorite PGA Tour
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