Welcome back to another edition of voices on the hill I am your host Corey King and I am with probably the coolest guy in RSU Athletics uh men’s golf head coach Steve Brown coach I appreciate you so much join us on the show today how you doing are we
Feeling feeling pretty well I know you you pretty you know cool guy so you no nothing really shakes you oh a lot of things shake me you’d be surprised but thank you for having me and uh yeah appreciate being here and uh looking forward to uh having a good convo with
You oh well I well we we’re we’re neighbors in the office true so we have frequent conversations quite often that range from anything and everything you know I I’m a pretty um don’t know a whole lot about golfs I love picking your brain about that but we can talk
Football Life in California we got you know we got people who live out there you’re from there so um you know but without further Ado let’s let’s get into the team and and RSU um you know golf we just had a tournament in Laredo uh just
A couple weeks ago um talk about you know your initial thoughts on on the guys you know as you know we’re starting the spring season and this is the we have most people don’t understand we have a fall season MH and then you have a spring season that fall season it’s
Basically like supposed to be like a warmup but um be because the uh typically the weather’s been better in the fall um a lot of teams are now playing a majority of their season in the fall they’ll go six yeah they’ll go six tournaments in the fall and four in
The spring um so the fall has turned into like very important we still go five and five um but yeah we had our first tournament um didn’t go as well as we’d hope but uh I have a really good uh Team let me turn my phone off sorry
About that hey that’s okay but we have a uh we have a very solid team and uh we finished third in a in a smaller field tournament which you know wasn’t what we had hoped for but uh um we know what we need to work on and
Uh we have a big tournament coming up at the end of this month and I think we’ll be ready for it well it’s going to be really exciting going to Myrtle Beach in South Carolina you know yeah it’s a it’s a good trip um there’s some great golf
There but uh this the tournament we’re going to is it’s kind of transformed into it’s going to be a big tournament number one team in the nation’s going to be there North Georgia okay uh there’s also going to be a lot of good teams uh Lander Lee Barton’s a good team there’s
I think there’s six or seven of the top 25 teams in the nation going to be there oh wow so we’ll see we’ll see how you know we compare um but I think we’ll we we’ve been out there this is our third year going to this tournament so we
Should know the course pretty well and I think we’ll I think we’ll be okay okay hey you know you know obviously you know this first one didn’t go the way that we wanted to but that’s what you know you have these early ones get that little rust off because you haven’t played
Since October November you know fully fully played in in a comp in a competition setting yeah and we went down to Laro and and no excuses but we had only been outside for about a week so we were a little rusty you know admittedly but um there were we
Definitely had some good moments where where we looked sharp and and there’s some good things uh I think coming yeah um I want to touch on this because one I’m curious and two I think golf has is it’s such it’s such an individual Sport and so when you’re playing at the
College level you think of you know basketball football and you’re like oh the coaches are you know teaching you know schematics this that and the other and not you know what is your role as a coach like how do you coach your team as a golf player so you know what
I’m saying what things do you work on with them and especially in a competition how do you how do you help coach well yeah it’s funny because the way you coach practice is is quite a bit different than the way you coach competition practice is all about about
You know your Technique and and you allow the you allow the guys to maybe show a little bit of emotion in practice um you know you’re just working on fundamentals things like that when you get into the competition uh golf is 90% or more mental you just have to be
In the right frame of mind it really doesn’t matter if your swing is where you want it to be you just have to be in the frame of mind to be confident and go out there and and shoot your best round um and and as far as it being you know a
Lot of people do think you know it’s an and in is an individual sport you’re out there you’re on your own but when you when you’re out there you really have to think about your teammates um there’s you play the game differently when you’re playing for others than you would
When you’re playing Just for yourself when you’re playing for yourself you’re going to take a lot you’re going to take more gambles than uh than you would you know if you know that I have teammates riding on this and and body language is huge in college golf if you’re playing
Behind your teammate and you can see if there’s body language is bad you know we only get to throw out one score so if you see you know oh man he looks like he’s really struggling up there uh it puts more pressure on you know the other
Player because he’s like okay I my scores counting so it’s really important to just just project confidence no matter what’s going on underneath you got to project confidence because your teammates are relying on you so that’s something that we really try to you know steal yeah and bless y Souls at you know
Coming from a sport you know football basketball world and that’s know the spaces that I know and that’s the same thing like confidence you know is contagious but when you’re when you are in a sport that’s a 4-Hour competition and it is you your bag and a bunch of
Strangers that you really don’t like and double that on Mondays and double that on oh my double that on Monday 36 holes the mental game the mental strength that these these young athletes have to um exude is is so important what things do you do to help train that mind
Of being able to overcome you know you you shot you know a double bogy on five six is a whole new hole you got it you gotta go perform on whole six we always some of the things we we try to we talk about is yeah you start every hole under
Par every hole you’re starting under par so you know reset um do your best to not make two mistakes on the same hole it’s okay to make one mistake but you know you can’t make two mistakes on the same hole um and just you know it’s it’s hard but you
Have have to just live in the present you cannot be thinking about what happened behind you you can’t be looking ahead and oh well I’ve got some birdie opportunities and two or three holes you’ve got the shot in front of you you have to just you know think about that
You know I’m going back to the body language I mean you you I’ve heard you play little football once you know time or two but you knew I’m sure there were plenty of games that you won and you knew in the second quarter that team’s done just by their body language it’s
Over we’ve won this game we just have to keep it’s the same thing in golf yeah it’s the same thing in golf once once you see somebody like you know 100% when you’re broken and broken as an athlete it’s very visible very visible and for us for football the offensive line if
They’re broken yeah everything is out the window you can go ahead and scratch that as a do thank you hey thanks for coming out guys it’s been fun absolutely um but I’m sure that’s you know when you have your your number one bag and he’s out there and he’s
Broken guys from all the way back are now going well the guy that is the qu head qualifier is not playing well right that’s going to affect us so um you know I you know I applaud you know the the gentlemen that we have here and what a
Great group that you have and I definitely applaud you on your on your recruiting prist to be able to get such a such a fabulous group talk about what it takes to be able for you know you to you know tell a young man at 18 17 years
Old hey I want you to come play for RSU um well thank you for that I I agree I I I’ve I’m blessed to have a a really good group of young men uh um to come you know really with with RSU well first of all I try to any kid that’s looking
At going division two I always tell them how you know in division one you’ve got Oklahoma you got Oklahoma State those are always they’re in the top five golf there’s a reason why the best college players come to Oklahoma and so you know it’s I try to convey that message to
Them for division two um other than that it’s just you know Roger state is honestly it’s all about the people here um you know I don’t know how it was at Winona um sure it was great I you know I know the coach there he’s a good
Guy uh but with with with Roger State and just you know like from my experience when I played out in California coached out in California and it was a bigger school but I didn’t know any athletes from any of the other programs I didn’t really know other than
To say hello any of the coaches and here I mean that’s one thing I tell a recruit I said I’m not going to be the only coach you have you know pretty much everybody on campus is is going to be your coach y you know all
The you know from from coach Lin and Jones and and Barkley and Davis and and kimus and vaugh and of course coach Hut and uh coach Kennedy they’re all going to get to know you um they’re all going to be involved in your lives and it’s
Just a great it’s it’s a great culture here plus the fact that the athletes live here on campus they’re they’re watching out for each other they’re getting to know each other you know really well and it’s just a great community and that’s that’s the best uh recruiting
Tool right there and you are 100% right because at the end of the day like this is this is your family when you leave the nest you know for me you know we leaving from Minnesota this you guys are my family this are the people that I
Have to rely on and we have some of the best in the business and I and you’ve been a great addition to the family by the way stop for sure um but I I love investing in them too and I you I’m not gonna be anybody that’s gonna be try to
Get any tips and tricks about how to be a better golfer well maybe about the putt you know putting yes roll the tape roll the tape C versus Joe’s didn’t win the puttting competition um but you know I am you know highly invested in they’re they’re spiritual and I always try to
You know give them a good laugh you know make them feel like they’re seen and understood um and I and I feel like you know as you know the years gr on the the relationships are continuing to grow but as you said you know you’re not the only
Coach that you’re going to have I I love being at a basketball game watching you talk to a baseball player and I love watching you know our heads men’s basketball coach talking to a softball player yeah because those cross relationships are so valuable because you know they see and
Understand the game differently and something that I you know we’ve talked about it my goal is to get you know at some point on voices on the hill when we have different people from different sports on here talking because there’s although there’s differences in each Sports and different nuances and
Different details at the end of the day they’re all the same thing we are relying on 23 to 18 year olds toay pay for my livelihood so I got to get their mind right got to take their you got to take care of school you know so there’s
So many different pieces that are that are common and those are things that we have intimate deep conversations about how do you motivate them oh you motivated that way is can I apply that to my own game so exactly yeah it’s a very very very special um and especially
And I want to talk about you know especially about talking about coaching golf is you know very interesting because you know there’s only one coach and sometimes you have one coach for both teams and then sometimes the coach isn’t a person that’s you know really out there when you’re playing or
Practicing but you know something I respect so much about you know you and Coach Hut is how handson you guys are with your with your with your uh with your team so talk about you know what helped you you know establish that strategy and you know and how has it been successful for
You well uh I would say it it helps to not be married it gives me a little more time yeah um so you know with that then I mean that that the team is my family right you know so I’m going to look out out for them and look after them uh just
Like they’re my family I mean I couldn’t imagine uh you know being the parent of of you know say uh you know Daniel robas and sending my son across to another country you know uh whatever 4,000 miles away or Jack you know uh um so you know
And I try to stay in contact with the parents as well but I just try to put myself in you know and the thing is it’s like I know all the coaches here I mean we we really strive to get everything we can out of these these young people whether it’s you know
Academically or on on the on the playing field um and hold them accountable and maybe teach them some things about discipline which you know my gu guys learned a little bit about that this morning in workouts But ultimately ultimately and they hopefully realize this later on I
Just really want it to be a great experience for them you know to come here and make some great lifelong friends um the way I did in college uh and and just really look back at their their time here on the hill is just something to just really cherish 100%
Yeah it goes past really fast it goes by incredibly fast and then you’re and then you’re out and doing things and you don’t have the luxury of being so close to you know your your best friend on the daily basis going out there on the course hitting shots with them joking
Around you know so you know definitely being able to Value these these moments is is beyond important um and definitely so you know I’m happy that you know you you instill that instill that in them and to be able to value moments and something that we talked about you know
On our first episode one of our first episodes with Coach Lin and that’s what he talks about with his guys is being there in that moment and I probably no other sport needs that than you in golf being able to be in in the moment being in that moment um definitely definitely
As a coach you know you’ve been able to see you know abundance of golf um what are some of your favorite moments for you as a coach um being able to you know watch a player succeed what have been some of your favorite moments as a as a coach
Um you know last year um Danny won a tournament and you know as a sophomore and uh that was great to see him um achieve that um you know just I mean every some of the guys just every tournament traveling like with Elliot is just really fun I I remember
Uh one of my first years here I I had a kid from Sweden and we went down to when St Edwards had a program down in uh down in Austin and it was a good tournament and but it was eight hour drive back oh wow and I remember at the end of the
Year he asked me he says coach what was your favorite moment from this year and I thought about it for a second I said you remember when we went down to St Edwards tournament the drive back all of you stayed awake wow and he goes that was your
Favorite moment I said yeah it it just was a great you know time you guys kept me awake everybody was talking it was just it was really enjoyable you know and we had won a tournament that year maybe two I think just one but um and
That was great too but um having uh the three guys I had for the first five years here Luke Paul mski and Aiden gavy and and Gonzalo Chavez those guys were great I learned more from them than they learned from me definitely but uh uh we’ve just you know like you said I’ve
Been lucky we’ve had some really awesome people come through the program and um just getting to you know sometimes you forget you know you think like oh I got to do this and that but then I have to remember oh look at who I’m getting to
Do it with yeah you know 100% so coaching is so is so much about you know like the financial gain may not be you know over the top or abundance in some places but the it’s about the people and and the the kids that you’re influencing because it’s lifelong yes
There is nothing better when you get a text from a former athlete somebody you influence and they’re like hey coach you know it’s been a while I hope that you’re doing good you know I just appreciate everything that you did for me when you you know you invested that
Time in me like it it warms you up you’re like I can do this for a lifetime you know just for that one feeling of somebody that I I impacted somebody’s life certainly 100% um I do want to talk you know talk about you having multiple International students uh on your team student
Athletes what is that process like of getting them here um in that recruiting process of you know hey you know I saw this kid from uh Great Britain I want tell us about that how how does that shake out well um you know the first few
Years that I was here it was almost you know kind of a you know shot in the dark um with some of them I tend to take quite a while uh before I’ll ask a kid you know if he wants to be on the team because I really want to get to
Know them I want to make sure I mean it’s a huge decision decision for them it’s a big decision for us make sure it’s the right fit um so I will I will take a while now when I got here uh when I arrived the team was already set we
Had 15 15 players that’s a lot of players that’s a lot of golfers that’s a lot of te times you have to get um and I think probably eight or nine of them were International so you know so we had that you know to start um now that you know
Know I can’t believe this is my seventh year but uh time we having fun but um you know some of the guys like like Thomas uh is a freshman this year from England well one of Luke pom’s friends uh is Thomas’s swing coach so we had that connection um Daniel is here uh
Because you know Gonzalo uh played in the same tournament with him in Spain um before he and and was able to they were able to talk and and uh and he got to know a little bit about RSU before before he signed um I have a player from Spain coming in next
Year who you know the a lot of the Internationals use recruiting agents and he had the same recruiting agent as Paro from Spain who’s on the team this year and Danny so um and OT came uh when I first arrived there was a player Yuan
Dle from France great guy and he told me about Elliott so now it’s more of like you know there’s there’s some connections that are being made uh internationally um and even Jack from Australia uh one of the Swing coaches that Jack uses back in Sydney I coached
In California wow yeah back in the day so I called up uh his name’s will I said will do you know a kid named Jack Roose she says yeah as a matter of fact I do so um so that you know that was that yeah uh the recruiting Trail is all
About who you know and that that goes for any sport because as parents y’all know trying to convince a young man young woman in that you know teenage adolescent age about trying to do something it’s it’s very very difficult it’s difficult and you know and you got to be able
To there has to be something to connect the dots for them um and if you have a connection great um a lot of times it’s about getting them on campus allowing them to meet your your players and and and that kind of and those kind of
Things um when you get them here when they’re able to you know come and visit what things are you try to do um to help them be like Yep this is RSU is the place for me um well we have a nice campus you know
We we do have a nice campus uh it’s um it’s small but it’s big it’s really well it’s well laid out yes condensed and it’s to itself I that’s what I continue it has a great view up front of uh of Claremore um I mean
Two two lakes and a you know a big swan that everybody stays away from um not really friendly not a friendly but uh you know we’ve we’ve we have uh terrific facilities baseball softball soccer uh the um uh housing you know is nice uh and and convenient um so just the whole
Convenience of it all uh is is something that we that we always talk about and typically you know what’s nice is we you know when we walk around and I’ve shown them we’ll you know we’ll probably run into you know Dr bath who’s uh you know
Always friendly to to me and to all the athletes um or um you know Dr Andrews or even even Dr Rice you know on occasion you run into him and he will he’ll always take a few minutes and make time um so and again it’s going back to the
People uh so uh it’s it’s it’s a it’s a good location it’s a nice campus and the people are the top yep so and then you have great players to play with you know that’s that’s the other piece is you know I’ve been on recruiting visits and
You know you’re like yeah not going to be able to Vibe with this person you you can feel that so because it’s you know these are people that you’re about to spend night and day with and especially for you guys you know we didn’t travel like that you know
On an airplane driving you know I mean obviously we drove to different games and stuff but it’s a different it’s a different type of relationship yeah I always tell at the beginning of the year I always you know ask the guys you know do you guys you love your family do you
Love your parents yeah yeah okay do you want to spend every second of every day with them no I said that’s how it’s going to be here you’re going to love you’re going to love your team but there’s going to be times when you’re going to go like you know what I just
Need to get away I need a second for a couple hours I need a second away from you and it’s hard to find those couple hours and that is yeah and that is perfectly fine that is perfectly fine you talked about this being your seventh
Year here at RSU in PR previous to that you were an assistant at Chico State um talk about what that leap is like from being assistant to being a head coach and every decision is up to you now yeah uh yeah what what what that is
Like uh yeah it can be a little overwhelming I mean you uh you know you always want to have that you know oh I could take the rains you know and then when it happens you’re like oh my gosh there’s a lot more here uh than I
Realized um yeah it’s it can be it could be quite daunting a task um uh you know and especially you know with golf I mean we pretty much have to handle everything so you know we’re we’re picking out the uniforms we’re the travel agent we’re you know
Everything we and and with golf you know we set our own schedule so we have to kind of NE negotiate within our budget what tournaments we can afford to go to um you have to have so many uh uh so many times that you face your Regional
Opponents in golf so we have to you know manage that um so yeah you have to kind of be the Jack of all trades uh uh managing the peard which is uh Kim shout out kimim this is two shout outs in a row um so yeah it can be sometimes you
Know you just you just get in there and you’re just overwhelmed you just so many things are going and and then on top of that you have to coach your players you know and that’s why they hired you yeah and uh and each one of them is is very much an individual uh
And so you have to you have to look at them all differently and and Coach him up differently so and have a have a game plan for that um so but you know I wouldn’t obviously i’ I’ve left everything behind I don’t nothing else I would like to do than this so
Um yeah I’m I’m curious you know for you know for football basketball and you know wrestling there’s a different style of play regionally MH would you see that to be the case for you know you coming from California seeing players in Oklahoma and international players
Coming in and you know being a part of your team is that something that you’ve seen that like you know you know I got a kid from here they play a certain way having you know typically have a better drive or or their approach game is you know a little
Bit better than some other places sure yeah I would say that um and I think that goes back to you know Oklahoma Oklahoma State and why so many good players go there is because you know the weather here in Oklahoma uh it really you are forced to be a a
Well-rounded player you have to be able to play in the wind you have to be able to play in the heat you have to be able to play in the cold in the rain um you know you you have to face it all and uh
In other places in you know um where I was in Northern California it gets a little Breezy up there but you know we wouldn’t you know we would certainly wouldn’t play if it was you know below 40 degrees um where where you know here
I mean we had we we had this we had the snow Sunday evening and uh we played nine holes that afternoon bundle up gentlemen bundle up bundle so I think that yeah and especially you know Southern California players tend to hit the ball higher um okay which would not work as well here
In Oklahoma um so it’s at certain times of the year right so um yeah there there are some different styles of play uh um uh based on where you are yeah and and for yourself what kind of style of play you know I I know you you know get the
Clubs out when you can a lot of times you’re just in the cart by yourself but when you are able to get the the clubs out what kind of player would you would you say that you are uh pretty casual now very recreational um I I do like to go play
Uh you know with the guys it’s always it’s hard though because it’s like all you can do is embarrass your you know I mean they’re looking at you like going well he’s our coach and then you go out there and if you’re having a bad day it’s like
Why is he coaching us you know so so so uh you know I played uh I played with some of the guys after the season um we played a couple of times and I actually played I played pretty well I was really proud of myself and uh and I Ed really
Well and they were they were pretty impressed I mean I didn’t beat them I didn’t beat any of them but you know it wasn’t even close but uh I was really happy um but yeah nowadays it’s just uh you know I play with with uh three of my
Buddies from college we get together usually twice a year and you know we have a few rules we always we always bump the ball give ourselves good lies no three putts and uh uh pretty much much anything inside four feet is good so there’s nothing there’s nothing like
There’s nothing like working on a golf course and you start to see some of these guys yeah oh yeah don’t even need to get in I mean the balls still moving that’s good pick up and go pick up and go Pi it up time waster we call them that’s time
Waster another it’s another whole another sh I gotta read the green talking about reading the green how it’s so surprising you got to be so good at geometry oh my gosh almost you guys I’m a math Miner I should know these things off the top of my head um the geometry in how
To find the right angle you know you got a slope here you got to aim it up the slope so it comes down the slope tell me what that experience is like for you as a coach obviously you are you know experience you know guys will be hey
Coach I need you to help me read the green here tell you like how do you become an expert at that uh would you just be around the game for 50 years um that’ll do it that’ll do it that’ll do it uh honestly you know it’s just being aware it’s uh I
Mean I don’t I don’t know if there’s any real secrets to it it’s just uh you know kind of understanding topography Maybe a little bit I mean if You’ if you’ve got a hill over here and your greens here it’s probably going to go that way you
Know I mean like we we go out to uh Cherokee Hills quite a bit and play and you know there’s a hill kind of everything breaks towards the casino pretty much gotcha next time you play out there Corey everything breaks towards the casino gotcha um be sure to buy my clubes first right
But you know I always try and and that is in in all honesty that’s probably my strength is helping the guys read the greens um it might be my only strength but uh I do coach I do enjoy reading reading the greens for the guys
And but I always like to keep it simple I always just look at a putt and I say okay if if we hit it straight at the hole with the right pace where’s it going to end up you know it’s going to you know oh it’s going to end up 6 in
Right okay well then now we need to start looking at 6 in left to start this putt um and that’s and that’s how I always look at them uh you know and so but it’s more just about putting is is is is like playing the game of golf it’s
Like playing any sport you have to have confidence you ha you know once you start thinking oh I just don’t want to three putt I’m going to just cozy that’s when you’re going to start three putting 100% you have to be in that mindset of I
Want to give this a chance to go in and and yeah you there’s there’s no hesitation you can’t you cannot hesitate or you get really lucky and you beat two college players and you beat two good college players yes you know they haven’t been the same since don’t don’t
Tell me that I that I that I did that they shook it off they shook it off you know they’re they’re confident gentlemen that’s right confence that’s that is for sure um coach you know we talked about California quite a bit um talk about you know your upbringing there and how you
Know it kind of shaped you into you know being a multifaceted not only a coach an entrepreneur owner of you know of a golf course manager um how how did that shape you into you know your golf career uh I think I was really fortunate to I grew
Up in a in a really small town um 5 th000 people but we were lucky enough we had a we had a nice little nine-hole golf course you know wasn’t anything special but it was you know it was it was entertaining and it was kept up nice
And when I was growing up um there was a really there was a great golf pro there uh alvic Caro uh you know rest in peace terrific man and he really promoted the Junior game and and in my life that was at a time when my parents were getting a
Divorce course and he really kind of stepped in CU my dad moved away anyway that’s uh you know would want to go into that but he really kind of stepped in and and really got me motivated to to play golf and just be around golf it’s
Such I tell you for kids the game of golf is is so great as a confidence Builder because if if you’re a young kid and you’re around the golf course every older person on that golf is going to encourage you they’re going to come up
True and yeah and and they are going to encourage you and tell you how good you’re doing and so that was you know that was great for me so I was always around the game um like I say I went to college I played in college um met some
You know great friends and also by the way uh growing up in cloa in our tiny little town uh gentleman he’s about 10 years older than me he’s name’s Pat Macwan he was a great golfer went to BYU was the PGA Tour Rookie of the Year oh wow and
He would come back and he would play golf with us high schoolers and was just and and I’ll I’ll see him I see him about twice a year and he’s just one of the nicest people he was just always so encouraging to all of us um so that that you know that really
Helped our community there really get into golf um after college I really I went to school to be a a school school teacher kind of wanted to teach history Maybe Junior High and now that you say this you seem like what a social studies teacher would
Look like like the just the Charisma the fun that you’d have but would put that out there thanks took a different route went into the golf business instead and did that for you know 20 some years in Cal in Northern California in Chico and during that time I got invited to uh
Help coach the golf team and um so we did that for six years with uh TL Brown shout out to TL uh he’s the head coach at Cal Baptist now okay um in Riverside and we had a blast and we had such good players and great teams we were I mean
Six years we were ranked in the top five in the nation two years out of those six we played in the finals of the national championship and we lost and so um when he left I really wanted to just have my own team and uh a player who
Played two years here at Roger State uh great kid Henning Hogan I’m I know I’m butchering his last name he’s from Norway uh he came out transferred out played two years at Chico and he told me about this job and I’d never been to Oklahoma I was a typical smug
Californian you know and uh and but he convinced me he said no you should really look at it I said okay I flew out in middle of July and uh and did the interview spent one night in Oklahoma and about three weeks later I was
Driving out here to live and L beh home yeah and you know and I had had probably five interviews uh uh and was the finalist in I think three of them four of them counting this one and I’m I’m glad the others went the other way uh and you
Know very happy to be here yeah and that’s you know it’s so awesome to hear you know people’s beginnings and how how they how they got to yeah you know where they’re at and um I do want to talk about these these 20 years of when you
Were you coach for six but those 20 years in between of you know running a golf course um and helping to build the game of of golf um what you know what things did you you know did you you know participate in uh I know there was a lot
Of you know charity events all that kind of things U so tell us about that that experience for you um yeah I would I had a uh uh I ran a golf shop and uh uh owned a golf shop and then ran this uh practice facility had 25 station driving
Range and a it was a really cool it was a part three course uh everything was lit up at night so that was was a lot of fun um and in a college town so it was it was a fun place but it was it was a
Good course we um always I mean we pretty much let Juniors play in hit balls for free you know and now it’s kind of going back to you know my childhood with with Al and him being so uh you know welcoming and to all of us
Juniors there in kaloa that was my the town I grew up in um uh we started a program called The Bucket Brigade where you know we let kids uh they had to take an etiquette course oh yeah and then once they passed that then they could come out and they
Could hit a couple of large buckets a week for free okay um so that was you know that was a lot of fun we hosted a a a high school tournament every year uh that was it was wildly popular just on our little six-hole course and the high
School kids loved it in fact there was a player um Noah Norton who played for Georgia Tech and just a fantastic player and he flew back from a big tournament uh early because he didn’t want to miss our uh our tournament that’s amazing yeah Kirk kittama who won the Honda last year uh
Played in that played in our little tournament at Skyway um yeah yeah uh yeah he would come out with his team and practice and so it was just a great uh it was a great time in my life and uh and I’m thankful for all those uh you
Know people who I got to interact with in in those days and um but yeah and I miss him but I’m I’m glad I’m where I am now that is the tough part you know all all good things come to an end at some point yeah um but you know you got to
Embrace the the new journey ahead and yeah um but no I think that change is good change is good you know but it’s you know so important how how you impacted those you know those young minds of um you know getting them out there and allowing to play for free uh
Tell me about this the etiquette class um you know I I had never I have been on a golf course course but I was always the beer cart so you know nobody really cared about my etiquette if I was bringing them uh an adult beverage you know for sure well you’re you’re the
Most important guy on the course exactly well you know you know some some of them you I people I wasn’t the I wasn’t the the person that they were looking for right um always always told them my shorts weren’t short enough you were the right right man in the moment right man
In the right man in the moment um they they always were you know if you could talk they loved you you know if you could talk they loved you sure but it was new to me when I went out as a photographer right this year right um
You know I obviously you know you know you know the basics like hey don’t make a loud noises you know hey you know if you see somebody shooting stop you know uh but talk about what this etiquette class is because golf is such a such a such a
Gentleman it’s a it’s a game of etiquette it is and there’s there’s a lot of uh you know there’s a lot of of uh policies and there’s a lot of procedure to the game and um but uh it was mainly it was mainly about safety is the etiquette and where to stand you
Know we would go up on the tea we would we would take them on the tea in the Fairway and then on the green um and on the tea we would just you know teach them like you know don’t stand behind somebody uh ever because they might
Swing and and you know you might catch a a club in the in the temple um so we would teach them where to where to swing you know uh where to where they can hit the ball from on the te between the two markers um Fairway was kind of the same thing
And teaching them how you know whoever’s furthest out is typically the one to go but you know you just want to keep things moving so if you’re ready you know um and then on the green it was we really tried to teach him how you know the green the green is pretty much
Sacred ground so you don’t you know you don’t scuff your feet if you make a a ball Mark you know in indention in the green you you want to taught them the right way to fix it taught them the correct way to rake the bunkers uh
Things like that you know but but it but we really focused on safety uh we didn’t want I’ve heard too many stories about kids getting hit in in junior camps and it’s a lawsuit waiting to Happ yeah we did not want any of that happen no not
At all yeah not at all um I I as we’re talking about it um you know I just thought about I we were at the the the central region preview mhm and I got an opportunity and I can’t remember her name and I’m and I’m blanking I’m her son played at
Oklahoma and was a national champion there uh but she we were you know I’m sitting there taking pictures and all of a sudden this girl is stuck because her ball was in The Roots um and so you know the ref the referee or the rul the rules
Judge was there and she was you know setting things up and telling her hey like you know you can do this and she came over to me and we sat there for probably an hour probably 45 minutes and we’re talking about the rules of golf oh and how
Like how they fluctuate and like it’s almost like you know in the moment kind of thing because there’s so many things that could go have you ever had an opportunity to to officiate a golf course or not in not in an official capacity no now when we go out and
Qualify uh um yeah I have to do it quite often and and uh and sometimes I’ll carry a rulebook with me because um and I I told you I used to officiate football I did that for quite a while and I was a I was the instructional chairman for our association for a
Number of years so I knew the football rule book in and out and the golf rule book and even in four or five years ago they simplified it and it’s still quite confusing and I remember before before they simplified it there’s some scale readability scale and it was one of the
Hardest you know books to understand yeah um so they tried to simplify it but no thankfully I’ve never uh uh I’ve never officially uh officiated a golf tournament and I and I do not envy those who do um you know they they do a good job and hardly anyone agrees with them I
Mean it’s just like it’s like officiating basketball or sport you know you’re all one side’s not gonna be happy with any decision you make exactly and I like you said like bless their souls she she was like spot on like she knew it inside now she was talking to somebody and she was
Like I don’t want to argue with you but but if you look at this book and the understanding the compreh you know the comprehension of the rule um my decision is correct and I said drop the mic you know and you know you got to respect you got to respect officials who
Don’t take you know take crap from somebody like hey look this is my job this is what I do just you know just just respect me and what I what I came to you know to do here so yes um it yeah I officiating in general and speaking of
Officiating you know you being a football officiator what was what was that like I feel like officiator get such a got such a tough job and get like such a bad rep but if you have a good official yes it changes it changes you know it’s just like it’s just like a
Well I started it when I was 20 because you know I needed to make extra money to get through college and but I love the game and and and I did play in high school because I got went to a small school so you know
We only had 22 guys on the team but um 22 guys on the team on the team on the team oh my goodness yeah and I was a Long Snapper were you oh yeah yeah awesome so um uh anyway so with officiating you know I always enjoyed knowing the rules
But it’s just like any officiating is just like any sport you know you have your mechanics and if you know what you’re doing and you stick to your area and you’re and you trust that your fellow official is going to stay in his area and officiate his then you’re going
To have a great game 100% yeah and if you don’t over officiate if you understand the flow of the game if you understand the flow uh was what you know we would always talk about in our pream you know and uh and preventive preventive officiating you know safety
Of course but you know if there’s a hold over here and the plays over here you know that’s when you just go to hey I saw that now I got to watch you the rest of the game and they won’t hold again they would you know I had that so many
Times and you know so that was I really enjoyed officiating it was it was fun and just to be out there and and the adrenaline because I me every play you have the potential to get run over and just trampled so CU we’re moving and we
Are not worried about you n at at all not even a little bit so so that was always I I always I really enjoyed that I’m happy that they moved the the Umpire to the other side even well and the one that’s like in the that was in the middle of the field
Behind the linebackers or yeah yeah why are you why were you there that was the Umpire that was the Umpire yeah back when I was they might call him something different yeah that was that’s a dangerous place to be oh yeah it’s a dangerous place to be it’s quick lot of
Speed lot of lot of power moving around around and you’re only supposed to be about five yards off this off the ball so and that’s where in high school and that’s where the linebackers are at yeah you’re supposed to be right behind them yeah they scoot up so y y I’m trying to
Help you out you be get you get downhill faster I’m right here don’t turn into me that’s good stuff um with golf golf has you know obviously like each Arena and each field but each course each course has such a beautiful um you know Ambiance to it and how people you know
Make it and all that kind of stuff talk about some of your favorite courses that you’ve ever coached on or played on um that you know that ring a bell and you’re like yeah if I could you know put it all down and just go off there every
Day I definitely would um gosh that’s a great question I you know honestly the older I get it’s more about going back it’s more about who I’m playing with you know I mean I would I would love to go back and play spy glass Hill in uh in at Pebble Beach okay I
Would love to go back and play that again um uh there’s some there’s some courses that I usually go to you know out in North Carolina once a year and so I play them once a year and I and I love them they’re just it’s very relaxed place and the courses are
Beautiful um but I you know I I I like just going out with some of the guys and playing Heritage right here and biley ranch is a great course really fun to go play um Cherokee’s extremely difficult but it’s always in great shape um yeah I mean honestly I don’t
Really I don’t really have any like favorites I’ve I’ve been fortunate in my life I have played some really good courses like some you know bucket list courses but um which courses would those be I played Pebble Beach I played spy glass played spy glass a lot uh I played uh uh
Cypress Point I played San Francisco Golf Club played California Club um uh I played the Olympic Club Olympic Club is really a fun one uh to play in San Francisco um uh let’s see you know and then back in North Carolina pine needles midpines Southern Pines those are all Great Courses
Um but uh yeah yeah I you know and I and I enjoy um you know always look forward when I get to go play those but I also really look forward to who you’re playing with when I’m GNA just go out here and you know like one of the guys
Wants to play nine today and so uh I’m looking forward to that awesome that playing people who you could play with is beyond that makes any experience the best um if you could you know I know that the match has been a big a big um
Not publicity stun but like a big thing you know you know players you know playing players who would be who would be some celebrity people that you’d be like I would want to play with and then play against boy um I played with Aaron Rogers once because he’s from Chico you did yeah
He’s in fact I officiated a lot of his games in high school really yes oh oh my my he’s Pleasant Valley High School um my Packer fans are my Packer friends from back home they try to call you up now yeah I played with Aron and some of
The guys he’s he’s good friends with some of the guys from Chico that I know gotta um so uh they invited me one day and hey you want to come out and play and they didn’t tell me and then and then he joined us on like the second or
Third hole so um hey what’s up Eric so yeah so that was fun uh that was a fun time but I you know I don’t I don’t know I don’t really I’m not trying to be you know cool but I don’t really get very Star Struck about you know you’re from
California well no it’s I just uh you know I don’t know I I um there’s not really I mean I’d probably like to play if I could play with somebody you know who’s still playing i’ I’d probably Fred Couples because you know he’s kind of he’s a cool guy um
Um you know I was always Big Nicholas fan growing up uh um but you know I don’t know I’ve never really thought about like my dream forsome yeah I always played I played a lot of golf with um with my dad and his his buddy was this attorney who everybody called
The hawk and uh he was the most entertaining person I’ve ever met and I mean off camera I’ll tell you a few stories but and I always in and probably Peach Tree Country Club in marville California was where they were members and I that was I always looked so
Forward to go playing golf with them um they were just they were a blast to play golf with and so that would be the one I guess if I the one one course I’d like to go back and play would probably be Peach Tree okay um and then I I you know
I always I love hearing about people’s like the best person that they’ve ever seen like I have I have a couple of those guys that like I played I played Rick Spilman’s adopted son JD spilman okay so that’s that was the old general manager of the Vikings
Right and he had adopted a son I remember when we played him in high school he was like Untouchable I had never seen anybody accelerate so fast I played Antoine Winfield’s son who now plays for the Buccaneers I played him in high school too um who are some of like
The best golf players that you’ve ever seen ever seen um well I mean tiger uh you know I saw him uh out here at Southern Hills unfortunately he wasn’t you know he’s he’s that poor guy’s in so much pain when he plays I almost you know I
Almost think now that he’s you know he’s almost 50 I think he comes out more just because he wants the fans he knows the fans want to see him you know but you know watching him walk Southern Hills I mean you could tell he was in a lot of
Pain um but I but I saw him in 2006 I I saw him in a practice round at a tournament I mean you know that ball made sounds that you just don’t hear from you know what is that what do you like what does that mean like what oh
Just just coming off the club face I mean it’s like when you it’s like when you throw you know bacon on a hot pan and it just sizzles off of there you know honestly uh uh and you you know you’d be down the Fairway and you’d hear
It coming over your head you know you know and you knew that was tiger oh it’s that it’s that distinct oh yeah yeah you know and a lot of guy you know there’s some other guys that could do that but but his was you know I mean that was 18
Years ago I mean he was you could almost describe his swing as almost like a violent move it was it was he really went after it you know um I mean it was smooth but it was powerful right um um I I used to go every now and then I’d
Go down to the pebble to the AT&T and you know and you’d see you’d see a lot of good players there um I don’t know I really haven’t funny though I haven’t really been to a lot of professional golf tournaments well you’re at the you know the Juniors
Trying to get your trying to get the next one that’s right try to the next one now when uh when when some of my guys start playing uh you know uh and I have absolute belief that that some of them will make it you know onto some
Very big tours I’ll be there that’s awesome I will be there yeah any any like recruit that you’re like that got away that you’re like that kid um you know turned out to be you know a really good you a really good player down the road uh no well honestly the
There’s a there’s there’s this one kid that I really I recruited extremely hard and um I lost him to a to a D1 school and he stayed there maybe a year and he transferred to another D1 school and I still kind of follow him and when
He got in the portal you know I messaged him I said hey I know you’re not looking to you know drop down but I just want to you know see how you’re doing and and he was like oh I appreciate it you know Um he’s he hasn’t had the career that I really thought he could have I mean I and I and it’s it’s more like and we had guys um out at Chico who were you know there’s there was there were some who were just great players there were some
Re we recruited who ended up going D1 and you just kind of Wonder and they didn’t really do as well as you you know we thought they could have and you always just wonder um what might have been you know if you just would have came on home yeah
You know just you know I mean and and there was one kid out in chica who left who had a great you know great year with us and he left and didn’t even last a year at a at a very uh prestigious uh Pack 12 school and you know you just think man
And he’s and he I know trying to you know turn pro and and do all that but you just wonder you know if he would have stuck in our well that was TL system and TL I mean he you know Brandon Harkins has played on tour Alistar
Dock’s about to play on tour and he’s had some very good success with with players and you just man and that’s part of it you got to look at you know not just like the school you’re going to but how do how are the graduates doing
You know yeah how are the people who play in their system how are they doing um so I don’t know I’ve never really uh I’ve never really looked at somebody who got away and and and I mean I know I know that there’s plenty of them who are doing great yeah you
Know great but um yeah that’s that’s a good question that’s intg it’s always intrig it’s always intriguing you know what I’m saying the recruiting process is is a is a hassle you know you seen all these kids you you see it obviously you want the best ones you know you’re like that
Kid that kid’s going somewhere yeah um so you know you definitely want to get them in and you know sometimes they like you said sometimes they it’s more of a disappointment that you know when you really work and work and work to get a kid and then you don’t because it’s it’s
Like man I really wanted to work with that kid yeah you know I just really family you enjoy the human being yeah that’s that’s definitely the tough part because you that’s the point of you know you got to build these connections with these kids like I know they’re going to
Be successful I know what they they’re you know I just I really want to work with them and yes and see how how we can do um last question you know I heard that you are a classic rock man um and you know you know I dabbling
With the classic rock I I just want to know some of some of your favorite bands and and people that you you know you enjoyed obviously you grew up in the glory area of like being able to well you know what’s funny is classic rock uh it was probably maybe five years ago
I realized that Credence Clearwater Revival is from El Sero which is only it’s that’s Bay Area right I thought they were from somewhere in Louisiana the way they sound um I’m a big Sammi Hagar fan okay yeah so I I love all the stuff he did with Van Halen and montros
And uh uh you know ACDC uh like all their stuff um I you know honestly I like all kinds of music I really do um moving out here I’ve really I I I do enjoy country music um did you like it when you was out there in California or I listen to it
Occasionally yeah but I but not like now I mean now it’s probably I probably listen to it more than I listen to to rock um and I think it’s just more because country tends to be it’s easy to sing along with yeah and you are a great singer and it and
Uh okay um and uh uh and it’s and and it’s typically the songs are happy yes you know so so I do enjoy that part of it um but yeah I was always uh uh growing up in like in high school that was when I mean Springsteen was coming
On uh uh in the in the you know mid 80s was really getting popular so I’ve seen Springsteen a couple times I’ve I’ve seen Hagar quite a few I’ve seen Pearl Jam okay um were you ever a big Prince fan you know it’s funny uh in high
School uh a kid transferred in um uh I’ll think of his name here in a second and he was a year younger than us but he was a really cool kid uh uh Griggs was his last name anyway um he was a huge Prince fan I don’t know where he moved
In from he was and and at first we were like you know Prince and then we started like wow this is really good this stuff’s really good he’s incredible yeah so uh Robert Griggs that’s who his name was and he introduced our little Community to Prince and the revolution really yeah
Yeah shout out that Minnesota product right there yeah born and raised I we used to live right next to his in the area where his house was oh very cool so we used to go and you know once a while yeah yes but um yeah
And growing up I actually I liked a lot of uh a lot of different music but and I still do I still don’t you know if I listen to the same thing I kind of I get tired of it you know so uh gotta keep it
Fresh you got you got change is good change good but I wanted to ask you uh question for you um that is that the radio that my parents gave me when I was 10 years old I think it I think it might be does it still work can I try it it’s
Not plugged in right now so I don’t think how did you you know I called them I called the Browns before you know before we got on I was like hey is there anything sentimental that we can that is a nice Personal Touch 100% and what they
Do here at RSV huge huge shout out amazing that this isn’t you know we started out you saw what we started out at in our first couple episodes we’re looking we’re looking rough uh but you know Daniel and Brian um and and the rest of their crew we appreciate you
Guys so much we don’t I can’t even you know I don’t know what I’m gonna do for you I’m might throw you a party or something you know we’re G have to share some uh some crushes absolutely but uh we appreciate you guys so much for being
Able to set up such a wonderful set for us and is there an eight track back there too there might be you know they they have a nice collection of different different antiques in here that you know just you know you this place has so much
History and a lot of people don’t get to see what RS TV does because you just see the production but they have a nice little timeline on their wall about the history of this place and how this place has grown and uh they got they got amazing people like you said our our
Roger state has some amazing people here um but you know without further Ado uh you know Coach Brown Steve man we appreciate you so much hanging out with us you know get to know a little bit more about golf a little bit more about you and the Fellas uh we look forward to
This spring season and you know that’s that’s that’s you make this climb as high as we can but for another edition of voices on the hill I am your host Corey King and this is head coach of men’s golf Steve Brown and we appreciate you guys for watching
