Ep. 123 - Curtis Strange

about this for me. How many times do you have a wedge in or around the greens around Just start to count them and when's the last time you changed the wedge. It's probably been too long. You need to do it, and my idea is to get the new Vokey design S M seven wedges. Their innovation provide the best performance and distance control and shot versatility and maximum spin which we all need. And the best way to experience s M seven wedges is to hit each grind

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They are absolutely beautiful. I got the slate black. They They've got very minimal amount of stamping on them, which I'm kind of a fan of, and I don't want to I don't want to stamp all over and they're too beautiful, that's my point. And I haven't taken them out yet. I've kept them in my little closet because you know when you get new wedges and they don't have any of the hit marks on them, nothing like wearing.

They're just beautiful. And I don't know why I'm continuing to just leave them in the closet, but I think this week is gonna be the week I take them out. And there is nothing in golf like hitting a new wedge, especially if it's a Vokey. That first one you hit and it lands up there and checks and spins kind of closer to the hole, and you're like, why don't have new edges every week? And then you remind yourself that you probably can't afford that, but that's okay. Get

some new edges this year. Check them out at voke dot com. I trust me they will help your game and make sure you get fit. If you get new golf clubs and don't get fit, you're literally giving up golf shots. Okay, we will transition to Curtis in a moment. I was doing PGA Tour Live last week for the Arnold Farmer Invitational. That golf course was tough. This golf course is gonna be tough at the players. I've decided the Florida swing man, it will punch you right in

your stomach. You go from the Honda to Arnold Palmer to the players and valves part. That is four brutal golf courses and four consecutive weeks. I guarantee the players are like, all right, I'm out, let's see it. Let's leave Florida as fast as we possibly can. But if you get on a heater or like we're seeing with somebody like Keith Mitchell, it can be great because you know you're gonna find your golf shot in the right spot. I think that's what we saw with Francesco Mominari over

the weekend. One of the best ball strikers on the planet right now on a golf course that requires you to hit good golf shots and actually pays them off, which I think sometime when we see these softer golf courses, that's not always the case. So it's kind of fun to watch these four weeks as we approach the Masters. Here's fingers crossed that Tiger is in fact healthy. I

don't even wanted to be a percent healthy. Just give me healthy Tiger, because I think we're all just waiting until we get to Augusta National, and I think we all just hope that the man is healthy when we get there. I've got some coozies and I've got some titless hats I'm gonna give away over the next few days. Make sure you follow the Twitter account at the Clubhouse Pod and the Instagram account at the Clubhouse Pod. That's where I'll be announcing some of the giveaways. We've got

a titleist driver to give away as well. We've got some sweep steaks. You know I'm a sweep steaks guy. I'm gonna give some stuff away over the next few days. It'll be titleists you like it. I'll throw some coozies and some Clubhouse stickers in there as well. So follow those accounts if you can. All right, let's get to the legend that is Curtis Strange and we welcome back in the clubhouse for the first time in twenty nineteen and a man that is uh pushing back his fishing

excapades for the day to do this, Curtis Strange. I always appreciate it when you and Zinger do a podcast instead of going out super early in fish. Is this like a weekly thing? Are you doing this every day when you're home? This is a daily thing? Uh? Five days out of seven. It's what I do. You know, I played a little social golf. I fish a lot, and uh, I enjoyed getting outside. So you say you play, you play social golf? I mean are you you still go out there and play a couple of times a week?

I mean, I know, not any sort of competitive environment or anything like that. But are you out there grinding or is it just simply going out playing nine holes with some friends and and and getting out of there, you know at a decent time. No, I got thirty and we're grinding. We got money on the lock, you know. Uh, we got a couple of bucks on the line, and nobody wants to lose, and it's fun. It's you know it's I never thought i'd do this viasically enjoy it.

I don't get as bored as I thought I'll wouin it, and uh, it's nice to go out there and didn't have a beer with the guys affords as a as a guy that you know, one major championships and played in the biggest venues on the planet. Was was it

a transition? Did you take you know, five, six, eight, ten years to get into the mold where as you said you thought you might be interested in doing something like that, Because I can only imagine the moment you decide to hang up the spikes golf probably doesn't really sound like something you want to go do on a weekly basis. How long did it take for you to actually notice that this was something you were going to kind of enjoy? Well, you make a good point, Shane,

Uh it did it does go? You do go through a transition, and it's gradually over the years you go through the transition. I think of playing a little bit of senior golf actually starts on the recordit tour when when you when you're not as competitive anymore in my case, doing TV work, playing a little bit of your priorities do change a little bit, although you still wake up every morning as a competitor, but you realize that once you go to the booth, you can't give it like

you always did. And then you transition from that stage and to the Champions Tour and you're not played for three or four years, and then played sporadically after that, but you transition out And is it Is it a conscious effort, No, it's a it's a it's something you just kind of gradually do subconsciously that you don't play well. You're tired of the grind, you're tired of the roads.

You cut back each year, and then eventually you don't play anymore at all, and and then you start playing little social golf and you know it's, uh, I get bored a little bit doing that, but I still like going hitting balls by myself for an hour, and you know,

it's just it is what it is. And I tell people all the time, and I really mean this, that we're still lucky to play this game professionally because you can play it to your sixty or sixty five competitively, and versus if you played other sports, you were out of your sport. At an old age thirty five years old or thirty three years old unless you're an exception of the bradies of the world and you know, some

other superstars. But I was lucky. I played competitive golf for a long long time, and I have no no problem with with retiring and playing social golf at all. Well, I'm as much as we can sit here and talk about your current golf game, I do want to jump into some headlines that have kind of been making the round. We don't we don't want to do that. You know that this week is very interesting to me every single year, and the noise is getting louder and louder around the

Players Championship. The Players Championship to me growing up as a fan, as somebody that watched it, it was the biggest event that wasn't a major championship, And of course everybody talks fifth major. That's what the term has kind of lingered around it for years. What did it used to feel like for you when you would compete at Sawgrass Because back then there wasn't new trophies and new theme songs and hashtags and all those things. It was simply an event on a calendar. What did it feel

like to you and your peers. When you got guys got closer and closer, and into the week at Sagress. You know, it's it's the same. We all know it's a big, big championship, and the press knows that. The public feels it, the players feel it for a couple

of reasons. One is that it was probably the strongest field of the year um And two is that it was always in the day the biggest purse, and back in the day when we didn't play for that much money, having a real big purse meant something because you had a chance to, you know, fill your pockets for a

week if you played. We were on extremely tough golf course back when we played across the road at the country club, Slograss country Club, hard hard golf course, when blue's tail off every day, and and then we moved across the street to this quirky, funky place in the players and you know, but it's always a big event. We just to me, we've kind of stepped on our own toes every time we've turned around pushing the major championship a label. There's not gonna be a fifth major

unless this thing develops on its own. You can't develop something and manufacture something. In my estimation, you have to let it happen, and just let it happen. It's it's a wonderful event. I still don't like the golf course, and I think a lot of players feel the same way I do. But be that as it may, it's still a big event. It's the best field of the year. It's big TV. Let's just go play and let it. Let everything sold where they may. Does that make sense? Absolutely?

You know it. It's it's like this to me. I go back to when Devol won the players. I remember where I was watching that. I was in East Texas. I was at my sister's boyfriend's parents house, and we were all huddled around a TV watching of all hit the shot into seventeen and he was the best player in the world, which is something we didn't think was gonna happen in the Tiger era. And it was unbelievable appointment viewing golf. It was what you had to be

watching that week that month. But what I've felt like with all the murmurs around it, and especially it seems like the murmurs from the people putting it on, is it's like the guy that tells you they're good at golf. Hey, I'm a really good golfer. Oh that sounds great. Can you show me? Because if you were, if you're saying you're a good golfer, there's a pretty good chance you're probably not as good as you think you are. You know.

It's that whole line about goes back to what my It goes back to what I all our daddy's told us here ago. You don't have to tell if you're good at something, you don't have to tell anybody, right shoe them exactly, And this was in this one. That's exactly the point we're making. I will make damn sure I watched this weekend because it's good stuff, right, It's

good TV, and it always has been. I go back in the day Raymond Floyd beat me in a playoffs and eight eighty one eighty eighty one, and I still have nightmares about it. I mean, it's a big event to the players, it's big to the public, and let's just have it like that. It's the biggest championship, it's our championship. But on the other hand, now I will say this, the argument that I do make contrary to what I just said, is that why can't the players.

Everybody else has their major the U s c A, the R and the Masters as an invitational, but in the B g A, why can't the players are tour have that one big event When we do, we do have the players. Let everybody think about it, what they do with the what they want to think about it.

But it's a big event and it is must watch TV this week absolutely, And again that goes back to my point is that it I don't feel like I've ever needed the players to tell me what it is because it's always been to me a massively important event. And if it's not a major, and that's the world I live in. I think there's four major championships. I think there always will be. And that's important to me because history guys like you, if you add a players in the road to don't have a chance to go

out there and win one. Now you know that, and like Gene Stairs and doesn't have to go can't go win a players, I mean you know that. That is to me the problem with changing the history if you will, in that regard, and so you know it's it's it's great, it's gonna be awesome. I think it's gonna be fun to see it moved now and not in and I think the golf course will play a lot different. I was gonna ask you, I know, you've been so close

to winning this event before. I love. One of my favorite things to do talking to you and Zinger and Facts and those guys is not just talking about the winds, but talking about the almost. How the almost is what we think about. That's what Steve we remember the most. Yeah, Steve Ferry was just saying that you know that that he still thinks about the loss to the Calves more than he thinks about, you know, the championships they've won.

And uh and and I was gonna ask when you stand as a competitor on the seventeenth hole as a professional on a Sunday, and and every professional thinks about the miss more than probably think people think. You know, they think about where to bail out, the fat part of the green, the smart play, and to me, seventeen at Sagress is one of the few places in the world in professional golf where there is no bailout. You gotta get up there and hit a golf shot. Seventeen

to me is not that hard. Uh, we try to get you can't help but try to get cute because it's not very long, but you have to be careful. It's scared the hell out of me when the wind started to blow, so I try to put it right in the dead center of the green into tuput. If it was dead calm. Now you can maybe try to get a little more aggressive. What I don't like is because there's no bailout when they try to get those

greens so bloody hard. Now the players don't have a shot because now the green plays half the size and you can hit a pretty good shot and bounce in the back water. I don't like that. I think it's manipulation of the golf course. But we can make any golf course the hardest golf course in the world by just setting it up. So let them give the players a chance. You can give it firm, but give them a chance when that pin is back center to get it close and not a good shot go over in

the water. That's the only problem I have. But the green is quite large. If you just play the smart shot, play it where you're missing in them in the middle of the green, you shouldn't have any problems. But when the wind starts a blow, which it will earlier in the year this week, it can be a tough little son of a gun. Oh. I mean, it's just I've I've played it a couple of times now, and uh, and I think that your point is correct. You stand on it the first time you see it and you go, wow,

the green looks a lot bigger than you think. And I still remember the second time I played it, I went, wow, it looks a lot smaller than I think. Not last time. It continually gets smaller and smaller than more times you play, going, man, I don't I don't think it is only a wedge, isn't it? This is crazy? But you know, the older you get, the smaller it gets. To trust me, I could only imagine so. And I don't want to put you on the spot here, Curtis. You told me an

unbelievable story once about the players. You already said it's not your favorite golf course in the world. I feel like it's a golf course that when it's going bad, the best in the world can go out there and shoot seventy eight, seventy nine or eighty. And you're telling me a story back of the day. I think it was USA was broadcasting the early coverage. You were struggling.

I think you said you were about to miss a cut and you had a moment in the woods and and you lost your temper, and all of a sudden you turned around and you went, oh man, they got me on cam. No, I didn't really lose my temper. I'll actually is playing quite well as playing with Trevienno or to watch in the first two days, and this was her Friday, I think for people, which is really a hard part for I don't know why it's such a wide fairway for our listeners this weekend, but it's intimidating.

And so left waist area, I hit a tree out of that end up making triple well after I hit in the waist there and hit a tree that catchers met up there threw it into swamp deeper. I I started to tell myself how much I hated myself and knowing certain terms, and how much I hated this golf course and can't wait to get out of here. And I hate myself again in case I didn't hear myself the first time. With all these cold por phrases which we all do have and it got on TV and

I got a little bit. I gotta quite large fine for that one. But it was funny because the boom might. Let me tell you some about these boom mics. They can pick up a nat part in fifty yards, so you have to be careful on the sidelines of the game or on the sidelines of the golf tournament. And it's it's funny now, but it was. It was embarrassing

at the time. You were telling me that you you kind of like when you were you were kind of having a little bit of a moment and you turn around you went on, man, I didn't I didn't see that boom Mike, and you knew you just knew the fine was coming. I'm sure there were a couple of moments like that where you're going, I'm just waiting for the letter. Just give me the letter. Don't talk say anything to me, don't give me a fatherly talk. Just give me the damn letter. Let me pay it and

then and that's what. Yeah, that's the point is like, I mean, you know there are times where the tempers get two players, and especially now with with so much coverage, and it's a bad look. I mean, you can go to Sergio earlier this year. Obviously, if you're damaging greens and guys are putting on them, that's terrible. I don't I don't like one of the things I don't like to see. And you see it more and more now hours.

When a guy hits a bad bunker shot and then he replays the bunger shot and knocks a whole bunch of more sand on the green, I just feel like that's you know that. I mean, if somebody gets in that position and they're behind the whole bunch of clumpus scene, I guess now you can move it. But those are the kinds of things that temper gets a little in the way. But everybody's lost their temper, and good mistakes on the golf course, yeah, my gosh, it's it's a

frustrating game. And you have to remember it's a frustrating game. You're doing it for your loblihood on the biggest stage, for instance, this week, and there's a lot of pressure, and you've been at it this year already for twelve weeks or so, and you might be a little tired, you might be frustrated, you know, and you just kind of kind of gets the best of you. Now you know today's social media and every move you make, if you're a star, every move you make, somebody's watching. It

would be tough. You. You know, in my day you can make mistakes and get away with it, but now you can't. So you have to be aware that everything you do or say is going to get out there in in in the in the cyber world. And I feel for the gods, But on the other hand, you know, they're all they're all buttoned up. They really do well. I mean, Sergio snaps once in a while, and who doesn't. But I think they're so well behaved and it's so good people that golf is really lucky right now, Yeah,

it was. You know, I did PJ Tour last week at bay Hill, and you follow these guys around for for eighteen holes, and the cameras on him the entire round. And in the early early part of the week, you're following the big names and you're hoping they have a good week. And then you get to the weekend and you're not gonna follow the leaders because you've got to go a little early, and so you'll still follow big names.

But what I've found very interesting is you follow the big names who are not playing well, and I love watching as a broadcaster their attitudes. You know, Justin Rose

had a great moment. He hit it in the rough on I think it was on eleven on Sunday, and we're following him and he's not playing very well and he hits this kind of chunk runner with the fairway wood and it runs up to the front of the green, and I mean, they're having the most fun they had all week about this kind of ridiculous punch out shot, you know, when Rory's laughing about a mud ball. I

agree with you. I think the attitudes on the golf course, and it's probably a little bit because they know they have to be this way, but the attitude seemed to in certain guys remind you why they're so good, because they get a bad break and it doesn't beat them up for the day and they don't let that bad break ruin their week. Well exactly, and that's why they're

consistently good. But I'll tell you something else. When you when you watch a guy who's not playing really well, now you see his true talent to hit that punch out with the wood, to hit the slice of the hook, the high low, the long bunker shot. There's where the talent really syltus is face. Now, you might not play well that day, but when you are all over the golf course, uh, you might be frustrated, but you still hit these incredible shots that the average player doesn't even

think about. And that's where you really see a god's natural gift. And although he might seventy five, he's hit three four remarkable shots in that day, especially on a golf course like bay Hill. I don't remember bay Hill be in this hard. I know, I know it was tough throughout four years, but my goodness, you know, it's one of those courses they've always shot low scores on

at times when the weather is good. But I could never understand that because it was a long, pretty difficult at Granted they hit it so much farther now, but in our day it was a long golf course and could really play long when you got those cool temperatures in in Orlando this time of year. But to me, bay Hill was always a pretty dog on hard golf course. And I don't I'm one of those that don't understand how to shoot these low scores because you really got

to play really some good shots around there. You can't miss a golf shot. What was the golf course in your day that gave you the most fits? You know, it was on the schedule and when you got there, you're thinking, Man, this is gonna be a long four days. Yeah, you know, Yet what if you really felt that way about a week you just didn't go. He took that week off. But I always have tough time with Riviera. Um,

I don't know why. As great a layout as it is, uh And because I didn't play well there, it's not in my top ten or so, which is disrespectful to the golf course really, But I really had a tough time at San Diego, for instance. Here there's sixty threes and fours every day and I can't even break par and I couldn't understand it. But that's San Diego was probably my number one. And I'll tell you one other

was uh of Disney was a tough one. But you know, we all had and and and that could be completely different than the next guy when you ask the question, But you're right, there's that golf course or two that you never could understand the scores And then you know, then you play well on a golf course, like I'll play well the World Series a couple of times in Akron. There's no rhyme or reason I should ever play well

there because it was so long and hard. But I happen to play well there a couple of times, So it doesn't it doesn't make sense. When you're playing well, you can play well anywhere. I want to take a quick minute to let you know that hiring used to be hard, multiple job side stacks, resumes, a confusing review process, but today hiring can be easy and you only have to go to one place to get it done. That

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All right, back to Curtis Well. I wanted to ask you a question about the modern day player and the approach to injuries because we had two guys this past week do it completely different. You know, Tiger was battling a little bit of a neck injury and decided not to play an event he was scheduled to play in bay Hill and he didn't even get didn't even make the start. Jason Day mentions after he withdraws on Thursday that he'd had neck injuries that had started the prior weekend.

He goes out to give it a go, plays six or seven holes and w d s. And when you do that, of course, you know there's a spot that basically has left open for the week that somebody could have got in, an alternate could have got in. What what's your thoughts on that. I mean, is is that something that if you're in that position and you want to give it a go, you should have that opportunity.

Or do you like what Tiger does? When maybe it's it's he doesn't feel like he's got a chance to really compete, so why go out there and give it a go. Well, we're both speculating right here, but I will say this. I played injured more than once, less than twenty five times on tour and you just go through to play. Don't ever tell me somebody who did this for a long time. Don't ever tell me that that Jason took a spot away from an alternate when he really truly wanted to go try to play golf.

That's his prerogative. That's the competitiveness, competitor in him to go try. And it acted up and he said I can't go anymore and you and you pull out. I never had to do something like that, but at once I did. But that's that's that's his choice. So don't tell me the number one on the alternate list didn't get in from him. Um, I don't really care. In Tiger's case, we don't know because if he thought it was really gonna aggravate him by playing didn't pull out?

Do do think it's right? And the players are doing what they think is right with their own bodies, in their own competitive spirit and and their schedule. Everybody's different. It seems like you pick those two and they're the two that gosh, they're so injury prone. And is it? Is it the weight room? Is it the practice? Is it the is it the you know, hitting too many balls? Um Entire's case, it could be all of the above. Who knows. In Jason's case, it looks like he breaks

down a lot. And you know, there was some years ago that when Jason was just coming on the scene, I really thought Jason Day was gonna be the next Tiger Woods as far as record. Maybe not quite that good, but I thought he was gonna be the dominant player like DJ is, or like Brooks is, or like um, you know, justin Thomas. I know he's gonna be the guy. He's so talented with so long but he continues to, you know, uh, enter himself. So there's been people like

that over the years. He seems to be one and is disappointed from me as a fan because that guy has so much talent, so much talent, but maybe one day he'll get healthy. Well, we'll just have to wait and see. Yeah, it's a good point. I mean when you think about what Jason Day did, I mean, he nearly won the Masters in this kind of like come back, a fairback. I think it was two thousand and eleven,

and of course the pg Championship. But you know, I think Jason Day is one of those players that you know, he has the length. You know, he kind of hits the ball, you know, sky high and can do that around some of these firm and fast golf courses. But you know, he's such an underrated putter. I mean, one of the best putters on the PGA Tour. I mean when you combine all of those types of things, that would be how you would kind of cut together a

professional golfer. So he's kind of the forgotten man in that list of players. Right now, I think he's eleventh in the world. I mean, he's still finishing high, he's still winning occasionally. But I'm with you a little bit.

I've been a bit surprised the falloff since he won the PGA Championship because I thought when he did that, we were gonna see Jason Day joined you know, Speth and Rory in that three four five major win category and h And it'll be interesting to see if you can get back there, because I think he does have the skills and the talent. If he can't stay healthy,

well he really hasn't. And I've watched play you know, standard and he's incredible and you know, a great perfect body to play golf and fit and the whole thing. You know, he started having babies, and you know, people react to fatherhood. By the way, congratulations on future fatherhood. Thank you, thank you. I spent yesterday building a crib and I didn't mess it up once, so I'm very out happy with myself. A crib and a bookshelf, by

the way. The bookshelf, as you know, when you're building stuff, the fear is always opening the box, like how many pieces it is going to be? Oh my god, this bookshelf was like four pieces and that's it. It took me about twelve minutes to do it. I like gave my wife high five and said thank you for that. That's diapers take you longer than twelve minutes. Okay, But anyway, you know, people react to you know, maybe injuries, Uh,

babies at home, you don't want to leave. People react differently, and it's it's it's human nature and it's a good thing. But maybe the edge isn't there. Who knows. Um, I'd hate to think the edge isn't there, but we're getting older that type thing. So UM, I just think the world of his game. That's all I can say now. And hope he hope for for iar fake fans fake and golf fake, that he that he gets it back. And like you said, he's still eleven in the world

and we say, what the hell is are we? But I hope he really gets back and starts contending in the four majors. All right? Now, want to ask you about social media. This is something that you've really adopted and it's something you enjoy. I mean, I've been around you on the road and you like the interactions. You like commenting, you like giving people praise when they win. I noticed you you send up in Molinary about you know, the final round and how well he played in congrats

on keeping the momentum going. Well, why have you adapted? It's so I guess so quickly and and how much? And why is it something that you enjoy so much. You know, I really do enjoy it. And for this simple reason, I think I'm giving some people out there that are generous enough to follow me, uh, some inside baseball. That's all I'm trying to give them. If they follow me, it's not gonna be much other than something maybe some

answers of Sam Sneeze swinging. And let's not forget how damn good he was, or Ben Hogan or Jack Nicholas or Byron Nelson in forty five and he won all those tournaments and things that if they if if I sit down there and watch Sam Sneak swing two or three times, I'm thinking my golf followers might like that too,

So I put it out there. Or you know, just when I congratulate somebody, you know, just give him a blip of of why what impressed me that week watching him on TV or just whatever, just some inside baseball. I just I just love I mean, I don't love it. I do it because I feel like I should, uh, but uh, I just kind of I enjoy it, and you know, stay away from the politics and religion I did. I just tweet out of my only political tweet here over the holidays, and it was not It was not good.

It was not good. So it will be my first and last. That's one of those where you go, I'll just delete this. I had to test the waters and I got calleds and names, and I said, I as said, I won't do that again. You know, I I liked a tweet. You know, they're not even my tweet. I like to tweet about six months ago that had a little bit of politics in it, and I got people yelling at me about that. I mean, what even my tweet. It wasn't even my words. I just liked something and

some guys said, I'll just popped up my feet. Why are you doing this? And it's one of those things you said, you go, you know what. I did it once. That's enough. This is never again. I'm gonna talk about golf and sports. Don't I have the right to have an opinion, and if that opinion, if that opinion to back off might bleed over into whatever, you know what it's it's it's okay, you know it's okay, So um

I whatever, I stay away from it. I'm trying to give them some inside baseball that they're not going to get anywhere else. And and I and I stick to that, and I've enjoyed that. Yes, I think that's the way to do it. You're you're followers at golf underscore Strange by the way of people want to follow Curtis Strange on Twitter, and hey, you do it. He's a lot of fun, he's a good follow and he'll interact with you. So it's like a major champion interacting with everybody at

home just hanging out. I just want to ask you a quick question about Pebble Beach and uh and as we near the US Open there we all get a chance to watch Pebble Beach yearly. Just give people an idea of the difference of Pebble Beach at the US Open and Pebble Beach during the ProLAN Wow. Um, same golf course might use might use one or two back teas that ordinarily that they don't use in the A, T and T. Uh. Nine and ten had new back teas that we saw them the US Amateur last year.

Um uh that real back back to at seventeen that plays two thirty or so, they'll use that, which they don't play in the A, T and T. But more than anything else, they narrow the fairways, and I hope in there are the fairways. We just don't know until we get there. Ordinarily they narrow the fairways and grow plenty of rough and trying to get the greens as hard and fast as they can. And that's a US

Open set up. Are used to Beach. You've got to be careful with Pebble Beach because the greens are so small and have quite a bit of slope, so speak can hurt you, and being too firm can hurt you when you as I said earlier, you've got to give the players a chance, the best players in the world, but you still have to give him a chance to play. And uh, you know at times that Pebble Beach have been really really hard, but you know, you have to defend the golf course a little bit. And it is

the US Open. It should be the toughest test. I just haven't been a huge fan of, you know, some of the recent setups, and it's not because well it is because of controversy. I just want to let Pebble Beach be the star let shannikok, you know, be the star let. The great venues, be the star along with the best players in the World. Pebble Beach, you don't

have to do much too though. Um, it's it's a wonderful place, it's iconic, it's wet at Fox you and I can't wait to go and televis the US Open there um and it's it's it's the greatest event that that I can never play in, so I look forward to it every year. But Pebble was really a cool place to go play the Open, Curtis, when you you've been in the booth before obviously, and you an hour on the ground a lot for us, Which one do

you like more? I truly have embraced and like, by the way, yeah, I was just gonna ask, like, which one do you prefer or like more? And uh? And why is being on the ground so much fun for you these days at these U s Opens? Well, mainly because I'm just talking golf, um, And I don't mean that in any way other than I'm talking about the shots at that moment for that player and trying to give them something that they can't see or feel through

the TV screen. Um. That's tough to do because sometimes it's a straight up seven iron hundred seventy perfect lie, perfect green. What else do you say, you know, it's sometimes it's like playing at a dome, so there's not a lot, you know. To me, Mike, my job on the ground gets more specific, more important when the guy is in trouble. What type of lie, what type of shot, what type of you know, chance, that type of stuff. Um, Now the booth is is a different animal. Uh, we're

gonna have poising and work with us again. Although he's you know, with NBC now and doing a great job. But when you're in the booth or in the whole announcer, you're, you know, gotta have an antidote about somebody, tidbit about somebody once in a while, a little nugget, a little story, uh, and set up the hole and then set up the encoorse. So it's a little different animal. But I've enjoyed all of them. But uh, I like being out there in the middle of the in the middle of the game.

I I've really enjoyed that. I really really was honored and enjoyed being with Bruce kept Gilac Brooks Kepco last year at the when he went back to back. Yeah, I mean, of course you were right there to congratulate him doing something that you did the last to do it last thing. I just watched Losers on Netflix, Curtis, and of course I get to see your face unexpectedly talking about Van Develp. Now twenty years later, you were in the booth with Tariko talking a little bit about broadcasting,

and all I could think is, I'm watching this. I mean, you know, I've seen and read, you know, fifty things about Vandervelt over the years. But I was I was very injured used at a great line he said. We didn't say much because there was nothing much to say, And I was thinking, you know, people don't know when things like this are happening, and this is obviously one

of the rarest things ever in golf. Is I could only imagine the looks between you and Mike back and forth as he's pulling two iron and taking his shoes off. What was it like in the booth during that whole thing. Wow,

we weren't even looking at the monitors. Our booth is halfway down eighteen, so we were standing up looking over top the monitors, looking out the window as Rossie and Mike and I were talking, and uh, it was it was to to televise into chronicle controversy or a disaster like that is very, very tough to do because you want to give it to justice. You want to give it the the analysts as somebody who's been there and

done that and screwed up. But you you don't want to be mean spirited, but you have to tell the viewer what is really going on here, and you know in in in controversy, it's not easy. The thing comes to mind as Dustin Johnson h Oakmont, you know, three years ago or so when he won. But in Vanderbilt's case, it was the wildest thing I've ever had to try

to talk about. And I don't want to talk about it like I'm sitting at the bar or home talking to friends, because you would be brutal and mean spirited. But you're trying to give inside baseball to the viewers out there. And what came out of my mouth after watching you gotta remember this thing took forty minutes to play the whole but you I finally hit my my talk back to my producer and can I say that us?

He said, go now, so when he's standing in the water, I said, this is the most stupid thing I've ever seen in my life. And I stand by that comment to this day. I didn't call John stupid. I liked the man. He's handled that spectacularly as a gentleman. If that's and and but I I had to tell the viewer and the listener what I was thought as somebody who has been there one tournaments and lost tournaments, and

it was till this day. It was because you had a chance to think about every shot, and he chose poorly on every shot, and he lost the open, and you hate as a competitor. I don't see anybody ever lose a golf tournament. I want to see him win a golf tournament. When you when you, when you don't do well, come down the stretch, it is hard for us to call. But in that case it's It's my defining moment in TV and trick when I were just flabbergasted and it was and Rossie was phenomenal on the ground.

Uh he just I felt for him. I felt for him, but I had to do my job absolutely and and and again I I said this on Twitter. You guys were so good and at that moment, because it's again, that is so hard. It's so easy to be waxing poetically about jordan'spath walking up the eighteenth fairway at Chambers Bay to win the US Open. That and I don't want to say easy, but that is the part of the job that you're prepared for. You're not prepared for a got to make seven on the last tole of

the three shot leads. So I thought, you guys, you guys crushed it. If you haven't seen it. Losers on Netflix absolutely worth your time. Well, it's a twelve part series on different people and teams that have lost. I hate the title losers because none of these people are losers that we wouldn't be talking about them that they were great champions have to lost the dramatic event. I'll tell you one other example was our first year at Fox at Chambers Bay. You talk Chambers Bay for to

Chronicle and talk about uh, Dustin Johnson. Three putting from fifth team feed on the last hole is very, very difficult, and I think Greg Norman found that out on live TV. It's tough to do, but you have to put yourself in his shoes and as somebody who's again been there and done then in Greg Norman's case, not picking on Greg, it's tough to do, but you have to give us some inside baseball on what just happened here. And uh, I just think the job is tougher than people think

it is. And it's you know, because you do it all the time, but it's it's not easy, and to try to get it from my brain out my mouth sometimes is the most That's the toughest thing I ever do right without getting fired. That's the key, you know, that's getting fired. Yeah, And that's the Johnny Miller thing. You know that that is why I think there was there was and I don't want to say, you know, Johnny Mill was a controversial figure because he was one of the best of all time. But what he did

was he spoke of the moment, not the player. And I think a lot of the time people think he spoke of the player, not the moment. He wasn't saying this player is doing this. He's saying and we are watching this happen. And I think that is again the best players in the world of choke. I mean, tagger Woods missed a very makeable put against way Yang that we've never really seen a miss before and that was either you know, a battery, a bad put, or he was in his own head, and I mean that happens.

It happens to grade the greats. It happened to Jack, it happened to Arnie. I mean, I'm sure it happened to you at times, and it's happened to everybody, So it's not it's not knocking the person that's doing it. I just hate the word choke because it's so negative. But we've all not handled pressure. There's an enormous amount of pressure coming down the last not holes of a golf tournament, and then you put it tenfold in a major championship. But when you're young, you're going up not

do well because you've never experienced it. And once you experience it once or twice or three times, now you learn. That's when you learn how to play the game. Is how your body reacts when it's uncomfortable on that stage and chokes the wrong word. It's just learning how to play this game at the highest level. And it's not

just a golf it's every sport and every business. People choke in the business room or the conference room when you get nervous, and sometimes you don't think properly, you don't react properly, So it's I just don't like the word choke, but you better learn from it because it's not gonna get any easier. Um and it's but it's it's true. Hell I choke on TV? Are you kidding me? Like I said from from from Brain to Mouse, Sometimes it doesn't it doesn't relate, just not always rolls right

off the tongue. I I understand. I've been there. Well, Curtis, I appreciate you taking the time. Like I said, I know you. Uh, you want to what are we what are we fishing for today? When you get off the line, We're a little snip fishing today. Yeah, just do you know enjoying the eighty three degree weather today down here in Florida. Yeah, get a little fishing in before the

player starts. I appreciate it. Curtis Strange. Of course, follow him at Golf Underscore Strange on Twitter and you will see him a part of all of our Fox coverage throughout the summer. So make sure you get ready to tune into that. It will be a lot of fun. Big USJA venues we got in. Thanks man, Thanks Shane, good talk to you. It looks like I'm a big Thanks to Curtis Strange for jumping on the podcast. Always love having his insight and his general honesty. Love the

honesty from Curtis Strange. He's one of the best. Make sure you follow him on Twitter at golf Underscore Strange. He is a great follow. He he'll he'll talk about things happening on the golf course and he doesn't really hold back. I know that's no surprise from a man like Curtis Strange, and he's a great follow So make sure you do that. A big shout out to titlist and the new Ookey Wedges and the new yellow pro v one X. Don't forget about the new yellow golf ball.

Trust me, you're gonna see it everywhere. Be one of the first to do that. It's out in March. You can get it now, so check that out. The title is pro v one on pro v one x thanks to Zip Recruiter and Robin Hood. Make sure you go to those distinctive and exclusive web addresses to check out all that they offer. And we will be back next week with more Clubhouse Podcast. If you get a chance to get out early over the weekend and play golf, then you can hunker down and watch the players