Fire Drill 058: The Shot Heard ‘Round Melbourne

think well I'm thinking about Hello. This is Alan Schip knock back for another Fire Drill podcast. This is an extra special one. Joining us from Melbourne is Jeff Ogilvie as usual, but not as a podcaster, as the host of the sand Built Invitational, which just concluded moments ago and his uh sitting to his laugh, Well, Jeff, why don't why don't you introduce your guest, I gas r up little bit. Well, yeah, this is um probably the start of the show. UM second overall in the tournament,

UM leading leading female in the tournament, Memerica Kabori. She's had an unbelievable tournament. She pushed Cam Daves all the way down the line all weeks. She broke two course records this week King s Nathan Row Melbourne. I think, Um, so you don't break course records of Kings Nathan Row Melbourne every day, especially, don't do it both all in the same tournaments. So um, one of the stars of the show for sure. Pushed came all the way down

to the last hole. Um. I didn't see any of her play today except for up to last because I was doing my thing too, busy taking big divots and looking for balls and they're off of it. Um. Everyone I heard come off the course going, oh my god, she's playing incredible. She's pushing cam. What a battle. You gotta go out there and watch it. So, yeah, she put on a great show. Yeah, so Momerica, congratulation's Um. What did it feel like to have a chance to

win this tournament? You know, anytime you're in contention, obviously there's nerves and there's excitement and um. But you know, obviously KEM Davis is a very established player. There's a lot of other well known you know, male touring pros on that leaderboard and you were racing past all them, Like just how exciting was that for you? Yeah? Honestly, it was probably um, I just wanted to like probably one of the most fun I've had on the course in a long time, I want to say this week.

Um yeah, I mean, you know, I got to play with Cam for the last three rounds, which was amazing, as we all know, you know, the chiefs some amazing things, and just being able to watch what he does around the course as well, you know, just how he plays the ball and it's obviously, you know, pretty different to how I do it. So it was actually like, um a lot to kind of you know take in for me.

And yeah, it was actually quite funny. Um you know, like you said, you know, we'll all get you know, the nerves and adrenaline going down the stretch, but it was quite funny. I think we were on the seventh

thing whole today. So I had my coach Dom on the bag and I was just into him like I actually don't know what I'm shooting right now, or what cameras or well and I have far behind I am or anything like that, which was you know, like usually I tend to kind of know where I'm sitting and you know, I can't really help but to think about the score but this week kind of, you know, it was I think guess we were kind of so focused on trying to hit it in the same spots, and

you know, I guess the course being so challenging, you kind of have to you know, give yourself a good place, you know, good shots in and put yourself in the right spot. So there was in a way there was probably a unique experience, I think for me, but just overall just honestly had so much fun out there, I think from you know, I've heard the same thing from

a lot of players. Just such a unique opportunity to be able to play, um, you know, these four amazing courses on standbut you know all in one one week, which is you know, it's it's you know, you never get that opportunity anywhere else. So honestly, just you know, big thanks to Jeff really is for putting this all together for all of us, and I think a lot of us, I mean all of us just really enjoyed our time out. Yeah, so did your coach tell you

where you were? I mean, did you know on the last couple of holes of how you had a chance to snatch that trophy? We were kind of guessing we were like, oh, I think I'm too on the for the day, and I think cam is won ahead of you, but we're not really sure. It was actually the conversation we had coming down, I think the samithing the past five um, so I think we kind of had a rough idea, but we weren't really sure. We were like, oh,

it doesn't really matter. I just do what we can, trying to make two birdies last two holes, and you know that's enough to win it it is and if it's not, it's not. Kind Of we had that kind of pretty chilled out mentality going out there, So that was you know that there was a lot of fun as well. Jeff, would you love to have that kind of just mental clarity in contention, just don't worry about just make birdies and like, that's a I've never been well.

I guess sometimes when you're just when you're just black out and shoot not under something one day and you don't even know what you're doing in those days when you get in the zone or whatever. But that's that's a handful of times in thirty years, you know, I mean, generally you know exactly what you're having and you're either excited because you're playing well and you're in the lead, or you're grump because you're not um usually very very aware.

But yeah, it's it's it's kind of part of this tournament, I think, is so it's still at a very pure place, so there's not leaderboards everywhere. Um usually you're just hit in the face with where you're at everywhere you turn, like I mean, especially I mean the PGA Tour, you're like there's a leaderboard everywhere, and it's like you've seen highlights from other people's holes on the screens all the time,

and like it's hold different sort of vibe. It's kind of nice to go back to pure people walking like spectators on the fairways. Everyone just four different courses I think sort of adds to that sort of it's an adventure. You play seventy two different holes in the tournament, you know,

so to actually do well in the end. There's actually pretty nuts to be up the top of the leader board, because that's, as it said, normally, you sort of get to think you go Thursday Fridays, but by the time you get to Saturday, kind of learning the course and working out how to play at this one, you've got ahold new course every day. I mean, are all in a similar condition, but they're a little bit different. Kingston was as tough as king well, not as tough as

it gets, but it was firm fast. It's a really awkward course to play well. Kingson I find always raw. Melbourne is a challenge all of its own um, and then Yarryarra was really different. They have different grains. They have really fast power grains compared to the other three a bend um. They all actually have a different grass on the greens these courses, which makes it sort of an adjustment every day. And that's sort of I think

part of it. Because part of this tournament it's it's it's a tournament to sort of showcase the golf courses. It's too, um give everyone an opportunity to sort of the amateurs, a chance to play with the pros, the guys that players, to change plans with the girls, and everyone to play with everyone who we never get to

play with each other, so that's really nice. But I think it's almost the perfect tournament for improving your tournament play because you have to learn a golf course really fast in the morning almost and you did you of learning along the way and you have to sort of make great decisions all the way around without sort of that three practice rounds and cut the rounds under your belt sort of knowledge. You're just going bang, bang, bang, And it's a new hole every whole and um, different

conditions every day, albeit similar conditions. Um, yeah, it's it's just a cool It's just turned out there's so many good things to this tournament that we didn't even think of. We just so, let's just put a few people on the sand belt four days in a row and see what you see what happens. But there's so many sort of side sort of benefits to this tournament, good aspects that we hadn't even thought of until it actually happens.

And this is our second one and it's all happened again, and um, just up in the clubhouse with a bunch of the players who played and spectators and all the people from the other golf courses all turned up today and stuff. And I've never had so many positive reviews of something, you know. It's just it's just turned out to be a really cool format and a cool idea, and the clubs love it. And we had pristine weather

for the first three days. I mean, Melbourne's traditionally quite changeable and up and down, but um, first three days were the best three days we've had in two comfortably. And it was like um celsius every day, which for you guys is eight fahrenheit every single day, no wind, which is really rare for Melbourne, not just a tiny bit of wind. And then today we had rain all morning, but it's sort of got really nice at the end.

There was sort of a dark sky with thunderstorms, but it kind of got nice the last couple of holes, and um, it couldn't have been better, really good. And the course it was so good that, I mean, the conditioning is so ridiculous here, how good they all are, and they're all showing off to try to be sort of better than yesterday, and they want to be the one that stands out amongst the four and it's really

difficult to stand out amongst these courses because they're also good. Um, it's just a treat to come every day and get on these courses when they're trying to impress you, you know, and there's four of the best courses in the world all trying to impress you. They come up pretty good. You know, so that was great fun. Yeah. Well, I mean, congrats to you, Jeff, because like you've really you've pulled

this off. I mean, um, and this this was kind of the best case scenario with the fitness I mean, Cameron Davis, p DO Tour Winner, Presidents Cup, you have made a great showing there. Yeah, it was you know, other than yourself, was probably the marquee player in the field, and to have to have him win it, but to be pushed to the you know, part of the obviously the mission this term is to bring men and women

together to play together, and boys and girls. I mean you have you have some teenagers and um, so to have momocca like chasing down Cam like that, that's what you dreamed about, right, It was a yeah, total dream

And to get the set up brought. Um so it matched up because Cam hits at three and thirty yards right, like it's a different sort of like level, and to match it up, and it obviously worked out pretty well, right it seemed fair, I think I think so it worked out pretty well because um, you know, I think it balanced out really well because since we had some of the holes that were you know, that played as reasonably easier Part five saw us and tough part forth

for the guys, and then there were also holes where you know, we'll be teeing off simm holes, which then was similar to you sorry, which then kind of balanced that out, I think across the board. So I think it worked out really well, which you know, I was, you know, it was really really cool to see me. It's obviously really tough to get that right, I think too, you know, just it's so hard to get that balance right because it's just, you know, so many variables out there.

But I thought it was, you know, playing really cool, really good. Yeah. I mean, I guess we had the best guy in the field and the best girl in the field coming up the last, separated by one shot. So I guess it worked out really well. So we don't do it total strokes. We do it relative to part right, um, which is I think a better way to match it up. I think, um, yeah, and I

worked out perfectly. Yeah, So um Cama Michael were clearly the two best players in the field, and as I said that, we were separated by well, they were tired I think with two to play. Actually, Um and cam File reports I didn't say it, but Cam hit a driver off the deck from like two eight or two naughty or something on the seventh holand it's a it's a pin that's tough to get close to with a sandwich and he hit it to twelve feet with a driver.

Um so probably the shot of the tournament. Shan probably wasn't captured on live tebe they or something, because it would have been like the shot of the year or something. Apparently, Um, I was gonna say that sounds like like like Sarazan's um, you know, hold out in Augusta. It's which was the second playing of the Masters, that you need to stunt like that to kind of help put things on the map. So that's just probably wasn't the shot heard around the world.

This was the shot heard around Melbourne. Maybe start well, so Molica, let's talk about what this this means for your career. You know, obviously you're twenty three years old, turn pro last year after having a very nice career at pepper Dye and and you've had success on the developmental tours. But what will this week do for you and you know, to push you forward in your young career. Yeah, I think what kind have happened this week in a lot of areas I feel like gives me a bit

of confidence going into next season. UM, you know, just um, I guess. I mean there's a lot of things that kind of happened this week, but being able to play UM kind of against the quality of the field that we were able to this week and on the courses that you know set up not easy at all, UM, you know, even compared to UM, just compared to any other courses around the world that will get to play. I mean, the setup of it is you know, absolutely

pure UM. You know, difficult. You know, they'll be difficult pins, you know, the condition of greens, all that kind of stuff. I mean, I think being able to kind of play the way UM I was able to UM kind of confirms that the stuff that I've been working on leading up to, you know, this week, in the last few

weeks have actually been UM, a real positive. You know, being able to do that in a tournament, you know, there'll be things that will be working on at all times, and we'll be you know, just be on the range practice rounds will be like, oh yeah, we've got them, but being able to do them in a tournament situation like this is you know, can sometimes be an entirely different story. So, um, yeah, I think in that sense, you know, this was such a great opportunity for me

to be able to test it as well. Um, you know, in a proper tournament situation, which you know, we don't

really we don't always get the chance to do. And you know, now we're kind of going into the summer, um Christmas break kind of thing, so I've probably got three or four weeks to work on a few things that I was able to kind of pick up on this week, and so you know, for me, like this week, I just feel like I just got so much out of it, really, Um kind of learned a lot about my own game, learned a lot about from watching the guys play as well, especially you know, not to mention

watching cam play, but you know, we're playing with Mecca today, and you know, it was it was Actually I find it really cool being able to play with the guys, you know, like watching them close up, because you know, we might play in the same tournament quite a few times, but we don't really we often get to watch close up what they do, and I feel like there's a lot that, um, we can kind of learn from you know, how they play the game and um that kind of stuff.

So yeah, across the board just got so much out of it, so really excited for the season coming up next year. Any any fun little um tidbits you can share about, like specific shots or putting drills or anything that you you were able to witness this week that that it kind of clicked and you've you've already sort

of incorporated into what you do. I feel like I saw from the guys, mainly because I don't really get the chance to watch the other girls this week, but um, I feel like compared to what I do, I feel like a lot of the guys shaped the ball really well into the greens, which you know, it's it's being

able to do that. I think a lot of times, you know, it can be a massive advantage depending on you know, the penn placements, knowing that you know and using the contours of the greens, that kind of stuff.

I feel like there's a lot of creativity that I saw throughout the week, you know, which you know, I think there were a couple of times I was watching and be like, oh, I'd probably play it like this, kind of picturing it in my head you know, and you know, sometimes it will be similar and then sometimes well be like completely different. I'd be like, oh wow,

like I did not think of doing that. So you know, there's a few things like that which you know, I kind of remember remember back, you know, looking back on the last three or four days. So you know, that's always cool to see. Yeah, that that's great. Kind of expands your your notion of what's possible a little bit. Yeah, yeah, definitely. So those who have an ear for accidents will will notice that you don't have the arsy like like Jeff,

but you're actually from New Zealand. I'm wondering, has Lydia been an influence and a mentor for you? Lydia She has been a big influence on me, for sure. Yeah.

I think we actually not too far in Asia think, but like, you know, just even when I was a junior um you know, fifteen fourteen, fifteen sixteen, that's when she was already on the world stage, you know, you know, I think she was ranking that world number one, I think as early as UM probably around that time, and I think, you know, she's probably the player that I look up to the most, you know, not just because she's from New Zealand, but you know, just the amazing

personality she has and I've been lucky to kind of get to know her a little bit more. This year, I managed to you know, play in the to my own Agia Pacific Cup, which was a team's event, so myself and Lydia were able to you know, be the

represent New Zealand and that event, which was amazing. I got just spent three days with her, play in the same group as there and yeah, she's just such a genuinely, um like nice person that's always like, you know, that's wanting to help and you know, yeah, other than you know, obviously want to be a player like her, but also just kind of as a person that she's someone that

I really look up to. So um, she's been a massive influence to me, just not just think golf, but overall, Yeah, I love that, So Jeff, you know, the highlight of your week between the ropes was obviously a bogy list to were around Royal Melbourne, your your home course and the place that we know you love so much, and um, you weren't able to string four rounds together like that, but as you're continuing to kind of screep off the

rust and get into a little more competitive mindset. What did you learn about where your game is and and does it does it give you any optimism going forward? Um, my game is a long way away, I think, Um I was. I did enjoy Role Melbourne. I always do. I like the the beauty I think of Role Melbourne

and courses like that. Um is that if you know how to that it's so strategic that if you know how to play it, you can be playing poorly and have a good score if you know how you do it and know what you're doing, and if you're playing you could if you don't know what you're doing, you can play well and have a bad score, which I kind of really like. It's more about knowing how to play the course rather than we play so much golf that it's it's all about precision. You had a good shot,

in your reward, you had a bad shot, you punished. Um, mechanically speaking, just it's an execution contest, whereas Ray Melbourne is more of a game of chess. Um, and it always sort of gets me excited. Yeah, my game's actually total crap, to be honest, But um, there's signs like there's some good stuff. I mean, I've just got you get so much going on and when you're running I'm

not running this golf tournent by any means. There's a lot of people doing most of the heavy lifting, but there's way more going on just the last few weeks for this tournament that I normally would have having a golf tournament. And I've played golf twice, I think since he's trying open, so um, there was enough good stuff

that I'm sort of got some positives and I did. Um, I did get a little bit of it, as you always do at the end of a crap week, Somewhere in the last two or three hours, you're like, oh, there it is. So I'm leaving with like hope, which is always annoying, right, um, but exciting as well. So I've got something that I work on. I want to go hit balls now actually to be honest, because I've got actually an inkling of an idea that might uh like solve a few of the issues that I mean having.

But anyway, Um, it was okay, and it's so fun to play this. I'm just happy that everyone had a good time, um, and that it's sort of some of what my moocha is saying, is ringing like exactly what we want to hear. How much everyone's learning watching everyone else play golf, play these golf courses. Um, it really is in the spirit of I mean, there's a mentoring aspect,

but there's just a learning aspect and experience aspect. And there's no other golf tournament in the world where're going to get to play seventy two great holes that are all different in a row, four days in a row. You know, we got really fortunate where the weather. It would have kind of been nice to see a bit

of wind get up a couple of times. Um. But yeah, it's just this, as I said, this tournament, we just kind of wanted a little bit of a nice experience and hey, let's treat everyone at the end of the year and play for good courses and put everyone in the same thing, and let's just have a bit of fun at the end of year. And it's turned out to be there's so many stressed to this tournament that I that we didn't imagine that are happening. So um, yeah,

my golf is plenty of room for improvement. But there's Um, as I said, there was a couple of glimmers there towards the end. Row Melton was a fun day and it's nice to know I can still play golf of course like that, Okay, even when I'm not really playing super well. Um, but there was some glimmers. I've got something to work on over Christmas in the next month really until I've got anything serious to play again. So we'll see us as always. To be continued. I'd love

to hear that well. Obviously, the first playing of the Invitation of the last year, you threw it together really fast and pulled it off, but it was it was you're sort of building the airplane while you're flying it. You had this whole year to refine the idea and and um, what's next. I mean, I'm sure every you learned a lot this week of things you want to play. How do you see this evolving into the third annual playing a year from now? Yeah, I mean, look, well,

there's no hurry. I think it's everyone who comes to play it. He's having a good time, you know, everyone comes to watch. It's having a good time. The clubs are liking it. It's sort of ticking all the boxes that we wanted to achieve. So we just want to gradually improve and just keep investing in the tournament. It's not about it's not about raising squillions of dollars and paying lots of people and like having big grand stands

and all that. It's not about that at all. It's just about making it a better experience for everyone who comes to play it and everyone who comes to watch it every year. So we'll there's as you do these things, you don't problems you don't. You can't foresee everything until they happen, you know. So there's ten or fifteen or twenty little things that popped up this week that just little things that we sort of noticed, and we've taken a few notes, and we'll just improve bit by bit.

I mean, we improved a little bit more this year. Our organization was a little bit better. We had really good communication with the players. I thought this year, better balls on the range, everyone got the yardish books and stuff at the start of the week. And like we just did a few a few things that were just a little bit better, and we'll just try to just keep doing that, sort of keep investing in the event obviously, try to i mean raise a bit more money so

we can do all that sort of stuff. But we're just there's no rush, we think, I think the event is great, everybody enjoys it. We're just going to just keep polishing and polishing and polishing and just hopefully we can keep this going for a really long time. I mean, these aren't the only four courses on the sand Belt. There's there's a couple of clubs who are really putting

their hand up hard to get involved. It's gonna be hard to get rid of any um, so there'll be discussions going forward, but that's some of these clubs will be hosting big tournaments in the year. There may be hosting in Australian Open or something. Maybe they do that and someone else comes in and um so we'll be sort of the clubs. It'll probably maybe end up sort

of a rotation thing. But there's there's more than four elite courses on the sand Belt, you know, which is just a sign of how fortunate we are in Melbourne. So would just yeah, just keep making incremental improvements and as long as the players have a good time, everybody gets something out of it, The spectators have a good time,

the clubs enjoy it. Um wait, winning. You know, so what if Quantas came to you tomorrow and said, okay, we want we want to sponsor this, We'll give you a five million dollar perse and uh would obviously you'd be happy, But maybe that's not what you envisioned. I mean, I've made this parallel in print between you know, Bobby Jones started a little tournament and it's got kind of big. That was in Georgia and now you we all know you loved down the fairway and you have this kinship

with Jones and now you've started this little tournament. I mean, do you fear it could get too big? Like that actually happened something like that. I don't fear about big, but I I they just we're just not going to compromise and sell out to get sponsorship, you know. I mean, what if if Jones and Clifford rob it's their genius and the Masters still to this day is they keep investing in the event. You know, they don't put signs on the sides of the fairways and they could have.

Really they barely market that tournament. You know, all their efforts go into making the tournament better. And that's all we really want to do here and we'd love massive purse and like all that sort of stuff, but that that will come in time if we keep doing a good job at making it a better and better tournament.

So we just want to keep you know, just there's no real crazy ambition except to just put on the best four rounds we can around the best four courses we can, you know, and if the players want to come, they want to come. We don't put any pressure on any big players to come play. We let them all know that it's on um Cam winning is really really exciting for us because he was probably the best player

in the field obviously, Presidents Cup player. Hopefully he goes back and whispers in the locker room that, hey, look, if you're not doing anything later in the year, that Sam Belt Tournament is a pretty good tournament. But yeah, we just we just want everyone to have a good time. We just want to keep um just investing in the tournament, you know, and if if, if it elevates to something really big, that would be great, because this on a

big scale with everybody watching would be pretty cool. You know. Um it's already really cool, you know, so we could only get better. So we're not chasing any of that we're just investing, invested in making it as good an event as we can. I love that. Momoko went, what did Cam say to one was over on the last green? Did you have any anything, any kind words? UM. It

was nice. Actually, he kind of came up to me and said, may like great playing this week, and I was like, like, you know, it's it's just you know, it's always cool to like have someone come up and say that to you, but to kind of hear that from a um, a player you know, of his of his UM level, who has achieved so much, you know, it was really cool, Like you know, like it was like, oh cool, like you know, yeah, you know he reckons that I've played kind of well as well, you know,

and and there was a cool thing you know to hear that, and you know, yeah, it just kind of summed up you know what I was able to you know, do you know just playing three rounds with him as well, and I guess he got to watch a bit of a bit of my game, and I got to watch quite a bit of his game and stuff. So yeah, that was really cool to hear. Yeah, there's an expression for that game recognized games. Uh. He was had to

have been impressed. Um, well, this this is neat. I really appreciate you taking the time to to share this, this achievement with with our listeners. Any any parting thoughts Jeff before we let you go, I mean, as as you reflect back on a very successful week, I mean not really. I mean I think I've said it all. I said, I think it went really well. We um, we we sort of set out what we set out

sort of. The goal of the event is to have the best sort of players that we can find come and play the best courses that we have, you know, um, give everyone a great experience. Hopefully everybody learns a little bit.

They have a bit of fun. Everyone gets in spired too, maybe start fading into right pins and drawing it into left pins and um, learning is as I think I've said a couple of times this week, I mean, these courses make you a better golfer, you know, and they make you want to be a better golfer because it's

not just an execution contest as some Brian involved. And yeah, the spin and the shaping and um sort of thinking away around the golf course and just playing off such good grass and patting on such good grains and just looking at such a beautiful hole, all of those sort of things. So um, total success from our point. We had a great finish, obviously, great champions and a great contest at the end. Um just looking forward to next year. Yeah me too. All right, Well that was Jeff Ogilvie

and Mocha Kabori um Alan Schipnuk. Thanks for listening to this very special fire Drill podcast from the sand Bell Invitational. We will certainly keep blowing it out on our channels the next few days with videos and stories and everything else to celebrate this this really cool, unique turn. So that's it for now, and thanks for listening. I bed big and I played to win, made a fortune within my shop game man, I ran the table, never thought

I could fall down. The wintertime hit me like a cannon, the ball and now I can't shake this losing the street. Every road I take is a dead end stream. I got thoughts in my head, can't get him out, trying not to think what I'm thinking about. I got thoughts in my head, I can't get him out, and trying not to think what I'm thinking about