Fire Drill 073: The Masters Is Here…Finally

preamble from the last Major until the Masters. This year was extremely um action packed with all the all the subplots and everything else. So here to unpack it all at Michael Bamberger, Matt Janella, gents, thanks thanks for doing this pleasure. I mean, come on, we're talking to the master. I mean, this is like when I lived in the Northeast. This sort of was the week in which you allowed yourself to think that spring was about to spring. You

know what I mean. It was this was when we thought, like when we got back from covering one of them, you know how many Masters have we been going to this? That was when you could start playing golf again. So there's that I've generally just already build that excitement. But also I just think the Major, the current state of the game, the majors are even more major, and the Masters has always been an amazing major. And now it's even the theater about what's about to unfold. It is

just I just can't wait. Well, now it starts a week early with you know, with the Annua, which was must watch this year with Rose, and people are still debating whether should have laid up or not on the fifteenth hole. It's like the Master now, Allan, Allan, Allan, Yes, they're not debating. Let's yeah, well, okay, let's just so. I mean, I know it's only one person, maybe two, the dad and the and the winner for he didn't.

I didn't hate it. She was playing to win. It's like a birdie there and the tournament's over and like she was trying to go. She was going for the juggular. I thought it was cool. But Matt, Matt, that's why our distinguished colleague was a cartboy, not a caddy. At the Pebble Beach legs, though there aren't really there are too many water hazards there. Mother is a big lake left of eighteen. I don't see Allan, it's an absolute layout. Well. One of the great pleasures of watching the UH the

Augusta Nasheal Women's Amateur was Bones visit. You could hear his discomfort. He was just dying to take the bag off of Rosing's father's shoulder and get in there. He was so bothered by the whole thing. The one thing, the one thing I miss about Bones being back on JT's bag is Bones the broadcaster, the ouncer, the color commentator. I just I miss him well, especially anything Augusta related. I mean, he's so authoritative on the piets and anything

but the masters. He takes now he has seen a lot of it in his life, but he takes bad course management personally. So like if Jean Vandevelt does something, he's still bad at Jean Vandebilt. It's like John Vandeville's trying his best, but Bones can't see it though. And again, Alan and I were both standing there in two thousand and six in the eighteenth fairway, and the one thing I noticed is Bones was just not They just were not talking to each other. They just were not having

any conversation. So yes, he had taken it personally that Phil was doing what Phil was doing. That's great. Well, yeah, so it's amazing. How and we've talked about this before, Michael and I how just the Masters used to be this small invitational and it was an important tournament, but there was an intimacy and it was, uh, you felt like you were guests of this little club. And now the campus has become supersized. It's kind of like this golf Disneyland. And and now Master's Week. I mean even

Sunday you have we're taping Sunday evening here. It's you have the drive chip and putt. You have all a lot of players are starting to begin their Masters preps, including Tiger walked around with some wedges and a putter as he has did back in twenty nineteen late on Sunday afternoon, and you have bernhard Longer hitting balls on the rains next to kids warming up for the drive,

chip and putt. Like there's this this intermixing of the events and the cultures of it all is it's a fascinating part of the preamble that didn't even exist, you know, four or five years ago. So Master's Week just gets bigger and bigger, just just like the Augusta National Footprint. Well,

we're here, we are. I should take a second, we should take a second and talk sponsorship really quickly, because you're talking about drive, chip and putt and while you're talking about a lot of transcendent eyes coming to the to the game this week, this weekend, this upcoming week and weekend. And I finally have the definitive answer, by the way to a question in which I know we

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to breaking them in. Matt. How how many clubs do they want you to start with your you're a ten year old kid, you're athletic, but you're new to golf like your son. How many how many clubs do they want in the best seven or nine? Seven to nine?

I think is good. A couple, you know, a couple a driver and maybe a hybrid and like a five wood, you know, some sort of you know those three clubs a putter obviously, and then like a five and a seven iron or a wedge you know, from you know, seven to nine clubs essentially nice that's what Michael plays now.

An yeah, John Ashley, you know, I mean one of the great things about you know about the Goat and where my family plays golf is they have the Kid's course, they have the Goat Teas, they have a forty eighteen hole golf course. They can climb the ladder literally in one place, and um, and they're gonna be doing using it rob They're gonna be doing it using Robin golf clubs, So that's cool. We should note that Robin Golf is going to be sponsoring everything we do this this week.

Michael and I will be typing regularly pretty much every day. We'll be podcasting throughout the week. I think we're gonna wrangle Jeff Ogilvie for a few of those pods. So thanks for Robin Golf for the sponsorship. So let's let's look ahead to this this Master's there's there's so many things percolating, not least you know, brooks Keepka's now one Tuova's last six starts. How much weight do we put

on that because they're on live unknown? You know this, this master has become such an important yardstick for all those guys who went to the other tour, and you know, they're they're sort of playing for their credibility, to prove that they still got it, and all the slings and arrows about exhibition golf and carts and shotguns, and I think they're going to compete with quite an intensity. But other things, you know, Rory looking for the mythical green jacket.

You've got this battle for number one, Scheffler trying to go back to back, You've got the like of Ram and other people who are trying to cement their standing as at the top of the game. I mean, Michael, what as you look atter this masters, what are you most keenly interested in? What? What are you most excited about? Well, I'll answer for the broad public for us, because there's such interest in Rory because he's been so out in front.

You know, Alan, you have alluded to this several times and it's taken me a while to Ashley grasp but that Rory mclroy really is the biggest name in golf right now. He's the only person this week who can complete the career Grand Slam and um, and I think they'll be He's been playing some great golf, he hasn't won a major and forever, so I think going in that, you know, for people who are not falling golf keenly but followed to some degree, people want to know ken

this guy closed the deal? He can he win the career Grand Slam? Um. Think about the last shot that Rory hit at Augusta Nashville, that whole out from the bunker are on Sunday afternoon. You got him the second place last year, which is his best finish, and he's he's actually been a top ten machine at Augusta that just a lot of them have felt a little backdoor ish and he hasn't really been in the thick of it.

But across tenny two holes, he tends to shoot a score that puts him not not that far from from the top. So it's just can you get incrementally better? Can he tighten it up? He's had played a lot of mediocre first rounds. Can he got off to a hot start? Like? But I agree, I mean all eyes on Rory Um. There's also got him Tiger Woods. We haven't seen him with a golf club in his hand for a little while, and he's he's always a huge interest.

If there's there's any course where he where he turns into a chess match and and Tiger can can just rely on his knowledge and his magic hands and his his his ability to think his way around a golf course. I mean, you would think would be Augusta National. What about you, Matt, what are you looking forward to? I mean that the storylines are just it's endless. It's endless. I can't believe you know, I'm just right, Cam Smith.

You know where is he at you know, yeah, Brooks is one thing, but like Cam Smith and what he's done the last couple of years in the big venues, in stages, his short game, and what he did at the old course and where I think he kind of sits in the game of golf with a real like I don't really give a shit kind of an attitude is very dangerous and uh and this golf course obviously suits him. You got guys like Jason Day, Adam Scott, justin Rose. They've shown a pulse. They love this golf course.

It seems to like them. And obviously Patrick Reid, Rory Brooks. I mean, you know Scheffler by the way, I mean, like, you know, is he gonna is he gonna defend? I mean Xander Schoffleigh here is playing really good, feels really confident, really likes this golf course, it likes him. I mean, it's it's just endless. And again to me, the majors have become more major, and I just I can't wait

to consume all of this what's about to unfold. I agree with that the major's have become more major, and then this particular major is more major yet because we didn't really have much of a president's scup. So since the last round of an incredible British Open at the Old Course of the three of us were there for that cam Smith shooting that thirty coming home to beat

Rory McElroy who was the sixty three whole leader. This particular major with live versus the PGA Tour, you know, the cam Smith's versus the Rory mcelroys has just so much extra emotion to it. To use Allan's word, it's fraught. Okay, I'm gonna retire that word for the short term. Thank you for pointing that out. I mean, the most anticipated dinner in the history of golf. No, it's not the

Wednesday Night Golf Writers Awards ceremony. It's it's Tuesday night, the Champions Dinner, you know, which is kind of this tired old tradition, like I really don't care who serves what.

Year to year it's I just rolled my eyes. But this year it's like it's it's like a mid East Piece summit or something, and um, you you bring all these wild cards together, from Gary Player to Bubba Wattson to Phil Mickelson like anything, if you if you tell me on Wednesday morning, someone got their eyes stabbed out over dessert. I would, I will totally believe that. I mean, anything could happen there despite there's this this you know,

very thin veneer of southern gentility. I mean it's a lot of egos, it's a lot of bitterness, it's a lot of everything. So who knows what's going to happen. I can you know, look at JP McManus program in Ireland had a dare. There was it was there was some tension, it was there was some concern they'll live players and and and tour players were all going to be under one roof, but on behalf of J. P McManus and what he had done and what you know, sort of the the genteel sort of nature of this event,

there was no problem. And I think if you take a Austin National, a champions dinner, everyone's got a green jacket on and you got Ben Crenshaw leading the way, and it is what it is like. I just I just don't I don't see anybody being the one. You know, you know, it's like a company party. You want to show up late, you want to leave early, and you don't want to be the one they're talking about the next day, and I just don't think anybody wants to be the one that they're talking about the next day

on the on that Wednesday. I agree and I disagree, Matt. I agree on the surface that will happen. Everyone will apply to each other, even though Bubba Gary Player especially fill to a lesser degree. They are half nut jobs, and you don't know what's going to come out of their mouth on any given day. But then there's what you know. Then it's like everything in life, there's what's being said, and then there's what's not being said, and

what's not being said will be in their minds. So you don't really have the camaraderie, you don't really have the regaling of the stories. You might be going through the motions of it, but I mean you need a John Updike level novelist to really sort through it all and tell us what's really going on. I think when we're really going to see the tension of the two line dinner show up is Sunday night, if it's cam

Smith versus Rory again. And then knowing these yahoo's who you know, they like to say how genteel the patrons are there but really they're a bunch of redneck yahoo's. They might go crazy on Sunday if it's if it's if it's let's say it's Justin Thomas or you know, any any red meat American, you know, Jordan Spieth versus

Patrick Read or any of the of the livesters. I think it'll be a nutty scene on some I think you see something like we've never seen before, a gustinessh Well, you know Ian famously, Ian Wosenham got heckled in Amen Corner of the Year he won and that fired him up, and you know that was kind of the height of when all the Europeans were winning the Masters every year and there was a sort of low okey xenophobia. It will be fascinating. I mean, I think you both are

right that Ben Crenshaw's presidence. You have Jack there, you have Fred Ridley, who um is like the school principle. So I think I think it'll be okay. But we all know a guy named James P. Harry. He was he was legendary editor at Sports Illustrate, and he coined

I don't know if you coined it. He introduced me to the term smile fuck and they all use that a lot of talking about the Masters and Augusta National folks like they smile fuck you there they pre hear to be like nice and and accommodating, but then then in the end you never get your way and you get pushed around. Like so it's just gonna be it's gonna be a fun, fun bit that everyone's gonna be focused on and smile fuck or also known as blessed

that bless your heart like that it's other. Oh and then there's some one McCallum, you just love love the death. But and then whatever came after the butt was the guy that had the chance. Uh yeah, just a quick just a quick smile. Fuck Uh. When Wosom was playing that fourth round, his playing partner was Tom Watson. And Tom Watson, you know, it really was. It was a great playing partner that day. And I think really from from it was just by the book, he was straight,

kind of like what Tiger was. Later. Um, Tiger may have actually had more warmth than Tom Watson, which is really saying something, but I digress. So Watson said to Woosom, just do what Don January used to do in these situations, just not and say fuck you, Fuck you very much, Fuck you very much. You got him through that that round. This podcast has escalated quickly. Um, But to talk about you know, poseic golf matters. You know, when we talked

about who who's a favorite this week? I mean, unfortunately, if you've looked at the forecast, there's a lot of rains supposed to start falling. So a guy like Cam Smith, if it's firm and fast and crispy, uh, that that sets up the short game magic that if it if it plays long and soft, then of course we all know that favors a guy like Rory and or Brooks

and some of the bombers. And so the weather August is always volatile this week and I don't put too much stock into the forecast four days out, but as of this moment, it looks, it looks a little looks a little grim. So um, you know, oh, Patrick read another guy who's gonna be at that dinner on Tuesday night who's a little unpredictable. So you know, when when when the course is really firm, guys like Reid and

Cam Smith I think go to the front ranks. But um, if it's playing, if it's playing in a different different way than they lose a lot of their advantage. And we should also mentioned the thirteenth hole, which is m which is going to be a huge talking point. And I was, I was thinking about this on the flight.

It's like, I almost think that the scoring average is gonna go down because more guys are going to wind up laying up and you know, from one hundred yards, you're gonna knock it on the green, either you make

the put or you don't. I think there'll be a lot fives, whereas going for it introduces the six and the seven, and I think, if if you know, that's something that we're all going to watch closely to see how that whole plays out, because the last thing you want is for it to turn into one hundred yard Part three, which it very well could if it's playing soft and I'm playing long. So that's another subplot to

keep an eye on. Well. Scheffler talked about it. You know, when you go back into that tunnel to hit that t shot. He could hit a three wood before and

had an easier time drawing his three wood. He has a harder time drawing the driver like he does the three wood, So he's just going to hit driver out straight and just try to draw it as much as he can have that, you know, next shot in I would agree with you Alan that I think the scoring average may actually go down even if they're hitting, even if they have more yardage into that hole as an approach shot, because there's just going to be less people

going forward and playing to that their magic yardage with the eighty one hundred or whatever that number is, and just getting a little more specific on the pin, and maybe there will be more birdies, less eagles, and a lot more parts less bogies. I was surprised to read the final accounting is only thirty five yards longer. I thought it was going to be lengthened, just given what they were doing there and how much land they have.

I believe Matt, you've seen it much more recently than own, or I would have thought you could go much farther back, and I thought they would go much farther back. Well, it looks way back there, as Scheffler told me, it's way back there, but you know, I think thirty five, maybe thirty five yards back from where they had tipped

it out. That's still that's still a big difference when you're talking about that specific corner and fairway run out and trying to hit that hit that burn as berm as you're trying to like get that as he said, I'll start using the land a little more to accentuate sort of any kind of any kind of draw to his driver, which which he has a hard time doing. But um, you know, it just looks just like eighteen, just like fourteen, just like seventeen every time, you know,

just like five. And when you look back, you're like, that just seems so far back there. I can't believe the distance they're playing, you know, different from from members tease to the back teas to your point in your article. You know, you just dropped two pretty incredible articles on fire pick collective dot com Michael and the and the rollback article again is you know, I know we kind

of have see it differently. Um, but I thought, you know that some of the points you made are are are valid and in terms of the way the game is supposed to be played, I just you know, I just question why just the ball, why not the club? Why not the loft of the club, why not you know, why not you know, from an agronomy standpoint, why not have the fairways be a little longer instead of you know,

tighten fat. I mean, I just I think there's so many other different versions of what could also take place to sort of account for length. So that's it, I mean, so one, and that that story you wrote, Michael got a tremendous amount of engagement. I mean, when I tweeted, I said, it's it's so nice in these contentious times of you know, Michael Bamberger's thoughtful, measured takes on these issues and which I wholeheartedly endorsed. But one comment I

thought was interesting. A guy said, well, why do you why do we want to go backwards? You know, every other sport evolves. That's true, the players do, but the playing fields don't. Basketball courts same side. It's always been, you know, baseball diamonds and and ballparks are pretty much the same as they've always been. Like the golf course. Because of the way the players play it, the golf courses have totally changed. And so this again, and you know,

we saw this with the the ANUA. That's one of the delights of that event is that it's the old club values like what made Rosing second shot on fifteen so fascinating which she had. She was hitting lumber right like I mean, Sergio and others hit eight or you know when Sergio was sitting those great shots in the fifteen the year he when he was in eight iron, and a professional golfer with an eight iron has a

much tighter dispersion. There's not that much danger. It's coming in so high and it's going to hold that green. But a hybrid things can get wonky, and and so that that's what's cool is it's it's about bringing back the sense of something something could go terribly wrong here, and that just doesn't happen with short irons at often. I mean every now and then Guy Whood a truly

horrendous shot. But when you get the long clubs, I mean, and you and I were talking about the soft line that that shot that rose was reminiscent of sev by Asteros in eighty six. You know, he save you should have won that year instead of Jack. But he hit this sniper into the pond at fifteen and he pretty much never recovered right that that that one shot haunted him forever and led him down this path of changing

his swing. And so but he had a four iron and you know with the four iron things can go bad. He give Zevya nine iron, He's probably gonnknock it on the green. So anyway, we've we've had the ball debate. But it will be interesting to see how it all plays out this year. There'll be so much scrutiny on that one hole and just how the course plays in general, because it's the one yardstick we have which they always go back the same place. Just two quick notes on fifteen.

In the annals of fifteen, Francisco Molinari's played there is one of the biggest disasters ever and doesn't get talked about it enough because he blunked it in the water on twelve. He still is in complete position to at least playoff, if not flat out. When that tournament Tiger's leak in oil but really not hitting quality shots, and he makes an absolutely inexplicable lay up shot and an inexplicable third shot that leads leads to a double. So

it really nutty. Nutty things can happen on par fives when guys think they can reach and they camp, and it's Riese Jones and Riese's father, Robert Trent Jones. This guy put those water hazards in really made him what they are today. You know, it's not quite accurate. And

say the course that McKenzie and Jones intend abuse. They didn't know that the water, the water hazards are going to come in so Penal, but they have and they're really do define the course unless it's driver eight iron like it was for Tiger on thirteen, the last time he won, just to the point on thirteen going thirty five back. I don't you guys might know. I've never

really made a study of this. I'm sure if you just watch the TV enough TV, you know how many guys you're hitting three wood at five ten versus now we'll hit driver at five thirty five. They'll bomb it password that three wood is yeah, Now Shuffler can't turn it over and then he's chipping out from the woods and he'll lay up and then he'll he'll still have a put for four. But a lot of guys will

hit that wide fairway. They will use that bank. Now with driver a little lower, a little hotter, a little more down the hill, they still might. I don't. I guess what I'm trying to say is now AUGUSTA National

Figures out everything, but I'm not sure they. Of course, the whole will actually play even longer if i've what thirty five it's about an angle, though, I think it's it's really about by backing them up and and and having it have to the ball have to be going so straight for so long before it can actually start turning. I think that's actually that that that angle, that's what's going to be the biggest factor on getting it around

that corner. To me, that's that's my sense of of from a strategic standpoint, is if you're hitting, if you're hitting a draw, if you're not able to sort of sling it out and and go wide right because you're in that back the further back that you're in a tunnel, so you have a lot of wigg can't sling it, You can't hit a big hook. That's why, right, that's why Fred used to have his feet outside the tea box and and and hit the through it as hard as he could with actual hook, which was neat to see.

But here's a guy who will love it, Bubba, Bubba, send up there and hit the slice you've ever seen in your life. Now, let me think slice for him as a hook for us. Yes, yeah, yeah, and that'll will too, and that's a that's a little you know, it's very insidery. But um, the casual fan bride doesn't know that with the modern equipment, guys on the top players fade their drivers way more than they draw them. It just it's just it just is the the shot

shape that that that the technology promotes low spin. It's just easier to kind of hit a little bleeding fade than it is a hard draw. And so I mean DJ only plays a fade, Brooks only plays a fade, so that that adds a whole other layer of intrigue into that hole. And so um yeah, it's it's rice and d right soon as you sham boat for seventy two. So wingfoot never saw him hit a hook shot. Yeah, as hard he hit as hard as you can hold

on for dear life. Yeah. So Tiger wenty one and two, thy nineteen, no hook shots, no drush, yeah, yeah, yeah, it's um. So except for that that second shot on fifteen on Sunday, that was five iron, that was gorgeous, and that thing true four yards it was. But they can all job mid irons. Yeah. Yeah, So this is what's so great about the Masters is we all have such an attachment to the golf course and we know

it so intimately. I mean, if you ask me to describe the fifteenth hole wingfoot, I would struggle for a while. I might get there eventually, but the fifteenth hole at I guess the National Every golf fan can picture it.

They know the history, they know the lore, they know who's won and lost a tournament there, and it's just what makes this week so much fun having, you know, having been there fairly recently, I walked away with so much respect and admiration for what takes place at that level, for those players to win that golf tournament at that course, with those pins and those green speeds, you know, at that length, I can't believe how unsettling that golf course

is when you're trying trying to hit approach shots, you know, chips around the green, puts for that matter. You know it from a from a driving standpoint, you know you're you're gonna have to sort of at some point you're gonna have to move the ball, you know, and it and it helps if you hit a high, high draw or a if you're a lefty, you know, big high cut, but you've got to you also got to hit it straight,

you got to hit it accurate. The greens within those greens, to me is what is unlike almost any any you know, Royal Melbourne, maybe I would take this to me, is just the precision and demand for creativity. You understand why Tiger, why Phil, Why Zach Johnson or or or Mike Weir or you just you understand why these guys, Bubba, why they've why have they've won it this golf course. It takes such a different style to be great at this

at Augusta National. And it's why I think we generally have these incredible leaderboards come Sunday as people are firing on all cylinders. I just it's the golf course is something unlike anything you know in the world. And I would I would add to that, man agree with all of that. I don't know how anyone who's ever been there appreciates golfers watched it closely couldn't agree with that. I would add to that. Green side chipping, green side

shipping is harder there than anywhere. Pitch shots over those traps. You got no grass underneath your golf ball, and extremely and I don't think people realize the undulation. I know even as a member of you know, outside the ropes, as a patron walking around, you go down to the tenth hole until you actually stand below the tenth green. If you're trying to chip up to a back pin on ten, that elevation is so much you can't see anything. It's you're so far down. It's like fifteen t twenty

feet down below the green. You don't realize what a false front that I walked. Again, I am in awe of what I have now seen over the years at that golf course. For the players who are playing well, shoot sixty five sixty five at Augusta on those conditions is just like that's it identifies. It just identifies the best player. And I always will and I and I and on thirteen and in your article, Michael, you talk about, oh,

there's only one real part five. But I also think that the reason why Augusta is so compelling is because there's a lot of half pars, a lot of four and a halfs, a lot of three and a halfs like thirteen. Is that I mean, sorry, three is a three and a half. I mean that the halfs, the half side. The only thing I hope they don't do to thirteen is make it not a half. Like the worst thing they could do to fifteen is make it

not apart four and a half like. That's why it's so compelling to me, that temptation, and that's what I think the golf course is filled with is half pars. Five is a part five is a part four and a half. Great that also that volatility is what it yields, and that's why we love this venue more than almost any very very well said. I completely agree with that. I've heard Phil talk about this, and you know he does some some design work, and he says, I want on any course, I want the hard holes to be

really hard. I want the easy holes to be really easy. And that's where you get a lot of action. And the Augusta National is the quintessence of that. I mean all on that basis. Why was it complaining about the long part three at Marian so three and a half, So three and a half for the whole field. Why shouldn't be a three and a half for him? Well, yeah,

although Mike Dave because the wind switch. Mike Davis afterwards said, yeah, maybe it was too far it's an outdoor sports has been noted many times, but no, so yeah, now I guess it's cool and just you know, for those of us in the typing trade and really anyone who's inside the gates. I mean, it's such a gathering. You know, everybody's there, not only the players, every agent, every family member, every power broker, every member of the golf establishment, um.

And there's just an energy around that too. Especially you know last year in the run up to Live Golf's launched, it was you could it was pulsating. There's a lot of meetings going on off campus that helped define who was going to stay and who's gonna go. And and this year, you know, there's everyone who sits on the board of the World Ranking, um, you know, governing body.

They're all gonna be there, like there's gonna be some quiet conversations and uh you name it, like there's it's just it's the one week that nobody ever misses in the golf world. And so uh and then there's all the parties and the dinners every night, there's all the schmoozing around the tree. Like I do look forward to the Masters, just from an interpersonal standpoint, everyone is there and you can get a lot of work done, and you can see people you might only see once or

twice a year. And I was trying to explain to someone who's not really in the golf why why this is such a big week, and it's not. It's an incredible tournament golf course, we know that, but a lot of it. There's a lot more that goes into the week for those those who do this for a living, and that's what just makes it extra fun. I think I'm unfortunately not going to be able to be there. I'm gonna be I'm gonna be off in Brewster, Washington and gamble Sands with David Kidd, which is going to

be amazing in itself. But I'll be back on Friday night. And so the question Saturday the Masters at goat Hill Park, It's it's this, It's the Saturday Masters. You play for sort of a modified green jacket on Sunday. I've been invited to a couple of parties, Oh Masters Sunday, and I've said, there's no chance I'm going to a party on Sunday. You need to I need to be on my sofa sort of maybe close you know inner circle family members. You have to hear everything, you have to

see every shot. You got to lock in to what you gotta lock in. So and I'll be well, you know, you know you guys, I mean you guys. This is what you do. This is your thing. You know. I can't wait to read all that you read write. I can't wait to hear all that you say, you know, especially Ogilvie's perspectives obviously are cherished. But I am gonna do. I just can't wait to be on my sofa on Sunday, you know, hearing everything I've I've said, no, no, no,

no party like having a party on Sunday. The Masters mean you don't. It means you don't really actually care. Doesn't make sense to me at all, do you, Michael, do you have a favorite Master as you've covered, because what was your first one? It was in the eighties, right, No, it was late, very late ninety six. No, what we're there, Yeah it was it was. I never got there for the mPire. I never went for the in Car. I

don't think I ever went. I went. I went two of us to to play it, luckily enough, but no, I never cover one until ninety six so that's why I'm barely into the parking. Now, how do you get a parking Oh, you don't even get that thing anymore. But anyway, no, no, I've only started going forty. You gotta get to forty masters and then then they give you a piece of the Eisenhower Tree. You get little plaque and you get your own parking place. But so you'll get there before h maybe, Yeah, this is like

twenty eight or twenty nine for me. We're probably close because I missed I missed one because of you missed one, Alan, Well, I missed Chilly. I missed one an three year o two when I was in the office. Um, I'm working as an editor. I didn't make that. We're not we're not talking. We're not talking about that one. And then yeah, I had a one year vacation after I sneaked in the Butler cab and the Green Coach put me on ice.

So I've missed two since ninety four whenever that math computes at but uh yeah, yeah, a piece of the tree is the thing. He like. It's actually kind of funny that the Eisenhower Tree fell over, but instead of just getting rid of it, they've like preserved it, and they used the wood for all kinds of ceremonial purposes. That's what they tell you. Maybe system. I'm shocked with all the connections at August National House. I'm shocked that there was a proper obituary in the New York Times

for the Eisenhour. Why do you why don't you write that? That would have been That would have been a great cheeky column. I'm now I feel cheated. Alan, tell me if I have this correct. Scheffler, I know got Player of the Year from the Golf Writers, but that's on the basis of his entire year, no matter where you play. Is that correct? Is that? How? Yeah? So that that's actually I know. I know I voted for camp Smith, so I didn't I don't see. That's the thing that

that is. What is cool about the Player of the Year from the Golf Writers is it's not defined as it's just player of the year. And so if you win, you know, in Australian December like camp Smith did, like that factored into my vote. And if you win on other tours, including one that has Roman numerals, that be a factor in your vote. Like it it's not you have a spectacular writer cup, you could add that or if you have, you know a bunch of seconds and

put heat on winners. Yeah, it's just and so every now and then it's left to the golf riders to right or wrong where you know, the tour players they vote for. It's a popularity contest and politics gets involved. I guess that could happen with the golf writers as well, but we try and I'd like to think that we're we're we're agenda free where people are just voting who they think the best player is. And I think Scheffler. You could definitely make the case to vote for Cheffler.

I just saw cam Smith winning on those two incredibly different courses, Sagres and the Old Course just set him apart, no question. Yeah he got my vote as well, so um yeah, I mean it becomes interesting thought exercise. If brooks Kepka wins a maj Journey, wins four live events, does does he get Player of the year? Like how do we how do we assign value? It's going to be left to the golf riders to assign value to winning on on the live tour because no one else

takes it seriously. Let's say Brooks win, or any any player on live wins a major if this is second in another win, wins the European Tour event um and whins three times on live? Does it does it nudge? Does it give him a little bump? I don't know. We'll see they'll get three votes. I mean it's like it's not just not I mean, I'm not saying that right or wrong. I'm just saying it's just not going to happen amongst the golf riders. This is not gonna happen. Yeah. No,

I mean it definitely skews towards the traditionalist. But if you think of like like uh, kept kept going. He won at Bethpage. You know it was playing dominating golf for three days. Well a lot of people have played dominating golf for three days. And then he had a lousy fourth round and you know he won because nobody else played great. And it's a beth Page Black, it's a super hard golf course. We're luck and go wrong and the rough was off. But fifty four holes is

not seventy two holes. I think they should get points and they should get consideration from us, but it really isn't the same yeah, the more. I mean, if if the PGA Tour had made all their events ninety holes, Tigger would have one hundred and twenty wins. I mean the more. The more holes you play, the more opportunities for the best player to separate himself. There's no question. But I you know, I will say, having been at at enough live events, it's more of a sprinter's mentality.

When you know at the outset you have fifty four holes, they become precious and that first round takes on a lot of weight because if you shoot seventy three or seventy four your toast, there's not enough time to make up ground. And so you know, when a sevent two whole event gets shortened fifty four, it feels weird if you know you have fifty four to begin with, and that's your mentality and you got to make every single one count. You know, That's just that is what it is.

But anyway, we can save this for another podcast. But but again it's going to be it's just all it's all swirling in the dog woods, all this stuff, and um, you know there's been a million jokes about it or all the live guys are gonna you know, go home on Saturday night because they think there's only three rounds. And uh, you know this and that, like it adds a whole element to to to this week and I'm here for it. What else do we need to talk about?

What else is going on in this masters that demands to be discussed? Well? I think I think, first of all, we just came off a good week of at fire Pit Collective three part podcast Tony Gwin's Greatness. If you haven't listened, took me two years to put together a lot of great voices. Um opening day obviously, this week fun, if you like baseball, if you like gin, uh, please listen. Thank you for listening. Michael, you just dropped two h two great stories. Um Alan yet another big week, I

mean book excerpts and then next week. The plan being from a content standpoint, as you talked about daily stories, multiple podcasts, all the socials that go with that, and and and you know, live from the grounds for both of you. So I just think setting up this week coming off last week an wha. I'm not a drive chipping put guy at all. I wish I really wish it would go away, to be totally honest with you, but Anna was amazing, and and here we go. I just think we can't get to we can't get to

Thursday morning fast enough. It's a long build up, I mean, the Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday of Master's Week. To me, you feel like they last a month because everyone everyone's there and chomping at the bit, especially this year. I know, I don't know, I don't know how the players do it. I mean, and you see some of these first timers by the time I get a Thursday afternoon, they're exhausted because they've played too much and they spent too much

time there. They're just they're trying to soak it all in. But it's kind of the same thing for reporters, like we're just ready to go and getting through the first half of the week as always has a challenge. But uh, well, we will, we will service the readership. They'll be fun stuff for sure. Mike and I'll be writing every day and we were we know, we're working on the podcast schedule.

We'll certainly do Thursday, Friday and Sunday, and we're gonna we're gonna try and steak another one in probably on Tuesday. We have a Laird Shepherd Grind coming out Grind episode on Laird Shepherd, who we followed through two last year's Masters.

He won the British Amateur, got to play in the Open, then got to play in the Masters and the US open Um, and so we're putting that out on Tuesday with an updated update podcast on sort of where he's at with his life and career as now a professional golfer. So that's definitely coming out on Tuesday. It's it's a great episode. Happy to get get another Grind episode out into the world because there's tremendous intimacy with with Laird and his friends, and we chronicle this this epic comeback

he had in the British Amateur. He eight down with the nineteen holes to play in this thirty sixth Hoole finale and came back in one is one of the all time great comebacks in the history of you know, big time golf. And and then without spoiling too much, the Master's Week was a challenge for him and how he how he dealt with that. So that, yeah, that that that's something to look forward to as well. So all right, well, um, I think we've touched them all for now. It's going to be a heck of a week.

We are delighted to be tour guides for the golf fans out there. Thank you to Robin Golf for the sponsorship. Um matter, Michael, any final parting thoughts, Well, it's all you know, just uh, it's a delight to be able to have this opportunity to talk about you know, people say like, oh, what's been the difference for you from you know, your old job, which is more of a writing job to this job is just the writing of

the podcast. And U It's like, I can't believe this is considered a serious part of my payday because it's so easy talking about golf, because it's fun. The mechanics are getting the microphone on. I mean, come on, So this is a great week and we have a good time doing it, and I hope people enjoy listening to it. Someday we'll release the super cut of getting Michael's microphone

dialed in. It'll be like it it'll be like one hundred and ninety four minutes of testing microphones and but that today's not but when Mike hob when Mike Murphy just trotted on in there at age ninety two, is ready to get aspirational least like wow aspirational. Yeah, a good stuff. An last thoughts, no, just uh, godspeed guys getting there and can't wait to uh can't wait to read and hear all that we'll be coming up with. It's going to be this is one one for the ages.

I mean, this is going to be. This is unlike anything we've ever seen in all the years. You know, my first Masters was nineteen ninety seven. Uh, covered, you know, there's just nothing the build up to what is about to unfold, and for all the reasons we've already discussed, I just it's almost too much to comprehend. Alan, Alan, all right, let's go to this on what's your dream to some last group off Sunday afternoon. Oh that that's easiest question of the night. It's Rory and Patrick Reid.

I mean, tour verses live. You have the chosen one against you know, the dark Lord like, it's it's mythical, it's shakesperiod, it's it's Greek like. I mean, it would be, it would be fantastic. I don't agree because the rooting interest is so obvious there where it's like camp Smith,

He's he's a likable guy. Yeah, well some people would just but it's well, I mean, okay, actually the honest answer is Tiger against Phil for all the same I was like, I was like, why I'm trying to I'm trying to deal in reality, not science fiction, like what could happen? But but yeah, I mean that would that would be fun. I mean, Dustin actually is playing well. He kind of tweeked his back a month ago, but he he's rounded into form. Like I think he's dangerous,

especially if the courses saw off. Like, how about the fact that we've been talking golf for fifty minutes now and have barely mentioned the name of five time Masters winner Tiger Woods. Yeah, that's kind of a sign of the times, it is. I mean, Tiger's I think if the course was bone dry, I think Tiger be more dangerous. It's not it's not that Allen. Tiger's got to get We don't know what's going on in Tiger's life. We've

never known. But Tigers should be way ahead of this golf ball thing, way ahead of you know, make the drivers smaller, make the course shorter. Whatever. His natural honest position is, uh live golf, of course. Uh, but he's just not there. But he's not. I'm just good. I'm just I'm just I think physically for Tiger Woods, you know again, the undulations of Augusta Nashville. I mean, forget

the skill. I mean, we know he's got the skill to hit the shots, to be able to walk that golf course four rounds plus whatever he's going to do from a practice standpoint. It just I just don't see it. I just don't see it happening. Augusta National. You know, old course. Maybe Augusta National is not an easy walk, especially a guy who basically has you know, one leg. But I'm talking about like Tiger Woods, like the Nicklas role, even then Nick Price roll the Rory role now of

real thought leader in the game, We're not hearing that. Yeah, he had to trigg his girlfriend in the thinking she was taking a vacation, like so they could move her out of the mansion and break up with her, which is led to how did that go? How did that go for her? Which is led to a huge lawsuit, Like it's it's hard to play. Every top golfer will tell you it's hard to play golf if your mind isn't clear. And when someone has a sick parent or they're going through a people in the personal life it

always shows in their scores. And Tiger's life is just so messy. It's so messy. But also again, we don't I don't look to Tiger to be the one who sort of leads people in a in a in a way like with the thoughtful, like Rory runs circles around him, you know, in situations like that. I mean Phil you know, has done it in the past, but also like steps on his own foot when you know when he gets to the mic and does you know the Watson things, or does like just flies off the cuff. But Tiger

is just not. So many people want Tiger to be something so much more than just like a really good golfer, and he's not any of those things that we all want him to be. He's not. He's not, he never was, he never will be. He's he's flawed, we're all flawed whatever. He's just not the He's not a verbal leader of people in which we all sit there and think, Wow, that was really deep and meaningful, and that's the way

it needs to be done. When you're carrying a tampon around a tournament round so you can slip to someone as a joke. He might be forfeiting your your place as the moral arbiter of the voice of the sport. It's just it's just not a natural role for the guy. It's just not I mean, his words have weight because he's Tiger Woods, but it's it's just doesn't come easy for him. And um, so it is to use one of his favorite expressions, it is what it is. But

he's still Tiger Woods. I mean, he still has some magic in his hands, like he could go out to two sixty seven on Thursday and turn and placed upside down like anything's possible. But the chances of his foot and his back and his knee and his neck and his achilles and all these things feeling good four days in a row and letting him do what he needs to do to beat highly optimize twenty something athletes, like it's asking a lot. But yeah, I think, Um, I

don't know. Well, we'll all watch Tiger keenly, but I don't think this is his master's so but we'll see. Well, this will be fodder for for the Thursday and the Friday podcast. So, um, all right, we tried to end this, we kept going. Now let's end it. We'll release the listeners, but it's always always a lot to talk about. So for Michael Bamberger and Mattanella, this is Alan Chipnuk. There's another fire drill. We will be coming at you all

week long from Augusta, Georgia. Thanks for listening, and for now that's the end. I've been big, played the win, made a fortune with my shot game. Man. I ran the table. Never thought I could fall them and win. 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 street. Our thoughts in my head, can't get them out, trying not to think what I'm

thinking about. I kind of thoughts in my head. Can't get them out, trying not to think what I'm thinking about