I miss the green. For example, I'm already upset. When I find my ball in the bunker, I'm really upset. And when I find my ball in a fried egg Friday egg, the dreaded Frida egg, Frida egg, Frida egg fried Egg, Frida egg, bride egg Lie, I'm about ready to run off the golf course.
Arnold Palmer is the master of Night.
He has buddy the last two holes, two cats. I got bog ahead.
Oh cat that Jory? What is the sayst lay a way his gold?
I have anybody he hasn't ever seen that at play up the hill.
Like that?
And I think that's one of the greatest buddies I've ever seen him Friday Night. Maybe yes, sir, there can you believe it? Now?
No?
There?
It is a wins for the ages?
Is it his time?
Here?
It comes?
Oh my goodness, oh wow? In your life have you seen anything like that?
Hello, friends, I'm Jim nantsis my great pleasure to welcome you to the Master's Tournament. I've heard it said before.
It's a tradition unlike any other. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to another edition of the Masters Podcast on the fried Egg Podcast. Today we are joined by last year's low Amateur and the twenty sixteen US mid am champ Stuart Hagastad Stuart, Welcome on.
Hey man, Thanks for having me. It's a pleasure to be.
Here, second time on the pod Rare air there.
It's it's what it really comes down to, is just this facade that I've put on of you know, just writing the coattails of plast success and it's it's it's great. I'm glad that you fell for it.
What's it? What's it like one year late or after what I imagine was a just a whirlwind week last year.
Yeah, it's uh, it's it's crazy. You know a year ago today I was, I was down there and Yingy was definitely a little bit higher this time last year.
But no, I'm I'm fired up, you know, for Matt and uh, you know, I'm really excited for him, and we've we've we've talked a little bit about the week and it's just such a special place and special event and you know, we're we're obviously looking forward to what I guess they're calling like the highly most highly anticipated masters of all time or you know, in recent history.
So it'll be cool I can't wait to see it from a different perspective and you know, but definitely definitely different than last year.
I imagine watching it this year, you're going to have you'll see it through a completely different lens having played there. What was, you know, the biggest thing that maybe miss perception that you had going into competing at Augusta that was either wrong or the biggest thing that kind of shocked you about competing at Augusta that you didn't ever realize from watching the telecasts.
Yeah, you know, it's funny you say that, because it's so true. I was down there with with my dad and we were playing together, and there was this point where it kind of struck out or stuck out to me, where I approached him and I kind of said, you know what, there's a huge part of me that's almost
really jealous of you. And he's like, well, what do you mean, And I was like, well, when I look at the golf course really from from now on, because after the first couple of times you play it, and you know, it's it feels like you you walk around and you look at shots that you know guys have hit through the years, and you kind of marvel at you know how special those moments were, like you know Phil and laying my eyes and you know Tiger's chip
and you know Bubba and so on so forth. And when you I guess, I don't want to say get over because that gives the wrong connotation. But when you kind of move past that initial awestruck feeling, you then kind of try and get into Okay, how can I play the golf course, and how can I try and set myself up for the best angles and leave myself the best positions to go to certain pins. You start
playing it, you know, as a traditional practice round. And I love my dad, and what I was kind of trying to impress upon him was I don't know that for the rest of my life, if I'll ever have that same experience of, oh my gosh, this is where you know Jordan was or Tiger was or you know whatever, you know, I will probably now look at it more from a competitor standpoint, in the sense that like, you know, to this pin, this is where you want to be, or you know, to you know, off this tee off,
you know, this is the angle you want to have, so on, so forth. But one of the things that you definitely, I would say, don't really, I guess understand until you've been there, been through that week is just and everyone says the same thing, but it's really just how much the golf course changes. It speeds up so so significantly. And last year, I guess wasn't a great example from Tuesday and or sorry from Thursday and Friday,
just because of the weather. It was blown like twenty five and it you know, it had rained and it was it was playing for their standards, I guess on the softer side. But the difference between the golf course on say like Friday morning to like Sunday mid afternoon was it was crazy, like it was almost like the
greens were getting purple. They were just so quick, and you know, just it's easy to see how guys would you know, they'll they'll play the par three contests and they'll come back the next day and almost have this this crazy you know, look when they've got a twenty footer on the first hole that rolls five five and you're just like, wait, how did the greens get so quick? So I would say that just the change that has made for.
Sure, you know, you don't get to think about where Jordan or Phil you might not have that anymore, but now you have, well this is where I hit this one year, so you kind of have something on everybody else.
I I I as, I was kind of trying to explain that that ran through my head and I was like, no, dude, just just shut your mouth. So you but yeah, it's it's it's weird.
So anyways, you had an unbelievable week out there, and uh, I think you're the first mid Am from the US mid Am Exemption winner to make the cut and then you know the the low am. Was that about the best golf that you've put together for a week ever?
I wouldn't say. I wouldn't say it's the best I've ever played. I played pretty well in the twenty sixteen when I shot one twenty five in one day six one sixty four. But it's not bad relative Yeah, it was. It was a pretty good day. I uh, a lot,
a lot of perfect numbers and it was fun. But I think relative to total humble brack by the way, but relative to you know, the golf course and the conditions and the crowds and the atmosphere and just the overall experience, I would absolutely say, it's the best that I've ever managed my game and managed my my emotions seventy four, Like, you know, without any context seventy four,
seventy three, seventy four, seventy three. You know, to from a competitive standpoint isn't super impressive, but you know, under the conditions and how difficult the course played. And I mean if you were to like I played a practice round with Jordan and Couture on on Wednesday, and if you asked either one of them, you know, if they thought I was going to play that well that week, they probably would have laughed at you. Because I feel like I hit it all over the city of Augusta.
So it was it was definitely the best I've I've ever managed kind of everything that was going on. So I'm really I'm really proud of that from that week for sure.
So to go back, you get the invitation in early twenty seventeen, and then how did you prep for the week? Did you how many times did you go down to Augusta to play a few times? Who did you play your practice round with leading into the week?
Sure? Yeah, I you know, I went down there. I made some trips by myself. I made a couple of trips with some family friends that from from from La that you know, I know that belong down there. So I had the chance to play it. I don't know, probably mid to high teens, i'd say. And like I said, you know earlier, the first time, you know, you either go to the Masters or you play the golf course. You're just you're kind of an awe and everything that's going on. But I really tried to make a conscious
effort to make this switch. And I mean, look, I certainly don't have all the answers. I know that that Harve has talked to Scott. Harvey's talked to Matt as well about the course. But I think if I remember what I told him was like, look, the first time, maybe even the first two times, go down there and just enjoy it and see it and take it all in because it's just such a special place and it's
got so much history. But like I, you know, there's gonna be a point where you notice, like to make a switch, you know, and to make a change and like okay, like how can we best play this? And you know, play it a practice roud because you know where all the pins are to an extent, more or less and you don't, but you know, more or less, it's probably five maybe six pins that they traditionally use each year. So yeah, it's like I said, mid to
high teens. I got down there like the Thursday before and I played practice rounds on Tuesday with Thomas Peters and Adam Scott and then on Wednesday with with Jordan and Matt. Last year there was some weather, so I maybe would have played eighteen one of the days. A lot of people have said, you know, try and not play as much because you don't want to get tired out. But like, when you go down there, you're adrenaline. It's just so I You're just you're kind of trying to
soak it all in. So, like I said, I talked to you know, guys in the past that played the tournament, Sammy Schmidt's, and he's like, yeah, everyone told me, you know, try not, you know, and play eighteen each day, But you're adrenaline so high. All you want to do is go out there and play in front of crowds and
friends and family. And thankfully, I guess in retrospect for me, the weather kind of limited how much I could play, so I was able to can still you know, you know, store energy and kind of contain myself during Monday through Wednesday.
Who gave you the best advice and what was it? If you can share?
Yeah, I would say two things. I had the chance to play with Ben Crenshaw and Carl Jackson, or with Ben the Sunday before, and Carl was out there with us, and basically Carl went into my book and he made a bunch of notes, maybe not the same ones that Jordan had, but very similar just kind of the pull of the golf course and what everything you know would traditionally kind of you know, go towards so you know, everything kind of goes towards that area and Amen corner
and just like different parts of the greens. I mean, to have a guy like that such invaluable experience, it can only be kind of gained, you know, through going out there, like as I think knowing up, I love
their podcast now. I think they sum up the way that you know, they talk about the Greens and the reads that Augusta pretty well, like you don't like listen, I obviously played the first round and you know of my life and the tournament on Thursday, but you don't really, I guess, you know, read the greens, you learn them and like to have a guy like Carl out there, you know, to kind of impress upon you like this is where the pole of the golf course goes. This
is what this ball does. This is what it does, is it loses speed. It just really confirms a lot of that homework that you put in kind of leading into the week. So it just that you know a little bit makes you, you know a little bit more confident, I guess you could say, and you know the decisions that you're making. And then as far as as playing, Adam Scott made a comment that was really really cool. So I tell everyone, like I was by far the
most nervous on Tuesday. I didn't, you know, play say high school football or you know, high school basketball at a super high level, you know, in front of thousands of people. I always kind of tried to tell myself, you know, going into the tournament that playing in front of one hundred people is not so different than playing in front of a thousand. That's not true at all, Like people is way way more intimidating. So I was super nervous on Tuesday and Wednesday and kind of every
day thereafter, I became a little bit more comfortable. So I preface that because when I went to Adam, you know, I'm I felt like I was kind of like a deer in the headlights on Tuesday. I was so terrified, I guess at the moment, and I'm kind of trying to think about this, like okay to this pen, what's the best place to miss? And you know, to for this side of the fairway, like would you prefer to
be on this side or that side? And I'm sure by like seven, so we played in the back nine together and by seventeen, I'm sure he just kind of got annoyed with me, and or maybe he was just being super patient, was just giving me honest advice, but either way, I took it to heart. And he was like, listen, Stu, it's a major championship. Like I've I'm a Master's champion and you know I've won here before, but I you know, I'm the most nervous I am over any t shot
all years. On the first hole, like there's just a couple pins and a couple spots out here where you just got to step up and hit a really good one, you know, there's there's not really a place to miss. If you do miss, then you just got to do the best you can. But you know, you you hit great shots, you know under the conditions to get here, and you know you can you can execute under the
gun again. But there's just a couple of spots out here, like there are any PGA Tour venues in any major championships where you really just got to go commit and and try and hit a good one. And I was like, I like, how blunt that is. That totally makes sense and I just kind of went from there. So that was that was huge. It just it gives you, you know, he gave me the confidence to to just kind of be like, hey, these guys go through the same thing
that you know everyone else goes through. You just gotta I don't know, you just got to deal with the consequences and you know, like I said, try and hit a good one.
Yeah, at the end of the day, that's that's real.
That's really blunt. But like, I don't know, I just it was it was cool.
Austin's are known for their bluntness, so it's, uh, it's fitting. Yeah, do you think there's a shot out there that that gets oken of a lot that might be a little bit overrated in terms of how difficult it it is versus you know what they talk it up to be.
Well, let's let's be really clear about this. I wouldn't say it's overrated. I would just say I know what the answer is, and I'm sure you do too. I wouldn't say it's overrated. I would just say I think it's over it's over complicated. Twelve is a really amazing hole. You know, with the crowd and the it feels like you're in a stadium. You know, you have eleven, you have twelve, you have thirteen, and it feels like a
little bowl. And obviously, you know, over the years there's been a lot of you know, speculation of the wind and you know certain pins and what to do, and two years ago, you know, you're sitting there on your couch can of you know, as a everyone is, you know, so excited for the Masters every year, and you know, there's just certain shots that you really look forward to seeing. And I would say that that shot on twelve is
definitely one of them. Because you know, whether it's the media or you know, producers or whoever, you know, they they just kind of impress upon how how I guess influential the wind is. Well, I don't know if if I heard this before, if I just am a total bonehead and like invented my own theory. But I kind of tried to ask, you know, guys down there, you know, caddies, players whoever, like, how do you play twelve right? And
everyone pretty much had the same answer. It was like, well, if you hit it a one hundred and fifty five yard shot before, yes, they go, great, it's one hundred and fifty five yards over the middle of the bunker. Every single time. I'm like even to like a left pin or right pin Stewart every single time if there's a little like if it's like you know, if there's if it feels like there's a little bit of wind,
maybe three or four yards more. But if you if you hit it or over one fifty, like if you put it in the bunker, you know, it's it's not great, but you're it's it's better than putting putting it in race creek and and longs really tough. And I mean, maybe I'm putting my foot in my mouth with this one, but I I really tried to just be like steal you've hit you know, you've you've hit a solid eight iron a thousand times and more, you've hit solidate irons
a thousand times in your life. It's an eight iron over the middle of the bunker. Just step up and hit a good one, commit to it and go.
Yeah. It's a lot of what Adam Scott said. It's just one of those places where you have to hit a good golf shot. It's pretty simple.
Yeah, it's I mean, like, yeah, it's it's so true though, like you me, so eleven is twelve and thirteen is really cool because you know it obviously has you know, the allure and just everything that goes with it because it is amen corner. But what I guess the what I didn't understand, you know, as a as an avid watcher, is you don't quite understand just how many people are there.
I mean, there's like four or five feels like thousand people because there's a concession stand behind and there's just there's there's groups all around. There's typically one on eleven and then one on twelve, and then one on thirteen, and it's just a really populated area. And after even when you hit your second shot on eleven, Like as you begin to walk down the hill and you become you know, like one hundred, one hundred and fifty yards
out of the green, it feels different. I mean, it's it's it feels like you almost gonna enter this mini arena. And I mean, I don't know. I'm sure you know a lot of listeners to the pod, and I'm sure you've been in a situation where they have you know, like an eighty yard say web shot like in a number or something to agree, you know what i mean, like something to that extent. Well, it's it's kind of
like that, but it's not at all like that. It's like you're you're overthinking a lot of things and you just you need to you know.
It's.
Uh, it's wild. It's it's it's really it's it's crazy. But you know, luckily I I didn't have too much carnage on that hole. I think I was like two over on the week. I think I three putted like twice. But it's, uh, it's it's a really gosh, it's such a great Part three.
I feel I feel like if you gave people two over on the week, people they probably take it they said, you're gonna play this whole too over, you know, with the bogey on Thursday and Saturday. Do you think the majority of the field would take it?
Do want to be totally honest? Yeah, no, okay, if you want to, if you want to, if you want to win, you got I mean, it's I think it kind of goes back to, you know, guys that are are really playing to win, competing, and I think I think to make the cut, a lot of guys might, especially in a year like last year, where it was, you know, playing a little tougher with the conditions. But
it's it's look, it's it's a tough hole. But at the same time, for a lot of guys, it's a nine iron, Like for Phil, I bet it's a nine iron. For some guys it's an eight iron, and those guys are so good with their scoring clubs, and you know, kind of within twenty feet and I think just it's one of the less severe greens on the course. Granted, there are you know, a ton of subtleties to it, but you know, relative to a green like say five
or four, you know a lot of them. But if you give it, like if you can hit a good one there, and you can give yourself fifteen or twenty feet. Like it's kind of like saying, if if you could give yourself eighteen twenty footers you know throughout the round, do you think you shoot under part? And it's like, well, shoot, you certainly hope. So, well, if those guys can hit an eight iron four times to twenty feet, you know a lot of I'm going to say, shoot, I hope I make one of those.
Yeah, that's a I mean that's about what their proximity is at. That is probably thirty feet from that yardage or so I think. So I'm not positive. I look at those numbers, but they get jumbled in my brain.
What uh do you kind of you got to get what I'm saying with that?
Yeah, no, no, I completely get. I think that's like the whole psychology of design and why it's a great hole is that if you put a world class player on that hole, it's like what you said, it's just a eight iron or a nine iron, and those players know they can hit that shot, and that's why you see, you know, there's nowhere to bail out, and they have to execute the shot. And if they execute the shot, you know, they probably'll do it eighteen out of twenty
times on the range. But when you throw in the pressure, the people, the wind, you know, there's stuff that happens, and there's just outliers to everything.
So hundred percent, yeah, that would be my only I mean, it's it's certainly not overrated at all. It's it's an amazing part three and there's you know, it has a ton of history. But I would would say that a lot of it is. And again I don't mean this in a derogatory way at all, but as far as being maybe over hyped, which is, you know, a bad
way to put it. But like if you have to, you know, if you hit you know, a crisp you know sound of the club face that doesn't believe if you had if you had a quality golf shot that goes we'll call it more or less. We'll say one hundred and fifty five yards again over the middle of the bunker, could or take two or three yards, which most of those guys can do on a pretty regular basis.
You're gonna have, you know, you're going to have a look at birdie, whether it's a small chip or a pitch or you know, a putt, or you know, you put yourself in a position to potentially make two and hopefully make three.
Mm hm, it's a I agree. I mean it's a it's a case of the media over hyping it and beating something to death. Is a lot of time for sure. With with out there, what's the hole that doesn't get talked about enough?
We can start with three. Three is an amazing, amazing, amazing part four. There's so many ways to play it. Whether you hit iron off the tee and you know, try and stand on one side, you know, the fairway for different angles, or you know to hit driver kind of down in the flat, whether you try and drive it or you put it down in that area just over the bunkers on the left. You know, to certain pins.
Some guys you know love to have like forty fifty yards in or they can put some spin on it, or you know they go to a you know, front right or back right pin. It's just it's a really really neat part four that I don't think it's the credit that it deserves. I mean, shoot, you could you could go through every hole. I've always kind of said that after you hit your drive and you can around the corner on two and the golf course kind of
opens up in front of you. That's like my vision of what having looks like is like, you know, just the whole golf course is right in front of you, and the sun is always shining so so so peacefully and perfectly, and the greens all have this special kind of tint to them. It's just it's really really it's it's unlike anything I've ever seen before on a golf course. So let's see three mm six is tough, but let's see here, let me think about this.
You know, three I think has the most variance of any hole out there, does it? So where you get the most amount of birdies and bogies, Like you know, like two obviously gets birdied a ton, but it's very rarely bogied, but four or three you see tons of birdies and tons of bogies in double even I think it has It's crazy that a three hundred and fifty yard par four played as the third and the fourth toughest hole on the course in two rounds, and I think, you know, so it's not like.
I think, I think that's just kind of a really good indicator of a great you know, maybe from an architectural standpoint, I don't go quite as deep as you do, but I think that's just an indication of you know, guys make certain decisions on how to play the hole, and if they execute, then you know, maybe they're they're paid off. And if they don't, then you know they're
they're you know, they're penalized for it. I just it's a really, really, really cool hole, and it's it's one that definitely kind of kept me awake at night as I as I got ready for the event.
So most people probably won't know this, but you are arguably, you know, one of the biggest Masters fans as well. You know you are, You're deep in the weeds when it comes to Master's Week. So what what I am, What are your plans this week? What do you do? You have the schedule set aside? How are you balancing the work in the in the coverage.
Yeah. So luckily for me, my my boss is a matt or both bosses are just massive golf fans as well. So typically CNBC is on, you know, on all the TVs, but you know, upon going into the office, you know, months in advance, I kind of I was like, hey, so during Masters week is it's still on and he's like no, no, no, no no. I'm like, okay, cool, just making sure so you know, I'll be following and I'll
be watching. But what I'll probably do So my birthday is on the tenth, and this year or sorry, you know, this time of year has always been very special to me. There's there's a story in our family that I guess at like my sixth you know, birthday party, as everyone's you know, kind of going around doing whatever six year olds do. Apparently I had snuck into the other room to watch the Masters with my dad and left all
my friends out. I don't know if that's an indication of me being an awful team player or or just really caring about the Masters, but I guess my mom was a pall to My dad was just super happy about it.
Your dad was probably like that boy.
My dad was like so into it.
Yeah.
They both tell the story pretty in pretty different lights. But yeah, So you know, my guess is is I'll I'll probably watch it with with two buddies, two or three buddies. I probably won't go to a big Master's watching party. I probably set up like a laptop or two in front of me and you know, turn on the TV. But you know, I had an amazing experience last year and you know, a very life changing one.
It was so special for friends and family and obviously myself, and it's I'm probably just gonna try and watch it and peace and quiet and enjoy the theater that kind of goes on. And then as far as like friends, Doc Doug. I've gotten to know Jauque in just a little bit obviously, Matt. You know, I'm excited to see
how he plays this year. Harry Ellis was on the other side for the Walker Cup, you know, to watch the ams and to kind of watch, you know, the experience that that they're going to have, and then to you know, hopefully be able to share that, you know with them and kind of bond over just how special of a week it is. You know, it'll I'll be I'll be definitely tuned in. So I'm really looking forward to a great week.
You know, what they need to add to the early round coverage as an AM cam?
Is it what an AM cam?
Yeah, you know, just foul a coverage exclusively on the ams.
So I think I was listening to a maybe a podcast last year where someone said something similar like they need to have like an am miked up or something, and I was like, yeah, they definitely don't need to mic me up on the golf course.
Yeah.
I was like, it's it's probably for the best if they don't. If they don't do that.
Who you got this week?
Pros?
Pros?
Like we're talking talking, Uh, if you had to make a.
Pick, let's say, take your take your pick, and then give us a sleeper, your sleeper.
Okay, uh my horse, my my chalk pick would be JT because I mean stats, I mean, there's very few people playing better in the world than he is right now. And then my other pick, and I'm not even gonna call him a sleeper, but I've been calling this for months. I got Patrick Can'tley winning the Masters this year.
Oh man, he's a stud. Yeah, it's uh, he's got He's got experience too.
I know he does. He made like six birdies in an eagle to beat Hideki for low Am. I think it was Hideki, wasn't it.
I think so? Yeah? It was twenty eleven, right.
Mm hmm. Yeah. So Chris was on the bag for him, and I've talked about it with him before and it was a special week. I love Pat's game. I've known Pat, you know, a long time, and he's got sneaky length. He hits a draw. He's a really really good iron player in the sense that he's very good at being patient and putting it to eighteen twenty feet and he's he's a really really good putter.
Yeah, And I just I just I just.
Have a feeling that he, you know, with with a lot of the you know things he's been through, Augusta is a huge goal for him to get to. And I think he's putting a lot of emphasis on playing well this week, and I it wouldn't surprise me to see him, you know, play well. But I I have a feeling he's gonna, you know, he's gonna he's gonna make some noise this week. For sure.
I think he is the It's like the he winning was really big for him too beforehand, you know, because he got that brand in the fall. So he's won in the last you know, six months when he hasn't played and you know, he's only played for essentially twelve months in the last you know, three four years.
His official World Golf Ranking page is really impressive.
Oh yeah, it's it's very consistent.
Yeah, you won't find too many you won't find the letters MC too many times on it.
You know what's amazing is his his like a testament to how good he hits the ball, is that he's like in the top ten or fifteen of driving distance, but his club head speeds like middle of the road.
Yeah, it's it's it's crazy. And he's like sneaky long too. I guess when he, you know, had his his back and you know, he was kind of going through some of you know, his injury stuff, he really spent a lot of time and this is from guys up in Virginia and we're close with I guess he spent a lot of time getting in the gym and strengthening himself, and a lot of that's kind of now beginning to
pay off. And I think it's you can see it in the way that he's played and the way that you know he's you know, his finishes and it's I gotta I got a good feel about Pat this week. I think he's I think he's gonna make some noise.
I think he is one hundred to one right now for any any gamblers out there, so pretty pretty good odds at least I think that's usually like a tenth of it, so it would probably be like ten to one for a top ten.
So all right, you have who do you have?
I got j T. I'm JT same boat. I think I personally think he's the best player in the world right now. He's got. The thing that impresses me about JT is like he's a a plus driver of the golf ball. He's one of the best iron players in the world. He's got an incredible short game, and he's an incredible putter, and the progression of that game over the last four years has been just fascinating to watch for sure.
I mean it's you know, look, I don't the storylines you know that are going into this year. Obviously Tiger, you know Bubba recently, you know, Fills and playing great I mean John Rahm, such as Stud Jordan, obviously, the history he's had. I mean, if Rory Putts, well, you know he could he could you know, run away with
it like you did at bay Hill. Obviously, you know, Dustin could can kind of dominate with his length the way he did, you know, with the tournament chance shoot, there's so many good players, and it would just it would be so cool to watch Jason Day, you know, when I even talked about Sergio that, you know, the champion from last year, obviously like it's it's it's crazy.
It would be so much fun to see you know, four or five of those guys just really you know, start making putts and just it would be it would be cool.
You know.
I think we're I think we're in for a good year.
Yeah, there's just so many names that a couple of them are bound to be in it, so it should be should be an awesome year, all right, overrated, underrated, and then you're out of here. You ready, what do we got, Let's do it? Pimento cheese sandwiches.
I'm not a cheese guy, so I can't offer an opinion. But all all my buddies that went down last year that were kind of around, they loved them. I know that that's it's kind of a you know, a hot topic, but like they've been around for an awfully long time, and there's a reason they've been around it off of the long time, they thought they were great.
So driving down Magnolia Lane, like.
I mean, what's the most underrated thing. So I went as slowly as possible. I bet I had a line of cars behind me as I drove down Magnolia Lane because it's just the coolest drive in in sports. And if it's I mean, if it's not, tell me what it is. It's I went out of my way to like go at a snail's pace every single day, Like I I factored in time getting ready for the for you know, my my my rounds to really drive down. It's just it's so cool and I get chills just
I mean, I'm sure you can hear my voice. I get chills just thinking about it. It's it is just so so special. And you know, you have in my head every time I would go down, I would have, you know, the piano the Master's theme song kind of in the back of my head, and oh, it's it's just it's so cool.
So no music when you're driving down.
There was no there was there. I think I actually intentionally turned whatever I was listening to down on the radio, just to enjoy the serenity and the silence. Like I feel like I'm making this like artistic, but I mean maybe maybe I went to YouTube and stuff I could got if I could get the video to play in the car. That was a very sacred time during that week and any time I've I've played it other than that Magnolia lay is is. I mean, it's it's what
you dream about driving down. So I wanted complete focus on that drive.
That's awesome, all right. Last one the fourteenth hole.
Fourteenth hole, yeah, Augusta, Yeah, I think it's underrated. There's no bunkers on the I mean, you know everything about it. There's no bunkers on the whole. People don't understand people being you know, if you've never been down there or played it, you know you're just watching it on TV, you don't understand just how severe that green is. I mean if you go if you go right of the pan or too far left of the pin, where you have you know, like a really you know, a twenty footer,
that green is so tough. But at the same time, it kind of goes back to the experience and that you know, historical you know, shots that have been hit over the years, like you know, you can use the backslopes and you can use different parts of the undulations to kind of maneuver, you know, different shots towards the pin.
It's a hole that requires, I feel like a lot of experience, but at the same time, it's kind of that ultimate you know, not to totally harp on what Adam said, but if you step up and you had a good shot there, like you can have a really close look at party versus if you're just a little bit off. You know, you're looking at a twenty five foot that breaks twelve feet that you can't put within
ten feet if you tried. So I love fourteen. I think it's a really really neat hole, and it's it's kind of like when you, you know, look back through the years right where you can start making noise, maybe Birtie, you pirty twelve and then you egle eleven and you know, you whatever. Like but that Sunday pin position, you know, where it's kind of almost in that little bowl where you see a lot of guys hit it close. Or if you're just even a fraction off, then it's just
such a tough pin. I just I think it's a really really cool hole.
That is the correct answer, you know, But I agree, Well that's why we get along. Yeah, I feel like you see so many times people make a run and then something happens, like you'll just see a bogie pop on fourteen, or somebody doesn't birdy thirteen and they birthy fourteen and then they get to fifteen and make a birdie er eagle. It's just such an important hole, and it's it's so different than the rest of the holes out there.
And it's so fair, you know, if you if you hit a good drive, get one out there. That whole I feel like kind of, you know, during the week, maybe cause it's playing a little bit firmer and faster, I think is a little shorter than maybe the way that it played in practice rounds. Just adrenaline and you know, maybe it's it's it's hot that day or whatever, and I just I just it's it's a really really it's either I feel like a momentum provider or a momentum stunner.
And you know, obviously like if you make par then it's neither. But it's I I've always loved thirteen or fourteen, and I think it's, you know, kind of maybe the back nine version of three where it doesn't necessarily get the credit that it deserves, and I just it's it's just it's a cool hole. It's a really cool.
Yeah, it's it's awesome. But hey, Stu, enjoy the week. Thanks for the time, it was awesome and excited to watch this year's Masters. Disappointed we going to get to see you play again.
That's okay, man, I'm looking forward to to seeing it from a different light. And thank you for having me on the podcast. It's always fun to talk to you and I always enjoy listening. So thank you for everything you do. And I'm sure we'll be texting next week.
All right, man, be well,