It was a tough weekend, and it was tough week for anybody playing at the US Open at Oakmont. What a brutal, brutal track to try and navigate for the one hundred and twenty fifth playing. Our next guest on the Lindsey Hunter Foundation guest line is Grant Hefner, and he was able to do just that. He played there Thursday and Friday. He had to win a qualifying round in Ohio and was unbelievable in winning it, beating out
some massive names that you're familiar with. And the Michigan native joins us here on this Monday, Grant, hope your dad had a great Father's Day. How are you this morning?
Good? I'm doing well.
Good. How difficult was that course?
You know, it's sometimes it's tough to explain. It probe the hardest golf course I have played in my career so far, just based on the condition. You know, US Amateur was health there in twenty twenty one and I had a privilege to be able to play in that. But it was nothing like what I just experienced Thursday Friday. I mean, the rough is just five and a half inches thick, and you know, the people who did the best were those who could avoid it.
How do you prepare for course like that with its challenges? I mean playing it in a practice round is one thing. Playing it like you said before, uh is another. But the conditions are not always the same. So how do you prepare for something like that?
The conditions before the golf course throughout the weeks changed. When I got there Monday, we had just got off some rain and the course was quite soft in the fairways, like it kind of was yesterday to the final round, the rough was a little more wet. To prepare for it, I mean I must have hit hundreds of chips and shots out, you know, out of the rock, just over the course of three four days, just to you know,
have any idea what to do. I mean, fortunately I had a good team with me, with you know, two of my country group coaches, you know, coaching on tour. But you know, even with that, I mean, it was, you know, it's a blind you're off pretty much. It's you know, it's it's a rubb of degree meaning it's you know, do you end in it or do you do you get in the rough or do you not? And you have to play your best to you know, you know, play very strategic in order to achieve that.
Michigan ned a grand Hefner joining us here on extra Jo Bros. He was a qualifier for the US Open. On Thursday. You shot an eighty one. On Friday you shot a seventy seven. But your front nine is one that your back nine was really good. I mean, if you played the back nine, you're in right, you make the cut. It's the front nine that caused problems, not just for you, but for just about everybody. What was the biggest difference between the front nine at Oakmont compared to the back nine at Oakmont?
Yeah, so it's funny you caught on to that. The I think the front nine there are holes there that are just absolutely brutal to take three Hold eight and Old nine. Those three holes are just they had to finish, uh three of the hardest holes of the week, and there's no escaping that, meaning if you hit a bad shot, you can't get away with it. Compared to the back nine, you know, full ten you don't need a hit driver,
whole eleven you don't need a hit driver. And the green top pluses or I would say a little less severe, but you could have almost all a scoring stressed and I played really well on that nine the second day, and if I made a couple of cuts, you know, making the cut wasn't out of the question for twenty seven, but unfortunately, you know, I didn't, and so I still had a great nine of that shot even far. But you know, I'm bogied eighteen and it's still just a
brutal tot. They hit it right and the rough off the team on eighteen, and I'm kind of knew it was pretty much a bogie immediately.
How big of a challenge is number eight? It's a two and ninety three yard par three. It just seems like it's so daunting from the tee. What do you use in that? And how are you playing that? Specifically?
That's burn the practice round. A lot of the players just put it myself, we were hitting drivers at it. As a week went on, out of the course firmed up a bit, we switched over to three woods, and but still the difficulty of it is you're hitting the three wood of the small you know, I don't say small green complex. The broach is large, three upon complex.
But you can't miss, you know, the moment you hit it in a rough, you're still just you know, debt, you're trying to sit from around the green, and so I mean it was very easy to make a four. You know over.
Immediately is the mindset of par Is okay? Or even a bogie on certain holes is okay? How challenging is that to adapt when you're you used to being the guy who was shooting sixty two and sixty three.
Yeah, it's amazing. Really, the mentality of bogey as your friend in the major championship, especially as mainly as I'd say the US Open is a very accurate statement. And I don't know if it was so hard to it's daft, but sometimes making bogeye was hard. Best example for me it was whull number three the first day. I hit it right in the rough, and my Kaddy and I talked about shipping into sideways last. But if I took this sideways, the least it would have gone through the
fair way into the other rough. But let me try to killing forward. And I tried hitting at nine iron just to get it to go one hundred yards, and I couldn't even get us to go one hundred yards. And so now you know, a bigger number wasn't playing it ended up making triple.
Grand after joining us here on Exison Bros. Professional goal for Michigan or played in the US Open. And it is a very challenging track, the greens or the rough. What was more challenging for you?
The rough, without a doubt is uh, it was just such a It's so thick and it was so dense that it was really just luck if you had a good lie. You know, sometimes you did, but in the jord of your time you didn't. And you're opening that club base on your wedge and taking a swing that you would from sixty yards and you're hoping your ball just on the green.
You know.
I don't know if you watch the last round, but you know Sam Burns on fifteen and you know, short side of himself to the last and you know he's taking this huge swing and he'n't even getting on the green. I mean, it was just it was just incredible to playing conditions like that.
So I got a quick question for you. I'm glad you brought up Sam Burns. I forget which hole it was, Grant, but his ball lands would look to be in a puddle of water. I mean, it was. It was nasty usually it's a drop from there, right, I mean, it's some type of relief. Should they have get they didn't give him relief? Should he have gotten relief?
And why if it was whole fifteen someone? I think some of they posted a picture on Instagram or stuffing saying like this is where his ball was. But you know, I didn't look at it too much. But to my knowledge, I don't know if there was enough rain to justify him get in what they call a standing water release. And so in order to get standing water release, you have to literally stand on pretty much where your golf ball is and water has to rise out of the ground.
And at that point, it was not raining, and I think the ball the water was draining away, and I don't know if it was I don't know if it was justified. I can't say, but I think, you know, based on the telecast that I was watching, I thought his ball of fine didn't have mud on it. He just hit a really bad shot on fifty. I mean, you know, his daddy should have had a name in way, right, and knowing that if he, you know, makes a thirty on seventeen, he's you know, still in the tournament.
It's a good answer, Grant Hefner joining us on the Lindsay Hunter Foundation guest line courses in general, Grant, do you find that they are trying to make them pro proof? If you look at it, Oakmant has only two par fives, number twelve, six hundred and thirty seven and number four, six hundred and seventeen. You're playing par fours that are over five hundred yards five hundred and nine on number fifteen,
five hundred and five. On eighteen you got a four hundred and sixty five yard par four, four hundred and ninety yard par four. Are they tricking these golf courses too much? So you guys can't score as easily as perhaps you could have ten years ago.
Even ye you know, so I looked at this. But so if you were to have two ins rotten at that US Open instead of the five and a half six sens roughly played in, I think the winners you know, under ten under parts. So it put a premium on hitting the fairway out there. And because you know you take nine, it's four hundred and ninety six yards, and if you missed the fairway two yards left, you go into a penalty hazard. If you miss it two yards right, you're in a bunk or a rough, and from neither
location you can't get it. On the green. You kind of thread this ball through a small, small opening and it puts just an exacerbation on accuracy and temperate patience. Not for the par five is they were very long, but they're actually both very reachable because some elevation change. So every guy was going for hole twelve pretty much if you hit the fairway, including myself, and I was going for them with either a six wood or three wood, and some guys were going for him with the iron seasons,
but those were the only holes. He felt like, you know, hey, Exeason, my thirty opportunities. So I mean you just have to hold on and you know, grind out the rest.
It's such a narrow margin of error though, I mean, you're talking about two yards. You hit it two yards right of your target or two yards left of your target, and you're getting pedalized even though you're hitting it in the fair way. And Grand Heffner can relate. He's on the Lindsay Hunter Foundation guest line with us here on X's and Bros. We saw the frustration from Terrell Hatton. We saw it from Sam Burns. We saw it from
Bryson to Shambo. What were your colleagues on the PGA tour telling you about the course when all was said and done.
You know, it was funny hearing a lot of people weren't thrilled as the four setup. I think they wanted, you know, they would have appreciated like four inch russ instead of you know, the five and a half six and stuff we had, which I think that it would have been a little more fair. But I wouldn't say the USJ ass the golf course as they have in the past. It's like USOLP such as Shinnecock. But I
think it just led the frustration. I know, we all saw the Rory McElroy slams in the club head on uh on seventh or slamming this clubhead on the team marker on seventeen. But you know, I mean, I think that golf course does that to you. I mean, it's it is. It just puts a premium on you know, staying within yourself and making incredibly smart decisions and you know, not screwing up. And I did a nine hole where I played that way and it was a good score.
Was out there, but you just really had to, you know, buffle down and earn it.
Was it more challenging physically or mentally?
I think I think physically, I think it's from like a I think mentally, I mean, because this game, this game, all of us have like very good golf wings and have the ability to shoot a low score and just to be able to mentally stand over a golf shot and really commit to a line and know that, hey, if I turned my club days a degree closed the reopen on this and you know, I've we're going to be in the rough and he just can't be in there.
So it just puts an exager just exaggerate, you know, just frustrating.
You got a chance to work out a little bit with JJ Spahn. You get to know these guys a little bit better as you continue to improve your game. How happy are you for a guy who made a sixty four and a half foot putt for birdie on number eighteen to win it by two and be the only guy in red figures.
Yeah, it's incredible. You know, it's funny. I thought I thought two under was a pretty good score for the end of the week and ended up being one under. But I can't say more nice things about JJ spawn. I happened to be able to play in the Rocket program with them last year. It was just a gentleman. And you know it's funny enough. I it's a golf course, setsuots so well, he's not the longest said are he has you know, he gets it far enough. He's a
great iron player. He's patient. You know, he's not some guy who's going to go two twenty under in a US Open, but he can you know, stay around are in the US Open. And that's what they did this week, and uh, you know he's gonna be a nicer guy.
What did this experience teach you and how do you use it moving forward in your PGA to her career?
The my coaches and myself, we learned, we learned a lot about this week. We learned what I need to work on and what our game plan is going forward, and we start at this Thursday with that implementing this stuff so I can you know, get my get my status out there and you know, play out there week in week out and being out there for those guys, it just makes me want it even more, you know, it makes me want to be Uh, you know, a solidifide figure on the PGA Tour makes me want to
be someone. You know, I may not be an r mac or air Bipon, but I can go be you know, even makes me makes me say I can go be a JJ sponsor. You know he uh, he's gonna win his first PJ Tour event. Soal ten years being a pro and uh, you know I'm only in year two.
Help us with the challenges, I think it people view the PGA Tour as private jets, five star hotels, you know, Chaufford cars to the clubhouse and then you're playing and living the life of luxury. That's for the very rarefied error. It's a challenge. It's really hard. What's the most difficult part about trying to stay get and then stay with your tour card on the PGA Tour.
Yeah, I mean the lives we see if you watch, you know that's the full swing or the top of the line guys. You know, you see the price and you see the roar, you see the Jordan's ps and Justin Thomas and all these guys who are just you know, phenoms and world numbers, top ten in their life. Looks pretty tarn good. But there's a there's a large PJ
tour that's you know, find commercial every week. You know, has rental cars who who you know, you may not be able to recognize if they walk to do a restaurant. I mean Jay Jay Fond told us, you know the practice FREEKW that is kind of his thing. You know, like you could walk into a restaurant and you know not really you know, maybe one first recognizing them. You know, it's not not uh you know, not somebody gives someone the starstruck. But with that, you know, not being a
top of the line guy. I mean, it's it's adop and you know it's not glamorous, especially when you're chasing it like what I'm doing. You know, you don't have status and you're driving across the country to play in these events that are called mini tour events or Monday qualifiers just to have an opportunity, and you're staying in uh you know, you're not saying a five star hotels or you know, driving around a courtesy Lexis for the week.
You're you're grinding it out, looking at your finances, making sure, uh you know you're well within your meat. I mean it's by far. Uh, you know, not a oral treatment when you're chasing them.
Yeah, it's tough, but we give you a ton of credit because you're a hell of a player and we know that the challenges are there, but you can overcome them. We appreciate the time. Congratulations on winning the US Open qualifier. Congratulations on playing at Oakmont. We're going to hear and see you quite a bit moving forward. Thanks for the time today, Grant. We appreciate you joining us.
I appreciate it. Thank you for what you do.