The Masters - A Tradition Unlike Any Other

[00:00:00] Golf is something that I do. It's a tremendously huge part of my life, but it doesn't define

[00:00:05] me as a person. It's just something that I do. The following is a presentation of

[00:00:10] Hobson Media. This is the Church Pew Sports podcast featuring a group of pastors delivering

[00:00:25] bombastic takes on sports, life and faith. Take a knee. As the Church Pew Sports podcast

[00:00:46] begins, it's more like a baseball bat than the kneecaps.

[00:01:04] We have to start things off with the unmistakable tradition unlike any other. The gentle tickling

[00:01:11] of the Ivory's, some guitar and the master's theme song. I feel like I should be talking

[00:01:17] in my golf voice, my hushed golf voice hello friends, and welcome into Church Pew Sports.

[00:01:26] Another tradition unlike any other. Bill Hobson here along with Pastor Paul Miller and

[00:01:32] Paul, this is that one episode of the year where I feel like I'm right at home. I could

[00:01:38] go on for hours and hours just about this theme song. I could play you the version that

[00:01:42] has words to it and watch you laugh at how horrible the lyrics are to this song, but in

[00:01:49] the meantime, it's it's Master's Week so welcome to golf heaven.

[00:01:54] Yes, golf heaven. So my question for you from the jump is, how annoyed do you get with

[00:01:59] people like me who don't get it? Who have questions that will make you roll your eyes

[00:02:05] and go, really you want to ask me about that or whatever?

[00:02:08] Well, you know, before you and I started this podcast, I would have probably had a different

[00:02:16] answer than I do now. And there's a couple of reasons for that one. I am that guy when

[00:02:23] it comes to soccer. And yet you introduced me to kind of the beauty of the game, World Cup.

[00:02:30] You had me watching some of this stuff and explaining some of the nuances of it all.

[00:02:34] And so I'm still not scheduling my life around a match that might be on TV, but I have more

[00:02:41] of an appreciation for it. So you know, we've been through a couple of masters seasons

[00:02:46] together now and I think you've, you know, I'm not going to say that you've become a

[00:02:51] dimple head by any stretch of the imagination, but I don't think I don't think it annoys

[00:02:56] you. And I think that on Sunday after your nap and before some other activity, you might

[00:03:03] make most of America check out what the back nine drama looks like there at Augusta. So,

[00:03:08] yeah, I'm not as annoyed as I probably would have been a couple of years ago.

[00:03:13] Yeah, the needles, the needles definitely moved for me and I have you to thank for that

[00:03:17] and my father and I'll probably because for him it's appointment television all four

[00:03:22] rounds in the whole deal. I'm not there, but I'm much more aware of the fact like I knew

[00:03:27] the masters coming this week. That's a step up for me. And I don't know that I will watch

[00:03:33] all four rounds, but I'll probably watch most of Sunday. And if it's compelling, I'll check

[00:03:39] in on Saturday to see what's going on. So I've definitely increased my fandom as we've

[00:03:45] gone along, but I'm still somewhat naive on the game itself.

[00:03:49] Well, and we have, yeah, we have a guest who will join us here in just a few moments who

[00:03:53] is literally at Augusta. He's eating breakfast right now and texting me and rubbing in

[00:03:57] how good the breakfast is because in the media center they feed you like kings. But

[00:04:03] as you and I speak, it's Thursday morning. And because of a weather front that went through

[00:04:09] Augusta, Georgia last night, they have had to delay the start of the first round by

[00:04:15] a couple of hours, which means round one probably won't finish today. They'll have to

[00:04:20] finish it up Friday morning and then everything kind of gets compressed into Friday so that

[00:04:26] hopefully Saturday and Sunday can play on their traditional 18 whole days. I say all that

[00:04:30] because I don't know when anybody is listening to this. It might be right here on Thursday,

[00:04:38] as they're getting ready to watch the Masters. There might be next week just so you all know

[00:04:43] we're not planning to do a leader board update podcast that would be updated them. That

[00:04:48] would be outdated. The moment we spoke the words. Yeah. What we'd really like to do though

[00:04:54] is kind of bring to you the flavor, the uniqueness just the coolness of the Masters. What

[00:05:01] makes it so special, the traditions and the rules and the things that have people flocking

[00:05:07] there like they like they would to Mecca. You know, they're climbing them out and to have

[00:05:12] some spiritual experience. I've heard it described by a number of people that visit to Augusta

[00:05:19] National feels like a spiritual experience. Well, helping make it even more so this year

[00:05:26] and a couple of years ago is the attitude, the testimony and the approach of the number

[00:05:35] one player in the world. Scotty Sheffler. Scotty is obviously he's very, very good at golf

[00:05:44] but he also has a just a wonderful perspective on what golf means to him in his life as part

[00:05:53] of his identity. We played just a very brief clip of that here at the outset as a little

[00:05:58] teaser where he said golf doesn't define me. It's what I do and sometimes I'm really

[00:06:03] good at it. But I thought well, we would do Paul as we started to roll things out and

[00:06:07] we wait for Brian to call in. I'm going to play almost a two minute long clip. This is

[00:06:12] from Tuesday. One of the one of the many traditions that the masters is that on Tuesday,

[00:06:18] the top players and the defending champion come into the media center for their press conferences

[00:06:23] and they're you know, they're just turned loose to the assembled media that's there and

[00:06:27] they can ask anything. And Todd Lewis from golf channel asked Scotty about what golf

[00:06:36] meant to him where it ranked in his life. How would you say golf? Where does it fit in defining

[00:06:43] you as a person right now? Hopefully it doesn't define me too much because golf definitely is

[00:06:52] a selfish sport. You know, you're out there by yourself and when you're at the peak of your

[00:06:57] of your game, you know people need stuff from you a lot of the time and you have to be selfish

[00:07:02] with your time and it's not easy to say no, but you have to learn how to say no to certain people.

[00:07:07] Because ultimately when you come out to the golf tournament, you're here to compete and you're

[00:07:10] here to do your best and you can't really get caught up in all the stuff that's going on around you.

[00:07:16] And so I'm hoping it doesn't define me too much because like I feel like I've said a bunch of

[00:07:21] golf something that I do is a tremendously huge part of my life, but it doesn't define me as a

[00:07:26] person. It's just something that I do and I happen to be good at it some weeks and you know,

[00:07:31] I come in here and you guys ask all nice questions and then the next week I'm bad at it and then

[00:07:35] some of the questions are viewed more negatively and that's just kind of the you know, the ebb and

[00:07:39] flow of competing in front of people all the time. And can I follow up? What do you think defines you?

[00:07:46] I probably have to ask my wife. No, I am a faithful guy, believe in a creator, believe in Jesus.

[00:07:57] Ultimately, I think that's what defines me the most.

[00:08:03] Yeah, I feel like I've given a platform to compete and you know show my talent.

[00:08:13] It's not anything that I did. You know, I think I sat up here a couple of years ago doing the

[00:08:17] interview after the 2022 Masters and it's like yeah, I was underprepared for what was about to happen.

[00:08:21] I didn't know what was going to happen. I didn't, you know, I was very anxious that morning.

[00:08:29] I didn't know what to expect and it's hard to describe the feeling but I think that's what

[00:08:36] defines me the most is my faith. You know, I believe the one creator and I've been called to come out here

[00:08:42] do my best to compete and glorify God and that's pretty much it.

[00:08:46] I mean, come on Paul. I mean that that that preaches right?

[00:08:51] You can like wrap the episode right now where we're good to go. It was fascinating about that

[00:08:56] is how often that conversation is relevant. Like we talk to our kids all the time about

[00:09:03] the ranking of things in your identity. Like it starts with child of God and then it goes to

[00:09:08] member of the Miller family and then it's everything else. And we talk about that with our kids,

[00:09:13] you know, we have two kids who are black and so we talk about yes, you're black and that's a part

[00:09:18] of who you are but it's not it's not what defines you. Child of God Miller family, everything else

[00:09:25] which is exactly what Sheffler just kind of outlined for us. And so that is interesting. He was

[00:09:33] almost sounded like he was a little bit hesitant to kind of really go into all of it when he was

[00:09:38] talking in that interview. So he showed I felt like he was showing a little bit of restraint but

[00:09:45] it's great to hear someone say, you know, sometimes some weeks I'm good, some weeks I'm not. And

[00:09:50] the way you guys treat me ebbs and flows depending on whether I'm good or whether I'm not. But at the

[00:09:54] end of the day he doesn't his life doesn't rise and fall with how his golf swing is going which I

[00:10:00] think is the most important thing. Scotty is a very thoughtful guy. I know his caddy somewhat we've

[00:10:08] interviewed a couple of times Ted Scott is his name. In fact, Ted is a great follow on Instagram

[00:10:14] every Sunday he does a Sunday sermon as he's making his way to the golf course and by the way more

[00:10:20] often than not he's making his way to the golf course because his man Scotty is either leading or in

[00:10:25] contention and his Sunday sermons are really really actually pretty meaty. I've been really thankful for

[00:10:32] them. But one of the things that I have appreciated about Scotty is he's not flippant about really

[00:10:39] anything. And so that reluctance that you sense is probably connected to man, I don't want to be

[00:10:46] another one of the athletes who just shouts out the big guy upstairs. I think you could kind of hear

[00:10:51] his voice catch a little bit as he talked about it. I think it's a really important part of his life

[00:10:57] and let's remember also. And we've seen this born out in front of us a lot in the last 24 months.

[00:11:06] Golf is among the most narcissistic professional sports that there possibly could be.

[00:11:14] You're your own team, you're out there playing on your own. You've got to care about yourself.

[00:11:23] Yeah. So in this sport of individualism here's a guy who doesn't really talk about himself. I

[00:11:33] just I think it's really really pretty he's pretty humble. It's pretty powerful and it's really

[00:11:38] cool to see. He's one of my favorite players ever. And by the way from a from a golfer fan standpoint

[00:11:44] he's got the most unorthodox footwork that a world's best golfer has ever had. You could never coach

[00:11:52] anybody to hit the ball the way Scotty does. It is an original to say the very least.

[00:11:58] And speaking of an original from real golf radio and from the dining area at Augusta Nationals

[00:12:05] Media Center we are joined by Brian Taylor our friend from out in Utah who's in Augusta this

[00:12:10] week. Brian. Thanks for having me. I appreciate it. It is good to hear your voice my friend and I know

[00:12:14] you always counted a very special time when you are at Augusta. I was telling our listeners earlier

[00:12:20] that we are talking during what would normally be the playing of the opening round but there's a

[00:12:25] bit of a weather delay. So we've got a few minutes until competition actually begins. Can you

[00:12:31] you know and Paul Miller is with us of course my co-host and Paul is I don't Paul's not going to

[00:12:36] describe himself as a diehard golfer but we've we've drawn him a little closer. Is that fair Paul

[00:12:43] kind of closer into the world? Yes, I'm growing in my appreciation. It hasn't actually gotten me

[00:12:50] out on the course to swim in a club but I will watch now which baby steps for me baby steps.

[00:12:56] But the Masters isn't intriguing to even peripheral golf fans so what's it like when you first

[00:13:03] set foot on the ground each year that you and your broadcast partner Bob Casper have gone there?

[00:13:10] Well just say this Paul we actually really appreciate golf fans that don't step out on the golf

[00:13:15] course these days because it seems to be so wildly popular that it's difficult for those of us

[00:13:20] that are diehard even get a tee time at times. So we're okay with that actually. So that's our new

[00:13:26] draw the game initiative right now. Yes, play less other people play less so I can play more.

[00:13:33] I love that. Yeah.

[00:13:35] Hey you know what? I appreciate you guys having me on and this is 20 some years. I first came here

[00:13:41] in 2000 with when the year VJ won and of course it was a little bit added special if you will

[00:13:50] being able to come with the family of a past champion and Billy Casper and his family.

[00:13:55] You know I remember that first night when I came couldn't sleep like at Bob up all night asking

[00:14:00] him silly questions and you know looking up there was I remember there was like a skylight in our

[00:14:05] in the room we were staying in so you could kind of see the pines outside and in my crazy you know

[00:14:11] fan filled mind I kept thinking that Tiger Woods was somewhere out in those pines. I just couldn't

[00:14:16] I was just I was out of my gourd I couldn't sleep I was so excited and yet it was interesting is

[00:14:23] when we rolled in here Saturday morning you know we get off at Washington Road and I just would

[00:14:29] that stoplight just you know I just kind of got you know the same sort of feeling come Russian

[00:14:35] through me again so it's a rush to come out here it really is a special play. I can't just myself very

[00:14:41] very fortunate to be able to come out here I told Bob every year to consider it I'll enjoy it like

[00:14:46] it's my last because you just never know and I've just been privileged it's a neat feeling I

[00:14:51] help people there's a lot of things in life they get hyped up but very few live up to it when

[00:14:56] you actually experience it and this is one of the probably most you couldn't over height it's probably

[00:15:01] the one of the most high golf experience or sports experience and yet when you do come it lived

[00:15:06] up to it so if that's pretty impressive. It is unique it's I think it's the most unique American

[00:15:12] sporting event and it's not even close this combination of traditions and rules now Paul when's

[00:15:20] the last time you heard sports fans celebrate like in a positive way the different rules around an

[00:15:28] event that you you must follow or you're not going to be there and and maybe whoever owns the badge

[00:15:33] that got you in is never going to be there again like if you're caught with your phone there's no

[00:15:39] running there's no cameras during competitive rounds so I'd love to hear from you Paul what like kind

[00:15:48] of your questions are about traditions and rules and what makes the master special and maybe

[00:15:52] between Brian and myself we can you know draw you in even closer this is kind of like our evangelistic

[00:15:58] episode today we're gonna we're gonna evangelize you into the family of golf. Yeah I get my only

[00:16:07] have one I think kind of broad brush question it goes back to the podcast episode we recorded last

[00:16:12] week though we were talking about unwritten rules yeah in the game of baseball so I would I

[00:16:20] would love first about to know what those things are like when you say no phones I'm like really is

[00:16:24] that is that like in the rulebook somewhere and like if you pull your phone out do they get you off

[00:16:28] the side of the course and say you're done or how does that work or are these unwritten things I

[00:16:33] love to know the difference because clearly it sounds like they're trying to create a vibe if not

[00:16:40] a culture around the event right the golf tournament and so some of those things have to be unwritten

[00:16:48] I would assume and some of them maybe some of them are like hey you're dequeued if that's if you

[00:16:53] if you cross this line or that one I would love to just start there Brian what would happen if

[00:16:58] you were to take your phone that you're talking to me with right now and walk out over by the

[00:17:04] practice tee while still talking to me you know I actually hate to think about what might happen

[00:17:12] to Sally but no you know you know what I was thinking about when you were asking that question

[00:17:16] Paul is the thing about a guy say is it's not so much the unwritten they don't need much to unwritten

[00:17:22] everything's pretty much spelled out for you so you know very clearly what is acceptable and

[00:17:28] what's not acceptable but yeah I mean look I've seen it over the years guys that they try to speak

[00:17:34] into the stalls and have a phone call or get on their phone real quick or I'm ever watching one guy

[00:17:39] he'd pull the towel out like a golf towel over his head he wanted to share and then you know the

[00:17:44] security guards were just that captain on the shoulder and that's quartered him out you know

[00:17:48] to your point Bill a lot of these people are here through corporate for you know broker type things

[00:17:54] then they're using somebody's ticket right somebody has to take a somebody's pocket ticket and if

[00:17:58] they resold it to somebody else or whatever the sadness is that if somebody goes out and abuse

[00:18:04] as the rules and gets that ticket hold it affects that person obviously his experience for that day

[00:18:10] but it affects the person that was the ticket holder for the rest of his life because that guy I think

[00:18:15] and so that's they don't get a back and if I'm talking about something for years not just that one

[00:18:20] ticket ticket but going forward so yeah that's kind of an unfortunate thing and you know the thing

[00:18:26] that I really there's some things where you kind of shake your head out but for the most part it

[00:18:31] and I thought Fred Ridley said it best to determine the other day when he's talking about whether

[00:18:36] or not today would have another like a potential women's professional event here someday or any

[00:18:42] other event for that matter and he said you know there's this somebody who brought up the

[00:18:47] mystery and the mystique that is kind of surrounds the club and he just acknowledged you know some of

[00:18:52] that we have to protect that in some way too and he talks about balancing technology the fact

[00:18:57] you see drones flying down Magnolia Lane and through the pros and give you interviews you never thought

[00:19:02] you'd see you know that's really cool to embrace that and it's cool that the club gives people

[00:19:07] views and access to be able to see what it all is but you also don't want to hold back the curtain

[00:19:12] so far that she kind of lose that mystique of a gut that he seemed to understand that very very

[00:19:17] clearly and that was a point of emphasis for him so I think you know the no-phones is unique it

[00:19:24] makes it challenging you don't know how to get around the golf course you don't know how to find

[00:19:27] your party right separated you know there's a few things that can be challenging logistically

[00:19:32] but you also can appreciate the fact that everybody's heads are up people look at each other when they

[00:19:37] go by people are looking up and around and observing and appreciating the beauty and the experience

[00:19:43] that's right in front of them rather than living you know in a far away spot through a little you

[00:19:48] know little device so from that standpoint it's a refreshing but it does create some logistical

[00:19:53] challenges yeah and just to kind of add some more color to that Paul regarding the phones

[00:19:58] uh you know there are watches that you can connect to cellular activity so you don't have to have

[00:20:04] a phone in your hand right if you're if you're talking into your wrist you're out as well

[00:20:08] there are a number of I guess marshals or security guards that are wearing yellow like construction hats

[00:20:15] so like master's hats and there's not a tackling they're not tasering you but they're just going to

[00:20:20] guide you off the property and you won't be back and as Brian said whoever has the ownership of

[00:20:27] that badge that you're the ticket that you're using that day I mean unless it's you uh it's quite

[00:20:32] likely that person has lost them for life when bow and I when my son and I went as just patrons in

[00:20:39] 2016 we were graciously given two clubhouse badges for Thursdays opening round by a wonderful man who

[00:20:49] has since passed away and um this guy knew that we understood the etiquette we understood the rules

[00:20:56] and still because he was using them every day somebody else from his uh corporation was going to

[00:21:03] use them so we were gonna take him Thursday we had to return him by the end of Thursday even though

[00:21:08] he knew us very well and even though he was kind enough to to grant us this incredible opportunity

[00:21:14] the last thing he said to me is we got as we were leaving was do not get these taken away you know so

[00:21:25] it was just I mean it is a very serious endeavor considering how difficult it is to get a hold on

[00:21:31] and that's just the phones so by the way during Monday Tuesday and Wednesdays practice rounds in the

[00:21:36] par three tournament and that kind of thing you can take a camera in with you but it cannot be a

[00:21:42] camera on your phone you're gonna stop at Walmart and buy yourself a cheap little digital camera if

[00:21:47] you need to but you're not taking there's no phone coming in there but they have banks of traditional

[00:21:53] pay phones for free that you can use all around you know the the main gathering areas but

[00:22:00] these days who has any phone numbers memorized so okay so this clearly the masters has a different

[00:22:08] role in kind of the ethos of golf then what is it the the waste management training the wasted

[00:22:14] management yes it's very different Phoenix is that am I remember remembering right yeah yeah

[00:22:18] so could you guys talk a little bit about the different roles that each of those two events play

[00:22:24] like in the overall yeah clearly they have a little bit of a different vibe yeah very true Brian

[00:22:32] well yeah I mean you might have found the two polar opposites right um yeah

[00:22:37] you know I you know I like Phoenix for the most part I think it's death is identity I mean to slam

[00:22:43] 150,000 people in there I just I think it's becoming less and less about the golf and more and

[00:22:49] more about the party and the drinking and the and the ridiculousness uh I guess I guess I have a

[00:22:55] little bit of a problem or a witness set it that way but for the most part I appreciate the

[00:23:00] fact that people are gathering to have a good time in the name of golf and I think top golf

[00:23:05] has it you know become a business off something like that right and that's all part of you know

[00:23:10] making the game growing the game making it more fun making it less uh I don't know unapproachable

[00:23:17] whatever the term is the golf sort of has had that kind of faulty uh how to get into you know rich

[00:23:25] guy only kind of sport so I do like that some of those fun things about it that's why I like the

[00:23:30] part three contest to be honest with you I think the part three contest but we saw yesterday

[00:23:33] it's the ultimate celebration of the game of golf with families and by the way that's evolved

[00:23:38] significantly it wasn't seen the kind of stuff that you see today even 10 years ago and so it's

[00:23:43] I think it's wonderful it should be noted that it got this allowed and embraced you know the families

[00:23:48] and you know that fun that goes on there and I find it I still scratch my head that people criticize

[00:23:54] you know that whole scene because it's not serious enough or whatever you want to call it or

[00:24:00] you know the players aren't really putting out and you know people don't want to win because of

[00:24:03] the curse and so on and so forth when you know just just enjoy it for what it is and it's a beautiful

[00:24:08] celebration of the game of golf on one of the most you know how low properties in the game right

[00:24:13] ahead of one of the most coveted you know events that you could possibly play in so from

[00:24:18] from all of that absolutely love the part three contest and uh it's it's a little bit more

[00:24:22] phoenix-like but feeling a reverent kind of a gust of weight yeah if you were to somehow um

[00:24:28] uh trans translator transpos or transfer the gallery from Augusta to Scottsdale and vice versa

[00:24:36] uh you would have the makings of a fantastic movie it would be really really quite funny to see

[00:24:41] the if the rules applied in the different

[00:24:44] venues because they would still be cleaning up the par three course for for the next couple of weeks

[00:24:51] with all those holes in one of course uh the tradition the list of traditions in Augusta

[00:24:56] a brine let's let's kind of do a you know a one oh one level class on the basics

[00:25:01] of what makes this golf heaven and what makes it so special um i think of course starting with

[00:25:07] that it's the only major that's always held on the same course uh you talked about the par three

[00:25:12] competition uh then early in the week there's this gathering there's this unique gathering of

[00:25:19] golf's greatest at this champions dinner because winners of the masters receive a lifetime

[00:25:27] invitation um they can play for a really long time until they kind of lose all of their competitiveness

[00:25:33] uh but they can come to that dinner forever and ever so when you think through the traditions

[00:25:40] that make this so special what you know what's the top of your list look like

[00:25:45] yeah i think you hit on it you know again i've had the chance to observe it uh from the i

[00:25:51] to the past champion and billy cazber and um you know i always he was not shy about how much

[00:25:58] he appreciated the opportunity to go back year after year and be um recognized and appreciated

[00:26:05] for what he was able to accomplish in his career not only here at Augusta but throughout his whole

[00:26:10] career but you don't get that opportunity if you don't win here at Augusta even though you could

[00:26:14] be an honorary invitee and come back as a u.s. open champ or or what have you it just doesn't have

[00:26:18] quite the same cazhe as being able to be in that dinner as you said the exclusive club there

[00:26:24] the masters club which is of course the winners of the master's tournament that have your honorary

[00:26:29] membership here to get the national uh i think that whole lifetime honor e is special and

[00:26:36] you know the players feel it um they appreciate it they want that and you know what you never

[00:26:41] talked about uh as far as uh got to go money nobody talks about what the person is nobody

[00:26:48] talks about how much they are going to make by winning the masters it's all about accomplishing

[00:26:53] the dream of winning that green jacket and becoming sort of immortalized as a member of that

[00:26:59] master's club because that's what has become the gold standard or the green standard if you will

[00:27:05] in our game is by winning the masters so i think for those kinds of things you know the the

[00:27:10] traditional caddy jumper you know overall the you know the traditions of the pinpointment and

[00:27:18] conditioning of the golf course and the patrons and their appreciation for the game and

[00:27:23] you know there's even quotes in there from bobby jones in the in the uh in the guide that they give

[00:27:29] you uh for you know how to cheer for golf and and how bobby jones study nothing more agree just

[00:27:35] than cheering for someone to hit a bad shot he doesn't want that he can okay to cheer for people

[00:27:40] or want to root for but don't cheer against other people so there's a lot of decorum you know some

[00:27:45] old maybe southern off the tallies that have gone by the way side in our current american culture

[00:27:50] that are still alive and well here and and it's a different feeling and i think i think that's pretty

[00:27:54] cool it is it over scripted does it does it cross the line from okay we get it already let's have

[00:28:01] so let's have a little fun so how do they walk that balance and what's your observation been because

[00:28:06] we do know that if you cross over some of those boundaries you're not going to be there very long

[00:28:13] you know it feels like there's yeah i don't know but it feels like they're stopping a little bit on some

[00:28:18] of the you know calling it the second nine instead of the back nine and i mean they still officially

[00:28:24] do all that but it used to be like you felt like you were if you got the vernacular and correct

[00:28:28] you know you might be out there and things like that but um carry mccord so it well i mean that was

[00:28:34] a different level but uh yeah we're not going to be bringing up any sort of uh the pd waxing or

[00:28:39] anything like that so um so i you know i i don't know i don't know if it's it's about a minus third

[00:28:47] club and i think they if you ask me i mean the things that they've done around the junior game with

[00:28:52] the drive chip at pride with the women's game with the adjust national women's amateurs you know um

[00:28:58] continually adding women members to the club i mean the the progress if you're looking for progress

[00:29:04] what i've seen in the 20 years i've been coming here as a sounding compared to the previous you know

[00:29:09] 60 some years of the club like it's uh it's really quite progressive in that nature and

[00:29:13] and a real sense of giving back i mean the chairman focused on what they're doing in the community

[00:29:18] with the adjust national or excuse me did just uh um municipal golf course the patch you know

[00:29:23] and they've actually hired tom fauziota redesign that thing it'll be open in a couple of years

[00:29:27] and that's just a donation sort of for the community and so you know they i think that the national does

[00:29:32] a lot and they have a sense for their place here in the community and in the golf world and they take

[00:29:38] that stewardship seriously a couple of other traditions i'd love to touch on for a moment uh

[00:29:44] you know we talked about the uh the contrast between Scottsdale and Augusta add Augusta national if you

[00:29:50] bring a chair with you and you set that chair down you are welcome to go walk around for pretty much

[00:29:56] as long as you feel like and then when you come back your chair is going to be unoccupied unmoved

[00:30:02] and available to you that certainly is a sign of gentility and respect that you don't see

[00:30:09] very many other places and then of course you'll hear anybody who gets the chance to go as a

[00:30:14] patron talk about the concession prices uh at the pga championship my understanding is sandwiches

[00:30:21] were like fourteen dollars i think a beer was twenty one dollars or something silly like that

[00:30:27] but Augusta national the handmade sandwiches which i believe are either pimento or chicken salad

[00:30:34] or egg salad are still a dollar fifty it is still stunning every time you get ready to go through

[00:30:43] those lines and pay um i hope they continue to honor that and and do that for forever um what else

[00:30:51] is left on your list of favorite traditions there well i think you know um

[00:30:59] you know i mean let's see the honorary starters coming up i love that tradition um yeah

[00:31:07] the sandwiches the food the merchandise i'll tell you what it's getting a little

[00:31:11] the merchandise grab is getting a little bit insane i mean it's amazing what people do to get these

[00:31:17] known but other silly things you know um but uh they're uh so that that to me maybe getting a

[00:31:23] little bit over the top but it's uh it just gets a charmer it's uh it's the roars it's the you know

[00:31:30] the skipping skipping across the water during the practice rounds on sixteen and um

[00:31:35] you know those are the things i just i just love all those traditions that you're talking about and

[00:31:42] it's uh the amateurs being able to play i i tell people this is the greatest uh you know kind of

[00:31:50] intersection of the past uh current and future starts in the game of golf and they all

[00:31:56] walk the same farways and and play in the same tournament so it's pretty cool.

[00:32:00] Has there ever been a player easier to pull for than scottie shuffler

[00:32:06] you know he's pretty impressive um i i looked into his press conference and you know he was asked

[00:32:14] by Todd Lewis of golf channel you know how he'd define himself and his answer was was really cool

[00:32:20] and impressive you know he talked about how the game of golf is a big big part of his life but it

[00:32:26] doesn't define it he hopes it doesn't define him. We played that a little bit earlier before you came

[00:32:31] okay yeah yeah yeah and he anyone on to you know just to share about his face and i think that's

[00:32:37] great that he's comfortable and that he's willing to share and to make that stand and that example

[00:32:44] and um so you know he's look he can't get lost in his kind of awestuck kind of attitude right

[00:32:51] i mean the guy's a fierce competitor uh he's an incredible player you know i heard you mentioned

[00:32:56] his footwork earlier he he looks like he's about to fall over half the time you would think this guy

[00:33:00] you know he wouldn't think this guy's anything um but he is uh he's unreal and he's by far the

[00:33:05] favorite uh any is under it for he just is uh gosh he's uh kind of a breath of pressure you know

[00:33:12] in a time of golf where there's so much made about you know stature and money and and uh you know

[00:33:18] what what i'm entitled to and that sort of thing so you know scotties uh got his breath pressure

[00:33:25] professional golf men's professional golf i'm not sure if it's ever been less appealing to the

[00:33:31] common fan than it is right now because of all of that focus on on money and all the fighting that's

[00:33:37] going on and so maybe that's the contrast of sheffler is even standing out even more because he

[00:33:42] really doesn't seem to be caught up in all that i know you've got to run brine and hopefully

[00:33:47] you're gonna get out to see the ceremonial first t-shot so thank you for checking in with us from uh

[00:33:53] from the media center there at august i'm jealous once again and enjoy your week my man

[00:33:58] always pleasurably with you thanks so much for uh reaching out to me and all i hope you

[00:34:03] enjoy the masters as much as we do and maybe it uh inspires you i mean Tony Fino and so many others

[00:34:09] have uh mentioned they're watching the masters especially tiger when the masters uh as it coincided

[00:34:15] with their youth they got them into the game and uh here they are i mean it's pretty cool actually

[00:34:19] but he was a drive chip and pot participant here to gust the 10 years ago and now we're playing in

[00:34:25] the masters i mean that's just great stuff it's an inspiring thing this week and hopefully you'll enjoy

[00:34:29] it yeah really is uh Paul had to duck away just for a moment but i will pass that along thanks

[00:34:33] Brian have a great time you got it thanks Bill by and Taylor from a real golf radio he's on the scene

[00:34:39] there at august a national covering the masters he mentioned tiger uh we can't really have a golf

[00:34:46] conversation a masters conversation without mentioning tiger because he is competing uh in this

[00:34:52] 88th masters championship and he talked earlier in the week about why this place means so much to him

[00:34:59] in his family well this term has meant so much to me in my life and my my family um i've

[00:35:06] i think i've been playing here for twenty-nine years now and it has uh it was the ultimate to be able

[00:35:13] staying the the crow's nest and to watch biren and sam and jean tee off on the on the first hole

[00:35:21] um and it's been a part of my life you know to have one here as my first major as as a pro

[00:35:33] hugging my dad as you saw and then full circle and 19 the hug my son uh it has meant a lot to my

[00:35:40] family um it's meant a lot to me and you'll hear that from a lot of players because this is the only

[00:35:47] major championship that's always held at the same course they have these traditions with family

[00:35:52] that have developed over the years now tiger talking about all these years let's remember he has

[00:35:57] his one at five times there are five green jackets in wherever tiger has these green jackets

[00:36:03] and perhaps the most memorable moment in all of those championship runs certainly you can make

[00:36:10] a case that when he won it in in 2019 that was epic because nobody expected that to happen

[00:36:16] but i think the most memorable moment that rings through the trees the echoes through the canyons

[00:36:23] of of august and ashton is the call of verne lunquist who is retiring after this year's master

[00:36:30] he has called like 50 of them but in 2005 tiger and christ demarko are in a neck and neck competition

[00:36:39] on sunday they say that the masters doesn't really start until the back nine on sunday well here it was

[00:36:44] the back nine on sunday the sixteenth hole is the par three it's got the water on the left

[00:36:49] most of the good t-shots land up on the right side of that green and they feed down this slope

[00:36:54] towards the hole where they come very close quite often to going in well tiger must have had

[00:37:01] a little bit more adrenaline flowing through his veins because on this sunday in 2005 his t-shot

[00:37:08] went to a place that nobody ever hits it it went over the green entirely back behind at the

[00:37:14] base of a stand of trees the gallery had to be moved and tiger now is faced with an absolutely

[00:37:21] impossible chip to get this up and down for par it's just from where he was it can't happen

[00:37:28] this is tiger at the height of his powers and this is verne lunquist capturing a magical moment

[00:37:35] that will forever be part of master's lore

[00:37:38] now here it comes

[00:37:48] oh my goodness

[00:37:50] oh

[00:38:03] in your life did you see anything like that and the answer to that question is no is that ball hung

[00:38:09] on the lip of the cup seemingly for five seconds and then it somehow just took one last tumble

[00:38:16] and went down in and tiger went on to win that master's it was absolutely incredible and

[00:38:20] anybody who saw it then or here's that sound clip now will remember exactly what the energy

[00:38:26] was like in that moment and verne his voice has been a part of so many powerful powerful moments

[00:38:33] over the years well we are going to blow past our regular features like holy discontent and

[00:38:38] that guy and the others and just move right to our closing because the message from Scotty

[00:38:43] Sheffler about identity is so powerful i'm going to wrap up with that

[00:38:48] a homer i'd like you to remember Matthew 7 26 the foolish man who built his house on sound and you remember

[00:38:58] Matthew 21 17 and he left them and went out of the city into Bethany and he lodged there

[00:39:06] yeah think about it yeah think about it well instead of using the scripture references that

[00:39:13] Homer shared with us let me take us to second Corinthians 5 verses 16 and 17 that says so if

[00:39:20] anyone is in Christ he is a new creation everything old has passed away see everything has become

[00:39:29] new i'd like to encourage everybody to understand to be reminded of and to celebrate the fact that

[00:39:37] if you are a follower of Christ your identity is not in your job it's not in the money that you've

[00:39:47] accumulated it's not in the fame it's not in being the number one golfer in the world

[00:39:52] and as Scotty sheffler said earlier in the sound bite that we played if you're a follower of

[00:39:57] Christ your identity is as a child of God that is the top of the leaderboard that is what

[00:40:06] is the umbrella over everything else in your world so that when people disappoint you when

[00:40:12] circumstances start to go in a direction you did not see coming when the money dries up when

[00:40:18] the fame the 15 minutes of fame goes away and you're starting to wonder do i even matter anymore

[00:40:23] do i have any purpose around here why am I even here well as it is a follower of Christ you are a

[00:40:30] child of the Almighty of the creator of the one who literally set into motion everything that

[00:40:38] is and ever will be and you are so loved by that creator that he sent his son to die for your sins

[00:40:49] for my sins he was buried for three days he descended into the into the depths of hell

[00:40:57] and he bore on his shoulders the weight of the sin of the entire world and then as we just celebrated

[00:41:03] at Easter rose again fulfilling all promises of scripture and now stands waiting for a relationship

[00:41:16] with you with me because he craves that relationship our worship our adoration our communication

[00:41:27] our obedience and as a follower of Christ my identity comes not from a tv show that I might host

[00:41:36] or a podcast that we do or anything else that's temporary anything else that is tangible it comes

[00:41:44] from being a follower of Christ a child of God that's what defines you that's why i'm so thankful

[00:41:49] to hear Scotty sheffler kind of talk about that very thing as he addressed the media earlier in the

[00:41:55] week at the masters because he seems to get it and hopefully that reminder from Scotty will be

[00:42:02] something that rings fresh in your mind in the days ahead when you're kind of struggling perhaps with

[00:42:09] your place in this world what am I all about do i really matter yes you do you matter to the

[00:42:18] almighty to the creator hope you enjoyed this abbreviated masters themed focus edition of church

[00:42:25] pew sports thank you to Paul thank you to Brian Taylor and I mentioned earlier to Paul that there

[00:42:31] is actually a version of the master's theme song that has words to it you've never heard it because

[00:42:39] it's really not very good they don't play this one on cbs it's not Kenny logins it's his brother

[00:42:45] david logins who wrote and performed this version will leave you with an excerpt from it uh gusta

[00:42:52] on my mind we'll see you next week on church pew sports

[00:43:01] let's watch it by ourselves and to marry and play the steed and it's a man's corner

[00:43:13] it's folk in perfect sway it's serenisms double ego at the 15th in 35 and a spirit of Clifford robert

[00:43:28] that keeps it alive August your dogwoods and pines they play on my mind like a song