Tales from the first tee
Stories about my life experiences and others as I work at one of the premier golf clubs in Charleston, SC. Interviews with golfers around the world that have one thing in common...the pursuit of excellence on a golf course and everything else that happens along the way.
Tales from the first tee
From Headbutts to Bounce Backs: A Journey Through Golf and Life's Absurdities
Tommy Fleetwood's long-awaited breakthrough at Eastlake marks a pivotal moment in golf's mental game saga. After years of Sunday heartbreaks, watching Tommy walk up the 18th with a three-shot lead felt like witnessing the final chapter in a redemption story we weren't sure would ever be written. The revamped FedEx Cup format—where all 30 finalists started on equal footing—delivered exactly the drama and competitive balance golf needed, transforming what Scottie Scheffler had dominated into an unexpected triumph for perseverance.
What separates professional golfers from amateurs isn't just technical skill but their remarkable mental resilience. When PGA Tour pros record a bogey or worse, they follow it with a birdie or better 20.7% of the time. Elite players like Scheffler bounce back at an astonishing 35.8% rate. Compare this to recreational golfers who typically spiral after a bad hole, carrying that frustration forward. This stark difference highlights why mastering the mental game—staying present, resetting after mistakes, and focusing on the shot at hand—remains golf's final frontier for amateurs seeking improvement.
Beyond the fairways, we're witnessing corporate tactics that would make Columbia Record Club proud. LA Fitness faces FTC charges for implementing nearly impossible cancellation procedures—requiring certified mail, restricting cancellations to rarely available staff members, and continuing to bill customers under different account numbers after supposed cancellations. These modern-day roach motels where "customers check in but don't check out" remind us that consumer protection remains as relevant today as ever. Meanwhile, the contrast between the three-hour Lincoln-Douglas debates (with 90-minute uninterrupted responses) and today's sound-bite political landscape reveals how profoundly our attention spans and discourse have transformed. Subscribe now for more tales that connect golf's wisdom to life's absurdities, all delivered with a splash of Southern charm from beautiful Charleston, South Carolina.
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You're tuned in to another episode of Tales from the First Tee. I'm Rich Easton telling tales from beautiful Charleston, south Carolina. This week I feel compelled to talk about the FedEx Cup finale, so I'll start with golf talk, then I'll rant for three segments unrelated to golf and then finish with a golf observation. So I hope you enjoy what I call this week's golf sandwich. The 2025 PGA season can be termed the Scheffler Showcase.
Speaker 1:Scotty won five events, including two majors. He won the BMW Championship in the playoffs with an incredible comeback, while Robert McIntyre collapsed under pressure. If you ask most golfers who was going to win the Tour Championship at Eastlake, most everybody would have guessed Scotty. Certainly not Tommy Fleetwood, who flirted with so many Sundays but couldn't find a way to win. So what would make you think he could close on Sunday against the best 30 PGA Tour players, particularly Patrick Patty, ice Cantley or even Scotty? Patrick Patty, ice Cantley or even Scotty? If you're like me, you couldn't pull yourself away from the screen once the leaders hit the back nine at Eastlake. I was hopeful for Tommy, but also was weary of a meltdown that I just couldn't turn away from. It's why so many race car fans watch NASCAR and Formula One the excitement of the chase and the caution of the crash as the leaders teed off on the back nine. It was a tight bunching near the top with pros who've been there before and of course there were.
Speaker 1:This was Sunday afternoon, where the best 30 finishers were used to leading or hunting for the lead. This year, another critical reason for the bunch at the top is the new and I say improved FedEx Cup rules. All 30 golfers started the weekend at even par. No head starts this year on Thursday, with the highest ranking FedEx cup earner starting off 10 under par all the way to the next two, through 15 leaders that had anywhere from eight to one stroke advantage. It just made it difficult for the bottom 15 to catch up and win. I don't think there's ever been a winner that started 16th to 30th. I mean it's virtually impossible to compete when you start at even par and others start between 2 and 10 under par. It's just an uphill battle the entire weekend. I mean, the new format resembles other sports playoffs where teams or players are eliminated, leaving the very best to compete for the title. So because of that, I was at the edge of my seat waiting for the kind of golf magic that's defined the PGA Tour this year.
Speaker 1:After watching Tommy relinquish the leads in so many events in the past year, it was awesome to see him overcome his demons and allow the positive self-talk to speak over the self-doubt.
Speaker 1:Until Scotty and some others in the hunt found the lake at 15, I had an uneasy feeling that Tommy was going to think about the closers breathing down his neck again. Tommy to walk up to the 18th green on Sunday with a three-shot lead and virtually stepped in to a decompression chamber, or at least had a little more breathing room. After he wins his first PGA event on US soil, he articulates his thoughts and feelings to Kara Banks, who's the interviewer and studio host for NBC Sports and the Golf Channel. Like most sportscasters with a mic in their hands, moments after a victory or even defeat, kara does her best to solicit an emotional response from Tommy just to allow the viewing public to see the human side of the winner, as well as a possible soundbite, like you know. Let's say, tommy starts tearing up and she gets to say it's okay to be emotional. You just won your first PGA event on US soil and is the last and highest paying event of the year. I think she was hoping for a Matt Damon Robin Williams response.
Speaker 2:It's not your fault. Don't fuck with me, all right. Don't fuck with me, Sean, not you. It's not your fault.
Speaker 1:I thought Tommy, with a British stiff upper lip well, maybe a soft upper lip conveyed his self-belief, his dreams, his appreciation for his family and his team support off the course and his fans on the course. And you know, the money wasn't bad either $10 million for first place at the Tour Championship and if he came in second alone, it was $5 million for first place at the Tour Championship and if he came in second alone, it was $5 million. Cantley had a putt on the 18th green. If he makes it, he earns $5 million. If he misses it, he makes $4.35 million. That's around $650,000 less. Cantley had a putt for $650,000.
Speaker 1:But you know what Most, every PGA pro says money is not the primary driver. Now, I believe that they believe that when they say it, particularly when they're doing an interview, because if they're doing an interview, they've got pretty high standings on the PGA Tour and they're into the millions. Those who earn a comfortable living in the PGA rarely boast about doing what they do for the money. And you know as much as some of us many of you don't appreciate the live golfers. They're pretty transparent about why they made the change. John Rahm supposedly signed a $300 million signing bonus over a period of years. He also just won their championship and I believe they paid him $20 million for that. Neiman Mickelson all basically said hey, we have our families to think about and this is generational wealth. So they've been pretty open and honest about the fact that, yeah, the money definitely makes a difference. No-transcript hole, what they have to avoid and those shots that they have to avoid kind of remind me of what my ball would do if I was playing that hole.
Speaker 1:La Fitness accused of impossible cancellation practices. Come on, man, what do you expect? When I was in my late teens I was lured to join the columbia record club to add records to my collection. The business model was similar to my alleged weed dealers model in college lure them in with a free taste and then keep them for as long as possible. The alleged gateway strategy I mean the major difference is the whole weed strategy was easy to get out of, just stop buying.
Speaker 1:But Columbia Records was hard to get out of. Their business was based on a negative option billing. New members could get as many as 10 free albums or tapes for free Score. Not many things you acquire feel as good as free things. But here's the catch To fulfill the contract, customers were required to purchase a set number of albums at full retail price over time, and those albums were way more than the 10 that you got for free.
Speaker 1:The negative option billing meant that you were shipped and billed for a selection of music unless you declined to get those albums by get this, sending back a rejection postcard within a very short time frame. So get this, you get the albums, you get a list of all these albums, you get the albums and you have to immediately get that rejection postcard, get to the post office, have it post dated and send it in, and then maybe they might send new albums to you and not charge you for the first ones. But that wasn't happening. They were charging you for the ones you didn't want and then charging you for the new ones, and it was almost impossible to stop. It just kept going. They counted on members forgetting to send back the postcards and they just kept billing. Their model attracted criticism for predatory collection policies that led to their eventual demise. Now, fast forward to 2025.
Speaker 1:The FTC has sued LA Fitness, accusing them of employing unfair and excessively difficult cancellation policies. It's like you know, if you don't read history, it tends to repeat itself, and here are four of the things that were cited for. One is requiring members to log into their online accounts, print up a form and send it back certified or registered mail. Customers weren't even notified that their complaints that they mailed in was good enough to stop and cancel their membership. Two, in person. If you went in person to the gym, that was restricted to one trained employee. That was rarely available. And if they were available and confronted by a dissatisfied member, they did everything to dissuade them. The staff was trained to reject any phone or email requests for cancellation and members kept getting billed under different account numbers after they thought their account was canceled.
Speaker 1:It's like the firm you get in but you can't get out. I mean, that is sketch. With a capital S or maybe S should be shitheads I get the lure of wanting to invest in yourself, your body, your mind, using fitness as a tool. I also get the feeling for many that it comes and goes. When it comes, you make the financial and time commitment because at that time it matters. When you visit an LA Fitness, you might see yourself or your future self and others. You might see equipment or classes that help you imagine your future self and others, you might see equipment or classes that help you imagine your future self. Those that lose that love and feeling or need to change their routines can't disengage as quickly at LA Fitness as they engaged when they were all hyped up witness, as they engaged when they were all hyped up.
Speaker 1:Personally, as a consumer shopper and previous member of clubs, I have a credo and that is it shouldn't take you longer to check out of anything than it does for you to shop at that place. I've had the chance to accompany Susan to TJ Maxx on a weekend and clearly the long lines at the checkout registers take much longer than it took us to treasure hunt when I used to snow ski. Sometimes lift lines took four times longer than it took us to jet down the hill. There are some swanky country clubs that might take a day or so or week to get vetted, to join and well over 10 years to exit. Now I don't even want to get into timeshares and timeshare exit companies. I mean some of them are basically roach motels.
Speaker 2:Good evening roaches. Welcome to the one and only Black Flag Roach Motel. It's all here Exclusive cuisine, luxury accommodations, excitement. Roaches check in, but they don't check out.
Speaker 1:You know, I'm guessing the profile of the executives at the top of LA Fitness rival those at the top of insurance companies where slow to no claim approvals are rewarded. As long as celebrities and athletes set the tone for what is attractive, gyms will always be around. Let's see how LA Fitness defends their best practices against the FTC. Defends their best practices against the FTC. The case is likely going to end in a settlement judgment where some consumers are going to win, and certainly a win for the attorneys. Here's one for you.
Speaker 1:Uber driver headbutts CEO. What would trigger an Uber driver to headbutt a customer before the ride even started? Well, if you didn't know the details and only heard that an Uber driver knocked down a customer, you might think one of a few things. One, is he damaged the car. Two, is he or she racially abused. The Uber driver and it's similar to the Meredith Whitehurst case here in Sullivan's Island where she got convicted no, no, none of those happened. What happened is the customer held a miniature golden doodle in his arms. The dog was a licensed service dog and the driver wouldn't allow him in the vehicle.
Speaker 1:An altercation ensued and the Uber driver, which we later learned was illegally in the United States from Russia head-butted this 45-year-old CEO, brian Koppel, while he's still holding his dog and knocked him down on the ground unconscious. I mean, first they're eating our pets, now they're head-butting our CEOs. This illegal alien thing has just gotten out of control. Alien thing has just gotten out of control. So of course now Brian is suing Uber because that's the only place he's going to get money. I think it's probably going to end up in another summary judgment. But you know, you think about it. Uber drivers do. It's their car, they're independent contractors. They have the ability to reject a potential rider Particularly. Let's say this driver is afraid of dogs. Let's say he's allergic. Let's say he doesn't know that any kind of doodle is hypoallergenic. All he knows is when he's around dogs he either shits in his pants or he starts choking or maybe something else. Anyway, he had the choice to reject the driver. I don't know what Brian said to him to get him so incensed that he had to get out of his car, walk up to him and lead with his head and knock him down. Lead with his head and knock him down. Whatever he said, it certainly the corrective response wasn't a headbutt to put the man unconscious, particularly while he's holding his dog. You know, I'm actually surprised that Nancy Mace didn't jump all over this now that she's running for governor. I guess maybe it's because he didn't try to enter into a girl's room On this date.
Speaker 1:I still enjoy the tactile experience of reading a real paper newspaper. Now I'm definitely aware of the ease, dynamic, nature and availability of online news, but still like to hold a newspaper in my hands and look for articles of interest. In our local paper, the Post and Courier, the inside of the French page some would probably call it page two there's a section called On this Date, citing historic events that happened on this day of the month at some point in the past. Now I don't always gaze at it because I really don't dwell on the past. The past happened as it happened for a reason that defined a period of time and how people treated each other, or mistreated or, every once in a while, had a glimmer of hope into the positivity of mankind. I like to live in the present. Some would say I'm living in the future. But the other day when I pick up the paper I get to the second page and on this date was the beginning of the Lincoln-Douglas debates and a time when the idea of slavery was on the political table. Time.
Speaker 1:When the idea of slavery was on the political table, the format of the debates back then was a three-hour event with the opening speech lasting one hour, followed by the opponent giving a 90-minute response and then the first candidate closing with a 30-minute rejoinder, the first candidate closing with a 30-minute rejoinder. This all happened in different cities, on small stages, with gatherings of local people to hear the politicians at that time. Typically, each session covered a single topic discussion, not 10 or 15 things going back and forth. A single topic, with each candidate having a substantial, uninterrupted time to articulate and defend their positions. I mean, certainly, when they're speaking to the audience they're getting cheers and jeers and they react to that. This is a time before radio, television, the internet, live streaming and AI.
Speaker 1:So how did the male-only sorry women, male-only voting public hear the debates? Well, unless you lived in one of those towns they visited and had the interest and wherewithal to watch the debate, you'd either have to hear it from a friend or read it in one of the papers. I mean, that was a lot to unpack 90 minutes of two candidates talking, you know, but back then talking, you know, but back then. What struck me the most is the fact that each candidate spoke at length without interruption. Could you imagine one person speaking for 90 minutes with only the audience to get a reaction from the candidate? Could you imagine our current commander-in-chief doing his famous weave of circumstantial, unrelated thoughts conveyed over 60 or 90 minutes or, even more astonishing, letting the other candidate talk uninterrupted? It would probably go down something like this Good evening, I'm your moderator, chris Wallace.
Speaker 3:Wait a minute, I'm talking now, if you don't mind, please. Does that sound familiar?
Speaker 2:Now, I am no giant like judge douglas, I'm a mere mortal that line's getting a little bit old, I must say I'm a mere mortal now. His ambition if fire exceeds my own. His party, they all expect him to be president one day. Yeah, and then they will all reap the benefits of his greatness. Yes, yes, but nobody has ever looked at my lean lank face and expected me to be president.
Speaker 3:And everybody's laughing at it. Okay, they're all laughing at it.
Speaker 1:Mr President, I haven't even introduced the candidates yet.
Speaker 3:Tell that to my Adderall, Chris. Now let's get this show on the road and off the rails.
Speaker 2:I am here to talk about basic principles. Wrong Dad. Now, if the Negro is a man, why then? My ancient faith teaches me that all men are created equal.
Speaker 3:Wrong Dad.
Speaker 2:And that there can be no moral right in connection with one man making a slave of another.
Speaker 3:Very wrongly, very horribly.
Speaker 2:When a white man governs himself, that is self-government. But when he governs himself and he also governs another man, that is more than self-government, that is despotism wrongly, very horribly, and that statement will not come back to haunt me later this week as a nation, we began by declaring that all men are created equal. We now practically read it all men are created equal except Negroes. Soon it will read all men are created equal except Negroes. Soon it will read all men are created equal except Negroes, and foreigners and Catholics.
Speaker 3:I was against the war. Now look, here's the deal. No, it's not, Excuse me please. No, whatever you're going to say, no.
Speaker 1:Mr President, please let him speak.
Speaker 3:He. Let you speak now. Let him speak, but he's lying. I can't point out. If he says a lie, can I say one thing? Am I allowed to say one thing? Yes, mr President. What we need in this country is law and order. When someone breaks the rules, they need to face the consequences. There's no exceptions. Okay, what about your taxes? There have to be exceptions, chris.
Speaker 2:They are entitled to their right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness Wrong. The real issue which will last long after the tongues of Judge Douglas and I are silent is the eternal struggle between these two principles, between right and wrong.
Speaker 3:Very wrongly very horribly.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think you get where I'm coming from. You know it's amazing how far we've come as a society over the past 167 years. We're inundated with nonstop information, some of which is close to true and most curated to align with somebody's algorithm. Our attention spans are reduced to 30 second videos and sound bites. I'm also amazed about the success of long form three hour podcasts like Joe Rogan, likely because the public's thirsty for real dialogue that reveals someone's unscripted self. Hey, maybe that's one reason Kamala rejected the invitation.
Speaker 2:Don't get me wrong.
Speaker 1:I'm not a fan of the constitutional brush-offs that the current administration is pursuing. I just wanted Biden to begin succession planning in his second year of office, to vet and present a successor in enough time to make the 2024 elections a fair fight. The bounce back, the.
Speaker 3:Bounce Back.
Speaker 1:Well, I'm not certain that Will Smith will ever bounce back from the Chris Rock episode, but the fact that he riffed some rap lyrics about reclaiming his fame would say his head's in the right place. After any setback, the most important person you have to convince is yourself before you can prove yourself to others. Bounce backs in life never cease to amaze me. I've met people that have failed, followed by a string of successes, more failures and more successes. People that yo-yo between a series of successes and failures usually see failures or defeats as learning experiences. Multiple major winner Brooks Koepka said he remembers the losses more than the wins. There's just more to learn from a loss than a win. Hopefully you get a chance to parlay your learnings into your next win.
Speaker 1:I've teed it up with hundreds of golfers over the past four decades. It's rare to play with a blue collar amateur and witness an eagle or birdie the next hole after they doubled or tripled the last hole. And when I say blue collar, I mean a golfer who didn't play in college or the mini tour. I mean the golfers who play as often as their work life or home life balance allows, or the seniors who've retired and have time to tee it up more often. Most of the amateurs follow a bad hole with another bad hole, or maybe a not so bad hole, but not a great hole. Certainly, there are exceptions to this, and I've found a bunch of them at my home course, but generally the stank of a double or triple linger for a few holes until somebody finds their swing again or just gets lucky. Pga touring pros, on the the other hand, can often find that gear that makes them special in the first place to bounce back with a birdie after posting a forgettable score on the previous hole. One of my friends and I think I'll call him yeah, let's call him Shooter McG who's won the club championship at our home course once asked me to look up how many pros follow up bogeys or worse with birdies or better on the next hole. Well, there's actually a stat for that 20.7%. That's one out of every five PGA pros scores a birdie or better following a bad hole. Now, that's the average PGA 20.7%. However, the top players, like Scottie, bounce back 35.8% of the time. I mean that's an incredible accomplishment. But you see it Like on weekends, you hear the announcers talk about whoever's on the leaderboard after having a bad hole, suggesting that they just have to get it back for the next hole, and a lot of them do. I mean it's fun to watch Bounce back. Stats for blue collar AMs are first of all there are no stats on that, but I think it's more about sucking less on the next hole and maybe improving it by one stroke against par. So if you scored a seven on a par five or a double bogey, you try to improve the next hole by scoring a bogey or better, despite the fact that your goal is par or birdie.
Speaker 1:One of the credos of Zen golf revolves around the principles of staying present, freeing the mind of excessive thoughts and judgments, and playing golf in a calm, focused mind. Stressing over that double bogey for blue collar amateurs can set a downward mental motion and it'll follow you around the course. Our mental bounce back and I'm a blue collar amateur our mental bounce back should be an awareness of what might have gone wrong immediately after you fucked up and then look at it, maybe take a swing. You see the pros do it all the time when they miss, hit a drive or a putt. That's when you reset yourself and then go on to the next hole and be focused on the present. Your bounce backs might improve, but, as an answer to my friend Shooter McGavin, pros bounce back way more than blue collar ams, because they're just way better than us. Thanks for staying till the end. You've been listening to another episode of Tales from the First Tee. I'm your host, rich Easton, telling tales from beautiful Charleston, south Carolina. Talk to you soon, thank you.