Facing the aftermath of Nashville's devastating tornadoes, our community's enduring spirit is a testament to the resilience that defines us. Join us, with Frank Bassett at the helm, as we navigate the complexities of personal triumphs amidst adversity, and delve into the intriguing world of professional golf negotiations. This episode is rich with insights from PGA Tour Champion Paul Stankowski, who shares candid reflections on his journey over the past year, his aspirations on the Champions Tour, and cherished memories from the emerald courses of Hawaii.
Facing the aftermath of Nashville's devastating tornadoes, our community's enduring spirit is a testament to the resilience that defines us. Join us, with Frank Bassett at the helm, as we navigate the complexities of personal triumphs amidst adversity, and delve into the intriguing world of professional golf negotiations. This episode is rich with insights from PGA Tour Champion Paul Stankowski, who shares candid reflections on his journey over the past year, his aspirations on the Champions Tour, and cherished memories from the emerald courses of Hawaii.
and welcome, and everybody, frank Bassett, joining you for PGA Tour Countdown. It's almost Christmas, we're closing in on it and hope you've done all your shopping. I've done zero. As you all know, we've seen the last show that our home and the GTA studio local studio got hit by the tornadoes in Nashville, so we'll be out of our house for a long period of time while they try to rebuild it, if they can. They're sending engineers. Oh boy, we're going to see what they have to say next week. So, wow, going to be fun. But you know what? Our spirits are high, we're all safe and healthy and our hearts and prayers are with those who perished in these tornadoes, just right down the street from us here in Nashville, tennessee. So let's move on to happier thoughts.
Speaker 2:We had an opportunity this week to talk with PGA Tour Professional and PGA Tour Champions Tour Professional and PGA Tour Champion, paul Stankowski, our good friend, who comes on a lot for us, and he shared a few things about the ups and downs of the PGA Tour, some of his personal feelings about 2023 and what's going on, going forward with the negotiations that we all are very well aware of between the PGA Tour and the PIF, which is the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia. A lot of people confuse that. It's not a merger between the Tour and LiveGolf. Livegolf is a tour itself. The Public Investment Fund finances that tour. So, that being said, I'm not going to get into the nuts and bolts of that thing, but we'll know more after the first of the year. But let's get on to it. Let's hear from Paul Stankowski. Tim Matthews and I, together, had the opportunity to speak with him and want to share that with you. So here we go.
Speaker 3:Clean it out, the leaves on the pool.
Speaker 1:Put the cover on it. I don't have a cover. I saw a cover the other day that it wasn't like I kept envisioning a four inch stick that fits perfectly in the pool, that kind of shaped a rounder pool. I saw one the other day. It was like a net that someone had anchored in and strung across their pool and I'm like you know what I could do that right now, because every dang leaf my backyard I have no trees in my backyard but all around my yard I see oak trees and all these things in every freaking leaf.
Speaker 2:Hackberry trees. They have a lot of hackberry.
Speaker 1:Well, I'm looking at a big. My neighbor has a huge oak, another oak and then some trees that have like they're real tall but they have like red berries that fall like in clusters Hackberry, hackberry, is that what that is?
Speaker 2:Yeah, Well, there you go. They're horrible and they stain. If you have a white tar, they stain it. Yeah, or silver.
Speaker 1:Thankfully it's in my backyard, so, but yeah, so that's good, but that's what I'm doing and the weather's been good here in Dallas, so I've been able to practice a little bit, but good.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's good. It's good. Are you playing? Are you playing? The first event on the champions tour is at Kapalua, coming up later in January. Are you playing that?
Speaker 1:At Hoalala. I am not currently in the field there. Okay, it's the tournament, it's a term of the champions, it's the Mitsubishi Electric and it is for winners the last two years, and then they pull invitations from major winners and then also World Golf Hall of Fame guys are exempt into it. And then to fill the field they can use the top 36 category. And I begged for a spot. I didn't get one. So I'm just secretly hoping that a couple people decide they don't want to play Last minute.
Speaker 1:I've already booked my tickets, so I'm kind of like well, I booked them for my wife and I right when I found out I potentially could have an opportunity to maybe get a chance to have an exemption, and so I booked them, just thought. You know, only good thing from COVID is that now, airline tickets, you can. You can cancel a ticket. That just goes into a little wallet and then you can use it whenever. So I figure I'm going to be spending a lot on airline tickets. So, that being said, I don't know to answer your question. I'm not in the field but I'm secretly hoping. But otherwise I start mid February in Naples at the Chubb.
Speaker 3:But you love Hawaii, right? I mean, you've won in Hawaii, so you've got good memories. I've won twice in Hawaii.
Speaker 1:I do, I love. I won on Maui and I won on Oahu, and this is on the big island, so that that would have been really cool. So anyway, I'm hoping, if I don't get in this year, that I'll earn my way in eventually and it'd be fun to start my year there. I hear it's a great one.
Speaker 3:Yeah, well, it should be. I would imagine would. If that is your first tournament wouldn't be bad at all. But let's go backwards a little bit. 2023, we're talking, frank and I, in the pre before we got you on the show with us and or on the show earlier, anyway, talked about your year in 2023. Would you a successful year year, or was it about what you thought it might be this time last year?
Speaker 1:Oh well, you know, this time last year I knew I was going to get into what 90% of the events, or so I wasn't 100% sure because there again, I'm still learning the process out here. But but I knew I was in a pretty good spot and I'd get in a lot. But I realized that I could be, you know, the last man in the field or in by just a couple. And so the season, you know, from an event standpoint, I ended up getting into everything but one event Well, two if you count the Hualalai but I didn't get into Newport. I was first alternate all week and and I didn't get in.
Speaker 1:But I got in everything else and you know I took a couple of weeks off that I I didn't go to the British and I didn't play one toward the end of the year. But so from that standpoint I was super grateful to have as many opportunities as I did. And then, as far as my play, super encouraged, you know that was, it was a great, it was a really good year. You know I had four top five finishes and and you know I got off to a nice start with a couple thirds in the first, I think four or five events of the year and, and you know, make it all the way to the, to the Schwab Cup championship, and and finished top 36. That was my goal. And so, yeah, I'm grateful and and excited and encouraged. You name all the, all the words, I'm them.
Speaker 3:We're talking with Paul Stankowski, with PJ Tour champions, and this is how many years now you've completed three years, four years. How many other champions this?
Speaker 1:is well, three, yeah, three seasons. 2020 was Okay, kind of a wash. You know, I think there were only five events I could play and I played in two, qualified for two of them, but yeah, 21 I played 12 times and 16 last year, and in 20 I think I played 24 this year. So really my third, what I would call my third full season and, yeah, pretty cool. It's amazing, Gosh, I remember being 45 going. I had five years ago and I'm already 54, but what's happening here?
Speaker 2:It goes quick. It goes quick. Once you hit 50 boy, it starts clicking.
Speaker 3:Like a slide it is. Hey, bud. So is a win in the future for you this year, paul, would you make that prediction right now for us, right here in front of the millions of people that are listening to our podcast, is A win.
Speaker 1:I have 20, 24 season. I have no idea any offering for you.
Speaker 3:Well, I know you don't have no idea.
Speaker 1:I think you feel good, that's a, that is a I. You know what I don't know? I haven't won since the 1900s, and so 1997.
Speaker 3:I'm sorry.
Speaker 1:Yeah, outside of, outside of maybe a Pro member or a member guest or something like that. But you know what guys I'm encouraged, I, I now know that I'm competitive and I can be competitive out there and I've had a few chances and I, you know, I'd love to think that I could win and but you never know until you know. So I am all I'm responsible for right now, boys is is the grind and, and I'm enjoying the process. I'm enjoying Honing my game. I'm in the middle of a little swing adjustment, which is kind of fun. But just spend a little time looking at some video and and Trying to clean up a few things in my game that you know hopefully will lead to a little more consistent ball striking, yeah, and Maybe a few more opportunities. And so, yeah, you know, I'd love to say yes, I'm gonna win this year. I have no clue, but I'm going to give it my best and and there you go.
Speaker 3:You know, that's all I can do, so I Think I think there's one thing, too that we talked about before, and then the working on the game and in your game, paul, the the consistency. I think I'm just gonna be amateur analysis here, but you've played pretty much the same shot, which is a nice fade that you play and left to right game, as opposed to other guys that have gone through all kinds, including the one and only Tiger Woods have made some drastic changes. Is that part of the reason you think your success is what it is is? Is You're kind of a Bruce Litsky ish that I got what I've got. This is my game and I'm gonna pretty much stick to it, with a little tweak here and there, but that's the game you've had for the last 35 years.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you know what? I am pretty much a one-trick pony and and I and I wasn't saying you're right, I can't, no, no, no, I can't. Well, I said it, you didn't say it. It's hard to over over think Having one shot. You know what I mean. You're like yeah, it's, it's pretty simple now this past year, like I've learned how to work the ball both ways. I don't do it intentionally Very often, but I, early in my career, I had no idea how to hit a draw intentionally, like I hit some draws.
Speaker 3:Is it.
Speaker 1:finally, it wasn't really until Trackman became more popular out on tour that I actually understood how to make to hit a draw. I knew you had to spin it from right to left but I, you know there were some details there that I had chose to ignore and I've learned that. But really, from Mid, like August of 22, I get my years correct. Yeah, so not this this season, it's last season. I made a little adjustment and I've actually started hitting a tiny, you know, five-foot draw. My ball went from curving 20 feet with my driver from left to right for a lot of my career too, I mean maybe five feet either way. I started driving the ball really nicely and and like really straight, and that that was huge for me.
Speaker 1:Because all of a sudden now I'm hitting, you know, 11, 12 fairways, 12 out of you know 14 fairways a day, 11 or 12, versus back in the day I was hitting you know, seven or eight out of 14. And so having more fairway opportunities, short grass, you know I'm not the longest hitter anymore. I'm not one of the longest, I'm right about average. So hitting from the fairway has been huge. So I, you know, but I still, with my irons, predominately worked from a left to right. But I was looking at my launch monitor numbers recently and I've always been four to five degrees across from, you know, out to in and my balls were you know the spinning rate, spin rate, side spin, were you know four and a half to five and a half, six degrees or or percent or I don't even know. I don't even know the scientific thing, but I was hitting big, lots of side spinning, carving cuts, like with nine irons the ball. They said the ball doesn't curve anymore and I'm like I don't know, I still curve the crap out of it. But you know my misses have been a little bit toe like, toe fat coming across, little swipers and, and so I listened to an old interview from Tiger and he just talked about.
Speaker 1:Somebody asked him about taking divots and I've been super steep my whole life and he mentioned that you know he would go through a practice routine without even taking a divot and I was like how do you do that? And he basically said I was zeroed out on everything, that I really didn't take a divot, and and I don't know what he meant by zeroed out, I think I think I know what he meant. But regardless of if I know or not. It got me thinking about my path, and so I've been. I was trying to get my numbers on my quad to be closer to zero, you know, on my start lines and my spin axis, and it's. It was a fun process, right, and the feel for me to do that um felt like I was yanking the club straight inside and swinging out to first base Um, when in essence I wasn't. I'm looking at my video. I'm like, oh, that looks really good and it and so right now, off of mats on the range, swing looks great.
Speaker 2:But, as we know, as we know, the old mats as soon as we go back to.
Speaker 1:I know, or on the range exactly. But the thing is, I'm super encouraged by what I'm seeing and, um, you know, I have, as far as I know, I have two months um to work on it. And you know I'm I'm at that point where I'm thinking what am I doing? I'm 54 years old. Why am I even making this little change? And I'm not making it the at the with the help of an instructor, I'm doing it just all myself. And um, you know, but you know it's, I went out and played golf yesterday and and it was a little cold here in Dallas and uh, but I was able to like, I'm like, okay, this is pretty cool.
Speaker 1:I mean did actually take it to the course and and look up and see golf balls that are going really straight. Um, and I'm not trying to feather, uh, you know a cut nine iron into a, you know it's it's kind of cool, but I, you know I've got time and uh, thankfully I've got some time and but it's kind of a fun process just to see if I can, if I could hit, you know, one or two less taupe fat nine irons, uh, or five irons. Um, it's gotta be a good thing, right, sure?
Speaker 3:Yeah, every stroke here and there, right Adds up, adds up to especially if you do it once, every round right Adds up to saving three or four shots. Well, you all know, at the end of the tournament, three or four shots, five shots, could be a difference of a little bit of money.
Speaker 1:So good, I'm glad to hear that.
Speaker 3:That you got. You got something to work on. I'm I'm curious if we could change gears here a little bit. And, frank, we've talked about this before, but we haven't talked with Paul about the, the live tour, the PJ tour.
Speaker 2:Oh boy.
Speaker 3:May not be affecting you, paul, and the PJ tour champions, but certainly spent a lifetime on the PJ tour. Uh, it's coming to the end of the year and that's when they said they were going to hopefully have an agreement. It certainly doesn't seem that way, but and I don't know if you read today or not, frank Alex Macelli's article in SIcom, which is a great you can get that on your app, on your phone every day and there's some great articles in there and he basically is saying you know why is Monahan still have a job and went through a list of all the problems that have gone on, and I don't want Paul to have to get in trouble with anybody, so I'm not asking you to comment on that.
Speaker 3:But uh, it certainly is. Is Alex Alex's?
Speaker 2:never, tim. You know how Alex is, we know him well, he's a friend, but he has never, ever held his tongue. No, no, I mean ever and Phil Phil wouldn't even interview with him anymore.
Speaker 2:Phil just say Alex, just leave me alone, get away. Uh, literally, I mean he just walked away from him. But Alex is very critical and some of the things he's bringing up makes sense. But you know we're not hearing the other side of that story either, and that's that's what I want to hear is is Jay address all the things again that happened and why they happened and what mistakes we've made and what we've learned from it?
Speaker 2:Throw that out there Then, if they want him out they can vote him out, get him out, but but you know, don't just character, assassinate somebody in the media, and that's why media gets a bad name, because they do that kind of stuff.
Speaker 3:So, paul, in your eyes, where, where is all this headed? And you look at it on the outside, I know, like a lot of us looking in, but certainly you've thought about it and had ideas about what's going on to live tour. Is it all going to come to fruition? Is it going to get disassembled Because suddenly now there's more investors or more billionaires that want to put money on the tour and not just be the Saudi fund? A lot of things up in the air. So what do you think about all that, paul?
Speaker 1:Guys, you know what? I have no idea, honestly, and all I know, in 1994, I went through Q school and I got my PGA tour card and I left the Golden State tour and the opportunity to make, about, you know, six grand to win a tournament, to go to the PGA tour, where the opportunities were, at that point, endless and the amount of money that we were playing for on a week to week basis back in 94, which was a million dollars a week, that was the purse right, which at that time was amazing. Okay, we fast forward to 2020 and the purses they're playing for on the PGA tour were five, six, seven million dollars, right, amazing, right, that to me that's gone up a little bit, right, but the PGA tour has been an amazing opportunity for professional golfers to go and try their hand playing against the best players in the world for a lot of money. And if you were good enough, you got to play the next year, and if you're good enough, you got to play the next year, and so on and so on. If you won, you got two years, if you won a major, you got five. And you know what? Every year the cream rose to the top and the best players had an opportunity the next year to go make a crap load of money again, right, and that carried on at the hands of. Thanks to Dean Beaman, thanks to we'll go back down January to Arnold Palmer, jack, nicholas, dean Beaman, the commissioner, tiger Woods, finchham. You go all the way up to Monahan and he's our current commissioner right, and then all of a sudden some rich dude or entity besides ah, we're going to buy our way into golf, right?
Speaker 1:The lives. I don't like lives. I don't like the spirit behind live. I don't blame the players for leaving, because who? I mean? That's a lot of money that they've been offered to go play golf with. You know, with I mean guaranteed, that's. I mean, how do you turn that down it's? I made the mistake in 1998 to leave one equipment company to go to another one because the clothing company paid me a stupid amount of money and they wanted my hat. So I left the club company sported. This apparel company played another equipment company, my game. I'm not saying it was because of the clubs, but you know I played like crap. I never won again and I started doing radio. So thanks.
Speaker 3:You know I'm not blaming it on the equipment. Thanks, but.
Speaker 1:But my point in that is money talks and right and. But if you look at the tour, there's nothing in. You know, the Phil had his reasons and Norman had his reasons and there were some people that thought the PGA tour was not a good idea, apparently. But it was awesome and the only people complaining about it were maybe a couple of these Uber elite and then a lot of the ones who couldn't play anymore and lost their card and then thought, well, it's too hard to get.
Speaker 1:Whatever the case is, I just don't like it there again, I don't blame the guys, john Rom, had he turned down whatever he was offered, that's a crap load of money On top of the crap load of money he's already made. So I don't like it. I have no idea what's going to happen. I don't know what the future holds. I know that if my phone rang right when I get off the phone with you and it's live saying, hey, we're doing a senior tour and we're going to pay you, you know, a million, two million bucks a year, well, it doesn't even pay. My price ain't that high. I would. I'd have to seriously consider it because I'm like at some point, at some point. So my point is I have no problem with these guys taking the money and going and playing, because you know what their number one objective is to provide for their family. Right, like how much do I need to provide for my family? You know, I don't need.
Speaker 2:You know a ton 300 million to start, so I don't blame it.
Speaker 1:The old thing is they hate the game, not the player, right? I don't. I mean the guys. There's a lot of quality individuals that left, that went to live and that's awesome and they're great players, but I just don't. There was not a need for it in golf, god forbid. They want to get into the NBA or the NFL. Imagine next year. They say hey, patrick Mahomes, we're going to give you a billion dollars next year to play for us To leave the NFL. You think he's going to do it? He probably will. Men, all of a sudden, the commissioner over there has got his hands full and two years later he's probably going to look just like Jay does.
Speaker 1:And you know it's unfortunate, in my opinion. What's gone on in professional golf and you know maybe I'll be swayed I don't know what's going to happen. I don't. I don't think it's good for golf what's happened. It's good for a few players and it might be good for you know the entity, but the PGA tour, professional golf as it stands, it's kind of it's, it's it's it's definitely kicked it in the teeth and a few people are going to get rich.
Speaker 1:So I, I don't know, I hope it doesn't ruin the game. You know, I still, I still love the concept. You tee it up an event and the best player goes home with the lion share of money and half the guys go home with some money and the half that didn't grind. Let's go back next week and have another opportunity. But the team thing that I love playing in member guests and pro members and you know kind of team, but I've lost a little bit of live, it to me it's just weird. That's it. It's weird, it's a weird product with an answer and great players and it's. I still.
Speaker 1:I still think Phil is the second best player of my generation and I respect that dude, his game it's. I was blown away when I saw him at nine years old and, and you know, at 54, I still think, golly man, that guy. He was so good, but you know he did his thing and and they're all, they're all getting rich. I just don't like it. I just don't like it and and I hope it doesn't, I hope it doesn't ruin the PGH or because, when it's all said and done, it wouldn't be Jay ruining the tour. And there again, I'm not. I don't know anything about what's going on behind closed doors and I'm not accusing anybody, except for the entity that stepped in, I think potentially damaged the world of professional golf, in my opinion. But you know, what do I know?
Speaker 2:Well, you know, aren't we in the? Everybody gets a trophy of era right now and that's sort of like live. I think everybody gets a trophy at live.
Speaker 1:I mean everything. Everything's about money. I mean, I look at how it's portraying how this whole transfer portal you don't want to play. Oh, I'm not getting play in time, I'm going somewhere else and it's. You know, I don't know it is. We're in a different, a different time, a different world.
Speaker 2:We all grow up differently.
Speaker 1:Maybe I'm just old school. So maybe I need to, you know, just set back and, and I don't know, join the party. But no to me, you know I'm a little old school but I'm also a. You know, I'm the beneficiary of, of. I think the greatest organization in golf is, you know well, pga Tour and the PGA of America are the two great organizations in golf. One's the entertainment side and one's the the growth of the game side, with the PGA of America, and I love them both. I'm a part of both of them and so that's where my loyalty lies. But, like I said, if they called me and offered me a truck full of cash to go play, I'd have to consider it. But I hope that phone call doesn't come.
Speaker 2:Well, it's not the part of it too, because nobody wants me there.
Speaker 1:So it's fine.
Speaker 2:Not true. Not true at all, Paul.
Speaker 3:The other part of it, though, too, frank, is you and I are both older than Paul, but all of us are over 50, right, and so are we looking at things? Yeah, are we looking at things from that perspective? Right? 50, 60 year old, 70 year old people, versus what every sport wants, whether it's the NFL, the NBA or professional golf, and they want the 25 year olds, right, whether it's the players or the eyeballs or the audience for? And so sometimes I think we have to, sometimes, and I'm just like a lot of you guys going well, here's how it used to be, and, by God, that's how it should be, and okay, but that's my grandfather said the same thing.
Speaker 2:I don't think we ever say that, really, but I think we say this is the way it was, this is the tradition of the game, that's carried on for a gazillion years.
Speaker 3:But here's my point, though, is when you bring up, like when Paul says, okay, make the cut, don't make the cut, play better, do all that to a lot of 25 year olds. They don't understand that concept, and they're sitting there going, so tell me again why, on the weekend, I don't see the best golfers.
Speaker 3:Why? Why is it because I don't watch an NBA game and not see the best players? In the second half they play the whole game. Why am I buying a ticket? Why am I going and I'm sure not going to go on the weekends when the big crowds are, if indeed Jordan and Justin and Tiger or whoever aren't even going to be playing because they didn't play well enough in the first two rounds? That concept doesn't hit to them. Well, do we make an adjustment? Say you're right, maybe they should play the entire game, or we just stay with the way it is, Say well, I like a cut, because then you got to play better. They're still not going to go. They're still not going to watch on the weekends. What does it matter what we think? That's all I'm saying. Sometimes it's a well the.
Speaker 2:TV money pays the bills. You know that, tim, you're from that world, sure, and you have to have viewers, to have advertisers, and the advertisers and the sponsors of the tournaments and I don't know that it can continue. And, paul, you speak to this. The purses have gone up so much. How can it continue when you're losing players over to live like a rom, like a Cam Smith, the advertisers who've paid all this money to have all these viewers, and the sponsors of these tournaments now have gone from 6 million to 8 million to 12 million. That a 20 million or more sponsor tournament.
Speaker 3:They're going where the big names and the golden tiger is gone, by the way, tigers no longer going to be a factor in any of this stuff, and he's been the golden goose for 25 years.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I don't know how they do it, frank and my thought. I don't know how they do it. I think the only. In my opinion, looking at this whole live thing and how it changed the PGA tour, I think the only thing that happened that is good for the PGA tour was the guarantee against earnings for a player who earned his card. You know like Blaine Hale gets his card at Cordbury Q school or the whatever he got one of the five cards. You know a guy like Blaine who then next year goes out on a PGA tour and you know, if he didn't have a very good year and say he makes 50K right, layton egg and made 50K, well he's going to lose money at the end of the year. I don't care how many sponsors A guy like him he may not have. It takes a while to generate enough endorsements to really make a difference. And if he's married, he's got a kid, he's got a house, he's got like you're at the top level of the game of golf and prior to you know live, you know there were guys that had their card for one year, played poorly, lost money and literally lost money, like maybe lost 100K, you know, and you're like wait a minute. That's, that's dumb. So I love the 500,000 against your earnings. You earned it, you earned the right to be upon the most elite in professional golf and so I like that. That's the only thing I like.
Speaker 1:You know the person's had gone up from my rookie year 24, they jumped up with the first TV deal after Tiger got out there and all of a sudden we're playing for two and $3 million a week and we were all excited. And then it went to four, and then it went to five and we're all excited and the growth was amazing. So this whole thing didn't happen Like guys. I loved what Fred Couple said. Guys aren't jumping ship because live is the best thing in professional golf. No, there's a number, like he said, it's had 100,000, it's not good enough. And then at 200, it's not enough. 300, oh, at four, now it's a great product, and so that's exactly right.
Speaker 1:These guys had left, not because they're jumping over to a better tour, they just get paid. Now that on that note, what made on that note, what made the PGA Tour the best tour in the world, was we were playing for the most money. So you get it like guys, if Europe, if the European tour, who was playing for five and six million dollars and the PJ tour for two and three. Everybody want to go play on European tour, right, and I get that. That's, that's the deal. It's a mo, you're gonna go play where the most money's being being earned and so that's why I don't blame these guys for leaving.
Speaker 1:But the growth of PGA tour golf, cornfairy golf, all the golf around the world, everybody wanted to get on the PJ tour and the opportunity for the guy who was good enough to stay out there, you could make a boatload and they did.
Speaker 1:And you know I love seeing the Cooper or the Pearson and Parker cootie and those guys are saying that we're gonna play the tour and guys who, yeah, who turned down a lot of money to go play the PJ tour and and I think they do that because they understand that you know what it's more than just playing for money they got these guys. Obviously they want to play for a crap little money and, and you know, be set to life and you know You're going to, if you're good enough, on the PJ tour. But they also look at, you know, the records and the legacy and all that kind of stuff and and that's important. So Anyway, that's my take. I, you know it's a, it's a meaningless take. My words aren't gonna make a difference in the grand scheme of things anyway. I just I, just you know, I'm just not a big fan of it and and I don't think the product is very good either. It's kind of weird, but they're gonna weird right. Everything's weird when you get old.
Speaker 3:Weird.
Speaker 1:That they're using you know Everything. So, anyway, I'm just an old dude and I'm sure your listeners are telling me to shut up.
Speaker 2:So yeah, woke. Woke used to mean it's time to get up.
Speaker 1:Exactly.
Speaker 2:I know you know Tiger pretty well so you know what happened to me with the tornado and all that and losing my house. So you think you could call Tiger for me and ask him if I could stay on his yacht for about six months.
Speaker 3:Oh, there's an idea, frank.
Speaker 2:Yeah, what a what a great gesture that would be for it for stanky and for Tiger to do you would do your podcast. I had Tiger's number, I would Told Todd Lewis to do that and he said I'm gonna do that, Thanks thanks, lewis, appreciate it.
Speaker 3:Yeah, just have. You could just say to. Frank, and he wouldn't even know you're there.
Speaker 2:That's true to you like 30,000 square feet or something. Live from Tiger Woods yacht hits America. That'd be fun.
Speaker 1:Well, on that note, sorry Frank, I'm sorry to hear that. I'm glad you guys are okay. Thanks, devastating what happened in Nashville and it sucks, would I mean it sucks in general. You watch the news and then you just kind of Turn to the next subject, but when it's somebody you know and I didn't find out until yesterday that it personalizes it. So you know my heart goes out to you. I appreciate my friend. I'm glad you guys were okay.
Speaker 2:We're good, we're all good, we're. We're praying for all the other people who are worse of them. We are what? So the next event you're gonna hit?
Speaker 1:all this is when. The next event of planes the end of January at the at secession golf club. But they're pro-member, it's a big one.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but that's a great spot.
Speaker 1:It's a it's fun, it's fun, it's a fun event. It's, do you know, two-man, two-man team deal and I love it. So it's the end of January, but, yeah, unless a miracle happens and I get into Huala Lai in January, I'll start my champion season at the chub, which I'm sure they're busy right now that's an insurance Chub at in Naples, and then we go to Morocco and Two sobs a new venue this year at La Paloma and then back over to Newport Beach where I'm in the field this year, which is great and it's so cool to actually look at. I just committed to everything this morning, right before we got on the phone and and I'm like, okay, I'm in, I don't have to, I don't have to go. I wonder if I'm gonna get in there, like I'm finally exempt, this is so cool, I said that's you've been with me on this journey.
Speaker 1:You know we did the show for for a year when I was retired from golf and and building wallets and belts and and that was fun and and I had no idea what the future held. But to now, as a 54 year old, be exempt out there playing against the guys again, it's so much fun and I'm grateful for this season alive and I'm looking forward to getting started.
Speaker 2:I can't think of any nicer person that deserves this than yourself. Paul, absolutely Congratulations on your great play and you're a good guy. You deserve it. You really do.
Speaker 3:By the way, frank, I think I think you'll agree with me Paul's the first guy that, unless that's your house, the first guy to be doing dishes the bathroom, paul.
Speaker 2:Welcome to the Julia child segment of golf talk America.
Speaker 1:It's called living boys. We got to clean the dishes. They're like gosh. Can you get off the phone? Tell those boys we're hungry Guys? I love being on with you guys. Thank you, appreciate what you do it's, it's fun. Thanks for giving me you know. Talk about live. That Put me on the spot. I'm sure I'm gonna get some. You were good anyway. You guys are all right.
Speaker 2:Thanks, buddy, you are too pal.
Speaker 3:We'll talk to you again soon, all right, thank you All right. Paul Stan Kowski, pj tour champions, and I Think we're playing on going to dinner. I'll tell it's coming up here in a little bit. Yeah, he and I and some other guys are gonna go have a little bite eat. So he's just a lot of fun and he's just so normal right.
Speaker 2:Hey, you're just down there doing his dishes.
Speaker 3:Doing his dishes.
Speaker 2:That's that. How funny is that.
Speaker 3:How fun, I thought at first.
Speaker 2:I thought it was my house collapsing around me, yeah so I'm not, but then I'm like nothing.
Speaker 3:Paul's cleaning some dishes dude, they were.
Speaker 2:Three people were here. I have a lot of huge oak trees. Tree people were in my yard for two and a half straight days. A crew of about nine ten people with cranes and bucket trucks and two bobcats and a Dump truck out front just loading it up, going load after load after load, taking trees out of here and all I've my ears. I wake up in the middle of the night and hear chainsaws. I Mean. I'll tell you what.
Speaker 3:It's been three years since the tornado hit this area and down the road You'll be back in your house and things will move on and all that and you'll be back to a bit of normal, but the area will look Somewhat devastated for years to come.
Speaker 3:It's amazing how it won't come back to where it was because trees and things are knocked down and moved in different houses. There'll be some vacant lots that used to be a house and they didn't rebuild, or what it changes, and it'll be years for that to change. I was just telling my wife where I got coffee this morning there's a fire station that was in the path of the tornado got got wiped out right. They tore the fire station down. That was more than three years ago and they are just now finishing rebuilding the new fire station. That's how long it's taken for them to rebuild a fire station. So yeah, it's. It changes a lot and it doesn't go away.
Speaker 3:I no no, it don't. As you said, there's always somebody worse and there is your healthy and yeah, the important. Thing.
Speaker 2:We're good. Yeah, we're good. We're lucky to have friends like you guys. To you, tim and Paul and a lot of other guys Steped up and called us and checked on us, and it was it's have it.
Speaker 3:Have it a yacht for you, though, frank. That's the sad thing with. Tiger, Tiger you know, come on, buddy, if you only, you only had one guy with a boat better yet better.
Speaker 2:Yet somebody called John wrong. And John, you just got 300 million a bassets in trouble. Send him a couple of mill, you wouldn't to get him through. You wouldn't even notice it, he wouldn't even notice it. It's pocket change.
Speaker 1:Of course his pocket change has to be carried in four Halliburton suitcases Anyway.
Speaker 3:I'm sorry watching my my daughter's dog while they're out of town. They've been so good, both our dogs my eyes laying right here at my feet.
Speaker 2:He's just he's tired.
Speaker 3:Yeah, mind You're gonna have. You're gonna have something to clean up here in a minute, so Well, we better get going.
Speaker 2:So in the words of the great dog doer Do what you gotta do before he does what he does.
Speaker 3:Yeah, what he's gonna do.
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, he gonna do. So there you go. Well, good luck this week and I hope, thanks buddy, and we get everything wrapped up and done.
Speaker 3:We didn't mention them, but we're gonna mention them now. Go to invited clubs. Invited clubs one of our top sponsors. We love them to death. Go to invited clubs, calm, and you can find a country club near you. They're wonderful company and they're keep improving. The clubs get better and better at pxg. Check out pxg clubs. Golf balls greatest golf balls Frank's ever played is that right? Love them.
Speaker 2:Hey everybody, frank Bassett here and I want to tell you about something that I've learned from, from masterclass, and I'm implementing it right now into my life. I'm learning about Crisis management, Managing situations that are very difficult when they hit you right in the face, and it seems that they usually come in the multitudes. Hey, they just they hit you, and so you know what I did. I Went and took a masterclass from George W Bush for one interesting, interesting masterclass. Masterclass makes a meaningful gift this season for you and anyone on your list, because both of you can learn from the best To become your best, from leadership to effective communication to cooking. Whether you're watching masterclass on TV, listening in audio mode in the app or on their site, the quality speaks for itself. It's like masterclass instructors are your own personal mentors. They're going to help you reach the next level.
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Speaker 3:You just can't beat it at all.
Speaker 2:So here's what I want you to do this holiday season we want you to give one annual membership and get one free at masterclass comms slash PGA tour. Right now, you can get two memberships for the price of one at masterclass comms slash PGA tour. Masterclass comms slash PGA tour. Offer terms apply. So there you heard from Paul and Tim and me, and it was. It was interesting. Paul was doing his dishes, he had his earbuds in so he didn't realize it was coming through the microphone. That's Paul stankowski for you. We love him to death. He is a great friend and a great golfer. Watch out for him this next year because he won a bunch of a bunch of money last year on PGA Tour champions and he is ready to compete. So, that being said, for the golf talk America crew, for the PGA Tour countdown crew and all of those who work to make this show successful, thank you so much and we will catch you next week with a special Christmas edition of PGA Tour countdown, see ya.