Episode Transcript
[00:00:02] Speaker A: Welcome to this episode of Hustle and Pro. I'm your host Kelly Walker. We are out at PGA Frisco today, and we're here for the PGA Junior League Championship. Of all of the qualifying teams, I thought it would be fun to get to know some of the players on Team Texas. We're out in the outside, so there's a little bit of wind noise, so please forgive that. But I hope you enjoy getting to hear from these young golfers and enjoy this episode.
[00:00:30] Speaker B: Hi.
[00:00:30] Speaker C: My name is Brian Murphy. I'm from Prosper, Texas.
[00:00:32] Speaker B: Prosper. You're our neighbors. So this is actually really close. You probably know PGA frisco. Yeah. You've been here before?
How long have you been playing golf?
[00:00:42] Speaker C: Around eight to nine years.
[00:00:44] Speaker B: How old are you now? 1212. All right, that's a young start. So is golf in your family?
[00:00:50] Speaker C: My dad didn't play. He played high school golf, but not.
[00:00:54] Speaker B: Really competitively, but plays for fun, recreationally, and plays not as much as he used to. Do you ever remember a time when you weren't playing golf, like, you probably were playing as you were a little bitty kid, and that's all you can remember, right?
[00:01:06] Speaker C: Yeah. I play a lot of other sports, though, too.
[00:01:08] Speaker B: What other sports do you play? Soccer, baseball, basketball, football, all those things. That's good. So are you ever on an off season of golf, or are you playing golf year round?
[00:01:21] Speaker C: Year round mostly, but not as much in, like, December.
[00:01:25] Speaker B: What's your favorite one to play?
Your favorite sport? Yeah. Oh, golf and football. Is that what you think you're best at? Yeah, probably. Yeah. What's your football position?
[00:01:36] Speaker C: Safety, wide receiver, backup quarterback.
[00:01:39] Speaker B: Awesome. And what are some of your strengths on the golf course, or what are some of your strengths on this team? Maybe it's not on the golf course.
[00:01:53] Speaker C: I just like, helping my teammates out and then probably my iron play.
[00:01:58] Speaker B: Your iron play? So when you make this team and you come out here, do you know these players already or everybody a stranger?
[00:02:07] Speaker C: No, I play with them all the time.
[00:02:09] Speaker B: Okay. Yeah, so it's fun, and you instantly know everybody, and it's like a good this you play lots of tournaments, right? So how is this one rank as far as fun and looking forward to it?
[00:02:19] Speaker C: Yeah, definitely, like top three.
[00:02:21] Speaker B: Oh, good. What are some of your other favorites?
[00:02:24] Speaker C: US Kids World championship.
My brother made it to Augusta National Finals, so we got to go to Augusta.
[00:02:31] Speaker B: Very cool. Yeah, I bet that was a good bucket list. One to go check out. All right, up next, what's your name?
[00:02:37] Speaker C: Lincoln Rubis.
[00:02:38] Speaker B: Lincoln, how old are you?
[00:02:40] Speaker C: I'm eleven years old.
[00:02:41] Speaker B: Is everybody here eleven, or are there a little bit of age range?
Eleven to 13. Okay, so that may be a dumb question. I'll stop asking it. You're eleven. What grade are you in?
[00:02:50] Speaker C: Maybe that I'm in 6th grade.
[00:02:51] Speaker B: 6Th grade?
[00:02:52] Speaker C: Where do you live?
[00:02:53] Speaker B: Where are you from?
[00:02:53] Speaker C: Farmers Ranch.
[00:02:55] Speaker B: Awesome. And so eleven years old. Have you also been playing golf for most of your life?
[00:03:01] Speaker C: Yes, I've been playing golf for ten years.
[00:03:04] Speaker B: Ten years. So you started when you were, like, walking? Barely walking? Yes.
Because your family loves golf.
[00:03:10] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:03:11] Speaker B: So you're close to Frisco also. Have you been to PGA frisco before?
[00:03:14] Speaker C: Plenty of times, yeah?
[00:03:16] Speaker B: Yes. What have you done out here? Have you played the courses?
[00:03:19] Speaker C: Yeah, I play the swing a lot.
[00:03:22] Speaker B: Do you love it? What do you like about think I.
[00:03:25] Speaker C: Like part threes a lot, and it's all part three, so that's kind of cool.
[00:03:29] Speaker B: Yeah, I think the longest hole do you know how long the longest hole is?
[00:03:32] Speaker C: 110.
[00:03:33] Speaker B: Yeah, it's like 100, right?
[00:03:34] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:03:35] Speaker B: That makes it, like, easy, right? Yeah, easy but fun because you still got to pay attention to what you're doing. Who do you play with?
[00:03:45] Speaker C: I play with my friends all the time. Like Briar Wyatt chase all our teammates.
[00:03:51] Speaker B: What do you think some of your strengths are as a golfer?
[00:03:54] Speaker C: Short game, for sure. Putting and chipping. Putting and chipping.
[00:03:58] Speaker B: Is that what you work on the most, or are you just naturally strong?
[00:04:01] Speaker C: I think I work on that the most, for sure. But naturally a lot, too.
[00:04:07] Speaker B: So have you played in, like, what are your favorite tournaments that you've played in?
[00:04:13] Speaker C: I like to play in all Americans.
It's through NTPGA and us. Kids around the world.
[00:04:21] Speaker B: All right. I have a random question for you. What is on your playlist? Like, what music? Country.
[00:04:28] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:04:28] Speaker B: Okay, that's perfect. And out here, there's always country music playing out here for sure. So you fit right in.
[00:04:34] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:04:34] Speaker B: Do you know any of the songs that are playing out?
[00:04:37] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:04:37] Speaker B: Good. Awesome. Okay, well, thanks for your time. Lincoln?
[00:04:40] Speaker C: Yep.
[00:04:42] Speaker B: What's your name?
[00:04:43] Speaker C: Zach.
[00:04:44] Speaker B: Zach, where are you from?
[00:04:46] Speaker C: Farmers Branch.
[00:04:47] Speaker B: Another Farmers Branch player?
[00:04:49] Speaker C: I'm his brother.
[00:04:50] Speaker B: You're his brother. Okay, great. That makes sense. So what grade are you in?
[00:04:53] Speaker C: I'm in 7th grade.
[00:04:54] Speaker B: You're older than him?
[00:04:55] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:04:55] Speaker B: When you're not out there golfing, what are you doing for fun?
[00:05:01] Speaker C: We like to go in our backyard and just play a bunch of sports. Like, we like anything that is related.
[00:05:06] Speaker B: To sports and competition. Are you competitive?
[00:05:09] Speaker C: You're super competitive no matter what, we're.
[00:05:11] Speaker B: Doing naturally competitive with you and your brother?
[00:05:14] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:05:15] Speaker B: So are you always the one that's like, winning because you're older?
[00:05:20] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:05:21] Speaker B: Do you ever go easy on him, too, though?
[00:05:23] Speaker C: No.
[00:05:25] Speaker B: That's the competitive part, right? You got to make him better one day. He'll thank you for that.
[00:05:29] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:05:30] Speaker B: So tell me about what are the most exciting things that you've accomplished so far in golf?
[00:05:35] Speaker C: Well, I was here two years ago, and I was the youngest player at National Championship, so that was really cool.
[00:05:43] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:05:43] Speaker C: I made two hole in ones at that National Championship. No.
[00:05:46] Speaker B: Okay. I was like, wow, that's amazing.
So you made two holes at hole in ones? Yeah. Otherwise, what are your goals?
[00:05:56] Speaker C: I want to be on the PGA tour one day, and I want to win the grand slam, win all four majors.
[00:06:02] Speaker B: Wow, that's great. I'm brayden bret, and I'm from McKinney, Texas. What are you most looking forward to for this kind of tournament? That's one city over, but it's still know. Not your average regular day, right? Just the experience. The experience of this tournament. Immaculate. It's awesome. I love that. That's a great word.
So when you think about immaculate and you're at this brand new facility, right? For the most part. I mean, half of it just opened a few months back.
What are you looking forward to on the course? Have you heard much about west? I haven't heard anything about it. I just know there's a lot of bunkers. Okay. The greens are pretty difficult, so it's going to be tough to place the ball in the right spot and keep it where you want it to. Yeah, for sure. What are some of the things you're best at as a golfer? Ball striking, for sure. Ball striking. Is that natural to you or is that something you've corrected already?
[00:07:01] Speaker C: I've corrected it.
[00:07:02] Speaker B: You've already corrected it. Who helps you the most with golf? My coach, Joey Anders. And does your family golf with you?
[00:07:10] Speaker D: Oh, no.
[00:07:11] Speaker B: No? Okay. You're on your own out there? I'm on my own. So how'd you get into golf at such a young age? Then I saw my dad going to the range. He was getting into it and I thought it was really cool, so I just started to pick it up. Cool. Who's your favorite golfers? Ludwig oberg. Wait, say that again. Ludwig oberg. I don't know that name. He was on the European ryder cup team, even though I'm cheering for united k. That's why I don't know that name. So did you watch the whole ryder cup? I watched a lot of it, yeah. I mean, I was trying to do school with watching the ryder cup. Yeah, the times were a little OD, right? They were all over the place. Yeah, they were all over the place. But did you at least watch the ending matchup? Oh, the end was crazy. I knew the United States had to come back. And they were close. Yeah, they didn't they gave it a shot, right? They gave it a shot. They gave it a shot. What is your goal as a golfer? Making it on the PGA tour. Once I get on the PGA tour, we'll go from there. Okay, then you'll take it from there. Very good. Well, congrats for being out here, and good luck.
[00:08:11] Speaker D: My name is chase roman, and I'm from McKinney, Texas.
[00:08:14] Speaker B: Chase, well, okay. Are you friends and schoolmates with the last player?
[00:08:20] Speaker D: Not schoolmates, but we're really close friends. Play a lot with each other.
[00:08:24] Speaker B: You play with each other a lot. What school do you go to then? Are you?
[00:08:27] Speaker D: I go to Spring Creek Academy over in Plano. It's a really small private school.
[00:08:31] Speaker B: Okay. Do you get to golf through that.
[00:08:33] Speaker D: School or not through the school? It's a school for athletes? Yeah.
[00:08:38] Speaker B: So is it like flexibility so that you can practice a lot? What does your normal day look like?
[00:08:43] Speaker D: So probably wake up at 06:00, go to school at eight, and then at 1130, I get out of school and go straight to the golf course and practice until 04:00, go home, do homework, all that kinds of stuff, then go to bed, do it all over again.
[00:09:00] Speaker B: Are you self motivated to do all that? Every day.
Why, because you love it? Or what makes you want to spend that much time on the course every day?
[00:09:10] Speaker D: I'm just super competitive. I love winning, and when I'm out playing a tournament, I want to win, and that's my motivation.
[00:09:20] Speaker B: What's your biggest accomplishment so far as a golfer?
[00:09:23] Speaker D: I've won two times on the North Texas or three times on the North Texas PGA All American Tour and top ten in US. Kids World Championship.
[00:09:34] Speaker B: Wow. Top ten in us. Kids World championships. Yes. Wow. When was that?
[00:09:39] Speaker D: In August.
[00:09:41] Speaker B: Oh, just this year, recently. Fantastic. So then do you guys have individual goals out here for this tournament or just team?
[00:09:50] Speaker D: Just a team. It's a scramble, so we don't really keep our own score, so doing it for the team.
[00:09:56] Speaker B: Who are some of your favorite golfers or athletes that you like watching?
[00:10:00] Speaker D: Jordan Speeds and Ricky Fowler. They're just super cool to watch on course. Very talented.
[00:10:06] Speaker B: Yeah, for sure. Okay, last question, the random fun one. What are you listening to? What's on your playlist again? It's country.
Everybody I've asked has said country.
[00:10:17] Speaker D: Yeah, I listen to it when I'm practicing and it calms me down.
[00:10:22] Speaker B: Who's your favorite artist?
[00:10:24] Speaker D: Florida georgia line. Yeah, they got a bunch of good songs.
[00:10:27] Speaker B: Yeah. So all you team Texas kids are comfortable out?
[00:10:30] Speaker E: Yeah.
[00:10:30] Speaker B: Yeah. I wonder if the other state kids are not used to this country music we have playing out here all the time. Okay, well, congrats on being here and have fun.
[00:10:40] Speaker D: Thank you very much.
[00:10:41] Speaker B: Okay. What is your name?
[00:10:43] Speaker C: I'm Becket McLaughlin and I'm from Austin, Texas.
[00:10:46] Speaker B: Austin, fantastic. I like that you're number one there on your uniform. So have you been to Frisco before and played out here?
[00:10:53] Speaker C: I've been here a couple of times, but not as much as they have.
[00:10:57] Speaker B: Yeah. So it's a little bit newer to you. What do you think about it? Do you like it out here?
[00:11:00] Speaker C: Yes, it's very nice, and I like the swing a lot.
[00:11:03] Speaker B: You like the swing? Did you get to play it yet.
[00:11:05] Speaker C: Or are you about I haven't played it this week. I've played it a couple of times before, though.
[00:11:08] Speaker B: Yeah, it's really fun. Right. So what do you think are some of your strengths as a golfer? Whether that's how you prepare or how you're a teammate or how you are on the course?
[00:11:19] Speaker C: I think my driving game has been really good, and I think I'm pretty.
[00:11:24] Speaker B: Positive that goes a long way, especially as a teammate and as a player. Right. With your work ethic, is golf in your family? Do you play with your family?
[00:11:34] Speaker C: It's mostly just me and my dad. My sisters play a little bit, but not as much as I do.
[00:11:40] Speaker B: Yeah. So have you been playing your whole life, basically?
[00:11:43] Speaker C: Yes, my whole life.
[00:11:44] Speaker B: Which is how many years? How old are you?
[00:11:46] Speaker C: I'm eleven. I've been playing since I was like, one or two, so about nine years.
[00:11:51] Speaker B: Do you enjoy playing other sports also?
[00:11:54] Speaker C: Yes, I used to play soccer and football, but now I only play golf. I play football and soccer, but not on the team.
[00:12:04] Speaker B: Who are some of your favorite athletes or golfers? Doesn't have to be golfers, but who do you look up to in sports?
[00:12:14] Speaker C: I like Bubba Watson and Scotty Scheffler. Bubba Watson because he's a lefty like I am, and then Scotty Scheffler because he's super nice and fun.
[00:12:23] Speaker B: Have you met him before?
[00:12:25] Speaker C: Yes, at the Del match play.
[00:12:27] Speaker B: Wow.
All right, next up, who do we have?
[00:12:30] Speaker C: Wyatt Brinza and I'm from Salina, Texas.
[00:12:33] Speaker B: Wyatt Brinzen from Salina. So you're also a neighbor. I know Texas is a big state, but there's a lot of local players here today. Were you looking forward to seeing your golf friends at this tournament?
[00:12:45] Speaker C: Yes, I'm very looking forward for this opportunity to have fun with my friends and just have a good experience.
[00:12:51] Speaker B: What's your favorite thing about being a golfer?
[00:12:54] Speaker C: I like how it takes a lot of hard work and dedication just to get a little bit better.
[00:13:00] Speaker B: Isn't that the truth? It's one of those sports where you have to put in the time. Right. How much time do you feel like you spend golfing? Do you know how many hours that you're golfing?
[00:13:09] Speaker C: I don't know exactly how many hours. I usually am putting in a lot of work in my putting my ball striking is probably my strength, so putting what I work on the most.
[00:13:20] Speaker B: So when you're not golfing, putting in all the work to get better, what are you doing? What are you doing for fun or with your family?
[00:13:26] Speaker C: I'm usually fishing or playing with my dogs.
[00:13:30] Speaker B: What kind of dogs do you have?
[00:13:32] Speaker C: I have two Labradors treatment. Fun.
[00:13:35] Speaker B: All right, I'm going to ask you this random question because I think it helps me know your personality. What music are you listening to?
[00:13:41] Speaker C: Country music.
[00:13:42] Speaker B: Country music. Who's your favorite country music artist?
[00:13:46] Speaker C: Probably Morgan wallen.
[00:13:47] Speaker B: Morgan Wallen. You'll hear Morgan Wallen out here on the radio.
What are your teammates oh, your collar flipped up. That's fine. It's windy out here. I think one of these Texas storms is about to roll over us.
What is, like, an interesting, fun fact about you?
[00:14:05] Speaker C: I'm a better fisherman than Cooper.
[00:14:07] Speaker B: Okay.
What's the biggest fish? What's your prized fish catch?
[00:14:13] Speaker C: I've caught 20 pound king salmon and a four pound bass.
[00:14:16] Speaker B: Wow. All right, so he scoreboarded. Cooper. Your teammate cooper. All right. So we have to follow that up because he just called you out. You're cooper, right?
[00:14:25] Speaker E: Yes.
[00:14:25] Speaker B: Okay, so tell me about the biggest fish you've ever caught.
[00:14:30] Speaker E: I've caught an 80 pound swamp donkey 80. Off the coast of Bermuda.
And then my biggest bass is whopping. Eight pounds. He said four, right?
[00:14:42] Speaker B: Yeah, I think he said four double in him. Yeah, you got him there. Where are you from, Cooper?
[00:14:47] Speaker E: I'm from Southlake Texas.
[00:14:49] Speaker B: South Lake. All right. What grade are you in?
[00:14:52] Speaker E: I am in 8th grade.
[00:14:53] Speaker B: 8Th grade? Yes. And so how long have you been golfing?
[00:14:57] Speaker E: I've been golfing for about six or seven years.
[00:14:59] Speaker B: Okay. Do you do other things besides golf as well?
[00:15:02] Speaker E: I used to play football, and I love fishing.
[00:15:05] Speaker B: Yeah. Have you focused on golf mostly by this point? Like eight. 9th grade is when you kind of start to pick your lane and what you may want to focus on.
[00:15:15] Speaker E: I want to go academic route with golf, so I want to almost get an academic scholarship, but play for the golf team.
[00:15:24] Speaker B: Yeah.
So recently I had on this podcast, the head golf pro here from PGA Frisco, and I always think that's a cool path where you can play and then learn how to coach and then go back and work for PGA and coach and run golf courses, and it's really a cool path. Is that something that do you feel like you'd be a leader and a coach?
[00:15:44] Speaker E: Well, for this team, I feel like I'm a leader because that's what everyone tells me, because I'm like one of the older kids out here.
But, yeah, I think I would choose something like that path.
[00:15:54] Speaker B: That's what I was thinking, because when I walked up to your group, you were the first one, I think, that talked to me, and so I felt maybe like you were the leader. Do y'all have captains or not?
[00:16:03] Speaker E: Necessarily.
[00:16:04] Speaker B: Not official.
[00:16:04] Speaker E: I mean yeah, not official.
[00:16:06] Speaker B: Not official captains. Have you played this tournament before?
[00:16:09] Speaker E: Yes, I have.
[00:16:09] Speaker B: Last year. And where was that?
[00:16:11] Speaker E: That was at Greyhawk in Arizona.
[00:16:13] Speaker B: Arizona, okay. So when you find out it's in Texas and you live in Texas, are you, like, excited because it's some new place like this, or do you want to travel?
[00:16:22] Speaker E: I'm a little excited, but I love traveling for just it makes it feel like I have to try harder and push harder to work for.
[00:16:31] Speaker B: Yeah, maybe because it's, like, a bigger deal because you have to get out of your hometown. So then tell me about some of your strengths as a golfer. What are you good at?
[00:16:42] Speaker E: I think I'm pretty good at driving the ball.
[00:16:46] Speaker B: You're good at focusing because all these guys are standing behind me. I can tell they're jumping up and down and doing weird things, and you're like, on it. You're focused.
[00:16:56] Speaker E: Well, when there's stuff like this, I focus.
[00:16:57] Speaker B: That's a good golf skill, though, right? Like, block out the crazy people. If there's any weird gallery noise and stuff while you're trying to play, block it out and do your thing.
You talked about your goals, like academics and stuff, but what are some of your goals in the next few years as a golfer? What do you want to play or what do you want to do?
[00:17:19] Speaker E: I would like to win a few more tournaments and maybe make, like, a big team, maybe playing in, like, an amateur, something like that. But I think that would be really fun and try and qualify for that. But I think that's probably the biggest goal I've got right now.
[00:17:37] Speaker B: And then in high school, are you guys playing? I mean, you're probably the one that's ready for figuring out high school golf at this point on this team. Are you able to play golf for high school at the same time as you're doing this, or do you really need to?
[00:17:50] Speaker E: I go to a private school, but I've been trying to think if I want to play for high school golf or if I just want to go the tournament route. Yeah, because for state, for high school golf, if you win that, it's just like winning a big tournament by yourself.
[00:18:05] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:18:06] Speaker E: So we're trying to figure that part out.
[00:18:07] Speaker B: Yeah. That's tough because you're kind of at that crossroads where you have to start figuring out the route you're going to take. Yes, ma'am. Yeah, it's very cool. Well, thank you, and good luck this weekend.
[00:18:15] Speaker E: Thank you very much.
[00:18:17] Speaker B: Okay, we've talked to all the players, so now we're going to talk to the coach. Tell me your name.
[00:18:22] Speaker F: I'm Joey Anders.
[00:18:23] Speaker B: Joey Anders.
[00:18:23] Speaker F: I'm the golf coach for team Texas. I'm out of Brookhaven Country Club in Farmers Branch.
[00:18:29] Speaker B: And how many players do we have out here today for team?
[00:18:31] Speaker F: I have eight players on this team. This is ten to 13 year olds. I have another team that's qualified for nationals in New Mexico, starts in a couple of months, and they are 14 to 17 year olds.
[00:18:42] Speaker B: Awesome. All right, so these 810 to 13 year olds were really fun to talk to. So tell me about I know a couple of them were probably not bragging on themselves, but I heard some parents and coaches throwing out some oh, they got hole in one. Or this and this, or they're just like Jordan Speed or whatever. So tell me some of the cool tidbits about some of these players.
[00:19:04] Speaker F: Yep. Obviously, Lincoln is number one that comes to mind. He's like a little Jordan spieth. He's got incredible short game. He's got blonde hair. He loves golf. He's out playing golf all day long. He's made five hole in ones in his life, and he made, I believe, three of them within a three month span this year.
[00:19:20] Speaker B: Wow.
[00:19:21] Speaker F: So he was on fire earlier.
[00:19:23] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:19:25] Speaker F: I've had Jordan's dad out, Sean, and we both look at him and memories go back to when Jordan was eight and nine and ten years old. We were teaching him so many mannerisms or something.
[00:19:35] Speaker B: His mannerisms is a kid himself, or.
[00:19:38] Speaker F: Like, the way he hit, just extremely competitive. Like, highly, highly competitive. Highly intelligent golf intelligent, and then just sweet on top of that. Right.
He'll hug you and talk to you, and then he wants to go on a golf course, and he wants to just demoralize you.
[00:19:54] Speaker B: Right. Like, as bad as he can. That's his zone.
[00:19:58] Speaker F: Yeah. He's just a clutch putter. He makes everything he looks at. If there's something on the line, he's the guy you want putting for you to win the whole thing. Right.
[00:20:06] Speaker B: I love that.
[00:20:06] Speaker F: And then we got Cooper, who's the longest kid I've ever seen at 13 years old. Like, I don't know how this guy hits it as far as he does.
[00:20:13] Speaker B: That's what he said.
[00:20:14] Speaker F: Obviously, he's one of the bigger kids, but we still five, 9510, 13 years old. You can't believe he can hit 310 yards. And it's not an exaggeration. I've seen him drive 350 yard greens, and he's 13 years old. Right.
[00:20:30] Speaker B: Amazing. Is that something that he already had naturally when you first saw him, or was that developed since you've been with him?
[00:20:36] Speaker F: Always extraordinarily long, but just since he's hip puberty and gotten even bigger and stronger, it's incredible. Now when you're ten and you hit it far, you're like, that's really good. That's good for a ten year old. But when you're 13 and 14 and you're now carrying it over 300 yards, you're like, oh, he is going to be really long. And there's no holding him back now, right. He's going to be incredible.
[00:20:55] Speaker B: How long have you been coaching golf?
[00:20:57] Speaker F: I've been at Brookhaven and coaching full time there for 16 years. Been at Brookhaven for 21 years.
[00:21:02] Speaker B: Wow.
[00:21:03] Speaker F: I like it there. Enjoyed it. And obviously, the number one reason I like it there is because there's so many juniors. Right. We're not a regular country club. We're a family country club, and we take a lot of pride in how much our juniors are involved there and how much they get to do and how much freedom they have to pick up golf and participate golf. And the membership is okay with it. They don't turn around every time they see a kid in front of them.
[00:21:28] Speaker B: And it really jives. Well, with what PGA is working on here, the building literally standing right behind where you're standing.
Their mission is growing the game and bringing it up from the juniors and people who maybe have never played before, which is everything behind me, the swing and the dance floor. It's like, let's not be intimidated by it. Let's just get them started young and see it's fun.
[00:21:55] Speaker F: I think there's a lot of people that think they grow the game, but I think we actually do it right. We have classes for three, four, and five year olds, and the PJ Frisco is doing the same thing. They're starting with kids three, four, and five years old.
[00:22:07] Speaker B: That's great.
[00:22:08] Speaker F: And the majority of teaching pros, which is what I am, they don't want those people. They think they're growing a game, and they're giving a 20 year old a golf lesson.
[00:22:15] Speaker B: Then you've already picked your sport. Yeah.
[00:22:17] Speaker F: You're picking your sports. A 20 year old is playing because they want to impress someone in business or something like that. They're not because they love golf.
[00:22:24] Speaker B: Right.
[00:22:25] Speaker F: My job is to get kids to love golf and play golf rest of their life.
[00:22:28] Speaker B: Now, did I hear you say as a player, you focused on basketball or golfer? Always.
[00:22:34] Speaker F: When I grew up, I was a basketball player. I played all sports. I played football and basketball and baseball and soccer. But basketball is the last sport I picked up before golf.
[00:22:42] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:22:43] Speaker F: And that's when I ended up playing through a couple of years of college till I hurt my knee, and then I picked up golf in college.
[00:22:49] Speaker B: So you fell back to golf after you win, focused on basketball.
[00:22:52] Speaker F: Yeah.
[00:22:53] Speaker B: You had some foundations of golf.
[00:22:54] Speaker F: No, I didn't.
I never golf till I was 20.
[00:22:58] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:22:58] Speaker F: All the other sports, and then I was a scratch golfer by the time I was 22. So I played golf for two years. I was a scratch golfer.
[00:23:04] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:23:04] Speaker F: Played in New Mexico State.
I've got some eye hand coordination, but I really wish I'd have picked up golf earlier. Right. I felt like that would have been my best sport.
I'm six foot one. I was 160 pounds in college. Basketball was a stretch for me, and it's probably why I tore my knee up. I did everything I could and went as far as I could for basketball, but I think I had more talent, more ability for golf.
[00:23:28] Speaker B: If I it sounds like it, yeah. And you're you're a local guy, right? I mean, I know you're at Brookhaven, but you're from Dallas.
[00:23:36] Speaker F: Yeah, I grew up in Irving, Texas. Went to MacArthur High School.
I think about it all the time. I didn't even know we had a golf team at MacArthur High School when I went through in Irving.
[00:23:46] Speaker B: Isn't that crazy that now it's your career, and in high school it wasn't.
[00:23:50] Speaker F: I remember being a senior, and someone walked up and he'd gotten a golf scholarship, and I don't even know who he was, but I was like, we have a golf didn't where do they practice? And then I find out like a few months later that the Four Seasons is like half a mile away from my school. Didn't even know it was that close.
That was where they practiced.
[00:24:08] Speaker B: So then tell me about that. Like frisco ISC students.
This is one of their practice. I mean, what do you think when you hear growing up here around this area and you hear, all right, PJ is coming here and then this ends up here? What do you think about it?
[00:24:24] Speaker F: I think it's a huge advantage, right. The culture here is going to grow and grow and grow and golf, and this area immediately is going to grow and grow and grow. And the PGA, the North Texas PGA, the PGA of America is probably even the Omni, for that matter, is going to be what facilitates that. Right. We could be one of the golf meccas in the world already, and Dallas is already competitive from a junior standpoint, but it could be redefined the whole thing, right? You got the right place, the right people in the right town, and I bet you they can make a lot out of it.
[00:24:55] Speaker B: I hope so. Feels like it's already happening, right? Yeah. Especially this weekend with this tournament and the juniors, and we've had one big tournament, but it's just fun to see all the young people out here. And I'm bringing my family out this weekend so we can see the players do their thing and just like, yeah, watch everybody enjoy the younger version of what PGA of America is. Right?
[00:25:19] Speaker F: It's like the Disney World for golfers, is what it is out here. You got golf courses. You got PGA of America. You've got the swing. You got the hugest putting green I've ever seen in my life, a chipping area, pitching area. You've got everything out here. If you like golf, this is where you want to be.
[00:25:38] Speaker A: That's it for today's episode of Hustle and Pro. Thanks so much for joining us. I hope you enjoyed meeting these young golfers and their coach and seeing a little bit of PGA. Frisco, we'll see you next episode.
