Slip under the covers with us as we review Tom Kim's win at the Scottish Open and dive into his clubs. Then we go into a draft around previewing the season's last major, The Open Championship. Does Kevin like Patrick Reed now...? Does Matt like Wyndham Clark now...? Lastly, we cover One and Done picks and Open Championship Trivia.
Transcript
Dominic: Hello and welcome back to Under the Covers, a golf podcast where we deep dive each week into the latest PGA Tour winners bag. We are your hosts. My name is Dominic. And as always, we are joined by Matthew. How are you doing today?
Chief Wedge Officer: Dom, I'm great. This is my favorite, favorite week of the year. Masters week, US Open week, but the Open Championship stands above them all. Coffee golf, just the best week of the year. We get some real conditions out there. I love it. I can't wait. I got my rain gear on, ready to go.
Dominic: Rightfully so, rightfully so. Kevin, how are you doing and are you excited about LeBron joining the Cavs again?
Kevin Spisak: I I hope that happens, but yeah, I was gonna say if if I was any better, I'd be Matt. So, you know. Yeah, the open week is pretty awesome. I don't know that I would put it over Masters Week, but I I get why someone would.
Chief Wedge Officer: Is LeBron really joining the Cavs?
Dominic: I thought it's a done deal.
Kevin Spisak: I don't know, e every day there's some new insider who says the opposite of the day before.
Dominic: Yeah. I guess that's a great point. But anyways, like Matt said
Chief Wedge Officer: I didn't I thought he was gonna join good, good, but that's beside the point.
Kevin Spisak: Ha ha
Dominic: He's getting there. He's getting there. Maybe maybe Bronny will in his downtime. Like like Matt said, it's it's open championship week. very exciting stuff. But first, we have some important things to talk about, and that is Tom Kim. Is he good again? Insane. Young Tommy Kimmy.
Chief Wedge Officer: Mm-hmm. Young Tom Kim.
Kevin Spisak: As Matt calls him Tom Sim.
Chief Wedge Officer: Thom Sim, TGL superstar. when he gets hot he gets When he gets hot he gets hot, man. That's all I have to say. When he if he there's there's not a time when he he when he finds himself in the lead, he somehow wins every
Dominic: Jupiter links. Mm-hmm.
Kevin Spisak: it's too bad that you picked him for the bolero. That was unfortunate timing for you.
Chief Wedge Officer: Yeah, I mean I was I really thought like I mean he was playing in alternate field alternate PGA tour events at the beginning of this season and the end of last season. Which is crazy for him to go out and win the Scottish. That basically sets him up for the next four years, it feels like.
Dominic: Yeah, and that was actually the first top ten he ever got in the PGA Tour was at the Scottish Open, which is very fun. So he finally was able to get the win. so going over that, twenty four years old, fourth career win on the PGA tour. he's actually the first person on the PGA tour to win a tournament and be born in the two thousands. They're they're talking about this in their their post game interview.
Kevin Spisak: Wow.
Dominic: it was a hundred and I mean one thousand and one days since his last win, and he killed it on Sunday. So he was six under total. started off Thursday with a sixty-five, went sixty six, sixty-eight, and then that six under, sixty-four, to be seventeen under on the tournament. And kind of just held it off. I mean, he was what, four strokes ahead at some point, and like Matt said, he he just kept the lead like he usually does whenever he's winning. So, a couple of stats about his final round. Actually for the whole weekend, he was thirteen of fourteen scrambling. So his chips were incredible. Like to be able to adjust that well on these conditions is very impressive. he was the only bogey free round on Sunday and I think they had said he had one bogey in something around fifty holes, which is very impressive out there.
Chief Wedge Officer: Dom, guys, where do you think? How far do you think Tom Kim fell in the rankings? What do you think was his lowest ranking?
Dominic: that's a good question. two forty.
Kevin Spisak: one eighty nine.
Chief Wedge Officer: He got to 107 in the OWGR. Which is pretty low. I didn't that's that's not as low as I honestly thought, to be honest. So, but he's number thirty-three right now. So interesting stuff. Yeah. Big jump.
Kevin Spisak: Hmm.
Dominic: that's not a Mm-hmm. Dang, big jump. Okay. Yeah, I didn't think
Kevin Spisak: Yeah, he's come back.
Dominic: it was that low. But yeah, there's only been a couple of top twenties this year. he was he had a solo three at the US Open and then was fifteenth for the Canadian Open. So lately he's been playing a lot better. so just great, great weekend in general for Tom Kim. He's kind of been around a lot these last few weeks, which is good. I feel like I've hated on him. in in the early days, just mainly like I've I've explained it before here where it's just like On TGL specifically. He just tries so hard. Like, it's one of those friends where they they try too hard. You already like them, but they just they feel like they need to overproduce content. You know what I mean? Like he's the young guy at TGL, so he's over overdoing it a little bit, and that kind of comes off as cheesy. but like you said, he's twenty four years old, so he still is very young, has a lot of growing up to do, and he's he's already winning, what, four times, which There is a hilarious comparison of Tom Kim and Ludwig's career so far and it is swayed the direction you wouldn't expect. Exactly. It's it's bonkers. But
Chief Wedge Officer: You'd take Tom Kim right now. But ten years from now, would you take Ludwig or would you take
Dominic: Right now I I'd I'd still I'd I'd still do Ludvig, I feel like. Like he he hasn't won many times, but one time. He has one win, I think.
Chief Wedge Officer: I'm talking ten years. Ten years from now. Any well
Kevin Spisak: Is is Ludbig the the next Will's Alatorus? Where he everyone thinks he's like the shining star who's gonna climb to the top and just take over and then just falls off?
Dominic: I don't I just Ooh. Ooh. Kevin? That's pretty good. I hope it's not true. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Cause he was all Tom Kim was all the rage whenever he was coming out and starting 'cause he started what was he sixteen?
Chief Wedge Officer: Yeah, I hope that's not true.
Kevin Spisak: Yeah, I hope Willie Z comes back too.
Chief Wedge Officer: Yeah. Windom. He came he he Yeah, he was like super young and he he like won the Windham out.
Dominic: Mm, okay.
Chief Wedge Officer: And I he the I think he he made like a quad on the very first hole and then won the tournament. Like he played like lights out for the next seventy one holes. It was nuts. But I think like 'cause he flashed at I remember he flashed at Colonial this year, the first round. Like he randomly was like in the lead. he has to be he I feel like with Tom Kim, he has to pick and choose his courses. Like, probably never gonna compete at the Masters, probably never gonna compete at the US Open, like
Dominic: Unreal. Well
Chief Wedge Officer: courses are just too long for him, he has to play courses he has to do play well at courses that that fit him, right? So like wherever, like the Windham, which is Sedfield Country Club. those type of courses that he's like short, like that are that that maybe don't have much of a a length bias essentially. Cause I think he lives in like the one seventy ish ball speed, which is low for the pro ranks.
Dominic: Mm-hmm.
Kevin Spisak: So you mean the US Open, like the tournament he got third at? I'm sorry. I I was like looking right at it right when you said it, it's like, huh.
Chief Wedge Officer: Yeah, I mean Okay.
Dominic: What do you gotta say about that?
Chief Wedge Officer: The it was a fake it wasn't a real US open. D Kevin, Wyndham Clark won. It's not a real US Open. No, not my boy.
Kevin Spisak: That's your boy.
Dominic: So here's a question for you. Kevin, as a as a fellow lefty, would you kind of compare Tom Kim to like a Brian Harmon where it's similar where he's shorter off the T, really good iron player, and can win a random big championship like that?
Kevin Spisak: Yeah. I think Tom Kim's got some more length than Brian Harmon. I don't know. Brian Harmon just like he stands out to me as like a an acquaintance lefty rather than a friend, you know, because he's you know, he just plays so slow and he's got those waggles. He I don't know that we claim him.
Dominic: Okay, okay. That's fair. Well
Chief Wedge Officer: British h Brian Harmon. Remember remember when he won the open and they got all open his ass about hunting?
Dominic: that's right. I forgot about that.
Chief Wedge Officer: Yeah.
Kevin Spisak: Do they do they not like hunting? I don't remember that.
Chief Wedge Officer: Yeah. No, yeah, they like hit there was like a thing, it was like the British open or the open championship kills animals or so like the w the winner kills animals, like 'cause he like hunts deer on his property.
Kevin Spisak: Yeah. I thought I thought like duck hunting and bird hunting was big over there, is it not? I
Chief Wedge Officer: Yeah,
Dominic: I wonder if it's I wonder if it's like non aerial animals that he was talking about. 'Cause you know, he's from isn't he Georgia boy? So like he's gonna shoot anything. And I think that's probably he probably made an off color joke that they didn't like or something. But I I gotta remember how many waggles he was up to. Maybe that's a trivia question.
Chief Wedge Officer: I don't
Kevin Spisak: Yeah.
Chief Wedge Officer: Yeah. Yeah.
Kevin Spisak: Yeah.
Chief Wedge Officer: He was up for
Kevin Spisak: Yeah.
Chief Wedge Officer: a whole
Kevin Spisak: The record for waggles.
Chief Wedge Officer: But I I see where you're going, right? Like a like a he he can only win at a very few specific courses. Kinda like Tom Kim. Like like he's is gonna he's not gonna win at I don't know, Meerfield Village where you have to hit it a country mile. Right. So
Dominic: Mm-hmm. Yeah, it's gotta fit your game, essentially. But you know, with that, Kevin, why don't you go into what does Tom Kim have under the covers?
Chief Wedge Officer: Yeah.
Kevin Spisak: Yeah, under Tom Kim's covers, some fun clubs. We've got driver GTS three, so brand new. We've seen the GTS kind of create a new storm on tour. and we had Brendan, our guest last week, talk about you know the fitting and how different it is from the GT line. but then he's got an old shaft in it, the Fujikura Atmos Black. I think it's the Atmos Black T S. Dom, what does T S stand for?
Dominic: in the Fuji Kura. Torque speed?
Kevin Spisak: Tour spec. overthought it. But it interesting selection there because that shaft came out in 2019. you know, and Fujikur obviously makes the Ventis line, which is like the most popular shaft on tour right now. so he he must, you know, just love his Atmos from back in the day.
Chief Wedge Officer: Ha. Mm-hmm.
Kevin Spisak: because he plays it in driver and three wood. He's got the GTS three there, so less forgiving head on driver and three wood. but atmos black, 6x and 7x on the shafts. And then his five wood, he does go to the Ventus Blue, which I think would be more typical for you know today's current player. you know, versus the Atmos, but GTS three as well, five wood. So you know heads wise, he's consistent with the GTS3, shafts wise, a little bit different. new entry into our club tracker. moving along, title is T200. he's got a two iron with the Ventus Black Hybrid Shaft 10x. So that is a stout boy, low launch, low spin. the atmos black I should have mentioned is also low launch, low spin. So he's using the blue on his five wood to get a little higher launch, a little more stopping power.
Dominic: curious if he put that in if he put that in kinda like Matt did, specifically for Scotland, like these kind of trips, like is that just a new thing this these couple weeks, do you know?
Kevin Spisak: Yeah, I like everyone is gonna be bringing out some sort of like driving iron and something to keep it low. you know, for the Scottish in the open. I I'll have to go back and look and see if he was playing that before. before he won, I was I was looking up what his bag was earlier in the season. I don't recall if he had if he had that or not.
Dominic: Mm-hmm. Mm.
Chief Wedge Officer: I'm looking it up. I don't see it. I think he did put that in for specifically for that.
Kevin Spisak: Yeah. That would make sense. then his irons, welcome to the lead tape chronicles. he's got four through nine T one hundred, and he's got a big thick chunk of lead tape, you know, right on the cavity there. So to me it almost like looks like he's making his T one hundreds into T one fifties. you know, seems like adding a little bit of forgiveness to maybe some.
Dominic: Nice.
Kevin Spisak: Club headweight. but then Project X 6.0s, so not quite as stout, you know, as some of the shafts we've been covering in recent weeks, you know, hence Matt's comment about him not being the longest of hitters. but six point oh's are definitely still you know stouter than most. wedge wise, all Vokies, he's got the SM10 46 F grind. SM nine fifty-two F grind, he's got bent to a fifty-three, and then fifty-eight A grind, which is low bounce, just like butter knife basically, that he's got bent to a fifty-nine. So that would add a little bounce. So he's got super low bounce, but then adding a degree would add sorry, low bounce on the grind, but then adding a degree would add a little bit of bounce there. So Not quite as butter knife-like, but but still more of a butter knife than I could handle.
Chief Wedge Officer: Yeah, it looks like the A grind is specifically made for very, very firm turf, kind of like getting that leading edge around their sole. So you're gonna see a lot of that like A-ish grind out there this week. especially at the open. It it's pretty it's pretty crazy how like when I was shipping out there, I went to the fifty f my fifty-four a lot because it's a little bit lower bounce, just because like my high bounce K would just like bounce off the turf. Like it it just like it's a trampoline out there. It's it's pretty nuts how much it actually affects things.
Kevin Spisak: So even though it's like pretty wet there, the the turf is pretty firm.
Chief Wedge Officer: Yeah, like the the turf is almost like I can't even explain it. It's like there it's like there's a soft layer if it's green, right? If like they if it's if it's green, but like right underneath that is just hard pan, basically like hard sandy soil. It's it's one of the weirdest it it it's like you walk like you can b you can almost like bounce balls. Like you it's almost like a bat like feels like a basketball.
Kevin Spisak: Hmm.
Chief Wedge Officer: Right. You can like bounce a ball and it'll like bounce back up at you in some points. Like so it's kinda think about that like hitting a wedge into the ground, right? The wedge is gonna bounce back up at right right at you. So you want something that kinda gets under the golf ball quickly.
Kevin Spisak: Interesting.
Dominic: So is that due to like drainage or it just always is bouncy like that?
Chief Wedge Officer: It's just why lynx golf is some of the best golf of the world, right? So the drainage, yeah, that's the whole it's like it's on sand, so it drains really quickly. So even if it rains, it's just it's just getting drained through the soil. and and creates that hard, lynxy, lynxy turf, right? And and I think like from what the pictures I've seen at at at Burkdale or at at at Burkdale this week, it looks like it looks pretty dry. They've they've been in a dry
Dominic: Mm-hmm. I heard they're not doing any water.
Chief Wedge Officer: Yeah, they've been in a drought too, so it's been a dry summer there.
Kevin Spisak: Yeah. I was gonna say at the Scottish Open it looked like it looked like sunnier weather than I'm ever used to seeing at that. And I was curious if that was gonna kinda lead into the open as well.
Chief Wedge Officer: Yeah. Seems like it.
Kevin Spisak: something interesting about his wedges is he doesn't have the degrees or bounce marked on them. He's got like P and G and you know L stuff. So just s I guess simplicity on grabbing I want my lob wedge or I want my pitching wedge.
Chief Wedge Officer: Hey, you could get those if you want. Extra 25 bucks for taking the taking the thing off. Per wedge. Yeah, you can you can order them through Vokey through like customizing them. And to take to have that. Cause I think what they do is like they they come with that and they have to basically like not sand it down, but like basically and then stamp it.
Kevin Spisak: Yeah. It's okay.
Dominic: Is it really?
Chief Wedge Officer: But yeah, they're pretty I w I would I'd be into that.
Kevin Spisak: Interesting. Yeah, shafts on his wedges. He's got the 6.0 and his 46, so consistent with his irons. And then goes down to the dynamic gold X100s for the rest of his wedges. and then the coolest club in his bag. The blades are back, baby. We got the Scotty Cameron GSS Tour prototype circle T for Mr. Tom Kim. Brought that back. he had been toying around with some different putters, brought back the blade, and then Bam pops off a big win.
Chief Wedge Officer: Yeah, he was in a he went to a spider, he went to the nine point five R for a while and then back to the blade, which is which is pretty crazy. And he put in lights out on Sunday, so
Dominic: doing great. Chipping too, but yeah, his putting really was bonkers.
Kevin Spisak: Yeah. I wonder if you know he so he's got like the the sight line dot on the top line and then the alignment line on the flange. Like looking from that top down, that would kind of look like Wyndham Clark's you know, ping Scottsdale tech putter. I wonder if that would have anything to do with it, or if since it's not a flat surface, if it wouldn't match that technology. I don't know.
Chief Wedge Officer: Yeah. I just feel like some guys like like I've even seen it like with the dot, like some guys are just able to line up the dot better than a line. And he probably was like it's the whole thing, right? Like a guys are like, I gotta go to the mallet because everybody's going to the mallet and then they end up putting worse and then they go back to something they're familiar with and then they they figure it out.
Kevin Spisak: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah, the I think the dot combo with the line is nice because then you know you can kind of make sure where your eyes are positioned. Because if if they're not straight in line with each other, then you know that your eyes or the putter head isn't, you know, f parallel to the ground. and then as ball, we've got another entry to the Pro V one X line you know, into our tracker. So earlier in the year we weren't getting like any X's and then all of a sudden we've got like a huge run of Pro V One X's in the last like month or two. so titleist just keeps, you know, dominating the ballgame. But that is what is under the covers for Tom Kim.
Dominic: it. Well good deal. I think now we're gonna do like we've been doing for majors. I think we're gonna go should we go right into the draft or do kind of like a a Royal Birthday or preview. What do wanna do first?
Chief Wedge Officer: We can do a quick, quick Birkdale preview, because I think the end of that Birkdale preview will bring us into our trivia question to determine the lineup, and then we'll go to Kevin's real trivia question. Like it.
Dominic: Beautiful. All right. What do you what do you have for the for Royal Brookdale, Matt?
Chief Wedge Officer: Yeah. So Royal Burkdale, the last winner of the open championship at Royal Burkdale was Sir Jordan Speath himself. if you remember the 2017 Open, had that crazy shot where he took an unplayable lie and then basically walked like a hundred yards over to the driving range and like they had to come up with a yardage. and then he hit like a really good two iron, got up and down. And then he played the next, I think it was like five holes in seven under par or something stupid like that. and just absolutely snatched the major away from Matt Kuchard. thank God. Thank God we're not talking about Matt Kucher one time major champion. True. but yeah, no Royal so Robert Dale, really cool golf course.
Kevin Spisak: Ha ha ha.
Dominic: Better be careful.
Chief Wedge Officer: It is northwest England. so kind of that near like Royal Lithuam in St Anne's. There's a couple r open venues around that area. so they're not all in Scotland. a lot of them, you know, they they like to have the open close to London, because it brings in a lot of that like corporate dollars from the London area. so these will definitely stay. It's it's a pretty like Big piece of property. Burkdale's been there for a really long time. famously Tommy Fleetwood grew up five minutes away from the golf course. so this is kind of a hometown event for for Tommy Fleetwood. but yeah, it it's it's gonna be a great tournament. I they've redone a lot of holes. So this guy, Martin Ebert, he essentially is like the person that is allowed to touch open venues for redesigns. So it looks like they've redesigned like maybe three or four of the holes. and the hole that Jordan Speeth like eagled or whatever and when he did that go get that putt to Michael Greller. That like hole like doesn't exist anymore. technically. Yeah, they like completely redid it. so we'll see how that works. It I mean, I think Scotty kind of said it the best. He was like, yeah, you can
Dominic: Really?
Chief Wedge Officer: absolutely tell which holes were redone because they look nothing like what the other holes do. so it'll be interesting to see how they play. Rory said, you know, T B D on some of them, and all that sort of stuff. But yeah, it's it's one of my favorite open venues, I think. It's it's a it's a really like thinking man's golf course. You have to hit a ton of great shots. I think it it it's It fits the modern game better than somewhere like the old course does, where they can just overpower the old course a little bit. Like they have the space there for length and to put distance out there and all that sort of stuff. the biggest thing I've seen is a lot of dog legs. So if it if it's gonna be super firm, you're not gonna be able to like carry the corner of a dog leg because it's gonna run into the rough on the other side of it. So that's my quick course take. I'm excited for the open. It's gonna be it's gonna be a good tournament. What do guys got?
Dominic: feel like last week at the Renaissance Club, they the bunkers were really not that much in play as you would think and for a course in Scotland. Like I feel like you didn't see too many people getting super stuck. I feel like it's gonna be way different here. Like they're I was reading it's not It's a different Mackenzie, but he was kind of the like partial redesign guy. Did I read that right? I must I'm remembering wrong. Doesn't matter. The person the person who was putting in those bunkers like purposely puts them in spots where you're going to hit it. So it'll be very interesting to see how people kinda navigate the course this week.
Chief Wedge Officer: No, yeah. They well if you remember, Renaissance Club is a is a fake Lynx course, not a real links course. So no, it's I think yeah, from what from what it seems like, it seems like the I think Michael Kim, if you don't follow him on Twitter, great Twitter follow, on the PJ Tour, he said the b the bunkers are basically a shot penalty.
Kevin Spisak: Mm-hmm.
Dominic: That's fair. That's fair.
Chief Wedge Officer: So you hit it in a fairway bunker, you chip out and you go on from there. So it's gonna be a little bit more penal than I think it was last week.
Dominic: Mm. Just take your medicine kind of deal. Okay. I like that.
Chief Wedge Officer: Yeah, for sure.
Kevin Spisak: Yeah, other than the big clips of Jordan that you see like day in and day out this time of year, like I feel like I don't really remember a ton about Royal Burkdale from the past. Like I I I remember when Patrick Harrington won, you know, being an Irish guy, like I always thought he was pretty cool as a kid, you know, and now I just I don't remember like absolutely, you know, from Like looking at the course, I th and I feel like that's kind of a disconnect of like American golfers versus like European golfers that like you know, I think we focus on the masters so much and we know those holes like in and out and you know, where these calls are these courses are even like more historic and I feel like people would know these even more in and out than we know the Augusta, but you know, I'm I'm interested to see like the redesign like you were talking about if we can pick that up on the broadcast if it's clear you know that certain holes like don't look like they belong.
Chief Wedge Officer: Yeah. And I think like looking at the winners of Royal Burkdale Open Championships, it's kind of a it's kind of like a a a hitters, like a like a who's who of golf, kind of. That that's one. It's not like you get I it seems like with Burkdale, you get you get big time players, right? So I'm gonna read a couple names off of here. Peter Thompson in nineteen fifty four, he was a good good Australian player back in the day. Arnold Palmer, nineteen sixty one, Peter Thompson again in nineteen sixty five, Lee Trevino, Johnny Miller, Tom Watson, Ian Baker Finch, Mark O'Mara, Podrick Harrington, Jordan Speith. one of those names is not like the others. They were all great ball strikers. Jordan Speet was, I guess, in twenty seventeen. So
Dominic: Yeah.
Kevin Spisak: Yeah, Jordan used to be.
Chief Wedge Officer: but it's kind of a hitters lineup.
Dominic: I feel like I feel like that's also looking at the previous winners for the open, I feel like just the open in general kinda brings on some huge names. maybe not Brian Harman so much, but like over the years it's usually one of the top guys that year. but then a note that DJ Pye had mentioned, the last twelve winners are all first time winners. Dating back to Ernie Els in twenty twelve. So yeah, ever since then it was Phil, Rory, Zach Johnson, I won't go through the whole list, but all those guys are their first time winning the open championship. So it's one of those where are you due for a repeat or is it gonna be a another newbie?
Kevin Spisak: Interesting. Looking at the list of former winners, it it seems like there's less like random winners. Like they're they're all like huge names, like you were saying. You know, like we've got like the masters, those like the Danny Willett or Charles Schwarzel years. There there's probably some of those like in this list, but it seems like there's a lot of star power.
Dominic: Mm-hmm. Totally.
Chief Wedge Officer: Yeah. And then my favorite part about Royal Burkdale is so when you think open championship, both of you guys, you think of old historic clubhouses that look really beautiful that are like, you know, from the eighteenth century Scotland, England, Ireland, right?
Dominic: Mm. That classic look.
Chief Wedge Officer: No, this is a big white Miami Vice looking catastrophe of a clubhouse. I would urge you to go look at the Royal Burked Out Clubhouse. It looks like it looks like something out of a nineteen eighties Miami Vice It's so weird. It's one of the weirdest things.
Kevin Spisak: That is
Dominic: Is it really?
Kevin Spisak: it does, yeah.
Dominic: my goodness.
Kevin Spisak: It looks like a Airbnb I stayed in one time.
Dominic: I was gonna say, one of those Airbnbs that nobody actually rents. Dude, that's crazy. And that does not match the area.
Kevin Spisak: Yeah.
Chief Wedge Officer: No.
Kevin Spisak: Some at some angles it looks like a boat.
Chief Wedge Officer: That's right. That's exactly Kevin, that's exactly what the designer was trying to do. He wanted to make look look like a ship in the sea.
Dominic: okay, I get that. With the little stock on top. That's crazy.
Kevin Spisak: I nailed it. Yeah.
Chief Wedge Officer: Yeah.
Kevin Spisak: Yeah. I
Chief Wedge Officer: So just a little fun thing.
Kevin Spisak: I totally knew that, but for the for the content I let you set me up for that. Yeah.
Dominic: That was very nice of you, Kevin. That was that was pretty good. Yeah.
Chief Wedge Officer: But I I I think it's gonna be a good tournament. I think it's going to be with with the way how firm it is, I don't it doesn't look like we're gonna get win. I'm predicting the the winning score at minus ten.
Dominic: Ooh, I like that. Okay.
Kevin Spisak: Minus ten.
Chief Wedge Officer: I just don't think we're gonna get a ton of win this week. That's my that's my that's my open preview. I think it's gonna be a fun tournament. Again, like I said, my favorite week of the year.
Kevin Spisak: Yeah. It the coffee golf is a good point.
Dominic: Matt, what's the what's like a comment score? I love coffee golf. It's so much
Chief Wedge Officer: I feel like common scores for the open are around anywhere between five and twelve, I think when. It it but it's all condition based, right? Like you could get biblical conditions and it could be n it could be banana it could be like even par, or if it's you get seventy five and sunny degrees with barely any wind any day, they're gonna rip apart those golf courses. Like I feel like when I went there I played carnoustie on a day that had no wind and like I was like
Dominic: Mm-hmm.
Chief Wedge Officer: I didn't feel like it was that hard. But I feel like if it was blowing it would be super har
Dominic: Whole new course.
Chief Wedge Officer: Yeah. So
Kevin Spisak: With Royal Burkdale, Jordan won at twelve under. And then in 2008, Patrick Harrington won at three over. So that's a big discrepancy there.
Dominic: Ooh.
Chief Wedge Officer: Yeah. Yeah.
Dominic: Dang.
Chief Wedge Officer: Okay. so Royal Burkdale, like I said, close to London, near Liverpool. I'll let you guys go go whoever answers the quickest gets to pick first, and I'll pick last. What famous band came from Liverpool?
Kevin Spisak: beetles.
Dominic: Who?
Chief Wedge Officer: Kevin got it, the Beatles. All right. I hope I didn't steal your lady.
Kevin Spisak: Ha ha.
Dominic: nice, Kevin. I'm surprised I wasn't like why was that not on the top of my head already? I was like, the who?
Kevin Spisak: I thought you were about to I thought I a hundred percent I thought you were about to say what famous NBA player is a part owner of Liverpool. Yeah. That's where I th that's where I thought you were going, but
Chief Wedge Officer: LeBron James.
Dominic: that would be good. So Kevin first, I'm second.
Chief Wedge Officer: Not too Kevin's first, Dom's second, I'll be third.
Kevin Spisak: Yeah, so what what questions are are we drafting?
Dominic: Okay, beautiful. So as we go through, similar to the Masters when we did that, and then the PJ Championship. So we're gonna go through first round is gonna be best case scenario for a winner. next round is gonna be who's the worst case scenario to win. Third round is gonna be who do you think's gonna miss the cut? And then fourth round is gonna be who's gonna be your dark horse winner. So I don't know if that really entails low official golf ranking, someone who hasn't been playing well, whatever you want to do, roll with it. And then and then we have a couple fun questions.
Chief Wedge Officer: It it it'll be a s it'll be an eye test, Dom. If if if you tell me a name and me and Kevin bark at you for that person, then it then you gotta repick.
Dominic: Okay, I like it.
Kevin Spisak: Can can it could someone who's ranked twenty fifth in the world be a dark horse?
Dominic: I think it depends.
Kevin Spisak: All right. I guess we'll find out.
Chief Wedge Officer: It depends.
Dominic: Yeah. We will find out. All right, so based on trivia, Kevin, who do you have first for your best case scenario to win?
Kevin Spisak: Best case scenario to win. I think you could go in so many directions here. And I think this isn't who I'm necessarily rooting for, but it would be just like electric for the content. I'm I'm scared to even say it, but Matt's boy Wyndham Clark. That would be wild for how for as low as he's went, you know, in the rankings as low as he's gone publicly to win two majors in a year, US Open and the Open, that would be wild. The coverage would be very fun.
Dominic: And this is so strictly for the content is why.
Kevin Spisak: Yeah, I mean I didn't want to be like too cheesy and like pick my favorite golfer. You know, like if if Victor Hoblin won, I would be like ecstatic and I think that would be amazing. you know, but yeah, it I don't know. And and and there's plenty of people I just like like, but I just wanted to poke at Matt a little bit too.
Dominic: Mm. No, I like it. I don't think it's cheesy at all.
Chief Wedge Officer: Kevin That's bad pick. I'm that's all I'm gonna say.
Kevin Spisak: Ha ha ha.
Dominic: man. So I was gonna go against Kevin and just say Patrick Reed. But I'd say best case scenario, Matt, you already mentioned it. I'd say Tommy Fleetwood just for the the home course setup. Grew up right next door, his dad would sneak him on the course. Like that's just a fun storyline. So I think that's kinda best case. And who doesn't like Tommy Fleetwood? You know what I mean? So that that's my choice.
Kevin Spisak: See it.
Chief Wedge Officer: All right. My best case scenario to win. I I had a lot of thoughts on what what would make the best case scenario, right? and I think the pr I think it would be so fun if P Reed absolutely just tortured everybody and just is like pro America, just like running around with a
Kevin Spisak: my god.
Chief Wedge Officer: with an American flag and just yeah, doing the whole thing. I think I think Brandle Shamli's head might explode if P won. I think it would just it would be great for the game. It would it'd be so fun. and I can't I I I I just I I wouldn't get it I wouldn't be able to get enough of it. P Reed the open champion. I think that would be awesome. That's my that's my best case scenario this week.
Dominic: Kevin, how do you feel?
Kevin Spisak: Wow.
Chief Wedge Officer: We me and Kevin I don't know if we're gonna get along when we when we hang
Kevin Spisak: Ha ha.
Dominic: So you'll both pick the the pe the person that you hate the most.
Kevin Spisak: Ha ha.
Chief Wedge Officer: I know. And I think it's out of spike too. 'Cause I had a couple names written here and then once Kevin said Wyndham, I was like ow.
Kevin Spisak: Yeah.
Dominic: Yeah. Yeah. Okay, real quick, just if you have a list, go through it. So I have like honorable mentions. Si Woo Kim would be cool really cool. Ricky Fowler, I don't think anyone would hate. Adam Scott, he's continuing his major streak. And then I just love Akshay. So those would all be very fun to see, but who who d who else did you have on your list?
Chief Wedge Officer: I mean Jordan Spith, obviously, I think if he won it would be a content dream out there. I would love to see like Cam Young pick up a a major. I think it's time for him to win a major, right? things like that, like people that people that we like, I feel like and that probably deserve it, are are kinda on my list.
Kevin Spisak: Mm-hmm.
Dominic: Mm.
Kevin Spisak: Yep.
Dominic: Yeah. Kevin, do you have any extras?
Kevin Spisak: Yeah. I think if if Brooksy came back and won another major, I think that would be pretty fun. He's at World Golf Ranking 118. I feel like, you know, way back when he certainly wasn't my favorite player, but now that he's like working his way, you know, back into the tour and, you know, working hard to get into events, I'm definitely rooting for him again. what's that?
Chief Wedge Officer: He shot five under the first day at the Scottish Open and then shot seventy-six. This is wild. Missed the cut.
Kevin Spisak: Yeah, it's it's a tough look.
Dominic: Ooh.
Kevin Spisak: another one that I think would be fun be like Waquin Neiman after you know his PGA championship stuff, if you know he kind of kept the hot play going, you know, and you know, basically like erased his his blow-up on that one hole, you know, to then redeem himself at the next major. I think that would be fun.
Dominic: yeah. I had I was gonna say any any live guy was gonna be worst case.
Kevin Spisak: Sorry, I meant US Open, not PJ Champion.
Dominic: Alright, so going to the second round, Matt snaking, who do you have for your worst case scenario to win?
Chief Wedge Officer: Yeah. I have Bryson DeChambeau as my worst case scenario to win. I really I think it would be a nightmare if if Bryson wins the open. I think he'd be the most obnoxious guy in the entire world. And it would be I I don't know I don't know if the golf world would overcome.
Dominic: That's fair.
Kevin Spisak: Good pick. Good pick. That is a fantastic pick. Yeah.
Dominic: I agree with that. Yeah. That's a that's a tough one to follow up with. I was gonna say d just any American I think would be bad. For for the pretty much the whole world. Not for me. I mean, hey, the last the last non American was twenty nineteen, Shane Lowry. I think
Kevin Spisak: Wow. Wow. Damn. Damn, Dom. Mr. Mr.
Chief Wedge Officer: Hot cake. Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Kevin Spisak: Texas hates America. Jeez.
Dominic: I'm saying worst case scenario for the world is for any American to win. I guess that does sound kinda bad the more that I talk.
Kevin Spisak: What what do you mean, can Cam Smith won in twenty-two?
Dominic: Cam Smith?
Chief Wedge Officer: Yeah, Australian.
Kevin Spisak: Yeah, yeah.
Dominic: shoot. Alright, well, that doesn't make any sense anymore then. Dang it. Alright, well, for players then,
Kevin Spisak: Yeah.
Dominic: Quick pause, quick pause, quick pause. I thought that'd be a much better idea.
Kevin Spisak: I mean you could I think you can stick with the Americans. Yeah.
Dominic: Mm-hmm.
Chief Wedge Officer: I'm gonna report you.
Dominic: Ha ha ha.
Kevin Spisak: Probably rooting for Belgium.
Dominic: I would love for an American to win, but it'd be bad for everyone else would hate it. So I'm kinda going off of what everyone else thinks. I think it'd be bad for bad for everyone else 'cause they would hate us even more.
Kevin Spisak: Mm, mm.
Dominic: I don't know, Billy Horsel.
Kevin Spisak: Okay.
Chief Wedge Officer: Billy H he's basically a European.
Dominic: All right, Kevin, who do you have for worst case to win?
Kevin Spisak: there's only one answer. Matt had a phenomenal draft pick as well, but that's the second best answer. You know, and it's like you know, in in Moneyball where Brad Pitt's like, you know, going through he's got some rankings and then he's like there's, you know, a mile high pile of crap or whatever he says. And then, you know, that's then Bryson. Number one is clearly Pete Reed would be I can't live with it. I I w I couldn't handle it. I would be so stressed out on Sunday, rooting against him. Rooting for no not necessarily against him, but for everyone else. No matter where he's at. I said, you know, I said during the US Open that I didn't want Wyndham to blow his lead because I don't like when that happens unless it's Patrick Reed.
Dominic: No, say with the chest.
Chief Wedge Officer: You know, Kevin, what's funny is I was gonna send you swing videos of P because he clears his hips so
Dominic: Yeah.
Kevin Spisak: god. I don't want to think about his hips. Good lord. Good lord.
Dominic: You should have you should have. Those hips don't lie. You gotta show
Kevin Spisak: geez. Alright. So, snaking around, who's gonna miss the cut is our next question, right? This is a terrible draft because we've got P Reads on it twice, and now Bryson's on it twice. Because Bryson is gonna get the Bryson slam and miss all four majors in one year, and it's gonna be glorious.
Dominic: Mm-hmm.
Chief Wedge Officer: Ooh. Yeah, I can totally see
Dominic: I love that.
Kevin Spisak: Brace and slam.
Dominic: That was gonna be my pick. That'd be so funny to see that. Like and then will he make another YouTube video going over all of his shots that he missed?
Chief Wedge Officer: I I need to watch that. Everybody says it's a great video.
Dominic: Mm. Yeah, I haven't seen it either. I didn't I thought it was gonna be like when was like Grant left Goodgood or Garrett was explaining some drama with Goodgood and it's just a video of a floating head for twenty minutes of him stumbling through a story and I'm like, I don't wanna listen to De Bryson do that. But if he's going through shot by shot, it actually might be kinda fun.
Chief Wedge Officer: Yeah. gonna try to watch it tonight, see if I can see if I can see what's what it's up what's up with it.
Dominic: Alright, well dang it. I didn't even have a backup because I was so excited to talk about Bryson getting the I like the Bryson slam. That's gotta be coined for sure. missing the cut. Looking through the list. It's a tough choice. It'd be pretty funny. Should I draft Patrick Reed? Make it three for three?
Kevin Spisak: Yeah. He's like too irrelevant.
Dominic: I know I'm trying to I'm trying to
Chief Wedge Officer: He's one of the
Dominic: choose one.
Chief Wedge Officer: best he's one of the top five players in the world.
Kevin Spisak: No he's not. Get out of here.
Dominic: Jury's still out. I'm trying to find one that's
Chief Wedge Officer: He's gonna be on the r
Dominic: like doable.
Chief Wedge Officer: he's gonna be on the right.
Kevin Spisak: What's that?
Chief Wedge Officer: He's gonna be on the Ryder Cup team. You you can't tell me that that Patrick Reed would not do well against like a a Irish crowd that hates If you're gonna have one guy there that I mean you might as well put w P and Windham out together, it would just be like they'd have to have like they'd have to have Secret Service out there walking with them.
Kevin Spisak: And
Dominic: Ha ha ha.
Kevin Spisak: The content would be amazing, but I'm with Dom on rooting against the American in that sense.
Dominic: Yeah. man, I feel like this player has been chosen on every one of these drafts for a miss cut. Gimme John Ron.
Chief Wedge Officer: Yeah. He either Yeah.
Dominic: I I just think it's one of those it's one of those choices. It's just somebody has to choose him. I'll fall on that sword. I don't know. He's just he's su in such a weird spot right
Chief Wedge Officer: Yeah. I got so if you watched the if you watched the the open content today, the open championship, they're pretty good on Twitter, but they they posted this video, it was like watch Jordan Spieth play the fifth hole or something. And he like he like had to re-tee because he like hit one in the shit, and then he hit like an iron shot and completely completely came over the top of it and hooked the shit out of it and into like the bunker and then like took a couple out of the box like bad Jordan Speath is totally missing the cut. Like it's bad. He looks terrible. It was Yeah. If you go it was like other people were tweeting about like why would the open championship even post this like have for how bad he hit the golf ball in that one hole. It's so funny. Jordan Speath is missing the cut.
Kevin Spisak: Yeah.
Dominic: That's not good. can't believe that this is actually happening. I can't believe that you're saying Jordan Speet's gonna miss a cut.
Kevin Spisak: See it.
Chief Wedge Officer: I want him to win, but he's gonna miss the cut.
Dominic: That's fair. That's fair. My draft is so horrible right now. Like John Ron was he tied for second in the PGA championship. I don't know why I'm choosing this cut. Alright, man. Yeah. Who do you have for your dark horse?
Chief Wedge Officer: Yeah, but he basically missed the cut of the masters, but I've got David Pugge as my dark horse. Been playing really, really well on Live, you know, used to playing in Europe, played over there for a long time, plays well on Lynx courses. I I think we're gonna see some good stuff out of David Pugge this week. And he's gonna be inspired by the Spanish soccer team.
Dominic: Okay, okay. Is it puge or is it puy?
Kevin Spisak: Mm.
Chief Wedge Officer: Pweig. I think it's Pee Pweig.
Dominic: Okay, I was thinking like the baseball player. Yeah. Nice. Okay, I like that. I I know you're you're a big fan, I think you even chose him either in one and duns or on the one of the drafts we've had.
Kevin Spisak: Like like y like Yassi Alpweig. Hmm.
Chief Wedge Officer: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. No, I I'm a I'm a I'm a you know, I'm a puger.
Dominic: The pronunciation's gonna gotta change a little bit, but we got it, we got it. Alright, so Dark Horse winner. Well, I was gonna choose Jordan Speith, but I don't know if that's allowed anymore.
Chief Wedge Officer: I don't I wouldn't call it a dark horse.
Dominic: Okay, let me go deep into the trenches here. who would I rather choose here? For the for the fun name too. let me see if I can Michael Thor Bjornsen.
Chief Wedge Officer: Okay.
Dominic: He's he played well in the Genesis Scott Open and that's kinda all I got. Like I've I've seen his name.
Chief Wedge Officer: He played he He was in contention at the players.
Dominic: that's right, that's when I first saw him, 'cause everyone wanted Thor to win. Yeah, but I feel like he's he's usually he's usually close to the top of the leaderboard on Fridays and then on the weekends doesn't really find it. So like maybe he gets it here. He played really well last week. So Dark Horse, gimme Thor.
Chief Wedge Officer: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And then he dumped
Kevin Spisak: Okay, I like it. mine some mine here is where I don't I don't really know if he counts as a dark horse, but he seems just like not a big name, although he's very good. Being top twenty-five in world golf rankings seems like shouldn't be a dark horse, but I'm gonna roll with it anyways. if any of you go on data golf, thank you, Dom, for setting me up with with that you know a number of months ago.
Dominic: All right, finish this off, Kevin.
Kevin Spisak: they do like a course fit rating for so they they look at like like there's a radar plot of how each course you know does you know putting driving distance driving accuracy approach and around the green and Alex Norin says that he'll be getting plus point three strokes gained adjustment because of the course fit for his game. So
Dominic: They do?
Kevin Spisak: He's gonna be my dark horse. And I just feel like he's not a guy who's like in our face all the time. you know, he he's got he's got a good resume, but he's getting older, he's 44. you know, well, it it's seems like he hasn't been playing that well to be like world golf number twenty-five, but he's gonna be my dark horse.
Chief Wedge Officer: Love I'm I love that pick. Super cool guy. I feel like he he's he's awesome and he's always like I think he's like a pres or a rider cup vice captain too. So cool dude.
Kevin Spisak: Yeah. His his last five events cut, T fifty five, cut, cut, and then ninth at the memorial. So the resume is interesting.
Dominic: That'll be fun. Man, I I wanted to shout out Aaron Rye as well. Just 'cause Eng English he plays well in majors, as we've seen, the one time, and I really want him to do well 'cause everyone says he's gonna be a one and done kind of guy. But we'll see.
Kevin Spisak: Right. And that's
Chief Wedge Officer: Ooh. If Aaron Rye wins this year, he's the player of the year.
Dominic: If he wins the the open? absolutely.
Chief Wedge Officer: yeah. He's player of the year. Yeah. And I think he is I think his only top ten has been the win in the majors.
Dominic: I think you're right.
Chief Wedge Officer: Some stupid stat like that. Yeah. That's nuts.
Dominic: That's awesome.
Kevin Spisak: a trivia question that isn't real trivia, like the real one. Who's the last player to win two majors in one season?
Chief Wedge Officer: The last player?
Kevin Spisak: Mm-hmm.
Dominic: Was it Brooks?
Chief Wedge Officer: Scotty. Last year.
Kevin Spisak: Scotty went twice? Am I it yeah, he won okay, gotcha. Yeah. I I was trying trying to think about it in my head, I could not figure it out.
Chief Wedge Officer: Yeah. He won the open and the PBA last year.
Dominic: Mm. We forgot one we forgot one bonus round for our draft. so let's see. Kevin you ended, so you get to go first. Who do you think's gonna have the worst outfit this week?
Chief Wedge Officer: That's right.
Kevin Spisak: That's good question. I think he's gonna go a little too out there. Although although sometimes I do like his outfits, but I gotta go with Mr. JT Justin Thomas. There's gonna be too too much pastel this week. I like I like a little bit, a little sprinkle, but there's gonna be too much.
Dominic: Ooh.
Chief Wedge Officer: A little.
Dominic: Interesting choice there. Okay.
Chief Wedge Officer: That wasn't my pick. I gotta pick someone else now.
Dominic: Dang, that's crazy. So if I would have gone last, I still would have had my pick available. I can't believe y'all didn't choose Victor Hovland.
Chief Wedge Officer: Yeah. Yeah, he does wear some truly awful shit.
Kevin Spisak: Yeah, he does. While I love him.
Dominic: It's in like yeah, I know, you can't hate him, but like there was one picture, it was he was wearing these like striped black and white pants. He looked like a chef on a line. And it was like what?
Chief Wedge Officer: Yeah.
Kevin Spisak: He I I hope my dad's listening. Victor Hovland wears the shirts that my dad sends me on Facebook that are some like crazy ad for like the most like colorful shirt you've ever seen. He's always like, Father's Day a gift idea, Kev. And I'm like, I will not be seeing buying this shirt.
Dominic: I love that. hint hen? Yeah. That will not go on my credit card. Thank you very much.
Kevin Spisak: Yeah.
Dominic: that's awesome.
Chief Wedge Officer: Yeah. I feel like JT usually wears some pretty awful shit at the at the at the open. I'm actually gonna go JJ Spawn. I feel like I feel like Puma always like puts him out in like white like a white jacket when it's raining somehow. And I always I always that always tickles me. 'Cause it's always like he's wearing like white pants and it's like pouring down rain and they're like, Did you just not look at the weather forecast? Like and you can it's it's not that he's like a bad li's just like it's just like the white pants at the open championship don't go together. So I feel like he's gonna wear something stupid.
Dominic: Ha ha. That's fair. There was yeah, there was one tournament where it was a couple of them were like, interesting. That that's your choice there. Okay. Couple honorable mentions too. Tony Fino used to be rough with those like new Nike fits. Like those like random No, but like random I just wanted to say it. So it's like just random patterns. He looks sick now in his Jordan stuff. and I don't even think Brooks is is he playing this week? I don't think
Chief Wedge Officer: Yeah. Is he even in the field?
Kevin Spisak: Yeah.
Chief Wedge Officer: Brooks Kepkas, yeah.
Kevin Spisak: He is, yeah.
Dominic: He is okay. He's very hit or miss these days. Like the the mocknecks at the Masters were dope. And then that like weird pink cotton candy pinstripe was a a choice for sure.
Chief Wedge Officer: Yeah. I've been digging the Hoyguard's sweater vests lately, if you notice them. They wear some cool sweater vests, some old school stuff. Yeah.
Dominic: yeah. Just ripping three hundred forty yards drives with a sweater vest on. Mm hmm. Alright, beautiful. Well that's our draft. let's see. What else do we have to say about Royal Burkdale before we get into trivia?
Chief Wedge Officer: I think the only other thing is we wanted to hit on right, like kind of what we had on before. You're gonna see a ton of low bounce wet low bounce wedges this week. I think that's the biggest, a biggest equipment niche you're gonna see, and a ton of driving irons, right? Doesn't look like sometimes like Taylor Made will put out like a new, you know, one off driving iron this week. Doesn't seem like we're seeing anything like crazy from that. but yeah, I I think You're gonna see the low balance wedges. I think Rose even went back to an old Vokie that he uses every year in the open championship, which is always like a cool equipment nugget from Ro Justin Rose. I think he has like a open championship wedge, which is a cool that's always fun. but yeah, other than that, I think Kevin, I think we have a new titleist mini driver that hit the hit the list today.
Kevin Spisak: Yeah. GTS three hundred looks pretty sweet. it's a little bit bigger than the GTS two eighty, but has the same like face depth and same volume as the Taylor made like R seven quad like their mini driver. so cool new entry. I don't recall that many people like Loving the 280, the GT280. you know, but I I think Taylor Maid kind of won the the initial mini driver craze. but I I'd be very interested to get my hands on one of these GTS 300s, just with how much people are liking the GTS line.
Chief Wedge Officer: Yeah, I think mini drivers maybe aren't the most Scotland friendly like club essentially, but yeah, cool. I think Title is they're just they're trying to get obviously more in that. I mean a lot of pros are going to it, but yeah, we'll see. I I definitely I don't think I've ever hit one. I I really want to hit one.
Kevin Spisak: Mm-hmm.
Chief Wedge Officer: It's on my bucket list for for some of these new golf clubs that are
Kevin Spisak: Yeah. I used to have the Taylor made like burner the second burner that they came out with, mini driver, and I liked it. Like it was it was good, but I don't think I was really any more accurate with it than my normal driver. And so it's just kind of like, what's the point? You know? And and like it's still, you know, it's still hard enough to hit off the deck that again it's like what's the point?
Chief Wedge Officer: Yeah. Yeah.
Dominic: I was about to ask that the off the deck.
Kevin Spisak: some people claim, you know, to love it and think it's like the greatest club, you know, 'cause it's like more versatile. but I that wasn't my experience.
Chief Wedge Officer: James Nicholas swears by it.
Dominic: Who?
Chief Wedge Officer: He's like the golf Are you serio Okay. He's like the Corn Fairy Tour player that's like a YouTuber.
Kevin Spisak: Okay.
Dominic: yeah yeah yeah. I've seen him. I genuinely was ki confused.
Kevin Spisak: Hey.
Chief Wedge Officer: You know, he's in the he's in the open this week. He qualified. Yeah. I was not gonna
Dominic: nice. You should have chosen. So a couple questions for you, Matt. so the the two iron or utility iron that some of these guys are playing, is that strictly for accuracy or is it like do you sometim would you get more loft with the driver or if the driving iron like is it easier to place it and like land it doesn't roll out as much? Like what's the reason for the driving iron?
Chief Wedge Officer: Mm-hmm. Yeah, so like driving irons generally just don't spin as much as like a three wood, right? So like my two iron essentially goes the same distance as my between my three hybrid and my three wood, essentially. but what it's gonna do is it's gonna get on the ground and it's gonna run, right? So it'll stay out of the wind and and all that sort of stuff. And like with an iron, I feel like I can really tee it up in the back of my stance and hit like a stinger. And I think that's what some of these guys do, is essentially hit that stinger ball and it's like over there you wanna keep it out of the wind, you wanna kinda shape it with the hole, and and it it's just easier to do with an iron. So it's always kinda like kind of the the trend to do that, right? In America, we play the ball high and we play it soft. In Scotland you wanna play the ball on the ground. Keep it out of the wind. So
Dominic: Okay. And then follow up about the rough before we get into trivia. So Like last week, I know it's a little bit different course, but like that fescue stuff, is it similar to fescue out here or is it different where it's like it seems like they're eating up these clubs when they're swinging it?
Chief Wedge Officer: Yeah, it's it's it was unlike anything I've ever played. It's it's very I would say it's very hit or miss. Like it can be you can have a lie and you could be like, I this is perfect. I can hit out of this. It's basic like it's so it's almost like chance, it feels like. whereas sometimes you could be in one and you're like, gosh, this is terrible. so I think it kind of depends on where you miss.
Dominic: Yeah. Mm-hmm.
Chief Wedge Officer: I would say with the laun like that fescue, it definitely grabs the hazle and turns the club left a little bit. For the first couple times I was in rough in Scotland, I definitely had to like, okay, aim right of where I'm trying to hit it, because the ball's gonna come out left with no spin. essentially. So it'll like turn over the club face a lot. But it yeah, I would say that was the biggest thing I got from over there is is it's like you can hit it in the rough. It's a 50-50 shot. If you're gonna have a great lie, you're gonna be screwed.
Dominic: That's fair. And actually, I'm remembering Goder up. Anytime he was in the rough, it yanked left. And then I was watching Fitzpatrick on Sunday and he got really lucky. He duck hooked his driver and then he had a great lie. And he was able to get it to the green still. So yeah, okay. I can I can see that. So I'm assuming it's pretty similar with like Burkdale. Most likely.
Chief Wedge Officer: Yeah, I think so. It seems like yeah, it i they l kinda let nature do it. I think when it's actually the open, they like let it grow a little bit more, essentially. but like I think like Shinnikok fescue it was way thicker than what this stuff is.
Dominic: Gotcha. Okay, cool. Nice. All right, Kevin, take us into trivia.
Kevin Spisak: one more piece of one more piece of equipment news that it looks like Bryson's gonna be testing out some new irons this week. They appear to be some like 3D printed irons and he's going back to steel shafts. He'd been playing the LA golf graphite shafts for a million years. and now he's got some steel in there. It I couldn't tell what brand these are that he's playing, but I it looks like they have got like the curved face, like the vota's
Dominic: boy.
Kevin Spisak: And they're potentially like 3D printed, so yeah, we'll have to learn more this week, but
Dominic: Ooh.
Chief Wedge Officer: That's it's awesome. He's testing out new irons for f Thursday and Friday. He'll test them out in Dallas when he misses the cuts Saturday and Sunday.
Kevin Spisak: Yeah. Yep. Completing
Dominic: Sho shout out shout out our boy Dane, friend of the pod. We'll have to get him on soon. Maybe you can talk about the the irons that he's creating.
Kevin Spisak: the Bryson slam. Yeah. Alright, so trivia. I'm terrified as usual. You know, I I try to find a question that's like doable, but not super easy, and it's always super easy for Matt. I end up just chugging a beer every week. But let's try this again. So Royal Burkdale has hosted, I believe, 10 opens in the past. And Nineteen seventy six was a big one. Johnny Miller came out and shot a final round sixty-six to win by six. But tied for second was Jack Nicholas and this player, who the trivia question is around. So don't quick Google it. But this player was nineteen years old and led he was tied for the lead in on Thursday or on sorry, Wednesday, the first round. second round was Thursday. He was solo lead. Friday was the third round, solo lead. And then he shot a seventy-four the last day. Who was the player who was the runner up with Jack in nineteen seventy six to Johnny Miller?
Chief Wedge Officer: And he was nineteen years old. Tom, I'll let you go first. This is this is a tough one. This is a great question, but it's a
Dominic: Nineteen seventy six and he was a youngin'. I feel like I just have like a few guesses for this era.
Kevin Spisak: No Ernie Els did not play this time of year. Lee Trevino, is that your guess? Alright, alright, alright.
Dominic: Lee Ravino? That'll be my guess. Lock it in. The nineteen years old is throwing me off. Cause I'm pretty sure he was well established at this point.
Chief Wedge Officer: That's tough. Nineteen seventy six, nineteen, and that is fifty years from now. No, that wouldn't make sense. He's not seventy.
Dominic: I know I had a guess for fifty hole fifth go for it. That's what I was gonna say, 'cause he he fifty four hole king.
Chief Wedge Officer: Yeah, I'm good Greg Norman.
Kevin Spisak: Alright, thank God. We got through a week. We got through a week. Sevi by a steros.
Chief Wedge Officer: Mm-hmm.
Dominic: Ha ha ha.
Chief Wedge Officer: Okay, my other guest god the great I hate su
Kevin Spisak: Yeah. He was nineteen, runner up, after leading for three rounds. Sevy by Asteros.
Dominic: Dang dude.
Chief Wedge Officer: Mm.
Dominic: Poor guy. That's a good question.
Chief Wedge Officer: I guess Greg Greg Norman is about seventy though, isn't he?
Dominic: That's what I was wondering. I like, Is this gonna be my Ernie L's pick if I say Greg Norman right now?
Kevin Spisak: I feel like Greg Norman was more of a player in the nineties, right? He is he's two years o two years older than Sevi, so that that that would have been a good guess.
Dominic: Yeah. 'Cause I remember there's a story
Chief Wedge Officer: Yeah. He's seventy one. So yeah, that would it he could've it
Dominic: Okay. So what it works.
Chief Wedge Officer: would've that that was where I was trying to I was trying to think like, all right, who's up and coming, you know, basically at nineteen. I was between Greg Norman and Colin Mutt.
Dominic: Ooh, that's a poll. I have a I have a quick question for you. What so that's Royal Burkdale is the course name. Do you know what it takes to become royal for these courses?
Chief Wedge Officer: Yeah.
Kevin Spisak: Nice.
Chief Wedge Officer: I believe, Kevin, correct me if I'm wrong. I just played Royal Aberdeen and I believe it's if you if the qu if s the queen has visited or they believe it's of royal stature or something. Is that right? Let me see.
Dominic: Mm. Yeah, there there's a few ways. You can submit a formal application and then if there is a member of the royal family that is actually a member, that's a that's an easy one. and then the there's one that says strict criteria. The club must prove it is an institution of eminence, highly established and financially secure. must also be devoted to quote national, charitable and scientific objects, rather than just being a recreational facility. So I wonder which one Royal Burkdale is.
Kevin Spisak: The heck does that mean?
Dominic: You know, they do weird things over the pond. We have no idea.
Chief Wedge Officer: Interesting.
Kevin Spisak: Yeah.
Chief Wedge Officer: Mm.
Dominic: Alright, beautiful. Should we get into one of those?
Chief Wedge Officer: Do it.
Kevin Spisak: Yeah.
Dominic: This is big. This is big. It's a this is the last major of the year. And I believe we did not say doubles for the playoffs, right? This is the last chance for a double point score. Alright, beautiful. So before we get into the our choices, let's recap last week. So the Genesis Scottish Open. we had a guest on, Brendan. Gimme Golf Club Captain, friend of the pod. Go back and listen if you haven't yet.
Chief Wedge Officer: Yeah.
Dominic: He had selected Marco Penge. And that is our first miscut for our guest selection. Which it's a very high bar that Kenny set whenever he was tied for third. But Marco Penge ended up at 76. So that brings our guest total to 79. So Matt had Alex Fitzpatrick, Kevin had Tyrrell Hatton, and I had brother. Matt Fitzpatrick. So Alex finished at 109, missed the cut, unfortunately. And that officially brings Matt over a thousand points on the year. 1,085 for old Chief Wedge Officer. Kevin had 17 with Tyrell Hatton. That brings him to 647. And then old Dommy Pooh with Matt Fitzpatrick, T3, gained a little bit more ground after that. horrible incident with the US Open a few weeks ago. So, with that being said, final chance for double points, final major of the year. Matt, who do you have for the Open Championship?
Chief Wedge Officer: Dom, I have given up on winning.
Kevin Spisak: Ha ha.
Dominic: Now
Chief Wedge Officer: Going big.
Dominic: Ooh, okay.
Chief Wedge Officer: Give me Jordan Speith. Jordan Speith, baby. He missed the cuts in my in my picks, but he wins this. I'm double I'm I'm I'm hedging my bet.
Kevin Spisak: Ha ha.
Dominic: I actually kinda love that. Now that you choose him, he's not he's gonna make your draft pick gonna be perfect. It's gonna be great.
Chief Wedge Officer: I'm either gonna do really well in one.
Dominic: I like it. Okay. Okay. Okay, Kevin, who do you have?
Kevin Spisak: too. That would be very fun. Matt, you were on a great run there with a couple 20s in a row, and then Alex Fitzpa Fitzpatrick brought you right back. you know, I'm the only one without a win. You know, you guys each have a win. And yet, you know, I'm still over 400 points less than that. But anywho, I'm gonna go with Lord Sketchers, Matthew Fitzpatrick. Haven't used him yet this year.
Chief Wedge Officer: Yeah. Good pick.
Kevin Spisak: think he'll play well third last week at the Scottish he he's playing well.
Dominic: That's great pick. I'm actually I'm impressed that you haven't chosen this this year yet. So you're the last person to choose him.
Kevin Spisak: Yeah. Yeah, I think Matt pointed out very early on my Tommy Fleawood pick was not good and I didn't save him for later. So then I I kinda made it a point to save Matt Fitzpatrick.
Dominic: Which it'd actually be very cool if he was a top five because when Matt chose Fitzpatrick, he won. And then when I chose him last week he was three. So that'd be dope if he gets a win here. That'd be very cool for the for the under the covers boys. All right. Mine's an easy pick. I've been saving him for a while. I should have used one of these I was gonna use Scotty Aurory for the US Open and I went for a fun pick and I was so stupid.
Chief Wedge Officer: Right.
Dominic: So give me Rory.
Chief Wedge Officer: Hmm, hate that thing.
Kevin Spisak: Ha ha ha.
Dominic: Then I'm good.
Chief Wedge Officer: Yeah.
Dominic: As Rory says, I'm bad at golf, so I'm choosing him. He did a similar thing with the Masters. He he took off a tournament and went and played. I think they said he had one round rather than four, like he did with Augusta, but I think he's preparing for it. He's been saving up and I I think he's gonna give me top twenty Rory.
Chief Wedge Officer: Like Yeah.
Kevin Spisak: Yeah, I can see that. I think that's a that's a good defense pick.
Chief Wedge Officer: Yeah, all you need is top twenty, that makes sense. He doesn't need to
Dominic: Yeah. Mhm. Yeah, which I should have done a month ago.
Chief Wedge Officer: Yeah. Dom doesn't go out on any limbs. That's the thing. That's he's not he's not built like us, Kevin.
Kevin Spisak: Mm-hmm. Except for P Reed.
Dominic: Yeah. The one limb I went on it s slapped me in the face, so I'm never doing that again.
Kevin Spisak: Ha ha ha Never.
Chief Wedge Officer: That's good stuff.
Dominic: No, say it.
Chief Wedge Officer: No, I you know what? I you know what, I you know, i I understand the plain defense. Look, you like to lay up, you like to you know, all that's good. It's okay.
Kevin Spisak: Ha ha.
Dominic: You dirty dog. Hey man, I'll take it.
Chief Wedge Officer: I did you guys see to to close up, the Open is prepared to move tea times on Sunday morning in case England make it into the World Cup final?
Dominic: That's awesome. I did not know that.
Chief Wedge Officer: Yeah. So it right, England plays we're filming this on Tuesday. If England wins on Wednesday, they'll play at s Sunday, I think at like seven PM local time in England. The game will start. So like one PM here. Is the World Cup final on Sunday. And so what they're worried about is like a mass exodus basically as the players are finishing.
Dominic: okay. Yeah.
Chief Wedge Officer: For people to get home to go watch the England game. So they're they're prepared to make the tea time start in the morning so they finish by like two or three in the afternoon so they don't get like a mass exodus on Sunday afternoon at the open, which I think is freaking sick.
Dominic: That's wild. Would they triple up tea times like they did after the rain delay last week? Probably.
Kevin Spisak: Yeah.
Chief Wedge Officer: I don't think they'll triple it up. I think they would just start early. So Sunday morning might be the leaders might go off at five AM our time if they're something stupid like that. Yeah.
Dominic: Okay. Dang dude. That'd be that'd be good for coffee golf. We get to miss everyone else, but you get to see the leaders.
Chief Wedge Officer: For sure. Yeah.
Dominic: Nice. All right. Anything else, guys?
Kevin Spisak: Thanks so.
Dominic: Beautiful. Alright. The Open Championship. It's here. Last major. It's gonna be fun. thanks for listening. I think it's gonna be a very exciting week. A lot of content's gonna be gonna be had. We'll see what happens on Wednesday with the the World Cup game. But follow us on our socials, Spotify, Apple, YouTube at Under the Covers Golf. Let's see what happens this week. See ya.
Chief Wedge Officer: Shout out Brian Bros for not making the cut.