Matt Considine (00:01.432) Welcome to the Bag Drop, Untold Stories in Golf. I'm your host, Matt Kostin, here with our beloved co-host, the professor, Slotcha. Good morning, professor. The Professor (00:11.438) I was jamming out to some Sturgill Simpson this morning, so I'm in a nice vibey, vibey move today. You don't know who Sturgill Simpson is? I'm offended. Matt Considine (00:17.416) I have no idea who that is, Sturgill Simpson. No. He sounds like the founder of a 1890s golf club though, Sturgill. The Professor (00:27.214) It's us. Sergio Simpson, a true country artist. got, I believe, six albums under his name, Sergio Simpson. Just phenomenal, phenomenal art. Matt Considine (00:34.382) OK, all right. My. Matt Considine (00:41.736) We don't listen to much country. I don't know how this happened, but my five-year-old Nora is always coming home from daycare and putting on her, she calls them her cowboy boots. They're just boots, but she calls them her cowboy boots. And she wants to hear these boots were made for walking, which is a bad-ass, you know, empowerment jam. But then she's like gotten into other country songs. Like she's requesting country. I like, where is this coming from? She must have like a teacher or something that puts on country at school. The Professor (00:54.434) Yeah. The Professor (00:58.904) Good for The Professor (01:07.074) Ooh. Who are our artists? What is she going with? Let's see if they're Sturgill Simpson approved or not. Matt Considine (01:12.112) well... Yeah, I couldn't even tell you to be honest. I'm trying to think of you would recognize them for sure The Professor (01:21.464) We're talking like Zach Brian sort of stuff. Matt Considine (01:24.432) I'm so bad. It's not my forte. Fun one today. It'll probably be one of our shorter episodes. We're getting back into the swing of things, obviously, in 2026. We're getting into the golf season here soon. Hey, I can see grass today in Northern Ohio. Yeah, I can see grass today. So that's a nice sign. But last week we did an episode about... The Professor (01:26.094) Not your forte. The Professor (01:40.206) Close. Ooh. Okay. Matt Considine (01:49.358) what the professor and I missed and what you might've missed listener of the golf news during the winter months, kind of the doldrums of winter when we all unplug a little bit, which is healthy, but there was some eventful stuff we talked about that occurred on many fronts in the golf world. as we were doing that, we talked again and we're like, I just want to get excited for the season. just want to, what are the things we miss? What are the things we really miss about golf season? It's not. Watching it on TV. Yeah, that's a component. It's not you Getting all the the updates from the golf world. It's it's our golf and and what we missed so we thought the professor and I would kind of fire each other up here talk about the golf season ahead and What we miss about it what we're looking forward to about it. There was one thing though We missed last week for sure because it was unfolding while we were talking and I have to bring this up because he's right a generational talent that The Professor (02:27.096) Mm-hmm. Matt Considine (02:47.854) We both competed with not well, but we were in similar events. Anthony Kim wins on live in Adelaide. What did you take of all that? We haven't talked about. The Professor (02:58.862) I mean, it's more evidence that the world is just a simulation. It's just, you know, there's someone at the levers just turning things. Cause that was, I mean, impressive, right? Was it, think I saw final round, where did Adelaide maybe was where they were at. Final round 63, I think, you know, shot, I don't know, seven under in the back nine or whatever it was. Birdie five out of the last six, something along those lines. Um, just, yeah, what an insane, like insane talent. Matt Considine (03:02.608) It has to be, right? Matt Considine (03:11.514) Yeah, Adelaide. Matt Considine (03:20.452) Yeah, nine under. The Professor (03:26.424) Tell you what, there's deep dive stories, someone to do on that in terms of the whole potential insurance policy issues, all of that. Let's that go long, long enough. Live comes knocking at the door, obviously with enough financial incentive to bypass any insurance policy or any issues there. And to come out and get your competitive game back, I mean, it's just so hard to compete against the best of the world. The margins are so small. you become so dull when you're not sharpening your iron against them to just jump back into it and within a year go out and compete and be, I mean, and people can argue the field's not great, sure, but it's still a lot of great players out there, right? It might not be the best field in the world, but it's a darn good field. And if you beat everybody in that field, you are one of the top 0.1 % golfers in the world. So just insane skill. Matt Considine (04:17.464) Well, I mean, just who? Yeah, like we like to to keep live honest, I think from our perspective of what the field really is, right? The bottom half is not as strong as what you're going to see on the Cone Ferry tour in some cases. And I think, though, about what took place and I haven't watched it yet. I do want to go just see some highlights at least or watch. You know, I saw some clips on social. But I mean, the guys playing with Bryson and and Rob. The Professor (04:29.347) Yeah, not even The Professor (04:46.538) Mm-hmm. To the best of our generation. Matt Considine (04:47.268) two of the most popular and the best of generation toe to toe after more than a decade of no reps, of not doing it, of being in a dark, dark place. That is wild. That's wild to me. mean, who can't put yourself in that position? Just imagine you had the game to play and then you're playing with Bryson and Ram and you win by three. Like the mental fortitude there is significant. I know there's... The Professor (05:11.544) Think of the. Matt Considine (05:16.08) the golf media or big golf media, not, you know, chuckleheads like us. I saw some dichotomy between, you know, do we celebrate this as this incredible triumph or do like, do we have to? We don't think we have to, you know, this is, it's, live, it's different. It's like, but I love two things. I love characters, people that are interesting, that are flawed. And, and I love redemption. I love. personal growth and I, and I, don't like, hear his interviews and sometimes I come on man, but totally. But those two things like he was, we have firsthand accounts of some of our friends who, who, you know, partied with them, went out with them. And we know that he is a character, for sure. And, and you can't argue that that was a hard place to come back from. And anyone that's had friends that battled addiction and stuff, it's, it is brutal. The Professor (05:48.648) it's yeah, it's dialed up to cheesy. The Professor (05:59.08) yeah. The Professor (06:09.774) That's right. Matt Considine (06:13.046) It is dark. And so I don't know, man. I couldn't believe it. I'm sure most of the golf world couldn't. And it's kind of a wild thing and cool thing for 2026. The Professor (06:22.286) Yeah, I think two things can be simultaneously true. Like a lot of his stuff was self-inflicted, right? And we can be apathetic to the mental states that lead to that. So it's not a like, oh, you overcome adversity other people put on you. So that's not, that's not felt like that. Also, like the comparisons to Ben Hogan and his situation are just ridiculous. So like, sorry, Liv, announcers, we know what you were doing there. At the same time, we can acknowledge to your point, Matt, like how impressive that is to dig yourself out of your own hole and be gone for 10 years, not be competitive. Think how nervous we get if me and you were playing in a match when we go to the 18th hole tide and it's a tight drive, how nervous we get in a no risk situation, right? like, like in just an everyday Sunday game with your buzz, you get nervous and he stood up there after everything he's been through, had to dig himself out of, I'm sure all the self doubt, all the self struggles. Matt Considine (07:06.031) Right. The Professor (07:19.724) And then face down two of the best of our generation and not crumble in those, you know, we see how many pros for three to five years and they never took any time off, just crumble over and over until they learned to win. And he steps up and just does it, which I think just speaks again to what a generational talent he is in terms of his skillset. And, know, there's a different world in which, you know, he's probably our generation's Rory Mack. Matt Considine (07:40.388) Yeah. Matt Considine (07:47.087) Hmm. The Professor (07:47.211) Like Rory is not Rory and AK is instead that individual that picked off, you know, all these majors, wins the Grand Slam, know, Ryder Cup phenom, all he's, there's a different role in which that's the case because there's no doubt he has a talent and he showed the ability to put it back together. And I'm excited to see where he goes from here. Because again, like to your point, I like characters, like narratives. You know, I love watching Patrick Reed. Yeah, don't don't love Patrick obviously, like I've been I'm sure on this record in the pod of like, that's not good for the game of golf. That's not good for role models and all that. But he is good for the sport and entertainment of PGA Tour golf. He's just Matt Considine (08:23.886) You know, it's funny you bring him up because I was thinking this, you know, reading about this comeback and his triumphant. There's definitely this confidence required, obviously. I mean, we skipped over the embarrassment side of his re-entry and how bad he played. I, Kevin, I saw him live in Nashville, actually, my one live attendance. And it was bad. mean, I would be lied if I said I didn't look at him out there and think I could. The Professor (08:39.852) please. Matt Considine (08:53.796) definitely beat this guy in a foot race, but I'm pretty sure I can beat him in 54 holes. Like this is bad. And so there was embarrassment there. mean, even though you took that time away, he had, but where I was going with your Patrick Creek comment is I've always felt that golfers, good golfers, the best of the best, there is a irrational belief and confidence. And sometimes it borders on psychosis, like sociopathic, but so it's like. The Professor (08:57.55) Mm-hmm. The Professor (09:19.598) 100 % Matt Considine (09:21.876) And I've met some of those, I know you have too, and I think some of the best golfers in the world have possessed that. the thing, so going toe to toe and believing in yourself and doing that, I respect that no matter how you generate it. But the thing that I don't yet see with him and I wonder, and maybe it's come out and I just haven't paid attention, is, and I've read a lot about Bobby Jones, one of the things I love so much about his personal journey and triumph, because he had plenty of his own struggles, mental health before it was really talked about and such is that his humility caught up with his self-belief and his Confidence and I think that's such a beautiful thing and I admire that more than anything is when somebody has that Incredible belief in confidence will go toe-to-toe with the best in the world, but then still remain humble You know the Arnold Palmer comes to mind and and many others Roger Federer The Professor (09:54.616) Mm-hmm. The Professor (10:12.992) I mean, Roger Federer, Roger Federer, like he had no business winning as many majors as he did in terms of his personality and not being psychotic, right? Like he did not have the same blind confidence that everybody else that typically achieves what he achieved. Like he had self doubt, you know, was very humble and had huge humility and all of his losses. Matt Considine (10:37.04) Well, we could talk. is, it wasn't intended to, but that's a big headline. And now let's get. The Professor (10:41.826) Yeah, mean, and kudos applause to Anthony Kim. Seriously, like to accomplish that no matter where you've been. That's just you just have to look at that and applaud and say, you know, kudos to you dig yourself out and get back to playing at that level. Matt Considine (10:56.656) Absolutely. Any fact for us, professor, outside of the golf world perhaps, or in. The Professor (11:02.656) I do kind of a just a fact that just a shout out to all the different Chinese students that I get unfortunate to work with. have a math education is big in China and we're fortunate to have lots of grad students that come in as well as several faculty and several of my graduate students that I've loved to work with have been Chinese. So just shout out to the year of the fire horse, right? We're here and we're just you know a couple weeks ago was the Chinese New Year, the Lunar New Year. Just to read a little bit about Matt Considine (11:30.16) I don't know Sterling Simpson and I definitely don't know a fire horse. What the heck's a fire horse? The Professor (11:34.359) So you've got your, so for those not familiar, the Chinese lunar new year or Chinese new year began on February 17th, so a couple of weeks ago upon release of this. Every year is some sort of animal creature being that is symbolizing the year and obviously just has meanings for what this year is going to bring. So just in terms of what that means to be the year of the fire horse, the fire horse symbolizes energy, independence and rapid. forward moving changes known for being sociable, intelligent and confident. Horses are quick witted but can be vain and patient and get bored easily. This year is predicated to be a time for bold action, risk taking and significant personal growth. For all of our listeners out there, remember that. Year personal growth, no. Let's make it that. That's right. Matt Considine (12:14.5) year of the fire horse. Matt Considine (12:19.376) taking a risk, know? Quit that job. Leave that loser spouse, you know? The Professor (12:27.008) We'll think about the lead, leave the country, right? Those we all. Matt Considine (12:31.588) Don't, yeah, leave the country. Yeah, maybe. Or make some changes to your golf bag setup. I got a fact for you, professor. I was with a friend of ours who, employee of the golf equipment industry and big stats guy. We were just talking about different things and just, you know, products. And I'll ask you in your style, what do you think? The Professor (12:40.597) Matt Considine (13:00.548) Is the equipment purchase by units? That not dollars but by units that sells the most in q1 january february and march what what would you say is the most units? Year, yeah. Yeah consistently year your year of year The Professor (13:11.414) Like year by year by year, like what sells Q1. A set of irons I assume counts as one unit. Matt Considine (13:19.744) We got, yeah, we counted that as one, correct, yeah. Actually, no, I don't, I don't have the, I don't know, I'll have to go back to them, but. The Professor (13:22.592) Yeah, I think that's it. And you got to count that as one. Because I because I just see yeah like if that but then if something's beating irons, right that says something because every time you buy an iron that's more than Yeah, that's I would man the fact you asked that Like my gut would have been driver, but I I'm gonna go I'm gonna go new wedge season just new Matt Considine (13:33.956) That's 14 to one, right. Yeah, I doubt it's going to beat irons, but. Matt Considine (13:51.995) So trust your gut, because it's driver. And I thought that was wild just based on, I know, what is that? It's so true, right? So the driver consistently by number of units, right? And I think he had metal woods as a unit and like we said, irons, but drivers by a pretty substantial market. It actually makes sense why, you know, is it chicken or egg? Is it the release cycles of all the companies that are dropping off every year? The Professor (13:55.499) His driver, yeah, we're so addicted to the driver right now. So addicted. The Professor (14:05.784) Yeah. Matt Considine (14:21.572) Or is it us and our egos in the distance and that what, drivers speak for status. And so, and so as, as much as I absolutely adore my title is GT driver, which I probably should be talking about right now, based on what people will go out and buy. I now feel like it's my duty to resist that trend or reset that trend because if my, if my last couple of years taught me anything, it's that the wedges. The Professor (14:24.352) And they are tapping into that. Matt Considine (14:51.074) are truly the scoring clubs and you need to invest in your wedges every year. If, mean, you don't have to every year, the companies wouldn't recommend that or the engineers don't either, but maybe if you're playing a hundred plus rounds, but if you do invest in your wedges, they give back. And so the SM 11s have all these, any customized detail you want. The Professor (14:53.442) Mm-hmm. The Professor (15:07.054) Or you're in the bunkers a lot. Those sandblasted faces. Matt Considine (15:19.076) to get you dialed in for your wedges. But they're really focusing on those three components in the new updated designs, which is cleaner contact, controlled flight, and the right amount of spin. But man, I heard that and I was talking to him, I said, where do wedges typically fall on that? It goes wedges, putters, or I'm sorry, it goes drivers, wedges, putters, my gosh, drivers one, putters two, wedges three is what he said. The Professor (15:42.786) I would say putters too, because everybody's, I've got the solution this year, right? Everybody thinks that with the putter. I'm going to go buy that new putter and it's going to make. Matt Considine (15:47.864) Yeah. I've contributed to that putter trend, but it's usually just a rotation of my same five that I've been going back to now for a while. but yeah, invest in your wages folks. can't encourage that enough. And the SM 11s are hell of a club to invest in. the, the CG changed slightly. Some of the grinds are updated, but the same Vokey trusted stuff is there. The Professor (16:08.878) Mm-hmm. The Professor (16:13.69) I like my new one so much. I've had dreams about them recently. Actually, I was practicing and playing with them. Just like again, I think I mentioned last episode, their turf interaction, something about them, and they're just clicking for me. And my distance control is back. You know, if I'm at 80, 90, 100 yards, just every ball is coming out in the same window, landing within a yard or two of my intended carry distance and confidence levels way back through the roof on on which games. Matt Considine (16:16.747) Ooh. Matt Considine (16:35.716) That's the guy I know. That's the guy I know. I can't wait to see that. All right, without further ado, let's get on to what we miss about the golf season and what we're looking forward to ahead. Do you want to start us off? I want you to us off. The Professor (16:50.286) I'm happy to start us off. mean, my first one is an easy one because it's the same reason that we record this podcast, know, listeners might think we record it for them. But obviously, we'd record it for ourselves and have a catch up every week to talk about golf and then offline, you know, talk about life and what's going on with family, business, professional world, all that. Man, I miss I missed the walks with the crew. Just, you know, being out there having that time to connect, catch up. You know, there's something about golf, right? You spend that four to five hours with each other at least once a week and you just, you spend so much more time talking, vibing, connecting, being present, than you can catch up on, you know, over a dinner or anything like that. So just really, really miss the time with the crew every morning and, you know, being on the first tee at 8 a.m. and seeing other guys walking up and just knowing what you have forward with you. That just, yeah, I miss that feeling. Matt Considine (17:44.496) How important is the walk? Let's say that the crew is advocating for, there's a lot of hills in Georgia, so you're going to one of those tracks that isn't walkable. Do you have that same excitement? The Professor (17:59.661) Ooh, I mean, if I'm being honest, I have to be honest and no, I don't have the same excitement. I'm to be clear, super excited, pumped. But I definitely for me, walking golf around with other walkers, I find more connection with the whole group than a cart round where yes, I'm going to connect with the person I'm in the cart with. But you're just moving in and out of conversation so much in those situations where everybody's walking. Matt Considine (18:07.246) Yeah, yeah, you still are. The Professor (18:27.246) You just have so much more, you four to five and we're fortunate to able to play five sums at Athens Country Club. So we can have conversation amongst five of us spanning from the time we leave the tee box or get to the tee box all the way up, you know, through that hole, you're able to converse as a group and that's special. So I'll take either over none, but give me the walking rounds overall if I have to choose. Matt Considine (18:44.719) Yep. Yeah Matt Considine (18:52.496) I get a lot of family members that are just so curious about my obsession with walking and my wife even, she doesn't fully understand it all the time. And what you say about connecting with the whole group and that is relevant. But one thing to help my wife realize this is that in our neighborhood, there's a lot of women or wives, spouses, just adult women who go on walks. And you see them as twos and threes going on walks. They're probably talking to each other and saying, know, hey, when I get home from work and want to go for a walk and they talk and they do that. Guys, you know, we're in the age of equality and there's nothing a woman can't do that a man does or a man can't do that a woman does, maybe childbirth. there's definitely some chemistry at work that's say, and for whatever reason, guys just can't text a buddy and be like, hey man, you want to go for a walk? The Professor (19:50.958) Yeah. Matt Considine (19:51.352) And I see, I see this with my dearest friends who are now fairly obsessed with golf and, it's not for all the complex reasons mine is, but I think this has a main thing to do with it. It's like, I can just go for a walk with my buddy and, and, know, play whatever version of my game of golf, but it opens this door to conversation, without, know, feeling weird about it. The Professor (20:22.037) I think there is totally something about that. I've always been amused, know, friends with a lot of people younger than me. And I'll never forget, I'll leave them nameless by texting them one time like, hey, we're playing golf on, you know, Saturday. Do you want to go grab breakfast, you know, beforehand at 7 a.m. or whatever? And he's young in his 20s. He's like, that's weird. And then I think it is like golf is one of our entries. Like we just lag behind women in so many different ways in terms of our maturity. Matt Considine (20:47.888) That's so true. Maturity. Yeah, yeah. Well, The Professor (20:49.742) We're like, yeah, going on a walk with guys. like we should be like, obviously then by the time we're 60, 70, we go to breakfast every day as a group of guys. But when you're 20s, you're like, you're like, man, me you go into breakfast, man. That's weird, man. We would know. I'll see you on the first tee. Matt Considine (20:57.221) all the time with your crew. That's so true. You just nailed it. Matt Considine (21:04.58) That is so wild that you talk about maturity and how women are just more mature, because you're right. Like what groups of men do you see eating breakfast and going for walks? They're usually like in their eighties, you know? The Professor (21:08.545) Yeah. The Professor (21:15.266) Yeah, and they miss out. We missed out all that time in our 20s, 30s, 40s to be doing that. Matt Considine (21:18.544) Well, thank God we have golf, because at least it gives us that excuse to do it. there's also something about maybe those younger years about also needing to feel productive. And one way to do that is feel challenged. so golf being so hard, I think that's another excuse for us to have the current stage. like, well, yeah, but I'm... Yeah, I'm not just talking with my bros on a walk. Like I'm, also trying to carry this bunker at 290 and I'm trying to, you know, get better at my six footers and I'm trying to make birdies out here. The Professor (21:54.871) Yeah, there's probably something to that. Matt Considine (21:56.592) All right, mine is during these doldrums of winter, which has been brutal in Northern Ohio this year, just, I can't remember even in my childhood, a streak of such cold. Like we had basically four weeks in a row through, five weeks in a row through January and February that were around the zero mark windchill and. You when it's that, you can't even get outside for that long. I got kids, so can't really like bundle them up in a way that's safe for their, you know, little digits and whatnot. it, when I was in Chicago, I used to always pride myself on just being out in that cold and wearing, you know, the ski mask or whatever. And I kind of enjoyed that challenge, but now it's like you can't. And what I notice in those winter months is that waking up is tougher. The Professor (22:52.398) Mm. Matt Considine (22:52.624) I think this is probably a big reason that a lot of people retire and move down south is just, there's something about a little bit more ease and getting your day started when, you know, there's not frigid temps hitting you in the face on the way out. So I noticed in the winter, I'm more tempted to hit the snooze. I, I'm more, it's just a little bit more of a struggle to get rolling. What I miss most about the golf season is not just that warm weather, but The Professor (23:10.648) Mm-hmm. Matt Considine (23:22.512) Cause even if you got to wake up for work and it's 90 degrees out, it's still waking up for work. And sometimes I struggle to get going, right? I, everybody probably relates to that, but how about the change when there's an early morning tea time? I could, I talk about this with my wife too. I could have very little hours of sleep. Let's call it two hours of sleep. The kids are sick, coughing and the The Professor (23:36.011) yeah. The Professor (23:48.59) Yeah, they got you up at 2 a.m. to 4 a.m. Matt Considine (23:51.364) I could have two hours of sleep. If I have a 6.30 AM tea time and my alarm is set for five, I jump out of bed. I know, I jump out of bed. And my wife sees the pep in my step. She sees how I move with purpose. The Professor (23:59.715) You might be up at 455. The Professor (24:06.35) How mad does that make her? That's what I want to know. How mad does she get? You'll do that for a tea time, but everything else you're hitting snooze. Matt Considine (24:12.4) Uhhh... Matt Considine (24:17.194) Yeah, it probably doesn't sit great. Although I mean, I'm carrying the bulk of our daycare drop off. So she doesn't even have to deal with it. the she deals with plenty of others as a nurse, but I definitely miss that. And I'm looking forward to it, right? I'm just having the earlier weekend tea time, which is kind of my world these days. And it's just such a lift, right? I feel like The Professor (24:19.543) you Matt Considine (24:43.864) instead of getting hit by the bus, I feel like I could lift the bus. And it's such a wild thing. I think it's, is it adrenaline? Is it anticipation of the challenge or maybe the connection that you're talking about? Like what do you think that phenomenon is? The Professor (24:46.561) Mm-hmm. The Professor (24:59.67) Yeah, there's got to be some sort of endorphin release that's occurring because of the anticipation in the body getting hyped up for something that's excited about. I there's got to be something behind that versus waking up on a cold day with, you know, nothing. Well, we say nothing to look forward to. think that just speaks to having a mission and what you're doing and how important that is. And golf can serve that purpose. You know, a shared round with buddies in the morning gives you a mission for that day that you're excited to partake in and get something from. Matt Considine (25:28.016) Yeah, yeah, wow. We could analyze it much deeper. I was gonna maybe attempt to tie it to the flight of the ball. I actually think there is this metaphysical thing that occurs when you send, the motion of your body is sending this object into the air and when you see the flight of the ball, I almost think that that first tee shot for me is like the buildup of that. The Professor (25:37.454) Mmm. The Professor (25:57.09) Mm-hmm. Matt Considine (25:57.464) and then it kind of tapers throughout the round. yeah, I don't know. I don't know. I'd love to have a psychologist, physicist, analyze that for us. The Professor (26:10.58) Yeah, so just tell us all golfers are pretty messed up in the head. Maybe what the conclusion would be. Matt Considine (26:15.44) Totally, totally. What's your next one? What else do miss about the golf season? The Professor (26:20.494) kind of flip a little bit opposite of the you the first ones about connecting with the crew those walks on the opposite of that just afternoon evening decompressions being able to just if it's one hole if it's three holes if it's six holes if it's nine holes just you know pulling out of work and saying hey I'm gonna take a couple hours to just stop at a golf course and walk to the first tee and just peg it and go I've always found that to be very refreshing to just be out there on your own and evening nine holes with the sun setting. Matt Considine (26:51.374) What is your time? Like what time do you, when you're doing the decompression round, however many holes, what time are you typically getting a peg in the ground? The Professor (27:00.974) I love if the daylight allows it. I love a 430. Just put it in, know, play getting around Athens and nine holes as a single ball. You can honestly get around in an hour and 10 minutes pretty easily, especially if I'm putting some forward T's. Sometimes I'll just walk off to the closest T box and play a couple of the fours is drivable. And that you you end and you walk off and it's like OK quick shower, go home, know, cook up dinner. And so between 4.30 and 7.30, you've got nine holes in, you've spent some time with the wife, cooked up a meal, ate, all that, like that run. It's just such a great way to wind down the day. Matt Considine (27:42.448) What's the opposite of decompression? Just compression? So my 430 to 830 is that. It's just a compression chamber of, have you ever seen like Jurassic Park, the one where, I can't remember the big movie star, he's the tamer of raptors. And he's got the three raptors around him and he's trying to like, that's how I feel. The Professor (27:47.384) Sure, yeah. Matt Considine (28:10.99) But between 430 and 730. So I miss so much that golden hour. I so, so do. That was my childhood. mean, 90 % of the golf I played growing up was in that window of time. know life is stages. I can't wait to get back to it. I hope like you, you obviously don't take this for granted, but I hope everybody listening like use that time. That is such a valuable time to get out and go play. I miss it. Terribly. It's just not in the cards right now for me, but I will get back to it My though as I say that I do have this next one this was I moved back to Ohio three years ago and this was probably a not something I thought I was going to Get into and I've been very grateful that I have and that is playing in my uncle Mike's Monday night The Professor (29:05.955) Mm. Matt Considine (29:07.434) Old man beer league on a nine hole golf course that stretches to 3,300 yards. the, the public course at firestone nine or the firestone nine at firestone country club, publicly accessible, beautiful, land finally have some details on who built it. The reason there was no listed architect is because really there wasn't professor. mean, there was, but not a certified architect. It is. The Professor (29:12.834) What's the venue? The Professor (29:17.088) lovely. Matt Considine (29:35.696) Uh, uh, you're going to recognize this name. Maybe I'm blocking on his other name, but maybe, uh, uh, was part of the superintendent crew for the country club. And he laid it out with Don Padgett senior who was a PGA professional legend. And these guys, I mean, I, it's, it's more interesting than the 52 other 54 other greens across the street. I'll just say that. But anyways, I don't bring it up because of the course. The Professor (29:48.938) No kidding. He's legend. The Professor (30:00.559) I think that's right. Matt Considine (30:05.488) I bring it up because, you know, so much in golf and in life, we think we know what we want and that's what we need. But we ended up, we always end up getting what we need from golf, I think. And this is a great example. you know, getting my ass kicked by my uncle's buddy wearing, who's wearing blue jeans and a t-shirt at a 25 handicap in a nine hole match is what I need, you know. The Professor (30:32.564) Used to no chance in that match. Just by the description alone, no chance. Matt Considine (30:35.492) Well, no, I'll fight. I'll get some of them, but I just, it shows you how broad this game is. And it reminds me to be appreciative of everybody's experience in the game. so like personally, I really take a lot of joy in that. The other thing I discovered in it, cause playing the same nine hole golf course, even though I find it very intriguing and a very interesting walk, you need like things to keep your interest, I think for the year, because you play it every single Monday night. There was even a window of time and I had to go talk to the agronomy team about this, where the pins were the exact same every Monday night, whatever rotation they were on. So I was like, boys, come on, how many other leagues you got here? If everybody's playing the same pins, we got a problem. And they did, they adjusted it. They totally got it. But I created a birdie challenge for myself. The Professor (31:23.043) Mm-hmm. Matt Considine (31:29.968) This shout out to the NLU guys. think DJ Pajowski was the first one to turn me into it. And the funny part was I ripped through. So I'm a scratch golfer still and I ripped through the first birdie challenge fairly quickly. Like before the first half of the season, all nine birdies. There's two par threes, which is always the tricky part. Some short fours though. That once I did that, I said, okay, I'm going to do it again. But what about an eagle challenge? Could I eagle? This is a 30. Now keep in mind. The Professor (31:30.055) Okay. Yeah, love the birdie challenge. The Professor (31:56.718) Hmm? Matt Considine (31:59.6) The longest trees are T's are I think it's not even 3300. It's like just over 3000 yards. So it's not Long, it's a par 35 with the 33.9 rating slope of 109. So like my par is usually 33 and and uh I did the the nine of nine pretty quickly. Um I went around to do it again and I couldn't birdie the final par three. So I never got the second The Professor (32:06.52) Okay. Matt Considine (32:28.42) birdie around, which was cool. But the eagle thing was kind of a joke at first. And my partner who's a member of New Club, Jake Holland, he would always joke about the birdie challenge. like, nah, you need an eagle challenge. And so I finally said, yeah, eagle challenge. But then it started to happen. You have a chance chippin' here. The hardest par four I hold out from 120 yards. So it's like, all right, we got that one now. And it became very real. The Professor (32:29.835) Uh-huh. The Professor (32:54.776) Mm-hmm. Matt Considine (32:57.42) And so with the two par threes, cause I didn't make an ace, I eagled six of nine holes throughout the year. that's cool. like, you if you have a home course that you play, I can't encourage this enough. It's fun to keep track of. It doesn't make you focus on score either. You kind of have that chance. It adds a little bit of pressure cause you know you're coming up to the hole that you haven't birdied. The Professor (33:04.181) Okay. The Professor (33:15.576) Mm-hmm. Matt Considine (33:22.432) And it's like, all right, I got to put something close to give myself a chance. And then you miss it. You're like, all right, I got to wait another week. But I really liked that game. It's kind of a cool portion of it. The Professor (33:32.438) Yeah, yeah, again, shout out to NLU because the birdie challenge is something I do every year and yeah, yeah, and follow at ACC and just track it just because it gives that especially as you wind down the year. And you know, you've got that tough four or whatever and you've only got so many shots at it. It's kind of fun you get that like 10 to 15 footer in November and you're like, well, if I don't make this now, this might not happen. Matt Considine (33:36.396) Do you? Okay, I didn't know that. Matt Considine (33:53.976) Is there a, I'm just thinking of a regulation 18 hole golf course like Athens. Could you do a Eagle challenge with like four holes or five holes or something? The Professor (34:03.566) Yeah, you definitely there do the par par fives are all reachable. I do that long term like I have a record of what holes I've eagled my whole life there. Yeah, kind of the best your best 18 right? Like what's my best 18 at my home course? Sort of thing? Yeah, anything that anything that keeps a little excitement. Matt Considine (34:13.783) do you keep that too? need to, it's, yeah. Matt Considine (34:20.846) I like that. There was a, what's also cool about that challenge where I play it, again, 3000 yard par 35, lot of drivable-ish par fours for me, but with wind necessary. And what's so cool of a whole year, I mean, these guys are diehards, Kevin. They will play in anything, anything. Mostly cart guys, but I don't care. The Professor (34:36.492) Hmm. The Professor (34:45.741) Mm-hmm. Matt Considine (34:49.954) ride in and die to get out and play. The wind in the spring is opposite to the wind in the fall. That's probably obvious to most people, but like those are my windows for some of these holes and I have to get going on. And so when it, when it happened with number eight, the wind, number eight is downhill par four that is into the wind most of the year, but then in the fall it's down. The Professor (34:56.941) per. The Professor (35:01.219) Yeah. Matt Considine (35:12.77) And so I was getting right up next to the green. had all these makeable chips that I just had to make. I couldn't get it on the green, never hit the green. There's water just in front too. So it's like kind of a tricky, you got to miss right. But anyways, I lift one out and I haven't thrown a club in years. And this club just launched in the air. Cause I lift out a chip to get my final eagle on this hole. Anyways, I love, I love that stuff. All right. You're getting me fired up. Obviously this show is working for me. getting me ready for the golf season. What's your third and final? The Professor (35:45.999) My third and final is just the idea of process. So with golf season coming along, like just having a process of that that's working on the game or just like, okay, building out the schedule. So making sure to do the right fitness things and also playing enough sort of just getting into that normal scene where you're that normalcy where you have a routine and a clip going about where it just helps builds the day. Right. I know what certain Saturdays are going to be like. I'm off at eight and then I'm to work out afterwards. And then going to hang out and have lunch with the guys and then go, you know, see Claire for the afternoon and just getting back into sort of a routine and a process around everything. I love it. just makes the days, unfortunately makes them fly by because then it's like, you know what you're doing every day and all of a sudden it's like, well, they're just went 13, 14 hours this Saturday. Just felt like I just woke up. So Matt Considine (36:32.72) You're generally a routine guy outside of golf too, right? The Professor (36:39.182) Yeah, like with my professor's job, routine's a weird word because I leave a lot of my mornings unstructured. So I try to keep nothing on my schedule from 7 a.m. till noon or 1. No meetings or anything like that. And I don't time block like some people do. Like, I'm going to write for these two hours. I just wake up. I'm like, OK, what am I working on the day? So I have a routine in the sense I know what the day looks like, but I don't know what I'm working on. Matt Considine (37:00.142) Okay. Yeah, it's structured in that. And where I was going with that question is like, does your process, so you have that routine, you know, built in around the golf season, which is, it sounds awesome by the way. I am loving the description of what you shared. I got to get in. Is there, is there an apprenticeship at UGA I can jump on? but, but, uh, my question is on like, The Professor (37:16.276) I definitely yeah, I know I'm sure several things several things I'm bringing up. You're probably just fuming inside and I know it. My my no kid life and the the dink life we live. Matt Considine (37:32.324) does your process change throughout this season? I mean, all golfers can relate to getting a little bored with certain things, whether it be the range or, I don't know. Like does that routine or the process within that routine change throughout the year? The Professor (37:48.023) Yeah, certainly. You know, there's years getting competitive, right? And there I'm much more structured, structured with practice time. What am I working on? When I'm going to work on it now. We've talked before on several episodes, you know, we haven't been living that role lately, me and you in terms of like diehard competitive. So I've been much more unstructured recently. It's just, okay, these five hours going to be dedicated to golf today. And maybe I hit balls, maybe I just play and then go. play an extra nine or something like that. So right now, unstructured in terms of I'm not really working on improvement and gonna be really critical on myself about what do I need to do to improve. But I certainly know, okay, I'm gonna go spend this amount of time at the course today and just eat it up the whole time I'm there and just flow through and do the things I wanna do. Right now that means playing if I'm gonna be there. So not really focusing on the range as much as I used to. Matt Considine (38:38.554) Will Claire play more this year in 2026? The Professor (38:41.422) Probably not. She's working at 10-year push. She wants to play more, but she does too much in the best way. She teaches fitness classes and takes on a lot. She a good friend circle, wants to do the X, Y, and Z, works hard at work. So while the 10-year push is going on, I don't expect her to pick up the game that much. She'll go and hit balls with me in the summer and mess around that way. I expect in about five years from now, we're going to be. Matt Considine (38:51.29) Takes on a lot, yeah. Matt Considine (39:06.373) Dad. The Professor (39:09.314) talking about her pushing for the club championship or something like that. Matt Considine (39:12.174) Yeah. I, I, I, I I think our future, my wife does adore golf. She doesn't play it right now, but I think I look forward to that kind of routine in a way of those evening rounds with, you know, your partner. got, what a cool thing that can be. I do have a question cause you brought up performance and I'll squeeze this in. Cause even though I can see grass right now, we're not going to be playing for quite a while. So, simulators are a. The Professor (39:27.306) Yeah. Matt Considine (39:41.732) bigger part of my life than yours, I imagine. And I'll just shout them out. Ohio Golf Club, this place for our Northeast Ohio members, you guys on New Club, you guys are gonna see this place soon and we're gonna do something with, there are very few premium performance, we're talking 10 track men bays, the best turf like. The Professor (39:44.907) Mm-hmm. Matt Considine (40:08.207) I now, this is how nerdy I've become. I can tell a considerable difference in turf. And I asked him about this and he goes, yeah, let's go down those, so I went down this rabbit hole of like what you can do now underneath the turf, the timing of how you replace the turf, how the turf you stand on is slightly different than what you hit. And then blah, blah, blah. It is fascinating, but it's all meant to prevent injury and better simulate golf. So I was like, I was loving that. But here's my question. The Professor (40:14.094) Hmm. The Professor (40:27.97) Okay. Matt Considine (40:37.858) I haven't done a combine. So this is track man specific, no, no free ads, but I guess we'll, I wanted to ask you about the, this is I'm tapping into your golf blueprint brain here now. The combine to me, I haven't done one since 2019 and my count still has it up. So was fun to do again. I did it one last week. and for those that don't know, it's about what to 70 golf shots, the, the Arges change and it's about your. The Professor (40:40.824) Yeah. The Professor (40:50.114) Mm-hmm. The Professor (41:05.217) Mm-hmm. Matt Considine (41:06.064) dispersion and accuracy and all the stats that go into trying to hit, you know, the the shot that they're calling, you to hit a little bit of pig in a way, right but but with your with yourself and you get a rating but I I was doing this and for me, I think it adds a layer of focus But also competition with myself and and a little bit of pressure even you know, and so The Professor (41:14.114) Mm-hmm. Yeah, very much pig. Matt Considine (41:34.544) I vaguely remember you when you were doing all your research and you were working with some of the tour pros that you were almost critical of the combine. Should I be cautious of designing? Because frankly, it spits out a ton of data on what my strengths and weaknesses are. And now I was going to kind of take the hour I have a week to game plan around that. Is that a mistake or would you say that's good? The Professor (42:01.794) think it'd be good to have Dr. Daris back on at some point too, because you know, him and I have had long conversations about this. I mean, just starting here, the fact you're doing it, anybody doing it, you've got something that's, you know, competition oriented, that's being intentional, that's better than nothing, like to be clear, right? That's, it's not rocket science on how to get better, you know, find, find something intentional, where you're having some sort of feedback being given to you, something you can try to beat week in week out, and that's, you know, getting you there and as long as you're enjoying it too, and enjoying that. push, you're going to get better. So then a day, if you're doing Trackman Combine, awesome, keep doing it. Work hard at it, gives you really good feedback. Now in terms of nuances, a little bit more variation and switching clubs between every shot, simulating more of a golf round in the way you're moving through shots. Hit a driver, then go to seven iron and so on. Just having a better simulated round, working a little bit more creativity into it. I think better simulates how you're going to do actually under the gun and under pressure than the combine is going to do for you. But the combine is a good middle ground between how people typically hit the range versus what you're actually doing when you're on the golf course competing. It gets you kind of halfway there. Matt Considine (43:19.066) Thank you. That's interesting. I don't know if anyone else out there is, you know, doing those, but it, I did it on the tail end of a hit and balls and I haven't had balls in ages and I was pretty tired. Like that was the other thing is kind of the endurance level of, of like a real round of golf. You're making a lot of swings and you're not going to be the same guy on 13 as you were on one. but yeah, your, your, your insight there is, is helpful. I just gotta get doctored up for. The Professor (43:32.675) Yeah. The Professor (43:41.07) Mm-hmm. Matt Considine (43:47.448) My next golf blueprint is what it sounds like with, we'll get Dr. Doris back on. I'll use my site, all my woes and insecurities. I did, I get my last one. No, I just totally derailed us talking about trackman combine as well. The Professor (43:50.926) That's right. The Professor (43:59.214) You did not. I mean, you, you, you got to the Ohio golf. mean, you sent me those flurry of texts the other day. was like, okay, we there's something cooking there. Matt Considine (44:08.93) It's cool. I love, there's so much in the indoor space now with the proliferation of simulators and there's just the demand for golf, but I really respect the facilities that lead with passion and it's still about playing the game, if that makes sense, the outdoor game and supporting that. The Professor (44:33.997) Mm-hmm. Matt Considine (44:38.192) Hey, like having a top golf in places that you can have some chicken wings and beers and hit balls is awesome too. I'm not saying there's not a place to that, but I just really respect the places that devote themselves to supporting that. And they're just one of those places. It was cool, cool find and great new facility. My last one, I'll just keep it short. I miss my backyard swings. So just being able to step out from the desk. The Professor (44:51.224) Mm-hmm. The Professor (45:01.207) Mm. Matt Considine (45:04.666) for a few minutes and make what I call backyard swings, which are totally free. You there's no worry about the water hazard or the bunker. It's usually either a phantom swings, no ball, or the little foam ones that you buy. And the only thing it's gonna hit is my house and it ain't gonna break anything. And so I just love that. If the kids are around, they're running around, I'm trying not to hit anybody in the face. The Professor (45:21.966) I love the foam ones. Matt Considine (45:34.208) sometimes they have their own clubs now too, but I just really love even, and this is what's so fascinating about golf to me is there's this really basic instinctual human thing to a stick and ball game. And I'm doing some research as you well know right now on the earliest golf, clubs and, and organizers. And it's just so. The Professor (45:52.014) Mm-hmm. Matt Considine (46:02.784) Evident that even before golf was golf Human beings have picked up sticks and hit balls and so I just sometimes You know get a little bit And we can all relate to this when you can't get to the golf course You almost get depressed you almost get a little bit upset at yourself that you didn't make time I would remind people that you know hitting a stick and ball game in any way The Professor (46:22.957) Yeah. Matt Considine (46:31.866) go take a Whiffleball bat and it might not have the same feeling for you if you're a devoted golfer. to me, is golf. And just the feeling of having the weight of a club in my hand and making that swing and sending a little object or not sometimes into that sky as I talked about, make it fly, that's therapeutic for me. And so I miss it. The Professor (46:58.114) Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Matt Considine (47:01.9) I also live in a house where you can't swing a golf club. So that might be my tragic error for these winners. It's a very nice farmhouse style. don't know what you call these. Anyway, so low ceilings, you can't swing a golf club. I did investigate raising the roof of my garage. No bueno, very structurally unsafe, I've been told by the architects. So I had a very short lived architecture career. The Professor (47:21.454) Ha! Matt Considine (47:30.84) with my, my drawing, but, yeah, getting outside and swing the club, man. That's, that's really at its core. What, what, I'm going to look forward to. The Professor (47:40.354) Nice. Matt Considine (47:41.744) Well, this was great. Professor, thank you for the chat. listeners, thank you for being with us. hope some of that got you excited for the golf season ahead. If you're a member of new club, you definitely should be excited. Chicago, Atlanta, and Northeast Ohio starting June 1st, they're all firing on all cylinders. got so much coming down the hopper, our director of golf and his team have been busting their booties to make sure that we have a ton of golf to look forward to. And the people to play it with. love a lot of your points, professor, we're about who you're out there with. That is truly a massive component of why I think we're all so obsessed with this game. New Club, we put that right in its heart, right at the core of everything we do. Our partners at Titleist support us, the Bag Drop podcast, along with New Club Golf Society. I'm gonna say it again, invest in your wedges. The SM11s are out now. You can get all the benefits of their customizations and what you need specifically for your game, but check them out now at Titleist.com. We'll catch you on the next one.