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Everyone tells you golf is an individual game. Zach Healy and Jack Larkin Jr. are quietly proving how much better it gets when it isn't.
The two former University of Georgia golfers — roommates for all five years, four-ball partners ever since — join Matt and The Professor to talk about the format that's given them a second golf life: USGA Four-Ball. They've made a habit of tearing up the amateur scene, and this year they finished T2 in stroke play and came a single shot shy of the championship's single-round record with a 63.
What the conversation dives into:
- Why the best four-ball teams aren't the perfect ones — and how one early bogey stopped mattering
- The 63 in the Arizona desert: six birdies in the first eight holes, cocktails in hand, trading who could one-up the other
- The unglamorous re-navigation back into competitive golf after college, and why you have to be willing to shoot 80 in a qualifier to get sharp again
- Getting smarter as you get older: swapping a 15-year putter for a "spaceship," and checking the ego at the door
- Gamesmanship inside the ropes — walking fast, talking a lot, and where the line actually is
- Jack Larkin Sr., the family blueprint for playing high-level golf at 65, and who wins when three Larkins tee it up
Connect with our guests
Zach Healy — 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/z_jhealy | 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zachary-healy/
Jack Larkin — 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jlarkin_uga | 💼 https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-larkin-b738a4126/
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Connect with Matt & The Professor
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📚 Dr. Kevin Moore ("The Professor") — 🐦 X/Twitter: https://x.com/kevcmoore | 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kevcmoore | 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-moore-177b30b3/
Chapters:
00:00 One season, one complaint — doormen, summer, and the Midwest golf report
05:30 Meet Zach & Jack: how the Professor first crossed paths with the Georgia team
06:08 The Professor's teach: which clubs have hosted the U.S. Amateur most
09:16 Partner spotlight: Titleist, the GTS, and matching your ball
10:41 How do you actually qualify for the USGA Four-Ball?
12:35 Why the best teams aren't perfect
13:31 Steady Eddie vs. the EKG machine: how partners complement each other
17:00 The 63: six birdies in eight holes and a run at the record
19:45 Birdie juice — transfusions, screwdrivers, and desert superstitions
22:49 How they met, and five years as roommates
25:19 Walking into UGA and realizing you're not the best guy anymore
30:32 What makes a great teammate
34:29 Zach's shot at pro golf, and the pay-phone moment he hung it up
39:44 Jack the working man, and the hard road back to competitive golf
45:00 Getting smarter with age: efficiency, ego, and the spaceship putter
52:24 Jack Larkin Sr. and the family blueprint for golf longevity
56:08 Course selection, home-site traps, and football-weekend regrets
1:01:00 Match play, momentum, and a two-down-with-two-to-go comeback
1:04:30 Gamesmanship: walk fast, talk a lot, never cross the line
1:09:00 Why team golf makes the whole thing more fun
What is The Bag Drop?
The Bag Drop features weekly stories from the culture, community and characters shaping golf today. Produced by NewClub Golf Society, each episode blends authenticity and expert insights for passionate golfers at all levels. Special guests from clubs, courses and every corner of the changing landscape join us for thoughtful, in‑depth discussions on all things golf.
What is NewClub?
Founded in 2017, NewClub is the premier private golf society in the United States. It blends the community and access of a private club with the variety and affordability of public golf. Members enjoy thousands of reserved tee times, competitions and events at exceptional partner courses across our local chapters, as well as signature trips and exclusive perks. NewClub is revolutionizing golf membership, making the game more meaningful for those who love it.
Creators and Guests
Host
Matt Considine
Founder of NewClub and our resident feel player. Matt’s junior golf career led him to the University of Akron where he met our co-host. During his junior year, Matt Studied abroad in Ireland and discovered golf societies. Subsequent trips to Scotland fed his passion for the history, ideals, and culture of accessible, affordable, and sustainable golf, a concept he would later bring to the U.S. with NewClub. Known for his interviewing style, quick wit, and compelling storytelling, Matt brings thoughtful, reflective conversations to The Bag Drop. His professional journey before NewClub included multiple leadership positions in growth-stage startups, where he managed teams responsible for more than $250 million in revenue. Matt actively gives back to the game as a Board Member of the First Tee of Akron and past chair of the Evans Scholar Foundation. Proudly based in his hometown of Akron, Ohio, Matt finds inspiration in family life with his wife, their three children, and their golf dog, Gypsy.
Host
The Professor
NewClub's Chief Ambassador and every golf sicko's favorite educator. Kevin is a thoughtful and deeply curious host. His studied, constructivist approach adds intellectual enrichment and balance to the show. As a professor of Math Education at the University of Georgia, Kevin's background in applied mathematics and cognitive psychology uniquely informs his insights on golf strategy and performance. Originally from Ohio, Kevin was a Division I collegiate golfer at the University of Akron, where his passion for understanding mathematical thinking began. After earning his doctorate from Arizona State University, he combined his analytical expertise with his love for golf by co-founding Golf Blueprint, an organization aimed at helping golfers optimize their games through data-driven strategies. Kevin enjoys balancing deep philosophical discussions with simple pleasures, such as indulging his sweet tooth, cheering on college football, and spending relaxed evenings with his friends, his wife, and their beloved dog, Nole.
What is The Bag Drop: Untold Stories in Golf?
Weekly stories from the communities and characters shaping the game. The Bag Drop blends thoughtful, honest perspectives of Matt Considine (Founder of NewClub) and Dr. Kevin Moore ("The Professor") with expert insights for passionate golfers at every level. Produced by NewClub and supported by our members, each episode welcomes guests from clubs, courses, and the lesser-known corners of the golf world for thoughtful discussions on all things golf and life.
Founded in 2017, NewClub is the first of its kind golf society in the United States; blending the community and access of a private club with the variety and affordability more typical of public golf. Members enjoy thousands of reserved tee times, competitions, and events at exceptional partner courses across our local chapters, along with signature trips and exclusive perks. NewClub is on a mission to revolutionize golf membership, making the game more meaningful for everyone who loves it.
Listen, rate, review, and subscribe to The Bag Drop:
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-bag-drop-untold-stories-in-golf/id1430328006
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Website: https://www.newclub.golf
Matt Considine (00:04.042)
Welcome to the Bag Drop, Untold Stories in Golf. I'm your host, Matt Considine, here with my co-host, the Professor Dr. Moore. How are you this morning, buddy?
The Professor (00:12.814)
doing great. Settled into the heat of summer. you know, ever since I moved from Ohio I always said I can't complain about the heat, so I'm not gonna complain about and just embrace it. Love sweating, love the fact in December I don't have to worry about snow, and I will take the ninety degrees and humidity over that every day.
Matt Considine (00:30.527)
I had a doorman when I lived in Chicago named Calvin, just a legend of the doorman industry. He gave, you know, six hundred tenants in a high-rise building. He said, You only get one season. And he would write down what your season was. And what he meant was, I don't want to hear you complaining about summer if winter is your season to complain. I'll only hear excuse like the complaints on the weather.
on one season, one season only. I loved that. It was just it was so cool. It's he'd catch you, he'd look, he'd go, no, I don't want to hear it. Ninety five degrees, I don't wanna hear You're a winter guy.
The Professor (01:04.7)
You know, I've never been fancy enough to have a doorman at my my residence. Is that the the equivalent to the country club locker room? Is it the equivalent to the locker room attendant at a country club? Just this like character that just makes your life better, right? Their presence. It just brings ups the quality.
Matt Considine (01:10.451)
It's it's not what you think. No.
Matt Considine (01:18.578)
i i d the opposite. Like it's it's like having a a a a homeroom mother or something to make sure you stay out of trouble. I mean, everywhere had doormans in Chicago. But you know, it's been a while. It's been a while since the technology, all these AI things. I don't know. I hope the doorman union is holding on strong in Chi Town because it was it's a nice little perk of of life there.
The Professor (01:41.798)
I feel like when you're walking through some of these other major metropolitan areas, they've now gone to like the virtual doorman where they've got that screen at the entrance and it's just someone sitting in this very black mirror type s broom, right? Just like feel like they've been locked there for eight hours and the door's not gonna unlock until they've welcomed in so many, you know, residents. kinda weird.
Matt Considine (01:49.673)
Yes.
Matt Considine (02:03.751)
Yeah, I don't like it. I I'm not a fan. I don't want the robots, you know, those Russian robots I've seen online that are doing dances and falling over. I I don't want that. I just I just want Calvin listening to my complaints about the heat. Yeah, man, summer. We're we're blessed up here in the Midwest, baby. It is golf season. We've had a few a few rainy days, but the course is needed. Our superintendents were happy. but things are gosh, I I can't I'm trying to think of a June that's been this good for for golf. It's been awesome up here.
The Professor (02:34.235)
I'll tell you what, I'm super excited about today's episode. You're you're actually the one going in blind. You know, typically you're the one who knows knows the people, that's done all the research. we got a little role reversal on this one.
Matt Considine (02:45.008)
I a little bit, but I I done, you know, some digging. I'm I'm selfishly gonna be looking to figure out how I can be a better four ball partner on today's episode. Cause, you know, if you're wondering like, man, why wh why am I not getting over the hump? Why am I not getting maybe you are the problem. Maybe it's me as it's not my teammate selection. It hasn't been my recruitment. What can I do to be a better four ball partner? That's what I want out of today's episode.
The Professor (02:52.183)
Yeah.
The Professor (03:08.003)
I mean I know one answer. Don't invite a bunch of friends down for the Texas Georgia weekend and proceed to stay out late Thursday, Friday, Saturday night way too l I I would say that's rule number one. I learned that lesson this last time. And so selfishly, yeah, that's a big reason to bring these guys on. Like what do I need to do better team it? I'm surprised y I'm surprised you even showed up with me that Monday after you after I picked you up Sunday.
Matt Considine (03:30.489)
you know th moving on. well t tell us who who are joining us today on this episode, right?
The Professor (03:34.395)
Well,
The Professor (03:39.912)
So we got Zach Healy and Jack Larkin Jr., two former University of Georgia golfers that'll be joining us today. I actually had the pleasure of meeting Jack. This is back when I I was playing decently better golf than I do today. You know, I'd done pretty well and been doing some analytics for myself. And Nick Cassini, you know, I played with him and he's like, you should reach out to the team and see if they need any help.
And Jack was the first one that I got linked up with and really became an advocate for me, you know, and got me in front of Hacker and Duggar. And so I sporked out with the team a little bit, helped them out with some stuff. And then I got to meet fortunately Zach through that. I don't know if Zach will remember. Maybe, you know, when it comes on the episode, we could I could ask him about this. Zach actually gave me one of the best short game lessons I've ever had in my life. You know, I was in the weeds, going from the bent stuff up north to Bermuda down here in the south. And I heard about this legend, Zach Healy at short game, and he gave me like a twenty minute lesson one time, and I still
use several of the things that he gave me with that and it's helped me get over my sort of Bermuda yips and now I now a strength of the game. So got to meet them through that. you know, Zach went and played a little bit professionally for a little bit, came back to the AM life. Jack was sort of my read of it was maybe he'll confirm this was a little bit in the weeds post-college golf. Just sort of got, you know, just the college game just wasn't as sharp and as good as you wanted. You know, kind of
Matt Considine (04:41.593)
It's
The Professor (04:59.249)
Helped out with the team as a graduate assistant coach for a little bit, then got back after the game and now they've both been just tearing up the amateur scene. You know, US amateur appearances, four ball appearances, almost set the four ball stroke play record one round. They're just tearing it up. You're gonna see their names all over the Min AM lists, I'm sure, in the next twenty years probably. Wouldn't be shocked to see a couple of USGA championships in their closets by the end of their tenure.
Matt Considine (05:22.444)
It's one of the highlights of what we get to do on this show, but something that you're just I think you've been exceptionally good at. And I remember a coach telling me, if you want to get good at something, it you gotta really consider who you surround yourself with and who you're learning from and who you're watching. Go find somebody who does it really well and pick their brain. And I think, you know, in the as it relates to amateur golf, four ball golf, it's it's definitely having the balance, right?
The Professor (05:35.847)
Yeah.
The Professor (05:41.724)
That's right.
Matt Considine (05:50.106)
supporting the family, doing what you gotta do, and then still having the edge, still having the ability to get out and play well when it counts. So yeah, this is a this is gonna be a fun one today. I'm looking forward to it. What do you have on the schedule for teaching us, Professor? What get us started with a quick teach.
The Professor (06:08.391)
So got inspired by a friend and listener of the pod and my normal 8 a.m. four-ball partner myself, Will Divers. He asks, you know, this is relative to the majors going on, who's hosting the most. But since we got AMs on the episode today, I wanna go with the US amateur. So this year's Marion, right? Amazing place. Would love to get to play there someday. it'll be their seventh seventh time hosting it. that'll be a record. So no club has hosted it seven times.
Eight clubs including Marion, so s eight Marion plus seven others have hosted it four or more times. Can you name them? So you got seven clubs other than Marion that have hosted the USAM four or more times.
Matt Considine (06:50.538)
I'll go with some of the old school ones, right? I'll I'll throw out Newport.
The Professor (06:54.383)
Newport has not. There i there are two old school ones up there. I'll give you that. And that's recent too. So old school and NewClub school. Oakmont ha Oakmont Oakmont's done six. No. Pioneers, not a US big USM poster. Oakmont's had six. Shinney, nope.
Matt Considine (07:01.547)
Oakmont.
Matt Considine (07:07.064)
Pinehurst, number two.
Matt Considine (07:12.988)
Shinnok? I'm I'm butchering this.
The Professor (07:17.529)
You do have some US open courses up there.
Matt Considine (07:20.855)
Okay.
Pebble.
The Professor (07:24.657)
Pebble, Pebble in at five, most recent two thousand eighteen.
Matt Considine (07:28.407)
So I got two of the four, huh?
The Professor (07:30.279)
You got Oakmont and Pebble.
Matt Considine (07:31.992)
let's go with God Oak Hill.
The Professor (07:38.042)
No Oakill.
Matt Considine (07:39.928)
Man. you just give it to us. I I I'm I'm off my game today.
The Professor (07:42.3)
I'm gonna leave you hanging. All right. So we go. So another US Open frequenter at the country club, right? They've hoted in as recent as 2013. So old school and NewClub school. You got Oakmont, you got Pebble. Oakmont was also six. Pebble was five. Near should place that should be near and dear to your heart, Chicago Golf Club. Hosted four early on, none since nineteen twelve. Maybe someday. 1897. I don't recall on that.
Matt Considine (08:01.062)
real okay.
Did they do the first? They might have done the first.
The Professor (08:11.515)
That's four. Or they've hosted four times. Boltistral, it's another popular US open venue. Most recently two thousand for them. Olympic Club, another popular US open venue, two thousand five or twenty five, most recently. Then a classic Garden City golf club. So they did four of the early ones up through nineteen thirty six. So
Matt Considine (08:29.334)
Current City Golf Club. Wow.
Matt Considine (08:33.802)
Yeah, I mean and and the the the rota for the amateur events, whether it's the am the the am itself, mid amp's pretty good. The the obviously the Walker Cup, Curtis Cup, like it's insane. And I love the the pushback to or the rollback, not to use that word too broadly, but to the strategy of like the great venues, you know, the traditional US open, US US GA hosted championships. I just think that's a good move for them and
The Professor (08:56.646)
Yes.
Matt Considine (09:04.143)
it's fun. It's fun to see amateur golf, professional golf being highlighted on those those places. That's pretty cool.
The Professor (09:09.765)
That's right. Great golf courses showcasing great golf. That's what that's what we should be striving for with all USG events.
Matt Considine (09:16.157)
And what helps you play great golf professor is your equipment. And nobody knows that game better than our friends at Titleist. The Bag Drop and New Club Golf Society are both in partnership with Titleist. We've been talking a lot about the GTS, this NewClub wave of drivers. It's honestly just go try it for yourself. don't listen to the professor and I go on about our experience with it. Like you should get fit and and you know, this 2026 it's it's quite remarkable in my purview.
But the thing we haven't talked to much about is the matchup. You're big on matchups, Professor. The matchup with your golf ball. You know, there's a lot that did shift in a from the GT series to the GTS. And and I have not done this yet. I think I need to go back and look, you know, what ball's right for me? Is it the Pro V one? Is it the Pro V one X? Is it the Pro V left dash? All that matters for the best combination of spin, of speed, of feel that you're gonna get out of your your clubs, which
The Professor (09:52.394)
Mm, mm-hmm.
Matt Considine (10:14.524)
your equipment, which include your clubs and the ball. So it's the best the most played ball on all major tours for many, many years, 70 plus years. go to titleist.com and check out their titleist golf ball selector tool. the virtual ball consultant can help and get fit for the right ball. Title is the number one ball in golf. All right, professor, let's get on to the show.
The Professor (10:41.467)
All right, Zach and Jack, welcome to the bag drop. man, I've never got to do that. I think that's that's the first time I've got to do that, I think. That's
Zach Healy (10:45.452)
Thanks for having us.
Matt Considine (10:48.742)
You just stepped on my toes. I was just getting settled as we jump in, but okay. All right. He's excited, guys. Zach, Jack, thanks for being here.
Jack Larkin (10:51.389)
Ha ha ha.
Zach Healy (10:57.683)
glad to be here. Thank you for having us.
The Professor (11:00.583)
All right, I'm jumping straight to it. How do Matt and I qualify for the US G A four ball? Just just jump right there. Tell us what we need to do. We will sit down, we will put in the time and effort. Give give us the secret.
Jack Larkin (11:11.763)
think, honestly, I think you gotta stay out late before the Georgia-Texas game and just send it for a couple nights and forget about everything and see what happens. That's probably your best recipe for success.
The Professor (11:16.316)
Ha ha.
The Professor (11:23.024)
Okay.
Matt Considine (11:23.89)
What I heard there was get a NewClub partner. Yeah, somebody who has some responsibility, n knows restraint, knows how to, you know, say no to impulses. thank you, Jack.
Jack Larkin (11:26.441)
Hahahaha
The Professor (11:27.525)
Wait.
Zach Healy (11:35.692)
Or just a little bit more grit. Listen, you gotta battle the next day after a late night.
Jack Larkin (11:39.209)
Ha
Matt Considine (11:40.53)
Good point. Good point. Who cares? It what's done is done. So I love that.
The Professor (11:45.338)
I've I've always been a bad hangover player my whole life. You do not want me playing I think I've played like one sub seventy five round on a a post r hangover in my my entire career. Just not I I'm just not a happy person when I'm there.
Jack Larkin (11:49.437)
Ha ha!
Zach Healy (11:54.37)
Ha ha ha.
Matt Considine (11:59.567)
I I do think though it highlights it it highlights for me, you know, I I've been doing the four ball for almost what almost coming up on a decade, and so much feels like it has to go perfect. Like everything has to be perfectly in in order for it to to happen. is that the case, guys? Like back to Kevin's question, do does it have to have that perfect sequence of things that need to occur, or is there more
acceptance of a formula that just kinda puts you in the mix.
Jack Larkin (12:35.153)
I don't think has to be perfect. Like honestly, I think that's one thing that Zach and I do really well is we know that we're not gonna be perfect. And, you I remember in qualifying for this past year, I think we made a bogey on like the third hole. So we were one over through three and we each looked at each other like, all right, well.
we got the bogey out of the way you know like who cares let's just try to stay aggressive and keep going for it so I think you can almost do more harm than good by trying to be quote perfect.
Zach Healy (13:05.516)
Yeah, I I mean I at least take the mindset too of like, you're gonna make bogeys. That's gonna happen. You know, if everything aligns and you don't make a bogey, fantastic. But not getting rattled when it happens, whether it's early or late, and just accepting the fact like especially in golf, you're gonna make mistakes and especially in my golf game, thankfully I have got a solid partner, but I'm making plenty of mistakes out there.
The Professor (13:31.333)
I was gonna say don't know your your game very well, Zach. I do know Jack's game decently well, having played with him several times and all that. Is that the case? Like Jack to me has just been that steady eddy. He does fill it up too. Like that's not that's not put that in doubt. But it seems to be like you know he's gonna be in it on every hole, probably having a decent birdie look. He's gonna get up and down if not. Are you then that wild car that's like, Hey, I I might throw eight birdies at you today? Is that is that your role?
Zach Healy (13:43.421)
yeah.
Zach Healy (13:55.297)
Ye yeah, I think Larkin is for sure the out of the two of us the more steady one, but by all means can absolutely rattle off five, six birdies. Mine is like a EKG machine where one hole I'm up, next hole I'm down, just back and forth, left, right, military. But I will and general I generally sprinkle in a decent amount of birdies, but by all means I'm gonna have some doubles and X's, which I think is the beauty of four-ball as well.
Matt Considine (14:23.732)
I can't agree more. I I you guys have probably run into more duos than the professor and I. Is that a common recipe? Or do can you name a team that has like two higher variance guys or two steady, steadier eddies? or or is it mostly the teams that have ex excelled? Like is is that part of the form?
Jack Larkin (14:49.193)
That's a good question. mean you kind of see the whole run of the gambit. I'd say you'd probably see more successful teams that have two steadier players. Just because like, and Zach has to give himself more credit here, he's not that volatile. I think the key is to like, when you have two guys that are always in it, like if Zach is long left, short-sided, I know he's probably gonna figure out a way to get up and down.
And I know he's still in it. It's like that gives me even more confidence of like, right, well, it's not like he's just in a bad spot and it's going to pick up. Like we're both always in it. I feel like you probably see more success with teams that are of that nature than, you know, the high volatility golfers that are just like, you know, Hey, we're going to wing it and see what happens.
Zach Healy (15:36.066)
Yeah, I I I would totally agree with that. It's you know, if you're constantly giving yourself two looks at it throughout the entire day, usually more than not that team's gonna prevail.
Jack Larkin (15:42.334)
Yeah.
The Professor (15:48.079)
Mm. That's kinda always been yeah.
Matt Considine (15:48.276)
Yeah. Confidence. You're getting confidence from your partner is what I heard. It doesn't really matter if it's a higher variance or or a steadier play that w whatever it is needs to instill confidence in the other guy. That that's a that's a insightful answer.
Zach Healy (16:01.154)
Mm-hmm.
The Professor (16:02.851)
I've always thought about like high level four ball. If if hey on the fourteen of the holes we can have two putts inside twenty feet looking at Birdie, right? Like we're probably gonna be pretty good as a team, right? If we can just set that as our goal. And then you need those four holes where you just ham and egg it, you know, and one guy's out of it, and the other guy just happens to be in. And that there's just a little bit of luck to that, right? On that day, did we happen to get it done? And did my did my teammate grind it out when I jacked one in the trees?
Zach Healy (16:28.076)
Yeah, and I I think that's even more applicable too, especially when you're in the first two rounds of stroke play as well. You know, I think once you if you're you know, play well enough and make it to match play, can adjust the strategy. I mean, I usually probably get a little bit more aggressive in match play, but by no means, I mean, still if you've got two hundred and twenty yards to a tough pin, I mean I'll I'll take twenty-five, thirty feet all day long.
Jack Larkin (16:28.457)
percent.
The Professor (16:52.645)
Ha ha ha.
So th brought up this year's USGA four ball. So this year you all in stroke play, I think ended up finished tied for second in stroke play, but threatened the USGA four ball stroke play single round record, right? I think the final tally was a sixty-three and that was one off. what was was that just a straight heater round for both of you? What did it you know, inside the ropes going through those eighteen holes, was it one of those early on you're like, we're it's go time. We're we're vibing today, like.
got there two hours early like Jack likes to do. This is just our day. Or was it sorta we got one of those rounds where you get done, you're like, Wait, sixty three was our total? I d I didn't think we were getting there.
Jack Larkin (17:25.427)
Mm-hmm.
Jack Larkin (17:31.08)
though, we were vibing. mean, cocktails in hand, strolling down the first tee. I even, I have to give Zach credit here. Like, starting our round, I hit this like high right ball into the.
know, bushes out there in the desert. And he didn't have a care in the world, strives for one down the middle of the fairway, hits a wedge up to 20 feet and rolls it in for birdie. And we're like, okay, off to the races. Like I think we birdied like six of our first eight holes or something. And at that point you're like, okay, we've basically done what we need to do to get into match, get into match play. Like now let's just kind of stay aggressive and keep playing our game.
The Professor (17:54.74)
huh.
The Professor (17:58.653)
Ha ha.
Zach Healy (17:59.043)
Yeah.
Zach Healy (18:08.728)
Yeah, I think I think for sure. And I think correct me if I'm wrong, Larkin, that second round was at Coach East, right? Which
Jack Larkin (18:15.261)
Yeah, that was at Cochise in the morning with no wind.
Zach Healy (18:17.26)
Yeah. Yeah. So I think we we played really good the first round at Outlaw, which I felt was pretty difficult into the w in the wind. So you set yourself up and I think strategy going in the next day was like, Hey, let's be conservatively aggressive, right? You know, we're gonna go make some birdies, but we don't have to do anything crazy, shoot a few under and we should be solid. I mean, goal number one, make it to match play. Then when you get off to that start, which is like a dream start, you're like, okay. This is different and we just try and keep put the throttle.
The Professor (18:18.215)
Mm.
Zach Healy (18:47.224)
down and just kinda like we were talking, look, we ended up making a couple of mistakes and that's totally fine. But yeah, it was definitely fun mid round where you're like, one, I think our we wanted to try and get the medalist. Like that's an awesome thing that not many people get to do in a USGA event. But you know, at the end of the day we got what we wanted to do out of it. But it was a lot of fun and we had the gas pedal down for a while. I don't think we've even together have had it going like that in a very long time.
The Professor (18:58.831)
Yeah.
Jack Larkin (19:13.469)
Yeah. But the key was like we were, mean, talking about brother-in-law and having some luck involved there, like, I mean, we were brother-in-law perfectly. Like Zach had rolled a 15 footer, I'd roll in a 20 footer, he rolled an eight footer. Like we were just going back and forth, like trying to one up each other with who could make the next birdie. Where it's almost like a intergroup competition of like, want to make birdie here, then he'd make birdie in the next hole. Which like, that made it even more fun.
Zach Healy (19:39.148)
Yeah, a hundred percent too. And shout out to our caddies as well. They just kept us in it as well, keeping the cocktails going and just high vibes all day long.
Jack Larkin (19:43.837)
out.
The Professor (19:45.191)
What what's the cocktail choice? What's the what's the bird what's the birdie juice?
Jack Larkin (19:46.921)
The vibes were immaculately high.
Matt Considine (19:50.266)
Yeah, I gotta I gotta know this.
Jack Larkin (19:53.354)
I'm personally more of a transfusion guy, that week I'm also very superstitious. So before that round, just, I think Zach had one beforehand and I won it on the first tee. I went with a screwdriver and then my superstitious stealth, like I couldn't not get a screwdriver to start every other round after that because we played so well. So I was, I was floating back and forth.
Zach Healy (20:13.976)
Yeah, gener generally a transfusion guy, I think that week I was all over the map. I think usually was a screwdriver in the morning. One of the mornings I had a margarita. Like you know just in typical desert fashion. Like I mean yeah, I mean so I'm just, you know, whatever comes into my mind at that point in time.
Jack Larkin (20:23.849)
Yeah. Yeah.
The Professor (20:24.997)
Hey, and a and you're in Arizona.
Matt Considine (20:32.921)
Professor, I'm learning my first tragic error in this is taking it way too seriously. I actually did get to the 2018 four-ball with Putter Johnson, a good friend of mine. And I I will never forget we get done with a horrendous s first stroke play round. it was raining and I forgot multiple elements of my rain gear. So that's tells you how where my head was at, right?
The Professor (20:37.713)
Yeah.
Jack Larkin (20:54.633)
Hahaha
Matt Considine (20:57.488)
And and we get in and there's a a crew that sounds like Zach and Jack here having a cocktail. We're like, order me up one of those. They're like, This is our fourth or fifth, man. Join the party. I was like, Didn't you guys just get done? He's like, Yeah, you can drink out there. I was like, I didn't know you could drink out there. I could have used that. But that that's that's a unique thing though to the four ball, isn't it?
Jack Larkin (21:06.963)
Mm-hmm.
Zach Healy (21:19.702)
Yeah, I mean I I think you g it's all over the map, right? You've got your
feel comfortable enough now that I'm in my thirties to call them kids who are, you know, 17 or so out there that are a hundred percent grinding and hats off to them. You got your college kids too, but then you've got, you know, guys in their thirties, forties, twenties that are working jobs and like I would call it a almost a quasi vacation too. So yes, I mean listen, we're very serious and want to play good and I am, like Jack, one of the most competitive people out there. But at the end of the day too, I'm gonna have a good time.
Jack Larkin (21:43.379)
Mm-hmm.
The Professor (21:43.433)
yeah.
Matt Considine (21:52.693)
It's such a strikes such a beautiful balance, man. It is is so cool. And there probably is a balance too, right? I mean, like you can have one too many screwdrivers, I'm sure.
Jack Larkin (21:55.528)
Mm-hmm.
Zach Healy (22:02.254)
Yeah. Yeah you can get over your s you can get over your skis a little bit. And listen, that's when you look we talk about choice of partner. That's when you've got to lean on your partner. If someone goes a little over the edge, you gotta be like tap him on the shoulder and be Hey you gotta you gotta buckle up the next two holes. I'm gonna go chuck some waters. Yeah Yeah. Mm-hmm.
Matt Considine (22:03.331)
Professor, Professor.
The Professor (22:05.093)
Yeah.
Jack Larkin (22:11.849)
Yeah.
The Professor (22:15.089)
You're like that's right. I need two holes, get get my liqu get my liquid I V in me, you know, smash some prot smash some protein like that's
Matt Considine (22:21.357)
Get get that.
Matt Considine (22:26.115)
That's all.
The Professor (22:26.993)
So I think after I think that's a mistake. I shut it off after the the after the Georgia Bulldogs took out the Longhorn Saturday night. I shut it off. Maybe I should have just kept c you know riding it through the next couple days.
Zach Healy (22:37.378)
Well, that is yeah. I'm I'm not gonna call you're by no means rookie, but if you got a late night, you gotta know that you just gotta get right back into it the next morning. That's the only way to keep going.
The Professor (22:44.717)
Ha ha ha.
Jack Larkin (22:45.703)
Yeah. Can't fight it.
The Professor (22:48.867)
Ha.
Matt Considine (22:49.29)
I I wanna take us back to when you guys meet, 'cause I don't know this. I'm sure the professor does and our listeners sure don't. But you guys obviously have a a deep friendship and have known each other a long time. Can you can you guys tell me about, you know, your your guys' re relationship and and you know how it has built to the trust of having a great four ball partner?
Jack Larkin (23:09.789)
think we met each other in junior golf like we were both getting recruited by Georgia obviously both wanted to go there didn't really know what everything was gonna look like and I think if I remember correctly we had met I think I committed some point in like junior year and like a week later is that committed it was like okay I we're gonna be good friends and roommates going forward.
Zach Healy (23:12.642)
Yeah.
Zach Healy (23:32.013)
Yeah, a hundred percent. I think we always saw each other's names and I can't remember the exact age or something to call it fifteen. I mean you cross paths going through all these, you know, AJ GAs and you know, different SJGTs, junior tournaments and stuff like that.
Both of us were from the same area as well, so definitely knew of and then once we kind of committed, obviously that is I don't want to call it, but you're basically forced into a friendship and then but worked out, we obviously get along and we did we were roommates every year in college. Emphasis on five years, Larkin. Yes. A hundred percent.
Jack Larkin (24:05.833)
Mm-hmm. I said we were roommates all five years.
Matt Considine (24:09.312)
Victory lap. You gotta have the victory lap.
Jack Larkin (24:13.267)
I mean, hell, we should have made it six.
The Professor (24:17.095)
I've
Zach Healy (24:17.102)
I should still be there. One, I don't even know how they let me out to begin with.
Matt Considine (24:21.629)
I I I think most people go to school for seven years. Yeah, they're called doctors. That's what the like the like the professor.
Zach Healy (24:25.557)
Yeah.
The Professor (24:25.799)
I've always said I've always said, you know, a f a former guest of ours, Chris Wilson, he he always laughed when he played in the Corn Ferry, what used was the web dot com event here in Athens. He's like he's like, Man, I'm kinda glad I didn't go on a recruiting trip to Georgia 'cause like how do you not go here? And then once you get into Athens, he's like, How do you ever leave this place? I just don't envision a world where you want to graduate.
Jack Larkin (24:26.269)
Yeah.
Jack Larkin (24:45.49)
Mm-hmm.
The Professor (24:55.013)
So kudos to you for just y'all both getting out and also staying roommates, man. That's like a marriage, right? So you guys have been together now. Well, you're just in your thirties, so ten, you know, twelve years, thirteen years. I mean, that's longer than my first marriage.
Jack Larkin (25:07.849)
Mm-hmm.
Matt Considine (25:08.319)
Ha ha ha.
Zach Healy (25:09.902)
yeah. I would say Larkin's the patient one. He hasn't divorced me yet. I've definitely tested him a few times for sure.
The Professor (25:13.943)
Ha.
The Professor (25:19.383)
I do want to ask about let's rewind back, y'all. I think what's your first starting class, maybe 2014 that fall, if I remember right. you know, yeah, your your teammates now operate in four ball we and we've just touched on how the there's a casual incompetitive aspect of it. And that's something I love about the midam four ball scene. That's like, yeah, I want to beat your guts out in these eighteen holes, but man, we're gonna have a few cocktails after. We're gonna hang out. We might be out too late. Like we aren't gonna take it so seriously where we're cold plunging every night and like doing all that stuff, right?
Jack Larkin (25:26.153)
Mm-hmm.
The Professor (25:47.73)
W when you stepped into at UGA though, give us some insights into those dynamics. You're coming as a team as teammates. I imagine some programs guys are competing against each other and you see your teammate as a competition, other programs maybe something different. What did it look like walking onto, you hackers program with Duggar along for the ride?
Jack Larkin (26:08.073)
think the biggest thing is like, I mean you realize that you come from an area where you might be one of the best players at your, you know, high school area, region, whatever, and you get there and you're like, oh my gosh, these other guys that are older than me are so good and I gotta, I have to elevate and step up my game to even, you know, compete against these guys. So it almost kind of forces your hand of like, hey, you're not the best player around anymore, like you gotta figure it out and get better and compete to be able to compete with these guys.
Zach Healy (26:37.676)
Yeah, I think I can a absolutely echo that, especially you you know, fortunate enough to be recruited by one of the highly touted universities and then you think you're good. And then I was fortunate enough to make the US Am right before I got there and made match play and then you get to school and everybody's just crushing you and you're like, What is going on? I thought I I thought I had this under control, but in a good way because you can learn so much from them and you know we've got a lit
Of players from Georgia that are out there now, and some of them are on our team, and so you just kind of pick up what they're doing, certain things that they've adapted to their game, and try and kind of mold yours and take bits and pieces of that as well. But by all means, I mean I I view it as you're still highly competitive. Like I would be hard-pressed that Larkin wouldn't give me the same exact answer that when we put the peg in the ground, I want to beat his brains out in qualifying, and he wants to beat mine. But you're also working towards a common goal too, especially with the team aspect.
Jack Larkin (27:24.691)
Mm-hmm.
Zach Healy (27:37.52)
Yeah, okay. Individually if I go take care of my business and try and beat X and Larkin beats me and he shoots sixty six and I shoot sixty-seven, that's pretty dang good for the team.
The Professor (27:49.704)
Yeah, it strikes me like the best teams have that attitude where like, yeah, there's the common goal, but you know, him beating you with sixty six and sixty seven just means, okay, now I need to get a little bit better. Right? Like, what do I w how do I wake up tomorrow and flip that script and then when I flip it, hopefully he's thinking the same thing. How do I wake up the next day so I can flip it back and we're always just pushing each other the, you know, the be better the whole way through.
Jack Larkin (28:01.541)
Yeah.
Jack Larkin (28:15.143)
Yeah, and at Zach's point, you play these guys, you figure out what makes them better.
Matt Considine (28:16.782)
Yeah, I I found
Matt Considine (28:23.054)
Jack, I found a article, I did do my research, Professor. I found an article on on you and it had an early quote from Coach Hack. And you know, the article kind of touched on that you might not have the most decorated individual career of that class. but he saw your ability and he just said, You could here's the quote you could just tell he was one of those guys who's going to be a hard worker and a great teammate, Hack said. So I wanted to try and figure out a way to get him on my team.
It's I can hear the hard worker part very clearly and pushing yourself. Well tell me about the great teammate part, you know, in that college dynamic, like or even high school prior. I I actually think one of the sad things in golf is that there's a lot of nostalgia people have for when they were part of a team, you know, and then you get older and you miss that and y you you're always talking about the glory days. But four ball helps with that, of course. I'm curious what he saw that that
that you think makes you a great teammate. What is that?
Jack Larkin (29:26.554)
I'm curious too, I need ask him about it.
Matt Considine (29:29.558)
That's S Zach. That's S Zach. Zach, what is it?
Zach Healy (29:32.303)
man. no, it it's that is a hundred percent spot on. Like you can obviously see and hear the work ethic through and through. I think it just boils down to one always willing to lend a helping hand and wanting the best for another. Like you
People can echo it all the time, right? But there's obviously teammates that don't want the best for each other. I think Larkin absolutely a hundred percent does. And so whether that's in the gym helping you or pushing you when we were there, or in practice, you know, holding you accountable to certain things, you know, Georgia was unique that other than a few things, we really didn't have a scheduled practice. It was kind of the onus was on you to go do it. So Larkin's there helping people, you know, making sure people are getting
and out there if they want to, right? Like I think that plays y and you just compound that, you do that months and years over end. Like that helps the team and that h I mean, Larry it's testament to that. I mean that's one of the reasons why he was the captain.
Jack Larkin (30:32.199)
Yeah I mean honestly too like that kind of head on it you know this game when you're playing by yourself especially in high school and even college and I mean definitely professionally which I never did but it can be really isolating you know you're off on your own you're by yourself you're traveling you're playing you're practicing whatever and I don't know I've just always had the mindset I don't really like to be in isolation like I like to be around other people so for me it was always the mindset of like what can I do to ensure that obviously I'm getting better but
What can I to make sure everyone else around me is getting better and to make sure they're happy? You know? And if sitting there picking someone's brain about know, facet of their game or what I want to do like again, I can't tell you number of times I would pick Zach's brain like hey, how the hell do you hit this chip?
He's one of the best short game ever seen and I was always picking his brain about how to do that. And conversely, he would look at me and say like, how do you your driver so straight? Like, I don't get it. Like, it doesn't make sense to me. So my whole thing, whether it was high school or college, was just always trying to be there for other guys. And at the end of the day, it's, you know.
It's crazy what can happen to a team sometimes when no one wants to take the success, when you just want to have a common success amongst the team and no one's seeking the attention for it. And that was kind of my, I don't know, I'll call it MO of trying to make sure like, hey, I'm not gonna try to take credit for all this stuff, but I wanna put people in the best spot and position to succeed that we can.
The Professor (32:05.446)
Well said.
Matt Considine (32:06.601)
Yeah, that's I i it it takes a certain level of confidence too to just you know, not root for people to come down to you, for you to rise to their level and above. And so that means you're gonna have the belief in in yourself that yeah, I'm gonna help them get better, help them, you know, w with a certain chip shot or or call out something I noticed in their in their game that might help because
You're hoping one you might get the same back, but also you believe you're gonna be able to get there, you know. I an insecure person would be like, No, I'm not gonna tell him about that. I can tell he's lining it up on his heel. We'll let keep that going. But no, it's it's confidence to say, Yeah, I'm gonna help him.
Jack Larkin (32:50.313)
Oh yeah, I think the last thing I'll say on that is like, I mean you see it with Zach and I, like we're still close friends, know, 12 years later, 15 years later, and you know, we're also still close friends with so many guys that we played with that are older and younger. And like at the end of the day, you're not, it doesn't matter if you shoot 70 or 68 or 73 or 71, like what matters is like the friendships and the teammates and the bonds that you form over the years.
And I feel like we both did a really good job of always putting that perspective. Like knowing we wanted to play well and succeed, but knowing like in the long run, having those friendships and relationships matters way more than trying to shave like a stroke or two off your qualifying round.
The Professor (33:33.532)
Jack, a quick question for you. this sort of one one of the first things I noticed the first time we interacted was this sort of leadership gene that you had where you just had this confidence about you, but in a way you wanted to see everybody else around you get better. and I think that's why one of the reasons probably you helped me just get in front of Hacker and talk with the team. Where does that come from with you? Is that something instilled to you as a child, or just you've always just had it naturally? any insights into that?
Jack Larkin (33:49.523)
Mm-hmm.
Jack Larkin (34:02.377)
have no idea. gonna, I'll just say I guess I've always tried to have it. I mean, I don't know, it's something I've always looked to people that are older than I am that, you what are some of the stuff that they do great and try to just emulate them, you know? And some guys I've been around and they've been very successful and great people and great leaders and I know, I guess I've just tried to always emulate that as much as possible, but I'm definitely not perfect. So I can promise you there's still a long way to go on that front.
The Professor (34:07.836)
Yeah.
The Professor (34:29.767)
I think that just speaks to what Matt brought up earlier, surround yourself by great people. And you know, you kind of start reflecting what their values are and their on their actions. All right, let's go let's go post college now, 'cause this is one of the most for me, there's a ton of projection with post college golf careers, right? I quit the game for ten years, so I just and now I play it again. And so that just I think makes me love everybody else's journey post college 'cause you see so many varied paths. Zach, I wanna kick it to you first on this, 'cause you did you left
Jack Larkin (34:39.465)
100%.
The Professor (34:59.513)
University of Georgia said, Hey, I wanna give that that pro thing a a try. So walk us through that decision in those first couple of years out there when you were, you know, grinding in a in a very non glorious life that a lot of a lot of not a lot of people have insights into.
Zach Healy (35:13.73)
Yeah, I think I I mean, growing up I w fell in love with golf and that is what I wanted to do. And when I got to college
I would say I had a very mediocre overall four year career. fairly decent my freshman and sophomore year, and then kind of speaking on the driver was lost my way with that a little bit. Built it back up enough to feel like I wanted to give it a run and owe it to myself and testament to my you know parents and family. They were like, hey, don't you don't wanna the last thing you wanna do is be late twenties and not have tried and go, man, I wish. What what if? So
The Professor (35:49.979)
Mm. Mm-hmm.
Zach Healy (35:52.001)
played for I don't have to look maybe two years and just you know very very zero success let's put it that way but a bunch of Monday qualifiers a few mini tour events Q schools and just didn't hit it well enough to make it out there but I think I learned so much about one myself and then golf as well doing that. I think towards the end of it I want to say it was twenty twenty I used a map in a pay phone.
In the same day, driving back from I was playing a Monday qualifier about an hour outside of St. Louis, and I was like, what am I doing? You know, Larkin and all my buddies are out there, you know, working, having a great time, living with each other, and I'm like, this is horrible. So decided to hang the cleats up on that one.
Jack Larkin (36:22.748)
You
Zach Healy (36:43.18)
But I think looking back I don't I'm so glad I did it 'cause especially now with my golf game, you I learned so many things when I was trying to do that. in majority also you you don't have to play perfectly.
The Professor (37:01.8)
Talk us through one of those biggest lessons learned when you're out there in the pro game, maybe the one that you've been able to carry with your carry with yourself as you've moved back into high level competitive amateur golf.
Zach Healy (37:14.434)
let's use one that I tend to struggle with sometimes, but patience. You've got to have some some absolute serious patience while you're out there, especially playing either a couple round tournaments or your Monday qualifier one day sprints, right? You know, again we talked about it earlier.
You're gonna make bogeys. You're gonna make doubles. Knowing that, hey, if I do that on the first hole, I have 17 more opportunities to get that back. I mean, that that is golf in a nutshell, right? It is the second you think you've got it, you're like, man, this is easy. It is going to hit you right in the face. So to just keep instead like instead of being an eight EKG machine on the mental side of things, just trying to be a little bit more level-headed and patient and knowing that that it's a it's a marathon, not a sprint.
I think is probably the biggest lesson that I've learned when I was trying to play from a golf perspective, too. And honestly, probably pretty applicable in life.
Matt Considine (38:11.444)
Yeah, Zach, I feel so seen by you right now, man. Like like life and golf, there's such a parallel there. I know you I mean, you're you're like the rest of us now, t more talented golfer than most of us, but working a day job. Like what what have you found to help you run the marathon and not the sprint? Because I struggle with that every day. Every day I go too hard at something or you know, back to golf terms, I'm I'm I'm pushing
Zach Healy (38:14.574)
Okay.
Matt Considine (38:38.803)
way too much when I just need to look at a fat side of a green and and, you know, move on to the next. D have you found anything to help you with that other than repetition and experience and remembering those those things? Or is there was something you do on the course or in life that you help help help le level you out?
Zach Healy (38:56.288)
I think in general
Whether it's a good or bad thing, I want everything to be fun. Not everything is fun, but I try and just make everything good time. Wanna have a good time, whether it's in the office or on the golf course. And so knowing that golf is supposed to be fun, even though a lot of the times we're, you know, caught in the mumble room, walking down the fairway, is like, what am I doing out here? Like I mean. But trying to make everything as fun as it can be while still taking it seriously, is I think that's something
The Professor (39:18.14)
Yeah.
Matt Considine (39:20.873)
That's great. That's great.
Zach Healy (39:28.278)
I one constantly remind myself of because I can absolutely go down those tangents, but try and carry that through pretty much everything from the hopefully the second that I wake up to the second that I lay my head back.
The Professor (39:44.978)
Jack, so Zach goes off and tries the professional game. You on the other hand, like, I'm gonna become a working man. Talk us through that journey. Cause I know you and I have talked definitely offline about this several times of that transition. But you know, was there a decision for you to make about trying to play professionally or not? And then once you got in the working game, talk us through how you got back into just being such a high level player.
Jack Larkin (40:06.281)
I mean honestly not really. I'd be lying, I think anyone that goes into college, especially the Division I program like Georgia has all intentions of having success, playing professionally, doing it for a living for 20, 30 years, whatever. I feel like I saw guys on our team that were so good and in my head it was like, how am I ever gonna get to that level? And like I don't even know if these guys are gonna have success professionally.
And so from there, like, I just never had...
the passion and burning interest to try professional. I candidly thought I was going to burn myself out if I tried and I remember having conversation with my dad multiple times of like, you know, the point of this game like Zack said is to have fun. And I truly felt like if I was trying to play professionally for my livelihood, I don't think I would have fun. And I didn't think I was going to enjoy the game that we can obviously still enjoy now at 30, which is awesome. So for me, I was thought about it, but
again, I kind of saw the writing on the wall and said, man, I just don't think that's the path for me. I'd say to the second part of your question, it is a wild re-navigation back into competitive golf after you leave college and take a break. And I was talking to someone about this a few days ago. It's like, it is way harder.
to get back into that scene in a competitive standpoint than you expect. Because again, like, your point is to play well in, you know, X tournament, like the U.S. four ball. To play well at the four ball, you need to play well in other tournaments to get tournament experience. To play well in other tournament experience, you need to play well with your buddies on Saturday afternoon. Like, there's so much that goes into it to get better. So for me, it was just dipping my toes back in and accepting the fact, like, okay, you know what?
Jack Larkin (42:01.545)
I may try to go out and try to qualify for like the state am, the state mid am, and I might shoot 80, but you have to pull back the layers of the onion to actually get back to that success that you want, which is way easier said than done. Like you sit there on some, you know, Monday afternoon trying to qualify when you're 26 years old, you're like, what the hell am I doing?
it's almost important that you have to do that to get back into those tournament reps to get you know that feeling of okay I need to get this up and down to have a chance like let's let's figure this out and you know rise the occasion.
Zach Healy (42:42.082)
Yeah, and I think also it's tough as a midam too. I'm gonna throw out your call professional amateurs that play eight days a week.
When you are playing once a week and you've got to hit a you gotta make an eight-footer or you gotta get up and down short-sided from a bunker, like you're not as sharp as you were when you were eighteen to twenty-two. Like so to your point, Larkin, like you've got you've got the internal stuff going in your head too, right? All all mental as well. But there's a there's a point of this where it's still an execution thing and you don't have the quote unquote reps that you've hit five thousand bunker shots this week and you're like, I've got this, easy. Like, you know.
Jack Larkin (43:03.016)
Yes.
Matt Considine (43:05.125)
Yeah.
Zach Healy (43:24.14)
there's a little bit of that too.
Jack Larkin (43:25.865)
100 % I've also always said and I've gotten really good at it now over the last few years is For mid-am guys like ourselves you have to figure out how to get as efficient as you can with your time because like I might have One afternoon I can go walk nine holes once a week just to kind of keep the reps going and that might be it like
You don't have five days to go play 18 holes and practice and hit balls and get a lesson or whatever. So you have to get really efficient at how you can best keep with it and stay as sharp as you can knowing that like, to that point, you're never, you're not gonna be perfect. Like, there's gonna be times where you don't play at all for a week or two. And you have to know like, okay, like I'm gonna try and make this as simple and efficient as possible.
The Professor (44:01.129)
Mm.
Matt Considine (44:15.001)
Professor, want you to remember that really thoughtful answer for both those guys. Next time you call me a cheater for my armbar, I have made the conscious decision that hey, if I could practice eight days a week with my, you know, college traditional putter, I'd be a better putter. But I can't I don't have the time to practice it anymore. And all I know is with that arm bar, I don't miss a lot of short putts anymore. And it allows me to compete. It it really is that decision. It's kind of funny to hear you guys describe it that way because I I
Jack Larkin (44:21.075)
Hahaha!
The Professor (44:21.466)
Ha ha ha.
Jack Larkin (44:33.054)
Mm-hmm.
Matt Considine (44:44.843)
I didn't really come to it that way. Came to it through, you know, plenty of ugly putts. But it it it does allow for that, right? It's like acceptance almost of man, you're not that twenty one year old kid who can just roll putts for four hours. Like you gotta you gotta figure out a NewClub way.
Zach Healy (45:05.582)
Hundred percent. I mean, I would I even changed putters last year. And I had the same putter for like fifteen years and finally switched and I was like, listen, if these guys are changing to this putter that do it for a living, there gotta there's gotta be something to it. And if I can it but also it's just applicable too in the middle, if I can get incrementally better, just the smallest amount and be somewhat more consistent
The Professor (45:10.632)
I said
Zach Healy (45:32.546)
That's gonna help me and bode well. Like I'm gonna have to as hard as it for me check the ego at the door and I'm gonna go roll this spaceship now that I'm putting with.
Matt Considine (45:41.25)
Yeah.
The Professor (45:42.355)
think I can see why you two are such good partners too, because you've complimented others so well in that advice where Jack, I'll go back to your point of like you have to be willing to accept I'm gonna shoot 80 and a medium qualifier because I need to sharpen my knives again and I need to learn the whatever you might want to call it to Zach's point, have fun with that or just sit in it and be like completely okay with that. Not okay in a sense of you're happy with outcome and you're in a state but no like
That's what it's gonna take. I need to learn to embrace that and just sit in it and have fun with it. So I just keep sharpening and getting better. Is yeah, I think that is perfectly said for anybody out there looking to get in mid-am golf or put the clubs away for a while that you just accept that's part of the process and you're never gonna be able to hoop it like you used to on a day-to-day basis. But I don't know, I'd ask you to this. Like I feel like I'm a much better golfer now than I'm as college. certainly on a day-to-day basis. I'm not gonna hoop it as well as I did there.
But I'm certainly a better golfer now. And I think I'd beat myself more often, the college version of myself. on a, you know, play over cost twenty times, I'd win more than ten. Do you guys feel that about your games? Are you better golfers now, or maybe better in some ways, worse in some ways? Putting aside the obviously when you're playing every single day, you can just hoop it every s you know, every shot, every situation you're in, nothing feels weird in the mid aim game that disappears a little bit. You get in some spots, you're like, haven't hit this shot in five years, but here we go.
Jack Larkin (47:06.483)
Mm-hmm.
The Professor (47:06.77)
But are you better golfers? So just throw that out there.
Jack Larkin (47:11.121)
I personally, I think I am. Like I'm sure there's times in college where I was a better overall player. But I think now just with a lot more experience and a lot better perspective and understanding, like I think day in and day out, I'm just as good, if not better now in my late 20s and now early 30s than I was in college. I don't know, Zach, if you agree, but that's.
Zach Healy (47:36.781)
I I go back and forth. I mean, I I I can absolutely say my probably junior and senior year way better now. That's due to couldn't find the planet with my driver. Like, played two, three woods, but hit iron off the tee, like I mean, whatever you think, keep it in play. I think my first two years I was definitely a
pro I was shooting lower scores. I don't think I was as smart of a player that I am now. I think it the execution was better and so inherently that just leads to better scores, I would say, but I've from a from a wisdom standpoint and how to play golf, not hit golf ball or make putt, I'm a lot smarter now. Which I think, you know, bodes well for hopefully many more years of good midam golf to come.
Jack Larkin (48:29.897)
I agree with that last part too, like 100 % agree. I'm way smarter as a player now than I was in college.
Zach Healy (48:32.344)
Yeah.
Matt Considine (48:37.544)
We're stupid at that age. I'm sorry. Like it's it's it's actually incredible we shot the scores we did. Any kids. Like I I still watch college players play and and I'm like, man, they are just dumb, but they're good. Like
The Professor (48:37.648)
I think we're
Jack Larkin (48:39.591)
Yeah. Yeah.
Jack Larkin (48:50.341)
It's crazy.
Zach Healy (48:50.368)
I will never forget, yeah, I will never forget and I I won't name names, but I played with a unbelievable mid I was playing the player's am and played with an unbelievable mid am golfer who's played in the Walker Cup and I smoked a drive thirty yards past him. He hit his layup to a hundred yards. I hit my three wood left at the green and
chunked it and made bogey. He wedged it to five feet and made birdie. And I was like in absolute shambles and he just put his hand on my head and was like, he was like, you'll learn one day. And I'm like, now I'm like, wow, he was really smart. Yeah. I was really dumb back then. So hopefully, I'm probably not doing it to his level, but adopting some of those things that he's doing in mindset.
Matt Considine (49:34.766)
It's such a cool thing about our game, too. I mean, other sports have this as well, but not other sports don't have the the lifespan that we get to have in this game. And I mean, I like that just that story, Zach. I'm thinking about the the senior guys I've played with who probably look at the midams a little bit of the same way. I I remember one guy talking about me and the other guys playing with swings of just like, yeah, you know.
Jack Larkin (49:51.027)
Mm-hmm.
Matt Considine (50:02.414)
Injuries come up, boys. Just just remember that. And and and this guy like transformed his game because of two injuries that he's like, I just was never gonna get hurt again is what I decided. And and so I changed my swing, I'd get it done a little bit differently, but he dusted both of us that day. And I think it's it's like, man, i i it's almost like the paddle on Jedi thing. Like you're never really there. Like you're always gonna be learning and little NewClub crafty ways to to do it. But
That's a cool that's a cool element about our game.
Zach Healy (50:34.146)
Yeah, it is fun. I mean it there's no other game where you can competitively play till you're legitimately sixty-five or sometimes s almost seventy. Like that you're not I can tell you one thing, you're not playing pickup basketball when you're doing that unless you got two torn ACLs going on.
Matt Considine (50:51.482)
Yeah, that's why LeBron's coming to golf and not, you know, the other way. That's how it works.
Zach Healy (50:53.33)
Yeah. Yeah, exactly. Too. And it's also especially it's it's fun too 'cause you can see those guys who are so good at their sports, you know, the Buraties, the LeBrons, right? This is almost their fix per se, because you can still get that competitive edge, you know, whether you're just playing a Saturday morning game with your buddies having, you know, a five or ten dollar better.
Jack Larkin (50:54.343)
Yeah.
Zach Healy (51:18.83)
play or you're playing a USGA event. Like for me, that is I mean, one of the things that I absolutely love is I as a competitor and something that somebody that doesn't do it for a living, that is your fix and that is how you get that. It's I
Unless you, you know, own your own company or something. I mean it I would assume it's pretty hard to find that on a day to day basis. So I think golf is the beauty of it is you're able to do that, whether it's for, you know, a penny or, you know, a championship.
The Professor (51:52.157)
Well said. Jack, I want to circle. I think this naturally brings up your father in a way, who was it was and is still an excellent golfer. So I'm not going to go through his accolades. This this episode's not about him, but just go look him up, Jack Larkin Sr., phenomenal golfer. Is he someone for you, Jack, you've been able to look to and learn from, touching on these points of becoming a smarter golfer? You know, as I get older, I can, you know, I yeah, if I'm getting physically worse or whatever, but I can become a better player.
Has he helped play that role for you?
Jack Larkin (52:24.233)
100 % I mean Zach talked about patience like I my dad has the ultimate patience on the golf course It's crazy what makes him a great player and honestly a great caddy I think the biggest thing though is he kind of showed me the blueprint of hey You can do this up until you're 50 55 60 he's now I guess 65 in September and still playing high-level senior golf so he kind of showed me the blueprint from hey you got a
Get in shape and keep your body in check to be able to do this Long term but also too like he did a lot for me as far as like proving to your proving it to yourself an older age Right, like I think a lot of guys our age or even a little bit younger, you know They get out of college and they think okay. Well my best golf years are behind me, but he really set the bar of They can be in front of you like they could be when you're 30 that could be when you're 45 they can be when you're 60 and you don't know that and so as long as you keep believing that and
The Professor (53:03.592)
Mm.
The Professor (53:11.313)
Mm-hmm.
Jack Larkin (53:23.721)
and you keep working towards it and you start to fine-tune how to stay in better shape to where you can actually play long-term. I think that's kind of the driving force behind it from a longevity standpoint and honestly from a self-belief standpoint regardless of how old you are.
The Professor (53:43.186)
I imagine that's a lot of fun for you getting to play competitively with your dad and then your brother Matthew still being competitive golfers as well. You know, if the three of you are teened up tomorrow, who's winning?
Jack Larkin (53:55.794)
Well, Matthew kicked my ass last time, I can't just easily say that. We all go back and forth. I bet my dad wins five out of those ten times, and then Matthew and I kind of go back and forth for the next two and three, whether it's whoever's playing better.
The Professor (53:58.672)
Ha ha ha.
Jack Larkin (54:14.377)
But it is so fun. We don't get to do it as much now, but whenever us three are playing together, there is a very understood game of like, I'm going to try to rip your head off. And Matthew's not one to hold back from some gamesmanship and some talking and chirping back and forth. And my dad's not either. So it becomes a very fun, very fun back and forth.
The Professor (54:27.28)
I've
The Professor (54:35.6)
Uh-huh.
The Professor (54:39.847)
Wi Fi.
Matt Considine (54:40.121)
the the younger brother role, man. I know that real well. I I feel like this Matthew's relating to him. I've had five irons chucked at my head. I've had all kinds of stuff.
Jack Larkin (54:43.538)
Yes.
But it is, it is so fun. And like even last year, like my dad played with Hayes Brown in the four ball and that was Zach and I's first four ball. So for us, like I kept telling him, I'm like, right, there's no way we're losing to them. Like we have to go out and beat them. So it's fun to still be able to do that at a tournament level from time to time. We're like, that's probably very rare.
You can have someone that's in their 60s and 20s at the time compete against each other in the same golf tournament.
Matt Considine (55:22.652)
In the same family. I mean, like, I I'd love to be the unsuspecting four fourth in that group, you know. You walk on the T just thinking it's a casual game. You're like, Man, I thought these guys liked each other. They're gonna be ripping each other's head off.
Jack Larkin (55:29.065)
Hahaha
Jack Larkin (55:36.185)
It is so fun. It never gets old because it's it's just bragging rights until the next time. Like I think even now, the last time we played was my brother's wedding a month ago and like Matthew is still reminding me like, yeah, remember when I beat you about a month ago by, you know, five shots or whatever it was? And I'm like, yeah, I remember, don't worry.
The Professor (55:55.913)
I'll I'll say this, don't take on senior on his home course. I I don't think I've seen him miss a fair way in the four or five rounds that I've spent with him out there.
Jack Larkin (56:03.862)
He does not. Like, it's just automatic.
Matt Considine (56:08.475)
I I I have a couple of questions just again back to being a team. and I do want to hear about some specifics on the the the US midam. There's some great matches that I probably want to hear a story or two about, but first on the the selection of courses. Do you guys talk about that a lot? Whether it's the the qualifier that you're signing up for or it's
Zach Healy (56:08.536)
Needs to teach me how to do that.
Matt Considine (56:37.144)
maybe it's the cocktail tour, right? The mid am four balls. I don't know how many of those you guys will play in, but d do you guys talk about where you're playing much and which venue you're gonna select for those?
Jack Larkin (56:51.133)
little bit like I mean Heels you tell me like I
Zach Healy (56:55.932)
Yeah, I mean I think we
Talk about getting wiser over years. I think we started off with that of like, this fits us in like I think the first the first two or three years we tried to qualify, we three years we didn't make it. And the co the qualifier was at one of the courts like the course I play at, Berkeley Hills. which is for mine just a total screwing of the mind of like we both I personally know this like the back of my hand and Larkin knows it pretty well. Like, how are we not getting through here? So then I think we started to veer away from that.
Jack Larkin (57:09.769)
three.
Zach Healy (57:28.556)
little bit. I'd jokingly say let's pick the most wide open course there is. That way we're both in it. but at the end of the day, yeah you can talk about it and go through it, but it's still about executing. Like if you hit, you know, the ball golf ball down the middle on the green and roll puts in, any golf course is gonna be okay. So you could look at the courses that we qualified on and
Jack Larkin (57:51.677)
Yeah.
Zach Healy (57:57.049)
They're completely different in my opinion. So
Jack Larkin (57:59.486)
Yeah, I got that Carter's real recall if I last year was more difficult than this year's but again, it's like you still have to go out and play good golf like you're not gonna walk in any usg qualifier and be like, had a Had like my b-game and got through like you got to play good
Zach Healy (58:06.178)
Yeah.
Zach Healy (58:15.466)
No, I mean like the you know, seven, eight, nine under is what's qualifying for these. Like, at the end of the day, it doesn't matter what golf course you're playing, that's still pretty deep and you gotta go hold the golf ball. So you can try and figure it out. I'm not gonna say that it doesn't help at some point, but I don't think in my opinion now that that is gonna be the make or break for it.
Matt Considine (58:17.178)
Yeah.
Jack Larkin (58:25.031)
Yeah.
Jack Larkin (58:38.025)
Yeah, like we, our second year when we missed it, we tried to qualify at somewhere in Bluffton. It was like mid December. We're like, let's try it out. It's a harder golf course. And we were a second alternate and we're driving home Monday night at like midnight, five hours down I-16. And we're like.
okay this is not it, like this is not what we want to do, like we might need to something a little more convenient. So it's like you can go down that rabbit hole and try and figure out like what's quote like most ideal but at end of the day like you can sometimes do more harm than good in my opinion.
Matt Considine (59:02.554)
Yeah.
The Professor (59:12.872)
Yeah, I've oddly enough, like personally, you Jack, you brought up like trying to do it at a home course. I've always enjoyed and I've personally played better being out at a way sites. Like g even to the extent going to a qualifier where n I'm gonna know no one, no one's gonna know me. Like just lets me like live in like my element and just like all the noise disappears when so it's less about course fit. It's more about like, hey, I kinda wanna just be somewhere I can be isolated and just
Jack Larkin (59:22.878)
Mm-hmm.
The Professor (59:39.622)
worry about me and not worry about I gotta have that three minute conversation with, you know, Joe over there that I haven't seen in six months.
Jack Larkin (59:46.459)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Zach Healy (59:47.342)
Completely agree.
Matt Considine (59:48.343)
Professor, how much do you look at the calendar of a football games and what's going on when you're selecting your venues? Does that come into play, tailgates? There you go, lessons. These
The Professor (59:54.367)
one hundred one hundred percent. See we made that mistake. We sh we should we should not have charged we should not have chosen a home site. We should have gone into a way site. Wouldn't wouldn't have been lined up with the Texas game, we'd have been fine.
Zach Healy (01:00:06.488)
Character building years all I look at that as.
Jack Larkin (01:00:07.944)
Yeah.
The Professor (01:00:08.274)
That's right. Lesson learned.
Matt Considine (01:00:08.321)
Yeah, hey, that's I'm taking these guys missed it three years in a row. I didn't know that until we got on this show. So that's helpful for me. I wanna ask about match play. Cause I think a l a lot of the mid amps and many that listen to our show, they're yeah, getting there is sweet. You know, any USGA championship, you're in the point whatever percent, you know, it's it's such an honor to be there. But match play is the real goal in my eyes, cause getting able to, you know, get to the round of
whatever it is. I can't I don't even know. But you're getting that first round and you're playing a match play against another team. t tell me about s some of your guys' favorite matches. I know for two in particular that win extra holes. what what what is it like to to all this of us that haven't been in that head to head scenario in a US J championship? what is that like?
Jack Larkin (01:01:00.713)
I it's the coolest thing you can do. it is so fun because you have to remind yourself you're enjoying it but you're so locked in and competitive. I think it's one of the coolest, if not the coolest experience you can do from a tournament play standpoint.
Zach Healy (01:01:19.17)
Yeah, totally agree. And just from a momentum too. I you're so up and down throughout the course of the matches. You know, you get on these runs where you've got by a couple holes and then the next thing you know, you're back to square through like eight and you're like, How did that just happen? I think I mean it it it is so fun. I think was was it last year, Lark, in plain field? We were down with like two or three, down like two with like
Jack Larkin (01:01:44.681)
down two with two to go.
Zach Healy (01:01:47.779)
Yeah, and we came back, Larkin made an absolute bomb. I think it was like sixty feet or something on one hole. Yes. So there's there's things like that that don't happen in stroke play. Because
Jack Larkin (01:01:53.769)
I'm still yelling from it going in. It was so awesome.
Zach Healy (01:02:05.334)
Other than, you call it the final round. If it's in the second round, it doesn't really matter. You know, match play is eighteen holes straight up, you win or you lose. Or you go to extra holes. So there's stuff like that and emotions play into it. I'd be lying if I wouldn't say that there's not some gamesmanship or things that you do in your head to try and give yourself some form of an advantage.
So y that that doesn't happen when you're just like, All right, we're paired together the next two days, boys, then they cut. This is just strip play.
Jack Larkin (01:02:36.477)
Yeah, it's also a wild dynamic from my perspective. Like we're talking earlier about trying to keep it like as even keeled as possible. Like your emotions start to run high. Like you hit a good shot and you're high fiving your caddy or your partner and you're like, let's go. Or conversely, you get, you know, the match flipped on you you like, it's easy to get down quickly. And I think that's one of the best things that Zach and I do as a team.
Like we were two down with two to go last year in a match. We were three down through eight this year in our quarterfinal match. So like we know that we can flip the momentum so quickly and all it takes is one or two, you know, good putts, good shots, whatever. And you can almost like in match play, you can feel that momentum change. Like you might be two down through nine and you're like, oh, we got them right where we want them. And it's like, where else will you be excited to be two down at the turn?
But you can just like, you can feel it. And the more you do it, the more experience you get and the better I think you get at it of like how to rein in those emotions when you need to. But also Zach's point from a gamesman's standpoint, like how do you let them out a little bit when you need to, to use it to your advantage?
Zach Healy (01:03:48.675)
Yeah. It's pretty it's if the more match play you play too, th y you can you can almost sense when the momentum is switching a little bit. And so that's when I think like from a strategy standpoint, you either buckle down and you're like, Hey, this is our chance. The doors just creeped open and then you can watch them. I'm not gonna say spiral, but you just don't see them in the same way and you're like, All right, now we gotta go.
Jack Larkin (01:04:06.034)
Mm-hmm.
The Professor (01:04:14.138)
You just the energy I hear y'all just again why I love matchplay so much and I just think it's a far superior form of golf.
And I gotta dig in do can you give us a gamanship tip? Something y'all do. I mean, something that you're okay in letting the secret out of the bag that you do when you're on the course to maybe tinker with someone else, you know, is it the change in the pocket, is it the slow walk and just taking a little extra lap around the green or the tea box before you peg it? You know, what's what what's one that maybe you can let out of the bag? Keep your keep your big gun secret, but
Jack Larkin (01:04:46.279)
Yeah, the big guns quiet. For me, I love to get out in front. Like regardless of who has a tee or who doesn't, I'm always like, I want to be the first one off the box and I want to get out there and walk fast. And then if the guys we're playing against start to pick up on that, then I'll just drop back and be way behind and say like, okay, well, I don't need to be out first.
Zach Healy (01:04:46.646)
Yeah.
Jack Larkin (01:05:09.351)
So like we almost try to mix up the pace a little bit. But like I'm all for trying to get as far out as possible no matter what. Just to be like, I'm the first one out, you're coming to get us.
The Professor (01:05:12.368)
Uh-huh.
Zach Healy (01:05:21.388)
Yeah, I I definitely picked up a that came from I think we l Larkin brought that up in college too and like I've kind of applied that too.
I would say I'm inherently a pretty big talker, which some people don't like and
Jack Larkin (01:05:35.549)
Mm-hmm.
Zach Healy (01:05:38.319)
I think I will not name names, but it was pretty evident this year. And so I think when you pick up on somebody that doesn't like to talk, I tend to try and hammer down on that and I'm like, I'll talk all day long. so yeah, I was about to say. And so just doing stuff like that, like all respectfully, right? Like the you know, you you don't want to cross a line and do something that, especially in an amateur, like we all love this game and it's a gentleman's game.
Matt Considine (01:05:52.816)
Tal talk to this tree if I gotta talk to something.
The Professor (01:05:59.613)
Yeah, yeah.
Zach Healy (01:06:08.312)
too but you know there's certain things where you can hey if somebody's veering off to the right over towards the woods and wants to walk I may just kinda go see what's going on over there and ask a couple of questions while we're walking down the fairway. Yeah. Exactly.
The Professor (01:06:17.938)
He you yeah, you wanna know about their family and their career path and like what investments they're getting into. That's you're just an inquisitive person. You just wanna you wanna learn about them.
Zach Healy (01:06:25.742)
Yeah, just just look, I it's look, I was born with crippling ADHD. It's just I it it's it's something I can't control. Sorry about it. Yeah.
Jack Larkin (01:06:32.649)
And that's it.
Matt Considine (01:06:33.572)
I have a doctor's note, you know.
Jack Larkin (01:06:36.433)
And just for the record, obviously, nothing is malicious. And it's like funny, it's like sometimes we'll be talking to guys, even this year, we talked to bunch of guys during matches and we're like, these guys are awesome. Like they're great guys. Like it's just so, you're also still like enjoying and having fun. But yeah, there's definitely a few subtleties in there without, like we never cross a line, but there's stuff you can flirt with a little bit just to help yourself out.
Zach Healy (01:06:40.012)
No.
Zach Healy (01:06:46.766)
Mm-hmm.
The Professor (01:06:50.94)
Yeah.
Matt Considine (01:07:02.54)
It allows golf to be like other sports too, where it's it's much more of a shared experience, right? Like just what we're saying here is like that stuff happens in basketball games and soccer games all the freaking time, you know? And it's not malicious, like you said, Jack, but it's just a part of, you know, I feel like individual match or individual golf just allows us to isolate so much easier. It almost rewards it, whereas team golf match play, it's like
Jack Larkin (01:07:13.865)
Mm-hmm.
Matt Considine (01:07:31.854)
You gotta be observant. You have to interact in some way. And and game stre gamesmanship becomes like a normal extension of that. That makes it kind of fun, you know? And yeah, I I I I love that. I have one last question. I know we don't wanna keep you guys. I could be talking to you all day. professor can I hit him with just one more? You got anything? I I I I just think that this is so cool because you know, most of our listeners, there's many l listeners that that
The Professor (01:07:53.059)
Go for it. Take us home.
Matt Considine (01:08:01.411)
You know, just like the professor and I are aspiring to play in US four balls. But many of our listeners are not elite amateur golfers, but they do play competitively. That that is a commonality about our our audience. And what I mean by that is it might just be their club golf at their local club. It might be, you know, a county am or or doing something like NewClub club where we play matches all the time. But I see a lot of people, golfers.
And and honestly, particularly in the Southeast fellas, is is there's a resistance to the team formats, the team golf. And and even when we play something like four ball, people are are mentally approaching it as I'm playing an individual ball, I'm posting my number and I'm playing my score, and then it's just a part of that f four ball team score, which kind of loses the plot entirely in my opinion. And so like I I I
I know there's so much enjoyment, and I can hear it. Just you guys talking about your experiences that it's not just about winning. Yes, we're all competitors, but it's embracing that team format, embracing match play, maybe. And so I'm my my last question is kind of for for your enjoyment of the game of golf. Your guys love the game of golf. Like how has the team game of golf
helped you appreciate that versus you know playing as an individual. Cause what I always am trying to explain to folks is give it a try. Like really embrace this four ball format with a partner and and and go at it. You're gonna have a good time versus worrying about your handicap or your score or whatever.
Jack Larkin (01:09:48.298)
I mean, it's a great question. I personally, I just come to realize it's so much more fun. you know, Zach and I could go play an individual stroke play around together, but we're not gonna feed off each other. We're not gonna vibe with each other as much. Like, we're not gonna be as excited when the other person that's a good shot or a good putt. Like, it just makes the game so much more enjoyable and so much more fun where...
Zach Healy (01:09:48.76)
Go Lark.
Jack Larkin (01:10:14.345)
I like we've harped on you don't you don't have to be perfect. You know, I can't can't tell you how great it is a feeling when you pick up your six footer for par because your partner knocks in a 12 footer for birdie. Like that's awesome. Like it just makes it so much more enjoyable so much more fun and from like a conversation standpoint, you know, we always joke it's like, you know, you don't want to be the guy after the round that's telling everybody about your round but it's so much more fun to be able to talk with your partner about y'all's round together.
as opposed to saying like here's what I did, here's what I did, here's what I did. It's like remember your shot on six, remember your putt on 12.
Zach Healy (01:10:50.786)
Yeah, I mean you can harb it it is just more it's so simple but it is just more fun. But there's strength in numbers too, right? Like you're s very rarely in golf now are there two people working towards a common goal. Like
It's inherently mainly an individual game, whether that's playing in your club championship or trying to qualify for the US Amateur. Like it's on you. So when you get, you know, one of your best friends or whoever it is that you're playing with and you're in the thick of it together, kind of, you know, quote unquote in the battle, like it is so fun to pick each other up, feed off of each other, but also like, hey, we're in this together. Like we're all trying to get to the end goal of winning this just one match.
Yes, there are I don't know how many matches, six batches or whatever it is. But
In match play, all you do is focus on one 'cause you can't there's nothing else you can do after that. So when you're together and bantering and doing that and picking each other up or there's something that gives you a little bit more confidence too when you know, I hit it in the crap and Larkin makes birdie and vice versa. Like that that's fun together too, 'cause very rarely am I like clapping and super happy after I hit it in out of bounds and we walk away with three. I mean, what other format can you hit one out of bounds and on your scorecard together you go, that's a circle, thanks for coming.
The Professor (01:12:06.514)
Yeah.
Matt Considine (01:12:12.989)
Amen. I can't add anything else to those answers, man. That is just such a awakening, I think a lot of people have yet to experience, and I hope more people do. The team game. Well, fellas, we w we'll let you get back to the day jobs. Thank you for joining us this morning. Professor, tremendous booking. I look forward to to meet you guys in person. Jack, I think we've met Zach, I'm not sure, but I I'd love to tee it up and and play with you guys and and learn f firsthand.
You know what it takes. and thanks everybody for listening to the show. If you're not a subscriber to the bagdrop, please join us. Subscribe, hit the like, rate, review, all the stuff in front of you. And thanks for supporting the bagdrop, you know, making golf more meaningful for for all of us who love it. If you want to connect with the professor and I or any of our guests, we always put handles and links in the show notes. And shout out to Brad Malach a NewClub club member who's helping us produce these episodes.
we're trying to step up the listening experience for everybody. So thank you to him. And the Bag Drop and New Club Golf Society are in partnership with Titleist the number one ball in golf and their all NewClub alignment golf balls. Check out the the NewClub alignment golf balls they have over at Titleist.com. We'll catch you guys on the next one.
The Professor (01:13:09.809)
Awesome work.