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Two friends – Dave Gerhardt (@davegerhardt) and Casey Ford (@fordpr) – share their love of golf in podcast form as they talk shop & chat with those who have made golf their long game.
00:01.64
dave_gerhardt
Hey, everybody thanks for listening to another episode of the long game pod casey ah is in an undisclosed location in a bunker somewhere in a hotel this is the commitment to the pod is Casey is traveling with his family and he packed this shirt Mike this going did this did the microphone in the travel. The travel bag did you check it.
00:21.75
Casey Ford
I'd show you the travel case but it's propping up my laptop right now. But yeah I get the whole we got through customs or not customs to go to Florida but we got through wherever that wherever the last year I I we came down the Florida I um not a big deal not to brag but had some protein powder in my bag.
00:23.50
dave_gerhardt
Love that I got to customs.
00:36.99
dave_gerhardt
Not to brag.
00:37.66
Casey Ford
And they called the bomb sniffing dogs and I almost meant like I had told my wife like just go take our daughter go leave me behind this time less bomb sniffing dogs for the microphone but we got here.
00:47.32
dave_gerhardt
Awesome! Awesome and did you play a little go do you've you got 1 round to golf in.
00:52.60
Casey Ford
I got one around a golf in yeah yesterday I'm going to try to play again in a few days I had a lesson scheduled for a few days ago but had to call it off because I threw up my back loading luggage into the rental car which is the oldest I've ever felt in my life.
01:08.40
dave_gerhardt
Which type of back was it. What.
01:10.38
Casey Ford
Lugging a piece of luggage into into a minivan which was about rock bottom in my life.
01:13.36
dave_gerhardt
Was it one of those like throw out your back and like instantly everything seizes up and you just like are in the most pain ever.
01:21.50
Casey Ford
Yeah I've been building for a little bit I probably get something similar to this once a year and and it was building and then the night before Christmas wrapping presence I really felt that go hunched over and then Christmas day was really bad I was crawling around my my my dad's house and then ah got a little better and then just.
01:35.50
dave_gerhardt
Ah.
01:39.23
Casey Ford
Really reaggravated it on on Friday so this guy I took ah was supposed to take a lesson from. We came down last year too was supposed to take a lesson from got covid. So now this guy thinks I'm just like stringing him along for lessons that are never going to happen. But I'm going to try to to circle back to that guy. No I got covered we came down here and got covid.
01:51.50
dave_gerhardt
Ah, you you were supposed to get less roommon last year and he had covered oh man and.
01:58.26
Casey Ford
So I'm over for 2 trying to get lessons from this guy but and it was evident I hadn't had any lessons when I played yesterday because it was not pretty, but.
02:04.41
dave_gerhardt
I saw the car though I had nice little birdie on 16 part 3 to keep you coming back for more. Did you post it did you post it if you play you post.
02:11.63
Casey Ford
Yep, absolutely but it was bad. There was a couple 4 4 puts yo yeah I put I post every score Dave you have to.
02:20.20
dave_gerhardt
That's what the that's what the usja wants if you play you post I did see a big update from the Usj which is you can now you can now post nine hole score like nine hole scores on its own which is it seems silly, but that's actually huge because normally you post a nine hole score you got to wait for it to be combined nonsense. It's a great idea.
02:26.81
Casey Ford
I Saw that.
02:33.20
Casey Ford
Well, it's funny that they had for like years this campaign of like just play 9 just play 9 just by 9 It doesn't it doesn't count, get the kids involved just by 9 doesn't count like well how but we make it count. So luckily they fix that in their software. But.
02:39.44
dave_gerhardt
Um, but it doesn't count.
02:48.14
dave_gerhardt
All right? So it's the first week of the pga tour season but a weird week for us because we got travel. We got kids. Ah we we didn't we didn't get an episode in in time to do pics for the century. But I'm excited to watch a little golf but we got a little. Surprise bonus episode and um, we just spent an hour talking to Kyle Porter Kyle's a golf writer for Cbs he writes his book called a normal sport which casey has printed out and and read on the plane and to prep for the pod. What what was your reaction to the conversation with Kyle.
03:20.67
Casey Ford
Great guy. Ah, really interesting story found his way to covering golf. Pretty unconventional way I'd say um, but yeah, it was a great conversation. His great insight on covering the tour very different way than a lot of I would say the traditional old guard. Golf media covers it and if you don't know Kyle if you don't think you know who Kyle is you and you fall golf. You know who Kyle is because you've definitely seen his his Twitter profile pop up on your feed so great conversation.
03:47.19
dave_gerhardt
Yeah, it. It was awesome. Um, it like re-energized me for the long game pod because we just were thinking about like what types of content we want to create the stuff that we want to talk about I messaged casey a couple weeks ago I'm like hey you like I Kyle Porter he's like yeah, he's like 1 of my favorite golf writers I'm like. He follows me on Twitter and I was like so I just dmed him or or he happened to Dm me one day and was like hey can I send you a copy of my book and I was like what is what is happening right now and and so he in I went back in an email I replied to his email I was like just going to shoot my shot here. My friend and I have this podcast. But you come on it and he was like yes I was like wait for real and it was awesome. It was awesome.
04:28.11
Casey Ford
Well he he must have checked the stats and saw that we were up to the number 49 golf podcast in the United States
04:33.91
dave_gerhardt
Yeah, he told his wife he's like honey. He's like honey I need it I like you got to take the kids today because I got to I got to be in the long game pod. They're huge in Sweden and this is a big audience for me to sell copies of the book.
04:40.51
Casey Ford
Ah, then.
04:44.67
Casey Ford
No good conversation though I really enjoyed and in he he wants to come back quarterly to do kind of a state of the sport kind of thing so that would be really fun.
04:53.58
dave_gerhardt
Yeah, so enjoy this conversation with Kyle we talk about his path as a golf writer how he watches golf how he follows golf um a little bit about a little insight into somebody that's in the golf world that ah that I think will be a really enjoyable conversation. We talked a little bit about um. The upcoming golf season. But I think it would be awesome to have him on in a couple months and hey let us know if you like this episode send us a note long game pod at Gmail.com let us know should we have more guests you just want to hear Casey and I keep riffing and ranting I had a awesome time talking to Kyle I'd love to get more guests on so feel free to. You know Hol Holler Atta send us some feedback in a casey sent me a message. We got a listener listener live on the ground at the davis at the Dl three grill which is which made my week. Fantastic so long game pod run all right.
05:40.46
Casey Ford
Absolutely shout out Mark who who went to the DL 3 grill over the holidays sent us another great review.
05:49.17
dave_gerhardt
Case get some get some dead bugs in get some bird dogs in get get that mobility in the back and we need to get you ready all right.
05:54.17
Casey Ford
You got it. Let's see if I make it to this lesson in a few days but hopefully I'll have more to share or I'll be doing this vertically or horizontally sorry for my bed.
05:57.63
dave_gerhardt
Alright. All right here's our interview with Kyle Porter
00:02.48
dave_gerhardt
All the guys with hair are fixing their hair. This is brutal all right? hey everybody welcome to the long game podcast I'm Dave Gearhart this is my co-host Casey Ford ah case where are you right? now. Are you on location somewhere undisclosed bunker in a hotel somewhere.
00:17.55
Casey Ford
Yeah, this is called the situation room. It was a situation trying to find a conference room in this hotel. It came down to the last minute but we got one so it looks like a hostage video where there's no like nothing that can give away my location in the background right? I think they're in the room screaming which is.
00:24.34
dave_gerhardt
Alright, where where are your where are your children right now.
00:35.44
dave_gerhardt
Love that I love that and we're pumped because it's finally 2024 we started this golf podcast in the fall which is like the worst time because there's plenty of news but we're not trying to be a news show and so we're like here cover like talking about like the Grant Thornton and you know what at the Pnc.
00:36.28
Casey Ford
I'm on vacation from my vacation.
00:54.20
dave_gerhardt
And we're excited. There's actual golf. But today we have an actual golf person a golf talent an industry media mind Kyle Porter is here with us Kyle's one of my favorite golf resources when I when I I texted Casey I was like you know this guy Kyle Porter follows me on Twitter I'm not sure why. And then he sent me. He sent me a copy of his book and I'm like you know what? I usually don't ever do this but I'm gonna shoot my shot and I asked him to come on the podcast and he was kind enough to come on so Kyle's a golf writer. He writes for Cbs Sports he just published the latest edition of his book called normal sport 3 you've probably seen him on golf Twitter if you're in that world Kyle Porter welcome to long gate podcast. Thank you for being here.
01:34.51
Kyle Porter
Yeah, thanks for thanks for having me on I'm sorry I'm I'm not in the situation room I'm in my ah my back office but I am very sweaty and red-faced because I just got done with a run trying to fight dad Bot I'm right there with you Dave and ah.
01:45.37
dave_gerhardt
Case.
01:49.69
Kyle Porter
Yeah, that's that's kind of my that's my situation right now it's It's not pretty.
01:54.50
dave_gerhardt
Casey and I were just texting about running last night because he's like we couldn't be more opposite I'm like yeah like you know you go for a run without a headphones. He's like no you run and I don't but don't you.
02:01.42
Casey Ford
Yeah, headphones are just a completely separate thing. Yeah are you sure? that's not a fake background Kyle looks like something that maybe you uploaded to make it look like you're somewhere else looks too clean.
02:10.27
Kyle Porter
No, no, no, it's not it's it's I I spent too much money creating this background I Wish it was a fake background but ah, wait who which of y'all doesn't go doesn't wear headphones.
02:21.17
dave_gerhardt
I Don't It's a new. It's a new thing. It's a new thing I'm happy to talk about this with you.
02:24.35
Casey Ford
Um, Dave runs without headphones.
02:26.28
Kyle Porter
Well what? what's the like. Well yeah I would love to hear more like what's the reason.
02:32.18
dave_gerhardt
So I'm not I'm not like I'm not even like a heart like how much how what did you just run today. How much did you run perfect. That's I ran three miles this morning I I I started to run a lot more I was going to train for like a marathon I just got too much in the 8 9 10 i.
02:32.94
Casey Ford
This is great I don't feel as crazy anymore.
02:39.99
Kyle Porter
Three miles.
02:52.20
dave_gerhardt
Didn't feel good I wanted I get this nice buzz from a run and I realized like 3 to six miles is like is perfect. It sets me out for the day it changes my mood you know makes me feel great. Um, and I would I would be listening to podcasts I would you know listen to podcasts or music. But then um, somebody was like.
02:57.70
Kyle Porter
Um, yeah.
03:10.45
dave_gerhardt
Somebody that a good friend of was like just try running with no headphones I'm like well what do? what do you do? and once you get into the run. It's It's amazing I Just it. It gives me if I do it in the morning before my day it it gives me time to just like it's almost like a form of meditation. So I'm not gonna I'm not gonna try to sell you on it. Um.
03:28.45
Kyle Porter
Um, so you just are are you thinking about different ideas for for like business or thinking about.
03:29.39
dave_gerhardt
I Can so.
03:34.80
dave_gerhardt
Business. Um, yeah like I might be grump like I could be I might be like grumpy about something like with my family or my business or so or I don't necessarily go out for a run with an intention of like I'm going to solve this problem but I found that like if I go. Without listening to a podcast or music. Even it forces me, it's almost I don't know if you've ever tried meditation allll but it almost forces me to just kind of like just be be there and I'm just running and it sucks for the first 5 to 10 minutes and a couple times I do it but now I found myself looking forward to it. And I just get out there and I like i' I'm rethinking about my run probably took me thirty thirty minutes to run those three miles this morning just nice and slow and easy and I I don't know what I thought about I don't know what happened but I I came back and it was almost like I blacked out and it didn't happen. So I think you should try it.
04:20.47
Kyle Porter
Okay, so so maybe it speeds it up a little bit even like in your head.
04:25.80
dave_gerhardt
It speeds it up. Yeah yeah, and I just I don't know there's something about like I'd be listening like you know, no laying up or Tim Ferriss or Joe Rogan or something like I I need I just need some space guys I don't I don't need those guys jamming in my ears the whole time and I found.
04:37.84
Kyle Porter
Um, yeah, so the thing that that speeds it up for me is I've got a couple guys that ah we usually run together. They're out of town today. So I did it on my own and we usually run at a slow enough pace that we can kind of chat throughout.
04:42.90
dave_gerhardt
It's become a nice little break in the in the day for me.
04:53.51
dave_gerhardt
Yeah.
04:56.50
Kyle Porter
And that for me is like oh we just rangeed 6 miles like that went by incredibly fast I had't ah no I grew up playing playing baseball so we did more like shorter stuff. Ah, but you know ah dad bought I got I've got four kids so I've got a.
05:02.57
dave_gerhardt
Have you ah have you always been a runner.
05:15.18
dave_gerhardt
Yeah.
05:16.33
Kyle Porter
Got to do something to ah and and honestly like the thing for me over the last really it started probably I kind of got into it a little bit before covid and then into covid I was running with a group of guys and we would run on the streets of of where I live and it was it was apocalyptic. It was like. It was like there's like did the you know like this is we haven't seen a human in six days you know it's crazy. Um, and so it really I loved the sort of communal part of it. But I also loved something that you said which is it just changes. My.
05:40.90
dave_gerhardt
Right? right.
05:54.78
Kyle Porter
Outlook my mood on the day. It gives me a I think there's something to like suffering a little bit first thing in the morning and then everything else seems just a little bit I don't know about easier but just more manageable throughout the day.
06:02.33
dave_gerhardt
Yep.
06:10.20
dave_gerhardt
That's how I am I I I live a very soft life. Ah, and so that's the only it makes me feel like I'm ah a valuable member of society like I could do so like if if the zombies came like I'd be okay I could I could I could out outrun them and then the.
06:13.40
Kyle Porter
Same.
06:24.55
Kyle Porter
Um, yeah.
06:27.41
dave_gerhardt
Ah, Casey's going to just like jump out of the out of the building right now. But.
06:28.77
Casey Ford
I Just can say this running conversation might as well be in Spanish to me.
06:34.53
dave_gerhardt
Ah, you don't know Spanish Um, the yeah yeah.
06:36.45
Kyle Porter
You're you're more of a palottis guy or what.
06:37.65
Casey Ford
I Yeah I'm I'm dead on the head funds on the couch guy guy.
06:42.18
dave_gerhardt
Ah, but the the the reason I got the the running thing for me Kyle was like um I like the I used to like go to Crossfit and go to the gym and it just became too you you have four kids which is like you deserve it. You deserve a trophy or something something I have two casey has 2 and just.
07:00.51
Kyle Porter
Um, yeah.
07:00.56
dave_gerhardt
The day shrinks so quickly and the thing that I loved about running was like it's kind of like you can take it anywhere you're you're traveling for work. You're visiting family wherever you are like if you can just sneak out for thirty forty minutes you know that like your mood is going to be changed for for the rest of the day and that's kind of the thing that that flipped it for me. Did you see there's this clip there was this clip casy and I put shared it last week but I forget who posted it was like tiger was like I used to run I used to wake up I used to run four miles I I come home I'd have breakfast I'd lift I'd go hit balls I'd play eighteen I go play another eighteen then I go play basketball then I go play tennis. Whatever. And then John Daley you know then they show John Dale and he's like he did his thing but like do actually believe that is it part as some a guy who ran a guy who ran three miles this morning like do believe tiger was what was playing 18 holes running eight miles in a day lifting I guess that's why he got hurt like is is any of that hyperbole.
07:53.51
Kyle Porter
No I think I think that was part of his tiger is is wired very differently. He's when when people talk about people talk about geniuses all the time right? And how they're they're wired like so differently and I was listening to. Somebody it might have been Morgan Hasl who wrote psychology of money and he was talking about how like oh you think you think like you're surprised that Elon Musk who took on Nasa when he was like 28 is popping off on Twitter like why? Why are you surprised like he's he's different than like all these other humans and I think. I think tiger is I think tiger's a genius like I legitimately think that and I think that he is just wired so so differently and some of that is nature. Some of it was nurture and there's probably some hyperbole in there. Why did he run five miles every single day probably not but I do think that he. I think he aspired to be this like almost like the Brooks Kepta thing where Brooks is like oh I'm an Nfl linebacker. It's like yeah I've seen Nfl linebackers you're probably not I think tiger kind of was like the pre-b brooks like he aspired to that and that was his way of um of sort of trying to make that happen.
08:55.83
dave_gerhardt
Right.
09:07.00
Kyle Porter
Ah, early on as as a golfer.
09:10.68
dave_gerhardt
It's funny because the average male can't even go play golf and then they have you're you're so tired you have to sit on the couch for the rest of the day.
09:17.16
Kyle Porter
Well, that's the thing is like I I don't I've never played enough golf to where my body gets accustomed to like the swing to where I'm not sore the next day like I've never played. Like we had a guys' trip a couple weeks ago and we played what did we play like almost 72 holes in three days and that's like the most I've ever played in three days I've not played you know these guys are playing 36 a day every day and I think your body just gets. You know how when you haven't lifted in a while and you go lift and you're like oh my gosh like that was I'm so sore that I can't even like go to the bathroom the next day yeah like that's how I am sometimes golf and I think once you get into the routine of lifting though it goes away and I think that's how those guys are with with the golf swing.
09:55.65
dave_gerhardt
Yeah, you're you're sore for like four days after
10:08.62
Casey Ford
So you used. Yeah.
10:09.61
dave_gerhardt
It's so under. It's so underrated that playing golf multiple days in a row I I have just started recently like playing more and I'm in Vermont. It's not like the California amateur golf scene right? It's I play some competitive amateur golf like I'm a you know one handicap right.
10:09.68
Kyle Porter
Ah, guess.
10:26.92
dave_gerhardt
There's tournaments that are like 2 or 3 days in a row by that third day I'm like the last thing that I want to do on planet earth is go play golf right now and like the fact that these guys have to do this. You know, whatever day you have the pro am you have? Yeah there's a practice round There's a proam. There's Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday get on a plane like I think that's this. So underrated of people who see golf from the outside world. They're like man this is the softest thing ever and I think if you actually had to get out there and walk that many days in a row that mental grind of all those days in a row. it's it's it's it's insane what that must feel like.
10:57.80
Kyle Porter
I think it's I think I think about this a lot and I think it is this idea of falling in love with the boredom of it because when you've done it that much for that long I mean think about how many how many golf shots has Phil Micholson hit in his life like. 30000000 illion I don I don't know I'm just making up numbers how you could probably do the math on it. He's hit millions yeah he probably does he's hit millions and millions of golf shots and you have to you have to be in There's this great quote from Novak Djokovic
11:17.69
dave_gerhardt
He probably knows.
11:29.91
Kyle Porter
Ah, from a couple years ago. It was ah it was an interview and I think it was the financial times I believe it's a newspaper in in London and he said I just love hitting the tennis ball and it's kind of a throwaway quote unless you unless you dig into it and you're like yeah that's kind of what it takes. To be great at something like whatever you whatever it is whether it's golf or tennis or you know making spreadsheets or doing healthcare deals or whatever it is. You have to if you want to be great at it. You have to really love that thing and I mean to your point. Dave like there's a lot of guys out on tour that they don't they don't love it. You know I was talking to I was talking to Charles Howell 1 time and he is somebody that loves it but he was like you know guys don't understand how stressful and not fun. Tournament golf is and there's guys out on tour that. Are just like guys that we know that have regular jobs. They're just doing it because they get paid good money and it it'd be like what else are they going to do you know? and but I think the ones that are truly great like the speeds and the rories and the roms like they truly love hitting the golf ball and I think that's a pretty. Um, it's ah it's a thing that I love studying and thinking about and it's something that a lot of them. Enjoy talking about as well.
12:55.10
Casey Ford
Hes gonna say there's a clip going around ah social media right now from a podcast with Doc Rivers and he's talking about playing with a bunch of people and tiger had been practicing at the course and they went out played a whole round come back tigers still out there. They go have lunch or whatever they had after. It starts pouring rain they go look. He's still out there practicing it was like two weeks before the british or something so he just wanted to simulate rain so like to your point you got to be you got to be like a psycho to to really want to hit balls in the rain but it's really the love of that and the mundane stuff that that you know makes the difference I think from these guys.
13:28.10
Kyle Porter
Um, I think 1 thing that's interesting. Are you doing it out of fear out of Joy John Rom had this quote last year during the during Riviera genesis week and he was talking about how he's like he's like I don't. Practice and try to get better and try to win events because I'm scared of not doing it I do it because I love doing it and I think I think for tiger I think there is I was talking to Rory about this 1 time and he was talking about how tiger loves figuring out like the really nerdy like. Scientific like what if I shift my you know right? Index finger to millimeters this way. What does that do to the ball flight and I think I think there's a true like wired into his Dna joy of doing that and I think that's not. That specific thing is true of all top guys because they're not all crazy like that. But there is a true joy that emanates from most of them from just like hitting the golf ball hundreds of thousands if not if not millions of times.
14:30.76
dave_gerhardt
Kyle you think there's anybody that's a topish player in the world. Let's say top us top 100 that is that this is my job business mindset that doesn't love it. But they might be good enough at it and they're making a bunch of money or or is there a cutoff like it's it's not possible to be a. Elite to that level right? I would actually I scribbled in my notebook as I'm telling like that. It's kind of like the perfect case for li for for for the other tour then right like.
14:49.32
Casey Ford
Or did they all just go to live.
14:50.63
Kyle Porter
Ah, no.
15:00.70
Kyle Porter
For sure it it. It definitely is um I think there there's different levels to it right? like I can think of 1 name that I'll tell you later that has been in the top hundred that basically hates golf and doesn't. Like if he could make $400000 or $700000 a different way. He would go do that? Um, but I think there's I think there's some guys certainly even in the top twenty five or fifty that you know like look at Brookes Kepka Brooks Kafka love love love golf the way that Rory or speedath does probably not but I but I definitely think he loves it more than the guy that has been in the top hundred that. Um that hates it, you know so I think there's definitely there's guys in the top hundred that don't like it as much as. Some of the guys in the top 10 I think where it I think where the cutoff is is. It's very very difficult to get inside the top 10 in the world. Um, if you don't love it like Victor Hovelin loves golf like he goes and plays these crazy courses in Scandinavia in. Like his off months because he loves golf like the guys that are it's when you're that talented and you love it that much. It's very difficult even if you have all the talent in the world to break into that top 10 which is where all those guys are if you don't also love it.
16:16.39
dave_gerhardt
Yeah.
16:24.18
dave_gerhardt
All right? That's why you see hovelin you know with with his buddies in genes playing on the track man on a Friday night you know having a beer doing whatever because it's like well that's that's what he does. That's that's what what else am I Goingnna do I'm going to play golf.
16:31.65
Kyle Porter
Um, yes, yeah, yeah, yeah, which there's some.
16:38.82
Casey Ford
I was going to say too like it makes the rom decision so much more confounding to me too because he seems like such a Historian and guy that really loves the game talks about it so much So obviously money talks. But that's you know, very confusing move from my perspective.
16:47.13
Kyle Porter
Um, yes.
16:53.69
Kyle Porter
So I agree with you and I think that that was you know you could draw this pretty distinct line before Pre-ram of like okay the villains and the not villains and maybe even more so like.
17:02.00
Casey Ford
Right.
17:09.38
Kyle Porter
The guys who truly love it and the guys who kind of just wanted to take a payday and Rom is a very different thing and I think a couple things happened 1 obviously June sixth then the the sort of merger changed the the calculus for for some of those guys and I think that you know what you're saying if you get. Paid enough. You can kind of justify like well we're probably going to come back together anyway, so whatever. But I think the other thing that didn't get talked about as much is that Rom is I think generationally good I think he's I think it's him and Rory over the last ten years you could throw deejay in there I don't know how. Maybe speed or jt we'll see how those those guys kind of play out but Rom is is his trajectory is to to be 1 of the I think 25 best players of all time probably better and I don't think he ever felt like he was treated like that ah on the pga tour and. In sort of the circles that he ran in. It was always Rory Rory Rory and Rory deserves a lot of that. Um, but he got almost too much of it and I think rom looked at that and was like screw this like I don'tt I don't want to be a part of this Jt Rory speedath tiger thing and I don't think that's anything that. I don't think those guys ostracize him I don't think they were I think it was more so Merwin Tebow was a thing and people just hated tebow because he got so much attention and you're like well that's not really tebow's fault like he's just kind of doing his thing. That's how I I think rom started to feel like that about Rory and Jt and some of these other guys and i.
18:38.25
Casey Ford
Ah.
18:44.90
Kyle Porter
I Don't know I don't think that's the reason he left to go to live but I definitely think it sort of played into the the the decision that he made um and it it really maybe it. It was the thing that pushed eventually pushed him over the edge.
18:57.65
Casey Ford
And do do you see that? do you find that or do you think that Rory felt that as well kind of and you think that's why he's taken this step back from kind of being so outspoken the players counsel.
19:02.20
Kyle Porter
Yes, so he definitely he definitely felt it There was a moment at the writer cup I was in the press conference afterwards and Rory got like 10 questions before Rom got his first question. And there's this moment where rom gets a question and Rory jumps in and said I mean he's only the best player in the world and he was he was trying to I think he was trying to let rom know hey I see you I hear your frustration I am aware of like. Your annoyance with all this and I want you to know that about me. Um, before we go forward. So I definitely think he was he was aware of kind of just that sort of undercurrent that that's been going on for a while.
19:53.32
dave_gerhardt
Kyle has all of this stuff like you how long have you been covering golf now a decade almost.
19:56.14
Kyle Porter
Yeah, so my first year covering the pj tour for Cbs was in 2012 so this is what 11 years now
20:05.73
dave_gerhardt
And and before that you weren't you were you were into golf you you played Golf enjoyed the game but you weren't like focused on the the whole thing right.
20:17.20
Kyle Porter
Yeah I grew up I Grew up playing baseball played baseball in high school and college and you know during that time. My um, my actually I haven't shared this story a ton. But. My mom was an elite amateur player like she played in some Us amateurs back in the whenever that was seventy s and and eighty s I Guess when when she was kind of kind of growing up coming up and she was a really good amateur player. So Our family was always had this sort of tie to golf. Um, we didn't. Play all the time she didn't really play once she became a mom and and was you know dealing with with ah with all the family stuff but we always had our family always had this sort of tie to golf. But I grew up playing baseball that was kind of my thing that I did played in college and I started at.
21:02.61
dave_gerhardt
Where did you go to college.
21:07.97
Kyle Porter
Trinity University in San Antonio which is ah a small division 3 and then I ended up at Oklahoma state and walked on ah hold on can we pause for a second I've got I've got a yard guy here I need to tell him to go away.
21:19.82
dave_gerhardt
Um, yeah, yeah, you're good. You're good I'll make a note. Yeah.
21:30.74
Casey Ford
21 yeah I'm I'm to ah ta is got a call at noon I get to jump on I and like back to back one. So I'm not gonna be able to send this over to them till later if but I guess they're not editing until later anyway. So.
21:41.15
dave_gerhardt
It's okay, yeah, it doesn't we're we're no rush I Ah just noticed that you traveled with the mic which is amazing.
21:49.30
Casey Ford
Yeah I finally got the the Mike stand by the way, don't hope you didn't but don't order any of that shit I told you well I found my own solution to what they said the thing was and it will cost you a lot more to go there route. So I found like a $20 fix
22:03.62
Kyle Porter
Okay, sorry um, or should I wish I jump back in. Um.
22:06.27
dave_gerhardt
You're good. You're good. Will yeah no so I want to I'm I'm going to take us I want to take it I want to take us back there but you you so you you ended up walking on it Oklahoma state what position.
22:10.90
Casey Ford
You're talking about your mom amateur.
22:16.73
Casey Ford
Oh yeah.
22:16.89
Kyle Porter
Walking on as a baseball player at Oklahoma state I pitched at Oklahoma state I wasn't good I was probably the worst part on the team got cut and just ended up going to school there and.
22:31.29
dave_gerhardt
I'm um I'm asking because I I went to I walked on to play baseball to pitch at a small d 1 school called wagner college in Staten Island New York small little d one school and um.
22:41.30
Kyle Porter
Um, okay yeah.
22:44.70
dave_gerhardt
It was amazing. I had an amazing time I met an amazing group of people. It was fun I'm of the belief that like you could have pretty much gone to college anywhere and you would have found a group of people and had fun and it's college but 1 of my biggest regrets was I was. I didn't play at all I sat on the bench I still had to work out I still had to run I still had to do all the nonsense like if I could give a lesson to my kids. It would be like doesn't matter what school if go to the place where you can play and I should have gone to like a small you know d 3 school or or whatever in in my area where I could have been like a. Everyday player and I would have gotten so much more of that. But that.
23:16.12
Kyle Porter
Well I I totally agree and that was what was interesting is my freshman year at at Trinity University I played some I didn't I didn't play a ton but I played some and then I went to ocom state and I was just you know, very fringy.
23:17.41
Casey Ford
Pay some of it doesn't.
23:32.83
Kyle Porter
To the team and I had so much more fun with the smaller lesser known you know and I and I think that's a life lesson right? is like you know these these things that you aspire to that are bigger and better or so-called bigger and better. They might not. You might not be as content with them. You might not be as as satisfied with them and you know for me when I got to okcomma state. It was like everybody there thought they were a ah a first round pick and you like I don't think the math works on this guy's like I don't think that's going to work out. Ah so anyway I got cut.
23:58.74
dave_gerhardt
Right? right? right.
24:06.48
Kyle Porter
After one semester and ended up just going to school there which was um which was a ton of fun and like you said found kind of my group of friends met my wife there and and all that. So um, yeah, after after college I started I ended up starting an Oklahoma state website so sort of like the.
24:16.00
dave_gerhardt
Beautiful. Okay.
24:24.97
Kyle Porter
Was a website covering football and basketball I got a corporate job I was kind of bored didn't didn't love. Um I just didn't want to be forty five or fifty and and be at that same job and so my wife is I just start something we're young I was like 26 at the time started the Oklahoma State site naively thinking like okay this this this could be my portfolio. This could be my resume to lead to a national writing job I didn't care if it was in golf or football or tennis or whatever and it turned out that it did lead to that which doesn't doesn't really happen I just kind of providentially met some of the right people and. Shane Bacon who um, worked at Fox and then golf channel for a while he was leaving the Cbs position I took his job in 2012 and that's where I've been ever since.
25:12.70
dave_gerhardt
Side note how many people can say that their mom was a ball or amateur player. That's that's amazing. It's just it's just very rare. It's very rare rare to hear that.
25:25.31
Kyle Porter
It it was crazy and I didn't appreciate it as a kid and I definitely I don't I don't even know that I appreciated it as an adult Intel now where I'm like oh that was that was a special thing like she was playing against Nancy Lopez and and kind of people from from that generation and um. You know it. It is. It's certainly cool and I didn't get to experience it a ton because she didn't play a lot after I was old enough to play but it definitely was a seed of like um.
25:56.75
Kyle Porter
Love for golf that was kind of planted in our family that didn't grow in all the kids or in everybody but I'm I'm grateful for that in her life because I think it translated some in mine.
26:09.26
dave_gerhardt
Well one of the things like that led Casey and I even starting this podcast is um, we both kind of grew up around golf through through our families or playing in high school and just you know or playing in high school watching on Tv working at a golf course. All those things then. That that period of like 18 to let's say 30 took took it off almost right? because you you gotta do other stuff. Golf takes a lot of time. You don't have the time for that and now it's kind of come full circle where it's like it's become that thing that I love. It's the it's the I've I've shed all my I don't watch any other sports anymore I've shed all my other hobbies i.
26:29.72
Kyle Porter
Yeah, yeah.
26:43.23
dave_gerhardt
You know like I got my business I got my family I got some fitness and I got golf and um, it's become this amazing outlet and that's kind of what led us to this podcast and it's interesting to hear like you kind of have some threads of that too which is like it was in your Dna but you you weren't ready for it at that point in your life and you end up covering golf.
26:47.34
Kyle Porter
Um, yeah.
27:01.23
dave_gerhardt
How did you go from like oh hey, you don't you weren't covering golf now. All of a sudden your job is to cover golf as 2 guys with a podcast in this space. Not that were're we're not necessarily gonna gonna tackle like the the coverage angleng but like how did you what? What did you take from your other job that got you to figure out like how to. How to unwind there. So. There's so much happening like what should you focus on what's interesting. How do you have takes like how did you learn? What's what's relevant to talk about in cover and golf I'm interested in hearing that process.
27:28.62
Kyle Porter
Yeah, that's a good question I ran my Oklahoma state website for 2 years before I got and that was on that was my side job I was working at a insurance company as my real job. So I don't know that I took away anything from the insurance shop but from my my side job my okhoma state website exactly so we talk about.
27:42.22
dave_gerhardt
A paycheck So a paycheck a paycheck.
27:47.61
Casey Ford
Motivation.
27:47.66
Kyle Porter
Talk about subsidizing things that was subsidizing some other things but my my hocom state site I ended up running that for as ah, they turned into a business and I sold it in in 2020 so I ran that for eight or nine years but you know those those 2 years of running it.
27:48.54
dave_gerhardt
Share.
28:05.55
Kyle Porter
The the biggest thing that um that I learned from that and I think the thing that probably convinced or helped convince Cbs to hire me was just my consistency of like everybody has like. Everybody has their dream of like oh I want to I want to be a writer I want to be a blogger and it's like yeah you can you can write one good blog post but can you do it every day for 2 years you know and even after those 2 years I wasn't I wasn't good at it. Like I I think I thought I was but looking back, you're like oh man, there's some tough tough takes tough tough. Ah just ways that I wrote in there but I was but I was building up to something that was that was hopefully better than that you know and so I think just. Being consistent and looking for and this is something that I so really struggle with even now looking for alternative takes that are logical like sports writing and sports commentary is. So um, illogical most of the time like people just repeat what they heard on. Yeah Espn or they heard somebody say on the local radio and you're like well can we like? can we play that out can we can can you take me like 3 steps past that and once you.
29:27.53
dave_gerhardt
Yeah, it doesn't it doesn't take much a text thread or or play golf with your buddies and you hear some like regurgitated like Stephen a Smith take and you're like where have I heard this before.
29:36.67
Kyle Porter
Yes, yes, and and then you start thinking like well man it doesn't seem that hard to just provide sort of a logical take that you can stand on that has some some real some real merit and ah. And kind of poke back against that so you you seem very anti-establishment and I guess in some ways it it kind of was I was always an outsider I never went to journalism school I never learned the you know ap style of writing I never learned any of that and so I think there were times where that hurt me I got a little bit out over my skis in terms of being. Arrogant about like oh I'm I'm the next Bill Simmons or whatever. But I think ultimately it helped me in that I created my own conversational style I created my own sort of ah. Takes that went against sort of the mainstream now I struggle with like still doing that because there's so much groupthink on golf Twitter as you guys have seen like I struggle to not have the same take as Sally as tron as kvv as Andy as Brendan as all these guys.
30:39.70
dave_gerhardt
Sure.
30:45.24
Kyle Porter
And I I I feel like I am struggling to be like okay I want to still have my own unique stuff but also still be part of this group and that's been that's been a tough balancing act over the last few years I think
30:58.27
dave_gerhardt
Um, how often are you writing now. Are you still writing every day.
31:01.97
Kyle Porter
Yeah, every day for for Cbs I'm writing oh it could be I mean a major week. It's it's crazy but regular week is probably 3 to 5 articles a week and then I've obviously got my my normal sport newsletter and I'll write that. Um. Once or twice a week. So yeah I I try to write um every single day even if I don't publish it I think just the act of writing is I mean it. It compounds over time. But also I love it like Novak Djokovic I love hitting the tennis ball I love writing words.
31:35.20
dave_gerhardt
Yeah, this is what I want to talk about with you So tell me take take us into your writing process. Is there a certain time of day that it happens you have four kids you have a job you know like ah this is your job but there's.
31:45.18
Kyle Porter
Yeah.
31:48.80
dave_gerhardt
You You just had a a guy banging on the door about Land you know a landscape like life happened. So what's what is the I would love to hear the writing process.
31:54.66
Kyle Porter
Well 1 quick story about that and then I'll tell you about the process. But I think when people aspire to this is any job. But I think sometimes when people aspire to like be a writer be a blogger or whatever. It's like again, you can. It's easy if you don't have distractions if you don't have kids if everything like you've got your little candles and your music and you're you're good to get I've written blog posts at a best buy in stillwater because I didn't have my computer with me and just emailed them to myself and like there's just so many.
32:25.10
dave_gerhardt
Ah, wait wait did you go to like ah like a demo laptop and like type it ah you just over there like just.
32:29.21
Kyle Porter
Oh yeah, yes yeah because I had to get the I had yeah I had to get it out my my my exactly my my computer was at my buddy's house. He wasn't home and I had to get.
32:37.54
Casey Ford
Um, like okay I got locked out of this. You know the administrative password.
32:38.19
dave_gerhardt
Excuse me is there anybody on the Geek Squad they can help me. Oh.
32:47.73
Kyle Porter
I Had to get a post up and that was that was the logical conclusion. So it's it's all about like okay just doing it over and over and over again. But my my oh yeah art of war and.
32:56.68
dave_gerhardt
Yeah, you ever you ever read any? um Steven pressfield stuff. Yeah, so I love what what you said like reminded me of him. It's almost like you didn't say this I'm paraphrasing but it's like if you're a writer you're going to write whether it's a if all you got is a piece of paper if you got your phone if you got you know.
33:05.24
Kyle Porter
Ah.
33:16.59
dave_gerhardt
It's like the the amateur is the one who's going to be like well there you know I was distracted and I I needed everybody out of the house and I needed the right mood and I didn't have my coffee like there's something there that you said that I think that that speaks to hey this is my craft This is I'm going to do this regardless of what I have right.
33:21.89
Kyle Porter
Um, yeah.
33:28.57
Kyle Porter
For sure. Yeah, and I've I've and that was where I learned to be a pro when it was my side job when I was doing the Oklahoma state side and some of that was was. Ah, just having the parameters of like I only had an hour in the morning or I only had 30 minutes at lunch I have to like do this, you know and and so I think that forced me into learning how to be a professional but in terms of like my preference I love writing it's hard like as you know with the kids and the working out and all that my. My preference is like 6 a or I'd say five thirty a m to like 8 am just write for two and a half hours just write as much as I possibly can whether it's for the newsletter for Cbs for the book which I was doing a lot of in the fall. Um, because I think that once I get to the afternoon. I just struggle to think as clearly I like to read in the afternoon and just kind of kind of chill a little bit in the afternoon. Obviously if there's breaking news I got to write about that. But I find my my clarity in the morning to be so much higher and I also try to leave myself a trail.
34:27.19
dave_gerhardt
Sure.
34:36.94
Kyle Porter
From the previous day going into the next day so that I have somewhere to pick up. You know I have somewhere to something to pick up on.
34:40.82
dave_gerhardt
And and and so if if you're if you're writing at five thirty are you are you like is your ah are you waking up at five Twenty five and going right downstairs and like opening the the computer and and starting to write or is there like a ah process.
34:53.66
Kyle Porter
It's usually like I would say like 5 15 get some coffee come out to my office turn the lights down low and just just start writing and I've got.
35:00.69
dave_gerhardt
Yeah.
35:05.38
Kyle Porter
Usually I have like ah like a document of like hey this would be interesting to explore. maybe maybe I should think about like I've got the I'm sure you guys saw the poddering Harrington quote about getting his kids into golf like I've got a note right now. Hey I need to write something about this. Um, so I've just got different things like different rabbit trails to go down. And just getting and and with the book. It's a little bit easier because it's kind of laid out like I pull stuff that happened throughout the year and sometimes in the afternoon I'll pull. Let's say 20 different things for the next morning and just say hey write about 300 words on this 500 words on this Whatever.
35:41.71
dave_gerhardt
Nice.
35:44.52
Kyle Porter
And it's easy to pick up in the morning and just go right into that now I just described an ideal day. Normally it's okay, the kids were yelling at like six twenty I had to get three miles in so it usually starts more like.
35:48.32
dave_gerhardt
Sure.
35:58.99
Kyle Porter
8 am instead of five thirty but my ideal day is I really love writing as early in the morning as possible. Ah no I just read at night I either hang out with my wife and and talk and we'll read on the couch together or whatever but I don't.
36:04.27
Casey Ford
No, do you get a second wind at night. Yeah.
36:17.38
Kyle Porter
I Try not to write at night.
36:17.64
dave_gerhardt
Um I like I like this system of um I'm interested in this as like a marketer you know business. Whatever but I like you need to be able to sleep and let your mind rest and so I think you have a cool process which is like.
36:30.83
dave_gerhardt
It's like a swipe file right? like every great writer copywriters had this swipe file you you kind of have these ideas and you're stashing them away and so you know that in the morning because it's ah it also be very easy to like get up at five thirty and you're like I only have an hour and a half right now.
36:44.00
Kyle Porter
Um, yeah.
36:44.20
dave_gerhardt
Um, on Twitter I'm reading articles like my mind is going but like you kind of have this ready. You have this swipe file aside and you're like okay this is my writing time. Let me go pull up like okay, what things should I write about. Okay I'm going to pick that and I can focus my brain on that as opposed to it's very hard to be context switching and try to like get 500 good
37:01.98
Kyle Porter
Well, that's the thing I almost feel like there should be this reverse work day where as somebody who works from home I I told my wife this I don't think I could pull this off just because of the nature of breaking news but I would love to work from like 5 to nine a m take 9 to.
37:02.11
dave_gerhardt
You know or whatever how many words out right.
37:20.33
Kyle Porter
5 p m off and just like hang out. Do stuff with our kids are homeschooled so do stuff with them. Go on a day with my wife day day. Whatever and then work from like 5 to 8 p m and then go to and then you know have the night I don't I don't think I could do that just because. You know you have calls you have email you have all all these different things that are sort of built into the the culture of our american workday but that would be my preference just because it's I find myself Dave running over to Twitter. And the reason we do these things I think like I'll run over to Twitter or I'll do the immaculate grid for baseball or whatever is because they're easier or more fun than the task at hand and we know that there's always something that's stimulating there and if if you're outside of the war day if it's five thirty a m. Know in my head hey nobody's up right now. Nobody's tweeting nobody nothing's going on I can just focus on this and I find it's for whatever reason it's like 10 x easier to focus on the task at hand at that time of day for me.
38:22.45
dave_gerhardt
Um, yeah I've I've in the last year I've gone sorry case so in the last year I've gone all the last two months I've gone much harder on my business and I found that the hour if I from five thirty to even just an hour before my kids get up. They get about six thirty I can get 3 hours of work done in 1 hour because nothing else is happening right? Go ahead case.
38:40.45
Kyle Porter
Um, yeah.
38:45.25
Casey Ford
Yeah I was going to say too back when Dave and I used to work ah together at a ah Pr agency client service same thing like I used to go in at five thirty in the morning just because I know there'd be no incoming stuff I could just clear stuff all morning. It's like it's borrowed time. It's almost like no one's no one's awake you you can just nothing's being added to the pile but this conversation leads to something else that I struggle with and I'm curious with you Kyle so much of golf and how you cover is about consumption and and following the sport How do you follow these tournaments and and stay up to date with everything with four kids. It's.
39:16.79
Kyle Porter
And.
39:19.76
Casey Ford
Golf is like the perfect divorce sport. It's when you're playing it. You're not helpful at home and when you're watching it your suit you're they can see. You're not being helpful. So I'm sure you've worked out in agreement with your wife. But how does that go for you.
39:28.10
Kyle Porter
Yeah that's a good question I think it helps honestly 1 thing that helps me is it's very other than when the tournaments are in Europe it's it's pretty much done by the end of the work day sort of I mean the summer's different. It lasts a little bit longer. And I've got built in off days you know Cbs gives me a couple off days a week so it's it's you know you still have your weekend even though for me, it's usually like Thursday Friday or Friday Saturday rather than the traditional Saturday Sunday and I've tried to bring my kids into it. You know like we've done um like sometimes when I'm watching a tournament like i'll. Bring the boys in and watch with them or a lot of times for the majors. We'll do a draft where everybody drafts playerers and and so they kind of get into it as well. So I've tried to meld those 2 worlds at least a little bit. Um and it is hard because you know I get. You guys can probably relate to this. Um I get really frustrated when they run out to my office in the middle of the day and I'm in the middle of you know the the great american novel I'm just I'm just killing it and then they just just yelling and start disrupting and everything that can be frustrating but I've tried to remind myself like. Hey this time is limited with them at this age. It's a very fun and tender age. My kids are ten nine seven and 4 um I go play golf with them I've I've tried to bring them in as much as possible and then I think the other thing with my wife is just and i.
41:02.37
Kyle Porter
Do a bad job of this but setting expectations hey here's when I'm like this week hey Hawaii it's Hawaii weeks so I'm going to be working from 7 to eleven on these 2 or 3 nights or whatever. So as long as I set expectations like everything runs um, runs pretty smoothly.
41:19.45
dave_gerhardt
Dang it Kyle I'm Goingnna get all misty now I think that's an important perspective about like this is a window of our kid's life. Casey's got young kids too. My kids are 6 and 4 Um, you know in ah in a decade I'm going to have a lot of more free time.
41:32.70
Kyle Porter
Yeah.
41:35.98
dave_gerhardt
And it's tough to balance like what's worth doing this I also have this moment where one M will come in my office and I'd be like I know it just looks like I'm staring at this screen but like this is work that I can't articulate it and another way like this is this is dad working with his hands.
41:50.44
Kyle Porter
Yeah, exactly exactly I think you know one of the underserved markets in the golf industry or really the sports industry is getting like like there's not and this is this is kind of a long. Um.
42:08.27
Kyle Porter
Like a long goal like a long range goal that I have but getting kids into golf with their alongside their parents. There's no golf content for kids I don't know I don't know why Um, or there's not any. That's good. I can't let let my kids listen to know enough I love those guys but I I can't I can't have my 7 year old listening to Tron um, and and so I think about that a lot is like man that's ah that seems like an opportunity to to kind of kind of do something there. Um.
42:27.73
dave_gerhardt
No, that wouldn't work. Ah.
42:40.74
dave_gerhardt
You know it's funny I just had this moment with my daughter. So I I saw you tweet you tweeted the other day you were like rewatching 2005 open highlights and since I'm a big golf. You know I'm ah I'm a golf media guy now I've been rewatching. Ah.
42:48.29
Kyle Porter
Open. Yeah.
42:57.82
dave_gerhardt
Rewat and I just read Shipknuck's book about Phil and it made me go and rewatch the ending of the 2006 us open at wingfoot and I was like this is incredible. So I'm trying to find I'm trying to rewatch all these old highlights and stuff and um, my daughter comes over and she sits on my lap and I'm watching she's like hey that's that guy Rory Rory macaroni
43:05.67
Kyle Porter
Um.
43:16.73
dave_gerhardt
And she's made she and I'm like hey did you know he has a daughter and she's like he does and I found some clips of like and Casey's daughter Casey has a daughter named poppy which is amazing and ah so I showed him this clip of like where she facetime him after a tournament like.
43:26.11
Kyle Porter
That's awesome.
43:30.12
dave_gerhardt
I love showing them or like John Rom's kids running out you know, running out after the master's stuff I love like bringing that in. So I think you're onto something and to go back to why we even started this podcast the long game I want to build a life where I'm playing I want to be 80 years old and have my kids by my side like all of us playing golf together or being in this is.
43:32.54
Kyle Porter
Yeah.
43:48.45
dave_gerhardt
There are few. Ah, there are few other hobbies and activities in sports that you can do with your family for life and I think seems like each one of us is very invested in our family and our children I think that's what's very special about golf to me beyond all this like pj toward live nonsense like at the core of it. That's what is so exciting to me about golf and the future Pga tortnot.
44:07.62
Kyle Porter
Yeah I was telling my wife this morning. Um like I I feel I feel a little bit jaded and toward and out on professional golf right now for you know, just. I think most of it is the live pj true stuff all the money stuff just all the just nonsense. But I've I've never felt more excited and enthusiastic about ah amateur like just my own experience with golf whether it's with friends or with kids or trying to get better or whatever. Um, so I think there's there's definitely something there and I think you've seen that in like this rise of and some of this is just the Youtube Era where a lot of stuff on Youtube hits. But the rise of like Youtube golf people are kind of into that more so than watching the third round of the Honda classic.
44:55.86
dave_gerhardt
Yeah, yeah, I like why did I just spend 2 hours watching Bryce and play Rick Shields on Youtube like oh wait. What am I doing.
44:57.27
Kyle Porter
You know like and and I don't know there's a there's a reason for that. So I know but it's it's kind of compelling like there's something. There's something there because I think it I think what you said is like. All of us. It's the it's the only. It's such a unique sport in that you and I don't watch the bengals and Steelers and then we're like hey let's go play. Some. Let's go play football this afternoon we would we would end up in the hospital but with golf you can. You can do that. And there's a relatability there and a connection there that no other sport has which is I think a very it's a very unique thing.
45:36.21
dave_gerhardt
Or we could go forever on this topic but we got it even though we're all jaded on the on the state of golf that the the season is here. Can you help me can help us not be jaded Kyle Porter like how do I watch colf and not just care about the masters. What what is there anything you're looking forward to this year let's do a little we wrap up in the last ten minutes just talking about the the season ahead.
45:59.99
Kyle Porter
Well I think obviously the merger is fascinating because I think there is an opportunity for everything to come back together in a way that is palatable. Not only palatable but compelling to the fan now I don't know that I trust either side to make that happen. You know, like to to come together in a way that they're thinking of the fan first. Um, but I I do think that's that is possible here's 1 thing this is unrelated to the pga tour but I I kind of a lot of people have been very anti the team golf aspect I'm kind of in on it. Like I kind of think there's something there I don't know that the cliques and the four a's is the answer. But I think like I was talking to my son the other day and he's like dad I would love it if Rory and Jt and spath were on the same team. It was. We had ah like a live event on that I was watching and he's like I think it'd be cool if these guys that I like were on the same team I was like huh. Okay, yeah I think I think there could be something there. So if they end up coming back together and there is a team aspect I think that's actually kind of exciting I think there's some real. I think we're in the midst Dave of um, several like real historically great legacies being created I think Rory is like a major or 2 away from like let's have a real conversation of whether he could be a top 10 player of all time I've got Phil like right at that top like.
47:31.18
Kyle Porter
Tenth Mark and Rory's kind of tracking for Phil's career depending on the major thing rom I mentioned earlier is tracking historically and then Brooks Keptka Historically is is is one of the all time. Great. So I think there's some stuff. There obviously that's major focus and you were talking about pga tour the the young guys on the pj tour Ludwig obviously is incredibly exciting. You've got Gordon Sargent at vanderbilt coming out I think he's going to be a superstar on the pga tour so you've got some young stars that are going to I don't know. They're not going to fill John Rom's shoes but they are going to fill a little bit of the void I think that's been left by John Rom on the pga tour.
48:13.19
dave_gerhardt
All right? Um I'll buy it.
48:18.20
Casey Ford
Well car you had a you a a great tweet the other day I connected with about. Basically you were saying how you you very honestly said you feel a little less. Um I Forget the word you use but excited to to cover the sentry. Um.
48:25.24
Kyle Porter
Um, yeah, yeah.
48:34.80
Casey Ford
Because of rom that being in and looking at the field. This is the same way I feel about you know I'm all for people making whatever money they want selfishly I want the two I want there to be 1 tour and I want it to be the pga tour. It's what I grew up with. We talk about like you were rewatching the 2004 open or tesn 5 like imagine looking back on that and taking you know a handful of those guys out like is the legacy still there is it just just from people I don't know but um, just talk a little bit about that about Rom and covering a sport that or a league that is losing some of its key figures.
49:06.48
Kyle Porter
Yeah I think it's it's weird because the the pga tour has never been all the top guys in the world because you've always had the european tour right? like when we were when we were kids in the seventy s eighty s ninety s it was um. The european tour was a real thing I mean a lot of the top guys in the world were european tour players and so once those guys started coming over to the pga 2 or more they still and this is where I think there can still be some excitement Dave they still weren't all required to play the same events. And now even though you've lost some all the top guys are going to be playing the same events so you you even though you've taken out some of these like upper crust guys. You still have in effect what you had in the 90 s and early two thousand s which is most of the top players playing most of the best events. So I think there's It's just hard because last year it was like all the top guys I guess excluding Deja and Bryson and Brooks but the rom thing is it's more of a rumps. It's specific to rom because I think people underestimate his gravity as a historically great player and you know the best events have always. Just been where the best players go like if he goes to play in so in a event in Spain on the european tour which he's done that all of a sudden becomes ah ah like a legitimate thing like a legitimate event and so I just personally like if you take Rory or rom out of a tournament because those are the 2 most historically relevant players for me.
50:40.13
Kyle Porter
That tournament loses its gravity and so the fact that both of them are not at at capalua for different reasons. It's kind of like yeah, it's still going to be fun. It might be the best you know event they've ever had there. But. Just going into it on the front end for me I just am not feeling as excited as I was this time last year
51:03.26
Casey Ford
It's on it's It's a it's It's a great take I I'm right there with you totally.
51:05.37
dave_gerhardt
I meant to ask this earlier I'm a um'm a nerd so I'm gonna ask you're watching so you're watching the golf 7 to eleven at night are you like? are you taking notes. Are you making notes then are you using Twitter like as your kind of notes for the next day like or you just kind of have your feet up and and watching what's. What happens in the lab.
51:23.18
Kyle Porter
Yeah, it's a good question I've I've gone back and forth on this I'm on Twitter as we all are probably too much and I find myself really focused on the golf early and then I I slowly over time just my eyeballs gravitate toward Twitter part of that is because. Commercials and you know everything else I am making notes usually I use Twitter as kind of a repository and I've talked about this with for the book I'll tweet stuff that I want to write about later or just like little notes for myself and then i'm. Kind of see it as like I'm just I'm really doing this for me I'm writing for myself and I'm sharing it to all these people that follow me or whatever and they can do whatever they want with it which people do whatever they want with it but ah, a lot of times Dave during during events I am.
52:08.44
dave_gerhardt
So yeah.
52:16.89
Kyle Porter
I read I try to read all the transcripts or most of the transcripts that come in from that day if I'm not at an event I do this when I'm at events too. But if I'm not at an event I'll pull all the transcripts and just read through hey what did speth say about his round did jt say anything inter interesting about. Ah, his driver today. Did you know, whatever you kind of know some of the storylines going in but I'll read a lot of those transcripts I'll be constantly on um ah shotlink which is ah just sort of the pga tours. Deepest dive into the stats and data and I'll be kind of tracking that for okay, what was um, you know Hovelin Strokes gain on approach today. Did he have like where where was he losing strokes did he have did he because you can't watch every shot right? They don't even show every shot so you're you're kind of using all these different tools.
53:08.97
dave_gerhardt
Yeah.
53:11.29
Kyle Porter
Piece together. Okay, what what is the? what is the main focus of this round was it hovelin shooting 63 was it maybe Rory shot in 81 you know you're you're kind of piecing everything together as the round goes on.
53:23.70
Casey Ford
And with that approach when you're not at a tournament recovering from a far going through transcript and stuff. Do you find that you ever run into issues with context or just you know what? what do you get there that you're you're not getting our home vice versa. Yeah.
53:35.66
Kyle Porter
Yeah I think it's mostly so it's 2 things. It's 1 observations so I remember being at the 2021 us open at pebble and I was on the eleventh hole I think it was and chez reevi and Brooks Kepka were ah showing each other what kind of dip they were using like. What kind of what they were what they were chewing and you don't get that on Tv right? like that's that's impossible to pick up unless you're there and that was such a hilarious just observational thing that was that was my new but then the other thing is the atmosphere and this is.
53:54.90
dave_gerhardt
I Love that? No ah.
54:09.98
Kyle Porter
Probably more specific to majors Kapau's atmosphere there's not really that many people there anyway. But you you don't get the like I there's nothing in golf I love more than the feeling of. Being tied with like 4 holes to go at a major and you're standing right next to John Rom you're standing right next to Brooks Kepka and you're like I'm I'm in the arena I'm not like I'm not in the arena but I'm like I'm an observer inside of it and I think that comes out in the writing. Ah, in a way that you can't replicate from afar.
54:42.99
dave_gerhardt
Love that all right? Kyle we gotta let you go man. This is this is more than kind of you to come and hang out with us I feel like there's a lot we could talk about maybe maybe we'll you know a couple years down the road. We'll have spun off and this will be the beginning of our um, you know kids golf media. You know. Empire that we built together so you never know you just never know what can happen from these conversations. Um, yeah, yeah, all right? Let's do it go file go follow Kyle he's Kyle Porter cbs on Twitter ah subscribe to his newsletter I think there's nothing more valuable than ah.
55:01.90
Kyle Porter
Hey I love it. That's that's I'm in.
55:15.96
dave_gerhardt
Building the email list. So I'm proud of you for doing that a normalsport.com and he has normal sport three out right now which is a book. He's been writing every year.
55:24.28
Casey Ford
Which is which is great. Yeah, it's ah it's a recap of the last year in golf just on different things ky had written and and tweeted and he recommends that you print it out and kill about 3 birch trees like I did.
55:33.71
Kyle Porter
Ah, now I I appreciate you guys having me on I'd love to do like a yeah like a quarter year Midyear check in with you guys if you if you want to do that.
55:35.17
dave_gerhardt
It's awesome.
55:42.86
dave_gerhardt
Done ah hold let me check with let me check with our management. Yes, we'll do that. Definitely confirmed all right? Kyle. Thank you man. We'll see you later.
55:48.80
Kyle Porter
Ah, absolutely.