Episode 20: The Myrtle Beach World Am and The Salty Golfer!

What makes Myrtle Beach the ultimate golf destination? Is it the world-class courses, the community, or perhaps a combination of both? Join us as we tee off with a special guest who knows the Grand Strand like the back of his hand. In this episode, we sit down with Wes Loman, known as The Salty Golfer. Wes has quickly become a local legend in Myrtle Beach. A golf enthusiast and the founder of The Salty Golfer brand, his passion for the game combined with his deep roots in the Myrtle Beach golf community has led him to create a brand that resonates with locals and visitors alike. The Salty Golfer isn’t just a name – it’s a movement celebrating the laid-back, beachy vibe of golf in the Grand Strand. In our conversation, we discuss the current state of golf, the excitement surrounding the ongoing FedEx Cup, and the Mt Rushmore of golf for this last decade. Wes shares his journey from a family tradition of golf to building The Salty Golfer brand, his views on the importance of youth involvement in golf, and his role as an unofficial ambassador for Myrtle Beach. Explore what makes the Myrtle Beach World Amateur Golf Tournament the largest and most exciting amateur golf event and why it is a must-attend for golf lovers everywhere. Join us to connect with the heart of the Grand Strand and learn what makes The Salty Golfer a beloved figure in the golf community. Tune in now! 

The Myrtle Beach golf package of the episode is the Hammock Coast Golf Trail, offering great discounts on some of the South end’s most popular and picturesque courses, like Caledonia or Pawleys Plantation! The accommodations of the episode are the AshWorth luxury condos. These oceanfront 2, 3, and 4 bedroom condos offer unparalleled luxury right off of famous Main Street in North Myrtle Beach!

Transcript

EPISODE 20

[INTRODUCTION]

[0:00:07] ANNOUNCER: It's time for the Tee’d Off Podcast.

[EPISODE]

[0:00:18] BC: All right, it is episode 20 of the Tee’d Off Podcast. I'm Ben Clyburn. I'm here with my co-host, Aaron Thomas. Aaron, how's it going, man?

[0:00:24] AT: Good, Ben. How you doing today?

[0:00:25] BC: Beautiful day for some golf, isn't it?

[0:00:27] AT: It is. We’ve had a nice little stretch of weather here for golf.

[0:00:30] BC: We sure have. I hope it continues. It's getting into the 60s some at night.

[0:00:35] AT: Yeah. It's my kind of weather.

[0:00:36] BC: Absolutely. We are joined by a celebrity in the house today. Wes Loman, AKA The Salty Golfer. Salty, thank you so much for joining us, man.

[0:00:46] WL: It's a pleasure to be here.

[0:00:48] BC: This is going to be great.

[0:00:49] WL: I'm excited and thanks for having me.

[0:00:51] BC: Absolutely. Here's the agenda of the show today. Front nine, the world of golf, Scottie and Zander, man, what years they have had. FedEx Cup is still ongoing, so I think we've got a good conversation to have about who the player of the year could be. Then we're going to – something that's a little tired, I think, is the Mount Rushmore of golf. You got Jack. You got Tiger. The other two can be interchangeable. But I have a little different spin on the Mount Rushmore of golf. We'll get into that. Then we'll make the turn and it'll all be about The Salty Golfer, how you got into the game of golf and how The Salty Golfer brand was born and grown. We'll talk about the package of the episode, and then the back nine. It is World Am Week, guys, the biggest amateur golf event in the world, in Myrtle Beach. Can't wait to talk about that. A fall and spring rounds update, Aaron. Then last, but certainly not least, what tee’s us off. You guys ready to jump in?

[0:01:45] AT: Let's do it.

[0:01:46] WL: Let's do it.

[0:01:46] BC: Let’s do it.

[0:01:50] ANNOUNCER: The front nine.

[0:01:53] BC: Okay, the front nine. The FedEx Cup is still ongoing. You got Scottie in the lead, Xander right behind. What great years these guys have had. Whoever wins the FedEx Cup might have some argument on who the player of the year would be. But as it sits now, I just want to get you guys’ thoughts on who the player of the year should be. Aaron, who do you think?

[0:02:18] AT: I mean, come on. Who have I been talking about all year? Who have I picked for every major this year? I mean, it's Scottie Scheffler. I took a minute just to look at some stats while Schauffele’s had a great year, but his two wins are his two majors. Scheffler, on the other hand has – he's got five wins, plus a major. He's got six wins and a gold medal. I mean, I think based off of that, he's got to be your player of the year.

[0:02:49] WL: Not just his wins. It's the wins he has. The Memorial, RBC. I mean, a lot of elevated events that he's winning.

[0:02:57] AT: He doesn't win cheap. He wins the big ones.

[0:03:00] BC: I think when you circle non-major events, the top three to me are the Players, the Memorial and Bay Hill, and he won them all.

[0:03:07] WL: I would say, Scottie, just because, I think, although he did win two majors this year, Xander's not known for closing. He doesn't close very well. I mean, he has this year, but I think, you have to give it to Scottie. I mean, gold medal alone, I think, takes him to the –

[0:03:24] BC: Wasn't it the players that Xander fumbled?

[0:03:28] WL: Yeah. And Scottie won. Yeah. Scottie’s gotten the rest on the record this year.

[0:03:33] BC: Yeah, yeah. That's the only thing that slowed him down. I mean, really, would he have won the PGA if he wasn't arrested? I mean, we'll never know. You guys are – you're going to take, which I'm not knocking, but two majors in one year.

[0:03:47] AT: I mean, yeah. There are two majors there, and that's big, but that's the only two wins.

[0:03:51] BC: What if he wins the FedEx Cup?

[0:03:53] AT: I still think it’s got to go to Scottie. Just based on the sheer –

[0:03:56] WL: I agree. I agree. I'll throw this out there. When it comes to the FedEx Cup, I don't think either one of them are going to win, and we can get into that.

[0:04:05] AT: Yeah. It's set up a little differently now. It used to be, something he could have probably cruised to win it in prior years. But I think the way they have the scoring set up.

[0:04:14] BC: And the staggering.

[0:04:15] AT: Yeah.

[0:04:16] WL: I didn't do my research on this, but what didn't – Scottie was in the lead last year at the last tournament, and he – like a 10-stroke lead, right?

[0:04:25] BC: Yeah, if you're in first. Yeah.

[0:04:27] WL: He couldn't close the deal. I mean, I don't know. There's something about – In the beginning, I didn't think I would like the whole FedEx Cup, but there's something about having those last few guys, and they're going for broke, right?

[0:04:39] AT: Mm-hmm.

[0:04:40] WL: You get on a heater. I feel like, the guys that are in the lead, they're playing a little bit more conservatively, because I got a 10-stroke lead, right? The other guys are like, “I got nothing to lose, bro. I'm getting paid, regardless. Let's see what happens.”

[0:04:54] BC: Well, let's jump into the FedEx Cup. I will, to Scottie versus Xander. I'll take Scottie as well. I just wanted to be the devil's advocate about two majors. Seven wins this year, and 60% of the tournaments he entered this year, he was top five, or better.

[0:05:12] WL: Crazy.

[0:05:14] BC: I mean, that is Tiger Woods-like stuff. I know everybody's looking for a Tiger Woods-type of dominance. Scottie since 2022. I definitely think he's the player of the year. I think, even if Xander won the FedEx Cup, I think it would still go to Scottie Scheffler.

[0:05:29] AT: Yeah. I took a look at the earnings, and he's so far ahead of everybody else, it's not even funny.

[0:05:36] BC: Has he missed a cut? I'm not sure he's missed a cut.

[0:05:40] AT: That's a good question. I feel like, he has missed one, because I remember seeing something in the news, and I know we'll get corrected if I'm wrong. I feel like seeing, there was a headline or something that he missed a cut or something recently. Yeah. It was in the last few weeks. It was before the Olympics.

[0:06:00] WL: Do you make the cut, the open?

[0:06:02] BC: Yes. Barely.

[0:06:04] WL: Barely?

[0:06:05] AT: Yeah.

[0:06:06] BC: Or was that at the US Open, where he barely made the cut?

[0:06:10] WL: Well, you guys are way more dotting on this stuff.

[0:06:12] AT: Yeah. No. He was fine in the US Open.

[0:06:15] BC: I don't think he had a good tournament.

[0:06:17] AT: I don't think he had any problem making the cut. I feel like, I saw something that said his –

[0:06:22] WL: We will be fact checked.

[0:06:22] BC: Yeah, we will.

[0:06:23] AT: Yeah. His first – It happens. I feel like, I saw something that said it was his first missed cut, and they gave how long it had been. Yeah. Still impressive.

[0:06:35] BC: Well, let's jump in to the FedEx Cup, because Scottie's one and Xander is two. Salty, you said neither are going to win. Who do you think is going to win and why?

[0:06:45] WL: I'm a big dark horse guy. I love to pull for the underdogs. This will probably be an unpopular pick. I think that Big Tone, Tony Finau is going to come from the back.

[0:06:59] BC: Wow.

[0:07:00] AT: Okay.

[0:07:01] WL: He's sitting at 13, I think, right now. He's played in 20 events this year. He's made 19 cuts. He's playing pretty – His last six events –

[0:07:09] BC: Putters improved as the year has gone on.

[0:07:10] WL: Putters improved. I wrote down a couple of notes. The last six events, he's finished top 16 in all those, except for the Open. That was actually only missed cut was the Open.

[0:07:21] BC: That's a different animal anyway.

[0:07:22] WL: Yeah. Different animal. I think he's a horses-for-courses type guy. I think the last two courses is set up okay for him. He's one of those guys if he gets that putter going. I mean, he's right up there in, what's the stat I'm trying to think of? In gained –

[0:07:42] BC: Strokes gained. Off the tee. Or tee to green, probably.

[0:07:45] WL: Just all of it. He's ranked seventh. Scottie's ranked first, obviously.

[0:07:49] BC: The prior event to the tour, I think he needs to have a good performance so that he can get within shouting range on Thursday.

[0:07:59] WL: If you can get up there like, nine, 10, seven, something like that. I don't know. I'm pulling for that guy. I've always been a fan of his, ever since his brother and him did the big break thing. I've been a fan of Tony's that long.

[0:08:13] AT: He's a likable guy.

[0:08:14] BC: I've been a fan since he popped his ankle out of the socket, after making a hole-in-one. Then popped it back in.

[0:08:21] WL: Finished with top five. Top five.

[0:08:23] BC: Yeah. That's unbelievable.

[0:08:25] WL: Yeah. On paper, Scottie should win this thing running away with it. Like I said, I thought the whole FedEx stagger, I thought it was stupid when they first started it. Then I'm like, okay, they obviously know what they're talking about. Because it does create that. It creates players to do things they don't normally do. Then when they get on those runs, or those hot streaks and four or five, six birdies in a row and they just keep it going. I think I try to put myself, like if I was in Scottie's shoes, I think I couldn't help but play a little more conservative with a 10-stroke lead. Even if you don't want to, I think you do. I don't know.

[0:09:04] AT: Which isn't really his style. He's not a conservative player.

[0:09:07] BC: No. He's a front-runner. What I like on Sunday of the tour championship is they have the graphic that says, “If things ended now, this person will win the FedEx Cup.” I remember a few years ago when Rory came storming back and I think he holed out for eagle either on the last hole, or the next to last hole and took it from – did he take it from Justin Thomas or Dustin?

[0:09:30] AT: I think you’re right.

[0:09:32] BC: One of the two of them. I mean, he started the day and he wasn't even in the conversation, and then he played for broke and made it happen. That's what makes it exciting. I mean, because if not, Scottie, they'd already have the FedEx Cup engraved for him.

[0:09:47] AT: Yeah. Which is how it used to be if not for these changes.

[0:09:49] BC: The ratings changes. I like it. I wasn't a fan of it either. I like it though, because we can see dominance throughout the year, but then you still got to earn it on the tour championship day. I like that. Who do you have win in the FedEx Cup?

[0:10:08] AT: I mean, I'm sticking with Scheffler. I mean, I've picked him for everything this year. I'm just going to ride that one out.

[0:10:13] BC: I don't think I'm going to be a contrarian here. I think he's going to win it, too.

[0:10:17] AT: I do think he, and I think is, as you mentioned that last year he, he lost it. I think that's been sitting with him, because if you look at the amount of money he's made this year, I mean, that's just the cherry on top for his year. I think he's going to have a little better mindset about it.

[0:10:37] BC: Don't see him getting mad in the bunker at the FedEx?

[0:10:39] WL: Yeah, saw that. I love that though, man.

[0:10:41] BC: Yeah, I do too.

[0:10:42] AT: Just getting to know what’s happening to everybody.

[0:10:43] BC: All these guys are humans. I mean, Scottie's, I wouldn't say he's a robot, but he's so – he's just been so likable, even through the arrest. He handled that better than anybody else. It's just like, to see some frustration. It's like, yeah. That's how I feel every time I'm in a bunker. Really, every time I'm in the fairway. Yeah. I think Scottie's going to win it. We'll see. It'd be interesting. Tony Finau would be a really cool victory.

[0:11:12] WL: I just love when guys come out of nowhere to win tournaments, like when rookies get their first win. That's what's fun for me to watch on tour is guys that don't win and then they finally do break through. Tony's been close a lot. I mean, he's probably should've won a major a couple of times and he's just – but he's just so like, God, I could see me hanging out with Tony and being friends with him. I guess, that's why I pull for him. I mean, how cool would that be for his to come back –

[0:11:45] BC: Unorthodox swing takes it back about 40% and absolutely hammers it.

[0:11:49] WL: It's a 340, like it's nobody. He says, he only swings it 80%. That's a different world.

[0:11:56] AT: I'd love to know how to do that.

[0:11:59] BC: Well, let's talk about some other good players. I talked about in the intro of the show, the Mount Rushmore of golf. Most people have Tiger and Jack, neck and neck. Then you can put Bobby Jones, or Arnold Palmer, or Sam Snead, and you could argue for any of those guys.

[0:12:19] WL: Sure.

[0:12:21] BC: How about the last 10 years? We're 10 years removed from the last time Tiger Woods was the number one player in the world. In 2013, I think he won five or six times. Number one player in the world, and he held that until midway through 2014. Since then, we've been looking for a Tiger Woods, but the wins and the dominance has been shared across multiple guys for the last decade. There's more than four guys. I'd like to hear you guys's Mount Rushmore players and let's just get into it. Aaron, you kick it off.

[0:12:54] AT: I actually did a little research on this, because I wanted to make sure I was looking at the right timeframe and who's won this and that. Because immediately, when you asked me that question, I'm like, Tiger, Phil. I'm like, wait a minute. I'm like, Phil didn't have the last 10 years. Phil was not the – I mean, he won one major, but that's it. I really had to start doing some thinking. I narrowed it down to, I've got four that I came up with that I feel like in the last 10 years have probably been, or at least have been the best four that I think of. Rory, of course, he has to be on there in the last 10 years. I mean, I'm including Scottie because of his current run. We haven't seen anything like it, so I think it's deserving. Brooks Koepka has several major wins during that time.

[0:13:52] BC: The most.

[0:13:53] WL: Great pick. Great pick.

[0:13:54] AT: Yeah. Kopeka. My last one, Dustin Johnson. We forget about these guys because of LIV. I was sitting there, going through my head like, who are the four guys that I like? Because they're on LIV now, I don't even – They didn't even come to my mind. Then I was like, “Wait a minute.” I'm like, “Koepka won how many majors? I mean, he was the best major player on the planet for a couple of years.” Those are my four. That's, I think, of the last 10 years have been the best four golfers that we've seen.

[0:14:28] BC: Yeah. What's interesting, you mentioned Tiger and Phil in the beginning. I had the same issues. I looked at the last decade and time just flies, because it's just like, “Oh, my gosh. The last 10 years. Their career the last 10 years is not a Hall of Fame career. It's a very middle-of-the-pack career.”

[0:14:46] WL: I think our brains are trained, because of the ages we are. Tiger and Phil were always the two dudes. I mean, not for that. They didn't make my list.

[0:14:56] AT: No. I mean, they dominated 2000 to 2010. But after that, it's a whole different world. Yeah.

[0:15:02] BC: Salty, who you got?

[0:15:03] WL: All right. Also have DJ. He's my number one, looking back at everything that he's done. I also had Brooks. I had Rory. Here's where I changed a little bit. I had Spieth at four. I'm sorry, one honorable mention, and that's Bryson DeChambeau. Not just for wins, or anything like that. He scientifically changed the game and how he wanted to do things. Whether you're a fan or not, what he did, what he's doing now with social media and everything. I was not a fan 10 years ago. I'm a fan now.

[0:15:42] BC: We talked about his reinvention of this character the last 18 months. When he went to LIV, I think people were like, “Good. Good riddance.” Now, to take the LIV money and then end up winning a major and then everybody loving you. It's just amazing.

[0:15:58] WL: The US Open this year for me was one of the most enjoyable ones I have in a while.

[0:16:04] BC: I love it.

[0:16:05] WL: I was pulling for him hard.

[0:16:07] AT: He did a true from villain to hero switch. It was just crazy.

[0:16:11] BC: That tournament had everything. Rory chasing it. His pressure just builds every major, because it's been 10 years.

[0:16:18] WL: He is running out of time. I mean, I think there's plenty of time left. But as we all know, the clock's ticking. Time is not your friend.

[0:16:28] BC: Brooks Koepka has won five majors since Rory won his last one. I mean, that's incredible.

[0:16:35] WL: I'm a Brooks fan just for the sheer reason that he is only looking to win majors. I respect the hell out of that. These other tournaments are great. If he hadn't got hurt, would he had gone to LIV? Who knows? He is there to win major championships and that's it.

[0:16:59] AT: Well, I'd like to see – well, of course, I mean, there's no way to really tell. I'd love to see after the changes were made with the elevated events, if he would have gotten up for those just because of the sheer amount that was getting paid out, I think I would have had something to drive him a little bit.

[0:17:17] BC: Yeah. I mean, Salty, I'll actually take a different viewpoint. One of the reasons I don't like Brooks is because he loves the majors, which is great. But the Mount Rushmore golf outside of the 10 years, they were killers, every time they set up on the tee. I mean, they could have been playing. You guys played in the first tee event this weekend. They would have wanted to thrash those kids. For him to say, “I don't care about the other tournaments.” Yes, the majors mean more. They should mean more. To underplay the other tournaments to me rubbed me the wrong way.

[0:17:52] WL: Fair point.

[0:17:54] BC: To put my foot in my mouth, five majors, that's the most majors in the last 10 years. He has to be on that list. He's got the least amount of wins out of my guys. The least amount of weeks, number one. But five majors, come on. That is impressive. I've got the same four as you. I left Spieth off, because –

[0:18:17] AT: It's a great pitch. It really is.

[0:18:18] BC: Yeah. It is. It is. Well, 16 wins worldwide, three majors in the FedEx Cup. I mean, to not make it, maybe they'll chisel you right below the four heads.

[0:18:26] WL: Yeah. I mean, he's obviously falling off the last few years.

[0:18:29] BC: That's the problem. These other four guys — and Scottie is not recency bias. Because of the level of dominance, we have not seen that, because Brooks with five majors there, I think he won three in a quick spell, but he wasn't winning every other tournament. Scottie's winning everything. To me, he's on there because of that and he's got a hundred-plus weeks as number one.

Rory had 122 weeks at number one, 20 wins. I mean, that's huge with only one major in that time, but that's dominance. Then Dustin, most weeks, number one in the 10-year span, 135 weeks, 14 wins, two majors. I think up until the last year before he went to LIV, he won every year he played on tour.

[0:19:17] WL: Is there an asterisk by that major at the Masters?

[0:19:21] BC: Because it was in November.

[0:19:23] AT: Oh, yeah. It was COVID year.

[0:19:24] WL: He was hitting it further than everybody and the golf course was wet. He was way longer than everyone anyway.

[0:19:29] BC: I think you have to play – everyone played the same course. I mean, no. I would say, no. I tell you what though, if you really –

[0:19:37] WL: You got a green jacket.

[0:19:40] BC: If you want to dive deep into it, he should have five or six majors.

[0:19:42] WL: 100%. Yeah.

[0:19:45] BC: He's really fumbled it. Start chiseling into the main Mount Rushmore of golf. But man, to have a local guy to be one of the best golfers on the planet for the past 10 years, we have to applaud that.

[0:20:03] WL: Yeah. Is he a top 20 all-time?

[0:20:06] BC: Yeah. I think he is. I think, how about the other guys? Are they top 20 players all time, or anybody not?

[0:20:18] AT: Well, Rory, I think Rory is, I think –

[0:20:23] BC: Because now you're taking the whole body of their work.

[0:20:25] AT: Yeah. I mean, yeah, you start – oh, boy. We might have to do a podcast just on the top 20 of all time.

[0:20:32] WL: Can you even put Brooks in that, since he doesn't play on the tour anymore? Who knows what he's going to do on – how do you count a LIV tournament?

[0:20:42] AT: We really don't right now, because they don't even count in world golf rankings.

[0:20:46] BC: They don't. Which is, that was a surprise. I thought they definitely were going to get that.

[0:20:49] AT: Still no movement on that, which is shocking.

[0:20:50] BC: No. Well, no. The last movement was no. I mean –

[0:20:54] WL: That could be a three-part show.

[0:20:57] BC:  I mean, are there more than 20 golfers that have more than one major? I would say, no. I mean, if you just did majors, like basketball, if you just did on championships, then all these guys are in there, no matter what.

[0:21:12] AT: I think your wins have to count for something outside of majors. I mean, look, Tiger wanted. He wanted to break that wins record was one of his goals. I mean, it's got to count for something.

[0:21:24] BC: Well, as we leave the front line, will he break the wins record?

[0:21:27] WL: No.

[0:21:27] BC: No?

[0:21:28] AT: I hate to say it. I don't see it.

[0:21:29] BC: You don't think he could scratch out a Valspar?

[0:21:33] WL: What's he got to win? How many more does he got to win?

[0:21:36] AT: He only needs one, I think. Yeah. Because he's tied.

[0:21:38] BC: One win.

[0:21:39] AT: What's he tied at, 82?

[0:21:40] BC: He's tied. One.

[0:21:41] WL: Okay. Yeah. I think, so my whole take on the Tiger Woods thing, I don't think he'll get Jack's record.

[0:21:48] BC: No.

[0:21:48] AT: No. No, no, no. Majors are done.

[0:21:51] WL: But I think that he can catch lightning in a bottle, one tournament. If the weather's right, his back's right, I think. I don't think it's going to be an Augusta. I don't think it's going to be maybe at a PGA championship. I think his best chance is probably the Open.

[0:22:07] BC: Yeah.

[0:22:08] WL: I don't think he wins it at the US Open.

[0:22:10] BC: No.

[0:22:10] AT: No.

[0:22:11] WL: Because you look at the walks on those golf courses and in Augusta –

[0:22:15] BC: Well, he had a great scenario this past year, relatively flat and hot and he likes that.

[0:22:21] WL: Yeah. That's all he plays on now.

[0:22:22] BC: And didn't make the cut. I mean, and he plays in Jupiter like that all the time. Yeah, Majors are done. I think he could sneak out a win though. One more win.

[0:22:34] WL: But is he going to play anything else to the Majors?

[0:22:36] AT: Nah. I mean, probably his tournament that he hosts and stuff like that.

[0:22:38] WL: In Dubai. He’d go for like that.

[0:22:39] BC: I won't count the hero as a win if he does that. I don't know. We all want it to happen.

[0:22:45] AT: Sure.

[0:22:46] BC: Yeah. Realistically –

[0:22:48] WL: It's the reason why probably all of us play golf, so I’m excited.

[0:22:50] BC: Yup. He’s the reason I started golf.

[0:22:54] AT: Yeah. I mean, besides Michael Jordan, name and athlete during your time that commanded he did that, I mean, commanded an audience that, I mean, Jordan's the only person I could think of that was that big internationally for endorsements, everything.

[0:23:09] BC: Well, you could take Tiger Woods in the 90s and Tiger Woods in the 2000s and he would beat any of these guys on this Mount Rushmore the last 10 years. That's just what we were so spoiled.

[0:23:24] AT: Yeah. We were.

[0:23:25] BC: I mean, we were.

[0:23:27] WL: Well, the golfers aren't making the money they're making now if it's not for Tiger. Tiger effect.

[0:23:32] BC: Anyway, I just want to throw that in there. Well, that was a good conversation on the world of golf. What do you say we make the turn, and Salty, we make it about you and The Salty Golfer.

[0:23:41] WL: Yeah. If you want to do that, that's fine. We can do that.

[0:23:44] BC: Let's jump in.

[0:23:44] WL: Absolutely. Yeah.

[MESSAGE]

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[EPISODE CONTINUED]

[0:24:28] ANNOUNCER: Making the turn.

[0:24:30] BC:  All right. Let's make the turn and we have Wes Loman with us, The Salty Golfer. Wes, every time we have a guest on the show, we ask them how they got into the sport of golf. I want to know that from you first, and then how it became a profession and how The Salty Golfer brand was born.

[0:24:47] WL:  Yeah. I come from a family of golfers. My dad is a minister. His day's off for Monday. Every Monday, not every Monday, but that was the day he played golf. He's got three brothers and my grandfather. From the time I can remember, every other summer, we went on vacation and it was based around a golf course. A lot of times it was down here in Litchfield. We would vacation down there a lot, but we'd go all over the country. It was granddad would book the trip and it was always based around some golf course.

We even had our own tournament, our own trophy. To get into the tournament, you had to be either married in, or blood, and you had to be 13-years-old to start playing in it. If you won the trophy, it was all handicapped. If you won the trophy, you got your name engraved on it, you got to keep it for the year and then you had to bring it back for the next family vacation.

[0:25:44] BC: So cool.

[0:25:45] WL: Yeah. We did that up until a couple of years after Granddad died. Of course, my dad's getting on up there in age and his brothers are, too. They're actually coming down in September and we're all going to play golf together. Don't know what that's going to look like I said, they're getting up their age. But with them now, it's more about time spent together. But that's how I got into it. I played four sports growing up, basketball, baseball, football, and golf. Golf was something I did on vacation when I was smaller. It was just for fun. I wasn't into it. I didn't do junior golf. I played college basketball. Basketball was very prevalent in my life. Played football all the way up until my junior year in high school, and then I started really concentrating on basketball.

I played baseball all through high school. My dad was my high school baseball coach. But golf was always around. Then when I was in high school, starting high school, Tiger Woods hopped on the scene. I was like, “Holy crap. There's an athlete playing golf.” That's what it was. I was like, wow, this guy is built like a running back. He works out and he hits the ball a ton and it's fun to watch. I got really interested in golf then. But then went off to college and played ball and –

[0:27:09] BC: Where did you play ball?

[0:27:12] WL: Started at Trevecca University in Nashville, Tennessee, and then transferred to Piedmont University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Got hurt. Had some pretty big offers, but in between my senior year, summer, and freshman, broke my ankle really bad. When that happens, the scholarship is kind of stopped coming in. I just really wasn't the same ball player after I snapped my foot. 

[0:27:40] BC: You weren't like Tony Finau?

[0:27:41] WL: No. I could not put it back together. From my big toe to my outside ankle, the foot just split in half.

[0:27:49] BC: Boy.

[0:27:50] WL: Yeah. It's pretty brutal.

[0:27:51] BC: Did you hurt it playing?

[0:27:52] WL: Yeah. I went up, I slam dunked the ball and I fell on somebody, and then someone fell on me and the foot just went like that. Yeah. It was brutal. Now it's, I mean, things happen for a reason. I might not have been the Salty Golfer if not for my foot. I tried to come back and play. When I transferred to Piedmont, I had a blast. Small school. I knew nothing was going to happen after, and we just had a really good time playing. I guess, Nai ball was what it was. But yeah, had a blast doing that. But, I mean, I played – I went to Western Academy in High Point, North Carolina for high school and I played against and with the likes of Julius Peppers and Brendan Haywood and we battled it. I was an okay ball player. Yeah.

[0:28:43] BC: You got to be to hang with them.

[0:28:44] WL: Yeah. Our high school, my junior year, we were 6”3’, 6”2’ shooting guard, 6”8’, 6”10’.

[0:28:56] BC: That's a lot of size for high school.

[0:28:57] WL: Yeah. We were pretty big. Yeah, it was fun. The gym was full every night. I've got all those games still on tape. Every once in a while, pop one in and relive the glory days.

[0:29:08] BC: I love that.

[0:29:08] WL: Yeah. It was a lot of fun. I learned a lot of stuff. I had a great high school coach, had a great college coach. A lot of stuff that they taught me is I've turned that into business. Then, I guess, fast forward to where we – I met my wife in high school. She was the cheerleader that decorated my locker. Katie and I have been together now for 20-plus years. Let's say that.

[0:29:35] BC: Congratulations.

[0:29:36] WL: I want to get that. I think it's 24. Thanks. Yeah, we have five daughters together. We moved down here permanently in 2019. We've always had a property here, like a condo or something. Myrtle Beach was always a second home. Golf is so good down here. We're so blessed to be where we are. I'll just get into how we started The Salty Golfer, is kind of like all happened during COVID. Katie and I owned a business called, and this is when we're still living in Greensboro, North Carolina. We lived in the Sedgeford area where they played the Wyndham, right in the Sedgeford Country Club.

We started this business called Old North State Clothing Company. We had embroidery machines, heat seal machines, we were making hats. Everything was nautical-themed. It wasn't golf-themed. It was just nautical-themed themed and decided, “Man, I just really don't want to do this anymore.” It was turning into a second job. I sold the company. Had a guy that wanted to buy all of the fabric, all of the machines we had. He was out of Virginia. Sold it to him. Then I had this Instagram page. It was called Old North State Clothing Company. I offered him, I said, “Hey, would you want this, too?” He goes, “No, I don't really do social media.” It's fine. I only had, I don't know, maybe 1,200 followers at the time.

My wife was like, well – I was like, “I don't know what to do with this. I just shut it off. What do I do?” Kate was like, “Well, you love playing golf. You love the ocean. You love taking pictures when you're on the golf course. Why do you just call yourself The Salty Golfer and change the name?” Let's do that. I changed it to The Salty Golfer. Fast forward a couple of weeks, out filming and I mean, taking pictures of, we were just out there and we had some time, it was backed up, started taking pictures of guys on a T-box and the holes and stuff like that. Started posting that, started getting a lot of people, a lot of feedback, “Hey, this is cool.” I was like, “Well, let's make a sticker.”

I made a sticker with my literally free copy-and-paste site on the computer. Found a guy with – I was rocking a mohawk at the time. Found a guy with a mohawk, kind of looked like me. Then I went and found some sunglasses, put those sunglasses on that clip art. Then he did look like me, had a beard and everything. Then I put Salty Golfer in the sunglasses. It's like, wow, that's pretty cool looking. Then got on. No free ads, but got on Sticker Mule and ordered 200 stickers, put them out on Instagram, say, “These are $3 if anybody want one.” They were gone in 48 hours. I was like, “Okay.”

[0:32:29] BC: Wow. this is all in 2019?

[0:32:31] WL: This is actually right before we moved here in 2019. It's like, okay, if I can do this with stickers, I can only imagine. Then we moved down here and I was like, okay, it's 2019, moved into 2020. Let's go out. Let's meet every superintendent we can, every GM, every head pro, and say, “Hey, I'm starting this thing. I want to come out here, take pictures of your golf course, play your golf course. I'll pay for everything. I just want to start a relationship with you.” Then on my social media, I will shout you out, and great, let's do it. I'd go out, play a couple of holes, take pictures, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

Then that turned into people starting to DM me, “Hey, how's Caledonia? Hey, is Blackmoore in good shape?” Then my brain just really starts going like, we're working with some here. Then, as you know, as you all know, when you come to Myrtle Beach to play golf, if you're a single, a double, a triple, you are going to be put with someone, whether you like it or not. Long is the day where you can request to play as a twosome. It ain't happening.

[0:33:52] BC: No.

[0:33:53] WL: You're going to be put with someone. I was like, “All right. I'm going to make myself available.” These people were DM’ing me. I was like, “Okay, if you're down here as a single and you're going to play golf, let me know where you're playing. I'll call the golf course and say, ‘Hey, you've got so and so booked at this time, I'd like to join them.’ Then that way, you least know someone, even though you only know me through social media,” right? If you've got a group of seven and you want to make sure some weird single is not put with you, call me, I'll be your eighth. I was just making myself available.

Then that turned into, all right, while these guys are out here since I know the golf courses and I know where all the good pictures are, and I know where to take the videos and what holes to take the video shot on the par threes and stuff like that, why don't you just tell them, “Look, put your phones away. You guys enjoy your company, make a memory. I'll take care of all of the pictures for you today.” I thought, “Yeah, sounds great.” Because the worst thing is to get to the 19th hole, and like, “Shoot. I should have taken a picture on whatever hole.”

Then I started taking these pictures and videos and then I would edit them and then I'd give it back to them in a week. Then, they're like, “Wow, this is amazing. Thank you for helping us create this memory.” It was like, okay, we might be on to something even bigger here. Then we started making T-shirts with The Salty Golfer on it and doing really – we're a laid-back lifestyle golf brand. We do have polos. Polos are not our thing. We're beach, man. We're salt, we're beach. We love to play golf, but we love drinking beer and hanging out on the beach just as much.

[0:35:41] AT: The Play Fast shirt is my favorite.

[0:35:43] WL: Yeah. Thank you so much. Yeah. Thanks been a big hit. When we host people and people slot in our DM and say, “Hey, we're coming down. We'd love you to play with us, or all of this stuff.” We don't care if you're a 30 handicap or you're a plus 30. What we want you to do is have a good time and let us – if you want us to help you create that memory, I mean, that's to this day still humbles me. You want to come play golf with me and you want me to help you create your Myrtle Beach golf trip. That blows my mind to this day.

I get emotional thinking about it, because every time I'm looking at these pictures, these dudes that only know me through a phone want me to come hang with them and take pictures for them and videos and then hang out post-round and drink a beer with them, or whatever, I am the luckiest dude in the world that I get to do that. Now, I get to do that full-time.

[0:36:42] BC: Well, The Salty Golfer’s become a movement. I mean, it really has. I did not know. I actually started following you around the pandemic time period. Early. I did not know your connections to people reaching out to you and you playing golf with them.

[0:36:58] WL: Yeah. It's very underground.

[0:37:00] BC: But for it to grow the way it did, and your stickers selling out in a couple of days, I bought a hoodie, the first play fast hoodie. That had to have sold out in — because I was going to get a second one a couple hours later, and the size, it sold out.

[0:37:19] WL: That's another thing. Is like, we could buy more and sell more. But we like that feeling of the high demand.

[0:37:30] BC: Oh, yeah.

[0:37:31] WL: If you don't hop on it, man, it could be gone. We could never make it again. But we are coming out with more hoodies this fall, just so you know.

[0:37:38] BC: Oh, good. Good.

[0:37:39] WL: So, you could jump on it. Yeah. It's a movement. It's very grassrootsy. I love where it is right now. Cause people are in our DMs all the time like, “Hey, I'm coming to Myrtle Beach. We're playing here.” I guess, the difference between me, and maybe someone that does package or someone, if someone's – if there's a course not in the best shape, I will tell you. I would hate for someone's experience to come down to a Caledonia, or a wherever, and it'd be sanded and you not know. Now, I'm not saying Caledonia. I'm not saying anybody does that, but that would be tough.

[0:38:21] AT: Yeah. It can happen, because we have to do it. Yeah.

[0:38:23] WL: It can happen. Because it has to be done. If there was a miscommunication, or whatever. Could you imagine getting to Caledonia and it'd be aerated? That would stink.

[0:38:33] AT: Which is one of the more premium priced golf courses in the area, too. Yeah, it’s like a double.

[0:38:40] WL: I think that's just, I've not aligned myself with one conglomerate of golf courses. I want to help all golf courses.

[0:38:51] BC: Having sold out, it’s a – I love that it's an underground movement. I mean, I just keep using that word. The fact that it was, I don't want to say, happy accident, but it looked like you just leveraged 1,200 followers and said, “I'm going to create The Salty Golfer,” not as a brand, but just to post pictures I like and maybe someone else will like it. Then it is just exploded in five years.

[0:39:16] WL: We're sitting at almost, and this is nowhere near what some of the influencers are. I’m not a big fan of that word, but I mean, we're sitting at close to 23,000 followers on Instagram. I mean, the way it's grown and like I said, I'm doing it full-time now. It's allowed me to take care of my family and it is – just to see people that come down here year in – like, I'm on some host jobs, this is my fourth year doing it.

[0:39:41] BC: That's so cool.

[0:39:42] WL: Yeah. And just to be a part of the community, I call myself the unofficial ambassador for Myrtle Beach Golf, because no one pays me to be an ambassador for Myrtle Beach Golf. I don't get any money from it, nothing. But I am so lucky to live where I live and have the access to the golf courses that I have access to, and to meet people like you guys that feel, I'm pretty sure the same way.

I hope I'll never take for granted what I get to do. To be in the position to educate and teach and show people in real-time how good Myrtle Beach, the grand strand is, in just golf alone, I'm a lucky cat to be able to do that for sure.

[0:40:33] BC: This is a great story.

[0:40:34] AT: I'm sure you've noticed, of course, you say, being in the golf business here in Myrtle Beach, but have you noticed how close-knit the golf course is and the people in the golf community are? I mean, I've been doing this for 25-plus years. It's the same thing. Everybody is just so good to everybody here. When somebody like yourself comes along and starts this venture, they embrace it. They love it.

[0:41:03] WL: Yeah. My whole goal with The Salty Golfer is, when it comes to Myrtle Beach is I want to get a youth movement down here. I want the 24, 25-year-olds coming to Myrtle Beach, instead of TPC Sawgrass, or Pebble Beach. If you've never gone on a golf trip before in your life, if you've never planned a golf trip before in your life, you need to start in Myrtle Beach. I don't know of an easier place to do your first golf trip, if you're just getting into golf than Myrtle Beach, because we literally have everything you could possibly want.

That is another fear of mine is all of these people that came to the game of golf through COVID that would have never touched a golf club in their life. I don't want to lose them. I think Myrtle Beach is a perfect place to get those people to come and get outside their comfort zone a little bit, but still have an affordable place to not only bring themselves and whoever else they're playing golf with, but we're one of the few locations that you don't have to play golf to come have a good time. There's so much stuff here for us to do that I don't know why you wouldn't make your first golf trip, Myrtle Beach.

[0:42:22] BC: The entertainment districts we have outside of the beautiful courses we have, just make Myrtle Beach such a unique destination for it. I couldn't have said it better. To keep the game growing, you have to get the youth involved. COVID did that. Let’s keep them. I think Myrtle Beach has done, I mean, just the growth of Broadway at the Beach and Barefoot Landing in the last few years.

[0:42:45] WL: It’s nuts over there, with pop stroke.

[0:42:48] BC: It's just amazing.

[0:42:48] WL: And all of that. It's crazy. I just, sometimes, now, I grew up in the game. My granddad played it. My dad played it. I respect the past. I respect the traditions. I know that there's differences that – but if you're a local muni and a kid shows up in a T-shirt or a hoodie, or blue jeans shorts, for God's sakes, don't run him off. Give him a chance. But educate him. Maybe your course doesn't allow that and that's fine. That's why I respect that. If you're a collard tuck-in, hat, not backward like I'm wearing it, then it needs to be respected. But don't run them off. Educate them. That's all I'm saying.

[0:43:35] BC: Yeah. I think you can hold on to tradition.

[0:43:39] WL: 100%.

[0:43:40] BC: But still be inviting. I think the Myrtle Beach area does that.

[0:43:45] WL: They do. They’ve got it, man. What they're doing with having – we broke a barrier with the Q thing, man, the thing that the GTS guys did. I mean, that broke – We had influencers trying out, to try to make a PGA tour event. I can only imagine how hard that was to do behind the scenes with hearing stories about the PGA tour and getting in to do that stuff. Now, they're getting ready to do it again.

[0:44:15] AT: Yeah. Look, the statistics just came out from the impact from the tournament back in May. It was phenomenal. I mean, everything they did, of course, it was the best first-time tournament that the PGA tours had in forever.

[0:44:33] WL: It was the best tournament that there was another tournament going on, too. There was an Elevate event.

[0:44:40] AT: Elevated was up in Charlotte. Yeah.

[0:44:41] BC: Yeah. It was the best ratings for an inaugural non-elevated event.

[0:44:46] WL: I mean, we showed out that week. Myrtle Beach showed out. It was at a great spot. I thought logistically, getting people in and out of there was going to be a nightmare.

[0:44:57] AT: There's buses. We're on point.

[0:44:59] WL: On point. I did a whole thing. I had a pretty good parking spot. I was there every day. But one day, I wanted to just see how this works. I parked over there at the old mall. From the time I parked to the time I was in the gates was 13 minutes.

[0:45:15] BC: Wow.

[0:45:16] WL: Those buses did not disappoint, man. I got lucky enough that I didn't have to park at the mall. I had some different parking for the passes that we had. But I came from Grand Dunes, which is not very far, the dunes from there. Those buses just running on a constant loop, like you walk up, boom.

[0:45:38] AT: There's seven of them running at a time.

[0:45:39] WL: Yeah. They just never stopped.

[0:45:40] BC: The first go. To do so well in the first go, I mean, just imagine how next year is going to be.

[0:45:46] WL: I played in the, what's it called?

[0:45:49] BC: The Pro-Am, didn’t you?

[0:45:50] WL: Pro-Am. Yeah. I mean, I feel like a rockstar. I got never thought –

[0:45:55] BC: I saw the images. You looked like a rockstar. Who'd you play with?

[0:45:59] WL: CT Pan. Fluff was on his bag that day.

[0:46:03] BC: Oh, I saw that picture.

[0:46:04] WL: Yeah. I gave him one of those head coach, “Here's a big deadhead.”

[0:46:07] BC: Oh, yeah.

[0:46:09] WL: I brought a note and he signed it for me.

[0:46:11] BC: Love it.

[0:46:11] WL: I've got that in a shadow box. Then somebody Thompson, young player. He top 15 though that that weekend, from Oklahoma State. Hits it a country mile.

[0:46:27] AT: I’m trying to think who it is.

[0:46:28] WL: Scott Thompson? I can't remember.

[0:46:30] AT: A lot of those boys hit it a country mile though, man.

[0:46:34] WL: The thing that amazed me in that, the Pro-Am, is how they can make par from anywhere. It's amazing. The first, not CT Pan. With the other guy. He hit one so far right into the woods, I thought, well, normal, we're never going to find that ball. If he does find it, he's not – what’s he going to do with it? Then all of a sudden, I hear this ball whistle out of the woods and he knocks it to 12 feet. It was nuts.

[0:47:03] AT: It's a recovery.

[0:47:03] BC: It's the whole thing –

[0:47:04] WL: Yeah, that’s right. It’s a recovery.

[0:47:05] BC: - the best players. Because I played with some guys that have chased the dream on many tours, and I played with them and been like, there cannot be a better player on the planet right now than this guy. Then, they don't even sniff the highest level. It's the mitigation of mistakes. Or if you do make a mistake, you don't double down and that's why they're the best.

[0:47:26] WL: Right. The ability to have the shortest memory possible is amazing.

[0:47:30] BC: Which is so tough for me.

[0:47:31] WL: It's tough for me, too.

[0:47:33] AT: Oh, not me. I can forget about it after it happens. Yeah. As you said, I like to have drinks while I'm playing. I'm pretty relaxed.

[0:47:43] WL: The ice is melting, man.

[0:47:44] AT: Yeah. If I hit a bad shot, I've moved on. I don't dwell on it.

[0:47:52] WL: I went into this thing the other night on my – I don't practice. I got mad last Friday I was playing and I shot 78. I was hitting the ball everywhere and I was scrambling like crazy. I didn't have one decent look at birdie. Not a one. I got mad because I shot 78. I was on my way home, I was like, “Bro, you don't practice. Why are you mad? You're not putting any work into this and you're still breaking 80.” Then I'm like, “Crap.” I'm literally at this crossroads now in my golf journey. Do I want to put in the work, or do I just want to have fun? I am flip-flopping by the minute.

[0:48:36] BC: You're such a want to have fun for your whole profession and personality.

[0:48:42] WL: When people play with me, it's funny. When they play with me for the first time because they know me through social media, they're like, “Oh, this guy's going to be super chill.” But when I’m on the golf course, man –

[0:48:51] BC: That's that athlete coming out of you.

[0:48:52] WL: I want to beat you and I want to beat you. I don’t want –

[0:48:55] AT: It’s the competitive nature in all of us.

[0:48:56] WL: I don't want to just beat you. I want you to remember it. But I found this happy me and where I can do both. I can laugh and joke and be jovial with you on the golf course, while beating you. If you beat me, it hurts. It stinks a little bit.

[0:49:11] BC: Well, I hope we play together one day. I promise you, I won't beat you though.

[0:49:16] AT: We'll give you whatever strokes you need for sure. I have my moments. I have good rounds and I have bad rounds.

[0:49:23] WL: Oh, man. Right there with you.

[0:49:24] BC: Aaron’s our resident player. Salty, let's talk about some new offerings, current offerings you have. You mentioned having a beer with your groups after round, during round, ice is melting. You've got your own beer.

[0:49:37] WL: We do have our own beer.

[0:49:38] BC: I want to talk about that. Then you're on the Tee’d Off Podcast, but you are launching a new show, The Salty Golfer Show. I want to talk about that. Tell me a little bit about that.

[0:49:49] WL: A dear friend of mine, Clayton Burrows, he is the owner of Grand Strand Brewing Company, right in the smack middle of the Grand Strand on here.

[0:49:56] BC: Yeah. Great spot.

[0:49:58] WL: Great spot. You can see the ocean from their deck there. Played golf with him a few times, before we really gotten close. We were sitting on some artwork. Are you seeing the beer? I'm sure. Didn't really know what to do with that artwork. We were thinking like a fishing shirt, with a hoodie and stuff like that. Anthony, who was my former business partner, he said, “Man, that looks like a beer can.” I was like, “Wow. It does look like a beer can.” I went to Clayton and said, “Hey, we got this artwork. There's no local light beers down here. Everything is an IPA, a 9-point, whatever, hard to play golf, drinking those. What do you think about making a light beer together?” He was like, “Sure. What do you want to do? Let's figure it out.” I said, “Well, here's the artwork.” “It's perfect. It looks great.”

I said, “I only have one stipulation.” I was like, “Well, a couple.” I was like, “I want it to be super light, just crushable. You sit on a beach, you can drink six of these and you're okay. You can play a whole round of golf and drink these and be okay.” We're thinking like a 4.2, right? I said, “We're going to have to add a little bit of pineapple to it because that's just on brand for The Salty Golfer.” He was like, “I don't know about the pineapple.” I said, “That's the only way it’s happening.”

Christoph, who's their master brewer, we spent a few weeks on it trying to get the formula, the recipe right. We went back and forth with an artificial pineapple and a puree and found a middle road and all of this. Christoph was very patient. We had some people come in and taste it all and some blind-tasting type things. Had some people just, “Hey, try this. Tell us what you think.” Not even telling them really what it was.

Then we hit on one. I tell everybody this, it is a pineapple blend, but it is not a fruit beer. You're not going to lose your man card drinking this beer. It has the smallest hint of pineapple on the back end. It is caught lightning in a bottle. It is up and down the Grand Strand.

[0:52:28] BC: I was going to say, it's in grocery stores.

[0:52:30] WL: It's in grocery stores. The word on the streets is it might be in Walmart in October.

[0:52:37] BC: Wow.

[0:52:39] WL: Yeah. Clayton and his team, they saw the vision and they trusted my instincts on the pineapple. Here we are, man. It's moving south. We're at Kiawah Island and Hilton Head now. We have to brew it every week now. That's the demand we're in. It's at several different grocery stores. I mean, there's a three-page list of restaurants and bars with that. I think we're at 60 some golf courses.

[0:53:09] BC: So cool.

[0:53:10] AT: As you say, you're pretty much every golf course. Cause I see it every time.

[0:53:14] BC: Shout out to Grand Strand Brewing Company and Salty Cheeks, Sandy Cheeks.

[0:53:19] WL: Mine is just The Salty Golfer.

[0:53:20] BC: Salty Golfer, okay.

[0:53:21] WL: Yeah. Salty Golfer Pineapple Blend, but there is a Sandy Cheeks.

[0:53:24] BC: Okay. It's always next to yours.

[0:53:26] WL: Yeah. Very good beer. Then Airbrush is another one. Right now, I think there's 12 on tap at the tap house. They have a great menu, too. Maybe the best mash burger on the Grand Strand. Such a good burger there. But yeah, big shout-out to those guys. They're like family now. It's just been a really cool partnership with those guys and to see, I really don't have to do anything. Just, here's my name, and here's the artwork.

[0:53:58] BC: Cool.

[0:53:58] WL: Go make some beer.

[0:53:59] BC: Do you do a lot of your artwork?

[0:54:02] WL: In my brain, yes. I can sketch it out to a point, but then I always have to hire someone to finish it. The artists that we work with are very patient with me because sometimes they'll have to do it five, six, seven times until what is in my brain, I'm seeing you on the paper.

[0:54:24] BC: You're the visionary.

[0:54:24] WL: Correct. I wish I was an artist. I could save myself a lot of money if I could do my own art. My daughter is in art school at Coastal. She's going in her sophomore year. She's pretty good. Maybe one day I can hire her. But yes, they're my visions and I can get them to a certain point, but I am not detailed like a lot of these digitized artists are now. Some of the stuff they pump out, it's pretty –

[0:54:50] BC: Well, kudos to your visions and the artists to making them come to life because you've got great products up and down. Now, I've just enjoyed hearing you talk about your story and what you do in the Myrtle Beach area, which is just so cool. You're coming out with your own show, The Salty Golfer Show. What is that going to be about? What's your agenda and objectives with that? Because you're about to drop your first episode soon.

[0:55:17] WL: Yeah. The first recording is this coming Thursday, actually. We won't drop until the 15th of next month. I want to make sure we get it right. The first one is going to set the tone for the rest of them. But yeah, like I said earlier, I just feel like, I'm maybe in my own head this way, but I feel like I'm the unofficial ambassador for Myrtle Beach. I want people to know everything about it, and not just golf, but how the golf industry ties into a lot of things that get done in Myrtle Beach. State of South Carolina, our number one industry is golf. I mean, it puts a lot of food on a lot of people's tables.

We're going to get down and dirty, like superintendents. How do you prepare a golf course? We're going to figure out what the best hotdog is on the Grand Strand. All of these things that golf nerds like myself that are getting ready to go on a trip, we want to know these things. Like, why does a golf ball go further when it's 78 degrees than when it's 55 degrees? These are nerdy things. Not every episode is going to be for everyone, but yet, we will have some episodes with some owners of restaurants that might entice someone else to listen to the pod.

[0:56:40] AT: You might want to see if Bryson's available for an episode and go help us in that scientific stuff.

[0:56:46] BC: You'll have to get Pete Kenny from [inaudible 0:56:47].

[0:56:49] WL: Pete Kenny. I've got Ken Rollman, who's pretty high up at Srixon. He's coming on. He does a lot of their R&D. I’m on staff with Srixon. It's cool to be able to have him on, and he's done all that technology and gone to the classes of why the ball flies better at 80 degrees than 50 degrees.

[0:57:11] BC: It's so relevant now with the golf ball rollback and stuff. We've really dove into that last year or so. You have so much content for the show. I mean, just offer your personal stories and all the places you touch in the industry. You can get as granular as you want. Then like you said, you can say, what's the best hotdog? What's the best halfway house on the beach?

[0:57:37] WL: There’ll be some comedy mixed in, cause I love to laugh. I love it. Laughter is, I believe it is the best medicine, and we're just going to have a good time. If it stops being fun, we'll stop doing it. That is my thing with everything. I know there's some things that you have to do that aren't fun, but I like to try to have a good time in everything I do. I just feel so lucky and blessed to be where I'm at. I want to share it with everybody. I don't want to keep it from anyone.

[0:58:03] BC: Well, looking at your content, unless you're the best actor on the planet, you look like you are having a blast.

[0:58:08] WL: We’re having a good time. Having a good time.

[0:58:10] BC: I admire the hell out of you for the success you've had in five short years. You've created a monster in the best way possible. Aaron and I are on the movement. We want to keep this wave going.

[0:58:24] WL: You got to play some golf. 

[0:58:26] BC: Yeah. Let's do it. We are entering the best time period of the year to play golf in Myrtle Beach. There's not a bad time to play golf in Myrtle Beach.

[0:58:33] AT: He saw me play in the tournament. He didn't turn and run the other way, so I feel like we can play.

[0:58:37] WL: He said, I don't base or something on what this shot and got blasted right down and now. We can talk about that. We can talk about that one.

[0:58:46] BC: Yeah, man. Aaron can play.

[0:58:47] WL: Yeah. He’s a good ball.

[0:58:48] AT: I have my moments.

[0:58:49] WL: Yeah. We all do, man. Golf’s hard, man.

[0:58:52] AT: It’s golf. It is golf. Yeah.

[0:58:54] WL: It's the last thing, being a middle-aged dude, it's the last thing I can be competitive in.

[0:59:00] BC: Yeah. But you can be competitive in for decades.

[0:59:03] WL: Until you die, if you wanted to.

[0:59:04] BC: That's a cool thing about golf. You can't play basketball in your 70s.

[0:59:09] WL: It has not even crossed my mind to pick up a basketball in a decade or two.

[0:59:15] AT: It's the one sport you can drink while playing. You can have a cup of –

[0:59:19] WL: I like the way you think. Yeah.

[0:59:22] AT: I mean, that's what I do for my fun. I usually once a week, like you said, I don't practice. I don't go to a driving range when I play. I just go out, I play.

[0:59:33] BC: The social aspect is so unique to it, too.

[0:59:35] WL: It's me and my friends getting together because they're at the age, they're either married, or they got kids, or whatever. It's like our night out is just a day on the golf course and go and have drinks.

[0:59:45] WL: Right. How lucky we to have the Arrow Club. If you're going to play par three.

[0:59:51] BC: Yeah. We got Harbor Gate down this way. Do it at night.

[0:59:54] WL: Yeah. Same thing. we have some massive – in the fall, you guys ought to come down to the Arrow Club. There’s massive skins games down there.

[1:00:01] AT: Yeah. I’ve heard. Yeah, I’ve heard.

[1:00:02] WL: I mean, it’s nice. It's like, birdie or bust.

[1:00:05] BC: Well, you better be.

[1:00:06] AT: I know some of those guys that play in those things. They generally take my money most of the time.

[1:00:11] WL: Mr. Billy Belair. Not the name drop. He puts it all together, but he's a player, man. He's a player.

[1:00:17] BC: Cool. Well, Wes Loman, Salty Golfer with us in studio. Thanks so much for sharing your story. Congratulations on all your success with The Salty Golfer brand and the future offerings you have. We're going to hit the back nine and talk a little more about Myrtle Beach golf. You mind sticking around?

[1:00:34] WL: Yeah. I'm here, man.

[1:00:35] BC: Let's do it.

[1:00:37] AT: The back nine.

[1:00:41] BC: All right, the back nine. Guys, the biggest amateur golf event on the planet is about to kick off again for, which year is it? I don't –

[1:00:50] WL: Oh, man. Yeah.

[1:00:51] AT: A long time.

[1:00:51] BC: A whole bunch. I know that over –

[1:00:53] WL: At least back in the 80s.

[1:00:55] BC: Over 3,000 participants in the World Am. Over 500 women in the World Am. You want to talk about the growth of the game, the women entrance into the game has been great and impressive. I can't wait to see more of that. So many amateur golfers come in late August to Myrtle Beach to play in this event. It is an absolute blast. Covers every handicap. Everybody can have fun. The convention center for all week has just the best 19th hole. Just awesome party with vendors and food and drink and just games. Salty. I know you're going to have a booth and presence there. Tell me about the World Am what somebody who maybe has not participated before can expect.

[1:01:46] WL: We've actually teamed up this year with the Myrtle Beach golf trail. We're going to be part of the beer garden. Our beer will be there. We'll have the 72 bus there, the VW bus. All our merch. If you've ever wanted to play in a, I guess, feel like you're playing in a pro tour event, I would do the World Am. It's three or four days of golf. It's very well run. Your handicap. You're playing with people of your skill level. How they do that, I can only imagine.

[1:02:23] BC: Over 70 flights.

[1:02:25] WL: Yeah. It's crazy. Crazy.

[1:02:25] BC: It’s amazing.

[1:02:27] AT: Great way to meet people, too, because you're paired with somebody different every day. I mean, it is a great way to meet people.

[1:02:33] BC: It keeps the competitive juices flowing, too, because they have championship Friday, if you make it that far. It means something. You get a trophy, you get invited back for next year. But it's all in great competitive fun.

[1:02:47] WL: Yeah. Like you said, the biggest 19th hole ever in the world.

[1:02:51] BC: It's almost indescribable. I mean, the videos, and Salty, you did great post last year, but didn't do it justice, until you walk in. You guys have to go see it. I mean, it's just that amazing.

[1:03:03] WL: It's pretty cool how they put that all together and there's special guests every night up there, and some of the top in the industry out there speaking about golf and where the state of golf is and really cool to see that. I usually always have some pretty cool relative influencer-type guest come in for the event that will speak and you can meet and get autographs and all that kinds of stuff. I mean, it's really one of those things, like you can describe it as much as you want, but until you come and do it –

[1:03:35] BC: Experience it.

[1:03:35] WL: Yeah. The expectation for the people I've talked to, I've never heard anyone say anything bad about the World Am, and it's always gone above what they expected it to be. You're playing, I don't know how many golf courses they are at this year, but –

[1:03:50] BC: How many golf courses is it, Aaron?

[1:03:52] AT: Do they utilize for the –

[1:03:55] WL: One point, I think, it was 60. I don't know if it's that.

[1:03:57] BC: I feel like they're still in the 60 range. Yeah.

[1:03:59] WL: It's crazy.

[1:03:59] AT: Because we see it as a provider, so we're booking for groups and anybody that's looking to come down to World Am. You know when they're blocked off, because the tee sheets are just blanked up. But, but in addition, as you mentioned about the 19th hole, the one thing too is the locals, I mean, they treat it as a night out. I mean, it's going – it's pretty neat to be able to go there and hang out all night, have drinks, see all the stuff that's going on. I mean, that's what my friends and I do.

[1:04:26] WL: It's all included. You're not going there and spending money on drinks or food. That's another thing that's – as a person that loves to eat, you're getting to try food from several different restaurants. 

[1:04:39] AT: They change them every night. Yeah. It's not the same restaurants every night.

[1:04:43] BC: The gadgets that are brought from the golf equipment industry, too – 

[1:04:48] AT: Yeah, it’s all there. The simulators.

[1:04:49] BC: And accessories for golf carts and stuff, stuff you wouldn't even think about. I mean, it's like the party version of the PGA show, really.

[1:04:57] AT: I had a friend walk out of there with one of those orange whips last year.

[1:05:00] BC: Yeah. Oh, the VJ sing things?

[1:05:04] AT: I think it's just called the orange whip. Yeah.

[1:05:07] WL: He has balls with his.

[1:05:09] BC: I was just going to say that’s –

[1:05:09] WL: It's crazy.

[1:05:10] BC: Insane. He’s a range rate for sure.

[1:05:14] WL: Yeah, for sure.

[1:05:16] BC: Yeah. What more can we say about the World Am? You just have to come and experience it. If not, look at Salty's page, look at MB Golf's page, we're going to be there, and we're going to take as many photos and videos as we can. But you guys are missing out.

[1:05:29] WL: Yeah. We’re going to document every day again this year. I'm going to tell you, I'm going to do a pre and post what you know, what was scored each day, and then we hope to see a bunch of familiar faces and new faces every night at the 19th hole. I look forward to this week every year. It's just so much fun to be a part of and to be local and to be able to do it, too, it's really cool.

[1:05:54] BC: Weather looks fantastic. It's going to be perfect. Check out the World Am.

[1:05:59] WL: Last year we had the hurricane.

[1:06:02] AT: Was it last year?

[1:06:04] WL: I think it was.

[1:06:04] AT: Or was it the year before?

[1:06:06] WL: Because they canceled one of the days of play.

[1:06:07] BC: Yeah. It was last year.

[1:06:07] AT: Was it last year? I think it was the last day of play, wasn't it? They tried to cram everything in. You are right. Yeah. It wasn't even really a hurricane, but it was just –

[1:06:18] WL: No. Some courses played and some didn't.

[1:06:20] AT: Yeah. Yeah. I think they left it up to the players if they wanted to play or not.

[1:06:23] BC: I bet plenty played.

[1:06:25] AT: Oh, I'm sure. That's what your money’s worth.

[1:06:26] WL: Money’s worth.

[1:06:28] BC: I'm not a mudder. I wouldn't have played.

[1:06:29] WL: I'm not very good mudder either. I'm not a mudder. I'll play in the rain, but I also have a 50-degree rule. If it's below 50 degrees, I don’t really want to be out there.

[1:06:39] BC: Well, if there's just a scotch of wind, then it's not 50 degrees.

[1:06:43] AT: My, my slogan is Salty, I live here. I can play anytime. I don't have to go out.

[1:06:46] WL: That’s right. I’m going to have to borrow that.

[1:06:51] BC: Yeah. Mine is wind chill. It gets 50 degrees, but wind chill is 46. It's 46. I don't care. If you're telling me that's how it feels, then that's what it is.

[1:07:00] AT: I don't think my friends – I think my rule is 60. If it's under 60, I'm not playing.

[1:07:06] WL: Really?

[1:07:06] AT: Yeah.

[1:07:07] WL: I'll do a 55, or 60-day.

[1:07:09] AT:  You want to talk about a fair-weather golfer? This guy right here.

[1:07:12] WL: Fair enough.

[1:07:13] AT: Yeah. I don't force myself into any conditions.

[1:07:16] BC: Well, the World Am is not going to have anything below 60. It’s going to be perfect, in the 80s. The humidity has actually dropped the last couple of weeks.

[1:07:25] AT: Yeah. I'd say, even yesterday, the tournament that we were at was, I mean, it was supposed to be warm, but there's a breeze. It felt great out there. Yeah.

[1:07:35] BC: Well, let's talk about after the World Am and beyond, Aaron. Fall is pretty much full for golf packages.

[1:07:44] AT: We have managed to find a few open spots for some groups here over the last week or two, but there's not a lot of room for fall, especially October. October is, I mean, it is booked. Then from an accommodation standpoint, we're the same way. We've had some groups that have been looking at dates, but we just don't have the availability to make it happen, so they've had to shift their dates around. But yeah, fall is certainly booked. I mean, if you're not already on it, you're probably going to be looking at afternoon tee times and stuff like that here as you get into October.

[1:08:20] BC: Yeah, a couple opportunities in November still. The time doesn't fall back until the second week of November.

[1:08:27] AT: A little secret. The first week of November is a great time. Weather’s great. It is a general time where the shift in rates start going towards what we would consider our winter rates. It's good value. Yeah, don't knock it just because it's November. First week of November, solid.

[1:08:47] WL: Can I ask a question?

[1:08:48] BC: Yeah.

[1:08:48] AT: Yeah.

[1:08:49] WL: What are the most expensive months in fall and spring?

[1:08:55] AT: Fall, October, easy. Yeah. End of September through October. Then the spring is generally mid-March, through Mother's Day, the weekend before Mother's Day.

[1:09:10] WL: I get asked that question a lot. I feel like, I've always been pretty close to that.

[1:09:16] BC: November is a good secret, really.

[1:09:17] AT: It is. If you can, you can catch some weather. I mean, we were talking one time of – I mean, we were mid-70s, low 80s for a little stretch in November. I was like, if you were here on a golf vacation, you hit the jackpot.

[1:09:32] BC: Yeah. We get that fake spring in late February, too.

[1:09:35] WL: We’ve got a false fall a couple of days.

[1:09:39] BC: Yeah. Fake spring, false fall. Yeah. Well, how is mid-March through Mother's Day as far as bookings go, Aaron?

[1:09:47] AT: We’re just seeing a trend in spring bookings that just tend to get earlier every year. I mean, we've looked at the numbers. I mean, what we've already got on the books were so far ahead of what we previously had the previous year, but yet, we keep saying it's the best booking trend we've ever seen, but we get to keep saying it every year. I think the groups have gotten on to that because we do hit that stretch where it's usually the last two weekends of April and that first weekend of May is what's known as a sold out.

[1:10:25] WL: I'm not so sure there's even a golf season anymore down here.

[1:10:27] AT: Good point.

[1:10:28] BC: I don't think there's a season anymore down here, Salty.

[1:10:30] WL: I just feel like, people are playing all the time in here.

[1:10:34] AT: It's a valid point. I mean, I remember, we used to go out and play in the summertime. I'm an afternoon player. Afternoons were great, because everybody played in the mornings. Now, you go out in the afternoon and courses are busy.

[1:10:49] WL: I drove by TPC the other day. I was dropping something off at the clubhouse and it was 3.30pm and you thought it was 7.45am out there.

[1:10:59] BC: Yeah. Carts lined up for people to go out.

[1:11:01] WL: I mean, I love it.

[1:11:02] BC: Yeah. I love it, too. We we're in with Condo-World and mbgolf.com, where we do family vacations. The summer is always full, and then we're big in golf. We have the spring and the fall. Then in the winter time, we can do snowboard rentals. People stay a month at a time. There is no off season anymore.

[1:11:25] AT: Most of your snowboards play golf.

[1:11:26] BC: Oh, yeah. The days where post Labor Day, you go and close up shop and –

[1:11:32] WL: Where are most of your snowboards coming from?

[1:11:34] BC: Up north, Canada.

[1:11:36] WL: Still get quite a few from Canada.

[1:11:37] BC: We get a fair amount of Canadian golf bookings, too.

[1:11:40] AT: We have a lot of Canadian golf groups. Yeah. We do have.

[1:11:43] WL: This is a great story. I hosted a group of French-Canadians that spoke no English. We were hand-signaling the whole day. But we had a great time.

[1:11:56] BC: Oh, that's so cool.

[1:11:57] WL: Yeah. It was really cool.

[1:11:59] BC: Well, so many different places to play. I want to pick an accommodation on a place to stay when you come down for your fall or spring trip. Aaron, the Ashworth condos in North Myrtle Beach, Salty, they're right off Main Street here. We’ve two, three, and four-bedroom, all ocean front condos. The bedding options are plentiful. You can get a bunch of guys or girls in the condos that fit your needs. All of our condos have fully equipped kitchens, big private balconies. The balconies are accessible from the living room, or the master bedroom.

[1:12:35] WL: Nice.

[1:12:37] BC: Designer furnishings, they're all individually owned and individually decorated to the owner's taste. You can pick yours online and we've got pictures of it. Aaron, golfers love the Ashworth.

[1:12:49] AT: Location, location, location. It is, rightly as you said, right off of Main Street. You can walk out, go someplace, get a drink. They have plenty of restaurants. Other than to drive to the golf course, you really don't need your car, because you can walk to pretty much everything in that area.

[1:13:07] WL: Where that's located, if the package includes a True Blue or a, let's say, so how far would it take to get to True Blue from there?

[1:13:16] AT: A little bit of drive. That's going to be Paulie's Island area. So, you figure North Myrtle. But with Highway 31, I don't think it's really that bad.

[1:13:25] BC: Its 45 minutes tops.

[1:13:26] AT: Yeah. Probably 45 minutes. Yeah.

[1:13:28] WL: Love that. I mean, it’s been a lifesaver.

[1:13:31] AT: Cool. Yeah.

[1:13:31] BC: Yeah, it is. You're within 10 minutes of any – pretty much any course in Myrtle Beach.

[1:13:36] AT: I mean, the truth is if you go straight out Main Street connector and you're on 31. Yeah. I mean, it's not as what people think is a long drive. It's not that long.

[1:13:46] WL: Just doing some of my own research, because I get asked these questions all the time. “Hey, we're staying up in North Myrtle. We're playing.” Just good to know that.

[1:13:55] AT: Yeah. Cause we got a lot of groups that play. Of course, everybody loves their Caledonias and their – I mean, I tell our golf groups, too, when they ask if they're not sure, but I think the Paulie's Island area does have some of the best collection of courses in the area, personally.

[1:14:11] BC: Yeah. It's a coin, the Hammock Coast. I used to go to the hammock shops as a little kid.

[1:14:17] WL: I love that spot down there, man.

[1:14:19] BC: My mom dumped me out of a stroller, because of the cobblestone thing. Anyway, I had a bad experience here, but it's really great stores.

[1:14:27] WL: Thanks mom.

[1:14:28] BC: Great area. That brings us to our package of the episode. I mean, Caledonian, True Blue, you mentioned some heavy hitters, cream of the crop courses on the south end.

[1:14:39] AT: Paulie’s plantation, newly renovated. Just reopened last fall. Jack Nicholas came in, he did the renovation himself. Yeah, the Hammock Coast is one of our most popular packages, because it does offer multi-play savings. Like you said, you get all of those courses that are down in that area. You can choose from any of them. It's just a multi-play package. You play two or more, you're saving money.

[1:15:06] BC: They're certainly popular. I hope listeners are planning their trip a year in advance, but consider the Hammock Coast and Ashworth and North Myrtle Beach. It's really not that far of a drive and you don't have – you're on one highway and you're there. Consider that when you are planning your package on mbgolf.com.

All right, guys. Last, but certainly not least, Tee’d Off, namesake of the show. We talk about something that grinds our gears, or a funny story, or just something about golf in general that you want to talk about that might tee you off. I'll kick it off.

Mine's more of a PSA. I played a couple of weeks ago. You know what? I don't mind smokers on the course. I know that Aaron and I, we’re talking about a picture that's surfaced that's gotten pretty viral from back in the day. It's Ben Hogan and Arnold Palmer, and they're both holding cigarettes and they're waiting to tee off on the masters at one of the holes. It's such a cool photo. You've got a T-shirt of it.

[1:16:06] AT: I had a T-shirt made with that picture on it, cause I just love that picture. They look so relaxed, and so chill. They just have a cigarette hanging out of their mouth.

[1:16:16] WL: Everybody and their mother smoked back then. Everyone smoked. Yeah.

[1:16:20] AT: Well, then Charlie Hall. You mentioned her how many times on this podcast.

[1:16:24] BC: Charlie Hall has made it a little more popular, and then Michael Jordan and his cigars. What I don't like is, one, I don't like moving the remnants of a cigar when I'm trying to tee my ball up. I don't like seeing cigarette butts around the green. Bring a water bottle if you're smoking cigarettes. Bring a Gatorade bottle if you're smoking cigars and put them in there. If your playing partners aren't telling you, they do appreciate it. The people behind you certainly do, and the turf crew definitely appreciate it, cause they don't want to be picking that stuff up. Do a little bit better, course etiquette and –

[1:17:00] WL: Well said.

[1:17:02] BC: That’s my tee’d off, cause I dealt with that a couple of weeks ago and it tee’d me off a little bit. Aaron, what's your tee’d off?

[1:17:07] AT: Well, mine, I guess, this will qualify as a tee’d off. As I mentioned, I played in the tournament yesterday for the first tee, the Grand Strand area first tee. We were all paired up with first tee participants and this and that. We got to a hole where the – it was the long drive hole. They had one of the long drive guys was there. You make a donation, he'll drive the ball for you.

We all get to hit first and I had a great drive. I was happy. I mean, I knew he was going to place it right by mine, but I didn't expect what I was going to see next though was he pulled out a three-foot driver, flipped it upside down and proceeded to swing with the club upside down. I watched it sail 200 yards past my drive. I was like, now where in the golf world did I go wrong that I hit a great drive and this guy is using a three-foot club upside down and hits it that far and straight? I was like, I couldn't even explain it.

[1:18:20] BC: How far did it go?

[1:18:22] AT: All right, I don't know what the actual yardage was. I mean, I hit my drive good and I'll say, for me, if I hit a good drive, I'm 250, maybe 260 if I'm lucky. But I hit it as good as I can hit it and he went flying by.

[1:18:38] BC: Holy moly. Well, I guess that's why he's the pro. But, yeah, that would –

[1:18:41] AT: I'm not one of those people who would say, “Oh, yeah. I hit it 300 yards.” Cause no, you don't.

[1:18:46] BC: Well, if you do, or if you think you do, that was a humbling moment.

[1:18:49] AT: Yeah. I've seen it, maybe I've gotten close to it on a very rare occasion, but I don't. My average drive is down in that area. I have no problem admitting it.

[1:19:01] BC: That's a good tee’d off and quite a unique one.

[1:19:03] WL: I'll take 250 in the middle every time. Every time.

[1:19:07] BC: Salty, what tee’s you off?

[1:19:10] WL: Oh. I was playing last Friday. I think there should be a rule. I think that the USGA, the RNA, this should be a rule. If you get into a bunker and it is not properly right and your ball is in a footprint up against a footprint, you should be allowed to lift, rake, and replace. I can't stand playing in tournaments and a ball being in. First of all, a person obviously didn't rake it correctly. Are they just decided to walk out of it, and your ball is now in their divot where they hit the ball. I think you should be allowed to lift clean, rake, and replace.

[1:19:59] BC: Should be no artificial fried eggs.

[1:20:01] WL: Correct.

[1:20:02] AT: Looks like Bigfoot was running around in there. All that makes me, yeah that makes me mad.

[1:20:07] WL: When I do play with groups and it's a hosting type thing, I will like, “Hey, if you're in the bunker and you've got a horrible lot that you didn't create, feel free.”

[1:20:20] BC: How do you feel about hitting a 250, or more drive right down the middle and you show up and it's in a divot?

[1:20:29] WL: I think that can be also a rule. I've seen a lot of tournaments lost because their balling to –

[1:20:36] BC: Why penalize somebody?

[1:20:37] WL: Right. I mean, they didn't put that divot there.

[1:20:39] BC: Yeah. I actually lean more toward – I mean, hitting it in the bunker should be, you should be penalized, because you shouldn't do it, but you shouldn't be over-penalized.

[1:20:47] WL: Sure.

[1:20:48] BC: But to hit it into the fairway and be penalized, I just don't see how that's still a rule.

[1:20:54] WL: Yeah. It's weird.

[1:20:55] BC: Yeah. The one that comes to mind is when Ricky Fowler got penalized super bad. I think, he ended up losing the tournament, laying it in a divot and he got a mud ball, or a sand ball and come up there like a knuckle.

[1:21:08] BC: I just don't see what the point – I mean, I understand, play it as it lies.

[1:21:11] AT: To be honest, I've never actually had many issues with it, but maybe I'm just not finding where everybody else is hitting their ball, because like, you see it on TV all the time on tour, they roll in the –

[1:21:25] WL: All those balls will land in the same spot.

[1:21:26] AT: Yeah, because they all land in the same spot, but I'm like, I don't personally have that issue, because most times I'm coming out of the woods, or something like that.

[1:21:34] BC: Yeah. Anyway, just –

[1:21:35] WL: I agree with that.

[1:21:36] BC: It's a great tee’d off from the bunker. I had a tee’d off, an earlier episode similar to that. But it just reminds me of the same thing being in the fairway and a divot. I think there should be a common sense factor to some of these new rules. We're talking about holding on to tradition in the game of golf, and there's some things that should stay, but there's some other things that should change for the benefit of everybody.

[1:21:58] WL: Sure.

[1:21:58] BC: The no brainer.

[1:21:59] AT: Well, it's just like we say. I mean, fixing your ball mark, repairing your ball mark on the green, it should be the same with the track, because if you don't fix your ball mark, you're leaving it for somebody that's coming up behind you that's going to have to either putt around it or fix it themselves. Same thing with the bunker.

[1:22:17] WL: Sure.

[1:22:18] AT: You're leaving it for somebody to go into.

[1:22:20] BC: Well, the golden rule. I mean, just, you should treat the course and, and your players as you'd want to be treated. If you want to find a footprint in the bunker, then you probably shouldn't be playing. Or you could go like Tiger at the 2000 Open. They asked him why he didn't hit a bunker shot while he was practicing. He said, “I don't plan on being in it this week.” The guy carrying the rake. Every player had their own rake guy, never took it off his shoulder four days.

[1:22:52] WL: Yeah. Easy money.

[1:22:55] BC: Yeah. That's what I strive to do.

[1:22:57] WL: Easy money.

[1:22:58] BC: Well, for a 20th episode, Aaron, it's been great, Wes Loman, The Salty Golfer, thank you so much for joining us.

[1:23:02] WL: Thanks for having me, guys. It's been a lot of fun.

[1:23:04] BC: Yeah. It's been a great episode. Thank you, everybody, for listening. Like, subscribe, comment and all that. We'll see you next time. Thanks, guys.

[1:23:15] WL: Thanks, guys.

[END OF EPISODE]

[1:23:19] ANNOUNCER: Thanks for listening to Tee’d Off. Visit mbgolf.com and follow us on Instagram @teedoffpodcast for the latest episodes and news.

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