YOU SAND BAGGIN' SON OF A B
Sand baggers everywhere, take notes. We've found our new leader.
At The Players this week, Dan Rapaport asked Sahith how it feels to be ranked inside the Top 30.
Sahith's response?
"I'm not. I'm overrated. You're telling me there's only 28 guys better than me? No way. There are parts of my game that are good. But then there are other parts that suck."
Modern day artist (pronounced art-ee-st, of course)
Rachmaninov has his concertos.
Van Gogh has his portraits.
Theegala has his sand baggery.
And he's a So-Cal guy so you know I'm all about that CALLLLLIIIIFOORNIA LOOOOOOVE. (I typed that out about a hundred different ways trying to mimic the Tupac song and that's where I Ianded.)
McAfee and the Mannings
ELI? DIS YOU?
I'll admit that a giant content blindspot for me is podcasts. I dig Chasing Scratch. I dig Smartless. I dig Bill Simmons during the NFL season. And I dig a How I Built This with the GOAT Guy Raz every now and then.
And that's my list.
So when I shared this week-old clip from Pat McAfee with the team, I caught a LOT of flak from Bucket Hat Bill and company because I know we've got a full house of long time listeners, first time callers on the Breakfast Balls distro list.
All this to say, bear with me on the stale podcast content because I thought this Eli nugget was too good to not mention.
This is a life mantra I can live by
10 RULES BY ARNIE P: PART TWO
A delightful read I found from Golf Digest was "10 Rules for a Golf Life" where they used Arnie's words to boil down 10 simple rules for living a great life. I started us off with the first five last week and now it's time to round out the Top 10.
6) HIT THE BALL HARD
Going hand in hand with our own mantra—Never Lay Up—just put yourself out there and go for it. In life and in golf, I always find that when I overcomplicate things and do them halfway—it never leads to success. And I've lost a lot of good amount of golf balls to prove it.
7) IT'S ALL ABOUT THE DRIVER
This is one cuts right to my core. The highest highs and the lowest lows all come from my driver. But I guess the larger lesson here is to focus on making a great first impression. The rest of the round can be a battle but you set yourself up for success with a strong start.
8) ACCEPT THE GAME'S MYSTERIES
Why does sub-par mean inadequate in the real world and the holy grail in golf world? Albatross, Birdie... Bogey—why not name one over after a cruddy bird like a Pigeon? Why do I always play better the less I think about my playing? These are mysteries I just can not accept.
I'm not sure this is what Arnie meant here—but we're going with it.
9) IMITATE YOUR HEROES
You know what? This is it. This is the year I finally try on a bucket hat. Love you, Bill.
10) GET IT TO THE HOLE
"Get the ball to the hole no matter what," Arnie said. "If you do that, you'll at least give it a chance to go in, which, if I'm not mistaken, is the object of the game."
I love a little sass. And the "if I'm not mistaken" line is textbook.
Arnie is high on my list of people I wish I was able to experience real-time in their prime. Him and Jack would've been a blast to watch.
Wow, the golf parents actually assembled.
IT TAKES A VILLAGE
Last week, I put out the call for golf parents to share their insights on golfing while also keeping your kid from completely melting down at the course... and much to my surprise, lots of you responded!
How relevant is the following information to those of you who came for the Pat McAfee content? Probbbbbbably not at all. But hey, you might be interested in this info some day.
MY FAVORITE NUGGETS
1) Bad Birdie Mount Rushmore-r Krissy C came through with the IG content showing her son teeing up balls for her on the range... which is the literal definition of my dream for Jack... but also emailed with some high level tips. Don't warm up. Bring a squad to help occupy him. And snacks... LOTS of snacks.
2) Evan G detailed his "dad arsenal"—among many other wartime metaphors that should likely tell me everything I need to know right there—containing pacifiers, diapers, electronics, toys, and snacks.
I see a trend emerging.
3) And finally Nick W who said that he effectively made his daughter run wind sprints as he dropped her at the 50 yard mark and told her to meet him at the green as he sped away on the golf cart. Pure genius.
I promise not to slowly transition Breakfast Balls into "let's crowdsource Scott's parenting strategy"—but this was highly educational. So thanks to everyone for writing in!
Full Swing: Episode 3
MY WATCHALONG RECAP-APALOOZA
And now the section that TENS OF DOZENS (in my head the momentum is slowly growing) of you have been waiting for. Episode 3 thoughts.
In this week's edition we follow Ian Poulter and finally get into the LIV drama—or as it turns out, lack thereof.
- "My name is Ian Poulter and I'm a wanna-be golfer." Some day I will figure out how to send an eye roll through typing, but until that day, the best I've got is jaknbhjebrfhjberkfnjhebrf. A hearty keyboard smash. Dude, I've known plenty of Ian-types in my life and I can already tell from that answer I am going to hate this episode.
- LOL at Pat Perez' encyclopedic knowledge of everyone's social media followings on Tour. "Sure Rory is at 2.2 mill but I think Zalatoris and his 382k is really gaining some steam."
- WGC-Dell Match Play is just incredible. I love it. And we're only a few weeks away!
- These announcers and their Ian Poulter pants jokes are like a Judd Apatow movie. "They're like a gender reveal party." "They're like drapes at a Motel 6." "They're like someone filled a diaper with Indian food."
- Well, well, well... the iconic Tito's bottle in the locker meltdown was because he missed out on the Masters. I low key get it. All the hype made me think it was way darker than that... I would probably be rippin' Tito's and smashing clubs too if I missed the Masters.
- Mad respect to Fitzpatrick who is rockin' the metal mouth braces look. As a part of team adult orthodontia with my Invisaligns—it's hard out in these streets.
- Awwww we get a glimpse of a wholesome Poulter family putt off—in their PJ! And that's pre-LIV too. I can only imagine the kind of mega-yachts that family is playing Chippo on right now.
- The heavy rap bass line for the LIV intro alongside the lyrics "Big ole bag of money" is post-production subtlety at its finest. I mean walking right up to us in our living room and smacking us in the head with it. We got it. It's new, it's edgy, and it involves boatloads of money.
OVERALL RATING: 2/10 - The light is starting to flicker a bit inside me. And it's obvious that while Netflix did technically get "behind the scenes" in their interviews with pros and footage of them in locker rooms etc. We are missing a crucial piece of the puzzle that F1 did so well—actual substance to the candid moments. Instead all we've got are pretty run of the mill on-course shots with buttoned up interviews. Save us Joel! Save us!
Your homework for this week:
Episode 4
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