The 2024 Menu Drop
BASQUE-ING IN MASTERS GLORY
Spring is in the air and THE menu has dropped.
Rahm, in conjunction with celebrity chef Jose Andres, has released his Basque-inspired spread for the Masters Club Dinner. Rahm, who I'll add was on my list of top five winners based on the hypothetical menu they'd serve, did not disappoint.
MY LINE BY LINE BREAKDOWN
Tapas y Pintxos
First of all, lol at me rating 8.8/10 for Scottie's menu last year because... I mean... look at this menu...
You could stop the whole thing at this collection of Tapas and Pintxos and I'd be thrilled. Acorn-fed ham which is wild simply because I thought only squirrels ate acorns. Spanish omelettes, chicken fritters, truffled cheese, and a spicy chorizo potato?!
To top it off, John even tapped Mama Rahm to join Jose Andres with a family lentil stew recipe. Truly a master class in menu plan storytelling.
“If somebody doesn’t like it, please just don’t tell me,” Rahm said. “Don’t tell anyone actually. It means a little bit too much to me to hear it.”
First Course
Respect a guy who loads up on potatoes. So far it accounts for over 50% of the dishes. And pairing it with a basque crab salad—I've got a Homer Simpson style drooling face as I type.
Looking up pictures of this salad has me dreaming of a crab rangoon-esque filling on a crispy potato toast situation. And I LOVE a rangoon.
Main Course
We've got two options here—meat or fish. And upon reading Rahm's quote around the steak, I have to imagine he was DRAGGED into even offering another option.
“If you go past [medium rare], you’re going to get a weird look just because that’s how we are,” Rahm said. “Very proud people of what we do, and meat usually is high quality."
Dessert & Wines
Love a custard and love it even more after googling what milhojas even looked like. Would've been slightly concerned over the moisture content given it's comprised of many flaky layers but combined with the custard and cream, I bet this thing is a sensational cap to the evening.
A CNN article shared the wine choices he's made as well with a "dry Basque white called Txakoli and CVNE Imperial – a bottle of which Rahm has displayed proudly in his home office – a red from Rioja."
Even his wine choices have some storytelling to them as the Rioja bottle 'was among his grandfather’s prized possessions' and was when the winery released a special edition collaboration of the wine with his beloved Athletic Bilbao soccer team in 1994, the year Rahm was born."
10/10 - Absolutely perfect meal to me. The authentic storytelling baked right into the dishes is a next level touch of thoughtfulness. Tagging in a celebrity chef to execute will guarantee quality and fanfare. And finally, I love that there was no dumbing down of the dish names. I could see another world in which items like Chuleton a la Parrilla becomes Steak with Piquillo Peppers.
Bravo, John. Bravo.
Come. Watch with me.
FULL SWING S2: EPISODE 3 THOUGHTS
A tale of two Joels this week as the shirt-tossing star of season one reveals the pretty devastating mental side to his newfound celebrity. Plus, we meet Wyndham! What a pull by Netflix there during his US Open year.
EPISODE TITLE:
Mind Game
TAKEAWAY 1:
Julie, Wyndham's sports psychologist, got herself a NICE little informercial here. Seeing the enormous delta between old Wyndham and new Wyndham alongside Julie's talking head interviews basically has me looking up her rate cards.
What can you do for a 15 handicap who can't get off the tee, Julie??
And if I'm a professional athlete, I don't know what other proof you need to add someone like her to your training staff. Which leads to a larger revelation that it's somehow taken us this long as a society to even acknowledge the role that mental health and wellness plays in performance.
TAKEAWAY 2:
The US Open was a fantastic tournament.
Sure, it's probably "hindsight is 20/20" syndrome. And it helps to have this level of storytelling to support what a great event that was for golf. But man, between watching Rickie last week and Wyndham this week—alongside whatever happened with Rory and everything in between.
It had it all.
It even had a reader of this exact newsletter find me face deep in some short rib tacos to secure his free polo. Shout out to you for just going for it. Another person would've thought to themselves, there's no way this is Bad Birdie Scott. He's sweating. He's straddling a lawn chair trying to not spill on himself. No chance.
And a final note of appreciation for the US Open last year—I love when the fans can encircle the 18th green. Is it probably reckless? Yes. But the atmosphere is unmatched. And in a world where we will never see the following image again, it's as close as we get to golf's version of a court storm.
TAKEAWAY 3:
Joel. What a brave f@#&^% episode.
He could've easily just gone the fun-loving Joel route again and kept the storylines to the quirky and weird things he does on tour with Geno. But instead, he lets Netflix just absolutely rip his chest open.
The relationship he has with Geno was fascinating to watch. A caddie-player relationship in general is fascinating, honestly. Because where else in sports do you have someone whose financial wellbeing is basically 1:1 with the athlete's performance. Lebron's personal trainer is getting paid regardless of how many wins the Lakers have.
And for Joel and Geno—seeing scenes like at the bar where Joel's ordering another round for them as Geno's voiceover talks about being unsure when to treat Joel as a friend or a boss. I mean the interpersonal dynamics are an absolute s@#^show.
EPISODE GRADE:
A-
Was it a "fun" episode? No. But was it another incredible example of how sharing the humanity of these players can amp up your appreciation for the sport? Absolutely.
Wyndham went from a cocky dude who felt like about 15-20 other Tour pros and spoiled Rickie's chance at glory—to a completely relatable competitor who battles constantly with overcoming his own mental demons and I was pumping my fists for him while watching on TV this week.
And for Joel, it's not only fleshed out a guy who I thought was 90% goofball. But also it's made me watch all the players with their caddies and wonder how they get along, what they say to one another, and all the strategies they use to help their player win a tourney.
We can do better than this
GOLF-ETOLOGY BY LUNARDI
College-aged Scott would be ashamed that it took me this long to mention March Madness. Dare I say not even the Masters replicates the weeklong joy I have for the opening weekend of the tournament. Maybe from a Thursday to Sunday standpoint it's close. But you throw in the First Four games and Selection Sunday the weekend prior and it's unbeatable.
This year I adopted a new bracket system to help "diversify my portfolio" among the 9 different pools and I'm pumped to see how it plays out.
It's actually a multi-tiered, risk-based system wherein I try to optimize all my the various permutations of potential winners by region... and you know what? Most of you checked out so just picture me looking like Russell Crowe in front of the window in Beautiful Mind.
The connection to golf is that Joe Lunardi was on the PGA Tour SiriusXM show this week comparing tournament teams to PGA players. And it's clear Joe does not watch much golf because his picks were mid—as people younger than myself say.
JOE'S PICKS
- Scottie Sheffler is Houston because he's "likeable."
- Wyndham Clark is... Joe had no idea who Wyndham Clark was.
- Justin Thomas is UNC because he's always good and in the mix.
- Jordan Spieth is Duke because he gets good and bad attention.
- Jon Rahm is UConn because when he's at his peak, he's the best.
Like I said, mid.
So I had to get in the mix myself and give some legit comparisons as I actually know golfers and I follow college basketball religiously (and profitably, I'll have you know).
MY PICKS
- Dustin Johnson is Gonzaga because he's always got this carefree attitude that lulls you—only for you to look up at the end of the weekend and he's dominated. Lol McNeese State.
- Rory McIlroy is Arizona because despite everyone talking about the legendary times that they won, in recent memory they always seem to come up short and disappoint.
- Patrick Cantlay is Wisconsin because they're just so slow and boring but somehow always find themselves in the mix at the end.
- Doug Ghim is New Mexico because all the sharps are saying how they're a lock to make a top 20 or an Elite Eight despite their ranking. Look up Ghim if you don't know him... guy is a top 20 machine.
I'll stop myself there but I'm making a note for myself before next year's tournament because I could probably go at least 30-40 deep on these.
Olympic Updates?
LA2028 IS IN THE MIX
My "completely oblivious to my existence" nemesis Alex Myers at Golf Digest tipped me off to this news leak about a potential addition to the golf format for the 2028 Olympics in LA.
Apparently, an AP reporter says that LA is considering adding a mixed team format to the mix on the heels of the Grant Thornton Invitational's success this past December.
Unclear what the exact format will be but the report is that the men will play their individual tournament first, then the mixed team event, then the women play their individual tournament.
The host venue? Riviera! So pure.
Probably should be no surprise that I'm 100% on board for this addition. The fighting for your country aspect I think would ratchet up both the formation of the teams as well as the competitive juices in-play.
Max and Rose for the gold!!
Elsewhere in Los Angeles
#FREETHETEE
Bubbling for weeks in the SoCal golf scene is a developing story about why it's so f@*#^& hard to get a tee time in the city.
It all started with a local golf teacher and influencer Dave Fink who went on a Charlie Day in the mailroom rant about the huge black market for public tee times where some charged as much as $40 extra for a slot.
The story plays out like a true crime podcast from there and I encourage you to either read the LA Times piece or go back and watch some of Dave's #FreeTheTee videos on Instagram.
The quick version is that a follower tipped him off to a secret Korean messaging app where these tee times were being sold. Then more followers helped him get to the exact person who was using senior player cards to jump the line and grab tee times because they could book a few days ahead. THEN he pressured the LA Parks and Rec department so much that they've now opened a formal investigation involving the city attorney's office.
Reports seem to be that massive change is coming but it's all still very much in flux. And seeing as half my feed is SoCal based golfers and buddies, it's been a big deal.
So if any of you live in similar metro areas where tee times are scarce... get your true crime microphones out and start digging!
Have a Breakfast Balls-worthy tip? Secrets to teaching a toddler to love golf? Want to play some G?
Hit me up! The hot line is always open.
Want to re-heat some leftover Breakfast Balls?
Check out our blog and dig in.
