Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: This is the St. Louis podcast network.
Welcome to the CNC Golf Factory podcast on the St. Louis podcast Network with Kurt Rowey and Kurt Goss III.
Kurt Rowey is the executive director of the Metropolitan Amateur Golf association, whose expertise and passion for the sport have helped shape the local golf landscape in remarkable ways.
Kurt Goss III is the head PGA professional at the prestigious Country Club of St. Albans and the 2023 Gateway PGA Merchandiser of the year, a testament to his dedication and excellence in the industry.
Together as hosts and enthusiasts, we're here to bring you the latest news, expert analysis, and insider stories from the vibrant world of St. Louis Golf. Settle in and get ready to be inspired by the wealth of knowledge and camaraderie that defines our local golfing community.
Welcome to the CNC Golf Factory podcast, where every swing tells a story.
Hey, welcome on in. It's the CS Heat Golf Factory podcast right here on the St. Louis podcast Network. I'm Andy Hanselman alongside Kurt Goss the third and Kurt Rowey. For more St. Louis local golf coverage that you know and love, follow us on Instagram at Twitter and Twitter at, or sorry, x as they call it now. Underscore golf. Underscore Factory C plus C Golf factory on Facebook. Like and subscribe on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Great show lined up for you tonight. Going to talk to two fantastic kids who did very, very well at the drive chip and putt. Kaden Fair finished fourth overall in the boys 14 to 15 division at drive, chip and putt at the Augusta National Golf Club earlier this month. And Madison Pyatt, she actually won the girls seven to nine division at drive trip and putt at Augusta National Golf Club. So you will hear from them coming up in segment two. Boys, how you been? How you doing? Looking good. Glad to be back for another fine episode of this fine podcast.
[00:02:33] Speaker B: Yeah. Thank you for being here tonight, guys.
It's golf season. We are entering into May and just got done with, what, three, four days of rain on and off in the greater St. Louis area. And then today I'm out teaching a couple lessons and you can tell it's starting to get a little warm and muggy. So, um, golf season is upon us in St. Louis and a lot of fun things. I know Rowey just wrapped up us open local qualifying over at Westwood and some probably wet conditions probably made the golf course probably another 400 yards longer, I would have to imagine. But, yeah, we're all rocking and rolling and excited to kind of, you know, continue to dive into season two. Or if we were on television. Season seven.
[00:03:22] Speaker A: Right. Season seven. Like it's diners, drivings and dives. It has now, like 52 seasons of.
[00:03:27] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:03:29] Speaker C: In the last twelve years.
[00:03:30] Speaker A: Right?
[00:03:31] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah, same here. You know, it's. It may is here and, well, tomorrow and. Yeah, the golf seasons upon us. You know, as Kurt mentioned, we kicked off yesterday. We're gonna get in a little more of that. But, you know, it's.
Here we go.
We've been waiting three, four months for it to get here. All the preparation, you know, from my end and. Well, same, I guess, Kurt's end. You know, we prepare all winter to get ready for the, you know, the busy part of the season. And. And now we're off and running.
You know, I've got interns starting starting this week. Couple more a little later in the month, just. But, yeah, it's just been busy, busy around the. The. The empire of the golf association headquarters, um, here in Maryland Heights. And. And, um, you know, we're. We're rocking and rolling and. And in, what, five months? We'll say, where'd that go? So I was hoping that one of.
[00:04:30] Speaker A: You would say today, since it is April 30, that it's going to be May.
[00:04:36] Speaker B: Well, I was just figuring by the time that we actually release this, it'll probably be like, May 3.
[00:04:41] Speaker A: Hey, now.
Kind of dig.
[00:04:45] Speaker B: No, I'm just saying we're busy and you got to edit things so we know it's not going out tonight.
[00:04:50] Speaker A: True. And there's a lot of editing that needs to happen. There's a lot of rust to be shaken off on the. On the old broadcast.
[00:04:56] Speaker B: It might be May 4, may the fourth.
[00:04:59] Speaker A: Be with you. Derby day.
[00:05:01] Speaker B: Yeah, Cinco de Mayo is coming up, too. I got a Callaway fitting day on Cinco de Mayo. Everybody that buys a set of Callaway clubs valued at $1,500 or more at St. Albans gets a free margarita on Kirk gossip.
[00:05:12] Speaker A: Wow, look at you.
[00:05:13] Speaker C: Yeah, I was maybe. I was hoping for a little shot of CO2 go for out there in St. Alban.
[00:05:18] Speaker B: Oh, I think Travis has got a little code to go for us. We'll give him a little shout out. He's actually left some small bottles, airplane bottles, and, you know, I don't have any use for him, so maybe next time you're out, we'll slide a couple in your bag for you. Thanks to Travis and the CO2 go, team.
[00:05:35] Speaker C: Yeah, well, I experienced that last year in the butler classic because that's who I played with them. So that was. Yeah, two days.
[00:05:41] Speaker B: So he's a good guy to know if you enjoy a tequila.
[00:05:45] Speaker A: That's right.
Fantastic stuff. So, Roey, I think it seems like it's kind of early, but we've already had our US open qualifier. You took place yesterday at Westwood Country Club.
[00:05:56] Speaker C: Yeah, it is a little earlier than normal, but, you know, the window is pretty big that we have to get this. Get this within. And, you know, may is just so crazy. Last year, we jammed it in and it was. It was just. It was really too much. And as I mentioned before, you know, I've got interns just starting, so it's, you know, it's just. It's just a lot. So the. We could do it on the 29th, and Westwood was. Was gung ho for it. And so, yeah, we had Us Open local qualify yesterday at Westwood Country Club, 117 golfers for six spots, and as mentioned, local qualifying. So in US Opens two stages. So those six golfers will move on to final stage on June, where that first Monday in June is. I don't have my calendar in front of me, but, you know, most of them will play on that. On that. That Monday in June. That's the third. The third, June 3. That's kind of actually known as the longest day in golf because all the sectional, the final. Sorry, final stages happen, you know, around the country, so. But it ended up being a fantastic day at Westwood. And, guys, I don't know if you've. If you've had the opportunity to play Westwood. I haven't played much, but I've done a lot of qualifiers there and we've done championships. And I actually played it a week ago Monday in the superintendents outing, and I had never seen Westwood in as good a shape. It was flawless. And I can't say that a lot about, you know, courses, but I'm telling you, it was as good as ever seen it. And it was really good yesterday. Unfortunately, the unfortunate part was we had 1.75 inches of rain overnight Sunday night leading into yesterday. So it did. Cause, you know, make it a wet golf course, but it was still really good. And it's a shame. It wasn't like it was a week, week earlier. But, you know, my hats off to Westwood.
I've said it on here, you know, countless times over the past one year. But, you know, Westwood really shown on Monday. It was, you know, great golf course, great support.
We'll get to that a little bit. Members came out to watch, to volunteer. We had several members out helping us keep, you know, take scores like we do to. So we keep everybody informed on the website and on the apps and stuff.
So we had several members there. But anyway, just a huge kudos to Westwood.
And then, like I said, we had a bunch of them come out because they had Westwood out of our six qualifiers. One of the assistant pros, Devon Liberty, was one of the tri co medals, or tri medalists, I should say, at 467. And he had a following. I have to say, I don't think I've ever seen a gallery like that in a US Open qualifier.
But he had, gosh, he had 25 or 30 members out following him for most of. Most is round, especially the back nine. So that was really cool to see and to see, you know, to have a. One of their own, you know, make it through was. Was really neat. The other qualifiers, some names familiar. Joel Sylvan was one of the other medalists. Joel is a golfer from Sweden, but played at University of Missouri St. Louis. Really good player. He's turned pro now. He. He also shot 67. And then there, one amateur got through. Gunnar Bruin Gunner's a golfer from the University of Kansas at 67. And then we had Will postawait.
Will is a pro now, but all he plays. He's from England, but played his golf at McKendree College. Peter Nade. I'm not sure where Peters from, but they both shot 68. And then we had nine golfers at 69, so we had a nine for one playoff to decide the final, final spot. After a long day, we had to go. Go back out for the. For the qual. For the. I'm sorry, for the playoff. And Chris Nagel gets it done again, guys. He gets the one spot, the nine for one. And Chris Nagel gets through local qualifying to give another shot for. To get back to the US Open, which, as you guys know and many, many of our listeners know, Chris has played in two in recent years, most nobly making the cut at the country club two years ago. But he. He gets the final spot on the third playoff over Will hocker, who is. Will's also a pro now, but was a golfer from Webster University. There you go. Shout out, Kirk.
[00:10:34] Speaker B: Yeah. Webster alum. And Will. Will was a division three national champ a few years ago, and I think he worked. Worked some in the past with our director of instruction, Ryan Martin. And so, as I. I was following live scoring with golf genius and your site, Kurt, that was a tough one when I saw the nine names. And, you know, I'm like, well, there's two names that I'm rooting for. It's Nagel and hocker because again, buddies with Chris and I've met Will once or twice, but obviously fellow alum.
And then I saw it came down to those two and it's like, well, we can't go wrong from my standpoint. But, you know, it's exciting to see Chris get back there because again, you know, the past handful of years, just become friends with Chris. You know, we've had him on the show, but, you know, just Chris is that, you know, 40, 41 year old typical journeyman that, you know, he has so much game and all these guys obviously do if they're going to shoot two, three, four under on a great golf course in tough wet conditions to make it to the next, you know, qualifying spot or the final qualifying spot. But, you know, it's, it just shows you, though, how tough the game is or how many talented people. Because again, I've played with Chris a few times and, and, you know, it's just, it's a different game they play.
[00:11:51] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:11:51] Speaker B: And the poor guy's looking for work almost every other week, you know, because again, it's hard to keep cards. So it was fun to see some of those names on that list. So thanks for sharing the backstory on a few of those guys where they're from.
[00:12:03] Speaker C: So.
[00:12:03] Speaker B: Thank you.
[00:12:03] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah, it was, it was cool. Yeah, though. So Chris and will both made Bert. We started on ten. They both made birdie on ten. So they advanced, went on to. Then we went to 1616 1718. And so they went on to play for that final spot, first alternate. So will gets first alternate shot. So, you know, we'll keep our fingers crossed.
You know, a lot of times those first alternates and local, you know, find their way into the final stage somewhere. So, you know, maybe that same, same will happen for Will and he'll get into a final, you know, the final qualifying then our second alternate was a young man, Trevor Murrell. Trevor, he's an amateur, actually plays at university Mer University, Missouri. We had two, two Missouri Tigers in that playoff as well. The other was a young man and I'm going to totally butcher his name, but he goes by Debbie.
Signor Branson from Denmark, I think is his country. But they. But Trevor, Trevor gets the, gets the second alternate spot on the second playoff. Well, we had five guys make par. They go on to the 16 and he makes birdie at 16. So which is really good part three out there, so.
But anyway, it, great day. You know, us open qualifying is always, you know, it's a fun way to, kind of fun way to kick off the season and, you know, again, kudos to Westwood. They were, you know, they really, really shined through and, you know, the support was really, really neat. So many.
[00:13:32] Speaker A: Good to hear.
[00:13:32] Speaker C: Thanks to them. Yeah. So, yeah, yeah.
[00:13:35] Speaker A: So if you picked off course, looked like the course was in really, really good shape already.
[00:13:40] Speaker C: Oh, it was. I'm telling you. And I have. I have a volunteer who's been volunteering for us for years who's a. Who's a Westwood member. And he. A week and a half ago, we had our rules kind of our preseason admin meeting, and he's like, kurt, I've been there 40 years, and I've never seen it this good. He goes, it's as good as I've ever seen it, 40 years, and it's. So I'll give a little shout out to Corey Witzman. Corey's the superintendent out there.
Corey and I go. Actually go way back. He came down here from Iowa State and interned at Boone Valley when I worked there. And then him and I actually lived together for a year when I was at St. Los U, and he was an assistant Algonquin. So we've got a little history working together, living together as roommates while I was in school. But, yeah, he has got it dialed in, I can tell you that.
But just kudos to everybody. Andy Cullen ain't the GM. Darrell Harding. The staff all played. Darrell played yesterday as well, and so did Brandon Coffey, the other assistant over there.
So Darrell was really, really excited to see, you know, have. Have his guy get through there. Get that Devin through there. I don't know Devin real well. Just know he's. I think he's pretty new to, you know, new to Westwood, but so that was. That was really cool to see him get through. And the club's real excited and just all in all, just a good day. And another qualifier. You know, I don't know if I've ever said it on here, but it's one of the. One of my favorite things I get to do to, you know, the guys kind of look at you when you give them their certificate and you ask them if they accept it, which is kind of what we're supposed to do, and they look at you like you're crazy. But, you know, it's a. It's a. It's a good feeling to hand these guys, you know, that certificate that they get to move on and, you know, going after their dream to play in the US Open. So it be.
[00:15:26] Speaker A: It'd be an incredible experience. So I'm glad that you're able to be a part of those, those people's live golf lives and. And get help, get that done. So, yeah, awesome. Congratulations on another well run us Open qualifier. One of the ongoing storylines from season one, if you will, that Kurt Goss said he was going to play in more gateway section events and try and try and do things, and he's been doing that. He's played in two this year, and he played in one yesterday.
[00:15:51] Speaker B: Yeah, I did, over at Forest Hills. It was a pro pro myself and my fellow PJ professional and my, one of my bosses, my GM, Andy Crow from the country club of St. Albans.
It's funny. And he's been my GM, I think, since February of 2020, about a month before our world changed drastically, as you know. And 2024 is the first time we've played golf and we've now played three, three times together. But, you know. Yeah, again, as you guys know, I'm very passionate about the game. I, you know, I hate to say it, but like many golf professionals, I don't have a lot of time. And when I do have free time, a lot of that is dedicated to trying to be at home and being involved with my family, as you guys know. So I. I would rather skip and neglect my game then, you know, have 18 years go by and my daughter be out the house and, you know, I miss something. So.
But I am working on it a little bit. And we played in a pro pro.
I'm feeling a lot more confident than I have in probably eight to ten years. I know I'm not going to go out and win a section event. It was fun to play a pro pro because it was at Forrest Hills. We got to play the 18 hole course, their championship course, and their nine hole valley course. If you don't know, it's an executive golf course. Phenomenal for junior golfers, beginners, or just, hey, emergency nine. It's mainly par threes and a couple short par fours, but the format was basically the front nine of Forest hills was best ball between the two players. Back nine was a scramble, and then Chapman alternate shot on the valley, and Andy and I started on hole seven at four, stills long par five and wet conditions. As you guys know, we made a team birdie there. We've, you know, par. The next couple, we go into scramble mode. Hole ten, Andy nearly drives the green and we walk away with par. We made a stupid bogey on eleven. We rifle off three birdies, almost four birdies in a row.
And then we, you know, kind of like, you know, we're looking at the leaderboard. Tied three, tied fourth. Pretty decent. You know, we made a couple hiccups, made some triple bogeys between alternate shot and best ball. Kind of lost focus. But I have to give a shout out to one of my team members. Um, that, yeah, rowey, you probably remember pretty well, um, that started working for us, uh, just a few months ago. If you remember Jim Knazel from Al Gustin. Yeah, um, yeah, um, it's funny how the golf world, uh, everyone knows everybody, sort of, but, uh, if you don't know Jim Knezel, played his golf at Mizzou, played professionally a little bit. Um, became a PGA professional, ran Gustin down there for Mizzou for a number of years until just recently. Um, Jim is back as an amateur these days. But Jim has known Joe the. Joe the. Joe the pro, my boss for years. And Jim is now working part time for us, basically Tuesday through Friday and Mondays if we need them. But it's funny because Jim's dad, Ray, who's passed away, but years ago, when I was a 16 year old cart kid at Sunset Lakes, his dad Ray, was actually willing to help out and give me lessons and work on my game, knowing that I didn't have any extra money for lessons. But.
So it's funny that just, you know, years later, Jim's working with us. Known Joe forever, but Jim, just a couple of months ago said, kurt, you got to find golf swing, but you can't take the club away like you're trying to do 100 mph in a Ferrari in 2 seconds. Because as you guys know, your body starts moving all over. And so I've had issues with that timing and being too quick. So he's got me to slow it down. We worked on it again today. I told him I was struggling with wedges from inside of 100 yards yesterday. We spent 30 minutes working on today. So, yeah, I know we somewhat joked about it last year, Andy Kurt, about playing more, but if I have an open Monday and it's a. If it's a format that I feel comfortable with, I just don't feel like I'm going to do anything special playing 18 holes of stroke play. But it was fun. Andy Crowe and I had a great time. With the exception of just a couple stupid holes, we would have been right up there and, you know, toying around with a top five finish, which would have been great for us, make a few bucks. But, yeah, it was great. But, you know, I just want to thank the section staff, Allie Wells, Michael Brown, Thomas Doug, Jason McKenzie, all of them over there. And then, obviously, Jimmy balls and his crew from Forest Hills for hosting us. And, you know, got some exercise, too. Cause it was cart path only for 27 holes, so, you know. But, no, it was fun. I'm actually enjoying playing golf again and not as embarrassing right now. So, again, it's. It's a little more enjoyable, as you guys know.
[00:20:48] Speaker C: That's interesting about Jim. I didn't know Jim was an amateur. He has Amtra status back, huh?
[00:20:52] Speaker B: Yep.
[00:20:52] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:20:53] Speaker B: So, Jim, like a lot of players, and you know how talented Jim was. Cause Jim sniffed a couple of us opens at one point. Yeah. You know, he made a couple of qualifiers. I think he had a chance at a PGA championship or two, you know, back in his PGA days as a club professional. So Jim was actually a hell of a player, but he got his amateur status back. But he went through a low point with his golf game a handful of years ago, and he fought hard for about three years working on it, and him himself, just in the past year or so, after, like, a four, five year window of what he would say was poor golf. And I think I would have taken Jim Knaves poor golf at any time in my life.
He has it back, and, yeah, so, yeah, he's an amateur. And I don't know, maybe. Maybe look, look on your radar. You may see something at some point.
[00:21:44] Speaker C: I don't know.
[00:21:45] Speaker B: He's talking about maybe a little bit of competition.
[00:21:47] Speaker C: Yeah, that'd be awesome.
[00:21:50] Speaker B: But, yeah, it's a. It's fun, and it's kind of weird because I knew Jim when I was, like, 18. Played a couple times with him because of the connection from Sunset Lakes and his dad, and so I knew some guys, so back in the day, I played with him a couple times. Don't even know if he remembers me from back in those days. We've joked about, but now it's funny because he's always like, hey, boss, what do we got to do? Is there any merchandising sticker? I'm like, quit calling me boss. It just feels weird. You know, you got. You got 20 more years in this industry than I do.
[00:22:20] Speaker C: But I haven't. I haven't seen him yet out there yet. He hasn't been there.
[00:22:26] Speaker B: Yeah, you'll see him more weekdays, Kurt, and typically more like that seven to three window, but. And then you'll see him probably, like, things like the butler or the tradition weekends that we'll need them. But what an asset to our team. But also a little tidbit. A couple months ago. And yeah, I'm, I'm looking to play some golf, so it's not as bad as it used to be.
[00:22:48] Speaker C: Sweet.
[00:22:49] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:22:51] Speaker A: Awesome stuff, man. Glad you got out to playing. Glad you had a good time doing it. Yeah. We're going to wrap up with a preview of the, the old Warson cup coming up this weekend. I'm going to guess that takes place at Bell Reef.
[00:23:06] Speaker C: Talk about Bell Reeve later in the year, but no.
Yeah, so the old Warsaw cup is, which is our match play championship of the season. The field comes from the, our player of the year points list from the previous, previous year. So 1616 players.
And yes, it is played at O Warson Country Club. It's the, it's the home of the O'Worse and Cup.
But yeah, we're, this is always kind of customarily been the kickoff event of the, of the year. A lot of times it has been the very first event. But we did get the, get the US Open qualifier in our belt yesterday. But always exciting. Old Washington cup is, you know, it's just, it's a great weekend, you know, especially, we got good, good weather, but, you know, we really got top, you know, the top 16 guys in the, in the area. We did get down on our points list a little bit down to, down to the mid twenties. Just, we had, you know, a couple guys turn pro. We got, you know, some couple college guys who, you know, can't make it back this and that, you know, the way things work out. But we still got 16 good players, no doubt about that. Peter Weaver, our player of the year, who we had on the show last year, he'll be the number one seed. He'll kick everything off at 07:00 a.m. On Saturday morning. He gets John Kelly and number 16. And then let's see, our number two seed is Justin Bryant. Justin, St. Louis Country Club is two seed this year and, but yeah, just, it's a great field. That's top 16 on the regular side. And then three years ago, we did, we did add the senior division to the old Horse cup, which is just four players. They'll play on Saturday afternoon as we'll play 16 around 16 matches. Eight matches on Saturday morning starting at 07:00 a.m.
Just some other notables, you know, in there. We mentioned trying to think anybody, these guys we've had on the, on the show? I don't think so.
[00:25:07] Speaker A: Justin Bryant was your US Open qualifier last year, right?
[00:25:10] Speaker C: He did, yes. He did make it through us local Max Kreckmeyer who's the defending champion, who just finished up his, his career at Missouri State. He, he's, he's back in the field.
Friend of the show. Yep. Drew Pranger, friend of the show, three time Metropolitan amateur champion.
But, you know, again, just, just another, it's a solid field. It's all, it's all good golf. Anything can happen. Spatula play. As you guys know, anything can happen. But, yeah, Saturday morning around 16, Saturday afternoon, we'll start with the senior semifinals. Paul Neiman, buddy Allen, Brian Lovett, Brian hall are the two, the four seniors. And then we'll go into the quarterfinal matches on Saturday afternoon and then come back on Sunday morning with the semis. And then Sunday afternoon, it, we got the two final matches, senior and the final match. So, yeah, follow along. You know, all the will be, they'll be hole by hole coverage or, you know, the weather's nice. You're welcome to come out, visit old warriors and country club and, you know, see some, see some really good golf. It's, it's always, it's always exciting.
[00:26:20] Speaker A: Sounds like I might try to pop out there sometime this.
[00:26:23] Speaker C: Absolutely.
[00:26:24] Speaker A: Yeah. Say hi to the guys and see my old buddy curt, for sure.
[00:26:28] Speaker C: Yep. Please do.
[00:26:30] Speaker A: Awesome, guys. That wraps up segment one. Coming up next, we're going to talk to Madison Pyatt, the winner of the girl seven to nine division at the drive chip and put and Kaden Fair finished fourth overall in the 14 to 15 division at drive chip and put. Coming up next right here on the CNC golf Fact on the St. Louis podcast network.
Back here segment to CSC Golf Factory, St. Louis podcast Network, Andy Hanselman, Kurt and Kurt alongside for another fantastic interview segment here in our second episode of season two, we have two fantastic young local junior golfers that both did recently very, very well at the drive chip and putt at the famed Augusta National Golf Club. First, he finished fourth overall in the boys 14 to 15 division at DCP. He's also won the 13 U and 15 U Metropolitan Amateur junior championship. And he plays his home golf at the country club of St. Albans where he knows Kurt Goth third very well, also in 8th grade at Chaminade. We welcome Kaden Fair to the show. Hi, Kaden. How you doing tonight?
[00:27:39] Speaker D: Good. How are you?
[00:27:40] Speaker A: Good. We were also joined by Madison Pyatt and her dad, Travis. She won one the girls seven to nine division at DCP at the Augusta National Golf Club. Her home course is at the legends in Eureka, and she is a fourth grader at Geggy elementary. Hi, Madison hi, Travis.
[00:27:59] Speaker E: Hi.
[00:28:00] Speaker A: Hello there. Welcome to the show, guys. We're so happy to have you. First, I mean, both of you. I would want you to comment on the overall experience that each of you had at Augusta National Golf Club.
[00:28:13] Speaker D: Oh, it's as good as it sounds and looks. I mean, everything's perfect there. There's nothing wrong with it. It's perfection.
[00:28:21] Speaker A: Madison.
[00:28:22] Speaker E: Yeah, it was just perfect. Everybody says it's like carpet, but carpet has imperfections, and this place didn't.
[00:28:32] Speaker A: So the big. The one big question I want to ask both of you. Of course, they have. They have the huge merchandise building there that everybody gets to go into, but they let the competitors of drivetrain put into the Augusta national pro shop, where they have, like, the very, very special stuff.
[00:28:50] Speaker D: I was hoping that I got all the. Before I was asking my dad, like, are we gonna get in? Because I know you have, like, a little yellow circle around it, which is, like, special to the clubhouse.
[00:28:59] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:29:00] Speaker D: Oh, we would. And then, like, the night before, I asked one of the people, and they're like, no, we're in the regular spot.
[00:29:06] Speaker A: Oh, brutal. That's brutal.
I'm a big. I'm a big tech talker, and I. And I follow misses fee. Now I can't think of her. I think it's Alana or Elena or something like that. And she showed her haul from the Augusta national pro shop, and it was quite. It was quite impressive. So I was hoping you guys got to go in there and have your parents spend a few thousand dollars on you.
[00:29:27] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:29:28] Speaker E: Yeah.
[00:29:31] Speaker A: I'm gonna throw it over to Kurt. And Kurt, let them. Let them wrap this thing or take this thing home for us.
[00:29:38] Speaker B: Hey, guys, thank you for joining us.
First and foremost, you know, congrats on what an experience.
You know, Kaden, you came through there in the middle of the segment with your chipping, fell a little bit short, but again, super proud of you. And, you know, I've known you for ten years, so I've known you since you were a young lad. And I'm going to bounce back to you in a second, but I'm going to jump over to young Madison here.
You know, Madison, you really put yourself on the. On the golfing radar, on the map with your win. That's. That's really special. And, you know, before we kind of came on, I mentioned I have an eight year old daughter that I hope she gets a golf bug like you one day. But can you just share what the emotions and experience it was to, you know, jump into your dad's arms after winning. Just, you know, since I'm a girl, dad, I'd love to know what that feeling was like for you.
[00:30:38] Speaker E: Yeah. Um, there was a screen that didn't show on tv, but it showed. It flipped over to the winners after right before they announced it. So my dad pointed at it and I hugged him. And it was just a so exciting moment that.
[00:31:04] Speaker B: Yes. Very special. And, you know, you'll. You'll have those pictures, I'm sure, framed. They're probably maybe on that back wall behind you already or will be. And you'll cherish those forever. Also, I was just looking at your stats, you know, for both you guys in your divisions. And did I see at nine years old, you're out there hitting your driver at a gust about 199 yards at most. Was that correct?
[00:31:28] Speaker E: Yes.
[00:31:30] Speaker B: As a 42 year old golf professional, that's losing distance. How can I find a little bit of speed and power like you got? Because you're going to be catching up to me in about two years.
[00:31:40] Speaker A: I was going to say that you probably already out drive Kurt Goss.
[00:31:44] Speaker B: She's two years away, I think.
Where's. Where's that all speed and power? Where's that distance come from?
[00:31:53] Speaker E: It's in the hip turn. You have to have a powerful hip turn. And that brings the club through.
[00:32:00] Speaker B: Perfect. I got a couple juniors that I'm teaching tomorrow night. I'm going to tell them we'll start firing those hips through. We got to get them out there bombing it like you because that was pretty fun.
[00:32:10] Speaker A: I've got a friend that says, get to fire that left butt cheek. Gotta get that left butt cheek around. And that's what creates all that power.
[00:32:18] Speaker B: I'm gonna bounce back to young Kaden here.
So, Kaden, I wanted to bounce back to you. Cause obviously our relationship at the country club of St. Albans for a number of years now. And I have to say, first and foremost that, you know, the entire club is very proud of you.
We've seen what you've done for a number of years now and we know that your game continues to grow. And I know you fell a little bit short at the drive, chip and pup. But I know that's not holding you back because you and dad were out there with all your master swag a couple days later hitting balls, you know, and I was giving you a hard time about the usual things.
Kind of like, first and foremost, I have to ask you, do you have your homework done tonight?
[00:33:01] Speaker D: I'm actually studying for a test right after this.
[00:33:04] Speaker B: Okay. Well, we won't keep you too long. Next question. Behind you, I see a bunch of golf balls on the wall. Are those all your hole in ones?
[00:33:12] Speaker D: No. I wish. So, one is all the courses my dad's played. And so, like, we get a golf ball from like, every cool course I guess we go to. And then the other one is all the ones I've been to. So we have a lot of similar ones and a couple different ones. I think I got them beat by a couple balls.
[00:33:28] Speaker B: Okay, what's question for both of you? Favorite golf course? Both of you.
[00:33:33] Speaker D: I'd say TBC south one. Oh, my. Astros, obviously. But besides that.
[00:33:43] Speaker E: Pinehurst.
[00:33:45] Speaker C: Pinehurst.
[00:33:46] Speaker B: You know, at nine years old, when you got to double check, is it Pinehurst? Is it Augusta? I love it. I've been to Pinehurst as well, Madison. It's a pretty special place, Kaden.
So real quick, same thing. There's a fun picture with you and dad at the drive. Chip and putt. And I know you were probably a little frustrated that you didn't, you know, get up there in that top spot. But how exciting was it to share that moment with dad on that Sunday?
[00:34:14] Speaker D: It was crazy. I was just, like, waiting to look. I was looking forward to, like, going back and re watching the whole thing and seeing it. Like, I don't even like. It's hard to even remember. It was just like a blur because I was so excited.
[00:34:26] Speaker B: Okay, I'm going to ask you both one last question. I'm going to pass it over to my costar, Mister Rowey. But best piece of merchandise you guys or your parents purchased for you from Augusta a few weeks ago.
[00:34:42] Speaker D: I'd say probably my mom's favorite would be the gnomes.
[00:34:45] Speaker B: Well, we know. We've talked about the gnome already.
Madison. Shaken head. Yes. Is the gnome the overall favorite?
[00:34:54] Speaker E: Yes, I did.
[00:34:55] Speaker D: For me, though, just because gnomes aren't, like, crazy to me, I have a hat. I probably already worn it like seven times.
[00:35:03] Speaker C: What's that?
[00:35:04] Speaker D: I. A hat. I got a hat that I like. It's like, gray with the m. I've already worn it every day, so that's.
[00:35:10] Speaker A: A good looking hat. My friend. My friend got that hat. I had a friend that went down as well, and I asked him to get me a gnome because my wife loves gnomes, so I. So I have to like gnomes. And he couldn't. He was late, like on, like, on Tuesday or Wednesday afternoon. He goes, Andy, they were. They were already sold out for the day of the gnomes. But I got a nice ball marker set out of the deal. So I'm.
[00:35:28] Speaker D: My mom had to go there, like, 630 in the morning.
[00:35:31] Speaker A: Oh, yeah. Oh, it's crazy down there. I mean, the gnomes on the secondary market, I mean, you guys have a small fortune in your. In your pocket there if you wanted to put those up on ebay for $500 a pop.
[00:35:43] Speaker B: Yeah. Well, I talked to Kaden's mom a week or two ago, and she. I think she picked up too many, so she had to send Kaden's sister over in a separate line with a separate credit card to purchase one or two more gnomes. So the fair family has gnomes in St. Louis, if you're needing some.
Kurt, over to you, sir.
[00:36:05] Speaker C: Yeah. Guys, I just want to say congrats again. You know, that was so exciting. I got up that morning and, you know, saw, you know, saw the DCP on, you know, on the Golf channel.
First question is, how many times have you gone back and rewatched it now that you've been there? You saw it. Did you go, have you gone back and. And watch the covers, or did. Were you able to record it and see it back and you played?
[00:36:29] Speaker D: I probably watched it over once or twice just by myself. And then they also had, like, a banquet, kind of like a banquet. Fun time the last time we were there, where they showed it all over again, so probably three times in total.
[00:36:42] Speaker C: Nice.
[00:36:43] Speaker E: We watched it once because we were just answering so many text messages, and we had so much planned.
[00:36:51] Speaker C: Very cool. Very cool.
What was your. You guys both. Both mentioned early on, you know, just how perfect, you know, Augusta national is and that. But what was your.
It would be. Did you have a picture of your first reaction as you now? I guess. Okay, back up. Did you get to drive down Magnolia Lane? Is that how you got to get going there? And what was your reaction just right there, just driving down Magnolia Lane. You know, we see there's a famous video of Phil Mickelson a few years ago driving down, and he was. It probably been 25 times he'd done it, but he was so excited, you know, he'd done it for all those years. But to do it that first time, I want to hear your. Your reaction, you know, your excitement to driving down Magnolia Lane to pull into Augusta National.
[00:37:32] Speaker E: Madison, we took about a hundred pictures, like, so beautiful.
We just tried to look at every single.
[00:37:44] Speaker D: Sure, it looks great on picture, and it's 50 times better in real life. It's just like. Just like the fairways. Like every single tree is the same. It's like hanging right over your head. It's just perfect.
[00:37:57] Speaker C: Had either of you been to August national before. Before this?
[00:38:01] Speaker D: My parents have been.
[00:38:02] Speaker C: But you hadn't?
[00:38:04] Speaker A: I don't. I don't know. I don't know how this happened, but I went back in 1993, and on. Back then, you could.
You could actually buy tickets at the gate to go to a practice round. So we went to the Monday practice round.
[00:38:18] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:38:18] Speaker A: And as we were leaving, my dad, he's like, hey, I'm up here up front. He's in the circle, like, where the. Like, where the flagpole is and where the. And where the. The Augusta or the United states, where all the logos are in the. Leave the tournament that day. We drove down Magnolia Lane.
[00:38:35] Speaker C: No way.
[00:38:36] Speaker A: He has no recollection of it. I. I am 1000% sure that this happened. There's no pictures of it. There's nothing. I don't even have my camera, the film, or the camera from on that trip, so. But I know for a fact that it happened because it was the coolest thing I'd ever seen in my life. I mean, I fell in love with. With the masters and Augusta national at that point.
[00:39:00] Speaker C: Absolutely. Let's go back. I want to ask you just a little bit about the, you know, about the actual competition.
I mean, you're nine and 14. Was there any nervousness at all about it? And, you know, were you. Did you have some butterflies, you know, before you got. Got started that morning? And, you know, tell us a little bit about that. How are you feeling, you know, on Sunday morning when you got up and, you know, realized that you were actually going to, you know, get out there and compete in the drive, chip and putt? That's got to be a. Just a tremendous feeling. I mean, as an athlete myself, well, I'm gonna say ex athlete. We don't go there. But. But, you know, who's competed and, you know, in college and stuff, you know, I always had little butterflies, but to compete on that stage and know that's gonna be on tv, you know, what were your emotions and feelings, you know, that morning when you. When you got up and knew that you were, you know, you were headed to Augusta national to compete? Kaden, go ahead. Let's hear it.
[00:39:54] Speaker D: It was weird. So, like, I'd say as soon as I even made it to Augusta, like, six months before, I was nervous for that entire six months. And even in the morning, I was even more nervous. And then as soon as, like, I stepped onto, like, the practice tee and, like, even on the real range, I don't know why. Like, it all went away. I just felt, like, calm. I don't know. It was weird. I thought I was so nervous, but, like, I felt, like, calm and peaceful.
[00:40:18] Speaker C: That's awesome. Madison.
[00:40:20] Speaker E: I was a little nervous, but I practiced for six months, and I was ready.
[00:40:26] Speaker C: Yeah, that's awesome.
Matt, before we. Before we started, we were talking a little bit. Matt, you've talked about kind of your little. I'll call it a little whirlwind. You know, you've had. You've been on, you know, different tv channels and, you know, mentioned on good Morning America. Just give us. Give our listeners a little bit. What's. What's that like, especially as a nine year old, we haven't talked to too many guests who's probably had that kind of experience to go through the media, you know, as a. As a national champion, like that. So give us. Give us a little bit of. What's that. What's that been like for you since that day?
[00:40:59] Speaker E: Getting on screens and doing gulf interviews just made me so excited about winning, and it's been so energizing and so fun.
[00:41:15] Speaker C: That's awesome.
Okay, I got one final question. Who. What. Did you. Did you meet any. Did you get to meet any of the guys that played in the. In the Masters or, you know, any. Any famous people that you met down there and who, you know, who was your. Who was the best one that you maybe met, Madison?
[00:41:34] Speaker E: Um, I met John Rahm, and he signed my medal. He is my absolute favorite player.
[00:41:41] Speaker C: He says he signed your medal that you won.
[00:41:44] Speaker E: Yep.
[00:41:45] Speaker C: Oh, that's very cool.
[00:41:46] Speaker B: That's awesome.
[00:41:48] Speaker D: I feel like I didn't really get to talk to many of the PGA players, but I did get talked to Mike Tirico. I got a picture with him, which, the night before, which is really cool. And then my. Because I walked the course the next day, like, after the direction put. But my sister, my mom were over getting autographed, so they got a picture with, I think, tony Finau and Scotty Scheffler.
[00:42:07] Speaker C: Okay.
[00:42:07] Speaker D: So she got to talk me some players.
[00:42:11] Speaker C: Very cool. Well, that's great, guys. That. That's awesome.
[00:42:14] Speaker A: So, just for people who don't know, like, me, because I'm asking this question, they do. They actually do the drive chip and putt on the golf course, or is it over that over at the tournament practice area.
[00:42:28] Speaker E: The drive is at the players range, and only three sets of people get to get on it. The drive chimp putt, the women's amateur, and the people who are playing in the masters. And then on the chip, it was the practice area, and then the putt was on the 18th green, and the 30 footer was the pin location.
The 15 footer was the pin location for one of the days.
[00:43:10] Speaker D: Yeah, like, the practice range, like, before we actually were doing the actual thing. It was like. It's, like, secret on, like, little thing. It was weird. It was, like, in, like, ten spots, and then it already looked like it hadn't been hit on in, like a year, so that was cool.
[00:43:22] Speaker A: It probably hadn't because they. That tournament practice area isn't open to anybody except for players during drive, trip and put a gustam in the masters.
[00:43:32] Speaker D: I mean, that's.
[00:43:33] Speaker A: That's crazy. Plus, I don't get that because I think cost, like $140 million. I'd be member there. I'd be like, I want to use the damn tournament practice area.
Well, guys, congratulations. It's quite an achievement to even get to go.
I volunteered some time to some local qualifiers here in St. Louis, and the great thing about drive, trip, and putt is that it's great.
It gets good golfers like you guys to go do something really cool like that. But I've seen it where it also brings out kids who may not have those kinds of. Have those kinds of, you know, things in their life, and. And they might learn to. They might learn to love golf and get up and get a lifetime hobby out of it. So it's a. It's a really, really cool thing. I'm glad you guys did very well at it's very neat thing.
[00:44:24] Speaker B: Yeah, guys, thank you again. It's. It's a lot of fun. A lot of my students I teach at St. Albans are junior golfers.
I think you junior golfers are the best, because I can be like a seven year old kid once in a while. I can have fun with you youngsters, and it's special to see what the game of golf is. Junior golf has expanded a lot more than when the three of us guys doing the show were junior golfers, when it was just, hey, go play nine holes. I mean, the programs are better. You guys know it. And for you guys to be able to. And. And I hope you both get to make it back, not as spectators, but as participants, whether it's DCP Madison, the women's amateur, maybe in a few years. Kaden, of course, one day playing in the Masters. But I'm glad Augusta is growing the game, and so I hope you guys have a great summer season. So, thank you. Madison, you are also set another record. You are the youngest guest on CNC's golf factory by five years. Kayden, you are now second place.
But Madison, thank you. And thank you to your dad, Travis, for helping out. And I have just one final question for young Kaden Fair. Real quick. Just because we have friendly banter. Kaden, who is your favorite PGA professional at the country club of St. Albans?
[00:45:53] Speaker D: Probably Kurt Goss. Good dude.
[00:45:57] Speaker B: Yeah, good. Good answer. Good answer. Good answer.
[00:46:00] Speaker C: He's a good dude.
[00:46:01] Speaker B: If you said, Joe the pro, your dad was paying double for the next hat he buys.
Guys, thank you so much. It's very special what you guys got to do. And thank you for sharing time on your school night with us.
[00:46:13] Speaker D: Yeah, thank you so much for having me.
[00:46:15] Speaker E: Thank you.
[00:46:16] Speaker A: Yeah, we appreciate it. That's Kaden Fair and Madison Pyatt. Back with more after this on the CNC Golf factory on the St. Louis podcast network.
We hope you enjoyed this episode of the CNC Golf Factory on the St. Louis podcast Network. Thanks so much to Kaden Fair and Madison Pyatt for joining us to talk about their experiences at the Augusta National Golf Club and drive, chip and putt. To get your kids involved in drive chip and putt, go to drivechipandputt.com. Also, if you know of any other youth organizations that need to, they need to get involved, talk to your local PGA professional.
They'll help get those kids involved in drive, chip and putt and local junior golf. Also, if you have some free time, hop on over to Old Wallace and Country Club to check out the old Warson cup competition. Check out the Metropolitan Amateur Golf Association Facebook page for all of the matchups go happening this weekend in the Open division and the senior division out at Old Warson. For Kurt. Rowey Ford Kurt Goss the third I'm Edie Hanselman. You've been listening to the CC Golf Factory podcast on the St. Louis podcast Network. Content on the St. Louis podcast Network is 100% human created.
