Latest / Scene Projects Sports Network / Brad Pluth on AI Golf Coaching, Minnesota Courses, and Making the Game More Fun
Transcript
- 0:14Welcome into the Scene Project Sports Network.
- 0:17I am your host, Bubba Starts, and with me today is author and golf coach, Brad Pluth.
- 0:21Brad, welcome to the Thanks for
- 0:24having me.
- 0:25It is an absolute pleasure, as the season winds down here, especially in the Upper Midwest.
- 0:33I know you're up in Minnesota, South Dakota.
- 0:36It won't stop raining now, so it's been really hard to get on the course the last week and a
- 0:40half.
- 0:40Doesn't rain at all.
- 0:42All summer on us, but, here we are.
- 0:45So before we get into, the couple of books and promoting everything that you're doing there,
- 0:50and we're gonna talk about golf in a or AI in golf rather, a little bit today too, which I
- 0:55think is super awesome.
- 0:57Would love to get a little bit of your backstory, Brad, and then we'll pick it up from
- 1:00there.
- 1:01Yeah.
- 1:01I was introduced to the game of golf by my grandfather, Barney Lanska, when I was five.
- 1:06So I caddied for him.
- 1:08I had to learn all the rules and etiquette before I could play.
- 1:10And then the first hole I went and I think I made an 11.
- 1:13So he put a five iron in my hands, and I kept running down the fairway until I got it in the
- 1:18hole.
- 1:18And he made me count every stroke and all that fun stuff and kinda realized that game was a
- 1:23lot harder than he made it look.
- 1:25Right?
- 1:26So fell in love with the game, fell in love with the camaraderie.
- 1:29I mean, he played with pastors.
- 1:30He played with lawyers and bankers and bottle openers and just all kinds of different people.
- 1:37I just fell in love with the camaraderie of the game.
- 1:40And, frankly, the challenge being outdoors was always good.
- 1:44So golf being an outdoor sport was always more interesting to me.
- 1:48I mean, I grew up a basketball player, honestly, but the gym was always kinda stagnant
- 1:53versus a golf course that you could play every day and a change.
- 1:56So, yeah, that's the on the back of it.
- 2:00Played a little high school golf at Spring Lake Park and then went down to play at, Central
- 2:05College.
- 2:05It's as far south as I could make it from the Twin Cities is Iowa.
- 2:10So, played three years down there.
- 2:12For some reason, I was in a hurry to get done with school.
- 2:15So got done in three years and then, started coaching at Grand View Lodge, which we were
- 2:21just up in that neck of the woods.
- 2:24Coming out of college, made a job offer from the Federal Reserve Bank in Kansas City.
- 2:29And I don't tell too many people this, but I also got into Creighton Law School.
- 2:33So wasn't ready for a desk job and definitely didn't wanna go to school.
- 2:37So I took a assistant position up at Grandview Lodge under Mark Neva where I started teaching
- 2:42with the Bill Skelly School and fell in love with coaching.
- 2:46I know I didn't wanna, as my dad put it, fold shirts for a living, but I wanted to teach and
- 2:49coach people.
- 2:50So it's kinda my my origin.
- 2:53Yeah.
- 2:54Wild.
- 2:54I I didn't realize that you had kind of, gone right into coaching and really have never done
- 3:00anything but that.
- 3:01Now, obviously, working at a large, you know, chain, and we can see the simulator in the back
- 3:06there.
- 3:07Really cool that, you know, you have the facilities there to be able to coach indoors
- 3:11and year round.
- 3:13You know, not always the case here, Upper Midwest.
- 3:16You know, we get about a six month season if we're lucky, and you never know when winter's
- 3:23going to set in.
- 3:24And, you know, for me, because of the small town that we live in, we don't have access to a
- 3:28lot of facilities like that.
- 3:30So unless you're, you know, being able to set up something on your own, which, you know, the
- 3:35the technology is getting better and better, that we're able to train from home, it's nice
- 3:41to know that there are facilities out there.
- 3:42And maybe once a month when I'm up for football season, I can pop in and get a quick lesson
- 3:47while I'm there.
- 3:49Sounds good.
- 3:49Come on in.
- 3:50Yeah.
- 3:50We got three awesome track man bays, little putting green so we can work on all aspects of
- 3:54the game.
- 3:55I'm blessed to have a a gear system that measures pretty much anything from your pinky
- 4:00toe all the way to the top of your head.
- 4:02So there's a kind of a little bit of data analytics.
- 4:05But, again, I think I I try to use information to guide my guide my decision making, not
- 4:12necessarily make it the focus.
- 4:14Right?
- 4:14So the focus is always on the athlete and helping them achieve their goals, whether it's
- 4:19break a 100, break ninety, eighty, or par.
- 4:21So meet people where they are and help them achieve their goals is kinda my my bailiwick.
- 4:28Looking to break 11 on every hole.
- 4:30That would be nice.
- 4:33Brad, you
- 4:33talk yeah.
- 4:34You talk about, you know, data and analytics coming into this.
- 4:39And, obviously, I think it has to be a part of any coaching at this point because we have
- 4:44access to these, the these machines that can track and record a lot of this.
- 4:49But now using AI and the computing power of AI to take those analytics and really come up with
- 4:56some really great answers.
- 4:58What can you tell us about the the infusion of artificial intelligence into the golf analytics
- 5:03world when it comes down to training?
- 5:06Yeah.
- 5:06It's a great question.
- 5:07So my father-in-law, Bob Pike, would say golfers or he'd just say people don't argue
- 5:13with their own data.
- 5:14So I kind of interpret that to golfers don't argue with their own data.
- 5:17So if you can lay a plan out so I do a a movement screen up front.
- 5:22And with gears, I can measure movement in throughout their body and identify kind of
- 5:27strengths and weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to to their golf swing that they really
- 5:33can't argue with.
- 5:34Like, it's just it's fact, or they can either move that way or they can't.
- 5:38Right?
- 5:38So the movement screen kinda shows me what they're capable of.
- 5:42So I customized golf swings to movement patterns, not necessarily how Tiger Woods
- 5:46swings.
- 5:47Right?
- 5:48So Tiger can move in some incredible ways.
- 5:51And if I put people in positions that he can get in, they won't be able to walk the next
- 5:55day.
- 5:55Right?
- 5:56So one, using data not only for, like, swing and motion analysis, but also on course.
- 6:02So kinda I chunk the game into putting wedges, approach shots, and tee shots.
- 6:06So I use a tool called Arcos to or, you either use your scorecard or use a partner with Arcos
- 6:11that with sensors on the grip, and it's awesome data.
- 6:15And, again, like, if they're struggling off the tee, it shows up with a, like, a plus minus
- 6:20variance to their scoring ability or their scoring goal.
- 6:24So integrating data is just a it's a way that I kinda think.
- 6:29So I was a trained economist as in in college, so I'm always kind of a numbers and systems
- 6:34guy.
- 6:34So it just it makes sense to me.
- 6:37I don't necessarily use the big language and words to, you know, some of the econ and
- 6:44statistics, but it's always kinda floating in the back of my head.
- 6:49Well, I think that's what a good coach does is being able to disseminate the data down, break
- 6:54it into layman's terms, meet their student where they're at, and being able to convey the
- 6:59message that the data is saying into terms that, you know, someone will understand and
- 7:03will understand about their body.
- 7:05Something really important that I think you you pointed out that people forget as they are
- 7:11perusing the Internet to to gain as much information as they can out there is that there
- 7:17is no one perfect swing.
- 7:18There is your perfect swing, and I have my perfect swing, and it can take people years to
- 7:24find that.
- 7:25And just to make the game enjoyable, sometimes it's not about a number whatsoever, but I I
- 7:30wanna hit the ball straighter.
- 7:32Brad, can you help me do that?
- 7:33I I wanna be able to hit this shot and and to do that and to adjust my personal par.
- 7:39Right?
- 7:40It's not necessarily about breaking a 100.
- 7:42It's about going out there.
- 7:44And for me, I play a lot, you know, with my wife.
- 7:47I play with my buddies.
- 7:48We're often not even keeping score.
- 7:50It matters very little to me.
- 7:52But I do wanna feel better about my golf game finishing up a round than I did, previously and
- 7:58to be able to continuously improve in the game.
- 8:00Yeah.
- 8:01So I think the number one thing that every golfer wants is the feeling of that solid
- 8:05strike.
- 8:06Right?
- 8:07So we always strive to like, if you're not hitting it better when you leave, I didn't do
- 8:12my job.
- 8:12And I don't charge people for lessons unless they leave better than they they came.
- 8:16So that whole kind of misnomer of you're gonna get worse before you get better is a cop out to
- 8:21me for coaches that don't know what they're doing.
- 8:23So I've never tried to make people worse before they get better.
- 8:27It's kind of a if you do this, you're gonna hit it more in the center of the face.
- 8:31If you do whatever, if you turn a little bit more, you can generate some more speed.
- 8:36You know, turn if your arms swing a little bit different, your path is gonna improve.
- 8:41If we adjust your grip a little bit, your hands are gonna control the face.
- 8:46You've got ball control because face control and ball control go hand in hand.
- 8:50So there's all these little patterns that you can kinda go through from your body controls
- 8:54the height of the shaft, your arms control the path of the club head, and your hands control
- 8:58the face.
- 8:59Right?
- 8:59So if you can control those three things, you'll get better faster.
- 9:05Brad, how much has the technology changed since you started teaching?
- 9:09Oh, man.
- 9:10So I was always frustrated early in my career because I never had the tools to measure what I
- 9:16wanted to to measure.
- 9:17So it was always by eye and, you know, they'd call it research, but it was like, every lesson
- 9:22you gave was called research.
- 9:23It's like, oh, it's not really research.
- 9:25That's just anecdotal data.
- 9:27Just like, this is what I observed.
- 9:29This is what I see.
- 9:30This is what I believe to be true.
- 9:32When I started measuring with three d or motion capture, I've probably been catching a motion
- 9:36capture or three d for fifteen years.
- 9:39And when I was able to start looking at movement patterns differently, I I noticed
- 9:44right away nobody did the same thing.
- 9:46Right?
- 9:47Everybody was different, and that kinda led me along the line of creating some movement
- 9:52screens to predict motion, not necessarily move people to a ideal swing.
- 9:58So understanding motion and I did a a big deep dive on basically every joint.
- 10:03So I'm a golf nerd.
- 10:04So every joint from your ankle, knee, hip, shoulders, spine, or, you know, thoracic spine,
- 10:12cervical spine, neck, shoulder, or eyes.
- 10:17I even went back to the subtalar joints.
- 10:19I heard somebody talk about, well, if you're subtalar joint and I experienced this myself
- 10:24because my subtalar joint and my foot was locked up and I couldn't move after ankle
- 10:29surgery.
- 10:30So I went back and researched the subtalar joint and realized that, like, the positioning
- 10:34of your feet really influence the amount that you can turn.
- 10:37So, again, I'm a golf nerd.
- 10:39I've been doing this for thirty years and been loving it.
- 10:43So
- 10:45Yeah.
- 10:46It's really incredible.
- 10:47And I know that as as the technology advances, it has to make it has to make your job a little
- 10:53bit more fun because you're actually able to help people more.
- 10:57You're able to take all of this data that you're only, you know, picking up with your
- 11:01eyeballs for those first fifteen years of teaching and being able to to to attempt to,
- 11:06you know, make your own inferences from that from memory, really.
- 11:10And even if you're going back and you're watching, you know, watching the tape
- 11:14afterwards, if you're recording these or, you know, what whatever you're doing that now with
- 11:19with the instant feedback that you're getting from the the data as well that you're really
- 11:24able to help people in the moment.
- 11:26And people can walk away from a single lesson feeling better about their game.
- 11:30I think that's extremely powerful.
- 11:32Yeah.
- 11:32I was extremely blessed to have a a great mentor in Mark Neva up at Grandview that he
- 11:37made me write down kind of the key points of the lesson.
- 11:42Or I'd have the student even more powerful, I found later on that if the student wrote down
- 11:47three of the key things that he want or he or she wanted to remember, they would remember it
- 11:51a lot better.
- 11:52Then they'd be kinda apply it too.
- 11:54So I've got this big long journal.
- 11:56So probably about ten months ago, I started using AI, and I had, like, 60,000 pages of of
- 12:04notes that I started, like, looking for patterns.
- 12:07Like, so how did I teach putting or wedges or pro shots and tee shots?
- 12:12And may I help me kinda sort and sift through all this stuff?
- 12:15And then kinda creating my teaching model from kinda coach five pillars of, like, golfing
- 12:21mindset or what are golf great golfers think about before, during, and after a shot.
- 12:25The natural movement patterns that we've talked about, on course strategy.
- 12:30You know, if I can help people shoot better scores just by thinking better and picking
- 12:34better targets, That's way easier.
- 12:36Purposeful practice, kind of the games, drills, and exercises that people can play to do to get
- 12:41better in between lessons and then equipment optimization.
- 12:45I think a lot people talk about equipment fitting.
- 12:47I think we're at the point now that it's probably more equipment optimization to get the
- 12:51ball to fly farther and straighter and more consistently.
- 12:56Really great stuff.
- 12:57And I'm assuming that now these notes and and all of these lessons have turned into the basis
- 13:02for your books as well.
- 13:04Exactly.
- 13:05So since then, I started transcribing my lessons.
- 13:08So now I've got, like, a 130,000 pages of notes that I keep collecting, and I've got other
- 13:13coaches that are transcribing their lessons.
- 13:15And now we're kinda collaborating and working together to develop some really fun projects
- 13:19that we'll be rolling out here pretty soon.
- 13:22Yeah.
- 13:22I think it's awesome that not just holding on to that knowledge and kinda putting it behind
- 13:28the wall of, well, you have to come to Minnetonka and work out with me personally, but
- 13:33but you're making it available to the wider world.
- 13:37I in a hardcover or, you know, in hard copy books.
- 13:40I think that's really great, and and I know that we'll be coming out very soon.
- 13:45Moms and sisters out there, those make great gifts for the fellows in your life that are
- 13:50golfers, come Christmas time, so keep that in mind.
- 13:53Yep.
- 13:54So the first work that I did was purposeful conversations.
- 13:57It's meant to be kind of a coffee table and conversation starter.
- 14:01So there's questions for before, during, and after the round for diff or six different age
- 14:06groups.
- 14:06So, like, I think, typically, golf should be introduced and kinda top at about the age of
- 14:12eight.
- 14:12That's when you have the ability to trace a curve.
- 14:15You've got hand eye coordination.
- 14:17Before that, it's it's a challenging game.
- 14:19You have some early adopters that can definitely play a little bit or that can
- 14:25develop the skills.
- 14:26They're really about the age of eight.
- 14:28So, like so I broke it into eight to 12, kind of the preteen years, and then 13 to 21 kind of
- 14:35exploratory or yeah.
- 14:37Exploratory years, '22 to, '49, and then 50 to 70 and 70.
- 14:45So there's different age groups, and they all so after teaching for thirty years is another
- 14:50cool thing with AI is, like, what does that age group really need to achieve the next level?
- 14:55So that's part of the my contribution of the book was kind of the content and how golfers of
- 15:00that age or ability would like to be coached, kind of the dos and don'ts.
- 15:06And then I partnered with Peter Wong who has all these amazing images that, really kinda
- 15:11bring the book to life.
- 15:13Yeah.
- 15:14I think that's a really fun, you know, something to have there.
- 15:18I hope a lot of golf courses, around in Minnesota, get themselves a copy and keep,
- 15:24there in the clubhouse and have it stir up some conversations there because what's not, you
- 15:30know, what's not to enjoy about sitting down after a round and enjoying a nice meal in the
- 15:35clubhouse and having something to talk about.
- 15:38And you you spoke a lot about the camaraderie of golf being what draws you to it, obviously.
- 15:43I feel very much the same.
- 15:45The the golf and the scores are very secondary.
- 15:49To me, maybe later in life at some point, I will become a little bit more competitive about
- 15:54it, but I'm really out there for a good time.
- 15:57I love being outdoors.
- 15:58And how many, you know, how many things can you do where you spend four hours, which could be
- 16:04completely miserable and you have the time of your life playing out of the sand?
- 16:09And I've hit a couple of layman design courses out there in Minnesota the last few weeks.
- 16:14I got to play Troy Byrne with the Golf Ludes podcast.
- 16:17A big shout out to those guys for having me.
- 16:19Another beautiful course.
- 16:21And then you mentioned the time that we spent up in Brainerd playing at Craighan's legacy
- 16:25courses with just a fantastic fantastic group of courses and the home of the CRMC
- 16:31championship, which, really hope we get invited back there again next year as well.
- 16:35And, Brad, I I'll have to get you up there that weekend to to come spend some time with us.
- 16:39That would be great.
- 16:41Love to do it.
- 16:42I know, Jack Warrow does an amazing job with that event and makes the whole community proud.
- 16:48So as
- 16:49a Yes.
- 16:49He does.
- 16:49Brainerd
- 16:52alum, I guess, I can kinda say.
- 16:54But, yeah, that's that's a great event.
- 16:57We're blessed to have not only a PGA tour event here in Minnesota, but now we've got one of the
- 17:01mini tours that I try to recommend a lot of my players.
- 17:05So, like, these guys are really good.
- 17:07Like, it's they can definitely go low on on those mini tours.
- 17:15No.
- 17:15It's insane.
- 17:16I think the course record was broken and then tied while we were out there.
- 17:19And, mean, they finished I I think the the winner was 14 or 15 under, you know, kinda
- 17:27heading into the last hole, needed a birdie to win.
- 17:29So you're getting the drama.
- 17:31And I think they said up there that three out of the last five winners of that PGA Tour of
- 17:37America's event have gone on to win on the PGA Tour.
- 17:41Right?
- 17:41So it it kinda speaks to, well, if you can play out there, you can play anywhere in the world.
- 17:48And I think it speaks to, you know, the the challenging, the challenge that you face out
- 17:54there at Craigen's playing there.
- 17:56They played on the blue and the or the white and the red courses there and just really cool
- 18:03how they have it set up.
- 18:04The elevated tee box off the patio for one.
- 18:07I don't know that I've ever seen something like that before, but Minnesota is just full of
- 18:12great golf events and happening all the time.
- 18:16Obviously, the headliner, I think, being the three m open, but you have all of these amazing
- 18:20courses that that are spread around all 10,000 of the lakes in Minnesota.
- 18:25And The stream 12,000 different.
- 18:28Yeah.
- 18:29Exactly.
- 18:30Well and and just as many golf courses, I think, as well.
- 18:33And and really championship caliber and absolutely beautiful.
- 18:38Do you feel a little bit spoiled kind of growing up and and working up in the Brainerd
- 18:42Lakes area right out of college and starting your coaching career there?
- 18:46It was an amazing place to start.
- 18:48So growing up, I grew up in Blaine, actually.
- 18:51So I grew up playing Bunker Hills, worked at Majestic Oaks, worked at North Oaks.
- 18:57And then my first job out of college was up at Grandview.
- 19:00And then there was some so I could either have a desk job in Kansas City or I could go I could
- 19:04have access to the Pines And Preserve, and then they were just opening Deacon's Lodge at that
- 19:09time as well.
- 19:10So and I had housing that was taken care of, food that was made for me, access to a five
- 19:17star resort.
- 19:18Like, yeah, I think I'm gonna go hang out at a resort for a few summers, and I don't regret
- 19:24the decision at all.
- 19:26It's amazing.
- 19:27Did you know then, Brad, that this was what you would spend the rest of your life doing?
- 19:32Was it always like, I'll go check it out and maybe it's a couple of summers and enjoying it
- 19:37to really falling in love with the coaching and helping other people?
- 19:42You know, the the first lesson I gave was from, was with Bill Scully's school, and Steve on the
- 19:47real, the director at the time said, hey.
- 19:50It's really simple.
- 19:51Show that you care and share what you know, and you'll be fine.
- 19:55Well, needless to I I had a couple that came and, like, the husband was telling his wife
- 20:03what to do all the time.
- 20:04I eventually, like, separated him.
- 20:06I put him on one side of the range.
- 20:07I put her on the other, and she's like, thank you so much.
- 20:10Like, I don't know who I'm listening to, and you're obviously a professional that knows what
- 20:14they're talking about.
- 20:15Little did she know is my first lesson.
- 20:17But I kinda ended up working back and forth with them, and you just hear all these
- 20:21different dynamics.
- 20:21So later on, I I read, doctor Bob Rotel, and he said it's the role of a parent or spouse to
- 20:27provide opportunity and encouragement, not teach the backswing.
- 20:31So I fortunately, that was one of the reading list that, Steve gave me that I was able to
- 20:36share with them, and they kinda agreed to follow that rule.
- 20:41And they they both got a lot better, and we we did have a ton of fun for the half day golf
- 20:46school that we did spend together, but it was interesting experience for sure.
- 20:51Well and I I'm sure you've had, quite a few of those, and there's some notes in in those
- 20:5760,000 pages that will allude to that.
- 21:01Did you enjoy the the writing process?
- 21:03I know this next one is a little more analytical on that side, but it's no small task
- 21:08to write any book, really.
- 21:10And I would know from having some words in the form of a book right now.
- 21:14I haven't quite finalized the manuscript and got it across the finish line.
- 21:18But did you enjoy the process while you were doing it?
- 21:22Honestly, no.
- 21:23I didn't enjoy.
- 21:25The the research, I always enjoyed.
- 21:27The writing part is really hard for me.
- 21:31I'm I'm thankful that I have I've got a an a AI coach named Lanny Morton.
- 21:37He was able to kinda guide me and shepherd me through the the writing process.
- 21:41My wife has also written, I think, 11 books.
- 21:45So I'm just trying to catch her.
- 21:47I've got probably six written and two published now.
- 21:51So it's like, I'm just trying to catch her.
- 21:52So I've had some good mentors over the years, but it's not something I would recommend
- 21:58somebody doing.
- 21:59It's a relatively lonely process, and it's hard.
- 22:04I mean, it's just frankly hard.
- 22:06Coming from somebody who's played played
- 22:10and coached to one of the hardest games out there, I I think we can take your word for it,
- 22:14Brad.
- 22:16The so I I wrote the first one, did everything for the first one, layout pictures, and and did
- 22:21everything.
- 22:22The second one, I just hired out a company and said, you do the layout.
- 22:26Here's my content.
- 22:27Make it look good, and they've done an amazing job with AI for golfers.
- 22:31So looking forward to releasing that one and sharing that one as well.
- 22:36Incredible.
- 22:36Well, be remiss if we didn't talk a little bit, about, you know, your company and what you're
- 22:41doing to help, other coaches out there as well.
- 22:45Tell me a little bit more about golf achievement.
- 22:47Yeah.
- 22:48So that's the online portion of my academy.
- 22:51So we meet people where they are.
- 22:53I follow, like, a structure of assess, align, design, improve.
- 22:57So we start with a assessment kinda going through those pillars that we talked about
- 23:02earlier and then align their goals and strategies and mindset and then design practice
- 23:08and playing portions.
- 23:10So kind of one of the online programs is a, play your way to better golf.
- 23:15So it's a series of scorecards golfers can use to develop the skill strategies and mindsets
- 23:20they need to achieve their scoring goals.
- 23:23So there's kind of benchmark activities that they can work through in, a twelve week
- 23:27program.
- 23:28So that's the the fun side.
- 23:31And then there's always my students are my best invent inventors.
- 23:35Like, well, I I need to learn how to I'm always kinda keeping notes when they say that.
- 23:39Like, okay.
- 23:40Well, that that's a whole class.
- 23:42Like, that's kinda how I came up with the four shots of most people.
- 23:46They need to get better at distance control and they're putting.
- 23:50They need to be able to hit web shots or get out of a bunker or those finesse wedges between
- 23:55thirty and fifty yards or whatever it is.
- 23:57Right?
- 23:57So just a big long list of content creation ideas that are coming from my students.
- 24:03So I always wanna have my pulse on in in coaching.
- 24:07You know, ideally, I'd probably coach twenty five to thirty hours a week and coach trainers
- 24:12or coach other coaches ten to fifteen hours a week and then probably write for five or ten
- 24:18hours a week.
- 24:20So that'd be Do ever get to get out on
- 24:21the golf course, Brad?
- 24:23You're taking up a lot of your time, yeah, teaching others.
- 24:27Funny enough, I play probably four to six days a week.
- 24:31So don't sleep much.
- 24:32I just don't but we, we joined a great club called the Bear Path in Eden Prairie, and my
- 24:39boys and I have been playing a lot.
- 24:40My wife will play, so all my kids play.
- 24:43So I'm I'm blessed there.
- 24:45But a lot of nine holes in the evenings kind of thing, but I even joined the men's league this
- 24:51year.
- 24:51First time I've joined the men's league, so that was fun.
- 24:54All my other days get better, and I got a little worse.
- 24:57So
- 24:58You do.
- 24:59You evened it out a little bit.
- 25:02I I I'm sure everybody trying to glean a a little bit of information out there from you
- 25:07and your team being very guarded about who you're talking to on the course.
- 25:12Yeah.
- 25:12It's a little It was it was a different experience.
- 25:15So it was fun.
- 25:16Ton of fun.
- 25:17The camaraderie with the guys is, you know, why we still play, and it's always good good time.
- 25:23Yeah.
- 25:24At the end of the day, that's what we're out there for.
- 25:26And and I really, you know, mentioned the Golf Loons podcast, and, you know, Glenn and Twig
- 25:31took me out to one of the most beautiful courses I've ever seen.
- 25:34I could've used that bunker lesson, playing out at Troy Burn, right across the river there in
- 25:39Hudson.
- 25:40They it is just hot marks.
- 25:42Yeah.
- 25:43I spent a lot of time on the beach, Brad, and it was thick and heavy.
- 25:48I wasn't used to that.
- 25:49Not a lot of bunkers or any on our local course here in in Tyndall, South Dakota, our our
- 25:57little town.
- 25:58But very blessed to have a nine hole course right in a town of a thousand people and right
- 26:02outside of town and having that recreation because it is something that I enjoy with a few
- 26:08friends or going out with my wife and children on the course and something that I look forward
- 26:13spending the rest of my life, enjoying.
- 26:16If I could get a little better, I think I'd enjoy it more.
- 26:19That's right.
- 26:20So the if you start hitting it better, you play more.
- 26:23If you play more, the equipment manufacturers know they're gonna sell more balls and clubs.
- 26:27So it's kind of this this revolving process.
- 26:30So I think I've got the most important job in golf and teaching people how to play and enjoy
- 26:35the game, like you're saying.
- 26:36So I think you don't really need a scorecard.
- 26:39Like, it it is a way of enjoying the game, but kinda like what she hit on.
- 26:43The game is about developing relationships.
- 26:45So that's that's where I'm where I try to drive and sometimes remind my competitive players,
- 26:50like, hey.
- 26:51You're taking time to get to know your your playing partners because you never know when
- 26:54you're gonna meet somebody that has an impact on your future career and just being a good
- 27:00person.
- 27:01I think it definitely opens doors that not many other games can really do.
- 27:08It's hard to play football and go, hey.
- 27:10Tell me about your business.
- 27:11You know?
- 27:12That's not happening.
- 27:13Right?
- 27:16No.
- 27:17It it truly is a a great game for that, and and we absolutely love, you know, the PGA for
- 27:23growing the game and being a part of that.
- 27:26I think when people think about the PGA, they only think about the tour and the best players
- 27:31in the world that go out there every weekend.
- 27:34But it's really about the people like you, Brad, other pros around the country inside of
- 27:40these clubs that are giving lessons and teaching the game and not just teaching the
- 27:46fundamentals or and the etiquette of the game, but really teaching people how to have more fun
- 27:51enjoying a game that we all love.
- 27:54So I absolutely admire the work that you've been doing at Careers Worth, and now can't wait
- 27:59to, see the rest of the books come out.
- 28:02You got you got two and six more in the can, so we got a lot of reading to catch up on.
- 28:08Happy to contribute.
- 28:10Been a been a fun career so far and just getting better.
- 28:14Well,
- 28:15I will be, up in Minnesota quite a bit here, in these, next few months with football season
- 28:21upon us and our Vikings coverage here on the sports network.
- 28:25So I'll have to get ahold of you and see if I can whittle out a little bit of time, have you
- 28:29give me a lesson there in that beautiful facility.
- 28:33Come in.
- 28:33Maybe we can do a live live show.
- 28:35Oh, now we're talking.
- 28:37Here's my I'm a closet Vikings fan, but I love to play golf because the courses are empty
- 28:44while they play.
- 28:45So this is terrible.
- 28:48I wouldn't consider myself a bandwagon fan, but as I look at it, I probably definitely am.
- 28:53So I play golf for the first eight weeks of the season, and then when it snows and the golf
- 28:57courses close, I know whether they're worth watching or not.
- 29:02So some years, I don't miss anything.
- 29:03In some years, it's like, oh, I'll just pick up right when it gets good the last half of the
- 29:07season.
- 29:08There you go.
- 29:09Well, hey.
- 29:09You know what?
- 29:10You can just put Kate Fan on, listen to PA's call on the radio while you're on the course.
- 29:15You don't have to be glued to a TV on Sundays, especially if it's gonna open up the course.
- 29:21So everybody check out bradpluthgolf.com.
- 29:24Pluth is p l u t h.
- 29:28Really grateful for your time, Brad.
- 29:29Love what you're doing.
- 29:30I think what you're doing with golf achievement and the way that you continue to teach not just
- 29:36students, but now teaching other teachers coaches out there.
- 29:40Really incredible that you're sharing all of this knowledge with the world and making all of
- 29:45us a a little bit better as we go.
- 29:47So, Brad, thank you for taking some time for me today, and thank you for being part of the
- 29:51scene.
- 29:53Absolutely.
- 29:54Appreciate you having me, Bonnie.