Before the start of classes on the morning of April 9, 2014, Alex Hribal, a 16-year-old sophomore, went room to room with an 8- to 10-inch knife in each hand, slashing and stabbing 20 students and security guard. Everyone survived.
TribLive’s Zac Gibson spoke with reporters Renatta Signorini and Megan Swift about the event. Signorini was one of the first reporters on the scene. Swift was a student at the school at the time.
published in category: Next on the Tee on Friday, April 5th, 2024 – 6:11 pm
I have been saying for years that Shaun Micheel is the most underrated and under-appreciated player in PGA Tour History. Most remember his incredible win at the 2003 PGA Championship, hitting one of the greatest approach shots in major golf history. He came to that 72nd hole with a 1-stroke lead over Chad Campbell. He then hit his 7-iron approach shot to 3 inches from the cup. What people don’t remember is that he nearly doubled down at the 2006 PGA, finishing 2nd to Tiger. He also finished runner-up at the 2006 World Match Play Championship after defeating Tiger in the first round 4 & 3. During his PGA Tour career, he had 20 Top 10 finishes and 57 Top 25s. You’ll hear him share his experiences playing in the 2004 Masters. His practice round with Jack and playing in the group behind Arnold Palmer during Arnie’s final Masters appearance that year. Plus, playing in the group with Seve during his final Open appearance.
Martin Chuck is ranked #7 in Golf Digest’s Top Instructor rankings. He has recently teamed with Chris McGinley, formerly of Titleist and the guy who discovered Bob Vokey years ago, and Performance Golf to promote a set of wedges that are simply fantastic. We talk about the technology that Chris put into these wedges that will help us hit better shots from tight lies, divots, rough, and green-side bunkers. Plus the spin these full-face wedges put on the ball so we can get our chips closer to the hole. I love the feel of these wedges.
published in category: Next on the Tee on Wednesday, April 3rd, 2024 – 8:52 pm
In Part 1 of this week’s podcast, my guests are former LPGA Commissioner & Author Charlie Mechem and The Confidence Doctor, Dr. Robert Winters.
Charlie Mechem has recently written his third book titled, Arnie & Jack, Stories of My Long Friendship with Two Remarkable Men. We hear about how he met both men and stories from his 10 years working as a Consultant to Arnold Palmer following Charlie’s tenure as Commissioner of the LPGA Tour. One of the many great stories that Charlie share is from when former PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem asked him to convince Mr. Palmer and Mr. Nicklaus to Co-Design The King & the Bear. Finchem failed to get them to agree to it multiple times. Charlie had a very unique idea how to get them to do it…and it worked. We also hear about the true mutual respect and friendship Jack and Arnie had. Charlie tells the story of having lunch with Mr. Palmer following The Masters one year. They talked about a player who was in contention laid up on 13 & 15. Neither couldn’t imagine why anyone would do that. Palmer asked Charlie, do you remember how many times I finished 2nd in The Masters? Charlie said no. Mr. Palmer replied, neither do I. Hear those stories plus several other wonderful ones including Charlie playing golf with Neil Armstrong, Paul Brown, Pete Rose, and Tommy Thayer of Kiss.
Dr. Bob Winters, The Confidence Doctor, joins me in the second segment. He shares tips for how to keep those intrusive negative thoughts out of our minds when we want to see all the trouble around the golf course. Change Your Mind, Change Your Game is his mantra. He also talks about how to be smarter than your doubt plus shares a wonderful story of meeting Jack Fleck out on the driving range and the impact that had on him going forward.
published in category: Next on the Tee on Monday, April 1st, 2024 – 1:38 pm
In Part 2 of this week’s show, I’m joined by SportsBox Ai Founder Jeehae Lee plus Caddie Hall of Famer Dennis Cone and former PGA of America Write & Historian Bob Denney.
Jeehae Lee picked up a plastic bat at the age of 8, swung it and the next thing she knew her parents bought her a set of clubs, got her an Instructor, dropped her off at the driving range, and told her to find her way there each day after school to practice…in Seoul, South Korea…at the age of 8! She played her college golf at Yale, helped them win the 2003 & 2006 Ivy League Championships, broke 70 for the first time ever at LPGA Q-School, finished 12th, and earned her Tour card. She retired from the Tour in 2014 and became Michelle Wie’s Assistant/Manager. From there she went on to be the Director of Business Strategy for Top Golf. She then started her own company called SportsBox Ai. Their software creates a 3D video of your swing taken from your cell phone. You can see your swing from every possible angle including overhead and underneath. You can overlay your good swings and bad swings to understand what was different. You can also overlay Tour Player swings and learn to swing like they do. Hear all this plus check out Sportbox Ai here: https://www.sportsbox.ai/
Dennis Cone is a Caddie Hall of Famer and the Founder of the Professional Caddie Association. Before his retirement, Bob Denney was a Writer and Historian for the PGA of America. They tell the stories of two remarkable ladies in our game, Madelyn “Moochie” Turner and Renee Powell. Moochie is also a member of the Caddier Hall of Fame. Renee Powell played on the LPGA Tour and is the daughter of Bill Powell who is the first African American to design, build, and own a golf course in the US. It’s Clearview Golf Club in East Canton, Ohio. Hear all of those stories plus what both guys are doing to assist our Veterans around the country.
published in category: Next on the Tee on Thursday, March 28th, 2024 – 1:31 pm
In Part 1 of this week’s show, I’m joined by PGA Tour Legends David Peoples and Tom Purtzer. David had a fantastic Amateur career which included winning the 1979 Florida State Amateur Championship before he joined the PGA Tour. He went on to win twice on Tour, at the 1991 Southern Open and the 1992 Anheuser-Busch Classic. He also won the 1990 Kapalua International.
David was so much fun when he joined me in December that I couldn’t wait to have him back on the show. He and I talk about how he came from 2 strokes back to win that ’79 Florida State Amateur defeating then 44-year-old and multi-time champion Jack Vegte and future Tour Pro Jay Schrader. He also shares memories of finishing runner-up at Q-School in 1982 when it was played at TPC Sawgrass, his appearances in the 1992 and ’93 Masters, and why he decided not to play in The Open Championship until playing in the Senior Open Championship when he was on the Champions Tour.
Tom Purtzer is one of my all-time favorites. In his 7th visit to the show, he shares his insights on this year’s Players Championship plus his experiences playing in the tournament from the late 70s through the early 90s. He talks about the challenge of figuring out the winds swirling around the 17th green, similar to the ones around the 12th green at Augusta National. We also talk about the incredible putt he made from the back lip of the bunker on the 13th hole on his way to victory at the 1991 Colonial Invitational and why he never mentioned that putt to tournament host Ben Hogan. We round out Part 1 of this week’s show talking about the fracture in the Pro game and if we would be here if Deane Beman was still Commissioner.
published in category: Next on the Tee on Tuesday, March 26th, 2024 – 10:52 am
Former PGA Tour Pros Bill Mallon and Scott Gump joined me in Part 2 of last week’s show.
Bill Mallon played Tour in the mid to late 1970s during the Golden Age of the PGA Tour. After winning 43 amateur titles he earned his way through Q-School in 1975. He finished 6th at the 1976 Western Open, 3 strokes back of Al Geiberger. He played in the 1977 US Open at Southern Hills. The heat that week was brutal but Bill talks about how he thrives in conditions like that even though he’s from New England. We talked about the death threats that eventual winner Hubert Green dealt with that week. Bill decided to walk away from the Tour after the 1979 season and go back to college to get his medical degree. He became a leading Orthopaedic Surgeon and medical advisor to Golf Digest. I got his thoughts on what Tiger Woods is now trying to play through following his surgeries to fuse a joint in his foot and vertebrae in his back.
Scott Gump was a tremendous Amateur player as well. He was the medalist during the stroke play portion of the 1987 US Amateur. He earned his way on Tour by finishing 3rd at Q-School in 1990 and then winning on the Space Coast and Korn Ferry Tours. You’ll hear his stories about that US Amateur and the grueling 6 rounds of Q-School. His good play at the ’87 US Amateur earned him a trip to the 1988 Masters. Scott recalls his stay in the Crows Nest for the week, the legendary inexpensive meals, playing a practice round with Gary Player, and playing in the Par 3 Tournament. We then hear about his hot play late in the 1991 season at The International Tournament and the Walt Disney World Classic.
published in category: Next on the Tee on Thursday, March 21st, 2024 – 4:35 pm
In the episode, you’ll hear the amazing journey of former NFL QB Craig Nall and How to Conquer Your Mind from Top 50 LPGA Instructor Debbie O’Connell.
Craig takes us through his playing career which really started with a historic senior season at Northwestern State. We hear how he led them to the FCS playoff and nearly upset top-ranked Montana. Craig was drafted in the 5th round in 2002 by the Green Bay Packers. He backed up Brett Favre for the majority of his career. He also was assigned to NFL Europe in 2003 where he played for the Scottish Claymores. He was 2nd in the League in passing and led the League in just about every other category. During his NFL career, he came through every time his number was called. He threw for 402 yards, completed 63% of his passes, had 5 TDs and 0 interceptions, yet no other team gave him a true shot to play. Following his playing career and the passing of his father who was his best friend, Craig dealt with alcoholism and divorce. He’s now sober, in a loving relationship, and started a new career. He takes us through his highs and lows in this segment.
We go from that previous extreme to the other end of the rainbow in segment 2 when I’m joined by Debbie O’Connell. Debbie is one of the most positive individuals you’ll ever meet. She teaches us how to strengthen our minds and bodies in this segment. We learn how to release our minds from worrying about the outcomes of our shots. If being in a greenside bunker gets your blood pressure up like it does mine, she gives us some tips for how to overcome that. We also hear about her Conquer Your Mind Challenge course that’s coming up starting April 15th. If you want to improve your mental approach and play your best golf, just text “Next” to 7273390106 and use coupon code Next to get a discount on this fantastic course. It will help you think better, lower your scores, and have more fun out on the course.
published in category: Next on the Tee on Thursday, March 14th, 2024 – 9:58 am
On this edition of Next on the Tee my guests are 1986 Players Champion John Mahaffey, Titleist Manager of Preferred Player Promotions Michael Gibson, Soleta Golf Club Developer David Turner, and Popticals CEO Gary DiSalvo.
John Mahaffey shares his memories of Arnold Palmer and how the King helped him get his life straightened out after 10+ years of drinking. We look back to the early days of The Player Championship when it first moved over to the Pete Dye Stadium course and what it’s like trying to deal with the swirling winds around the 17th hole. John compares it to trying to figure out how the winds swirl on the 12th hole at Augusta National. We also get an update on his Nemesis mystery novel series. If you love golf wrapped inside a mystery check out his books, Shafted, Unfinished Business, and Dead Quiet on Amazon or www.johnmahaffeyauthor.com.
Michael Gibson is one of the all-time great club and golf ball fitters. He has a true passion for it. At the end of each day he asks himself if he did everything he could to help the people he worked with that day. Michael and I talk through how to test which is the right golf ball for our game. We also get into how to figure out the correct bounce and grind for your wedges based on your local turf conditions.
David Turner is a Developer currently working with Nick Price and David Ledbetter on a new private golf club outside of Sarasota called Soleta Golf Club. We hear why it’s important to all of them not to disturb the local wetlands and preserve the natural surroundings. No homes will be built on the course so players will be consumed by the game and nature. It is set to be one of the premier private clubs in the country. They are aiming to have it ready for play in late 2024 or early 2025. Check out the course online at www.soletagolf.com.
I round out this week’s show with a visit from Popticals CEO Gary DiSalvo. Popticals are the best sunglasses I’ve ever worn. They are geared for people who enjoy being outdoors. They are second to none for blocking glare and helping us see with more clarity on the course, while fishing, hunting, skiing, whatever takes you outdoors. Gary tells us about their NYDEF polycarbonate lenses which are super lightweight but have the same clarity as glass. Their patented rail system allows us to fold them up and pack them away in a small hard case that protects them from breaking or getting scratched up if you prefer to keep them in your golf bag. The case also fits easily into your pocket, so if you’re at a concert, it starts to get dark, or you go indoors, you don’t have to ask someone to hold them for you, keep them sitting on top of your head, or hang them on your shirt. See these wonderful sunglasses online at www.popticals.com
