Ted Simons, Synergy Group Consulting
The episode centers on the recent PGA Show, where we engage in an enlightening dialogue with Ted Simons from Synergy Group Consulting. Our primary focus is to elucidate the advancements in golf technology that emerged at the show, particularly discussing the significance of affordable launch monitors and rangefinders for amateur golfers. We delve into the palpable enthusiasm that permeated the event, highlighting a resurgence in interest within the golf industry post-COVID. Moreover, we examine the implications of technological innovations on pace of play, emphasizing how they can enhance the golfing experience for both professionals and recreational players alike. This discourse aims to provide insights into how these developments may influence the golfing landscape moving forward.
Links referenced in this episode:
Companies mentioned in this episode:
- PGA
- Synergy Group Consulting
- Callaway
- TaylorMade
- Titleist
- Ping
- PXG
- Bridgestone
- Cleveland
- Cobra
- Birdieball
- Westin
- Squares
- Painter Hills
- Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission
- Krispy Kreme
- In-N-Out
- Pohana Golf
This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy
Transcript
It's time for Grilling at the Green.
Speaker A:Join Jeff Tracy as he explores the golfing lifestyle and tries to keep it in the short grass for the hackers, new sweepers and turf spankers.
Speaker A:Here's Jeff.
Speaker B:Just open up the door and let's take good times.
Speaker B:Tomorrow's gonna be better than today.
Speaker C:Everybody.
Speaker C:Good morning, good afternoon, wherever you're listening to this at.
Speaker C:I'm jt, and welcome to Grilling at the Green here on Golf News Network in a number of stations across the country.
Speaker C:Well, if you pay attention to golf, as you probably wouldn't listen to the show if you didn't, the PGA show just got over with.
Speaker C:So I asked our good buddy Ted Simons from Synergy Group Consulting.
Speaker C:He went to the show.
Speaker C:I think he's been to 235 of them.
Speaker C:I'm not sure, but he went.
Speaker C:And so I asked him to come on and kind of give us a report and then later on in the show, tell us what he's up to lately.
Speaker C:Ted, welcome.
Speaker B:Well, thank you very much, Jeff.
Speaker B:It's a pleasure to be back.
Speaker C:So how was Orlando?
Speaker B:Cold, wet, windy, miserable.
Speaker B:But besides that, it was a good time.
Speaker C:Yeah, there you go.
Speaker C:If you don't know, Ted lives in the Scottsdale area down in my old neck of the woods, and anything below 70 is cold and anything with more than a quarter of a cup of rain is wet.
Speaker C:So that just put it out to you that way.
Speaker C:So what did you see?
Speaker C:There's always fun stuff there and then goofy stuff.
Speaker B:Yeah, there's.
Speaker B:I mean, it was.
Speaker B: d this out a While ago, since: Speaker B:So that starts to.
Speaker B:That starts to date me just a touch.
Speaker B:So I've seen the show from massive, where it's filling up multiple halls, even across the street, to where we had a little economic downturn to where the whole thing shrinks.
Speaker B:And now post Covid, we're seeing the show grow again.
Speaker B:I haven't had that much enthusiasm on the floor for years.
Speaker B:It was well attended and a good energy at the show.
Speaker C:Well, that's good.
Speaker C:Now, we talked a couple days ago before deciding to do this show.
Speaker C:One of the big things and you're very involved in this, was the tech side.
Speaker C:You know, everything from rangefinders to swing monitors to data.
Speaker C:A lot of good stuff out there.
Speaker C:And sometimes I think for the average golfer, that really doesn't mean a whole lot because they're not that they don't play all the time, they're not trying to set the club record or compete in the USGA Emmy or something like that.
Speaker C:But that technology, I think, helps everybody going forward.
Speaker B:Absolutely.
Speaker B:You know, depending on what segment you go into, if it's rangefinders, that will actually help to speed up play.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker B:Because people are, you know, stepping off yardages.
Speaker B:They're not looking for a marker somewhere.
Speaker B:You know, there's very simple launch monitors out there, you know, under $400, $300, you know, so if you use those every once in a while, you actually know how far your seven iron goes, which is, you know, always a nice thing.
Speaker C:Oh, yeah.
Speaker B:Not all of us hit it 205 with a seven iron.
Speaker B:You know, most people around that 135 range.
Speaker B:So if you know how far it goes, your clubs, that seems to help things out.
Speaker B:And there's some pretty interesting applications of AI now that we're seeing where you just capture with your iPhone or your Android and it instantly does its thing and spits out some pretty decent analyses.
Speaker C:I want to go back to something you said there.
Speaker C:You said you have launch monitors that are under $400, and of course, we've seen them in $20,000 range on down.
Speaker C:Probably there's some higher than that.
Speaker C:I don't know of all of them, but are those $400 units?
Speaker C:Are they good?
Speaker C:I mean, will they help with basic things?
Speaker B:Well, I mean, I call it good enough.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:I mean, unless we're out there on the, you know, if we hit it within five yards of our target, we're probably doing pretty good.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So if your launch monitor is off maybe two or three feet, I don't think it's going to make a huge amount of difference.
Speaker B:And, you know, those launch monitors just give you basic data.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:Club head speed, distance, hang time, a little bit of roll, some dispersion.
Speaker B:You know, those are the basics.
Speaker B:It doesn't get into the deep dive into deep planes and low points and all that stuff that, you know, the gurus, you know, rely on.
Speaker B:So anybody can, you know, make use of a.
Speaker B:An affordable launch monitor and also, I think, an affordable rangefinder.
Speaker C:I think those are two very good things.
Speaker C:And I know that the big tour is now heavily considering pace of play.
Speaker C:Again, as you mentioned, letting the players and their caddies use rangefinders out there.
Speaker C:I don't see anything wrong with that myself.
Speaker C:I know there'll be some stoic guys that maybe need to use the restroom or something, but they could really help pace to play.
Speaker C:I mean, we saw Dottie Pepper, about last week, I think it was going, my God, look at this.
Speaker C:You know, I'm paraphrasing, but it's when they're in it, they're, you know, 150/field, and you've got an hour wait to hit your second shot.
Speaker C:A number two, very difficult and eats up a lot of time.
Speaker C:Makes the tournaments boring on TV because you don't see the players coming through because they're not moving.
Speaker C:So, yeah, so I might have a little bit to do, not all of it, but a little bit to do with the TV ratings kind of dipping down.
Speaker C:But I think those are good things.
Speaker C:And I think for amateur players like us, you know, I don't particularly get too hung up on the slope or anything like that because I, I don't play with that much consistency anymore.
Speaker C:And, and you know, like you said, if I'm within three to five yards of the pin or my target, I'm pretty happy.
Speaker C:You know, let's just keep moving on and pretty happy like that.
Speaker C:So I think there's a place for those things a lot.
Speaker B:Well, especially, especially those that occasionally may hit it right or left.
Speaker C:I never had that problem.
Speaker B:I understand that.
Speaker B:But there are some players out there that may hit it into the weeds, headed into the woods, or down here into the, into the desert.
Speaker B:Well, your yardage markers are a long way away from where your ball ended up.
Speaker B:And if you've got a range finder and you can find a pin somewhere, now you've got a clue, well, at least to try and hit.
Speaker B:Not that you're going to actually hit it.
Speaker B:I think even for the guys on tour, their caddies, they spend so much time when they're offline trying to figure out distances that, yeah, I think that would help the pace of play when they're in the fairway.
Speaker B:I don't think it's that big a deal because these caddies do such a great job of marking, marking the course before they ever get out there.
Speaker B:They know exactly what they're doing.
Speaker C:Yeah, they do.
Speaker C:But, you know, once in a while we actually see a new course slip into the rotation of, of an event and they've not played it before or they've played it once and they don't have, you know, five years of yardage, books and notes and stuff like that.
Speaker C:So I, I, I just think it's a, it's a great thing.
Speaker C:Anything else on the tech side?
Speaker C:You know, we've seen all kinds of things now.
Speaker C:You know, you got Bluetooth speakers for your golf cart if you're at a club that uses carts and this type of thing.
Speaker C:But I'm always amazed at what people can come up with.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:You know, right now in the industry, I think, you know, simulators are the talk.
Speaker B:You know, we're seeing them everywhere from private clubs to garages to commercial applications.
Speaker B:And you know, the quality of the, the, the data, the images that they're putting out there, to me, it's, it's, it's a quality experience where 10 or 15 years ago I would have laughed at you.
Speaker B:Yeah, I'm going to touch a simulator with a ten foot pole now.
Speaker B:Yeah, I mean, it's, it's really good stuff.
Speaker B:And you're seeing graphics that are just drop dead gorgeous, like your backdrop behind you.
Speaker B:And that's in, you know, that's in real time.
Speaker B:We're seeing the ball flight and it's accurate putting.
Speaker B:That's so questionable.
Speaker B:But any other shot, the, the data is good and there's more and more players in the field, so whatever price points you want, you can find a simulator now.
Speaker C:Yeah, we're going to take a break.
Speaker C:I'm going to be back with Ted and we're going to talk more about the PGA show and all the new stuff to lighten your wallet with right after this.
Speaker C:Hey, everybody.
Speaker D:JT here.
Speaker D:You know, every week on Grilling at the Green, we bring you a travel tip and that is brought to you by the Westin dealerships.
Speaker D:I've known those guys since I was a kid and they have one way of doing business.
Speaker C:It's called the Westin way.
Speaker D:It's family oriented and there's no better people to deal with.
Speaker D:Check out Weston Kia on Southeast Stark in Gresham, Oregon.
Speaker B:Hey there.
Speaker B:I'm Jared Doerfler from Pohana Golf.
Speaker B:You're listening to Grilling at the Green with Jeff Tracy.
Speaker C:Welcome back to Grilling at the Green.
Speaker C:I'm jt Today we're talking with my very good friend, the, the grand Poobah of Synergy Group Consulting, Ted Simon from Scottsdale, Arizona.
Speaker C:By the way, this is part of the show is brought to you by Painter Hills Natural Beef and the Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission.
Speaker C:This is the part, Ted, as you know, because you've been on the show before, we talk a little bit about golf travel.
Speaker C:Any new things at the PGA show for travel?
Speaker B:I didn't, Yeah, I didn't find any, but then again, I ness.
Speaker B:I wasn't necessarily looking for anything in golf travel, so.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:Well, when you, when you leave up by Your house and drive down to in and out, which is on Frank Lloyd Wright.
Speaker C:That's golf travel.
Speaker C:Anything you recommend to people.
Speaker B:Have a good travel bag.
Speaker B:And, you know, make sure your club's in that where you're going.
Speaker B:That's it.
Speaker C:There you go.
Speaker C:Including in and out or Krispy Kreme.
Speaker C:I'll tell you a quick story.
Speaker C:I was there when they opened up in and out and Krispy Kreme.
Speaker C:They're right across the parking lot from each other.
Speaker C:In fact, they have a shared driveway.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:And I'm not sure those people, the city fathers or whatever, knew what to expect.
Speaker C:I did, and a lot of other people did.
Speaker C:And I.
Speaker C:And they had the Scottsdale police there for, like, three weeks directing traffic because it was.
Speaker C:Anytime they open an in and out, and it's new and they've not had one in the area before, and people flock to it.
Speaker C:And the same with Krispy Kreme, man, it was just nuts.
Speaker B:Yeah, you could throw.
Speaker B:You could throw our local Chick Fil A in there in that same group.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker C:Okay.
Speaker C:Okay.
Speaker C:Well, I haven't been down there in three or four years, so I don't know what they've added and what they haven't, but that was pretty crazy.
Speaker C:Anyway, let's go back to.
Speaker C:To the PGA show, by the way, we've got the Portland Golf show coming up February 28, and the first and second from the Portland Air Expo.
Speaker C:And I'll be streaming live there for an hour every day so you can see stuff out there.
Speaker C:You know, I think when people think about golf shows, Ted, they think golf clubs.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker C:And golf balls.
Speaker C:Local show like Portland, you're gonna actually find retailers in there to sell you stuff.
Speaker C:And that's fine.
Speaker C:That's what it's designed for.
Speaker C:Not so much at the PGA show.
Speaker C:Those are manufacturers and reps that have their own booths, et cetera, et cetera.
Speaker C:In fact, you told me that, like, TaylorMade doesn't go there anym anymore because they're just.
Speaker C:I mean, why.
Speaker B:They decide to save all that money and either keep it in their pockets or put it somewhere else into the budget.
Speaker B:Yeah, but, yeah, I mean, Titleist has a big presence.
Speaker B:Ping has a big presence.
Speaker B:Callaway, with the exception of tatermage, you'll find all the big guns there.
Speaker B:And certainly, you know, a lot of the small guns that are trying to, you know, trying to get the attention of the.
Speaker B:The club pros.
Speaker C:Like pxg, that type of thing.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:I mean, even PXG isn't even a small guy anymore.
Speaker B:But you know, some, some of these, some of these, you know, new guys that are just making, you know, making irons only or you know, certainly shaft only companies that have a new, a new wind or a new layup process, they're there, you know, touting, touting their latest and greatest.
Speaker C:Did you see anything that really caught your eye?
Speaker C:And I mean you've got 9,000 booths there, so I know you didn't make it to every one of them, but.
Speaker B:I did not make it there.
Speaker B:But you know, I figured out that, you know, if I take every, you know, every year that I've gone, you know, I should be hitting it about 750 by now because every year every club and every ball gives me an extra 10 or 15 yards.
Speaker C:You go, there you go.
Speaker B:Well, I mean there are some really good looking clubs.
Speaker B:I think Ping Pings got, I mean if you go back into the day, you know, Pings clubs were, you know, maybe a little funky looking.
Speaker B:I mean they've just got drop dead gorgeous clubs now.
Speaker B:You know, obviously, you know, Title is kind of leads the market when I think it comes to, you know, visualization as far as how the clubs look, you know, but you know, you've got Bridgestone and Shrix on and you know, Cleveland.
Speaker B:I mean, I mean everybody's got a good looking club.
Speaker B:I don't think there's a bad one out there right now.
Speaker C:No, not really.
Speaker C:And of course when they do, Cobra did just did this.
Speaker C:I think Titleists just did this.
Speaker C:They have limited edition of black or smoke colored irons.
Speaker C:You know, they're kind of trick looking and they only make, I don't know, pick a number, 500 sets of them or something.
Speaker C:And so they, you know, it's an upsell on the price a little bit, but they are, you know, you don't want to go out there and play.
Speaker C:I don't care if it's just your Saturday foursome with your friends or a scramble or just dinking around on a nine to work on your game.
Speaker C:You want it to look okay.
Speaker C:You don't want to look like they just came out of Goodwill.
Speaker B:Yeah, no, there's, there's, there's a lot of good looking sticks out there.
Speaker B:So people that are into aesthetics have, have absolutely no problem.
Speaker C:Now I like that and I know that I saw a couple things before the show I did not go, but there were lots of things too.
Speaker C:Like how would I describe beverage coolers?
Speaker C:Containers that actually will fit in your golf bag.
Speaker C:And those have been around for a while.
Speaker C:But these are.
Speaker C:Now, they can keep your drinks hot, they can keep your drinks cold.
Speaker C:And they will hold four or six cans of beer, if that's what you want to do, like that.
Speaker C:But there's all these kind of accoutrements now that every year I think people are coming up with.
Speaker C:And I kind of find them fascinating because it's not like we need more stuff.
Speaker C:I've got a room full of stuff like that, but interesting.
Speaker B:In fact, I just had a call after the show from a gentleman who, you know, he and a partner have invented a new.
Speaker B:A new club cleaning tool with a divot mark, you know, divot repair tool and this and the other.
Speaker B:So everybody that plays the game always thinks of something that they could have and then they take, you know, there's a certain percentage to take it to the next level.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker B:And actually design, engineer, prototype it and, you know, see if it, you know, take it to the show and see if it works.
Speaker C:You know, one of the.
Speaker C:I'm going to pull something here.
Speaker C:I don't know if you can see this, but this is a little deal that actually supposed to go.
Speaker C:Then I don't know if you can see it right into the end of your iron, into the grip.
Speaker C:Probably can't see it because my.
Speaker C:My sweater's dark and it's got a little ball marker, white and black.
Speaker C:They're also the things that, like, if you like to have a cigar, they've got cigar holders now that.
Speaker C:And they've had them for a long time.
Speaker C:Or a club holder.
Speaker C:If the.
Speaker C:If the fairways and the greens are damp and you don't want to drag a towel out there and throw your handles on a towel that they've got these.
Speaker C:I think all that stuff's kind of fascinating.
Speaker C:It's got a place.
Speaker C:But if they're folks are like me, I buy them and I use them about twice.
Speaker C:And I think, God, they're a pain in the ass.
Speaker C:And I put it back in the closet.
Speaker B:Well, you know, I mean, they make a great Christmas gift, great Father's Day gift.
Speaker B:A great, you know, corporate scramble gift.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:So, you know, there's.
Speaker B:There's a place for that.
Speaker B:And I can tell you that show has it all.
Speaker B:Has it all.
Speaker B:One other thing that was, I think, quite fascinating this year was the number of exhibitors that brought in some rock stars, some rock star, primarily instructors to boost up interest in their booth and interest in their products and technologies.
Speaker B:So it was really good as far as the panels and the speaking groups that were down There.
Speaker C:There you go.
Speaker C:We're going to take another break.
Speaker C:We're going to be back with Ted Simons from Synergy Group Consulting.
Speaker C:He is the CEO, by the way, Ted and I will be right.
Speaker D:Hey, everybody, it's J.T.
Speaker D:you know, I talk about Painted Hills.
Speaker C:All the time and we always say.
Speaker D:Beef the way nature intended.
Speaker D:But it's more than that because each bite of Painted Hills will make your taste buds explode.
Speaker D:Put a big bright smile on your face and whoever is at your dinner table will have a big bright smile on their face.
Speaker D:And you can thank me for that later.
Speaker D:Just go to painted hills beef.com and find out more.
Speaker C:You won't regret it.
Speaker B:Foreign.
Speaker C:Welcome back to Grilling at the Green.
Speaker C:I'm jt.
Speaker C:We'd like to thank the folks at Squares Golf Shoes.
Speaker C:See my hat?
Speaker C:That's a Squares hat.
Speaker C:I actually am the proud owner of two pairs of Squares Golf Shoes shoes.
Speaker C:And Ted, if you don't have them, I would actually recommend.
Speaker C:I know you're well connected throughout the industry and you can get whatever you want, but they did make a difference in my old creaky feet.
Speaker C:So there.
Speaker B:No, no, I, I, I, I've actually, they were kind enough to gift me a pair or two and I'm, I'm a firm believer in using the ground with, with the game of golf and what they, what they've designed into that, the toe box and the entire shoe.
Speaker B:I mean it's, it's valid, it works.
Speaker C:Oh yeah.
Speaker C:I mean, as you know, I come from the horse world long time ago like that.
Speaker C:And they now have a box toe square toad.
Speaker C:And they've, they were been around for 100 years of cowboy boots and they're actually the most efficient and comfortable to wear.
Speaker C:Not with the, the pointy toe.
Speaker C:I just call them pointing toes.
Speaker C:Each toes got a name or an initial.
Speaker C:I could never wear those because they hurt my feet even as a kid.
Speaker C:But when I got to the U toes or the J to toes or the square toes, it was great.
Speaker C:So do that.
Speaker C:Also, I want to tell everybody, don't forget about my partner in the barbecue show, Leanne Whippins and her pig powder.
Speaker C:Voted the best rub on the planet.
Speaker C:Go to pigpowder.com okay, so what's the biggest takeaway you had, Ted, from the PGA show?
Speaker B:I would say that the, Yeah, I think I may have mentioned it earlier, but the enthusiasm for the golf industry as a whole, you know, the industry, the game got a boost when it came, you know, when Covid came right now there's too many benefits to Covid, but golf was a winner because it was an outdoor sport that you could be socially distanced or whatever the terminology is.
Speaker B:But that momentum has continued to continue to play out and there wasn't.
Speaker B:I did not hear or see any doom and gloom at the show.
Speaker B:Everybody was very upbeat, whether you're an exhibitor, a supplier, somebody like me who just is there to consult and observe.
Speaker B:So I think that's the biggest thing I walked away with is the golf industry right now is in good, steady.
Speaker C:Were the attendees.
Speaker C:Could you tell?
Speaker C:Just a casual observation.
Speaker C:Were there more professionals?
Speaker C:When I say professionals, I don't just mean golf pros, but retailers, you know, pro shops, etc.
Speaker C:Etc.
Speaker C:Like that.
Speaker C:Or was it a lot of.
Speaker C:Also people within the industry that play and consumers?
Speaker C:That's always.
Speaker C:To me, I've done a lot of trade shows and that to me is always kind of telling of how the quote unquote, market will be.
Speaker B:Yeah, no, they've done a good job of keeping the show private, if you will.
Speaker B:I mean, yes, the public can sneak in one way or another, but it's true.
Speaker B:Industry people, whether exhibitors, PGA professionals, buyers.
Speaker B:But I think this year they reported 33,000 attendees and over 6,000 PGA professionals.
Speaker B:So if you consider.
Speaker B:Yeah, if you consider those numbers, that's, that's, that's pretty, pretty robust.
Speaker C:Do you ever get out on the, on the testing range?
Speaker C:I know they have a testing day where you can go out and hit clubs outside.
Speaker C:It was not monsooning.
Speaker B:It was, it was.
Speaker B:I, I flew in that day.
Speaker B:So I, I missed that.
Speaker B:However, 98% of the, the people there missed it as well.
Speaker B:It was miserable out there.
Speaker B:It was just, it was horrible.
Speaker B:One evening I went to a driving range where in range, which is a driving range technology company was hosting an open house and it was cold and wet and you know, you had to suffer through to maybe have a cold beverage.
Speaker B:Still did it, however.
Speaker B:But yeah, the demo day did do as well.
Speaker B:But at this show, they also have a very large indoor hitting range.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:And a good number of the cloak companies and technology companies like a flight scope are set up there to, you know, for buyers and pros to try out equipment.
Speaker C:If you saw one thing that Ted was going to take home with it at the show, what would have that been?
Speaker B:Well, actually, I just mentioned the name Flightscope.
Speaker B:They've got a new range finder that is pretty, pretty trick.
Speaker B:Not only does it give you distance and slope and all the wind directions, but if you Use that in conjunction with one of their launch monitors.
Speaker B:It will actually tell you, you know, based on your data.
Speaker B:When you pull up and it says 148 into the wind, it will make a recommendation.
Speaker B:Specifically, it'll.
Speaker B:It'll pull the club for you.
Speaker C:Really?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And, yeah, and it was.
Speaker B:I mean, I'm saying it's inexpensive, but it's, you know, $450, $499.
Speaker B:So under $500.
Speaker B:And.
Speaker B:And again, it speeds up play.
Speaker B:It knows.
Speaker B:It knows your game, and it now will.
Speaker B:You know, it.
Speaker B:It will help you.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Hopefully play better.
Speaker B:You still have to put a swing on the ball, but at least you got.
Speaker B:At least you got an idea.
Speaker B:You know, I mean, I don't.
Speaker B:I don't know what the statistic is, but I think it's like 85% of shots come up short.
Speaker C:Right, right.
Speaker B:Well, everybody thinks they hit it further than they do.
Speaker B:And, you know, if you, you know, if you have a pretty exact number, at least you got a fighting chance, maybe.
Speaker C:Well, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker C:Fighting.
Speaker B:You can still skip it across the water and get it on the green.
Speaker C:So the other thing I wanted to talk to you about was putting greens.
Speaker C:There's a lot of putting green manufacturers from very small, roll them up, put it in your suitcase, whatever, to, you know, where they do the entire backyard with pavers and putting green and astro turf and what have you like that.
Speaker C:Did you see anything new in that?
Speaker C:That's something that people ask me about, like when I'm doing the trade shows or I run into people because, you know, we interview a whole array of folks on this show, and they, they.
Speaker C:They want to know, is there anything out there that is really good that, you know, they say it's just like putting on a real green, but it's not.
Speaker C:So, yeah, there.
Speaker B:There's a number of companies that have, you know, if you watch the Tiger and Rory Golf Expo, not to that extreme, but you know, the technology that allows you to actually program in breaks and undulations and indoor putting green, those are.
Speaker B:Those are pretty special.
Speaker B:They can now in.
Speaker B:In your simulator, have movable decks so you can play uphill, downhill, side hill lies.
Speaker B:And they will adjust based on the simulator itself.
Speaker B:So if you hit into an uphill lie on the simulator, the deck will change for you.
Speaker B:So, but, you know, there's basic putting greens, you know, putting strips, if you will.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker B:There's any number with lines which are incredibly valuable.
Speaker B:If you can't hit a straight putt, you got no chance.
Speaker B:And then there's, you know, certainly more sophisticated ones that you'd find in a.
Speaker B:An indoor golf center.
Speaker B:And then certainly the, you know, the, the quality of artificial greens is, you know, is.
Speaker B:Is off the charts good.
Speaker B:You know, you can control, and you can control speed.
Speaker B:You know, if you want to.
Speaker B:Want it to run an 11, you can make it 11.
Speaker B:If you want to be an 8, you can make it an 8.
Speaker B:And it comes down to the installation and the maintenance, just like a regular green.
Speaker B:But, yeah, if you've got, if you've got room for one, that's a.
Speaker B:Not only are they fun, but it's good for your game.
Speaker C:It's it.
Speaker C:That sounds like it beats the hell out of going and stealing your wife's dish towels and folding them up and stuffing it under one of those to try to get a break in it or something.
Speaker B:I've done that.
Speaker B:I saw one that kind of, I think that, yeah, you know, the expensive ones are pneumatic lifts.
Speaker B:This is one that you, you know, like, stepped on the, you know, the air bubble, and it would, you know, it would create that undulation for.
Speaker B:It's kind of a poor man's.
Speaker B:Poor man's Zen green, if you will.
Speaker C:Did you, did you putt on any of them?
Speaker B:I, I walked around and hit a few putt sets.
Speaker B:You know, that's part of my game that, you know, I do spend time on, and I like to.
Speaker B:I like to try different putters.
Speaker B:I think it's interesting to see how something that should be so simple, the industry can make so complex.
Speaker C:Holy crap.
Speaker C:That's.
Speaker C:No kidding.
Speaker C:I mean, that.
Speaker C:That is like an understatement almost, Ted.
Speaker C:Anyway, we are going to take another break.
Speaker C:Don't forget about the Portland Golf show coming up February 28th through March 1st and 2nd.
Speaker C:We'll be streaming live on all our social media platforms and also on Golf News Network each day.
Speaker C:Then, of course, the videos and interviews will live on YouTube.
Speaker C:When we're done, we're going to take a break.
Speaker C:Ted and I will be back right after this.
Speaker C:Don't go away.
Speaker D:Hey, everybody, J.T.
Speaker C:Here.
Speaker D:If you need something to practice with in the inclement weather, try birdie ball.
Speaker D:Go to birdieball.com check out the actual birdie balls, their packages, their putting greens.
Speaker C:Which I happen to have a couple.
Speaker D:Of those, and they work great.
Speaker C:Birdieball.com welcome back.
Speaker C:Grilling at the green, we've got Ted Simons from Synergy Group Consulting.
Speaker C:He's the CEO there.
Speaker C:If you didn't know that, Ted's been on the show before.
Speaker C:We, we chat once a month or so.
Speaker C:I always find it fascinating to talk to him at a show like the PGA show.
Speaker C:You're, if you get in to see it, you're.
Speaker C:You're gonna walk around and you're gonna see Annika or Justin Rose or some pros like that.
Speaker C:You're going to see some of the LPGA touring ladies here and there.
Speaker C:You're going to see guys off the PGA Tour.
Speaker C:You're going to see some top amateurs.
Speaker C:You're going to see the.
Speaker C:Some folks off the, the senior division, if you will.
Speaker C:Nancy Lopez or Bernard Langer or whoever.
Speaker C:Berner Langer, I should say.
Speaker C:What part do they.
Speaker C:And that was a lead in there.
Speaker C:What part did those folks play in really trying to keep making the game rise up?
Speaker C:I mean, it's doing a good job right now.
Speaker C:I think I'll accept the television aspect of it.
Speaker C:But, you know, as far as the drive down here where I live, or probably where you live, try to find an open hole on a, on a course on a sunny day, they're full.
Speaker C:So how do those people fit in to the whole dynamic of something like the PGA Tour show and trying to keep people interested?
Speaker B:Yeah, it's, you know, you've got to find that it's like any, any business.
Speaker B:You gotta, you know, have the right personality.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:You know, the people, I mean, you can be the greatest of all time, but if you don't have a.
Speaker B:If you don't have an engaging personality, that's not really going to help.
Speaker B:So the ones that you find at the show, as a rule, are those that have demonstrated that they're open to talking about themselves.
Speaker B:They're open to sharing what they find that is good about the game, or in this case, you're good about equipment.
Speaker B:They're willing to open up to PGA professionals and talk about the golf swing or a certain piece of technology.
Speaker B:So they become, if you will, the constant of the game are the players that are playing or have played at the highest level.
Speaker B:You know, no matter how good you are, you can always, you know, hope to be better.
Speaker B:Sure.
Speaker B:And so when, so when they're at the show, sometimes it's, you know, it's, it's a little bit of a, you know, rock star feeling if they get the right people there during the show.
Speaker B:You know, it's the west coast swing on the PGA Tour.
Speaker B:So you don't see, you know, you don't see any of those gentlemen there, but you do see some lpga because they're playing in.
Speaker B:Or they're playing in Orlando this week.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:And then there's, you know, always, you know, there's always champions, you know, that aren't roaming around, that are certainly there.
Speaker C:Yeah, well, it's, it's worthwhile to roam around there, you know, I would think.
Speaker C:Absolutely.
Speaker C:Ted's gonna stick around for after hours, and I've got some very pressing questions for him.
Speaker C:Not our typical stuff for a guest that hasn' been on before, but we're going to talk about Tigers deal in the after hours.
Speaker C:And I want to get your take on all that like that after coming from the PGA show you work every day in the golf industry in one form or fashion.
Speaker C:Very typical question that people get asked, how can we make golf on tv?
Speaker C:Leave Tiger's deal out of this.
Speaker C:But the, the Tour broadcasts.
Speaker C:I had Keith Hirschland on a couple weeks ago, and I've known Keith for a while now.
Speaker C:He was executive producer at Golf Channel for years for the LPGA events and stuff.
Speaker C:He had some ideas.
Speaker C:I thought all the were, you know, good.
Speaker C:Really good.
Speaker C:But what would you say to that?
Speaker C:If I said, ted, how do we get the interest back on tv?
Speaker C:Because that's how they generate a lot of revenue.
Speaker B:I think it generates.
Speaker B:I think it's close to 70% of the PGA Tours budget is broadcast.
Speaker B:I think, I mean, they need to show more golf shots.
Speaker B:I mean, I don't need to see somebody else, one more person, male, female, otherwise tap in another six incher for par or birdie or bogey.
Speaker B:I want to see, I want to see people hitting golf shots, you know, full shots, trouble shots, different players.
Speaker B:Sometimes you feel like you sit there for two and a half hours and you saw eight players.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker B:And it's, you know, it gets very arduous.
Speaker B:I think, in the Tiger era.
Speaker B:Yeah, if, if they could follow tiger around for 18 holes, you know, people would watch for five hours.
Speaker C:Well, sure, but that was Tiger.
Speaker B:Yeah, there's not a Tiger.
Speaker B:Yeah, I want to see.
Speaker B:Yeah, I want to see players that I don't know, but I want them, you know, I want them mixed in with, you know, the, the speeds and the shufflers and the Thomases and the Hovlands and the others.
Speaker B:It's okay to also see, you know, players struggle.
Speaker B:You know, it brings the human nature to the telecast because we all don't hit it, you know, 3:45, Rory McElroy down the middle of the fairway.
Speaker C:Right, Right.
Speaker C:We're lucky if we hit it.
Speaker C:45 down the middle of the fairway some days, so.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:With a sprinkler head.
Speaker C:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker C:Ted, thank you for joining us.
Speaker C:Like I said, folks, Ted's going to be around for the after hours if people want to find you.
Speaker C:Where can they find you?
Speaker B:They can find us on that Internet thing.
Speaker B:I don't know if you have it.
Speaker C:There In Oregon, we got Dixie Cups with strings.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:@synergygroup consulting.net is the company.
Speaker B:And then you can also find, you know, ted Simons on LinkedIn.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:There you go.
Speaker C:All right.
Speaker C:We're gonna get out of here.
Speaker C:Like I said, Ted and I are gonna stick around for after hours.
Speaker C:Thank you for listening.
Speaker C:Thank you to all our sponsors.
Speaker C:Squares, Painted Hills, the Crab Folks, Pig Powder, Gorilla Grills, Hammer Stall just keeps going.
Speaker C:Anyway, we'll be back next week with another edition of Grilling at the Green.
Speaker C:Take care, everybody.
Speaker A:Grilling at the Green is produced by JTSD Productions, llc in association with Salem Media Group.
Speaker A:All rights reserve.
