00:00All right. So we're now walking right through that little middle clubhouse area into underneath that magnolia tree onto the
00:09first tee.
00:09And when we get to this first tee bones, it's it's a very open feeling tee shot until you actually
00:17look at your yardage book and realize this one's actually really not that open.
00:21And I know it's probably for you that that tee shot's probably narrowed up more and more over the years
00:27with just how far the golf ball has gone.
00:29From your early days caddying until now, this opening tee ball, how much more difficult has it gotten in your
00:36mind?
00:38You you make a great point. I think this is the sneaky, toughest tee shot on the golf course.
00:44And it really gets your attention and your point about the golf ball is exactly spot on.
00:49It plays a lot smaller than it used to. Decision time as to whether, you know, you want to hit
00:55driver three wouldn't to be perfectly honest with you.
00:57It's the masters and people are very, very nervous. And I've had a player turn to me at this tournament
01:02and say, you know, I know three wouldn't to play here, but I'm going to hit driver because I'm so
01:06nervous.
01:06I want to hit something with the biggest head on the end of one of my shafts here.
01:12So it's it's it's it's you've got to decide what what you're going to do.
01:16Of course, you know, a very few people in the field, typically, depending on where they sit, the tee markers
01:20can fly that right fairway bunker, which is quite what kind of number do you have there for that?
01:27I'm seeing I'm seeing I'm seeing. Let's see. I have my 2016 book and the 2025 book.
01:33But in 2016, it was 309 carry. It's still 309 hadn't changed over the years. It doesn't appear.
01:42Yeah, that sounds about right. And that's a pretty big poke for a lot of guys on the PGA tour.
01:47As you know, certainly if you can do it, it opens things up there in terms of how narrow things
01:50are.
01:51But a vast majority of the field is playing into that area left of that fairway bunker.
01:55And of course, if you pull the ball into the trees, which would be the tendency to stay to keep
02:00away from that bunker, those trees have gotten very tall over the years.
02:04And that leaves you with a very tough angle to kind of run something up towards the front of the
02:08green.
02:09So certainly a tee shot that gets your attention from the absolute get go.
02:15I tell you what, I can relate to that bones of of debating between hitting three wood and driver on
02:20Sunday.
02:21It was a southeast wind in 2016 on Sunday. Throughout the rest of the week, it was kind of northwestish
02:25wind.
02:26And I thought to myself, like, man, that like Jordan just hit three wood right in front of me and
02:31made that fairway huge.
02:33But I was like, I ain't hitting three wood. Can't do it. I have to hit this driver.
02:37And I was lucky I caught. There's a little bit of fairway just right of the right bunker.
02:43And I caught it right on top of the tongue. I was super fortunate because if you hit it down
02:47in that fairway bunker, it's a it's deep, right?
02:50Like the bunker at the first hole off the fairway to the right.
02:54Very deep. If you get up in the face of it.
02:56One year, Scott Verplank on a Thursday started his tournament by driving it in that bunker and holing it for
03:00a two, which is one of the more impressive feats I've ever seen on that hole.
03:04But yeah, to your point, like so many fairway bunkers out there, especially number five included.
03:08It's a very, very deep bunker.
03:12And you say it's an impressive feat.
03:14And the reason why it's that I think the first green is the most under talked about golf green on
03:21the entire property.
03:23You know, there's the famous greens at 16 and all the hole in ones and 15 and the magic there,
03:29the 12th at Amen Corner.
03:30But the first green is diabolical bones.
03:34I think it's probably the most challenging.
03:35If you ask them, I think any player or caddy, they would probably tend to agree.
03:40This first hole is just way underrated.
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