#11: Club Pro Guy
Club Pro Guy (@clubproguy) is a satirical character who depicts the life of a Golf Club Pro. Having risen to fame through his accomplishments on the Mexican Mini Tour, CPG then transitioned to become the Club Pro at one of Kansas City's elite semi-private golf clubs. In this episode, CPG talks about his business experience involving many aspects of running a golf operation and founding a new club altogether. He captures many of his thoughts in his new book "Club Pro Guy's Other Black Book: Wisdom from a Lifetime of Punching out Sideways" available at clubproguy.com.
As CPG is a fictional, satirical character please take this interview with a grain of salt, and have a good laugh. Please subscribe if you enjoy the show, we have a lot more great guests coming up!
Read the interview below or listen on Spotify, Apple, Google, Stitcher or Amazon. Enjoy!
Roberto: CPG, thanks for coming on the Course Record Show, where we focus on the business of golf and have had many accomplished and interesting guests. That being said, this is a serious treat for our listeners. Tour player, head golf pro, golf course developer- you've really seen and done it all, which you've captured in your new book, CPG’s Other Black Book: Wisdom From a Lifetime of Punching Out Sideways. It covers your long and accomplished career. Thanks a lot for coming on the show, man.
CPG: Dammit. Roberto hold on just a second. (Yelling)
Roberto: CPG? Everything alright?
CPG: Hi guys. Thanks for having me. I don't think the business of golf gets talked about nearly enough, especially at the club level. So this should be a lot of fun.
Dan: Okay, let’s get right down to business, CPG. What does your total comp look like these days? I remember you were really envious of Michael Breed’s salary at the time it was reported around 90K a year, plus benis of course. Have you closed that gap yet?
CPG: You know, it's interesting as a club pro, especially at the club I work at, there's a lot of things that I could complain about, but compensation certainly isn’t one of them. You know, I think when you ascend to the level that I have and become the head guy in an elite semi-private club, not surprisingly, the pay is going to be lucrative. Now I can't speak for other club pros, but I have a sophisticated comp plan that takes into account hours worked, lessons, a piece of the shop, a piece of outside tournaments, a piece of the beverage cart, you name it, which comes out to about $42,000 a year based on a standard 90 hour work week. Now that of course doesn't include the money I skim out of the range ball machine, or the stuff I lift from the lost and found and resell on eBay. But it gives you a general idea.
You know, you mentioned Michael Breed’s income, which is striking to be sure, but I think it's artificially inflated for a variety of reasons. Number one, he lives in the Northeast where the cost of living is greater. Secondly, he's a quintessential “yes” man. And third, he'll endorse anything. And I mean, anything. But above all that, I think the key to his financial success- and I give him all the credit in the world for this- is the fact that he's got a catch phrase, “let's do this!” You know, is it dopey? Yes. Is it embarrassing? Yes. Is it cringe-worthy? Of course. But to his credit, he's somehow been able to couple some really mediocre teaching talent with that catch phrase. And together it's allowed him to laugh all the way to the bank.
Roberto: CPG, one of the lesser known perks of playing on the PGA Tour is the pension plan. So one day when I'm an old man, a long time after I've hit my last shot, the Tour is still going to be sending me money. You had a long run on the Mexican Mini Tours. What kind of pension or deferred comp are you looking at?
CPG: Well, I don't get anything yet because I haven't hit the age threshold. But luckily for those of us who played on that tour, one of the things they were big on, aside from the drug use and the violence, was taking care of their players after their playing career was over.
And I don't know how the formula works on the PGA Tour. Roberto, you might be able to speak to that better than me, but in Mexico, you just subtract your total cuts made from a hundred, and that's the age you start collecting benefits, which are calculated at 1% of your average yearly earnings per month.
So at age 83, I’ll start getting a monthly check for around $4 and change. Now, is that fuck-you money? No, but I know a lot of guys in this industry who don't have a financial safety net at all. You know, my groundskeeper, Miguel, obviously comes to mind right away. It's the same deal for a lot of folks, but between social security, the pension plan that I just mentioned, coupled with the appreciation of my timeshare, assuming Branson continues to boom, I feel pretty good about finances long term. Plus the elephant in the room is that my mom's 77 years old and on oxygen. So something interesting could happen there anytime. You know, she doesn't have a ton of dough and anything she does have to have, I'd have to split with my step-sister, but that could be a nice little windfall when the time comes as well.
Roberto: You know, I like to turn the golf on on Sunday afternoon and watch the last three or four holes and see who wins. And about every week, the player who wins chimes in on how “we” played great or how his team won that week when I'm only seeing one guy hitting shots. What kind of team did you surround yourself with in your playing days and what was your leadership style like? How did you lead team CPG?
CPG: It feels like that's a newer thing, but I've always thought of golf as a team sport because when you're surrounded by a team, there's always someone to share the blame. And that's a critical ingredient for success. When I was at the height of my powers in the mid-nineties, my “team,” if you will, consisted of myself, my caddie, Ernesto, and my second wife, Brandy, and each of us had a role to play because that's how great teams are built.
My role was to play golf at an elite level. Ernesto's role was to give me great yardages and physically assault young fans with cameras. And Brandy's role was to work at really some of the nastiest strip clubs in Mexico on a nightly basis in order to keep us financially viable. You know, I always thought of Brandy as the Dennis Rodman to me and Ernesto's Jordan and Pippin. You know, she did all the dirty work. But her contribution was no less important than me going out there and breaking 80 on a Friday to make a cut. The key to a successful team is that everybody knows their role and embraces it. I think where a lot of great players get in trouble these days is giving too much credit to their team when things go well and not enough blame when things go poorly. You know, you take a guy like Justin Thomas, who I happen to really like as a person and as a player. You know, he can make a string of clutch birdies down the stretch to win a golf tournament and then sit in the post round press conference and talk about how “we” made this putt. Or “we” got this up and down, which is great. But when he gets caught on a hot mic, it's all on him, you know, he's on an island. Well guess what, that's not how a team works.
You know, that whole episode was a great opportunity for Justin to spread out some of the blame and for whatever reason he chose not to. You know, if that would have been me, I think I would've said something like, Hey, you know, my physio guy uses that term all the time and I just kind of picked it up from him. You know, something like that. What's the point of having a team if you can't use them to deflect some blame. You know, it's crazy. So to circle back and answer your original question, assemble a team, know your role, deflect, blame, and play to win.
Dan: That's fascinating insight about life on Tour that I never would've picked up on. So thank you for that. CPG, let's stick with life on Tour for a little bit. In an episode of the Course Record Show, we had a really interesting conversation with now retired Tour player, Joe Ogilvie, about how Tour players spend their money. So as a retired Tour player yourself, what do Tour players love overspending in and what are they notoriously underspending in?
CPG: Yeah, that's a great question. Um, believe it or not, I always underspent on tees, which sounds crazy now, but back then I was always able to get by on broken tees that Ernesto would find on the range, which allowed me to spend more money on other important budget items. The problem was as we got later into the nineties, the driver heads started getting bigger and teeing it up with stubs made it much more difficult for me to get that towering left to left ball flight that I was accustomed to, and to be totally honest, my game suffered for it.
You know, you can't go back in time and what's done is done, but I tell aspiring Tour players who come see me to not skimp when it comes to tees. Now, things I overspent on is a little trickier. I think most amateurs out there listening right now who haven’t lived the life like you and I have, Roberto, would think that we would tend to overspend on big ticket items like homes and expensive jewelry, but that really wasn't the case for me.
Other than my Bowflex, which I bought early on and was a catastrophic mistake, the things that got me the most were the little purchases. They just kind of added up. You know, you guys might be too young to remember this, but right when I got on Tour, I joined that Columbia House CD program where they get you to buy one CD at full price and then promise to give you like 10 more CDs for a penny. But the fine print in that deal absolutely buried me because you don't realize you're basically making a lifetime commitment, you know, you can't get out of it. So as a result, I've been getting a CD or in some cases, even a cassette tape, in the mail every 15 days for the better part of 31 years now. I mean, hell, I'm staring at a Meatloaf Greatest Hits CD on my desk right now that just came in today. They're 26 bucks a pop plus shipping. You wouldn’t believe how much that adds up over time.
Dan: Yeah. I believe Joe referred to that as “lifestyle creep.” I think you had your own version of that. Alright, let's talk about how we dig out of this hole. I want to talk monetization. When it comes to giving lessons, what's your pricing strategy? Do you use sort of like variable surge pricing, like the airlines and Uber do, or is it everyday low price more like Walmart?
CPG: Well, it's all over the board. And from a purely business perspective, I prefer it that way. You know, what's the lesson worth? I have no idea. It's so subjective. It's like if I walk into a room and I said, Hey, Dan and Roberto, what's this chunk of cryptocurrency worth, you guys would have no idea. And that's how I like to price my lessons. If I see a member on the range who's in a total panic, lost his swing the day before the club championship starts, I'm going to go ahead and stick it right up his ass fee-wise, because he's desperate for answers. It's simple supply and demand. And I don't think there's an instructor worth his salt that would disagree with me on that.
On the flip side, if I'm given a lesson to a single or divorced mom at the club that I think I have a plausible opportunity at some point to have a physical relationship with, then I may charge a fraction of my advertised price. Now those are obviously the extremes, but under normal circumstances as a general rule, I try to keep my pricing structure as confusing as possible, you know, like a fractional homeownership, or a really complex whole life insurance policy. The goal is to get a big amount up front, enjoy monthly annuities, and then lock them into something that's just really difficult to get out of.
Roberto: That's just good fundamental business strategy. CPG, let's talk about another business fundamental: hiring good people. You hear about it all the time, the search for great talent that a business leader is only as good as his last hire. What are your go-to questions during the interview process?
CPG: Well, Roberto, it just totally depends on the position. Obviously if I'm interviewing for a non-important position, like an assistant pro, then I'll ask very little, because in that scenario, I'm just looking for a warm body who will pick the range and not give me any shit about it. You know, assistant pros are literally a dime a dozen, and if they've got half a brain, they'll be in the mortgage business or hawking cell phones in a few months anyway. So I'm not gonna waste many questions on those guys. If it's a position like the beverage cart girl, then all bets are off, because that's a revenue generating position. Okay? As well as someone who I'm going to work very closely with on a daily basis. You don't “hire” a beverage cart girl. Okay. You go through the beverage cart girl hiring process, and there's a distinction.
It's like when, you know, a huge urban school district hires a Superintendent. They don't call someone up and hire them. They engage in a hiring process that can take months or longer. And that's how I hire beverage car girls. Now, for me, that process begins with vetting girls on Instagram. And I'd like to say looks aren't everything, but looks are pretty much everything. Once I narrow the field down to maybe two dozen candidates, I give them a written questionnaire comprised of 470 questions that measures their personality, their playfulness, and their moral compass. After that, I typically bring in the final three, maybe four, candidates for an in-person interview where I’ll ask them a battery of questions and then take them out onto the golf course for a series of role play scenarios. And after that, no matter how difficult...you just gotta trust your instincts and make a decision. You know, that's what leaders do. And as you guys know, especially you, Roberto, our current car girl, Anastasia, was a home run hire and I think it just validates the process that I put in place.
Roberto: Do you go ahead and budget in how much she's skimming off the top? Is that simply a cost of doing business or is it something that you're concerned about?
CPG: I'm not concerned about it at all. The revenue she brings in more than makes up anything she wants to skim off the top. So, you know, my goal is to make her happy. If she's happy, I'm happy in the club. And the club runs on time.
Dan: It's like Jerry Jones used to say about the Cowboys: more talent, more tolerance. No different here.
CPG: That's exactly right.
Dan: Let's stick with the topic of team building. With the exception of Ernesto, who was your loyal caddie on the Mexican Mini Tour until he quit, you seem to have a really good run with loyal employees, such as Darryl Bevins and Miguel Vega, your Superintendent. What's the secret to building a team that sticks together?
CPG: Well, I think as a leader, you have to recognize that with any organization, whether it's a golf course or a restaurant or a Fortune 500 company, you're going to have different employees with different personalities and you can't treat everyone the same. You're just asking for trouble if you do that. I'm a big Chiefs fan. And I don't think Andy Reid treats Patrick Mahomes the same way he treats his long snapper. And for good reason. The long snapper is a nobody. You know, obviously Anastasia is our club’s Pat Mahomes, and I basically let her do whatever she wants. Our club’s long snapper, if you will, is probably all the kids working in the cart barn. You know, I can shit on them all day long because they're just kids, you know, what are they going to do? Now those are the extremes, but I have employees who fall somewhere in the middle. My course Marshall, Darrell Bevins, and his deputy, Carl Brewbaker, are a totally different deal because of their tempers and their overall volatility. You know, we're talking about guys with criminal records who are literally looking for a physical confrontation. So I'm going to tiptoe around issues when it comes to dealing with those guys. The bottom line is when you're managing different employees with different personalities and different skillsets, you have to treat them as individuals, not as a group.
Roberto: You know, in the academic world, when you have a lifetime commitment or contract- it's called tenure. In everyday life, it's called marriage. Something you struggled with. I can't remember if it was wife one or two who was named Brandy, but those lessons on how to keep a team tight. Where did those break down when it came to finding a romantic partner?
CPG: You know, it's funny because it's counterintuitive. People will sometimes say, oh my God, you're a professional athlete. You must get laid all the time, but it's really not that simple. Believe it or not, I struggle with relationships because the girls I meet are really more interested in “the life” than they are in me, the individual. You know, they get caught up in the Miata and the logos on the shirt in the Thursday night men's league title and forget that there's a human being under all of that. So a lot of my relationships tend to be a little bit superficial. I actually write about this in my book. You know, I have an entire chapter dedicated to relationships and really more specifically romance at the club.
I talk about how club pros have an aura around them, kind of like a fighter pilot or a drummer in a rock band. You know, some people call it an “it“ factor. But for whatever reason, members' wives just seem to put club pros up on like a sexual pedestal. But you have to recognize it and you try to keep it light and just have fun. But again, I talk a lot more about that in my book, but really to sum it up, relationships aren't as easy for me as most people would think.
Dan: It's lonely at the top. And this truly reaffirms that.
CPG: For sure.
Dan: Club Pro Guy, we've been really fortunate in the Course Record Show to interview some really great leaders on and off the golf course. You've already started down this track, but what are some of your other leadership principles that you haven't shared yet?
CPG: Well, again, it's counterintuitive, but I'd like to lead from behind. That way, you can always say, “I told you so.” You know, a good example of that is empowering my assistant pros by allowing them to come up with ideas for new club tournament formats, or tee gifts, and then just sit back and see how it's received. You know, if it's a disaster, it allows me the wiggle room to throw my guys under the bus. If it's a huge success, I can plausibly take a lion's share of the credit. So it's a win-win. Another big leadership principle I rely on is listening. Okay, I place an absolute premium on listening, which I think is a lost art. You know, the more the staff and the members just stop and listen to what I have to say, the better this organization seems to run.
[00:20:02] Dan: I know how great a good metric can be in shaping a leader's career. What leadership lessons have you learned from your General Manager?
CPG: Uh, none. Zero. And the best thing about leaving here for Three Jack National in a few months is that I'll be able to get away from him. You know, he's one of those classic guys that got a hospitality degree and absolutely rubs our noses in it. You know, Mr. Big Shot. He's always coming into the shop trying to show me useless spreadsheets that mean nothing. Asking me questions about why the register doesn't balance. It just goes on and on, you know, and this pandemic has made him even more insufferable. He's your classic triple masker. And he's always saying shit like, you know, CDC guidance is this, or Dr. Fauci says that, you know, it's ridiculous. We still occasionally do staff meetings via Zoom and, I shit you not, he'll be wearing a face shield while he's in his own house alone. You know, he's such a beta- if that doesn't paint a picture who this guy is, I don't know what does. But like I said, it doesn't really matter anymore because he won't be my problem much longer.
Roberto: Speaking of General Managers, a couple of months ago, we spoke to Chad Parker from East Lake Golf Club and we zeroed in on merchandising. Chad talked a lot about how he picks which items go in the pro shop and how he tries to have a great relationship with all of his vendors. What's your take on merchandising and how are your relationships with your vendors?
CPG: Well, I don't know Chad, and I'm not familiar with East Lake, but I can tell you that merchandising is extremely important. And my philosophy has always been that to be a successful merchandiser, everyone has to win. Okay. Early in my career, I think I was a little naive. I would buy all this product for the club, which allowed the rep to get a nice commission. And then the product went into the shop, which allowed the club to get a tidy profit. And here I was with my thumb up my ass getting nothing. You know, that's why now I will only work with sales reps who are open to some type of kickback situation in order to level the playing field.
Now, a lot of people might be saying, what does that look like? Well, it can come in many forms. You know, whether the rep gives me a piece of their commission under the table, or we devise something more complex. At the end of the day, I'm going to get paid. Now, one of the more comprehensive set ups I have in that regard is my side deal with a rep from Strata. You know, their popular 12 piece box set has been discontinued and discounted at 40% all for almost two years now. But I got the sales rep to bill my club at full price because my GM doesn't have a clue. And then me and the rep split the difference. Then I turn around and jam those box sets down my members' throats, which allows everybody to get paid. You know, that's just business 101. This isn't rocket science.
It's all about creating revenue. You know, we were one of the few clubs in the area to move a ton of product during the pandemic because we were able to adapt to changing market conditions. One of the initiatives we did last year during the peak of the pandemic was to announce that the Member-Guest was going to happen, even though we knew it wasn't, and we charged all 80 teams in the field the full $1,300 entry fee.
Then when we canceled the event due to virus safety concerns, we announced that we were refunding everybody's money in shop credit instead of cash. Okay. Think of the revenue. Now we had 18 members quit over the deal, but if you do the math, we still come out way ahead and oh, by the way, we moved a shit ton of old Greg Norman product that had been sitting around forever. So to answer your question, yes, merchandising is hugely important.
Roberto: Let's talk about Three Jack National- that's the golf course you're building off the interstate near Kansas City. I think it's interstate 635. Now I read The Fried Egg. So I know there's only two things that matter: the quality of your soil and your routing. You have Hank Jones doing your routing and you're building the thing on an old concrete pad where a suburban shopping mall used to set. I don't see how this thing can go wrong.
CPG: Yeah, we couldn't be more excited about it.
Dan: One of the concerns I have for you is inflation. A lot of business leaders are talking about the rising costs and the pressures that inflation are imposing, supply chain, et cetera. How have construction costs for Three Jack National been affected by inflationary pressures?
CPG: Well, it's something we're watching closely to be sure. Right now we're trying to stay away from anything lumber related, due to pricing spikes. So the clubhouse and the member cottages have been put on hold until the economy craters. As Roberto knows, because he's a member, the entire property for Three Jacks National is built on the site of an old shopping mall, as he mentioned.
So the focus right now is on breaking up the concrete of the old parking lot. And that's something we can do cost-effectively and isn't really affected by inflationary pressure or the supply chain. The beauty of owning a club like Three Jack National is that we have tools in our toolbox to fight things like inflation. First and foremost is the ability to do random member assessments, which is huge. You know, if we see a spike in inflation, boom, I can have a letter out to the membership for a member assessment in no time. Do members get pissed? Yeah. But you know, what are they going to do? Quit and go schlep it at a public course? I don't think so. They're essentially helpless, which is great.
Along with assessments another thing we can do is blindside members with dues increases, but you have to be mindful about spacing. Okay. You don't want to announce an assessment and then hit them with a dues increase like three days later. You know, it's a delicate dance. You have to let the outrage of the assessment subside, allow the members to regain a sense of normalcy and then boom, you know, hit them with a dues increase. The beauty is they almost have to swallow the dues increase because they already have a shit ton of dough invested in the assessments. You know, it's a vicious cycle and to be totally honest, I'm just glad I'm on this side of it.
Dan: It's the sunk cost fallacy. You've mastered it.
CPG: Yes.
Roberto: That's exactly what I was thinking. Talk about being on the right side of deals. Speaking of good deals, a lot of savvy real estate people who I know- guys who play golf four times a week and live in huge houses- are always talking about OPM- “other people's money.” Using OPM. So tell me, is this a strategy you're using at Three Jack National?
CPG: Well, I'm not sure. Uh, you know, to be totally honest, it's been a little complicated for me to follow how all the financing works on this deal. And I think a lot of that is due to how quickly it was thrown together. As you guys know, I was approached late last year by a group of three prominent local businessmen- Jack Holiday, Jack Harlow and Jack Stone. Hence the name Three Jacks National. And they asked me if I wanted to be a part of this project. One thing I didn't realize at the time the loan was secured is that Jack Holiday and Jack Stone were both under federal indictment for real estate fraud and racketeering. And that Jack Harlow, the real brains behind the project, may or may not be a real person.
So it got complicated. The Jacks wanted me involved I think for two reasons: number one, they knew my name recognition would drive memberships, which it has. We already have over 4,000 National members. And number two, they knew I had a close relationship with Hank Jones, who of course, is the brilliant yet troubled golf course architect. And they knew if they could get me on board, then they could possibly get Hank to design the course. And that's exactly what's happened. The exciting thing is that the three Jacks really wanted me to have some skin in the game, if you will. So they required me to personally co-sign for the loan, which was just north of $22 million.
So I'm not just a figurehead; I'm actually part of the ownership group, which is cool. So the Jacks hold all the money in Cyprus where they're currently on vacation. And when I need funds to, say, rent a bulldozer, or whatnot, I pay for that here locally, or borrow the money from Miguel, and then submit a request to them for reimbursement, which is a process we're still trying to get the kinks ironed out on.
But as of today, Hank’s broken up over two acres of old concrete near what will be the seventh fairway. And Miguel has installed some blue snow fencing along the highway. So needless to say, things are moving very quickly and I really couldn't be more excited about it.
Dan: Well, I’m glad your generous compensation allows you to float that kind of working capital. That's great to hear. So I'm a former strategy consultant. I'm going to put that hat on for a little bit and reflect on Three Jack National strategy. The closest comparable I can think of to Three Jack National is the Buck Club in the sense that both are extremely coveted national memberships, like you mentioned, but both really only exist on the back of a napkin. So how do you compare and differentiate Three Jack National's value proposition to what Zack Blair has going on (with Buck Club)?
CPG: I think what separates Three Jack National from The Buck Club, or really any other course out there currently under development, is the fact that it's a Hank Jones signature design, which as you guys know is a big deal. You know, I think Blair, who I like a lot by the way, does much of his own design work, which is really risky in my opinion. Plus Three Jack is centrally located. So we're able to cater to national members from both the east and west coast, which is a huge advantage to us for recruiting elite national members.
The Buck Club on the other hand is slated to be built in rural Utah, which is much harder to get to. Plus I think we have a lot of amenities to offer that the Buck Club just can't compete with, like highway access, free shuttles to Bottoms Up, an Indian casino nearby- you name it. You know, this place is going to be an absolute Mecca for buddies trips, with a heaping helping of good old fashioned discretion. And I just can't wait.
Dan: Talk about some of your other endeavors. You once had a podcast, your last episode aired in November 2019. Why did it stop? And what are some of the lessons that you can pass along to Roberto and me since we're on this journey together?
CPG: Well, to answer your question, the podcast ended because it was a shit ton more work than I thought it was going to be. You know, between the time it took to think of someone to invite on, then the time it took to get them scheduled and prepare the questions, then do the whole editing process. It was just a ton of work, and for a guy like me, between teaching, writing a bestselling book, building Three Jack National, and doing the upkeep on my Miata, there just weren't enough hours in the week for me to keep it going. But if I could give you guys one lesson or piece of advice, it would probably be to get Anthony Kim and Rachel Uchitel booked for your next two episodes.
Roberto: I want to ask you about the book business. You hear a lot about how it's so opaque and how the publishing houses can never tell you what anything costs, what the margin is, what their printing costs are, what the marketing cost is. They're always losing money on every book, but have a brand new Mercedes and their office is a gleaming tower in Midtown Manhattan. What did you find out about the book business?
CPG: Well, I don't know what opaque means, but I bypassed the entire publisher thing, number one, because I don't want to share the revenue with anyone. And number two, because they wouldn't return my calls. But to be honest, in this day and age, you really don't need them. You know, I wrote the book. I found a local printer to print it and now I sell it on my website. So it couldn't have been easier. And the book came out absolutely beautiful. And the response to the book has been just overwhelming. And I think hundreds of thousands of golfers are going to have their game totally transformed after reading this book. I honestly believe that.
Roberto: Let me ask you about some of the endorsements you pulled on the back cover of the book. Some pretty serious names: Kevin Kizner, Brad Faxon. Luke Donald is on there talking about how he was number one in the world. And then he got a short game lesson from you and now he's on the alternate list for Korn Ferry Tour events. How did you come across those guys? And how did you get their support?
CPG: All of them couldn't have been nicer. All of them, I think, have been closet disciples of my work for a long time. And by the way, Scott McCarren, he wrote the foreword to the book and he just couldn't have been nicer about it.
Dan: I can’t wait to dig in and pick up a page and maybe, maybe come out to Three Jack National- book a lesson. I mean, my game is ripe for some reinvention.
CPG: We would love to have you.
Dan: What’s the biggest thing you want people to take away from the book.
CPG: You know, that golf is hard and maybe it's not for everyone. Strong words, you know, perhaps, but some people need to hear it. Listen, I want to be careful what I say here, but I think this could be the most important golf book ever written. You know, I honestly believe it could have that level of impact.
Why do I say that? Because it's the first golf book that I'm aware of that not only provides elite level instruction on the golf swing, but also hits other important areas, like the mental side of the game, how to practice, how to prepare for big net tournaments, how to manipulate your index, how to handle ethical dilemmas on the golf course. You name it, it's all in this book. It also takes a deep dive into my early life as a player, including a lot of stories from my time on the Mexican Mini Tour. And really, if that's not enough, for the first time, I've listed all 18 swing thoughts of my 7-4-7 swing thought system in this book. The only way you can learn those swing thoughts without buying a year long lesson package is through this book.
You know, think about that. I honestly believe when you think of all the notable golf books that have been written over the years, whether it be Hogan's Five Lessons, Jack’s Golf My Way- you name it. I think my book takes a dump on all of those. It's that good! And as you guys said, you can get a copy right now, on clubproguy.com, and I urge anyone listening to order one because these will be gone by Christmas.
Dan: Alright, Club Pro Guy, we're going to mix it up a little bit. So I'm going to lead a session here called Tap-ins. So, first thing that comes to mind type of stuff. You ready for us?
CPG: Let’s do it?
Dan: When it comes to Seattle business leaders, are you more of a Bezos or Gates guy?
CPG: Let’s see, Bezos has more money and is slightly, and I mean slightly, less of a dork. So I'll say Bezos.
Dan: What do you think folks will see first: a copy of your book, CPG’s Other Black Book, or the first shot being struck at Three Jacks National?
CPG: Well, my book's already here and you can get it right now at clubproguy.com. So I'm definitely gonna have to say the book.
Dan: Are you more proud of the book or your infamous eight hole par streak back in your playing days?
CPG: Ooh, well anyone can write a book, you know, not many people can match that streak. So I'm going to say the streak.
Dan: Is it better to have a great punch out game or control of your double cross.
CPG: You know, both are important, but you can't play consistently great golf without an elite punch out game. Period. So I'm going to say punch out game.
Dan: Who’s the player that you emulated the most in your playing days?
CPG: Oh, that's easy. Jay Don Blake. You know, I think when the history of this game is written, it'll show that Jay Don was the biggest baller this game has ever seen, you know, from his stash to his mullet, to the Playboy logo on his bag. The guy was a total alpha and he's pretty much been my north star in this sport from the first time I picked up a club.
Dan: Does anyone on Tour now remind you of Jay Don?
CPG: There's nobody like Jay Don. There's nobody.
Roberto: Brooks? What about Brooks?
CPG: Brooks? He's a faux tough guy. I think, you know, Jay Don was the real deal.
Roberto: All right. Let's jump to my section. We call it Buy or Sell. They are a little bit more business focused. Buy or sell: Tesla stock?
CPG: Sell. You know, we don't even have electric golf carts here. It's going to be...there'll be a long time before I have an electric car.
Roberto: Buy or sell: simulator golf?
CPG: Buy. You know, I have an aboutGolf simulator in my learning center that’s just fantastic. I'm a huge simulator guy.
Roberto: Those can be expensive. Did you just buy that thing up front or did you finance that?
CPG: I did a long-term financing deal. So I'm going to be...so to me it's not about what something costs, it's just whatever the monthly payments are. That's kind of how I do all my finances. So if I can get it in a monthly payment that's manageable to me, I don't really care how much it costs.
Roberto: Yeah. I think Buffett and Munger built up their wealth in a similar fashion. So that's smart. Buy or sell: Top Golf?
CPG: I'm going to say, buy. You know, it's way overpriced and hitting balls from the ground level isn’t near as good as the upper decks. But you know, there's typically so much hot ass running through there that it makes it all worth it. So I'm going to say buy.
Roberto: Buy or sell: Bitcoin?
CPG: Sell. You know, I don't understand it at all, but I probably need to, because some of the girls at Bottoms Up have been asking about it lately. They want to get paid with that. So I probably need to read up on it.
Roberto: Yeah. You mentioned earlier in the interview that you could put a chunk of Bitcoin down on the table and I'm not sure that's how it works. We’ll have to look into that. Buy or sell: needlepoint belts?
CPG: If you’ve got floppy hair and graduated from an SEC school in the last 10 years then buy, but for pretty much everyone else, it's a sell.
Roberto: Buy or sell: SQUARZ golf shoes or whatever Nick Faldo was promoting these days?
CPG: Well, I'm gonna have to sell on that. You know, I did a product review for those shoes and to say that the folks from SQUARZ were upset about it would be putting it mildly.
Roberto: Buy or sell: Groupons for golf?
CPG: Buy. Groupons are revenue gold for any public or semi-private club. You know, the members hate them because they can't get on the golf course. But one thing I've learned about members: they'll get over it.
Roberto: That is very well said. CPG, can't thank you enough for coming on the show. We really appreciate your time. A man of your experience and the business fundamentals and lessons we all learned today. Really, really good stuff. Thanks again for the time.
CPG: Anytime guys. Enjoyed it.
