The Blag

Nish: 0:01

Every story has an ending. Does our quest to play the top 100 courses in 10 years have a good ending? This is the Top 100 in 10 Golf Podcast,

Nish: 0:13

episode 5. The Blag

Nish: 0:19

Necessity is the mother of invention. What would you do to reach your goals is the mother of invention. What would you do to reach your goals? As dramatic as that sounds, this episode is all about progressing the challenge and booking the second course of 100. That’s 2% of the way. Or 1, 50th and that’s in what? About two months time now, or two months? So I’ve got loads to discuss on Moortown, but before that I want to discuss how we came about booking Moortown in the first place. So have either of you tried to blag anything before?

JTC: 0:56

a job, a career, life in general lots of things.

Nish: 1:01

What are your top tips? Because I was hopeless at this, by the way, but what are your top tips? Because I was hopeless at this, by the way, but what are your top tips?

Chris: 1:09

I think, once you realize that everyone is blagging everything, you just, you’re just gonna get on with it so I did all.

Nish: 1:15

I think I was messaging you about all of this, wasn’t I? I was like yeah, all right, how are we gonna? Because, I must admit, the cost is getting me worried a little bit now. Yeah, because we could be looking at 150 quid a round on average. Yeah, and that’s 100 courses, I think, yeah.

Nish: 1:31

And then some and then some Like there’s some that are right up there at 400, 500 quid a round yeah, it’s getting eye-watering, you know. So I was like anything that we can do is going to be helpful, isn’t it? Yeah, so I did have it. I must message christian, you’re gonna love this. So I messaged him. I had all my script on my patter ready, so I was like right, let me think about this. One of the reasons I chose more town was because so more times designed by alistair mckenzie dr alistair mckenzie, I should say. He’s the guy who’s designed augusta national. He’s also designed reddish Vale, where I play. So there was a bit of like you know, have we got a reciprocal agreement with with Moortown? So I rang up the pro shop and Andrew, who’s our pro, like his son, was on, who sounds spookily like him. But his son was on, and I said we don’t have a reciprocal with Moortown, do we? You know, is there anything we can do on green fees? And he was like well, no, we haven’t, but I’m sure if you ask them nicely, they might be able to do something for you, which is the most vague way of saying no, it’s not gonna happen like really too polite or just piss off yeah, basically

Nish: 2:38

so. But then he did say, um, so andrew, our pro currently, 20 years ago used to be the, the assistant pro at moretown. So I was like, okay, right, maybe I can work with this. And that’s when my the, the cog started whirring very slowly. But I thought, right, what can I do here now? One cog with very blunt teeth, um. And I thought, hang on a minute, what can we do here? So I had it already. The script was in my head Me and Chris, we’re trying to knock off some of the Dr Allistair McKenzie courses.

Nish: 3:12

Andrew used to be the assistant pro 20 years ago told us to give you a call because you’d be able to look after us. We’re just wondering if there’s any chance you might be able to squeeze. I mean, I know that they’ve got a tee because it’s online, but is there a chance that some of this might just make him go? I’ll give you a tenner off. I’ll give you £10 on anything. I’ll take anything at this point. So I had it all. I had my like schmoozing voice on. You know I was like you know enunciating.

Nish: 3:45

I was enunciating every teammate, every single time there was no literally there was no, oh, no, no, it was all scripted.

Nish: 3:50

There were literally no literallys and I just sort of did my bit and the first things these guys called martin the pro, really nice guy again sounded just like andrew. I was like this is weird, how’s that happening? But spoke to him. The first thing he says, well, apart from in the middle of the spiel going oh not lovely, yeah, yeah, very nice, yeah, yeah. Oh, of course we can look after you, all that kind of thing. The first thing he says is we can’t do anything on green fees. You know, when you go from like like really excited to just book us in mate come on what time can you book us in, well?

Chris: 4:27

we’ll just do it online, yeah, and there’s okay.

Nish: 4:30

No, I’m gonna make you do that now, because at least now I don’t have to pay till the day I get there. So that’s fine. But um, yeah, I was absolutely good, like really really good, and then I got off the phone straight away, message chris, and I’m like, yeah, I’m really really terrible, like properly terrible, at trying to black stuff so we’ve black stuff and what you’re saying is you haven’t, I haven’t, you didn’t even get Chris a free fucking bacon sandwich.

Nish: 4:57

I got nothing. Oh, we did get something I forgot we’re getting the full treatment when we get there. Apparently, we can use the practice facilities before our round. Exactly, isn’t that the same for every course that I’ve ever?

JTC: 5:14

played, and I play three times a year, that’s it.

Nish: 5:19

There’s nothing special there. And you know we can have a beer and we can have something to eat before our round or after. Wow, rolling out the red carpet, eh, there’s nothing. There’s nothing. I mean, I hope I can get a free ball marker.

JTC: 5:33

That would be great, just send them this podcast and they’ll be down on their knees when you arrive with red carpets rolled out carpets rolled out.

Nish: 5:48

yeah, actually, if I edit this podcast properly, I can take all the negative stuff I just said and turn that into a positive content, like rolling out the red carpet.

Nish: 5:51

I did say that, yeah you might just not let us in I just said that in a sarcastic manner, that’s all you know.

Nish: 5:55

But no, but it was a nice chap martin, it was really nice, um, he was, you know. He did say you will enjoy playing this course, um, but yeah, I was sort of hoping to get a little bit more. That was my failed, failed blagging, I’m afraid so you’ve got 98, 98 to go yeah imagine, if I get it right on the last one, just at the last one, when we spent 25 000 pounds on course fees but yeah, so 25 grand over 10 years.

Chris: 6:26

It’s basically like it’s a membership every year, isn’t it? It’s a membership every year. You look at it that way, it’s actually quite reasonable. You just only get to play 10 rounds.

Nish: 6:34

I like the way you think, Chris, yeah there you go.

JTC: 6:37

This is great, but this is great.

Nish: 6:40

It’s wonderful doing this with other people, because this chat’s changed my mindset about the cost actually.

Chris: 6:47

There you go.

Nish: 6:50

It was beginning to worry me a little bit. It’s all spreadsheet related. You know you start looking at that cost. I mean you’re looking at the off-peak a lot, aren’t you? I know we’re coming up to winter season, that’s probably the time when we’re able to play some of the really good courses in a slightly more cost effective manner. But yeah, I mean even some of those.

Chris: 7:11

I think if you average them out, it’s pretty yeah, it’s probably getting towards 300 rather than pretty impressive, isn’t it?

Chris: 7:18

like. The numbers are high, so better get the waterproofs ready then or just become better at blagging one of the two oh yes, I’m just too honest that’s what it is.

Chris: 7:31

I’m too honest, um, but one of the other things I want to talk about which we’ve started doing now and we have we didn’t do it still yesterday, because I don’t don’t think you were signed up at that point, but that was chris has now signed up for iGolf, which means he can now get his handicap, because some of the courses do require us to have a handicap to play. So that was an interesting first round, wasn’t it? At Reddish?

Chris: 7:54

Yeah.

Nish: 7:55

I don’t think either of us were pretty happy to put that card in, but I think at least it gets something in.

Chris: 8:00

Yeah, it’s a starting point.

Nish: 8:02

I mean my handicap, but I think matt across the road. Obviously he’s on the england golf app and he’s like it’ll change by 0.1, 0.2 or whatever. Um, every now and again and he’s always a bit like oh, it’s changed by this and it’s changed by that. Mine went up a whole one point did it after that one round went up from 16.7 to 17.7.

Nish: 8:23

Wow it after that one round. Yeah, went up from 16.7 to 17.7. Wow, which now and this will lead us on to talking about where we’re playing next, but at more town that handicap has adjusted up to 22 what does that mean? That means it’s a tough course yeah, gathered that yeah five points extra on my handicap is pretty, that’s pretty brutal, isn’t it? So this mackenzie chap, sorry, dr mackenzie yeah, doctor, I mean he didn’t, didn’t get his doctorate for just to be called mackenzie chap, did he? But you know?

JTC: 8:56

whatever, maybe he did, maybe he likes it, I don’t know this mackenzie chap down, downpour Black. So obviously you know Moortown is next why next, it felt blaggable it felt blaggable, if I’m honest, and it wasn’t how, because you thought it was Yorkshire. It’s going to be blaggable.

Nish: 9:21

I think it’s the next cheapest on the list. If I’m perfectly honest with you, I think that’s what kind of brought it into my radar yeah, aside from really fast.

Nish: 9:31

Yeah, you know it’s, it’s near leeds, so it was. It seemed like the logical place to look, and old woodley, which is next door, is a tad more expensive. So kind of you know, if we’re not, the cheaper ones are first it feels achievable and we’re committed, then aren of. You know, if we knock the cheaper ones off, first it feels achievable and we’re committed, then aren’t we, because if we get to like 10, 12 courses, oh yeah you know, even though we’re still 87 off finishing.

Nish: 9:55

It feels like you’ve got to really see it through.

JTC: 9:56

So human psychology psychology 101 so so moortown is near Alwoodley, which is northwest of Leeds.

Nish: 10:07

Yes, it’s north of Leeds anyway, North of Leeds anyway, yeah yeah, harrogate way, but after having basically decided, because it was cheap and it was an Alistair McKenzie course and I might be able to try and get something on green fees. Pretty historic place, do you know anything about it?

Chris: 10:26

a little bit. You’ve given me a few little tidbits yeah, I’ll.

Nish: 10:30

I I do nerd out on these sorts of things a little bit like yeah, you know, and I will be taking a lot of pictures on the day of the clubhouse and stuff like that, but first rider cup on british soil yeah home soil really yeah, one by 29 or something like

Nish: 10:44

that 28 yeah something, something like that. Okay, they’ve got a rider cup trophy in the clubhouse, so that’d be nice to like picture one yeah, like in a glass cabinet and everything. So that’ll be good to get a picture with excellent um. You know, people like you know walter hagan have played there like one of the greats of the game, one of the third most majors ever.

Chris: 11:03

Yeah after woods and nicholas.

Nish: 11:04

So you know heavy hitter has played there like one of the greats of the game, one of the third most majors ever yeah, after woods and nicholas. So you know heavy hitter was played there. Um, just yeah, it just looks like it’s just steeped in history, that place, right? Yeah, so I think that’s going to be quite a nice place to go and play your golf, I think definitely.

Chris: 11:21

I mean I, I, we, I was a student in leeds when I was uni in Leeds and we used to go and play. There’s a little belt around there which has got I don’t know. There must be six, eight courses all kind of all within the same sort of strip of land. We used to go and play the much cheaper one, leeds Golf Centre, when we were students. We’re kind of classic, so Leeds Golf Centre’s not in the top 100.

Chris: 11:45

It’s definitely not in the top 100, no Well, but it’s that all kind of oldie worldie kind of golf world.

Nish: 11:51

I think it’s going to be a nice place to go, because we didn’t get an email this time because it’s not been booked online.

Chris: 11:57

So we had an introductory email.

Nish: 11:59

Of course, I checked out the website with the dress code and all that kind of thing. If there’s a function going on when we’re there, we are expected to have a jacket. If there’s a function on when we’re there, like there isn’t I’ve checked I’m not wearing a jacket.

Chris: 12:17

Is there a next nearby? Well, you know, it’s just like.

Nish: 12:19

All right, okay. And then mobile phones. You can’t use a mobile phone in the clubhouse At all. It says very on the website. It says you have to go to the car park to use your mobile phone.

JTC: 12:31

How will you manage on course Mish Without?

Chris: 12:35

using your mobile phone. He’s got his new watch now, hasn’t he, so he can get all his calls on there.

Nish: 12:38

Oh, you noticed, you noticed. Yeah, this is my new GPS watch. It’s also an activity tracker which is not really kicked into gear yet In a couple of days I’ve had it.

JTC: 12:52

It doesn’t record podcasts at the right time as well, does it?

Nish: 12:56

Is it more accurate?

JTC: 12:56

than your last shot checker.

Nish: 12:58

What are we saying here? We’re saying there’s question marks over my story.

JTC: 13:01

Say the rebel agger.

Nish: 13:03

Very good one, mate. I guess I’m too honest. I’m just too honest. This is my little reward for me. I hadn’t decided what my reward was for doing it, but over the summer I shot a 79, so this is my reward for doing that. I actually had already bought the reward, but that’s how I justified buying buying this. We won’t tell the wife, don’t worry. Well, I bought new wedges to reward myself for getting 79. But, as we found out last couple of rounds, that’s not really been worth it. I mean, they were adding shots to the air.

Nish: 13:34

Yeah, I mean at least this is going to you know?

JTC: 13:37

Yeah, but it’s like when Rory McIlroy moved to Nike yeah, it took him a long time to actually after he won his first major.

Nish: 13:44

That’s exactly what it’s like, very, very similar.

JTC: 13:47

Exactly what it’s like it takes a long while to get used to the new clubs.

Nish: 13:53

It does. Yeah, it’s a little bit of getting used to, but again, I started off so well with the new wedges, but just, I’ve got to change them. I think, yeah, it’s about time, isn’t it? You’ve had a couple of months now. That’s.

JTC: 14:07

That’s just how you gotta do it, yeah, but um, but yeah, and what’s um more town like is a course, is it? It’s obviously not a lynx course because it’s in the middle of yorkshire, north of leeds, but, um, in terms of the challenges, have you done any research into it? What so you’re?

Chris: 14:25

expecting. It’s a pretty long course. I think even off the yellow tees it’s six and a half thousand yards. I know that much oh great um so it’s quite it’s quite a long track um. It’s a. It’s a heathland, I think, isn’t it? So I think there’s a lot of heather. You’re just like I mean obviously you can see I’m very unprepared for this. I have got one fact about more town, though which is worth saying? Is that this McKenzie fellow that you’re talking about, Chap?

JTC: 14:47

McKenzie Chap.

Chris: 14:47

McKenzie, Chap sorry.

JTC: 14:48

Sorry, Dr McKenzie Chap. Dr McKenzie Chap.

Chris: 14:51

So there’s a hole at Moortown called Gibraltar which is a par three, and McKenzie spent the entire. He was the first hole he built and he spent the entire budget building that one hole to build the entire course. So he built one hole for the entire. So hopefully there will be 18 holes when we do get there.

Nish: 15:09

So did somebody else make the other 17? I don’t know.

Chris: 15:11

I don’t know whether they just gave him more budget. I mean, it’s like this McKenzie chap he seems like he knows what he’s doing, so we should give him some more money and he can build the other 17.

Nish: 15:18

Wow, he’s. He’s blown all of our money on one hole, one par three, give him another 17 times that money, of course.

Chris: 15:25

I don’t know whether that just means the other 17 are going to be really dull, just kind of flat, straight holes, and then there’s just one beautiful hole.

JTC: 15:31

I don’t know. I really hope that one hole lives up to expectations.

Nish: 15:37

But then you know we say that quite a lot of other things.

Chris: 15:40

Can you imagine we play it and we get on to the end of the round. Which one was the?

Nish: 15:43

Gibraltar. Yeah, oh, okay, I know something about this course. It’s not a fact as such, but you start watching videos about these things, of course. I watched a Rick Shields video, as everybody does, and it was trying to break 75 at Moortown. His review title was trying to break 75,. This course destroyed me and he said that Martin, our friend Martin, when he said he was trying to break 75, he said good luck. So I think this is a pretty tough course. Yeah, it’s going to be a challenge. I think a real tough course. I get that vibe. I’m hoping. Having played Reddish a few times, you know that kind of. You’ve got to be accurate. It’s risk reward. You know, don’t take liberties with the course. I’m hoping that might just just, but then if it’s long, you feel like you’ve got to hit it. Yeah, I think I’ve seen that the the second hole is like 430 yards or something. It’s a par four and it’s all uphill. You’re like where do you go with that uphill?

Nish: 16:52

I suppose uphill yeah just gotta play it as like a five or something, haven’t you you know?

Chris: 16:58

Yeah, I mean, I play most holes as like a seven these days anyway so it doesn’t really matter.

Nish: 17:03

Yeah, so that’s all we. That’s all I know. Yeah, that’s all I know about.

JTC: 17:10

So that’s this coming Sunday.

Chris: 17:12

It is Yep, what time we got. What time is your tee off? We get in nish. We got a. We got a special early tea time. Well, so he said they’re doing a tournament.

Nish: 17:22

Because it’s a members tournament it’s a shotgun start. So he said they’re teeing off at nine, so officially we’re 136. But he did say that if they finish earlier then he’d do us the courtesy of letting us tea off earlier. I don’t know what that means, but does that mean we stand around at one o’clock ready and we go, or just means we don’t get to use the practice ground.

Chris: 17:46

Yeah, the only bit that you got from the blagging is rescinded this will teach you.

Nish: 17:50

Yeah, yeah, yeah, trying to get a reduction in our green fees.

JTC: 17:54

Oh yeah, we’ll take that bacon, but you’ve got time to eat it thank you.

Nish: 18:00

Did we say you could have a drink only in the car park, nowhere else, um? But yeah, I mean I haven’t. I have now seen a few videos and it does look. It does it actually looks a lot of the trees I’ve seen um have that kind of augusta sort of look to them, where they like there’s there’s not much low down as big long trunks and then the trees are up at the top. Yeah, yeah, um, so just have a bit of look about that, but yeah I don’t know.

JTC: 18:27

Maybe I’ve seen things well with the weather we’ve been having. Anyway, and it’s autumn, they’ll have no leaves anyway.

Nish: 18:32

So, yeah, maybe it’s a time to bring out the gallery ball when we play. Have you heard about the gallery ball? Yeah, yeah, great, I should do that. What is it? It’s a gallery ball. Jim is brilliant. So sometimes you can hit a drive or you can hit a shot or whatever. You know exactly where it’s gone, you know where it’s landed and you get there and you just cannot find your ball. So it’s either it’s plugged or it’s under a leaf or or whatever, and you just everyone’s seen where it’s gone to. It’s in the middle or whatever, but you just cannot find it. But it’s called a gallery ball. So you get, basically it’s not an actual thing, but like you get free drop um, because if that was a pro playing that shot, they’d have a spotter telling you where that ball was, so they don’t have to look for it. So we just go that’s where it’s, that’s where it’s ended up. We don’t get that luxury. Yeah, what you’re saying is it’s silly.

Chris: 19:25

If I could have had like an extra 13, we could have done like gallery gallery.

Nish: 19:29

Gallery. Balls never had a limit, so what we basically need to do is just keep looking straight. If the ball goes left or right, just keep looking straight, just ignore.

JTC: 19:37

It’s there I’m gonna use that every time I play golf yeah yeah I went straight. I saw it. I can’t find it. It must be under a leaf.

Nish: 19:44

Oh, it’s summer it’s gone into the drains or something you know. But yeah, that inherently that is a little bit unfair. If it’s stuck under a leaf or something, you can’t find it.

JTC: 19:55

I mean, lift a leaf up, oh jim I know I know, I know I know, I know, oh jim, let me have the guy it’s only gonna get worse and obviously it’s been a little while since you played sylph, um, so what’s the kind of build-up for you both being to this one and I don’t mean in terms of how much you’ve drank alcohol?

Nish: 20:20

but in terms of practice Weather watch again it looks like it’s going to be stunning on Sunday.

JTC: 20:25

I think that’s changed actually in the last year, of course it has yeah.

Chris: 20:29

Saturday’s meant to be nice Saturday’s, alright, yeah, but we’re not playing on Saturday, though, jim.

Nish: 20:32

We’re playing on Sunday it’s supposed to or something. It’ll just be like a nice 16 and yeah, it’ll be fine. Partly cloudy.

Chris: 20:40

Yeah.

Nish: 20:41

Is it shorts weather?

Chris: 20:43

Sure, why not? It’s always shorts weather.

Nish: 20:46

Yeah, it’s always shorts weather Skin’s more waterproof than waterproofs anyway, so yeah, but there’s been weather watch. We’ve obviously done that. We were pretty happy with that.

Chris: 21:00

We’ve had a bit of a lack of practice, haven’t we? Yeah, I mean, I did go to the driving range last night. Actually, I thought I better go and hit some balls. I think the last time I hit balls was, I know, we went out once after after sillith, didn’t we? But that’s the only time that I’ve played since sillith, so, and uh, yeah, and I nearly shot 100 then as well. So I really I should have spent more time practicing, because it’s probably going to be a long old day on sunday I’ve had another round in between and that was pretty disastrous.

Nish: 21:18

I walked away with zero confidence in my game. Excellent. So take it to a course that’s bumping up my handicap by five. I think that’s a recipe for shooting low.

JTC: 21:28

So shall we convene here on Sunday night. Whilst you’re drowning your sorrows, it’ll be, quite an interesting podcast, actually, and I will revel in the fact.

Nish: 21:37

We might still be on the course at that time, jim to be fair might need to take the uh, might need to have the bleep machine ready for that podcast, maybe because I think we’re gonna be. We might end up being quite frustrated by it all. I don’t know.

JTC: 21:51

So we do need a raw passion of kind of of sport. I think that’s what it’s all about, isn’t it raw something? Yes sour grapes, I mean I’m talking us down.

Nish: 22:06

If we played within ourselves, we’d probably do all right, but I I can’t do that like I can’t keep if it’s like it, if it’s like pull a driver out or just play a five iron down the middle. I can’t do the five iron, it’s just in my head. It just doesn’t work. I don’t know why.

Chris: 22:22

I mean if I could just extrapolate the three or four holes where I actually play well and apply them to the rest of the round, I mean I’d still be good at golf.

JTC: 22:31

One good shot around. I’m happy with that when I play.

Nish: 22:34

In fact, there is one thing I did here on that Rick Shields video, but I will tell you that after we’ve played.

Chris: 22:40

Okay.

Nish: 22:41

Interesting. I don’t want it to get in your head because I think it probably would do so. I won’t drop it in there. I’m not like Jim. Jim’s crew will like that.

Chris: 22:55

What we do need is we need Jim’s side bet for Moortown, don’t we? We need to come up with some stuff.

JTC: 22:57

Oh, yes, some we’ve got to think of that.

Chris: 22:58

We’ve got to think of that and so on Gibraltar, I think it should be on Gibraltar, yeah, on Gibraltar, close to the pin, I think it’s pretty, pretty, pretty simple, isn’t it okay?

Nish: 23:08

no, I don’t want to take that is there a forfeit for someone.

Chris: 23:11

I don’t want to take that bet is there a who loses that side bet?

JTC: 23:15

oh, what’s that? What’s that? Um bottle of spirits that we were drinking in the week, the, uh, the shanky’s whip. I’m not saying, drink a whole bottle I mean.

Chris: 23:28

So we need a hip flask then for sunday, is what we’re saying oh no, because someone’s gonna drive, so I think he’s gonna.

JTC: 23:32

You’re gonna save it for when you get a back, okay, but um, no, um if shanky’s whip wants to sponsor us we would gladly accept that sponsorship.

Nish: 23:43

Drink responsibly people, yeah.

Nish: 23:46

Yeah, I mean or or don’t um everything in moderation, I mean I think the problem is the problem I’ve got with accepting this bet is on my birthday round that we did so just for I mean, you know about this gym, because we really originated the concept, but we had eight people this time nine people, didn’t we this time, you know. So it’s like there’s a bit of competition going on. We use an app called squabbit which is really, really good and you can keep live like a live leaderboard. But we ran, we ran the nearest to the pin and there’s five par threes weren’t there and chris cleaned up a lot of them like what I don’t know what it was, but just that element, just I mean he was landing.

Nish: 24:27

It’s within like two feet on some of them missed all the putts well, not talking about that, but it was closer to the pin, it wasn’t how many.

Chris: 24:35

I mean, I’ve done the job at that point.

JTC: 24:37

It’s when the competition’s on, that’s when you focus on. The rest of it doesn’t really matter exactly. That’s the point.

Nish: 24:42

So I mean I’d gladly accept another side bet if you wanted to consider that. And while you are considering that, I think you know maybe I should fill and I’ll fill. We’re talking about some of the other stuff I bought in preparation for playing more town. Okay, I’ve got some new golf shoes, because three pairs just really aren’t enough. You need for around.

JTC: 25:03

It’s not like you know, a wedding, you know change your shoes.

Nish: 25:07

That’s what you do. Get the right traction for each hole. It could be like an untapped resource, you never know, uh. So I’ve got that, got some new trousers, so in case, it was horrific. So now I’m regretting doing that because I think I probably will just wear shorts. So that’s, that’s fine. And obviously I’ve got my nice shiny new gps watch, which this is great. This is gonna like tell me if I’m lost out in the rough. It tells you that has a compass on it.

Chris: 25:36

Tell you which way the hole is so you can definitely get back from leeds city center after a drive yeah is it connected to, um, to everything else?

JTC: 25:45

social media wise, so um we can keep in contact with you.

Nish: 25:50

Well, no good good, we’ve got our rule, haven’t we? Our rule is we’re not gonna, we’re not gonna go down the the path of filming while we’re playing. We don’t want to do that.

JTC: 26:02

Well, you could only film in a car park anyway.

Nish: 26:04

so yeah, exactly, I imagine that’s totally trying to get your phone out. But yeah, I mean, I think that wrecks the enjoyment of the round, doesn’t it? You want to be able to stand on a tee shot and go. This is a great yeah, yeah yeah, not.

JTC: 26:19

I mean, I think that’s what the problem with my rounds is, because I’m always concerned that you’re taking a video or a photo. That’s why I’m shanking. It’s like just go away to you don’t if it makes you feel better you can.

Nish: 26:33

You can use me as your, as your, subject to your anger, but that’s not me.

JTC: 26:38

I’m not really angry when it comes to golf, you’re just not very good, Jim. Yeah.

Nish: 26:42

Which is fine.

Chris: 26:43

Just whilst we’re talking about the shanks, so obviously it’s as if the shanks were very prevalent in my round.

Nish: 26:48

They were pretty bad.

Chris: 26:49

Yeah, so I went to as I said. I went to the range last night. I was like I’ll go and hit some balls, you sort of 40, 50 balls. I was like hello, like I am back in the game here dialed in and then for the last, maybe 20 or 30 balls you’re kidding I mean like shank after shank after shank couldn’t stop. Was it getting worse? It was getting worse. So the point where I was like I’m actually just gonna stop now, I’m just gonna have to do some chips to get me through the rest of this practice and then come back another day. So, um, so yeah, it’s gonna be.

Nish: 27:20

It’s gonna be another fun round on sunday, I think so I was sort of saying, thinking that we didn’t at sylith, but I was thinking maybe we should film our t, our opening t-shots each time, and then that’s it, the phone’s packed away for the rest of the round, apart from just nice scenery picture, whatever yeah, keep it in contact with what phyllis scores oh yeah, that is going to be important.

Chris: 27:40

Good point sunday, it’s a good point um, um, yeah, who arranged this one again?

Nish: 27:44

yeah, yeah I mean, you know, after being by munich last night, then uh, which I’m just just to repeat for posterity I suppose we beat by mun 1-0 in the Champions League. The Champions League at Villabark. It was amazing. Yeah, I think I planned that pretty poorly, didn’t I bad?

Chris: 28:04

weekend. It was a pretty bad weekend, wasn’t it? I mean, it’s literally the only weekend in the entire year where our football teams are playing each other at the exact time we’re playing exact time we’re playing.

Nish: 28:13

we tee, we tee off at half one and they kick off at two, so great.

Chris: 28:18

No phones on the course. We’ll just have to wait until we get back to figure out.

Nish: 28:21

I’ll just take my JBLs with me and we’ll just have the commentary going. What are they going to do? What are the members going to?

JTC: 28:27

do. I think you need to be respectful of the course’s rules, bearing in mind if you’ve got 98 more. If you start breaking the rules now, then they won. Start breaking the rules now Is the rule specifically saying you can’t have football commentary on.

Nish: 28:40

I mean, is that a thing it should be?

Chris: 28:45

I think generally in these kind of places pretty much everything’s a frown upon, not into live music on the course and all that kind of thing.

JTC: 28:52

I’ve not watched any of it. To be honest, I don’t think anyone has, is it on? Sky.

Nish: 29:02

No, you can stream it free off their website and off youtube, but nobody, nobody, surely nobody, watches. I don’t know anybody who watches it.

JTC: 29:06

Oh well, I watch the majors.

Nish: 29:08

I love that yeah, but nobody watches live on the right of. Obviously don’t sue us live, just people must watch it. You can sponsor us though if you want. But you can sponsor us yeah, especially if you get us into JCB, that’s great.

JTC: 29:25

But also I’m free and available because I don’t work at the moment. So if you want to pay me £100 million just to walk around the course, yeah, what would your signing on fee be?

Nish: 29:32

bunker, I mean what McElroy’s rumoured, what they want to offer him 800 million to sign McElroy.

JTC: 29:38

I wouldn’t get out of bed for a billion. For less than a billion If I was Rory.

Chris: 29:42

That is Do you think Rory’s got his price?

JTC: 29:45

They always say everyone’s got their price. I think he’s got his price.

Chris: 29:49

What’s his price? A billion.

Nish: 29:51

A billion. I think he’d do a billion.

Chris: 29:53

I’d just round up to a billion and think he’d go. I think he’s got himself too deep into the argument to back out now he’s trying to. Although, having said that, he did divorce his wife and then undivorce her, like a week later, in public, so maybe not.

Nish: 30:08

Maybe he’s got a U-turn in him. Muddy talks, you know, but I wonder if. I wonder if he just waits for the billion, you know, because they will offer that to him. I mean, he’s like the one they really want to take down. You know they get him. Oh yeah, it’s open season.

Chris: 30:26

Maybe that’s all he’s doing. Maybe he’s just priming himself to be their most expensive lift player.

Nish: 30:30

But I reckon you could play this so well, couldn’t you, if you were Rory. You just go oh, a billion, is it? Make it two and then I’m, I’m in. You know that I have got a price, as it happens, and I’ll do whatever you want to promote this tour. But make it two billion and also put it in my contract. They don’t actually have to play any golf. Yeah, because they’ll do it. They’ll, just they would. They want his name on their roster?

Chris: 30:54

yeah, absolutely but also he’s getting to the point now where I think he’s he think it’s fair to say his career is kind of tailing off, isn’t it?

Nish: 31:02

So I think, I don’t think he’ll win a major now.

Chris: 31:04

No, he’s younger than me. So what is he like? 36 maybe, okay.

Nish: 31:08

He won’t win another major now.

Chris: 31:09

I mean, it seems like he’s incapable of winning anything at the minute, even though he’s in contention.

Nish: 31:15

He’s possibly the only other person in the world who might have worse putting Than me.

Chris: 31:21

I’m not sure that’s true. That’s definitely not true. I think I’ll put my hand up for that, mate, I mean.

JTC: 31:29

I’m getting better.

Nish: 31:31

I don’t feel like I’m really digging Chris out on this. I think he knows as well. Like it’s bad, it’s bad, it’s it’s, it’s bad, it’s bad. Yeah, it’s. It’s what it’s. It’s not that it’s actually. It’s not that it’s bad. It’s because you do actually still knocks and puts in, but it’s inconsistent. When did that happen? I don’t know.

JTC: 31:50

I just thought I’d make it feel better so we talked about triple figures in, uh, in sillph. What triple figures are we talking about?

Nish: 32:00

oh, no, no, no, no, no. We can’t do that. I mean, I don’t know your score. I don’t know the score now, I know it was more than 100.

Chris: 32:06

I don’t think. I want to know, not not live on air anyway, you don’t. You don’t want to hear a girl cry down the microphone, oh, we do do an edit and then, just go no, no, it’s fine, you can tell people the score.

Nish: 32:17

That’s fine Going back in time. Chris scored 180. The die-hard score type thing. It was a 1-1-1, Chris 1-1-1, all the 1s. All the 1s 111.

Chris: 32:28

That’s good in my book.

Nish: 32:31

Obviously I said it before in the previous podcast I’d got seven pars but then I still got a 101. And I still walked off that course thinking I didn’t play very well and I did in flashes, but that’s 10. I didn’t feel like I was 10 shots better than you. A lot of golf shots a lot of shots, yeah. And it wouldn’t surprise me if most of that is on the greens.

Chris: 32:51

I mean at least 60% of that is on the greens, which is pretty mental anyway.

Nish: 33:01

Over the you got 99 more courses exactly by the end I’ll be shooting at least 88. Is it about this? Oh, maybe, yeah, it’s all about me. I think I’m. I’ve got a bit of a battle with myself.

Nish: 33:07

Like I, I do want to score well everyone does it doesn’t wreck my round if I don’t shoot a good score, because, apart from still iers, because I couldn’t remember them, I can’t remember those pars, but if I could I’d be ecstatic with it because it was a tough course to get seven pars there. It was fantastic. I don’t know if I mentioned but I got seven pars, no birdies. Though there were no birdies. No, there’s not a chance to get them. Chrisris was the only person got anywhere near getting a.

Chris: 33:37

Yeah, I had about getting the birdie down probably three or four decent birdie opportunities.

Nish: 33:40

I know I didn’t get any pars.

JTC: 33:42

So yeah is it just because of my really crap ability that you know if you do get a birdie in a round that you have to do the dance. Is that you know? I do that, you do. You do that, I do the dance.

Nish: 33:51

Yeah, yeah, have you done it? Not very often? No, I mean, one of the things I want to tick off on my golfing bucket list is back-to-back birdies. You know I’d like to do that, so see ya. Um, maybe this is the weekend so I did.

Chris: 34:03

I did listen to yours. Uh, the last pod that you put out today with you two guys on talking about tiktok dancing, and I believe I was oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, I believe I was there.

Nish: 34:13

Are you up for the tiktok?

Chris: 34:15

I was primed for being the first tiktoker. Are you, are you up for that am?

Nish: 34:17

I up for the TikTok. I was primed for being the first TikToker. Are you up for that? Am I up for that?

Chris: 34:20

I’m always up for a bit of dancing.

JTC: 34:21

to be fair, I just thought it was because you were a good golfer. That’s all it was.

Chris: 34:29

I feel like you’re backtracking a bit here, jim. Maybe, jim, this is the side bet, maybe it’s a dance.

JTC: 34:34

Nah.

Chris: 34:35

No.

JTC: 34:35

Nah, I, but it is Gibraltar closest of all. That’s, that’s the. I think that’s a fair point.

Nish: 34:48

I mean, if the signature hole is a par three. It does kind of lend itself to that. I mean, you know, don’t, don’t go with the crowd. Jim, I thought you’re a bit of a, you know you would sort of did things a bit separately and different to what other people do. But if you know, if that’s what the that’s what everybody does, then yeah, just go with it, mate if you’re running, you’d be running scared for the competition then it’s.

JTC: 35:09

Can you imagine if?

Chris: 35:10

maybe we should, then maybe we should find out how much he spent on that hole and that could be the. Uh, that’s the wager for the for the hole, goodness me, is that in old money? Yeah yeah you owe me threepence plus inflation, six crowns and a shilling or something.

JTC: 35:26

I mean, I don’t really know what the you owe me thruppence Plus inflation, six crowns and a shilling, or something.

Nish: 35:30

I mean, I don’t really know what the old currency was, but yeah, I think you’ve got to Signature hole. Par three got to be because it’s the pin on that one.

Chris: 35:40

Yeah, I think that’s the most sensible option.

Nish: 35:43

What happens if and I have done this in your presence I’ve had a hole inin-one in your presence?

Chris: 35:48

You have.

Nish: 35:49

With a golf ball with my face on it, which was just beautiful, beautiful, yeah, but nobody knew where it was. It still counts, mate. It was a full tee shot.

JTC: 36:01

It was a nine-hole par three and it went in the hole it went in the hole.

Nish: 36:06

It was a full nine-hole, a full tee shot and I didn’t think it did and I thought I’d be much more excited.

Chris: 36:16

I’m still sure there was a squirrel involved in that hole-in-one. It looked like it was like Pignish’s face up and then just thought nah, I’ll drop that.

Nish: 36:21

I was convinced the ball had rolled off the back of the green, but you know I wear glasses gallery shot, but yeah imagine if I.

Chris: 36:28

Yeah, we aced the signature hole hole at moortown and yeah, I’m just imagining you didn’t film it.

Nish: 36:36

Either we get our green fees back for that. Oh, they’d make us buy a drink for everyone, wouldn’t they?

Chris: 36:40

true, even though that’s not a thing anymore, you know, like you’ve got is it not a?

JTC: 36:44

thing?

Nish: 36:44

anymore is it not. No, apparently it’s. It’s going out of fashion now?

JTC: 36:48

oh, because people don’t drink just buy everyone a lemonade is it a bit?

Nish: 36:53

it could be people don’t drink thing, but I mean it’s a bit harsh, isn’t it? You get a hole in one and you’ve got to buy everybody. I mean that’s like that whole thing. I get taking cake in for your birthday at work. I sort of get that. But then if there’s like a thousand people at your work, what are you going to buy? A thousand cakes you?

Chris: 37:09

can’t do it. Oh, those things don’t exist. It’s a really big cake.

Nish: 37:13

But then you go in. It’s my birthday here. Have a tiny little bit of cake. True, it’s weird, isn’t it? So it’s like that. It’s like everybody’s going to buy you a drink for a hole-in-one.

Chris: 37:27

Yeah, that’s the way it should work. Right, that’s the way it should work.

Nish: 37:29

You’re the one who did the thing.

Chris: 37:32

Why is everybody getting something free off you? If you get a hole-in-one, I will buy you a drink-nish. How about that?

JTC: 37:36

That’s incredibly generous Chris.

Nish: 37:50

But isn’t there a thing? You know what would you do? Just go. It’s my last year of golf membership. I’ve had this insurance this whole time.

Chris: 37:56

I’ve never got a hole, I’m gonna use it.

Nish: 37:58

Chris, you’re telling them I’ve got a hole in one, yeah, right, and I’m gonna speak to the guy behind the bar. I’m just gonna going to go and buy it. He’s going to do some cheap drinks and we’ll all get 50 quid each.

Chris: 38:08

Everyone’s happy.

Nish: 38:08

Everyone can have a bottle of hooch. All right, enjoy yourself. Smirnoff Ice. There you go, smirnoff. Oh yes, enjoy yourself, oh yes. Yeah, yeah, so I am looking forward to it are watching that Rick Shields video. So don’t do that, because that will give you the heebie-jeebies. Yeah, okay, because he’s pretty good, and for him to go, it destroyed me as yeah.

Chris: 38:32

Although I’m pretty sure it was him that did the video at Scylleth that said it destroyed him as well. I mean that did destroy us. To be fair, it did destroy us.

Nish: 38:38

Yeah, it was fairly true, it was accurate. Yeah think it was annoying. It was like it destroyed us at probably it’s most benign.

Chris: 38:48

Yeah, so imagine playing it’s gonna be a long, long road ahead, isn’t it?

Nish: 38:53

when we get to scotland and it’s like 50 mile an hour, winds and I’m thinking you at that point with the way those fairways are, I’m just thinking bump and run the whole way. I’m just gonna kick it.

Chris: 39:05

Yeah, that’s a good idea football yeah, there we go yeah, I might be better at that?

Nish: 39:09

yeah, probably not my new shoes are some nice added ass ones, so I think that might be good for that all right, first plug I can’t I honestly can’t wait to get in those shoes. They’re amazing good shoes. They did look very nice actually. Yeah, yeah, they’re good, but moved away from my n, but you know, that was Cool. Yeah, I was happy with these ones. They look smart. Got to look the part, haven’t you?

Chris: 39:33

You got to turn up to the third year If there’s nothing else available, at least you look at that.

Nish: 39:37

If you’ve got zero skill, you’ve got to look the part.

JTC: 39:39

There is that phrase, isn’t it All the gear? No idea.

Nish: 39:42

Yeah, I fully sign up to that phrase. That’s exactly. You know, you’ve got to turn up. Clean clubs have always got to be clean. They’ve always got to be clean when you turn up. I’ve never cleaned mine in 20 years.

Chris: 39:53

That’s where you’re going wrong Jim you’d be shooting on the par if you were cleaning your clubs that’s a discipline kit thing.

Nish: 39:58

Come on, you know I teach the boys that now it’s like you’ve do that’s something to keep them quiet and away from you. They help me clean my clubs. I don’t actually. I don’t actually clean the clubs myself tell him he mentioned his kids. He’s got two kids we only got to a few episodes in, didn’t we? But, yeah, you got to look the part noted.

JTC: 40:22

that’s a slight on me, because I look like a scruff, like a meth as they say in Liverpool A meth?

Nish: 40:28

Yeah, have you ever heard that phrase?

JTC: 40:30

I have yeah Never heard it.

Nish: 40:32

Yeah, he sort of said it. It was like a what A meth, all right.

JTC: 40:37

Scruff? Yes, absolutely. Well, it’s been a good chat, gentlemen.

Nish: 40:44

There’s nothing else you want to know about Moortown from this font of knowledge that we’ve got about it.

JTC: 40:49

I’m honestly going to say that if we talk about these courses in such great detail, they’re there. This is the exciting bit though.

Nish: 40:56

That’s the thing. This is the exciting bit. Before you then do it and then you go.

JTC: 40:59

Oh no, no, I just can’t wait to hear what happens in Gibraltar.

Nish: 41:03

That’s all what happens in Gibraltar. Stays in.

JTC: 41:05

Gibraltar. No bollocks um, but yeah.

Chris: 41:09

I think you’re genuinely like. I mean, I have not played golf for a long time and I don’t really get that excited about golf, but this has definitely like reinvigorated my excitement in golf. So, like going out and playing this weekend is like I’m really throughout the week, the build-up to it is just really exciting. So I’m, you know, really looking forward to going out there and doing it. It’s going to be a good yeah in my book.

Nish: 41:28

There’s no, there’s almost no such thing as an ordinary round, because you know you either catches you when, um, you’ve had a stressful week, or it catches you when you, you know you run a bit behind. It’s like this is the perfect end to it to play around the golf, but I think, having a purpose behind it, I don’t and I don’t mean that sound altruistic. I mean like, as in, there’s a reason for playing, yeah, yeah. So we’re not trying to play these courses, knowing as well that these are ranked in the best courses in the country. So, yeah, you know there’s a lot of thought gone into to giving those ratings out. I mean, I don’t even know where. More time I was.

JTC: 42:05

I was just about to ask that actually Do you know that, let’s do it.

Nish: 42:09

Let’s do it live.

Chris: 42:10

This is live.

Nish: 42:10

Googling when is More Town Golf Club?

JTC: 42:15

I mean, I must admit, I’m really really disappointed that you don’t already know this, nish, because you know with your research. Yeah, my problem was, you’ve had all day.

Nish: 42:26

I didn’t put the on the spreadsheet. The one thing I missed off was what a course is actually rated right in the filter. So that’s lost. At the moment it’s all sorted alphabetically. It’s sorted by distance from our postcode, and then second filter is the cost of round. But I didn’t put the actual rating in, so it’ll be interesting to see where more time does actually fit. It’s got a very premium website so I’m thinking, yeah, it’s gotta be 60 plus.

Chris: 42:59

I think it’s probably lower than that I think it’s more like 80s is it 80s?

Nish: 43:05

oh, I’m less excited now. So is this on an official website? This, this hundred? It is. Yeah, so there’s the official top 100 golf courses. That was actually the podcast that we listened to for sylith, where they played it, and then the guy said me and my wife joined straight away after we after we played. Um, I’m presuming he’s from from somewhere around the area then, because otherwise that’s a bit of a bit of a trek to get to. But oh, there’s a surprise yeah, there is a surprise.

Chris: 43:35

It just squeaks in at number 98, you’re kidding, I’m not 98.

Nish: 43:41

Does it give you a bit of blurb about, like, why it’s rated where it’s rated, or just a general intro? No, I don’t think.

Chris: 43:51

Southport and Ainsdale is number 97, so it’s in pretty good company down there, right, yeah, okay.

Nish: 43:56

Does it give you any blurb at all?

Chris: 43:59

It does give you a blurb, and that’s where I got my one fact that I’ve brought from the podcast from so I won’t read it out. That was my five minutes prep before I came around.

Nish: 44:10

Where are we playing again? More town. It’s near Leeds. I’ve got some facts about Leeds.

JTC: 44:19

Oh, there is a fact about Leeds.

Nish: 44:21

There is.

JTC: 44:22

I’ve got a fact about Leeds.

Nish: 44:25

Leeds in Europe is the largest city without a mass transit system 800,000 inhabitants and no mass transit system. Interesting.

Chris: 44:34

Shocking. It’s shocking, although I can attest to that because I used to get the bus into Leeds to work. It’s all buses. Yeah, it was like a two-hour journey to get into Leeds on the bus. Yeah.

JTC: 44:43

Nightmare yeah. Into Leeds on the bus. Yeah, nightmare yeah. And all I’ve got to say, though, is I mean, if you use the trams in Manchester or in Sheffield, they’re not all that great either sometimes Mass transit is not effective.

Nish: 44:52

Mass transit, yeah, yeah, yeah exactly, I get that.

JTC: 44:54

I get that, so it’s it doesn’t waste your money, does it? Yeah, fair if you can no, actually don’t, because you miss out on loads what was on that bombshell from and on that bombshell.

Nish: 45:08

That’s back to top gear. It was, that’s so. Yeah, so you’re Hammond. So does Hammond sign out like that? What does he do? Sign out?

Chris: 45:16

he just crashes his car I think, doesn’t he, he had a bit of a thing for Clarkson, didn’t he?

Nish: 45:21

Richard Hammond? I think he wanted to be Jeremy Clarkson desperately.

JTC: 45:25

Oh yeah, for sure, I’ve got the Clarkson belly?

Nish: 45:31

Yeah, haven’t we all. I saw him play golf. Well, not Chris. Chris Skinny is right. But yeah okay, right, well, I think that’s enough. Preview of Mortown isn’t it?

JTC: 45:42

Yeah, and all that’s left for me to say is have a bloody great round on Sunday.

Nish: 45:46

Have a good one on Simon. Look forward to catching up afterwards yeah, seeing what we did seeing what damage we did to the course, absolutely, and I’ll let you know your oh. That’s another thing I do know about Mortar, and I’ll leave you with this last little thing, because it’s quite peaty in that area. It’s very springy on the feet, so apparently it’s quite easy to walk around okay, I’ll take that for six and a half thousand yards.

Nish: 46:10

It’s gonna, it’s gonna help I know I feel like I’m not getting the use out of my shoes as much because of that, but maybe you do need a couple of pairs of shoes and you make sure you get the right, the right shoe for the uh the turf you do. I think you need to know. Yeah, I mean it helps. I’ve got fat feet so it helps anyway.

Chris: 46:26

But um yeah, good, okay, right, wonderful, thanks, gentlemen, thanks I’ll just say, if I shoot more than 100 again this time, I’m not coming back on the podcast. That’s it, I’m done.

Nish: 46:36

The hundred is over he’s given up at two percent look you know I’ve been trying for years. Mate still keep coming back new nickname going in the phone Chris Gibbons, mr 2%. And on that bombshell Next time on the Top 100 in 10 Golf Podcast, we delve deep into our day at Moortown Golf Club.