Sevan Matossian (00:03):
Bam we’re live. Uh, Travis, thanks for the heads up, dude. Uh, we, we need to reschedule sunny. We just kept pushing him down and, uh, Caleb just pushed him down even further on the schedule, but I think Matt’s gonna reach out to him today or tomorrow and get him rescheduled. What was Sunny’s last name? Webster. Is that sunny? Sunny Webster. Amanda Austin, Adam, Heidi. Good morning. Uh, this morning we have bla Barbara on at least that’s the plan professional golfer retired from what I can tell what a day yesterday yacht club with, uh, Hiller and hunter and the three playing brothers and my wife and the, uh, California hormones, lady, Sarah and her husband and her two kids. Man, we raged. Woo woo. Then came back to the house, took a quick nap and then went back out to the beach. It was a, was a crazy day when, I mean nap. I mean like at like 6:00 PM. Hey dude. Blaine. What’s up, dude. Good
Blayne Barber (01:25):
Morning.
Sevan Matossian (01:26):
Good morning. Uhoh I’m on the wrong headphones.
Blayne Barber (01:29):
How’s my audio.
Sevan Matossian (01:31):
Uh, I’m gonna tell you one second. Sounds good.
Blayne Barber (01:34):
Okay. I, I have it on the computer audio, but I have headphones if need, so
Sevan Matossian (01:38):
It sounds good. Where are you? That looks like a fun room.
Blayne Barber (01:41):
This is my office. This is just in our house. Yeah.
Sevan Matossian (01:46):
Wow. Uh, do you practice in there at all? Is there like one of those like green carpets that rolls out in there and you stand there with a, a, a stick and, um, few feet do a little cut.
Blayne Barber (01:56):
So I have a hitting mat that me and the boys hit into the yard. Sometimes I pull out in the driveway and we’ll bang balls, Uhhuh, and then upstairs I have a put and green, that’s just built up on two by sixes. So it’s like pretty basic has holes cut in it, but that’s turned into more of a, uh, play stage for, uh, performances from the children. Um,
Sevan Matossian (02:17):
Oh, I see.
Blayne Barber (02:18):
Yeah. So it’s, you know, six inches high and it’s turned into more of a play area than a putting green, but it’s fun.
Sevan Matossian (02:24):
How many kids do you have Blaine?
Blayne Barber (02:26):
Uh, we have three and number four coming in about seven weeks,
Sevan Matossian (02:30):
So right. Okay. Yeah. Cause I saw your other three kids holding the, uh, is that a sonogram or what are those things called? Yeah,
Blayne Barber (02:36):
It’s sonogram. That’s right.
Sevan Matossian (02:38):
Crazy.
Blayne Barber (02:38):
Yeah. So we, uh, little, a girl and then two boys and then another boy come.
Sevan Matossian (02:44):
What state are you in?
Blayne Barber (02:46):
Uh, Alabama.
Sevan Matossian (02:47):
Good place to live
Blayne Barber (02:49):
Deep, south
Sevan Matossian (02:51):
Good place to live.
Blayne Barber (02:52):
It’s awesome. Uh, we love it. I I’m from Florida originally grew up in Florida. All my family’s still there. I’m the oldest of Florida. Uh, everybody’s married few kids now amongst my siblings. Um, my parents were there and then, uh, my wife and I met at Auburn. We went to school at Auburn university, which is in Auburn, Alabama, and still live here.
Sevan Matossian (03:13):
How, how old are you?
Blayne Barber (03:15):
32
Sevan Matossian (03:16):
And four kids already.
Blayne Barber (03:17):
Yeah, I’m just rocking and rolling.
Sevan Matossian (03:21):
Um, when I was 32, just to put that in perspective, I was living at home with my mom.
Blayne Barber (03:25):
I love it.
Sevan Matossian (03:27):
I had been kicked out a few times, but I was like trying like to get back in and then like two more years later at 34, I was kicked, kicked out for the final time. That’s when I moved in with my wife.
Blayne Barber (03:36):
Hey, you did. You’ve done great since
Sevan Matossian (03:38):
Thanks. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It was a great run even then. I’m, I’m, I’m proud of it. I, I, uh, I, I guess you don’t want your kids living at home if they’re just like high on drugs or just, just doing dumb shit. I was, I was pursuing dreams and I think my mom saw that I wasn’t lazy. I mean, when I say pursuing dreams, like I was into art, I was drawing.
Blayne Barber (03:58):
Yeah.
Sevan Matossian (03:59):
But dude, you had a stick and we’re hit trying to hit a ball into a hole.
Blayne Barber (04:03):
I was, which is really weird to think
Sevan Matossian (04:05):
About it. I don’t, I don’t even know if there’s more money in that
Blayne Barber (04:08):
And a, a stick in a ball
Sevan Matossian (04:10):
Versus like being the next van go, you know? Yeah,
Blayne Barber (04:13):
That’s true. Cuz you can, uh, uh,
Sevan Matossian (04:15):
That could have become a billionaire that’s right. Selling some crazy art. Art
Blayne Barber (04:18):
Is a funny, my wife is, uh, she’s an artist on the side, just as kind of a hobby. We have a little studio upstairs and she has a, um, she has a website and she does some like landscape type abstract painting. She’s fantastic. She’s just not trained at all. She just loves to do it. She’s good at it. It’s something to an outlet for. And uh, art’s so subjective, man. You can, you can take a paint can and just like throw it at a canvas and be like, that’s where 10 million. And if somebody believes you, then that’s what you can sell it for.
Sevan Matossian (04:47):
<laugh> yeah. When, when hunter Biden was in a pinch, he just made some art.
Blayne Barber (04:50):
There you go.
Sevan Matossian (04:52):
You could never be in a pinch and just be like, Hey, I’m gonna hit some balls.
Blayne Barber (04:55):
That’s right. You gotta, you still gotta
Sevan Matossian (04:57):
<laugh> I meant to hit it into the trees. What are you talking about?
Blayne Barber (05:00):
That’s right. How does it look like that? Yeah. That’s why, that’s why I’m done. I wish that’s how it work. I wish that’s how it worked. <laugh>
Sevan Matossian (05:07):
Um, um, how old were you the fir when you, uh, your earliest memory of golf?
Blayne Barber (05:12):
Uh, my first memory, I, I started same with my boys. Like they don’t play, but they love going to the chorus and riding the cart and eating snacks and hanging out. And so I went to the course with my dad. He
Sevan Matossian (05:24):
Was that’s the accessory work and cross what we call that the accessory work right. Sitting in the cart and like, yeah,
Blayne Barber (05:29):
Exactly. Uh, so my dad was a recreational player, just picked the game up in college and played for fun. And I would go to the course with him when I was two or three. Um, obviously don’t remember that, but I do remember it around five. We were, uh, at the house on a Sunday afternoon and we were going to the golf course to hit balls to practice. And, uh, he had golf on the TV. The PGA tour was on and I was like, are all there gonna be people like that out there watching us when we go today? Cuz you know, all the gallery and uh, that I didn’t have the perception of what we were gonna do. But I do remember that vividly. That’s kinda like my first, uh, golf memory that I could think of.
Sevan Matossian (06:06):
So, so you have really 32 years exposure from the second you were born, you had exposure to the game
Blayne Barber (06:14):
That’s right. Yeah.
Sevan Matossian (06:16):
Oh, um, do you know your dad’s history with golf?
Blayne Barber (06:19):
He, he did not play. He played kind of the classic sports growing up. He is from a really small town in Florida, late Butler, Florida. And he played, uh, he was quarterback of the football team pitcher on the baseball team and played those pretty competitively. He wasn’t, um, he kind of went a military. His dad was a Marine and he went ROTC and was gonna go into the Marines, um, that all or the Navy, I believe that all changed with some, he had a spleen rupture and just issues medically that prevented him from continuing. So he didn’t play sports in college, but he was athletic. And then, um, once all that ended and he was in college, I think he just found the game and enjoyed it and just kind of has played since for fun. So still we still, all my whole family plays except for my mom just together.
Sevan Matossian (07:13):
I, I remember, I, I don’t, I really don’t know anything about the game of golf, but I do remember hearing like 10 years ago that it was just being overrun by women. Not, I mean, I, that I should probably use a different word cuz that has negative connotation <laugh> but basically that women who had just completely embraced golf, like they maybe even surpassing the men in numbers.
Blayne Barber (07:32):
Yeah. I don’t know that I necessarily have a finger on that pulse, but it is certainly I from a collegiate and a professional standpoint, there’s certainly a large, um, surge of the interest in it and the opportunities they’re getting. And I think it’s great. Um, the, a lot of their major sponsors on the professional tours have stepped up and started putting more money into the game, which, you know, there’s always that argument between, you know, clearly if you bring in a lot of money, you can pay out a lot of money. That’s just how the market works. Um, but they there’s a lot more intrigue. So yeah, it’s definitely a, a multis sex sport in terms of just, uh, interest and accessibility. Now it’s a great, it’s honestly a great way for women to get, uh, collegiate scholarships and a free education, cuz there’s a lot of opportunity in that space and um, I think they gravitate to other women’s sports. And so there is a, a huge market there for being able to go to school for free.
Sevan Matossian (08:31):
I had a golfer on before
Blayne Barber (08:35):
Scott.
Sevan Matossian (08:36):
Yeah. Very or it was really actually cool of him to come on. Um, it was, uh, in the beginning there were some nice guys that felt like who came on for charity work. Yeah. Gave Castro being one of them. And, and Scott also, um, he made it sound my perception of what he said was to be the guys. So, so unfuck me. But basically there’s 125 guys that are basically in then another a hundred. And basically they get some sort of stipend. That’s nothing barely anything to being super rich. And then there’s these other 125 guys who are invited to play, but it’s all in their own dime. And if you’re not in that two 50 it’s it’s just like, fuck
Blayne Barber (09:23):
You. It’s it’s uh, it’s a very difficult, uh,
Sevan Matossian (09:28):
Is that the way it is? Can you kind of gimme that? What’s what, yeah, there’s a herd. That’s like the herd that gets all the invitations and then there’s a herd that’s like trying to get the invitation, right?
Blayne Barber (09:38):
Yeah. So all uh
Sevan Matossian (09:40):
It’s and then there’s and then there’s the other guys, just the dreamers
Blayne Barber (09:42):
That’s correct. Yeah. Okay. So, uh, a lot of that is because it’s an individual sport and it is a true meritocracy. So there is no, uh, owners, managers, uh, nobody’s calling you up and saying, Hey, you got potential. We’re gonna pay you to be on our team. Here’s some guaranteed money come and play it.
Sevan Matossian (09:59):
Caleb, could you look that word up meritocracy? Sorry. Uh, look, he was about to take a sip of coffee. What what’s Caleb doing tonight? I saw I’m not just about to sip. Okay, go ahead.
Blayne Barber (10:08):
Uh, so it’s, it’s just performance based, right? It, if you shoot Laura score, the me, you win. That’s just how it works. There’s no, there’s no subjectivity to it.
Sevan Matossian (10:17):
It’s not your pants fit better or which
Blayne Barber (10:20):
Yeah, got it. I wish that’s how it worked because uh, I feel like I get the details. Right. But you gotta still shoot a lower score.
Sevan Matossian (10:27):
Uh, yeah. Those pants you have are pretty awesome. I was looking at those wondering if I could pull those off, uh, meritocracy government or the holding of power by people selected on the basis of their ability. Oh, so the exact opposite of woke.
Blayne Barber (10:40):
Yes.
Sevan Matossian (10:41):
Wow. Meritocracy is the exact opposite of woke. That’s when you’re just, okay. I like that. Yes. So your,
Blayne Barber (10:47):
Your abilities is all that matters. If you make three and I make a four, you win, there’s no like judge telling you otherwise. Right.
Sevan Matossian (10:53):
They’re not like, well, we don’t have any Armenians we’re taking him.
Blayne Barber (10:56):
Yes, that’s right. Okay. Um, but before we go there, Scott, Scott is shout out Scott. He, uh, he finished second yesterday on the PJ tour in their playoffs, which is a huge event. Uh, he’s best finished in a long time, uh, made like 1.6 million. Great great week.
Sevan Matossian (11:14):
He’s got 600,000 after taxes and expenses. People don’t get too excited.
Blayne Barber (11:18):
Right. Correct. Um, qualified for the tour championship for the first time in his career, which is a huge, uh, benchmark. And then Scott is who actually, uh, introduced me to CrossFit. Um,
Sevan Matossian (11:31):
Oh wow.
Blayne Barber (11:32):
Back in 2000 16, 15, 14 to 15 is, uh, Scott’s kind of my intro into the fitness world. So, uh, he’s a good buddy of mine and uh, had a great day yesterday. So wanna give him a shout out.
Sevan Matossian (11:45):
Um, so not only did he take second in that tournament, but it let, it’s lead to an invite to some other badass tournament. I mean, how much more badass can a tournament be if you get 1.6 million for second place?
Blayne Barber (11:55):
Well, next week the winner of the season long points gets 15 million, so
Sevan Matossian (11:59):
Oh
Blayne Barber (11:59):
Wow. So wow. If he has a good week, that’s, that’s a big, you know, <laugh> yeah. Exponential, uh,
Sevan Matossian (12:06):
That’s a new house on the lake in Colene
Blayne Barber (12:08):
That’s right next week is the end of the regular season, which is it’s only 30 guys. So they dwindle it down throughout the playoffs. They go from 1 25 to 70 to 30, and then those 30 guys are playing for the like massive bonuses. And so it’s a, it’s a huge accomplishment professionally. So,
Sevan Matossian (12:23):
Um, just so you know where I’m taking, this is, I’m gonna compare what you say to CrossFit because in explain all the athletes, how good they actually have it, those windy little fucks because what you guys do, there’s so much more money circulating in your ecosystem and it, and I bet you, when you look at it, it it’s even worse for you guys.
Blayne Barber (12:46):
It’s uh, well this, this could be a tangent we’re gonna, we’ll have to.
Sevan Matossian (12:50):
I love tangents.
Blayne Barber (12:51):
So, uh, Heidi just mentioned the live tour. That’s a new Saudi Arabian, uh, public investment fund found funded tour that was just started and they’re just buying up premier players. So they’ve, they got this $2 billion public fund and they are just spending money like crazy. Uh, they they’ve taken a number of the top players and it’s sort of, uh, come in as a competitor to the PGA tour and sort of disrupted their business model. And so, um,
Sevan Matossian (13:21):
So that’s not a meritocracy,
Blayne Barber (13:24):
Uh, no, for the first time in professional golf, it’s, it’s a different model. Um, and they’ve just come in and give guys guaranteed money and said, Hey, come play for us. And we’re gonna kind of start a new, fun, you know, entertainment league. And, uh, it’s, it’s more that way. So it kind of, it, it puts a wrench in kind of what golf is historically about. You, you gotta dream, you work hard for it. If you beat the other guys, you achieve it. And, and that’s just, I love that about golf. I think that’s one of the things that is always drawn me to the game. And, um, you know, it’s, it’s fresh infuriating and exciting all at the same time, cuz there’s so many ups and downs and highs and lows. Um, but to your question, the way that it works is if you’re, if you’re an American, uh, junior player and, and honestly worldwide up until this point in history, cuz now you have this new tour that is to be seen where it goes, your dream is to play in the PJ tour.
Blayne Barber (14:20):
That’s where Jack Nicholas has played and Arnold Palmer’s played and tiger woods and it’s where the best players in the world play for the most money against the best competition. And it’s, it’s just the best place to play. And so that’s where everybody’s shooting for. And on that tour, there’s only 125 spots that you have a guaranteed position to be able to play in their events year to year. So there’s about 200 people who have access to the PJ tour, but numbers 1 26 through 200 are what they would consider conditional. So field sizes vary. So like the CrossFit games has 40 men and 40 women. And then the number of teams right in, in a golf tournament, depending on time of year with daylight or uh, size of the venue, et cetera, uh, a tournament is either gonna have a hundred twenty, a hundred forty four or 156 people. It changes depending on daylight savings and how many people they can tee off and all that
Sevan Matossian (15:15):
Kinda stuff. Tell me those numbers one more time. One what,
Blayne Barber (15:18):
Uh, one 20 is like an invitational small field. Uh, some are even smaller. Like I said, next week’s 30, that’s an exception cause that’s only one time a year. Okay. Um, 1 44 or 1 56.
Sevan Matossian (15:30):
And those are kind of depending on like O other like court size or uh, like what’d you say number of hours, uh,
Blayne Barber (15:36):
In the day
Sevan Matossian (15:37):
In the day. Okay.
Blayne Barber (15:38):
Depending on how many tee times you can effectively tee off
Sevan Matossian (15:41):
In the do the, as players have to go first
Blayne Barber (15:43):
<laugh> they, uh, they going first is actually kind of advantage cuz the greens are smoother. There’s less traffic. Okay. And then typically the weather’s nice early in the day, the wind’s not as high, you know, it, that can, it’s all variable,
Sevan Matossian (15:54):
But, but some sort of order, the better player’s a high, higher rank. You are the, they,
Blayne Barber (15:58):
They do it in a system. So there’s like an, a category, a B category and C category. Okay. And the term that winners from like the premier players, tiger woods is gonna tee off in the middle of the wave cuz then the TV’s gonna get the most of his round.
Sevan Matossian (16:11):
So
Blayne Barber (16:11):
It’s based off TV, money contracts, visibility, uh, veteran players are gonna tee off first and then rookies and new guys are gonna tee off at the last half of the wave. Okay. So they’re gonna get more difficult weather conditions, uh, course are gonna be more beat up and
Sevan Matossian (16:26):
That’s just kind so rookies that do good. That’s impressive. It is.
Blayne Barber (16:29):
It is extremely impressive. Um, okay. Yes. And it’s rare, like there’s a, there’s
Sevan Matossian (16:34):
Probably like in CrossFit winning an event from the fi from the first heat that’s you didn’t get, see anyone else go it’s like, holy shit.
Blayne Barber (16:40):
Great. Great analogy.
Sevan Matossian (16:41):
Love that. Okay.
Blayne Barber (16:42):
Um, so yeah, that, that would be a great example of that. And so, uh, so year to year only 125 guys. So you can think of that in, in relation to other professional sports in NFL, you have, what is it? 30 man roster, six 40 man roster over 30 something teams MLB similar with more, more team. I don’t know the numbers on MLB, but like it is a very small subset of people. And, and you have to,
Sevan Matossian (17:14):
If,
Blayne Barber (17:14):
If you can, if you can snatch stature pounds, do what
Sevan Matossian (17:18):
You froze for a second. Go ahead. You froze for a second. Go ahead.
Blayne Barber (17:21):
Oh, OK. Am I good? Uh, if you can snatch 300 pounds, you’re gonna, you’re gonna beat a guy every time in an event, if he can only snatch 200 pounds, right. Let’s just science, uh, in golf, there are a bunch of these dreamers who, who can do the exact same things as the premier guys on the PJ tour, but they maybe just can’t do it as consistently or regularly, but on any given day, anybody can anybody from like the professional standpoint in a money game, on a Saturday or even in a tournament. But then if you draw that over the course of a season over the course of a week, the better player, the cream’s gonna rise to the top. And so, um, it’s just extremely competitive. And then you duplicate that same system down to the Korn ferry tour, which is, uh, Korn ferry is just a massive consultant firm in LA. That is like the title sponsor. It’s a strange name audibly. If you see it written out it’s K R N not C N uh, but it’s basically like triple a baseball or like semifinals semifinals athletes that are getting close to the games, not quite there, but you have a chance to earn your spot there. And that’s what, uh, that’s the tour that you have to play on in order to get into that elite level of 125 guys, if that makes sense. So, yep.
Sevan Matossian (18:36):
Yep. Yeah. And, and, and those 1 25, um, does the 125th guy make any money?
Blayne Barber (18:44):
Yeah, I mean, I think especially with, uh, first increases and the tourist on a new TD rights deal within the last two years that has kind of drastically increased purses. The hundred 25th guy probably makes close to a million bucks, um, a
Sevan Matossian (18:59):
A
Blayne Barber (18:59):
Year. Yeah. Uh, it’s a lot. Um, but I 800 to a million and then, you know, between no
Sevan Matossian (19:07):
Shit,
Blayne Barber (19:08):
Actually look at this. This is just great. Uh that’s last week, uh, I think
Sevan Matossian (19:14):
Go down to the guy in the very bottom.
Blayne Barber (19:17):
Well, hold on, you gotta go to, uh, go to the PGA tour website and then pull up like current year, uh, earnings cause the season’s over. So it’ll give you good projection, but yeah, so it’s, but on that same, there’s an argument to be made where the, and this is where the competition between the live tour and the PGA tour and kind of what started this whole debate is if you look at the hundred 25th paid person in other major sports, it’s like five X, six X times the amount of the PGA tour.
Sevan Matossian (19:51):
Okay. So you’re saying if you took, if you took like the, oh, I don’t know how the, the a thousand guys who play in the NFL, the hundred 25th guys still makes more than this dude.
Blayne Barber (20:00):
That’s correct.
Sevan Matossian (20:02):
Yeah. It might even, it might even be, yeah. Okay. I see what you’re saying. It could be some backup quarterback who’s making 15
Blayne Barber (20:06):
Years, but, but what’s, what’s fascinating about it is, uh, in this model, you, Phil Nicholson or tiger woods is bringing in exponentially more money than I am at a tournament. Like nobody’s coming to watch, uh, paying, buying a ticket to watch me play except my friends and family.
Sevan Matossian (20:29):
Right, right. Blame barber sold eight tickets.
Blayne Barber (20:31):
Yeah. Because, because Phil’s in the event, he’s enabling the TV contract and the sponsor, the tournament for the purse. And like he’s propping up the purse that I’m now playing for. And so he we’re playing for the same amount of money, but he deserves some money than I do and right, right. You know, which is why Tom Brady makes more money than a rookie. So, um, there’s all kinds of arguments we had about that. But trust it’s a, it’s fantastic. Make a living and you make a lot of money.
Sevan Matossian (21:01):
When I, when I look at your, um, Instagram, if I went, it can be completely Frank. It, it doesn’t look. Um,
Blayne Barber (21:09):
Are you ever not completely Frank?
Sevan Matossian (21:11):
<laugh> it, it doesn’t look, uh, what’s the word I’m looking for? You don’t look at it. Doesn’t look fun or it’s, fun’s not the right word. Like, it looks hard like stress, like, like you don’t look stressed, but the, the stories you share repeatedly, wherever I clicked around, it’s like, oh, like, like you, don’t never seem like you’re happy with how you performed. Like you’re never good enough.
Blayne Barber (21:37):
That’s
Sevan Matossian (21:37):
Right. And I’m like, holy shit. That, and you played four years on the PGA tour.
Blayne Barber (21:42):
I did. Yeah. So
Sevan Matossian (21:43):
Four consecutive years,
Blayne Barber (21:44):
Correct? Yeah. Right. Uh, from 2014 to 2018
Sevan Matossian (21:49):
And then yeah. And it just seems stressful as, oh
Blayne Barber (21:53):
Man. It is, uh, it is a very stressful career. Um, and, uh, let’s see here. Yeah. There you go. Um, and, and, and a lot of that is,
Sevan Matossian (22:06):
Yeah. So, so the quote, sorry that Caleb highlighted is honestly, I don’t like it most days, but it’s currently where I’m called. Yeah. That’s, that’s a quote from your Instagram.
Blayne Barber (22:14):
Yeah. So, and it’s not that I don’t, uh, still have that sort of childlike, you know, just excitement to do whatever you’re learning to do, like right. Inherently. I love golf. I love the challenge of it. I love being outside. I love the artistry of it. Um, but I’m very type a, I’m a perfectionist, um, very high structure in order and golf is just everything, but that, and, and so there’s blessing and cursing in that. Like, you can, it can be beneficial if you use appropriately, but it, for the most part for me, and in the way that I’m wired, it’s just been maddening. Like it’s, it’s like, you know, I’m, I’m trying to do X and I keep getting Y and it is just, uh, you have to kind of have the, you have to be that way in terms of practice and preparation, but then kind of just be carefree and roll with the punches when the competition occurs, because it’s so, um, there’s just no level of control to it. I mean, it is just the weather changes. You can get a wind gust, you can feel bad one day. You can, your swings this off your mind’s not sharp. Like, it’s, it’s a very, very, very difficult game,
Sevan Matossian (23:26):
I guess. I don’t know how so there’s TAC toe. Right. And I don’t know how many different strategies or moves there are in it, but, but it’s pretty confined and it’s really strict game. Yeah. And then, and then there’s chess and it it’s, it’s, it’s also very strict, but fuck, there’s like some crazy amount of like ways the game can play out. It’s in the billions maybe trillions. Right. But still it’s so fucking, like this king can only do this. This king can only do this. You can only do this. And even in its gazillion moves, it’s really finite and structured still. Yeah. But golf’s not like that. It’s like goes off into infinity, the wind and bugs and like how you feel. And there’s just, it’s, it’s, it’s, it’s, it’s chaos, right?
Blayne Barber (24:10):
Like theoretically, uh, you and I could go play. Yeah. In terms of what I’m able, you know, like you hear the cliche phrase in all sports control, their controllables. Like I can think clearly go through my routine, make a beautiful swing, hit the ball where I’m looking, it can hit the flag stick, which is what I was trying to accomplish. And Rick ricocheting the water.
Sevan Matossian (24:30):
Okay. Oh yeah. That sucks. I see what
Blayne Barber (24:31):
You’re saying. Or you could go out there, you don’t know anything about golf. You probably have, have you ever swung it off club?
Sevan Matossian (24:36):
Once when I was like 15, I, I played a whole nine with just a putter. Like I played nine holes in the kid I played with. We snuck on the courses like you only get to use this stick that’s I hate. And you might UN unknow that I hate golf cuz of
Blayne Barber (24:49):
That. So this is an extreme example. So I can do that. Hit flagstick rich hand of water, execute it perfectly. You could hit it, miss the ball kind on the top, skip off the water, hit a tree rich SHA over, and it could hit a slope and roll the ball <laugh> and like, that’s literally how golf can work. And it just doesn’t, it’s like, uh, it’s maddening. Um, so I, I love it. It has been so, so good to me and my family and we’ve the last 10 years have been a crazy ride and journey and it’s changed me and, and humbled me and, uh, and I love golf. So don’t like the takeaway here, anybody listening, isn’t the, you know, I hate golf. It’s, it’s just that, uh, I played it and I, I played at the highest level and I’m super grateful for that. But, uh, as of this year, yeah, we just, and honestly added to all that. Not only is it game difficult, but you’re on the road half the year. I mean a term.
Sevan Matossian (25:44):
Yeah. That part sounded nuts when Scott talked about it too,
Blayne Barber (25:47):
A tournament is Monday to Sunday. And so when I go to a tournament, I’m leaving Morgan and the kids here at the house. Um, and that’s difficult as a family. And I felt like it’s eventually that would went out. Um, and we’re just, we’re ready to be together more often. So, um,
Sevan Matossian (26:04):
Coming home’s hard too. I used to travel a lot. I don’t travel at all anymore, but coming home’s weird. Did you ever have like reentry?
Blayne Barber (26:12):
Uh,
Sevan Matossian (26:14):
Not cause I’m kind of a control. I would be like a control freak for the first, like not a long time, but the first like six or seven hours I’m home.
Blayne Barber (26:20):
Yeah. I mean, yeah, I can, I can feel that, but honestly it was just, it’s just, I miss him so much that they’re.
Sevan Matossian (26:29):
Yeah.
Blayne Barber (26:29):
And the regularity of me coming and going is consistent throughout the year in terms of like when the summer hits, I’m gone two weeks at a time pop home for a week or two go out two more weeks at a time. And so I started wrestling with, when I was at home, I’m always thinking about going to playing again cause I’m excited to play. And then when I’m playing, I miss home and I’m just like, I had a hard time being where my feet were, um, which is just difficult.
Sevan Matossian (26:59):
This is totally off subject. Do, do you ever think about the word gratitude?
Blayne Barber (27:05):
Yeah, a lot.
Sevan Matossian (27:07):
Does it, um, what does that mean to you? I’m trying to understand what gratitude is. I, I, I think what, yeah. What does it mean to you? Gratitude?
Blayne Barber (27:19):
Um, I mean thankfulness is the first word that comes to my mind. Um,
Sevan Matossian (27:26):
The quality of being thankful readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness. Gonna be a different, go ahead. Yeah, please.
Blayne Barber (27:38):
Uh, it’s easy to feel. So golf’s a very individual sport and then sort of the cultural moment we’re in is all about individuality and like, uh, being your best self, listening to your inner voice. Um, it’s just very centrally focused and gratitude is more of a
Blayne Barber (28:02):
Position of like, nothing I have is because I chose to be here. Like I didn’t pick my parents. I didn’t pick the life I was born into. Now you can certainly take and cultivate those things and, um, be a good steward of like the opportunities you’re given, whether that’s meeting, uh, Greg and working with CrossFit or it’s being homeless for a period of time or your mom that allowed you to come in and out as you want. Uh, but like ultimately my family sacrificed the time so I could plan the PJ tour. So for me to stand up and say, man, look how hard I worked and like, look what I achieved. And I mean, sure. I put in a lot of hard work and I used my natural gifting, but I mean, my, my siblings gave up a lot of fun time at home, on the weekends to go travel with me so I could play junior tournament so I could play golf. Like, yeah, it’s, I’m not a one minute show. Um, and so gratitude, I think is just the kind of outward looking perspective of being aware of, uh, why you are, where you are.
Sevan Matossian (29:08):
Makes sense. I like, um, uh, I like what you said, it it’s a, it’s a, it’s a position
Blayne Barber (29:13):
Mm-hmm <affirmative>
Sevan Matossian (29:17):
I I’m starting to think that, that there there’s something magical in like that, that word, that thought could be a gateway for me, like a door, if I can get, if I can embrace that idea, um, more, and also I could share with other people because I feel very thankful. Mm-hmm <affirmative> like almost so thankful that I’m not thankful. I can’t really explain it, but, but when I, but yesterday when I was looking at your Instagram, I was like, you seem like a very, um, uh, you don’t take anything that you have for granted. It seems like
Blayne Barber (29:55):
I, well, I instinctively I do, but I try to push.
The above transcript is generated using AI technology and therefore may contain errors.
Check out our other posts.
