I agree Mike is not Lenny.
Having played golf with them I can make some comments on each of their games. I keep meaning to do a storytime Lenny, but just haven’t found the time to do so. 
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Can’t wait to hear who you think gets there first?
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Give the people what they want!
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I’ve been catching up on the Pod the last few weeks, but must admit it has done my game no favors, as the last 3 weeks have been the worst stretch of golf for me in years. This may be coincidental, but they might be to blame. I’m considering a swing overhaul in the next week before the City Championship. Or I might just need to listen through the full catalog of The Sweet Spot over the next week to get my mind right again.
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Listen to sweet spot strategy and rough.
Every time i listen to them i pick up another useful nugget
Very applicable to play without being actually swing adjustments during event season.
Did you go to the invitational?
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I did! It was awesome. Met Mike Carrol, and saw him crush some drives. Played River Bend and have a full write up on it…
River Bend: It’s an interesting course… some terrible holes, greens are in great shape but have bermuda and the grain is not a joke… it was an interesting thing to adjust to. I also learned the dumbest rule in golf! You aren’t allowed to “test the playing surface” of a green to figure out which way the grain is running… so you have to go to the cup and figure out which area the grass is growing towards.
I have lots of thoughts on the golf course… Got to see Mike and Eli in action on Sunday… Eli absolutely CRUSHED a ball on #1. Like melted it.
Played on Monday with Dr. J… it was good fun! Mike and Eli are actually just incredibly nice and thoughtful people… Genuinely excited to have everyone out and just wanted to meet people and talk to them… I gave some gifts which may or may not pop up on the podcast / patreon…
The course on Monday was super tough… we also did not get lunch on the course… I’m still shocked at how sober everyone was. Everyone I met was super nice. I’m looking forward to hearing what comes next!
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It looked like a great time. So many (unanswerable) questions. Can’t wait to hear all the CS content they are releasing next week.
I had the great fortune to meet Mike and Eli at Cog Hill for the late summer run. They really are two awesome guys.
Two questions you might be able to answer without violating any NDA’s
- Was the course too tight for Irish Mike to really let loose? What did he shoot?
- Any specifics on an Invitational #2?
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He was over par… course was very tight and unforgiving of misses… I think he shot a 73-74… he also lost one of the long drive holes (and wasn’t that much past me on the one he won)
Yes. Various plans for various things. Mike and Eli schedules are TBD, but we are considering an event in Austin in March.
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@Craigers were you at the final major? Just listened to that episode and watched the YouTube video (which was great).
I’m a fan, but not a super-fan like you, but really happy it turned out the way it did (for competitive reasons going forward). Although a sudden death playoff would have been awesome to see how they handled the pressure.
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Yep. I made the drive. Ate at Yamato. Did it all. Mike and Eli are actually awesome in person. Just generically good guys who are a little overwhelmed that so many people love the podcast. It’s pretty cool.
Agreed on the result. Mike would have struggled to bounce back if he had lost. Eli made some decent 8 footers in the front 9 to stay in it and mike had some bad short game moments…
3- mike missed a bogey putt
4- Eli made an 8’footer that wasn’t easy
5- mike three putts to lose the hole.
He could have buried Eli early.
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How does eli hit it 300 yard plus? The swing looks uh ordinary? There must be speeeed. Im assuming some of the distances may be off a tiny bit due to doglegs and tee box locations but still ….
I’m new to the whole “Chasing Scratch” thing, but is he carrying the ball 300? Which, AIUI, requires ball speed in the 170 range. Maybe 165, with absolutely perfect launch. Or is he ending up 300 yds out? Which even my silly butt has done.
(6@Pebble starts downhill, and if you launch low, the headland blocks the omnipresent sea breeze. You can roll all the way to the base of the 15% grade, and then go, “Now what?” It didn’t end well. Though, like the bit with Andy Samberg on SNL, “Don’t care, still had sex.” Still had fun. How can you not, out there?)
I played river bend the day before with my GPS watch. I was one tee up. It was downhill, but not significantly downhill… I average 280 off the tee and hit this one well…
Eli was 50 yards past this and was playing a tee back.
His swing creates speed, he hits the ball far. I questioned his distance previously and don’t think he averages 300 off the tee, but he’s definitely hitting the ball well past 300 on occasion.
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Jacked up with a little nervous energy between the final major and gallery pressure, very much realistic to absolutely crush that one.
Doesn’t mean he averages 300, but its in the tank when everything lines up
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Having played with both of them at Cog Hill, I can assure you that Eli can easily hit it 300+ yards. He is also fearless with his driver. There were many places when I some 40 yards shorter wouldn’t hit the driver and he just swung away.
As much as Eli’s weight is made fun of, what hasn’t been discussed much is he was a D1 athlete whose hand eye coordination is incredible. Look at his swing again and the backswing isn’t that impressive. What is impressive is how much leverage and swing speed he is able to generate on the down swing.
Because Eli is so long, it’s pretty much overlooked that Mike is also not a short driver of the ball. He is also the quickest player I have ever played with. Hands down.
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Im generally the quickest player anyone has played with. It has been suggested to me that slowing down play may improve my scoring.
Any chance thats is also true for Mike?
Agree with your comments on Eli downswing. Thats what i meant. The swing just doesnt seem to generate the speed to hit ball 300 but clearly it does.
Sweetspot contact adds a lot, so maybe his hand eye coordination allows him to contact sweetspot a lot.
That is…far. Guessing he’s typically in the 175-180 ball speed range then. Go him.
From your shot track, watching that drive sail at River Bend, had to be a little nerve-wracking towards the end, right @Craigers? I know I’d be all, “You’ve got to be kidding me. I nail it, land it well, and it’s going to end up in the water?!” Probably not as close as it looks on that map.
Distances have just gotten silly in the last decade or so. As I’ve mentioned here a few times, I’m reading Pelz’s Short Game Bible published, I want to say, in the early 00’s, and the typical distances there, aren’t the distances I read about (and occasionally hit myself) here.
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I thought I was wet for sure… I wasn’t even close. Good times! I also managed to hit the green… also played 2 with some strategy and barely missed the eagle chip…
My biggest takeaway is they are still actively mediocre at working around a golf course and avoiding mistakes.
Mike had a huge advantage with Steve on his bag, but still made mental mistakes.
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Yes, There was one hole I thought he had picked up, only to find out that he had finished it. He wasn’t playing well and he admittedly like to play fast. However, there were times if he thought through what shot he wanted to take, he would have for sure saved himself some strokes.
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