Mike Tucker, Director Of Golf At Bellerive Country Club-Sunday, -Golf With Jay Delsing

This is golf with Jay Delsing, a two-time All-American at UCLA, a participant in nearly 700 PGA Tour events, seven professional wins to his credit, over 30 years of professional golf experience, a member of the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame. This is Golf with Jay Delsing. Hey, good morning. This is Golf with Jay Delsing. I'm your host Jay and I'm with my buddy, longtime caddy friend, John Perlis. Perlis, good morning. What's happening? Good morning, Jay. Everything's happening.

It's good down in Scottsdale, Arizona. Looking forward to talking to you. Well, we formatted the show like a round of golf.

This first segment is called the On the Range segment. And we are giving away a dozen TP5 golf balls every week to anyone that sends me an email. Jay at jdelsinggolf.com. That's J-A-Y spelled on both ends of that.

And under the word balls or the fact that you want it to be thrown in this drawing and we will pull your name from that and send you a dozen golf balls. Alright, so Pearl crazy crazy first start for the PGA Tour at the century tournament. Jon Rahm closes 10 under par 63.

Colin Morikawa, I just got to jump into it. I cannot believe what I saw in a short game coming down the stretch that absolutely undid it for him. Hey, Jay, talk about those tight lines, though, on that grass going into the grain. Well, you've got to get those touch shots when you can't just afford to just kind of punch it up there.

Talk about that a little bit because I don't care who you are. Those are always a little bit nervy, let alone a guy that's confidence is on the rocks at best with those shots. Yeah, so so what happened first, folks, is I think on the 14th greenside bunker, Morikawa had a long ish bugger shot but certainly not difficult slightly on the upslope and he bladed it. I think easing or called it a home run.

You know, it's gonna it's gonna touch all the bases hit it over the green. Just really uncharacteristic for a guy who had made a bogey all week long john so he'd he'd played Oh my gosh, how are 63 and 467 holes without making a bogey and then turn turns around and bogeys the next two holes. And what stood out to me was what he did on 15 with the tight lie that you're talking about slightly uphill again, which for tour players is really makes it the shot a little easier. But when you're playing over kapalua john, the is such a grainy grainy Bermuda grass.

And if you're not spot on with those wedges, you're going to chunk a lot of shots. And what Morikawa did is he chunked it onto the front edge. And then Pearl, he didn't get that ball up and down. So you could really see a guy who was in total control of the of the tournament.

Go from there. He can't keep his car on the track. Well, the guys were talking about with the commentators as well, though, that that's part of the weakness of his game. So he knows they know everybody knows when he got in that position. He just didn't get in that position much during the earlier part of the week. And there's just that next level of if I just hit this one good, I'm going to win this tournament.

I'm right on the edge. And that's just such a tough little shot. And there's a lot of times during the year where you might have that shot, but you're not dealing with that sticky, nasty grain. So you can kind of fake it up there.

You can't fake it up there in those conditions. No, john, if your club is slightly off plane, or a little bit wonky coming in with that leading edge, folks, it is going to do the interesting thing, Pearl, the bladed bunker shot, and the fat pitch. Basically the same sort of thing, Pearl, that leading edge is coming in at too sharp and too abrupt an angle.

And that's four head in one and fat and the other and neither of those are conducive to trying to win on that tour. I don't think you're given that bunker shot is do I think it was a little bit longer than you're suggesting. I thought that was just past that. It was in that throw up zone again, baby.

There's other than this grainy stuff that we're talking about all those tight lines. That long, not just long bunker shot, but that bunker shot where you can't just hit a regular explosion is arguably the toughest shot in the game. John, that's what I thought initially from TV.

But then when I did my research, they said it was only 72 feet from the hole, which is, you know, 18 yards or so. It was a hell of a lot more difficult than the pitch that he that he messed up. But anyway, let's talk a little bit more on the positive side, john ram. He started his day off with an opening bogey john and just absolutely caught fire 10 under par and win his eighth PGA Tour event of the year.

And how about this $2.7 million for first place 550 FedEx cup points? Well, the other thing that was important, I think obviously, he loves the money and all that kind of stuff. And he made a charge at the end, which he's known to do. But I guess clearly in the middle of the tournament, when he could have really lost it in his temper was starting to get the better of him. He called himself he hung in there just apparently long enough to be able to be in some kind of a range to go for it the last day, assuming a bit of a fallback by Maricopa.

But that's a big deal for john rump because when he can maintain his composure, I'm not sure too many guys can beat him. No, I think you're right, john. I think that's what happens. And, and, and that's that maturation, right? He's a dad.

Now. He's got two children married a little bit that that's part of the thing that kind of carries over and wait a second, wait a second, wait a second, wait a second. What did you just say? He's married a little bit. No, I said, did I I'm not sure what I said. I think he's married a lot.

But he's said maturation that carries over a little bit is what I was trying to say. I don't know, maybe we should go to the replay and see. I love those commercials where they say let's go to the replay. John, I'm going to do the tip of the cap segment. Now tip of the cap is brought to you by the dean team Volkswagen of Kirkwood 314-966-0303. And Colin burn is our buddy over there. Pearly's got a Colin vehicle.

I've got a column vehicle my family of driving vehicles from the dean team Volkswagen of Kirkwood. We're tipping our cap this week to Jim Cavanaugh, Matt Horner and the entire worldwide technologies team for jumping into the world of golf with both feet. They've they've hosted and been the title sponsor of two PGA Tour events for the last for a PGA Tour event the last two years I should say they're involved as presenting sponsor the ascension charity classic that we have over at Norwood.

And they're not stopping anytime soon. They've also inked a five year agreement to be the official player development sponsor for the APGA the advocate PGA that is a huge deal for those folks. And so we appreciate their their help along with dirty business solutions to brought to us that APGA event and the inaugural APG event last year at Glen echo.

This is the tip of the cap. It's brought to you by the dean team Volkswagen of Kirkwood 314-966-0303. Thank you, Colin. That's going to wrap up the on the range segment. We want to thank dirty business solutions for being the title sponsor of the Gulf of j delson show. And don't go anywhere because I've got my interview with the director of golf Mike Tucker from Bellreef Country Club. This is golf with j dels that was on the range with j delsing. For news on the latest golf equipment tips and to ask Jay a question, log on to j delsing golf.com.

Coming up, it's the front nine on golf with j delsing. I love having dirty business solutions as the title sponsor of the golf with j delsing show you already know that they're the number one largest it consulting firm and the largest software developer in the St. Louis region. You also know that there are over 2500 dirty teammates in 30 states and three countries around the world. But what you may not be aware of is what dirty business solutions does right here in our own community. They were the sponsor for the first advocate PGA event at Glen echo this past September dirty business solutions was also a presenting sponsor of the Ascension charity class. They have created access point which builds diversity in the IT workforce. This is a game changer in our community. Literally hundreds of mostly young African American women are getting 50 to $60,000 per year jobs right out of high school.

And that training begins in high school. dirty business solutions believes talent is equally distributed, but access to that opportunity is not Ron dirty. Our founder at dirty business solutions is the chair of the 2023 heart ball supporting local the local American Heart Association Foundation.

These are just a few examples of the positive things dirty business solutions is doing right now in our community. The legends of golf returned to St. Louis in 2023. You won't want to miss one of the strongest fields in golf, Ernie Els, Steve Stricker, Bernard longer, john Daly and many more when they compete for the 2023 Ascension charity classic title September 5 through the 10th at historic Norwood Hills Country Club all proceeds benefit area charities together, we were able to donate over $1 million to those most in need last year visit Ascension charity classic.com. You're listening to golf with Jay delsing. To connect with Jay, log on to j delsing golf.com. You'll see the latest in equipment, find the latest innovations in golf and get tips from a PGA professional.

That's j delsing golf.com. The official vehicle provider of the golf with Jay delsing show is the dean team, the dean team Volkswagen of Kirkwood, they provide me Pearly and our families with all of our cars. The reason we went with the dean team is because we could trust them. We knew at the dean team, they were going to take care of us. And they have they made the entire car buying experience so simple.

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Find out more at Ascension charity classic calm. This is Jay delsing. And I'm visiting with the director of golf, my good buddy, Mike Tucker, the director of golf, I should say, at the Bell Reed Country Club tuck. Thanks for joining me this morning. Thanks for having me, Jay.

It's a pleasure to be on with you. You know, the Midwest is not the place to be. I want you to go ahead and rub it in a little bit and tell everybody where you are and what's happening down in Florida. Well, I, I'm fortunate enough to be able to take a little time and the months of January and February for the most part to get down to South Florida down here at in the Jupiter steward area. You know, people are familiar with Jupiter and the spring training for the Cardinals. And the PGA of America has a has a has a nice home base here at PGA golf club where they have a series of events for PGA professionals like me. And there's probably 10 or 12 guys from the Gateway section down here competing and playing and just getting away and quite frankly enjoying that, you know, a little bit of a break from the jobs, but also teaming up with some guys from around the country, playing some good, good tournament golf and you know, just enjoying weather that's not not so bad.

It's been awfully nice down here. So I won't I won't lie. It's kind of cool. Yeah, I know. Go ahead, rub it in.

It's all good. And, you know, we can't, we'd be remiss to not talk a little bit about your big bro, you guys, long lineage of great golf professionals at Bell Reef. Give us an update of your your brother Jerry and let's talk about I know he's still got lots of game in that bag of his.

Well, it actually just just happened to show itself this weekend. Why was good, good friends and members of Bell Reef, Phil caster and Brian Lovett were down there playing in a national senior junior down here in South Florida and we had a little match Jerry and I against Brian and Phil and they're, they're our best two players at Bell Reef. They're, they're seven or eight time club champions. And Jerry, as my partner, I think I cut him one shot, he shot 67. So he was a good partner to have that data at 73 years old. That's pretty impressive that he still still can get it around. And he's been a, as you know, Jay, he's been a great mentor to many people in the section and as a good so called professional tree that has has gone on to do some pretty neat things, you know, that he started and he he was able to grow and I've just been very fortunate enough to be his little brother and take all the advantages that come with being a little brother and and just, you know, he set me up for a career in the game and the business as it turned out, I've been so fortunate, it was all because of him, he had an opportunity to bring me on his staff at Bell Reef in 1987. When I started and I just, you know, I admired the way he did his business. He was a great BGA professional, but he was also a fine player rules official, he did it all he was the Renaissance golf pro and I just was in the fortunate enough to be in the my mom made him hire me I think or something like that. So it worked out really well for me and I owe him everything and I try to follow the footsteps and that's what we try to do at Bell Reef now is take our team that we bring in and try to get them into a position where they can have success and grow their careers. Like Jerry grew the careers of so many of his of his assistants and team members I've tried to follow and you know, I'm not not as maybe not as successful as Jerry but I you know, we give it we give it a shot every you're doing the exact same thing that he's doing and by the way, folks, if Mike Tucker wasn't good at his job, he wouldn't have his job so that don't buy into what you just said I don't buy into a talk it's it's it's awfully awfully kind of you to handle that question that way but I don't think it's true and I know for a fact like my friend Crimson Callahan was with you guys for a minute and then you you got him a job somewhere else and he's off trying to make his mark and maybe back and you're doing that with a lot of players and and and also as we kind of kind of move into our next topic. Tuck you Bell Reeve your staff the membership there is really keeping St. Louis in the national golf spotlight so to speak and you know the PGA Championship will never be equaled in my opinion in 2018 the hundredth year anniversary you guys your staff knocked it out of the park the play couldn't have been better. Talk to us a little bit about 2026 you have the BMW Championship coming to Bell Reef and then 2030 the President's Cup which is an entirely different animal. Well I just to go back real quick I do think some people probably thought that Tiger did win with all the with all the the throngs of people and even our members getting so excited watching you know him make his charge and it's been a long time since we'd seen that obviously Brooks Koepka is a worthy champion a four time major champion and you know Bell Reef produced some pretty you know Gary Player winning the Open in 65 being a multi you know champion major champion and Brooks Koepka and you know we're going to see yes the best players in the world and you know it all starts to shape the membership and the leadership at Bell Reef have proven time and time again that they embrace hosting championship golf and trust me and you know the members I don't want to get in trouble by I don't want to get them too much you know just like I'm stroking the membership giving them the accolades but hey it's not easy hosting championship golf and it takes effort it takes time and it takes your club away it takes your golf course and your facility away from the members that are you know enjoying it and you know that doesn't stop us from hosting as the championships that are worthy and come our way when the opportunity presents itself just like the PGA Championship of 2018 it did set records and also and let's face it Jay you will you know this is a lot of you it takes a community it takes the whole city of St. Louis the region the state to get behind this and make this work and it wasn't just our championship it was St. Louis' championship the bi-state areas championship and we were just you know we were fortunate enough to be able to host we've got a great physical plant we enjoy hosting it you know even though like I said we in 18 we had a few different issues pop up with a challenge with the greens that you know things happen right I mean you know that's growing living of being out there and Carlos Serrea and his team and Carlos is now our general manager and they did an amazing job of keeping things together and we were able to host it and conduct a great championship and in 2026 we're gonna have the BMW championship the best players in the world I think will be back in place and in play in the August of 26 that summer and that's the right now it's set up for the top 70 players in the world to come to St. Louis and I think you may see a couple tweaks here and there but I don't think much will change other than that so I think we're ready for a great championship and then just a few four short years later the world comes here with the President's Cup and who knows what the teams will look like at that time but we know that that's one event St. Louis has not had we haven't had an international cup match we haven't had a Ryder Cup we haven't had the President's Cup so this will be a this will be an event unlike any other because the international flavor I mean literally there'll be hundreds of hundreds hundreds and hundreds of media visitors from all over the world because these players are coming from every corner of the globe so that in itself will be just a spectacle bell we've hosted the 1992 PGA Championship that Nick Price won and you were working there with your brother talk a little bit about I mean we have seen this game blow up with the career and the happenings and the significant contributions of Tiger Woods but talk a little bit about from from the from the golf pro perspective on on trying to oh I don't know manage maybe two three four times fold the stuff that goes on well it starts with again you know excellent leadership the membership that the club always has been we've already you know started to identify our chairman and committee members that will will run the volunteerism of you know that starts with the club then you get the associations that you're working with be it the PGA of America USGA or the PGA tours like we'll see in 2026 the PGA tour is a we'll we'll conduct that event and we have a wonderful relationship working relationship with all of these allied associations and we you know we know that there's a lot of a lot of interesting things going on in the world of professional golf right now and we know that by the time 26 gets here we all feel pretty good that whatever will need to be worked out or ironed out will be we think they'll be there you know we're pretty confident that there's going to be some kind of you know you know peaceful agreement at some point in time and right now the that we are already starting to get the ball rolling on hey who's gonna run and do why who's gonna you know lead the charge and the members do this will have I think this one's only 1,500 maybe volunteers 1,500 to 200 or 2,000 volunteers but our membership will be involved in in that the whole way and again we embrace that so you get your committees together you start selling hospitality you start organizing the state of Missouri that the municipalities of town and country Cheshire field we start talking about traffic you know patterns and you know sparing hotels so this is all you know the lead up to it you know the infrastructure so to speak of how to host a major event of any kind and St. Louis has done a heck of a job and every time we've been able to do this you know they've come through and made it made it easy to work with so I'm pretty pretty happy that we're gonna have again an easy road to this we've done before but you know it does start with the membership wanting to do something like this and bring it bringing championship golf to St. Louis and I'm happy to see our friends at Norwood that have a regular tour stop now with the seniors and you know who knows what's next but you know it just shows St. Louis is a hell of a sports town you know that I mean I don't tell you that that St. Louis leads the way in so many so many aspects so it's a it's a team it's a team it's a whole been a lot of teamwork that has to go with a lot of different you know moving parts with state you know city and the association so we're we're we're pretty good at it at the at the end of the day and happy to do so oh my gosh tuck one of the things that comes to mind is the difference between the merchandise village or whatever you want to call that area between 92 in 2018 it's almost like the difference between going to do your grocery shopping at a at a oh gosh a gas station compared to going to a super store or something you know because it was just went to the boutique kind of experience maybe the mom and pop to you know the big box store you know we got we got mass you know the mass you know they realize the pj of america and i think usj both realize hey you can make money in this merchandise thing and put logos on everything that's possible and and and sell the hell out of it but it's truly uh yeah it's just it's it's you know you get lucky with having uh you know good ticket sales corporate hospitality that helps i mean obviously you gotta have people there to make things work and uh st louis always supports that so the merchandise the merchandise tent and it was you know not to get into the the backstory but the merchandise tent was had been in you know uh you know potentially in a different you know part of the of the landscape part of the you know part of the build out and it just happened we you know the merchandise tent ended up where it did in in 2018 right there by the entrance so we we had people coming in going to the merchandise tent they were leaving going to the merchandise tent and they enjoyed it and they enjoyed it many times and that's uh that's a win-win so had that was just uh you know as it happened to work out you know swimmingly for everybody tuck you got me a couple times it's almost like an impulse item you know and they they have that's why they have the gum and the candy at the checkout style because you grab something i might go hell i gotta get another shirt or i gotta get another hat it was it was absolutely spectacular i'm gonna ask you one other thing talking then that's gonna wrap up this first part of our our interview when it comes to your staff in this staffing how important is it to have gone through this like you know this is going to be what probably your fifth or sixth championship i mean having that kind of experience and you talk about leadership in the club but your leadership with your team that's crucial i'm super fortunate to have a great staff and you know they always say hired your weaknesses and i have a lot of weaknesses so i've got uh i've had to make some good hires so i i i do have some returning veterans like jd hopping and uh you know some of our crew that have been around and and what's really important as you know when your agronomic team that is so vital that you know hey we don't want to be you know caught out there going hey what the heck you know how what what what do champions championship conditions look like what do we do we're gonna have to do to get this golf course ready well quite frankly you know we've had you know we had a we had our hands full in 18 we had a few challenges we got through them with flying colors and the golf course now is in excellent condition we've been able to do the things we needed to do to bring up uh you know bring the golf course back up to speed like it should be for our daily uh play for our membership you know our membership deserves championship conditions as well and so we're not we don't have to do a whole lot of work on the on the on the grass on the agronomic side and again we have we've done this before we have some some people in place that have seen it before so it's really nice to to know that you know we can anticipate better and that makes the operation go better all right so that's going to wrap up the first segment of our interview with mike tucker he's the director of golf at bell reef country club don't go anywhere we'll be we'll be back with the second half of the interview on the front nine this is golf with j delson that was the front nine presented by the ascension charity classic coming up it's the back nine and more of golf with j delsing this is j delsing did you know that marcon is the largest authorized appliance parts distributor in the world that's right the largest in the world did you know that marcon is based right here in our backyard of st louis missouri well that's pretty impressive what's more impressive is the way that they get back to the st louis community and our region ceo jim sours has donated service dogs to the wounded servicemen and women of our armed forces suites at saint louis blues games have been donated and auctioned off in which all proceeds were given to the backstoppers then there was the marcon police and firefighters viewing deck at the ascension charity classic this past year it was a huge success so much so that it's being implemented on other tour stops around on the pga tour to jim sours and his incredible team at marcon we want to say thank you thank you marco a proud sponsor of the golf with j delsing show this is paul wayzinger and you're listening to golf with j delsinger the legends of golf return to st louis in 2023 you won't want to miss one of the strongest fields in golf ernie ells steve stricker bernard longer john daley and many more when they compete for the 2023 ascension charity classic title september 5th through the 10th at historic norwood hills country club all proceeds benefit area charities together we were able to donate over 1 million dollars to those most in need last year visit ascension charity classic.com powers insurance and risk management combines 200 years of experience and cutting edge products to deliver exceptional service value and clarity to their clients powers insurance will deliver the highest quality property and casual insurance programs and strategic planning consultation services in the industry insurance can be overwhelming and confusing it can be tough to 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see what pro-am golf can do for you hey welcome back this is golf with jay delsing i'm sitting down with my buddy mike tucker he's the director of golf at bell reef country club and we're chewing the fat on a little st louis golf on some major championships and tuck back in what i guess it was 2018 you got to play around a practice round with uh justin thomas didn't you i did and uh you know here's the the ironic thing about this and kind of the backstory so mike thomas justin's dad who is you know obviously well known as his uh his mentor coach teacher uh mike thomas and i were on the board the pj of america of pj of america's board of directors uh back in 2010 and 11 so i got to know mike when justin was only 15 you know 16 years old and had i known he was going to be this good i've been a lot nicer to him when he was a little kid you know growing up there and hanging around the board of the board meetings and things but it was it was interesting because i remember meeting justin for the first time like i said he's 15 or 16 and he was a good junior player and he was a he's not a very big guy now but he sure was he wasn't very big when he was you know just a teenager but i i realized you know i heard he was going to be pretty you know something pretty special and i got to know his dad you know through our um through our time on the board and then obviously you know the career took off he was a little behind jordan's feet his good friend you know out of the blocks but then you know he actually you know kind of almost i would say almost surpassed jordan in the in in expectations and and uh they're both having great careers no doubt but it was pretty cool because the opportunity you know the pga you know david charles kerry hag said hey we'd like someone to play with justin and since i knew these guys and i know i could not maybe not embarrass myself to go out there and play around with him it was pretty it was pretty cool and you know he was he was hitting for 50 yards by me and you know it's i weighed my you know 50 pounds and he's hitting a 50 yards by me but that's the way it goes but it was cool my assistant michael keo rode along with us and he you know we had this little playful match and i buried the first hole so i had him went down and i you know i said on the second tee i said are you you're probably scared aren't you justin he's like uh no no i'm really not so we had a good time with it and um i think he shot 65 i'm you know just kicking it around but i could tell you know just watching the best play and you play to the best players in the world jay in your career you've seen you know you played golf at an incredibly high level obviously it's just it is spectacular to watch you know someone that's just on the top of their game at the top of the world of you know and their sport so uh it it it obviously you know those are the kind of the cool things when you host championships you get to do and and uh and you know it's just it's just again we're so fortunate i mean how lucky you know my brother got toast to pj championship i got toast to pj championship you know as a head professional as a host professional so pretty fortunate for two guys from carbondale oh my gosh well you guys deserve it tuck one of the things i got to talk to you about because i know you know this better than i do but i was out at 2018 i was out for tigers front nine and i had listened to you i think you were on a cardinal game with um oh gosh i can't remember who the president of the uh i know his first name was mike mike takola yeah mike takola of course sorry mike and anyway you were talking about what a premium it was going to be to play bel revoir to to compete and win the championship on hitting your driver well and tiger went out on the front nine and missed every fairway in chat i think four under on sunday didn't he i think he did yeah he hit it in some places that uh that you know we actually have a couple spots and one in particular in the ninth hole he hit it you know you know bel revoir like the back your hand to hit it left of the fairway bunkers on number nine right by the cart path matter of fact he probably almost had to stand on the cart path so he's got a he got this this 45 during a side hill live balls above his feet back left hole location impossible to get to and he launches it up there and and hits it about 10 or 12 feet that makes it for birdie i mean had he won the championship i guarantee there'll be a play there would be a plaque there right now and who knows there still may be a plaque there in the future because and now jay this is the one thing people have to remember the greens were very receptive they were soft that that week because of our conditions and we had that's the that that was the way we had to play it so the soft conditions quite frankly in taking nothing away from tiger trout but had the greens been firmer and faster hitting shots out of the rough hitting shots from less than ideal lies may have been more problematic for tiger so the soft conditions allowed the players to throw darts and hitting yeah let's face it when you're you know kepka is hitting driver on every every tee box i think and if it's in the rough who cares but it was still you look at that you look at the leaderboard it was really good drivers of the golf ball adam scott was right there you know even though tiger wasn't in his driver good but uh but kepka's a you know fine driver the golf ball so a lot of long hitters and um conditions were ripe for missing fairways you may have a chance although he still had some spectacular shots that we'll all remember how about the way that tiger and kep and brooks kepka played the 18th hole on sunday i mean come on what the hell well i tell you i i think i've said this many times when tiger knew he wasn't going to not wasn't likely to win the championship after you know on the walk up to 18 but when he made his putt on 18 he had that fist bump and little i think he even had a little like little leg kick it's like i know he i and then in his mind i knew he knew he didn't win but i think he it clicked and it finally he proved himself he can win again he could win a major he he didn't lose that major brooks kepka won the major so tiger post his i believe 14 under par which is good enough to win that week it just happened to be you know kepka's week so i think we made that putt on 18 i think his reaction was more you know hey i'm back i could do this and then what did he do the next major to keep it up in was the masters the following year and he won so i think that was a moment that tiger kind of kind of at least to himself knew that he he was he was able to uh to compete at the level he needed to compete at and that's why he kind of got excited because tiger doesn't get excited over second places no he he doesn't at all and to me it was also kind of like this is uh symbolic to the rest of you guys on the pga tour uh don't forget about me i'm back i i pulled this i forget what tiger shot the last round was it 66 or 64 wait it was low i think he shot 64 yeah and it was low and he didn't win but it was kind of like hey guys i'm back and you're gonna have to deal with me and the gallery fed off of it too so they were they were you know quite frankly i think it was no it's no secret that that he was getting the biggest galleries the biggest the biggest ovations the roars were all for him and uh yeah so so he fed off the the saint louis crowd's energy and you know that walk over the you know that walk over the the bridge and then painting back to the people down below i mean that'll be an iconic that's an iconic figure in golf and it should be in saint louis sports history as well and so you gotta you gotta credit credit the credit the saint louis crowd for uh for maybe uh spring them on to some some greatness that week yeah that's this saint louis sports community doesn't disappoint tuck i know how much pga reach means to you i know but maybe the folks don't quite know what great work you're doing in the community ali wells the entire gateway section ozzie smith is oh my gosh to have someone of ozzie's character and and celebrity to help you know push this ball let's talk about reach a little bit sure well you know it it was you know the reach program had had had it was it was just uh you know a beginning program was a thought to get something going and and you know we need to have uh an opportunity a charitable arm of the gateway pga to you know let's let's get into something that can help others but we didn't really have it was just a you know we were just basically basically just getting started and the opportunity arose toast you know to be considered to you know hosting a pga championship and you know the thoughts behind you know the leadership at the time was you know hey how can we how can we tie you know hosting a pga championship in our community and how can we tie that to doing the good works that are needed in the community and and obviously tied it to at the time it was it was a lot on on the youth and junior programming in the inner city in the urban areas that needed as much help as they could get to to uh you know and a great give back you know here's golf it's a it's not necessarily a game that a lot of not everybody again we talk about diversity um it's like wow how can you know how can a golf tournament make my life better i live in the city i don't play golf and i don't go to country clubs but it's like oh my gosh we're gonna we're gonna be able to have some really really amazing things happen here because of this championship so um so the leadership of the uh of reach uh came up with a heck of a plan and it was like hey the pga of america liked it they liked hearing you know what that's right the pga championship comes to your city and the leave behind instead of you know the the host club gets some new bunkers and the hotels and restaurants do well it's going to be you know what we did we built this community center we started a program and the lead behind it lasts forever not just for two weeks and what has been amazing jay is that the pga of america now requires every section has a reach program and if you want to host a pga championship you've got to tie it to reach you've got to this is where the charitable you know the money's going to go the charitable arm this is what the get back is going to be to your community and that started in st louis started the gateway pga i couldn't be more proud and delrive had a lot to do with that oh my gosh took you should be proud and and what's happening is ozzie smith is just a lover of the game and a huge uh heart for st louis his his champion the cause as well he's kind of hosts the gala and things like that and what reach um as as reach has grown and the effect that it's had on the community is is amazing and i i'm not even involved with reach and i'm super proud to be a saint louisian and to have it originate here and to keep it perpetuating here well and it i'll tell you what it was such a you know so so the program and the the origination of reach and how it grew throughout the 41 sections which is covers the entire country of the pga of america uh to take what started in the gateway pga section and now to be a a that it's not it's not optional it is every every section has their own their own uh program and it now we're now we're working with veterans you know we're working with different types of people that that need the help and you know obviously it started with juniors and and and in an urban setting now we're trying to do more uh to reach out to the people who do need us and we can do it through the game of golf and ozzy's been amazing and you know there's no he just carries the weight he carries in town is it's unlike just about any other you know when he puts his name and he puts his and he just doesn't you know just show up at the you know at the function wave i mean he wants there to be success with this program and he wants us to be part of his you know his legacy and you know he he gives it more than just uh you know the drive-by and and uh you know the shaking of a few hands i mean he does a heck of a job donating his time and we can't be more thankful don't can't have a you know a better spokesperson and a better figurehead for the operation but everyone should be proud of the st louis area that you know this is something that started a groundswell and is now a national program and it's successful and it started right here in st louis and the gateway pga absolutely and with the feather in the cap of belle reeve for for hosting a lot of the programs that are associated with it and so many of the other um oh man positive uh attributes that that go with reach and i think you were referring to pga hope when it when you uh we're talking about some of the work that um uh we do with the veterans and and and things like that which is gosh those those men and women women have given us in our country and our families so much to fight for freedom and and the things they do and it's it's you know tuck let's wrap it up with this i'm blown away and i obviously not that smart a guy and not that aware but as i get older what this game can do what it provides for the community i don't know how i got this lucky it's just ridiculous and to be involved in it to be able to talk to you about how you guys were instrumental in starting pga reach and now it's implemented across the country spectacular stuff man i am right with you jay i mean you know and i i you know a kid sometimes because i'm you know like i say my brother jerry and uh my my our middle brother john is actually he's the nice tucker he's the one that everyone likes you know he's the one that's laid back he doesn't he doesn't play golf he plays golf three times a year and scrambles with me but you know i mean my family my mom and dad were amazing people my dad worked for the u.s postal service and you know here you know what what my i saw my older brother jerry you know do and i've you know tried to do the best i can to make him proud and you know for me to have an opportunity to even just mention the names we talked about in this segment and then watch the game of golf you know change lives and to be a part of it and it's all i know that's i've never done i've never had a job outside the golf business it started when i was 16 years old working for jerry in mount burn illinois that's all i've known uh and and i just i'm amazed like you are you played around the world with so many great players you've seen a lot and think about the people we've met and the opportunities that i would never ever have a win for the game of golf and being at a place like belgrade i'm going into my 26th year as head professional and i'm so fortunate that they've kept me around for a while and uh hey you know we're we're both lucky and um and uh but uh i know i'm i think i'm a little luckier because you uh you've got a way better golf swing and you've got a way better game you earned your right to get out there and play around the world where i'm just i'm just still happy just to be a club pro and take a few bucks off my friends so uh you know what can i say this has been the director of golf mike tucker at belgrade country club tuck thanks so much for getting the to talk golf with me keep doing what you're doing please we all greatly appreciate it well i can't thank you enough for having me and uh it's always a pleasure as anything i can do for you you know jay you can reach out and this has been the back nine presented by pro and golf we'll make the turn into the clubhouse and head into the 19th hole that's next on golf with jay delsing this is jay delsing and if you're like me you're always looking for the best ways to improve your game that means getting the best most up-to-date equipment you can find in golf you can find that equipment at pro am golf pro am golf is located in brentwood and since prom golf opened in 1975 they have been more than just selling golf equipment pro amp golf is dedicated to helping build your game inside and out pro and golf can custom fit all your clubs specifically to your build they offer private one-on-one lessons and they carry golf gear for every part of your game that means clubs balls shoes apparel accessories from all the major brands i get asked all the time by golfers where should i go get fitted for clubs and i tell everyone to head to pro amp golf they're the best in town and make sure you ask for cj that's pro am golf visit pro am golf usa.com that's pro am golf usa.com i love having darty business solutions as the title sponsor of the golf with jay delsing show you already know that they're the number one largest it consulting firm and the largest software developer in the st louis region you also know that there are over 2500 darty teammates in 30 states and three countries around the world but what you may not be aware of is what darty business solutions does right here in our own community they were the sponsor for the first advocate pga event at glenn echo this past september darty business solutions was also a presenting sponsor of the ascension charity classic they have created access point which builds diversity in the it workforce this is a game changer in our community literally hundreds of mostly young african-american women are getting fifty to sixty thousand dollar per year jobs right out of high school and that training begins in high school darty business solutions believes talent is equally distributed but access to that opportunity is not ron darty our founder at darty business solutions is the chair of the 2023 heart ball supporting local the local american heart association foundation these are just a few examples of the positive things darty business solutions is doing right now in our community hey this is robert price with elite mind and you're listening to golf with j delsing this is j delsing and i've spent a lifetime in golf and what comes to playing the game of golf the dining experience of a club the amenities a club has to offer or a family atmosphere there's no place in missouri like whitmore country club at whitmore country club there are two 18 hole championship golf courses the membership there also provides access to 90 holes of golf in total there's a 4 000 square foot fitness center with 24 access there's three premium tennis courts two massive outdoor swimming pools there's junior programs for golf swimming and tennis and the best upscale and casual dining you'll find in the metro st louis area it's a club where you will feel comfortable a club where family and friends come and get together and really feel at home whitmore country club find out more at whitmore golf.com that's whitmore golf.com this is golf with j delsing and let's head to the 19th hole hey welcome back this is golf with j delsing perley's with me we're headed to the 19th hole so pearl i want to talk first of all the the interview that i have with mike tucker it's just so great i i love the the stuff about pga reach pearl that that just some of the things that golf brings to the table um pga reach uh started in st louis bell reef was instrumental in that mike tucker was instrumental of it allie wellsard and the director of um uh she's a current um executive director of our section all of those folks in the past were were instrumental and but you know john it just hits me the game just keeps on providing and mike tucker's appreciative and extremely humble and it's it's just a another tribute to the game yeah i got to meet the pga reach folks down in frisco texas at the new pga headquarters and man are they excited about what they've got going on and i know they're working and reaching out with you to maybe do something special that we can't talk about at this point but they are a passionate group and it extends throughout the country yeah absolutely all right so pearl let's talk a little bit again about the tournament in hawaii i just love the kickoff i love this century event it's over in kapalua the weather's spectacular the scores i mean it's a birdie fest but one of the things john that i thought was interesting and i thought really stood out on the broadcast was our buddy kurt biram we played college golf with kurt he went to university in mexico a hundred years ago with us and i just thought he added such a calmness such a professionalism to that broadcast where and i think you said this to me off air azinger kind of shoots from the hip and it works but kurt brings a real steadiness to that broadcast boy he has really honed his craft hasn't he jay on the on the kind of off tournaments in the off tours and i just think he's solid as a rocket we're probably influenced also a little bit by because we know him personally and he's just such a solid guy pearl what about you reminds me of the story that we're down in alabama in probably what probably the top i'd say probably top three worst conditions i've ever we've ever been in well when you add the top of it to the golf course is 7 600 yards long and the rough is about a foot and a half long i would say the toughest i've ever seen you playing that's for sure so folks pearly and i are this is a tour championship for the nationwide tour at the time and um i think we opened with like a 74 and i remember standing out in the fairway on 18 i think we decided on a four iron and i was just on the edge was i in the fairway bunker or not no i don't no no you're you're in the fairway you're in the fairway and i hit this four iron and went straight in the hole it made a two on 18 and kurt byram's you and i were high-fiving and carrying on and laughing and um and um kurt said to us he he sought us out and he said you know we tried to get you two on the air after you hold that shot on 18 but do you remember why he said we couldn't get us on pearl there's a little bit too much profanity flowing and flying around when we were celebrating there were some bad words being said i think you were using them because i don't talk i'm sure it was good yeah it had to be you no anyway i i remember that and he was he was such uh i mean he he came in and sought us out particularly for that fact and i still get a chuckle out of that and i i think you're right i mean i have a a really soft spot in my heart for him and know that he's worked really hard at um at his craft he sure he sure has i look forward to seeing the next level with him as well and jay kind of looks forward to seeing how that whole team's going to come together now that gary coke and uh roger waltby are gone uh there's just there's just a different dynamic and they've got to kind of find their way no they absolutely do and it's going to be fun to watch them hit their stride all right so john i did a research here and you know how we are with facts when it comes to the golf with jay delsing show exactly so put your seat belt on so colin morikawa joined a rather uh inauspicious group that he would probably not like to be a part of but he's one of nine tour players that have held a six shot lead or more going into sunday's final round and not one all right john here are some of the names bobby crook shank in 1928 he finished with an 80 no big deal gay brewer 1969 he closed with 73 didn't win the tournament hal sutton 1983 closed with a 77 at the anise bush golf classic and didn't win the tournament here we go greg norman 96 he shot 78 obviously didn't win sergio garcia in 2005 shot 72 closing didn't get the job done our ucla brewing spencer levine in 2012 shot 75 didn't get didn't close the close the door there dustin johnson in 2017 close with 77 and didn't win and scotty scheffler and this is kind of an asterix in my opinion john in last year's tour championship he closed with 73 but that's that staggered uh event format john for the tour championship not exactly a true six shot lead but he had a six shot lead and didn't win the event tough tough enough and i was and the reason i'm bringing this up is i'm not trying to to bust morikawa anymore but there's a hell of a lot of good players in some hall of famers in their pearl hey tell me what you think is you always hear this statement when somebody's losing a big lead holes is going to create scar tissue that they may never get over sometimes i think there might be a little bit of that but i think a lot of times it makes them more more determined to get over the hump to find out what that weakness is in their game to cause that or to find that outshot that they don't have what do you think about that that scar tissue comment you hear all the time not just in golf by the way but in different sports well john with moracao it reminds me of what two years ago at the colonial when he missed a three-footer on the first playoff hole and daniel berger won the championship i mean you know people were going to say oh this is going to affect him forever because moracao is for winning two majors in in the events and and had the career as he he wouldn't be considered a phenomenal putter and to miss a shorty like that they said it was going to have a lasting effect it had very little effect on them i i think john when you get on the the pga tour in that level you're you've learned to have that convenient short-term memory man when things don't go your way you got to drop it and move on and i mean column moracao finished second made a hell of a lot of money and also finished 24 under par john for a 72-hole tournament there's a lot of positives to take away there and i think most of those guys obviously get that they're into taking away the positive and getting that i always make the analogy when i hear them talk about the scar tissue jack nicholas had as many second places as he did first places i don't think he choked all those times i just think it's that hard and so that's part of the game i think and the key that you do here most of guys talking about i just want to keep putting myself in the position to win anything can happen and it's tough when it's really under the gun and a lot of times they don't have the game that we think they have and they just run out of gas no there's no question about it you know pearl that's gonna wrap up another show man we got another one in the books for 2023 yeah i forgot to do my puddle open can i do it now oh yeah open one oh that's good all right pearl well i will we will come back at him again next week with another episode of golf with j delsing we want to thank darty business solutions again for being their title sponsor ron and his team thank you very much this is golf with j delsing hit him straight st louis you are listening to golf with j delsing to connect with j log on to j delsing golf.com you'll see the latest in equipment find the latest innovations in golf and get tips from a pga professional that's j delsing golf.com hey this is j delsing for ssm health physical therapy our golf program has the same screening techniques and technology as the pros on the pga tour use ssm health physical therapy as the titleist performance institute trained physical therapist that can perform the tpi screening on you as well as use a k vest 3d motion capture system proper posture alignment etc can help you keep your game right down the middle we have 80 locations in the st louis area call 800-518-1626 or visit them on the web at ssm physical therapy.com your therapy our passion hey do you like wine have you heard about the hottest new wine bar in st louis it's called wild crush wine bar and it's located in town and country on clayton road just behind the strops have you ever experienced self-dispensing wine machines well they are here the only place in st louis and most of missouri that you'll find them and it's at wild crush you can choose your size of pour and wild crush will pour the freshest wine in the area for you the organic argon gas system used at wild crush keeps this wine pristinely fresh for up to 60 days so if you're tired of drinking wine that's been open for a few days come into wild crush for the best and freshest wine selection in the area go to wildcrushstl.com and come have one with us i love having dirty business solutions as the title sponsor of the golf with j delsing show you already know that they're the number one largest it consulting firm and the largest software developer in the st louis region you also know that there are over 2 500 dirty teammates in 30 states and three countries around the world but what you may not be aware of is what dirty business solutions does right here in our own community they were the sponsor for the first advocate pga event at glenn echo this past september dirty business solutions was also a presenting sponsor of the ascension charity class they have created access point which builds diversity in the it workforce this is a game changer in our community literally hundreds of mostly young african-american women are getting 50 to 60 thousand dollar per year jobs right out of high school and that training begins in high school dirty business solutions believes talent is equally distributed but access to that opportunity is not ron dardy our founder at dirty business solutions is the chair of the 2023 heart ball supporting local the local american heart association foundation these are just a few examples of the positive things dirty business solutions is doing right now in our community