Jay Delsing Show Sunday,

This is golf with Jay Delsingh. A two-time college 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. This is Golf with Jay Delsingh. Hey, good morning. This is Golf with Jay Delsingh.

I'm your host, Jay. Man, I've spent 25 years on the PGA Tour. And with me is my friend, my fellow UCLA Bruin, my caddie, John Perlis, who was an All-American at UCLA. Caddie from over 100 PGA Tour events.

Successful businessman, author, and lover of the game, Perli. Good morning. Good morning, Jay. How are you doing?

I'm doing just great, thanks. We formatted the show like a round of golf in the first place. First segment is called the On the Range segment. It's brought to you by TaylorMade Golf. We know all about the stealth driver.

I just got my stealth driver last week. And, man, I can't wait for the weather to just get a little warmer and hit some of those. We're also giving away a dozen TP5 golf balls.

Just email me, jay at jdelsinghgolf.com and you will be entered for those golf balls. I want to thank Bob and Kathy Donahue at Donahue Painting and Refinishing 314-805-2132. If you're home, anything you need, call Bob and Kathy. They are terrific people and do a great job. Alright, so John, today I have an interview with Christian Heavens.

Grew up in the East St. Louis area. Great kid, really a fun interview. Someone that I really think the community would love to kind of follow, kind of learn what he's about. He's on the big break.

He's going to be playing in the Advocate Professional Golf Tour event sponsored by Emerson, presented by Doherty this September. Really kind of a fun interview, I thought. I thought you did a great job in the interview. I thought he had, I love this story. Every piece of it brought me back to my mini-tour days when you're out there banging away, trying to get over the hump. He keeps trying, which is just awesome.

Yeah, no, absolutely. And you've got the Phil Mickelson stuff that just blasted all over the news. Let's focus on the golf right now.

And what Neiman did was really super impressive. His 23-year-old from Chile just destroyed the golf course, really, John. If there was a course where he could have fallen apart, I think it would have been Riviera. You know, there's some courses where you can't fake it on the tour. It's just too hard out there. I get that. But Riviera, you can see when the other guys talk about Riviera, how much respect they have for it, because you can't fake your way around there.

Julia, there's even some ice plants out there, someplace I remember from time to time, the trees to set up, etc. Now, granted, it was drier. It was playing faster than maybe we've ever seen it.

It's just wrought with places where you can just absolutely start falling apart. And he obviously did not. Wire to wire. Pretty exciting. You know, John, I can remember one time, I kind of got Craig Stadler involved in hockey, because you know, I'm a huge hockey fan. And he got to befriend Wayne Gretzky. And the great one came out on a Sunday afternoon one time. And you wouldn't believe how many people were following Wayne Gretzky, who was actually following golf. It was awesome to watch out at Riviera.

Yeah, just a great story. Having Tiger Woods be associated with the Genesis LA Open just raises that tournament level. There's not a guy on tour that doesn't want to have Tiger hand him the trophy and be associated to have a picture on a wall like that. And that tournament has really taken the top step of the West Coast swing, in my opinion. So when Tiger is kind of the host of that, is that in the same realm as Jack in Muirfield and Arnie at Bay Hill? Or is it is he is he got that level of stature at that property?

Obviously, Tiger does in the game of golf. But I mean, I didn't feel his name is quite attached to that event quite or they are they headed that direction? I think they're headed that direction. But Arnold and Jack have been there for years and years.

And so to your point, that's a good point and a good something to distinguish. Today, they'll be wrapping up the final round of the Honda Classic down there. And John, it's really been impressive to watch Barbara and Jack get involved in this tournament and give it lends such stability to this this event. Because when I was playing, we were hopping around to different venues all the time. We were at Eagle Trace, we were at Heron Bay.

Weston Hills, all sorts of different golf courses. And now it's found a home and it's really a cool event. Well, appropriately. So can you talk a little bit about the bear trap? How much did you have you played at this event? I'm sorry, I should remember this. I know I didn't caddy, which is you play at this property. I've played the property.

I did not play it as a tour event. So that's a kind of a yes and a no. But the bear trap is just it's just absolutely brutal.

1516 and 17. You can hit balls in the water all over the place there. I mean, it is just and you know what springtime Central Florida is like you're always getting a minimum of 15 to 20 miles an hour wind. Yeah, it's just interesting. You know, there's so many tournaments 17 to TPC, the different properties that they play. But here you've got a situation where there's three holes. So it's kind of fun to hear him talk about one hole that you might be thinking of. You've got a you've got 45 minutes, you got an hour that you're gonna be playing these three holes.

And you're thinking about that coming down the stretch. You know, jack just angles these greens, they sit at you at a 45 degree angle, john, and it makes it so challenging. It lets you know what kind of great iron player jack Nicklaus was.

I mean, well, we know he was a high, high fate iron player. That's that's for one. So if you're not that you're to just spend it right off the bat and a lot of his property. All right, so that's gonna wrap up the on the range segment. Don't forget, we have the interview with Christian heavens coming up. I'm going to run the tip of the cap segment. It's brought to you by the Colin burnt. My buddy Colin burnt at the dean team of Kirkwood 314 966 0303 tip of the cap goes to the companies, the employees, the volunteers, all of these folks that support the game of golf all over the country. You look at the organizations like Mercedes Benz, Coca Cola, American Express, MasterCard, the list goes on and on. It's a who's who of corporate America. And with those corporations come hosts of volunteers.

And the term it takes a villages never been more appropriate than how many folks are involved in putting together a golf tournament, running these things, and then leaving a bunch of money at home for the charities that are involved. So my cap is tip to those guys today. I want to thank Colin and brandy at the dean team of Kirkwood 314 966 0303. That's going to wrap up the on the range segment. We'll be back with more of golf with Jay Delsing on the range with Jay Delsing is brought to you by Taylor made. This is golf with Jay Delsing.

The front nine is coming up. Folks, you need a new car truck or SUV, then the dean team of Kirkwood is the place for you to go 314 966 0303 and go see Colin Burke. He just got me into a new SUV and I love it.

Boy, did they make the experience painless and super super easy. Most dealers don't have any cars in their lots. But at dean team of Kirkwood, Colin has an entire part of the team. They have a parking lot full of new and used cars. You don't want to VW.

That's no problem. They have Audis, BMWs, Mercedes, anything you want. Colin and the dean team of Kirkwood will go get it if they don't have it. Call them at 314 966 0303 or go to dean team VW Kirkwood.com. The dean team for all your car buying needs. You're listening to golf with Jay Delsing for golf tips, news on the latest equipment and everything golf. Log on to golf with Jay Delsing dot com.

The front nine is coming up. Marcon is sponsoring a fantastic new giveaway for only $10. You can get a chance to watch a blues game from their suite at the enterprise center and wait for it with Danny Mac and me Jay Delsing. Go to backstoppers.org slash Delsing and Mac raffle slash and watch your St. Louis Blues finish out the regular season and prep for the playoffs in a suite with Danny Mac, the voice of the Cardinals and me Jay Delsing food and beverage is included. The date for the first giveaway is Monday, April 4th versus the Arizona Coyotes.

That's backstoppers.org slash Delsing and Mac raffle slash for $10. Watch the blues with Danny Mac and Jay Delsing. Hey, St. Louis, the Ascension charity classic presented by Emerson is back this September. Don't miss the excitement. The PGA tours best will compete again. All for charity September 9th through the 11th at Norwood Hills Country Club pro am spots, hospitality packages, VIP tickets and more available now at Ascension charity classic.com attention golfers. Do you want to improve your game? Of course you do.

The first step is getting to diagnose the area or areas that need your attention. Please listen up rapsodo.com that's rapsodo.com it's a portable launch monitor that interacts with your phone. Nothing better for you to use when you are practicing indoors in the winter. You will know your ball speed, your club at speed spin rates, dispersions, everything you need to know is on this device. And at checkout. If you enter the code delsing, you will receive $100 off the price of the rapsodo launch monitor. That's right, enter my last name delsing when you check out and get $100 off the price rapsodo.com that's rapsodo.com This is golf with Jay delsing. The front nine is presented by the Ascension charity classic September 5, through the 11th at Norwood Hills Country Club. For tickets, Ascension charity classic.com Hey, this is golf with Jay delsing. I'm your host Jay. Welcome back to the front nine brought to you by the Ascension charity classic. I've got Pearly with me and we are going right to my Christian heavens interview.

I sat down with Christian heavens. This is a cool young man. He grew up in East St. Louis. He is now down in Florida working on his golf game. He is going to be playing in the advocate professional golf tours event here in St. Louis sponsored by Ascension presented by Doherty.

It's going to be this fall. Let's go listen to that interview. I am sitting down this morning with my buddy Christian heavens. Christian man, thanks for joining me. Thanks for having me.

It's fine. I mean, you've done so much in the game of golf and in the area. It's fun to kind of share a platform with you right now. Oh my gosh, the honors my but I'm looking at your story. You grew up on the east side. We got to talk a little bit about your grandfather and some of the really cool early influences that got you involved in the game of golf. Yeah, you know, like me coming up at my age, you know, a lot of people think that I was well I am but a lot of people think that I was initially influenced by Tiger Woods. That wasn't really my introduction to the game. It came probably about eight years before that seven years before that with my grandfather just taking me out swinging golf clubs in the backyard or taking me out to Grand Mariah when the him and the buddies were out playing in their little games and rapid games on Thursdays and Thursdays after work, and you know that that group of guys that Mr. Springfield the Tony the Earl Parham.

I mean, the list goes on. That was my big influence in the game of golf. You know, a lot of people say that they see a lot of I even see it now a lot of my mannerisms on the course comes from bits and pieces of all those people there. So that was a big influence for me, but those kinds of Grand Mariah when my grandfather can pick me up at the work of my school and just take me out there. Yeah, no. Oh my gosh, Christian. It sounds like, you know, there were some other choices you could have made as a young man growing up on the east side that that, you know, wouldn't put you where you were today.

Yes, for sure. You know the funny anywhere right but more so they're just the opportunity to get into situations and influence and just things that aren't that it seemed easy at the time to kind of make an escape from there or to make an opportunity but in long run statistically we know that's probably not the best route to go. So, you know, the game to drug that was just never for me, even if the peer pressures around, you know, I think golf special when I was in like high school and that started some really big thing with my friends and presents and stuff like that to get into my lifestyle. Nobody, I mean, everybody kind of understood that I had a different direction and a different path like now lead fish and all he's not involved with that he's the next type of wood but that's about her, and it was never in a negative terms I hate you stay away from all this stuff will protect you from all this stuff you focus on your golf, and I appreciate my community for not really for respecting my golf and, you know, golf, you need opportunity that it's getting me and just supporting that for sure. Yeah, so that's really cool but because then you got a golf scholarship to Georgetown College in Kentucky. You were an all American there, Mid South Conference Player of the Year, just a lot of really cool things kind of started ramping up for you, and all the hard work started paying off. Yeah, so you know my goal is always kind of played off at the highest level but my grandfather, he stepped it down a notch he just wanted me to get a scholarship. So to get that scholarship offer everything was paid for that really made everything on the sacrifices and the hard work that my grandfather, put in and give me opportunities, it all paid off at that moment for him.

You know, and getting on tour so you can see me out there. But, you know, that was good to see you know what he thought was all worth it come to reality. And, you know, funny story is that when I got the offer on the Glen echo. I thought it was called Georgetown College School Georgetown College, and I thought I was going to be a whole year. I've never heard of this school before I didn't know what was going on.

So I went, I went home and I started googling the team and all this stuff. And come to find out it was the NAIA school in Kentucky which I've never been to. Actually I was in Kentucky once for a tournament. That education was, I'm so thankful for the opportunity because it was just a small school.

The campus was nice, the faculty was a very family oriented, small, comfortable place. And the thing I got used to doing out there, I got used to playing and competing right away, instead of attaching for a site. The D1 school, which, you know, as I got better, I had D1 offers to go to like University of Kentucky and all that stuff. But cherish the memories and experiences I had as a NAIA player competing against, you know, those top players are still pretty good offers. So they did like being in the hunt to win a tournament. I think that helped me out when I turned pro versus the guys that were always kind of fighting for two or three, four, five, not really competing every week in tournaments, having those kind of work really hard for that.

So I had a great experience, I enjoyed it a lot. And 2010 was a big year for you because it was when you were player of the year, and then you played in the USAM at Chambers Bay, you know, and that was just a couple years before you turned pro. And how was that US amateur experience for you? But that had to be a big step up in a kind of an eye opening experience, especially that golf course is just kind of crazy. Yeah, no, I've never played golf like that before. I mean, I guess there's no other golf course like that in the country as well, Chambers Bay.

And this is idle thing, you know, seeing all the players, the top PDU line, who's the number one amateur and ended up winning the David Jones. I played with practice round with Patrick Rogers, who's on tour, and my buddy, Joseph Brammett, who was on tour. So getting that experience with those top players and even that top championship course, how fast the greens were, how fun the greens were, that's just a good experience.

Like I never had them before. So, you know, we know like the more you get exposed to things in golf, it's always a learning experience. So I learned a lot that week. Didn't play as well as I wanted to, but I just really had no idea what I was doing out there playing that type of golf. It was good to see that I was out there and I was capable of being out there with the best and it just showed, you know, the progress. For real, that's, I mean, that's really all you want to see is that you keep steady progression moving up, whether it's slow, you know, slow progress is better than no progress. So I figured that was really good.

Yeah, no, a hundred percent. You played some good golf on the PGA Tour Canada. You know, and you had, you're on the big break, 2014 at Myrtle Beach. You've just been right on the edges of breaking through to this next level. It seems to me like for quite a while.

Yeah. Like I said, my main goal is just all along that kept getting better every year overall. I do have your slumps here and there and up and down, but you know, I came really close.

I was flipping the number of getting my car through second stage in 2015 or 16. I was not too sure just kind of had a rough third round shot 73 and could never get back into the number on the final round. So I've been, like you said, I've been hovering around, I've been winning tournaments, competing with guys that have played on tour, that have made it on tour, had success.

So the game is there. I think the thing I struggled with in my main goal for this year is just being more consistent. You know, dropping those bad scores down from 74 to 73 and getting them under par and maybe throwing in a couple of lower rounds here and there. So it's just a consistency that I think that I've lacked. But we're getting closer. I mean, I took a little step back the last three years and now I'm finally healthy, feeling good and getting back to it.

So hopefully, you know, we can keep it going, keep progressing from there. Hit our drivers. But you know, it's interesting, Christian, because most people have no idea how easy it is on the golf courses that we play to shoot a 73 or 74. It's not like your game's awful, but it's the golf courses are demanding and they're extremely penal. And when you make mistakes, they hammer you. And it's not that difficult one round out of four to go ahead and shoot a round even par, one over par.

But you lose ground in such a big way. Yeah, I mean, shoot. I mean, we saw that last week on the PGA Tour. The guys are getting lower and lower. They're shooting 20s and 30s under par.

I guess it's ridiculous. It's just the competition's steep. And I think what they're doing with junior golf is really good. I look at a lot of these U.S. kids golf courses and scores. And these kids are shooting, I mean, from two to three days, seven to 13 under par. They set the course up properly for them. Now, like before that, they had us on like the red cheese, which even for a seven-year-old or eight-year-old might have been too far. We were having woods and long irons into the green.

But now they're setting it up with these U.S. kids. My kids are getting used to shooting under par earlier and going low earlier. That was a thing that was tough for me in high school. Like, it took a while for me to get comfortable shooting under par. But now these kids are doing it at such a young age, everybody's getting better. So that's it.

Game progression has just been more competitive. That's good. That helps you step your game up as well. I know that you're now an ambassador for the Ascension Charity Classic. And these guys, I can't say enough about Nick Ragon, Steve Spratt and this entire organization, man. They do so much for our community and so much for golf. And I'm an ambassador with you.

Absolutely. You know, I'm so proud to be part of that. Talk a little bit about, you've got this Advocates Pro Golf Association. It's going to be called the APGA Ascension Classic coming up this year. I think it's at Glen Echo, which is kind of a homecoming for you, although I know you haven't played the course a lot.

I know that's where you got your scholarship. Talk a little bit about what that means to you and how awesome it's going to be able to play for you to play an event in your hometown. Yeah, I mean, it's amazing. I mean, you guys kind of experienced with the tournament as well.

Just the support coming around, coming around you. Like, we don't have a lot of events in the St. Louis area. I mean, we have the Metropolitan Open, which I've played a couple of times.

But that's still kind of far out for my people in the Illinois side of the river. And a lot of people always ask. A lot of people are curious about how you're doing when I see a tournament or when there's a tournament that I can see. I'm like, hey, you got to travel here and there. But now, you know, I finally get a chance to tell them, you know, that tournament right 20 minutes away from you.

You all come out, show support. And that's just a great opportunity. It's fun. There might be some more added pressure, but I'm just going to cherish the moment. Just embrace it. Like, hey, this is something.

I wish I could have had this when my grandfather was around because he started getting too old to travel when I was really playing professionally. So I just enjoy it. You know, it's not really about how well I play. Obviously, I want to win. So one thing I've learned, especially with like the Metropolitan Open, even the APGA Tour, you know, sometimes when you care too much, it just hinders your game a little bit.

So I'm just going to go and take all the pressure off myself, just enjoy the moment, have fun. And then that gives me the best chance to play well and win. So obviously, I want to win, but at this point, I'm just happy to have been able to represent, you know, the same rules, represent attention, represent myself, and represent the game of golf and the opportunity to do it.

Christian, most people, and I'm visiting with Christian Heavens here. He is a professional golfer, grew up in Fairview Heights, Illinois. Christian, most people have no idea how difficult it is to play well when you want to play well. How difficult it is and talk a little bit about the mental side of the game and how you handle some of these challenges.

There will never be years exactly, so I won't say those, but I played in the Metropolitan Open at St. Albans, which is coming back to St. Albans this year, and I love that course. It was early on in my career, and I got in the final group. And there were people watching. I had some supporters coming out there. I think I was with Shawn Jasper or either Chris Nagel. And, you know, this opportunity for me to win my biggest event ever, biggest paycheck ever, and it was a demanding course.

The practice on the range warming up, I changed the ball, and then I think I was done from there, but I shot like 81 or something on the final round at the Metropolitan Open. And every year, you know, I just like, I want to get back in that position. I want to win. I'm going to finish it off.

People watch. I want to come out and watch. I want to do it, and I missed the cut every year after that, at St. Albans. And I talked to my coach about it.

He's like, man, you just want it too much. You just have to treat it like a practice round. The way you feel in the practice round, you can't care about the results.

You can't force it to happen. You just got to relax. And two weeks after that, I went out to the Illinois Open in St. Charles, Illinois. It's a tight course, but I just went out there fearless, kind of careless in a way, and practice round, I was just hitting driver while people were hitting three irons. But I was just like, I'm swinging hard.

I'm getting the center of the club face. I don't care if I mess up or whatever. I'm committing to this. And I played great in the practice round.

And in the tournament, I was like, I want to commit to this. I don't care what situation I'm in. I'm just going to swing free.

Just let it happen. Just be fearless and careless at the same time, both having tension with what I'm doing. And I almost won. I finished second that year in the Illinois Open. That was my best finish there, for sure. So I carried that on. It's hard to keep that mindset going, but just trying too hard. And one, you can't force it in golf. Sometimes you just got to let it start. Some of the greats, I guess, they could wield their stuff. But even when it comes down to it, at that moment of truth, I think they just trust all their hard work and just kind of let it go.

But they definitely don't have fear. They're trying to just let me go sometimes. You just got to see it and hit it and just accept the results and go get it.

No, absolutely. We're all trying to do that. I had an issue with shanking the ball at this past year's Ascension Charity Classic, which I had never done in my career before. And I can relate. It is completely unsettling, man.

It just blows your mind. Oh my gosh. So give us just a little bit of a glimpse into what you're doing now. I think you're down in Florida. You're working on your game.

How can people follow you and keep in touch and root for you? Yeah. So right now, like you said, I'm down in Florida. I'm a little too cold in St. Louis right now. I think we're all going to get some snow soon.

So that's not due to the good golf weather. Just down here, my goal is to just play as much as possible. I've taken the last three years off. I was teaching at Stonewolf. I was the director of instruction at Topgolf Chesterfield. And I'm still helping out with McKendree College as an assistant coach, which is good.

I use those guys. They're actually really good players. And we compete against each other.

So we kind of use each other to keep each other's game sharp and improve each other's game, which is good. And now I'm down in Florida just playing as much as possible. Those three years, I really didn't want to play much golf. I didn't enjoy playing golf when I wasn't playing professionally. I was kind of stuck in limbo where it was competitive golf versus just golf for fun.

And golf for fun is just not enjoyable. I wasn't practicing. I wasn't playing my expectations. So I was just like, well, I'm even out here. Now I'm getting back into the competitive flow and juices and taking a little longer to get my game back to where it was mentally.

That's just the lack of reps. I just got to keep playing. I'm really happy with the swing changes that I'm making. And you know, the APGA just came out with their schedule. I got some pretty big goals with them. I'm going to play in the Metropolitan Open in St. Albans end of May.

I believe they came out with the schedule, the Illinois Open. I'll do some Corn Fairy Tour Monday qualifiers. But everything's just a big goal. The big goal is really to set me up for Corn Fairy Tour Q School in the fall.

So it's got that going. But you know, the way people can follow me is with Instagram. My Instagram handle is S-I-A-M-T-Heaven. Or they can follow me on Facebook.

Christian Heaven is the name there. I'll have some series and things going on with Scratch TV on YouTube releasing early February. There will be a three-week series on the Chroniclink, my journey that I've had the past month or so in Latin America.

So it will be a lot of different ways. Instagram is probably the best way to follow me and Twitter as well. Well, we wish you all the best of luck. We can't wait to see you back here in the loo and competing at the Metropolitan Open and at the APGA.

I don't know why that's so hard for me to say. The APGA Ascension Classic this fall. And all the best of luck and thanks for joining me, buddy. I appreciate it. Thank you. Well, that's going to wrap up the interview with Christian Heavens.

But don't go anywhere. We have the back nine coming up. And I've got another interview with my friend Clay Jenkins from The Next Step.

This is Golf with Jay Nelson. Powers Insurance and Risk Management is sponsoring a VIP St. Louis Blues game experience for two lucky winners. Enter to win a front row seat behind the visitor's bench and join me, Jay Delsing, along with Tim Davis from Powers Insurance as we take in all the action on March 17th against the Pittsburgh Penguins. That's right, Sid Crosby will be in town. All you have to do to enter is go to PowersInsurance.com slash Go Blues and sign up.

I'll announce the winner the week before. Powers Insurance is a family owned agency here in St. Louis. They specialize in robust insurance policies designed to provide coverage that is tailor made for your personal needs. That's Powers Insurance and Risk Management.

Again, sign up for these great Blues tickets at PowersInsurance.com slash Go Blues. I want to tell you about a family owned and operated golf business that's been right here in St. Louis for over 40 years. I'm talking about Pro-Am Golf Center. That's right, Pro-Am Golf Center. I know you know the name, but I'm not sure you know what they really have to offer. They have everything a seasoned golfer like myself could need all the way down to what a beginner would want. Pro-Am Golf Center has the lowest price in the area for custom club fitting. I just went and visited CJ.

He is terrific. If you call them now, mention my name, Jay Delson. You will receive a discount on that already low club fitting price. Their number is 314-647-8054. Ask for CJ or you can visit them at ProAmGolfUSA.com. That's ProAmGolfUSA.com.

Hi, Jay Delson here from my friends at SSM Health Physical Therapy. The St. Louis Golf Expo is March 18th to 20th, signaling spring is just around the corner. SSM Health Physical Therapy will have members of their golf program at the expo. They will answer your questions regarding your game and your body. If you mention my name, you'll receive special pricing on their golf screening and you'll have a chance to win a free K-Vest evaluation.

That is really a sweet evaluation. There are 80 locations in the St. Louis area. Call 800-518-1626 or visit them on the web at SSMPhysicalTherapy.com.

Your therapy, our passion. This is golf with Jay Delson. To learn more about the game of golf, latest equipment and golfing tips, log on to JayDelsonGolf.com. The back nine is presented by ProAm Golf. Welcome back to Golf with Jay Delson.

We're headed to the back nine. It's brought to you by ProAm Golf. I've got an interview with Clay Jenkins. This is really a cool interview.

He represents 501c3 organization called The Next Step. And I want you folks to listen closely. This is a really special interview. Let's go right to it right now. Clay, thanks for joining me. Thanks for having me. Much appreciated.

Oh my gosh. Tell us a little bit about who you guys are at The Next Step. The Next Step is a 501c3 not-for-profit org. What we do is we provide tuition assistance to people active in a 12-step recovery program from alcohol or substance abuse. We demonstrate a financial need and want to pursue an academic or vocational education to truly, and this is where the name came from, take the next step in their lives.

Boy, Clay, that education is so important. So where do you guys do this? I know you're St. Louis based. We're St. Louis based, Jay, and we were founded in St. Louis in 2005 by a group of friends who saw a need in the recovery community for financial assistance for individuals who wanted to continue their education. So we've grown each year and the basis around who we help is anyone living within a 50-mile radius of downtown St. Louis. We've been fortunate enough to help people in 38 different zip codes represented over time.

So 50-mile radius of St. Louis, we can help anyone who's in a 12-step recovery program and that's been clean for a year. And it's terrific because you guys are a standalone organization. You're not affiliated with any of these bigger charitable organizations around the country or around the city.

No, absolutely not. We are a standalone org and we raise money two ways each year. We have an annual golf raffle, which is upcoming soon, and we have an annual dinner in the fall in October where we honor our recipients. And that's just a huge night of celebration because we honor people who have been the receivers of the scholarships as well as the hard work they've achieved through GPAs and that type of work. So we don't receive anything from a United Way or any other large philanthropic organization. We're strictly private donor funded. That's the way we like it because we can stay very focused on the mission, which is helping people in recovery with their educational goals.

And Clay, tell us a little bit about why. I mean, there's a lot of good reasons to be involved in this, but tell us how this has affected you guys, you and your family personally. I've been involved with the Next Step since 2012 and how I came to the organization is a very personal story for me. So I've been on the board since then. I've been vice president of the board for the last several years.

And part of that role is obviously the fundraising that goes with it. But how this touched me personally is my son is a former recipient of a Next Step scholarship that enabled him to finish his education at UMSL. You know, a parent's kind of worst fears or nightmares came when my son was in college and living the college life and all of us have gone through it.

And I like to say, I know many people who got 4.0s in partying, but what happened to my son is he is an addict and an alcoholic. And it took him his college years down a path of somewhat no return in terms of he had to hit a rock bottom with his addiction and his alcoholism. It affected our family in such a way that we finally had to make a decision.

He raised his hand and said that he couldn't do it anymore. Along the way, there are many people that I've come in contact with at the Next Step who raised their hand and have found recovery. Some of it comes through being arrested. Some of it comes through the legal process of court ordered. Some of it comes through family intervention.

In our case, it came from a combination of our son raising his hand as well as ongoing family troubles and stress. During his sophomore year, we could see that the way our lives were going, in particular his, if we didn't get some help, we didn't know if he was going to survive, literally. So what we did, we took our college savings and the money and we figured that the investment for his life would be to get him into treatment. And so that's what we did. My son went to a rehab program for four months in California with the guidance of people here on the ground in St. Louis.

They're experts. He was out there for four months and basically changed his life. And he came back and by the grace of God, he got clean. When he came back to St. Louis, it wasn't without its own challenges of mainstreaming an addict and an alcoholic, someone who's in recovery back in your family and lives. But he found AA and NA and he started attending 12-step meetings and meeting others in the community that are like him. He found a brotherhood and a sisterhood in the rooms of AA and NA in St. Louis.

And for those who don't know, there are, I don't know, several hundred meetings of AA and NA each week in St. Louis. And fortunately, he met people who continued and were like-minded and had the saying to continue to support him emotionally. Through that journey, after he had sobriety for a couple of years, a friend of his told him about the next step. He was a sophomore in college and had some college credits and wanted to pursue his degree, which was graphic design. Mom and Dad didn't have the money. We had spent all of his college education money on treatment and were proud to have done it.

But we couldn't fund the college education. So he applied for his first scholarship at the next step. In 2013, after a couple of years of scholarship awards, he walked down the aisle after a long journey. And I get emotional talking about it. Oh, and I so appreciate this, Clay. I mean, the things that you've been through are so incredible. And then, you know, I just saw the whole outlook on future and optimism and his life changing. And with that, there were board members who tapped on my shoulder and asked me to get involved. And I've been involved ever since 2012. And I still get emotional talking about my own journey. When I'm at the dinner, when I see 50 to 70 people walk up on stage, they're basically my son.

You know, my son in a dress or a suit. I live it all over again every year. So that's what we do. The organization continues to fund people. And I say this all the time.

My son is just a classic example of it. The next step provides a little bit of money. I mean, the average grant is like $2,500 per student, but it provides a whole lot of emotional support. And that is what it enables them to do. It enables people in recovery to start taking one or two classes at community college and then potentially move to UMSL. Do they still have student loans? Yes, but they're all working, working part time.

And generally all they can do when they get back in college or start to try to take a vocational classes is no more than one or two, three classes tops in. The money we provide helps start them in that journey. That's really the essence of what and why and how we do it. And it's through donors funding to our two events here. And so let's talk about this raffle. So folks, thenextstepstl.org slash golf.

Check this out. For $100, they have three choices. For $100, you can get a single ticket. For $500, you can get six tickets.

For $750, you can get 10 tickets. And with these are chances to win these three great golf packages. Eagle One is for you and three friends to play Bell Reef, Forest Hills, Old Worson, Old Hickory, Westboro, and Whitmore Country Club. The second package, Eagle Two, is to play Boone Valley, Country Club of the Legends, Meadowbrook Country Club, Sunset Country Club, and Westwood Country Club. And then the third is a golf getaway.

It's just fantastic. Down to Dalhousie, you get to play there. You get to play at the Lodge of the Four Seasons.

And you get to play at the Club of Porto Chimo. And so, Clay, these things are fantastic. And when I saw this, I've known about the next step.

Our good buddy, you know, Buck Callahan, got us together. These raffles are spectacular. And then you do the dinner, and that is it when it comes to the next step and how you guys raise money.

That's it. That's all we do each year. And the thing that I've learned in the journey of this, too, is that people are passionate about helping others in St. Louis. St. Louis is a very philanthropic community, as we know.

Every family that I've come across has some kind of a journey with addiction or alcoholism. And when they hear about what we do, they're more than willing to find a way to help us. And that help comes through just what you said, things like $100 raffle tickets. And there's some, obviously, that make donations at the dinner, too, which is our largest fundraiser. But the point I'm making is, with a lot of people involved at $50, $100 at a pop, we can help a lot of people in St. Louis.

And on the backside of it, St. Louis becomes a better community because for every person who gets an education and is not using anymore, St. Louis is a better place to live and they're contributing members of society. And that's how we do it. So if you're passionate about golf and you're a golfer and you want to help an organization, check it out like Jay suggested.

I have many friends who take the $750 for 10 tickets and you can put three on one, two on another, two on all 10 if you choose to buy 10 on any of these three packages. Or you can take $100 and put it on your favorite, depending upon what you and your golf buddies want to do. But that's how we do it. That's how we raise the money. There's no other way but this golf raffle and our dinner. And our goal out of this is to surpass and we'd like to raise well over $25,000 with this golf raffle, which is not unrealistic and we're very realistic based on it.

But we know there's a lot of golfers in St. Louis that would love to take advantage of these terrific clubs. And we're so grateful, Jay, for the donors. Every one of these packages has been donated by somebody out of the goodness of their heart that's a member at one of these clubs or passionate about our mission. And we're so grateful we couldn't do this raffle without just the generosity of members of these clubs or the club management themselves.

That's Clay Jenkins. He is the vice president of The Next Step. Guys, go to thenextstepstl.org. That's their website. Go to thenextstepstl.org slash golf and check out these raffle tickets. Eagle I, Eagle II, and the golf getaways. You could get a chance to play every great golf course here in town. Bell Reeve, Old Wharf, Forest Hills, Old Hickory, Westboro, and Whitmore are in the first package. Boone Valley, Country Club of the Legends, Meadowbrook, Sunset, Westwood, and then you get some traveling in the third package.

So get on this website. You make a difference in the community and you can play a lot of great golf. Clay, thanks for the time today. Jay, thanks so much for having me. Much appreciated.

Have a great day. That was my friend Clay Jenkins. He was representing The Next Step, the charitable organization here right in St. Louis.

That's going to wrap up the back nine, but don't go anywhere. John and I will be back for more golf with Jay Delsing on the Michelobultra 19th hole. I want to tell you about a family-owned and operated golf business that's been right here in St. Louis for over 40 years. I'm talking about Pro-Am Golf Center. That's right, Pro-Am Golf Center. I know you know the name, but I'm not sure you know what they really have to offer. They have everything a seasoned golfer like myself could need, all the way down to what a beginner would want. Pro-Am Golf Center has the lowest price in the area for custom club fitting. I just went and visited CJ.

He is terrific. If you call them now, mention my name, Jay Delsing. You will receive a discount on that already low club fitting price. Their number is 314-647-8054. Ask for CJ, or you can visit them at ProAmGolfUSA.com.

That's ProAmGolfUSA.com. This is Jay here to tell you about my favorite strength training program that has helped me play better golf, and I think it will help you. I'm talking about 20 Minutes to Fitness. That's right, 20 Minutes to Fitness once or twice a week is all you need to stay strong, flexible, and in shape to play your best golf.

20 Minutes targets the muscle groups used in the golf swing, and because you always work with a trainer on physical therapy equipment, it reduces your chance of exercise-related injury to almost zero. If you have never worked with a trainer before, you've got to give it a chance. It is a game changer. Don't take my word for it.

Try it yourself. Your first session is absolutely free. There are two locations to serve you, one in Chesterfield and one in Clayton. Visit 20minutestofitness.com to learn more.

20 Minutes to Fitness works for me, and it can work for you. Hey St. Louis, the Ascension Charity Classic, presented by Emerson, is back this September. Don't miss the excitement. The PGA Tour's best will compete again. All for charity September 9th through the 11th at Norwood Hills Country Club. Pro-Am spots, hospitality packages, VIP tickets, and more.

Available now at AscensionCharityClassic.com. Boy, is this housing market tight right now. Are you tired of having the second best bid on your dream home? Call my friend Joe Schiezer at 314-628-2015. Joe's been helping my family and I for over 30 years. He closes millions of dollars of business every year, and he will help you understand the importance of a pre-approval letter, inspections, and pricing your home or your offer just right.

If you need to buy or sell your home, Joe is your guy. 314-628-2015. That's 314-628-2015.

Folks, are you in the market for some additional protection for your ride? You need to call my friends at Vehicle Assurance. Their number is 866-341-9255. Sherry Fain is the owner and president, and she and her team are committed to helping you with your unexpected auto repair bills. They are committed to finding the right protection for you, your budget, and your family. They only work with the top vehicle service providers in the country.

Get the protection and the peace of mind you deserve. That's Vehicle Assurance 866-341-9255 for a free quote. 866-341-9255. This is Golf with Jay Delsing. To learn more about the game of golf, see the latest equipment, get golfing tips from a PGA Pro. Log on to jdelsinggolf.com. The 19th hole is presented by Michelob Ultra. Thanks for staying with us.

Right now we're entering into the 19th hole. One of my favorite segments brought to you by Michelob Ultra. I've got my buddy Pearly with me. First thing first, let's talk a little bit about the Christian Heavens interview and the fact that, what a cool person, and on this past Friday, Ascension just announced their association with the Advocate PGA Tour. This event is going to be presented by Doherty, so they're already bringing more community into it.

I just can't say enough, Steve Spratt, Nick Ragon, this Ascension group is just rocking it wherever they go. Well, there's a lot of opportunity. I think they probably see the opportunity for the love of golf in St. Louis.

Again, it wasn't going to happen, though, if somebody doesn't step up, and this group has stepped up huge. I've known your excitement for golf in St. Louis for as long as I've known you, and I'm excited to finally come into fruition. Yeah, boy, I gotta tell you, we have a great sports city, and it just gets really well supported.

And then we just had Clay Jenkins on, and that was really a heartfelt interview with Clay talking about his son and some of the addiction and some of the things that he's had. But I want to talk a little bit about the raffle that these guys do. For a hundred bucks, you get a chance to play, this is just one package. Bell Reeve, Forest Hills, Old Hickory, Old Worson, Westboro, and Whitmore, you and three friends. And for the second package, you could play Boone Valley, the Legends, Meadowbrook, Sunset, or Westwood Country Club. And then the last option, if you win, you could go to Dalhousie Golf Club in Cape Girardeau, Lodge of the Four Seasons at Lake Ozarks, or Porto Chimo down at the lake.

It's just amazing. So, folks, you gotta check this out. Thenextstepstl.org slash golf. You gotta purchase your tickets by March 20th. For a hundred bucks, you get one ticket. For five hundred bucks, you get six.

For seven fifty, you get ten tickets. And get a chance, get in there, support this great cause, and get a chance to play these great tracks, man. This is a big deal. A lot of good golf courses in and around St. Louis, so if they haven't seen these, now's an awesome opportunity. Our golf ball winner this week is Tim Holmes. Tim, congratulations, you're gonna be getting a dozen TP5 golf balls headed to your doorstep. Hope you don't lose them all in one round, Tim.

Like Pearly would. Okay, Pearly, what'd you do with the sniper balls that I gave you? Hey, I was gonna say, you're giving away sniper balls before. I think you gave me like two. So, they didn't last very long.

Well, that's why. What are my dozen of these tailor-made? Cause that's a great product, and it's an exciting offer. I'm loving tailor-made. Man, there's a lot of stuff on TV about tailor-made. With the new driver, the equipment, etc.

They're hot right now, and I think they really believe in what's going on, cause I don't see anybody pushing their product as hard as they're pushing theirs. No, and I mean, Pearl, who's been more innovative in the last 25 years in the game? I mean, you could say Callaway and Eli Callaway was close, but no one has come close to doing what tailor-made is doing. And, you know, John, next week on the show, we have R. Chu from Rapsodo, and this is that portable, it's almost like a pocket launch monitor to do all this tracking, and when you start thinking about technology, and you start thinking about the equipment, I mean, John, this isn't even close to the same game we were playing in college.

It's not even close. No, but I'll tell you what, the more I'm seeing these other guys, and even some guys that I'm playing golf with, hit the ball the way they're hitting the ball, and you and I have talked about how much dinosaurs we've been with technology, anywhere from grips to shafts to the clubhead, let alone to all the other distance and clubhead speed, etc. It's either time to do it or not do it, and if I'm gonna keep playing, I gotta do it, because it's embarrassing.

People are just bombing it by me and everything else. I mean, those back swings gotta get longer, but I need the new clubs, too. So, that's what I was gonna say. What is it, which one piece are you specifically most interested in getting on?

Obviously, you gotta get fitted. We know that. I have to tell you, Jay, the reason I think I'm finally converted to this technology is because I'm realizing it's everything. There's not one piece. I really can't answer that question. I'm realizing it's the whole package.

I've dabbled in this piece or that piece to some degree. It's way past that now. The whole package has changed. Yep, okay.

Very cool. Well, I'm gonna hold you to that. We'll have a little pearly update, a pearly technology update, where we can do nice little bumps and go, nope, he's still under the same rock as he was last week, guys. Oh, no, I'm gonna do it.

I'm gonna do it. Plus, I'm with Jay Delcey, so this stuff's gonna be gratis, so I'm looking forward to that. Oh, I knew that was coming. I knew that was coming. Well, next week, look, we're gonna have Art Chiu on the show. Art is a great guy.

He's the general manager of North America for Rapsodo Golf. And that little pocket launch monitor, it is really cool. I could let you see mine. I don't think I'd let you use mine, though. Yeah, well, I think maybe I should start doing some of these interviews so I can get some of the stuff sent to me, because I know exactly that's how you've got it.

Oh, you think just by doing the interview they're sending it to me? Yeah, a lot of people don't understand this about PGA Tour players, but if it's free, give me three, and they're always gonna ask for something all the time. And that's why most of them have a basement that's just full of thousands and thousands of different pieces of equipment, technology, etc. We're gonna sneak down in that Jay Delcey man cave once in a while and pull up some gems. Well, you know, that's gonna wrap up another show, folks. Don't forget about our Powers Insurance giveaway. That's tickets between the benches. You get to go to a game with Tim Davis, who's a scratch golfer and the COO of Powers Insurance, and it's March 17th against the Pittsburgh Penguins. You're gonna get to watch Sid next to me, which I'm sure will be a super, super treat, but you also get to watch Sid the Kid play right at center ice.

Pearly, thanks for being with us. Hit him straight, St. Louis. Folks, do you need a new car, truck, or SUV? Then the Dean team of Kirkwood is the place for you to go. 314-966-0303 and go see Colin Burke. He just got me into a new SUV and I love it.

Boy, did they make the experience painless and super, super easy. Most dealers don't have any cars in their lots, but at Dean team of Kirkwood, Colin has an entire parking lot full of new and used cars. You don't want a VW?

That's no problem. They have Audis, BMWs, Mercedes, anything you want. Colin and the Dean team of Kirkwood will go get it if they don't have it. Call them at 314-966-0303 or go to DeanTeamVWKirkwood.com.

The Dean team for all your car buying needs. How would you like access to 90 holes of golf? Well, that's what happens when you join at Whitmore Country Club. You get access to the Missouri Bluffs, the links to Dardine, and the Golf Club of Wentzville.

And guess what? No cart fees included in that deal. There's no food and beverage minimums.

There's no assessments. They have a 24-hour fitness center, two large pool complexes, three tennis courts. Year-round social calendar includes holiday parties, picnics, date nights, live music. They even have a kids club for your children and much, much more. There's junior golf, junior tennis, and swim teams available. This is a family-friendly atmosphere and they have a wonderful staff. If you get out there, you've got to poke your head in the golf shop and say hello to my friend Bummer.

He is a terrific guy and he will help you with your game and show you around. And don't forget, there are golf leagues, skins games, members tournaments, and couples events available all year round. Visit WhitmoreGolf.com.

That's WhitmoreGolf.com. Congratulations to this year's Musial Award recipients. Good sportsmanship will again be on display at the Ascension Charity Classic presented by Emerson. David Toms was our first champion, but St. Louis and local charities were the real winners at the inaugural event.

Together, we were able to donate more than $800,000 to area charities. Thank you St. Louis and get ready for professional golf to return September 5th through the 11th, 2022. Powers Insurance and Risk Management is sponsoring a VIP St. Louis Blues game experience for two lucky winners. Enter to win a front row seat behind the visitor's bench and join me, Jay Delsing, along with Tim Davis from Powers Insurance as we take in all the action on March 17th against the Pittsburgh Penguins. That's right, Sid Crosby will be in town. All you have to do to enter is go to PowersInsurance.com slash Go Blues and sign up.

I'll announce the winner the week before. Powers Insurance is a family-owned agency here in St. Louis. They specialize in robust insurance policies designed to provide coverage that is tailor-made for your personal needs. That's Powers Insurance and Risk Management. Again, sign up for these great Blues tickets at PowersInsurance.com slash Go Blues. Attention golfers, do you want to improve your game? Of course you do.

The first step is getting to diagnose the area or areas that need your attention. Please listen up. Rapsodo.com. That's Rapsodo.com. It's a portable launch monitor that interacts with your phone. Nothing better for you to use when you are practicing indoors in the winter.

You will know your ball speed, your club head speed, spin rates, dispersions, everything you need to know is on this device. And at checkout, if you enter the code DELSING, you will receive $100 off the price of the Rapsodo Launch Monitor. That's right. Enter my last name, DELSING, when you check out and get $100 off the price. Rapsodo.com.

That's Rapsodo.com. This has been Golf with Jay Delsing. To learn more about Jay and the services he can provide any golfer, visit JayDelsingGolf.com. You'll see the latest in golf equipment, get tips from a PGA Pro, and you'll learn more about the game of golf.

That's JayDelsingGolf.com. Peloton, let's go! This holiday, with the right music and the right motivation from world-class instructors. We're going to pick it up a notch.

It's the holiday season. You might just surprise yourself with what you're capable of. Work out to thousands of live and on-demand classes, from running to cycling to yoga. Try Peloton risk-free with a 30-day home trial. New members only. Not available in remote locations. See additional terms at 1peloton.com slash home dash trial. Peloton. Motivation that moves you.