Golf With Jay Delsing - - MLB Hall of Famer John Smoltz

Jay Delsing spent 25 years on the PGA Tour and is a lifetime member of the PGA Tour and PGA of America. Now he provides his unique perspective as a golfer and network broadcaster. It's time to go On the Range with Jay Delsing. On the Range is brought to you by the Gateway section of the PGA.

Hey, it doesn't really matter. I'm just ready. I got my Michelob in one hand, my Walleye fishing pole in the other hand, and my microphone in another hand.

I am ready for the show, baby. Meade, how many hands is that? That's a lot. That's too many. At least he's got the Michelob.

It's ambidextrous. I'm ready to go. Let's keep going here. Let's not tell him. Okay. All right, cool. Well, we format the show like a round of golf.

The first segment is called the On the Range segment. It's brought to you by Vehicle Assurance, 866-341-9255. If you need a new warranty, if your warranty is gone, if you need some additional coverage for your vehicle, whatever you need, you can call them now. Pearl, quick update on social media. Go. It's going very well. Go.

All right, cool. Way to go, Pearl. I also want to thank Bob and Kathy Donahue at Donahue Painting and Refinishing, 314-805-2132. If you need a little bit of refreshing on the inside or the outside of your home, call Bob and Kathy. Great people.

They do better work. They're wonderful, and I appreciate their support on the show. All right, John. Got to sit down this week with John Smoltz, MLB Hall of Famer from the class of 2015. He's won a Cy Young Award winner.

He is a Cy Young Award winner, a World Series champion, and now he's playing on the PGA Tour champions, trying to see if he can kind of make the crossover. So it was really a cool conversation. Really appreciate his honesty, his candor. I think people are going to like it. I certainly liked it. I think it was one of your best, and I think he's got his biggest challenge he's ever had in front of him with his playing professional golf, but we get to talk about that in a little bit. Yeah, no doubt about that. I kind of want to talk just a little bit about this association that we have with the Gateway section. Really appreciate them supporting the show. John, I sit there and think about my early days when my dad would drop me off so intimidating.

I'm 12 or 13 years old. He dropped me off, and of course, I don't know anybody there, and I'm going to start caddying, and I don't know how to caddy. I barely know how to play, and it was typical of the way Jimmy Delsing ran things. He just kind of dropped you off in the deep end, and you start paddling somewhere, but John, every single step of the way, the head pro, especially back in that time, was a massive figurehead in my world. I can remember Eddie Griffiths was the first head pro at Norwood when I started caddying there, and he was just this larger-than-life character. He tried to play the tour. He was an official on the very beginning time. It was called the Seniors Tour back then, but what sort of experience did you have with the PGA of America guys and gals that were running clubs and doing things when you were a little guy? Well, actually, I started up in Winnipeg, Jay, so it was the Canadian PGA, and I had the same similar experience that you did. They were just so key to make you feel welcome, help you along with the game. I mean, it's absolutely their job. I've actually helped hire a head pro or two from different clubs I've been involved with, and one of the things we always looked for was who can build a junior program the best, because that's the future of the club.

That's the future of the game. So, fortunately, you and I have had similar experiences. At some point, I'll tell you one of the experiences I ran up against a pretty tough PGA Tour pro, and of course... Not PGA Tour pro, PGA of America pro. I was close. Was that close? Okay, I was close. I want to give these men and women their dues, so... Yeah, you're right.

You're right. So, this was a tough guy. He used to play the Tour once upon a time.

Bob Gaeta was his name, and he was tough on the juniors, too, because he really made sure we followed etiquette, kept our clubs clean, kept our clubs in order, and that was a tall task for me back then. And you didn't like being told what to do too much, did you? Yeah, neither one of us are too good at that. Oh, don't go throwing me under the bus. This was your story, man. I'm not throwing you under the bus.

I'm just dragging you under there with me. Right, right. So, I'm really excited about them, and I can't wait to start talking to the peeps about some of the different men and women that are doing neat things to grow the game around the greater Midwest area. Our buddy Trevor Dodds and Garth Byer have this tournament that they're supporting, an international team event. I don't know that much about it, but they've been running it over in Europe and over in South Africa.

And I do know that if you qualify, there's an all-expenses-paid trip to Portugal. So, go to IPGolfUSA.com to learn more. We'll be talking a little bit more about this in the weeks to come. Pearl, that is going to wrap up the On the Range segment.

We're going to talk a little bit about Jon Rahm and this whole COVID and being DQ'd six-stroke lead, but we've got to end the On the Range segment. Let me talk real briefly about our Tip of the Cap segment. Our Tip of the Cap segment today is brought to you by Dean Team of Kirkwood, 314-966-0303. And the Tip of the Cap is appropriately the PGA professional.

The men and women that run your club, that run your local driving range, the teaching facility, these guys work long, hard hours, and are tireless soldiers to try to make our golf experience better. Thank you all. And our Tip of the Cap is brought to you by the Dean Team of Kirkwood. Colin and Brandy are great over there. They hooked Pearly up with a car, 314-966-0303. This is going to wrap up the On the Range segment.

Don't go anywhere. The front nine's on its way. This is golf with Jay Delsing.

Hello, friends. This is Jim Nance, and you are listening to golf with my friend, Jay Delsing. Did you know that the Gateway section of the PGA is comprised of over 335 members and over 200 facilities?

I didn't either. Every time you drive up to your local country club, public facility, or driving range, there's an excellent chance that it is run and operated by one of the many members of our section. Since the time I was first introduced to the game, a PGA of America professional was there giving lessons, running the golf shop, and growing the game. The many men and women of the Gateway PGA section spend countless hours behind the scenes doing hundreds of little things to make our golf experience enjoyable. PGA Reach, Drive Chip and Putt, PGA Junior League, Rankin-Jordan Golf Program. Those are just a couple of the many programs run and supported by our section.

To learn more or to find out how you can get involved, go to GatewayPGA.org, the Gateway PGA, growing the game we love. Are you looking for a great career? Do you like meeting nice people, working with your hands, and fixing things inside the home? Marcon Appliance Parts Company would like to encourage you to consider a high-paying career in major appliances repair and service. Major appliance service technicians are in very high demand. Major appliance techs work regular hours and make excellent money. They work local in their own communities and are home every night.

It is an incredibly stable industry and highly rewarding work. Discover more about your new career in major appliance services today by contacting a local appliance service company in your hometown. In Southern Illinois, contact Jeff Klein at Mount Vernon TV and Appliance Center. The phone number is 618-242-1579.

Marcon Appliance Parts Company is based in St. Louis, Missouri and is the largest distributor of major appliance parts in North America and proud distributor of General Electric Parts. I am delighted to welcome Marie Davila to the Golf with J. Delsing show. I'm sure you know where it is, but in case you don't, Marie Davila is a landmark out in West St. Louis County. It's located on the corner of Clayton and Weidman Roads. It's also on 21 beautiful rolling acres right on the way out to Queenie Park. It's a country club-like atmosphere.

It's iconic and it's absolutely gorgeous. When my dad died and my mom decided she didn't want to live alone, Marie Davila was the first place we called. When we pulled up, we were greeted at the front door by the owner and he took us around on a tour of the facility. We learned that there are one, two and three bedroom villas that you can live in and there's also 24 hour care in the East, West and the Waterford buildings. So Marie Davila had everything that my mom wanted. One of the things that stood out in my mind as well was the way the family owned business treats their guests.

That's right. They refer to them as guests, but they treat them like family. So if you're in the process of trying to make a tough decision for this next part of life, you got to visit Marie Davila. This is local. This is family. And this is St. Louis. This is Marie Davila.

Come be our guest. When things come out of left field, having a game plan matters. Farmers Insurance has over 90 years of experience helping people play through every stage of the game. We've seen almost everything.

So we know how to cover almost anything. Talk to farmers agent Ed Fogelbach at 314-398-0101 to see how they can help you stay in the game. That's Ed Fogelbach at 314-398-0101.

We are farmers. After my knee replacement, I was able to swing the golf club again without any pain. SSM Health Physical Therapy guided me through the rehab process when I was ready. One of their specially trained KVEST certified physical therapists put me on the 3D motion capture system.

It was awesome. They evaluated my posture alignment and the efficiency of my swing. They gave me golf specific exercises to help my swing become more efficient and repeatable. Call them at 800-518-1626 or visit them on the web at ssmphysicaltherapy.com.

Tell them Jay sent you for special pricing. Your therapy, our passion. Grab your clubs. We're heading to the Front 9 on Golf with Jay Delcie.

The Front 9 is brought to you by the Ascension Charity Classic. Hey, welcome back. This is Golf with Jay Delcie. I'm your host Jay. I've got Pearly with me. Brad Barnes is taking good care of us here at the ESPN Studios. And we're headed to the Front 9 that's brought to you by the Ascension Charity Classic. Pearly, I am hammering this ball right now.

I am practicing every day. The heat is on. The heat is here and I love it.

My body is feeling about like a quarter. But I can't wait. September 6th through 12th at Norwood Hills. Maybe next week I think we can get Steve Spratt and Alonzo on and talk a little bit about how well the community has supported us.

But anyway, I can't wait for this. Let me quit jabbering here and let's get straight into the John Smoltz interview. MLB Class of 2015 Hall of Famer, World Series Champion, Cy Young Award winner, Fox analyst for MLB and now Champions Tour player. Let's go to John Smoltz. On the mound, 4-0 in the postseason of 1896. 9-1 in 17 postseason starts. It's John Smoltz.

John Smoltz is brought to you by Golden Tee. What a career he had. 22 years in the big eight-time All-Star World Series champ Cy Young Award. I mean the list goes on and on going from starting pitcher to what I think one of two players had ever played in the game to have 200 wins and 200 saves.

You and Dennis Eckersley, Hall of Fame 2015. Man, John, tell us a little bit just about your life in sports and then we'll kind of transition into golf. Yeah, it was kind of a weird beginning as a kid. I grew up in a musician's home. Both my parents were accordion players and accordion teachers, so that's where I was going to follow the footsteps. That's what I started doing when I was four through seven, so it was kind of an interesting dynamic. Learned a lot of practice, discipline, fell in love with sports when I watched it on TV. Again, my parents didn't know anything about it and I just asked them if I could start playing baseball.

It intrigued me. Everything I've done, I kind of self-taught because I didn't really have the backing or the background of knowledge. I'd go out in the front yard and rub a ball, throw against a brick wall, basketball, start shooting, football, just throw it. They let me put down the accordion at the age of seven. I'm sure they thought it would just be a trial run.

They didn't know if I'd be any good. They gave me the opportunity to play baseball and it kind of just took off from there. They took me to all the different venues. I think I learned a lot from just the discipline and practice that I had to do at a young age. At four, I don't remember a lot, but they told me all the things that I did and had to do. It was an amazing journey from that point on. I never had to go back to music, even though that's what my parents knew and loved. It was the ultimate lesson of letting your kids pursue their passions. I was fortunate to have two parents that let me do that. It's pretty cool, John, to learn discipline when you didn't even know you were learning discipline, isn't it?

Because as a dad myself, you try to throw these lessons at your kids and you never know if they're going to stick. But what happened with you? It was kind of just part of the program. It was. To play an instrument that not a lot of people play anymore, it took a lot of time and practice and discipline to learn the notes and music and go in every single day. It was a long time. I think I didn't resent it as much as I really wanted to do something else and play baseball and sports seemed to be right up that time frame of seven years old. So I just kind of carried the same kind of work ethic towards that. And the good thing is my parents didn't teach me. They didn't teach me the accordion. They let somebody else teach me, which is another good lesson of, you know, where you can get caught up in what you know and try to pass it on to your kids.

So I kind of self taught myself everything that I've ever done, including golf, you know, and I think that the trial and error and just getting after it. You know, it worked out very well for me, but I can't say that. I don't know if I look back had I been not gone through what I did, you know, had it worked out the way it did. You know, John, I look back at those teams that you guys had down in Atlanta. You guys were absolutely loaded, the pitching staff with you and Greg Maddox and Tom Glavin and a lot of others. And Bobby Cox is your manager. You guys were a staple in the playoffs for, I don't know, almost a decade in Atlanta.

You know, it didn't always start out that way. I got traded, of course, from Detroit to Atlanta. Bobby Cox is a general manager. He was trying to rebuild the farm system and what he did was stockpile a lot of young pitchers.

He had the foresight back then to do it. The Braves were, you know, the worst team in baseball. And Tom Glavin's, Steve Avery's, the Kent Merkers, the home-grown pitching that they established along with some key moves enabled the club to rebuild and sustain success for 14 straight years in the postseason.

I was certainly glad to be part of it. Tom Glavin was part of it. We brought over Maddox. Like I said, Steve Avery was home-grown. Kent Merker was home-grown.

Pete Smith. A lot of young players that were part of the organization that you could never foresee that kind of success or sustained success. But man, was it lean times there for the Atlanta Braves for a long time. And in 1989 when I was there, we lost 100 games. In 1990, we started to show some sort of turning around, you know, close to, we lost 90 some games. In 91, we shocked everybody and really turned into a miracle-type season that turned into an incredible run. And you could see it coming with the young players that were being developed in the big leagues and just the learning by tough lessons and learning by failure and getting the opportunity to just go out there every start regardless of what happened and learn. And that's the era, thankfully, that we were able to pitch in and learn because I don't think that would have happened in today's game. It doesn't happen in today's game. So I was very fortunate to be under a general manager that turned my manager Bobby Cox and instilled the confidence in us and let us do our thing and saw what we were capable of doing.

And then the run just ensued. You know, John, it's really difficult when you take these massive, almost dreamlike steps and go from high school to the big leagues, to major league baseball, professional baseball, and then to the big leagues. But one of the things I get a kick out of, and not a happy kick, but I listen to people when they talk sports radio and say, you know, these guys are used to losing. And I'm like, none of us that ever played lost much when we were younger.

You know, we were usually the best players on teams, and our teams were usually pretty damn good. Losing sucks. And talk a little bit about the difficulty of experiencing that.

You get pretty negative, right? And I think joining the club, I was excited with the opportunity because they needed pitching. And when you make your big league debut, you feel like you're on an island by yourself, even though the team's not very good.

You're just delighted to be part of it. And then you realize as a collective group, you know, what is it going to take to win? And how are we going to get to that point?

No doubt it would happen based on the current environment. So you get pretty negative and you have to find a way to get outside of that negative environment. And you start bringing in some leaders, like we did, Terry Pendleton, Sid Green, Rafael Belliard. These were guys that won in other organizations.

Terry Pendleton, of course, with the Cardinals. And they start teaching you things and you start learning the ways to be successful and to be a champion. And then all of a sudden you start gaining confidence and you don't think so negatively. But on an individual basis, there's a lot to be learned. And you try to figure out what you need to do to get to the next level.

And after every season, I would have like this self-analysis of what I needed to do to be better the following year and went to work right away. And I think that kind of pursuit of trying to be great propelled me to not only 22 years, but year to year to try to find a way to be a little bit better. And I learned along the way to enjoy the ride a little better. But I whipped myself pretty hard early to try to navigate this unknown career, to try to become the pitcher you always want to be.

See, my expectations were greater than anybody else's. And boy, did they have a lot of expectations put on me. And so what I learned to match, you know, the work ethic with the desire to be great and not be afraid to fail.

And that's the biggest key component in anything that we did. And individually, not everybody can accept the fear of failure and that it really kind of suffocates them from being better than they can be. And I just never, I never get into that.

And I never let fear of failure kind of master me. Yeah. Oh my gosh. It shows with the unbelievable achievements. You know, John, when you talk about prep, and I talked to guys, I said, gosh, you get the interview smelting on this on the show. And they said, man, he took such great care of his body.

And that was obvious to the shape you were in. But there's a hell of a lot more mental prep that goes into baseball than I think 190 percent of the fans have any idea about. It's a long season and, you know, there's a lot of things that can take your attention away from the details you need to do to be disciplined. After the word discipline, you know, you think about it, you pitch once every five days, those four days in between are just as important. Those four days in between can get you distracted and away from the routine if you don't find one. And, you know, I think for me, I say this 100 percent with accuracy.

Maddox and Glavine says the same thing. We developed a friendship not only on and off the field, but with golf. And golf kept us fresh. It allowed us to take our mind away from a game that's ever consuming.

And once every five days, if you do your job, it's the best job in the world. But if you don't, it's like seems like forever to get back out the mound to kind of, you know, take up for what you weren't able to do or make up for what you weren't able to do. So the structure of starting pitching and the fact that I knew what I got to do each and every day and it was just a discipline to do it. And so we played a lot of golf and it kept our minds fresh. But when you talk about preparing for a game, you can over prepare and you can consume and kind of consume so much that your brain is overloaded.

I think you have to know what you what your intake is, what you can what you can handle and what you don't. And I look into this, you know, it's kind of a corny illustration. But if there's two people putting a four footer and one takes thirty five seconds and the other takes three minutes and the guy who misses both misses, they're going to accuse the guy of thirty five second not concentrating. That's not necessarily true.

The process by which each guy goes about is important enough to what makes them give them the best chance to make the putt. And it's the same thing with pitching. You know, if you're if you work fast and you know your routine and you don't have it, there's things that get you out of your routine.

You just have to find a way to to adjust. And and I was kind of that guy. You know, I was not fly by the seat of my pants, but I let it all hang out when I was out there with my effort and emotion and it worked for me. But I wasn't a guy that could sit the night before and go through the game and overthink it. I didn't think about pitching until I actually went out to the mound. I was prepared. I knew what I wanted to do, but I didn't I didn't consume it like I didn't I didn't want to think about it all day.

And I would tell my family is on the date of the pitch. Just don't ask me a lot of questions. And the reason I said that is because I'm trying to make one hundred and fifteen to one hundred twenty decisions. And I want to focus on those decisions that day. You can ask me all the questions you want in between. But I want to get bogged down with a lot of things on game day that could take away from the decisions I had to make because those were the decisions that we were faced with.

You know, it's not just as easy to put down a finger to catch or put down. You just go, OK. We took, you know, took control over our career, our careers. And on the mound, we kind of called our own game. Yeah, John, it's so interesting to watch what some of the players do. You know, Bob Gibson's legendary stories. I think Chris Carpenter has the same kind of lure here in St. Louis on game day when they were pitching.

Everybody just steer clear, you know. And so I think there I think what's interesting, at least for how we're going to tie this into golf, is to get into a routine that works for you. And it's it's kind of a trial and error basis, especially when you're young.

It sure is. And for a guy who didn't pick up golf till about 21 years old, like I did, I still haven't found that routine. I'll tell you what my routine is. Get in the car, play as fast as I can and play as much as I can.

That is fun to me. So learning how to play slower and in tournaments is something that is out of my element a little bit, mainly because the physical component of where I am in between the 10 and 15 minute waits just doesn't work well right now. I'm learning how to slow that down as a pitcher.

The worst thing I could do is wait. You know, the good thing about pitching is you dictate the tempo. You know, some pitchers work really well fast and the team plays well behind them. And some guys are methodical and they're slow.

And sometimes the team suffers because the infielders are on their heels waiting all the time. Well, in golf, golf is so unique is that you're at the mercy of the pace of what's going on and to each their own and how they go about it. I'm still trying to learn that a little bit. I'm a rhythm player.

I like to keep going. And in golf, there's too much time to think. And that would be the equivalent of being on the mound and the bases are loaded. And you had two, three, four minutes in between pitches. And all you can think about is things that you don't you know, they're not positive.

Nothing good happens. And the beauty of pitching is you don't have you don't get two, three, four minutes in between pitches. And if that was the case, you never hear my name. So you get used to a different rhythm in baseball and in golf. I'm still trying to find that that balance of how to slow things down, how to stay in rhythm when you're not really, you know, whatever the time frame is between shots, especially key shots. And I'm getting closer. But but that is a really big difference between the two sports I play. Oh, my gosh, John.

And I grew up with all these guys you're playing with now. And if they know, you know, coming down the last hole and they want to beat you and they do want to beat you. And they know that it's slowing down, you know, 10 extra seconds is going to upset you.

It's coming. You know what I mean? That's just the competitive nature of what we do. Yeah, I played a lot of celebrity.

You know, Tahoe is one of our my favorite events, especially for the years that I was able. I've been able to play it. And then that that really is probably the slowest event I've ever played in. And that's where it's just it's interesting because physically I'm dealing with some things that baseball has not been very kind to me with two new hips to come and some shoulders that have had their share of surgery. So the way to keep myself loose is not as convenient when you're on your feet all the time and you're walking. So I'm I'm learning that. And like everything else I've done, I believe I'll learn it. And I believe I'll make the necessary adjustments if given the opportunities. And that's the key is there's situations that can cause people to recluse or come get away from what they're doing because it's a bad situation or a hard lesson to learn.

And it frustrates me, but it digs deeper to try and figure out how to avoid that or adjust from that the next time. Golf certainly is a humiliating sport because there's no way you won't be humiliated at some point. Golf is played and no one's mastered it. And everyone's got some sort of weakness, even though the guys I'm playing with right now don't seem to show much of it. The mental toughness that you have to have to play the game of golf that I never thought equated to the other sports.

And boy was I wrong. Man, I just love some of his candor and his approach. That's going to wrap up the first half of the Smoltz interview, but don't go anywhere. We'll continue the rest of that interview on the back nine.

This is golf with Jay Delsing. If you have a car and you're struggling to get some protection for that car, let me recommend vehicle assurance. One eight six six three four one nine two five five is their number. They have been in business for over 10 years and have a 30 day money back guarantee, which is one of the reasons why they have over one million satisfied customers. They are known for their painless claims process and their premium vehicle protection. So whatever that car looks like, they can help you. You can find them at vehicle assurance dot com or call them again at eight six six three four one nine two five five for a free quote.

Get the protection and the peace of mind you deserve. Don't miss the hottest rookie class in PGA Tour champions history. Stars like Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els, Jim Furyk and more compete at Norwood Hills Country Club September six through the 12th. Join legends Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson and Hale Irwin to celebrate the PGA Tour champions newest event. Professional golf returning to St. Louis in twenty twenty one. The Ascension charity classic presented by Emerson tickets, clubhouse passes, hospitality suites, pro and foursomes on sale now.

Visit Ascension charity classic dot com. I am with my buddy Joe Schiezer from USA Mortgage. Hi, Jay.

How are you? Doing great, Joe. Thanks so much for the support of the show. I really appreciate the opportunity. Congratulations. This is your third year and we're really proud to be a sponsor all three years since the very beginning. It's a great show and we look forward to it every Sunday morning.

Well, thanks a bunch. Tell us just a little bit about USA Mortgage and what you can do for people. Well, USA Mortgage is a Aesop. It's an employee owned company. So over a thousand families here in St. Louis work for the company. So if you want an opportunity to patronize a local company, please call USA Mortgage three one four six two eight two oh one five.

And I'll be more than happy to sit down with you, go over your options, discuss all the different programs that are available and give you an opportunity to support a local company. That's awesome, Joe. Thanks so much. Appreciate it, Jay.

Thank you. This is Golf with Jay Delsing. I am visiting with the director of golf at the Margaritaville Lake Resort in the Lake of the Ozarks, Paul Leahy. Paul, good morning.

Good morning to you, sir. I want to thank you for joining me on the Gateway PGA Spotlight. Tell us a little bit about the cool stuff you've got going on with the juniors and with the golf programs you've got down at Lake of the Ozarks.

Absolutely. We've been here about 30 years doing the Lake of the Ozarks Junior Golf Association started very small, which is with just a few kids and a few tournaments. And we grew it over 25 years to have seven tournaments, over 100 kids each year. And we gave away $100,000 plus worth of scholarships every year and did an in-school program with them each winter to teach them in schools, in the elementary schools. And then about four years ago, Scott Hobis and the Missouri Golf Association approached us and they wanted to know if we wanted to kind of emerge our efforts.

And so we did. And it's our tournament program is now called the Missouri Junior Tour. I've been involved with it for about four years now. And they've taken the program and just kind of put fire to it.

They've improved it from a seven-tournament series to about a 14-tournament series. They've got paid people that are doing the program. And we go all over mid-Missouri and we sell out almost every week. The first tournament was actually today. And we had an Eldon Golf Club and I believe they sold out at about 120 kids. And it's just a phenomenal program for the kids in mid-Missouri to get their feet wet in golf. And then from the Lake of the Ozarks Junior Golf Association, we're still doing our scholarship program. We gave away eight scholarships this year totaling over $6,000. We're still doing our in-school program even with the COVID restrictions this winter. So it was a great time and we're continuing to grow the grain down here.

Paul, congratulations. Give us a number where we can – some of our folks can reach out if they want to get involved. The best number is probably just to call me at the Margaritaville Lake Resort at 573-348-8522. You've seen it and played it in bars over the past 30 years. And now you can bring golden tea to your home. Complete your basement or man cave with the popular arcade game, The Ultimate Virtual Golfing Experience. Over 80 courses, unique game modes, and you can even challenge a buddy in online tournaments.

However you play, you will be the talk of your neighborhood. Visit home.goldentee.com to learn more. I want to tell you about Dean Team Volkswagen of Kirkwood. My friend Colin Burt runs the store over there and he helped me buy a used Volkswagen for my daughter Jo when she turned 16. We've had the car for over a year, it's running great, it's nice and safe, and we've taken it there to get it serviced just recently. Pearly, that does the show with me, just bought a nice Toyota truck from Colin. So I want you to know that if there's any sort of vehicle you need, anything at all, you can get it at the Dean Team Volkswagen of Kirkwood.

You can call them at 314-966-0303 or visit them at deanteamvwkirkwood.com. We're halfway there. It's time for the Back Nine on Golf with Jay Delsing. The Back Nine is brought to you by Fogelbach Agency with Farmers Insurance. And we are back. This is Golf with Jay Delsing. I'm your host Jay. I got Pearly with me somewhere up in the northern part of Wisconsin and we're headed to the Back Nine. The Back Nine is brought to you by the Fogelbach Agency with Farmers. 314-398-0101 if you need any type of insurance product for your family, for your business. I'm working on a couple things with Ed right now for a business and he is a terrific guy.

He's got his family there, so give them a call and he'll help you out. All right, let's just jump right back into the second half of the interview with John Smoltz. History for John Smoltz in Atlanta, number 200 against the Mets.

The circle is complete. Maybe the greatest trio of pitchers in the history of the game to work for one organization. Maddox, Glavin, and Smoltz, all three of them with their 200th career win on the turf at Turner Field. A standing ovation for John Smoltz as his spot in Cooperstown cemented. John Smoltz is brought to you by Golden Tee. You know, John, it's so interesting because I've had so many ex-athletes on the show and they all love the game. You know, it's definitely something that they can transition from their sport onto the golf course.

But they all say to the man just what you said. They had no idea what it took to try to keep getting better. And you're trying to play, you know, hell, you're a Hall of Fame MLB player with 22 years of experience. And now you're going out trying to play with the best, you know, Champions Tour players in the world.

That's some heady competition. And the one thing mentally, you know, you're at a disadvantage. You know, when a pitcher stands on the mound and a hitter stands in the box, someone's got an advantage.

And the key is not exposing who that is, right? And you don't want the hitter to know that he's got the advantage and vice versa. And so that little cat and mouse game that goes on between the hitter and the pitcher is always existed.

And the ones who can master that, fake it, are the ones that usually get ahead and are fine. Well, when you step on a golf course in a group, you know where you rank in that group and in the field. And so the intimidation factor or the mental component, it does affect you when you realize it's just a golf ball, a golf club, and a hole, right? Because you're playing against Mother Nature and a golf course, not so much against the other players. But you can't help but feel like you're playing against the other players. And what I found in golf so far that I'm trying to find a different approach to is I get to a point where I start protecting. And, you know, there are weaknesses in my game. I don't get a chance to practice and play in this many that I would like to.

But these teach, these are like self-teachers to me. And I find myself, you know, getting three under in a tournament and just going, okay, how do I protect that instead of how do I increase that? How do I continue to be freed up in the game?

So those things are getting better for me. But the reality of going back home and playing with the guys that I play with, I know I'm the best in the group. And it's a total different play for golf that I play there than when you're playing in an area where you know you're not even close to the best.

And you're trying to compete and climb the ladder of that leaderboard. So there's definitely some things I'm learning and trying to free up that I know I can play. And I know I'm capable of hitting every shot there is.

It's just whether or not it's under the gun. That's the key. And I had a couple, you know, I've known these guys for a long time and they all have been very kind to me and these opportunities and the champions tour.

And I can't say enough how thrilled I am to have some sponsor exemptions. But they've all told me that if I get out there more and get more tournaments, there's no doubt I can play. And that's refreshing.

But I have a balance. I have to try to figure out how to balance a schedule that is crazy right now and that in the future we'll see. But the one thing that stuck with me after the last one I played in is one of the guys said, look, whatever the shot calls for, we hit it.

And we hit it aggressively. That's really what you need to learn. You're trying to do things that are not, that just doesn't call for. And you find yourself getting in a little bit of trouble because of it. And he's so right that, you know, I know what the shot calls for. Now I just have to be disciplined to execute it, to be on point. Well, you know, it's interesting, John, about the concentration that you're talking about for us is an in and out sort of thing.

I'm in for 30 seconds. Now I'm out for two or three or four or eight minutes or 12 minutes and then I'm back in. And then there's also, I've watched so many players not necessarily do everything well or great, but what they did was so proficient that when they needed it, they had it. And what I mean by that is maybe they didn't hit a bunch of really nice draws and were coming down to this hole with the flag stick cut left, but they knew they could start the ball in the middle of the green and hit it in the middle of the green and put that 20-footer instead of putting it in the water or something like that. And that's a big deal.

It is. And there's the other big deal for people who sit at home and say they can do X, Y, Z but they can't. And that's why I'm a leading example of some of it. But they think coming down the stretch, they don't understand what it takes to win or what it takes to execute those shots.

And those soft nerves and that pressure that's within starts eking out. And you can only learn from having gone through it. They know where to miss.

Most of the guys in the entire tour know exactly where to miss. And the mistakes that amateur players make are mistakes of just being unfamiliar with the situation. So I used to think, how in the world could a guy trying to hit the shot that he's hit a million times have a hard time doing that, trying to win a tournament or coming down the stretch? Well, your body gets into an unnatural situation because you think about things that you normally wouldn't.

And I'll give you a perfect example. I thought I could transcend all what I learned on the mound, all the mental toughness, all the big games that I pitched, none of which I was nervous, none of which I felt out of body experience. And I thought easily I could translate that to golf when the pressure was on and the tension was the greatest.

Well, there's a little bit of difference. You know, I release a ball without tension, but then I'm not in control of what happens to that ball, meaning I have teammates that bail me out in a golf shot. That tension, if you get any tension, it creates an unneeded movement, and you're then at the mercy of your swing or mechanics. And so when qualifying for the U.S. Senior Open, I found myself in a position unlike anything other in my life. I had teed off early in the morning, and I birdied 15, 16, 17, and missed an eight-footer on 18 for 68 and waited seven hours and 45 minutes to get in a three-way playoff for one spot.

So now I get in that position and I think, okay, it's not a big deal, but the big deal, seven hours and 45 minutes of waiting was a big deal. Well, I get to a position after the third playoff hole. It's just two of us. And my competitor hit a ball in the water off the tee, and I hit it in the bunker off the tee. It's mine to win.

I'm going to win. I'm going to go to the U.S. Open. And I get to the bunker shot, and instead of thinking it through, I get in there and all I'm thinking about is I'm going to the U.S. Open. And I was so excited but so anxious that I couldn't really hit the shot.

And I pulled off a terrible shot, hit the lip on the bunker, so we lay the same. And my emotions went from elation to just like in the trash. And I had to kind of focus back on everything's okay. Well, long story short, I end up two puttting and he three putts, and I go and qualify for the Open in the Broadmoor. And I'm screaming because it's the biggest accomplishment of my life. But the whole thing that led up to it, I couldn't believe where my brain went.

And where it went was in a place you can't let it go ever. And I learned so much from that and, of course, completed in Broadmoor. That was a tough experience just based on preparation, but it taught me all I needed to know about my golf game. So I say all that by if you're sitting in your couch and sitting at home and watching these guys come down the stretch and they hit shots and you go, I could have hit that. No, you couldn't have because you have no idea what the mental pressure that goes on until it becomes commonplace and you're used to it.

John, I so appreciate your candor. I so appreciate that because what happens to us, talk a little bit about, I guess, what happens to you from an adrenaline standpoint because I remember, John, as a little kid going, well, my wedge goes 135 yards until I get in the rough and I got a lot of adrenaline and then all of a sudden it goes 160. And I mean, did you experience a bunch of things like that as well? Yeah, I basically experienced more of less freedom. Like when I was on the mound and the pressure got the greater, literally the game slowed down more.

It was unbelievably relaxing for me. Where a lot of players, the game speeds up, you try harder, you throw harder, you swing harder. All those things in baseball don't necessarily result in good success.

You can get away with throwing a pitch harder, but you can't get away with swinging as hard as you can or hitting the ball harder and necessarily have good results in golf. So it kind of applies where for me, the anxiousness of a shot, the thought process is where I'm not good. I think about things I would never think about on the mound.

I am a big believer and yet I fall in this trap. Don't say don't. When I was on the mound, you can't say don't hang the slider or catcher can't tell me don't hang this or a coach. I don't want to hear don't because my brain doesn't hear don't.

It just hears the end result, hang slider. And the same thing when I'm on the golf course, I'll tell my caddy, just give me a positive command. Don't give me a don't don't hit it left because inevitably that's what what I thought up what my brain starts thinking about.

I don't think, you know, you can it's like telling somebody if you're standing in a room and say, whatever you do, do not look at the floor right now at the spider or inevitably everyone's going to look down. I think that's part of what I've been doing here in Madison lately. I've been working on every shot, having a purpose and having a shape to it.

And what I think would equate to a good shot. And it's changing a little bit of how I've approached rather than get up, hit the shot and then, you know, chase the results. So I'm learning that that part of the mental discipline, mental focus that you really need. And that's the thing that I played in some events early in my career that I got sponsor exemptions to. And I could not believe how much my brain drifted because how long the rounds were.

And I found myself in places where it's just doesn't work. And now I know why some of these guys are at the level they're at, because their ability for four and a half, five and a half hours to stay, like you said, on and off. But when they're on, they're locked into their routine.

It's incredible. You know, last I think the last tournament I played in, there was a backup of two groups. I think three groups on a par five and that was thirty twelve, about thirty five minutes before I hit another tee shot. Well, I don't have the reps and the mechanical down. I have too many different swings. So what swing do I go to after thirty five minutes? And that's what I'm learning to try to get back to is, you know, everyone needs a go to swing. You've got to have a go to shot. And I always thought that playing golf, you had to have every shot. And that's just not true. I play with too many guys when we have one shot and they play every time. And that's really good.

And it's amazing. But having what we call an out shot, you can't play without it. You can't. You know, having something that you can go to, you'd love to be able to hit a draw all the time. But some days you wake up and the ball won't turn right to left.

You know, it just won't do it. I was amazed at that, that thinking about watching golf was a book, you know, going up to the game. I thought everybody had every kind of shot. You know, I never could understand why some guys couldn't play Augusta because of the shape of Augusta, where some guys could play a left to right course or, you know, some guys could putt from the West Coast to East Coast. I never used to understand those components until you do it. You go, OK, I did it for me. The versus bent Polana.

I can't stand Polana. I don't know how to putt on it. You know, those kind of things. Certain guys grew up on the game.

I grew up on that surface and they love it. So now I understand you're going to a baseball park and everything pretty much is the same except for the hitter's eye. There's a little bit of difference. There's certain mountains in the field. You get some, you know, favorites and not so favorites.

And, you know, I get that. But from a golf shot making standard, you realize when you play with these guys, they're really good at one thing and they don't have to be great at everything. You know, one of the things, John, from that I picked up that helped me get to a next level that I'd love to throw at you is that is to disregard the results and get into the processes of my target. Meaning, like you talked about, the word don't, you're absolutely right, it can't exist in a golfer's mind.

The target, the shape of the shot, the feel of the shot. Like I talked to Tiger. Tiger told me you were the best athlete that's ever taken on the game that wasn't a golfer. He said you hit, he said he never played with anybody better than you.

But I also asked him, what are you thinking about coming down the stretch? You've got this shot from the fairway and it's like he's thinking nothing. It's like him and the target and he's swinging to a picture and he doesn't care where it goes. He just knows if he focuses on the target and uses that feel, it's going to work out. It's amazing having played 30 plus rounds with Sam and watching him practice and see what he did.

It's just, he doesn't do it any justice. And that's one thing I'm trying to get away from. I'm a scorekeeper. I know everything, every shot, I know everything. It's not good all the time because I start adding things up in my mind and I don't need to be adding up.

I'm three under, I four under. And there's no good things that happen when you start counting like that. And I think there's a beauty in being able to, I need to go more in my closures role where you have bad memory and you forget what happened the day before. One shot does lead into the next for me too many times. And I tell you where it's gotten me is because I'm not at that level yet of being able to lead into a tournament with the time you need to be prepared is one bad shot that I don't expect.

I'm having a hard time figuring out why that happened and it bleeds into a few more. So the more I get a chance to be under the gun, the better that feeling will be. But it goes down to trust and look, I'm not trying to be somebody I'm not. I realize my place here even with the sponsor exemption. I'm not trying to play full time.

I never have and I never will because of the way my life has been structured. So when opportunities come about in the middle of a baseball season, and I got to say Fox and MLB Network have been awesome and they're allowing me to have special opportunities like this one. I got out of my game to play in this tournament because the opportunity was there in Madison. I literally try to swoop in and pretend like I have been locked in in golf when I've just not been able to play much. And so it's a frustrating feeling, but it's enticing to think, all right, what can I do given the circumstances of the last month?

How do I take it? How do I go out there and pretend I got everything under control? Well, the beauty of golf and the ugliness of golf is it will show itself and it will expose you if you're not at that level. So I'm getting closer and, you know, for me, when the season's over, I want to go to Q school. I want to play and practice and see where I can take my game before my body completely fails.

And hopefully that will happen in the future. But right now, my priority and my job is obviously the best broadcaster I can be and not let that sacrifice even if, you know, I don't get to practice or play for a tournament the way I would like leading into it. This is John Smoltz. He's visiting with me. This is the Golf with Jay Delsing Show Hall of 2015 class, Hall of Fame class and MLB and now champions to our player. John, one of the things that I know you love, you've got the John Smoltz Foundation, big league impact with Uncle Charlie, Adam Wainwright here in town. You've had an evening with Smoltz and Friends where you're a charitable guy. You're raising money for others. And the game of golf and charity just go hand in hand, don't they?

It really does. It's probably the greatest way to unite and bring together people for a common cause. I can't even tell you how many charity events I've played in.

It's got to be well over 200, 300, if not more. And the opportunities that we've been presented as athletes and the platform we've been given, thankfully, to my parents, my faith, and everything that I have been able to do through the game of baseball on a jersey that I wore, the impact has been incredible. And just playing a small part of that has been something I've always been a big believer in. There's going to be a time here soon where not a lot of people know your name, but the opportunities while you were on a stage, if you will, I tried to take advantage of. I'm probably most proud of some of the things that I've done away from the field and I've done on the field that don't necessarily gain a lot of attention, but that's okay.

And that's along with Adam Wainwright, who I love to death, worked with each other twice with the Atlanta Braves when he was young, and then, of course, at the end of my career when he was still going. Starting a Christian school, being part of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, just seeing families and doing the things that put smiles on people's faces who are having a hard time and are really struggling. It's been an incredible journey, and, you know, golf has been able to raise probably so much more money than any other entity because of the uniqueness of the game and how everybody does gravitate toward it and come together. And each one of these Champions Tours events have raised, and their foundation has done an incredible job. So, you know, golf during the pandemic kind of saved the country. Golf in a weird way has, you know, a lot of other sports to see what can happen when things aren't perfect. And I think, you know, through all the sport that has really increased its profile, if you will, during all of this, golf head and shoulders above the rest.

Yeah, it really has. John, man, I really appreciate this much time. I wish you all the best luck up in Madison. And with Captain Stricker, there will be a lot of red, white, and blue talk. There will be, I know, a good concert up there. So best of luck.

Thanks so much for spending the time with me. And I can't wait to maybe play someday. That would be great.

Definitely when things get back to normal, we're all over the place doing baseball games, so we'll hook up for sure. And that will do it for the John Smoltz interview. Perley, now break this down on the Michelob Ultra 19th hole.

Don't go anywhere. This is golf with Jay Delsing. This is Bill DeWitt III, president of the St. Louis Cardinals. And you're talking to Jay Delsing. And wait, I'm sorry, what was the name of the show? Golf with Jay Delsing.

Okay, let me start out. Hey, Jay Delsing here for SSM Health Physical Therapy. Our golf program has the same screening techniques and technology as the pros use on the PGA Tour.

That's right. SSM Health Physical Therapy has Titleist Performance Institute trained physical therapists that can perform the TPI screen on you, as well as putting you on the KVES 3D motion capture system. Trust me, I've been on it. It is really cool.

Proper posture and alignment can help you keep it right down the middle. For daily locations in the St. Louis area, call them at 800-518-1626 or visit them on the web at SSMPhysicalTherapy.com. Your therapy, our passion. Are you looking for a great career? Do you like meeting nice people, working with your hands, and fixing things inside the home? Marcon Appliance Parts Company would like to encourage you to consider a high-paying career in major appliances repair and service. Major appliance service technicians are in very high demand. Major appliance techs work regular hours and make excellent money. They work local in their own communities and are home every night.

It is an incredibly stable industry and highly rewarding work. Discover more about your new career in major appliance services today by contacting a local appliance service company in your hometown. In St. Louis or St. Charles County, contact Brian Probst at AAA Home Services. The phone number is 636-299-3871.

Marcon Appliance Parts Company is based in St. Louis, Missouri, and is the largest distributor of major appliance parts in North America and proud distributor of General Electric Parts. I know you've heard me talk about Whitmore Country Club. I want to thank them for supporting the show again for the third year and tell you things are going great for them. There's 90 holes of golf when you join at Whitmore Country Club. The membership provides you access to the Missouri Buffs, the links to Dardeen, and the Golf Club of Wentzville. Cart fees are included.

There's no food or beverage minimums and no assessments. 24-hour fitness center is fantastic. There's two large pool complexes and three tennis courts. Stop in the golf shop and you've got to see my buddy Bummer. He is an absolute great guy that would love to help you with your game and love to show you around the facility. He and his staff run golf league skins games, members tournaments, couples events. There's live music.

There's great dining opportunities out there, outside, inside. Anything you and your family need golf-wise, fun-wise, visit whitmoregolf.com or call them at 636-926-9622. Professional golf returns to St. Louis in 2021. The Ascension Charity Classic, presented by Emerson. Stars like Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els, Jim Furyk, and more compete at Norwood Hills Country Club September 6th through the 12th. Tickets, clubhouse passes, hospitality suites, and pro-am foresoms are on sale now. All proceeds go to North St. Louis County charities. Visit ascensioncharityclassic.com or call 314-938-2828. PGA Tour Golf is back in the loo.

The Ascension Charity Classic. Let your local farmer's insurance agent, Ed Foglebach, put his experience to work for you. Ed Foglebach proudly serves St. Louis area families and businesses and is ready to review your existing policies or provide a no obligation quote today. Call the Foglebach Agency at 314-398-0101 to get smarter about your insurance. Again, that's the Foglebach Agency at 314-398-0101.

We know a thing or two because we've seen a thing or two. We are farmers. Bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum.

Grab your friends, a cold one, and pull up a chair. We're on to the 19th hole on golf with Jay Delsing. The 19th hole is brought to you by Michelobultra. All right, welcome back. This is Golf with Jay Delsing. I'm your host Jay, Pearly's with me, and we are headed to the Michelobultra 19th hole.

Man, get that ultra out, Pearly. I want to know what you thought about the John Smoltz interview. What was your biggest takeaway? I'll tell you, one of my most fun takeaways was how different his parents were as musicians, how he was learning to be a musician and play music, et cetera, at a very young age and stuck with it and considered that to be much of the discipline that he later used to be successful in sports. It kind of brought me back to when I was supposed to be taking those banjo lessons with my dad.

Wait a minute, what? My mom bought us a series of like eight of them, and I think we did two. And all I learned was the first couple notes of On Top of Old Smokey on the banjo. So I wish I would have continued. I may have been more successful on the golf course. On Top of Old Smokey?

You playing the banjo? I don't know where to go from there. We don't have enough time. You know, there's so much candor in that interview. I just loved it and how he talked about the struggles and the difference between golf and baseball, pro. The thing that jumped out in my mind is that when he's pitching a game, he basically controls the entire pace of that game. A batter can step in and out, but he's got the ball and he throws, and nothing happens until the pitch is thrown. And that is not at all like the PGA Tour, man. No, but you've made the analogy through the years, Jay, on how similar pitching is, because you're starting the action from scratch. But I like what he said, which is what you just mentioned. He's talking about a seven-second kind of routine, if you will, whereas golf, you've got minutes in between shots.

And I never thought of it that way. I just always kind of thought, yeah, we're initiating action, it's hard. But when he boiled it down to say, hey, man, there's a lot less garbage you can creep in your head in seven seconds than it can in seven minutes or 17 minutes, and that's certainly the truth. I loved what he said about it to his family when he's pitching on the day. He's like, keep your questions to a minimum. I've got like 120 decisions I have to make, and I can't get overloaded.

Well, what mom or dad can't relate to that as far as some big deal going on down at work or some sport they're playing on the weekend or whatever, when you're on kind of already on overload, it's tough to handle those questions and different issues that sneak in there. So that was kind of fun. But there again, you can only imagine Smoltz had his whole team on the same page on how this thing was going to work.

Yeah, that's right. I loved how he talked about getting connected with golf and connecting through the team and relaxing and getting away from it. Pearl, we don't have a lot of time, but the Jon Rahm thing, what is your takeaway on the Jon Rahm thing? I'm blown away that he didn't get vaccinated. Yeah, you know, I heard somebody talking about that and they said, well, when was he going to get it between his newborn child, his travel, his other tournaments? You know, Jake, people get pretty sick from that.

I got my second shot and I was down for a full day and I was absolutely affected for the better part of a week. So, you know, it may have just crept up on him. And who knows kind of on that? I'll tell you, I have just learned in this whole COVID thing to not judge, not try to figure things out. There's so many people so afraid out there, so concerned about so much misinformation, which you can't blame them, that I just wish him the best. I thought it was so unfortunate the way it came down as a tournament. It was unfortunate for the tournament, for the fans, for him.

So I don't know, man. I just look forward to the whole thing getting behind us. Once again, Jack Nicklaus handled it with such class and dignity and said all the right things. And, you know, the one thing that I have to say, John, the PGA Tour protocol, we have been maybe not the 100% the leader, but professional golf has really been on the forefront somewhere about bringing us back to some sort of normalcy. And the fact that John and all of the other players, when I've done some reading and made some phone calls, they all knew what was going on. They all knew this was a possibility.

And you know what? Nobody liked it. I can promise you, Candley and Morikawa, they didn't like it.

It's just different, upside down, wrong. I don't know what you want to say, but I will say this. The PGA Tour has stuck with the protocols. Those protocols have worked, and it's just unfortunate that this whole thing came down to happening the way it did. Yeah, hopefully we don't have any more of it. Everybody's doing the best they can, and I don't know, hopefully the old time heals, and let's get this behind us.

Absolutely. You know what else is behind us, Pearl? This show. This show is behind us. That's pretty good. Do you know how many shows this is, Pearl?

I don't either. This year or ever? Ever. I don't know this year or ever. Well, Pearl, guess what's happening at this same time next Sunday?

Don't put that pressure on me like that. Another show! Another show! We're doing another show next week.

Pearl, go back to fishing and floating in the lakes or whatever the hell you're doing up there. Meat, thanks so much for taking good care of us, and we'll see you next week on Golf with Jay Delsing. We've got Dan Hicks next week.

Hit them straight, St. Louis. Hi, this is Chris Howard, host of Plugged In with Chris Howard. It's crazy to think that a few weeks ago we were talking about whether or not Tua Tagovailoa should consider retiring. After two concussions and worldwide debates on player safety and NFL culpability, Tua has done nothing but go back to work and currently has the Dolphins riding a three-game win streak and one loss behind the division favorite Buffalo Bills. While everyone was yapping about the end of his career, Tua Tagovailoa said he'll decide when it's time. And clearly, he's not ready to hang up the cleats. But online, where the game starts. We'll be right back.