Golf With Jay Delsing - - Travis Liebig

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. You're all fired up. All fired up.

Well, we formatted this year like a round of golf and the first segment is called the On The Range segment. It is brought to you by the folks at Vehicle Assurance. 1-866-341-9255. If you need some coverage, if you need some warranties, if you need anything for your car, they have it. They're great folks. Call them at 1-866-341-9255.

Check out our social media outlets. Pearly takes care of those. He'll let you know about those.

Just call him on his personal cell. He'll take care of those for you. All under control. All under control. Okay, cool.

So we don't need to go over that. And then I also wanted to thank Bob and Kathy Donahue at Donahue Painting and Refinishing. Man, their business has really, really been just off the charts with the COVID nightmare. People have been staying home. They've been fixing up their homes and these guys do an excellent job.

Call them at 314-805-2132. All right, Pearl. Fun show. I've got a local, really good friend of mine, the CEO of St. Louis Bank, Travis Liebig is our interview for today. Banker loves the game of golf, uses the game of golf to help grow his business. And just an overall good guy, but we've got a bunch of other fun stuff to talk about.

Let's just jump in. Stuart Sink, three-peat. How amazing is that?

We had him on the show, what, a month ago, month and a half ago or so? That must be why he's playing so well. I knew there was a secret sauce someplace. Well, somebody sent me something on social media, Pearl, and I said, there's like, it has to be the Jay Delson golf, a Jay Delson boost. And all I was thinking about is, damn, I'm glad it wasn't the curse. Yeah, let's go with the positive as long as we can go with it. But yeah, it's amazing.

I was so anxious to ask you, where does that come from? I mean, obviously he's been a great player from a long time. He was a wonderful amateur player. He's a great college player. He did really well on tour. I wouldn't call him a world beater, but obviously very, very good. And then all of a sudden, you know, it's later in the career, not much going on.

And then all of a sudden he just wiped the field last week. John, two wins. How do you open at Harbor town at 63-63? I mean, he's got his son Caddy in for him, but how about this Pearl, 47 years old and Ryder cup possibilities, 47 years old back in the top 50 world golf rankings and not winning, decisively winning and twice in a year. Well, Ryder cup possibilities or a lock? I mean, well, he's not a lot because they've changed the formatting Pearl. So, so remember coach Stricker is going to get four at large picks or maybe six, whatever it is, it's changed because of the, the COVID years and things like that.

So it's changed, but he's right in the middle of it. No doubt. And Jay, you've played that course many times. Uh, there's plenty of ways to lose your nerve a little bit, not getting around out there.

You don't have to make a whole lot of mistakes to not get it around. And he was awesome. He just kept going. Pearl. The first time I played that golf course, walked over from the range and I was playing with Peter.

I don't know, it was 23 years old. I looked at the first hole and then I looked over at Steven. I go, do they all look like this?

And he goes, yeah, pretty much. And I was like, Oh dear God, what am I going to do? It was so narrow.

Oh man. I never hit drivers. If the ball runs out just a little bit and you're not, you didn't plan for it.

You end up hitting some funky punch shot, punch roll thing that can bounce anywhere. He was amazing how we just, and hit every shot. Wasn't perfect off the tee, just the way he kept his composure, played it around, really played the game. It was, it was just really impressive. And yeah, you mentioned he was having a blast with his son. I'll tell you what a family affair and, and what a joy that, that, uh, that had to be for that family.

I can't even relate, you know, and all the challenges that Lisa's faced with the breast cancer and everything. It was just fantastic. What about the rule?

I got to get your opinion on this. How about the rules? Snafu, Matt Kuchar and Seewoo Kim with a ball sitting on the lip, sitting on the lip and, and, and Kuchar says to him, man, you can't hit this. The ball is literally moving and they're watching it kind of wiggle back and forth. And then it finally falls in and they take it away from him saying you waited too long.

You had to hit that, that shot within 10 seconds. So that's what I didn't understand. I thought if it's moving, that it counts. Now, are they just saying guys who couldn't have really been moving that whole time or would have gone in? Cause it had nowhere to go, but you and I have seen putts on the edge where it's just, just trickle and trickle.

And tiger almost had that type of thing at, uh, at, at Augusta several years ago, where it's just kind of sitting there, but it's, it's, it's got a slight move forward to it. Uh, yeah, just another one of the rules where I'm like, come on guys. The only thing Pearl, is it from a pragmatic standpoint with the TV and everything, how long do you let those guys wait?

How long? You know, because I mean, you can sit there and go. And the other thing is John, if it's truly moving and it's only got to go one sixteenth of an inch and it takes a minute. I don't know. You know what? I agree. That's, that's hard. And then guys are casting the shadow over it. Then there's a bunch of different things going on. Yeah.

It's, it's, it's just hard though. Uh, you know, I I've had it before Jay, where I've hit a second shot that I'm like, wow, that's gotta be close. The other guy hits a shot. You walk up, the other guy might be chipping to the green.

You walk up and all of a sudden you're on the green and this is minutes later and the thing falls in. Right. Right.

So, so, you know, I don't know. Does that mean it wasn't moving? Does that mean it came to a complete standstill and then moved?

I don't think that's possible either. Is it? No, I think what's happened is it the, the, well, I mean, I guess it is possible that something caused it to move, but we can talk about this forever. This is just crazy. It's crazy. I think, unfortunately, because I've had this happen to me and I was pissed that I didn't get the camera. Can you imagine?

Can you imagine? And, and, um, but I think it's probably the right. You're going to ha you're going to have to make some sort of time limit on this thing and stick to it. Even though it sucks. Tour guys don't lose, like to lose a shot, even any shot anywhere ever. You guys fight so hard for them that those are, those are tough calls.

Yeah, it really is. Okay. How about Lydia Coe? She's been a fan.

I was, I'm working hard to try to get the quarters. Uh, Lydia Coe, um, Lexi Thompson was one all, any sort of, you know, combination of those guys on the show because we just need some representation from the LPGA tour. But how about 23 years old? She wins for the 16th time over three years or so since her last win. And what an unbelievable fight for someone who is world number one earliest, regardless of the gender for someone to hit world number one in golf at 17 years of age. And to see her win again with the struggles, the lead better stuff, all that crap. It's great to see her do it.

Let me do, let me toss in a tip of the cap segment real, real quickly. It's brought to you by the Dean team of Kirkwood three one four nine six six zero three zero three. Colin and Brandy out there are terrific. They took care of pearly when he bought it himself a new Toyota truck. And they helped me with my, my car.

I bought a used VW for Joe. My tip of the cap is to all of the major sports leagues, NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA for managing to push through the crazy times we've been feeling through COVID. Look at this. Somehow our society is so connected to the world of sports, just giving us some sort of something to plug into is really important. And I got to tell you, Pearl, I think you agree with me here. The PGA Tour led the way on this thing.

We lost a few weeks, but not very many. And my, my, my hats off to Jay Monahan and the PGA Tour as well. I'm okay with kudos for all sports on the COVID. I agree with you, but we got to give triple kudos like you just said to golf. They went way out of their way to lead the way individual players stepped up. The commissioner stepped up.

I'm so I'm so proud of the game of golf through that and the different organizations. Huge, huge win across the board. And the tip of the cap was brought to you by Dean team of Kirkwood three one four nine six six zero three zero three call Colin today. That's going to wrap up the front nine.

Don't go anywhere. I mean, I'm sorry, that's going to wrap up the on the range segment. The front nine comes after. Do we usually go to the range first pearl or do we go to the front nine and then go to the range?

Depended how that first round was. Yeah. And we're not talking about the 19th hole because that could come anytime.

No. So here's what we'll do. We'll wrap up the on range segment.

We'll come back with the front nine. This is golf with Jay Delson. Hello friends.

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Welcome back. This is Golf with Jay Delsing. I'm your host, Jay.

I've got Burley with me. Brad Barnes is taking great care of us here at the ESPN Studios. And we're headed to the front nine brought to you by the Ascension Charity Classic. John, we had our conference call this week, Ascension Charity Classic.

And the city of St. Louis is stepping up, as you would imagine. Just terrific. This September, 6th through 12th, we're going to have a great field. It's going to be a great show.

Can't wait. What was the best part of the meeting, Jake? Can you share any details that came of that? Or kind of confirmations of anything?

You know what it is, John? We had the shutdown last year, so we didn't get a tournament. We were trying to help get the community to understand what's available, how they can participate, X, Y, and Z. And then we shut it down, and everybody was just kind of like, blah. And then the winner comes, and most of our conversations were just not happening. And now that the weather's changed, man, it is popping. There is a lot going on. And the Ascension people just continue to amaze. They're incredible corporate citizens, they're great community people, and they're throwing this great party.

We can't wait. Jack Nicklaus is going to be on board. And that's going to take me into my next point, John.

Jack Nicklaus has agreed to donate his personal services and his design company services to come to North St. Louis County and redesign Normandy Golf Club. Wow. Where's that coming from? What sparked that idea? Tom O'Toole Jr., who used to be a past president of USGA, released kind of a press statement earlier last week stating such.

And I just couldn't believe it. I mean, this golf facility is really run down, and it has been teetering back and forth on whether it's going to make it, whether we can raise enough money to get it going. And to Tom O'Toole's credit and the Beyond Housing CEO, they've come together. They've got Jack Nicklaus on board, and now the thing's going to rock. They're going to raise money to purchase a contract from UMSL, which is University of Missouri St. Louis.

It owns it right now, and it's going to happen in a completely different life form. So is it going to be a little bit like that Atlanta, Georgia project where the tour plays their championship? Oh, you're talking about Eastlake Village, I mean, Eastlake, and I don't believe it'll make it to that scale. But the general idea with a golf course is there's room there, and Jack's going to redo it, reroute it, and then raise money for some maintenance and some new buildings because it needs everything. That's awesome. It was just kind of a shout out of nowhere that, oh, man, when I saw it, it was just a great thing to see. Well, it'll help the community besides that, whether it's a monster project or not.

It sounds like just a fantastic thing. Mr. Nicklaus has obviously always been stepping up, but lately it seems like he's even doubling down on some things. I'll say, and I'll tell you, he's got to step up his game to try to keep up with his wife, who's just an absolute superstar as well. You know, these guys are building children's hospitals with the money they're raising.

I mean, it's impressive. And then Jack's going to be here in the July-August timeframe because there's going to be a luncheon associated with the Ascension Charity Classic. And then he's also going to play a nine-hole exhibition on Saturday, tournament Saturday afternoon after the last group passes through the 10th hole. About 30 minutes after that, Jack and Tom Watson and Ozzie Smith and maybe one other goat will join them. And, yeah, that's really, really cool.

There's not many goats in the world, and he's definitely one of them. That's exciting. Yeah, it really is exciting. All right, so, John, let's talk a little bit about the Court of Sisters.

All right. Jessica and Nellie, they're bringing something special to a tour, in my opinion, is already trending in a really, really good way. Kind of a tough blow for the LPGA to lose Commissioner Wan, who's now going to come over and run the USGA.

So they're probably in a search as we speak to replace him. But I really love what the LPGA is doing. And the way the Court of Sisters are playing, and they're relatively new to the tour just the last couple of years, the word that keeps coming to mind when I watch them play is elegant. And, you know, they're stud athletes. Their mom and dads were both professional tennis players at a world-class level, and they're doing some unbelievable stuff in the game. Well, their brother is also becoming a world-class tennis player. So the athletics are there, and as you and I would agree, there's a lot of similarities between a strong tennis stroke, if you will, and a strong golf swing. I agree with the elegance, but also, Jay, just the form and the on-plane, you know, when you watch that Nellie Cordes is what I guess I get to see a little bit more playing. And just the power, it's awesome.

It's awesome. I read a long article that they had on them in an interview. They are really competitive.

Oh, do you think? You can tell when they walk the, you know, they're very professional, but you can tell when they just even walk the fairways during the tournament. They're focused in there, and they talk a lot about the mind game. They talk about staying away from perfect.

All the things that we talked about. I'm trying to remember the one article, perfect in sports, just don't get together, just don't go together, excuse me, is one of their kind of statements. And so it's about just improving, getting out there, and getting your head in the game.

It was fun to listen and read the article. Yeah, they've obviously taken on golf at kind of a different sort of level than most. And it's interesting when those two have been paired together and watched the internal, not the internal, but the familial grit that they have for one another. And the competitiveness where not only do they want to beat the field, but they want to beat each other pretty badly.

Well, you know, it's interesting because they've talked about that as well, and yes, they definitely have that. But they've really agreed that the way to play the game, and you've heard this before, and they talk about it, we play against the golf course. And that's absolutely the way to go.

On so many levels, that's the way to go. And that's another one of their taglines, although they said that, and then apparently they started laughing because they're like, oh, yeah, and we also want to beat the hell out of each other. Yeah, exactly. I've been following them closely and trying to work to make a connection with them and have been unsuccessful so far. But I reached out to my buddy, Julie Inkster, and I think she's going to help me because she's captained those guys on a Solheim Cup team before, and just gushes about what sort of human beings they are as well. Well, they might be a little intimidated to come on the golf with Jay Delcey show. So, you know, give them some time, give them some time to let that sink in a little bit before you, you know, you assume what might be going on there. Yeah, yeah. We're pretty intimidating, are we? Yeah, we're going to be like, how many wins have you guys had? We're not sure.

All right, Pearl. That's going to wrap up the front nine, but don't go anywhere. We are going to come back with a Travis Liebig interview. He is the CEO of Saint Louis Bank. This is Golf with Jay Delcey. Hey, everybody, it's Vince Gill.

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Visit AscensionCharityClassic.com I am with my buddy Joe Scieser 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 ESOP, it's an employee owned company. So over a thousand families here in St. Louis work for the company.

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Visit home.goldent.com to learn more. We're halfway there, it's time for the back nine on Golf with Jay Delsey. The back nine is brought to you by Fogelbach Agency with Farmers Insurance. Hey welcome back, Golf with Jay Delsing here, I'm your host Jay, I got Pearly with me and we're headed to the back nine. It's brought to you by the Fogelbach Agency with Farmers Insurance.

You have any sort of insurance need, personal, for your company, your employees, anything, call Ed Fogelbach 314-398-0101, he will take care of you. Alright, we are going to my interview with the CEO of St. Louis Bank, Mr. Travis Liebig. Ardo Palmer is the Masters Champion of 1916. There it is, a win for the ages. Oh Jack, that was a great putt. Jack finishing off and what a day it's been for him, a round of 65.

Travis Liebig is brought to you by Golden Tee. Yeah, so I'm really excited, people are going to go, what the heck man, you've got a corporate bank guy, you know, and there's so much more to you than that, but let's just talk about the way that your life started. You're a Midwestern guy, we share a lot of the same values, let's talk a little bit about growing up in Quincy, Illinois. Sure, yeah, so born and raised in Quincy, Illinois, a couple of hours north of St. Louis, right along the river, an old river town with a lot of history, and I always say I'm proud to be from Quincy, Illinois. I think it gave me a lot of the characteristics of who I am, you know, that community feel, getting to know your neighbor, people there are hard working, and a lot of attributes. And I'm a transplant to St. Louis, moved down here to go to school, get back to Quincy, Illinois still a fair amount, have family back, but I am an adopted St. Louisan and I'm glad the community has welcomed me with open arms. But yeah, so Quincy, you know, that's where I was born and raised, so that's the small Midwestern town and a lot of good values I think came from that, so I'll be happy to talk about that too. Yeah, we had, I had Gary Woodland on the show, and he's from Topeka, and he said, that's my home, that is my home, those are my people. And one of the things that, and when Steve Stricker was on a while back, he said, or one of us said, you know, we don't live in the Midwest for the weather, that's for sure, it's really got to be the people.

You bet. Okay, so how about the way you grew up, let's talk a little bit about some of those values, and I know those carry over here in the bank, but you're a dad, you and Kristin have two kids, and so all that stuff is all tied into who you are. Yeah, for sure, so I will say that while we may not have had the exposure to a lot of things that the big city, you know, provides as far as entertainment and events, but sometimes distractions, you know, in small town America, you know, I would say from my family's perspective, you know, my parents weren't socialites, you know, they were hardworking and family focused, so we spent most of our time with, you know, grandparents, aunts, uncles, we lived directly across the street from my aunt Nancy and uncle Mike, you know, they kind of helped raise us as kids growing up, and the, you know, the entertainment that we had was spending time with family members and, you know, as a kid growing up that's sometimes feels boring, but you grow really close with your family, you're close with your cousins, you're learning from your elders, I'd say I learned a lot from my parents, but as much probably from my grandparents as well, and that bond is something that, you know, is extremely important to Kristin and I as we raise kids, how do we, you know, create the family dynamic that we had growing up, and you don't know how important that is until you realize that not everybody has that, and I think that, you know, the attributes that my parents gave us were work hard, you know, respect your elders, you know, look out for your neighbor, and those kind of basic fundamentals we were raised on, and I think I'm still the kid from Quincy that's moved to St. Louis, and, you know, some of those community aspects are here in St. Louis as well, but maybe they're fleeting and maybe community doesn't feel the same, but I think growing up, you know, that was what it was all about. No, that's really good, that's really good, and I think, so we'll talk a little bit about your education because it's, you went to, you got your undergrad degree at SIU, and then your MBA at SIU as well, and then you went over to Stonyard Graduate School that's got an affiliation with the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, and so you always wanted to be a banker? No, I didn't, I actually didn't know what I wanted to be, you know, even my senior year of high school where I was thinking about, do I go to college or do I, you know, get into the workforce, you know, in Quincy, you know, I'm, you know, 41 years old today, you know, and, you know, this was 20 years ago basically, it was pretty common for most of my class just to get into the workforce, or they already were, so it wasn't as if I had a lot of, you know, friends and, you know, or family that had, you know, planned to go to college early, so for me it was, you know, no, my parents didn't go to college, so they weren't really able to help guide us in that direction, nor was college seen as the end-all be-all thing. Work hard, focus on your education and opportunities to come, and that's really the mindset I think my father had, but they, they wanted us to pursue whatever we felt like we should, but they weren't going to tell us what to do. So, as a young kid, that's tough, but, you know, my, my thought was, okay, maybe I'll be an electrician, you know, that was really what, you know, my senior year of high school, maybe I'll be, maybe I'll get into heating and air, my uncle, you know, runs a heating and air company, but I could only think about the trades or blue collar work, because that's, you know, how I was brought up. It was intimidating to even think about college. Well, I did get some scholarships to go to college, so it was almost like there was free money there for me to do it, and since I didn't have, you know, my, my career path or my goals set out of what I want to do next, it was really the next step was go to college, right?

So I thought, okay, I'll go and I'll figure it out. Well, that's where it kind of opened my eyes to other opportunities that could be out there, and then the more I, you know, was in the business school and economics, then I started to see this career path into business. But it wasn't really banking that, you know, was standing out. You know, banking's not this sexy profession that's out there that people are dying to get into, especially, you know, from, from my generation.

I feel like there was either a misunderstanding or maybe even the term banker was seen as a negative thing, because, you know, bankers had kind of been seen as the Mr. Potter, if you will, versus the George Bailey in It's a Wonderful Life. So it wasn't until my, my going into my senior year that I was looking for an internship. And my at that point in time, my plan was I want to be a stockbroker.

I want to work for Ed Jones or A.G. Edwards. I liked that. I was able to at least see myself in that role, helping people make decisions for their hard earned money. But I really didn't have a path to it.

So I was going to the career fairs. This would have been 2002. So there was the dot com bust.

There was 9-11. The brokerage houses weren't hiring. And my resume had two things on it up to that point.

That was working at McDonald's and Blockbuster Video. So so so here I am trying to make it into the white collar world of financial professionals. And I had nothing on my resume. And thank thank goodness I met somebody at a career fair that was from a bank. And they were looking for college kids to come in, learn the business and at this time turn it into something more than maybe what it had been. So I took the internship as a resume builder. No intention of sticking with it. I figured I'd do this for a year. And then after I graduate, I'll go get my job as a stockbroker.

And then I realized there was so much more to it. Right. Other than having a savings account, I didn't even have a car loan up until that point. So the only time I went to the bank was to make an actual physical deposit.

Otherwise, I didn't even know what they did. You know, Travis, the term community bank, it's everywhere. But the differentiator to me is knowing you and knowing what the vision, what the bank is. Yeah. Let's talk a little bit about what that looks like.

Yeah. So, you know, we're, you know, a decent sized bank today and growing. I put a group together a little over two years ago to buy a bank. And, you know, I'm the guy that grew up, you know, not really dealing with banks, not really understanding banks, getting to know banking. And the thing that I could see was that there is an opportunity to, you know, serve the market here, which is good for business, but good for the community in a way that no banks were really doing.

And this is not a knock on them. It's just that the ongoing consolidation in banking, which has happened across the country. What it's done is taken away those community partners that used to work with, you know, the small to midsize businesses.

Now they're rolled up inside of the big bank world. They don't get the same attention. They don't get the same opportunity to work with somebody that can help them navigate their way through the process. And it's intimidating going into a bank. And I don't want it to be intimidating if somebody has a need or they're working on a project. We want to be seen as a friendly neighbor that can can work with them, even if they don't need anything. Our value we provide is helping educate them on the path forward. So I've been determined to maybe help make become make St. Louis an even better place than what it already is by building a bank that can serve that market need and do the things that we're capable of doing. And the banks that I've worked for over my career were great. I had amazing education, training, knowledge, was able to build up my relationships for the last 20 years. But I always dreamed that if there was a way that we could start a bank and focus on, you know, what is most important for things that are going on in our backyard, we could do this so much better. And, you know, so I've wanted to do that for a big part of my career.

Didn't really know if I ever could, but it was the dream. And like I mentioned before, I've had people that have taken an interest in me for whatever reason. They saw something in me that I didn't see myself. And as I started to talk to them about it, would you be up for investing in a community bank?

I was shocked by how many people said yes. So a little over three years ago, I guess now the opportunity came up to become part of St. Louis Bank. And then it was evident that it could be a chance to own St. Louis Bank. Well, I'm not, you know, a guy that can stroke a check to buy a bank, you know. I mean, let's just put it that way.

Not many of us are. I'll put my sweat equity in, but I am all in, you know, my life savings and then some into this, along with some of the people that trusted me the most over my career. Let's talk a little bit about golf. You and I have done some things together. I know you love the game with two young kids, a new business. You don't get to play as much as you like. But you do use golf. You do believe in golf in your business and in the community.

Yeah, that's for sure. And, you know, I did not play golf until college or out of college. And it became part of the, you know, necessity, I think, in the business community because you have great nonprofit events and things that are out there. Plus, it's a way to interact with clients and prospects and spend time with them. But what I knew about golf growing up was, you know, it was the rich man's sport.

That's what I'd always heard. That's the rich man's sport, you know, and so I really didn't have an opportunity to play it. But when I got out of college and, you know, got into banking full time, you know, I realized, all right, you know, there is there is something there that I need to learn more about. And of course, I had some friends that were playing. But it's intimidating when you go out there and you're terrible. So I think my goal was to not be terrible and, you know, utilize this in a way where I could be active in the community at some of these fundraisers. And then with associates and the business community, you know, that's something that a lot of business men and women like to do.

So where is it that we can get time or we can get to know each other? You know, and there's, you know, on a golf course, it's been an amazing way to connect with people. And I've, you know, gone golfing with people I didn't know at all. And after a round of golf, felt like I've known these folks for a long time. Personally, business, even how they carry themselves on the course. Are they short?

They have a short fuse. Are they or they may be a little bit of a cheat. You know, you can learn a lot about people. It probably doesn't take a whole lot.

That's right. And I think about that because they're probably learning a lot about me. My line is I'm a better banker than I am a golfer.

However, that's not saying much. But, you know, I know you and I are both tall guys. And for someone that's starting, and you're very athletic and played other sports, but golf is just a weird animal, you know.

And being so far away from the ball, I can totally relate to some of the struggles that you have. And we've been able to spend the time on the course. The thing that keeps coming back to me, Travis, with this, and I'm sitting with Travis Liebig. He is the CEO of St. Louis Bank and this is Golf with J. Delsing. In September, speaking of unbelievable community people, Ascension has brought the PGA Tour to St. Louis. After what happened, I know you got to see a little bit of the PGA Championship at Belle Reve. You know, I've said this before.

If there's such a thing as a 10-run home run, you know, golf and Tiger and St. Louis and Jim Nansen, CBS, everything just went out. You know, with just a great perspective. And these guys are bringing it to Norwood Hills. And I know you're going to be involved in it.

And they're a part of the community. And it's neat to see corporate citizens like you support this event. And, oh my gosh, I can't wait for this thing. Yeah, same here. And I was disappointed that it got postponed last year. But in reality, I think that was the right move.

You know, I was excited for it to be here. I, you know, will say that Ascension, you know, what they're doing to stand behind this. And they're, you know, they're showing their true colors because they could have had that at any course anywhere. And they chose, you know, the Norwood Hills Country Club, which is in an area that's a beautiful historic course.

But it's not, you know, maybe where some of the other courses would be. So they, I think, took a stand. And they've profited with some wonderful nonprofits. And the good works that are coming out of it are phenomenal. And I think they're standing behind that the way that they should. It's an amazing event that we have the honor to host here in St. Louis at the right place that will host it and be able to deliver upon what they need to.

But it's putting those dollars to work that are raised in the communities that need it. And honestly, you know, for me, I didn't realize the philanthropic side of golf until we got involved with this one. And I've learned more about what, you know, the PGA and the USGA do as a national piece.

It really opened my eyes to what's possible there. And of course, St. Louis, they'll show up for this event. They'll make this event great. We do that. And I think that tells you a lot about the character of our town. They love events. They support sporting events.

But they're also believers in the community. There's, you know, it's always this amazing thing that, wow, St. Louis really showed so well when we do these things, which we already know we will. But it's great to put it on a national scale like the PGA, where it showed the best sides of us. Because unfortunately, the sides that typically get shown, or at least have since I've lived in St. Louis, are not the positives. But there's so much positive going on. It just does not get talked about. It's kind of the best kept secret that for whatever reason, we don't tell on a broader scale nationally. In the tournament that'll be coming up in September, you'll see a lot of great corporate sponsors that are part of it.

People that believe in the community. The momentum behind that thing is tremendous. And I think by it being postponed for a year because of COVID actually is going to make it even better. We have at least a term here where we'll see this coming back again and again. But St. Louisans will come out in droves. Yeah, it'll be interesting because it'll be nothing like the champion tour has ever seen in terms of community involvement and people showing up.

It'll be a big deal. Travis, thank you so much for this conversation. Keep doing what you're doing for the community. We all really appreciate it. Thank you so much. I appreciate it.

Keep doing the things you're doing. Love the show and anything I can do to help you, just let me know. Alright, that's going to wrap up that interview. Pearl, it's unmistakable how much this guy loves banking and the community. And it's really awesome. I've done some stuff for him.

He values the game of golf and he's using it to grow his business. I love the community aspect, Jay. You know, it reminded me on two occasions in my life trying to build my business and also relocating and looking for some funding for a house we wanted to buy. And it was the community bank that made both of those things possible.

Just so you could sit down, you could get to know them, it's what they were there for, etc. And again, you know, another one of your guests that just is humble, down to earth, Midwest, right to the core. I really enjoyed listening to your interview with him. You know, we could have talked banking for several hours, but we had to go. Well, that's going to wrap up. We could have talked banking for days. I'm not sure if you could have talked banking for hours. Did I say me? Yeah, I could have tried to listen. No, but yeah, that's going to wrap up the back nine.

So don't go anywhere. We've got a whack and chase episode on the Michelob Ultra 19th hole. 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, what's the name of the show? Golf with Jay Delsing.

Okay, let me start. After my knee replacement, I was able to swing the golf club pain free again. SSM Health Physical Therapy guided me through the rehab process. And when I was ready, one of their specially trained KVEST certified physical therapists put me on that 3D motion capture system.

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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 the Whitmore Country Club. The membership provides you access to the Missouri Buffs, the Links of 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-enforcement 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.

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We are farmers, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum. 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.

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 Michelob Ultra. Right on.

Welcome back. This is Golf with Jay Delsing and Pearly is with me. We're at the 19th hole brought to you by Michelob Ultra. Pearly's got one in his hand.

I got one in my hand. And let's do this 19th hole thing. Let's talk real quickly about Travis. I loved what he said about how he wanted to play more golf.

Yeah, it was rational. He doesn't have much time, but he loves to be out there. He wants to be involved with other folks enjoying the day and I just loved his perspective. And I think I'm trying to learn how to have that perspective because it's the way to go and it's really what the game's about.

Just be able to enjoy it and get good enough to where you don't suck. All right, cool, Pearl. Hey, it is time for another episode of Whackin' Chase.

Love it. By any chance, so which Brad that's calling in, what's your nickname? Because Brad hears nicknames meet.

What's your nickname? Hawk. All right, Hawk. Okay, Perch, I love that. We're going with Hawk for the rest of the show.

Is that all right? We're going with Hawk. Love it. It's Hawk. H-O-P, Hawk. Oh, Hawk. That's even better. That's even better. Okay, well, at the end of the show, at the end of this, well, maybe at the beginning.

Who knows when it's going to happen? We've got to get the origin of that nickname. That's a wonderful nickname. So, Jay. All right, Hawk. What is the question you're going to ask us tonight?

My buddy's getting a little tongue-tied over here. So, I'm going to ask you about a short chip shot. If I'm just a couple of feet off the green, I got a fairly consistent bump and run. But if I'm a little bit farther out or in a little bit longer grass near the green, I don't really have kind of a lofted, soft landing shot.

And I seem to blade it across the green. Okay, Hawk. So, one thing that's going to happen in this conversation is two things are going to be discussed. One, Jay's going to talk about his brother's chipping, if you could even call it that, the whole mindset. And then Jay's also going to explain the chippy hit on the second hole in Vegas, the Vegas Pro-Am. And he's signaling me right now that that's probably a bad idea, but we're going with it anyway.

And he's going to signal that chippy that was early in his career before he awakened to the value of a short game. So, I think that's an absolutely awesome question and a lot of people can relate to this. Brad, have you ever done radio?

No. So, Brad, I love the question too. First of all, the short game is mostly my favorite part to work on.

I really appreciate it. Oh, that's killing me. Meat and Hop, if you knew the history for him to say that, you're talking about awakening, personal growth. There's not enough books to explain what this guy that traveled, the distance this guy's traveled. Hey, Hop, my dad used to say, son, your short game's like, and I can't use the real words how sensitive, it's like penthouse or castle.

And I'm like, so what are you trying to say, dad? Anyway, so I would have these game changer shots or I would have these flubs. Or these game changer shots. You see, they would change the game one way or the other.

They were either really good or really bad. So, what I wound up having to do is blow the whole thing up and start over. But one of the things that Jon was talking about, I had early, early in my career, Jon was catting for me in Las Vegas, I had a third shot on a par five. The easiest shot you could have is probably a total of 40 yards. I probably had 10 yards of carry over a bunker. I probably had 20 yards of green that was flat and gently rolling uphill and slow. And the rest of it was easy. That was the hard part. Hop, I laid the face of my wedge wide open, swung underneath this club and buried my ball under the lip of the bunker and made double bogey. And I was looking so hard for anybody else to carry that bag because it was a non-cut event. So, that meant four more days of carrying and we were just, you're talking about dead in the water, the doldrums, the sailors might call it.

We were in the doldrums in the middle of the desert. Right. So, what I'm going to tell you about that short shot from just off the green. So, let's say you guys… Wait a second, you're getting ahead of the game.

Oh, yeah, I am. What has Hop done, Hop, what have you done to this point to try to experiment with that soft shot off the green? Give us a little of any lessons, special clubs, what have you tried? Okay, so I'm usually doing this with a 60 degree wedge. And it seems like lately if I do a lot of practice swing ahead of time and I really think about not hitting the ball and just kind of swinging through, I get a little bit better result. But, I don't know if it's where I put it in my stance or if I've got my weight a little bit in the wrong spot.

I mean, sometimes I flub it and sometimes I blade it and it's very rare to take it just like that. Wait a second, wait a second, we needed some definition help here. Flub and blade. Yeah, I got it.

You don't need any definition. What is it? I have both of those. What is it? Flub is a little fat and blade is a little stiff. Hey, Hop, what kind of grass? Are you talking about longish grass or are you just talking about… You talking about green grass? What kind of grass? Not the kind you can smoke, right, Hop? Well, yeah, the truth of the matter is it works out best if I'm in a little bit taller grass where I've got a little higher… I was going to say it works out a little bit better if you smoke it, okay. Right, right, right. Yeah, so it works out a little better if you've got a little bit of grass that you can… easier for you to get underneath the ball, right?

Sure, yes. Okay, so now here's… so have you tried anything, Hop, have you tried to move the ball in your stance? Have you tried to change your hand position as it relates to the ball? Anything like that? So I've tried all of that and I haven't been able to glean any… Hey, Hop, let me ask you a question.

Have you tried any of it? I've been thinking about taking up a different sport. Yeah. Oh my gosh. Hop, I've got to tell you, my brother… my brother putts from 60 yards and in.

Okay. And he called up on Wacken Jason and said his name is… my brother's name is Bart and he lives in Florida and he said his name was Marty from Florida. And he said, I need help with my… my putts from 60 yards and in. Oh my gosh, that's too far.

Oh my gosh, that's awesome. What kind of a game have you got? Give Jay a little perspective. Are you single digit? Are you a high handicapper? Give us a little feedback on you. Oh no, I'm a pretty high handicapper. I started playing off about six years ago but about probably three years ago I got serious about it and thought I wanted to get better. This year my goal was to get under 90.

Nice. But I didn't quite make it. My handicap's 19.7. Guess what? 2021 you are going to get under 90 and Jay's going to start talking to you right now about how that's going to happen unless I interrupt him.

Okay, which could happen. So, Hop, one of the biggest things is we've got to get the ball and your hand ratio correct, okay? And so if you're going to go in there on a tight lie with your 60 and try to hit this high soft shot, you've got your hands full if you're not… if all these things aren't matched up, okay? So, you said you had a nice bump and run game but for whatever reason this is a shot that calls for something that's going to land high and soft, right?

Uh huh, yes. Okay, so we've got to make a little longer swing. We have to keep our wrists extremely soft and we have to move right through that ball with that club head like the ball's not even there and we have to finish to a distinctive point on your left. We want the club to move through this area and not even worry about the ball because these clubs these days are designed beautifully to perform this. But my sense is you're hitting at the ball, you're trying to help it in the air and you're changing the face angle that's got you all screwed up so you're going to hit some fat and some thin. So, Jay, he's hitting the bump and run and he's fairly comfortable with it.

So, what's the difference? Talk about shallow versus steep. Right, so the bump and run is going to be a little more abbreviated swing, it's going to be a little shorter back, a little shorter through. What we need to do is, and that's going to be a little steeper, what we need to do is stay a little shallow hop. We need a longer, more putter feel. Yeah, more like your putter and we need to keep your knees and your hips level as you move through hop.

As soon as you start changing those levels, the club face angle will change. You keep your knees and your hips level and move right through that hitting area, don't worry about the ball. This ball will get hit.

You're going to find success. So, Jay, talk about a tour player that struggled with, not you, not including you, talk about a tour player that struggled with this. A guy that could hit bump and runs, do those things, but has really struggled with that. Hal Sutton.

Okay, talk about him. Hal Sutton comes to mind. World beater, great player. We watched him win the PGA Championship our senior year in college out at Riviera. And TPC beating Tiger.

He's one of the first guys to take Tiger down. Absolutely, and one of the reasons he did well is because he could play a lot of bump and runs, especially around the TPC. But you've never seen Hal do that well when he's got to hit these high soft shots. He just really, really struggled with that. And what's odd is that typically that's the sign of someone that doesn't putt particularly well.

Hal putted the eyes out of the thing. But he had a pretty steep approach on his ball striking. There's no pressure.

So he couldn't make that transition that you're asking Hopp to make, which is more of a shallow attack to have a softer hit. And Hopp, this is about keeping your hands and wrists nice and soft. And this is about keeping your knees and your hips level and moving right on through there. And as you turn through, that club turns through there with you. And this is a great drill.

Stick the butt end of your 60 degree wedge into your belly button or belt area and turn your hips and your knees and everything together. Now, Hopp, on your full swing, we want you clear in your left fast. And we want that club coming in fast on your short game. We want it all coming in together very slowly through that hitting area. And you'll be chipping in.

Before you know it, you'll be taking some berk money, I bet. Maybe. Maybe. So, before you conclude, we've got to get one quick feedback from Hopp. Where did Hopp come from? Well, it's not as interesting as it might sound.

It's really just kind of a short version of Hopp. Make something up. This has gone well. Don't screw up the end of this deal. That's terrific, Hopp.

That's terrific. Well, you know how we end our whacking chases? If we helped you, you've got to tell everyone you know. I mean, you've got to call ESPN.

You've got to take a – they write us letters and tell us how great we are. And if you keep calling that thing and flubbing that thing, you tell them we never met, Hopp. Exactly. Fantastic, buddy. Thanks so much for the call. Thanks, Hopp. Good luck with the game.

Thanks, guys. Pearl, I can tell you're jumping off the chair there. What did you think of that whacking chase? Oh, I just – you know, when a guy's talking about that shot just off the green, so many faces pop into my mind. Your brother is one. A guy we used to play with at the boulders down in the desert forever. Really wonderful player. He would get four or five steps off the green and start going into a cold sweat, knowing it was going to go sideways.

260-yard drives right down the middle, right in front of the green, and knew he was going to make eight. It's just – he couldn't move the ball in the direction of the hole from that point on. Yeah, it's – you've got to love this game, man. It's – man, that's why we have Mikkel of Altra involved in the whacking chase segments on the 19th hole. It's perfect. I was just going to say that's why Mikkel of Altra is involved in golf.

And the key there is to try a little bit of it before you have to hit those short, chippy, pitchy shots. Yes, that's right. Well, John, that's going to wrap up another show. Thanks so much for being with us. Me, thanks for pushing the dials and keeping us on track here. And we will see you next week. This is Golf with Jay Delsing.

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