Golf With Jay Delsing - - Bill DeWitt III

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 Pro-Am Golf.

Well good morning St. Louis. This is Jay Delsing and welcome to Golf with Jay Delsing. We have formulated the show like a round of golf.

The On The Range segment is brought to you by Pro-Am Golf. Reach out to us on our social media outlets. Twitter is at Jay Delsing. Facebook is Golf with Jay Delsing and Jay Delsing Golf. LinkedIn is just at Jay Delsing and you know what we do with our Instagram account. We leave that a mystery. Okay so just a little bit of a different show today.

Got a great interview with Bill DeWitt. We're going to keep that. But this coronavirus has just affected every part of our lives almost anywhere around the world. So the Masters has been canceled. The last four, the next four PGA Tour events have been canceled. The players played one round and then you know sent the players home.

NBA season. Everybody knows all the things that were going on and I just thought it would be important to talk a little bit about that. And I was on the fast lane yesterday.

Randy Carriker, Chris Ronge and Brad Thompson. So let's just go to that interview right now. I asked these guys earlier. It's a tradition unlike any other but not anymore. Yeah I heard your comment. Is it a tradition or isn't it? Yeah. You know having the players start yesterday and then stop.

You know I couldn't really figure out where we were going with that. The PGA Tour when we played was all a bunch of US players. And now it's players from all over the world. And their families are in Europe and you can't travel back and forth.

And a lot of the guys have really nice places over here but their main you know homes are in Europe and things like that. And so we started and then they were going to you know not do the fan thing. And I just don't think that.

Brad you played. I mean huge crowds all the time at Busch Stadium. It just wouldn't be the same.

I mean I know that I don't know exactly how to explain that but the vibe of having fans around you and everything just makes everything different. Yeah I would think. And look I stand over a three foot putt Jay and my knees are already shaking right. No money on it.

No nothing. But it's different when you get the purse on it and then you have a whole gallery ready to erupt right. Like that feeling is something that you can't recreate I would assume out there on the golf course without that. No I mean it's it's just hard to explain. I just said you know when we played high school golf here you know there was nobody around and you're like I can't believe what I just did and nobody like who's going to believe you. I don't think you did it. I don't know what happened over there.

So it just isn't. I mean I think the big picture is where we have to focus. You know we really do it. I don't know what I'm going to do. I mean I have like got my everything tuned to the this time of year is my favorite time of year we got hockey playoffs starting the blues have been so awesome. And then we have the Masters when that kicks off then I know MLB starts and I mean I am in pig heaven.

What are you doing from 6 usually Monday through Friday. You guys there's just not going to be anything to do. But you know when you think back of what happened what's happened in the history of our world with crazy tuberculosis and polio and things like that we have been so lucky.

So we live in a great country. They're going to figure it out and we just have to suck up and read a book. I don't know read a book. I don't know. Yeah. And I think it goes back to the idea too of and we've said this now with multiple sports then all the cards have kind of fallen.

It was NCAA basketball first. What are you doing. Why are you playing. Why are you doing this. NASCAR has just said they're going to suspend at least their next two races. So the question with golf is you know why. What's what's the point because at the end of it you'd probably end up being the spectacle and if something did happen.

I'm sure liable for something right. Brad how are you going to fade. Hey I came back from the players championship and I've got the virus and I think I got it over there. How are you. I mean it just why.

Why go through that door. What's interesting though is that the PGA Tour schedule you guys is jam packed every single week. And so you've got people in San Antonio that have been gearing up since last year's date to raise money. Same thing in Tampa all across the schedule. Augusta didn't they postponed.

They didn't cancel. They're going to play. You know when Augusta wants things they get it. That is like the golf mafia.

These guys. But now with the way the schedule is with the PGA Championship in May and then in June you've got the U.S. Open and in July you've got the British Open. It's going to be real disservice to the golfers isn't it. Let alone the fan that everybody was trying to have a tournament. But look how that schedule messed up Tiger Woods the face of golf last year.

There's no doubt. I mean he's now playing TPC and he didn't play a peace tournament because I mean he's won a peace tournament eight times. He did it because Augusta is on the schedule when it's on the schedule and he's trying to tune up. I just had his caddy Joe LaCava on my show. I just interviewed him we didn't have it on the show yet but he was saying he's not very good right now. You know and when the weather isn't warm he's really not good.

And if you've had back you know I'm way older than you guys but man when your back goes out and it gets below 50 you're like golf? I don't think so. I don't think I want to turn right now. No I don't think so. So they're going to do something crazy with the schedule. Things are going to get pushed back but the fact that it's a major and it's Augusta and these guys are powerful down there they get what they want.

So if they get what they want how quickly do you think they would make it happen once they decide they're going to do it? So here's the issue. So that golf course the National it could play this thing tomorrow.

It is perfect. But what happens is it's you know down there in the middle of nowhere Georgia and that Bermuda grass isn't so nice in August. It'll be meltdown hot and they usually shut it down. So they're going to have to get that thing played somewhere in a time frame weather wise where it makes sense. And I don't know if that means transplanting somebody else on the schedule and making some sort of financial concessions.

See Augusta can make all the financial concessions they want because they have a pot full of all the money. Well that's what I'm wondering what they just say. Well we're doing this here. We've decided in two weeks we're going to play this event. Yeah. So they'll go to whoever's on the schedule and say hey here's our you know you. The other cool thing about Augusta is it's a limited field you know so it's by invitation only. So a regular PGA Tour event has one hundred and fifty once.

Yeah. After this time of year it has one hundred and fifty six players before daylight savings of one forty four. So what they're in I think the field that Augusta is anywhere between 80 and 90 players most of the year you know and it's from a variety of folks that some of them don't have any PGA Tour status. So you could easily run an opposite event you know while the Masters is going on.

But I wouldn't be happy if you know I'm shell and you're going to run the Masters against me. Right. And one thing that we should note is that communities that and we learned it here with the PGA communities that host golf tournaments as you mentioned receive an awful lot of charity money. Somebody is going to miss out this year because of the coronavirus causing the move of the Masters. Somebody is not going to have a tournament and a lot of players and a lot of charity money that they thought they were going to have. Right. They're going to have to try to figure it out.

You know we have the ascension charity class that come into normal. We got to talk about that if you have it. But it's going to be great for the North County and that's where I grew up as a really bad caddy.

My youth up there. So it's going to be fun. But what the players did you guys is they played one round of golf took the 15 million dollar per split it in half and gave everybody fifty two grand. So the players got fifty two thousand for playing one round of golf and a little bit of practice and and I wouldn't be surprised or anyway I brought that up as if they take some of that person give it to the charities.

OK. Yeah. It'll be it'll be interesting. But the PGA tour you guys is a cash cow right now. Tiger Woods we just redid our television deal and Tiger winning last year has just jacked everything up. It has just brought us more attention.

I think it's just terrific. But we were just talking Jay about baseball and they've sent everybody home now. Right. Everybody's going to their their spots Major League Baseball players look they've got a little bit of cash. Even the young ones you have one year in the big leagues you got a couple hundred grand at least.

What is that like. But minor league guys have no make any money you know life right. So what is that like for the fringe golfer the guy that is like just on the edge.

What is his financial outlook. So nowadays. So Brad when I was playing if that would have happened we would have been like wait a second.

No one would have given us any money we wouldn't split the purse. The thing things have changed so in such a positive direction for the players today. If you stay on tour over like one hundred and ten of the top one twenty five players made over a million bucks last year. When you guys are seeing patches on guys sleeves and stuff and looking kind of not so great like NASCAR because every one of those patches is probably worth a couple hundred grand. I'll wear patches.

I'll do post Malone test tattooing on there for whatever money they're talking about. But that's what. So those guys aren't aren't too much worried about it. But Brad think about a rookie.

So you're you know the tours just kind of started for them and they're trying to figure it out. Maybe you go out and you play for seven dozen tournaments you miss every cut. Well now you're dying to play.

You're kind of joking a little bit because you're not making any money and you're not going to get to play for at least a month and probably longer than you're hustling people at the country club. That's a good thing to name off your bag. I can't recognize you. Perfect. Right. You ever done that. Yeah. Really. I grew up in North County man.

So people just saw a dog over this guy's not any good. And then you just want to use and you know I dressed like I was homeless anyway it was all worked out. All right. So that was my interview with the fast lane. I want to thank Donahue painting and refinishing for being a part of the show. You know when I was playing golf I would see a picture in my mind of a shot that I would try to paint through the way that I swung and Donahue painting and refinishing can absolutely match your vision for your home to what you want it to be.

That's going to wrap up the on the range segment. We are going to go to the front nine and you're going to get to hear my interview with the president of the St. Louis Cardinals Bill DeWitt III. The Metropolitan Amateur Golf Association is a proud sponsor of golf with Jay Telsing. The MAGA has been the USGA Allied Golf Association in the St. Louis Central and Southern Illinois region since 1992. The MAGA provides over 30 days of competition opportunities and conducts qualifying for nine USGA championships while supporting more than 140 member clubs with amateur golf services.

Find all of their information at METGA.org or call 314-567-MAGA. I want to tell you about a strength training fitness program that helped me and that can help you. It's called 20 Minutes to Fitness.

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Get off the couch and get in shape. This is Dan McLaughlin TV voice of the Cardinals. St. Louis is one of the best sports cities in the country. We also have a tremendous history of supporting professional golf. We're excited to bring professional golf back to St. Louis with the inaugural Ascension Charity Classic September 28 through October 4 at beautiful Norwood Hills Country Club.

Legends like Ernie Els, Fred Kuppels, Jim Furyk, Steve Stricker and many more will be in St. Louis. For tickets and sponsorship information head to ascensioncharityclassic.com. That's ascensioncharityclassic.com. I want to take a minute to tell you about a law firm that has been with me since the inception of the show. I'm talking about Doster, Olam and Boyle. The firm was started in 2015 by Mike Doster, Jess Olam and John Boyle. These are three veterans of the St. Louis real estate, banking, commercial and corporate legal landscape. The firm has a talented additional roster of professionals with decades of experience to help you achieve your goals in whatever situation you find yourself in. The firm was founded on the shared goals that success has to be measured by client and community satisfaction, not just profits for the partners.

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Find us online at stlouisbank.com, connect with us on LinkedIn or call at 314-851-6200. Grab your clubs, we're headed to the front nine on Golf with Jay Delsing. The front nine is brought to you by the Ascension Charity Golf Classic.

Welcome back, it's Golf with Jay Delsing. We are on the front nine. Perley and I are headed to the front nine that is brought to you by the Ascension Charity Classic. But we got to talk about Whitmore Country Club first. Great partner sponsor.

The years that we've been doing the show now, we're in our, what, we're probably in our 15th, 16th month. They've been there all along with us. We've got friends over there. Bill Brungart is the membership director. He's a great guy, can show you around. There's 36 holes out at the facility.

You also have access to the links. It's going to have to take him half a day to show you around with everything they've got going with their different golf courses, all the options they have, all the opportunities they have. Absolutely. And then you got Bummer, who is absolutely a world-class, fun human being, the assistant pro that can take care of all of your golf needs. They can take care of stuff for your children because there's swim teams and there's junior golf and junior tennis. And you had a great experience growing up with golf as a youngster.

Jay, every time you do these live commercials, it floods back memories of when I was a kid, hitting balls, playing golf and enjoying all that. I'll be honest, I didn't do much of the pool thing, but I had five sisters. They did the pool. They did golf. They did tennis.

They did all the other club activities. My parents were into it. I have so many fond memories growing up and the opportunities beyond just playing. The other thing for me as a young guy, I got to be around the adults in the right manner and in the right arena relative to playing golf, seeing how different things was. It was family. It was me getting to play with doctors and lawyers and insurance guys and things like that. There were so many positives to it. Every time you talk about Whitmore, it brings back those great memories for me.

They're just terrific. They're focused on the family, so you've got to give them a call. 636-926-9622. We're going to head to my interview with Bill DeWitt. I just want to tell you folks that the interview with Bill DeWitt was recorded before all of the coronavirus pandemic broke out. This doesn't look anything like golf weather outside, Bill.

No. I think you and I are both dreaming about Florida right now. It won't be long. The winter is cold, but they're not too long. Before we know it, we'll be thinking about pitchers and catchers and golf season as well, which ties right in with that.

Yeah, that's really good stuff. I don't know how much people know what a general sportsman you are. I know you love the game of golf.

I know you're a low handicapper. I also know you love the game of hockey, and you guys are invested in the Blues. And then, clearly, your baseball ties, man. You've got it all across the sports board there.

Yeah. Well, I did grow up playing a lot of sports. The reason I play hockey, actually, is because my dad, when I was a young kid, brought the WHA Cincinnati Stingers to town. In Cincinnati, rather.

He grew up here in St. Louis, but they moved to Cincinnati when my grandfather bought the Reds in the 60s. So, he thought hockey might be a cool thing to expand in Cincinnati, and because of that, he put me in hockey to see how I'd like it. I've just always played ever since. Loved the sport. And then, of course, golf, which I played in high school and college.

I've always played afterwards. It's just a great, great sport, as you know. You and I play together. It's a social sport.

You get to meet a lot of people. And it's a lifetime sport. They've both been very important in my life.

And then, of course, baseball. You know that story. Bill, that story is just incredible. I know there's a big connection between my dad and your dad with the St. Louis Browns and the Eddie Goodell story and stuff.

But how about your grandfather? I mean, being the protege of Branch Rickey and the roots in St. Louis run deep for the DeWitt family. They were the early part of the 20th century, and my grandfather found his way into the front office. And Branch Rickey had him doing a bunch of things, just like an errand boy, I think, initially. And then he liked what he saw and had him take on more responsibility and put him through law school at night. And eventually, my grandfather helped Branch Rickey really build out that first farm system, which really kind of changed the game and put the Cardinals on the map.

They were able to win their first world championship on the strength of that game plan in 1926. And my grandfather worked his way all the way up to treasurer of the Cardinals during the Gas House Gang in the 30s and stuff. And then he would go on to do a million other things in baseball, but it was his whole life. He was either an executive at GM or an owner of the Browns, the Yankees, the Tigers, the Reds, and the White Sox in addition to the Cardinals back in the day. I mean, Bill, it's just incredible, too, for those folks that haven't read the story.

You really need a deep dive into it because it's fun. I mean, there's a point in time, I think, where your dad was actually walking around Old Sportsman's Park selling things, too. Yeah, he grew up at the ballpark. He remembers Sportsman's Park like the back of his hand. He used to go to mostly Browns games.

There's so many great stories because it was such a different time. The Browns didn't even draw a million people. But it was still a huge part of the cultural fabric of St. Louis. The Browns were usually the more successful team, the winning team. The Cardinals were, rather. The Browns were kind of a little bit of second fiddle, but still, some people just had that passion for them. Of course, my grandfather, that's what really got his career going when he bought the Browns.

When you think about it, it's kind of crazy. He got a loan from the other members of the American League to buy the Browns. He didn't have any money. It was on the strength of the Branch Rickey recommendation. So that's how it all started. Of course, there's that connection with your father, who was one of his players. He loved your dad, Jim. My dad remembers him as a player. Of course, I remember meeting him when I first moved to town. It was fun to hear stories from him as well. I know your child had similar stories to those old Brownie days. It really did. I just think about when you guys sit around the dinner table, maybe after dinner, the stories need to be put in books that you and your dad might have.

There is somebody that's doing a piece. I think it'll ultimately be a book about my grandfather's career. It started out as we found somebody that would do it. I think maybe there's some marketability to it, so we'll see.

They're working on it, but you're right. It's all about the stories. I think the history is really interesting. You can read about the history of baseball in a lot of things, but it's a unique story.

I'll give you one example. My grandfather, with the Browns struggling, was thinking the Browns could be the first team that could expand to the West Coast. This was 15 years before Western expansion actually happened with the Dodgers.

He had this plan all worked out with the train schedule and moving to LA with the Browns. One day before the owner's meeting, when they were set to approve the transaction, Pearl Harbor hit. Think about how that might have changed the history of baseball. Obviously, now it changes the history of the world.

Just from our family's point of view, what might have happened had Pearl Harbor just been a week later or something like that. There are all these little stories about how baseball and America intertwine. Those are the stories I think that are really fun to think about and remember. You know, Bill, there's something so romantic about the old days in baseball. When I look back at some of the old pictures of my dad and the Browns and just Sportsman's Park and the Cardinals. These guys were ballplayers and they stood among equals in the community. Yeah, it was much different. Obviously, the players didn't make as much money or not even anywhere near as much money as they do now. They were kind of regular citizens in the sense that they held jobs in the off-season. They were part of the community in that sense, all of them. But yet, they were heroes on the field. It's just really interesting how that's different now. We have our heroes on the field, but they're off who knows where in the off-season. They're just the social media aspect now where you can really dig deep and know a player just by following them on Instagram. Whereas before, there was that mystery, I think, and that sense of hero. When you think about guys like Mickey Mantle and Luke Gehrig and Joe DiMaggio and Stan Musial, they were so iconic because you didn't really know every little detail.

Yet, you'd see them in the community and it would just be like a god walking there. I think that's what's interesting to me about the Golden Age of Baseball. Yeah, one of my favorite eras. One funny story, Bill, my dad, before he got traded to the Browns from the Yankees, they won the World Series in 1949. I can remember my dad telling the story that Art Richmond was the general manager for the Yankees. He called my dad in and said, Jimmy, we would like you to play for the Yankees next year. My dad was so excited.

I think he was 24 years old. He said, well, I want to play for the Yankees. He said, well, we're going to pay you $5,000.

My dad said, Art, is that negotiable? He said, yeah, take it or leave it. That's good. Did he take it? He definitely took it.

My dad grew up on a dairy farm in Wisconsin and he's thinking, what else am I going to do? That's awesome. So he was with the Yankees for how many years? Just about a year, maybe a little over a year and then got traded to the St. Louis Browns. Yeah, Artie Richmond, he had a great story.

He was a kid with his brother, Milt Richmond, who became a very famous sports writer. They were kids growing up in Brooklyn and when the Browns came to town, they somehow hitched their way onto the team and as a way of just being close to the players. They became almost like mascots of the Browns. I remember my grandfather on the story too and his brother, Charlie DeWitt, who was the traveling secretary, felt sorry for these kids.

They needed the food and they became literally like traveling companions, stole with the Browns. That was Artie's introduction to baseball and he never forgot it. He was always part of the Browns fan.

He'd probably come back every year. He was always very loyal to the DeWitt family because giving him that stowaway cabin on the train led to his career in baseball. Bill, I know that when dad got traded from the Yankees, Art said to my dad, you're going to love it. You're absolutely going to love this DeWitt family. You're going to love St. Louis. It's one of the reasons why we live here now because my dad had such a good time and just loved the city.

You know what's really cool about Art Richmond? I was playing in the Westchester Classic in the early 90s, Bill. He reached out to me and we had lunch on like a Wednesday or a Thursday or something opposite my round. It was really special for me.

That's awesome. Yeah, he was one of those guys that was a real connector. He'd seek people out to make sure they understood the history and the connections and he was very proud of that. He was the one guy too that Steinbrenner could never fire because he had so much respect for him in terms of his roots in the game and everything. He was the one guy that could kind of tell Steinbrenner, apparently, you know, George, you really got to take that comment back or you got to say sorry to this guy or whatever.

He was bulletproof in an organization where no one was bulletproof. That's going to wrap up the Front Nine. Come back and listen to more of the interview with Bill DeWitt III, the president of the St. Louis Cardinals.

And again, please keep in mind that interview happened before the coronavirus pandemic information hit the world. The 100,000 watt long torch for St. Louis sports driven by AutoCentres Nissan, home of the 30-day return. WXOS and WXOS HD1 eSt. Louis 101 ESPN. Are you in the market for some new clubs?

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Tom is the best. He's been in the game for over 50 years, so you take that knowledge along with their state-of-the-art equipment and boom, your game will get a whole lot better. Visit them at Pro-AmGolfUSA.com Everyone is looking for the extra edge and Jay Delsing is digging deep to find it.

It's The Leading Edge on golf with Jay Delsing. I am with Bob Donahue from Donahue Painting and Refinishing. Bob, thanks for joining me today on The Leading Edge. No problem, Jay.

It's my pleasure. So, Bob, tell us, you and Kathy not only own the business, you run the business. Yes, we started our business about 15 years ago. I've actually been in the industry since 1981. And we're a family-owned business. I run the production side of things and do the estimating. And Kathy runs the office and communicates with the customers and she's actually my right hand.

That's terrific. And so, I know quality is really important to you and I know you have the best, most experienced employees, but tell us kind of the scope of what you do at Donahue Painting and Refinishing. Well, we decided some time ago to primarily be a residential, high-end residential, interior-exterior painting company. Our specialty is staining and refinishing existing and new staircases and front doors.

But we pretty much can do anything regarding decorating your house with stripping wallpaper, drywall repair, patchwork. And then we also offer free color consultations for all of our customers. Well, and I know that's huge because there's such a difference in the way color is affected by light in certain times of day, isn't it? Absolutely.

A color can look different during the day than it does at night and so we are able to get larger representations of the colors. We encourage people to hang them on their walls and live with them for a couple of days to make sure that they're perfect for them. And Bob, we not only talked about the quality of the work, but the quality of the customer experience is really important for you and Kathy. Talk a little bit about the sort of employees that you have, some of the high level of insurance that you have, the type of people that do work for you. Yes, you know, in general painters don't have the best reputation with a lot of people and we really want to set ourselves apart from the experience that many people have. And so we go above and beyond with what most people or painters will do in regards to taking care of your home, cleaning up after ourselves. If we paint a room, we clean the interior of the windows, we vacuum. We want to take care of it as much as we can and so we train our men on these procedures.

We have written manuals on them. I go by and check the job every day to make sure that we're providing the best service that we can for our customers. And Bob, that's why referrals have been kind of the lifeblood of your business and you have a massive high percentage of retention rate within your customers, don't you?

Yes, for many years we really haven't done any advertising. All of our work has been repeat customers and referrals. And so, for example, we offer this to all of our customers regardless of what kind of work we've done for them and that's a preventive maintenance program we have for exterior work. And what that is, is I will send out a notice letting people know that I'll be stopping by their home. I'll come out and I'll do an exterior inspection on their house. I send them a report with recommendations. Maybe one side of the house would need to be power washed because of mildew or there might be some peeling paint here and there that if you take care of it, you just extend the life of the painting that was done.

And it's free of charge. We get a lot of compliments for that service that we provide and we really just wanted to help you maintain your house so that you're not having to put all that money out every few years to repaint your house. Well, at Donahue Painting and Refinishing, you guys are going the extra mile for service and quality.

Bob, tell the folks how they can reach out to you guys. Yes, you can find us on Facebook at Donahue Painting and Refinishing or give Kathy a call. Kathy's my wife and she's in the office. Her number is 314-805-2132. And that's Donahue, spelled D-O-N-A-H-U-E, Painting and Refinishing. Thank you so much for the time today.

Okay, no problem. Take care, Jay. The Metropolitan Amateur Golf Association is a proud sponsor of golf with Jay Telsing. The MAGA has been the USGA Allied Golf Association in the St. Louis Central and Southern Illinois region since 1992. The MAGA provides over 30 days of competition opportunities and conducts qualifying for nine USGA championships while supporting more than 140 member clubs with amateur golf services.

Find all of their information at METGA.org or call 314-567-MAGA. I'd like to thank Whitmore Country Club for sponsoring my show Golf with Jay Telsing on 101 ESPN. Whitmore has been a great partner as I enter my second year. If you are considering a great place for your family to hang out, you've got to go over to Whitmore Country Club. Go in the golf shop.

See my friend Bummer. He'll tell you all you need to know about the kids club, the golf, the tennis. They've got swim teams and leagues. There's anything you and your family could want at Whitmore Country Club.

Visit them at whitmoregolf.com. USA Mortgage is doing it again. Joe Scissor and his staff have lowered rates again this month and they will waive closing costs if you want to refinance to get cash out, lower your rate, shorten your term or eliminate that costly unnecessary mortgage insurance. If you are purchasing a property, they can issue a pre-approval letter within minutes. They are the largest mortgage company in the state of Missouri and their volume allows them to quote the lowest rates. Don't waste your time with the national online brokers. USA Mortgage is employee owned and operated right here in St. Louis.

USA Mortgage has closed over $500 million in loans in nearly 30 years in the business and over $2 million alone to Delsings. We're halfway there. It's time for the Back 9 on Golf with Jay Telsing. The Back 9 is brought to you by St. Louis Bank.

Welcome back. This is Golf with Jay Telsing. Brad Barnes is working the board for us and we're headed to the Back 9.

And the Back 9 is brought to you by our friends at St. Louis Bank. I just want to remind you that this interview I had with Bill DeWitt III, the president of St. Louis Cardinals, happened before the major outbreak of the coronavirus. So, Bill, talk a little bit about the cool things that you've been responsible for since you've, you know, I know you've been connected with the Cardinals ever since your dad and the group bought the team in 96. But I think you started off in some marketing roles and worked your way up to president in 2008. Yeah, I sort of did a lot of everything. I worked on a bunch of concessions and stadium improvement projects at the old Busch Stadium, Busch No.

2. And then I also got involved in our spring training operation, which was St. Pete originally. And, you know, the Cardinals were in St. Pete for many, many years. But the Devil Rays were coming to town and we kind of thought that there might be an opportunity to look for another location since Major League Baseball was coming to St. Pete. So we kind of jumped into a plan that had the Expos and the Braves working on a Palm Beach stadium project.

And the Braves left the Expos kind of at the altar because I guess they wanted to do something in Orlando at Disney with Ted Turner. And so we jumped into that and we were, it was just the beginning. And so we helped, I got involved in helping plan the stadium and putting that all together in Jupiter. And so it was really good experience because ultimately, among other projects, you know, one of the big ones was Busch Stadium 3 and getting involved in that planning.

So to have that experience on the spring training side and using that on the big stadium was very helpful. And sort of one thing led to another. We got that project done. And then shortly thereafter in 08, like you said, I took this role.

Mark Lamping went off to run the New York Giants stadium, the Jets Giants stadium, the Meadowlands. And I took this role and, you know, the rest is kind of history. We were able to get Ballpark Village done and still working on that. It's a long-term project, but that's been exciting and a little bit on the baseball side, but mostly on the business and operational side of things over the last 11 years, which have been very rewarding. Bill, that Ballpark Village just really ties the business environment and the community back into the ballpark.

It's really a fun area down there. Yeah, we're very excited. You know, we're about to open a bunch of things in the Phase 2, which is sort of rolling open. We've already opened the office tower. And the tenants in there just love the space.

The hotel and the health club open late January, early February. And then the apartment tower is going to open in June, where it'll take a couple months actually to move everybody in. And then also a bunch of retail restaurants and other retail is all coming. And about half of it will be by opening day, and the other half of the new retail will be kind of all-star break. So, you know, plans coming down in the spring are just going to be blown away by how different it looks, how exciting it is, how cool it is.

And then if they keep coming, they'll see more openings and more stuff happening. So, Bill, and it's just remarkable. You know, I'm a gigantic baseball nerd. I still love the box scores.

I am just fascinated, love the game of baseball. But I also love the business side. And what you guys have done and this whole legacy with your family have done in St. Louis is really remarkable. When you think of us as our, what, 23rd, 24-size market in the country, our fans and the fans of the Cardinals just reach throughout all across the Midwest, not all across the country really. And what really impresses me is how I feel like you guys are so disciplined with the plans that you have and you stick with them. Yeah, I think that's a big part of it is, you know, my dad and Mo and others in the baseball operations side of things, I think really have a good way of thinking about long-term and short-term balance with the payroll. You never want to put every last chip on the table in any one given year. Sure, you're going to go for it in some years and maybe do a trade or a free agent move that is on the riskier side of things to try to push it. But you never go all in at the expense of next year or the year after. And what I mean by that is you've got to keep drafting and developing and seeing what your kids can do. Your player development system has to be producing or else you're just chasing it on the free agent market. And as you know, you said 24th largest market out of 30.

We don't have those resources. We are very lucky that St. Louis is kind of a secret sauce, I would call it. We are a smaller market in terms of the core DMA, but when you drive 200 miles in any direction, you're still in Cardinals country. And you know, it's that great legacy of KMOX and the radio network and being the westernmost team for many, many years. And having these smaller towns around us drive in and spend summer weekends in St. Louis and they go to Cardinals games, but they also go to the Arch and the Magic House and Forest Park and the City Museum and Union Station. All these attractions that we sort of take for granted sometimes is St. Louisans. That's what people into town and fills up our hotels and helps the Cardinals overachieve relative to our market size in terms of things like attendance and fan activity. And it's really because of that that we're able to do what we do with a payroll and then with Ballpark Village.

Yeah, that's terrific. I just want to shift gears and talk a little bit about your golf now. And we play together. You're a great player. Are you still, what, a two handicap?

Yeah, somewhere around there, two or three. And you don't get to play as often. I know you don't get to play as often as you'd like. I mean, I know you've got your wonderful wife, Ira.

You've got two children, Will and Natalie, and all of these other things that you're interested in. But the game is special to you. It is.

It is. I think about it a lot, especially in the offseason. And then I really commit to it sort of in the June, July, August timeframe. Because if I don't do it then, when am I going to do it? You know, we'll get down to Florida once, you know, for a weekend or out to L.A. for a quick weekend or something like that and I'll play.

But you're really bridging it in the winter to get to the core of the season in the summer in St. Louis. And that's when I just really make sure I play a couple times on the weekend or whatever. And so I just love it. It's something that's a passion. And the thing about it is I always feel like my best round is ahead of me. That's the thing I love about golf. It may not be, but, you know, it gives you that illusion that, you know, there's something you can figure out in your swing or in your short game or whatever that, you know, can click and you can have a great round. And I think it's because of that, it's a lifelong plunge, but it's also a lifelong passion. And I just I've always loved it. I've always loved being able to, you know, have the social aspect of it, too.

Meeting new people and just the game itself, I really enjoy playing. I feel like, you know, I could fall out of bed and shoot 83 at any point in the year. But for me to shoot 73 or even better, I really got to work at it and put in the time. And and so that's where I feel like it's the challenge comes in is how can you most efficiently practice?

So it doesn't take all that time, but still be, you know, tuned into what you need to do. Yeah, because we've had some really cool conversations about some of the idiosyncrasies and intricacies of the game and you look at it on a very cerebral level, which is totally understandable. What's your best? Do you have a greatest memory on the golf course or something that the game provided for you a moment that you'll never forget? Well, I would say my I'll always remember my best round, which was I was playing in the gym Jackson at Algonquin and it was in the fall. It always is in the fall where the club champions from around town have a little tournament there.

And you know, Algonquin, it's kind of short but tight and good greens. Yeah. Tricky. It's tricky. It's a tricky golf course.

Yeah, it's kind of tricky. And I just found something in my swing and I shot 64, the only bogey free round I've ever had. And it was just always remember that round. I can remember every shot. You know, when you get in that zone, I mean, you've been in it a million times as a pro golfer, but well, maybe not a zone.

I mean, you're just really good. And then how many times have you really been in that zone? You know, maybe, I don't know how many times you think you've been in it?

Oh my gosh, not nearly as many as I'd like, Bill, because once you're in there, all you want to do is try to get back. I know. And I thought after that round, I thought, okay, I figured this out. Well, you know, the next round I shoot 80. But some things from that round do kind of resonate with me when I'm playing well. I remember how I kind of kept it going and I try to use that from time to time. But other than that, I would say, you know, I've done some great trips with friends and those have been super memorable. You know, I've had some great matches. I played St Louis Country Club with some fellow competitors. And there's some very memorable things about some of those matches that I remember both winning matches and losing matches and just the competition. I just love the nature of golf where you want to beat the other guy's brains in for 18 holes, but you're super nice, super cordial, and you have a beer afterwards. And it's a genuine friendship afterwards, even though you might want the guy to miss a putt or whatever in your head.

You don't say that, but let's be honest. And then at the end of it, win or lose, you know, you're talking about the family and having a beer and it's just, there's no other sport like that. Well, that's going to wrap up the back nine. Come back, we've got a tiny bit more of this interview. We're going to wrap this interview up with Bill DeWitt.

And I do need to remind you folks that that interview happened before the coronavirus became such a serious pandemic. This is Golf with Jay Delson. The 100,000 watt blowtorch for St. Louis sports driven by AutoCentres Nissan, home of the 30-day return.

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Welcome back. This is Golf with Jay Delsing. I'm your host, Jay, and we're headed to the 19th hole. We've got just a few more minutes of the interview from Bill DeWitt III, the president of the St. Louis Cardinals, so let's go to that. And please keep in mind, this interview occurred before the outbreak of the coronavirus got so serious.

Bill, what is it? Because you said something that really hit home to me. I always feel like my best golf's in front of me. I'm 59 years old, you know.

I'm never going to play on the PGA Tour anymore. But I still have that sense like, oh, I can't wait for the weather to get good so I can get after this again. Yeah, yeah. I just love that because, you know, it's such a simple game. You're just putting the ball in the hole, but it's so complicated in the sense that figuring out the best way to hit the ball is both a physical and a mental challenge. And so it's blending them all together.

You may have one one day and the other you don't have. And I don't know, there's just the reason you think it might all come together is because it's such a complicated mix that if it does all come together, even as you get into your late 50s, 60s or 70s, you can still have that incredible round. Like I played around with my dad once as a kid and he's a good, you know, I think he peaked at like an eight handicap and he's always been around 12 or 13 and just a solid golfer.

He took it up a little late after college, but I think he was probably in his 50s and he had his best round ever even par at Kenwood Country Club in Cincinnati. And I just remember how in the zone he was and how it was for me to watch that. It can happen at any time. And, you know, that's part of why it's, you know, you always think it's that next round may be the one. Yeah, that is terrific.

Bill, thanks so much for the time. Give us a little bit of insight into Natalie and Will. Are you guys starting to bring them into the Cardinal family? I mean, I know they're in the Cardinal family, but are they starting to look into the business side of this? What are they interested in?

Still a little early probably. My daughter is unlikely to be in the Cardinal business and she's a pre-med student at Yale. She's a junior, works real hard and getting good grades. Very proud of her. She just has a passion for science and medicine. And my son Will is a senior at John Burroughs.

He does play on the golf team and the hockey team. And he's applying to colleges right now and that's, you know, a little stressful time, but we'll see what happens. But, you know, who knows down the road. I think my family, there's four of us. I have an older sister, a younger brother and a younger sister and, you know, we've all got kids and in the next generation there's 12 grandkids. So it's hard to predict how that'll all play out super long term, but I know sort of in the short and medium term we just love being a part of this. And all my siblings, you know, are great about just, you know, weighing in on certain matters, but also just being fans. And that's what I think is all about. If we stop being fans, I think, you know, that'll be the end of it. But we still have a passion for baseball and the Cardinals and like we all came together for the playoffs last year and just we're having a great time.

It was, you know, it was a blast. And when you can share that with your family, that seems to be what it's all about and I think that's true of fans. That's why baseball is such a great game. It's very generational.

It's conversational. You can go to the game and talk and connect with people. And that's what I think is the enduring aspect of the game. Well, Bill, the last thing I want to say is thank you, first of all, for keeping this game so strong and saying those for me personally because I just absolutely love it.

Follow it every day, as you know. And the other thing is your family and you personally have supported so many other things that I've done and the city has done and just in general being such a great citizen. I know when we founded the first two years ago, you guys were right there with support and have been doing that all over town. Well, thanks. We do support a lot of things.

Cardinals Care or Flagship Charity does so much in the community. But there are other things, too, like First Tee. Golf is a great game of lessons for kids and it's because it's not easy. You've got to learn patience and discipline and manners, I guess you could call it as an old term. I'm still learning mine, Bill.

I'm updating myself. But there's just so much to be learned because it's not natural. You don't just, as a kid, go play golf and not slam your club on the ground once in a while. You've got to be taught, no?

You've got to bottle that up and figure out how to use it to make the next one. I've always loved golf as a teaching tool, as have you. We love the St. Louis community and we're always going to support things here. That's why it's great to be part of the Cardinals because they're such a force for community involvement and activism in St. Louis. That's one of our main goals with the business.

It's kind of winning, it's financial sustainability and it's community involvement. Man, what a cool interview from Bill DeWitt III. One of the things that sticks out in my mind, folks, is did you hear what he said? Had World War II not begun for the United States at Pearl Harbor on December 7th, the St. Louis Browns would have been the first team west of the Mississippi in Major League Baseball?

You've got to be kidding me. Anyway, that family, it just reminds me of so many of the things that they do for us all here in St. Louis and how committed they are to the city. The other thing, and it drives us all crazy, I know at times, but man, they are such a committed group to the program. I think one of the things that also might give us some of the answers on why they are so committed to their farm club is because Bill talked about his grandfather and Branch Rickey were kind of the first pioneers to create farm clubs for Major League Baseball.

Not only is it important, but it's kind of in their blood. That's going to wrap up this show this week. Thanks for listening. Perley and me, thanks for being with us.

Odd times, no doubt about it. I want to remind you of this one more time, just kind of protecting Bill and the station here, that the interview I had with Bill was taped before the coronavirus got so serious. I also want to thank my friends Bob and Kathy Donahue at Donahue Painting and Refinishing.

You need any sort of work like that done in your home. Their quality of work is excellent, and they're supporting the show. Come back next week, Golf with Jay Delsing on 101 ESPN.

Hit them straight, St. Louis. That was Golf with Jay Delsing, brought to you by Whitmore Country Club. Tune in next Sunday for more from Jay, John, and the other pros and experts from the golf world. In the meantime, you can find all of Jay's shows at 101 ESPN.com, as well as at JayDelsingGolf.com.