PGA CHAMPIONSHIP REPLAY BLOCK PARTY! Michael Block with J.R. Smith & Stephen Malbon

This episode centers on golf enthusiast Michael Block's unexpected success and impact on the sport, especially among various age groups and demographics.

1. Michael Block’s success story has inspired a diverse range of individuals to either take up or return to golf.
2. The episode emphasizes the importance of making sports accessible to the youth, showcasing the positive impact of golf on young players’ lives.
3. Personal stories from the hosts and guest highlight the importance of confidence and family in sports.
4. The discussion explores the psychological aspects of playing golf and the strategies used by professionals to maintain their form.
5. The podcast also covers the benefits of integrating golf into family activities and how it strengthens familial bonds.

1: Introduction

Michael Block discusses his unexpected rise in the golf world and its broader impact on the sport's audience. Michael Block: "I inspired everyone my age and above to get back into it."

2: Family Influence in Golf

The hosts and Michael Block share experiences of playing golf with family and its significance in their lives. J.R. Smith: "It's just amazing."

3: Engaging Youth in Golf

Discussion on initiatives like youth on course to encourage young players, and how these efforts have positively impacted the community. Michael Block: "We're all here for the juniors."

4: The Importance of Confidence

Insights into the mental aspect of golf, the confidence required, and how the sport's psychological demands affect players. J.R. Smith: "If you don't have confidence, one day you'll have nothing at all."

5: Closing Remarks

Final thoughts on the personal growth and community impact through golf, reiterating the episode's themes of inspiration and accessibility. Stephen Malbon: "We need to let them pick what they want to do."

1. Inspire Others: Share personal success stories to motivate others in your community.
2. Family Involvement: Engage family members in sports to strengthen bonds and build confidence.
3. Support Youth Programs: Get involved or support local sports programs for youth to help them gain access to sports.
4. Emphasize Mental Strength: Focus on mental training and confidence-building as much as physical practice.
5. Promote Accessibility: Work towards making sports more accessible to diverse groups to ensure everyone has the opportunity to participate.

It’s a PGA Championship Weekend Replay Block Party! We're on location at The Hay in Pebble Beach. Your hosts J.R. Smith & Stephen Malbon are joined by Michael Block (Professional Golfer)! Today they're discussing: J.R. & Michael becoming friends in Cabo, Jack Nicklaus making a putt with his putter, why they're up at Pebble Beach today with TaylorMade and Youth on Course, how golf has changed over the last 5 years, how much fun golf has become for so many people & brings people together, having kids who play golf with them, having confidence in golf & life, having 2 sons who are very different on & off the golf course, having his kids working at the club, making sure to learn how to chip & putt, testing the Malbon Golf Ball, playing against your siblings, learning how to shoot in the 60's & the tips, being challenged to play on the women's tees, the magical run he had at The PGA Championship, being a country club journeyman, getting the Hole in One on 15, being with the people on 18, where he grew up & grew to love golf, his favorite club in the bag, his lowest rounds, putting green practice, warmups & more. This episode is not to be missed!

People

Michael Block, J.R. Smith, Stephen Malbon

Companies

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Books

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Guest Name(s):

Michael Block

Content Warnings:

None

J.R. Smith
What about you when you grew up? How did you get into golf? What is like, everyone knows the story of the people's champ and the hole in one and all this fucking people's champions.

Stephen Malbon
So relatable, man. People's champ, it's very few people.

Michael Block
47 year old old dude just like, comes out of nowhere and makes. But I mean, you know what? It's just all of a sudden, I had four days in a row, and it's like something. It's never gonna happen again. And for me, but I've just.

It was a very magical thing, right? And I don't know why. I don't know why it happened. I have no idea, but it happened. And I think I inspired a lot of people. I've got wives that had never watched golf before that watched golf and got into the sport, and I got guys who had quit golf. They got back into the sport, and like we talked about, we're here for youth on course. And if I get some juniors playing, it's unbelievable. And I've got 75 year old men playing golf again that weren't going to ever play golf again. That makes me just as happy. It happened for a weird reason. I think it happened. The golf God said, you know what? We're gonna let you inspire these people that are uninspired right now.

All these young people have been inspired through COVID and everything else because they couldn't play anything else. So they started playing whatever. I'd inspire them. I inspired everyone my age frame older and above to get back into it or to play or whatever it might be. And I'm very lucky to be that avenue.

J.R. Smith
Part three podcast.

Stephen Malbon
Press fucking go.

J.R. Smith
Even Marvin.

Oh, my goodness. Let's get right into it.

Stephen Malbon
Put us down for the birdie dog.

Somebody give me your fucking putter.

J.R. Smith
Poured the putty.

Stephen Malbon
I had to make it.

J.R. Smith
Hello, everybody, and welcome back to the world famous par three podcast. We are live on location at the gorgeous Pebble Beach, California. I got my man Jr Smith and the absolute fucking legend Michael block.

Stephen Malbon
Welcome to the podcast, bro.

Michael Block
Thanks, jar.

I think we're long lost friends that we've now met. I've known this man for quite a long time. Great person, and just happy to be here with you.

Stephen Malbon
Pleasure, man. Pleasure. We had a great time with Jack a couple weeks ago in Cabo, which was unbelievable. First time, both of us, I think, right?

Michael Block
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, you put the combination of Jack Nicklaus, Cabo San Lucas, Jared Smith, and blocky. I mean, how does it go wrong? And then we threw in a little bit of tiger woods as well.

Stephen Malbon
Yeah.

Michael Block
I mean, it doesn't get better than.

Stephen Malbon
Diamante Casa azul, you know, just a sprinkle.

Michael Block
It was a good day. It was a good day.

Stephen Malbon
It was a great day.

J.R. Smith
So I saw your wife and Ethan in the airport afterwards, and I said, how did Michael play? They said he played well, but he wasn't making any putts. I said, well, maybe Jack took all the shit out of it when he. When he made that putt that night.

Michael Block
Yeah, for real. I was like. I'm like, jack made, like, a 30 footer with my putter. And I was like, oh, it's got all the magic sauce on it, and I'm gonna make everything.

I haven't made anything since he drained it.

J.R. Smith
He drained it.

Michael Block
It's all good. And if Jack drains out all the juice out of that putter, that's fine with me. I might just need to find a new one.

Stephen Malbon
I hear that. Are you, like, one of those guys? Like, if they. If a guy like Jack makes a putt with your putter, you're never getting rid of that thing.

Cause I am. If MJ signed or touched a pair of my shoes or a basketball or whatever, I'm not getting rid of that.

Michael Block
Yeah, no, no. That putter is not going anywhere. Yeah. I mean, and the fact it's on video and the fact that he was like, give me that putter. And I'm like, cool, and he drained it. That putter wasn't going anywhere to begin with. But now Jack Nicholas draining that putt. No, it's not going anywhere. It'll be sitting in the blocky museum down in the road.

Stephen Malbon
I love that, being here at pebble. And obviously, we're doing this for a foundation and doing this for the kids. And what does that mean to you? To continuously be able to grow the game of golf?

Michael Block
Hey, you know what? So, obviously, everyone here today is here for a reason. We're all here for the juniors. We're all here to grow the game. And we're here if we just allow and help one person, one get into the sport and love it as much as we do. Because I know for a fact that the three of us love golf so much. It's so much part of our life. Right? We appreciate it. We love it. And for someone else to appreciate it, how we do is going to be a huge part. You know, when we're done, retired, and just sitting back and watching our grandkids, it's a huge thing. And youth, on course, is such a great organization that's allowing a lot of kids that couldn't play golf get into the game. And that's what it takes, right? You've got all these kids and these people, and I think that's why the sport's grown so much. Is that because there's been this availability into playing golf now you've got all these athletes that never would have played golf before that are now playing, and they hit it now 340 in the air, and they're dominating the game, which is great. And it's only going to grow from here.

J.R. Smith
So I'm sitting at the tap room eating dinner about a year ago, exactly like a year ago, with Michelle Wee and Chad Veach, and we're eating dinner there, and this dude Michael, who's around here, he works for youth, and of course he came up and he said, yo, da da da, marvin, blah blah blah. So I said, oh. He said, I'm youth. You, of course. So I said, oh, shit, I love the help something or another. So we went, played the preserve the next day, stirred up this idea of doing a bracketed art contest. So we let all of their members draw our logo buckets, draw it each way they wanted, whatever. And then we put all of them up on social, and you would have one guy's art and the next guy's art, and you could click a or b and choose who you wanted to have. And so it got all the way down. And the kid who won, we did a collection with and did a hat and a shirt and a hoodie, and all that money goes to it as well. But, like, I think collectively between that and this, it's raised over, like 150 grand. So it's $5 rounds. So just think, how many kids with 150 grand, like, how many rounds is that? How many kids, like, you're saying, if we can just get one.

So. And I think it's also, like them being able to know that you two and people like, you guys are out here and, like, doing all of this shit for them, it makes them even have a more. It's like junior's pumping it. Like, I gotta go play. You know, like, the thought of that, of, like, everybody looks up to somebody, you know? And there's kids that look up to junior all over from basketball, from every other thing, and then it's like, well, now they're looking at them from the golf side and being like, well, junior golfs, I should. It's just amazing.

Michael Block
Yeah. No.

Where golf has gone, what I've seen in the last couple years, right the growth of it is ridiculous. And the people that have come into it is very special, right? And one of the coolest things that I've always loved is. And I kind of knew this was going to happen, right? Because even back in the day, Jordan, right?

Best athlete ever, he plays golf, right? And so everyone starts to understand how cool the sport is, right? Back in the day, when I was in high school, it wasn't a cool sport, but I'm like, I love it. I'm playing it. And I saw that all these people are playing it, right? So you got my homes and Kelsey and everyone gets out there and plays golf when it's their off season or they're retired, whatever it might be, and they fall in love with the sport they were all in love with. How can't you? I mean, you're hanging out with your. Your buddies, you're hanging out with your wife. You can go play golf with your wife. You can go hang out with your four friends and smoke cigars and have some cocktails, have some fun, or you can go play with your family and be around your kids more than you would have ever been in any other sport. So this sport brings the families, the friends, everything together, which I think's so cool.

Stephen Malbon
It's really dope. Cause, like, for me, I don't have any boys. I got all girls, and my girls play with me, you know, when they can, but at the same time, it's still not, like, their thing. But you got Remy out here, he just, what, four or five birdies in a row, no big deal. That's cool. Smooth. Like, how does that feel? Like just being able to play with your kid?

J.R. Smith
So even, like, Remy. So he's very confident, you know? And I take him to some. I took him to, like, medalist or something, and he's, like, talking shit on the range to the old dudes at medalist. And the guy said he very confident young man.

Michael Block
Where did he get that from?

J.R. Smith
I said, well, if you don't have confidence, what do you have? So that's just what I said to the guy. And then Remy hits me the next day, said, dad, I thought about it. If you don't have confidence, one day you'll have nothing at all.

And this is like a nine year old's thought process. Meaning if you're not confident, you're gonna lose your job, your wife, your golf.

Stephen Malbon
Swing, you're gonna lose it all.

J.R. Smith
You're gonna lose the seat at your house. So, yeah, Remy's amazing, but as, like, as a dad, you know, Michael has two kids he trains, two boys he trained. So we just went up and played observe with both of the boys. And it's amazing to see how different where he coaches both of them, right. And one of them is obviously older and a little bit hits it longer, maybe doesn't listen quite as much. The younger one is a little more conservative, but probably scored better that day. Dylan is taking every corner. You know, I'm gonna hit it over that tree. He's like, I don't think you should do that.

Stephen Malbon
He's like, watch.

J.R. Smith
That vibe. And Ethan's like, okay, so just hit a little cut down the middle, no problem.

Stephen Malbon
Is that right?

Michael Block
So true. Yeah. And, you know, it's so much fun to have two different animals, right, which I've got in my house. And, you know, you gotta talk to one a certain way and the other one the other way. And that's one of the most important things, I think, not only in raising kids, but training golfers, is how do you talk to them, right? How do you treat them? What do you say to them? Because it inspires them in different ways and how you say it. And the last thing you want to do is uninspire them or make it feel like school or homework. Like, I always said that I'm like, I'm not gonna make golf feel like homework to my kids. And I think that's why I'm lucky enough. And you're lucky enough to have a couple kids that love the sport as much as we do.

J.R. Smith
Yeah.

Stephen Malbon
Spending time with your kids, spending time with your family on the course, it's like, for me, I mean, there's no greater feeling other than, you know, taking a couple bucks from your buddy. But that's always good. But, like, talk about the.

Just the grind that these kids go through. Like, nowadays, it's like, for me, when I was growing up, I was playing football, basketball, baseball, so many different sports. And now I feel like the kids are more generated into this one particular area, and which is nothing wrong with that, but, like, how do you feel about the generation that's changing growing up and raising kids around one sport, two sports, three sports, and just letting them pick what they want to do?

J.R. Smith
Yours are playing multiple.

Michael Block
They did, and I literally forced Dylan to play multiple sports. Cause he's very much an athlete. And I'm like, dude, you could be a quarterback, you could be the wide receiver, you could be a point guard, you could do all these things. He's like, dad, I wanna play golf. I'm like, I know, but still go play baseball. And he's like, okay, fine. He did. And he's like, okay, can I play golf now? I'm like, okay. That's how he was. But then Ethan, on the other hand, he played soccer, right? And until the age of 13, finally, he was like, dad, I just wanna play golf. I'm like, music to my ears.

Stephen Malbon
Hallelujah.

Michael Block
Music to my ears, you know?

And so I've been very lucky now. And the fact is, my boys both work at the club. They work outside of service. They open up on the weekends, which is really cool. They're learning the business as well, because I want them to have something on the backside. And if one of them, at some point, wants my key of the club and run a club someday, I'm more than happy to give it to them and retire and be a very happy man.

Stephen Malbon
Watching that, that's dope.

That's another thing about golf to me. It's like, you can work and you learn so much, so many different areas of the game. Playing the game is it could be caddying, it could be working the front desk. You learn communication skills, and you learn how to talk to people, and you learn how to be presentable in so many different areas. And for me, like basketball, it's like, it's either I'm gonna be the guy making the shots or the guy pushing the broom.

It's either one or the two.

J.R. Smith
No in between.

Stephen Malbon
There's no in between. There's no. I'm not gonna go work the concessions, because that's not the. That's a totally different realm of the game.

Michael Block
Yeah. I mean, like, you guys, I mean, now that you look back at it, right. And, I mean, it's like, for me, I just knew back that I was going to go to a golf course, and it really didn't matter what I was going to do, whether a teacher, a head pro, the general manager, whatever it was, I was going to go, and I'm going to a golf course. And being my golf attire and the serenity of, like, you at the preserve, what you see up there every day, and I see your posts of, like, you know, the wild boar and everything that you see up there is just amazing. And it just brings such serenity and such a good vibe and a culture. And as you can tell with us, you know, it's like, we're in such a good place, right. And golf, I think, is really a very important factor that's put us in this good place.

Stephen Malbon
Nice.

J.R. Smith
Totally. We started Malvin golf. I did an invest in golf. And it was like, one, I need people to buy shit, so invest so we can make it a business. Two, I was looking for investors, but the real reason is just because, like, you know, I started working at a golf course when I was twelve. My dad got me a job. I played tennis before that, and then I went and played golf. I mean, I washed the golf carts, you know, I was the cart barn kid and I picked the range and this, that and the other. And like, you know, it's amazing at how if you take like two brothers and one goes at twelve or 13 and works at like, you know, the fast food joint, the other one goes and works at your country club, like, you know, you learn, like, I learned how to play golf. My dad didn't say, I want you to learn how to play golf. He put me at a golf course. I'm with all these other older kids cleaning golf carts and they're like, hey, you want to play tomorrow? And like, shit, I better go practice. I'm gonna have to figure this out because these dudes are older than me and they're good. And then there were members that I liked and the members would take certain kids out and play. So it's like I was forced to get better at golf because I wanted to be accepted by the older kids at the country club. And this was when I was twelve years old. So just this, what we're doing and helping all these kids, it's like if you learn how to hit a seven iron, then it's like you may end up going to college to play golf, you may end up playing on tour, you may end up becoming a caddy, you may end up being a head pro, an assistant pro, working.

But once you get hooked on the golf, it's like it's never gonna stop. So if you get a kid at 1012 years old to learn how to hit, you know, it's like Remington, his swing is insane. At eleven, it's just like, dude, just chip and putt a lot. Like, that's the only advice I can really give him. Like, don't change your swing. Grow into your body and just chip and putt a lot. Because that's really the only difference of, you know, whether you're really good or not. And the kids are little and they're so confident, like Remington. And when he was like, you know, seven years old, I'd be like, dude, Justin Thomas is better than you because he hits it far, but from 40 yards in, I don't understand how you would accept that he's better than you. Number one. You're lower, you can read putz better. You don't have to bend all down like we do, you know, like, you should be better from 40 yards in.

Stephen Malbon
Than every dude on tour.

Michael Block
You got a better view, huh?

J.R. Smith
I am. I am. You know, eventually he started to believe that he was, and, you know, he just had little four birdie, a little four birdie run back here at the hay.

Stephen Malbon
Little run.

Michael Block
He beat me here.

J.R. Smith
The first time he ever beat me, he beat me here. He was two under after four, I was two over after four. And I just couldn't catch him. Just couldn't catch him. He just keeps hitting full wedges right into the middle of the green.

Michael Block
That's beautiful.

J.R. Smith
And I'm hitting little nippers that are spinning off the green and shit and no catching them.

Michael Block
Nothing better than getting beat by a kid, though, I'll tell you that.

Oh, my gosh. They both beaten me a lot. Dylan's beating me more often than I beat him.

Stephen Malbon
Really?

Michael Block
It's at 80 yards by me. I mean, it's not even close.

Yeah. No, and I love it. I absolutely love it.

Stephen Malbon
I was gonna say, great teacher, hate.

Michael Block
It, but I love it, you know, and that's how it works.

J.R. Smith
And Dylan just did the long drive, and I heard he hit it. 415.

Michael Block
Yeah, 417. The world long drive championship. He finished 60th in the world at age 18 in the world long drive jamship.

J.R. Smith
417.

Michael Block
And it wasn't even his driver. Wasn't even his driver. They just let him borrow a driver. Long drive, 48 inch driver. He went out there and he went right against Berkshire, and Berkshire hit it. And so, in their little quadrant of four guys, Berkshire hit it. Who won? Longest guy in the world hit a 414. Dillon. A 404 against him. Manu Mano. Which was sick. And then he hit 417 in the next round, which was really cool. Yeah. Dylan p actually wanted to do that. He's gonna be. He'd be the longest guy in the world within a couple years. But that's not really his path in life. And I think it's more of, like, that's kind of fun because he palms in, he'll go out and do it. Maybe for fun, but he wants to be a golfer. He's got hands and stuff like that. So once he can combine that length with some consistency and knowing how to score, then he could be pretty dirty.

J.R. Smith
When we did our, we launched golf balls. And when I had the prototypes, we went to dinner at korean barbecue with Michael and Dylan and Ethan and I gave them the prototype balls. I gave them to Dylan and I said, he said, I'll test them for you, you know. So he went and at their course, and he was hitting like, he said he was gonna hit 50 yard bunker shots so you could really get the best spin, you know? And he's all, that's the shot. He chooses 50 yard bunker shots. So that's when you really can see the best spin out of a 50 yard bunker. Like, you're a sicko.

Michael Block
Yeah, none of us do that, right. We don't want to hit a 50 yard bunker. Gonna chunk it or thin it.

J.R. Smith
He's hitting it like, he's like, sends me one video. It's like, here's the titleist. And he's fucking flies it right by. The whole hit bounces z, and then he sends mine when he hits the same spot, bounces zip. He's like, it's a good ball.

Michael Block
Yeah, yeah, I remember that. Yeah, it was cool. He tested him out. He legitimately did.

J.R. Smith
With a 50 yard bunker shot, is his testing.

Michael Block
Yeah, that's right.

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Stephen Malbon
So for me, like, growing up like, I had a little brother, I had an older brother, and I'm kind of like, I got two younger brothers and I got an older brother, and I was able to start beating my older brother in basketball, like 1314, and kind of knew I was different at a certain age just because my body started catching up with my abilities and stuff like that. But I was never, like, still to this day, I think my little brother never beat me one on one. My youngest brother beat me once in horse. And I'm still pissed about it. No, no, no. I'm still pissed about it. Like, I'm furious. Like, do you see that competition in your kids? Like, do they really, like, go at it?

Michael Block
Yeah, but, like, Dylan loves to gamble, and Ethan hates to gamble. You know, Dylan's got my side of that, and then Ethan's got my wife's side of like, no, no, no, we're cool. Let's just have fun, you know, whatever else. And so they're very different in that way, but they're very competitive at the same time where like, yeah, they want to beat each other. And Dylan's got the upper hand, but he's also two years older and Ethan, he's a little gamer, but, you know, he's getting after it and he's working really hard at it. We'll see what happens. You know, you got the guy that's just gonna be straight and like to score, and then you got Dylan when he's on. It's gonna be hard to be hard to be Dylan. So.

J.R. Smith
Anyone?

Michael Block
Yeah, for a lot of people, yeah, it'll be cool.

Stephen Malbon
And play for the same tees?

Michael Block
Yeah, yeah, same tees. Oh, yeah. We've been on the tip since we've been very, very young.

Stephen Malbon
Oh, yeah, man.

Michael Block
But they had to shoot, I had a rule. You had to shoot in the sixties and you had to start at the golds all the way up, right. Senior tees. And you had to shoot in the sixties three times from there to move back to the ladies reds or whatever it might be. And then after that, you had to shoot in the sixties three times. I dont care if you were eight years old or 20 years old, you had to shoot in the sixties three times. So you learned how to score. I find that to be a very important factor. Learn how to shoot in the sixties. Do not be afraid to shoot in the sixties. Make that your goal. Don't just cause a lot of people just go, hey, oh, man, I'm 18, I'm 16 or whatever, and I'm gonna go play the tips. And they learn how to shoot. 82, right? And they're 82, 82, 81. I'm 78. And that's not gonna do it. That's not college golf. That's not professional golf. So I really learned early to get them very comfortable in the sixties. And so now when they're in the tips. They're not afraid to shoot in the sixties.

J.R. Smith
When could they shoot in the sixties? How old?

Michael Block
13. Both of them.

Stephen Malbon
13?

Michael Block
Yeah.

Stephen Malbon
From tips?

Michael Block
Yeah, from the tips. They worked their way back and that was a big goal, right? 360s moved back. 360s move back. Yeah, it was great.

J.R. Smith
And from the Ford tees, same age. It's 13.

Michael Block
Yeah. Shoot six. Oh, no, just all the way. So they started like ten years old. You know, they started pretty. Probably ten years old, shooting the skis from all the way up, and they just worked their way back. And now it's like, no problem. Dylan's and Ethan, they both break 70 all the time. They're not afraid of it.

It's about being not afraid of it. Like, teach them how to shoot a 65. You need to know what it feels like to shoot a 65. And I don't care what tee that's from.

Stephen Malbon
65 is a 6565-6565.

Michael Block
100% impressive.

J.R. Smith
My guy challenged me. Go play on the. Remy plays the women's tees, right?

He's like, I bet you can't beat em if you play on the women's tees with him. But you have to hit driver every par four and five from the women's tee. He's like, go try to beat him. And it's fucking hard to do. That is hard to do. Cause it's like you basically can drive almost every par four, but you can also lose the ball. You can also hit it over the green or, you know, there's no landing room up there, but you have to hit drivers. So then it's also like trying to hit little, like chippy, barely chippy drivers. It's like you gotta have some control over your body.

Michael Block
You gotta work it. Yeah, control it. Control the loft, spin, all that good stuff.

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J.R. Smith
What about you when you grew up? How did you get into golf? What is, like, everyone knows the story of the people's champ and the hole in one and all this fucking people's championship.

Stephen Malbon
So relatable, man. People's champ, dog. It's very few people.

Michael Block
47 year old old dude just like, comes out of nowhere and makes. But I mean, you know what? It's just all of a sudden, I had four days in a row, and it's like something. It's never going to happen again. And for me, but I just.

It was a very magical thing, right? And I don't know why. I don't know why it happened. I have no idea, but it happened. And I think I inspired a lot of people. I've got wives that had never watched golf before that watched golf and got into the sport, and I got guys who had quit golf. They got back into the sport, and like we talked about, we're here for youth on course, and if I get some juniors playing, it's unbelievable. And I've got 75 year old men playing golf again that weren't going to ever play golf again. That makes me just as happy. It happened for a weird reason. I think it happened. The golf God said, you know what? We're going to let you inspire these people that are uninspired right now.

All these young people have been inspired through COVID and everything else because they couldn't play anything else. So they started playing whatever. I'd inspire them. I inspired everyone my age frame, older and above, to get back into it or to play or whatever it might be. And I'm very lucky to be that avenue 100%.

Stephen Malbon
When I seen the story, it was just like, I felt like it was literally me all over again. I'm like, bro, you're older than the typical guys coming out and going on tour and doing all of this shit. And it's just like to see that as a guy who's like, literally, I feel like I'm a country club journeyman. I'm a member.

I'm a member everywhere in America just because people love to see me, they love to hang with me. I'm a great hang partner, whatever, whatever. And it's like to see you actually go out there and put the numbers with that personality, it was just like, this is the people's chance.

Michael Block
I'm your buddy who you sit and you play 18 holes with and you hang and have a couple of beers and have lunch and smoke a cigar with. That all of a sudden is playing against Roy McElroy in the final round in a major championship. I'm that guy 100%. It happened. And somehow then the ball goes directly in the hole in 15. And then I get up and down, and it's really cool.

I was with the people on 18. I was literally in with the people on 18, and I swear they made that ball go up in the air, land in the rough, trickle out, and I make that putt. It was like somebody, I think Max Holm actually said, he goes, not even tin cup did that. He goes, tin cup. Took seven shots to get in the hole.

I love Max. He's cool, man.

Stephen Malbon
What's that like, coming back? Like coming home and like, being, hey, Riggs, you leave your the club pro, you come home, you're the club hero. What is that like?

Michael Block
That to me was really, really, I mean, insane, right? To go is just you leave as I am the head pro at a road Chicago golf club, I'm still the head pro at a road Chico golf club. Nothing changed, right? And if you talk to anybody, they'll just tell you that I'm more tan than I was before because I've been playing more golf.

That's the biggest change in me.

Stephen Malbon
That's dope.

J.R. Smith
Hold on. So going back, so then golfing, your parents got anywhere? Where'd you grow up?

Michael Block
St. Louis. I'm from. I grew up in Iowa and then St. Louis. And then I met sun and women in southern California, and I decided never to go back. I stayed out in LA, in Orange County, California, Palm desert. Love being a golf pro out there. I love everything about it. I know a lot of people are like, oh, I hate California. I'm leaving and all this stuff, and I love California.

J.R. Smith
Look at the weather back there.

Michael Block
It's been very good to me. And for all of you that don't want to be here, thank you.

Stephen Malbon
Such a fact that I don't want to be here. It's just I hate the income tax. I hate it.

Michael Block
I did that. Trust me, trust me, trust me. This year I might feel differently in April of 2024. Junior, I'm just letting you know, but I don't know, but I think I'm still gonna stay, so.

Stephen Malbon
Yeah.

J.R. Smith
You got some big bags this year.

Stephen Malbon
Yeah, man. Rolling in. Let em keep rolling in. We asked a lot of people this, and I tend to get the same answer from pros. I'm starting to feel like that's like a thing that you learn to say as you're getting older. What's your favorite club in the background?

Michael Block
I love on my little pooty cut driver, which is a little baby cut. That's my go to. I don't go for distance. I go for accuracy on my driver. But then when it comes down to it, like, what I sleep with at night outside of my wife is my putter. That putter's got me out of more trouble than anything in the world, right? Even more than my lawyer.

And so that putter, that putter is just, you know, it's godsend where it's like, you know what I hit in the crap and I get out, I chip out, I go to 12ft and I make that putt. And this other guy just hit driver down the middle wedge to 10ft, misses it, lifts it out, makes par, and I just made par two. And I just know for them that are going, they're like, not again, bro.

I'm so much better than blocking. And I'm like, I had four guys.

Stephen Malbon
Hey, what you have?

J.R. Smith
Yeah.

Michael Block
Did you have four, too? Okay, good.

J.R. Smith
What's your lowest round?

Michael Block
I got a 58 in my bag. Yeah, I shot 1400. Coat of de Caza in the booth game, the skins game out there from the blue tees from the blues, but it's still 58. And it was badass. It was badass. I made about a 25 foot on the last hole, and I was just trying to two putt it and just how it was going that day. The hole looked the size of this right here. Right. You've had games.

Stephen Malbon
You've had those days.

Michael Block
You're shooting. The hole looks the size of this table, the hoop looks the size of this table. Right? Same exact thing. And that's what I felt like that day. But I did shoot a 59 at my home club, a road trip golf club. I shot 13 under with my two boys and one of my best friends on my birthday.

Stephen Malbon
Oh, wow.

Michael Block
And now the craziest thing is about those two rounds, the 59 and the 58, is that I never hit a warm up shot. I never chipped putt, nothing. I went to the first tee, and that's it. And I've really kind of gotten to that gravitation of where I feel like when you go warm up, most of the time you leave going, okay, I'm warmed up, but I've hit. I shanked two. I topped a couple, I chunked a couple. And you're almost losing positive thoughts and you're losing confidence. And you go there because when you go to the putting green, Jimmy clean told me way back in the day, go to the putting green and your first three putts, put them to a foot and bang them right in the back and feel it and feel it and listen to it. See it go in the hole, don't go to 10ft downhill, left to right, and immediately miss three and lose confidence, you know, and that's what everyone does, right? What does everyone do at the putting green? They go out there. Cause every putt, every green, every hole is about 30ft apart. And they're hitting 30 footer to 30 footer to 30 footer to 30 footer. And they do 15 of those, they make none, and then they go to the first tee. So you just hit 15 putts, made no putts, and now you're going first tee. How is that good for your confidence? I'd rather have you not even go out there. Yeah, I'm giving you all my secrets.

Stephen Malbon
No, you know what? Honestly, it makes perfect sense. Cause I played with, I played with mello, I played with Allen Iverson, played with a lot of guys and they never warmed up.

Like, you'll see them in a layup line, maybe, ah, like messing around. But most of they're sitting down, chilling. People don't realize, like, before the fans get there, we're there at least an hour and a half before the game, right?

I'm out there getting full sweat. I put up 100 shots, 120 shots in my spots, and then I'll go out, you know, get back in, get ready for game, roll over the plays or whatever.

But at the same time, if I wasn't shooting well in the practice round, it was just like, you're fucked one of those days.

Michael Block
So questions?

Stephen Malbon
But those guys, they just, they know they're going to get 30 shots a game. Like, listen, just get it over here.

J.R. Smith
Just give me the ball.

Stephen Malbon
Just give me the ball. Yeah, that's what I really got to like. I watched Tracy McGrady give us 50 my second year, Tracy, 50. And I didn't see him take a warm up shot. He didn't do layup line, he didn't do anything.

I talked to one of the guys that came out my same year. I was like, yo, what was he doing for the game? He said, man, you know what he was doing? He was back there, sleep.

I was like, what? He's laying on the training table, literally asleep. Woke him up like, yo, you ready? He got a stretch. The trainer stretched him. He came out and gave us 50. I'm like, yeah, that's the way to do it.

Michael Block
Yeah, he's not overthinking it. He's not worried.

J.R. Smith
I heard that Anthony Kim used to AK. Yeah. I heard AK would just go show up, barely slept, no warm off. Go right to the first tee and just shoot 67.

Michael Block
Where is AK? AK, where are you?

Stephen Malbon
We need AK.

Michael Block
I wanna go play with AK.

Stephen Malbon
I need a. That's a. This is a group right here, the three of us. An AK.

Michael Block
An AK.

Stephen Malbon
Let's go.

Michael Block
Calling you on right now, bro. We need you.

Stephen Malbon
He's in Oklahoma somewhere. I know that. So.

Michael Block
In Oklahoma?

Stephen Malbon
Yeah, I'm a cop.

Michael Block
I got a. I just can't picture that.

Stephen Malbon
I gotta call Ben Baylor. He's good friends with him and let him know. All right, you know.

Michael Block
All right, you heard it here.

J.R. Smith
Well, thank you all once again for the world famous podcast. It wouldn't be the same without you or Michael Block and Jr. Smith. Steven Maubin here and we will see you next time.