The Golf Bag: Recent Episodes
Dave West
There are only a handful of things in life that people get truly passionate about. No matter where you come from or what you do for a living...one of those passions is golf! The game of golf will drive you crazy with equal amounts of excitement and despair. But you can’t walk away because the challenge and beauty of the beast pulls you back for more. Join me as I talk to professionals from film, television, music, sports and business to hear what made them who they are, pushed them, motivated them to succeed and what drew them to the game! My name is Dave West and this is The Golf Bag.
“Don’t be late”. Simple advice. Advice from a college coach. Advice that carries weight. Especially when you are a junior golfer looking to play big time college golf!
Growing up in the shadow of SMU, it was an easy decision to go to school and play golf close to home, then after a journey career that left him fighting too many injuries, he found himself living back near campus when he got a call that changed his life.
“Would you like to be my assistant coach?” He wasn’t late, he was right on time!
Now he is the head coach and brings a lifetime of experience on and off the course.
He runs a program of respect and hard work, he leads by example in life. The goal is simple, compete at a high level and win.
Everything is bigger in Texas, including golf! SMU has a deep golf history that includes Payne Stewart and Bryson DeChambeau. Hear what Harry Higgs and Colt Knost have to say about their time there.
The head coach of the SMU Men’s golf team, this is Coach Chris Parra.
"You’re not everything that you could be! "
That’s advice that is definitely enough to motivate someone.
A career that started working with Special Forces in the military and the desire to work with athletes, lead him to Kinesiology - the study of exercise and human movement.
The talk of things like Ground Reaction Force and the development of a platform to gauge Bio-Mechanical Analysis charted a new path.
-All movements start and end with posture
-What doesn’t get measured, doesn’t get managed.
-When the tides rolls in, all boats rise….this is what strength brings
-How do we produce strengths instead of just producing strength?
Phrases that never left his thoughts!
All of this is incredibly clear to the man who helps train, motivate and sculpt the modern athlete.
Director of Bio-Mechanics at Integrity Golf Performance in Frisco, TX - this is Ambrose Coleman.
For more visit reelathlete.tv
That advice wouldn’t work for everyone but it worked for today’s guest. When a career in music didn’t work out the way he planned, he rediscovered an old love…..golf! He put all of his energy into learning the game and the skills required to become a PGA professional and taking on the task of teaching this generation and the next and the next to become not only the best golfers they could be but the best people they could be.
He was the tour director of the US Kids Golf Los Angeles local tour for 12 years, but he eventually listened to that advice and started California Junior Golf.
CJG brings camps, academy’s, lessons and a tour all in one place under one fantastic golfing umbrella.
His coaching philosophy is to develop the physical, technical, mental, emotional, social and spirit of a young golfer! It’s not only about the athlete, it’s also about the person!
PGA professional Dan Martin … on The Golf Bag!
-post script: Dan is still in the Los Angeles are now at Hansen Dam Golf Course You can find out more about Dan and California Junior Golf on his Instructor page on Reel Athlete.
For more content visit reelathlete.tv
“Find something you love to do in life and figure out how to get paid for it.”
I think that might be the dream of everyone. My guest today not only embodies that advice but she lives it everyday at a place she has know her entire life. Golf was the unofficial family business and she and her sister, Heather ran the company but when a family tragedy changed her perspective, she went back to where it all began and started the chapter of her life that is the most rewarding.
An athlete, coach, a 3-time national champion, a mentor, a leader of young women and a Sun Devil…the head coach of the women’s golf team at Arizona State University, Missy Farr-Kaye is here today…..on The Golf Bag!
“Start your own tour”
That advice wouldn’t work for everyone but it worked for today’s guest. When a career in music didn’t work out the way he planned, he rediscovered an old love…..golf! He put all of his energy into learning the game and the skills required to become a PGA professional and taking on the task of teaching this generation and the next and the next to become not only the best golfers they could be but the best people they could be.
He’s been the tour director of the US Kids Golf Los Angeles local tour for the past 10 years, but he eventually listened to that advice and started California Junior Golf. The CJG brings camps, academys, lessons and a tour all in one place under one fantastic golfing umbrella.
His coaching philosophy is to develop the physical, technical, mental, emotional, social and spirit of a young golfer! It’s not only about the athlete, it’s also about the person!
I’m excited for everyone to hear the coaching knowledge and wisdom of PGA professional Dan Martin … my guest today on The Golf Bag!
“Swing easy”
A Brit in America is my story today. Living deep in the London suburbs my guest today dreamed of moving to America to chase his dream of being an actor. But he had to wait until he was old enough to go out on his own. He filled his time with sports and learning how to cook.
By the time he was 13 he picked up the game of golf and fell hard for the American tv show, Baywatch.
Two dreams would come true when he finally got to America…. he saw his acting career take-off and was a cast member on a show with Pamela Anderson!
Hard work, determination, a soap opera and some California sunshine set the stage for Aiden Turner … my guest today on The Golf Bag!
“Life is short … enjoy the ride" Very few people have been involved in something so big that not only did they have no control over any part of it, but it became the “blueprint” of their life. A huge sports fan, born and raised in Milwaukee, WI the calling of bright lights and more sunlight brought him west to Los Angeles. In a sequence of introductions he met O.J. Simpson and became a guest on the property at the Rockingham Estate where he rented out the guest house. In June of 1994, an innocent trip to McDonalds thrust him into the national spotlight. Kato Kaelin became part of a crime timeline and a witness for the prosecution in the “trial of the century”, the O.J. Simpson murder trial. His life would never be the same. But after coming out the other side of such a tragic event the funny, goofy, gregarious Kato re-surfaced. The lover of golf and all sports Wisconsin, the self-deprecating, charming guy now years removed from his time in Brentwood … Brian Gerard “Kato” Kaelin is my guest on this episode of The Golf Bag.
"Slow Down"
A career in the music business is tough but it’s definitely made easier when you blow up with your first single and become part of a musical revolution igniting an entire region and bringing it all to a national stage. Then, the bottom falls out. Do you quit? Never! You re-adjust, re-organize, come up with an unconventional plan and go after it!
In 1996, The Refreshments from Tempe, AZ, were all over the radio with their single, “Banditos” then after a record company changing course and leaving them to fend for themselves, the band found itself at a crossroads. The lead singer, Roger Clyne, and the drummer P. H. Naffah reformed into a new quartet called, Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers.
Hailed as one of the most exciting live acts on the road today, Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers are musical beacons of the Southwest fueled by witty and insightful lyrics, crunching guitar riffs, a dynamic rhythm section and tequila. RCPM are the only act to release seven consecutive studio albums to land on the top 10 of Billboard’s Internet Sales Chart, two at No. 1, all released on a 100% independent record label.
Dubbed the “Springsteen of the Southwest” by the Asbury Park Press, this is the story of how a totally independent band not only succeeded but created a following that borders on cult-like. The fans, also called Peacemakers, are some of the greatest, most loyal fanbase in music today. The band tours to soldout shows all over the world, they own TWO music festivals, wrote the theme song for TV’s “King of the Hill” and have their own brand of tequila, affectionately called, Mexican Moonshine.
This is the greatest rock band that you might have never heard of and at the heart of it all is their fearless, totally independent leader.
I am proud to have as my guest on The Golf Bag, Roger Clyne!
“Perseverance pays off”
What do you get when you take a kid from Lake Havasu who loves golf, goes to college, gets TWO engineering degrees, lands his dream job and finds himself on the team of designers in charge of creating a new set of irons for Tiger Woods? You get Senior Manager for Product Creation - Irons, Matt Bovee from TaylorMade Golf! After Tiger used those very clubs to win his 15th Major and his 5th Masters, I made my way to Carlsbad, CA to the headquarters of TaylorMade to talk club design, passion for the game, some golf science, The Kingdom, p7TW irons and the G.O.A.T. Tiger Woods … Matt Bovee on this episode of The Golf Bag!
"Have fun and enjoy it"
Malbon Golf is a lifestyle brand inspired by the game of golf and the man behind it all is Stephen Malbon. Vogue Magazine recently said: “The Malbons have a history of building companies that straddle the schism between hip and bougie”.
Stephen and his wife Erica have launched a brand that has quickly gained broad popularity and recognition amongst creative, stylish, and active people due to its unmistakable branding and playful curation.
"Our mission is simple: to inspire today’s youth to participate in the greatest game on Earth."
Malbon Golf has been featured in Vogue, Golf Digest, The Hollywood Reporter and The New York Times to name a few. Celebrities & athletes make regular stops just to hit a few balls or pick up some swag with the brand logo, "Buckets".
Stephen and I recently sat in his indoor golf simulator room at his storefront on Fairfax Ave in Los Angeles and talked about where it all started, winning cars, the future of golf and why he blended his professional world with his love of the game to create not only a golf destination in the heart of Hollywood but a brand setting itself up to defy golf traditions while embracing them at the same time.
Today on The Golf Bag....Stephen Malbon