Drinking Your Way Around a Golf Course with Nick Bender

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1:01This episode is brought to you by Google Chrome. You think you know a browser, but Gemini and Chrome? That's new. It can help you with practically anything on the web, like restoring a vintage motorcycle from a 50 page restoration block, or finally break down that long article you've had open for weeks. Gemini and Chrome is here for it. Ready to make anything online makes sense? There's no place like Chrome. Check responses set up require compatibility and availability varies 18 plus. Bandool is now available everywhere in the US. So you can get in on the sports action no matter where you are, including these places. Make this your most rewarding season ever with Bandool. Agent location restrictions apply. Product availability varies by market. Gampling problem called 1-800-Gemmar. My mantra early on was, Grunk is going to be synonymous with drinking and golfing.

2:04We've just kept that path, and now we have a large customer base that totally understands it and gets it. I know the story a little bit of how you started this business, but talk about what you were doing before and then we'll get into the business. Well, you're an insurance. Yes, the exciting. What I was doing before, ironically, as much as we've blown up at Grunked Alfa is still what I'm doing that pays my bills now, which is commercial insurance. So I have a commercial insurance brokerage in sure hotels all across the country. With that, you've probably heard the stereotypical insurance guy that gets to golf, and that was one of the things I was doing. It was actually out on a golf trip with my broker friends that I, that infamous story. I don't know if you've heard about it, but basically we're playing for money.

3:04We're playing on PGA West Stadium course, and I chucked my eight iron into the lake at Alcatraz after two duffed shots into the water. I've just thought to myself, what am I doing here? We're having a great time. Who cares? I just lost a couple hundred bucks and that I suck because we all suck. That was the seed of what started the idea of Grunked Alfa, which once that name came to me, then it became okay. What is the ethos of Grunked Alfa? Our tagline, which is golf's the drinking sport, is what came of that. I developed the logo, and then once I had that little concept going, I went to one of my best friends, Brad, who's my business partner, and I said, hey, I have this logo, I have this name, and I want to make a polo company. What do you think? As soon as he saw the logo, he was like, yeah, I'm in. That was kind of the, it all stemmed back from what I was doing before, which is again, what still pays the bills today. Right.

4:05Now, so, when did you start playing? I started playing in my early 20s. So I got into sales. I had a kid young. He'll actually be going into high school in a couple of weeks. So I, in my early 20s, I started playing golf because I got into sales, started in door-to-door sales. So it wasn't a lot of golf to be played there because you're working 60, 70 hours a week. But when I parlayed into more of a eight to five type job, that's when I was able to start kind of golfing in the afternoons, golfing on the weekends, and never had a less and I don't, again, I really don't, I lean into our brand, which is I do not take the game too seriously. I respect the game. I respect the rules and I encourage people to do so. But, you know, we're not, I always say if you see a guy that's good at golf, you should go give him a hug because he has tried way too hard and spent way too much time and energy on it. It is just not worth it. It's like, you know, I might go out and shoot, you know, 18 over.

5:06To get down to nine over, those nine shots would take my entire life's work and just cram it into, you know, training on the range. So, yeah, but early 20s. Yeah, it's funny. You know, you read about, or you just talk to guys and you know, they'll say, oh yeah, I took it up at 16 and you know, and I was shooting 68 and 18 months. And I'm like, who are these guys? Like, I mean, obviously they're assholes. They're assholes. That's who they are. I'm just like amazed. I'm like, I can't imagine, you know, getting that good that fast. I've been playing for 45 years, for God's sake. And I'm 68 is just a number in the world to me. It's not like, I do think I've ever seen on a scorecard. What made you kind of start enjoying the game the most? Was it when you kind of decided this is for about friends? It's not about taking it seriously. Yeah, I mean, I think I never, you know, I played competitive tennis in high school and college.

6:06And so for me, that was like my competitive outlet. So when I went out and golfed with my buddies, I golfed with guy, when I started golfing, I was always golfing with guys who were better than me. So I don't think I ever really, you know, I had a North Star to look at and go, those guys are good, but it was like I was never competing with them. So it just, from a competitive standpoint, it never really like, I never caught the bug where I was like, I need to be the best at this game. It was always just a fun time for me. And then of course, look, now I'm a gambling degenerate and I will absolutely gamble anybody. I don't care how good you are. But you know, that's what the handicap systems for. But yeah, that's, that's really what, what, what it is for me, it is very much like a, it's a hobby. It is my favorite hobby, but it is, it is that to me. It is not something like you will never find me at the range. It's just not going to happen. I would rather go out and play 18 with my buddies and have a couple of drinks and have a good time, you know? You know, obviously, you know, you created a polo company and you had the logo and you

7:09got great, great products and really fun. I mean, obviously, you know, I mean, this is about having fun playing golf. But what did you see, you know, other than the frustration of, you know, middle level handicaps like you and I, I suspect throwing their clubs and doing all that, like what, you know, what you see in golf that said to you, yeah, this is, you know, I'm not going to say, this is a direction we should go. I think, I definitely did, you know, being that I've kind of always, with insurance or whatever kind of had my own path and my own business, I wanted, I have kind of an entrepreneur family and entrepreneur mindset. And so when I'm in, when I'm in golf and doing the things we're talking about where I'm just like a casual golfer, I am observing. I'm seeing like the old timers that are there that want you to take your hat off when you're in the country club. And all of those kind of old stuffy isms about golf and I saw it shifting in real time in throughout my mid to later 20s. And you know, then what happened was, you know, a company, I would actually credit them

8:13with the catalyst to this new golf movement, which is a bad birdie. You know, they really were at the forefront of, you know, the, the every man golfer. Maybe this is not your dad's country club vibe type of golf company. And so I saw that and I immediately was like, there's a market here. And that's when the idea for Grunk Dolfer came, I said, this is what this is going to be. This is going to be a lifestyle brand that centers itself around the new millennial and younger golfer, which ironically, we have a lot of older guys that resonate with us. That was just like they were closeted. Grunk Dolfer is just waiting to come out. Just been a surprise to me is like the 45 and older crowd that is absolutely a rabid fan base for us because we thought we would be like my age, which is 37 and younger just because of it being new. And again, we're not obnoxious out there, but like we do not adhere to the, you know, we're playing music, we're having a good time.

9:15The old ways are a dying, dying breed. Is there anything about the old world of golf that you like or you think, you know, gets missed? No, I think that my generation and below does a good job of taking the good from that. You know, I'll give you a great example. I mean, you know, a windom clerk just won the US Open, right? Why was he getting so much hate? Because two years ago, he got frustrated and broke a locker. That's the kind of energy I want in my fucking golfers. Excuse me, but like I'm a fan of that guy. And these old heads that are like, oh, you need to respect the fuck that, dude. Fuck that. Like I want guys passionate about what they're doing and they're playing for millions of dollars. And he was pissed off and look at that. He comes back a couple years later and wins the damn thing. That's that's kind of what one of the things from the old guard that really is just like, you guys need to get over yourself. It's not the way the world works anymore.

10:16This is not the country club of 80 years ago that is exclusive and keeps people out. And this is a golf is a game for everybody. And you know, our company kind of represents a big chunk of that. Yeah, yeah. No, I mean, it's and it's it's it's interesting. I mean, what would you think about all that? Hate he got on the course or what goes on at the Ryder Cup, right? You know, like is that too much? No, I think I think the Ryder Cup, I think, you know, again, within reason and being respectful, you know, some of the drunk Americans got out of hand, but that's the Ryder Cup. That's the environment. And I love that. I love that. The hate he was getting on the course is a different thing. I mean, it's ridiculous. Like he was getting hate, you know, in theory, the narrative would be that he's getting hate because three years ago, he threw this fit in the locker room. Like first of all, if you can't, if you can't forgive a guy for something he did three

11:18years ago that was in the heat of the moment after losing a tournament, what are we doing? But then the fact that that then translates into him getting heckled and hate on the course three years later, that those are the kind of people that I just want to punch in the face. They're absolute idiots. That's that's what your life has come down to. You hate that this guy. And look, he got really lucky in terms of the way that the course played out at this US Open. You know, he got, he basically won the tournament right before the win started and everybody else was chasing him. But that's the nature of the business. There's no reason to hate him for that because he drew an early tea time. That's all that happened really. I mean, he played great at the end, but, you know, it was the five shot lead. I never feel, I mean, you know, it's weird. I mean, whoever wins, I mean, you can't, you just can't take it away from them no matter what the, you know, you play the conditions you play, right? You play the, you know, the circumstances you play.

12:18I thought, and I'm not like a huge Wyndham Clark fan, but I was like, oh my God, give the guy a break. He just won his second friggin' open, you know, like, and like you said, you know, three years ago, I mean, like, you know, that, that piece is crazy. I mean, I just, I don't, I don't understand, I don't understand heckling people on a golf course unless you're with your friends. You know what I mean? Like that's, yeah, it's pretty ridiculous. It says more about those idiots that are doing it than it does about him, you know? Yes. You know, I mean, I would argue that I don't believe our boy Tiger Woods got heckled and I think he did a little worse than Wyndham Clark, wouldn't you say? Jesus Christ, man. Well, let's talk about Tiger because I read an interview with you where somebody asked you your favorite golfer was, you said, Tiger for all the usual bitch reasons. What are the bitch reasons you love Tiger for? I mean, he is the greatest of all time. I mean, you know, as a sports fan in general, I'm someone who really loves longevity for some

13:24reason. That's why I was a big, bright, far fan. I mean, the 20 years that that guy put in in an era pre, you know, CTE and all of that, the guys like Kobe Bryant, 20 years, one team, absolute legend. And I put Tiger into that category just because of the longevity. Like, if you look at even the run's studies on right now, you could even just plug it into Chatsubiti right now, compare Crazy Tiger Woods stats to what Shephler is doing right now. Doesn't even come close to Tigers, you know, 98 to 2007 or eight run. It doesn't come close to it. And so that's what, you know, just at the surface level, what really gets me about him is the greatest of all time. And we will never see anybody like him ever again. Yeah, you know, it's weird. People like him, you know, I always wonder how do you go out on a golf course? And you or God on a basketball court, you know, and all of a sudden, you're like,

14:27you're a great player, but you're like, I don't want it. Like Michael Jordan does. And I don't want it like Tiger Woods does. How the hell, especially in a one out, you know, an individual sport, how do you look at a tournament and say, well, you know, maybe I'll beat that guy this week. And then not to mention, this is the like step on the throat of the opponent concept, which is like think about it in Tigers run. And then you can, you can also equate it to like tennis where like Roger, Federer, and Rafa, and the dolls, dolls run, right? Like I equated to that where it's like, imagine all those guys that are in the talk 10 during those eras that could have won multiple majors and should have won multiple majors and all these things. And these greats are just taking them from them. I mean, they're just ripping it from the history books because they run off and get, you know, every major, you know, in a 10 year period. And all of those other guys that are in their prime at the time are just second and third. I mean, look at, you know, Phil Mickelson's guy's own problems, but he, you know, what is he runner up at US Open six times?

15:28Right. I mean, again, he is a great, obviously, I love that guy. But just think of the guys like him writing Tigers coattails or writing in the wake of Tiger Woods. How much else they would have accomplished without him. So that's another just like that's why he is who he is. And there's there's guys like that throughout all sports, especially the individual sports, you know. Oh, yeah. No, it's and I just I can't begin to fathom what kind of what you're born with that makes you that guy. You know, where you're just like, I'm going to be the best in the world. That's just how I, you know, how I wake up in the morning. It's definitely definitely does seem like something you're born with. I mean, you see those videos of Rory when he's a kid. And it's just like he's obsessed, you know, I could never get my kid to be obsessed with anything like that. And it's just it's got to be something innately inside of them. And then it's nurtured into making them great. But yeah, it's interesting. Every week on Golf Smarter, I get to talk to some of the sharpest minds in the game.

16:31And I would love for you to join the conversation. If you've got a question you'd like to ask an instructor, a tour pro, or one of the other experts we have on Golf Smarter. Send us an email at golfsmarterpod at gmail.com. And we'll try to ask it on the show. While you're at it, please follow Golf Smarter on Instagram and TikTok for game changing tips and lively debate about the sport we love. Even if it sometimes drives us crazy. Yamabah Resort and Casino at Sandman Well is bringing the biggest laughs to the stage. Break Taboos with Ali Wang on August 28th and 29th. Enjoy Ralph Barbosa's Dry Humor on September 18th and 19th. And don't miss Nikki Glacier's unapologetic comedy November 19th. Tickets on sale now at Yamabah Theatre dot com. Only at Yamabah Resort and Casino, celebrating its 40th anniversary. You in must be 21 to enter. This episode is brought to you by Google Chrome.

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18:33The must-see galactic adventure comes home on Disney Plus. This is the way. Our only chance is to work together. On the life of this game, always wear your seatbelt. Star Wars. The Mandalorian and Grogu now streaming on Disney Plus. Read PG 13. Now, who of all the players on tour at N. Will I'm going to leave John Daly on? I'm not that he's on tour, but like of all the people who you've watched play, who's the most grunked offer player out there? Who would be your ambassador? Well, I think you know, you got to look at the guys that stand out at the big tournaments like the Wastemanagement Open, which is kind of like the main ethos of grunked offer, right? That's what I've been thinking. Yeah. Yeah. So, you know, we're still a relatively small company, obviously relative to the bigger brands. It's on my bucket list to be a major part of that tournament one day, somehow,

19:34just because the brand alignment is perfect. When you think about guys that really are just one of the guys, you know, I would say at the higher level, a Ricky Fowler, he was raised. I'm literally playing Bear Creek today where he grew up playing. He's just cut from the same cloth as us, you know, a little bit more polished, but he's always been the, had the vibrant polos, the swagger and that kind of stuff from that side. But then when you talk about you go down to like the real like, you know, who could just go out and have fun and around a golf, you know, the Joel Damon's Harry Higgs of the world, I think, those guys that are scraping by and making a living on tour, those are our people right there. Those are the guys who I would love to put into one of our polos one day and see them out on tour with where and our stuff, you know. What's been your biggest challenge, you know, during the skittin' and in those those. You know, the biggest, oh gosh, I mean, just depends on the day.

20:41We've really found our stride this year. This were in our fifth year now, but last year was tough. I mean, the biggest challenge is, is, is, if you want to talk business stuff, is, is ads, you know, running ads and meta ads, they, they, you know, Facebook kind of corners the market. You cannot have a business, advertise a business without going through that behemoth. And so with that, it's just very expensive. And you're really at the mercy of whatever happens that day on meta. And so we, we kind of took back control in 2026 of our, we basically what we did is we flipped our funnel upside down. So to get into the weeds a little bit more of like the business side of things, you know, we, we were out filming our own content, shooting our photoshoots for our stuff. And then we would take those photos and run Facebook ads. And that was kind of our business model. And it was just this constant rap wheel of like, yeah, you're getting a two or a three return on ad spend. And it's just never

21:42moving the needle and getting you really out there. And then we got into live selling last year, which is kind of the new craze of, of e-commerce. So literally we are live in like I'm talking to you now selling our products. And that really changed our business model because we were able to get put our faces, mine and Brad's face and our personality in front of people in real time. And people resonated with it. And so at the beginning of this year, we said, you know what? Forget Facebook. We scaled back all of our ad spend dramatically. And we focused on that live selling. And then we built out what we call the grunked off for drinking club, which is like a monthly membership where you can be a part of it for a small monthly fee. You get early access to all the drops. You get 30% off all everything free shipping. And we do private shows and all that. And so we started that when when I say we flipped our funnel upside down, we take our highest intent customers and get them

22:44fed first with the product. And then we trickle it down into the open market. And that has changed everything for us. That's been a very good thing for us. So yeah. Oh, that's really interesting. It's got to be, I mean, it's such a huge market at this point. Right? I go on Facebook or Instagram. And obviously, I'm a real target customer. But I probably 10 apparel golf apparel ads for different companies every time. How do you? You know, obviously you got your focusing less on that space. But how overwhelming is it? And are you just looking for a chunk of it? Or are you you know, like, you know, I mean, who are you really? Who are your big competitors? I guess maybe is. Yeah. I mean, like, look, we're after a tiny piece of a huge pie that's ever growing. I think the last number I saw was like 13 million golfers were added in the last like a couple years. I

23:44mean, it's just still one of the top growing sports always. But yeah, I mean, who's our competition? That they're four years ago, five years ago, when we started, there was a lot less competition. You had like bad birdie and a company like Sunday Swagger that was kind of on the come up. And now Sunday Swagger is massive. You got companies like like Bogey-Brow's that are pretty massive. But then there's a ton of people in the like, you know, trying to do it. There's also T-Moo that like tries to be in our world. But there's just, you know, like the biggest thing I have found is like focus on building the brand. Like a fancy a fun golf polo is a fun golf polo. You can put weeners on it or flowers on it or whatever. It doesn't really matter. Someone's going to buy it. But the brand is what drives the growth long term. And so that's what we have focused on is, you know, you probably struggled the first time you read it saying grumped golfer. Right. When I first started, nobody knew how to say it. And nobody understood what it was. Well,

24:50my mantra early on was grunk is going to be synonymous with drinking and golfing. And we've just kept that path. And now we have a large customer base that totally understands it and gets it. And so, you know, a little bit of a tangent there. But yeah. So like our audience is kind of just organic because we focused on the brand. And then let the products kind of speak for themselves. And it's actually it's funny. I played yesterday afternoon with one of my kids and a friend of mine and one of them with their like, who are you interviewing, you know, coming up? And I was like, Oh, I'm an interviewing grunk golfer. And my son was who's 21. So he is like, and he is probably very much in your target market. He's like, Oh, I get it. Like it's like 10 seconds. But he's like, we see, we like to say after you have a cocktail to roll right off your tongue, right? It makes total sense once you've had a few drinks, right? Yeah.

25:51So what's what's the most fun you've ever had had playing? I mean, obviously you have a lot of fun. And that's your focus. But like what you know, is there a round of the stands out to you? It's just like the best time you've ever had. You know, I've been being in the space. I've been very lucky. In fact, like my wife took me on like a bucket list golf trip to Pebble a few years ago. So I played Pebble, Spanish and spyglass. We also live six hours from there. So I've gone up there a couple more times. So I'm pretty freaking lucky when it comes to golf plus being in the insurance world for so many years, all of our annual trip. In fact, we're going on it in two weeks. We're playing Aviarra, Maderas and the Crosby, which is a private course in San Diego. So like, oh, wow. I'm very lucky when it comes to that. I would tell you with all of that, there's a lot of places I still haven't been like, you know, more East Coast or Band-In. Things like that. So I have stuff on the list that I want to, but I'll tell you like no matter how

26:52many bucket list core memories I have of golf last weekend, I was playing in a skins game with my four of my best friends. And I, you know, we were playing for five bucks a whole nothing at all. And we all golfed really well. And we had a great time. And, and, and then we, our wives met us at the country club after and we had a great night after that ended up playing ping pong until like midnight. Right. That is what matters to me. I could, I could give away all the Pebble Beach trips forever. If I got to do that once or twice a month for the rest of my life. Yeah. No, there, there's nothing beats that. I mean, I, I gotta say I, I go probably two or three times a year and play with my, you know, college buddies and stuff. And they're, it's just like, it's, it's the most fun and it's the most juvenile experience you could ever possibly have. Yeah. I mean, it's, it's, it's, I, I, you know, I won't say what is discussed, but it's all stuff, you know, you never, you know, and it's not even anything disgusting. It's just like, it's,

27:56it's, it's, it's that meme where it's like, you know, the, the meme where it's like, you know, he's probably out cheating. And then it pans to a group of dudes like hitting beer bongs and farting on each other on a golf course. And you're like, you know what I mean? It's like, you all go back to the age of 16 and media. Exactly. Like when you're together. Exactly. That's what, I mean, and that, you know, that, that's, it's interesting because I think, you know, like so many of us are busting our asses. And I, myself included, I'm always, you know, I hit balls like three times a week and I practice my putting and all that. And, you know, and, but like, I, you know, like, when it comes down to it, right, you're just there to have a good time. You know, I'm gonna go out there this afternoon and I'm gonna shoot an 85 to a 95 somewhere in that range. And nothing I do before, like if, whether I go and hit three shots with each club and warm up my butts, nothing I do before is going to change whether I hit an 85 or a 95. None of it. So the only thing I'm concerned about is going out there and enjoying my

29:00Friday afternoon. And, and I think most people would be, would benefit from that mindset to be honest. Oh, yeah. And, and I think probably play better too in a weird way because if you're having a good time, I agree. You're not. Yeah. We're called the Grunk Index, right? The Grunk Index is like, what is the perfect level of alcohol that you need to intake? Some people might be one a whole, some degenerates. Some guys may be one cocktail per nine holes. You know what I mean? Like, there is a level of alcohol for everybody that will make you play slightly better, care slightly less. And you just have to determine what that number is for you. I'm working on an app actually that builds out so you can track it and decide. And it'll, I'm not kidding either. You literally building an app that you track your alcohol as you golf and, and the, the app will begin to create an algorithm that tells you the amount you should drink to play your optimal. That, that will probably be a gold mine. I would imagine. Right? I mean, like, really? Like, because I mean, that's, you know,

30:0295% of people are just, you know, you, you know, you think you're out there to play well, be out there to drink and have, you know, have fun. Well, what's your, what's your big drink of choice on the course? Or do you mix it up? No, I, I have a couple, but like, I'm a big John daily guy. Like, my go to is going to be a John daily. Not only do I love that. I mean, that guy is our North Star, I call him like he is. He quintessential grunked all for right. I would love to having been involved in our company one day. I put that into, out into the atmosphere to the universe as much as I can because I know he's got his own stuff. But back, that's our guy right there. So, uh, that his cocktail. And then the other one that might take people by surprise that I eventually want to turn into our own kind of cocktail one day would be, uh, I call it a grunk bowl. It's sugar-free, red bowl vodka and a splash of sprite. That is like my summer go to drink. I love it. So you, you get the energy plus the alcohol effect liquid, liquid cocaine, they call it.

31:11Another good business to go into. I think that's yeah, for sure. The liquid, liquid cocaine drink on the golf course. I like. Yeah, there you go. Uh-huh. You know, of all the places you've got in the play, what's been the most interesting to you? I mean, obviously, you know, like, you said, you got to play Pebble and all that. But you know, are there any off the beaten? Yeah, I know you played Tori. You played, you live not far from Tori Pines. Yeah, I played Tori. For a while, my wife was working for a company that serviced their like maintenance stuff. And I got to play there for the like $30 local rate. A lot of people don't realize Tori Pines is a municipal golf course. It is owned by the city. And so you go there in the afternoon, there's guys getting off of work and walking 18 holes, you know, especially in the summer when it's not dark till 830. And the local high schools play there. And so it's actually a really cool spot to go out and, and you know, again, like if you can and you're not a tourist, you don't have to pay 400 bucks around. You can actually get out there for like 40 bucks if you know

32:12somebody that lives local. So I do love Tori, but I mean, some things, again, yeah, it's like, how can you say anything against like Pebble and those that they're just, it's a bucket list where like I have a photographic memory of every single hole just because of like the experience of Pebble. But you know, I'll tell you one of the areas I really liked, it's an up and coming golf area is St. George, Utah, San Hollow Black Desert. And I played San Hollow. I have not played Black Desert yet, but I played San Hollow and I loved that course. We actually played 27 holes that day that I was out there, played with a couple buddies of mine. And if that place, that whole town is just it, it looks like fake. It looks fake. Yeah, I was actually out there. I mean, this has got to be because my kids were little and my wife and I got away for a couple days and went to go hiking there. And one day she was like, I'm a mouse. I don't want to hike this

33:16afternoon. And I was like, oh, go play golf. And it was my first time playing golf in altitude. You know, yeah, that's that's fun too. I hit a six iron and I'm like, it's got to be here somewhere. And you know, my whole life, I've been going 30 yards past my shots and then I would come back to find them. And I was like, oh, shit, I must have passed the thing. And then it's like, oh, my God, it's up there. You know, and it was like a, you know, some ridiculous like, you know, 200, you know, you're six iron, which is not anywhere near what I can hit a six iron. You know, San, you know, yeah, that's that's a fun thing there. Your balls going 20, 30 yards further just because of the altitude. And then, you know, what I love about that area, I do think it's like one of the biggest up and coming golf destinations in the country. It, you know, black desert, the building, I think I've heard that they're building two more 18 whole champion courses over the next few years out in that area. And so you can go out to

34:17St. George and you can play San Hollow, Coral Canyon, black desert, ledges. And then you're also 30 minutes from Wolf Creek, Mesquite Nevada. So it is just like such a golf destination that I feel is really undervalued in the market right now. And it's, yeah, so that's the one that like sticks out because I even went and played like a local Muni $20.9 hole with a buddy that lives out there when I was there a few weeks ago. And you're playing in these red and black rocks in a, on a $20 course. And, you know, right. It's just and the greens are great like the the fairways are great. Like it was, it was incredible. So, yeah, that's the place it stands out as like the, like I think it's overlooked or underappreciated right now in the market. Yomavav Resortant Casino at San Manuel is bringing the biggest laughs to the stage. Break taboos with Ali Wang on August 28th and 29th. Enjoy Ralph Barbosa's Dry Humor on September

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37:26money just because of how much it costs to put on. But yeah, we are, we've done a couple tournaments a year for last three or four years. They always sell out. We did one in Vegas in February that was massive. We've done Palm Desert. And that's definitely a side of the business that we, you know, once we have the resources and like where we can have people that, that, you know, employees, those are absolute like arms of the business that we intend to be full blown. You know, I would like to do a tournament every single quarter in different parts of the country. Right. Yeah. Well, what goes on with those tournaments? I would imagine they got to be fun. We say it's a drinking tournament that happens to have golf being played at it. So I want to say the last, the last number is, you know, you'll have 144. We've actually done 180 golfers at one of them before, which I wouldn't recommend. It's too many. It's too slow of a round. But the average beer consumed per guy is about 12 and a half. So, you know, you got some

38:31guys less than that, some guys more than that. So it takes a special course to allow grunked golfers. And again, whereas we're respectful as we can be, but some people, you know, you got to, there's an average in there somewhere where there's people getting two out of hand and people not doing enough. And, but yeah, it's a great ton. We're on a hiatus this year, but we'll be back probably next year running more tournaments. I did three in a 90 period day and it just like, it's just a lot of work. Oh, so. No, that's a ton of work. Yeah. I'm, yeah, I can't even, that would be so far out of my ability to even, you know, I can barely organize two foursums. Exactly. Well, and that's the crazy thing about a golf tournament is, you know, you're signing on the dotted line for what would like what you would pay for a wedding, right? Like, okay, your course buyout is the cost of a wedding. And you have zero signups. And it's like, okay, go figure

39:32it out, go get sponsors, go get signups. And again, we've done a great job. And now it's to the point where, you know, we don't have a problem selling out a tournament, but it, you know, I want to try to keep it affordable for our customer base and all that. So, you know, it's not a, it's not a moneymaker for us, but it's a great time. Right. What kind of, you know, I mean, obviously, I have a general idea of what kind of people are showing up, but like what, what are, who's showing up at these things? Our audience is very much like the blue collar golfer, you know, the guys that, you know, prefer to have their shirts untucked. You know, again, we lean into like the, you know, our pollos are, we say, dad bought approved. So we lean into, you know, there's a bigger community, a golfer's out there, but really Americans in general. And so like that's our main, the groups of guys are just like, you know, blue collar Americans is really our market. Yeah. Yeah, well, and it's really, you know, it's funny because in the last five years, I've really noticed a huge growth in, you know, in blue collar golfers. I mean, I can't tell you that I

40:36played with a friend out in New Jersey. And we were to fairly, you know, it wasn't like, you know, the world's most expensive course because it was, you know, $300, you know, $250. I mean, it was, you know, it was not an expensive course. We paired up with these two brothers. And they were great guys. We were having a good time. And I was like, so what, what do you guys do? They're like, we're both in the, you were both elevated or repairman and Manhattan. You know, they're like, you know, and, and I played with like, I mean, I, I have that experience about once every two months where, you know, I'm playing with somebody who no way would have taken up golf 20, 30 years ago. So what do you think? Why is that happening? Because it's great. But like, why is that growth coming up with the blue collar players? You know, I don't know that I would say just golf in general, I think like, especially like women, my wife, the same, like they have a real hard time understanding what our obsession, men's obsession with golf is. And it's actually really annoying when they catch the bug too, because we're like, oh, God, this has to be your whole personality now. Now I get

41:41but, you know, I just, I go back to, you know, there's something innately like animalistic about, you know, it's like us hitting, it's like us shooting a bow and arrow at our prey a thousand years ago. There's something about getting that ball in that damn hole that is like in stincule, a need for us, deep down. And I don't think white collar, blue collar, black collar. It doesn't matter. It transcends all. I would just say that why blue collar? Blue collar, guys, in this world now, they're the ones making the money, you know? Those elevator or paramedics are making mid-six, they're making as much as a white collar guy. And I think that's the big transition is golf has worked on becoming more accessible to everybody, which is so important. But at the same time, those guys are the guy, you know, those blue collar trade jobs are the ones that are making all the money and they have a little freedom. And then if they start their own

42:43company, that, you know, I mean, like that's who I end up golfing with is just like you said. It's like I'll get paired with a guy who owns an HVAC company who's got 50 employees, but he started working on air conditioning 20 years ago. And then, you know, once he got some freedom, it was like, well, I got this golf course by me. I'm going to go try it. And that's just kind of happened and exploded all over the country, I think. And it's really, I mean, and, and, you know, and I don't even mean to make it like a weird class thing because it's not, but golf is always like you said, yeah, it's been this country club sport of like, shh, you know, don't talk while somebody's putting and all that. And it was really, it's been so much fun to play with guys like that because they don't have, I mean, and I'm kind of, I have a foot in two worlds, you know, because I get, and like I grew up in that other world, you know, not in a country club, but I grew up in, you know, the world plan pants and, you know, pants, summer all and all that stuff. And,

43:44you know, so I love that. But I also like, I love you. I'm just, it's just like you're just playing with your meeting these great guys, and they have, they don't have all of that crap built up around the game for themselves. You know, they're just like, they're like, I'm just here to have a good time. I like this game, you know, and it's not. Yeah. And those, those are the guys actually too. They got every gadget, they got the newest clubs, they got the best bad, they got all the sweat, like those are the, those are the guys that are out buying five of our polos at a time, you know, and again, like those are my people. I grew up in a blue collar family. I guess I'd be considered a white collar being an insurance, but like I very much consider myself like a blue collar guy. And that's how I identify at least. I might not be able to turn a wrench as good as my dad could, but like those are my people. And so that's what I love. And again, we're, you know, it's just, it's great, man. That's been probably the one thing that like my favorite thing about starting this company that I wasn't expecting is the amount of reach that we have, like the amount of

44:50impact, like to be able to get a guy that I would look up to excited about what I'm building is super special to me. And so the fact that that's kind of where our audience fell, I didn't seek out that audience. They kind of found us through Facebook and all that. It's been cool that that's where we've landed. What's, I'm sure you have some good dumb drunk golf stories. What's the dumbest drunk thing you've ever seen somebody doing a golf course? Oh God. Or do we need another episode for I've seen a lot. I mean, again, like the tournaments is what come to mind. I'll give you a great one. I'll give you a great one. So, uh, Palm Desert Tournament. I'm not going to name his name, but a ER doctor friend of mine still to this day has a scar on the left side of his face because he was drunk, flipped to the golf cart. Now I will say it was a part of the course that was like, he basically

45:52backed up on a cart path. There was a steep hill behind him and it just tipped over. But he flipped the cart and his whole, the whole side, I guess it was his right side of his face. Just skid along the the grass and dirt. And, and he thought he was going to get like a DUI or something. He was already on the eight his 18th hole. So he literally just got up left the cart there, walked to the parking lot and had his wife drive him home, like call this wife and said, like, I'm get me. And, and I didn't even realize it had what had happened because I got a bill for $650 from the golf course saying, like, this guy flipped this cart and left it on, left it on the course. And to this day, I golf with him, he's got a scar right here because it like, like that something cut into the side of his face. Oh my God. That was a pretty bad one. Yeah. And he's got something that it's obviously something he can talk about with people. And again, that's an ER doctor we're talking about.

46:52You want to talk about white collar? Right, right. No, that's that always I love when you see somebody who's, you know, like really, you know, had so many years of education do something so incredibly stupid, but I, I so applaud him for just leaving. That's the, I love it. I love it. It's one of my, again, it's one of my favorite stories. And, you know, he tried to pay the bill. I was like, no, this is a badge of honor for us at Grunk Thalfer. We're happy to pay this bill for you. Just go buy more polos, please. That is like one of the best business moves ever. I think you're absolutely right. You should, you got to pay that bill for the invoice. Right. Right. There are, with Eddie, great drunk golf controversies that have broken out while you're playing, but, you know, like arguments and fights and stuff like that when you're playing. Oh, you know, me and Brad, Brad's my business partner. We fight like brothers. And he is,

47:52we like to say he's the grunk and I'm the Dahlfer. He is the degenerate drinking guy. I don't drink as much. And I'm a better golfer. And so we fight like brothers out on the course. Like he gets, he is so bad at golf. And I just can't help but just I get in his ear and he, and he, it's fun. It is, yeah. So that's just a daily occurrence. I don't a golf course for us is just banter. The banter is the best art. It's like that's everything. Yeah. Right. When you come home from your round of golf and your wife's like, oh, so you saw, you know, you saw Harry for the first time in three months. How is his wife doing? You're like, I don't know. We were telling you the whole time. What do you mean? How is his wife? Right. I talked about something horrible. I was going to do to have the entire time. So I died. Yeah. We didn't get to his wife or his kids. Oh, his kids. Yeah. So I, my last question. So, you know, what's your best kind of grunked-dahlfer tip for

48:54for somebody who wants to go out and have a good time? Like other than making sure you drink the right amount, you know, like what's the best way to have a good time? I would just say don't worry about the scorecard. Like, be there for the banter, be there for the friends and just try to remember the experience. Like if you take golf too seriously, it is a unforgiving foe that most of us will never master. You know, I mean, even the best of the best guys go out there and they'll they can shoot eight over par on any given day. So what makes you think you're ever going to get to scratch? Let's just not do that to ourselves. Yeah. No, no. Right. I mean, it's funny. I, when I was a kid and they used to play the Western Open here, which is before your time, I think probably, but it was, and I just found out it was one of the original majors, I guess, before I think they had the US Open. They had the Western Open was considered a major, but anyway, and that was the guy was drunk, but he said Nicholas had had a bad round

50:01and he shot like an 82 or something like so uncharacteristic. Some and my best friend's dad was a judge and like, and like, you know, exactly what you'd think, you know, just like red faced, you know, a Chicago judge guy. And, and this guy goes, I got Nicholas shot in 82. Well, I could have done that. And my friends dad just turned and like, laid into this guy. And I was like, you know, only in the world of golf does anyone sit there and like watch, you know, one of the 15 greatest athletes of our entire lifetime screw him. I could have done that. You know, and I was so, so yeah, I mean, our aspirations far outstripped our, I'll tell you what is as fun as the PGA tour is to watch, you know, live golf kind of had its time and it's obviously not going to be a thing anymore. Right. I would, I would love one day for a more accurate depiction of a golf round to be

51:03played at a high level if that makes sense. What do I mean by that? Yeah. Take the grunk doll for element of golf and make it a part of the tournament. Let the guys drink, let the guys talk shit, let them spark up a stogie while they're, you know what I mean? Right. I would love to see the guys that play the game at the highest level compete with that. I know they're athletes. So it's not normal. But like I would just love to see it or where, you know, that those elements and factors are a part of the game, you know, really like maybe Justin Thomas shoots three, three more under par if he's got three cocktails in him, you know, who knows? I want to know, you know. So what if they let him ride maybe one day that's talk about an old school. Right. Right. All of it. I mean, I mean, I remember I was a Casey Martin who had, and this is probably also before your time, but he was a guy who I think wanted to be on tour and was good enough, but he had some kind of problem with his blood flow and his legs. And he couldn't play because they

52:08won't let him use the cart. And I'm just like, oh my god. That's ridiculous. Really? Yeah. Yeah. So all right, man. Thank you so much for doing this. Thank you. You're great. Oh, I appreciate you, man. It's great. It's been great. For the first time ever, Yamavar Resort and Casino, it's San Manuel is giving away a new Rolex watch for every club Serrano card deer. Play with your club Serrano card. And on September 20th, you could be one of five winners of a Rolex watch. Plus, all winners will advance to the finale at Palm's Casino Resort Las Vegas for a chance to take home a rarity. The second Mustang dark horse ever produced on September 26th, two properties, six winners, only at Yamavar Resort and Casino, your California to Vegas connection. Details at Yamavar.com must be 21 or older to enter participate. Please gamble responsibly. Hello. Look what TJ Maxx stragged at. The Devil Wears product too is now streaming on Disney plus and Hulu. We are digital. We are downloadable. We are streamable. The fashion event of the year is certified fresh. Pull yourself together. We have work to do. Critics say it's smart and witty and the perfect sequel. That's all.

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