FLG Golf Podcast
A podcast about lives in golf for people who f***ing love golf!
What can we learn from those who have decided to make a life in the world of golf that most of us exist in? What can we be inspired by? These are interviews with professionals, creators, business-owners, manufacturers, guides and golfers of all skill levels from around the world, reflecting your host's international background.
FLG Golf Podcast
Ep.1: Stormin’ Norman Jackson: Vancouver Island Golf Legend
The inaugural episode of the FLG Golf Podcast features Stormin’ Norman Jackson, a Vancouver Island golf legend (@stormingolfent on Instagram).
Norm kicks off the episode by sharing his deep connection to golf in British Columbia and how he gave Marc’s wife and daughter their first golf lessons. He reflects on his early days in junior hockey and his experience on the Canadian Tour (2:00). The conversation shifts to the rich history of the Cowichan Open, a tournament with deep roots in the golfing community (6:30).
Fashion takes center stage as Norm, sporting Malbon apparel, discusses the evolution of golf style and how trends have changed over time (8:10). He then shares the story behind his unique cartoon logo and how it came to be (13:50), before diving into the origins of the FLG podcast and what inspired its creation (15:25).
Norm reflects on his own golfing journey, touching on the 100-year history of Cowichan Golf Club, a course designed by the renowned A.V. Macan (19:30). He also shares his approach to teaching kids golf, emphasizing the importance of creating a fun and positive experience (24:20).
Next, the discussion turns to equipment as Norm reveals what’s currently in his golf bag (27:00). Marc then recalls a humorous moment from his own golfing experience, admitting to losing 9 golf balls in 7 holes while playing coastal golf Hong Kong (29:36).
For those considering a career in golf, whether as a teaching professional or a club manager, Norm offers valuable advice based on his years of experience in the industry (33:30). The episode wraps up with a detailed review of Cowichan Golf Club, highlighting its volcanic sand, the unique challenge it presents, the welcoming community atmosphere and (sometimes) pigs! (41:10).
Thank you www.thebeerpioneer.com (Singapore’s best craft beer subscription) for your support (39:30)
BETTER ON YOUTUBE: Norm shares his thoughts on the most functional yet stylish outerwear and rates a selection of cold-weather golf outfits. (41:25)
Hello and welcome to the first episode of the FLG Golf Podcast. I'm your host, mark Bosch. This is a show for people who and reasons to fucking love golf. So on this inaugural episode, we're joined by Stormin Norman Jackson, the head pro of the beautiful Cowichan Golf Club on Vancouver Island, canada. As we will endeavor with every guest, we deep dive into Norman's golfing journey, the 100-year history and the challenging layout of the Cowichan Golf Club. We have some laughs, share some stories, talk about Norm's approach to teaching young people the game of golf, advice for those looking to make golf their career and for our YouTube viewers. Norm will even give some ratings to some winter golf wardrobes, given that it is also still very wet and cold on Vancouver Island.
Speaker 1:Now, this is a first episode, so bear with us on this journey. On subsequent episodes we've already made some enhancements to our audio quality. We're getting better with editing and smoothing out the edges, but, like our golf game, this is about progress, not perfection. Golf game, this is about progress, not perfection. So please subscribe to come along this journey with us, share your thoughts and with that, here's episode one. Enjoy.
Speaker 2:Hello everyone and welcome to the FLG Golf Podcast, the first of our podcasts. It's a fantastic day today Our first ever guest from a man of many firsts in my life the first man to ever give my wife a golf lesson, the first man to ever give my daughter a golf lesson and probably my number one course that I love to play, Stormin Norman Jackson, head pro of the Cowichan Golf Club on Vancouver Island, on beautiful Vancouver Island. But before we get started on the Tea with Norm, I want to thank our sponsor for our very first ever podcast. It is the Beer Pioneer.
Speaker 2:Beer Pioneer here in Singapore, which is where I'm recording from, is a monthly subscription service for cans and bottles of beer. Basically, you pick the styles, they pick the beers. They send you a box every single month, Really affordable, Honestly. This saved me during COVID, when we couldn't go out, and it really expanded my palate for beer. And this linked out perfectly with golf, because on the golf course I would always have a really awesome smorgasbord, a surprise cooler, full of just random beers for all our playing partners to enjoy. We'll do a proper, more complete ad read halfway through the show when we make the turn from the front to the back nine. But for now let's get started with Storm and Norman Jackson.
Speaker 3:Mark, what a pleasure it is to be on your first podcast. Very, very exciting Pumping the game that I know is to be on your first podcast. Very, very exciting Pumping the game that I know it's very dear to your heart. And you know I've had a long, long association with the game, Started as a 12-year-old in Kamloops, British Columbia, a little nine-hole golf course and, as they say, the rest is history and to be able to, you know, spend some time with you. I know when you come to visit your mom here on sunny and beautiful Vancouver Island, I get to have some visits with you and your family and just to see the passion with which you care about golf is very heartwarming.
Speaker 2:Speaking of that passion, I'm just going to share a little bit here. This, this image that you're about to see is this is Norm and his special assistant. That's my daughter right there and and my wife getting her very first, very first golf lesson, and, I must say, extremely fashionable for a first golf lesson, which is a very, which is a very Asian thing. And this is this is, of course, Torian supervisor mode, understanding the swing hands on hips. And not long after that, actually, sherry, tori and I played our very first. This is the scorecard I wanted to share. We played our very first round of golf together. If you can see that clearly there, I made sure to keep this card. It'll go in a frame at some point, probably when we move into our new house after today. Actually, we have a house move happening today, but when we move into our new unit, I'm going to try and find a nice place for this scorecard. Maybe put it up on the back here.
Speaker 2:You know the thing, that the thing that Tori said to us that I wrote down there is I enjoyed playing with Norm Sherry. When I asked you know what are the things that you love about golf, she said I enjoy playing in this weather. Of course we get 32 degree heat. Here in Singapore it's about 25 to 30, but no humidity on Vancouver Island when we play there. She loved playing in the weather and, of course, I enjoyed playing with my family. So, um, thanks to Norm, we are, you know, maybe a two and a half to two thirds the way of becoming a golfing family, which would be really ideal, really ideal for me and us. I can't think of anything, anything better.
Speaker 3:Well, I think, obviously, growing up and knowing a little bit about your background, mark, is that your father and mother played golf. Your mom still plays, still plays and sadly, your dad's passed on. But, uh, you know to be able to do something as a family, uh, for whether it be two hours for nine holes or where you have, uh, you know, 18 holes, and you spend that quality time together, especially out in nature, and just just that company and that camaraderie. And looking at that picture, it just brought back so many fond memories of that day and how Tori just like oh my God, I like this. And then, obviously too, watching your wife, who is an athlete. She can hit it and I was quite impressed with the way she picked up the game quickly and, uh, obviously, the the neat thing is is it very, very structured in how she went about it, and that's how you get better.
Speaker 2:You know if you have them you're gonna get better.
Speaker 2:She, she's got very good. She's got very good, uh, sort of body, body control, body awareness. Golf is not the easiest and most natural thing to pick up, but actually sherry was a, an ice hockey player, uh, growing up and played field hockey, so she's aware, uh, she's aware, how to kind of position yourself to hit something that's there between your feet. That's uh, that's, you know, it's, it's not moving in golf, but it's, uh, it's a very similar, at least, body motion. It's a familiar, familiar thing.
Speaker 3:But yeah, yeah for sure, norm.
Speaker 2:You've told us about your background. Camlose, we'll get into the course and your your life as a golf pro. But give us two truths and a lie about yourself and let me guess. Try to guess which one is the lie um.
Speaker 3:I won the couch andan Open. I played junior hockey.
Speaker 2:And I have played in Canadian tour events. I'm going to say you definitely played junior hockey. Well, by junior hockey do you mean like the junior hockey that is a step below NHL, so affiliated NHL hockey. It's below the American Hockey League, so it's called hockey.
Speaker 3:It's a it's below the American hockey league, so it's called the British Columbia hockey league. One of the best junior hockey leagues in our country pumps up a lot of college kids.
Speaker 2:And yes, and I see you still active. You still actively play hockey, by the way, at storm and golf and on Instagram I see I see posting there every now and then you're still playing hockey. I think that one's true. I think that you won the Cowichan Open, but I don't know. I'm not certain that you played on the Canadian PGA Tour.
Speaker 3:I played some events on the Canadian PGA Tour. I played the BC Open, yes, numerous times. I played in the Alberta Open, but I didn't win the Cowichan Open.
Speaker 2:Oh, you didn't oh, is that a sore spot for you? Is that a missed opportunity?
Speaker 3:and I'm aging rapidly so I don't know if I'm good, that's going to be a dream, is there a?
Speaker 2:story there is there. Is there a controversial or runner-up? Uh, finish that you want to, that you want to tell the people about no, you know, not at all, it is probably uh.
Speaker 3:So the the tournament has been going for over 65 years, one of the longest running opens uh in british columbia, wow. And we have had some unbelievable winners, like doug roxburgh, who has won the british columbia amateur 13 times, won the canadian amateur seven times. Uh. We've had some uh young tour pros uh who have come and played here working their way onto the Canadian tour, sandy Harper, we've had Kelly Murray's played here, so a plethora of great players. So it makes it tough.
Speaker 2:Norm, you are cranking up the Wayback Machine real early and I am just not familiar with any of those names. Listeners on Vancouver Island and British Columbia will, probably, will probably, uh, will probably, uh hit on a few of those. Uh, I you know we're going to have some listeners in Asia and, uh, australia and Europe. Um, there's some Googling. If they could, if, if our friends could Google someone that you've just listed out there, who would be the most interesting cat?
Speaker 3:Google someone that you've just listed out there, who would be the most?
Speaker 2:interesting cat.
Speaker 3:I think that Doug Roxburgh, he is a legend in Canadian golf. He's in the Canadian golf hall of fame BC golf hall of fame, bc sports hall of fame. Wonderful young man.
Speaker 2:What are you wearing there, norm? I like the. I like the.
Speaker 3:that's pretty cool, Isn't it? So this was a a collaboration that adidas did with uh steven malbon, and for those of you out there that follow, I see the logo. It's actually from uh the uh pebble beach. So, oh beauty, yeah it's like a.
Speaker 2:It's a because I'm looking at it and it looks like. It looks like a real throwback it is in terms of that, that sort of uh it's the old, vintage, vintage stitch yeah yeah, yeah and and uh.
Speaker 3:So steven melbon is, he's like the up-and-coming uh uh fashion aficionado of of golf. Jason day's wearing his stuff. He has, uh, charlie hull on the trip that are out out playing on the big tours. So very cutting edge but a lot of like old style.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:Like old golf.
Speaker 2:And the collaborations that Malbon has I think are really fantastic. They've got they've got like a Willie Nelson one, They've got sort of a Marlboro tour stuff. They've got Budweiser, I think they even had like some really old Pepsi Cola or Coca-Cola gear, really Like if you're, if you're a golf fan, like this is awesome for for fans, because sort of coming up with sort of a more street or casual style, but but they've also got lines and I see them on the on the golf course all the time here and here in Singapore, Just like the really the really peak like, not not quite luxury, but like really, really really like elegant golf clothes as well it's, it's such a cool mix and it kind of came out of nowhere for me about a year ago and it seems like it's suddenly everywhere it is and I mean, I think that that's what has made golf fun because, uh, you know, you're looking at people who can relate to the old days of, uh, you know, the Walter Hagans, the Marlboro cigarette
Speaker 3:and pleated pants and then you have the, you know the nice tapered look and more body fit, like Tiger started to wear and Rory McIlroy. So it just knows no bounds and it's. I think it's really nice that it's. It's become more fashion forward and and not so stodgy. I think golf has just become more mainstream, more fun for young people and that type of thing.
Speaker 2:So what's your style on the golf course? I have kind of an eye. I'm not a fashionista or I don't have any background but I know what I like. I know what I like to see on tours and at local clubs and I know what looks good on me, sort of what's your fit, what's your style and how has it evolved over time.
Speaker 3:So it's interesting, because I grew up in that era of where you had the pleated pants and you had the Shamil Acost golf polo with the knitted collar and you know, everything was plain you either black, or you had white, or you had gray.
Speaker 3:Uh, then evolving into a more uh standard uh, dress collar, uh four the 90s, the, the, just the, the browns everywhere, browns, the blacks and and gray, uh, and then, bam, the, you know, everything started to change and uh, lamode golf was one of the the, and I mean people probably won't even remember that, but they had all kinds of out we thought it was out there stuff and bright colors, and you had doug sanders who, uh, they called him the peacock and he had every color under the rainbow shoes matching.
Speaker 3:But for me personally, I really like the classic looks. I'm very fortunate that I have a great relationship with Adidas Golf. I'm one of their brand ambassadors out here on the West Coast and they certainly dress us in fine style, us and uh, uh, in fine style and uh, I think what they've done is that, uh, you know, they they've really, uh, you know, kept up with the modern materials, that, uh, and made them sports specific, that, uh, but you can also then wear them as crossover wear and, uh, you know, and they have all the different seasons you're gonna, they have a spring, uh line, then they have a high summer, then winter and so uh, yeah, can you see doug sanders here?
Speaker 3:I can see doug sanders yes, this is legendary stuff. I'm a huge fan of turtlenecks and, wow, this is speaking to me right here um very, very cool I want to see you in something like this norm I'm gonna, I will, maybe for our next show I'll be.
Speaker 2:Uh, I'll dress in some of that wear, yeah, and I think what you can see here can next show I'll be, uh, I'll dress in some of that wear, yeah, and I think what you can see here. Can you see that that is?
Speaker 1:uh, that is right from this is an imperial.
Speaker 2:Yeah, the the couch and golf club the rope hat. When I saw this, I knew he needed to have it, even though I've got two other black hats in the in the rotation and yeah I am a bit of a.
Speaker 2:Actually there's, I'm a, I call myself a chapeau file. Uh, it is a chapeau, of course. The word, the french word for hat, there's, no, there's no latin term for for hat. Uh, that kind of rings quite as so this latin term for hats, you know, like uh, uh, like, yeah, potassium file doesn't really ring as a hat addict, quite as it does, but I've got over 70 hats and, honestly, this is the one when I'm in a black outfit.
Speaker 2:Norm, this is the one that's currently in the rotation. It's super comfortable. It wicks moisture really well.
Speaker 3:When you're out this summer we're doing a little storm drop and we'll get a rope hat with the little storm guy on it for you.
Speaker 2:So, yes, let's talk about that. You have apparel, you got lids, you got putter covers, you got driver head covers with a little little cartoony Storm and Norman on it, and I see Storm and Norman all over the golf course, hanging outside the pro shop at the driving range. There's a little one of my favorite things. What is it's a picture of? It's a cartoon picture of you holding a gatling gun, wearing a military helmet, basically telling people not to hit balls over the back of the range exactly.
Speaker 3:I don't know if it stops them or not, but it never stopped me.
Speaker 2:When I was younger, I could do it. I can't do it anymore exactly me too.
Speaker 3:And they come in the shop and you think, well, that can't be you anymore, but yeah, yeah it's.
Speaker 2:How did that logo come about?
Speaker 3:so there, uh, there's a fellow who is, uh, he's a great artist, lives in the area um, and uh, he, uh, he came one day and he drew the that caricature and, uh, here it is for you. So, uh, we just started using it and you, you know, at one point I had a mustache, so we had to take the mustache off him and now I don't have the big mullet anymore and yeah, so he's kind of he's. He's evolved with me as we've matured in age.
Speaker 2:Here it is. This is this is you. This is you, this is you. Sort of nearish now and back then you've had. Oh, I love it, I love it. I wish I had something like this for myself.
Speaker 3:You can work on that.
Speaker 2:I could, I could. Yes, of course, I just don't have the following at the moment. Norm, you're an institution on the island and you're worthy of your personalized logo.
Speaker 3:Yeah, We've got to get you the. You're the guy in the in the logo for flg.
Speaker 2:It looks like you, it's actually not me. It's actually not me, it is really my, it is my best mate. That, uh, basically. Maybe now I'll segue into a little bit of that, because I'm not sure if you know the story, but but basically, flg started as it didn't start as anything yet.
Speaker 2:Really like me, and me and four mates did a new year's trip, um, to batam indones. Two days of golf just around the New Year's and suddenly this catchphrase just came, you know, we're all in such a great mood. It's I fucking love golf, I fucking love golf. And we just could not stop saying it for these two days and we had just absolute banger of a time. About a month later I quit my job and were joking we should make apparel just for us. About a month later I quit my job.
Speaker 2:As I was between the two jobs, I took some photos of my mate who was shotgunning a beer. That was, of course, one thing that we do in Asia. Here we drink a lot more beer than I would normally in Canada. It's just too damn hot. Party golf is a much more accepted thing in in countries like Indonesia and Malaysia, but not quite in Singapore. It's a little bit more buttoned up. So when we take the boat and we go over to the islands and we play golf, uh, it's a bit of a, it's a bit of a debaucherous sort of sort of weekend. Um and uh, so we had this image of my friend and I was like you know what, I'm going to take this, I'm going to make a silhouette, I'm going to make a silhouette logo out of this, and he was fine with it. We made a bunch of shirts and polos just for our crew that we would wear on subsequent trips.
Speaker 2:And it turned out, you know, during COVID actually no, pre COVID um, you know, I had this friend also had a, you know a, a more formal networking group where he was running tournaments for, for kind of business purposes, and I said, maybe, if you ever want to do one that is a little bit more wild, like let's use this, let's use this logo, let's kind of do it under a different banner. We'll do it under the flg banner, we'll make it more fun, we'll do scramble formats and and we'll have we'll. You know we'll. We'll show you some pictures another time, but if you go to our instagram, you'll, you'll see it. Um, and we ended up doing three tournaments that first year. And then COVID hit and it kind of, you know, tori became a larger child than she was when she was just born and I'd started this new job and it kind of just sort of sat. You know, we just sort of let it. Let it run on Instagram, you know, people followed, even though there wasn't a lot of new content.
Speaker 2:But now, you know, every time we come back to Vancouver Island, norm, we think about how amazing it is to one day have a home there, right, our home. We know exactly where we want to live. I know exactly where I want to play golf, norm, and you know how do we make that transition and also how do I make golf a bigger part of my life. And so I've reignited FLG as this podcast and this, you know, this video format to basically begin my life here as a, you know, a golf adjacent begin, a golf adjacent lifestyle and with guests like yourself. We've also got some awesome guests lined up that we'll sort of come to later on when we talk about what's next. But you know, that is how FLG has basically turned into potentially something and we'll see where it goes. I'm very excited and thank you again honestly from the bottom of my heart for being our first guest.
Speaker 3:And as you should be. And it's funny how things you know they evolve and you know, it's funny how things you know they evolve and uh, you know, and it's it's about passion and uh, we, you know there are so many people. They love something that's unique and uh, when I say that unique in the game of golf, it's like I want to be like those people. I, it's like they're having fun and that's the key word is fun. And I mean I go everywhere and people are always asking Norm, can we, can we, can we have one of your golf balls? Can we, you know, can we get that? I had a guy in Phoenix phone me the other day Norm, I need one of those hats, and you know, so you go. Yeah, of course, it's like, if you're having fun with it, that's what we're aiming to do, yeah, so how tell me about your golf game, norm, and we'll get into your golfing journey a little bit. Well, you know, right now the golf game isn't very good. We're covered in snow, just trying to do some gym work to hopefully come, when the snow's gone, to start hitting balls again.
Speaker 3:Took the game up when I was 12 years old, caddied for my dad, and then it morphed into a job at the golf course as a kid cleaning clubs and then play some junior tournaments throughout BC as a junior golfer, never really did very well, but loved the game and it was a great way to hang out in the summertime with my buddies. And then from there I was very fortunate. I used to caddy for a fella who would come up to penticton and play in their open. And uh, he, the last year he came up, he, he said what are you going to do this winter? And I, I go, I don't know what I'm doing, I'm, you know, I'm graduated school.
Speaker 3:Uh, I got banged up playing so much, playing hockey. I'm going. What am I going to do with myself? And why don't you come to work at royal colwood in victoria and sort of, as they say, the. The rest became history. That's when, uh, in 1969, when I became a member of the pga canada and um, and it was because of bob hogarth who later became the head professional at royal montreal and was the head pro at royal Colwood.
Speaker 2:So I know Royal Colwood very well. When, when my dad, when my parents, retired and moved to the Island, he he became a member at Royal Colwood. It's a very quick, quick drive over the Malahat in a, in a nice little convertible that he bought and left his clubs there and I got to play with him maybe, maybe 10 times a year. I was in university at the time, at the University of Victoria, so he'd swing by on some weekends and we'd go play 18. And it's a very nice course. It's very Cowichan-like in the sense that it's extremely walkable and just surrounded by these cathedrals of trees. Hundred years old. It was actually I it's. It is a royal club, it is, it has royal offense, so it's one of the ones where you can get reciprocals at other royal golf courses around the world and and uh, so it kind of has that history as well. But but cowichan, cowichan golf clubs, tell us about the history and the designer well, well, so in in uh at our present location.
Speaker 3:uh, we started in 1947 and AV McCann and we'll segue back in uh, who also designed Royal Colwood, he designed Nanaimo Golf Club, he designed Victoria Golf Club. Uh was another famous, it's like we call it the Pebble Beach, uh of uh, the uh Beach of the North Coast, and he also designed Kelowna Country Club. He did about four or five courses in the States. An unbelievable man, very famous course designer. And now we're here over 75 some odd years. Golf has been in the Cowichan Valley for over 100 years. They celebrated that two years ago when we did our 75th anniversary. So, yeah, just, and that's why, when you say talk about call it, it's like, it feels like Cowichan, because it's walkable, you can. You know the greens are receptive because there's an opening at the front, the bunkers are off to the side. So, uh, it makes it fair for everybody. They're people, movers, um, and, and we're very proud to be a, an av mccann golf course.
Speaker 2:So your game you're you're working on some, uh, some body work now are you? Is there any part of your game like as a pro, like how often do you actually get to play genuine golf?
Speaker 3:you know, probably in the summertime I would play once a week. So you know, you know, four times a month uh we do uh numerous uh um events, like we'll go to uh our peers uh have pro-ams at their golf courses, so we love to support those because they support uh charities uh in the area and so uh that part of it. And I also, like you, I have some mates that uh know we like to travel up island and we'll have a getaway for a day and throw some money in the pot and play some games of golf. So by working on the game is I really have to work hard on my short game, because it's a bit challenging when you're not playing much.
Speaker 2:That's the touch that leaves you.
Speaker 3:And trying to stay. You know you, obviously, as we age a little bit you lose a little bit of distance. So it's trying to maintain that strength, to not go downhill too quick the speed training you doing the chasing speed yeah, we do, I do, uh super speed golf. So, uh, podrick harrington's doing it and yeah, uh, it works. It's really, and it's great in the winter because it keeps you, uh, keeps you fit and keeps the muscles toned.
Speaker 2:Speaking of Padraig Harrington. So I think as a dad with an interest of kind of expanding the number of golfers within our household, but you know there are very few things that I really desire. You know that I want to kind of project onto Tori in terms of her future. The only thing I can, just, I would just love for her to be a golfer. I mean, that was, that was something that brought me and my dad so close. We spent so much, so much time in in beautiful places, just together, and my mom and my sister also golfed. That their their memories and places that we visited. That that no one can ever take away. And and even just that setting outside of a home and the love of nature and just being in this, this environment, like just it's also one of the few things that you can do with a child. You know I can't join a softball league with my daughter father, daughter. Softball leagues, like you can't really play ice hockey, you know, with your grandkids, you know, but but you can tee it up and play nine, you know, together and and then go have some chicken wings in the clubhouse.
Speaker 2:But what Patrick Harrington once said this is I think it's at the PNC championship years ago he said and this is a former pro saying no-transcript just make sure that they love being around the game.
Speaker 2:You know he said take them, make sure that what they associate with golf, the things are positive. You know, if they want to go to the course and they want to rake bunkers and if they want to hit balls into a lake, just let them do that. If what they love is just sitting on the patio afterwards and having a drink and watching people talk, then then then make it that it's not about the swing, it's not about the score, and and once they associate golf with something positive, they're going to want to go and they're no doubt going to be watching you and others. They're going to pick up things, they're going to learn how to, how to line up a putt and you know, get, you know get the ball in the air. And if you don't make it a frustrating environment, they're going to be. They're not going to be drawn away. They're not. I could be repelled by it.
Speaker 3:I love that.
Speaker 3:And and I you you know, that's a great point in more of us, uh, as, um, you know, grandparents and parents is, uh, you know, the one thing I, I I learned from uh, especially when you see four or five, six year olds, is just let them be and and then you can, you can commit, or you can kid with them and say, hey, why don't you try this? Or you play a little game with them, and then they go, that's great. And then when they're done, they're done, you just you don't have to force them when they're when they've had enough.
Speaker 2:You just they've had enough, and let's not try to make it more than we got. I'd be be happy with getting them to the driving range in the first place, um and then let's put the French fries in an iced tea or something. So you at Cowichan during the summers you have sort of kids, kids groups.
Speaker 3:right, we do we have a Thursday night here. Drop in and we have little ones from the ages of four right up to 15. And they come for an hour. The parents come, the parents get to visit and the children get to hit golf balls until their hands are sore if they choose to. So it's phenomenal, it's just, it's heartwarming.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So back to your golf game, norm, you said sort of apparel. You're mostly Adidas. You're not a hat guy. I've never seen you in a hat. I don't think you're ever going to wear a hat, unless I get you an FLG hat I'll wear. But but I know you've once said you know I'm a ping guy in terms of what's in the bag. Can you tell us about that? What does that mean?
Speaker 3:It's well you know I've been a ping ambassador for almost 30 years. I've been a ping club fitter for that long. Numerous accolades for what we do with the brand. But the neat thing is and you're asking me about what's in the bag so the new products just kind of started rolling through the door. And this year I'll be using their 440 driver, so it'll be a nine degree or with a Ventus red shaft had to go to a little softer flex than I normally have been using.
Speaker 2:The years are catching up with you, aren't they?
Speaker 3:I need to create. I need a few more miles, but I've changed up my, my fair, my uh fairway wood uh set up. I'm going, uh, this year, uh, um, I'm adding with I normally I carry driver five wood but the five wood has a three wood shaft in it so that it can. It'll give me a little more distance but easier to get the ball up in the air off the tight fairways, uh, so this year I'm going to have that five woods with the three wood shaft in it, and then I've gone to a seven wood because I want to get a little more height. Then we have a couple of holes here where that second shot you know entails, where you would either be hitting maybe a four hybrid or something like that. But that seven wood is so much easier to get up in the air with the new 440.
Speaker 2:Yeah, are you picky about the ball that you play?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I am. I use the Titleist Pro V1 at this point in time and only because it's got my little Storm logo on it.
Speaker 2:And when people find them in the woods, they know who to return it to. Is that right?
Speaker 3:Yeah, they don't return them sadly, but it also makes me concentrate a little harder, so I don't lose too many of them.
Speaker 2:But a terrible help that guy is a little harder so I don't lose too many. But a terrible help that guy is so. So I, um, I'm not picky about my ball, I just I just don't get the distance off the tee and and don't have the. You know I don't don't have the ultimate feel with my short game to. You know need to control spin and things like that. So I'll just play with.
Speaker 2:You know, play with kind of there's a regular, regular out of the box, whatever's in the pro shop I played recently in hong kong, uh, and which is about five hours away from from singapore by flight, maybe three to five hours roughly between there, um, and, honestly, if you've never been to to asia norm, there are some places that people will tell you to play golf, and those will include, you know, thailand and um and places like that. But Hong Kong, which is a, it's a megalopolis, right, it is a bustling city, but it is also among these coastal volcanic islands. You think of Hawaii, right, you think of Hawaii as these sort of bucket list places, and this is a public golf course. Basically, it's called Khao Sai Chow in Hong Kong and it takes an hour boat ride to get there and they've got three courses. They've got a Gary Player designed course and a couple others. You can see this, can you Look?
Speaker 3:at that yes.
Speaker 2:It's absolutely gorgeous and some of these vistas are breathtaking, but basically what I was going with the golf ball story is that I had to buy a brand new box of balls because I didn't travel with them, to save luggage space, and I bought 12. I put nine in the bag. I'm not going to lose nine balls. I never lose more than maybe three or four in a round and I lost all nine balls within seven holes. Whoa, whoa. Because, as you can see here, some of these greens there's no, there's no.
Speaker 3:There's no bailout.
Speaker 2:There's no bailout around them. Basically, there's no, there's, there's no. Uh, there's no bail around them. Basically, it's it's you. You either run it up to the green, but if you miss left and you miss right, that's OB and it's cliff OB, so it's going into the jungle. Um, so, really there's. You know, you, you you push or pull one a little bit if you're going for a back pin or something and it's, it's gone. And I had a couple instances where I, you know, first hole actually, uh, I bump and run a ball, uh up and it's kind of trickling towards the back edge of the green and and it and it rolls over the back. You know, I lose sight of it, but it wasn't, it wasn't cooking. And then I walk up there and it's like it's, it's just, it's gone, there's just, it's just, it's into the jungle.
Speaker 1:So anyway.
Speaker 2:Uh, the wife saw the credit card bill, cause bill because I had to get a cart back up to the pro shop. Um, once we hit nine holes and I had to buy a new. I had to buy a new box of balls and they didn't sell them cheap there. So, um, so, uh, that's that's my golf ball story. But, um, and actually going back to going back to driver, you were talking about the, the new ping one, I and your and your flex shaft. So I actually put a flex shaft on my driver. Uh, unintentionally, um, I broke it.
Speaker 2:I was getting my clubs in and out of a in and out of a taxi cab one day and I just, I just snapped the driver head and I and I went and got a new shaft and it had all the right. It had all the same, exact same specifications as my, as my current one, but it was a different maker and it actually, once I got it on there, I was like, oh, man, man, this is way too whippy. This is a whippy shaft and I don't know if I can play with it. But I took it to the range the next day and I was like, okay, well, maybe what I need to do is just really slow my swing down so that I'm not, you know, overdoing this, and it actually allowed me to really slow my swing down and hit soft driver, but with that extra whippy shaft I'm getting the same distance and it just feels more smooth and comfortable. I don't know Is it? Did I uncover something? Should? Should most golfers be playing with a flex shaft, like most recreational golfers? Should?
Speaker 2:they be playing with a flexy shaft and just kind of trying to slow things down a bit.
Speaker 3:Well, it's a little easier to get the ball up in the air with a little, with a, you know, a little more flex in the shaft. But again, a lot of it depends on your club head speed too. Um, you know, slower swing speeds. Obviously that's a a little softer shaft, maybe a little more loft on the driver, which also again helps your shot dispersion.
Speaker 2:Yeah um, so you got into golf by getting a job at a golf course and you eventually became a pro by being very good at golf. There are a lot of people who you know. So I want to ask you two questions. One how do you go about becoming a golf pro Once you become kind of exceptional at golf as a young person or as an older person, it doesn really matter, I suppose, how do you get into? How do you get into being a golf pro? But also I want to know for for people out there um, if you just want to be a golf, say, general manager or or or something that doesn't have to come with really really high level golf skill, how can people today kind of get into the game in these two ways?
Speaker 3:We're very lucky here in Canada in the sense that you know to become a PGA member and when I started you became an apprentice. So you worked with a head professional, learned club repairs, learned a little bit about the business, had to do some seminars. Learn club repairs, learn a little bit about the business. Had to do some seminars. And then it changed as time went, where they became more cognizant of playing ability. So you had to do a playing ability test before you could even become a candidate for membership. And once you got that, then you started doing home study courses.
Speaker 3:Um, you know the business part, the teaching part, uh uh, power cart repairs tournament and all this is all to be a golf, a teaching professional that's just to be a member of the pga and then you can diversify yourself into whichever way you choose to go, whether you become strictly a teacher or you become a director of golf, which also sometimes those director of golfs are managers of the golf club. And after they had the home study courses, then what they did is they started the PGM program, which it was the Professional Golf Management Program Camosun College in Victoria, grant McEwen in Edmonton there's two of them in the greater Toronto area that had golf-specific programs. But you also ended up at the end of it you could get a Bachelor of Commerce. So those were the guys that if they didn't maybe want to pursue being in a golf shop or or the playing part of it, then they became, uh managers of golf clubs. So they oversaw the food and beverage, because there was a food and beverage component in that education uh thing. And but now we're back to the home study courses. You still have to have a have to play your way in uh, and then you can take uh certain modules to.
Speaker 3:That's where your golf uh, you know where you want to be in the golf industry, whether you could be a tournament organizer, you could be a teacher, uh, you could be a merchandiser. Yeah, you could be a general manager food and beverage, a little bit of agronomy, where you maybe oversee the greens and grounds at your club. So, um, you know, our we. We keep evolving as a, as an association, and got some great people in the association. Um, and again it's, but first and foremost it's about the game. Yeah, you know that I mean all that other stuff is fluff, because if you don't have a golf course or a game, you don't have the clubhouses and young teacher programs. So it's about being, you know, just the love of the game. And but again, finding your niche, because it's tougher and tougher now. Everything is becoming more specialized in everything we do.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so. So just to distill that, what I hear you saying is like, as long as you have a passion for the game and it's something you can stick with, you can really come at this from any angle. You can come at it from an F&B, from merchandising, from a Bachelor of Commerce, which is a degree that I started with Just understanding business and commercials and accounting and general finance, or you know, it's a broad-based discipline. You mentioned repairing golf carts. You could probably be a mechanic and slowly get into this and find your entry point, you betcha.
Speaker 3:Yeah, there's lots of avenues and I think the neat thing in our game is we've become so diverse in what you can do, but also, you know, we're the people that are becoming involved in our businesses. It's just that we, we become very inclusive and I'm very proud of our business, uh, for being that way and uh, you know, with adaptable golf with there. So I mean there are just so many things that continue to grow the game and keep the game sustainable fantastic um norm tell the people where they can find you.
Speaker 3:Well, they can find me on Storm and Golf and on Insta, and that's it. You can go to wwwcouchandgolfca and that will take you right to our golf club. Gives our history, gives a little bit about Storm, um, so those are my mediums, that I uh, uh with my, you know I'm not a an influencer yet, but I'm, I'm working on that I'm working on that too. Norm you keep coming back to this pod we keep dishing it, we keep hearing the people, we'll get there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I want to shout out the beer pioneer again. Um, they've been part of my golfing journey and part of my part of my, you know, refreshment journey. Um, basically so in Singapore, you go to the website thebeerpioneercom very simple signup, you pick. You pick out of four options. You pick what you like. You like light beers? Do you like specialty beers? So those would be like your, your porters, your chocolates. Do you like hoppy IPAs? Do you like hoppy IPAs? Do you like sort of more what they call session beers? And this box arrives, they curate it for you. Every month you can get eight or 16, I believe 20% off your first delivery and if you're referring other people, you actually get a box every now and then. I think, and you know, look at the ratings, look at the cans. Um, I can, definitely.
Speaker 2:I have to admit that I was not a a experimental beer drinker, but I knew what I liked.
Speaker 2:I knew that, for example, I don't like hoppy IPAs, but I love, I love fruit, fruity beers. Right, that's such a great thing to drink here in the, in the light weather or the hot weather of Asia. Um, and just getting this smorgasbord of beers all the time was awesome for me. But also I'd have a Christmas party coming up and I'd have you know you don't always get to drink beer all the time uh, having a, having a daughter and a busy life. So I would accumulate some of these boxes and I would just fill up the Yeti cooler, bring it down to the Christmas party at my mates or a birthday, and I'd have you know I'd be like hey guys, just reach in and grab something and I became known as the craft beer guy, even though I didn't know half these beers that were coming out. Actually, I didn't know most of them, but it was just part of a learning journey and it was actually kind of awesome. I love bringing them out on the golf course as well. Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 3:And um and uh. We want to thank them absolutely for for being our first our sponsor on this very first pod. Let's do a golf course review. Give us cowichan golf club. Well, I'm going to tell you, it's a. You know the.
Speaker 3:The golf course record is 61 here. So you people look at it 6100 yards, golf course, the record is 61. It was set by a young fellow by the name of Corey Renfrew, canadian tour player, good amateur player, uh, prior to that the course record was 62, which was some 25 years prior to Corey shooting 61. And it was also set by another Island boy, uh, who played the Canadian tour, by the name of james harper. But prior to that the course record was like 66 or 65. So people lick their chops when they see 6100 and we're gonna eat this place up.
Speaker 3:But I'll tell you a funny little story. We had the victoria open here back in 1991 and we had steve stricker played here, grant weight from aust, from Australia, oh yeah, a great field. And they go, we're going to tear this place up. And I had a friend of mine who went to the University of New Mexico Norm, I'm going to chew this place up. So at the end of two days he missed the cut and he says to me toughest 6,100-yard golf course I have ever played and he shot one open. So that tells you about our course review. The greens are small. You better have a good short game. Everything's right in front of you. As we talked about earlier with AV McCann, you can buy the ball onto the front of the green and there's no bunkers to go over. But again, the greens are the leveler for a good player and challenging for the novice golfer. But lots of fun.
Speaker 2:And this is where it is, by the way. So honestly, I call Vancouver Island a secret island because this is North America. Everyone thinks Vancouver is the westernmost part of Canada, on the Pacific Ocean side, but it is not. There is an island about the size of Scotland or the Netherlands called Vancouver Island. That, basically, is that barrier between the Pacific Ocean and the mainland of Canada.
Speaker 2:And actually what I will say a lot of people say that the Pacific Coast of Canada or North America has the best weather, or that you know, say Vancouver or San Francisco or has the most amazing weather. Uh, but really Duncan and the Cowichan Valley get more hours of sunshine than than Vancouver itself, as beautiful as the weather is in Vancouver. And a lot of that has to do with the those weather systems coming off the Pacific, pathing over the Island, hitting the Rockies and rising and then becoming rain on that side. So when you think about the Vancouver Island, think like even better weather than Vancouver. And you know, honestly, with Couch and Golf Club becoming part of a stable of other courses on the on the Vancouver Island Golf Trail, like I'm really, I'm really happy to see how golf tourism has grown in this region In you know it's, it's. I would say it's about 45 minutes from from downtown Victoria maybe to get up to Mill Bay and another 20 minutes over to Cowichan Golf Club.
Speaker 2:Um where you are and um, just absolutely beautiful setting.
Speaker 1:Um.
Speaker 2:And you know.
Speaker 3:Mark, is that? If I mean you know your, your family lives here and your mom lives in a beautiful home with a beautiful view.
Speaker 2:Oh, it's hard. What is this pig norm I found scrolling through some images of couch and golf club, I found a pig in a piglet. What?
Speaker 3:is this they escaped from a farm across the gully from us on number 15. A farm across the gully from us on number 15. So, yeah, we actually hit the national news with that. But if you remember some history, so we have a huge First Nations population here and the First Nations name for Cowichan is Coetsin, which means warm land, warm land. Yeah, absolutely, we grow grapes here. We have great wine country. There's lots of uh, uh, little boutique, uh, vineyards and uh, and that's why our climate's so good it'll be. You know, it's very dry.
Speaker 2:It's almost semi-arid here in the summertime yeah, so so let's do, let's do some ratings. Shall we um tell us about, um tell us about? You've told us a little about the greens, a little bit about the playability. I'm definitely, I can definitely speak for myself that I say you know the views are exceptional. You don't. You know you're not, you're not set high up on hills, you don't get vistas that include. You know the surrounding, you know waterways around Vancouver Island and the Saanich Inlet, but there are groves, the cathedral groves of trees that are absolutely beautiful to just see and be among. Course conditions are always really excellent. I actually really love the bunkering at the course norm. There's not a lot of bunkers. But it is a dark volcanic sand. Is that accurate? It's not a white. It's not a white. You know coral sand that we get out here in asia and that they will import into most courses. But you're, you're true to the, you're true to the local, the local soil. It's a beautiful volcanic sand, it is plush, it's beautiful and fun to play out of?
Speaker 3:yeah, for sure, and once you get used to it it you can become a pretty good sand player. And you know, you, that I think there are pot bunkers.
Speaker 2:There are some bunkers that I've taken, especially that one on the front of number two or number three that guards that front right entry that has that huge lip in the front.
Speaker 3:I've taken three shots to get out of there before I think, I'm gonna get out of there too but, um, you know, you hit it, hit it on the head about it. It's like when you're out here, you feel like you're in your own little world. It's because, uh, we don't, you don't get, uh you don't have houses. Uh, you're, uh, you know the fairways are great and it's a very peaceful walk. We have beautiful eagles nesting here on the golf course and uh, so we're really, really lucky. That way it's. Uh, it's, it's just like a walk in the park and you're playing golf.
Speaker 2:So, yeah, yeah, uh, this this here is my background on on my screen right now um which tee boxes is. This is a perfect example of basically what you can feel when you're there, um this is yeah, maybe, maybe 11 or 12 or something like that.
Speaker 3:That's a number 14 yeah, if my memory serves me correct. Yes, looking in there, number 14, and uh, top little hole a little. Um, you know, when you the picture kind of doesn't quite do it justice, in the sense of once you get off that tee you there's a big kind of sloping gully. Is that the ravine on the left? Yes, yeah, yeah and then you hit up an elevated green.
Speaker 3:We were just we're just been doing a re-rating of our golf course and it ranks as, uh, in the top three toughest holes on our golf course. So we but, but it's good yeah, how does a re-rating work?
Speaker 2:Norm for those who don't know.
Speaker 3:So it's the difficulty of each hole. So if you were a bogey player or a scratch player and the score would be what would a good player get on this hole? What would the bogey player get on this hole?
Speaker 2:And we keep a lot of statistics as to, uh, what the scores were, and they average out and uh, and then you come up with uh, what, uh, your whole difficulty on each hole yeah, um, so again, this is uh, in case it wasn't properly pinned before, but this is uh number 14 on the back nine of cowichan golf club and gives a great sense of just the beauty of this course and, honestly, this is this is kind of midday, so normally when you'd have sun directly over, almost directly overhead, these cathedral groves of trees. They actually provide a really comfortable amount of shade and it's not jungle Like.
Speaker 2:Maybe on the left it feels a bit thick, a bit bushy, but, as you can see, on the right there's a lot of gaps between these trees that the breeze will really come through and it is just such a comfortable place to play golf and it's our proximity to cowichan bay which is right on the ocean.
Speaker 2:Yeah, when you're on 12 you actually look into cow bay, but we get that breeze up from the bay and keeps us nice and cool in the summer yeah, and and I think one of the things that I I I love about about playing at Cowichan is the accessibility and not only the walkability of the course itself, but but there's a there's a six hole routing and I think for some because I've gone and I've played with my mom or I've gone when I've only had an hour and and there's a way to play the course you know you pay your nine but you play, you play six and you can get your golf done in an hour and a half. If you really can't do it, and and the people on the course are so accommodating, as long as you're polite about you know either coming ahead or waiting your turn, you can play a six hole route and you can even play a four hole routing kind of like we did, we.
Speaker 2:we did with the, with our youngest member of the family, uh, another time. And that is a great way to you know you don't have to come and play 18. There are courses here in Asia where you can only play 18, or if you want to play nine, you still have to pay them for 18. Yeah, it's ridiculous, and it's. It makes entry into golf very difficult and it makes actually having golf to be part of your lifestyle. Hey, I get off work. I get off work at five, but I have a dinner at seven. I'm going to swing past couch and I'm just going to play four.
Speaker 2:And eight and nine, one, two, eight and nine, absolutely. And so there's, you know, the there's the other thing about you know, being a member and just sort of having access to this kind of thing. Maybe, maybe you don't want everybody doing that norm, but but it's there for you and I can tell you just the staff that you have at the golf course. They are so extraordinarily friendly and accommodating. Maybe Morphs for me as a visitor, as an out-of-towner, but honestly, just meeting the people that walk into the clubhouse and shoot the shit for a while, it's just such a cool community.
Speaker 2:And because of that accessibility, the wide range of ages that you get there and skill levels really makes it a kind of a unique community. Maybe not a unique community compared to a lot of other places, but a genuine community, a really nice community.
Speaker 3:It's like family and it really is, and we've tried to build that into the feel and the vibe of the club. We want everyone to feel welcome, no matter your ability or uh, or your affordability. We want to keep it affordable, uh, because we all started the game somewhere and somebody helped us and we want people to know that it's uh. It's a very safe place for young people to come, especially children, uh and uh, but also a very inviting place to meet some social friends.
Speaker 2:Before we let you go, norm, we want to do some style stars on the back line here and I just want to flash something up here. Really, this is an image from the course's Instagram page or your at Storm and Golf page from 7 February Of how many feet of snow is this? This is the number one tee box, looking out kind of from the pro shop, looking down. Number one or is this 18?
Speaker 3:That's looking down number one and you can see that one big pile that's from the parking lot. That was shoveling the parking lot, but we probably had, I'm going to say, a foot and a half of snow and we're probably still have six or seven inches on the ground now.
Speaker 2:So holy moly, goodness me, goodness me.
Speaker 3:Rain this weekend maybe so that'll help us.
Speaker 2:So let's do some style stars, shall we?
Speaker 3:I'm ready.
Speaker 2:So here at FLG, we love to not only play golf but we like to explore golf fashion. Now, golf is for everybody, so this is a wide ranging subject. We're not going to talk about luxury golf we're not going to talk about necessarily but we're going to touch on all these things and I really have kind of an eye for it, even though I have no professional background or experience or training in this. But I know what I like and I know what I like to see and I love to give stars on a one to five rating for things. But, norm, since it is wintertime on Vancouver Island and since this is topical for all of us, we want to basically do a style star rating of a bunch of a bunch of these fits that I'll flash up here shortly. We're going to go one through five. Just give us a one through five on these, whether you like it or not, whether you'd be caught dead at it or not. Let's start here. Let's go, let's go, let's, let's. Let's do a Malbon, let's do a Malbon. Shall we.
Speaker 3:Since Jason.
Speaker 2:Day high five. It absolutely solid, alright. So what we're going to do here is we're going to take this and we're going to put it. We're going to put it right here. We're going to put it right here. On number 5 yeah, happy with that?
Speaker 2:I love that. Let's do another one. Where are you on this one? This is the famous sweater. You happy with that? I love that. Let's do another one. Let's do another one. Where are you on this one? This is the famous sweater that, of course, wasn't allowed into the Augusta National Clubhouse two years ago when he first broke in with Malibon, which, of course, just made them blow up on the internet. Where are you putting it Free? Okay, get those proportions right here. Let's go old school, shall we now? I don't know who this golfer is, but what we're looking at is a mosaic of color, a tapestry of goodness. It's wool, but it's. I think it's the cowboy hat, fedora and that 70s collar that really pull this look together, for for me, that looks like lamode golf.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, a new york company, and uh, that got into golf. I'm gonna give that a two oh, no way all right?
Speaker 2:well, I would have to respect here, because to me, one of my, one of my team members would say storm, that should be a five yeah absolutely yeah. Um well, let's do a more modern take on that. Here we got a puma golf. Now this is a very sort of I don't know, it's sort of a arizona deserty, I'm not sure yeah, I'm not sure what you call that, uh, that kind of pattern, um where?
Speaker 3:you put I'd give that a four. I'd wear that all right, even though it's puma uh uh, what do we do here?
Speaker 2:uh, okay, so we just had the pebble the, the 18t beach, the 18t pro pro-am at pebble beach and it got ugly. Uh, we were. This is something I've never seen on a golf course before. That is, that is a hand warmer. You've got the hand warmer and the two combo.
Speaker 3:What do you got? That's got to be a four. Yeah, I would agree with you too. Good sweater weather.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm a big fan of putting together accessories. Basically it's a sort of top and toe you go, white, lid, white shoes is basically so. It's a sort of top and toe you go, white, lid, white shoes. You can almost do anything in between, uh and, and still earn a at least a four-star rating here on on fog. But just loving the, loving the hand warmers. Um, I was having a call with my british friend the other day and do you know what this is called? What do people call this ski mask, slash face covering that Adam Scott is wearing here? A bell clava. It's not a bell clava, a bell clava would go over your head. This is called a snood, snood.
Speaker 2:Excuse me, yeah, what's it called, sorry, a snood S-N-O-O-D. I'm going to give that a four. Four, yeah, oh, good rate, let's do another one. We're going to do two Rory's here. We're going to do a Rory hoodie.
Speaker 3:Love it.
Speaker 2:That's five, absolutely, that got an FLG star rating of five. It's the crimson or maroon, or whatever you would call this. Yeah, actually, rating of five. It's the. It's the crimson or maroon, or whatever you would call this. Yeah, and uh, I once, actually my first car was this color, so it's very, it's very special to me, but again, it's with, with white on white underneath and white trousers and white shoes, you can do almost anything in between. And and don't think you can't see that little mock neck collar that old school tiger call out uh, rory's not always sorry, go ahead norm it's back that collar's back.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and, and absolutely the. The hoodies are in where you want hoodies in golf I like, I love them I think, it's great, great and I love that.
Speaker 3:Look right there. Yeah, that's a five that's a five love that now, that's a crew neck.
Speaker 2:It's taken me I don't know, for comfort purposes, just what it does with the collar. I'm much happier in a V-neck. You know what I mean? A hundred percent Than a crew? Yeah, but you know, speaking of V-necks, how about this handsome gentleman right here?
Speaker 3:Now, that's a five.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:Look at that color, look at that, look at that little flash.
Speaker 2:You know it's gray on on a light gray, but you've got a flash of teal or aqua.
Speaker 3:Where are you, where are you? Putting yourself norm I'm going to a five. I love that. Yes, hundred percent. There's an old school dude with the v-neck and the lambswool sweat.
Speaker 2:Yeah, okay, now be ruthless here. This is, this is me. This is a birdie, putt actually on number nine, that I made at couch and golf club. Uh, during, during, you know, it was kind of late, early august, cold for me because I'm used to 32 degrees, so so we're still putting this in sweater weather. What do you think?
Speaker 3:I love it. I, when I saw you in that outfit, I go I love that outfit. We need more of that. So I'm going five with that.
Speaker 2:But you know what I, what I could have done, just that, that black on the shoe with a white hat, white top, white trouser, the black even though it's got some white in it. It really kind of, for me, I could have. I wish, I wished I'd had a white shoe, and actually what I ended up doing later in the summer norm, I bought a pair of white shoes from your pro shop.
Speaker 3:So you know but still, you know what it was. Okay, it's not a fashion faux pas you're right.
Speaker 2:Okay, let's do. Let's do one more. I really want to get a one out of you. Um, which of these looks here is a one or a two?
Speaker 3:See anything here? Yeah, the one. Where'd you go there? Oh? There you are. You're going to look at the guy with the red hat and the orange shirt on.
Speaker 2:That is Tony Finau. I don't know the tournament, but it's a magenta or a fuchsia hat on a kind of burnt orange or sienta. Yeah oh man, it's not. It's not a q-zip, it's a button. It's a button collar yeah and then it's got this rugby stripe, dark rugby stripe, growing across the chest, chest which is thinking about when they did that. So that's a one for you, is it? There's my one, yes, okay, great, we have we have no disrespect to Tony.
Speaker 2:No disrespect to Tony. I mean we really love what Nike does for the most part, but honestly, I actually really liked this. I would have put it higher than a one, just for the boldness alone and tying it together. You know, he could have had an ugly sweater and put on a white hat, but at least he's tying it together with a fuchsia lid and um it's matching.
Speaker 3:He's got, it is matching.
Speaker 2:Matching goes a long way here on SLG. Um so, norm, really thank you very much for helping us to do our first podcast and our first ever Style Star rating here on the YouTube channel. This is your sweater weather, this is your cold weather. There's a lot more of these that I hope to do with you in the future.
Speaker 3:I got mine on.
Speaker 2:Yes, absolutely, that Malibu on top is actually really nice. Give us another up-close look at that logo again. That logo is phenomenal.
Speaker 1:It's got the cypher free.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, the greatest show on earth, the. You know the uh pebble beach used to be the bing crosby classic yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:So, norm, I will let you go, but please tell us what is coming up next for you well, uh, I mean I'm heading to catch a plane here a little bit later tonight and then I've got some golf planned as soon as the snow goes. I've got some buddies that want to start playing a little more practicing we're going to work on. We've got a new launch monitor coming from my shop to do some club fitting and we're looking forward to our junior programs having our young people out here. So and we've got our couch and open again. We look forward to that. It's a big highlight of the year. We also do a big charity event here in September for our hospital foundation, as we're building a new hospital in the Cowichan Valley and we're a big part of that. So lots of exciting stuff but, more importantly, very cool what you're doing. I can't wait to follow and see your listen to the future podcast. I think you're doing something that's really cool and very dear to my heart the game of golf.
Speaker 2:Thank you, Norm. I appreciate that very much. Give us one parting shot. What do you fucking love about golf?
Speaker 3:I love the people, the people. It just that's what makes the game.
Speaker 2:Amazing. Thank you again and uh uh, just from the bottom of my heart, much appreciated.
Speaker 3:You made my heart feel good and, uh, I just feel so deeply honored to be able to do this with you, my friend.
Speaker 2:Fantastic, have a great trip.
Speaker 3:Take care, enjoy that couch and hat.
Speaker 2:So, to those of you who are, who have listened here for the first time and who follow us on Instagram or Tik TOK, please continue doing so and please continue sharing your feedback. Thank you for joining us and fucking love golf.