Cracked Balls: Long Drive Pro's Sam and Bryce

00:00:00

It. Now imagine going to the driving range, teeing up the




00:00:04

ball and hitting the ball so hard with your driver that




00:00:07

you end up cracking the golf ball




00:00:11

not once, but multiple times during your range




00:00:14

session. Now, I'm great at imagining things, I am.




00:00:18

But this one was hard for me to wrap my head around. This happens all




00:00:21

the time to lawn drive guys. And by the way, side note, I think your




00:00:24

penis should grow an inch every time you crack a golf ball, because you deserve




00:00:27

it. I mean, I've hit some amazing golf shots and some bombs, but I have




00:00:30

never come close to cracking a golf ball. When I saw Kyle




00:00:34

Berkshire's video late last year of him smashing the world's




00:00:38

longest drive at 579




00:00:41

yards, I was intrigued by not only him and his beautiful hair, but the




00:00:45

long drive scene in general. And what's crazy to me is his ball




00:00:49

speed was




00:00:50

233. Fastest ball




00:00:53

speed on the PGA Tour is cam champ, and that's around




00:00:57

180. Like the high 180s, it's




00:01:01

like a 45 miles an hour difference. 230




00:01:04

miles per hour. Ball speed is not something that even thought was possible




00:01:08

a few years ago, like in August 2022, Berkshire says on an




00:01:12

instagram post that showcased a video of him breaking 236, a world record




00:01:16

at the time. This is one of my proudest moments of all




00:01:19

time. I've been working my tail off for the last three years




00:01:23

to scratch and claw my way from




00:01:25

230 next speed benchmark of




00:01:28

235 in October




00:01:33

this past year, October 2023, he would set




00:01:36

another world record of 241




00:01:40

mph ball speed. This is really the story




00:01:43

of the four minute mile reincarnated. And like all other savants in their respective sport,




00:01:47

there are really two things I see that have changed for the long drive




00:01:51

boys. Number one mindset. When you start believing anything




00:01:55

is possible, it becomes possible. Something a walk off




00:01:58

albatross taught me. And I bring it up all the time. These guys give me




00:02:01

shit for it, but that's what it taught me. Now the other is training. Now.




00:02:04

In today's world data driven insights, it's possible now to train so specifically




00:02:08

that you can target precise points in the swing to




00:02:11

drastically increase your swing speed, which




00:02:15

ultimately reflects ball speed. In today's episode, I'm so excited to




00:02:19

share the story of two competitors who may have a jump




00:02:22

on all the major swing aid brands with their new speed training




00:02:26

aid called Speed Toad. And what makes them immediately credible other




00:02:30

than them both being successful at competing on the long drive professional




00:02:33

tour? One of them just recorded an incredible




00:02:36

240 miles per hour ball speed




00:02:39

on social and he's probably one of, like, two or three people on the planet




00:02:43

to do it. And the other recorded a drive of over 433




00:02:47

yards in competition last year. Now, let me bring you back to that original question.




00:02:51

Can you imagine cracking multiple golf balls in an average




00:02:54

range session? This is a common thing for these boys. Common




00:02:58

problem. Bryce and Sam from Speed toad shared their long drive




00:03:01

journeys on this week's episode of did I tell you about my




00:03:05

albatross? Did I tell you about my




00:03:08

albatross?




00:03:12

Welcome to another episode of did I tell you about my albatross? I'm




00:03:16

your host, Albie. This is the golf podcast for honest degenerates. It's




00:03:20

like teeing up with your favorite forsome every week and diving into the best stories




00:03:24

in and around golf. You guys ready to tee off? Let's go.




00:03:27

We added chilling, man. I really appreciate you guys hopping on here. I wanted to




00:03:31

reach out to you because, first of all, I've been following you guys on social




00:03:33

for quite a while, and I just love what you're doing there. I mean, for




00:03:37

one thing, just so you guys know a little bit about me, I am a




00:03:40

swing aid guru. It's just my thing. I'm the guy at the




00:03:44

country club that have. I have, like, 45 swing. Literally, I actually have




00:03:47

38. I counted them. I'm doing this new segment, actually, it's ridiculous. I'm doing this




00:03:51

new segment called Swing Aid Saturday where I'm going to break




00:03:54

down all these swing aids that I have just in my




00:03:58

garage and just give people my honest opinion, because a lot of them are like




00:04:02

snake oil. And then every now and then, you'll find a really good one that




00:04:05

works. And I got to tell you, man, I got yours in the mail probably




00:04:08

about a week and a half ago, and I've only had a chance to use




00:04:11

it twice, but I love it. I think it could really




00:04:15

improve things. Awesome. I'm going to pick your brain a little bit about that,




00:04:19

but let's just start with some introductions, man. If you don't mind just introducing yourself,




00:04:22

I think that'd be great. So, yeah. Bryce Mooney. Sam




00:04:25

and I both live in the Nashville area. I'm just outside in




00:04:29

Franklin, Tennessee. And I played baseball




00:04:32

growing up, as a lot of long drivers did, and




00:04:36

through college, played at University of Washington, Oregon State, and then




00:04:40

I was a pitcher. My shoulder gave out. And so for the




00:04:44

next nine years after baseball, I decided to run long distance.




00:04:48

So I ran marathons for, like, nine years. Totally random.




00:04:52

I never ran long distance before that. They'd make the pitchers run




00:04:55

like a mile, and it was death to me. I




00:04:59

ran marathons for nine years and then kind of got tired of it




00:05:03

and figured I'd take up long drive, and that's kind of how




00:05:06

I got in the sport almost two years ago. Now, that's crazy,




00:05:10

man. I'm a little bit less crazy than running marathons. So my name




00:05:14

is Sam. I played baseball when I was little




00:05:17

and ended up getting sick and had some health issues. So I had




00:05:21

to pick a sport that I had to play by myself basically whenever




00:05:25

I wanted. I couldn't organize it around a team, so we lived on a golf




00:05:29

course. So I started picking up golf and shooting 120




00:05:32

the first couple of times out. And then within the next year, I became a




00:05:36

scratch golfer and made my high school team. And I golf for a couple of




00:05:39

years, ended up getting to a plus three handicap, had the scholarship to play golf




00:05:42

at college in a small little NAIA school, and then




00:05:46

ended up having more health issues. So that kicked my butt again. And I took




00:05:49

a hiatus from golf for, like five years. Just started picking up a club




00:05:53

again about two years ago now and immediately got back in the




00:05:57

long drive. I was hitting the ball pretty far in high school, and so that




00:06:01

always piqued my interest because I got kind of bored hitting four irons off every




00:06:04

tee and then hit the green. And you either one putt or two putt, and




00:06:07

it got very repetitive. So I started getting in the habit of trying to drive




00:06:11

every green like most long drivers do. And so when I came back into golf,




00:06:14

I was like, I knew exactly where I needed to be. This is fascinating to




00:06:18

me, man. Let me just say a little bit about me. So I'm down here




00:06:21

in Tampa, and I've got two little ones. So I used to be a lot




00:06:25

better at golf. I don't golf as often as. It's still a huge passion of




00:06:28

mine. I'm like a four or five handicap. But, dude, I'd love




00:06:32

to get your opinion on this. By the way, I have what could be one




00:06:35

of the greatest. Now, this is going to sound really arrogant and cocky, and




00:06:39

I don't mean for it to be. It's just a lucky shot. I get it.




00:06:42

But, dude, it could be possibly one of the luckiest shots of all time.




00:06:46

So let me paint a picture here for you. 2020 member?




00:06:49

Member my budy and I, two day tournament. We get up to the




00:06:53

18th tee, par five. We finish on this hole called pine




00:06:57

one at our club, and I hit a good drive, which




00:07:00

was surprising because I was all over the place that whole entire weekend. But good




00:07:04

drive goes in the fairway. I was like,




00:07:07

247 out, and I hit a three wood. It




00:07:11

goes in. That's not even the crazy part. We go in and we turn our




00:07:15

scorecard in, and we find out, like, we didn't have live scoring or anything, but




00:07:18

we find out that going into that hole, we were three shots back from




00:07:22

the lead. So with that three wood albatross walk off,




00:07:26

we ended up tying for the win in the tournament. So that's my claim to




00:07:30

fame in golf. I'm not like, but that's insane. It's crazy, dude.




00:07:34

I thought I was going to be famous. I thought right away, scott Van Pelt's




00:07:36

going to be interviewing me. I thought I'm going to be on, like, I thought




00:07:39

I would be doing Fallon. Like I was going to have to choose. None of




00:07:42

that happened. No one cares, dude. No one cares about my gossip, right? So I'm




00:07:45

like, all right, everyone's so sick of me talking about, I'm going to start a




00:07:48

podcast and tell the entire world about it until I do get interviewed by Scott




00:07:51

Van Pelt or until I do get my name out there. But I guess my




00:07:54

point of describing all that, so that's my connection with golf, basically,




00:07:58

this whole podcast and everything is about how anything's possible. It




00:08:01

literally changed things for me. I'm actually a sales guy. That's what I do




00:08:05

for a living. I work for a large tech company, and I'm an outside sales.




00:08:09

But for me, I've lived my entire life




00:08:13

differently now because I feel like anything truly is possible. And




00:08:16

so I love having stories like you guys. Everyone




00:08:20

wants to be able to hit the ball farther. It's so




00:08:24

funny because I feel like even when I'm driving the ball really well,




00:08:28

if I just focus on my short game and chipping and putting,




00:08:32

that would be a much better approach. But for you guys,




00:08:36

it is such a huge advantage to be able to drive it and then drive




00:08:39

it consistently farther. At what point did you guys realize, like, oh,




00:08:43

wait, I could actually do something from a long drive perspective,




00:08:47

your. Story is like the epitome of why we play golf. Because




00:08:51

it's that one shot. It's the one shot that keeps you coming




00:08:54

back. And whether it's a good drive or an albatross.




00:08:59

No, Sam, go ahead. That's exactly. I just read the story online, and it was




00:09:02

a woman's second time playing golf with her husband, who's been playing for




00:09:06

20 years, and she gets a nine, nine, nine and then




00:09:09

115 yards, she hits a hole in one with a driver on a par three




00:09:13

and then goes, nine, nine, nine. That was the shot that




00:09:17

probably kept. Her coming, of course. That's great. Wow. So for me, again, I




00:09:21

hit it long way in high school, so it always piqued my interest to be




00:09:25

like, oh, I wonder if I can do a long drive event. So me and




00:09:27

my dad drove out. We lived in Arizona at the time. We drove out to




00:09:31

California for a local qualifier event, and I got




00:09:35

to hit in this local qualifier and ended up going




00:09:38

393. And I needed, like,




00:09:41

398 in that set to end up advancing to the regional qualifier. And I was




00:09:44

like, I can do this. I'm 17. I absolutely can do this. And actually, it




00:09:48

was the next month that I had my health issues kick up, and I had




00:09:52

to stop. But that event right there was




00:09:55

Kyle Berkshire's first event, too. He was in that local qualifier.




00:09:59

So as I'm in bed, basically bedridden




00:10:03

for five years, I'm watching him live out the




00:10:06

career that I always thought I could have. And I was always in the position




00:10:10

of saying, you know what? That could be me. That could have been me. And




00:10:13

I think a bunch of people started getting tired of hearing me, except for my




00:10:17

mom and dad, who are going, yeah, that could have been, and it will be




00:10:20

one day. And I was like, I'm sick. I can't do, like, that's not me




00:10:22

anymore. And they kept saying it and saying it and saying it. So finally, when




00:10:25

I picked it back up, it was immediately like, all right, now I got to




00:10:28

show everyone, like, that still can be me. Oh, that's awesome, man. How's your health




00:10:32

right now? A lot better. I'm still dealing with stuff kind of continually. It'll




00:10:36

be a battle for a while. So I have Lyme disease. I also had a




00:10:39

traumatic brain injury, so that's kind of a battle




00:10:43

that might never go away. But I have my good times, I have my bad




00:10:46

times. But luckily, by the grace of God, I am in a position where




00:10:50

I can train the majority of the time. Oh, man, what a great story. Well,




00:10:54

I mean, it's just. Dude, kudos to you, man. I think you're doing




00:10:57

it. I sincerely believe that




00:11:01

truly, anything is possible, man. You just have to believe it. And




00:11:05

for me, at least in almost all aspects of my life, I've had




00:11:09

to almost fake it until I made it, and then it just sort of happens.




00:11:11

You just sort of play the role, and then I don't know how to describe




00:11:15

it, but anyway, man, well, thanks for sharing that. That's really interesting.




00:11:19

Don't let Sam cut himself short all while going through all that adversity.




00:11:23

He just finished his doctorate this year and is now




00:11:26

a. Oh, congrats, dude. Wow, that's amazing.




00:11:30

Yeah, I was a little study bug, so when I was home in bed not




00:11:33

doing anything, I ended up taking my bachelor's and master's concurrently, and




00:11:37

then a second master's concurrently with a PhD and doctorate. So




00:11:41

I was having 36 course hours per semester, taking, like,




00:11:44

quadruple loads. And just. That's all I was doing 12 hours a day just to




00:11:48

try. What was your major, and what was it again? So, a couple. I got




00:11:51

a bachelor's in business. I have a master's in exercise science, and




00:11:55

I have a doctorate in natural medicine. So my actual




00:11:58

career is helping people go through what I went through because I have a lot




00:12:01

of the book knowledge mixed with real life experience, so I help a lot of




00:12:05

people in that aspect. And then, obviously, the exercise science. I also have a lot




00:12:09

of strength and conditioning certifications and sports nutrition and things like that. So I get




00:12:12

to use that in my actual life of long drive and




00:12:16

developing products like the speed toad. Well, I want to get into that. I mean,




00:12:20

Bryce, I didn't mean to cut you off, too. Were you going to say something




00:12:22

before that? No, just throw Sam the kudos. And then




00:12:26

how him and I met real quick. So I




00:12:30

finished my last marathon in December of 21




00:12:34

in Memphis, and in January, my golfing




00:12:37

buddies, just like you, my Friday group, was telling me, Bryce, you got to see




00:12:41

how far you can hit it. You got to see how far you can hit




00:12:43

it. I run the marathon in December, and then, like, two




00:12:46

weeks later, my back is still just absolutely wrecked. And I get




00:12:50

on my club's track, man, and I put up, like,




00:12:54

185 ball speed, I think. And I was like, well, that's not




00:12:57

fancy, but that's pretty good for the condition of my body right now.




00:13:01

I just ran 26 miles. So then I was like, well, let's see what I




00:13:05

can do. This was in 2022, so last year. And so I




00:13:09

get my talk speed training aids. I get my light speed stick




00:13:13

up to, like, 145 or 46, something like that. I




00:13:16

was like, you know what? I should give this a go. And I create a




00:13:20

little instagram, which is now my instagram, and I'm talking my




00:13:23

third post. I put location, Franklin, Tennessee.




00:13:27

Like, second or third post? Sam messages me. Hey,




00:13:31

are you near Nashville? You're Franklin. He's like, yeah, he's like, you want to come




00:13:34

over and hit in my garage? I was, uh, yeah, sure. Why not?




00:13:38

Oh, wow. And so that was, like, last July. And




00:13:41

so ever since then, a year and a half, like every single




00:13:45

Monday and sometimes a Friday, we'll hit together. We




00:13:48

train. It's been like a year and a half. It's pretty crazy. Forget my ignorance




00:13:52

here on the long drive stuff. And by the way, you guys have a great




00:13:55

training, I guess, series that goes along with the aid, which we'll get into here




00:13:59

in just a second. But I think, how would someone




00:14:03

just get into it? Is there a




00:14:07

specific type of coach or a specific type of instructor that you'd go to separate?




00:14:11

That would be because I go to a regular PGA professional.




00:14:14

So there are a lot of different aspects of long drive. I mean, we're just




00:14:17

talking, actually, we built the ball speed pyramid and the distance




00:14:20

pyramid, which is, if you want to hit the ball further, it starts by, you




00:14:24

got to have the right spin, you got to have the right angle of attack.




00:14:27

You got to launch it correctly. But past that, you can't really obtain




00:14:31

more distance. The next step is you need to gain ball speed, because that's how




00:14:34

the ball ends up going further. And from that, to gain ball speed, you just




00:14:37

have to hit it in the center of the face. Once you're tapped there, what




00:14:40

comes next? Which is club speed. So you can go to different coaches,




00:14:44

normal PGA coaches for the first one and for the second one,




00:14:48

but for the third one, it kind of takes a special coach to start developing




00:14:51

that. One of the benefits of us is we ended up doing this all by




00:14:54

ourselves, so we didn't have a coach. We sat in my garage, and we figured




00:14:58

it out ourselves, and we looked at each other's swings and said, okay, well, you




00:15:01

do this really well, and I do this really well. Where's the disconnect in our




00:15:04

swings? Like, how can I implement that in my swing? And you implement this,




00:15:08

and through training and practice and repetition after repetition,




00:15:12

you start develop more of a long drive swing, which is actually putting speed at




00:15:15

the golf ball, optimizing flight a little bit. But the biggest thing




00:15:19

is just overspeed training. So that's where speed training aids come in with the speed




00:15:22

toad and swing really fast and then just hitting ball after ball to prep your




00:15:26

nervous system to move faster and more efficiently. I feel like that's probably one of




00:15:30

my biggest problems, is because I'll hit a couple out of bounds




00:15:34

or I'll hook. I'm a hooker. One




00:15:38

of the co hosts on our podcast, we call him Panda. We all go by




00:15:41

our head covers. Like, this guy just had an amazing panda headcover when I met




00:15:44

him and his first name, I was wondering how that




00:15:48

dude. His first name is really Laken. And I'm like, I'm never going to remember




00:15:51

that. I'm just going to call you Panda from now on. Of course, I'm Albie




00:15:55

because I got an albatross. And then my other budies, his name's




00:15:59

Shepard or Koala. We bounce around with him. But anyway, but my




00:16:03

point is, he's a PJ teaching pro. He's been




00:16:07

working with me for a couple of years now and really good.




00:16:11

I've seen a lot of instructors. He's actually really one of the better ones. But




00:16:14

for me, I guess my point is he's got me as, like, a reformed hooker




00:16:18

now, but I'll still snipe a couple occasionally out




00:16:22

of bounds. And when that happens, what I'll naturally do is then I




00:16:25

will try to almost ease up or almost be timid and




00:16:29

don't swing at the ball. Almost steer it, which is even




00:16:33

worse. I feel like that just gets me. It just gets the ball going even




00:16:36

crazier. So I love what you're saying there, man. You just have to be aggressive




00:16:39

and kind of swing at it, get the speed and really be aggressive towards the




00:16:42

ball, which I don't know, man. We'll see. Hopefully your a can help me. Help




00:16:46

me get there. Okay, so you guys met. You guys are training together.




00:16:50

That's cool on a couple of fronts. One thing that just comes to mind immediately




00:16:54

is you don't really hear of too many competitors. You guys are




00:16:57

technically kind of competing against one another in a lot of ways. I mean, it's




00:17:01

kind of cool that you guys are actually training with each other, so that's kind




00:17:05

of cool in its own right. How does that work? Well, I mean, I got




00:17:08

to start by saying I got to jump in here. Hold on. Yeah, he's going




00:17:11

to go there, but I got to give him the props first. We have faced




00:17:14

each other twice in competition now, and I am over two. And




00:17:17

every single Monday, I am faster than him. I hit the ball




00:17:21

further than him, and he smokes me in competition every




00:17:25

single time. So I'm over two on that. There's your props. Bryce. Go ahead and




00:17:28

say whatever Sam's got me by.




00:17:32

He's the second man to ever eclipse 240 ball speed. So there's




00:17:36

literally only, like, one or two people that hit a golf ball faster than Sam




00:17:39

in the entire world, ever. Wow. He's got me by like




00:17:43

20 miles an hour ball speed. Holy shit. That's crazy.




00:17:47

So when you step on the box in long drive with a guy that, you




00:17:50

know is another worldly faster than you, it's really




00:17:54

easy to press and try to swing outside yourself




00:17:57

and do something you're not capable of doing. And so I have been




00:18:01

lucky enough twice to just put a couple bunts out there right down the




00:18:05

middle, nothing impressive. And then Sam just happened to go out of




00:18:08

bounds those two sets. And so if




00:18:12

he squares one up against me, that probably will end the streak, the




00:18:16

winning streak I have. But I'm a bit. I'll stand by




00:18:20

saying that that's my brotherly love for him, that I let him have those even




00:18:23

though I didn't. I love that you guys train,




00:18:27

know? I don't know, man. It's just a cool story. Franklin, by the way. Franklin,




00:18:30

is that. Oh, I'm thinking of Manchester. I was like, because I've been to




00:18:33

Bonnaroo a few times and I couldn't remember where that was. I actually,




00:18:37

I'm from North Carolina originally and went to school up at Appalachian State in




00:18:41

Boone. I would get it over to Tennessee quite a bit, man. I love it




00:18:44

over there. So what's the schedule like?




00:18:49

When are you guys, I guess when are the tournaments primarily




00:18:52

or what's the season look like? This year was ten events




00:18:56

plus the world championships. The first one was in Mesquite,




00:19:00

Nevada, in March, I believe, late March. And then there's usually about




00:19:03

once every three weeks, there's a tournament all the way from Nevada




00:19:07

all the way up to Connecticut, down to Hope Sound, Florida. There was actually two




00:19:11

in Tennessee this year. And then the world championships was in Atlanta this




00:19:15

year at Bobby Jones golf course in like, I think that was mid




00:19:19

October. So it's a good, I don't know, seven month season




00:19:23

where it's about on average, I say every three weeks there's a tournament. That's cool,




00:19:26

man. Tell me a little bit about how you guys decided to develop




00:19:30

speed, toad. And maybe if you can just tell the




00:19:34

millions of viewers out there that's going to be watching this thing. Tell them a




00:19:38

little bit about it, man. How'd you guys come up with it and tell us




00:19:41

the story? I'll start with the idea of how it came about is




00:19:45

we had just like you, I mean, every speed training aid on the market. And




00:19:49

we were training hard with them. And we were seeing a lot of




00:19:52

progress in our speed training aids and our drivers were not getting




00:19:56

faster, and we were trying to figure out that disconnect of,




00:20:00

okay, why is this green speed stick start swinging faster?




00:20:03

Why is my lag shot getting faster? Why is all these different things getting




00:20:07

faster? But my driver hasn't budged. And we started




00:20:10

discovering the effects of how important it is to actually train




00:20:14

with your golf shaft. Because each shaft kicks differently, it




00:20:18

flexes differently, and you have to optimize that in order to put speed into it.




00:20:22

Whereas with something that's as stiff as a pole or some of these other training




00:20:25

aids, you can get away with muscling it, not using your nervous system




00:20:29

effectively, and ultimately not putting the speed directly at the ball. So




00:20:32

it looks like you're getting faster, it feels like you're getting faster, but all of




00:20:36

a sudden, you're still not swinging faster nor hitting longer drives. So that's kind of




00:20:40

where the idea came up of, how can we effectively underweight speed




00:20:44

train with our own driver shaft. Yeah, that underweight piece




00:20:47

is, we identified early this year,




00:20:51

that's the huge piece, is when you go underweight, and that




00:20:55

speeds your clubhead and your swing up, that gets your nervous system and




00:20:59

your muscles and your fast twitch system moving faster. It gets




00:21:03

used to moving faster. And so once, let's say




00:21:06

you're at 125 miles an hour club speed, and you throw a speed




00:21:10

toad on there, and you're swinging at 130. That literally teaches your




00:21:14

body to move 130 miles an hour. So then you throw your




00:21:17

driver back in your hands, and 125 becomes 126 because your




00:21:21

brain and your body just moved 130. So it speeds




00:21:25

up that process. Instead of just sitting there with your driver trying to crank out




00:21:28

1 mile an hour, it teaches your body to move faster.




00:21:33

That's kind of where we realized that underweight piece was huge.




00:21:37

And then, to Sam's point, what kind of driver do you swing there? I've got




00:21:41

the paradigm. Paradigm. There you go. That's what I'm swinging. And with the




00:21:45

shaft that you got fitted for that setup,




00:21:48

that shaft works with your swing. It flexes the right amount at the




00:21:52

right time in your downswing to maximize




00:21:55

accuracy. And so Sam mentioned we




00:21:59

were swinging those stiff speed sticks, and we were getting faster with those, but




00:22:03

not with our drivers. And so, literally, it started in March. I went to




00:22:07

Home Depot and bought, like, 45 washers.




00:22:10

And the longest screw, we didn't know




00:22:14

drivers weigh about 195 grams. We didn't




00:22:17

know. Is 80 grams the right weight for this thing? Is




00:22:21

210 grams the right weight. And so we just kept stacking




00:22:24

washers on and taking them off and finding the right weights that we like,




00:22:28

that resulted in fast enough speeds to activate your




00:22:32

nervous system, but not too light to where it's not activating the shaft. If




00:22:35

the shaft is not flexing like it does in your golf swing, well,




00:22:39

then it's not mimicking. And so we kind of did




00:22:42

the prototype testing there for months, and once




00:22:46

we found that 140 grams weight, that was ideal. Then we kind of




00:22:50

took it to that next step and found someone to make us an actual




00:22:54

prototype of aluminum. So wait a minute. So you're telling me that you guys




00:22:58

have only known each other since last. Wait, last July? Is that what you




00:23:01

said? I think so. Right. Wow. And you've already come out.




00:23:05

This is crazy. So you've developed a product, and then you're




00:23:08

bringing it to market. It's live. So, I mean, you guys did all that within.




00:23:12

Since last July? Yeah. A lot of the




00:23:16

practicing and trying to figure that out was this year as we went into




00:23:20

our offseason, after we both competed in the world championship last year in 2022.




00:23:23

And both were like, this is going to be the year of speed. We need




00:23:27

to set goals for ourselves that we think are out of reach, and we're




00:23:30

going to achieve them. So we pushed hard. And with that,




00:23:34

you're pushing hard with all the tools that other people are selling




00:23:38

and some are using, some are not using them.




00:23:41

And that's where our product is so good, is that we spent all year




00:23:45

training with it. We both trained with it today, actually, and we actually use




00:23:49

our product, and that's why it's so effective and why we've had such great results.




00:23:52

I love that. Let's just say that




00:23:56

someone like myself, I start using it consistently, and I'm




00:24:00

seeing an increase in swing speed. At what point do I need to go get




00:24:03

remeasured or recalibrated? Like, shaft wise? It all




00:24:07

depends on where your swing speed is at and how your accuracy is,




00:24:11

because every swing is so different that there are people who can get away




00:24:15

swinging really fast with a regular flex shaft and others




00:24:18

that need more of a stiff setup or an extra stiff setup. It all kind




00:24:22

of depends on your goals and more so on spin




00:24:25

ball flight, launch. That's where shaft optimization really




00:24:29

comes in. Play is what you're doing on the course, what that ball flight looks




00:24:33

like, and then how you can tweak that ball flight, because you can tweak ball




00:24:36

flight by lowering loft on the driver, changing the weight setup in




00:24:40

the driver, or you can do it by a different kick point in the shaft




00:24:44

or a stiffer setup. There are a lot of different ways, so it really just




00:24:46

depends on what you're doing on the course. And if there's something you don't like,




00:24:50

then it may be time to look at a different shaft. I think the first




00:24:53

thing you'll notice is the spin thing that Sam mentioned.




00:24:57

If you have your Callaway set at plus




00:25:01

one, if you're adding a degree of loft, for example, and as you gain




00:25:04

speed, you're creating more friction and speed at the golf ball, which is going to




00:25:08

cause it to spin more. And so the first thing you gain, three,




00:25:12

four, 5 miles an hour club speed, and all of a sudden your drives are




00:25:15

kind of ballooning up. I think the first thing most people are going to do




00:25:18

is turn that cog down one, instead of adding a degree of




00:25:21

loft, play it as stated, and that brings the spin down. And also




00:25:25

you get that extra distance because you're spinning it in that




00:25:28

2400 range instead of maybe up to 3000. That




00:25:32

spin usually is that indicator. How many more yards is like per




00:25:36

mile per hour faster? About three yards. Oh, wow.




00:25:39

Okay. Give or take. If all things are equal, obviously there's launch




00:25:42

conditions and spin and all that, but




00:25:45

1 going to be about three yards. Okay. And then what kind of golf




00:25:49

ball do you guys use? This is just kind of fascinating, especially with all the




00:25:53

stuff going on with the rollback and everything else. I want to get your opinion




00:25:55

on that, by the way. But my thing is now it's even




00:25:59

more important to get your swing speed up because that's going to be




00:26:03

like, to me, it's going to play an even more important part of the game




00:26:06

later on. But I don't know. And plus, I know that I




00:26:10

guess I'll give you my two cent on it, too. I have a feeling it's




00:26:13

going to probably change between now and I think it's, what, three or four years




00:26:16

before it even goes into effect, which to me




00:26:20

is like, I feel like that's going to change between now and then.




00:26:24

The PGA didn't the two already come out saying, we don't




00:26:27

support this? So, yeah, I got to think there's changes between now and then.




00:26:31

But to your point, for anyone that's an average or




00:26:34

below average driver distance wise of the golf ball, it will be




00:26:38

that much more imperative that they go gain another three to 5 miles an hour




00:26:42

club speed to make up the gap, if not, get any.




00:26:46

You know, sam mentioning three yards per mile an hour to




00:26:49

someone who's never speed trained or even someone who's using speed sticks,




00:26:53

because the speed gain is lost in translation to the




00:26:57

driver gaining 5 miles an hour of club speed with the speed




00:27:00

toad is extremely doable. And




00:27:04

in a relatively short time frame, too, which 5 miles an hour,




00:27:08

that's 15 yards on your drive. That's one less club into the green.




00:27:12

Yeah, no, it's a huge difference. Do all the guys in these competitions, do they




00:27:15

all use the same golf ball, or do they do so in




00:27:19

competition? Right now, we're using the Bridgestone e nine s. And




00:27:23

there are buckets of balls that sit there on the t box, and you hit




00:27:26

a specific color for whatever slot you're in. So that when you're hitting at the




00:27:30

same time, they know exactly what ball you hit. And we all hit




00:27:34

the same ball. That ball gets hit one time in competition that gets put on




00:27:37

the side for a range ball. And so you're all hitting brand new balls and




00:27:40

everything. Now, when we're pushing ball speed records or something like that, you'll see some




00:27:44

guys hitting other balls. So, like, left dash is a really popular one because that's




00:27:48

pretty much the fastest ball in the world. Is it really?




00:27:52

From our testing, that's been significantly fast. There's also a company




00:27:56

out in Germany, I believe, which is called a noble golf ball.




00:27:59

Some guys like to use that. Most my ball speed records come with the




00:28:03

left dash. Same with Bryce. Wow, that's so cool, man.




00:28:07

One thing about long drive, if you don't follow it, you hear a bunch of




00:28:10

stories. All the equipment that we're using in competition is




00:28:14

USGA conforming. So the Bridgestone e nine golf ball




00:28:18

is a USGA approved golf ball. Every club we go register




00:28:21

before every tournament, the clubs have to get measured and approved.




00:28:25

They're 48 inches or shorter, which is the USGA max. And




00:28:29

so every club, head, shaft, ball we're playing is




00:28:32

USGA specs. So it's not like some crazy




00:28:35

bananas. Equipment producing distances that are




00:28:39

upwards of 500 yards. Has that always been the case




00:28:43

as far as the shafts go? I always thought that they were like, longer shafts,




00:28:47

but was that like a newer thing where they made them more




00:28:52

conformed to the standards, or has that always been the case? I'm not sure




00:28:56

when they did that, Sam. Do you remember? It was a while ago. Actually, it's




00:29:00

been 48 for a while. But back in the 90s, you'd see guys swinging like




00:29:03

52 inch driver shafts. In the early two thousand s, I think




00:29:07

they changed it down to 50 inches. And then it was definitely




00:29:11

more recently in the became




00:29:15

48 and they started doing USGA because people would start talking about how it's




00:29:18

two different sports. And while it is very much so two different




00:29:22

sports, we have setups that Rory could go hit on the course this weekend




00:29:26

and it would be completely legal for him to do. Not optimal, but it's definitely




00:29:29

legal. I just didn't know. But this also shows my age because I




00:29:33

think I'm 43 and I thought




00:29:37

that that was still the case. I didn't realize that. I'm actually a lot more




00:29:41

impressed now that I know that. And then also, it's kind of crazy




00:29:44

that you guys are breaking records. This gives you a testament




00:29:48

to the speed training. I feel like you guys are breaking




00:29:51

records. Even though your shafts are shorter now than they were




00:29:55

back then, you'd think that they would actually have the equipment




00:29:58

advantage back then. So it must be the swing speed that you guys are. Must




00:30:02

be the training that kind of goes into it. I would assume it's definitely a




00:30:05

combination. Obviously, there's advancements of technology, better shafts,




00:30:09

later shafts, better club heads, better golf balls, all that stuff,




00:30:13

too. But back then, they also measured club speed, so we can just




00:30:16

range it based on club speed. And back then, in a world




00:30:20

championship, fastest type guys, you'd see probably like 155




00:30:24

club speed, and that would probably topping out at the highest.




00:30:27

And now the top guys are in the mid




00:30:30

160s, closing in on 170, depending on what machine you're




00:30:34

on. Wow, that's crazy, man.




00:30:37

That's so cool. So then what's the name? Speed Toado. Tell me about how did




00:30:41

you guys come up with speed toad?




00:30:46

We were hitting in his garage on a Monday and we were like, you




00:30:50

know what? We'd been training with the prototypes we had built, and we didn't even




00:30:54

know if we wanted to bring it to market or sell it




00:30:57

or just continue training. And then I




00:31:01

said, what are we going to name the mean?




00:31:04

Within a minute, out came Sam's mouth, speed




00:31:08

toed. And I was like, that's pretty good. And we sat on it




00:31:12

for like a month, trying to think of something better and never




00:31:16

came. Know the logic behind that? Was it




00:31:19

sitting on top of the golf shaft looked like a mushroom head.




00:31:23

And from back in my days of playing Mario Kart, it looks




00:31:27

like toad from Mario Kart. And if you get a mushroom in. Mario Kart, back




00:31:30

from my days, from being at Appalachian State, it looks a lot like a mushroom.




00:31:34

I'll be honest, with Mario Kart, you. Get a speed




00:31:37

boost when you have a mushroom. So let's get a mushroom in real life, get




00:31:40

a speed boost, and the speed toad was born. Love it. Love




00:31:44

it. That's cool, man. We're not super serious guys, so




00:31:48

we like to keep it fun and light, and it kind of matched that.




00:31:52

Just kind of fun and light. Nothing too serious. Thank God, because I'm getting ready




00:31:56

to ask you some really random ass questions that I ask everyone on the podcast.




00:31:59

That if you're serious, you'd do a Sam, you'd probably




00:32:03

bounce on me. And that's okay if you do. That's okay if you do. All




00:32:06

right, so one of the questions I always ask everyone is,




00:32:10

can a human being eat a golf ball, swallow




00:32:14

a golf ball, basically, and live? Yes. I'm going to




00:32:17

say yes, because that kobayashi guy hitting hot dog down in hot




00:32:21

dogs was out of this world. What's his name? Joey




00:32:24

Chestnut, too. Yeah, the hot dog guy comes up quite a bit. I've




00:32:28

probably asked 100 people, this guys, and it is split down the middle. It's 50




00:32:32

50. And I go back and forth with it. I don't know the answer. I




00:32:34

don't really know. This came up because




00:32:38

on one of the podcasts, I told panda that if we




00:32:42

get, like, 150 subscribers on our YouTube channel, we're pretty far away




00:32:45

from that still. But I will never tell




00:32:49

the albatross story again. And he was like, bullshit, man. If you're




00:32:53

playing pine one with a bunch of gibronis who are terrible




00:32:57

at golf, and one of them hits makes a birdie, and it's like, oh, my




00:33:00

God, it's the most amazing shot in this hole ever. You're telling me you're not




00:33:03

going to tell them about your albatross? I'm like, no, I won't. All right, well,




00:33:06

you're going to have to do something. And he came up with, eat a golf




00:33:09

ball. Anyway, the more I think about




00:33:12

it. The extraction process concerns me more than the ingestion.




00:33:16

The extraction. My thinking on that is, it takes a very specific person, and




00:33:20

I think there's a high chance of the population eating a golf




00:33:24

ball. They're going to die. There's going to be some impaction there, but




00:33:28

with certain people, I think it can probably move through their digestive system.




00:33:31

Obviously, we have harder and more crazy digestive systems than dogs,




00:33:35

but, man, dogs can eat anything, and it goes through them. So while we got




00:33:38

a little bit more twists and turns that we have there, I think it might




00:33:41

be possible that somebody would live through that. We got a doctor on




00:33:45

here. We got a doctor on the call. He can give us




00:33:48

my opinion. Not telling anyone to do it is. I think there's




00:33:52

a few people that could live. I think a lot of people, if they try




00:33:55

and listen to this podcast and eat it, first off, they shouldn't be listening because




00:33:58

they're not smarter than don't do it we're talking about. But I think there's




00:34:02

a lot of people that end up in the hospital with something impacted that they'd




00:34:05

have to get out. Yeah, I mean, my thought is, if you can get it,




00:34:08

I would worry about choking. Like you're going to spice up. But then again,




00:34:12

people swallow swords. Also, you've got




00:34:15

Shaquille O'Neill. That dude's got a big everything. Like, he's got a big esophagus. So




00:34:19

I'm assuming I don't. It'd be like eating a peanut for us. Check out. No.




00:34:22

If you've watched America's got Talent, they have the professional regurgitator on there, and he




00:34:26

can swallow anything. If you haven't seen that for everyone, look it up.




00:34:30

That dude's crazy. He can swallow blades, cut things in half. He can open




00:34:34

locks in his stomach. He's a guy that can swallow. He swallowed a pool ball.




00:34:37

Open locks in his stomach. He's swallowed pool balls.




00:34:42

It's a good watch. You got to watch him. Wow. All




00:34:45

right, so I got a couple of things to research. Left dash. That's first and




00:34:49

foremost. Second titleist probi one. Left dash.




00:34:52

If you never hit one. Yeah, it's a titleist proby one. It's got




00:34:56

literally just has a left dash. And if you never hit one,




00:35:00

when you hit, it feels like a rock. It's hard.




00:35:03

So, Bryce, it's funny you said that, because I didn't know if it was the




00:35:06

same thing, but my budy I was playing with the other day, I don't play




00:35:09

with him very often, but good guy. Shout out to you, cleat. But anyway,




00:35:13

he basically was like, oh, no. He gave me, like, a couple of pro v




00:35:16

ones. And he said, here, man, I only play left dashes. And I'm like, oh,




00:35:19

but it's a pro v one. He's like, yeah, but then he showed me the




00:35:23

left dash. I had never seen it before. And the way he described it as,




00:35:25

like, it's kind of in between, like a pro v one and a proview one




00:35:28

x. But I don't know if that's true. Or not, but no, not according to




00:35:31

me. I think it's definitely harder than a proview one. X. So it




00:35:35

goes like proview one. Proview one x, then proview one left dash.




00:35:39

It is harder. It spins less. It has a lower ball flight. And that's




00:35:43

why guys like us who swing super fast want to hit it because it's not




00:35:46

going to spin a whole bunch. But your approach shot, like you're eight iron




00:35:50

into a green on a par four, you're going to get another, like, seven yards.




00:35:54

I played with them on the course just because winter golf, it's like, I don't




00:35:57

care what golf ball. And, yeah, you almost have to club




00:36:01

down a little bit because it's so low spinning that you'll get another




00:36:05

seven, eight yards of carry out of those irons. Everybody's going to think we're rolling




00:36:09

in it. Because you don't care what ball you hit on the course in winter




00:36:12

and you're hitting left dashes. It's because after we




00:36:16

hit, we have a bunch of extras. After




00:36:19

we beat them up. That's right. After we beat them up in the garage, I




00:36:23

take them out of the course and play with them until they crack.




00:36:26

Your balls crack? Oh, yeah. We probably




00:36:30

broke four or five today training alone. No way.




00:36:33

Seriously? Absolutely. I think. Holy shit, man. I don't think I've ever broken a




00:36:37

golf ball ever. I have a bucket in my garage of balls that we've just




00:36:40

kept, that we've broken. And I got to get rid of it because it overflowed.




00:36:43

But, I mean, we probably have 150 in there that we broke training the last




00:36:47

year. Dude, that is crazy to me.




00:36:51

I would have never thought that. I didn't know that was a thing. I mean,




00:36:55

I compressed the ball, but I guess I don't really compress it compared to




00:36:58

you guys. That's insane. We found, like, the sweet spot of, like,




00:37:03

you know, the life of every different type of ball until it starts breaking as




00:37:06

far as how many swing counts. And, I mean, if we use some




00:37:10

balls, we'd go broke training for this sport because we'd break them. Know so




00:37:14

often. Wow. That's crazy, man. All right, mother random. This is even more




00:37:18

random. I'm just kind of curious on what you guys. You guys seem like a




00:37:20

good dude, so I'd love to hear your opinion on this. So are there more?




00:37:23

Especially you, doc. Are there more legs or




00:37:27

eyes in the world? Are there more legs or eyes in the world? Now, this




00:37:30

could be any being. Whenever I say that, everyone's like, any bean.




00:37:34

No, I don't mean any bean. I mean any being. Anything that's alive. So we're




00:37:38

including fish. We're including all of it. Are there more eyes or legs in the




00:37:42

world? I'm going legs right off the bat. I think I'm feeling strong about that.




00:37:45

Just between, especially if we're counting animals. Animals have a lot




00:37:49

of legs, and there's a lot less animals that have more than one eye,




00:37:53

albeit if we're talking spiders and stuff. That's where it




00:37:57

becomes a little bit interesting. But every spider also has




00:38:01

a bunch of legs, so I'm going to say legs outlay




00:38:04

that. Immediately, I started talking about amputees and people with one eye and




00:38:08

things like that. But I think we need to go into the animal kingdom for




00:38:11

the answer to this one. What do you. Yeah, yeah. Insects, too.




00:38:15

I think the answer is in the ocean. That's a lot of eyeballs with.




00:38:19

No, that's. That's kind of where I'm at. Yeah, fins don't




00:38:22

count. I'm with you. I'm actually with. I don't. The terrible part




00:38:26

about this question is I don't have an answer. I feel so bad when I




00:38:29

ask this because it just drives people insane because it's been driving me crazy ever




00:38:33

since I heard this question. And I'm like, but, yeah, I'm with you, man. I




00:38:37

think there's so many fish out there that we don't even really know about, right.




00:38:40

That they don't have legs. But there are a lot of. I mean, I can




00:38:43

see both sides here, man. Drives me nuts. I mean, centipedes.




00:38:46

Centipedes are legs for days. How many centipedes do you think there are? That's




00:38:50

100 legs for a lot of them. Plus. That's true. But are we counting




00:38:54

tentacles for octopus? Yeah, that's true, too. But what about




00:38:58

the wolf spider? Those are. See, tentacles. I don't know, man. I don't know if




00:39:01

we can count. Are those legs? I guess they are legs, sort of. I don't




00:39:03

know. I mean, they're tentacles. Yeah,




00:39:07

but they're the wolf spider. Someone blew my mind. They're like, they




00:39:11

said the wolf spider has, like, I don't know, like 60 eyes or




00:39:15

something crazy. So I don't know. Who knows? I might change my




00:39:19

answer then. I'll tell you




00:39:22

what. You go count them all, go swim in the ocean, start counting them, come




00:39:26

back and tell me if I'm wrong. All right, deal. All right, I'm on




00:39:29

it. I really do appreciate you guys hopping on here.




00:39:34

Let, let me just kind of share with you guys. How so I'll get this




00:39:37

thing edited and then I'll shoot it over to you guys and if you don't




00:39:39

mind sharing on your social and then vice versa. And then whatever I can do




00:39:43

to help, man. I'm definitely going to be doing the swing eight Saturdays coming




00:39:46

up here. So I'll definitely do a review and I'll shoot it over to you.




00:39:49

And like I said, man, I've loved it so far. And I love the approach




00:39:52

that you guys have. I just love anyone that has an idea or a dream




00:39:56

and chases it. And I love that you guys kind of came together




00:39:59

and they're going after it, man. Like, kudos to you. Thank you. Appreciate it. I




00:40:03

think all three of us have that in similarity as far as just chasing




00:40:07

dreams. And if you have an idea, go for it. Did you get the speed




00:40:10

program that came with the speed code? I think so.




00:40:14

Actually, I haven't seen it. If so, is it separate or is it something I




00:40:18

need to subscribe to or something? So it was on a QR code in the




00:40:21

box, but I'll email you the link. It basically walks you through




00:40:25

all the way up to 44 weeks, depending how intense you want to get with




00:40:28

your speed training on every week. Here's what to do and all the




00:40:31

drills. So I'll send you that link. And then




00:40:35

I would love to see you gain 5 miles an hour like that. And so




00:40:39

as you have questions, as you follow that, shoot us a note, man. We'd love




00:40:43

to help you out and give you tips and pointers or answer questions you might




00:40:46

have. Yeah, I might take you up on that. I saw that you guys were




00:40:49

asking. Maybe you guys even offer it. But as far as




00:40:53

I got the flight scope, mivo plus, will that tell me swing




00:40:57

speed? Not on dry swings. It will tell




00:41:01

you on club speed when you're hitting a ball.




00:41:04

But we also have on our website a PRGR, which is probably what Bryce




00:41:08

just grabbed. Okay. All right, cool. Have you seen




00:41:11

these? So these, in my opinion, it's the best bang for your buck. Flight




00:41:15

scope is great, too. It's $230 and




00:41:19

super speed sells them. Stack system sells them.




00:41:23

They measure, like Sam said, they measure the dry swing speed when you're not




00:41:27

hitting a golf ball. So it'll tell you




00:41:30

club speed. And in my opinion, for anyone.




00:41:34

So you see right there, it's the best bang for your buck. For a launch




00:41:38

monitor, it reads club speed, ball speed, smash factor, and then




00:41:41

estimates total distance. So anyone saying, like, I want a launch




00:41:45

monitor, but I don't want to fork over dough, this works really well. For speed




00:41:49

training and at the range. I'll buy,




00:41:53

dude, I'm the easiest selling this stuff because I'm just like, yep, I




00:41:56

need it. That's what I need right there. Right off the speedtoad.com. Exactly. I will.




00:42:00

I will for sure, man. I will. For sure. Well, alright, boys, well, thank, thanks




00:42:03

again. Are you guys coming to the PGA show or. No, you are? Oh,




00:42:06

cool. Speedtoad will be at the PGA show. All right, man. Cool. Well,




00:42:10

let's get Speed toad hooked up with Dit Yama. And then we actually just had




00:42:13

this guy Brandon on the podcast last know. You've probably seen




00:42:17

him on social. This guy's trying to basically




00:42:21

play you. Have you seen him? He's playing. Yep. I've seen.




00:42:25

Yep. Talking to everybody trying to play.




00:42:29

Him on the, we him on the podcast. Anyway, he's going to be down there.




00:42:32

Be a great. He's got a great following and stuff, too, man. And you're going




00:42:36

to be there? I'm going to be there, yeah. We don't have like a booth




00:42:38

or anything, but we're going to go and network and hook up some people, so.




00:42:41

Yeah, definitely. I mean, we live in Tampa, so we're pretty close by, but we're




00:42:45

going to be spending the whole week there. So definitely when we get closer to




00:42:48

it, let's definitely stay in touch and maybe we can meet up. I don't know




00:42:51

if you guys are going to be golfing while you're down, but let us know.




00:42:55

Absolutely. Cool. All right, well, thanks, guys. Appreciate it. Have a great




00:42:58

night. Take care. Thanks for coming on. Thank you. All right, man. We'll be in




00:43:01

touch. See you. Did I tell you about my albatross?




00:43:05

Thanks for tuning in, everyone. Don't miss out on our upcoming golf giveaways and




00:43:08

experiences. They're exclusive to our subscribers and all you got to do




00:43:12

is subscribe. And until next time, golf's easy. Think fairways and




00:43:16

greens. Oh, here we go. Come on. Did I tell you about my




00:43:20

albatross? A yo, how you know.