That's Good. Pick it Up!
Nate Oxman is a true Renaissance Man—Marion caddie, teacher, longtime golf writer, published author, and now podcast host. On That’s Good. Pick It Up!, Nate sits down with the authors behind some of golf’s best books, sharing the stories, ideas, and moments that make the game so meaningful. If you love golf and a good read, this one’s for you.
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That's Good. Pick it Up!
John Morton & Auld Grey Toun Golf Books & Collectibles
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Welcome back to another episode of That's Good Pick It Up. This is Robbie, founder of Best Ball, and producer of this podcast for my friend Nate and wait for it. Nate Oxman and now John Sherman. That's right. Nate and John have teamed up. They will be co-hosting this podcast, kind of taking turns from time to time. They'll be together from time to time. But yes, so last week we listened to an interview that I did on the Whole Story Podcast with Nate Oxman. And this week, the same thing. We're playing an interview that I did with Nate uh with John Morton on the Whole Story Podcast to learn about him, his life in golf, and then what he's doing with old Great Toon, his book company. So this episode is all about John. You will learn more about him and his love for books. Hope you guys enjoy. That's good. Pick it up. All right, John Morton. Welcome to the Whole Story Podcast. Appreciate you joining us today. Absolutely. Thanks for having me on. Yeah. Well, like I mentioned, Jonathan hates not being here. He is a Dr. Pepper enthusiast like yourself, but a little quick rundown, former PGA pro, and then now the founder, and I'm gonna butcher the name, Audgrade Toon, uh, golf books and collectibles. So uh yeah, man, welcome. Excited to hear your story.
SPEAKER_00Thank you. Yeah, and uh appreciate you having me on very much. And uh you you you kind of you were 99% of the way there with the name of it, with the pronunciation. It's it's old.
SPEAKER_01What did I miss? Old.
SPEAKER_00Okay. Uh okay. It's uh the old Scottish spelling essentially of of the phrase. I gotcha.
SPEAKER_01Uh well, uh let's start, let's back up like we do with most of our guests. Like, when did when did golf become a thing for you? Like, did you grow up playing it? Did you start later in life? Tell us that story.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so I uh I I live in Alabama now, uh, been been in the south for about 20 years, but I grew up in the northeast. I grew up outside of Philadelphia and uh started playing golf from from a young age, probably eight or nine years old, is when my dad introduced it to me. And um it just it just stuck with me. Uh I just I just I couldn't couldn't shake it and uh stuck with it through elementary school, high school, uh eventually through high school. You know, I was an okay golfer and and I still categorize myself as the same today. I'm an okay golfer, but uh I realized and and had a clear enough mind in high school to know that I wasn't going any places because of my swing. Uh so what I really started to enjoy throughout high school was working at golf courses, uh, which is what led me to look into the the PGA golf management programs or PGM programs, as they were called in those days. Uh, and that's what led to me eventually going to school uh for golf management, which led to me becoming a class A uh PGA professional. Did the last two years uh across the Southeast and uh eventually had me settle here in Birmingham.
SPEAKER_01Where did you uh where'd you go to school?
SPEAKER_00Methodist University, North Carolina.
SPEAKER_01Absolutely.
SPEAKER_00Uh Fayetteville, right outside of uh Fort Bragg.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I'm in South Carolina, so familiar with uh familiar with that one.
SPEAKER_00So love it.
SPEAKER_01Very nice. Well, so did you work uh at a number of different courses then as a as a PGA pro?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I uh I moved uh moved around quite a bit between my internships uh in the the golf management program. That that took me around to some some really nice places. I was fortunate to to do internships at places like Pinehurst Resort, TPC Sawgrass, uh Broadmoor Resort out in Colorado. Uh so that had me move around a good bit. Then after graduating when I became a Class A professional, uh moved to Houston, Texas. Uh, worked at the Club of Carlton Woods for a couple of years, and then eventually moved to Birmingham uh and worked at two different clubs here uh in Birmingham before leaving the industry in 2017.
SPEAKER_01Okay. Man, those uh quite the playing privileges at those courses you just rattled off.
SPEAKER_00I was I was very fortunate and very thankful to uh to be able to play the courses that I did for uh you know any time I wanted to, essentially.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Well, your bio and and part of the reason we wanted to have you on was you talk about golf course memorabilia. You're a historian, like you loved that aspect of the game. When did when did that kick in? When did you fall in love with the history of golf?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, that that really kicked in kind of coincidentally uh as I was departing the golf industry. Um, but it was really a convergence that uh of two loves of mine uh ever since I was a kid. Growing up in Philadelphia, uh early American history is obviously very relevant and prevalent there. Uh so I was always infatuated with early American history, you know, the Revolutionary Wars up to the Civil War, uh, because you can't go anywhere without being surrounded by it uh and and all the history uh in that area, that region. But I never really got engaged with golf history as a as a as a child, as a young adult. Uh that led to me becoming a PGA professional. But then when I left the golf industry is really when my love of history and my love of golf really started to merge together. So uh it was about that time, 20 really 2015, 2016, 2017, that I started to kind of just dip my toes into something that that a lot of people from a lot of kids from the 80s and 90s did that got out of it, and that was card collecting, uh, you know, trading cards, sports cards. But I started to kind of realize and and observe and learn a lot about golf cards uh that that existed, and specifically golf cards from before World War II. So I started to go down this rabbit hole about cards in particular, but that that eventually expanded into the history of the game and really collectibles, memorabilia artifacts at a much larger and and wider level. Very nice.
SPEAKER_01Well, I know. Uh man, hopefully you can make some trips back over to Pinehurst with uh with the you know the Golf Hall of Fame and and all the things they have going on there. Um, have you been back there lately?
SPEAKER_00I have, yeah. I was fortunate to go last year, uh, part of an organization called the Golf Heritage Society, uh, and they had their annual meeting at Pinehurst last year. So I was able to go back. That was my first time in almost a decade uh to be back there in Pinehurst, but uh was uh able to go to the new Golf Hall of Fame, which was so, so great to see. They did such an outstanding job with uh with the new layout and the the new setup they have there right outside the clubhouse in Pinehurst.
SPEAKER_01I completely agree. Well, we talked uh a few weeks back, maybe a month or uh man, a month or so ago now with Connor Lewis, you know, the golf historian. Yep. Um, and I know I guess I'm I'm learning more that the golf historian world is a little bigger than most people know about, correct? Like do you guys kind of interact with each other, or is it like a bigger group that y'all keep in touch with? You talked about the the one group.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, there there definitely is. It's a it's a a large group, but at the same time, it's a small world that that we all live in. So uh yeah, I know Connor really well. Uh coincidentally enough, I played golf with him last week. Uh was down in Florida with with my wife and uh was able to get over for a day to play with him at his club in Tampa. So uh yeah, the the golf historian and golf history enthusiast uh community that that I like to refer to it as uh very robust, but uh it's all about just celebrating the history of the game and and celebrating the the stories and and the individuals and in in my case, a lot of the time the artifacts that helped you know help the game become what it is today.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. So you collect stuff as well, right? You talked about the cards and stuff like that. Have you kind of I'm I'm guessing you've you've broadened your collectibles, right? So what are some of the things that that stand out maybe that uh that you've collected over the years?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so uh for for those that uh that that are watching us uh you know talk, I'll uh I'll show a couple things uh here in a moment, but uh for those that aren't, I'll do my best to describe them. Uh but uh yes, uh my my collective my collection, I should say, uh has expanded well outside of just cards uh over the last four to five to six years. Uh it started just as cards, but that eventually started to broaden. Uh so now it's all types of of collectibles and and artifacts. But what I really specialize in and focus on is early golf history. So Scottish golf history and early American golf history, uh, really mostly before World War II. Uh so of my collection here in my home office, uh where I keep it all, probably 60% or so is from the 1800s or earlier, uh, with the balance being from 1900 to 1945, essentially, World War the start of World War II. Um so yeah, all types of of collectibles though, from cards to photos to golf clubs uh to books. Uh I've got a couple got a couple of unique books in my collection, uh, autographs. It it runs the gamut.
SPEAKER_01I love it. Most uh most people in their in their families, you know, their wife might say, are are you buying a new club or you you know buying more golf balls or whatever, and and you're buying old golf clubs and old stuff that you know you're not really gonna go out and take on the course. It's like I'm gonna set this on the shelf or display this really nicely and just admire and appreciate the historical value of it, right?
SPEAKER_00That's that's exactly right. That's exactly right. I I love items that are, generally speaking, uh one of a kind, things that have a unique backstory to them. Uh that's that's what I thoroughly, thoroughly enjoy because as I said earlier, it's it's the stories of these individuals, it's the stories of these items uh that really bring the history to life uh in my eyes.
SPEAKER_01And you said you had some you might want to share with us?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so I've got I've got two here that that I pulled aside that are smaller in size. So I'm not gonna pull down a frame off the wall or anything. Uh, but I've got two items here that that I'll describe. The first uh is is the earlier of the two items, uh, and I'll I'll try to uh clarify this. So it's a it's a cabinet card, what's called a cabinet card. Uh it's about four inches wide by about eight inches tall, and it's got a a portrait of uh of a gentleman from the mid-1800s in it. Uh, it's also got the signature of that gentleman on uh the the cabinet card. So this portrait is actually of a gentleman named James Ogilvy Fairley, uh who is widely regarded as the founder of the Open Championship or the British Open for Us Americans. Uh so he lived in Prestwick in the 1800s and was the individual that convinced old Tom Morris to move over from St. Andrews to Prestwick to found Prestwick Golf Club. And that cabinet photo, uh signed by James Ogilvie Fairley, uh only a couple known signatures of his to exist today. Uh and keep in mind he passed away in 1870. So that means that signature in the cabinet card is at least 155 years old.
SPEAKER_01Now, how did you come about something like that? Like, where did you find or know to start looking for something?
SPEAKER_00Like, did you just go by his old house or like so Bendiscalin a couple times, did not go by his house uh yet, uh, although I know where he lived. Um, but uh yeah, this this type of black and white photo uh is something that um would have would have been kept by somebody of of uh of importance. Obviously, he would have gifted this type of photo to a family member or to a friend uh you know during his life. Um but it would have made its way through a number of hands in the golf community throughout this item's life. Uh this specific cabinet card I I actually purchased at a an auction house, uh specifically a golf dedicated auction house uh late last year. Uh so there's a couple different golf auction houses that exist in the in the United States and uh around the world, and they focus just on golf collectibles. So they're a really, really neat place to be able to find any type of item related to golf, whether it's a modern item, let's say it's a Tiger Woods signed photo or a Rory McElroy signed pin flag from the Masters or golf clubs and artifacts from the early days of the game. Uh those types of auction houses are are great, great places to be able to find these types of collectibles for yourself. Very nice. Very nice.
SPEAKER_01All right. So it looks like it looks like it's well preserved uh for those that aren't watching. Like it seems to be in great shape. So that's really cool.
SPEAKER_00It is. It is in remarkable condition, uh, given its age and and the fact that it is a photo, and obviously photos tend to fade over time. So uh yeah, very, very thankful to to be able to own that uh that that item. But that's that's a perfect example of the type of one-of-a-kind, really unique item that that I just I love to be able to share the history of because not a lot of people actually know about James Ogil v. Fairwith. And they recognize the name because in many cases he's a bit of a footnote in other books about gentlemen like old Tom Morris and Alan Robertson, who were the bigger names in that early growth of the game, but uh absolutely love that that that artifact and that uh that that piece of tangible golf history. That's really cool. All right, what's the other one? Second one here is uh actually US Open uh theme, since we're taping this the week of the U.S. Open. Um obviously the U.S. Open at Oakmont this year. Uh, but this one is actually the rookie card of a one Francis. There you go. Look at that. So it's smaller card again for those that that aren't uh watching the video of this, uh, and then it's got some text on the back, but smaller card that's only about one and a half inches wide uh by about two and a half inches tall. It's got a picture we met in black and white uh of of him swinging a club. But this card was made in 1926, so it was 13 years after his famed uh you know, greatest game ever played, U.S. Open win at the country club of Brookline, uh, where he took down Harry Varden and Ted Ray. Uh but Francis Wimet remained an amateur throughout his whole life, and he didn't play in a lot of professional events like Bobby Jones did at professional events being the U.S. Opens, the Masters, obviously, after uh, you know, uh in the the 30s and 40s, um, but Francis Wimette was only featured on two golf cards in his entire life, this being the earlier of the two. And most collectors uh in the the collecting and card collecting community recognize the first card that an individual was ever featured on to be his rookie card. So even though this was 13 years after his U.S. Open win, this is considered his rookie card.
SPEAKER_01And I'm guessing you didn't find that in a serial box or something like that.
SPEAKER_00I I did not. I did not. I was uh I was fortunate to there's a like we talked about earlier, quite a large uh golf history and golf uh history enthusiast community, but also uh a number of um platforms like Facebook that have groups of individuals that are collectors of golf memorabilia. And uh I was fortunate to to acquire that from somebody in one of those Facebook groups. Very nice.
SPEAKER_01Well, what are some of the things that you're on the look for that you don't have or that would kind of pique your interest of I I'd like to add this to my collection?
SPEAKER_00That's a great question. And the funny thing is, looking around my office, a majority of the items they that I'm fortunate to be the current you know owner of uh is and I I say that carefully, uh, is are are items that I honestly didn't know existed until I saw it. They're really unique, really rare items that have some unique story to them that it's not like there's 50 of them or a hundred of them or a thousand of them. And for years I've been on the hunt for it. Um a good example of that is uh a book that I owned from the Russox Hotel in St. Andrews. I know you were just there not long ago when you played the Old Course Reversed. Yep. Uh listened to that podcast episode, loved the the story and and all the stories of of that trip. Um, but obviously, very famously on the 18th Fairway at the old course at St. Andrews is the Russex Hotel. And I'm fortunate to own a guest book from the Russic Hotel from the 1930s that is obviously the only uh version of that to ever exist, but it's got a lot of history to it. Uh it's got a couple dozen pages of entries of visitors that stayed there in the 19 late 1930s. But that's a good example of something that I I've never really desired that, but when I saw it come up for auction, I knew I had to have it because I knew the history that that resided within it.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, that's that's uh interesting to think about. It's not specifically golf related, a card, a club, or something like that. But the Russics is obviously so closely tied to St. Andrews that it uh it it has a lot of value for those that really love and appreciate the history of the game.
SPEAKER_00Absolutely. And there's there's a lot of entries in there that that are tied to golf history uh of of individuals like Bobby Jones, Francis We Met, uh actually uh at the time a future King of England. Uh there's quite a few uh fascinating stories within that book. But yeah, you're absolutely right. Not actually a golf-related item, but something that that has indirect ties to the game for sure. Man, you just increased your autograph collection uh by a lot with that purchase. It was uh it's it's been the gift that keeps on giving. I was talking with Connor about it last week, actually, when I was in Florida, because I brought it with me to to show him. And uh it's I I'm just continuously finding more and more names inside this book, the more research that I do. Uh, and actually, a funny story for you. Uh while I was down there sitting with him and he's flipping through the pages, he flips to a specific page and he he's looking, just combing the lines, and he goes, You know the name right here that that's in here? And I go looking at the page generally, and he goes, No, I haven't haven't spotted any names on that page. He goes, This is the grandfather of President George W. Bush. This was Prescott Bush, who literally is George W. Bush's grandfather, and he was a president of the USGA in the early 1900s. And this was a record in his signature of having stayed at the Russicks Hotel in the mid-1930s. So it's been a fascinating piece of of uh golf history to be able to just continue to research.
SPEAKER_01That's incredible. Uh I can't I can't only imagine the stories that would come from something like that. So very cool. Well, all this passion of history and memorabilia and stuff has inspired you to, I guess back in February, you launched Old Grade Tune. Uh, tell us about that. Like, what was the genesis of wanting to create this company, this brand, uh, and what are you trying to do with it?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so uh I I've been fortunate to travel to Scotland a couple times now. Uh my wife and I went over last year for a bit of a bucket list golf trip where we hit a lot of a lot of the bigger courses. Uh and back in 2022, I was fortunate to go over with my brother and my wife and both my parents, and we took my dad over for his 70th birthday for the 150th open at St. Andrews. Um and over the last few years, between social media as well as those couple trips to Scotland, I've been fortunate to meet uh a ton of amazing uh people in the game of golf, uh, both at golf courses, but also just around the golf community in Scotland. And one of those individuals that that I've been able to meet over the last few years uh is a gentleman named Peter Grunwell, who owns a uh book distribution company in the UK. Uh he and I have exchanged a number of items between our own collections, but I've also purchased some books from him in the past. And when I was over there last summer with my wife, he and I were able to get together. Uh we actually uh teeted up with our wives together too, both of Our wives beat me and Peter, uh, which was nice and humbling. And um, while he and I were uh getting together and and uh he was showing me his house and his collection, he was kind of voicing some of the challenges that he's faced over the years with getting access to American buyers in the American market, specifically with books. And one of our mutual friends between uh Peter and myself is an author named Roger McStrabic, who's based in St. Andrews. He's a very famous uh St. Andrews historian uh related to the game of golf. And I was actually going to be meeting up with Roger as well during our trip last year. And throughout that discussion that Peter and I had, and in the weeks that followed after our trip, um, me, him, and and Roger got together a number of times, and I learned about that challenge a lot more in depth. And that challenge really being that for us as Americans, if we want to buy some of these golf history books that have been published by amazing authors like Roger, who are absolutely the top histor uh history experts uh in the game, uh, we're gonna need to buy it from a distributor in the UK. And that book might cost 70, 80, 90,$100, but shipping alone for the book, one book, is gonna cost 60, 70, 80 dollars. And that shipping cost is a major deterrent for a lot of Americans. So what I talked about with those guys and and eventually was able to kind of work out was starting my own company, my own distribution and and golf history company here in the States to help distribute those books for authors like Roger and others that are international, whether they're in the UK, in Europe, Australia, Asia, and are looking to get their books access to Americans uh and and be able to bring that history to American golfers that are uh pining for more stories and and to to learn more about the game's origins. I love it.
SPEAKER_01The history of the name I'm I'm I think I read is is from your love of of St. Andrews, is that correct?
SPEAKER_00That is, that is. So old gray tune, or the spelling as as you alluded to earlier, old being A-U-L-D, uh, gray being like the color, and tune being spelled T-O-U-N is a common spelling, Scottish spelling uh for that phrase, but that's a uh very famous nickname for the town of St. Andrews. Uh so with my couple trips over there, my love of golf history and of St. Andrews, obviously, as well, uh it was an ode to uh to the home of golf.
SPEAKER_01What has the reception been so far on uh on the new on the new company?
SPEAKER_00It's been it's been incredibly positive. Uh I've been uh I've been very fortunate, very blessed to uh to to have gotten the reception that I have so far. Uh I've created a couple different social media pages, both on on Facebook and Twitter, uh, but also sharing content on my own personal pages about some of the books that I've been able to bring over. Uh Roger McStrabic has written uh, I think seven or eight or nine books about golf history throughout his life. Uh I'm gonna be the sole distributor of all of his books here in the U.S. as well as Canada. And then there's several other books that the RNA has published over the years uh that Peter's been able to get me access to as well. Uh books such as uh one that just talks about the history of why golf courses have 18 holes. It's kind of a simple question, but it's got a very rich and deep history to it. So uh it's a lot of really fascinating books that that share, again, the the history of where the came game, where the game came from, excuse me, uh, and kind of how it became what it is today. Uh so it's been a really great reception so far. I've been fortunate to have uh a lot of support from a lot of uh fellow golf historians and and golf history enthusiasts here in in the States and in Canada. Uh, but it's been really positive so far and and uh a couple couple cool things coming down the down the pipeline later this year that'll uh that'll expand it even more.
SPEAKER_01I love it. Well, tell people how they can find the website and find what you're doing.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so the the website is that that unique spelling of it's oldgraytoonegolf.com. Uh and again, that's a u l-d G-R-E-Y-T-O-U-N golf.com. Uh, you can also uh simply look it up uh just on either Google, on Twitter, on Facebook, or even on Instagram, uh, just on my personal page. Uh, and my personal pages on all of those platforms is simply at John Morton215. Uh so simple standard uh standard uh kind of setup for that. Uh but yeah, oldgraytoonegolf.com. And uh all of those books are for sale. And what really makes it easy for American buyers is I'm keeping stock here in the U.S. That's what is is helping bring that history to uh to your doorstep for a much lower cost and and make it much more affordable for you to be able to learn about the history of the game, is I'm keeping that stock here. So being able to bring it over in bulk means saving a lot on shipping costs. Um so that's really what's helping, uh helping make it happen. Very nice, very nice.
SPEAKER_01Well, we will include uh links to all this stuff in the show notes. So if people want to check that out, they can. Uh let's talk about your golf game a little bit. You mentioned you've made a couple trips now uh over there. Where all have you played and what have been some of your favorite courses over there?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so uh so like I said, made two trips over there so far. A third one is planned for August of this year, uh, so a couple months out. I got about 60 days out before our next trip. Uh, but in 2022, uh when I when I went out went over with my family, uh, we played at Carnoostie. Uh it was more of a family trip. So we were going to the open for a couple days at St. Andrews. Uh we played one round at Carnousti, and we went over to the West Coast and was able to visit the the hometown of uh my father's side of the family where they immigrated from. Um, but last year was the bigger bucket list golf trip for my wife and I, just the two of us. We went over, we played 11 rounds in 10 days. Uh so it was a lot of golf in a short period of time, but we uh played uh going in order started at Royal Troon, uh, then played Prestwick, uh, so over on the West Coast, both of those courses. Uh, then we went off the west coast over to the Isle of Arran and played Shiskin Golf and Country Club, uh, or golf and tennis club, I should say, uh, and Corey Golf Club uh over on the island. Then came back over, we played North Berwick. Uh, we also hit up uh Brunsfield Lynx, which is uh pitch and putt in the middle of Edinburgh in a public park, which is a fascinating experience.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Uh, and then uh made our way up to St. Andrews, we played Carnousti again, uh, because I needed revenge. And we also played the Castle Course, we played Ely, we played the new course, and we finished the final day, the final round at the old course. Very nice. What'd you uh what'd you think of the old course? Uh the old course, uh, I uh I was walking on clouds. Uh as a as a a golf history nut and and nerd, uh, as I lovingly refer to myself, uh, I was uh I I don't know how I made contact with the ball all day. Uh I was I was just infatuated. We we spent the the week there. Uh we spent a whole week staying in St. Andrews. So it's not like I showed up and hadn't already seen the course. We had walked around a a good bit uh throughout that week. Uh, but still uh being able to to stand on that first T-box and and uh my my hands were quite literally shaking, as I'm sure they were for you as well, knowing all of the individuals that had stood on that same exact plot of land and and struck a golf ball throughout the last 150 years. Um, it really hit hit hard. Uh it was quite an emotional experience and and borderline religious experience, not to disparage actual religion in the world today, but quite religious for golf history enthusiasts.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I completely agree. And I can't wait to go back. Um excited to hear about more about uh your August trip. Where are you heading?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so we uh we're we're splitting this trip uh this year. Um we did uh two days last year in Prestwick, one night on the Isle of Aron, and then six nights in St. Andrews. So very heavy uh on the East Coast there in Edinburgh and St. Andrews. Uh this year we are staying three nights in St. Andrews, five nights on the Isle of Aron, because we absolutely fell in love with that island, and then finishing it off with two nights in Prestwick. Uh so we're gonna start in St. Andrews, uh, be able to meet up with uh guys like Roger and Peter and reconnect with them, uh, go out to dinner with them, and uh got a couple rounds of golf planned out there. We're actually gonna meet up with Ryan Kavan, uh our mutual friend and photographer. Uh he's gonna come out and join us for our round at Crail. Uh we're also gonna play Anstruther, uh, the famous nine-hole course uh over uh close to St. Andrews. And then um we've got a round at Jubilee, and then hoping to hit the lottery, the ballot for the old course uh before we then head over to the Isle of Aaron for uh a bunch of golf at all of their golf courses on that island.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. I am going uh in August as well. We are going up to Inverness in the Highlands. Um wonderful. Uh my wife and I are helping to chaperone our daughter's uh the youth choir trip from our church. Okay. Um, and and I'm not bringing clubs, but I'm gonna try my best to find my way onto a course.
SPEAKER_00I think your clubs should just mysteriously get picked up by FedEx, and that FedEx label happens to have a ships logo on uh label on it. I I think it just honey, I I couldn't do anything about it. The FedEx driver just stole them.
SPEAKER_01Uh they took them. Yeah. Uh no, I have been doing a research. We will be driving past Dornik. Um, and uh God, yeah, there's there are a number up in that area that I would love to at least stop and uh if nothing else, just say I was there.
SPEAKER_00So absolutely, absolutely. I think Dornick would be a fun, fun lunch spot for you guys to be able to swing by.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, uh take a bunch of uh bunch of high schoolers out there, it'd be a lot of fun.
SPEAKER_00It's uh that's gonna be fascinating.
SPEAKER_01Well, we we ask everybody when we're talking about uh your game. Uh, you know, we're all about golf stories. I want to hear the story of your most memorable golf shot.
SPEAKER_00My most memorable golf shot. Um, well, I I need to give you two because I can give you my most memorable golf shot that I've ever hit, but then my memorable most memorable golf shot I've ever witnessed wasn't something that I'd hit. So the most memorable shot I've ever hit would be my opening T-shot at the old course, uh, just simply put. And that even trumps, I've I've been fortunate to have one hole in one in my life, but the opening T-shot at the old course just trumps it. Uh, there's just something, uh, like I said earlier, it's it's an out-of-body experience to be able to stand there knowing that every great golfer in history, from Tiger Woods to Jack Nicholas to Bobby Jones and Walter Hagen to old Tom Morris and Alan Roberts, and every to Kings of England, every single famous golfer has ever stood on that T-box. And that was my my hands were literally shaking as I was holding my three-iron, trying to make contact with the ball. And thankfully I hit the fairway. Yes, it's a 129-yard fairway, but I did hit the fairway and I put it down the middle. Nice. Um, but my most memorable shock that I've ever witnessed uh is is, and it's more of an emotional one, but uh in 2022, when we were over there with my family, my father uh and my brother and my wife and I teed it up at St. Andrews. My mom just followed along and walked with us for the round uh and heckled us the whole time. But uh watching my father tee off on the 18th hole at Carnoostie. Um I'll remember that shot forever. Something about family. Uh, but that trip in particular for his 70th birthday, being able to trace the origins of our family in Scotland. Um it was just such a such an impactful trip. And that that 18th hole at Carnoosty, very famous tee shot, obviously mostly because of John Vandeveld. Uh that's what that's what 99.9% of golfers think of when they think of the 18th hole at Carnoosty. But it's a it's a very picturesque t-shot. And uh, I remember throughout that round, I had been taking photos and videos of my brother and my dad and my wife. And they were able to get a couple of me, but I really don't care about photos or videos of myself. I just like taking them of other people. Um, and I was able to get a uh a photo, it's a live photo on my iPhone of my dad's swing on the 18th hole. So when I put that that live photo on loop, it's just the perfect, you know, one and a half or two second clip just rotating of his perfect swing hitting it straight down the middle. And that was just such a such an impactful moment for me.
SPEAKER_01I love it. Well, golf is all about uh the people you get to enjoy this great game with. So that is really cool.
SPEAKER_00That's the truth.
SPEAKER_01Very, very cool. All right. Well, we also do, if you've uh listened to some of these, uh, we do a quick nine, so kind of a rapid fire. Uh, and I probably know some of the answers to this already, but favorite course that you've ever played?
SPEAKER_00Uh you actually uh it's actually not the old course. Okay. It's it's actually Pine Needles uh in North Carolina, uh, which kind of seems out of left field for somebody that's been talking about Scotland for the last 45 minutes, but uh or half hour, but uh I was fortunate in college to to caddy uh for four years at Pine Needles and Mid Pines and just fell in love with that course. The layout, the, the, the terrain, uh, the the somewhat turtleback greens, uh famous uh uh by Donald Ross. Um it's just it's the most enjoyable round of golf I've ever played, uh, anytime I get to play it. And I've been fortunate to play it a lot. But Pine Needle is definitely famous golf or favorite golf course I've ever played. I love it. Well, what course then is at the top of your bucket list? Um top of my bucket list. Oh, that's a good question. Top of my bucket list would be Muirfield. Uh been been fortunate to play uh the old course, uh Prestwick, a lot of the other uh top courses in uh in Scotland. Um and I've been been thankful to play some some neat courses here in the U.S. But Muirfield's definitely up there for me. That's gonna be the the the top of the bucket list for me at the moment. I like it.
SPEAKER_01That's uh that's on the bucket list for me as well. All right, here's a good question. If you could chat with one historical figure in golf, who would it be?
SPEAKER_00Uh undoubtedly old Tom Morris. Um I I would I would be fascinated to have a discussion with him about his his thought process and his mindset as an architect, uh, you know, uh how he went about laying out holes, uh, and and you know what strategies he thought about as he was doing that, uh as a club maker, uh, as a player, as a golf pro, as a golf professional, uh, but uh you know, as a as a club pro essentially, managing the the course uh on a daily basis, having been a club pro, that that would fascinate me. Uh, but also as a father, as a as a parent. Um, yes, he did a lot of great things for the game of golf, but he he also was uh a father. He was a human being. And I think that's something that a lot of people forget about the the biggest names in the history of the game, and even today with professional golfers, is that they are human beings, they have a family. And I would I would love to pickle Tom's brain about uh his his uh life as a parent, uh, although tragic in many ways, losing all of his children before his death, uh, which is is so unfortunate. Um I'm sure he would have beaming pride telling stories about all of his children. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Good answer. All right. Who would be in your dream foresome?
SPEAKER_00Uh Dream Forsome uh would be Phil Mickelson, because I'm a left-handed golfer, and growing up as a as a 90s kid and and early 2000s, I always rooted for him uh to try to you know take down Tiger Woods because he uh it was the proverbial second place uh you know throughout a lot of his career. So Phil would definitely be in that. Uh and then I'd add um I'd add my dad and my wife. Um uh you know, any round that I get to play with with her, uh I'm I'm in heaven. Any round I get to play with him, I'm in heaven. When I get to play with both of them, that's just heaven times two. And then if I get to play with Phil, uh it's the the people that shaped our love of the game that that I really love. So uh he really helped shape my love of the game as a child.
SPEAKER_01Man, Dr. Pepper Anna Lefty, you and Jonathan are like twins. Like uh, we really need to get together and play some golf. I know we're not in your dream force them, but uh let's get together and play sometime.
SPEAKER_00Hey, um I I can I can find uh a reason to get to South Carolina anytime.
SPEAKER_01Come on. Well, all uh and another side note, talking about you and your wife playing. Do you follow Nick and Haley, East Sands Golf Company? You know these guys? They're up in Canada, and they're a couple that they moved to um, they got married and did uh six-month honeymoon in St. Andrews. Uh Nick ended up, uh I think the story was he lost his job, found out about it like on the flight over there, and ended up caddying over there, fell in love with golf. Now they have this company, East Sands Golf Company, and they are uh helping take people on these incredible uh golf vacations to Scotland and stuff. So you need to check them out. Wow, yeah. Well they need to look into them. Their story was just published in the latest golfers journal, which is really cool.
SPEAKER_00But yeah, but they were definitely look them up.
SPEAKER_01They were a guest on our podcast. So listen to the podcast first, then read the golfer journal. But yeah, they're a great couple, and uh, and you guys would yeah, that would be a good fortune, the the two couples there.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, it uh my my wife's been playing just as long as I have. Uh she actually um used to play professionally, so she she wipes the floor with me. And I'm I'm an okay golfer, but uh yeah, I'll uh I'll definitely have to look them up. We we we always love when when we get to play with other couples. Nice. All right, favorite golf book. Favorite golf book. Um again, I'm gonna have to give you two two answers here. Favorite golf book that I've ever read, favorite golf book in my collection. Because we've talked about collectibles here. Uh so favorite golf book in my collection uh is gonna be uh a copy, an original copy that I own of the uh original rules of Thistle Golf Club, which is the second oldest golf book ever written. Wow. Printed in 1824. Uh and it was the first time that the history of the game ever was put down on paper uh and and put in book form. Uh so I'm very fortunate to have uh and and be the current owner of one of probably 10 to 12 copies of that that still exists today. Um so that's the favorite one in my collection. Favorite one that I've ever read uh is undoubtedly the The Colossus of Golf, uh about old Tom Morris. Um the the the best uh true biography uh and and kind of original biography, uh, and just tells so much about the history of Scottish golf and and you know old Tom specifically and and kind of his life. Um love it. So yeah.
SPEAKER_01I love it. All right. Well, most uh golf historians like architecture as well. So who Who is your favorite golf course architect?
SPEAKER_00You know, uh ironically, you're absolutely right. A lot of golf historians, most golf historians uh have have a favorite, and that's one area of golf history that I haven't dove too deep into. Uh so while I've I've played uh and been fortunate to play a lot of courses that that have been done by uh notable uh architects, um that's that's an area that I need to get better uh better read uh on. That being said, um uh the the one that's currently on my mind though is Willie Park Jr. Uh Willie Park Jr., famous golfer uh from Musselboro in Scotland, uh also multiple-time winner of the Open Championship, club maker. His father was the winner of the first open in 1860 at Prestwick. Um, but he famously became a uh very, very well-known golf course architect later in his life, designed more than 170 golf courses around the world, more than 100 of which actually are here in the U.S. Um But Willie Park Jr. is definitely gonna be the name that comes to mind for me. And selfishly, uh part of the reason is because he's actually the subject of a book that's about to get published later this year and released about the town of Musselboro and the Park family, the the the Willie Park Jr. and senior Mungo Park as well. And it's actually being written uh by a descendant of the Park family, a gentleman named Mungo Park, uh the fourth, actually. That's gonna be uh a book that uh comes out later this year, I believe in October or November, and may or may not be available from old Greek.
SPEAKER_01I was gonna ask, do we know any U.S. distributors of that book by chance?
SPEAKER_00We may know one. We may know one.
SPEAKER_01Very nice. All right. Jonathan's favorite question favorite snack on the golf course?
SPEAKER_00Favorite snack on a golf course, peanut butter crackers. Easy. Uh they they can get crushed, I don't care. It can be hot, it can be cold, doesn't matter, peanut butter crackers.
SPEAKER_01Okay. Uh one of my favorite questions, favorite golf course logo.
SPEAKER_00I was very fortunate uh just a couple of weeks ago to get to play for the first time Sleepy Hollow Country Club in New York. And that uh I I spent way more money than I should have in that golf shop after that round. Because that logo, the headless horseman, is just an absolutely timeless logo uh and is is has always been uh up there for me. But having played there now and uh having been in that golf shop, um, yeah, I own quite a few items with that logo on now.
SPEAKER_01Very nice. Yeah, that that one's still on our bucket list. We had uh John Cavalier with Lynx Gems uh on as a guest one time, and he is he raved about it. And every time you see pictures, it's uh it's iconic. So all right, last question. What's next for old Grey Toon?
SPEAKER_00Uh so I've got uh a couple different discussions going on right now with uh a few authors uh overseas, uh internationally, I should say. Uh as I just alluded to a minute ago, Mungo Park IV uh just is in the final editing uh stages of his uh upcoming book about Musselboro and the Park family. Uh I actually got to spend some time with him a few weeks ago up in New York and Connecticut uh as he and I spoke at a couple different events. He spoke, uh I just MC'd uh a couple different events at a few country clubs uh about uh his upcoming book and and the history of his family. Uh and super, super excited about that book because there is a lot of history about Musselboro that has been somewhat forgotten and and largely forgotten by the the collective community and the game as a whole. And I think this book is gonna be able to kind of write that ship and and kind of bring a lot of that history to the forefront and to to the spotlight again. So really excited about that book coming out uh because the the the history that's gonna be able to come out again. I love it. Well, John man, I can't. So, yeah, a couple different books that are coming out soon. Uh that's that's really the the big thing that that's coming up for me.
SPEAKER_01Well, I could probably just sit here and pick your brain for a while, but like we say with most guests, like we need to get together and find some time to play some golf. Uh, especially get you and Jonathan together. We'll we'll grab a case of Dr. Peppers for you guys. Um, we'll watch y'all hit left-handed golf shots all over the place. Uh, it'll be a lot of fun.
SPEAKER_00Next time, next time we get together for a podcast, I'm just gonna have a case of Dr. Pepper sitting right here.
SPEAKER_01So it's please do. Please do. Well man, this has uh been fun, but I appreciate you joining us uh today on the Whole Story Podcast.
SPEAKER_00Thank you so much for having me. I I appreciate the appreciate the time and uh look forward to getting together again soon.
SPEAKER_01Well, that's it for another episode of That's Good Pick It Up. We hope you enjoyed getting to know John and now are excited about the future of That's Good Pick It Up with both Nate Oxman and John Morton. You can find this and all the other Best Ball podcasts at bestball.com. We hope you like it. We hope you tell your friends about it, you rate it, you give it good reviews. You might find your next favorite golf book. Until next time, this is Robbie with That's Good, pick it up.