Episode #19: How Is Myrtle Beach Golf Returning After COVID-19? 05/12/2020

Meredith:
Good conversation with golf writer, Chris King, how is Myrtle Beach Golf returning after COVID-19, we're going to touch on that and some other things. Well, Chris, golfers are beginning to return to the golf capital of the world. I don't know about you, but when I was driving here this morning, there was a lot of cars out and it just seemed somewhat back to normal.
Chris King:
Yeah, it really does feel like that some sense of normalcy is starting to return. And to your point there, it feels good. The sun shining, people are out, moving out and about, still exercising some common sense social distancing, but let's hope this new normal is here to stay.
Meredith:
Exactly. Well. I started teaching about two weeks ago using precautions and the golf courses were slammed. A lot of people out there playing golf, and we've put in a lot of precautions. I want to talk about what we've done during this time during COVID-19, but what we have done has worked really well here in Myrtle Beach.
Chris King:
Yeah. Look, I mean, and just in general, I think the game of golf naturally lends itself to social distancing, but you know what too? It's an outdoor activity. The virus, I'm not going to pretend to be a doctor here, but based on everything I've read and just anecdotal evidence that the virus doesn't thrive in sunlight as to where golf does. So, the game seems to be naturally protected from at least the worst of the pandemic and its spread. So I think too, you're seeing people embrace that to your point about golf courses being slammed. I've talked to a lot of people anecdotally out of market, friends from home that talk about how difficult it is to get a tee time. So, hopefully in an otherwise difficult time, maybe hopefully there's a ray of light in there somewhere for the golf industry.
Meredith:
Exactly. And it's changed a little bit in that when you pull up to the golf course, you're loading your own bags and all staff are wearing gloves and no longer touching the flag sticks. And there's all these precautions that we've put in place temporarily to get through this. And everyone seems to be taking it in stride. I think everybody is so happy to be out in the sunshine, getting out of the house and getting some exercise. I mean, for me, it has actually kept my sanity during this time.
Chris King:
Well, absolutely. I mean, I think what you'll find is a lot of people have found the golf course to be a refuge. And I mean, look at it this way, we've been much more fortunate here than some people are in other parts of the country.
Meredith:
I know.
Chris King:
Think about how, even as we've locked down, how much nicer and much more appreciative it's made all of us of the opportunity to get outside for four hours, play a game that we love, talk to friends and have a little fun. So, I mean, I think you're right. I mean, there've been the common sense of policies that we've put in place, they aren't things that materially impact the experience of playing golf. Like, look, man, it's not that big a deal if you've got to get your bag out of the trunk. And how many of us don't need the stick out of the cup because we pick up anyway. Right?
Meredith:
Right.
Chris King:
So for the most part, these aren't things that impact anyone's enjoyment of the game. And I think that the game has paid people back too.
Meredith:
Yeah. And a lot of people are walking right now. I'm walking more. I just was at TPC Myrtle Beach yesterday and walked the course. It feels so good to be out there in nature. I have actually become so accustomed to taking a golf cart, somewhat getting spoiled in that sense. And just going out there yesterday and walking, it reminds me of when I was a kid playing competitive golf, I'm looking at the hole, I'm seeing shots better. And I'm thinking to myself, "Why have I been riding in a cart for so long? I need to start walking more."
Chris King:
Yeah, look, no arguments here. I actually walked two weekends ago at the Palmetto and had just a wonderful time doing it. And to your point, right, you get some exercise, you get some fresh air. There's a lot of concern over walking and pace of play. But you know what? I think that those concerns are unfounded. I mean, we played in four hours and let a threesome and a twosome go through. And that's carrying our own bags too. That's not without a pull cart or anything like that. So look, I mean, I understand that walking's not for everyone, but for people that like to do it, look, it's good for the game and it's good for me.
Meredith:
Right. Me too. And we finished our just nine holes in an hour and a half. My only suggestion is if you don't have a pull cart, it's a good time to invest in a pull cart. My son had two dozen golf balls in his bag and I'm like, "Son, why do you have so many golf balls in your bag walking? Just take eight. No more than 12. Don't have two dozen golf balls. If you decide to walk and carry your bag or get a pull cart."
Chris King:
Some of us may need two dozen golf balls whether we're walking around.
Meredith:
Okay. If you need two dozen golf balls, please come get a lesson with me, Chris, we can work on this together.
Chris King:
24 is an exaggeration. 16.
Meredith:
Well, you've recently written a very good article, Five Ways the Coronavirus Will Change Golf. I want to touch on some of the things that you talked about, because this is really good stuff.
Chris King:
Yeah. Well, look, I mean, look, I think it will change the game in some ways. Again, Not in ways that we've previously discussed that will materially impact the experience, but you know what? Some of this stuff is here to stay. I think one, the USGA's decision in 2018 to allow the stick to remain in the hole is one that has proven to be prescient, right?
Meredith:
Right.
Chris King:
When they set that up, they weren't thinking, "God, this would be useful during a global pandemic." But they've made a lot of decisions that in hindsight maybe weren't quite as wise as this one, but that is going to accelerate people leaving that in, even the idea of putting a pool noodle or something in the bottom of the cup, right?
Meredith:
Right.
Chris King:
These are things we can do. I don't think it'll probably stay here forever, but you know what? It saves a couple of minutes along the way.
Meredith:
It does.
Chris King:
It makes the game a little easier. So stuff like that, it's going to be here. You're seeing, and this is a little different, but look, golf is a game that's slow to change and slow to react to stuff. And that includes online bookings. More and more people book tee times online and book golf. But it's not like say, for instance, the hotel industry or the airline industry, other businesses like that, where you would almost no longer even think of calling someone to make a tee time. Golf people still do it. I think this is going to accelerate that. I mean, we see it down here, the Founders Collection of Golf Courses. I mean, a group that includes TPC Grande Dunes, King's North, they've got a pay and a park and pay program.
Chris King:
You can book your tee time online. You pay it when you get to the course, you take your clubs out. You don't ever have to actually come into contact with anyone else. And I think even when the grip of the pandemic begins to ease, I think you're going to see a lot of these types of things stick with us. I mean, quite frankly, it makes the experience more efficient.
Meredith:
It does make the experience more efficient. And so many more people are booking. I've had a lot of people reach out to me just online, who were planning on coming down to play golf this spring and now are rebooking for the fall. I think we're going to have an incredible fall golf season. It's a great time to actually go and book. Especially now our hotels are open. They're taking reservations now. And we are in our final stages of reopening here in South Carolina. I think the only thing we have left now is next week our hair salons and our gyms are going to open up, which I thank God, because I need to get my roots done, because people are going to realize I'm actually a brunette and I'm not a blonde.
Chris King:
Listen, Meredith, [inaudible 00:08:03] businesses-
Meredith:
My true colors are coming out on my hair.
Chris King:
[inaudible 00:08:06] list of businesses that need to reopen, hair salons are at the bottom for a man like me.
Meredith:
Yeah. You have it. You have it very easy with going with the nice-
Chris King:
Sleep look as we like to call it.
Meredith:
... the sleep bald look. Yeah.
Chris King:
Yeah.
Meredith:
Yeah.
Chris King:
My hair will be cut tomorrow.
Meredith:
Well, I can give you a couple inches of my Rapunzel mane that has grown these last three months. But I mean, we are getting back to normal and like you said, this park and play, this new thing that we're going to be doing, it is making golf more efficient. And for those people who are more conscientious about having social distancing, this will benefit those people as well. Because we're all in our different areas of comfort in this thing. And we have to have precautions and some people may need more precautions based on their health and where they're coming from. And we're making all of this available for anybody that comes to play golf in Myrtle Beach.
Chris King:
Exactly. And I mean, I think what you just touched on there is very important. I mean, is this thing, as we've gotten at least a little more accustomed to having it around, I think people are aware of the fact that there are varying degrees of risk level depending upon age, health and that sort of thing. I mean, it doesn't mean that anyone who's an adult is completely out of the woods, but realistically speaking, if you were 25, the danger to you is much less significant than it is if you were 65 or 75. And I think what you see here is that the courses, at least here in Myrtle Beach, are set up in a way that can accommodate almost anyone in terms of ... look at me, if you're 25 and again, you want to go into The Pro Shop, restaurants are now open in there.
Chris King:
If you want to go grab a cold one after the round, you can do that. If you're 71 and maybe you've got a little high blood pressure or something like that, your co-morbidity situation looks a little different. You can do the park and play program. You're in a cart. You literally, you've not come into contact with anyone. And I mean, your risk of acquiring it would seem to be-
Meredith:
Decreased.
Chris King:
... Yeah, very low. So, and I think that will be important. Again, this is ... right, like customer services ain't the right way to put it. But we service people differently in all levels of business. And I think this is just an extension of that.
Meredith:
I think so too. It's great. And I'm speaking of food. Our to go takeout at our courses during this COVID-19, now again, restaurants are opening back up and we have outdoor seating now in a 50% capacity, which will continue to go to full capacity by June 1st, I would imagine. But it's really, I mean, I know so many people that have been picking up food to go at the golf courses and the food is really good. Sometimes you get this idea of a golf course food. Is it like movie theater food? No, no, there are some really good to go eating options. And I think that's going to become more popular going forward. A lot of success that our courses have had with takeout dining.
Chris King:
Yeah, absolutely. And look again, when you talk about the ways things will change as we begin to emerge from this, I think that's another one that's going to extend. If you're a hero on a golf trip, or even if you're just playing a round of golf, what sounds more appealing to you right now, sitting out on the deck at Pine Lakes, again, you're sitting in the sunshine, something that we all believe to be pretty good for you in this environment. Is that more appealing to you than sitting in maybe a dark bar than it used to be? And I think the answer to that's yes. And I mean, I don't say that to discourage anyone who's comfortable doing so from going to a restaurant, but I just think common sense tells you that, to your point, Clubhouse food is pretty good. And the environment in there is one that will be a safe one relatively speaking. So, again, I think that's something, that's a trend we'll continue to see.
Meredith:
Right. And you recently have written another article, your writing is so good. If you haven't checked out Chris King's articles, you'll find plenty of them if you go to Facebook, Myrtle Beach Golf at MBN.com, really good stuff that you're putting out. And this one is about restaurants. The First Five Restaurants I'll Visit When [Normalicy 00:12:16] Begins to Return. Let's talk about that while we're talking about food.
Chris King:
Well, absolutely. I just talked about, well, where do you feel comfortable? For me, right, I live just off of 501. I mean, I'm within a short drive of King's North, Wild Wing, even Burning Ridge, Legends is around the corner and me and a buddy will like to go out and either hit balls in the evening, play nine holes and I love to go to The Grumpy Monk.
Meredith:
I know, you always talk about The Grumpy Monk.
Chris King:
I do, absolutely.
Meredith:
We're going to have to go down there and do a Facebook live one day.
Chris King:
The appetizers at half price, they've got like a hundred beers on tap. I mean, to me, you can't beat it. I mean, it's a nice setup. It's easy to get to from my house. So, that to me is stop there, [inaudible 00:00:12:59], "Yeah. You know what? This is pretty routine day." That's something we're all looking forward to.
Nate:
They know you by first name, Chris?
Chris King:
Well, they don't know me as well as I'd like them to know me.
Meredith:
And you also have Dagwood's. I mean, that's a local favorite too to stop in and get a really good sub. And they're fresh baked cookies. I love Dagwood's.
Chris King:
Yeah. Absolutely, right. Wednesdays is free cookie Wednesday.
Meredith:
Yeah.
Chris King:
Again, you're right. It's a local establishment. They make their own bread. I can't imagine, for me, that's the best sandwich on the beach. And most of the places on my list. I had Dagwood's, I can't wait to do that. El Cerro, even a place like Simply Southern, it's a buffet. Now, life has probably changed for them permanently. I don't know that we're going to go back to serving ourselves at buffets anytime soon, but somebody else can scoop it out. That's fine with me too. Most of the places, again, that I'm looking forward to returning to. Yeah, you know what? Look, we all want to go to New York Prime or something, but it's the places that you would go to is just part of what your day to day routine is. That's the stuff that I've missed and look forward to getting back to.
Meredith:
Right. Me too. I've really missed just going out and dining.
Nate:
They'll scoop out a normal amount, right? Buffets now they'll give you a normal helping, not a extra help.
Chris King:
I just hope I get to define normal when it comes to the banana pudding.
Meredith:
Well, you know what, we did a show on restaurants and I think I mentioned Paula Deen's restaurant was one of my favorites, because it's similar to that buffet style, but it's that family style where they just send out really big portions and then you scoop what you want and then you can get more. It's like family style. So, that to me is probably the way to go for these places that are doing buffets to go to that Paula Deen style.
Chris King:
Yeah. Look, I think you'll see that to continue, because you're at the table with people you're comfortable. I think though, for our larger seafood buffets, even a place like Simply Southern.
Meredith:
Yeah, like Benjamin's, how are they, how are those restaurants going to handle this going forward? That will be interesting.
Chris King:
Yeah. I mean, from everything I've read and heard that you'll be in a situation where it's going to be more like Meredith, how much would you like?
Meredith:
How many crab legs?
Chris King:
Nate, how much would you like? Yeah. Right.
Nate:
21.
Chris King:
And I mean-
Meredith:
[inaudible 00:15:16] doesn't please.
Chris King:
Yeah, all of them.
Meredith:
Lots of butter.
Chris King:
But you know what, like we were talking about with golf, with just common sense measures, when you think about some of that stuff and is it the worst thing in the world, if you don't serve yourself at a buffet? Even in a world where COVID-19 didn't exist, I mean, you get these buffets on a busy night here in the summertime. I mean, you're literally, you could have hundreds of people hitting ... hundreds by the way is likely conservative. Is it the worst thing in the world to not have that happen?
Meredith:
That's true.
Chris King:
I mean, again, even in a world where if this didn't exist, that's not the worst thing in the world.
Meredith:
Yeah. I wonder what the cruises are going to do while we're talking about buffets, who knows? That's going to be a unique situation. They'll have to work through that one.
Chris King:
Well look, there are economic concerns for every corner of the country and the globe for that matter. But our friends in the cruise business face an even more daunting task-
Meredith:
They sure do.
Chris King:
... I would guess than the rest of us.
Meredith:
Right. Right.
Chris King:
But, hey, and I've done a lot of talking about food. You had mentioned getting back to the range a couple of weeks ago. What are some of the stuff you've seen people ... or let me rephrase this, I'm stumbling over myself here. Have you seen people taking interest in different types of lessons or tips as we move through this thing?
Meredith:
I think simplicity is the key. A lot of people are getting out on the courses and they're just having fun right now. Because of the lockdowns I think everybody just wanted to get outside. At that point it was like, who cares if I ... who cares really what my game-
Chris King:
Kicking all over the place.
Meredith:
... looks like right now, I just want to get outside and get some fresh air and get some sunlight. I've been teaching a lot of students just the fundamentals and I'm just, I'm in this phase right now, this quintessentials of golf and keeping it simple and working on the fundamentals. And that's what my students are looking at right now. Just fundamental work.
Chris King:
I know you had done something on aim and alignment, even the athletic position at address, how important or much more important is that stuff in a situation like we're in right now where a lot of the people listening to this may not ... have rarely been outside for the last couple of months when you're just re-introducing to the game. Does that stuff become more important?
Meredith:
Absolutely. Because I think sometimes you forget the routine. Like we call it pre motion components in golf, you forget certain setup postures that you need to be in. Maybe grip positioning. Your grip can even slightly change when you don't touch a golf club. And you want to make sure that you have, you hit all your fundamentals before you start making the motion. So talking about aim and alignment. For me, I've ordered them a certain way. So, the first pre-shot routine, pre-motion component, right, is you're going to connect with your target. You're going to stand behind the ball like everybody does, start connecting with your target, start visualizing that shot. Then you're going to walk up to the ball, get behind the ball. We're going to call it the box, [inaudible 00:18:17] here, you're walking in that zone.
Meredith:
And when you're behind the ball, at that point, you want to start working through those pre-motion components. So the first one would be aim. Obviously you want to make sure the club face is nice and square, right? And then once you have the club face nice and square, you want to make sure that your body is set up to the ball, so where your body is nice and aligned. So what I see is when golfers are not playing a lot of golf, when they step up behind the ball, that their shoulders might be open, their hips might be closed. Their feet might be closed. It's like unraveling their body and getting everything nice and square with the club face square to their intended target. It's incredible just working on aim, alignment, grip, squaring the club face. And then lastly, making sure that you get in a nice athletic position because the golf swing is a rotation around the spine.
Meredith:
And so we want to make sure that we have good rotation with our shoulders and good rotation with our hips. But these are the simplest things that we can go out and correct and get instant results. I mean, you don't have to go out there and have four golf lessons. I mean, what I just said in a matter of five minutes can change your game. You can go work on that right now. But for example, if your shoulders are really open at address, and let's say [inaudible 00:19:44] played golf in a while, and for whatever reason, you're just, you're setting up, shoulders are open, but let's say hypothetically your feet are square. What's the club face going to do during the takeaway with open shoulders? So it's going to go on the outside. Okay. That's just simple path science. The club's going to move a little bit on the outside.
Meredith:
What could that cause? Well, if you're not getting it back on the inside, you could have a chunky shot. You could have a steep angle of descent outside in path, ball's going to go left. You can hook it. I mean, there are so many variables that could happen. And it's something as little as where are the shoulders set up? So again, for golfers who haven't been out in a while, or even if you're still at home maybe talking to some people still up North, these are things that you can start working on just in your bathroom mirror. Just think target, grip, aim, setup, athletic position, and working on that. And that's going to unravel so many kinks in the golf swing and then go out, enjoy the sunshine.
Chris King:
The things you've talked about there, are there one or two of them that golfers particularly, the average golfer is particularly prone to fall victim to?
Meredith:
Yes. I would say that aim and alignment. Yeah. I would say those two, because what matters is again, the alignment of the body and the alignment of the club face is going to determine the path that that club is going to be traveling on. And we want to make sure that path is a good path.
Chris King:
Maybe that's my problem. But I mean, again, in all seriousness, I mean, aiming and alignment, well, if you hit a good shot and you're still stuck in a bunker, which is self-defeating, right? I can hit a bad one that rolls in there.
Meredith:
Right. Right. So yes. I mean, you can have a great shot, it could go in the bunker that at that point it's having good bunker fundamentals and you know what? That's actually going to be our next golf tip. We need to do some golf tips. We haven't done bunker in a while. Nate, we need to do some bunker and fairway bunker.
Nate:
The other thing with aim and-
Meredith:
Thanks for mentioning that, Chris.
Nate:
The other thing with aim and alignment, we talked about some people need an eye exam, right?
Meredith:
Yes. Yeah. Some people need to get their eyes checked. And then you have that issue of eye dominance that comes into play. And it's interesting. Some students obviously are more eye dominant in the right eye versus the left eye. So aesthetically, when they're looking down at the ball, they are convinced that the club face is square. They literally like, "This is square." And then me as an instructor, I'm with them, I'm literally over the ball looking at it and it's shut, the club face is closed and they're like, "It's not closed." So then I get an alignment stick and I lay it down and they're like, "Whoa, it is." And so then it's having to get them used to setting up. So what aesthetically may look different to them, but it is correct.
Chris King:
Yeah. And that all sounds great. But my first thought goes to, it's got to be tough working with the student who insists that the teacher's wrong.
Nate:
The other thing is too, and that we talked about it is to practice how you play. When you go to the range, people just go to loosen up and say, "Oh, I'm loosen up." Well, set up, have a target, set your aim and alignment. I think that's what you talked about in one of our lessons as well is practice what you play, right?
Meredith:
Yes. You have to practice what you play. I went out yesterday with my second oldest son. He's a very good golfer. And I'm helping coach him a little bit. And so for each of his shots, the first thing I say to him is this, "What's the plan for this shot? Let's talk about where are you going to land the ball? Or if you're going to land, it's going to roll out where, let's talk about the roll. Let's talk about this shot, what's the goal?" And it's, it's funny. He was like, "Well, if I could get it around this area." I'm like, "No, let's get precise. Let's pick out a circumference of maybe 15 feet around your intended target. So that way, if you don't hit the target, it's all right. But if we can get in that circumference of that area, at least we know we've actually achieved a goal."
Meredith:
And I think that's really important in golf because you can get discouraged really easy and you could set your expectations too high, almost like an all or nothing approach to it. So, with him, he would execute a shot. And if it would get within that circumference, which he's a good player, usually it does. Then at that point, it's well done. You accomplished your goal. And then he's like, "Well, but I wish I could get it closer." I'm like, "Nope, right now we're setting goals. So our goal is to get it within this area, you accomplished your goal. Awesome." And so, when I work with him, I do that for every shot. So at the end of the round, he's accomplished so much. Now he might've had three or four poor shots or misses, that's okay.
Meredith:
But at the end of the day, what you have to do is you have to change the mindset in golf, and you have to really celebrate your successes. But if you go out on the golf course, like we're talking about not having, not bringing your game out in the golf course, and you don't set goals for every shot, or you try to get ahead mentally. "All right. All right. If I can get a par on this hole, I can make it. It will help me make up the double I had. And then if I could get a birdie on that par-three." If you allow your brain to go two miles down the road, you're not going to have a great round of golf. It's all about staying present. Just in one shot.
Meredith:
I tell my son that training him, "We're in one shot right now. This is it. Our only responsibility is this shot right now. So let's focus on that. That's where success comes in. That's where good course management comes in." And ultimately you get that mindset, you're going to have so much fun playing golf on the golf course. When you just take it one shot at a time and celebrate your successes.
Chris King:
Well, you know what, look, I think you're absolutely right. And you're talking about from your son's perspective, who's clearly a better golfer, speaking for all of us out there who struggle. But I mean, in all seriousness, I mean, this is going to sound counterintuitive, but if you set a goal for each shot, it is ... right, you can find success in a hole that you may have a score that you didn't like, and that can be important because when you do that, it doesn't tend to carry over the way it does some other times. Right?
Meredith:
Right.
Chris King:
You know what, You three-putted and you made double, well, you know what? You hit two pretty good shots to get there. You can't think of it as I wasted those two shots.
Meredith:
Exactly.
Chris King:
We all, and by the way, I'm guilty of not doing everything you just talked about. We would all be better served to do that. And I think particularly as you were trying to improve, because again, we all get caught up in what our score is, as opposed to there are so many variables that impact that. I mean, look, sometimes you play like crap and get lucky and bang one in. But that doesn't mean that you played that hole well.
Meredith:
Exactly.
Nate:
So I'm guilty of this too. But how many people do you see on the range just out there beating balls. And they just go out there and just beat balls. There's no target. There's no thought process in mind. Because it's the easiest thing to do. It's like, "Oh, I'm not hitting it well today." Well, you just went out here and just beat balls today. You've got to practice that way.
Chris King:
And again, I'm guilty of that too. I'm horrible at it as a matter of fact, like I'll, "Yeah, I'm going to go hit balls. You know what? I got through a bag, but all I did was really lash the seven iron into the ground 70 times."
Meredith:
Yeah, well, we went out yesterday and my son said, "You know what? All right, so I'll take a 38. If I ... anything over 38, I'm not going to be happy with." And I'm going, "Wait a minute." I know he's a good player. I said, "Wait a minute. Why are you even talking about a score? We're going to enjoy this process of playing one shot at a time." But I think all of us, and obviously I know he's an elite player, but I don't care if you're a 30 plus handicap, I think to varying degrees, all of us have a tendency to set this expectation going to the golf course of maybe a score we'd like to have, or shoot or a particular hole. When I think if we can just change our mindset a little bit on it and say, "You know what, I'm going to just stay in the present moment, stay in the shot." It's amazing. I'm telling you if we can all just change the way we look at going out to the course and just staying present, we're going to have better rounds of golf.
Chris King:
Oh no, I would agree. I mean, because when you, again, someone in my position, you think about your score before you even get there, because you set a standard, "It would be really bad if I didn't do this today." And as soon as you have a couple bad holes and you think, "Well, I've blown that one." Here, right, you've got to be careful because your whole day can go South. And it's amazing. Sometimes when you do that though, and you quit thinking about it, you start to improve until you think about playing better again.
Meredith:
Well, but I've recently ... Nate and I have filmed a lot of just basic golf fundamental videos. So, and talking about these fundamentals. You can go to Myrtle Beach Golf at MBN.com. You've been posting them, Nate.
Nate:
Yeah. And they're on Myrtlebeachgolftrips.com too. They're all be in the video section of the site.
Meredith:
Yeah. Okay. So you can go there-
Chris King:
It's the number one resource there.
Meredith:
Yeah. And we've been covering basics through this COVID-19. I mean, you mentioned aim and alignment, getting in athletic position. What's the proper grip pressure? How do you find more [umph 00:29:02] in your swing? How do you get more power? We recently talked about that last week, making sure that you're getting a full rotation, it's going to be around 90 degrees. Of course, it's going to vary based on if you have preexisting conditions with certain movements of your body, you can't maybe rotate fully. It's not going to be 90 degrees perfectly, but that's the goal. And then obviously the hips at 45 degrees. And we've had a lot of positive feedback about that because oftentimes in the golf swing, you hear so much about, "You got to make a rotation, you have to make the rotation." When your hips have to rotate two to 45 degrees so that they can get set on the downswing to start moving, being that first segment of the body that moves. And so it's pretty cool stuff we're talking about. So you get me on the golf swing, Chris, and here we go, we're doing golf lessons on the podcast.
Chris King:
Well, I know. And you know what, that actually led me. You love to talk about the golf swing and you're obviously very good at instruction. And anyone who listens to this would understand that, Meredith doesn't toot her own horn, but I mean, she's, again, I think it's at least worth us mentioning. You're saying congratulations on being named one of the best teachers in the state again, I might add, by Golf Digest.
Meredith:
Thanks. That's quite an honor to have that, but it's somewhat of a pressure too, because with every accolade maybe you gain, it's something that it makes you want to work harder on in that study and in that field in which you work. And so I'm really grateful for it, but I want to keep learning and growing myself as an instructor because as instructors, we never arrive. There's always new science coming out, new technology coming out. And I just want to make sure that I stay on top of it for my students and listeners and viewers and getting good information out there. So I'm very appreciative of it, but it makes me work even harder. So I want to make sure that I just keep moving forward giving good instruction.
Chris King:
Well, so far so good.
Meredith:
Well, thanks.
Chris King:
[inaudible 00:31:04].
Meredith:
So, I think we've covered a lot here.
Chris King:
Yeah, we have, again, hopefully we continue to have understanding that everyone's situation in different parts of the country is different. People have been impacted in various ways. But I think we've been fortunate here so far. Knock on wood. I mean, there's no area that's unimpacted, but it's not been nearly as dramatic here as it has been in a lot of other places. And for that we're grateful. And as we've talked a lot about here, there is some sense of normalcy beginning to return and hopefully that continues to be the case.
Nate:
So the one thing I took out of your Five Ways Golf is Going to Change, and I looked at it from my perspective, is a greater appreciation for the chance to play, I think, and less what you guys have talked about, worrying about that bad shot or worrying about that bad score. I think it makes you appreciate the game a whole lot better. [crosstalk 00:31:56] I should say.
Chris King:
Oh, look, absolutely. And I mean, again, that's what ... I've been out a couple of times during this and the one thing I've told myself is even not, terrible shot, hey, who cares? Right.
Nate:
In the whole grand scheme of things-
Chris King:
Right, that's exactly right.
Nate:
... it really doesn't mean much.
Chris King:
Nope. The only thing that matters is I'm out here with a couple of friends. It's a nice day and I'm enjoying a walk around a beautiful golf course. And hopefully that's something that we can all take, not only to the golf course, but in other parts of our life too, right? You do see something like this and you understand that our grip sometimes on what we perceive as success can be tenuous.
Meredith:
Right. I mean, it's definitely created an attitude of gratitude during this time and it does feel good to get out there. It's good to see the courses slammed with golfers right now. It's so great. And most of our courses, if not all of them, are back open and taking tee times and our hotels are open. And I have a lot of students that live up North that have been more in a lockdown than we have. And they're already booking their flights for June and they're coming down and they've got their fall trips booked and they've been texting me and they're so happy. We're finally getting back to the beach to play golf.
Meredith:
And so I know for those of you that are listening, if you have been in a state that has been a little bit more in a lockdown than we faced here in South Carolina, come on down, we welcome you. We currently have precautions, but to each their own, you come down, have fun, play safe, and we look forward to what we're calling normal now going forward. Chris, thanks for coming on the show.
Chris King:
Absolutely.
Meredith:
I always love it when you come on, because I mean, I love, you're such a great writer. You're so easy to talk to. I think we could just, we could probably do a three hour podcast and keep going with this.
Chris King:
Well, I appreciate you having me. I don't know if the good people at home would be happy listening to me for three hours. My wife certainly isn't. But I appreciate you having.
Meredith:
All right. Well, thanks for coming and, everyone, thanks for listening. You guys, stay safe. Get out in the course, get some sunshine, have some fun.