So, what happens when a young teenager is pulled aside by his coach and is told 'you could be anything'?

When those words sunk and took root, they shaped the trajectory of the life of today's guest and into the person he is and is still becoming. Ahead on today's episode we get to spend time with the CEO of an architecture and construction company as well as the President of the United States Golf Association over the last two years. He is the very passionate, energetic and selfless Fred Perpall.

In our time together with Fred we will discuss:

The life we want and the work we do and why Fred feels those two worlds can coexist.

Trajectory. It's not just the spin rate of a golf ball coming off the face of a club, but also what each of us needs to get to where we want to go. Listen to the moments in Fred's young life that shaped his trajectory to where he is today.

Scars. We all have them, some more than others. Fred will share some of his own and how those scars have given him clarity on how he lives his life with intention on a daily basis.

That person is a people person. We hear that comment quite often. Some of us feel we aren't as good with people as others. Fred will share the secret to being a people person and spoiler alert, it is something each of us is able to do.

Road blocks. We all will face them, the question becomes what do we do when it feels we cannot find a way around them. Fred will talk about the mode he goes into whenever the path forward is uncertain.

It takes 21 years to become 21 years old. Listen as Fred talks about why you can't always speed up the process or microwave your career to get to a destination faster. Some things just take time.

To connect with Chandler:

Follow or DM on LinkedIn or Instagram @theinwardninepodcast or @chandler.withington

Or, send a direct email: [email protected]

Music Credits:

Opening: 'Carry On' by Fun

Interlude: 'Give Me Just One Reason' by Pink

Interlude: 'Old Friends' by Ben Rector

Closing: 'Almost Home' by Ben Rector

Our guest today has spent many years at golf house and while you might assume I am referring to the one in Far Hills, New Jersey, home of the USGA, the one I am actually referring to is the house our guest grew up in which was located on Golf Road of all places. The son of a Tour professional turned club professional and master professional, our guest was born into the game of golf and has lived in it ever since. From playing in USGA Championships as a junior amateur, to collegiate golf at the University of Florida, to president of the Florida State Golf Association to now presiding over the USGA as its President, this guest has seen many sides to the game and he is here to share his perspective with us on the Inward Nine. Our guest today is the very thoughtful, humble and loyal, Kevin Hammer.

In our time together with Kevin we will discuss:

The atmosphere of his childhood home and the life lessons his father taught him. There are lessons Kevin is now passing down to his own children.

An ability to adapt is one we all need to navigate life on a daily basis. Listen as Kevin talks about the most impactful championship he feels the USGA hosts each year and how its competitors can help prepare us for the many obstacles in life.

Development. It is something each of us strive to achieve in our professional and personal lives. Yet not until recently did the game of golf have a development program to identify and grow talent. Kevin will take us back to the start of the USGA Development program and help us understand what it means for those of us who are PGA Professionals.

Loyalty. It's a fleeting thing these days. Kevin who has served at the same company for over 25 years and we get to hear him talk about the value of loyalty and why the grass isn't always greener whenever we are tempted to make a career move.

As with all guests, Kevin will hand down some advice to the next generation of PGA Professionals like his father was, and he will also share some advice he hands down to his own daughters.

To connect with Chandler:

Send a direct email: [email protected]

Or a DM on LinkedIn or Instagram @theinwardninepodcast

Music Credits:

Opening: 'Time' by Hootie and the Blowfish

Interlude: 'Running From An Angel' by Hootie and the Blowfish

Interlude: 'Old Friends' by Ben Rector

Closing: 'Almost Home' by Ben Rector

This week we are in Philadelphia for the PGA Championship and it only feels appropriate to pull a conversation out of the vault with the person who has been guardian of the host club for the past 18 years. This man can do it all – he is the 2011 National Merchandiser of the Year, 2023 Golf Professional of the year and oh by the way, he is also a National Rules Official for the PGA of America. Our guest today on the Inward Nine is a dear friend, he is the Director of Golf at Aronimink Golf Club and host professional of this week's PGA Championship, he is the very humble and respectful Jeff Kiddie.

In our time together with Jeff:

We will talk about his big break. Some luck and timing.. we all need it to get to where we want to go. He will share how a disappointing no suddenly became a very surprising yes, a break which sent him on his way.

Once the dominoes begin to fall as they say, Jeff was offered an opportunity to open a new golf club. For those of you will be tasked with starting something new, listen to how Jeff invested himself in the process and the decisions he made.

Where are all of my people who struggle with taking tests? Yes, my hand is up and so is Jeff's by the way. Jeff shares how he was able to go from making a 56 on his first Rules of Golf exam to making a 92 years later and how you too can chip away and improve in test taking.

There are many other tests in life and most are taken on a sheet of paper. Jeff shares his outlook on the term work life balance, how he has struggled with it at times and what has also given him the freedom to improve in this area over time.

Jeff Kiddie is one of the best in the business and one we can all learn from. So, settle in and grab a seat as we get to talk shop with the man who is in this week's spotlight at the PGA Championship.

To connect with Chandler"

Instagram @theinwardninepodcast

Email: [email protected]

Music Credits:

Opening: 'Head Over Heels' by Tears for Fears

Interlude: 'Old Friends' by Ben Rector

Closing: 'Almost Home' by Ben Rector

Have you ever had things not go as you had planned or hoped? Have you ever been a part of a situation you weren't proud of, or one you just wished would go away as soon as possible? If so, then you are in the right place today. Our guest today has chosen to face challenges and criticism head on and he can help you do the same when your time comes, which if you live life long enough, will inevitably come. We are returning to talk to the younger brother of a recently guest on The Inward Nine, he is the younger brother of Cary Cozby and the Director of one of the largest professional golf events in the world at the Waste Management Open. He is the multi talented Chance Cozby.

In our conversation with Chance:

He will share about a choice he made in getting out college, and not just a choice, but a chance if you will in taking a different path from his brothers and family.

Once he went down this path, he will share how doors opened to new opportunities, one which put him the crosshairs of a range of personalities and perspectives. Chance will share about how he grew into the role he is currently in and why he isn't threatened by new ideas, but rather he embraces them.

There is a limit to what anyone or any team can do. Chance will share how he advises those around him to not try to do too much, but rather to do fewer things really well.

All of us are so much more than what we do in our jobs. There are other interests each of us have. Listen to what happens on New Years Eve five years ago when Chance's teenage son turns on the camera and how it allowed Chance to tap into and share his creative side with others.

If you have listened to this podcast before, you know the last thing I will ever encourage any of you to do is to play it safe. Chances must be taken.. and maybe there is no better person to encourage us to take some risks on our life from a man who has embodied his own name in Chance Cozby.

To follow Chance Cozby on Instagram or TikTok @3piecesofpecan

To follow The Inward Nine on Instagram @theinwardninepodcast

To contact Chandler directly: [email protected]

Music Credits:

Opening: 'Chances' by Five For Fighting

Interlude: 'Old Friends' by Ben Rector

Closing: 'Almost Home' by Ben Rector

What happens when a young man is driving south to a food and beverage job interview in Boca Raton, Florida but his car breaks down well north of Boca in Ponte Vedra? What happens next is the start of long and impactful career in the game of golf for someone who would eventually bridge a relationship between Mastercard and the PGA Tour, just one example of the deals our guest has left behind in the now 30+ year wake of his career. Our guest today has worn many hats, from Chief Golf Officer, Chief Marketing Officer and Player Agent. Our guest today on the Inward Nine is the multi talented and very connected Barry Hyde.

Ahead in our conversation with Barry:

He will share about how his car breaking down opened the door to a new pathway, with one opportunity leading to the next.. with one very timely cold call leading to his eventual promotion.

There is a small three letter word each of us needs to continue to hear to keep moving forward in life. Barry will talk about the approach he has taken to get to that word time and time again.

Getting buy in from decision makers isn't always easy and Barry has surely faced his fair share of opposition. We get a front row seat to listen to how Barry has been able to change some minds and in the process installed some indelible marks on the U.S. Open and other USGA Championships.

Oh, that person is a 'people person'. We hear that statement about certain individuals, but what makes these people so good at connecting with others? Barry will talk about one of the greatest sports agents of all time and what he feels that person did so well.

Barry's job is to represent others and their interests. But as good as Barry is at his job, he feels there is someone else who can do it better than him. He will share who that person is along with his advice for the next generation.

Music Credits:

Opening: 'You Can't Always Get What You Want' by the Rolling Stones

Interlude: 'Old Friends' by Ben Rector

Closing: 'Almost Home' by Ben Rector

So, what happens when a young and introverted man finds himself at a bar in Bandon, Oregon and tries to strike up a conversation with the people next to him? These weren't the people he thought they were. In fact, they were much different. But the young mans curiosity pays off and he suddenly finds himself studying the shaping of the dunes and bunkers for the 2nd course at Bandon Dunes, a course designed and being built by an architect he had never heard of. This chance meeting would change everything for our guest on todays episode. He is not only the superintendent at Orinda Country Club. He is a savant and one of the most talented artists in golf. He is also the founder of one of the most unique golf bags you well ever see, a company known as Flag Bag. Our guest today on the Inward Nine is Josh Smith.

Ahead in our conversation with Josh:

He will share about the person he ran into at the bar in Bandon, Oregon and how it opened the door to his eventual career in course construction, architecture and as a superintendent.

He will talk about how being unemployed led him to find a hobby to pass the time.. a hobby which got noticed by the right person at the right time and it changed everything.

When it comes to everything changing, we often talk about taking chances. There are moments we recognize we have to take advantage of. Listen as Josh tells us about a time he is stuck in traffic and uses a bagel receipt and a bit of courage to meet the person he has spent his life beside ever since.

Creativity and ideas. How do they come to us and what do we do about them? Josh shares about the origins of his company Flag Bag and how the idea of making a golf bag out of course flags came to him.

And finally, Josh and I talk about the relationship between a superintendent and a golf professional and what Josh feels it takes for these two people to have a thriving partnership.

To learn more about Flag Bag, please visit the company website or follow on Instagram @flagbagolf

Follow The Inward Nine on Instagram @theinwardninepodcast.com.

You can connect more with Chandler by sending an email: [email protected]

Music Credits:

Opening: 'Thunder Road' by Bruce Springsteen

Interlude: 'Hungry Heart' by Bruce Springsteen

Interlude: 'Secret Garden' by Bruce Springsteen

Interlude: 'Old Friends' by Ben Rector

Closing: 'Glory of Love' by Peter Cetera

Have you ever wondered how the most successful entrepreneurs took an idea and made it into reality?

On the episode, we learn the story of two college roommates who when studying together abroad in Italty were both gifted needlepoint belts by their girlfriends. What neither of them could have imagined in the moment was they really had been gifted a business idea. When they began having friends ask their girlfriends to make more belts, it got them asking the question - what would it look like to start a company around needlepoint belts? Thus was born the company Smathers and Branson.

Ahead on this episode, company founders Peter Smathers and Austin Branson will share:

About the idea development phases. From idea, to sample to production, to launch and taking the product to market and their eventual growth over 22 years.

About the value of knowing when to develop an idea and also when to pivot from that same idea.

How to communicate your vision to others to help it become a reality. Peter and Austin share about their path to finding a manufacturer. Even once they found a possible partner, they still had cross a pivotal bridge to make the product reach the marketplace. They will share what that bridge is.

About the ability they feel has helped them succeed and it's not one that can be developed in a classroom or read in a book.

Business partnerships are tricky and delicate and they often fail. Peter and Austin share about the warnings they received before going into business together and why they feel they have lasted together as long as they have.

To learn more about Smathers and Branson and to search their entire catalog of products, please visit their website: Click here.

You can follow Smathers and Branson on Instagram @smathersandbranson.

To connect more with Chandler:

Send him a DM on Instagram @theinwardninepodcast or on LinkedIn.

Or, send him an email: [email protected]

To shop Chandler's full line of hand drawn artwork, please visit the Archive 22 website.

The scene is Las Vegas, Nevada. A young assistant professional from Oklahoma is heading back to his hotel room around 9 PM when most other golf professionals are just heading out to the town. The assistant pro suddenly crosses paths with a head professional from the most prestigious clubs in Oklahoma and makes an impression. He didn't realize it in the moment, but his career path has just changed forever. In a matter of seconds, he had just displayed the character and integrity which would prepare him to eventually succeed the head professional he had just, that pro was Dave Bryan the head pro at Southern Hills. Our guest on this episode of The Inward Nine is the 2016 PGA of America Golf Professional of the Year, the current Director of Golf at SHCC and a friend to so many of us, he is Cary Cozby.

Ahead in this episode:

Cary will unpack the legacy of his father Jerry, the 1985 PGA of America Golf Professional of the Year. More than his outstanding father, Cary will talk on the impact of his mother and the qualities he feels they possessed as a team which prepared him for his own success.

Never before on this podcast have we discussed the grieving process. If we all live long enough, it is inevitable we will have to support our own parents through a loss, while grieving our own. Cary shares his perspective and what he calls a gift in the midst of one of the saddest times any of us will ever experience.

One would assume that receiving the offer to be the golf professional at Southern Hills is a slam dunk, no brainer, but that wasn't the case for Cary and his family, who had planted deep roots in another midwestern city. Cary shares with us the phone call which gave him all the perspective he needed to make his eventual decision.

Luck. Timing. Words we talk about often here. Cary shares a story about being back in Las Vegas later in his life. This time, he and his son are stranded while trying to make it to Los Angeles for Game 1 of the 2017 World Series. What happens next is the result of how sports can bond together perfect strangers, creating a lifetime memory for one young Dodger fan.

If you aren't familiar with the Golden Rule, Cary will remind us of its importance and why he makes intentional time and effort for others who are trying to find their way.

We talk quite often on this podcast about the cliché – you are always interviewing. Cary's moment with the pro from Southern Hills in Las Vegas proves this to be true, but Cary adds another element to this mindset, and its one every great leader needs to possess.

Of the many things Tiger did great, Cary hones in something most might overlook with it comes to one of the greatest players of all time, and it is what keeps Cary motivated still today.

To connect with Chandler:

Email: [email protected]

Instagram @theinwardninepodcast

Music Credits:

Opening: 'Moonlight Graham' from the Field of Dreams Soundtrack

Reading: 'If' by Rudyard Kipling

Opening: 'Caution' by the Killers

Interlude: 'Old Friends' by Ben Rector

Closing: 'Almost Home by Ben Rector

What happens when a young film student working in New York City on the set of Saturday Night Live returns home to Vermont for a wedding and is suddenly offered an assistant golf professional position at her home course? The result is a compete career shift and a journey our guest has been on ever since.

Today on The Inward Nine we welcome a Golf Digest and LPGA Top 50 Teacher and the 2017 Middle Atlantic Teacher of the Year. Our guest today is the director of instruction at Woodmont Country Club in Rockville, Maryland, she is the wonderful Trillium Rose.

In this episode:

Trillium will share about how a cold call to one of golf's most respected golf professionals and the resulting conversation gave her the direction she needed to understand the road ahead of her.

As Trillium began to grow as a teacher while working at the Jim McLean Academy in Florida, she helps us understand how Jim pushed, prodded and prepared all of his teachers to be ready to go out and teach on their own.

Trillium Rose has a curious mind. So much so that even after nearly a decade of teaching, she went back to graduate school to learn even more than she already knew. She will share with us what she learned, and also how she adapted her teaching style in the following days and years.

We most often refer to people like Trillium as a teacher, but she feels there is a word other than teacher which is more appropriate as to how we get the most from our students.

In our conversation, I gave Trillium an imaginary magic wand and told her she instantly change the way we all teach the game. Her answer might surprise you, but it also seems to be where teaching is heading.

To connect with Trillium:

Instagram: @trillium_rose

Website: www.trilliumrose.com

To connect with Chandler:

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @theinwardninepodcast

Music Credits:

Opening: 'Shattered' by O.A.R.

Interlude: 'Old Friends' by Ben Rector

Closing: 'Almost Home' by Ben Rector

What happens when a PGA Tour card holder fails to get through Q school and runs into a PGA head golf professional while Christmas shopping? Ahead on this episode is the story of Mike Harmon, the longtime head professional at Secession Golf Club in Beaufort, South Carolina.

In our conversation with Mike we discuss:

How the culture at Secession was not only created, but also on role as the guardian and protector of its culture ever since.

Mike had to sell countless memberships over his 30 year career. When it comes to selling, Mike will share the key word he feels is at the foundation of the process.

Mike will soon be taking his 100th overseas golf trip. There are many reasons Mike has continued to jump over the pond and he will share why these trips can impact your business in countless way.

Along with being called The Old Pro, Mike could easily be referred to as Mr. Style. Mike will talk about why he feels style matters and also about how when he was recruiting, he sought our style in others.

Mike might be one of the best writers amongst all the golf professionals I've known. Mike will educate us on not only why you should pay attention to your writing, but the side benefit to it we all could use.

When it comes to handing down advice, Mike shares about a defining moment in his life that began opening doors soon thereafter.. and not the ones he saw coming either.

To connect with Chandler:

Send him an email: [email protected]

Or, a DM on LinkedIn or Instagram @theinwardninepodcast

Music Credits:

Opening: 'Raise Em Up' by Keith Urban

Interlude: 'Old Friends' by Ben Rector

Closing: 'Almost Home' by Ben Rector