Fairways of Life is joined by longtime Golf Channel analyst and expert barbecuer Ryan Lavner, who shares his insight as a journalist and breaks down the 2024 PGA Championship.
Ryan ler is going to join us today he is a senior writer for Golf Channel he has been with Golf Channel since 2012 it’s been a couple years with golf Week Magazine prior to that I like this time we have accompanied photos of Ryan that’s obviously on the set someplace I can’t tell where it is from my my little return screen uh but Ryan has been pretty much to all the big events for some years now there’s the golf today set that’s up here at NBC sports that’s across the room from where I’m sitting right now what else you got show me show me another Ryan lavner photo anytime you’re ready that’s it hey all right obviously that photo was taken from his home in Orlando gentleman farmer oh look at this one let’s pick it up on this one Ryan lavner is joining us right now it looks like he’s cooking a dinosaur in his backyard what the heck is that Ryan that is a turkey Matt uh for Thanksgiving I do it every year my in-laws have a great place up at Reynolds Lake a con and so I’m tasked every year with smoking a turkey so uh barbecue is one of my passions If Ever I get out of golf journalism I can find myself doing something late to barbecue just not quite sure now that to do a turkey whoa whoa whoa I want to talk about this picture too but go back to the turkey picture for a second Andrew in order to you’re grilling the turkey here in order to grill it it looks to me like you pre carve the meat and then put it on so this is on one of my this is going to sound sick uh nine smokers or grills that I have and what I’ve done with the turkey there Matt is spatchcock the turkey so you remove the spine bone uh in which you can lay it flat and that is how you cook it more evenly it Cooks quicker anyone who is grilling smoking or even uh cooking a turkey in the oven I would highly recommend you spatch cocket it gets a much more even cook on it and you’re able to render the the the skin a little bit better and get that crispy bite through skin that everyone’s looking for Dare I ask what what the name spatchcock means or where it came from I I I do not know the origin I ju I just know how to do it and I think it’s a very effective Method All right well obviously you know what you’re talking about with nine smokers and in grills so when you have multiple smokers and grills are you like you meet somebody that’s you know a brilliant guitarist really brilliant guitarist maybe they they got paid a little bit played in some bands and things like that and each one of these grills that you have just like their different guitars different sound different texture different depth I mean in other words why would you need so many exactly I mean my wife clearly thinks that I have a sickness here but I can justify each and every one I have I got I have griddles I have pellet grills I have steak cookers I have other charcoal grills I have drum smokers I have an Offset Smoker I have a tailgate Grill I I mean you can go down the line with with what you have and I love each of them equally they’re like children to me uh if I do end up parting with one it’s always to to kind of go go bold you know Buy on try on is is there like a whole like U marketplace where where you guys that are massive into it are like trading equipment back and forth uh can be yes um there’s yeah there’s definitely like barbecue forums that I frequent if I’m not watching Fairways of Life on YouTube now I am watching barbecue videos and uh honing my techniques and seeing what the latest and greatest product you know in all in all seriousness it it does raise the question of when you look at TV programs for example there’s Whole Food networks that exist travel shows that exist stuff that pretty much everybody does not everybody shocking but not everybody’s involved in the game of golf or in any other sport for that matter but everybody eats so to when you made an earlier comment said hey if I ever get out of golf journalism maybe I’ll find a path into you know this this grilling and barbecuing and smoking and all that stuff that you I actually think there might be something there I think that’s a pretty cool idea so we have the podcast obviously with with Rex hoger the golf showell podcast with Rex hoger with Rex and lav and we are both barbecue grilling efficient autos and so we’ve been we’ve been chilling the podcast trying to get uh some sponsorships I have this Grand Vision if we could ever make it happen of basically creating like a college game day type atmosphere around golf’s biggest events where there’s there’s sort of a live audience uh we’re we’re grilling out we’re talking uh it’s a it’s a one hour two hour pregame type show that’s what the Grand Vision is you know that with a an alcohol sponsor a barbecue sponsor and then get the the energy and the atmosphere of a of a live audience at one of golf’s biggest events I don’t know personally I think I think there’s a future for it but uh so far no no takers I don’t I don’t think you got to just push that a little bit harder I think it’s an absolutely brilliant idea and coming from a Master Patch Cocker such as yourself I can see where that has the potential to catch on so you’ve been at this I I was surprised when I when I looked into your bio this morning that you’ve been with Golf Channel for 12 years right 14 years if I’m to do the math correct 12 years Dozen Years yeah is it 12 years it’s 2012 2012 to current y all 12 years you’re better at math than I am 12 years couple years before that at golf week seemed like a long time it was longer than than I than I thought and and you think about the varied experiences that you’ve had uh as a as a golf writer obviously you’re doing a lot of TV you talked about the podcast you’re doing with Rex Etc nowadays it gets complicated right from the earliest days on for you how have you balanced something like you’re talking to somebody important you’re talking to somebody that’s got real information and they tell you something that you know is confidential and maybe they even Mumble the thing like off the Record Etc How would important is it as a writer as a journalist to protect those types of relationships that when you’ve been given information that you know is is contrary to perhaps even the the popular and current dialogue but you’re going to protect this confidence because the person asked you to I mean I think it’s vital and and any journalist any golf writer uh in particular has known that ever since we got into the business the the relationships that we form the the sources that we cultivate over time I I mean without that relationship without that trust you really don’t have anything uh and so so breaking that trust that Bond can really have a trickle down effect that’s not to say that you’re protecting sources at all cost obviously there’s information that needs to uh go out to the public we are essentially a liaison between the athletes and the public and facilitating that sort of spread of information but it’s obviously a very tricky time uh in immedate right now balancing you know do we hold this to kind of Flesh this out further do we get it out now are you putting it on social media are you going on TV with the information it’s it’s very tricky I don’t think there’s any one right way to do it uh but with the proper journalistic training like I had at the University of Georgia you you learn very early on that the trust and your bond and your word are the foundations of of of any good journalistic practice is as you call it your proper journalistic uh training is is that ever at odds with the fact that we live in a world today where almost anybody that has a phone has the ability to be uh their own journalist of sorts and now through social media platforms Etc you have individuals and organizations that have been created because they do it in a rogue way they may not adhere to uh again your terminology proper journalistic uh principles how much of a conflict is that out there today are we better for that or does it make your job more complicated certainly more complicated uh you know how the internet works how social media Works how television works there’s always a rush to be first uh and I think we’ve always done a good job at Golf Channel maybe even to to some criticism that we we are probably a little bit uh maybe too thorough we take a little bit too long to get it up I would much rather air on the side of being accurate than being first that has never been a priority here at GF H to just get it out and then sort out the facts later that’s not how uh the journalistic world should Operate Now on social media sure someone can fire something out there unsourced UNC uncorroborated unverified and then it sort of takes off uh in in in that way at at Golf Channel we have a very strict process that we’re supposed to adhere when we do have breaking news when we do have Source material it it goes up and down the food chain to make sure that everyone uh is is on the same page with exactly what we are reporting that’s just not for me that’s for that’s for Rex that’s for Todd Lewis that’s for kir K Dixon anyone uh who is in charge of of content creation or reporting to the larger world that’s how it works we don’t we just don’t go Rogue and put it on social media put it on the Internet or put it on TV look at that Ryan lv’s Our Guest you got the gloves on I was going to say is this in New Orleans or something or or this is is this in your backyard that is in my backyard and you can see my golden retriever Stella there in the bottom left corner and the reason why we were talking about dogs before the show Matt is that my is that my dog ate I think it was either a potato or crawfish which obviously been simmering in pretty intense spices for at that point about 30 minutes and she had one and you would have thought that her head was going to explode and she has eaten everything under the sun she’s eaten e not necessarily ribs you know with with the full meat on it but the rib bones she’s eating chicken wings everything and she has a steel stomach but that one always kind of makes us chuckle because if you’ve never had sort of the Crawfish spices it it is it is intense heat you know I used to cover the classic of New Orleans just to uh go to all the restaurants and the bars on an expense account but I’ve learned you know what I like and how I like it and that’s been one of my processes is developing uh sort of an affection in a process for crawfish boils as well so that was a lot of fun we did that last year and uh hoping to do that again soon we’ve got calls coming in right now Ryan the the HR department wants to talk to you about uh spatchcock on the air and County wants to audit your on the expense all right so PGA Championship it was you know it started out tragic with the death of John Mills it it then it then became bizarre with the arrest of Scotty sheffler so I’m not even going to try I’m not I’m going to stay away from any risk of leading with this question at all at so at least through Friday of the of the PGA Championship like your like your dog was your head spitting absolutely I mean Friday was among the most bizarre surreal confusing chaotic days uh that I’ve ever spent in golf journalism I think back to some of the most U harried experiences I’ve had um I think back to 2021 uh the day where tiger crashed uh in Los Angeles I was covering the then WGC event at concession and that was a pretty scary day seeing sort of the fear stricken on players face as they were realizing that their their Boyhood hero in a lot of cases um was dealing with a very serious injury I think back to the 2012 Ryder Cup and that storyline with Roy maroy rushing to get to the golf course in time uh for his for his for his Opening match obviously that sort of set in motion the historic comeback at madana that day other than that I I mean this was the this was the strangest most surreal day that I’ve experienced in a in a very long time and to cap it all off was Scotty sh then shooting 66 uh just a few hours removed from being in a holding cell I think was a a testament to uh his Focus his concentration his patience his ability to stay in the moment uh I saw that all on display with the way Scotty shefford played on Friday we obviously know what happened on Saturday and him him losing the chance to continue this the season long slam uh but that Friday especially the press conference afterward I was very impressed with everything I saw and heard from Scotty Sheffer I I realize this next question is a bit of a celebration of the obvious but it it has to be asked at the end of of any event but did the best player win the best player yes last week at Bal the best player one you look statistically he was the best player I do think it will go down matt as as one of the great wh ifs if Scotty sheffler comes to to Pinehurst and there’s no reason to think that he will not continue to play well particularly on a golf course that should really suit his skill set if he goes out and wins that golf tournament then then yeah I think you’re going to be wondering boy what if what if he hadn’t been going to the gym four hours early to to get in a workout what if he had listened to the police officer what if that didn’t happen what if you know he just goes out and shoots his regular 66 like there was little reason to think that he would not that’s not to take anything away from Xander shof but I do think there is a wh if that that resides in the minds of many golf fans and observers right now when it comes to Xander schof I think it was a very satisfying ending wasn’t it you know the way that he was pushed by Victor havin by Bryson to Sham Bo the satisfying way in which Xander Shuffle has been kind of criticized for hitting some Clunkers around the green over over his career that maybe have cost him tournaments for for him to do the baseball swing to get up close and then chip to six feet and rim in that putt I thought it was a very satisfying ending for a player who is world class who was knocked in the so many times 12 top 10 in major championships and then for him to finally knock one off I I thought it was a great ending and wildly entertaining at that that was the part that I wanted to weave in there too because we know the ratings are up because there’s been a lot of talk about that with golf Etc and when it comes to Xander you know the street book on Xander was that he tends to fade in the moment right I’m not saying anything that that everybody hasn’t already well chronicled and in this case we saw a different Xander you know after 10 he comes back and he makes those two birdies as you noted at 18 he had that awkward stance he didn’t hit a seven iron and lay it up he went right after it from 247 yards away put himself in a perfect position hits a nice little pitch there gets up and down with a birdie at the last to win that was about courage that was about doing what you had to do to do it at the time that you had to do it to win and it was it was incredible but even when we look at just say names in the top 10 from the PGA Championship relative to the US Open right you got Xander you got Bryson who finishes up and Bryson goes you know I learned a lot there there were mistakes that I made that I’m going to learn from when we go around next time I want to pause there for a second Bryson I almost feel like he’s a different Bryson than he was when he was PGA Tour was is that maturity as part of maturity about better understanding yourself and realizing that just because you were on the PGA tour didn’t make you the most popular kid in high school that you still had to kind of go out and earn it and he’s becoming I don’t know comfortable with who he is instead of trying to play a role yeah I think there’s so many layers to to peel back when it when it comes to Bryson I think OB obviously the decision to go to live was was was nuanced in some ways like he was clearly at the end of his rope on the PGA tour he was being heckled by fans he was widely disliked by his peers obviously he wanted to cash in on his popularity I’ve never thought that Bryson would be a player who plays you know deep into his 30s or into his 40s he has so many other interests and and Liv has allowed him the time to whether it’s grow his YouTube channel or you know seek other avenues for for fun and entertainment Beyond just competing inside the ropes I I do believe that he misses the Limelight that he misses the stage you know and I think for the mainstream golf audience I’m not talking about those who who watch live golf tournaments I’m talking about the mainstream golf audience I do think this is the perfect amount of Bryce n Shambo seeing him four times a year everyone is thrilled to see him there eager to see him in action inside the ropes and he can compete that way without possibility that he then gets Overexposed or he begins to grate on some of the fans or the peers with with what can be at times an abrasive personality so I think it’s I think it’s a great situation for everyone I think it’s great for Bryson to get himself back of the mix and I think it’s great for golf fans to get this smattering the sprinkly of Bryson to Shambo throughout the year who who for all the theatrics for all the historyonics has always been an amazingly talented golfer you know it’s so easy to forget that you know with with the bulking up with the slimming down with the you know putting the golf balls in EPs and salt and the the scientist routine like he’s been amazing at every level it in every facet that he has ever been a golfer yes he he can absolutely hit it to the moon but he’s an incredible ball Striker who is a very underrated Putter and as we saw at Valhalla like his short game was was spoton as well so I’m very curious to see what Bryce can do for the remaining major championships in 2024 but I think most golf fans and most golf observers are just happy to have Bryson back in our lives on these big stages it’s now been three of the last five major championships in which he’s been a significant factor yeah I I think part of it too on a human level is that he’s still a young man and we literally watch these individuals grow up right before our eyes and I think there was a time that he was trying to find his path and trying to find his place and trying to figure out who he was on this stage uh as I mentioned instead of playing a role actually being who he is and he’s getting closer and closer to that uh I think another player that depending on how you want to Define it is getting closer and closer to fulfilling potential in the couple minutes that we have left here Ryan is Victor havlin I I you know I know Victor’s gone through some some changes you know different coaches back two etc etc but it just seems like he’s a player that’s sitting next on the threshold of the next guy to break through and win at a major level for me I kind of feel like Royal trun is perfect for Victor havin but I’m curious what your thoughts are in his status yeah I mean you never would have thought a month ago that that Victor havin would be a serious Contender at the PJ Championship I did a feature story on him uh both for TV and the written version sort of like diving into his curiosity and that is that is always sort of propelled him to these Heights and it’s so easy for him to to take the shrapnel of of making all these changes but I’ve always viewed Victor in a different way whereas you have a lot of the sort of lifelong relationships between player and Coach whether it’s Scotty Sheffer and his longtime coach Randy Smith Jordan SP his longtime coach Cameron McCormack obviously Justin Thomas and his dad Mike like you’ve seen these relationships forged over you know if not years decades Victor havin has never been that way he’s always viewed sort of Swing coaches as transactional where they’re giving him in his their their information and then he takes it upon himself to integrate it into his game and process it in in his own way and so he’s always going to balance from coach to coach just because that’s how he seeks out his information and I always thought it was unwise to to criticize him for that because you have to give him the benefit of the doubt at this point he’s been doing this his entire career you know he was a a a standout college player he was a US amateur Champion he won right away on the p PJ tour he’s now a prolific winner on the PJ tour a FedEx Cup champion a rer cup hero like give the kid the benefit of the doubt I agree Ryan we gotta run my my man but uh I want to have you back on again I want to talk about this stuff uh I I love your idea about the uh tailgate and all that goes into it thank you for your time my friend we’ll catch up again okay sounds good
