It's been some time since we've done a crew-wide Q&A — and after a big year, I figured there was no better time to survey the NLU squad. Let's dive in.
Neil
What has been your “NLU highlight” of 2023?
Allow me to first go down the leaderboard of honorable mentions as it’s been a really fun year: competing with my close personal friend ‘Jordy’ at Kapalua, playing miniature golf with Jason Benetti in Phoenix, sleeping in a tent among the ‘Scousers’ at the Open Championship, and watching Carlota Ciganda stuff the pinata in front of King and Country to win the Solheim Cup would all be easy answers…
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But, The Roost Club Championship at Sweetens Cove is the true highlight of 2023. Sweetens Cove and specifically, The Birdhouse, hold a really special place in my heart. I get a great deal of joy out of watching people play the course, especially in a competitive format, for the first time. I will never get sick of making the trip to Tennessee’s Sequatchie Valley, and if you haven’t joined a Roost yet, consider finding one in your area in 2024.
Best piece of content you’ve consumed in 2023?
I’ve been ripping through episodes of Acquired, a podcast that dives deep into the history and success of different businesses, during long runs and road trips. Warning: these podcasts are 3-4 hours long, but I really love the approach the hosts take: well-researched but conversational. They explore the history of each business and then analyze why they think the business is successful or unique. It’s something KVV and Soly are doing with our recent topic-based podcasts on the 1996 Major season and what we are trying to do with our NFL Owners podcasts.
Episodes I’ve enjoyed recently: Enron (fascinating, especially because I remember it happening in 4th grade but never really knew how bad these hombres were), Nike, Porsche, and Costco.
Favorite course you played this year?
One of the perks of this job is getting to play a lot of different golf courses, but at the same time, I only played 3 courses this year more than once. I often finish a round dying for another chance to play and hit certain shots again. One of those courses was Camargo in Cincinnati, where I played in a member/guest with one of my best friends. It was a joy to play one of the best courses in the country on repeat for 3 days, and I think Carmargo has some of the best par 3s in golf.
Least favorite athlete ever?
Grade school Neil would say Mike Piazza (but D.J. has urged me to reconsider). New answer is John Elway (his steakhouse in the Denver airport sucks too).
Best purchase of 2023?
Easiest question of 2023. My new Dyson vacuum. I spent way too much time researching this purchase, and I’m thrilled I ponied up for this bad boy now that I have a black lab in an apartment with a white color palette!
D.J.
What has been your “NLU highlight” of 2023?
A lot of directions we could go here. I had such a fun time in Rome, both on our scouting trip with Justine, Soly and Ben, and then during the actual Ryder Cup with Soly and KVV. It’s easy to circle dates on the calendar years in advance and say “I can’t wait for X tournament in Y city,” but oftentimes those trips are contained solely to tournament dates and you spend most of your time there in media centers, shuttles and trying to find convenient meals before early wake-up calls. This year in Rome was one of the first times we’ve actually made a significant effort (with the help of the homies at BMW) to go over early and really get to know the course, the area, the people and let that excitement build all year. It made the Ryder Cup so much more fun and hopefully made our coverage better as well.
Best piece of content you’ve consumed in 2023?
I’m going to go movie-related. Of course: “Oppenheimer,” “Killers of the Flower Moon” and “The Killer.” Underrated things I loved: “Past Lives” and “They Cloned Tyrone.” But the one that I want to shout out is “Beau is Afraid.” I don’t think it was the best movie I saw. I honestly don’t know what I thought about it. But I can’t stop thinking about it. I dare you to watch it. God, you might HATE it. It’s so sick.
Favorite course you played this year?
Punchable answer: Sand Hills. Absolutely tip-top of the bucket list and it delivered on every expectation. I could play Nos. 7 and 8 all day every day for the rest of my life.
Non-Bucket List Answer: Lundin Links. We had a chance to sneak out one afternoon during a shoot in St. Andrews and it’s a round I’ve thought about a lot since. It’s obviously drowned out by its more famous neighbors, but I can’t wait to go back.
Least favorite athlete ever?
Carlos Zambrano.
F*** the Cubs.
Best purchase of 2023?
One thing I really wanted to upgrade when we moved into our new house in Milwaukee was my audio setup. I love collecting records, but I’m like a 20 handicap when it comes to actual gear expertise. We decided to go with a new turntable from U-Turn Audio, which I’ve really loved. The gear is all very simple and clean and the ability to choose all the options you want and build a custom turntable not only helped me learn a lot more about how different pieces work but also allowed us to get exactly what we needed for our room. Highly recommend!
Casey
What has been your “NLU highlight” of 2023?
Justin Hueber fixing my putting on Film Room - a legit game changer!
Best piece of content you’ve consumed in 2023?
I'm going with what I know will be at the top of my Spotify 2023 Rewind - the new album that I have listened to by far the most this year is Paramore's This Is Why. In particular, the song "You First" - it gets me fired up as soon as I hear the first note.
Favorite course you played this year?
Sweetens Cove! Finally checked that one off the list, and there was no better way to do it than at the Roo
Source: https://nolayingup.com/blog/whats-burning-at-the-killhouse-2023-recap