00:05.59 Colin Weston - The ModGolf Podcast Welcome to the ModGolf podcast where we speak with the entrepreneurs, the innovators, the disruptors, and the influencers who are shaping the future of golf. I am your host, Colin Weston. And today i have the pleasure of having a guest on, someone who I just met a couple of weeks ago, actually connected on LinkedIn. And his story just resonates so deeply with me. 00:26.42 Colin Weston - The ModGolf Podcast And for me, really it's the big connector, that glue of what golf is all about rather than posting a score. So I'm really happy to introduce him today. And that is Kris Lynch. And Kris is the founder of Golf Yourself Healthy and the head coach of Golf Yourself Happy. that sounds like a lot of plates that he's spinning there, but we're going to dig into that. But first, I want to introduce him, Kris. 00:49.14 Colin Weston - The ModGolf Podcast Hey, thanks for joining me for from Wales, I believe today. A couple of time zones away from here in Vancouver. Welcome to ModGolf. 00:55.54 Kris Lynch - Golf Yourself Happy Thanks for having me Colin, much appreciated. 00:58.49 Colin Weston - The ModGolf Podcast Absolutely. Absolutely. Okay. So Kris, you and I had a long chat last week to get to know each other. And I just said, okay, how soon can I get you on the ModGolf podcast? Not if. So I'm glad you're making this happen today. So, hey, I'm going to turn it over to you. going to ask you, and this actually ties into an icebreaker question I ask almost every single episode. 01:20.12 Colin Weston - The ModGolf Podcast Spoiler for me, because I already know the answer to this one. He told me the other day. But that connectivity to golf, that first golf experience that you had at what age and who put a golf club in your hand. I know your relationship with golf has been complicated over the years. but But before we kind of dig into Golf Yourself Healthy and also Golf Yourself Happy and the podcast that you have, why don't we start there, Kris? Why don't you tell me about your initial relationship and introduction to golf? 01:48.28 Kris Lynch - Golf Yourself Happy Yeah, sure. whenever I've been asked this, I struggle to pinpoint the very first time I put a club on my hands. 01:58.28 Colin Weston - The ModGolf Podcast Yes. 01:59.32 Kris Lynch - Golf Yourself Happy However, my probably my earliest memories are with my dad. I've one very distinctive memory where I'm pretty sure I had a three iron in my hands, which is, certainly on the scale of sort of ease to difficulty of golf clubs to hit with, that's probably of the harder ones for sure. But I just remember being stood over this tee shot and my dad being like, your stance is all wrong and your grip's got to be like this. 02:20.63 Colin Weston - The ModGolf Podcast yes 02:27.75 Kris Lynch - Golf Yourself Happy I was like, dad, shut up. Like, just let me hit damn thing! And then I just smacked it. It was on a par three, smacked it right up the middle, landed on the green. And my frustration with that was the fact dad was right more than anything else. 02:43.02 Kris Lynch - Golf Yourself Happy I think I use that word frustration um somewhat humorously, but also seriously, because as I said to you the other day, Colin, I grew up, I'm born and bred in Scotland, the home of the game. So my memory of playing it with friends from a young age was they were all really good. 03:09.28 Kris Lynch - Golf Yourself Happy It was almost like they had been born with a golf club in their hands and had this natural God given ability. 03:12.54 Colin Weston - The ModGolf Podcast Right. Right. 03:14.80 Kris Lynch - Golf Yourself Happy And I just was not that guy. I was the hacker. i was the one slowing everyone down. The one that probably no one, or at least in my head, I thought I'm the guy that Noah wants to get paired with. But and at that time, I swore blind. was like, I'm never taking this game up properly or seriously. It's just too hard. It's a silly game. And then here we are now. I'm deeply in love with the game. Still find it frustrating plenty often, but I love it. 03:47.93 Colin Weston - The ModGolf Podcast There we go. There we go. Now, you had mentioned to me that you you're you're your background, on your professional career, before you have reimagined yourself now with everything you're doing in the golf industry, was in finance. And you were working in London for many years. Sounds like you, as I have a lot of friends that are in the finance industry, and the burnout rate is extremely high. 04:04.45 Kris Lynch - Golf Yourself Happy That's right. 04:11.30 Colin Weston - The ModGolf Podcast And I understand you also use golf. as a bit of an escape to to to return to the game. So I'll let you decide how far back you want to go with the story as far as your rekindling a relationship with golf and how that came about. 04:28.06 Kris Lynch - Golf Yourself Happy Yeah, definitely. So I moved to London um in 2014 and I lived there for about seven years and I was casually invited to play a round of golf with a few coworkers at the time. And one of my co-workers in particular had founded this kind of Ryder Cup themed event where he would get like 24 guys together. We would dress up in full European and American attire. Not single American in the group whatsoever, by the way. But anyway, I'm going off piece little bit there. I'll skip back a little bit. 05:27.99 Kris Lynch - Golf Yourself Happy I moved to London and like you say, in the banking sector, it's a really intense working environment. And i just remember being invited by a few co-workers at the time to go out and play golf. 05:44.57 Colin Weston - The ModGolf Podcast Right. 05:44.60 Kris Lynch - Golf Yourself Happy And what drew me to doing that with them was the way they spoke about golf, the way they spoke about themselves and the way they played golf very much communicated to me that they didn't take themselves too seriously. 06:00.34 Kris Lynch - Golf Yourself Happy The courses that they played at were really quite modest, like Muni type courses, where I kind of just had a vibe. 06:07.29 Colin Weston - The ModGolf Podcast right 06:09.14 Kris Lynch - Golf Yourself Happy i was like, why not? I've not picked up a club in years. And yeah, I went out with them and sure enough, there was something about it that drew me and then eventually I find myself wanting to go out and play on my own. I took up a membership at a place called Richmond park, which is in Southwest London and it's a beautiful part of of London. 06:46.43 Kris Lynch - Golf Yourself Happy It was the kind of place that my experience of it was frequented by beginner golfers. I looked around and I saw kindred spirits. I saw plenty of other people hacking around or completely unfamiliar with the rules of the game. I felt good there. I felt comfortable in my own skin. Yeah, and I suppose going out on a weekday evening, for instance, it was a release. And so my relationship with it then became several things. Definitely on the one hand, it was very much just get out in green space, decompress, take my mind off of the intensities of of that day. 07:45.91 Kris Lynch - Golf Yourself Happy things I hadn't achieved in my endless to-do list at work. But then also I very much did like the the self-improvement aspect of it, and I still to this day, experience that when playing in a non-competitive environment, let's say, in a casual sense, that's when my enjoyment peaks. I feel most at ease and incidentally, my scorecard reflects it. However, on the other hand, at that same venue, I was actually finding that the part of me that really wanted to improve then gravitated towards playing competition stuff on like a Sunday. 08:37.88 Kris Lynch - Golf Yourself Happy And that's where all fell apart, you know? And I just loaded the pressure upon myself and yeah, somehow I managed not to quit and back out on it. But, that left some scars, which I've been able to address one way or another.and And I'm now with this venture seeking to help other people address too. 09:06.14 Kris Lynch - Golf Yourself Happy So I've got skin in the game with this stuff is what I'm trying to say, Colin. 09:10.04 Colin Weston - The ModGolf Podcast There we go. There we go. Okay, well, let's talk about how you crossed that chasm then and that you decided to leave your banking career. You decided to leave London and where you are now in Wales, just north of Cardiff. 09:24.98 Colin Weston - The ModGolf Podcast And you decided to launch Golf Yourself Happy a couple of years ago. So why don't you talk about that just as far as the AHA moment or even the why when you can do anything you want to do in life, whether it's in golf or outside of that, you decided that this is where you wanted to expend your energy and and redefine your your purpose here also as a golf mindset coach too. 09:50.20 Colin Weston - The ModGolf Podcast So yes, tell us about that next step of that transition. 09:51.45 Kris Lynch - Golf Yourself Happy Yeah, for sure. So initially in early 2024, I launched, what I called golf yourself healthy. And back then i had this idea, which was i was observing how governing bodies like the R&A, were publishing research about the health and wellbeing benefits of playing golf. And i find that very curious because I thought this, certainly for me, I'm very passionate about the subject of health and wellbeing. But then to see the game that I love be spoken about in that way, in an industry which is famed for being very traditional. And it's spoken about in very performative terms rather than as a tool, like almost like a therapeutic tool, if you know what i mean. Now I find that interesting. 11:01.95 Kris Lynch - Golf Yourself Happy And I thought, I want to jump on that. I want to bring what I've learned from the corporate environment in terms of like being a presenter, a speaker, like a moderating panels. And I launched a podcast that was essentially what it was doing, Colin, was bringing people on. Initially, it was everyday people coming on saying, what does golf mean to you? Like, what is healthy about golf? How do you love, what makes a healthy pursuit? 11:33.91 Kris Lynch - Golf Yourself Happy And then by the time I'd started it, I already had it in my head that I was using it as a means of trying to find a way into into the golf industry to forge a career there for myself. Because in banking and finance, I was finding after having been in it for almost a decade by that point, it was never a passion. I went into it because I needed a job when I went to London and I was just kind of going through the motions. 12:14.23 Kris Lynch - Golf Yourself Happy I can see some opportunity here to transfer the corporate skills that I have. And to be clear, the job I was doing was in HR and learning and development in particular. So I could see how there was certain crossover there. I then started networking quite a bit with you know doing Golf Yourself Healthy on the side. The great thing, as you'll know, Colin, about having a podcast is that you get access to guests online. 12:50.39 Kris Lynch - Golf Yourself Happy that you may otherwise never get access to, just by virtue of inviting people on who you would love for them to come and share their experience. And broadly speaking, my experience has been that people say yes more often than not, right? And I then managed to, at a breakthrough moment where I had a guy called Dr. Andrew Murray on my podcast, who's the chief medical advisor to the DP World Tour. And he was one of the leading contributors in overseeing that that piece of research by the R&A that I mentioned. 13:30.85 Kris Lynch - Golf Yourself Happy So back in 2020, they published his golf and health report. Dr Andrew Murray was featured in season two of full swing on Netflix so I thought what this would be an amazing guy for me to to get connected to. 13:48.66 Kris Lynch - Golf Yourself Happy We had this podcast conversation and I just said to him, are there opportunities to attend any events? Are there any networking opportunities? And then he invited me to speak at ah the third international Congress on golf and health in Edinburgh in Scotland. Now, this day, I think that's the most grandiose sounding name for an event. At the time I thought, wow, this is amazing that a Congress exists around the niche subject of golf and health. But i got invited there and I was able to stand up and talk about golf. why I do what do, why I have the passion for golf that I have. I spoke to that assembled audience of thought leaders in this space. And I was very genuine and authentic. I believe both from my first and experience, but anecdotally I see through others how golf has this very unique ability to get you to give us exposure to adversity and to learn resilience and to use it as a as a power for good and ultimately a tool for self-improvement and health and wellbeing. 15:19.27 Kris Lynch - Golf Yourself Happy So i networked hard and then also I was recognized. There's the Global Healthcare and Pharma Awards recognized Golf Yourself Healthy at the end of last year with the as the best sport and wellbeing initiative in the UK. And that was amazing. But like you mentioned, I had this tap on the shoulder from the corporate job at the end of last year telling me there was restructuring happening and that my role was being made redundant. 15:54.42 Kris Lynch - Golf Yourself Happy And if I'm being brutally honest, it required relatively little hesitation for me to say, that's fine by me because this is where my passion's at. And so, I agreed to taking the exit strategy route and then giving myself a clear runway as of January this year to go full time in this. 16:20.15 Colin Weston - The ModGolf Podcast Yes. Yes. 16:26.48 Kris Lynch - Golf Yourself Happy So yeah, that kind of brings me up to then the creation of Golf Yourself Happy, which is an evolution, I would say, not a rebrand, it's a separate brand, but I can tell you more about that in just a second. 16:39.54 Colin Weston - The ModGolf Podcast Here we go. Well, it just hopefully at least pretended or acted like you were very upset and and and absolutely devastated by by being let go and being made redundant. at least I hope you have some acting skills and at least let them think that you were crushed by that. 16:57.40 Kris Lynch - Golf Yourself Happy The chances of my ex-boss or anyone I used to work with listening to this podcast are maybe remote, but at the same time, do you know what? I don't think there'll be at all surprise to hear me say that. 17:10.81 Colin Weston - The ModGolf Podcast Well, there's no repercussions now anyway, because now you're doing something completely different. So, hey, I wanted to ask you. 17:15.06 Kris Lynch - Golf Yourself Happy That's right. Exactly. Yeah. 17:16.37 Colin Weston - The ModGolf Podcast Well, I have lots of things to ask you here, Kris, but doing a little research on you, and I know you've spoken quite a bit in public, and I came across this quote that you have here, and that is you said that "golf does not have a participation problem. It has an experience problem." Could you please expand on that? 17:42.30 Kris Lynch - Golf Yourself Happy yeah, I love that. So as you've already gathered, my corporate career has taught me to value data, value research, and to be well-read on subjects before you potentially go out and to some make what could be seen as outlandish statements. There are a couple of pieces of research in particular that I came upon last year that really were, think as the kids say these days, scroll stopping moments. 18:16.01 Kris Lynch - Golf Yourself Happy So the PGA three years ago, did a golf for all research project looking at the UK and Ireland. And it found that of 22.4 million people who, play, consume, engage with golf in whatever shape or form, on course golf, off course, sims, driving ranges, et cetera. Of the portion of those people who play on course golf, Half of those people don't identify as a golfer. And the reason they gave for that was because they didn't feel quote unquote, good enough to be a golfer. And that they also felt that golf was too elitist. 19:10.01 Kris Lynch - Golf Yourself Happy And then you also look at some research by bodies like the National Golf Foundation as well, which is finding that approximately about four million golfers a year in the US are quitting the game. 19:20.89 Kris Lynch - Golf Yourself Happy And that's for reasons that the people have quit the game citing because of frustration or there there seems to be this recurring theme around um golf culture not necessarily being the most welcoming, And this was the light bulb moment for me, which was there seems to be this sense that people are finding that golf is almost performance obsessed to the point where it's causing people to have excruciating imposter syndrome and basically telling themselves that they're failing at something that they're otherwise meant to be doing for fun and enjoyment. 20:01.24 Kris Lynch - Golf Yourself Happy So when I say there's an experience problem, that's what I mean. Because the participation numbers are showing everywhere we read at the moment, we're being told that participation numbers are way up, but retention is a big problem. 20:19.64 Colin Weston - The ModGolf Podcast And you had mentioned, I'm looking at your Golf Yourself Healthy website right now and your core beliefs, your tenets, your pillars, and the four of them. The first one you really just touched on there quite nicely was sums up with the first one. Golf has defined success too narrowly. So you talk about that. But the second one, this power of invitation and belonging and saying belonging is more powerful than performance. So you touched on that one. you Can you expand on that one a little bit of your thoughts on that? 20:50.33 Kris Lynch - Golf Yourself Happy Yeah, for sure. so let me think of an example. If i reflect on my experience of having been a member of various different golf clubs, both in Scotland, in England and in Wales, there is more or less no form of meaningful kind of onboarding experience. Nobody really puts an arm around you when you join a golf club, not at least in my experience anyway. And also the vocabulary and the parlance that is used in golf is like, if you're someone that's relatively new to the game, or even if you're someone who's played a little bit here and there, and then takes up a membership at a golf club, to be receiving member communications or talking about Stableford this and roll ups that and turkey trot this and blah, blah, blah. You're kind of like, "what language are these people talking?" 22:04.99 Colin Weston - The ModGolf Podcast you're Right. 22:09.34 Kris Lynch - Golf Yourself Happy we need to be a little bit more human in golf. I love this expression I've heard a few people say to me in the industry, which is golf talks to itself. 22:21.98 Kris Lynch - Golf Yourself Happy So, there's this assumption that seems to be made in golf, which is everyone's been here forever and we all speak this way and we just expect that everyone else will will understand that. But, yeah, there just isn't enough done in my experience to kind of make people feel like they're valued in golf. And that even trying to understand people's why for playing golf, another assumption that seems to be made, Colin, in my experience is that we're all here to get our handicap down. 23:09.02 Kris Lynch - Golf Yourself Happy But have we stopped to ask what does that person, why are they here? Why do they want to play golf? Is that what they want to get out of golf? 23:23.70 Colin Weston - The ModGolf Podcast Yes, this results driven mindset or culture is something that I know I've fallen prey to it because playing competitive sports in the past and myself wanting to improve in golf and looking that at that as a a marker, very much like a grade in school, right? and But I've gotten away from that also. And then coincidentally on the other side of the corn that the, seems like the less I worry about that, I'm still working on certain things and expanding and trying to improve, but I'm not worrying about the results. It is more about the experience and even the preparation that I'm doing there, not to be grinding away too much, but because I do play golf just to enjoy it, enjoy the people that I'm i'm playing with. But I found then that better performances, better experiences seem to come along for the ride when the culture is enhanced, which segues into something I want to ask you also. 24:28.88 Colin Weston - The ModGolf Podcast Another one of your pillars is around culture, where you talk about it, that culture shapes experience more than instruction does. So, yeah, why don't you tell us what your thoughts are on that particular piece? 24:41.98 Kris Lynch - Golf Yourself Happy Yeah, with this one, it's these pillars, they're all interconnected and there's a continuing red thread throughout all of them. But I think culture over instruction is, if I think about, looking at this through how I've been coached by various different golf coaches over time, we seem to lead with this technical first mindset rather than this people-centric mindset approach. So it comes back to point i was just making about, can we stop and just consider every time we have a golfer who maybe walks into our coaching studio, let's understand them as a person, what they value, what makes them tick. And to then inform how we're going to coach them and work with them to get the most out of golf. So, what I'm trying to say here is that every single stakeholder who works within the golf ecosystem, fundamentally, in my view, has a role to play to make people feel like like they belong. So something I just wanted to say a minute ago was, someone that I absolutely adore her work is Brene Brown, and she talks about this idea of fitting in versus belonging. 26:28.44 Kris Lynch - Golf Yourself Happy So fitting in is conforming. That's like you turn up somewhere and you have to dress a certain way, you have to speak a certain way, you have to behave a certain way to fit in.cWhereas belonging is like but bringing your true authentic self to that environment and being accepted for it. 26:53.81 Kris Lynch - Golf Yourself Happy Now, if we come back to this culture point, what I'm seeing at the moment certainly here in the UK, is that there's a trend towards um entrepreneur-run, proprietor-owned golf clubs, not member-run, committee-run golf clubs thriving. So the ones that don't have to worry about red tape and governance and passing things through five or six committees and people just pontificate about stuff before anything gets signed off are the ones that are thriving. And my background in the corporate world has taught me that this stuff matters, Colin if you do any sort of employee pulse survey or even that's the thing like member surveys in golf clubs as well. I sat on the board of a direct board of directors at a golf club before, and I heard the way that people talk, like it's all about the state of the course or what's the maintenance budget for the greenskeepers. 28:15.29 Kris Lynch - Golf Yourself Happy There's not enough being spoken about, how do we want to make people feel when they turn up? What's the customer experience like when they come into this golf venue? That's what I mean when I talk about culture. And then where instruction is concerned, again, like by extension, if you're a PGA pro, a coach or whoever you are, we've all got a role to play in this. 28:37.08 The ModGolf Colin Weston - The ModGolf Podcast So sticking with this theme of cultural transformation, i know a little bit about this, just listening to the amazing work that my wife does as a professional in workplace cultural transformation, whether that's technology or whether it's more the human centric side or a combination of both of them working with large organizations, both private private and public. So it makes me start to think about applying that cultural transformation to individual golf clubs and also to golf federations. So I'm going to put it back over to you to ask, what have you seen? Maybe let's let's start with some success stories where you can see even the low-hanging fruit that that there is positive change for culture that is making it more welcoming and inviting more than people just talking about it, that you've actually seen boots on the ground where you've seen a place that maybe wasn't doing such a great job, and now they're doing much better. 29:31.19 Colin Weston - The ModGolf Podcast You can name a name or you can just leave them anonymous if you want, but Why don't you give us some success stories that you've seen over the last couple of years that you find encouraging and make you happy? 29:43.64 Kris Lynch - Golf Yourself Happy Yeah. That's a great question. I really want to give you. I'm trying to rack my brain a little bit here. Good news stories, positive success stories where I've seen things kind of flip in this in this regard. I'll reference two examples. So one is a place called Park Golf Club, P-A-R-C. 30:45.30 Colin Weston - The ModGolf Podcast Okay. 30:45.56 Kris Lynch - Golf Yourself Happy And that's in the Newport area of South Wales. And that's where my golf coach that I you know get my lessons from is based. And that is a place where They are privately owned. So it's a an entrepreneur who has invested a lot of his own money into that club.vAnd to my understanding, he doesn't operate it in that traditional, assemble all of these committees for one for front of house and one for competitions. And they're all staffed, quote unquote, by volunteer members. 31:29.98 Kris Lynch - Golf Yourself Happy No, this is run as a for profit business. And the the agility that that is affording him and and that golf club, it has meant that they are, from a diversity inclusion standpoint, for example, running golf. or getting to golf sessions for, they've actively welcomed in the Muslim community, for example, and hosted golf events for at the time of Ramadan and things like that. And at the time when they break their fast, really, really integrating into the community and again, breaking down barriers and trying to show that golf is accessible for all. And I think that's a tangible example of it. I think also, they saw an opportunity where certainly here in Wales, Colin, I think it's fair to say that of the kind of four home nations that make up the UK, England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales, Wales is the one that is still a little bit behind in terms of having, 32:39.35 Kris Lynch - Golf Yourself Happy just by virtue of its size, it's the smallest population of all those places, but in terms of its resources, if you're to look for venues that have. Driving ranges is one thing, but like one thing with short game areas, for example, as well. So like they put together a blueprint, they went to Wales Golf as the governing body and then developed a state of the art um inclusive short game area, which is word for word what they call it. 33:10.68 Kris Lynch - Golf Yourself Happy you know And again, this is a perf and a lot we see in the industry now we're kind of hearing, well, you know, shorter courses, whether it's par three courses or kind of like short game areas. These are the perfect kind of breeding grounds to give people a sort of like an introduction to the game to then graduate them up if they want to graduate onto on course golf. And um When I look at that facility and the demographic of people that are playing there, um you know, they sell memberships at £150 only for that segment of their business. 33:46.10 Kris Lynch - Golf Yourself Happy And there's no pressure. so again, it's like an organic if you want to go from here up to there, you can do that. But they're thinking about it in the right way, if you ask me. And then another one that's along similar lines a place called Pottergate Golf Club, I love those guys. they' They're based in Lincoln, which is like literally the other like west east as a crow flies way over on the east coast of England. 34:16.95 Kris Lynch - Golf Yourself Happy They are a nine-hole golf course, which is now owned by a husband and wife called Gail and Richard Boynette. And I find them by total accident, Colin. like the on my YouTube channel, which is Golf Yourself Happy, I started on a bit of a whim ah a little mini series called Nine Is Fine. 34:42.04 Kris Lynch - Golf Yourself Happy Because again, this idea that golf snobbery will try and tell you anything But and a full 18-hole course is – anything bar that is proper golf, or is not proper golf. And I thought, no, do you know what? I want to showcase how, for me, as a father of a young family and stuff, I've only got time for nine holes now. So let's go and find a some nice nine-hole tracks around the country. And then I just – rang them up and said can I come and shoot some content and then the next thing I know I get chatting to the to the owners and they're such forward thinking people and they then invited me and my producer to go and attend their Christmas party and like these people are like dancing the conga and stuff like that at their Christmas disco and things and i'm like this is this a golf club so they're just completely tearing up the rule book and not, not literally in terms of the playing of golf, but I think the culture, like, and, I sat down with them, this was on a weekend I went to visit them. And on the Sunday they've got great food, great restaurant as well. And they were saying, look around here, Kris, 80% of the people that are sat having food here today are non golfers or non members. 36:09.30 Kris Lynch - Golf Yourself Happy we are open to the community. And that was proof of it. 36:14.14 Colin Weston - The ModGolf Podcast Love that. Love that. So does this tribe you run with, does this tie into, I've stumbled upon on your ah your podcast page here with a the community of happy hackers. So why don't you tell us what a happy hacker is? 36:28.06 Kris Lynch - Golf Yourself Happy Yeah, sure. So Colin, as I'm sure you and your listeners will have encountered before, in golf parlance, to be a hacker is typically deemed an insult. But it's a bit of an oxymoron, isn't it, to be a happy hacker? And the whole point here is saying, Look, the reality is that, you know, we as every day for us, every day, recreational golfers, we're fundamentally average. I mean, anyone who's a mid to high handicapper, is statistically speaking, we are average golfers, you know? And yet again, if we're faced with this culture in golf, which subliminally or not even intentionally sometimes is kind of sending this message that says, unless you're striving for scratch or less unless, your worth and everything is defined by your handicap, 37:31.99 Kris Lynch - Golf Yourself Happy can we not invert the logic here and say, can we start from a place of being happy and just okay about where we are in our golf right now? And then by all means, we'll strive to for improvement. So that's why i have this tagline, which is happiness first and handicap later. So to be a happy hacker is basically to say, 37:54.90 Kris Lynch - Golf Yourself Happy We're average, we're everyday golfers, and we are either at peace with that fact, or if you're not, we want to to get to a place of of being at peace with it. Because the whole reason I've created that is to say, 38:11.29 Kris Lynch - Golf Yourself Happy And hey, by the way, it's a free WhatsApp community, which if you'd like to be a part of it, Colin, you'd be very welcome. ah hey, that's a bit assumptive. 38:17.67 Colin Weston - The ModGolf Podcast There you go. 38:19.65 Kris Lynch - Golf Yourself Happy I don't know, but i'm calling you a hacker when you don't necessarily consider yourself one. But what's been so amazing about that has been how It's a real broad church of golfers are coming into that community, Colin. I first envisioned it would be you know mid to high handicappers who are having a struggle with accepting that they are of that standard and feel like they should be better and they want to be better. But actually, I've got a good core, I've got anything from like a plus three PGA pro who is having a very difficult relationship with the game because he still tries to play competitively and play tournaments as well as low handicappers who have completely reinvented their relationship with the game, whereby now all they do is play with persimmons. 39:09.62 Colin Weston - The ModGolf Podcast Yes. 39:21.73 Kris Lynch - Golf Yourself Happy So, and I had assumed that someone who's like a three handicap would never in a million years consider themselves ah a hacker or they would be put off by the naming the the name tag. But no, they're bought into the philosophy, which is happiness first and handicap later. 39:43.58 Colin Weston - The ModGolf Podcast Well, it's a catchy name. I think the alliteration gets them with the happy hacker there. How could they not want to be part of that? And hey, I'm 15 handicap, so I'm right in your wheelhouse there. I'm part of your people. 39:55.96 Kris Lynch - Golf Yourself Happy Right, perfect. Well, the invite's coming your way straight after this recording. 40:00.98 Colin Weston - The ModGolf Podcast There we go There we go. Well, hey, I do want to talk more about the podcast, which I'm thinking, why don't we do this? Why don't we hold off on that? Because I want to encourage our listeners here to also watch. 40:14.14 Colin Weston - The ModGolf Podcast ah the conversation that Chris and I are going to have on the ModGolf YouTube channel. So I'd love to dig deeper there, hear about some of your guests, hear about some of the stories with all the good things you're doing there. it sounds like it's all connected with what you're doing to make golf happier and healthier. Once again, not about the results. 40:36.89 Colin Weston - The ModGolf Podcast If it's a good day, that's great. Yesterday, I had a great front nine in the back nine. I forgot how to swing a golf club, but you know what? It was okay. It was all right. I was not, I would even think like a couple years ago, I would have got very upset with that and more more upset at myself and just beat myself up about that rather than being kind and generous to myself, which is another lesson that golf has taught me. So it's not about how many strokes it takes to get into 18 holes. It is about this larger piece. I know this sounds like a bit of a trope or a cliche that people always talk about that golf is an allegory for life. But it really is. 41:14.14 Colin Weston - The ModGolf Podcast It really is. And I find for me, there's that meditative piece, whether I was just out two days ago at the range. There were a bunch of kids on the on the T-line with their high school, so they were taking up all the space there. So gave me an opportunity to go around the side where they had another area. And I was by myself, and I just put on some music and was just worked on some shots and just breathing. And it was kind of Zen-like. And I think that was even more enjoyable as a golf experience more than me playing golf yesterday. So like said, golf isn't just about playing 18 holes like you mentioned there, Kris. 41:47.88 Kris Lynch - Golf Yourself Happy No, indeed. And as I explained before, where I first started Golf Yourself Healthy in 2024 was like, okay, golf's great for your health and well-being. All the science and the research proves it. And then I was having conversations with people on my podcast or I was like visiting different golf venues and, some people, quite competent golfers who've been in the game a long time would would say to me, like, are you mad? 42:16.89 Kris Lynch - Golf Yourself Happy Like, what's healthy about golf? This is the most damn annoying game. There's nothing healthy about this. Like, you know, you've got a warped sense of stuff that's healthy for you. And I thought there's a problem that the issue here is, like say, which has now led me to creating Golf Yourself Happy and me retraining as he as a coach specializing in mindset is that people do not have a healthy relationship with the game. 42:48.47 Kris Lynch - Golf Yourself Happy A game which, by the way, they probably in most cases came to originally for enjoyment and fun, but actually, There ain't much fun being had. So that's what I'm trying to ah solve for. But rather than, as a coach, rather than tell people the answer, it's guiding them. It's helping them. 43:15.42 Kris Lynch - Golf Yourself Happy My role as a coach now is to ask them the right questions and help them have the aha moments for themselves. 43:22.17 Colin Weston - The ModGolf Podcast I love that. Well, you were talking quite a bit about the the physical benefits of golf, but as a mindset coach, the mental health benefits that golf provides, not necessarily when you're hitting yet a bad shot or I chunk one into the into the scrub right in front of me, which I could hit that shot right 99 times out of 100. not going to talk about that part of it, but It's about the sense of community which ties into culture again. 43:53.21 Colin Weston - The ModGolf Podcast Also online through your WhatsApp group with the Happy Hackers and the other things you're doing. But even just a quick story with myself, like I wasn't part of a golf community just before COVID hit. 44:03.43 Colin Weston - The ModGolf Podcast And i was already in the golf industry for about four years. My background was in architecture as compared to years in finance. And I was a bit disengaged also like you. And I also had an option out and I took that and then stumbled into a golf venture that we started as entrepreneurs and went from there. And I didn't grow up playing golf. No one in my family does. I played team sports quite competitively in Toronto where I grew up. and played golf a little bit, would never break 90, only played a couple of times a year. 44:33.05 Colin Weston - The ModGolf Podcast But once I got in the golf industry, it's like, you know what? I want to play more golf and I want to not only get better at this, but I want to have a deeper connection to golf also. And I managed to find this, this community at ah one of the local golf courses in Vancouver, the university golf club. And they had a weekend men's group that had been around for about 50 years And this is January of 2020 before COVID hit. 44:54.68 Colin Weston - The ModGolf Podcast And I got on the wait list, got in a couple weeks later, didn't play ah around till May because of COVID. And I've got to say that group of 150 guys and most of them around my age, I'm 61 now. It's getting younger and more diverse, which is great. but also a lot of them are older and men, especially as women are very good about as far as tending another garden and watering their, their friend plants and connecting that. 45:20.03 Colin Weston - The ModGolf Podcast And men, we're just not built that way. And unfortunately a lot of guys then isolate and next thing you know, you're just in your basement watching a game or watching a match by yourself. 45:35.19 Colin Weston - The ModGolf Podcast So where I'm going with this is this is I've gotten better at golf, but that's not the point. I've had I have this deep connection now with these guys in the sense of community. And I know our mental health improves just both on the golf course and then afterwards just telling true or untrue stories about our golfing experience. 45:54.54 Colin Weston - The ModGolf Podcast with the guys afterwards and then getting together a couple of times a year. So that that whole piece there, just let's finish up with that as far as the community, the culture and kind of the the kind of the mental ah mindset benefits that golf provides all across the spectrum that has nothing to do to how pure you hit the golf ball. 46:16.86 Kris Lynch - Golf Yourself Happy Yeah, so there's, some so one one thing that really comes to mind with that is, so let's frame this in the sense that I can confidently say, and maybe you can back this up from the fact that you are physically based in North America, but I keep a very close eye on what goes on in the UK, Europe, and North America as it relates to culture broadly, but in golf and outside of golf, you know, mental health and wellbeing is, is much more in, in, you know, sort of the public domain these days in terms of being spoken about as a subject matter and people being encouraged to sort of prioritize their mental health and things. 47:07.95 Kris Lynch - Golf Yourself Happy but the harsh reality of the matter is that, still the highest killer of of men, young men especially, is suicide. 47:29.24 Kris Lynch - Golf Yourself Happy this talks to ultimately we have to find a way to connect with men, especially in a way where they feel comfortable with it and attracted to something that is being pitched to something that is going to help them with their wellbeing. And one of the most astute observations that I've seen made around the subject was, so you were asking me about my podcast, Colin, and I had on is a guy called Dr. Phil Hopley, who I met at that that Congress. And so Phil he heads up the mental health faculty on the DP World Tour. I know that I'm name dropping or referencing some people that look after the elite side of things. But my point is, I've made a point of learning from some of the best people in the business to then take this and apply it because this is the gap that I saw which is all the the tour pros are getting all these amazing things but actually why can't we try and bring some of this to the lay person to the everyday person as well right and that that's what I'm trying to do here Phil after I'd interviewed him for my podcast, and you know what, that's probably one episode in particular I'd encourage you to to listen to Colin or people to, if they want to sort of dip their toe in and get a sense for the the kind of the things that we cover or have done historically. 49:15.67 Kris Lynch - Golf Yourself Happy He and his company posted something on LinkedIn recently, which said that, The main reason why mental health initiatives fail, especially ones that are targeted towards men, is because they weren't designed for men. And my takeaway from that was it's the language that gets used. It's the way things are framed. And there's that expression that is, you have to meet your community where they are. 49:53.95 Kris Lynch - Golf Yourself Happy Don't try and force them down a path which just feels like there's friction and so basically I'm saying this, Colin, because if I say this now and all the people that are in my happy hackers community are going to be like, I knew it, this is all a big ruse. I knew what you were secretly trying to do here, but what I'm trying to do here is, because I'm a qualified health coach and I buy trade and I'm using that as a, as a means to, and that as a qualification does parlay into sport performance and psychology basically. 50:27.67 The ModGolf Podcast Right. 50:37.32 Kris Lynch - Golf Yourself Happy So I decided I'm not going to go back to university to do a master's degree in psychology and I'm shortcutting it. 50:37.62 Colin Weston - The ModGolf Podcast Yes. Right. 50:50.36 Kris Lynch - Golf Yourself Happy What I want to do is fundamentally meet the golfer where they are. And I'm coming to them as a golfer. The reason why they're connecting with me is because they're golfers. But I see them as human beings too. And I want, if I can help, I'm utterly convinced that the stuff that we're doing, they'll do with me one-to-one or in group coaching or in the Happy Hackers is what we're talking about and the stuff that we're covering is just as applicable in golf as it is in day-to-day life as well. So the cat's out the bag now. 51:27.83 Colin Weston - The ModGolf Podcast Yes, yes. There we go. There we go. So you managed to trick us all over the last 50 minutes here. I am definitely joking with that. 51:39.38 Colin Weston - The ModGolf Podcast It's just another part of, well, not only your business model, but it's the value that you add and the passion that you that you have. You bring people into the community through the happy hackers and what you do in the podcast and you're just giving them everybody all this awesome stuff for free and then you make those connections you cultivate that trust and you establish authority in the space and then people willingly come to you because you don't even have to sell to them right you're just people people now you're you're aligned because they come they meet you you meet them where they are as you said 52:15.26 Kris Lynch - Golf Yourself Happy that's exactly right and i think the whole that was intentional you know offering a a free entry point and i've committed it out loud in my own podcast which is there will always be a free element to golf yourself happy and the happy hackers in particular um yeah and i think people appreciate that and i'm not doing any hard sell on them but there are you know sort of you know, paid products and services there, including working with me one-to-one if they want to, but that will happen naturally and organically all in good time. But what's driving me and my purpose and my motivation is, and one of my values as a human being, Colin, is about being of service to others. And that's a large reason why i'm doing this. 53:04.50 Colin Weston - The ModGolf Podcast I love that. Well, hey, that that's a perfect mic drop moment there. why don't Why don't we leave it there, Chris? Because you and I, as I said, we're going to jump over to the ModGolf YouTube channel to extend our conversation so I can hear some more stories of some of the guests you've had on the on the podcast there with the Golf Yourself Happy. 53:12.50 Kris Lynch - Golf Yourself Happy Gotcha. 53:19.67 Colin Weston - The ModGolf Podcast But again, you've sprinkled this in throughout our conversation, but why don't you let people know where they can connect with you, with all the things you're doing with the podcast, with ah with Golf Yourself Healthy, and if they want to become part of your Happy Hackers WhatsApp group also. 53:36.66 Colin Weston - The ModGolf Podcast So yeah, here's your chance. Why don't you let people know how it's easy to connect with you. 53:41.72 Kris Lynch - Golf Yourself Happy Absolutely. Well, golfyourselfhappy.com is your one-stop shop to sort of see what we do. And like you say, the link straight into the Happy Hackers WhatsApp is there. I'm there if you want to access me, in there actively contributing. If you want to email me, it's also hello@golfyourselfhappy.com, which is me. I personally monitor that inbox. I'm on LinkedIn, Instagram, all these usual places as well. Golf Yourself Happy on YouTube. I think I've mentioned them all. 54:25.45 Colin Weston - The ModGolf Podcast There we go. Well, so that people don't have to write all this down while they're listening to the podcast, as I always do in the show notes and also the profile page and his bio for Chris that I'll have here on the ModGolf podcast platform, our website there. 54:26.34 Kris Lynch - Golf Yourself Happy Yeah. 54:40.29 Colin Weston - The ModGolf Podcast I'll include all those links to everything Chris has mentioned so you can get a hold of him and learn more about the impactful things that he is doing to make golf healthier and happier. 54:53.30 Colin Weston - The ModGolf Podcast So on that note, Chris Lynch, this has been an absolute pleasure. Thank you for your time today. And I look forward to ah joining you in a couple of minutes on the ModGolf YouTube channel. Thanks so much, k Chris. 55:03.99 Kris Lynch - Golf Yourself Happy Thanks a lot, Colin.