# The Cheat Code to Connections

An episode of [Earn Your Leisure](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1450211392), 11 Aug 2026, 12 min.

Audio: https://podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/8dbc4f54-a337-4481-9ef2-b355012b0a3d/88e0ffa8-5953-479f-9b9c-b4a3016aedfc/audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=eac4c628-29cb-469a-b5c8-b355012b0a48

In this video, hosts Rashad Bilal and Troy Millings welcome special guests from Eastside Golf to discuss how golf has become a powerful tool for building connections in the business world. They explore the countless business deals that are negotiated on the golf course, highlighting how playing golf provides opportunities to network and establish valuable relationships. Eastside Golf shares their personal experiences, emphasizing that invitations to play golf often lead to discussions about upcoming projects, partnerships, and ways to collaborate. They highlight how golfing with high-profile individuals allows for quality time with busy professionals, providing opportunities to deepen relationships and create business opportunities. Eastside Golf emphasizes that playing golf doesn't necessarily require exceptional skills, but rather the ability to keep up with the pace of play. The conversation then shifts to the future of golf. The hosts and guests discuss the emergence of top golf and the potential for hybrid, fast-paced versions of the sport. Eastside Golf mentions the Tomorrow Golf League, an upcoming arena-based golf experience that combines simulators with real shots and changes the shape and layout of the course each time. They also anticipate a loosening of the traditional golf dress code and a more relaxed atmosphere on the course. The importance of an influential athlete in driving the popularity of golf is mentioned, with a special shout-out to Tiger Woods. Tiger's emotion-filled playstyle, marked by fist pumps and excitement, resonated with a wider audience and raised the profile of the sport. His impact paved the way for a shift in the mindset and perception of golf. The video also touches on Eastside Golf's participation in Invest Fest, an event focused on culture, business, and financial literacy. The guests express their gratitude for being included and how speaking on the Fidelity stage provided an empowering opportunity to share their perspectives and experiences. They highlight the diverse audience and the importance of offering guidance and a different way of thinking to those seeking inspiration and growth. Join the conversation and discover the power of golf in forging connections, creating opportunities, and building relationships. Learn about the changing landscape of the sport and the role it plays in business and personal development. Don't miss out on this insightful discussion with Eastside Golf. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

## Transcript

[0:00] Speaker 1: We talk about this a lot, and we try to
[0:01] Speaker 1: get people interested in golf because we say a lot
[0:03] Speaker 1: of business deals and a lot of business flow happens there.
[0:06] Speaker 1: I want it for you, guys. How has that been
[0:09] Speaker 1: for you?
[0:09] Speaker 2: Right?
[0:09] Speaker 1: Like you're in the world of golf. How many business
[0:12] Speaker 1: deals of being negotiated for y'all through your traveling on
[0:16] Speaker 1: the course?
[0:16] Speaker 3: All of them? Yeah?
[0:18] Speaker 2: Everyone? Yea, all of them?
[0:19] Speaker 3: Most of them.
[0:20] Speaker 4: I mean even some of our partnerships. I just got
[0:23] Speaker 4: hit up today. Couldn't even make it because we're traveling.
[0:26] Speaker 4: But they're inviting us out to go play golf just
[0:28] Speaker 4: to you know, talk. You know, where are you guys's heads? Like,
[0:32] Speaker 4: what do you guys have coming up next? How can
[0:34] Speaker 4: we be involved? Like, I mean, they're inviting us out
[0:37] Speaker 4: to the nicest country clubs, trying to honestly sometimes earn.
[0:40] Speaker 3: Our business, you know. I mean, this is how the
[0:43] Speaker 3: game works.
[0:44] Speaker 4: I mean there are no gatekeepers, There are no people
[0:48] Speaker 4: that say, I mean you know you can't talk to
[0:51] Speaker 4: this person.
[0:51] Speaker 3: No, you can eventually talk to them. To stay out
[0:53] Speaker 3: there on the golf course.
[0:54] Speaker 4: I mean, you'll eventually have that time to where you've
[0:56] Speaker 4: been wanting that CEO's time five minutes coffee or something
[1:01] Speaker 4: like that. But you can actually have five hours of
[1:03] Speaker 4: their time. If you know how to play golf, you'd
[1:05] Speaker 4: be good. Like Angie says, just keep up with the
[1:08] Speaker 4: pacer player, keep up with the pac player.
[1:11] Speaker 2: That's that's right.
[1:12] Speaker 5: I mean I would recently planning in this event on
[1:15] Speaker 5: the next cup where I met Tiger woods at and
[1:18] Speaker 5: I'm in the cart when it was my partner.
[1:21] Speaker 2: And that same as Zizio and he is he's.
[1:25] Speaker 5: Like a partner at or runs at us for Mizuho Bank.
[1:29] Speaker 5: I'm not sure if you ever heard of Missouo Bank,
[1:30] Speaker 5: but I hadn't, right, and so I'm asking an inquisitive question, like, oh,
[1:35] Speaker 5: how much is under management? You know what I mean?
[1:37] Speaker 5: He used a number I never even heard anyone use.
[1:41] Speaker 5: He's out their mouth. He said two trillion dollars. I
[1:44] Speaker 5: was just like, oh, okay. So I'm sitting on a
[1:46] Speaker 5: cart with a guy that's like top level at a bank,
[1:50] Speaker 5: a global bank. It's based in Japan called Mazuo, and
[1:54] Speaker 5: they managed two trillion dollars like they leand to like
[1:57] Speaker 5: aight and t like all these big fortune five hundred
[2:00] Speaker 5: companies like they do the lending to them, and so
[2:03] Speaker 5: it wasn't like they automatically did our lending.
[2:06] Speaker 2: Right, That's not what I'm trying to say.
[2:08] Speaker 5: But that's a relationship there, right that if we do
[2:11] Speaker 5: need to or if it does make business sense, that
[2:13] Speaker 5: you can kind of grow and develop. So it's never
[2:15] Speaker 5: a thing where it's like an instant, Oh, you go
[2:18] Speaker 5: to the golf course, it's gonna immediately mean that you
[2:20] Speaker 5: get something, because then it becomes like very transactional. But
[2:24] Speaker 5: it's like the people that you meet, the opportunity, the
[2:27] Speaker 5: time you get to spend with them, you know, because
[2:29] Speaker 5: I hear you talk about all the time. It's relationships.
[2:32] Speaker 5: One thing we talk about here is its relationships. So
[2:36] Speaker 5: being able to again nurture those relationships and getting to
[2:41] Speaker 5: spend quality time with busy people is golf.
[2:45] Speaker 2: It's a cheat code.
[2:47] Speaker 6: So how do you see the future of golf because
[2:50] Speaker 6: you know, we have top golf which has become very popular. Yes,
[2:52] Speaker 6: we see like a lot of hybrids of different sports
[2:54] Speaker 6: that's taking place. We just have rich client in here
[2:58] Speaker 6: and he was talking about lacrosse, like the street ball
[3:01] Speaker 6: across going. So golf is a sport that it's still
[3:06] Speaker 6: a time consuming sport, yep. And we live in a
[3:11] Speaker 6: culture that really appreciates things that's fast paced. So do
[3:15] Speaker 6: you see like a hybrid faster paced type mini miniature
[3:20] Speaker 6: golf Adam Sandler, you know this type thing happening potentially
[3:24] Speaker 6: in the future. I mean, like I said, top golf
[3:26] Speaker 6: is actually like yeah, riving range like of sorts. But
[3:31] Speaker 6: do you see a world with extreme golf?
[3:34] Speaker 3: I don't know, if you get extreme.
[3:35] Speaker 5: They got this thing coming out top of the year
[3:37] Speaker 5: called Tomorrow Golf League where it's literally played in an arena,
[3:42] Speaker 5: so you're gonna hit into a simulator and then when
[3:45] Speaker 5: you get to a certain yardage you actually hit a
[3:47] Speaker 5: real shot. And so they built this arena from the
[3:49] Speaker 5: ground up. You got Tiger Woods.
[3:51] Speaker 2: It sounds like yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
[3:54] Speaker 4: Well but it's so I mean, it's so technology savvy,
[3:58] Speaker 4: like I heard, well, so yes, but then they have
[4:02] Speaker 4: it to where the green can change elevations and like
[4:06] Speaker 4: sonder the under the turf, like you have this machine
[4:09] Speaker 4: that makes it into the shape shifting type of place
[4:13] Speaker 4: to where it changes into a different hole every time
[4:17] Speaker 4: you play it. You know what I'm saying, You just
[4:19] Speaker 4: I mean it might only be like I think, one
[4:21] Speaker 4: hundred and fifty yards, but you're gonna hit your first
[4:24] Speaker 4: shot the hole might be five hundred yards, gonna get
[4:26] Speaker 4: your first shot into a actual simulator. Then when you
[4:29] Speaker 4: get one hundred and fifty yards in, that's when you'll
[4:31] Speaker 4: hit your real shot. But it changes and make shifts
[4:34] Speaker 4: every time when you get down to the one hundred
[4:36] Speaker 4: and fifty yards.
[4:37] Speaker 5: Yeah, So I mean it's it's happening now, like you
[4:40] Speaker 5: got that happening now, and then I think I think
[4:43] Speaker 5: where it is headed though, is the culture is headed
[4:46] Speaker 5: for golf, right, and that's clear, and so I think
[4:50] Speaker 5: you'll you're gonna see. I think one of the biggest
[4:53] Speaker 5: things I think we'll see too is like the dress
[4:55] Speaker 5: code really loosening it and up over the years, right,
[4:58] Speaker 5: because like at one point in time, like for the
[5:01] Speaker 5: PGA Tour, you could not wear shorts, like you had
[5:04] Speaker 5: to wear pants period period. And you still have to
[5:07] Speaker 5: wear pants, I believe in the tournament you could just
[5:10] Speaker 5: wear shorts during the practice round. Now, so it's starting
[5:13] Speaker 5: to like really loosen up. You're starting to have, you know,
[5:15] Speaker 5: folks playing a little bit more music now, that sort
[5:18] Speaker 5: of thing that's always kind of been like a little
[5:20] Speaker 5: taboo ish, like don't play your music, don't play loud.
[5:23] Speaker 5: So it's evolving. I think you're gonna need a sport.
[5:28] Speaker 5: You need that one athlete that just comes in and
[5:31] Speaker 5: that's just unapologetic and he's just that nice that can
[5:34] Speaker 5: really move the needle, you know what I mean, because
[5:36] Speaker 5: like you gotta understand too, man like shout out to
[5:38] Speaker 5: Tiger Woods, because he brought that level of intensity, Like
[5:42] Speaker 5: remember everybody was doing this. He was out there like
[5:47] Speaker 5: fist pumping like that was his mantra, and people didn't
[5:51] Speaker 5: really like that, Like that wasn't you know, a thing
[5:54] Speaker 5: that everyone was just like, oh, great, Tiger Woods. You
[5:57] Speaker 5: fist pumping and excited and showing it emotion. That wasn't
[6:01] Speaker 5: something that you know, we were ever, I know for
[6:04] Speaker 5: me specifically, and I think we tried to be like
[6:07] Speaker 5: you were trained not to be emotional, like you're trained
[6:11] Speaker 5: to be like very like stoic, like focused. I'm just like,
[6:14] Speaker 5: like you know, I'm thinking like a ninja type vibe,
[6:16] Speaker 5: like a zen Es, you.
[6:18] Speaker 2: Know what I mean.
[6:18] Speaker 5: Tiger was someone that really came out there and just
[6:23] Speaker 5: poured his emotions out and they were you could see that,
[6:26] Speaker 5: and that's what we could you know, relate to you
[6:28] Speaker 5: know what I mean, we used to people getting upset.
[6:31] Speaker 2: That's real. Well, talk about showing up everywhere you guys
[6:38] Speaker 2: were investments this year. Yes, yes, yes, unbelievable.
[6:42] Speaker 1: I'm interested to hear your takeaway and thank you for
[6:45] Speaker 1: showing up. Thanks for the invitew we get to include y'all,
[6:48] Speaker 1: especially because it's culture, right, It's bigger than business, is
[6:52] Speaker 1: bigger than financial. Literacy is about culture, and y'are definitely
[6:54] Speaker 1: a part of it. So talk about your experience being
[6:57] Speaker 1: part of the historic and legendary investments.
[7:00] Speaker 3: You know. I was, man, I mean, first off, thank
[7:02] Speaker 3: you guys.
[7:03] Speaker 6: Man.
[7:03] Speaker 3: That was That was definitely dope. That was the biggest
[7:06] Speaker 3: crowd that I've ever spoken in front of.
[7:08] Speaker 4: You know, we were on the Fidelity stage with Corey
[7:12] Speaker 4: and Sarah over there, and I mean we got to
[7:16] Speaker 4: tell our point of view on what we're doing and
[7:18] Speaker 4: while we're doing it, you know, it was it was
[7:21] Speaker 4: empowering because it was so many of course, so many
[7:24] Speaker 4: people in the room that looked like us, and just
[7:26] Speaker 4: so many diverse people that were just looking for honestly,
[7:30] Speaker 4: sometimes looking for guidance or a different way of thinking
[7:32] Speaker 4: about things, you know, and just looking for that push,
[7:35] Speaker 4: you know, so for them to look to us and
[7:38] Speaker 4: for us to be up on that stage. And I mean,
[7:41] Speaker 4: I'm honored to give these people, you know, how I
[7:44] Speaker 4: got to where I am. You know, I'm honored to
[7:47] Speaker 4: tell them how relationships work and how to be successful
[7:51] Speaker 4: and to work within a company, work within a conglomerate
[7:54] Speaker 4: that can push forward and be seen as something that
[7:57] Speaker 4: is successful like this. It's very hard to do at
[8:01] Speaker 4: the end of the day, of course, if you guys know.
[8:03] Speaker 4: But at the end of the day, I mean it
[8:06] Speaker 4: was I'm glad we got to do it because it
[8:09] Speaker 4: showed just how connected that we were and pushing this
[8:12] Speaker 4: game forward.
[8:13] Speaker 3: But at the end of the day that it wasn't
[8:16] Speaker 3: about us.
[8:17] Speaker 4: It's about how far can we take people within this
[8:19] Speaker 4: game of golf and what they can actually use it for.
[8:22] Speaker 3: So I'm glad. I'm glad we could show that.
[8:24] Speaker 2: Yeah, no, I agree. It was mind blowing.
[8:26] Speaker 3: Man.
[8:26] Speaker 5: I walked in there and I told you, I mean,
[8:29] Speaker 5: you know, y'all hear the numbers, right, It's like twenty thousand,
[8:32] Speaker 5: twenty thousand people get your tickets now and literally it
[8:37] Speaker 5: might be twenty one thousand, Like I walked in that room.
[8:40] Speaker 5: I'm like, yo, And it's crazy too because in kudos
[8:45] Speaker 5: of you man, you guys deserve your flowers because you.
[8:48] Speaker 2: Really have created a moment.
[8:51] Speaker 5: Like we were staying at the club Windom and they
[8:54] Speaker 5: have a rooftop and it's literally right across from like
[8:57] Speaker 5: that park, and I could see it's like a sea
[8:59] Speaker 5: of people like either walking going and I'm just like wow,
[9:04] Speaker 5: Like y'all really have like created a culturally relevant moment.
[9:09] Speaker 5: Like people are like, are you going to invest Fest?
[9:12] Speaker 5: You got to be at invest Fest. You gotta be
[9:14] Speaker 5: on stage, like it's a thing now right, Like you
[9:17] Speaker 5: guys are conversing all of this and to see that
[9:21] Speaker 5: to be a part of it, it's been unbelievable for us.
[9:25] Speaker 5: So I mean we and again you guys have to
[9:28] Speaker 5: you know, the wherewithal to be like not just thinking
[9:31] Speaker 5: I was a golf brand. I don't know if they
[9:32] Speaker 5: can fit our demo or you know, because most people
[9:35] Speaker 5: may not look at it that way, you know what
[9:36] Speaker 5: I mean just off the service east side golf. Oh,
[9:38] Speaker 5: We're only gonna invite them to golf events you know
[9:41] Speaker 5: what I mean. But it's like, nah, You're like, no,
[9:43] Speaker 5: they have a voice, they have a perspective, and so
[9:45] Speaker 5: we appreciate y'all. But I was blown away and you know,
[9:49] Speaker 5: kind of sent for next year.
[9:51] Speaker 2: But I've been in now.
[9:54] Speaker 6: So what's up for you guys end of this year
[9:57] Speaker 6: twenty twenty four? What's on the vision for what do
[9:59] Speaker 6: you have plans?
[10:00] Speaker 3: Yeah?
[10:00] Speaker 5: Now, twenty four is going to be a very pack
[10:02] Speaker 5: year we got I mean, it's already kind of booked up,
[10:05] Speaker 5: which is good, you know what I mean.
[10:06] Speaker 2: We're excited about that. You know. We have a lot
[10:08] Speaker 2: of events that we did last year.
[10:10] Speaker 5: One of the biggest things is going to be our
[10:12] Speaker 5: Community Day, so in the city of we have four
[10:15] Speaker 5: different cities that we'll be hitting this year.
[10:17] Speaker 2: So last year we BEDEA tested in Memphis.
[10:20] Speaker 5: And the goal beyond around our Community Day is we
[10:23] Speaker 5: want your first interaction on the golf course to have
[10:26] Speaker 5: nothing to do with finances, So come out meet the
[10:30] Speaker 5: founders of east Side Golf. But also you'll get free
[10:34] Speaker 5: tea times all day for folks to go play. We'll
[10:37] Speaker 5: have lessons going up there on the driving range, we'll
[10:40] Speaker 5: have free food, and again you get an opportunity to
[10:43] Speaker 5: probably grab some of the gear, but you get an
[10:45] Speaker 5: opportunity to meet people connect and you realize, oh, a
[10:49] Speaker 5: bucket of balls may only beat ten dollars. Oh, they
[10:53] Speaker 5: have rental sets in there for free that I can
[10:55] Speaker 5: rent clubs or rent just one club and if you don't,
[10:58] Speaker 5: we want to leave rental clubs. So we're going to
[11:01] Speaker 5: we have a couple of them, the City of Augusta.
[11:03] Speaker 5: We're going to Jacksonville, We're going back to Memphis. We're
[11:07] Speaker 5: going to Detroit, and then the biggest one, you know,
[11:10] Speaker 5: back to the Crib and the A.
[11:12] Speaker 2: So we got five community days that we're doing.
[11:16] Speaker 5: You know what Cali says, still, you know that's still
[11:20] Speaker 5: you know golf. We got the Invitational coming again and
[11:27] Speaker 5: we're really I think what I'm most excited about too,
[11:30] Speaker 5: is just the clothes, man, Like the close is gonna
[11:32] Speaker 5: be We really the team really, you know, they did it.
[11:36] Speaker 5: They did an amazing job and stepping that up. And
[11:39] Speaker 5: we're gonna be you know, fashion shows, New York Fashion Week.
[11:44] Speaker 5: We're definitely gonna be there strong this year. You know,
[11:47] Speaker 5: we're still gonna be out in Paris.
[11:48] Speaker 2: But the show.
[11:51] Speaker 1: Already that's just the research man. What you said, we're
[11:55] Speaker 1: beta testing

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