Episode #16 brings us Cliff McKinney. Cliff is the founder of Old Charlie Golf Club, a new club, and concept, to be built in the Florida panhandle. The model is quite interesting and aims to make great, private golf more affordable. We hope you enjoy the show!

Last week, I came across a reel from BBC Sport on Instagram featuring Scottie Scheffler speaking to the media ahead of The Open at Royal Portrush. In it, he shared that he often wonders what the point is of wanting to win tournaments so badly — especially when he knows, deep down, that it doesn’t lead to a truly fulfilling life.

 

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“Is it great to be able to win tournaments and to accomplish the things I have in the game of golf? Yeah, it brings tears to my eyes just to think about it because I’ve literally worked my entire life to be good at this sport,” Scheffler said. “To have that kind of sense of accomplishment, I think, is a pretty cool feeling. To get to live out your dreams is very special, but at the end of the day, I’m not out here to inspire the next generation of golfers. I’m not out here to inspire someone to be the best player in the world, because what’s the point?”

Ironically — or perhaps perfectly — he went on to win the claret jug.

That question — what’s the point of winning? — cuts straight to the heart of the human journey.

As someone who’s spent over two decades in the trenches of professional golf, and in deep study of the mental, emotional, and spiritual dimensions of the game, I see Scottie’s inner conflict as a sign of soul evolution in motion.

I came to golf late. I wasn’t a junior standout or college All-American. At 27, I left a steady corporate job to see if I could be on the PGA Tour starting as a 14-handicap, average-length hitter. Over the years, my journey has been defined less by trophies and more by the relentless effort to navigate the deeply inequitable and gated system of professional golf — an effort that ultimately turned inward and helped me evolve as both a golfer and a person.

One perspective that helped me make sense of this inner dissonance around competition and our culture’s tendency to overvalue winning is the idea of soul evolution.

The University of Virginia’s Division of Perceptual Studies has done extensive research on reincarnation, and Netflix’s Surviving Death (Episode 6) explores the topic, too. Whether you take it literally or metaphorically, the idea that we’re on a long arc of growth — from beginner to sage elder — offers a profound perspective.

If you accept the premise literally, then terms like “young soul” and “old soul” start to hold meaning. However, even if we set the word “soul” aside, it’s easy to see that different levels of life experience produce different worldviews.

Newer souls — or people in earlier stages of their development — may be curious and kind but still lack discernment or depth. There is a naivety, and they don’t yet question as deeply, tending to see things in black and white, partly because certainty feels safer than confronting the unknown.

As we gain more experience, we begin to experiment. We test limits. We chase extreme external goals — sometimes at the expense of health, relationships, or inner peace — still operating from hunger, ambition, and the fragility of the ego.

It’s a necessary stage, but often a turbulent and unfulfilling one.

David Duval fell off the map after reaching World No. 1. Bubba Watson had his own “Is this it?” moment with his caddie, Ted Scott, after winning the Masters.

In Aaron Rodgers: Enigma, reflecting on his 2011 Super Bowl win, Rodgers said:

“Now I’ve accomplished the only thing that I really, really wanted to do in my life. Now what? I was like, ‘Did I aim at the wrong thing? Did I spend too much time thinking about stuff that ultimately doesn’t give you true happiness?’”

Jim Carrey once said, “I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that it’s not the answer.”

Eventually, though, something shifts.

We begin to see in shades of gray. Winning, dominating, accumulating—these pursuits lose their shine. The rewards feel more fleeting. Living in a constant state of fight-or-flight makes us feel alive, yes, but not happy and joyful.

Compassion begins to replace ambition. Love, presence, and gratitude become more fulfilling than status, profits, or trophies. We crave balance over burnout. Collaboration over competition. Meaning over metrics.

Interestingly, if we zoom out, we can apply this same model to nations and cultures. Countries, like people, have a collective “soul stage” made up of the individuals within them.

Take the United States, for example. I’d place it as a mid-level soul: highly competitive and deeply driven, but still learning emotional maturity. Still uncomfortable with nuance. Still believing that more is always better. Despite its global wins, the U.S. currently ranks just 23rd in happiness (as of 2025). You might liken it to a gifted teenager—bold, eager, and ambitious, but angsty and still figuring out how to live well and in balance. As much as a parent wants to protect their child, sometimes the child has to make their own mistakes to truly grow.

So when Scottie Scheffler wonders what the point of winning is, I don’t see someone losing strength.

I see someone evolving.

He’s beginning to look beyond the leaderboard. Beyond metrics of success that carry a lower vibration. And yet, in a poetic twist, Scheffler did go on to win The Open. But that only reinforces the point: even at the pinnacle, the question remains. And if more of us in the golf and sports world — and in U.S. culture at large — started asking similar questions, we might discover that the more meaningful trophy isn’t about accumulating or beating others at all costs.

It’s about awakening and evolving to something more than winning could ever promise.

You are in a great mood. You’re well ahead of your buddies in the middle of the 18th fairway, looking at an easy 9-iron into a relatively flat green. Surely, this is the day you’ll break 80, and with the countless range hours and lessons, it couldn’t happen sooner. Stepping up to the ball confidently, you take a few practice swings, settle over the ball, and thwack. You feel a surge of adrenaline as the ball tracks straight at the flag. That should be a good look at birdie. At the very least, an easy two-putt for a 79.

Wait, what? You look on in disbelief as your perfect shot lands 10 feet in front of the pin, only to cruise right past the hole. The ball continues to roll off the back of the green, deep into the rough where pars go to die. Expletives erupt forth unbidden as you curse the golf gods once again for dashing your hopes and dreams.

But what if the fault lay not with the gods, but something else? Something that could have been easily remedied?

Are you a club cleaner type of guy? Then this article is for you.

Clean clubs and grooves matter

With the advent of launch monitors, modern golfers have become obsessed with launch angles, spin rates, and countless other shot metrics. Yet we often overlook a simple but critical factor that can dramatically affect performance—clean clubs.

Clean clubfaces and grooves make a real difference in your game. A quick online search turns up dozens of articles emphasizing their importance, and research by manufacturers and golf review bloggers has consistently shown that dirty grooves can reduce spin, distance, accuracy, and even feel.

If you can afford it, Titleist’s data shows that new wedges after 75 rounds can help you stop the ball quicker.

Titleist’s Vokey team took this a step further in a 2021 study on the effects of worn grooves. Using a wedge-testing robot, they discovered that grooves on a new wedge begin to wear down after about 75 rounds, causing a significant drop in spin and increased rollout. Their research even recommended changing wedges every three months to maintain peak short-game performance—a suggestion that, let’s be honest, most of us can’t afford to follow.

So, now that we know how vital clean clubfaces and fresh grooves are, what can we do to keep them in top shape? Looking through some WRX discussion threads, it seems most of us share the same habit of cleaning our wedges regularly during play. Some even wipe every club down after every single shot. Whether these golfers are deadly serious about their game or just want to keep their clubs looking pristine for resale, the dedication is real.

The golf brush dominated the club cleaning category on Amazon. But how come the only innovation over the last 30 years is attaching the brush to a water spray bottle?

But the real kicker is that the most common cleaning method today is still the same as it was decades ago when persimmon woods ruled the tee box—brush, water, wipe, repeat. In fact, a quick browse through Amazon revealed hundreds of club cleaners, yet nearly all rely on the same old brush-and-water routine.

With every other part of golf evolving—adjustable drivers, AI-designed irons, launch monitors in our pockets—why are we still cleaning clubs like we did back in 1985? Has nothing better come along to do the job other than brush and water?

Ever skin your knuckles or damage your wedge while attempting to sharpen the grooves with this bad boy?

Club cleaner + Groove sharpener = ADAK

Breaking away from the monotony of the brush and water combo, a Korean company has now come up with an ingenious new way to keep your clubs and grooves in pristine condition.

At first glance, the ADAK golf club cleaner can easily be mistaken for almost anything other than what it actually is. I thought I was looking at a type of deodorant or sunscreen stick until I pulled off the lid to reveal a dark grey material shaped like a wedge.

With ADAK, you get both a club cleaner and a groove sharpener in one fancy looking package.

Upon closer inspection, the wedge looks like a small whetstone but with a smooth, firm rubbery texture. You can also see tiny glittering specks on it, which are tiny diamond particles infused into the elastomer material. This is definitely not your ordinary club cleaner.

Using this novel club cleaner was incredibly easy. Just pop off the cap, press the edge of ADAK’s polishing wedge firmly against the clubface, and scrub like you’re using an eraser. It’s as simple as that. No brush or water needed, save for a little bit of elbow grease. And yeah, this thing works as advertised.

I’ll admit, I was super skeptical about ADAK’s ability to clean effectively. After all, brushes have long been the undisputed champions of club cleaning because their bristles can dig deep into the grooves. With ADAK’s flat, elastomer surface, I just couldn’t see how it could possibly reach into the grooves and get the job done.

After putting it to the test, however, I was genuinely surprised. ADAK’s diamond-infused elastomer effectively lifted dirt and debris that I assumed only bristles could reach. Even my old wedge with its micro-grooves packed with stubborn ball residue came out looking pristine after a few quick swipes.

For the tougher bits of dirt wedged deep in the grooves, the pointed edge of ADAK worked perfectly to scrub them out with ease. As a bonus, it also removed the rust-like oxidation from the face and sharpened the grooves with ease (test results down below on this later).

For something so simple, ADAK impressed me more than I expected.

Diamonds. Mobile phones. Wedges?

The secret behind ADAK’s cleaning power lies in its unique material, developed and patented by NEXTZHEN—a Korean company that, interestingly enough, is also a key supplier to Samsung, the mobile phone giant.

Specifically, the company created a unique Hybrid Elastic Bonding System that allows microscopic diamond particles to be bonded to an elastic compound. This innovative material is used in precision polishing wheels to grind, polish, and remove impurities from the edges of mobile phone display glass. The level of precision is astonishing—capable of finely polishing glass edges as thin as 420 microns. It’s no wonder NEXTZHEN was chosen by one of the world’s leading phone manufacturers.

The leap from glass polishing to golf club cleaning came from Hwang Jung-hoon, CEO of NEXTZHEN and an avid golfer himself.

“The idea for ADAK came two years ago when I saw my playing partner clean his golf clubs throughout the round. I was just a beginner back then, so I asked him why it was so important. When I learned that clean grooves improve spin, I realized our polishing technology could make a real difference.

“It wasn’t easy, as the material had to be firm enough to remove dirt and residue off the clubface, while being malleable enough to press into the grooves. The size of the diamond particles also required many prototypes to avoid damaging the face, yet strong enough to polish the face and sharpen the grooves for improved spin performance.” – Hwang Jung-hoon, Nextzhen CEO

Small and sleek to fit comfortably in your pocket or golf bag, the ADAK club cleaner is ideal for golfers who like their clubs clean and sharp.

Is it worth ditching the brush for?

Diamond particles to clean and sharpen golf club grooves? Absolutely. Leave it to Korean ingenuity to turn something as simple as a golf brush into a sleek, high-tech fashion accessory. But ADAK doesn’t just replace the traditional brush dangling from your golf bag—it offers several clear advantages:

• Compact and durable: The slim, pocket-friendly design makes it easy to carry, while the diamond-elastic material not
  only cleans but sharpens worn-out grooves easily with just a few swipes.
• Flexible use: ADAK works with or without water, though I found that adding a bit of water made cleaning
  quicker, especially on heavily soiled grooves.
• Built to last: This is no disposable tool. Hwang has been using his cleaner for nearly two years with minimal signs of wear. Even better, the elastomer can be whittled with a knife to keep the scraping edge fresh for lasting cleaning/sharpening capability.
• Proven performance: Tests conducted at KIGOS using a swing robot showed that sharpening wedge grooves with
  ADAK led to a noticeable increase in spin(+3800rpm), ball speed (2%), carry distance (1.2
  meters), and improvement in overall shot precision (1%).

Test results from KIGOS, Korea’s foremost golf equipment research organization, show much improved spin rate after cleaning and sharpening the grooves with ADAK.

The only real downside is the price. The ADAK costs about three times more than the top brush-and-water combos on Amazon. But hey, diamonds aren’t cheap — and they last forever. Unlike regular brushes that wear out fast and just clean off dirt, ADAK cleans and sharpens your grooves. Plus, it lasts for years and to save you money in the long run.

In a world where every piece of golf gear seems to be getting smarter, faster, and more high-tech, it’s surprising how the art of cleaning clubs has lagged behind. By combining cutting-edge materials with clever design, ADAK offers golfers a modern, effective way to keep their clubs performing their best without the hassle of soggy towels, worn-out brushes, and metal groove sharpeners.

So if you can’t afford new wedges every few months and are tired of watching well-struck shots skid off the green from dirty and worn grooves, ADAK might be the simple upgrade you and your clubs have been waiting for.