There are some episodes where everything is perfectly planned out, structured, and clean.
This was not one of those episodes.
Episode 14 of the Joe McNeil Podcast is about as real as it gets. My wife Laci joined me, and we just talked through life as it’s happening right now, and if you know anything about our life, you know that means a little bit of everything. Family, golf, business, parenting, faith, and yes… a little chaos mixed in.
The US Women’s Open Qualifier Experience
We kicked things off talking about our trip to Galveston for Destiny’s U.S. Women’s Open Qualifier. If you’ve never experienced tournament golf at that level, especially in those conditions, it’s hard to fully understand how difficult it is.
We’re talking sustained winds in the mid-20s, gusting close to 30 mph. That kind of wind changes everything. Yardages, ball flight, decision-making. It’s not just playing golf, it’s survival.
Destiny’s day was a perfect example of what tournament golf looks like at a high level.
She got off to a great start in Round 1, but had a few costly mistakes that turned into doubles. Not blow-up holes where balls are flying everywhere, just small errors that get magnified under pressure. She grinded out a 77, which in those conditions was actually a solid score, even if it didn’t feel like it at the time.
But then came Round 2.
She flipped the switch.
She went on a run where she was four-under through a stretch, making birdies, hitting great shots into brutal wind, and rolling everything in. She ended up shooting one of the lowest rounds of the entire event, tied with professionals. That’s the part that gets overlooked. She didn’t just play well for a junior, she beat every amateur in the field that day.
That’s when you start to see what’s coming.
The consistency is getting closer. The ceiling is already there.
The Reality of Tournament Parenting
If you’re a parent of a competitive athlete, you understand this part.
Watching your kid compete is different than anything else. You’re excited, nervous, frustrated, proud, all at the same time. And when you know how good they are, it makes the mistakes even harder to watch.
I had to remind myself during the round, and remind her too, that we’re out there to grow. Not every round is going to be perfect. The goal is to get better, learn, and keep moving forward.
Laci said something during the episode that really stuck with me. She talked about how she tries to detach a little and just enjoy watching. That’s probably the healthiest way to do it.
Because if you ride every shot emotionally, it’s exhausting.
Life with Seven Kids
From there, the conversation went exactly where you’d expect with seven kids involved.
Every stage of parenting comes with someone telling you, “Just wait.”
Just wait until they’re teenagers.
Just wait until they’re adults.
The truth is, every stage has its challenges. It just changes shape.
We shared a couple of stories that pretty much sum up what raising a big family looks like.
There was the BB gun incident, which ended with one of our kids literally having a BB stuck in his body. And yes, it’s still there to this day.
Then there was the sewing needle situation, where somehow a needle ended up lodged in a foot and required multiple doctor visits and eventually a procedure to remove it.
These are the kinds of stories that make people look at you like you’re crazy.
And maybe we are a little.
But it’s also what makes it fun.
Every kid has a different personality. Different strengths, different challenges. And when you put all of that together in one house, or even better, in a family business, you get constant interaction, constant energy, and yes, sometimes constant conflict.
But I wouldn’t trade it.
Running a Family Business
That leads into one of the biggest parts of our life, running Short Game together as a family.
We could have built this business differently. We could have hired outside staff for everything, kept things more “professional” and structured.
But that’s not what we wanted.
We wanted our kids involved.
That means Elijah teaching lessons, Jehu interacting with customers, Abigail running fitness programs, and everyone playing a role in making the place what it is.
Is it perfect? Not even close.
There are disagreements. There are moments where you’re telling your kids not to argue in front of customers. There are group texts that would probably be entertaining if anyone else saw them.
But there’s also something special about building something together.
It’s not just a business. It’s part of our family.
The Reality of People and Stress
We also talked about something that anyone in business can relate to.
People are stressed right now.
You see it in small interactions. Customers getting upset over things that normally wouldn’t bother them. Situations where you’re doing your best to provide a great experience, but someone still finds a reason to be frustrated.
We had to close for a couple of days because of heavy rain. The golf balls were plugging into the ground, which makes it impossible to pick them up without losing money.
Most people understood.
But there’s always a small percentage that doesn’t.
And that’s just part of it.
For every difficult customer, there are ten great ones. You just have to keep that perspective.
A Night of Worship at Short Game
One of the most meaningful parts of the episode was talking about something completely different.
We hosted a night of worship at Short Game.
We shut down the business for the evening, something we almost never do, and invited a group called Lord’s Land to come out and lead worship.
What happened that night was special.
Seeing our kids, our family, and people we didn’t even know standing there, hands raised, worshiping God on property that we’ve poured so much into, it was a reminder of what really matters.
Business is important. Success is important.
But none of it compares to that.
It was a moment to step back, reset, and remember why we do what we do.
Looking Ahead
As we wrap up Episode 14, there’s a lot on the horizon.
More tournaments for Destiny.
A new grandbaby on the way.
A busy summer ahead at Short Game.
Life isn’t slowing down anytime soon.
But that’s okay.
Because at the end of the day, this is what we signed up for.
A full life.
A busy life.
A life built around family, faith, and chasing something bigger.
And if it comes with a little chaos along the way, we’re good with that.
If you want to follow along, listen to the full episode here:
🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2W1Fcn3BKTFhbB5akLxsE1
🍎 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-joe-mcneil-podcast/id1871753318
📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CoachJoeMcNeil
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