why did hagey tours close

The Arrowhead

The Student News Site of Souderton Area High School

Hagey ‘steers away’ and closes doors after more than eight decades

From Souderton all the way to Canada, Hagey has provided informational tours and comfortable transportation. “After 84 years of offering the finest in motor coach tours, Hagey Coach & Tours is permanently closing its doors,” Hagey’s official goodbye message, posted on their website, said. Teachers have used Hagey for a long time for field trips, concerts, and much more. Hagey gave passengers a “comfortable experience” and made a “huge influence” on the community. “[The seating] is comfortable…you sit up higher, it’s climate-controlled, and [there is] wifi capacity. Come on, what kid isn’t on their phone?” French teacher Anne Fitch said. Indian Crest choir teacher Michelle Clausz was always impressed with how easy it was to transport instruments. “They have a lot of cargo space for all the music equipment,” Clauzs said. According to Clauzs, through Hagey, family traditions were formed. as families were able to form traditions of going to the same place each year by taking the bus. According to Fitch, Hagey also made it easier for exchange students to travel back and forth. “I worked [in] conjunction with a third-party for my entire career of bringing exchange students over from France. There was a student named Allen Cane and he used Hagey a lot,” Fitch said. Without Hagey, exchange students like Cane will have to look for new means of transportation. Cane would use Hagey to attend “excursions with both the American [students] and the French [students,]” Fitch said.

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A Hagey bus is taking its last tour--Clarence Hagey founded the company 84 years ago

After shuttling hundreds of thousands of passengers over millions of miles throughout the United States and Canada to see Broadway shows, visit museums, attend rallies, and watch sporting events, the venerable Hagey Coach & Tours company is shutting down later this month, another victim of the COVID-19 pandemic. “It might be a little virus,” says general manager Brian Hagey, who has spent most of his adult life working for the company founded by his grandfather in 1936. “But it sure packs a powerful punch.” Hagey found out just how powerful in mid-March when the company was ordered by Gov. Tom Wolf to shut down to help stop the virus from spreading. The news didn’t come as a complete surprise to Hagey. Despite a strong first two months, even as warnings of a deadly virus spread, Hagey had a feeling the travel industry would be in trouble. “It was not good,” he recalls. Once it became clear the shutdown would be indefinite, the company canceled hundreds of trips and began refunding customers. And even when the shutdown was lifted in July, the company had trouble filling its trips even to the state’s half capacity requirement. “People were still frightened,” says Bob Bergey, a long-time driver with Hagey. And it hasn’t gotten much better since then, prompting the difficult decision to cease operations for the company founded 84 years ago when Clarence Hagey was paid $1.50 a day to bus students from their neighborhoods to consolidated schools in Souderton.

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A Hagey bus is taking its last tour--Clarence Hagey founded the company 84 years ago

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Upcoming and on-demand webinars, hagey coach takes pride in family ownership.

January 11, 2012 • METRO Staff • Bookmark +

"It's a real point of pride," explains GM Brian Hagey. "I grew up working part time for my grandparents, my parents, and now my aunt and uncle. There are a number of Hagey family members still working in the business."

The company held its 75th anniversary banquet at the end of June for more than 200 employees and friends where it often holds its parties — at its coach maintenance building at its Souderton, Pa., headquarters. "Yes, we keep it that clean!" laughs Hagey.

The company also celebrated by inviting customers to sign up for a one-time-only special tour rate of $15-per-person to Lancaster, Wildwood and Philadelphia in July and August. Several hundred people showed up for the special tour sale.

Like many regional coach firms, Hagey started as a school bus company. Founders Clarence and Elsie Hagey started the firm in 1936 by buying a Ford school bus that transported Franconia, Pa. children to school. Their first contract brought in $1.50 a day in the midst of the Great Depression.

Clarence and Elsie Hagey would branch into the tour business in 1947 with their first coach purchase and sell that side of the company to their eldest son Gerald and his wife Dorothy. They would sell the school bus side of the business to their youngest son Donald and his wife Linda in 1970. After Gerald's death in 1995, Dorothy Hagey sold the coach business to Donald and Linda Hagey, once again reuniting both sides of the business.

Brian Hagey, Donald's nephew, now puts the total fleet at 140 school buses, 18 motorcoaches and 23 vans. The coach business covers most key destinations along the entire Eastern Seaboard, including Canada, New England, New York and Washington, D.C., and its westernmost point of Branson, Mo. Today, the company's tours leave from Souderton/Franconia Township and also from Montgomeryville and New Britain.

Hagey points out that the company's passenger demographics began to widen 15 years ago.

"I think there's a misperception that coach travel is all about older riders. We've experienced an influx of younger riders and particularly of families in recent years," Hagey says. "We find that families like going on one-to-two-day trips - it allows them to get away, saves them the driving and the fuel cost and it turns out to be a very affordable mini-vacation. We've really become more of a family transportation company."

Hagey also points out that the company has also seen an influx in groups of international travelers on their lines, particularly international students attending local universities.

"We see a lot of international students being sent on class trips by local universities — the schools want them to see nearby cities and historic places like Gettysburg; Washington, D.C.; and New York City," says Hagey. "Fifteen years ago, we did not have that."

Hagey also says his family's coaches have been inside the White House gates several times, taking performers there since 1983.

Hagey Coach & Tours remains a very hands-on family business with parents, siblings and nephews involved in the company.

"My wife still teases me for taking her with me on a Saturday night to help clean buses, but that's the business...cleaning buses that is," says Hagey. "We are also very fortunate to have so many longtime dedicated and professional employees who know and enjoy the business."

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A very long journey: Hagey buses have been on…

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News Souderton Independent

A very long journey: hagey buses have been on the road for 70 years.

“It’s always been a family-run company,” said Brian’s uncle and company president, Don Hagey. “We pride ourselves on the family.”

The Hagey venture started in 1936, when most of the country was still in The Depression’s grip. Don’s father, Clarence Hagey, went off on his own after working as a mechanic for Norman Bergey’s garage in Franconia, which eventually became Bergey’s Chrysler Jeep and Dodge. That year he secured a contract to bus Franconia Township students to school, and, as the area grew, so did the Hagey school busing service.

Don eventually bought this business from his father and today the company is known as Transportation Services Inc. They do all the busing for the Souderton Area School District as well as numerous contracts throughout the greater Philadelphia five-county area.

Clarence Hagey started his second venture, the motor coach business, in the same year, and by the middle of America’s involvement in World War II, he had to be pretty resourceful to keep it rolling.

“During World War II you weren’t able to buy charter coaches because of the war effort, so my Dad bought a school bus and painted it and put in coach style seats,” Don said.

In 1946, with the war ended, Clarence purchased his first official charter motor coach. Another of his sons, Gerald, Brian’s father, bought this branch of the business in 1954. Today the charter and tour branch of the business is called Hagey Coach and Tours.

Don owns both businesses now. Brian’s brother Blake, who is the dispatcher, helps to run things too, as does Don’s son Jesse, who is a mechanic. Both branches of the company operate out of a single terminal off of Schoolhouse Road in Souderton. There are 138 school buses and 18 coaches in the fleet now, and the company supports about 200 employees, most of them are drivers.

“In our coach business we have quite a few drivers that have developed great relationships with the different groups,” Blake explained.

A wide variety of area organizations book tours with Hagey on a regular basis and the family is delighted to be a part of memory making on some pretty incredible trips. One example was a church youth group that chartered a three-week trip to Alaska to meet and work with an Inuit community. It took eight days just to travel one leg of the trip.

“The kids that went to Alaska last year, that’s something they will always remember,” Brian said happily.

In addition to the charter service there is a full catalogue of package tours out of the Souderton terminal. They include One Day Getaways which deliver scenic and metropolitan delights from the Poconos to New York City to Cape May, and Multi-Day Tours which go as far as Niagara Falls, Ontario, to Mount Desert Island, Maine, to the Golden Isles off the coast of Georgia.

When a company covers such a wide area over so long a time it is difficult to escape being caught occasionally in history. One time involved an episode of grave good fortune for a high school class trip to New York City on September 11, 2001.

“When they left the high school in the morning some kids were late going to school so they were delayed,” Don recalled.

As a result the itinerary was switched. The group’s scheduled morning trip to the top of the World Trade Centers was postponed until the afternoon.

“They were stuck on Staten Island for the day,” Don continued. “The driver and the kids all saw it happen.”

After five years, the relief was still unmistakable on the Hageys’ faces. These are not the kind of memories the family wants to provide for their customers, but the alternative for that day is unthinkable. This is what it means to keep the customers close, as the Hageys try to do.

Linda Hagey, Don’s wife and the company’s secretary treasurer, recalled a happier example.

“We actually had a dad call about his son, all he wanted for his birthday was to see the buses,” She recalled. “So Don took him for a ride on the bus for his birthday.”

It was the kind of thing school buses and bus drivers are made for. As Don has said, school buses attract kids. And sometimes you have to give them what they want.

“We conduct our business like a family company; we want to treat people like they’re a part of our family,” Don explained.

To that end, the family is holding a big 70-year anniversary promotion and celebration at the Franconia Heritage Restaurant on April 17. The Hageys are hoping old friends and new ones will drop by and catch up on old times, or consider making new memories.

In all this time, the Hagey buses have been just about everywhere that is drivable. Seven decades of charter, coach and school service have helped area residents map a sizable chunk of North America over the better part of the last century. Whether it’s school groups to New York City, or senior groups to the south, or national politicians on local tours, three generations of Hageys have been bringing the world to Souderton, one busload at a time.

For information about the anniversary celebration at Franconia Heritage Restaurant call 215-723-4381.

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Hagey Coach & Tours

Mar 1, 2021 | announcements.

The BCSO wishes all the best to the Hagey family, long-time concert sponsors, who recently closed the Hagey Coach & Tours portion of their business after serving the community for 84 years. Hagey Coach & Tours, Linda Hagey and her late husband, Donald, have donated generously for many years to support our concert programming, particularly the Family Concert that benefits hundreds young musicians in our community each year.

Our best wishes to Linda, a true Friend of the Symphony; we look forward to seeing her once again when our concerts are able to resume.

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Haeger potteries closes after 145 years in business, you are here.

After 145 years, Haeger Potteries closed its East Dundee factory June 30 in what company President Lexy Haeger Estes characterized as the company’s “most difficult” decision.

“The ongoing recession has reduced our customer base, and foreign competition has decimated our artware and decorative accessory business,” Estes said. “The economy, for the last 10 years at least, was very hard. We changed to more of a bakeware kind of line, home and hearth cooking, because the sculptural pieces were not selling.”

Estes said the disappearance of gift shops and independent furniture stores also hurt. “The reality is that we are finding it more and more difficult to compete in a market with significant wage pressure, increased regulation and generally rising costs,” she said.

Estes cited the recent push for a $15 minimum wage and additional environmental rules as some of the main culprits. Even though most employees had been with Haeger for more than 20 years, the effects of government-mandated wage hikes were being felt. And even though superior lead-based glazes – which triggered special hazardous waste disposal protocols – were removed from Haeger’s production years ago, the air-quality reports and surprise inspections proving compliance remained.

“China does not have these kinds of wages and laws. Overseas goods are coming in, and they are far less expensive,” Estes said. “We don’t mind a level playing field. We’ve competed there for generations. It’s when you get this other kind of competition that is completely unfair. … People don’t care about quality. They want the price.

“There has been an amazing outpouring of emotion for this,” Estes said. “It is very gratifying that we have had such an impact on older people. Young people are not necessarily interested in this kind of thing anymore, but I’ve had old classmates of mine, even strangers, hug me.”

Founded in 1871, Haeger Potteries operated as a family-owned American business for four generations starting with German immigrant David H. Haeger. The 15-year-old arrived in America in 1854 with parents David C. and Maria. The family, which included five sons and a daughter, homesteaded off Spring Creek Road in Barrington Hills. And they attended the one-room Haeger School in McHenry County. Haeger School also has an adjoining cemetery, dedicated in 1854 as the David Haeger Cemetery. David C. Haeger and his wife, Maria, and many other early pioneers are buried there in Barrington Hills.

Parts of the three-story, 250,000-square-foot manufacturing plant date to 1852, when Dundee Brick and Tile operated there. Estes said her great-grandfather – an entrepreneur who sold farm machinery and erected a grain elevator in Barrington – bought the plant in 1871 and established the D.H. Haeger Brick and Tile Works.

While the Great Chicago Fire proved a boon for the company, in the early 1900s, David’s son, Edmund, led the company through its transformation from making bricks to pottery and glazed artware. He built a working ceramics factory at the 1933-34 Chicago World’s Fair, then went on to hire designers and continue expanding the company.

During the past few months, some 49 full-time employees and about 40 other part-timers had been busy filling final orders and managing large crowds of enthusiastic visitors to the factory store at 7 Maiden Lane. They are what remained from a workforce of 200 at the company’s height some years ago.

In 1979, Haeger Estes, great-granddaughter of David Haeger, became president of the company – assuming the role from her father, Joseph. Along with her husband, the company’s chief operating officer, Craig Zachrich, the couple owns a collection of fond Haeger Potteries items.

Museum pieces will be auctioned off by Chicago-based Leslie Hindman in October or November. The factory store most likely will be open through the end of July. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays; and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

“For my husband and me, this was a labor of love. … I’ve been around the plant since I was 5 years old – and that was 61 years ago,” Estes said. “It was about our love for the concept of a family business, and it was about the people. It was always about the people.

“Some suggested I go to China and make Haeger. But it was an American company, and that is way I wanted it to end up.”

Published July 19, 2016 in the Northwest Herald

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At last, Margaret Hague hospital, birthplace of thousands, is reborn

• Updated: Apr. 16, 2016, 12:30 p.m. |
• Published: Apr. 16, 2016, 11:30 a.m.
• Steve Strunsky | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

JERSEY CITY  -- Named for the mother of longtime Jersey City mayor and political boss Frank "I am the law" Hague , the Margaret Hague Maternity Hospital opened in October 1931 , and was the birthplace of more than 300,000 babies, including Matha Stewart, former Gov. Jim McGreevey, and Frank Sinatra's kids. But the hospital, part of the old Jersey City Medical Center complex, closed its doors for good in 1979, and for decades was an abandoned white elephant on high ground overlooking downtown, it's windows broken and copper plumbing hauled off by scavengers. The grand, beau arts hospital was so run-down, such a sad curiosity, that it was used by novelist Richard Price in his 1992 best seller,  "Clockers,"  as a symbol of urban decay.

But now, at the ripe old age of 85, the former maternity hospital is being reborn as a luxury apartment building, the last of eight medical center structures to be restored and repurposed as a residential community known as The Beacon .

"This is truly an historic milestone," said John Masso, who manages entire The Beacon complex. To mark the occasion, The Beacon's developer, Stamford, Conn.-based Building and Land Technology, or BLT, will host a "Beacon Birthday" celebration on Saturday, where local officials, nurses who worked at the hospital, and possibly former babies who were born there will be in attendance.

"I was born there!" said Bill Matsikoudis, 44, a former Jersey City Corporation Council and one-time resident of the Beacon, who moved out a couple of years ago but not because he didn't enjoy living there. Of the Margaret Hague in particular, he said, "It's wonderful that it's coming back as a place for people to live." The new Margaret Hague, rechristened simply as "Hague," will add another 241 one and two bedroom apartments to the mainly art deco Beacon complex, where a cluster of buildings ranging from eight to 22 stories overlook much of the city from a promontory on Montgomery Street at Baldwin Avenue. Rents at Hague start at $1,595 for one bedroom, plus common amenities inside and out of the building that include courtyards with fountains and grills, a one-acre landscaped plaza with a view of New York City, a two-acre park with a dog run, a movie theater, and a "poker room" adapted from Frank Hague's personal quarters at the old medical center, where residents can cut their own back-room deals, or juts play a few hands of five-card stud.  Hague's rebirth as housing is fitting in a way, since a founding principal of what at the time was one of the nation's most progressive hospitals was to make its patients feel at home.

"It was very important that the hospital have a warm, 'homey' feeling and not the bleak, institutional feeling of so many buildings of the day," states the web site of the  Margaret Hague Foundation . "The interiors were a first for a major hospital at that time. Nowhere was white paint used. The walls were painted in light and warm pastel colors. The feeling of home extended beyond the physical features as well. To ensure that the human element prevailed, rather than imposing strict visiting hours, anxious fathers could visit at any time when the mothers were able to receive them, even in the early morning hours, before work began."

Those colors are recreated in today's Hague, including a tan and pale green scheme in some of the units, which compliment the dark stain of Hague's faux-wood vinyl floors, a material the management says will be easy to maintain. The architect for the restoration was MG New York Architects. BLT bought the 14-acre Beacon site in 2011,  paying $47 million to its original developer, George Filopoulos , a New Jersey-based developer who had purchased it six years earlier for just $7 million from the Jersey City Redevelopment Authority, after the medical center moved to its current location in a new complex on Grand Street. Filopoulos spent more than $100 million on restoring the complex and converting it to apartments, some of which he sold as condominiums, before the recession forced him to sell all but a small portion of the site to BLT.

The Beacon has received incentives including a 30-year tax abatement and federal tax breaks because the medical center, one of the nation's first municipally operated public hospitals, is national historic site being preserved through an adaptive reuse.

BLT's Masso, is a 6-foot-3, 350-pound pillar of the community who not only works there, but is a resident as well, with an apartment in a building called the Criterion.

Masso's become engrossed in the site's history, particularly Hague's former life as a maternity hospital.

"That's why we're calling it the Beacon Birthday," he said of Saturday's event. "Because we're playing off the fact that it was a maternity ward where 350,000 people were born here, and by finishing this piece last we're actually, for me, giving birth to the Beacon. Saturday we're announcing, hey were done with all of our construction, our outdoor construction, and now we're going to grow. We're going start to fill all the apartments and just be that community we've trying to get to."

Masso is not only manages the Beacon complex, he also lives there. And when he talks about building community among the tenants, he sounds like he's talking about more than his job. "We're always trying to add new things for residents, we're always continuing to grow," he said. "I think in the last six months we've added, probably, a dozen different amenities to the site. And one of the big things we've accomplished is community events. Last Sunday we had an art show. Last month we had three or four different resident events. We're starting to get 100, 150 people, which is unheard of. For the birthday parties, were using local vendors to supply stuff for us. For the food we're using local food trucks, local business. So we want to try to build relationships with Jersey City businesses, as well as help build a relationship with our neighbors. "     Because the Margaret Hague and other Beacon buildings were not originally built to house apartments, in addition to going up eight or nine decades ago, their layouts awe widely varied, often unique, as opposed to the uniformity of units in most contemporary structures. "This, to me, is what's so cool about adaptive re-use," said George Cahn, a spokesman for the developer.  The costliest unit at the Margaret Hague, a 2,500-square-foot penthouse triplex for $8,000 a month, which seems ideal for entertaining. The third floor of the apartment inherited a pair of huge terraces from the old maternity hospital, where during a recent tour on a clear day it wasn't hard to imagine new mothers introducing infants to their first taste of sunshine and fresh air.   On one side of the unit's open, U-shape third floor, a terrace measuring about 350 square feet lets residents and guests take in sunsets over the Watchung Mountains to the west, with an equally unobstructed view of New York Harbor to the south, including the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.   The slightly smaller terrace on the east side allows for gazing out over downtown Jersey City and Manhattan. Imagine a party that opens with a sunset on one side, capped by the sunrise at the other.  The one, two and three-bedroom apartments are less grand, but come with their own unique layouts. Throughout the building, the windows are huge and plentiful. "You would never be able to get a space like this in a building now," Cahn said, walking through the marble lobby, with its original terrazzo floors and brass fixtures. "They are able to take unique spaces that you just couldn't replicate." Steve Strunsky may be reached at  [email protected] . Follow him on Twitter  @SteveStrunsky . Find  NJ.com on Facebook.

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Closure of tour streamer Heygo ‘incredibly sad’ says founder

ONLINE travel tour streamer Heygo is to close on April 11 after almost three years of offering virtual travellers real-time trips in hundreds of destinations for free.

The platform set up during the depths of the Covid pandemic by university pals John Tertan and Liam Garrison has struggled to remain financially viable as real-life travel has gradually returned across the globe.

The team behind the platform explored options to see if there was any way of saving Heygo but in vain, and efforts to sell the operation also proved unsuccessful.

So today the Heygo team shared the “difficult news” of its impending closure with the thousands of users who take tours, and who have formed their own fast-growing Facebook community of travellers and guides.

“After exhausting all possible options, we have made the tough decision to close the Heygo platform, and access will cease on the 11th April, at noon UK time,” the company said.

“We understand that this will come as a shock to many of you, and we want to express our sincere appreciation for your support and dedication to the platform.

“Despite our best efforts and constant experimentations, we have not been able to make Heygo financially viable in a post-Covid world. The challenging economic situation has made this even more difficult. 

“Since the first tour in 2020, it has been an incredible journey for all of us. We are so proud of the amazing content that our guides have created and the wonderful experiences that they have provided to our users.

“In the midst of a global pandemic, Heygo and the Heygo Guides provided a much-needed refuge to many people from around the world. We want to take a moment to celebrate the incredible impact that our community has had. 

Read more: Virtual travels in the year of Covid

“Access to the Heygo platform will cease on April 11 at noon UK time. Until then, our guides will continue to receive tips and sponsorships for their tours.”

Travellers who have shot picture ‘postcards’ during tours are being urged to download them if they want to keep them, and the Heygo Voyagers Facebook group will be archived as a read-only exercise.

During a ‘Town Hall’ online briefing with users this afternoon, John Tertan revealed that 80 million postcards had been taken during as many as 50,000 tours, raising some $3 million for guides around the world, a lifeline particularly during lockdown.

Up to £200,000 had also been raised for charities including the work of the Red Cross in Ukraine. Hundreds of thousands of lives had been touched by the platform, he believed.

The necessity to close had been “incredibly unfortunate,” John told an audience of more than 1,000 users, but the company had “really struggled to keep afloat” as the world changed and Covid receded.

It was a “sad reality” that no rescue plan could be found despite the efforts of the team and investors to explore other options – and efforts to sell Heygo had proved unsuccessful.

Read more: My favourite Heygo postcards of 2022

“We encourage you to continue supporting our guides by joining their personal Facebook groups and following them on Instagram or Youtube,” the earlier company statement read.

“Once again, we want to express our heartfelt thanks to our community for their support, passion, and dedication to Heygo platform. We know that this is a difficult time, but we are grateful for the memories that we have created together.

“It warms our heart to know that many of you have formed meaningful friendships with other users and guides, and we want you to know that these precious connections need not come to an end. Although circumstances may change, we hope that the bonds you have forged will endure and continue to enrich your lives in countless ways.”

The company started out under the name Virtualtrips and its first tour was a walk around London’s Bankside in June 2020. The live streamed real-time tours lightened pandemic gloom for thousands of travel-starved people stuck at home.

As well as being shown round by expert local guides, users could make use of a live chat facility, interactive map and the opportunity to take souvenir pictures – dubbed ‘postcards’ by the streamer – which they could keep, collect and share.

Read more: Virtually there – my 10 favourite Heygo postcards

What made it different from previous virtual travel platforms was the high level of interactivity. Guides answered questions in real time and should you wish to take a particular postcard shot, the guide would often track back to make it possible.

Crucially, trips were free to join, although travellers were encouraged to leave a tip, typically from £5 here in the UK, if they enjoyed the tour. The tips were not, however, obligatory, leading to discussion amongst users on whether fees might be introduced.

In March 2021, after notching up its 100,000th user review, it rebranded as Heygo, and was offering more than 250 locations as the roster of guides, who received 60% of travellers’ tips – Heygo took the remaining 40% – continued to grow in number.

Read more: How virtual travel is unlocking the world

In September 2021, the company confirmed it would continue to offer tours even when the pandemic receded, and in December of that year announced that more than two million Heygo trips had been taken by virtual travellers to 450 destinations.

There was more good news in February 2022 when the company revealed it had attracted $20 million of investment from tech operations including Snap, Postmates, GitHub and Checkout, meaning that trips would remain free to join.

But as travel in the real world started coming back it was apparent that some popular guides were reducing the number of trips they offered because of the increasing face-to-face workload. More guides were brought in, covering more diverse subjects.

Last year, Heygo introduced a programme in which travellers could opt to sponsor their favourite guides after several reported that tips were dropping off, and that they could no longer afford to offer some of the tours they had planned to do.

Read more: Highlights from three years of Heygo travel

Now comes the news that many users of the platform dreaded, although it will not be a huge surprise. Heygo, which was a beacon of hope in the darkest of times, has finally had its day. I’ll miss it, along with the many guides and travellers I now count as friends.

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17 comments ›.

Thank you for providing us a chance to see the world. It was a joy to return to places in my country where I lived to see the changes It was awesome to visit places I’ll never travel too. Wishing everyone in Heygo, safe travels on their next adventure

There are other businesses like Discover Live who has been offering live, virtual world tours to their customers since 2017 and are growing. They started way before the pandemic and their business model is different. Although it’s hard to see HeyGo go, live virtual travel as a new way of travel continues on in other ways.

Discover Live is a private tour platform though and tours are very costly. It’s not the public tip-based platform that Heygo was so won’t appeal to that many people who loved the public nature of heygo

This is an April fools joke, right?

How they operated was not going to last long. There were plenty of opportunities for ads on the website, sponsors, affiliates etc. To be honest, the fact that the tours were free with optional tip, was not something that I liked. There were people watching tours all day long, with no single tip. Even 1 euro obligatory payment to be able to see each tour, would be good. Or subscription. Tips should be voluntary but not the using of the platform. I usually go for free walking tours when I travel, and I see how 20-30 % of people disappear before the end, to avoid paying. They should not be called free if the tip is expected. Nobody’s work should be free.

I absolutely loved Heygo. I was able to travel to places I will probably never have the opportunity to see in person I “met” some incredible tour guides and will miss them greatly when the platform closes down April 11. I hope to stay connected through Facebook and You Tube but I don’t think it will be quite the same. As the saying goes ” all good things must come to an end”. But I am really sad to be saying goodbye to Heygo.

My heart is torn. We are going to miss you so much, Heygo. We really hope this Heygo could remain for the longest time possible.

How great it has been to travel places I will not be able to physically. Sad is not a strong enough word to describe the loss of Heygo.

It was a very good idea, but everything changed when the name of the company changed to HeyGo. There were cases of harassment and defamation involving “helpers” of the company, several guides and users with many trolls. Customer service was not good. After you paid tips they didn’t respect you and your privacy. Several users left the company for these reasons including myself.

Heygo was my very favorite app ever. Please let me know if u ever start or find a similar app. Thank u for the best app I ever had the pleasure to use. The concept was revolutionary. Let me know!!! Please.

Oh, no! I really miss HeyGo. I didn’t know this happened as I was away for an extended period of time. Some guides were funny, some serious and all were wonderful.

I started to join Heygo when Covid seem never-ending and frustrating. Thank you HeyGo for making membership to your app free and also letting members have a choice on amounts to tip. I will miss this app and the tour guides. I have learned so much and managed to share the beautiful world around us with my other friends who did not have the finances to travel overseas.

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Hunter Mountain Zipline Featuring Longest in North America Closes

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All operations have ceased at the Zipline Adventures in Hunter Mountain, leaving customers with reservations and gift cards completely out of luck.

On Thursday, New York Zipline Adventures at Hunter Mountain posted a brief statement on its Facebook page announcing that it was no longer open and explained the heartbreaking reason it needed to shut down.

The news came as a shock to many outdoor enthusiasts who were already making plans to zipline this summer. NY Zipline Adventures was one of the most popular zipline operations in the country and included "North America’s longest, highest and fastest" zipline. The unique experience would send adventurers on a 3,200-foot-long zipline that soared 600 feet above the Hudson Valley at speeds of 50 miles per hour.

According to New York Zipline Adventures, the reason they are shutting down is due to the high cost of insurance.

Our insurance costs have made it impossible to operate the attraction. We value and appreciate the support Hunter Mountain has offered us during this difficult time.

Customers have taken to social media to express their sadness at the news. Some have also expressed frustration about the news being announced only after the business had already closed, not affording them the opportunity to use gift certificates.

Just a few weeks ago, New York Zipline Adventures was actively searching for employees ahead of the 2023 season which officially kicked off on April 21. It's unclear when the company's insurance costs became a concern.

Some customers insist that they would be happy to pay more to offset the insurance increases, proclaiming that the zipline experience at Hunter Mountain is worth the cost. The company charged $99 for the Mid-Mountain Tour featuring six different ziplines, with one spanning 650 feet. The 3-hour Skyrider tour which includes the tallest, fastest and longest run in North America cost $149.

The company's website is still operational, but reservations have been turned off.

Massive World-Class Dinosaur Theme Park Planned For Hudson Valley

Top 10 things people say when they hear you are from new york, more from wpdh-wpda.

Scottie Scheffler arrested before PGA Championship Round 2

Scottie Scheffler speaks about getting detained on his way to the PGA Championship. (2:33)

• Senior college football writer
• Author of seven books on college football
• Graduate of the University of Georgia

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- World No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler was arrested by Louisville Metro Police on Friday morning after trying to drive into the entrance of Valhalla Golf Club, the site of this week's PGA Championship.

Traffic outside the golf course had been stopped after a man was struck and killed by a shuttle bus around 5 a.m. ET.

Scheffler faces charges of second-degree assault of a police officer, third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving, and disregarding traffic signals from an officer directing traffic. The assault charge is a felony; the others are misdemeanors.

Maj. Jason Logsdon of the Louisville Metro Department of Corrections told ESPN that Scheffler was released at 8:40 a.m. ET Friday without bail. He arrived at Valhalla less than an hour before he was scheduled to tee off at 10:08 a.m. ET.

"This morning, I was proceeding as directed by police officers," Scheffler said in a statement. "It was a very chaotic situation, understandably so considering the tragic accident that had occurred earlier, and there was a big misunderstanding of what I thought I was being asked to do. I never intended to disregard any of the instructions. I'm hopeful to put this to the side and focus on golf today.

"Of course, all of us involved in the tournament express our deepest sympathies to the family of the man who passed away in the earlier accident this morning. It truly puts everything in perspective."

According to ESPN reporter Jeff Darlington, who witnessed the incident, Scheffler was trying to drive around the crash scene on a median. A police officer instructed Scheffler to stop, but Scheffler continued to drive about 10 to 20 yards toward the entrance.

At one point, an officer attached himself to the side of Scheffler's car. Scheffler stopped his car as he turned into the entrance of Valhalla Golf Club.

After about 20 to 30 seconds, Scheffler rolled down his window to talk to the officer. The officer grabbed Scheffler's arm to pull him out of the vehicle, according to Darlington. The officer reached inside the vehicle to open the door, and once Scheffler was pulled out, he was pushed against the car and placed in handcuffs.

Darlington was standing at the entrance when Scheffler was detained. Darlington said Scheffler turned to him and asked, "Can you help?"

According to Darlington, an officer instructed him to back away.

"You need to get out of the way," the officer told Darlington. "Right now, he's going to jail, and there's nothing you can do about it."

The officer -- Det. Bryan Gillis, identified as Det. Gillis in the arrest report -- was dragged "to the ground" and suffered "pain, swelling, and abrasions to his left wrist" after the car "accelerated forward," according to the police report.

The officer was dressed in a high visibility reflective jacket when he stopped Scheffler's car to give instructions, the arrest sheet said. Gillis was taken to the hospital for his injuries.

Scheffler's attorney, Steven Romines, told ESPN that the golfer attempted to enter Valhalla Golf Club as he had been instructed to earlier, unaware there had been a fatal wreck just up the road.

"He was going into Valhalla to work out," Romines said. "He was getting ready for his tee time. They were directing traffic. He held his credential out and was going in like they'd been instructed to. Apparently, there had been a traffic accident, maybe even a fatality, down the road, and that had changed the traffic patterns, and he was unaware of that."

Romines, speaking outside the Louisville Metro Department of Corrections, said the officer who attempted to stop Scheffler wasn't part of the regular event-traffic detail at Valhalla Golf Club, "so that's where the miscommunication arose."

"They are allowed to go through, that's why they have the credential and the wave-through," Romines said. "[Scheffler] was unaware there had been a wreck, and he proceeded like they'd been instructed to. He did exactly as he was instructed to enter the premises."

Romines said Scheffler would cooperate fully with police and "we'll deal with it as it progresses."

Scheffler, 27, has won four of his past five starts, including his second major championship at the Masters in April.

The start of the second round was delayed after a shuttle bus struck and killed a pedestrian outside Valhalla Golf Club, a spokesperson for the Louisville Metro Police Department confirmed to ESPN.

The unidentified man was attempting to cross Shelbyville Road when he was struck in a dedicated lane for buses. Police said the man died at the scene.

"This morning we were devastated to learn that a worker with one of our vendors was tragically struck and killed by a shuttle bus outside Valhalla Golf Club," the PGA of America said in a statement. "This is heartbreaking to all of us involved with the PGA Championship. We extend our sincere condolences to their family and loved ones."

Several police and first responders were still at the scene at 6:45 a.m. ET. Traffic had backed up on the roadway in dark and wet conditions, and shuttle buses bringing fans to the golf course had been stopped.

The second round had been scheduled to start at 7:15 a.m. ET.

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Ask 2: why did six flags astroworld close when will houston get another theme park.

Ana Gonzalez , Digital Content Producer

HOUSTON – At KPRC 2, we’re dedicated to keeping Houstonians informed. As part of our Ask 2 series, the newsroom will answer your questions about all things Houston.

Question: Why did Six Flags AstroWorld closed? When will Houston get another theme park?

Answer: On Oct. 30, 2005, Six Flags AstroWorld closed their gates for good, leaving Houston a hole in the heart of the city.

According to HighSnobiety and Houstonia Magazine , Six Flags cited various issues that lead to the park’s closure, including parking issues with NRG Park, the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo, and the Houston Texans. AstroWorld’s performance was also a factor in the closure.

While many of its coasters and rides were moved or stored in other theme parks, the empty land on the 610 South Loop is now used as additional parking and hosting music festivals. The Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo bought 48 acres of the space in 2012, according to Houstonia Magazine.

In 2019, Mayor Sylvester Turner tweeted that he was working to bring “a theme park like AstroWorld” back to Houston, after the huge success of Houston rapper Travis Scott’s AstroWorld music festival in its second year. Since then, no other plans have surfaced.

Do you have a question? Send it our way, and we will try to hunt down an answer.

Copyright 2020 by KPRC Click2Houston - All rights reserved.

About the Author

Ana gonzalez.

A graduate of the University of Houston-Downtown, Ana moved to H-Town from sunny southern California in 2015. In 2020, she joined the KPRC 2 digital team as an intern. Ana is a self-proclaimed coffee connoisseur, a catmom of 3, and an aquarium enthusiast. In her spare time, she's an avid video gamer and loves to travel.

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All the looks Meghan Markle wore on her trip to Nigeria, ranked

• Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visited Nigeria over the weekend. 
• Meghan wore a variety of ensembles throughout the trip.
• Her best looks from the tour were colorful dresses.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle just wrapped up a trip to Nigeria.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex spent several days in the country, which is interested in hosting the Invictus Games, according to CBS News . The Invictus Games celebrated 10 years since its founding on Wednesday.

Meghan wore an assortment of quietly luxurious outfits during the tour, many of them brightly colored.

Take a look at the looks Meghan wore in Nigeria, ranked from least to most stylish.

Meghan's white dress for a Nigeria Unconquered reception had a simple silhouette.

Meghan attended the reception in a St. Agni column dress , available for preorder at $409.

The dress featured a strapless neckline, and it subtly hugged her figure before flowing to the floor.

She also accessorized the look with a cross pendant that originally belonged to Princess Diana, as People reported .

The Duchess of Sussex popped in yellow for a visit to the State Governor House in Lagos.

Meghan rewore the Carolina Herrera dress she donned in the photo she and Prince Harry used to announce her pregnancy with Lilibet in 2021.

The sleeveless column dress featured a high neckline, and it draped loosely around the duchess.

Meghan's dress for a charity polo match featured a subtle, sparkly pattern.

Johanna Oritz's Summer Counts Dress , a $1,995 piece that's now sold out, had a hint of glamour thanks to the coordinating scarf that could be added to its halter neckline. Meghan wore it draped over her shoulders.

The floor-length dress was covered in a floral pattern and featured a plunging neckline and ruching at the waist.

Meghan added oversized Heidi Merrick sunglasses to the look.

She opted for a tailored pantsuit to visit the Defence Headquarters in Abuja, Nigeria.

Altuzarra designed Meghan's white suit, which featured a blazer with a single button and wide-legged pants.

She paired the suit with a white top, gold pumps, and gold jewelry, as well as a floral corsage.

The peach dress Meghan wore to visit Lightway Academy stood out with architectural detailing.

Heidi Merrick has become a go-to designer for Meghan, so it's no surprise she chose the brand's blush Windsor Gown for the Nigeria tour.

The maxi dress has a high neckline and cinches at both the waist and thigh, creating a casual take on a dropped waist. The back features cutouts on the sides and in the center of the dress, giving it a modern edge.

The sold-out dress retails for $1,350 and has a similar feel to other quiet luxury looks Meghan has worn recently.

She attended a basketball game in Lagos wearing a traditional Nigerian skirt.

Meghan's Nigerian skirt was the star of her outfit, with a blue striped pattern and a tie fastened at her waist. The skirt was gifted to her during her trip, according to People .

She paired the skirt with a Carolina Herrera blouse with the sleeves folded up, gold Burberry pumps, and Heidi Merrick sunglasses.

The look was both casual and sophisticated.

Meghan's dress for a volleyball match had a subtle cutout and a daring slit.

The Duchess of Sussex arrived at the match in a $2,850 Johanna Oritz dress.

A dark-green leafy pattern covered the dress, which had a sweetheart neckline and hit Meghan at the ankle. A diamond-shaped cutout sat in the center of the bodice, framed by textured spaghetti straps.

A thigh-high slit completed the beachy feel of the dress, which Meghan wore with Heidi Merrick sunglasses and black Emme Parsons sandals.

Ruffles on the hem of Meghan's red dress for a Women in Leadership panel made it stand out.

Meghan's $275 midi dress was made by Orire, a Nigerian designer.

The red garment's scooped neckline featured spaghetti straps and a slightly cinched waist.

The hem of the dress was lined with large ruffles, adding a touch of glamour to the simple silhouette. Nude heels from Aquazzura completed the look.

According to InStyle , Meghan said during the panel that she donned the colorful dress at the encouragement of people she met in Nigeria.

"I am just flattered and honored and inspired," she said. "It has been a whirlwind 24 hours since we arrived, and I very quickly got the memo that I need to wear more color so I can fit in with all of you in your incredible fashion!"

• Main content

Scottie Scheffler’s secret: How a ‘venomous’ trash talker became the best golfer in the world

Follow live coverage of the final round of the 2024 PGA Championship today

It’s a week after he won the Masters, and Scottie Scheffler is hanging out at his local Royal Oaks Country Club in Dallas, making it abundantly clear that he can beat a bunch of middle-aged men’s asses in pickleball.

He’s with his normal crew, a group of 45-to-65-year-old insurance salesmen and finance guys in Dallas he has been playing money games with for years. They just finished a wolf hammer match on this Friday and are hanging out with adult beverages. And suddenly Scheffler, 27, is in a heated argument with two of the men, convinced he could beat them both in pickleball. Both of them against just him.

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“They are going back and forth like two teenagers. And he’s digging in. This is serious to him,” says Frank Voigt, a Royal Oaks member and part of this crew. He’s known Scheffler since he was 6.

Because Scottie Scheffler wants to win. No, he really wants to win.

As Scheffler has risen to No. 1 in the world and become the undeniable dominant force in golf , a narrative has formed that he’s boring. Ho-hum. And that he doesn’t produce much personality in front of a camera.

He’ll attempt to claim the second leg of a potential grand slam this week at the PGA Championship, but it’s an open question of whether he’s a marketable enough star to cross over at a time when pro golf badly needs something to cut through two years of petty infighting. The fallout from the creation of LIV Golf in 2022 has created unprecedented wealth in the men’s professional game and splintered the PGA Tour locker room into factions divided on its next steps. There is as much conversation about what committees recognizable stars like Tiger Woods, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy sit on as there is their chances of competing week-to-week.

But Scheffler’s little secret is that he’s not boring. He’s one of the most competitive people on the planet, a “venomous” trash-talking former basketball player who rakes in money from club members, annihilates tour pros in money games and used to run so hot his Texas coach worried it would get the best of him.

And the Sunday before he won his second Masters, he sat around with a bunch of close friends and admitted he was overwhelmed. Much the same way it had been two years before, waking up with the lead at Augusta National had proven to be one of the hardest parts — dealing with in his mind about what was to come, and what could go wrong.

“I wish I didn’t want to win as badly as I did or as badly as I do,” Scheffler told them.

The evolution of Scheffler is in the ways he’s smoothed those edges, channeling that competitive fire to become a focused, seemingly emotionless machine on the course, where he has won four of his last five tournaments. Still, the narrative is not the reality.

Texas coach John Fields was chatting with Scheffler’s caddie, Ted Scott, recently about this very thing.

“Ted, everybody thinks Scottie is this laid back guy and really relaxed,” Fields said.

“Coach,” Scott laughed. “You know that’s not true.”

The Texas Longhorns golf team was at a match play event at Texas Tech in 2015, Scheffler’s freshman year. He and match play partner Beau Hossler arrived to the par-5 11th hole and launched their drives. Hossler reached the shorter ball first and took a look down. Sure it was not his, he kept walking to the ball farther up the fairway with a little spring in his step. He thought he outdrove the soon-to-be NCAA freshman of the year by 20 yards.

Scheffler walked to the first ball, assumed Hossler correctly recognized it was not his own, and hit it. Immediately after, Hossler looked down at the remaining ball and said, “This is not my ball.” The way NCAA match play works, if you hit the wrong ball, you immediately forfeit the hole.

Scheffler exploded. He sprinted the 250 yards to the front of the green, picked up the ball, ran all the way back and, “basically throws it at Beau’s feet,” Fields said.

“It was like a volcano went off.” They bickered all the way back to the green and as they made their way to the next tee box.

“As we step off that tee box, I said, ‘Beau, we are not going a step further until you apologize to Scottie.’ He’s like, ‘Why do I need to apologize? He’s the dumbie that hit the wrong ball!’,” Fields said.

Texas returned to Texas Tech for an NCAA regional later that season. By then, Scheffler was on his way to all the freshman accolades, but his game was starting to dip. He was on the back nine, and he hit a bad shot into the Texas wasteland. Scheffler was so angry he took a swipe at a bush with his left hand.

“Unfortunately, that bush was a Mesquite bush with thorns,” Fields said. “And that thorn went right in the left side of his thumb, underneath his fingernail. So you can imagine how much pain.”

But the thorn was so deep he couldn’t pull it out. Scheffler just had to keep playing. But Fields wasn’t with Scheffler’s group at the time. He had no idea of any of this, and Scheffler didn’t tell him.

Texas went on to dominate the regional and advance to the NCAA Championships. A week or so later, Fields walked around the local Byron Nelson PGA Tour event and ran into Scheffler’s dad, Scott.

“I’m really upset with you guys,” Scott said.

“OK, for what?”

“They haven’t been able to fix Scottie’s thumb!”

“What’s wrong with Scottie’s thumb?” Fields asked.

The thorn was so deep the trainer couldn’t get it out. Scheffler decided to just make sure it wasn’t infected and play the national championships with the thorn in his thumb. He’d hit a shot. Ice it. Hit a shot. Ice it. For five rounds of competition. When they later went to a surgeon in Dallas, he had to stitch it up and said if they had done it earlier, Scheffler would have been sidelined for the rest of the run.

“That, for sure, tells you how competitive he is,” Fields said. “First, how competitive he was that he got so angry he took a swipe at a bush. And second, persevering basically for 15 days of serious pain and almost having a chance to win a national championship.”

Sean Payton stared across the water, debating how to play the long par 3 at TPC Louisiana in New Orleans, as Scheffler just tore into him.

They’re playing a money game during a Wednesday pro-am before the 2022 Zurich Classic with Drew Brees, PGA Tour pro Ryan Palmer and some other business people, and Payton was hitting into the wind on the 17th hole. The 160-yard shot was playing more like 180, so the NFL coach was prepared to take a conservative angle to the right of the green, away from the water.

Scheffler wouldn’t let that happen. “Go for the pin,” Scheffler playfully heckled him with a cheese-eating grin. “Come on. Are you scared?” It’s what he did all day, needling Payton and Brees each chance he could. Payton did not take the bait on this one.

It did not matter. Scheffler still hit a 38-foot putt to win. “We had to pay,” Payton joked.

“I can tell from his demeanor and just kind of the way he approaches competition or a challenge that he’s had some pretty significant competitive background,” Brees said, “and it makes sense that a lot of that came from basketball. I can feel that confidence and that swagger with the way that he plays.”

Scheffler’s old basketball coach at Highland Park, David Piehler, recalls having to tell the then-No. 1 junior golfer in the country to stop throwing his body (Scheffler now stands 6-foot-3) in front of bigger players coming down the lane. He didn’t want to be the guy ruining Scheffler’s golf career.

This isn’t just how he is in a playful celebrity pro-am, either. It’s him all the time.

It was a Tuesday practice round before the Genesis Invitational in February, and money was on the line, so by the time their drivers left their bags Scheffler’s lips were moving. This time, Tom Kim was a target. “Be nice today, guys,” his caddie Paul Tesori said with a sigh.

While the specifics remain unclear, Scheffler quickly needled Kim about how he won money off him in their last game. But really, he gave Kim flack for just about everything he said or did.

Kim is a baby-faced 21-year-old rising star from South Korea whose mix of innocence and earnestness has attracted a large following already on tour. He moved to Dallas and was quickly taken under the wing of Scheffler and other Texas-based pros. Scheffler really does help Kim, the latter unafraid to pepper the former with questions. They’re authentically close — Kim was waiting on the 18th green when Scheffler won his second Masters last month. But Scheffler also likes to beat Kim. And he likes to remind him of it.

“Scottie will let him get some place, and then Scottie eliminates him,” says Randy Smith, Scheffler’s longtime coach. “Because Tom is such a cute kid. He’s so funny. But Scottie will kill him with facts.”

He recently brought Kim and Si Woo Kim to play Royal Oaks. They got to play the wolf hammer game with the traditional crew. Scheffler shot in the low 60s. Tom Kim shot a 74 with no birdies. “They wore his ass out,” Voigt said. Smith said Scheffler hasn’t stopped reminding him of it, reaching the point that Kim came back to Royal Oaks without Scheffler to redeem himself. “He came back here about three weeks ago and he’s like, ‘I made four birdies!’” Smith said.

“It’s kinda cute to watch Scottie with little Tom,” Voigt said. “He worships Scottie. Scottie is his big brother.”

The thing about Scheffler — the thing that makes those Royal Oaks games so informative — is he is a trash talker of the highest order. Smith called it “venomous. Absolute venom. But there’s no angst.” It’s all simultaneously nice but relentless. Vicious with a smile. He’s always been that way, often called an “ungracious winner” as a 10-year-old challenging Smith’s handful of PGA Tour clients.

At Texas, Scheffler loved to talk trash with his teammates. Most people spoken to for this story take it back to his basketball background.

“He’s a reserved golfer, but in other sports it’s pretty hilarious the amount of trash talking that goes on,” Scott said. “He should have been a basketball player. But once the competition is over, he just wants to be with his family and friends. A very normal dude.”

So here is the No. 1 player in the world, and he’s not playing with members his age at Royal Oaks, or a litany of fellow pros. No, he has his group of people he loves. “And they don’t kiss Scottie’s ass,” Colt Knost says. “They’ve known him since he was 7.”

And he annihilates them. If they’ve played 100 games, he’s maybe lost in wolf hammer five times. And while they play that, Scheffler also plays all of them individually in match play. They don’t win those. They have hemorrhaged money to their buddy for years on end. Knost, one of Smith’s former clients and now an on-course reporter for CBS, remembers seeing Scheffler, his first professional season on the Korn Ferry Tour, come play a PGA Tour event on a sponsor exemption, and he already carried a Trackman device to the driving range.

“Damn, Scottie,” Knost said. “Spending that money already?”

“Frank bought it for me,” Scheffler quipped without missing a beat.

One time, Voigt was in a good battle with Scheffler, and Voigt made what he admits was a ridiculous par on No. 16. “Scottie is just ragging on me about what a horrible putt it was, that I hit the top of the ball and it was terrible. I’m like, ‘Well, it went in.” Scheffler then had to make a 10-12 foot putt for a big pay day. He, of course, made it.

“It takes a little bit of the seriousness of everything going on and adds a little levity and lightness to it,” Smith said. “I think he enjoys the heck out of it … But he does not like to lose.”

It reached the point Randy Smith could set a timer to it. When a young Scheffler lost any sort of  contest, he’d storm away, near sprint. Then, like clockwork, he’d be back 15 minutes later, ready to challenge people to a new game.

“You’d almost have to restrain him if he lost,” Smith said.

See, Scheffler’s family moved to Dallas when he was 6, and growing up at Royal Oaks working with the great golf coach Randy Smith meant the luxury of hanging around with PGA Tour golfers such as Justin Leonard, Ryan Palmer, Colt Knost and Harrison Frazar. Scheffler wanted to be like them. He always wore pants because the pros wore pants.

He’d sit and watch Leonard for an hour or two straight without saying a word, just soaking it all in like a sponge. Knost loves to tell the story of Scheffler sitting and watching while he practiced bunker shots for 15 minutes. Knost then went to pick up the balls, and he saw a ball land next to the hole with spin. He looked over to see Scheffler and asked if it was him. “How’d you do that?” Knost asked. Scheffler said he just watched.

This 9-year-old kid would challenge them to anything and everything. Putting contests. Chipping games. Nine-hole matches. Bunker battles. And he won far more than you’d imagine. He’d beg the pros to let him play Royal Oaks from the back tees, but they told him he couldn’t hit long enough. He kept pleading, so they said fine. Could he reach any of the par 4s in two shots? No. But his game was so composed and smart he’d manage the course and played par for nine holes.

Smith used to make his players do a putting drill where they’d have to make a certain number of putts in a row. First from three feet, then from six feet, then nine, 12, and 15, and they couldn’t leave until they made them all in a row. Well, one day Frazar was out there for what Knost remembers as five hours. He could not finish the drill.

Then Scheffler got out of school, showed up at the course and said, “Hey, let me try.”

Scheffler got it on his first try.

“Harrison wanted to rip his hair out,” Knost said.

But when Scheffler lost in those days he could not handle it. The thing Smith to this day credits him for, though, is how he might run hot but he doesn’t carry it with him.

“He gets rid of it so fast you wouldn’t know he lost,” Smith said. “That’s the sign of somebody who’s got it together.”

John Fields remains fascinated by the marriage between Scheffler’s different parts of his personality. Scheffler is both this hyper-competitive assassin and somebody who takes immense pride in separating golf from his life. Golf is everything to him when he’s out there. When he leaves the course, his focus is simply his home life with his wife, Meredith, or hanging with his normal, non-professional golf friends.

Fields talks with awe as he looks back on Scheffler’s finish at the 2021 match play event in Austin. This was the year before Scheffler’s breakout. He made it to the final with Billy Horschel, only to lose on the 17th hole.

The tournament had a cart waiting for the Schefflers to take them back to the clubhouse. Fields and his wife, Pearl, waited to give him their love. And 10 or so 10-year-old kids shouted for autographs and gear. Before he talked to friends and family, he spent time with the kids. He laughed and joked, giving them signatures and all the attention they’d want. You wouldn’t know he lost.

Then he hugged Fields and Pearl and talked for a moment. All still seemed fine.

“Then he got in the golf cart, and I could see he completely exploded,” Fields recalled. “The tears came to his eyes. He was so angry that he had lost, and it was borderline suffocating.”

It blew Fields’ mind. To see Scheffler lose. To see him go through the time with the kids and him and act so composed, now knowing what was actually boiling inside. Scheffler could separate them until it was time to feel it. Then he felt it, and he could move on and forget it forever.

“It’s there,” Fields said. “It’s still there. And it’s never, ever gonna leave.”

Scheffler is on top of golf. He’s been the best player in the world for roughly two and a half seasons. But this spring he’s reached a new level, turning more of those weekly top-5s into wins. Since the beginning of March, he’s won the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Players Championship, Masters and RBC Heritage, and finished T2 in his other event. His level of dominance is suddenly getting compared to Tiger Woods and other greats of the era. And through it all, Scheffler has seemed so normal, downplaying it at all costs.

The next step is what happens when winning becomes so routine. How do athletes of that stature keep themselves deeply motivated?

Smith thought the question misinterpreted the entire thing that makes Scheffler great.

Scheffler is not one of those golfers seeking what Smith calls “a magic bullet.” He’s never looking for the quick fix or something to solve everything and make him perfect. He doesn’t believe in it. Scheffler believes in going into each day trying to get a little bit better. It sounds so corny while explaining so much.

But he goes back to Scheffler’s putting woes in 2023. He remained the best player in golf, yet he had a ridiculous 15 top-5 finishes to three wins, all while being one of the statistical worst putters on tour. He got asked about it each week. It took a toll on him. For the first time in his career, he was being criticized.

But Smith said Scheffler always viewed it as a down-the-road, long term process. He’d try to improve one little detail on a certain day or work on a putting feel the next day. But he wasn’t going to do anything rash. Scheffler knew if he took the time to address it properly, he’d be the better player in the long run. Now, he’s putting at his best rate in two years and winning everything.

“Just trying to get a little better at this, little better at that,” Scheffler would tell Smith.”And that’s all I need.”

The future of Scottie Scheffler is this era’s superstar competing against himself. It might not be reliant on the field or a true rival. It’s all so simple. He’s going into each day trying to beat the version of himself that started the day. And if he does that forever, he’ll be tough to beat. Because Scottie Scheffler only wants to compete.

(Photo illustration: Sean Reilly / The Athletic ; photos: Andrew Redington, Jared C. Tilton / Getty Images)

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Brody Miller covers golf and the LSU Tigers for The Athletic. He came to The Athletic from the New Orleans Times-Picayune. A South Jersey native, Miller graduated from Indiana University before going on to stops at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Indianapolis Star, the Clarion Ledger and NOLA.com. Follow Brody on Twitter @ BrodyAMiller

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