No Laying Up - Golf Podcast

Brad Faxon joins to talk about working with Rory McIlroy on his putting, his playing career, what makes a great putter, and a hell of a lot more discussion on putting. We also discuss his love of golf course architecture, the Ryder Cup, broadcasting, and so much more. We barely scratched the surface with this one, and we look forward to having him back in the future. 

Bill Coore joins us to discuss how he got into the golf course design business, what intrigued him about Pete Dye, centerline bunkers, width, Sand Hills, Bandon Trails, Pinehurst No. 2, Old Town Club, and many other courses. We also went into detail on the reaction to Trinity Forest, how it has played differently than it was designed to play, designing courses for professionals, and a lot more. Bill was extremely gracious with his time, and we hope to have him back again soon. 

In Part II of his England debrief, Soly breaks down the Heathland courses he played on his trip to England (Holinwell, Walton Heath, Sunningdale, Berkshire, and St. George's Hill). He talks about his newfound appreciation for heathland golf, what makes each of these courses special, some of the best holes, the English golf vibe, and a lot more. Thanks to everyone who sent in questions and feedback on the trip. 

Part I of my England debrief goes deep into the links courses played on this trip (Royal Lytham, Royal Birkdale, West Lancashire, Formby, Formby Ladies, Hillside, & Southport & Ainsdale). We talk cost, the highs and lows of these courses, what makes each one special, and England golf in general. This was a dream trip to a very special part of the golf world, and can't wait to make it back to the region. Stay tuned for Part II which will include the Heathland courses played on the trip. 

We might be a year out from the 2020 Ryder Cup, but Soly and DJ are in a Ryder Cup mood after road tripping around the midwest and visiting the last three Ryder Cup venues, as well as Whistling Straits, the site of the 2020 event. We chat about our first impressions of Steve Stricker and Padraig Harrington, and you'll hear the best clips from the press conference within this episode. A lot more content to come from this road trip, but we had a blast hashing out some thoughts on golf's greatest event. 

Cameron Champ wins his second PGA Tour title at the Safeway. Soly and DJ Pie discuss his game, how it translates to the PGA Tour, the crazy story of his grandfather, the marketing behind him, and a lot more. We also discuss Bryson's comments, the driver testing findings, Rory's comments at the Dunhill, and the Kris Ventura incident. Lastly, Soly sits down with 17-year-old Akshay Bhatia (45:38 mark) to discuss his transition into professional golf, what his first few PGA Tour events have been like, George Gankas, getting a driver's license, and a lot more. 

Jim Wagner has been the lead associate with the Hanse Golf Design company for decades, and he joined us live from the Pinehurst Brewery to discuss his career, trends in golf course design, renovation vs. restoration, their work at Pinehurst, and a lot more. Jim is a great story teller and entertainer, and there are many, many laughs in this one. Thanks a ton to Jim for making the trip down, and to Pinehurst for helping us host a terrific event. 

JT is back to discuss his 2019 year, the new Tour Championship format, what $15 million means to him, how many PGA Tour wins he would trade for a major, his spat with the USGA, the drama around the Ryder Cup pairings, the upcoming Presidents Cup, and a ton more. This one was a lot of fun, and JT doesn't shy away from any of the topics. 

Team Europe wins the Solheim Cup in Scotland, and we discuss Suzann Pettersen insanely clutch putt (and immediate retirement), the Korda sisters, Lexi Thompson, Georgia Hall, and everything else from the week. We also discuss Danielle Kang's comments, the overreaction, team events, Joaquin Niemann's win at the Greenbrier, Kevin Chappell's insane route to a T47, and some listener questions. 

Recorded earlier this year at the KPMG Women's PGA, here is our interview with Mel Reid. She tells about her experience coming out as gay, the tragic death of her mom, golf in England, the Solheim Cup, snowboarding, and a lot more. Mel is a great hang and an easy player to root for. Thanks for the time!

Part II of our Ireland Trip includes Tralee, Carne, County Sligo (Rosses Point), and Enniscrone. We make our way north and play Arnold Palmer's gem, then head much further north to get off the beaten track and tack advantage of some tremendous treks across Sligo. The dunes in this leg of the trip were some of the biggest we've ever seen, and the day we got at Carne was truly memorable. Thanks to everyone for tuning in, stay tuned for Season 4 of Tourist Sauce, coming soon!

After much delay, Part I of our Ireland Recap is finally here. Doonbeg, Lahinch, Adare Manor, Ballybunion, Waterville, and Dooks make up this episode, and we break down what we loved and didn't love about each place. Tourist Sauce Season 4 will be out later this month, and look for part II of this podcast on Tuesday night. 

In our first ever LIVE podcast from the NLU Summit, Tom Doak and Eric Iverson join us to discuss CommonGround golf course, and their work from around the world. We discuss what makes a great golf hole, how to make golf architecture more accessible, public golf courses, working with Brooks Koepka at Memorial Park in Houston, and so much more. We could have spent a lot more time with these guys, and hopefully will have them back soon. 

Rory McIlroy wins the $15 million prize, and we discuss money in golf, the new format, whether or not it worked, and everything else from the Tour Championship. Also, are golfers underpaid? We talk about how money gets distributed in golf, and struggling as to whether or not we should care. We also talk Korn Ferry Finals, and debrief our first event, The Summit at CommonGround in Colorado. 

Scott Harrington is headed to the PGA Tour for the first time after 16 years in professional golf. We go through the ups and downs of mini tours, the Nationwide/Web.com/Korn Ferry Tour, all the way to the final putt in Portland that sent him to the big leagues. He also goes into great detail on his wife's brutal struggle with Hodgkin's Lymphoma, and how players from the Web.com Tour gathered together to support the Harrington family. If you're looking for new guys to root for on the PGA Tour, 38-year old rookie Scott Harrington is your guy. 

Justin Thomas rolls to victory in Chicago, and we discuss what that means going into the Tour Championship, the new format, and just how nuts the cash situation is this week. We also discuss the U.S. Am at Pinehurst, the Korn Ferry Finals, Adam Scott and Tiger Woods' comments this week about equipment and course setup, and a lot more. Brooke Henderson joins the show on the back half (46:10) to discuss the defense of her CP Women's Open title this week in Canada, how she was able to find so much success at such a young age, and what it's like to carry the torch for Canadian women's golf. Thanks a ton to Brooke for the time. 

We took a trip up to Cabot Links this summer for our annual board meeting and a few rounds of golf. We talk about the backstory behind one of the world's great golf destination, what we thought of Cabot Links, Cabot Cliffs, the accommodation, how we'd split ten rounds between the two courses. 

Bryson set golf twitter ablaze this weekend, and we discuss his slow play video, his reaction, the confrontation with Koepka, solutions to slow play, and the Tour announcing they're re-examining their policy. We also discuss the drama on the Korn Ferry Tour, the U.S. Women's Am, and a lot more. 

Friend of the program Zac Blair is back to discuss his win this week on the Korn Ferry Tour and everything that's gone into regaining his PGA Tour card. The past two years have been a struggle for Zac after finishing No. 126 on the FedExCup points list in 2017 and bouncing between the PGA Tour and the Korn Ferry Tour. He talks about some of the low points and how a change in mentality helped him regain perspective and secure his spot on the PGA Tour for the 2019-2020 season. 

Jeff Neubarth joins us to talk about producing golf for FOX, some details on the production of "The Match," drones in golf, contracts, and basically everything you need to know about why golf is the way it is on television. Jeff also touches on why things are likely to change in the near future, hints at future iterations of "The Match," and so much more. I learned a lot in this process, and I'm sure you will as well.