Episodes
Angela Moser sits down in person with Garrett to share the story of how Pinehurst's latest course, the Tom Doak-designed No. 10, was built. As lead associate on the project, Angela was in charge of getting the course ready for play in under a year. From the moment she found out she was getting the job to playing the first rounds on the course, she discusses the most difficult parts of the project, how the role of lead associate differs from shaper, and the holes she thinks will be the most...
Published 05/10/24
Published 05/10/24
Four months into the 2024 pro golf season, Andy and Joseph sit down to discuss the professional golfers whose stocks have gone up and down the most so far this year. First, though, they talk about what they are IN and OUT on this week, including reflections from a visit to Bandon Dunes and a bizarre ruling on the DP World Tour. Then they go through the golfers whose stocks have risen and fallen the most in 2024 and how the best players in the world stack up today. The episode closes with...
Published 05/07/24
George Bryan IV is a professional golfer and YouTube star who, along with his brother Wesley (a PGA Tour winner), operates the popular Bryan Bros YouTube channel. In the midst of his preparation for the PGA Tour's Myrtle Beach Classic, which he will play in next week on a sponsor exemption, George joined Garrett for a wide-ranging conversation about his parallel careers in pro golf and content creation, his evolving mental approach on the course, his relationship with his brother, the rise of...
Published 05/02/24
Andy and Garrett convene for their first golf architecture mailbag in a while, tackling questions about new courses they're excited to see in the next couple of years, which current tour pros might make good architects, how The Lido bucks convention, the holes at Yale that they're most eager to see restored, and the cultural forces that are shaping golf course design right now. As usual, they open the episode with In and Out, and they wrap it up with Recommendations. Note: The Scottie...
Published 04/29/24
Designed by Brian Schneider and Blake Conant, Old Barnwell near Aiken, South Carolina, is one of the best-reviewed and most buzzed-about new golf courses of the past several years. In this episode, Garrett sits down with Old Barnwell's founder Nick Schreiber to delve into the nuts and bolts of how the course came to be. They talk about Nick's early years as a caddie, his vision for a "mission-focused" private club, how he found the property, why he hired Schneider and Conant, and his plans...
Published 04/25/24
Following an exciting weekend of both men's and women's professional golf, Andy and Joseph convene to discuss the biggest storylines in professional golf. They start with what they are IN and OUT on, including appreciation for the dominance by Scottie Scheffler and Nelly Korda, along with qualms about tours stacking high-profile events against one another. Next, the two go through the biggest question marks remaining in the 2024 men's major championship season. Then Meg Adkins joins to...
Published 04/22/24
Shane Bacon joins the podcast to talk about calling the featured groups at the Masters plus a debrief of the tournament and Scottie Scheffler. The two get into Augusta National as a tournament venue and how the course has changed its identity for the purpose of challenging the best in the game. Then they dive into all things Scottie Scheffler and how his simple process and mindset have set him up for a long run of greatness and how other players have struggled with the things Scottie does so...
Published 04/18/24
After Scottie Scheffler's victorious march through Augusta National on Sunday, Garrett and Joseph sat down to discuss a terrific 2024 Masters. First they talk about what they're IN and OUT on this week; then they run through a couple of their high-level takeaways from the tournament. Later, they bring on Andy Johnson (24:49) and Shane Bacon (58:18) to get some on-the-ground perspectives. Garrett and Joseph wrap up the episode with Recommendations.
Published 04/15/24
Ill-advised as it might be, we do what the episode title promises. Andy and Garrett sit down in the Draddy House in Augusta, Georgia, to rank all 18 holes at Augusta National Golf Club, from worst to best. Giddy up.
Published 04/10/24
Trevor Immelman, 2008 Masters champion and CBS lead analyst, joins Andy Johnson to discuss storylines leading into the 2024 Masters. They run through their traditional "five things," starting out with Trevor's earliest Augusta National memories and touching on how to prep for the course's famous sidehill lies as well as how they expect various LIV players to perform. They also touch on the dreary weather at recent editions of The Masters and the importance of firm conditions in identifying...
Published 04/07/24
In this fifth installment of our Great Courses series, we dig into the history of the golf architecture at Augusta National Golf Club. Garrett is joined by Joshua Pettit, the principal architect at Pacific Golf Design, the founder of the Alister MacKenzie Institute, and the editor of The MacKenzie Reader. Garrett and Josh discuss the lives and ideas of Bobby Jones and Alister MacKenzie, Augusta National's original architects, as well as the influences and philosophical convictions that both...
Published 04/04/24
Andy Johnson is joined by Joseph LaMagna to break down their favorite small storylines going into the 2024 Masters. Before they get into the Masters, though, they have a lively discussion on Stephen Jaeger's win at the Houston Open, and why the event should be elevated to signature status.
Published 04/01/24
Garrett and Meg kick off this episode by reviewing two major storylines from the current LPGA Tour season. Then they dig into a preview of next week's Augusta National Women's Amateur, first talking a few players to watch at the tournament (17:44). Then they bring on Stanford University standout and three-time ANWA invitee Megha Ganne (25:18) for a discussion of her college season so far, her past experiences at ANWA, and her memories from contending at the 2021 U.S. Women's Open.
Published 03/28/24
Andy and Joseph start out with what they are IN and OUT on this week. including gambling ads, Paddy Harrington's social media, and the absence of match play on the PGA Tour. Hughes Norton, a famed professional golf agent, then joins Andy to discuss the new book he co-authored with George Peper, Rainmaker. Hughes worked for Mark McCormack, founder of IMG, and was the agent for players like Tiger Woods, Greg Norman, and Bobby Clampett. They dive into stories from his career in golf highlighted...
Published 03/26/24
On May 2, Bandon Dunes' latest par-3 course, Bandon Shorty's, will open during the resort's 25th-anniversary celebration. In this episode, Garrett sits down at Bandon Dunes with one of the designers of Shorty's, Keith Cutten, a partner in the firm Whitman, Axland & Cutten. Garrett and Keith discuss the origins of WAC, the renowned skills of his co-designers Rod Whitman and Dave Axland, the goals and process behind the Shorty's project, and the joys and difficulties of designing short...
Published 03/23/24
After Garrett and Joseph run through what they're IN and OUT on this week, they bring on Sean Martin (@PGATOURSMartin)—Lead, Editorial at the PGA Tour—to discuss takeaways from an excellent Players Championship. They go in depth on Scottie Scheffler, touching on his mental and strategic approach, his status within his generation of players, and even his swing technique. They also try to explain what makes TPC Sawgrass such a compelling tournament course. Garrett and Joseph then wrap up the...
Published 03/18/24
In 1991, Michael Bamberger took a leave of absence from his job at a newspaper to "search for the primal heart of golf." First he caddied for Peter Teravainen on the European Tour, then he set off on an exploration of the Scottish linksland. The result was the widely loved book To the Linkland, a 30th-anniversary edition of which is now available for pre-order. Michael joins Garrett to discuss the themes of the book, how the golf world has changed in the past three decades, and whether he...
Published 03/14/24
Garrett and Joseph start off the episode with what they are IN and OUT on after an eventful weekend of professional golf. Then they move into a thorough discussion of Bay Hill, dissecting its strengths and weaknesses as both a test of professional golf and as a golf course. Looking ahead to the Players Championship, the two transition to a conversation about TPC Sawgrass including thoughts on what makes the golf course special and which players may find success there this week. They close out...
Published 03/12/24
As we've mentioned a number of times recently on the pod, golf course construction costs are rising. As a result, very few new (or newly renovated) courses are set up to be affordable to play. This is a major problem for the game—but it can be addressed. To discuss how to construct, maintain, and run a successful mom-and-pop golf course, Garrett Morrison sits down with Mike Young, the architect and owner of The Fields Golf Course in LaGrange, Georgia. Mike talks about the secrets behind...
Published 03/07/24
Andy and Joseph kick off the episode by discussing what they are IN and OUT on this week. Then World No. 42 Ryan Fox joins Andy and Joseph to talk about his unique path into professional golf after not playing a competitive tournament until age 18. He talks about his experiences traveling the world to compete across multiple global tours, playing in his first Masters while fighting pneumonia, missing out on the Presidents Cup, playing in the Olympics, and more. Andy and Joseph close out the...
Published 03/05/24
In the latest installment of our Superintendent Series, superintendent Mike Manthey joins Andy to discuss his role in restoring Seth Raynor's design at Midland Hills Country Club near Minneapolis, Minnesota. Mike talks about how he found Raynor's original plans, his favorite stretch of holes post-restoration, how he navigated the removal of 2,000 trees, and the importance of trying to make Midland Hills the best version of itself rather than imitating other clubs.
Published 02/29/24
The Masters is just six weeks away. Andy and Joseph give their thoughts on the golf course, the skills required to succeed at Augusta, and major storylines entering the tournament. Before getting into the Masters, Andy and Joseph discuss what they are IN on and OUT on for this week, including expectations for a former star's return to professional golf this week. To close out the episode, they give Recommendations.
Published 02/27/24
Decorated Getty Images photographer David Cannon joins Garrett to talk about his career, which has spanned more than 40 years and nearly 200 men's and women's golf majors. David tells Garrett about his early years as a competitive golfer—when he played with Sandy Lyle, Nick Faldo, and Seve Ballesteros, among other European legends—before getting into his experiences, techniques, and philosophies as a photographer of golf tournaments. He talks about capturing a couple of particularly famous...
Published 02/22/24
After starting with what they're IN and OUT on this week, Andy and Joseph bring on Shane Bacon (@shanebacon) to discuss the state of the West Coast Swing. They touch on what was good and bad about each of this year's West Coast events, why many of them fell flat, and how to incentivize players to create a more compelling product. They also ask whether there are any PGA Tour courses that truly test the pros outside of Riviera, and whether the schedule can be restructured to give the West Coast...
Published 02/20/24