Episodes
Andy and Brendan have been at Augusta National for the past three days filling the notebook with tips, rumors both substantiated and unsubstantiated, listening to a range of players’ press conferences, and gathering insights on the course. It all comes together in this rambling Masters preview from the Draddy House. They discuss whose stock is up and whose is down (Tiger??) after watching some practice rounds and reading between the lines of these player quotes. Then they get to the...
Published 04/10/24
Andy and Brendan are together again at the Draddy House in Augusta. They are bursting with enthusiasm for the coming week and off a great Sunday of golf from Nelly’s outrageous 4th straight win, wild playoffs on both the PGA Tour and LIV, and a great ANWA finish. But first! They have some cleanup to do on the big New York Golf Club rollout that’s been neglected the last two episodes. Then they get to Nelly Korda winning AGAIN and what it means for her and the LPGA. The Akshay vs. Denny duel...
Published 04/08/24
It’s Friday! And the one before Masters week at that, which has both Andy and Brendan feeling a bit of anxiety or regret about some corners they’ve staked out relative to that major championship. They ramble around on that and the news that Rory McIlroy saw Butch Harmon, JT has split up with Bones, and another “global superstar” is looking for a mental coach. At Valero, they discuss Rory looking burly, Spieth’s quotes about his scores not reflecting his quality of play, and the crowd in...
Published 04/05/24
Andy and Brendan had a loose plan for this episode, and they get to that at about the 30-minute mark. The first 30 minutes is a ramble on Jim Nantz and Uncle Verne, LIV Doral, who has the most pressure on them at the Masters, and their own eagerness to get to Augusta for the first major of the year. Then they get to some of the immediate golf at hand, starting with the schedule of the week and the Valero Texas Open, which has a water park attached to it. Cutthroat Corner puts someone in the...
Published 04/02/24
Wake up, wake up, wake up it’s the first of the month! Andy is back with Brendan for this Monday and first of the month recording. He shares a couple of amusements from vacation, laments the Illini loss, and has some questions about Danny Hurley amidst what’s still a Victory Monday for Brendan (big college hockey fan). Then they get to the Houston Open and an eventful weekend in which Ale Tosti went mainstream. They discuss the coverage of the Tosti One, Jaeger’s breakthrough win and what...
Published 04/01/24
This juicy Friday episode begins with Scottie Scheffler yet again near the top of a PGA Tour leaderboard. Brendan is joined by Kyle Porter to discuss some of the most extreme takes or comparisons with Scottie in light of some of the nonsense shouted on TV about Caitlin Clark and others. Then they get to an unsubstantiated rumor Friday segment on Jay Monahan’s presence in Houston this week for that event, and what it might say about his current standing with the membership. Chris DiMarco’s...
Published 03/29/24
This is a whiparound rambling Wednesday episode that begins with a hat chat: how many is too many? Shane Bacon joins Brendan Porath to discuss this pressing question before getting to one of the great delights of the year: the European Tour’s stop at DLF, the first true “so bad it’s good” course in this podcast’s history. There is some intel from the ground about a potential hardship that has a few caddies grumbling but might be further evidence that Gary Player is one of our great modern...
Published 03/27/24
It’s Monday morning but there has never been a better time to put some Pep in your Step to start the week. Brendan is joined by Golf Digest’s Joel Beall to discuss, with great delight, the win of Peter Malnati at the Valspar Championship. They debate what it means for the “cutthroat” debate over players like Malnati in the rank and file and mule class trying to fight for their spots on the Tour and get a piece of the pie. Then they get to the runner-up Cam Young, who continues his bridesmaid...
Published 03/25/24
Shane Bacon joins Andy to rank their 7 favorites for the Masters. The episode starts with a discussion on the NCAA Tournament and if golf is missing the match play tournament. Then Andy and Shane rip through the latest news including Tiger playing the Masters and Angel Cabrera not.
Published 03/21/24
Andy and Brendan are excited for the NCAA Tourney but first need to clean up some more Players thoughts before moving on to the new week and basketball. Then they get to Jon Rahm’s media call for the Masters, where he revealed his dinner menu to great interest and also discussed being unable to defend some of his titles this year on the PGA Tour. Did he sound wistful, regretful, or just matter-of-fact? They also hit on some big Epson Tour news before getting into the flight tracking of Yasir,...
Published 03/20/24
The PGA Tour gets on the board this year with an outstanding Players Championship from start to finish. Brendan, still shaking off the cobwebs from the trip to Northern Ireland, is joined by Shane Bacon for this wide-ranging recap that begins with some Sunday parenting horror stories before getting into audacious Tiger-like comps for the back-to-back Players winner. The two discuss what impresses them most about Scottie Scheffler and if those in and around the game have undersold him and this...
Published 03/18/24
Well, this wasn’t the best idea. Andy and Brendan record, or attempt to record, this Friday episode while driving on the wrong side of the road from Belfast out to the countryside. Apologies for any audio issues, rambling discussions, or distractions. But they begin with a few thoughts on their recent time in Northern Ireland and the incident of Andy getting “mugged off” with his final pint pour there. Then, after an evening of watching the Gold Standard, they discuss the obscene maintenance...
Published 03/15/24
Andy and Brendan record this Players Championship “preview” from the shore of Portrush in Northern Ireland and they have many questions about Jay Monahan’s state of the tour (and pro golf?) press conference at TPC Sawgrass. They wonder why everyone was so worked up about it and if he was as poor and bumbling as portrayed. They also discuss the lack of pop around this Players, and how only some of it relates to the loss of talent in the field and how this event cannot even begin to argue it...
Published 03/13/24
Andy and Brendan record this from Portrush, where the driving on the wrong side of the road has improved … at least up until the point the car nearly went into the sea. Then they begin this episode with a Tosti Tale from the Puerto Rico Open, where there was a kerfuffle over where a ball might have crossed the hazard. Matteo Manassero is also given his flowers, per SGS custom. Then, at long last, they get to the No. 1 player in the world winning at Bay Hill. They discuss Scottie Scheffler’s...
Published 03/10/24
Andy and Brendan are together in Ireland, where they are taking in the news of yet another board announcement from the PGA Tour. But first, there’s an EPIC Ian Woosnam story they picked up on one of his Irish Open wins. Then it’s back to the less fun news of a board, for PGA Tour Enterprises, and it gives Jay Monahan another big title, as well as Tiger Woods. Does any of this shit matter anymore? Should we have any faith in this being an actual, final arrangement? We just had a “Framework...
Published 03/07/24
Andy and Brendan record this from an airport lounge phone booth before they depart for Northern Ireland, so it is somewhat “muted” compared to the normal SGS. But there is still plenty to laugh and holler about, starting with an amusing tidbit on the the Monday pro-am participants at Bay Hill getting non-participating minor leaguers despite ponying up a nice five-figure sum. Then they get to the news that LIV is withdrawing its OWGR application, and what that says about the league and the...
Published 03/06/24
This Monday morning episode comes a little late after Andy was busy running a freaking marathon on Sunday. Did the Honda delay its finish just for that? Or was this another instance of the Tour screwing up and mismanaging the schedule? Speaking of management, there’s some great testimony from the front lines about Brendan’s Tour Championship Management concerns from last week. Then they get to LIV’s weekend in Jeddah, from Joaquin Niemann’s win and continued run of form to the Anthony Kim...
Published 03/04/24
Wake up wake up wake up! It’s the first of the month! Andy and Brendan are downright bubbly with a double dose of cause for enthusiasm: a first of the month AND a Friday when it’s time to record! They whiparound this episode discussing Rory’s odd/facetious/threatening/all of the above comments about the Chubby mention of him potentially going to LIV. Then they discuss the woeful ratings for The Match and if that means anything about whether it was good. They discuss Anthony Kim’s big reveal,...
Published 03/01/24
Andy is celebrating Victory Wednesday after his Ballfrog carried the day in The Match. They offer some initial takeaways on that event from The Park in West Palm, what worked, what didn’t, and what the Tour could learn from some of these lower stakes, personality-shining exhibitions. Also, the DJ Khaled tidal wave is discussed. Then they get to the hype video LIV released on Anthony Kim’s return to pro golf in Jeddah, before quickly diving off into Talor Gooch’s latest wild comment about...
Published 02/27/24
Andy and Brendan are back for a Victory Monday edition of the podcast: claiming victories for the #GamblingPod getting back on track and for the passport problems moving toward a positive resolution. Then they get to the latest PGA Tour event, which pitted Jake Knapp against Sami Valimaki and a host of circus tricks created by the Vidanta venue. Was it so bad it’s good territory? They debate whether this should be called a PGA Tour event or something else and if it’s contradictory to be mad...
Published 02/26/24
This Friday episode is in the running for dumbest SGS episode of all time, but hopefully it’s a bit of whimsy to get you to the weekend. Andy and Brendan discuss a pressing issue of an oversight that may blow up plans for an upcoming work/golf trip they have planned. They also get into Feedback Friday on the Tesla discourse and their attempt at a Star Tier system for pro golf. Then they get to the Charlie Woods pre-qualifier coverage both from official PGA Tour channels and the thirsty social...
Published 02/23/24
This Wednesday episode is promptly derailed by discussion of Tesla owners and the subject of e-bike fraudulence. Eventually, Andy and Brendan get to the schedule for the week, beginning with an awful field at the Mexico Open. They make some one-and-done picks and read some hilarious course descriptions about this Greg Norman signature design. There’s also bewilderment about Jim Bones Mackay getting the main chair in the continued NBC tower bake-off when he has no plans to go full time. The...
Published 02/20/24
The shed door makes its triumphant and unexpected return to this Monday episode, which begins with the strong Sunday finish at Riviera. Andy and Brendan discuss Hideki’s “all-time” final round 62 and how the PGA Tour needed a marquee winner after an underwhelming West Coast swing. They compare this year to last year’s start of the season, and it’s not great. There are a few theories bandied about on why. The nuts, bolts, and meaning of Hideki’s win, Zalatoris’s flash, and a couple house cat...
Published 02/19/24
This Friday episode comes to you from a Santa Monica AirBnb after Andy and Brendan spent a full day out at Riviera chasing stars and mules alike. They discuss the thirstiest boy wedging his way into more camera time in what has become an annual Genesis tradition. They also discuss Tiger’s return to competitive PGA Tour golf and his ghastly shank at the end of his round. There’s appreciation for seeing some high level golf up close and personal again, but also questions about whether the PGA...
Published 02/16/24
Andy and Brendan are on site in Los Angeles this week and this Wednesday episode includes some preview scuttlebutt after a day out at Riviera. They begin with the early-week range scene, where one star was allegedly reticent to put a new driver in his bag. Then they get to Tiger’s season debut, which will be done in his brand new clothing line, and there is some reaction to that unveiling. There’s some SSG scuttlebutt after a John Henry sighting and some thoughts on the state of that deal....
Published 02/14/24