Jeff Marsh has been en fuego for the entirety of 2023 as I've seen it - but with all great stories, there's a lot more to it. Publishing his first periodic photo journal, "Golf is Art", it was a treat to hear stories that will appear in the book firsthand. Jeff has an unusually deep understanding of the game from a photographers lens having caddied on the PGA TOUR for Ryan Moore, running the caddie program at Chambers Bay, and leading the creative branding for TRUE Linkswear. He has been...

Pinehurst No. 2 Augusta National Merion Three of our favorite 6 hole stretches in the game and the ultimate tournament test if we were to put them together. In today's episode we cover: - What makes a good 6 hole stretch. - Why is the specific stretch of the course it falls in important? - What could potentially be better about each of these stretches? Today we are joined by our associate, Trey Wren at Sticks Golf for a 3rd member of mudball monday today. We have a lot of stuff cooking...

Isaiah made the 2019 US Walker Cup Team as the capstone of a highly successful amateur career before falling into the wilderness of pro golf created by the pandemic. Those who didn't have status were significantly set back from a traditional career arc, especially for the class of player Isaiah is in. After enduring an up and down 3.5 years, Isaiah won on the Korn Ferry Tour 2 weeks ago in Panama by 8 shots to set himself on a path towards the PGA Tour for next season. A massive win for all...

The bag man. An important part of the game's past, present, and future. Whether we're talking competitive golf, casual golf, or really any part of the game, caddies have there place. That said, it's interesting to consider how caddy culture differs in different parts of the country or world. It's easy to think that the way you or I have experienced caddies is the only way they work, but that is not the case, and that is what we are here to think through. In today's conversation we discuss: -...

For the second time, Henry and TC are here to talk about how many majors a certain set of players REALLY have. Today's selections will be Jon Rahm, Collin Morikawa, Justin Thomas, and Nick Faldo. Today's episode will break down: - What is the actual value we place on each of these players' major tallies? - Why do we value certain major wins higher than others? - Who is the biggest over and under achiever we each can think of in major championship history. The Masters is only 2 months away...

Some don't use them altogether, so it makes enough sense as to why practice facilities are not talked about as often as they perhaps should be, but today we are going to change that. When designing any golf course, you are clearly going to have a practice facility and like all parts of the process, it needs to be thoughtful so that it fits the proper criteria based on what you are looking for out of the club as a whole. In today's conversation we: - Break down what type of club we would want...

Always an absolute pleasure to be joined by our friends across the pond at Cookie Jar Golf. The boys just returned from a trip to our neck of the woods in the Southeastern United States and we are here to get a sense of what it is like for British golfers to come over and experience the new american articulation of the game. We chat about Peachtree, Old Barnwell, Ohoopee, Tree Farm, and of course some stops along the way at Starbucks, Chick Fil A, and everything important! Thanks for the...

Another big week in the pro game! PGATour Enterprises has been created as an alliance between tour execs, players, and Strategic Sports group to help maximize revenues of PGATour Enterprises, and grow the game globally. There's a lot to unpack here for what it means for players, LIV Boys, the overall product of golf, and the fans. As always, we have the inside knowledge on what has gone down here and what it means for us as fans as well as our thoughts on what we would like to see this mean...

Micah Woods established the Asian Turfgrass Center (ATC) in 2006 to develop and provide turfgrass information for the golf and sports turf industry. Through the ATC, he provides turfgrass advisory and soil testing services to golf clubs, sports facilities, and select clients around the world. Since 2009, he has been an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of Tennessee. Since 2022, he has been director of the PACE Turf information service. We approached this...

The early season lull seems to have formally exited stage left. LIV, amateurs no longer, big names making big moves, AK!!!!!!!, there is all sorts of craziness going on and we of course are here at mudball monday to break it down. Meronk and Hatton are two of the "have nots" in the world of pro golf, but clearly both wonderful players who seem to be making the move to LIV Golf. Nick Dunlap is the first amateur to win on the PGATour in 33 years and will now be making the jump to the...

The 2024 World Record holder for "most golf courses played in a single year" joins us to talk about his quest and what he learned along the way. In 2018 he played 405- raised over $40k for charity, rode over 35k miles, and met over 800 people on course. We discuss the 'vacuum' that exists when playing golf around the clock (and calendar)- where you're almost removed from the world, yet spending quality time with locals or travelers alike.... seeing things in a whole new way. Thanks for...

A true #mudballmonday is upon you today. 30 questions. 15 for each of us to tackle, about a plethora of subjects in the world of Golf, food, fitness, and many other things that we like to cover on mudball monday. While sometimes we like to bring a specific topic to mudball monday to perhaps add a bit of value to you all, sometimes we like to just grab a can and kick it down the road. That's what we're up to today, and we hope you enjoy the conversation. BACK. This week with an interview by...

Josh had Henry on his podcast @mentalgolfshow (episode linked below) a number of months ago where they talked about Henry's background in and passion for competition and one of the things discussed was Henry's long time struggles with chipping. That left a note to have Josh on The Tie to talk about what those struggles have looked like and how Henry can work on improving. So today, along with fellow chipping struggler, Walker Simas, we talk through our backgrounds with chipping and what the...

2024 is here, and the major season isn't all too far away at this point! As has become tradition, we are here today to talk about the 4 majors and who we think are good guys to look at as likely winners at each of them this year. This feels like a 7/10 sort of year golf course wise. Valhalla, meh. Pinehurst. Great. Troon, functions but not the best. That said, all majors provide a ton to look forward to. Today not only will we talk a bit about the courses in terms of what we look forward to...

The locker room. Every course has one. Some courses go all out and some keep it bare bones. There are certain things that every locker room should have. There are certain things that are optional. And there are certain things that just do not belong. With all the new golf clubs popping up these days, we are here to discuss what should be in a locker room, what needs to go due to being out of the times, and what could we consider adding that most places have not traditionally incorporated in...

Here it is. We have received so much interest in these two projects both online and offline and finally we are going to get deep in the weeds to go hole by hole and decide who wins this matchup. If you haven't already, be sure to head to our website to read our piece on the two clubs and how they are similar and different. These two courses certainly have similarities, but they are also vastly different in many ways so for more on that, head to the link below to find our writing. This...

Hello everyone and welcome to the first mudball monday of 2024. Today we won't be talking and new topics just yet, but rather bringing a close to 2023 by revisiting some of our favorite #mudballmonday moments of the year. We talk about all sorts of stuff on mudball monday, most of which being completely ridiculous, but not all of it is crazy. There is some valuable golf chat buried within the episodes as well. Have a listen to today's 2023 Mudball Monday Medley where we rehash some of the...

We've reached the end of another year which of course means its time for the year end pod once again. Today, as is pro forma for the YEP, we will be breaking down the highlights of the year for ourselves on a personal front, podcasting front, and in the world of golf. Not a major difference in what we'll be getting into today vs most of our podcasts, today will simply be more focused around the highlights of the year. We had a lot of wins and improvements this year. We ventured into some new...

Lukas Michel joins us once again at The Tie Podcast for an update on what he has been up to of late in the world of golf course architecture as well as shares his opinions on some of the other happenings in the space. Lukas is a design associate with CDP (Clayton, Devries, Pont) and is beginning to get more of his own solo work shaping greens and thinking through everything it takes to build a golf course. Lukas lives in Melbourne but has both traveled and competed all over the world and...

 We're seeing so many new golf courses come to market over the last few years which is awfully exciting, but the question that always remains for us is will these courses grow up well or not? It's awesome for a golf course to excite on the first time through, but there are certain things that architects can do that excite us the first time through but don't have as much to provide on return trips. The greens, strategy informed by tee balls, and consistency of experience are some of the...

Trey Wren joins us this week to talk about his insanely busy year in 2023.  Trey was a collegiate golfer at Temple University who, after turning pro, shortly diverted to starting his media company Sticks Golf - named after the folks who can play hard, have a well rounded knowledge of the game, and are always curious about it.  In this episode we cover his background as a competitive player, the steps taken to begin his creative work, and what he’s learned at High Pointe.  There is a ton of...

Rollback, wow, it's here. While I don't believe it's nearly as big of a thing as many people are thinking it is, we have finally arrived at some sort of a show of hand from the USGA on where we are headed with this whole debate about distance and the golf ball and what the next number of years will look like. While this is an important step, at the end of the day it feels more like a PR play than a significant change to how the game will actually look over the next few years. Only time will...

Brad Gehl is not fearless, but he is persistent as hell.  In this episode we cover his path through golf which includes:  Growing up in an athletic and creative family in IndianaWalking onto Oklahoma State as the #3 player on his HS teamGrinding through amateur golf, then turning professionalThe move to Jupiter and the crew that raised his standards COVID & his non profit "The Hangry Project" + Summer School DocumentaryHis departure from professional golfA decision to pursue Golf Design...

Heeeeee's BAAAAACK!!!!! What a wonderful week it was to once again get to see Eldrick Tont (Tiger) Woods compete once again. As a massive Tiger fan, I find myself genuinely appreciative of him every time he does this as it is so enjoyable for those of us who grew up firmly in the Tiger era to get to watch our man peg it. Each time he does, it's one step closer to the days that it just won't work anymore, so we need to really enjoy each of these as they come. But before we start worrying...

Due to technical difficulties, this week we're switching things up and of course still bringing you mudball Monday, only this time it will be on Thursday. Mudball Thursday, if you will. Today's episode will be centered around breaking down Thanksgiving and chatting a bit about our golf games as well. Main dishes, side dish superlatives, how we go about leftovers, and then what we are liking and not liking in our golf games at the moment. Thanks for the support as always! Cheers, - The Tie...