The Cookie Jar Golf Podcast: Recent Episodes
Cookie Jar Golf
In this episode we speak with Colin Strachan, club historian and author of "Fair Ways at Ashdown Forest", about the history of Royal Ashdown Forest Golf Club and its place in early golf in England. We discuss how golf was played in Brighton as early as 1817, and how that activity links to the later development of the club at Forest Row.
We talk about the railway connections that helped shape the club, including the role of people connected to the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway. Colin explains how the club drew in members from different backgrounds, and how the conservators of the heathland influenced the course’s natural layout and limited changes to the land.
We also cover several of the club’s key figures, including Horace Hutchinson, Abe Mitchell, Freddie Tate, Alf Padgham and Jack Rowe. Colin describes Hutchinson’s influence on golf in Britain and America, his role in shaping the course, and his later decline. We also discuss Mitchell’s self-taught game, his family’s long connection to the club, and Tate’s reputation as a fine amateur and soldier.
Another major topic is the role of women at Ashdown Forest. We discuss the early Ladies’ club, its connection to the broader history of women’s golf, and the importance of members such as Mrs Lucas and Joyce Weathered. Colin also explains how the ladies’ course developed into an important short course and how the women’s side of the club became central to its identity.
We finish with more recent memories of the club, including the clubhouse interior, the honours boards and photographs, and the stories associated with A.A. Milne and the landscapes of Winnie the Pooh.
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In this episode we are joined by Richard Fisher (3-peat on the pod) looking back at 1926 as a pivotal year in golf, tracing the season from winter through autumn. We focus on the amateur game, the professional events, and the way golf fit into the wider sporting and political landscape of the year.
We begin with the early amateur season, including the shared President’s Putter at Rye and the Varsity match at Burnham & Berrow, where Cambridge win. We also discuss how much golf's leading amateurs play, the importance of caddies, and the many club and society matches that shape the year.
We then move to the spring championships, including the arrival of Glenna Collett and other American women ahead of the Ladies’ Championship, which is delayed by the General Strike.
The episode also covers the amateur and professional championships in detail. We discuss Bobby Jones’s remarkable Open qualifying round at Sunningdale, his victory at Royal Lytham & St Anne's, the Amateur Championship at Muirfield, George Von Elm’s win in the US Amateur, and major professional events involving Walter Hagen, Abe Mitchell, and Sandy Herd... and of course the proto-Ryder Cup.
We finish with the late-season fixtures, including the English Amateur, the US PGA and US Ladies’ Championship, and the mixed foursomes at Worplesdon. We also reflect on the broader context of 1926: the rise of international golf, the role of the media, and how different the sport’s structure and calendar were from today.
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We look back on a dramatic finish at Royal Birkdale, where Ryan Fox closed with a strong Sunday round and won on the 72nd hole. We say he stayed composed under pressure, kept executing shots, and handled some very unlucky breaks on the closing holes without letting them affect him.
We also discuss how the course played over the week. We say it was firm, dry and much harder in the afternoon, while the morning wave had the best scoring conditions. We note that the changes to the course produced strong championship golf, with several holes forcing players to choose different clubs and strategies.
We reflect on the other main contenders, especially Sam Burns, Tommy Fleetwood and Scottie Scheffler. We say Burns started well but made a series of errors that took him out of the lead, Fleetwood had a very strong week but faded late, and Scheffler struck the ball well but lost many strokes on the greens.
A large part of the discussion focuses on the Bryson DeChambeau ruling and the difference between that incident and Scottie Scheffler’s ruling on 17. We say the rules were applied in different ways, that the evidence and intent were debated, and that the decisions raised questions about consistency and about how golf polices itself.
We finish with the wider context of Fox’s win, including his New Zealand sporting background, the significance of the result for New Zealand golf, and a few lighter notes on the week’s other winners and losers, including the event’s attendance, the amateur performances, and the people behind the tournament setup.
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This episode we discuss the setup for the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale, with particular focus on the firm, fast conditions and how much water the course is losing each day through high wind and heat. We talk about how the greens are being monitored and adjusted with modern technology, and how the course presentation is being kept under control.
We also look at how players may adapt their strategy, with many expected to leave driver out in favor of irons, mini drivers or three-woods. The discussion covers wedge bounce, firm fairways, bunkers, and how the course conditions create difficult equipment decisions for the field.
We spend a lot of time on the holes that could shape the championship, especially 1, 10, 13, 14, 17 and 18. We talk about the challenge of the opening stretch, the reachable but dangerous par 5s, the narrow closing hole, and how wind direction could change the approach on several key holes.
We then turn to likely scoring and possible outcomes, with the group largely agreeing that the winning score is more likely to be in the high single digits rather than very low. We also discuss which players may suit the test, including Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood, Jordan Spieth, Bryson DeChambeau, Scottie Scheffler, Patrick Reed, Matt Fitzpatrick, Harris English and others.
Finally, we cover the “Tooting Beck” low-round prediction for British and Irish players, and close with a brief exchange about England’s football match against Argentina.
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In this episode we play a price-guessing game based on merchandise and food from the Open Championship site. We set up the rules, use a match-play style scorecard, and compare the prices of items the listeners would not have seen.
We start with some reference prices, then move through a yellow Open mug, a boxed Vice golf ball, and a small navy pen holder shaped like a tall bag. We also price a Malbon quarter zip and a Malbon bucket hat, which lead to some of the larger early swings in the score.
We continue with a silver claret jug-style jug, a 99 ice cream with a flake, a Future Open Champion baby bib, and a straw sun hat with a claret jug ribbon. We also cover Open-logo socks in a presentation box and a large Vessel carry bag.
Later, we guess the cost of a Hugo Boss cap for marshals, an Adidas tracksuit top with Open branding, and a special-edition Stewart remote-control trolley. We then move to a Peter Millar cashmere V-neck and a player’s yardage book for the course.
In the closing stretch we price a Vessel rucksack, a yellow kids’ flag, an Open T-shirt, and a metal ball marker with hole yardages. The episode ends with a final score update and a quick wrap-up after the last item.
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From within the media centre at Royal Birkdale, Sam and Peter recap the Monday last-chance qualifier at the Open Championship, where 12 players competed for one place in the field.
The format, the field, and a first look at the course conditions are all discussed, alongside a recap of the first ever Last Chance Qualifier - an event we think was a resounding success.
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In this episode we discuss the Scottish Open at Renaissance Club and the experience around the event, including the relaxed atmosphere for players, the links-style setting, and the way the course routing was changed. We also talk about nearby courses on the East Lothian coast, including Gullane, Winterfield, Craigielaw and Longniddry.
We then begin the final part of our series on major golf course architects, focusing on the Hawtree family. We explain that the Hawtrees span three generations and have worked for over a century, with Frederick George Hawtree as the practical founder, Frederick William Hawtree as the more golf-focused writer and consultant, and Martin Hawtree as the modern restorer and consultant.
We trace Fred Senior’s early career from greenkeeping at Sundridge Park to his first design work with James Braid at Sundridge Park and Croham Hurst. We also cover the founding of his practice in 1912, the interruption caused by World War I, and his later partnership with J.H. Taylor.
A major theme is Hawtree’s work on municipal and public golf. We discuss the Artisan Golfing Society, the National Association of Public Courses, and their role in courses such as Richmond Park and several municipal courses around Birmingham, including Lickey Hills and others.
We then cover Fred Senior’s purchase and rebuilding of Addington Court in the early 1930s, making it the first privately owned public golf course in Britain and the firm’s headquarters for decades. We also discuss the 1932 rebuilding of Royal Birkdale, including the new routing through the dunes and the course’s later refinements.
Finally, we cover Fred Jr.’s education, wartime service and post-war consultancy work, then Martin Hawtree’s role from the 1970s onward. We mention his work at venues such as Lahinch, Ballybunion, Royal Aberdeen, Trump International and Royal Liverpool, and his comments about growing up around the family business and continuing the Hawtree tradition.
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In this episode, we speak from Renaissance in East Lothian, where we discuss the golf on the coast and how many different courses there are in the area. We talk about the quality of the turf, the variety of links courses, and how the region keeps surprising us even when we think we know it well.
We also discuss golf shoes and metal spikes, including why spectators wear golf shoes at events and why professionals still use metal spikes, even though many clubs do not allow them. We compare different styles of shoes and talk about the practical and visual side of wearing them around a golf course.
A major part of the conversation is our Eclectic 18 for East Lothian. We explain why holes from Musselburgh, Winterfield, Dunbar, Archerfield, Muirfield, Gullane, North Berwick, Luffness New and the Glen made the cut, and we talk through several of the choices, including standout par threes, par fours and par fives. We also note that some courses appear multiple times because of the strength of the holes.
We finish by discussing which three East Lothian courses we would recommend to someone visiting the area, excluding North Berwick and Muirfield. We mention Dunbar, Winterfield, Musselburgh, Gullane 3, Luffness New and the Glen as strong options, and we end by saying how impressed we were with the trip and the golf across the region.
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Will Dugdale discusses starting golf as a child, playing junior, county, Oxford and Cambridge golf, and turning pro in 1999. He also covers early career ups and downs, the putting yips, changes to his grip, and his work helping other golfers.
Will has a genuinely fascinating story in the game of golf, and his relationship with the flat stick will no doubt resonate with many. For those who want to learn more, we'd encourage you to head to Will's website, best-putter.com.
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In this episode we cover final qualifying for the Open Championship across four venues, with reports from Dundonald, Burnham & Berrow, Royal Cinque Ports, and West Lancashire. We compare the atmosphere at each course, noting that the day drew strong crowds, with many volunteers managing scoring, marshalling, parking and course presentation.
We discuss how the golf courses were set up and how the weather affected play. Burnham and Barrow was described as especially well presented, while West Lancashire played firm and fast with strong runoff areas and difficult greens. We also talk about how the draw and weather conditions made a major difference to scoring, especially later in the day.
We go through several of the main qualifiers and near misses. James Nicholas qualified comfortably, Tom Sloman played well at home to get through, and Caleb Surratt, Alejandro de Castro Piera and Austin Truslow also advanced. At West Lancashire, Sam Bairstow, Kazuma Kobori, Jose Ballister, Tiger Christensen, Sam Easterbrook and Matt Jordan featured prominently, while at Royal Cinque Ports Bard Bjornovic Skogen and MJ Defoe led the way.
We also cover notable players who missed out, including Owen Edwards, John Goff, Fraser Jones and Brandon Robinson Thompson. There is discussion of withdrawals, players stopping after lunch, and the mix of amateurs, club players and touring professionals in the field. We note that many players had caddies, family members, or partners on the bag, and some chose to carry their own clubs.
We finish by explaining the new Monday last-chance qualifier at Royal Birkdale, which will give a small group of players another route into the Open.
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Sam chats with Stuart Grehan fresh of his Amateur Championship win at Royal Liverpool and West Lancs last week. The 131st Amateur was also the 19th time this event has been hosted at Royal Liverpool - more than any other venue.
We talk about his wins in the knockout, the adjustments from 18 to 36 hole matches, as well some of the trickier matches that lay between him and his final against Matt Maloney which went all the way to the 36th hole. We also talk about his career, from pitch and putt as a kid, to turning professional, regaining his Amateur status and now looking forward to The Open Championship at Royal Birkdale, a Masters invitation and a spot in the US Open next year at Pebble Beach.
In the aftermath of his win, we also talk about some of the criticism Stuart has come in for from the likes of Dan Rapaport, going from Professional to Amateur, as well as his experiences at Cypress Point last year in the Walker Cup, and looking ahead to Lahinch in September. Stuart says that the movement back to amateur golf was all about the lifestyle.... well what a lifestyle it is!
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In this episode we reflect on the US Open at Shinnecock Hills and the course setup, including the firm greens, the undulations, and how the test shifted the emphasis toward short game and putting. We discuss the USGA’s explanation of why the greens were managed the way they were, and how the event played gradually from Thursday through Sunday.
We also talk about Wyndham Clark’s win, his reception from the crowd, and how he held onto the lead despite not playing his best golf at the weekend. We compare his performance with Scottie Scheffler’s, and we discuss the idea of players chasing a major-title milestone under intense pressure from a strong field.
A substantial part of the conversation is about fan behaviour and whether golf should accept more crowd noise and needle at big events. We discuss the contrast with other sports, the difference between a normal tournament and a Ryder Cup atmosphere, and whether Clark’s situation was more about his lead and persona than about golf becoming less traditional.
We then move on to players and others who stood out at Shinnecock, including Keith Mitchell, Tom Kim, and the course superintendent Joe Jennings. We also mention some of the week’s disappointments and controversies, including bunker conditions, Joaquin Niemann’s penalty, and Harry Higgs arriving without trousers before his round.
Finally, we cover regional qualifying and the Amateur Championship. We talk about the scale of qualifying venues around the country, Peter’s attempt at Ferndown, and several players who advanced. We also review the Amateur at Hoylake, where Stuart Grehan won after a 36-hole final, and we note the strong coverage of the event online.
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Tom is in the chair this time to bring to life the story of William Flynn, one of the more forgotten architects in the American Golden age.
In part 2 we discuss the construction firm of Toomey & Flynn, his design work into middle life and going on to designing the renovation of Shinnecock Hills.
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Tom is in the chair this time to bring to life the story of William Flynn, one of the more forgotten architects in the American Golden age.
In part 1 we discuss Flynn's childhood, his upbringing and his relationship with Frederick Pickering. We also discuss his work at Marion and his founding of the construction firm Toomey & Flynn.
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It’s hard to believe its 3 years since Jim joined the pod to talk about his last book - When Revelation Comes - which went on to become a Herbert Warren Wind award finalist, and this time we’re joined to talk about another exciting project.
To get a hold of a copy of Jim’s latest book, make your way to Back9Press or head to Amazon where we’ve hyperlinked them for your own ease.
A round of Scottish courses is a book charting 18 of Jim’s most beloved but often less celebrated courses. Some courses people will be familiar with but others less so. The likes of Aberfoyle are not on many bucket lists (until now), places like Iona and Harris require some serious commitment to get to, and some bigger names like Cruden Bay and Prestwick rightly hold a place in Jim’s heart.
We also talk about the process of uncovering the history of these lesser-known courses, collecting old postcards images and the beautiful architecture of the buildings that often accompany these smaller well-preserved courses.
Great to own. Great for a gift.
Side note: out charity link for our upcoming 95 hole challenge around Arran can be found here. All donations hugely appreciated.
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Tom & Sam discuss playing the original 12-hole routing at Prestwick, where the first Open Championship was held in 1860, and how the course has been restored for a limited period. We explain that the layout has been brought back with heavy marshalling, temporary and restored greens, and significant logistical work to keep play safe.
We talk through the history of Prestwick and the role of Old Tom Morris in setting out the 12-hole course, how it gave birth to The Open Championship and try to give you a sense as to what the course is like. You can expect a film to follow on YouTube in the coming weeks.
Road to Rosapenna leaderboard from our match here
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Tom, Sam & Half Par sit down to discuss Aaron Rai's amazing victory at the 108th PGA championship at Aronimink.
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Sam & Tom both do some homework on Dornoch man Donald Ross, who would go on from an upbringing on the ancient Scottish links to become the most prolific golf course architect in the United States. Designing and working on over 400 courses, his journey is a fascinating one.
With the US PGA taking place this week at Aronimink, it is our third instalment on biographies of some of the game’s most celebrated architects.
Having studied under Old Tom Morris in St Andrews, a chance encounter with Harvard professor Robert Wilson would see him take the leap of faith and move to the US, working at Oakley Country Club. He would then turn another chance encounter with an attorney into a career-defining move, as he set up his winter office at Pinehurst, designing four of the courses over many decades and using it as a base from which he met and took on numerous commissions from travelling golfers across America.
For more on Ross, Bradley Klein's magnus opus on Ross can be sourced here.
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Sam & Tom sit down for Part IV of their deep dive into the Tiger Slam. 25 years on from the fourth leg of Tiger's historic run — and his sixth major victory overall — we revisit the 65th Masters at Augusta National, where he clinched the infamous Tiger Slam.
For more on the Tiger Slam, we highly recommend Kevin Cook’s book, which captures the era in microscopic detail. You can grab a copy here.
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Sam sits down at Royal Birkdale Golf Club with Mike Howard, Senior Design Associate at MacKenzie & Ebert, to discuss his long-standing relationship with the club.
A lifelong member with an intimate knowledge of the North West coast, Mike has played a central role in the recent course changes, working alongside Tom MacKenzie to prepare Birkdale for The Open Championship this summer.
A longstanding friend of the podcast, Mike brings both insight and perspective to the conversation. Widely respected for his work in golf course design, he is also a fine golfer and a highly regarded figure within the industry.
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Sam, Tom and Peter sit down to discuss the 90th Masters at Augusta National, Rory's historic back-to-back victory, and the big winners and losers of the week in Georgia.
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Returning guest Simon Haines sits down to be quiz master with Sam and Tom about the early days of Augusta National and the Masters.
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In part two of this needlessly detailed look at the life and times of Dr Alister MacKenzie, Sam takes us through life after WWI and MacKenzie's partnership with Harry Colt and Charles Hugh Allison, as well as the work that leads him to travelling to furthest reaches of the globe.
In 1926, MacKenzie travelled to Australia on what would become a career defining two months helping to shaope the Melbourne Sand belt and many other courses around the country, as well as New Zealand, and how MacKenzie would become involved in shaping golf on the West Coast of America. His work at Cypress point is rightly lauded above all others in the world, as well as Pasatiempo where he would spend his final few years. We also touch on his lifestyle, and his controversial divorce, and most importantly the legacy that he leaves behind.
Further reading, the MacKenzie chronology is well worth some reading and can be found here, as well as his book - Golf Architecture - in 1920, The Spirit of St Andrews which was published after his death, and the many podcasts and articles that have been dedicated to his work.
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Sam is in the chair this time to bring to life the good Dr - Alister MacKenzie - considered by many to be the most influential golf course architect in history.
In part 1 we discuss MacKenzie's childhood, his education, going to Cambridge and serving in the Boer war. We also discuss the formation of Alwoodley and his golfing career leading into that, as well as Moortown and through to 1914 and the outbreak of WWI having finished designing Sitwell park.
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Ahead of our Story of a Golf Club film over on YouTube, Sam & Tom sit down with Wallasey club archivist Simon Coombs to talk about the fascinating history of the club. Starting with the foundation of the club, to the design of Old Tom Morris and the golden age greats that followed him, Bobby Jones' round in Open Qualifying on his march to completing The Grand Slam, as well as Wallasey member Dr Frank Stableford's defining contribution to the club game with the invention of the Stableford scoring system on the second tee just a year later.
Simon also shares his story in helping to develop a plan for history at his club and what it's like starting from scratch! It's a great episode.
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Sam sits down with 1991 Open Champion Ian Baker-Finch. A player whose name is woven into both the history of the game and the soundtrack of its most memorable moments.
Best known for his remarkable victory at Royal Birkdale, Ian’s story extends far beyond that week in 1991. After his playing career, he became one of golf’s most recognisable and respected broadcasters, spending more than 25 years behind the microphone calling some of the sport’s most dramatic moments for audiences around the world.
In this conversation, Ian reflects on his journey through the professional game, from the pressure and triumph of winning The Open Championship to the challenges that followed, and how he ultimately found a second life in the commentary box.
Known as one of golf’s most generous and well-liked characters, Ian was kind enough to give us his time while enjoying some well-earned rest and relaxation in New Zealand. The result is a thoughtful and wide-ranging conversation about resilience, perspective, and a lifetime in the game.
A link to Ian's wonderful biography written by Geoff Suanders can be found here and we highly recommend picking up a copy for yourself.
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Sam & Peter sit down to discuss this year's Sunningdale Foursomes. Peter was our man on the ground following all the action. Congratulations to Jamie McGeoch and Ellie Lichtenhein on surviving seven rounds of match play to win the 92nd Sunningdale Foursomes.
Ellie is the first Sunningdale member to win the event since 2009 - a fitting finish to one of the finest weeks in the British golfing calendar.
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In part 2, Tom takes us through Pete's trip to Scotland that inspired his work with Alice as a course designer.
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Pt 1 of our 2 part special on the life and legacy of Peter Dye: 1925 - 2020.
In part one, Tom takes us through the first 38 years of the life of Pete Dye, beginning with his early years in Ohio and growing up on a course built by his father Paul. Pete would go on to quite school early, enlist in the Army and take a career defining trip to Scotland with wife Alice.
This is part of an exciting series we are running this year where we explore the life and legacy of the architects that have shaped the 4 major venues in 2026 (+ the players)!
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Sam & Tom sit down to review their visit to Conwy Golf Club on the north coast of Wales. With a history stretching back to 1869, and Hoylake professional Jack Morris the man behind the initial design, Conwy is a breathtaking piece of land on which to play golf. We had a great time here, settling a club championship match in a four-club wind.
In more recent years, Frank Pennink re-designed much of the course following the two World Wars in the first half of the 20th century. Most recently, Mackenzie & Ebert’s work with the club has seen gorse removed, green sites enlarged, and bunkers returned to more naturalised shapes.
For those of you who follow the trials and tribulations of our matches on the road, the ‘Club Championship’ section of the website is filled with match reports as we go, along with a league table tracking our performance records.
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Tom and Sam sit down to discuss the golf over the weekend, with Anthony Kim winning for the first time in fifteen years and Colin Morikawa prevailing at Pebble Beach for the first time in two and a half years.
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Josh Simpson joins the podcast (a.k.a 'the Ginger Golfer') to talk about his world record breaking effort over the last 12 months playing 652 courses in a year, eclipsing the previous 581 World Record.
We talk about Josh's introduction to the sport, and how he turned a tragic chapter in his life into a force for good, raising nearly £100,000 for two wonderful charities: Macmillan Cancer Support and Tapping House. We've put the link for further donations here so you can contribute to the money raised.
We also discuss the trials and tribulations of life on the road, some of his favourite courses and also his - soon to be trademarked - shower rating system. The 10 point rating criteria can be found below:
- 2.5pts: Shower Pressure
- 2pts: Temperature (consistency & warmth)
- 2pts: 'Look'
- 1pt Towel Provided (yes or no)
- 1pt: Privacy / Draft / Space
- 0.5pts: Amenities (0.1pt for each amenity provided)
- 0.5pts: Dials accessed without getting hands wet
- 0.5pts: No need to keep pushing to activate
(Only Sunningdale & The Caversham have swept up 10 points so far!)
Follow Josh and his adventure along here.
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Sam sits down for a catch-up with friend of the pod, West Byfleet membership secretary and exceptional writer Richard Pennell. Together, they cover a wide range of topics, including Richard’s latest book, Common Grounds, which chronicles his journeys to some of the rawest and purest forms of the game.
Building on the success of his first book - Grass Routes - you can secure a copy through the wonderful folks over at Grant Books here.
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Tom sits down with Golf Badgers’ James Bledge at BTME in Harrogate to discuss the event.
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Sam and Tom sit down in the West Sussex clubhouse to chat to one half of Mackenzie & Ebert - Tom Mackenzie - about his love affair with landscapes, and a career in course architecture. We talk about West Sussex and making alterations to your home course, as well as work further afield.
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Sam & Tom head to where it all began for the British motorway service station: Watford Gap. Not only the official north–south divide, but the birthplace of what has grown to become a staple of travel culture in Great Britain — none more so than in our world of planning stops at service stations on the road to and from the links.
This is an episode we’ve wanted to do for some time. And while the connection with golf is extremely tenuous, it’s fascinating to explore the evolution of the motorway service network — from the early days of the M1, through how service stations have changed over time, and what the future might hold.
Of course, we talk about some of our favourites, but now you can rank your own as well. The link below will take you to a ranking website specially created by Tom, where you can leave reviews and help us shine a light on the good, the bad, and the ugly.
https://cookiejarservices.com/
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Sam talks to Jean van de Velde about his career in the game, which began as a six-year-old in Mont-de-Marsan, in the Pyrenees in south-west France. Growing up in the era of persimmon drivers and balata balls, Jean turned professional in 1987 and went on to compete at the highest level of the game for several decades. He is perhaps best known for his performance at the 1999 Open Championship at Carnoustie, where he slept on a five-shot lead going into the final round.
Jean has also been involved in the administration of the game and was instrumental in bringing The Ryder Cup to France in 2018.
A huge thank you to Jean for his time on the podcast. His reputation as one of the game’s great characters — and as a wonderfully honest, funny, and brilliant storyteller — remains fully intact after this epic episode.
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Sam & Tom sit down to discuss their recent trip to Kington in Herefordshire. The highest course in England, Kington offers spectacular views and great architecture from C. K. Hutchison. We talk tangential historic tidbits and the style and playability of the course.
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This time its Sam's turn to sit in the hot seat and take pot-shots from our regular host Tom, on all things related to his year in golf. From travel, to performance on the links, foursomes match-ups and the honest review of a burger-dog.
Here's his new course eclectic 18 from 2025 below, a comfy par 62, 4,000 yarder!
1: Olympic (Cliff's Course) - Par 3 | 180
2: Streamsong Black - Par 4 | 300
3: Cabot Citrus Farms - Karoo - Par 3 | 250
4: Durness - Par 4 | 310
5: Beau Desert - Par 4 | 400
6: Panmure - Par 4 | 390
7: Golden Gate Park Par 3 - Par 3 | 140
8: Sandiway - Par 4 | 360
9: The Park (Par 3) - Par 3 | 40
10: Hayling Island - Par 4 | 270
11: Maple Leaf - Par 3 | 150
12: East Potomac Putting Course - Par 2 | 10
13: Cabot Highlands (Old Petty) - Par 4 | 320
14: Hunstanton - Par 3 | 220
15: Winter Park - Par 4 | 290
16: Hesketh - Par 3 | 180
17: TPC Sawgrass - Par 3 | 130
18: Kington - Par 4 | 270
Par 62 / Yardage 4210
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Sam interrogates Tom about his 2025, his golf, his travels and his outlook on the game. Most importantly takes us on his journey through the year in a form of an eclectic 18, from Merion to Maple Leaf, nd from St Endodoc to Streamsong! Even Cumberwell Park to Cabot, and back again!
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Following on from our Thanksgiving extravaganza about Pasatiempo and the work of MacKenzie and Hollins, Sam sits down with Jim Urbina and Brett Hochstein. A link to our film can be found here.
Jim has been working on the restoration of Pasatiempo for 25 years now, and knows the course about as well as Marion and the good Doctor would have. His love and care over the last quarter of a century has helped bring the course back to its former glory, and following their most recent work in the past two winters, the green sites are absolutely sparkling.
Brett is a restorative shaper and someone we’ve become good friends with over the last few years. Brett talks about the process of bringing those shapes and contours within the green sites back to life thanks to the wonderful library of Beck photos which exist, and which have helped inform every grain of earth that was moved in the process.
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In this episode we sit down in the second clubhouse at Pasatiempo, overlooking the 1st and 9th holes, with Emily Chorba – archivist at Pasatiempo Golf Club – to talk about the life and legacy of Marion Hollins, who founded Pasatiempo in the roaring twenties following her successes at Pebble Beach and Cypress Point.
Hollins' career in the game is quite sensational, yet at times overlooked. An entrepreneurial mind, she grew up on the wealthy east coast before heading west to help shape the golfing landscape we enjoy today on the Monterey Peninsula, as well as finding success in the Kettlemen Oil Company which enabled her to channel those achievements into the first ever planned sporting complex in North America, with Dr Alister MacKenzie her able accomplice.
Her demise is a sad story. Not long after opening, the Great Depression hit and Marion Hollins suffered a tragic car accident from which she was never the same afterwards. Thankfully, her legacy lives on and her contribution to the club and the area is brilliantly brought to life throughout Pasatiempo, notably in her statue on the first tee, standing as an equal partner with MacKenzie, where Emily can be seen on her immediate right.
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With the Ashes kicking off this Friday, Sam heads to an undisclosed location near Ormskirk to sit down with a very good friend of the jar — and first-timer on the show — James Woods, to talk about golf’s close relationship with the game of cricket. We explore the connections between the two sports, how they have overlapped over time, and the characters who excelled in both.
A huge thank you to James for his exceptional research for this episode. The podcast is packed with incredible insights, featuring names familiar to many as well as plenty never celebrated on this podcast before.
James’ passion for golf trivia can be enjoyed on his social media profile here and, more famously, through his regular picture quiz which he curates for Golf Quarterly, among other contributions.
As James rightly points out, Golf Quarterly is a superb investment or gift for any golfer, and we'd highly encourage you to sign up for £35 a year for more of these types of tales. Link here.
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Tom travels about as far from Cabot Highlands as is humanly possible on the British mainland in Cornwall to sit down with Clyde Johnson and talk about the newly opened second course at Cabot Highlands. Old Petty, designed by Tom Doak opened for preview play this summer, and no sits proudly alongside its older sibling Castle Stuart.
Tom and Clyde chat about the routing, the construction process, and the key considerations when building the course, not to mention how natural and ancient features of this historic landscape were incorporated into the design.
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Sam sits down with Formby Golf Club archivist and past Captain - Ian Jamson - to talk about the history of the club. Founded in 1884, Formby is one of the oldest courses on the north west coast and has some fascinating and eclectic tales, which Ian recounts beautifully in this episode.
From Horace the Hippo to a clock tower gifted by Sir Bruce Ismay of Titanic fame, and through the evolution of the links and its championship history, it’s a brilliant listen!
Ian is a superb storyteller and another highly passionate club archivist who thankfully preserves these wonderful stories for future generations, and we're really grateful to him for finding time to sit down with us.
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In this in-depth Eclectic 18 special, previous guest and friend of the show Simon Barrington takes us on an odyssey of obscure connections with some of his favourite holes and courses around the world, and their links to the macabre. It’s not just an assortment of holes with cemeteries nearby — we go back to medieval battles, haunted castles, greens built on ancient burial grounds, and even draw some tenuous links between bunkers and the afterlife.
Follow Simon on x here or get in touch with him on jamesbraidresearch@gmail.com. His scorecard is below.
1 Ballybunion
2 West Hill
3 Old Petty (Cabot Highlands)
4 Winter Park
5 Lake Zurich
6 Cruden Bay
7 Dornick Hills
8 Royal Troon
9 Portmahomack
10 St Enodoc
11 Sleepy Hollow
12 Augusta National
13 Dunaverty
14 The Old Course
15 Lochcarron
16 Pasatiempo
17 Painswick
18 The Old Course (Reversed)
Par: 71 / Yardage: 6,466
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Sam is joined by Peter Handcock aka @thehalfparkid to do an eclectic 18 scorecard comprised of solely of half par golf holes. As a reminder, this fun exercise requires you to fill the card with holes you've played, but they can only go in the position in which they sit on the scorecard, and you can only use one course once!
His scorecard:
1 - Woking - 3.5 275yds
2 - San Francisco - 4.5 455yds
3 - Dumbarnie - 3.5 310yds
4 - Royal St George’s - 4.5 495yds
5 - Royal Worlington & Newmarket - 3.5 155yds
6 - Royal Aberdeen - 4.5 490yds
7 - Gullane No. 3 - 3.5 310yds
8 - Durness - 3.5 360yds
9 - Cypress Point - 3.5 290yds
10 - Elie - 3.5 285yds
11 - Pasatiempo - 4.5 390yds
12 - The Addington - 4.5 485yds
13 - Lahinch - 3.5 365yds
14 - Fishers Island - 4.5 425yds
15 - Los Angeles Country Club - 2.5 100yds
16 - Royal Cinque Ports - 4.5 510 yds
17 - The Old Course - 4.5 450yds
18 - North Berwick - 3.5 270yds
Yardage: 6,320
Par: 70
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Stephen Proctor rejoins the pod to discuss his latest book, Matchless — a captivating account of one of golf’s great interwar rivalries. Joyce Wethered, the finest player of her generation in England, and Glenna Collett, the leading light of the American women’s game, were born just 18 months apart and dominated their respective sides of the Atlantic.
Stephen’s work as an author is exceptional — meticulously researched and told with a compelling narrative thread. Matchless is no exception. Copies are available from all good bookshops, and we’ve linked Amazon here for ease.
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Sam and Tom sit down in the office to catch up on silly season. Sam takes — frankly far too long — to commemorate his school’s highest-ever finish in the Grafton Morrish, played last weekend at Royal West Norfolk and Hunstanton. Huge thanks to both clubs for hosting such a special event, and to the volunteers who make it all possible.
We also recap our latest event at Sunningdale Heath, which closes our 2025 event schedule. A huge thank you to everyone who joined us throughout the year — we look forward to announcing our 2026 plans in due course.
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After one of the squeakiest Sunday singles sessions for a long time, Sam, Tom & Bruce sit down to recap the action from an unforgettable few days at Bethpage, where Team Europe squeezed out a 15–13 win despite going into the singles session with 12 points already secured. Lots of things to unpack here: from Luke Donald to Loro Piana, Bradley to Bryson, the course set-up, and some of the events that shaped a memorable week in New York.
Ole Ole Ole!
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The greatest event in sport? Not sure, but one of the many questions we unpack as we head towards the Ryder Cup this week at Bethpage. As Luke Donald leads Team Europe into battle against Team USA with only 14 points needed to retain the Ryder Cup, we cannot wait for the spectacle that will no doubt unfold.
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Ryder Cup week calls for Ryder Cup stories — so we’ve clipped together Monty’s best from part two of our Colin Montgomerie podcast (episode 320), 15 mins packed with his memories from the event.
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Sam, Tom & Bruce sit down to relive the last three days at Cypress Point for the 50th Walker Cup.
Final scores: USA 17 & GB&I 9
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Sam, Tom & Bruce report from Cypress Point on the final practice day of the 2025 Walker Cup. As we embrace the chaos, we report on our initial impressions of the venue and are joined by the great and the good as we recorded the podcast from the practice grounds of Cypress Point.
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Dublin’s leading authority on pace putting and amateur golf joins the podcast this week to share his top five Walker Cup stories from the previous 49 editions of the venerable matchplay tournament between GB&I and the USA, as well as his All-Star squad of 10 players.
Darragh is obsessed with the Walker Cup, collecting artefacts from its history, including 48 programmes, crockery from Ganton, blazers from half a century ago, coasters — you name it.
While we’re grateful to him for giving up his time to join the podcast, deep down we know he needs no encouragement to talk about the event he loves.
With the event kicking off with the opening ceremony in a matter of days, it's another brilliant teaser around some of the wonderful history of this event!
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Sam travels to a baking hot committee room at Huntercombe to sit down with previous guest and friend of the show, Richard Fisher, to recap the history of The Walker Cup, including a statistical deep dive into the sessions that make and break a GB&I performance.
A huge thanks to Richard for his research and exceptional insight in this podcast. It’s a cracker!
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Bruce heads to the Auld Grey Toon to catch up with Fintan Bonner, Senior Instructor at the St Andrews Links Golf Academy.
A close friend of Bruce’s for over a decade (and patient recipient of countless swing questions), Fintan has become one of the most respected coaching voices in the game. Passionate about nurturing young talent and guiding elite players such as Gregor and Conor Graham, his work speaks to both his tenacity and expertise.
In this episode, we dive into Fintan’s journey in golf, his coaching philosophy, and what it takes to develop players at every level.
Link to Fintan's social media here.
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Sam & Tom sit down for Part III of their deep dive into the Tiger Slam. 25 years on from the third leg of Tiger's historic run — and his fifth major victory overall — we revisit the 82nd PGA Championship at Valhalla, where he clinched the Wannamaker in a thrilling three-hole playoff over Bob May to secure his second straight PGA.
For more on the Tiger Slam, we highly recommend Kevin Cook’s book, which captures the era in microscopic detail. You can grab a copy here.
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In part two, Tom sits down with putting coach Phil Kenyon to explore his approach to helping golfers of every level, from weekend players to the world’s best, find confidence on the greens.
They discuss the common challenges amateurs and elites share, the importance of pace control and line, and how green reading and technique must all blend together seamlessly to produce great putting. For more on Phil and his work you can follow him along on @philkenyonputting
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Tom speaks to one of the world’s leading authorities on putting - Phil Kenyon - to talk about his career in golf, his route into coaching and working with some of the best in the world.
Huge thanks to Phil for finding time to sit down and record this cracking two parter! You can follow Phil and his journey via his socials here!
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Brought to you in partnership with Loch Lomond Whiskies, the Spirit of The Open.
Tom speaks with Iona Stephen — broadcaster, golf obsessive, and content creator extraordinaire — to talk about her journey in the game. From becoming an elite player from a standing start, to building @ontheroadwithiona through to handing over the Ryder Cup to Team Europe back in 2023, it's a great chat!
Huge thanks to Loch Lomond Whiskies for putting us together and providing such great refreshments for this 'blether'.
We're sure already following her journey, the link to her socials are here!
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Sam and Tom are joined by NBC Golf broadcaster and commentator Tom Abbott to recap the action from the AIG Women’s Open at Royal Porthcawl. Miyu Yamashita claimed her first major title — and her first victory outside Japan — with a stellar display on Sunday, seldom putting a foot wrong as she held off a charging Charley Hull, who recorded her 10th top-10 finish in a major.
Huge thanks to Tom Abbott for joining us once again after a great time down at Denham and a podcast appearance earlier this year. Special congratulations to Royal Porthcawl for putting on an exceptional show. The course was truly sparkling!
Image credit: Richard Heathcote/R&A/R&A via Getty Images.
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Sam speaks to Peter Evans — Professional at Royal Porthcawl — about his time at the club and his experiences on the links, as excitement builds for the AIG Women’s Open this week.
Royal Porthcawl is a truly special place in world golf, and while we could have talked for hours about the shower pressure, the incredible clubhouse, and the famously warm welcome, this episode is strictly about the course — which will take centre stage as we look forward to the first women’s major in the land of the dragon.
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Sam & Tom sit down for Part II of their deep dive into the Tiger Slam. 25 years on from the second leg of Tiger's historic run — and his fourth major victory overall — we revisit the 129th Open Championship at St Andrews, where he clinched the Claret Jug by a record-equalling eight shots. The parallels with the current Champion Golfer of the Year, Scottie Scheffler, are hard to ignore — both with dominant stretches just over 1,000 days apart.
This episode has it all: a streaker on the fairway, David Duval taking four swipes in the Road Hole bunker, and the end of a 63-hole bogey-free streak from Tiger. Oh, and in case you'd forgotten — he famously avoided all 112 bunkers across the four days.
We’ll return in August with Part III, charting the next chapter: Tiger’s win at the PGA Championship.
For more on the Tiger Slam, we highly recommend Kevin Cook’s book, which captures the era in microscopic detail. You can grab a copy here.
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Sam, Tom & Peter sit down to recap an unforgettable week at Royal Portrush. We cover Scottie Scheffler’s dominant win, Rory McIlroy’s performance, standout moments from across the championship, and break down the big winners and losers. We also dive into The Open rota — and much more.
Big Headlines:
🏆 Scottie Scheffler wins The Claret Jug
📈 Totting Bec Cup Winners: Robert MacIntyre, Rory McIlroy, Matt Fitzpatrick, Shane Lowry, Matt Wallace
🥈 Silver Medal: Not awarded
🎥 Content of the Week: Justin Rose Saturday night reel
With thanks to our supporters:
Loch Lomond Whiskies
FootJoy
Matchplay Brewery
And a huge thanks to Royal Portrush — the real star of the show.
Cover Photo Credit: Stuart Franklin/R&A/R&A via Getty Images
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Sam & Tom sit down after Friday of the 153rd Open to discuss the cut and the big news stories coming out of Royal Portrush.
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A much-anticipated feature from 2024, The Price is Right returns this year — with Peter having surveyed the merch tent in excessive detail and bringing us 14 items to guess the correct price of.
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After some editing issues with this episode we've re-uploaded.
Sam & Tom sit down in the clubhouse at Royal Portrush with 2023 Captain - Gerry McAleese - to talk about some of the characters from the club's history that dates all the way back to 1888.
In this episode we talk about some of the women who were leading lights in Irish Golf - May Hezlet & Rhona Adair - as well as Sandy Herd who was the club's first professional, Fred Daly and much much more.
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Sam, Tom & Peter sit down at the Open to preview the 153rd Open at Royal Portrush. After spending two days on site we chat through the journey, the course, the players, and of course - THE WEATHER.
Exciting times ahead, and we can't wait to see Padraig stripe one down the first.
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Sam & Tom sit down with Gary McNeill, Head Professional at Royal Portrush, to talk about the club, the course, and his life in golf.
Gary enjoyed a distinguished amateur career, winning several provincial and national events — including the Irish Boys Championship in 1987 and the Irish Amateur Championship at Ballybunion in 1991. He represented Ulster and Ireland at every level, as well as Great Britain & Ireland at both Boys and Youths level.
Turning professional in 1993, Gary went on to lead the MacGregor Academy and serve as Head Coach to the Ulster teams before taking up his role at Royal Portrush. He’s a multiple winner on the Irish PGA circuit and famously played as a marker during the 148th Open Championship at Royal Portrush in 2019.
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In part two of this cracking podcast, we talk to Colin Montgomerie about his exceptional Ryder Cup record and some of the iconic events he’s played in — from the War on the Shore in ’91, to Valderrama in ’97, the 'incident' at Brookline with Olazábal and Leonard, and much more.
Huge thanks to Loch Lomond Whiskies for their help in arranging this wonderful two-parter. A link to their website can be found here.
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Sam & Tom are joined this week by Colin Montgomerie at the wonderful Woking Golf Club. Podcasting under the watchful gaze of John Low, whose portrait hangs proudly in the clubhouse, we chat to Monty about his career in the game.
In part one, we talk about his earliest experiences with the game, his amateur career, and his quest to work in sports management at IMG — before unfortunately shooting 29 on the back nine at Turnberry during a job interview, which sent his career in an altogether different direction.
We also touch on the emergence of Woods in 1997, his pursuit of a Major title, and much more.
Huge thanks to Loch Lomond Whiskies for their help in arranging this wonderful two parter. A link to their website can be found here.
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Sam & Tom relive the ordeal that was 99 holes at Durness. Durness is one of the most northerly courses on the British mainland, and offers breathtaking views across the shimmering blue waters.
Why 99 holes? It had a ring to it. Why Durness? It promised lots of good sunlight, the prospect of playing golf at midnight, and we thought it would be a great avdenture.
While the weather and light was far from what had envisioned, the course was exceptional and the adventure was plentiful!
For more on Durness, check out the latest GolfBadgers podcast with Ali Morrison - the only greenkeeper at Durness!
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The whole crew get together to recap the action from Open Final Qualifying. Sam, Tom, Luke & Peter relive a wild day across final qualifying venues, sharing everything from Richard Teder’s epic walk-off eagle to the heartbreak of near misses, and the unforgettable scenes of amateurs and pros fighting for a spot at Royal Portrush. They unpack moments that matter, the raw emotion on the 18th green, and why final qualifying is golf’s best-kept secret.
Summary of who was where:
Sam: Dundonald Links
Tom: West Lancashire
Luke: Burnham & Berrow
Peter: Royal Cinque Ports
Huge thanks to Loch Lomond Whiskies for their support with this podcast and others. For more on Loch Lomond Whisky - the official 'Spirit of the Open' - head to their website here.
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Sam drives down to meet a fatigued Peter Handcock (aka @half_par_kid) at the renown Beaconsfield Services to talk about his first foray back into top-level amateur golf since before Covid and his run at Open Qualifying.
First up is The Tennant Cup — golf’s oldest open amateur stroke play event — followed by a bid at Open Qualifying at Kilmarnock Barassie, where he sadly came up just two shots short of securing a spot at Deal for Finals.
We’ll continue the story next week on the road to The Open Championship, as our podcast wraps up Final Qualifying. We’ll have correspondents at each venue — if you see us, pop over and say hello! It's one of the best days to watch golf in the UK, and we cannot wait!
Sam – Dundonald Links
Tom – West Lancashire
Luke – Burnham & Berrow
Peter – Royal Cinque Ports
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Sam and Tom sit down with Nigel Notley (archivist) & Michael Morrison (club historian) from Royal Worlington & Newmarket Golf Club - affectionately refered to as 'the sacred nine' or simply 'Mildenhall' to discuss the history of one of the most unique clubs in the British Isles.
As a course, it's simple, elegant and a monument to penal design at the hands of Tom Hood and Tom Dunn. As a club, it's synonymous with The Pink Jug, a concoction of just about everything in the spirit cabinet which comes together in a potent cocktail and now serves as the club's emblem.
We'll also be releasing a film from Royal Worlington on Tuesday evening (24th june) so please head over to YouTube for more. Link to find us there can be found here.
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Sam sits down with Iain Forrester to talk about his lifelong fascination with the history of the game, and in particular hickory golf. Iain is the 5th generation of a golfing family, who having learnt the game and becoming a professional in the UK, moved to The Netherlands at Hoenshuis Golf & Country Club where he is the resident professional.
Iain has a staggering collection of golf books and hickory clubs, a frequent contributor to British golf collectors society journal 'Through The Green', and the official archivist the PGA of Holland. He is also a masterful hickory player, and one of the biggest distributors and club fitters in Europe and UK.
He can be contacted on X on @ForresterInfo or his website here.
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With the US Open returning to Oakmont this week, only the players with the strongest mindset will have a chance come Sunday afternoon.
This excerpt from episode 291 gives an insight into why he became one of the hottest players in Major golf post 2006.
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Sam and Tom sit down to discuss the upcoming venue of the US Open. Oakmont has a fascinating history that is intertwined with the history of American golf. From Fownes to Hanse, the course has changed dramatically over storied history.
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A new short series of podcasts we'll be running to commemorate the 2000/01 Tiger Slam where Tiger Woods claimed all four major trophies in a 12 month stretch. In part one we kick off with Pebble Beach.
Starting the year off as the defending US PGA Champion, Vijay Singh would clinch the first major of the year, but Tiger was playing by far and away the best golf on tour. As such, it's no surprise he teed off at pebble on the Thursday as the bookies 3-1 favourite.
In what would become dubbed 'Perfect at Pebble', Woods' win in 2000 broke all the record books, and yet the Tigerslam was almost over before it even began on the 18th tee in the second round....
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Some exciting news from us this week as we extend our ‘stable’ of podcast from 1 to 2! We’re thrilled to be bringing the Golf Badgers podcast into Cookie Jar!
For those that don’t know, Golf Badgers is a popular industry and greenkeeping podcast which has been going for over a year now. The show is hosted by James Bledge (Links Manager at Royal Liverpool) and Sam Cooper (Course Architect at McDonnell & Cooper) who bring an unrivalled passion for their industries on all matters around turf health, agronomy and how it allows the golf course architecture to really shine.
James & Sam are back with a bang with their latest show which can be found here, and they will be releasing fortnightly episodes comprising of a mix of interviews with course managers and industry leaders, topical episodes, as well as interactive Q&A segments focussing on the seasonal challenges for people in the greenkeeping industry. We think it’s a great fit for not only people who work in the industry, but fellow badgers with an interest in agronomy and the daily trials and tribulations of the greenkeeping world.
Be sure to go and subscribe and follow them on their journey and you can follow them on Instagram or LinkedIn too!
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Sam & Tom sit down with Anthony Wolfe, the club archivist of Royal Wimbledon Golf Club, to talk about its history in the game which dates back to 1865. It has had three separate golf courses and its now full time home on the other side of camp cottage from Wimbledon Common, is the product of Harry Colt which has recently undergone huge work by Mackenzie & Ebert in recent years.
Some of the game's greatest names have travelled through Royal Wimbledon, and we sit down with Anthony to talk about it all.
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Sam sits down with Scott Redman and John Morgan at The Bristol Golf Club who have in recent years acquired the Joe Powell Persimmon company.
Scott is an equipment nerd and creative wizz who has spent decades around the game and John Morgan is a broadcaster for SkySports and played professionally on The PGA Tour. When the opportunity came up to acquire Joe Powell, they just couldn't say no, and their story, much like the company itself is a fascinating one.
Huge thanks to The Bristol for having us last week, and looking after us so well!
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Sam and Tom are joined by Half Par to dive into the newly released GB&I Top 100 from Top100GolfCourses.com — plus the other big three UK rankings from Golf World, Golf Monthly, and National Club Golfer.
We get into the work that goes into these lists, what makes each one unique, the biggest movers (both deserved and controversial), the new entries, and whether rankings really matter at all.
We also chat about our updated Rank of Ranks, where we’ve combined all four lists to create the ultimate guide — fully filterable, so you can slice and dice it however you like.
If you fancy killing some time on the Rank of Ranks, you can find it here.
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In part two of this podcast with Gary Wolstenholme, we talk about his amateur success since winning The 1991 Amateur, his Walker Cup stories, life on the road and more...
Once again a huge thank you for allowing us to do this at Ganton, a place of huge significance in Gary's career and the perfect setting for our chat.
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Sam & Tom sat down with Gary Wolstenholme at Ganton to talk through his stellar career in amateur golf. In Part 1, we talk through his early life in golf, being the son of a professional golfer, his journey from a 23 handicapper to winning the Amateur at Ganton Golf Club. The episode finishes with Gary talking through his first run out at Augusta National in the Masters playing alongside the great Arnold Palmer.
Part 2 coming Friday
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In part II from our conversation with commentator and broadcaster Tom Abbott, we talk about the art of being a great broadcaster, as well as the women's game, some career highlights and his plans ahead for the rest of 2025!
A huge thanks to Tom Abbott, as well as Denham for looking after us back in March, & providing far too many calories for a set of middle aged men trying to keep their waistline in check! The course is really in sensational shape and the work by the club and Clyde Johnson has breathed new life into this wonderful London club.
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Sam and Tom sit down with commentator and broadcaster Tom Abbott. After a stint in college in America, Tom took up broadcasting with Golf Channel and the rest is history. We talk through golf in Surrey, the move to America and the art of broadcasting, along with who the goats of the commentary box are.
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Bruce & Tom sit down with movement expert and performance consultant Mark Bull at the stunning Cumberwell Park. From junior golf memories in Somerset to biomechanics labs and Ryder Cup insight, Mark takes us on a journey through his holistic philosophy on coaching, movement, and human performance.
We explore why technique isn’t everything, how beliefs shape behaviour, and why the best swing thoughts might be no thoughts at all. There’s chat about caffeine, chaos theory, kinematic sequences, and even the art of drawing leaves with his daughter. Plus, reflections on Luke Donald, Johnny Wilkinson, and why comfort is the killer of progress.
This is more than a golf podcast — it’s a masterclass in how we move, learn, and evolve.
Highlights include:
- Why “getting worse before getting better” might be a myth
- The problem with predigested learning and “coach insurance”
- What the feet can tell us about the eyes (yes, really)
- How to remove rather than add swing thoughts
- Mark’s 4-player Lisbon case study on movement causes
- “The only thing you truly own is the way you choose to see something”
Grab a coffee (but maybe not three flat whites), settle in, and prepare to see golf – and learning – through a completely new lens.
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Tom, Bruce and Sam unpack the emotional highs and lows of yesterday’s Masters, diving into Rory McIlroy’s performance and the ever-present Tiger Woods comparisons. They explore the crowd’s polarised support for Rory and Bryson, dissect key moments from the final round, and assess Rory’s pursuit of the career Grand Slam—plus Sam lets loose on Nick Faldo.
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To celebrate the Masters, here is a short excerpt from episode 124 with Peter Dawson. Peter talks through his first hand view of watching the famous chip in from Tiger Woods on 16 at Augusta National.
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Bruce, Sam & Tom get together to talk through the pre-tournament coverage of the Masters. They discuss current story lines and the takes that seem to be far too worn in the build up to the tournament.
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Final call for those yet to complete the Tip Jar - our online survey which can be found here.
Huge thanks to Nick Owen - Hon. Sec for The Halford Hewitt - for giving us his time for this special interview on 'the greatest of all truly amateur tournaments' as Nick Tremayne once said. Next week 64 independent schools will once again field their teams of 10 down at Royal Cinque Ports for this gruelling foursomes matchplay knockout event, with the hope of being immortalised on the boards of Deal.
Nick does a wonderful job in this episode in sharing the history and unique character of the event, as well as some highlights from over 40 years of attending the week.
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Link to complete 'The Tip Jar' - our survey can be found here.
In this episode, Sam speaks to the founder and CEO of Cabot - Ben Cowan Dewar - about his early experiences with the game of golf and how he came to be one of the youngest developers in the business when we began work at Cabot Cape Breton at the age of 25.
Since then, Cabot has become a powerhouse in the world of resort golf, with the portfolio of Cabot properties growing to Europe in Bordeaux, Scotland with Cabot Highlands which will see the addiiton of the new Tom Doak course (Old Petty) this summer, St Lucia with the latest Bill Coore & Ben Crenshaw designed course and Citrus Farms in Florida.
It's a brilliant example of an entrepreneurial mindset and sheer resilience to keep putting one foot infront of the other despite the obstacles that lay ahead.
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Link to our newly announced survey, the 'Tip Jar' can be found here.
We would be really appreciative if you can find ten minutes to fill this out, and will be extremely helpful for us in our quest to create better content for you in the future.
Sutton Coldfield was founded in 1889, with golf played on the royal park of Sutton for years before. From a 9-hole course developed by our favourite roofer - David Brown - to an 18 hole MacKenzie layout, it's wonderful example of sustainable year round golf.
Huge thanks to Pat and Pat for looking after us and having us at the club a couple of weeks ago.
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Podding from Pizza Express in Beaconsfield Service Station, Sam sits down with Peter Handcock (aka @half_par_kid) to recap on the action at Sunnnigdale for the 91st instalment of the Sunningdale Foursomes.
Huge congratulations to the victors in David Corben & Harry Crockett who prevailed after seven gruelling rounds of matchplay golf, narrowly beating the Walton Heath pairing of Oscar Lent & Monty Holcombe.
For more on the Sunningdale Foursomes please head to our blog page where James Burn wrote a wonderful piece on the event.
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Looking back at one of our favourite episodes, Golf History Fails with Simon Haines (181), and the hilarious discussion on how clubs often celebrate their architects or golfing greats with portraits of entirely different people—proof that once a mistake makes it online, it can quickly become ‘fact.’
For a brilliant feed of historic course imagery, make sure you follow Simon on X: @Hainesy76.
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Sam and Tom catch up in the office to talk about the history of The Players Championship. First played in 1974 during Dean Beman’s first year as the PGA Tour’s second commissioner at Atlanta Country Club, it’s a fascinating story of how his vision for a flagship event for the tour became a reality, including the unveiling of the Stadium Course and refinements that would make it become what it is today.
Be sure to check out our YouTube film from TPC Sawgrass, airing at 7 PM on Tuesday, 11th March. A link to the channel can be found here.
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Part 2 of Bruce's chat with swing guru - Scott Cowx - taking a closer look at his philosophy on the swing and how it applies to the club player.
For more on Scott, head to his website here or his social media.
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Bruce catches up with renowned swing coach - Scott Cowx - to dig into his philosophy on the swing, coaching, the evolution of the swing and how he works with players around the world. Not only that, but he has also been helping troubled souls like Bruce for several years now...
For more on Scott, head to his website here or his social media.
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Sam is joined by Mike Nuzzo - Course Architect, beer savant and aerospace engineer in a previous life - to talk about all things Cabot Citrus Farms.
Mike was responsible for the Squeeze & the Wedge at the new cabot development, a 10 hole half par course ands the short illuminated par 3 course. Some of the most fun you can pack into 100 acres!
We also talk about the history of World Woods, and the work on The Roost which Mike was responsible for.
Mike's social can be found here
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From the mini-tours to the PGA Tour and FedEx Cup Playoffs, Gary Christian's journey is one of perseverance, grit, and determination.
Growing up near Croydon, England, Gary pursued his dream through the American college system before embarking on the grueling mini-tour circuit across North America. After years of coming agonisingly close to securing a spot on the Korn Ferry Tour, he adopted a fresh approach—focusing on mental toughness and incorporating tools like visualisation. This shift in mindset ultimately helped him achieve his breakthrough, making history as the oldest rookie to earn a PGA Tour card.
Gary's insightful book, Beat The Course, Not Yourself, is available for purchase by the link here.
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Sam and Tom sit down with Padraig Harrington. Three time major champion, winner of the Claret Jug in 2007 & 2008, the first successful defence of The Open Championship by a European since James Braid over 100 years ago, as well as the USPGA in 2008.
Padraig was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2024, and his career arc, and ability to compete at the highest level of the game has endured for roughly 30 years is simply extraordinary.
You can connect with Padraig with his channels below:
Website - https://padraigharrington.com/
Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@PadraigHarringtonOfficial
Marque - https://www.themarque.com/profile/padraig-harrington#:~:text=Padraig%20Harrington%20is%20an%20inspirational,and%20the%202008%20PGA%20Championship.
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Founded in 1787, Glasgow is among the oldest clubs in the world, and - uniquely - is the custodian of two courses 35 miles apart; Killermont in the city centre is its most recent site where the members play much of their golf, as well as the club's own links course on the west coast of Scotland, Glasgow Gailes.
Sam is joined by one of the most revered historians of the game and winner of the Murdoch Medal - Nevin McGhee to talk about the last 237 years of history of Glasgow Golf Club - and his book 'Anent the Golf'.
Copies of the beautiful club history book 'Anent the Golf' can be ordered directly from Glasgow by emailing secretary@glasgowgolfclub.com
For more on Glasgow Golf Club please head to their website or social media.
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Sam, Tom and Ryan continue to outstay their welcome on the terrace at Winter Park as they wrap up their adventures from America.
In part II, we cover some of Florida's private scene after the arctic blast left snow in South Carolina, so we headed to warmer climbs in West Palm Beach to visit Bear Lakes and Pine Tree, as well as our time at TPC Sawgrass and Winter Park. This episode contains a full hit of more contemporary architecture, from Nicklaus designs at Bear lakes, Dick Wilson at Pine Tree, Pete Dye at Sawgrass and the renovation by Keith Rhebb and Riley Johns at Winter Park.
Stay tuned for some film content from Sawgrass and Winter Park in the coming weeks! Special thanks to FootJoy, we finished up on well over 150 holes on this trip and the Premiere's never felt like a grind!
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Sam, Tom & Ryan (who our regular listeners will recall from our epic 2-pt Addington Course Diaries podcast last year) run the cook down before their flight home by recanting their travels through Florida.
What started as a simple trip to the PGA show in Orlando snowballed into 10 days of golf…
In this episode we cover:
Streamsong: Black & Blue
Maple Leaf Golf & Country Club
High Grove
The mighty Orlando Convention Centre
Cabot Citrus Farms (Roost & Karoo)
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In part 2, we talk about the Robert Rock Junior Academy, as well his work in coaching some of the game's elite players and how Robert would build his career if he had his time again.
A huge thanks to Robert for his time in recording this one with, as well as Little Aston for allowing us to record it at the club.
To keep up to speed with Rocky, his social media can be found here as well as the Robert Rock Junior Academy here.
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To commemorate Inauguration Day, here is a short excerpt from episode 252 on Golfing Politicians. The episode focused on golfers in UK politics over the years, but this extract highlights US presidents known for enjoying trips to the course during their term.
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In this episode, Sam & Tom sit down at Little Aston Golf Club on the outskirts of Birmingham with Robert Rock.
A guest who needs no introduction, Robert is a a player who has not only enjoyed a career with exceptional longevity, turning professional in 2004 right through to retirement in 2022 and yet still qualifying in 2024 for the US Open at Pinehurst, he is also regarded as having one of the best swings in the game. In part one we unpack how he learnt the game, his outlook on the swing and some of the highlights from his playing days.
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A matchplay marathon marks the start of the golfing year for the Oxford & Cambridge Golfing Society. One of the most historic amateur knockout tournaments around, The President's Putter has been played for since 1920 at Rye Golf Club, in East Sussex. For more on Rye, please head to our film here.
Previous winners of this event include Ernest Holderness, Bernard Darwin, Roger Wethered, Ted Dexter, Leonard Crawley, Gerald Micklem, Cyril Tolley, Donald Steel... and of course, our very own Bruce Fitzpatrick, who won it in 2020 on his first-ever attempt. We sit down to discuss the history of the event, why Rye is such a brilliant venue for matchplay golf, and give Bruce a good grilling on what it's like during the week!
For those wanting to follow live scoring throughout the action this week or follow Bruce's progress, please head to the link here and keep hitting the refresh button!
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Sam, Tom & Bruce get together to round out 2024 and look ahead to the new year. As well as talking about some of our favourite parts of the year we look ahead to plans for 2025, events, trips and much more.
We also bring you an exciting piece of news from Bruce...
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In this third and final instalment of podcasts about the life of James Braid, we finish up at Walton Heath talking about his life as the club's professional, a position he held for nearly 50 years.
Braid took up the role in 1904 when the club was only just starting off, and continued in post until his death in 1950. We couldn't think of anyone better than Philip Truett to help us bring this season to a close; A lifelong member of Walton Heath and one of the most passionate historians in the game, Philip has spent countless hours in not just researching Braid's involvement at the club but also in helping to preserve his legacy which can be seen in the James Braid showroom, only a short chip from where we recorded this podcast. .
For further reading on James Braid:
“Advanced Golf” - James Braid
“The Divine Fury of James Braid” - George Payne
“James Braid” - Bernard Darwin
“The Long Golden Afternoon” - Stephen Proctor
“The Great English Golf Boom” - Michael Morrison
“James Braid and his 400 Golf Courses” - John Moreton & Ian Cumming
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In Pt II of our series exploring the life of James Braid, we look at his contributions as a Golf Course Architect.
With over 500 courses shaped in some way by Braid, his legacy on the British Golfing landscape is undeniable, and while the likes of Simpson, McKenzie or Colt are often lauded above Braid, his approach to building thought provoking designs which were strategic in nature is something worthy of more celebration.
Huge thanks go to Simon Barrington, an independent researcher of historical architecture, for his hard work in helping us bring this episode to life, and we look forward to releasing part two about the courses which James Braid designed or reimagined in episode two later this week.
For any further consultation around the proivenance of Braid designs around the UK, Simon can be contact on jamesbraidresearch@gmail.com or via his X profile: @CambridgeGrey
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Pt I of our exciting new series, exploring the life of James Braid.
James Braid was part of the great triumvirate which also included Harry Vardon & JH Taylor. In his career he would go on to win 5 Open Championships. Growing up in Earlsferry, before emigrating south of the border, Simon Barrington brings to life his playing career in vivid detail.
Huge thanks go to Simon Barrington, an independent researcher of historical architecture, for his hard work in helping us bring this episode to life, and we look forward to releasing part two about the courses which James Braid designed or reimagined in episode two later this week.
For any further consultation around the proivenance of Braid designs around the UK, Simon can be contact on jamesbraidresearch@gmail.com or via his X profile: @CambridgeGrey
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This week, Bruce and his better half—‘Cookie Jar Lady Captain’—Grace, found some time to catch up with Lottie Woad to talk about her truly stellar year in the game, with her win at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur (ANWA), ascension to the top of the Women’s Amateur Golf Rankings, and, of course, being part of the GB&I side's victory in The Curtis Cup at Sunningdale.
Lottie’s career has been one of the great stories of 2024, and it was great to have her on the pod to talk us through it all!
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Sam & Tom chat through the courses they have visited this year, and look at their composite Eclectic 18 scorecards in a straight up matchplay format. Who has made the best selection, you'll have to listen to the end to find out!
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Sam & Tom sit down in the members' bar at Royal Lytham & St Anne's Golf Club to meet with Dr Steven Reid, lifelong member at Lytham and author of Bobby's Open, charting the tale of how Bobby Jones came to win his first Claret Jug. He would go on to defend it successfully in 1927, as well as winning at Royal Liverpool in 1930 on his way to completing the 'impregnable quadrilateral'.
Steven's book - foreworded by Jack Nicklaus - is a captivating read and brings to life in viivd detail the struggles Jones went through, not only with his health but his temper and his putting as he clawed his way out of the 'lean years' into 7 (or perhaps 8) 'fat years', where he was unstoppable.
A link to get a copy of Steven's book can be found here, and we hope you enjoy the pod!
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After a chance encounter at The Curtis Cup, Tom sits down with Nigel to discuss his career as one of the most decorated amateurs in British golf.
Nigel isn't just one of the most successful Duncan Putter winners in the history of Southerndown, he’s also:
- Represented GB&I in 4 Walker Cups (01, 03, 05 & 07)
- Holed the winning putt at Ganton in 2003
- Captained GB&I in the Walker Cup in 2011, 2013, and was reappointed captain at Lytham in 2015
- Represented Wales in seven European Team Amateur Championships
- Played for GB&I in 3 St Andrews Trophies and captained 3 more
Nigel is also the GB&I Team Manager for in the Olympics and currently works for England Golf.
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Sam & Cal catch up on a Friday morning for some little insights into the recently concluded DP World Tour Q School, which - among other things - includes the first ever Armenian DP World Tour player.... (or so Cal believes)!
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Sam & Tom get together with Chris Haspell & Gordon Sutherland on the eve of the hearing that is taking place this week.
The ongoing planning and permissions for this exciting Bill Coore design has been the subject of a lot of coverage over the last 7 years, and the passionate locals who have taken on the mantle - ‘Communities for Coul’ - have led it to this point.
It’s a fascinating insight into the sustainability considerations that go hand in hand with any new development, as well as what this development would mean for the local residents of Sutherland.
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Live from the committee room at West Byfleet where 'the Dame' learnt to play much of her golf in her teenage years, we sit down to talk about Laura's career in the game.
A few highlights from a career that spans over 40 years of playing golf at the highest level:
- 87 professional wins worldwide (including 20 on the LPGA & 4 majors)
- 7x order of merits in a period that spans 3 separate decades
- Turning pro in 1985, she won ‘rookie of the year', won The British Open in 1986, and the US Women’s Open - her maiden major - in 1987
- In 1988 she became the first woman to win on all three major tours in the same calendar year.
- Even more remarkably, in 1994 she became the first golfer (male or female) to win on FIVE DIFFERENT professional tours around the world in the same calendar year (Japan, Australia, the Asian Tour, the LPGA and the LET)
- Laura is the all-time point scorer in the Solheim Cup, and played for the European side since the events inception in 1990, right through until 2011
- Awarded an MBE in 1988, and CBE in 2000 prior to being made a Dame in 2014.
- Laura was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2015.
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In this special two-part podcast, Simon unpacks his Eclectic 18 from holes that no longer exist. Please see our show notes on our blog here to view some of these holes, beautifully compiled by Simon.
While the link to Halloween might be tenuous, we hope that doesn't deter you from enjoying what is an exceptional podcast. In the first part, we go through Simon's front nine.
10 - Sunningdale (New) - Par 3 - 160 yards
11 - Hangar Hill - Par 4 - 430 yards
12 - Chadwick Manor - Par 4 - 365 yards
13 - Sunningdale (Old) - Par 4 - 270 yards
14 - Royal Birkdale - Par 3 - 202 yards
15 - Lido - Par 4 - 404 yards
16 - Augusta National - Par 3 - 145 yards
17 - Swinley Forest - Par 3 - 180 yards
18 - Wentworth - Par 4- 300 yards
Par 32
2,456 yards
IMAGERY OF HOLES
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In this special two-part podcast, Simon unpacks his Eclectic 18 from holes that no longer exist. Please see our show notes on our blog here to view some of these holes, beautifully compiled by Simon.
While the link to Halloween might be tenuous, we hope that doesn't deter you from enjoying what is an exceptional podcast. In the first part, we go through Simon's front nine.
1 - Prestwick - Par 5 - 578 yards
2 - Headingley - Par 4 - 407 yards
3 - Royal St George's - Par 4 - 267 yards
4 - Royal Cinque Ports - Par 3 - 145 yards
5 - Copt Heath - Par 3 - 118 yards
6 - Hunstanton - Par 4 - 350 yards
7 - Royal Liverpool - Par 3 - 200 yards
8 - The Addington (New) - Par 4 - 350 yards
9 - Augusta National - Par 4- 430 yards
Par 34
2,845 yards
IMAGERY OF HOLES
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In Part 2 of this cracking podcast with Bil Elliott - lifetime sports journalist and editor at Large for Golf Monthly, we talk about the emergence of the European Ryder Cup team, Seve, Tiger and some of the s that surround the industry of golf writing.
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Sam sits down for this epic two-part podcast with stalwart golf journalist and Editor at large for Golf Monthly about his career.
In part 1, Bill talks about how he came to become involved in journalism, as well as becoming a sports correspondent and ultimately golf. We talk about life on the road, and how he came to become friends with a number of stars on the European tour in a career that spans well over 50 years.
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A few announcements on the website and merch front, as well as a recap of our afternoon at Sunningdale Heath. We also get into Knighton Golf Club.
Based over on the Welsh border in Powys and dating back to 1906, the club has only 70 members and runs a straightforward honesty box for its visitors. Square greens and a motto, "Far & Sure," might be where the similarities with Chicago Golf Club start and end, but this little community-run club deserves for anyone to stop by and see it for themselves.
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Founded in 1901, St Anne's Old Links - or 'Old Links' as it was known in the early days and still is by the locals, is a George Lowe / Sandy Herd links gem on the Fylde Coast, a stones throw from Royal Lytham & St Anne's.
The course used to be occupied by the club that would become 'Royal Lytham' and has a fascinating history of its own!
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Sam and Tom are live from The Fairmont Hotel in St Andrews, catching up on a busy few weeks on the road, including some of the country’s lesser-known amateur foursomes events, the Presidents Cup, and the upcoming Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
Don’t miss the special segment at the end, where Tom shares what’s required to achieve 10 seconds of hang-time!
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Long time friend of the pod and multiple previous guest Darragh Garrahy chats with Missy Crisps about her phenomenal golfing record and his career in the USGA.
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A short excerpt from Course Diaries episode 119 with Dr. Brian Fleming, archivist at Royal County Down, discussing the evolution of the links as we head into Irish Open week.
It promises to be a great spectacle as we watch some of the world’s best do battle beneath the Mountains of Mourne.
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Sam and Tom debrief on a big few days spent up on the land of Yorkshire. Three days of golf at Lindrick, Ganton & Moortown, as well as a bit of a download from the much talked about 'Denham Bowl'...
Special mention this week to Royal County Down who will be playing host to the Irish Open and what is a very rare chance to see the spectacular links on TV.
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An exceptional few days at The Curtis Cup, capped off with a nail-biting final day of singles action. Sam, Tom & Bruce found some shade to recap a truly memorable event!
Huge congratulations to Catriona and the team on their victory at Sunningdale in the 43rd edition of this prestigious event.
Tune in for course insights, player reviews, and a special one-off segment: "Overheard at The Curtis Cup.
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Sam sits down with Joe while the roof is quite literally caving in on the paradise peninsula of The Wirral to talk about an exciting new project with Sam Cooper& Will Eagar.
Exclusively available at Urban Golf in London - the home of indoor golf since 2004 - it will offer unimaginable risk& reward, played on courses that are set in some breathtaking landscapes!
Huge credit to Joe, Will & Sam for their vision on this one!
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Bruce sits down with two friends of the pod, Grace and James, to recap a brilliant week in St Andrews for the AIG Women’s Open. They discuss the atmosphere at the Home of Golf, key storylines from the week, their encounters with several players, and how the drama of the final round unfolded…
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Tom and Bruce sit down and discuss the upcoming AIG Women’s Open to be played at St Andrews, looking at the course setup, conditions and general atmosphere about town.
Tom also recounts his recent time on the road and a new favourite book of his about Ben Hogan and Golf’s Most Enduring Controversy - the 1942 Hale America Open.
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Sam sits down during the English Amateur Championship at Seaton Carew for this Course Diaries episode.
Alex and the rest of the team at the club are on a journey of taking this historic 22-hole links through phases of constant improvement and in 2024 the club is celebrating its 150th anniversary!
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In Part II of this Course Diaries two-part behemoth, we talk to Ryan about the restoration work underway at The Addington under the stewardship of Clayton DeVries & Pont.
Ryan's passion and enthusiasm, alongside the canvas he has at The Addington, make this the most interesting restoration project in the UK, and quite possibly the world.
For more, head to @theaddingtongc or their website www.addingtongolf.com
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Live from an undisclosed beer garden in South West London, after an 18-hour day, we finally sat down to record this podcast. A Course Diaries podcast with Ryan was always going to be a long one, so this is a two-parter.
We'll be releasing Part II early next week.
In this episode, we talk about why The Addington is unique, how the club came into the ownership of Ron Noades and before him Moira Fabes, and much more of the history at The Addington, including the golden years when it was seen as 'the Sunningdale before Sunningdale.'
For more, head to @theaddingtongc or their website www.addingtongolf.com
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Sam, Tom & Bruce gather to discuss Royal Troon, the setup, the performances and more. From Schauffele, to Rory as well as the slightly eclectic leaderboard and whether that’s a good or bad thing. We also talk about our wonderful event on Friday at Blackwell in partnership with the good folks at FootJoy who went all out (and Sam manages to shoehorn his own golf into yet another podcast)!
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Sam & Tom are joined by producer Luke to have a little game of Open stash The Price is Right
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Sam & Tom Discuss the course ahead of the Open here at Royal Troon this week.
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Sam & Tom discuss the Scottish Open from on site at Renaissance Golf Club. This will be the first of daily micro pods over the next 6 days of The Open at Royal Troon.
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We sat down with friend of the jar - Kenny Reid - to talk about his second book, 'Touch of Class'. The book charts the story of the 1984 Open Championship and in the process, capture the essence of Seve Ballesteros and why he captured the hearts of so many.
To get hold of a copy of his newly released book, click here.
Available from all good bookshops!
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With the recent conclusion of the General Election in Britain and a lively debate between Biden & Trump where the nation watched two men well past the age of 70 arguing over who was the better golfer, we decided to look at golfing politicians over time.
In stark contrast to the US, where almost all US Presidents play the game, the UK has a much thinner spread. We talk about A.J. Balfour, Lloyd George, Macmillan, Whitelaw, and Churchill, as well as others like Laddie Lucas, Longhurst, and Tolley.
We even look at who would be in our political 4-ball and where we would play!
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Sam, Tom, Peter Hancock and Ross Flannigan get together to talk through their various days at Final Qualifying across the UK. Sam was at Burnham & Berrow, Tom was at West Lancashire, Peter was at Deal while Ross was at Dundonald. Great day had by all four and we discuss the stories emerging from the day.
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Our 250th episode just so happens to be a cracker! The seocnd part of our Eclectic 18 with No Laying Up's Tron Carter. He went all out for this one, and not only that he had to pick his Eclectic 18 only from courses featured on Tourist Sauce.
Season 9 of Tourist Sauce has recently concluded which saw the team head back to Australia.
His Scorecard:
1. Sheep Ranch
2. Lofoten Links
3. Old Macdonald
4. Bandon Trails
5. Brora
6. Royal Dornoch
7. Pacific Dunes
8. Cruden Bay
9. Lahinch (Old)
out: par 35
Halfway house: Nairn
10. Royal Melbourne (East)
11. Royal Adelaide
12. Old Course
13. Pinehurst No.2
14. Pasatiempo
15. Ballybunion
16. North Berwick (West)
17. Royal Melbourne (West)
18. Visby
in: par 37
Par 72
Yardage 6,522
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Tom sits down with Tron Carter from No Laying Up to discuss his eclectic 18. Following the conclusion of season 9 of Tourist Sauce, Tron puts to better his eclectic 18 with the condition the courses he picks can only be from courses he’s played on his travels with tourist sauce.
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Bruce, Sam & Tom discuss the US Open and the performances of Bryson DeChambeau and Rory McIlroy. They analyze Bryson's win and his growth as a player and person. They also delve into Rory's collapse and the role of Harry Diamond. They debate whether the expectations on Rory are too high and discuss the importance of mental strength in golf. They also touch on the course at Pinehurst and the challenges it presented.
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Sam & Tom dig into the history of Pinehurst and the events that have shaped this resort from its origins as a 'health retreat for those of modest means' to a bucket list destination with 10 courses, and where this week The US Open will take place.
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Winner of the RBC Canadian Open chats with Sam on a high from his victory last Sunday, now back in Oban.
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Sam and Tom recap their magical day spent south of Paris at the enchanting Fontainebleau.
The club is situated on a sprawling hunting estate which is home to one of the biggest palaces in all of France, and pre-dates Versailles by over 500 years. Originally founded in 1909 and laid out by Julian Chantepie, Tom Simpson reworked the course in 1920 and is responsible for much of what remains. Only a few modifications to the routing took place in the early '60s by Fred Hawtree, and the club have recently partnered with Clayton DeVries and Pont to further help develop the course and bring back some more of the Simpson magic.
It's a fascinating club, a sensational course, and has a clubhouse that could quite possibly be one of the best in golf!
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Following on from the podcast, Sophie surprised us with her eclectic 18, which we thought we’d throw out as a bonus pod. I hope you enjoy
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Podding live form Stockport Golf Club, Sam sits down with Sophie Walker to talk her about her career in the game of golf, broadcasting and her reflections on the game mre broadly.
Had a lot of fun hanging out with Sophie, who really does just adore the game!
Tune in Friday for a special bonus Eclectic 18 Episode.
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Tom & Sam sit down in the office to chat through the upcoming PGA Championship in Valhalla. Tom talks about the 'ick' he gets from Michael Block, and we discuss whether or not there's a better 'fourth major' to be had.
Today we'll also be releasing our film from Borth & Ynyslas, and the FootJoy 'Todd Snyder' collab shoes will also be going on sale. It's almost too much excitement for a Tuesday!
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Sam meets with Richard Fisher - club archivist and author of the St David’s history book - to discuss the history of the club, the area and its members.
As a professional historian, it should come as no surprise that Richard is a cracking guest and talks brilliantly about the subject!
Don’t forget to head to YouTube to see the latest films from our travels in Wales’s.
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Bruce, Sam & Tom discuss the major news of the weekend Sam following the Lytham trophy on the final day - coupled with some big news coming out of Blackwell!
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Bruce, Sam & Tom discuss the major news of the weekend Sam following the Lytham trophy on the final day - coupled with some big news coming out of Blackwell!
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Sam & Tom discuss the second half of their recent trip to Wales. The trip covers Welshpool, Royal St. David, Borth & Ynyslas, Aberdovey, Tenby and Pennard in a whirlwind 4 days! This is part 2, so if you haven't listened to part 1 from Tuesday, go back and check it out before diving into part 2!
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Sam & Tom discuss the first half of their recent trip to Wales. The trip covers Welshpool, Royal St. David, Borth & Ynyslas, Aberdovey, Tenby and Pennard in a whirlwind 4 days! This is part 1, so stay tuned for part 2 dropping on Friday.
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Sam sits down with Jack Sallis from @halcyongolftravel to hear about his golfing journey from elite amateur competition tk tour operating and more!
For more on Halcyon: https://halcyongolftravel.com/
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Tom, Sam and Bruce sit down for a not-so-short recap of this season's first Major. They discuss Scheffler's dominance, Aberg's impressive debut, and why Tiger continues to captivate us, as well as some of their favourite faux pas from the week.
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In part 2 Bruce and Tom talk through notable amateur performances, the par 3 contest, strange rulings and the honorary tee shots at Augusta National. If you have not already checked out part 1, please head across and check out that before diving into part 2.
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In this episode, Bruce and Tom go through some of the strange traditions and stories that have emerged from Augusta National. In part 1 we talk about the founding of the club and the fabled green jacket, along with the founding of the champions dinner. Part 2 to follow with strange rulings at Augusta, the par 3 contest, notable amateur performances and the honorary tee shot!
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A look back at Sid Matthew talking about the genesis of the Masters from Part one of our special series on the life of Bobby Jones, winner of the Grand Slam in 1930 and arguably one of the most influential people in the world of golf, if not sport more generally. Golf historian and Jones fanatic Sid Matthew from Tallahassee, FL explains all.
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Bruce, Sam, and Tom were accompanied by Clyde Johnson on the unique occasion they had the chance to play the Old Course backwards. Playing the Old Course is invariably a memorable experience, yet the opportunity to traverse it in reverse is truly unparalleled.
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Part II of our podcast from Moortown card room with golf psychologist to some of the worlds best players, Duncan McCarthy.
Duncan has an interesting story in the game, which involved p[laying Euro Pro golf, and more recently working with the likes of Mel Reid, Marcus Armitage, Erik van Rooyen and AIG Women's Open Champion Ashleigh Buhai.
You can follow Duncan on social media here
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Golf psychologist to some of the worlds best players, Duncan McCarthy is a great guy to get the chance to talk to. We had a blast with him up in Moortown the other week, and decided to break the episode into two parts. We'll be releasing pt II on Friday this week.
Duncan has an interesting story in the game, which involved p[laying Euro Pro golf, and more recently working with the likes of Mel Reid, Marcus Armitage, Erik van Rooyen and AIG Women's Open Champion Ashleigh Buhai.
You can follow Duncan on social media here
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Richard Pennel joined us to talk about his rediscovery of the love for the game - extracted from episode 136
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Sam, Tom & Bruce get together to talk through the exceptional weekend at TPC Sawgrass for The Players Championship and what felt like a defining moment for Scottie Scheffler making history as the first person to successfully defend the title.
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Sam & Tom are joined by Gil Hanse to talk through his design work at Ohoopee Match Club and Les Bordes New Course. Gil talks about his fantastic relationship with Jim Wagner and their design philosophy.
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Sam & Bruce are joined by Staff Writer for ESPN Paolo Uggetti to help bring ot life the story of Anthony Kim and his return to golf last weekend in Jeddah. Kim shot two 76's and a 74 as part of his much anticipated return to professional golf after a decade away which is shrouded in mystery and folklore.
Go and give Paolo a follow on @paolouggetti on Twitter... sorry 'X'
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Tom & Sam are joined by Ryan Noades, the managing director of the Addington to talk through their recent trip the USA - part 2. We cover all things from Ohoopee to Tree Farm, travel to America and stories that follow us around.
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In this second part of our course diaries from Old Barnwell we catch up with the lead designers on the project, Brian Schneider and Blake Conant.
These two disciples of Tom Doak share their experiences on acquiring the right piece of land in Aike, South Caroline, routing the course, construction, shaping and what inspired them to push this design to the extreme. Old Barnwell pushes the envelope of golf course design with extreme strategy, bold shaping and enormous contours which serve only to match the profile of the land the course sits in.
Its a fascinating conversation and we hope you enjoy!
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Sam sits down with founder and owner of Old Barnwell in Aiken, Nick Schreiber. Nick shares his personal story which lead him to building a golf course in South Carolina with the help of Brian Schneider & Blake Conant which has opened recently to enormous praise. Whilst the course is spectacular, in this episode we talk about the mission behind Old Barnwell in having a positive influence on the golf comunity.
This two-part Course Diaries will see us resume the conversation with Brian & Blake on Tuesday to hear more about the course!
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Tom & Sam are joined by Ryan Noades, the managing director of the Addington to talk through their recent trip the USA. We cover all things from Peach Tree to Old Barnwell, travel to America and stories that follow us around.
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David chats through his time at Cypress Point
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1st up from our travels in America is a course diaries episode with the man behind The Tree Farm - Zac Blair.
How Zac finds time to develop a course and club with Kye Goalby & Tom Doak around a busy schedule playing on thePGA Tour is a mystery, but what he and the gang have built on the outskirts of Aiken, South Carolina is incredible.
Great episode on the construction process, what he has learnt throughout the process and of course.. the secret to playing ‘the Thai spinner’.
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Sam & Tom podding live from Dublin airport after 4 days in the Emerald Isle. A visit to Kirkistown Castle, Co. Down, Portmarnock & Corballis.
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Sam & Tom catch up after yet another week on holiday for Tom. We cover all the main pieces of news from the world of golf including the remarkable win by Nick Dunlap in the American Express, as well as the ongoing fit out of the new Cookie Jar offices.
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Sam, Tom & Bruce catch up briefly to talk through the latest happenings. Sam & Tom - severely jet lagged and operating on 30% after their whirlwind trip of Georgia & South Carolina, and Bruce back to the grind with work and coming off the back of the presidents putter.
We run through announcements, brand partnership changes with Nike / Tiger and of course what all this means for the DP World Tour.
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Tom recently sat down with Kristian Baker, co-owner of Sunningdale Heath golf club. Sunningdale Heath is making great waves in short form golf. A par 68 measuring 3,700 yards, Sunningdale Heath really tests your iron game.
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Final episode of 2023 brings an exciting announcement. We are thrilled that FootJoy are officially partnering with us! An iconic brand, incredible products and a team that just really love golf!
We all get together to talk about the highlights from the year. From the Netherlands series, to the series of get togethers and events throughout the year, the Walker Cup, The Open and AIG Women's and much much more.
A bit of a 'back-slap' heavy episode with some appraisals at the end, but the biggest thanks go to our listeners and supporters who have encouraged us and helped us grow throughout 2023!
We wish you all a very happy new year and we can't wait to bring you some even better stuff in 2024!
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Golf course construction guru Mik Wells joins us this week to talk about his career in golf course construction, how that work has evolved in recent years as well as the influence he draws from the great golden age architects of yesteryear.
Mik is such a fun person, we stayed wiht him up at the lodges in Cabot Highlands earlier this year and when we learnt he was over at Hinkley Golf Club doing some work to their bunkers during the off-season we couldn't resist going over for a bit of dinner and podcast!
The work of Mik and the shapers are sometimes the most underrrated, the ability tio spoil any great concept or design, or equally bring to life something fairly mundane into some extraordinary. His latest project is building the new course at Cabot Highlands with architect Tom Doak and Clye Johnson, quite the task!
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Sam, Tom & Bruce get together to recap the days major announcement from the USGA and the R&A related to the 'ODS' changes affecting golf ball performance. The latest rules will be implemented in 2028 (for elite players / tournament play only) giving manufacturers a healthy R&D window to perfect the ball which will now be tested at 125mph speeds, rather than the current 120mph level, with the same distance tolerance of 317 yards in place.
In 2030 this will be implemented across all levels of the game and represents the biggest shift in equipment rules since the CoR changes which outlawed a number of drivers in 2005.
The announcement follows the news in March that the USGA and the R&A were looking at a model local rule for specific tournaments where they could limit the distance the ball travels, and following a lot of pushback from various parties, bifurcating the rules of golf was knocked back leading to this.
We talk about what this will mean for players of every ability, the proportionality of the distance losses people will experience and the social media hullabaloo which has driven people into a frenzy.
For more on the history of the equipment rule changes head over to our blog for a piece written by Sam.
We highly doubt this will be the end of the debate.
In November & December we have teamed up with Spornia.uk, the no.1 golf net as rated by MyGolfSpy and Golf Digest. For 10% the purchase of any golf net, as well as a free swing consultation & the chance to win a Garmin R10 launch monitor, simply head to spornia.ukand add code 'cookiejar' at checkout!
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Sam, Tom & Bruce are held up in the warmth of the Woburn clubhouse as they talk about exhibition golf (following on from the latest and somewhat disastrous 'Netflix Cup', as well as shows like 'The Match') and talk about whether exhibition golf can ever be pulled off successfully.
So we tuned into an episode of Shell's Wonderful World of Golf series, watched for ourselves and came back with some thoughts. It's a great episode this one which touches on equipment changes (announcement due from the R&A / USGA imminently), as well as course set up, green speeds, styles of play and much more.
In November & December we have teamed up with Spornia.uk, the no.1 golf net as rated by MyGolfSpy and Golf Digest. For 10% the purchase of any golf net, as well as a free swing consultation & the chance to win a Garmin R10 launch monitor, simply head to spornia.ukand add code 'cookiejar' at checkout!
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Sam sits down with owner of National club Golfer - Tom Irwin - to talk about the history of Alwoodley Golf Club.
The first design by Dr Alister Mackenzie who was part of a group of members that founded the club, how it came into being is one of the great stories in golf club history.
A link to our Story of a Golf Club film can be found here
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A fresh course diaries takes Sam up to Huddersfield where he gets to visit Crosland Heath. A MacKenzie course which he's been keen to see for some time, with the promise of heather, dramatic par 3's and some golden age. The club was founded in 1914 making this an early course for the good Dr whose work would span the globe and become the sistine chapels of golf course design. We talk about sustainability with the course, the work of MacKenzie, tje routing, the fog, Last of the Summer Wine and much much more.
Head over to our blog for more about Crosland Heath here
For the Mackenzie chronology please click the link here
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A good friend of the jar, the youngest person to ever qualify for The Open, sky sports presenter, radio commentator, and coach - Tom sat down with Zane Scotland at the Zane Scotland Academy in Leatherhead to go through his eclectic 18:
1 - Woodcote Park
2 - Prince’s (Shore)
3 - Carnoustie
4 - The Addington
5 - Sunningdale (New)
6 - Walton Heath Old
7 - Crans Sur Sierre
8 - Oaks Park
9 - Wisley (Church)
10 - The Belfry (Brabazon)
11 - Golf de el Salam
12 - Wentworth
13 - Queenwood
14 - The Old Course
15 - Cobtree Manor
16 - Majalis
17 - Dubai Creek
18 - Downfield
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Course Manager at Wallasey Golf Club - John McLoughlin - joins us for a chat about his career, what has led him to working back on The Wirral and his philosophy on greenkeeping.
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Head of Sustainable Agronomy Services at The R&A, Alistair is one of the country's leading experts on turf. The vital ingredient for all golf courses, turf comes in so many different shapes and sizes. The work Alistair does not only across championship courses for The R&A, but clubs up and down the land to look at making our courses more sustainable, is fascinating.
For more on the R&A's sustainable agronomy services, head to the link here.
In November & December we have teamed up with Spornia.uk, the no.1 golf net as rated by MyGolfSpy and Golf Digest. For 10% the purchase of any golf net, as well as a free swing consultation & the chance to win a Garmin R10 launch monitor, simply head to spornia.uk and add code 'cookiejar' at checkout!
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Code: pod10 for 10% off our latest range of merchandise when you spend £50 or more.
A fairly uneventful morning celebrating his 38th birthday sees Tom sit down with Sam to talk about the new alternate logo which has been designed with Lee Wybranski, as well as the latest news from across the pond as the TGL looks ahead to the new simulator backed golf league which kicks off on the 9th Jan next year.
For more on Lee Wybranski and his work head to the link below
https://leewybranski.com/
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Sam & Bruce are joined by Peter Dawson CBE to talk about the life and career of Sir Michael Bonallack OBE.
Arguably Britains best ever amateur golfer and one of the most respected administrators in the game of golf, Sir Michael passed away on the 26th September 2023.
Past secretary for the R&A, he was succeeded by Peter who just so happens to know him from years before where they played county golf together in Essex.
Sir Michael’s amateur record is simply incredible;
- 5x Amateur Championships (he won 3 consecutively between 1968 & 1970)
- 5x English Amateurs
- 4 Brabazon, 2 Lytham & 6 Berkshire Trophies
- 7 Eisenhower and 9 Walker Cups
- 2 Silver Medal for leading amateur in the Open Championship (68 & 71)
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From our time up in St Andrews for the Walker Cup, Sam & Bruce sit down with David Bonsall to talk about his work in the game, from university golf, to working on the R&A rules committee and bringing in a modernised version of the rules back in 2019.
in addition to an impressive legal and finance career, David has dedicated a number of years to helping the game of golf in administrative capacity and was also the referee responsible for the 17 minute long episode on the range at Royal Birkdale back in 2017, when Jordan Spieth went on to win the Claret Jug.
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On a recent visit to Northern Ireland, Sam, Tom & Charlie dropped by Portstewart. Often known as something as a 'hidden gem', the club now sits firmly in the itinerary for the travelling golfer only 10 minutes from Royal Portrush.
Regarded as having the possibly the most dramatic opening nine in golf, Portstewart is a club with a lot of history, 3 courses and has played host to The Irish Open in 2017 when a cleanly shaven Jon Rahm won. For more on Portstewart head over to our website for a recent blog article.
Shoutout to our official unofficial sponsor of todays episode: EasyJet for their antics at the departure gate!
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As part of the lead up to our collaboration event at West Byfleet on the 19th October with SounderGolf, we sit down with James Day to run through the iconic clubs from the last 40 years.
eBay and used club retailers can be over-facing at times with the vast array of equipment from yesteryear, so this episode is a great peak behind the curtain on what to keep an eye out for online and why building a set of pre-loved clubs is not just rewarding, but often more beneficial for your game than you might think.
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With the recent fun of The Ryder Cup at Marco Simone, it got us thinking about this episode with one of our favourite all time guests.
One of our anecdotes from an early episode with Ronan Rafferty, sharing just how nervous he was when he hit the opening tee shot at The Belfry in 1989.
Ronan was a brilliant guest of the podcast and someone we need to get on again! Stories for days, a decorated European Tour player and someone who has spent a lifetime around the game of golf and still loves it as much as he did when he was a kid.
Head over to episode 065 for more on Ronan. It's linked herehttps://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-cookie-jar-golf-podcast/id1493651992?i=1000507794540
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Sam, Tom & Bruce convene for a rambling recap of the action at the weekend at Marco Simone in Rome. We'll save the hat puns this time, but it was a special weekend of golf which we enjoyed from the comfort of our own armchairs from start to finish!
An emphatic win for Team Europe with 16.5 points versus 11.5. A comeback from Team USA which fell just short on 16 with Rickie Fowler finding the water, followed only moments later by a spectator who seemed high on life (and Peroni).
Our roving reporter Charlie was on the ground for CJG and will no doubt be sharing his thoughts on the blog section of our website so keep your eyes (and ears) peeled for that!
Congratulations once again to Luke Donald and Team Europe, as well as Patrick Cantlay who now shares his wedding anniversary with our 205th podcast episode!
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Bruce, Sam & Tom discuss the history of the Ryder Cup through three lenses. Sam discusses the importance of the Captains in previous Ryder Cups, Bruce discusses the importance of Captain's picks and Tom discusses the importance of the World #1 during the Ryder Cup. Niche prevails.
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We sit down with friend GCA guru and member of The Worcestershire - David Thomas - to hear more about the history of the oldest club in our own county.
Golf goes all the way back in Malvern to the 1870’s and a young H.S. Colt lived here from the age of 2, meaning this is where it all began for the young man who would go on to become one of the most influential course architect in history.
Mackenzie would later become the course architect when the club moved site in the 1920’s, and Colt despite being a member of the club for several decades was unsuccessful in being appointed by the club. Fascinating chapter of history that little is spoken about.
For overseas listeners, much has been made of the correct pronounciation. Worcestershire is pronounced;
‘Wu-stuh-shuh’
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Tom, Bruce & Sam talking about a wide range of topics in here. Travels through France, takeaways from the BMW and looking ahead to the Ryder Cup, Hagestads recent win in the US Mid-Am and more...
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Sam & Bruce catch up with Jack Laws, Director of Golf at Les Bordes in France.
Les Bordes has recently made some big waves with the introduction of the The New course designed by Gil Hanse, as well as the exceptional short course, ‘The Wild Piglet’, complimenting the Old Course by Robert von Hagge in the late 20th century.
We were very lucky to get to visit the club a few months back, experience it all first hand and hear about what goes in to creating a magical luxe golf experience!
For more on Les Bordes head to @lesbordesgc
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A snapshot from Podcast 99 with Susan Cayleff discussing the remarkable acievements of Babe Didrikson Zaharias.
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A momentous occasion, recorded from historic St Andrews, with none-other than the OG Callum Wing returning to the podcast.
Sam, Tom, Bruce and Cal chat through the past two days of the Walker Cup action and explain why this might be the greatest event in elite golf...
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Bruce, Sam & Tom chat through all things topical in the game of golf, from the Tour Championship to the Walker Cup.
Show Notes:
On Tuesday 29th of August our latest film is being released. It is called Preparing for an Open Championship - The story of the 151st at Royal Liverpool and it is our most ambitious film to date.
On Saturday 1st September we our having our BrewDog get together - Massive thank you to the guys at BrewDog, and on Monday 4th of September we are having our Gleneagles get together. If you would like any more information on any of the events get in touch through any channel you can find.
Previous pods of interest:
142 - St. Andrews: Barclay Brown discusses his opening 68
155 - Matt McClean: US Mid-Am Champion 2022
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Special anouncements:
Sounder x Cookie Jar Retro Day @ West Byfleet 19th October:
https://cookiejargolf.com/cookie-jar-retro-day-west-byfleet/
Richard's new book now on sale: 'Grass Routes' available here: https://pitchmarks.bigcartel.com/product/grass-routes-by-richard-pennell
Richard returns to the podcast to guide us through this wonderful Course Diaries episode about West Byfleet. A course which had not been on our radars until he started work there in recent years, and spent hours waxing lyrical about its architectural merits and fascinating history that it shares with New Zealand golf club.
In this episode we talk about the inception of Bleakdown Golf Club as it was known for its first years when Locke-King handed the parcel of estate land over to the locals for the use of golf, Muir Ferguson who ran this little slither of Surrey with an iron fist, Cuthbert Butchart, Braid and of course JF Abercromby.
It's a wonderful course, and hopefully this episode will show you why you shouldn't overlook West Byfleet the ext time you're visiting somewhere new in Surrey.
For more on Richard, his substack page is a constant stream of great musings on the game and can be accessed free of charge on the link here
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Recorded from the beautiful ladies lounge at Walton Heath, we sat down with member and weekend scorer Nicola Taylor to recap the event, the experience and the fun from a members perspective,
Spending a few days at the club through the AIG Women’s British Open was a real treat. as well as being one of the great storied golf clubs in Great Britain, Walton Heath is a progressive place which has a strong history with elite golf, in particular the women’s game.
A very successful week, where the course provided a great test, made for a wonderful spectacle and with the verdant green fairway and bright purple heather looked exquisite on broadcast.
Nicola is a wonderful ambassador for the club and her passion and enthusiasm for women’s golf and Walton Heath is utterly infectious.
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Never turn a change down to sit down with Clayts to talk about the game. On Open Sunday we caught up with him to talk about the projects he is working on with CDP, the equipment rollback, and golf in England.
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Gil Hanse talks through his experiences working with Mark Parsinen building Castle Stuart Golf Links.
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Tom & Sam sit down to roundup the tournament at Royal Liverpool Golf Club for the 150th Open.
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Tom sits down with professional golfer Bill Longmuir to discuss his career in golf and leading the 1979 Open Championship at Royal Lytham & St. Annes.
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GIVEAWAY IN THIS PODCAST - details enclosed within.
Tom & Sam are joined by returning guest James Day to chat through the events of day 2.
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Sam & Tom sit down to discuss The Open from the grounds at Hoylake. Having wandered around all morning and soaked up the play and the atmosphere, we dive into course setup, conditions, how the players were playing holes and good vantage points on the course.
Tomorrow the 151st Open Championship will begin and Matthew Jordan - Hoylake-hero - will be hitting the opening tee shot. We'll be joining them at 6:30am!
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Tom sits down with course manager James Bledge on the Tuesday of The Open to discuss how the course is shaping up and the fantastic work the greens team are doing. As you will hear, things haven't exactly gone to plan with the weather, but the team have worked incredibly hard to present the course in immaculate condition for the 151st Open Championship at Royal Liverpool Golf Club.
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Tom sat down with Stephen Proctor to discuss the great players of Royal Liverpool. John Ball Jr and Harold Hilton were true legends of the club and two of only three amateurs to win the Open Championship.
"And now sir, you may catch your boat"
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Tom sits down with good friend of the podcast Joe McDonnell to chat through the evolution of Hoylake, through its ground breaking origins, Harry Colt changes and the new changes. Many mins ago, we stated the Royal Liverpool are progressive traditionalists, let’s dive deeper and find out why.
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Mike talks through the transformation of golf course architecture from the earliest professionals to the renaissance in golf course architecture.
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Sam & Tom sat down with David Shaw-Stewart, the owner of Traigh golf club to chat through all things 9-holer.
It’s safe to say, this little place stole our hearts. A lovely, quirky 9 hole layout that you can whip round in no time, endlessly loop and never get bored.
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Huge episode this one. We knew it would be a biggie, colin is a great orator and has a fascinating insight on the game of golf. As head coach for Yale Bulldogs for over 15 years, he has seen a generational change in the way the game is played by the young amateurs that progress into the professional ranks and had a front row seat to the action. Colin has also been a pioneer with recent developments like Ohoopee Match Club, Castle Stuart, and restorations like Yale. Colin has a huge fondness for British club culture which comes through strongly in this episode and whilst the audio qauality is a little sketchy in periods, its a fascinating discussion!
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Sky Sports presenter Iona Stephen talks through her astonishing ascension through the age of golf and the injury that prevented her from progressing further.
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Without doubt the most turbulent 24 hours in golf news in recent memory, we couldn't walk passed the opportunity for a quick take on the news, who the winners and losers will be and what might happen next.
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Sam & Bruce speak to John Simpson who runs the on course foundation helping injured veterans in the US & UK get into golf as well as working for Mark McCormack at IMG from
The 1970’s through to 1997, and looking after some of the best players of his era; Nick Faldo, Bernhard Langer, Vijay Singh.
For more on the On Course Foundation head to their website
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A look back at the first chat we had with David Cannon talking about photography at the majors and getting the best photographs.
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We sat down with decorated golf journalist and writer Lorne Rubenstein for our second Player Profile episode, chronicaling the career of the legendary, enogmnqatic character: Moe Norman. Murray Irwin ‘’Moe’’ Norman was a professional golfer from Kitchner, Ontario. Self-taught, with a unique swing, demeanour and personality, as well as a god given skill for flushing the golf ball.
He won nearly everything in his home courtly, was admired by his peers for the control he had over the ball and was once desired by Tiger Woods as being one of only two people to ever ’truly own their swing’. The other was Ben hogan.
Lorne knew Moe well, having met at the age of 13 at a local range and for many decades spent time together as their lives and their careers in the game evolved. It’s a great episode and we hope you enjoy it!
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Tom & Sam sat down with golf historian Simon Haines to discuss (amongst other things) golf course architects, architecture, the history of the game and the historical faux pas that have been dropped over the last few decades.
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Another first for us, we’ll be releasing 'The Cookie Crumbs' to accompany our main podcasts. Perfect for those short journeys or when you only have 5 or 10 minutes spare…
Bitesize podcasts from our back catalogue, the pearls of wisdom which risk being lost to time. In our first cookie crumbs, we go back to episode 20 - still one of our favourite episodes of all time - with decorated golf psychologist Dr Gio Valiante on the importance of mastery Vs ego.
For the full episode head to Episode 20 and listen to the whole thing.
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Miniature recap of our trip to Sandwich & North foreland to play royal St George’s & the par 3 course at North Foreland. More of a rambling episode where we cover everything from gout, to service stations, par 3 layouts and more…
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After our first event of 2023 - the Masters Friday at Blackwell - the boys get together at Runnymede, where the Magna Carta was signed back in 1215. We recap on the highlights of the mixer and chat about the last few days in Augusta, GA.
Regular podcast scheduling will begin again after a short hiatus, even podcasters take annual leave. We hope you enjoy.
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Equipment aficionado James Day from Sounder Golf & Urban Golf joins Sam to recap on todays announcement by the R&A and USGA about the potential restrictions on ball technology from 2026. This will see a change to testing tolerances and what this could mean, as well as possible motivations and what we can expect to see from golf's 'stakeholders' in the next 5 months as the game goes through a period of consultation.
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A new sub-series of podcasts for 2023, we take a look at the iconic ball striker George Knudson, famed for his debonair looks on the course and zen-like control when playing he was a fascinating character. Described by Jack Nicklaus as having ‘a million dollar swing and a ten cent putter’, George Knudson is Canadian Golfer who simply adored his craft. Lorne Rubenstein who co-authored the book ‘The Natural Golf Swing’ with George brilliantly captured his career and persona in this podcast.
We’ll be doing more player profiles throughout the year taking names from history who have fascinating stories to share, or do not get the recognition they perhaps deserve.
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Sam & Tom speak to Henry and Walker. A four way chat with two fellow podcasters: The Tie began in 2021 by two collegiate players Henry & Walker who shared a deep love for the game. Not just the competitive elements of the Tour and high ranking Amateur events, but also Course Architecture and the cultural side of the game. This is a beast of an episode. Before Christmas, Sam was a guest on their show talking about some trips in England on a shoestring budget and we were curious what $1,000 would get you for a trip round the Carolinas! Stand by for some really surprising picks. We also talk about the collegiate golf scene, podcasting and growing a presence in a world awash with golf podcasts.
Be sure to check their podcast out here
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Jim joins the podcast this week to talk about his recent book: When Revelation Comes. The book is a story about his travels through Scotland following the tragic death of his son Jordan. Jim is one of the leading authorities on West Coast golf in Scotland, and the various nine hole / honesty box courses that seem to have been walked into existence over recent centuries.
The book is hugely emotional, uplifting, and interesting, as well as being a great read on golf travel to some of the more remote corners of Scotland. Listeners can get 20% off this book by using code: '20OFF' at backninepress.com so head on over and make sure you get a copy of this for yourself!
Jim also put together an Eclectic 18 for us in anticipation of the pod. His scorecard is below:
1 - Machrie Bay
2 - Corrie
3 - Gullane (no1)
4 - Iona
5 - Durness
6 - Shiskine
7 - Machrihanish
8 - Gairloch
9 - Reay
10 - Wick
11 - Dunaverty
12 - Panmure
13 - Brora
14 - North Berwick
15 - Boat of Garten
16 - Golspie
17 - Prestwick
18 - Isle of Colonsay
par 71 / yardage 5,804
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A rambling chatter between Sam & Tom on their golf, their own goals this year, the recent WM Phoenix Open, the upcoming Full Swing series over on Netflix and more. This one lacks structure, and substance, but apart from that it’s great!
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Short bonus course diaries for you this week! Sam sat down with Christiaan & Lucas from Kennemer. Christiaan is a long standing member and current chairman of greens, and Lucas is the head greenkeeper. It's a good chat following on from our conversation with Cees back at Eindhoven about sustainable greenkeeping, encouraging finer grasses to grow and the transition work that the two have embarked on.
If you haven't checked it out yet, head on over to youTube to see our latest film from our Netherlands Series in partnership with Footjoy, from Kennemer. 27 holes, with a fascinating history!
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During lockdown in 2020, Sam & his wife Harriet embarked on the unthinkable task of playing all links course in Britain. They created a live-in van which would serve as their tour bus, and set off in search of sandy soil on some of the most remote stretches of British coastline. Amazingly, after 3 years he completed his task and with a book on the way and his inspiration now feeding his work as a partner for Clayton DeVries & Pont as an architect, he sat own with us to record an Eclectic 18. this one however is with the courses that fly under the radar. Green fees of no more than £100 and some of the most sensational holes you have probably never heard of. Sit back and enjoy!
His scorecard is below
1 - Brora
2 - Traigh
3 - Wallasey
4 - Kilspindie
5 - Isle of Purbeck
6 - Shiskine
7 - Askernish
8 - Hayling
9 - Durness
10 - Mullion
11 - Prestwick St Nicholas
12 - Southerness
13 - Fraserburgh
14 - Great Yarmouth & Caister
15 - Seascale
16 - Aberdovey
17 - Castletown
18 - Dawlish Warren
par: 72 / yardage: 6,498
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The second instalment of our two part tour podcast from The Netherlands. our time at Kennemer, Norrdwijkse, and Koninklijke Haagsche (just go with Royal Hague - much easier to pronounce)!
Appreciate this is a beast of an episode and only Joe Rogan can really get away with 3 hour podcasts, hence why we broke it into two chunks!
Big thanks to our series sponsor Footjoy for making this trip a reality, our friends in The Netherlands and of course the clubs who supported this and allowed us to bring you all this content!
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First instalment of our two part tour podcast from The Netherlands. We talk about why we went to visit the Dutch courses, the adventures on getting there, the rounds and the courses themselves and a few good stories along the way. We talk about Rye, Eindhovensche Golf & Utrechtse Golfclub De Pan. Pt II will be with you on Thursday morning, so you won't have to wait long!
Appreciate this is a beast of an episode and only Joe Rogan can really get away with 3 hour podcasts!
Big thanks to our series sponsor Footjoy for making this trip a reality, our friends in The Netherlands and of course the clubs who supported this and allowed us to bring you all this content!
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Our first course diaries episode from 2023 comes from the world renown Utrecht De Pan. One of the finest inland courses in continental Europe and the product of Colt's genius, we got to sit down with club archivist and neurologist Ernst van den Doel. As well as the club and course we also talk about the evolution of golf in The Netherlands / Holland, the primitive game 'Colf' which is still played in bars around The Netherlands today, and the game more generally.
Huge thanks of course go to FootJoy as our series sponsor for helping make this possible!
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Kicking off our first piece of content from our Netherlands Tour in October 2022 with Cees Collart, Chairman of Sustainable Golf at the R&A. Cees has spent much of his life around the game, spending time in England & Scotland as well as The Netherlands, now playing much of his golf at Eindhoven. Through some regular matches we have been friends with Cees for some time now, and getting to record a podcast with him about the work he is leading on sustainable agronomy was great fun.
Really interesting stuff in here about turf types, turf management, and the running game, all speaking t the future of sustainable golf which will be in shades of yellows and browns rather than the saturated greens we have been used to seeing in recent decades. Who would have known you could have sustainable turf in the Middle East.
Don't forget our first course film from our Netherlands series starts this evening (17th JAN) over on YouTube at 7pm GMT.
Big thank you to our series sponsor FootJoy for making this possible.
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On a blustery Monday in Liverpool, Tom traveled up to meet and record this podcast with Royal Liverpool links manager, James Bledge. James has had a fascinating journey in golf and the stories behind his choices are fantastic. Our Eclectic 18 podcast rules are simple, 18 holes, the hole numbers must correlate to the scorecard, and you can only pick one course once!
- Gullane #1
- Royal Portrush
- Torey Pines North
- Royal St. George’s
- Princes
- Royal Cinque Ports
- Crans Sur Sierre
- Royal West Norfolk
- Royal County Down
halfway-hut: Deal - Royal Lytham
- Sunningdale Old
- Southerness
- Tralee
- Dumfries & Galloway
- Kingsbarns
- Royal Liverpool
- Ballybunion
- Old Course
clubhouse: St George's Hill
par: 73
yardage: 6,494
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Sam & Tom catch up with DJ Piehowski to get deep into 'hashtag the process' around the NLU film room, hear about his career in golf and how he came to work with the rest of the No Laying Up crew. After a hugely successful series of Tourist Sauce season 8 in Scandanavia we wanted a peak behind the curtain on how DJ brings all this together!
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One of our most popular guests from 2022 just so happened to be in Deal while we were down there over Christmas and we couldn't resist popping a mic in his hands and having a chat! Paul talks about his incredible weight loss (sure to help with those January new years resolutions), why golf clubs have sailing masts as flag poles, and fills us in on the latest goings on at Royal Cinque Ports! As always with Paul, a fascinating, illuminating and wide-ranging discussion!
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On a recent visit to the Kent coast, Tom managed to sit down with architect Martin Ebert from Mackenzie & Ebert.
Mackenzie & Ebert advise many of the most highly ranked existing courses in the world, including eight of the ten Open venues, so sitting down with Martin to get his thoughts into what makes good golf was a real interest to us.
This was a fascinating insight into what type of architecture makes Martin tick and we hope you enjoy.
Scorecard:
1 - Royal Portrush
2 - Royal Aberdeen
3 - Ganton
4 - Royal St. George’s
5 - Royal Worlington
6 - Carnoustie
7 - Rye
8 - Royal Troon
9 - Royal County Down - Annesley Links
10 - Ailsa
11 - Royal Liverpool
12 - Askernish
13 - Royal Lytham
14 - Royal Dornoch
15 - Princes (Dunes 6th)
16 - Royal Cinque Ports
17 - Old Course
18 - Royal Porthcawl
Par 73 - 7,292 yards
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A bit of a rinse repeat from our last years Christmas shenanigans, but then again, if it isn't broken, why fix it? On the 8th December we held our annual Christmas Party at Urban Golf in London, and followed it up with a day down at the bitterly cold Rye to blow off the cobwebs!
It is yet another reminder of the wonderful reminder of the great community of golfers that we have around the country and being able to bring everyone together and share these experiences with is the biggest highlight for us at Cookie Jar! Cannot wait for 2023, and really ramping up on things!
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Continuing our run of speaking to coaches that are trying to help everyone in the game, Bruce & Tom had the opportunity to sit down with Jon Sherman, author of the Four Foundations to talk through his philosophies on practice and improvement.
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‘Creating space to play more freely’, is an economical but potent way to describe this professional turned author and his approach to the game. James Ellis-Caird (aka @rewildingthegolfer) debut book after a career coaching and working as a PGA professional; ‘The Uncorrupted Pleasure of an Old Bladed Putter’ is not just beautifully put together and well illustrated, but nostalgic, thought provoking and helpful in equal measure. His series of golfing fables bring to life so many of the game’s pitfalls and help us take a refreshing look at things through the eyes of his clients….
Make sure you get a copy of this book for Christmas!
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Bruce & Sam speak to Australian Tour Pro and Coach Martin Ayers. Martin has shared some fascinating stories from his junior, collegiate and professional playing career, and how his mindset has changed over the years. Martin has a refreshing take on ‘the swing’ and why the shape / motion is not as important as we all believe. Some great stories in here from his playing days with Grant Waite as well as his time coaching Steve Ellington.
Make sure to follow Martin on Twitter and subscribe to his YouTube channel to learn more about his unique philosophy
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After getting an absolute 'hosing on' at Moortown Golf Club in the morning we took refuge in the Billiard Room to dry off, play some snooker and record a podcast with Clyde Johnson. Clyde works independently in the UK helping to restore the original character of many of the famous courses in the British Isles including Moortown, Alwoodley and Denham, as well as working for Tom Doak's firm 'Renaissance Golf Design' on all sorts of other exciting projects.
In here we talk about his career path, his love for the game, his work at some notable new build projects like Tara Iti, St Patrick's Links and the most recent Te Arai.
Clyde is extremely knowledgable and we could have sat there all afternoon if we didn't have a long drive ahead of us! For more on Clyde head over to http://clydejohnston.com/experience/
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Course Manager at Wallasey Golf Club - John McLoughlin - joins us for a chat about his career, what has led him to working back on The Wirral and his philosophy on greenkeeping. It's a frank and refreshing take on his role with a focus on leadership, marginal gains and brilliant basics! Much of it sounds like something you would normally find in management consulting, except John is applying it to his work on the course!
We had a great day at Wallasey with John, learning more about the history at the club; the creation of the Stableford system by Dr Frank Stableford, Bobby Jones and his time there in 1930, as well the course and the work that they are beginning to embark on with the help of CDP
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On the 162nd anniversary of the first ever Open Championship at Prestwick Golf Club, we chat through the original 12 hole course, that Tom was lucky enough to play. We talk to club Secretary Ken Goodwin and course manager Dave Edmondson about reviving the routing and the efforts that have gone into it.
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Our latest Course Diaries episode takes us across the Irish Sea to Corballis. Golf has been played at Corballis Golf Links for over 100 years, and whilst its previous occupants may have moved onto to larger acreage further inland, its current use a local pay & play facility just 20 minutes from Dublin airport makes it the epitome of fun, affordable and provocative golf design within easy reach of the capital.
Sam is joined by Darragh Garrahy, professor of pace putting and chairman of greens at Portmarnock in Dublin who has been enjoying this local course for many years and who Sam enjoyed playing with back in May 2022!
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Sam & Tom catch up with recent mid-Am champion Matt McClean following his epic win over in Erin Hills a week ago. Matt now becomes one of only 4 Irish players to have won a coveted USGA title, adding his name to Graeme McDowell, Rory Mcilroy and Padraig Harrington. Matt played in an all Irish final with travel buddy, roomie and friend Hugh Foley who has also enjoyed a stellar season on the amateur circuit. The final was interestingly played over two days owing to a rain delay from earlier in the week which involved the finalists heading out for a steak dinner in the evening and no doubt discussing the day ahead.
Matt now looks forward to a big year in 2023 with a spot in the US Open at LACC, no doubt an invitation for the 2023 Masters at Augusta National and selectors will find it tricky to not pick Matt we suspect for the Walker Cup in 2023 at St Andrews.
Sam & Bruce re-live some of the fun from Devon a few weeks ago where they played in the Silver medal (the oldest medal in English Golf) and The Kashmir Cup. 2 parts of a legendary week of golf played at Westward Ho! annually. This is a 2-part podcast with Sam & Bruce talking about the course specifically and trying to figure out why the links split opinion so heavily, as well as our interview with club historian Robert Fowler who wrote the history book for Royal North Devon as part of their 150th anniversary year.
Robbie is great fun, and someone who has been around RND for pretty much all of his life. Amazing to think he actually shook hand with JH Taylor back in the late 1950's!
Royal North Devon is the oldest golf club in England that still occupies the same land it was built on and known affectionately as 'the cradle of English golf'. Many greats have been members here over its 158 year history including the Horace Hutchinson (the earliest golf writer in Britain) and John Henry Taylor. For more on these figures head over to our fairly recent podcast with Stephen Proctor who talks about the characters during the great boom period in English golf as part of his book - The Long Golden Afternoon.
Many thanks to the club for hosting a wonderful week of golf! Special shout out to Mike Harris & Dan Davies, as well as Blair, Hugo & Dale for the company along the way!
On one of the hottest evenings of 2022, Sam went out to visit Church Stretton, playing with local member Cameron and his brother-in-law and ex-England cricketer James Taylor. Todays episode is with Sam & Tom discussing Church Stretton, and some of the truly jaw dropping land that this golf course is situated.
Church Stretton is a simply marvellous golf club, and one of the most memorable courses you can play. A trifecta of opening par 3's, holes of all shapes and sizes and of course a healthy dose of half-par's make this a must visit for the travelling golfer seeking adventure on a shoestring budget!
All three of the squad get together for a brief catch and up and round off the fairly insane developments over recent weeks’ across LIV and the PGA tour. Elevated events, PIP driven pool of players, a barnstormer of a finish in Boston which seemed to pass without much fanfare and more…
We get back into the swing of course diaries this week.
Sam visited Delamere Forest a few weeks back - located just south-west of Manchester - it’s a Fowler/Heathland classic. Delamere is a long way from the Surrey Sandbelt where you would usually expect to find a course of this ilk and it boasts some incredible elevation change, natural green sites and bunkering on a piece of land that feels just about as removed from everyday life as you could hope for!
Next week we’ll be recalling East Lake and getting into the weeds on all things from the professional circuit.
A big podcast milestone deserves a big announcement - we are recruiting for someone to join the team! Please head over to https://cookiejargolf.com/job-advert/ to find out more.
In this episode we look back on 150 podcasts and evolution of the pod. This pod is a bit self-indulgent but we've thrown a few gaffe's for good measure, some awards as well as some highlights and lowlights.
A big thank you from us for supporting us through 150 episodes. Without everyone tuning in and supporting us, it just wouldn't be the same! If you do get chance to leave a quick review for us in Apple Podcasts or on Spotify we would be enormously grateful. It has a huge impact!
Our podcast with Ian is the last from our time up in St Andrews at the Sounder clubhouse at The Scores Hotel. Sam is joined by fans favourite Dan Davies podding live and on stage. Ian's story about how he fell into caddying for Seve is a fascinating one, including some of the key events along the way (including the development of yardage books), Ryder Cup appearances, being on the bag for the Lytham in 1988, and what it was like to work with the great man himself.
It's a great episode filled with plenty of war stories, with a lovely soundtrack of seagulls in the background!
Big thank you to all the guys at Sounder Golf for hosting us up at the 150th Open Championship, and if you want to check them out head over to www.soundergolf.com
Another form the 150th week, we sat down with Lee Wybranski - golf artist & logo designer. We've been bouncing backwards and forwards for a while on when to record a pod, so it was great to get to do this in person at the Sounder Clubhouse, and his 150th commission certainly provides a great backdrop to the pod!
We knew Lee was going to be a good guest, but no idea how good. He is a wonderful orator and brings his concepts and work to life in a vivid way. Lee is famous for his Major Championship watercolour commissions but we also spend half the podcast getting nerdy about golf logo's - another side of his business and something he is deeply passionate about. Its a brilliant discussion and hope you enjoy it!
For more on Lee - head over to his website and bag yourself a print or two... https://www.leewybranski.com/
Whilst up in St Andrews, we hung out with Erik and his team and decided to record a podcast. Founder of Random Golf Club, Erik has enjoyed a relatively late start in the game of golf, but he's certainly made up for lost time! His adventures in golf have taken him to some of the most remote stretches of golfing land, including Israel, Iceland, Africa and beyond!
We wanted to hear about his personal journey in golf and thought we would do an Eclectic 18 to get his take on on the game, what has shaped his outlook on golf, and led him to where he is today as one of the largest voices on the game. Erik amazingly decided to walk in to this without a pre-populated view on holes or scorecard, instead doing it 'on the fly' which certainly adds some spice to the proceedings... and he pretty much pulls it off which was quite impressive!
For more on Erik you can visit his social media on @erikanderslang or @randomgolfclub and make sure you check out their website on https://randomgolfclub.com/en-gb
Scorecard:
1 - Maidstone Club
2 - Lofoten Links
3 - Bandon Trails
4 - Western Gailes
5 - Crystal Downs
6 - Rustic Canyon
7 - Shiskine Golf & Tennis Club
8 - Oakmont
9 - National Golf Links of America
10 - Barnbougle Dunes
11 - The Old Course
12 - Prestwick (original closing hole from 1860 layout)
13 - Augusta National
14 - Dunes Club, Sanibel (FL)
15 - Cypress Point
16 - Pacific Grove
17 - Bethpage (Black)
18 - Pebble Beach
par - 69 / yardage - 5,971
19th hole - Iona
In our recent trip to St. Andrews, we met up with author Michael Morrison. Mike has just released his fourth book The Great English Golf Boom 1864 - 1914. Intriguing conclusions come through the book and a fascinating insight into the birth of the English Golf Club. If you are interested in purchasing this book you can email Mike on mike.morrison57@outlook.com
Sounder owner and coolest cat James Day talks to us live from the Sounder Clubhouse about the 150th Open at St. Andrews and Cam Smith and Rory Shootout.
Live from the stands on the right of the 1st tee, Sam & Tom talk through Rory's epic round on Saturday and how the atmosphere here on Open Championship Sunday.
Geoff swings by Jar HQ at the Scores Hotel aka the Sounder Clubhouse to do a live Q & A about the first two days of The Open
Sam & Tom sat down with Barclay Brown, the young amateur that shot a remarkable 68 on day 1 of The Open Championship at St. Andrews. Barclay talks through his round, the course, his amateur status and his penchant for Love Island.
Bruce, Sam & Tom sit down to discuss the course on the eve of the opening day of the Open Championship. So much to unpack in a short space of time.
Dan Davies pops by St. Andrews Jar HQ aka The Scores Hotel to discuss an article he helped pen about the greatest shot ever played at The Open with a little help from the data gurus over at Clippd. Check out the article and enjoy - https://www.clippd.com/post/the-greatest-open-shot
Tom & Bruce discuss the atmosphere here at St. Andrews on Tuesday of Open week. The whole town is buzzing, and we’re getting caught up in the excitement!
In a series of micro pods we are going to run live from St. Andrews at the 150th Open, we are here on the Monday and bumped into Wallasey Course Manager John Mcloughlin. John and Tom got talking about the condition of the course and there are not many people that would know more about course conditioning than John.
Historian, writer and Herbert Warren-Wind shortlisted author Stephen Proctor joins the podcast this week to talk about the release of his second book - The Long Golden Afternoon. Charting the events around golfs ultimate boom period following the death of Young Tommy Morris right through to the advent of WWI, the book is a fascinating read to really understand one of the most significant (and often much less talked about) periods in history. Starting with John Ball jr of Hoylake becoming the first Englishman and Amateur to win The Open in 1890, right through to the Great Triumverate and the success of many others, it's a cracking book. I firm recommendation from The Jar to add this to your golf library - the link can be found below.
Stephen is a fabulous guest, incredibly knowledgeable and articulates history in such a captivating way!
AMAZON: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Long-Golden-Afternoon-Golfs-1864-1914/dp/1913759040
Another special guest joins the pod for his Eclectic 18... this week it's the turn of Richard Pennell. Someone who has grown up around the game and spent much of his career working at them - often at some of the mopst storied and historuc clubs in Surrey. Richard left his role at Woking last year to give himself more time to writer about the game he loves and his blog 'Stymied' can be found here: https://richardpennell.substack.com/
Richard's writings are wonderfully nostalgic and remind us how much beauty there is to golf and the wonderful variety it offers! His scorecard isn't bad either;
Hole 1: Royal North Devon (Westward Ho!)
Hole 2: Tandridge
Hole 3: Wenvoe Castle
Hole 4: Rye
Hole 5 : Painswick
Hole 6: Royal Cinque Ports
Hole 7: Hankley Common
Hole 8: Hayling
Hole 9: West Byfleet
Hole 10: Woking (the 10th Simpson designed which no longer exists)
Hole 11: Muirfield
Hole 12: Stoneham
Hole 13: The Addington
Hole 14: Cleeve Hill
Hole 15: Huntercoombe
Hole 16: Minchinhampton (Old)
Hole 17: New Zealand
Hole 18: Royal Blackheath
Par - 70 / Yardage - 6,060
Amateur course architect, career golf writer and full time racontuer Dan Davies joined the podcast to talk about the founding of RNGC. England's latest and hotly anticipated new build course. Measuring just 510 yards, this 9 hole short course is shrinking the game! We caught up with Dan to chat about his career and what drove him to spend 11 months building a course in his back garden!
For more on Dan, check out McKellar journals where he has written some fabulous pieces and of course The Sounder journal: https://soundergolf.com/blogs/journal/shrinking-the-game
Sam & Tom dissect day 2 from Centurion from the ground. We talk fan experience, shotgun start, team dynamics and absolutely do not talk politics.
The boys are back together rounding out a hectic month. Too much time on the golf course and not enough time behind the mic’s! We celebrate Bruce’s 27th birthday, and reflect on a magical few days on the Kent coast for the Spring Meeting a few weeks back. More importantly though we look ahead to the 150th Open at St Andrew’s as well as the inaugural event from the LIV golf series this weekend at Centurion. Whatever your views are on the emerging new series, it’s certainly going to be an interesting week!
Course Diaries from Dunbar recorded in the hotel lobby of the Marine at North Berwick! That explains some of the subtle chill out music in the background or the occasional jangling of cutlery!
We had a wonderful morning at a Renaissance with Jason & 2013 Scottish amateur champion Zander Culverwell, and felt compelled to talk about it!
Paul Craven is a man of many talents. A member of The Magic Circle, an industry leader on the subject of heuristics and behavioural science, and also one of the club's passionate archivists at Royal Cinque Ports (aka 'Deal). We sat down with him 42 minutes before the clubhouse closed when we were down in Kent last week to talk to him about the evolution of the links, the connections it has with The Open and the Halford Hewitt, as well as some of the quirky and amusing tales from yesteryear. It's a cracking episode and we hope you enjoy it as much as we did recording it!.
For more on Paul Craven, please head over to his website at www.paulcraven.com or follow him on twitter @cravenpartners
Tom sat down with Patrick Forbes from the Preferred Lie and Tim Lobb from Lobb and Partners to talk through Patrick's UK trip and his collaboration with Tim in the UK. Tim currently advises courses such as Woking, Worplesdon, West Hill & St. Georges Hill amount many others. He has a great knowledge on heathland golf courses and Patrick and the Preferred Lie team are helping Tim to create some content around the work that Tim is doing. Fascinating insight two great companies.
We've been long time fans of Andy and his work over at The Fried Egg, and when it came to potential guests to do an Eclectic 18 with, we knew Andy would deliver! Tom & Sam catch up with Andy to hear about his course - all public, and all holes under 400 yards!
Eclectic 18 - Andy Johnson
1 - Eagle Springs
2 - Old Macdonald
3 - Pinehurst (no. 2)
4 - The Loop (Black)
5 - Greywalls
6 - Pacific Dunes
7 - Pebble Beach
8 - Bandon Trails
9 - Wild Horse
10 - Lawsonia (The Links)
11 - Belvedere
12 - Rustic Canyon
13 - Pacific Grove
14 - Aiken
15 - Diamond Springs
16 - Pasatiempo
17 - George Wright
18 - Sweetens Cove
Par - 66 / Yardage - 5,018
Tom & Bruce get the opportunity to sit down with Golf Channel presenter Cara Banks. Cara talks through her career in golf, starting with the early days at Golfing World and moving to America to host Morning Drive on the Golf Channel. Recording from Augusta, Cara chats through the ANWA and the upcoming Masters tournament.
Co-founder of Sounder Golf, James Day joins Sam for a podcast about his Eclectic 18. The conversation is wide ranging; from turning pro at a young age, to becoming disenfranchised with the game in his early 20's, right through to his adventures in setting up Sounder Golf, and reviving the brand that was styled so brilliantly by Seve in the late 70's and early 80's. We cover a range of topics (not least of all his travel in the game and his outstanding eclectic 18). Listeners to this podcast receive 15% off at checkout with the code: COOKIEJAR so head over to Soundergolf.com and take a look if you're not familiar! We're big fans of what James, Cathal and the team are doing and hopefully this will inspire more people to take a closer look. A look at his eclectic 18:
Hole 1 - Merion (east)
Hole 2 - Rye
Hole 3 - Muirfield
Hole 4 - Spyglass Hill
Hole 5 - Royal North Devon
Hole 6 - Sunningdale (New)
Hole 7 - LA Country Club
Hole 8 - Pebble Beach
Hole 9 - Swinley Forest
Hole 10 - Pasatiempo
Hole 11 - Sunningdale (Old)
Hole 12 - Riviera
Hole 13 - MPCC (Shore)
Hole 14 - Friars Head
Hole 15 - North Berwick (West)
Hole 16 - Machrihanish Dunes
Hole 17 - The Old Course
Hole 18 - Secession
Par - 71 / Yardage = 6,456
Sam, Tom & Bruce are joined by Harry to talk about their time at The Golf House Club at Elie. The excitement from their afternoon should tell you all you need to know about this beaut of a links in Fife. It’s a wide ranging discussion from an afternoon in the sun, complete with information about the course, the iconic periscope and of course the grudge match. We also talk about our latest fit with TaylorMade and the new Stealth equipment which was in the bag!
In this episode of the pod, Bruce and Sam sit down and chat to Peter Dawson, CBE about his career in golf. Peter served as Secretary and later Chief-Executive of the R&A from 1999-2015, a time of great change in the professional game as Tiger Woods became the iconic figure in our sport.
We talk about Peter's own start in golf, the growth of The Open Championship, the wider responsibilities of the R&A, the amateur game, as well as Peter's role as President of the IGF, which helped to secure golf's return to the Olympics at Rio in 2016.
Sam & Tom de-brief from their time at Appleby Golf Club. A course that Sam has long wanted to visit, and for Tom an opportunity that came at the last minute. We really enjoyed visiting Appleby - a standout example of sustainable golf in Britain, with views to die for, incredibly pure putting surfaces and some excellent holes. Next time you find yourself in the vicinity, make sure to visit!
Tom and Bruce are delighted to welcome Ed Jenks to the pod as they unpack the drama that’s unfolded on the PGA Tour over the past couple of weeks. Since the Saudi International at Royal Greens, the rumour mill has been overdrive, with reports of more and more players committed to this breakaway league. But this week things reached fever pitch, in the wake of Phil’s scathing remarks about the PGA Tour, and a steady stream of top players pouring cold water on the idea that they might be swayed by Saudi cash. We also recap on the scenes at the WM Phoenix Open, and dissect Joaquim Niemman’s masterclass at Riviera. Fasten your seatbelts!
We're proud to host our first guest episode from our Eclectic 18 series, with three-timer on the pod Richie Ramsay. Some great stories going back through the day making up his favourite 18 holes!
The boys catch up and dissect the happenings across the recent PGA & DP World Tour events, the Ryder Cup captaincy selection and the latest news about the Saudi Golf League events as part of the Asian Tour.
Our first instalment from 'Course Diaries' in 2022 comes from Royal County Down where Sam & Tom catch up with Dr Brian Fleming, one of the clubs' archivists and a long standing member who knows the evolution of the club and the course itself better than most. It's a fascinating story including the history behind many of the traditions that are still kept today.
Kick starting 2022 (albeit slightly later than hoped for) with a bang! A new series of podcasts we will be bringing you focussed on the concept of an eclectic 18. Whether it be the selection of holes on their architectural merit, places of significance or (like Sam) the holes you just seem to play well on - it certainly drives some debate! We kick start with our own eclectic 18's and urge our listeners to have a go for themselves. Scorecard with rules is available on our website on www.cookiejargolf.com/118-the-eclectic-18
The boys catch up to recap the high (and low) points of 2021! The best podcasts, memorable trips and what we learnt on the way! 2021 has been a blockbuster year for us and a huge thank you to anyone who has listened to our pod / watched our films and offered their own encouragement along the way! We can’t wait to make 2022 the best year yet
Coinciding neatly with the recent release of the Sky Documentary about his win at The Belfry, we recorded an interview with Richard Bland. Without doubt one of the great stories of 2021! In May he picked up his maiden European Tour victory on the 478th time of asking, making him the oldest first time winner on tour which kick-started a truly brilliant seasons performance! It's a great episode as we talk about a load of topics in the game, as well as sleeping on a 36 hole lead in the US Open and his year in general.
Sam & Tom, sleep deprived and still riding the crest of a wave from the last few days in London record a short podcast to recap the highlights from the Christmas Party, their visit to Rye as well as Tom's upcoming photoshoot for the new merchandise (some of which is now on the store, some of which is coming very soon). They also talk about a new society they have both joined (CRAFT), and most importantly take time to say a small thanks to our supporters!
The closest we’ll get to a clickbait headline but it’s deserved! Tom & Sam are joined by Simon Holt & Sam Cooper to announce something really interesting about a website golfers all over the world will know and love! Simon Holt has played all courses in the Global Top 100 list and Sam Cooper for the last 18 months has been circumnavigating England, Scotland & Wales playing every links course in his way… listen in for the announcement!
Bruce, Sam & Tom go for a short sharp 30 minutes on some of the latest headlines over the last week. They’re all moving the needle - shirt rips, Tiger’s comeback, The hotly anticipated ‘Match’ between Bryson and Brooks as well as Phil’s commentary! We also talk about the latest news on the SGL ahead of the Saudi International in Feb next year.
Following the recent release of the documentary to mark ten years since his tragic death, Bruce & Sam speak to friend of the Jar - David Cannon - to talk about the Seve. It was great to catch up with David, a close friend and someone who captured some of the most iconic images of Seve throughout his career, about his life and legacy.
Announcements of the new DP World Tour, the SGL, PGL, a PGA rebuttal, removal of green reading books and more. It’s been a few weeks since we all caught up so we wanted to discuss the latest news. Usually aiming for a ‘short-sharp 25 mins’…. This podcast got away from us.
A guest we’ve been excited to have on for ages, Geoff needs little introduction. We wanted to hear about Geoff’s route in to golf, how his passion has evolved and where his views may stem from, as well as talking about the crossroads the game is currently at with pace of play, sustainability, the professional ranks and of course - the distance debate! It’s a long pod - but it’s a cracker
Tom & Bruce get together with Faldo Series Director Matt Faldo and Keith Wood; Director of Instruction for the Faldo Series. Matt & Keith talk through the formation of the Faldo series, along with some of its success stories over the last 25 years, and the future of the series moving forward.
Tom & Sam catch up with Zac to hear about his latest trip to the south of England playing some of the famous Surrey heathlands as well as the links of the South Coast. It was really interesting to hear about The Tree Farm and the work of Tom Doak & Kye Goalby as the project approaches the build phase. It was a heavyweight itinerary (including Sunningdale, The Addington, Woking, Worplesdon, St George’s Hill, Walton Heath, as well as Rye, Royal St George’s & Deal on the south coast) - made even tougher without a passport!
Tom & Sam wax lyrical about their trip to Northern Ireland. Starting with Royal County Down, a visit to Royal Portrush, and two cracking 9 hole course - Bushfoot & The Bann course at Castlerock… it was a great trip and a great insight into what Ireland in general has to offer. From ‘underlining’ to Hall & Oates on the course - it’s all in here
In this episode of Course Diaries, Tom & Sam visit Sunningdale Heath Golf Club in Surrey. It will take you only five minutes of this podcast to realise how taken we were with this place. Fantastic feel to a fantastic golf club.
The whole squad get together for to catch up on the action at Whistling Straits. A warts and all discussion on whether statistics tell the whole story or whether the Europeans were just unlucky in Wisconsin.
Tom and Bruce reflect on the exciting final day of the BMW Championship at Wentworth, which brought an end to the automatic qualifying for Team Europe. With Skipper Harrington having announced his three wildcard picks soon after the BMW’s conclusion, the time is nigh for some rampant speculation and conjecture about how the finalised European and American teams will stack up against one another at Whistling Straits...
Tom & Sam catch up after a heavy week of televised golf…. An outstanding Solheim Cup, a slightly less inspiring Tour Championship, as well as some excitement before the final Ryder Cup picks are made!
The whole squad get together for to catch up on the latest Tour action. Annihilation of Caves Valley, a blistering putting performance from Patrick Cantlay and the incessant chanting of Brooksy. We also look ahead to the Ryder Cup, and some of difficult decisions facing Capt’s Stricker & Harrington….
Bruce & Tom had the opportunity to sit down with World renowned architect Martin Ebert from MacKenzie & Ebert. We talk through his route into golf course architecture, history of the great architects and courses that Martin has been working on. Having learnt his craft with Donald Steel, Martin and his partner Tom Mackenzie have worked with 198 courses since 2005 when they founded Mackenzie & Ebert. 17 of which feature in the World Top 100 lists, and a staggering 7 of the current 10 Open rota venues - it certainly provides the perfect backdrop for a fascinating discussion!
Episode 100 is a course diaries feature from Bruce & Sam's time down at Burnham & Berrow, playing foursomes golf in the Brent Knoll Bowl. Incredible fun out on the links in arguably the purest form of the game... We talk about the course, the influence of the early greats like JH Taylor & Colt, recent alterations by Mackenzie & Ebert and we discuss the format itself.
Babe Zaharias is a figure in the game with a career that is quite simply incredible. Her story is one of enormous achievement, not just in the game of golf but as a multi-discipline athlete. She overcame sexism and prejudice, she challenged stereotypes, she influenced the women's game in a way like no one else, and set records which still stand today. Susan Cayleff is a pulitzer prize nominee who has dedicated endless time to researching and documenting Babe's career, and this podcast gives you some colour and context around the rich tapestry of her life. Sadly, babe died at the tender age of 45, but it was a life rich in achievements. if you don't know about the story of Babe Zaharias, please listen to this podcast and find out more. She is someone we believe every golfer should know of.
Two time Herbert Warren-Wind award winner and St. Andrews resident Roger McStravick joins the podcast to talk about the evolution of what we all now refer to as 'The Home of Golf'. In conjunction with our film, Roger takes us through the watershed moments that have shaped the history of the links and the Auld Grey Toon, from the origins of golf right up to the 21st Century.
A round up from our time at Worcester Golf & Country Club. Originally laid out by Alister MacKenzie in the 1920’s, it’s exactly the sort of Golden Age wonder you can easily skip past when you focus on the trophy links courses around the UK. Was really cool getting off the beaten path and playing somewhere different…
Despite being stood up by Bruce, Tom & Sam press on with podding, and thrash out the latest on golf in the Olympics. The format, the field, the stories…. even the team uniforms! Great to see golf feature, but is there room to shift it up a bit from 72 hole stroke play next time around?
A new concept from us, we thought we would start releasing some shorter podcasts centred around some of the courses we play on our travels. Here is the first one, from our recent visit to the quirky, short, and absurdly difficult Painswick in Gloucestershire. This place is F-U-N!
Jordan is another one of Scotland’s passionate souls that work in the game of golf. Having worked in the industry for years, he is now shaking up the golf tourism market by looking at things through an experiential lens. We got to catch up with him before we teed it up together at Royal Aberdeen. Really interesting talking about golf tourism in Scotland as well as America, and also the role of Social Media and how it affects perceptions
Bruce gives us insight from the ground, Tom offers some love for Louis and Spieth, & Sam brings some conjecture. We couldn’t let the anticipated Open Championship go by without a quick recap pod. A great week, with lots of sub plots, gaffe’s and some incredibly strong golf around Royal St George’s. Hats off to Morikawa for a blistering final day performance and securing his place in the record books!
Nick joins us after his debut Open appearance having qualified up at West Lancs. Credited with quote of the week, and having played his practice round with Bryson & Phil - Nick certainly dominated the column inches over the weekend, and brings a refreshing attitude to the game which is great to hear.
Today the lads get together to review the Castle Course at St. Andrews, chat through the Scottish open and preview the upcoming 149th Open at Royal St. George’s.
Paul Is the head greenkeeper at Royal St George’s and we’ve been excited about talking to him for a while. We cover the setback in 2020
With the cancellation of The Open, as well as what preparation for a major championship looks like through the lens of the greenkeepers. It’s really apparent the level of knowledge and care Paul brings to his job, talking about subjects we were WELL out of our depth in including ecology, rough management and grass regeneration! Hopefully this gets The Open vibes going a bit
We get together to recap the highs and lows of the latest Scotland Tour. Prestwick, North Berwick, Royal Aberdeen, Cruden Bay and Kingsbarns! What a trip, and what an itinerary. All courses in here feature very highly in the world rankings, but yet they are all so different, have their own different character and getting to see them all in such quick succession was a really cool insight!
We got the catch up with Laird Shepherd after his Amateur Championship win at The Nairn. An unprecedented comeback from 7 down, with 14 holes to play in the final, and securing his spot in next months Open Championship at Royal St George's close to home at Rye, as well as the 2022 US Open & Masters. It's certainly one of the greatest comeback stories of all time!
Short & sharp round up of the weekends events at Torrey Pines and Rahm's first Major victory! Podding 'live' from Cruden Bay on our latest Scotland leg in partnership with Where Golf Began! \Make sure you hit the subscribe button, and stay up to date with some awesome podcasts in the coming weeks!
The boys catch up after a hectic week with the mixer, to talk about Nairn and The Amateur championship, the US Open and of course the legacy of Old Tom following his bicentennial on the 16th June
Spicy week on tour. Rahm being driven away after hiking out on 18, ‘Brooksy’ makes an play for golf new ‘5th major’, and we talk about the action at Olympic for the Women’s US Open.
Phil Mickelson’s astonishing win at Kiawah Island occupies much of the airtime this week (as you would expect). We also hear about the travels of Tom & Bruce, get into the Koepka / BDC rift and round up another great week in the game
After an enormous career first for Richard Bland at The Belfry last week, Sam & Bruce went on a field trip to play it in tournament condition. We give our honest take on the course, as well as talking about the much anticipated PGA this weekend at Kiawah Island.
So much up for discussion this week. Rory breaks his win drought, The Walker Cup at Seminole played on lightening fast greens and we recap our latest tour to the Highlands!
Eric joined us a few weeks back to talk about Fliers Club and the golf travel industry. Fliers Club are one classy outfit, through their beautiful golf course imagery on Instagram, their merchandise (shout out to 'Harry the Hare'), events and of course the travel services they provide to golfers seeking a little bit more... Really interesting looking at how the golf travel industry is changing with the new instagram generation, and how the demands of todays woke-millenials are different to before. Enjoy!
We get together to chat over the latest news for the PGA tour with the launch of the Player Impact Program. Interesting move by the PGA to reward the top 10 golfers subject to their fan base, social media engagement and value in the endorsement market with an annual bonus from a $40m pot. We share our thoughts.
We catch up on the latest news from the tours with players breaking some serious win droughts in the last few weeks, as well as a recap from our latest tour to Scotland, visiting Carnoustie, St Andrew’s & Crail
A short pod as we look ahead to the opening day of the Masters, and what should be an epic few days golfing with firm conditions and an incredible field. We also look back at a sensational week for Jordan Spieth, as well as the action from the ANA Inspiration. Lets hope the curse of the jar picks doesn’t continue...
We’re joined by Michael - a golf odds compiler for an online better provider. So much goes in to evaluating the prices for the worlds best, and with The Masters fast approaching we thought it was a great chance to see how players are priced by betting firms, and how emotions get in the way of hard fact when it comes to making bets! Fascinating stuff
Tom, Sam & Bruce catch up on the return to golf, the recap from the weekends events out in Texas for the DELL WGC Matchplay while we venture off on a tangent into some other less relevant topics, including Rory's latest news - partnering with Pete Cowen.
Bruce & Sam catch up with the gang at CDP again, this time to talk to Frank & Ed about the life and work of Harry Colt. In many ways, Harry Colt was the first professional golf course architect and created the profession as we know it today. Debuting with his work at Rye at a young age, he would go on to be the most prolific and arguably most influential figures in golf course design in history with over 250 courses of his own. Frank is one of the worlds leading experts on Golden Age course restoration and offers a fascinating insight into the work of Colt.
Lots of action from the previous week, and we get together to compare notes! Westwood, Justin Thomas, and of course a few Bryson takes in there for good measure!
We couldn't walk past the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill at the weekend just gone and not cover some of the excitement from the event, including Bryson but of course special mention to Lee Westwood, and Jordan Spieth. We also look ahead to the start of the Players at TPC Sawgrass. Bruce, Sam and Tom make 3 picks each - are they letting their hearts rule their heads? Time will tell, but if we don't get ANY through the cut come Friday night then this podcast will lost any of its remaining credibility!
In line with the event this week at Bay Hill, Tom & Bruce speak to world renowned Golf historian David Normoyle about his work with the Palmer family on developing the legacy of Arnie and talking about his career. David is a fascinating person to talk to about the game and he offers some really fresh insights about how golf as a sport can do more to keep these stories alive!
The boys get together for a short sharp 30 minute debrief on the latest from the tour. With loads happening in the game at the moment, we take time to digest how good Morikawa performed at the weekend, as well as some notable returns to form for others. Bruce also looks at Rory's latest performance and what his new role as Chairman of the players committee might mean for his future in the game, as well as sympathising with Brooks' club snapping fiasco.
This week, Bruce and Tom chat to Adam Young, acclaimed instructor and author of the bestselling book ‘The Practice Manual’. Adam offers a fresh take on how we, as golfers, can hope to get improve at this often frustrating sport. In this pod we take a deep dive into the distinction between technique and skill, how to practice more effectively, and we hear about Adam’s own journey towards what he calls ‘golfing enlightenment’. If you’re planning on 2021 being your most productive playing season yet, then this is a good place to start!
Great catching up with Richie while he was in quarantine after his trip to the Middle East. We wanted to know what life in the Bubble is like on The European Tour, where he sees the future of the tour with the PGA taking a seat on the board as well as the latest distance report from the R&A and USGA.
Trouser trailblazer Erik van Rooyen joins us this week to talk about his career, adjusting to a PGA tour season having moved out to Florida 18 months ago, his approach to the mental side of the game. Majors, his injury at the back end of the season and the exciting year ahead! Great catching up with this cool-cat!
With a career throughout golf, Daryl now heads up RocketYard sports! A sports marketing & sponsorship agency that represents some of the best athletes in the game as well as rights holders. Fascinating discussion about the world of endorsements behind the scenes in the game, as well as why 7 out of every 10 sponsorship deals wind up with the company wanting out prematurely!
Recapping the Saudi International, as well as talking about the current European Tour schedule, and the action from the Phoenix Waste Management Open at TPC Scottsdale... Enjoy
We had a blast chatting with Ronan about his career, with all the war stories from his time on the European Tour. In this monster 2-hour podcast we also got to talk about Ronan’s time in the Ryder Cup, narrowly missing out on the Claret Jug to Nick Price, as well as all his adventures growing up around the game which saw him playing top level amateur golf from a very young age! We think all of our podcasts are good - but none more so than this one! Enjoy
Round up from the weekends action at The Farmers & Dubai Desert Classic. Big win for Paul Casey out in Dubai with a masterclass in ball striking, and Patrick Reed picks up another PGA tour win, despite only finishing 63rd in GIR for the week, leaning on a prolific short game and benefitting from some helpful relief in places (couch cough).....
We're really excited about this! Our fondness for this club is well documented, and when we spoke to Nick and Sam, who will be taking over at Cleeve Hill on the 1st April this year, we wanted to record a pod with them to talk about their plans! Congratulations to childhood friends Nick and Sam who, as local boys growing up in the shadow of the hill, will be making a dream, a reality in the next few months! Hear more about what they have in store!
Great to welcome Mike back onto the pod, with Chairman of CDP Design Ed Cartwright. Not only are we bringing some special news only just announced in the last few hours regarding the new development at Seven Mile Beach in Hobart, but we also talk about the dreaded golf club committee and how that shapes the golfing landscape over time - sometimes for worse, sometimes for better....
After a great final day out in Abu Dhabi, we get together to chew through the weekends events, including Tyrell Hatton's exceptional final day performance, some mediocrity from the chasing pack, and a few notably absences from the weekends affairs. Also, with the much discussed HBO Tiger documentary now airing in the UK, we offer up our two penneth. Other trivial nonsense discussed includes Bruce's new haircut, Tom confusing himself with the latest caddy line up across the European Tour, and Sam getting shouted down for getting his facts wrong (again).
Short - sharp podcast this week with Tom & Sam. A quick recap on the goings on in the world in golf, wit some obscure takes and look back on some of the recent PR disasters! From the PGA to player, we talk about some of the quick PR disasters of 2021 in the game, as well as the concept of leaving breadcrumbs to find your way back with the game.....
To coincide with the second part of our Tour film from Scotland on YouTube, we’ve got this Tour memories podcast from our trip to East Lothian, including Renaissance, Gullane, Muirfield, Kilspindie and Musselburgh Old.
We get together to relive some of the highlights from 'the Jar' in 2020, with some exerts from some of the most memorable parts of the pod, our favourite moments and guests, the high's and low's from the professional game this year, and Sam leads the year end appraisals live on air!
To coincide with the launch of our Pt I of first Tour film in YouTube we’ve recorded a two part podcast from our adventures in Scotland! Sandy and acidic diaries is about the finest links golf on the UK, a nod to the fast draining ground that’s absolutely ideal for play all year round!
We’re joined by Gil Hanse to hear about his work at Castle Stuart to coincide with the launch of our latest film from the Scotland series, including his work with the late-great Mark Parsinen, as well as hearing about what it takes to build a modern day masterpiece in today’s world and his work at Ohoopee Match Club, and when you hear the way he talks through the principles he approaches a golf course with, it’s no surprise he is considered a modern day genius of golf course architecture.
In Part 2 we possibly have the greatest story ever told on the Cookie Jar Golf podcast.... but you'll have to wait till the end! We also get to hear about David's visits to Pine Valley, how to attack fresh golf course you've never played as well as golf in The Netherlands. From Ardfin to Bandon, Silloth to Noordwijkse - its all in here! Hope you enjoy!
This is a cracking two part podcast with David Davis (AKA @Top100GolfTraveller). David has played all of the worlds Top 100 rated golf courses in his pursuit of knowledge and adventure, and picked up some stories on his way! In part 1 we talk about why and how he fell into this, as well as how he came to appreciate golf architecture on his first international golf tour!
We catch up with Richard Mansell off the back of his recent promotion to the European Tour! After a turbulent final few weeks on the Challenge Tour, with a rich run of form, followed by a positive Covid-19 test, Richard managed to play in the finals out in Mallorca and secure his European Tour card for next season at the 11th hour! One of only 5 people this season due to the pandemic, and on his debut season on the Challenge Tour, Richard is enjoying a rapid ascendancy into the top tiers of Professional Golf! On top of his own game, we also talk about his outlook on golf, setting new goals and the first hole in one of his career from a meer 375 yards!
This week we're joined by Zane Scotland - former European Tour pro and a coach to many up-and-coming talents in the game. We hear about Zane's rapid early success - which saw him qualify for The Open at the age of just 16 - and talk about his journey into coaching, and how we can make the game that we all love more accessible to people from all walks of life.
Whilst it wasn't the nail-biting final day we've seen in recent years, it was still a great spectacle! We get together to chew through the detail on the first ever Masters in November and talk about the big (and not so big) stories! From arty coverage to anchoring putters, did the course play longer or was it a legitimate par 67? It's all in here!
This year, the wait for The Masters has been excruciating with set backs and lock downs, so who better to celebrate our 50th episode, a prelude to Augusta this week, than with friend of the pod - Chris Trott from TaylorMade. Inside the ropes and behind the scenes, talking about one of the most anticipated tournaments in history... what will the course look like, how do the players prepare for the event, and whats going in and out of the bag for the worlds best as we approach Thursday!
We got to catch up with Sam about van life and the first leg of his journey as he, his wife Harriet and the dogs travel the coast of the UK playing 192 of the best inks courses across the country. Battling against the never ending Covid-19 restrictions, hopping from town to town in search of the next adventure it's great to hear how his plans are always changing. Now over on the East Coast, having covered much of the West Coast of Scotland, namely Kintyre, Ayreshire and up over the North Coast 500 playing some lesser known courses, it's refreshing to hear about the courses that often fly under the radar or the areas that are less well travelled by the everyday golf tourist!
While we were in Scotland, we spent some time with Malcolm Duck, proprietor of the Ducks Inn, in Aberlady. Malcolm is a famous local figure in the golfing world, hosting anyone who’s anyone as they meander their way through East Lothian’s smorgasbord of wonderful courses. Malcolm was closely involved in the inception of Renaissance, in fact Tom Doak designed Renaissance right from Malcolm’s green room in the pub, and interestingly, a famous local sport (Barstool Putting) was born in these very walls, so we thought why not record a pod to tell you all about it!
We’ve been looking forward to this for some time! Lou is a self confessed golf nut and data nerd, and through his work with Scott Fawcett and DECADE he has an immense level of understanding of the stats surrounding the professional and amateur game! This is a great insight into the numbers behind the game of golf, with some shocking stuff around how to better use stats in your own game as well as the fine margins that separate the worlds best from the rest of the professional golfers. We hope you enjoy, and maybe take a few of these principles out onto the course as well!
The full squad are back together for a debrief of this past week's professional tournaments, and to take dead-aim at some loaded topics in our sport: purse disparities between the men's and women's games, the place of hoodies on the golf course, and Matt Fitz's choice words on the distance debate.
We recap a dramatic weekend of golf (and weather!) at the Scottish Open, where Aaron Rai emerged victorious at the Renaissance Club. The gang also dissects Sergio’s new method of putting with his eyes closed, and we hear about their own golfing exploits this past week: Bruce’s pondering of swing mechanics, Tom’s round at Woodhall Spa, and Cal’s bold strategy for winter ball striking…
Lukas rejoins the pod to chat to Bruce & Cal about his first major championship appearance at Winged Foot. After his initial appearance on the pod earlier this year before Covid-19 hit, we get to hear about what he’s been up to in the USA in between the US-Am, US Open and The Masters in November! From digging bunkers and driving bulldozers, to teeing it up with the worlds best!
We spent some time with Jasper Miners and Sam Cooper from Evalu18 who are doing some incredibly exciting work with their website helping to simplify golf course architecture and celebrate the rich history of golf courses up and down the UK, as well as bringing it to homes around the world with some truly stunning artwork. We had a great time chatting away about how courses are ever evolving, and how the current renaissance of GCA is shifting the focus on how we see & enjoy golf in the UK.
To coincide with the launch of our latest ‘Story of a Golf Club’ YouTube film, we are joined by Golf Club Atlas contributor Sean Arble, and course architect Robin Hiseman who both share a special connection with Cleeve Hill. The course is planning to shut in March next year, as the council have deemed golf there as not being financially viable in today’s climate. This course is the epitome of golf in the Auk. Stunning, historic, fun and most of all accessible for golfers of all abilities and budgets! The story of Cleeve Hill is a sad one, but we hope, that Golf on the Hill can be saved for future generations!
The boys are joined by Trottie (who after his first guest appearance couldn’t stay away) to talk through Bryson’s win at Winged Foot in what many see as a watershed moment for the game. Wherever you stand on the distance debate and the strategy Bryson has used this year, it’s certainly got people talking! We are also in middle of club champs season, and Trottie could resist telling us about his recent (nett) win at Goat Hill last week! Enjoy
The full squad reconvene to recap the three prestigious Amateur events that have been played on British soil over the past couple of weeks: the Amateur at Birkdale, the Women’s Amateur at West Lancs, and the Varsity Match at Muirfield. We also hear about Cal’s latest putter acquisition and dissect a couple of controversies emerging in the professional game: the format and purses of the PGA Tour Playoffs and Sophia Popov’s exclusion from the ANA Inspiration. Finally, we look ahead to the US Open at Winged Foot and make our picks…
The second part of our special series on the life of Bobby Jones, winner of the Grand Slam in 1930 and arguably one of the most influential people in the world of golf, if not sport more generally. With Jones having won the UK leg of the grand slam at Royal Liverpool and St Andrews, we head over for the second half at Merion and Interlaachen. We also look at the legacy Bobby Jones has left on the game, including the Masters, designing Augusta with Mackenzie, and his affinity with the town of St Andrews! It’s been a pleasure doing these, and we hope you enjoy!
Part one of our special series on the life of Bobby Jones, winner of the Grand Slam in 1930 and arguably one of the most influential people in the world of golf, if not sport more generally. Heading into the Tour Championship at East Lake felt like the perfect time to release this two-parter around his life and career, beautifully narrated by golf historian and Jones fanatic Sid Matthew from Tallahassee, FL. We’ll be dropping part two later this week! Enjoy!
The full squad are together to catch up on the latest developments in the game, we get to hear from the latest tinkering in Cal’s workshop in search of the fabled wand as he moves onto putter #26, and we look at whether the stats in the Amateur game are totally bogus, or really help players!
Bruce, Sam & Tom recap the highs and lows from Harding Park, and the superb return to Major Championship golf. An emphatic performance from Collin Morikawa as well as Englands own Paul Casey, trash talking by Brooks, whiffs from Rickie, and confusion for Kaymer!
Tom, Sam and Cal recap some of the latest news on both sides of the Atlantic, including Eddie Pepperell's withdrawal from the HERO Open, as well as the danger Fire Ant's pose to golfers in the modern era. Most importantly we talk through some predictions for the PGA at Harding Park this week in what feels like an eternity since major golf and get to hear about the latest activity in Cal's workshop!
Does Trottie have the coolest job in golf? If he doesn’t, then it’s not far off! We got to chat with Chris about his ascendancy in the world of golf, from PGA professional to club fitter to the elite TaylorMade players on the tour including the likes of DJ, Paul Casey, Rory, John Rahm and Tiger! Trottie is not only a world class equipment junkie and golf nerd, but a superb orator and all round top guy! Enjoy!
As well as recapping Collin Morikawa's win in Ohio, we take the chance to research some of the caddies throughout history that have changed the game of Golf - Some of them modern household names, most of them not! Stretching over a century of caddies that have not just been a support to their players, but often influenced golf in many different ways!
The full squad are together as we head into a double header at Muirfield Village, Nicklaus’ most revered course design. We use the chance to go through the record books and look at the career of The Golden Bear more closely and establish if he is the true GOAT (as well as some obligatory Bryson remarks which we couldn’t walk past)!
Sam, Tom & Bruce recap the news on tour from the last week, with DJ shooting career lows after changing the short stick, some impressive performances under the gun from Will Gordon, and shots being fired about the rulings in place for OWGR pts! We also try (and fail) to find the essence of short par-4 holes and what makes them truly exciting!
The four boys get together to review the recent events at Harbour Town and Colonial post lockdown, also talking about the Rose Ladies Series and debriefing on the Macmillan 72 hole challenge!
Today Bruce and Tom are joined by Jonathan Yarwood. Jonathan is a teaching professional ranked in the Top 100 in America by Golf Magazine. He’s worked with winners at every level, including 2005 US Open Champion Michael Campbell, and, formerly, Jessica Korda and Robert Rock. We enjoyed chatting to him about the Tiger v Phil match, his career in teaching, and also his views on the state of modern golf instruction.
From the ban on the game by James II, all the way to the new age designs we enjoy today, we get together to try and piece together the history of golf course architecture from the beginning. As long time fans of great courses, with next to no prior knowledge we each take an era, research like mad, and try to find out why the trademarks of those era’s are so different!
Harry Cloke from Shorehill Analytics joins the pod to talk about how his firm are using big data to influence course design, and golf architecture!
With the benefit of reflection through the hiatus in golf, we get together to discuss what would make it into our golfing Room 101, and banished from the sport for eternity. Some of the picks unanimous, most of them not!
We got chatting to Nic, President of Mackenzie Golf Bags, and wanted to share their fascinating story with you! Nic and the team of artisans offer something really different and are at the vanguard of new and emerging trends in the golf industry. We’re a huge fan of the work they do, with bespoke equipment enticing more people to strap up and carry! Their business has some fascinating origins, and it was great hearing about it from the man at the helm!
We had a great time chatting to 3-time winner Richie Ramsay! On top of a successful career on the European Tour, Richie was the first Brit to win the US-Am in nearly a century, as well as playing Walker Cup. Fascinating getting to hear first hand about the ups and downs of life on Tour
We got to catch up with Brendan Lawlor about his journey in the game, hearing how he has risen to the top ranks of world disability golf playing pitch and putt growing up in Ireland, competing at a high amateur level and now growing the sport! Brendan isn’t just a great talent and a great guy, but a brilliant ambassador for the game
We got to chat with Mike Clayton about his career as a professional, and the world of Golf course architecture. Mike is at the forefront of the current renaissance in course architecture, either helping restore layouts back to their original design principles or building new and exciting courses like Barnbougle Dunes, and has a refreshing perspective on how the game has evolved, as well as the courses we play, and some thoughts on what’s to come in the future!
Back together for Part Deux of the Ryder Cup picks, this time the boys try to reach agreement on the 12 names to represent the USA. Plenty of heated debate as we scour the rankings, performances and try to unpick the recent performances which have seen America flatter to deceive. With no shortage of controversial choices in the face of hard facts, get ready to roll your eyes!
We were lucky enough to be joined by Dr Gio Valiante, a world renowned sports psychologist, voted as one of the top Sport Psychologists in the world by Golf Digest and sports psychologist of the year by the Golf Channel.
He is the author of Fearless Golf and a renowned performance coach. He has worked with golf champions, including Tiger Woods, Jordan Speith, Justin Rose, Matt Kuchar, Davis Love III and many, many more. During his career, he has helped players win more than 50 PGA Tour events and has been featured in The New York Times, The Financial Times and Golf Magazine. His is also the founder of Fearlessgolf.com.
We were lucky to get him on and his insight into the game is truly fascinating!
The boys get together to try and reach consensus on what the European side would look like with 12 Captains picks in lieu of 2020 rankings and usual measures! From the obvious to down right stupid, we cover the length and breadth of the European squad to get to a final dream team for Whistling Straits later this year
Today we are joined by David Cannon, who has taken pretty much every iconic golf photograph in golf in the last 38 years - and that might not even be an exaggeration!
Recognised as one of the leading golf photographers in the world. He has photographed over 120 mens majors, copious Ryder Cups, every Solheim Cup played, Walker Cups and over 500 tournaments around the globe.
In this pod we talk through his journey into golf photography, his most famous pictures ever taken including Seve in 1984 and Jack Nicklaus in 1986. He tells us of his decision to run down the fair way with Van De Velde's 18th at the open in 1999. We talk through his changing role in the Ryder Cup and how he fell into official photographer for the European team and the miracle of Medinah.
We loved taking to David and I hope you guys enjoy!
If you haven't already heard of the Buck Club, it is a fascinating project headed up by PGA Tour pro Zac Blair. We talk to Director of Golf, Max Arden, as the club moves from concept, brand and killer merch into a reality, not to mention with the support course architect of Rob Collins.
Sit back and enjoy Max Arden talk about the journey and what's still to come.
Mark McDonnell joined us for this fascinating pod about the life of a golf agent. He & One Direction star started up management agency Modest! Management after he had worked for TaylorMade for years. We dive into how he got into golf management and what the life of a manager entails. We go through everything from the day-to-day tasks to obtaining sponsorships for his players. Mark goes on to talk about his fund raising, directing the Horan & Rose charity event that has raised over £2.5 millions pounds to date. Sit back and enjoy to this cracking episode.
This epic story is about two adventures Adam Rolston & Ron Rutland. Adam & Ron decided to play the longest hole in golf by playing from one extreme side of Mongolia to the other, Culminating with a sneaky 8 foot downhiller left to right to finish! This story is incredible and we are honoured to bring it to you! I hope you enjoy!
While held up in St Andrews during lockdown, Iona spends an hour with Bruce, Sam and Tom shooting the breeze on her golfing career, as well as her broadcasting roles with Sky Sports & Golfing World. We learn what life is like inside the ropes and talk about the health of the women’s game!
We take the opportunity to chunter through the impact lockdown is having on specific players, who is going to be thankful for the break and who left TPC Swagrass with form and momentum, and most importantly will it still be there when we return?
NY Times bestselling author Tom Coyne joins the podcast this week for a transatlantic chit chat! From his initial novel, turned big-screen hit ‘A Gentleman’s Game’ right through to ‘A Course Called Ireland’ and ‘A Course Called Scotland’, & into his latest adventures, Tom shares his insights that are not only fascinating about the modern game but also make him one of the eminent and most revered golf writers for a generation! It’s an absolute cracker
The boys get together to have a chat with Lukas Michel before his Masters appearance in April. In part 2, we talk through his love of golf architecture, and his preparation for the Masters.
The boys get together to have a chat with Lukas Michel before his Masters appearance in April. In part 1, we talk through his route into golf, winning the Mid Am and a monster 7-iron shot!
We were lucky enough to get Sam Clapham, a club support officer for England Golf. His role includes helping to develop the game at grassroots level and helping all clubs within his area to achieve its goals. Sam has some really insightful views involving developing the game and we dive into these topics and more.
Incredible turn of events this week across the globe. Sam, Cal and Bruce talk about the cancellations on tour and postponement to The Masters, as well as the impact this will have on the club and amateur game. With courses shut across mainland Europe and measures being taken in the UK, where will this lead...
We climb into Azinger on his controversial comments about the European Tour, news from Qatar, a nod to the legend that is Mr. Arnold Palmer and we field some of the questions from our listeners this week!
The full squad are back, talking about their exploits on the windy shores, controlling ‘traj’, gambling (and losing), and news from the tour as we cover the Honda Classic in Florida and the Oman Open!
We chunter through Brooks' recent interview about 'Sand-Gate', talk about the recently announced closures to municipal golf courses in Glasgow and about the giddy heights at the WGC in Mexico
Joined by our 4th regular host Cal, we talk through the latest from the Genesis invitational, along with some of the best Tiger stats we found and the impact of the Coronavirus on the European tour!
In today's episode we are joined be Sir Bruce Fizpatrick as the team discuss the new UPGA and R & A distance report, the Pebble Beach Pro Am and Sr Bruce's recent victory at the Presidents Putter.
Graeme McDowell clinches the Saudi International, things are hotting up down the straight at the Phoenix Waste Management in Arizona and two idiots complain about playing golf in the cold and wet!