The Spike Bar Podcast: Recent Episodes
Ben Swanton
Welcome to the Spike Bar Podcast!
I am your host, Ben Swanton, a quintessential golf nerd, looking to simply share my passion of golf with a wider audience.
Each week there will be 2 podcasts. The first podcast will cover the news in the Professional game and preview the upcoming events on the PGA, European, and LPGA tours. This podcast will have a ‘Fantasy Golf’ and DraftKings slant to it, with me giving my predictions each week.
The second podcast will be more of an interview style podcast. I have been fortune to meet some fascinating people in the golf world over the past 5 years, and I want to share their experience, insights and stories with a wider audience. These interviews will be with Tour Professionals, Tour Level coaches, your everyday PGA Professional at your local club, Social Media influencers, Caddies, Golf Club GMs / Club Secretaries, and your everyday golfer with interesting stories to tell.
Please subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, SoundCloud or wherever else you get your podcasts from and you can also follow us on Twitter @TheSpikeBar. Any feedback, positive or negative, will be invaluable so I can make the podcast as interesting and informative for you as possible. If you know of anyone in golf that you think would be a great interviewee on the podcast, then please reach out to me on social media either @TheSpikeBar or @benswantongolf - I’d love to hear from you.
Only place to start this week's podcast was to review Azinger's moronic comments last week on the broadcast of the Honda Classic.
After some deep breathing through that we actually review the golf and Sungjae Im's sensational win, as well as Sami Valimaki's win on the European Tour.
Finally we wrap up by talking about Rory being a great human as well as golfer; Scandinavian Golf is coming to dominate both tours; and then finally a quick review/preview of the action at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Qatar Masters.
Well what a controversial week of golf we have just had ...
This week's podcasts attempts to attack the "Slow Play" debate following Bryson DeChambeau's evisceration on Social Media over the weekend, but we also cover:
- Is Patrick Reed overlooked?
- Winners and Losers from the Northern Trust
- Updated Picks standings
- Preview of the BMW Championships at Medinah
Will the golf take precedence over social media this week ... we'll see!
This week's podcast recaps the wonderful Women's British Open and all the fallout in the FedEx Cup Top 125 that took place at the Wyndham Championships.
We then break down the FedEx Cup Playoffs that start at The Northern Trust this week, and give you our picks for winners and outsiders who will make the Top 70 come the end of the weekend!
Enjoy
The 2 week holiday hiatus is over and we are back reviewing all that has happened these past 2 weeks:
- Shane Lowry's impressive maiden major win at Royal Portrush
- Koepka proving he does care about non-major events
- Jin Young Ko snagging her 2nd Major of 2019
- Langer further proving his dominance of the Senior Tour with his 11th Major win
Finally we preview the events this week, concentrating on the AIG Women's British Open at Woburn, as well as touching on the Wyndham Championship on the PGA Tour!
Links Golf continues this week at the Scottish Open on the European Tour and on the PGA Tour there is the John Deere Classic.
Before we preview those events, there is the wrap up of last week's news: - Huge week for Podcast contributor @Invisible Golfer in picks after Jon Rahm's victory of the Irish Open at Lahinch. - Plus Matthew Wolff's maiden PGA Tour victory in his 3rd start confirms that the 2019 College Class could potentially rival the 2011 Class!
Enjoy!
3rd Major of 2019 in the books!
This week's podcast recaps Gary Woodland's brilliant maiden US Open victory at Pebble Beach, as well as some other key storylines: - Koepka's affirmation as the player to beat in majors - Good week for the British contingent - USGA did get it right with the course set up - Viktor Hovland was the Low Amateur and about to become a stud on the PGA Tour - Finally, we unravel the 'Picks controversy'
Then we concentrate onto this week with the Travelers Championship on the PGA Tour and the BMW International Open. As with every week we give you our picks for who to look at for!
Enjoy the week! #GolfObsessed
Welcome back to Major week at the Spike Bar Podcast!
Apologies for the time off these past 3 weeks but I give you a comprehensive guide on the US Open at Pebble Beach this week: - History of the Course at Pebble - What's going to be important this week - Which players to back - Which players to avoid - Finally, as every week we (myself, @AdamTrettPGA, @SiByford, and @InvisibleGolfer) give you our picks for winners and outsiders for this week
The first 11 minutes of the podcast wraps up all that's gone on in the world of golf on the PGA, European, and LPGA Tours this past month!
Enjoy the Podcast and the golf this week!
The majors are coming thick and fast now, with the PGA Championship at Bethpage Black this week.
- Can Tiger go back to back?
- Will Koepka keep dominating the majors?
- Who will be the new kid on the major scene?
We try to cover all the major storylines as well as the history and set up of the course, so you know what to expect this weekend.
As always, we finish the podcast by giving you our picks for winner this week as well as outsiders to root for!
The 4 week hiatus is now over!
There is much to cover in the first podcast since the Masters, as I touch on:
- Tiger's unbelievable 15th Major Win at Augusta
- Trump is a golfing cheat
- Wrapping up what has been happening on the PGA, European, and LPGA Tours
- Plus a picks update too ... can @invisiblegolfer turn his form around?
Finally we preview this week's events on the European and PGA Tour with the British Masters hosted by Tommy Fleetwood & The Byron Nelson Championship!
Enjoy! #TheSpikeBarPodcast
We have finally made it to the first Major of 2019!
The podcast starts with a review of the Augusta National Women's Amateur event, as well as the Jordan Mixed Open before we delve deep into the Masters (08:04).
The preview covers: - The biggest Storylines - Facts and figures you need to know about The Masters - Betting Favourites - Finally we give you our picks for Winners and Outsiders to look out for
Enjoy!
This week's interview is with Adam Trett and Simon Byford of PGALife365.
Adam and Simon are PGA Coaches based in Suffolk (at The Suffolk & Bury St Edmunds Golf Club respectively) who several years ago set up their own YouTube Channel PGALife365. They both touch on their motivations for setting up the channel, and what keeps them motivated to this day including their own individual goals of 'Project Win' and 'Project Left'.
We also touch on the rules of golf; what else we'd like to change about the game; and then we give you some of our picks for the Majors this year!
Enjoy the podcast with 2 great blokes and you can find out more about them from:
Twitter/Instagram/Facebook/YouTube: @pgalife365 Adam's Twitter: @AdamTrettPGA Simon's Twitter: @SiByford
We're back!
After a week at Le Golf National, the Spike Bar Podcast is back review the WGC Dell Match Play in Austin, as well as the Corales Puntacana Championship and the Hero Indian Open.
There is also a preview of the Valero Texas Open, the last PGA Tour event before the Masters next week ...
This week's podcast recaps the EPIC Players Championship including:
- Rory entering heralded company with the win
- Furyk's renaissance and Pepperell's Sunday surge
- Rahm and Poulter imploding
- Plus all the other drama
We then go on to preview: - The Valspar Championship on the PGA Tour - Co-sanctioned European and Asian Tour event - The Maybank Championship
This interview is with PGA Coach Richard Franklin, Founder of Discover Golf (discovergolf.co).
Richard's began his golfing career at College and then on the mini Tours, before then turning to coaching. Initially favouring the 'Technical' sides to coaching, Richard then starting gravitating towards coaching Juniors and the emotional side to learning and improving at Golf.
We talk all about his journey as a PGA Coach, and what his Junior Golfing program is all about, and how he feels you can get the best out of your students.
Fascinating conversation with Richard who is passionate about his craft and eager to share his ideas with a wider audience.
You can find out more about Discover Golf by downloading the App on iTunes or Android, or going the website www.discovergolf.co. His facebook page is @discovergolf app too.
Enjoy!
Another great week of golf on the PGA and European Tours:
- Frankie dominated the final round of Arnold Palmer Invitational to win by 2
- 5 Europeans in the Top 6 including Rory, Tommy, Rafa, Matt Fitzpatrick and Matt Wallace
- Justin Harding winning his first European Tour title and 5th title in 10 months
We then preview the biggest PGA Tour event of the year - The Players Championship discussing what to expect and who to look out for as potential winners.
Great weekend of golf ahead!
This week's podcast covers:
- Keith 'no-name' Mitchell winning the Honda Classic
- Americans dominating the European Tour
- RULES, RULES, and more RULES
Then we move on to preview:
- The Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill
- Qatar Masters
This week's podcast reviews:
- DJ dominating the WGC Mexico
- Rory still trending in the right direction
- Bryson losing the plot again
- Is it panic time for Jordan Spieth?
We then preview the Honda Classic and Oman Open, and you get our picks for winner and outsiders to look out for!
This week podcast unpacks:
- JB Holmes' win at the Genesis Open
- Ryan Fox 1st win on European Tour in the Super 6
- Nelly Korda completes the Korda family Grand Slam
- My rants on a) Slow Play and b) Matt Kuchar "caddygate" (end of of the podcast)
Finally we preview the first of the WGC events - WGC Mexico!
And breathe ...
This week's podcast covers: - Phil winning his 5th AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am, whilst Casey chokes a 54 hole lead - When is the real Spieth coming back? - The success of the Vic Open and great wins for David Law and Celine Boutier respectively
We then preview 2 contrasting events: - Genesis L.A. Open at Riviera - classic course with a world class field - ISPS Handa World Super 6 - 3 rounds of strokeplay followed by final 24 competing in match play
A great weekend of golf ahead!
Another week and more controversy in pro golf! This week we cover:
- DJ & Rickie winning the Saudi International & Waste Management respectively
- Sergio's meltdown and DQ
- Caddygate 2.0
Then we move on to previewing this week's events: - AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am - ISPS Handa Vic Open
This week's podcast talks about:
- Bryson and Rose with dominating wins on both sides of the Atlantic
- Shout out to @InvisibleGolfer for his Adam Scott resurgence pick
- The Politics surrounding the Saudi International powered by SIBA on the European Tour
- Fun and frivolity at the Waste Management Phoenix Open
Enjoy!
We kick off this week's podcast reviewing the storylines from last week:
- Shane Lowry going wire-to-wire for his 3rd European Tour win, holding off Richard Sterne
- Adam Long winning his 1st PGA Tour victory after 7 years as a journeyman pro
- Phil shooting an opening round 60 and still not winning
- Jazz Janewattananond becoming the next Thai Golfing sensation in winning the Singapore Open
Then we focus our attention on this week:
- Tiger is back at the Farmers Insurance Open
- European Tour stays in the Middle East with the Omega Dubai Desert Classic
GOLF IS BACK ...!
In this week's podcast, we cover the latest news: - Kuchar winning the Sony Open, plus the fallout over 'CaddyGate' - Hosung Choi will be gracing the PGA Tour at the Pebble Pro Am - Spieth's sneaky bad form
Then we preview all of the great golf on this weekend: - European Tour kicks off the season with a Rolex Series event - The Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship - Mickelson & Rose have their first outings of 2019 at the Desert Classic on the PGA Tour - Sergio looks to defend his Singapore Open title - Finally, the LPGA Season begins with its Tournament of Champions
Golf is finally back, relax ...!
This week we cover: - Xander's epic final round to win the Sentry TOC by 1 shot over Gary Woodland - Padraig Harrington becoming Europe's Ryder Cup Captain - Rory Sabbatini is now Slovakian! - Finally we preview the Sony Open in Hawaii at Waialae CC
2019 is here and we kick off another exciting year in the professional world of golf. This week's show covers:
- Justin Rose's new club deal with HONMA
- McIlroy will retain his European Tour status
- New rules of golf for 2019
- Preview of the Sentry Tournament of Champions on PGA Tour
This week's episode is with AimPoint Guru and Coach Jamie Donaldson.
During our conversation we cover: Jamie's background; how he found AimPoint himself, and he explains what AimPoint actually is and how it can help your game; the differences between working with Pros and Amateurs; and finally how often does he get mistake for the 'other' golfing legend also named Jamie Donaldson.
It was a great chat and you can support Jamie by following him on: Twitter: @golfdonaldson Instagram: aimpointgolfeurope Website: www.jamiedonaldson.co.uk
The first interview podcast is with Jimmie James, who managed to play the Top 100 on US Golf Digest's list of courses to play. We discuss why he set this goal; how he went about planning it; and more importantly how he managed to achieve it.
You can find Jimmie on Twitter @Top100GolfNomad and you can find his blog at www.jimmiestop100golfcoursetour.com.
Enjoy!
The Golfing off-season is almost upon us ...
The news this week covers: - Jon Rahm winning the Hero World Challenge - Another RU for Tony Finau - Kurt Kitayama following the footsteps of Koepka and Uihlein breaking through with his maiden win on the European Tour
We then preview: - South African Open on the European Tour (co-sanctioned event with Asian & Sunshine Tours) - QBE Shootout - the pairs invitational event over in Naples, USA
This week we breakdown "The Match" - the pros and the cons, and what changes should be made.
We cover the other news of the week: Team Belgium winning the ISPA World Cup of Golf; Aaron Rai becoming 12th Englishman to win in 2018; and Ho-Sung Choi AKA "The Fisherman" winning the Casio World Open in Japan.
Finally we preview the Hero World Challenge from Albany Bahamas and I give you my picks from the 18 man field.
This week's episode reviews: - Continued resurgence of the veterans with Danny Willett winning the DP World Tour Championship + Charles Howell III winning the RSM Classic - Molinari wins the Race to Dubai - Justin Rose is back to World Number 1!
Plus we preview this week's events: - ISPS HANDA Melbourne World Cup of Golf (Golf's version of the World Cup) - Honma Hong Kong Open (kicks off the Race to Dubai 2019) - "The Match" - Phil vs Tiger for $9m in the desert
This week we review: Westwood and Kuchar turning back the clocks to win the Nedbank Golf Challenge and Mayakoba Golf Classic respectively; Mexican golf is on the rise with Gaby Lopez winning on the LPGA Tour; plus Bernard Langer still reigns supreme on the Champions Tour (01:30 - 07:32).
Next up are previews of: DP Tour Championship in the final event of Race to Dubai (07:32 - 12:53); the RSM Classic on the PGA Tour (12:53 - 16:24) and the Emirates Australian Open (16:24 - 19:25)
This week we cover all the latest news including: Justin Rose winning the Turkish Airlines Open; Bryson 'mad scientist' DeChambeau winning his 5th PGA Tour title; Ariya Jutanugarn is the darling of the LPGA; and wrapping up the Challenge Tour Final (01:16 - 09:20).
Then we preview the Nedbank Golf Challenge on European Tour (09:35 - 14:40) and the Mayakoba Golf Classic on PGA Tour (14:40 - 18:00) including my DraftKings team (18:00 - 20:10).
Please subscribe via iTunes and all feedback welcome @TheSpikeBar!
This episode covers the latest news in the Golf world including: Xander Schauffele's win of the WGC HSBC Champions in China; Cameron Champ destroying the field at the Sanderson Farms Championship on PGA Tour; Nelly Korda winning her first LPGA title in Taiwan; plus the European Tour announcing its 2019 schedule including the return of the British Masters at Hillside GC (0:28 - 9:24). Then it's a preview of the Turkish Airlines Open on the European Tour (09:24 - 14:09), The Shriners Hospital for Children on PGA Tour (14:09 - 19:32) including my tips for your DRAFTKINGS (19:30 - 22:00), and finishing with a preview of the Race to Ras al Khamaih on the Challenge Tour (22:00 - 23:38).
Welcome to the Spike Bar Podcast!
I am your host, Ben Swanton, a quintessential golf nerd, looking to simply share my passion of golf with a wider audience.
Each week there will be 2 podcasts. The first podcast will cover the news in the Professional game and preview the upcoming events on the PGA, European, and LPGA tours. This podcast will have a ‘Fantasy Golf’ and DraftKings slant to it, with me giving my predictions each week.
The second podcast will be more of an interview style podcast. I have been fortune to meet some fascinating people in the golf world over the past 5 years, and I want to share their experience, insights and stories with a wider audience. These interviews will be with Tour Professionals, Tour Level coaches, your everyday PGA Professional at your local club, Social Media influencers, Caddies, Golf Club GMs / Club Secretaries, and your everyday golfer with interesting stories to tell.
Please subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, SoundCloud or wherever else you get your podcasts from and you can also follow us on Twitter @TheSpikeBar. Any feedback, positive or negative, will be invaluable so I can make the podcast as interesting and informative for you as possible. If you know of anyone in golf that you think would be a great interviewee on the podcast, then please reach out to me on social media either @TheSpikeBar or @benswantongolf - I’d love to hear from you.