The Fire Pit Podcast

Latest Episodes:

The Fire Pit w/ Matt Ginella: Building Bandon - Opening Day [PART 2] Jan 11, 2024

Show notes

In this throwback podcast on the history of Bandon Dunes, part 2 picks up on May 1st, 1999 on the eve of Bandon Dunes opening for business. I’m not even sure Mike Keiser could’ve dreamed something as big as what Bandon has become. We hear from Bandon's original caddy master, Shoe, and the local barber, Mick Peters, who has hit the first tee shot on every course at Bandon, as well as reflections from Mike Keiser, David Kidd, Josh Lesnik, Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw as we also celebrate the opening of the Sheep Ranch, their third course on property.

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The Fire Pit w/ Matt Ginella: Building Bandon - Against All Odds [PART 1] Jan 11, 2024

Show notes

In this throwback podcast you’ll hear part 1 of the building of Bandon Dunes, as told by Mike Keiser, the owner, David McLay Kidd and his father, Jimmy, the architects, and Josh Lesnik and his father, Steve, who won the bid to manage it. Bandon Dunes, the original course at what is now the best pure golf destination in America, and arguably the world, was an outlier that opened in 1999. Like Sand Hills in Mullen, Nebraska, which opened in 1995, to build a golf course in a remote location using a minimalist architect or architects was anything but what was being built in America in the 90s.

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The Fire Pit w/ Matt Ginella: Becoming Coore & Crenshaw [PART 2] Jan 05, 2024

Show notes

Part 1 of this throwback podcast leaves off in 1985, when Ben Crenshaw convinces Bill Coore to partner up. In part 2, we get them through some lean years, making a name for themselves in Maui, and tell the story of striking pay dirt and pink flags in the sand hills of Nebraska.

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The Fire Pit w/ Matt Ginella: Becoming Coore & Crenshaw [PART 1] Jan 05, 2024

Show notes

Part 1 of this throwback Fire Pit Podcast includes the people, places and things that had an influence on what Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw have become as architects, how and when they met, who was involved and why it works.

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Fire Drill 098: The Rebirth of Golden Gate Park Golf Course Dec 20, 2023

Show notes

In this Fire Drill podcast, Alan Shipnuck and Matt Ginella welcome the team behind the renovation of the Golden Gate Park Golf Course: Dan Burke, CEO of First Tee of San Francisco; Jay Blasi, the golf course architect; and Josh Lewis, project manager and agronomy guru. Burke, Blasi and Lewis reflect on the before, during and after of the resurrection and what this revitalized city asset will mean to the community.

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Fire Drill 097: The Great Rollback Debate - PART 2 (w/ Mike Clayton) Dec 07, 2023

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In part 2 of this spirited rollback debate, Matt Ginella and Alan Shipnuck are joined by world renowned golf course architect Mike Clayton to continue their discussion on the recent decision to modify the golf ball.

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Fire Drill 097: The Great Rollback Debate - PART 1 Dec 07, 2023

Show notes

In this extremely spirited Fire Drill, Matt Ginella is joined by Alan Shipnuck and Micheal Bamberger as the three lay out their opinions of the recently announced golf ball rollback.

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Fire Drill 096: In the Dirt Nov 15, 2023

Show notes

In this Fire Drill podcast, Matt Ginella and Alan Shipnuck provide lively updates on two ongoing FPC docuseries, one at Golden Gate Park GC and the other at Pasatiempo. They also have some fresh reporting on Shorty’s, the new par-3 course that is taking shape at Bandon Dunes.

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Wishbone Brawl is Back, Bigger and Better Than Ever: PART 2 w/ Xander Schauffele Nov 10, 2023

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Upon hearing about his competition in this year’s Wishbone Brawl at Goat Hill Park in Oceanside, Calif., in which Xander Schauffele (No. 6 in the world) and Chris Riley (PGA Tour winner and former Ryder Cupper) will be taking on Geoff Ogilvy (U.S. Open winner) and Colin Featherstone (Korn Ferry Tour player and local legend), as well as Jasmine and Janae Leovao, 19-year-old twins who are sophomores at Long Beach State where they’re coming off back-to-back team wins in the Big West Conference, and who grew up playing Goat Hill Park, Schauffele couldn’t help but acknowledge what most people are thinking: “When I said we were slight underdogs, I was talking about the field.”

In part 2 of our Fire Pit podcast series previewing Wishbone Brawl VI, Schauffele shares his thoughts about how and why this event means so much to him, John Ashworth’s effective leadership, the evolution of the course’s condition, the magic in that land, the smiles on the kid’s faces and why Goat Hill Park, a 4,500-yard, par-65 municipal course is so conducive to this type of event in which women won’t just play with the men, they’ll play against them.

For updates throughout the day and during the Wishbone Brawl, be sure to follow Fire Pit Collective’s social channels, Goat Hill Park and Linksoul.

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The Fire Pit w/ Matt Ginella: The Wishbone Brawl is Back, Bigger and Better Than Ever Nov 09, 2023

Show notes

In this year’s Wishbone Brawl at Goat Hill Park in Oceanside, Calif., women won’t just play with the men, they’ll play against them.

This Saturday, Nov. 11, at a 4,500-yard municipal golf course where the motto is “World Class for Working Class,” what has become one of the greatest events in golf will open the gates at 9:30 AM, there will be a range clinic at 11 AM and the tournament tips at Noon. Tickets are $50 for adults, kids are free and dogs are welcome. There will be food, drinks and parking is somewhat limited, so carpooling or Ubering is encouraged. All proceeds will benefit North County Junior Golf Association and Goat Hill Park’s Junior Caddie and Leadership Academy.

This year’s Brawl will consist of bona fide professionals and elite amateurs, they’ll dust off persimmon woods, pick up junior caddies, and they’ll play in front of roughly 1,000 adults, 300 kids and 100 dogs.

“It’s kind of a homemade backyard hang-out scene,” says John Ashworth, caretaker of Goat Hill Park. “Winning and losing doesn’t really matter, it’s just about having a blast, getting the whole community together and doing something special for the kids.”

It’s Xander Schauffele, who has seven PGA Tour wins, an Olympic Gold Medal and is currently No. 6 in the world, teaming up with Chris Riley, who won a PGA Tour event and partnered with Tiger Woods in the 2004 Ryder Cup. They’re playing against Geoff Ogilvy, who won the 2006 U.S. Open, and Colin Featherstone, a local and current Korn Ferry Tour player. And then there’s Jasmine and Janae Leovao, 19-year-old twins who grew up at Goat Hill Park and are now sophomores at Long Beach State where they recently helped the 49ers win back-to-back tournaments.

“I think the twins could win the whole damn thing,” says Peter Beames, who once played on the European Tour and has written books on golf instruction. “They’re that good and they’re not afraid.”

For a deeper dive on this year’s Wishbone Brawl, we’ve prepared a Fire Pit Podcast in which you’ll hear from Ashworth, Beames, Featherstone, the Leovao twins and more.

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