The Golfer's Journal Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Episode 123: The Many Shades of Andrew Green Dec 19, 2022

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Andrew Green has become one of the hottest names in golf course architecture thanks to his renovation work at Inverness, Congressional, Oak Hill, Scioto, Wannamoisett and many other golden age classics in need of a refresh. But does he want to build something from scratch? He joins Tom Coyne on the TGJ Podcast to discuss his passion for history, his start in golf course design, love for his job and why William Flynn is his spirit animal.

Episode 122: The Man Who Hacked Putting Dec 08, 2022

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In 2004, software developer Mark Sweeney was fed up with missing putts. So he dedicated two years of his life to creating a system that delivers perfect reads. He called it AimPoint.

You’ve seen players from Keegan Bradley to Lydia Ko to Adam Scott straddle their line and read their break in finger-widths. Now, hear from the inventor of this peculiar but effective strategy, as Sweeney and host Tom Coyne dig into this method that took 100,000 lines of code to get right. Along the way, you’ll learn how Golf Channel’s virtual putting line came to be, how a group of third graders helped unlock an AimPoint mystery, and why you might already be a much better putter than you think.

Episode 121: But My Friends Call Me Randy Nov 22, 2022

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Tron doesn’t hold back on Twitter. Soly shared his No Laying Up origin story in #7, and DJ’s byline is a regular in The Golfer’s Journal. But what about the member of No Laying Up whose presence, quite literally, overshadows them all?

Phil Landes (aka Big Randy) has become one of golf media’s favorite characters via his appearances across NLU’s platforms, yet a part of him is ducking the spotlight–not an easy feat at 6’8”. He joins the podcast to talk with Tom Coyne about how a former accountant and freshmen basketball coach came to find himself drinking out of the Solheim Cup, and whether this dream job is a dream job after all. In this honest and insightful discussion, Phil reflects on living with two names, his current romantic circumstance, how we’re all just a different shade of short to him, and why he doesn’t want to meet your dog.

Episode 120: The Golf Life of Reilly Nov 07, 2022

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You know Rick Reilly from the back page of Sports Illustrated, where he delivered 800 words of humor, heartbreak or heroism every week for 15 years. And though you’ve seen him at St. Andrews and read him at Augusta—his ‘96 opus on Norman’s collapse is an all-timer—you’ll be surprised to discover just how deep his golf obsession goes. Reilly, who joined the Broken Tee Society earlier this year, jumped into our members-only Discord server to talk with Tom Coyne about his lifelong love of the game, which he has distilled into his new book So Help Me Golf.The stories within—from a fraught relationship with his dad, to the myriad cheating methods employed by sitting US presidents, to tales of POWs and drug-mule caddies—cement him as one of the finest golf scribes of our time.

Episode 119: Conor Moore, as Conor Moore Oct 24, 2022

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Conor Moore believes he has no accent. But when the Irishman is impersonating the world’s most famous athletes, he’s got them all. Though this episode sounds like a cast of many, it’s just Moore and host Tom Coyne going deep on the art behind his sketches (hint: don’t call them impressions), the toughest athlete to impersonate, and the time he was (jokingly) cursed out by Tiger Woods. Cameo appearances from Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter, Greg Norman and Rory McIlroy highlight this lively conversation.

Episode 118: Mark Broadie Thinks Putting Is Overrated Oct 08, 2022

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We've all heard it: "Drive for show, putt for dough." But after speaking with Mark Broadie, the godfather of the game-changing Strokes Gained model, we're rethinking that position. Professor Broadie joins Tom Coyne live in the Broken Tee Society Discord server to unpack golf's ongoing data revolution, and why you're trying to shave strokes in all the wrong places.

Mark Broadie is the Carson Family Professor of Business at Columbia Business School. In the mid-2000s, he developed the Strokes Gained model by manually tracking and analyzing thousands of golf shots from amateurs at his club in Pelham, New York. After gaining access to the PGA Tour's shot-tracking data, Broadie refined his model, then released his seminal book Every Shot Counts in 2014. He now works on the USGA handicap research team, operates the GolfMetrics stat-tracking app, and advises a number of professional and amateur players.

Episode 117: Golf’s Treasure Hunter Sep 15, 2022

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Ryan Carey wasn’t looking to become the world’s foremost golf memorabilia auctioneer. A lawyer by trade, Carey started Green Jacket Auctions as a side gig to feed his passion for the game’s history. 16 years and one very expensive set of irons later, Carey and his team are riding high and traveling the world in search of the next great golf item.

Carey joins Tom Coyne live in the Broken Tee Society Discord server to offer a glimpse into the career that’s taken him everywhere from Tom Watson’s home bar to Perry Maxwell’s basement. Plus, he details the record-breaking sale of the “Tiger Slam” irons, and delivers an otherworldly prediction when asked about the Holy Grail of golf collecting.

Episode 116: What Happened to Ben Garner? Sep 08, 2022

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Unless you’ve already dug into Charlie Warzel’s profile in TGJ #21, you’ve probably never heard of Ben Garner. You’ve likely never heard about the kid who used to beat Tiger Woods (sometimes) and who buddied around SoCal with the future superstar, two kids who understood what it was like to live beneath the shadow of demanding golf dads.

Ben Garner joins the Golfer’s Journal podcast to discuss what happened between being unbeatable and being beaten, to where he couldn’t even look at a golf course or tell his old friend how he was really doing. If it all sounds like a typical wayward prodigy tale, you’ll want to listen to hear where Charlie Warzel finds him, and how it all came back to Ben in abundant and unforeseeable ways.

Episode 115: You Don't Know Doak Aug 24, 2022

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Tom Doak has a reputation for being difficult. Golf media has described him as socially awkward and emotionally remote, traits that are often overlooked in favor of the brilliance he’s brought to course designs around the world. But there is much more to Tom Doak and his public persona than people have discussed or know about–until now.

With unflinching candor, Doak digs deep on “my media reputation as an asshole,” discussing what he’s learned about himself through group therapy and addressing his complicated relationships with peers like Gil Hanse and David McLay Kidd. It all makes for a riveting conversation about the forces that shape our lives–some that we might change, and others that we learn to accept.

Episode 114: Dottie Pepper Is Frustrated Aug 06, 2022

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Dottie Pepper has little sympathy for the modern professional golfer. But you can’t blame her—the beloved CBS analyst and 17-winner on the LPGA never had anything handed to her. She turned down a Dinah Shore sponsor's exemption in college because she couldn't afford to travel; she borrowed $5,000 from her grandfather to play in the 1987 U.S. Open; and her parents rented out their house to horse jockeys and trainers every summer to pay for her junior golf. So, no, she’s not interested in hearing about no cuts and guaranteed pay days.

Pepper joins Assistant Editor Casey Bannon to discuss the current state of the professional golfer, the value in taking the hard way, criticisms of the broadcast, writing her first book and what’s currently in her garden.

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