The Smylie Show

Latest Episodes:

365: Why Merion is so Special, Golf's Best Trees & Scottie Dominates in Memphis Aug 17, 2026

Show notes

Smylie Kaufman is back home after broadcasting the U.S. Amateur at Merion, and he and Charlie Hulme spend the front half of the show breaking down the course — its unusual routing, the brutal 14-18 closing stretch, the debate over how much green-complex slope can survive modern speeds, and why it's such a compelling preview for the 2030 U.S. Open there. Jack Whaley beat Jay Leng Jr. for the title, with Ryder Cowan and Carter Loflin standing out as names to know.

From there, the guys run their favorite trees in golf — a loose, hilarious countdown through Merion, Pebble Beach, The Renaissance Club, Cypress Point, TPC Sawgrass, Panmure (where Ben Hogan prepped for the 1953 Open), Prairie Dunes, Seminole, Monterey Peninsula, and the tree at Augusta National.

Plus: the case for Scottie Scheffler as the clear Player of the Year after his 8-shot win at TPC Southwind, what the PGA Tour's new playoff points structure means for players fighting to stay inside the top 50, and the fallout from Jon Rahm's reported LIV Golf exit — including what it means for the DP World Tour, the Challenger Series, and the sport's shifting global landscape heading into 2027.

Don't forget to like, comment, subscribe, and follow us on socials @thesmylieshow!

Chapters

0:00 Intro & catch-up: fresh off the U.S. Amateur at Merion
2:59 Merion's unique routing and standout holes
7:47 Tangent: the Bobby Jones cinematic universe
11:33 Merion's brutal closing stretch and the 17th green debate
12:49 Setting up Merion for a 2030 U.S. Open
18:46 The story behind Merion's wicker-basket logo
22:27 Merion trivia: director-of-golf tenure & clubhouse details
27:05 Best trees in golf: the debate begins (Merion's 8th)
29:03 Pebble Beach's 18th hole cypress
31:58 The Renaissance Club's 11th hole
33:16 Cypress Point: Walker Cup picnics & the 17th tree
36:47 TPC Sawgrass's tree-lined holes
38:29 Panmure: where Hogan prepped for the 1953 Open
40:08 Prairie Dunes' "The Shoot" at 15
42:15 Seminole's 16th hole palms
43:42 Monterey Peninsula's 11th hole
45:54 The Tree at Augusta National & honorable mentions
48:10 U.S. Amateur standouts: Ryder Cowan & Carter Loflin
50:26 The case for Scottie Scheffler as Player of the Year
59:07 PGA Tour playoff points shakeup & the scramble for top 50
1:04:41 Jon Rahm, LIV Golf, and the DP World Tour's shifting landscape
1:19:11 Sign-off: Bob McIntyre preview, Ryder Cup to the South & JT's Firestone flashback

#golf #pgatour #smylieshow #scottiescheffler #Merion

364: Hunter Mahan on His Pro Golf Comeback, Why He Stepped Away, & Coaching High School Golf Aug 12, 2026

Show notes

Six-time PGA Tour winner Hunter Mahan joins Smylie Kaufman and Charlie Hulme to talk about his unexpected return to golf. Mahan opens up on why he stepped away from competing in 2021 — burnout, the grind of travel, and an envy that "took over" and wasn't good for his soul — and what's pulled him back into playing after several years coaching high school golf at Liberty Christian in Argyle, Texas, alongside football coach Jason Witten. A few months of posting practice-round videos to social media turned into a full comeback arc, complete with a new equipment deal through Grant Horvat's Primo.

Plus: Hunter breaks down the swing videos he's been posting — his takeaway feel, getting the clubface more shut, and clearing up the Justin Rose "shallowing" myth — and walks through his short game reboot under Stan Utley (of Parker McLachlin's Short Game Chef), including the shaft-angle and forearm-rotation keys that turned his chipping around. The guys also get into a wide-ranging Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup conversation: why Team Europe consistently looks looser under pressure, Mahan's own Presidents Cup debut alongside Justin Leonard and Paul Azinger, the case for a real U.S. national team pipeline, and a frank look back at the U.S. team's collapse at Bethpage in 2025.

Before they let him go: Hunter's top tips for teaching your kids golf, and a very serious debate over which foursome wins — the Golf Boys or the 2016 Spring Breakers.

Don't forget to like, comment, subscribe, and follow us on socials @thesmylieshow!

Chapters

0:00 Intro & why the beard came off
1:41 Why Hunter Mahan stepped away from the tour — and what's pulling him back
3:03 Coaching high school golf with Jason Witten at Liberty Christian
7:42 The burnout and envy that pushed him away from competing
9:56 What went wrong with his swing after 2015
15:11 Breaking down Hunter's Instagram swing videos
21:53 Inside his short-game reboot with Stan Utley
27:16 Who spins it best around the greens on tour?
29:33 Utley's keys: shaft angle, forearm rotation, hitting it high vs. low
33:09 The "level eyes" fix and driving through the chip
40:33 Ryder Cup vs. Presidents Cup — why Team Europe has the edge
49:44 Mahan's Presidents Cup debut: Justin Leonard & Paul Azinger
52:42 Building a real U.S. national team pipeline
56:18 Bethpage 2025 post-mortem: "everyone's got a plan till they get hit in the mouth"
59:06 Hunter's top tips for teaching kids golf
1:02:32 Hypothetical: Golf Boys vs. the 2016 Spring Breakers
1:06:03 Sign-off

#golf #huntermahan #pgatour #smyliekaufman #smylieshow #golfpodcast #golfhighlights

363: LIV Golf 2.0: Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm, and the $250M Investor Deal Aug 11, 2026

Show notes

Smylie and Charlie dive deep into LIV Golf's uncertain future, breaking down the reported $250 million investment from BC Partners, the shift to a player-equity model, and what a 10-event "LIV 2.0" schedule would actually look like. They also unpack the confirmed cancellation of the Team Championship in Michigan, leaving Indianapolis as the tour's lone remaining event of 2026.

Plus: Bryson DeChambeau's headline-grabbing New York Post quotes, why he might be the one player who keeps LIV alive no matter what, the brutal math facing Jon Rahm if he wants back on the PGA Tour, LIV's business missteps (from its team-branding strategy to its mounting legal bills), and a fun hypothetical — could a Bryson-led YouTube golf tour actually work?

Don't forget to like, comment, subscribe, and follow us on socials @thesmylieshow!

Chapters

0:00 Intro & why we're breaking down LIV's future
1:52 LIV 2.0 restructuring — bankruptcy, equity, and the "$250M mini tour"
5:12 Who's funding this? BC Partners and the players-investors standoff
8:30 Which players get a fast track back — Rahm and Niemann
9:24 Bryson's New York Post quotes, dissected
10:26 Bryson's YouTube empire and why he's all-in on LIV
14:56 The failed $500M ask from PIF
16:14 Bryson's major exemptions status through 2029
17:41 Bryson is the engine keeping LIV alive
19:50 The Q-School pathway back to the PGA Tour
22:24 LIV 2.0's reality check: purses shrink from $40M to $15M
24:37 Who pays the penalty? Koepka's buyback and Rahm's price tag
27:37 Jon Rahm's business decision
29:09 LIV's mistakes: legal fees and a fumbled team-branding strategy
33:25 The road not taken — a joint venture instead of a rival tour
36:34 Could LIV become a YouTube-native golf brand?
38:21 Selling YouTube golf to sponsors — the measurement problem
40:36 Hypothetical: a Bryson-led touring roadshow
42:28 LIV's other lawsuits: Premier Golf League and Mobii Systems
47:17 Prediction: Rahm's decision and a September deadline

#golf #LIV #pgatour #jonrahm #brysondechambeau #smylieshow #smyliekaufman

362: Playoff Makers & Missers Breakdown + Michael Brennan's 2nd PGA TOUR Win Keeps Youth Movement Rolling Aug 10, 2026

Show notes

PART TWO: LIV GOLF SEGMENT: Dropping tomorrow morning (08/11/26)

With a third straight PGA TOUR winner under the age of 24 in the books thanks to Michael Brennan's Sunday birdie streak, Smylie Kaufman and Charlie Hulme look back at his year, and the continued emergence of young American talent on the PGA TOUR. SK and CH also discuss which big names made or missed the FedEx Cup playoffs, discuss the origins of "AimPoint" green reading, and review some comments from Brooks Koepka after missing out on the playoffs.

Don't forget to like, comment, subscribe, and follow us on socials @thesmylieshow!

Chapters

0:00 Intro & this week's storylines tease
1:19 Spotting a Smylie Show hat at the Wyndham Championship
2:45 Sick kids and a rough week at home
6:37 Michael Brennan wins the Wyndham Championship
8:13 Brennan's rise: Korn Ferry Tour to PGA Tour winner
11:09 Brennan hires putting coach Marcus Potter
11:27 Young Americans and the Presidents Cup conversation
13:03 Ben James, Miles Russell & American golf's next wave
14:02 Brennan's FedEx Cup jump and Presidents Cup odds
15:06 Why winning on the PGA Tour still matters most
16:33 Heat, humidity, and the "worst month" debate (plus a daylight saving tangent)
20:47 Jackson Koivun sneaks into the FedEx Cup top 70
24:26 The AimPoint putting debate
30:45 Tom Kim climbs to 26th; three playoff streaks snapped
31:42 Brooks Koepka's brutally honest 94th-place assessment
32:55 Diagnosing Koepka's season & his road back from LIV

#golf #pgatour #golfrecap #golfhighlights #smylieshow #smyliekaufman #golfpodcast #wyndhamchampionship #michaelbrennan #fedexcup

361: Sean Foley on Thorbjornsen's First PGA TOUR Win, Tom Kim's Comeback & Michael Kim's Rebuild Aug 05, 2026

Show notes

Sean Foley joins the show to break down Michael Thorbjornsen's first PGA Tour win at the Rocket Classic — a bogey-free final-round 63 that came together in barely six weeks of work with Foley, built around going back to video of Thorbjornsen's swing from Stanford in 2018. Foley walks through exactly what he saw, what they're working on, and why the answer was already in Thorbjornsen's own history.

Plus: Foley digs into his full player room this summer — Tom Kim's emotional Genesis Scottish Open win, Michael Kim's historic 59 at the 3M Open and the three-month process of retraining his swing around a stronger grip, Ben An's four-year driver transformation, and the "humans first, golfer second" coaching philosophy he's built over two decades on tour with players like Tiger Woods, Justin Rose, and Hunter Mahan.

Don't forget to like, comment, subscribe, and follow us on socials @thesmylieshow!

Chapters

0:00 Intro & congrats to Sean Foley on Thorbjornsen's Rocket Classic win
2:08 Foley on watching Thor's win & his history with Michael since age 16
4:02 Foley's 20-year coaching evolution — "player support," humans first golfer second
6:29 Scottie Scheffler's rising floor & the new generation's mindset
7:28 Tom Kim & Thorbjornsen's shared high expectations turning pro
8:23 Coaching Tom Kim: rebuilding posture, connection & swing DNA
11:09 Thorbjornsen's swing fix: back to his 2018 Stanford video
12:14 Breaking down Thorbjornsen's swing — grip, posture, wrist angles
19:32 Thor's shot-shape arsenal beyond the draw
21:13 Foley's coaching philosophy
23:23 Michael Kim's comeback
25:16 Retraining Kim's pattern — hitting snap hooks for 3 months
28:16 Coaching psychology — bad memories & letting players enjoy wins
30:18 Consistency over "feel" & the dad-as-coach dynamic
32:35 Enjoying golf vs. having fun — and Foley's "do no harm" rule

#golf #pgatour #smylieshow #michaelthorbjornsen #rocketclassic #smyliekaufman

360: Michael Thorbjornsen's Breakthrough Win + Stephen Sweeney Joins To Discuss Putting Work With Thor Aug 03, 2026

Show notes

Charlie Hulme and Smylie Kaufman break down Michael Thorbjornsen's first PGA Tour win — a bogey-free final-round 63 at the Rocket Classic, sealed by a long birdie putt on 18 that held off a hard-charging Xander Schauffele. Thor's putting coach, Stephen Sweeney, joins the show to explain how a stance and ball-position overhaul helped refine a raw approach into more short makes and better speed control on long putts.

With the final PGA TOUR regular-season event up next, we take a bigger-picture look at the rest of the season and beyond. Which players are in danger of losing their cards, missing the playoffs, or not qualifying for signature events? And how would all of this look via a restructured competitive format in 2028?

Plus: Detroit Golf Club's Donald Ross restoration, debating our favorite golf course design features, and the fantasy game Smylie would like to see in 2028 with the Championship and Challenger Series in place.

Check out our original putting instruction video with Stephen Sweeney here: https://youtu.be/JVh5Xy7YRQM

CHAPTERS:
0:00 Intro: Charlie's HVAC and studio backdrop saga continues
3:15 Smylie plays through a mild flu — new Sam Burns/Scottie Scheffler swing thoughts
6:58 Charlie's putter and grip breakthrough
8:14 Detroit Golf Club's Donald Ross restoration & tour's vanishing classic courses
16:03 What makes a golf hole memorable
19:16 Favorite/least favorite design features: cross creeks & sloped tee boxes
23:52 Caddie yardages: raw numbers vs. adjusted advice
27:39 Stephen Sweeney joins to talk Thorbjornsen's win
33:36 Thorbjornsen's raw putting DNA — from cross-handed to fundamentals
39:12 Video breakdown: fixing Thorbjornsen's stance & ball position
45:14 Thorbjornsen's ceiling
47:27 Sweeney's new ventures: Golf.com content & The People's League
55:25 Rocket Classic recap: Thorbjornsen's bogey-free 63 & the winning putt
57:37 Xander Schauffele's runner-up finish & 2026 bounce-back
58:21 FedEx Cup Playoffs / Top 100 PGAT Bubble Discussion
01:08:00 Presidents Cup Outlook
01:12:00 Future PGAT Changes

#golf #pgatour #rocketclassic #MichaelThorbjornsen #SmylieShow #SmylieKaufman

Don't forget to like, comment, subscribe, and follow us on socials @thesmylieshow!

359: Jackson Koivun Arrives: Will His 3M Open Win Land Him On Presidents Cup Team? Jul 27, 2026

Show notes

Smylie Kaufman and Charlie Hulme break down Jackson Koivun's stunning 3M Open win — his first PGA Tour title in just his third start as a pro, holding off a hard-charging Scottie Scheffler at TPC Twin Cities. They revisit Smylie's April prediction that Koivun could make the Presidents Cup team, along with a deep dive into Brandt Snedeker's Presidents Cup roster dilemma (young guns vs. proven veterans).

Other 3M topics include a fifth runner-up finish for Scottie Scheffler, an ode to Grumpy Old Dudes after a viral Lucas Glover metal spikes moment, and “3Minutes” with producer Jaxon Brown.

Before all that: Smylie tweaks his back wrestling his kids into car seats in the rain during a solo parenting weekend, and Charlie gets torched by a mineral sunscreen mishap on the beach.

Tune in soon for a fuller breakdown of the state of LIV Golf after a brief discussion to close the episode. Don't forget to like, comment, subscribe, and follow us on socials @thesmylieshow!

Chapters

0:00 Intro & episode preview
1:48 Smylie's parenting-duty weekend and "dad back" tweak
4:13 Charlie's beach vacation and sunscreen sunburn saga
9:06 Jackson Koivun's 3M Open win and duel with Scottie Scheffler
13:10 Brandt Snedeker's Presidents Cup roster dilemma: youth vs. experience
22:54 Presidents Cup standings and proposed format changes
25:39 Comparing Koivun to golf's great young major winners
28:08 Scottie Scheffler's incredible, win-light runner-up season
32:14 Scheffler's costly miss on 18 and Koivun's closing par
34:28 Koivun's caddie David Flynn's backstory
35:57 Lucas Glover's shoes-off, metal-spikes controversy
42:52 3M Minutes: Jaxon Brown's on-site report from the 3M Open
53:22 Smylie's neck injury and driver breakthrough
56:23 LIV Golf's collapse and stranded players
1:02:07 Sign-off and next episode tease

#golf #pgatour #smylieshow #jacksonkoivun #3MOpen #golfrecap #golfhighlights

358: Champion Golfer of the Year Ryan Fox On Winning The Open + Check or Carry On the Claret Jug??? Jul 23, 2026

Show notes

Fresh off a thrilling finish at Royal Birkdale which saw him hoist the Claret Jug, Ryan Fox joins Smylie Kaufman and Charlie Hulme to relive his first major win at the 2026 Open Championship — only the fourth Kiwi to win a major, and the first to bring the Claret Jug home to New Zealand since Bob Charles in 1963. Fox walks through his major championship record-tying 62 on Saturday (and the improbable fairway bunker shot on 18 that capped it off), the driver decision on the 13th that swung his Sunday momentum, an incredible approach at 16, and the nerves he felt reading the winning birdie putt on 18.

Plus: A brand new Srixon driver responsible for some of the most clutch shots he hit all week + the Z-STAR ball that gave him an edge over the rest of the field in the windy conditions, his dad Grant Fox's legendary All Blacks career and 1987 Rugby World Cup win, New Zealand's golf course boom, whether a PGA Tour event or Presidents Cup could ever land in New Zealand, and a detour into Fox's Bordeaux-heavy wine cellar.

Before all that: the saga of getting the real and replica Claret Jugs through airport security and onto the flight home — including an awkward moment in line next to runner-up Cameron Young.

Don't forget to like, comment, subscribe, and follow us on socials @thesmylieshow!

Chapters

0:00 Intro & Ryan Fox's dad, All Blacks legend Grant Fox
2:39 Has life changed since becoming Champion Golfer of the Year?
3:39 New Zealand's 4th major champion & ending a 63-year Claret Jug drought
4:29 The Claret Jug's wild flight home
9:19 Echoes of Hideki Matsuyama's Masters travels
10:19 Friday's grind just to make the cut
12:12 Saturday's record-tying 62
13:14 The bunker shot and putt that closed out the 62
18:29 The 13th hole driver gamble and riding the wave of momentum
23:24 The approach at 16 and feeling the crowd's energy
29:03 Composure and nerves on the 18th green
32:45 The backstory on Ryan's putter
34:42 No snakes in New Zealand???
35:57 The 2014 Muriwai Open and New Zealand's links golf
38:00 The 2021 Muriwai win with Steve Williams caddying
39:48 Touring New Zealand's booming golf course scene
42:50 Could the PGA Tour — or a Presidents Cup — come to New Zealand?
46:25 Wine talk: Bordeaux, Hawke's Bay, and the Claret Jug
48:23 Sign-off

357: Ryan Fox Is Champion Golfer of the Year! + Scottie On TIO Relief & Bryson’s Penalty Jul 19, 2026

Show notes

Smylie Kaufman and Charlie Hulme recap the 154th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale, where 39-year-old Ryan Fox closed with an aggressive nine-iron to 11 feet on the 72nd hole and drained the birdie to win his first major, clearing Cam Young by a shot. They break down his decisive back nine and journey to the top: turning pro at 25, not reaching the PGA Tour full-time until age 37.

Plus: Cam Young's fateful bunker gamble on 18 and the way his narrative has shifted rhe past year, heartbreak for Sam Burns with another near-miss at a major, controversy surrounding Scottie Scheffler’s 17th-hole TIO ruling, a bigger picture discussion about rules enforcement in the wake of Bryson DeChambeau’s two-shot penalty, and whether Royal Birkdale's firm-and-fast setup played as a true links test.

Don't forget to like, comment, subscribe, and follow us on socials @thesmylieshow! Thanks for watching our major championship coverage all year long.

Chapters

0:00 Intro — Smylie's last dispatch from Royal Birkdale
2:11 Ryan Fox's Open Championship win, recapped
3:25 Cam Young's early charge sets the clubhouse target
7:05 Sam Burns' back-nine bogeys + live show bloopers
10:11 Scottie, Fleetwood, and Bryson fall out of contention
12:40 Fox's decisive back nine and winning approach
16:39 Ryan Fox's Swing and Background
18:22 Sam Burns' heartache and the "can he close" question
20:06 Cam Young
29:53 Scottie Scheffler's major-less season, dissected
33:36 Scottie's TIO ruling and the Bryson "careless" debate
39:14 Rules consistency
47:07 Golf's mental game and controlling emotions on tour
51:12 Tommy Fleetwood, Si Woo Kim, and Royal Birkdale's true links test
59:14 Ryan Gerard and sign-off from Major season!

#theopen #golf #ryanfox #smylieshow #smyliekaufman #camyoung #samburns #scottiescheffler

356: Saturday at the Open Championship: Rory Responds To Bryson + Ryan Gerard Joins The Show! Jul 18, 2026

Show notes

Coming off a wild Friday night with a two-shot penalty assessed to Bryson DeChambeau - and a third round on Saturday where Smylie Kaufman was calling all the action in the Bryson & Sam Burns group - Smylie joins Charlie Hulme to break down all the major storylines on Saturday from Royal Birkdale.

SK and CH discuss some pointed comments from Rory McIlroy directed at Bryson, and general player reaction to the fallout from Bryson's penalty ... but while in the middle of that discussion, are joined LIVE by Ryan Gerard, in the second-to-last group on Sunday! Ryan gives us the details on his round with hickory clubs at North Berwick, plus his favorite pizza spots on the road.

What will the final score be? Who will hoist the Claret Jug on Sunday? Let us know in the comments, and come right back here tomorrow for a full recap of the 154th Open Championship!

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