The Fried Egg Golf Podcast

Andy Johnson is joined by Gabby Herzig and Brentley Romine in this two-part episode. To start, Andy and Gabby discuss her recent article in The Athletic about the impact of the 2024 U.S. Presidential election on a potential PGA Tour-PIF agreement. Gabby details the role of the Department of Justice as part of the executive branch when it comes to antitrust laws and how each possible administration's DOJ may react to a deal regarding men's professional golf. The two also discuss the continuing evolution of YouTube golf and how the platform is changing how golf is consumed. Andy is then joined by Golf Channel's Brentley Romine, as the two chat about the state of college golf in the ever-changing NIL era of college athletics. They talk through the impact of conference realignment on the college golf landscape, the development of new facilities at schools across the country, and how the new PGA Tour U system has changed the development path for top college golfers.

Garrett Morrison is joined by Tom Schwab, superintendent at Napoleon Golf Club, a nine-hole course in Napoleon, Ohio. Tom began working at Napoleon, his hometown course, in 2021 after working at private clubs such as Merion and Aronimink. The two discuss what it means to Tom to work at the course he grew up playing and the history of Napoleon Golf Club. Tom details the challenges of maintaining a public nine-holer in a small town and talks about his plans for improving the course.

Andy Johnson is joined by Joseph LaMagna for an episode focusing on 15-time PGA Tour winner Justin Thomas. The two begin the show with and they are In and Out on during the early stages of the FedEx Fall, as the PGA Tour's fall events have become more competitive this year while the TV coverage continues to lag behind. Andy and Joseph discuss the uptick in televised college golf and consider the broadcasting future of the sport. From there, the two take a dive into the career of Justin Thomas heading into 2025. They recap the quick start to Thomas' PGA Tour career, his performance in 2017 and 2018, and the advantages his ball speed and iron play initially provided him on Tour. Andy and Joseph analyze his recent putting woes and lack of driving ability, questioning if Thomas can ever be a top-five player in the world again. To wrap up the episode, Andy and Joseph share some Recommendations on how to use screen time for both kids and adults.

Fried Egg Golf's Andy Johnson and Garrett Morrison answer questions from Club TFE members in this golf architecture mailbag episode. The two discuss how the walkability of a course impacts their thoughts on a design, share their thoughts on how to assess a course's architecture while playing it, and debate how re-designs of historic courses should be handled. Andy and Garrett look ahead to some exciting projects finishing in 2025 and wrap the episode with one new hole that stood out to them during their travels this year.

Golf architect Tom Doak sits down with Andy Johnson for another mailbag-focused episode of "Yolk with Doak." Thanks to questions from Club TFE members, Tom discusses what motivates him to continue in his career, how he helps develop the careers of his associates, and learning to appreciate his own work. Andy and Tom go back and forth about what a Doak-designed major championship course would look like and why modern golf courses may not be the best hosts for majors. To end this episode, the two take a deep dive into Tom's experience building Stone Eagle in Palm Desert, California. Tom details the initial routing for the course, the struggles of building on rocky land, and how the elevation changes impact building a golf course.

Andy Johnson is joined by The Patterson Club's Jason Meersman for a conversation touching on life, golf courses, golf course maintenance, and even the Chicago Bears. To start, the two discuss Jason's upbringing in a family of golf superintendents and how this shaped his own career path and desire to work in the sport. Jason speaks to what he learned from his father and grandfather, as well as the importance of building relationships with club members as a way to improve the golf courses he's worked at. After that, the conversation shifts to some Robert Trent Jones history, as The Patterson Club is an early RTJ design located in Fairfield, Connecticut. Andy and Jason discuss the importance of work-life balance as a golf superintendent and what Jason does away from the course to keep him grounded. To wrap things up, Andy discloses some gripes he has with golf in the northeast, specifically surrounding green speeds.

Edoardo ("Dodo") Molinari, DP World Tour member and Chief Data Strategist for Ryder Cup Team Europe, joins the podcast for a wide-ranging discussion. First, Andy Johnson and Joseph LaMagna kick off the episode with what they are In and Out on this week in the golf world. Then Joseph brings on Dodo to discuss his background, Augusta National, hot-button topics in the golf analytics community, Ryder Cup strategy, and much more. The episode wraps up with a couple of music Recommendations from Andy and Joseph.

Andy Johnson sits down with Tom Doak for the first of two October Yolk with Doak episodes. To start, Tom shares travel tips for golfers headed to Australia, New Zealand, and links courses throughout Ireland and the U.K. Andy and Tom then talk through Tom's first round at Sedge Valley and his experiences playing his own design for the first time. They then discuss the strategy around designing and playing short par fours, debating on whether longer hitters should resist temptations to reach the green in one. This leads into a conversation about the prevalence of analytics in golf, as younger golfers now have access to more data and information about their own games and swings than prior generations. This episode wraps with Tom talking through the pros and cons of working on private or resort courses and more accessible public courses, and how the feedback he'll receive is different based on how often golfers play a course.

After the conclusion of another team match play event, Andy Johnson is joined by Shane Bacon to discuss the place of match play in the professional game. The two recap last week's Presidents Cup, evaluating the format and what changes need to be made in order to improve the event. They then turn to the concept of match play as a whole, advocating for more match play events in the professional game. They highlight the format of match play forcing players to become more aggressive throughout a round, often making for more compelling television than a 72-hole stroke play event. Andy and Shane brainstorm ideas for potential match play tournaments, such as a mixed-gender event with the PGA Tour and LPGA Tour, a professional event based on college alumni, and more.

It's Canada week on the Fried Egg Golf Podcast, so Garrett Morrison is joined by Toronto-based golf architect Ian Andrew for a look at the history of Canadian golf. After a brief discussion of Royal Montreal Golf Club and Ian's work with Mike Weir, the two unpack the career of Stanley Thompson and his work at courses such as Banff Springs, Jasper Park Lodge, and more. The episode wraps with a look at some of Ian's projects, including a potential book with even more stories from Stanley Thompson's life in golf.

Andy Johnson is joined by PGA Tour editorial lead Sean Martin to preview this week's Presidents Cup at Royal Montreal Golf Club. The two discuss the top storylines heading into the event, including Sahith Theegala's U.S. team debut, Mike Weir's course setup, and how the captain's picks will perform on both sides. Andy and Sean also touch on Scottie Scheffler's recent struggles in team events and the idea of "designated putters." To wrap things up, they both share a player on each team that they are most intrigued by and predict the final score come Sunday night.

Andy Johnson is joined by Garrett Morrison to discuss Garrett's recent trip to a hidden treasure trove of American golf, the state of Maine. They talk through the travel across the country from Portland (Oregon) to Portland (Maine), the affordability of some of the state's finest courses, and the vast number of nine-hole options in the area. After discussing the best time of year to head on a Maine golf trip, Garrett also shares stories of some personal interactions from the trip, reminiscing on the kind people he met while on this golf journey.

Garrett Morrison, Andy Johnson and Joseph LaMagna discuss the future LIV Golf as the league's third season wraps up at the Team Championship in Dallas this upcoming weekend. The episode begins with the three discussing what they are In and Out on after a busy weekend of golf at the Irish Open and Solheim Cup. Then, the conversation turns to LIV Golf with a recap of the Individual Championship, won by Jon Rahm on Sunday, before the trio debate where the league should go from here. Topics include a new television deal for the league, the need for more youth in the player pool, and the importance of a development tour to the success of the main circuit. To wrap things up, Garrett, Andy and Joseph share some Recommendations for some fall viewing, listening, and eating.

Andy Johnson previews this week's 2024 Solheim Cup, taking place at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Virginia. First, Andy is joined by Meg Adkins to talk major storylines and players to watch before the competition gets underway. They discuss how the course may favor the American side, whether Leona Maguire can thrive in match play once again, and how much pressure the Americans may be under to prevent four straight Solheim Cups without a win. Next, Scott Furlong, superintendent at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club, sits down with Andy to discuss his career path from teacher to golf course superintendent, the history of the club and its involvement in international competitions, how the course is looking heading into this week, and more.

Andy Johnson is joined by Darragh Garrahy to preview this week's Irish Open at Royal County Down. The two discuss the history of the Irish Open and how the tournament could increase its stature in the game in the future before discussing the golf course. Andy and Darragh go back-and-forth about this week's venue, detailing what makes Royal County Down so special. They break down the sand dunes running through the front nine of the course, the benefit of the nature and land that the course is located on, and the novelty of playing on top of dunes at Royal County Down as opposed to other courses. To wrap things up, Andy and Darragh talk through their favorite holes that the pros will play this week.

Andy Johnson is joined by Joseph LaMagna and Kyle Porter to review the 2024 PGA Tour season. The trio discuss multiple aspects of the year, including Scottie Scheffler's week-to-week dominance, Xander Schauffele's major performances, the PGA Tour schedule, and more. After discussing how strengths of fields stack up on each major professional tour, they look ahead to 2025 and beyond. Picks are made for players to watch next year, and questions are asked about how the Tour can develop new stars, especially as the first wave of LIV Golf contracts are set to expire. To wrap things up, Kyle suggests a new, shorter PGA Tour season that may lead to more top players trying to round into form for a shorter sprint.

Andy Johnson is joined by The Fried Egg's Matt Rouches and Clear Creek Director of Greens and Grounds Mike Cunniff on this two-part episode. To start, Andy and Matt discuss Matt's recent trip through the Nebraska Sandhills, where Matt played 14 different golf courses in six days. They discuss the best golf in the region, Matt's prior experience living in the Sandhills, playing courses with sand greens, and how he'd play just ten rounds in the area. After that, Andy sits down with Mike Cunniff at Clear Creek, a course in Carson City, Nevada next to Lake Tahoe. Andy and Mike talk about the Coore and Crenshaw course in the mountains, how they maintain the course in the elevation and with houses surrounding it, Mike's work at Old Sandwich and more.

It's Tour Championship week and the FedEx Cup Top 30 will have to face a new-look East Lake following a renovation by Andrew Green. To start this episode, Garrett Morrison and Joseph LaMagna discuss what they are In and Out on following the Women's Open at St. Andrews, with notes on the Road Hole and slow pace of play. After that, Andy Johnson sits down with Andrew Green for a quick chat about his work at East Lake and what to expect from the course this week. Garrett and Joseph then discuss some of the changes made to the course and what Andrew Green renovations tend to look like. Joseph then breaks down three player storylines to watch this week as the 2024 PGA Tour season comes to a close. To wrap things up, Garrett and Joseph share some Recommendations, including a northeast golf course and YouTube content to watch.

Andy Johnson is joined by Steven Biehl, superintendent at Wolf River Golf Park in Bear Lake, Michigan. Steven led a full renovation of this course that cost just $150,000 and discusses the challenges of renovating on a tight budget. Andy and Steven discuss Steven's background in agronomy and golf course architecture, the fulfillment Steven found in shaping bunkers, and even how to rebuild a pond. The two then look ahead at what work is left to do at the course, such as creating new forward tees for more to play.

Garrett Morrison and Meg Adkins are joined by 2013 Women's Open Champion and United States Solheim Cup captain Stacy Lewis to discuss this week's Women's Open at St. Andrews. To start things off, Garrett and Meg go through what they're In and Out on, hitting on Lydia Ko's strong season and the latest in Billy Horschel content from the PGA Tour. After that, Stacy Lewis calls in to discuss her win at St. Andrews in 2013, her current form entering this week's tournament, what she's looking for in Solheim Cup captain's picks and more (24:50). To wrap things up, Garrett and Meg give some Recommendations for you as summer comes to a close.

Andy Johnson is joined by golf architect Tom Doak as Tom answers listener-submitted questions coming from Club TFE members. The two cover topics such as the golf architecture book that Tom keeps going back to, how he handles restoring courses he designed, his work at Bandon, why amateurs should prioritize playing match play, and more. Thanks to Tom for joining us for this installment of Yolk with Doak episodes.

Garrett Morrison and Joseph LaMagna are joined by Lawrence Donegan to find out where high-level amateur golf stands today. To start this episode, the two discuss what they are In and Out on after this past weekend of golf, including the Women's Olympic Golf tournament, won by Lydia Ko, and the impact of rankings systems on the professional golf world. Lawrence Donegan, golf journalist and father of Niall Shiels-Donegan, an amateur golfer playing in this week’s U.S. Amateur, then calls in to discuss the state of amateur golf. Lawrence offers his thoughts on the high-level amateur game from the perspective of both a parent and a journalist, explaining how players handle technology, navigate the amateur golf landscape, and the pitfalls of the World Amateur Golf Rankings system (21:03). To wrap things up, Garrett and Joseph share some Recommendations for other podcasts you may enjoy!

Tom Doak returns for the first of two brand new Yolk with Doak episodes. Tom talks through his recent projects at Sandglass, Childress Hall and Cabot Highlands before discussing his favorite parts of working in Scotland. He shares stories of working with Padraig Harrington at the Renaissance Club and what he would take back to America from his most recent trip to Scotland. To wrap things up, Tom discusses his long history with North Berwick and why the course’s reputation has changed so much over the last 40 years.

Andy Johnson is joined by Joseph LaMagna and Sean Martin to break down the 2024 Men's Olympic Golf Tournament held at Le Golf National in Paris. Before diving into last weekend's action, Andy and Joseph discuss what they are In and Out on in the world of golf. Then, Sean joins to discuss the rise of Olympic golf, Scottie Scheffler's come-from-behind gold medal win and what it means for his 2024 season, Jon Rahm's collapse and more. Andy and Joseph then finish this episode with Recommendations for game-lovers and travelers alike.

In this two-part episode, Garrett Morrison is first joined by Joseph LaMagna for a look at Le Golf National, the host course of the Olympic golf competitions in Paris for the next two weeks. Garrett and Joseph share memories of how the course played during the 2018 Ryder Cup and predict which men may have a chance at medaling at a course that fits their game. For the second half of this show, Garrett chats with Jon Wall, superintendent of Shanqin Bay Golf Club in Hainan, China. The two discuss Jon's background in England, his path to Asia, his experiences in Hong Kong and Vietnam and more from his golf-related travels before diving into the the design and agronomy of Shanqin Bay.

Andy Johnson is joined by DP World Tour pro and 2016 Olympian Nicolas Colsaerts as the 2024 Olympic golf competition kicks off this week at Le Golf National in Paris. The two discuss Nicolas's experience representing Belgium at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, both in the golf tournament and as part of the greater Olympic community. Andy and Nicolas debate how team golf can be implemented into future Olympics and whether players would like to see that as a change. Nicolas also shares stories from his time supporting Belgium in other sports while in Rio alongside his teammate and countryman Thomas Pieters. After wrapping up with Nicolas, Andy and Garrett Morrison talk about where golf stands in the Olympics today and how it could become a bigger part of the sport and players' legacies in the future.

With the 2024 men's major season in the books, Andy Johnson is joined by Geoff Shackelford and Joseph LaMagna to hand out grades to both players and venues for their showings in the majors in 2024. The three touch on Xander Schauffele's historic performance, Scottie Scheffler's highs and lows, Bryson DeChambeau carrying the mantle for LIV golfers and more. After notes on non-winners including Collin Morikawa, Brooks Koepka and Ludvig Åberg, they then discuss each major venue of 2024, highlighting both the positives and the negatives of some of golf's most iconic venues.

After the final men's major of 2024, Garrett, Joseph, and Andy discuss their takeaways from Royal Troon and Xander Schauffele's second major win of the year. They start by evaluating where Xander stands amongst the top tier of stars in today's game, especially compared to Scottie Scheffler. The trio then cover how the golf course played all week and the value of having links courses on a consistent rotation for the professional game. After notes on the performances of Billy Horschel and Justin Rose, they then look ahead at what's to come for the rest of the season.

Ahead of the year's final men's major, Garrett Morrison and Joseph LaMagna wrap up preparations for the 2024 Open Championship at Royal Troon. The two discuss early insights from player press conferences and potential weather in the area overnight on Wednesday before diving into a re-watch of the 2016 Open's final round. With notes on Henrik Stenson, Phil Mickelson, a baby-faced Tyrrell Hatton and more, Garrett and Joseph use the footage to break down how the golf course may play this week with how the game has changed. To wrap things up, it's a segment of picks and predictions for what will hopefully be another excellent weekend of golf.

Andrew Cotter joins Andy Johnson to preview the 2024 Open Championsip at Royal Troon. The two dive into the biggest storylines going into the tournament, including the history of the golf course, how Rory McIlroy will bounce back after the U.S. Open, what to expect from Bryson DeChambeau, how Scottie Scheffler's week could define his 2024 season, and more.

Garrett Morrison is joined by Sam Cooper, an associate at architecture firm Clayton, DeVries & Pont, to take a deep dive into Royal Troon, the host of next week's 2024 Open Championship. Garrett and Sam discuss the history of the course, the evolution of the Postage Stamp and other standout holes. After wrapping up on Royal Troon, Sam talks about his experiences playing every links course in Great Britain for his "Links from the Road" tour.

Andy Johnson and Joseph LaMagna return after the holiday weekend to check on where things stand in professional golf as we enter the second half of 2024. To start, they decide they're IN on both Scottish golf and vacations and OUT on the location of the majors on the golf calendar. As the two move on to recapping the first six months of the year, they break down the careers of stars in decline, the gains being made in ball speed metrics and the development of young players such as Akshay Bhatia. As always, the episode ends with a couple of recommendations as you start your week.

Andy Johnson is wondering - what is the biggest question in golf right now? He's joined by CBS Sports' Kyle Porter, architect Brian Schneider and former PGA Tour pro Roberto Castro to discuss what's on the minds of some of golf's deep thinkers. With questions about the professional and amateur game, Andy and guests take a look at where golf may be headed in the future.

Brett Hochstein—a California-based golf architect who has shaped features for Tom Doak, Gil Hanse, Jay Blasi, and Jim Urbina, among others—joins Garrett Morrison to talk about his plans for two high-potential Sacramento municipal golf courses. Brett has just completed a master plan for a renovation of William Land Golf Course, a nine-holer in a city park, and he expects to finish his master plan for historical work at Haggin Oaks, an Alister MacKenzie design, later this year. Brett talks with Garrett about a variety of issues related to these projects, from California's water crisis to techniques for building great golf on flat land to MacKenzie's wild late-period greens. Brett and Garrett wrap up the episode with some chat about sneaky-good public courses on California's Central Coast.

After another packed weekend of professional golf, Garrett Morrison and Joseph LaMagna first welcome on Meg Adkins for a round of In/Out following the KPMG Women's PGA Championship, won by Amy Yang at Sahalee Country Club. Then, Garrett and Joseph discuss the Travelers Championship and whether a sub-60 round still holds the same weight following Cameron Young's performance on Saturday. The two also break down how the course changes at TPC River Highlands held up against the best players in the world following the renovations made for this year's tournament.

Garrett Morrison is joined by Shane Ryan, writer for Golf Digest, to discuss all things Rory McIlroy following last week's U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2. The two break down Rory's Sunday and Shane's blow-by-blow article of the events that transpired. Moving on from the 2024 U.S. Open, Garrett and Shane then take a look back at Rory and where he was as a player and person when he last won a major ten years ago.

Following a historic weekend of golf, Garrett, Joseph, and Andy sit down to discuss takeaways and on-the-ground insights from an all-time U.S. Open. They start by debriefing Bryson's dramatic victory and the keys to his success. The conversation shifts to analysis of another close call for Rory McIlroy. The episode closes with a lengthy discussion on Pinehurst No. 2 as a venue for championship golf: how it thrives, how it could be improved, and feelings around its position as a USGA anchor site for future U.S. Open Championships.

Garrett brings on Joseph, who is covering this week's U.S. Open on site at Pinehurst No. 2, to discuss Joseph's early impressions of the course, including his sense of its difficulty and firmness level. In the second half of the pod, Garrett and Joseph discuss takeaways from their recent rewatch of the 2014 U.S. Open at No. 2, which Martin Kaymer won in an eight-stroke runaway. They finish up with some thoughts on which players might perform well this week.

Shane Bacon joins Andy Johnson to preview the 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2. The two dive into the biggest storylines going into the tournament, including Scottie Scheffler's dominant form, Jon Rahm's injuries, and how the venerable course will fare against today's best players.

Andy and Garrett convene to discuss the venue of next week's 2024 U.S. Open, the great Pinehurst No. 2. They touch on the skill sets that the course emphasizes, the short-game challenges it poses, the best aspects of Donald Ross's design and Coore & Crenshaw's 2011 renovation, and a few of the most interesting holes.

2014 FedEx Cup champion and former PGA Tour Player Advisory Council member Billy Horschel joins the podcast for a wide-ranging conversation on hot-button topics in the world of professional golf. Andy and Joseph kick off the podcast with what they are IN and OUT on this week, including major championship venue selection and coordination across tours. Then Horschel joins to lend his perspective on his career, modern equipment, the prospect of a world tour, negotiations with the Saudi PIF, his West Ham fandom, and more. The episode closes with Recommendations from Andy and Joseph.

For the sixth installment of our Great Courses series, historian Lee Pace joins Garrett for a deep dive into the history of the Pinehurst Resort and Donald Ross's Pinehurst No. 2 golf course. Lee and Garrett discuss the origins of James Walker Tufts's retreat in the unpromising environs of the North Carolina Sandhills, how golf was introduced to Pinehurst, and Ross's influence on the development of several excellent courses at the resort. They also detail the evolution of the No. 2 course's architecture, from its earliest iteration in 1907, to the introduction of Bermudagrass greens in the mid-1930s, to Coore & Crenshaw's restoration in the early 2010s. Lee and Garrett finish with descriptions of a few of No. 2's key holes.

Check out Lee Pace's 2012 account The Golden Age of Pinehurst as well as his most recent book Good Walks.

Gabby Herzig (@GabbyHerzig) of The Athletic joins Garrett and Joseph to discuss the 2024 U.S. Women's Open at Lancaster Country Club. First, Garrett and Joseph kick off the episode with what they are IN and OUT on in the world of professional golf. Then Gabby joins to discuss Lexi Thompson's retirement announcement and how her career will be remembered. The three of them then discuss other major storylines for this year's USWO, including Nelly Korda's prospects of winning her third major championship. The episode closes with Recommendations.

John Fields, the longtime head coach of the men's golf team at the University of Texas, joins Garrett to discuss a variety of topics in advance of the NCAA D1 Men's Golf Championship. Coach Fields talks about the Longhorns' season so far and the story behind how UT became the host of the men's and women's NCAA championships at the Gil Hanse-renovated North Course at Omni La Costa in Southern California. He also identifies a couple of back-nine holes to watch for in the coming days. In the back half of the episode, Coach Fields details his coaching career and his experiences with players like Cody Gribble, Jordan Spieth, and Scottie Scheffler.

Following an eventful weekend of major championship golf, Garrett, Andy, and Joseph offer takeaways from the 2024 PGA Championship. They discuss Xander Schauffele's win and how his career arc illuminates current dynamics in the professional game. They also discuss Valhalla Golf Club's performance as a tournament venue, with Garrett offering some devil's-advocate rebuttals to the critiques of the course's design and setup that Fried Egg Golf has offered this past week. Finally, they touch on Bryson DeChambeau's emergence as a people's hero (and how that image-making might be facilitated by the division between LIV and the PGA Tour) as well as the PGA of America's future venue selections and setup conundrums.

One day away from the start of the 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club, Garrett and Joseph jump on the pod to discuss the insights they gleaned from rewatching the 2014 PGA Championship, the last major held at Valhalla. They chat about how the tournament played in 2014 and how this week's PGA Championship may play similarly or differently. Most of the conversation focuses on the golf course, both from a design and a playing style perspective, but there's also some discussion/dissection of 2014 champion Rory McIlroy's game, strategic approach, and mental attitude. The episode closes with thoughts on which players stand to benefit from this week's setup and conditions.

Another major championship week is here which means our Five Things episode will get you ready for the PGA Championship. Andy welcomes Kyle Porter (@KylePorterCBS) to delve into Rory, Scottie, Brooks, Bryson, Spieth, and yes of course, Blockie. They also cover the PGA Championship's identity, how the LIV contingent will fare, and wrap up the episode with their picks for who will walk away from Valhalla with the Wannamaker Trophy.

Angela Moser sits down in person with Garrett to share the story of how Pinehurst's latest course, the Tom Doak-designed No. 10, was built. As lead associate on the project, Angela was in charge of getting the course ready for play in under a year. From the moment she found out she was getting the job to playing the first rounds on the course, she discusses the most difficult parts of the project, how the role of lead associate differs from shaper, and the holes she thinks will be the most talked about.

Four months into the 2024 pro golf season, Andy and Joseph sit down to discuss the professional golfers whose stocks have gone up and down the most so far this year. First, though, they talk about what they are IN and OUT on this week, including reflections from a visit to Bandon Dunes and a bizarre ruling on the DP World Tour. Then they go through the golfers whose stocks have risen and fallen the most in 2024 and how the best players in the world stack up today. The episode closes with Recommendations.

George Bryan IV is a professional golfer and YouTube star who, along with his brother Wesley (a PGA Tour winner), operates the popular Bryan Bros YouTube channel. In the midst of his preparation for the PGA Tour's Myrtle Beach Classic, which he will play in next week on a sponsor exemption, George joined Garrett for a wide-ranging conversation about his parallel careers in pro golf and content creation, his evolving mental approach on the course, his relationship with his brother, the rise of YouTube golf, and his and Wesley's plans to run a club in Columbia, South Carolina.

Andy and Garrett convene for their first golf architecture mailbag in a while, tackling questions about new courses they're excited to see in the next couple of years, which current tour pros might make good architects, how The Lido bucks convention, the holes at Yale that they're most eager to see restored, and the cultural forces that are shaping golf course design right now. As usual, they open the episode with In and Out, and they wrap it up with Recommendations.

Note: The Scottie Scheffler interview that Garrett refers to in this episode was conducted by Friend of the Program Sean Martin for PGA Tour dot com. Read that piece here.

Designed by Brian Schneider and Blake Conant, Old Barnwell near Aiken, South Carolina, is one of the best-reviewed and most buzzed-about new golf courses of the past several years. In this episode, Garrett sits down with Old Barnwell's founder Nick Schreiber to delve into the nuts and bolts of how the course came to be. They talk about Nick's early years as a caddie, his vision for a "mission-focused" private club, how he found the property, why he hired Schneider and Conant, and his plans for Old Barnwell's second and third courses. They also discuss the broader state of the golf course industry—specifically, whether the current surge in construction might prove to be a bubble.

Following an exciting weekend of both men's and women's professional golf, Andy and Joseph convene to discuss the biggest storylines in professional golf. They start with what they are IN and OUT on, including appreciation for the dominance by Scottie Scheffler and Nelly Korda, along with qualms about tours stacking high-profile events against one another. Next, the two go through the biggest question marks remaining in the 2024 men's major championship season. Then Meg Adkins joins to provide her perspective on the Chevron Championship, Nelly Korda's ascension, and how women's golf should be prepared to capitalize on the momentum in women's sports. The episode closes with Recommendations.

Shane Bacon joins the podcast to talk about calling the featured groups at the Masters plus a debrief of the tournament and Scottie Scheffler. The two get into Augusta National as a tournament venue and how the course has changed its identity for the purpose of challenging the best in the game. Then they dive into all things Scottie Scheffler and how his simple process and mindset have set him up for a long run of greatness and how other players have struggled with the things Scottie does so well. Finally they finish off with some Harbour Town/RBC Heritage chatter and rounding thoughts on Bryson Dechambeau and other Masters loose ends.

After Scottie Scheffler's victorious march through Augusta National on Sunday, Garrett and Joseph sat down to discuss a terrific 2024 Masters. First they talk about what they're IN and OUT on this week; then they run through a couple of their high-level takeaways from the tournament. Later, they bring on Andy Johnson (24:49) and Shane Bacon (58:18) to get some on-the-ground perspectives. Garrett and Joseph wrap up the episode with Recommendations.

Ill-advised as it might be, we do what the episode title promises. Andy and Garrett sit down in the Draddy House in Augusta, Georgia, to rank all 18 holes at Augusta National Golf Club, from worst to best. Giddy up.

Trevor Immelman, 2008 Masters champion and CBS lead analyst, joins Andy Johnson to discuss storylines leading into the 2024 Masters. They run through their traditional "five things," starting out with Trevor's earliest Augusta National memories and touching on how to prep for the course's famous sidehill lies as well as how they expect various LIV players to perform. They also touch on the dreary weather at recent editions of The Masters and the importance of firm conditions in identifying and differentiating the best players. Both Trevor and Andy also pick a winner (hint: it isn't a surprise).

In this fifth installment of our Great Courses series, we dig into the history of the golf architecture at Augusta National Golf Club. Garrett is joined by Joshua Pettit, the principal architect at Pacific Golf Design, the founder of the Alister MacKenzie Institute, and the editor of The MacKenzie Reader. Garrett and Josh discuss the lives and ideas of Bobby Jones and Alister MacKenzie, Augusta National's original architects, as well as the influences and philosophical convictions that both men brought to the design of the course. Garrett and Josh also talk about how several specific holes have changed over the years and whether a restoration of certain original features would be feasible or desirable.

Andy Johnson is joined by Joseph LaMagna to break down their favorite small storylines going into the 2024 Masters. Before they get into the Masters, though, they have a lively discussion on Stephen Jaeger's win at the Houston Open, and why the event should be elevated to signature status.

Garrett and Meg kick off this episode by reviewing two major storylines from the current LPGA Tour season. Then they dig into a preview of next week's Augusta National Women's Amateur, first talking a few players to watch at the tournament (17:44). Then they bring on Stanford University standout and three-time ANWA invitee Megha Ganne (25:18) for a discussion of her college season so far, her past experiences at ANWA, and her memories from contending at the 2021 U.S. Women's Open.

Andy and Joseph start out with what they are IN and OUT on this week. including gambling ads, Paddy Harrington's social media, and the absence of match play on the PGA Tour. Hughes Norton, a famed professional golf agent, then joins Andy to discuss the new book he co-authored with George Peper, Rainmaker. Hughes worked for Mark McCormack, founder of IMG, and was the agent for players like Tiger Woods, Greg Norman, and Bobby Clampett. They dive into stories from his career in golf highlighted in the book and some that didn't make the pages. Topics discussed include the origins of a world golf tour model, Tiger's early years and working with Earl Woods, the start of the OWGR, Seve Ballesteros' double swoosh visor, and much more. Finally, Joseph returns for recommendations.

On May 2, Bandon Dunes' latest par-3 course, Bandon Shorty's, will open during the resort's 25th-anniversary celebration. In this episode, Garrett sits down at Bandon Dunes with one of the designers of Shorty's, Keith Cutten, a partner in the firm Whitman, Axland & Cutten. Garrett and Keith discuss the origins of WAC, the renowned skills of his co-designers Rod Whitman and Dave Axland, the goals and process behind the Shorty's project, and the joys and difficulties of designing short courses in general. In the second half of the pod, Garrett and Keith dig into the fascinating ideas of Keith's book The Evolution of Golf Course Design. His basic argument is that the broader trends in society and culture have influenced the golf architecture of each era in ways that haven't been thoroughly investigated. Garrett loves discussing this kind of stuff, so he and Keith really get after it here.

After Garrett and Joseph run through what they're IN and OUT on this week, they bring on Sean Martin (@PGATOURSMartin)—Lead, Editorial at the PGA Tour—to discuss takeaways from an excellent Players Championship. They go in depth on Scottie Scheffler, touching on his mental and strategic approach, his status within his generation of players, and even his swing technique. They also try to explain what makes TPC Sawgrass such a compelling tournament course. Garrett and Joseph then wrap up the episode with some recommendations.

In 1991, Michael Bamberger took a leave of absence from his job at a newspaper to "search for the primal heart of golf." First he caddied for Peter Teravainen on the European Tour, then he set off on an exploration of the Scottish linksland. The result was the widely loved book To the Linkland, a 30th-anniversary edition of which is now available for pre-order. Michael joins Garrett to discuss the themes of the book, how the golf world has changed in the past three decades, and whether he thinks it would be possible to undertake a similar journey today.

Garrett and Joseph start off the episode with what they are IN and OUT on after an eventful weekend of professional golf. Then they move into a thorough discussion of Bay Hill, dissecting its strengths and weaknesses as both a test of professional golf and as a golf course. Looking ahead to the Players Championship, the two transition to a conversation about TPC Sawgrass including thoughts on what makes the golf course special and which players may find success there this week. They close out the podcast with Recommendations.

As we've mentioned a number of times recently on the pod, golf course construction costs are rising. As a result, very few new (or newly renovated) courses are set up to be affordable to play. This is a major problem for the game—but it can be addressed. To discuss how to construct, maintain, and run a successful mom-and-pop golf course, Garrett Morrison sits down with Mike Young, the architect and owner of The Fields Golf Course in LaGrange, Georgia. Mike talks about the secrets behind building greens, bunkers, and even irrigation systems affordably. He also details the forces in the golf course industry that prevent operators from making smart, economical choices. Finally, Mike gives an update on Warmouth Sands, his new municipal design in Vidalia, Georgia.

Andy and Joseph kick off the episode by discussing what they are IN and OUT on this week. Then World No. 42 Ryan Fox joins Andy and Joseph to talk about his unique path into professional golf after not playing a competitive tournament until age 18. He talks about his experiences traveling the world to compete across multiple global tours, playing in his first Masters while fighting pneumonia, missing out on the Presidents Cup, playing in the Olympics, and more. Andy and Joseph close out the episode with Recommendations.

In the latest installment of our Superintendent Series, superintendent Mike Manthey joins Andy to discuss his role in restoring Seth Raynor's design at Midland Hills Country Club near Minneapolis, Minnesota. Mike talks about how he found Raynor's original plans, his favorite stretch of holes post-restoration, how he navigated the removal of 2,000 trees, and the importance of trying to make Midland Hills the best version of itself rather than imitating other clubs.

The Masters is just six weeks away. Andy and Joseph give their thoughts on the golf course, the skills required to succeed at Augusta, and major storylines entering the tournament. Before getting into the Masters, Andy and Joseph discuss what they are IN on and OUT on for this week, including expectations for a former star's return to professional golf this week. To close out the episode, they give Recommendations.

Decorated Getty Images photographer David Cannon joins Garrett to talk about his career, which has spanned more than 40 years and nearly 200 men's and women's golf majors. David tells Garrett about his early years as a competitive golfer—when he played with Sandy Lyle, Nick Faldo, and Seve Ballesteros, among other European legends—before getting into his experiences, techniques, and philosophies as a photographer of golf tournaments. He talks about capturing a couple of particularly famous images of Seve (one at the 1984 Open and the other at the 1993 European Masters), learning how to get in the right positions at a golf tournament, documenting raucous post-Ryder Cup parties, making the transition from film to digital, and much more.

After starting with what they're IN and OUT on this week, Andy and Joseph bring on Shane Bacon (@shanebacon) to discuss the state of the West Coast Swing. They touch on what was good and bad about each of this year's West Coast events, why many of them fell flat, and how to incentivize players to create a more compelling product. They also ask whether there are any PGA Tour courses that truly test the pros outside of Riviera, and whether the schedule can be restructured to give the West Coast tournaments a better chance of avoiding poor weather and turf conditions. They then name some players they think have a good chance at The Masters before Andy and Joseph wrap up with recommendations.

Jay Blasi, the golf architect behind the exciting redesign of Golden Gate Park Golf Course in San Francisco, joins Garrett for a wide-ranging chat. First, they discuss the subtle virtues of this week's PGA Tour venue, Riviera Country Club. Then they dig into the Golden Gate Park story: the origins of this municipal short course, the issues it had until recently, and Jay's role in reviving and improving it. Jay and Garrett close out the episode by talking about a few hot topics in golf architecture, including rollback and AI.

After starting the episode with what they're IN and OUT on this week, Andy and Joseph bring on Gary Young, the Senior Vice President of Rules & Competitions at the PGA Tour. They discuss how Gary became a PGA Tour rules official, what a "PGA Tour setup" entails, how he balances difficulty and fairness in presenting a golf course, his favorite venues to work with, his dream tour course, and the general evolution of championship setups in the modern game. They also touch on the hot-button issues of TIO (temporary immovable obstruction) relief, preferred lies, and pace of play. Andy and Joseph then wrap up the episode with recommendations.

Andy and Joseph kick off the pod with what they are IN on and OUT on for this week. Then Kyle Porter (@KylePorterCBS) of CBS Sports and Normal Sport joins to discuss the state of professional golf on the heels of LIV Golf's increased public attention during LIV Mayakoba. The three discuss where LIV is succeeding, where it falls short, and how the league's potential growth impacts the professional golf landscape. To conclude the episode, Andy and Joseph each offer a recommendation.

Andy and Joseph start off with what they are IN on and OUT on for this week. Shane Bacon then joins the two to reminisce on Anthony Kim's career in golf, from his teenage years to his pro career to his subsequent injury struggles and exit from the game. The trio then discuss what Kim's best options are for a return to professional golf and the practicality of it all. To round off the episode, Andy, Joseph, and Shane each give a recommendation.

Frequently cited in this episode: Tom Callahan's 2009 profile of Anthony Kim for Golf Digest

With construction costs rising, the pricatag for renovating a golf course has gotten disturbingly big in the past couple of years. For low-budget public facilities, the dream of a transformative renovation has begun to seem out of reach. But in certain situations, good work can still be done on the cheap. Our guest today, Clay Payne, is the head superintendent at Buffalo Dunes, a municipal course in Garden City, Kansas, which is in the midst of a six-year renovation project. Clay talks with Garrett about how he and his crew have made a relatively small amount of money go a long way. They also discuss Clay's childhood on the sand-green courses of southwestern Kansas, his early-career jobs at Dismal River and Ballyneal, and how he has gotten the local community involved in his efforts at Buffalo Dunes. This episode of our Superintendent Series is brought to you by the Toro Company.

This episode tackles one of the hottest topics in golf today: if, after an infusion of funding from private equity and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, the PGA Tour were to create a global schedule of elite events, what should this "world tour" look like? Andy, Joseph, and Garrett each give their proposals. First, though, they participate in a new opening segment, "In and Out," in which they discuss, among other things, Justin Thomas's reemergence, Scottie Scheffler's putting, and the proper pronunciation of "amateur."

ESPN's Kevin Clark (@bykevinclark) joins Andy and Joseph for some comparisons between NFL franchises and pro golfers. Each gives three comps, along with rationales. Sean Martin (@PGATOURSmartin)—Lead, Editorial at the PGA Tour—then joins (57:25) to recap all that happened in Hawaii to start the 2024 season. Sean, Andy, and Joseph review the winners of the Sentry and the Sony Open and identify some standard players. The second half of the conversation delves into the recent fad of broomstick putters and why more young players have started using them.

A lot has been going on with the business side of the PGA Tour recently, all of it pretty weird. The Tour is trying to form a for-profit entity, supposedly called "PGA Tour Enterprises," with the backing of various investors, including commissioner Jay Monahan's frenemies at the Saudi Arabian PIF, which funds LIV Golf; purse sizes are spiraling out of control, and title sponsors are being asked to bear some of the burden; and in general the proudly non-profit Tour is moving awkwardly toward a for-profit model. To get some clarity on these matters, Garrett sits down with Josh Carpenter (@JoshACarpenter) of Sports Business Journal. Garrett and Josh discuss the PGA Tour's recent adventures in business, including its battle/partnership (?) with LIV and the PIF, the effect of Jon Rahm's departure, Rory McIlroy's world tour dreams, and the Tour's increasingly precarious relationship with its own tournaments and title sponsors.

To wrap up the initial run of our Great Courses series, Garrett brings on the doyen of Australian golf Michael Clayton (@mikeclaytongolf) to discuss the brilliant courses at Royal Melbourne. Garrett and Mike discuss Mike's personal history with Royal Melbourne, the architectural history of Alister MacKenzie's West Course and Alex Russell's East Course, the impact of these designs on the Australian game, and the finest rounds of golf Mike has seen played over Royal Melbourne's famed Composite Course.

We loved making the first four episodes of the Great Courses series, and we hope you enjoyed listening to them. Let us know if you'd like more (and if you have suggestions for topics)!

Our first episode of the year brings Andy and Shane Bacon (@shanebacon) together to reminisce on 2023 and offer predictions for 2024. They look back on Wyndham Clark and Lilia Vu's breakout seasons, Viktor Hovland's evolution, and the feel-good story of the year in Hayden Springer's Q-School success. Looking ahead, Andy shares who he thinks will fall out of the OWGR top 10, and Shane offers makes a bold prediction about how will play in the Presidents Cup. Enjoy a lengthy discussion about New Year's Resolutions and the benefits of stretching at the top, and stay to the end to hear what Andy and Shane think about the still-vacant analyst seat at NBC.

Andy kicks off our final episode of 2023 with a monologue on the top 10 players in professional golf going into 2024. He is then joined by Steve McDonald of Turfgrass Disease Solutions to discuss Steve's unique career in turf. They talk about what it's like to work with 150-250 courses per year, distinguishing between important and trivial agronomic concerns, how expectations have changed with advances in greenkeeping equipment, and where Steve sees turfgrass maintenance going in the future.

Built (truly "built," not just "laid out") by Willie Park, Jr., in 1900 and 1901, the Old Course at Sunningdale Golf Club was, to that point, the most expensive construction project in golf history. It was also more functional, systematically designed, and artful than golfers of the 1890s would have imagined an inland course could be. It marked a major advance in golf architecture and the beginning of the period we now call "the Golden Age."

This third installment of our Great Courses series starts with an extended introduction from Garrett on the state of golf course design in the late 1800s and the turning point that Sunningdale represented. To further explore the course's design and influence, Garrett brings on Adam Lawrence (16:26), the editor of Golf Course Architecture magazine and the author of an upcoming biography of Harry Colt. Garrett and Adam discuss Sunngindale's origins, Colt's important role in refining its design, and much more.

In the second installment of our Great Courses series, we dive deep into the story of National Golf Links of America, C.B. Macdonald's masterpiece on Long Island. Garrett speaks with Chris Millard, the co-author of a 2016 history of NGLA, about Macdonald's background and personality, how he developed his idiosyncratic design philosophy in the first decade of the 20th century, his hugely important partnership with Seth Raynor, and the monumental effort he put into funding, building, grassing, and promoting National Golf Links.

Over the next couple of weeks, we'll release the first few installments of what we're calling our "Great Courses" series. These episodes will tell the stories of some of the best and most influential golf courses in history. And where else could we start but with the Old Course at St. Andrews?

Our guest is Scott Macpherson, a golf architect and historian, who recently published a revised edition of his fascinating, extraordinarily well-researched book St. Andrews: The Evolution of the Old Course. Scott joins Garrett to dispel some myths about the Old Course's history (no, it wasn't created solely by wind and sheep) and discuss how the links took on their modern form through a combination of natural and human influences.

You can order your own copy of Scott's book on his website: St. Andrews: The Evolution of the Old Course.

It has been the busiest, most exciting year in golf course development since Fried Egg Golf has existed, so Andy and Garrett sat down to talk about the best of what they saw in 2023. They discuss courses in three categories: 1) best new builds; 2) most exciting course renovations; and 3) most memorable older courses they played for the first time this year. Andy and Garrett wrap up with some chat about the golf course projects they're looking forward to seeing in 2024.

Last week, Jon Rahm announced that he had signed a massive contract with LIV Golf. This is by far the most consequential signing yet for the Saudi-backed breakaway league. Andy is joined by Shane Bacon (@shanebacon) and Joseph LaMagna (@JosephLaMagna) to discuss what Rahm's departure means for the PGA Tour, how it affects the Tour's framework agreement with LIV, what the Tour needs to do to succeed going forward, and whether LIV will become significantly more interesting to watch. Andy, Shane, and Joseph wrap things up with a little rollback talk.

The USGA and R&A announced today (Wednesday, December 6) that they plan to adjust their testing standards for golf balls, resulting in a small rollback across the game. To discuss this decision, Mike Whan and Thomas Pagel—the USGA's CEO and Chief Governance Officer, respectively—join Garrett to talk about the governing bodies' switch from bifurcation to universal rollback, why they expect the impact on average players to be minor, the feedback they've received from equipment manufacturers and professional tours, and what they hope the overall effect of the rule change on the game will be.

Don't call it an "emergency pod": Andy and Garrett throw out their plans for the week and sit down to discuss the late-breaking news that the USGA and R&A will soon announce a future universal rollback of the golf ball . Andy and Garrett talk about the events that have led to this juncture and address a number of common concerns, misapprehensions, and points of debate around the issue.

Golf Channel senior writer Ryan Lavner joins Andy for some professional-golf chat. They check in on the status of the framework agreement between the PGA Tour and the Saudi Arabian PIF, and they discuss how the Tour might need to change going forward. Then they offer some thoughts on Tiger Woods's presser at the Hero World Challenge and the state of his game. After going through some of their favorite memories from the 2023 season, Ryan and Andy finish up with some grill talk.

Acclaimed musician Drew Holcomb joins the podcast to talk about music, golf, and the intersection between the two. Drew tells Andy about how he got into golf later in his life, the way his career in music progressed in relation to his golf game, and the new courses he has played this year (along with some musical artist comps for those courses). They also touch on music on the golf course, the holiday-music genre, and which major could use a theme song.

For the second of our two Thanksgiving-week Yolk with Doak installments, Andy and golf course architect Tom Doak tackle some more listener questions. Among other topics, they discuss Doak's recent Sedge Valley and Pinehurst No. 10 projects, designing short par 4s and shot courses that challenge elite players, difficult vs. "fun" courses, a wild idea for an Olympic course, and the pros and cons of blind shots.

Tom Doak is back for the first of two new episodes. In this first one, Tom addresses a variety of listener questions. He talks about the revival of his original High Pointe design outside of Traverse City, Michigan, and how it has been a unique project for Renaissance Golf Design. Andy and Tom then discuss the takeaways Tom has from Lido after a few days on site in October.

Former PGA Tour pro Roberto Castro joins the podcast to discuss the TGL, the indoor, tech-infused golf league featuring the likes of Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy that will launch in January next year. Roberto has been helping the TGL design its gameplay, and he provides information and perspective on the league's genesis, format, and potential. Before digging into this topic, however, Roberto and Andy discuss Roberto's recent experiences playing with retro equipment. Toward the end of the episode, they talk about the direction of the PGA Tour in the "Framework Agreement" era.

Bruce Hepner, former Vice President of Tom Doak's Renaissance Golf Design, was at the forefront of many current trends in golf architecture, from the Golden Age restoration movement to the revival of the design-build method. So we figured he would have an interesting perspective on the evolution of modern golf course design. Bruce and Garrett start by chatting about Bruce's passion for music and his recent renovation of Percy Warner Golf Course, a municipal nine in Nashville. They then discuss Bruce's epoch-spanning career, touching on his work in the early 1990s with Ron Forse, his experiences on Doak projects like Pacific Dunes and Ballyneal, and his thoughts on how the golf course restoration game has changed in recent years.

A couple of weeks ago, Garrett spoke with architect Gil Hanse in front of an audience at the Pearl Street Warehouse in Washington, D.C. Their conversation was part of the National Links Trust Symposium on Municipal Golf, so they focused on Gil's résumé of municipal designs, from Rustic Canyon and Soule Park in the early 2000s, to the recently opened Park in West Palm Beach, to his ongoing projects at Maggie Hathaway in Los Angeles and Rock Creek Park in D.C. Garrett and Gil touch on a variety of larger topics, such as the importance of architectural minimalism to affordable golf course development and the recent changes in both the golf architecture industry and Gil's own workload. Many thanks to the National Links Trust for asking Garrett to be involved in this year's symposium, and for letting us share this conversation with our listeners. Find out more about the NLT's work HERE.

Garrett joins Andy, aka "Sheddie Hackett," in the Fried Egg Golf Shedquarters for the first multi-person pod recorded entirely within the four uninsulated walls of Andy's backyard shed. They celebrate this momentous occasion by picking a "Dream 18" for Sand Valley in Nekoosa, Wisconsin. They select their favorite holes at each number (1 through 18) from the resort's five existing courses: Coore & Crenshaw's Sand Valley, David McLay Kidd's Mammoth Dunes, Coore & Crenshaw's Sandbox, Tom Doak and Brian Schneider's re-creation of C.B. Macdonald's Lido, and Tom Doak's Sedge Valley. Andy also gets in a few digs at large flagsticks.

Australian golf architect Mike Cocking returns to the pod for the first time in five years. Along with OCM design partners Geoff Ogilvy and Ashley Mead, Mike has been working more in the U.S. recently, so he and Andy have a lot to catch up on. They cover a variety of topics, including the best Ben Hogan story Mike heard while renovating Shady Oaks Country Club in Texas, how to design and build site-specific bunkers, the differences between Sandbelt golf and American golf, and some off-the-wall design concepts he'd like to try . Mike and Andy also dig deeply into two of OCM's current projects: an ambitious renovation of Course 3 at Medinah Country Club, which will debut at the 2026 Presidents Cup; and a 36-hole new build in Georgia, which will feature both a heathland-style and a Sandbelt-style course.

With the Ryder Cup in the rearview mirror and the competitive season winding down, Andy brings on Shane Bacon (@shanebacon) and Kyle Porter (@kyleportercbs) for a rollicking discussion of the year in golf. They rank the top five people and things that golf has been best to in 2023, and the conversation veers in a variety of directions, touching on playing Augusta National, coaching vs. parenting, and of course Blockie.

Dan Hixson is a golf architect based in Portland, Oregon, who has designed and built several excellent golf courses in the Pacific Northwest, including Bandon Crossings, Wine Valley, the reversible Craddock/Hankins layout at Silvies Valley Ranch, and the new Bar Run. Sitting in his home office, Dan tells Garrett about his varied career in golf course design. He begins by talking about his ongoing renovation of Lake Oswego Golf Course, a municipal facility in the Portland suburbs. He then delves into how he got interested in golf architecture as a kid, his foray into international competitive golf, his time as a club pro, and his sudden transition into golf course design. In the second half of the episode, Dan and Garrett touch on some of his most significant design projects—all of which are open to the public.

The interest and intrigue in season two of LIV Golf has waned throughout the year and in the aftermath of the bombshell that was the “Framework Agreement” with the PGA Tour. As its season winds down, LIV is front and center again and Golfweek’s Adam Woodard, who has been on the LIV beat the last two years, joins Fried Egg Golf’s Garrett Morrison to discuss the recent denial of OWGR points and how interest has dropped off severely in its second year. They also discuss the tenuous nature of that framework deal with the PGA Tour and the potential consequences if it does fall through at the year-end deadline. Will we see another round of player movement and defections between the two leagues? And how is that deal uncertainty impacting LIV and its future? They also catchup on the league’s season ending events for both team play in Miami this week and individual play in Saudi Arabia last week. 

Mathew Goggin has had one of the most interesting careers in golf and he's not yet old enough to play on the Champions Tour. Growing up in Tasmania as the son of legendary golfer Lindy Goggin (née Jennings), Mat played frequently at Royal Hobart Golf Club, which is close to the Hobart International Airport as well as a strip of sand dunes and pine trees called Seven Mile Beach. Mat often wondered why there wasn't a course on this landmass, amid the spectacular dunes. Future Tassie golfers will no longer have to wonder: with the help of architects Mike Clayton and Mike DeVries, Mat is developing a new public golf course at Seven Mile Beach, set to open in late 2024. In addition, he has already begun to plan a second course next door, this one called 5 Mile Beach. Matt gives Garrett the lowdown on these projects and also talks about his outstanding competitive career, highlighted by a victory at the 1995 Australian Amateur, five wins on the Korn Ferry Tour, and a very close call at the 2009 Open Championship. (Yes, that Open—the Tom Watson vs. Stewart Cink one.)

Mentioned in the episode: Mat's excellent essay "10 years and counting...," a reflection on his late grandfather's influence on his life in golf

Another European Ryder Cup, another "surprising" loss for Team USA. In this episode, Garrett offers some analysis of Europe's 16.5-11.5 victory in Rome as well as a few big-picture takeaways. First he is joined by Joseph LaMagna, a Fried Egg Golf contributor and the author of the Finding the Edge newsletter, to perform an autopsy of the U.S. team's performance. For a discussion of the European squad's successful week, Garrett brings on Ben Coley (39:38), the deputy head of content at sportinglife.com. Both Joseph and Ben touch on players who thrived at Marco Simone, players who faltered, and the strategic decisions that led to Sunday's result. 

Happy Ryder Cup Eve! As the first day of action in Rome approaches, Garrett checks in with three members of the Fried Egg Golf team—Andy Johnson, Brendan Porath, and Joseph LaMagna—to get their predictions for which team will win at Marco Simone, what the final score will be, and who will prove the most and least valuable players. For the second part of the episode (34:15), Garrett is joined by Shane Ryan, author of The Cup They Couldn't Lose, to discuss how the Ryder Cup has changed over time. Garrett and Shane provide historical context for this week's event by exploring how Europe gained the upper hand on the U.S. team starting in the late 1980s, and how Team USA has only recently begun to match its opponent's level of organization and leadership.

CBS lead golf analyst Trevor Immelman joins Andy to preview this week's Ryder Cup at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Italy. The two discuss the big storylines heading into the Ryder Cup, including top-tier European players, the depth of the U.S. team, Justin Thomas's prospects, and Team USA's predictable pairings.

This episode focuses on the APGA Tour, which seeks to bring greater diversity to golf by helping African Americans and other minorities to gain access to careers in the game. First, Andy speaks with APGA founder Ken Bentley about how he started the tour, what his original goals were, and what the tour has become. They also touch on some stories of APGA players. For the second half of the episode, APGA Tour and PGA Tour Canada member Aaron Beverly joins Andy to discuss his life in golf (57:45). Aaron talks about how his years of experience in ballet helped his game, and about his path from watching Tiger Woods every weekend as a kid to winning the Charlie Sifford Award and joining Tiger on a panel.

Marco Simone Golf and Country Club, outside of Rome, Italy, is this year's Ryder Cup host. In preparation for this rather high-profile gig, Marco Simone underwent a redesign by European Golf Design, in cooperation with Tom Fazio II. European Golf Design's lead architect for this project was Dave Sampson, and in this episode, Dave joins Garrett for a deep dive into the course. Dave talks about the most attention-getting holes at Marco Simone, the thought that went into building the spectator and hospitality infrastructure at the venue, whether he believes the course will actually favor the Europeans over the Americans, and some of the criticism Marco Simone has received from European Tour players. Garrett also asks Dave about his general philosophy of championship course design, including his take on the role of narrow fairways and thick rough in challenging elite players.

Shane Bacon joins Andy to draft their own Ryder Cup teams: Team Egg vs. Team Bacon. They do a schoolyard pick, drawing from the pool of American and European pros who will compete in the Ryder Cup later this month, ranking them 1-24, and offering insights and critiques on individual players. Banter ensues.

First, Andy and Garrett cover some mailbag questions they didn't get to in last Friday's pod. They try to decide whether upcoming Ryder Cup venue Marco Simone is "good," list some of their favorite fairways in golf, and discuss the importance of tee-box design. In the back half of the episode, Garrett is joined by Will Benson (40:52), the facility manager and golf superintendent at Laurelwood, a nine-hole municipal course in Eugene, Oregon. Over the past several years, Will has carried out significant design upgrades at Laurelwood, and he tells Garrett about how he made these projects happen efficiently and cheaply.

Mailbag time! Andy and Garrett address a bunch of golf architecture-related questions from listeners. Among the topics covered: this year's most exciting new-build golf courses, the best courses Andy and Garrett saw for the first time recently, the virtues of the Lido, whether more "Harbour Town-style" courses should be built, why Pete Dye is not "VERY overrated," and whether template holes are lazy and uncreative. Also, Garrett gets a headache trying to answer the following question: If you could play one architect's body of work for the rest of your golfing life, whom would you choose and why?

Zach Johnson made his six captain's picks on Tuesday, so the U.S. Ryder Cup team is now complete. In this episode, Andy and Fried Egg Golf contributor Joseph LaMagna (@JosephLaMagna) discuss the merits of the ZJ's selections, evaluate Team USA in detail, and give some preliminary takes on the European squad.

The 2023 PGA Tour season is in the books, so Kyle Porter (@KylePorterCBS) joins Garrett to discuss a few big-picture takeaways from the past year's action. First, though, they touch on Viktor Hovland's dominance in the last two legs of the FedEx Cup Playoffs and the hugely promising arc of his career so far. After running through their season-long takeaways, Kyle and Garrett briefly chat about Zach Johnson's upcoming captain's picks for the U.S. Ryder Cup team.

Jimmy Humston is the golf course superintendent at the recently opened Lido in Nekoosa, Wisconsin. He joins Andy for a discussion of what it's like to live in Nekoosa, how he got introduced to Sand Valley, and the various jobs he's held around the resort. Jimmy and Andy dig deep into the story of building the Lido, a reproduction of C.B. Macdonald's famous course on Long Island. They talk about the construction process, the challenges of re-creating a lost design in a different locale, the secrets behind growing grass on the Lido's bold features, and Jimmy's plans for the course's future aesthetic.

Host of this week's 2023 U.S. Senior Women's Open, Waverley Country Club is a Golden Age Chandler Egan design, restored in 2012 by Gil Hanse, and—in Garrett's opinion—the best golf course in Portland, Oregon. Garrett sits down with superintendent Brian Koffler to talk about Waverley's history, architecture, best holes, and agronomy. They also discuss the challenges of maintaining turf in the Pacific Northwest and the striking array of top-10 clubs Brian interned at early in his career.

To lead off this episode, Andy sits down with PGA Tour winner Michael Kim (@Mike_kim714) to chat about a variety of topics. They discuss the courses Michael played in the Bay Area while attending UC Berkley, his strong play this season, and his newly vocal presence on Twitter. They also debate the USGA and R&A's proposed Model Local Rule for a reduced-flight competition ball (Andy is for it; Michael, like most PGA Tour members, is against it). For the back half of the episode (1:05:44), Andy brings on Jimmy and Jake Hoselton of the company Grass Clippings (@GrassClippingsc). Jimmy and Jake talk about how they founded Grass Clippings to shed more light on the turf industry, and the company's plans to develop an accessible, lighted par-3 course designed by Jackson Kahn.

Yesterday marked the end of the official "comment period" for the USGA and R&A's proposed Model Local Rule regarding a reduced-flight golf ball for elite competition. That's right, ya missed it. But the PGA Tour and the PGA of America submitted their comments on time, and they're opposed. Why have these organizations aligned against the governing bodies? How have certain equipment companies put their thumbs on the scale? What's the likelihood that the USGA and R&A will cave? Garrett discusses all of those questions with Geoff Shackelford (@geoffshac), author of the Quadrilateral newsletter as well as the new book Golf Architecture for Normal People. In the second half of the episode, Garrett and Geoff shift to sunnier topics: the delight that was last week's U.S. Women's Amateur at Bel-Air Country Club, the merits of Bel-Air's design and agronomy, and the unexpected two-major season from Lilia Vu, yet another successful product of Southern California's public-golf scene.

Garrett sits down with Richie Ramsay (@RamsayGolf)—2006 U.S. Amateur champion, four-time winner on the DP World Tour, and golf-architecture aficionado—to discuss a variety of topics. They start with a debrief of Richie's recent trip to Minnesota, where he saw courses like Interlachen, White Bear Yacht Club, Edina, and of course Hazeltine, the site of his U.S. Amateur triumph and subject of an upcoming "reimagining" by Davis Love III's firm. They then discuss Richie's recent play, including his win last year at Hillside Golf Club and his appearance at the 2023 Open, and his thoughts on the direction of the DP World Tour in the context of professional golf's current upheaval. Garrett and Richie wrap up with a little preview of this week's Women's Open venue Walton Heath.

For the first interview in this episode, Andy is joined by Shaun Smith (@GorseNod), superintendent at Sullivan County Golf Club, a public nine-holer in upstate New York now operated by author Tom Coyne. Shaun discusses the ups and downs of his life and career, what he's done so far at Sullivan County, and what his hopes are for the future. In the second half of the episode, Andy brings on golf architect Tyler Rae (@TylerRaeDesign). Andy and Tyler talk about what has changed in Tyler's career since he was last on the pod five years ago and the differences he has noticed between restoration and new-build projects. They wrap up by discussing the top three courses they saw in the past year.

The idea of par dominates our thinking about golf. It's how we judge a player's performance. It's how we assess the difficulty of a golf course. It's how we categorize holes and courses. It shapes our perception of the game in way's that we don't even notice; it's the water we swim in. And yet for most of golf history, the idea of par did not exist.

Today's guest is Stephen Proctor (@SProctorGolf), a golf historian and the author of Monarch of the Green and The Long Golden Afternoon, as well as a co-host of the podcast The Duffer's Literary Companion. Stephen joins Garrett to discuss why par wasn't a necessary concept in the game's early centuries, how the desire for something like par emerged during Young Tom Morris's time, and how the idea began to gain momentum as golf spread to the United States in the early 1900s. They also talk about the effect that par has had on the game—an effect that neither Stephen nor Garrett sees as particularly positive.

Andy Johnson and Joseph LaMagna discuss who their top 10 players in golf are now that the major championships are over. The two chat about players such as Cameron Young and Xander Schauffele rank as well as the breakout campaign of Viktor Hovland. They also talk about the recent NBA announcement of the NBA Cup, an in-season tournament that adds significance to regular season games and the parallels to the problems golf faces. Each has a unique way that the PGA Tour could look at the NBA Cup and create more interest in its own schedule.

The final men's major of the year just wrapped up at Royal Liverpool, and we're back to dig into the most important stories from the 2023 Open Championship. First, Garrett speaks with Sean Martin (@PGATOURSmartin) of PGA Tour dot com about the skill set, personality, and career arc of the new Champion Golfer of the Year, Brian Harman. Then Garrett brings on Joseph LaMagna (@JosephLaMagna) to share three takeaways about Hoylake, this past week's excellent venue.

With the 2023 Open Championship at Royal Liverpool fast approaching, Garrett is joined by Joe McDonnell (@joemmcdonne11), the Head of Imagery at the golf architecture firm Clayton, DeVries & Pont as well as a longtime Hoylake member. After a quick intro from Garrett addressing the controversy over the "internal" out-of-bounds lines on the championship third and 18th holes, Joe gives a guided tour of the design and history of four holes on Royal Liverpool's back nine: Nos. 12, 13, 14, and 17. Joe and Garrett wrap up with a discussion of the sadistic third (the members' opener). Enjoy the Open!

Kyle Porter of CBS Sports (@KylePorterCBS) joins Andy Johnson to preview the 2023 Open Championship. The two discuss Rory, Scottie Scheffler, and Rickie Fowler, among other favorites, and they break down they're looking for from the course and the tournament. Also, Kyle is really excited about the prospects of Padraig Harrington on the Ryder Cup team.

With the Open at Royal Liverpool approaching, Andy brings on Jasper Miners of Evalu18 (7:24) to ring in this year's brief links season. First they chat about some non-links hidden gems around London, then Jasper breaks down the history of Royal Liverpool and describes the differences between the original course and today's version. Andy and Jasper also discuss the new 17th hole and how the course stacks up against other Open rota venues. For the back half of the episode, Micah Pueschel (@Pooshdaddy) of the band Iration joins (58:28) to talk about his life in golf, how he manages to play while on tour, and how he has recruited other members of Iration into his obsession.

After a week on site at Pebble Beach for the U.S. Women's Open, Andy joins Garrett to talk about how the course challenged the players, where the setup fell short, and what, more generally, championship golf venues should strive to accomplish in the 21st century.

Andy is joined by Fried Egg contributor Joseph LaMagna (@JosephLaMagna) for a chat about happenings in professional golf. First, they give some thoughts on the U.S. Women's Open at Pebble Beach: how the course should play for the women's field compared to the usual Pro-Am and U.S. Open fields; how courses could and should be set up to challenge and identify the best women golfers; to what extent they're in on the Rose Zhang hype; and whether Nelly Korda is on the comeback trail. Then Andy and Joseph dig into some PGA Tour topics. They talk about which players have done well and flown under the radar, how the Ryder Cup is shaping up, who could be in line for Player of the Year, and what might happen with the future PGA Tour schedule.

Garrett and fellow Fried Egg team member Brendan Porath devote this episode to golf in the Monterey, California, area. First, they discuss some storylines they're tracking going into this week's U.S. Women's Open, held for the first time in the tournament's history at Pebble Beach Golf Links. They touch on some aspects of Pebble Beach that they're looking forward to seeing the women's field tackle. In the back half of the episode (22:56), they offer a guide to golf in and around Monterey. Garrett lived in Pebble Beach for five years, so he provides a local perspective on the various public golf options, from premium to affordable.

Andy opens this pod with some reflections on the recent news that TPC River Highlands is looking at making course changes after a low-scoring Travelers Championship. He thinks that many people involved are ignoring the real problem, which is the equipment. Andy then brings on Shane Bacon (13:10) to talk about Shane's excellent performance at "The Ike," a big amateur tournament put on by the Metropolitan Golf Association. They also discuss what the 2023 Ryder Cup teams look like right now, and which players they expect to be on the teams in September.

Garrett and Meg kick off this Tuesday show with some thoughts on the Women's PGA Championship: the background and playing style of Ruoning Yin, the 20-year-old champion; the continued excellence of Rose Zhang; and the continued failures of the networks to air women's major championships in a suitable fashion. Garrett then checks in with Ben Coley (@BenColeyGolf) of Sporting Life about the state of the DP World Tour (28:31). Garrett and Ben talk about the (increasingly distant) possibility of a "links season" consisting of the Irish, Scottish, and British Opens as well as the tour's uncertain positioning in—or perhaps outside of—the burgeoning alliance between the PGA Tour and the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund. To go out on a more lighthearted note, Garrett and Ben wrap up with some recommendations (1:00:36).

Fresh off a week at Los Angeles Country Club for the U.S. Open, Andy gives his closing thoughts on the course and contenders. Following the U.S. Open talk, Andy is joined by Josh Pettit, author and creator of The MacKenzie Reader, a new book on the great golf architect Alister MacKenzie. Josh talks about what drew him to MacKenzie, how he put together the book, and his favorite anecdotes from MacKenzie's life.

Garrett launches this U.S. Open recap show by asking Los Angeles resident and ESPN staff writer Paolo Uggetti (@PaoloUggetti) whether L.A. has the worst fans in sports. After settling that issue, Garrett and Paolo review the final day of the 2023 U.S. Open, touching on Wyndham Clark's championship-winning shotmaking, Rory McIlroy's frustrating runner-up finish, and the much-discussed atmosphere on the limited-capacity North Course at L.A. Country Club. For the back half of the episode, Garrett is joined by Joseph LaMagna (@JosephLaMagna), Fried Egg contributor and Finding the Edge author, to evaluate the USGA's setup of LACC and talk about its architectural strengths and weaknesses (28:38). Garrett and Joseph wrap up by giving recommendations (53:24).

Garrett opens this mid-week U.S. Open episode by emptying his notebook from a Wednesday walk around Los Angeles Country Club. He talks about three spots on the North Course's back nine that he's looking forward to watching. Then he brings on golf historian Wayne Morrison (no relation) to discuss the Philadelphia School of Golf Architecture, the influential group of golf course designers in which LACC architect George Thomas learned his craft.

The 2023 U.S. Open, hosted by the North Course at Los Angeles Country Club, is approaching. Geoff Shackelford, who partnered with Hanse Golf Course Design on the restoration of L.A. North, joins Andy to discuss storylines.

Some weeks are more hectic than others. On Tuesday, the PGA Tour announced that it intended to partner with Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, the financial backer of LIV Golf, to create a new for-profit entity. If this agreement becomes a reality, the war between the Tour and LIV will come to an end, with the sides merging interests. This episode of The Fried Egg Podcast attempts to make sense of the whole mess. First, Andy runs through the basics of what happened and gives some initial takes. Then former PGA Tour player (and member of the player advisory council and policy board) Joe Ogilvie joins Andy (11:50) to discuss his thoughts on the deal, how the coming months and years might unfold, and where the Tour went wrong in the past. Later, Andy brings on Fried Egg contributor Joseph LaMagna (1:09:20) to talk about the future of LIV and how the dynamics between players might play out.

Rose Zhang won her first LPGA Tour start as a pro. That calls for a full episode of discussion. Garrett and Meg kick things off by talking about Rose's most impressive shots at the Mizuho Americas Open, her playing style, and her attitude. They also caution against putting absurd expectations on her 20-year-old shoulders. Later, Justin Ray joins the pod (20:07) to talk about his favorite Rose Zhang stats, and Brendan Quinn drops in (36:40) to discuss his excellent recent profile of Rose. Garrett and Meg close the episode (1:08:34) with a couple of recommendations.

Andy starts this episode off by giving his 10 favorites for the U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club. He is then joined by Lauren Lasocha, senior agronomist at Bel-Air Country Club (12:37). Lauren tells Andy about working at not only Bel-Air but also LACC, the expectations those clubs have for big-time tournaments, and her experiences as a woman in the turf industry. For a final segment, Andy talks with Korn Ferry Tour player Logan McAllister (1:01:42) about his career and the challenges of progressing in professional golf.

With the 2023 U.S. Open two weeks away, Garrett and Andy sit down to discuss the host venue, the North Course at Los Angeles Country Club. They agree that this is one of the best golf courses in the country, and they've had this tournament circled on their calendars for years. First they get some details about the restoration of L.A. North from two of the leaders of that project, Geoff Shackelford (8:15) and Gil Hanse (17:07). Then Garrett and Andy reconvene (23:58) to give their own thoughts on the course.

Andy opens this mega-episode by running through his top five players of the post-Tiger era. Golf Channel's Brentley Romine (@BrentleyGC) then joins the show (18:50) to talk all things NCAA Golf, including the men's and women's national championships, Rose Zhang's next steps, and players to look out for in the men's tournament. For a final segment, Ryan Carey of Golden Age Auctions (@GoldenAgeBid) chats with Andy (1:00:23) about how he started and built his golf-centric auction house and some of the intriguing items and stories he has encountered along the way.

Brooks Koepka is your 2023 PGA champion. Fried Egg contributor and Finding the Edge author Joseph LaMagna (@JosephLaMagna) joins Garrett to talk about Koepka's resurgence, skill set, and strategic approach. They also touch on the performances of second-place finishers Viktor Hovland and Scottie Scheffler. In the back half of the pod, Joseph and Garrett give their final thoughts on this year's PGA venue, the East Course at Oak Hill.

For this mid-week PGA Championship episode, we go back to 1938, when the tournament was still a match-play competition. In that year's final match, a 26-year-old Sam Snead, one of the most imposing ball-strikers the game has ever seen, faced off against the diminutive, short-hitting Paul Runyan. What happened that day is at the heart of Little Poison, John Dechant's new biography of Runyan. John joins Garrett to discuss Runyan's hardscrabble childhood, unusual playing style, short-game genius, success on the Depression-era PGA Tour, and showdown with Slammin' Sammy in 1938.

John Dechant, Little Poison

Ryan Lavner, senior writer at Golf Channel, joins Andy to preview the 2023 PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, New York. Ryan, who grew up near Rochester, and Andy both share five things they're paying attention to in the run-up to the tournament. Ryan also offers some Rochester food recommendations, including something called "the Garbage Plate."

Just one week left until the PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, New York. As we gear up for the event, we’re looking at the architect behind Oak Hill, Donald Ross. Andy chats with authors Bradley Klein and Chris Buie about Ross’s life and work. Andy and Brad start by talking about the strengths, weaknesses, and evolution of Ross's courses. Then, Chris tells us about Ross’s life, his Scottish influences, and why he was so good at his job. To wrap up, Andy, Chris, and Bradley each share their top five Ross courses.

Bradley Klein is the author of Discovering Donald Ross.

Chris Buie is the author of The Life and Times of Donald Ross.

Garrett and Brendan start this Tuesday show with a discussion of Talor Gooch's ongoing battle with the USGA over an exemption-category change that may keep him out of the 2023 U.S. Open (4:18). They touch on the various sides of the conflict, from the potential rationales for the USGA's position to the behavior of Gooch, Phil Mickelson, and other LIV players during the conflict. Garrett and Brendan also address whether the USGA could have avoided this fight—or at least prevented it from staying in the news for weeks. For the second segment, Garrett brings on Shane Ryan (@ShaneRyanHere) to discuss his recent on-the-ground reporting on how the PGA Tour enforces its pace-of-play standards (32:48). Read Shane's article for Golf Digest HERE. Finally, Brendan returns to talk with Garrett about the storylines they're tracking this week in golf (1:04:13).

To paraphrase Bill Belichick, we're on to Rochester! In this solo pod, Andy runs through his top 10 picks for the PGA Championship and explains what style of play will do well at this year's venue, the East Course at Oak Hill Country Club. Before diving into those topics, though, he offers some reflections on this past week's U.S. Open and U.S. Women's Open media days at Los Angeles Country Club and Pebble Beach.

In this episode, Andy and Garrett discuss the East Course at Oak Hill Country Club, the host of the 2023 PGA Championship. First they bring on Fred Beltz, the club historian, and Andrew Green, the architect behind the recent historical renovation of the East, to talk about the history and character of the golf course. Then Andy and Garrett give their own takes on Oak Hill East, covering its strengths, weaknesses, and how it might play in the upcoming PGA Championship.

Washington Post sports columnist Barry Srvluga joins Andy to discuss the impact of baseball's new rules on the sport. Barry delves into the challenges baseball faced and the factors that led to its major overhaul. He and Andy then explore how these changes connect to issues in golf, particularly the pace-of-play issue in the professional game. Barry has written about both baseball and golf for the Post, and has authored two books on baseball, The Grind: Inside Baseball's Endless Season and National Pastime: Sports, Politics, and the Return of Baseball to Washington, D.C.

Garrett and Meg kick off this Tuesday show by briefly tackling the age-old question, Which event felt more like a real golf tournament: the PGA Tour's Zurich Classic or LIV Adelaide? Garrett then brings on Dream Golf Resorts developer Michael Keiser (5:07) to talk about his project Rodeo Dunes, a soon-to-be-built resort outside of Denver, Colorado, which will join a Keiser-family collection that includes Bandon Dunes and Sand Valley. Michael talks about how he found the dunesy prairie property where Rodeo Dunes will sit, the process behind selecting Jimmy Craig and Coore & Crenshaw as the architects of the first two courses, how he hopes the new courses will stand out from others in the Dream Golf portfolio, and his thoughts on where golf architecture might go in the future. After that, Meg rejoins the podcast (35:38) to chat with Garrett about the first women's major of the year, the Chevron Championship—formerly known as the Dinah Shore—which took place outside of the Palm Springs area for the first time this past weekend. Lastly, Garrett and Meg run through the golf storylines they're tracking this week (59:52).

The Park in West Palm Beach is one of the most exciting municipal golf course projects in recent memory. Designed by Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner, The Park opened on Monday and brings high-quality public golf architecture to South Florida. Andy saw the course last week, and he opens this episode by giving his reactions to the design and his thoughts on its innovative business model. To discuss The Park further, Andy sits down with Jim Wagner, the Vice President and Design Partner at Hanse Golf Course Design. Andy and Jim talk about the site in West Palm Beach, the concept for the course, the style of the greens, the inspiration behind the design, and Dirk Ziff's involvement with the project.

Andy got to play Augusta National for the first time the day after the 2023 Masters. Garrett got to walk around Augusta National for the first time on Saturday at the 2023 ANWA. In this episode, they discuss.

Garrett and Joseph LaMagna (@JosephLaMagna) kick off this post-Masters Tuesday episode by guessing what TFE founder Andy Johnson will shoot in his media-lottery round at Augusta National. They then give a thorough rundown of the Sunday duel between Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka at the Masters, touching on Rahm's strategy, ball-striking, and historic outperformance at Augusta, as well as Koepka's final-round lapses and outlook for the future. For the next segment, Garrett brings on Shane Bacon (@shanebacon), who spent the past week calling the action on the Featured Groups feed on Masters.com. Garrett and Shane discuss the ins and outs of broadcasting at Augusta National and run through a few mailbag questions from listeners. Lastly, Garrett is rejoined by Joseph to talk about the storylines they're tracking this week in golf.

This midweek Masters episode starts with Garrett offering some solo thoughts on the pre-tournament press conferences at Augusta National (0:34). He touches on ANGC chairman Fred Ridley's announcement of a partnership with a local muni as well as Ridley's diplomatic but telling comments on the USGA and R&A's efforts to roll back the golf ball in elite competitions. Also assessed are Dustin Johnson's and Jon Rahm's reactions to the newly lengthened 13th hole. Garrett then brings on golf historian Bob Crosby (@otey71) to explore an alternative take on the history of Augusta National's course design (14:49). Bob takes Garrett through the origins and evolution of the third, eighth, seventh, and 10th holes at the Masters venue and offers a compelling interpretation of why they changed—or, in the case of the third hole, didn't change—and what it all meant.

Trevor Immelman, the 2008 Masters champion and current CBS lead analyst, joins host Andy to provide a preview of the upcoming 2023 Masters. Immelman brings fresh insights from his recent weekend spent at Augusta National, including an in-depth analysis of the changes made to the 13th hole and their impact on this year's tournament. Other topics discussed include Rory's pursuit of the Grand Slam, Scottie Scheffler's suitability for Augusta National, and how the preparation of LIV players will affect their performance in this year's first major championship.

Garrett and Meg Adkins (@megadkins_TFE) launch this Tuesday show by sharing their favorite memories from the erstwhile WGC-Dell Match Play. They then dig into the current state of the LPGA Tour, offering takeaways from this past week's Drive On Championship; thoughts on the players who are currently top tier (and almost top tier); criticisms of the awkward, momentum-free start to the LPGA schedule; and analysis of the quiet power struggle between the LPGA Tour, the Ladies European Tour, and the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund. For the next segment, Garrett brings on Anne Walker, head coach of the stellar Stanford women's golf team, to talk about the NCAA season so far and get some inside info on the three Stanford players who will participate in this week's Augusta National Women's Amateur: Brooke Seay, Megha Ganne, and the dominant Rose Zhang. Garrett and Meg then wrap up by discussing the golf storylines they're tracking this week.

Andy opens the episode by running through his favorites for the 2023 Masters. He is then joined by golf architect Jaeger Kovich for a wide-ranging conversation. They talk about how Jaeger builds greens, the challenges of running his own firm, how he does master plans and presentations for clubs, and his thoughts about the potential impact of the Model Local Rule ball. They wrap up with Jaeger doing a power ranking of the different golf regions of Scotland and England.

NOTE: If you initially hear last week's episode with Brendan Porath and Sean Martin, delete that episode and re-download. We made an uploading mistake. Sorry about that!

At the top of our Tuesday show, Joseph LaMagna (@JosephLaMagna) calms Garrett's fears about the state of Jordan Spieth's game. They then talk about the PGA Tour's WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, which will no longer exist after this year (4:59). They review Austin Country Club, the excellent venue for the tournament, and run through the various (frustrating) reasons that the Match Play fizzled out. For the next segment, Garrett brings on Dean Snell, the founder of Snell Golf as well as one of the engineering minds behind the Titleist Professional and ProV1 golf balls, to discuss the governing bodies' new Model Local Rule from an equipment-industry perspective (29:45). Dean is, to say the least, not pro-rollback. Finally, Joseph and Garrett give their storylines to track in the golf world this week (1:09:52).

On Tuesday, the USGA and R&A announced a Model Local Rule (MLR) that, if adopted, would reduce the flight of the golf ball in high-level tournaments. This is a historic move that deserves the mega-pod treatment. To kick things off, Andy and Garrett discuss the basics of the MLR and why the governing bodies have gone this route in tackling the distance issue (4:03). Then Andy brings on a series of guests: golf architect Tom Doak to explore the impact that the MLR might have on golf course design (30:04), former PGA Tour pro Roberto Castro to talk about the change from a player's perspective (48:34), and analytics whiz Joseph LaMagna to explore the effects that rollback could have on course management and strategy at the elite competitive level (1:09:23).

Our Tuesday show covers a variety of topics related to the past week's Players Championship. First, Garrett talks with Brendan Porath (@BrendanPorath) about whether Scottie Scheffler's win should count as 0.5 of a major (0:35). Then Garrett brings in the PGA Tour's Sean Martin (@PGATOURSMartin) to discuss Scheffler's mindset and approach to the game (8:05). Garrett and Sean touch on, among other things, the relationship between scrambling and faith. After that, Brendan rejoins the pod to chat with Garrett about the discontent that some rank-and-file players feel about the PGA Tour's new designated event model (33:21), and they close with two golf storylines to track in the coming week (56:55).

NOTE: We recorded this podcast on Monday morning, before the USGA and R&A announced their plan to limit distance at the elite levels of the game by rolling back the golf ball. We will cover that subject in depth on our Thursday episode this week.

Over the past week, the PGA Tour has released details about the structure of its new "designated event model." To sort it all out, Andy sits down with former tour player Joe Ogilvie (@ogilviej). Joe talks about his time on the Tour's player advisory council and policy board, the past 18 months in golf, his thoughts on the Tour's proposed changes, and what he would do if he were commissioner.

It's Players week! Shane Bacon (@shanebacon) joins Andy to preview the action at TPC Sawgrass. They discuss how designated events will affect the 2023 Players and future tournaments, the Tour's response to LIV defectors (including last year's Players champion Cameron Smith), which players might have a breakout week, and the uniqueness of the Stadium Course's design. Shane and Andy wrap up by giving their picks to win.

LIV Golf is getting some brutal-sounding ratings on the CW, the PGA Tour's TV partners are changing things up, and golf broadcasting has become a hot topic lately. To break it all down, Garrett talks with Josh Carpenter (@JoshACarpenter), an assistant managing editor at Sports Business Journal. Josh is also, as will become apparent in this episode, a golf nut. He and Garrett discuss LIV's disappointing debut performance on the CW, what golf ratings can and can't tell us, and how the breakaway league's business prospects look in year two. In the second half of the episode, they dig into the attempts by CBS and NBC to freshen up PGA Tour telecasts and the potential effects of the new designated-event structure on the Tour's bottom line.

Javier Campos (@CalClimbingSoup) is the golf course superintendent at the California Golf Club of San Francisco, more commonly known as Cal Club. Javier sits down with Andy to discuss, among other things, how he worked his way up the ranks of Cal Club's grounds crew, the influence of his mentor Thomas Bastis, the difficulties of the past winter in Northern California (which included a Caddyshack-like invasion of gophers), the intricacies of managing fine fescue and bentgrass surfaces on the West Coast, and his thoughts about autonomous maintenance equipment.

Before getting to his chat with Javier, Andy goes through what the PGA Tour's FedEx Cup top 10 would be if the FEC were determined by designated-event results only.

Andy starts this episode by running through his 10 (early) favorites to win the 2023 Masters. He is then joined by Joseph LaMagna (@JosephLaMagna) to talk about a variety of topics: their takeaways from the West Coast swing, the players on the PGA Tour who have stood out so far, the debate around the 10th hole at Riviera, the distinction between short par 4s and drivable par 4s, and Sports Illustrated's highly questionable new world ranking.

Thirty-four-year-old Andrew Putnam is a pro's pro. He has quietly put together an impressive career on the PGA Tour, winning once (at the 2018 Barracuda) and establishing himself as one of the best putters in the game. He joins Andy to discuss what it's like to be a tour pro living in the Pacific Northwest, what he thinks of the new designated-event series, why he plays with no swing coach, and what it takes to be a great on the greens.

The much-anticipated Netflix docuseries on professional golf has arrived. Full Swing debuted yesterday with eight episodes on the 2022 PGA Tour (and LIV) season. For some honest reactions to the show, Garrett calls up Megan Schuster (@megschuster), who covers golf and Formula 1 for The Ringer. Garrett and Megan start off by talking about what made Drive to Survive, Netflix's F1 series, so effective and popular. They then delve into Full Swing, discussing its strengths, most and least appealing characters, funniest random moments, and various shortcomings.

For more on Full Swing, check out The Fried Egg's new podcast Full Swing Thoughts, in which Andy Johnson, Brendan Porath, and Joseph LaMagna break down the series episode by episode. Search for it wherever you get podcasts, or:

Subscribe on iTunes

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LIV Golf, the upstart golf tour backed by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, will start its second season next week in Mexico. It's been an odd, somewhat rough offseason for Greg Norman's organization, with executives fleeing and no big-name player signings. To get a sense for what's going on in LIV-land, Garrett sits down with Adam Woodard (@AdamWoodard), who covers the league for Golfweek. Garrett and Adam talk about LIV's major successes and failures in 2022, its seeming loss of momentum in the past few months, and its prospects for 2023. They also discuss Adam's approach to and feelings about doing traditional, neutral-voiced reporting about a sports league associated with real-world ills.

This week's Waste Management Phoenix Open is the PGA Tour's first full-field "designated event." The designated-event series, created in response to LIV Golf's attempts to lure the world's top male players with guaranteed paydays, will transform the Tour's structure in ways that are hard to predict. After discussing the Phoenix Open and its better-than-you-might-think venue, Andy and Garrett explain why they're excited about designated events, both as a product and as a catalyst for change on the PGA Tour. In the second half of the episode, they address some of their lingering questions about the series, and Andy lays out a pitch for each event's field size and qualification criteria.

Thad Layton has worked for Arnold Palmer Design since he graduated from college 23 years ago, and today he is the Senior Golf Course Architect and Vice President at the company. He joins Andy to talk about working with Arnold Palmer and building golf courses all over the world, including getting his first lead-design gig on a project in Kazakhstan. In recent years, Thad has done a lot of compelling work under the APDC umbrella, and he tells Andy about guiding the company into a new era.

Before getting to his conversation with Thad (5:45), Andy shares some thoughts about the play stoppages at last weekend's Pebble Beach Pro-Am and how America's obsession with fast greens is partly to blame.

Lately Garrett has been wondering how recent technological advances, especially in the field of artificial intelligence, may change golf architecture in the coming decades. So he called up Peter Flory (@nle_golf), whose digital modeling was a key component of the Lido project in Wisconsin. Peter tells Garrett how he researched the history of the C.B. Macdonald-designed Lido Golf Club and which technological methods he used to help architect Tom Doak re-create the course in Wisconsin. Peter and Garrett then discuss the various effects that advances in digital and AI rendering may have on golf course design as a business and an artform.

You asked, we answered. Andy and Garrett tackle a variety of golf architecture-related questions from listeners, including ones about the impact a potential equipment rollback will have on championship courses, which practices in modern golf course design are most objectionable, Robert Trent Jones II's pot-stirring Golf Magazine interview, why the Covid boom has not translated into widespread muni renovations, whether great architecture is becoming elitist and unaffordable, and more.

After a two-year layoff to recover from shoulder surgery, Zac Blair is back on the PGA Tour this season. He's also back on the podcast, chatting with Andy about his return to professional golf. They also discuss the final stages of his Tree Farm project in South Carolina and the different contributions that he, Tom Doak, and Kye Goalby brought to the design and construction process. Finally, they turn their attention to the future, touching on potential golf developments Zac wants to be involved in and a golf trip that he'd like to take.

The GCSAA Golf Championships, held annually in conjunction with the GCSAA Convention and Trade Show, is the biggest tournament of the year for golf course superintendents who play competitively. We attended last year’s edition and found it to be a fun, impressive event. With this year’s GCSAA Golf Championships approaching (February 4-6 in Orlando), we decided to tell the story of the 2022 tournament. Garrett talks to three different people in this episode: Scott Hollister, editor-in-chief of Golf Course Management magazine; and two players who contended for last year’s title, Tanner Westbrook and Seth Strickland. First Garrett discusses the history and identity of the tournament with Scott, then he speaks with Tanner and Seth about their backgrounds and careers in golf. Finally, we weave all three voices together in an account of the 2022 GCSAA national championship’s exciting finish.

This episode is brought to you by the Toro Company.

It has been over six years since Rob Collins's first appearance on The Fried Egg podcast. He was guest No. 4 back in 2016, and a lot has happened for his architecture firm King-Collins Golf since then. Rob talks with Andy about his busy 2022, which included the opening of Landmand Golf Club in Nebraska and his ongoing work at Red Feather Golf and Social Club in Lubbock, Texas. He reflects on how his life changed after the success of Sweetens Cove, and how he has handled the transition from struggling architect to one of the most prominent and in-demand names in the business. Rob and Andy wrap up with a discussion of projects and concepts Rob would like to pursue in the future, including his proposal (originally made for the Pinehurst No. 10 job) for five golf courses in one.

With the 2023 golf season underway, we're already thinking ahead to the four men's major championships. Joseph LaMagna, who writes the excellent Finding the Edge newsletter, joins Andy to discuss which players have the best chance of winning a big one this year. They sort players into tiers ranging from "No Contention = Major Failure" to "Lightning in a Bottle." And yes, some LIV guys are in the mix!

Seth Waugh, the CEO of the PGA of America, joins Andy to talk about a range of recent happenings and hot-button issues. They discuss the decisions the PGA made when Covid-19 hit, how the organization goes about selecting host sites, the Ryder Cup, and the emergence of LIV Golf. Seth also gives details on two major golf course developments that the PGA is spearheading: the construction of the massive PGA Frisco complex and the renovation of West Palm Beach Muni by Gil Hanse

We're back with another edition of the Yolk with Doak, our series with golf architect Tom Doak. Andy and Tom devote a portion of this episode to discussing Ballyneal Golf and Hunt Club, Tom's acclaimed 2006 design in the Chop Hills of Colorado. They talk about Ballyneal's conception, how the owners influenced the final product, comparisons to Coore & Crenshaw's Sand Hills, and the holes that required the most earthmoving. In the second part of the episode, Tom fields listener questions about Old Macdonald at Bandon Dunes, whether par 3s can be strategic, holes with two greens, and the notion of playing a hole down another hole's fairway.

Yesterday, Pinehurst announced that Tom Doak will design the resort's 10th 18-hole course on a dramatic property in Aberdeen, NC. Tom joins Andy to talk about the factors that will make No. 10 unique, including its elevation changes and the fast timeline for the project (his crew has already broken ground). They also discuss Pinehurst more generally, touching on the strengths of Donald Ross's No. 2 course and the importance of Coore & Crenshaw's 2010 restoration of it. In non-Pinehurst talk, they chat about how busy Tom is right now, when he says no to opportunities, and how he makes the most of his time on site.

In the first pod of the new year, Andy and Garrett spend some time reflecting on their favorite golf moments from 2022 before looking ahead and picking a few things they're excited about in 2023. First they revisit memories from the biggest tournaments of the past year and relive casual rounds that exceeded expectations. Then they each choose a couple of events and projects that have them enthusiastic about the months to come.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, golf caught on outside of Scotland for the first time. The game became especially popular in England, where the number of clubs skyrocketed in the 1890s and the first decade of the 1900s. Michael Morrison’s new book The Great English Golf Boom, 1864-1914: A History chronicles these developments with unprecedented detail and insight. He joins Garrett to discuss golf’s initial spread in England, the various differences between the English and Scottish games, and the pivotal innovations in golf course architecture and agronomy that English clubs introduced around the turn of the century. You can find Michael Morrison on Twitter at @golfhistorymike, and to purchase a copy of his book, simply email him at [email protected].

There’s an argument to be made that Walter Travis, the Australian-born American golfer who lived from 1862 to 1927, is the most underrated golf architect of the Golden Age. To learn more about Travis’s life and work, Andy sits down with Renaissance Golf Design associate Brian Schneider, who has done restoration work at several Travis courses. Andy and Brian discuss Travis’s impressive playing career, his relationship with legendary designer C.B. Macdonald, his bold and unique approach to green design, and his facility for creating reversible courses. They also talk about which Travis designs are the best preserved and most worth seeing.

The Official World Golf Ranking has unexpectedly become a lightning rod for debate this year because of its decisions to overhaul its formula and turn down the upstart LIV Golf league's request for immediate membership. To sort through this mess, Garrett sits down with Joseph LaMagna (@JosephLaMagna), co-founder of Optimal Approach Golf and author of the Finding the Edge newsletter. Joseph and Garrett tackle the ins and outs of the OWGR, explaining the new formula, the criteria LIV needs to meet to be granted world-ranking points, and the overall importance of the system to the world of professional golf.

Garrett welcomes author Bob Cullen to the podcast to help explain the mysterious ways in which golf can transform a beginner into an addict overnight. Bob examined the subject in his book Why Golf?, which was published over 20 years ago and happens to be one of Garrett's favorite books on the game. Bob also talks about how his experience as a golfer has changed for him over the years and what he learned from writing a series of bestsellers with Dr. Bob Rotella.

The Fried Egg is launching a membership! It's called Club TFE. Starting on January 2, 2023, members will have access to exclusive content, along with a variety of other perks. In this episode, Andy and Garrett dive into the details of what Club TFE will offer. They also chat about the history of The Fried Egg and how they think the company fits into the current media landscape.

To learn more about Club TFE and to sign up, go to thefriedegg.com/membership.

Nick Sherburne, founder of Club Champion, brings decades of experience as a club maker and fitter to the podcast as he and Andy put together sets of their favorite clubs from the 80s, 90s, and early aughts. If the mention of names like Orlimar, Adams, Zebra, and Sonartec give you pangs of nostalgia, you'll enjoy Nick and Andy's lively Black Friday discussion of some of the best (Scotty Cameron Teryllium) and worst (TaylorMade Nubbins) clubs from past generations.

In today's edition of the Yolk with Doak, Tom and Andy begin by reminiscing about their visits to Scotland earlier this year. A discussion of restorations, including Tom's own work at the Lido, takes up the middle part of the episode, and they finish with Tom answering listener questions about balancing client demands, handling criticism, choosing his favorite bunkers, and more.

The Yolk with Doak is back! After a busy few months of travel for both Andy and Tom, they had a lot to catch up on. They start by talking about the revival of High Pointe, the first course Tom designed. He shares details about the routing, timeline, and whether he'll once again be the one shaping the greens. Next, some updates on the other ongoing projects, including Sedge Valley, Punta Brava in Mexico, and Cabot Highlands in Scotland. Look for part two of this conversation with Tom, which digs into listener questions, next week.

In his new book The Science of Golf, golf broadcaster Will Haskett (@willhaskett) delves into the scientific revolution that golf has experienced over the past quarter century. The book breaks down everything from launch-monitor technology and strokes-gained analytics to neuroscience and agronomy. Will joins Garrett to describe the enormous impact science has had on golf in the 21st century and to discuss the positive as well as potentially negative effects of certain scientific advances.

You can now add "children's book author" to Shane Bacon's (@shanebacon) lengthy résumé. The TV personality and host of the Get a Grip podcast just released his first book, "The Golfer's Zoo." He talks with Garrett about why he wanted to write golf book geared toward kids, the ways that becoming a parent changes one's relationship with the game, and the nature of the "golf guilt" that many moms and dads feel. The second half of the episode delves into Shane's career and how the field of golf media has evolved since he started out as a blogger in the late aughts.

"The Golfer's Zoo" is available for purchase at back9press.com/bacon.

Only days after LIV's first-year finale in Miami, the high-stakes game of player recruitment for the Saudi-backed league's second season has ratcheted. Building on a recent piece by Andy in The Fried Egg Newsletter, Andy and Garrett discuss the top remaining players on the PGA Tour and their value in the tussle between the Tour and LIV. Andy and Garrett also reflect on the Tour's battlefield strategy this past year and how it might affect the future of both professional circuits.

Brendan Parkhurst, superintendent at Cape Arundel Golf Club in Kennebunkport, Maine, joins Andy as the latest guest in our Superintendent Series. Brendan has been at Cape Arundel for over 20 years and has helped guide the Walter Travis-designed course through its restoration. The special care needed for Cape Arundel's dramatic greens, how a tidal river flood impacts the grass, and the pros and cons of taking care of a 5,800-yard course are all discussed. Brendan also shares some tips for how to handle the security detail and motorcade when the President of the United States is a frequent visitor.

Golf course architecture is experiencing its biggest boom in almost 20 years. With demand for new courses and restoration/renovation work ramping up, the industry is at an important juncture. Andy and Garrett each share three things they hope and/or expect to see from golf course design in the near future. They explore possibilities for less suitable land, shorter courses, and experimental shaping as well as predictions for how the economy and climate change will shape trends.

Zach Helfand’s main job is editing The New Yorker’s “Talk of the Town” section, but for the past few months he has been working on a feature story about the battle between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour. That article appears in this week’s print edition of the magazine and was published online under the title “Will the Saudis and Donald Trump Save Golf—or Wreck It?” Zach (@zhelfand) tells Garrett about his reporting process, the benefits of his outsider status in the golf world, and what he observed at the PGA Tour’s Tour Championship and LIV’s events at Trump Bedminster and the International. He also reveals how he wrangled a now-widely-aggregated interview with Majed Al Sorour, CEO of the Saudi Golf Federation and one of the major decision makers behind LIV.

Ian Gilley is the co-founder and president of Sugarloaf Social Club, which is a golf society, a popular Instagram account, a merchandising operation, and now a part-owner of a golf course. Ian and Andy start by chatting about searching for hidden gems in Kansas and Nebraska and creating golf logos that stand the test of time. They then delve into why and how Ian and business partner David Cronheim recently purchased a six-hole course in Upstate New York. The course, which will soon be enjoyed by members of the Sugarloaf Field Club, has holes inspired by the Old Course at St. Andrews and a clubhouse inspired by Augusta National. Ian and Andy wrap up by talking about the three golf courses they think about the most.

PGA Frisco is one of the most important golf-development projects of the past two decades. It consists of two 18-hole golf courses, lighted par-3 and putting courses, an ambitious hotel and retail enterprise, and a new "home" for the PGA of America. In the next 12 years, Frisco will host six PGA majors: two PGA Championships, two Senior PGAs, and two Women's PGAs. Andy visited the complex recently and joins Garrett to discuss everything he saw. The two cover the overall development and partnership between the PGA, Omni Hotels and Resorts, and the city of Frisco, Texas; and they break down the Gil Hanse-designed East course and the Beau Welling-designed West course. There's praise for the PGA's efforts to bring golf to a major metropolitan area as well as critiques of some architectural details and concerns about the cost of the sprawling compound.

Sandy Reid (@SandyReidGK), the Director of Greenkeeping at St. Andrews Links, is today's guest for our Superintendent Series. Sandy has one of the busiest jobs in the turf industry: he oversees all seven courses at St. Andrews. This year was busier than ever for him, with the 150th Open and the Dunhill Links both taking place at the Old Course. Sandy shares how he and his team managed the infrastructure necessary for the events and the inevitable wear and tear to the course. He and Andy also talk about Sandy's time at Carnoustie, how he maintains courses that rarely shut down, what it's like having the property turn into a park on Sundays, and much more.

The Superintendent Series is brought to you by the Toro Company.

NOTE: There was an issue with the originally posted version of this episode; you may need to re-download it.

Andy and Garrett are back with another mailbag episode recorded in the midst of their trip through Massachusetts, Maine, and Upstate New York. This one is focused on all of your golf course architecture questions. Well, maybe not *all* of them, but Andy and Garrett do tackle some serious subjects, including which architect has done the most damage to golf course architecture. They also make time for not-so-hard-hitting topics such as the effectiveness of periscopes and bells and the correct distribution of on-course restrooms. The episode wraps up with advice on how to discuss golf course architecture with sane people and thoughts on course rankings and the crucial gap between "favorite" and "best."

From the living room of an A-frame house in Massachusetts, three members of the Fried Egg team—Andy, Garrett, and Will—reach into the mailbag and answer a batch of your questions. The boys cover a variety of Presidents Cup-related topics: surprises and disappointments from this past week’s event at Quail Hollow, venues they’d like to see in the future, whether they’re annoyed with Justin Thomas’s antics, and more. They wrap up with a rollicking discussion of burgerdogs, pickles, and future TFE events.

Team golf is back this week with the Presidents Cup at Quail Hollow. To celebrate, Garrett and Andy take a walk down memory lane and examine the history of the event. From the split between the PGA of America and what would become the PGA Tour to the failure of other team competitions, the series of events that led to the Presidents Cup's creation is a fascinating study. The second half of the episode is dedicated to the present state and potential future of the tournament. Garrett and Andy go over what ails the event, the distractions surrounding this year's edition, and their own proposals to breathe some life into the Presidents Cup.

Notes:

• The World Series of Golf-like tournament that Garrett and Andy discuss was called the PGA Grand Slam of Golf, and it ran from 1979 to 2014.
• Garrett's account of the origins of the Presidents Cup draws extensively from Adam Schupak's book Deane Beman: Golf's Driving Force.

Anticipation for men's major championship golf this year was sky-high. Tiger was returning to the Masters, the PGA Championship had been moved to Gil Hanse-restored Southern Hills, the U.S. Open was visiting the Country Club for the first time since 1988, and St. Andrews was hosting the 150th edition of the Open. To the delight of golf fans everywhere, the tournaments lived up to the hype. Andy Johnson welcomes Geoff Shackelford (@geoffshac), author of The Quadrilateral, a Substack newsletter dedicated to golf's majors, to relive the four biggest weeks in golf, reminisce on early- and late-round memories, and give their rankings of each major.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, recreational golf saw a major uptick. Rounds went up and equipment sales boomed. Have those boom times continued in 2022? Or has there been a regression to the mean? To take the temperature of the golf industry as a whole, Garrett speaks with Greg Nathan, the Chief Business Officer of the National Golf Foundation. Garrett and Greg discuss the nature of golf's "Covid bump," the overall health of the golf business, the future of golf course development, and more.

At this past week's BMW PGA Championship, multiple players who have signed with LIV Golf aired their grievances about the direction of the DP World Tour, formerly know as the European Tour. Ian Poulter, Sergio García, and other Euro vets feel that the proud, historic tour has become a mere "feeder tour," and that DPWT CEO Keith Pelley's negotiation of a "strategic alliance" with the PGA Tour is significantly to blame. They might have a point. Andy Johnson and Garrett Morrison discuss the recent history of the European Tour, the decisions that led to its current status, how it should position itself in the new world order of professional golf, and whether it has any hope of returning to its former glory.

Denny McCarthy (@_dennymccarthy) just had his most successful year ever on the PGA Tour, highlighted by a T-7 finish at the U.S. Open. He joins Andy Johnson to talk about his outlook for next season, getting hot just in time for the U.S. Open, and the recent work he put in to up his game. He also shares his thoughts on LIV Golf and the sweeping changes the PGA Tour introduced last week. Lastly, for listeners struggling with the flatstick, Denny, who has never finished worse than T-22 in Strokes Gained: Putting, talks through his process on the greens and shares a few tips.

In the second of two episodes recapping his first visit to Scotland, Andy Johnson gives Garrett Morrison his thoughts on two legendary courses—North Berwick Golf Club and the Old Course at St. Andrews—and two lesser-known gems in the East Lothian region, Dunbar Golf Club and Kilspindie Golf Club. They discuss the brilliance of North Berwick's hole designs, the uniqueness of the Old Course's terrain, the drama of Dunbar's routing, and the advantages of playing Kilspindie with hickories. Andy also offers some general advice on planning a golf trip to Scotland. (Hint: don't overbook yourself!)

Time stamps for course discussions:

(2:16) North Berwick

(37:07) The Old Course

(52:29) Dunbar

(1:01:58) Kilspindie

Earlier this month, Andy Johnson and Joseph LaMagna (@JosephLaMagna) talked through the changes they'd like to see the PGA Tour make in order to compete with LIV Golf. After this week's onslaught of news and announcements about real alterations that the Tour will make to its structure, Andy welcomes Joseph back to break it all down. They discuss PIP, LIV, TMRW, and probably a few other acronyms; the effects they think the changes will have; and the importance of the Tour getting the details right as it moves into a new era.

Our Superintendent Series is back with Jeff Austin, superintendent at Yale Golf Course (@Yale_GolfCourse). Prior to taking over at Yale, Jeff was an assistant superintendent at Augusta National, and he humors Andy with a few stories from his time there, including an interaction with a former president. Just over two years ago, Jeff took over at the Seth Raynor-designed Yale Golf Course, which had seen better days after a long Covid-related shutdown. Jeff talks about the challenges he tackled when he came aboard, explains how his workforce adds to the uniqueness of the job, and shares what they're doing to prepare for a Gil Hanse-led restoration starting at the end of 2023.

The Superintendent Series is brought to you by the Toro Company.

The courtroom phase of the conflict between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour began last week with a win for the Tour: a federal judge denied an effort by LIV players to obtain a temporary restraining order that would have allowed them to take part in the FedEx Cup Playoffs. But the legal battle between the two golf leagues is far from over. To learn more about the LIV players’ ongoing antitrust lawsuit and its prospects of success, Garrett Morrison talks to Gabe Feldman (@SportsLawGuy), a professor at Tulane University who specializes in antitrust and sports law and hosts the podcast Between the Lines. Gabe explains the legal basis of the players’ claim against the PGA Tour, assesses the case’s merits, and predicts where the litigation between LIV and the Tour might go next.

Garrett Morrison spent this past Sunday watching Japanese sensation Saki Baba become the latest U.S. Women's Amateur champion. He joins Andy Johnson to share his impressions of the course where all the action took place, Chambers Bay, and its role in future USGA championships after the controversial 2015 U.S. Open. With "anchor sites" like Pebble Beach and Pinehurst No. 2 booked into the 2050s, there's not much room for underdog courses to elbow their way in. Andy and Garrett dig into the why the USGA (and, to a slightly lesser extent, the PGA of America) have pursued this model of venue selection, the issues it's creating, and what they'd like to see change.

Our fifth and final deep dive into the 18-hole courses at Bandon Dunes is here! Since we’ve gone in reverse-chronological order, we have finally arrived at the OG, the 1999 David McLay Kidd design that launched Mike Keiser’s outpost in the Oregon dunes and changed the way everyone in the golf industry thought about the destination-resort business. Andy Johnson and Garrett Morrison talk about Keiser’s bold vision for Bandon Dunes and the collaborative—or, more accurately, combative—nature of the construction process. They then explain why they believe the original Bandon course is, by a substantial margin, the weakest 18 at the resort.

The Bandon Deep Dives are brought to you by Zero Restriction.

On Monday, the PGA Tour released its 2022-23 schedule, and… well, it looks pretty much the same as this year’s schedule. That’s a problem, Joseph LaMagna (@JosephLaMagna) argues in a new article on The Fried Egg website. If the PGA Tour expects to compete with the insurgent LIV league, it needs to rethink the structure of its season and especially its playoff series. Joseph joins Andy Johnson to discuss specific ways that the Tour can adjust its schedule to become a better, more competitive product.

After wrapping up his first visit to Scotland a couple of weeks ago, Andy Johnson is ready to relive it with two podcasts recapping the trip. In this first installment, he and Garrett Morrison start with an in-depth discussion of Muirfield, the site of this week's AIG Women's Open. They touch on the history of the course, standout holes, and what to watch for at the tournament. Andy and Garrett then discuss the wealth of quality golf at Gullane Golf Club and an evening for the memory books at Elie.

Look for part 2—which will cover North Berwick, the Old Course, Kilspindie, and Dunbar—in the coming weeks.

Read more about Andy's lunch and afternoon round at Muirfield in his first Scotland journal.

This week, the Saudi-funded LIV Golf Invitational series is holding its third-ever tournament, LIV Bedminster, at a golf course owned by former president Donald Trump. Now there’s a sentence that our 2015 selves—even our 2020 selves—couldn’t have imagined writing. But here we are, and we need to come to grips with some complex topics. That’s why Brendan Quinn’s article “LIV Golf and the king-sized ambition behind a game on the bring,” published yesterday in The Athletic, is so valuable. It calls on the expertise of those who have been studying Saudi Arabia and its royal family for decades, and presents a clear, detailed picture of where LIV Golf came from, how it’s financed, and how it fits into the Saudi government’s plans for the future. Brendan discusses all of this and more with Garrett Morrison in this episode.

James Duncan has had over 30 years of experience in golf course architecture and has worked with Tom Doak and Gil Hanse in addition to being a longtime associate with Coore & Crenshaw. He joins Andy Johnson to talk about how he got his start in the business and what brought him from his native Denmark to America. He and Andy discuss his experiences at Austin Golf Club, Hidden Creek, and the ill-fated Dos Pueblos project, and they wrap up with an update on the Brambles project outside of Napa, California, which will open in the coming months.

Given the turmoil that has dominated men’s professional golf this year, a Rory McIlroy victory in the Open Championship at St. Andrews would have been a storybook ending to the major season. Well, too bad. Cameron Smith, as he reminded us in the process of dismantling the Old Course on Sunday, is really, really good at golf. To break down all of the action as well as the deeper storylines, Garrett Morrison speaks with Jamie Weir (@jamiecweir), golf correspondent for Sky Sports; Joseph LaMagna (@JosephLaMagna), the analytical mind behind the Finding the Edge newsletter; and The Fried Egg’s own Andy Johnson, who was on site all week in St. Andrews.

How did the Old Course at St. Andrews become what it is today? Garrett Morrison takes a break from the action at the 150th Open Championship to chat with historian Bob Crosby (@otey71) about how golf’s most famous and influential course changed—in surprisingly radical ways—during the second half of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th. This evolution, Bob argues, has a lot to teach us about the nature of strategic course design. It also accounts for why the Old Course continues to fascinate us today.

The 150th Open Championship is almost here, so Michael Clayton (@mikeclaytongolf) joins Andy Johnson to run through five storylines to watch for this week. Tiger, Rory, and the biggest star of week, St. Andrews, are all covered. Michael also discusses which fellow Australians he hopes to see in contention and tells some stories about his experiences playing in three Opens at the Old Course. There's also some LIV chatter, but only a few minutes' worth... promise!

Andy Johnson will take his maiden voyage to St. Andrews for next week's Open Championship. To prepare, he talks with a series of guests about their first visits to the Old Course. Tom Doak, James Duncan, Shane Bacon (@shanebacon), Michael Clayton (@mikeclaytongolf), Gil Hanse, and Zac Blair (@z_blair) all talk with Andy about their first impressions, what surprised them, and what they took away from their first trip to the Home of Golf.

Time stamps:

(3:15) Tom Doak

(7:02) James Duncan

(10:31) Shane Bacon

(17:19) Michael Clayton

(24:04) Zac Blair

(29:10) Gil Hanse

This past weekend, the second event of the Saudi-backed LIV Golf Invitational series was staged at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club outside of Portland, Oregon. The Fried Egg's own Garrett Morrison was on site, and he joins Andy Johnson to reflect on what he saw. Garrett and Andy talk about the shotgun start, the team format, player attitudes, and a variety of other topics. They also make some projections about the futures of both LIV and the PGA Tour. Warning: if you'd rather not see men's professional golf be taken over by an autocracy's reputation-laundering scheme, things are starting to look a little grim.

Read "Smashing Pumpkin," Garrett's story about the battle that broke out within Pumpkin Ridge's membership when the LIV Portland event was announced in March.

With the 150th edition of the Open kicking off at the Old Course in a little less than two weeks, Tom Doak and Andy Johnson devote an entire episode to St. Andrews. Tom has gotten to know the course deeply over multiple decades, so he has a lot of thoughts on what first-time visitors should do and what makes the Old Course one of a kind. The bunkers, the reverse routing, and the evolution of the course are all discussed in depth. We hope this gets you excited for the final men's major of the year!

In the latest installment of the Yolk with Doak, golf architect Tom Doak covers a wide range of topics with Andy Johnson. First, they spend some time examining Saudi Arabia's role in golf outside of the LIV tour, namely the kingdom's massive investment in golf course construction. Tom also provides updates on his current activities, which include the recently announced second course at Cabot Highlands, formerly known as Castle Stuart. Finally, Tom and Andy run through listener questions about the playability trend in design, changes to Tom's early projects, and the delicate balance that's required when imitating another architect's work. Look for part two of this conversation, which will focus on St. Andrews, this coming Friday.

With the KPMG Women's PGA Championship underway, Andy Johnson welcomes Pete Wendt (@PeteWendtCCC) to the latest edition of our Superintendent Series. Pete is the Director of Golf Courses and Grounds at Congressional Country Club, which is hosting the third women's major of the year this week. The Blue Course will be showing off its new look after an extensive renovation by Andrew Green that was completed last year. Pete talks about how Green's vision became reality and which aspects of the course he's most excited to see in action at the Women's PGA. Pete and Andy also cover other topics, ranging from Pete's schedule this week to how technology might be able to ease the industry's labor shortage.

The Superintendent Series is brought to you by the Toro Company.

The 2022 U.S. Open at The Country Club in Brookline was an instant classic. It had all the key ingredients: a great course, a tough setup, a variety of big names in contention, a dramatic final-round duel, and a champion who sealed victory with an extraordinary shot on the 72nd hole. To discuss all of this and more, Garrett Morrison talks with four guests. First up is Nick Hardy (@NickHardy8), an up-and-coming tour pro who, at one point on Sunday afternoon, found himself two shots off the lead. Garrett then touches base with Paolo Uggetti (@PaoloUggetti), a staff writer at ESPN.com; Ryan Barath (@RDSBarath), a senior equipment editor at Golf.com; and Bradley Klein (@BradleySKlein), a journalist and golf architecture historian.

The late 1800s saw the invention of an important institution: the American country club. This week’s U.S. Open venue, The Country Club in Brookline, was the first—or at least one of the first. By the beginning of the 20th century, most major cities east of Chicago had several golf-focused clubs. What were the reasons for this proliferation? And what can we learn from the origins of country-club life in America? To get some answers, Garrett Morrison talks to Richard J. (“Pete”) Moss, a retired history professor and the author of the excellent Golf and the American Country Club.

It's U.S. Open week! To give a preview of the action, Andy Johnson sits down with Tron Carter (@TronCarterNLU) and runs through five things they'll be watching for at The Country Club in Brookline. They touch on the virtues of the host city, the challenges of the course, the players who might be best prepared to take on TCC's small greens and heavy rough, the potential activities of Team Reed, and the long shadow cast by the insurgent LIV league.

The Fried Egg and No Laying Up have team members on site in Boston this week, so there will be plenty of #content to consume. For some visuals of the course, check out our preview video as well as NLU's.

This episode concludes our series “The Open Doctor and His Monster,” which chronicles the origins, rise, and end of the Robert Trent Jones era in golf. Today, we tell the story of the movement that challenged Jones’s ideas and revived the reputations of Donald Ross and other golf architects of the “Golden Age.” Ultimately, this movement led to a battle of ideas at Oakland Hills Country Club, where Jones had initially established his reputation as the “Open Doctor” in 1950. Our guests in this episode are Richard Howting, Bradley Klein (@BradleySKlein), Gil Hanse, and Robert Trent Jones Jr.

Further reading:

• Bradley Klein, Discovering Donald Ross
• Geoffrey Cornish and Ron Whitten, The Golf Course

In this second installment of our documentary series “The Open Doctor and His Monster,” we focus on the 1951 U.S. Open, in which Ben Hogan did battle with Robert Trent Jones’s modern architecture at Oakland Hills Country Club. Our guests in this episode are Ed Gruver (@EdGruver), Richard Howting, James Hansen, Robert Trent Jones Jr., and Bradley Klein (@BradleySKlein).

Further reading:

Ed Gruver, Bringing the Monster to Its Knees: Ben Hogan, Oakland Hills, and the 1951 U.S. Open

Richard Howting, “Defining Moment: The 1951 U.S. Open”

Bradley Klein, “Forever in Tweed, Amen: Herbert Warren Wind’s contributions to golf know no word count” in The Golfer’s Journal No. 13

Today, we kick off a three-part documentary series called “The Open Doctor and His Monster,” in which we chronicle the Robert Trent Jones era in golf: its origins in Rochester, New York; its breakthrough moment at Oakland Hills Country Club; and its recent fall from favor. In this first installment, we tell the story of how Robert Trent Jones rose from a blue-collar background to the status of “Open Doctor”—and how, in the process, he came up with ideas that would dominate golf course design for decades.

Our guests in this episode are Robert Trent Jones Jr., James Hansen, Richard Howting, and Bradley Klein (@BradleySKlein). 

Further reading:

• James Hansen, A Difficult Par: Robert Trent Jones Sr. and the Making of Modern Golf
• Bradley Klein, Discovering Donald Ross: The Architect and His Golf Courses

Golf architect Kyle Franz (@KyleFranzGolf) returns to the podcast to share his wealth of knowledge of Pine Needles, the site of the ongoing 2022 U.S. Women's Open. Kyle carried out a restoration of the Donald Ross course in 2017 and is on the grounds at Pine Needles this week. He chats with Andy Johnson about holes to watch for and what he learned from following Ingrid Lindblad and Annika Sörenstam during Thursday's first round. On the back half of the episode, Kyle provides an update on the busy summer he has ahead of him, which will include projects at Lookout Mountain and Cabot Citrus Farms.

With the U.S. Open a little over two weeks away, we are well into the "from many, one" process. The 2022 edition will be held at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts, for the first time since 1988.* Andy Johnson and Garrett Morrison talk about the deep history of professional golf at the course, the maze that is the championship routing, and the USGA’s planned setup. Gil Hanse stops by (26:45) to share insights from more than a decade of working at The Country Club, then Andy and Garrett wrap up with some holes to keep an eye on and a few critiques of the course’s weaknesses.

* A number of times in this pod, we mistakenly refer to the 1988 U.S. Open as the 1989 U.S. Open. TFE regrets the error.

The final two days of the 2022 PGA Championship were generally a bit of a slog. The big names were going in the wrong direction, and the rest of the leaderboard wasn't producing much excitement. But then the final hour gave us Justin Thomas's playoff win, and all was forgiven. To recap the storylines of what ended up being a fun week, Garrett Morrison talks with three guests: Brendan Quinn (@BFQuinn), sportswriter for The Athletic; The Fried Egg's own Andy Johnson; and Stephen Britton (@sbrittonturf), golf course superintendent at the Chevy Chase Club.

Time stamps:

(3:28) Brendan Quinn

(28:44) Andy Johnson

(54:30) Stephen Britton

After a day of walking around Southern Hills Country Club and watching the first round of the PGA Championship, Garrett Morrison and Meg Adkins convene in the media center (right next to KVV as he did a guest spot on The Shotgun Start!) to discuss it all. Garrett and Meg offer observations on the tournament, the course, and the fans, and they wrap up with a few things they'll be watching for over the weekend.

It's PGA Championship week! ESPN.com's Kevin Van Valkenburg (@kvanvalkenburg), who will be on site at Southern Hills, talks with Andy Johnson about all the major storylines heading into the second men's major of the year. From the challenges of the Perry Maxwell design to the players they think have the best chance to succeed, Andy and Kevin dive deep into all things PGA, including some suggested requirements for the club pros in the field this week.

Note: This podcast was recorded before it was announced that Phil Mickelson had withdrawn from the PGA Championship.

It's Flashback Friday: Fried Egg Edition! With the 2022 PGA Championship next week, Andy Johnson and Brendan Porath join Garrett Morrison to look back Phil Mickelson's victory last year at the Ocean Course. Andy and Brendan were on site at Kiawah Island all week. They reminisce about the lead-up to the event, the excitement around the venue, and the wild Sunday finish, which included a broadcast appearance by Andy himself. The group also reflects on what's transpired for Phil since his win and how the events of the past 12 months have colored their recollections of that historic week.

Today's guest on our Superintendent Series is Tyler Marcotte, the Head Superintendent at Brambles in Middletown, California. Tyler has one of the more interesting jobs in turf right now. He is currently overseeing the grow-in at Brambles, a new Coore & Crenshaw design just north of Napa Valley, and he has some unique co-workers: sheep! He shares details with Andy Johnson on how he plans to use sheep instead of mowers and what long-term benefits he hopes the sheep will bring. Tyler also provides an update on the grow-in and explains how his experiences working all over the country have aided him at Brambles.

The Superintendent Series is brought to you by the Toro Company.

With our fourth deep dive into the five 18-hole courses at Bandon Dunes, we arrive at Tom Doak’s Pacific Dunes, which opened in 2001. Andy Johnson and Garrett Morrison discuss the course’s intricate strategic puzzles; its use of the “sandy bowl,” the “gorse plain,” and a spectacular stretch of cliff-side land; its collection of short par 4s; and the way that Pacific Dunes, more than any other course at the resort, demands smart, precise golf.  Tom Doak himself makes a cameo (16:30) to tell the story of how he discovered the portion of the property that would become the famous 13th hole. 

 The Bandon Deep Dives are brought to you by Zero Restriction.

Golf's accessibility problem isn't new, and fixing it won't happen overnight. Golf architect Christine Fraser (@cfgolfdesign) knows this, but she also believes that good course design can chip away at the issue. She talks with Garrett Morrison about how tee positions, fairway lines, maintenance practices, and even entrances into golf facilities can all be designed to encourage an inclusive culture. Christine has worked on courses all over the world, including Lahinch, Royal Birkdale, and the Toronto Golf Club, and as one of the few women in golf architecture, she offers a fresh and important perspective.

The 2022 PGA Championship, which starts in three weeks, will be held at Southern Hills Country Club, a 1936 Perry Maxwell masterwork that has recently undergone a historical renovation by Hanse Golf Course Design. In this episode, Andy Johnson and Garrett Morrison talk about what makes Southern Hills an exciting major venue and chat with Gil Hanse himself about his team’s work on the course.

For the latest edition of our Superintendent Series, Andy Johnson talks with Justin DePippo, the Director of Golf Course and Grounds at Bel-Air Country Club. Andy and Justin discuss Tom Doak's recent restoration of George Thomas's design at Bel-Air, the unique challenges of maintaining turf in the California canyons, the complex logistics behind golf course construction, and a variety of other topics.

The Superintendent Series is brought to you by the Toro Company.

Happy Earth Day! As we did last year at this time, we asked Dr. Cole Thompson to come on the podcast and chat about golf's relationship with the environment. Cole is the assistant director of Green Section Research at the USGA, and he helps run the Turfgrass and Environmental Research Program. In this episode, Cole talks with Garrett Morrison about what may be the golf course industry's single biggest problem in the 21st century: water. Cole and Garrett address the optics issues around using water for recreational purposes in an era of climate change before delving into the many ways that golf courses can conserve more water and even offer H2O-related benefits to their communities.

After a recent visit to Pastiempo Golf Club in Santa Cruz, California, Andy Johnson and Garrett Morrison figured it was time to dedicate a full podcast to this brilliant (and publicly accessible!) Alister MacKenzie design. From the underrated front nine to the controversial finishing holes, Andy and Garrett dig into the features that make the course a must-visit for any golfer. They wrap up their chat by turning an eye to the future and discussing their hopes and concerns regarding last week's news that Pasatiempo will undergo major rebuild of its heralded MacKenzie greens.

Justin Ray (@JustinRayGolf) has an unrivaled ability to present statistics and historical facts in a way that gives golf fans a better understanding of players and their performances. He and Garrett Morrison chat about Justin’s methods and his background in media before diving into the key storylines of the 2021-22 PGA Tour season so far. They explore some numbers and notes related to Scottie Scheffler’s rise, Collin Morikawa’s incredible early-career performance in majors, and Rory McIlroy’s [fire emoji] final round at the 2022 Masters. They also discuss some of the big questions they hope to see answered as the year unfolds. More of Justin's work can be found at Twenty First Group, where he is Head of Content, as well as on The Athletic and PGATour.com.

Scottie Scheffler played so brilliantly at the 2022 Masters that, for much of the final round, the outcome wasn’t in doubt. But what this Masters may have lacked in competitive tension, it made up for in rich storylines. To think through some of these deeper narratives, Garrett Morrison speaks with three guests: Jaime Diaz (@JaimeDiazGC), a veteran golf writer who is currently an analyst for Golf Channel; Bob Crosby (@Otey71), a golf historian; and Joseph LaMagna (@JosephLaMagna), the analytics whiz behind the Finding the Edge newsletter.

For more reflections on the Masters from the Fried Egg team, go to our Masters hub.

Timestamps:

(3:40) Jaime Diaz interview

(29:11) Bob Crosby interview

(49:18) Joseph LaMagna interview

What should I know before going to the Masters? What are the most underrated and overrated vantage points at Augusta National? How can I best appreciate the course architecture? Should I actually avoid the merch tent? If you’re planning to attend the Masters sometime in the future, these are questions you might ask yourself. To get some answers, Garrett Morrison talks with Andy Johnson, Brendan Porath, and Michael Wolf (@bamabearcat), all of whom are deeply familiar with the lay of the land at Augusta National. They give recommendations for what a first-time Masters spectator should do (and not do), and they discuss their favorite spots on the property.

For more Fried Egg Masters coverage, check out our Masters hub.

Masters week is here! To preview the upcoming action, Andy Johnson welcomes Shane Bacon (@shanebacon), co-host of Golf Today on Golf Channel and host of the recently revived Get a Grip podcast, to discuss the five things they're looking forward to seeing at Augusta National. From Scottie Scheffler to Justin Thomas to a potential Tiger return, Andy and Shane cover the top storylines going into the 2022 Masters.

With the Augusta National Women’s Amateur wrapping up tomorrow and the 2022 Masters approaching, Andy Johnson and Garrett Morrison sit down to discuss the latest changes to America’s most influential golf course. They touch on the tree removal along the right side of No. 11, the lengthening of No. 15, and the short-grass expansions on several holes. They also talk about which renovations they hope to see next, and how the club’s philosophy of course design and presentation may be shifting.

Read Andy’s article on the changes at Augusta National and Meg Adkins’s piece on how the format on the ANWA could be improved.

The 2022 Augusta National Women's Amateur begins tomorrow, and who better to talk to about it than Emilia Migliaccio (@emiliamigliacc1)? Emilia played in the inaugural ANWA in 2019, finished second last year, and will be in the field again this week. She talks with Garrett Morrison about the unique aspects of the event, the different challenges of the two host courses, her strategies for negotiating Augusta National’s greens, and the lessons she learned after coming up short in a playoff last year. In addition to being an elite amateur golfer, Emilia is also an accomplished writer and a Golf Channel reporter, and she explains why she has decided to pursue a career in journalism instead of turning professional in golf.

Today we tell the story of one of the great lost elements of match-play golf: the stymie. A stymie occurred when one player’s ball on the green ended up between the hole and the opponent’s ball. Unless the balls were within six inches of one another, the ball closer to the hole could not be lifted. The player who was away simply had to figure out what to do next. When the governing bodies eliminated the stymie in 1952, more than a curious little quirk of match play was lost, according to our guest Stephen Proctor. In a conversation with Garrett Morrison, Stephen argues that the stymie embodied a larger attitude toward the game—an attitude that fell out of favor in the mid-20th century, but one that is worth remembering, and perhaps reviving, today.

Stephen's book The Long Golden Afternoon is available for pre-order now.

With last week's Distance Insights update from the USGA and R&A, it made sense to bring in Geoff Shackelford (@geoffshac) to discuss the latest developments. Geoff has been writing about and covering the distance issue in golf for over 20 years. In this episode, he chats with Andy Johnson about what's coming, how players and equipment companies will be affected, and whether bifurcation has finally arrived. Andy and Geoff also catch up on two timely topics: the Saudi-backed LIV Golf league and the Masters. You can read more of Geoff's musings in his Substack newsletter The Quadrilateral.

Andy Johnson and Garrett Morrison sit down (in person this time!) to discuss an array of listener questions. They talk about how the PGA Tour can better assess shot-shaping skills, which musical artist TPC Sawgrass resembles, how golf telecasts can improve, which golf books they would recommend, whether big-name architects are getting too busy, and what changes they would make to Augusta National’s course if they had their druthers. Many thanks to our followers on Twitter and Instagram for the questions!

Former PGA Tour player Roberto Castro (@cicioCASTRO) talks with Andy Johnson about the marathon that was the 2022 Players Championship. From the weather to the final putt on Monday, Roberto shares his insights into what makes the tournament so difficult to predict, how Saturday gave us a glimpse into what a rollback might look like, and what he thinks the most difficult shot on the course is. The current state of golf course development is also discussed in the back half of the episode. 

In addition to hosting the Course Record Show podcast, Roberto runs his own golf consulting business, Castro Golf Consulting.

In February 2020, Garrett Morrison interviewed 1976 U.S. Open champion Jerry Pate about his win at the 1982 Players Championship, the first Players held at TPC Sawgrass. Jerry talked about his first impressions of the Pete Dye-designed Stadium Course, his post-victory leap into the pond next to the 18th green, and his fond memories of his friends Pete and Alice Dye. We used excerpts from Jerry and Garrett's conversation in our documentary podcast “Making TPC Sawgrass.” Since it’s now the 40th anniversary of the '82 Players, we figured it was a good time to air the interview in full.

Check out our video on the history, design, and evolution of TPC Sawgrass.

It’s tradition around here to release a “Five Things About...” episode on Tuesday before a major championship. Since the Players Championship, in spite of the PGA Tour’s best efforts, isn’t quite a major, we thought “Four Things” would suffice. Andy Johnson calls up Sean Martin (@PGATourSMartin), the newly anointed king of editorial at PGATour.com, to chat about the latest happenings on tour and the most interesting storylines going into the week at TPC Sawgrass.

Things have been moving quickly for Phil Mickelson. After his comments about the Saudi-backed Super Golf League made headlines, he was dropped by most of his major sponsors and pilloried by both the media and his PGA Tour colleagues. The backlash was surprisingly severe, even if much of it was well deserved. Mickelson’s knowing involvement with Saudi sportswashing was indefensible. But that doesn’t mean that everything he said about the SGL was nonsense. In fact, his basic position that the PGA Tour needs to be challenged is worth taking seriously. So in this episode, Andy Johnson and Garrett Morrison discuss how competition from rival leagues could force the Tour to improve its product. 

Here is Garrett’s article “Phil Mickelson and the Uses of Leverage.” 

Also, check out the Fried Egg Events page on Golf Genius.

Joshua C.F. Smith (@joshuacfsmith) has worn many hats in golf. From playing competitively in college to serving as superintendent at Orinda Country Club outside of Oakland, California, he has seen many aspects of the industry. He has also found time to become a renowned painter of golf landscapes and help found FlagBag Golf Co. (@flagbaggolf). In the latest installment of our Superintendent Series, Josh sits down with Andy Johnson to share stories about his wide-ranging career.

The Superintendent Series is brought to you by the Toro Company.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is making major inroads in professional golf. It holds lucrative annual events, funds a 10-event series on the Asian Tour, and hopes to lure the world’s best male players to a proposed Super Golf League. Recently, the SGL initiative has taken a hit because of Phil Mickelson’s loose lips, but Saudi Arabia appears committed to its golf strategy, and it’s clear that the country is engaged in a practice known as “sportswashing.” As one of our guests, Dr. Helen Lenskyj, defines it, sportswashing involves “attempts on the part of authoritarian regimes to improve their tarnished global reputations through sport.” It is important for golf fans to understand this concept because the Saudis aren’t going anywhere.

We have two guests today: Dr. Lenskyj, an academic researcher who focuses on the relationship between sports and global politics; and Will Bardwell, a civil rights attorney and golf writer.

Time stamps:

2:49—Will Bardwell interview, part 1

13:11—Helen Lenskyj interview

30:25—Will Bardwell interview, part 2

Reading material:

Will Bardwell, “Blind Men and Blood”

Helen Lenskyj, The Olympic Games: A Critical Approach

Check out The Fried Egg Events page on Golf Genius.

The third of our deep dives into the five 18-hole courses at Bandon Dunes focuses on Bandon Trails, built by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw in 2005. Andy Johnson and Garrett Morrison talk about how the construction of Bandon Trails fit into the resort’s history, and they play an interview clip in which Coore discusses the origins of the course’s three-part identity. Andy and Garrett then launch into a wide-ranging discussion of Bandon Trails’ (many) strengths and (few) weaknesses. They cover, among other things, their favorite green-to-tee transitions, the controversy around the 14th hole, and the course’s similarities to Saving Private Ryan, The Princess Bride, and Bruce Bowen. (All of that will make sense in context, we promise.)

The Bandon Deep Dives are brought to you by Zero Restriction.

With the final tournament of the West Coast swing upon us, it's a good time to catch up with Joseph LaMagna (@JosephLaMagna), Fried Egg contributor and author of the biweekly newsletter Finding the Edge, about the early part of the 2022 PGA Tour season. Andy Johnson grills Joseph on who has impressed and disappointed thus far and what he makes of the very low scores we've seen almost weekly. They wrap up their chat with what to expect at Riviera later this week and the specific skill sets the course will test.

In the latest edition of our Superintendent Series, Andy Johnson meets up with Eric Richardson (@erichturf), Director of Grounds at Essex County Club, at the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA) Conference and Trade Show in San Diego, California. Along with architect Bruce Hepner, Eric has worked to return Essex County to its Donald Ross roots. He has overseen projects such as enlarging greens, changing mowing lines, reshaping bunkers, giving the course a minimalist look and feel, and maintaining ideal playing conditions on the property's unique terrain. Andy and Eric also discover they have a similar disdain for ball washers.

The Superintendent Series is brought to you by the Toro Company.

Ben Cowan-Dewar is the co-founder and CEO of Cabot, the company that developed Cabot Cape Breton and recently purchased World Woods Golf Club in Florida. Ben talks with Andy Johnson about Cabot’s first U.S.-based property, which will be rebranded as Cabot Citrus Farms. They also discuss Ben’s unconventional path to becoming a golf course developer, the early days of Cabot Links, and his experiences working with Bill Coore and other great architects.

In the latest installment of our “What to Know About…” series on golf’s greatest architects, we focus on Perry Maxwell, the designer of many courses, including Prairie Dunes, Southern Hills, and Old Town Club. Garrett Morrison and Andy Johnson kick off the episode by talking about The Fried Egg’s upcoming event at Dornick Hills Country Club, the first course Maxwell built. We then present two conversations: one between Garrett and biographer Chris Clouser on Perry Maxwell’s life and work, and another between Andy and architect Colton Craig (@craig_colton) on Colton’s quest to play every Maxwell course in existence. Toward the end of the podcast, we return to Chris for some closing reflections on Maxwell’s architectural legacy. (Time stamps below.)

The Banker, our June 6 event at Dornick Hills in Ardmore, Oklahoma, opens for registration on Monday, February 7. For more information, visit our new events page on Golf Genius.

Check out The Midwest Associate, Chris Clouser’s biography of Perry Maxwell.

Time stamps:

0:35—Discussion of Dornick Hills and The Banker

7:04—Chris Clouser interview

36:34—Colton Craig interview

54:05—Final thoughts with Chris Clouser

Legendary golf course architect Bill Coore returns to the podcast for the first time in over two years. He and Andy Johnson have a lot to catch up on, and they cover a number of past and present Coore & Crenshaw projects, including Old Sandwich Golf Club, Bandon Trails, the Warren Golf Course at Notre Dame, and Brambles in Northern California. Bill shares his insights on the current boom in golf course construction and how it differs from the last upturn in the 90s and early 00s. He finishes with some reflections on what keeps him going and what he loves most about designing golf courses.

In the second of their five Bandon Dunes deep dives, Andy Johnson and Garrett Morrison discuss what may be the resort’s most polarizing course: Old Macdonald, built by Tom Doak and Jim Urbina in 2009. Andy and Garrett start with a historical rundown, touching on the origins of C.B. Macdonald and Seth Raynor’s “ideal holes,” the decision to make Old Mac a tribute to those templates, and the unusual collaborative process behind the construction of the course. Then Andy and Garrett dig into the nitty-gritty of Old Mac’s design. They talk about the holes they love (and don’t quite love), and they try to figure out why this unique, brilliant course sometimes rubs people the wrong way.

The Bandon Deep Dives are brought to you by Zero Restriction (code: OLDMAC).

While visiting Scottsdale, Arizona, Andy Johnson met up with Tim Jackson and David Kahn of Jackson Kahn Design (@JKDgolfdesign). Tim and David got their start working for Tom Fazio’s organization, founded their own firm in 2009, and went on to do striking, ambitious work at Monterey Peninsula Country Club and Scottsdale National Golf Club. In this episode, they describe their design style, share stories of working for Bob Parsons (“kaboom, baby!”), and explain how a video game helped them conceptualize the Bad Little Nine at Scottsdale National. They also have some choice words about the current state of golf course architecture as an art.

In this second part of his most recent conversation with Andy Johnson, Tom Doak answers more listener questions, including ones about the upcoming Sedge Valley project at Sand Valley and the non-golf literature that has influenced him. Tom and Andy also discuss how golf course architecture finds itself at a crossroads, with established architects approaching retirement just as construction has started to boom. Finally, Tom answers the hardest question in Yolk with Doak history.

As the supply-chain crisis escalates, new golf equipment is becoming pricier and harder to get ahold of. So it might be a good time to take an interest in used clubs. Ryan Barath (@rdsbarath), lead content strategist at Tour Experience Golf, is one of the industry's most knowledgeable resources on that subject. Ryan talks with Garrett Morrison about how his golf nerdery started and how the equipment business has changed during his career. In the second half of the episode, Ryan and Garrett give their picks for two sets of used clubs: one that can be had for under $750 total, and another that consists of equipment made before 2005. This exercise allows them to delve deeper into the products, innovations, and trends that have, for better or for worse, shaped 21st-century golf.

On The Fried Egg website: How to Assemble a Great Set of Used Golf Clubs

In the latest edition of our interview series with golf course architect Tom Doak, Tom answers listener questions about New Year's resolutions, forward-tee placement, and accounting for climate change in his designs. He also shares with Andy a number of new concepts and projects he'd like to explore, including a modern replica of Pine Valley, a course specifically for women, and a fresh take on residential golf. Look for part two of this conversation in the coming weeks.

Why aren’t there more women in the turf industry? What changes would be necessary for there to be more? Devon Carroll (@turfgirl24), a doctoral candidate in turfgrass science at the University of Tennessee, has looked deeply into these questions. Recently she has been interviewing women who hold leadership roles in turf and finding out how more women might be recruited and retained. This topic has taken on additional urgency over the past several months as workplaces everywhere, including those in golf, have struggled to find labor. Devon joins Andy Johnson to talk about her background in golf and golf course maintenance, her experiences in the male-dominated field, and the ways that the industry can improve its gender diversity. 

Check out Devon’s new peer-reviewed research paper, “Women in Turf: A Qualitative Study Examining How Women Have Sustained Their Leadership Role in the Turfgrass Industry.”

The Superintendent Series is brought to you by The Toro Company.

Let’s be honest: the PGA Tour season doesn’t really start until the serene seascapes of Kapalua fill our TV screens in the first week of January. To prepare for the occasion, Andy Johnson calls up Joseph LaMagna (@JosephLaMagna), the sharp mind behind the Finding the Edge newsletter, to discuss what to expect from Ponte Vedra’s princes in 2022. They talk about the youth wave in men’s professional golf, the keys to Collin Morikawa’s success, and whether Rory McIlroy is “back.” Andy and Joseph finish by running through several players who are primed for breakout years and a few who could regress to the mean.

For our final episode of 2021, we talk about The Fried Egg’s roster of 2022 events. First, Andy Johnson and Garrett Morrison run through some FAQs: Why do we hold these events? How do we choose the venues? What’s the format? Can I register as a single? What if I’m not a particularly competitive player? (To address the latter two questions briefly: absolutely, and it doesn’t matter.) Then Andy and Garrett have an in-depth discussion of Lawsonia Links, site of the annual Steamshovel event. Lawsonia was designed by William Langford and Theodore Moreau in 1930, and it is an important course both to Andy and to The Fried Egg. We finish up with two clips from past episodes: a portion of Andy’s interview with architect Troy Miller about Charleston Municipal Golf Course, host of the King Tide; and a conversation between Andy and Garrett about Soule Park, host of the Boomerang.

Sign-ups for the first four Fried Egg events of 2022 open on Monday, January 3! Those events: the King Tide at Charleston Muni in Charleston, South Carolina; the Boomerang at Soule Park in Ojai, California; the Steamshovel at Lawsonia Links in Green Lake, Wisconsin; and the Coup de Grâce at the Dunes Club in New Buffalo, Michigan. For details, visit our EVENTS PAGE.

Here are some time stamps in case you’d like to skip around in the episode:

(0:37) Explanation of Fried Egg events and next year’s events in particular

(24:40) Discussion of Lawsonia Links

(40:50) Interview with Troy Miller about Charleston Muni

(55:10) Discussion of Soule Park

Over the next several weeks, we plan to record deep-dive discussions for all five 18-hole courses at Bandon Dunes. First up, in reverse-chronological order: Sheep Ranch. Before it was officially part of the resort, Sheep Ranch was a free-form course on which players could choose their own routings. Its 13 greens were designed by Tom Doak and the team at Renaissance Golf Design. When owners Mike Keiser and Phil Friedmann decided to incorporate Sheep Ranch into Bandon Dunes, they hired Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw to transform it into a traditional 18-hole layout. Andy Johnson and Garrett Morrison discuss the course’s history and evolution before giving their assessment of its current design. (Spoiler: they like it.)

Our Bandon Deep Dives are brought to you by Zero Restriction.

One of the most pressing issues in golf right now is the relationship between the game and the environment. As temperatures rise and water supplies dwindle, courses need to reevaluate the way they use resources and interact with their ecosystems. Sorting through these complexities is Parker Anderson’s specialty. Parker is the founder (and head beekeeper) of Greener Golf, a company that helps golf facilities quantify and improve their impact on the environment. In this episode, he talks with Garrett Morrison about the surprising benefits that a well-tended bee colony can offer a course and its surroundings. They also discuss the stigmas against the game, the potential for short courses to be ecological laboratories, and how golf can strive to be regenerative, not just sustainable.

Earlier this week, Andy Johnson wrote an article for The Fried Egg website on the great remaining restoration opportunities in American golf. It generated a lot of discussion, so Andy and Garrett decided to sit down and discuss the topic further. They go in depth on Andy’s top four restoration candidates—Augusta National, Riviera, Pebble Beach, and the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass—and they touch on the 12 other courses that made the list as well as a few notable ones that were left off. Andy and Garrett wrap up with some thoughts on what the future might hold for restoration and renovation in the golf course industry.

Article: America's Great Remaining Golf Course Restoration Opportunities

Ken Nice, Senior Director of Agronomy at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, joins Andy Johnson to discuss… basketball, of all things! Once the hoops chat is over, Ken shares some stories from his experience as the assistant superintendent during the construction of David McLay-Kidd's Bandon Dunes. Ken and Andy then talk about the evolution and growth of the resort, how he's handled overseeing the unique maintenance challenges at each course, his favorite spots on the property, and how he deals with the rare snow day and a packed tee sheet.

For the latest installment of our audio documentary series, Garrett Morrison heads out to the Oregon coast for the 2021 U.S. Hickory Open. At this event, players must use wooden-shafted clubs either made before 1935 or faithfully based on those models. Garrett spends the day walking around Gearhart Golf Links, talking to a variety of characters, including John Henry Williams, a club repair specialist who has set up a workshop on site; Tad Moore, a renowned club builder and a co-founder of the Society of Hickory Golfers; and Colin McNamara, who is in contention to win the tournament. Garrett’s main purpose is to understand 21st-century hickory golf: where it came from, how it’s played, and why some people get absolutely hooked by it.

Season 2 of Fried Egg Stories is brought to you by Precision Pro Golf.

After a six-day stint at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, a trio of tired Eggs (@the_woke_yolk, @gfordgolf, @willknightsTFE) sit down to hash out their "Dream 18": a composite course consisting of their favorite holes from the five 18-hole courses on the property. For each hole number, they choose a winner and an honorable mention, and some lively debate ensues. This discussion should provide an accessible introduction to our upcoming deep dives into each course.

The Fried Egg’s trip to Bandon Dunes was made possible (and, at times, survivable) by Zero Restriction, makers of fine outerwear.

Our series with golf architect Tom Doak continues as he and Andy Johnson catch up in Washington D.C., where they attended the National Links Trust Symposium on Municipal Golf. In addition to discussing sustainability and course maintenance in the municipal golf world, they talk about the few golf course restorations left that would interest Tom, how his design style has evolved over the years, and the origins of the Renaissance Cup. Lastly, Apache Stronghold Golf Club, a course of Tom’s that hasn't been mentioned much in the Yolk with Doak series, gets some overdue attention.

George C. Thomas Jr. is the golf architect behind Riviera Country Club, Bel Air Country Club, the North Course at Los Angeles Country Club, and the classic 1927 book Golf Architecture in America. To learn more about Thomas, Andy Johnson sits down with Geoff Shackelford (@geoffshac), who is the author not only of the Substack newsletter The Quadrilateral but also the book The Captain: George C. Thomas Jr. and His Golf Architecture. Geoff and Andy discuss various aspects of Thomas’s compelling albeit short life, including his diverse hobbies, contributions to Pine Valley, partnership with Billy Bell, and ever-evolving design style.

Trevor Immelman is the 2008 Masters champion, a TV analyst, and the incoming captain of the International Presidents Cup squad. In this episode, he chats with Andy Johnson about what it takes to be a winner on the PGA Tour today, his experience as an assistant captain at the 2019 Presidents Cup, and how things are looking for the International team going into 2022. Trevor also looks back at the beginning of his golf career in South Africa and the role Ernie Els played as a mentor-turned-competitor.

Ryan Tuxhorn (@r_tuxhorn) joins Andy Johnson for the latest edition of our Superintendent Series. Ryan went straight from college to working as an intern and making his way through the ranks at Merion Golf Club. He shares how his experiences there shaped his philosophies on everything from course maintenance to green speeds, and prepared him for his job as superintendent at Somerset Hills Country Club, where he has been for the past 13 years. He and Andy discuss the restoration work at Somerset Hills, how his approach has changed over the years, and his budding maple syrup business, which keeps him busy through the long New Jersey winters.

The Superintendent Series is brought to you by the Toro Company.

Wayne Morrison is the author of The Nature Faker, a monumental biography of William Flynn. It’s safe to say that no one on earth knows more about Flynn, the architect behind Shinnecock Hills and many other great courses. In this episode (which is the first of a few we have planned on specific architects), Wayne goes in depth with Andy Johnson on Flynn's life and work during the Golden Age of golf course design. Wayne talks about how he became interested in Flynn and how his massive book came together. He and Andy also touch on Flynn's involvement with many courses that have stood the test of time, including not only Shinnecock but also Pine Valley, Merion East, Cherry Hills, Rolling Green, Lancaster, and Indian Creek. You can order your own copy of The Nature Faker by emailing Wayne at [email protected].

Sara Mess joins Garrett Morrison to discuss her involvement in the Glenway Golf Park renovation in Madison, Wisconsin. This unique project, spearheaded by Michael Keiser and his wife Jocelyn, will both revive the Glenway course and engage the Madison community in a number of creative ways. Sara also discusses her time working at Renaissance Golf Design, her collaboration with Tom Doak on his recent books, and her insights on how access and inclusivity (and proper tee placement!) can help create more diversity in both golf and the field of golf course architecture.

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Andy Johnson’s recent travels have taken him to two municipal golf courses with A-1 architectural pedigrees: Donald Ross’s George Wright Golf Course near Boston, Massachusetts; and A.W. Tillinghast’s Swope Memorial Golf Course in Kansas City, Missouri. In this episode, Andy sits down with Garrett Morrison to reflect on what makes these courses special. They discuss Ross’s clever drainage methods at George Wright and Tillinghast’s adventurous use of hilly land at Swope Memorial. They also debate whether the restoration trend in the golf course industry, which has primarily affected private clubs so far, will soon filter down to municipal facilities.

Korn Ferry Tour player Vince India (@vince_india) catches up with Andy Johnson and discusses the grind that is the Second Stage of Q-School. Vince has made it through every level of Q-School for six years running. He shares some of his favorite stories and explains how his mindset going into qualifying has changed over the years. Andy and Vince also discuss the rising importance of physical conditioning in pro golf and how to actually improve your weaknesses.

Rodney Hine got his start in the turf industry as an assistant superintendent at Winged Foot Golf Club. He then moved into golf course design, serving as the grow-in superintendent at Tom Doak's Stonewall and eventually as a designer and agronomist for Hanse Golf Course Design. After helping Gil Hanse build Boston Golf Club in 2003, Rodney decided to stay on as the course's first superintendent, and he has been there ever since. In this installment of our Superintendent Series, he and Andy Johnson chat about Rodney's fascinating career, the quirky challenges of BGC, the importance of varied plant life on a golf course, and more.

The Superintendent Series is brought to you by the Toro Company.

This past weekend, Team USA won the Ryder Cup in dominant fashion, beating the European side 19-9. To get a handle on what this victory means, Garrett Morrison called up three different people—Ben Coley of Sporting Life, Joseph LaMagna of the Finding the Edge newsletter, and Shane Ryan of Golf Digest—and asked each for one big takeaway from the action at Whistling Straits.

Lawrence Donegan (@lawrencedonegan) is a longtime golf journalist who has worked for The Scotsman and The Guardian. He co-founded the excellent McKellar Magazine and hosts the McKellar Golf Podcast. With the 2020 (not a typo) Ryder Cup approaching, Lawrence joins Andy Johnson to share five things to watch for at Whistling Straits. They discuss Steve Stricker’s uninspired start to his week-of captaincy, the reasons behind Team USA’s chronic underperformance, the looming succession drama on the European side, and more.

To get ready for this week’s Ryder Cup, Andy Johnson and Garrett Morrison chat about the design of host venue Whistling Straits. Andy recently shot the Straits Course for a new Fried Egg video, so Garrett asks for his thoughts on Pete Dye’s routing, par-3 concepts, and outrageous shaping. They also discuss the PGA of America’s hefty build-outs, the reasons behind Andy’s hatred of catch basins, and the simple pleasure of gazing at a big ol’ lake all day.

After a well-regarded run as LPGA commissioner, Mike Whan started two months ago as the CEO of the USGA. Earlier this week, he sat down with Andy Johnson at Chicago Golf Club to discuss a variety of topics. They cover Whan's thinking about the USGA's priorities, championship host selection, and the potential of bringing the U.S. Open back to Chicago and the Midwest. Whan also weighs in on the hottest topic of the day: the distance increases golf has seen over the past few decades, and the USGA's role in securing the future health of the game.

In this wide-ranging conversation, Don Placek, Partner at Renaissance Golf Design, and Andy Johnson cover the complexity and challenges of the golf architecture consulting business, compare finding new golf courses to discovering new music, and discuss Don’s passion for drawing, maps, and art in general. Don shares how his passions and talents outside of golf improve Renaissance Golf Design’s work and how his routing maps help visualize the 3D world for their clients.

If you're in Northern Lower Michigan to play Arcadia Bluffs or Crystal Downs, you shouldn't skip Champion Hill Golf Course and Pinecroft Golf Course. Public, affordable, and well designed, Champion Hill and Pinecroft are owned and operated by one family. Is this the ideal business model for affordable golf? Andy Johnson and Garrett Morrison tackle that question in this episode, but first they spend some time chatting about the Solheim Cup, which took place at Inverness Club this past weekend. After Andy and Garrett finish up, they throw it to a conversation Andy recently had with Lee Stone, the owner of Champion Hill and Pinecroft, and Jim Cole, the longtime superintendent of both courses.

Team match play is the most entertaining format in golf, but we might not understand it very well. What factors should team captains consider when pairing players up for foursomes and four-ball? How much does a player's past match-play record matter? In alternate shot, how should teammates decide who tees off on which holes? Joseph LaMagna (@JosephLaMagna) believes that the conventional answers to these questions rely on faulty reasoning. Joseph runs Optimal Approach Golf, which advises PGA Tour pros on strategy, and writes an excellent newsletter called Finding the Edge. In this episode, he and Garrett Morrison dig into the intricacies of team match play and the tactics that Team USA and Team Europe should use in the upcoming Solheim Cup and Ryder Cup.

Belvedere Golf Club superintendent Jordan Caplan joins the podcast to talk about the Willie Watson course and his role as the club's fourth superintendent in its almost 100-year history. Jordan and Andy Johnson discuss the challenges of course maintenance in harsh Northern Lower Michigan winters and the differences between the Belvedere job and Jordan’s past work at Philadelphia Cricket Club. They also chat about trends in golf architecture vs. building architecture, the abundance of quality golf in Michigan, and how to get your kids interested in the game. The Superintendent Series is brought to you by the Toro Company.

Andrew Green is one of the busiest golf architects in the industry. He recently completed a restoration of Oak Hill's East Course and a renovation of Congressional's Blue Course, and he's currently doing work at Scioto, Wannamoisett, and Interlachen. Andrew's best-known project to date may be his bold 2017 restoration of Inverness Club, a 1919 Donald Ross design that has hosted six major championships. Next week, Inverness will appear on your TV as the host of the Solheim Cup, so Garrett Morrison figured it was a good time to call Andrew up and chat about Inverness's strengths, its complicated architectural history, Andrew's approach to balancing restoration with renovation, and his affection for a well-executed chocolate drop.

Nick Nate, superintendent at South Bend Country Club, talks with Andy Johnson about his career in turf, which has taken him from his hometown in South Bend, Indiana, to the Old Course and back home again. They discuss Nick's start in the business at Warren Golf Course when it first opened, the perks of his internship at St. Andrews and his stint in Scotland, prepping Medinah Country Club for the 2006 PGA Championship, and the challenges and rewards of bringing South Bend CC back to its George O'Neil roots. Nick also shares his Notre Dame gameday tips and predictions for the upcoming college football season. The Superintendent Series is brought to you by the Toro Company.

Today, Homer Kelley's 1969 book The Golfing Machine is a standard text for those who study the science of the golf swing. Famous instructors cite it, as do tour pros like Bryson DeChambeau and Steve Elkington. But in 1982, The Golfing Machine was most associated with 23-year-old Bobby Clampett, who had been schooled in Kelley's system. Clampett had compiled a stellar amateur résumé, and after two rounds of the '82 Open Championship, he led by five shots. He was on the verge of validating what he had once told a reporter about The Golfing Machine: "It's the Bible of golf." In this edition of our audio documentary series, we tell the story of Homer Kelley, Bobby Clampett, and their quest to prove that science could solve the mysteries of the game.

Season two of Fried Egg Stories is brought to you by Precision Pro Golf. This episode was produced by Garrett Morrison and mixed by Cameron Hurdus.

With the golf competitions underway at the Tokyo Olympics, Garrett Morrison sits down with Michael Wolf (@bamabearcat) to learn more about Japan's distinctive golf culture. Michael is a golf architecture and history nut who has traveled and played golf extensively in Japan. He and Garrett talk about the customs of Japanese golf clubs, Michael's tips and tricks for traveling within the country, and the top courses he has played there, including Olympic host Kasumigaseki Country Club. They also discuss the historical origins of golf in Japan and the flowering of Golden Age architecture in the country that resulted from Charles Hugh Alison's visit in the early 1930s.

In the latest installment of our interview series with Tom Doak, Tom gives an update on the progress at the Lido, the Keiser family’s latest course near Sand Valley. He and Andy discuss the pros and cons of the technology used to build the course, and they speculate on how it might be used in future restoration projects and in golf course architecture in general. They also chat about Tom’s ongoing work at Perry Maxwell's Dornick Hills Golf and Country Club in Ardmore, Oklahoma.

The Yolk with Doak returns! In the first of two new episodes of our interview series with golf architect Tom Doak, we cover the recent grand opening of St. Patrick's Links at the Rosapenna Hotel and Golf Resort in Ireland. Tom and Andy chat about where the course would land on the Doak Scale and the unique challenge of finishing the project during a global pandemic. They also discuss Tom's new book, The Making of Pacific Dunes, which is available for purchase at doakgolf.com.

Golf Channel's Jaime Diaz joins Andy to discuss this week's Open Championship at Royal St. George's. Jaime has over 30 years of experience in golf journalism, and he shares his favorite memories from the Open and how writing about it differs from covering it for TV. He and Andy also talk about Bryson, Rory, Rahm, and other players hoping to lift the Claret Jug on Sunday.

When Royal St. George's Golf Club, the host of the upcoming Open Championship, opened in the late 1880s, it looked a lot different than it does today. The earliest iteration of the course embodied the Victorian principles of its designer, Laidlaw Purves. Over the next few decades, those principles—and Royal St. George's itself—came under fire from a new school of golf writers and architects. Historian Bob Crosby joins Garrett Morrison to discuss this debate and its far-reaching consequences.

Brendan Byrne, superintendent and co-general manager at Llanerch Country Club in Havertown, Pennsylvania, chats with Andy about his 20+ year career in golf, from starting out at Rolling Green Golf Club to overseeing the recent restoration at Llanerch. He shares stories from his unique experience at the 1999 Ryder Cup, offers his expertise on managing staffs, and provides insight on how the golf industry has changed over the years. He and Andy also cover the Philly sports scene and give some opinions on the best cheesesteaks in the area. The Superintendent Series is brought to you by the Toro Company.

Shane Ryan is a contributor for GolfDigest.com and the author of Slaying the Tiger, an account of the 2014 PGA Tour season. He sits down with Garrett Morrison to talk about the KPMG Women's PGA Championship, which he covered last week; his new book project and podcast series on the Ryder Cup; and how the golf world has changed since he went out on tour in 2014. They also touch on the current discourse around athletes' mental-health struggles, the reasons Team Europe kicks Team USA's butt in three out of every four Ryder Cups, and the decline of traditional golf journalism.

Shane Bacon, co-host of Golf Today and the Get a Grip podcast, joins Andy for a recap of the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines. The two discuss Jon Rahm's breakthrough major win, Bryson's claim of not caring about his 44 on the final nine, and the bizarre series of events on the 13th hole on Sunday. They also chat about what they're looking forward to at the upcoming Open Championship and Olympic Games.

PGA professional Brad Marek joins Andy to discuss his great run at last month's PGA Championship. Brad played for years on the mini tours before becoming a well-regarded teaching pro at Corica Park in the Bay Area. In this episode, he and Andy delve into that transition. They also talk about everything from Brad's brush with stretching-themed social media fame to his experience at the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island.

You probably know that Geoff Ogilvy won the 2006 U.S. Open at Winged Foot. What you may have forgotten is that he also contended for the 2008 edition at Torrey Pines. In fact, at one point on Sunday, he was tied with eventual winner Tiger Woods. Now, 13 years later, the U.S. Open returns to the South Course at Torrey Pines, and Geoff joins Andy to preview the tournament. They run through five things that Andy will be watching for, and they also discuss Phil Mickelson's surprising win at Kiawah Island, Geoff's equally surprising affection for Torrey Pines South, and—of course—the mysteries of hang-gliding.

Rich McIntosh, superintendent of the South Course at Torrey Pines, joins Andy to discuss how preparations are going for the 2021 U.S. Open. Rich has an incredibly difficult job: taking one of the busiest municipal courses in the world and getting it ready for a national open. But it's not just a grind; Rich talks a lot in this episode about what he loves about preparing for big championships. He and Andy also touch on the recent renovation work at Torrey Pines, what to expect from the facility in the future, and some fun stories from the annual Farmers Insurance Open. The Superintendent Series is brought to you by the Toro Company.

Time for a supersized episode! Last week, Andy called up Mike Clayton—former tour pro, current golf architect, and general voice of reason—to talk about Phil Mickelson’s victory at the PGA Championship, ideas for a world golf tour, and Mike’s upcoming project on Seven Mile Beach in Hobart, Tasmania. They also previewed the U.S. Women’s Open, which was contested at the Olympic Club this past weekend. To follow up on that part of conversation, the Fried Egg boys (Andy, Garrett, and Will) got together to chat about their takeaways from Yuko Saso’s win and Lexi Thompson’s collapse.

On April 26, 73 players arrived at Half Moon Bay Golf Links with hopes of qualifying for the 2021 U.S. Women’s Open at Olympic Club. One of them was Juli Inkster, Hall of Famer and seven-time major champion. Now 60 years old, Inkster was paired with two teenagers who hadn’t been born when she last won a major. Also in the qualifier field was Lucy Li, who in 2014 became the youngest player ever to qualify for the U.S. Women’s Open. In this edition of Fried Egg Stories, we follow all four contestants through a 36-hole day at Half Moon Bay. Who, in the end, will be the qualifier?

This episode was produced and mixed by Garrett Morrison, and is brought to you by the U.S. Women’s Open.

Kyle Porter, golf writer for CBS and co-host of the First Cut podcast, joins Andy Johnson to preview this week's PGA Championship at Kiawah Island. Kyle and Andy each run through five things they'll be paying attention to as the action gets underway at the Ocean Course. They speculate on who will thrive at the difficult Pete Dye design and why so many top players don't seem to be in particularly good form.