Golf: next on the tee (2024)

390 - Hal Sutton, Matthew Laurance, Ross Greenburg, & Tom Patri Join Me...

TP updates us on how things are going in Southwest Florida in the wake of Hurricane Ian. We hear about how the recovery is going for local residents plus the trickle impact on the local golf scene. Many golf courses won't recover because bermuda grass can't tolerate the salt water dumped on them from the surge. Local PGA Professionals are looking at a very difficult Winter season without golf courses to teach on. Matthew Laurance starred in the movie Eddie & the Cruisers. He shares the story of a very cool recent event where they showed the movie at a local historic theater in Lexington, Kentucky. The event was used to help raise money for victims of the flooding in Eastern Kentucky. Matthew also didn't hold back his hatred when we discussed LIV Golf. Hal Sutton and I started out by talking about his new golf course design project. We also hear which designers have influenced him. I asked Hal about the burden of expectation placed on him as a young player and what he would say to Tom Kim to help him deal with that. Hal joined my guest from last week, Tony Ruggiero, on Tony's podcast Tour Coach and they had one of the most important golf conversations that I've heard in a long time. We recap that conversation which included focusing on our bad shots instead of our good ones and how some players place blame on everybody else instead of taking responsibility for their own golf games when things go wrong. Ross Greenburg has won over 100 major television awards over the course of his career. We talk about the movie he did along with Billy Crystal titled "61" about the 1961 homerun record chase between Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris. We also talk about 3 other films he's done: "Extra Innings From 9/11...20 Years Later", the Disney movie "Miracle" about the 1980 US Hockey Team, and "Jack Nicklaus, Making of a Champion."

Wed, 12 Oct 2022 - 1h 57min

389 - Rob Strano, Keith Hirshland, Brandon Stooksbury, & Russ Holden Join Me...

Two of the Top Instructors in the game Rob Strano & Brandon Stooksbury plus my all-time favorite Author and Emmy Award Winning TV Producer Keith Hirshland, & former PGA Tour Caddy and Founder of Caddy For A Cure, Russ Holden all join me... Rob Strano shares his insights on the Presidents Cup and the performances of Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Max Homa, and Tom Kim. I also got his thoughts on the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, playing in drastically different weather conditions from one round to the next, plus a tip for strategizing our rounds. Keith Hirshland joined me from Bangkok, Thailand where he's preparing for this week's LIV Golf broadcast. Keith shared what he knows about any potential TV contract for next year. We hear what it's like trying to produce a golf tournament when every player is on the course at the same time. He talks about the on-the-fly decision to allow their players to wear shorts and where they got the idea for their leaderboards. We also hear about his latest book, "Song Girl, A Tale In Two Verses" and that CT Mascaro character. Brandon Stooksbury is annually among the Top Instructors in Golf Digest. He was the PGA Teacher of the Year in Georgia in 2015 and 2018. He's now out at Metairie Country Club in Louisiana. Brandon shares stories of how he got started as a Golf Instructor working for Jim McLean at Doral. We learn the difference between teaching golf and teaching golf for a living. We also get tips for hitting a bump and run chip and the importance of attitude in sinking more putts. Russ Holden is the founder of Caddy For A Cure and we get an update on the great things his organization is doing to help support our wounded military heroes, including their new program Inspiring Warriors Golf. We also hear about his daughter's win at the Sea Island Women's Amateur Championship and his son Brandon playing in the PGA National Assistants Championship.

Wed, 05 Oct 2022 - 1h 56min

388 - Mark Lye, Tom Patri, Jonathan Shuskey, & Tony Ruggiero Join Me...

In this episode, I'm joined by 2 of the Top Instructors in the game, Tom Patri and Tony Ruggiero plus former Tour Pro Mark Lye, and 20-year Army Combat Veteran now a 40-year-old member of the Stephen F. Austin men's golf team Jonathan Shuskey. TP shares his thoughts on the Presidents Cup, the great week that Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, and Max Homa had, and the forgettable one that Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns did. I also get his thoughts on the rise of Tom Kim, and a playing lesson for how to dial in our wedges from 100 yards in. Mark Lye was an All-American in college at San Jose State and played on Tour from 1977 to 1994. During his high school days, he never lost a match yet colleges thought he was too small and his game was too erratic to recruit him. The only one who came knocking was San Jose State. He made the others school regret their decision. Mark won the 1976 Australian Order of Merit and the 1983 Bank of Boston Classic. Hear those stories and more in his segment. Jonathan Shuskey was a 20-year Army Combat Veteran who saw 5 tours of duty in the Middle East. We hear about his play on the All-Army golf team, winning the Fort Benning Club Championship 3 times, and what it's like being a 40-year-old Sophomore playing on the Stephen F. Austin men's golf team. Tony Ruggiero is a Golf Digest Top 50 Instructor and Host of the Tour Coach Podcast. He and I have a lot of synergies with show partners and mutual guests. Tony recently had an amazing conversation with Hal Sutton. We talk about that and how Tour Pros focus on their good shots instead of obsessing over their bad ones. We also get a playing lesson on how to fix our slice and square the clubface at impact.

Wed, 28 Sep 2022 - 1h 55min

387 - Charlie Rymer, Liberty DeVitto, Christopher Carter, & Bob Winskowicz Join Me...

In this episode, I'm joined by: former PGA Tour Pro now fantastic Host of The Charlie Rymer Golf Show Charlie Rymer, the Founder of Sports Geeks Radio Network in Wisconsin, Chris Carter, former Billy Joel Band Drummer Liberty DeVitto, and Sqairz Golf Founder Bob Winskowicz. Charlie shares his year-long battle with stage 3 colon cancer. We hear how the doctors discovered, the treatment and surgeries he went through, and how he ultimately rang the bell for being cancer free. We also talk about some of the recent episodes of his show featuring guests Paige Spiranac and John Daly. Chris Carter talks about the great courses they have up there beyond Whistling Straits and Erin Hills. He also shares his thoughts on why LIV Golf is good for professional golf and the fans. Listening to Liberty DeVitto was one of the most fun segments of the year. We hear how his love for the drums started when he was 1 1/2 beating on the pots and pans in the kitchen and when he saw the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show, that cemented his desire to be a musician. Liberty tells us about what it was like traveling with Billy to play in Cuba and Russia. We hear the funny story of how he ended up playing with Paul McCartney, how much he and the band hated Just The Way You Are, and thought that Scenes From An Italian Restaurant was too long. He also talks about their concerts at Yankee Stadium and on New Year's Eve 1999 at Madison Square Garden. Bob Winskowicz updates us on the tremendous growth of Sqairz Golf this year. We hear why you should throw away any golf shoes that you can twist in your hands. We hear why Sqairz gives you greater stability which leads to more distance and greater accuracy. Bob worked with Arnold Palmer for years at Mr. Palmer's golf company, and he tells how Mr. Palmer's principle of "what's in it for the consumer" is at the forefront of everything they do at Sqairz.

Wed, 21 Sep 2022 - 1h 55min

386 - Brenda Calcavecchia, Allison Fillmore, & Tom Patri Join Me...

On this episode, I'm joined by Top Instructor Tom Patri, PGA Tour VP of Product Development Allison Fillmore, and Brenda Calcavecchia, Mark's wife, caddie, and by his own admission, funnier half. Tom Patri shares his thoughts on some of the all-time great swings, players like Sam Snead, Fred Couples, Tom Weiskopf, Tom Purtzer, and Adam Scott. On the opposite side of that coin, Tom talks about how you go about fixing it when a player with an unorthodox swing starts to struggle. I also get Tom's thoughts on Sergio withdrawing from the BMW Championship and showing up on the sidelines at the Texas/Alabama game. Plus, we get a lesson on how to make sure our setup and alignment are correct. Be sure to subscribe to Tom's channel on YouTube to get over 300 free video lessons. It was great having Allison Fillmore back on the show. She catches us up on the great things she's been doing over the past year since she was last on the show. We hear about her new role as PGA Tour VP of Product Development. She tells why it's good business to partner with sports organizations. She also talks about what it was like for her to return to her previous stomping grounds at East Lake Country Club for the Tour Championship and the exciting Sunday she got to see firsthand at the tournament. Brenda Calcavecchia was a hoot. She tells the story of how she met Mark at the 2001 Memorial Tournament and what led to them starting to date. We hear why she decided to start caddying for Mark, the things she can get away with saying to him that would get other caddies fired, their amazing experience this year at The Open Championship when they got to wave goodbye to the fans from the Swilken Bridge, and their life RV'ing from tournament to tournament.

Wed, 14 Sep 2022 - 1h 27min