In the fourth episode of the Golf Digest podcast, 50 Things That Changed Golf, Shane Ryan and Jamie Kennedy travel back to the 1991 PGA Championship, won by John Daly. The 50 Things That Changed Golf podcast is hosted by Shane Ryan and Jamie Kennedy. Each episode dives deep into moments and events in golf history that have shaped the sport we all love. Every two weeks, join for a walk back in time, with some humor and made-up awards mixed throughout. You can also watch 50 Things That Changed Gol...
May 08, 2026•1 hr 59 min•Season 8Ep. 4
It's episode 3 of the "50 Things That Changed Golf" podcast and we're diving deep into the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR). Join hosts Shane Ryan and Jamie Kennedy as they break down the amazing origin story of the rankings, the influence of Mark McCormack, how the OWGR has evolved and changed and why it has become so controversial in the modern game. You can also watch 50 Things That Changed Golf on YouTube. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about...
Apr 23, 2026•1 hr 22 min•Season 8Ep. 3
In episode 2 of the all-new "50 Things That Changed Golf" podcast, Shane Ryan and Jamie Kennedy travel back to 2019 and Tiger Woods' memorable fifth Masters victory. Relive all the drama and details of one of the most famous weeks in the history of major golf. You can also watch 50 Things That Changed Golf on YouTube. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising....
Mar 31, 2026•1 hr 47 min•Season 8Ep. 2
In the first episode of our new Golf Digest podcast, 50 Things That Changed Golf, Shane Ryan and Jamie Kennedy travel back 30 years to the 1996 Masters. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Mar 18, 2026•2 hr 1 min•Season 8Ep. 1
In the early 1980s, there came a point where the Ryder Cup governing bodies had seemingly tried everything, but nothing worked. The matches weren't competitive, the U.S. players were losing interest, and the chief sponsor of the European team dropped out, leaving them with no money to continue. This, even more than the pause for the Second World War, saw the Ryder Cup on the thinnest possible ice, seemingly fated to die a sad death. This week on Local Knowledge, we're telling the story of the un...
Sep 16, 2025•31 min•Season 7Ep. 19
Buried in Ryder Cup history, in the middle of the last century, are some enormous personalities, and today we're looking at three of them who rise to the level of "maniac"—which we mean as a compliment. These three stories encompass incredible human resilience in the face of tragedy, outrageous, event-changing competitive drive, and an unlikely savior of the Ryder Cup when it was just about dead. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection a...
Aug 26, 2025•44 min•Season 7Ep. 18
In 1987, PGA Tour commissioner Deane Beman announced the first-ever Tour Championship, and 20 years later, new commissioner Tim Finchem kicked off the first-ever playoff series. What problem was it trying to solve, and where has it succeeded or failed in four decades of change? On this week's Local Knowledge, we assess the state of the tour's Super Bowl and explore where it may go in the future. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection an...
Aug 12, 2025•32 min•Season 7Ep. 17
For a man who did something so astounding—becoming the first and only golfer to beat Tiger Woods on Sunday at a major from behind—we know very little about 2009 PGA Champion Y.E. Yang. As it turns out, the Korean body builder turned golfer has a surprisingly great story, and one of the most unique life paths we've ever heard of in professional golf...all of it building to that shocking Sunday at Hazeltine. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our co...
Jul 29, 2025•36 min•Season 7Ep. 16
In 1992, Nick Faldo held off John Cook at Muirfield to win his third Open Championship. As it happened, this is the last time an English golfer ever captured the Claret Jug. The 33-year ongoing drought that ensued can't be explained by lack of talent or depth—England has had three world no. 1 golfers, and today they have the most players inside the world top 100 outside of America. To figure out what's happening, we dive deep into the various theories as to why the English keep coming up short i...
Jul 15, 2025•30 min•Season 7Ep. 15
Following the blowouts of 2004 and 2006, the lowest point in US Ryder Cup history, the Americans needed a visionary leader. Tiger Woods was out with a knee injury, Europe was stronger on paper, and there was no reason to expect anything but more misery. Which is precisely when Paul Azinger rose to the occasion to rethink how America approached the Ryder Cup, and forever alter their competitive destiny. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collec...
Jul 01, 2025•52 min•Season 7Ep. 14
In 2008, after a disastrous start to the decade, the American Ryder Cup system faced a big problem: How do we start winning again? This series documents how they recovered from their lowest point to become a force again and start winning. In part one, we dive deep into the nightmare: The awful stretch from 2002 to 2006 that saw the U.S. at its absolute lowest, suffering a series of humiliations at home and abroad. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information abou...
Jun 17, 2025•38 min•Season 7Ep. 13
Oakmont Country Club will hold its tenth U.S. Open next week, and a tour of its past champions shows how the hardscrabble philosophy of its founders still prevails, and maybe even exerts a supernatural influence on this brutal, glorious track. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Jun 03, 2025•36 min•Season 7Ep. 12
What happens when a winner's equipment is found to be nonconforming after the fact? The answer is, "nothing," at least in terms of the result. But as we'll see from the case of Rory at Quail Hollow, Tiger at Disney, and Tom Watson (twice!), things get more complicated in the court of public opinion. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
May 20, 2025•21 min•Season 7Ep. 11
For about 40 years in major championship history, winning the PGA required a test of endurance that seems absurd today. In the midst of tracking down the record holder for most holes played in a major, we ran into more than a few wild stories. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
May 06, 2025•24 min•Season 7Ep. 10
In a place where nobody escapes politics, Rory McIlroy has done his best to stay neutral, despite a tragic family history with the Troubles. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Apr 22, 2025•40 min•Season 7Ep. 9
L.A. Times Pulitzer Prize winner Jim Murray was one of the most celebrated sports columnists of his era, at a time when columnists held more influence and power by far than they do today. His humor and insight were legendary, but a lesser known element of his story is the personal boycott he led on Augusta National between 1968 and 1975, when he helped pressure the club to allow a black player into the Masters. On this week's episode, we look at Murray's quiet activism on the 50th anniversary of...
Apr 07, 2025•29 min•Season 7Ep. 8
From Greg Norman to Jordan Spieth, there is a long tradition of players speaking to the media after tough losses, but it's a tradition that is being lost in the modern game. Today we look at some of the most fascinating instances of player-media interaction after heartbreak, and how it made all parties better. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising....
Mar 25, 2025•27 min•Season 7Ep. 7
In 1934, when the first Masters tournament was held, nobody in golf would have been able to tell you what the "majors" were, and if they had an opinion, it would likely include amateur events that were quickly losing prominence. By 1974, and the advent of the Players Championship, the four modern majors were set in stone, and the club was closed for membership. How did things change in those 40 years? How did the four majors become what they are, without any governing body to declare their statu...
Mar 11, 2025•33 min•Season 7Ep. 6
The final part of our short series, chronicling the latter half of their rivalry and the infamous fried chicken incident. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Feb 25, 2025•29 min•Season 7Ep. 5
It started at the turn of the century and ran hot for 15 years. From the PGA Championship at Medinah the 2013 Players Championship, there wasn't an ounce of love lost between the two superstars. In Part 1, we examine the origins of where it all went wrong. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Feb 11, 2025•33 min•Season 7Ep. 4
The story of the last 20 years of professional golf is the story of growth's consequences, and is highlighted by the emergence of LIV Golf, the PGA Tour's new rival. We ask the tough question of whether this golf schism was an inevitable consequence of Tiger's rise, and the decision at the highest levels to pursue growth at all costs. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising....
Jan 28, 2025•32 min•Season 7Ep. 3
As the game's greatest player finalized a swing change that would take him from merely sensational to transcendent, and began playing a revolutionary new style of golf ball months ahead of most of his competitors (who wouldn't adopt the Titleist Pro-V-1 until October of 2000), golfing audiences bore witness to what can safely be considered the peak of human achievement in the sport. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of pers...
Jan 28, 2025•38 min•Season 7Ep. 2
This three-part podcast series attempts the big task of summarizing how the world of golf, from the professional to the recreational, has evolved over Golf Digest's existence. As it happens, 1950 is a decent starting point when you're telling that particular story. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Jan 28, 2025•28 min•Season 7Ep. 1
Since its introduction in 1963, the PGA Tour's Q School has routinely been one of the most dramatic, heart-wrenching golf tournaments on the planet. This is where careers are made, and where just as often they're broken before they have a chance to soar. Where did it come from? How has it changed? Why did it disappear, only to return last year? This week, we investigate the institution of the Q School, and the outsize place it occupies in the minds of professional golfers. Hosted by Simplecast, ...
Sep 04, 2024•32 min•Season 6Ep. 18
On Aug. 8, Chi Chi Rodriguez passed away at age 88 and left behind him a legacy of a player whose reputation and personality exceeded his relatively modest success. That's how he would have wanted it: Rodriguez was an entertainer at heart, and he always had a joke or an elaborate celebration up his sleeve. But for this child of poverty from Puerto Rico, there's so much that stayed hidden, and it goes deeper than the surface image of a lovable jokester. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. S...
Aug 19, 2024•38 min•Season 6Ep. 17
Long before Scottie Scheffler took gold in Paris, and more than a century before Justin Rose won in Rio, Olympic golf existed in the very early history of the Olympic games. This is the incredibly strange story of Olympic golf in 1900 and 1904, when chaos and confusion ruled, and only rarely gave way to Olympic glory. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising....
Aug 05, 2024•44 min•Season 6Ep. 16
In the second part of our early history series, we hone in on Scotland, and take you from the 1400s all the way to the rise of the first clubs—including the ascendancy of St. Andrews—that transformed the sport entirely and laid the groundwork for what it is today. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Jul 23, 2024•45 min•Season 6Ep. 15
Where did golf come from? The easy answer to that question is "Scotland," but the historical record isn't quite so clear. Going back to the 1300s, surviving documents and drawings suggest the story is more complicated than we thought. This week, we're investigating the earliest origins of the game, and asking where it truly originated. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising....
Jul 08, 2024•35 min•Season 6Ep. 14
July marks the 25th anniversary of one of the two most notorious collapses in major championship history when Jean Van de Velde lost a three-shot lead on the final hole at Carnoustie. In the wake of Rory McIlroy's loss at Pinehurst, the Frenchman's late meltdown feels more relevant than ever; not just for the bizarre way it happened, but for his remarkable reaction, both then and in the 25 years since. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collec...
Jun 24, 2024•44 min•Season 6Ep. 13
Cyril Walker put together the four rounds of his life in 1924 at the U.S. Open in Oakland Hills, defeating Bobby Jones in the final round and etching his name in golf history. So why don't more of us know him? The sad reality of Jones' life is that he fell into a spiral not long after his greatest triumph, and met a sad end in a New Jersey jail cell. This is his story. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for ...
Jun 10, 2024•30 min•Season 6Ep. 12
