The concepts of honor and integrity in golf are inseparable from the inevitability of cheating. The former are prominent because the latter is so easy—when self-policing is the best hope for fair play, you better have a code of honor to work as a secondary enforcement. In 1955, at Deepdale Country Club on Long Island, that code seemed to fail when two unknown sandbaggers won a tournament and took home thousands of dollars thanks to an associated Calcutta auction. In fact, the code had not failed...
Jun 26, 2023•35 min•Season 5Ep. 18
When Johnny Miller shot his famous 63 in the final round at Oakmont in 1973, it instantly became one of the most staggering achievements in the history of major championship golf. For the USGA, it was also something else: an insult. Oakmont was supposed to be one of the toughest courses in the world, and the U.S. Open was supposed to be the toughest test in professional golf. What Miller did undermined that identity, and when the Open came to Winged Foot one year later, the one certainty was tha...
Jun 12, 2023•42 min•Season 5Ep. 17
This May marks the 20th anniversary of Annika Sorenstam playing the Bank of America Colonial at Colonial Country Club, where she became the first woman in more than 50 years to play with the men on the PGA Tour. That week was highly anticipated, stressful, and loaded with controversy as more than 300 reporters, hundreds of photographers, and thousands of fans flocked to Texas to see her play. The reactions to her inclusion ranged from supportive to hostile, and though she handled herself admirab...
May 30, 2023•36 min•Season 5Ep. 16
A key component of Jon Rahm's identity, and one that's not often discussed in English-speaking media, is his Basque heritage. The Basque people represent the oldest surviving ethnic group in all of Europe; they pre-date the Indo-Europeans who swept through the rest of the continent, and whose descendants live there today. Euskal Herria, the Basque homeland, is a region the size of New Hampshire in southern France and northern Spain, and the people have their own language and culture that have su...
May 15, 2023•49 min•Season 5Ep. 15
In 1990, the PGA Championship was set to be played at Shoal Creek Golf and Country Club near Birmingham, Alabama. The course had hosted the tournament six years earlier, but this time, thanks to an incendiary comment from the club's founder, the golf world couldn't ignore an inconvenient fact: Shoal Creek wouldn't admit any black members. Nor could the PGA paint it as an isolated problem, or even a southern problem—all across America, private golf clubs were excluding minorities, and many of tho...
May 01, 2023•47 min•Season 5Ep. 14
There was never a moment when Seve Ballesteros wasn't scrambling, when he wasn't recovering, when he wasn't looking for the outrageous miracle. That's how he lived, and that was always going to be how he played golf. We look at the mysteries of the Spanish golf legend, and his entire unbelievable story. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising....
Apr 17, 2023•1 hr 5 min•Season 5Ep. 13
It's one of the most infamous moments in golf: Greg Norman taking a six-shot lead into the final round at Augusta National, only to live out every golfer's nightmare as he shot 78 and lost to Nick Faldo. Today, 27 years later, as Norman has emerged as the face of LIV Golf's threat to the game's world order, that memory feels as fresh as ever. On this episode of Local Knowledge, we dive deep to explore why it happened, what might have prevented it, and what we can learn from Norman's fate on that...
Apr 03, 2023•46 min•Season 5Ep. 12
On an October day in 1983, Charlie Harris drove his blue Dodge pickup through gate three at Augusta National. His goal? To talk to Ronald Reagan, who at that moment was playing the 16th hole on his first-ever trip to the storied course. What happened over the next two hours is one of the strangest chapters in Augusta history ... and despite the high stakes, it disappeared almost immediately from the news. This is the story of a desperate man, a hostage crisis, and a president trying to defuse a ...
Mar 20, 2023•42 min•Season 5Ep. 11
In 1983, under the leadership of Deane Beman, the PGA Tour faced the first great challenge to its existence. The leading players of the time, from Jack Nicklaus to Arnold Palmer to Tom Watson, weren't happy with the direction of the Tour, and felt that the new marketing arm was adding money to its own coffers while depleting theirs. Rebellion was in the air, and when they came after the man they called the "czar," Beman would not go lightly. He mobilized his nascent power structure to save his o...
Mar 06, 2023•43 min•Season 5Ep. 10
After recapping and analyzing every episode of the new Netflix golf series, Full Swing, it was time to bring our questions to the man who put it all together. In this bonus episode, Chad Mumm, the show’s executive producer, discusses who he envisioned as a target audience, how he locked in on different subjects, and why the show opted against a traditional chronological format. Mumm also reveals his favorite moments, and at least one gem of a scene that ended up on the cutting room floor. Hosted...
Feb 21, 2023•52 min•Season 5Ep. 9
The final episode of Netflix’s new golf series, Full Swing, and of our limited-run podcast recapping the show, is all about the star power of Rory McIlroy. As hosts Shane Ryan, Sam Weinman, and Alex Myers discuss, the producers were right to focus the entire last episode on the four-time major champion given the prominent role he played in golf in 2022, as well as his willingness to share parts of himself audiences had never seen before. We discuss some of the bright spots of an eventful final e...
Feb 15, 2023•56 min•Season 5Ep. 8
As the Netflix series on golf, Full Swing, approaches the end, our podcast recapping the show can’t help but judge the seventh episode through the prism of missed opportunities. Were rookies Sahith Theegala and Mito Pereira compelling enough to carry an entire show? Was either one of the biggest storylines of 2022? Although there were elements of the seventh episode—Theegala’s father being one, Pereira’s all-time collapse at the PGA being another—hosts Shane Ryan, Sam Weinman, and Alex Myers agr...
Feb 15, 2023•47 min•Season 5Ep. 7
After a triumphant run of episodes in the new Netflix golf series, Full Swing, our podcast recapping the show was more critical of a sixth installment focusing on Tony Finau and Collin Morikawa. As hosts Shane Ryan, Sam Weinman, and Alex Myers say, there is much to like about the Tony Finau portion, which captures Finau’s compelling and unique backstory, and provides new insight into the balance he strikes between his career and his large family. Where we struggled was with the depiction of Mori...
Feb 15, 2023•42 min•Season 5Ep. 6
The fifth installment of our limited-run podcast series recapping Full Swing, the new Netflix show, tackles the Matt Fitzpatrick and Dustin Johnson episode. Hosts Shane Ryan, Sam Weinman, and Alex Myers note that just like with Brooks Koepka and Scottie Scheffler in Episode 2, the show’s producers opted to emphasize a contrast. Here it was between the overachieving Fitzpatrick and the naturally gifted Johnson, with a little bit of LIV Golf tension mixed in as well. While neither personality was ...
Feb 15, 2023•42 min•Season 5Ep. 5
Hosts Shane Ryan, Sam Weinman, and Alex Myers haven’t agreed on everything about Netflix’s new golf show, Full Swing, but they agree that the show’s fourth episode on journeyman Joel Dahmen was the best yet. In our limited-run podcast series recapping every episode, we explain why Dahmen’s incredible journey through professional golf and his relatable demeanor made for compelling television. Among the favorite parts discussed in detail: Dahmen relaying the crushing loss of his mother to cancer, ...
Feb 15, 2023•46 min•Season 5Ep. 4
The next installment of our limited-run podcast series recapping Netflix’s Full Swing reflects on the value of personality, and how the show’s third episode featuring Ian Poulter stood apart from the previous two for that reason. Whereas earlier episodes had bigger names in Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Brooks Koepka, hosts Shane Ryan, Sam Weinman, and Alex Myers argue that devoting an entire episode to the charismatic Poulter was a smart decision. We break down Poulter’s struggle to remain rele...
Feb 15, 2023•40 min•Season 5Ep. 3
In the second installment of our limited-run podcast series on Netflix’s Full Swing, hosts Shane Ryan, Sam Weinman, and Alex Myers discuss a much-improved second episode that focuses on Brooks Koepka and Scottie Scheffler. We discuss the portrayal of Koepka as a one-time dominant force now in the throes of a prolonged slump; how it contrasts to Scheffler, an amiable up-and-coming star who catapulted up the world ranking last year and won his first major at the Masters; and how the filmmakers app...
Feb 15, 2023•33 min•Season 5Ep. 2
Welcome one and all to the world premiere of the new Golf Digest podcast "Full Swing Thoughts." As you might gather from the title, we're here to talk about all things 'Full Swing,' the new Netflix documentary looking at the year 2022 in professional golf. We start today with the JT and Jordan episode, and Golf Digest stalwarts Sam, Alex, and Shane go deep on what they loved, what they didn't love, and what made them laugh as the series kicks off. Was this a successful start? Could 'Full Swing' ...
Feb 13, 2023•52 min•Season 5Ep. 1
Shane Ryan, Sam Weinman and Alex Myers will be your guides through the upcoming Netflix show "Full Swing." The trio will discuss what the show gets right, what feels a bit off and everything in between. With each episode, we'll have a podcast to break down everything you just saw, and there may be a special guest to wrap it all up. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising....
Feb 13, 2023•1 min
For the first time in the sport’s history, the defining moments of the professional golf season took place somewhere other than on a golf course. The ongoing battle between the PGA Tour and the fledgling LIV Golf circuit instead took place in private backchannels, on social media, and even in the legal sphere. But as much oxygen as it took up in 2022, it was hardly the only event that mattered to golfers and golf fans. In this year-end episode of Local Knowledge, Keely Levins, Alex Myers, Shane ...
Dec 12, 2022•35 min•Season 4Ep. 24
An 18-hole experiment with our 11-handicap editor and PGA Tour veteran Joel Dahmen began with a simple question: How much easier would golf be if a tour player hit all your drives for you? In this week's Local Knowledge, Sam Weinman takes you behind the scenes of a memorable round in which he and Dahmen teed off for one another and then played their own balls from there. You can also read the story and watch the video on the round here. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.c...
Nov 15, 2022•21 min•Season 4Ep. 23
What are NFTs? And what could they possibly have to do with golf? Our Shane Ryan didn’t really understand them at first, and he certainly didn’t know what they had to do with a game played on grass. But as Ryan discovered, NFTs are making inroads into the golf world, some quite modest, others rather dramatic. In this episode, he explains NFTs basics for novices, and what it all might mean for golf. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection...
Nov 01, 2022•41 min•Season 4Ep. 22
Even as golf has experienced a surge in popularity in recent years, a number of golf courses are undone by challenging economics and mismanagement. Many of those courses close outright, while others fight to stay alive in the face of considerable headwinds. In this episode, Alex Myers talks with Golf Digest's Keely Levins and Joel Beall and others about a handful of golf courses that got creative in their efforts to remain afloat, those that still met their unfortunate demise, and why so many go...
Oct 17, 2022•28 min•Season 4Ep. 21
Every time elite professional golfers are asked to come together in a team format, it comes with the awkward adjustment of needing to think about more than themselves. What’s often overlooked is how much golf requires an inordinate amount of self-interest. From how golfers practice, to the time they spend away from home, to even their choice to pursue an individual over a team sport, Shane Ryan explains why even the best-intentioned golfers need to be selfish to succeed. Hosted by Simplecast, an...
Oct 03, 2022•23 min•Season 4Ep. 20
There is no worse tag in golf than that of a cheater. In a game that prides itself on honor and self-policing, the players who betray that trust even once struggle to restore their reputation. In the aftermath of an incident in a qualifier tournament, Alex Myers looks at the particulars of the case, but also the wider world of cheating in golf—how often it happens, why it happens, and why it's so counter to golf's core principles. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for...
Sep 19, 2022•30 min•Season 4Ep. 19
For most golfers out there, the scores we shoot have little tangible significance. We maintain a handicap, maybe play for a few bucks, but otherwise, no one really cares but us. And yet for many golfers, the difference between 80 and 79 is a landmark milestone. On this week’s episode, Sam Weinman and Shane Ryan discuss their respective quests to break 80. They consult with pros, sports psychologists, and some of the golfers they play with, to understand what’s been holding them back, what they n...
Sep 06, 2022•29 min•Season 4Ep. 18
In the 1930’s and 1940’s, when women’s amateur golf was the premiere women’s golf circuit, some players became stars. One was Marion Miley, who won just about every major amateur event available to her. But her career came to a tragic end in the middle of the night in the Lexington Country Club apartments where she lived with her mother. In the decades that followed, Marion’s story has been forgotten. Keely Levins dives into Marion’s story and how author Beverly Bell set out to ensure Marion’s s...
Aug 22, 2022•25 min•Season 4Ep. 17
The golf world has been awash with news about the threat LIV Golf poses to the traditional framework of the professional game. In far shorter supply is clarity about where this all might be headed. In this episode, Dan Rapaport explores the origins of the PGA Tour-LIV rivalry as well as the turbulent present to help understand how the situation could resolve, and why it might not anytime soon. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and ...
Aug 08, 2022•34 min•Season 4Ep. 16
Can a 40-year-old golfer really overhaul his golf game in just 12 weeks? That's what we set out to learn. This spring, Golf Digest's Alex Myers embarked on an intense program overseen by experts to address every element of his sagging game—from his swing, to his body, to his mind—to see what type of change was possible. In this episode of Local Knowledge, Myers describes the process, the staggering results, and even how this sort of program could lead to a breakthrough of your own. Hosted by Sim...
Jul 25, 2022•34 min•Season 4Ep. 15
To understand why St. Andrews' Old Course is not just the "Home of Golf," but also the most significant golf course in the world, it's important to understand just how much of the game's history has run through this unique seaside layout. From the course's deceptive complexity to its seminal moments, Dan Rapaport outlines everything that makes the Old Course so vital to the game's identity, and why the Open Championship there this week comes at a fractious but opportune moment. Hosted by Simple...
Jul 11, 2022•35 min•Season 4Ep. 14
