From cleaning clubs to writing blogs to announcing the biggest events in golf, Shane Bacon has lived a golf life well beyond his years. He joins us via the Broken Tee Society to discuss how he went from grinding on the mini-tours to taking center-stage in the Golf Channel’s lineup as co-host of "Golf Today." Plus, he walks us through an evolving landscape in golf coverage, as off-the-course drama rivals on-the-course action for attention.
Mar 02, 2022•49 min
Wright Thompson is one of only a few scribes who have the luxury of writing about whatever he wants, whenever he wants. Which is why it came as a bit of a surprise when his most recent book, Pappyland , centered around a different kind of game: bourbon. Thompson joins TGJ Programming Manager Robbie Vogel and host Tom Coyne in our Broken Tee Society Discord server to give some insights into his writing and reporting process, as well as his fascination with Rory, expensing a yacht while writing ab...
Feb 25, 2022•55 min
You know Beau Welling as the Senior Design Consultant to Tiger Woods’ TGR Design, with recent work including Payne’s Valley, Bluejack National and the forthcoming PGA Headquarters project in Frisco, TX. Here's what you're about to learn: He’s one of eight people in the world tasked with governing the sport of curling.
Feb 16, 2022•59 min
Over the next 30 minutes, we will attempt to refocus your energy, and recenter your mind, with a meditation designed specifically for golfers, but not just for golfers. If you are new to meditation, well welcome – this is a beginner friendly exercise. And if you are experienced in the art of mindfulness, we hope you’ll find some new ideas and sounds to work into your own routine. Either way, we think you’ll find that the benefits of meditation will carry on beyond this brief session, and hopeful...
Feb 05, 2022•30 min
As we touch the century mark here at The Golfer’s Journal Podcast (where has the time gone?), we wanted to celebrate our 100th episode by giving something special to our listeners; something you can use over and over again. After a quick recap of our best and (very) worst from the previous 100 episodes, voice artist Erik Braa guides you through a 30-minute golf specific meditation. His soothing tone paired with ambient golf sounds will take you from your couch or office and transport you to the ...
Feb 05, 2022•40 min
Matt Chominski is a professor of philosophy and theology at Delaware’s Archmere Academy—where once upon a time a young Tom Coyne wandered the halls. And when Chominski isn’t unpacking the fundamental truths of life, he’s putting some of those lessons into practice on the course. He joins our host for a thought-provoking conversation on what it means to be human, the absurdity of golf at its core, why the game is technically “useless,” what it’s trying to teach us, and which famous thinkers best ...
Jan 21, 2022•1 hr 16 min
Sandra Boynton has sold more than 70 million children’s books, 500 million greeting cards, and has been nominated for a Grammy. So what does she have to do with golf? According to her first publisher, Mike Keiser, Boynton’s work financed the building of Bandon Dunes. Fresh off her profile in TGJ No. 18, Boynton joins host Tom Coyne to discuss working for Keiser’s greeting card company after graduating from Yale, turning down his original offer in exchange for royalties, Keiser’s meritocratic lea...
Jan 07, 2022•52 min
If we eat, sleep and breathe golf, then we are bound to dream about it. From struggling to pull the club back to eating ice cream with Gary Woodland, golf dreams can manifest themselves in infinite ways. But no matter how wacky they get, a fundamental truth remains: Golf dreams reveal the deepest level of our golfing subconscious. On Episode 97, we enlist dream analyst expert Lauri Loewenberg to decode some golf dreams submitted by TGJ Members. And while we’ll never know exactly why we find ours...
Dec 22, 2021•48 min
After winning a national championship at Morehouse College, Olajuwon Ajanaku set his sights on a professional golf career. Despite some early success, he found himself struggling to meet the financial demands of chasing the dream. Instead of seeking sponsorship, he went a different way: He created a logo of himself, slapped it on a Gildan, and started pushing it around downtown Detroit. Two years later, after joining forces with his college teammate Earl Cooper, Eastside Golf is pushing the boun...
Dec 10, 2021•1 hr 5 min
Once upon a time there was a golf course called The Lido. Bernard Darwin called it “the finest golf course in the world.” And then? It disappeared. And now, there are three. On Ep. 95, Brett Cyrgalis, Gil Hanse and Brian Schneider take us on a journey to unravel how we lost such an important piece of golf history, and why we should be thankful that a group of true believers are putting it back together.
Dec 03, 2021•34 min
Will MacKenzie has lived in an Alaskan cave for 30 days, worked as a kayak instructor in Montana, sold grilled cheeses at Grateful Dead concerts and won twice on the PGA Tour. He’s now found his footing as a caddie for the likes of Chris Kirk, where he grapples with thoughts of making a comeback and the reality that fishing sounds a lot more enjoyable than hitting range balls. He joins Tom Coyne between rounds at the RSM Classic at Sea Island to unpack his wild ride of a life, and to pinpoint wh...
Nov 19, 2021•55 min
Greg Ohlendorf knows the secret. He is one of two people to have ever played Golf Magazin e’s World Top 100 Courses, Golfweek ‘s Top 100 Modern and Top 100 Classic Courses, plus a course in all 50 states. The biggest lesson he’s learned? Checking courses off a list doesn’t get the blood flowing. True golf adventure does. Ohlendorf, who wrote “The Road to Diùranais” in TGJ No. 17 about his wild ride to an under-the-radar Scottish nine-holer, joins host Tom Coyne to discuss the joys of finding new...
Nov 03, 2021•51 min
Greetings from the new online home of the Broken Tee Society! To kick things off, host Tom Coyne is joined by TGJ staff for a live town hall discussing the details of our newly launched private community. Open to every Member of the Broken Tee Society, people have already begun finding new playing partners, enjoying exclusive content, and even sharing advice on how to be a golf parent. The crew goes deep on our lofty plans for the new community and the critical role our Members will play going f...
Oct 27, 2021•57 min
With appearances in nine Masters and two U.S. Opens, victories in the U.S. and British Amateur and five Walker Cup appearances, Vinny Giles is the most accomplished male amateur player alive. And—as you’ll hear—one straight shooter. On today’s podcast, host Tom Coyne travels to Virginia to sit down with Giles at Kinloch Golf Club, the course he co-designed and still regularly plays—and still goes low. They discuss the origins of Kinloch (5:00), his remarkable amateur career (10:14), a wild ride ...
Oct 20, 2021•44 min
Why are the Hollins tees at Pasatiempo—named for one of the longest hitters in women's history—so far forward? Why is putting the tee in the ground as a beginner so scary? How did Tom Coyne come up with the "Burger Dog Index?" Today's podcast guest comes ready with answers. Amidst a successful career at the New York Times , Katie Hafner has recently turned her lens toward golf after falling for the game. She joins the pod to discuss her piece in TGJ No. 17 on Pasatiempo and its founder Marion Ho...
Oct 07, 2021•58 min
Everyone is entitled to their opinion. Even Michael Wolf who, just last week, took to Twitter to declare the 24 reasons he hates The Ryder Cup . After recovering from his initial shock (and perhaps some heartbreak), host Tom Coyne reached out to Wolf in hopes of unpacking his gripes against golf's most beloved biennial competition. The two go deep on the commercialization of The Ryder Cup, the PGA of America's motives, the viewing experience and its rightful place in golf history. You may not ag...
Sep 21, 2021•36 min
If you’re hungry for never-before-heard Ryder Cup stories, you’ve come to the right place. With stops at legendary clubs like Seminole, Merion and Hazeltine National, golf professional Chandler Withington has already lived a full golf life. And in a career full of them, perhaps his biggest highlight was being at the center of the action at the 2016 Ryder Cup. Withington joins host Tom Coyne and uses his Ryder Cup experience at Hazeltine—including the advice he gave then-captain Davis Love III on...
Sep 16, 2021•56 min
Only 15 people in history have made more money on the golf course than Davis Love III. But now, at 57 years old with a newly-replaced hip, the World Golf Hall of Famer is trying his hand at some things away from it. This year's Ryder Cup vice-captain joins the show to talk about his new 12-hole design at Belmont, how to clean a cast-iron skillet, why broadcasting didn't suit his eye, and, of course, Team USA's locker room situation at Whistling Straits.
Aug 27, 2021•51 min
Roger Bennett is well known in the soccer community as the co-host of the wildly popular podcast-turned-television-show Men in Blazers. But he’s also a huge golf fan. Today he joins host Tom Coyne to discuss hosting television coverage of the Open at Royal Portrush, why Kiradech Aphibarnrat and Craig Stadler are his favorite players, and how the golf chapter was cut from his New York Times best-selling book, (Re)born in the USA: An Englishman’s Love Letter to his Chosen Home , and more. Courage!...
Aug 17, 2021•46 min
Good morning, Tokyo! On this week's TGJ Podcast, we catch up with friend of the show Chris Reimer, who has spent the last several weeks in Japan running the media center for the Olympic Golf competitions. Following the conclusion of the men's tournament, Reimer joins TGJ Editor Travis Hill to report back on life in the village, the debates over pros vs. amateurs and the stroke-play format, trash talk from inside the ropes, how to buy a real samurai sword and how stars like Rory McIlroy are not i...
Aug 03, 2021•36 min
We all remember where we were during Jordan Spieth’s infamous drop on No. 13 at Royal Birkdale during his now-legendary win at the 2017 Open Championship. So does today’s podcast guest David Bonsall: He was the rules official who orchestrated the 17-minute-long ordeal. In addition to his time as a former R&A rules official, Bonsall also happens to be the Captain (club president) at Royal St. George’s, host of this week’s Open. Bonsall sits down with host Tom Coyne to discuss Royal St. George...
Jul 13, 2021•1 hr
For 35-year-old Zach Kahl, one foggy, early-morning round ended with an unexpected, life-altering trip to the emergency room. He suffered several strokes and blood clotting in his brain, an incredibly rare malady for someone his age. But his doctor prescribed a refreshing road to recovery: Stop working and play more golf. In TGJ No. 15, readers walked with Kahl as he used the game to take the literal next steps of his new life. This podcast opens with Kahl’s emotional reading of his piece in No....
Jul 01, 2021•46 min
At 73 years young, and after a career in golf that would be too wild for the movies, there’s only one thing left for Gary McCord to do: Find Sasquatch. No, seriously. Pulled from an extended conversation featured in the pages of TGJ No. 16 , McCord connects with longtime friend/golf writer Jim Moriarty and opens up one of the more subversive storybooks in all of golf. They chat about everything from Phil’s win at Kiawah, Brooks vs. Bryson, Mac O’Grady, Steve Martin, failed PGA Tour format propos...
Jun 15, 2021•1 hr 26 min
Want to hear about a bet over killing Bin Laden? Well, on a road trip from TGJ HQ to Gearhart—and after a series of hard-to-believe phone calls—TGJ Assistant Editor Casey Bannon found himself hearing all about it in the private wine cellar of the world famous Sardine Factory, just down the road from 17 Mile Drive. Across the table from him sat owner Ted Balestreri, a man for whom a statue was erected in Monterey, and Balestreri’s longtime friend/ former CIA Director/ Secretary of Defense Leon Pa...
Jun 03, 2021•34 min
On Sept. 26, 1783, a great schooner shoved off from London. The Comte du Nord's captain, a notorious Liverpudlian trader named James Penny, listed on the ship’s manifest 97 women, 131 girls, 197 men and 249 boys—all loaded into her lower holds for future sale. This week, the PGA Championship will kick off at Kiawah Island, where the same grass used to line the bottom of Penny's boat now lines the fairways. In TGJ No. 15, "Paspalum Shadows" explores how a turf from the shores of West Africa has m...
May 16, 2021•49 min
The last year brought a legion of new golfers into the fold. Some will stay for good, and some are sure to fade away. But nine months into his newfound yet promising career, LaJethro Jenkins, of NBA internet and Jenkins & Jonez Podcast fame, is certain he’s in the game for life: “There’s nothing that moves me like this.” As fate would have it, TGJ Contributor Laz Versalles just happens to hit balls at the same public range where Jenkins now spends most of his days, and has quickly become his...
Apr 30, 2021•58 min
While Don Rea's previous career involved enforcing the rules, he's now tossing them out the window as owner/operator at Augusta Ranch Golf Club in Mesa, AZ. From night golf to music on the range to candles in the pro shop, Rea sets out to entertain every golfer that steps foot on his par-61 property—including an infamous one-club golfer. Is it working? The PGA of America certainly thinks so. Host Tom Coyne sits down with the newly-appointed Secretary of the PGA to discuss his rise from cart guy ...
Apr 15, 2021•44 min
The twinkling piano notes are unmistakable, but did you know that the Masters theme song has actual lyrics? Or that Dave Loggins—second cousin of Kenny—wrote them? Or that TGJ Contributor/songwriter/music critic Elizabeth Nelson doesn’t think they are very good? Join host Tom Coyne as he and Nelson share a few laughs over one of golf’s most iconic tunes and even sneak in a meditation on two-time Masters champ Seve Bellesteros in this Masters-themed mini-episode....
Apr 06, 2021•19 min
Meet Sid Matthew, your favorite golf historian’s favorite golf historian. In TGJ No. 15 we explored Matthew’s extensive golf collection in “Office Hours.” But on today’s podcast, we discover that his most prized possessions are his collection of Bobby Jones stories. Having worked in the Jones’ Atlanta law office, Matthew has become the game’s foremost Jones historian. He takes us behind the scenes (and over the crazy hurdles) of making his famous Jones documentary, regales us with tales of playi...
Mar 24, 2021•57 min
Welcome to the next Re-Teed, TGJ’s look back at golf’s greatest tournaments. The first edition featured Tiger at the 2008 U.S. Open, and our latest dives deep into another famous finish: the 2015 Players Championship. While Rickie Fowler may have owned the island green, TGJ Editor Travis Hill, who has covered the tournament for nearly 20 years, and longtime PGA Tour executive Chris Reimer own all the behind-the-scenes stories. They look back at Fowler (momentarily) quieting the doubters, Sergio ...
Mar 10, 2021•1 hr 17 min
