This episode is the usual ramble for Friday, touching on the people of Wisconsin’s propensity to make Old Fashioneds with brandy and also eating raw ground beef sandwiches. But first, Brendan and Andy begin with the Thursday Charlie Woods show and the many hard-won impressions and aggregations that populated the internet thereafter. They take issue with some of it and try to distinguish what’s appropriate coverage of an 11-year-old who has entered a publicly broadcast event. A new segment, ProSe...
Dec 18, 2020•52 min
This Wednesday episode begins with some quick Browns bloodletting following their eventful MNF loss before transitioning to a PNC Championship discussion that’s probably 15 minutes too long. There’s “research” on past winners, the current field, a potential catnip battle for the ages, and dream parent-child pairings that should be in the field in the future. The long driver hitting an 8-iron 300 yards with Bryson giddily looking on also comes up for some reason. The event of the week is an MLGT ...
Dec 16, 2020•44 min
Following up on the usual Monday episode, Andy and Brendan recorded this extra episode covering the final major championship round of the year. They discuss A Lim Kim’s ridiculous three-birdie finish to take the U.S. Women’s Open, prompting Andy to ask if this was the most exciting finish to a major of the year. They discuss Amy Olson coming up just short and her strategy of not looking at scoreboards or wanting to know where she stood on the leaderboard. The mudball moaning is again highlighted...
Dec 14, 2020•39 min
It’s one of the sweetest Victory Mondays in this podcast’s history as Lee Westwood, in a show of longevity only the true sporting icons possess, wins the Race to Dubai some 20 years after his first Euro Tour season-long title. Andy celebrates this and Mitch Trubisky’s outclassing of the Texans. He also now defends the Race to Dubai system labeled as a farce as recently as last week. A winding discussion on the Strategic Alliance leads to Brendan offering a solution for making the FedExCupdates a...
Dec 14, 2020•46 min
This Friday episode begins with a certain glee about the answer on Final Jeopardy and a personal anecdote about Andy watching Jeopardy with his Father-in-Law. Then they dive into the final major championship of the year. There’s a prediction about first-round leader Amy Olson, praise over the low-trajectory style, puzzlement over a late-arrival for a tee time, and a heated debate over parked cars on the golf course. There’s also a discussion about whether Texas has any personal injury lawyers wi...
Dec 11, 2020•48 min
This Wednesday episode is a U.S. Women’s Open preview with a little Race to Dubai and Minor League Golf Tour championship discussion tacked on at the end. Brendan and Andy begin by discussing this week’s major venue and the unique challenges of hosting across 36 holes in December. There’s also the unique challenge of the driving range setup, which has both of them all hot and bothered. They hit on the favorites, the notable tee times, make a Lexi-Pat Reed comparison, and flip out about the name ...
Dec 09, 2020•58 min
On the occasion of this week’s 75th U.S. Women’s Open, this Spotlight episode focuses on the Hall-of-Fame career of Juli Inkster, and specifically her 2002 national championship triumph over Annika Sorenstam at historic Prairie Dunes. Brendan and Andy begin with Inkster’s earliest days as a player, growing up next to the 14th fairway at Pasatiempo, not taking up the game in earnest until 15, and then winning an astonishing three straight U.S. Women’s Amateur titles. Then they transition to her w...
Dec 08, 2020•1 hr 15 min
This Monday episode begins with Viktor Hovland’s burying of the Puerto Rico Open curse. Or is it buried? Brendan tries to talk himself into the curse being still alive because of a non-continental U.S. win and many other illogical contortions about a fake curse. The two discuss the weekend that was at Mayakoba, including the soft course, Hovland’s admittance that he’s usually poor under pressure, Finaue’s flop, and JT’s Sunday stuck in neutral. Then they get to the early departures and 2020 ends...
Dec 07, 2020•48 min
This Friday episode begins with a new example from office life emails for another creative name for Thursday, or maybe Friday. Then Brendan and Andy get into the absolutely frigid conditions at the LPGA event in Dallas. In a warmer, and certainly softer setup, the Mayakoba got under way with plenty of players living under par, including Rickie Fowler, grinding to stay in the top 50 in the OWGR at the end of the year. An ad read for Smith Devereux ( SGS listeners go here for that holiday vine ) t...
Dec 04, 2020•44 min
Andy and Brendan begin this Wednesday episode with a few leftover Mac O’Grady stories that rolled in over the last few days. Then they relay an item, formerly used by Hunter Mahan, that they would absolutely push in their holiday gift guide, if they had one. The schedule for the week begins with Mayakoba and its unique (for the PGA Tour schedule) ability to reward accuracy relative to distance. It’s a big week for cave bunkers and mangroves but could it also be a big week for the Bracelet Boys? ...
Dec 02, 2020•44 min
Following the typical episode on Sunday is this bonus Spotlight episode on Monday and the subject is the legend of Phil McGleno, aka Mac O’Grady. Andy and Brendan spend nearly two hours relaying their research on the life and career of Mac and it still seems insufficient. They begin with his rough upbringing, how he found the game at Rancho in LA, how he lived in a storage box in a garage, and how he turned pro with a network of backers in the LA area. The 16 Q-school failures over a decade are ...
Nov 30, 2020•2 hr 1 min
Preceding a Monday Spotlight coming on the inimitable Mac O’Grady, this Sunday episode is a quick jaunt reacting to some of the golf events from the weekend, notably Match III, the PGA Tour and Euro Tour alliance, and the Dunhill Championship. Andy laments Dick Bland’s fade at the Dunhill, but praises Christiaan Bezuidenhout’s second victory in his home country. There’s also a brief interlude on Polish golf following Adrian Meronk’s contention. Then they get into the weeds on the PGA Tour and Eu...
Nov 29, 2020•40 min
This Wednesday episode begins with the discovery of Brendan’s distaste for anything with banana in it. Then both Andy and Brendan discuss a few things they’re thankful for, mostly you, the audience, before rambling on some golf odds and ends in a light week. One of those items is the announcement of the Walker Cup practice session taking place at Bay Hill next month. Could this mean the USGA is eyeing Bay Hill for a U.S. Open? Who can say? The schedule for the week touches on the Euro Tour headi...
Nov 25, 2020•48 min
It’s a Funday Monday/Taco Tuesday Eve smorgasbord on the Shotgun Start. There’s some initial NFL thoughts and a debate over the golf equivalent of winning the NFC East this year. Then they get to the golf, starting with Ondrej Lieser and his display rack trolley winning on the Challenge Tour and its Road to Mallorca standings. There’s a Takumi Kanaya appreciation segment and a discussion about Kyle Reifers’ pasta sauce sponsor. Then they get to the Pelican Championship in Florida, where speedy S...
Nov 23, 2020•47 min
“That felt like we talked about nothing for an hour” was the instant review from Andy after this episode finished recording. So either dive in and confirm that, or don’t. It’s a winding Friday episode that hits on some amusements from early Sea Island action, like a cupcake delivery from the Commish for a player making his 600th start, the Courier Cup points allure, and a BfB vs. Peppy Peter fantasy matchup. There’s also a flashback Friday on the inaugural RSM winner, the Tiger slayer himself, H...
Nov 20, 2020•58 min
This is a Wednesday episode full of vim and vigor following a brief post-Masters respite. Brendan and Andy begin by cleaning up a few Masters items, apologizing to Paulie, delighting in DJ’S Tequila Tour, finding a truly interesting Tyler Duncan fact, and re-hashing Tiger’s rally after the 10 for further appreciation. Then they turn to new days and new opportunities for Courier Cup points. Andy shares his “three things” to watch at the RSM, focusing on the distinctly Euro flavor in the field. Th...
Nov 17, 2020•53 min
A long week of Masters podcasts comes to a close with this recap edition following Dustin Johnson’s 5-shot victory. The first big question they ask is whether he’ll remember this or his FedExCup in September more from his remarkable year. Then they get to the more serious, discussing his legacy as perhaps the greatest player of the post-Tiger generation. In conjunction with his process over results essay from earlier in the week, Brendan celebrates the experience of watching DJ play golf for the...
Nov 15, 2020•1 hr 7 min
Brendan and Andy are joined by Hurricane Shane Bacon for this Saturday evening podcast on the Masters. They discuss Dustin Johnson’s four-shot 54-hole lead, how impressive it’s been, and how it’s likely to bag him his second major. But they also go to the dark places in their minds and try to write a horror story about how exactly it could go bad over the final 18 holes. The entire episode is a ramble, a mishmash, a potpourri of inanity and analysis on all that’s happened so far at the Masters b...
Nov 14, 2020•1 hr 10 min
Andy and Brendan have a merry chat about all that went down on Friday at Augusta National. They inadvertently begin with Bryson’s lost ball, pondering the last time a ball was lost like that in the middle of the property at Augusta National and Bryson exploring the limits of the definition of “lost.” There’s amusement at Paul Casey perhaps changing his shirt due to Twitter shaming and Justin Thomas telling SVP “I love you.” They ponder whether Tiger or Phil has a better chance to win heading to ...
Nov 13, 2020•54 min
This is an experimental episode for the Shotgun Start. It’s an essay from Brendan on what it means to have this Masters in 2020 and how to best enjoy and appreciate it given all that’s happening in the world in this current moment. There are no comparisons of Lucas Bjerregaard to the Miracle on Ice, but if it doesn’t work for you, we won’t try it again. Or maybe that means we will. It’s sponsored by Bixby Coffee and the new Shotgun Start Holiday Blend, which contains hints of cinnamon, milk choc...
Nov 13, 2020•14 min
Brendan and Andy fire it up to start their now traditional daily recaps of the Masters and there’s plenty to discuss after an eventful first day at Augusta National. They begin with the soft and wet conditions, the “controversy” surrounding the early morning delay, and the different expectations we have for course setups for different majors. There’s a lengthy chat on Tiger, a rarity for SGS, and his contentment and control on display in his opening round. A leaderboard full of different skillse...
Nov 12, 2020•53 min
This Wednesday episode is an expanded Masters preview covering a range of serious and amusing topics for what will be a truly unique tournament at Augusta National. But first, a warning to read the fine print if you ever do a merchandising deal with a certain drinkware company. The event of the week is the Masters, and Brendan and Andy begin by discussing the potential weather impacts, the agronomy impacts, and some players to watch. They hail the new MyGroup digital broadcast feature for appear...
Nov 11, 2020•1 hr 44 min
The year 2020 is not all bad -- we got an extra day of Champions Tour golf! And what better way to start Masters week than with a chat about the Charles Schwab Cup Championship, where Ernie was plumb bobbing from 110 yards, microphones picked up ample grumpy cursing, and a playoff went deep into the dark night without a resolution. Then Brendan and Andy transition to a review of the Houston Open, celebrating Carlos Ortiz’s victory against the “battlefield curse,” which Andy explains. They also c...
Nov 09, 2020•53 min
Here’s a Spotlight appetizer for the 2020 Masters, where the Thicc Boi Bryson and his protein shakes will be a headline story at Augusta National. The subject is Frank Stranahan, often thought of as the first great weightlifter and physical fitness obsessive in the game (and also someone who claimed he would live to 120, 130, and even 150 years old). Brendan and Andy discuss Stranahan’s world class bodybuilding career, his marathon running career, and his golf career, where he’s often characteri...
Nov 06, 2020•1 hr 3 min
This Election Day episode begins with Brendan and Andy rehashing some amusing answers from past anonymous players’ polls. Then they transition to the Masters Fact of the Day based off a tip about a potential change in jacket policy coming this year. The shhhhedule for the week begins with the Houston Open, featuring an extended discussion on the new venue, Memorial Park, and the work done by Tom Doak. What was Brooksy’s input in the work and how will it play for a Tour event? Also, has the Tour ...
Nov 03, 2020•55 min
Nothing can dampen spirits on this Victory Monday thanks to the work done by one Brian Gay, he of team Centinel Spine. Brendan and Andy rejoice in a win from an older poofer of the golf ball, and perhaps the oldest wearer of a flat bill on Tour. The spine discussion leads to an aside on the physical troubles of D.A. Points, which was painful to watch in Bermuda. Gay’s win, however, is not some evidence that there’s no distance problem in golf, but rather proof of variety borne out of a different...
Nov 02, 2020•40 min
Do you think Andy Sullivan is terrified of the murder hornet? With the golf action limited this week, this Friday episode meanders about from some quick thoughts on Bermuda, Cyprus, and Halloween. Brendan and Andy discuss the grotesque injury suffered by Brendon Todd, they marvel at some of the longshots that went low in Bermuda, and ponder the fairway kiln. Then they get to their annual golf-related Halloween costumes segment, brainstorming up some options for the Shotgunners out there. Bryson,...
Oct 30, 2020•59 min
This Wednesday episode begins with breaking news from Augusta National, where College GameDay will go live from in a couple weeks, there will be no Par-3 contest, and split tees will be put in use. Andy and Brendan react to all this news and ponder the likelihood of Rickie making a GameDay appearance as well as Bryson firing out of his stance and pushing a blocking sled around the par-3 course. Then there’s a waterfall follow-up, as a superintendent source relays some staggering costs for mainta...
Oct 27, 2020•57 min
It’s Victory Monday at the Shotgun Start and Brendan provides a short riposte after a weekend of attacks on his rotisserie chicken comments before celebrating a ride on the Baker rollercoaster. The golf talk starts with the Italian Open, where 38-going-on-58 Ross McGowan slapped it all over the place (and around the power lines) but managed to sneak out a win some 11 years after his first Euro Tour title. Then they transition to the LPGA, which leads to a short side discussion on pontoon boats o...
Oct 26, 2020•56 min
It’s Brendan’s wedding anniversary so this Friday episode quickly zips through a potpourri of topics with no real plan or direction. They begin with an unexpected but heated debate over rotisserie chicken and whether it’s any good. More intel from the ground on the Power Lines Open in Italy is relayed and there’s great amusement at Matt Wallace’s ball getting knocked out of the air into a hazard. The Zozo discussion begins with crowning Bassy Munoz the new Mr. October and there’s an update on th...
Oct 23, 2020•50 min
