The Fried Egg Golf Podcast

Jimmy Humston is the golf course superintendent at the recently opened Lido in Nekoosa, Wisconsin. He joins Andy for a discussion of what it's like to live in Nekoosa, how he got introduced to Sand Valley, and the various jobs he's held around the resort. Jimmy and Andy dig deep into the story of building the Lido, a reproduction of C.B. Macdonald's famous course on Long Island. They talk about the construction process, the challenges of re-creating a lost design in a different locale, the secrets behind growing grass on the Lido's bold features, and Jimmy's plans for the course's future aesthetic.

Host of this week's 2023 U.S. Senior Women's Open, Waverley Country Club is a Golden Age Chandler Egan design, restored in 2012 by Gil Hanse, and—in Garrett's opinion—the best golf course in Portland, Oregon. Garrett sits down with superintendent Brian Koffler to talk about Waverley's history, architecture, best holes, and agronomy. They also discuss the challenges of maintaining turf in the Pacific Northwest and the striking array of top-10 clubs Brian interned at early in his career.

To lead off this episode, Andy sits down with PGA Tour winner Michael Kim (@Mike_kim714) to chat about a variety of topics. They discuss the courses Michael played in the Bay Area while attending UC Berkley, his strong play this season, and his newly vocal presence on Twitter. They also debate the USGA and R&A's proposed Model Local Rule for a reduced-flight competition ball (Andy is for it; Michael, like most PGA Tour members, is against it). For the back half of the episode (1:05:44), Andy brings on Jimmy and Jake Hoselton of the company Grass Clippings (@GrassClippingsc). Jimmy and Jake talk about how they founded Grass Clippings to shed more light on the turf industry, and the company's plans to develop an accessible, lighted par-3 course designed by Jackson Kahn.

Yesterday marked the end of the official "comment period" for the USGA and R&A's proposed Model Local Rule regarding a reduced-flight golf ball for elite competition. That's right, ya missed it. But the PGA Tour and the PGA of America submitted their comments on time, and they're opposed. Why have these organizations aligned against the governing bodies? How have certain equipment companies put their thumbs on the scale? What's the likelihood that the USGA and R&A will cave? Garrett discusses all of those questions with Geoff Shackelford (@geoffshac), author of the Quadrilateral newsletter as well as the new book Golf Architecture for Normal People. In the second half of the episode, Garrett and Geoff shift to sunnier topics: the delight that was last week's U.S. Women's Amateur at Bel-Air Country Club, the merits of Bel-Air's design and agronomy, and the unexpected two-major season from Lilia Vu, yet another successful product of Southern California's public-golf scene.

Garrett sits down with Richie Ramsay (@RamsayGolf)—2006 U.S. Amateur champion, four-time winner on the DP World Tour, and golf-architecture aficionado—to discuss a variety of topics. They start with a debrief of Richie's recent trip to Minnesota, where he saw courses like Interlachen, White Bear Yacht Club, Edina, and of course Hazeltine, the site of his U.S. Amateur triumph and subject of an upcoming "reimagining" by Davis Love III's firm. They then discuss Richie's recent play, including his win last year at Hillside Golf Club and his appearance at the 2023 Open, and his thoughts on the direction of the DP World Tour in the context of professional golf's current upheaval. Garrett and Richie wrap up with a little preview of this week's Women's Open venue Walton Heath.

For the first interview in this episode, Andy is joined by Shaun Smith (@GorseNod), superintendent at Sullivan County Golf Club, a public nine-holer in upstate New York now operated by author Tom Coyne. Shaun discusses the ups and downs of his life and career, what he's done so far at Sullivan County, and what his hopes are for the future. In the second half of the episode, Andy brings on golf architect Tyler Rae (@TylerRaeDesign). Andy and Tyler talk about what has changed in Tyler's career since he was last on the pod five years ago and the differences he has noticed between restoration and new-build projects. They wrap up by discussing the top three courses they saw in the past year.

The idea of par dominates our thinking about golf. It's how we judge a player's performance. It's how we assess the difficulty of a golf course. It's how we categorize holes and courses. It shapes our perception of the game in way's that we don't even notice; it's the water we swim in. And yet for most of golf history, the idea of par did not exist. Today's guest is Stephen Proctor (@SProctorGolf), a golf historian and the author of Monarch of the Green and The Long Golden Afternoon, as well as a co-host of the podcast The Duffer's Literary Companion. Stephen joins Garrett to discuss why par wasn't a necessary concept in the game's early centuries, how the desire for something like par emerged during Young Tom Morris's time, and how the idea began to gain momentum as golf spread to the United States in the early 1900s. They also talk about the effect that par has had on the game—an effect that neither Stephen nor Garrett sees as particularly positive.

Andy Johnson and Joseph LaMagna discuss who their top 10 players in golf are now that the major championships are over. The two chat about players such as Cameron Young and Xander Schauffele rank as well as the breakout campaign of Viktor Hovland. They also talk about the recent NBA announcement of the NBA Cup, an in-season tournament that adds significance to regular season games and the parallels to the problems golf faces. Each has a unique way that the PGA Tour could look at the NBA Cup and create more interest in its own schedule.

The final men's major of the year just wrapped up at Royal Liverpool, and we're back to dig into the most important stories from the 2023 Open Championship. First, Garrett speaks with Sean Martin (@PGATOURSmartin) of PGA Tour dot com about the skill set, personality, and career arc of the new Champion Golfer of the Year, Brian Harman. Then Garrett brings on Joseph LaMagna (@JosephLaMagna) to share three takeaways about Hoylake, this past week's excellent venue.

With the 2023 Open Championship at Royal Liverpool fast approaching, Garrett is joined by Joe McDonnell (@joemmcdonne11), the Head of Imagery at the golf architecture firm Clayton, DeVries & Pont as well as a longtime Hoylake member. After a quick intro from Garrett addressing the controversy over the "internal" out-of-bounds lines on the championship third and 18th holes, Joe gives a guided tour of the design and history of four holes on Royal Liverpool's back nine: Nos. 12, 13, 14, and 17. Joe and Garrett wrap up with a discussion of the sadistic third (the members' opener). Enjoy the Open!

Kyle Porter of CBS Sports (@KylePorterCBS) joins Andy Johnson to preview the 2023 Open Championship. The two discuss Rory, Scottie Scheffler, and Rickie Fowler, among other favorites, and they break down they're looking for from the course and the tournament. Also, Kyle is really excited about the prospects of Padraig Harrington on the Ryder Cup team.

With the Open at Royal Liverpool approaching, Andy brings on Jasper Miners of Evalu18 (7:24) to ring in this year's brief links season. First they chat about some non-links hidden gems around London, then Jasper breaks down the history of Royal Liverpool and describes the differences between the original course and today's version. Andy and Jasper also discuss the new 17th hole and how the course stacks up against other Open rota venues. For the back half of the episode, Micah Pueschel (@Pooshdaddy) of the band Iration joins (58:28) to talk about his life in golf, how he manages to play while on tour, and how he has recruited other members of Iration into his obsession.

After a week on site at Pebble Beach for the U.S. Women's Open, Andy joins Garrett to talk about how the course challenged the players, where the setup fell short, and what, more generally, championship golf venues should strive to accomplish in the 21st century.

Andy is joined by Fried Egg contributor Joseph LaMagna (@JosephLaMagna) for a chat about happenings in professional golf. First, they give some thoughts on the U.S. Women's Open at Pebble Beach: how the course should play for the women's field compared to the usual Pro-Am and U.S. Open fields; how courses could and should be set up to challenge and identify the best women golfers; to what extent they're in on the Rose Zhang hype; and whether Nelly Korda is on the comeback trail. Then Andy and Joseph dig into some PGA Tour topics. They talk about which players have done well and flown under the radar, how the Ryder Cup is shaping up, who could be in line for Player of the Year, and what might happen with the future PGA Tour schedule.

Garrett and fellow Fried Egg team member Brendan Porath devote this episode to golf in the Monterey, California, area. First, they discuss some storylines they're tracking going into this week's U.S. Women's Open, held for the first time in the tournament's history at Pebble Beach Golf Links. They touch on some aspects of Pebble Beach that they're looking forward to seeing the women's field tackle. In the back half of the episode (22:56), they offer a guide to golf in and around Monterey. Garrett lived in Pebble Beach for five years, so he provides a local perspective on the various public golf options, from premium to affordable.

Andy opens this pod with some reflections on the recent news that TPC River Highlands is looking at making course changes after a low-scoring Travelers Championship. He thinks that many people involved are ignoring the real problem, which is the equipment. Andy then brings on Shane Bacon (13:10) to talk about Shane's excellent performance at "The Ike," a big amateur tournament put on by the Metropolitan Golf Association. They also discuss what the 2023 Ryder Cup teams look like right now, and which players they expect to be on the teams in September.

Garrett and Meg kick off this Tuesday show with some thoughts on the Women's PGA Championship: the background and playing style of Ruoning Yin, the 20-year-old champion; the continued excellence of Rose Zhang; and the continued failures of the networks to air women's major championships in a suitable fashion. Garrett then checks in with Ben Coley (@BenColeyGolf) of Sporting Life about the state of the DP World Tour (28:31). Garrett and Ben talk about the (increasingly distant) possibility of a "links season" consisting of the Irish, Scottish, and British Opens as well as the tour's uncertain positioning in—or perhaps outside of—the burgeoning alliance between the PGA Tour and the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund. To go out on a more lighthearted note, Garrett and Ben wrap up with some recommendations (1:00:36).

Fresh off a week at Los Angeles Country Club for the U.S. Open, Andy gives his closing thoughts on the course and contenders. Following the U.S. Open talk, Andy is joined by Josh Pettit, author and creator of The MacKenzie Reader, a new book on the great golf architect Alister MacKenzie. Josh talks about what drew him to MacKenzie, how he put together the book, and his favorite anecdotes from MacKenzie's life.

Garrett launches this U.S. Open recap show by asking Los Angeles resident and ESPN staff writer Paolo Uggetti (@PaoloUggetti) whether L.A. has the worst fans in sports. After settling that issue, Garrett and Paolo review the final day of the 2023 U.S. Open, touching on Wyndham Clark's championship-winning shotmaking, Rory McIlroy's frustrating runner-up finish, and the much-discussed atmosphere on the limited-capacity North Course at L.A. Country Club. For the back half of the episode, Garrett is joined by Joseph LaMagna (@JosephLaMagna), Fried Egg contributor and Finding the Edge author, to evaluate the USGA's setup of LACC and talk about its architectural strengths and weaknesses (28:38). Garrett and Joseph wrap up by giving recommendations (53:24).

Garrett opens this mid-week U.S. Open episode by emptying his notebook from a Wednesday walk around Los Angeles Country Club. He talks about three spots on the North Course's back nine that he's looking forward to watching. Then he brings on golf historian Wayne Morrison (no relation) to discuss the Philadelphia School of Golf Architecture, the influential group of golf course designers in which LACC architect George Thomas learned his craft.

The 2023 U.S. Open, hosted by the North Course at Los Angeles Country Club, is approaching. Geoff Shackelford, who partnered with Hanse Golf Course Design on the restoration of L.A. North, joins Andy to discuss storylines.

Some weeks are more hectic than others. On Tuesday, the PGA Tour announced that it intended to partner with Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, the financial backer of LIV Golf, to create a new for-profit entity. If this agreement becomes a reality, the war between the Tour and LIV will come to an end, with the sides merging interests. This episode of The Fried Egg Podcast attempts to make sense of the whole mess. First, Andy runs through the basics of what happened and gives some initial takes. Then former PGA Tour player (and member of the player advisory council and policy board) Joe Ogilvie joins Andy (11:50) to discuss his thoughts on the deal, how the coming months and years might unfold, and where the Tour went wrong in the past. Later, Andy brings on Fried Egg contributor Joseph LaMagna (1:09:20) to talk about the future of LIV and how the dynamics between players might play out.

Rose Zhang won her first LPGA Tour start as a pro. That calls for a full episode of discussion. Garrett and Meg kick things off by talking about Rose's most impressive shots at the Mizuho Americas Open, her playing style, and her attitude. They also caution against putting absurd expectations on her 20-year-old shoulders. Later, Justin Ray joins the pod (20:07) to talk about his favorite Rose Zhang stats, and Brendan Quinn drops in (36:40) to discuss his excellent recent profile of Rose. Garrett and Meg close the episode (1:08:34) with a couple of recommendations.

Andy starts this episode off by giving his 10 favorites for the U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club. He is then joined by Lauren Lasocha, senior agronomist at Bel-Air Country Club (12:37). Lauren tells Andy about working at not only Bel-Air but also LACC, the expectations those clubs have for big-time tournaments, and her experiences as a woman in the turf industry. For a final segment, Andy talks with Korn Ferry Tour player Logan McAllister (1:01:42) about his career and the challenges of progressing in professional golf.

With the 2023 U.S. Open two weeks away, Garrett and Andy sit down to discuss the host venue, the North Course at Los Angeles Country Club. They agree that this is one of the best golf courses in the country, and they've had this tournament circled on their calendars for years. First they get some details about the restoration of L.A. North from two of the leaders of that project, Geoff Shackelford (8:15) and Gil Hanse (17:07). Then Garrett and Andy reconvene (23:58) to give their own thoughts on the course.

Andy opens this mega-episode by running through his top five players of the post-Tiger era. Golf Channel's Brentley Romine (@BrentleyGC) then joins the show (18:50) to talk all things NCAA Golf, including the men's and women's national championships, Rose Zhang's next steps, and players to look out for in the men's tournament. For a final segment, Ryan Carey of Golden Age Auctions (@GoldenAgeBid) chats with Andy (1:00:23) about how he started and built his golf-centric auction house and some of the intriguing items and stories he has encountered along the way.

Brooks Koepka is your 2023 PGA champion. Fried Egg contributor and Finding the Edge author Joseph LaMagna (@JosephLaMagna) joins Garrett to talk about Koepka's resurgence, skill set, and strategic approach. They also touch on the performances of second-place finishers Viktor Hovland and Scottie Scheffler. In the back half of the pod, Joseph and Garrett give their final thoughts on this year's PGA venue, the East Course at Oak Hill.

For this mid-week PGA Championship episode, we go back to 1938, when the tournament was still a match-play competition. In that year's final match, a 26-year-old Sam Snead, one of the most imposing ball-strikers the game has ever seen, faced off against the diminutive, short-hitting Paul Runyan. What happened that day is at the heart of Little Poison, John Dechant's new biography of Runyan. John joins Garrett to discuss Runyan's hardscrabble childhood, unusual playing style, short-game genius, success on the Depression-era PGA Tour, and showdown with Slammin' Sammy in 1938. John Dechant, Little Poison

Ryan Lavner, senior writer at Golf Channel, joins Andy to preview the 2023 PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, New York. Ryan, who grew up near Rochester, and Andy both share five things they're paying attention to in the run-up to the tournament. Ryan also offers some Rochester food recommendations, including something called "the Garbage Plate."

Just one week left until the PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, New York. As we gear up for the event, we’re looking at the architect behind Oak Hill, Donald Ross. Andy chats with authors Bradley Klein and Chris Buie about Ross’s life and work. Andy and Brad start by talking about the strengths, weaknesses, and evolution of Ross's courses. Then, Chris tells us about Ross’s life, his Scottish influences, and why he was so good at his job. To wrap up, Andy, Chris, and Bradley each share their top five Ross courses. Bradley Klein is the author of Discovering Donald Ross. Chris Buie is the author of The Life and Times of Donald Ross.

Garrett and Brendan start this Tuesday show with a discussion of Talor Gooch's ongoing battle with the USGA over an exemption-category change that may keep him out of the 2023 U.S. Open (4:18). They touch on the various sides of the conflict, from the potential rationales for the USGA's position to the behavior of Gooch, Phil Mickelson, and other LIV players during the conflict. Garrett and Brendan also address whether the USGA could have avoided this fight—or at least prevented it from staying in the news for weeks. For the second segment, Garrett brings on Shane Ryan (@ShaneRyanHere) to discuss his recent on-the-ground reporting on how the PGA Tour enforces its pace-of-play standards (32:48). Read Shane's article for Golf Digest HERE. Finally, Brendan returns to talk with Garrett about the storylines they're tracking this week in golf (1:04:13).

To paraphrase Bill Belichick, we're on to Rochester! In this solo pod, Andy runs through his top 10 picks for the PGA Championship and explains what style of play will do well at this year's venue, the East Course at Oak Hill Country Club. Before diving into those topics, though, he offers some reflections on this past week's U.S. Open and U.S. Women's Open media days at Los Angeles Country Club and Pebble Beach.

In this episode, Andy and Garrett discuss the East Course at Oak Hill Country Club, the host of the 2023 PGA Championship. First they bring on Fred Beltz, the club historian, and Andrew Green, the architect behind the recent historical renovation of the East, to talk about the history and character of the golf course. Then Andy and Garrett give their own takes on Oak Hill East, covering its strengths, weaknesses, and how it might play in the upcoming PGA Championship.

Washington Post sports columnist Barry Srvluga joins Andy to discuss the impact of baseball's new rules on the sport. Barry delves into the challenges baseball faced and the factors that led to its major overhaul. He and Andy then explore how these changes connect to issues in golf, particularly the pace-of-play issue in the professional game. Barry has written about both baseball and golf for the Post, and has authored two books on baseball, The Grind: Inside Baseball's Endless Season and National Pastime: Sports, Politics, and the Return of Baseball to Washington, D.C.

Garrett and Meg kick off this Tuesday show by briefly tackling the age-old question, Which event felt more like a real golf tournament: the PGA Tour's Zurich Classic or LIV Adelaide? Garrett then brings on Dream Golf Resorts developer Michael Keiser (5:07) to talk about his project Rodeo Dunes, a soon-to-be-built resort outside of Denver, Colorado, which will join a Keiser-family collection that includes Bandon Dunes and Sand Valley. Michael talks about how he found the dunesy prairie property where Rodeo Dunes will sit, the process behind selecting Jimmy Craig and Coore & Crenshaw as the architects of the first two courses, how he hopes the new courses will stand out from others in the Dream Golf portfolio, and his thoughts on where golf architecture might go in the future. After that, Meg rejoins the podcast (35:38) to chat with Garrett about the first women's major of the year, the Chevron Championship—formerly known as the Dinah Shore—which took place outside of the Palm Springs area for the first time this past weekend. Lastly, Garrett and Meg run through the golf storylines they're tracking this week (59:52).

The Park in West Palm Beach is one of the most exciting municipal golf course projects in recent memory. Designed by Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner, The Park opened on Monday and brings high-quality public golf architecture to South Florida. Andy saw the course last week, and he opens this episode by giving his reactions to the design and his thoughts on its innovative business model. To discuss The Park further, Andy sits down with Jim Wagner, the Vice President and Design Partner at Hanse Golf Course Design. Andy and Jim talk about the site in West Palm Beach, the concept for the course, the style of the greens, the inspiration behind the design, and Dirk Ziff's involvement with the project.

Andy got to play Augusta National for the first time the day after the 2023 Masters. Garrett got to walk around Augusta National for the first time on Saturday at the 2023 ANWA. In this episode, they discuss.

Garrett and Joseph LaMagna (@JosephLaMagna) kick off this post-Masters Tuesday episode by guessing what TFE founder Andy Johnson will shoot in his media-lottery round at Augusta National. They then give a thorough rundown of the Sunday duel between Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka at the Masters, touching on Rahm's strategy, ball-striking, and historic outperformance at Augusta, as well as Koepka's final-round lapses and outlook for the future. For the next segment, Garrett brings on Shane Bacon (@shanebacon), who spent the past week calling the action on the Featured Groups feed on Masters.com. Garrett and Shane discuss the ins and outs of broadcasting at Augusta National and run through a few mailbag questions from listeners. Lastly, Garrett is rejoined by Joseph to talk about the storylines they're tracking this week in golf.

This midweek Masters episode starts with Garrett offering some solo thoughts on the pre-tournament press conferences at Augusta National (0:34). He touches on ANGC chairman Fred Ridley's announcement of a partnership with a local muni as well as Ridley's diplomatic but telling comments on the USGA and R&A's efforts to roll back the golf ball in elite competitions. Also assessed are Dustin Johnson's and Jon Rahm's reactions to the newly lengthened 13th hole. Garrett then brings on golf historian Bob Crosby (@otey71) to explore an alternative take on the history of Augusta National's course design (14:49). Bob takes Garrett through the origins and evolution of the third, eighth, seventh, and 10th holes at the Masters venue and offers a compelling interpretation of why they changed—or, in the case of the third hole, didn't change—and what it all meant.

Trevor Immelman, the 2008 Masters champion and current CBS lead analyst, joins host Andy to provide a preview of the upcoming 2023 Masters. Immelman brings fresh insights from his recent weekend spent at Augusta National, including an in-depth analysis of the changes made to the 13th hole and their impact on this year's tournament. Other topics discussed include Rory's pursuit of the Grand Slam, Scottie Scheffler's suitability for Augusta National, and how the preparation of LIV players will affect their performance in this year's first major championship.

Garrett and Meg Adkins (@megadkins_TFE) launch this Tuesday show by sharing their favorite memories from the erstwhile WGC-Dell Match Play. They then dig into the current state of the LPGA Tour, offering takeaways from this past week's Drive On Championship; thoughts on the players who are currently top tier (and almost top tier); criticisms of the awkward, momentum-free start to the LPGA schedule; and analysis of the quiet power struggle between the LPGA Tour, the Ladies European Tour, and the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund. For the next segment, Garrett brings on Anne Walker, head coach of the stellar Stanford women's golf team, to talk about the NCAA season so far and get some inside info on the three Stanford players who will participate in this week's Augusta National Women's Amateur: Brooke Seay, Megha Ganne, and the dominant Rose Zhang. Garrett and Meg then wrap up by discussing the golf storylines they're tracking this week.

Andy opens the episode by running through his favorites for the 2023 Masters. He is then joined by golf architect Jaeger Kovich for a wide-ranging conversation. They talk about how Jaeger builds greens, the challenges of running his own firm, how he does master plans and presentations for clubs, and his thoughts about the potential impact of the Model Local Rule ball. They wrap up with Jaeger doing a power ranking of the different golf regions of Scotland and England.

NOTE: If you initially hear last week's episode with Brendan Porath and Sean Martin, delete that episode and re-download. We made an uploading mistake. Sorry about that! At the top of our Tuesday show, Joseph LaMagna (@JosephLaMagna) calms Garrett's fears about the state of Jordan Spieth's game. They then talk about the PGA Tour's WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, which will no longer exist after this year (4:59). They review Austin Country Club, the excellent venue for the tournament, and run through the various (frustrating) reasons that the Match Play fizzled out. For the next segment, Garrett brings on Dean Snell, the founder of Snell Golf as well as one of the engineering minds behind the Titleist Professional and ProV1 golf balls, to discuss the governing bodies' new Model Local Rule from an equipment-industry perspective (29:45). Dean is, to say the least, not pro-rollback. Finally, Joseph and Garrett give their storylines to track in the golf world this week (1:09:52).

On Tuesday, the USGA and R&A announced a Model Local Rule (MLR) that, if adopted, would reduce the flight of the golf ball in high-level tournaments. This is a historic move that deserves the mega-pod treatment. To kick things off, Andy and Garrett discuss the basics of the MLR and why the governing bodies have gone this route in tackling the distance issue (4:03). Then Andy brings on a series of guests: golf architect Tom Doak to explore the impact that the MLR might have on golf course design (30:04), former PGA Tour pro Roberto Castro to talk about the change from a player's perspective (48:34), and analytics whiz Joseph LaMagna to explore the effects that rollback could have on course management and strategy at the elite competitive level (1:09:23).

Our Tuesday show covers a variety of topics related to the past week's Players Championship. First, Garrett talks with Brendan Porath (@BrendanPorath) about whether Scottie Scheffler's win should count as 0.5 of a major (0:35). Then Garrett brings in the PGA Tour's Sean Martin (@PGATOURSMartin) to discuss Scheffler's mindset and approach to the game (8:05). Garrett and Sean touch on, among other things, the relationship between scrambling and faith. After that, Brendan rejoins the pod to chat with Garrett about the discontent that some rank-and-file players feel about the PGA Tour's new designated event model (33:21), and they close with two golf storylines to track in the coming week (56:55). NOTE: We recorded this podcast on Monday morning, before the USGA and R&A announced their plan to limit distance at the elite levels of the game by rolling back the golf ball. We will cover that subject in depth on our Thursday episode this week.

Over the past week, the PGA Tour has released details about the structure of its new "designated event model." To sort it all out, Andy sits down with former tour player Joe Ogilvie (@ogilviej). Joe talks about his time on the Tour's player advisory council and policy board, the past 18 months in golf, his thoughts on the Tour's proposed changes, and what he would do if he were commissioner.

It's Players week! Shane Bacon (@shanebacon) joins Andy to preview the action at TPC Sawgrass. They discuss how designated events will affect the 2023 Players and future tournaments, the Tour's response to LIV defectors (including last year's Players champion Cameron Smith), which players might have a breakout week, and the uniqueness of the Stadium Course's design. Shane and Andy wrap up by giving their picks to win.

LIV Golf is getting some brutal-sounding ratings on the CW, the PGA Tour's TV partners are changing things up, and golf broadcasting has become a hot topic lately. To break it all down, Garrett talks with Josh Carpenter (@JoshACarpenter), an assistant managing editor at Sports Business Journal. Josh is also, as will become apparent in this episode, a golf nut. He and Garrett discuss LIV's disappointing debut performance on the CW, what golf ratings can and can't tell us, and how the breakaway league's business prospects look in year two. In the second half of the episode, they dig into the attempts by CBS and NBC to freshen up PGA Tour telecasts and the potential effects of the new designated-event structure on the Tour's bottom line.

Javier Campos (@CalClimbingSoup) is the golf course superintendent at the California Golf Club of San Francisco, more commonly known as Cal Club. Javier sits down with Andy to discuss, among other things, how he worked his way up the ranks of Cal Club's grounds crew, the influence of his mentor Thomas Bastis, the difficulties of the past winter in Northern California (which included a Caddyshack-like invasion of gophers), the intricacies of managing fine fescue and bentgrass surfaces on the West Coast, and his thoughts about autonomous maintenance equipment. Before getting to his chat with Javier, Andy goes through what the PGA Tour's FedEx Cup top 10 would be if the FEC were determined by designated-event results only.

Andy starts this episode by running through his 10 (early) favorites to win the 2023 Masters. He is then joined by Joseph LaMagna (@JosephLaMagna) to talk about a variety of topics: their takeaways from the West Coast swing, the players on the PGA Tour who have stood out so far, the debate around the 10th hole at Riviera, the distinction between short par 4s and drivable par 4s, and Sports Illustrated's highly questionable new world ranking.