The Thing About Golf Podcast

For a generation of golf fans Roger Maltbie is known only as a TV commentator but the NBC stalwart is so much more than that. The winner of the inaugural Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village in 1976, Maltbie was also a legitimate contender at more than one major and is a five-time PGA Tour winner. Known among his peers as one of the game's more colourful characters, this lengthy chat with host John Huggan shows Maltbie to be not only a shrewd analyst of the game but a warm and engaging story teller.

He's coached some of the best players in the world to some of the game's biggest titles but to sit and talk to Ian Triggs you'd never know it. In a world where being a high-profile coach can be a lucrative business, Triggs is as happy working with Brookwater's double digit handicap members as he is mentoring rising stars like Elvis Smylie. In this enlightening chat with host Rod Morri, Triggs reveals how the search for answers to what derailed his own promising playing career led him to be one of the most sought after coaches of his generation.

Peter Alliss might have had golf’s most recognisable voice but it’s almost a dead heat with Scotland’s Renton Laidlaw. In a career spanning more than 50 years there is barely a medium he hasn’t contributed to, from books and newspapers to magazines and TV. Renton, as he is simply known to so many, sat down with The Thing About Golf’s John Huggan to reflect on a lifetime in the game unlike few have ever experienced.

Who would have thought that a summer spent in the UK visiting family would prove the start of a journey that ended in Australia's first Masters green jacket? Phil Scott, father of former World No.1 Adam, chats with The Thing About Golf host Rod Morri about his accidental start in the game to Adam's surreal 2013 Masters victory and almost every facet of the golf industry in between. From club building and design to course construction and management, there isn't much Phil Scott hasn't touched in golf and he reflects on it all in Episode 46.

From Colin Montgomerie to Francesco Molinari, and countless others in between, there isn't much Denis Pugh hasn't seen or done in the world of elite player coaching. To listen to him, though, you'd never know it. The down-to-earth Englishman brings a rare and engaging mix of humour and bluntness to any conversation and this delightful chat with John Huggan is no different. Pugh was generous with his time and thoughts in this episode and it is one you'll want to listen to at least twice because there is simply too much insight to take in in one sitting.

In the world of golf course architecture Bill Coore is considered royalty. His design work alongside partner Ben Crenshaw coupled with mentoring many of the game's current top architects is legendary. And yet, it would be difficult to imagine a more grounded or genuinely humble human being. In Episode 44 of The Thing About Golf, host Rod Morri chats with Coore to try to pinpoint just what it is about golf that has seen him devote his life to the game. We cover topics as varied as his latest Australian project - the stunning Bougle Run short course at Barnbougle Dunes (you can read Golf Australia magazine editor Brendan James’ review at www.golfaustralia.com.au) - public golf, course presentation, the future of the game and more.

Three majors and a Ryder Cup captaincy might be the highlights of a stellar career but as John Huggan puts it in the introduction, the most impressive thing about Padraig Harrington is that he's basically a good bloke. Harrington sits down with Huggan a week after finishing a remarkable T4 at the PGA Championship at Kiawah Island, a performance that went largely unheralded thanks to the even more remarkable play of Phil Mickelson. The pair talk elite golf, how to know if a player choked, slow play, the distance debate and much, much more in a wildly entertaining episode of The Thing About Golf.

In the male dominated industry of golf club management, Yarra Yarra Golf Club General Manager Andrea Watson stands out but not only because she's a woman. Completely new to golf when she took her first job in the dining room at Peninsula Country Club, Andrea has gone on to become one of the game's most respected club Managers. Here, she chats with host Rod Morri about her career in golf and offers some interesting insights into what the future might hold for the golf industry.

He's remembered by most - and rightly so - for his two US Open wins, but Curtis Strange's achievements in the game go far beyond that. A Ryder Cup player and captain, one time holder of the course record at The Old Course at St Andrews and a not infrequent visitor to Australia, he is a thoughtful and eloquent speaker about the game. In this broad ranging chat, John Huggan explores one of the most interesting careers of the modem era with a player regarded as one of the most competitive ever to pick up a club.

Since its inception nine years ago the combined men's and women's Vic Open has been a roaring success on all fronts. Now an LPGA and European Tour event, it would have been all but impossible to predict just how big the tournament would get when it was first conceived by then acting Golf Victoria CEO David Greenhill. While quick to (rightfully) credit others with the eventual success of the event, none of it would have happened without Greenhill's vision. On Episode 40, Greenhill reflects on how an idea which came to him while walking the dog morphed into one of the most talked about tournament in the world.

In the world of golf administration there is no more important role than Chief Executive of the R&A. Former London-based businessman Martin Slumbers was appointed to that role in 2015 and has quietly set about evolving the culture at the organisation to something more in keeping with modern society. A lifetime golfer with an understanding of the game at the grass roots level, he has demonstrated a capacity for innovative thought in his six years in the job to date and, as he reveals to John Huggan in Episode 39, there is more to come.

At the age of 46 Matt Millar is an anomaly in the modern professional game. Despite being one of the shortest hitters on the PGA Tour of Australasia he remains a competitive force in fields of much younger - and more powerful - players. A combination of great accuracy and an enviable short game explain much of his success but as Millar himself admits in this chat, the real key is mental.

Of all the players who have ascended to World No.1 since the rankings began in 1986, Zimbabwe's Nick Price is the one who attracts the least attention. Universally regarded as one of the best ball-strikers of his generation, Price's distinctive swing saw him hold the top position for 43 weeks. With three majors to his name and as a two time Presidents Cup Captain, there isn't much Price hasn't seen or done in the game. This is a captivating chat with John Huggan, which covers everything from modern equipment, winning majors and life in Zimbabwe in the 1960's and 70's.

There isn't much Mat Goggin hasn't done in the game of golf, from Australian Amateur champion to professional tournament winner. But what makes the Tasmanian such a compelling interview is that his interests are broader than just the game. An intelligent and articulate speaker who is widely read, Goggin often gives unexpected answers to seemingly simple questions and always keeps the listener - and interviewer - on their toes. Now in his mid-forties and heavily involved in the Seven Mile Beach development in Hobart, it would be easy to assume Goggin's playing days are over. But as you’ll hear from the wisdom dispensed in this interview, that would be a real shame both for Goggin and for fans of the game. One final note: whether before or after listening to this episode it is also recommended to read the blog post linked below. In it, Goggin explains some of his beginnings in the game and how the Seven Mile Beach project came to be. It is a wonderful accompaniment to our chat and also helps to answer that opening question: What's The Thing About Golf for Mat Goggin? https://7milegolf.wordpress.com/2021/02/14/10-years-and-counting/

For more than 30 years Laura Davies has been a breath of fresh air in the game. A combination of prodigious length and attacking play has delivered 85 professional victories but it is her down to earth nature and sense of humour which has endeared Davies to fellow players and fans alike. In this wide-ranging discussion with John Huggan, the World Golf Hall of Famer is typically forthright on all topics from pros using hybrids (hint: not a fan) to the importance of the Solheim Cup.

Luckily for the game of golf there are people like Sue Thomson - one of the army of unsung heroes upon whom the game relies around the world. Sue is the junior coordinator at Perth's Mt Lawley Golf Club, but the title hardly conveys the impact she makes. We first heard of Sue through Australia's most recent major winner, Hannah Green. Long before she holed that extraordinary putt on the 18th green at Hazeltine, Green told host Rod Morri: "if it wasn't for Sue Thompson, I wouldn't even play golf." Morri immediately wanted to meet this woman. And so he did... now you can too.

Tom Callahan is one of the best all-round sports writers in the world. Golf has been lucky to have such a fine wordsmith, with a genuine love for the game, witness its biggest moments and tell the stories of champions. In a career spanning five decades, he's has had enough experiences to last a few life times from having Ben Hogan critique his swing, to Arnold Palmer making him drinks to trekking through a Vietnam jungle looking for the family of Tiger Phong, the soldier after whom Earl Woods nicknamed his son. In this episode to close out 2020 for The Thing About Golf podcast, host John Huggan chats with Callahan about his colourful career that has included working as a columnist for The Washington Post, long-form writing for Time magazine and authoring best-sellers like In Search Of Tiger and Arnie: The Life Of Arnold Palmer among others. And it shouldn't surprise that he apart from writing good stories, he tells good ones as well.

This episode of the The Thing About Golf has a distinct Scottish flavour as we welcome John Huggan in his debut episode as co-host where he chats with Scotland's most promising young professional in Robert MacIntyre. Huggan caught up with MacIntyre the week after he claimed his maiden European Tour title, the first of what many good judges believe will be multiple career victories. MacIntyre is not your run of the mill Touring Professional and in this fascinating conversation with Huggan reveals some insight into an upbringing surrounded by foster brothers and sisters, his passion for the little known Scottish pastime of Shinty and why he'll never win his club championship playing right handed.

Twice a Hong Kong Open winner Ormsby is one of those golfers who has flown mostly under the radar of much of his career. It would be fair to say he was a bit of a late bloomer in terms of his golf but as you'll hear in this conversation he has no regrets about learning his craft on the job, so to speak. Hailing from Adelaide where his father, PETER, also a professional, owns one of the most successful off course retail golf shops in the country we caught up with Wade in his home town where he was into day eight of his 14 day quarantine after returning from the UK. From his multiple successful trips to Q School to a life-long friendship with Adam Scott to the business realities of playing golf for a living, Ormsby is open, honest and reflective in this interview which I hope you enjoy...

The name Jane Lock will be familiar to anybody with an interest in the history of the game in Australia. After all, she won the Australian Women's Amateur three times and was a member of the first Aussie team to win what's now known as the Espirito Santo trophy, the world cup of amateur golf. But beyond that, most of us know almost nothing of Jane Lock. An LPGA Tour player from 1980 to 1986 her professional record never really reached the heights of her amateur achievements. But her contribution to the game in Australia should not be overlooked.