Blind Shots Podcast – 1st Night of Christmas Quick Loop
On the first night of Christmas, I look back at the courses I played for the first time in 2022. Merry Christmas everyone!
Blind Shots Podcast Season 4 Episode 10 – Americans in the MidSouth at Sewanee
This episode is another installment of the Americans in the MidSouth episode. This time, Fred and I share memories and platitudes of the Course at Sewanee, located on the campus of Sewanee: The University of the South, just up the road roughly 50 miles west of Chattanooga.
To me, the Course at Sewanee, a nine-hole, 2014 Gil Hanse renovation, does community golf hub unlike most anyplace else I’ve visited on this side of the Atlantic. It is an arresting and engaging golf course, folded seamlessly into the fabric of the University Domain up on the Bishops’ Mountain. The greens and the visuals at Sewanee are superb, perfectly nestled into the larger landscape of the course, all of which left a lasting impression upon me, and a desire to return sooner rather than later.
Blind Shots Podcast Season 4 Episode 9 – Kieran Clark, the Open Championship comes home to St. Andrews
Kieran Clark, the Digital & Social editor at Golf Shake, lives in St. Andrews, Scotland, which gave him a unique experience when the 150th Open Championship was played there on the Old Course this summer. He gets to the essence of what make the Home of Golf so special on any given day, and how those magical qualities are amplified by the buzz and excitement of an Open Championship.
Blind Shots Podcast Season 4 Episode 8 – Americans in Scotland, Revisited
Three years ago, Matt, Fred and I embarked on a journey to the Home of Golf. That trip, those places, that golf, that Scotland, it changed us forever. So much has changed since the fall of 2019, so on this third anniversary of the trip, the fellas and I get together and reflect on such…
Blind Shots Podcast Season 4 Episode 7 – Do Something Extraordinary Golf Club with Shad Lacefield
The Do Something Golf Club in Lexington is bringing golf into the schools and communities that otherwise might not otherwise have any exposure to the game we love. Its founder and driving force, Shed Lacefield, shares the journey of his brainchild program that began as a few kids learning to swing a golf club after…
Blind Shots Podcast Season 4 Episode 6 – The Road to Savannah Harbor
What the fellas found at the end of the Road to Savannah Harbor.
Blind Shots Podcast Season 4 Episode 5: Above the Clouds – Duane Horton, Charlie Rymer & The McLemore story
I was charmed by what I found at The McLemore, high atop Lookout Mountain above Rising Fawn, Georgia. In this conversation with Duane Horton, president of The McLemore, as well as the Scenic Land Company, and Charlie Rymer, McLemore Executive VP, we discuss how the community and development is transitioning from a traditional golf residential…
Blind Shots Podcast Season 4 Episode 4 – Lawrence Donegan on Adventures in Junior Golf
Lawrence Donegan’s essay titled Adventures in Junior Golf from McKellar #5 was the most important article I’ve read in 20 years. In it, Donegan examines the Youth Sports Industrial Complex through the lens of his experiences as the dad of a junior golfer, weaving tales of woe and lessons learned with the bad and the…
Blind Shots Podcast Season 4, Episode 3 – Mike from Chasing Scratch
My conversation with Mike from the Chasing Scratch Podcast, tracing his and Eli’s journey towards a scratch golf handicap and a community they never expected.
Blind Shots Podcast Season 4, Episode 2 – Matt Considine of NewClub Golf Society
Matt Considine is a co-founder of NewClub Golf Society, an official golf club modeled after the golf societies of Great Britain and Ireland. NewClub offers a home to golfers that desire the best elements of a golfing community: camaraderie, competition, and a commitment to stewardship of the game we all love. Matt’s passion has become…
Blind Shots Podcast – Season 4, Episode 1: Anatomy of the Buddies Golf Trip
Welcome back to the Blind Shots Podcast. I’m excited to be back in the studio and truly jazzed about some of the forthcoming episodes for Season Four. Today, co-hosts Matt & Fred sit in to talk about Buddies’ Golf Trips. We frame the discussion within our decade of experience together to try to isolate what…
Blind Shots Podcast Season 3 Episode 19: Matthew McCrady of Man O’ War Golf Part 2
This episode is the second half of my conversation with Matthew McCrady, the Director of Operations at Man O’ War Golf in Lexington, Kentucky. We pick up where we left off, discussing the present and future states of merchandising and golf equipment for golfers and meander towards how Matthew sees the dynamic between grass roots junior golf on public courses and exposure to more aspirational courses as children grow into the game.
Blind Shots Podcast Season 3 Episode 18: Matthew McCrady of Man O’ War Golf, Part 1.
This episode is the first half of my conversation with Matthew McCrady, the Director of Operations at my home practice and fitting facility, Man O’ War Golf in Lexington, Kentucky. We talk all around and thru the state of the golf business, as I try to touch on what makes this stand alone practice facility so special.
Blind Shots Podcast Season 3 Episode 17 – Hal Phillips on global golf design, American soccer revolution, and global political economy.
Buckle up, folks, because we’re going around the world today with Mandarin Media’s Hal Phillips. We talk global golf course design, American soccer revolution, and Chinese political economy. Seriously.
Blind Shots Podcast Season 3 Episode 16 – Jason Straka ASGCA on Kenwood CC, renovations, and sustainable golf course design
Jason Straka & I talk about Kenwood Country Club, the course renovation, and the LPGA tournament, as well as his passion for sustainability in golf course design and maintenance, and the insular nature of a lot of golf-centric conversations.
Blind Shots Podcast Season 3 Episode 15 – Michael Croley on Golf and Writing
On today’s episode, we class up the joint a bit by welcoming author, writer, golfer, and native Kentuckian gone rogue, Michael Croley. Michael grew up in Corbin, Kentucky, but now lives in the Columbus, OH area, shaping the minds of tomorrow as an Assistant Professor of English and Journalism at Denison University, developing his own creative writing portfolio, and working the golf journalism beat for more than a handful of publications.
Blind Shots Podcast Season 3 Episode 14 – Matthew Wharton, Carolina Greenkeeper
Today’s episode is one where you and I get to listen to my friend entertain us with some stories, and make us think with a few others. Matthew Wharton is one of my most cherished friends in golf; smart, funny, curious, serious, and kind. We talk golf courses, golf industry, golf shots, and golf’s future,…
Blind Shots Podcast Season 3, Episode 13 – A Requiem for 2021 and a Prayer for 2022
Winter has arrived in earnest, as the chaos of the holiday season subsides, so this week the podcast takes a look at some of the bests and worsts of golf in 2021. We also cast an eye forward to 2022, previewing a few things that we’re already getting excited about. The off-season, or winter in…
Blind Shots Podcast Season 3 Episode 12 – Americans in Pinehurst Roundtable – Southern Pines, Revisited
In this installment of The Americans in Pinehurst Series, Matt, Fred and I discuss the new Southern Pines Golf Club experience. In the hands of a new ownership group, which also owns nearby Pine Needles and Mid Pines golf course resorts, Southern Pines has undergone a significant renovation and restoration effort from noted architect Kyle…
Blind Shots Podcast Season 3 Episode 11 – Brad Woodger of Royal Chappy
This episode is about fun. Finding fun, having fun, being fun. It’s about being serious but not taking ourselves too seriously. It’s about golf that’s fun, without any of the other stuff that gets in the way. I speak with Brad Woodger, operator of The Royal & Ancient Chappaquiddick Links, located on Chappaquiddick Island. “Royal…
Blind Shots Podcast Season 3 Episode 10 – Brian Laurent of the Superintendent Network and Twisted Paw Putting Club
Today’s episode puts a spotlight on the turf side of the golf course industry. My guest is Brian Laurent. His journey in golf has taken him from collegiate golfer to running multiple Ohio sections of the Golf Course Superintendent’s Association of America, before launching his newest venture, the Superintendent Network. He is also the caretaker…
Blind Shots Podcast Season 3 Episode 9 – Americans in Wisconsin Roundtable – Lawsonia Links
In this third and final installment of The Americans in Wisconsin Roundtable, we discuss the experience of playing the Links Course at Lawsonia. Nestled above Green Lake, the Links at Lawsonia simultaneously reminds me of several great Midwestern courses I’ve played and looks unlike anywhere I’ve seen before. From the hands and minds of the…
Blind Shots Podcast Season 3 Episode 8 – Chris Boysel PGA Part Two
This is the second part of my conversation with my friend, Head Golf Professional at Kearney Hill Golf Links, Chris Boysel, PGA. We talk about keeping golf fun, the practical effect of distance in golf, and why the rest of us are so important. Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Spotify | iHeartRadio |…
Blind Shots Podcast Season 3, Episode 7 – Chris Boysel, PGA (Part One)
Today’s episode presents the first half of my conversation with Chris Boysel, who is the Head PGA Professional at Kearney Hill Golf Links here in Lexington. He is one of those golf pros blessed with natural enthusiasm for golf and the gift of gab. He and I could literally sit down and talk golf all…
Blind Shots Podcast Season 3 Episode 6 – The Lost Episode with Kris McEwen
My special guest for this episode is Chicago’s Kris McEwen. He’s a man of many parts, with his Venn Diagram covering several sides of golf through his growing multi-media empire. We talk golf courses, media, travel, Chicagoland, and more. Links to Kris’s various works are listed below. Enjoy! Driving Range Heroes where you can find…