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.
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…
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…
What the fellas found at the end of the Road to Savannah Harbor.
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…
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…
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.
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…
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…
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.
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.
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.
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.
The truth of Matt’s final point, that playing up to just a slightly shorter overall yardage still presents interesting challenges yet in a less stressful manner, is the hallmark of a well-designed golf course. Moving up from one set of tees to a shorter set doesn’t magically make a good golf course boring or easy; it makes the challenges less stressful and more enjoyable.
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.
Erstwhile friends of the show Fred & Matt join me to discuss the annual summer Guys’ Golf Trip. This 2021 version found us at Sand Valley Golf Resort. In this first edition of the Americans in Wisconsin mini-series, we discuss the gem that this the Coore + Crenshaw designed Sand Valley Course, caddies, walking golf,…
To start Season 3 of the podcast, I provide a brief glimpse of the golf courses worth playing depending on where you may be visiting or passing through Kentucky. I get asked a lot about where to play when someone plans a visit to Kentucky, either for work or leisure. This episode is the bullet…
This is the final Americans in Pinehurst Roundtable, this time with friend of the podcast John Mark Kennedy, wherein we delve into that most special of Sandhills’ courses, Tobacco Road. I’m often asked by folks that haven’t made the pilgrimage to Sanford, North Carolina, what makes the course so special, and I invariable struggle to…
Welcome to another episode in my series of discussions about Public Golf in America, this time through our local scene here in Central Kentucky, Justin Mullannix, PGA. After serving as the head golf professional at Kearney Hill Golf Course and Gay Brewer Jr. Course at Picadome, Justin is now charged with overseeing Lexington’s golf leagues,…
Today, Fred and I recap what made our recent Winter Golf Getaway to Chattanooga, Tennessee so special and fun. We lament a canceled event at Sweetens Cove, the mother of all Plan B’s, and also do a brief deep dive on what makes Black Creek Club a very special place. Black Creek Club is the…
A front nine of thoughts to close out the winter off-season and move towards the active spring golf window, a monologue riff on what we’ve been up to at the Blind Shots Podcast and what we’re looking forward to. Topics include a recent golf trip that was ruined, then miraculously salvaged, all within a half…
It’s Round Four of The Americans in Pinehurst Roundtable, with erstwhile friends, Matt and Fred. In this episode we discuss a bit of a Sandhills Unicorn: a relatively new golf course, by Pinehurst area standards. I mean, of course, the Dormie Club, the 2010 Coore + Crenshaw masterwork located just 10 minutes from the heart…
In Episode 26, Scott Laffin and I bounce around ideas golf and golf course businesses.He has carved out a non-traditional role for himself in golf course design and construction through is firm, Feature Golf Consulting, as the guy behind the guy. A professional landscape architect by training, he’s enjoyed backdoor access and hands-on experience to…
Today’s episode is another in my series of discussions about Public Golf in America. This version is a special treat, as I have a wide-ranging discussion with one of the smartest, most intriguingly credentialed people working in golf, Mike McCartin, co-founder of the National Links Trust. With a bachelor’s degree in economics from that esteemed…
It’s Round Three of The Americans in Pinehurst Roundtable, with our friends, Matt and Fred. In this episode we contrast two courses that I strain to find nominal similarities, but in reality, couldn’t be much more different. I’m talking about Donald Ross’s Southern Pines Golf Club, and Rees’ Jones New Course at Talamore, both in…