Golf podcasts are a dime a dozen. It seems like every one and their brother has started one and it makes it difficult to keep up with them all, or to determine what shows are worth your time.
On the drive to a variety of tournaments during March and April, I listened to my fair share and I made a discovery swiping through my library: a fair number of pods I liked are either extinct or on a lengthy hiatus. (Will Haskett, bring back The Perfect Number, please, Shane Ryan, it’s a Ryder Cup year and I’m ready for The Ryder Cup Run, and Tony Finau and Boyd Summerhays, Let’s Get It a little more often.) It seems many podcasts fade into oblivion almost as quickly as they pop up – anyone know what happened to the Rory & Carson Pod?
There are still way too many to listen to but if you’re wanting to mix it up and try something different from the mainstays – No Laying Up, Fore Play, Sub Par, Shot Gun Start seem to have emerged as the Big Four – here’s a bunch I’ve been enjoying and am rooting for to gain some traction (in no particular order).
Musings on Golf
Two friends of mine – Bob Bubka, who has a booming voice made for radio and we joke a face for it too and Kelly Elbin, former PR standout for the PGA of America – who have been immersed in golf for a long time paired up to create this weekly podcast. They started as a general sports podcast last year — Musings on Sports — that was killing it with guests such as Archie Manning, Steve Spurrier and Rick Barry but decided recently to stick to their bread and butter of golf. The sports world’s loss is the golf fans gain and they debuted with U.S. Ryder Cup captain Zach Johnson. Expect more great guests to follow.
Straight Down the Middleish
Two-time PGA Tour winner Matt Every and former Tour pro and occasional Tour caddie Aron Price have built some great relationships over the years with players and they’re tapping in to them to tell some hilarious stories from the world of golf. The likes of Cam Smith, Billy Horschel and Chris Kirk have already been guests and they’re just a little more relaxed and willing to have fun and open up than they are when being grilled by members of the media with a video camera recording their every um and yeah.
Every and Price are two guys I always sought out at the range for a quick chat, and this podcast feels like an extension of those chit-chat sessions just made available to a wider audience.
Straight Down the Middle
I think this show and Every-Price should play a match where the winner gets to keep its name and the other has to find a replacement – just too similar and can be confusing. But this show is co-hosted by Ted Bishop, the former PGA president, who is never short of opinions, and Brian Hammons, the former Golf Channel host and a pro’s pro when it comes to setting up a guest. These guys have been tapping into their network for some quality guests, including the great Tom Watson ahead of the Masters.
Son of a Butch with Claude Harmon
CH3 is back with a new and better title for his podcast but continues to attract a bevy of good guests. It doesn’t hurt that his dad, legendary golf instructor Butch Harmon, pops in from time to time such as during the recent Masters. He also highlights the game’s best instructors better than other podcasts such as having Dave Phillips, who works with Jon Rahm, as a guest in the days following Rahm’s Masters triumph.
Local Knowledge
This is a Golf Digest franchise and what I like about it is every episode picks a story and then does a deep dive. Selfishly, I’ve enjoyed some recent episodes hosted by Shane Ryan, one of which revisited the opening chapter of my book on Deane Beman and a potential coup led by some guys names Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer, and the other focused on one of my favorite articles I wrote about Lanny Wiles, who was taken hostage in the Augusta National pro shop. But there seems to be a fresh and interesting topic every episode and it’s a nice alternative from the typical host-subject interview.
Be the Right Club Today
Hal Sutton and crew are back for a second season of this popular podcast. If you haven’t listened to the first season, I highly recommend it. I probably could do a separate article on the 10 best nuggets I learned from Hal Sutton. I had lunch with him a few years ago at the Legends of Golf and he was fantastic to talk to, and the podcast makes me feel like we’re still sitting at the table. He gets great guests from his playing days and beyond and his insights on the game have made this a must-listen for me.
Season two got off to a great start with Golfweek colleague Beth Ann Nichols as the guest. It’s been the right club just about every episode if you ask me.
McKellar Golf Podcast
This is typically a bunch of journalists affiliated with the quarterly magazine spouting off on the hot topics of the week. Lawrence Donegan never holds back and usually has Geoff Shackelford and/or John Huggan to weigh in and keep fanning the flames. Friend of the show Mike Clayton joins occasionally and he too is a breath of fresh air telling it like it is no matter the topic.
TalkinGolf History Podcast
This one’s been around for a while, but in case you missed it Connor T. Lewis researches many of the lesser-known and forgotten stories of the game. He is the founder of the Society of Golf Historians, of which I’m a member, and a total golf nut but the best kind if you ask me. He’s created a community for fellow golf history buffs so if that’s your thing, this is your hang out.
Chasing Majors
This also falls into the category of “ICYMI.” Aussie golf writer Evin Priest got together with caddie Steve Williams and reviews all 14 of his majors on the bag for Tiger Woods and the 2013 Masters with Adam Scott. Williams had his difficulties with the media while lugging Tiger’s bag but he’s a terrific storyteller and Priest does a great job of pulling the best stories from him.
Here’s hoping that Priest returns with another season of episodes under the Chasing Majors label.
