The Golfer's Journal Podcast

The twinkling piano notes are unmistakable, but did you know that the Masters theme song has actual lyrics? Or that Dave Loggins—second cousin of Kenny—wrote them? Or that TGJ Contributor/songwriter/music critic Elizabeth Nelson doesn’t think they are very good? Join host Tom Coyne as he and Nelson share a few laughs over one of golf’s most iconic tunes and even sneak in a meditation on two-time Masters champ Seve Bellesteros in this Masters-themed mini-episode. 

Meet Sid Matthew, your favorite golf historian’s favorite golf historian. In TGJ No. 15 we explored Matthew’s extensive golf collection in “Office Hours.” But on today’s podcast, we discover that his most prized possessions are his collection of Bobby Jones stories. Having worked in the Jones’ Atlanta law office, Matthew has become the game’s foremost Jones historian. He takes us behind the scenes (and over the crazy hurdles) of making his famous Jones documentary, regales us with tales of playing with his late, great friend Sean Connery and inside the origins of the golf collecting boom—including a club that sold for more than $200,000.

Welcome to the next Re-Teed, TGJ’s look back at golf’s greatest tournaments. The first edition featured Tiger at the 2008 U.S. Open, and our latest dives deep into another famous finish: the 2015 Players Championship. While Rickie Fowler may have owned the island green, TGJ Editor Travis Hill, who has covered the tournament for nearly 20 years, and longtime PGA Tour executive Chris Reimer own all the behind-the-scenes stories. They look back at Fowler (momentarily) quieting the doubters, Sergio Garcia’s pants, a few missed putts that nearly changed history, and the legend of Jerry f^ing Kelly.

Grip, stance, posture...yawn. Has junior instruction grown stale? Richard Franklin thinks so. After 15 years of studying game design, Franklin brings a more playful approach to junior golf involving birds, eskimos and more unusual suspects. In his conversation with host Tom Coyne, the two unpack his unique teaching style while discussing game theories, adding more fun, and the importance of richer rewards. And for anyone who ever whispered “This putt is to win the Masters,” on the practice green—Franklin says you’ve been on the right track all along.  Because hell, golf is just a game after all, right?

He wasn’t the biggest, flashiest or longest, but one look at Paul McGinley’s resume—four European Tour wins, three Ryder Cup titles as a player and one more as captain—clearly shows a legendary career in the game. But golf never came easily to the scrappy Irishman. McGinley spills his secrets for success to host Tom Coyne, reflecting on his love for Gaelic football, attending high school with Padraig Harrington, why he prefers watching Rory over Tiger, what it takes to gain the respect of a Ryder Cup locker room and how he purposefully hooked the most important putt of his life.

Sandbaggers, ball-droppers and lie-fluffers, oh my! Getting cheated in golf can stay with you—just ask host Tom Coyne, who still can’t forget an interclub incident from 1986. So we decided to name names: We speak with experts who break down golf’s various scammers (behold, the “cheating non-liar”) and investigate what exactly leads someone to cheat at the ultimate game of honor.  Along the way, we hear some of the wackiest cheating stories ever recorded, as submitted by listeners. Fingers crossed none are about you.

Yes, in TGJ No. 14, Coyne chronicled the hellish battles he and four others had with substance abuse and how golf in a sober league became an unexpectedly vital part of their journeys to recovery. But in this pod, it's clear that busting each other’s chops is also a big part of it. In a surprisingly funny and hopeful conversation, Coyne and two members of the league discuss golf’s longtime kinship with alcohol, their own roads to sobriety and why a sense of humor helps too. Because hey, it’s a lot easier to play 36 a day when you’re not hungover.

What are you left with after 19 years as a communications executive for the PGA Tour’s biggest events? A jukebox of epic tales ranging from the parking-lot chase with Tiger at Doral, a front row seat for the Keegan Bradley-Miguel Angel Jiminez greenside clash, and a late night meal at an Atlanta Waffle House where he shared a special drink with a stranger the night Arnold Palmer passed. TGJ Editor Travis Hill sits down with Chris Reimer to press play on his career with the Tour, and how it led to his piece in TGJ No. 14: A trip to King Island, golf’s next great bucket list destination.

Nashville-based singer-songwriter Ben Rector writes from a place of vulnerability, forming a bond with his fans by letting them behind the curtain. And while he and host Tom Coyne have just recently met, they sound very much like old friends on this episode. During their conversation, Rector discusses the best places to peg it on tour, golf in the Nashville music scene, life as an independent artist and adds his expert opinion on one of golf’s hot-button issues: music on the golf course.

College football fans know the legendary writing, podcasting and Twitter rants of Spencer Hall. But what does he know about golf? Just enough to be dangerous. Hall joins TGJ Editor Travis Hill to discuss his story in TGJ No. 14 about Ray Ray Whitley, a virtual golfer Hall created to survive an early-quarantine sports black hole. They go on to workshop some golf takes like how Phil Mickelson is a walking hedge fund, why one in-person Masters was enough for Hall, and his belief that the Waste Management is the true U.S. Open. Much like Ray Ray, Hall gives the traditional golf establishment a much-needed cage rattling.