The Golfer's Journal Podcast

As a kid, Tom Valentine called Merion Golf Club “the family farm.” His grandfather tended the greens there for 52 years, and his father followed suit for another 27. Tom took a different approach, opting to leave the "farm" to develop newer and more efficient ways to care for courses. That's taken him across the golf world, but his heart still belongs to Merion. Dig in learn more about our playing surfaces, an encounter with Albert Einstein, and a secret modification to Merion's famed 11th green. 

The brain processes roughly 70,000 thoughts per day. With 100 billion neurons connected nearly 500 trillion different ways, it’s without question the most important club in your bag. So as we continue The Index Experiment, it’s vital to examine the mind’s role in playing better golf. In this new podcast series, we’ll hear from high performers, academics and experts across a wide range of disciplines, all offering mental models, hacks and insights to help in your search for improvement.  On the first installment of this new TGJ Podcast series, host Casey Bannon speaks with Dr. Mark Lowry—a clinical psychologist who began his career in the Army where he evaluated, assessed and coached elite special operations aviators. In this fascinating conversation we learn about Lowry’s work with top CEOs to Olympians, where his “three C’s” method produces mind-bending results.  This podcast is 100% reader-supported thanks to the Broken Tee Society. Become a member here: https://glfrsj.nl/MembershipsYT Casey Bannon: https://twitter.com/CaseyFBannon Dr. Mark Lowry: https://thewinningmind.com/

Gambling legend Billy Walters joins host Tom Coyne to discuss his upcoming book and his remarkable golf life. They talk about his friendship with Phil Mickelson, $100 million in losses, a $400,000 Ryder Cup wager, and Walters' conviction for insider trading violations. They also delve into golf hustlers and cheaters in Las Vegas, a troubled encounter at Rancho Santa Fe, and Walters' transformation in prison where he helped other inmates. The podcast explores Walters' passion for helping convicts and his collaboration with Senator Harry Reid.

The Golfer's Journal Podcast is made possibly by member support .If you enjoyed this episode, please consider becoming a member here. As host of Golf Channel’s Morning Drive from 2011 until its final episode in December 2020, Gary Williams cemented his place as one of golf’s most recognizable voices. He joins host Tom Coyne to take stock of a golf life spanning from Ridgewood to Wyoming to Seminole and beyond. Williams talks candidly about his sobriety, and shares hilarious stories about interning for Senator Joe Biden and an unforgettable flight aboard Air Bear with Jack and Arnold. The Golfer's Journal Podcast is presented by Titleist.

Welcome back to Re-Teed—the show that relieves some of golf’s most memorable tournaments. This time around, Editor Travis Hill reminisces on the chaos that was the 2017 Open at Royal Birkdale which, for him, included birthday cake shots, Wrigley Field and life-changing news. For Jordan Spieth, it included one of the strangest rulings in golf history and some demon slaying down the stretch. We re-tee it all on this episode, plus Travis catches up with friend-of-the-program D.J. Piehowski in an attempt to fully understand what happens on "Spieth Island."

Joe McDonnell has always known good golf. He grew up in Hoylake and has been a member of Royal Liverpool since he was a young lad. Today, McDonnell is changing the way the industry thinks and looks at golf holes. Using state-of-the-art topography technology, 3D graphics and an artist’s touch, McDonnell’s hyper-detailed renderings of golf holes land somewhere between golf course architecture and modern art—and we’re proud to feature them in the “Yardage Book” department of The Golfer’s Journal. The man from Hoylake joins host Tom Coyne to give us a brief history of the land at Royal Liverpool, why first-time players may sleep on the golf course, what we can expect at the 2023 Open Championship, the process behind his art and some of his favorite golf holes in the world. 

The Golfer's Journal is made possible by member support. If you'd like to support the show, please consider becoming a member. What’s left after playing and writing your way through Ireland, Scotland and America? For TGJ Senior Editor Tom Coyne, it's settling down and falling in love with a golf course that needs some. Alongside his new superintendent Shaun Smith, Tom details how he became the owner of Sullivan County Golf Club in Liberty, NY, how they’re turning it around, and how it all ties into his next book, A Course Called Home. Learn more about how you can support Sullivan County Golf Club here. The Golfer's Journal Podcast is presented by Titleist, the #1 ball in golf.

The Golfer's Journal Podcast is made possible by member support. If you'd like to support the show, please consider becoming a member here: https://glfrsj.nl/Memberships Geoff Shackelford has written extensively on golf course architecture throughout the years and has consulted for Los Angeles Country Club on course modifications, making him the ideal guest for 2023 U.S. Open week. Shackelford joins Tom Coyne for a candid chat on his new book, Golf Course Architecture for Normal People, how to take GCA seriously without being a snob, and what to expect when the world's best take on LACC.  Geoff Shackelford: https://www.geoffshackelford.com/ Tom Coyne: https://www.tomcoyne.com/

Friend-of-the-program David McLay-Kidd makes his return to the TGJ Podcast from the site of his highly-anticipated next project: Dormie Network’s GrayBull in the Nebraska Sandhills. The world-renowned architect known for his work at Bandon Dunes, Gamble Sands and Sand Valley joins Tom Coyne to discuss the wide array of course builds he’s currently undertaking, the new course boom, how water works, how new projects come about, how the pandemic affected his business, Ruby Tuesday vs. Applebees and much more.

What does it take to be the best in the world? Or maybe just better than yesterday? If anyone knows it’s Cameron McCormick—Jordan Spieth’s swing coach for the last 18 years and one of the game’s most respected instructors. Host Tom Coyne recently paid McCormick a visit at his performance center at Trinity Forest Golf Club where they discussed the mindset of elite players, the power of forgiving yourself before a bad shot, Tom’s personal Index Experiment and what 12-year-old Jordan Speith was like. Cameron McCormick: https://www.instagram.com/cmccormickgolf/ Tom Coyne: https://twitter.com/coynewriter The Golfer's Journal Podcast is made possible by member support. If you'd like to support the show, please consider becoming a member here: https://glfrsj.nl/Memberships The Golfer's Journal podcast is presented by Titleist