The Fire Pit Podcast

After over 2,000 miles in 15 days, 12 courses, 50 Guinness, two goats, one trophy, a car ferry, spectacular cliffs, a dire wolf, a giant's causeway and lobstering in a mini wooden skiff, several members of the Fire Pit Collective get together to reflect on Covid, camaraderie, culture and the craic on the island of Ireland. You'll hear from dignitaries, tournament directors, directors of golf, course owners, and we talk architects, value and the two new shiny pennies in the North, which are going to be worth their weight in gold to everything that's happening around them. (Especially Carne and Cruit Island.) Get in the huddle of a Gaelic football match, hear the punchline to a joke and listen to some Irish folk music as we're going over an hour on an itinerary that included six of Golf Digest's 100 Greatest in the World, two that will be there soon and several others that were built by shovel. And those were the ones that we'll never shake from our adventurous souls.  Visit the The Fire Pit Collective to check out everything we are doing.Use promo Firepit25 at Linksoul.com for 25% off your next Linksoul order.Dream Golf GiveawayGot a comment about this story or a tip on a story we should track down?You can reach me on Twitter (@mattginella) or on Instagram (@matt_ginella).For bonus visuals and some behind the scenes of The Fire Pit podcast production, go to The Fire Pit YouTube Channel. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The U.S. Amateur or the Walker Cup were always the Holy Grails,” says Josh Lesnik, President of Kemper Sports, who manages Bandon Dunes. Lesnik was also the first General Manager of the resort, where he started in his late-20s, and was literally in on the sand floor. “But to be honest, we never really thought about hosting anything like that until Mike Davis took a look and liked it. That’s a big part of this,” says Lesnik. “Mike Davis came out early, and the fact that he liked what he saw, that pushed it over the top for the USGA.”Now here it is, July of 2021, roughly 25 years into the development of Bandon, and news just broke that not only is Mike Keiser looking to develop a sixth 18-hole course, another short course and a putting course, but that the USGA will be bringing 13 amateur championships in the next 24 years, which includes a Walker Cup, two more U.S. Amateurs, three Women’s Amateurs, a Curtis Cup and four U.S. Juniors, two boy’s and two girl’s. “I never dreamed Bandon Dunes would be as popular as it is,” Keiser said on Tuesday evening, just before he sat down to dinner with one of his granddaughters. “That popularity enables us to have these tournaments.” And it also frees him up to build more courses and lodging. In this episode, Matt Ginella, Alan Shipnuck and Colt Knedler discuss all that’s on the horizon for one of the greatest pure golf destinations in the world. Visit the The Fire Pit Collective to check out everything we are doing.Use promo Firepit25 at Linksoul.com for 25% off your next Linksoul order.Got a comment about this story or a tip on a story we should track down?You can reach me on Twitter (@mattginella) or on Instagram (@matt_ginella).For bonus visuals and some behind the scenes of The Fire Pit podcast production, go to The Fire Pit YouTube Channel. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One more time around the block as we get reflections and observations on what was one of the greatest comebacks in the history of the Amateur Championship. Both competitors, their dads and a girlfriend, we heard from two announcers and Tom Bailey, who, over a chance encounter in December, set Laird Shepherd on a path to a life-altering adventure. But then there’s Monty Scowsill, who taught us all about sportsmanship and class as he set his own anguish aside and consoled the champion. This is a story that’s so much more than just an incredible comeback.Special thanks to the R&A for their help from across the pond.Visit the The Fire Pit Collective to check out everything we are doing.Use promo Firepit25 at Linksoul.com for 25% off your next Linksoul order.Got a comment about this story or a tip on a story we should track down?You can reach me on Twitter (@mattginella) or on Instagram (@matt_ginella).For bonus visuals and some behind the scenes of The Fire Pit podcast production, go to The Fire Pit YouTube Channel. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you’re just joining us, we’re about to tee off on the first tee at Nairn Golf Club in Scotland. It’s a Saturday afternoon in mid-June, it’s the finals of the 126th playing of the British Amateur Championship in which two underdogs, who’ve both overcome adversity and physical issues getting here, are about to finish things off. Monty Scowsill, who made six birdies in the morning, is 7-up on Laird Shepherd, who didn’t make any birdies and didn’t win his first hole of the day until the last hole of the morning round. Which made for a somber sandwich. But there’s nothing more dangerous than a talented competitor who’s so far down, it frees them up to swing freely and play aggressively. It’s never over until it’s over.Special thanks to the R&A for their help from across the pond.Visit the The Fire Pit Collective to check out everything we are doing.Use promo Firepit25 at Linksoul.com for 25% off your next Linksoul order.Got a comment about this story or a tip on a story we should track down?You can reach me on Twitter (@mattginella) or on Instagram (@matt_ginella).For bonus visuals and some behind the scenes of The Fire Pit podcast production, go to The Fire Pit YouTube Channel. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We collected over nine voices and 12 hours of interviews on the twists and turns of the 2021 Amateur Championship at Nairn Golf Club in Scotland. We track the path of Laird Shepherd and Monty Scowsill as they chase their dream of winning one of the most storied championships in golf. At halftime of the 36-hole final, Shepherd is 7-down. Is there still hope? It would take a miracle.Special thanks to the R&A for their help from across the pond.Visit the The Fire Pit Collective to check out everything we are doing.Use promo Firepit25 at Linksoul.com for 25% off your next Linksoul order.Got a comment about this story or a tip on a story we should track down?You can reach me on Twitter (@mattginella) or on Instagram (@matt_ginella).For bonus visuals and some behind the scenes of The Fire Pit podcast production, go to The Fire Pit YouTube Channel. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The British Amateur Championship is one of the oldest and greatest events in golf. The first, in 1885, was played at Hoylake in England.  Bobby Jones won the British Amateur in 1930 in what was then considered a part of his Grand Slam of championships. Other notable winners include Sir Michael Bonallack, who won it five times, Joe Carr, the great Irish Amateur, who won it three times, Jose Maria Olazabal in 1984, and Sergio Garcia in 1998. Runner-ups include Colin Montgomerie, Trevor Immelman and Tommy Fleetwood. You like the stories of Monday Qualifiers who get a spot in a PGA Tour event? Then you’ll love the fact that the winner of the British Amateur Championship gets a spot in the Open Championship, the Masters, the US Open, a European Tour event and a five-year exemption into the US Amateur. The 2021 British Amateur Championship would be played at Nairn Golf Club in Scotland on the same weekend as the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines. Here at the Fire Pit Collective, the team had assembled to meet and greet, brainstorm story ideas. Colt Knedler jumped in: “Have you guys heard about the incredible comeback at the British Amateur?” We have now.   Special thanks to the R&A for their help from across the pond.   Visit the The Fire Pit Collective to check out everything we are doing. Use promo Firepit25 at Linksoul.com for 25% off your next Linksoul order. Got a comment about this story or a tip on a story we should track down? You can reach me on Twitter (@mattginella) or on Instagram (@matt_ginella). For bonus visuals and some behind the scenes of The Fire Pit podcast production, go to The Fire Pit YouTube Channel.    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So, by now, if you’re listening to this particular podcast, I’m going to assume you’ve either read or watched the Hayden Springer story on TheFirePitCollective.com. If you haven’t, I strongly suggest you read the story, which was written by Ryan French, and then watch the story, which was produced by Ben Van Hook, shot by Henry Lynk, and edited by Adam Showen. As you all probably know by now, The Fire Pit Collective’s first hire was Ryan French and I’m not shocked by his relentless delivery of compelling observations on aspiring Tour pros.And when he sent in his first draft of the Hayden Springer story, I couldn’t believe what I was reading. And it’s not just that Sage Springer took that first breath and then so many more. Or that while Sage is surviving, Hayden was qualifying for the U.S. Open. Or that Emma lives and works as a nurse all day every day to make both the surviving and qualifying possible. And it goes even deeper than they do it all with such ease and selfless grace. For me, it’s also about the fact that I’m a parent. That our son had complications at birth and if it wasn’t for the staff at the Winnie Palmer Hospital in Orlando, he wouldn’t be alive today. So, it’s all of that. Which is why, when watching the story produced by Ben Van Hook, my wife and I sobbed. But it was an oddly good cry. An, “I’m happy for them,” cry. As French said to me: “You think it’s supposed to be a sad story, but it’s not.” That’s the true miracle here. It’s that they’re all refusing sadness, that Sage is denying death, and that with dad on the bag and the whole family in the crowd this week at Torrey, Hayden could win the whole damn thing.So, with that, I recently spoke to French and Van Hook about how they reported their stories and asked that they share their perspectives on why this story matters to them. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Alan Shipnuck has covered Phil Mickelson for the entirety of their careers. He was there every step of the way at the PGA Championship, including when Alan and Phil were both almost trampled in the 72nd fairway. Shipnuck brings to life an unforgettable moment in golf history with probing questions by host Matt Ginella and further thoughts from Laz Versalles, the newest member of the Fire Pit Collective. Their deep reflections on Mickelson is the perfect way to relive his thrilling victory and better understand the forces that led to Phil's unlikely renaissance.Visit the The Fire Pit Collective to check out everything we are doing.Use promo Firepit25 at Linksoul.com for 25% off your next Linksoul order.Got a comment about this story or a tip on a story we should track down?You can reach me on Twitter (@mattginella) or on Instagram (@matt_ginella).For bonus visuals and some behind the scenes of The Fire Pit podcast production, go to The Fire Pit YouTube Channel. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Here we are, almost exactly a week after Brad Hurlbut, the athletic director at Fairleigh Dickinson and member of the local NCAA Championship committee who walked down the stairs of The University Club in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, put his hand on his chest and stomped on the hearts of the assembled crowd.In Part 1, we told the story of what happened last week. In Part 2, we covered what happened after they cancelled the championship.And in Part 3, I turn to Jay Bilas, the college basketball analyst who once played and coached at Duke and is still a practicing lawyer in North Carolina. Bilas has spent the better part of his career questioning and assessing the dysfunction and flaws of the NCAA. Bilas is brilliant. I always get smarter when I spend time with him. It’s Bilas, Bones, John Smoltz and Tony Romo who are on my modern Mount Rushmore of sports analysts. Even if I don’t care about the teams or the outcome, I’ll watch for an education on the sport and what I’m seeing on the screen. In this case, I called Bilas to teach us about what we saw on those steps that day, and I wanted to get a better understanding of the National Collegiate Athletic Association.Visit the The Fire Pit Collective to check out everything we are doing.Use promo Firepit25 at Linksoul.com for 25% off your next Linksoul order.Got a comment about this story or a tip on a story we should track down?You can reach me on Twitter (@mattginella) or on Instagram (@matt_ginella).For bonus visuals and some behind the scenes of The Fire Pit podcast production, go to The Fire Pit YouTube Channel. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sam Bozoian, also known as Barstool Riggs, is the white knight who socially rode into Baton Rouge on a horse named Twitter, scooped up an assembled group of female golfers and their coaches out of the puddles of tears and broken dreams and is giving them an opportunity to finish their seasons, and in some cases, their college careers, ON the golf course. What a concept! Throughout this podcast, you’ll be hearing more from all of the players and coaches I spoke to last week to report Part 1. Most of my conversations took place on the days right after their regional was cancelled. Their thoughts on what Riggs and Barstool were trying to do to help are used throughout the Riggs interview.So, it’s Sunday night and I called Riggs as he and his Barstool squad of do-gooders were well on their way to saving the day with a consolation tournament for the teams and individuals who got run over by the NCAA, the very organization that’s supposed to provide them opportunities to be athletes. This is the story behind the LTP Classic, as in: Let Them Play!Visit the The Fire Pit Collective to check out everything we are doing.Use promo Firepit25 at Linksoul.com for 25% off your next Linksoul order.Got a comment about this story or a tip on a story we should track down?You can reach me on Twitter (@mattginella) or on Instagram (@matt_ginella).For bonus visuals and some behind the scenes of The Fire Pit podcast production, go to The Fire Pit YouTube Channel. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.