The Fried Egg Golf Podcast

In September 1989, a devastating hurricane hit South Carolina. Directly in its path was Kiawah Island, where Pete Dye had just begun to build a new golf course. And this wasn't just any course: in two years, it was supposed to host the Ryder Cup. To kick off the second season of Fried Egg Stories, we dig into drama behind the making of the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island, host of next week's PGA Championship. Season two of Fried Egg Stories is presented by Precision Pro Golf. This episode was produced by Garrett Morrison, co-hosted by Andy Johnson, and mixed by J Vierck. Thanks to Meg Adkins for transcript help, and to Troy Miller for connecting us with several interviewees.

Golf architect Scot Sherman joins Andy Johnson to discuss recent renovation work at the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island for the 2021 PGA Championship. Scot talks about how being at the Ocean Course has brought his career full circle, and he explains some of the magic behind Pete Dye's design. He and Andy then dig into another recent project: along with Davis Love III and Mark Love, Scot completed an ambitious renovation of the municipal Belmont Golf Course in Richmond, Virginia. The work included a restoration of 12 of A.W. Tillinghast's original holes and a new six-hole short course and driving range for the First Tee of Richmond.

Last week, the Fried Egg team went on a whirlwind tour of California, and in this episode Andy and Garrett break down the highlights. First they discuss Soule Park, host of the Fried Egg's Boomerang event and one of the best public courses on the West Coast. They then talk about two storied championship venues that you'll soon see on TV: San Francisco's Olympic Club and San Diego's Torrey Pines, upcoming sites of the U.S. Women's Open and the U.S. Open, respectively. Andy and Garrett dig into the undeniable strengths of these courses as well as their substantial weaknesses.

A common knock on golf courses is that they're bad for the environment. But that's an over-simplified view—and in some cases, a flat-out incorrect one. With Earth Day coming up, we thought it was time to sort through these issues with an expert, so Garrett Morrison sat down with Dr. Cole Thompson, the Assistant Director of Green Section Research at the USGA. In this episode, Garrett and Cole dig into current USGA-funded research on golf course sustainability, address a few popular criticisms of golf's ecological impact, and discuss how golf courses can become more environmentally beneficial and sustainable.

For the past decade, Sean Martin, senior editor at PGA Tour.com, has been covering Hideki Matsuyama's career with more depth and nuance than any other golf writer. So who better than him to sit down with Andy Johnson and review Matsuyama's triumph at the 2021 Masters? Sean and Andy discuss the action down the stretch at Augusta National; Hideki's backstory, personality, potential, and relationship with the press; and the story behind Sean's appreciation of the new Masters champion's game.

Golf Channel host Shane Bacon joins Andy Johnson to discuss the upcoming Masters Tournament. Shane and Andy each run through five things they're looking forward to seeing at Augusta National this week. They touch on Jordan Spieth's reemergence, Rory McIlroy's struggles, and the predictive power of name length, among other topics. On most weeks, you can catch Shane on Golf Today, the Golf Channel show he co-hosts with Damon Hack, and Get a Grip, his podcast with PGA Tour pro Max Homa. This week, you can watch Shane not only on Golf Channel's Live from the Masters broadcast but also on Masters.com coverage of the tournament.

When the world is in disarray, what, if anything, is the role of professional sports? Specifically, what's the role of the Masters, a tournament that has always felt like an escape from everyday life? To explore those questions, Garrett Morrison talks with Curt Sampson, the author of several books on golf history. Garrett and Curt focus on the 1968 Masters, which took place at a time, like 2020, when society seemed to be unraveling. Ultimately, that edition of the tournament failed to provide the solace that many fans were seeking.  Reading material: Curt's Golf Digest essay on the town of Augusta during the 2020 Masters The Lost Masters: Grace and Disgrace in '68 The Masters: Golf, Money, and Power in Augusta, Georgia

Jim Wagner is a longtime design partner at Hanse Golf Course Design and the head of the firm’s Caveman Construction crew. With the rise of the design-build approach in golf course architecture, Jim’s on-the-ground knowledge is more relevant than ever. He took some time away from an in-progress build at Jonathan’s Landing in Florida to chat with Andy Johnson about working with contractors, mentoring shapers, crafting contours, and staying hands-on as the Hanse name gets bigger. They also touch on new projects at PGA Frisco and West Palm Beach.

Jim Huntoon is the golf course superintendent at the Heritage Club in the Myrtle Beach area and a contributor to the Carolinas Golf Course Superintendents Association. In this installment of our Superintendent Series, Jim speaks with Andy about finding creativity in his daily routine, the impact of the pandemic on his operation, his memories of Mike Strantz, and the best spots (for golf and other activities) in the Myrtle Beach area. The Superintendent Series is brought to you by the Toro Company.

For many people, golf course rankings published by major magazines provide an introduction to golf course architecture. They communicate the basic notion that some courses might (or should) be considered "greater" than others. Since 1996, Jonathan Cummings has served on one of the panels responsible for those rankings. Last year, he gathered up his tremendous knowledge about the rating process and published it in the form of a book, The Rating Game. He and Garrett Morrison discuss the book, the different approaches taken by the magazines to the rankings, and whether the entire course rating industry has done more harm than good. Jonathan Cummings, The Rating Game