The Golfer's Journal Podcast

Paul Azinger has never been afraid to speak his mind or take a big swing. So when a friend asked him to consult in building a golf course on 1,100 acres of Florida ranchland, Zinger saddled up. The result? Miakka Golf Club: a bold take on the modern game shaped by three million cubic yards of sand and the same bravado that won Azinger a Ryder Cup. In this episode, he joins host Casey Bannon to unpack Miakka’s Australian-style bunke...

Nobody knows Oakmont like Bob Ford. From living off the 18th green to becoming the last club pro to qualify for a U.S. Open at his home course, Ford has been part of American championship golf for more than five decades—and now serves as the tournament’s starter. On this episode of the TGJ Podcast, he joins Tom Coyne to preview the 2025 U.S. Open and reflect on a career that stretches from furrowed bunkers in the ’70s to the first ...

He didn’t set out to become one of the most recognizable caddies on the PGA Tour, but Geno Bonnalie isn’t hiding from the spotlight. He joins host Tom Coyne to share the behind-the-scenes realities of life on the bag, including his raw reaction to Joel Dahmen’s heartbreaker in Punta Cana. Bonnalie then gets into his surprising stardom and how far he and Dahmen have come since dinners at Waffle House. He also details the pranks he p...

Rory McIlroy contains multitudes: child prodigy, global superstar, outspoken critic, Ryder Cup anchor, Grand Slam winner. In his upcoming biography Rory Land, Pulitzer-nominated author Timothy Gay tries to make sense of them all. In this episode, he joins host Tom Coyne to unpack McIlroy’s career: the youthful dominance, the swing admired by Tiger Woods, the decade-long major drought and the emotional weight of being golf’s unoffic...

Nearly 30 years ago, Tom Pashley mailed a box of grass seed and sand to the Pinehurst resort in the hopes of landing an internship. Today, he sits in the president’s office at the cradle of American golf. His mission is to steer one of golf’s most storied properties into an ambitious future—without losing sight of its roots. On this episode, Pashley sits down with host Casey Bannon at The Cradle during a Broken Tee Society Tour sto...

Today, we’re not chasing great. We’re chasing all-time, pantheon, tell-your-grandkids-about-it great. But how do you decide who belongs in that rare air? In this episode, author and golf writer Michael Arkush joins Tom Coyne to unpack The Golf 100, his bold new book ranking the game’s greatest players. From icons like Jack and Tiger to overlooked names like John Ball and Joyce Wethered, Arkush details the scoring system he created ...

This is part five of a five-part TGJ Podcast series which chronicles the origin, evolution and inner-workings of The Masters. The series is voiced by David Owen and based on his best-selling book, The Making of the Masters.

Part 5: As its founders begin to decline, the mythology around The Masters only grows stronger

The Masters is paused and Augusta National is forced to become self-sufficient in the wake of World War II. In the 19...

This is part four of a five-part TGJ Podcast series which chronicles the origin, evolution and inner-workings of The Masters. The series is voiced by David Owen and based on his best-selling book, The Making of the Masters.

Part 4: The evolution of the Masters broadcast 

In the mid-1950s, the Masters innovates by partnering with CBS to broadcast the tournament on national television. As is the case with everything at Augusta, chairm...

This is part three of a five-part TGJ Podcast series which chronicles the origin, evolution and inner-workings of The Masters. The series is voiced by David Owen and based on his best-selling book, The Making of the Masters.

Part 3: The Augusta National Invitational Tournament is formed

By 1934, Augusta National is struggling to attract new members and raise the necessary funds to execute the club’s vision. With this in mind, the fi...

This is part two of a five-part TGJ Podcast series which chronicles the origin, evolution and inner-workings of The Masters. The series is voiced by David Owen and based on his best-selling book, The Making of the Masters.

Part 2: A deep dive into the design and strategy of Augusta National’s routing

Thanks to his renowned designs at Cypress Point and Pasatiempo, Dr. Alister MacKenzie is hired to build Bobby Jones and Clifford Rober...

This is part one of a five-part TGJ Podcast series which chronicles the origin, evolution and inner-workings of The Masters. The series is voiced by David Owen and based on his best-selling book, The Making of the Masters.

Part 1: Clifford Roberts’ rise to power at Augusta National

Until he met Bobby Jones, Clifford Roberts was a former traveling suit salesman and modest investor who was still grappling with the tragic loss of h...

In the mid-1990s, Augusta National approached author David Owen about a book project to preserve the legacy of its founder Clifford Roberts. Owen agreed, under one condition: During his reporting he could play the course as much as he liked. The club allowed it, and Owen’s book, The Making of the Masters, has since become one of the definitive histories of the tournament. It chronicles the beginnings, inner-workings and evolutions ...

The reason you struggle with bad habits or anxiety doesn't stem from a lack of willpower—it's likely because you aren't hacking your brain properly. From daily routines to anxious tendencies, many of our behaviors seem beyond our control, but psychiatrist and neuroscientist Dr. Judson Brewer has the answers for finding more agency in our minds. Brewer, the Director of Research and Innovation at Brown University’s Mindfulness Center...

Willy Wilcox had the ball-striking to compete on the PGA Tour, but behind every 300-yard drive was a painful secret—a crippling addiction that caused his career and life to spiral. For years, he turned to painkillers while on the course to combat severe performance anxiety, playing tournament rounds under the weight of Percocet and heroin. In a raw conversation with host Tom Coyne, Wilcox opens up about how the highs of cashing che...

Not all polos are created equal, and neither are the brands behind them. On the latest TGJ Podcast, Tom Coyne visits Holderness & Bourne HQ in New York to sit down with co-founders Alex Holderness and John Bourne—two Yale grads who traded Wall Street for the Garment District with no prior fashion experience and a relentless drive to make the perfect polo. Alex and John share their advice for turning an idea into a physical prod...

He left a promising junior golf career to chase the rockstar dream, and it came true. Cam Avery has played bass for Tame Impala for the last decade while also producing solo records and playing alongside big-time acts like Arctic Monkeys. Now Avery is back playing competitive golf and documenting his journey along the way. He joins Mind Game to discuss the grind of the music business, not being able to read sheet music, the Venn di...

Enough about LIV and distance rules and slow play. It’s time for golf’s real burning questions: Why did Happy Gilmore qualify for the Tour after winning an 18-hole local in Waterbury? How did Roy McAvoy backspin a 3-wood off the green into the water? And is Caddyshack really the greatest golf movie of all time? We sit down with author Kyle Bandujo to discuss his book Movies with Balls, in which he and artist Rick Bryson apply true-...

Steven Pressfield spent 20 years writing and pitching books to publishers without success. His breakthrough came in 1995 withThe Legend of Bagger Vance. Five years later, he releasedThe War of Art, a bestseller that introduced the concept of resistance—a mysterious force that hinders us from doing our work and realizing our potential. Whether exploring the greatest golf match that never happened, the nature of creativity, the path ...

Mary Kate Morrissey is seeing green. You might think playing Elphaba in the stage production of Wicked seven times a week would leave little time for golf, but Mary Kate (or MK to her friends) is more golf mad than most Broadway leads. Whether it be weekly indoor lessons or trips to warmer golf locales, golf has cast a real-life spell over the most famous witch in town. In this conversation with fellow Philadelphian Tom Coyne, MK d...