Opinion & Analysis
8 Golf Podcasts You Should Be Listening To Right Now
Golf podcasts have been around for a while, but in recent years a number of shows with great hosts have launched, giving golfers access to new content they should definitely be checking out. These podcasts are different from the vanilla conversations you’re used to hearing on TV. They offer a behind-the-scenes look at the people driving the golf industry forward, and offer tips to lower your scores and raise your golf IQ.
Here are eight golf podcasts that stand out, which I’ve broken into two different categories: Getting Better at the Game, and Talking About the Game.
Getting Better at the Game
The Mindside
The mental game is a big part of playing great golf, and the Mindside brings information and interviews from host Dr. Bhrett McCabe, a sports psychologist who works with PGA and LPGA tour players. It covers a lot of different topics, many outside golf, while discussing what it takes for people to perform at the highest level. Dr. Bhrett always brings a great perspective, no matter who the guest is, and offers advice that can be easily applied.
Length: 20-40 minutes
Subscribe: iTunes
Website: themindside.com
Coach Glass Podcast
Jason Glass is a coach for players on every tour and head of the Titleist Performance Institute’s Fitness Advisory Board.
His podcast offers an unfiltered look at fitness, which take place in solo rants that are not to be missed. There are also fantastic interviews with guests such as Dr. Greg Rose, Kelly Starrett, Lance Gil, and more.
Length: 30-40 minutes
Subscribe: iTunes
Website: jasonglassperformancelab.com
18 Strong
Physical therapist Jeff Pelizzaro talks about far more than just strength and fitness in the 18 Strong podcast. The focus of the podcast and the corresponding website is to help golfers train harder, practice smarter and improve their games.
Pelizzaro has had incredible guests, including Pia Nilsson, Lynn Marriott, Tim Mickelson, Lance Gil, Damon Goddard and many more who talk about playing better golf in a casual setting.
Length: 40-50 minutes
Subscribe: iTunes
Website: 18strong.com
Golf Science Lab
I happen to host this show, so I’m a little partial. Think NPR, mashed up with some incredible golf education you probably haven’t heard before. The Golf Science Lab is highly produced, and features discussions with researchers and golf coaches to help golfers play better and understand the realities of actually improving their games.
Don’t get intimidated by the name. This is research you should know about, made simple on every show.
Length: 15-25 minutes
Subscribe: iTunes
Website: golfsciencelab.com
Talking About the Game
Shack House
A relatively new show with Joe House and Geoff Shackelford offers a great perspective on the PGA Tour. Production quality, guests and topics are all top notch, and make this one a must-hear.
One of the podcast’s recent shows with guest Patrick Reed is definitely worth a listen.
Length: 50-70 minutes
Subscribe: iTunes
Golf Digest Podcast
Golf Digest’s podcast inlcudes some of the best guests in the industry. Everyone from Jordan Spieth to Gary Player has joined Alex Meyers on the show over the past few months.
If you think you’d enjoy non-traditional golf conversations with some of the most notable people in the golf world, then this is the podcast for you.
Length: 20-40 minutes
Subscribe: iTunes
No Laying Up
If you like the No Laying Up Twitter feed (click here to read GolfWRX’s Q&A with No Laying Up) and website, make sure to tune into the podcast.
Its guests probably aren’t going to be on other podcasts, as it takes a irreverent and fresh look at golf and the PGA Tour.
Length: 35 – 70 minutes
Subscribe: iTunes
Website: nolayingup.com
Golf.com Podcast
Hosted by Golf.com editors Alan Bastable and Sean Zak, this podcast talks to PGA Tour players, commentators and other people of interest in the golf world.
Length: 20-40 minutes
Subscribe: iTunes
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19th Hole
Vincenzi’s 2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans betting preview
The PGA TOUR heads to New Orleans to play the 2023 Zurich Classic of New Orleans. In a welcome change from the usual stroke play, the Zurich Classic is a team event. On Thursday and Saturday, the teams play best ball, and on Friday and Sunday the teams play alternate shot.
TPC Louisiana is a par 72 that measures 7,425 yards. The course features some short par 4s and plenty of water and bunkers, which makes for a lot of exciting risk/reward scenarios for competitors. Pete Dye designed the course in 2004 specifically for the Zurich Classic, although the event didn’t make its debut until 2007 because of Hurricane Katrina.
Coming off of the Masters and a signature event in consecutive weeks, the field this week is a step down, and understandably so. Many of the world’s top players will be using this time to rest after a busy stretch.
However, there are some interesting teams this season with some stars making surprise appearances in the team event. Some notable teams include Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele, Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry, Collin Morikawa and Kurt Kitayama, Will Zalatoris and Sahith Theegala as well as a few Canadian teams, Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin and Taylor Pendrith and Corey Conners.
Past Winners at TPC Louisiana
- 2023: Riley/Hardy (-30)
- 2022: Cantlay/Schauffele (-29)
- 2021: Leishman/Smith (-20)
- 2019: Palmer/Rahm (-26)
- 2018: Horschel/Piercy (-22)
- 2017: Blixt/Smith (-27)
2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans Picks
Tom Hoge/Maverick McNealy +2500 (DraftKings)
Tom Hoge is coming off of a solid T18 finish at the RBC Heritage and finished T13 at last year’s Zurich Classic alongside Harris English.
This season, Hoge is having one of his best years on Tour in terms of Strokes Gained: Approach. In his last 24 rounds, the only player to top him on the category is Scottie Scheffler. Hoge has been solid on Pete Dye designs, ranking 28th in the field over his past 36 rounds.
McNealy is also having a solid season. He’s finished T6 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open and T9 at the PLAYERS Championship. He recently started working with world renowned swing coach, Butch Harmon, and its seemingly paid dividends in 2024.
Keith Mitchell/Joel Dahmen +4000 (DraftKings)
Keith Mitchell is having a fantastic season, finishing in the top-20 of five of his past seven starts on Tour. Most recently, Mitchell finished T14 at the Valero Texas Open and gained a whopping 6.0 strokes off the tee. He finished 6th at last year’s Zurich Classic.
Joel Dahmen is having a resurgent year and has been dialed in with his irons. He also has a T11 finish at the PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass which is another Pete Dye track. With Mitchell’s length and Dahmen’s ability to put it close with his short irons, the Mitchell/Dahmen combination will be dangerous this week.
Taylor Moore/Matt NeSmith +6500 (DraftKings)
Taylor Moore has quickly developed into one of the more consistent players on Tour. He’s finished in the top-20 in three of his past four starts, including a very impressive showing at The Masters, finishing T20. He’s also finished T4 at this event in consecutive seasons alongside Matt NeSmith.
NeSmith isn’t having a great 2024, but has seemed to elevate his game in this format. He finished T26 at Pete Dye’s TPC Sawgrass, which gives the 30-year-old something to build off of. NeSmith is also a great putter on Bermudagrass, which could help elevate Moore’s ball striking prowess.
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19th Hole
Vincenzi’s 2024 LIV Adelaide betting preview: Cam Smith ready for big week down under
After having four of the top twelve players on the leaderboard at The Masters, LIV Golf is set for their fifth event of the season: LIV Adelaide.
For both LIV fans and golf fans in Australia, LIV Adelaide is one of the most anticipated events of the year. With 35,000 people expected to attend each day of the tournament, the Grange Golf Club will be crawling with fans who are passionate about the sport of golf. The 12th hole, better known as “the watering hole”, is sure to have the rowdiest of the fans cheering after a long day of drinking some Leishman Lager.
The Grange Golf Club is a par-72 that measures 6,946 yards. The course features minimal resistance, as golfers went extremely low last season. In 2023, Talor Gooch shot consecutive rounds of 62 on Thursday and Friday, giving himself a gigantic cushion heading into championship Sunday. Things got tight for a while, but in the end, the Oklahoma State product was able to hold off The Crushers’ Anirban Lahiri for a three-shot victory.
The Four Aces won the team competition with the Range Goats finishing second.
*All Images Courtesy of LIV Golf*
Past Winners at LIV Adelaide
- 2023: Talor Gooch (-19)
Stat Leaders Through LIV Miami
Green in Regulation
- Richard Bland
- Jon Rahm
- Paul Casey
Fairways Hit
- Abraham Ancer
- Graeme McDowell
- Henrik Stenson
Driving Distance
- Bryson DeChambeau
- Joaquin Niemann
- Dean Burmester
Putting
- Cameron Smith
- Louis Oosthuizen
- Matt Jones
2024 LIV Adelaide Picks
Cameron Smith +1400 (DraftKings)
When I pulled up the odds for LIV Adelaide, I was more than a little surprised to see multiple golfers listed ahead of Cameron Smith on the betting board. A few starts ago, Cam finished runner-up at LIV Hong Kong, which is a golf course that absolutely suits his eye. Augusta National in another course that Smith could roll out of bed and finish in the top-ten at, and he did so two weeks ago at The Masters, finishing T6.
At Augusta, he gained strokes on the field on approach, off the tee (slightly), and of course, around the green and putting. Smith able to get in the mix at a major championship despite coming into the week feeling under the weather tells me that his game is once again rounding into form.
The Grange Golf Club is another course that undoubtedly suits the Australian. Smith is obviously incredibly comfortable playing in front of the Aussie faithful and has won three Australian PGA Championship’s. The course is very short and will allow Smith to play conservative off the tee, mitigating his most glaring weakness. With birdies available all over the golf course, there’s a chance the event turns into a putting contest, and there’s no one on the planet I’d rather have in one of those than Cam Smith.
Louis Oosthuizen +2200 (DraftKings)
Louis Oosthuizen has simply been one of the best players on LIV in the 2024 seas0n. The South African has finished in the top-10 on the LIV leaderboard in three of his five starts, with his best coming in Jeddah, where he finished T2. Perhaps more impressively, Oosthuizen finished T7 at LIV Miami, which took place at Doral’s “Blue Monster”, an absolutely massive golf course. Given that Louis is on the shorter side in terms of distance off the tee, his ability to play well in Miami shows how dialed he is with the irons this season.
In addition to the LIV finishes, Oosthuizen won back-to-back starts on the DP World Tour in December at the Alfred Dunhill Championship and the Mauritus Open. He also finished runner-up at the end of February in the International Series Oman. The 41-year-old has been one of the most consistent performers of 2024, regardless of tour.
For the season, Louis ranks 4th on LIV in birdies made, T9 in fairways hit and first in putting. He ranks 32nd in driving distance, but that won’t be an issue at this short course. Last season, he finished T11 at the event, but was in decent position going into the final round but fell back after shooting 70 while the rest of the field went low. This season, Oosthuizen comes into the event in peak form, and the course should be a perfect fit for his smooth swing and hot putter this week.
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Opinion & Analysis
The Wedge Guy: What really makes a wedge work? Part 1
Of all the clubs in our bags, wedges are almost always the simplest in construction and, therefore, the easiest to analyze what might make one work differently from another if you know what to look for.
Wedges are a lot less mysterious than drivers, of course, as the major brands are working with a lot of “pixie dust” inside these modern marvels. That’s carrying over more to irons now, with so many new models featuring internal multi-material technologies, and almost all of them having a “badge” or insert in the back to allow more complex graphics while hiding the actual distribution of mass.
But when it comes to wedges, most on the market today are still single pieces of molded steel, either cast or forged into that shape. So, if you look closely at where the mass is distributed, it’s pretty clear how that wedge is going to perform.
To start, because of their wider soles, the majority of the mass of almost any wedge is along the bottom third of the clubhead. So, the best wedge shots are always those hit between the 2nd and 5th grooves so that more mass is directly behind that impact. Elite tour professionals practice incessantly to learn to do that consistently, wearing out a spot about the size of a penny right there. If impact moves higher than that, the face is dramatically thinner, so smash factor is compromised significantly, which reduces the overall distance the ball will fly.
Every one of us, tour players included, knows that maddening shot that we feel a bit high on the face and it doesn’t go anywhere, it’s not your fault.
If your wedges show a wear pattern the size of a silver dollar, and centered above the 3rd or 4th groove, you are not getting anywhere near the same performance from shot to shot. Robot testing proves impact even two to three grooves higher in the face can cause distance loss of up to 35 to 55 feet with modern ‘tour design’ wedges.
In addition, as impact moves above the center of mass, the golf club principle of gear effect causes the ball to fly higher with less spin. Think of modern drivers for a minute. The “holy grail” of driving is high launch and low spin, and the driver engineers are pulling out all stops to get the mass as low in the clubhead as possible to optimize this combination.
Where is all the mass in your wedges? Low. So, disregarding the higher lofts, wedges “want” to launch the ball high with low spin – exactly the opposite of what good wedge play requires penetrating ball flight with high spin.
While almost all major brand wedges have begun putting a tiny bit more thickness in the top portion of the clubhead, conventional and modern ‘tour design’ wedges perform pretty much like they always have. Elite players learn to hit those crisp, spinny penetrating wedge shots by spending lots of practice time learning to consistently make contact low in the face.
So, what about grooves and face texture?
Grooves on any club can only do so much, and no one has any material advantage here. The USGA tightly defines what we manufacturers can do with grooves and face texture, and modern manufacturing techniques allow all of us to push those limits ever closer. And we all do. End of story.
Then there’s the topic of bounce and grinds, the most complex and confusing part of the wedge formula. Many top brands offer a complex array of sole configurations, all of them admittedly specialized to a particular kind of lie or turf conditions, and/or a particular divot pattern.
But if you don’t play the same turf all the time, and make the same size divot on every swing, how would you ever figure this out?
The only way is to take any wedge you are considering and play it a few rounds, hitting all the shots you face and observing the results. There’s simply no other way.
So, hopefully this will inspire a lively conversation in our comments section, and I’ll chime in to answer any questions you might have.
And next week, I’ll dive into the rest of the wedge formula. Yes, shafts, grips and specifications are essential, too.
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Tiger Woods
Jan 24, 2018 at 6:05 pm
I did give them a listen and while the Golf stuff is great they give you a bit of everything, Movies , Music , Food , Travel , These guys need there own radio show. Top notch Poscast that should be heard by everyone
Greg Norman
Jan 24, 2018 at 6:02 pm
Golf need to be more fun and these Chilli Dipper guys bring the fun. New modern and most importantly entertaining, Give them a listen…
Rick Steadfast
Jan 11, 2018 at 5:28 am
Yeah i agree with Garry Handleman, I listened to The Chilli Dippers and they are a barrel of fun. They dont sound like expert golfers, but every episode is a good laugh. Great concept too, playing the top 100 public golf courses in Australia, I wish i had thought of doing that myself, little too old now.
Have a listen to The Chilli Dippers, they are short and super easy to listen to.
Garry Handleman
Jan 11, 2018 at 1:38 am
The Chilli Dippers golf pod is a ripper and should be on this list easy. Two relaxed easy going blokes playing the top 100 courses in Australia and reviewing the courses and having heaps of fun on the way
Matt
May 24, 2016 at 12:11 pm
Happen to like Golf Smarter by Fred Greene. Will say, listened to a few episodes of Golf Science Lab and really like it. Well done!!!
Bradley Lawrence
May 23, 2016 at 2:09 pm
I would throw your Golf In The Life of Podcast up there to Cordie! I can’t argue with the Mindside or the Coach Glass Podcast I listen to both of them weekly and love every second of it!
BAL
May 23, 2016 at 10:43 am
The Clubhouse with Shane Bacon is one that I would recommend.
Golf Digest podcast host can be annoying. The guests are great but the host often cuts them off to ask the next question. Seems like he is not listening to their answers and is on a mission to get through all of his notes in 15 minutes.
Ray
May 23, 2016 at 12:03 am
Hard to take anything Geoff Shackelford posts on his blog and/or podcasts seriously these days as he has become more and more corporate over the last few years. Great irony in how he is always complaining about distances the ball goes in golf and yet accepts money/sponsorship from Callaway for his podcast. Callaway has always been at the forefront of distance with their clubs and balls (I have no issue with that) yet GS looks the other way to collect a check from them. He always rags on the TM product cycles in his posts while ignoring that who he accepts money from does the exact same thing. Regardless of how he spins it his blog has become much different in content since he started taking money from Golf Digest, Callaway, NBC/Comcast and Nationwide when he “reports” on The Memorial event on video. Used to be a must read site. Shame it no longer is. I understand that he has every right to monetize his site but in doing so he has become what he rails against. Whether he realizes it or not.
Adrian
May 22, 2016 at 8:56 pm
One great podcast for the golf nerds is “State Of The Game” By Mike Clayton, Geoff Shackleford and Rod Morri. They have guests like Geoff Ogilvy, Jaime Diaz, Grant Waite, Jay Blasi etc. Each episode goes for around an hour and Clayts has no hesistation in talking about Seve and accusing Frank Nobilo of cheating…… to his face…….. on air.
Double Mocha Man
May 22, 2016 at 8:21 pm
All available through iTunes. Sorry, I’m an Android guy… don’t need no stinkin’ golf podcasts. Android folks are the better golfers… usually shooting in the 70’s with single digit handicaps.
QC
May 31, 2016 at 1:27 pm
I’m on android and they were all there.
Matt
May 22, 2016 at 12:55 pm
You guys missed the best golf podcast out there. Golf Weekly…
Golf Weekly by Newstalk 106-108 fm
https://itun.es/us/MEVAD.c