The Back of the Range

Austin Cook, PGA rookie and winner of the 2017 RSM Classic, joins us this week at The Back of the Range Golf Podcast!  After an amazing career at the University of Arkansas, Austin rose up the ranks on the mini-tours, found great success at Monday Qualifiers, and won in only his 4th event as a full-time member of the PGA Tour.  Great stories and candid opinions from one of the top-ranked...

Our very special guest this week is Gene Elliott.  After winning the George C. Thomas Invitational in Los Angeles recently, Gene is now the #1 Ranked Senior Amateur in the country!  Gene shared some great stories from amazing Iowa Hall of Fame career, working with Harmon and Leadbetter, and his 29 USGA appearances!     Links   Elliott Equipment Company Iowa Golf Assoc...

We had the incredible honor to speak with the living legend of golf instruction, Bob Toski, last month.  He welcomed us into his home for an afternoon of incredible golf stories.  Mr. Toski had a story about Hogan, Snead, Hagen, and Bobby Jones!  At 91 years old, he is truly one of the greats!   Links   Bob Toski - Website   Subscribe to The Back of the Range Subscrib...

It's U.S. Open week and our guest this week is Joe Buck.  He will anchor the coverage for along with Paul Azinger, Brad Faxon, and the entire FOX Sports crew.  Joe spoke about his career and his thoughts on covering the game of golf....especially the U.S. Open.  A very fun and candid interview with the voice of the U.S. Open!   Links   Joe Buck on Twitter Joe's Autobiograp...

This week's guest is Ryan Howison from Jupiter, Florida.  After battling shoulder injuries as the starting third baseman for the University of North Carolina Tarheels, he decided to take a shot at professional golf.  Ryan competed all over the world and played on the Web.com Tour and PGA Tour during the 90s and early 2000s.  He told some amazing stories from his time as a profe...

Our guest this week is Mike Weeks from West Palm Beach, Florida.  As we inch closer to this year's U.S. Open, it's the perfect time to catch up with Mike and hear his stories from playing in three U.S. Opens.  From practice rounds with Seve and Faldo to winning a sectional playoff in front of Jack Nicklaus....this episode really does have it all.     Links   Bear Lake...

Our very special guest this week is Steve Burkowski.  Steve joined Golf Channel in  2000,  and currently serves as an interviewer and reporter for the PGA TOUR and Web.com Tour, as well as a studio host for Golf Channel’s European Tour coverage.   In addition to his on-air responsibilities for the game’s professional tours, Burkowski is instrumental in the network’s covera...

Our guest this week is Tom Lawrence.  He is the Executive Director of The First Tee program in Central Florida.   In this episode, Tom shares some great stories about Arnold Palmer, the great work The First Tee does for today's youth, and importantly....the best way to get kids involved in the game of golf.     Links   The First Tee - Central Florida The First Te...

Our guest this week is Steve Carter from St. Augustine, Florida.  After winning a national championship at the University of North Florida, Steve made a brief run at professional golf before regaining his amateur status.  As an amateur, he has made numerous USGA appearances at historic courses like Pebble Beach and Oakmont.  He is currently the President of the Florida State Golf As...

The second half of our special two-part, in-depth interview with Greg O'Mahony.  Greg O'Mahony was a 3-time NCAA All-American at Nova Southeastern University in Davie, Florida.  He's in the Top 10 in career earnings on the Minor League Golf Tour and qualified for his hometown PGA Tour event: The 2011 Honda Classic.  Greg shared stories from his worldwide pursuit to make it to the bi...

The first part of our special two-part, in-depth interview with Greg O'Mahony.  Greg O'Mahony was a 3-time NCAA All-American at Nova Southeastern University in Davie, Florida.  He's in the Top 10 in career earnings on the Minor League Golf Tour and qualified for his hometown PGA Tour event: The 2011 Honda Classic.  Greg shared stories from his worldwide pursuit to make it to the big...

This week's guest, our first from "across the pond", is Douglas Waugh from Edinburgh, Scotland.  We met Douglas in St. Andrews in 2016 on the golf course during the Eden Tournament and we've kept in touch ever since.  An excellent player, multiple-time club champion at Baberton Golf Club, Douglas shared some great stories about The Open championship, golf in the UK, and the Ryder Cup.&nb...

This week's guest is Hannah Gregg. As a native of California, she spent some time playing at Sonoma State before transferring to the University of Nevada. She is wrapping up her collegiate career and moving on to the pro ranks, so we wanted to catch up with her and talk about her future plans. Great episode, fun conversation, and we also discuss the relationship between golf and social media. Link...

We visit this week with Marc Dull from Lakeland, Florida. Marc was one win away from playing in the 2016 Masters. He was a finalist in the 2015 US Mid AM and is the reigning Florida State Amateur Player of the Year. He was also a semifinalist with his Four-Ball partner Chip Brooke in the 2017 US Four Ball. Marc is absolutely a one-of-a-kind person and player and he shared some great stories.....so...

This week’s guest is Chip Brooke from Bartow, Florida and we covered a ton of topics. We spoke about his time playing on the mini-tours in California, we spoke about his time caddying at Bandon Dunes and Streamsong, and we also got around to talking about his days playing in college. He has found success in recent years on the state and national level as a mid-amateur. He is the 2016 Florida State...

Marisa Messana joins us this week at The Back of the Range! As a member of Clemson University's Women's Golf Team, she provides senior leadership through her play on the course and her work in the classroom as well. She is a Three-Time ACC Academic Honor Roll recipient and led her team to their first National Championship in 2017. Links Marisa Messana - Instagram Clemson Women's Golf Subscribe to...

Peter Dachisen joins us this week at The Back of the Range Golf Podcast. As a PGA Tour Rules Official, Peter spends his time inside the ropes at PGA Tour events officiating the best players in the world. Peter is also an accomplished amateur having won the Gasparilla Invitational FIVE times and holding the tournament single-round record of 62. Links Gasparilla Invitational Subscribe to The Back of...

Ashley Burke joins us this week to talk about her journey into professional golf and her goals of reaching the LPGA. She participated in three US Women's Amateur Championships and was an All-Conference selection at the University of South Florida. Ashley was also our "international correspondent" when she was down in Chile for the Latin America Amateur Championship. She has some fun stories to sha...

A fun and informative interview with Deron Zendt. We discuss his start in the game and his career as a superintendent. From starting at Riviera in Los Angeles, hijinks at the Sullivan Invitational at Lebanon CC, to winning the Superintendent National Championship in Orlando, we cover it all....including chinch bugs and manganese. Links The Sullivan Invitational - Lebanon CC Golf Course Superintend...

This week's guest is TJ Shuart from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. All that TJ has done is participate in 11 USGA championships and is one of the last men to accomplish the unique feat of qualifying for the US Amateur, US Mid-Amateur, and US Amateur Public Links in the same season. He played collegiately at Loyola University and has some great stories about some matches against current professionals li...

Our guest this week is Duke Butler IV from Jacksonville, Florida. Duke grew up in Houston, TX but soon found his way to the University of Florida and played collegiate golf with the likes of Matt Every and Camilo Villegas. He participated in several USGA events and shared some great stories about those experiences. He also has some experience working behind the scenes on some PGA and Web.com event...

With the Winter Olympics in full swing, we decided we needed a Canadian as a guest this week. This week's guest is Scott Kennedy, originally from Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. Scott played collegiately at Florida Atlantic University before transitioning into the nightclub and restaurant industry. He shared some great stories from his memorable experience playing in the 250th British Amateur at St...

A very insightful interview with Ryan Jamison. Currently, he is the Asst. Coach for the Stanford Men's Golf Team. Before arriving at Stanford, all he did was lead the Nova Southeastern University Men's team to a Divison II National Championship in 2015 which awarded him Coach of the Year honors. We talk about his career as a coach and hear some stories about some Stanford Golf alums that I'm sure...

This week's guest is Kevin Hammer from Boynton Beach, Florida. Kevin became an AJGA Junior All-American and also helped the University of Florida capture two SEC championships and one National Championship. We got into several topics ranging from the current state of country clubs, junior golf, and his philosophy on introducing the game to today's youth. Get the official towel of The Back of the R...

We caught up this week with Willie Spicer, one of my old college teammates from St. Thomas University. Willie comes from a golfing family and played golf at Seton Hall University. We share some old stories from the team, his upbringing in the game, and playing the "cocktail circuit" at places like Baltusrol. He also tells us how to make the perfect Transfusion. Get the official towel of The Back o...