The Back of the Range

Our guest this week is PGA LatinAmerica Tour player, Blair Hamilton.  In this episode, we uncover the truth about chasing the dream as a professional golfer.  Blair competed on Team Canada both as a junior and as an amateur and was successful in Monday Qualifying into the 2019 Waste Management Open.  Incredible insight about the life of a pro that you won't want to miss.  This...

Our guest this week is the 2016 Memorial Champion, William McGirt.  We get it into some great stories about life on tour, the injury that he is dealing with right now, and truthfully....we just chatted about golf and life.  Enjoy! LINKS William McGirt - Website Bobby Chapman Invitational Wofford College Athletics Subscribe to The Back of the Range Get the official TOWEL of The Back of th...

Our guest this week is the 2018 United States Mid-Amateur Champion, Kevin O'Connell.  Kevin played collegiately at UNC before giving the mini-tours a try with limited success.  After becoming a reinstated amateur, he found success on the amateur side which culminated with the Mid-Am win at Charlotte C.C. last year.  Kevin is making a Walker Cup run this year to represent the United...

Our guest this week is Todd Mitchell from Bloomington, Illinois.  Todd has found great success on the national amateur level through his participation in marquee events like The Coleman Invitational and The Crump Cup at Pine Valley.  The 2008 U.S. Mid-Amateur finalist also likes to pair up with previous guest, Scott Harvey, at the U.S. Four-Ball.  Great conversation about amateurism...

Our special guest on this bonus episode is David Frost!  Frosty won TEN times on the PGA Tour and has racked up numerous victories all over the world, including the 2013 Regions Tradition.  We discussed his unique start in the game, competing in the President's Cup, and what he does to compete with the world's best players on the Champions Tour.   David Frost Wines Subscribe to...

Our guests this week are Brandon Wu and Isaiah Salinda from Stanford Men's Golf.  These two senior standouts are rounding into form and ready to contend for a National Championship.  With Stanford winning the Pac12 team title due in large part to their top 10 finishes, they are poised for make a deep postseason run.  We spoke about their chances to make this year's Walker Cup team,...

Our guest this week is Scott Harvey from Greensboro, NC.  Along with his win at the 2014 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship at Saucon Valley, Scott has played in the Masters, U.S. Open, and Walker Cup.  He's also picked up victories in some of the most elite amateur tournaments in the world like the Coleman, the Thomas, and the Crump Cup at Pine Valley.  But don't let the resume fool you...

Our guest this week is Coach Andrew Larkin, the assistant coach of UCLA Men's Golf.   Coach Larkin was on Devon Bling's bag at the U.S. Amateur in Pebble Beach last summer and his runner-up finish earned him a birth to the 2019 Masters and 2019 U.S. Open.  Coach Larkin talks about his experience caddying at the Masters, what lies ahead for the UCLA team as they make a push towards t...

Our guest this week is Rick Woulfe from Fort Lauderdale, Florida.  He's played in 25 USGA Championships, with most of them occuring after his turned 35 years old.  He's played in British Amateurs, British Senior Amateurs, he's served on the US Mid Am committee, shot his age of 67 in a State Mid Amateur.  And won the State Mid Amateur at the age of 62.  Think about that.......

It's MASTERS WEEK!  Our guest this week tees it up at the Masters by way of his runner-up finish at the 2018 U.S. Amateur at Pebble Beach.  Devon Bling, sophmore at UCLA, went on an impressive run in his first U.S. Amateur appearance at Pebble Beach.  We spoke about his humble beginnings at his home course, China Lake, in Ridgecrest, California.  We discussed college life in LA...

Our guest this week has been at the helm for Illinois Men's Golf for nearly 20 years.  In that time, he has guided the Illini to Big Ten Championship titles in nine of the last 10 seasons and coached two NCAA individual champions.   Coach Mike Small is not just a successful coach, but an incredible player in his own right.  He's played in over a dozen majors, won 12 Illinois PG...

Our guest for this week is Corby Segal!  When he isn't caddying on the PGA Tour, you can find him dominating the Southern California Mid-Am circuit.  He draws on his experience working for players like Brandon Hagy, Briny Baird, and Brandt Jobe to help his own game.  Want proof?  He's played in 15 USGA Championships and is the 2018 Southern Cal Mid-Amateur of the year.  &n...

Our guest for this very special BONUS episode here at The Back of the Range is the 2018 United States Amateur Champion, Viktor Hovland!  Viktor steamrolled through the competition at Pebble Beach last summer and won the US Amateur after only being down in one match, for one hole....the entire match play portion.  He is part of the Cowboy juggernaut that is working to go back-to-back.&nbs...

Our guest this week is Chris DiMarco.  He might be one of the new kids on the Champions Tour block right now, but if you've been following golf for the last twenty years on the PGA Tour....you've seen him as a member of multiple Ryder Cup teams, a President's Cup hero,  and he's also had a front row seat to some of the more iconic moments in golf.  He shared his thoughts on the youn...

While everyone is getting ready to watch THE PLAYERS this week,  there is only one man on the bag for the PLAYERS Champion, Webb Simpson.  Our guest this week is that man:  Paul Tesori.   This is an amazing episode where we talk about his twenty years of caddying on the PGA Tour, his days playing the tour, his All-American career at Central Alabama and UF, and most importantly....

This episode has some spice to it!  (See what we did there?)  Dottie Pepper joins us this week at The Back of the Range and we covered some amazing topics.  Golf on TV, the filth of Poppie's Pond at the ANA, her incredible playing career, and what it takes to prepare to cover the PGA Tour for CBS.  This is a VERY fun episode and we barely kept up with her!  Links Dottie Pe...

The #2 ranked amateur in the world joins us this week at The Back of the Range!  Collin Morikawa is wrapping up his collegiate career at the University of California - Berkeley.  He's won the Sunnehanna and the Trans-Miss, and went undefeated at the 2017 Walker Cup.  Wonder who the next star on the PGA Tour will be?  It just might be Collin Morikawa.  Here's a great chance...

Our guest this week is Jeronimo Esteve!  Jero is very proud of his Puerto Rican heritage and has competed in the Latin American Amateur Championship, the World Amateur Championships, and has competed in numerous USGA championships.  We talk about how he ended up playing college golf at Dartmouth, how he balances a busy family life with his golf ambitions....and the story of the 2011 Unit...

Our guest this week is Casey Martin, Head Coach of the University of Oregon Men's Golf Team.  Before leading the Ducks to the National Championship in 2016, Casey won a national championship as a member of the 1994 Stanford Cardinal team that included Notah Begay.  We spoke about his days on the PGA Tour, lessons from Tiger that he's shared with his current players, and his thoughts on h...

Our guest this week is Kristen Gillman, the 2018 U.S. Women's Amateur.  She just turned pro and is a rookie on the LPGA Tour, but we chatted about her amateur accomplishments that include....well, just about everything you can imagine.  Curtis Cup, World Amateur Team, All-American at Alabama.....oh, and she actually has TWO U.S. Amateur wins.  Her first?  At the age of 16.&nbsp...

Our guest this week is Chip Lutz.  Where do we begin with this guy?  How about back-to-back Canadian AND British Senior Amateur Championships in 2011 and 2012?  We chat about his days at the University of Florida playing with legends like Gary Koch and Fred Ridley,  his meteoric rise after turning 55, practice rounds with Tom Watson, and an amazing story about Lord Byron Nelson...

Our guest this week is Shannon Johnson, the 2018 US Women's Mid Amateur Champion.  Shannon has played in 13 USGA Championships and has racked up 13 state titles in her home state of South Dakota including four straight Women’s Amateur titles between 2003-06.  We talked about her amateur career, her decision to stay an amateur, and her home course of Thorny Lea in Massachucets. ...

Our guest this week is Dave Stockton, Jr. and in this episode we cover everything from his role as his father's caddy on the PGA Tour as a 12 year old, being an assistant captain at the 1991 Ryder Cup, working alongside his father and brother to improve Rory McIlroy and Phil Mickelson's putting.....the stories that Junior shares in this episode will blow you away. Get the official towel of The Bac...

Our guest this week is Jim Demick, the Executive Director of the Florida State Golf Association.  This episode was recorded at FSGA headquarters in Tampa, Florida.  We talked about how the biggest state golf association in the United States manages over 600 days of tournament competition, 38 state championships, and all of the people that make it happen.  We also talked about where...

Our guest this week is the most stylish man in golf!  Marty Hackel is still a contributor to Golf Digest Magazine, and is still considered their Fashion Director Emeritus.  Marty shared some stories about the fashion that we all see on the PGA Tour, his thoughts on Tiger and Phil, and the dreaded white belt syndrome!   New Blog Post! -  The Match:  Sometimes Par is Go...