The Waggle Golf Journal Pod

Ron Montesano is a Buffalo-based golf writer and longtime director of BuffaloGolfer.com, which he started in 1999 as a local course newsletter called Buff Golf and moved online a year later. He is a featured writer for GolfWRX, where his regular Tour Tech Rundown columns cover the professional game, and he has also written for TravelGolf, Buffalo Spree, and Destination Golf. His beat spans equipme...

Just a quick addendum to the pod with a quick video clip that goes up on social media. Enjoy! Get full access to The Waggle Golf Journal at ajmacvie.substack.com/subscribe

Ari Techner joins the pod today to discuss being a lifelong golf obsessive who turned his passion into a career, building some of the finest handmade clubs in the game. At just 23, he co-founded Scratch Golf in a one-car garage in Oregon and grew it into a respected custom club company over 13 years. After Scratch closed, he reunited with longtime collaborators to launch National Custom Works, a b...

Joining us today is Jim Hartsell—Alabama architect, lifelong student of Scottish links, and a prominent author in the world of golf . Jim fell in love with the old courses of Scotland as a boy watching the 1977 Open at Turnberry. That early fascination has taken him back again and again, exploring the lesser-known 9- and 18-hole gems that most travelers never reach. He’s the author of The Secret H...

We are back from our summer hiatus. Having just wrapped up a very enjoyable Open Championship at a very crisp Royal Birkdale and we have links golf on the brain (for a variety of reasons). So straight out of the gate, we have an evergreen episode we recorded a couple of months ago that speaks to the many layers and styles of English and links golf that are available to discover. Trips to England r...

Please welcome architect Brian Ross to the podcast today. After working as a design associate for firms in Austin, Texas, and Pinehurst, North Carolina, he established his own full-service firm, Ross Golf Design, LLC, in 2019, with offices in Austin and Roanoke. Ross is known for his hands-on, detail-oriented approach and has completed several notable projects recently. This list includes his high...

Happy Master’s Week, everyone. We are very pleased to welcome author Stephen Proctor to the podcast today. You will know Stephen from his days at The Baltimore Sun and San Francisco Chronicle, and as the author of his popular books, Monarch of the Green (his biography of ‘Young’ Tom Morris Jr.) and A Long, Golden Afternoon (the rise of golf from 1900-1920). His new book, Matchless- Joyce Weathered...

It is a huge honor to welcome today’s guest, writer Mike Croley, to the podcast. Mike is a creative writing professor at Dennison University in Ohio and has been widely published across the world of golf. You will have read his award-winning work in Bloomberg, The Wall Street Journal, Golf Digest, The New York Times, and Golf Magazine, among other outlets. He is the author of a very good collectio...

It is a huge honor to welcome Don Placek to the podcast this week. Those familiar with the golf architecture world will know Don as a lead associate for Tom Doak and as one of the four principals at Renaissance Golf Design. He has been responsible, in part, for creating many of the most influential courses in golf over the last twenty-five years, and the list continues to grow. Don is also a noted...

Sean Melia of Bay State Golf joins the podcast today to talk about his life in golf, writing about the game, and his quest to play every golf course in the state of Massachusetts. Sean is one of the leading voices in the New England golf scene, and it was great to sit down and have a fun conversation about some of his adventures. You can find his work and links for all of his many projects here: B...

My friend, Jordan Jackson, returns for Part II of our conversation. As we mentioned in Part I (Ep. #28- which you should listen to first ), Jordan is the creator of Dog Tracks and Cow Pastures and is currently the leading Canadian golf authority living in Utrecht. I made up that last part, but Jordan certainly is a wealth of knowledge and information about golf architecture, and this was a really...

Please welcome Jordan Jackson of Dog Tracks and Cow Pastures to the first podcast of 2026. Jordan is a serious, well-researched voice in the golf architecture world, and I will be paying close attention to his work going forward. These conversations are the best, and I always walk away thinking about aspects of golf course design and the game in a different way. In Part I, Jordan and I discuss his...

We won’t forget 2025 for a variety of reasons: the golf, the places, and the experiences were all life-changing. But looking back, it’s the people that I will remember the most. Thank you to those who read, listened, watched, and sent a word of encouragement over the past year; you helped keep this thing afloat. Thanks to the growing number of paid subscribers; a version of me in the past would ha...

Ross Flannigan joins me from Edinburgh for the final podcast of 2025. You will have seen Ross’ excellent photography in a variety of places, including Australian Golf Digest, at The Open, on No Laying Up, and various PGA and LIV golf events. Ross has been a regular presence on the golf podcast circuit and hosted his own long-running show, My Love of Golf. Ross currently works for Foresight Sports,...

Garrett McKnight of the Cape Arundel Golf Club and I finish our very conversation on important golf influences, why solo trips can be good for your golfing soul, and how to wander into an Old Course tee time while wearing hiking boots. Garrett was a feature interview in our short film, “Anchor to Windward”, which came out on Thanksgiving Day last week. I would imagine that this will not be the las...

This is a jam-packed podcast celebrating the release of our short film, “Anchor To Windward,” which premiered on Thanksgiving Day. The front half of the podcast features Justin Joslin and Mike Norcia of Forewind Golf, and we discuss the origin of the film series, why we chose Cape Arundel, and the incredible support that we received from the club while making it. The second half of the pod is the...

Nathan Limbach joins us from his trip to Donegal, Ireland, today to discuss golf, travel, and how creativity connects these pursuits. You’ll know Nathan from his consistently impressive photography that you can find on Instagram (@nathanlimbach) and from his writing at The Fliers Club's new journal, The Old Ghosts. Nathan is a thoughtful and well-traveled voice in New England golf, and I appreciat...

We are very pleased to welcome Jon Cone of the Milwaukee Golf Blog to the podcast today. The MGB regularly highlights some of the most interesting “must-play” courses in and around Wisconsin and is becoming a leading authority on the region's history and golf architecture. This was a really fun conversation, and we barely scratched the surface of things to talk about in the world of golf. You can...

Actor Mitch Laurance joins the podcast today to discuss his origins in golf, playing the Hollywood circuit, podcasting, golf travel, Scotland, and hickory golf. Mitch is one of those guys in the world of golf who has been everywhere, knows everyone, and can tell a story. He has been unbelievably kind with his time, advice, and connections. It’s a wide-ranging conversation that I really enjoyed and...

Tim Ball of Knockdown Golf (@knockdowngolf on IG) joins the podcast today to discuss some ideas in New England golf. You’ve likely seen Tim’s excellent photography and course reviews on Instagram, and he definitely gets around and sees some pretty interesting places. We had a good conversation about New England golf, including some under-the-radar gems to check out, as well as updates on the curre...

Please welcome Mike Altobello to the podcast for episode #20. Mike is a New York City-based photographer, golfer, and occasional writer. You may have seen his work in The Golfers Journal (subscribers only) and Links Magazine (click here ), and the No Laying Up Podcast, where he discussed his relationship with Bethpage in some detail . Mike has traveled extensively throughout the world of golf, exp...

Please join us in welcoming Pete McLachlan to the podcast today. Pete is the creator and face of Bogey Train Productions, a Scottish-based golf production company. You may have seen his videos on YouTube here (if not, definitely check them out) or on Instagram. Pete’s focus on the people who make up the golf world, coupled with the tremendous Scottish locales, makes each film a distinctive and fas...

The Essence of Golf, Forgotten Stories, and Three Questions. As promised, here is Part II of our conversation with Jed Moller. You might know Jed on Instagram from his account, @poormansgolfguide, and from his various pieces of writing and podcast appearances. He is also the club historian at Plymouth Country Club in Plymouth, MA. (If you get a chance to see Plymouth, leap at it). Thanks again to...

Jed Moller and I hung out for a day to talk about Donald Ross, golf architecture, and New England golf. Jed is the club historian at Plymouth Country Club in Plymouth, MA, and has played an active role in helping the club begin a restoration process recently. You have likely seen his photos and content on Instagram at @poormansgolfguide, a popular golf account centered mainly on New England. Jed i...

Please give a big welcome to golf architect Jeffrey Stein as he joins the podcast this week. Jeff’s a rising name in the golf world and worked and studied under many of the current titans in the field: Doak, Hanse, Coore & Crenshaw, Urbina, Devries. He now owns and operates his firm, Stein Golf Design, and has been recently involved in restoration and design projects at the Hooper Golf Course, Rut...