50 Things That Changed Golf

Not until Netflix released “Drive to Survive”, its multi-season behind-the-scenes look at Formula One racing, did the sport really take hold in the U.S. It explains why top PGA Tour players have agreed to let Netflix cameras shadow them like never before in 2022. If  golf enjoys a similar surge in popularity, the pie will get bigger for everyone. In this episode of Local Knowledge, Dan Rapaport ta...

Driving distances at the elite level have been creeping up for decades, and not far behind have been cries for golf’s governing bodies to intervene. But not everyone believes distance is really a problem, and even among those who do, there remains the complicated matter of what to do about it. Do you roll back the ball? The driver? Should they consider different rules for pros than for amateurs? I...

Morgan Hoffmann once fit the standard PGA Tour player mold. Now his life couldn’t be more different. When doctors diagnosed the former World No. 1 amateur with muscular dystrophy and told him to expect his condition to deteriorate, Hoffmann retreated to the Costa Rica rainforest in search of an alternative. In this gripping episode, Dan Rapaport travels to Costa Rica to chronicle just how far Hoff...

Not so long ago golf on TV was filled with a series of breathless infomercials that promised desperate golfers the cure for their ailing games. The products themselves didn’t always deliver on their promises, but the ads were at least effective in hooking consumers, sometimes in a big way. Alex Myers revisits the golden age of the golf infomercials, why they worked, and why they’ve generally disap...

Season 3 of Local Knowledge launches with a look at Greg Norman’s longtime vision of a competing golf circuit to the PGA Tour. Norman first championed the concept as a top-ranked player who wanted to start a “World Tour” in the 1990s, and it continues today as the frontman for an ambitious Saudi-funded effort. Dan Rapaport examines the common threads between Norman’s idea back then and what it loo...

In the final episode of a year-end series celebrating our favorite moments from the first two seasons of Local Knowledge, we're revisiting the various ways we've peeled back the curtain on life as a professional golfer. From what separates the good from the great, to what happens when you hit it big, Dan Rapaport takes a deeper look into the highs and lows when making you're living playing for a s...

In the third of a four-part series revisiting our favorite episodes from the first two seasons of Local Knowledge, we’re looking back at the various ways we’ve examined the mental game. From how we process difficult outcomes to how we work our way out of a slump, Sam Weinman highlights our sharpest insights into how golfers think, and the various ways we can improve our mindsets on the course. Hos...

In the second of a series revisiting the best of our first two seasons, Keely Levins looks at how Local Knowledge has explored the intersection of golf and money. From who makes too much to who doesn't make enough, to how aspiring pros even pay their way, the golf economy has remained a consistently fascinating storyline. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for informatio...

In the first of a four-part series revisiting the inaugural two seasons of Local Knowledge, we look at some of the unique characters highlighted in our episodes. From Moe Norman to Babe Zaharias to long-drive champion Kyle Berkshire and others, Alex Myers tells the compelling story behind each, and explains the singular role they’ve played in the game. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See...

As the discussion around emotional well-being gains momentum in other sports, golfers are beginning to open up about the severe toll the game can take on their psyches. In this episode, Dan Rapaport talks to golfers, coaches, and experts about the unique stresses presented by playing golf for a living, and the various ways many golfers are learning to cope. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company...

There have been other golf movies that have resonated with audiences, but no golf movie was better at channeling the core of the game, both the good and the bad, than "Tin Cup". On the 25th anniversary of the movie's debut, Alex Myers speak with the film's star, Kevin Costner, writer and director Ron Shelton, and golf figures like Jim Nantz and Gary McCord about the real-life inspiration of Tin Cu...

From wildcard picks to pairings to uniforms, a Ryder Cup captain’s responsibilities cover a broad spectrum. But the question remains, can a guy with a walkie-talkie really make much of a difference in a competition featuring 24 of the best golfers in the world? In this episode, Dan Rapaport speaks with a selection of former U.S. and European leaders to hear where they believe a captain’s influence...

Golf has had an uneven history in welcoming women into the game, but the pandemic presents a potential turning point. With a record number of women participating in the game in 2020, the question remains how to make sure those new players keep coming back. In this episode, Keely Levins examines the barriers that kept many women from playing golf in the past, how they've been overcome of late, and...

As we celebrate the 25th anniversary of Tiger Woods turning professional, it's easy to cite the many ways Woods influenced golf, both at the professional level and beyond. But perhaps the most compelling way to appreciate the extent of Tiger's contributions is to consider what the game would look like if he never came around in the first place.  In this episode, Alex Myers paints a picture of what...

Making it to the PGA Tour is the fulfillment of a lifelong dream for many golfers, yet those players quickly learn it's only the first step in a challenging learning process. In this episode of Local Knowledge, Dan Rapaport talks to a collection of tour pros about the difficult, sometimes comical education that accompanies an arrival at the game's highest level, and how their expectations differed...

Hideki Matsuyama's win in the Masters was not only his first major championship. It was the first major won by any Japanese man, providing what could be a shot of energy to a once-thriving Japanese golf economy. As Matsuyama takes center stage in this week's Olympic golf competition outside Tokyo, Alex Myers examines the many reverberations of Matsuyama's historic win, from the lucrative opportuni...

It wasn’t so long ago a sign hung at Royal St. George’s, host of this week’s Open Championship, banning “women or dogs” from the clubhouse. Only this month did Pine Valley, the No. 1 golf course in the U.S., invite its first women to be members. In this episode, Dan Rapaport looks at all-male golf clubs—the series of events that led some of golf’s most elite clubs to reverse their policies and all...

Every golfer breathes, of course. But experts in and out of golf say how you breathe can play a vital role in how you perform on the course—from the tempo of your swing to your ability to sink an important putt. In this episode, Sam Weinman examines the underrated difference proper breathing can make for golfers; how breath training has aided elite players like Phil Mickelson and Bryson DeChambeau...

There are 50 tournaments on the 2021-22 PGA Tour schedule, and truth is, top-level players have compelling reasons to skip most of them. So what do tournaments do to maintain relevance on a busy schedule? In this week’s episode of Local Knowledge, Alex Myers examines the growing pressure on regular tour stops to recruit players, as well the creative steps they take to ensure their event stands out...

Scott Fawcett isn’t a golf pro, and he doesn’t make golf clubs, yet in recent years he’s become a major influence in changing the way people play golf. By using data and satellite imagery, Fawcett has championed a strategic formula that is either a golf cheat code, or in the eyes of his critics, an oversimplification of a complex game. In this episode of Local Knowledge, Dan Rapaport examines Fawc...

Babe Didrikson Zaharias was the rarest of superstars who excelled in everything she did. When she eventually settled on golf, she became one of the game’s all-time great champions and helped to pioneer the modern LPGA. In this episode of Local Knowledge, Alex Myers tells the story of Zaharias’ incredible career, including the circumstances behind her win in the 1954 U.S. Women’s Open that nearly d...

How does one sleep the night before he has a chance to win a major championship? What happens in the minutes and hours that follow such a landmark event? In this episode of Local Knowledge, Golf Digest Playing Editor Collin Morikawa sits down with Dan Rapaport to reflect on the whirlwind nine months since he captured his major title; how he knew he belonged the PGA Tour; and the parts of being a p...

In 1962, Mapmaker C.S. Hammond & Co. asked Golf Digest for a list of the country’s best courses for its cartographers to chart, but editors thought such a list was too subjective. Instead, the magazine embarked on a four-year project using USGA course ratings along with its own research to determine the country’s most difficult tracks. The first such list, America’s 200 Toughest Courses, was publi...

No golf slump is exactly the same, but they all tend to have similar ingredients. Whether it’s Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler, or even you, most slumps arise from a crisis of confidence. But as Dan Rapaport reports, a slump doesn’t need to be a death sentence. In this episode of Local Knowledge, Rapaport talks to PGA Tour players and the sports psychologists who work with them to examine the root ca...

On the list of great golf courses around the world, Augusta National often ranks near the top. But when it comes to the course most golfers want to play, there is no question. Owing to its exclusivity, its manicured perfection, and the familiarity from watching the Masters every year on TV, a chance to play Augusta National is considered the ultimate get for most golfers. In this episode of Local...