50 Things That Changed Golf

Golf gambling has taken off in recent years, and it figures to grow even bigger. How did we get here? In this episode, we examine the game’s rapid embrace of what was once considered a seedy pastime, and why golf seems particularly well suited to benefit from legalized gambling. We’ll look at how golf’s massive amount of data has allowed gamblers to wager on seemingly every aspect of the game, and...

Ken Duke’s 65 at the 2016 Players Championship isn’t close to one of the lowest rounds in PGA Tour history. It’s not even the best round ever at the Players. So why does it qualify as the greatest round in Players history, as well as one of the greatest rounds in the history of golf? In this episode of Local Knowledge, Alex Myers tells the story of a journeyman pro’s improbable round on a difficul...

There is no draft in pro golf. When most young players try to make a go of it on tour, they’re on their own, which means the expenses of tournament fees, travel, and caddies can add up in a hurry. In the absence of the type of endorsement contracts given to top prospects, some players have to get creative, and that means relying on wealthy backers who help front the costs in exchange for a potenti...

Jan Stephenson won 16 times on the LPGA, including three majors, but in the 1970s, the tour sought to market the Australian as more than just a talented player. From her photoshoots in a nightgown or in a bathtub full of golf balls, Stephenson faced backlash from fellow competitors who thought marketing players’ appearance diminished their abilities as athletes. Yet the controversies around Stephe...

A golf rules official’s responsibilities cover a broad spectrum. They set up the course, oversee playoffs, and determine when a golf course is playable in a rainstorm and when it isn’t. Perhaps most important, they help golfers decipher the game’s complicated rules at pivotal moments throughout a tournament. In this episode, Alex Myers talks to retiring rules officials Slugger White and Mark Russe...

After a 91-day hiatus caused by the surge in COVID-19 cases, the PGA Tour returned last June and continued uninterrupted through the end of 2020. Through positive tests and logistical details that ranged from how to keep score to how to give volunteers coffee, the season was unlike any that came before. In this episode, host Dan Rapaport and Golf Digest editorial director Max Adler explain how the...

Conventional golf wisdom has said long drive competitions and tournament golf are two entirely different disciplines. But the gap has closed in recent years, and Kyle Berkshire, the No. 1 ranked long driver in the world, is out to prove his 150 mile-an-hour swing speed would give him an advantage even over the best players in the world. In this episode of Local Knowledge, Alex Myers examines what...

Before his retirement from Golf Digest last month, Guy Yocom had one of the most unique jobs in golf. In his 36-year career, Yocom came to know virtually every great player in the modern game by way of extensive one-on-one interviews for the magazine. Yocom met with Ben Hogan in his Forth Worth office, stayed with Phil Mickelson in his first condo fresh out of college, and came to know firsthand L...

A seemingly obscure legal rule that would allow college athletes to profit from their name, image or likeness could change the complexion of amateur golf, what was once considered golf in its purest form. In reality, the game is already well removed from an era when Bobby Jones and Frances Ouimet both had to leave amateur golf behind for money they received tied to their accomplishments on the cou...

At the first playing of the tournament that is now known as the Masters, Augusta National Golf Club needed to borrow chairs from a funeral home. The club needed money to buy grass seed, and the only reason we now know Augusta National’s clubhouse as one of golf’s most iconic buildings is because the club at first didn’t have enough money to tear it down. In the latest episode of Local Knowledge, A...

No job in golf has evolved more than the tour caddie. Once just a set of shoulders to carry a bag, caddies have grown to assume different roles for different players. Some have been elevated to where they’re mentioned in the same breath as the guys hitting the shot. Others are just friends or family with no prior caddying experience but serve as a player’s trusted ally and protector. The job has s...

When reports surfaced of a top LPGA player needing to pay for her own clubs while in contention at the season’s second  major championship, it spoke to the harsh financial realities faced by many women golfers. With fewer sponsorship opportunities and smaller purses but often just as high expenses as their PGA Tour counterparts, many LPGA players have been forced to be creative to make ends meet,...

Every golf club has a sandbagging story. The 26 handicap who miraculously shoots 85. The 12 who flirts with even par. It is the rare handicap event in which certain golfers are  better than advertised, which is great news for their partners, and a source of outrage for everyone else. In this episode of Local Knowledge, host Daniel Rapaport dives into the complicated world of the sandbagger , inclu...

Why did Phil Mickelson blow the 2006 U.S. Open? It wasn’t just about a pushed drive into the trees on the final hole. It was about poor decision-making, and perhaps wanting something too much. On the occasion of Mickelson returning to Winged Foot for another U.S. Open, host Keely Levins unpacks the confluence of events that led to Mickelson’s crushing double-bogey finish . With the help of experts...

“The money out here is comical,” admits PGA Tour player Joel Dahmen. But he’s not complaining. After slogging through the mini-tours earlier in his career Dahmen in just a few years on the PGA Tour has already earned more money in official earnings than Jack Nicklaus did in his entire career—all this despite never winning a tour event. The topic of this episode of Local Knowledge is money: how pur...

As Tiger Woods often said, only two players truly owned their swing: Ben Hogan and Moe Norman. But while Hogan won nine major championships, Norman’s career never took off outside of his native Canada. In this episode we’ll revisit the life and career of one of golf’s most enigmatic figures. The late Norman was believed by many to be golf’s greatest ball-striker, but his unique nature, what would...

As the PGA Championship draws a collection of club professionals who join the big leagues for this one week, we examine the myriad elements that separate players at the height of the sport from those just one tier down. Whether it’s physical, psychological, or a simple matter of luck, we look at why a journeyman pro named Bob May could take Tiger Woods to a playoff 20 years ago in the PGA and not...

The question of whether a few drinks can actually help you play better golf is as old as the game itself. In the newest episode of Local Knowledge, host Alex Myers consults experts and everyday players to understand the role alcohol plays in golfers' performance; and  revisits a series of experiments that put the theory to the test.  The answer is more complicated than you think, and it speaks to...

Five women joined a golf club outside of York, Pennsylvania, only to have the police summoned to the course by the owner midway through their first round. Their crime, they say, was “golfing while black.” The first episode of Local Knowledge, a new podcast by Golf Digest, tells the story of the Grandview Five , a group of African-American women whose inaugural round at their new club became a remi...

In golf, Local Knowledge means you’ve done your homework. In Local Knowledge, Golf Digest applies the same approach to the most compelling golf stories, with each episode diving deep into a subject that resonates with golfers. Host Daniel Rapaport explains what’s to come in future episodes, from stories of racism on the golf course, to the ways alcohol might help your golf swing, and why some grea...

Alex Myers, Sam Weinman and Daniel Rapaport discuss Dustin Johnson’s tremendous weekend in Connecticut, how the PGA Tour has responded to players contracting the virus and why it matters that NBC took back U.S. Open coverage from Fox Sports. Also, WHOOP CEO Will Ahmed joins the show to discuss the recent hype around the product and Nick Watney’s positive COVID-19 test. Hosted by Simplecast, an Ads...

It’s not often that we have a knight on the podcast. Six-time major champion Sir Nick Faldo joins the show to discuss broadcasting PGA events remotely, how these tournaments feel without fans and what his sweater collection is looking like. Also, Alex Myers, Sam Weinman and Daniel Rapaport discuss Webb Simpson’s Father’s Day victory, Nick Watney’s positive COVID-19 test and a remarkable comeback o...

We’re back with real PGA Tour golf to talk about! Alex Myers, Sam Weinman and Daniel Rapaport break down the Charles Schwab Challenge, from Daniel Berger’s win to Jordan Spieth’s putting game to Bryson DeChambeau’s new look. Also, John Wood, Matt Kuchar’s caddie, joins the podcast to discuss the scene at Colonial, what it's like to loop at the Ryder Cup, and his side hobby as a musician. Hosted by...

It’s here! After a long hiatus, professional golf is back and Alex Myers, Sam Weinman and Daniel Rapaport are here to break down the upcoming Charles Schwab Challenge. They discuss the loaded field, what they expect to be the main story heading into the weekend and when we’ll see Tiger again after the restart. Also, Tyler Dennis, the PGA Tour’s Chief of Operations, joins the show to discuss planne...

Annika Sorenstam, arguably the GOAT of women's golf, joins the pod to discuss her game during the pandemic, whether players should be mic’d up at tournaments and what she remembers from her LPGA record-breaking 59. Also, Alex Myers, Daniel Rapaport and Keely Levins talk about everything surrounding the European Tour restart and how entertaining it was to watch Tiger dissect amateurs’ swings. Hoste...