Golf Badgers

Welcome back, Badgers. This week is the first of our new style of podcast. Most importantly this week, Bledge pays tribute to friend to many in the greenkeeping industry in Bobby McDougall. A poignant reminder of how trivial many of the day to day things that occupy our minds actually are. Bledge and I discuss the freakish weather that continues to plague the UK, before entering into the first of...

It's safe to say that Scoosh is one of the industry's characters. Known by many for his humour and individuality, he's also a fiercely loyal and talented member of the greenkeeping industry. We hope you enjoy this (overdue) conversation with Scott as much as we enjoyed recording it. Send us a message if you would like anything discussed on the podcast.

After a few weeks of bringing you the insight of our wonderful guests, Sam and Bledge are back to chat away about this and that, and ask for your ideas on future episode ideas. We also have a new email address! Please do get in touch with us: hello@golfbadgers.com We can't wait to hear from you! Send us a message if you would like anything discussed on the podcast.

Scott and Graeme Roberts' really couldn't have been anything but greenkeepers. The brothers' grew up 'on the tools' at Hankley Common Golf Club, where their father Gareth was Course Manager for almost thirty years. Now, they are both Course Managers themselves. Scott is currently overseeing the multi million pound reconstruction of Basingstoke Golf Club's new golf cou...

Adrian says he's a specialist, not an expert. We'll let you settle on the semantics. However you badge him, Adrian Mortram has helped design countless irrigation systems throughout the world. Not just golf, his CV is as rich and varied as they come. We talk about his career, how irrigation systems have changed and how they might change still. We also touch on his passion for adventure an...

Andy Ewance has had a fascinating career. Andy joins James Bledge and Sam Cooper to share anecdotes and insights from his previous role at the Buckinghamshire, including persuading the club's Japanese owners to invest in a significant overhaul. Now, Andy is at Woking - helping to enhance one of the most architecturally significant courses in England. From improving the agronomy of the site, m...

January is never a great month in Britain, even less so if you work on a golf course. Fortunately, it's the time of year for the big trade shows and conferences. Bledge and Sam give their thoughts and recollections of a packed BTME in Harrogate and GCSAA show in Phoenix, Arizona.  The importance of attending, what they can both get out of it, technology and advancements worth keeping an eye o...

There are few couples out there who have contributed more to the greenkeeping industry than Lee and Sami Strutt. Lee, a previous guest on this pod, is the Director of Agronomy at Cabot Cape Breton. Sami has spent over 30 years working for the greenkeeping association, BIGGA. She joined the association in 1993 as an admin assistant but is leaving it in 2024 as its' Chief Operating Officer for...

While Sam has been locked away in a dark room trying to finish Volume 2 of his upcoming book series, Bledge sat down with old friend Phil Helmn to discuss his enormous passion for managing teams in the greenkeeping world. Phil is a Master Greenkeeper and has managed a wide range of courses throughout his distinguished career. Now, he specialises in writing, speaking and educating on the intricacie...

The second half of our Season 2 kick off. Bledge and Sam discuss the Bernhard Academy, upcoming trips to BTME in Harrogate and GCSAA in Phoenix as well as take a few questions sent in to the studio. Bledge also discusses an archaeological find he made on the course at Deal, and the video we discuss in the episode can be viewed here: https://youtu.be/g16XgGh44zU?si=peyisUMmNtZxEszq Information on t...

Badgers - welcome to the first episode of Season 2 of the podcast. James Bledge (Links Manager, Royal Liverpool Golf Club) and Sam Cooper (Architect, Clayton, DeVries & Pont) are back home on the Wirral, hunkered down for the winter and ready to pod. This is the first half of a general catch-up. Talking about our respective 2023 autumns and what's been keeping us busy. The second half, wh...

Hello Badgers, Today is 'thank a greenkeeper day'. What better way to mark the occasion than to release our Open question special. A few weeks ago, Bledge and I asked for your questions on the championship - and here are the answers. We hope you enjoy the episode, and thanks to everyone who submitted a question. Don't forget to watch the excellent Cookie Jar film showcasing some of...

Welcome to this quick catch up episode, recorded on top of the tallest grandstand at Hoylake. The rain of Sunday has disappeared, replaced with a beautiful sunset. But there is a bit of wind in the background - we hope you don't mind. We will do a proper debrief in the fullness of time, but I wanted to check in with the main man in the meantime. Send us a message if you would like anything di...

The Open Championship is less than 2 weeks away now, and Bledge and Sam discuss what they've been up to and what preparations Bledge has been making. Hope you enjoy! And if you want to catch up on the Golf Badgers podcast back catalogue of episodes, you can do so here .Thanks! #snapthestimp Sam @links_from_the_road & @sd_cooper and Bledge @ jamesbledge Send us a message if you would like...

Sam sits down in a busy Loch Lomond restaurant to speak to David Jones, better known as the UK Golf Guy. David's journey into golf is truly unconventional. From a highly successful corporate background to one of the most successful inward, luxury tour operators in just a few short years. This is an episode not to be missed, as we discuss how to approach a career in golf, golf course ranking l...

Welcome back to Part 2 of Question Badgers. In the previous episode, Sam and Bledge took questions from you lovely listeners. So many, where there, that we thought breaking it into two parts might be better. Of course, the second part has the better questions in. The Badgers' discuss the best new course in GB&I, career advice and how to get top level experience as a greenkeeper. They also...

Welcome back to another question and answer special of Golf Badgers. The first version of 'Question Badgers' was one of the most listened to episodes we've done so far. Last week, we asked for you to send in some more questions for the Badgers' and this is Part 1 of the answers. Part 2 will follow shortly, before we bring a more regular schedule of upcoming guests to the podcas...

Welcome back, Badgers! If you have been following us for some time, you might be familiar with the name Jim Croxton. We released a short podcast with him back in January, which was recorded at BTME. Jim is the CEO of BIGGA - the British and International Golf Greenkeepers Association and is hugely passionate about the greenkeeping industry. In this episode, we dive deeper into the greenkeeping ind...

Those of you who have followed my Links from the Road Tour will already know my thoughts on Hayling Golf Club. I made an 'under the radar' film on Hayling called 'The Ground Game'. As you'll hear, it's an incredibly difficult site to manage, but Course Manager Greig - ably assisted by deputy Graeme - manage to present a wonderful links experience in the face of it all...

A slightly different episode this time round. We asked for a few questions for Bledge and myself and you kindly obliged. We've ended up with a diverse episode, covering all manner of topics. Releasing on Masters (and Easter, but mainly Masters) Sunday means we naturally compare Augusta to links courses. But we also discuss our favourite courses and where we'd both love to work. Bledge ge...

Welcome back, Badgers! It's been a busy few weeks in the Badger Sett. Bledge has been getting his course ready for Spring, while I've been incredibly busy at CDP in the architecture world. Just as we like it! Fortunately, spring is on its way. The nights are lighter and we're slowly warming up. This episode was recorded a little while back, at BTME in Harrogate. It will almost concl...

Hello Badgers, Welcome to Episode 11 of Golf Badgers. Its been a busy start to the year. We've been to Harrogate for BTME and then to Orlando for GIS. We thought we'd have a catch up together to talk about our experiences at them both and give you some of our thoughts.  It was meant to only be short, but we got a little distracted at times. We discuss the architecture and maintenance sid...

Episode 10! A bit of a milestone for Golf Badgers. Please forgive the self indulgent intro but Bledge and I would like to thank you all for listening to the podcast so far. It has been enormous fun putting this together, and we'll certainly be carrying it on. You find us back at BTME in the quietest corner of the hotel we could find. A hive of activity, it's not quite 'recording stu...

Welcome back Badgers, Bledge and I have just got back from an excellent week in Harrogate for BTME 2023. We managed to record a few episodes which we'll release over the coming weeks, but thought we'd share with a brief overview of BTME with Jim Croxton. Jim is CEO of BIGGA - the British and International Golf Greenkeepers Association. BTME is the BIGGA Turf Management Exhibition, held e...

Welcome back Badgers! It's been a long time since our Christmas special, but we're back! With BTME on the horizon, Bledge and I will be taking our microphones down and recording a bunch of episodes - so hopefully plenty to come. We hope you enjoy this chat with Lee Strutt.  Bledge worked for Lee when he was a young greenkeeper. Lee's one of the most experienced guys out there, worki...