In the Footsteps of Giants

Plenty to talk about in professional golf as we head towards the last major of the 2026 season. Martin, Des and Ron convene @ ITFOG HQ to discuss Viktor edging out Scottie, Wyndham not being a popular winner at the US Open, the speed of play at the KPMG Women's PGA Championship and the race for places to play in 2027 as LIV Golf looks increasingly vulnerable. Plus we analyse the rsults from o...

At previous US Opens Shinnecock Hills grabbed the headlines as playing conditions got away from the USGA and the world's finest players were somewhat humbled. Will 2026 be any different or more of the same? Martin, Des, Ron and Chris debate the course and try to predict outcomes (always a fun pre major pastime, with only occasional success) as well as catching up with other stories from aroun...

After a quiet couple of weeks the team assemble at ITFOG HQ to discuss the Charles Schwab Challenge on the PGA Tour, the Austrian Open on the DPWT and LIV Golf Korea on the Exhibition circuit plus other ramifications surrounding the withdrawal of Saudi funding at the end of this season. We also quiz our resident PGA Coaching Professional, Chris Gallagher, on his time coaching in China and the chal...

Aronimink is in the books, a new major champion has been crowned and a few "favourites" have had a reality check. Martin, Ron & Chris review the PGA Championship and the media response to a strange week just outside Philadelphia. Is Aaron Rai a breath of fresh air, is Jon Rahm on his way back to form (and an established tour), is Bryson wasting his best years by pursuing peripheral p...

The next major of the 2026 season is upon us as we await our heroes teeing off at Aronimink on Thursday. Who will carry their form into the second major of the season? Will Rory go back to back majors? Will Scottie just turn it up a gear and blow the opposition away? Will this be Cam Young's or Ludvig Aberg's breakthrough major? Will Michael Block make the cut to perpetuate the man, the...

So much is currently happening in the world of professional golf that Martin & Ron hit the studio to discuss Nelly Korda, Cam Young and the ever changing LIV Golf story. Joining them is PGA Coaching Professional, Chris Gallagher, who makes his debut on In The Footsteps Of Giants to help us analyse what makes great players great. Plenty of golf news and chat without any of those pesky ads you f...

After a couple of eventful weeks in the world of professional golf, Martin and Des meet @ITFOG HQ to discuss the Fitzpatricks hot streak, Nelly Korda's wire to wire victory at the Chevron, LIV Golf's financial woes, season 4 of Full Swing plus catch up with what is being talked about on the Twittersphere. We hope this interests our listeners as they try to make sense of what on earth is...

The first major of the 2026 season is in the bag and it's another win for the lad from Holywood, Co Down. However, the Masters conjured up it's usual drama and storylines. The ITFOG team discuss triumphs and disasters, shocks and surprises, bad behaviour and consequences as Augusta National again became the focus of the golfing world. Did this year's Masters deliver excitement, dram...

How do you follow ITFOG's most successful episode of all time? Fortunately it is Masters week, one of the best weeks of the golfing year. Martin, Des and Ron discuss some of the golf stories making the news over the last couple of weeks and then concentrate on trying to predict who will have a good run at Augusta in 2026. As always we also try and predict the big names who will miss the cut a...

An episode that the team @ITFOG_podcast have been really looking forward to recording. We are delighted that friend of the show, Alan Shipnuck, joins us to discuss his new biography of Northern Ireland's most successful sportsman, Rory McIlroy. Not for the first time Alan entrusted us with an advance copy of the book and in today's episode we get to ask many of the questions that golf fa...

The team catch up on events from Florida, South Africa & Hong Kong especially the huge differential in prize money for certain tournaments. Martin, Des and Ron discuss the ever worsening situation developing between Jon Rahm and the DPWT which could very easily see Jon missing the Ryder Cup at Adare Manor in 2027. Ron quizzes Martin & Des about their experiences at TPC Sawgrass as we appro...

As Scottie's insane run of consecutive top 10 finishes comes to an end, what does the future hold for the world's best player? Martin, Des and Ron briefly discuss this before diving into the Genesis Invitational results, the Magical Kenyan Open on the DPWT, the implications of Anthony Kim beating Jon Rahm & Bryson De Chambeau in Adelaide and the breaking news regarding the DPWT grant...

New contributor, Ron, has to deal with Martin on a full scale rant about a behaviour incident at the WM Phoenix Open, albeit at the end of the day Ron's viewpoint is not dissimilar. Plenty of chat about Patrick Reed's surge in form and profile, Chris Gotterup's surge up the OWGR rankings following another win, and LIV's surge of complaints that they are still not being treated...

Full house at ITFOG HQ as Martin & Des are joined in the studio by "young Mike" and over the worldwide web by Ron. Has Patrick Reed achieved some respect and redemption by winning the Dubai Desert Classic over the weekend? What do his press conference comments signal, a future at LIV or a plea to allow him a way back to the PGA Tour via the DPWT? Plenty of chat about the current stat...

The team at ITFOG are called in for an "emergency pod" as we analyse the big news coming out of Ponte Vedra. Brooks Koepka is coming back to the PGA Tour, the deal is done, the reparations decided but the effect on the wider world of golf is not yet known. Will other big names reconsider their positions now that Brooks has shown them the path, how will Mr PIF react to this obvious setbac...

As we enter 2026 what does the world of golf have in store for us all? Although we don't actually know what will happen, we never shy away from giving our predictions. With Des and young Mike unavailable it falls to Martin and 'new boy' Ron to tackle the task of predicting the future. Who will win the majors, who will step forward in a new season and who will fall back, will LIV Gol...

As we round out 2025 it's time for our annual 'naughty or nice' list from the world of golf. Martin and Des have done this before, but it was a first run out for newest team member Ron. Always one of our favourite shows of the year as we debate who should make it onto each side of the list. Plenty of discussions around players, administrators, courses and tournaments with some conse...

Plenty to talk about this week as Martin, Des & Ron debate events at the Australian Open, the Nedbank Golf Challenge and the Hero world Challenge all played over the last few days. The boys then turn their attention to the current OWGR rankings and some winners and losers in 2025. Ron then tables a debate about YouTube golfers and is intrigued to see what way the 'old traditionalists&quot...

After missing ITFOG's normal 14 day recording schedule Martin & Des are back in the studio to catch up on all the major golf stories of the last few weeks. Joining them for the first time is Ron Greer, known to many on Tik Tok as "the winter golfer" who brings a new set of opinions to the discussion, plus we quiz him on his top 5 golf courses that he has played.  We debate wheth...

After our recent outing on the Dunluce Links at Royal Portrush, it's time for Martin and Des to own up to the reality that Championship golf courses are hard. Despite great company and favourable weather both of the seasoned old campaigners struggled to deliver any consistency over this north Antrim masterpiece. Plenty of general discussion about the DPWT and solving their LIV problem plus a...

Tommy Fleetwood is the biggest star of the autumn with two wins and a stellar Ryder Cup performance. Martin and Des meet to discuss his recent win in Delhi and what this might mean for his future major prospects.  Plenty of other news from around the world of golf, particularly the ongoing fallout of fans behaviour at Bethpage, LIV Golf's laughable financial results and their assertion that t...

Martin was delighted to welcome Ian Kerr, Chairman of the Royal Portrush Open Championship Committee 2025, back into the studio to talk about the success of this year's championship. For seven glorious days in July Portrush was the golfing world's epicentre and at it's core was a very dedicated team from Royal Portrush Golf Club who delivered an event that truly showcased what North...

Bethpage Black was a successful hunting ground for team Europe but it was also the most hostile crowd in the Ryder Cup's history. Our respect for the players has gone through the roof as they prevailed despite the naked hostility and boorishness from the American fans. Did the PGA lose control, did this Ryder Cup tip over acceptable behavioural limits, what can be done to ensure future Ryder...

And we're back! As summer fades into the rearview mirror Martin & Des hit the studio to catch up on the big stories since the Open Championship. With the Ryder Cup @ Bethpage literally around the corner, the boys discuss the final makeup of both team plus debate whether Europe can win on US soil in 2025. Both teams look good on paper but who has the edge? Also our usual roundup of stories...

With major season over and a few weeks still to wait until the Ryder Cup at Bethpage, we thought our listeners might enjoy a repeat of the outpouring of emotion and relief that we all felt when Rory McIlroy finally conquered Augusta National. The most unscripted podcast episode we have ever done but probably one of the most memorable, for us anyway.  New ITFOG episodes coming in early September fo...