In the Footsteps of Giants

Plenty to talk about after the Amgen Irish Open concluded at Royal County Down, the Solheim Cup played out in the States and LIV Golf finished up their 2024 exhibition series in Chicago. Listen as Martin & Des discuss Rory's failure to close out at RCD, a spirited fightback in Virginia and the irrelevancy of Jon Rahm's win in Chicago. Plus, can Jon Rahm/Tyrell Hatton make it to next...

Martin and Des arrive back in the studio after ITFOG's summer break to launch Season 5 of "In The Footsteps Of Giants". Plenty to catch up on including the Olympics, the AIG Women's Open, the PGA Tour playoffs, Bryson's Presidential ambitions, the state of Jon Rahm's contentment and the true cost of a two shot penalty for Satith Theegala. Plus a great story from Caddi...

Final summer repeat for 2024 as we will return with new episodes from next week. A fun episode from season 1 where Martin and Des select their overseas "dream nine" from courses we have played. Many of our listeners will have their own lists and we are happy to discuss those via our X portal @ITFOG_podcast or via Instagram @ITFOG. This episode is dedicated to my mum who passed away in Ma...

We are keeping an eye on golfing news/events during our summer break but while we are away from the ITFOG complex we thought that reposting part 2 of our chat with John Bamber, Chairman of the Championship Committee for the 2019 Open at Portrush, would generate excitement for next year's return to the north Antrim coast. New episodes coming in September but until then enjoy your summer. Inter...

With the 2025 Open due to return to Portrush we thought it was a good time to reprise our episodes on what it takes to put on a major championship. We were fortunate to sit down with John Bamber, Chairman of the Championship Committee for the 2019 Open and hear all about the commitment/effort/determination required to get the Championship back to the north coast of Northern Ireland.  This remains...

Major season is over, the USA has a clean sweep in this years tournaments with Xander Schauffele winning his second major at Royal Troon. Martin, Des and young Mike discuss the action from the 152nd Open Championship and decide on the winners and losers from the Ayrshire coast. We also examine our predictions and discover some stark differences in results, before debating a bold prediction for 202...

Martin and Des sit down to discuss the Genesis Scottish Open, a great win for home favourite Bob MacIntyre, and preview the 152nd Open from Royal Troon. Young Mike dials in from his isolation ward (actually his home office) as he fights a new bout of Covid but in his own words "the show must go on". Plenty of talking points from Bob's free drop on 16, Aberg's unexpected slump,...

A bonus episode for our listeners as Martin catches up with BBC Golf Correspondent and Chipping Forecast regular, Iain Carter, to discuss his recent book "Golf Wars". An opportunity for a golf fan to ask questions directly to someone with an inside track to the billion dollar battle for the soul of professional golf. Iain also gives his view on the surprise appointment of Keegan Bradley...

Martin and Des catch up on a couple of dramatic finishes to recent tournaments, not all of which were specifically golf related. Also joining the boys is friend of the show, Sam Harrop, who recently undertook his first golf trip to Northern Ireland and we were keen to get his impressions of his whistlestop tour. Plus our usual round up of news and views from around the mad world of golf. Interact...

After a nailbiting conclusion to the 124th US Open from Pinehurst, Martin and Des sit down to discuss the result and deal with their disappointment and heartache. Bryson won the title but it was Rory's for the taking until a couple of bad decisions derailed his bid to end his major drought. Lots of news, views and stories from one of the best majors in recent years. Interact with the podcast...

As we head into US Open week Martin, Des and young Mike spend some time analysing the odds and trying to predict who can be successful at Pinehurst. Is the US Open the hardest major to predict? Is it the hardest major to win? Is Pinehurst atypical of US Open courses and will that very fact throw up a huge surprise? Find out who the team at ITFOG fancy for a win, a sneaky top five and which big nam...

Martin and Des celebrate Bobby Mac's big win in Canada, Lauri Cantor's win in Germany and Des's win in County Sligo! We also recap the stories from the Women's US Open from Lancaster Country Club which delivered a second US Open title to Yuka Saso. Plenty of other news, views and chat from around the world of golf. Interact with the podcast via our Twitter/X link @ITFOG_podcast...

The USPGA is in the books and Xander has his first major, Bryson gave it a good try on behalf of LIV albeit coming up just short and Viktor emerged from his slump to show us the player we have all come to love. However, surprisingly these were not the biggest stories from Valhalla, Rory's news of impending divorce kicked off the week, Jimmy Dunne resigned from the PGA Advisory Board citing &q...

Martin and Des catch up after a couple of weeks away from the studio. We preview the form of the main contenders for the upcoming USPGA championship from Valhalla. Can Scottie keep winning, can Rory turn back the clock and win again at Valhalla, can Brooks defend his title and can Jon Rahm generate some momentum after his defection to LIV in the autumn? We also discuss other issues including the P...

The first major of the 2024 season is in the books and Scottie Scheffler has comprehensively proved why he is the best player in the world right now. However, Ludvig Aberg is the real deal, Max Homa and Tommy Fleetwood are contenders for majors and Bryson De Chambeau remains an entertaining addition to any major. Martin, Des and special guest Steven G return to the ITFOG studio to discuss all the...

Martin and Des hit the studio on a wet Monday evening to preview the 2024 Masters, the likely winners/losers and uncover some fun facts about Augusta National. Joining them is 'friend of the show', Steven G, who spent this week last year in a white boiler suit whilst striding the fairways of Augusta as caddy to local Amateur Matt McLean. Who better to keep us right on our opinions than a...

To cover the ITFOG team's absence over the Easter period and bridge the gap until our 2024 Masters preview, we are posting our first ever attempt at an event preview from November 2020. At that time the podcast was only 2 months old, Covid was still a major concern and we were still learning the ropes about how to put episodes together. However, we did start our previewing efforts with a win...

A great weekend following the action at the Players Championship from one of our all time favourite courses, the legendary TPC Sawgrass. Martin and Des convene in the studio to recap the results and storylines from one of the best tournaments of any golfing season. Scottie runs it back for a repeat win, Wyndham's luck runs out on the 72 hole with the cruellest of horseshoe putts and Xander fa...

We spend a little time this week on a tournament roundup but a much larger section of the show is dedicated to our review of Full Swing, Season 2. Does it improve on Season 1? Who comes out of it well and who doesn't? How much do we really learn about the job of being a professional golfer on a competitive tour in volatile times? How many engines does Dustin Johnson's boat need to get hi...

Some weeks feel quieter than others but as Martin and Des hit the studio there was no shortage of things to talk about. We start with a good news story as a local golfer hits 100 years old and is still playing and enjoying his golf with pals.  We also cover the results from the Cognizant Classic (formerly the Honda Classic) after it's Monday finish and also LIV Jeddah. Plenty of chat about An...

After an eventful couple of weeks the boys are back in the studio to discuss many aspects of the current golfing landscape. Tiger's withdrawal from Riviera, Jordan's DQ, Hidecki's superb final day charge, Cantlay's pace of play and 'In & Out' burgers. Elsewhere we discuss the LET signature event from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia which is lucrative for the ladies but lacke...

Martin and Des hit the studio to talk about the DP World Tour returning to Bahrain after 13 years, the AT&T at Pebble Beach being reduced to 54 holes and Jon Rahm's introduction to life on LIV at Myakoba. Then there is the small matter of the PGA and SSG announcing their deal with Mr PIF currently left out in the cold. Has Tiger turned the tide and do the PGA still really want a deal with...

The Hero Dubai Desert Classic is seen by many as the true start of the DPWT season and we were fortunate enough to have a team on the ground for the 2024 event. This episode covers our experiences in Dubai at the tournament plus a couple of rounds of actual golf in the sunshine. We delve into one of the big mysteries of world golf namely, what on earth is in Rory's security guards backpack? R...

Welcome back to the podcast, our first episode of 2024. Martin and Des made it into the studio but young Mike is connecting from a remote location and we did have to resolve some delay issues, so we apologise if the audio quality is below our normal standards. Plenty to discuss especially around the non completion of the Framework Agreement by the target date. A brief review of the Sentry Champion...

Our last episode of 2023 sees us try to remember stuff that could easily have been forgotten from this year. We also talk about our favourite golfing experiences of this year plus have a surprise visit from one of our irregular correspondents. We start debating a 'cool' nickname for our listeners although I am not yet sure that we have found a long term answer. Anyone with a good suggest...