Larry The Golf Guy

With the 80th anniversary this week of the PGA Tour Event at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas (which is the longest running tournament on Tour played at the same course), this is a great time to speak with the Club's leader, Frank Cordeiro. Frank grew up in Southern California, and after serving in leadership positions at clubs in California, he has been leading the iconic Colonial Count...

Brad Klein is a long-time commentator and consultant on golf architecture, having spent 30 years as the architectural editor at Golfweek. Brad's journey in the game is an interesting one, and we discuss how he was smitten with the game growing up on Long Island, and then spent a number of years as an academic while also caddying and doing some writing, before pivoting full-time to golf journalism...

Mark Newell and I were partners at Latham & Watkins LLP for many decades, and we worked together in management as Mark was Vice Chairman and Chief Operating Partner from 2002-2011 and I was global chair of the tax department from 2000-2011. Mark retired early from the firm and became General Counsel at the USGA from 2011-2012 and ultimately served as the 65th President of the USGA from 2018-2019....

Tripp Davis was a celebrated junior golfer and was an All-American selection at the University of Oklahoma in 1989 and a member of the Sooners' 1989 NCAA championship team. Rather than pursue a career as a player, however, Tripp got a masters' degree in Landscape Architecture and over the past 30+ years he has had a notable career as a golf architect. We talk with Tripp about what made him decide...

Kevin Vitale, who recently retired after a 22 year run as the GM/COO of the iconic Baltusrol Golf Club, is one of the most well-respected leaders in the private club industry. We talk with Kevin about his upbringing in the Boston area, how he got started in the hospitality industry and how that led to his stellar career in the club industry, and the highlights of his time leading Baltusrol. We als...

Bobby Clampett has had quite the journey in the game, from uber elite junior/amateur to PGA Tour player to Broadcaster to Champions Tour player to full-time instructor and author.  We talk with Bobby about all of his many memorable experiences in the game, and also get Bobby's thoughts on some of the challenges facing the game today.  

Brittany Lincicome had a long and successful career on the LPGA tour, winning 8 times, including 2 majors. We talk with Brittany about how she got her start in the game, her decision to turn pro at age 19, what the LPGA tour was like, and what made her retire after 20 years on tour. We also get her assessment of where the women's game stands today and how it is moving forward under new commissione...

Gordon Dalgleish founded Perry Golf, a leading golf travel company, over 40 years ago with his brother Colin. We talk with Gordon about how he got his start in the game in his native Scotland, how golf travel and golf travelers have changed over the past 40 years, what the hidden gems are today for golf trips, and what led him to pair golf travel with cruises. We also discuss his involvement with...

Chuck White grew up in Long Beach and was a star member of the UCLA Golf Team in the late 70's, with folks like Corey Pavin and Steve Pate as teammates. Chuck has gone on to use another skill -- his distinctive voice -- to have a stellar career as the voice of UCLA football and basketball for over three decades as well as other notable assignments. We talk with Chuck about his journey in the game,...

Derek Duncan is one of the most knowledgeable people today on golf course architecture. We talk with Derek about how he developed his interest in golf course architecture and got his start in the field, how the bi-annual Top 100 ratings are conducted at Golf Digest and how those rankings have changed over time, and more broadly how golf course architecture has evolved over the past 30 years. We al...

Bob Ford is one of golf's greatest ambassadors, having served as the head pro at Oakmont for 37 years and at Seminole for 21 years (and serving both clubs concurrently for 17 of those years). Bob's accomplishments as a head pro (with some 50+ assistants having gone on to notable head pro positions at other clubs) and as a player (having played in 10 PGA's and 3 US Open's in addition to winning mul...

Joe Passov, a/k/a “Travelin’ Joe,” has been writing about golf since 1991, with a specialty in travel, history and golf course architecture. We talk with Joe about how he went from being a young lawyer to a golf writer, how he came to focus on golf travel and golf course architecture, and the major developments he has seen in those areas during his long career.  

Greg Nathan, after having been a competitive tennis player as a junior, decided in his early 20's that he wanted to have a career in golf. We talk with Greg about the remarkable journey he then pursued to reach this goal, and how through a combination of impressive persistence and some good fortune, he eventually got a job at the SI Golf Group and then subsequently joined the National Golf Foundat...

Kyle Phillips is one of the leading golf architects working today. We talk with Kyle about how he became interested in golf architecture, what he learned from his 16 years at RTJ II Golf Course Design, his decision to go out on his own in 1997, and his stellar work at Kingsbarns in Scotland and the Cal Club in San Francisco. We also discuss his approach to design, why golden age architecture is ha...

Lanny Wadkins had a tremendous career on the PGA Tour, with 21 wins over a 21 year period. Lanny also had a stellar Ryder Cup record, playing in 8 Ryder Cups from 1977 to 1993 and compiling a remarkable record of 20-11-3. We talk with Lanny about taking up the game as a youngster in Richmond, VA, his college golf experiences at Wake Forest, his stellar amateur record which included the US Amateur...

David Bonsall has served in many roles at the R&A, including on the Rules Committee (which he chaired from 2015-2019), the Championship Committee and the General Committee. Notably, David led the R&A team on the Rules Modernization Project from 2012-2019, and has refereed 25 major championships, several Walker Cups and amateur championships and numerous pro tour events. He has also had a wide-rang...

Tommy Armour III has had a long career in professional golf, playing in more than 600 events on the PGA Tour (with two wins, including setting the PGA Tour 72 hole scoring record) and more than 200 events on the Champions Tour. We talk with Tommy about his life on Tour, his experiences with various folks including Ben Hogan and Mac O'Grady and his memories of his two wins on Tour. We also get Tomm...

If it's time for the Masters, then it's time for us to have another chat with Top 100 teacher Brady Riggs. We preview the upcoming tournament and who Brady thinks may slip on the green jacket, but before we talk about this year's Masters, we discuss various issues with the pro game (including equipment regulation, slow play and LIV) as well as what has taken place during the first three months of...

Derek Sprague was recently named CEO of the PGA of America, and is the first PGA pro to occupy that position in nearly 20 years. We talk with Derek about becoming both head pro and club manager at the Malone CC in upstate NY at the age of 21, and what that experience was like during his ensuing 27 years at the club. We also discuss how he became involved with the PGA, first at the section level in...

Matt Pringle joined the USGA nearly 25 years ago after getting his doctorate in mechanical engineering. He spent 19+ years in the technical/equipment regulation area, and for the last 5+ years he has been the managing director of the USGA Green Section. We talk with Matt about the various equipment issues he has grappled with, the USGA's general approach to equipment regulation, and the important...

Stephen Johnston founded the KPMG North American Golf Practice in 1992, and then bought the practice and formed GGA Partners in 2006. His firm does work not only for private clubs, resorts and residential communities, but also organizations such as the USGA. We talk with Steve about growing up as a hockey player in Canada, how he migrated to golf, how he went from being an audit partner to creatin...

As a developer of golf communities, as a trusted board member and as a principal partner at GGA Partners, Henry DeLozier has been one of golf’s and private clubs’ most respected leaders and sought-after voices. Befitting that status, Henry has been recognized by Golf Inc. magazine as one of the “Most Influential People in Golf”. We talk with Henry about his start in the game as a young boy growing...

Todd Graves was a skilled golfer who was playing various mini tours when he first met Moe Norman in 1994, and that meeting started a friendship which changed the trajectory of Todd's game and life. We talk to Todd about growing up in Oklahoma and his introduction to the game, making the team at the University of Oklahoma as a walk on, his friendship with his teammate (and future Open champion) Tod...

Kyle Porter is a golf writer and one of the keenest observers of the golf scene today. After a dozen years at CBS Sports where he covered 47 majors and 5 Ryder Cups, Kyle is now focused full-time on Normal Sport, which is his terrific golf newsletter. We talk with Kyle about how he got started in sports journalism, his experience at CBS Sports and some of the more notable events he covered, and wh...

Don Rea, Jr., was recently elected president of the PGA of America. We talk with Don about his journey from being a AAA baseball umpire to becoming a PGA member, a golf course owner and operator and ultimately a national officer of the PGA of America. We also discuss the new headquarters at Frisco in North Texas, the importance of public advocacy in golf, the PGA's role and interaction with the ot...