The Back of the Range

THE ROAD TO HOYLAKE presented by AmateurGolf.com   This preview episode introduces this special series to our listeners and welcomes Managing Editor of AmateurGolf.com, Julie Williams, to The Back of the Range Golf Podcast.  We discuss the upcoming guests that will make up the U.S. Walker Cup team and discuss the recently named members of the team:  Cole Hammer, Akshay Bhatia, and S...

Our guest this week is the 1981 U.S. Mid-Amateur Champion, jim Holtgrieve.  Jim played on three U.S. Walker Cup teams and was the captain of the 2011 and 2013 teams.  An incredble conversation about life as an amateur, his thoughts on the amateur game, and fond memories from the Walker Cup.  Jim is an incredible player, person, and ambassador for golf.   Links   Jim Holtgr...

Our guest this week is Haley Moore!   After the Arizona Wildcats barely snuck into the Match Play portion of the 2018 National Championship as the 8th seed, they ran through match play and defeated Alabama with Haley making the clincher on the 18th hole.  We spoke about the Augusta National Women's Amateur, her career at Arizona, and her early success as a professional on the Cactus...

Our guest this week is the founder of AmateurGolf.com, Pete Wlodkowski.  AmateurGolf.com provides the world's most comprehensive golf tournament database, articles about the nation's best amateurs, and tournaments that you can enter to test your game on some of the best courses in the world, like Bandon Dunes.   Pete discusses the state of the game and shares some great stories abou...

Our guest this week is Kris Ventura.  Born in Mexico.  Moved to Norway.  Three-Time All-American and member of the 2018 National Champion Oklahoma State Cowboys.  We learn about his incredible adventure to the pro ranks that was derailed last year due to a fluke illness.  He's climbing his way up the rankings on the Korn Ferry Tour and just won the 2019 Utah Championship t...

Our guest this week is Alexa Hammer from Boynton Beach, Florida.  When it came time for Alexa to pick a college to attend....well, she did something a little differently.  She left home for THE HOME.  THe Home of golf that is....St. Andrews, Scotland.  She played for the university's golf team and her home course....was The Old Course.  Alexa shared some great stories abou...

Our guest this week is Mike Finster from St. Petersburg, Florida.  After playing collegiately at Northwestern, Mike came back home to Florida and regained his amateur status and has qualified for FOUR consecutive U.S. Senior Open Championships.  He's a bomber off the tee and a super guy that can tell a story like no other.  One of the nicest guys out there!   Links   Gaspa...

Our guest this week is PGA LatinAmerica Tour player, Blair Hamilton.  In this episode, we uncover the truth about chasing the dream as a professional golfer.  Blair competed on Team Canada both as a junior and as an amateur and was successful in Monday Qualifying into the 2019 Waste Management Open.  Incredible insight about the life of a pro that you won't want to miss.  This...

Our guest this week is the 2016 Memorial Champion, William McGirt.  We get it into some great stories about life on tour, the injury that he is dealing with right now, and truthfully....we just chatted about golf and life.  Enjoy! LINKS William McGirt - Website Bobby Chapman Invitational Wofford College Athletics Subscribe to The Back of the Range Get the official TOWEL of The Back of th...

Our guest this week is the 2018 United States Mid-Amateur Champion, Kevin O'Connell.  Kevin played collegiately at UNC before giving the mini-tours a try with limited success.  After becoming a reinstated amateur, he found success on the amateur side which culminated with the Mid-Am win at Charlotte C.C. last year.  Kevin is making a Walker Cup run this year to represent the United...

Our guest this week is Todd Mitchell from Bloomington, Illinois.  Todd has found great success on the national amateur level through his participation in marquee events like The Coleman Invitational and The Crump Cup at Pine Valley.  The 2008 U.S. Mid-Amateur finalist also likes to pair up with previous guest, Scott Harvey, at the U.S. Four-Ball.  Great conversation about amateurism...

Our special guest on this bonus episode is David Frost!  Frosty won TEN times on the PGA Tour and has racked up numerous victories all over the world, including the 2013 Regions Tradition.  We discussed his unique start in the game, competing in the President's Cup, and what he does to compete with the world's best players on the Champions Tour.   David Frost Wines Subscribe to...

Our guests this week are Brandon Wu and Isaiah Salinda from Stanford Men's Golf.  These two senior standouts are rounding into form and ready to contend for a National Championship.  With Stanford winning the Pac12 team title due in large part to their top 10 finishes, they are poised for make a deep postseason run.  We spoke about their chances to make this year's Walker Cup team,...

Our guest this week is Scott Harvey from Greensboro, NC.  Along with his win at the 2014 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship at Saucon Valley, Scott has played in the Masters, U.S. Open, and Walker Cup.  He's also picked up victories in some of the most elite amateur tournaments in the world like the Coleman, the Thomas, and the Crump Cup at Pine Valley.  But don't let the resume fool you...

Our guest this week is Coach Andrew Larkin, the assistant coach of UCLA Men's Golf.   Coach Larkin was on Devon Bling's bag at the U.S. Amateur in Pebble Beach last summer and his runner-up finish earned him a birth to the 2019 Masters and 2019 U.S. Open.  Coach Larkin talks about his experience caddying at the Masters, what lies ahead for the UCLA team as they make a push towards t...

Our guest this week is Rick Woulfe from Fort Lauderdale, Florida.  He's played in 25 USGA Championships, with most of them occuring after his turned 35 years old.  He's played in British Amateurs, British Senior Amateurs, he's served on the US Mid Am committee, shot his age of 67 in a State Mid Amateur.  And won the State Mid Amateur at the age of 62.  Think about that.......

It's MASTERS WEEK!  Our guest this week tees it up at the Masters by way of his runner-up finish at the 2018 U.S. Amateur at Pebble Beach.  Devon Bling, sophmore at UCLA, went on an impressive run in his first U.S. Amateur appearance at Pebble Beach.  We spoke about his humble beginnings at his home course, China Lake, in Ridgecrest, California.  We discussed college life in LA...

Our guest this week has been at the helm for Illinois Men's Golf for nearly 20 years.  In that time, he has guided the Illini to Big Ten Championship titles in nine of the last 10 seasons and coached two NCAA individual champions.   Coach Mike Small is not just a successful coach, but an incredible player in his own right.  He's played in over a dozen majors, won 12 Illinois PG...

Our guest for this week is Corby Segal!  When he isn't caddying on the PGA Tour, you can find him dominating the Southern California Mid-Am circuit.  He draws on his experience working for players like Brandon Hagy, Briny Baird, and Brandt Jobe to help his own game.  Want proof?  He's played in 15 USGA Championships and is the 2018 Southern Cal Mid-Amateur of the year.  &n...

Our guest for this very special BONUS episode here at The Back of the Range is the 2018 United States Amateur Champion, Viktor Hovland!  Viktor steamrolled through the competition at Pebble Beach last summer and won the US Amateur after only being down in one match, for one hole....the entire match play portion.  He is part of the Cowboy juggernaut that is working to go back-to-back.&nbs...

Our guest this week is Chris DiMarco.  He might be one of the new kids on the Champions Tour block right now, but if you've been following golf for the last twenty years on the PGA Tour....you've seen him as a member of multiple Ryder Cup teams, a President's Cup hero,  and he's also had a front row seat to some of the more iconic moments in golf.  He shared his thoughts on the youn...

While everyone is getting ready to watch THE PLAYERS this week,  there is only one man on the bag for the PLAYERS Champion, Webb Simpson.  Our guest this week is that man:  Paul Tesori.   This is an amazing episode where we talk about his twenty years of caddying on the PGA Tour, his days playing the tour, his All-American career at Central Alabama and UF, and most importantly....

This episode has some spice to it!  (See what we did there?)  Dottie Pepper joins us this week at The Back of the Range and we covered some amazing topics.  Golf on TV, the filth of Poppie's Pond at the ANA, her incredible playing career, and what it takes to prepare to cover the PGA Tour for CBS.  This is a VERY fun episode and we barely kept up with her!  Links Dottie Pe...

The #2 ranked amateur in the world joins us this week at The Back of the Range!  Collin Morikawa is wrapping up his collegiate career at the University of California - Berkeley.  He's won the Sunnehanna and the Trans-Miss, and went undefeated at the 2017 Walker Cup.  Wonder who the next star on the PGA Tour will be?  It just might be Collin Morikawa.  Here's a great chance...

Our guest this week is Jeronimo Esteve!  Jero is very proud of his Puerto Rican heritage and has competed in the Latin American Amateur Championship, the World Amateur Championships, and has competed in numerous USGA championships.  We talk about how he ended up playing college golf at Dartmouth, how he balances a busy family life with his golf ambitions....and the story of the 2011 Unit...