The Cookie Jar Golf Podcast

Sam sits down for a catch-up with friend of the pod, West Byfleet membership secretary and exceptional writer Richard Pennell. Together, they cover a wide range of topics, including Richard’s latest book, Common Grounds , which chronicles his journeys to some of the rawest and purest forms of the game. Building on the success of his first book - Grass Routes - you can secure a copy through the won...

Tom sits down with Golf Badgers’ James Bledge at BTME in Harrogate to discuss the event. Send us a message if you liked the show If you've enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify ! You can follow us along below @cookiejargolf Instagram / Facebook / Twitter / YouTube / Website

Sam and Tom sit down in the West Sussex clubhouse to chat to one half of Mackenzie & Ebert - Tom Mackenzie - about his love affair with landscapes, and a career in course architecture. We talk about West Sussex and making alterations to your home course, as well as work further afield.  Send us a message if you liked the show If you've enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review on App...

Sam & Tom head to where it all began for the British motorway service station: Watford Gap. Not only the official north–south divide, but the birthplace of what has grown to become a staple of travel culture in Great Britain — none more so than in our world of planning stops at service stations on the road to and from the links. This is an episode we’ve wanted to do for some time. And while th...

Sam talks to Jean van de Velde about his career in the game, which began as a six-year-old in Mont-de-Marsan, in the Pyrenees in south-west France. Growing up in the era of persimmon drivers and balata balls, Jean turned professional in 1987 and went on to compete at the highest level of the game for several decades. He is perhaps best known for his performance at the 1999 Open Championship at Car...

Sam & Tom sit down to discuss their recent trip to Kington in Herefordshire. The highest course in England, Kington offers spectacular views and great architecture from C. K. Hutchison. We talk tangential historic tidbits and the style and playability of the course. Send us a message if you liked the show If you've enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotif...

This time its Sam's turn to sit in the hot seat and take pot-shots from our regular host Tom, on all things related to his year in golf. From travel, to performance on the links, foursomes match-ups and the honest review of a burger-dog.  Here's his new course eclectic 18 from 2025 below, a comfy par 62, 4,000 yarder! 1: Olympic (Cliff's Course) - Par 3 | 180 2: Streamsong Black - P...

Sam interrogates Tom about his 2025, his golf, his travels and his outlook on the game. Most importantly takes us on his journey through the year in a form of an eclectic 18, from Merion to Maple Leaf, nd from St Endodoc to Streamsong! Even Cumberwell Park to Cabot, and back again! Send us a message if you liked the show If you've enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review on Apple Podcas...

Send us a message if you liked the show If you've enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify ! You can follow us along below @cookiejargolf Instagram / Facebook / Twitter / YouTube / Website

Following on from our Thanksgiving extravaganza about Pasatiempo and the work of MacKenzie and Hollins, Sam sits down with Jim Urbina and Brett Hochstein. A link to our film can be found here .  Jim has been working on the restoration of Pasatiempo for 25 years now, and knows the course about as well as Marion and the good Doctor would have. His love and care over the last quarter of a century has...

In this episode we sit down in the second clubhouse at Pasatiempo, overlooking the 1st and 9th holes, with Emily Chorba – archivist at Pasatiempo Golf Club – to talk about the life and legacy of Marion Hollins, who founded Pasatiempo in the roaring twenties following her successes at Pebble Beach and Cypress Point. Hollins' career in the game is quite sensational, yet at times overlooked. An...

With the Ashes kicking off this Friday, Sam heads to an undisclosed location near Ormskirk to sit down with a very good friend of the jar — and first-timer on the show — James Woods, to talk about golf’s close relationship with the game of cricket. We explore the connections between the two sports, how they have overlapped over time, and the characters who excelled in both. A huge thank you to Jam...

Tom travels about as far from Cabot Highlands as is humanly possible on the British mainland in Cornwall to sit down with Clyde Johnson and talk about the newly opened second course at Cabot Highlands. Old Petty, designed by Tom Doak opened for preview play this summer, and no sits proudly alongside its older sibling Castle Stuart.  Tom and Clyde chat about the routing, the construction process, a...

Sam sits down with Formby Golf Club archivist and past Captain - Ian Jamson - to talk about the history of the club. Founded in 1884, Formby is one of the oldest courses on the north west coast and has some fascinating and eclectic tales, which Ian recounts beautifully in this episode. From Horace the Hippo to a clock tower gifted by Sir Bruce Ismay of Titanic fame, and through the evolution of th...

In this in-depth Eclectic 18 special, previous guest and friend of the show Simon Barrington takes us on an odyssey of obscure connections with some of his favourite holes and courses around the world, and their links to the macabre. It’s not just an assortment of holes with cemeteries nearby — we go back to medieval battles, haunted castles, greens built on ancient burial grounds, and even draw s...

Sam is joined by Peter Handcock aka @thehalfparkid to do an eclectic 18 scorecard comprised of solely of half par golf holes. As a reminder, this fun exercise requires you to fill the card with holes you've played, but they can only go in the position in which they sit on the scorecard, and you can only use one course once!  His scorecard: 1 - Woking - 3.5 275yds 2 - San Francisco - 4.5 455yd...

Stephen Proctor rejoins the pod to discuss his latest book, Matchless — a captivating account of one of golf’s great interwar rivalries. Joyce Wethered, the finest player of her generation in England, and Glenna Collett, the leading light of the American women’s game, were born just 18 months apart and dominated their respective sides of the Atlantic. Stephen’s work as an author is exceptional — m...

Sam and Tom sit down in the office to catch up on silly season. Sam takes — frankly far too long — to commemorate his school’s highest-ever finish in the Grafton Morrish, played last weekend at Royal West Norfolk and Hunstanton. Huge thanks to both clubs for hosting such a special event, and to the volunteers who make it all possible. We also recap our latest event at Sunningdale Heath, which clos...

After one of the squeakiest Sunday singles sessions for a long time, Sam, Tom & Bruce sit down to recap the action from an unforgettable few days at Bethpage, where Team Europe squeezed out a 15–13 win despite going into the singles session with 12 points already secured. Lots of things to unpack here: from Luke Donald to Loro Piana, Bradley to Bryson, the course set-up, and some of the events...

The greatest event in sport? Not sure, but one of the many questions we unpack as we head towards the Ryder Cup this week at Bethpage. As Luke Donald leads Team Europe into battle against Team USA with only 14 points needed to retain the Ryder Cup, we cannot wait for the spectacle that will no doubt unfold. Send us a message if you liked the show If you've enjoyed this episode, please leave u...

Ryder Cup week calls for Ryder Cup stories — so we’ve clipped together Monty’s best from part two of our Colin Montgomerie podcast (episode 320), 15 mins packed with his memories from the event. Send us a message if you liked the show If you've enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify ! You can follow us along below @cookiejargolf Instagram / Facebook / Twit...

Sam, Tom & Bruce sit down to relive the last three days at Cypress Point for the 50th Walker Cup. Final scores: USA 17 & GB&I 9 Send us a message if you liked the show If you've enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify ! You can follow us along below @cookiejargolf Instagram / Facebook / Twitter / YouTube / Website

Sam, Tom & Bruce report from Cypress Point on the final practice day of the 2025 Walker Cup.  As we embrace the chaos, we report on our initial impressions of the venue and are joined by the great and the good as we recorded the podcast from the practice grounds of Cypress Point. Send us a message if you liked the show If you've enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review on Apple Podc...

Dublin’s leading authority on pace putting and amateur golf joins the podcast this week to share his top five Walker Cup stories from the previous 49 editions of the venerable matchplay tournament between GB&I and the USA, as well as his All-Star squad of 10 players.  Darragh is obsessed with the Walker Cup, collecting artefacts from its history, including 48 programmes, crockery from Ganton,...

Sam travels to a baking hot committee room at Huntercombe to sit down with previous guest and friend of the show, Richard Fisher, to recap the history of The Walker Cup, including a statistical deep dive into the sessions that make and break a GB&I performance. A huge thanks to Richard for his research and exceptional insight in this podcast. It’s a cracker! Send us a message if you liked the...