The Cookie Jar Golf Podcast

Golf course construction guru Mik Wells joins us this week to talk about his career in golf course construction, how that work has evolved in recent years as well as the influence he draws from the great golden age architects of yesteryear.    Mik is such a fun person, we stayed wiht him up at the lodges in Cabot Highlands earlier this year and when we learnt he was over at Hinkley Golf Club doing...

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Sam, Tom & Bruce get together to recap the days major announcement from the USGA and the R&A related to the 'ODS' changes affecting golf ball performance. The latest rules will be implemented in 2028 (for elite players / tournament play only) giving manufacturers a healthy R&D window to perfect the ball which will now be tested at 125mph speeds, rather than the current 120mph...

Sam, Tom & Bruce are held up in the warmth of the Woburn clubhouse as they talk about exhibition golf (following on from the latest and somewhat disastrous 'Netflix Cup', as well as shows like 'The Match') and talk about whether exhibition golf can ever be pulled off successfully.   So we tuned into an episode of Shell's Wonderful World of Golf series, watched for ours...

Sam sits down with owner of National club Golfer - Tom Irwin - to talk about the history of Alwoodley Golf Club.   The first design by Dr Alister Mackenzie who was part of a group of members that founded the club, how it came into being is one of the great stories in golf club history. A link to our Story of a Golf Club film can be found here Send us a message if you liked the show If you've...

A fresh course diaries takes Sam up to Huddersfield where he gets to visit Crosland Heath. A MacKenzie course which he's been keen to see for some time,  with the promise of heather, dramatic par 3's and some golden age. The club was founded in 1914 making this an early course for the good Dr whose work would span the globe and become the sistine chapels of golf course design. We talk ab...

A good friend of the jar, the youngest person to ever qualify for The Open, sky sports presenter, radio commentator, and coach - Tom sat down with Zane Scotland at the Zane Scotland Academy in Leatherhead to go through his eclectic 18: 1 - Woodcote Park 2 - Prince’s (Shore) 3 - Carnoustie  4 - The Addington 5 - Sunningdale (New) 6 - Walton Heath Old 7 - Crans Sur Sierre 8 - Oaks Park 9 - Wisley (C...

Course Manager at Wallasey Golf Club - John McLoughlin - joins us for a chat about his career, what has led him to working back on The Wirral and his philosophy on greenkeeping.  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 /...

Head of Sustainable Agronomy Services at The R&A, Alistair is one of the country's leading experts on turf. The vital ingredient for all golf courses, turf comes in so many different shapes and sizes. The work Alistair does not only across championship courses for The R&A, but clubs up and down the land to look at making our courses more sustainable, is fascinating.   For more on the...

Code: pod10 for 10% off our latest range of merchandise when you spend £50 or more.  A fairly uneventful morning celebrating his 38th birthday sees Tom sit down with Sam to talk about the new alternate logo which has been designed with Lee Wybranski, as well as the latest news from across the pond as the TGL looks ahead to the new simulator backed golf league which kicks off on the 9th Jan next ye...

Sam & Bruce are joined by Peter Dawson CBE to talk about the life and career of Sir Michael Bonallack OBE.    Arguably Britains best ever amateur golfer and one of the most respected administrators in the game of golf, Sir Michael passed away on the 26th September 2023. Past secretary for the R&A, he was succeeded by Peter who just so happens to know him from years before where they played...

From our time up in St Andrews for the Walker Cup, Sam & Bruce sit down with David Bonsall to talk about his work in the game, from university golf, to working on the R&A rules committee and bringing in a modernised version of the rules back in 2019.   in addition to an impressive legal and finance career, David has dedicated a number of years to helping the game of golf in administrative...

On a recent visit to Northern Ireland, Sam, Tom & Charlie dropped by Portstewart. Often known as something as a 'hidden gem', the club now sits firmly in the itinerary for the travelling golfer only 10 minutes from Royal Portrush.    Regarded as having the possibly the most dramatic opening nine in golf, Portstewart is a club with a lot of history, 3 courses and has played host to Th...

As part of the lead up to our collaboration event at West Byfleet on the 19th October with SounderGolf, we sit down with James Day to run through the iconic clubs from the last 40 years.  eBay and used club retailers can be over-facing at times with the vast array of equipment from yesteryear, so this episode is a great peak behind the curtain on what to keep an eye out for online and why building...

With the recent fun of The Ryder Cup at Marco Simone, it got us thinking about this episode with one of our favourite all time guests.   One of our anecdotes from an early episode with Ronan Rafferty, sharing just how nervous he was when he hit the opening tee shot at The Belfry in 1989.   Ronan was a brilliant guest of the podcast and someone we need to get on again! Stories for days, a decorated...

Sam, Tom & Bruce convene for a rambling recap of the action at the weekend at Marco Simone in Rome. We'll save the hat puns this time, but it was a special weekend of golf which we enjoyed from the comfort of our own armchairs from start to finish! An emphatic win for Team Europe with 16.5 points versus 11.5. A comeback from Team USA which fell just short on 16 with Rickie Fowler finding...

Bruce, Sam & Tom discuss the history of the Ryder Cup through three lenses. Sam discusses the importance of the Captains in previous Ryder Cups, Bruce discusses the importance of Captain's picks and Tom discusses the importance of the World #1 during the Ryder Cup. Niche prevails.  Send us a message if you liked the show If you've enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review on App...

We sit down with friend GCA guru and member of The Worcestershire - David Thomas - to hear more about the history of the oldest club in our own county.   Golf goes all the way back in Malvern to the 1870’s and a young H.S. Colt lived here from the age of 2, meaning this is where it all began for the young man who would go on to become one of the most influential course architect in history. Macken...

Tom, Bruce & Sam talking about a wide range of topics in here. Travels through France, takeaways from the BMW and looking ahead to the Ryder Cup, Hagestads recent win in the US Mid-Am and more... 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 /...

Sam & Bruce catch up with Jack Laws, Director of Golf at Les Bordes in France.   Les Bordes has recently made some big waves with the introduction of the The New course designed by Gil Hanse, as well as the exceptional short course, ‘The Wild Piglet’, complimenting the Old Course by Robert von Hagge in the late 20th century. We were very lucky to get to visit the club a few months back, experi...

A snapshot from Podcast 99 with Susan Cayleff discussing the remarkable acievements of Babe Didrikson Zaharias. 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

A momentous occasion, recorded from historic St Andrews, with none-other than the OG Callum Wing returning to the podcast.  Sam, Tom, Bruce and Cal chat through the past two days of the Walker Cup action and explain why this might be the greatest event in elite golf... 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...

Bruce, Sam & Tom chat through all things topical in the game of golf, from the Tour Championship to the Walker Cup.  Show Notes: On Tuesday 29th of August our latest film is being released. It is called Preparing for an Open Championship - The story of the 151st at Royal Liverpool and it is our most ambitious film to date. On Saturday 1st September we our having our BrewDog get together - Mass...

As part of the celebrations at Walton Heath for the AIG Women's Open we managed to find some time to sit down with - revered golf historian and collector of some of the most precious books in the game - Philip Truett.   It's a wonderful episode packed with stories and tales from decades dedicated to piecing together some of the most important books throughout the history of the game.  Se...

Special anouncements: Sounder x Cookie Jar Retro Day @ West Byfleet 19th October: https://cookiejargolf.com/cookie-jar-retro-day-west-byfleet/ Richard's new book now on sale: 'Grass Routes' available here: https://pitchmarks.bigcartel.com/product/grass-routes-by-richard-pennell Richard returns to the podcast to guide us through this wonderful Course Diaries episode about West Byflee...