The Shotgun Start

Andy and Brendan are buzzing after a bountiful first day at the Open at Royal Troon. They begin with the first tee time of the day, which offered its own stimulant in place of coffee in the form of Todd Hamilton’s electric swing. This leads to a running Hamilton facts segment, some Dan Bradbury woe, Dan Brown praise, and Ernie apologia. They also discuss Shane Lowry, JT, and some of the other lead...

It is almost here! The final men’s major of the year is nigh and Brendan and Andy are full of energy for this beefy but constantly entertaining Open, or British Open, preview podcast. They begin with some thoughts on what makes the Open special, relying on player testimony, their own interactions, and some of the challenges of Royal Troon that they cannot wait to see in action. They discuss some o...

Andy and Brendan are worse for the wear recording this Monday episode late after a long day of golf and sports, but they proceed talking about the bounty of worldwide golf from the weekend before we get to the last men’s major of the year. They begin with some Champions Tour discussion thanks to Ernie’s conquering hero moment in Akron. Andy wants him on the Pres Cup. At the Scottish, they discuss...

Andy and Brendan ring in the start of coffee golf season on this Friday episode. Things start with an unsubstantiated story about our favorite frugal tour pro and his stint on an enhanced dating app years ago. After that, the two dissect the biggest news of the day, Adam Schupak's report about Bryson DeChambeau's falling out with former coach Mike Schy, which involves family accusations and extort...

Andy and Brendan are all over the place for this Wednesday episode, which begins with some intel from the ground at the Scottish Open, where a frugal one was casing the free coffee cart on the driving range at the Renaissance Club. Then they get to the massive, surprising news of the week that Keegan Bradley will be the 2025 Ryder Cup captain at Bethpage. They react to the apparent haphazard PGA p...

Andy and Brendan are back after a long holiday weekend, and this is truly a rambling show about nothing. But there are some BIG questions asked, like, say, who will win more Tour events from now on -- Davis Thompson, Michael Thorbjornsen, or Jordan Spieth? They discuss the youth at the top of the Deere leaderboard and how it’s become a course with literally zero hard holes and nothing but wedges....

Brendan is joined by the golf sicko’s golf sicko, his former colleague and former college golfer, Kyle Robbins , for a holiday weekend off-the-rails bonanza. They begin by Brendan demanding that Kyle defend the John Deere Classic, its dartboard low scores, and the validity of Hayden Springer’s 59 there in the first round. Then they get into the state of the Euro Tour, where Beef Johnston, Ross Fis...

Brendan is joined by the inimitable Geoff Shackelford for this Wednesday episode of the Shotgun Start, and they begin by pondering whether Andy has achieved “America’s guest” status. Then they quickly transition to the upcoming “links season” in pro golf with Geoff’s impending trip to Scotland and with The Open and the Scottish Open fast approaching. There’s a chat on the current issues with the S...

It is a first of the month recording for the Shotgun Start, which means extra pep and enthusiasm. Brendan is joined by Joseph LaMagna to discuss the Rocket Mortgage Classic, specifically what “hypnotherapy” is and why it is working for the winner in Detroit. They also discuss how this could be the blueprint for a PG-B Tour event with its nice field mix and good Sunday leaderboard from it. They dis...

Brendan and Andy close out the month of June with this Friday episode ramble on Seth Waugh’s sudden departure leading the PGA, some on-the-ground intel about deliberate backboarding setups on multiple tours, and discourse around Scottie Scheffler’s season getting into nitpick territory. They attempt to “flip it” to a new area of scrutiny with the world No. 1, namely a self-correcting driver. There...

Andy and Brendan are together in the New York area for this lively Wednesday episode that runs the gamut of some tried and true SGS subjects. They begin by reading the latest description for a new Sun Day Red collection and then quickly transition to an article featuring lots of mule comments on PGA Tour reforms and ongoing PAC discussions. Is the Tour really churning the right way? The schedule f...

What another great, weird weekend in golf. Andy and Brendan convene to cover it all, from Scottie Scheffler’s sixth win of the year, the wild protest scene on the 18th green, Tom Kim’s charge, and the disgrace that is TPC River Highlands and the changes that were done to make it harder. At the Women’s PGA, they hail the very cool story of Amy Yang getting her first major a full 17 years into her c...

Summer Friday rambles are back in session for this episode. Andy and Brendan begin with a keyboard malfunction, a conspiracy about vowel-less hats, and the latest Sun Day Red collection. There’s a power ranking of Joe West, Joey Crawford, and Ed Hochuli spurred on by the “Travelers” alternate logo that SGS created. Then they get to a round of unsubstantiated rumors about sponsor’s exemptions into...

Andy and Brendan are back home after an exhilarating week at Pinehurst. They begin with news of the Olympics field announcement and the global conspiracy to blackball Rory Sabbatini and Slovakia from a silver medal defense. Then they get to the other Rory, who withdrew from the Travelers Championship following his brutal loss at the U.S. Open. They do some USO cleanup, both on Rory, his future, hi...

An all-time U.S. Open finish, one where Andy and Brendan spent the whole afternoon chasing the final two groups, demanded the beefiest of episodes. The two jump right into it, going in-depth on watching Bryson DeChambeau, Rory McIlroy, and all that Pinehurst provided both as a course and venue for this epic championship. They discuss Bryson’s incredible day, his crazy finish, his amusing quotes ab...

Andy and Brendan are in after a full afternoon chasing the contenders at the U.S. Open and they empty the notebook with 18 more holes to play. They run through some contenders, pretenders, and recount their days following Bryson, Rory, Pavon!, and more. They discuss how the course played and if it will be harder, easier, or the same for the final round. Is this a two-horse race now and is it bette...

We’re at the midpoint of the U.S. Open and Andy and Brendan are bouncing into the weekend with delight at how Pinehurst has played, the status of their games within the game, an improved parking situation, and a strong leaderboard. They discuss their days following some balling superstars (Rory, Bryson) and struggling superstars (Scottie), and how the course is making some more uncomfortable than...

Andy and Brendan are giddy after a day shuffling through the sandhills of Pinehurst at the U.S. Open. They get back to the Ecco House to recount all their observations on how the course was playing, a stacked leaderboard, a coach inserting himself into the championship, Rory and Cantlay's 65s, some grumpy players bombing, and much more. There are multiple apologies issued for mis-takes and a fabul...

Andy and Brendan are together again, this time in the Sandhills of North Carolina for the 2024 U.S. Open. They are posted up at the Ecco House after a full day walking around Pinehurst No. 2, acquiring scuttlebutt about the course, USGA, conditions, and other miscellany. They discuss some early-week alarmist comments from the players about the course already being “ borderline ” and players shooti...

This Monday episode is full of life as U.S. Open week at Pinehurst arrives. It’s victory Monday for Brendan and the Cleeks as well as for Andy, who revels in Ernie going back-to-back on the Champs Tour and putting Steve Stricker in a body bag in front of his home crowd. They are also joined by Joseph LaMagna, which is cause to talk about their own first experiences covering a major as Joseph gets...

It is Friday! Summer Friday hours are back. Andy and Brendan begin with an unplanned chat on the Memorial Tournament, where it falls in the schedule, if it’s lost luster, and what the ideal scenario is for it going forward as all they want to do is turn their eyes to Pinehurst. Then they get to some random cleanup, on recent drone disturbances at pro golf events, a New York Times report of a big N...

This Wednesday episode bounces all over the place with no real flow or plan. Andy and Brendan begin with a few unsubstantiated rumors, discuss the power of Dan Pohl, the absurd equipment advantages of today, and read some tweets from the Sun Day Red account. Then they get into some scuttlebutt on a couple LIV topics, namely an endangered species and some discontent with teammates. They wander abou...

Andy and Brendan come in fresh off the weekend with lots of meaningful golf to digest. So naturally, they start with the Champions Tour and Caleb Williams prognostications. Then they eventually get to Yuka Saso’s U.S. Women’s Open win at Lancaster, where she put it into overdrive on the back nine of a course that provided a “championship test” as it is understood or lusted about. This gets to the...

This May featured a first of the month recording AND a last of the month recording. What a blessing! As such, Andy and Brendan are giddy heading into the weekend. They begin with some questions about graduation over-saturation and airline travel complaint ove-saturation. Then they get to some of the great scorecard disasters at the U.S. Women’s Open, and what it says about conditioning and setup,...

Is Tim Horton’s actually not good? How did Auburn golf become a powerhouse? Do we have to actually talk "Lexi Legacy" during this U.S. Women’s Open? This medley episode covers three events this week with a trio of guests. Meg Adkins of Fried Egg Golf jumps on before her trip to Lancaster for the USWO to discuss Nelly, Lexi, Lancaster, and a USWO “identity.” Sean Martin talks about his trip to a Sa...