The Thing About Golf Podcast

From Colin Montgomerie to Francesco Molinari, and countless others in between, there isn't much Denis Pugh hasn't seen or done in the world of elite player coaching. To listen to him, though, you'd never know it.  The down-to-earth Englishman brings a rare and engaging mix of humour and bluntness to any conversation and this delightful chat with John Huggan is no different.  Pugh wa...

In the world of golf course architecture Bill Coore is considered royalty. His design work alongside partner Ben Crenshaw coupled with mentoring many of the game's current top architects is legendary. And yet, it would be difficult to imagine a more grounded or genuinely humble human being. In Episode 44 of The Thing About Golf, host Rod Morri chats with Coore to try to pinpoint just what it...

Three majors and a Ryder Cup captaincy might be the highlights of a stellar career but as John Huggan puts it in the introduction, the most impressive thing about Padraig Harrington is that he's basically a good bloke.  Harrington sits down with Huggan a week after finishing a remarkable T4 at the PGA Championship at Kiawah Island, a performance that went largely unheralded thanks to the even...

In the male dominated industry of golf club management, Yarra Yarra Golf Club General Manager Andrea Watson stands out but not only because she's a woman.  Completely new to golf when she took her first job in the dining room at Peninsula Country Club, Andrea has gone on to become one of the game's most respected club Managers.  Here, she chats with host Rod Morri about her career in gol...

He's remembered by most – and rightly so – for his two US Open wins, but Curtis Strange's achievements in the game go far beyond that.  A Ryder Cup player and captain, one time holder of the course record at The Old Course at St Andrews and a not infrequent visitor to Australia, he is a thoughtful and eloquent speaker about the game.  In this broad ranging chat, John Huggan explores one...

Since its inception nine years ago the combined men's and women's Vic Open has been a roaring success on all fronts.  Now an LPGA and European Tour event, it would have been all but impossible to predict just how big the tournament would get when it was first conceived by then acting Golf Victoria CEO David Greenhill. While quick to (rightfully) credit others with the eventual success of...

In the world of golf administration there is no more important role than Chief Executive of the R&A.  Former London-based businessman Martin Slumbers was appointed to that role in 2015 and has quietly set about evolving the culture at the organisation to something more in keeping with modern society.  A lifetime golfer with an understanding of the game at the grass roots level, he has demonstr...

At the age of 46 Matt Millar is an anomaly in the modern professional game.  Despite being one of the shortest hitters on the PGA Tour of Australasia he remains a competitive force in fields of much younger – and more powerful – players.  A combination of great accuracy and an enviable short game explain much of his success but as Millar himself admits in this chat, the real key is mental.

Of all the players who have ascended to World No.1 since the rankings began in 1986, Zimbabwe's Nick Price is the one who attracts the least attention.  Universally regarded as one of the best ball-strikers of his generation, Price's distinctive swing saw him hold the top position for 43 weeks. With three majors to his name and as a two time Presidents Cup Captain, there isn't much...

There isn't much Mat Goggin hasn't done in the game of golf, from Australian Amateur champion to professional tournament winner. But what makes the Tasmanian such a compelling interview is that his interests are broader than just the game. An intelligent and articulate speaker who is widely read, Goggin often gives unexpected answers to seemingly simple questions and always keeps the lis...

For more than 30 years Laura Davies has been a breath of fresh air in the game.  A combination of prodigious length and attacking play has delivered 85 professional victories but it is her down to earth nature and sense of humour which has endeared Davies to fellow players and fans alike.  In this wide-ranging discussion with John Huggan, the World Golf Hall of Famer is typically forthright on all...

Luckily for the game of golf there are people like Sue Thomson – one of the army of unsung heroes upon whom the game relies around the world.  Sue is the junior coordinator at Perth's Mt Lawley Golf Club, but the title hardly conveys the impact she makes. We first heard of Sue through Australia's most recent major winner, Hannah Green.  Long before she holed that extraordinary putt on th...

Tom Callahan is one of the best all-round sports writers in the world. Golf has been lucky to have such a fine wordsmith, with a genuine love for the game, witness its biggest moments and tell the stories of champions. In a career spanning five decades, he's has had enough experiences to last a few life times from having Ben Hogan critique his swing, to Arnold Palmer making him drinks to trek...

This episode of the The Thing About Golf has a distinct Scottish flavour as we welcome John Huggan in his debut episode as co-host where he chats with Scotland's most promising young professional in Robert MacIntyre. Huggan caught up with MacIntyre the week after he claimed his maiden European Tour title, the first of what many good judges believe will be multiple career victories. MacIntyre...

Twice a Hong Kong Open winner, Wade Ormsby is one of those golfers who has flown mostly under the radar for much of his career.  It would be fair to say he was a bit of a late bloomer in terms of his golf but as you will hear in this conversation, he has no regrets about learning his craft on the job, so to speak.  Hailing from Adelaide – where his father, Peter, also a PGA professional, owns one...

The name Jane Lock will be familiar to anybody with an interest in the history of the game in Australia.  After all, she won the Australian Women's Amateur three times and was a member of the first Aussie team to win what's now known as the Espirito Santo trophy, the World Cup of amateur golf.  But beyond that, most of us know almost nothing of Jane Lock. An LPGA Tour player from 1980 to...

The first time he played golf he shot "about 140." Last year at the Vic Open, James Nitties joined an elite group in the record books when he reeled off nine birdies in a row. In between, the Novocastrian has been on quite the golfing journey and he's here to talk about it all on Episode 29 of The Thing About Golf .

Brad Hughes was always known as a level above when it came to ball-striking and on those weeks when his putting matched he was close to unbeatable.  But as the game moved away from the heavy wooden clubs of his youth, Hughes' advantage became less and less. He began a search to understand the swing, a search which has ultimately seen him emerge in recent years as one of the game's most s...

Some people are born to be Generals while some are more naturally comfortable in the role of lieutenant; Dean Herden is the latter.  After a playing career that didn't pan out as he had hoped, Herden took what would be an unthinkable step for many: he swapped sides and stated carrying the bag for others.  Some 28 years and 51 victories later, it seems he made the right call.  Herden covers pl...

There's often an adversarial nature to the relationship between golfers and administrators which is why it's rare to find a successful player who makes the transition to the other side. One shining example is Women's Professional Golf Association Tour (WPGA) CEO Karen Lunn – a 10-time Ladies European Tour winner, who now has the responsibility of steering the women's profession...

It's almost impossible to find anybody in Australian golf with a bad word to say about veteran touring professional Greg Chalmers. And, after this lengthy and expansive chat with host Rod Morri, we hope you'll understand why.

He might not have the profile or resume of Ernie Els or Gary Player but Dale Hayes' contribution to golf in South Africa is not diminished because of that. Despite an extraordinarily promising playing career being cut short by the international response to Apartheid, Hayes has continued to be an integral figure in golf in his homeland. His voice will be instantly recognisable to many thanks t...

It's a long way from Warrnambool to the dizzying heights of the PGA Tour and for Marc Leishman, the son of a bricklayer, the two worlds could barely be further apart. Perhaps it is this grounded upbringing that has seen Leishman maintain an everyman attitude to life and the game, right down to his obsession with mowing his own lawn. The five-time PGA Tour winner is an intriguing character, on...

He's an Australian Open champion, a World Cup winner and a dominant force on the European Senior Tour but to talk to him you wouldn't know any of that because at his core, Peter Fowler is simply a good bloke who happens to be good at golf. Talent, as Mathew Goggin once famously said, is merely the entry fee in professional golf and after that it comes down to hard work, self-belief, dogg...

Karrie Webb is a self-confessed golf nerd but unlike the rest of us she also happens to be one of the best golfers in the history of the game. Yet, seven majors and a Hall of Fame career are in some way just the beginning for Karrie because as remarkable as it is to consider, in her own mind, the most important part of her golfing life is really just getting started. You'll hear how in this e...