The Golfer's Journal Podcast

Most players need years to process Augusta National’s intricacies. Ludvig Åberg already has a runner up and a top 10 in his first two Masters. We sat down with the Swedish phenom ahead to examine every hole at Augusta National. From the opening tee shot to the approach on 18, Åberg breaks down the shots he sees—where to miss, where not to miss, what the wind does, preferred ball flights, how the grain lies, and the nuances in the greens you can’t see on TV. Along the way, Åberg explains why he flights almost every iron shot at Augusta, reveals the one shot he'd like a mulligan on, explains what makes Scottie Scheffler so brilliant, and shares his theory on the mythical pull of Rae's Creek. Plus: his Lego obsession, his Champions Dinner menu, and the age-old debate of Method Man vs. ABBA. The Golfer's Journal and this podcast are made possible by reader support. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider becoming a member here: https://glfrsj.nl/MembershipsYTThe Golfer’s Journal Podcast is presented by Titleist.

You are about to become intimately familiar with a previously unknown golf course. For decades, Augusta Municipal Golf Course was the scruffy public track where the locals played. The poor kids from the housing projects next door called it the Patch. A few years ago, Augusta National adopted the course and poured a ton of resources back into it. Next week, the shiny new Patch course will be unveiled to a flood of headlines. But in order to understand where it is today, we must understand the course’s past. For that, Dr. Gregory McCord sat down with host Tom Coyne. McCord was one of those housing-project kids, and he’s written a book about growing up in the Patch. He gives us the real story of life at the course, from stealing golf balls as a kid, to the summer job there that inspired him to better things, to the chance birdie on 16 that put him on a Greyhound to a college scholarship. As the golf world turns to Augusta National, this is the rare time that a story happening outside its gates might be even more interesting.The Golfer's Journal and this podcast are made possible by reader support. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider becoming a member here: https://glfrsj.nl/MembershipsYTThe Golfer’s Journal Podcast is presented by Titleist. 

Gene Wojciechowski has been to the Masters more times than he can count. Now, after covering golf for ESPN for decades, he’s written his first golf novel. On the latest TGJ Podcast, Tom Coyne visits with Wojciechowski to talk All Carry—a story about a down-on-his-luck sportswriter who discovers a set of Jack Nicklaus's old clubs and suddenly finds himself playing in the Masters with the Golden Bear’s ability. Wojciechowski opens up about what drew him to write fiction after a lifetime covering the news of sports and why he believes golf's deeper magic lends itself to a great novel. He also reflects on covering Tiger, his favorite memories from Augusta, and how sports media has evolved over his career. Wojciechowski understands what makes golf special, and in this conversation, he shares why.The Golfer's Journal and this podcast are made possible by reader support. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider becoming a member here: https://glfrsj.nl/MembershipsYTThe Golfer’s Journal Podcast is presented by Titleist.

See the BTS events calendar: https://www.golfersjournal.com/tgj-events/For seven years, members of The Golfer’s Journal have traveled the world to play golf together. More than just a series of subscriber events, the Broken Tee Society Tour has become a cornerstone of our community, fostering lasting friendships and unforgettable experiences on some of the most iconic courses in the world.Where are we headed next? TGJ’s Tom Coyne and Casey Bannon unveiled Part 3 of the 2026 schedule in front of a live audience in the new Broken Tee Society app. With a mix of major championship venues, ultra-privates, public defenders and far-flung adventures, this list boldly goes where no BTS Tour has gone before.All events are exclusive to Broken Tee Society members. Join here to start registering today: https://glfrsj.nl/MembershipsYTTGJ Podcast is presented by Titleist. Special thanks to our 2026 BTS Tour sponsors: Golden Road Brewing Co., Titleist, Club Glove, FootJoy, BMW, Foresight Sports and Bushnell Golf.

The LPGA’s new commissioner has big plans. On the latest TGJ Podcast, Tom Coyne sits down with Craig Kessler—a 40-year-old Harvard Business School grad whose career took him from private equity to Topgolf to the PGA of America before he was tapped to lead the LPGA last year. In this wide-ranging conversation, Kessler breaks down the broadcast deal that will put every LPGA round on live television for the first time in its history and shares why he's so excited about the tour's future. He also reflects on what he's learned about building trust with the players, staying in love with golf when it becomes your job and why harmony across women's golf matters more than competition. Kessler’s mission is clear: make the LPGA impossible to ignore.The Golfer's Journal and this podcast are made possible by reader support. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider becoming a member here: https://glfrsj.nl/MembershipsYTThe Golfer’s Journal Podcast is presented by Titleist.

Darren Clarke has caught 19 permit on a fly—a feat arguably more impressive than winning The Open Championship. Sitting down with Tom Coyne in the Bahamas at his home in The Abaco Club, Clarke happily explains his dual obsessions. He’s not just a boisterous Irishman you’d like to meet at a pub, he remains driven by catching the world’s most difficult fish and beating the world’s best golfers. Clarke opens up about raising his boys after losing their mother and reflects on the miracle of bringing The Open to Royal Portrush following his upbringing during The Troubles. He also breaks down what went wrong at the Ryder Cup at Bethpage and offers a simple solution for Hazeltine. Along the way: the Theodore Roosevelt quote that's driven him for 37 years, the difference between European sarcasm and American heckling, and the joys of living in paradise. The Golfer's Journal and this podcast are made possible by reader support. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider becoming a member here: https://glfrsj.nl/MembershipsYTThe Golfer’s Journal Podcast is presented by Titleist.

Despite playing more great golf courses than most could dream of, Patrick Cantlay is a self-proclaimed 10-handicap in golf course architecture. But he’s working on it. In this episode, he sits down at The Medalist Club with TGJ's Tom Coyne and Casey Bannon to share a Tour player’s perspective on architecture: why green complexes matter more than any other defense, what Riviera's collection of greens teaches about variety, and why he's pushing back against the trend of tree removal. He also discusses the genius of Pebble Beach's routing, the thankless work of course setup, and whether Chicago Golf Club could host a major. Along the way, Cantlay opens up about growing up at Virginia Country Club with coach Jamie Mulligan, reading Cormac McCarthy and Marcus Aurelius between rounds, playing gin in smoky card rooms and what he remembers most about walking into his first U.S. Open at 19. It's a rare look inside the mind of one of golf’s most cerebral players.The Golfer's Journal and this podcast are made possible by reader support. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider becoming a member here: https://glfrsj.nl/MembershipsYTThe Golfer’s Journal Podcast is presented by Titleist.

With exemptions into the Masters, the U.S. Open and The Open Championship on the line, someone’s life is going to change at this week’s Latin America Amateur Championship. Live from the fairways of Lima Golf Club in Peru, host Tom Coyne sits down with a range of voices to capture the importance of the LAAC and the long road it took to bring the championship here after delays tied to political unrest, COVID and building a driving range. The story is told in three parts, featuring Puerto Rico’s Jeronimo Esteve, a 10-time LAAC competitor, Mark Lawrie of the R&A, and Lima Golf Club vice president Álvaro Hernández. Together, they offer a clear-eyed look at a championship that’s become one of the most important gateways in amateur golf and a point of pride for the entire Latin American golf community.The Golfer's Journal and this podcast are made possible by reader support. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider becoming a member here: https://glfrsj.nl/MembershipsYTThe Golfer’s Journal Podcast is presented by Titleist.

Gil Hanse, celebrated golf course architect who restores and designs classic and modern courses, unveils the 2026 BTS Tour schedule. He discusses renovations from Spanish Bay to Lake Merced, preservation work at North Berwick, and creating public designs like Rustic Canyon. Travel highlights include trips to Pebble Beach, Bandon, Ireland, and unique stops such as Sankaty Head and Sand Valley.

When we started this podcast back in 2017, we didn’t have a grand plan. We just wanted to tell good golf stories and see where they took us. Two hundred episodes later, that’s still our north star.To mark the occasion, we asked a few familiar voices from the show to pick their favorite episode from the first 199. TGJ’s Tom Coyne, Casey Bannon, Travis Hill and Alek Timm, along with our original host, No Laying Up’s D.J. Piehowski, each share why these shows stuck with them before rolling them out in full.The result is nearly four hours of conversations that helped shape the podcast. It’s meant for long drives, holiday travel, and strolling down memory lane. Start at the beginning or jump around. Either way, thanks for listening.The Golfer's Journal and this podcast are made possible by reader support. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider becoming a member here:⁠ ⁠⁠https://glfrsj.nl/MembershipsYT⁠The Golfer’s Journal Podcast is presented by Titleist. (00:00:00) A thank you from Tom Coyne(00:03:54) The story of Len Mattiace, selected by D.J. Piehowski(01:02:38) Jimmy Dunne, selected by Tom Coyne(01:29:20) Leon Panetta & Ted Balestreri, selected by Casey Bannon(01:59:18) Sandra Boynton, selected by Travis Hill(02:49:26) Keith Mitchell, selected by Alek Timm(03:56:01) Here’s to the next 200