The Shotgun Start

Andy and Brendan get one more unexpected recording together in the Swamp before departing for the week. They offer a few reactions from their time down in Florida, which included a pass by of the famed Abacoa. They transition to a Swamp denizen who is playing on the Euro Tour this week and may set a new record for the “the spread” in a no-cut Dubai event. Then they get to the many shake-ups at the executive level in pro golf, with Marty Sleeps leaving the R&A and Keith/Scott Pelley leaving the European Tour. This leads to great amusement over Pelley’s replacement being just a Guy, literally, capitalized. Do the changes have anything to do with a reshuffling of the world order in golf? They also discuss another tamer Phil interview in which he said multiple times he is too “divisive” to be a Ryder Cup captain, right now at least. They close with a round of SGS Golf advice questions on your clubs going over the cliff at Cabot Cliffs, if there’s PXG “type,” and what pampas grass in your yard might signal. 

Andy and Brendan are happily reunited in the Jupiter swamp for this Wednesday episode and they have some reactions to their rental home’s putting green architect, as well as its robot toilets. Then they transition to the controversial field composition for this week’s Sony Open, the first “regular” event under the new/old schedule in the Signature Event era. Has the Tour completely bumbled it and screwed the rookies out of their debut? Should DP World Tour players be given priority over KFT grads? Or is this just a case of the Tour modernizing and getting leaner? They discuss this hot topic, make some one-and-done picks, and hit on a few things to watch at Waialae. Then they get to the DP World Tour, where Rory McIlroy had a lengthy response on what he sees for the future potential of pro golf and the possibilities of a world tour.

With Andy traveling, and Brendan scheduled to early Monday morning, this is a podcast recorded and completed on the run in some of the most dire circumstances in this podcast’s ramshackle history. A first attempt from the baggage claim in a swamp airport is scuttled and transferred to the rental car shuttle and eventually the rental car. Needless to say, they cover Chris Kirk’s win in Kapalua, Spieth’s final round of “bad breaks,” more low scores and 400-yard drives, and the Kevin Kisner experiment in the NBC booth. Then they get their hands on the itinerary for the much-maligned “rookie meeting” that had players flying to Honolulu on the eve of an event they could not get into, so they run through the full lineup of various sessions indoctrinating the rookies into the PGA Tour Way.

Andy and Brendan are back for their first Friday episode of the year and it’s a joyous scramble. They begin with what Andy terms as one of the funniest and bizarre articles he’s read and stumble around on a few random non-golf topics. Then it’s on to one of the best watches of the year: the first round, primetime golf from Kapalua. They react to some sponsorship shuffling on hats and feet, sadly with one Sepptic Tank. They discuss Scottie Scheffler’s opening round, Sahith Theegala’s early lead, and whether or not they missed Zinger. Also, what is going on with his replacement? Then they discuss Rory McIlroy’s comments on LIV and whether they were a “stunning U-turn” and the subsequent reactions from both Phil Mickelson and Greg Norman to them, with the latter appreciating Rory “falling on his sword.” They close it out with a few more over-unders for the 2024 season, with Brendan trying to put Andy in a blender on a few major predictions, LIV movements, and Bears props.

Andy and Brendan are back in 2024 and they’re starting a little worse for the wear but enthusiastic and encouraged for another year. They discuss some quick resolutions and the PGA Tour’s opening event at Kapalua, including a variety of Catnip subjects and a field that is not its strongest coming out of the gates. The Rahm-to-LIV impact is felt pretty quickly and they discuss this as well as some Mac Hughes comments on Tuesday in the press room. They also have some fun with the caddie revolving door and the notion of ranking the best golf teachers in America. They also run through the schedule for the week, including some concerns about NBC’s tower experiment, and make their long-awaited gambling picks. The back half of the podcast is their annual over-unders exercise with a mix of serious and semi-serious props for the coming year.

Andy and Brendan reconvene after the holidays to catch up on all they missed during the break and settle up with a few listener queries before the end of the year. They opened up the floor for SGS Golf Advice as well as an AMA on Twitter, so they bounce around on many subjects related to the podcast, golf, Tour golf, themselves, and golf courses past, present, and future. 

Andy and Brendan are back for the finale of the Year in Review, picking up with the PGA Tour’s visit to Congress for a hearing on its “merger” with the PIF and going all the way through to the last low gross championship of the PGA Tour season. Before YiR, they begin quickly with some amusements from an article on recent LIV transactions, some Q-school thoughts, and a dispatch from the ground watching El Pato’s return to golf after getting out of jail. Then it’s another beefy Year in Review session, from the Senators getting off some insane questions to Tour execs to a wildly amusing British Open and into the Playoffs. This is the usual SGS approach to the year in review, focusing more on the amusing, inane, and extraordinary and it will continue to roll out over the next several weeks in multiple parts to be enjoyed at your convenience during the holiday season.

This monster episode wrangles with a perfect Browns-Bears mess of a game that Andy and Brendan wish they had attended in person. After debriefing on that for a bit, they move to the Catnip Carnival that was the PNC Championship and try to set up the higher stakes golf that will be Monday’s finish at Q-School. Then they discuss some reports of Geoff Ogilvy coming to NBC, as well as Kevin Kisner for a few events at the beginning of the year. Then it’s onto a marathon session for the Year in Review, where they take on the dramatic Canadian Open finish, a wild U.S. Open week in LA full of golf course takes and merger backlash, LIV’s trip to Europe, and a few more PGA Tour events that amused in the middle of majors season.

This Friday episode continues the Year in Review, which is in the throes of major championship summer. But in 2023, those majors took a backseat to the summer bombshell of a PGA Tour and LIV, or PIF, “merger” announced out of the blue on June 6 on CNBC. This portion of the Year in Review picks up post-PGA with the full onset of Mike Block mania taking over the entire sports world, another amusing Memorial week, and then the merger announcement, players meetings, Jay interviews, and immediate fallout in the week of the Canadian Open. Does what was being said that week reflect the year-end reality now? This is the usual SGS approach to the year in review, focusing more on the amusing, inane, and extraordinary and it will continue to roll out over the next several weeks in multiple parts to be enjoyed at your convenience during the holiday season.

Well, the mules have slowed Year in Review progress to a crawl. Brendan and Andy react to a letter from a law firm signed by 21 PGA Tour players from the “mule” category, or maybe something else, demanding to be heard and wanting transparency into the PGA Tour Policy Board’s process. They read down the list of names one by one trying to ascertain the motivation and success probability of this kicking and screaming. Then they also get into Tony Finau allegedly turning away from LIV to return to the PGA Tour, but the rumor hot stove just kicking back up in full force with a few other names. Q School finals are given event of the week with a few nuggets on its return. Then they get to the Year in Review Part 6, which is solely on the PGA Championship at Oak Hill and the arrival of Michael Block into our lives. It’s a wonderful trip down memory lane when time split in two, Before Blockie and After Blockie, as well the return of Brooks to the major winner’s circle.