The Shotgun Start

This late Monday episode was planned as another installment of the Year in Review, but Andy and Brendan could not shut up about some of the recent developments in the world of golf. So they begin with a few comments on Thanksgiving weekend before transitioning to reactions on The Match V. Is hard work never really sleeping with Bryson? They discuss Phil’s work on the mic, and why Brooksy was always a natural for this kind of deal. Then it’s on to Tiger’s first interview since his car accident. They discuss Tiger as a golf guru for Charlie, the joy of just seeing him make an appearance, questions they wish were asked, and the unnecessary timetable guesswork that’s happening. Also, what his statement about not playing the Tour full time anymore might mean for that organization -- speaking of, the Asian Tour lobbed a salvo with the announcement of a lengthy commitment list for the Saudi International next year. Can the Tour do anything to respond and is this list just going to keep growing? Back with more Year in Review Part 3 later this week!

This Black Friday edition of the Year in Review is a quick companion piece to Wednesday for your Thanksgiving holiday travels, and it’s brought to you by Precision Pro Golf, the official rangefinder of the Shotgun Start. This part picks up with some of the Pat Reed embedded ball-gate fallout, and runs through the Phoenix Open, Pebble Beach, and a wind-delayed Riviera. 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 week or so in multiple parts to be enjoyed at your convenience during the holiday season. There is also, if you can believe it or not, a Black Friday sale in the SGS Pro Shop if you’re so inclined.

The annual Year in Review series is back, and earlier than normal this year thanks to sponsor Precision Pro. This episode begins with some quick comments on reports of the PGA Tour bringing wide-ranging purse increases and other incentives as a counter move to the upstart disruptor leagues. Then it’s on to the Year in Review, beginning with Kapulua, where Bryson was trying not to black out and Pat Reed was wearing non-sponsored GFore apparel. This part runs through Torrey Pines, where Pat Reed was self-adjudicating embedded balls. 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 week or so in multiple parts to be enjoyed at your convenience during the holiday season. Happy Thanksgiving and thanks for your support of the podcast!

This Monday episode is an amusing jaunt through a surprisingly full weekend of golf news. Andy and Brendan begin first with the Tiger Woods swing video, expressing surprise, hope, and context about the commercial aspect of why it was posted. They discuss whether this means we’ll see him playing again soon, or ever. Then they get to Dubai, where Collin Morikawa’s impressive career start continued by becoming the first American to win that season-long contest. They discuss some of the outrageous numbers Morikawa is putting up. There’s also an unexpectedly lengthy chat about Rory, his coach split, what success in November means for someone with his resume, and ripped shirt-gate. On the CME, they marvel at Jin Young Ko’s dominance, her GIR streak, and the state of the women’s game heading into 2022. There are digressions on Lexi, Nelly, and Lydia as well. Talor Gooch is given his due for his breakthrough win before a closing segment on hot driver faces, Brooksy’s new equipment deal, and whether his best golf is behind him.

We are joined by the estimable Shane Ryan for this Friday episode. Shane is at the RSM Classic this week in Sea Island, and jussssst finished a 40-day sprint writing a much-anticipated Ryder Cup book. We begin first with that project -- the arc and elevator pitch of the book, his overarching takeaways from a decade immersed in the Ryder Cup, what it was like to write in such a short span after the conclusion at Whistling Straits, and one especially despairing moment during that writing process. Then we transition to his view from Sea Island, what he likes about the event that some might argue shouldn’t exist, and what he’s seen this week so far. Shane is also a defender, mild albeit, of the fall series and expounds on what he finds acceptable and endearing about a portion of the schedule that is often an easy target of the misanthropes. Thanks to Shane for the time, and you can preorder his book here.

This Wednesday episode begins with a tale of Andy claiming he just played golf in the worst weather he’s ever experienced on the course. Then he and Brendan debate and consider the worst day of the week, with a strong argument made for Tuesday. The schedule for the week begins with the RSM Classic, an event with a commendable-enough field full of Georgia Bulldogs. The CME Championship is then discussed, as well as the “remastered” Tiburon course and the general Naples scene. Over on the Euro Tour, it’s the Race to Dubai conclusion, with Collin Morikawa in the driver’s seat and Billy Boy on his heels. The Town Crier was busy making proclamations from the Middle East, calling for a reduction in cards and fewer “handouts” to the rank and file PGA Tour players not doing enough. These comments, and a solution, are discussed in a closing news segment that also features brief asides on Rory’s carbon footprint and his apparent Greg Norman distaste.

Andy and Brendan are back from the weekend in one piece -- barely, as one host did fall off the back of a moving truck. They begin by talking Houston Open, which goes off into a discussion on how Memorial Park punched back a bit on this field of elite tour pros over the weekend. Jason Kokrak’s winning ways are praised, but there are also questions about whether Golf Saudi might soon get the UPS brown-out treatment as a sponsor. There is also a report from the ground on Brooks himself being briefed on the infamous “Spartan Butters Wedding Theory.” On the LPGA, they begin first with the Lexi Problem after another ghastly putting finish. Lamborghini insurance is also a meaty subject of discussion in the LPGA recap. On the Champions Tour, they hit on the general confusion over who won the Chuck Cup and who won the Chuck Championship and the seniors really throwing their weight around when it came to priority TV coverage.

This Friday episode begins with some quick discussion around Slugger White joining up with Greg Norman and the Saudi-backed LIV Golf Investments, as well as the European Tour becoming the “DP World Tour” with a 47-event schedule. There’s also a reading of an extremely weird Slugger and Norman moment illustrative of why they might be working together again. Then Andy and Brendan continue on with their Friday guest routine to go decisively off-golf-topic with Ben Rothenberg, a tennis writer for the New York Times, Racquet Magazine, and host of the No Challenges Remaining podcast. It was suggested to them that tennis has many of the same structural and organizational issues, and strengths, that golf currently grapples with and that Ben would be the perfect guest to orient them on that. It’s an interesting and edifying discussion on another sport that should resonate with the golf nut who might know little (or a lot!) about pro tennis.

Andy is in Brendan’s neck of the woods for this episode and he is plagued by Brendan-levels of execrable wifi, so this one runs short. They begin with a rant about hipster coffee shops that open too late, as well as other breakfast cuisine retailers that maintain peculiar hours. Then it’s on to the schedule for the week, starting with the Houston Open, or the Hewlett Packard Enterprise Houston Open as it’s now known. They discuss some featured groups, Memorial Park conditions, and the hopeful return of rowdy crowds. The blueberry brigade will be back out in full force for the return of the LPGA in the Tampa area. The Schwab Cup finale and Euro Tour descent into Dubai are given a quick nod before the Wifi puts a quick end to this one, but we’re on to Friday.

This Victory Monday episode begins with an appreciation of Cleveland and Illinois weekend sports success, but not of Bert Bielama’s coaching tactics. Then it’s on to the golf, beginning with Viktor Hovland’s win in Mayakoba for the second straight year. Andy offers some statistical insights into what makes Hovland so good, even in comparison to his elite peers, and where he might fall on the Rahm and Morikawa scale. The world amateur No. 1 Keita Nakajima’s win at the Asia-Pacific Am is reviewed, with praise for both him and that event’s continued run. There’s a deep dive analysis on Steven Alker, winner of the second leg of the Champions Tour playoffs, and just the astounding cash run he’s been on the past 10 weeks. It’s another instance which really pulls the pants down on the Champions Tour. Lastly, they preview the final day of KFT Q-school and express sympathy for Big Mike becoming a content pawn.