Designing Golf
Fried Egg Golf
Designing Golf is a show about golf courses: how they’re built, who builds them, and which ones are worth playing. Hosted by Fried Egg Golf’s Garrett Morrison, Designing Golf will explore all facets of golf architecture, from its basic principles to its history to its practitioners to its best examples in the United States and abroad. Each episode will investigate a different topic in a fun, concise way. Whether you’re a longtime aficionado or a beginner in the subject, Designing Golf will deepen your knowledge about and fascination with golf courses and golf course design.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Apr 2, 2026 • 1h 12min
The Original Augusta National (feat. Brian Schneider and Josh Pettit)
Brian Schneider, a golf architect who learned the game through hands-on maintenance at elite courses, and Josh Pettit, founder of the Alister MacKenzie Institute and expert on McKenzie’s templates, unpack how early Augusta drew from Old Course ideas. They trace Eden, Road Hole and Redan echoes, debate maintenance-driven design lessons, and explore how original width, mounding and bold greens shaped strategic play.
Mar 19, 2026 • 1h 9min
Golf Architecture 101: Routing
Most golf architects will tell you that the most important step in designing a golf course is routing — that is, locating greens, fairways, and tees, and linking them together into a full sequence of holes. And yet routing is also probably the hardest aspect of golf course design to discuss. So in this installment of our Golf Architecture 101 series, Garrett sits down with PJ Clark to demystify the art of routing.
Mar 5, 2026 • 1h 17min
Pete Dye’s Design Legacy (feat. Scot Sherman)
With the Players Championship approaching, we take a close look at the philosophy and influence of Pete Dye, the architect behind the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass, Harbour Town Golf Links, and many other great courses. First, Garrett explains why golf architecture nerds tend to admire Dye even though Dye violated a lot of currently fashionable principles of design. Then, Garrett brings on Scot Sherman, lead designer at Love Golf Design, to discuss his history with the Dye family as well as his recent and upcoming work at TPC Sawgrass and Harbour Town.
Feb 19, 2026 • 59min
Great Courses: Riviera (feat. Zac Blair)
With the Genesis Invitational returning to Riviera Country Club this week, Garrett digs into the masterful 1927 design by George Thomas and Billy Bell. First, he outlines what makes Riviera great and how he thinks it could be improved. Then he brings on Zac Blair, professional golfer and founder of The Tree Farm, to talk about the finer details of the course.
Feb 5, 2026 • 1h 11min
How to Appreciate Golf Courses (feat. Geoff Shackelford)
How can you properly appreciate a golf course while you’re playing it? In this episode, Garrett talks about a couple of techniques he uses to understand golf architecture in the midst of a round. Then he brings on Geoff Shackelford (18:12), author of the book "Golf Architecture for Normal People" and the Substack newsletter The Quadrilateral, to discuss the “RED” system of appreciating and evaluating golf courses.
Jan 22, 2026 • 1h 1min
Why Aren’t There More Stadium Golf Courses? (feat. Tim Liddy)
In the 1980s, the concept of a stadium golf course seemed poised to take off. The Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass and the PGA West Stadium Course, both designed by Pete Dye, made high-profile debuts on the PGA Tour in 1982 and 1987, respectively. But then the trend ended before it really became a trend. In this episode, Garrett explains the idea of a stadium course and offers some theories as to why it didn’t catch on. He then talks to architect Tim Liddy (19:19) about his recent renovation work at PGA West.
Jan 8, 2026 • 1h 4min
2026 Golf Course Openings We're Excited About
It’s a new year, so we’re looking ahead. First, Garrett talks about whether modern golf architecture is running low on fresh ideas. Then he is joined by his Fried Egg Golf colleague Matt Rouches to discuss six (or, by the end of their conversation, seven) course openings they’re excited about in 2026.
8 snips
Dec 18, 2025 • 1h 41min
The 10 Defining Golf Courses of the Past 15 Years
Join Andy Johnson, founder of Fried Egg Golf and expert in course architecture, alongside Matt Rouches, a keen commentator on golf design, as they explore the defining golf courses of 2010-2025. They discuss what makes a course influential and unique, spotlighting Tara Iti's impact on New Zealand's golf scene and the innovative reconstruction of The Lido. The duo also dives into the social media-driven success of Sweetens Cove, the short course revolution sparked by Pinehurst's Cradle, and the cultural significance of clubs like A Hoopie Match.
Dec 4, 2025 • 1h 21min
Golf Architecture 101: The Golden Age
What is the so-called “Golden Age of golf architecture”? In this installment of our Golf Architecture 101 series, Garrett introduces his Fried Egg Golf colleague PJ Clark to the three big ideas that sparked the Golden Age at the beginning of the 20th century.
Nov 20, 2025 • 1h 30min
The Future of Golf Course Restoration
In the U.S., many of the greatest old golf courses have already undergone restoration work. So where can historically informed golf architecture go next? In this episode, Garrett explores a few projects that represent intriguing frontiers of the golf course restoration and renovation industry. First, he sits down with Jeff Stein to talk about Stein’s and Brian Ross’s historically inspired redesign of the Great Dunes at Jekyll Island Resort. Then he speaks with Clyde Johnson about the subtle craft of restoring British links courses.
