The Fried Egg Golf Podcast

In the latest edition of our Superintendent Series, Andy Johnson meets up with Eric Richardson (@erichturf), Director of Grounds at Essex County Club, at the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA) Conference and Trade Show in San Diego, California. Along with architect Bruce Hepner, Eric has worked to return Essex County to its Donald Ross roots. He has overseen projects such as enlarging greens, changing mowing lines, reshaping bunkers, giving the course a minimalist look and feel, and maintaining ideal playing conditions on the property's unique terrain. Andy and Eric also discover they have a similar disdain for ball washers. The Superintendent Series is brought to you by the Toro Company.

Ben Cowan-Dewar is the co-founder and CEO of Cabot, the company that developed Cabot Cape Breton and recently purchased World Woods Golf Club in Florida. Ben talks with Andy Johnson about Cabot’s first U.S.-based property, which will be rebranded as Cabot Citrus Farms. They also discuss Ben’s unconventional path to becoming a golf course developer, the early days of Cabot Links, and his experiences working with Bill Coore and other great architects.

In the latest installment of our “What to Know About…” series on golf’s greatest architects, we focus on Perry Maxwell, the designer of many courses, including Prairie Dunes, Southern Hills, and Old Town Club. Garrett Morrison and Andy Johnson kick off the episode by talking about The Fried Egg’s upcoming event at Dornick Hills Country Club, the first course Maxwell built. We then present two conversations: one between Garrett and biographer Chris Clouser on Perry Maxwell’s life and work, and another between Andy and architect Colton Craig (@craig_colton) on Colton’s quest to play every Maxwell course in existence. Toward the end of the podcast, we return to Chris for some closing reflections on Maxwell’s architectural legacy. (Time stamps below.) The Banker, our June 6 event at Dornick Hills in Ardmore, Oklahoma, opens for registration on Monday, February 7. For more information, visit our new events page on Golf Genius. Check out The Midwest Associate, Chris Clouser’s biography of Perry Maxwell. Time stamps: 0:35—Discussion of Dornick Hills and The Banker 7:04—Chris Clouser interview 36:34—Colton Craig interview 54:05—Final thoughts with Chris Clouser

Legendary golf course architect Bill Coore returns to the podcast for the first time in over two years. He and Andy Johnson have a lot to catch up on, and they cover a number of past and present Coore & Crenshaw projects, including Old Sandwich Golf Club, Bandon Trails, the Warren Golf Course at Notre Dame, and Brambles in Northern California. Bill shares his insights on the current boom in golf course construction and how it differs from the last upturn in the 90s and early 00s. He finishes with some reflections on what keeps him going and what he loves most about designing golf courses.

In the second of their five Bandon Dunes deep dives, Andy Johnson and Garrett Morrison discuss what may be the resort’s most polarizing course: Old Macdonald, built by Tom Doak and Jim Urbina in 2009. Andy and Garrett start with a historical rundown, touching on the origins of C.B. Macdonald and Seth Raynor’s “ideal holes,” the decision to make Old Mac a tribute to those templates, and the unusual collaborative process behind the construction of the course. Then Andy and Garrett dig into the nitty-gritty of Old Mac’s design. They talk about the holes they love (and don’t quite love), and they try to figure out why this unique, brilliant course sometimes rubs people the wrong way. The Bandon Deep Dives are brought to you by Zero Restriction (code: OLDMAC).

While visiting Scottsdale, Arizona, Andy Johnson met up with Tim Jackson and David Kahn of Jackson Kahn Design (@JKDgolfdesign). Tim and David got their start working for Tom Fazio’s organization, founded their own firm in 2009, and went on to do striking, ambitious work at Monterey Peninsula Country Club and Scottsdale National Golf Club. In this episode, they describe their design style, share stories of working for Bob Parsons (“kaboom, baby!”), and explain how a video game helped them conceptualize the Bad Little Nine at Scottsdale National. They also have some choice words about the current state of golf course architecture as an art.

In this second part of his most recent conversation with Andy Johnson, Tom Doak answers more listener questions, including ones about the upcoming Sedge Valley project at Sand Valley and the non-golf literature that has influenced him. Tom and Andy also discuss how golf course architecture finds itself at a crossroads, with established architects approaching retirement just as construction has started to boom. Finally, Tom answers the hardest question in Yolk with Doak history.

As the supply-chain crisis escalates, new golf equipment is becoming pricier and harder to get ahold of. So it might be a good time to take an interest in used clubs. Ryan Barath (@rdsbarath), lead content strategist at Tour Experience Golf, is one of the industry's most knowledgeable resources on that subject. Ryan talks with Garrett Morrison about how his golf nerdery started and how the equipment business has changed during his career. In the second half of the episode, Ryan and Garrett give their picks for two sets of used clubs: one that can be had for under $750 total, and another that consists of equipment made before 2005. This exercise allows them to delve deeper into the products, innovations, and trends that have, for better or for worse, shaped 21st-century golf. On The Fried Egg website: How to Assemble a Great Set of Used Golf Clubs

In the latest edition of our interview series with golf course architect Tom Doak, Tom answers listener questions about New Year's resolutions, forward-tee placement, and accounting for climate change in his designs. He also shares with Andy a number of new concepts and projects he'd like to explore, including a modern replica of Pine Valley, a course specifically for women, and a fresh take on residential golf. Look for part two of this conversation in the coming weeks.

Why aren’t there more women in the turf industry? What changes would be necessary for there to be more? Devon Carroll (@turfgirl24), a doctoral candidate in turfgrass science at the University of Tennessee, has looked deeply into these questions. Recently she has been interviewing women who hold leadership roles in turf and finding out how more women might be recruited and retained. This topic has taken on additional urgency over the past several months as workplaces everywhere, including those in golf, have struggled to find labor. Devon joins Andy Johnson to talk about her background in golf and golf course maintenance, her experiences in the male-dominated field, and the ways that the industry can improve its gender diversity.  Check out Devon’s new peer-reviewed research paper, “Women in Turf: A Qualitative Study Examining How Women Have Sustained Their Leadership Role in the Turfgrass Industry.” The Superintendent Series is brought to you by The Toro Company.