Golf History
November 2025
348 – Player Profile: Marion Hollins w/ Emily Chorba
In this episode we sit down in the second clubhouse at Pasatiempo, overlooking the 1st and 9th holes, with Emily Chorba – archivist at Pasatiempo Golf Club – to talk about the life and legacy of Marion Hollins, who founded Pasatiempo in the roaring twenties following her successes at Pebble Beach and Cypress Point. Hollins' career in the game is quite sensational, yet at times overlooked. An entrepreneurial mind, she grew up on the wealthy east coast before heading west to help shape the golfing landscape we enjoy today on the Monterey Peninsula, as well as finding success in the Kettlemen Oil Company which enabled her to channel those achievements into the first ever planned sporting complex in North America, with Dr Alister MacKenzie her able accomplice. Her demise is a sad story. Not long after opening, the Great Depression hit and Marion Hollins suffered a tragic car [...]
347 – Golf & Cricket w/ James Woods
With the Ashes kicking off this Friday, Sam heads to an undisclosed location near Ormskirk to sit down with a very good friend of the jar — and first-timer on the show — James Woods, to talk about golf’s close relationship with the game of cricket. We explore the connections between the two sports, how they have overlapped over time, and the characters who excelled in both. A huge thank you to James for his exceptional research for this episode. The podcast is packed with incredible insights, featuring names familiar to many as well as plenty never celebrated on this podcast before. James’ passion for golf trivia can be enjoyed on his social media profile here and, more famously, through his regular picture quiz which he curates for Golf Quarterly, among other contributions. As James rightly points out, Golf Quarterly is a superb investment or gift for any golfer, and [...]
October 2025
342 – The Story of Joyce Wethered & Glenna Collett w/ Stephen Proctor
Stephen Proctor rejoins the pod to discuss his latest book, Matchless — a captivating account of one of golf’s great interwar rivalries. Joyce Wethered, the finest player of her generation in England, and Glenna Collett, the leading light of the American women’s game, were born just 18 months apart and dominated their respective sides of the Atlantic. Stephen’s work as an author is exceptional — meticulously researched and told with a compelling narrative thread. Matchless is no exception. Copies are available from all good bookshops, and we’ve linked Amazon here for ease. Latest Products
September 2025
336 – Obscure Walker Cup Stories w/ Dr Darragh Garrahy
Dublin’s leading authority on pace putting and amateur golf joins the podcast this week to share his top five Walker Cup stories from the previous 49 editions of the venerable matchplay tournament between GB&I and the USA, as well as his All-Star squad of 10 players. Darragh is obsessed with the Walker Cup, collecting artefacts from its history, including 48 programmes, crockery from Ganton, blazers from half a century ago, coasters — you name it. While we’re grateful to him for giving up his time to join the podcast, deep down we know he needs no encouragement to talk about the event he loves. With the event kicking off with the opening ceremony in a matter of days, it's another brilliant teaser around some of the wonderful history of this event! Latest Products [...]
335 – The History of The Walker Cup w/ Richard Fisher
Sam travels to a baking hot committee room at Huntercombe to sit down with previous guest and friend of the show, Richard Fisher, to recap the history of The Walker Cup, including a statistical deep dive into the sessions that make and break a GB&I performance. A huge thanks to Richard for his research and exceptional insight in this podcast. It’s a cracker! Latest Products
August 2025
333: The Tiger Slam Pt 3: PGA vs Bob May
Sam & Tom sit down for Part III of their deep dive into the Tiger Slam. 25 years on from the third leg of Tiger's historic run — and his fifth major victory overall — we revisit the 82nd PGA Championship at Valhalla, where he clinched the Wannamaker in a thrilling three-hole playoff over Bob May to secure his second straight PGA. For more on the Tiger Slam, we highly recommend Kevin Cook’s book, which captures the era in microscopic detail. You can grab a copy here. Latest Products
July 2025
328 – Course Diaries: Royal Porthcawl w/ Peter Evans
Sam speaks to Peter Evans — Professional at Royal Porthcawl — about his time at the club and his experiences on the links, as excitement builds for the AIG Women’s Open this week. Royal Porthcawl is a truly special place in world golf, and while we could have talked for hours about the shower pressure, the incredible clubhouse, and the famously warm welcome, this episode is strictly about the course — which will take centre stage as we look forward to the first women’s major in the land of the dragon. Latest Products
327 – The Tiger Slam Pt 2: Bunkerless at The Old Course
Sam & Tom sit down for Part II of their deep dive into the Tiger Slam. 25 years on from the second leg of Tiger's historic run — and his fourth major victory overall — we revisit the 129th Open Championship at St Andrews, where he clinched the Claret Jug by a record-equalling eight shots. The parallels with the current Champion Golfer of the Year, Scottie Scheffler, are hard to ignore — both with dominant stretches just over 1,000 days apart. This episode has it all: a streaker on the fairway, David Duval taking four swipes in the Road Hole bunker, and the end of a 63-hole bogey-free streak from Tiger. Oh, and in case you'd forgotten — he famously avoided all 112 bunkers across the four days. We’ll return in August with Part III, charting the next chapter: Tiger’s win at the PGA Championship. For more on the Tiger [...]
323 – Day 2 from The 153rd Open: The History of Royal Portrush
Sam & Tom sit down in the clubhouse at Royal Portrush with 2023 Captain - Gerry McAleese - to talk about some of the characters from the club's history that dates all the way back to 1888. In this episode we talk about some of the women who were leading lights in Irish Golf - May Hezlet & Rhona Adair - as well as Sandy Herd who was the club's first professional, Fred Daly and much much more. Latest Products
June 2025
312 – The Tiger Slam Pt 1: Perfection at Pebble Beach
A new short series of podcasts we'll be running to commemorate the 2000/01 Tigerslam where Tiger Woods claimed all four major trophies in a 12 month stretch. In part one we kick off with Pebble Beach. Starting the year off as the defending US PGA Champion, Vijay Singh would clinch the first major of the year, but Tiger was playing by far and away the best golf on tour. As such, it's no surprise he teed off at pebble on the Thursday as the bookies 3-1 favourite. In what would become dubbed 'Perfect at Pebble', Woods' win in 2000 broke all the record books, and yet the Tigerslam was almost over before it even began on the 18th tee in the second round.... Latest Products
