Guests of the Pod
317 – Open Championship Final Qualifying: The Moments that Matter
The whole crew get together to recap the action from Open Final Qualifying. Sam, Tom, Luke & Peter relive a wild day across final qualifying venues, sharing everything from Richard Teder’s epic walk-off eagle to the heartbreak of near misses, and the unforgettable scenes of amateurs and pros fighting for a spot at Royal Portrush. They unpack moments that matter, the raw emotion on the 18th green, and why final qualifying is golf’s best-kept secret. Summary of who was where: Sam: Dundonald Links Tom: West Lancashire Luke: Burnham & Berrow Peter: Royal Cinque Ports Huge thanks to Loch Lomond Whiskies for their support with this podcast and others. For more on Loch Lomond Whisky - the official 'Spirit of the Open' - head to their website here. Latest Products
316 – Amateur Golf, the Tennant Cup & Open Qualifying with Half Par
Sam drives down to meet a fatigued Peter Handcock (aka @half_par_kid) at the renown Beaconsfield Services to talk about his first foray back into top-level amateur golf since before Covid and his run at Open Qualifying. First up is The Tennant Cup — golf’s oldest open amateur stroke play event — followed by a bid at Open Qualifying at Kilmarnock Barassie, where he sadly came up just two shots short of securing a spot at Deal for Finals. We’ll continue the story next week on the road to The Open Championship, as our podcast wraps up Final Qualifying. We’ll have correspondents at each venue — if you see us, pop over and say hello! It's one of the best days to watch golf in the UK, and we cannot wait! Sam – Dundonald Links Tom – West Lancashire Luke – Burnham & Berrow Peter – Royal Cinque Ports [...]
048 – Architectural Match Play – Royal St. Georges vs Royal Cinque Ports – pt2
Sam and Bledge sit down for the second half of their course-by-course duel between Royal Cinque Ports (Deal) and Royal St. George’s (Sandwich), resuming at the 7th hole with the match all square. With tales of seawall tees, mega green complexes, and historic anecdotes, they bring their usual blend of architectural insight and pub-style golf chat to the back nine. Below are two youtube links for the two courses: https://youtu.be/C3tAaJ6fkQ0?si=VdwHJAm9RRW7IJyy https://youtu.be/BLs-mQ3MpB8?si=KvSt6GSqn8NWwV9X Latest Products
047 – Architectural Match Play – Royal St. Georges vs Royal Cinque Ports – pt1
Sam and Bledge sit down in the sweltering heat of Badger HQ to debate two of their favourite links courses—Royal St. George’s (Sandwich) and Royal Cinque Ports (Deal). From punchbowl greens to first-tee nightmares, they go head-to-head hole by hole in a playful yet passionate playoff steeped in nostalgia, course architecture, and plenty of sneezes. Latest Products
046 – McDonnell & Cooper w/ Joe McDonnell
Joe McDonnell joins Sam & Bledge to discuss the formation of McDonnell & Cooper, a new golf course architecture firm with our very own Sam Cooper. The formation of this company was part of the excuse of the 6 month break, so sit back and listen to their thoughts on the next generation of golf course architecture Latest Products
315 – Course Diaries: Royal Worlington & Newmarket
Sam and Tom sit down with Nigel Notley (archivist) & Michael Morrison (club historian) from Royal Worlington & Newmarket Golf Club - affectionately refered to as 'the sacred nine' or simply 'Mildenhall' to discuss the history of one of the most unique clubs in the British Isles. As a course, it's simple, elegant and a monument to penal design at the hands of Tom Hood and Tom Dunn. As a club, it's synonymous with The Pink Jug, a concoction of just about everything in the spirit cabinet which comes together in a potent cocktail and now serves as the club's emblem. We'll also be releasing a film from Royal Worlington on Tuesday evening (24th june) so please head over to YouTube for more. Link to find us there can be found here. Latest Products [...]
