Guests of the Pod
352 – Sam’s Year in Review and Eclectic 18
This time its Sam's turn to sit in the hot seat and take pot-shots from our regular host Tom, on all things related to his year in golf. From travel, to performance on the links, foursomes match-ups and the honest review of a burger-dog. Here's his new course eclectic 18 from 2025 below, a comfy par 62, 4,000 yarder! 1: Olympic (Cliff's Course) - Par 3 | 180 2: Streamsong Black - Par 4 | 300 3: Cabot Citrus Farms - Karoo - Par 3 | 250 4: Durness - Par 4 | 310 5: Beau Desert - Par 4 | 400 6: Panmure - Par 4 | 390 7: Golden Gate Park Par 3 - Par 3 | 140 8: Sandiway - Par 4 | 360 9: The Park (Par 3) - Par 3 | 40 10: Hayling Island - Par 4 | 270 11: Maple Leaf [...]
351 – Eclectic 18 Year in Review w/ Tom Mills
Sam interrogates Tom about his 2025, his golf, his travels and his outlook on the game. Most importantly takes us on his journey through the year in a form of an eclectic 18, from Merion to Maple Leaf, nd from St Endodoc to Streamsong! Even Cumberwell Park to Cabot, and back again! Latest Products
Brancaster at High-Tide: Royal West Norfolk's Wildest Day
Atop this year’s bucket-list dreams was getting a chance to play at Brancaster (Royal West Norfolk) at high tide. The spring tides bring with them some extra oomph, transforming many of the outer holes into a series of dramatic carries across the water. Huge thank you to the club for making this one happen. We managed to stay in the club’s recently transformed dormy lodging the night before, and then head out at first light so we could time things right. Luckily the weather played ball too! Brancaster is not just one of the most enjoyable links experiences in the British Isles, but the setting, the architecture of the holes, and the history make it a pilgrimage any golfer should seriously consider. https://youtu.be/wne1lDlml38
066 – Top Turf Tech: The Machines That Changed Greenkeeping
Bledge and Lee sit down to count down their top five greenkeeping machines, from ProCores and sprayers to electric mowers and drones. They dive into the tools that shaped their careers and the ones leading the future. Latest Products
The Lost Holes of Blackwell: Harry Colt’s Forgotten Work
Golf course historian Simon Haines and course architect Joe McDonnell (McDonnell & Cooper Design) take us back to 1913, a decade before Tom Simpson was commissioned to build an 18-hole course at Blackwell. At this point in the club’s early history, Harry Colt had been tasked with transforming a rudimentary 9-hole layout, played since 1893, into something more fitting for the needs of its members. This is a lost chapter in the story of Blackwell. Over time, the details of Colt’s original work have faded, but Simon and Joe have worked tirelessly to reconstruct what Colt designed when he only had 50 acres to work with – long before the club owned the land south of the ditch that runs across 8, 3, 15 and 14, or the farmhouse and fields that now form holes 10 and 11. It’s a fascinating insight into the early evolution of golf course architecture, [...]
