TalkinGolf

Welcome to season 6 of the TalkinGolf History Podcast- I sincerely apologize for the delay to kick off this new exciting season. Today we have a special show...another edition of VaughnCon where we get extremely blunt on our golf course architcture takes. This is a jointly owned podcast between TalkinGolf History, the Donald Ross Society and Golf Club Atlas. Our special guest today is Jason Straka of Fry-Straka Design.

Someone of you asked for it and now all of you have to live with it;) Episode #113 dives into my mini-museum known lovingly as the Golffice. I break down my history with these historical items - tell a bit of their backstory and answer listener questions on how to build your own collection and the rehashing some of my terrible mistakes..."yes I could have bought Ben Hogan's clubs 15 years ago and would have made a profit of $350,000 had I sold them today." The Golffice is my happy place and now I am going to share it with all of you.

It didnt get a lot of press a couple of months ago, but the restoration of the famed Cobbs Creek Golf Course is underway in Philadelphia. This public golf course was once one of the shining lights of public golf when it was designed and with Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner on their dozers, I wouldnt bet against Cobbs Creek becoming a beacon for how cities can embrace their public golf courses. What gets lost in this big story is how the dreams of two men (Cirba and Bausch) are about to come true. This is a story of how passion can overcome all odds.

The History of LIV Golf shares the early history of this rebel golf tour that whether you like it or hate it has changed the professional game of golf. We are joined on the podcast by journalist and author, Alan Shipnuck to discuss his new book, "LIV and Let Die."

The third and final episode of the Rise and Demise of the Ben Hogan Golf Company. John Barba of MyGolfSpy joins us once again to tell the final chapter of this iconic brand, but unlike our other Rise and Demise stories, this brand may yet rise again!

If you enjoyed part 1 of the Rise and Demise of the Ben Hogan Golf Company, then I highly suggested you find a quiet place to seclude yourself from the outside world and get ready for an insane golf history tale which includes sabotage, a Texas revolt, the acquisition of Pebble Beach and a plan to make it a private course for the Japanese Elite! Buckle up for The Rise and Demise of the Ben Hogan Golf Company Part 2 with special guest John Barba of MyGolfSpy.

We are once again joined by John Barba of MyGolfSpy to dive into another historical tale from the golf manufacturing business. Today on our show we dive into Part 1 of the Rise & Demise of the Ben Hogan Golf Equipment Company. This epic tale starts in 1953 and sadly ends in 2022 with the last and perhaps final demise of this famous brand.

I have no idea how to describe this episode other than to say that Vaughn Halyard and I started this podcast after playing Landmand for the third time and we had no agenda or a script. This is a bit different from our past podcasts, so if you are listening for the first time its not quite what we normally deliver, but I felt it was still worth publishing especially in its raw form. Just two friends who love golf history and golf design.

In this episode we celebrate the 2023 Open Championship and its host club, Royal Liverpool. We are joined by a familiar voice, Joe McDonnell who rejoins us on the podcast to talk about his home club. We tend to think of links golf as something eternal - something that is unchanged - or perhaps created by Mother Nature. Today we dive into all of the changes that have occurred at Hoylake and how the course has evolved to the course that will host this year's Open.

With the Open Championship returning to Royal Liverpool, we thought it was the perfect opportunity to reshare the amazing history of John Ball, Junior. Ball was the first amateur in history to win a professional major and he was the most prolific winner of the Amateur Majors in golf history. This is the story of Hoylake's original hero - the man that helped bring the Open to Royal Liverpool - the golfer who became the first Englishman to win the Open. The underrated, John Ball, Junior.

Episode #104 welcomes back the USGA, with USGA Golf Historian, Katie Boyce who joins the show to discuss the History of LACC, the history of golf in Los Angeles and the USGA in California. We hope you enjoy this wonderful pre-US Open podcast!

In episode #103 we kickoff where we left off in episode #102 - we make the turn to discuss Andrew Green's transformational restoration of Oak Hill's back nine and mix in some history you might not get anywhere else.

We are joined by renowned golf course architect, Andrew Green to discuss the history and restoration of the Donald Ross classic, Oak Hill's East Course which will be the host of the 2023 PGA Championship. On this podcast we dive into the front nine - how they changed over the years, how Andrew and his team restored them and then we sprinkle in a little bit of history behind each golf hole for measure.

TalkinGolf History Episode 101 dives into the rich history of the events that transpired before Bobby Jones purchased the land that Augusta National sits on today. We are joined by golf historian, Greg Lamb who shares the property's unique history - from the Native Americans who lived on the land, to the land owners who tried to make a business out of it, to the public golf resort that nealry happened here, to a retired golfer looking to design his first golf course.

Its been 5 years in the making...our 100th Episode! Today we dive into the History and Restoration of Belleair CC, which happens to be my home club. Belleair has not only a fascinating golf history, but has just been restored to one of the best Donald Ross' courses in the United States. Our panel for this show includes: Myself, Connor T. Lewis, the Founder of the Society of Golf Historians Vaughn Halyard, the MC for this show, my producer and Board Member of the Society of Golf Historians Hal Bodley, former President of Belleair CC, Chairman of the Restoration Committee and the author of Belleair's 125th Anniversary Book Jason Straka of Fry-Straka Design, who was the masterful architect who helped reno-restore Belleair's West Course in 2022.

Only one episode from our 100th show! And #99 is a doozy! Vaughn Halyard and I welcome the President of the Donald Ross Society, Brad Becken to talk about his new book, "The Golf Course Architecture of Donald Ross" which is now available for purchase at www.ClassicsofGolf.com. I promise there is something for everyone on this show- I learned a lot and I hope you do too! We filmed and recorded this show on location at Belleair Country Club.

In Episode 98, golf historian Dave Moore joins the show to share the tragic story of US Amateur Champion, Eben Beyer who conquered the game of golf but was struck down in his youth by radium poisoning. It goes down in golf history as one of golf's saddest stories.

What better way to kick off season 5 of the TalkinGolf History Podcast than with an unplanned podcast with my dear friend Vaughn Halyard. We had just concluded our round on the newly restored Belleair CC and Vaughn wanted to to go public with his thoughts. What follows is a funny podcast where Vaughn and I talk about Donald Ross' Belleair CC, our travels across the country sharing golf history through storytelling and where this podcast should go in 2023.

This episode concludes our three part series on the History of AW Tillinghast. We kick off Part 3 with golf historian, author and Tillinghast expert, Phil Young as we enter into the Great Depression, Tillinghast's bankruptcy and his much maligned work with the PGA of America. We end with a high note as I ask Phil: "What three courses would one have to play to best understand the genius of AW Tillinghast?" His answer may surprise you. This is the last episode of Season 4 - thank you for listening!

Golf Historian, author and AW Tillinghast expert, Phil Young joins us on the show for Part 2 of the History of AW Tillinghast. In this episode we dive into some of Tilly's most famous designs, as we ponder the question of Tilly's genius and whether it was divine genius - ie... did he just inherently understand strategic golf design or did his architecture evolve? Stick around for the end of the show where Phil riffs on 6 of Tilly's great designs.