Get a Grip with Shane Bacon

Shane Bacon and Matt McCarty are back to recap last week's Shriners Children's Open in Las Vegas and look ahead a bit at Matt's 2025 schedule on the PGA Tour. To start this episode, Shane and Matt discuss their love for different golf courses as Matt is back in Chicago to play at Medinah this week. They touch on Matt's time in Las Vegas and how he and his friends celebrated coming off his first career win at the Black Desert Championship. From there, Shane asks Matt about growing up playing junior golf in Arizona and what led him to his college golf career at Santa Clara. Matt then shares some details on what the rest of his FedEx Fall will look like as he begins plotting a 2025 schedule that currently includes three majors and a number of PGA Tour Signature Events.

In this new season of Get a Grip, Shane Bacon is joined by PGA Tour winner and the No. 1 player on the 2024 Korn Ferry Tour points list Matt McCarty. Matt won his first PGA Tour event last week at the Black Desert Championship in just his third career start. In this season premiere episode, Shane and Matt discuss Matt's week in Utah leading up to his win, his work with a mental skills coach and how he feels that helps him, and his three-win 2024 season on the Korn Ferry Tour. Matt expresses his excitement for playing in the 2025 Masters, Sentry, Waste Management and more tournaments he is now in the field for following his victory. The two end the episode by previewing this week's Shriners Children's Open in Las Vegas and Matt's plans for the rest of the FedEx Fall as he works to play in the 2025 Signature Events.

Shane Bacon and Andrew Putnam return to the feed to discuss Andrew's first trip to St. Andrews after his T-25 finish at the Dunhill Links last week. The two discuss what's so special about the town of St. Andrews, the challenges of links golf at this time of year, and how players navigate the layout of the Dunhill Links across three different courses. Andrew shares how he prepared for such a unique tournament, and the two highlight the pro-am aspect of the Dunhill as well. After wrapping up on Scotland golf, Shane and Andrew discuss the Korn Ferry Tour following the season-ending championship. Andrew reminisces about being part of the 2014 class of KFT grads following the PGA Tour's 10-year look back at that group. They discuss the differences between the Korn Ferry Tour and PGA Tour, and how players often find more camaraderie on the KFT before graduating to the big tour. To wrap things up, Andrew shares some insight into the new Evergreen Golf Club facility in Tacoma, Washington.

Shane Bacon and Andrew Putnam are back to break down Andrew's 2024 FedEx Cup season following the Wyndham Championship. The episode begins with the pair reminiscing about golf trips of the past and what courses they've recently crossed off bucket lists before diving into Andrew's early offseason plans. Shane and Andrew discuss Andrew's missed cut at the Wyndham and 73rd place finish in the FedEx Cup standings. They talk about finding silver linings in negative things, such as getting some time off to catch up on life after missing the playoffs this season. The two then preview the upcoming FedEx Fall and why Andrew believes the fall run of events suits his game well, with stops in Napa, Japan and Mississippi that Andrew is looking forward to. This episode wraps with a discussion of underrated events across both the Korn Ferry and PGA Tours, as Shane and Andrew shoutout the Boise KFT event, the Valero Texas Open, and more!

Shane Bacon and Andrew Putnam return as the PGA Tour's regular season wraps up with this week's Wyndham Championship. To start, the two break down Andrew's performance at the 3M Open ahead of the Olympics. Andrew discusses his walk-and-talk interview with the CBS broadcast on Saturday and what he thinks he found on Sunday that allowed him to rebound to close out that tournament. After that, Shane and Andrew turn to the current FedEx Cup standings, as Andrew sits ranked 73rd in the race for the Top 70. The two talk through Andrew's mindset going into this week at the Wyndham, changes in his preparation with a new caddie on the bag and what goals he is looking to accomplish during one final playoff push. To close out this episode, Shane and Andrew share observations about the current crop of college graduates and young players on the Korn Ferry Tour and how these players seem to be better prepared for the PGA Tour than in years past.

Shane Bacon and Andrew Putnam are back to recap last week's Barracuda Championship and look ahead to the rest of the PGA Tour season. The two start by talking through Xander Schauffele's win at the Open Championship before moving to Andrew's top-25 finish in Tahoe. Shane and Andrew hit on the pros of having a stableford scoring event on tour and how that can impact how players attack holes. After breaking down why the Barracuda is Andrew's favorite week on the calendar, the conversation shifts to Andrew's push towards this year's FedEx Cup Playoffs as the regular season hits the final stretch. This episode wraps with some questions from Andrew about Shane's broadcasting career and the golf content industry.

Shane Bacon is joined by a Scotland-based Andrew Putnam as the PGA Tour season heads overseas for the Scottish Open this weekend! Shane and Andrew discuss the John Deere Classic before getting into Andrew's time in Scotland thus far, his round at North Berwick and how players are excited for the next two weeks of links golf. The conversation then touches on the difficulties of traveling and being alone while on Tour before wrapping up with a look ahead at the Scottish Open.

Shane and Andrew are back to break down a thrilling U.S. Open played last week at Pinehurst No. 2. The two dive into the duel between Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau and offer thoughts on how the course played before welcoming on the winning caddie, Greg Bodine. Greg, Shane and Andrew discuss Bryson's equipment changes on Sunday, his bunker shot to set up the winning putt and go behind-the-scenes of the week from the winner's perspective.

Shane and Andrew are back to break down Andrew's U.S. Open sectional qualifying experience plus his prep and thoughts on The Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village. The two dive into some personal updates including child birthdays, remodeling Andrew's house and coffee preferences. Finally, they round off the discussion with the age old question "Do short course hole-in-ones count?" plus Andrews thoughts on the PGA-Suadi PIF negotiations.

Shane and Andrew are back to recap the PGA Championship where Andrew finished T-53. He shares his thoughts about the conditions at Valhalla, low scores, and mudballs. The bizarre circumstances of Friday morning are also discussed from both Shane and Andrew's perspectives. Lastly, Andrew talks about makes Xander so good and offers some insight into Bryson's week before wrapping up the episode looking ahead to this week at Colonial.

The Get a Grip Podcast is back with a new format. PGA Tour Member, Andrew Putnam, co-hosts a 6 part series with Shane Bacon. Putnam shares an inside scoop into his lifestyle on tour on and off the golf course. The two dive into traveling with family and kids, growing up playing with Andrew's brother, Michael who played on the PGA Tour, and where his game is at right now. They round out the convo with discussion on Pinehurst and Valhalla plus some quick hitting get-to-know-you questions.

Get a Grip started as a collab between two golf people who live and consume golf in totally different ways. The idea was to have someone from the media (Shane Bacon) and someone on Tour (Max Homa) cohost a podcast together. We are getting back to exactly that with the reintroduction of Get a Grip! Partnered with Fried Egg Golf, Get a Grip will continue to match media and a pro together on the mic. The first mini-season of Get a Grip will star Shane and the clever Andrew Putnam wading into the podcast space, with the Pinehurst Resort as the title sponsor. A great return to how the podcast began!

Shane has his longtime buddy Ashdon Woods on the pod to unpack into their recent trip to Streamsong Golf Resort in Florida. They cover the highlights from the three courses and the Chain, a new short course on the property, before reviewing the surrounding amenities, like the stellar hotel and food scene. All great tips for those looking to plan a trip to the Florida resort in the future. They end the pod with some fun stories from their days on the mini tours, Ashdon's hole-in-one this year on his dad's 70th birthday and playing the Monday money game in Arizona during the pandemic with Max Homa. A special thanks to Ashdon for his time (what a podcast debut!) ____ Check out the brand new Ground Under Repair store: https://groundunderrepair.myshopify.com/  The Golfer's Zoo: https://back9press.com/pages/bacon Listen to another very good golf podcast, the PING Proving Grounds Podcast, right here: https://omny.fm/shows/ping-proving-grounds/playlists/podcast   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A great chat this week with LET Tour player Meghan MacLaren about her life as a professional golfer. Meghan talks about growing up in a golf family, her experiences playing on the Epson Tour in the States, and why writing has been such an amazing outlet for her while chasing her dream.  Meghan has an awesome series that dropped this year with Skratch that is definitely worth your time so give the first episode a watch right here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rC3ji4YhxpY Also, her website that was mentioned a few times on the pod: https://megmaclaren.com/ The Golfer's Zoo: https://back9press.com/pages/bacon Listen to another very good golf podcast, the PING Proving Grounds Podcast, right here: https://omny.fm/shows/ping-proving-grounds/playlists/podcast   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week's guest is a great one as Patrick Koenig joins the show to talk about his RGV Tour. Patrick and Shane discuss his recent world record-breaking moment on the golf course, how much you still love golf when you've played nearly 500 courses in a year and plenty more!  Patrick is one of the good guys in golf so make sure to give him a follow (@pjkoenig) and check out his website for all the tales from the road! https://www.pjkoenig.com/   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's been long overdue to have Kate Smith on the podcast so we are happy to report she is in fact this week's guest! Kate talks about her great season Epson Tour, what flipped from her rookie year to this level of consistent play, and what she will do to prep for Q-School later this year. Then, Kate and Shane talk about how they got into business together and started Ground Under Repair. Kate talks about the balance between owning a business and playing high-level professional golf and how fun it is to get to do both.  They get into Kate's golf upbringing and growing up in a golf family and what it was like leading the Augusta National Women's Amateur after the opening round in 2021.  Kate is the best and we were so pumped to have her on. ____ Ground Under Repair Design: https://gurdesigns.com/ The new PING Proving Grounds Podcast: https://omny.fm/shows/ping-proving-grounds/playlists/podcast   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you missed the Korn Ferry Tour Championship earlier this month, you missed one of the most gutting moments in the history of professional golf. Shad Tuten was right around the top-30 number on Sunday needing to finish strong to get his PGA Tour card for 2024. Shad got penalized on the 15th hole and that two-shot penalty cost him his PGA Tour card, eventually finishing 32nd on the points list. After a couple of months to reflect, Shad joined Shane on the pod to talk about that Sunday, the ruling, when he was initially told that something might be afoot and the fallout after. A huge thanks to Shad for taking the time to chat about this brutal situation and here is to a great December at Q-School and a storybook ending to this unfortunate situation. ____ The Golfer's Zoo: https://www.back9press.com/bacon The new PING Proving Grounds Podcast: https://omny.fm/shows/ping-proving-grounds/playlists/podcast   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you live in the northeast you know that we are getting closer and closer to simulator szn. It's basically here for us cold-weathered people and that means the attention turns to indoor golf options so I thought it made sense to chat a little with a man who started a company to make simulator work easier for the consumer. Carl (The Carl behind Carl's Place) chatted about the business, the Covid boom for his business, and what makes a good simulator room. A huge thanks to Carl for the time!  _____ Check out Carl's Place (www.carlofet.com) and use promo code "GetAGrip" at checkout for 10% off any Carl's Place branded products See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Max Homa returns to the podcast after his first Ryder Cup experience to break the whole week down.  The two open the podcast talking about the Dodgers run in the playoffs and what a real offseason will look like for Max before diving into the Ryder Cup that wrapped on Sunday. Max talks about playing with Brian Harman, the vibe of the event, and how word spread internally about the whole Cantlay/Rory/LaCava situation. Max and Shane also talked about the state of American alternate shot and what can be done (or if there is anything that can be done?) to try and figure out a way to improve that part of Team USA. Max gives out his best shot of the week before the two decide which PGA Tour player would make the most sense for Taylor Swift if it doesn’t work out with Travis Kelce. A big, big thanks to Max for taking the time!  ____ The new PING Proving Grounds Podcast: https://omny.fm/shows/ping-proving-grounds/playlists/podcast The Golfer's Zoo: https://www.back9press.com/bacon The Loop Life Caddies Series with Skratch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=FfeXeASK_k4   Korn Ferry Tour Championship TV Schedule (Golf Channel): Thursday (10/5): 2:00 – 4:00 PM ET Friday (10/6): 12:00 – 4:00 PM ET Saturday (10/7): 12:00 – 4:00 PM ET Sunday (10/8): 1:00 – 4:00 PM ET See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One of the best events of the entire year in golf is upon us, and who better to have than Golf Digest's Joel Beall on the show to break it all down? Joel is live from the media center at Marco Simone to give us his initial thoughts on the golf course, who he thinks it favors, why it'll be an awesome match play course and plenty more. The two then dive into which player on each side must have a good week for their team to win, the Rory struggles as of late in Ryder Cups and who is likely to go out with Ludvig Aberg this week on the European side. Plenty more is discussed including media dining, the shuttle situation and where this event ranks in terms of the greatest events in all of golf. A big shoutout to Joel for taking the time to jump on. Make sure you're following him at @joelmbeall and reading all his work this week (and always) at Golf Digest. Loop Life Episode 1 (from Whistling Straits) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfeXeASK_k4 Loop Life Episode 2 (From Blue Mound CC) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GBR4Ei5p5Q See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.