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© 2024 The Thing About Golf Podcast
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Estimates say there are as many as 60 million golfers in the world and we all know at least some of them who are completely addicted. The question is why? Join us as we try to discover the answer to that burning question, interviewing golfers both famous - and not - on a monthly quest to solve the riddle of this maddening game.
132 Episodes
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Some people have never known a life that didn't include golf and while they may not have a high profile those people are almost invariably among the most interesting and thoughtful in the game. Henry Cussell is just such a person. Head professional at Yarra Yarra Golf Club at the age of 20 and one of the earliest employees at The National Golf Club on Victoria's Mornington Peninsula, Cussell has likely forgotten more about the game than most people could ever hope to learn. In this ...
There are many in the golf commentary business who add little to a broadcast, but Sky Sports’ Tim Barter is certainly not among them. From on-course interviews to breaking down golf swings, Barter is a master of multiple crafts and in this absorbing conversation with John Huggan, he tells the story of his journey to becoming regarded as one of the best in the golf broadcast business.
Rich Beem is one of the game’s best characters of the past 30 years and his 2002 PGA Championship win over a charging Tiger Woods remains among the most entertaining finishes to a tournament this century. John Huggan sat down with Beam recently to learn about where he came from, what it’s like to win a major, Team USA’s best chance of winning the Ryder Cup away from home and plenty more. Beem is engaging, thoughtful and eloquent and knows how to tell a good story, which all makes fo...
John Huggan sits down with Seve Ballesteros’ son, Javier, to talk life, golf, the Ryder Cup, the state of the world game and plenty more.Few golfers have made an impact on the game comparable to Seve. The Spanish magician entertained and thrilled crowds worldwide with his extraordinary skill and matador-like personality. He remains to this day one of the most popular players in history. John’s chat with Javier for episode 129 offers a fascinating and compelling insight into events and pe...
There is perhaps no more familiar voice in the game than that of Jim Nantz, host of CBS’ golf coverage, including almost 40 years of The Masters. In this candid chat with John Huggan, Nantz reveals his journey from humble beginnings in the game to his start in broadcasting and a career so successful, he now owns a home (with its own golf hole) at the iconic Pebble Beach. Nantz is charming, funny and articulate and has a knack for telling a good story, of which he has plenty.
At the age of four, Peter Baker wrote down that he wanted to be a professional golfer. At 14, he played representative golf with the seniors. At 21, he claimed his first European Tour title and five years later - the same year he represented Europe in The Ryder Cup - he added two more.A lifetime spent in the game has taught Baker much about both life and golf. In a fascinating episode 127, he sits down with John Huggan to reflect on a 37-year career playing the game for a living.
For most, golf is a passion, but for many others, it’s also a business. The golf industry is both large and diverse, ranging from tour professionals and media companies to travel and retail equipment sales. So how does the game stack up in the world of sports business and what are the similarities — and differences — to other sports? Sports business expert and journalist Richard Gillis has a duel interest in golf, both as a lifelong player and having covered the game professionally. ...
Rarely has a player sported the green jacket with such style than our latest guest and one of golf’s greatest assets, Trevor Immelman.However, there is more to the 2008 Masters champion than a pretty golf swing. The 2022 International Presidents Cup captain sits down with John Huggan to talk about his beginnings in the game, his thoughts on the Presidents Cup, the LIV/PGA Tour negotiations, where TV commentators get it wrong and much more. Immelman is one of the game’s best ambassad...
Our special guest this week discusses the new media landscape, building a media business when you had no intention of ever doing so and the challenges of monetising what started out as a hobby.There is no shortage of underdog stories in Hollywood, but in real life - in the day to day news media - those narratives are harder to find. Media has changed, though, and with social media eliminating almost all barriers to entry, there are new players finding their voice - and an audience - in t...
This week John Huggan catches up with a true golfing stalwart who has spent more than 20 years plying his trade on the European Tour.Stephen Gallacher has four wins and a Ryder Cup appearance to his name, placing him in some elite company. Having grown up around golf with his famous uncle Bernard as a mentor, Gallacher still lives and breathes the game.With the senior tour fast approaching and a thriving junior foundation bearing his name, Gallacher is as busy as he’s ever been and chats with...
Few figures in Australian golf would boast a better pedigree, or could claim a longer contribution to the game, than 1997 Women’s Australian Open winner and TTAG special guest Jane Crafter. An almost-25-year playing career has been followed by an almost equal number of years behind the microphone as an in court and booth reporter at events worldwide. Born into a golfing family, Crafter’s journey in the game is unique and compelling, as you’ll discover in this wide-ranging discussion...
He might not be the best-known name in golf, but England’s Howard Clark was a stalwart of the European Tour in a time of major changes for the professional game in the 1980s and '90s. John Huggan caught up with the former Ryder Cupper at his home in England to talk life, golf and a life in golf.
A stalwart of the European Tour during the boom years of the 1980s and '90s, Mark James had a ringside seat to some of the most exciting times the men’s professional game has known. In the era of Seve, Faldo, Lyle and Langer, the Englishman managed to amass 18 victories (32 globally) before going on to captain the 1999 Ryder Cup in one of the most infamous matches in history. In this fascinating chat with John Huggan, James reminisces on a career that spanned almost 20 years from his first Eu...
There are few writers in golf whose words have appeared in as many publications and on as many different “new media” platforms as the prolific Geoff Shackelford. In this episode he tells Rod Morri what the future holds for the game’s media landscape.
There might not be a more polarising voice in modern golf media than Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee and he doesn't disappoint in this wide-ranging chat with John Huggan. From why he thinks a brutal US Open is a good thing, to a breakdown of the type of player who wins at Augusta, this one is heaven for golf nerds.
He is known as one of the nicest people in golf, but he might also be one of the most thoughtful. Ian Baker-Finch, 1991 Open champion, sat down with John Huggan at Augusta National this week to talk the Masters, his career in both golf and television and his thoughts on the modern state of the game.
Two-time Masters winner Ben Crenshaw is as much a part of Augusta folklore as any past champion. Now one of the game’s leading course designers, Crenshaw sat down with John Huggan to talk all things Masters — and everything else to do with golf.
Three-time DP World Tour winner turned Sky Sports commentator Nick Dougherty is a firm believer in golf as metaphor for life and the 41-year-old has had his share of ups and downs in both. John Huggan recently caught up with the Englishman to talk about a lifetime in the game, highlighted by playing with Tiger Woods at his peak in the third round of the 2007 U.S Open. Dougherty also talks openly about the impact of losing his mother suddenly in 2008 and his struggles in the aftermat...
From the humble courses of southern Sydney to the top levels of the game, Wayne ‘Radar’ Riley has been in and around the game of golf for more than 50 years.Having started at the age of seven, he became a six-time winner at the professional level including one of the most iconic Australian Open victories of the modern era.Riley now spends his time analysing and critiquing the world’s best on television as an on-course reporter for Sky Sports in the UK. In this wide-ranging chat with John...
Anyone who spends a lifetime in golf will have gathered plenty of knowledge and insight which simply can’t be learned from a book. Yarrawonga Mulwala Golf Club Resort’s Head Professional, Evan Droop, is one such golfer. Evan’s father was the head professional at Yarrawonga before him and he has two sons, both PGA of Australia members, who may well take the job after him. In between, he managed five years on the Australasian Tour including a life and career-changing near miss at the ...
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