Sam sits down for a catch-up with friend of the pod, West Byfleet membership secretary and exceptional writer Richard Pennell. Together, they cover a wide range of topics, including Richard’s latest book, Common Grounds, which chronicles his journeys to some of the rawest and purest forms of the game.

Building on the success of his first book - Grass Routes - you can secure a copy through the wonderful folks over at Grant Books here. 

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Tom sits down with Golf Badgers’ James Bledge at BTME in Harrogate to discuss the event.

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Sam and Tom sit down in the West Sussex clubhouse to chat to one half of Mackenzie & Ebert - Tom Mackenzie - about his love affair with landscapes, and a career in course architecture. We talk about West Sussex and making alterations to your home course, as well as work further afield. 

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Sam & Tom head to where it all began for the British motorway service station: Watford Gap. Not only the official north–south divide, but the birthplace of what has grown to become a staple of travel culture in Great Britain — none more so than in our world of planning stops at service stations on the road to and from the links.

This is an episode we’ve wanted to do for some time. And while the connection with golf is extremely tenuous, it’s fascinating to explore the evolution of the motorway service network — from the early days of the M1, through how service stations have changed over time, and what the future might hold.

Of course, we talk about some of our favourites, but now you can rank your own as well. The link below will take you to a ranking website specially created by Tom, where you can leave reviews and help us shine a light on the good, the bad, and the ugly.

https://cookiejarservices.com/

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Sam talks to Jean van de Velde about his career in the game, which began as a six-year-old in Mont-de-Marsan, in the Pyrenees in south-west France. Growing up in the era of persimmon drivers and balata balls, Jean turned professional in 1987 and went on to compete at the highest level of the game for several decades. He is perhaps best known for his performance at the 1999 Open Championship at Carnoustie, where he slept on a five-shot lead going into the final round.

Jean has also been involved in the administration of the game and was instrumental in bringing The Ryder Cup to France in 2018.

A huge thank you to Jean for his time on the podcast. His reputation as one of the game’s great characters — and as a wonderfully honest, funny, and brilliant storyteller — remains fully intact after this epic episode.

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Sam & Tom sit down to discuss their recent trip to Kington in Herefordshire. The highest course in England, Kington offers spectacular views and great architecture from C. K. Hutchison. We talk tangential historic tidbits and the style and playability of the course.

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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 - Par 3 | 150
12:  East Potomac Putting Course - Par 2 | 10
13: Cabot Highlands (Old Petty) - Par 4 | 320
14: Hunstanton - Par 3 | 220
15: Winter Park - Par 4 | 290
16: Hesketh - Par 3 | 180
17: TPC Sawgrass - Par 3 | 130
18: Kington - Par 4 | 270
 Par 62 / Yardage 4210

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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!

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Following on from our Thanksgiving extravaganza about Pasatiempo and the work of MacKenzie and Hollins, Sam sits down with Jim Urbina and Brett Hochstein. A link to our film can be found here. 

Jim has been working on the restoration of Pasatiempo for 25 years now, and knows the course about as well as Marion and the good Doctor would have. His love and care over the last quarter of a century has helped bring the course back to its former glory, and following their most recent work in the past two winters, the green sites are absolutely sparkling.

Brett is a restorative shaper and someone we’ve become good friends with over the last few years. Brett talks about the process of bringing those shapes and contours within the green sites back to life thanks to the wonderful library of Beck photos which exist, and which have helped inform every grain of earth that was moved in the process.

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In this episode we sit down in the second clubhouse at Pasatiempo, overlooking the 1st and 9th holes, with Emily Chorba – archivist at Pasatiempo Golf Club – to talk about the life and legacy of Marion Hollins, who founded Pasatiempo in the roaring twenties following her successes at Pebble Beach and Cypress Point.

Hollins' career in the game is quite sensational, yet at times overlooked. An entrepreneurial mind, she grew up on the wealthy east coast before heading west to help shape the golfing landscape we enjoy today on the Monterey Peninsula, as well as finding success in the Kettlemen Oil Company which enabled her to channel those achievements into the first ever planned sporting complex in North America, with Dr Alister MacKenzie her able accomplice.

Her demise is a sad story. Not long after opening, the Great Depression hit and Marion Hollins suffered a tragic car accident from which she was never the same afterwards. Thankfully, her legacy lives on and her contribution to the club and the area is brilliantly brought to life throughout Pasatiempo, notably in her statue on the first tee, standing as an equal partner with MacKenzie, where Emily can be seen on her immediate right.

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