Kevin Hammer discusses his path into golf administration and his role as president of the USGA. He says he grew up around golf in South Florida, with a father who played college golf, competed on the PGA Tour, and later worked as a club director of golf. He also says he played junior and college golf, but moved into administration through state and regional golf work before joining the USGA.

He explains that his interest in administration began in part through helping with junior golf for his daughter and wanting to improve events for all players. He says his family had long given back to the game through charity events and club work, and that this set an example for him. He adds that he still values the game and hopes to remain involved in it for years to come.

Hammer describes the USGA as a broader organization than it once was. He says its traditional roles include championships, rules, and handicapping, but that it now also works in areas such as development programming, internships, environmental research, and a new rules AI tool. He says the USGA’s role is to steward the game, welcome different forms of golf, and protect its traditions.

He also discusses the balance between growing golf and preserving its values. He says the USGA and the R&A need to act as a counterbalance to extremes while accepting increased interest in the game from media, celebrities, and younger players. He says golf should remain respectful, and that how the game is played matters as much as the competition itself.

On championships, Hammer says the USGA plans venues far in advance because long-term partnerships allow for repeated hosting, investment, and improved championship conditions. He says this approach helps clubs and can encourage other clubs to support the game in smaller ways.

He says the golf ball distance issue remains under discussion, and that recent talks with professional players have helped build more agreement that the topic needs to be addressed. He also says the USGA is working to expand match play coverage and is preparing to release a rules AI tool in the next 12 to 24 months.

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In this episode, Peter speaks with Sam Easterbrook about winning the Walker Cup at Lahinch and what the week was like behind the scenes. He describes the celebrations after the win, the difficult travel back to the United States, and how quickly the team had to separate and return to their different commitments.

We also go through Sam’s golf background, from starting the game as a child to developing through England Golf, attending Rossall and then moving on to Purdue. He explains how college golf has helped him both as a player and as a person, and why team environments have been important to him throughout his career.

Sam talks about how the Walker Cup moved onto his radar over the summer, including the training camp, his performances in key amateur events, and the selection call from Dean. He explains the long lead-up to Lahinch, the practice trip to Ballybunion, the time spent preparing on site, and the balance between practice, downtime and team activities.

We also discuss his match play with Luke Poulter, including how the pairing came together and what made it work. Sam recalls specific moments from the matches, the pressure of key putts, the team’s reaction at lunch after a difficult morning session, and the comeback that led to victory. He finishes by reflecting on the celebrations with the team, the members and the crowd, and on the possibility of still being involved in future Walker Cups.

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This episode we reflect on GB&I’s Walker Cup win, their first in 11 years, and the scale of the comeback from a difficult morning session to a dramatic finish on the 18th green.

We talk through the setting at Lahinch, which we describe as an excellent venue for the event, with strong support from the club, the town and the crowds throughout the week. We also note the work of captain Dean Robertson and the wider team around the side.

We cover how the morning foursomes went badly for GB&I, with the Americans controlling play in the wind and taking a clear lead into lunch. We say the mood was flat at that point, but that the team room changed things and GB&I came out with much more energy in the afternoon singles.

A big part of the discussion is the series of key matches that turned the contest. We talk about Stuart Grehan’s comeback win over Preston Stout, Luke Poulter’s result against Ethan Fang, Jack Whaley’s dominant victory over William Jennings, and the pressure moments involving Tyler Weaver, Niall Shiels-Donegan, Elliot Baker, Conor Graham and Josh Hill.

We finish with the decisive final sequence, where Josh Hill held his nerve to win the hole that secured the Walker Cup. We describe the celebrations, the emotion around the green, and the sense that this was a remarkable team win built on resilience and momentum.

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Day one of the Walker Cup at Lahinch in the bag, and we're recapping the action. 2 points from Niall Shiels Donegan no doubt the highlight, as well as a stellar comeback from Stuart Grehan against WAGR #1 Preston Stout. A betterball score of 60 from the pair, and carding a -7 round, yet never leading until the final putt was a sign of the standard of that match.

Match results from the day below, and roll on day 2!

Morning Foursomes (GB&I 2½ – 1½ USA)

1 | Stuart Grehan / Eliot Baker | Halved | Preston Stout / Ethan Fang
2 | Connor Graham / Tyler Weaver | 1 up | Kihei Akina / Jay Leng
3 | Sam Easterbrook / Luke Poulter | 1 up | Miles Russell / Tyler Watts
4 | Niall Shiels Donegan / Josh Hill | 4 & 3 | Ryder Cowan / Josiah Gilbert

Afternoon Singles (GB&I 4 – 4 USA)

1 | Stuart Grehan | 1 up | Preston Stout
2 | Jack Whaley | 1 up | Ethan Fang
3 | Connor Graham | 1 up | William Jennings
4 | Tyler Weaver | 2 & 1 | Jay Leng Jr.
5 | Ben Bolton | 2 & 1 | Stewart Hagestad
6 | Luke Poulter | 2 & 1 | Miles Russell
7 | Niall Shiels Donegan | 3 & 2 | Tyler Watts
8 | Eliot Baker | 3 & 2 | Josiah Gilbert

After Day 1: GB&I 6½ – 5½ USA)

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With Walker Cup week upon us, we sit down with the Lord of Lag Putting himself, Dr Darragh Garrahy, to talk about one of his favourite subjects.

There’s a twist this time, though, as Darragh takes on the role of quizmaster, requiring very little effort to expose Sam & Tom’s rather thin understanding of the Walker Cup.

Along the way, he shares a tonne of brilliant titbits from the history of the match and this year’s host venue, Lahinch, with stories featuring some of the great characters to have graced the contest. From John Burke, Leonard Crawley, Bernard Darwin and JB Carr, to Frank Stranahan, Stiggy Hodgson and Don Cherry, plus plenty more besides.

A fun one, packed with stories, and a quiz you can play along with in the car!

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This week's course diaries episode takes us back to East Lothian to visit the East Links at North berwick, otherwise known as The Glen. Widely believed to be the first course ever designed by 5-time Open Champion James Braid, whose work would see him revise, refine or design over 500 courses, as well as reputedly being the first ever Municipal Golf Course.

We cover the course’s history, as well as the dillema facing The Glen, with the reported buyout talks involving Ancient Links Golf Company, whose mission is to protect the ancient Scottish links for the future, and who have recently taken control of Scotscraig as well as Forfar Golf Club. 

Ownership strcuture aside, we also talk about the course. An exceptional site for golf, above the shore with views of Bass Rock, Tantalon Castle, and the coastline. We had an absolute blast here, and strongly encourage anyone travelling through to stop off and visit this historic part of the golfing landscape in East Lothian!

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With Jack Whaley becoming on the third Englishman to win the coveted Havemeyer Trophy on Sunday evening at Merion (behind Matt Fitzpatrick & Harold Hilton), Sam, Tom & Peter wax lyrical about his performance, the venue, the event and what feels like an increased level of attention the golf world is paying to elite amateur golf. 

As well as his exemption into both the US Open, Open Championship, and an invitation to the Masters (provided he behaves himself between now and April), Jack Whaley also picks up a Walker Cup selection. The news comes with the announcement of the team that will head to Co. Clare in the first week of September where Dean Robertson's GB&I side are looking to prevent USA from their sixth consecutive title. The full team can be found below, and an article from the half par kid ca be found here profiling the two teams. 

• Eliot Baker, England, Tiverton, 23

• Ben Bolton, England, Enville, 19

• Sam Easterbrook, England, Olton, 21

• Connor Graham, Scotland, Blairgowrie, 19

• Stuart Grehan, Ireland, County Louth, 33

• Josh Hill, England, Fox Den, 22

• Luke Poulter, England, Woburn, 22

• Niall Sheils Donegan, Scotland, Meadow Club, 21

• Tyler Weaver, England, Bury St Edmunds, 21

• Jack Whaley, England, Rotherham, 22

Reserves:

1. Thomas Higgins, Ireland, Roscommon, 23

2. David Howard, Ireland, Fota Island, 27

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Jamie reflects on winning the England Golf Men’s Amateur Championship (as well as being part of back to back success in the Home Internationals). He talks about the week after the English Amateur, where England won the men’s event, as well as his walk-off hole-in-one he made in matchplay against Wales, on the 17th hole to secure the match. 

We talk about his English Amateur win, the importance of conservative play in the strokeplay qualification rounds, as well as his course strategy and mental appraoch. 

We also discuss his background, from starting golf around age 13 after playing cricket, into county golf and now representing England, taking an altogether different pathway to many kids these days who head to the states to play collegiate golf. We also talk about how this impacts WAGR and how he manages his schedule around the points on offer.

Finally, Jamie talks about balancing elite amateur golf with work and the path toward turning professional. Working bar jobs , taxi licenses and all other things to fund his golf.

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In this episode we speak with Colin Strachan, club historian and author of "Fair Ways at Ashdown Forest", about the history of Royal Ashdown Forest Golf Club and its place in early golf in England. We discuss how golf was played in Brighton as early as 1817, and how that activity links to the later development of the club at Forest Row.

We talk about the railway connections that helped shape the club, including the role of people connected to the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway. Colin explains how the club drew in members from different backgrounds, and how the conservators of the heathland influenced the course’s natural layout and limited changes to the land.

We also cover several of the club’s key figures, including Horace Hutchinson, Abe Mitchell, Freddie Tate, Alf Padgham and Jack Rowe. Colin describes Hutchinson’s influence on golf in Britain and America, his role in shaping the course, and his later decline. We also discuss Mitchell’s self-taught game, his family’s long connection to the club, and Tate’s reputation as a fine amateur and soldier.

Another major topic is the role of women at Ashdown Forest. We discuss the early Ladies’ club, its connection to the broader history of women’s golf, and the importance of members such as Mrs Lucas and Joyce Weathered. Colin also explains how the ladies’ course developed into an important short course and how the women’s side of the club became central to its identity.

We finish with more recent memories of the club, including the clubhouse interior, the honours boards and photographs, and the stories associated with A.A. Milne and the landscapes of Winnie the Pooh. 

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In this episode we are joined by Richard Fisher (3-peat on the pod) looking back at 1926 as a pivotal year in golf, tracing the season from winter through autumn. We focus on the amateur game, the professional events, and the way golf fit into the wider sporting and political landscape of the year.

We begin with the early amateur season, including the shared President’s Putter at Rye and the Varsity match at Burnham & Berrow, where Cambridge win. We also discuss how much golf's leading amateurs play, the importance of caddies, and the many club and society matches that shape the year.

We then move to the spring championships, including the arrival of Glenna Collett and other American women ahead of the Ladies’ Championship, which is delayed by the General Strike.

The episode also covers the amateur and professional championships in detail. We discuss Bobby Jones’s remarkable Open qualifying round at Sunningdale, his victory at Royal Lytham & St Anne's, the Amateur Championship at Muirfield, George Von Elm’s win in the US Amateur, and major professional events involving Walter Hagen, Abe Mitchell, and Sandy Herd... and of course the proto-Ryder Cup. 

We finish with the late-season fixtures, including the English Amateur, the US PGA and US Ladies’ Championship, and the mixed foursomes at Worplesdon. We also reflect on the broader context of 1926: the rise of international golf, the role of the media, and how different the sport’s structure and calendar were from today.

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We look back on a dramatic finish at Royal Birkdale, where Ryan Fox closed with a strong Sunday round and won on the 72nd hole. We say he stayed composed under pressure, kept executing shots, and handled some very unlucky breaks on the closing holes without letting them affect him.

We also discuss how the course played over the week. We say it was firm, dry and much harder in the afternoon, while the morning wave had the best scoring conditions. We note that the changes to the course produced strong championship golf, with several holes forcing players to choose different clubs and strategies.

We reflect on the other main contenders, especially Sam Burns, Tommy Fleetwood and Scottie Scheffler. We say Burns started well but made a series of errors that took him out of the lead, Fleetwood had a very strong week but faded late, and Scheffler struck the ball well but lost many strokes on the greens.

A large part of the discussion focuses on the Bryson DeChambeau ruling and the difference between that incident and Scottie Scheffler’s ruling on 17. We say the rules were applied in different ways, that the evidence and intent were debated, and that the decisions raised questions about consistency and about how golf polices itself.

We finish with the wider context of Fox’s win, including his New Zealand sporting background, the significance of the result for New Zealand golf, and a few lighter notes on the week’s other winners and losers, including the event’s attendance, the amateur performances, and the people behind the tournament setup.

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