The Golfer's Journal Podcast

You are about to become intimately familiar with a previously unknown golf course. For decades, Augusta Municipal Golf Course was the scruffy public track where the locals played. The poor kids from the housing projects next door called it the Patch. A few years ago, Augusta National adopted the course and poured a ton of resources back into it. Next week, the shiny new Patch course will be unveiled to a flood of headlines. But in order to understand where it is today, we must understand the course’s past. For that, Dr. Gregory McCord sat down with host Tom Coyne. McCord was one of those housing-project kids, and he’s written a book about growing up in the Patch. He gives us the real story of life at the course, from stealing golf balls as a kid, to the summer job there that inspired him to better things, to the chance birdie on 16 that put him on a Greyhound to a college scholarship. As the golf world turns to Augusta National, this is the rare time that a story happening outside its gates might be even more interesting.

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The Golfer’s Journal Podcast is presented by Titleist.

Gene Wojciechowski has been to the Masters more times than he can count. Now, after covering golf for ESPN for decades, he’s written his first golf novel. On the latest TGJ Podcast, Tom Coyne visits with Wojciechowski to talk All Carry—a story about a down-on-his-luck sportswriter who discovers a set of Jack Nicklaus's old clubs and suddenly finds himself playing in the Masters with the Golden Bear’s ability. Wojciechowski opens up about what drew him to write fiction after a lifetime covering the news of sports and why he believes golf's deeper magic lends itself to a great novel. He also reflects on covering Tiger, his favorite memories from Augusta, and how sports media has evolved over his career. Wojciechowski understands what makes golf special, and in this conversation, he shares why.

The Golfer's Journal and this podcast are made possible by reader support. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider becoming a member here: https://glfrsj.nl/MembershipsYT

The Golfer’s Journal Podcast is presented by Titleist.

See the BTS events calendar: https://www.golfersjournal.com/tgj-events/

For seven years, members of The Golfer’s Journal have traveled the world to play golf together. More than just a series of subscriber events, the Broken Tee Society Tour has become a cornerstone of our community, fostering lasting friendships and unforgettable experiences on some of the most iconic courses in the world.

Where are we headed next? TGJ’s Tom Coyne and Casey Bannon unveiled Part 3 of the 2026 schedule in front of a live audience in the new Broken Tee Society app. With a mix of major championship venues, ultra-privates, public defenders and far-flung adventures, this list boldly goes where no BTS Tour has gone before.

All events are exclusive to Broken Tee Society members. Join here to start registering today: https://glfrsj.nl/MembershipsYT

TGJ Podcast is presented by Titleist. 

Special thanks to our 2026 BTS Tour sponsors: Golden Road Brewing Co., Titleist, Club Glove, FootJoy, BMW, Foresight Sports and Bushnell Golf.

The LPGA’s new commissioner has big plans. On the latest TGJ Podcast, Tom Coyne sits down with Craig Kessler—a 40-year-old Harvard Business School grad whose career took him from private equity to Topgolf to the PGA of America before he was tapped to lead the LPGA last year. In this wide-ranging conversation, Kessler breaks down the broadcast deal that will put every LPGA round on live television for the first time in its history and shares why he's so excited about the tour's future. He also reflects on what he's learned about building trust with the players, staying in love with golf when it becomes your job and why harmony across women's golf matters more than competition. Kessler’s mission is clear: make the LPGA impossible to ignore.

The Golfer's Journal and this podcast are made possible by reader support. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider becoming a member here: https://glfrsj.nl/MembershipsYT

The Golfer’s Journal Podcast is presented by Titleist.

Darren Clarke has caught 19 permit on a fly—a feat arguably more impressive than winning The Open Championship. Sitting down with Tom Coyne in the Bahamas at his home in The Abaco Club, Clarke happily explains his dual obsessions. He’s not just a boisterous Irishman you’d like to meet at a pub, he remains driven by catching the world’s most difficult fish and beating the world’s best golfers. Clarke opens up about raising his boys after losing their mother and reflects on the miracle of bringing The Open to Royal Portrush following his upbringing during The Troubles. He also breaks down what went wrong at the Ryder Cup at Bethpage and offers a simple solution for Hazeltine. Along the way: the Theodore Roosevelt quote that's driven him for 37 years, the difference between European sarcasm and American heckling, and the joys of living in paradise.

The Golfer's Journal and this podcast are made possible by reader support. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider becoming a member here: https://glfrsj.nl/MembershipsYT

The Golfer’s Journal Podcast is presented by Titleist.