LINKS Golf Podcast

Digital Editor Al Lunsford and golf course photographer Billy Richards (@carolina_pines_golf on Instagram) recap a four-day road trip across the state of South Carolina that included stops at a night-lit par-3, a renovated municipal course, a 36-hole golf resort, and a semi-private club. Along the way, the duo made it a mission to bite into the “Birthplace of Barbecue,” trying the four basic types of barbecue sauce from some of the state’s premier BBQ spots. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the summer season wanes and temperatures begin to change around the country, our co-hosts share their top courses to play during the fall on this episode of the LINKS Golf Podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Where in America can you play three Top 100 public courses in the span of three days, all at the same destination? Our hosts highlight six such properties and pick their favorites on this episode of the LINKS Golf Podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Inspired by the 2024 Paris Olympics, the hosts look back at past Olympic Games and ponder the top courses that could have hosted the golf competition on this episode of the LINKS Golf Podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Free golf in New York City? On this episode of the LINKS Golf Podcast, Digital Editor Al Lunsford speaks with Will Gisel, co-founder of golf clothing brand Whim Golf. The duo discuss Whim Golf’s “Free Golf Initiative” to grow the game in large urban areas like New York City and Chicago, the company’s background and unique “Made in USA” product offerings, breaking down golf’s stuffy perceptions, and the overlap that exists between art and golf. Get 25% off your order on whimgolf.com using the promo code "LINKSMAG" at checkout. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode of the LINKS Golf Podcast, co-hosts Al Lunsford and Joe Passov detail a day playing the West Course at Winged Foot Golf Club. They go in-depth on the club’s multi-major championship history, analyze their favorite holes, and talk about the other reasons that make the club special. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If the majors could only be played at four recurring venues, which courses would you pick? Our hosts take their picks for the courses that would host the four men’s major championships, plus a few runner-up choices, in this episode of the LINKS Golf Podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Do par-3 courses count as real golf? Our hosts give their opinion on this topic and list their favorite par-3 layouts on this episode of the LINKS Golf Podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The co-hosts did their research, and spend this episode of the LINKS Golf Podcast going back and forth defining a group of golf slang words that they were previously unfamiliar with. How many of these golf terms have you heard in your experience? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In celebration of Independence Day, the hosts go in-depth on a group of golf courses that are patriotic either in name, purpose, location, or all of the above on this episode of the LINKS Golf Podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re rounding up a group of exciting new American courses in development that are set to debut by the end of 2024 on this episode of the LINKS Golf Podcast. Our co-hosts go into detail on three new courses each and explain their significance in the golf landscape. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Teeing off an all-new season of the LINKS Golf Podcast, co-hosts Al Lunsford and Joe Passov take turns arguing which golf courses deserve a chance to host the men’s U.S. Open Championship. Their course selections are split into three categories: realistic, possible, and pure fantasy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Digital Editor Al Lunsford was one of the lucky winners of the annual media lottery to play a round at Augusta National the day after the final round of the 2024 Masters Tournament. On a special edition of the LINKS Golf Podcast, Al chats with co-host Joe Passov, a past media lottery winner, and details the week leading up to his round, the experience of playing the course, and what he learned along the way. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hughes Norton and George Peper, authors of RAINMAKER: Superagent Hughes Norton and the Money-Grab Explosion of Golf from Tiger to LIV and Beyond, join the LINKS Golf Podcast to chat about the book, dealing with golf’s biggest power players, and the state of today’s game. Norton was once one of the most powerful men in golf. During his tenure as head of the golf division of Mark McCormack’s International Management Group (IMG), he was the lead agent for six world-number-one-ranked players, including both Greg Norman and Tiger Woods. Before Tiger ever struck a ball as a professional, Norton did deals with Nike and Titleist that brought him more than $60 million, a then-unprecedented sum for a professional athlete. Less than two years later—and for reasons never explained—Tiger fired Norton. McCormack then did the same, giving him a multi-million-dollar parachute tied to a 10-year non-compete clause and a gag order. Now, for the first time, Norton is talking—about his clients, his boss, and his role in fostering the era of unbridled greed that now threatens to destroy professional golf. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The hosts recap the 2024 LINKS Invitational at Pebble Beach and discuss why the world-class resort is one of the best. The second half of the episode features an interview with golf architect and author Richard Mandell about building great courses on a budget, living in Pinehurst, his latest book, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Golf course architect Bill Bergin joins the LINKS Golf Podcast to talk about his design of the Highlands Course at McLemore (pictured), and the new course he is building for the Georgia resort/community with Rees Jones called The Keep. The hosts also chat with Bergin about finishing 14th in the 1984 Open Championship, the similarities between Augusta National and the Old Course at St. Andrews, traveling around the country in a van, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode of the LINKS Golf Podcast the hosts chat with Hayes Holderness, who is set to complete his pursuit of playing all the courses on the World Top 100 list this year. Holderness discusses the most challenging courses to get on, wild travel moments, the close-knit group of golfers that share the common goal, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Co-hosts Joe Passov and Al Lunsford look into multiple eras of golf course architecture and choose a few of the designers who deserve greater acclaim in this episode of the LINKS Golf Podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Inventive golf course architect Forrest Richardson discusses some of his most out-of-the-box course ideas—20-hole courses, par-two holes, twin 9-hole routings, and more—on this episode of the LINKS Golf Podcast. The hosts chat with Richardson about his past presidency at the American Society of Golf Course Architects (ASGCA), his choice for the game’s most underrated course architect, being the parent of a Hollywood actor, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

LINKS Editor George Peper is back to break down our latest issue in this episode of the LINKS Golf Podcast. Topics discussed include changes in the magazine in 2024, George’s column on the PGA Tour and LIV Golf, the next group of course architects to step up to the A-List, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices