The Golf Insiders

The Golf Insiders June 8, 2016

PODCAST NOTE: Listeners can tune in to iHeart Radio 740 The Game or listen in the Orlando area on FM 96.9 Wednesdays from 6-7 p.m. to hear The Golf Insiders live. Add The Golf Insiders podcast to your iPhone as an app. Click here and go to the bottom of the device's screen to create the "Quick Launch" icon for the Golf Insiders. Once you've done this it will add The Golf Insiders podcast as an App to your home screen. 

Holly G is in the studio with Will Perry, creative director at EVVUS and Golf Insiders social media guru. 

Todd Lewis, the Golf Channel, calls in to wrap up the Memorial won by Will McGirt. Todd talks about Will playing at Wofford College and being on the tour for a long time and was eventually able to win. Todd said that Will had not played well at Jack's place before. He beat a stout field and some great golfers chasing him down.

Todd spoke with Rory McIlroy Monday night. Rory said he was in his jet on the tarmac in Ohio ready to leave after he was in the clubhouse with a 13-under par, was ready to leave but waited about 90 minutes before he flew off ... he left when someone posted a better score.

Holly and Todd talk about Rickie Fowler who has not played well for the past several events and is trying to make the Olympic team as well as heading into the heart of the PGA season. Todd and Holly talk about Dustin Johnson as well as Matt Kuchar and Phil Mickelson's play of late.

Todd mentions that the Golf Channel is covering the first two rounds of the U.S. Open, They will be on the grounds broadcasting Monday. On Wednesday The Golf Channel is showing an in-depth interview with Rory McIlroy on the 5 year anniversary of his win at the U.S. Open

Vartan Kupelian, long time writer for Detroit News and writer for the Champions Tour, calls in from the Senior Players Championship to talk about the Champions Tour' next major Championship which is in Philadelphia.  Vartan shares that the Champions Tour plays all of these great historic courses that some of the other tours do not play on and he is so grateful that he gets to cover the events.

Holly asks Vartan about the Champions Tour players like Colin Montgomerie, Bernhard Langer, and others who are so successful. Vartan comments that these guys all work their tails off and always have. He also said that some of them are so much better than 20 years ago when they played on the PGA Tour now that they have the growth and have less pressures than before when they were trying to have a career and support their families. Holly asks Vartan about Rocco Mediate's recent win. Vartan says it's always a pleasure to interview someone like Rocco. When you are done and look over your notes you can write about 9 different stories. 

Steve Eubanks, Global Golf Post calls in from the Seattle Washington area, the site of the second LPGA major of the season to talk with Holly and Will. Steve said that this is one of the most narrowest golf courses that he has ever seen. It's littered with pine trees. It's beautiful but tighter than a bowling alley and going to be a shot makers paradise this week. Anna Nordqvist won the latest event on the LPGA defending her ShopRite LPG Championship title.  Holly asks Steve about who are the favorites to win this week. Players like Lydia Ko and Ariya Jutanugarn. Steve says that Ariya is playing on another level right now and likens what she can do on the golf course to how Tiger used to be making shots that others couldn't even dream of making.

Holly and Steve talk about Inbee Park looking to win her fourth consecutive Women's PGA Championship title, a feat no one has accomplished. Steve said that unfortunately Inbee's thumb injury will probably prevent her from doing that. The trio also talk about Inbee being eligible for the Hall of Fame at the ripe age of 27 after she completes one round this week. She will have met the requirements.  

Brentley Romine, Golfweek, calls in to wrap up the show. Brentley talks to Holly and Will about the Oregon Ducks winning the individual and team titles. Oregon beat Texas in extra holes 3-2 to win. People were counting out Texas without Beau Hossler, who missed his final match after suffering a shoulder injury the day before.  Will asks about home field advantage. Brentley talks about the advantages and disadvantages of playing in front of home fans. 

Holly asks Brentley about a possible rules change letting substitutions play for injured players. He said that it will be something that will probably happen in the near future. A substitution would have helped out Texas who lost Hossler and Oregon had a player who was sick. 

Brentley talks about some of the women and men who are going to come out of college and turn pro now that the college season has ended.

The Golf Insiders June 1, 2016

PODCAST NOTE: Listeners can tune in to iHeart Radio 740 The Game or listen in the Orlando area on FM 96.9 Wednesdays from 6-7 p.m. to hear The Golf Insiders live. Add The Golf Insiders podcast to your iPhone as an app. Click here and go to the bottom of the device's screen to create the "Quick Launch" icon for the Golf Insiders. Once you've done this it will add The Golf Insiders podcast as an App to your home screen. 

Holly G is in the studio with co host Kevin Sternett, assistant pro at Golden Bear Club at Keene's Point and Will Perry, creative director at EVVUS. Holly opens the show talking about her recent participation, along with Will's, at the 2016 International Network of Golf Spring Conference in Heber Valley, Utah.

A quick look at the headlines, Jordan Spieth won the DEAN and DELUCA Invitational at Colonial which earned him the plaid jacket and his first PGA Tour win in Texas. Rocco Mediate beat Colin Montgomerie to win his first major on the Champions Tour and Ariya Jutanugarn posts her third consecutive win on the LPGA Tour.  

Bob Harig, ESPN.com, checks in from Muirfield Village, and talks with Holly about Bob's article on ESPN.com covering the PGA Tour's announcement that it is moving the Doral event at Trump National to Mexico City. The PGA Tour has not been able to find a sponsor for the event since Cadillac announced that it would no longer be the sponsor. Bob said that the event has a $9.5 million purse and a group in Mexico stepped up to be the title sponsor for the World Golf Championship event. 

Now there will only be three events in the "Florida Swing" as compared to four from before.  Kevin asks Bob if he thinks that the event didn't get a sponsor because of  Donald Trump's political views? For more than 50 years they have managed to get a sponsor even when it became a WGC event. There are a lot of positives for it to stay in Doral and there will be a lot of consequences for the tournament not being there economically.

Holly asks Bob about the Memorial this week and having three of the top players in the field in Jason Day, Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth all coming off recent wins competing against one another. Jack Nicklaus talked about the "big three" in the press tournament as compared to the Big Three of the past. 

Lance Ringler, Golfweek, calls in from the 2016 Men's NCAA Championship in Oregon. Beau Hossler, Texas player, injured his shoulder during Tuesday's round and was able to hold on to win and put Texas in the finals against Oregon. Unfortunately Hossler had to concede his match today so Oregon only needs to win two more to become national champs. Kevin talks to Lance about Aaron Wise winning the individual national championship. 

Holly asks Lance about the women's national championship which was recently won by the Washington Huskies . The event the past two years since switching to match play has been great golf to watch and some feel is doing a lot for women in golf. It was theatrical, dramatic and the atmosphere was electric and was the same thing last year at The Concession Golf Club with Stanford and Baylor. Women were holing shots to extend matches and to win matches. Holly talks about Duke's Virginia Carta winning the individual title in impressive fashion as a freshman. It was her first collegiate victory. 

Steve Eubanks, Global Golf Post calls in to wrap up the show. Steve co-authored the book, "Mr Hogan The Man I Knew, with former LPGA player Kris Tschetter. Holly also asks Steve about Ariya Jutanugarn's domination on the LPGA winning three of the last three events. Steve said that Ariya did something that no other ladies player has done, followed her first win on the LPGA with two more consecutive wins. 

Holly asks Steve about Ariya's background. She was supposed to be Lydia Ko before Lydia Ko. She is so long and straight off the tee. It's a high-launch, low-spin rocket off the tee. Not many women can hit a 9 iron more than 160 yards like she can. Steve said that Ariya was injured clowning around at Rochester, which was a huge set back for her both physically and emotionally. No she has her confidence back and she is performing like she can.

Holly asks Steve about Michelle Wie and her status of late since her injury. Steve is wondering if its the end of Michelle's career on the LPGA?  Holly asks Steve about Tiger's return to the tour. Steve says Tiger may return next year, may win again, but probably won't win another major.

Steve and Holly talk about Rocco Mediate's win on the Champions Tour over Bernhard Langer ad Colin Montgomerie. 

The Golf Insiders 05-18-2016

PODCAST NOTE: Listeners can tune in to iHeart Radio 740 The Game or listen in the Orlando area on FM 96.9 Wednesdays from 6-7 p.m. to hear The Golf Insiders live. Add The Golf Insiders podcast to your iPhone as an app. Click here and go to the bottom of the device's screen to create the "Quick Launch" icon for the Golf Insiders. Once you've done this it will add The Golf Insiders podcast as an App to your home screen. 

Holly G is in the studio with co host Kevin Sternett, assistant pro at Golden Bear Club at Keene's Point and Will Perry, social media guru EVVUS. The trio kickoff the show talking about Jason Day's wire-to-wire win at the Players Championship as well as the hole in one by Will Wilcox as well as some of the other high and low lights. They also discuss Tiger Woods' return to the course at the Quicken Loans media day where he put three balls in the water. Holly said it wasn't a good idea for him to go from the media event straight to the tee.

Holly asks Kevin about Jordan Spieth missing the cut at The Players.  Kevin said that he thinks Spieth will be better this upcoming week on his home turf at the event in Texas.

It's National Golf Day. WE ARE GOLF, a coalition of golf’s leading organizations, hosted its ninth annual National Golf Day on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. where top individuals and organizations in the game met with Congressional leaders to discuss the many benefits of golf to the economy, environmental, charitable and fitness benefits.

Bob Harig, ESPN.com, starts off the show talking to the team about Day's win at the Players. Bob picked Henrik Stenson to win and he missed the cut.  Bob said that just speaks of the play of Day and his ability to set a scoring record and someone like Stenson or Jordan Spieth not making the cut.

The Players never favors any certain type of player and that was reflected in the scores over the four days and the different styles of play each have from long ball hitters to short game gurus, to course technicians.

Holly asks Bob about the comments made by Tour players about the course's set up on Saturday. Bob said the players had a point. ... The greens are in need of replacement and they couldn't let the greens get too hard and fast on the first two days or they would lose the greens. Then from what he understands the greens were rolled more than once for Saturday's play. It was supposed to be lower winds and higher humidity which would help the condition of the greens. Those environmental factors didn't happen the way they were expected to and the tournament officials also set up the course with trickier pin placements. Day shot a 73 on Saturday but that was a good score for the day.

Bob felt that when the tournament got down to a 2-shot lead, there was an opportunity for more seasoned players to take advantage. But the young players who were trailing at the time were dealing with their own nerves.

Holly and Bob talk about Rory McIlroy and his play. Most put it on his putting. Bob thinks that Rory isn't playing that well from 120 yards in. His stats in that yardage are way down in the PGA standings. He's hitting those shots and leaving himself 30 yards to make the putt for birdie and most players try to leave 6 out of 7 shots inside the 10 yard range.  Bob feels that Rory is having a bad hole in each round or a series of bad holes. 

Todd Lewis, The Golf Channel, calls in to the show and talks to Holly about Jason Day's play over the past couple of years. It was McIlroy's year two years ago, and last year was Spieth's year last year and this year it seems like it's Day's turn. Todd said that it is interesting that the "power" has shifted each year. Day has 7 wins in his last 17 events. Todd talks about Day's caddie and Tiger Woods having direct and indirect affects on Jason Day. Todd feels that Day's winning at Whistling Straits has really turned Day's career in the right direction.

Holly asks Todd about comparing the overall game of Spieth, McIlroy and Day who is the better player? If they all had their A game, Todd feels Day is the more complete player. Todd also discuss how Day's juggling of family and playing is ahead of the curve of Rory who is engaged and Spieth who has a girlfriend. It's also tough for the players who have to go out and earn their paycheck each week and not have guaranteed pay check.

Lance Ringler, Golfweek, calls in to wrap up the final hour of intelligent golf talk talking about the NCAA women's and Men's Championship Div 1 starts soon.  Holly and Lance talk about BYU women's team playing on Thursday instead of Sunday due to religious reasons. Holly and Lance talk about the Florida Gators who Lance gives a good chance to win it all.

Lance feels that the West Coast teams like USC and UCLA are going to play fairly well in this year's tournament. 

Holly asks Lance about the Men's teams who will start play in the next couple of weeks. Lance said that all the teams in the top 15 made it into the tournament and most of the top 20. Lance said that it is a tough draw when you have so many great programs that could win it all.

UCLA is one of the top favorites on the women's side. Alabama, Duke, Southern California. Lance said that once the tournament gets into the top 8 it's match play. The winner of the scratch play tournament has not won the overall title. When it comes to match play it's hard to predict. Holly and Lance talk about the talent at the collegiate level.

The Golf Insiders 05-11-2016

PODCAST NOTE: Listeners can tune in to iHeart Radio 740 The Game or listen in the Orlando area on FM 96.9 Wednesdays from 6-7 p.m. to hear The Golf Insiders live. Add The Golf Insiders podcast to your iPhone as an app. Click here and go to the bottom of the device's screen to create the "Quick Launch" icon for the Golf Insiders. Once you've done this it will add The Golf Insiders podcast as an App to your home screen. 

Holly G is in the studio with Will Perry, social media guru EVVUS, and co host Kevin Sternett, assistant pro at Golden Bear Club at Keene's Point.  

Bob Harig, ESPN.com, from TPC calls in to start the show and talks about James Hahn's amazing struggle to win on the PGA Tour prior to him capturing last week's PGA Tour event title. Holly discusses with Bob  Hahn's honest comments after his win at press conference.  Hahn had  8 straight missed cuts and he started to question himself and his abilities. Then all of that changed in one tournament when he broke through and not only made the cut but won.

Bob says that the media often covers the winners and their lifestyles but tend to forget the fragile nature of game and there are some low moments for some of these guys. He said that followers of the game  become numb to private planes, expensive lifestyles that some of the Tour players enjoy.

Hahn actually quit and went back working what an amazing story and a really good win for the game of golf! 

HG asks Bob about Jordan Spieth and The Players being Spieth's first tournament since the Masters. Bob said that unfortunately going forward that part of Jordan's legacy will be the major he didn't win.

Bob points out that last year after Spieth won the Masters, he missed the cut at the Players Championship so he wants to get back on track after finishing second at Augusta, taking a break, not he is really busy from here on out with consecutive tournaments.

Although Rory McIlroy would like to win The Players, the course really doesn't suit him.  Bob's pick is Henrik Stenson.

Once again, Volvik is The Golf Insiders' product of the month. Volvik's new Vivid ball is the first matte golf ball. Put some color in your game and play one of the Volvik golf balls.  

Holly talks about the island green on the infamous 17th hole at the TPC Sawgrass. Dr. Dan Vosgerichian Ph.D., Elite Sports Performance out of Jacksonville, Fla. calls in to break down the mental aspect of playing the hole.

Dan has worked as a professional caddie at TPC Sawgrass, Home of The Players Championship, as well as an assistant to Florida State University's PGA Professional Golf Management Program.

Garry Smits, Florida Times Union, calls in to talk to the trio about the many, many potential contenders, the big names in golf, but the course doesn't really favor any particular style.  Garry feels that basically the guy who hits greens and makes a few putts wins this tournament. There are 144 guys in the tournament who are recent Tour winners, the top 125 on FedEx Cup and the guys who are the Top 50 in the world, etc. so everybody in this field have played well in the past two years and are a threat to win. 

Holly finishes the hour out talking to Golfweek's Lance Ringler who calls in to talk about the latest in collegiate golf with both the women and the men's. BYU made the tournament and they have an agreement with the NCAA about not competing on Sundays. Lance wrote and article for Golfweek about it. Used to not be a problem, but since TV is part of the format and there are 6 days of competition, Sunday is right in the middle.  So BYU will play after practice on Thursday and that will actually Sunday's hole location. So their first round is actually their first round. So they can have Sunday off.

Kevin talks to Lance about the fact that it might seem unfair for BYU to be able to play without any other players playing from other schools. But Lance said other teams are going to be able to watch them from outside the ropes.