Local Knowledge

While Sam Snead's 82 is full of cheap wins, Tiger Woods doesn't have a single illegitimate win on his resume.

An inside look at one of the major mistakes at Augusta National

An inside look at one of the strangest controversies in golf history

What is the Official World Golf Ranking? Will it stick around?

An inside look at one of the great American golf course designers

The story of Charlie Sifford, one of the most important people in golf history.

Who is Anthony Kim? And why did he vanish off the map at such a young age?

The idea that's changing golf may not have started where you expect.

The wild true story of a murder in the parking lot of Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma

An escaped criminal or one of the most interesting golfers in the world?

The story of a controversial day involving Tom Watson, Gary Player and potential cheating.

It's time for the first-ever session of Golf Court! Let the Ryder Cup arguing commence.

The Ryder Cup Radicals break down the European Team’s heroics, the Home Team Dominance problem, and all the drama around ‘Hat Gate’.

The time has almost come, tensions are at a peak, and as the band Europe once said, this is the final countdown.

The Ryder Cup is imminent. Let's discuss.

Course set-up, underdog mentality and Team Europe's chances at the Ryder Cup

The boys talk about European snubs and how the team sizes up to the Americans.

Team USA is now fully formed. Let's talk about it.

Some last-minute analysis on the potential U.S. Ryder Cup team's captain's picks

The boys are back, and their important job of handicapping the Ryder Cup bubble is now more critical than ever as we approach D-Day. The U.S. automatic picks are set, but there’s so much drama in the race for captain’s picks that only the brightest minds can sort the data, and over in Europe, the situation is even more tenuous as the last four picks remain very much for grabs. On a good week for both Zach Johnson and Luke Donald, and a wild one for their picks, we’re here to set you up for the homestretch. Plus, dramatic eulogies for the players who came into the week with a chance to dance, but left with diddily re: Italy.

A look back at one of the greatest turnaround stories in the history of sport

Is Lucas Glover bludgeoning his way onto the team one win at a time? Has JT's stock gone down as he watches from the sidelines?

We're here to talk JT's surge, Bryson's 58, and where they (and everyone else) sit as the bubble watch heats up.

Dive deep with us in this examination of everything Paul McGinley did right, and how the web he wove ensnared the Americans ... but perhaps woke them up, too.

As July changes to August, Ryder Cup momentum becomes real, and the lads are here to guide you through the start of the endgame.

We examine the singular career of Davie Strath, the tragedy of his life's end, and that wild day when he had his best, and last, chance to etch his name in the history books.

The story of Young Tom Morris, the greatest golfing talent of the 20th century.

First ep of Ryder Cup Radicals features LIV Golf talk, what Zach Johnson needs to do and the beauty of the word "Madon!"

We look at golf's most notorious amateur scandal, and the aftershocks that transformed the amateur game.

Why and how the USGA turned the 1974 U.S. Open at Winged Foot into a monster

This is the story of the six women in history who teed it up with the men on the PGA Tour.

How Jon Rahm's Basque background defines his cultural heritage and his strength as an elite competitor

A look at the tense standoff between the PGA of America and Shoal Creek

How Seve Ballesteros became not just a guiding light for Spanish and European golf, but a kind of saint

Let's dive into the nightmarish 1996 Masters and what happened to Greg Norman.

This is the story of a desperate man, a hostage crisis, and a president trying to defuse a dangerous situation at Augusta National.

An in-depth breakdown of the first challenge to the PGA Tour's existence, featuring Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Tom Watson.

In this bonus episode, Chad Mumm, the show’s executive producer, discusses what went behind "Full Swing" and one gem of a scene that ended up on the cutting room floor.

It's the final episode of "Full Swing," and there's a lot to discuss. It's the Rory McIlroy show this week. It delivers.

Were rookies Sahith Theegala and Mito Pereira compelling enough to carry an entire show? Let's break down episode 7.

There is much to like about the Tony Finau portion of episode 6, but less so when it comes to Collin Morikawa. We break it all down.

Let's look at the overachieving Matt Fitzpatrick and the naturally gifted Dustin Johnson, and the former's U.S. Open triumph at the Country Club.

The show’s fourth episode on journeyman Joel Dahmen was the best yet. This was our favorite episode, and as such, we loved diving into every part of it.

We break down Ian Poulter’s struggle to remain relevant and his decision to jump to LIV Golf.

We discuss a much-improved second episode that focuses on Brooks Koepka and Scottie Scheffler, and the contrast between a player in a slump and another one winning majors.

Our first episode of "Full Swing Thoughts" looks at Justin Spieth, Jordan Thomas, the concept of frenemies and Netflix's first swing at the PGA Tour.

We made it through the months of hype. Netflix's "Full Swing" is here, and we're here to recap every minute of it.

Keely Levins, Alex Myers, Shane Ryan, and Sam Weinman discuss what resonated with them most in a wild 2022, from the high-profile dramatic episodes to moments of personal poignance.

How much easier would golf be if a tour player hit all your drives for you?

What are NFTs? And what could they possibly have to do with golf?

Alex Myers talks with Golf Digest's Keely Levins and Joel Beall and others about a handful of golf courses that got creative in their efforts to remain afloat.

From how golfers practice, to the time they spend away from home, to even their choice to pursue an individual over a team sport, Shane Ryan explains why even the best-intentioned golfers need to be selfish to succeed.

In the aftermath of an incident in a qualifier tournament, Alex Myers looks at the particulars of the case, but also the wider world of cheating in golf—how often it happens, why it happens, and why it's so counter to golf's core principles.

Sam Weinman and Shane Ryan discuss their respective quests to break 80. They consult with pros, sports psychologists, and some of the golfers they play with, to understand what’s been holding them back, what they need to make it happen, and what it will signify to them if it does.

A look into the career and life of Marion Miley which came to a tragic end in the middle of the night in the Lexington Country Club apartments.

Let's explore the origins of the PGA Tour-LIV Golf rivalry, as well as the turbulent present to help understand how the situation could resolve, and why it might not anytime soon.

Can a 40-year-old golfer really overhaul his golf game in just 12 weeks? That's what we set out to learn.

We look at everything that makes the Old Course so vital to the game's identity, and why the Open Championship there this week comes at a fractious but opportune moment.

Golf's major championships are when the stakes are highest, but the downside of putting so much emphasis on four weeks a year is it risks undermining the rest of the golf calendar.

Dan Rapaport examines the U.S. Open qualifying process, explains why it remains one of golf’s most intriguing opportunities, and dives into some of the incredible tales that arise out of it every year.

On the eve of the U.S. Women's Open, Keely Levins examines what the golf landscape was like for women before Title IX, and the myriad ways it's been reshaped in the decades since.

Let's take an inside look at the various figures in a tour pro's orbit. Who are the critical trainers, chefs, mind coaches and data analysts that make the best players great?

As players like Scottie Scheffler and Collin Morikawa make a big splash in pro golf, we’re told they were destined for success from a young age. But an uncomfortable truth is that plenty of equally talented junior golfers don’t get nearly as far. Why? In this episode, Sam Weinman talks to Scheffler, Morikawa, Viktor Hovland and others to understand a common mental approach employed by top players, and why it’s often a more reliable predictor of success than sheer talent.

The Big Money Golf Classic promised the largest payday in minor-league golf. It ended with lawsuits and controversy.

We go behind the scenes at Augusta National to see what happens in the minutes, hours and days after a Masters win. Bubba Watson, Trevor Immelman and Joe LaCava recount their wildest stories and memories from the whirlwind of activity that ensues every year.

Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson have clearly been the two dominant figures in golf for the past quarter-century, but the precise nature of their relationship is harder to define. The two men have been rivals, occasional teammates, even business associates, and at each stage, they have drawn inevitable comparisons to the other. Alex Myers talks to the author of a new book on Tiger and Phil, in addition to others, to explore the most compelling personal dynamic in golf.

Netflix’s announcement that it will be producing a behind-the-scenes all-access series on pro golf might seem like a win for core golf fans. But the real opportunity is in trying to replicate the massive success Formula One enjoyed when it exposed the world of auto racing to a whole new audience. Dan Rapaport talks to the series creators about what the show hopes to cover, how it will be produced, and who stands to benefit most.

While golf remains plenty challenging for the vast majority of players, modern technology has allowed top players to overpower courses like never before. Can something be done about it? Should something be done about it? In this episode, Keely Levins explains both sides of the complicated distance debate.

When PGA Tour player Morgan Hoffmann was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy diagnosis and told to expect the worst, he went looking elsewhere for an answer—to the Costa Rica rainforest, to be exact. Dan Rapaport travels to Hoffmann’s new home to understand the unconventional ways Hoffmann has sought to counter his condition, and why he still has pro golf in his plans.

Why were those zany golf infomercials that promised average hackers magic cures so ubiquitous for a time on TV, and why have they mostly disappeared? Alex Myers revisits the golden age of the golf infomercial, what made them so effective, and even what happened to some of their biggest stars.

Greg Norman’s new role as the frontman for an ambitious Saudi-funded golf tour is hardly his first time challenging the PGA Tour. In fact, as Dan Rapaport explains, this is the continuation of an idea he first championed more than a quarter century ago.

Babe Didrikson Zaharias was the rarest of superstars who excelled in everything she did. When she eventually settled on golf, she became one of the game’s all-time great champions and helped to pioneer the modern LPGA. In this episode of Local Knowledge, Alex Myers tells the story of Zaharias’ incredible career, including the circumstances behind her win in the 1954 U.S. Women’s Open that nearly defies belief.

Collin Morikawa was already a highly touted golfer when he showed up for last August’s PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park. But it was his win that week that changed the trajectory of his career. In this episode of Local Knowledge, Morikawa describes in his own words the expected and surprising ripple effects of a major championship win, and how his perception of himself might have been altered as a result.

When Golf Digest publishes its biennial ranking of America's 100 Greatest Golf Courses this week, it won't take long for golfers around the country to gripe about the results. But as Alex Myers explores, the definitive course ranking in the game has evolved dramatically from its early days of gathering golf insiders in a room to hammer out a list. The latest episode of Local Knowledge unpacks the massive undertaking that now goes into ranking courses; the elements that separate great golf courses from simply good ones; and how even a rudimentary understanding of golf course architecture might enhance your own enjoyment of the game.

How did Jordan Spieth go from almost winning the Grand Slam to struggling to make cuts a few years later? Why do some of the world’s best players see their games slip so dramatically? In this episode of Local Knowledge, Dan Rapaport looks at the various forms of a golf slump, what causes them, and how great players and average players alike can do to escape them.

On virtually every golfer's bucket list, a chance to play Augusta National is right at the top. Yet very few actually get the chance to cross it off. In this episode, Alex Myers describes how a handful of fortunate souls landed an invite to Augusta National, and what it was like once they got there.

It wasn’t long ago when betting on professional golf was confined to the fringes — from off-shore websites to off-the-books betting pools. Now golf gambling has gone decidedly mainstream, with even the PGA Tour embracing it as an avenue to grow the game’s popularity. In this episode of Local Knowledge, Dan Rapaport looks at why legalized gambling is such an opportunity for golf, how it’s evolved as a pursuit, and where there could be a downside.

When journeyman tour pro Ken Duke shot 65 on an exceedingly difficult scoring day at the 2016 Players, he beat the day's scoring average by more than 10 shots. But only when diving further into his round using advanced strokes-gained metrics was it apparent that the round was truly historic. In this episode of Local Knowledge, Alex Myers uses Duke’s unlikely round as an example of the sophisticated ways we've come to measure performance in golf, and how it's altered the conversation around the game.

Only a handful of aspiring tour professionals land the type of lucrative endorsement contracts that allow them to just focus on golf when first starting out. For others, it takes a wealthy individual to cover the significant up-front costs of life on tour. In this episode, Daniel Rapaport examines the unique arrangements between tour players and their golf “sugar daddies."

Jan Stephenson carved out a Hall of Fame career on the LPGA, but more than her 16 wins, she was known for the tour’s aggressive plan to market her appearance. In this episode, Keely Levins looks at the extraordinary attention Stephenson received in her career, the problems it caused her, and how many of the challenges she faced then still permeate through women’s sports today.

Like any good referee, golf rules officials are doing their job best when they’re noticed least. But as Alex Myers discovers talking to a trio of veteran officials, the job comes with its own assortment of excitement, pressure, and controversy.

After a 91-day hiatus caused by the surge in COVID-19 cases, the PGA Tour returned last June and continued uninterrupted through the end of 2020. In this episode, host Dan Rapaport and Golf Digest editorial director Max Adler take you through the sequence of difficult decisions made by tour officials that allowed tournament golf to resume in the throes of a pandemic.

Kyle Berkshire is the best long driver in the world, but until recently, there was little reason to believe he could compete on the PGA Tour. In this episode of Local Knowledge, Alex Myers examines Berkshire's bold quest to make it as a touring pro, why his prowess in one sport doesn't guarantee success in another, but why the time might be right to at least give it a try.

In 36 years at Golf Digest, senior writer Guy Yocom interviewed the greatest players in history— from Hogan to Palmer to Woods—far from the glare of television cameras and tournament press conferences. In this episode, Yocom tells Dan Rapaport about his experiences behind the scenes with golf’s most influential figures, offering insight into their personalities and their common traits that the average golf fan would never see.