Talkingolf

This may go down as one of my favorite podcasts in our eight years of production - my love of all things Musselburgh goes back to my first trip to it's links nearly 20 years ago. This nine hole links has lived through the best of times and certainly the bad. We are joined by my friend, historian and author Mungo Park as he shares the delightful history of this most honest town. If you want to learn more, consider buying his book, "Musselburgh: Cradle of Golf" at Auld Grey Toon Golf Books

There may not be a more important course in the world (that you havent heard of) than Leith Links - there is an argument that you can't play the game of golf without a major component of it's history. The History of Leith Links is endlessly fascinating - there are golf matches, duels, murders, kings and commoners and today on the show Mike Tucker of the Leith Rules Society joins us to shed a light on one of history's forgotten courses and the home to the rules of golf.

Don't let the title of this podcast fool you - don't let it lull you to sleep thinking this is going to be a boring podcast about a museum. It's only a museum in the way that PT Barnum described his museum - this is a spectacle to behold and for the next hour plus, let it entertain you. What I promise you is this - like me it will surpise you and i guarantee it will make you smile.

Golf Historian, Wayne Morrison returns for the second half of the history of William Flynn. In this episode we dive into Flynn's work at Shinnecock Hills, the Country Club and his feat of engineering at Indian Creek. Wayne's stories help bring this overlooked golf course architect back to life! If you are interested in purchasing Wayne's book or joining the William Flynn Society you can reach Wayne at: wsmorrison@williamflynnfoundation.org

Episode #144 tells the story of the underappreciate golf course architect, William Flynn- who's early history was, in many ways, stolen from him. Thanks to our guest, Wayne Morrison and his sleuthing much of Flynn's true legacy has been recovered and restored. Wayne not only covers William Flynn's history, but towards the end of episiode #1 he shares the three public and three private Flynn designs that people must play to appreciate his genius. To learn more about William Flynn, consider joining the William Flynn Society. You can learn more at www.williamflynnsociety.com

A podcast four years in the making has finally arrived - the TalkinGolf History has shared the stories of Donald Ross, AW Tillinghast, Dr. Alister MacKenzie, Seth Raynor, Walter Travis, James Braid, Perry Maxwell and finally after years of trying to make it happen we have the story most of you don't know. Tom Bendelow's story is a story about the early days of American golf and yet a story that has somehow escaped the history books. I am so proud to present the History of Tom Bendelow with his own Grandson, Stuart Bendelow as our guest.

As we countdown until the days of the playing of the 2025 Walker Cup at the Cypress Point Club, I thought it would be great to look back at the History of Dr. Alister MacKenzie and Cypress Point with our special guest Sean Tully. Its a great show where we ask the question - what would Dr. Mackenzie's career looked like, had Seth Raynor not passed away suddenly in 1926. We discuss the semi-recently found routing plans that may predate both Mackenzie and Raynor. Enjoy the show and the 2025 Walker Cup!

To those of you listening to this upon release, please forgive the extra week for release. The Society of Golf Historians had an amazing golf history trip to Scotland and I was worn out. I am so proud of Part 2 of the Lost History of Alexander Findlay. A very special thank you to author and historian, William Casto joining us. In this episode we kick off discussing Findlay's role in the Vardon Invasion of the US and end discussing his prolific design career. Enjoy the show!

We are joined by author, William Casto to discuss his new book: "The Ambassador: Alexander Findlay and Pioneer Golf in America," to discuss the history of this forgotten giant in the game of golf. This is a two part podcast about one of the gentlemen golfers who can lay claim to being called one of the Johnny Appleseed's of American Golf.

Welcome to a new series on the TalkinGolf History Podcast called: 100 Objects That Changed the Game of Golf. Today on our show I share the story of Lou King and the Amana VIP Hat. The hat that sparked a billion dollar industry of athlete marketing. Without the Amana Hat you might not have Tiger's famous Nike Swoosh Hat or Phil Mickelson's KPMG visor. Sit back and enjoy this very short story of how athletes became marketing billboards. Music by Jonny Easton ("Purpose')

The conclusion to our three part series on the Life and Times of James Braid - 5-Time Champion Golfer, Golf Course Architect, Author, Teacher, Inventor, Golf Professional and Golf Club Maker. A special thanks to our guest, Simon Barrington for sharing his knowledge with all of us.

We welcome back Simon Barrington to continue the fascinating history of James Braid - from his role in the establishment of the British PGA, to the meaning of his 4 British PGA News of the World Match Play Championships and finally we start to tell the story of James Braid, the golf course architect.

Join us for Part 1 of a three part series into the Life and Legacy of James Braid- one of golf's true pioneers. In this episode, I am joined by golf historian, Simon Barrington as we explore the remarkable career, innovations and enduring impact of the great Scottish Champion whose contributions to the game are too often overlooked. The History of James Braid Part 1

We conclude our three part series on the famed Oakmont Country Club with our special guest, Oakmont Historian, Dave Moore. We kick off today's show with the 1962 US Open and a generational rivalry and we end our final Oakmont special discussing the amazing collection of antiquities within Oakmont's collection. Thank you for joining us on this journey that has been seven years in the making!

We are proud to bring you Part 2 of our three-part series on the storied history of Oakmont Country Club. In this episode we are joined once again by Oakmont Historian, Dave Moore, as we dive into the early major championships that helped shape Oakmont's legendary status. From iconic victories to lost trophies to unforgettable drama, we explore the moments and players that defined one of golf's most revered venues.

In this first installment of our deep dive into the storied history of Oakmont Country Club, we're joined by club historian Dave Moore to explore Oakmont's formative years - before the US Opens, before the national spotlight. We uncover the vision of founder HC Fownes, the bold architectural principles that shaped the course, and how Oakmont's fierce identity was forged long before it became a championship icon. This is the origin story of one of golf's most revered venues.

The week leading into the 2025 PGA Championship, I thought I would reshare one of our fan favorite podcasts titled, "They Won for Everyone." This podcast tells the story of golf's systematic discrimination and the events that led to the striking of the PGA's Caucasian Clause. Next week the TalkinGolf History podcast will have a brand new podcast on the History of James Braid. For the US Open we will cover the History of Oakmont Country Club.

Today on the podcast I interview author Michael Arkush about his new book, The Golf 100: A Spirited Ranking of the Greatest Players of All-Time. I think you will really enjoy this show - we took a slightly different route and focused on some of the lesser known golfers and in the end I debate Michael a bit on his Top 10. Listen to the podcast and let me know what you think - who is in your Top 10 of all-time? Let me know on twitter @shistorians

Episode #130 is this year's Masters podcast and boy do we have a doozy! On today's podcast we are joined by Augusta Historian, Greg Lamb and we are going to take you inside the gates of Augusta National, inside the clubhouse and share with you some of the great relics of Augusta National's past. There are things we are about to discuss that I would bet not every Augusta National member knows about - in short you are in for a real treat!

Stephen Proctor's latest book, Matchless" is due out October of 2025 and in it he makes an argument for the match piting USA's Glenna Collett vs the UK's Joyce Wethered going down as the Match of the Century. These two Titans of the Green propelled the women's game into the international spotlight and laid the groundwork for what would become the LPGA Tour. Matchless marks Stephen's third golf history book and quite frankly its a trilogy that every golf history lover needs to have on their shelves. We hope you enjoy this preview of MATCHLESS!