Five Clubs

Emma Carpenter was joined by her University of Minnesota golf teammate Bella McCauley and the Golden Gophers duo discussed their time together as well as the path that has led to Bella to becoming one of the top collegiate players in the country. McCauley was an accomplished junior player in the state of Minnesota and has qualified for the NCAA Tournament the last two years as an individual. Other topics the two discussed were McCauley's recruiting process which occurred during Covid restrictions, what led her to stay in her home state, playing in the cold, the early success that lead to getting hooked on golf, how she grew up more as a "feel" player versus diving into the analytics, her devotion to her short game, her ability to perform and go low in pressure situations, winning the Big 10 Championship, and some fun questions to close it out.

What is an Ivy League educated guy spending his days moving dirt around? Beau Welling saw Augusta National and Cypress Point as a kid and both places got to him. After years working and learning from Tom Fazio, Welling has established his own design firm among the best in the industry. This conversation is about Beau’s background and experiences, the state of the design industry and is the cash influx sustainable. Plus, his favorite holes, why he loves curling and Alistair Mackenzie as a drinking buddy. It’s all in this 5 Clubs conversation with Gary Williams.

Johnson Wagner and Brendon de Jonge are back with a new episode of The 'Wagyu Filet Show' after a historic PGA Championship at Valhalla. They dive into that as well a look into the recreations that Johnson has been doing for The Players and PGA Championship that have become fan favorites. They talk about how these came about and what kind of planning goes into them and might mention how terrible some of the chipping has been on live TV. They also discuss what a mess of a situation Friday morning was with the tragic accident and the Scheffler situation and finish with rating top players major performances so far this season and give a look ahead to the final two majors of the year.

Taylor Moore dropped by the 5 Clubs studio to join Gary Williams in person in advance of the Wells Fargo Championship to talk about his career to date. They dove into his lifelong love of sports and baseball, his Arkansas Razorbacks and about his contemporaries on tour. They talked in length about his experience on the Canadian Tour and his more recent success on the PGA Tour including his work with coach Josh Gregory and the improvement in his mental game since working with Sarah Taylor. Moore also shared the scary story of his collapsed lung and the impact that made on him as he continued to chase his professional golf career.

Part 2 of our 2024 PGA Championship Preview Show assesses the form and chances of Jon Rahm, Jordan Spieth, Brooks Koepka and other LIV challengers, Ludvig Aberg and the return appearance of Michael Block. The crew of Gary Williams, Johnson Wagner, Brendon de Jonge and Taylor Zarzour also take aim at their long shots, missed cuts, contenders and ultimate winners of the Wanamaker Trophy.

The 2024 PGA Championship gets underway at Valhalla Golf Club starting May 16 and Gary Williams, Johnson Wagner, Brendon de Jonge and Taylor Zarzour dive deep in this two-part tournament preview. Part 1 includes a deep discussion on World #1 Scottie Scheffler and the heater he is on, his personality and if it drives viewership, his under the radar show of emotions and more. We also go deep on Rory McIlroy who last won a major at Valhalla and what he has to do to get over the hump and end his major drought and how maybe teaming with Shane Lowry at the Zurich may provide a bump. We also look at the history of Valhalla and who has competed well there and whether or not it has a future as a major championship course. We conclude Part 1 with a dive into the course set up for the PGA versus the USGA in recent years as well as some future sites on the upcoming PGA Championship schedule. Plenty of topics still to cover in Part 2 of our 2024 PGA Championship Preview Show which will launch in the coming days.

Mark Blackburn was the 2020 PGA of America teacher of the year and was just bestowed the Butch Harmon award by Golf Digest as the best instructor in golf. Mark has worked with Max Homa and Justin Rose for several years and last fall Colin Morikawa became a client. In this wide ranging and in-depth conversation and Masters preview, Mark and Gary Williams discuss the approach, mindset and game plan for each player at Augusta National. The key shots, the team blue print and the belief system each player must have to be successful at the first major of 2024. One of the worlds best golf instructors prepping some of the best golfers in the world, to try to become a Masters champion.

Gary Williams, Johnson Wagner and Brendon de Jonge go in-depth in this 2024 Masters preview show. They examine Augusta National and all the top players that will be in the hunt for the elusive green jacket - Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler, Jon Rahm, Jordan Spieth, Brooks Keopka, Tiger Woods and more. They make their predictions and discuss who some of the potential flyers might be that could be last man standing. This Masters Preview is one you will want to watch to be all set for the first Major of the season. Editor's Note: This preview show was recorded prior to final determination of whether Mackenzie Hughes would be in the tournament field.

World renowned golf course designer, and 5 Clubs contributor, Gil Hanse joined Gary Williams to take a close look at Augusta National through the eyes of a designer. They dive deep into a number of the holes including No.'s 3, 12 and 13 and talk about how important it is to play to the right sides of the fairways to have the right angles into tricky greens. Hanse walks the viewer and listener through the mindset needed for the top golfers in the world to perform and shoot a low score at the Masters. Hanse has done restoration projects on Alistair Mackenzie courses, who was a co-designer on Augusta National.

Long-time golf super agent Hughes Norton has just released a book, "Rainmaker", detailing his history with some of the big names in the history of golf. Working with IMG, and founder Mark McCormack, he was the first agent for Tiger Woods, worked with Greg Norman, and many others. The book and conversation touches on the idea of LIV before LIV that McCormack had back in the 1960's. A lot of the conversation touches on what drove Tiger and Norman in particular, their similarities and differences, and the balance an agent must play in the lives of those they represent. You won't want to miss this golf podcast with Gary Williams.

Akshay Bhatia joined "The Wagyu Filet Show" to talk about his career thus far in golf including getting his temporary membership on Tour last season, his shot-shaping ability, decision to skip college, outside interest and how he slid into his now fiancé's DM's. All of that and more with Johnson Wagner & Brendon de Jonge.

The latest edition of "The Wagyu Filet Show" had a lot of topics to dive into with the Monday finish and win by Austin Eckroat at the Cognizant, another strong showing by Jake Knapp, the return for Anthony Kim on the LIV tour as well as the win by Joaquin Niemann and a look ahead to Arnie's Bay Hill. Johnson Wagner and Brendon de Jonge touch it all.

Johnson Wagner and Brendon de Jonge were on the coverage this week, and it was a big week at Riviera Country Club for the Genesis Invitational with Hideki Matsuyama winning for the 9th time on the PGA Tour with a record-setting final round. They discuss that performance as well as Tiger Woods being back on the golf course (at least temporarily), Will Zalatoris in contention, scorecard issues for Jordan Spieth and an illness that seemed to hit a number of players including Patrick Cantlay. They also look ahead to the Mexico Open as the tour heads away from the west coast.

There is a lot to unpack in this episode of "The Wagyu Filet Show" as they tackle the Waste Management Phoenix Open both on and off the course with Nick Taylor's finish, Charley Hoffman's week, Scottie Scheffler's putting and some fan behavior and reactions to it that will be a topic of conversation moving forward for the Tour and some of their own interactions with fans over the years at the WM. They also dive into the second LIV event of the year in Las Vegas, the upcoming Genesis Invitational and return of Tiger Woods... and of course immediate regret in picking against Patrick Mahomes.

Joe Ogilvie was a PGA Tour member from 1999-2014. He contributed as a member of the player advisory council and always remained well versed on the business of the PGA Tour. Today he works for Wallace Capital Management and has a thorough understanding of the world of private equity. He penned an open letter last fall to the members of the PGA Tour regarding their current state and the road ahead. This is a wide-ranging conversation on the new private equity deal with the Strategic Sports Group, what's next with the Private Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia, the value of competition, Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, and a global schedule. It’s all here in this conversation with Gary Williams.

Johnson Wagner and Brendon de Jonge dive into Wyndham Clark’s Pebble Beach victory in a 54-hole shortened event, talk about how bad the weather was, the softness of the courses all week and the impact of the smaller field size, the Pro Am and how the "buzz" was there. They also take a deeper look into the leaderboard at the AT&T with Ludvig Aberg and Mathieu Pavon. The duo also looks ahead to the Wate Management and Super Bowl this week as well as talk about The Park in West Palm, a new Gil Hanse & Jim Wagner course that opened last year.

Hally Ledbetter has a lot going on in and around the world off golf and Emma Carpenter asks her about all of it. Born into a golf family, the daughter of two professionals, she didn't start really getting into the game until an early teen but she quickly got very good and played collegiately at Arkansas and Rollins College. Despite being a highly-ranked amateur, her interests in the game became more than just playing competitively and she currently produces a high volume of golf content with her "On the Tee" series, "Better off with Hally Ledbetter", a podcast with long-time friend Michelle Wie and one about to launch with her brother. This conversation is a great look at how golf can be utilized as a vehicle off the course as well as on.

The journey of Grayson Murray has been turbulent and filled with regrettable moments which makes his victory at the Sony Open all the more miraculous. Grayson emotionally reveals the depths of his alcoholism and his road to finding sobriety and ultimately this discussion is between two people who share a disease, and their willingness to share their personal challenges is worth everyone’s time.

Johnson Wagner and Brendon de Jonge are back at it talking the week that was and the week ahead. Nick Dunlap makes history on the PGA Tour. Sam Burns a had a meltdown on 17 & 18 and Justin Thomas with a strong showing. The duo will also share some stories from their past AMEX experiences, talk about Rory McIlroy’s 4th win in Dubai, and look ahead to the Farmers Insurance Open.

The guys are back at it discussing the Grayson Murray playoff win over Keegan Bradley and Ben An at the Sony Open as well as his past and how he seems to have truly changed his life. And where and why Bradley and An missed their chance to hoist the trophy. Plus they'll look ahead to the first full field tournament of the season for the AMEX and share some story time as Johnson and Brendon reflect on their first tour event in 2007 at Sony Open and Brendon tells a hilarious story from one of his Sony Opens in the past that is colorful to say the least.