The Amateur Hour Golf Podcast

Welcome back to the Amateur Hour Golf Pod! After a brief hiatus we are back and excited for 2022. For Episode 50 we are joined by PGA Instructor & Dryvebox Co-Founder, Jake Hutt. At 25 Jake turned to Golf and never looked back. The Instagram Golf Influencer has a great mind for the game and an even better ability to grow the game. During this episode we dive into his Junior Hockey days, the Transition to Golf, the Dryvebox origin story, and more.

We are joined by special guest Philip Barbaree. After a stellar career at LSU, Philip has turned professional and tells us all about it. We also get some insight into his run to the quarterfinals at last year’s US Amateur at Bandon Dunes and plenty of other awesome stories. Before Philip joins us, we talk all things Pebble and Riv. Fun couple weeks of golf!

We are back for Season 4 of the Amateur Hour! Recapping some off season story lines and diving right into the Sony and Desert Classic. Plus, some bold predictions for the 2021 season. We are also joined by Golf Digest social media manager Nicole Rae, a rising star in the world of golf media! She shares her unique journey to Golf Digest and much more. Listen to find out who she has winning this year’s majors and the only song she’s ever done karaoke to!

THIS IS MAJOR! We finally have major championship golf ladies and gentlemen. We start this week’s episode off with an in depth preview giving our picks and going over major storylines, such as Spieth hunting a slam, Tiger, and more. We are also joined by viral star Nicky Smigs. Nicky explains how he used his incredible impersonation skills to get him from just starting making Tik Toks at the start of quarantine all the way to the Jimmy Kimmel show. You won’t want to miss his Molinari impression at the end! https://amateurhourgolfpod.files.wordpress.com/2020/08/episode-47-with-nicky-smigs.mp3

An hour with Steve Sands… not many things better than that! We get into all the major story lines going on in the world of golf right now, including the condensed season, the Ryder Cup being moved, how tournaments change with no fans, Bryson’s bulk up, and everything in between. You’d be hard pressed to find a more entertaining man to talk to in golf — nay, all of sports — than Sandsie. Enjoy! https://amateurhourgolfpod.files.wordpress.com/2020/07/episode-46-with-steve-sands.mp3

This week we welcome on special guest Jeremy Lee, CEO of GolfCritique.com. We talk to Jeremy about what GolfCritique is all about and why it has a bright future. We also get some interesting info on Jeremy’s past and what drove him to creating the site. Before Jeremy joins us, we review the Rocket Mortgage, touching on highlights such as Bryson’s hot start post-quarantine. Finally, we preview the first of two weekends at Muirfield Village with the Workday Charity Open. Great episode this week! https://amateurhourgolfpod.files.wordpress.com/2020/07/episode-45-with-jeremy-lee.mp3

Amateur Hour history folks, as we have our first dual interview with Maria Fassi, a top rookie on the LPGA Tour last season, and fellow up-and-comer Maria Balcazar, who just graduated from UCF and has since turned pro. We get into what it was like competing against each other from a young age growing up in Mexico, how living together in quarantine has been, and much more. Additionally, we hear from Fassi what it was like playing at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship last year. You won’t want to miss this one! https://amateurhourgolfpod.files.wordpress.com/2020/05/episode-44-with-maria-balcazar-and-maria-fassi-1.mp3    

This week we welcome on the awesome Hally Leadbetter. We chat with Hally about her playing days, her transition to golf media, how she’s handling golf’s shutdown, and much more. A very fun 45 minute conversation that could have gone on for hours — you’ll want to check this one out! https://amateurhourgolfpod.files.wordpress.com/2020/05/episode-43-with-hally-leadbetter.mp3

Tommy Fleetwood ladies and gentleman! He needs no introduction, but what an absolutely awesome 45 minutes we had with Tommy. He really is just one of the best guys associated with the game of golf. You’ll love listening to this one! Some highlights: -What he’s been doing with his time away from golf right now (2:11) -How he got into golf (4:18) -His Everton fandom (9:07) -Detailing his first career professional win (11:13) -His transition to the PGA Tour (14:05) -His thoughts on this year’s majors and Ryder Cup (22:03) -Detailing his 2018 Ryder Cup experience (25:55) -The story of his 63 at Shinnecock Hills (31:51) -The 60 Second Scramble (38:06) https://amateurhourgolfpod.files.wordpress.com/2020/05/episode-42-with-tommy-fleetwood.mp3

Amateur Hour history here, as we have on our first 3 time guest, Kessler Karain. Kessler and Patrick took care of business down in Mexico a couple weeks ago, and Kessler joins the show to share some insight on the win, including their strategy throughout the week and what was going through their heads on Sunday down the stretch. Kessler also talks about their goals for the season as a whole and gives an interesting viewpoint on some of the media coverage of Patrick of late. Before Kessler joins us, we wrap up the week down at the Honda and then give out some winners for the API. One of our best episodes yet! https://amateurhourgolfpod.files.wordpress.com/2020/03/episode-41-with-kessler-karain.mp3

This week we welcome back on the legend himself, Jason Sobel. We get into which golfers he thinks will breakout this year, why he’s having the most fun he’s ever had at The Action Network, and discuss a quick lookahead to the Ryder Cup. At the end of the episode Jason explains the coolest golf related game we’ve ever heard, so make sure you stick around for the whole thing! https://amateurhourgolfpod.files.wordpress.com/2020/02/episode-40-with-jason-sobel.mp3

Big episode! The boys had on the great Geoff Shackelford to talk all things golf. Geoff is one of the best in golf media and it showed during this interview. We talk to Geoff about what tournaments like the Genesis Open mean to the tour, who he has winning this year’s majors, and much more. Be sure to check it out. Before Geoff joins us, we give a quick recap of what went down in LA and give our picks for this week’s WGC Mexico. We’ve been hot lately so you may want to take note. https://amateurhourgolfpod.files.wordpress.com/2020/02/episode-39-with-geoff-shackelford.mp3

This week we welcome back on the always entertaining Chase Koepka. Chase has brought his game back to the states after a few years in Europe, and we get into his expectations for 2020 and beyond. The ultimate grinder, we see Chase finding his way onto the PGA Tour by the end of the year. Before Chase joins us, we discuss last week’s WMPO (including a special duel between two co-hosts) and discuss the February schedule coming up. Entertaining episode as always! https://amateurhourgolfpod.files.wordpress.com/2020/02/episode-38-with-chase-koepka.mp3

We’re baaaaaacckkk. The new golf year has begun and we’re talking everything 2020 including major predictions and who we have as the PGA Tour player of the year. We briefly review the year’s first two tournaments before giving picks on this week’s American Express. It’s good to be back! https://amateurhourgolfpod.files.wordpress.com/2020/01/episode-37-2020-pga-tour-preview.mp3

We are lucky to be joined by the always entertaining Max Homa. Max tells us the story of how he almost ended up playing in The Open this week, what it was like taking down some of the world’s best at this year’s Wells Fargo to secure his first PGA Tour win, some funny stories from the WMPO, and much more (1:40-38:56). Really hard not to love Max! After Max joins us, we break down this week’s Open. Should be an exciting week. Last major of the year, let’s cherish it! https://amateurhourgolfpod.files.wordpress.com/2019/07/episode-36-with-max-homa.mp3

This week we are joined by the number 1 ranked amateur golfer in the world, Cole Hammer (3:30 – 30:30). Cole tells us about playing at Texas (including beating the most recent PGA Tour winner Matthew Wolff), his plans for the summer, the Walker Cup, and much more. It’s an awesome interview and Cole gained some new fans in us! Before Cole joins, we briefly recap last week’s 3M. After the interview, we break down the JDC and Scottish Open. It’s almost time for another major! https://amateurhourgolfpod.files.wordpress.com/2019/07/episode-35-with-cole-hammer.mp3

It’s time for another major! We’re joined by Vince Whaley who is currently in the Top 15 on the Web.com Tour. Vince talks about his time at Georgia Tech, how he has listened to advice about grinding on the Web, and more. You’ll become a fan of Vince’s after this interview; we sure did. After Vince joins us, we talk everything PGA: who we expect to win, Tiger/Phil, JT’s injury, etc. Should be an awesome week on Long Island! https://amateurhourgolfpod.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/episode-34-with-vince-whaley.mp3

It is finally here… Masters Week! And what better way to get the week going than with an interview with last year’s champion’s caddie, Kessler Karain. We talk to Kessler about how he and Patrick feel coming in to defend their title. We also touch on the Ryder Cup from last year and much more! Before Kessler joins us we preview the Masters, giving our picks to win, some longshots to look out for, and past champions to look out for as well. Let’s have a week! https://amateurhourgolfpod.files.wordpress.com/2019/04/episode-33-with-kessler-karain.mp3

This week we are lucky to be joined by Golf Channel host/reporter George Savaricas. George tells us how playing a random Par 3 course on vacation eventually led to him being the last person to formally interview Arnold Palmer. Savs gives us some great insight to how Golf Channel works and some amazing details about all the work put in behind the scenes. He’s an awesome guy, and we’re rooting for him to get to the top of golf media! Before the interview, we touch on the Valspar and preview the always interesting WGC Match Play this week in Austin. Kevin was on the grounds this week at Valspar, and Mike will be on the grounds this week so stay tuned for some fun stories! https://amateurhourgolfpod.files.wordpress.com/2019/03/episode-32-with-george-savaricas.mp3

This week we were lucky to be joined by PGA Tour rookie Kramer Hickok. Kramer tells us how he chose to focus on golf (very funny story), the biggest adjustment from the Web to the PGA Tour, and what its like being apart of a generation of golf with so much success at a young age. Kramer is an awesome guy and was a very fun interview! Before Kramer joins us we review a spectacular PLAYERS last week and preview the Valspar as well. Tune in! https://amateurhourgolfpod.files.wordpress.com/2019/03/episode-31-with-kramer-hickok.mp3