TalkinGolf

Episode 148: TGH 148: The History of Musselburgh Links

February 1st, 2026  |  Season 8  |  1 hr 23 mins

golf, golf history, musselburgh, open championship, the open, willie park

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

Episode 139: TGH 139: 100 Objects: The Amana Vip Hat

July 20th, 2025  |  Season 7  |  6 mins 51 secs

amana hat, golf, golf history, masters, the open

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.

Episode 138: TGH 138: The History of James Braid, Part 3

July 1st, 2025  |  Season 7  |  58 mins 43 secs

claret jug, golf, golf history, james braid, open champion, royal portrush, the open

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.

Episode 137: TGH 137: The History of James Braid, Part 2

June 29th, 2025  |  Season 7  |  1 hr 3 mins

claret jug, golf, golf history, james braid, r&a, royal portrush, the open

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.

Episode 136: TGH 136: The History of James Braid, Part 1

June 19th, 2025  |  Season 7  |  1 hr 55 secs

british open, golf, golf history, portrush, the open, the open championship

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

Episode 131: TGH 131: The Top 100 Golfers

April 20th, 2025  |  Season 7  |  51 mins 9 secs

golf, golf history, nicklaus, the open, top 100 golfers, us open, usga, woods

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 125: TGH 125: Short Stories

December 28th, 2024  |  Season 6  |  18 mins 43 secs

golf, golf history, short stories, st andrews, the open, us open, usga

I thought we could finish out the year with five short golf history stories.
Five amazing stories that are likely too short to be a full length podcast.

The Five Stories:

1. How the Western Golf Association Almost Convinced the USGA to Change Their Name
2. How a Newspaper Misprint May Have Cost a Golfer a Major
3. A Mental Lapse in the 1950 US Open Playoff
4. The Quirky Story of the First Playoff in Major Championship History
5. The Golfer Who Refused to Win a Major

Delightful and short stories sure to entertain. Happy New Year Everyone!

Episode 120: TGH 120: A Historic Trip to Scotland

July 18th, 2024  |  Season 6  |  47 mins 14 secs

golf, golf history, perrygolf, royal troon, scotland, st andrews, the open

The Society of Golf Historians is flying to Scotland in August of 2025 and we want you to join us!

Today on the show we are joined by the President and Co-Founder of PerryGolf, Gordon Dalgleish, who shares the early history of PerryGolf and how it was one of the early pioneers in the golf travel industry.

Gordon and I then pivot to discuss The Society of Golf Historians Trip to Scotland with Gordon providing some color into some of the Open's most famous venues.

The trip will be unlike any other - PerryGolf is scheduling the golf, hotels and travel accomodations and I am scheduling the extracurriculars which include walking tours of St Andrews, a live recording of the TalkinGolf History Podcast and some things I dont want to share in the media (but will be amazing).

Episode 106: TGH 106: The Evolution of Royal Liverpool

July 9th, 2023  |  Season 5  |  1 hr 23 mins

golf, golf history, hoylake, major championships, royal liverpool, the open

In this episode we celebrate the 2023 Open Championship and its host club, Royal Liverpool. We are joined by a familiar voice, Joe McDonnell who rejoins us on the podcast to talk about his home club.

We tend to think of links golf as something eternal - something that is unchanged - or perhaps created by Mother Nature. Today we dive into all of the changes that have occurred at Hoylake and how the course has evolved to the course that will host this year's Open.

Episode 105: TGH 105: The Underrated John Ball, Jr.

June 23rd, 2023  |  Season 5  |  1 hr 26 mins

golf, golf history, hoylake, john ball, r&a, royal liverpool. golf history, the open

With the Open Championship returning to Royal Liverpool, we thought it was the perfect opportunity to reshare the amazing history of John Ball, Junior. Ball was the first amateur in history to win a professional major and he was the most prolific winner of the Amateur Majors in golf history.

This is the story of Hoylake's original hero - the man that helped bring the Open to Royal Liverpool - the golfer who became the first Englishman to win the Open.

The underrated, John Ball, Junior.