Episode 205 – Crash course: Catching up on golf’s new LIV Tour and the game’s local rec scene

Guy Cipriano, editor-in-chief of Golf Course Industry Magazine, joins The Nail to talk about the launch of the LIV Tour, a Saudi-backed golf league that is promising big bucks to steal some of the game’s big names (and ruffling the PGA Tour’s feathers in the process). The guys discuss the new league’s paradigm-shattering financial model, the backlash being faced by defecting PGA Tour stars like Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson, and how the PGA Tour is responding to the most high-profile direct threat a major U.S. sports league has faced in more than a generation.

Plus, Cipriano dives into the recreational golf scene, including how the game is diversifying, what casual golfers are looking for from their local courses now, and where the industry is headed in the coming years.


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Intro/outro music: "The 3rd" by Anitek

Photos from Getty Images, Naples Daily News | Photo illustration by The Nail in the Coffin

Episode 127 – AP golf writer Doug Ferguson on the final WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in Akron

Firestone Country Club has played host to professional golf tournaments since 1954, including three major championships, the former World Series of Golf and the current WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. But this weekend, the world’s best golfers will tee it up in Akron for the final time before the tournament moves to Memphis next year.

Doug Ferguson has covered golf for the Associated Press for 20 years, and he has been on hand for nearly every big moment at Firestone over the past two decades. On a special episode of The Nail, Ferguson shares some classic tales from Firestone’s storied history—many of which prominently involve Tiger Woods, who has won in Akron eight times and will play Firestone for the first time since 2014 this weekend. From the “Shot in the Dark” to Sunday showdowns to an approach shot that rolled off the clubhouse roof and ended up in the cart of a guy delivering crunchy cream pies, if you’ve ever been to Firestone, this is an episode you won’t want to miss.

*** Don't forget: Travis is once again riding in Pelotonia to raise money for cancer research. You can help by donating at: pelotonia.org/travisulle


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Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | TuneIn | Stitcher

Catch us on WaitingForNextYear.com

Like us on Facebook: Facebook.com/TheNailPodcast

Follow us on Twitter: @TheNailPodcast 

Email us: thenailpodcast [at] gmail.com

Intro/outro music: "The 3rd" by Anitek