Sandbagger Sessions

Stefan has a confession. Justin Rose made a questionable decision. And we settle the debate: what ACTUALLY makes a great golf trip?Episode 21 is packed — we recap the Zurich Classic, Nelly Korda's dominant Chevron win, dig into the new Full Swing season, break down the Ryder Cup captain situation in the US, and talk about the hottest amateur in golf right now. Then we go deep on what separates a legendary golf trip from a forgettable one — and the 8 types of guys every great group needs.Oh, and Stefan picked up a free electric push cart off someone's driveway. He has thoughts. So do we.📝 Full DescriptionStefan has a confession, and he's getting ahead of it before the rumours spiral: he picked up a free Motocaddy off someone's driveway and he might be an electric push cart guy now. Cole is not taking it well.From there, we get into a full week of golf — the Fitzpatrick brothers pull off one of the cooler wins of the season at the Zurich Classic, but we debate whether a team event should really be handing out PGA Tour cards. Nelly Korda wins her 3rd major at the Chevron Championship and looks absolutely unbeatable through 72 holes. Justin Rose decides to put McLaren golf clubs in his bag two weeks before the PGA Championship, and Stefan delivers a swift double bogey on that decision.On the Ryder Cup front, Jim Furyk has been named US captain for Adare Manor — and we don't love it. We also talk about Jackson Koiven, who according to DataGolf is now the greatest amateur since 2010, and who Stefan believes will be on the Ryder Cup team next year. Big call. We break down the new season of Full Swing, dig into the Alan Shipnuck Rory McIlroy book, and Stefan makes a compelling case that Bryson DeChambeau would be a cult leader if he wasn't good at golf.Then we get into the main event: what actually makes a great golf trip? Stefan runs through his top 5 factors (accommodations, meals, location, planning, and the group itself), Cole challenges the order, and we land on a full breakdown of the 8 personas you need in your golf trip group — the planner, the down-for-anything guy, the hidden gems guy, the games guy, the life of the party, the connector, the photo/video guy, and the overpacker. Plus the three types that will ruin a trip: the moody one, the person who can't sit in silence, and the FaceTime guy.Cole's bachelor party is this weekend at Wooden Sticks in Uxbridge. Scotland is coming. Episode 22 might include some field footage. Subscribe so you don't miss it.

Rory McIlroy just went back-to-back at Augusta National — and we have THOUGHTS. On Episode 19, Cole and Stefan break down every angle of the 2026 Masters: the legendary finish, the CBS broadcast disaster, Sergio Garcia's embarrassing meltdown, LIV Golf's continued major problem, and whether Rory McIlroy is now a top-10 player of all time.Plus, we debate the Sunday pin placements, rank our favourite shots of the week (Cam Young's chip on 8 is filthy), and break down the caddying masterclass from Harry Diamond on hole 12 that helped win Rory the tournament. We also preview the RBC Heritage and make our picks.⛳ TIMESTAMPS0:00 – Intro: Stefan takes the season-long money race lead2:02 – Masters recap begins: Birdie, Par, or Bogey for the 2026 Masters overall?5:59 – Augusta's identity crisis: Kevin Hart, Jason Kelce & celebrities at the Par-3 Contest — is Augusta losing its mystique?7:25 – CBS broadcast gets a TRIPLE BOGEY: bung shot tracers, missing critical moments on 18, and Ian Baker-Finch's replacement Colt Knost trying too hard?14:18 – Course setup debate: were the Sunday pins too easy? The hole 16 pillow fight argument18:52 – The ugly: Par fives playing too soft on Sunday — could Augusta have been tougher?24:39 – Sergio Garcia smashes his driver into the tee deck on hole 2 and gets an official warning — Cole is DONE with Sergio31:00 – Was Rory's Augusta practice advantage unfair? Stephen A. Smith says yes. Michael Kim and Kevin Kisner say no. We weigh in.33:17 – Haotong Li appreciation post — and his catastrophic 10 on hole 1336:00 – Is Jordan Spieth back? Stefan says yes (and bets $50 at 5-to-1 odds that he wins in 2026). Cole disagrees strongly.39:00 – LIV Golf at the Masters: only Tyrrell Hatton showed up. Where was Jon Rahm? Where was Bryson?41:00 – Bryson DeChambeau's one-length irons exposed at Augusta (again)44:00 – Justin Rose: the "thespian" of Augusta.46:00 – Alex Norén clutches a 50-foot putt to make the cut on Friday. Absolute gamer.48:23 – Favourite shots of the week: Cam Young's chip on 8, Jordan Spieth from behind a bush on 10, and more49:33 – Scottie Scheffler breakdown: his par fives cost him the green jacket — and the personal context behind a tough week57:43 – Shot of the tournament nominees + alternate universe scenarios (Justin Rose's eagle putt, Scotty's putt on 17)1:00:37 – Rory's tee shot on 12 on Sunday: the caddy masterclass from Harry Diamond that changed everything1:05:00 – Full Rory McIlroy back-to-back breakdown: how did he do it and what does it mean?1:06:35 – Is Rory the greatest European golfer of all time? Is he top 10 all time? The resume speaks for itself.1:09:00 – How many majors does Rory McIlroy end his career with? Over or under 9.5?1:19:27 – RBC Heritage preview: Harbor Town, shot-shapers paradise, and the boys picks. Bonus: Ryan Gerard sleeper pick.1:24:00 – Episode 20 preview + Zurich Classic team picks incoming📌 About the PodcastTwo golf obsessives — one of them a PGA of Canada professional — break down everything happening in the golf world. We bring the knowledge, the hot takes, the debates, and enough comedy to make the commute fly by. New episodes every week.Subscribe so you don't miss Episode 20 🔔#Masters2026 #RoryMcIlroy #Masters #PGATour #GolfPodcast #RBCHeritage #ScottieScheffler #SerioGarcia #LIVGolf #AugustaNational #GolfNews #GolfHighlights #BackToBack #HarryDiamond #BrysonDeChambeau #JustinRose

🎙️ TSN's James Duthie Joins Sandbagger Sessions | Playing Augusta National, Covering The Masters, The Gretzky Question & MoreTSN's James Duthie - one of Canada's most iconic sports broadcasters - sits down with Sandbagger Sessions for an incredible conversation about his deep love of the game of golf. This one is special.James opens up about his origin story in golf. Sneaking onto Pine View Municipal before dawn as a kid, never paying a dime, and falling in love with the game on those early morning rounds with his late best friend Mark Ward. From there, he takes us inside decades of covering the Masters for TSN, including what Augusta National is really like behind the scenes, what it's like watching the tournament without a cell phone in 2026, and how TSN ended up sandwiched between ESPN and Golf Channel next to the driving range.James shares the full story of winning the Augusta National media lottery and playing the course, showing up with dusty clubs, one golf ball, and an early morning Walmart run for Top Flite Hot XLs after discovering he only had one ball in his bag.The conversation dives deep into Rory McIlroy's 2025 Masters win - what James calls "the greatest sports movie of all time" - and the raw emotion on the media sets when Rory finally sank that putt.We also get into: his thoughts on this year's Masters contenders, why he thinks Canadian golf fans might be the most passionate in the world, his top five courses, the Joe Mayo bunker technique that's changing his life, and a hilarious New Zealand travel story involving a TSN colleague.James also takes us behind the scenes of his Wayne Gretzky interview at the Milano Cortina Olympics: the question that divided Canada. He walks through exactly how he prepared the question, why he gave Gretzky a heads-up beforehand, and how he handled the backlash from both sides (including one very apologetic drunk DM).Whether you're a Masters die-hard, a Canadian golf sicko, or you just want to hear one of the best storytellers in Canadian media talk about the game he loves, this is the episode.Also this week on Sandbagger Sessions:Tiger Woods — his latest DUI arrest, what it means for the Masters, and why we think it's time for Tiger to step away and get helpGary Woodland's incredible comeback win and his courageous battle with a brain lesion, PTSD, and fear — the feel-good story of the yearStefan reads an official statement after getting destroyed in the picks competition (written by Cole, obviously)A "statement from Prime Minister Mark Carney" regarding Cole's citizenship status and his lack of support for Taylor PendrithAlex Fitzpatrick wins on the DP World Tour — Matt's brother gets his first winLydia Ko fires a 60 on the LPGA Tour and nobody noticed (a bogey for LPGA social media)Valero Texas Open picksMasters bet stakes revealed📲 Follow us: @sandbaggersessions 🎧 New episodes weekly 👍 Like & Subscribe if you enjoyed the episode — we're building something here and every sub matters.#Masters #TheMasters #AugustaNational #JamesDuthie #TSN #Golf #GolfPodcast #PGATour #RoryMcIlroy #TigerWoods #GaryWoodland #CanadianGolf #SandbaggerSessions #MastersWeek #GolfContent

Cameron Young wins The Players Championship in dramatic fashion as overnight leader Ludvig Åberg collapses down the stretch — and we break down every moment of one of the wildest final rounds in recent memory.Then we get into the big one: PGA Tour Commissioner Brian Rolapp's strategic press conference and the six major themes that could reshape professional golf as we know it. Two-tier competition, relegation systems, playoff overhauls, and a season opener that actually means something — we cover it all and give you our honest take on whether this is real change or just noise.Plus our weekly Birdie/Par/Bogey breakdown, tournament picks for the Valspar Championship, and the season long fantasy battle continues.In this episode:- Cam Young's stunning Players Championship win and that 375-yard drive on 18- Ludvig Åberg's back-nine collapse — Rory 2011 Masters parallels?- PGA Tour two-tier system explained: what it means for the game's biggest names- Relegation in professional golf — good idea or disaster?- Match play playoffs and a win-or-go-home postseason format- Why the PGA Tour needs its own Cooper Flagg storytelling moment- Valspar Championship picks

Golf has plenty of great stories… but some of the strangest and darkest ones happen off the scorecard. In this special “Dark Episode” of Sandbagger Sessions, we dive into the weird, creepy, and sometimes downright criminal stories connected to golf courses around the world.From unsolved crimes and haunted golf courses to golfers doing truly bizarre things, we each bring a list of the most unusual and unsettling stories we could find in the world of golf. Some are historical mysteries, some involve real crimes on the course, and some are just the kind of strange golf folklore you wouldn’t believe unless you heard it.In this episode we talk about:A haunted golf course built on thousands of graves in San FranciscoA chilling murder–suicide connected to a meeting on a golf courseA man who assaulted people with golf clubs during a dispute on a courseThe bizarre story of a fake Titleist rep scamming golfers with nonexistent clubsA strange mini-golf statue theft at 4amAnd more dark, weird, and unbelievable golf storiesIf you love golf history, bizarre sports stories, and the strange side of the game, this might be the darkest golf episode you’ll ever hear.⛳ New episodes of Sandbagger Sessions every week.

The night of March 15 2022 changed Hayden Underhill's life forever.Travelling home after a collegiate golf tournament close to Midland, Texas, Hayden along with his coach and teammates from the University of the Southwest were struck in a tragic and disastrous head on collision that claimed 9 lives.Hayden was thrown almost 100 yards from the vehicle, and his friend and teammate Dayton had to be pulled from the van that had burst into flames. They would be the only two survivors of the crash.After a 5 day long medically induced coma, Hayden awoke and began his physical and emotional recovery.He sits down with us today to tell his story. The tragedy, confronting the loss head on, and all the work he has had to put in to not only recover, but return to competing at the highest level in Collegiate golf.Big thanks to Hayden for sharing his emotional and inspiring story with us. Make sure you follow him on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/haydenunderhillgolfAnd watch the "Second Shot" episode from TSN, hosted by James Duthie, on Hayden and his friend Dayton: https://youtu.be/MeMdVhlRIws?si=3lPXVxD0XCsyZ_UqFOLLOW US!Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sandbaggersessionsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/sandbaggersessions/Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@SandbaggerSessionsX: https://x.com/sandbaggersesh

What does it take to loop a bag at the pinnacle of professional golf?In Episode 9 of Sandbagger Sessions, we sit down with LPGA Tour caddie Nate Blasko.Nate is a local to Kingston Ontario, a former amateur golfer. And now… he loops inside the ropes with the best in the world.Nate has caddied for some of the world’s best women’s golfers, including his longest stretch of six seasons on the bag for Australian, Hannah Green. As a caddie he has racked up 7 LPGA Tour wins, one major championship win, and carried the bag at both the Tokyo and Paris Olympics.He breaks down what fans don’t see: the pressure, the prep, and what it’s really like caddying when every shot matters.

Who is Cole Atkinson? This week, Stefan puts Cole in the hot seat to answer that very question.Why did he move to Canada from New Zealand?How did he get into golf?What are some of his top golfing moments (and what handicap is he)?Finished out with Cole's top 10 courses he's played, plus his top bucket list courses he'd like to play in the future (and maybe a pep talk from Stefan).---FOLLOW US! ⁨@SandbaggerSessions⁩ on YoutTube, Instagram, TikTok@sandbaggersesh on X/Twitter

You know about Stefan's Daddy's buddy, but who is Stefan Thedorf? How did he get into golf and become a PGA Professional?We break down all of this and more in part one of our Sandbagger Sessions interview series:How did he become a PGA Professional?What's the difference between a Professional Golfer and a Golf Professional?What's some things about the golf industry he would like to see changed?Common uncomfortable truths for golfers of all levelsWhat's in his bagTop 10 golf courses of his life, plus the one bucket list course he hasn't managed to play yet.FOLLOW US!@sandbaggersessions on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok.@sandbaggersesh on X/Twitter.

What are your "most wanted" things for golf in 2026? No mater how realistic or ridiculous.Tiger gets back in the winners circle? You shoot a course record? Your friend makes it onto the PGA Tour?In Episode 3 Stefan and Cole break down their most wanted list for 2026 - some outrageous, some... possible.Plus we breakdown some feedback from inside the tours on some of the most disliked golfers in the world right now.

Net Golf Tournaments are a joke (and many more spicy takes).Join Stefan and Cole as our debut episode dives unfiltered into some of hottest and spiciest takes from the year so far in golf.