by January may be one of the slowest months of the year for enthusiasm in the golf content business. Not for production – I often get too frustrated about the more I could be doing or things I might miss. But I look back on the month and am staggered by the quality and volume the Fried Egg Golf team produced on every platform. But for me personally, it can feel slow in terms of subject matter or enthusiasm. That abated this week, with my first trip of the year to the TGL experiment to reconnect with some old and new friends, some golf in South Florida, and the arrival of what should be, on paper, the first real PGA Tour Signature Event that had me fired up to dive into Pebble coverage.
It was good to really feel that excitement with and around the game, to remind yourself why you love it and are grateful for it. It was energizing to really feel alive in it after a few months of hibernation for my own golf clubs and more talk about the structure, financing, and “future” of the pro game rather than the actual game itself.
This week was a significant one for The Fried Egg Golf team, highlighted by the launch of a new show and a creative YouTube golf match. Let’s review all you might have missed and could spend some time with as we roll into another chilly weekend for much of the golfing world.
Podcasts
Garrett Morrison launched his new podcast, Designing Golf, with three episodes for your immediate consumption. Garrett is among the very best in the business in producing golf content – he’s as good a writer as we have in golf media. But his particular focus on golf course architecture can benefit both the golf nut and casual trying to learn more. He brings that subject matter expertise to Designing Golf and its three-episode launch with a variety of voices demonstrating how the podcast will explore golf courses and architecture at multiple levels.
What to Expect from Golf Architecture in 2025
The Four Golf Courses That Shaped Geoff Ogilvy
Golf Architecture 101: The Three (or Two?) Schools of Design
The Fried Egg podcast has been cooking this year, and this week Andy brought in author Kevin Cook to discuss his recent book on the greatest run of professional golf ever, offered some insights from his in-person TGL experience, and cross-posted his segment with Garrett on Designing Golf.
The Tiger Slam, Designing Golf, and In-Person TGL Thoughts
The Shotgun Start continues apace with almost too much to talk about and laugh over these days. We went live on YouTube on Sunday and Tuesday for those episodes with a lively real-time chat. This week focused on some eye-opening and asinine comments on the ball rollback from the head of the PGA of America, relayed their notes from the content bonanza that was attending a TGL event, discussed optimism for Pebble weekend despite some sponsor exemption, and answered Golf Advice questions.
Our onsite TGL bonanza, Pebble Beach buzz and DLF delirium
Slow play slog at Torrey, Pebble sponsor exemptions, and more rollback quotes
Video
Cameron Hurdus may be the most unassuming member of the team who creates the most masterpieces. This week, we published our latest in the Digging into Design series with Johnnie-O but took a different approach: spotlighting Mid Pines through a match between Andy and Shane Bacon with hickory vs. modern clubs. Cameron hustled through the sandhills capturing this match solo and produced a different kind of video for us that was well-received. I’ll let FOTP (friend of the program) Barry offer his own review.
Check it out, watch it anytime. People seem into this one.
Last week, we also flipped a James Duncan love letter to North Berwick to our public YouTube page. Duncan, a longtime associate at Coore & Crenshaw, has been traveling to, and living near, the East Lothian links for decades. This is a zen-inducing watch.
A Love Letter to North Berwick’s West Links with James Duncan
Website
This week on the website, I filed some thoughts on our in-person TGL experience that at times felt like a hallucination. I cover some in-person observations that may not come through on TV, from the good, bad, and amusing.
Fun at the SoFi Spirit Halloween Center
In his must-read Wednesday feature, Joseph LaMagna delivers an early-season stock report and gets in-depth on TGL hammer strategy that had our team chatting and debating internally in Slack.
Early Season Stock Movements, Tony Finau, and TGL Hammer Strategy
Paulie tried to warm up at Pebble with a no-hat Pat tip and a couple others.
Paulie’s Picks: 2025 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am
Newsletter
A rangy newsletter this week – subscribe here for three-times-per-week delivery.
Monday covered an unlikely hero emerging to blast the pace of play on the PGA Tour and the embarrassment that was the “wind delay” on that same Tour.
Wednesday featured an appearance from Andy on the “winning recipe at Pebble.”
Friday’s newsletter included Meg, who will be covering the LPGA more this year, with a “wishlist for the season” on that circuit. Will, an underrated analyst of the swing and the pro’s approach, dug into the Scottie Scheffler model comparing some quotes from the world No. 1 and Viktor Hovland.
ClubTFE
We spent the day with Jim Wagner on Wednesday filming some YouTube stuff on The Park that should be pretty cool once it gets out into the world in several weeks. He was exceptional company, and the next day, we learned publicly of his involvement in the next big project with Gil Hanse to build a fourth course at Forest Dunes. Andy weighs in with a quick blog post of some insights on the land and the business model for the next course at this Michigan resort. Garrett also jumped into the comments with some expanded thoughts on the model and course announcement.
Garrett posted his weekly Chocolate Drops on a cornucopia of news on the golf course design and development front. He touches on the David McLay Kidd course coming to Streamsong, some work at the Old Course with another Open announced for the near future, Tyler Rae’s work coming to Chicago, and the 21 Golf Club movements. He also expands a bit on his new podcast and what it will offer.
Chocolate Drops: A New Show from Fried Egg Golf
We also announced a February hangout that is a little something different, bringing in two subject-matter experts to enlighten. It may require procuring some wine to fully participate before we go live, so jump into the details in the post. This is a cool changeup for Club members and props to Will, Abby, and others for arranging and planning it.
Save the Date: February Virtual Hangout – Wine Tasting
Social Media
The Design Disasters experiment is humming along, with four new offerings this week. The gravesite one is alarming but I think the reveal of the bunker for the hole in France is a real howler and we’ve gotten a lot of feedback on that precise moment we learn more about the “Learn Your Letters” hole.
“Riviera 6th Hole, this is not.”
Garrett produced a quick 101-reel on some of the brilliant architecture and unique history of Prairie Dunes, an event site for 2025.
In a quick video format, LaMagna outlined his issues with the sponsor exemptions for Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler, and others at this week’s Pebble event and the larger problems it spotlights for the Tour.
Questionable Sponsor Exemptions
Andy, PJ, and I had a LOT of fun posting during the TGL in-person visit watching the Ballfrogs go up against upset-minded Jupiter Links. Andy was chanting for his Frogs over on the SGS accounts, I went shopping in the merch store, and more. But the biggest development of the night must be PJ’s new rise in the Noah Kahan universe thanks to their interaction.
Events
Fried Egg Golf Event registrations continue to roll out. To date, we have launched full-field events at Mid Ocean Club and Port Royal, Lookout Mountain, and Prairie Dunes as well as Club TFE exclusive opportunities at Broomsedge, Lost Dunes & Dunes Club, the Club TFE Member-Guest on Long Island, and the Club TFE Minneapolis Road Trip.
This week, we opened the Prairie Dunes event and the road trip in Minnesota, which both sold out. We work to offer a mix of public and club-specific events. Joining Club TFE does give you a 24-hour jump on registration for all public events, and obviously includes access to those club-only events.
If you’re interested in joining, spots remain available for our amazing trip to Bermuda to see C.B. Macdonald’s Mid Ocean Club and a PGA Tour stop at Port Royal. The remainder of our previously launched events are sold out. More events will open for registration in February and March so be sure to keep an eye on our Event Hub for more information. And act fast because all events sold out either during Club TFE Early Registration or within 30 minutes of public registrations opening up.
Visit our Event Hub for more information
Merchandise
We posted a bunch of new merchandise this week, including some new colors of the Andy hoodie from B.Draddy, some hats, some hats for bats, and some long-sleeve Ts. Meg is crushing it in the shop with a mix of items.
