50 Things That Changed Golf

It's time for the first-ever session of Golf Court! The honorable Shane P. Ryan is presiding as Barrister Luke Kerr-Dineen and Joel Beall, attorney-at-law, argue about whether Luke Donald should get a second try at Ryder Cup captain, and whether the DP World Tour should lose its right to choose Ryder Cup venues. Plus, golf course bathrooms: Do we need them? Golf Court is now in session.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

After a long week in Rome, a happy Luke consoles a sleepy Joel and a sad Shane for an instant take episode following Europe’s 16.5 to 11.5 victory to win the 2023 Ryder up the early-week proceedings at Marco Simone. The Ryder Cup Radicals break down the European Team’s heroics, the Home Team Dominance problem, and all the drama around ‘Hat Gate’.

Subscribe to Local Knowledge and the Golf Digest channels wherever you listen to your podcasts!

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The time has come, ladies and gentlemen, to put our hearts on our sleeves and shout our final thoughts into the Roman ether. Today, Luke, Joel, and Shane recap the juiciest news from the week in Rome, give the dish on how to live in the eternal city and make our final predictions for the Ryder Cup. The time has almost come, tensions are at a peak, and as the band Europe once said, this is the final countdown.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

We've been talking about it so long that we almost can't believe it's happening: The Ryder Cup is imminent. Before we pack our bags and head to Rome, though, there are a couple last orders of business. All 12 Europeans teed it up at their flagship event, the BMW PGA Championship, and two Americans—most notably Justin Thomas—played at the Fortinet Championship on the PGA Tour. Together, the Radicals analyze how those tournaments went, and what it might say about the team and the captain's picks. Then we delve into the realm of pairings, particularly what we might glean from what we saw at Wentworth. One of the great critical questions for Luke Donald revolves around Rory McIlroy; who should he play with? Should it be a star, an up-and-comer like Ludvig Aberg, or someone we're not yet considering? Does pairing two prominent personalities present too tempting a target for the other team, a la Tiger and Phil in '04? And finally, considering the recent home blowouts, does home course edge need to be mitigated in some way? All this and more as the Radicals count you down to Marco Simone.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Jamie Kennedy joins the Sambuca Boys this week to talk all things European Ryder Cup. Jamie talks about his experience working with the DP World Tour and the European Ryder Cup team, what some of the European players are saying following a trip to Rome, and if Europe’s Ryder Cup chemistry is as strong as it's been portrayed. The group also touches on the discussion of course set-up following the release of photos and videos of Marco Simone’s rough, ending with a talk on the merit of the “underdog mentality” both squads will use in Rome.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Sambuca Boys discuss the European Ryder Cup team’s six captain’s picks, highlighted by Ludvig Aberg and Nicolai Hojgaard. Shane Ryan issues a mea culpa on Aberg after the fledgling superstar (Aberg, not Ryan) wins the Omega European Masters to earn a spot on the European team. The boys talk about snubs, which pick could come back to haunt European captain Luke Donald, and how the team sizes up to the Americans. Subscribe to the Ryder Cup Radicals on the Golf Digest Local Knowledge feed.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In a sea of speculation and analysis, we are pleased to report today that something actually happened: Zach Johnson made his captain's picks, and Team USA is now fully formed. Here at Radicals Headquarters, we are not necessarily surprised at the six picks who round out the squad, but we have some thoughts. Incendiary, revolutionary thoughts. Plus, Luke and Shane engage in partisan squabbles as we discuss the value of a rah-rah captain, and Joel tries to survive a Phoenix hotel room with dire curtains. All this, plus a tortured Hoosiers reference—what's not to love?

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Tour Championship is over, Zach Johnson makes his picks Tuesday, and Shane and Luke are on the scene to take their last crack at handicapping the U.S. team. Is it all coming down to Burns vs. Young? Did Keegan and Glover lose their mojo at the last moment? And what of JT? Plus, we Czech in on Europe, and a seemingly convoluted captain's pick situation that might have just become simpler than we think. Get it while it's hotter than Hotlanta.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The boys are back, and their important job of handicapping the Ryder Cup bubble is now more critical than ever as we approach D-Day. The U.S. automatic picks are set, but there’s so much drama in the race for captain’s picks that only the brightest minds can sort the data, and over in Europe, the situation is even more tenuous as the last four picks remain very much for grabs. On a good week for both Zach Johnson and Luke Donald, and a wild one for their picks, we’re here to set you up for the homestretch. Plus, dramatic eulogies for the players who came into the week with a chance to dance, but left with diddily re: Italy.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The job facing Tony Jacklin, the unlikely captain who took the reins of the European team as Ryder Cup captain in 1983, was a massive one: He had to bring an end to decades of American dominance. The situation on the ground was dire, and to put it plainly, he was inheriting a mess. Since the Cup began in 1927, Americans had won 20 times, lost three, and tied once. Even the addition of Team Europe in 1979, designed to level the playing field, hadn't stopped the U.S. from delivering two straight humiliations. Facing a talent gap, and playing on American soil, he had to stop history in its tracks. The remarkable transformation Jacklin engineered starting that year in Florida was as much psychological as it was tactical, and he had at his side the ideal playing lieutenant in Seve Ballesteros, a man who would become a Ryder Cup colossus. Together, they led the Europeans on a mission to win for the first time ever on American soil, and to redefine the entire event. What they accomplished over those three days was the start of one of the great turnaround stories in the history of sport.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.