Bay State Golf Podcast

Aidan O'Donovan just made it through PGA Tour Q-School pre-qualifying as an amateur. He talks about his week in Georgia, from a lost ball to his dad caddying on a hurt heel. He also looks back on the U.S. Amateur at Merion and on growing up at Bayberry Hills. He explains how Challenge Cup events got him to URI, why he hasn't turned pro yet and what's next as he heads to Florida for the winter with Joey Lenane.

Sean sits down with Fin — the Irish golfer and content creator behind The Creative Sigma — for one of Bay State Golf's few international interviews. It starts with an algorithm, a 75-year curse, and why Mayo winning the All-Ireland Football Championship this year meant more to him than any pro sports title ever could.

From there it opens into golf: falling for the game at ten, walking away from it for a decade, and coming back just as obsessed; the real story behind his "keep it in the paw" catchphrase; and the deeply personal reason he started posting in the first place — processing his sister's death and his own recovery from alcoholism, with golf and painting as his outlet.

They also get into what makes Irish golf different: club memberships you can actually afford, links golf you can play through the winter, learning to keep the ball under the wind, and the hidden-gem courses (Castlebar, Westport, Ballinrobe, Carne) worth seeking out beyond Ballybunion and Lahinch — plus the Irish Open, the Walker Cup atmosphere, and Fintan's new podcast, The Countback, with Barry of Apex Golf.

Follow Fin: https://www.instagram.com/the_creative_sigma/

Follow Sean: instagram.com/baystate_golf

Marcus El, General Manager of Scoreboard by Clippd, is back for a wide-ranging preview of the 2026-27 college golf season.

Sean and Marcus dig into whether this is finally the year someone challenges Stanford's dominance on the women's side, why a stacked senior class (Anna Davis, Farah Kiefe, Maria Jose Marin, and more) could shake up the Annika Award race, and how the LPGA Q-Series rules complicate life for coaches during conference championship season.

On the men's side, they explore what Marcus calls a "reset button" year — after a run of stars like Jackson Koivun, Gordon Sargent, and Nick Dunlap off to the pros and Miles Russell still in high school, who steps up to fill the void? They break down which Walker Cup standouts might carry summer momentum into the fall, preview the Haskins Award conversation, and talk through the new women's .500-rule tweaks around conference championships. The episode wraps with a fun tour through this year's most unique tournament venues, from Baltusrol hosting the Big Ten Championship to the wild backstory behind Halbert National and The Finn.

Ahead of the FM Championship at TPC Boston, host Sean Melia sits down with former LPGA Tour pro Alison Walshe, a three-time All-American at Arizona, Curtis Cup and Palmer Cup competitor, and Westford, MA native, for a conversation about the US National Development Program

Alison opens up about the one time she got to tee it up at an LPGA event in her home state, then shifts into her role as team captain of Team Massachusetts, part of the USGA's U.S. National Development Program (USNDP). She and Sean unpack how the program identifies and funds talented junior golfers across the state, how the point system works, what a typical team gathering looks like (including a weekend battle against Team New York at Hudson National), and how the USNDP compares to the way other countries develop young golfers. Alison also reflects on how junior golf has changed since her own playing days — from the rise of data and coaching resources to the growing distance gap in the women's game — and shares what she looks for in the next wave of Massachusetts talent.

In this episode:

Learn more about the program:

https://www.massgolf.org/competition/team-massachusetts/

Aidan Emmerich sits down with Sean Melia just a week removed from his U.S. Amateur appearance at Merion Golf Club and Philadelphia Country Club — the reward for winning the Massachusetts Amateur earlier this summer. Aidan takes us inside the week: what it's actually like to play a course as strategically demanding as Merion, why Philadelphia Country Club deserved more credit than it got as the "co-host" course, and how brutal, ankle-deep rough turned routine up-and-downs into full-blown adventures.

Aidan opens up about his prep — getting an early look at Merion a month before the event, leaning on his brother's experience from two prior U.S. Amateurs, and grinding on putting drills that paid off under pressure. He talks through the round that got away from him, a viral chip shot off the tightly mown fringe on the 10th hole, and the near-miss that left him three-over and just outside the match play cutline. Along the way: a practice round alongside top junior Miles Russell, why 80% of the field seemed to be carrying launch monitors, the mental game work that's helped him control his nerves, and the role his caddie and best friend Charlie plays in keeping him loose between shots.

The two also swap stories about Merion's legendary opening stretch (the "Drama, the Comedy, and the Tragedy"), the perks and swag that come with a USGA championship, and what's next for Aidan — a U.S. Four-Ball qualifier with his brother, a busy fall and winter amateur schedule, and a decision looming on when to turn pro.

July is in the books — 6 courses played across Massachusetts as I keep chasing every golf course in the state. A mix of public and private, nine and eighteen holes, a couple of new checkmarks, and one revisit to a favorite.

TIMESTAMPS:

0:00 Intro

1:12 Oyster Harbors

2:03 Forest Park Country Club

6:33 Segregansett Country Club

14:50 Heather Hill

19:27 Boston Golf Club

27:04 Bellevue Golf Club

This week we cross into Maine with Eli Spaulding, the two-time Maine Amateur champion (2024 & 2025) and Loyola University standout, fresh off a stacked summer that includes wins at the Philadelphia Amateur and New England Amateur, plus a qualifying spot for the U.S. Amateur at Merion.

Eli talks about falling in love with golf watching Tiger Woods, growing up in a family of college distance runners, and learning to practice by watching Brunswick GC standout Caleb Manuel.

He breaks down his creative, feel-based approach to shot-making, why he skips a traditional yardage book in favor of writing clubs on a scorecard before each round, and how journaling after tournaments — reflecting on process rather than just results — has become one of his biggest edges. He also relives the final-round duel with Caden Piselli at the New England Amateur, and looks ahead to his third straight US Amateur appearance and what challenges Merion will provide.

A great listen for anyone interested in course management, mental prep, and the process behind two Maine Am titles.

Dan Boisvert joins after attending the New England Amateur and watching the final group battle for 18 holes.

Eli Spaulding defended his title as Caden Piselli made a run at him early in the back nine.

Dan talks about Eli Spaulding and Caden Piselli, two players he hadn't seen play before. He also talks about how he watches his students, like Joey Lenane, when he can see them in competition instead of the practice range.

Then they shift gears to discuss the U.S. Amateur qualifying at Boston Golf Club on Monday, July 20 and the reasons for an influx of players from outside the region playing in USGA qualifiers in New England.

It's Open Championship week, and Paul Burke joins me to talk Royal Birkdale before the year's toughest major gets underway across the pond.

We start with a question Paul's been sitting on all week: what actually makes a great sporting event?

From there we get into the buzz building around an English run to a World Cup final this week, and a look at the trends that pop out from former champions at Birkdale — Palmer, Watson, Miller, Trevino, Harrington, O'Meara, Spieth — and what that list tells us about who might contend. We also stake out early tee times, salute a great story in qualifier David Howard, dig into golf's ongoing fan-behavior debate, and lay out best-case/worst-case scenarios before locking in our picks.

This week's guest is Lillian Guleserian, the 2026 New England Women's Amateur champion and Penn State freshman, fresh off her comeback win at Concord Country Club. Lillian breaks down the dramatic back nine of the final round, rallying from four shots back.

The conversation covers her game, her freshman year playing college golf at Penn State, and how the pressure of team qualifying rounds has made her a more resilient competitor. She also talks candidly about why she refuses to watch leaderboards mid-round, the recovery routines (sauna, cold tubs, float beds) she's picked up from Penn State's athletic facilities, and her advice for junior golfers navigating the college recruiting process.

Lillian also reflects on her roots at Ponkapoag Golf Course, her longtime coach Julie Cole, and how she's prepping for the Ouimet Memorial, Women's Mass Am, and her upcoming sophomore season at Penn State.