Feed The Ball

By Derek Duncan

Society & Culture Arts Design Places & Travel

What's Feed The Ball about?

In the Feed the Ball podcast, Golf Digest architecture editor Derek Duncan discusses golf course design, architecture, aesthetics and other topics with golf course architects and other luminaries of the game.

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Feed The Ball episodes:

01.12.2024
Episode 87: Scott Hoffman
If might seem like golf course architect Scott Hoffman came out of nowhere with his design at Lost Rail, opened in 2022 outside of Omaha. However, he’d previously worked for over a decade with Tom Fazio, designing courses in the...
12.25.2023
Feed the Ball Salon Vol. 27, ft. Ben Crenshaw
Two-time Masters champion Ben Crenshaw joins golf course builder Jim Urbina and Golf Digest architecture editor Derek Duncan to discuss his long time partnership with architect Bill Coore and the beliefs and impulses that define the many courses they’ve built,...
11.02.2023
Feed the Ball Salon Vol. 26, ft. Greg Letsche
Golf course architect Greg Letsche, lead designer for Ernie Els Design, joins Golf Digest architecture editor Derek Duncan and golf course builder Jim Urbina to discuss his early years working for Pete Dye, how running projects for Jack Nicklaus differed...
10.17.2023
Episode 86: Blake Conant
In less than 10 years in the profession, Blake Conant has risen from crew member to shaper to the co-designer of Old Barnwell, a stunning new course near Aiken, S.C. Conant has primarily shaped greens and bunkers for Tom Doak...
09.06.2023
Episode 85: Remembering Tom Weiskopf with Phil Smith
Shortly after Tom Weiskopf broke with design partner Jay Morrish in the late 1990s he turned to architect Phil Smith. Smith had been working with Nicklaus Design in Arizona, but the opportunity to partner one-on-one with Weiskopf was too good...
08.23.2023
Episode 84: Don Placek
Don Placek began working for Tom Doak’s Renaissance Golf Design in 1997 after being in Perry Dye’s Denver office for several years. It was a significant jump, going from the types of technical builds Dye was coordinating in the western...
02.28.2023
Episode 83: Stephen Kay
Architect Stephen Kay has been involved in the building, remodeling or renovation of over 300 courses during his design career spanning back to the mid-1980s. He was one of the pioneering voices in the late 80s for looking at the...
01.24.2023
Episode 82: Allan MacCurrach
Golf course builder Allan MacCurrach began working on crews for Pete Dye in the late 1970s and opened his own golf course contracting company in 1987. He’s been involved in building or remodeling over 20 courses for Dye, who passed...
12.29.2022
Feed the Ball Salon Vol. 25, ft. Josh Pettit
Designer and historian Josh Pettit began collecting the writings of Alister MacKenzie for his new compendium of essays, “The MacKenzie Reader,” years ago, and was ready to publish in 2020 when the pandemic postponed printing until the summer of 2022....
11.17.2022
Feed the Ball Salon Vol. 24, ft. Rob Collins
Landmand Golf Club in northeast Nebraska, just across the Missouri River from Sioux City, is one of the largest and most expansive golf courses ever built, with the largest total square footage of greens of any course in the U.S....
10.18.2022
Episode 81: Jim Nagle
Jim Nagle began working with golf course renovation and historical restoration legend Ron Forse in 1998, in what might be considered the field’s pioneering days. Golf course restoration is an attempt to reestablish a course’s first principles–placing it back in...
09.09.2022
Feed the Ball Salon Vol. 23, ft. Jason Straka
Jason Straka has been a principle in Fry/Straka Global Golf Design since joining with partner Dana Fry in 2012. Previously he was the senior architect for Hurdzan-Fry Golf Design, helping that company build landmark courses like Calusa Pines, Erin Hills...
08.18.2022
Feed the Ball Salon Vol. 22, ft. Andy Staples
Andy Staples positioned himself as one of the profession’s most creative architects with his throwback renovation of Meadowbrook Country Club near Detroit with its Willie Park, Jr. inspired early-1900s shaping. He moved into the 1920s with his green designs and...
06.22.2022
Feed the Ball Salon Volume 21, ft. Chris Cochran
Chris Cochran began his career building golf courses for Jack Nicklaus in the mid-1980s. With over 100 international projects completed, he is Nicklaus Design’s longest tenured senior design associate, and since the early 90s has arguably been the most significant...
05.09.2022
Episode 80: Joe Jemsek on Dick Wilson
Joe Jemsek grew up with Dick Wilson. At least figuratively. In the early 1960s, Wilson, one of golf architecture’s most interesting and possibly misunderstood figures, designed the former America’s 100 Greatest Course Cog Hill No. 4 in Chicago, known as...
03.17.2022
Feed the Ball Salon Vol. 20, ft. Dave Axland and Tim Liddy
Tim Liddy and Dave Axland have worked together on a number of projects including, most recently, Harrison Lake in Indiana, a remodel that included the addition of several new holes and a re-routing of the course. Liddy, the primary designer,...
02.04.2022
Episode 79: Andrew Green
In just the last several years, designer Andrew Green has played a prominent role in guiding back to their founding architectural spirit a number of prominent major championship courses, including America’s 100 Greatest Courses fixtures Inverness Club, Oak Hill East...
12.30.2021
Feed the Ball Salon Vol. 19: Bunkers ft. Ron Whitten
The topic is bunkers: should they be placed scientifically or randomly? Should there be more or less, or any at all? Has the naturalistic look become ubiquitous and overused? What about proper bunker depth? Are liners a waste of money?...
11.09.2021
Episode 78: Steve Smyers and Rethinking Strategy
Like most architects, Steve Smyers has a deep reverence for the classical era and the strategic brilliance of Harry Colt, Alister MacKenzie, George Thomas and others. However, as an elite player as well as a veteran designer, he realized the...
10.12.2021
Episode 77: Craig Haltom
In this Feed the Ball podcast, we get deep into some Wisconsin golf talk with golf course architect Craig Haltom. Haltom joins Golf Digest architecture editor Derek Duncan to discuss recreating C.B. Macdonald’s The Lido at Sand Valley, how GPS...
09.19.2021
Episode 76: Making Whistling Straits
Is it possible we take Whistling Straits for granted? Of all the spectacular builds in the history of golf, from The Lido to Calusa Pines, very little is spoken about how Pete Dye and Herb Kohler transformed flat farmland and...
08.27.2021
Feed the Ball Salon Vol. 18, ft. Davis Love III
Davis Love III needs no introduction. But just in case, he’s a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame, has logged over 20 PGA Tour victories, won the 1997 PGA Championship, was twice victorious at The Players Championship and...
06.28.2021
Feed the Ball Salon Vol. 17, ft. James Duncan
James Duncan came to the U.S. from his native Denmark in the early 1990s to learn the craft of building golf courses. He learned from the best, working first with Tom Doak and Renaissance Golf Design, then joining with Bill...
05.17.2021
Episode 75: Troy Miller
Designer Troy Miller worked for Landmark Land Co. for a decade, building golf courses around North America, before leaving the company to settle down in his hometown of Charleston, SC. The move put him in a unique position to do...
03.28.2021
Feed the Ball Salon Vol. 16, ft. Tom Lehman
PGA Tour and current PGA Champions tour player Tom Lehman, winner of the 1996 Open Championship at Royal Lytham & St. Anne’s, has seamlessly managed to maintain an elite game while developing a golf course design outlook that almost entirely...
03.08.2021
Episode 74: David Kahn
In a limited amount of original work, David Kahn has proven to be one of the most creative, courageous and expressionistic golf course architects working today. Along with partner Tim Jackson, the other half of Jackson Kahn Design, he’s reimagined...
02.07.2021
Feed the Ball Salon Vol. 15, ft. Ian Andrew
Canadian designer Ian Andrew, Feed the Ball guest from Episode 14, is back to visit with Derek Duncan and Jim Urbina. The conversation turns to topics of: –Choose Your Own Adventure golf architecture; –The satisfactions of playing “unknown” courses; –Golf...
01.11.2021
Episode 73: Larry Lambrecht
Larry Lambrecht has been one of golf’s most prolific and talented photographers for over 30 years. He’s shot golf courses and tournaments, as well as Super Bowls, World Series and other major sporting events, for virtually ever major publication. He’s...
12.14.2020
Feed the Ball Salon Vol. 14, ft. Forrest Richardson
Golf course architect Forrest Richardson was elected in 2020 to be the 75th president of the American Society of Golf Course Architects, a chair that’s been held by such notable designers as Stanley Thompson, Robert Trent Jones, William Langford (twice),...
11.10.2020
Feed the Ball Salon Vol. 13, ft. Kyle Phillips
Architect Kyle Phillips began his illustrious career as an associate working for Robert Trent Jones II in California. He gained unique design and planning expertise working on a slate of international courses for Jones, which later helped him garner major...
10.26.2020
Episode 72: Donald Steel
Few people in golf have had as rich or wide-ranging life in golf as Donald Steel. He began his career as the golf reporter for London’s Sunday Telegraph in 1961, memorably covering, as a rookie writer, Arnold Palmer’s back-to-back Open...
09.22.2020
Episode 71: Chris Wilczynski
Golf architect Chris Wilczynski has bridged two distinct eras–that of the course-a-day, turn and burn construction frenzy of the 1990s and 2000s, and now the current period of “slow” golf with its focus on boutique operations and club restoration. He...
09.02.2020
Feed the Ball Salon Vol. 12, ft. Tim Jackson
After working for over a decade for Tom Fazio, Tim Jackson opened his own West Coast design firm with David Kahn, another Fazio alum. Jackson Kahn Design is known for their creative, ambitious ideas about design–as exhibited at, Monterey Peninsula...
08.18.2020
Episode 70: Lester George
Lester George was an artillery officer in the U.S. Army who rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. In the late 1980s, already into his 30s, he made a career switch to golf design, setting up a business in his...
07.28.2020
Feed the Ball Salon Vol. 11, ft. Dana Fry
Golf designer Dana Fry began his career learning the business as an associate for Tom Fazio, and later forged a prominent partnership with Dr. Michael Hurdzan. With Hurdzan he created such top U.S. courses as Erin Hills, site of the...
07.13.2020
Episode 69: Ron Kirby
It’s not unreasonable to suggest the path of golf architecture in the second half of the 20th century can be traced through Ron Kirby. His career has been a remarkable Zelig-like whirlwind placing him in the immediate proximity of Dick...
07.02.2020
Feed the Ball Salon Vol. 10, ft. Rees Jones
Rees Jones‘ design work has touched public, resort, club golf and major championship golf as much as any architect of the modern era. He enters the Salon to talk with Jim Urbina and Derek Duncan about balancing the many voices...
06.23.2020
Feed the Ball Salon Vol. 9, ft. David McLay Kidd
From the original course at Bandon Dunes to The Castle Course at St. Andrews, to Gamble Sands in Washington and then to Mammoth Dunes in Wisconsin, David McLay Kidd has been one of the most innovative and courageous course designers...
06.05.2020
Feed the Ball Salon Vol. 8, ft. Bruce Hepner
Bruce Hepner and Jim Urbina both began working for Tom Doak at Renaissance Design in the early 1990s, spending many days and hours together on the road for well over a decade. Hepner opened his own business in 2012 and...
05.28.2020
Feed the Ball Salon Vol. 7, ft. Bobby Weed
Few people in the golf design business knew Pete Dye better than Bobby Weed, who first interned for his mentor in the 1970s. Weed comes into the Salon with Derek Duncan and Jim Urbina to share his thoughts on how...
05.21.2020
Feed the Ball Salon Vol. 6, ft. Gil Hanse
In this volume of the Salon, architect Gil Hanse sits with Derek Duncan and Jim Urbina to discuss how he and design partner Jim Wagner build golf courses. They talk about the sanctity of being on machinery, if routing is...
05.14.2020
Feed the Ball Salon Vol. 5, ft. Mike DeVries
Architect Mike DeVries steps into the Salon with Jim Urbina and Derek Duncan to discuss arguably the granddaddy of all design topics, routing. The long and winding conversation touches on the exposures of Cape Wickham, sacrificing extraordinary holes for the...
05.06.2020
Feed the Ball Salon Vol. 4, ft. Thad Layton
Thad Layton, principal at Arnold Palmer Design Company, enters the Salon to talk to Derek Duncan and Jim Urbina about Palmer and the rules of architecture. Specifically the discussion revolves around fundamental rules, when it’s advisable to break them, whether...
04.29.2020
Feed the Ball Salon Vol. 3, ft. Jeff Mingay
Golf course designer and renovation specialist Jeff Mingay enters the Salon to talk about St. Andrews with Jim Urbina and Derek Duncan. The central theme is, if The Old Course is so great, why aren’t there more courses that are...
04.20.2020
Feed the Ball Salon Vol. 2, ft. Bill Coore
Designer Bill Coore comes into the salon to discuss greens and putting surfaces with Jim Urbina and Derek Duncan. Topics include the importance of shaping greens and surrounds in relation to single holes or the entire golf course, the 14th...
04.13.2020
Feed the Ball Salon Vol. 1, ft. Don Mahaffey
Jim Urbina and Derek Duncan discuss George Thomas, Pete Dye’s par-5 holes, Riviera, the Ghost Tree at Old Macdonald, whether bunkers have become too sanitized, “reasonable” green speeds, Stimpmeter readings from the 1970s. Powered bycowin app download Then Don Mahaffey...
04.08.2020
Episode 68: Jeff Bradley
For almost 25 years, Jeff Bradley has been known as the preeminent builder of golf course bunkers in the U.S. Working primarily for Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, his artistic bunkering has helped define the strategies and style of places...
03.23.2020
Episode 67: George Waters
George Waters began his design career after spending a summer living and doing course maintenance in Dornoch, then getting an internship with Tom Doak’s Renaissance Golf Design. He worked construction projects for a variety of designers, including Doak, then wrote...
03.06.2020
Episode 66: Tyler Rae
Tyler Rae is gaining a reputation as one of the most talented up and coming golf course renovation and restoration specialists in the business. He’s worked with noted designer Ron Prichard for most of the last decade and now has...
02.13.2020
Episode 65: Scot Sherman
Designer Scot Sherman began his career working for the Dye family before joining Bobby Weed as an associate. He’s now the lead designer for Love Golf Design, the firm of brothers Mark Love and Davis Love III. In addition to...

What's Feed The Ball about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Feed The Ball episodes:

Episode 87: Scott Hoffman

Feed the Ball Salon Vol. 27, ft. Ben Crenshaw

Feed the Ball Salon Vol. 26, ft. Greg Letsche

Episode 86: Blake Conant

Episode 85: Remembering Tom Weiskopf with Phil Smith

Episode 84: Don Placek

Episode 83: Stephen Kay

Episode 82: Allan MacCurrach

Feed the Ball Salon Vol. 25, ft. Josh Pettit

Feed the Ball Salon Vol. 24, ft. Rob Collins

Episode 81: Jim Nagle

Feed the Ball Salon Vol. 23, ft. Jason Straka

Feed the Ball Salon Vol. 22, ft. Andy Staples

Feed the Ball Salon Volume 21, ft. Chris Cochran

Episode 80: Joe Jemsek on Dick Wilson

Feed the Ball Salon Vol. 20, ft. Dave Axland and Tim Liddy

Episode 79: Andrew Green

Feed the Ball Salon Vol. 19: Bunkers ft. Ron Whitten

Episode 78: Steve Smyers and Rethinking Strategy

Episode 77: Craig Haltom

Episode 76: Making Whistling Straits

Feed the Ball Salon Vol. 18, ft. Davis Love III

Feed the Ball Salon Vol. 17, ft. James Duncan

Episode 75: Troy Miller

Feed the Ball Salon Vol. 16, ft. Tom Lehman

Episode 74: David Kahn

Feed the Ball Salon Vol. 15, ft. Ian Andrew

Episode 73: Larry Lambrecht

Feed the Ball Salon Vol. 14, ft. Forrest Richardson

Feed the Ball Salon Vol. 13, ft. Kyle Phillips

Episode 72: Donald Steel

Episode 71: Chris Wilczynski

Feed the Ball Salon Vol. 12, ft. Tim Jackson

Episode 70: Lester George

Feed the Ball Salon Vol. 11, ft. Dana Fry

Episode 69: Ron Kirby

Feed the Ball Salon Vol. 10, ft. Rees Jones

Feed the Ball Salon Vol. 9, ft. David McLay Kidd

Feed the Ball Salon Vol. 8, ft. Bruce Hepner

Feed the Ball Salon Vol. 7, ft. Bobby Weed

Feed the Ball Salon Vol. 6, ft. Gil Hanse

Feed the Ball Salon Vol. 5, ft. Mike DeVries

Feed the Ball Salon Vol. 4, ft. Thad Layton

Feed the Ball Salon Vol. 3, ft. Jeff Mingay

Feed the Ball Salon Vol. 2, ft. Bill Coore

Feed the Ball Salon Vol. 1, ft. Don Mahaffey

Episode 68: Jeff Bradley

Episode 67: George Waters

Episode 66: Tyler Rae

Episode 65: Scot Sherman