When Tiger Woods won the Masters by 12 shots in 1997, then decided to rebuild his swing, it paved the way for the most dominant stretch of golf in history. It was also evidence of what sports psychologists call a “mastery mindset,” when an individual is driven more by a goal of constant improvement than external rewards. As Sam Weinman explores, this way of thinking is on display with many of the game’s top players. In conversations with Masters champion Scottie Scheffler, two-time major winner Collin Morikawa, and experts, we explore how a simple shift in thinking might be more important than any single swing change.
Related: Why some top junior golfers make it and others don’t

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The Big Money Classic marketed itself as a rare opportunity for struggling mini-tour players to cash in on a big payday. It instead left players waiting for their payouts and asking for refunds on entry fees. Keely Levins tells the story of a tournament that sold players on big things but instead left them angered, embarrassed and in search of answers.

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A Masters win brings with it many well-known traditions: an interview in Butler Cabin, the presentation of the coveted green jacket, the ascendance to the vaunted Champion’s Locker Room. But most fans don’t have a full appreciation for the whirlwind of activity that ensues once a golfer has secured a win at Augusta National. In this episode of Local Knowledge. Golf Digest’s Dan Rapaport goes behind the scenes with the men who’ve been there to understand what really happens in the minutes, hours, and days following a Masters win, and why for them,  it was both a blur and an indelible memory.

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When Phil Mickelson found himself immersed in controversy recently thanks to comments related to the new Saudi golf tour, it was yet another moment that elicited comparisons to Tiger Woods. Whether making headlines, winning majors, or courting sponsors, Mickelson and Woods haven’t been able to escape each other’s shadows over the last quarter-century. In this episode of Local Knowledge, Alex Myers provides a history of Tiger and Phil’s relationship, and speaks to the author of a new book on the two, to explain how the two are markedly different, and how they’re more alike than either might want to admit.

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Not until Netflix released “Drive to Survive”, its multi-season behind-the-scenes look at Formula One racing, did the sport really take hold in the U.S. It explains why top PGA Tour players have agreed to let Netflix cameras shadow them like never before in 2022. If  golf enjoys a similar surge in popularity, the pie will get bigger for everyone. In this episode of Local Knowledge, Dan Rapaport talks to the show’s creators to understand what they hope to achieve with the new show, and how they hope to tell the story of golf to a whole new segment of fans.

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Driving distances at the elite level have been creeping up for decades, and not far behind have been cries for golf’s governing bodies to intervene. But not everyone believes distance is really a problem, and even among those who do, there remains the complicated matter of what to do about it. Do you roll back the ball? The driver? Should they consider different rules for pros than for amateurs? In this episode, Keely Levins tackles golf’s most complicated issue, explaining how we got here, and what might be on the horizon.

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Morgan Hoffmann once fit the standard PGA Tour player mold. Now his life couldn’t be more different. When doctors diagnosed the former World No. 1 amateur with muscular dystrophy and told him to expect his condition to deteriorate, Hoffmann retreated to the Costa Rica rainforest in search of an alternative. In this gripping episode, Dan Rapaport travels to Costa Rica to chronicle just how far Hoffmann has traveled from the fairways of PGA Tour, and to understand why he still has his sights on making his way back.

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Not so long ago golf on TV was filled with a series of breathless infomercials that promised desperate golfers the cure for their ailing games. The products themselves didn’t always deliver on their promises, but the ads were at least effective in hooking consumers, sometimes in a big way. Alex Myers revisits the golden age of the golf infomercials, why they worked, and why they’ve generally disappeared.

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Season 3 of Local Knowledge launches with a look at Greg Norman’s longtime vision of a competing golf circuit to the PGA Tour. Norman first championed the concept as a top-ranked player who wanted to start a “World Tour” in the 1990s, and it continues today as the frontman for an ambitious Saudi-funded effort. Dan Rapaport examines the common threads between Norman’s idea back then and what it looks like today, and why he has been so determined to make it happen.

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In the final episode of a year-end series celebrating our favorite moments from the first two seasons of Local Knowledge, we're revisiting the various ways we've peeled back the curtain on life as a professional golfer. From what separates the good from the great, to what happens when you hit it big, Dan Rapaport takes a deeper look into the highs and lows when making you're living playing for a score.

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