No tournament in golf appeals to the dreamer more than the U.S. Open, where a qualifying process puts journeymen, club pros and even schoolteachers just three rounds away from a spot in the field next to the game’s elite. On the eve of the U.S. Open at The Country Club outside Boston, Dan Rapaport examines the U.S. Open qualifying process, explains why it remains one of golf’s most intriguing opportunities, and dives into some of the incredible tales that arise out of it every year.

When Title IX was enacted in 1972, it was hard to imagine its influence could still be felt in golf a half-century later. But the landmark legislation not only ushered in a new wave of women golfers, those golfers went on to raise golfers of their own. On the eve of the U.S. Women's Open, Keely Levins examines what the golf landscape was like for women before Title IX, and the myriad ways it's been reshaped in the decades since.

Golf is technically an individual sport, but increasingly, top-level players rely on a broad assortment of supporting characters to achieve optimal performance. From caddies and coaches to trainers, chefs, mind coaches and data analysts, Dan Rapaport takes an inside look at the various figures in a tour pro’s orbit to understand what they do, how they help, and how they all coexist on the same team.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.