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Ten rounds. Ten ridiculous categories. Two guys with zero notes and very strong opinions. Welcome to the Sandbagger Draft.
This week Cole and Stefan throw out the news cycle and draft professional golfers (men's and women's) for the scenarios that actually matter. Who do you want next to you when a drunk member corners you in the parking lot? Who gets the 10-footer when your life is on the line? Which pro would name a boat after themselves? And who could break 80 at your home course, with your clubs, after twelve beers, with $10 million on the line?
Along the way: a putting stat so absurd it sounds made up, a 15-hour private jet story you have to hear to believe, a caddie confession involving a banana, one pick so bad it had to be bleeped, and a draft that goes right down to the 18th hole.
Plus, Stefan's road-rage run-in after a rough round, why ugly swings keep producing good scores, how much YouTube golfers are really making, and the countdown to Scotland is officially on.
Who won the draft? You decide. Drop your picks in the comments and tell us who got robbed.
β³ CHAPTERS
00:00 Welcome to Episode 32
01:30 Stefan's rough day at Cataraqui (and a road-rage run-in)
06:20 Why ugly swings keep producing good scores
08:30 Scotland countdown: three weeks out
09:30 The Sandbagger Draft explained
11:30 Round 1: Who you want for six beers
17:00 Round 2: Mixed Ryder Cup partner, 2 down with 3 to play
19:40 Round 3: A 10-footer to save your life
24:40 Round 4: Your backup in a parking lot fight
27:50 Round 5: The one pro you'd punch in the face
33:00 Round 6: The leaked DM that ends a career
37:40 Round 7: Last-minute fourth for the buddies trip
42:20 Round 8: The golfer who names the boat after himself
46:00 Round 9: Two hours, off the record, they must tell the truth
52:00 Round 10: $10M, 12 beers, your clubs β break 80
55:40 Bonus round: we tried something⦠it did not go well
59:30 Scotland plans
1:00:15 Final recap: who won the draft?
ποΈ Sandbagger Sessions is a golf podcast that's equal parts comedy and genuine golf knowledge, hosted by Cole Atkinson and PGA of Canada professional Stefan Thedorf. New episodes weekly.
π Like, subscribe, and tell us your picks below.
#golf #golfpodcast #pgatour #lpga #livgolf #golfhumor #sandbaggersessions
LIV Golf just filed for Chapter 11 β and somehow that's not even the wildest turn this week.
In Episode 31 we flip the format: Cole puts Stefan, our PGA of Canada professional, in the hot seat for a no-notes AMA where the questions range from dead serious to completely unhinged.
Before the hot seat, we run the tables on the biggest stories in golf right now: LIV's messy "next era," the purest weekend of the year at the Walker Cup, the blurred line between amateur and pro, and previews of both the Presidents Cup and the Solheim Cup. Then the AMA gets into the questions every golfer actually argues about β what a healthy, distraction-free Tiger Woods really could have done, what genuinely makes someone a "good golfer," and whether today's speed-and-distance obsession is quietly ruining the game for beginners. Plus the two most ridiculous hypotheticals we've ever put on the show.
Grab a beer (or, like Stefan, a water sponsored by nobody) and settle in.
Chapters:
New episodes every week. If you're enjoying the show, follow/subscribe and leave a rating β it genuinely helps.
#golf #LIVGolf #TigerWoods #PresidentsCup #SolheimCup #WalkerCup #PGATour #golfpodcast #golftips #breakingeighty
Golf is sick - and we listed out everything we are IN on.
Before that... The Good Good and Callaway situation: the ad, the fallout, the sponsors, and whether the response actually fit the crime. We don't all agree, and one of us is definitely going to catch some strays for it.
The season-long money bet finally comes to an end (someone's buying dinner, and they're not happy about it), we talk about the looming end to another outdoor season up here in Canada, and then we flip last week on its head with a brand-new list: everything that's SICK about golf. First tee times, wild pars, playing a course for the second time, Ireland, hitting cups, beating that guyβ¦ we go back and forth until we both agree β or send it to the jury.
Grab a beer (it's allowed, there are only two places where time doesn't matter) and settle in.
β³ New episodes every week. Hit LIKE & SUBSCRIBE β we need all the help we can get.
Timestamps
00:00 β Cold open: setting the lineup
07:30 β The season-long bet: someone lostβ¦
13:45 β The Good Good & Callaway fallout (our honest takes)
21:50 β Saying goodbye to the season & what fall golf really means
25:30 β "Stuff That's SICK About Golf" β the list begins
27:24 β First tee times, frost delays & fall golf
35:00 β The magic of playing a course for the second time
44:37 β A hot take on music on the course
47:37 β Hitting cups & the sweetest sound in golf
49:40 β Why the 18th hole hits different
56:10 β Old clubhouses, questionable showers & a peanut incident
59:19 β Beating "that guy" + the best 2v2 game you've never played
01:02:28 β The quiet moments (and a sign-off you won't expect)
Sandbagger Sessions: a golf podcast that's equal parts knowledgeable and unserious, hosted by a PGA of Canada professional and a guy who just really loves the game.
#golf #golfpodcast #GoodGood #Callaway #PGATour #fantasygolf #golftrip #Ireland #matchplay #golftok
Note: this episode touches on some sensitive topics regarding mental health. If you or anyone you know is feeling similar, talking about it is the strongest thing you can do. If you or someone you know is ever in urgent need of help, call or text 988 in both the US and Canada.
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After a two-month break, we're back; and we came back swinging.
Before any of the golf talk, Cole opens up about what the last few months have actually looked like, including a depression diagnosis and why "having nothing to be depressed about" makes it harder, not easier, to say out loud. Stefan gets into undiagnosed head injuries from a life of extreme sports, why the brain doesn't heal like a broken leg, and the difference between self-diagnosing on TikTok and actually walking into a doctor's office. It's the most honest 15 minutes we've recorded.
Then we get to the fun stuff: a full episode building our official list of things we are out on in Golf. One of us proposes it, the other has to agree. Or it doesn't make the list. We debate, we argue, we put a few on the "monitor the situation" practice squad, and we somehow talk ourselves into being out on stroke play entirely.
We also close out our season-long PGA Tour picks, heading into the Tour Championship at East Lake β it's down to $15.7M vs $15.4M after 45 events, and the humbling news that neither of us out-earned Scottie Scheffler.
β³ If any of the mental health conversation hits close to home, talk to someone β a doctor, a therapist, or just a mate. Seek the helpers.
The PGA Tour just blew up its entire structure - and we brought in the one guy who might actually know what it means.
Wyndham Clark went wire-to-wire to win the US Open at Shinnecock, but the bigger story broke before Wyndham could even shake off his hangover: the PGA Tour's massive 2028 overhaul.
Cole and Stefan break down the US Open, the "did this major lack oomph?" debate, the soft setup and fog delay, a genuinely brutal NBC broadcast, and the crowd drama that's followed Clark around all year.
Then Ryan French (Monday Q Info) joins the boys to unpack the new Championship Series and Challenger Series of the PGA Tour. A new promotion/relegation system that could put 560+ players under the PGA Tour umbrella. Is it the future of golf, or the beginning of the end?
We also make our picks for the Travelers Championship and the KPMG Women's PGA, dig into Ryan's skepticism on whether $30M purses are actually sustainable, and play a ruthless game of "keep or punt" with the entire tour schedule.
Plus: Ping's $60,000 gold putter problem, Scottie Scheffler's "C game" that still nearly won, and Ryan's surprise new gig co-hosting the Big Break reboot.
ποΈ Guest: Ryan French β Monday Q Info
Make sure you follow Ryan and show him some love: mondayqinfo on all of your socials, and watch his podcast "Any Given Monday" with Professional Golfer, Mark Baldwin, everywhere you get your podcasts.
βΆοΈ Like, subscribe, and do all the stuff you normally do to help us out!
TIMESTAMPS
0:00 β Welcome back (Episode 28) & firing the producer
1:00 β US Open at Shinnecock: Wyndham Clark goes wire-to-wire
2:27 β Did the US Open lack "oomph"? Soft setup, carnage & the fog delay
4:17 β Scottie Scheffler's "C game" β and still almost winning
6:14 β Ping's $60K gold putter problem
7:17 β Why the NBC broadcast was brutal
18:56 β Crowd behaviour, Wyndham's villain edit & the apology speech
22:35 β Picks: Travelers + KPMG Women's PGA
26:30 β Guest: Ryan French on the PGA Tour blowup
27:36 β The new structure: Championship & Challenger Series explained
29:20 β 560 players, promotion & relegation: is it sustainable?
35:28 β The marketability problem: who actually watches?
40:30 β The Canadian Open's identity crisis
46:54 β Ryan's new gig: co-hosting the Big Break reboot
47:46 β Closing: match play at Pine Valley & the made-for-TV final
56:28 β The schedule game: which events stay, which get punted
#golf #pgatour #usopen #wyndhamclark #ryanfrench #mondayqinfo #golfpodcast #sandbaggersessions #kornferrytour #travelerschampionship #kpmgwomenspga #scottiescheffler #golfnews
This week we sit down with Barry Forth of Copetown Woods β one of the best public golf courses in Ontario and, in Stefan's words, the kind of place you could play every single day and never get tired of.
What started as a broccoli farm just northwest of Hamilton became a fully public, sand-based golf course that opened in June 2003 β built in just 14 months, and perfect for firm, fast, links-style golf. Barry takes us through the whole journey: walking the property as a 24-year-old with zero golf experience, partnering with builder Dick Kirkpatrick on his first-ever solo design, and the philosophy that's defined the place ever since β "we're not splitting the atom." Good facilities, great conditions, nice people, and don't be greedy.
The heart of this conversation is the care and pride Barry and his team pour into Copetown. This is a course with no members, no budget, no forecasting, and no tournaments β just straight tee times every single day. Barry explains why he's never been tempted to go private, why the parking lot is his only spreadsheet, and how "Super Pete," his superintendent since 2007, runs the turf with no Greens committee slowing him down.
We get into firmness and fescue, autonomous mowers, the post-COVID influx of golfers, and the now-famous "no rakes in the bunkers" debate β Barry's grow-the-game, police-yourself stance that earned him a wrist-slap from the Golf Canada Industry Advisory Council. Plus: a first look at the brand-new 10-hole short course (six par 3s, four par 4s) Copetown has in planning with the City of Hamilton, designed by Christine Fraser.
If you're anywhere in Ontario β or just across the border β Copetown Woods is a genuine must-play destination. The reviews back it up: premier conditioning, an atmosphere that makes you want to come back, and an owner who actually gives a damn about your day. Put it on the list.
Before the interview, we break down a stacked week of golf:
π§ New episodes weekly. Hosted by Cole Atkinson & Stefan, PGA of Canada professional.
π Copetown Woods Golf Club β northwest of Hamilton, Ontario πΈ Follow Copetown Woods on Instagram: @copetownwoods
#Golf #PublicGolf #CopetownWoods #OntarioGolf #SandbaggerSessions #GolfPodcast #HamiltonGolf #GolfCourse #LinksGolf #NellyKorda #CanadianOpen #PGAofCanada
What's the most important club in the bag β and would you give up bombing it 350 down the middle just to never miss a putt again? ποΈ
This week on Sandbagger Sessions, Cole and Stefan turn a random radio segment into the ultimate Golf Would You Rather showdown β and it gets surprisingly heated. Augusta once or the Old Course every single year for life? Twenty PGA Tour wins or one major? Jack Nicklaus's legacy or Tiger's money, fame and chaos? Eleven impossible golf questions, almost zero easy answers β and a few where Lou Stagner's data settles the argument for good.
Before the main event, the guys get into Stefan's brutal PGA debut (an 86 he'd rather forget), Russell Henley's clutch finish at the Charles Schwab, whether Ludvig Γ berg is honestly playing like a C-minus right now, a slow-play penalty that cost a real shot at a title, and Bryson's new Gemini-powered AI coaching app β the future of the golf swing, or just a great salesman at work? Plus a full US Women's Open preview from Riviera and this week's picks (including a side bet on the wives' round that they can absolutely never find out about).
Stefan is a PGA of Canada professional, so you get real swing and stats insight buried under way too many tangents β exactly how you like it.
π Hit subscribe, drop YOUR Would You Rather answers in the comments, and tell us who got each one right. β³
βΆοΈ Timestamps#golf #golfpodcast #wouldyourather #pgatour #uswomensopen
Is golf too expensive, or are we just soft? This week Cole and Stefan stop crying into their credit card statements long enough to actually run the numbers β and what they found is wild. From the COVID golf boom that added nearly 50 million players, to drivers that somehow cost a grand, to $83 dozens of Pro V1s, we break down exactly where your golf money is going and whether any of it is actually worth it.
But first: a full recap of the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, including a course that spent $1 million+ per hole and STILL got lit up for 60. We get into Wyndham Clark's win and why his post-round comments rubbed us the wrong way, and the 446-yard drive that broke our brains. Plus the Blades Brown breakout at 19 β and the brutal PGA Tour status catch-22 that comes with it.
Then it's the main event. Green fees in the US vs. Canada vs. the UK & Ireland (North Berwick, Nairn, Turnberry β the numbers are insane), why the one-year driver cycle is finally cracking, the truth about Miura and direct-to-consumer irons, golf balls being the only purchase that actually makes sense, and why $5,000-a-day golf lessons exist. We even put it all in context against NFL tickets, movie nights, and ski passes.
A PGA of Canada pro and a 3.5 handicap who buys too many clubs argue economics, status, and whether the bubble is about to burst. You already know the answer β but you'll enjoy getting there.
#golf #golfpodcast #golfequipment #pgatour #wyndhamclark #titleist #taylormade #provi #golfcourse #sandbaggersessions
β±οΈ Timestamps:
Aaron Rai is your 2026 PGA Champion β and we've got a LOT to talk about. Cole and Stefan break down a wild week at Aronimink, from the controversial "Diet Coke US Open" setup, to Garrick Higgo's now-infamous 1-minute late tee time that cost him the cut by a single shot, to the FootJoy rain gloves and iron headcovers heard around the world.
Plus: Cole returns from the Flagstick Open at Equinelle with a tale of "Ireland-level wind," a missed 6-inch tap-in, and an honest C+ grade for his weekend.
Stefan tees it up at Lookout Point in Fonthill, and we go deep on whether Rory's back on the "bitchy train," why Cam Smith is the Australian Patrick Reed, and how Eugenio Chacarra walked off a US Open qualifier playoff to catch a flight to Belgium.
Throw in a Jordan Spieth pitch shot only five guys on Tour can hit, a heartwarming win on the LET (13 years after being given a 4% chance to live), Bridgestone's new black golf balls (??), Kingston's own Noah Steele Monday qualifying on PGA Tour Americas, and a full breakdown of the International Presidents Cup race where the Canadians are in trouble.
Hit subscribe, leave a review, and let us know in the comments: was Higgo robbed, or were the rules just the rules?
β± TimestampsThe PGA Championship is here, and Aronimink is the great unknown. Cole and Stefan break down the year's second major in obsessive detail β picks, dark horses, course strategy, and whether anyone can stop Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy from making this another two-horse race.
First, they recap Kristoffer Reitan's stunning underdog win at the Truist Championship β a guy ranked 1,945th in the world four years ago, suddenly a PGA Tour winner and Top 25 player. Then they debate whether Quail Hollow actually deserves major championship pedigree, dig into the Aronimink setup (Donald Ross design, the tree removal debate, par 70 at 7,394 yards), and ask the question nobody's answering: if there's "no strategy off the tee," is this really a major championship test?
Plus: their PGA Championship picks, a dentist-themed analogy for Cam Young that's somehow perfect, why Brooks Koepka is quietly the most interesting man in golf, Jordan Spieth's career Grand Slam shot, Cam Young's mysterious "rollback conforming" golf ball, and a brutally honest take on what "grow the game" actually means after Graeme McDowell's regret admission and Jon Rahm's telling no-comment on his LIV decision.
Cole is also playing the Flagstick Open this weekend, Stefan gave him a last-minute driver fix, and the episode wraps with a free lesson on why you should probably stop taking swing tips from Instagram.
β³ Timestamps
00:00 β Welcome to the new studio + Stefan's own swing-change update
01:30 β Listener Dan Eddy shoots his best round ever after the Breaking 80 episode
03:00 β Stefan's pre-tournament driver lesson with Cole + the Brooks Koepka quote on losing your swing
04:30 β Flagstick Open promo + why amateur tournaments are where real handicaps get exposed
06:50 β Club-slamming season: three re-shaft requests already this year
08:25 β Truist Championship recap: Kristoffer Reitan's run from 1,945th in the world to PGA Tour winner
11:00 β Does Quail Hollow actually deserve to host a major?
22:00 β Pick 'em update: Stefan's $3.5M lead heading into the second major
25:24 β PGA Championship picks revealed
27:00 β Aronimink breakdown: Donald Ross design, the rough, the side-hill lies
31:00 β The Aronimink tree-removal debate + the Augusta comparison
33:00 β Cam Young's "rollback conforming" ball β what is going on here?
35:00 β Kiawah Ocean Course war stories
36:00 β Scottie's "off year" by the numbers (spoiler: he's still No. 1 in strokes gained total)
39:00 β Rory's toenail saga + the post-Grand Slam mindset
44:00 β The Cam Young dentist analogy and why nobody remembers his wins
47:00 β Big Three or Big Four? Where does Matt Fitzpatrick fit?
49:30 β Jon Rahm's contract no-comment, Graham McDowell's regret, and "you cannot buy history"
54:00 β What does "grow the game" actually mean anymore?
55:30 β Bryson, Ludvig, Xander, Tommy β who's actually in the mix?
58:30 β Brooks Koepka as the sneaky pick + a "he just wants to win" appreciation
1:00:00 β Jordan Spieth's career Grand Slam shot + Ricky Fowler's resurgence
1:06:00 β Real dark horses: Sepp Straka, Russell Henley, Rickie Fowler
1:07:00 β Field deep-dive: how did Luke Donald get in? Plus the Canadian contingent
1:10:00 β Justin Rose's two-bag situation with McLaren irons
1:11:30 β The Michael Block redemption arc β is he in on the joke?
1:15:00 β Cole's Flagstick Open preview + a live-leaderboard call to the listeners
1:17:00 β Stefan's end-of-episode rant: please stop taking driver tips from Instagram
ποΈ Subscribe and hit the bell so you don't miss next week's tournament breakdown and PGA Championship recap. DM us at @SandbaggerSessions during Cole's tournament β you'll know which holes to ask about.
From the publisher's feed
Yes, it's a Golf podcast. But more fun, more relatable, and more laughs. Join Stefan and Cole for the ultimate unfiltered takes on everything happening in the world of Golf. Everything from storiesβ¦