The 19th Hole Golf Show

With news that the PGA Tour moved a World Golf Championships event from Trump Doral to Mexico City, as well that Shell Oil is ending a 26-year title sponsorship in Houston, we talk about the realities of the sports bubble and the impact on the PGA Tour. The Tour is going to be just fine because it is smartly positioning itself to get the last of the cable TV money out there and seguing into the future of live sports consumption.

Game Golf CEO John McGuire joins the show for a fascinating conversation about his company, the evolution of golf performance tracking technology, how his product might integrate with other tracking technologies in the future and how the company is giving away up to $1 million this summer.

Phil Mickelson can thank a pair of 2014 cases for why he isn't in handcuffs right now, charged with insider trading and securities fraud. We explain that precedent and how Mickelson was a pawn of the feds. New GNN team member Kevin Power joins the show to talk about Muirfield's decision to remain an all-male club, talking about the implications for them, the Open Championship, the R&A, the Scottish economy and more. We also delve into Rory McIlroy's issue activism and the potential influence he could have on the game and his peers.

Day 1 of The Players Championship showed us several things: There's a reason they're changing the greens at Sawgrass, Jason Day is the best in the world right now and Jordan Spieth is facing a crisis on many fronts.

As more and more players announce they're taking a pass on the Olympics, it's becoming clear that golf's Olympic representatives created the mess the sport is now facing. We also look at why golf might be hurting itself with young golfers by not taking a social stand.

TaylorMade VP Bret Wahl joins our show to talk about his 20-year career of designing irons, including his favorites, the biggest innovations and what golfers can expect to come from TaylorMade in the near future.

Adam Scott has announced he won't play the Olympic golf tournament, so what can be done to make it more appealing to top male players, who seem to have the issues with it? Also, Tiger Woods did something, but why is golf still obsessed with a guy who could barely walk four months ago?

On this week's podcast, we go in-depth on Jordan Spieth's Masters letdown, including how he handled the 12th hole, his mini-comeback and how he handled the gauntlet of gotchas in the post-tournament news conference and green jacket ceremonies. Also, we resoundingly answer how this will affect Spieth with caddie Michael Greller as a guide.

We preview the 2016 Masters with Clark Burroughs, who played in the 1984 Masters as an amateur. The former NCAA men's individual champion talks about his Augusta National experience and we talk about the field, the favorites and their chances in the context of the tournament and Vegas odds.

With the Masters a week away, we look at what Jordan Spieth must do at the Shell Houston Open to prep his first major title defense. We also look at the four favorites for Augusta National. Lydia Ko could win her second major in a row at the ANA Inspiration. And your humble host is getting ready for his major: welcoming a second child!