The Big Swing with Jimmy Roberts

Topgolf was the darling of the golf industry—until it wasn't. Callaway bought the company in a deal valued at roughly $2 billion in 2021, then sold a majority stake to private equity this year after the combined business lost nearly half its value.

David McKillips was hired to turn it around. Six months into the job, the former Chuck E. Cheese, Six Flags and Warner Bros. executive joins Jimmy Roberts to explain what he found after visiting 100 venues in 100 days, why guests love Topgolf but don't come back, and how he plans to fix it: new virtual courses every quarter, Toptracer technology in all 103 U.S. locations, a move away from the RFID ball, a membership program, floor-by-floor booking and more entertainment—from arcades to racquet sports—for the 65% of customers who aren't avid golfers.

Then Evan Roosevelt, co-founder of golf-only investment firm Old Tom Capital, gives his read on the Topgolf model, why same-site visits declined from the day each venue opened, and whether leaning into entertainment risks alienating the core golfer. He also makes the case that par-3 and short courses are the next big investable category in a supply-constrained game, explains why the definition of a "serious golfer" is widening and shares why his firm invests exclusively in golf.

Also in this episode: the Golf Business Intelligence Brief covers NBC's Presidents Cup ratings surge, Five Iron Golf's new smaller-footprint franchise model and L.A.B. Golf's sold-out collaboration with Steph Curry. David McKillips also appears in Making Better Decisions, presented by Aon, Fox News' Bret Baier shares his Big Swing moment and Jimmy closes on the Protect College Sports bill and why college athletics is more broken than golf's governing bodies.

What you'll hear in this episode:

• Why Topgolf's growth story stalled—and what McKillips says the company failed to reinvest in
• How a 30-year career in theme parks and out-of-home entertainment applies to golf
• The product changes coming to Topgolf: Toptracer, a new ball, new virtual courses and a membership program
• What Old Tom Capital's Evan Roosevelt thinks Topgolf has to get right to win back golfers
• Why par-3 courses may be the next great golf investment

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What do you do after a seven-figure exit? Daniel Belk decided to play golf—all of America's top 100 public courses, in under a year.

The entrepreneur behind a self-storage private equity firm and Cool Down, the run club turned apparel brand he grew to 15 cities before selling his stake, joins Jimmy Roberts from the road at the halfway point of his journey. Belk breaks down the numbers behind the quest: an $85,000 to $100,000 budget built on a $350 average green fee, why renting RVs and sleeping in course parking lots has put him well under that projection, and how a following of more than 100,000 on Instagram has brought coverage from Bloomberg and Golf.com—and a stream of brand offers he has so far turned down.

He also shares the stories from the road, including hitchhiking from Wolf Creek to Black Desert, a birdie from the Ryder Cup tees at Bethpage Black, why Whistling Straits tops his list so far and how a $5.5 million self-storage deal that closed with four days to spare became his first big break.

What you'll hear in this episode:

• How Belk budgeted a year of top 100 public golf—and why he's coming in under it
• Why he's turned down brand partnerships to keep the series authentic
• How a run club of 2,000 weekly runners became a seven-figure apparel exit
• What it's like to play Bethpage Black, Whistling Straits and the most remote course on the list
• Why "winging it" beats a spreadsheet when your schedule gets wrecked every week

The episode also features the Golf Business Intelligence Brief with headlines on the Presidents Cup's record $175 million economic impact and the return of bifurcation to the golf ball debate, LPGA teaching professional Kelly Brook's review of the $120 Golf at Home swing trainer, Making Better Decisions presented by Aon with USGA CEO Mike Whan, Soly from No Laying Up's Big Swing moment and Jimmy's tribute to retiring Mets radio voice Howie Rose.

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The Presidents Cup has been dominated by the United States—but judging the event by the final score misses the much bigger business story.

Ahead of the 2026 Presidents Cup at Medinah Country Club, Jimmy Roberts sits down with Big Swing Media golf business reporter Michael LoRé to examine why the PGA Tour, global sponsors, broadcasters and host cities remain bullish on the event.

They break down the Presidents Cup’s commercial value, the advantage the PGA Tour gains by owning the property outright and why comparing a 32-year-old competition to the century-old Ryder Cup doesn’t tell the whole story. They also explore the tournament’s international reach and its projected $175 million economic impact on the Chicago region.

What you’ll hear in this episode:

Why competitive imbalance hasn’t eliminated the Presidents Cup’s commercial appeal

How full ownership makes the event especially valuable to the PGA Tour

Why brands see an opportunity to reach audiences around the world

What the Ryder Cup’s early history reveals about the Presidents Cup’s future

How Medinah and Chicago could produce the event’s biggest edition yet

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USGA CEO Mike Whan joins Jimmy Roberts for a wide-ranging conversation about the decisions that could shape golf for generations.

Whan explains why the continued increase in distance at the elite level has become one of the game’s biggest long-term challenges—and why the answer could involve changes to the golf ball, driver standards or different equipment rules for professional and recreational golfers. He also discusses the USGA’s evolving conversations with the PGA TOUR, the possibility of changes before 2030 and why protecting historic golf courses requires the industry to think decades ahead.

The conversation also explores the rapid growth of the U.S. National Development Program, the USGA’s $50 million commitment to junior golf, the growing importance of water conservation and what women’s golf still needs to produce its breakthrough moment in America.

What you'll hear in this episode:

• Why golf’s continued increase in distance could threaten its most historic courses

• Whether professionals and recreational golfers should play by different equipment rules

• How the USGA is building a national development pipeline for young American golfers

• Why water and land use could become major challenges for the golf industry

• What women’s golf needs to create its own Caitlin Clark-style breakthrough in America

The episode also features Powering the Women’s Game, presented by Chevron, and Peyton Manning sharing the handwritten letter that became his Big Swing moment.

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Peyton Manning knows how to turn sports into entertainment—and now he’s bringing that experience to golf.

The five-time NFL MVP and founder of Omaha Productions joins Jimmy Roberts to explain why he believes golf is a smart business opportunity, how Omaha is developing new golf content with the PGA TOUR, and what the sport can learn from the NFL’s ability to command attention throughout the entire year.

Manning also shares what he has learned from playing alongside Tiger Woods, the story behind his investment in Sweetens Cove, and why golf became an important team-building tool during his NFL career. Plus, he discusses the continued evolution of the ManningCast, Brian Rolapp’s vision for the PGA TOUR, the changing college football landscape, and the possibility of reuniting with the kids from his legendary Saturday Night Live sketch.

What you’ll hear in this episode:

Why Peyton and Omaha Productions expanded into golf

How the NFL’s year-round media strategy could help grow the PGA TOUR

What Tiger Woods taught Peyton about preparation and competition

The story behind Sweetens Cove and its unusual business model

How the ManningCast found an audience beyond traditional football fans

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Golf sponsorship is big business—but some of its most important returns can’t be measured on a spreadsheet.

Live from East Lake during the Tour Championship, Jimmy Roberts sits down with Coca-Cola President and CFO John Murphy and Southern Company Chairman, President and CEO Chris Womack. They explain how major companies evaluate golf partnerships, balance hard metrics against long-term brand value, and ultimately make the “go or no-go” decision on major investments.

The conversation also explores Tom Cousins’ extraordinary transformation of East Lake, what the PGA TOUR’s eventual departure could mean for the community, and why golf’s rapidly growing business must protect the larger ecosystem that helped fuel its success.

What you'll hear in this episode:

• How Tom Cousins helped transform East Lake through golf, housing and education
• What could happen to East Lake after the Tour Championship moves on
• How Coca-Cola and Southern Company measure the value of golf sponsorships
• Why the economics of a partnership don’t always tell the entire story
• Leadership lessons for confronting crises and making difficult decisions quickly

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Tye Nichols and his family paid $200,000 for 44 acres and an abandoned nine-hole golf course in Chesterville, Maine—with no experience in agronomy, course design or restoration. A year later, Fairway Fields has a working, tech-enabled driving range, support from major golf brands and more than one million followers watching the transformation.

Tye joins Jimmy Roberts to explain how his marketing experience at Origin USA and Jocko Fuel helped turn a risky family project into an audience-building case study. He shares the strategy behind opening the driving range first, the mistakes that cost them time and money, and why documenting every step changed the trajectory of the business.

What you’ll hear in this episode:

• Why Tye and his parents bought a course that had been abandoned for more than a decade
• How eight covered Inrange bays became Fairway Fields’ first revenue engine
• How John Deere, TaylorMade, Trimax and Takomo became involved
• The $3,000 mistake Tye now considers a “tuition payment”
• How Fairway Fields grew to more than one million followers across platforms in under a year

Also in this episode, Seminole Golf Club head professional Matt Cahill takes Jimmy Inside the Shop to discuss what he learned from Bob Ford, the business behind one of golf’s most prestigious shops and the challenge of modernizing a historic club without changing its character.

Plus, Powering the Women’s Game presented by Chevron examines the growing commercial opportunity surrounding the Solheim Cup, and The Office star Brian Baumgartner shares his Big Swing Moment.

Subscribe for new episodes every Wednesday

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Kelley Brooke has gone head-to-head with some of golf’s largest management companies—and won—by taking on the financial risk herself and obsessing over every detail of the customer experience.

At Montauk Downs, Jimmy Roberts sits down with the LPGA professional and golf-course operator behind facilities including Bethpage, Montauk Downs, Harbor Links and Pine Ridge. Brooke explains how she wins competitive bids, invests millions into public golf facilities and transforms underperforming properties through branding, technology and a distinctly modern approach to hospitality.

She also opens up about navigating golf’s old boys’ network, the business mistake that taught her to stay in her lane, the aftermath of the Ryder Cup at Bethpage and why managing her own rapid growth may now be her biggest challenge.

What you’ll hear in this episode:

How Brooke outworked major golf operators to win her first contract

The financial risk behind her municipal golf business model

How range technology helped triple gross sales

Why robots, branding and hospitality are attracting younger golfers

Her candid perspective on the Ryder Cup fallout at Bethpage

The example she hopes to set for the next generation of women in golf

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Golf’s estimated economic impact reaches roughly a quarter-trillion dollars—but where is the smart money going next?

Matt Erley, co-founder of Old Tom Capital, joins Jimmy Roberts to explain why investors increasingly see golf as one of the most resilient growth categories in sports and recreation. He reveals which parts of the industry have his attention, from shorter “golf light” experiences and public-access facilities to travel, hospitality, agronomy technology and the rapidly changing private-club business.

Matt also explores how golf can serve the next generation of players without abandoning its traditional roots—and why the industry’s biggest constraints may create its most compelling investment opportunities.

What you’ll hear in this episode:

Why more investment capital is moving into golf

How par-3 courses, driving ranges and short-form experiences could fuel the next decade of growth

Why $250,000 initiation fees and scarce tee times are changing golf travel

The technology helping courses reduce water use and operating costs

How equipment companies could turn the golf-ball rollback into an opportunity

Plus, country music star Jake Owen shares the leap of faith that changed his life, and Jimmy makes the case for the New York metropolitan area as the greatest golf destination in the world.

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John Smoltz thought the idea was great—but that it would never work.

Now, the Baseball Hall of Famer is helping build THE PRO, an invitation-only professional golf tour created exclusively for former athletes. With approximately 80 players, a $500,000 purse at every tournament and stars from across baseball, football, basketball, hockey and beyond, Smoltz is turning the competitive void athletes experience after retirement into an ambitious new golf business.

Smoltz joins Jimmy Roberts to explain the work behind launching the tour, from making nearly 1,000 phone calls and securing investment to recruiting players, building a media strategy and working toward profitability. He also shares unforgettable golf stories involving Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan and Annika Sorenstam—and reveals why he once turned down millions and an offer involving Pine Valley to remain with Bobby Cox and the Atlanta Braves.

What you’ll hear in this episode:

Why Smoltz believed THE PRO was a great idea that might never work

The economics behind a $500,000 purse at every tournament

How the tour recreates competition and community for retired athletes

Smoltz’s plans to recruit names like Tom Brady, Michael Strahan and Michael Phelps

Legendary rounds with Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan and Annika Sorenstam

The leadership lessons Smoltz learned from Bobby Cox

Plus, Powering the Women’s Game, presented by Chevron, examines Versant’s $530 million acquisition of Full Swing and what it could mean for the launch of the new Women’s Team Golf League.

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📺 Airing on Golf Channel every Tuesday

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