Fresh off another NCAA men's golf championship, Stanford Head Coach Conrad Ray is a walking encyclopedia of how to approach the game of golf. A former teammate of Tiger Woods, he's won as a player and coach. But how he has won has evolved with the game. We talk about the improvement of college players and preparedness for the professional game. What data is being used? How has fitness improved? How do you coach the mental game? Why are players better? All that and more with one of golf's best minds.

The explosion of golf data and legalized sports wagering is seeing a huge increase in attention in the sport. Rufus Peabody has been analyzing and betting on sports his entire career, with some significant success in golf. He joins the podcast to talk about recent wins, current player trends, player predictions and the future of gambling in golf.

Golf is turning into a sport of athletes. Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Rory McIlroy and Gary Woodland have dominated 2019. What do they have in common? Incredible fitness. Like data and stats, fitness is a weapon golfers can't afford to leave out of the equation. How advanced has a player's workout gotten? The PGA Tour now partners with Technogym, a worldwide leader in wellness, to outfit the traveling Performance Centers. Marty Miller is the Director of Training and Education. He talks about the technology, learning from Olympic athletes and the biomechanics of professional golfers.

For at least one week, golf returns to its roots at the Open Championship. True links golf is hard to find, and succeeding at it seems like a career pursuit. As golf's purest test returns to Royal Portrush, who is the favorite? What skills translate the most to success on a links layout? How do we compare players coming from the European Tour to those from the PGA Tour? What information do players seek out to win? We cover all of that with 15th Club analyst Dylan Beirne.

Golf has dozens of professional tours in the United States. Making it to the PGA Tour is the dream. Getting there? Easier said than done. The grind is real, and guys are chasing opportunities in the oddest and, sometimes, most grueling ways. Ryan French runs the Twitter account Monday Q Info (@acaseofthegolf1) and is the go-to expert on guys grinding to make the Tour. We take a quantitative and qualitative approach to discussing the fine line of making it in pro golf.

The Godfather of golf stats is back! Mark Broadie makes another appearance on the pod to talk about his recent article breaking down the quest of PGA Tour players to avoid bogeys versus making birdies. Is there a proper strategy of aggressiveness? Plus, adjusting stats for course difficulty, the Koepka enigma, 2019 observations and much more with the developer of strokes gained.

In professional golf on the PGA Tour, the casual fan is likely not aware of the tournament structure. While there is central oversight and requirements, almost every week on Tour is its own individual event. Tournaments are individual non-profit entities, tasked with having both a golfing impact nationally and a community impact locally. What is raised? How many volunteers are needed? How do sponsor invites work? That and more with Clair Peterson, who's been running the John Deere Classic since 2002.

Golf is a grass business. And the turfgrass industry has become data heavy in recent years. As the weather becomes more extreme and unpredictable, courses must adapt faster. As PGA Tour players have gotten better and better, tournament courses have had to find ways to push it to the limit. Thomas Bastis serves as the liaison between the PGA Tour and the course superintendents tasked with creating the perfect course. From moisture to clipping yields, he talks about the data, technology and collaboration needed to make the perfect Tour venue. 

Will and Matt Courchene are back! The success of their site, Data Golf, has seen them add more data models and improve their player rankings, trends and tools. They join the podcast to talk growth of the industry, the Brooks Koepka enigma, Jordan Spieth's resurgence(?), who's hot, who's not, course history and much more.  

How close is the top golfer in the world from No. 100? What about 100 vs. 1000? What skills in golf separate the best from the rest? What keeps a guy on Tour, or stuck without a card? Steve Scott is a PGA Professional who was the top-ranked amateur in the world and the runner-up to Tiger Woods in the legendary U.S. Amateur final in 1996. We discuss the strength of field at the PGA Championship, the fine lines in golf success, quantifying Brooks Koepka's killer instincts, Tiger Woods and gator clamp putting.