The Thing About Golf Podcast

For most, golf is a passion, but for many others, it’s also a business. The golf industry is both large and diverse, ranging from tour professionals and media companies to travel and retail equipment sales. 

So how does the game stack up in the world of sports business and what are the similarities — and differences — to other sports? Sports business expert and journalist Richard Gillis has a duel interest in golf, both as a lifelong player and having covered the game professionally. 

His takes on LIV, the media environment, the long-term viability of TV as a financial support and much more are intelligent and thought provoking — whether you are in the golf business or not.

Rarely has a player sported the green jacket with such style than our latest guest and one of golf’s greatest assets, Trevor Immelman.

However, there is more to the 2008 Masters champion than a pretty golf swing. 

The 2022 International Presidents Cup captain sits down with John Huggan to talk about his beginnings in the game, his thoughts on the Presidents Cup, the LIV/PGA Tour negotiations, where TV commentators get it wrong and much more. 

Immelman is one of the game’s best ambassadors and after listening to this chat, you’ll gain an insight into why.

Our special guest this week discusses the new media landscape, building a media business when you had no intention of ever doing so and the challenges of monetising what started out as a hobby.

There is no shortage of underdog stories in Hollywood, but in real life - in the day to day news media - those narratives are harder to find. 

Media has changed, though, and with social media eliminating almost all barriers to entry, there are new players finding their voice - and an audience - in the space formerly occupied by legacy media. 

This is as true in golf as any other section of the media and Ryan French is one of the players in this space, although it is more by accident than by design.

This week John Huggan catches up with a true golfing stalwart who has spent more than 20 years plying his trade on the European Tour.
Stephen Gallacher has four wins and a Ryder Cup appearance to his name, placing him in some elite company. Having grown up around golf with his famous uncle Bernard as a mentor, Gallacher still lives and breathes the game.
With the senior tour fast approaching and a thriving junior foundation bearing his name, Gallacher is as busy as he’s ever been and chats with John about everything from LIV Golf and the future at the top level, to why encouraging junior participation is so important.

He was part of one of the most epic duels in Open history, when he and Phil Mickelson went head to head for the Claret Jug last time golf's most prestigious tournament was held at Troon in 2016 ... and he is also John Huggan's latest interview guest.
There is so much more to Henrik Stenson than a brilliant golf game … he also has a sense of humour and a perspective on the world a bit broader than many of his professional brethren.
Stenson sat down with our very own John Huggan recently to reflect on a career which has produced some remarkable highs, but also some equally intense lows.

Few figures in Australian golf would boast a better pedigree, or could claim a longer contribution to the game, than 1997 Women’s Australian Open winner and TTAG special guest Jane Crafter. 

An almost-25-year playing career has been followed by an almost equal number of years behind the microphone as an in court and booth reporter at events worldwide. 

Born into a golfing family, Crafter’s journey in the game is unique and compelling, as you’ll discover in this wide-ranging discussion with Rod Mori. 

He might not be the best-known name in golf, but England’s Howard Clark was a stalwart of the European Tour in a time of major changes for the professional game in the 1980s and '90s. John Huggan caught up with the former Ryder Cupper at his home in England to talk life, golf and a life in golf.

A stalwart of the European Tour during the boom years of the 1980s and '90s, Mark James had a ringside seat to some of the most exciting times the men’s professional game has known. In the era of Seve, Faldo, Lyle and Langer, the Englishman managed to amass 18 victories (32 globally) before going on to captain the 1999 Ryder Cup in one of the most infamous matches in history. In this fascinating chat with John Huggan, James reminisces on a career that spanned almost 20 years from his first European victory to his last and which included stints behind the scenes working to improve the Tour for the players.

There are few writers in golf whose words have appeared in as many publications and on as many different “new media” platforms as the prolific Geoff Shackelford. In this episode he tells Rod Morri what the future holds for the game’s media landscape.  

There might not be a more polarising voice in modern golf media than Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee and he doesn't disappoint in this wide-ranging chat with John Huggan. From why he thinks a brutal US Open is a good thing, to a breakdown of the type of player who wins at Augusta, this one is heaven for golf nerds.