The Turn

Many dream about it. Patrick Koenig did it. A few years back, Patrick left his career behind and completed a golf road trip that consisted of playing 450 rounds at more than 400 courses and 49 states. He joined the show for a second time to share some great stories from his experience.

In this edition, Jared Cohen and Kris Strauss get an outlook on the resort and travel side of the industry for 2021 with new General Manager and COO of the Lodge of Four Seasons in Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri, Robin Graf. Robin has more than 30 years experience in the golf and hospitality industry!

The New Year is upon us and for some of us that means one thing...the return of the Sentry Tournament of Champions to Kapalua to kick off a new tour season! NBC Sports commentator, and resident Kapalua expert, Mark Rolfing joins Jared Cohen and Kris Strauss to talk everything from the tournament, to the course conditions to bets on the course that were never settled. Happy New Year and Aloha!

2020 has provided unique challenges for agronomists around the world with everything from new safety precautions, climate change, misconceptions and more. Simon Doyle, Director of Agronomy for Troon International and Brianne Kenny, Troon Manager of Environmental Science, join the show for a unique round-table discussion on trends in the world of golf agronomics.

There is something new coming to Austin, TX in 2021. What was once an after school golf program is now a new Golf Entertainment venue called Golfinity. A a revolutionary new indoor golf performance club. Golfinity Co-Founder Aaron Bergman joins Jared Cohen and Kris Strauss to discuss his background in the game of golf, the mindset behind Golfinity, how it will impact both players and teaching professionals and much more!

The National Links Trust (NLT) recently completing a long-term lease agreement with the National Park Service for the management, operation and improvement of East Potomac Park, Langston and Rock Creek Park Golf Courses in Washington, DC. NLT co-founders Will Smith and Michael McCartin join Kris Strauss and Jared Cohen for a discussion on the present and future of this monumental development for golf in Washington D.C.

October 2020 is Women's Golf month throughout the world of Troon. Throughout the month, Troon-managed golf properties will be flying pink checkered flags on their 18th greens, having fundraising events and offer unique opportunities to get into the game of golf! As for the state of the game for women in the industry, Jared and Kris are joined by a well respected general manager from across the globe in Australia, Jane Bell, of Brookwater Golf and Country Club.

As you may have seen by now, the PGA of America recently announced their 2020 awards...and also a new award, Executive of the Year! The first ever recipient of this new honor was none other than Troon Founder and Chairman, Dana Garmany. Dave Marr recently had Dana on his Dave Marr Show on SiriusXM to talk about it and the show was nice enough to share a portion of this great conversation with The Turn Podcast. Enjoy!

Born and raised in Scotland, son of a Golf Course Superintendent, David McLay-Kidd has been around golf his entire life. The golf course designer of famed golf courses from all over the world, joins Kris Strauss and Jared Cohen for an incredible discussion about his up-bringing has fueled the visions of his projects, his outlook on course design trends, pulling back the curtain on his work at Gamble Sands as well as the Inn at Entrada and much more!

Our guest for this episode in 2019 spent 152 days on the road with 265,850 miles traveled, 44 cities visited and landed in 17 countries. If anyone has a pulse on the state of the game globally, it's Senior VP of Operations for Troon International, DJ Flanders. Jared Cohen and Kris Strauss catch up with DJ on the way golf properties from Australia to the UAE to Cambodia have been weathering the COVID-19 storm and other trends he is seeing.