Drop Zone - GOLF Podcast

Perfecting Team Golf, LPGA Scheduling and a Tiger Woods Update

Did the Zurich Classic teach us anything about the Ryder Cup? Did Brook Henderson's win teach us anything about the LPGA Tour's future? What did Tiger Woods reveal in his latest Instagram post? This week's Drop Zone breaks down the PGA Tour's controversial Player Impact Program plus the PGA Tour's Zurich Classic, the LPGA Tour's L.A. Open and everything in between.

Lydia Ko wins, Stewart Cink continues to amaze, and Billy Horschel is 1st-team all-spicy

This week's Drop Zone features an extended discussion on the runaway victories we saw on Tour last week. Lydia Ko by seven and Stewart Cink by 4. Big deal? HUGE deal. For both, really. But also, there's Billy Horschel and his anti-arm-lock take. Should it be banned? Should Si Woo Kim's putt have counted? We disagree a lot this week. Join us. 

Takeaways from the Masters

Sean Zak and Dylan Dethier recap Hideki Matsuyama’s breakthrough victory at the Masters, Will Zalatoris’ ascent and how Spieth's game has come full circle. The Drop Zone wraps up the Masters from Augusta.

MASTERS Preview: Spieth the favorite? DJ defending? Bryson's first impressions

We've made it to Augusta! Sean Zak and Dylan Dethier recap Jordan Spieth's win at the Texas Open and discuss what it means for this coming week at the Masters. Spoiler: it means a lot. We discuss the favorites, tease some bits of an exclusive interview with Bryson DeChambeau and break down everything we can expect to happen this week at Augusta National. 

Youthful guest James Colgan joins to discuss his first impressions of the club before the group puts a bow on the ANWA and ANA Inspiration. 

Match Play madness, DJ vs. Kevin Na, Dahmen's long-awaited win

We got more golf than we deserved this weekend, but we'll take it! Sean Zak and Dylan Dethier explain why DJ and Kevin Na were both sort of in the wrong, why the match play format shouldn't be changed, why Joel Dahmen's win felt so good and what to watch for in the women's game this week. 

PGA Tour Midseason Awards

Who's golf's MVP? Rookie of the Year? Most Improved? Biggest Question Mark? Believe it or not, we're halfway through the PGA Tour season, and we're here to hand out some half-season awards. You'll be surprised what you've already forgotten from this season...

Players Breakdown: JT's complex Sunday and learnings from Westwood, Bryson and Rory

What did we learn about Justin Thomas on Sunday at the Players Championship? What does his win mean as we look towards the Masters? Sean Zak and Dylan Dethier break down everything from the week at TPC Sawgrass and dive into the current states of Lee Westwood, Bryson DeChambeau, Rory McIlroy and more.

Drop Zone is BACK

All it took was a win from Bryson DeChambeau to bring the Drop Zone back onto your podcast airwaves. We discuss the event at Bay Hill, what hanging out with Bryson is really like, what he means for golf moving forward, etc. Also, it's Players Week! The biggest event thus far in 2021 kicks off Thursday, so we look back at the last 12 months of golf in the world of Covid-19. Dylan shares a reminder of what it was like on the ground at the 2020 Players and what to expect this week at TPC Sawgrass. 

Untold stories from 2020

We research plenty of stories — but we don't get a chance to tell all of them. What did it feel like at the final tournament before the pandemic? Who changed golf's conversation the most in 2020? And what was this year like for the PGA Tour's most accurate player? On this week's episode of the Drop Zone, we dig into our notebooks to revisit several key moments from the 2020 golf season and share the details behind the stories we never got to.

Cameron Champ knows he has power

Cameron Champ has plenty of power on the course. So much that when asked about the race for distance, he said "I'm just gonna keep my mouth shut."

He also has plenty of power OFF the course. After discussing his wacky and impressive 2020 season we talked with Cameron about his recent decision to fund two scholarships at an HBCU, Prairie View A&M, in the name of his Grandpa Mack. That alone impressed us at the Drop Zone, and so did the rest of his season, so we got into a lot of it in this week's episode.

Golf's Biggest Winners of 2020

Who were the biggest winners of the strange, unprecedented 2020 golf season? Can Bryson DeChambeau crack the list? How 'bout Patrick Reed? Adidas? There's still a month's worth of rounds to be played, but let's beat the year-end rush with a celebration of those who made the most of it. This week's Drop Zone shouts out 10 big-time winners who grabbed an unusual year by the horns.

Masters Recap: Everything we learned at the November Masters

What a week it was at Augusta National. Dustin Johnson is your Masters Champion after a record-setting performance. We break down the entire week by sharing what we learned about DJ, Tiger, Bryson, Rory, Augusta National, Augusta the town, distance in golf, and much more. 

The Ultimate Masters Preview

To break down this week's Masters, we interviewed six different experts to hone in on every aspect of golf's biggest tournament. From Bryson DeChambeau's game plan to Tiger Woods' title defense to the CBS broadcast to the best gambling picks to a potential equipment revolution, here's what to expect at Augusta National. Featuring Luke Kerr-Dineen, Jonathan Wall, James Colgan, Michael Bamberger, Alan Shipnuck and Josh Sens. Enjoy!

Jack Nicklaus on the Masters, Augusta National and the evolution of golf

Jack Nicklaus, 6-time Masters Champion, for nearly an hour. Need we say more?

Golf's greatest champion joins us for a long conversation about all things: the Masters, Augusta National, Bryson DeChambeau, changes to the golf course, Tiger and Phil. We hit on just about everything with Jack from the comforts of his compound down in southern Florida. Come for his memories of a Jack-proofed setup and stay for his first lesson at the hallowed grounds, courtesy of Arnold Palmer.

Daniel Berger on Growing Up in Golf's Mecca and Re-finding his Game

While many of the best golfers in the world gravitate to southern Florida, Daniel Berger was raised in the middle of it. Raised on a golf course, picking the range and taking money off pros. It's all he's ever known, and it's a big part of the reason why he's so damn good. Berger sat down with us to talk about the iron-sharpens-iron aspect of Jupiter, Florida, his resurgence in 2020 and why he'd never dream of leaving the Sunshine State. 

How Bandon Dunes revolutionized golf

Bandon Dunes began as a pie-in-the-sky brainchild of a wannabe golf course developer and a wannabe Scottish golf course architect. Together, David McLay-Kidd and Mike Keiser built a golf course — but they had no idea they were spawning a revolution in the process. Bandon expanded and Cabot Links and Sand Valley followed in its footsteps; some dozen golf courses later, Bandon's lasting legacy is as an idea: That North America can have true links golf and that reimagine the idea of a remote golf course as a bucket-list destination. New locales have followed in Bandon's footsteps, like Cabot Links in Nova Scotia and Sand Valley in Wisconsin. Dream Golf has become a movement. But it sure didn't start that way. On this week's Drop Zone, here's how one course in nowhere, Oregon turned into an entire movement — all by accident.

Collin Morikawa on becoming a prodigy

There's nobody quite like Collin Morikawa — even on the PGA Tour, where it feels like a new 'golden child' gets crowned every few weeks. Morikawa joins the Drop Zone to fill us in on his origin story, dive into the differences between 'good' and 'great,' tell us where he's been and where he's going.

Xander Schauffele at Home

Whether or not he remembers it, Xander Schauffele was one of the first guests we ever had on the Drop Zone. That was years ago, and we've all come a long way since then. This week, he joined us again to dish on a bunch of stuff, including:

- Watching Tiger Woods win at Torrey Pines in 2008

- Growing up in San Diego

- Money games with Phil Mickelson

- His rise to becoming a top 10 player

- How he competes with the likes of Bryson, DJ, Rory and longer players

Bryson DeChambeau on bringing Winged Foot to its knees, changing golf and tackling Augusta National

The U.S. Open champ is back for part 2 of our discussion. This time, we talk all about his victory at Winged Foot, why his game was so good that week and what it means for courses this fall ... like Augusta National. 

DeChambeau also responds to the claims that he might be "breaking" golf, and offers a retort for how his changing the game is actually great for golf.

Bryson DeChambeau on growing up different, changing golf and winning the U.S. Open (part 1)

Golf's most recent major champion joins the Drop Zone for a lengthy discussion on all things Bryson: His upbringing, his transformation, some mind-blowing practice facts, how his game is perceived and what it was like demolishing Winged Foot. This is part 1 of 2 — the second half of the Bryson DeChambeau convo will go live Wednesday morning. Subscribe to make sure it lands in your podcast library!

Watching Bryson win the U.S. Open (and celebrate afterward)

Our very own Dylan Dethier was on site at Winged Foot, and ALSO at the after party with Bryson DeChambeau as his team as they celebrated their biggest accomplishment ... yet. 

We recap the U.S. Open with behind-the-scenes detail you're not going to get anywhere else. 

Winged Foot insiders dish on winning secrets

Nobody knows more about winning at Winged Foot than the iconic club's very best players, so we assembled a roundtable of club champions to help preview this week's U.S. Open. What are the keys to winning a brutal test at Winged Foot? What will the best golfers in the world shoot? What kind of U.S. Open should we expect? All that — and more! — on this week's Drop Zone.

The best short courses in the world

Sometimes, 18 holes is too much! For anyone who has ever thought that, GOLF Magazine is in your corner this week, launching a new ranking of the best 9-hole courses in the world, a list of the top par-3 courses and the best courses under 6,000 yards. Non-traditional golf at its very best. We talk with Ran Morrissett, the man behind the ranking, right here on the Drop Zone. 

Caddying with Tiger Woods

We’ve heard plenty of players describe the unforgettable sensation of playing golf alongside Tiger Woods for the first time. But what’s it like to caddie alongside him? For one man, it was the opportunity of a lifetime — and then it got a bit complicated. On this week's Drop Zone, we take a look at the fuller story behind Tiger Woods, world-famous caddie.

Golf in the NBA Bubble

Basketball is the no. 1 sport being played in the NBA Bubble, but sport no. 2? It's golf. 

Players, coaches and staff members from every team have teed it up down in Orlando, and for some of them, golf is way more than a fun hobby. It's become a way of life down in Florida. 

We talked to a bunch of players about just how important golf is to them within the Disney bubble.