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Sam sits down at Royal Birkdale Golf Club with Mike Howard, Senior Design Associate at MacKenzie & Ebert, to discuss his long-standing relationship with the club. A lifelong member with an intimate knowledge of the North West coast, Mike has played a central role in the recent course changes, working alongside Tom MacKenzie to prepare Birkdale for The Open Championship this summer. A longstanding friend of the podcast, Mike brings both insight and perspective to the conversation. Widely respected for his work in golf course design, he is also a fine golfer and a highly regarded figure within the industry. Send us a message if you liked the show If you've enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify! You can follow us along below @cookiejargolf Instagram / Facebook / Twitter / YouTube / Website

Sam, Tom and Peter sit down to discuss the 90th Masters at Augusta National, Rory's historic back-to-back victory, and the big winners and losers of the week in Georgia. Send us a message if you liked the show If you've enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify! You can follow us along below @cookiejargolf Instagram / Facebook / Twitter / YouTube / Website

Returning guest Simon Haines sits down to be quiz master with Sam and Tom about the early days of Augusta National and the Masters.  Send us a message if you liked the show If you've enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify! You can follow us along below @cookiejargolf Instagram / Facebook / Twitter / YouTube / Website

In part two of this needlessly detailed look at the life and times of Dr Alister MacKenzie, Sam takes us through life after WWI and MacKenzie's partnership with Harry Colt and Charles Hugh Allison, as well as the work that leads him to travelling to furthest reaches of the globe.  In 1926, MacKenzie travelled to Australia on what would become a career defining two months helping to shaope the Melbourne Sand belt and many other courses around the country, as well as New Zealand, and how MacKenzie would become involved in shaping golf on the West Coast of America. His work at Cypress point is rightly lauded above all others in the world, as well as Pasatiempo where he would spend his final few years. We also touch on his lifestyle, and his controversial divorce, and most importantly the legacy that he leaves behind.  Further reading, the MacKenzie chronology is well worth some reading and can be found here, as well as his book - Golf Architecture - in 1920, The Spirit of St Andrews which was published after his death, and the many podcasts and articles that have been dedicated to his work.  Send us a message if you liked the show If you've enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify! You can follow us along below @cookiejargolf Instagram / Facebook / Twitter / YouTube / Website

Sam is in the chair this time to bring to life the good Dr - Alister MacKenzie - considered by many to be the most influential golf course architect in history.  In part 1 we discuss MacKenzie's childhood, his education, going to Cambridge and serving in the Boer war. We also discuss the formation of Alwoodley and his golfing career leading into that, as well as Moortown and through to 1914 and the outbreak of WWI having finished designing Sitwell park.   Send us a message if you liked the show If you've enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify! You can follow us along below @cookiejargolf Instagram / Facebook / Twitter / YouTube / Website

Ahead of our Story of a Golf Club film over on YouTube, Sam & Tom sit down with Wallasey club archivist Simon Coombs to talk about the fascinating history of the club. Starting with the foundation of the club, to the design of Old Tom Morris and the golden age greats that followed him, Bobby Jones' round in Open Qualifying on his march to completing The Grand Slam, as well as Wallasey member Dr Frank Stableford's defining contribution to the club game with the invention of the Stableford scoring system on the second tee just a year later.  Simon also shares his story in helping to develop a plan for history at his club and what it's like starting from scratch! It's a great episode.  Send us a message if you liked the show If you've enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify! You can follow us along below @cookiejargolf Instagram / Facebook / Twitter / YouTube / Website

Sam sits down with 1991 Open Champion Ian Baker-Finch. A player whose name is woven into both the history of the game and the soundtrack of its most memorable moments. Best known for his remarkable victory at Royal Birkdale, Ian’s story extends far beyond that week in 1991. After his playing career, he became one of golf’s most recognisable and respected broadcasters, spending more than 25 years behind the microphone calling some of the sport’s most dramatic moments for audiences around the world. In this conversation, Ian reflects on his journey through the professional game, from the pressure and triumph of winning The Open Championship to the challenges that followed, and how he ultimately found a second life in the commentary box.  Known as one of golf’s most generous and well-liked characters, Ian was kind enough to give us his time while enjoying some well-earned rest and relaxation in New Zealand. The result is a thoughtful and wide-ranging conversation about resilience, perspective, and a lifetime in the game. A link to Ian's wonderful biography written by Geoff Suanders can be found here and we highly recommend picking up a copy for yourself.   Send us a message if you liked the show If you've enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify! You can follow us along below @cookiejargolf Instagram / Facebook / Twitter / YouTube / Website

Sam & Peter sit down to discuss this year's Sunningdale Foursomes. Peter was our man on the ground following all the action. Congratulations to Jamie McGeoch and Ellie Lichtenhein on surviving seven rounds of match play to win the 92nd Sunningdale Foursomes. Ellie is the first Sunningdale member to win the event since 2009 - a fitting finish to one of the finest weeks in the British golfing calendar. Send us a message if you liked the show If you've enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify! You can follow us along below @cookiejargolf Instagram / Facebook / Twitter / YouTube / Website

In part 2, Tom takes us through Pete's trip to Scotland that inspired his work with Alice as a course designer.  Send us a message if you liked the show If you've enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify! You can follow us along below @cookiejargolf Instagram / Facebook / Twitter / YouTube / Website

Pt 1 of our 2 part special on the life and legacy of Peter Dye: 1925 - 2020.  In part one, Tom takes us through the first 38 years of the life of Pete Dye, beginning with his early years in Ohio and growing up on a course built by his father Paul. Pete would go on to quite school early, enlist in the Army and take a career defining trip to Scotland with wife Alice.  This is part of an exciting series we are running this year where we explore the life and legacy of the architects that have shaped the 4 major venues in 2026 (+ the players)! Send us a message if you liked the show If you've enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify! You can follow us along below @cookiejargolf Instagram / Facebook / Twitter / YouTube / Website

Sam & Tom sit down to review their visit to Conwy Golf Club on the north coast of Wales. With a history stretching back to 1869, and Hoylake professional Jack Morris the man behind the initial design, Conwy is a breathtaking piece of land on which to play golf. We had a great time here, settling a club championship match in a four-club wind. In more recent years, Frank Pennink re-designed much of the course following the two World Wars in the first half of the 20th century. Most recently, Mackenzie & Ebert’s work with the club has seen gorse removed, green sites enlarged, and bunkers returned to more naturalised shapes. For those of you who follow the trials and tribulations of our matches on the road, the ‘Club Championship’ section of the website is filled with match reports as we go, along with a league table tracking our performance records. Send us a message if you liked the show If you've enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify! You can follow us along below @cookiejargolf Instagram / Facebook / Twitter / YouTube / Website

Tom and Sam sit down to discuss the golf over the weekend, with Anthony Kim winning for the first time in fifteen years and Colin Morikawa prevailing at Pebble Beach for the first time in two and a half years.  Send us a message if you liked the show If you've enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify! You can follow us along below @cookiejargolf Instagram / Facebook / Twitter / YouTube / Website

Josh Simpson joins the podcast (a.k.a 'the Ginger Golfer') to talk about his world record breaking effort over the last 12 months playing 652 courses in a year, eclipsing the previous 581 World Record.  We talk about Josh's introduction to the sport, and how he turned a tragic chapter in his life into a force for good, raising nearly £100,000 for two wonderful charities: Macmillan Cancer Support and Tapping House. We've put the link for further donations here so you can contribute to the money raised. We also discuss the trials and tribulations of life on the road, some of his favourite courses and also his - soon to be trademarked - shower rating system. The 10 point rating criteria can be found below: 2.5pts: Shower Pressure2pts: Temperature (consistency & warmth)2pts: 'Look'1pt Towel Provided (yes or no)1pt: Privacy / Draft / Space0.5pts: Amenities (0.1pt for each amenity provided)0.5pts: Dials accessed without getting hands wet0.5pts: No need to keep pushing to activate(Only Sunningdale & The Caversham have swept up 10 points so far!) Follow Josh and his adventure along here.  Send us a message if you liked the show If you've enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify! You can follow us along below @cookiejargolf Instagram / Facebook / Twitter / YouTube / Website

Sam sits down for a catch-up with friend of the pod, West Byfleet membership secretary and exceptional writer Richard Pennell. Together, they cover a wide range of topics, including Richard’s latest book, Common Grounds, which chronicles his journeys to some of the rawest and purest forms of the game. Building on the success of his first book - Grass Routes - you can secure a copy through the wonderful folks over at Grant Books here.  Send us a message if you liked the show If you've enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify! You can follow us along below @cookiejargolf Instagram / Facebook / Twitter / YouTube / Website

Tom sits down with Golf Badgers’ James Bledge at BTME in Harrogate to discuss the event. Send us a message if you liked the show If you've enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify! You can follow us along below @cookiejargolf Instagram / Facebook / Twitter / YouTube / Website