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Matt Lowe returns to The DROP after a five-win 2026 season that began with victories at the Havemeyer and Mittelmark Invitationals and continued with his third MGA Public Links title and second Ike Championship. The defining comeback came at Glens Falls, where Lowe entered the final day eight shots behind before rounds of 67 and 65 carried him to the New York State Amateur title. Mike and Matt explore what changed in his game, how his relationship with the putter evolved and when a strong start began to feel like a truly special season. The biggest stages kept coming. Lowe earned low-amateur honors at the New York State Open at Bethpage Black, reached U.S. Amateur match play for the first time at Merion and became the internet’s “aura champ” while carrying his own bag. He then finished runner-up overall and low amateur at the Met Open at Essex County Country Club, tying the championship’s amateur scoring record with a 9-under 204 and playing the difficult back nine without a bogey in all three rounds. The conversation examines golf, the unexpected attention and what this remarkable season means to Lowe now. Follow The DROP for your weekly fix of Golfing in the Garden State.

Harkers Hollow Golf Club in Phillipsburg, New Jersey, is a public, daily-fee course with membership options and a Robert White design dating to 1929. Mike visits for the first time to see how far Harkers Hollow has come under its current ownership group, and the turnaround shows from tee to green. The fairways were spectacular, the tee boxes were in excellent shape and the greens were outstanding. The stretch from the Par 5, 4th into the short Par 3, 5th, including the long view back from the fourth green, captures the character of the layout and why the tree-lined property is such a natural fit for fall golf. Mike sits down with Joe Manley, one of Harkers Hollow’s owners, to discuss the work behind the revitalization, the club’s connection to its community and the improvements still ahead. The experience extends beyond golf, from the impressive locker room and outstanding food to the hospitality and public-golf value. Harkers Hollow’s 2027 membership program includes Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum options, with the remainder of the 2026 season included at no extra cost for new members who join now. This is the story of a historic New Jersey golf course being brought back by people who clearly care about its future.  Subscribe to The DROP for your weekly fix of Golfing in the Garden State.

Before the Presidents Cup, Mike called for Chris Gotterup and Cameron Young to play together. At Medinah, they delivered two Saturday victories, winning 2 & 1 in four-ball and 6 & 4 in alternate shot, before both added singles wins during Team USA’s historic Sunday comeback. Gotterup finished his debut with a 3-1 record. Mike and Chris break down why the pairing worked, whether Team USA should continue building around it and what the Americans’ alternate-shot struggles revealed despite the 17-13 victory. Then, a 6 a.m. rainout turns Mike’s morning into 36 holes across South Jersey. After ranking Ballamor No. 1 and Running Deer No. 4 among the region’s public courses, he plays and films both in one day to determine whether their conditions, strategy and signature holes validate those positions. The guys also play Guess the Course, preview the Bank of Utah Championship and follow the Korn Ferry Tour race for 2027 PGA Tour cards. Follow The DROP for your weekly fix of Golfing in the Garden State.

An opening 77 became a 66, the lowest round of stroke play, and the start of Catherine McEvoy’s run to the 2026 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur final at Montclair Golf Club. She joins The DROP to revisit that 11-shot turnaround, the match-play comebacks that kept her championship hopes alive and the experience of having her dad on the bag. Mike asks what it took to regroup after the opening round and keep finding a way through the bracket. The conversation also explores the challenge of pursuing elite amateur golf while working full-time. From her college career at Michigan State to her 2026 Women’s Met Amateur victory at Wykagyl, Mike asks how McEvoy’s preparation has evolved, how she makes room for competition and what keeps her chasing the game’s biggest amateur championships. Follow The DROP for your weekly fix of Golfing in the Garden State.

Does Ballamor deserve the top spot over Twisted Dune and Shore Gate? Mike ranks his five best public golf courses in South Jersey and invites Chris to challenge the order, the omissions and what should matter most: design, challenge, value or the enjoyment of the full round. Then, Mike takes us inside Harkers Hollow in Phillipsburg, where standout greens, elevation changes and sidehill lies made for a memorable day of golf. Bill Hook’s final-round 65 headlines the NJPGA Professional Championship recap, with Chris bringing a competitor’s perspective on Plainfield Country Club and the battle to qualify for the PGA Professional Championship. We also preview the Presidents Cup, discuss potential partners for Chris Gotterup and make opposing picks: Mike takes the Internationals, while Chris backs Team USA. Follow The DROP for your weekly fix of Golfing in the Garden State.

Katie Li has taken her game from Basking Ridge to some of the biggest stages in women’s golf. The Ridge High School graduate and 2024 New Jersey Women’s Amateur champion is now a senior at Duke, where she has earned All-ACC honors twice and competed in two U.S. Women’s Opens. Mike talks with Katie about growing up Golfing in the Garden State, the path that took her from New Jersey to Duke, what she has learned competing at one of the country’s premier Division I programs and how playing against elite fields has changed the way she approaches the game. The conversation also looks at where Katie’s game stands entering her final collegiate season and what she still wants to accomplish before her Duke career is complete. She opened the year with a strong performance at the Folds of Honor Collegiate, closing with a 4-under 68 to finish tied for third as Duke finished third as a team. From her Garden State roots to major-championship experience and her fourth year of college golf, Katie explains the development, expectations and next steps behind a career that has already taken her well beyond New Jersey. Follow The DROP for your weekly fix of Golfing in the Garden State.

Some New Jersey golf courses may be missing from the Top 10 conversation simply because too few golfers have actually played them. Mike takes the public side and Chris the private, with each making the case for one overlooked course and explaining why it deserves more attention, what part of the layout reaches true Top 10 quality and which established courses it could realistically challenge. Then the debate shifts to fall golf, as Mike and Chris each choose the Garden State course they believe delivers the best complete experience when the leaves change, weighing scenery, elevation, conditions and everything that makes golf in New Jersey different this time of year. Chris also previews his own week in the 99th NJPGA Professional Championship at Plainfield Country Club, where a Top 10 finish earns a spot in the 2027 PGA Professional Championship. The guys also look at the start of the FedExCup Fall and what is at stake for players fighting for 2027 PGA Tour status, while following the opening stage of the Korn Ferry Tour Finals as the race for PGA Tour cards continues to tighten. Follow The DROP for your weekly fix of Golfing in the Garden State.

Rory & Michael Asselta sit down with Mike at Ramsey Golf & Country Club, their home club, with each brother already testing his game well beyond the Garden State. Rory enters his junior year of high school ranked No. 10 in the Rolex AJGA Rankings, verbally committed to Auburn, a 2026 RLX Ralph Lauren Junior Classic champion at Bethpage Black and selected to represent the United States in the Junior Presidents Cup. Michael begins his freshman year at Loyola University Maryland after winning his second W.Y. Dear Junior Championship and advancing to the Round of 16 at the 2026 U.S. Junior Amateur. From Ramsey, the conversation focuses on their games, the different stages each brother is navigating and how far they believe they can take the game. Rory still has two full high school seasons ahead before Auburn while already competing against the best junior players in the country, while Michael makes the transition into college golf at Loyola following a summer that took him deep into one of junior golf’s biggest championships. It is a full sit-down with two brothers from the Garden State whose paths are different, but whose results are already taking them onto national stages. Follow The DROP for your weekly fix of Golfing in the Garden State.

Medford Lakes Country Club in Medford Lakes, New Jersey, is the kind of private golf club that reminds you how much fun golf is supposed to be. The club’s original nine was designed by Alexander H. Findlay and opened for play in 1930 before Harold C. Purdy designed the additional holes when Medford Lakes expanded to 18. Mike found the course in excellent condition despite significant rain leading into the visit, with the greens rolling well and the entire property presenting extremely well. The closing stretch from Nos. 12 through 18 was the highlight, combining tight driving corridors, water, risk-reward decisions and some of the strongest golf on the property, while the opening par 4 immediately gives players a taste of the course’s character. But what separates Medford Lakes Country Club goes beyond the golf. The atmosphere, hospitality and relationships around the club create the kind of place where members genuinely seem to enjoy spending their time, which matches the club’s own emphasis on camaraderie and an enjoyable golf experience. Mike sits down with Head Golf Professional Curtis Kirkpatrick, to discuss the history of Medford Lakes, the two architectural eras of the course, what makes the membership experience work, the current state of the property and where the club is headed next. From the course to the people to the overall atmosphere, Medford Lakes delivers exactly what a private golf club should, really good golf and a place you actually want to hang around when the round is over. Subscribe to The DROP for your weekly fix of Golfing in the Garden State.

With fall golf beginning and the 2026 season winding down, Chris turns the tables on Mike and makes him rank the New Jersey golf courses he still wants to play most before the year ends. Mike has to choose three public and three private courses, rank both lists from No. 3 to No. 1 and explain what puts each one ahead of the courses that missed the cut. The guys also debate which opportunities are actually realistic before the season ends, whether the golf course or complete club experience matters more and, if Mike could play only one course from each list, which invitations he would take immediately. The guys also break down the finalized 2026 Presidents Cup teams, including Chris Gotterup earning the first Presidents Cup selection of his career, before looking ahead to the start of the FedExCup Fall and the Korn Ferry Tour Finals. They explain what is at stake as players fight for PGA Tour cards and Korn Ferry Tour status, debate the controversial concession incident from the Walker Cup and recognize Rory Asselta’s performance against one of the strongest junior fields in the game at TPC Sawgrass. Follow The DROP for your weekly fix of Golfing in the Garden State.

Brent Ito captured the 111th Met Open at Essex County Country Club with rounds of 66, 65 and 70, finishing 12-under and winning by three shots. Ito takes Mike through the decisions behind the victory, from hitting roughly 85 percent of his fairways and giving himself opportunities to attack pins from the short grass to switching from an armlock putting setup back to a conventional blade for better speed and touch. He also explains why a self-described habitual leaderboard watcher deliberately stopped looking during the final round, how he handled the closing stretch once he learned he had a five-shot lead and what made Essex County such a demanding championship test. The conversation also traces Ito’s path from growing up in Ardsley and defeating Chris Gotterup for an MGA junior title to five seasons at Michigan and the realities of pursuing professional golf around the world. Ito explains why he chose The MET Open over competing in Indonesia, what he has learned playing internationally on the Asian Development Tour and why becoming a MET Open champion provided important validation as he prepares for Q-School and the next stage of his professional career. Follow The DROP for your weekly fix of Golfing in the Garden State.

Rory and Michael Asselta are two of the brightest young players in New Jersey golf, with Rory already reaching a level that is almost unheard of in the state for a player his age. As he enters only his junior year of high school, Rory is already verbally committed to Auburn, has earned a spot on the U.S. Junior Presidents Cup team and won the 2026 RLX Ralph Lauren Junior Classic at Bethpage Black. Michael is headed to Loyola University Maryland with an impressive résumé of his own, including two W.Y. Dear Junior Championship titles and a run to the Round of 16 at the 2026 U.S. Junior Amateur. After spending a full day with both brothers at their home course, Ramsey Golf and Country Club, Mike and Chris discuss what separates them, how high their ceilings could be and why Rory and Michael represent the future of Golfing in the Garden State. The episode also examines the fallout between Good Good and Callaway after a controversial advertisement led to the end of their equipment partnership, retail consequences, canceled opportunities and a public response from Good Good’s CEO that escalated an already damaging situation. The guys also look at the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur being played at Montclair Golf Club and what another USGA championship says about New Jersey golf, then recap the Tour Championship and the conclusion of the PGA Tour season before heading From the Grandstand to discuss the most memorable tee markers in golf. Follow The DROP for your weekly fix of Golfing in the Garden State.

Dr. Eric Acevedo, owner of BackNineStrength in Eatontown, explains why the area causing a golfer's pain is not always where the problem begins and why some apparent swing faults cannot be corrected through instruction alone. A Doctor of Chiropractic, certified athletic trainer and Titleist Performance Institute-certified golf-injury specialist, Acevedo details how movement patterns, strength deficiencies and physical limitations can affect rotation, force production and a golfer’s ability to control the swing. Acevedo also examines the balance between strength and mobility, what a golf-specific physical assessment can reveal, and why chasing speed without the ability to control additional range of motion can create new problems. He explains how New Jersey golfers can prepare their bodies more effectively before a round, train around the demands of work and family, and build the strength, recovery habits and physical durability required to continue playing pain-free golf for years. Follow The DROP for your weekly fix of Golfing in the Garden State.

Crystal Springs Resort in Sussex County, New Jersey, combines destination golf, luxury accommodations, professional instruction and year-round amenities into one of the most complete golf getaways in the region. Mike is joined by The DROP Podcast’s Social Media Manager Mike “Shack” Shackleton to break down their three-day, two-night experience from two different perspectives: Shack filming everything the property offers and Mike playing the courses, staying at Grand Cascades Lodge and experiencing the resort as a guest. Together, they discuss the golf, atmosphere and hospitality that make them believe Crystal Springs may be the best golf getaway in New Jersey and potentially one of the best on the East Coast. The feature covers Mike’s rounds at Black Bear and Ballyowen, a course many golfers consider among New Jersey’s finest public experiences, along with his nine-hole playing lesson at Wild Turkey Golf Club with Tom Reynolds, Leadbetter Senior Instructor and Director of Instruction at the Leadbetter Golf Academy at Crystal Springs. The full playing lesson is available on the channel, while this resort feature expands beyond the golf to include Grand Cascades Lodge, Minerals Hotel, the Minerals Sports Club and Elements Spa. Whether planning a golf trip, family vacation or couples getaway, this complete breakdown shows everything Crystal Springs Resort offers and helps viewers decide how they would build their own stay. Follow The DROP for weekly coverage of Golfing in the Garden State.

Chris Krno explains how a position at a private club led him to Francis A. Byrne Golf Course in 2009, what he recognized in a struggling municipal property and how his understanding of the superintendent profession developed along the way. He details the early agronomic challenges, the decisions his staff makes before the first tee time and the balance between protecting healthy turf, producing firm playing conditions and preserving the strategic value of Byrne’s Seth Raynor and Charles Banks architecture. The conversation also examines the renovation, the infrastructure and maintenance demands behind the transformation and what it takes to keep Byrne improving rather than allowing the reopening to become the finish line. Krno addresses the course-condition complaints golfers frequently misunderstand, the habits that frustrate superintendents, his favorite hole at Byrne and what he hopes players say after finishing a round at the course Mike considers the best public golf course in New Jersey. Follow The DROP for your weekly fix of Golfing in the Garden State.