Both Sides of the Ball

First Tee President Greg McLaughlin joins Bo and Farrell to discuss the success and challenges of the organization that has reached more than 15 million young people since its founding in 1997.  While only at the helm of The First Tee since 2018, McLaughlin has closely watched over the years  the organization grow into a behemoth in the game.   Bo helped start a First Tee chapter in his hometown of Richmond, Indiana.  And Farrell has challenged through his journalism and community work the First Tee's impact on  underserved youth. Their perspectives guide much of this lively conversation with McLaughlin, who as the Tournament Director at the 1992 Genesis Invitational gave a 16-year-old Tiger Woods his first exemption into a PGA Tour event.

For more than two decades, Michael Bamberger, a Golf Magazine writer, has brought an unconventional and often quirky sensibility to his coverage of Tiger Woods. Bamberger discusses The Second Life of Tiger Woods, his look at the 15-time major winner's resurgence after a long downward spiral in his career. In the second segment, Sameer Pandya, a literary and cultural studies professor at UC Santa Barbara, talks about his maiden novel, Members Only, which is about race and privilege at a predominantly white tennis club. Both these writers are brilliant at bringing sports and the game of golf into focus in a deeply thoughtful, historical and intellectual way that is sure to engage and challenge fans of this podcast. 

In 2005, Jason Gore was a sectional qualifier in the U.S. Open at Pinehurst and nearly won the championship. Now 15-years later, he works for the USGA as the Player Liaison, where he has the task of providing a player's perspective on course setup at this year's championship at Winged Foot. With Bo and Farrell, Gore talks about that magical week at Pinehurst, his new job, his playing days and the rough at Winged Foot. Gore's colleagues at the USGA, Steven Schloss and Charlie Howe, join the episode to offer their unique perspectives on the U.S. Open. As the Chief People Officer, Schloss is the man tasked with leading a 125-year-old organization to greater diversity and inclusion during a time marked by racial strife. Howe, the Championship Director, speaks with gratitude of the bonds he forms every two years at a U.S. Open site and the challenges of holding a tournament during a pandemic. 

In this premiere episode of Both Sides of the Ball, co-hosts and long-time friends Bo Van Pelt and Farrell Evans explain how the social unrest in America during the Pandemic led them to start this podcast that will use the game of golf as a platform to ask deeper questions about our society and culture. The show's first two guests, both PGA Professionals, Mark Wood and Earl Cooper, demonstrate the breadth of the show's reach. Wood, who has been Bo's teacher for 20 years, brings a seasoned insider's perspective to equipment technology, instruction, and the PGA Tour over the last 40 years, while Cooper, an African-American millennial, is charged to shake the foundation of the game to make it a more accessible place for all people. "Silence is not ok, Cooper says. "We need to vocalize where we stand on (racial injustice and equity).

Summary: Golf is one of those sports where when you come out of college there is no team to help you transition into life as a pro. Pro golfers are independent contractors who pay their own bills and plan their own transportation. It's especially hard when you're a young player without significant financial resources or connections. That's where Ken Bentley comes in. The former Nestle executive started the APGA Tour in 2010 to increase diversity in pro golf and to give mostly minority players resources to prepare their games for the PGA Tour. With Bo and Farrell, Bentley, a former college tennis player, shares his vision for the APGA Tour and some of the lessons he got along the way from icons like tennis great Arthur Ashe.