Early notes from Augusta, LIV Doral questions, and El Pato's return

This Saturday night episode begins with Andy and Brendan pondering whether they should decamp from Sheboygan and hit the road in the Bixby Bus to go to the Bears-Browns game. The U.S. has all but locked it up at Whistling Straits. They discuss Rory’s absolute no-show, DJ’s tour de force, Lowry not getting more run, and the disrespect that the Euros might have felt by Justin Thomas chugging beers in between sessions on the first tee. Tension corner focuses on this new peculiar practice of USA players putting their putters down to indicate they should have been given a putt, Brooks and Berger AND Sergio battling with a rules official, and Spieth and Rahm’s caddie getting into it. Least and most valuable players are awarded, the blame game is accounted for with Paddy, and the American Marshals and fan groups are addressed.  This episode, along with all of the episodes from Wisconsin, are supported by Bixby Coffee, where new Shotgun Start pitcher packs are live to go with the trusty SGS blend and Westy Island blend. Also, there will be 10 percent off everything at checkout up through Saturday.

26 Sep 202143min

It’s Friday! And not just any Friday, but a Friday with real, actual Ryder Cup matches to dissect and delight in after a full day at Whistling Straits. Andy and Brendan, with appearances by Will Knights, react to the day from the Bixby Bus in Sheboygan. They discuss the first tee experience and whether the Wisconsin sports fans will ever recover from the lack of juice. They nominate some of their best players, worst players, biggest surprises, and others from each session on Friday. The Bryson show, the Rory sadness, the Westy angst, Finau’s force, and the Casey catastrophe are specifically called out after some up-close observations inside the ropes. They also wonder who plays for Europe on Saturday if they actually want to try and make this competitive again. This episode, along with all of the episodes from Wisconsin, are supported by Bixby Coffee, where new Shotgun Start pitcher packs are live to go with the trusty SGS blend and Westy Island blend. Also, there will be 10 percent off everything at checkout up through Saturday.

25 Sep 202142min

This special Thursday episode reacts to finally, at long last, getting some real lineups to discuss after an interminable week of pre-match ceremony. Andy and Brendan shout about the absolute howitzer of an opener featuring a Texan and an Arizonan up against the American duo of Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas. They proceed to run through the entire card for the opening session, expressing anxiety about a couple favorites and confidence on a few others. They make picks for each match, choose their favorite matchup, most lopsided potential, and question if anyone was foolishly left on the bench. There’s also some reaction to an offensively bad and unnecessary opening ceremony. This episode, along with all of the episodes from Wisconsin, are supported by Bixby Coffee, where we will be launching new Shotgun Start pitcher packs to go with the trusty SGS blend and Westy Island blend. Also, there will be 10 percent off everything at checkout up through Saturday.

23 Sep 202140min

This Wednesday episode comes to you live from the Bixby Bus in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Andy and Brendan offer some initial thoughts after walking around Whistling Straits on Wednesday morning and hearing a few more of the players talk. Some initial chatter focuses on the wind and cold perhaps equalizing things in a way you might not expect for an away team. They discuss some of the early duos we’ve seen signaled throughout the first couple practice days, the Rory “conundrum,” the DJ-Morikawa power play, and if analytics have taken “the fun” out of the captaincy catastrophes. There’s an argument made that Bryson should play as much as possible. Candidates for “shit stirrer” of the week are also bandied about. Worst potential pairings are also nominated. And they close incredulity over a shining example of the absurdity of the pomp and circumstance of these interminable pre-match days. Thursday will bring another preview episode reacting to the lineups for Day 1. Subscribe to the SGS or Westy Island blends at Bixby to support the pod’s work this week.

22 Sep 202144min

Before the madness of the Ryder Cup and a flurry of episodes later this week, this truncated Victory Monday episode is a quick reaction to the weekend in golf, starting with Max Homa’s ridiculous back nine in Napa that took the Fortnite Championship and put him in the lofty perch of new world No. 1. Andy and Brendan discuss their former colleague’s quick turnaround to start the new season, the firm conditions at Silverado, and Maverick McNealy’s swing at the 17th tee that cost him. Then they whip around the rest of the golf world, hitting on Jin Young Ko coming back from a lengthy break and immediately winning on the LPGA, a Toffer getting it done on the Euro Tour after six years of hell and almost blowing an 8-shot lead, and Darren Clarke rumbling and bumbling to his third Champs Tour win. They close with some supremely naive chatter on the RV for the Ryder Cup after Andy had a disconcerting chat with the owner of the vehicle.

20 Sep 202127min

This was an early mid-week recording for the Friday episode, with Andy on solo dad duty and Brendan with school golf outings to tend to and the flurry of Ryder Cup episodes coming next week. They begin with some quick news on Brooks Koepka saying he’s healthy and ready to go, potential partners for him, and Paul Azinger’s comments that he should relinquish his spot if his heart is not into it. There’s chatter about a potential cart ban for the captains and the confounding American vice-captain strategy. Then it’s on to the over-unders for the new PGA Tour season, now an annual tradition on the Shotgun Start. They pepper each other with a mix of amusing and semi-serious propositions for the season that’s to come on Tour. Included at the end are some NFL season over-unders for their beloved Browns and Bears, and general chatter about vocabulary and other life hacks.

17 Sep 202159min

This Wednesday episode begins with some trepidation about transportation for next week as the Shotgun Start goes on the road for the Ryder Cup. Then they get to the farcical PGA Tour season-ending awards, where four “win” Patrick Cantlay took home the honors and non-member Will Zalatoris won Rookie of the Year. Does it actually matter? Should we be worked up about it? Has the entire process been corrupted and shrouded in mystery? Then it’s on to the Fortnite Championship in Napa, where Jon Rahm can avenge his POY snub. There are multiple “things to watch” for this season-opener in wine country. They continue through the schedule for the week before closing with reaction to news of Bryson’s extreme speed training and wrecked hands as he gets ready for the Ryder Cup and World Long Drive simultaneously, and Brooksy’s candid comments on why the team matches are a tough adjustment.Awards angst, Fortnite Tent Championship, and Bryson’s ‘wrecked hands’

15 Sep 202148min

This Sunday episode was recorded during halftime of the Bears-Rams game and begins with some questions about Andy Dalton, specifically, “why?” There’s also a critique about the theme song for Sunday Night Football and a few comments about the Browns’ loss. Then Brendan and Andy get to the Intercontinental Baton Boy, who left the comforts of the moat, went across the Atlantic, and won the European Tour’s “flagship” event. They discuss whether he *actually* deserved a call from Steve Stricker and whether he should be mad about that. Regardless, it was motivation for some sterling play and baton work in front of the English fans, who he certainly tried to play to. Then they discuss the messy European Ryder Cup process, with the constant fluctuations, the Westy-Lowry drama, and the Rose “snub.” There’s also the matter of another interested party tweeting and liking tweets suggesting a displeased camp. David Toms is also given a quick shoutout for his win on the Champs Tour.

13 Sep 202137min