Bag Rats Andrew Hetzel

Mark Hess is the GM at Edgartown Golf Club in Edgartown, MA. Mark has spent decades with the Club and has made the island home for him and his family. Without spoiling too much, Mark and I talked about the interesting dynamic of living on an island in New England year round, and what the 9-hole track he runs means to the local community and the summer crowd.

Check out the Club's website for aerial shots of the course and a writeup of its history.

Tom Coyne is an award winning author. Tom got his first big career break at the ripe age of 24, whereby his novel A Gentleman's Game was picked up and produced into a motion picture. Tom has written several other books since including Paper Tiger, A Course Called Ireland, A Course Called Scotland, and most recently A Course Called America. Tom and I spoke about his introduction to the game of golf, blazing his own trail as a writer, the genesis of his "A Course Called..." selection of books, his recent tour of some of New Jersey's hardest hitting tracks, and his relationship with the guys at No Laying Up.

Check Tom out on Instagram, or at his website.

Alex Myers is a senior write at Golf Digest. Alex writes a column called the Grind and hosts a podcast called Local Knowledge with Daniel Rapaport and Keely Levins.

Alex and I chatted about his introduction to the game of golf and how it inspired his career as a sports writer. Alex also told me about some of his coolest experiences through his career including run ins with Jim Nantz, Lee Trevino, Danielle Kang, and others. One time he even saw Gary Player eat a cookie.

Check Local Knowledge out wherever you get your podcasts.

Quogue Field Club is a 9-hole track located on Long Island. It’s a beautiful course that renowned golf course architect Ian Andrew has done restoration work for in recent years. Ian and I chatted about what went into the process of modifying and restoring certain parts of this Bendelow classic. Ian also shared some interesting insight regarding how the course compares to some of the heavy hitters in the area including Shinnecock and National. Spoiler Alert: It’s a completely different golf experience. This comes as a relief to locals looking to tee it up and avoid the summer crowds that plague the nearby Hamptons.

After speaking with Corey Harris about the Washington Club a few episodes back, I became infatuated with the concept of 9-hole courses. Their simplicity, and the particular type of laid-back experience that they provide is endlessly endearing.

Check out Ian’s Website to see some of the marvelous work he’s done.

Bob “Shoe” Gaspar is the director of Outside Happiness at Bandon Dunes. Shoe grew up in southern California, where he was introduced to the game of golf. He later moved north to Bandon and worked several different jobs before retiring.

After retiring, Shoe became restless. At the time, Mike Keiser was in town with ambitions to build a world class links course in Bandon. Shoe became involved in developing the caddy program at Bandon Dunes in the course’s formative years.

Shoe later transitioned into his current role as the mayor of Bandon Dunes. He is the first friendly face that welcomes guests to the grounds when they arrive from all over the world. He could teach a masterclass in customer service, as he wakes up at the crack of dawn to familiarize himself with details about guests before they arrive. He’s one of the few people I’ve met who truly loves his job.

Ken Duke is a professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions.

Ken’s story is one of tremendous resilience. In the 7th grade, Ken was diagnosed with scoliosis. He had surgery to correct the dramatic curvature of his spine and was able to resume playing the game he loved, although not without modifying his swing first. After a strong high school career in Arkansas, Ken played division 2 golf at Henderson State University.

Ken spent the next 20 years floating between several mini tours (including the Nationwide Tour), and the PGA tour. In his 187th start, after nearly 20 years of playing golf professionally, at the age of 44, Ken got his first PGA Tour win.

Ken and I spoke about his childhood, playing golf at a world class level, and the dynamic on and off the course on the PGA Tour Champions.

Ken is the ultimate competitor, and I found it interesting to talk through what it takes to make it at the highest level of golf in the world. I also thought Ken’s story reminded me of the old golf adage “Swing your swing.” Ken talked about how you don’t need to have Tiger’s swing to be a damn good player.