Local Knowledge Golf Digest

After a 91-day hiatus caused by the surge in COVID-19 cases, the PGA Tour returned last June and continued uninterrupted through the end of 2020. In this episode, host Dan Rapaport and Golf Digest editorial director Max Adler take you through the sequence of difficult decisions made by tour officials that allowed tournament golf to resume in the throes of a pandemic.

Kyle Berkshire is the best long driver in the world, but until recently, there was little reason to believe he could compete on the PGA Tour. In this episode of Local Knowledge, Alex Myers examines Berkshire's bold quest to make it as a touring pro, why his prowess in one sport doesn't guarantee success in another, but why the time might be right to at least give it a try.

In 36 years at Golf Digest, senior writer Guy Yocom interviewed the greatest players in history— from Hogan to Palmer to Woods—far from the glare of television cameras and tournament press conferences. In this episode, Yocom tells Dan Rapaport about his experiences behind the scenes with golf’s most influential figures, offering insight into their personalities and their common traits that the average golf fan would never see.

If amateur golf was long held up as golf in its purest form, the reality has become more complicated. In addition to free clubs and other advantages, top amateurs now stand to profit from their name and image, making the line between amateur and pro golf fuzzier than ever. Keely Levins explores the shifting landscape of amateur golf, and wonders if something is being lost as a once noble segment of the game adjusts to the modern era.

We think of Augusta National Golf Club as golf’s most powerful address, and the Masters as the game’s best-run, most beloved tournament. Yet a closer look at the club’s precarious beginnings shows how fortunate Augusta National and the Masters came to fizzling out altogether. As Alex Myers describes in the latest episode of Local Knowledge, the iconic event we revere today was first just a means to an end to keep a struggling club afloat.

The easiest part of a PGA Tour caddie’s job might be giving his player yardage. It’s everything else that’s grown more complicated. In this episode, Daniel Rapaport talks to tour caddies and their players about how the job has changed, and why some players are increasingly turning to friends and family over veterans with decades of experience.