Tales from the first tee

Rich Easton
  • 5.0 (15)
  • Golf
  • Updated Weekly

Stories about my life experiences and others . Interviews with golfers around the world that have one thing in common...the pursuit of excellence on a golf course and everything else that happens along the way.

  1. 6h ago

    A Veteran Diplomat On Trump’s Second Term And American Norms

    Send us Fan Mail A former Republican, Vietnam veteran, and longtime US diplomat joins us for a blunt look at what breaks first when a presidency runs on loyalty instead of limits. We talk about the “guardrails” that used to stop bad ideas in their tracks and what it means when those guardrails disappear: fewer people willing to say no, more governing by unilateral moves, and more public retaliation aimed at critics. Along the way, we challenge ourselves to listen outside our algorithm and ask what we might be missing. We dig into immigration reform with more nuance than the usual cable news fight. Border security and compassion are not opposites, and we walk through what controlled legal immigration can look like, how ICE should support local policing rather than dominate it, and why focusing on serious criminals is both more effective and more legitimate. We also explore why political slogans and identity driven messaging can boomerang, and why an economic story about opportunity, work, and mobility still moves persuadable voters. Then we widen the lens to executive power and national identity: the controversy around private money funding major public projects, the lawsuit opposing a massive Arlington Cemetery arch that veterans call a vanity build, and how intimidation through litigation can wear people down. On foreign policy, we weigh Venezuela and Iran through the hard questions leaders should ask before military action, and we lay out why Ukraine is a clear moral test with real consequences for Europe and the broader world order. If you care about democracy, civil discourse, and US leadership at home and abroad, this conversation is for you. Subscribe, share this with a friend who disagrees, and leave a review, what’s one guardrail you think America needs most right now? Spotify   Apple podcasts Amazon Music  all other streaming services

    48 min

  2. May 15

    The Bro Storm That Ate Nine Holes

    Send us Fan Mail One bad swing can expose more than a flawed tempo. On a Shenandoah Valley morning at Heritage Oaks, I get paired with a young, highly informed golfer who starts out striping it, then unravels the moment the first mistake shows up. What follows is a front-row look at the mental game of golf: self-talk that turns toxic, blame that spreads from club to course to fate, and the exhausting chase to “fix it” mid-round instead of accepting what just happened. As the round unfolds, I contrast two very different reactions to imperfection, and it becomes clear that golf psychology isn’t about pretending you don’t care. It’s about learning how to respond when you do care, especially when ego, impatience, and the need to prove something start steering the swing. We talk pace of play, why solitude on the course can feel like therapy, and why a golf brain left unexamined leaves real improvement on the table. Then the lens widens. Leaving the course, the world rushes back in, including the anxiety and uncertainty around Iran, escalation, oil markets, and the way our media ecosystem frames the same facts into opposite narratives. I dig into “Trump derangement syndrome” as a cultural shortcut that can dismiss or deflect, and I make the case for holding two ideas at once. Golf doesn’t let us argue with reality, and that honesty can be a model for better civil discourse, better listening, and better next swings. If you care about golf mindset, emotional control, and staying human in polarized times, press play. Subscribe for more stories, share this with a golfer who needs it, and leave a review with the one thing that helps you reset after a bad shot. Spotify   Apple podcasts Amazon Music  all other streaming services

    28 min

  3. Apr 21

    Anger Feels Powerful Until It Wrecks Your Next Shot

    Send us Fan Mail Anger can feel like rocket fuel, but on a golf course it usually detonates your round. We start with the clearest proof: a Masters moment where emotion goes sideways right along with the tee shot. Then we bring it down to everyday golf, watching a calm, talented senior player slowly unravel after one mistake until he’s no longer playing golf, he’s arguing with it. That shift from process to prosecution is where scores blow up, routines vanish, and confidence gets replaced by noise. From there, we zoom out to the broader golf experience. The Masters still sets the gold standard for how elite golf looks and sounds, with broadcast storytelling that enhances the tension instead of competing with it. We compare that to coverage that tries too hard, where inside jokes and awkward banter drown out shot value, course management, and the moment itself. If you care about modern golf media, streaming sports, and what makes commentary actually good, you’ll recognize the difference instantly. We also tackle “funflation,” the brutal economics behind why live events now feel like luxury goods. Dynamic pricing, outsized fees, and shifting revenue models have pushed fans toward streaming while making in-person experiences harder to reach. And because intensity shows up everywhere, we end with a sharp look at scripture used as a debate weapon, the modern “Trump card” that turns conversations into moral trials. The throughline is simple: stop reaching for intensity and start reaching for control. If this hit home, subscribe, share it with your favorite playing partner, and leave a review. What’s the fastest trigger that knocks you off your game, and what helps you come back? Spotify   Apple podcasts Amazon Music  all other streaming services

    29 min

  4. Apr 16

    Your Golf Game Isn't the Only Thing That Needs Fixing (Re-release)

    Send us Fan Mail Back at the microphone after a three-month break, I return with fresh perspectives on golf, aging, and finding that elusive perfect swing. This episode begins with stories from my recent birthday weekend in Charlottesville, where a Three Dog Night concert became an unexpected meditation on aging and nostalgia. Sometimes, as I discovered watching once-vibrant performers now moving like "zombie dancers from Michael Jackson's thriller," certain memories are best left undisturbed. Have you ever met that golfer who simply cannot stop talking about every shot they took? My "Too Much Detail" story dives into one such encounter at a local course, sparking thoughts about self-awareness and social cues. Between watching someone's eyes glazing over and checking their watch repeatedly, there are clear signals when a story has overstayed its welcome. The search for "finding it" – that magical feeling when your swing or putt just clicks – connects us all as golfers. I explore how this feeling represents the holy grail of our sport, why it's so fleeting, and how brain hemisphere dominance might explain our different approaches to the game. Right-brained players like myself (73% according to my recent test) focus on feel and imagination, while left-brained golfers prioritize score and repeatability. The podcast concludes with reflections on what separates great golfers from good ones, particularly on Sunday's back nine when pressure mounts. From Palmer to Nicklaus to Scheffler, mental toughness makes all the difference between lifting trophies and finishing second. I also share personal insights on sports betting and why I've chosen to limit my wagers to matches where I'm competing. Give this episode a listen if you're fascinated by the mental aspects of golf, curious about the connection between confidence and performance, or simply enjoy stories from a fellow golfer navigating life's fairways and hazards with humor and perspective. Spotify   Apple podcasts Amazon Music  all other streaming services

    34 min
  5. A Giant Needle, A Cheap Motel, And A Very Expensive Shoulder

    Apr 3

    A Giant Needle, A Cheap Motel, And A Very Expensive Shoulder

    Send us Fan Mail Your shoulder hurts, your social media feed is screaming, and the years keep moving. So what do you actually do if you want to feel stronger in your late 60s than you did in your early 60s, and still keep your head clear while the world argues in loops? We sit down with Josh Salzmann, a lifelong friend and a strength coach who’s built his life around “super aging” and practical resilience. We start with regenerative medicine, including platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and stem cell therapy, and get into the details most people skip: what’s happening in the centrifuge, why ultrasound guidance matters, what the injection really feels like, and the lifestyle protocol that makes PRP more than an expensive experiment. We also talk honestly about inflammation, arthritis, and why quick fixes like cortisone or constant ibuprofen can come with tradeoffs. Then the conversation opens up. Josh shares how his work life is evolving, why posture and phones are wrecking shoulders earlier than ever, and how his connection to Israel and Judaism deepened after October 7. Rich pushes on the hard questions about Palestine, media trust, and how people form beliefs when every outlet has incentives. From there we hit celebrity training in London, royal-family tabloid gravity, and why the truth can feel permanently “ten minutes behind” the headlines. We close with the modern stress test: social media addiction, shrinking attention spans, AI, data privacy, and targeted advertising that seems to know what you said out loud. If you’re trying to age well, think clearly, and stay useful, this one gives you a lot to wrestle with. Subscribe, share this with a friend who loves a deep chat, and leave a review. What part of this conversation challenged your view the most? Spotify   Apple podcasts Amazon Music  all other streaming services

    1h 6m

  6. Mar 23

    The death of etiquette and stone-faced-champions fill the airwaves

    Send us Fan Mail A huge win should sound like a concert, so why does it feel like silence when a champion barely reacts? I start with a moment that stuck in my head: the stone-faced celebration after a major victory, and the uneasy feeling it creates for fans who want to share the release. We dig into emotional expression in sports, why we connect so hard to fist pumps and tears, and how the modern athlete may be choosing composure as a shield in an online world that loves to weaponize everything. Then I pivot from fairways to free-for-alls, because golf etiquette and basic public manners feel like they’re slipping at the same time. Speakerphone calls on planes, viral video volume, walking through putting lines, carts too close to greens, trash near bunkers, and “serious golfers” acting like nobody else exists. Golf used to be a gentleman’s game built on honor and self-regulation, and I’m not romanticizing the past so much as asking what we lose when courtesy becomes optional. The quieter we get, the more we see, and the more we remember that respect is a skill. We also get personal about the grind of coming back after time off, when your swing feels like it vanished and doubt moves in. We talk golf practice, neuromuscular memory, swing thoughts, and why the mind can sabotage timing even when your body feels ready. Finally, a “Two Truths and a Lie” detour into politics and media literacy asks how so many shaky claims get presented as fact, and what it takes to stay clear-eyed. If this hits home, subscribe, share it with a golf buddy, and leave a review so more people can find the show. What’s one etiquette rule or mental habit you wish we’d all bring back? Spotify   Apple podcasts Amazon Music  all other streaming services

    25 min

  7. Feb 27

    Pressure Putts And Quiet Hands

    Send us Fan Mail The quiet before a three-foot putt feels a lot like the hush before a quadruple jump—or the breath you take when a headline tries to hijack your day. We open on Jacob Bridgman’s breakthrough at Riviera and live inside that moment where hands go numb, galleries roar, and a life can tilt on a three-and-a-half-foot stroke. What does it take to close when the stakes stretch beyond money to legacy, invitations, and the long arc of a season? We unpack the mechanics of staying present in a sport that’s mostly waiting and only minutes of swinging, and why routines are the real armor against nerves. From the fairway to the rink, the pressure script repeats. Figure skating’s leaps mirror Sunday golf: precision in a storm, the reset of what’s possible as athletes push from triples to quads and pull the rest of the field forward. Alysa Liu’s gold becomes a cultural pivot, proving that style, voice, and performance can fuse into something that expands what fans accept and celebrate. Then hockey dials up the drama—USA vs. Canada thrillers, sudden-death momentum shifts, and the elegant chaos of three-on-three overtime. Belief, preparation, and clean execution write the endings we remember. We don’t stop at sports. A razor-edged satire takes aim at DHS, travel bottlenecks, and political own-goals to show how attention gets weaponized—and how quickly it backfires. And we close with UAPs, where testimony, technology, and slow-moving institutions collide in a cautious trickle of disclosure. Across every thread, the lesson holds: focus is not the silence of the world; it’s the skill of moving through noise with purpose. If you loved the ride, tap follow, share this episode with a friend who geeks out on clutch moments, and leave a review to help others find the show. Spotify   Apple podcasts Amazon Music  all other streaming services

    31 min

  8. Feb 16

    When Celebs Vanish And Egos Soar, Golf Finds A New Rhythm

    Send us Fan Mail What happens when a beloved pro-am trades its soul for a signature purse? We unpack Pebble Beach’s $20M pivot—fewer celebrity swings, more surgical golf—and the ripple effects on how fans connect with the sport. The charm of mis-hits and Bill Murray lore gives way to Sunday fireworks as Scotty Scheffler drops three eagles and Colin Morikawa turns a 20‑minute fairway wait into a stone-cold birdie to win. It’s elite theater, but at a cost: the human texture that once made Pebble feel like a shared secret. From there we head to the WM Phoenix Open, where golf’s loudest hole thrives on vision, not accident. We break down how WM’s rebrand, zero‑waste engineering, and stadium swagger converted a Tiger‑sparked moment into a sustainability lab with half a million attendees as co‑authors. Love the noise or loathe it, the model blends purpose and party in a way the rest of sports keeps trying to copy. We also zoom out to the stories TV tries to force and the ones that earn the frame: Koepka’s shadow versus Scheffler’s grind, Hideki’s late wobble, and why cameras should follow form over fame. Then it’s Super Bowl ad psychology, a CGI bear that sticks in your head, halftime culture flashpoints, and the media incentives that keep outrage on a loop. Finally, we look at Olympic calculus through Eileen Gu’s choice and celebrate the universal rhythm of fall, rehab, return—the reason moguls, downhill, and even curling keep pulling us back. If you love golf’s edge, sports as spectacle, and the real decisions behind the headlines, you’ll feel right at home here. Tap play, subscribe for more sharp takes across golf and culture, and tell us: do you miss the pro‑am magic, or is the new Pebble exactly what you want on Sundays? Spotify   Apple podcasts Amazon Music  all other streaming services

    35 min
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5
out of 5
15 Ratings

About

Stories about my life experiences and others . Interviews with golfers around the world that have one thing in common...the pursuit of excellence on a golf course and everything else that happens along the way.

Information

  • Creator
    Rich Easton
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    56
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Tales from the first tee
  • Show Website
    Tales from the first tee

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