Eggsplorations Fried Egg Golf

Andy Johnson and Brendan Porath of Fried Egg Golf offer a quick overview of what to expect from this Eggsplorations feed, beginning with a Season One trip to Northern Ireland. They outline some quick expectations for this first trip and what exactly will occur on this feed as they record and post podcasts from the road. Subscribe and let this serve as a sort of audio travelogue with some of the sharpest golf course architecture insight as well as travel tips and misadventures from the Fried Egg Golf team.

The traveling Four Horsemen of Fried Egg Golf for this trip to Northern Ireland — Andy Johnson, Brendan Porath, Cameron Hurdus, and Matt Rouches — hop on the horn before they depart to discuss a few of the things they’re most curious about and anticipating on the trip. They cover a brief schedule overview and hit on some of the subjects, both golf course and culture related, that have piqued their interest in their initial research and hope to investigate further on the ground. 

The first day of Fried Egg Golf’s Eggsplorations trip to Northern Ireland did not start with a whimper, but rather with 27 holes at a course sometimes ranked as the best in the world. Regardless of whatever number ranking you might assign it, Royal County Down is a true stunner that will stick in your heart and mind long after you’ve visited. Andy, Brendan, Cameron, and Matt discuss some of their initial impressions, favorite features, and favorite holes (quite hard to choose). There will be much, much more on RCD in written, visual, and audio form from this trip but it demanded an initial review. Unlike many of the possible “best courses in the world,” Royal County Down can be played with a bit of planning and commitment if you’re not a member. Visit Ireland.com/golf for more on initiating that process to get over for some of the best golf you can find anywhere in the world.

Andy and Brendan jump on the mics for this episode of Eggsplorations, which begins with a curveball: what’s been your least favorite thing about Ireland so far? Neither answer was certainly Ardglass, which becomes a focus of this chat. It’s the second course in Northern Ireland they’ve played on the trip. They discuss their day in town, from breakfast mistakes all the way through to the postgame pints, hitting primarily on the club and the golf course — from the dramatic holes on the cliffs to its turf to the routing. They dive a bit deeper into what they liked about the course, where it wins, and what to expect from the experience. 

Andy and Brendan take a trip to Belfast to visit Holywood Golf Club, the home of Rory McIlroy. They ponder the current youth golf scene and if a global megastar will still come out of a place like Holywood. They discuss a few initial impressions of the club, set on an extreme sidehill. They chat about a couple of the features they enjoyed about it, the memorabilia, and the investment Rory has put into it. Brendan draws some parallels that hit him during the visit to another home course of one of the game’s legends that he’d seen about a decade ago.

Beware of the abrupt start to this podcast with some cross debate over who is responsible for an extra pint putting some of the traveling band in rough shape. But then it gets lively in this edition of Eggsplorations, where Andy, Cameron, and Brendan discuss the Annesley Links, aka the “wee course” at Royal County Down. It’s a sub-5000 yard layout on similar dunesland adjacent to the “big” course. They recount their day, discuss some favorite holes, ponder whether its status is hurt or helped by being so close to the main show next door, and crown it the greatest short course in the world.