Darren Clarke has caught 19 permit on a fly—a feat arguably more impressive than winning The Open Championship. Sitting down with Tom Coyne in the Bahamas at his home in The Abaco Club, Clarke happily explains his dual obsessions. He’s not just a boisterous Irishman you’d like to meet at a pub, he remains driven by catching the world’s most difficult fish and beating the world’s best golfers. Clarke opens up about raising his boys after losing their mother and reflects on the miracle of bringing The Open to Royal Portrush following his upbringing during The Troubles. He also breaks down what went wrong at the Ryder Cup at Bethpage and offers a simple solution for Hazeltine. Along the way: the Theodore Roosevelt quote that's driven him for 37 years, the difference between European sarcasm and American heckling, and the joys of living in paradise.

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Despite playing more great golf courses than most could dream of, Patrick Cantlay is a self-proclaimed 10-handicap in golf course architecture. But he’s working on it. In this episode, he sits down at The Medalist Club with TGJ's Tom Coyne and Casey Bannon to share a Tour player’s perspective on architecture: why green complexes matter more than any other defense, what Riviera's collection of greens teaches about variety, and why he's pushing back against the trend of tree removal. He also discusses the genius of Pebble Beach's routing, the thankless work of course setup, and whether Chicago Golf Club could host a major. Along the way, Cantlay opens up about growing up at Virginia Country Club with coach Jamie Mulligan, reading Cormac McCarthy and Marcus Aurelius between rounds, playing gin in smoky card rooms and what he remembers most about walking into his first U.S. Open at 19. It's a rare look inside the mind of one of golf’s most cerebral players.

The Golfer's Journal and this podcast are made possible by reader support. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider becoming a member here: https://glfrsj.nl/MembershipsYT

The Golfer’s Journal Podcast is presented by Titleist.

With exemptions into the Masters, the U.S. Open and The Open Championship on the line, someone’s life is going to change at this week’s Latin America Amateur Championship. Live from the fairways of Lima Golf Club in Peru, host Tom Coyne sits down with a range of voices to capture the importance of the LAAC and the long road it took to bring the championship here after delays tied to political unrest, COVID and building a driving range. The story is told in three parts, featuring Puerto Rico’s Jeronimo Esteve, a 10-time LAAC competitor, Mark Lawrie of the R&A, and Lima Golf Club vice president Álvaro Hernández. Together, they offer a clear-eyed look at a championship that’s become one of the most important gateways in amateur golf and a point of pride for the entire Latin American golf community.

The Golfer's Journal and this podcast are made possible by reader support. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider becoming a member here: https://glfrsj.nl/MembershipsYT

The Golfer’s Journal Podcast is presented by Titleist.