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I have seen some banter online about this. Anyone know what is going on?

Can Blake become a semi-regular pod guest? That was a refreshing amount of honest opinions!

Pending confirmation from everyone's favorite Twitter account, we are back! Is this a shot across the bow to announce the day before Brooksie's return? I miss villains with excellent short games, and I, for one, welcome them all back with open arms.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7004122/2026/01/28/golf-liv-pga-patrick-reed-contract-suspension/

A FEGC Member Shop refresh just landed! Our friends at Handcrafted have upped their game with new sherpa covers, plus we now have American Needle hats with our FEGC logos. Lastly, a few of our bestsellers from Tasc for performance, lightweight layers.

https://proshop.thefriedegg.com/pages/fried-egg-golf-club-pro-shop

Don't forget to log into your account in the Pro Shop to access FEGC items. As always, code FEGCMEMBER at checkout will get you 10% off their purchase.

Questions, comments, suggestions? Reply away!

I've never been to a PGA tournament. Luckily, my sons (both DIII college golfers) were able to attend the Amex on Saturday. Like me, they had never been to a PGA tournament and I was eager to get their perspective.

Here are 5 of their biggest takeaways:

1. "They don't miss!" Aside from the Nico minute from hell at Alcatraz, they were in awe of tour dispersion.
2. PGA West is not easy (for amateurs). With water everywhere and mounding muddling stances, shots have to be played to specific spots. Target golf on full display, and it brought the amateurs to their knees.
3. "He's right there!" My sons grew up seeing orange and jumped at the chance to watch their favorite player. They were shocked how close they could get to the action. Caddie conversations and pre-shot routines were on full display. They immersed themselves in the Rickie experience.
4. The margins. Rickie made 17 pars and one birdie on Saturday. Par doesn’t get you very far at the Amex. Rickie didn’t give himself enough opportunities and didn’t capitalize on those he had.
5. Aura. When the #1 golfer in the world is in the field you can feel it. I am sure it paled in comparison, but the apt comp is always going to be Tiger. The buzz around Scottie’s group was palpable. After Rickie finished they dropped back to see for themselves and it was everything they hoped it would be.

The AmEx does not get a lot of praise. “Dome Golf” “Fraudelent Field” “Birdie Fest” but for two boys from Alaska, it was an experience they will cherish for the rest of their lives

I’m going on a trip to Panama City Beach with my wife’s family this fall. I’ve never been to a Florida city not named Orlando and would like to tee it up in PCB, Destin or Pensacola while we’re there.

Any recommendations for courses of moderate architectural interest? Doesn’t need to be anything earth-shattering, but I’d love to go somewhere that isn’t in the middle of a real estate development with holes built mindlessly around lakes.

Hi all -

As part of our next Fried Egg pod, we're planning to do a mailbag segment similar to what we did a few times at the end of 2025. We'll keep this as a running thread for questions for the year, with the first installment coming on Wednesday, January 28th.

Have a question for Andy? Ask away!

Thanks, as always, for your participation.

This looks interesting from an architect that's been on the pod with Andy way back in 2017

I guess they did Winter Park in Florida that everyone raves about...and worked with C&C and Doak

https://www.oldcharliegolfclub.com/

Good way to get in at a course near 30A that doesn't cost 6 figures?

What are people hearing?

In his 2025 "Year-and-Review" communique, Jay Blasi revealed that he will be designing a new course called The Sand Mine in Whitehall, Wisconsin.

"This has been a dream project of mine since 2020, when I first visited the site," Blasi wrote. "In 2020, the previous property owner, a mining company, sold the land to my friend Derrick Bushman and his brother Mitch. Together, we will work to transform this abandoned frack sand mine into one of the top golf courses in Wisconsin and beyond. We have a great team ready to go. Stay tuned!"

Whitehall is just under two hours west of Sand Valley Golf Resort and actually closer to Minneapolis than it is to any major city in Wisconsin. So: pretty far out in the boonies. But that's the custom these days.

Given the existence of Pinehurst Sandmines, I might suggest a name change, but I'm excited to see The Sand Mine (working title) come together. Blasi has been on a roll lately, with terrific public-course renos at Poppy Ridge and Golden Gate Park in California coming online in the past couple of years.

Harris Kalinka, a company specializing in realistic renderings of yet-to-be-built golf courses, posted a heck of a tease today. "We can't reveal too many details yet, as this project remains confidential," Harris Kalinka said, "but we can share that it's set on a small island, is among the most picturesque sites we've worked on, and will feature a golf course designed by Clyde Johnson of @CunninGolf."

Clyde Johnson is a St. Andrews local, a Tom Doak associate, a frequent podcast guest in the Fried Egg Golf universe, and a great up-and-coming talent in golf architecture. This projects appears to be one of the most striking solo-design debuts in recent memory.

Any geography geniuses out there have an idea of where it might be?

The National Links Trust, currently in a struggle with the Trump administration to maintain control of three municipal golf courses in Washington, D.C., announced earlier this week that it will partner with the Friends of the Port Townsend Golf Park in Port Townsend, Washington. NLT co-founder Mike McCartin will develop a master plan for improvements to the 122-year-old course as well as design a new community putting course inspired by the Himalayas at St. Andrews.

"This partnership is an exciting step in expanding our work nationally and advancing our mission to protect and promote community-focused municipal golf across the country," the NLT said in a statement. Consider that a hint about what the NLT might do next if the Trump administration manages to chase the group out of D.C.

In any case, this is great news for Port Townsend, a beautiful and historic little town at the mouth of Puget Sound.

Elsewhere in the FEGC community forum, member Wesley Domeck asks which other municipalities would make good partners for the NLT. May I suggest Portland, Oregon?

Earlier this week, River Ranch Golf Resort near Pasco, Washington, announced plans for a first golf course designed by David McLay Kidd. I first reported on this development last October.

The property, formerly the site of a winery, features dramatic cliffs above the Snake River.

Kidd's plan calls for an intimately routed front nine and a much more spread-out, looping back nine, with a clifftop 18th hole.

And yes, the fairways will be quite wide.

According to Golfweek, Kidd's team started shaping holes earlier this winter. They hope to begin grassing this April, finish the bunkering in summer 2027, and have the course ready for a fall 2027 or spring 2028 opening. (I'll put my money on 2028.)

River Ranch has not yet publicized plans for additional courses, but if the first 18 does well, you can expect more. The owners have plenty of land. Hell, they could easily fit an executive course on the unused ground inside of Kidd's back nine.

The resort is three hours south of Gamble Sands, where Kidd has designed two 18-hole courses and a short course over the past 12 years. The River Ranch project confirms his ongoing dominance over high-end new builds in the Pacific Northwest. Kidd lives in Bend, Oregon, so it's no surprise that he keeps getting the best jobs in the region.

The city of Pasco — part of central Washington's "Tri-Cities" area — is three and a half hours from both Seattle and Portland, and a little under an hour from Walla Walla, Washington, where Dan Hixson's excellent Wine Valley Golf Club is located. There's a lot of good wine terroir in this region, including the famed Red Mountain, Horse Heaven Hills, and Walla Walla AVAs. So it makes sense that River Ranch is betting on the Tri-Cities as an ascendent weekend destination for well-heeled Seattleites and Portlanders.

Just checking in on my boy Nick Dunlap after Andy and Brendan mentioned some big misses off the tee at Sony last week. These are all from the front nine today on the Stadium Course.......

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Ladies and gents,

This is long overdue but I'm happy to say that, starting in 2026, our Virtual Hangouts will be available as podcasts! You will always be welcomed and encouraged to join in live, but we know that everyone can't always make our monthly meetings.

The podcast is available as a private RSS feed. You can find instructions on how to add the podcast to your preferred podcast app in the FEGC Podcast Page. Note - This podcast is not available on Spotify as that platform does not allow for private RSS feed podcasts. iPhone users won't have any trouble using the Apple Podcast app and Android users will be best served to use the Pocket Casts app.

Let me know if you have any questions! Welcome to the 21st Century