The Back of the Range
Weekly interviews from prominent amateurs, coaches, and personalities from the game of golf!
About the show
The Back of the Range Golf Podcast, hosted by Ben Adelberg, is a weekly interview-driven podcast focusing on the game of golf. Prominent amateurs and professionals, coaches, and personalities from the game share their stories each and every week. Sometimes, the best stories in golf aren't found on tour. You'll find them at The Back of the Range.
Episodes
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Tim Jackson - The Amateur Legend from Tennessee
July 16th, 2020 | 1 hr 4 mins
amateur golf, brandt snedeker, danny green, tennessee golf, tga, tim jackson, usga
Tim Jackson’s 30 year golf career is defined by global greens, national records, hometown loyalty and old fashioned fun. His career is highlighted by top prizes at the 1994 and 2001 U.S. Mid-Amateur, representing the U.S. as a member of the 1995 and 1999 U.S. Walker Cup Teams, and participating in the 1995 and 2002 Masters. He also won the North and South Amateur in 1998 and the 1995 Simon Bolivar World Cup in Caracas, Venezuela. Tim captured 13 Tennessee State Championships, won the Tennessee State Amateur in 1994, 1998, 2001, and 2005 and Tennessee State Mid-Amateur in 1989, 1994, 1995, 2001, 2005, and 2010. Tim won the 2002 Tennessee State Open, the 2005 Tennessee State Match Play, and 2011 Tennessee Senior State Open. He also holds 7 City of Memphis Championships and was named Tennessee Player of the Year 9 times.
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Karl Vilips - #1 Ranked Junior Heads to Stanford
July 8th, 2020 | 47 mins 34 secs
ajga, akshay bhatia, amateur golf, conrad ray, junior golf, karl vilips, koalakarl, michael thorbjornsen, ncaa golf, stanford, usga
My guest on this episode is Karl Vilips from Perth, Australia. He is a two-time Junior President's Cup team member, Quarterfinalist at the 2019 US Amateur, Gold Medal Winner at the 2018 Youth Olympics, and a 4-time Rolex Junior All-American. Karl and I spoke about his start in the game and his journey in junior golf. If you're a parent of a junior golfer, or know a junior golfer, or if YOU are a junior golfer looking for a little advice on how to navigate the way to collegiate golf.....this episode is for you!
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Michael Beard - Pepperdine Men's Golf Coach
July 3rd, 2020 | 1 hr 13 mins
amateur golf, champions tour, frank beard, lee trevino, michael beard, ncaa golf, pepperdine, pga tour, sahith theegala, usga, wcc, william mouw
My guest on this week's episode is Michael Beard, Head Coach of the Pepperdine Men's Golf Team. He's a former player at Pepperdine that came back to his alma mater and this year was named the National Coach of the Year award. We spoke about Pepperdine quite a bit, hit on several topics involving the team, but if the name Beard rings a bell....yes, his father Frank Beard played on tour, won 11 times and played on the Champions Tour during that amazing era in the 90's when Jack, Trevino and Palmer will still the kings. Had to talk about that as well!
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Bob Koepka - Stories from a Golf Dad
June 26th, 2020 | 1 hr 44 mins
amateur golf, bob koepka, brooks koepka, chase koepka, dick groat, european tour, fsga, fsu golf, junior golf, nike golf, pga tour, usf golf, usga
My guest on this week's episode is Bob Koepka, father of Brooks and Chase Koepka. I know that I have been saying this quite often, but this episode is another instant classic. You'll notice that I am gladly getting the hell out of the way and letting Bob tell some fantastic stories about raising two young boys that had an interest in golf. If you really pay attention, you'll see how random moments in the career of a junior golfer were addressed and identified immediately.....and they ended up becoming life lessons that would be applied down the road by professional golfers. This episode has something for everyone. If you're a parent of a junior golfer.....TONS of great information. If you're wondering how Brooks and Chase ended up playing in Europe to start their professional careers? Yep, it's in here as well.
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Davis Riley - Winning at Every Level
June 18th, 2020 | 1 hr 15 mins
ajga, alabama, davis riley, footjoy, golf, hattiesburg, jay seawell, korn ferry tour, maridoe, pga tour, titleist, usga, will zalatoris
My guest on this episode is Davis Riley, from Hattiesburg, MS. Davis has been a success at every level of the game. From winning U.S. KIDS events, becoming an AJGA All-American, two-time runner-up at the U.S. Junior and stardom at Alabama. Now, Davis is competing on the Korn Ferry Tour and before the coronavirus put a halt to this season, he picked up his first win on the tour in Panama. We had a great conversation about life on tour and the incredible way that he punched his ticket to the U.S. Open in 2015.
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Ron Jaworski - The Quarterback of Golf Courses
June 10th, 2020 | 53 mins 26 secs
augusta national, blue heron pines, downingtown, golf, honey run, nfl, philadelphia eagles, pine valley, ramblewood country club, river winds, ron jaworski, running deer, tom brady, valleybrook
My guest on this episode is Ron Jaworski. If you are a casual fan of professional American football, I have no doubt that you already know Jaworski's accomplishments. After a 17 year career in the NFL, spent primarily with the Philadelphia Eagles, he moved into broadcasting where he was a fixture at ESPN and also joined the Monday Night Football team. Like many former athletes, he does some motivational speaking engagements and has been involved in other business ventures.....but why is Ron Jaworski my guest this week? Well....Ron Jaworksi owns and operates golf courses. Yes, that was plural....golf courses. In fact, right now.....Ron Jaworski Golf owns and operates seven premier daily fee golf clubs in South Jersey and Pennsylvania. That's why he is my guest this week on The Back of the Range Golf Podcast!
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Billy Foster - The Legendary Caddie from West Yorkshire
June 4th, 2020 | 46 mins 2 secs
billy foster, caddie, darren clarke, golf, ian poulter, lee westwood, matthew fitzpatrick, open championship, ryder cup, seve ballesteros, tiger woods
My guest on this episode is Billy Foster. He has toted the bag for Ryder Cuppers like Lee Westwood, Darren Clarke, and Sergio Garcia. We spoke about his experience working the Ryder Cup, learning the intracacies of Augusta from Seve, and he even provided some behind the scenes stories about some of the players he has worked for. We probably could have gone on for hours and hours if we were in person and had a few pints between us.....
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Alex Fitzpatrick - Wake Forest's Walker Cupper from Sheffield
May 29th, 2020 | 27 mins 40 secs
alex fitzpatrick, college golf, european tour, matthew fitzpatrick, us amateur, usga, wake forest, walker cup
My guest on this episode is Alex Fitzpatrick. Alex had a solid showing at the 2019 Walker Cup where he went 2-2. He had an impressive singles victory against Cole Hammer and he also teamed up with Conor Purcell in the opening match on Saturday to defeat US Amateur Champion Andy Ogletree and my last guest, U.S. Amateur Runner-Up, John Augenstein. This episode was recorded before the coronavirus pandemic hit the United States and cancelled his sophomore season at Wake Forest. In fact, we were speaking about Wake Forest making another run towards the National Championship...before finding out later that the entire season would be cancelled. During Alex's freshman year, he won his match against Stanford's Henry Shimp in the quarterfinals. It's hard not to root for Alex.....I think you're going to see a lot of him on the amateur and collegiate scene in the next couple years. While multiple Walker Cup appearances are rare in the world of amateur golf these days......I don't think it'll be a surprise if you see him representing the GB&I team again in 2021 at Seminole.
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John Augenstein - Vanderbilt's Star Returns
May 27th, 2020 | 36 mins 54 secs
amateur golf, amateurgolf.com, andy ogletree, golf channel, john augenstein, masters, ncaa, pinehurst, u.s. amateur, us open, usga, vanderbilt, walker cup
My guest on this episode is John Augenstein. After finishing runner-up to Andy Ogletree in last year's U.S. Amateur at Pinehurst, he was named to the 2019 United States Walker Cup team that was ultimately victorious against the GB&I squad at Royal Liverpool. My conversation with John was recorded in early April when we knew even less than we did now. We spoke about his practice rounds at Augusta National in preparation for the Masters, the vibe in the U.S. team room the night before the final day at the Walker Cup, and how he has balanced academics with athletics at Vanderbilt.
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Jason Gore - From Tour Winner to the USGA
May 19th, 2020 | 1 hr 26 mins
amateur golf, golf, jason gore, korn ferry tour, pepperdine, pga tour, tiger woods, us amateur, us open, usga, walker cup
My guest on this episode is Jason Gore. He's currently the Senior Director of Player Relations at the USGA, but we spoke mainly about his incredible year in 1997 where he captured the NCAA National Championship with his teammates at Pepperdine and played his way on to the 1997 Walker Cup team. Jason is one of the most well-liked guys in professional golf and shared plenty of great stories that will make this episode an instant classic.
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Meghan Stasi - Four-Time U.S. Women's Mid-Am Champion
May 12th, 2020 | 59 mins 3 secs
amateur golf, curtis cup, fsga, meghan bolger, meghan stasi, mid-am golf, ole miss, pine valley, shuck-n-dive, usga, women's golf
My special guest on this episode is Meghan Stasi! The list of players that have won four USGA titles in the same event is pretty small. It includes Jones and Nicklaus, as well as Meghan. We spoke about her playing career and her decade of dominace in the state of Florida. She also competed in the Curtis Cup in St. Andrews that was memorable for more reasons than you can imagine.
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Doc Redman - 2017 U.S. Amateur Champion
May 6th, 2020 | 46 mins 56 secs
clemson golf, doc redman, pga tour, polo, u.s. amateur, walker cup
My guest on this episode is Doc Redman. The standout from Clemson parlayed an incredible summer in 2017 to a U.S. Amateur Championship and a spot on the Walker Cup team. Now he's on the PGA Tour chasing down his victory. Lots of fun stories about the week at LACC and life on the tour.
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Will Zalatoris - Stories from the Maridoe Samaritan
May 1st, 2020 | 49 mins 9 secs
covid 19, dallas, golf, jordan spieth, korn ferry tour, maridoe, pga tour, samaritan, scottie scheffler, tony romo, viktor hovland, will zalatoris
My special guest today is Will Zalatoris! He joins me for a quick chat after the successful Maridoe Samaritan event that helped raise money for caddies and featured players like Viktor Hovland, Tony Romo, Scottie Scheffler, and Jordan Spieth! Learn more about how they pulled off this amazing tournament while adhering to social distancing policies!
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Ryan Hybl - Oklahoma Men's Golf Coach
April 28th, 2020 | 40 mins 55 secs
anthony kim, boomer sooner, burly boys, college golf, ncaa golf, oklahoma, quade cummins, ryan hybl, sooners, usga
My guest on this episode is Ryan Hybl, Men's Golf Coach at Oklahoma. We spoke about his incredible seniors and the 2017 National Championship season. Fantastic stories about the progression of student-athletes that parents of junior golfers should DEFINITELY pay attention to!
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Justin Leonard - Not Just a Ryder Cup Hero
April 21st, 2020 | 1 hr 6 mins
amanda leonard, brookline, golf channel, justin leonard, nbc, open championship, ryder cup, tiny tweaks, usga, van de velde, walker cup
My guest on this episode is Justin Leonard. While you may know him as the hero of the 1999 Ryder Cup that made the "putt heard around the world", there is so much more to Justin's career than that one putt at Brookline. U.S. Amateur Champion. Open Champion. Players Champion. In this episode, we discuss the restart of the PGA Tour in June and his approach to broadcasting at Golf Channel and NBC.
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Chase Koepka - Making His Own Way
April 16th, 2020 | 1 hr 5 mins
brooks koepka, chase koepka, european tour, golf podcast, minor league golf tour, pga tour, usf, usga
Our very special guest on this episode is Chase Koepka. Fantastic episode about life on the European Tour and his journey to the PGA Tour to play against the best players in the world.....and his brother, Brooks.