The Back of the Range

Mike Finster - 2019 Gasparilla Invitational Champion

June 19th, 2019  |  1 hr 5 mins

amateur golf, bernhard langer, gasparilla, luke donald, mike finster, northwestern golf, pga champions, senior golf, usga, woody austin

Our guest this week is Mike Finster from St. Petersburg, Florida. After playing collegiately at Northwestern, Mike came back home to Florida and regained his amateur status and has qualified for FOUR consecutive U.S. Senior Open Championships. He's a bomber off the tee and a super guy that can tell a story like no other. One of the nicest guys out there!

Kevin O'Connell - 2018 U.S. Mid-Amateur Champion

May 22nd, 2019  |  1 hr 19 mins

amateur golf, carolinas golf association, fox, kevin kisner, kevin o'connell, masters, paul azinger, tarheels, us open, usga, walker cup

Our guest this week is the 2018 United States Mid-Amateur Champion, Kevin O'Connell. Kevin played collegiately at UNC before giving the mini-tours a try with limited success. After becoming a reinstated amateur, he found success on the amateur side which culminated with the Mid-Am win at Charlotte C.C. last year. Kevin is making a Walker Cup run this year to represent the United States at Royal Liverpool.

Todd Mitchell - 2008 U.S. Mid-Amateur Finalist

May 16th, 2019  |  51 mins

amateur golf, cdga, college golf, crump cup, john peterson, pine valley, scott harvey, todd mitchell, us four ball, usga, yankees

Our guest this week is Todd Mitchell from Bloomington, Illinois. Todd has found great success on the national amateur level through his participation in marquee events like The Coleman Invitational and The Crump Cup at Pine Valley. The 2008 U.S. Mid-Amateur finalist also likes to pair up with previous guest, Scott Harvey, at the U.S. Four-Ball. Great conversation about amateurism, cold weather golf, and his previous career as a professional baseball player!

Brandon Wu & Isaiah Salinda - Stanford University's Senior Duo

May 8th, 2019  |  47 mins 50 secs

amateur golf, brandon wu, conrad ray, isaiah salinda, maverick mcnealy, ncaa, pac12 conference, patrick rodgers, stanford, tiger woods, usga, walker cup

Our guests this week are Brandon Wu and Isaiah Salinda from Stanford Men's Golf. These two senior standouts are rounding into form and ready to contend for a National Championship. With Stanford winning the Pac12 team title due in large part to their top 10 finishes, they are poised for make a deep postseason run. We spoke about their chances to make this year's Walker Cup team, life at Stanford, and their close friendship on and off the golf course.

Rick Woulfe - The Living Legend of Amateur Golf in Florida

April 17th, 2019  |  1 hr 19 mins

amateur golf, british amateur, florida golf, fsga, honda classic, michigan state golf, rick woulfe, senior golf, tiger woods, usga

Our guest this week is Rick Woulfe from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He's played in 25 USGA Championships, with most of them occuring after his turned 35 years old. He's played in British Amateurs, British Senior Amateurs, he's served on the US Mid Am committee, shot his age of 67 in a State Mid Amateur. And won the State Mid Amateur at the age of 62. Think about that.....a 62 year old winning a tournament where 25 year olds can enter.

Collin Morikawa - #2 Ranked Amateur in the World from Cal

February 27th, 2019  |  46 mins 18 secs

amateur golf, cal bears, college golf, golf, morikawa, norman xiong, palmer cup, stewart hagestad, sunnehanna, walker cup

The #2 ranked amateur in the world joins us this week at The Back of the Range! Collin Morikawa is wrapping up his collegiate career at the University of California - Berkeley. He's won the Sunnehanna and the Trans-Miss, and went undefeated at the 2017 Walker Cup. Wonder who the next star on the PGA Tour will be? It just might be Collin Morikawa. Here's a great chance to get to know him!

Jeronimo Esteve - The Pride of Puerto Rico

February 20th, 2019  |  1 hr 11 mins

amateur golf, dartmouth golf, jeronimo esteve, pga tour, puerto rico, usga, world amateur golf

Our guest this week is Jeronimo Esteve! Jero is very proud of his Puerto Rican heritage and has competed in the Latin American Amateur Championship, the World Amateur Championships, and has competed in numerous USGA championships. We talk about how he ended up playing college golf at Dartmouth, how he balances a busy family life with his golf ambitions....and the story of the 2011 United States Mid-Amateur that all started with a routine visit to the tailor to get a suit for his sister's wedding.

Casey Martin - Head Coach, Oregon Men's Golf

February 13th, 2019  |  31 mins 9 secs

amateur golf, casey martin, college golf, jay brunza, oregon, pga tour, stanford, tiger woods

Our guest this week is Casey Martin, Head Coach of the University of Oregon Men's Golf Team. Before leading the Ducks to the National Championship in 2016, Casey won a national championship as a member of the 1994 Stanford Cardinal team that included Notah Begay. We spoke about his days on the PGA Tour, lessons from Tiger that he's shared with his current players, and his thoughts on his landmark case against the PGA Tour nearly 20 years ago.

Jim Demick - Executive Director, Florida State Golf Association

January 10th, 2019  |  1 hr 1 min

amateur golf, florida golf, fsga, jeff golden, lexi thompson, marc dull, pga tour, usga

Our guest this week is Jim Demick, the Executive Director of the Florida State Golf Association. This episode was recorded at FSGA headquarters in Tampa, Florida. We talked about how the biggest state golf association in the United States manages over 600 days of tournament competition, 38 state championships, and all of the people that make it happen. We also talked about where he was in 1986 when Jack Nicklaus won The Masters. (HE WAS THERE!)

Garrett Barber, LSU Freshman Phenom

November 21st, 2018  |  29 mins 46 secs

amateur golf, garrett barber, golf, jack nicklaus, lsu, ncaa, pga tour, podcast, rsm classic, sam burns, tigers

Our guest this week is Garrett Barber from the LSU Men's golf team.

Following his win at the Jones Cup earlier this year, Garrett was granted an exemption into the 2018 RSM Classic, his first PGA Tour event. We spoke about his transition from a small school in Hobe Sound, Florida to joining one of the largest freshman classes in the history of LSU. Garrett also participated in the Junior President's Cup and had some great stories to share about his captains, David Toms and Jack Nicklaus.