The Perfect Number Podcast

The third golf major of 2018 is here and Carnoustie is ready to test the world's best golfers. Sean Martin from PGATour.com joins the pod from Scotland to update course conditions, what makes Carnoustie the hardest course in the rota, what stats will translate to success and our fantasy picks for the week. Can Brooks Koepka go back-to-back? How crazy good are Henrik Stenson's numbers? Are we too bullish on Russell Knox? Don't set your lineup until you've listened!

John Mahaffey knows golf and how to win at it, including the 1978 PGA Championship as part of 10 PGA Tour victories. As a broadcaster today, he offers the perfect link between the glory days of his mentor, Ben Hogan, and the technical, modern game. He talks about the growing use of data and technology, lessons from Hogan and Lee Trevino and the psychology of winning.

The architect of the most important statistical advancement in golf is back. Mark Broadie was at Shinnecock Hills for the US Open and offers a breakdown of everything that went down. How impressive was Brooks Koepka's win? How tough was the course really playing? What strengths translate to US Open success? Plus, with the PGA Tour season winding down, lots to discuss about sample size, Jason Day's historic putting pursuit, Jordan Spieth's woes, Tiger Woods, and more. 

What is a good golf swing? What makes a professional better than a 30 handicap? For generations of golf instruction, the secret to a proper golf swing was passed down. Now, GolfTEC has the data to answer the question with more proof. Nick Clearwater is the VP of Instruction and breaks down the 100,000+ lessons that shaped what makes a good swing good, and a bad swing bad. It's a fascinating conversation that challenges the norm.

Picking golfers in fantasy is hard. Winning the U.S. Open is harder. Merging the two? Good luck. We go to the expert, Rob Bolton of PGATour.com, in advance of the 2018 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills, for all fantasy advice. Who is the favorite? What stats are the best predictor of success? Sleepers? Deep sleepers? We cover it all.

Phil Blackmar thinks more about golf in a day than you do in a year. A three-time PGA Tour winner, Blackmar is the tallest winner in Tour history, and perhaps its most analytical. Enjoy his stories on achieving success, finding mental harmony and how the game has changed for the good/bad with modern technology. (Apologies for soft audio issues) 

Golf and gambling have always been a perfect fit in your weekend game, but what about legalized bets of all kinds on professional golf. We are closer to that because of The Supreme Court ruling reversing previous bans. Longtime golf writer Jason Sobel is now with the Action Network, creating to help people get better and betting. How have stats and data made prognosticating easier in golf? What works? What doesn't? What are the pros and cons for the PGA Tour with gambling legalized? All answered.

Professional golf can be a hard road to navigate. Having the right caddie is essential. Since 2010, Webb Simpson has had Paul Tesori on his bag. It almost didn't happen. From the vetting process, to a U.S. Open win in 2012 and The Players Championship this year, it has been a great partnership. Tesori stopped by to talk about keeping his client focused, their perfect number, faith, family and just how precise Vijay Singh was at his prime. It's a conversation you don't want to miss.

There may be no man more influential to modern golf course design than Pete Dye. Simultaneously, there may be no polarizing figure in his field greater than Dye. What is his true design philosophy? How much did his wife, Alice, impact the great Dye courses? What is his proudest accomplishment? Does he care about the criticism. Mark Shaw helped write Pete Dye's biography "Bury Me in a Pot Bunker," and has been friends with the Dyes for 50 years. Don't miss his insight and stories.

No sport has as much data to analyze than golf. Players are using statistics to not only improve their games, but strategize how to play (and who to play with) moving forward. Jake Nichols has been at the forefront of analyzing that data and now works as the Head of Golf Intelligence for the 15th Club. How do players use data? Which stats are most important? Which stats predict success? How do we explain Jordan Spieth's putting numbers? Who's the next rising star? We cover that and more in this podcast.

With the Zurich Classic teeing off this week bringing fun and energy to the PGA Tour with team golf, let the brainstorming begin! What are other fun things that could be done on the pro side? What games aid with the play (and gambling) of your weekend group? Shane Bacon joins to cover all those areas, plus discuss bad beats, the etiquette of how much to bet and other angles.

The growth of technology in teaching the game of golf is evident in all levels. Understanding how the body moves for each individual and finding some universal successes is the key to better golf swings. Tony Morgan is a PGA Professional who was at the forefront of biomechanics with K-MOTION for the past two decades. He discusses what has been learned, the new K-COACH platform and how to keep the process simple, yet fully informed, for the golfer.

The Masters has been won by a first-time participant just three times, the last in 1979. What makes it so difficult for a rookie to win? Is the Masters experience unlike anything else for a professional golfer? What is it like to lead the tournament your first time there. We go down memory lane with PGA Tour veteran Dennis Paulson, who led after round one of the 2000 Masters, his first trip around Augusta National in competition.

How different is professional golf in 2018 compared to 20 years ago? How has technology, fitness, equipment and other things changed the way the game is played? Is the "roll back the ball" movement simply attacking one symptom? Your answers to those questions may be a little different after listening to the perspective of Paul Stankowski, veteran professional golfer and two-time PGA Tour winner.

There are a million ways to consume golf, but who is doing it right? D.J. Piehowski worked for Golfweek, then the PGA Tour, helped launch Skratch and now provides content for No Laying Up and the Golfer's Journal. He comes by to talk about golf's wide-reaching audience, embracing your niche, the best pros to work with and other elements in golf media. How does TV get better? Who can drive more interest? How do you walk the tightrope of being edgy while still having access? We answer them all.