040 - What's Been Happening At Birkdale? Part 1 of 2 with Sean McClean

Send us a textSam and Bledge sit down with Ali Morrison, head greenkeeper of Durness Golf Club, to uncover what it takes to run one of the most remote and dramatic golf courses in the UK. From sheep grazing on fairways to the possibility of Coore & Crenshaw dropping by, they explore the quirks, history, and breathtaking beauty of this nine-hole wonder on the edge of the Highlands.

Send us a textSam and Bledge sit down for the second half of their course-by-course duel between Royal Cinque Ports (Deal) and Royal St. George’s (Sandwich), resuming at the 7th hole with the match all square. With tales of seawall tees, mega green complexes, and historic anecdotes, they bring their usual blend of architectural insight and pub-style golf chat to the back nine. Below are two youtube links for the two courses:https://youtu.be/C3tAaJ6fkQ0?si=VdwHJAm9RRW7IJyyhttps://youtu.be/BLs-mQ3MpB8?si=KvSt6GSqn8NWwV9X

Send us a textSam and Bledge sit down in the sweltering heat of Badger HQ to debate two of their favourite links courses—Royal St. George’s (Sandwich) and Royal Cinque Ports (Deal). From punchbowl greens to first-tee nightmares, they go head-to-head hole by hole in a playful yet passionate playoff steeped in nostalgia, course architecture, and plenty of sneezes.

Send us a textJoe McDonnell joins Sam & Bledge to discuss the formation of McDonnell & Cooper, a new golf course architecture firm with our very own Sam Cooper. The formation of this company was part of the excuse of the 6 month break, so sit back and listen to their thoughts on the next generation of golf course architecture

Send us a textSam & Bledge sit down to reflect on their latest adventures at the Blackwell Foursomes and RNGC. They explore how golf course architecture — from bunkering to subtle design shifts — continues to evolve, challenging both everyday golfers and the game’s elite.

Send us a textSam & James sit down to discuss their much anticipated return after their hiatus with some exciting news! Now part of the Cookie Jar Golf, the team will be helping with editing and publishing of episodes, while still keeping the same great insight and lo-fi jazz intro that listeners will be familiar with. In this episode, Sam & James talk about what's been going on with them, the exciting news and of course the rdrought which has taken many courses to the edge this spring. 

Send us a textThis episode is particularly important. We heard in the previous episode (042 with Scott Reeves) how one of the biggest issues faced in the greenkeeping industry is recruitment. Well, fortunately Bledge's much better half Jenny Bledge is out there working on a solution. First Green is a wonderful initiative that BIGGA has brought over the Atlantic from the GCSAA.It's all about introducing golf, and particularly careers in this part of the golf industry, to school kids of different ages. It might not help recruitment today, but it could make an enormous difference for tomorrow.Additionally, after literal years of people asking, I am delighted to report we now have Badger Merch!!There's only a week or so to get orders in that'll definitely land before Christmas, so to help some impulsive stocking filling you can enter the code BADGER10 at checkout to get 10% off anything/everything. I'll keep adding bits and pieces to the store over the weekend, so keep checking back!Thanks again for listening and we'll be back with another episode soon,Sam (and Bledge)

Send us a textLink to survey 👇👇👇https://www.bigga.org.uk/news-listing/greenkeeper-survey-amazon-voucher.htmlWelcome back Badgers,This week we’ve been joined by Scott Reeves, Head of Membership for BIGGA. We try and get to the bottom of what problems the Greenkeeping Industry is facing in Britain - but more importantly, Scott wants to know what you think. Whether you’re a BIGGA member or not, please do follow the link above and fill out the survey. Thanks for listening,Sam & Bledge

Send us a textLast week we heard from Royal Birkdale's Course Manager Sean McClean. This week he's back to talk in some detail over the course changes that many of us watched develop over social media.It was an extraordinary amount of work, especially for a course hosting the world's oldest Major Championship in 2026. This year, Sean and his indefatigable team and back at it - completing Phase 2 of an ambitious project.We hope you enjoy the second half of this conversation and, as ever, please do share with anyone else who might too.

Send us a textGuest from episode 6 of this podcast (December 2022!) joins us again to discuss first his preparation for Royal Birkdale's Open Championship in 2026, but also the extraordinary suite of changes to the famous links last winter and next.I also give a shameless plug for Volume 1 of my Links from the Road series. It's been a labour of love (and sometimes despair) over the past couple of years, but today is publication day. Fortunately a lot of talented people have been working on the series, and I have them all to thank. If you like this podcast, I think you'll like the series. You can get a Golf Badgers discount on ordering Volume 1 by following the link here: https://linksfromtheroad.com/discount/BADGER10?redirect=%2Fproducts%2Fvolume-1Or else, linksfromtheroad.com and enter the code BADGER10 for 10% off Volume 1.Thanks for listening! Sam & Bledge