The Dope Stroke Podcast Show

LIV Golf is officially done. BC Partners pulled its $300 million lifeline after the league failed to lock in enough players for a 2027 relaunch, and professional golf is back down to two main tours. Dazzler walks through why LIV’s structure - tying almost every asset to individual player contracts instead of building anything lasting - made this outcome close to inevitable. Then the lads get into Rory McIlroy’s two-shot penalty in Abu Dhabi for improving his lie out of a divot, and Dazzler makes the case that a less-loved player would have faced a very different reaction for the identical incident. Along the way: a run of classic European Tour road stories from their twenties, how the Trott Shop has grown from a dirt field to a full tour-truck experience in six months, and an honest take on what the new Women’s TGL series still needs to nail down before it lands with fans the way the men’s version has. New episodes every week. Find us on Instagram, YouTube, Apple & Spotify.

The Internet Invitational pulled in 16 million views last week - more than the final round of the Masters. Dazzler, Trottie and Bubs dig into whether that number actually means what it looks like, why Barstool’s chaos-first formula is working so well, and the risk creators take by putting themselves (and each other) on camera when the cameras don’t stop rolling. Then Sergio Garcia announces he wants back on the DP World Tour. Should he get an easy route back in, or does that come at the expense of the players currently grinding to keep their card? The lads also pitch bringing back mentorship pairings for Europe’s next generation of major winners. To close it out: each of the boys picks one golf rule they’d scrap for good. Knee-high drops, tap-ins near the hole, inflated handicaps and the “breakfast ball” all go on trial - verdict: guilty. New episodes every week. Find us on YouTube, Apple & Spotify.

Dazzler said on last week’s episode that he’s not a massive Rory McIlroy fan, and the internet showed up in force. He explains his actual reasoning this time - and clears up a few things that got lost in the pile-on. Then the episode turns into something genuinely special: the lads trade the exact shots that got each of them hooked on golf as kids. Faldo’s 2-iron into 13 at the ‘96 Masters. John Daly’s Open win at St Andrews in his Reebok top. Tiger’s playoff stunner at La Costa in ‘97. Corey Pavin at Shinnecock. Trottie then goes shot-for-shot trying to name every Open Championship winner and venue since 1990 purely from memory, and gets remarkably far. Along the way: Sergio Garcia’s driving display that Dazzler still can’t get over, Gary Woodland’s numbers testing clubs at the Trot Shop, and an honest conversation about whether the golf ball rollback is already dead before it’s even started. New episodes every week. Find us on Instagram, YouTube, Apple & Spotify.

Kevin Kisner claims Rory McIlroy’s trip to the DP World India Championship was about a reported $10M appearance fee, not “growing the game.” Rory’s response: two things can be true at once. Dazzler, Trottie and Bubs dig into who’s actually right, and somehow end up just as fired up about Rory’s new loose-fit trousers and the completely over-the-top reaction to them online. Then it’s the main event: how do you actually halve your handicap? The lads build a real $500 improvement plan from scratch - covering golf coaching, course strategy, practice aids and equipment - and get honest about why so many golfers say they want to improve but aren’t actually willing to change how they practice to get there. New episodes every week. Find us on Instagram, YouTube, Apple & Spotify.

Dazzler’s back from a two-week US trip with one hell of a story - he accidentally drives onto a US Navy base trying to take the scenic coastal route, gets detained, and has to sign a waiver before he’s allowed to leave. Trottie, predictably, has questions. Once the golf talk kicks in, the lads get into why the Spanish and French Opens drew stronger fields than the British Masters, the ongoing confusion around the PGA Tour’s restructuring and the vanishing World Golf Championships, and a genuinely interesting debate on whether Saudi money has helped or damaged sport as a whole, golf included. The back half is a full “overrated/underrated” session covering training aids, club fitting and spin rates, attending a LIV event in person vs. watching on TV, the credibility of the world rankings, the rise of YouTube golf, and whether Women’s TGL should’ve been a mixed event from the start. Oh, and Trottie’s Pebble Beach birdies get mentioned. A lot. New episodes every week. Find us on YouTube, Apple & Spotify.

This week, Dazzler, Trottie and Bubs are joined by Rhett Taylor, Marketing Director at KBS Golf Shafts, as KBS officially plants its flag in the UK with a new office inside the Rocket Yard building. They break down the Kenny Perry story that first put the red KBS label on the map, why Jason Day's switch to graphite is shifting how tour players think about shaft materials, and the stubborn, ego-driven stigma that still exists between steel and graphite - even though the performance gap barely exists anymore. Rhett pulls back the curtain on how shaft marketing actually works (and why KBS can't pay pros to play their gear), while Trottie shares a genuinely brilliant story about DJ's putter grip paranoia and explains why putter shafts might be the most underrated piece of kit in the bag. Whether you're a serious equipment nerd or just curious what's actually inside your clubs, this one's worth the listen. New episodes every week. Find us on Instagram, YouTube, Apple & Spotify.

The Presidents Cup had every chance to be different this year. The Internationals led heading into Sunday singles - and then the USA did what the USA always does, closing it out for yet another win. Dazzler, Trottie and Bubs break down how it happened, the controversial call to leave JJ Spaun out of the team in favour of rookie Jackson Koivun, and why an event with this little unpredictability might be struggling to hold anyone's attention outside of the USA. The lads also get into Bryson DeChambeau's growing YouTube empire - stunts, influencer collabs, and hitting balls over his own house - happening in the same week as one of golf's biggest team events. Smart long-term business move, or a step away from being taken seriously as a major champion? Trottie makes the case for both. Plus: a genuinely unbelievable (and allegedly true) story from Trottie's time working at The Belfry involving legendary coach Mac O'Grady, and the lads draft their all-time golf Royal Rumble - who's surviving longest, who's getting thrown out first, and who the unlikely sleeper pick might be. New episodes every week. Find us on Instagram, YouTube, Apple & Spotify.

Team USA have won 10 Presidents Cups in a row. Dazzler and Bubs ask whether the event is even worth watching anymore - and pitch a mixed-team replacement that might actually work. Also this week: the best week the DP World Tour has had all year at Wentworth, the emotional scenes behind JJ Spaun's win, a caddy who quit mid-round without telling his player, and the AI golf account fooling half the internet. New episodes every week. Find us on Instagram, YouTube, Apple & Spotify.

LIV Golf has filed for Chapter 11 - but what does that actually mean for players like Jon Rahm, Phil Mickelson and the caddies who never make headlines? Daryl breaks down bankruptcy protection, creditor priority, and why some players are about to get burned while the big names walk away clean. We also get into Shane Lowry's "they deserve to be hit" comment at the Irish Open and whether the outrage matches what actually happened, the Solheim Cup result and why the atmosphere didn't translate on broadcast, and just how far Ryder Cup teams have gone to gain an edge over the years. Daryl, Trottie and Bubs are all in the same room for this one - full studio tour included.

Just Dazzler and Bubs this week (Trotty's AWOL again, four minutes' notice as usual) - and it's a loaded one. We open with the conceded-putt controversy from the Walker Cup: Team GB&I nick it by a single point, but not before a US player picks up a ball that was never actually given. Is that gamesmanship or a straight-up rules breach? We drag up the 2015 Solheim Cup (Alison Lee / Suzann Pedersen) for comparison and land on very different sides of it. Then it's Solheim Cup predictions, the Cam Young golf ball loophole that might already be breaking the distance rollback before it starts, and - because we can't not - one more round on the Good Good x Callaway fallout and why Dazzler thinks Callaway's PR handling has been a disaster. Number 1 golf podcast in Switzerland. Just saying. 🎙️ New episode of the Dope Stroke Podcast Show - golf's edgiest podcast, back at it. ------------ Got a question for the guys? Great, send it in to [email protected] and they will answer your questions in the upcoming episodes. Follow us on Instagram – / dopestroke.show Follow Trottie on Instagram - / trottiegolf Follow Chris on Instagram - / chrisryangolf Follow Dazzler on Instagram - / dazzler.unplugged Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.