The Drop Zone

How to tell the story of the 2026 PGA Tour season? We’ll take a shot. This Drop Zone episode rips through the 10 chapters that explained the year in golf. From Brian Rolapp's aggressive first full year in charge to Rory McIlroy’s validating repeat win to a sport-wide search for the third-best player to late bloomers to young stars to the inevitable man Scottie Scheffler himself reminding everyone, at exactly the right moment, that the big tournaments still run through him.What did this year deliver? More than you might have thought. Let’s dive in.

LIV Golf may continue on — but this year's season finale was a reminder that it'll never quite be the same. Writer Sean Zak was on the ground at LIV Indy some four-plus years after being on the ground at the inaugural LIV UK event. He relives those first flashy experiences and takes us inside this week's messy conclusion, from glitzy concerts and epic comebacks to missed payments and hidden music messages as the mystery around LIV's future contnues. 

Russell Henley is undoubtedly one of the best golfers in the world — but he keeps sliding under the golf world's radar. How did he upgrade his career from "journeyman" to "elite" starting in his mid-30s? Dylan Dethier checks in with Henley at home ahead of the PGA Tour's postseason for a dive into his life in Georgia, his shift in mindset, the roles of his coaches, his wife, his faith and more.

What's one lesson from every men's major championship in 2026? Recurring guest Michael Bamberger — who attended all four in person — joins the Drop Zone to discuss, now that they're in our rearview. From Rory McIlroy's Masters to the standout charm of Aaron Rai to gambling's effect on the U.S. Open and Bryson DeChambeau's Open Championship side-story, Bamberger and Dylan Dethier trade favorite memories and important takeaways from this year's four biggest events.

Cameron Young may not have grown up on the mean streets of New York City — but his rise to the top of professoinal golf is fascinating nonetheless. Young joins the Drop Zone as part of his GOLF Magazine cover shoot and lets us behind the curtain in the process, giving in-depth access to the Players champ and World No. 3.

The PGA Tour's Signature Events just wrapped for 2026, leaving us with a surprising slate of winners — and plenty of questions about the Tour and its top players. Tour writer Paul Hodowanic was boots on the ground for nearly every one of 'em and joins to break down who REALLY won the Siggies this season — plus an enduring image, the quote of the season and plenty of good Viktor Hovland chatter.

Is golf actually broken or are we all just overthinking it? Dylan Dethier calls up the greatest living golf writer, Michael Bamberger, to chew on one deceptively simple question: what's really wrong with golf right now? Bamberger pushes back on "grow the game" and "shrink the game" as empty corporate framing, connects the dots from Jon Rahm's LIV move to $80 parking at a TGL match, and digs into the "broification" of the game — a culture that increasingly rewards looking the part over thinking for yourself. He also makes the case for why the PGA Tour's obsession with stats is crowding out the human story. Enjoy!

Amy Alcott won 29 times on the LPGA Tour, took five majors, and landed in the World Golf Hall of Fame — but she started by hitting into a net at a Westwood golf school and running a make-believe country club out of her front yard, billing her parents' dinner guests for drinks.Ahead of the U.S. Women's Open at Riviera, the lifelong member talks with Dylan Dethier to trace her path from sneaking onto the course as a kid to serving as its ambassador this week.She gets into the movie stars she grew up around, what makes Riviera so special hole by hole, the difference between being nervous and being underprepared, and the one quiet corner of the course almost nobody talks about.

Martin Trainer is retiring from professional golf. He joins Dylan Dethier to tackle a question — what did he learn playing pro golf? — and runs through 10 answers (plus some more) as he pulls back the curtain on the myths and realities of the PGA Tour. This is the stuff you don't get from a Sunday broadcast or a simple player profile.So what's it like staring down Rory McIlroy in a playoff? What's it like missing a whole bunch of cuts in a row? What single course on Tour REALLY stands out? Which stop has the best food? What will he miss about being a pro and what's he happy to leave behind? Trainer's decade-plus as a pro included plenty of highs and lows.And now: What's next? Trainer is planning a unique post-Tour path, but thinks his golf experience will help with his next chapter.

Aaron Rai won the 2026 PGA at Aronimink. But who else won, too? Dylan Dethier and Sean Zak break down the week’s action from on site in Philadelphia, catching you up on who’s leaving a winner.