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Podcast Episode

Michael Bamberger: What's Wrong with Golf

The Drop Zone··3 August 2026·21 min

About this episode

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!