With the Ashes kicking off this Friday, Sam heads to an undisclosed location near Ormskirk to sit down with a very good friend of the jar — and first-timer on the show — James Woods, to talk about golf’s close relationship with the game of cricket. We explore the connections between the two sports, how they have overlapped over time, and the characters who excelled in both.

A huge thank you to James for his exceptional research for this episode. The podcast is packed with incredible insights, featuring names familiar to many as well as plenty never celebrated on this podcast before.

James’ passion for golf trivia can be enjoyed on his social media profile here and, more famously, through his regular picture quiz which he curates for Golf Quarterly, among other contributions.

As James rightly points out, Golf Quarterly is a superb investment or gift for any golfer, and we'd highly encourage you to sign up for £35 a year for more of these types of tales. Link here.

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Tom travels about as far from Cabot Highlands as is humanly possible on the British mainland in Cornwall to sit down with Clyde Johnson and talk about the newly opened second course at Cabot Highlands. Old Petty, designed by Tom Doak opened for preview play this summer, and no sits proudly alongside its older sibling Castle Stuart.

Tom and Clyde chat about the routing, the construction process, and the key considerations when building the course, not to mention how natural and ancient features of this historic landscape were incorporated into the design.

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Sam sits down with Formby Golf Club archivist and past Captain - Ian Jamson - to talk about the history of the club. Founded in 1884, Formby is one of the oldest courses on the north west coast and has some fascinating and eclectic tales, which Ian recounts beautifully in this episode.

From Horace the Hippo to a clock tower gifted by Sir Bruce Ismay of Titanic fame, and through the evolution of the links and its championship history, it’s a brilliant listen!

Ian is a superb storyteller and another highly passionate club archivist who thankfully preserves these wonderful stories for future generations, and we're really grateful to him for finding time to sit down with us.

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In this in-depth Eclectic 18 special, previous guest and friend of the show Simon Barrington takes us on an odyssey of obscure connections with some of his favourite holes and courses around the world, and their links to the macabre. It’s not just an assortment of holes with cemeteries nearby — we go back to medieval battles, haunted castles, greens built on ancient burial grounds, and even draw some tenuous links between bunkers and the afterlife.

Follow Simon on x here or get in touch with him on jamesbraidresearch@gmail.com. His scorecard is below.

#1 Ballybunion

#2 West Hill

#3 Old Petty (Cabot Highlands)

#4 Winter Park

#5 Lake Zurich

#6 Cruden Bay

#7 Dornick Hills

#8 Royal Troon

#9 Portmahomack

#10 St Enodoc

#11 Sleepy Hollow

#12 Augusta National

#13 Dunaverty

#14 The Old Course

#15 Lochcarron

#16 Pasatiempo

#17 Painswick

#18 The Old Course (Reversed)

Par: 71 / Yardage: 6,466

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Sam is joined by Peter Handcock aka @thehalfparkid to do an eclectic 18 scorecard comprised of solely of half par golf holes. As a reminder, this fun exercise requires you to fill the card with holes you've played, but they can only go in the position in which they sit on the scorecard, and you can only use one course once!

His scorecard:

1 - Woking - 3.5 275yds

2 - San Francisco - 4.5 455yds

3 - Dumbarnie - 3.5 310yds

4 - Royal St George’s - 4.5 495yds

5 - Royal Worlington & Newmarket - 3.5 155yds

6 - Royal Aberdeen - 4.5 490yds

7 - Gullane No. 3 - 3.5 310yds

8 - Durness - 3.5 360yds

9 - Cypress Point - 3.5 290yds

10 - Elie - 3.5 285yds

11 - Pasatiempo - 4.5 390yds

12 - The Addington - 4.5 485yds

13 - Lahinch - 3.5 365yds

14 - Fishers Island - 4.5 425yds

15 - Los Angeles Country Club - 2.5 100yds

16 - Royal Cinque Ports - 4.5 510 yds

17 - The Old Course - 4.5 450yds

18 - North Berwick - 3.5 270yds

Yardage: 6,320

Par: 70

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Stephen Proctor rejoins the pod to discuss his latest book, Matchless — a captivating account of one of golf’s great interwar rivalries. Joyce Wethered, the finest player of her generation in England, and Glenna Collett, the leading light of the American women’s game, were born just 18 months apart and dominated their respective sides of the Atlantic.

Stephen’s work as an author is exceptional — meticulously researched and told with a compelling narrative thread. Matchless is no exception. Copies are available from all good bookshops, and we’ve linked Amazon here for ease.

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Sam and Tom sit down in the office to catch up on silly season. Sam takes — frankly far too long — to commemorate his school’s highest-ever finish in the Grafton Morrish, played last weekend at Royal West Norfolk and Hunstanton. Huge thanks to both clubs for hosting such a special event, and to the volunteers who make it all possible.

We also recap our latest event at Sunningdale Heath, which closes our 2025 event schedule. A huge thank you to everyone who joined us throughout the year — we look forward to announcing our 2026 plans in due course.

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After one of the squeakiest Sunday singles sessions for a long time, Sam, Tom & Bruce sit down to recap the action from an unforgettable few days at Bethpage, where Team Europe squeezed out a 15–13 win despite going into the singles session with 12 points already secured. Lots of things to unpack here: from Luke Donald to Loro Piana, Bradley to Bryson, the course set-up, and some of the events that shaped a memorable week in New York.

Ole Ole Ole!

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