Chris Gotterup wins in Hawaii to kickoff the PGA Tour season while the reaction to Brooks Koepka’s impending return dominated much of the news this week. We also discuss the tenuous future of a Hawaii PGA Tour event, a wild finish in Dubai on the DP World Tour, the Latin America Amateur, our trip to the Dominican Republic, and an assorted grab bag of topics from TC's notebook.

Join us in our support of the Evans Scholars Foundation: 

18:30 - Future of Hawaii event / down the leaderboard

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1110: Gotterup Wins The Sony + Koepka Fallout

Soly and Neil join TC for an in-person chop session as the guys offer some football related mea culpas, discuss recent travels, update our Things That Are Sick nominations, NFL playoff and MLB hot stove reactions, plus a check on our monitoring list.

378: Chop Session with TC, Neil and Soly

In this two-part biographical deep dive, Professor DJ takes Neil and Randy through the life and times of Charles Blair Macdonald, the father of American golf course architecture. Part one focuses on Macdonald’s introduction to golf from his time in Scotland, the design of America’s first eighteen hole course, the social circles who funded his early projects, the complicated history of what became the first official US Amateur championship,, and a ton more.

We’ll have part two of this deep dive out next week!

1109: C.B. Macdonald Deep Dive - Part 1

A bit of news to discuss.........Brooks is back! What does this mean? What is the Returning Member Program? And more, LIVE from an undisclosed location. Presented by Titleist - The #1 Ball in Golf. 

Looking to travel this year, check out East Sands Golf Co.: https://www.eastsandsgolf.co/nlu 

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: No Laying Up’s community of avid golfers. Nest members help us maintain our light commercial interruptions (3 minutes of ads per 90 minutes of content) and receive access to exclusive content, discounts in the pro shop, and an annual member gift. It’s a $90 annual membership, and you can sign up or learn more at 

A bit of news to discuss.........Brooks is back! What does this mean? What is the Returning Member Program? And more, LIVE from an undisclosed location. Presented by Titleist - The #1 Ball in Golf.

1108: Brooks Koepka and the Returning Member Program

Soly, TC and DJ update our current top ten players without a major list and touch on the latest news and notes from around pro golf including Brooks Koepka’s potential reinstatement, Derek Sprague’s resignation as the CEO of the PGA of America, the WTGL announcement, Blockie signing with Malbon, Vijay Singh cashing in on his career money list exemption, PGA Tour rule changes for 2026, LIV promotions, and more.

1:11:30 - Current top ten players without a major

1107: Best Players Without a Major + Weekly Recap 

Randy and TC kick off the year on the Trap Draw with a chop session covering a robust agenda. The duo recaps the holidays, the big guy’s newest mode of transportation, our monitoring list, NFL and what they're cooking, reading and watching so far in 2026.

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Subscribe to the No Laying Up Podcast channel 

377: Chop Session

For the first time in many years, the PGA Tour season will not begin at Kapalua’s Plantation Course. But why? In this episode, D.J. and Charlie Van Kirk hear from several voices inside and outside of golf to investigate the drought and water shortage issues on Maui that have forced the cancellation of the 2026 Sentry, potentially putting the long-term future of the event in serious doubt.

1106: What Happened At Kapalua?

1105: LIV News, NLT update, and 2026 Season Kick-Off

2026 season kick-off: Brooks out at LIV, Bryson TBD, National Links Trust update, and 2026 predictions. Presented by Titleist. 

In what’s become a favorite holiday tradition - it’s our annual Goals podcast with Soly, TC, Neil, D.J. and Randy. As is our custom, we evaluate our options and christen 2026 as the “Year of …….”, review our 2025 goals and set out our goals for the upcoming year.

00:00 - Intro & 2026 as the Year of ?????

Page Break

Riskiest Goal: Rolling and balancing in some way (Big Randy

) Big, this one caught me off guard! I'm moved by your self-proclaimed "rage against getting older," which is a great mantra to live by. Just please don't get hurt. It sounds like you're committed to rollerblading, which would be both a thrill and delight to see you zooming past some Gen Alphas at a skating rink. 

 After a year of pure survival, it's only fair that Soly introduces a little more self-care in his life. I hope it's the trip of a lifetime. Between new habits and breaks, I think it will all spill into his ultimate handicap goal. I'm rooting for you! Recreate that homeostasis, and eliminate dad back for good! 

 Neil, you were so adamant about all your goals until you got here, and then you started second-guessing yourself. There are four other days of the week on the calendar available to chat. Unless it's a LEGIT emergency, make Friday yours! Commit to your boundaries, and auto-reject those Friday invites.

 The war against tabs wages on, and I appreciate TC's unwillingness to surrender. But new threats have emerged: Subscriptions and apparel. I expect you to pop out with a new aesthetic, like Randy. 

"I'll Be Disappointed If You Don't Achieve This" Goal: Simulating a PAT (Playing Ability Test) (D.J.)

D.J., I love that you are using this as a template for figuring out if you've got it when you need it. I encourage you not to settle for "The Apprentice." 78, 79 or bust. Also, it 

Most Ambitious Goal: Tommy Fleetwood winning a major (TC)

 Listen, I'd be pretty content with that Tour Championship dub if I were you, TC. That lowkey felt like a major!

376: 2026 Goals

1104: 2025 Birdies and Bogeys + Mike McCartin from National Links Trust

D.J., Tron and Soly host our final Sunday night pod of 2025 with a two-part episode.

We begin with a birdies and bogeys segment highlighting the biggest newsmakers and moments in 2025. Then, part two focuses on the National Links Trust and the political involvement that could harm access to affordable golf in DC. Soly and TC visit with Mike McCartin, co-founder of the NLT, for the latest on the interactions with the White House and the mission and goals of the NLT.

1:16:05 - Mike McCartin - National Links Trust

D.J., Tron and Soly host our final Sunday night pod of 2025 with a two-part episode. We begin with a birdies and bogeys segment highlighting the biggest newsmakers and moments in 2025. Then, part two focuses on the National Links Trust and the political involvement that could harm access to affordable golf in DC. Soly and TC visit with Mike McCartin, co-founder of the NLT, for the latest on the interactions with the White House and the mission and goals of the NLT.

1103: The World of Simulator Golf with Carl Markestad

 in Milton, Wisconsin - has turned what started out as a business focused on outdoor projector screen setups into one of the largest indoor golf simulator companies in the country.

As winter sets in across the country, D.J. and Carl discuss the evolution of the indoor golf simulator, technological updates that have drastically lowered the price point of a home setup, common misconceptions around simulator installs, and a ton more.

Carl Markestad - owner of Carl's Place in Milton, Wisconsin - has turned what started out as a business focused on outdoor projector screen setups into one of the largest indoor golf simulator companies in the country.

Randy and TC gather for a final 2025 chop session as we put a bow on the year with some holiday mea culpas, life updates, watching and reading lists, national & world news, non-golf sports updates and more.

375: Chop Session

Randy, Cody and Jordan put a bow on the 2025 LPGA season with a quick review of last week’s Grant Thornton (Way to go LC!!!) and the biggest storylines from the past twelve months in the women’s game including Craig Kessler’s arrival as the new LPGA Tour Commissioner, Nelly’s winless campaign in the year of parity on tour, emerging Japanese players, Jeeno as world #1 and more.

From there, we hand out some 2025 superlatives, ask for a year-long mulligan, and revisit some of our predictions from the start of the season.

1:08:30 - Mulligan of the Year, Picks review

1102: LPGA Season Wrap-Up 2025

Soly, TC, Randy, D.J. and Neil comb through the data of Team NLU’s golf in 2025 via the USGA GHIN app to see who made the biggest moves in the last twelve months. We also reveal how the team fared in the “Will They Go Lower in 2025” game from last year’s pod and guess if we’ll better our low round from this year in 2026. We also vow to stop (or start) something in 2026, our favorite trends in golf and our most interesting playing partners of 2025.

1101: NLU Personal Golf Rewind 2025

Neil has returned from paternity leave to put Cody front and center for our latest installment of the Personal Golf Spotlight series. We get the latest on Cody’s game, his brief history of playing in Monday qualifiers, his favorite and least favorite golfers of all time, and his personal top ten favorite golf courses.

1100: NLU Personal Golf Spotlight - Cody

Randy, Neil and Poosh convene for a session of ballknowing as the end of the NFL’s regular season looms. Among our agenda topics on the pod: the current state of the Chiefs, NFL quarterback cycles, the potential collapse in Philly, tight division races, coach of the year candidates, and more.

374: The BallKnowers

The NLU Quiz Show is back with DJ playing the role of host as we bring on Matt Every as our third contestant for a 2025 golf trivia battle with Soly and TC.

1099: 2025 Season Trivia with Matt Every

1098: Royal Melbourne love at the Australian Open

Soly and TC talk all things Royal Melbourne and Australian Open: One of the best courses on earth took center stage this week, with Cam Smith three-putting on the 72nd hole to hand Rasmus Neergaard-Peterson a one-shot victory. Expect minimal birdies and bogeys discussion; we’re here to celebrate RM, react to Rory’s comments comparing it to Kingston Heath and have a fun hypothetical fifth major discussion.

From there, it’s on to the Nedbank in South Africa and the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas, where Kristoffer Reitan and Hideki won those respective events. We also review some notable quotes from Wyndham, Jordan and Tiger.

We close with some thoughts on the reaction to our midweek pod with JT and the aggregation around his comments on the green speeds at Bethpage, plus some assorted news and notes.

Weekly interview podcast brought to you by No Laying Up. Join host Cody McBride as he brings real life stories of perseverance, determination, and overcoming extreme adversities from some of life's most unique guests.

Anthony Bilich, US Army Veteran & 2021 VGA Men's Champion

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No Laying Up's golf course review podcast. 

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A fresh, funny discussion of all things golf from the guys at No Laying Up. Episodes air twice a week and topics include tournament recaps, interviews, deep dive player profiles, golf travel, and more.

787 - LIVE from the Range at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am

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