Golf news, loose swings, sharp elbows.
The Shotgun Start runs on quick turns, sharp opinions, and golf obsession that does not wait for the perfect outline. Recent episodes move from Masters pressure and CBS criticism to LIV funding questions, ANWA format quirks, Harbour Town detox, and player nicknames without losing the real argument underneath.
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The Shotgun Start is golf talk with the laces untied. It moves fast. The show treats each tournament day as a pile of evidence: leaderboard movement, TV decisions, player body language, tour politics, odd formats, travel fatigue, and whatever stray detail refuses to leave the room. Recent Masters episodes show its range clearly. Rory McIlroy’s late Friday surge gets handled as real competitive news, with attention to the speed of the move and the shape of the leaderboard around him. Cameron Young, Cam, Sam Burns, Patrick Reed, Tommy, Lowry, Rose, and others become part of a broader argument about pressure, paths to a green jacket, and how quickly a round can rewrite the story. Then the conversation snaps sideways. A critique of CBS shot sequencing can turn into a mini broadcast war, a complaint about missing the emotion of a tap-in, or a theory about executives trying to quiet the whole thing down. That is the show’s natural habitat. It is not chaos for its own sake. The jokes, nicknames, interruptions, and mock outrage usually carry a point about what golf asks fans to notice. LIV Golf coverage brings the same mix of skepticism and detail, especially around reporting on the Saudi Public Investment Fund and the future of financial support. The amateur game gets attention too, with ANWA’s unusual format treated as both fascinating and deeply strange. Nothing is too small if it explains the sport’s texture. Bob McIntyre’s visible frustration, Jason Day’s apparel, an avocado-hole detour, Harbour Town as a post-Masters reset, and the strange ceremony of player picks can all earn serious airtime. The show also has a newsroom-on-the-road quality during major weeks. There are live plans, late recordings, Scotland trips, website pushes, and recurring technical headaches folded into the product instead of hidden from it. Andy, Brendan, PJ, Joseph, Garrett, and Kevin Van Valkenburg appear across the excerpts as named voices in that moving conversation. The result is a show for golf fans who follow the tours closely but do not want reverence served plain. It knows the sport well enough to laugh at it properly. It can be cranky, affectionate, granular, and ridiculous within the same stretch. That combination is the point.
Made for: Built for golf fans who follow tournament weeks, tour politics, broadcast choices, and player form closely enough to enjoy the weird details. It especially suits listeners who want analysis with jokes baked into the argument.
What sets it apart: The show turns daily golf coverage into a fast group argument where side roads often reveal the main point. It balances leaderboard knowledge with irreverent attention to production quirks, player habits, and the sport’s stranger rituals.
The Shotgun Start with Andy Johnson and Brendan Porath of Fried Egg Golf is a podcast waiting for you early in the morning that quickly blasts through a variety of topics (usually) related to golf and (ideally) relevant to the day. It covers news from the pro tours around the world, amusing and important topics from the amateur game the rest of us play, and some irreverent stuff in between. There will be short interviews, previews, reviews, and dives into the archives. It provides what you need to know on golf through a rapid and fun catch-up discussion.
Based on 6 episodes we listened to · September 2026
The Shotgun Start connects tournament action to the formats, broadcasts, course decisions, and tour politics shaping professional golf.
The Shotgun Start treats professional golf as both competition and production, following leaderboards while examining course setup, tournament formats, broadcast choices, and the business around the tours.
One obscured Rory tap-in, and you've got a whole Masters broadcast to argue with.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A LIV update that balances reporting, banter, and a long Costco detour.
This episode stays centered on LIV Golf and the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund, with Garrett and PJ working through what the New York Times reported and why two separate Times pieces pointing the same way matters.
A Masters TV gripe that widens into a broader complaint about how the event is presented on screen.
The episode opens around Masters cleanup and quickly settles into a sharp argument about how the broadcast is put together, with the focus on shot order, delayed coverage, and the way the Rory tap-in was shown.
A loose Masters Saturday recap finds sharp tension in Rory McIlroy's mistakes and Cameron Young's charge.
This Masters Saturday recap treats a crowded Augusta leaderboard as a live debate over who actually changed the tournament. Rory McIlroy's trouble at Amen Corner and the first hole is weighed against Cameron Young's 65 and share of the lead, with Sam Burns sitting one shot…
A road-worn Masters setup where avocado-hole chaos and golf's many Maxes ease the week into gear.
The Masters gets its runway here through the plain logistics of reaching Augusta: a late Sunday recording, the easy drive from Atlanta, and Brendan already sounding road-worn before the week's coverage has properly started. That grounded entry point keeps the golf talk loose.
A brisk golf-news reset that moves from Tiger's legal update to ANWA's odd format and a late Justin Rose case.
The Shotgun Start makes quick work of a disrupted opening, turning Tiger's not-guilty plea and decision to step away into a clean golf-news reset.
A loose RSM preview lets apparel, Black Friday, and wrestling fold into the show's usual golf-room banter.
The Shotgun Start's Wednesday episode treats the RSM as the frame for a loose, temporary three-man show. With Brendan away, PJ slides into the host chair while Andy and Joseph use the vacancy as room to poke, wander, and keep the pace conversational.
Riviera's 273-yard Redan gives this late-night golf conversation its sharpest turn.
Riviera anchors this loose late-night outing, as Brendan and PJ sort through a possible August move, the threat of heavy rain, and how softer conditions might blur the course's usual Augusta comparisons.
The hosts discuss the mathematical setup of a shotgun start in golf while humorously reflecting on their research process for the 2025 year in review episode.
The hosts discuss the mathematical setup of a shotgun start in golf tournaments and share personal Thanksgiving food stories and holiday curses.
Andy Johnson and guest host PJ Clark preview the RSM Classic, discussing the PGA Tour's official 'players to watch' list and the surprising omission of young stars.
Andy Johnson and Brendan Porath discuss the Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club, critiquing media narratives around 'honoring the area' after fires.
Garrett and PJ kick off by joking about the math and logistics of a shotgun start, then settle into a Friday edition with Andy and Brendan in Scotland and Joseph off to a wedding.
The episode opens in midday mode and moves fast into Masters cleanup, with the hosts also glancing ahead to RBC Heritage, Live Mexico, and Senior PGA.
Andy and Brendan frame Masters Saturday as a dead heat, with Rory McIlroy backing up to a 73 while Cameron Young matched him in reverse order with a 65-67-73 path.
This episode discusses Rory McIlroy's dominant performance at the Masters on Friday, where he surged ahead with six birdies in seven holes, doubling his lead over the field.
This episode recaps the first round of the Masters at Augusta National, focusing on Bob McIntyre's emotional performance and struggles on the back nine.
The hosts discuss the upcoming Masters golf tournament at Augusta, including the setup of a shotgun start, weather conditions, and related sports news like Big 10 basketball championships.
JJ Spaun’s Texas Open win keeps him out of the “worst major winner of the decade” conversation.
Tiger Woods says he is "stepping away for a period of time to seek treatment and focus on my health."
This episode discusses a victory in golf gambling, focusing on the success of the 'Bridgeman' pick and reactions from the gambling community.
This episode is a Monday edition of a golf podcast where the hosts discuss TGL, give a year-in-review for Mr.