The ModGolf Podcast
Host Colin Weston explores the future of golf through conversations with the visionaries and influencers that are shaking up the sport.
About the show
The ModGolf Podcast talks with golf's top influencers, entrepreneurs, innovators and disruptors about their vision and solutions to re-imagine, transform and grow the game.
The ModGolf Podcast has been ranked #4 on 2023's most comprehensive list of "Top 25 Golf Podcasts", based on our quality and consistency of posts, industry expert reviews and social media influence/popularity. Please subscribe to The ModGolf Podcast to help us grow and move up the rankings in 2024!
We'd love to hear from you! Have any ideas or guests you'd like to hear on future episodes? Contact Colin directly here or on Instagram @modgolfpodcast to start the conversation.
Episodes
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Fun is The Leading Message - Jay Karen, CEO at The NGCOA
October 16th, 2024 | Season 16 | 44 mins 26 secs
accessibility, golf, golf course owners, golf entrepreneur, golf for women, golf industry news, golf innovation, golf podcast, golf social impact, jay karen, modgolf, ngcoa, sport tech
Host Colin Weston speaks with return guest and friend of the show Jay Karen, CEO at The NGCOA to hear his take on how golf courses and owners will navigate the upcoming decades as climate change, technology, entertainment and sustainable practices present new opportunities and challenges for the golf industry.
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Finding Her Ikigai Through Golf - Lehua Wise, Director of Golf at Kohanaiki Golf Club
September 29th, 2024 | Season 16 | 29 mins 49 secs
accessibility, golf, golf entrepreneur, golf for women, golf hawaii, golf industry news, golf innovation, golf podcast, golf social impact, ikigai, kohanaiki, modgolf, sport tech
Ikigai (ee-key-guy) is a Japanese concept that combines the terms iki, meaning “alive” or “life,” and gai, meaning “benefit” or “worth.” When combined, these terms mean that which gives your life worth, meaning, or purpose. Our guest Lehua Wise shares how she found her Ikigai as the Director of Golf at Kohanaiki Golf Club.
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Making Golf More Resilient, Sustainable and Future Proof - Petra Himmel, GolfSustainable.com
September 18th, 2024 | Season 16 | 37 mins 30 secs
climate change, entrepreneurship, golf business, golf course architecture, golf course design, golf industry, golf podcast, golf sustainable, golf technology, innovation, modgolf, modgolf podcast, petra himmel, sport tech, sustainability, sustainable golf
"Climate change doesn't really care if we care or not. It's just there. We either react in time or golf courses will struggle. The good news is that we have possibilities and solutions." Petra Himmel, journalist and creator of Golf Sustainable opens our Season 16 with insights on how the golf industry can become more resilient, sustainable and future proof.
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SEASON 15 WRAP-UP / SEASON 16 PREVIEW
September 4th, 2024 | Season 15 | 25 mins 19 secs
ann liguori, barney adams, carolin pinegger, david hinkle, entrepreneurship, five iron golf, foresight sports, get golfing, golf business, golf course architecture, golf course design, golf equipment, golf genius, golf industry, golf review, igor vainshtein, innovation, jared solomon, modgolf, modgolf podcast, paraplegic athlete, rio valeriano, sport tech, synthetic turf international, t36 golf, vertacat
If you didn’t get the chance to listen to all of our twelve Season 15 episodes, this bonus show gives you a recap of the great conversations I had with some of the golf industry's top influencers, innovators and entrepreneurs. Hopefully this will inspire you to listen to a couple of the episodes listed below. Enjoy!
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If You Don't Love It Don't Do It - Barney Adams, Founder of Adams Golf and CEO, Breakthrough Golf Technology
August 15th, 2024 | Season 15 | 51 mins 13 secs
adams golf, barney adams, breakthrough golf technology, community building, golf club design, golf clubs, golf entrepreneur, golf equipment, golf innovation, golf shafts, modgolf, pga of america, play it forward, sport business, sport tech, the modgolf podcast, the pga show, tight lies, usga
We are joined by golf industry icon and entrepreneurial legend Barney Adams, who shares the trials, tribulations and successes he has encountered over his career that spans more than five decades. This episode provides you with lessons learned, key takeaways and nuggets of wisdom from one of golf's most successful entrepreneurs. Enjoy!
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"This Is Going To Change My Life!" - Jeff Nicholson with VertaCat Mobility Riders
July 26th, 2024 | Season 15 | 24 mins 50 secs
accessibility solutions, adaptive golf, golf accessibility, golf entrepreneur, golf industry news, golf innovation, golf podcast, golf social impact, modgolf, sport tech, vertacat, veterans golf
Stand tall, roam free, and “Stand and play the VertaCat way”. Jeff Nicholson joins host Colin Weston to share how their 70 year old manufacturing company saw an opportunity to give back to the sport they love by creating the VertaCat all-terrain mobility rider for paraplegic athletes.
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Sharing an Attitude of Gratitude - Kevin Carpenter, The GratiDude / Grateful 4 Golf
July 17th, 2024 | Season 15 | 41 mins 31 secs
community building, golf entrepreneur, golf innovation, kevin carpenter, modgolf, sport business, sport tech, the gratidude, the modgolf podcast
"I am perfectly content helping one person at a time, as every ripple makes a wave". Kevin Carpenter, aka The GratiDude joins us to share the impactful work he takes on through his Grateful 4 Golf non-profit program and his discovery of "The superpower of meditation".
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Tech-Driven Products That Both Train and Entertain - Tim Briand, Foresight Sports
June 27th, 2024 | Season 15 | 41 mins 59 secs
entrepreneurship, foresight sports, gc quad, golf business, golf entertainment, golf innovation, golf launch monitor, golf simulator, innovation, modgolf, modgolf podcast, sport tech, tim briand
So how do golf launch monitors work and what is the technology behind them? Tim Briand with Foresight Sports joins host Colin Weston for an engaging and in-depth conversation about the massive growth in the launch monitor sector for both the professional player on the range and the recreational player having fun in a golf simulator.
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A Brief History of Synthetic Turf
June 20th, 2024 | Season 15 | 47 mins 8 secs
artificial turf, entrepreneurship, future of golf, golf business, golf entertainment, golf innovation, innovation, modgolf, modgolf podcast, sport tech, synthetic turf, synthetic turf international, the pga show
Known initially by names such as AstroTurf, ModSod and Artificial Turf, we explore the origins of synthetic sport surfacing with a focus on applications in the golf industry. Host Colin Weston speaks with subject matter experts Bob Johnston (Principal, JSA Sport Architecture) and Jeffery McDaniel (Synthetic Turf International) to uncover the history and explore the future of this multi-billion dollar industry.
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Embracing Lessons: Wisdom Gained from Failure - Igor Vainshtein, Founder of GolfTrak.app
June 4th, 2024 | Season 15 | 46 mins 58 secs
carolin pinegger, david leadbetter, entrepreneurship, future of golf, golf business, golf entertainment, golf innovation, golf pitch challenge, golftrak.app, igor vainshtein, innovation, kevin harrington, modgolf, modgolf podcast, shark tank, sport tech, startup, synthetic turf international, the pga show
Entrepreneur Igor Vainshtein, Founder GolfTrak.app joins us to share his incredible journey that started when his parents immigrated to Australia from the former USSR with $200 and no English skills whatsoever. We discuss the ups and downs of entrepreneurship and Igor's passion to constantly innovate and create products that customers want.
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Taking an Entrepreneurial Approach to Build a Career in Sport Journalism - Ann Liguori, Author of "Life On The Green"
May 24th, 2024 | Season 15 | 52 mins 3 secs
amy alcott, ann liguori, annika sorenstam, ben crenshaw, bernhard longer, dottie pepper, entrepreneurship, gary player, golf business, golf entertainment, golf innovation, jack nicklaus, jan stephenson, life of the green, modgolf, modgolf podcast, nancy lopez, padraig harrington, renee powell, the pga show, tom watson
To celebrate Ann Liguori's recent book "Life on the green - lessons and wisdom from legends in golf" host Colin Weston creates a game show called "Who Said That??" to test Ann's ability to recall quotes from the dozen stories told. We hope you like this fun and inspiring episode as much as we enjoyed making it!
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Embrace Change To Fuel Entrepreneurial Success - Carolin Pinegger, The Golf Pitch Challenge
May 8th, 2024 | Season 15 | 43 mins 41 secs
carolin pinegger, david leadbetter, entrepreneurship, future of golf, golf business, golf entertainment, golf innovation, golf pitch challenge, innovation, kevin harrington, modgolf, modgolf podcast, shark tank, sport tech, startup, synthetic turf international, the pga show
"I felt like I was treading water and not because I wasn't working hard enough. I was doing my very best and wasn't getting where I wanted to be. I needed to pivot and change!" Golf entrepreneur and Ex-Pro Golfer Carolin Pinegger shares her personal story and latest collaborative venture: The "Shark Tank for Golf Innovators" called The Golf Pitch Challenge.
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Learn By Doing And Just Keep Moving Forward - Jared Solomon, CEO and Co-Founder of Five Iron Golf
April 30th, 2024 | Season 15 | 39 mins 18 secs
callaway, entrepreneurship, five iron golf, future of golf, golf business, golf entertainment, golf innovation, golf simulator, indoor golf, innovation, jared solomon, modgolf, modgolf podcast, sport tech, synthetic turf international, the pga show, topgolf
"It doesn't matter that we made a million dollar mistake, let's keep moving forward and learn as we go". Jared Solomon - CEO of Five Iron Golf joins host Colin Weston to share how four co-founders built a successful indoor golf entertainment business starting from the back room of a Manhattan men's clothing store.
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A Non-Profit On a Mission To Revolutionize The Golfing Experience - Nick Darby with Get Golfing
April 16th, 2024 | Season 15 | 45 mins 19 secs
edward richardson, england golf, entrepreneurship, future of golf, get golfing, golf business, golf industry, golf innovation, golf non profit, innovation, modgolf, modgolf podcast, nick darby, sport tech, the pga show, usga
"It was such a shame seeing all these beautiful golf courses going downhill. So our job is to save as many courses as we can to keep golf flourishing." - Nick Darby with UK non-profit Get Golfing shares how they are on a mission to revolutionize the golfing experience
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Turning a Homemade Golf Game Into a Global Business Venture - Tyler Simmons, Founder of BucketGolf
April 3rd, 2024 | Season 15 | 36 mins 49 secs
bucket golf, entrepreneurship, future of golf, golf business, golf equipment, golf industry, golf innovation, innovation, modgolf, modgolf podcast, pga of america, sport tech, the pga show, tyler simmons, usga
"Seeing my roommate throw his clothes into his pop-up laundry hamper, I realized that I should instead make retractable pop-up buckets which cut our product cost almost in half." Tyler Simmons - CEO and Founder of BucketGolf joins host Colin Weston to share how they have created a portable, fun golf game that anyone can enjoy almost anywhere.
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Creating a New Type of Golf - David Hinkle and Rio Valeriano with T36 Golf
March 17th, 2024 | Season 15 | 50 mins 43 secs
david hinkle, entrepreneurship, golf business, golf course architecture, golf course design, golf industry, innovation, modgolf, modgolf podcast, rio valeriano, sport tech, t36 golf
"We’re flipping the script on traditional golf and redefining the sport for a new generation of golfers" T36 Golf Co-Founders David Hinkle and Rio Valeriano join host Colin Weston to share how their "Double Loop" design delivers a full 18-hole game experience with a smaller environmental footprint and shorter playtime.