Stingers Only

Alright, we know. Our content sucks. We have over-promised and under-delivered again and again. It is August 2021 and we do not own a camera. We have taken one golf trip. This is our first podcast since mid-May. Nick got engaged. Jared moved away from good golf. So, we are here to say sorry. But, in saying sorry, we say thank you. Yes, thank you. To you. The fans. All 118 of you on Instagram (116 because Nick and Jared also follow). We do it for you.Let's go launch ‘em.

Jared played Philadelphia Cricket Club last September. Nick played it on Monday. Come along for the ride as we discuss the architectural quirk and unique features of the property that make PCC one of the most intriguing A.W. Tillinghast designs in the country.

And we are BACK baby.The Stingers Only podcast returns with the first episode in Season 2. Nick takes the reigns and discusses the grand spectrum that exists in the game of golf in regards to how we all approach the game. Whether you are a member at one of the finest clubs on this planet or blasting tee balls five fairways over at twilight, golf has always been about enjoyment, accessibility, and community. With the commencement of a new season on this podcast, we hope to embody that as we journey into the 2021 golf season alongside you. Buckle up, and let’s go launch ‘em.

What makes the perfect golf course? A set of greens with dramatic undulation? Firm and fast conditions? Waist-high native? 7,000+ yards from the back racks? How should the PGA Tour set up a golf course to test the best players in the world? Listen to Jared and Nick weigh in on this and more in the newest installment of the Stingers Only podcast.

Nick and Jared discuss The Aiken Golf Club (1912 - J.R. Ingles and Donald J. Ross, with restoration work from Jim McNair Jr.). Aiken served up a pleasant day full of small-town America character. The Aiken Golf Club should sit high on everyone’s hidden gem list, and emphatically demonstrated the necessity of accessible and architecturally interesting golf in America, as well as the genius of offering players strategic options tee to green with a side of diabolical greens to navigate round after round.

Jared and Nick recap a soulful expedition through the Carolina Sandhills. We partook of much Ross and a little bit of Stranz, and discovered, as Nick aptly remarked on the way home, “I think I love golf.”

Jared and Nick take pot shots at each other for 22 minutes. That said, this episode is either a gigantic waste, or strategic use, of your time.

Well, here we are. It’s our first episode with a REAL special guest. Far and Pure (@farandpure) head honcho Kyle Mayes joins Jared and Nick to settle the ultimate pro shop brand debate, drop some hidden gems, and connect on what makes the game of golf so special to so many. You will not believe a handful of the logos that Kyle owns in his gear collection...truly all-world. We cannot thank Kyle enough for joining us on the show and look forward to all of his future content and some collective work down the line!

Nick and Jared review Jeffersonville Golf Club (Donald Ross, 1931) from their recent trip in Pennsylvania. Jeffersonville is a model course for American golf - architecturally interesting, accessible and affordable, and playable for all. Golf course superintendent Richard Shilling and architect Tyler Rae restored classic Ross features such as mounded bunkering, geometric shapes and wave-like contours on green complexes, and maximized the property’s rolling terrain. They also removed smaller, less mature trees to improve airflow and turf conditions while adding native grasses. In our opinion, for the value, Jeffersonville offers the best Golden Age golf experience in the country.

The question that innumerable philosophers and sages debated for millennia has now been answered. Why is Bryson DeChambeau the biggest tool in the history of the game of golf? Listen in as Jared and Nick break down Bryson’s roid rages, critique his awful fashion choices, and explore his bizarre quirks that deservedly earn him golf’s least desired moniker - the new most hated player in the game, aka The Patrick Reed Trophy.

In the second episode of the Architecture Series, Jared and Nick discuss the brilliance of famed Scottish Golden Age golf course Donald J. Ross. Ross designed courses from 1900-1945, including some of the crispiest collections of pure-ina found in the game today, like Seminole GC, Pinehurst #2, East Lake GC, Inverness CC, Mid Pines Club, Essex CC, Oak Hill CC, Old Elm Club, Roaring Gap Club, Aronimink GC, and Carolina GC. Ross designs offer up varied (and diabolical) green complexes, increase strategy and shotmaking, feature world class routing, and enhance playability across all levels. Listen along and learn about one of the great figures in the game of golf!Instagram: @StingersOnly

At Stingers Only, we advocate an enjoyment of the game. After far too many predictable and monotonous rounds played within the confines of planned housing communities that feature wedge shots into shrunken, flat, circular greens, we sought out more. Sure, golf course architecture seems boring and most amateurs understandably find themselves aloof to the topic. However, as players who enjoy shotmaking, creativity, thoughtfulness, and rising to a challenge, we at Stingers Only believe that experiences around timeless golf course architects and unique design elements create more memorable rounds. We invite you to learn to dance with a famed architect and understand their design principles and the tremendous amount of thought and detail that goes in to designing a special golf course. Learn about the difference between a Redan and a Short, a Double Plateau and a Biarritz. Find a hidden gem in your backyard.As Erik Anders Lang says, “I live for those rare rounds where we get to be inside a painting. When the architect and the creator and the sun all line up and we get to walk through it, like a museum where the art is growing all around and you can touch it, step on it, smell it, hear it, and become part of that art.” Go find it.

In Episode 5, Jared and Nick assemble their respective lists of the smoothest fashion operators the game of golf has ever seen. From the clean cut, monochromatic look to some truly outlandish on-course attire, one common thread unites most players on these lists - they stink of class. While many of the game’s great appear in this episode, we guarantee that you will soon find yourself fully immersed in Google image searches for a number of lesser-known yet iconic thoroughbred stallions that grace our respective Top Ten’s.

Ah, the age-old question. How might one play the maximum amount of golf while retaining the maximum amount of relational satisfaction from a romantic partner, whether girlfriend, wife, or fiancée? Jared and Nick explore how far you can dance along the sliding scale and offer up three approaches to ensure that you light ‘em up off of the tee all day long without ending up single or in jail when you get home.

In Episode 3, Jared and Nick run through two recent 9-hole rounds at Carolina Golf Club (Charlotte, NC) and Sag Harbor Golf Course (East Hampton, NY). Donald Ross designed Carolina in 1929 and the private club underwent a full restoration in 2008 by Kris Spence. Sag Harbor represents the heart of municipal golf with a short layout but the 1898 design features endless history and plenty of fun. Listen along as we go shot by shot.We want to hear from you - what do you want to hear on the show? What kind of content should we feature? Drop us a message in Instagram and be on the lookout for upcoming Instagram polls @stingersonly.

In the second episode of the Stingers Only podcast, Jared and Nick run through all of the sticks in their bags (shoutout Jones), which include both rare gems and ancient artifacts. In addition, this episode covers the elusive (and perhaps vain) pursuit of playing better golf. Jared and Nick tackle the age-old mystery of getting the ball into the hole in as few strokes as possible. As a listener, you will receive a host of strategies and advice to take into your next round and implement on the course to shave serious digits off of the dreaded number on the card. You won’t even have to lie to your buddies or use the eraser! Lastly, Jared and Nick explore the multitude of reasons why Neil from No Laying Up should be one of the best golfers on the planet.If you enjoyed this episode, or the podcast in general, leave us a review on Spotify, share it with your friends, family, and co-workers (as long as they are not hacks), and, as always, StingersOnly.

In the inaugural episode of the Stingers Only podcast, Jared and Nick discuss the superiority of Vice golf balls to all other golf balls. Namely, Vice outperforms competitors as golfers will shoot lower scores, experience raises in confidence to sky-high levels (guaranteed to feel like the late Arnold Palmer strolling fairways lined by throngs of crowds while chain smoking and wearing double-pleated pants), and all the top players and clubs will soon convert to Vice (in order to get ahead of the curve). Enjoy and feel free to comment and review.