Fire Drills | The Fire Pit Collective

The Fire Pit podcast has a new spinoff, the Fire Drill, which will bring to life the major championships and breaking news.

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Rory, Tiger and Trump, oh my!

In this Fire Drill podcast, Michael Bamberger and Alan Shipnuck recap the first round of the PGA Championship, which was dominated by Rory McIlroy’s fine play and Tiger Woods’s struggles. They also discuss Bamberger’s story about his news-making phone call with Donald Trump, who is still stewing that this PGA was taken away from him after the January 6th riots.

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Tiger Tales with John Hawkins

Few reporters have been closer to Tiger Woods than John Hawkins. In the latest Fire Drill podcast, Hawk joins Michael Bamberger and Alan Shipnuck on the eve of the PGA Championship to riff on how Woods has (and hasn’t) evolved through the years.

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Dreamers and Shadows

In this Fire Drill podcast, Ryan French and Laz Versalles join Michael Bamberger and Alan Shipnuck for a non-traditional PGA Championship preview. Ryan gives the backstory on some of the longshot club pros in the field while Laz delves into the legacy of the Tulsa Race Massacre through the eyes of Bill Spiller, Jr., whose father, a Tulsa native, shamed the PGA of America into abolishing its Caucasian Only clause. This eclectic foursome also tees up their favorite storylines heading into this PGA Championships.

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Geoff Ogilvy and Michael Bamberger Preview the PGA

In this Fire Drill podcast, Ogilvy, Bamberger and Alan Shipnuck go deep on the charm and challenge of Southern Hills and relive its previous major championships, highlighted by Tiger Woods’s inspired play at the ’07 PGA. Typically discursive, the conversation also touches on Perry Maxwell, Gil Hanse, Scottie Scheffler, Retief Goosen and, from Ogilvy, exactly how different a major feels versus an everyday Tour event.

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Show Me The Money

This is a chaotic moment in professional golf. For this Fire Drill podcast, Alan Shipnuck and Michael Bamberger brought in the Jerry Maguire of PGA Tour agents, Mac Barnhardt, to help make sense of the shifting landscape. Mac brought decades’ worth of insight.

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Trumped

This PGA was supposed to be Donald Trump’s crowning moment in golf; everything changed on January 6th. Now Trump is in league with the Saudis, whose toxicity sent Phil Mickelson into exile. In his first big piece for FPC, Michael Bamberger untangles the tentacles.

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Bamberger! "Phil"! The FPC is On Fire

Michael Bamberger is the greatest golf writer alive, author of various classic books and winner of innumerable awards, including this year’s lifetime achievement citation to be presented by Jack Nicklaus at the Memorial. The intellectual curiosity that informs his writing has led Bamberger to leave corporate media for a scrappy upstart. With typical modesty, Michael did not want a splashy announcement that he was joining the Fire Pit Collective, preferring instead a substantive discussion with Alan Shipnuck about their shared history and Alan’s forthcoming Mickelson biography “Phil: The Rip-Roaring (and Unauthorized!) Biography of Golf’s Most Colorful Superstar.”

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Masters Recap

From Scheffler’s dominance to Tiger’s grit, Rory’s Sunday 64 to the controversial course changes, the FPC podcasters go deep on a memorable Masters.

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Cut Day at the Masters

Matt Ginella and Alan Shipnuck reflect on an action-packed Friday at Augusta National, featuring a Tiger rally and more Scheffler mastery.

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Masters Memories with Andy Ogletree

When Andy Ogletree won the 2019 U.S. Amateur, his future seemed unlimited. But injuries and the impact of Covid on the pro golf schedule have left him on the outside looking in. Ogletree joins the Fire Drill podcast to relive his Amateur triumph and the tee time at the Masters with Tiger Woods that came with it.

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Thursday Thoughts

In this instant-reaction Fire Drill podcast, Geoff Ogilvy and Alan Shipnuck break down the first round of the Masters, going deep on Tiger, Cam Smith and the scene today at a raucous Augusta National.

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Stories From Augusta

Our Masters week coverage continues as Geoff Ogilvy rejoins the Fire Drill podcast to talk Tiger, conquering pre-tournament jitters and whom he thinks will prevail. Co-hosts Alan Shipnuck and Matt Ginella share tales of jousting with the green jackets and reflect on how much the Masters media landscape has changed.

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Wednesday Wisdom with Laird Shepherd

For a new Fire Drill pod from Augusta, we brought in the OG Geoff Ogilvy to offer advice to Masters rookie Laird Shepherd, reigning British Amateur champ. Alan Shipnuck and Matt Ginella asked the questions and offered insight from their 40+ Masters. This is a fun chat that takes listeners behind the scenes at the tournament and offers a lot of nuanced discussion about the course and mental side of the game. Listen to the full podcast below.

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Tuesday at the Masters with Geoff Ogilvy

For the debut of the Fire Drill, Geoff Ogilvy joins Matt Ginella and Alan Shipnuck to discuss his love affair with Augusta National, break down the course hole-by-hole, recreate his thrilling near-miss at the 2011 Masters and reveal many other little nuggets from inside the ropes. Alan and Matt have covered more than 40 Masters between them and Ogilvy played in eight of them (never missing a cut!), giving this conversation loads of depth and perspective.