Author: Sean Ogle

After taking a year off, last week I decided on relatively short notice to head down to the 2020 PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando. If you’re not familiar with it, it’s essentially the world’s biggest golf convention. You’ll find a melting pot of everything related to the business of golf. Nearly all of the major club manufacturers are there showing off the latest products for the season. Smaller tech companies with simulators, training aids, rangefinders, and more are there. Footwear and apparel companies dominate one half of the space. And amidst it all, you have buyers from nearly every club…

If you were asked what the most important aspect of golf is, you might have any number of replies. A strong mental game and ability to keep a level head… Be able to hit the ball straight… Avoiding three putts… Sure those are all elements of becoming a successful golfer, but those pale in comparison to what is truly the most important lesson in the game. Obviously I’m talking about…the club twirl. If you pop your drive dead center down the middle of the fairway, and don’t pull of the obligatory club twirl, then did it even matter? Of course not. Unfortunately for my…

Of the dozens of golf courses that Pete Dye designed in his life, I have played exactly…seven of them. Seven feels like such an insignificant number, considering the very significant impact Mr. Dye has had on the world of golf. But when I began thinking about those seven courses, I realized that they were more important to me, and where Breaking Eighty is today, than I’d ever realized. The year was 2013. I had started Breaking Eighty just a year prior, and I decided I was going to do something “no one has ever done before!” (Riiiight.) “I’m going to take an…

“This is my 6th year in a row coming here, and I can’t imagine ever missing another one.” “I read your blog about this event last year, and I immediately knew I had to get here. It’s been unbelievable.” “This feels like the culmination of my golfing life.” These were just a handful of the the comments I heard in talking to attendees of the 2019 Lexus Champions for Charity event at Pebble Beach – which is truly one of the greatest charity golf events in the world. I was fortunate enough to attend with Lexus last year, and by…

I first met Patrick Koenig a little over 5 years ago. He quickly became one of my best friends and favorite travel partners in the world of golf. There was the time I beat him for the first (and only) time while battling food poisoning… Or the time I made a par to his bogey on one of the most famous holes in golf. One time we even tee’d it up with pirate caddies (yes, that’s a thing). About 3 years ago, he told me about this crazy idea he had for quitting his job, and road-tripping around the US…

It’s not often that I write about shoe launches on this site, but this one was simply too good not to mention. Seamus Golf has been one of my favorite brands in golf for years. Not only is the team made up of great people, but it’s been awesome to see how they’ve evolved from being simply the “head cover company” to creating a wider range of unique accessories and products for the golf world. And their latest project? Well, this shows just how far they’ve come since the days of company’s founders Megan and Akbar, sewing head covers in…

Over the last seven years I’ve been fortunate enough to play a lot of really good golf courses all over the world. I’ve taken thousands of photos, played thousands of holes, and started to have a much better understanding of what makes a good golf course. I’ve also been able to form opinions about which courses I enjoy the most. There’s a very distinct (and at times, quite large) difference between what I enjoy and what constitutes a good course by traditional standards. If you look at many of the “top 100” lists from major publications you’ll in many cases see a big…

I’ve been following Redvanly golf apparel for years now. I’ve always appreciated their take on golf shirts and golf clothes, because it’s different than everything else out there. There are a lot of brands differentiating themselves in more subtle ways. Holderness and Bourne (another favorite here) puts more of a traditional spin on the typical golf polo. Redvanly takes the same tailored fit approach, but does it in a more bold and modern way – which is unlike most of what I’ve seen in the industry. It had been a couple years since I got hands on with some of…

Each year it becomes increasingly difficult to publish my list of my favorite top 100 golf courses. It’s hard enough when I’m playing a couple dozen new courses each year, but then when you throw in the fact that there are many courses I now haven’t played in a few years – it’s quite the challenge. But we must press on! I’ve spent a considerable amount of time over the last month pouring over photos, scorecards, and my previous writings to come up with my list of my favorite 100 courses in the world. But obviously, with only 100 on…

I was playing in a tournament a few months ago, and wasn’t sure who I was going to be paired up with. When I finally met my partner at the cart, he walked up to me and said “I knew once I saw the full kit with the Jones Bag, I’d be playing with someone cool.” I don’t know how cool I am, but it’s safe to say that at least in some circles rocking a Jones Golf Utility Trouper is going to earn you some respect. The story behind Jones Golf Bags is actually pretty cool. Back in the…