Issue No. 250 | September 14, 2025 | Read Online

After I decided to start The Normal Sport Show at some point earlier this year, my first thought was, “Hell yeah, let’s go!” My second thought was, “Wait … do I even know how to put a good show together?”

We’ll get to that — you’ll be shocked to know I have some thoughts — and more, but first let’s hear from a company who is making both today’s newsletter and our show possible!

TODAY’S SPONSOR

Thank you to the presenter of today’s newsletter, Turtlebox.

You asked for a smaller Turtlebox, and they listened.

Meet Ranger: the most portable, lightweight Turtlebox yet.

They took everything you love about Turtlebox durability, performance, and sound quality, and packed it in a smaller, adventure-ready design.

Yes, it’s still waterproof, drop-proof, and built to handle the elements—just in a size that you can take everywhere.  

OK now onto the show … best listened to on a Ranger of course.

How to Make a Great Show

Before we get into this, I would love for you to subscribe to our show at any (or all!) of the following places.

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Here’s this week’s show.

A show about shows!

It is true that over the course of my career, I have become more comfortable — and perhaps even proficient at times — when it comes to talking into a microphone or looking into a camera. I’ve done radio a lot — shout out to all the local stations in places like Buffalo, Duluth and Springfield that had me on when I started out simply because I worked at CBS Sports. I had literally no idea what I was doing or saying.

I’ve co-hosted shows and been a guest countless times. There is probably still some footage floating around out there of me doing Morning Drive on Golf Channel, which was legitimately a total blast. So I know about these shows, but I’ve never really put one together myself, at least not a golf show.

So after committing to doing a show and then panicking because I wasn’t sure I even knew how to do it, I went and asked four people I consider friends who have all had a lot of success in this space: D.J. Piehowski, Bob Sturm, Joe Musso and Brendan Porath.

We talked about what they have learned along the way, how they got comfortable doing what they’re currently doing and what advice they might have for me.

My big takeaway?

“Be yourself.” That was what my friend, Bob Sturm, said is the biggest thing he’s learned during his time making one of the most beloved radio shows in the country.

It’s so simple and straightforward, and yet, from where I’m sitting, seemingly so easy to forget. This may sound ridiculous from where you’re sitting, but there are often voices in my head from sponsors and people listening in and even team members or friends at times. Being yourself sometimes feels like the most difficult of all the options.

I am reminded of what Rory said after winning the CJ Cup following that awful 2021 Ryder Cup: “I sort of realized that being me is enough.”

That’s good golf advice. Good golf media advice. Good life advice.

Being me is enough.

Jason and I believe — perhaps with a tremendous amount of delusional! — that we have good taste. We have learned to trust our instincts and follow our noses wherever strange places they might lead. I don’t need to make a show that certain people are wanting or expecting. I don’t need to satiate anyone’s desires but my own.

And while there does need to be enough overlap with a broad audience to make the entire endeavor commercially viable, we have to trust that what has been true will be continue to be true, which is that enough people are following along to make it all work.

Maybe that remains, maybe not. Both are OK. As long as we don’t lose ourselves along the way. You can see how it’s going in episode No. 1 right here.

Thank you for reading our handcrafted, algorithm-free newsletter about golf. We put everything we have into every newsletter we write, which is why they are frequently 772 words long like this one.

While we do use digital tools that help us find information, everything you read and consumed was created from scratch by two humans who are absolutely obsessed with the game.

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