House Q&A, ShackHouse Podcast Episode 1 From The Ringer

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John Ourand at SBJ beat me to the earth-shattering reveal: The Ringer is getting into golf and to host the latest addition to their podcast network they've enlisted longtime Bill Simmons podcast confidante Joe House and yours truly.

You can subscribe by going to the usual spots: Soundcloud, iTunes or if you'are an Overcast app user, just search for ShackHouse. (And I have to say this while I can, the show is current #1 on iTunes in Sports/Recreation and 15th overall.)

Simmons discussed the new podcast at the 33:00 minute mark of this week's Rollin' With House episode and noted the golf podcast world lacking any standout shows. That may be true, but as with most things, golf is late to the podcast game but there are some folks building followings and helping the sport catch up with the times.

As for ShackHouse, 21 episodes are scheduled around most of golf's biggest events, though we won't shy away from tackling topics outside of the pro golf realm. Mostly we just hope to add some fun, informed conversation to your golf media consumption menus.

The best thing so far with the show? All of House's fans getting over the shock that he not only plays golf, but follows golf religiously.

A few questions with House, who kindly answered even though he's enjoying a family vacation in Jamaica.

GS: Why a golf pod for your 1st as co-host?

JH: I have been pestering Simmons for a full decade now to get back into the game so we can tackle middle-age in the most cliched way possible. Aside from a 6 month stint where he caught the bug - and then promptly lost it again - no luck. It's a true fact that we have never played a single round of golf together in our 25 years of being pals. Though I did kick his ass in an epic 36 hole putt-putt match down in Orlando Florida that also included Rembert Browne and David Jacoby (that's a story for another day...) Anyhow, I believe this podcast was his clever way of getting me to shut up and stop bothering him about golf.

GS: You're a big consumer of all things media and golf is going through a similar transition to the digital era that other sports have dealt with. So what do you watch/read? What is different about golf media vs. other sports?

JH: I am an avid and fervent consumer of all golf media. Obviously the Golf Channel is in heavy rotation. I read Golf Digest, Golf Magazine, Golf Illustrated, Golf WRX, Golf World and Golf Playboy. I may be mis-remembering one or two of those. I enjoy very much the Twitter-feed of the dude(s) behind @NoLayingUp. I visit Pat Mayo and Geoff Fienberg's weekly picks:gambling angles and YouTube chat. The Instagram feed of GolfProTracer is a rabbit hole I go down for about an hour a week. And GeoffShackelford.com, duh. One thing I have been on the lookout for - that seems to be easier to find in other sports media - is a person or place that is regularly synthesizing the incredible data on the performance of the pros each week.  And breaking it down into digestible bites for a dummy like me. It's easy to get nuggets on the accuracy of the dudes who win each week, but I'm also interested in some analytics that help explain/provide context for where the guys that didn't win came up short.

GS: Your favorite Course in the DC area?

JH: This is an easy one, there is nothing like the East Potomac Golf Course in East Potomac Park. I wish I could write this up in a way that doesn't sound like I'm shilling for them, but it's one of the two courses where I've bested 80 so lovefest. The facility is owned and maintained by the federal government and situated on a tiny piece of land that juts into the Potomac River barely 10 minutes from downtown DC. There is an 18 hole course and two other 9s (one executive, one par-3) that get up to 90,000 rounds a year according to the folks who run the joint and the whole track sits at or below sea-level so conditions are never what anyone would call pristine. Two things make it special (not including my 78): it is a place where you can potentially play golf with someone from anywhere on planet earth. I have played there with Brits, Germans, Japanese, Australians, Africans and the rarest of all - native Washingtonians. Secondly, the views and experience are pure DC. On no less than 5 holes, the Washington Monument is a good aiming point. The Marine Barracks are across the river so if you are playing at the right time, you can catch the afternoon bugle call. And I have had the President's trio of helicopters pass overhead at least a half-dozen times.

GS: You're a renowned foodie, your best golf course food?

JH: Again, have to rep the DMV here a little bit.  Breakfast is served all day long at the historical Langston Golf Course in NE DC (opened in 1939, first non-segregated course in the DC area) and the breakfast sandwiches are extraordinary. Do not be afraid to ask for jelly on the egg & cheese. I have also had the good fortune to play the golf course at Piedmont Driving Club outside of Atlanta a couple times.  The cup of 'cue at the turn (a Dixie cup filled with five bites of pulled pork) is quite brilliant and quite delicious and I have never been through there with just one cup.