Inside The Ropes run extended

Golf Australia’s ground-breaking Inside The Ropes podcast will continue for a second season.

GA digital director John Sutherland announced a second season will start this week after great feedback on the show’s initial 10-week run.

“We’re very excited with the show’s reach in such a short timeframe,” Sutherland said.

“We’ve been able to give life to some great stories around the golfing world – from grass-roots stuff in our own backyards right up to the major championships.

“And we’re really proud to be have had male and female hosts and guests, and to have done stories on weekend hackers right up to elite professionals.

“One of the really encouraging aspects of the podcast is that it has enabled interaction from their overseas bases with a range of golfers whose stories aren’t often heard in traditional media – and the feedback to that has been very positive.”

Since beginning in late May, the podcast reached as high as No.2 on the Apple Podcasts charts under “Sports and Recreation” – trailing only ESPN’s 30for30 podcast series – and has consistently been within the top 30 sports podcasts since mid-June.

The show has featured such guests as major champions Geoff Ogilvy and Ian Baker-Finch along with women’s world No.1 So Yeon Ryu.

Contributors from around the globe have also provided listeners with exclusive access to a host of international stars as they prepare for big tournaments.

And the game’s powerbrokers have also made themselves available to help spread golfing news to a whole new audience.

Hosted by Andy Maher and Mark Hayes with a rotating series of co-hosts including Martin Blake, Alison Whitaker, Joanna Charlton and the inimitable Mike Clayton, the show’s second season will run through the first half of the Australian summer of golf until mid-December, taking in the Emirates Australian Open and Australian PGA Championship.

Inside The Ropes can be heard on a range of podcast apps including major platforms such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Pocket Casts, TuneIn Radio, Overcast and Podcast Addict. Alternatively, it can be found at www.golf.org.au/insidetheropes on the Golf Australia website.

“The beauty of the podcast is that we’re really flexible in our content, our timings and, just as importantly, where the show’s future lies,” Sutherland said.

“We’ve had some great feedback and will continue to try to act on our listeners’ great ideas.”

Specific shows from participating states will not return as part of the new series with content blended into the national program. Listeners can still access the first 10 episodes of state shows from respective state websites in Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria and Queensland.

Visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFQN3tll58g to view a showreel of series one.