2026 season kick-off: Brooks out at LIV, Bryson TBD, National Links Trust update, and 2026 predictions. Presented by Titleist.
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Really appreciated the updated NLT discussion here. As you can imagine, here in DC we are extremely angry about this turn of events and feel quite helpless (an all-too-familiar feeling for many of us these past 12 months). NLT is an incredible organization staffed by dedicated, knowledgeable caretakers of the land who are passionate about making golf accessible and interesting. The alternative presented is objectively worse in nearly every way.
In addition to the insanity of turning one of the busiest (and most accessible) 36-hole public golf facilities in the country into a premium Fazio 18, it is almost a logistical impossibility to get hundreds of thousands of spectators to that piece of land for a week of Ryder Cup festivities. Itâs the Montreal GP, but without any train access or anywhere that they could conceivably build out local parking. Theyâd have to expand the roads and the tunnels coming into the peninsula in order to accommodate the commercial buildout required for this single event. Itâs just a monumentally stupid and flawed endeavor, and a vanity project by a man who is pursuing every way he can conceive of to get his name on something near the National Mall while heâs still alive (see: Kennedy Center, East Wing, Trumpâs âTriumphal Archâ).
Also, I posted this in the Trump & Golf thread, but hereâs a quick note from a member of our Roost/National Links Trust employee:
Hi all! As part of NLTâs continued effort to keep the DC golf courses accessible and affordable, we are hoping that there can be a groundswell of support for the work that we are doing on the off chance the administration will reconsider their choice. If you feel strongly enough, any and all posts on any public platform would mean a lot and make sure to tag National Links Trust!
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I grew up in Arlington, VA and moved away 20 years ago. I just heard about the NLT (which I was totally unaware of) and the cancelled lease and I created this account to make this comment, because the memories, excitement over NLT, and then disappointment all just happened for me in the last two minutes when I was listening to the pod.
Man, Hains Point is/was so classic (I only ever knew it as Hains Point and had to check it was the same as East Potomac). My mom would drop me off there as a teenager and then later I would drive thereâplay or just hit balls at night. I still tell people the putting green in front of the classic DC clubhouse is the only place I ever saw a âNo Competitive Puttingâ sign with a dollar sign with a red X over it. Placed right next to the green ala a No Chipping sign!! LOL. And that was right where this group of old black and asian gentleman would hit these 100 ft putts back and forth across the green, betting, literally throwing money on the green each round. So classic. As a kid sometimes theyâd call me over to hit a putt for them.
The mix of people, off work, blue collar, families, etc. that used Hains Point was of course what made it special. My teenage golf career basically consisted of getting there in between summer baseball games, and I remember the one season I played HS golf the coach asked us at the first practice about playing over the summer and all the other kids were generally playing at some country club all summer. And I played maybe 5 times and when he asked where I played I told him mostly Hains Pt. And he sniffed at that and told me âsorry about that.â Man, screw that guy and Hains Pt is awesome!
When I heard about the NLT project all these memories came back (plus some sentimentality for DC), and just how much value comes from these diverse, publicly accessible resources. We need classic, cool munis like this so other kids can have the kinds of experiences I did. Bummed the Trump admin wants to create another gold plated toilet there but maybe given development timeline etc we can wait his administration out and try to save Hains Pt. again. Anyway, cheers!
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After the discussions on the census Nest pod of some changes for 2026, just want to say I really enjoyed this episode.
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Tommy not being a drop is hilarious considering he only can move up one spot. And Scotty is sooooo much better.
The canned âLife Lockâ ad at the end of this episode through me for a loop. Was this a bit?
Ok I have a comment on the TGL discourse-
Last year I thought, meh. Not appointment television but whatever itâs fine.
This year? I have to say, I was DIALED in to the Boston Common/LA matchâŚ
One thing I think is worth mentioning is that I found it helps to watch from the beginning of the matchâŚthis was the first time I did that and it added context to every shot.
Anyway, I liked it and will be watching again.
Side note: the pod can clearly be an echo chamber at times because the idea from the big man that watching them play a video game is on some planet better than watch Rory fucking Mcllroy actually swing the driver is truly an insane take and should have been called out in real time. 
I enjoy watching TGL. Itâs silly, but it has a place in the golf landscape. No one involved seems to know what that place should be, but I think leaning into the silliness would be a good thing. Stinger is a step in the right direction and having well-known designers make virtual golf holes was a really cool move.
One thing is for sure, it doesnât need to be live. I know a big part of the economics of TGL and sports in general is the betting aspect, but showing this on a trimmed down tape delay would make this a better watch. Having a match start at 5pm is tough.
If youâre such a degenerate avid golf gambler that you need the juice from a midweek TGL match, watch it on FanDuel mobile or something.
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I have to echo this sentiment. Loved the 5-man weave that was going on. Hope more of that can happen in 2026. The energy was really good in this whole pod.
With respect to TGL: Iâm a 46 year old guy that is a golf sicko, so while I watch, I can see the flaws in it (weird shots because of launch monitor issues, etc). But I was watching it last night and my 12 year old walks in, and immediately says âTGL is on!â because he remembered it from last winter and he loves the screen golf aspect of it. I think itâs clear that TGL isnât for the mainstream golf audience that watches the PGA Tour on a weekly basis. But if they can get some other audiences watching it, and those audiences are similar to the ones that watch Youtube golf a bunch, then thatâs a win for the PGA Tour overall.
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Iâll also add that this is easily the worst time of the year for live sports. If youâre not into college football (dirty northeast coastal elite over here barely does), youâve got little to watch besides NFL two days a week or regular season NBA/NHL during the middle of the season.
Having this fun little thing on once or twice a week gives me some sort of live sport to watch.
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I guess I quibble with this phrasing. Itâs live, yes, but I donât think of it as sport.
Also, what about college basketball?
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Fair point, although my Siena Saints typically play on Fridays and Sundays so thereâs still a weekday gap to fill of viewing.
Maybe sport-adjacent is the better term? Still, I think my attitude with TGL is itâs not going to change the world but itâs not trying to replace normal televised golf (like LIV tried to) so I have no issue with it sticking around.
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I donât either, for the record. But I do have a problem devoting more than 60 seconds to it at the very end of pod haha
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TGL is the Duke basketball pre-game show, its at least college basketball adjacent
Maybe a compromise is circus music starts playing softly in the background once TGL talk exceeds 90 seconds. That way the listener has the right mentality set in.
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I like that!
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Plenty of room for both. Pick a team like any sport and just watch them. Donât have to watch every match or replace cbb.