When the pandemic shut down the PGA Tour last spring, instructor Claude Harmon III was among the golf personalities who sprang into action, creating content for sheltered-at-home golf fans who were starved for swing tips and Tour action.
But some of that content wasn’t exactly what you’d expect from Harmon.
Sure, Dustin Johnson’s coach was always going to deliver slice solutions and putting advice. The game, and the proper way to play it, is in his blood — that’s what happens when your grandfather (Claude Sr.) is a Masters winner and your father (Butch) a teaching legend. But instead of exclusively counseling golfers on how to stop topping their drives or chunking their wedges, Harmon also dove into his deep network and hosted colorful Instagram Live interviews with big names from the golf world and beyond.
Harmon had hit on something, because often the best golf content isn’t just a clinical swing analysis — it’s a discussion among golfers about the game, its impact and how it fits into the fabric of our lives. Harmon sat down with a variety of guests, from Rickie Fowler’s caddie, Joe Skovron, to One Direction frontman (and golf nut) Niall Horan. Fans flocked to the conversations, as Harmon’s easygoing style and curiosity drew the most out of his guests.
Now, Harmon is bringing that same formula to GOLF.com in the form of a new podcast, Off Course with Claude Harmon.
Launching next week on all major podcast platforms, the show will marry game improvement with life lessons, Tour tales and freewheeling conversation, with the goal of revealing another side of the world’s best golfers, coaches and golf-loving celebs.
“Golf is a very simple game that sometimes tends to confuse smart people,” Harmon says, “so hopefully we can help you with your golf game. We’re just going to talk about this crazy game that everybody loves, talk about the passion that everyone has for golf.”
In his debut episode, which drops Wednesday, June 2, Harmon goes deep with LPGA winner Mel Reid, unpacking not only her impressive game but also what it was like coming out as gay in the golf world. “We all want to give back to the game of golf that has given us so much, and that’s my way of giving back,” Reid said. “I was kind of saying, you know, ‘Hey, this is me. I’m trying to be the best version of myself and so should everybody else.’ The world would be a happier place if people did that. That’s kind of why I wanted to share my story. It wasn’t necessarily, ‘Hey everyone, I’m gay.’ I just wanted to express, ‘Be who you are.’”
Other upcoming guests include Masters winner Trevor Immelman; sportswriter and recent Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Michael Wilbon; and Harmon’s legendary father, Butch, who’s as good a talker as he is a teacher.
