The Mid Mid-Ams Podcast

Jon and Chris discuss a wide variety of topics including fall golf, the USGA Mid Amateur, reinstated amateurs, DP World Tour watching, distance debate/solutions, favorite swings on tour, and what they are currently working on in their respective games.

Adam Sanders is the local Field Sales Representative at PING. He answers all of Jon and (mostly) Chris's questions related to all things PING. He breaks down his 9 years at PING, including past and current roles and responsibilities. He also talks about his college golf days, current competitive golf, and his personal set of golf clubs. Tune in for a look into the equipment rep side of the game.

As former Mid Mid-Ams guest Bill Zylstra said, "Chester should be winning...." Well, winning is just what Chester (Chet) VandenBerg did at the GAM Mid Amateur up at The Highlands at Harbor Springs! Jon and Chris were excited to get Chet on the podcast right after his big win. He talks about the trip, the tournament, celebrating with his family, and the rest of his career leading up to it. Congratulations to Chet on his win!

Jon and Chris recap the second and final day of the Golf Association of Michigan Mid Amateur tournament. Thanks to the GAM and Boyne for putting on such a great tournament.

Jon and Chris wrap up the first day of action at the Golf Association of Michigan Mid Amateur on the Ross Memorial Course. They go through their respective rounds, discuss changes to the course since they last played it, run down the top of the leaderboard, and look forward to tomorrow at the Hills Course.

Anthony Sorentino has been one of the most consistently elite amateur golfers in Michigan for the last 20 years. He was also a contestant on the original Golf Channel Big Break, which rebooted for another season next week after a many year hiatus. Anthony tells Chris and Jon about getting on the show and what it was like to compete in this unknown-at-the-time experience. He follows that discussion up with an in-depth look at his golfing career, which has been impressive. He has three GAM Mid-Amateur wins, in which Jon, Chris, and Anthony will be competing next week. *Note, in the episode, a start date of August 25 is mentioned for the new season of The Big Break. This season has been canceled.

Jon and Chris are joined by Michigan Golf Hall of Famer Bill Zylstra. Bill is a Michigan golf legend, and his stories are equally legendary. He was one of the best Senior Amateurs in the world for a number of years. The Mid Mid-Ams had a great time listening to Bill's stories from his golfing life. At 75 years old, he's still competing and playing a lot of golf, which is aspirational. Mid Mid-Ams scheduling note: it is vacation season, so there will not be a podcast released on August 12, and possibly not August 26. There will be two released the first week of September, as Chris and Jon will be participating in the Golf Association of Michigan Mid Amateur, and podcasting on site.

Jon and Chris provide updates on how the tournament season has gone so far, what tournaments they are looking forward to, and revisit season goals set in January. A little mid-season reflection for the Mid Mid-Ams. There is a lot to look forward to.

Chad Johnson is the Vice President of the Michigan Publinx Golf Association, as well as an assistant coach with the Wayne State University Men's Golf Team. He joins the Mid Mid-Ams Podcast to talk about his two Michigan Publinx State Match Play victories, his time with Wayne State as a player and a coach, and the other tournaments he plays in from year to year. Chad tells Chris and John about his mental approach and how he helps his college players with that side of the game.

Dan Ellis joins the podcast to talk about growing up in the UP, playing golf at MSU with his twin brother, and how he got into coaching college golf. Dan discusses the difference between caddying in the US Amateur, on the PGA Tour and LIV Golf Tour. Dan shares an update on his current game, what tournaments he is playing this year, and rehashes his 2019 GAM Player of the Year Season.

Jon interviews Chris about his (very) recent trip to Scotland. Discussion includes why Jon didn't go on the trip, courses played list, logistics, caddies, favorites, equipment, clothing, food, and everything in between. Chris talks of hitting cups for the entire trip, which is admirable. Scotland is a bucket list trip for a lot of golfers, so tune in for some fun stories and tidbits that might help plan a trip over, or compare against your own experience.

Derek Barribeau is a successful mid-am golfer who enjoys traveling to very highly rated courses to qualify for USGA tournaments. His courses played list is unbelievable, as is his tournament courses played list. He tells Chris and Jon about growing up in the Detroit area, college golf, mid-am golf, and currently living and playing in California. He also talks about having 195+ mph ball speed! There were plenty of fun stories and laughs along the way.

Scott Coleman is the Golf Services Manager at Red Run Golf Club in Royal Oak, MI. He and Chris go way back to their days working together at Western Golf & Country Club in Redford. The hosts had a great discussion with Scott ranging from places of work, caddie programs, fun member and guest stories, and the Evans Scholars Foundation. There were plenty of laughs to go around. It is always interesting to learn about different aspects of golf, in this case, the finer points of working at country clubs. Scott and Chris go in-depth on the Evans Scholars Foundation, which will likely be of interest to the parents of teens who listen to The Mid Mid-Ams Podcast.

Chris and Jon go in depth on their respective golf bags. Both being equipment nerds, this was a fun episode to record. Though 14 clubs is all one can play with on a given day, both podcast hosts have quite a few more that don't make it in the bag each day. They describe how they got into equipment, how and why they purchase clubs, and how they dial them in. Golf balls and bags are also included in the discussion.

Chris and Jon are joined by Jason May. Jason is an accomplished golfer and runs one of the most prestigious invitational golf tournaments in the state of MI. He tells stories of qualifying for the Buick Open on the PGA TOUR, college golf, Publinx, time spent playing professional golf, and his history with the Michigan Medal Play at Detroit Golf Club. The stories flowed for an hour and a half, and were very entertaining. Please like, subscribe, follow, and adjust settings to auto download. If you'd like to reach Jon or Chris, our email address is in our About/Bio.

Jon was lucky enough to make trips south on consecutive winter weekends. Chris asks all the right questions about the weather, courses, WITB (What's In The Bag), pro shops, merch, resorts, and more. Trips were to the Dallas, Texas area and the greater Tampa, Florida area. Please Like/Subscribe/Follow and be sure to adjust your settings to auto-download.

If you've played in a Golf Association of Michigan (GAM) event in the last 24 years, you likely know who Ken Hartmann is. Jon and Chris got to hear the other side of GAM and USGA tournament golf as it pertains to setup, rules, complaints, and everything in between. Ken tells some entertaining stories from years past, and provides some details regarding his golf background. There were a lot of laughs to go around. Congratulations to Ken for being named the 2026 recipient of the Michigan PGA Distinguished Service Award! The award honors outstanding individuals who display leadership and humanitarian qualities, including integrity, sportsmanship, and enthusiasm for the game of golf. If you'd like to reach Jon or Chris, please email us at mid.mid.am.jl@gmail.com

Jon and Chris each bring a list of their three favorite tournament golf courses. They discuss why each course made the list, with both having played tournament golf on each course on the lists. The time flew by recording this one!

Andrew Smith is the President of the Michigan Publinx Golf Association. He joins the Mid Mid-Ams on a cold winter day to talk about his recent tournament play in Arizona, growing up in England, college golf in North Carolina, and his competitive golf since then. He also talks about his time with Michigan Publinx as a player, Board member, and now President. Chris and Jon had a blast with this one, and there were laughs throughout. Enjoy!

Jon and Chris review their 2025 golf seasons, touching on number of rounds, new courses played, tournaments played, best rounds/shots of the year, worst rounds, and everything in between. They end the episode by laying down some goals for the 2026 golf season. Accountability to come!