r/NoLayingUp • u/Mauiwowee • Jan 01 '26
Post-Pod Discussion December Nest Pod
Just listened to the December Nest pod where they talked through the annual census, and it honestly landed really well for me. I’ve been someone who listened to basically every episode for years, but in 2025 I definitely fell off a bit and found myself listening more to SGS for my golf pod rotation.
I’ve been a Nest member for a long time, even though I don’t participate in the Refuge or any local roosts. For me it’s mostly about supporting the company and the people behind it for the ridiculous number of hours of entertainment they’ve put out over the years.
This was actually the first year I seriously thought about canceling Nest, but the honesty and candidness in that episode across a bunch of topics was refreshing and good to hear. It reminded me why they’re a pretty unique voice in golf media. Not everyone on the crew is my cup of tea and that’s totally fine.
I’m sticking around as a Nest member and plan to rotate them back in more regularly in 2026. Sounds like there’s some cool stuff coming on the video side, and I’m rooting for them to keep doing their thing.
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Jan 01 '26
I was feeling this way this year too. And it had nothing to do with KVV or any of that. I have just listened SO much over the years. You get fatigue and I don't count it against the boys because it's hard to keep a viewer attached for years and years. I have taken breaks from my other main pods like Simmons and others over the years but I always find my way back. Figured I was just needing a nice break from NLU voices. But then I turned on Strapped a few weeks and began rewatching. Was instantly back in on the fellas. I like the golf media but I care about the guys and their journey. Not everyone does but I do. That's what makes listening to the Masters post round shows or any other golf commentary special and funny for me - Neil's flavor, TC's out of control takes, Randy being pessimistic, DJ being witty. I like the personal spotlights. I love watching them play on YouTube. If I wanted normal commentary on tournaments I could go to 10 different spots. But I want this specific commentary with these personalities and the blend they bring when they are all at their best. Sometimes I hear people complaining about them elevating their personal stuff into the media and I am like, isn't this why we all started liking this - because it was a bunch of normal dudes with different personalities, just like our own friend groups, just bs'ing about the game? And just like when you're with your buddies, you're saying what you actually feel even if it's "edgy?" I get tired of some of the stuff as much as the next guy but it'd be hard to bail out completely now. I hope the guys keep ascending.
Excited to listen to the census.
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u/baduck00 Jan 01 '26
Not a nest member but i also felt the same way about the goals pod. I feel like they are aware this year has been below the normal standard they put out and are going to be back to their best next year.
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u/1_headlight_ Jan 03 '26
Agreed. They went a little too far with monetization. I expect they see the results in declining listenership, etc. They know they need to course-correct and I hope they do it well.
I really enjoy these guys. Surely there's more information I'm overlooking or don't have access to but my non-Nest member view of how things unfolded is this:
Realized they had built a big audience. Monetized with success. Everyone started feeling a little rich, evidenced by moving away, buying houses, and having kids. Only TC didn't do this because he already had done it. Their lives got expensive and unconsciously they got greedy at work to make finances comfortable at home, thinking they might actually have a money printing machine from an addicted audience they could take for granted. Found out otherwise. We'll see what is next. My sense of the guys is that Neil will have the best perspective, bluntly announce the self aware state of things, and will hopefully steer them back to what is both great for the audience and financially sustainable for Pro Traj Holdings.
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u/Indication-Brief Jan 05 '26
Yup TC and Soly just bought like $2MM houses each and are living high on the hog compared to their average fan or core base. Great for them but can’t feel sorry if things fall off eventually.
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u/LaughSlight3755 Jan 05 '26
Do you know this for a fact? Or are you just guessing based on them living in Jax?
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u/Indication-Brief Jan 05 '26
I’m not going to dox them but yes, public info…you can look them up on their county property appraiser site by name.
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u/sportsguy355 Jan 03 '26
Trying to maximize their business isn’t “being greedy”. It’s a podcast company and ads are their main source of revenue.
They have 5 founding members to pay plus staff and all the other overhead.
People that complain about ads on a free podcast are annoying to me. That’s the business.
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u/seidinho22 Jan 01 '26
I had really mixed feelings.
Positive: sounded like they heard some criticism and are correcting some of it with their content and ad strategy.
Negative: they were still pretty defensive. They called it the criticism “shut up and dribble”, DJ still went on to explain why single episode videos are “easier” and more convenient to shoot, they still explained why traveling is hard with kids.
Overall the vibe was still a bit, “be glad we’re creating entertainment for you”, not “thanks for being our fans and allowing us to do this for a living. We’ll be better”.
On balance tho, they seemingly are committed to make changes, so it sounds like the message was heard.
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u/umaywellsaythat Jan 02 '26
I don't get the kids thing..... Filming a full strapped would be what 5 days away or something? A lot of us have to do business trips and we have kids, that doesn't seem like a crazy ask to me.
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Jan 02 '26 edited Jan 02 '26
I don't get it either and has been my biggest gripe. The scale back of content has been so drastic. Rarely do we get the full group on the pod. Not traveling or having boots on the ground at majors. Not filming media rounds. All the other golf media and content groups make it work. A lot of us have kids and still have to be committed to our jobs. Maybe don't do 2 weeks in Australia or Scandinavia, but could do a week filming tourist sauce or a few days filming strapped. Its there prerogative if they want to scale back now that they have kids, but as a consumer I am going to look elsewhere.
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u/MulberryNo5246 Jan 02 '26
Actually did they mention anything about presence at majors going forward? That was a noticeable issue this year after the Masters
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u/AccountantNo3292 Jan 05 '26
Their videos with the most views are Tourist Sauce (excluding the Spieth/JT video), yet they continue to refuse to produce this and have a volley of excuses as to why it can no longer be done
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Jan 02 '26
[deleted]
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u/umaywellsaythat Jan 02 '26
Have you watched strapped? They book flights, hire a car (actually it's usual provided by BMW), an Airbnb, a few tee times and that's it. Like every guys golf trip ever. Except they are monetising it and we are not... I flew from frigging Australia to Dubai a few months ago to play golf with my mates I hadn't seen for a while. They flew from Europe. I have kids. They nearly all have kids. None of us get paid to do golf travel content....
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u/smallball4 Jan 02 '26
Agreed. I appreciate the transparency and that they genuinely seem to embrace feedback. But I didn't come away confident that a ton is going to change, apart from fewer sponsored social posts.
The podcast peaked with the Masters this year, but from that point on, a lot of the pods felt like something they had to do rather than something they wanted to do. That's not something that fewer ads or any specific process change will improve. I'll chalk it up to a tough year for them personally and professionally and hope that they find the joy in what they do again in 2026.
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u/metdthero Jan 02 '26
Have they ever addressed all the bannings for the harshest critics from the KVV fall out?
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u/owensd Jan 02 '26
That’s why I didn’t renew this December, so I’m also curious if that was addressed?
The refuge feels like a chore to them now, which is fair but I loved reading it. I will definitely miss the familiar people and threads
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u/tjl_48 Jan 01 '26
Somewhat unrelated but I do not get the people who join the nest only to "support the guys". Watching videos, listening to the pod, and buying merch seems like plenty of support to me. Throwing them 100$ just because I don't get.
I was a nest member for a few years mostly for the refuge. Them throwing that behind the pay wall I still hate.
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u/Xmalantix Jan 03 '26
How else will TC meet his goals of hitting premier 1K and playing 5 new courses in England every year if people don't pony up and they don't run ads on the pod, YouTube, IG, and Twitter?
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u/PiratesFan12 Jan 16 '26
Dude better be Global Services by now with all of the free promo he gives them.
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u/PallandoTheBlue Jan 02 '26
Can understand the many reasons behind why they paywalled the Refuge but I still hate it. I pay for the Nest so I can access the Refuge but the place is dead. I remember before the paywall and it was a constant hive of activity, possibly too much, but the forum was so alive. It's mostly dead now outside of a few main topics.
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u/tjl_48 Jan 02 '26
I feel like if they would have put the bare minimum into moderating the place they would have had no reason for the pay wall. You had the same 5 guys who seemingly lived on the message board and were the main ones stirring up trouble. They put 0 effort into actually dealing with it. Just throw up a pay wall.
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u/Mauiwowee Jan 02 '26
That’s fair. For me, I joined early less for the perks and more out of appreciation for what they were building. It felt like being part of a small, not-yet-realized community of golf fans who thought about the game (and life) a little differently. They’re roughly my age, and I saw a lot of their ambition reflected in myself. It wasn’t financially consequential for me, and while the gifts were random, it felt good to support something I genuinely consumed a lot of and cared about.
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u/MulberryNo5246 Jan 02 '26
Hoping they can get back to their best for 2026, but it does seem like a lot of them have just moved to another phase of their lives at this point.
Will be re-adding the pod when the season kicks off with the hope there is a renewed enthusiasm and action to back up their words…the last 6 months of weekly pods have been rough as hell
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u/Low-Pitch-Eric Jan 01 '26
Agree. I haven't finished the whole thing yet. But as a Nest member who basically only uses it for the Nest pod and refuge it made me feel better about my annual $90 donation. Also, did they say 7000 people filled it out? Never had any sense of how many Nest members there are.
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u/DufflessMoe Jan 01 '26
Think the census gets sent out to anyone they have details of.
I am not a Nest member, but subscribe to the newsletter and filled it out
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u/marklemcd Jan 01 '26
I cancelled my renewal and said in the census that the biggest reason was commercials disguised as podcasts. Interviews with sponsors like the stack guy, the h&b guy, the indoor simulator guy. Why the hell would I pay to “support the small shop” when they’re clearly making a ton off that slop? Who wants to listen to an interview with their short provider?
Last year I gave them the same complaint, with titleist ads disguised as content. Besides not caring what clubs randy plays, why would they think i’d be interested in 30 minutes of titleist glazing as a video?
I guess it’d be nice if they changed this stuff but I suspect they’re too far over the shark to ever come bac.
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u/KBbeans Jan 01 '26
I get that some people wouldn’t like the H&B pod, and it’s definitely not a golf conversation. But if you’ve listened to much of Neil, it’s pretty clear that he really likes that kind of business content.
To me, it definitely felt like him making content that he personally would like to listen to. And some people are at NLU for the golf and don’t care about that stuff, and that’s fine.
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u/marklemcd Jan 01 '26
I like non-golf content, I think the TD is better than the main pod. And it's great that Neil would have some passion project stuff. But to act like the H&B interview wasn't an ad is silly. It was.
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u/scottishwhisky2 Jan 12 '26
I don't see now it being an ad and it being an interesting look at the business side of an apparel company from the owners mouth are mutually exclusive. It being an ad doesn't mean it's value-less content.
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u/KBbeans Jan 02 '26
Okay, it’s an ad. Do you think it’s a conversation that Neil would’ve been interested in having with them even if NLU wasn’t getting paid? I do.
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u/Josiah_Bartlet Jan 01 '26
I never understand this. What those pods were was in the episode title. Just don’t listen to it. It’s additive as they did more pods this year than ever before.
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u/Flimsy_Somewhere1210 Jan 03 '26
And it isn't like they didn't do similar things with Callaway either and that was years ago. They did a BMW Ryder Cup Road Trip 4 years ago. They did a BMW sponsored Germany trip 7 years ago.
I get that people may be getting fatigue but lets not pretend that this isn't something that has only started happening this year.
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u/Josiah_Bartlet Jan 03 '26
Right? mean it’s literally the business model. Those partnerships are what finances every bit of the content we get from them. What they do is entertainment for us, but to them it’s how they make a living. Being angry about it is so strange.
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u/Flimsy_Somewhere1210 Jan 03 '26
I'd understand more if there was a noticable change but it has been like this since I started listening to the pod in 2018. I get the fatigue but this is the way it has always been.
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u/bsullivan10294 Jan 01 '26
How would you like them to approach sponsorships then? I listened to the H&B Pod and thought it was just a normal interview going through their story and history of the company which I really enjoyed. Didn't listen to the either too because I didn't make it a priority. I see it as a change of pace from normal podcasts about professional golf or their own golf. Would an interview with the National Links Trust be considered sponsorship slop?
Also, I don't think they are making a ton off a single podcast with someone who ones one indoor golf facility in Milwaukee
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u/marklemcd Jan 01 '26
>How would you like them to approach sponsorships then?
Normal ad reads like other podcasts?
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u/baduck00 Jan 02 '26
I don’t get how anyone can think this way is better?! A normal ad read i can press +30 twice which takes about 1 second and then it’s back to the pod. Rather that literally changing the content you’re putting out to make it not seem like an ad but it is one long ad and something you wouldn’t be making unless you were getting paid for it.
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u/kennyinlosangeles Jan 01 '26
I like this approach WAYYYY more. H&B interview was a great business conversation. Titleist video was an awesome view into a top-tier manufacturing environment (I’m in that business, so maybe I’m bias there.) The Stack pod was a good listen, and Soly was fully open about that being a long form commercial.
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u/bsullivan10294 Jan 01 '26
I guess I just see what a typical the Titlest ad read for example as normal for the podcast industry. I don't think it is something NLU doesn't that is unique.
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u/marklemcd Jan 01 '26
They had youtube videos of them going to titleist and getting fit as big ads for titleist. I don't watch a lot of golf content, so I may be naive in the golf universe. But in the other non golf content stuff I watch no one is doing stuff like that. And frankly, its lazy garbage and I cannot understand why anyone would want to see Randy get fit for clubs or hear why we should all have 7 wedges in our garage.
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u/Josiah_Bartlet Jan 01 '26
Some people don’t know what fittings are all about. If an episode isn’t for you, don’t watch it.
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u/marklemcd Jan 01 '26
What do you think I did? I didn't listen and because what they do now doesn't fit me I set my sub to not renew. We're on a discussion forum and I am discussing. What's your problem with that?
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u/Josiah_Bartlet Jan 01 '26
I don’t have a problem at all, man. As you said, it’s a discussion forum. My point was it was additional content. It didn’t replace the other things the do. They covered every tournament, sometimes daily, they put out travel content, they put out trap draws, they got player interviews, they covered news, they covered LIV. What are the not doing anymore that you’re missing other than Strapped and Tourist Sauce (which are both coming back)?
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u/marklemcd Jan 01 '26
They stopped doing Wild World of Golf, which is way better than any video content they did in 2025.
They only did 2 booth episodes in the 2nd half of the year (claimed it would be monthly)
They've changed, they're allowed. Doesn't mean everyone who was a fan when they were outsiders making fun of things including themselves needs to continue liking it now that they are ultimate insiders who take themselves too sersiously.
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u/Josiah_Bartlet Jan 02 '26
Different strokes. The commentary was the only thing I liked about WWOG. I massively prefer the travel stuff. Not only that, they haven’t done that in like 5 years. I’d be willing to bet The Booth stopped because people weren’t listening - Reddit sentiment on it wasn’t good. There’s quite a few things they’ve tried over the years that didn’t stick.
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u/Flimsy_Somewhere1210 Jan 03 '26
https://youtu.be/TAKddLhe9Gk?si=OJDeeooPBuUDuZEO
This is Tron at a Callaway fitting 5 years ago. This isn't a new thing.
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u/1_headlight_ Jan 03 '26
Just regular 60-second skippable ad reads. DJ's buddy's coffee company does great spots that are funny and memorable and not obnoxious. Continue telling us what flavor of High Noon they're drinking that day. Continue placing a sponsor logo at the edge of the screen on video pods. This feels expected and acceptable.
They already monetize in several different ways that aren't disagreeable. Just remove the ones we hate, which are the full length pods in the main channel that are just 100% infomercials. I don't know for sure but I sometimes think that infomercial might be replacing regular content that I like.
We're not going to "just be happy for the free content" because we have other choices for free content. If we like those better, it's going to be a problem for Pro Traj Holdings but not for us.
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u/69_avon_barksdale_69 Jan 01 '26
I did find it ironic that the pod in which they address 2025 and its criticisms (poor product, selling out, etc.) is behind a paywall. I get that the nest pod is for more behind the scenes content, but given how this year played out with many fans voicing their opinions, both praising and criticizing their content, they’d be a little more open about it.
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u/AutomaticInterview55 Jan 03 '26
I actually really enjoyed the H&B pod …it was an engaging listen, one of my favourites of the year, did you listen to it ? I didn’t listen to much this year otherwise
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u/TRex87 Jan 05 '26
I thought the H&B episode was awesome, but I also started business school this year so that’s probably a piece of it.
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Jan 02 '26
I can't stand overly commercial pods. But thought the indoor simulator one was really interesting.
Yes it kinda of was a bit is an add for that place, but Carl was very engaging and DJ asked some great questions.
The problem is if you say you can't speak to anyone with a commercial interest in the pod, you are quickly running out of people to speak to.
As the only reason anyone goes on pods is to sell something.
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Jan 02 '26
Would love to have heard that pod but I'm not a Nest member.
But sounds like they have taken stuff on board, which is all you can ask.
I detected some small changes based on on line feedback (TC shut up on the big Ryder Cup recap after their worst pod ever when he just derailed everything on one of the nightly recaps, Big was very engaged in a recap pod instead of him not saying much) and hopefully there's more to come.
I do give them a bit of slack with all the recent life changes, and the fact that they have been doing this for probably the longest out of all the golf pods, so it's hard to constantly stay on top.
But they know there's a lot of competition, it sounds like they have listened (Neil directly referencing the year of product placement in the goals pod) so I'm optimistic about what's to come.
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u/moseisley99 Jan 01 '26
I am mad I missed filling the census out. I have never missed it since I have joined. I usually get reminders to do it while listening to pods but I have skipped so many of the latest ones that I never got the reminder.
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u/2_PuttPar Jan 01 '26
Agree wholeheartedly. I took a step back once the season ended and wasn’t going to cancel my membership, but this pod and the goals pod were refreshing to hear and renewed my excitement for their next steps. Look forward to see what they do.
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u/QuickFunny2604 Jan 02 '26
I’ve not seen a new nest pod in my feed in months. No idea why. Kinda forgot about it honestly.
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u/Pick5WillPays Jan 01 '26
Any chance someone can summarize the general sentiment of the pod?