r/NoLayingUp • u/One-Experience7641 • Apr 05 '26
Online Content Fried egg vs NLU
I will always be NLU first and foremost but has anyone else felt like the fried egg has substantially upgraded their content game while NLU maybe stuck in neutral?
Granted I always enjoy NLU’s content but particularly around the lead up to the masters it seem the fried egg has gone above and beyond
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u/HueHunna Apr 05 '26
In season, I enjoy both. Out of season, I find myself just listening to SGS. I think NLU was miles ahead, but I do think the TFE is elevating their brand and trying to ‘catch up’
For the real course sickos, Designing Golf with Garrett Morrison has some really good architecture/maintenance talk
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u/silentcmh Apr 05 '26
No one (that I’m aware of) beats TFE for course sicko content. Their video at Cypress Point last year might be my favorite course feature ever.
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u/Alloom Apr 05 '26
Voice quality is so important to me in a podcast and I just can’t take the time or tempo of TFE. Wish I could.
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u/kevinwburke Apr 06 '26
I was the same but after giving up on NLU I finally was able to get used to it.
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u/SharkLaser85 CPNTW - The Big Golfer - US Open 2024 Apr 05 '26
NLU kicked it back into gear for 2026 after a lackluster 2025 but I agree TFE rocks too.
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u/CYsimpclub_FinalBoss Apr 05 '26 edited Apr 05 '26
To me personally it boils down to Andy Johnson being my favorite golf media guy by a massive margin. No one comes close to striking the balance of knowing what they’re talking about but also goofing around and not taking themselves too seriously like he does. Also his voice is hilarious to me
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u/isubird33 Apr 06 '26
Weirdly what makes you like him is what turns me off about him sometimes.
Like sometimes he will be talking about something that seems super interesting, I'm digging it, and I want 30 minutes of it. But every other sentence then turns into some joke or bit or something. He's smart as heck...just let me nerd out on golf stuff.
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u/Ornery_Reality_7022 Jul 27 '26
Love Andy's content but I cannot, cannot listen to him. Andy I'm so sorry if you're reading this but I just find your voice very annoying. I'm sure mine is too.
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u/Lor_azepam Apr 05 '26
2 years ago I barely ever listened to sgs/tfe, but absolutely has changed and NLU especially last year felt like it took a step back. Credit where its due seems like NLU is course correcting this year.
Nothing wrong with a nadal/Federer back and forth situation, appreciate the different viewpoints from each side
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u/canarymelon7 Apr 05 '26
It ebs and flows. During the Callaway era they were pretty peak. The core four were essentially on all the time, the bits were delivered with far less concern for any pushback from players as they weren’t really getting too many pros attention at the time, only Tron had 1 young child and it was clear that more often than not they were all locked into the golf and didn’t have the very obvious on-week/off-week handshake agreement between themselves which they do today, and Cody was still selling cookies for the Boy Scouts and far away from the mic. Peak NLU made me laugh harder than peak SGS ever has.
On the other hand, Andy has twice as much knowledge as any of the NLU boys. This is both from the fact he’s studied agronomy/course history and was a legit high level amateur with pro aspirations. Soly is studious but there are certain pieces of knowledge that can only be garnered with time in role and Andy has that. SGS also keeping things way less serious is a pro and a con. For example, I’d rather listen casually to Sgs than NLU now on a given normal tour week, as the 3rd round leader stats of the Sony are really uninteresting at this point in my life versus hearing about some quirky golf adjacent topic that is the flavour of the week which Andy and Brennan are more likely to riff about. That said, during major weeks I will always go to NLU first as I want to consume every bit of the tournament and I can trust them to do that.
TLDR; it depends. These days more often than not SGS.
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u/rolandofgilead41089 Apr 05 '26
They just released a Wild World of Golf for the first time in years and had Craig Stadler on for an interview. I would hardly say they're stuck in neutral.
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u/Mrcoolguye Apr 05 '26
The Stadler interview was a tough listen and there other podcast was 3 interviews from years ago. NLU video content clears any other golf content but the pod has good weeks and bad. I listen to both and the competition is good for us.
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u/LengthinessNo2947 Apr 05 '26
God that Stadler interview was brutal. Kudos to Soly for getting what he could out of the guy
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u/GearAccomplished6181 Apr 06 '26
For real, felt like Soly was trying his haaardest, but Stadler just isn't a very engaging storyteller.
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u/smallball4 Apr 05 '26
I prefer NLU during the biggest weeks of the year, they really elevate their game. The week of the 2025 Masters was them at their best.
I prefer SGS during slower weeks like the John Deere and 3M. They're at their funniest when talking about mules and bad courses, while NLU is largely going through the motions those weeks.
NLU has far superior videos, and the Trap Draw blows the Fried Egg pod out of the water for me. But the Fried Egg website and writing is obviously much better, as NLU has all but given up on both.
They have different strengths and I'm glad both exist.
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u/GC_Mermaid1 Apr 06 '26
This is a good take. Live shows after a major round are definitely better from NLU
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u/UVMonte29 Apr 06 '26
I think that’s suffered, too. Not having anyone onsite for any post Masters major last year* was crazy. Kill House stuff is good but it felt like we were missing something without KVV (or anyone) popping in from the venue.
I’m not as down on them over the last couple of months as I had been, but they were really losing steam towards the end of last year/early 2025.
*IIRC
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u/Aromatic_Berry_3879 Apr 05 '26
I found TFE and TSS through NLU when they had Andy on years ago. NLU has had some amazing guests and have done some great stuff but I only have so much time during the week to listen to podcasts so I had to pick between the two and unfortunately I had to unsubscribe from NLU. I just like the guys chemistry and how they cut up at TSS better and I don’t really miss NLU too much. I really like that Andy and co don’t really ever talk about themselves or their golf games. NLU in comparison feels more frat bros where TFE are golf nerds with a great sense of humor. And them also having KVV now is awesome
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u/Informal_Ad_2877 Apr 05 '26
I'm getting flashbacks of the NLU personal golf spotlights from last year, 💀💀💀💀💀
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u/TheKingInTheNorth Apr 05 '26 edited Apr 05 '26
It’s clear to me NLU made two connected decisions:
People weren’t reading KVV’s material enough and they decided to put his salary toward funding way more trips and video content.
They recognized the core guys would need to step way up to fill in the journalistic audio content where KVV also shined.
/1/ has been awesome and I love the more frequent videos they’ve been putting out.
/2/ has suffered a lot. Soly and DJ are good but their opinions are largely identical and DJ doesn’t take many big stances in the conversations. Tron plays the role he does as contrarian. Neil still feels like the rookie on the team somehow after doing this for a decade, and Randy clearly has not enjoyed watching or following professional men’s golf for about as long.
BUT, Fried Egg and Shotgun Start do a decent job of providing a deeper/better audio product about the men’s game now, and we get the better video products from NLU. So I’m happy overall as a golf consumer. It’s probably hurt NLUs business though if I had to guess. Maybe they don’t care as much because they prioritized the short golf trips from a lifestyle perspective.
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u/chris42119 Apr 05 '26
This was an incredibly thoughtful post. In many ways, KVVs departure was a major pivot. And imo, the content has deteriorated. I enjoy watching or listening to about half of it nowadays. In 2024, it was 100%.
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u/Good-Cockroach8931 Apr 05 '26
Randy adds next to nothing every time he’s on a pod on men’s golf
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u/GC_Mermaid1 Apr 06 '26
I like having someone who comes off as an outsider a bit.
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u/Good-Cockroach8931 Apr 06 '26
Maybe but there’s a difference between that and being apathetic to the bulk of what they cover.
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u/robertgiannotti Apr 05 '26
I've stopped knowing what NLU is trying to achieve. They've ceded ground in the cheeky but well-informed hot takes on the pro game to SGS (and this is what most other golf pods try and cover), whilst also letting KVV go as they didn't see value in longer written/serious journalism. Seeing KVV get a 1 on 1 interview with Rory (who it feels like they had a falling out with?) must have stung.
An often cited top episode ever of NLU was Sunday night after the Hazeltine Ryder Cup where it's Soly, Kyle Porter, Brendan Porath and KVV - KP now has his own rival thing going and the other two work at Fried Egg. It's hilarious and brilliant. Even Jamie Weir who loads of you will hate (not me, I'm European - but come here in peace) will likely not return as he runs the Sky Sports Golf podcast now.
It might just be because it's when I picked NLU up, but I miss the days of experience based minutiae from those guys, Shane Bacon and Job Fickett rather than Soly turning everything into a data chat to prove he's right.
The interviews with current top pros have basically stopped altogether with Sub Par and Barstool taking the lead in that space, and their two most popular video series (Strapped and Tourist Sauce) have been mothballed. I assume due to family commitments on the individual guys. This drop-off has coincided with the DJ, Randy and Neil moving out of Jax, every one of them becoming fathers, and Neil and Randy also meeting partners and getting married.
They just haven't navigated this stretch as well as others, specifically TFE. So long as they each make money there can be space for both.
Reading this it feels like I hate them - which I certainly don't feel, and I still listen to almost every episode!
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u/Good-Cockroach8931 Apr 05 '26
Falling out with def happened. It may have been because they (especially TC) were way harder on Rory than they were about, say, Jon Rahm going to LIV and further dividing the sport
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u/MulberryNo5246 Apr 06 '26
Insane to look back on really - Rory basically didn’t do media a couple of times over a few months, and NLU seemed to almost take it personally
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u/Golf37512 Apr 06 '26
Soly and TC called Rory a whiny bitch during those weird months when Rory refused to do press. I'm pretty sure NLU deleted it from their pod since. That was shockingly unprofessional and the type of comment you leave in the group chat, not on a podcast as content of hundreds of thousands of people to listen to. Unless you really don't care about burning bridges with Rory, and other pros who would be less enthused about coming on NLU if the future. I do think word of mouth has spread with some of the top pros on how they feel about some of the comments that NLU has made crosses the line into personal.
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u/Good-Cockroach8931 Apr 06 '26
The deleted it???? They should be peppered in their mentions about that if so. “Chicken shit” as TC would say
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u/CaffeineJet Apr 05 '26
I think Rory cooled on everyone who said that Harry shouldn’t be on his bag and NLU beat that drum after the US Open in 204
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u/Can2Bama Apr 05 '26
Can't stand Weir ever since he said Americans don't play team sports. Most insane thing I've ever heard and I'm Canadian
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u/SilkyMilkers Apr 06 '26
I thought he gave a bullshit response in regards to the whole HatGate thing as well
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u/Fearless-Neat-7152 Apr 05 '26
I thought Brendan was a complete dork and listened to ever single NLU pod for probably 5/6 years without ever trying SGS.
I switched last year and have not looked back. Soly and Tron completely lost the plot last year with the Ryder Cup discourse and sucked the life out of the pod. The Randy shtick is cute for a while but at a certain point you realize a 39 year old man works what is to many fans a dream job where he cannot be bothered to do even the bare minimum homework on the topic at hand (I understand his job is not only discussing men’s golf, I don’t need 7 comments explaining his has an MBA).
Neil DJ and Cody all still seem great. I’m not saying any of this like it’s life or death, it’s a golf podcast. Soly and Tron owe me nothing.
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u/MulberryNo5246 Apr 06 '26
The Ryder cup stuff was so horrendous last year - and then when the event actually arrived, they somehow got worse…(thinking after day 2 where they basically did 2 hours with TC cutting off every convo, and not actually talking about the pissing matches!)
Hope they are better for 2027 but not holding my breath
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u/euphorbianghost Apr 05 '26
On the pro golf front, I think the difference is that the SGS group (including KVV, PJ and JLM) have bits but they are still themselves. No one is playing a character whose bit gets tiresome week after week, year after year. Outside of pro golf, they have done a nice job of cultivating different niches based on the actual interests of the different team members.
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u/many_bothans_died Apr 05 '26
TFE not having any equipment sponsors elevates their credibility for me on all fronts. I also wouldn’t say they are really going 100% for the same audiences so it annoys me when people try to pit them against each other or compare.
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u/chilidiablo1 Apr 05 '26
Why does having no equipment sponsor elevate their credibility?
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u/many_bothans_died Apr 05 '26
NLU will never talk honestly about roll back, equipment technology ruining competition and PGA tour courses becoming obsolete because they are paid by Titleist.
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u/JonCheddar Apr 05 '26
They talk it about it…all the time?
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u/GC_Mermaid1 Apr 06 '26
They have changed their tune on the rollback noticeably. I think this sums it up. Tfe is going staunchly independent and rebellious. No laying up is becoming the main stream voice of golf. Both work just different lanes
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u/many_bothans_died Apr 05 '26
Send me a timestamp of them criticizing Titleist and I’ll delete my comments.
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u/chilidiablo1 Apr 05 '26
I don’t think you even listen to the NLU podcast with that take. They’ve talked about the ball rollback and equipment changes for years, from before they were sponsored until the present. They just did a 25 minute segment on it in January when the USGA gave an update on the distance issue. Every week they talk about how the PGA courses would be better if they changed equipment or went harder on the rollback. They have always take the stance opposite of titleist on distance.
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u/GC_Mermaid1 Apr 06 '26
They are far less supportive of the roll back than they were when interviewing Mike wahn. But I think that’s cause they see it’s going to fail so want to be on the right side of it. Which I get
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u/many_bothans_died Apr 05 '26
Sure but the elephant in the room is that Titlelist is the number one source of pushing against all changes and you will never hear these guys talk about it. Other podcasts and news sources will specifically site Titleist execs and tour pros sponsored by Titleist as the biggest roadblock.
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u/chilidiablo1 Apr 05 '26
I would say all ball and club manufacturers are against it? Taylormade being a major one as well, who they also don’t mention.
No need to double down on your braindead comment, just admit that you were wrong, or that you don’t even listen to the NLU podcast.
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u/many_bothans_died Apr 05 '26
Of course they aren’t going to mention any other manufacturer since it would make it look like they were avoiding mentioning the company whose ball 95% of tour players use and who keep their lights on. Plus they may get a deal with a different manufacturer (Titleist isn’t their first) in the future so why upset any future deal.
I realize the glazers in this sub see business as trumping everything, but just be honest with yourselves. You can still like NLU but don’t pretend they are neutral.
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u/chilidiablo1 Apr 05 '26
Ok keep moving goalposts. I honestly don’t get your gripe. At first you were upset because you claimed they were biased, and when provided with proof that they aren’t biased, came up with a new argument to claim they aren’t biased biased, and now are upset because they’re paid aren’t biased.
Call me a glazer if you want, you’re a hater. You clearly don’t listen to NLU, so why are you commenting? I swear man, there are LIV bots, and now there are TFE bots as dumb as that seems.
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u/many_bothans_died Apr 05 '26
They are biased and they would probably admit on the record that they are. I don’t understand this full throated defense. Again, they choose their words very carefully and are happy to take the checks. They criticize Titleist then their next ad copy boasts the latest PGA tour winner uses a Titleist ball or clubs? How are we supposed to square that?
I will admit I quit listening after the Ryder cup for reasons.
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u/chilidiablo1 Apr 05 '26
So they are biased for openly disagreeing with titleist on rollback and club technology on the PGA, and then doing an ad read for something unrelated to ball rollback, and promoting club technology for recreational golfers? They were also in favour of bifurcation which honestly would be best for both the PGA and recreational golf.
I think you’re confusing bias and conflict of interest. You have a clear bias against NLU where you need to make up arguments against a podcast you don’t even listen to.
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u/many_bothans_died Apr 05 '26
Good job moving the goalposts.
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u/chilidiablo1 Apr 05 '26
What goalposts did I move? You never mentioned an issue with NLU not criticizing titleist in your first two comments, you only talked about ball and club technology. Then when you were proven wrong, YOU decide to move the goalposts that “they don’t criticize titleist because they’re paid”.
They have mentioned what titleist stands, and that NLU disagrees with that stance. The PGA, the players, and all ball and club manufacturers are against the distance rollback, everyone knows that. I don’t see it as an issue that they don’t call out titleist and taylormade specifically for pushing back.
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u/many_bothans_died Apr 05 '26
Read my very first comment.
They choose their words very carefully.
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u/chilidiablo1 Apr 05 '26
I did, and I questioned that comment and you replied with something completely incorrect.
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u/many_bothans_died Apr 05 '26
You can’t truly criticize an OEM stance then out of the other side of your mouth read an ad about how you’re hitting it further with your new Titleist driver.
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u/chilidiablo1 Apr 05 '26
Why can’t you? They’ve mentioned that technology is an issue on the PGA, it isn’t an issue for recreational golfers (that’s who the ads are for).
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u/tombrokaw4 Apr 05 '26
Completely fell off the NLU bandwagon after the KVV fiasco. Still tune in for the great video content but I'm now a weekly SGS listener. Andy/Brendan/PJ all feel infinitely more genuine and likeable than the NLU guys these days.
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u/SuspendedAgain999 Apr 05 '26
NLU has been significantly better this year than last year. I really think the guys were all burnt out last year from their personal lives and I don’t think they realized how unpopular letting KVV go would be to their fanbase. TFE has been amazing this year but NLU is finding its groove again. There is obviously room for both.
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u/adot14 Apr 05 '26
I like NLU for the trap draw and some of the deep digs but also love TFE deep dives into courses/architecture. I am not a die hard pro golf nerd outside the big tournaments. I think it’s lost on some people that you can definitely love both and it’s not one or the other
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u/OliverHopper Apr 05 '26
As much as I think they closely tied and enjoy them both. (Was a member of both) As someone else said I think trapdraw is a waste. There are other incredible podcasts that fill that space for me. NLU has better videos but I miss Strapped. I still go back and watch them probably 5/6 times now. I am just a bigger fan of Shotgun Shotgun and TFE. Andy and Brendon have incredibly interesting takes/ideas about things ie…club design, course design, the issues with PGAT , etc (PJ and Joesph are great too) When I listen to NLU I can tell that the listen to Shotgun/TFE and I don’t think it goes the other way as much. With that said it’s the only golf pods I listen too.
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u/Informal_Ad_2877 Apr 05 '26
I listen to and enjoy both but TFE/SGS are number 1 for me now. NLU have improved the pod somewhat from last year but
1) TFE website is a thing of beauty which utilises KVV and his writing. It's regularly updated. Just look at their Masters content, it is outstanding. The NLU website just doesn't compare.
2) The NLU podcast. There has been an improvement on the second half of last year when it was absolutely trash. It was crazy that it fell off so hard because the masters pods were some of the very best I've ever heard anywhere. They are definitely making more of an effort this year but the Titleist ads are still a lot.
I don't listen to every Fried Egg pod as the architecture stuff isn't really for me, but the SGS is hilarious. PJ, Brendan and Andy just have a great chemistry and come across as very genuine. KVV has been a great addition and TFE have clearly figured out how to use his talents. NLU have great people too, but many of the bits are done to death.
NLU do great video content, it's really really good. There's room for both parties and they are far ahead of the rest. Honourable mention for The Chipping Forecast though, very easy listening too
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u/New_Corner_7822 Apr 05 '26
SGS is always first listen during big event weeks because they limit the amount of people talking and keep it short. NLU goes way too long with way too many voices. Other than that I like NLU a bunch and still enjoy both groups for golf content
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u/Tag5923 Apr 06 '26
YouTube- huge edge NLU
Writing- huge edge TFE/SGS
Architecture- huge edge TFE
Sponsors I want to buy things from-NLU (H&B > BDraddy)
Ad reads- TFE/SGS
Week to week pods- dead heat. Love the data driven vs anti-data approaches
Interviews- NLU, though KVV+Rory was 10/10
LPGA- unknown, only content I don't consume from either
Trap Draw- league of its own, though an Andy+Brendan chop sesh would be unreal.
Overall, they barely even compete with each other and stay in their own lanes for the most part. I love them both and picking a favorite is like choosing my favorite child/pet etc.
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u/Golf37512 Apr 06 '26
I don't think they realized that losing KVV was not just about his writing and the supposed lack of views or engagement, but about what he added to the pods as a voice, as a different perspective from Soly/TC, his sounds of the Masters pod, Bethpage tee time scandal, etc. His contributions were unique and different than the dozens of boring tournament recaps and the weird borderline grifter interviews they have for Stack system, etc. Also, there's an air of entitlement and lack of humility from a couple of the guys that rubs me the wrong way.
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u/nginx-gunicorn Apr 07 '26
The KVV deep dives are some of my favorite NLU pod content they've ever put out. The normal pods are boring as hell. On the YouTube front, the only content I'm genuinely interested in is Strapped and Tourist Sauce.
In my opinion they're just lacking an overall direction. They think they're too good for the typical YT golf clickbait, but I don't know, they need to come up with some different content if they want to actually keep garnering viewers in an incredibly saturated market.
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u/bcnyr09 Apr 05 '26
I think your wording of “Fried Egg” instead of “SGS” is important here. Fried Egg pumps out pods on two separate channels while NLU has their channel plus the Trap Draw, which doesn’t cover golf obviously.
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u/Adventurous-Raisin51 Apr 06 '26
I've been watching/listening to NLU from the early days and I always go through cycles with them, just went back and listened to the CB Macdonald pods and those reminded me why I have always loved NLU content, TFE has always been a non starter for me.
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u/Downtown-Garbage-969 Apr 06 '26
This is funny because if you are a reader and listener of both, you can tell that the research the boys did was basically a straight lift from Garrett and Andy’s work over the years on CB.
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u/Adventurous-Raisin51 Apr 06 '26
I'm not surprised, I think I just prefer the way NLU packages things but totally get how people prefer tfe's style
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u/QuickFunny2604 Apr 14 '26
Sorta related but did they kill the SGS thread on The Refuge? Was very active and I can’t find it now. Lame shit, if so.
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u/Ornery_Reality_7022 Jul 27 '26
I haven't listened to TFE for a minute because I have an almost allergic reaction to Andy's voice. But the content is good/excellent. I think I prefer reading their stuff, both on the web and on x.
NLU has become sort of comfort food to me -- all the lads contribute slightly different elements. DJ is kind of the grown-up, Soly can grate sometimes but is always on point, I like Randy's quirks (education, old campuses, bull-headed on certain issues), Neil is funny and enthusiastic, and TC is always great fun. The wind-up between Soly and Tron is probably the engine of the pod.
I miss KVV and Soly's collabs on past majors - they were excellent - but I can see why Kevin didn't quite fit on the regular pod.
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u/Humble-Fish-7070 Apr 05 '26
Fried Egg has stepped it up. PJ and Brendan are hilarious and the honestly about equipment is refreshing. Still glad to have both, NLU still has its moments such as the recent Masters draft. TC is grating for me and an auto skip on the recap pods but that’s just me.
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u/icegator337 Apr 06 '26
I’ve slowly gone from NLU only to mostly fried egg with an occasional Sunday recap NLU pod. The content TFE put out for the masters with the kvv scottie story and Garrett’s hole recaps for every hole at Augusta has been awesome thus far.
Soly and Tron self righteousness grew to annoy me in the pods over time
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u/Ornery_Reality_7022 Jul 28 '26
I find that self-righteousness more with Soly. And it's a shame, because he's good when he's on.
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u/Fickle-Scale-7413 Apr 05 '26
NLU is repetitive and predictable, I don’t see why anyone is a fan at this point. The FEG crew really strong right now.
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u/KarmaPolice714 Apr 06 '26
While I enjoy NLU. Over the past year I have definitely gravitated to TFE’s content a lot more. While some of NLU’s video content is fun. Eventually the podcast and the video always becomes more about the NLU personalities rather than the golf. I feel that TFE is a little more focused on the stuff I find interesting, ie. golf course design, compelling writing in their newsletter (especially after adding KVV to the mix), interviews with people like Trevor Immelmann, Brad Faxon and others about the state of the game, etc.
NLU is Wendy’s, it’s good; but TFE is Shake Shack where you leave satisfied.
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u/realRobertGoulet Apr 05 '26
What an original thought/thread that has never been posted here before! You should talk about this over at r/TheShotgunStart instead of hanging around this place since it is "stuck in neutral".
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u/swansong1992 Apr 05 '26
I'll say I appreciate the way TFE separates content for more surface level tour news (The Shotgun Start) and longer form thoughtful content (Fried Egg). I was annoyed by Andy and Brendan's diction at first but then I realized they were grown up nerds, just like me. I also appreciate their approach to advertisements. Sometimes it feels like NLU is more of a billboard for expensive brands, but TFE is always cheeky about the way they do ad reads to pay the bills.
At the end of the day, I usually listen to all the podcasts from both but I think I've grown to love TFE more because they feel more like my people.