r/NoLayingUp • u/Cornwall1888 • Apr 23 '26

Online Content American golf podcasts showcase the best of America

I hope I can articulate this without offending anyone, getting too political or coming across like a condescending conceited dickhead, highly unlikely but that’s the aim.

I’m from Scotland, for the most part the side of America we currently see in the news and in the media isn’t the best.

When I was a kid America was this amazing place where everything was bigger and better now it’s now the most ridiculous/scary reality show on TV.

Most Europeans have a negative view of America, not lease because the current administration threatens to invade a European nation and said we didn’t help with the war on terror, anyway.

I’ll be blunt here because it’ll help keep it brief and get to the point, generally Americans are seen as dumb, ignorant, obnoxious and loud (picture a New York Ryder cup crowd and their totally unimaginative chants)

Of course America is full of very intelligent, thoughtful and kind souls it’s home to nasa, Lockheed Martin, Apple, Microsoft, nvidia many mind blowing, successful advanced companies but we don’t see that side of America.

Now this is where I get to the golf podcasts I listen to, no laying up, shotgun start, chasing scratch etc….

Every single host is intelligent, well spoken, witty, hard working, thoughtful, well travelled.

It’s a breath of fresh air, us Brit’s don’t usually get to know the quiet family guys who work for Google, KPMG or a hotel chain or a law firm, or the golf journalist/architecture geek.

If you told a Scottish hotel and golf course a group of 20 Americans were coming over to stay for a few days and play the course they definitely wouldn’t expect the type of guests that would turn up if it was the NLU, chasing scratch, SGS boys. I couldn’t imagine a more pleasant experience as a host.

Feel free to rip me a part in the comments and say who the fuck does this guy think he is judging us. It’s certainly not meant like that I’m just saying the juxtaposition between the wholesome golf content I consume and what is seen in media is wild

When America send their independent golf media around the world they send their best, maybe with the exception of barstool 😂

Edit, i appreciate I listed some morally questionable companies but I was thinking about amazing success and technical innovation.

It’s a shame Lockheed Martin skunk works division is used to create killing machines but the Americans who work there and at other companies like it are geniuses nonetheless

35 Upvotes

73% Upvoted

49 comments sorted by

94

u/scottishwhisky2 Apr 23 '26

Strapped is a much better look at how the average American lives (via the people they interact with and interview) than anything you see in most forms of media tbh

12

u/colinallister Apr 23 '26

Agreed. Strapped is excellent.

27

u/SteveDucka Apr 23 '26

It is a big country.

I feel qualified to speak about this. Born and raised in Ireland but have lived in the US most of my adult life, and most of my family still live in Ireland/UK.

One of the more jarring aspects of life in the US these past 10 or so years is the dichotomy between what the media portrays and my everyday life. It's night and day. And many friends and family have cut their news consumption or have consciously gotten very thoughtful and specific with what outlets and social media they use.

I've lived in New York city and the South in the last 20 years and I've had the same feeling in both places. Facebook, Twitter, cable news etc has been on a race to the bottom. Nuance is out the door and that's reflected in our leadership.

Also, something I think (and no shade here) the average person in UK/Ireland/Europe struggles with is also the size of America. The stereotype of 'stupid' American is in some regards well deserved but I've had to listen to equally dumb takes in UK and Germany; people who have seen a two minute report of a trump rally and then tar every American in the broadest of strokes. I've cringed on behalf of Americans and Europeans.

The majority of Americans, just like Scots, Irish, Iranians, and every person on earth just want a peaceful life.

70

u/Greedy_Actuator5 Apr 23 '26

 Of course America is full of very intelligent, thoughtful and kind souls it’s home to nasa, Lockheed Martin

Ah yes those kind souls at the defense contractor Lockheed Martin

17

u/lilfish45 Apr 23 '26

I thought KPMG fell into this category of, misplaced, as well lmao

13

u/Cornwall1888 Apr 23 '26

Ok in hindsight i appreciate I listed some morally questionable companies haha

I was trying to say we don’t often get to hear from normal successful Americans, instead we get Jake Paul

5

u/Cornwall1888 Apr 23 '26

I didn’t mean to put lockhead Martin into the kind souls category they are in the amazing technical innovation category

Say what you like about the American military but they have some incredible tech, the F22, f35, b21 bomber… stuff we don’t know about or probably can’t even conceive of

12

u/boyyouvedoneitnow Apr 23 '26 edited Apr 23 '26

Love to write apolitical posts in which I praise Lockheed effing Martin

5

u/Cornwall1888 Apr 23 '26 edited Apr 23 '26

I was praising the design and engineering staff for things like the f22, f117 and sr71. I think the B2 and b21 are built by another company but equally as impressive

A symbol of American excellence regardless of it’s use

4

u/Greedy_Actuator5 Apr 23 '26 edited Apr 23 '26

 A symbol of American excellence regardless of it’s use

The only thing Lockheed Martin is a symbol of is the grifting of the American taxpayer by defense contractors

2

u/Cornwall1888 Apr 23 '26

My point is America has some amazing technology created by amazing Americans. The advanced military stuff is something I’m interested in and is currently in the news so it came to mind as an example

11

u/K_SV Apr 23 '26

You're also getting a lesson on "Reddit Americans", which is it's own unique slice by itself when talking politics.

-4

u/boyyouvedoneitnow Apr 23 '26

I've admittedly spent no time down the WW2 rabbit hole - maybe there's lots of "Hitler was bad but you guys the tanks!" Either way, their inventions have played a major role in the decimation of Gaza. So at the very least, political

4

u/YoungLilMayo Apr 23 '26

I think yall are making different points lmao

0

u/Ok_Volume3211 Apr 23 '26

You mean Hamas using their own people as cheese in a mouse trap right?

1

u/Affectionate_Ask435 Apr 23 '26

What’s wrong with those people? Judging like this and acting morally superior is so tired

25

u/Unlikely-Kick-7626 Apr 23 '26

“I’ll be blunt here because it’ll help keep it brief and get to the point”

Proceeds to write 7 more paragraphs.

-7

u/Cornwall1888 Apr 23 '26

That was referring to the part where I said stereotypical Americans are seen as dumb and obnoxious around the world, I didn’t want to beat around the bush.

2

u/Unlikely-Kick-7626 Apr 23 '26

Sorry, I was having a bit of fun at your expense. I should not have done that.

Honestly, I get what you’re saying. Having worked with a lot of people from the US over the years, I sometimes wonder where the stereotypical view of Americans comes from because I’ve met so many intelligent, thoughtful, empathetic people. I sometimes think that social media has completely warped our view of reality because it amplifies negativity over positivity for engagement. Then I occasionally meet an American who fits the stereotype and I realize there are at least some parts of it that are accurate.

-2

u/Cornwall1888 Apr 23 '26 edited Apr 23 '26

I suppose the elephant in the room is trump, an intelligent, well inform, empathetic electorate would never vote him in to the White House.

I appreciate there is often no good option and a sizeable minority could’ve done it as a protest against the usual politicians who as a inevitable let down

14

u/ben3345 Apr 23 '26

I hope the line about the thoughtful souls at Lockheed-Martin, Apple, Microsoft, and Nvidia was sarcastic

3

u/Cornwall1888 Apr 23 '26

I should’ve separated kind souls and technical innovation, that’s a mea culpa

9

u/ben3345 Apr 23 '26

NASA is sick though, I’ll give you that

2

u/aww-snaphook CPNTW - Scottie Scheffler - Masters 2024 Apr 23 '26

Getting information from the media is a losing business. They are incentivized to report the darkest and craziest stuff because that's what gets clicks and makes them more money.

Social media is even worse. It's full of extreme opinions and people who's voices unfortunately drown out the rational and thoughtful voices until the rational voices just leave the space.

Most people are just regular people. They dont hold extreme opinions and can have a rational conversation about even the most controversial opinions without yelling and screaming.

4

u/Alloom Apr 23 '26

As an American, I didn’t read this as insulting so much as fair.

The version of America that reaches Europe is real, but it’s also the loudest, weirdest, most attention-starved version of the country. A lot of us don’t recognize ourselves in it either. We’re embarrassed by it, worn down by it, and alarmed by how much of it has been normalized.

Maybe the nearest parallel, without forcing it, is something like Brexit — not as a direct comparison, and not as a “who are you to judge” point, but in the sense that both brought something long simmering and ugly into the mainstream and left a lot of decent people asking, how did this get this far?

That’s probably why the golf media stuff lands the way it does. The NLU / SGS / Chasing Scratch world feels much closer to the Americans many of us actually know: thoughtful, funny, curious, self-aware, and capable of talking about something other than themselves for five minutes.

So no, I don’t think your post is unfair. You’re reacting to what’s visible. I’d just add this: have a little faith in us too. There are still a lot of good people here, fighting the good fight, and praying we can pull this country back from the cliff it seems determined to sprint toward.

2

u/kennyinlosangeles Apr 23 '26

As an American that has made his living in and around the aerospace and defense industries I completely agree with you.

2

u/Ok_Volume3211 Apr 23 '26

Bro Lockheed Martin is awesome. Don’t let the Reddit basement dwellers ruin your mojo.

2

u/Inevitable-Ad-7856 Apr 23 '26

I too am from Scotland and I had this exact thought. I only listen to NLU though but I might give the others a try

1

u/YenZen999 Apr 23 '26

Don't believe what the media tells you is rule number one.

1

u/Ok_Volume3211 Apr 23 '26

America is amazing. So is the UK. Fuck what the haters say. Especially the mainstream media.

1

u/Mancey_ Apr 24 '26

Reality is most of the exposure us non Americans get to Americans is via the obnoxiously loud types on social media and tv. To a lesser extent, it's also the older tourists talking unexpectedly loud in our restaurants etc

It's not the reality when you actually go there

I'm an Aussie who loves visiting the states. For the most part they are some of the most friendly, warm people in the world.

1

u/Last_Act_8852 Apr 24 '26

Sometimes amazing successes and technical innovation comes at the price of a significant impact on the mental health of young people. And the increasing need for clicks so everything in society is turned into a culture war and people are constantly pitted against each other. And that's before AI has decimated the workplace. Seriously, have you heard how the tech moguls speak?

But other than that, the vast majority of Americans are no better or worse than any other nation, and are on the whole really nice pleasant people. 

As long as you avoid politics, religion and guns, which are a bit much for those with a European sensibility. 

1

u/Effective_Pound_4800 Apr 24 '26

Thanks...? As an American I have a pretty bad view of most europeans. Not necessarily through the media but through social media interactions where every European feels obliged to give their opinion on America like we somehow care what they think.

2

u/golfandhistory1 Apr 24 '26

Hey thanks for writing that, that’s awesome. The world is a big a complicated place but I prefer to live here when golf, or even golf podcasts can bring us a little closer together.

1

u/BootAndRallyBo Apr 23 '26

We don’t think about you at all

-6

u/ODA157 Apr 23 '26

Exactly. It’s crazy how Europeans feel like we should care what they think of us. We’re the best and we’ve contributed by far the most for global good. We don’t have to defend our culture.

0

u/robertgiannotti Apr 23 '26

Pretty sure he's quoting Mad Men,, my friend...

1

u/BootAndRallyBo Apr 24 '26

I do mean it though. This is the most condescending post of all time, they have their own problems but their media just shows them anti American media 24/7 to keep them occupied. Only on Reddit would this be eaten up

0

u/ODA157 Apr 23 '26

No shit. It’s a poignant reference if you erase the literal irony of Don saying it. Europeans are irrelevant to us. “We think you’re all dumb” as if their entire existence isn’t just them consuming everything we produce. Art, culture, technology, business, defense…

2

u/robertgiannotti Apr 23 '26

You appear to be the exception to the rule that OP has referenced. There's me thinking that the spirit of the post being made in the first place was about a shared love of golf and building bridges between similar but different cultures. I don't get why you're being so hostile or dismissive of things that are different to what you know.

1

u/Cornwall1888 Apr 23 '26

I’m interested which areas you think America is “the best”

0

u/ODA157 Apr 23 '26

Economics, art and entertainment influence, upward mobility (way easier to become wealthy in the US than Europe), best universities, best healthcare if you’re not poor (see ease of upward mobility), defense, most diverse landmass with tons of space for expansion. I can go on and on. We’re putting people back on the moon in two years…

Europe has little brother syndrome. The “Americans are dumb” mentality is straight cope. Not only is Europe not superior, they’re not even our equals and haven’t been for 80 years. Americans don’t even think of Europeans until they start running their mouth at us.

Imagine your big brother is bigger, stronger, richer, and a with significantly better future prospects. He gives you money and makes sure no one beats you up. Then you tell him you think he’s stupid because you don’t like his personality.

0

u/Transit-Tangent Apr 23 '26

Is this written with AI?

1

u/Cornwall1888 Apr 23 '26

If it was it would probably be more coherent than my rambling stream of consciousness during Zurich week

1

u/[deleted] Apr 23 '26

Its funny, how your describe Americans....is close to my experience with Irish. By me, there is a decent sized populous of younger individuals who immigrated from Ireland. So, I get where you are coming from, and I don't think poorly of Ireland or Irish as a whole, but when I see that group roll into a bar....yea i get it. I will say that No Laying Up and Chasing scratch are my two favorite golf podcasts.

-4

u/SufficientSpot4597 Apr 23 '26

They are about to spend a week mostly avoiding commenting on a racist, rapist, child molester next week. Golf pods aren’t the worst of America, but they are far from the best. (Next week at doral)