Talk of The Town

Dan Davies meets the three men behind Cookie Jar Golf, whose very British take on the game has struck a chord with listeners across the world

- Dan Davies

We are drinking bloody marys on the train as it rattles between frost-coated fields on the way to Rye. It is the morning after the night before: Cookie Jar Golf’s annual Christmas party at Urban Golf in London. Golfers had gathered from all across the UK, a community of the like-minded created by a trio of members at Blackwell Golf Club in Worcestershire. Beer was imbibed, new friendships were forged and laughter became the soundtrack for a one-club knockout tournament on Urban Golf’s simulators that lasted well into the evening.

Sam Williams, one of the trio of friends behind Cookie Jar Golf, was in his element, talking to everyone, stoking the atmosphere and thoroughly enjoying being in his natural habitat. Bruce Fitzpatrick, a winner and finalist in the prestigious President’s Putter in consecutive years, was his usual blend of charm, sly humour and steely competitor (on this occasion, bemoaning his inability to make it past the quarter-finals). Tom Mills was either filming, photographing or offering droll commentary on the action.

Now, as we gaze out of the train window at the frozen landscape, all three are gathered around a table to discuss their journey. It’s one that began three years ago in lockdown and has seen the Cookie Jar Golf podcast establish itself as among the most reliably entertaining, frequently surprising and consistently excellent pods in a golf market that’s suddenly awash with them.