We’re joined this week by England Golf chief executive Jeremy Tomlinson. It’s a pretty action-packed episode as we discuss a host of club golf topics with the governing body’s chief executive. He addresses the ongoing criticisms of WHS, considers how golf club membership is looking and whether the post Covid boom is now peaking. We also look at whether traditional clubs are being more open to different formats of play and get into the latest on the Respect in Golf movement.

The weather’s getting colder and the days are getting shorter.  But don’t put the clubs away as winter arrives. This is a perfect time to get a grip on our golf game sand make them better. When it comes to using data to do that, we have never had it so good. And on these week’s episode, Steve Carroll is joined by NCG’s equipment expert Hannah Holden to show how you can use numbers to your advantage. We’ve got some fabulous Shot Scope data that can get your golf into shape – without you...

Ranking golf courses is risky business. One person’s heaven is another’s hell. Yet we all love a good list, don’t we? We’ve got another one for you at National Club Golfer and this week, Steve Carroll is joined by our Top 100s chairman Dan Murphy to talk about our review of the best courses in Great Britain & Ireland. You will find courses in positions that make you happy and courses in positions that make you cross. But join Steve and Dan as they discuss the countdown, pick out some...

Steve Carroll is joined by Sam Cooper to talk about his new journal and website project – Links From the Road. Sam went on a road trip we all wish we could take. With a set of clubs, his partner, their dogs, and a van, he toured 225 links courses around England, Scotland and Wales. The journey changed his life. Now a well-known podcaster, and an associate golf course architect with Clayton, Devries and Pont, he has branched out into writing. Talking with Steve about the first of a...

This week, Steve Carroll is joined by Jim Croxton, chief executive of the British and International Golf Greenkeepers Association, to talk about the governing body’s new issue of Your Course magazine. Your Course aims to give golfers a deeper understanding of what preparing and maintaining a golf course really involves and is available right now in your clubhouse. Focusing on how greenkeepers prepare a course for winter, while also looking at the challenges presented by climate change, Jim...

He has amassed a loyal and passionate band of followers with his focus on coaching, course vlogs, entertainment and fun. In this week’s episode of The NCG Golf Podcast, Steve Carroll caught up with Coach Lockey to find out all about being a content creator – it’s harder than you think! But he has also teamed up with England Golf on their iGolf scheme and has put together a series of videos on his YouTube channel where he gained a handicap. Aside from finding out what it was, Steve also...

We’ve got a special guest this week as Matt Chivers sits down with new PGA Tour sensation Harry Hall. Harry won the ISCO Championship in July – just a few days before he became a dad – capping an incredible rise that now sees him ranked around the top 100 in the world. It’s a remarkable story, from his home club West Cornwall changing their membership rules so he could join at just 6 (he was already that good!) to getting coaching from Butch Harmon and living in the bright lights of Las...

We asked and you delivered. In a departure from the usual podcast theme this week, Steve Carroll answers your Rules of Golf and World Handicap System queries. * Does the clock stop if you have to halt a ball search to let a group through? * Can you manufacture a drop so you’re able to place the ball? * Will the course and playing handicaps ever be combined? Steve will endeavour to tell you the answers, and a bit more!

Justin Rose came oh, so, close but it was Xander Schauffele who picked up the Claret Jug – extending the barren run of English winners at The Open to 32 years! In this week’s episode of The NCG Golf Podcast, Steve Carroll is joined by Dan Murphy to discuss that and the fallout from last week’s Championship at Royal Troon. Dan reveals why the Ayrshire layout was the star of the show and we talk about our own favourite course from the rota. We ask if Rory McIlroy can ever conquer the wind,...

It seems to have been the talk of Royal Troon this week – is it time for Tiger Woods to retire? The 15-time major champion delivered a six-sentence zinger after reports that Colin Montgomerie had questioned whether he could still win. Woods says his belief has never wavered and in this episode of The NCG Golf Podcast, Steve Carroll and Matt Coles debate whether this is fantasy or could still be a reality. The duo also get stuck into shopping, ask whether the Open Arms should be the ‘Up in...

Where does Royal Troon rank in the Open rota? Which course should join the list? Should the playoff go to sudden death? We asked and you delivered your questions and so, as the best week in the golf calendar gets under way, Steve Carroll and Matt Chivers answer them all in a new episode of The NCG Golf Podcast. NB: This episode was recorded in The Open media centre and there is some background noise.

We wrap up a dramatic day at Open Final Qualifying – where Justin Rose rolled back the years, Matthew Southgate qualified YET again, and Sergio Garcia found himself centre of attention at West Lancs. The Spaniard loves The Open, but was all over the headlines after his group were given a warning for slow play. Was it more petulance from the former Masters champion? Should we give him props for having a go at qualifying, and did his play justify a spot? Matt Chivers spent all day at the...

James Luke, England Golf’s head of handicapping, is back to update us on how the big changes to the World Handicap System have been settling in. But he’s also got a couple of important messages to impart – around general play scores and a new policy that could open the way for more clubs to get tee sets rated. If you’ve got any interests in WHS, you have to listen to this episode…

We’ll bet this chat is going on right now somewhere in your clubhouse. How can you make golf as accessible as possible but feel confident you’re protecting the integrity of competitions? This is a question England Golf have grappled with, and we get stuck into it on this week’s episode of The NCG Podcast. Steve Carroll is joined by James Crampton, England Golf’s director of championships, and the pair talk about the governing body’s competition entry policy, which can deny entry to players...

What is it that sets the best club golfers apart? Why do they make fewer mistakes on the course? What are the habits that help them play consistent golf? This week’s episode of The NCG Golf Podcast reveals all. We’ve got the latest data from Shot Scope. Tom Irwin, who loves to remind us he is a scratch golfer, and Steve Carroll, who couldn’t get near scratch if he played for 100 years, are here to guide you through the findings. Do you know where you miss? Should you fire at pins? What...

Tom Irwin and Steve Carroll are joined this week by special guest Jim Croxton, chief executive of the British and International Golf Greenkeepers Association. We look at how golf has navigated an extreme winter, what the impact on our courses has been, and whether we can expect any lingering effects as the year continues. On Mental Health Awareness Week, Jim also discusses the work the association has been doing to support greenkeepers, we ask if they are being paid enough, and discuss the...

We’re back. After a week to recharge and put our feet up, The NCG Golf Podcast returns for its third season. And what a start we’ve got for you. The sun is finally shining, we’re thinking about getting on our summer golf trips, and we’re about to unveil our best golf courses in Wales list! To set the scene for our new Top 40, which you can find at nationalclubgolfer.com/top100, NCG Top 100s chairman Dan Murphy joins Tom Irwin and Steve Carroll to talk about all things Welsh golf. What is our...

Tom Irwin and Steve Carroll are joined by special guest Jeremy Tomlinson, England Golf’s chief executive. We discuss in detail the governing body’s ’Respect in Golf’ campaign – a movement which aims to promote greater understanding and embrace equality, diversity, and inclusion in the sport. Jeremy also talks about the World Handicap System, membership numbers in the country, iGolf and iPlay, as well as what England Golf have got in store as their Centenary year really gets into gear. We...

Live from Augusta Steve and Tom discuss Steve’s debut at Augusta. The boys cover a lot of ground and spend far too much time talking Gnomes. Find out about what it is like to be an Augusta first time, just how long that q is for merch, and yes of course how hilly it REALLY is. They also get stuck into the Scheffler era, the value of yet another Tiger comeback, poor old Rory and Jason Day’s clothes. They end by musing on what is next for the endless innovative Masters. It is a great listen...

A major championship needs a major guest and we’ve got one for you as Ian Woosnam joins The NCG Golf Podcast ahead of The Masters. Also previewing the Barbados Legends Championship at Apes Hill, which is kicking off the new Legends Tour season in May and is hosted by the 1991 Masters champ, podcast hosts Tom Irwin and Steve Carroll dig deep into next week’s tournament with one of the game’s all-time greats. We relive his green jacket victory, get some advice for those of you travelling to...

Don’t misread the date. It’s not an April Fool. The big World Handicap System changes are here and, from April 1, the way you play your club golf WILL change. If you’ve forgotten what’s coming, never fear. Tom Irwin and Steve Carroll have enlisted the help of David Kernohan, Scottish Golf’s Head of VMS and Handicapping, to go over the major headlines. He’ll help you get to grips with Course Rating minus Par, fourball betterball scores, and all the big alterations. We also discuss where the...

If you could pick one person to try and explain the madness of men’s professional golf, surely Iain Carter would be top of the list. The BBC’s golf correspondent has enjoyed an unparalleled career – covering all the major tournaments for radio and online – and is the author of a series of best-selling books. His latest, Golf Wars: LIV and Golf’s Bitter Battle for Power and Identity, bids to make sense of the conflict between the rival tours that has threatened to tear the sport apart. Iain...

Food and beverage (or F&B as we call it in the trade) can be a financial black hole for your golf club. But we all want good food and a well-priced pint when we turn up in the clubhouse after a round. And we want it at a discount. It’s our little perk for paying our subs each year, right? But managing a good offering is a massive challenge for clubs and, this week, Tom Irwin and Steve Carroll focus in on the issue as part of our The Price of Club Golf series with GCMA Insights. What are...

We don’t know about you but, for us, The Players is where the golf season really starts. This one is special. It’s the 50th edition and Tom Irwin and Steve Carroll kick off season two of The NCG Golf Podcast by previewing the ‘fifth major’. The pair, who’ve both taken a spin around Sawgrass, break down the course and discuss their favourite moments. Did they get out of 17 alive? Rory McIlroy and Sepp Straka tell us what the championship means to them and Tom has set Steve a fiendish quiz...