Author: Sofia
A journalist for more than 25 years, Steve has been immersed in club golf for almost as long. A former club captain, he has passed the Level 3 Rules of Golf exam with distinction having attended the R&A’s prestigious Tournament Administrators and Referees Seminar. Steve has officiated at a host of high-profile tournaments, including Open Regional Qualifying, PGA Fourball Championship, English Men’s Senior Amateur, and the North of England Amateur Championship. In 2023, he made his international debut as part of the team that refereed England vs Switzerland U16 girls. A part of NCG’s Top 100s panel, Steve has a…
Introduction Let’sstart with a bold statement. I think Ram areone ofgolf’smoreunder-rated brands. The best driverI’veever owned was the Ram FXV.I’venever had anythingbefore or sincethat went straighter. WhenI’mhitting massive hooksnow, I lament the day I ever let it go. Remember the Ram Zebra putter? Man, thatmallet was a cult all its own. And Tom Watson gamed the brand too,along with Nick Price, RayFloydand Gary Player.Ramwere a serious brand for serious players when I was taking myinitialsteps in the game. They live on and the traditionalist in me is delighted to see them doing so. But thisisn’tsomerose-tintedstroll down memory lane. When I…
This rule in a nutshell: If a trolley moves your ball or alters its lie, the Rules of Golf allow you to restore the original situation without penalty. Is the trolley golf’s greatest invention? It’s surely up there. Full marks to whoever decided ‘I’m sick of lugging this around on my shoulder, I’ll stick it on some wheels and push it instead’. Now, with electric trolleys and those new ones that use GPS to follow you about, a round of golf can genuinely be a pleasant stroll. But even though companies like Navee Golf are designing super-light trolleys that barely…
For some of you, a golf course without bunkers might seem unimaginable. They can be awe-inspiring and terrifying at the same time. They can be the first thing you think about when you hear a club’s name pass another golfer’s lips. Remove the sand, the naysayers might tell you, and you lose the very identity of the game itself. Where is the strategy? Where is the challenge? But there are classic courses in Great Britain & Ireland – like Berkhamsted and Royal Ashdown Forest – where you won’t find the hint of a bunker on their 18 holes. The former,…
If you want to improve your putting, spending more time on the practice green is a good place to start. But Jamie Donaldson believes many club golfers aren’t using their time there properly. The specialist putting coach, who is Europe’s No.1 AimPoint instructor, says we often fall into the same old habits – hitting several putts from the same distance to the same hole. And it’s not doing us any favours. “We call it the Goldilocks syndrome,” Donaldson told NCG’s Nicola Slater on the Your Golf Podcast. “Too much, too little, just right. You hit three putts of the same…
Paul has been playing golf for around a fourth of a Century, whilst his time on this Earth is rapidly approaching half a Century! During that time his handicap, on average, has gone down around half a shot a year and is currently at 8. His general love of Sport included a time studying the Philosophy and Sociology of Sport. In 2013 he co-authored a book chapter ‘The good and bad of youth sport today’. His passion for youth sport is equally matched in his role heading up the Buyer’s Guides for National Club Golfer. He wants to inform golfers what gear is the best…
Keeping bunkers in the style golfers demand is a serious commitment of time and money, but have you ever stopped to think about how much? For Your Course, produced by the British and International Golf Greenkeepers Association, we spoke to three course managers from across the UK to understand how they maintain, develop and pay for their bunkers. This week, we’re asking about the time they spend raking bunkers and maintaining the sand, as well as the kind of sand they use and the costs. Tackling those questions are Simon Bell-Tye, course manager at Skylark Country Club in Hampshire; Kerr…
Introduction Garmin was founded in 1989 by Gary Burrell and Min H. Kao and, from the outset, has specialised in GPS technology for automotive, aviation, marine, outdoor and sports activities. Their first customer was the US Army back in 1991. With that sort of pedigree, you can rest assured you will be getting quality kit if you purchase a Garmin device. I have previously reviewed, and continue to use, the Garmin Approach S70 GPS golf watch, and the Z30 laser rangefinder. They provide accuracy, speed and reliability. I like both bits of kit a lot. So I was intrigued to…
A journalist for more than 25 years, Steve has been immersed in club golf for almost as long. A former club captain, he has passed the Level 3 Rules of Golf exam with distinction having attended the R&A’s prestigious Tournament Administrators and Referees Seminar. Steve has officiated at a host of high-profile tournaments, including Open Regional Qualifying, PGA Fourball Championship, English Men’s Senior Amateur, and the North of England Amateur Championship. In 2023, he made his international debut as part of the team that refereed England vs Switzerland U16 girls. A part of NCG’s Top 100s panel, Steve has a…
Did you know there are two handicaps in club golf? There’s the one on the scorecard and the one you ‘used to play off’. Let’s set the scene. You’ve blocked one into the car park. There’s an awkward silence (the kind I really love). But before you reached into your bag to reload, you had to go ahead and break it. And for reasons known only to yourself, you’ve unburdened yourself like you’re online with an AI chatbot. What’s the big secret – the one that’s been eating you up since we shook hands on the tee? Ah, yes. You…
