Posted by & filed under Blog.

The article below was written by Steve Carroll of National Club Golfer.

Green fees are on the rise again. But how much would you shell out to play 18-holes at an iconic venue?

It’s starting to become an annual tradition at the Home of Golf. Green fee prices for the Old Course at St Andrews are increasing yet again.

Golfers will have to shell out £320 for a 2024 high season tee time at the game’s most hallowed ground.

It represents a rise of £25 on this year’s prices and is the latest in a series of hikes imposed by St Andrews Links Trust over the last few years.

In 2021, the equivalent price was £195. That rose to £270 in 2022 and £295 in 2023.

It means players who want to tee it up between April 15 and October 13 next year at the historic course will have to pay 60 per cent more than they did three years ago.

The move continues the trend of top courses rapidly raising their green fees. At the start of this year, NCG reported that 25 of our Great Britain & Ireland top 50 ranked courses charged £250 or more.

Nine of the top 50 were over £300 in 2023 and the Old Course has now joined that number. But they are far from the only big-hitting outfit to stick up their prices for 2024.

Royal Portrush have upped their green fees from £295 to £340 and Carnoustie and Royal St George’s will both also hit the £300 barrier.

Tee times at many of these courses are available at lower rates at other times of the year.

But all of this begs the question, how much are you willing to pay for green fees? Will you continue to fork out ever increasing sums to have an unforgettable experience, or has a line been drawn?

 

Green fees debate: What is the most you’ve ever paid to play a round of golf?

I set a poll on X asking this very question and, of the 680 votes received, just over 41 per cent of respondents said the most they had paid to play was under £100. Thirty seven per cent said it was between £101 and £200.

With just 22 per cent saying they had spent either £201 to £300 or £301 or more, it seems most are unwilling to pay the green fees demanded by the very elite courses in GB&I.

On X, Michael Verity wrote: “It is mental when rack rates for ONE round of golf start to surpass the annual country/distant membership dues at really good golf courses.”

Mike Dodgson added: “I know they don’t want all and sundry playing their course but you can’t justify that amount of money for a round of golf.”

But Dave Allen countered: “My view is ‘it is what it is’. Like a lot of things in life you have a choice, if you think it’s worth it by all means go ahead, if you think it’s obscene then don’t.”

Here’s what the top 10 courses on NCG’s GB&I’s Top 100 list will cost during peak time summer in 2024:

  1. Royal County Down: (2024 fee not set, £325 in 2023)
  2. Muirfield: £340
  3. St Andrews Old Course: £320
  4. Turnberry Ailsa £495: (£595 during Open week)
  5. Royal Portrush: £340
  6. Royal Birkdale: £340 (£370 on Sundays)
  7. Carnoustie: £300
  8. Royal St George’s: £330
  9. Portmarnock: 275 euros
  10. Royal Lytham & St Annes: £320 (£380 weekend & Bank Holidays

But do these poll results and comments belie an overall trend of golfers spending more money on once-in-a-lifetime trips?

In the latest GCMA Insights episode of the Golf Club Talk UK podcast, BRS Golf’s Kevin Murray and Karen Moss revealed visitor bookings on Golf Now had passed £11 million in revenue so far this year, with some 737,000 rounds played – a 14 per cent increase on the same period last year.

With the industry having braced itself for a tough year in the face of the cost of living crisis, Murray said that “people are actually spending more on their visitor golf and more often”.

Moss added the effects of increased mortgage and energy costs may not have been fully felt for a lot of people yet, but said many golfers were also looking for bucket list experiences.

Could that demand be helping to drive up prices?

She said: “The feedback that we get from our golfers is that golf is a priority for them. It’s not just a luxury. It’s something they make room for in their budget, that they account for, so they can continue to do it going forward.

“The feedback we got, when we surveyed people in Q2, is that they wanted to play more high-end courses, more expensive courses.

“They’re not just looking to play golf, they were ‘we need an experience. It has to be bucket lists and it’s got to be the whole nine yards’.”

Posted by & filed under Playing Tips.

The article below was written by Steve Carroll of National Club Golfer.

A real life example for you to ponder. 

In a fourball betterball, my partner and I both played our approach shots on the 3rd hole. Each of us missed the green and landed in the rough.

When we arrived, our balls were side by side – they were in fact touching – and, clearly, the question was: ‘What now?’

How would you proceed in this situation?

 

Golf ball interfering with play: What do the Rules of Golf say?

Before you all start shouting that the answer is easy, there are a couple of things you still need to be careful about.

Clearly, my ball, which was closest to the hole, is interfering with the play of my partner’s.

Rule 15.3b says interference exists when another player’s ball at rest might interfere with the area of intended stance or swing, is on or close to the line of play that there is a reason chance their ball in motion could hit that ball, or that it is close enough to distract a player in making their stroke.

So if my partner reasonably believes my ball may interfere with his play, as is obviously the case here, he can require me to mark the spot and lift the ball.

Note the word ‘require’. If he asks, I have to comply.

Here’s where it can get a bit sticky for me. When I lift the ball, I am not allowed to clean it.

And cleaning is a bit more specific than you might think. It’s not just wiping it down with my towel. Putting it in my pocket can be construed as cleaning if it rubs off any materials that were on it.

That’s why you’ll often see players holding their ball as if it’s diseased. They’re worried about being seen to clean the ball.

If I clean it, or fail to mark the spot before lifting the ball, I’ll pick up a penalty stroke.

What if my marker is then interfering? Rule 15.3c comes into play. As you’d expect, I can move that out of the way – or be required to do so – to a new spot “measured from its original spot, such as by using one or more clubhead-lengths”.

All with me so far?

My partner hits hit shot and I need to replace my ball on its original spot. Only that spot, as it was, is no longer there.

He hit a wedge and he’s completely destroyed the area where my ball had been. What now? Do I have to hit it out of a divot?

Now we move onto another rule, this time Rule 14.2d (2). This looks at where to replace the ball if the original lie is altered.

When it is anywhere except in sand, I have to replace the ball by placing it on the “nearest spot with a lie most similar to the original lie”.

That needs to be within a club length from its original spot, no nearer the hole, and in the same area of the course as that spot.

If I hadn’t been paying attention, and didn’t know what the original lie was, I must estimate and then replace the ball.

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The article below was written by Matt Chivers of National Club Golfer.

Sean Foley believes the PGA Tour owes Tiger Woods “everything.”

The 15-time major champion’s former coach says Woods’ career has had a larger influence on current prize money than the tour’s own “business development aspects.”

Foley worked with Woods from 2010 to 2014 after successful stints with Justin Rose, Hunter Mahan and Sean O’Hair.

Describing himself as one of Woods’ “biggest fans” to No Laying Up, Foley also admitted his “arrogance levels” as a coach might’ve been high by the time they joined forces.

“To be able to spend time with him like that and get to know him and just see the sheer difficulty of his life, that type of fame and that type of notoriety,” he said.

“You wouldn’t wish it on anybody.

“And I think the game of golf, especially the PGA Tour, they owe that guy everything because purses are not here today because of the business development aspects of the PGA Tour.

“It’s all due to a kid in a red shirt from Orange County, California.”

Woods returned to World No.1 and won eight times under Foley’s tuition, but he also suffered back trouble and underwent a procedure to repair a bulging disc.

The pair parted ways in August 2014 and Foley described it afterwards as a “lifelong ambition of mine to teach the best player of all time in our sport.”

“I think we did a pretty good job together,” he added on the podcast. “I think what I would have done much more, that I understand now is I would’ve probably spent less time coaching him and more time just being his friend as I was.

“Like how arrogant was I to think ‘Did you actually teach Tiger Woods about golf?’”

 

What was it like to be Tiger Woods’ golf coach?

Woods had already won 71 times on the PGA Tour by the time Foley came along, having previously worked with Butch Harmon and Hank Haney too.

Foley first helped Woods during the 2010 PGA Championship, six months after the golf star made a televised statement concerning the widely reported issues in his private life.

“You’re dealing with someone who’s incredibly wounded, probably embarrassed, just in a way different place than he’s ever been in his life,” Foley said.

“I mean it was like going from a deity to a punchline almost overnight.”

The Canadian-born instructor now has a performance centre in Florida, hosts Playing Lessons with the Pros on Golf Channel and produces content for Revolution Golf.

But despite also coaching Lydia Ko, Cameron Champ and Danny Willett, nothing could’ve prepared Foley for being a staple in Woods’ life for four years.

“Being on the range and watching helicopters fly over and film us and stuff. Justin Rose, Sean O’Hair and Hunter Mahan are pretty well known, but we got to like a Prince/Michael Jackson level.

“I would imagine 99 out of 100 people in the world who have never touched a golf club or even been on a golf course still know who Tiger Woods is.

“I had to deal with a lot more, there were the fans of what we were doing and the people who hated it, so I ran into both of them at the airport.

“But look, I was the one who said ‘yes’ to doing it and so basically, because I chose to do it, I’m responsible for whatever occurred after that.”

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Few sports offer more jargon and slang than golf. From ‘the unmentionables’ and ‘chilli dip’ to simpler terms such as Stableford, tee, birdie and bogey, the vocabulary of golf is a lengthy list.

Here’s another: shotgun start. What is a shotgun start in golf—and do you need to shout ‘fore!’ even louder than usual when it happens?

There’s no need to worry about the latter issue—well, not initially, anyway.

 

What is a shotgun start?

shotgun start in golf

The term shotgun start relates to 18 groups of golfers beginning their rounds at the same time.

It’s a good name for it, actually, as if the groups have been fired out of a shotgun like pellets, landing in at all parts of the course.

It’s a clever way of making competitions run efficiently. Let’s say every group started on the 1st tee, and with 10-minute intervals between times, it would mean three hours between the first and last times, which would obviously mean the first group would finish three hours before the last one.

That’s hardly conducive to a good atmosphere at the prize-giving dinner when the early groups will eat their roast beef and then promptly leave because they know their 46 Stableford better ball points aren’t going to get the job done.

With a shotgun start, however, everyone finishes at the same time. Of course, that means the most horrific fight for a towel, shower cubicle, or 12 inches of bench space in the locker room—but that’s a small price to pay.

Shotgun starts are especially popular on charity golf days when there might actually be more than 18 groups to somehow get on the course.

More than 18 brings added complications to what is already a complicated start to proceedings. How so, you may ask…

 

Shotgun start—the charity fourball

shotgun start in golf

Picture the scene. Your company has bought a fourball on a charity day, and you’ve been selected as one of the quartet.

It’s being held at a local course, but you haven’t played there before. Naturally, it’s nice to play a new course, but your lack of knowledge isn’t just restricted to the blind tee shot on the 5th—you also have no idea where the 13th hole is, which is a bit of a problem because that’s where you are starting from.

But wait, help is at hand. Jeremy, who heads up the sales team, played here* “about 10 or 11 years ago” and can remember the routing of the course, so “we’re sorted”.

Turns out there’s a shortcut down the side of the 1st and then a sharp 90˚ right turn through some woodland. It seems a bit unlikely as that land sits between the 1st and the 9th that returns golfers to the clubhouse after the front nine.

But Jeremy is convinced, and it “saves at least 10 minutes’ walking” compared to simply trekking down the 10th, 11th and 12th (which was Alan from Accounts’ play-it-safe suggestion).

You’ve guessed it. Team Aphrodite Alarm Systems yomp for a good 30 minutes before making it to the 13th tee. Still, at least they’ve seen what the line to take is on that blind drive on the 5th and also had a good look at the back left pin on the 7th.

The hooter hasn’t gone to signify the start yet, so they can chill out and cool down for a minute or two before thinking about the first shot.

Oh no, wait, the 13th is a par 3, and the organisers have reckoned the short holes are the ones to get the five extra groups out on the course.

So, sweaty and flustered, Team Aphrodite has to mutter something about “it being a maze out here” to Team FastFirst Haulage & Logistics—who are all disdainfully leaning on their 6-irons at the back of the tee—while rummaging for balls and tees.

The FastFirst lads, nominated as Team 13B, so the second to tee off, are obviously all fixated on watching Aphrodite tee off, too, and inevitably, none of the four balls find the green. Jeremy’s nine handicap looks iffy, too, and there are fears that the round 10 or 11 years ago may have been his last.

Alan scrambles a point with a brave putt, but it’s a slow start for Aphrodite, and they don’t trouble the prize-giving. Still, it’s a fun evening afterwards, made possible only because of the shotgun start.

*It later transpires he had played at Gracewood Park. This is Gracewood Hall.

Posted by & filed under Golf Equipment.

Looking at the best golf headcovers on the market is a bit like being in a YouTube spiral. You start by clicking on a shot by Seve in the 1987 Ryder Cup, and before you know it, you’re watching Oh Oh Oh by the Golf Boys (Bubba Watson, Rickie Fowler, Ben Crane and Hunter Mahan, to save you from having to Google it).

Why? Because the choice is immense. You can go for a smart-looking option from your favourite equipment manufacturer. You can go for a sleek option from what is essentially a fashion designer. You can go for something that shows your allegiance to your football team or even your country. And you can go for something completely wacky that looks more like a soft toy from The Generation Game than anything to do with golf. And a hundred things in between.

In short, you have loads of choices when it comes to golf headcovers. So, to make your search easier, we’ve narrowed things down by picking out a few great options from the various categories. Who knew choosing a golf headcover could be so exhausting?!

 

Golf headcovers: our top picks

 

Ralph Lauren RLX Driver Headcover

golf headcovers

£49.99
ralphlauren.co.uk

RL’s iconic logo and signature embroidered Pony adorn this driver headcover, which has a plush lining. It looks the part, and if you’re a fan of Ralph Lauren polo shirts, this might well team up nicely with it.

An American feel, as you’d expect—but we like it.

 

Ping Core Driver Headcover

golf headcovers

£25.00
pingeurope.com

We’re big fans of Ping gear and enjoy how this manages to simultaneously look both retro and modern at the same time.

The black-and-white colour-way looks superb, and you can guarantee your driver will be protected inside the soft, velour-padded interior. It features a high-quality embroidered Ping logo with extra padding at the top and bottom.

 

Titleist Jet Black Leather Headcover

golf headcovers

£60.00
titleist.co.uk

Titleist only really does stylish, and this leather headcover fits in just right. It features a chic, jet-black quilted design and is built with a two-panel construction.

It’s made from 100% leather and boasts the distinctive Titleist Tour patch detail on the front with opulent quilting detail.

 

Glenmuir Saltire Driver Headcover

golf headcovers

£20.00
glenmuir.com

OK, you might think this has limited appeal because it excludes the rest of the British Isles, but we reckon this might appeal to many golfers who love the Home of Golf. After all, you don’t have to cheer on John McGinn when the football is on to want this beauty.

It has a premium quilted soft inner for protection and is made with reinforced seams to prevent overstretching from repeated use and wear and tear. It’s made with 100% premium mock leather and has contrasting white Glenmuir 1891 embroidery on the top.

 

J Lindeberg Driver Headcover

£55.00
jlindeberg.com

If you want a Scandinavian vibe for your club protection duties, look no further than this one from J Lindeberg.

The Tour-grade synthetic leather is known for its durability, and the smooth but rugged fabric microfleece lining offers market-leading wear and colour resistance no matter how many rain and sleet storms you play in. Its black material contrasts with the fashionable JL Bridge logo embroidery—and bonus points, too, for being really easy to clean.

 

TaylorMade ‘Smash! Boom! Pow!’ Blade Putter Cover

£59.99
taylormadegolf.co.uk

This fun Comic Book-styled blade putter cover features action-packed classic onomatopoeia for a sense of nostalgia and levity, as well as bags of colour.

It features premium embroidery and a magnetic closure and is available for mallets, too.

 

Ping ‘Clubs of Paradise’ Putter Headcover

golf headcovers

£29.99
pingeurope.com

Another super-colourful option to protect that all-important putter head.

Here, floral flair and bright colours pop off a dark, durable polyurethane background that’s super hardwearing. Add in the magnetic closure, navy felt lining, and the distinctive Mr PING logo embroidery, and you’ve got yourself a solid headcover.

 

The Open Hybrid Headcover

golf headcovers

£36.00
shop.theopen.com

This is a classy-looking headcover for your hybrid clubs. The leather sleeve sports the famous claret jug logo in white over a royal blue background, with two flashes of white across the lower end.

 

Glenmuir Tartan Putter Cover

golf headcovers

£20.00
glenmuir.com

How golf used to be…

These classic knitted headcovers are perfect for modern hybrid clubs, which are essentially the size drivers used to be back in the day when knitted covers were a luxury.

This Tartan stripe headcover comes in a navy, green and light grey stripe and fully encompasses the head as well as protecting the bottom of the shaft no matter the head size or shape.

It has a knitted lining and reinforced seams to prevent overstretching from its original shape. It’s 100% acrylic, and there’s an embroidered Glenmuir 1891 logo on the front with the classic club indicator toggle.

 

Daphne’s Elk Headcover

£34.99
snaintongolf.co.uk

Remember when we mentioned soft toys earlier? This import from the US is part of a high-quality range of animal headcovers from Daphne’s. Each headcover is fully lined and elasticated for a snug fit around your clubs yet will comfortably fit up to 460cc drivers.

As seen in the bags of LPGA and PGA Tour players, Daphne’s headcovers are made from premium quality materials. These headcovers will bring a smile to the faces of all your playing partners and remind us that golf is supposed to be fun!

Posted by & filed under Interviews.

We recently caught up with PGA pro Eddie Hammond on how to fix a slice and straighten up your golf game.

Here’s what he had to say…

 

How to fix a slice

For me, one of the main reasons golfers slice a ball is down to visual misconceptions—often called parallax.

As we address the ball, we stand to the side looking across at the target which causes a shift of the body alignment to where we perceive the target to be. This adjustment in alignment causes an over-the-top ‘pulling’ action into impact.

The more a right-hander swings left to stop the ball from slicing right, the more likely it is that the clubface will be open to the path, which causes a slice. This clubface usually feels like a powerless glancing blow or side swipe.

 

Why is the slice so common?

how to fix a slice

Clearly, poor technique is the underlying cause of a slice, but you could also put it down to poor understanding of what makes the golf ball go where it goes.

In many ways, golf can be a game of opposites. For example, if you want to curve the ball from right to left, you need to swing the club more right of the target. And it’s very hard, when you’ve just seen the last half a dozen shots slice to the right, to then attempt to swing the club in that same direction.

 

How to fix a slice: what should you check?

how to fix a slice

Start with your set-up position, as there are several factors before the club even moves that can set you up for a slice. Some of the reasons we slice the ball include:

  • Body alignment not being parallel to the clubface
  • A weak grip with hands rotated too far towards the target
  • Ball position too far forward in the stance
  • Poor posture
  • Too much weight in the heels

My best advice for fixing any swing problems is to visit your local PGA Professional, who’ll be able to guide you in the correct way.

 

How to fix a slice: things to try

how to fix a slice

Try these when looking at how to fix a slice.

1. For anyone with experience of playing other sports, there’s quite often a transferrable skill that can be used.

Whether it’s throwing a rugby ball, playing a top-spin forehand, or recreating a famous David Beckham free-kick into the top left corner, there’s usually something.

My favourite is the free-kick. As a right-hander, imagine the club shaft as your right leg and the heel/toe of the clubhead as your foot. Think about what angle you would approach the ball from and how you would move your foot through the ball to impart the required spin.

 

2. If you have a practice area where you’re able to hit shots with the ball above your feet, try hitting some and notice the added feeling of rotation in your arms throughout the swing, especially just prior to and after impact.

Think about what must happen for the sole of the clubhead to match the angle of the ground, creating a solid contact. After a few shots, you should hopefully start to see the ball flight straighten up and possibly even move with a little draw shape. After you’ve hit a few, move on to a more neutral area of ground and attempt to recreate the same. Some driving ranges will have specially designed mats that are sloped to create different lies such as ball above and below feet.

 

3. The split-grip drill will help you feel rotation in the swing, too. With a 7-iron, keep your top hand where it is and slide your lower hand to the bottom of the grip. From here, make some swings back and through, noticing how your lead arm folds on the way through. You should also feel how the grip end slows down through impact, and the right arm rotates over the left and hinges back up into the finish.

 

4. Hold the club out in front of you, level at the horizon with the clubhead level with your chin. From here, make swings around your body, keeping the clubhead level with the horizon, and look for any changes.

For instance, has the clubhead dropped in the backswing? Most slicers will notice that when the clubhead returns to the start, it’s coming from above the horizon, swinging across and downwards. Try repeating the exercise and have the clubhead travel more upwards from low to high through impact. Notice the feelings you are creating—possibly a more folded trail arm as you approach impact or more rotation in the arms through impact. See if you can hit some shots from a normal address position while maintaining these new feels.

 

What other factors should you consider when working out how to fix a slice?

how to fix a slice

For somebody who plays golf from the opposite side to their dominant arm, it’s worth noting that the lead arm being the stronger arm can overpower the downswing and pull both arms out in front of the body, causing a very outside-in path through impact.

We hear a lot about the search for a straight lead arm. Yes, a straight lead arm can add width and power to a swing, but it can also add tension. This added tension and stiffness in the lead elbow can delay the squaring of the clubface and leave it open through impact.

 

About Eddie Hammond

Eddie is the Head Assistant Professional at Moortown Golf Club in West Yorkshire. He is originally from Sheffield and moved to Moortown in 2005, qualifying as a PGA Professional in 2010. Eddie is also a Titleist ambassador.