How to use golf alignment sticks

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Golf alignment sticks are an essential tool in every golfer’s bag, whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned pro. They are simple, affordable, and effective, helping golfers improve their swing, aim, and ball striking. But how exactly do you use golf alignment sticks?

In this guide, we’ll look at everything you need to know, from understanding what they are, to how to use them effectively, and some helpful drills to make the most of them.

 

What are golf alignment sticks?

Golf alignment sticks are long, thin rods, typically around 48 inches long, made of lightweight materials like fibreglass or plastic. These sticks are often brightly coloured (neon yellow, orange, or green), making them easy to spot on the course or at the range. The main purpose of alignment sticks is to help improve alignment, ball position, swing path, and other aspects of a golfer’s game.

While they may seem simple, alignment sticks can work wonders to help you perfect your setup and swing path. Essentially, they act as visual guides to ensure your body, clubface, and ball position are all aligned correctly with your target.

 

Why do golfers use alignment sticks?

You might wonder, with all the golf gadgets and training aids out there, why should you bother using alignment sticks? Well, they help with a number of things:

  • Improving aim and alignment: One of the most common problems for golfers is poor alignment. Golfers often unknowingly align their body or clubface incorrectly, which leads to off-target shots. Alignment sticks give you a visual reference to set up correctly, making it easier to aim properly.
  • Swing path and control: Alignment sticks can help you visualise and maintain an inside-to-out or outside-to-in swing path, ensuring you’re making solid contact with the ball.
  • Ball positioning: Many golfers struggle with placing the ball in the right spot in relation to their stance. Alignment sticks can help you make sure the ball is positioned in the best place for different clubs.
  • Clubface control: Correct alignment is key to ensure the clubface is square at impact, which is important for consistency in your shots.
  • Developing consistency: Regularly using alignment sticks during practice helps develop muscle memory, which leads to more consistent swings and shots on the course.

 

How do golf alignment sticks work?

Golf alignment sticks work by providing visual references for body and club alignment, swing paths, and ball position. They guide you through a proper setup, helping make sure that you’re correctly positioned to hit your target. By setting the sticks up in different ways, you can use them for various drills and exercises that focus on different aspects of your game

For example, you can use one alignment stick to ensure your body is aligned properly with the target, while another stick can be placed to ensure your swing path is on track. They can also mark where the ball should be in relation to your stance or show you how to align the clubface.

 

How to use alignment sticks in golf: step-by-step guide

Now, let’s look at how to use golf alignment sticks effectively. Here’s a step-by-step guide:

 

1. Setup alignment for aiming

The simplest and most common use for alignment sticks is to help improve your aim and body alignment.

How to do it:

  • Place one alignment stick on the ground along your target line. This will serve as a visual guide for your aim.
  • Position your feet, hips, and shoulders parallel to the stick (in line with your target), ensuring you are aligned correctly.
  • Make sure your clubface is also pointed down the same line, aimed directly at the target.

Why it works: This drill helps you visualise proper alignment, ensuring you’re not unknowingly aiming left or right. It also helps to prevent the tendency to open or close your body or clubface incorrectly.

 

2. Swing path drill

Alignment sticks are excellent for helping you maintain the correct swing path.

How to do it:

  • Place one alignment stick on the ground, parallel to your target line.
  • Set up another alignment stick at a slight angle (pointing to the right for right-handed golfers).
  • During your swing, focus on making sure your club follows the inside-to-out swing path, brushing the second stick as you pass through impact.

Why it works: This drill helps you avoid an “over-the-top” swing, a common mistake leading to slices. By following the inside-to-out path, you’ll develop the feel for hitting a draw or just maintaining a consistent ball flight.

 

3. Ball position drill

Ball positioning can have a huge impact on your shots, especially with longer clubs. Using alignment sticks can make sure that you’re putting the ball in the correct spot for each club.

How to do it:

  • Place one alignment stick on the ground in front of your target line (parallel to the target line) to mark where you want the ball to be.
  • For a driver, position the ball just inside the left heel. For mid-irons, the ball should be centre, and for wedges, the ball should be slightly back in your stance.
  • Make sure the ball is aligned with the stick and positioned correctly for each shot.

Why it works: Correct ball position is important for hitting solid, consistent shots. If the ball is too far forward or back, it can affect your strike and trajectory. Using alignment sticks helps ensure your ball is always in the right place.

 

4. Clubface alignment drill

One of the most important aspects of any golf swing is ensuring the clubface is square at impact. Alignment sticks can help you with this.

How to do it:

  • Place an alignment stick on the ground, pointing straight ahead, representing your target line.
  • Lay a second stick down perpendicular to the first, pointing directly at your clubface. This stick should be a few feet in front of you.
  • As you swing, focus on keeping your clubface in line with the stick at impact.

Why it works: This drill helps you visualise proper clubface alignment, ensuring the face is square to the target line at impact for more accurate shots.

 

5. The gate drill

This drill is great for improving your ball striking and swing path. It’s designed to help you make solid, clean contact with the ball.

How to do it:

  • Place two alignment sticks on the ground parallel to each other, just wider than the width of your clubhead.
  • Practice swinging through the “gate” created by the sticks, making sure your clubhead travels through the gap without hitting either stick.

Why it works: This drill helps eliminate excessive hand action or incorrect swing paths, ensuring your clubface stays on the proper track. It also encourages more consistent ball striking.

 

What are the best golf alignment sticks?

There are several high-quality golf alignment sticks on the market, but it’s important to choose a set that’s durable, easy to see, and provides clear visual references.

Here are some top recommendations:

 

1. Masters Drill Stix Alignment Roads

RRP: £12.99

These highly visible sticks come in four different colours. Lightweight and easy to use, these alignment rods can be placed on the ground to help with alignment and also be stuck in the ground at an angle to help with swing plane training or positioned side by side to create a gateway drill for precision shots. Their flexibility allows for safe target practice, as shots will glance off the stick rather than rebounding unpredictably. 

 

2. Brand Fusion Tour Golf Alignment Sticks

RRP: £9.99

These highly visible, durable alignment sticks are the ideal training aid for improving your golf setup. Designed for alignment drills, they help you achieve the perfect position for every shot. Each pack includes two sticks, drill sheets and instructions for guided practice.

 

3. Callaway Alignment Sticks

RRP: £15.00

Callaway’s alignment sticks are a solid option for any golfer. These sticks are durable, highly visible, and great for both beginners and experienced players. This set includes two 48-inch shock-corded steel rods that help with alignment, ball position, and swing plane. For easy storage, they come with a compact 19-inch plastic tube that conveniently fits in your golf bag’s apparel pocket.

 

Mastering the use of alignment sticks

Golf alignment sticks are simple yet powerful tools that can significantly improve your game. Whether you’re aiming for better accuracy, more consistent swings, or improved ball striking, alignment sticks are a great way to practice and reinforce good habits.

By using the tips and drills outlined in this guide, you’ll be well on your way to hitting more consistent, accurate shots. Remember, consistency is key, and using alignment sticks regularly will help you develop muscle memory, making proper alignment second nature.

What is Full Swing and what drama unfolds in season 3?

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

Golf is a benefactor in the growing trend of behind-the-scenes sports documentaries.

The first episode of Full Swing, which aired in February 2023, was highly anticipated given the turbulence between the PGA Tour and the Saudi-funded LIV Golf League from the previous year.

The sport’s most controversial period was documented on Netflix, the most popular TV and movie streaming platform. Several players, including Rory McIlroy, Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, and Ian Poulter, allowed the cameras to peek into their private lives in the opening season.

The series was largely inspired by Formula 1’s Drive to Survive series, which also inspired other sports like tennis and English football clubs to follow suit. Season two arrived in March 2024 and now, season three is here.

The third series features another huge list of PGA Tour and LIV Golf stars and begins with showing some of these stars’ involvement in the filming of Happy Gilmore 2, which is also being released on Netflix in 2025.

Let’s discuss season 3 now we’ve passed the February 25 release date and tackle some commonly asked questions about the programme.

 

When does Full Swing come out?

Full Swing came out on Netflix on February 25, 2025. There is seven episodes following the stories of several PGA Tour and LIV Golf stars.

 

What is Full Swing about?

In each episode of Full Swing, the Netflix cameras follow a handful of players closely at a certain tournament, or across a couple of tournaments. You get to learn their personalities, meet their families, discover where they live and find out what it’s like to play in professional golf events and circulate a professional tour.

The series showcases the majors in depth, including the Masters, the PGA Championship, the US Open, and The Open. It also shows other events such as the Ryder Cup, the Players Championship, the Presidents Cup, and more.

Some of the stories with the players are very intimate. Some of the most popular storylines have been with PGA Tour players Joel Dahmen and Sahith Theegala, as well as Wyndham Clark who won the US Open in season 2.

Viewers see each player prepare for tournaments, how they react to various breaking news stories in the sport and the highs and lows of winning, losing and contending at tournaments.

 

What happens in Full Swing Season 3?

In season 3, we are introduced to new protagonists such as Neal Shipley. He was the low amateur at the Masters and the US Open in 2024. He played with Tiger Woods in the final round of the Masters and was the subject of media attention at the time.

“Neal Shipley is going to be a superstar after this,” Full Swing Executive Producer Chadd Mumm told the Mirror. “We keep saying he is this year’s Joel Dahmen. Neal has that same vibe.

“There is something about a college kid who makes it to the Masters and ends up playing golf with Tiger Woods on Sunday wearing his red shirt. He is living out his dream and he almost can’t believe he is there. It is really fun and super relatable.”

Now a Korn Ferry Tour regular, fans will no doubt enjoy Shipley’s personality and his journey to becoming the low amateur at two majors.

We get a sneak-peak into his career and personality which fans will no doubt enjoy. Another new character, so to speak, is Gary Woodland. A former US Open champion, Woodland shows us his ordeal with having surgery on a lesion on his brain, and emotionally divulges how the lesion acted on his anxiety and mental state.

Fans meet Woodland’s children and his wife Gabby and the emotional path through brain surgery and the symptoms of his issue. The lesion on his brain affected the part that concerns fear and anxiety. We also learn of his friendship with fellow US Open champion Justin Rose which might surprise some viewers.

Also, Min Woo Lee is featured. The popular Australian’s quest for the Olympic team and the Presidents Cup team is shown, as well as the fascinating dynamic of deciding where to live as a professional golfer.

An interesting scene takes place where Lee and his girlfriend Gracie talk about relocating and bump into Justin Thomas walking his dog, who is a resident of the tax-free haven of Jupiter, Florida.

The story of the year was shown. Scottie Scheffler was arrested on the morning of the second round of the PGA Championship after confusion in traffic outside of Valhalla. Netflix shows the reaction of the players at the PGA Championship and the extraordinary police footage of Scheffler being arrested.

You won’t be surprised to learn that Rory McIlroy is featured heavily in the series. He suffered arguably his most heartbreaking loss at a major championship when squandering the chance to win the 2024 US Open at Pinehurst. Bryson DeChambeau took victory and the Netflix cameras picked up McIlroy walking back through the Pinehurst complex, before leaving the course without speaking to DeChambeau or the media.

The season also documents this period in the context of McIlroy and his wife Erica‘s divorce which was eventually called off. As for DeChambeau, Mumm said that the LIV Golf and YouTube star declined to officially participate.

“He never sat down for an interview despite our best efforts,” Mumm added to the Mirror. “I think we did a really good effort of telling his story without his direct point of view.

“There is so much media. He is great in press conferences, he produces so much content on YouTube. It is still a really good portrayal of Bryson. In particular, as he matured, and redefined himself in front of the public. We do a really good job of capturing that. Would I rather he sat down for an interview?

“Absolutely, but he said no. We did the best we could with what we got. I still think it’s probably the deepest portrait of Bryson as both a player and figure that anyone has ever seen before.”

The series features the highs and lows of Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin who were desperate to make the International Presidents Cup team in 2024, but were ultimately unsuccessful. Then, there is the heartbreaking story of Camilo Villegas and his wife who lost their daughter Mia in 2020 to cancer, before her second birthday.

The series homes in on Keegan Bradley and revisits his disappointing commission from the 2023 US Ryder Cup team, but also his unexpected appointment as 2025 US Ryder Cup captain. Netflix also shows Bradley’s pivotal play in the Presidents Cup which America won against the International Team in 2024.

 

Where to watch Full Swing

If you have a Netflix subscription, you’ll be able to watch Full Swing. It will be exclusively shown by the mammoth streaming platform.

 

Which players are in season 3 of Full Swing?

These are the players involved in season 3 of Full Swing:

Ludvig Aberg, Keegan Bradley, Joel Dahmen, Bryson DeChambeau, Wyndham Clark, Tony Finau, Rickie Fowler, Adam Hadwin, Min Woo Lee, Minjee Lee, Shane Lowry, Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose, Scottie Scheffler, Neal Shipley, Nick Taylor, Sahith Theegala, Justin Thomas, Camilo Villegas, Gary Woodland.

 

How many episodes of Full Swing are there?

In season 3, there are seven episodes of Full Swing. In season 1, there were eight episodes and there were also eight episodes in season 2.

 

Was Grayson Murray on Full Swing Netflix?

In May 2024, the golf world recieved the heartbreaking news that PGA Tour winner Grayson Murray had passed away. His parents Eric and Terry revealed in a statement that the cause of death was suicide.

Murray’s passing was not covered on Full Swing.

10 golf putting tips which will change your game

Posted by & filed under Playing Tips.

You’ll never come close to achieving your full potential on the golf course if you don’t work on your putting. Even if you’re a confident driver, if you’re not at home with a putter in your hands, too, you’ll struggle to hit anywhere close to par.

Ben Hogan once described putting as ‘the game within the game’. For one of the game’s greatest-ever ball strikers, putting was undoubtedly a source of frustration. But it doesn’t have to be that way for you.

In this blog, we provide 10 golf putting tips that you can use to improve your game, whether you’re on the green or practising at home.

 

How to practice golf putting

 

1. Get a good grip

A proper grip is the foundation of effective putting. Holding a putter incorrectly—especially with minor differences in your grip—can lead to a lack of control, inconsistent strokes, and missed opportunities.

How to do it

Whilst there’s more than one way to hold a putter, try starting with the most commonly used way—the reverse overlap grip:

  • Place your leading hand on the putter first with your thumb on the flat upper part, facing down.
  • Place your other hand higher than your leading one, with your thumb also facing down the club. Your index finger should lie across the fingers of your other hand, whilst the three others should curl under the grip.
  • Hold the putter in your palms rather than your fingers.
  • Ensure your grip pressure is even and relaxed.

Practice at home

Use a putter to rehearse your grip until you’re confident you’ve got the correct hold, and it becomes second nature.

 

2. Find the right stance and posture

Good posture and the correct stance are essential for accurate putting, ensuring you’re properly lined up with the hole and that you swing through the ball cleanly.

How to do it

  • Use a narrower stance than you would when driving, with your feet shoulder-width apart.
  • Bend slightly at the hips, keeping your back straight.
  • Place the ball slightly ahead of a centre line that runs between your feet.
  • Stand closer to the ball than you would when driving, with your arms near your body.
  • Position your head and eyes directly over the ball.
  • Let your arms hang naturally, creating a triangle between your shoulders and your hands.

Practice at home

Use a mirror to check your stance and posture. Find the right pose, then practice getting into and holding it so it becomes second nature.

 

3. Focus on proper alignment

Finding the right alignment is simple, but players often don’t devote enough attention to it, making it a common cause of missed putts.

How to do it

First, identify the line you want your ball to travel in. This might not be directly towards the hole if the green has a curve to it. For example, your line might be above the hole if the green slopes down towards it. Once you’ve worked out your line, ensure you’re properly aligned by:

  • Standing with your putter face pointing squarely towards your target line.
  • Positioning your feet, hips, and shoulders parallel to your target line.
  • Using alignment aids (such as sticks) on your putter or drawing a line on the ball for visual guidance if needed. This can be a simple way to quickly improve your alignment on the green.

Practice at home

Practice using alignment sticks or placing two clubs parallel on the ground to create a path for your stroke.

 

4. Master the pendulum stroke

Poor putts are often caused by too much motion in your body—particularly unwanted and improper motion, causing the club face to change alignment. This is where a pendulum stroke can help.

A pendulum stroke is a putting motion where you swing predominantly with your shoulders, keeping the rest of your body still, to create a smooth and controlled action without any unwanted additional movement. Picture a pendulum swinging. Your shoulders swing while your arms and club stay straight like the pendulum.

How to do it

  • Put yourself in a good posture with the right grip (see above).
  • Focus on staying relaxed.
  • Swing with your shoulders without moving your legs and with your head staying down and motionless.
  • Keep your wrists steady and avoid breaking them during the stroke.
  • Swing the putter using your shoulders, keeping your arms and hands quiet.
  • Maintain a steady tempo back and through your swing.

Practice at home

Take some time to practice the swing at home to get the action right. You can record yourself swinging and watch it back afterwards to see how close you are to the desired motion. You can also use a metronome app on your phone to learn a consistent stroke rhythm. A 2:1 tempo (backstroke to forward stroke) is recommended.

 

5. Work on distance control

Another key aspect of putting is judging how much force you’ll need in a stroke to get your ball close to the hole. 

How to do it

  • Focus on the speed of your stroke rather than power.
  • Take practice swings before you step up to your ball to gauge the speed required for your putt.
  • Visualise your ball travelling across the green towards the hole before you swing. This can become an excellent way to judge distances and speed with practice.

Practice at home

You can easily practice distance control at home by placing a small target, such as a cup, at various distances away from you. As you putt, try to learn to stop the ball within a foot of the target to refine your control.

 

6. Learn to read the green

Putting is more of an art than a science. You can master your grip, stance, alignment and stroke, but if you choose the wrong target line, you’re never going to consistently sink putts from a distance. You need to be able to look at a green and judge its slopes and contours to know what target line to set before you swing.

How to do it

Learning to read a green takes experience. But to help you develop an instinct for it, as you first approach a green, you should:

  • Walk around your putt to observe the slope from all angles.
  • Get down low to see how the green curves and slopes.
  • Look for changes in grass colour (this can indicate grain direction).
  • Visualise your ball’s ideal path before stepping up to the putt.

Practice at home

You can use a putting mat with built-in slopes to get a feel for how balls travel at different speeds over curved surfaces. You can also place objects under a flat mat, like pillows or cushions, to create breaks and practice reading them.

 

7. Give putting aids a try

Golf putting aids can be a great way to learn good putting form and to help you diagnose and correct any flaws in your stroke.

How to do it

  • Try tools like a putting mirror to check your alignment and eye position.
  • Use a gate drill aid to ensure your putter path stays straight.
  • Work with a laser guide to visualise your stroke path.

Practice at home

A putting mat with alignment guides is a great way to practice putting effectively at home, even in small spaces. You can use most other putting aids at home with a putting mat, too.

 

8. Establish a pre-putt routine

Mindset is vital in golf. Getting yourself into the right frame of mind before you approach a shot can dramatically impact your game, confidence, and consistency. An established and deliberate routine you run through before you putt can be an excellent way to focus and get into the right headspace. 

How to do it

  • Decide on a sequence of actions to run through before putting. This could include assessing the lay of the green, picking your line, settling into your grip and stance, visualising your shot, and then taking practice strokes to make sure you find the right speed and swing before committing to your putt.
  • Follow the same pre-putt routine to make it second nature.

Practice at home

You can simulate your routine on a putting mat, repeating it regularly until your pre-putt routine becomes something you run through automatically on the course.

 

9. Use visualisation

We’ve mentioned it a few times already, but visualisation deserves some deliberate focus of its own. Visualisation is a mental technique where you focus on visualising an act and its outcome in your head, such as completing your swing, striking the ball cleanly, and sinking a putt. 

Putting is as much mental as it is physical, and visualisation can be a powerful way to play with success, especially as you grow accustomed and get better at it.

How to do it

  • Put yourself in your stance.
  • Take a moment to visualise yourself swinging and striking the ball.
  • Visualise the path the ball will take over the green and into the hole.
  • Run through some practice swings.
  • Take your putt.

Practice at home

Visualisation can feel odd at first, but it’s a skill you can develop with practice. Take some time at home to run through stepping up to a putt and visualising your shot with a putting mat to begin developing your ability to visualise with focus and clarity.

 

10. Practice under pressure

You can put yourself under plenty of pressure when putting. If your approach to the green was good, a clean putt can put you under par. If you’ve had a bad drive, you can pressure yourself to sink your putt quickly to try and recover. But too much pressure can be the death of good performance.

If you can simulate putting yourself under pressure, though, you can get better at performing when stressed, which can reap benefits on the course. 

How to do it

  • Create challenges for yourself, such as making 10 putts in a row, starting over if you miss.
  • Play competitive putting games with friends if you can.
  • Set up time-based drills to mimic pressured conditions.

Practice at home

Try high-pressure challenges and drills on a putting mat.

What does your golf bag say about you?

Posted by & filed under Debates.

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

 

What do you tote around the golf course? Are you a tour bag merchant with a fancy trolley and dozens of dividers? Do you go simple, and pick up a pencil golf bag with a half set? Or are you one of those players who spends more time taking pictures of their waxed leather carryall than hitting shots?

It’s a topic Tom Irwin and I spent probably a little too long discussing on an episode of The NCG Golf Podcast.

“I think it’s up there with golf trousers as something that’s basically impossible to get right,” Tom said. “I been through the seven stages of man thing with bags, but I’m not really sure that I’m evolving. I’m just going around in circles wondering about the right thing to do.

“When I first started, I bought a set of Hogan Apex irons – very second hand with grips where you might as well have been holding the metal – and they came with a horrible red canvas bag with white around the top that I think you could almost pass off nowadays as being trendy. But it really wasn’t.

“Once I’d become a proper paid-up member of the golf club, I feel like there was a lot of chat about inches. I’ve got very clear memories of flicking through the Argos catalogue and being desperate to get a 12-inch golf bag.

“I reckon you ended up with these pseudo-tour bags, which were too small to be tour bags, but were leather and heavy and designed to go on a push trolley. The better you got, or the more money you had, the bigger your bag.”

So what do we think about bags? What should you carry in them? Listen to the podcast to get the whole story, but here are some of the highlights…

 

What does your golf bag say about you?

 

Is big really better?

The heaviest bag I’ve ever carried was in a British Masters pro-am for Peter Schmeichel. It was a stand bag but it weighed a ton. There must have been half of Denmark in it. There were three putters, for a start. The tournament was at Close House and anyone who has played there will know that the Colt course – and I’m a member for anyone who thinks I’m being critical – can best be described as ‘up and down’.

It taught me a valuable lesson, which is bigger is not necessarily always better when it comes to bags. I’m not yet at the stage where I’m reaching for an electric trolley. I still try to equate golf with some form of exercise and so I’ve gone small. Very small. If you’ll allow me a shameless plug, I think my current bag, the Macgregor Principal, might be the best I’ve ever had. It weighs nothing, you can pile in a full set, and you can hump it up a hill without having a coronary.

As for bigger tour bags on a huge trolley? I’ve seen enough batteries fail over the years to know it is not a foolproof solution to transporting your kit around a course.

 

How much bling?

“My golf bag used to be very heavy because I went through a stage of collecting bag tags,” said Tom. “So when you go to a trophy venue, you get a bag tag that you clip on.

“Bag tags are a brilliant memento, so I started getting into the habit of clipping them onto my bag but I ended up with 30 of these chunky things, with a little metal or plastic strap, that was adding significant tonnage to my bag and it was also making an absolute racket, so I had to give up that.”

I had a similar fetish for ball markers. I’d pick one up from every course I visited and, pretty quickly, I had a sizable collection clinking around the bag. Worse was I also had a habit for losing the smaller versions so I’d end up buying increasingly larger ‘poker style’ markers so I could ensure they wouldn’t go missing on their first excursion.

Pretty soon I was carrying the Royal Mint in my bag. Now I’ve got about 200 of them sat in a drawer. Was it just a monumental waste of money?

 

Is there a do’s and don’ts to accessories?

Do carry a valuables pouch, said Tom. Don’t forget about that banana you picked up on the 1st tee is my word of warning to you all.

Unfortunately, I did not look before putting my hand into the pocket. What a scene. I can’t say the rest of the bag was smelling particularly good, either, so be warned.

“I’ve got some of those vanity pouches,” explained Tom. “And I really want to be the sort of person who adheres to protocols with them. I want to have a nice tee vanity pouch and I want to have a nice neat glove vanity pouch so I keep those things separate.

“Then I’d even like to have a third one, that has things like a Sharpie in it, and one of those circle things you mark your ball with because I think it demonstrates order.

“But the problem is once you finish playing golf, you then just empty the contents of your pocket straight into the pocket of your golf bag and the whole thing’s just a shambles again.

“It’s a bit like when you clean your kitchen. You think, ‘I’m going to keep it exactly like this’ and after about a week it’s the same old jumble sale it was before.”

Does the stuff you have in your golf bag signify your ability as a golfer? If you’re carrying alignment sticks does that immediately imply you are a low handicapper? Who knew a golf bag could say so much about you?

How the Masters at Augusta National became what we see today

Posted by & filed under Masters.

The article below was written by Michael Atkinson of National Club Golfer.

 

The bright green grass of beautiful fairways, the vibrant colours of azaleas, the tall trees, the pine needles, the white sand bunkers, the water, the fast greens, the yellow flags with that famous logo – this is the Masters Tournament.

“Our overall aim at Augusta National has been to provide a golf course of considerable natural beauty, enjoyable for the average golfer and at the same time testing for the expert player striving to better par.

“We want to make bogeys easy if frankly sought, pars readily obtainable by standard good play, and birdies, except on par 5s, dearly bought.” The words of Bobby Jones, spoken at the opening of Augusta National Golf Club back in 1932, the golf course that would become home to the Masters Tournament. 

 

History of the Masters: Let’s begin with Bobby

Born in Atlanta in 1902, Jones would become one of America’s most celebrated golfers and a global sporting icon.

Jones remains to this day the only individual to have completed the golf Grand Slam – victories in all four golfing major championships in a calendar year. In the modern era, this would require victory at the Masters, the PGA Championship, the US Open and the Open Championship.

When Jones secured his Grand Slam in 1930, the Masters and the PGA Championship were still to be created, but the US Amateur and British Amateur were considered major championships at that time.

Today, only Tiger Woods has come close to joining Jones with this illustrious accolade. Woods won all four majors consecutively, but his victories spanned two different years, completing the fourth and final victory at the Masters Tournament in 2001, having won the PGA Championship, the US Open and the Open Championship in 2000. 

Over his playing career as an amateur (his professional career was as a lawyer), Bobby Jones won 13 major championships (including his wins at the US & British Amateur), but having secured the Grand Slam, he retired from competitive golf at the age of 28.

As one of the most famous and recognised sportsmen in the world, Jones capitalised on this attention by producing 18 instructional golf videos in Hollywood. The films featured on-screen celebrities of the day being coached by Jones, further driving his fame. 

It was this international fame which in part led to the idea to develop Augusta National. Jones sought an environment where he could continue to play golf with friends without the attention that he received everywhere he went, an elite private members club for the select few. 

With a friend, businessman Clifford Roberts, they acquired a parcel of land to build a golf course, known as the ‘Fruitland Nurseries’ near Atlanta, an indigo plantation turned orchard where hundreds of varieties of azaleas would also be cultivated.

Those azaleas would form the stock from which Augusta National’s famous azaleas still bloom today, creating one of the most recognisable images of the Masters.

The golf course would be designed by Jones himself, alongside the British golf course architect, Dr Alister Mackenzie, a designer revered for his creation of the exclusive Cypress Point golf course in Monterey, California. In their design, the pair drew much inspiration from the Old Course at St Andrew’s. 

Horton Smith, the winner of the inaugural Masters (and the first two-times winner), would comment “to me, the Augusta National course has character, individuality, and personality. It is one of the few courses that really presents two games on almost every hole – a game to reach the greens and another to figure the ever challenging contours after reaching the greens.” The course was heralded at the time as one of the finest in the world and it remains so to this day. 

The greens at Augusta have become legendary – hard and fast – but have evolved substantially since those first created by Mackenzie. The greens now have an underground irrigation and ventilation system which was installed in 1994 and supports the maintenance of the extraordinary firmness of the greens, making them some of the most challenging putting surfaces in the world.

It’s not simply the greens that have evolved over time. Indeed, the whole course has undergone substantial changes since its foundation at the hands of a variety of different architects. Tree planting has narrowed the originally wide fairways, the course has been substantially lengthened to account for the distance of the modern golf game and a new cut of rough has been added.

Not all the changes to Augusta National have been well received. Tiger Woods once remarked in a book that some of the changes had “eroded strategic values that Bobby Jones and Alister Mackenzie had created as the course’s essential feature.”

 

History of the Masters: Amen Corner

Augusta National’s most famous stretch of holes is known as ‘Amen Corner’, a term which originated from the golf writer Herbert Warren Wind, who first used it in an article for Sports Illustrated back in 1958.

The trio of holes are as highly anticipated by competitors as they are by viewers of the tournament. These three holes – 11, 12, 13 – can make or break a victory at the Masters due to the ‘risk and reward’ opportunities they provide.

Their significance to the outcome is a fitting tribute to their original design by Alister Mackenzie, who enabled players to implement a number of different strategies to playing these holes, with much depending on the player’s confidence and bravery.

On the par-5 13th, which features Rae’s Creek snaking up the left side and in front of the green, players can attempt to clear the water on the second shot to set up a possible eagle or they can lay up and settle for a par.  

The first wave of members at Augusta National were recruited mostly from New York, with the offer of three days of golf on the course in the company of Bobby Jones himself, as well as Francis Ouimet, famed as the first amateur to win the US Open in 1913. Despite their best attempts, initial take-up of membership was low, resulting in several years of tough financial times for the course. 

It was in 1934 that the first ‘Masters’ tournament was staged at Augusta National, entitled at the time simply as the ‘Augusta National Invitational Tournament’. Jones came out of competitive retirement for the first event, persuaded by his course co-founder, Roberts, mainly to promote the event and attract new membership given the club’s financial situation. 

Whilst membership struggled initially, Augusta National is now one of the most exclusive golf courses in the world. The elite membership is by invitation only and restricted to only 300 individuals. Famous members have included President Dwight Eisenhower, who as President-Elect stayed for 10 days at the club before his inauguration. 

Members receive a green jacket on joining the Club with the original idea that they would wear the jackets throughout the course of the Masters Tournament, ensuring those in attendance were aware of their status and ability to provide information on the event and the course.

It was in 1949 that a green jacket was awarded to the winner of the event, with Sam Snead the first to receive one. Like the Open Championship’s Claret Jug, the green jacket has become one of the most famous sporting ‘trophies’ in the world. Winning the Masters and receiving a green jacket does not entitle the victor to membership of Augusta National however, it is a symbolic gesture only.

In addition to receiving the green jacket and a gold medal, the Masters champion earns the distinction of having his name engraved on the permanent Masters trophy, which is a reproduction of the Augusta National clubhouse. 

Jones renamed the Augusta National Invitational the ‘Masters Tournament’ in 1939, commenting “I must admit the name was born of a touch of immodesty”, immodesty that he attributed to Clifford Roberts.

However, Jones was satisfied quickly with the name, stating later “I think the tournament is now quite well entitled to be called the Masters, because it has continued to assemble those who are entitled to be called masters of the game.”

The Masters is now a firmly established part of the global sporting calendar. It acts as the first major of the golfing year and remains unique in that it is the only major to always be played at the same course each year. 

Some of the most famous moments in golf have occurred during the Masters. In 1935, Gene Sarazen, another great American golfer with seven major championship wins and one of only five players in the world to achieve a career Grand Slam, scored a double-eagle (now more commonly known as an albatross) on the par-5 15th.

Writing about the historical moment, US sports writer Grantland Rice noted “As he swung, the double miracle happened. The ball left the face of his spoon like a rifle shot. It never wavered from a direct line to the pin.

“As it struck the green a loud shout went up. Then suddenly turned into a deafening, reverberating roar as the ball spun along its way and finally disappeared into the cup for a double-eagle two.”

Sarazen would later go on to comment “that double eagle wouldn’t have meant a thing if I hadn’t won the playoff the next day. The aspect I cherish most is that both Walter Hagen and Bobby Jones witnessed the shot.”

The early tournament continued to become popular. In the war years, the course grounds were used to raise cattle and turkeys. The Masters resumed in 1946 and two years later in 1948, Jones would play his final round of competitive golf at the Masters – the tournament he had created. 

The Masters, like many great sporting events, is noted for its traditions. In 1952, another of the famous Masters traditions started, that of the ‘Champions Dinner’.

The idea came from Ben Hogan and to this day, tradition holds that the current champion chooses the menu and pays the costs of the dinner, held at the start of the tournament week in the company of as many past champions as possible.

The dinners have become a gathering of the most famous and successful golfers of all time, where everyone wears their green jacket.

In 1953, Ben Hogan won his second Masters with a score of 274, breaking the previous record by five strokes. Arnold Palmer would win the first of his green jackets in 1958 and go on to become the first four-time champion in 1964.

In 1965, Jack Nicklaus won his second Masters by nine strokes – the largest victory margin in the tournament’s history, scoring 271 for the then-record.

The 1970s would be the decade that witnessed the passing of the two men who had founded both Augusta National and the Masters – Bobby Jones and Clifford Roberts. Jones died in 1971 at 69 years of age.

He had attended every single Masters until 1968, when the spinal disease he suffered from, syringomyelia, made it too difficult for him to travel to Augusta from his home in Atlanta. Jones had endured the last 20 or so years of his life with this debilitating illness that made it progressively difficult for him to use his arms and legs.

After his death, Herbert Warren Wind paid tribute to Jones in The New Yorker, writing “He had incredible strength of character. As a young man, he was able to stand up to just about the best that life can offer, which is not easy, and later he stood up with equal grace to just about the worst.”

Clifford Roberts had proposed in 1966 that Augusta National change its by-laws to create the position of ‘President in perpetuity’ as a way to honour Jones. The club did so, electing Jones to the post with a statement which read ‘It is desired that the spirit of his principles, his acts of good sportsmanship, his innate modesty and other admirable and lovable qualities shall forever guide the policies of Augusta National and the Masters Tournament.’

Six years after the death of Bobby Jones, Clifford Roberts passed away at the age of 83. Paying tribute to Roberts, Jack Nicklaus said “the standards and quality with which he conducted the Masters are unmatched anywhere”. 

The 1980s would bring the start of a European influence on the Masters, courtesy of Seve Ballesteros, who became the first European to win the Masters at age 23, in 1980.

He would win again three years later in 1983 and battled with Jack Nicklaus in 1986 as Nicklaus secured his final green jacket. That win also delivered him the record for the most number of Masters victories, winning the tournament a total of six times and make him the oldest winner of the event at 46 years and 82 days old.

When he won in 1986, Nicklaus hadn’t won a major championship in six years, but he produced an outstanding back nine on the final day to claim victory.

Nicklaus would later reflect on the Masters that “from the first time I drove up Magnolia Lane at age 19, I had a special feeling about Augusta. Even today, I get chills driving up Magnolia Lane.”

Nick Faldo would secure a second green jacket in 1990, and enable him to match Nicklaus to become only the second player in history at that time to win back-to-back Masters titles. 

It would be 1997 that ushered in a new dawn in golf, and it was at the Masters. This was the tournament that launched Tiger Woods into an era of dominance in the golfing world.

Woods claimed the first of his Masters victories, making him the youngest-ever champion at 21 years and 104 days. He also set the record for the lowest 72-hole total (18 under par 270) and delivered the widest-ever victory margin (12 strokes).

It wasn’t until 2015 that this tournament record score would come close to being challenged. In the end, it was equalled with Jordan Spieth winning and matching the 18-under 270 course record at that time. 

Of course, only four years later it would be Woods once again, dismissed by many as a faded legend, who would display a come-back which was celebrated throughout the sports world.

The 2019 event belonged in so many different ways to Woods and with the victory he moved closer to the Jack Nicklaus Masters record, taking his tally of wins at the Masters to five. It delivered Woods his 15th major and signified one of the most sought-after returns to sporting glory.  

It was strange for the Masters not to dominate sports headlines around the world during April 2020. The tournament eventually took place in November 2020, without spectators and the famous Augusta roars as the world fought a global pandemic.

Dustin Johnson would make history at this unique edition of the Masters, breaking the course record with a 20-under 268 as he secured his first green jacket.

South African Masters champion, Gary Player, who holds the position as the first international player to win, once gave a fitting tribute to both the course and tournament which have become synonymous, as he said “If there’s a golf course in heaven, I hope it’s like Augusta National.”

Everything you need to know about the 2025 Rules of Golf update

Posted by & filed under Golf Updates.

Golf is a sport with deep roots. It was first played in Scotland in the Middle Ages and spread across the world with the British Empire. The international rules of golf were first formalised in 1899 and then unified globally in 1952 by The R&A and USGA. But even after the modern rules were defined, golf has continued to evolve as a sport, with rules changing and updates made continually to ensure golf stays relevant, fair, and competitive.

The R&A and USGA updated the official international rules of golf in 2019, and then again in 2023. Whilst the joint bodies aren’t issuing another full golf rules update in 2025, several other bodies, like the PGA Tour, are introducing changes to the game. Here, we run through the major golf rules changes to hit the sport in 2025.

 

Who makes the Rules of Golf?

The Rules of Golf have a long and rather complicated history, but today, the international rules are standardised and jointly managed by The R&A (based on The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews) and the United States Golf Association (USGA). The R&A governs golf globally, except in the US and Mexico, which the USGA governs.

The R&A and the USGA regularly update these official rules, but whilst they aren’t making an official set of changes in 2025, a number of other golfing bodies will be making changes.

Here’s what to look out for in 2025:

 

Updated policy on transgender golfers

As of 2025, The R&A has updated its rules on male-to-female transgender golfers. 

Following similar decisions taken by the LPGA Tour and some other sports governing bodies, transgender women who were assigned as male at birth and who have gone through male puberty will no longer be eligible to feature in the R&A’s female professional and elite amateur championships.

 

Extended winter rules in England

Golf courses tend not to be in their best state during winter months, especially throughout the UK, where weather can be unremittingly wet and windy (but that’s not to say winter golf can’t still be enjoyable, of course!)

In light of these worsening winter conditions, though, the R&A and the USGA have included rules for Preferred Lies (called Model Local Rule E-3), allowing players to avoid areas of weather-affected courses by placing their ball, or another one, in a relief area. 

To go even further, England Golf has even provided its own Model Local Rules guide for helping golfers play in Adverse and Extreme Weather Conditions. 

Before 2025, these winter rules could be used by players between 1st October and 30th April. But as of this year, golfers will now be able to apply Model Local Rules year round, based on the weather and the condition of the course they’re playing on.

 

PGA Tour Signature Events limited to a field of 72

The PGA TOUR Signature Events are a series of eight limited-field tournaments that feature top players competing for increased prize money and FedExCup points (up to 700 points for the winner and a $20 million purse).

In 2025, the PGA will make a change to its Signature Events, limiting the field to just 72 players. If a player doesn’t attend or drops out, the next player will be drawn from the next available options in the Aon Next 10 list. 

 

Tiger Wood’s PGA special exemption

Dubbed the ‘Tiger Rule’, and for good reason. In 2025, the PGA Tour Policy Board approved a special exemption for one of the game’s most iconic players. Tiger Woods will be granted entrance into PGA TOUR Signature Events even if he doesn’t meet their qualifying criteria.

This Lifetime Achievement Exemption has been awarded due to Tiger’s contributions to the sport and his continued importance to the game globally. 

In the words of the Player Advisory Council:

“These exemptions are intended to capture players who are important to the tournament sponsor but who are not otherwise qualified. To maximise these spots for the membership and to provide optimal flexibility for the tournament sponsor, the PAC supported adding an additional sponsor exemption recognising Tiger Woods in his own category as a player who has reached an exceptional lifetime achievement threshold of 80+ career wins.”

We suspect more exemptions may come under this new rule.

 

The TGL

The TGL, short for TMRW Golf League, is a new golfing league competition created by Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, and sports executive Mike McCarley, beginning in 2025. 

Each match will be played as two teams of four players pitted against each other, using both traditional and simulated golf play. Matches will be divided into two halves, with Triples (holes 1 to 9) played by teams of three, and Singles (holes 10 to 15) played head-to-head by single players, switching every two holes.

TGL matches will be held on weeknights and will introduce various rule changes to offer viewers a new kind of golf competition to watch, including:

  • A Shot Clock: From the moment a player places their ball, they’ll have 40 seconds to take their shot or face a one-stroke penalty.
  • Timeouts: Each team will have four timeouts they can use during the match to halt the Shot Clock, two during the Triples stage and two during the Singles holes. 
  • The Hammer: At any time, a team can opt to throw a hammer, by waiving a Mjolnir-shaped gold towel, to add a single point to a hole’s value. If the opposing team declines the Hammer, they forfeit the hole. The other team has to accept the Hammer if it’s used before play on a hole begins. Only one Hammer is ever in play. Which team takes it initially is determined by a coin toss, with the Hammer then alternating between teams.
  • Overtime: If the match is tied after all 15 holes, a penalty shoot-out style competition begins, with the winning team the one to record the two closest consecutive shots to the pin.
  • Referees: TGL will feature on-course referees to manage play and ensure all TGL rules are adhered to, whilst another referee will monitor all the play from a booth.

 

What golf rule changes were made in 2023?

The latest full update to the international golf rules was made by The R&A and USGA in 2023. To remind ourselves, this update included changes: 

  • To better accommodate players with disabilities.
  • For replacing balls moved by natural forces.
  • To simplify the rules for back-on-the-line relief.
  • For replacing damaged clubs.
  • For relaxing the requirements for writing handicaps on scorecards.