The NCG Golf Podcast

Host Tom Irwin and special guests Dan Murphy and Matt Chivers preview the 154th Open Championship in the media centre at Royal Birkdale. The trio dive into which type of golfer will thrive on the baked Southport links - will it be a bomber or a plodder? 
 
The team also talk about R&A CEO Mark Darbon's press conference, and the discussion around Open venues that might either be returning to the Rota (Muirfield), or joining for the first time (Portmarnock). Tom also goes into the questions he asked the R&A chief regarding the intricacies of the World Handicap System and General Play scorecards

Welcome to the first of our special podcasts from Royal Birkdale where Steve Carroll is joined by Matt Chivers to talk about the opening two days at The Open.
The pair discuss how the course is looking and Matt reveals he has been asking some of the world’s best players about sports betting and crowd behaviour – will we see an interruption this week?
The two also discuss the home favourite Tommy Fleetwood. Is it finally going to be Tommy’s time at the majors on his home course?
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As The Open returns to the magnificent Royal Birkdale, Tom Irwin and Steve Carroll look ahead to the 154th edition of the game's oldest major.
From the Last Chance Open Qualifer and the unique test that Birkdale presents to favourite memories from this iconic links venue, they break down everything you need to know before the first tee shot is struck. And, naturally, they make their picks for who will be lifting the Claret Jug.
This is your essential preview. Tune in and get ready for one of golf's greatest weeks.

Few golfers can match the amateur pedigree of Jill Thornhill.
A former Women's Amateur Champion, leading amateur at the Women's British Open, Curtis Cup player and captain, and current president of Walton Heath Golf Club, she has spent decades at the heart of the game.
In this special episode, Steve Carroll sits down with one of our most respected amateur golfers to relive her greatest memories, discuss her lifelong connection to Walton Heath, and share her views on everything from pace of play and the Rules of Golf to the World Handicap System.
It’s an engaging conversation with a true giant of amateur golf.

If it’s not visitors holding up play by taking endless photos, it is golfer taking calls when they should be playing a shot.
So should mobile phones be banned on the course? Is golf’s relationship with technology harming the game.
In this episode of The NCG Golf Podcast, Tom Irwin and Steve Carroll tackle one of the game’s most contentious debates.
From ringing phones and social media distractions to GPS apps, score tracking and way we experience a round, we ask whether golf needs to draw a line.
Please let us know your thoughts – get in touch on your preferred podcast app or send us an email at s.carroll@nationalclubgolfer.com
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Players throwing clubs. Spectators turning on eventual US Open champion Wyndham Clark. Tempers boiling over on the biggest stage. For those who believe etiquette is golf’s foundation, recent events have raised an uncomfortable question: has the game lost its way?
And is what we see on tour simply reflecting what’s happening every weekend at golf clubs across the country?
In this week’s episode, Tom Irwin climbs onto the soapbox to deliver a passionate and thought-provoking critique of golf’s changing standards.
Why has etiquette slipped? Are golfers simply copying what they see at the top of the game? And what can clubs, players, and the sport itself do to turn things around?
It’s a lively debate about respect and whether golf’s unwritten rules are under threat.
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Another month, another record. England Golf's iGolf scheme added more than 6,100 subscribers in May alone, while recorded rounds topped 100,000 for the first time.
Nearly 30,000 golfers have gone on to join clubs since the programme launched – but are clubs doing enough to welcome these players? Or are some turning away a valuable source of future members by restricting access to Open competitions?
Tom Irwin and Steve Carroll dive into the numbers and discuss whether golf clubs are missing a major opportunity.
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It’s one of golf’s most hotly debated questions – and Tom Irwin and Steve Carroll aren’t holding back.
Has the World Handicap System become too much of a free-for-all? Should competition golf be the only true measure of a player’s ability?
The pair ask whether the system is baffling newcomers and juniors and get into par, strokes received, and what your handicap really represents.
Whether you're a competition regular, or simply someone who's ever wondered how their index is calculated, you’ll want to listen in…
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