The NCG Golf Podcast

From the Clubhouse: Are we being priced out of playing the UK’s top golf courses?

What is happening with pricing at our best golf courses? Is a true bucket list experience increasingly becoming out of reach for the average club golfer?
As we peer ahead into 2023 and start looking at booking our summer trips, it’s clear that it’s becoming ever more expensive to tick off a layout that appears in the various Top 100 lists, such as NCG Top 100s.
On this week’s From the Clubhouse, a podcast from National Club Golfer, Tom Irwin and Steve Carroll delve into visitor green fee pricing at our most prestigious venues – considering the current set of increases, why courses are putting up their prices, and what it might mean for those of us who aspire to play them.
The duo also look at smart ways of keeping the costs down for those prepared to swerve a summer weekend tee time, and speculate on what might happen to UK golf in the future if prices continue to spiral.
We’re in for a lively hour of debate…

All The Gear: TaylorMade Stealth 2 is here! So what do you need to know?

On this episode of All the Gear, a National Club Golfer podcast, Hannah Holden, Jack Backhouse and Tom Irwin discuss everything from the new technology in the Stealth 2 range, how they perform, and what is COR and Inverted Cone Technology.
Tomo Bystedt Senior Director of Product Creation at TaylorMade also joins the trio to chat about the changes they have made in the new drivers. 

All The Gear: How do Callaway design new golf clubs? Let’s go behind the scenes

We all love getting our hands on new golf clubs but what goes on behind the scenes to bring them to market?
Tom Irwin, Jack Backhouse and Hannah Holden speculate about how they would design a new driver. They also chat to Evan Gibbs, Director of R&D for Woods at Callaway to find out how they go about creating new golf clubs. 

All The Gear: The Callaway Paradym range is here – what do you need to know?

It’s January, which in our world means one thing and one thing only: new golf equipment.
This year it is Callaway making the plunge first, unveiling an expansive range of new products, all under the new Callaway Paradym family name.
On this episode of All the Gear, a National Club Golfer podcast, Hannah Holden, Jack Backhouse and Tom Irwin discuss everything from the new technology in the range, how they perform, and why they chose the name Paradym.
Evan Gibbs from the Callaway Research & Development team also joins the trio to chat about the changes they have made. 
 

All The Gear: Can golf drivers actually keep getting better?

It’s that time of year again when new product releases are coming left, right, and centre. While lots of golfers are excited about the possibility of new golf clubs, we increasingly see more and more complaints that technology can’t possibly be changing so quickly.
So can our clubs - in particular, drivers - actually keep getting better?
Hannah Holden, Jack Backhouse, and Tom Irwin discuss, and the All the Gear team are joined by Dave Neville, senior director of brand and product management at Callaway Golf, to find out what they are doing to keep improving their technology.

All The Gear: How do we test golf equipment? Taking you behind the scenes

The NCG review team discuss the upcoming equipment launch season, their colossal attempt to test 80 new clubs in time for January and if brands should bring out new equipment every year. 

From the Clubhouse: What do you value about being a golf club member?

What is it about a golf club that draws us in? Is it the easy access to tee times, the shared sense of community, or the opportunity to get into competitive action?
On this week’s From the Clubhouse, a podcast from National Club Golfer, Steve Carroll and Tom Irwin take a detailed look at why so many of us pay out considerable sums of money each year to be part of a club.
Steve, who has recently moved clubs, gets onto the couch and talks about some of the teething issues he has had settling into a new environment, while Tom examines whether clubs could do a better job of looking after members who might be wavering.
The pair also look at the best time clubs should have their renewals and consider what might change in the near future as a sport where participation has surged on the back of the Covid pandemic now faces up to a cost-of-living crisis.
Some of their conclusions might surprise you, so sit back and allow them to explain all…

The Slam: Tiger and Rory on the warpath! + Forget the World Cup - we’ve got Ryder Cup fever!

Put a microphone in front of Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy and they are happy to talk. Both have conducted explosive interviews in the past few days and that's where Alex Perry and George Cooper start with this week's episode of The Slam, a National Club Golfer podcast. Did McIlroy go too far with him comments? One of our co-hosts certainly thinks so.
Elsewhere, the pair argue over the players guaranteed to make the Ryder Cup and those on the fringes, while George picks his World Cup XI of golfers. (It makes more sense once you listen.)
But first, what's the worst golf-related Christmas present you've ever received? Let's get stuck in...