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The NCG Golf Podcast, by National Club Golfer, brings stories from the world of golf to life. Tom Irwin and Steve Carroll chat about everything from the clubhouse game, to tour, equipment, and courses, and welcome special guests from the world of golf along the way. Available on your preferred podcast platform.
Episodes
Friday Oct 13, 2023
From the Clubhouse: Are our PGA pros a tradition worth saving?
Friday Oct 13, 2023
Friday Oct 13, 2023
The most important person in the golf club, or a tradition that belongs in golf's history bin?
In this episode of the From the Clubhouse podcast, Tom Irwin and Steve Carroll consider the role of the PGA professional, what they mean to us, and whether they still have a place in a game that's being pushed to modernise.
You might not be surprised to learn the duo are very appreciative of the work they do - but they look at why some clubs have gone another way. Is it change for change sake?
They also get into countback. We all know about back-9, back-6, and so on but do you know how far down the rabbit hole you can go? We reveal what the rules say.
Is it the best way to sort out a winner? Should we have playoffs for big board competitions?
And we also discuss USGA research which suggests how far you hit your 7-iron should determine from which tees you would play. Does it also make the game quicker? We get stuck in…
From the Clubhouse is produced in association with TaylorMade Golf
NOW READ: Is your 7-iron the key to speeding up golf?
Monday Oct 09, 2023
Monday Oct 09, 2023
The Alfred Dunhill Links Championship finished on Monday after only 54 holes due to such poor weather in Scotland!
Matt Coles and Matt Chivers sing the praises of the greens staff at Carnoustie, but question if wins over reduced formats should count on the record.
Also in the latest episode of The Slam - in association with Callaway - the team argue the case for more tournaments to be played using multiple courses, with some interesting suggestions...
The Matts reflect on an exciting five-way playoff on the PGA Tour including Ryder Cup hero Ludvig Aberg, while elsewhere in the States, players were battling for their Tour cards at the Korn Ferry Tour Championship.
One rule break cost one unlucky player everything!
Meanwhile, the team look ahead to Lexi Thompson's PGA Tour debut in Las Vegas, as well as looking back on a great win by a young, European LIV golfer on the Asian Tour.
Could David Puig add another string to Europe's bow at the 2025 Ryder Cup?
You know what to do!
Friday Oct 06, 2023
From the Clubhouse: Do we need caddies in club golf?
Friday Oct 06, 2023
Friday Oct 06, 2023
The Ryder Cup is back in European hands but the fallout from events at Marco Simone are still rumbling on – particularly with regards to ‘hatgate’ and Joe LaCava’s antics on the 18th green.
Tom Irwin, as always joined by Steve Carroll, looks back at that story and considers whether it would have been handled any differently if it was a player at the centre, and not a caddie.
At club level, we have our own chance to benefit from expert advice when we visit a prestigious course. But is it worth it? Does it add to the experience, or would you rather just crack on and carry your own clubs? Tom and Steve, who have benefited from the help of golf caddies and have also made their own way round, debate.
Tom also grills Steve on the Ryder Cup rules incidents involving Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas and asks whether players should ever be allowed a second opinion. Steve’s answer might surprise you.
We hope it’s another hour of informed discussion.
If you haven’t already, please consider subscribing or, if you’ve previously clicked in our favour, have another look at your connections and make sure you’re getting the most up to date feed.
From the Clubhouse is produced in association with TaylorMade Golf
Monday Oct 02, 2023
Monday Oct 02, 2023
The Ryder Cup is back in European hands! What a weekend that was in Rome and, in this week’s The Slam, Steve Carroll is joined by Matt Chivers (from the Eternal City no less!) to break down the 16.5-11.5 victory over the USA.
We assess all the big talking points from Marco Simone, whether that’s hauling skipper Zach Johnson over the coals, debating crowd behaviour, or pinpointing just why the Europeans are just so dominant in foursomes.
And, yes, we also talk about ‘hatgate’.
Should it be ‘two more years’ for Luke Donald? Who on earth will captain if he says no? There is plenty to discuss. Who knows if you’ll agree with us, but have a listen and let us know…
Monday Sep 25, 2023
Does it matter who the Ryder Cup captains are? | The Slam Podcast SPECIAL
Monday Sep 25, 2023
Monday Sep 25, 2023
In the latest edition of The Slam Podcast - in association with Callaway - Matt Coles and Matt Chivers are joined by award-winning journalist and author Richard Gillis.
Richard wrote The Captain Myth: The Ryder Cup and Sport’s Great Leadership Delusion, published in 2016, which re-thinks the role of the Ryder Cup captain and how important they actually are.
With an array of interviews with an abundance of golfing figures, Richard considers the idea of the good and bad captain - the inevitable labels given to the winning and losing leaders at the Ryder Cup.
Richard joins the team to discuss how captains have been perceived in previous iterations of the event, when often their fate has been determined by flip-of-a-coin moments, such as Justin Rose's memorable putt when facing Phil Mickelson at the 2012 matches at Medinah.
Do we just seek a story of romance surrounding who wins? Or does the best team simply win most of the time?
He also delves into the business side of the Ryder Cup and ponders its future if money becomes the primary object of the event. One day, could it be held every year? Or, could it become a four-day tournament?
You won't want to miss this special Ryder Cup preview!
The Matts also previewed the huge week in Rome and revealed the European pairings they would go with for the first foursomes session on Friday morning.
Will Luke Donald opt for experience over rookies, or will the Englishman put trust in his most fresh-faced team members?
Friday Sep 22, 2023
Friday Sep 22, 2023
Tom Irwin’s got a bee in his bonnet. It’s match play time – with the Solheim Cup on our screens and the Ryder Cup following hotly on its heels.
But Tom’s struggling to get into the spirit of person-to-person combat. He’s got a problem with it and spends a chunk of this week’s episode getting stuck into the biennial Europe vs USA battles as well as outlining some of his issues with match play at club level.
Is it geared too much in favour of players with more shots and will he find an ally in podcast co-host Steve Carroll?
We also get stuck into handicapping (just for a change) and ask whether it’s acceptable to put in a score if you’re playing solo.
And Steve believes too much of what we do at club level is geared towards stopping the tiny minority of players who are determined to cheat.
Let him argue his case in another fascinating episode that needs to be heard to be believed…
Monday Sep 18, 2023
Monday Sep 18, 2023
We have reached Solheim Cup week!
On the latest episode of The Slam - in association with Callaway - Matt Chivers and Matt Coles look ahead to the match between Europe and America at Finca Cortesin.
The team considered who would be the star performers on each side, with both Suzann Pettersen and Stacy Lewis having an abundance of experience and freshness at their disposal.
Who will Charley Hull be paired with in Spain? Will America's Solheim Cup veteran Lexi Thompson be paired with the impressive Rose Zhang?
America has two major champions as rookies, Lilia Vu and Allisen Corpuz, but will they trump the youth of Linn Grant and Maja Stark? There are so many dynamics to consider.
The Matts also look back on the BMW PGA Championship which was superbly won by Ryan Fox, despite making a triple-bogey on the front nine at Wentworth.
With the entire European Ryder Cup side in the field, how pleased will Luke Donald be with his team's performance?
Also, we congratulate Sahith Theegala on his first win on the PGA Tour at the Fortinet Championship after many heartbreaking near misses.
You know what to do!
Friday Sep 15, 2023
From the Clubhouse: Are people who play Adventure Golf really golfers?
Friday Sep 15, 2023
Friday Sep 15, 2023
What is a golfer? Is it just a golf club member? Or can someone who has only ever struck a shot on an Adventure Golf course call themselves a player?
Golf for All, a huge research project commissioned by the PGA in partnership with IPSOS , claims that “golf is not what you thought it was”.
It reveals that 22.4 million people (some 40 per cent of adults in the UK and Ireland) are interested in the game, with 16.3 million playing any golf and 4.9 million playing on-course.
With Adventure Golf the most popular form of the game, and enjoyed by 12.6 million people, Tom Irwin and Steve Carroll dive into some of the report’s major findings, consider what makes a golfer, and ask how to bridge the gap between off course and on course golf activity.
Elsewhere, Tom’s been on a visit to ‘that there London’ and watched the pro-am at the BMW PGA Championship. He discusses with Steve Carroll the merit of golf celebrity watching. Hint: Steve is not a fan.
And after Steve dug once more into the history archives and revealed how hitting into another group was viewed by our golfing ancestors, Tom reveals two of the most incredible etiquette breaches.
They are stories you won’t want to miss.
The From the Clubhouse podcast is produced in association with TaylorMade Golf.
Monday Sep 11, 2023
Monday Sep 11, 2023
There might've been no PGA Tour at the weekend, but the DP World Tour delivered with a tight finish at the Horizon Irish Open.
Vincent Norrman won once again, so Matt Chivers and Matt Coles discuss the sudden rise in Scandinavian golf and how so many superstars in the sport are emerging from this part of the world.
In the latest episode of The Slam Podcast - in association with Callaway - the Matts discuss the weight of Rory McIlroy's words about Portmarnock possibly hosting The Open Championship one day.
Whether this could be the case or not, Irish fans will turn out for their national event, and the team talks about why the Irish Open is so popular on tour.
Should the Irish Open stay on links turf and visit the country's most famous courses more often, such as when Royal County Down hosts the tournament in 2024?
The team looks back on the USA's recent visit to Marco Simone, some funny pictures on social media and a nostalgic choice of shirt from Jim Furyk.
A couple of Team USA members tee it up at the Fortinet Championship this week while the entire European side heads to Wentworth for the BMW PGA Championship.
The team looks forward to this event, and looks back on the dramatic and extraordinary BMW PGA Championship from 2022, as well as Charley Hull's unfortunate defeat to Minjee Lee at the weekend on the LPGA Tour!
You know what to do...
Friday Sep 08, 2023
From the Clubhouse: Would you put in every score for handicap? We did!
Friday Sep 08, 2023
Friday Sep 08, 2023
Enjoyed the summer break? Our From the Clubhouse team are back and they’ve got plenty to get stuck into.
Listeners will remember that Steve Carroll pledged to submit a score for handicap from every round he played until the end of October. Three and a half months in, he gives Tom Irwin an update on how that’s going and how it’s affected his golf.
The duo then consider the remarkable comments from England Golf on the R&A and USGA’s proposed Model Local Rule for a golf ball roll back, and look at why the governing body have taken this step and whether action needs to happen on hitting distances.
And Steve gets on his soapbox once again to argue for a change in the way we play our club competitions.
You may not agree, but you’ll be intrigued all the same. So let’s get stuck in!
The From the Clubhouse podcast is produced in association with TaylorMade Golf.