The NCG Golf Podcast

What makes a great golf course?

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder when it comes to golf courses. One player’s links paradise is another’s heathland heaven.

But even allowing for the most passionate discussion, there are plenty of layouts out there we all agree are superb. Rankings lists would be sunk without them!

So what is it that makes a golf course great? In this week’s The NCG Golf Podcast, Tom Irwin and Steve Carroll go on a deep dive.

What courses speak to us? Where are we desperate to go this year, and where are we keen to return? To help us in that quest, we’ve enlisted two special guests.

Dan Murphy is a veteran of nearly 700 golf courses and has been the chairman of NCG’s Top 100s panel for nearly a decade. He is responsible for all our rankings lists.

And you may know David Jones better as UK Golf Guy – a phenomenally successful blogger whose insight on rankings lists and the price of playing the best golf courses in GB&I is required reading.

The NCG Golf Podcast is produced in association with the TaylorMade TP5 golf ball

Bubba Watson drops some LIV Golf truth bombs!

It’s a brave new world for The NCG Golf Podcast. No more From the Clubhouse. We’ve put The Slam to bed, and we’re back with a solitary, singular, golf podcast.

But Tom Irwin and Steve Carroll remain your hosts and will continue to debate the things that matter to you. 

Has it finally stopped raining? The heavens may have paused, but the last three months have been unbelievable for golf courses. We’ve got the numbers.

We’re going to serve up a host of special guests and we couldn’t start with a bigger character. Two-time major champion Bubba Watson joins us and he’s got plenty to say about LIV Golf, the PGA Tour, and the way forward.

What a start! So get the car volume up, put your headphones on, and give it a listen!

The NCG Golf Podcast is produced in association with the TaylorMade TP5 golf ball

Is golf really broken?

Has Jon Rahm’s eye-watering move to LIV Golf fissured the sport? Has your love affair with the game been punctured by the bitter row enveloping the professional ranks?

Or are you unmoved by the actions of those at the top end of the game?

On this week’s episode of The NCG Golf Podcast, Tom Irwin and Steve Carroll debate the ramifications of Rahm’s shift, ask if it makes LIV Golf’s proposition any stronger, and look at whether hi-jinks at the high end has any impact on how we approach golf at our own clubs.

Is saying the sport is in crisis borne out by reality?

The NCG Golf Podcast is produced in association with TaylorMade Golf

From the Clubhouse: A deep dive into the golf ball roll back plans

Now we know. A ball roll back is coming for everyone.

In this week’s podcast, Tom Irwin and Steve Carroll dig deep into the R&A and USGA’s decision to reduce the distance the ball travels at every level of the game.

We’re joined by performance coach and data expert Lou Stagner, and James Day, co-founder of Urban Golf and SounderGolf, to debate what the game's two big governing bodies have unveiled. 

We wanted to bring you an in-depth discussion and analysis of both sides of the argument. Lou and James passionately defend their different views on the roll back, and the future of the game in both the professional and amateur spheres.

We consider why the governing bodies came to this decision, whether distance really matters at club level, what it means for our classic courses, and much more.

You might agree or disagree, depending where on the fence you sit, but we hope you find the chat absorbing and informative.

The From the Clubhouse podcast is produced in association with TaylorMade Golf.

From the Clubhouse: Is the golf ball about to be rolled back for everyone?

“There are only three options: We can bifurcate; you change the whole game; or you do nothing. And doing nothing is not an option.”

R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers says a decision on what to do about hitting distances in golf is coming by the end of the year but, after admitting to Golf Digest’s John Huggan there had been lots of opposition to the R&A and USGA’s proposed Model Local Rule, what's going to happen now?

If you change the whole game, could that mean a shorter ball for everyone? In this episode of the From the Clubhouse podcast, Tom Irwin and Steve Carroll speculate about the distance debate and how it will affect us at our clubs?

Would we be willing to play a shortened ball? Would it make any difference to our games? And what could it mean to the way our clubs maintain their courses?

You’ll not be surprised to learn Steve and Tom have rather different views!

The duo also consider the latest reincarnation of Tiger Woods and look at the new manoeuvres in the LIV Golf-PGA Tour standoff. Will a deal be done?

The From the Clubhouse podcast is produced in association with TaylorMade Golf.

From the Clubhouse: What does Billy Foster dread about the Masters?

What is it about Augusta week that Billy Foster can’t wait to be over? What does he think has ruined golf? And why is comparing the camaraderie between the European and US Ryder Cup teams like ‘Halifax Town playing Manchester City?’

Europe’s best-known caddie is our guest on this week’s From the Clubhouse podcast and the proud Yorkshireman has once again delivered a masterclass in straight-talking.

We’ll hear stories of Seve and Tiger and he'll put you right into the team room at some of his 15 Ryder Cups. It’s an interview with NCG’s Matt Chivers you can’t afford to miss.

Podcast hosts Tom Irwin and Steve Carroll give their verdict on his views, while also getting stuck into the PIP and asking whether Jon Rahm really might defect to LIV Golf.

Get clicking. Get listening.

From the Clubhouse is produced in association with TaylorMade Golf.

From the Clubhouse: So what do we REALLY think about the World Handicap System changes?

Those big WHS changes have certainly got your tongues wagging.

And while we’ve told you in great detail about what’s coming to Great Britain & Ireland next April, what do we really think about them?

In this week’s From the Clubhouse, Tom Irwin and Steve Carroll go through the big changes and speak their minds.

Is Course Rating minus Par a good thing? Are the new fourball betterball rules a fudge? What’s Tom’s issue with Par 3 courses being eligible for Course Ratings?

The duo also get stuck into Rory McIlroy’s Race to Dubai victory. Should he have played more in Europe? They also discuss whether the peek at the Northern Irishman’s new driver has proved a PR masterstroke.

Beware. Strong opinions are about to be expressed. So put your headphones on and get listening!

From the Clubhouse is produced in association with TaylorMade Golf.

From the Clubhouse: We explain the big World Handicap System changes!

What a week it has been in the world of club golf! Big changes are coming to the World Handicap System and we’re going to mark your card.

In a special edition of the From the Clubhouse podcast, Steve Carroll is joined by England Golf’s head of handicapping, James Luke, to go through all the new WHS stuff coming to GB&I next year.

• NOW READ: What changes are coming to the World Handicap System?

We’ll try to explain Course Rating minus Par and how it will affect your handicaps, we’ll delve into the merits of the new rules around fourball betterball, and we’ll drill down into the detail of Course Handicaps and Expected Score.

If you’re still a little confused about what’s coming in April, this will hopefully start to put your minds at ease…

Will the PGA Tour-LIV Golf agreement fall apart? | The Slam

Oh Erik, what have you done to us?!

On the latest episode of The Slam Podcast - in association with Callaway - Matt Coles and Matt Chivers discuss Erik van Rooyen's emotional victory at the World Wide Technology Championship.

He pledged his second PGA Tour win to his best friend Jon Trasamar who is suffering from cancer.

The team also discusses Adam Long's mind-boggling achievement at El Cardonal, as he hits every single fairway at the event in Mexico.

The tour has also announced its members will be allowed to play in the LIV Golf Promotions event without repercussions - the team discusses whether more stars could play.

Will players turn up just to play for the prize money? Will this rule mean the PGA Tour loses more players?

It has also been widely reported that the PGA Tour is in talks with a number of companies interested in becoming private equity partners of the circuit.

As the tour looks for more sources of investment and with the December 31 deadline for the agreement with the Public Investment Fund approaching, is golf's biggest deal in jeopardy?

On a more light-hearted note, the team also talks about the DP World Tour's latest fun feature with Andy Sullivan who broke 80 at the Belfry with just a 5 iron!

You know what to do!

Which stars (if any) will turn up to LIV Golf Promotions? | The Slam

The Slam Podcast - in association with Callaway - is back for another episode!

Two of NCG's finest, Matt Coles and Matt Chivers, dive into another busy week of news both on and off the golf course.

On the course in Qatar, we saw heartbreak and ecstasy as stars of the DP World Tour battled to keep their playing cards for the next season.

On the LPGA Tour, Celine Boutier won AGAIN in Malaysia, but not without going through a nine-hole playoff(!) against Atthaya Thitikul.

Meanwhile, Alison Lee broke record after record in Riyadh on the Aramco Team Series with a score that left the NCG Team breathless.

Chiefs at the R&A and the Masters denied that separate spots could soon be opened to LIV Golf players - further restricting some of the LIV roster's access to major championships.

Is this the correct route for LIV players? Like Bubba Watson said, should the tour aim for major places instead of world ranking points?

We also run through the details of the LIV Promotions Event - the Saudi-backed circuit's own Q-school.

Invitations are open, but who will play? Will any stars from the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour turn up?

You know what to do! Listen to the Slam Podcast HERE!