The Niggle Podcast

The PGA Tour stars move down the California coast for this week's Genesis Invitational. Tiger Woods will be there to host - though he won't be playing - and there is a cracking field in place at Riviera, including World No 1 Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy and Brooks Koepka. NCG's Steve Carroll and golf form expert Barry Plummer discuss run the rule over the field and this week they have some in-form stars coming in at nice prices, as well as a much-fancied outsider. Head over to NationalClubGolfer.com for more and remember to gamble responsibly.

How many times have you been in a club fitting and you're not quite getting the performance out of the golf ball that you'd like? Well, it's a very simple fix. So for this episode of the All the Gear podcast, Hannah Holden spoke to Mike Fox, director of golf ball and accessories at TaylorMade, to learn about everything we're getting right - and wrong - when it comes to choosing which balls we use. In the wide-ranging interview, Hannah and Mike also cover the new line-up, including Tommy Fleetwood's move to TaylorMade, why the change of Masters date was "really scary" for manufacturers, and how Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy proved to be a huge influence on which gear their fellow pros were using. There's also an incredible story about the man who spends 10 grand a year on golf balls which needs to be heard to be believed.

The PGA Tour moves back to the Cali coast for the always popular Pebble Beach Pro-Am - or Pebble Beach No-Am as it will be known this year after the Tour decided that, due to the Covid pandemic, the celebrity competition won't be taking place.   NCG's Steve Carroll and golf form expert Barry Plummer discuss run the rule over the field and this week they have a recent winner, a returning hero, and a couple of sneaky outsiders who have impressed this season. Head over to NationalClubGolfer.com for more and remember to gamble responsibly.

Some of golf's biggest names, including its two most recent major champions in World No 1 Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau, are joining their European Tour peers for the third Saudi International this week, while the PGA Tour event is a fans' favourite in the Waste Management Phoenix Open. So who are NCG's Steve Carroll and golf form expert Barry Plummer expecting to challenge at Royal Greens and TPC Scottsdale respectively? They reveal all in this week's Dialled In podcast. You can find more tips from Steve and Barry on NationalClubGolfer.com. And remember, please gamble responsibly.

A major champion, more than a dozen tour titles, and a three-time Ryder Cup winner - and those are just the highlights. To borrow the cliché, there isn’t much Graeme McDowell hasn’t done in golf. Now 41, the popular Northern Irishman sat down with me for this episode of the Slam podcast from NCG to discuss growing up in the game, his college career, and why he chose a life in the US over home comforts. And, of course, he gives us a fascinating insight into that US Open win at Pebble Beach as well as the rollercoaster ride that is his Ryder Cup career - from his rocky rookie year to his special bond with Victor Dubuisson. A future Team Europe captain? Don’t bet against it. But there are other goals in his sights before that...

In this week's Dialled In, Steve Carroll and golf form expert Barry Plummer lay out their best bets for the Dubai Desert Classic and Farmers' Insurance Open at Torrey Pines. Is course form all important in this latest stop on the Middle East swing and how much can we take from a pit-stop in California before the stars return for the US Open in June? You can find more tips from Steve and Barry on NationalClubGolfer.com. And remember, please gamble responsibly.

English clubs are again in the throes of a national lockdown and golf courses are closed. When will they open again? Who knows. And that uncertainty has once more left clubs grabbling with furloughs, finances, and fixtures. How are they navigating this latest shutdown? What have they learned from the experiences of March and November and how do they plan for the coming year when restrictions are relaxed once again? As the coronavirus pandemic continues to bite, Steve Carroll is joined on the NCG Podcast by the directors of Skipton Golf Club, in Yorkshire, to discuss all this and more.

In this week's Dialled In, a new betting and preview podcast from NationalClubGolfer.com, Steve Carroll and golf form expert Barry Plummer team up for a detailed look at the opening event of the 2021 European Tour season, the star-studded Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. Who do you think is going to get off to a great start? Will Rory and JT shine, or is a big-priced player going to land the spoils? You can find more tips from Steve and Barry on NationalClubGolfer.com. And remember, please gamble responsibly.

It has been a tumultuous first year in charge of England Golf for chief executive Jeremy Tomlinson. Within weeks of officially taking over the reins at Woodhall Spa last January, the coronavirus pandemic swamped the nation and the governing body have been dealing with its effects ever since. Add in the introduction of the World Handicap System, one of the most significant changes to club golf in decades, and it has been all hands to the pump for Tomlinson over the past 12 months. There have also been highs: membership numbers have soared following a surge in interest in the sport and golf has been widely praised for the way it has conducted itself as restrictions have been eased and tightened again. So in a wide-ranging interview for the From the Clubhouse podcast, we sat down with Jeremy to talk about the current shutdown, WHS, how golf can maintain its newly won popularity and what England Golf are doing to bring casual golfers into the fold.

It’s one of the most well-known streets in golf – a thoroughfare always thronged with spectators at the climax to an Open Championship at St Andrews. It’s hosts Tom Morris’ shop and the famous golf clubs that wind their way down the side of the Old Course’s 18th hole. Walking down The Links, as the road is known, is a pilgrimage for millions of golfers who flock to visit the spiritual home of the game. But despite its reverence today, the construction of The Links caused a late 19th century storm that went all the way to the House of Lords. It sparked what became known as the 'Road War' and is the subject of a fascinating new book by golf historian Roger McStravick. The culmination of three years of extensive research, McStravick painstakingly takes readers back to 1879 in St Andrews: The Road War Papers, where they can learn how a simple road from Golf Place to Grannie Clark’s Wynd and beyond caused so much strife. McStravick joins Steve Carroll on the NCG podcast to discuss his new work and hark bark

It's probably the most talked about new course since Kingsbarns first thrust onto the scene in a blaze of publicity 20 years ago. Dumbarnie Links is the newest addition to an already crowded Fife corridor and the Clive Clark design has been getting rave reviews since it opened at the end of May. While the coronavirus pandemic stalled international travel, and robbed Dumbarnie of the lucrative American and tour group market, tee sheets have still been full as UK golfers flocked to be among the first to play the new Leven layout. We were also among those who went to see what all the fuss was about and, in our new Played by NCG podcast, Dan Murphy and Steve Carroll recount their experiences of Dumbarnie Links and debate whether it should have a place on your must play list for 2021.

Can you believe it's been 30 years since Galvin Green launched their first product? Our equipment expert Hannah Holden hasn't even been alive that long! To mark the anniversary Hannah spoke to Galvin Green CEO Nicholai Stein to find out exactly what's changed over those 30 years, where their products can go in the future, what should be your go to piece of apparel, how coronavirus has affected his work, and much more.

How will Lockdown 2.0 really affect golf clubs? What’s in store on the other side and what does the future look like for the industry? They’re questions being considered at clubs across England as the sport tries to navigate its way through an enforced closure for the second time this year. Independent golf consultant Phil Grice is in an perfect place to answer many of these posers. As the former manager of Royal Norwich, he shepherded the club through the initial coronavirus restrictions in that near two-month spell in the spring. And as a former chairman of the Golf Club Managers’ Association, he was negotiating and arguing golf’s place alongside the R&A, PGA and key industry bodies. He joined me on the NCG podcast to look back at a golden summer, the potential traps that lie ahead for the game and what comes next.

When Knebworth Golf Club's general manager Mark Bierton saw a puff of smoke coming from an electrical meter, he had two choices: call the fire brigade, or open the door to check it. He chose the former, and with it potentially dozens of lives, including his own - not to mention the clubhouse itself. He tells NCG the story of that fateful day and how the club rose from the ashes.

It's finally here. After what has seemed like several years of build up, the World Handicap System has arrived and we can take to the course and play under the new global order. It's the biggest shake up in amateur golf in decades and if there are still elements that you're confused about then we are hear to help. If you haven’t already, click on to our dedicated WHS page where you can find detailed explanations of everything from how your handicap might move under the new system to what you need to think about in competitions. But if you’re a bit short of time and just want to get your head around a few of the key concepts then we have also got you covered. We’ve teamed up with Scottish Golf to produce a series of short 10-minute podcasts going into more depth about some of the new system's key concepts. In the final episode, Steve Carroll is once again joined by David Kernohan, the governing body’s head of handicapping and course rating, to talk about how everything you've heard and read about the Wor

Seven days to D-Day – the dawn of the biggest shake up in amateur golf in decades. The World Handicap System arrives on November 2 and if there are still elements that leave you utterly befuddled, never fear we are here to help. If you haven’t already, click on to our dedicated WHS page at nationalclubgolfer.com where you can find detailed explanations of everything from how your handicap might move under the new system to what you need to think about in competitions. But if you’re a bit short of time and just want to get your head around a few of the key concepts then we have also got you covered. We’ve teamed up with Scottish Golf to produce a series of short 10-minute podcasts going into more depth about some of the new system’s key concepts. In the second, I’m joined by David Kernohan, the governing body’s head of handicapping and course rating, to talk about how the new averaging system works, why we’re now using the best eight out of the last 20 scores and why it finally means the end of the dreaded

With holes carved out of a quarry – and a course that really is the epitome of golf at its most natural – Cleeve Hill rides high in ranking lists and is beloved by the sport’s purists. And yet, at present, that won’t be enough to save it. The Gloucestershire course, laid out by Old Tom Morris, is set to close on March 31 next year. Those taking the decision to end more than 130 years of history cite financial viability – or the lack of it. But there are others who refuse to accept Cleeve Hill’s fate is written and a concerted campaign is under way to save this most venerable of venues. It was a fight that was given a huge boost when a video, produced by Cookie Jar Golf, took the club’s plight worldwide – gaining influential backing from course architects and legends of the sport. Now as the battle continues to reverse the closure plans, I sat down with Cookie Jar’s co-owner Sam Williams and Cleeve Hill member David Allen to talk about the campaign, the club’s fragile future and what can be done to keep i

The World Handicap System arrives on November 2 and if there are still elements that leave you utterly befuddled, never fear we are here to help. If you haven’t already, head over to NationalClubGolfer.com and click on to our dedicated WHS page where you can find detailed explanations of everything from how your handicap might move under the new system to what you need to think about in competitions. But if you’re a bit short of time and what to get your head around a few of the key concepts then we have also got you covered. We’ve teamed up with Scottish Golf to produce a series of 10-minute podcasts going into some depth about some of the new systems key concepts. In the first, I’m joined by David Kernohan, the governing body’s head of handicapping and course rating, to talk about two things we’re all going to become very familiar with over the coming months and years: Course Rating and Slope Ratings. So if you’re still a bit confused about what they are, and how they are going to affect your golf, cli

Plagues of water and pestilence can’t prevent Fame Tate pushing Stanedge forward. She’s the former tour pro driving a revolution in Chesterfield and she tells us all about it in the NCG Podcast

Golf clubs should prepare for a challenging renewals period next year with players weighing up what to do with less disposable income as the coronavirus pandemic continues to bite. Speaking on the NCG Podcast, Alastair Sinclair, chief executive of Play More Golf, said there was "no doubt" the traditional January and April months when clubs asked members to renew their subscriptions would be difficult.