According to Rory McIlroy, he is approaching 2020 with a new mindset, one in which he plans to play carefree golf. But what exactly does ‘carefree’ mean in terms of playing the game? Consulting the dictionary carefree is an adjective meaning free from anxiety or responsibility. Checking the thesaurus, I happen to have to hand synonyms for carefree include ‘breezy’ ‘cheerful’ ‘jaunty’ ‘happy go lucky’.
A lot of us have old clubs languishing in the garage or in the attic gathering dust. Those of a certain age may also have a modern-day antique - a wood actually made out of wood! But there is a man who has not one but over one thousand woods tucked away in storage and all of them made from what was the holy grail of golf manufacturing materials – persimmon!
Berkhamsted Golf Club has decided to allow both sexes to compete in the Berkhamsted Trophy, a long-standing top men’s amateur in the UK. This is a world-first for elite amateur golf and has the backing of the R&A and England Golf. The event which is entering its 61st year – has transformed from being a men-only tournament, into one which invites both sexes to compete for the same prize.
Master Craftsman Scotty Cameron has produced a reboot of his classic designs to produce eight new blade and mid-mallet setups precision milled putters. Retaining the classic Scotty Cameron look the putters look to deliver a tour level performance to the retail market.
The European Tour has a real headache on its hands following Iran’s recent threats to "destroy" parts of the United Arab Emirates if there is retaliation after the attacks they launched on Iraq in reprisal for the US killing of Qassem Soleimani.
To say that Patrick Reed is not one of the most popular players on tour would be somewhat of an understatement. However, he has done little for his stock in trade with his blatant breaking of the rules at the Hero World Challenge. Some would say he is very lucky to get away with just a two-stroke penalty.
Puma Golf’s rolled out its new “Saltwater Collection” at the Hero World Challenge at the Albany Golf Course in the Bahamas this week. In the collection is the, rather tongue in cheek, Slow Play Golf Polo, which sports lovable turtles holding clubs and flagsticks in its design. Gary Woodland from the Puma fold was happy to wear the shirt but one Bryson DeChambeau, who can be seen on the website wearing the new creation, was not so keen to take to the course in it.
The Labour party in the UK do not have the backing of GolfPunk favourites Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood. Both players tweeted their discontent at Jeremy Corbyn’s plan to tax the bejeezus out of all rich people. But GolfPunk have unearthed a document that suggests our Jezza also has his eye on turning golf courses into allotments!
GolfNow the biggest online tee time agency in the golf industry has grabbed an even bigger share of the market following the acquisition of EZLinks Golf by GolfNow owner, NBC Sports Group. Part of the EZLinks Golf portfolio is the online tee time booking platform TeeOff. So, what does this consolidation signal to the golf industry?
The folk at Galvin Green, in keeping with their name, are enhancing their environmental credentials by introducing a collection of golf wear using high-performance fabric that is left over from the production of its comprehensive core range. The UpCycle Edition collection consists of a limited number of garments for both men and women.
Hats off to the European tour for coming up with another little classic for us all to have a laugh at. A few years back the tour let Little Billy loose on the players. Billy gave the pros a complete grilling with a series of cheeky questions, the Rory McIlroy one is a classic. Three years on, a documentary crew follow him as he returns to Dubai for the season-ending DP World Tour Championship.
Gareth Bale will trot out on to pitch this evening at the Cardiff City Stadium hoping to help Wales beat Hungary and qualify for next year’s European Championships. Meanwhile back in Spain he is getting a lot of criticism for playing too much golf – as if you could ever play too much golf!
