Nothing quite makes you appreciate just how good the best players in the world are like putting every round into a spreadsheet.

Professional tour players rarely need to keep track of their handicaps anymore, unlike everyday golfers striving to reach single digits or achieve scratch status.

However, we thought it would be interesting to see which of these three players, who won six individual tournaments between them last season on the PGA Tour, would have finished 2026 with the lowest handicap index.

Call it the official (maybe unofficial, as we haven't run the numbers on everyone) ‘Golf Monthly Low Handicap Of The Year Award’.

First, some housekeeping. To do this analysis, we gathered every scorecard for these three golfers across all individual PGA Tour events, from The American Express in January 2026 to the Tour Championship in August 2026.

We excluded non-co-sanctioned events, including scores from DP World Tour tournaments, and we did not include the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, which is played in a team format.

We've also been unable to use the scores from The Masters, as Augusta National Golf Club does not have a course rating and Slope rating in the World Handicap System.

So, drumroll please… who ended the year with the lowest Handicap Index?

Was it World No.1 Scottie Scheffler, who, despite not winning a Major Championship, still added three more victories to his CV and claimed his second FedExCup title?

Scheffler also won over $63 million in prize money.

Could it be Rory McIlroy? The Northern Irishman, of course, made a triumphant return to glory at Augusta - although, as mentioned, none of the scores from Augusta National have been included.

Although he didn't capture any further victories, he delivered a consistent run across his 14 appearances, recording six top-10 finishes and making every cut - with his only early departure being a withdrawal following two rounds at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Or was it Matt Fitzpatrick? The Englishman rediscovered his best form this year. In fact, you could say he’s gone up a level.

He registered three victories, although we've taken out his Zurich Classic of New Orleans with his brother, Alex, because we can’t have that third-round 57 messing with the stats. Sorry, Matt.

We’ve paid close attention to where every round has taken place, with several tournaments being played on different courses, such as the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

In other words, course rating and slope have been taken into account.

Before we reveal the results, a big thank you to the USGA for running the numbers - this would not have been possible without your expert statisticians.

If you live in the US and don’t have a Handicap Index, visit getahandicap.usga.org to learn more.

Right, in reverse order…

Matt Fitzpatrick +8.0

Fitzpatrick's golf has been scintillating at times this year.

A three-time winner on the PGA Tour, including that victory alongside his brother Alex in Louisiana in April, he also won the French Open in September on the DP World Tour (as mentioned, we've not counted that one here).

His first 20 rounds of the year would have given him a handicap of 6.9. His last 20, which included a low round of 64 at TPC River Highlands and a high round of 73 at East Lake, would have seen him finish his campaign at +8.0.

Not bad.

Rory McIlroy +8.7

McIlroy's sole victory on the PGA Tour came at Augusta National, although, as mentioned, these scores are not reflected in the six-time Major winner's Handicap Index.

Even so, +8.7 is more than impressive. His low round of the year came at East Lake, a 63 at the Tour Championship in the third round.

His worst round of the PGA Tour season came at Quail Hollow (75), a course where he's actually enjoyed great success in the past.

Scottie Scheffler +9.2

Scheffler's pals are entitled to insist the World No.1 plays off +9.2 in 'friendly' matches.

We've long since run out of superlatives for the player who looks destined to finish his career with Tiger-like figures.

The one honor Tiger never received, though, was the ‘Golf Monthly Low Handicap Of The Year Award’.

Well done, Scottie, your certificate is in the post.

As the clocks go back and the weather turns for the worse, golf becomes a slightly different game in the UK. The courses are quieter, but the weather tends to be louder and more exacting.

Course conditions alter as the ground becomes wetter, lies become worse, putting becomes tougher as greens become bumpier and, generally speaking, the challenge ramps up.

In this article, we’re going to take a look at a selection of the Model Local Rules that clubs could consider implementing over the winter months. I also have a suggestion for a Model Local Rule I’d like to see introduced!

So, what can be done? Clubs can look to The Rules to combat those extra difficulties that winter throws up for golfers.

The Model Local Rules (MLR) section of the complete version of the Rules of Golf gives various options for clubs and committees to implement to deal with changing or altered playing conditions.

Many clubs/committees will already do this but it’s possible to put a set of formal Local Rules in place for winter and make them applicable between two dates – Say from 1^st November to 1^st March.

It’s also possible for a committee to add Local Rules if and when they would be applicable.

Some of the standing MLR’s are fairly well used, others less so. Many are only applicable for use at club level/social golf rather than the elite level.

Some may impact on whether a score can be submitted for handicapping under the World Handicap System (committees should check with their national union on that one.) That’s for a different article!

This is really some guidance for clubs looking to expand their winter Rules to allow for play to continue fairly and equitably through the colder months.

1. Preferred Lies

Let’s start with an obvious one. When the ground is sodden or has been changed throughout the general area by weather conditions, the committee can use Model Local Rule E-3 to allow a player to prefer their lie to protect fairways and closely mown areas.

The advice is that preferred lies are only given on closely mown areas to prevent players being given an advantage when they are in an unplayable spot (like, for instance, they’re in a bush!)

The Rule can be used to offer relief on all fairways and areas cut to fairway height or less, or it can specify a particular area (maybe a low point where it’s very wet.)

The committee can specify a relief area in which a ball being “preferred” must be placed… Score card length or six inches for instance.

2. Cleaning Your Ball

MLR E-2 can also be used when the ground is wet in winter. It allows a player to lift, clean and replace the ball without penalty. The recommendation is that this MLR should be considered before the preferred lies option is implemented.

This MLR can be restricted to specific areas or applied throughout the general area.

3. Relief from aeration holes

Normally a player would not get relief if their ball ends in an aeration hole on the putting green or in the general area. MLR E-4 allows for that to happen. It allows a player to take relief under Rule 16.1 (abnormal course conditions).

4. Temporary Greens

Sometimes in winter, certain or all greens at a club will be replaced by temporary surfaces.

If that happens MLR D-2 should be used. Within that, the committee can define which holes have temporary greens and it effectively takes the normal putting green on those holes out of play.

That makes the normal surfaces “wrong greens” and they must not be played from (even putted off) – If a player were to play from a regular green back to a temporary green with MLR D-2 in place, they would receive the general penalty for “playing from a wrong place.”

5. Fairway Mats

To protect parts of the course, MLR E-12 can be used by a committee to require players to play from a mat if their ball comes to rest on a defined part of the course (generally the fairway.)

It’s recommended that the requirement is - when the ball comes to rest on grass cut to fairway height or less and that the mat is not required when the player is making a stroke with the putter.

6. Stroke and distance alternative

This is really for pace of play purposes and for casual golf only – MLR E-5 allows a committee to introduce an option for players to drop under penalty of two strokes within a relief area from a reference point at a spot where a ball is lost or has gone out of bounds.

If, in winter, the ground on a course became very wet and boggy and players were frequently losing balls because they landed and went below the surface, E-5 could be used to allow them to drop at an estimated point under penalty of two shots rather than walking back to play again.

7. Abnormal Course Conditions

Within section F of the MLR section there are various provisions for creating Local Rules to deal with conditions that may arise in the winter.

There’s an MLR to extend ground under repair to areas where flood damage has occurred – F-5, there’s one to deal with the seams in cut turf where winter greens work may be ongoing – F-7, and (for me most importantly) one to allow committees to define flooded bunkers as ground under repair. That’s F-16.

The R&A and USGA are constantly reviewing and regularly updating the Rules of Golf and they have every scenario covered for winter golf.

But they won’t rest on their laurels, and they will always consider options for improving the Rules that impact winter golf.

If I were to make a suggestion for a possible Model Local Rules that could be considered, I would say maybe:

Within section J. I would like to see a provision allowing players to make the decision to abandon play in bad weather. Often clubs are quieter in the winter and the committee might not be around to make the call.

Rather than players having to wait to be told that the place is unplayable, an MLR that allows them to make a reasonable decision to abandon play would be useful.

The issue of increased hitting distances is a problem in the professional game that does not seem to be going away, and what might come next from the governing bodies is still unknown.

The USGA and R&A have plans to cut the ball back as well as limiting the CT (Characteristic Time) of driver heads and reducing the maximum club-length down from 46 inches - but whether those plans go far enough is highly debated.

These proposals are not yet set in stone so it remains to be seen if they get approved, and the governing bodies are open to receiving further feedback from tours and manufacturers.

Golf Monthly has spoken to many industry figures and pros on the subject of hitting distances in golf, most recently Sir Nick Faldo who suggested a maximum tee-length of an inch.

Lee Westwood told us earlier this year that the driver head-size and forgiveness is an issue that needs fixing.

We've debated how to cut back distance in the pro game, as it's clear there are many different ways to tackle the growing distance problem in the sport. Just a quick look at the PGA Tour driving distance average illustrates that the issue is very real:

PGA Tour driving distance through the years

1990-2025 tour average and longest player

< Prev

Tour average (yards)

Next >

1990

262.3

1995

262.7

2000

272.7

2005

288.4

2010

287.3

2015

289.7

2020

296.4

2025

302.8

0100200300400

Tour average (yards) Data

Product	Value
1990	262.3
1995	262.7
2000	272.7
2005	288.4
2010	287.3
2015	289.7
2020	296.4
2025	302.8

1990

279.6

1995

289

2000

301.4

2005

318.9

2010

315.5

2015

317.7

2020

322.1

2025

325

0100200300400

Longest player (yards) Data

Product	Value
1990	279.6
1995	289
2000	301.4
2005	318.9
2010	315.5
2015	317.7
2020	322.1
2025	325

1 of 2

Pros hitting the ball longer is requiring courses to add length, which costs money to both build and maintain, and the strategic test of the game has also changed. A common argument, too, is that forgiving clubs do not separate and reward the best ball strikers enough either.

We recently caught up with former Ryder Cupper Peter Baker ahead of the Champions (UK) plc European Senior Masters, and he gave some strong views on hitting distances in today's game.

As a veteran with 600 DP World Tour starts and well over a dozen professional victories, Baker is more than qualified and experienced enough to have a view worth listening to - and he had a few ideas of how to tackle the problem.

While admitting that being able to hit the ball long is a skill, the three-time European Tour winner and eight-time Legends Tour champion believes the driver is far too forgiving for the world's best players.

Baker, who played for Europe in the 1993 Ryder Cup, also suggested reducing the maximum number of clubs allowed to just 12 and adding in a maximum loft for wedges, too.

"Unfortunately they didn’t address that early enough in my opinion, and I think it certainly needs to come back a long way," Baker told Golf Monthly.

"I don’t think they will get it back a long way. It’s put a lot of the old, great courses out of tournament mode and, not unplayable, but not as much fun.

"I think it’s a skill in hitting the ball a long way, if you hit it right out of the middle and it goes a long way, there’s definitely a skill to that.

"The problem is the club and the ball is too forgiving in respect where you don’t absolutely ping it out of the middle and I think that needs to be addressed where; Does it go more offline? Does it go as far? I think that needs to be addressed.

"I personally would like to see a couple of things really, which could be done quite easily.

"I’d like to see them maybe go to 12 clubs in the bag and, I’m not a great pitcher of the ball anyway, but I’d like to see a maximum 56 degree loft on a sand iron.

"If you’ve got a good short game, that would bring that skill back into it. And that would maybe help a little bit shall we say. As well as the ball being addressed."

As well as reducing the maximum number of clubs and loft, Baker believes the forgiveness of drivers is also a big problem.

"I remember when we first played if you hit a good drive out of the middle it went alright but if you missed it, oh my word it didn’t fly. You really did notice a difference," he said.

"Now you can hit it out of the toe and it goes just as far, which I think is detrimental to the good ball strikers and it’s sort of brought everybody together in a way.

"There is a skill in hitting it a long way and hitting it out the middle and those guys have always done really, really well but I’d like to see that sort of dispersion of the ball and the distance of the ball changed if you don’t hit it as well.

"Smaller head on the driver, no doubt about that, you could do that for pros, less forgiving for sure. 12 clubs would be controversial but I think 56 degrees on a sand iron, why not have a maximum loft? You have maximum ball velocities, maximum length of tees, there’s a lot of stuff in there so just put 56 degrees on a sand iron.

"Bring a bit more skill into it, a bit more different out the rough. Some of them have four wedges now which is amazing really because they don’t need the other clubs.

"If you drop a couple of clubs, and you’ve got 56 degrees, that makes it a little bit more interesting, maybe."

What do you make of Peter Baker's views? Let us know in the comments section below.

There have been times in my golfing life where the challenge of the game has seemed somewhat Sisyphean. Spells in which my golfing labours have proved ineffective.

But, like Sisyphus in the underworld, I continue to labour. That is because, unlike the legendary king of Ephyra, I am sometimes, quite often in fact, rewarded for my efforts.

Having played an average of three times a week for (a bit more than) 35 years, you might think I’d be getting a little bored of the game by now. I’m really not. Golf is endlessly compelling as it delivers something different every time you pick up a club.

I persevere with golf because I have found no other activities to match it in terms of challenge, variety and possibility.

Every time you tee it up, you could have your best ever score. In fact, I have done that three times in the last six weeks on three different courses, all of which I’ve been playing for decades.

How exciting is that? The possibility of doing something hugely satisfying is always there. That’s one of the best things about golf.

Yes, there will be way more rounds in which you don’t perform to your full potential, but you must endure them to enjoy the good ones.

And even within those more frequent, poorer rounds, there will always be something to savour.

I was chatting to a pal in my clubhouse a couple of weeks ago and he always makes a point to ask playing partners, “what was your best shot today?”

It’s just such a great way to put a positive twist on even the worst of games. There is always a shot that will have been the best within it. Even if it was just a solidly holed putt or a straight drive from a tee you generally struggle on.

Golf gives you chances. It gives you the chance to play in different places on different courses, in different climates. It gives you the chance to play with different people of different ages and backgrounds.

As mentioned, it gives you a chance to succeed, to do something to the best of your ability and that’s why we always come back to it. Maybe this time… If not, maybe next time!

I actually think I can still get better at golf and that’s a key reason I persevere. I still want to improve. I want to make better decisions on the course, sharpen my short game and fine-tune my long game.

My handicap might steadily go up as I get older but I’m not that old yet and I think there’s more in the tank.

I persevere as I think it’s one of the very best ways to maintain friendships. I’ve met great people through golf and, over the course of four hours or so, you have the chance to really get to know someone or to catch up with a pal.

Golf is physically and mentally stimulating, it’s good for your health and that’s another reason I keep going with it and will continue to do so.

Reading all this, I realise that I don’t persevere with golf. One perseveres with something they feel they could get more out of… I couldn’t have got much more out of golf over the last 35 years. I love it.

Pro golfers at the top of the sport have never had it better, with the influx of Saudi money making LIV stars tens of millions richer.

It forced the PGA Tour to keep up with its $20m Signature Events and huge bonus money, and it has filtered through the entire game.

Scottie Scheffler has passed $130m in official PGA Tour career earnings to overtake Tiger Woods at the summit, and Jon Rahm was 7th in Forbes' highest-paid athletes list at $107m. It's easy to forget about the undercurrent of journeymen pros battling to make a living, and one who knows the financial realities of the sport is veteran Californian, Berry Henson.

The 47-year-old turned professional after graduating from the University of San Diego and raised $30,000 off his own back before eventually finding his way to Asia. He had no big NIL deal or a LIV contract to push him on so instead battled his way up the old-fashioned way, through the mini tours.

Since then, he has won the Philippine Open, qualified for a US Open, had a stint as an Uber driver, advanced through Q-School and competed in well over 200 Asian Tour events.

Henson, who is affectionately known as 'The Hensonator' and is well worth a follow on social media, recently spoke to Golf Monthly on a wide-range of topics, including the subject of finances in golf, his advice for aspiring tour pros and where he sees the Asian Tour following its return to the traditional ecosystem after ending its partnership with LIV Golf.

The American has just one event remaining this season, the Philippine Open - which he won in 2011 - following the cancellation of the big $5m flagship Saudi International because of conflicts in the region. Asian Tour Q-School has also been cancelled due to the situation the circuit finds itself in now that it's LIV-backed International Series events are gone.

The Asian Tour has been forced to pivot after LIV Golf and the Saudi PIF stopped its funding, just four years after a huge $300m investment transformed the tour.

CEO Cho Minn Thant recently told Golf Monthly the after-effects are "devastating" for the circuit, which has once again linked up with the DP World Tour to co-sanction tournaments and create official pathways for its members.

Henson is hoping for a good result in the Philippines and will likely mix both the Asian Tour and Asian Development Tour next year with the hope of making it to Europe.

"I think we’re in a position where we’re going to rebuild. I think getting back in the ecosystem is what our members are probably looking for, they have a pathway now," Henson told Golf Monthly on where the Asian Tour currently finds itself.

"And I feel like on any tour having a pathway allows you to develop players and develop your growth. We’ve seen it before when we had the pathway into Europe how it bred the likes of Cam Smith, David Lipsky, Kurt Kitayama, Kiradech [Aphibarnrat] and Anirban [Lahiri].

"So having that pathway back I see it as a positive for the young players. I’m a bit on the older side now so my priorities might be a little different to some of the other guys but obviously I still feel like I have some good golf left and I’d love to have another chance to play on the DP World Tour.

"When LIV came about it was a very interesting time. I feel the Asian Tour benefitted greatly the last five years from that. That partnership was fantastic for the growth of our players, myself included.

"I feel that has put the tour a little bit on the map and shows there is a lot of talent that come and play on the Asian Tour.

"Having Peter Uihlein and having some of these [LIV Golf] guys play on the tour next year will really kind of show the depth that is out in Asia and continues to come up through the young channels - PGTI [India], All Thailand Tour, Malaysian Tour, Taiwan Tour. There’s just so many young players now and they’re just so good."

Henson recently tweeted that young stars earning big money early in their careers, whether that is via NIL deals in college or by being snapped up by LIV Golf, has taken away the "financial headache" of trying to make ends meet while chasing your dream.

He expanded on that topic with Golf Monthly.

"This is the way I understand with NIL and the college system. I’ve seen some guys come through this route," he said.

"I met Ben James when he was a freshman at Virginia when I was trying to qualify for the US Open. I followed him around for 18 holes as I was walking the course and scouting, and this kid was good.

"And he was actually considering going to LIV. He was recruited by a team and I kinda told him ‘Hey man, you only get to play college golf once’ and I say that to a lot of kids. I say ‘Enjoy that time, enjoy growing, maturing, becoming an adult and you’re always going to have time to play professional golf.’

"I think he went through that system great. NIL money is probably great now, I don’t know the numbers but I’ve heard the numbers. And he developed into a guy that’s contending on the PGA Tour already.

"Just the way these kids are developing at such a fast rate, I think you have to give credit to the NCAA and the coaches and just the information they’re getting at such a young age and how quickly they’re getting better.

"When I came out of school, I had no money and I had to raise money, as much as I could. I think I raised $30,000 and I kept struggling for seven years just trying to break even.

"Some of them aren’t having to experience that, and I think that’s kind of a step that I had to go through that a lot of these kids aren’t. And once you get a little bit of money in the bank account I think it makes it a bit easier to free up and play to your highest level."

Having to deal with the financial headache of pursuing a career as a touring professional is certainly something Henson had to deal with when he joined the paid ranks in 2003.

It's clear he is very mentally strong - it came through crystal clear in our 30-minute chat - and had full belief in his dream, which he says is something you simply have to have if you want to make it as a pro.

On how he dealt with the financial 'headache' of getting his career off the ground, he said: "I think it depends on player to player. The question I think maybe young kids get asked, and I get asked, is you know ‘What are you gonna do if golf doesn’t work out?’ I think the strong minded players and I just thought ‘Well it’s going to work out. There’s no second option, I’m gonna make it work out.’

"So I think if you have that strong mindset you have that belief in yourself to do it and you find ways to get the financial headache solved and then you set a really good plan and a schedule to keep climbing up the ladder.

"It took me seven years until I came to Asia and once I came here I was able to start making a living for myself.

"I started on the Canadian Tour and you couldn't make money out there at the time with the currency exchange and the tax. Playing with Peter Tomasulo and John Mallinger, these guys from California that were all better than me, I got better doing that.

"So sometimes you’ve got to go through those knocks to improve and those steps and ladders, and in my era that’s kind of what we had to do.

"Now with the acceleration program these guys are just jumping right on the scene and they’ve got some money in the bank and they can just perform without having that headache.

"And I think that’s a great opportunity for them and it doesn’t seem to slow them down at all. There’s some good young talent out there."

It led us onto his advice for aspiring pros - and he has two things to focus on, one of which came from his fellow SoCal man, Phil Mickelson.

"You just have to fully believe in your ability. You have to have a little bit of cockiness, you have to have a little bit of edge, you have to really believe that you can do it," he explained.

"Phil Mickelson told me once, he’s like ‘If you can be the best in the world at one thing in golf, short game, driving, whatever it may be’ he’s like ‘you’re going to be a really good golfer.’

"Jordan Spieth was the best putter at one time, Rory McIlroy’s the best driver of the golf ball, Scottie Scheffler is the best iron player. If you’re the best in the world at something, you’re gonna be a top 10 player in the world.

"So that’s probably the advice I’d give to a young kid now, never give up and try to really be the best in the world at one aspect of the game, and there’s many different aspects of the game. A lot of the guys now are hitting the gym, and a lot of it is done when you don’t see it."

We then got onto the headache and pain of missing cuts after the time, money and work of a tournament week resulting in $0. Henson has missed 18 cuts in his last 40 starts over the past two seasons, but it doesn't seem to have bothered him in the same way it might have for other pros.

"The last two years I’ve missed more cuts than I usually would. I’ve been pretty consistent most of my career out here," he said.

"It’s not easy, it can be draining. It seems like as we get older, there’s a bit more scar tissue that builds up and things creep in that maybe wouldn’t creep in 10 or 20 years ago.

"But also when I come out the other side we become better players from it, we learn from it and we actually come out the other side better. I struggled to get on a major tour but then once I did I really kind of flowed.

"Just had a couple of hiccups the last two years but I know once I dial things back in and get that momentum going then I’m gonna come out the other side a much stronger and better player than I was a couple of years ago.

"I think you have to have [an amazing attitude]. I’ve always had a never give up attitude.

"No matter what you do, my mom told me as a kid, she’s like ‘If you’re gonna do this that’s great, but gotta eat, drink and sleep it.’

"She’s like ‘If you wanna be the best, you gotta work to be the best and you gotta put in the hard work because that’s the only way you can get there.’

"I was lucky enough to have great parents, I was lucky enough to be around Dr Jay Brunza, who caddied for Tiger in the US Ams and still to this day I speak with him. He’s been a great sports psychologist, mentor for me.

"And I’ve been lucky I’ve had a lot of really good people who have helped me along the way and continue to help me along the way. And just keep never giving up.

"The guys that make it are the ones that never give up, and that’s always stuck in my head through my career. And I’ve gone with the 1% better every day, David Lipsky taught me that. Put in the work and you’ll reap the rewards."

Unless you're a professional or a member of an exclusive Country Club, then chances are the golf balls you hit on the range aren't similar to the ones you would use on the golf course.

The sport is growing in popularity and the emergence of gamified driving range experiences means ranges are busier than ever. Consequently, the golf balls used need to be durable enough to withstand the test of time.

Usually possessing a one or two-piece construction, range balls are significantly different to the three, four and five-piece builds you'd find among the best premium balls on the market.

We would naturally expect to see a some difference between range balls and premium golf balls - we've all hit those shots on the range where the ball flight just doesn't look right. But how big of a gap is there really between the two when it comes to performance?

Heading to the Golf Monthly Performance Lab, we got our hands on the typical range ball you'd find at any practice facility around the country, as well as one of the kings of the golf ball sector, the Titleist Pro V1.

Featuring a three-piece construction, high-gradient core, and a urethane elastomer cover, the Pro V1 is widely regarded as the best golf ball franchise ever created.

Before jumping into the figures, it's worth noting that our tester, Sam De'Ath, possesses a swing speed of 84mph with a pitching wedge, 93mph with a 7-iron, and 115mph with a driver, and it's with the latter club that we begin this experiment.

Starting with the Titleist Pro V1 and the big stick, Sam managed 163mph of ball speed and a launch angle of 13.1°. This resulted in a carry distance of 284 yards, a spin rate of 2239 rpm, and a peak height of 129 feet.

Continuing further down the bag, the 7-iron carried 177 yards from a ball speed of 124mph, while Sam's pitching wedge produced 132 yards of carry with 102mph ball speed and a spin rate of 9,129rpm.

So, how do these numbers compare to a lowly range ball? Well, beginning with the scoring section of the bag revealed a rather interesting result...

Almost matching the Pro V1 ball speed of 102mph, the range ball, with a pitching wedge, accumulated numbers of 101mph ball speed, 128 yards of carry, and near-identical metrics in both launch and height.

The only noticeable difference was in spin and, where the Pro V1 produced 9,129rpm, the range ball was 1,440rpm more at 10,569.

On the whole, both were pretty well matched, but as we move our way up the bag, does this trend continue?

In terms of the 7-iron, the theme of more distance in the Pro V1 continues, as it carried 177 yards, 12 yards further than the range ball. Ball speed was also up 3mph, while the launch and height numbers were marginally lower than the range ball.

The likely reason for the distance increase will come down to spin and while the Pro V1 ball sits at 6,430rpm and the Range ball averaged at 7,495rpm, the driver is where we see the key difference between the two models.

The Pro V1 showed its pure dominance at the top end of the bag, where it was 9mph quicker than the range ball - equating to a 30 yard distance gap.

Throughout the experiment, the range ball has lagged a little behind its premium challenger, and with the driver, this was massively exaggerated. The range ball produced 154mph ball speed and 254 yards of carry, simply no match for 163mph and 284 yards that the most-played ball on tour produced.

As clubhead speed increased with the decrease in loft, so did the spin rates.

Where the Pro V1 produced significantly lower spin rates with a wedge and 7-iron, its 2,239 rpm average with the driver was a huge 1,100rpm less than the 3,364rpm of the range ball. On the tracer, this was clear in the ball flight, where the range ball just seemed to climb and hover for what felt like forever.

One continuous theme throughout is that the launch and height numbers of the range ball were higher for all three clubs. That is fairly typical of a one or two-piece ball construction, particularly as clubhead speed starts ramping up.

From our testing, we know that the Pro V1 consistently performs across all areas of the game and, in terms of the figures, Titleist's Research & Development team's hard work excels at the high end and bottom of the bag by producing the correct launch and spin, time and time again.

The other thing this test hasn't factored in are the aerodynamic properties of the balls. Titleist does exhaustive testing of dimple patterns to optimise how its balls fly through the air, and so you are likely to see an even bigger discrepancy in distance if you were testing both balls side by side outdoors.

Ultimately, don't be discouraged if your ball flight looks a bit off at the driving range. Often, systems like Trackman and Toptracer can normalize for the characteristics of a range ball so you're numbers aren't affected. But if you think slipping a couple of range balls into your bag to use on the course is a good idea, think again!

Treat your time practicing as the place to refine your swing mechanics and develop your ball-striking, but take those launch monitor yardages with a grain of salt. Unless you're practicing at an exclusive club that stocks premium practice balls, those range distances simply won't translate to the course.

I’m not going to assume that people have been eagerly refreshing the Golf Monthly site daily for updates on my pursuit of breaking 90 for the first time ever, but for anyone who has read about my struggles in the past… I finally did it!

The feeling of achieving one of golf’s great milestones was exhilarating, especially considering I had been close time and time again without getting over the line.

I was almost resigned to the fact that it wasn’t going to happen, but one lesson with Top 50 Coach Ben Emerson fixed the biggest problem in my game (in just 10 shots) and provided a simple swing thought that unlocked the greatest moment in my golfing life.

Plenty of great coaches have supported me on this journey. I’ve had a short game lesson with Dan Grieve, a putting lesson with Jamie Donaldson, a playing lesson with former World No.1 Lee Westwood and plenty of tuition from the head pro at Sand Moor Golf Club, Alex James.

Each of those experiences helped move me further down the path to the magical land of sub-90 scores, but a quick lesson with Ben provided a true lightbulb moment.

As you can see in the video below, Ben had just 10 shots to rid me of a wild slice that had plagued my game for years.

Not only did he achieve that, by helping me to calibrate the clubface and deliver it squarely at impact, but he also gave me a drill that stuck in my mind throughout the fateful round of 87 at Modry Las Golf Resort in Poland.

Every time I stood over the golf ball, I said one simple word to myself… “Baseball”.

The Power Of 'Baseball'

No, I haven’t gone mad. I realise we are playing golf and the swing is very different to hitting a baseball… or is it?

As Ben correctly pointed out, you would never swing a baseball bat at an oncoming ball with an over the top motion - the likes of which you would see when a slicer hits their driver.

He even got me to practice the incorrect action and it felt ridiculous. Essentially, if you swing the driver like a baseball bat at chest height, you are much more likely to deliver the face closed at ‘impact’ - or at least be more aware of it right in front of your face.

As you then move down from that position into golf posture, the movement is essentially the same.

Clearly, as evidenced by shot 5 and 7 - I am not yet a scratch golfer.

But, by swinging the club more around my body, consciously trying to prevent that over the top move and ensuring I roll my forearms to close the face it arrives into impact - progress has certainly been made.

It might not work for everyone, but for me that simple swing thought banished all the negative ideas from my brain. That’s powerful in itself.

Yes, perhaps I look a bit ridiculous rehearsing a baseball swing with driver on the tee - but that intervention has since led to a score of 37 points at the Golf Monthly Test Day, where I finished tied second in the competition, and, more importantly, to my first ever score in the 80s.

Story of the 87

In a similar way to many of my rounds, the first few holes were uninspiring. I am a habitually slow starter and that has cost me on many occasions.

This could so easily have been another similar case. I started seven-over through four holes (gross) and recorded just six Stableford points - meaning I was two-over my handicap on the day.

A par on the short par 3 5th was the turning point, as I played the final five holes of the back nine in four-over (gross) with 13 Stableford points… so three-under for that stretch.

The bunkers were a foe that threatened my hunt for the elusive accolade, but even they were no match for my new found, aggressive, multi-faceted approach to taking on the golf course.

A pause halfway to escape the chilly winds of north-western Poland in October was much needed, as was the delicious charcuterie board and freshly-brewed coffee… I know, who do I think I am?

The second nine felt like a real opportunity. I was swinging it well and full of confidence from the recent uptick in my performances following the lesson with Ben, but that’s also a dangerous place for me to be.

In the past, I have crumbled mentally at the first sign of things going awry. Compounding mistakes is my modus operandi, but I was determined to re-write that particular script.

The back-nine started much like the front, with three bogeys and a double - meaning once again I was over par after the first four holes.

I once again had to have a little word with myself, which appeared to work as par-4 14th returned a par which delivered a handsome four points to my Stableford total.

The signature par-3 15th might be the single best (and also worst) moment I've had on a single golf hole. It measured 140 yards from the yellow tees, with water spanning the stretch between the tee box and the island-style green.

I pulled a 6-iron, with a little wind into my face, and went about swinging the club like I was prime Babe Ruth.

When I eventually pulled the trigger, the ball rocketed off on my intended start line… it was all over it.

My playing partners and I held my breath. Well, until I started shouting at it to ‘go’. Turns out that wasn’t necessary, as the ball pitched on the edge of the cup, ricocheted off the flag and stopped 2ft from the hole.

When I eventually got up to the green, I spotted the pitch mark. It had damaged the perimeter of the hole and almost forced the turf into the cup.

I know my colleagues hate stories about nearly making a hole-in-one, but that was the closest I or anyone could ever get without making an ace.

It would have been ludicrous to ask my playing partner to run up and take the pin out before I hit my tee shot, especially as a 20-handicapper, but I am convinced that without the flag it would have dunked straight in.

In the end, I had to settle for a birdie two and collect my second four-point haul in two holes - a run that would continue to the par-5 16th to really make the break 90 chase a reality.

The final five holes at PGA National Poland is the best golf I have ever played.

I carded four pars and a birdie to play the closing stretch in one-under par (gross) and return 19 points.

The final hole was a little nervy, but as you can see in the video below it was more of a victory lap. I had seven shots to burn on a par-5 when I was striping it like a far superior player to what my handicap would suggest - so the result felt inevitable.

Still, a back-nine of 40 was beyond my wildest expectations and a score of 87 actually felt like it could have been a bit better had I not been slow out of the gates on both nines.

I relished in telling almost anyone who would listen about my 45 point, sub-90 round - culminating in sharing the news with you.

“Below average amateur golfer who nobody knows breaks 90 for the first time” is perhaps a less compelling headline, but the story is actually far more than that.

It’s about perseverance, resilience and hope.

High-handicap golfers often struggle to see the progress they would like, at the speed they hope for, but hopefully this acts as a signal that sometimes it’s just one lesson (or swing thought) that could totally change your fortunes.

Stick with it, gang. I’m pleased I did.

The number and quality of star names who have already quit LIV Golf in favor of a return to the traditional tours is undeniably bad news for the team-based tour as it attempts to plot a route forward.

At the time of writing, more than a dozen notable faces have already said goodbye while only 15-20 pros have reportedly "tentatively agreed" to come back in 2027 in whatever form LIV 2.0 takes.

And while the likes of Jon Rahm, Sergio Garcia and possibly Joaquin Niemann have turned their backs on the team-based tour, there is one man who apparently still firmly believes in LIV Golf - Bryson DeChambeau.

The two-time Major winner recently spoke to Raj Shamani on the Figuring Out podcast and explained how the new-look LIV "is going to be done right" and "hopefully exists forever."

DeChambeau outlined his passion for team golf and suggested that with a more efficient management strategy from executives, the league could go on to be a real success.

However, critics of LIV would argue that if a league which is reported to have spent as much as $7 billion dollars since 2022 was unable to achieve its aims, what are the chances a tour with a significantly more frugal budget can?

And even if LIV 2.0 becomes an established part of the pro golf furniture, what are the chances it could do it within the next five to 10 years, which may well make up DeChambeau's prime years as an athlete?

The question, therefore, should be asked - is Bryson DeChambeau wasting his talent by signing up to LIV Golf 2.0?

Let us know your thoughts in the comments box below. In the meantime, some of the Golf Monthly team have shared their opinions...

EH: Part of me certainly feels that Bryson DeChambeau opting to stay with LIV Golf in this moment would be a waste of his great talents.

DeChambeau is one of just three golfers in history to win the NCAA Division 1 title, US Amateur Championship and US Open. The other two? Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods.

He is also one of just five men to have won the NCAA Div 1 crown and US Amateur in the same year. He is a two-time Major champion who has already gone down in history, but he is good enough to forge a legacy as one of his generation's greatest players.

I do not believe that playing in LIV 2.0 will keep him competitively sharp enough for the Majors, and that is a great shame for fans as the Majors are what matter most in this sport.

EH: Sure, he might still compete in and win Majors, but I would bet he'd do even better in them if he was playing a full PGA Tour schedule against Scheffler, McIlroy and co. every week.

It's a loss for avid fans of the professional sport and PGA Tour, but it could well be a huge win for his fans on YouTube. He is clearly very passionate about YouTube golf and growing an audience via his content, so ultimately I guess we have to respect that.

Perhaps the grind of tour golf is not as appealing as mixing the creator lifestyle with fun LIV events and the Majors, and if that is what makes him happy then good for him.

Golf is better with Bryson DeChambeau in the biggest moments, so let's hope he continues pursuing greatness at the top level - as he is one of the game's best (and most entertaining) players.

MC: If he's interested in being as competitive as possible, I'd say it would be a good idea for DeChambeau to return to the PGA Tour instead of committing to LIV Golf 2.0... the problem is, what does Bryson actually want?

Personally, behind all of his YouTube and social media bravado, I think there is an individual who wants to be the very best golfer in the world. The issue is that I also feel the American wants to be the main attraction, and that would only happen on the circuit he's on now.

Does he want the new league to succeed? Personally, I think he does; however, I think he wants it to succeed so he can stand out from the crowd and keep that non-conforming image he's built up.

MC: We see it with most aspects of his life, such as his golf equipment and social media presence, so that feels like one of the main reasons why he's so engrossed with LIV and wants to be on it.

Weighing it up, I think his talent is better off elsewhere. Yes, he won a Major and enjoyed an excellent 2024 and 2025 while a LIV player, but his 2026 season left a lot to be desired, and this so happened to fall in line when there were ongoing problems with the league.

I'd enjoy seeing DeChambeau back as he is a character, which is what we need in golf. However, if he goes down the LIV 2.0 path, I feel we won't get to see the fully firing Bryson that we've enjoyed watching previously.

JL: If we take this question at face value, I think it's pretty tough to argue Bryson DeChambeau isn't wasting his talent by sticking with LIV Golf.

He wouldn't be competing against a strong enough field during LIV events and as such his drive to improve may suffer as a result. That could see his talent wasted as he wouldn't fulfil the undeniable potential within.

There are plenty of examples of players who had world-class ability but, for one reason or another, didn't make the right choices which allowed them to extract it. Dare I say, his current LIV peer Anthony Kim could be seen as a living example of that.

JL: On the flip side, I also completely understand why DeChambeau is sticking with LIV - for many of the reasons Matt so eloquently pointed out above.

He is his own man and I fully respect that. DeChambeau does things the way he wants to do them and if he's passionate about something then he goes for it.

His golfing talent may well not be fulfilled in the end, but as long as the man is happy and tries to go about his life in the right way then I say all power to him.

NB: It's hard to say whether committing to LIV 2.0 is wasting Bryson's talent as it depends how he feels his talents are best utilized.

If his new mission in life is to grow the game, boost engagement and bring as many new faces as possible into the sport, he's doing exactly the right thing.

LIV Golf 2.0 will have an even more limited schedule, and with LIV players unable to compete on the PGA or DP World Tours, he'll have even more time than before to create content.

However, if you see the questions as 'is Bryson wasting his competitive talents,' the answer is absolutely.

NB: Continuing down the path he's already on almost guarantees he won't be able to squeeze as much out of his professional career as he could, and arguably should.

But who are we to tell him what to do? Only he can fully understand what motivates and inspires him.

There's no question, however, that playing against the best golfers in the world on the regular basis makes you a better player. I think it's entirely possible he doesn't win another Major.

But there's also a reality where he continues to be a digital pioneer and trendsetter and remains a top-five player in the world. I think it's unlikely, but if anyone can pull it off, it's Bryson.

Recently, I overheard a conversation between a group of amateur golfers that suggested entering nine-hole cards for your handicap was a bit of a 'cheat code'.

Their rationale was that with fewer holes to play, it was easier to submit a decent score and cut your handicap before the inevitable back-nine implosion.

So, in the interest of research, I experimented with entering nine-hole cards for a four-week period... and the results were equal parts illuminating and frustrating.

Time for a little bit of honest self-reflection... I'm a habitually slow starter on the golf course. There, I said it.

I've made my peace with that fact and found ways to ensure I can build a good round with gradually building momentum - but this sluggish start is compounded when only playing nine holes.

While I can begrudgingly accept a five-over through three start with 15 holes to play, the prospect of having just six to rescue my score sends my head in a spin.

Chasing is probably not something that's recommended for high-handicap golfers like me, with all the sensible educational messaging suggesting that a strategic bogey golf approach is the way to shoot lower scores.

After already blowing shots in the opening stretch, I don't feel like I have that luxury.

When analysing the four nine-hole cards that I entered, two of the rounds started with a four-over through three start (or worse).

Those rounds ended with scores of 49 and 51, which gave me a score differential average of around three over my handicap.

This isn't just a problem for nine-hole scores, I might add. A whopping 60% of my last five 18-hole scores entered for handicap purposes started with a six-over through three start (or worse).

The difference is, I managed to rescue all of those rounds to card a score in the 90s - which is pretty par for the course for me.

Three of the scores even counted as part of my eight best rounds and therefore shifted the needle on my handicap index - which brings me on to my next point.

In addition to starting like a heavy freight train, I am also a confidence player. When things are going well on the course, you could be forgiven for assuming I am actually fairly competent at the game.

In contrast, however, when things are not going well I often get inside my own head and the self-sabotage begins.

I once asked Alex James, Head Professional at Sand Moor Golf Club, what he thinks is stopping me from breaking 90. His response was one simple word... "you".

Mentally is crucially important in golf, which makes my lack of control even more infuriating, but I quite enjoy that feeling of riding the wave when the putts are dropping.

In the four nine-hole rounds that I entered on England Golf, I never really got going. With limited time on the course, I also never had the chance to kick myself into gear - meaning not only was my scoring pretty woeful but I also felt quite flat.

Ultimately, my enjoyment of the round suffered in the same way as my scoring - a double jeopardy that no amateur golfer wants to experience.

In quite the contradiction to my early statements, I can appreciate the appeal of shorter format golf as a concept - even if I am not very good at it.

I like the fact I can fit it into my busy schedule and how, if I could get it right, it would allow me to maintain an accurate handicap with a lighter time investment.

Some would, and do, argue that golfers shouldn't be able to enter nine-hole cards. The crux of the argument is it's much easier to play good golf over nine holes, there's less time and holes for things to go wrong and the mental challenge is diminished.

This experiment, hopefully, shows it's not really as easy as that. Perhaps, a more competent player could achieve an advantage through entering cards this way, but I believe the pros of making the game more accessible and inclusive outweigh the potential downsides.

I would be keen to explore ways that more competitions can be played over a shorter course, but the results of this particular experiment are clear... nine-hole scorecards are terrible for my pursuit of a lower handicap.

Let's try 12-hole golf, that could be the sweet spot. Watch this space!

There’s nothing quite like the sight of a true muscleback iron sitting in a golf bag, but the thin topline and minimal offset on show when put behind the ball will terrify a large number of golfers. On the flip side, we have the game-improvement iron - oversized, packed with technology and confidence-inspiring for those who seek it.

But just how much are we punishing ourselves by letting our egos get in the way? Choosing aesthetics, workability, and feel over clubs that possess all the game-changing tech that could actually improve our games - or at least make our bad shots better.

To see exactly what the trade-off looks like, I headed to the Golf Monthly Performance Lab and used a Foresight Sports GC3 launch monitor to gather the critical data before comparing the two types of clubs that sit at very much the ends of the spectrum.

The goal was to quantify exactly how launch, spin, ball speed, and forgiveness differ across two opposite ends of the iron spectrum. My apparatus of choice? A TaylorMade P7MB blade put up against the TaylorMade Qi iron.

The Gulf In Speed And Loft

Being able to hit your irons a long way really isn't the be-all and end-all of good golf, in fact, accuracy and distance consistency is far more important when it comes to iron play. However, when you look at the raw ball speed generated by the game-improvement iron, it’s hard not to marvel at it. For this test, I chose to analyse the data of a 5-iron from both iron sets.

A major factor here is the loft, of course. The TaylorMade P7MB iron sits at a fairly traditional 26° of loft. But the TaylorMade Qi 5-iron is cranked five degrees stronger to a powerful 21°.

During my testing, the P7MB delivered a very respectable ball speed of 126.7 mph and carried 187 yards, rolling out to a total distance of 200 yards. However, when I switched to the TaylorMade Qi, the numbers completely transformed. Thanks to its multi-material construction and significantly stronger loft, the ball flew off the face of the Qi iron at 133 mph, producing an average carry distance of 201 yards and a total distance of 217 yards.

A Matter Of Performance Preference

If the Qi wins so heavily in the distance category, why do the best players in the world still use blades? Firstly, these golfers typically already possess a serious amount of speed and power, and therefore they aren’t necessarily after more distance. At that level, it’s all about predictability, spin, and trajectory control.

The P7MB generated 4,625 rpm of spin compared to the Qi's much lower 3,789 rpm. While the Qi effortlessly gets the ball out there, its lower spin rate relies heavily on peak height to stop the ball on the green. While that may work throughout the winter months or when the greens are softer, you’re relying a lot on the conditions of the course to be in your favour, as opposed to having spin helping you stop the ball, regardless of the surface firmness.

This brings us to the most fascinating angle from the data - the launch and height relationship. Because of the stronger loft, the Qi launched noticeably lower at 13.8° compared to the P7MB's 15.2°.

Logically, you would expect the lower-launching, lower-spinning iron to fly much flatter, but the cleverly designed game-improvement iron counteracts that theory. Remarkably, the game-improvement Qi actually achieved a slightly higher peak height of 94.3 feet, edging out the blade's 93 feet.

This perfectly illustrates the magic of modern game-improvement engineering and how the lower-placed CG location by design alters the launch and flight characteristics to match the stated loft of the club.

TaylorMade has managed to take a 21-degree iron, launch it lower, but still push the apex higher than a traditional 26-degree blade. This ensures that even with less than 3,800 rpm of spin, the ball falls from a steep enough angle to hold the majority of greens.

Time To Put The Ego To The Side?

There's a reason manufacturers spend millions of dollars engineering different heads for different skill levels. As I mentioned earlier, better golfers may actually want more control of launch, spin, and shot-making capabilities, which larger, cavity-back irons aren’t designed for.

The larger, more forgiving heads are actually created to keep the ball flight as straight as possible, which is naturally ideal for higher-handicapper golfers looking to straighten out any unwanted curve on their flight.

After analyzing the data I pulled from my launch monitor, there's no denying that playing a blade like the P7MB is a tax on your distance, and there are definitely distance gains to be had by using one of the best clubs for higher handicappers in the shape of the TaylorMade Qi.

If you are a scratch golfer who demands precision, higher spin rates, and elite turf interaction, the blade will give you exactly what you put into it, but even then, there are plenty of golfers playing on both the PGA and DP World tours who aren’t using blades and often opt for combo sets, mixing either blades or compact mid-handicapper heads in the shorter irons and then adding in cavity back or hollow body irons as the loft decreases. This is because, for the pros, it’s all about performance.

Having complete control from 150 yards and in is crucial to hitting the ball closer, but the additional height and launch on the longer irons that a cavity back iron offers simply cannot be ignored.

There are other benefits of blades you may not have considered. First of all, the soft buttery feel of a blade is unmatched in the game and if you can strike close to the sweetspot most of the time, the reward is a next-level impact experience.

The other unexplored benefits of blades are that, because they are noticeably less forgiving, they make you focus on achieving a solid strike. With a game-improvement iron, your bad swings are flattered - you can almost become lazy knowing a slight mishit will still fly pretty long and straight.

With a blade, there's nowhere to hide and that jeopardy at the point of impact engrains a good habit in the hyperfocus on the quality of strike - the result of this being a consistent flight and carry distance output.

For the vast majority of amateur golfers, the data speaks for itself. The next time you're out looking for a new set of irons, make sure to give the ego a check and take a look at a cavity back iron.

Not only will you likely see the advantage of the massive ball speed and towering peak height found in irons like the TaylorMade Qi, but it might just be the quickest way to start hitting more greens, lowering your handicap, and shooting lower scores.

Not for the first time in recent history, the world of men's professional golf finds itself in a bit of an awkward situation.

As the PGA Tour ploughs on towards its new competitive structure in 2028, all seems rosy over there.

But LIV Golf remains in a state of flux regarding its future and the DP World Tour - which is not without its own issues - potentially feels like now is the right time to bounce back after a few years of taking a couple of hearty blows.

CEO Guy Kinnings recently said players had a clear choice to make about which tour they featured on moving forward - it is now very much 'them or us'.

If pros opted to stay with LIV, as is their right, then there would be no supplementary starts in Europe as there had been previously.

Given LIV players are also facing a minimum 12-month suspension from the PGA Tour and the Asian Tour is still reeling from the PIF walking away from golf, opportunities are pretty limited at this stage.

And with the team-based circuit still trying to fully formulate what it's going to look like in 2027, at least a dozen golfers have publicly stated they will not be a part of it for one reason or another.

For those who want to carry on playing, the DP World Tour is their clear first choice. However, this is where it becomes a little awkward.

Several DP World Tour pros have already expressed their frustration at the thought of any and all LIV golfers being offered exemptions into events that those who stayed loyal may consequently lose out on.

Players such as Richard Mansell have also suggested it is at least mildly irritating some players who have never shown any interest in the tour - or at least very little since LIV arrived - have suddenly changed their outlook.

From the DP World Tour's point of view, bringing in the likes of Charles Howell III, Abraham Ancer and Thomas Pieters brings obvious appeal in terms of strengthening fields and therefore attracting more fans or sponsors.

Yet, it also understands this move isn't likely to be very popular with certain section of its membership and clearly doesn't want any kind of revolt. So what can it do?

Four Golf Monthly writers have shared their opinion on what a successful integration might look like. Feel free to give us your thoughts in the comments box below.

I have no problem with the likes of Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton – players who never resigned their membership of the DP World Tour – coming straight back into the fold.

The reality is they played plenty of tournaments while still tethered to LIV, so why would it be any different now they've unhitched their wagons?

I thought it was a little farcical that so many LIV players were able to compete on the DP World Tour while appealing fines handed out to them for playing in competing events, but they were able to (because, let's be frank, it was beneficial to the DPWT) and therefore there should be no restrictions now.

However, it's a different story when it comes to those who aren't current members or who resigned their memberships.

You simply can't have a scenario where players swan back in and take places in fields from those who stayed put and supported the DP World Tour. They actively harmed the circuit they're trying to get re-instated on.

So, if I were in charge, I'd say the following: if you have status on the tour, you can come back in without sanction.

If you're a top-50 player in the world or you've won a Major in the last five years, you're eligible to receive unlimited sponsors' invites.

If you don't fit into either of those categories, you need to start again at the first stage of Q-School.

The way I see it, the DP World Tour's plan of action feels quite simple. Firstly, anyone with status should (and will) be allowed back without repercussions.

They slot into their category and it's up to them to rebuild their careers. Plus, it's really their fellow pros' respect they may have to try and regain over time, and that seems like penalty enough to me.

Otherwise, I wonder if the deal on offer to those without status should look as follows.

They can either take no more than 10-12 guaranteed starts via sponsor exemptions over the year (chosen by the tour) or they can try their luck via Q-School - which they should be good enough to navigate - and earn more than 20 guaranteed opportunities that way.

A player could always take the back-up option of 10 guaranteed starts if Q-School doesn't go well, but then the pressure would really be on to make the finite chances count.

Also, if they were to be successful in Spain, they would have effectively earned their card the right way and would be able to kick on from there.

In the aforementioned scenario, the DP World Tour doesn't lose out on adding these players to their fields and nature may take its course in a way that satisfies the majority.

Ultimately, the DP World Tour would certainly benefit from most of these LIV players in its tournaments but it cannot sacrifice the feelings of those who have helped weather the storm in order to make it happen.

The DP World Tour clearly sees an opportunity and is being ruthless in seeking to put an end to LIV Golf - a rival tour that has poached its players, courses and sponsors, and generally weakened it, over the past five years.

There is nothing wrong with allowing LIV players back as long as they have status, and those who don't have rightly been forced to make their own way via Q-School.

Charles Howell III has understandably caused controversy by seeking a route without going through Q-School, and I suspect he - and potentially others - has tried to cut a deal to obtain a good number of sponsor's invitations.

Ultimately, if the DP World Tour feels players like Howell III will improve its tournaments then it has every right to allow them in - but it’s easy to see why it would be an unpopular move.

Howell III has never supported the DPWT in the past and, as good of a player he is, he is not a ticket seller or someone fans will tune in to watch.

I think a key goal of the DPWT right now is to do its best to ensure LIV 2.0 does not happen, and giving the league’s mid-tier players like Howell a life raft is a key part of that.

I completely understand why some members won't be impressed, but sponsor's invitations are available in every single tournament so they aren't necessarily taking spots from players who have already qualified by merit.

If certain players are unhappy, I’m afraid it comes back to the old adage of 'Play better.’ Players like Branden Grace (who earned $38m in LIV Golf prize money!) have truly had their cake and eaten it by getting all of the money of LIV 1.0 and then coming back when it dried up - but the easiest thing right now is probably just letting them back and moving on with a much stronger tour.

LIV players did face reputational damage, lost out on Major appearances, relevance and world ranking points for multiple years, so I guess they have paid a small price.

I think it’s time to forgive and forget, and proceed with a stacked 2027 DP World Tour season that promises to be one of the best in recent years.

Let's be honest, whatever Guy Kinnings decides to do will be met with jeers and cheers so, personally, I think those from the LIV Golf League who have DP World Tour status should be allowed back and those who don't should be made to go to Q-School.

The DP World Tour was hit hard by LIV's growth, losing venues, sponsors and players to it. So, quite rightly, the circuit seems to be stamping on LIV's throat so that it won't be a problem again.

For 2027, the DP World Tour could be in a great position, but it needs to manage which players will bring star power to its tournaments.

From February to August, the events are nowhere near the standard of the PGA Tour, so the use of sponsor's exemptions could help this. As Elliott alluded to, it's not as if this is anything new either.

DP World Tour members may not be pleased about this, but they have had a three-to-four year period where LIV Golfers haven't been present in their tournaments.

Okay, there's the loyalty aspect, but if you continue to perform poorly in tournaments, then you could argue you're taking up spots from someone who could perform well in them.

Personally, I think the DP World Tour is in one its strongest positions for some time. For me, though, it needs to manage how it uses the young emerging talent that is coming over from the LIV Golf League.

David Puig, Jose Luis Ballester, Michael La Sasso, Tom McKibbin and Luis Masaveu are all under the age of 25, for example, but could be off to the PGA Tour in 12 months' time, meaning the DP World Tour can't make the most of their rise through the ranks.

If I were Kinnings, I would welcome the notable players from LIV with DP World Tour status, force the others to go to Q-School with the guarantee of four-to-six starts in events from February to August, to boost event coverage, and limit the PGA Tour card hand outs from 10 to 5, unless you're not an ex-LIV golfer.

Essentially, those from the circuit have to finish in the top five if they are to earn a PGA Tour card for 2028.

Do you agree with us or is there an idea we haven't suggested? Please tell us your thoughts on this subject by writing the comment box below.

When it comes to considering results in the men’s professional game, Tiger Woods is clearly ahead of both Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler. He has 82 PGA Tour titles to his name, including 15 Majors. He’s won a total of 110 professional tournaments.

McIlroy has claimed 30 PGA Tour titles, six Majors and a total of 45 wins as a pro. Scheffler has 22 PGA Tour wins, four Majors and 27 pro wins in total.

Okay, Jack has more Majors, but, for me, Woods is the greatest winner in the history of the men’s game. He was quite simply a machine in his prime. But has he been the best ball-striker? Others would certainly have a claim to that title.

I once watched Sandy Lyle hit 25 3-woods on the driving range at Carnoustie. I’ve never seen better ball-striking than that.

Hogan, Nelson, Nicklaus, Snead – all were famous as amazing strikers of the golf ball.

What about Moe Norman, the Canadian with the unusual action who hit every ball arrow straight and only went out of bounds once in his career?

So, Woods has stiff competition. And what about the two best in the modern game, Scheffler and McIlroy – what do the statistics say about their ball striking in comparison to Tiger?

Well, through the 2026 season, Scottie Scheffler has led the ball striking statistics category on the PGA Tour. That category adds a player’s ranking in the total driving category (that’s distance combined with accuracy) to their ranking in the greens in regulation (GIR) category to give a total, ball striking value.

In 2026, Scottie’s value is 9 – seventh in driving, second in GIR.

Rory McIlroy is way down in 56^th on the ranking with a value of 117 – 62^nd in total driving and 55^th in GIR. Rory hits it miles off the tee, but he doesn’t hit it very straight.

Over the last five seasons, McIlroy has ranked 9^th, 59^th, 62^nd, 78^th then 56^th in the ball- striking category. Scheffler has been 4^th, 3^rd, 1^st, 6^th and 1^st.

Using the criteria the PGA Tour use to define ball-striking, Scheffler blows Rory out of the water.

And Tiger? Well, let’s consider him at his best, say the five years from 2000-2004. During that period, Woods ranked 1^st, 12^th, 2^{nd and} 27^th, 61^st. In fact, if you look back through the years, Woods has only once led the ball-striking stat – his amazing 2000 season.

Scheffler has to take it on those stats alone.

But is that the right way to define ball striking? Simply by the results? Surely the purity of the strike, the quality of and control over the ball flight and the sound at impact must be taken into account?

That’s a little more difficult to quantify. Smash factor gives a good indication – a measure of how efficient you are at transferring energy from the clubhead into the ball. It is calculated by dividing the ball speed by the clubhead speed.

Rory has a smash factor of 1.508 with a driver and keeps it at up to 1.5 with his longer irons – he has had shots measured with a 7-iron where he recorded 1.50.

Scheffler is well down on smash factor – he has an average with the driver of 1.4878. With a 7-iron, he’s been measured at 1.43.

Tiger was using different equipment in his prime and launch data didn’t exist at the time of his legendary 2000 season. There are records, though, of him testing at the Nike facility where he was recorded as hitting an iron with a smash factor of 1.50.

When it comes to smash factor, it would go to either Rory or Tiger.

When one considers pure control of the golf ball, I think Tiger has to win. In terms of his ability to shape the ball, control the flight and move it both ways, not many in the history of the game could match Tiger.

In my opinion, Tiger is the best ball-striker of the three. I once saw him hit a stinger 2-iron, again at Carnoustie, that was the most purely struck golf shot I have ever witnessed.

The stats on ball-striking and smash factor may favour Scheffler and McIlroy, but for me, in terms of the sound, quality of impact and control of ball flight, Tiger Woods was in a league of his own.

Who would be a golf club manager? Running a golf club on a day-to-day basis can certainly be rewarding, especially if you have a true passion for your facility.

However, this past year has been especially demanding for clubs, with droughts and escalating expenses continuing to present ongoing challenges for secretaries and committees.

And another issue is on the rise: member disciplinary enquiries.

According to the National Golf Clubs’ Advisory Association (NGCAA), requests for legal guidance are now dominated by member discipline and misconduct.

“Since we returned to golf after the COVID restrictions, we’ve seen member discipline start to rise, and that has now overtaken employment law as the most common area upon which clubs request advice,” Alistair Smith, Chief Executive of the NGCAA, tells Golf Monthly.

“During the last six to 12 months, it has really gone through the roof.”

The NGCAA was formed in 1922. Set up by golf clubs for the benefit of golf clubs, it saves clubs from seeking advice from various law firms.

Smith, a former solicitor in private practice, says that pre-COVID, 65-70% of the enquiries they received related to employment law.

Now, though, the company is inundated with enquiries relating to different forms of misbehavior, including physical and verbal altercations, sexual harassment of staff and members, cheating in competitions, and handicap manipulation.

Golf club managers and their teams are also increasingly tasked with addressing inappropriate conduct occurring on WhatsApp groups and social media platforms.

"A Reflection Of Society"

It begs the question: why is this happening? We can only speculate.

“Incidents of misconduct have increased, that’s for sure, but why, I don’t know,” admits Smith, adding that he doesn’t believe it can be attributed to the number of new people who have started playing golf since the pandemic.

“We’re dealing with cases that involve long-established members as well as new players, men and women, young and old players. There are no patterns in that sense.”

One theory suggests individuals are challenging boundaries more frequently than before, particularly following COVID-19 and its accompanying restrictions. Maybe it’s a “reflection of society rebelling after being told what to do.”

Could this trend stem from certain clubs abandoning introductory interviews that previously vetted prospective members for social and behavioral fit?

While a shift away from traditional membership interviews at some clubs might play a part, it hardly accounts for such a sharp spike in misconduct.

And then there’s the procedure that follows. Years ago, a secretary would tap you on your shoulder, and you’d have a quiet conversation in the office if you’d stepped out of line.

Members were contrite. They’d apologise, and that would be the end of it, or they’d resign and walk away if they had done something more serious.

Advice For Golf Clubs

Now, though, we live in a world of procedure. Clubs need to be squeaky clean and clued up. “For a club to successfully deal with a disciplinary case, it must follow its own disciplinary procedure and the principles of natural justice,” says Smith.

“Clubs should ensure that they review their constitution and disciplinary procedures to ensure that they are up to date, consistent and conform to the prevailing law.

“That task should be carried out now, rather than finding out that there is a problem with the documented procedure in the heat of dealing with a live disciplinary case.”

Members are also much more aware of their rights.

“We’ve had quite a few cases where members have used AI to produce defence documents that run for several pages,” adds Smith.

“We have this situation where members are trying to attack the procedure rather than actually deal with the nuts and bolts of whether or not they actually did something or not.”

Like we say, who’d be a golf club manager?

What do you think? Does your golf club have a disciplinary problem? What do you think could be causing this rise? We’d like to hear from members and golf club managers. Please leave your comments in the box below.

'Inside The Ropes' is the chance for Golf Monthly's expert team to share its honest thoughts on the biggest subjects in the game. This time, it's all about how money and 'growing the game' are linked.

Kevin Kisner last week made headlines when he critiqued Rory McIlroy's comments on growing the global game.

McIlroy has been playing more internationally over recent years, and Kisner said the main reason he was taking his talents to places like India was due to money, and perhaps he hadn't been very clear about that.

"That is such a dog s*** comment," Kisner said on the Fore Play podcast on McIlroy's past words about playing more globally.

"But I guess for the right price we could all say that.

"He doesn't want to globally expand in India, he wants to get his $10m and go play in India."

When asked about Kisner's comments, McIlroy didn't deny he was in India on an appearance fee but said he wasn't solely there for monetary reasons.

“Two things can be true at the same time," he said.

“People can get paid to come and play at a tournament but at the same time do it from a place of, you know, a genuine interest of trying to bring the sport to another country, a developing country, a country where the middle class in India is larger than the whole population of the United States. It’s a huge market for golf.”

This specific back-and-forth made us consider the topic of appearance fees in golf and whether McIlroy, or any other huge names, would truly consider 'growing the game' and playing in special, international events if it wasn't for the money.

Here's what we think - and let us know your views in the comments section below.

It's not as if appearance fees are anything new in sports, let alone just golf.

Let's be honest, money talks and, no matter how rich you are, of course someone is going to take a six, seven or eight figure sum to play golf if they feel it's right for their image and brand.

Personally, I wonder why that appearance fee money can't be put into the tournament prize purse instead? However, if you are wanting the big players at the event, they need to be guaranteed the paycheck and that's the whole point of the appearance fee. It's guaranteed money in their pocket.

Unfortunately, I don't see how 'growing the game' doesn't occur unless an appearance fee is involved.

Do you think Tiger Woods would want to travel halfway around the world without his time being paid for? Do you think most of the American players would play non-PGA Tour events that are a 12-hour flight away for free? Of course not.

The message about 'growing the game' is the excuse for most. I think some genuinely do want to leave a mark on the golfing landscape before they retire but, at the end of the day, it is their job, so without their time being paid for, how else can they promote the game through tournament golf?

It would be great for the world's best to play in tournaments in lesser-known locations out of the goodness of their hearts and not their bank accounts. Heading to new territories for free, though, isn't going to cut it for many.

This may sound like me calling out the world's best but, one last thing I'll say, is that some of them are 'growing the game' in other ways, such as setting up coaching academies and staging junior events. To me, that's what we call 'growing the game'...

Money makes the world go round, unfortunately. Without sounding like Karl Marx, it is a consequence of the capitalist systems the majority of us live in.

It is often the biggest motivator, and sometimes the only motivator, for the actions of some of the most well-known people in the world, be that sports stars, pop stars or movie stars.

When you see one of your favorite sports stars opening his or her charitable foundation, part of the motivation of doing so is to raise awareness and funds for something they care about, of course. However, the flip side of this is they will likely get a lovely tax break. They'll also get positive PR, making them more appealing to brands further down the line, thus enhancing their wealth.

I found Kisner's criticism of McIlroy strange because of course appearance fees and 'growing the game' can go together.

If anything, appearance fees might motivate the likes of Scottie Scheffler and Nelly Korda to get off their butts and play around the world rather than nearly exclusively playing in North America.

The term 'growing the game' often makes my eyes roll because it is obvious what holds the growth of the game back - corporate greed. Commercial loads, particularly on American broadcasts makes them borderline unwatchable, even for me as a die-hard fan.

Closed off Country Club culture and sky-high membership prices/joining fees, again mostly in the US, don't make the game accessible.

Nor does charging £190 for a single ticket to the final day of the Open Championship in 2027.

These shifts are only going one direction, too, and not in the direction that will help grow our sport around the world.

How very cynical, Conor!

I think Kisner had a point in bringing up the appearance fee money, and McIlroy was fair in his response that two things can be true at once. It's certainly an interesting debate (and I'd be interested to read your views below).

My simple answer is 'no', growing the game - or the top stars playing internationally - will not happen without appearance fees.

We've seen the likes of Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm travel all around the world with LIV, and McIlroy more recently in Australia and India. Would any of them have played these tournaments without guaranteed appearance fee money or huge contracts? Of course not.

Is that a bad thing? The romantic in me says yes but ultimately I don't necessarily think so.

I have seen McIlroy up close many times and Tiger Woods on a few occasions, and it never ceases to amaze me just how popular they are on-site.

Recently at the BMW PGA Championship I was queuing for the 18th grandstand, on Sunday afternoon may I add, and it almost emptied out after McIlroy had been through - and this was with just five or six groups left and the tournament on the line.

People were happy to go home after watching McIlroy instead of staying around to watch a thrilling conclusion from the best seat in the house.

The fact is, he sells tickets and increases viewership so he is more than worth any appearance fee money he gets from sponsors. The DP World India Championship would still be a great event without him, but with him committed it takes the tournament to the next level.

I would love to see more events try to tempt him over. He is not going to do it out of the kindness of his heart, and I think that is fair enough as a true global star and one of the greatest golfers of all time.

Like Conor, I would also like to see Scheffler, Korda and other big US stars play more internationally. There's nothing wrong with appearance fees in my view, as I'm sure they genuinely do an important job in 'growing the game.'

There will have been thousands of Indian children who witnessed McIlroy and some other stars up close last week and will have gone away inspired to pick up a golf club or improve their games because of it.

That has got to be a great thing, so appearance fees are a win-win.

My first instinct was to say 'no, it isn't possible to grow the game without appearance fees.'

I considered the LIV Golf principle, so to speak, which effectively offered a kind of appearance fee in that there were semi-guaranteed earnings if you like.

So your base fee was $50,000 with a max payout of $4 million (and maybe more). But even then, some of those events were a rip-roaring success (Australia, South Africa), some were pretty good (UK, Spain) while others just did not move the needle (Saudi Arabia, Singapore).

Of course there are nuances to each of those examples, but even having a pretty strong field didn't count for much at times.

On the flip side, would the DP World India Championship have made such a promising start to life if not for the big names who attended over the first two years?

I think there's an argument to be made that it wouldn't have, and also that events become prestigious once big-name players have won them.

From there, fans emerge, young golfers become inspired and the game grows. Appearance fees are just a reality of the business side of golf.

Speaking as a fan, I don't see anything wrong with an event inviting a big name to boost its profile. The wider issue here is the extraordinary amount of money that is floating around the absolute top of the game while players who I've spoken to in the second or third tier of golf are effectively accepting they will make a loss until/unless they reach a certain level.

I would love to see some of these stupid prize-purse levels be spread out and pushed down the pyramid so players can have some of the pressure taken off.

In turn, the attraction of attempting to become a pro golfer then becomes greater and the ability level at the top only increases.

That's how you really grow the game.

What do you think? Join the conversation below.

In life, nothing is certain, apart from death, taxes and golf clubs complicating things that should be so easy to get right.

Not long ago, I went down to the south-west of England for a three-round, two-day golf trip. Ahead of my four-ball’s first outing -– at a club that shall remain nameless – we looked over the course planner and teeing options, assessed how many shots we’d receive off each set and put a plan in place.

However, when we got to the first tee, only one set of tees was out and there was a sign indicating that today’s tees were purple.

Today’s tees? Why is that even a concept? Why are grown men and women being told what to do when there are multiple different options on the card to choose from?

Even if you’re not planning on putting in a card, you should be able to choose the set of tees that provides the most enjoyment for your group.

I know it might seem like a small thing to some, but a club figure arbitrarily picking a set of tees has a tangible impact on those playing the golf course that day.

I’ve tried to see things from the other perspective and I genuinely can’t come up with any reason why this practice is still in existence. The only one I considered momentarily was course conditioning and giving certain areas of the tee box a rest, but surely the more options you give people, the more you spread out the footfall?

I’ve encountered three problems in this realm over the last year or so. Firstly, I was told I couldn’t play off the whites because they were reserved for members’ competitions only.

Secondly, I was told I had to play off the tees of the day – a mixture of the whites and yellows. How on earth are you supposed to handicap that? Thirdly, I couldn’t play off my desired tees because they hadn’t been put out.

All three of these clubs offer a significant number of non-member tee times, so why are they acting like private members’ facilities?

I can just about understand why some closed-off clubs would have tees of the day (even if I still find it somewhat baffling), but if you accept a green fee, surely you have to allow people to choose what tees to play off?

Plans out the window

It’s not 1990 anymore – times have changed. Nomadic golfers have handicaps and most of them want to put a card in every time they play, but they never seem to come into the thinking. Add into the mix disproportionately high green fees and it’s hard not to feel taken advantage of at times. It’s frustrating.

It could also result in reduced business for these facilities in the future as nomads look elsewhere for clubs who allow them to pick the tees that most suit them and their needs.

In the south-west, all our pre-made plans went out the window when we got to the first tee. We looked at the yardage and shot allocation from the only tees we were permitted to play off and we all decided we now didn’t want to put cards in.

Why? Because they were only 200 yards shorter – on a very firm day – and we lost multiple shots on the course handicap relative to our handicap indexes.

Given it was a new course for all of us, the odds simply didn’t stack in our favour. If we were allowed to choose our teeing ground, however, we all would have put cards in.

As it happened, I shot a 77 – one of the best rounds of my life – but it didn’t go on my handicap record. Some will say nomads should put cards in every round, and it’s actually something I used to do.

But sometimes, your shot allocation off the yellow tees is lower than you feel it should be. I’ve written about this countless times. If golfers feel they’re getting fewer shots than they should, they’re not going to put cards in very often.

For the World Handicap System to function as effectively as it should, we need golfers to be putting in as many cards as possible. But once again, the sport is shooting itself in the foot by taking decision-making out of paying customers’ hands.

Modern golfing culture is sometimes incongruous with common practices of yesteryear. This reality needs to be acknowledged and acted upon.

'Inside The Ropes' is the chance for Golf Monthly's expert team to share its honest thoughts on the biggest subjects in the game. This time, it's all about the futures of Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau and LIV Golf'.

It's set to be a critical next few weeks for LIV Golf and its hopes of a '2.0' version coming to fruition, with its bankruptcy case rolling on and players deciding whether to commit or go elsewhere.

We've already had Jon Rahm, David Puig and Adrian Meronk leave, and there could be more to come following the big news from the DP World Tour that it will not allow LIV players to be members in 2027.

LIV has a number of players who compete on the DP World Tour, including eight who agreed a conditional release agreement earlier this year and later Rahm, who we now know will not be a part of the team league next season.

While it has been a run of bad news for LIV, the circuit is still fighting hard for its future and one huge name who could save it is Bryson DeChambeau. The two-time Major winner is a big supporter of the tour and could well be the man to take it into phase two next year.

So, with plenty of topics to choose from this week, our editor joins our news team regulars to try their best in answering a few different LIV-related questions in this latest edition of Inside The Ropes.

See below for our answers, and let us know your views in the comments section below.

Could this DP World Tour news be fatal for LIV Golf?

Not necessarily. The question is: What is LIV Golf?

It's hard to say without knowing their plan. If LIV is going to be a premier golfing tour with top level players then it certainly doesn't help.

There's a lot of other things that have been damaging to LIV Golf. This doesn't help, but it strikes me as being something that doesn't quite signal the end as it completely depends on what they want to be.

Ultimately if LIV is only ever going to be a lower tier tour then it doesn't necessarily mean it's fatal. If it's a satellite tour then it can continue to exist.

If the intention is to be a premier tour alongside the PGA Tour and others then this makes it very difficult, if not impossible.

I'm not sure it will be immediately fatal as certain big-name players will undoubtedly stick around to see it off the ground.

However, unless the finances dramatically improve within the next three years, I can't see LIV remaining anything like a threat to the PGA Tour or DP World Tour.

Most players with a choice between LIV in its current state and the DP World Tour are likely to choose the latter - if only for stability's sake - with Jon Rahm's exit possibly seen as an early indicator for the ultimate direction of this once powerful league.

It has been setback after setback for LIV Golf over the past five years, and it always seems to bounce back and survive. Can it come back from Jon Rahm, and potentially all of its DP World Tour members, leaving? I think it probably can, but, like Jonny, I don't think it will thrive.

Rahm leaving likely came as no surprise to BC Partners, which surely knows what it is getting itself in for. The $5bn of debt was supposedly a big benefit for private equity, so it is still likely fully committed to go ahead.

However, even with Rahm and DeChambeau, and the Saudi PIF billions, LIV struggled to gain sustainable viewership and fandom so its future doesn't look too bright. In my opinion, at least.

The facts are that it has lost Jon Rahm and its Asian Tour feeder system, and potentially further losses are still to come like Hatton and a number of other players, its OWGR points and Major pathways.

DeChambeau committing his future could be a life-saving win for the league, and aside from its DP World Tour players there are still another 40+ accomplished golfers who might sign on.

We don't know who is in and who isn't, yet, though, so I'd say it's future remains on a knife-edge.

It can still produce big crowds and entertainment on-site in places like Adelaide and South Africa, but I do struggle to see it being a golf tour that captivates the masses on TV and has relevance within the men's professional golf pyramid.

Should the PGA Tour welcome Jon Rahm back?

I think the PGA Tour should allow Rahm straight back in.

The Spaniard is one of a shrinking number of needle-movers in the world of golf. As much as it might put some players' noses out of joint, the truth is people pay their TV subscriptions and purchase tickets to watch players like Scheffler, McIlroy and Rahm.

Very few that can claim to do that at that level, and Rahm genuinely can. When he's in full flow, he's one of the best players in the world.

As much as it might put a stick in some players' craws, they should just let him straight back in - that's the nature of modern day sport.

The PGA Tour is in a position of real strength so they might not allow it, but ultimately he's going to want to compete there when that opportunity arises. If they are looking out for their product then making sure the best players are competing on their tour is the way to go.

I honestly think the PGA Tour should leave Rahm on the DP World Tour for a season.

Rahm will inevitably gain his PGA Tour card the right way anyway and the PGA Tour has coped perfectly well without him for three years so far, so what's one more?

Plus, it offered him a route back previously and he turned it down, so I think it puts the tour in a position of strength if they effectively turn around and say 'no, you had your chance and you didn't take it. But if you earn your card the right way, we'll welcome you back with open arms.'

Like I said, Rahm will almost certainly return to the PGA Tour in time for its big new Championship Series lift-off in 2028, so I don't think there's any reason for the PGA Tour to make a knee-jerk reaction.

I think Brian Rolapp should welcome Rahm back, as he would increase eyeballs on the PGA Tour and ultimately make the circuit better and more competive.

I don't think that will happen, though, for two reasons.

Firstly, the PGA Tour board likely won't allow it. Rahm burned a lot of bridges when he controversially left in December 2023, and I am sure certain players on the board would not be willing to offer Rahm an olive branch.

Secondly, I don't think Rahm would accept any punishments to return, anyway.

We saw how stubborn he was to pay fines and agree a deal with the DP World Tour, and the sanctions would likely be significantly higher for the PGA Tour.

Brooks Koepka paid a $5m charitable donation, was ineligible for sponsor's invites into Signature Events and FedExCup bonus money, and he also wasn't allowed into the equity program for five years.

Rahm declined those terms earlier this year, and they'd likely be even harsher next time around.

Should Bryson DeChambeau seek a PGA Tour return?

Similar to Rahm, Bryson is clearly one of those players fans will turn their TVs on to watch and pay for tickets to see.

I think he probably needs to think about whether he wants to be renowned as a great golfer or a great content creator.

I'm not sure you can do both, and he is unique in that he is trying to do both. If that ends up costing him 3-4 Majors across the course of his career, the question is would that be worth it?

From a pure sporting perspective, I'd prefer him to concentrate on the golf but I can see the appeal of the content side as it allows to show off his personality and reach a wider, younger audience.

I'd like to see him focus on competing because I think he could win potentially up to 6-7 Majors. Could he do that while also being a content creator, though?

The demands may be too difficult but if he thinks he can then good luck to him. To be a consistent force in the Majors he needs to be a force on the PGA Tour.

On the surface, it makes the most sense for Bryson DeChambeau to seek a PGA Tour return. But I don't think he will.

What could work instead is DeChambeau follows in Rahm's footsteps for a season and enjoys a global schedule which helps him earn a PGA Tour card that way.

Given he's such a popular figure on YouTube and social media, can you imagine what an asset he'd be to the DP World Tour, which itself is such good entertainment on social media?

In an era where nothing seems to be off the table, I'd love to see Bryson DeChambeau sign up for a year on the DP World Tour and let his career take the course it will naturally take. That could be fun for everyone.

I agree Jonny, seeing Bryson playing a full DP World Tour schedule would be electric.

I am sorry to say, as it could spell the end of LIV Golf, but I would love to see DeChambeau return to the traditional ecosystem.

He is one of the world's best golfers and it would be a huge shame to see him continue to miss out on competing against the likes of Scheffler, McIlroy and the PGA Tour's best in what are his prime years.

The PGA Tour is the best golf tour in the world but fans are missing out by not getting to watch DeChambeau teeing it up week-in, week-out in its biggest events. We'd all love to see Bryson playing at Riviera, TPC Sawgrass and regularly being back on NBC and CBS in the biggest tournaments against the biggest names.

For whatever reason, he seems set on choosing a different path and you have to respect that. But I think Rolapp should at least try to have a conversation with him.

What are your views on the DP World Tour news and the futures of LIV, Rahm and DeChambeau? Join the conversation below...

As a 3-handicap golfer, I'm relatively competent in all areas of the game but playing with the likes of colleague Sam De'Ath, who has a handicap of +4, I realise the gulf in skill between myself and an elite player. Then there's the next chasm in technique from elite level amateur to PGA Tour player, making my golfing ability feel especially ordinary relatively speaking.

Driving has always been one of my weaker areas too. But what if I could swap out my shambolic tee shots and sub in one of the best drivers of our generation? How would my short game hold up and could I shoot under par around a ‘normal’ parkland course?

That’s what I wanted to find out, so I headed to Peterborough Milton Golf Club where on every hole I dropped my ball at the exact average distance where Rory McIlroy’s tee shot would typically finish, according to his 2026 PGA Tour statistics. The goal was to shoot under par, so record a score of 70 or better.

Based on the above stats and to make the experiment more accurate, I had to randomise where the tee shots would finish (McIlroy doesn’t know, I presume, when he’s going to miss a fairway) so I used a random spinning wheel selector on each tee with 14 possible results, eliminating one each time. I then used the Shot Scope GPS app to mark where I needed to drop the ball each time.

On par threes, I used his greens in regulation stats combined with his average proximity to the hole from three distance ranges to give myself a birdie putt based on McIlroy’s typical approach shot to the green. I also randomised the miss on the one par three green he typically misses on average out of four for the round.

The experience was mind blowing. I won’t giveaway the result (you can watch it in full on the video above) but to be playing from a typical McIlroy drive was a colossal advantage and highly unfamiliar territory on a course I've played many times.

On the first hole, a par five over water and out of bounds left that typically has the nerves jangling, I was hitting a 7-iron into the green for my second shot. Whilst I didn’t make the birdie, it was one of the easiest pars I’ve ever made on that hole.

I found myself reaching for a wedge on pretty much every approach shot on par fours and I was often left with just a 50- or 60-yard pitch at most. This sounds simple but for many amateur golfers, myself included, a mid-length pitch off a tight lie is not a shot I practice much or am particularly comfortable with. So while from this distance McIlroy would no doubt be knocking his ball stiff most of the time, I found myself with frustratingly long birdie putts.

Over the course of the round I only made four birdies, two of which came on par fives where I had a mid-iron for my second shot. Which goes to show, you don’t need to have a razor sharp short game to shoot under par IF you can drive the ball especially long.

While on a PGA Tour course McIlroy’s mid and long iron approach play would come under scrutiny, on a 'normal' course like this one he’d probably only need a driver and his wedges in the bag along with his putter!

So while I felt like I experienced a lot of wasted opportunities from close range, shooting under par never felt so easy. I was surprised at how much of an advantage McIlroy’s distance was when it came to scoring, and consequently how poor my wedge play was.

If anything, it has made me want to embark on an intense speed training program to get somewhere close to McIlroy’s distance output, as the benefits are there for all to see. Oh, and practice my short game.

I’m lucky. I play golf. It’s one of the most giving, rewarding and facilitating activities that human beings in today's world can participate in. My entire life has been shaped by golf.

In my early days as a junior, great role models helped me enjoy the sport and taught me how to behave, not only within our hallowed game but also as part of the wider community and the wider world.

Through my university years, golf was central to the friendships and the associations I made.

Those were the relationships that made my adult life. I was always aware that golf rather than the course I was studying was the main event during my tertiary education.

When I left university to get a job, it was golf that secured it. The fact I had a degree was incidental. That I had worked in a pro shop to earn my beer tokens and had learned to interact with club members and visitors was the clincher.

It took a few years toiling in horrid business in London for me to realise the pursuit of money alone was unsatisfactory. I missed something. Golf.

I changed tack, left the rat race, grabbed hold of my pen and began to write. I wanted to write about the things I loved, so I wrote about this incredible game.

Twenty (more actually, but 20 sounds fine) years later, I’m somehow still doing it, and I’d like to keep going.

I cannot sing golf’s praises highly enough. I would be lost without it, and I would like to think that I am not alone in feeling that.

These are just some things golf has taught me. They are not, by any means, all I have… but they were the first five that came to mind when I sat at my desk this morning.

1. The beauty of the game

Number one. It’s just such a perfect challenge.

Nothing compares to striking a drive right out of the middle or holing a testing eight-footer. In my whole life, I haven’t felt satisfaction that compares with achieving something quite small within golf.

Ooh… that sounds bad – apologies to Mrs Bisset… she probably won’t read this so don't worry too much.

But, day to day, I’ll get my tax return done. I’ll cut some trees down. I’ll build a wall in the garden… those things are satisfying, I guess, though they’re nothing in comparison to shooting level par on the Old Course…

I say that as I actually shot one-under around the Old Course last time out a couple of week ago – that to me was beautiful.

2. Tolerance

Imperfection. I have learned to accept it. There are many rounds in which you won’t perform to your capability, and those rounds are more frequent than the ones in which you do.

You must learn to enjoy golf on the level you’re playing at, and if it’s not quite top drawer, that’s ok. Maybe next time!

You must also tolerate people. Sometimes playing partners might not be quite your cup of tea or they may not behave in a way you would like them to. But they are also out to enjoy some extracurricular activity, and they deserve to enjoy it just like you. Let them.

3. Patience

Let it come. You’ll inevitably go through challenges in golf. You’ll suffer failures. But occasionally, something great will happen. Wait for those occurrences and you will appreciate them when they do.

How many rounds start poorly but finish with a flourish? How many games are saved by a birdie in the last few holes? For me, golf can be enjoyed at this amateur level through a single great drive, or one holed putt.

You can leave the course feeling buoyed by one piece of excellence. Golf is hard and we mere golfing mortals must take pleasure from the odd display of competence or rare slice of good fortune. Relish those moments.

4. Acceptance

I’ve written about this before, but you must accept that nobody cares about what you are up to on course.

When you get that unlucky bounce or the ludicrous lip-out, your playing partners, your golfing buddies, your father even… none of them give a hoot.

They are thinking about their own unlucky bounce or ludicrous lip-out. You might think your bad break is the most awful thing that has ever happened to you… they don’t. Remember that.

5. Gratitude

Finally – be thankful. You are a golfer! You have been fortunate enough to become involved in this terribly testing, frustrating yet ultimately fulfilling game.

Like me, I hope you will have made friends. You will have pushed yourself physically and mentally. You will have enjoyed success and endured failure.

Golf is ostensibly a sport but it’s also a way of life. Those who embrace gain tremendously.

I would encourage anyone to take up this fabulous game of ours. It has opened doors for me and has made my life better.

It would be fair to say the World Handicap System (WHS) has not been universally popular since its introduction to the UK in 2020.

I have written quite a bit on my concerns over the system and possible ways it might be improved. I also think there are significant potential positives with WHS in terms of inclusion and cohesion, if communication between different software works properly, that is...

From a personal point of view, though, my main gripe with WHS has been that it has made me care a good deal less about my handicap and, as a result, I have been less excited about playing regular, club-level competitive golf.

One of the reasons for that is that the handicap can change very quickly under WHS. I’m not so concerned now when mine goes up a little and I’m not so thrilled when it comes down a little.

This year my handicap started at 1.1. I played poorly for a while, and it went up as high as 3.1. I then had a few decent rounds, and it tumbled back down to 0.9.

It nearly tripled in the space of two months and then was reduced by more than two thirds in the next two months… That seems ridiculous. My handicap graph looks like the outline of the Himalaya.

The other reason I don’t enjoy club-level competition so much is that rogue scoring seems to remain a problem, despite all the efforts of the governing bodies.

I continue to witness it, and I continue to hear from people in person and online – tales of nett scores that are way beyond anything someone with a correct handicap could come close to matching, and match play contests where way too many shots have been handed out, with inevitable results.

Handicaps can be manipulated under WHS, there’s no doubt about it. Like anything in life, there will always be unscrupulous people who look to gain unfair advantage if they think they can get away with it.

The thing is, although unscrupulous people can manipulate their WHS handicap, either to pull off a little “banditry” or as a “vanity project,” they really shouldn’t get away with it.

Handicap secretaries, golf club managers and committees have the information through the WHS software to identify and sanction players who are clearly submitting bogus scores and manipulating their handicaps.

The question in the title of this article – “can and should handicap secretaries do more to spot bogus handicap submissions?” – is a loaded one…

The answer to it is this: a handicap secretary or committee can, and should, do all they can to spot bogus handicap submissions. If not, they aren't doing their job properly.

Obviously, in all occupations, some people are better at their job than others. Handicap secretaries, managers or committees can do a great deal to spot bogus handicaps, and they should use every tool available to do so. They should take appropriate action when they do spot fraudulence.

As a first step, handicap committees can conduct a “handicap review” of all the handicaps at the club or facility they are responsible for. This could be done annually or even more frequently.

The review identifies players who are consistently scoring above, or below, their ‘expected’ scoring range or where other abnormalities within a player’s scoring record exist. Committees can then make a recommended adjustment to the handicap index of each player identified, up to a maximum of two strokes.

Other reports that can be used to identify manipulation include:

– General play vs competition play scores. If a player consistently shoots significantly lower or higher scores in general play than they do in competition, that is a key indicator that someone might be trying to swindle the system.

– Deleted or withdrawn scoring intents. A report can be generated to see if players have submitted an intent to post a score but have then withdrawn that intent. That’s also an indicator of dishonest action if it happens more than once or twice.

– Players consistently not completing rounds. You can see if players are avoiding certain holes on a course. If they are routinely skipping a difficult section of the layout in general play, that could be a sign they are up to no good!

– Soft and hard caps. How often is a player hitting the soft or hard caps within WHS? If it’s a frequent occurrence, that would suggest scores are going in that are above expected on a regular basis.

You can also see from geo location and timings when a player has signed in to submit a card, when and where that score was entered, and who the attester was.

All this information can be used to identify suspicious activity within WHS and spot players submitting bogus scores to create bogus handicaps.

Committees have never had such a level of data at their disposal to deal with handicap cheats as they do now.

If a committee does feel there’s sufficient evidence that a player has been manipulating their handicap, there are various actions they can take.

If they feel it’s justified and necessary, they can freeze a player’s handicap at a particular point.

If it’s been ongoing and blatant, the committee can withdraw a handicap.

They can do that for a set time be it, a month, six months, a year… During that time, the player would not be able to submit scores for handicap purposes. That’s effectively a ban from competition golf.

There are other, less severe options.

A committee can stop certain people attesting scores. If a certain name is constantly appearing to attest questionable scores, they can be struck off as an accepted attester.

A committee can say they will only accept competition round scores from a certain player. Effectively, they can ban that player from entering general play scores.

With sufficient evidence, committees can turn to their union for support in sanctioning an individual for handicap manipulation.

Handicap secretaries and committees have all the data they need at their disposal to identify and sanction handicap cheats. They can, and should, be able to spot bogus handicap submissions.

Counterfeit golf equipment is not a new thing. In the mid 1990s, many of the major manufacturers moved their production of golf clubs and other equipment to China and East Asia. That gave other operations in those regions impetus to produce copies of the most popular models.

When it came to golf clubs, at first, they were largely copies – brands emerged that mimicked the shape and design of the household names. They weren’t exactly counterfeits, although they were often infringing or flying very close to infringing copyright.

By the end of the 90s, though, direct counterfeit golf clubs had started to appear. Western markets were seeing more counterfeit clubs with big brand names stamped on them.

Those early counterfeits were fairly easy to spot – the paintwork was shoddy, the weighting was off, the finish in general was substandard.

But, over the last 25 years, counterfeiters have become more skilled and fake equipment is far more difficult to spot.

A huge number (millions) of counterfeit golf clubs are now in circulation, together with an abundance of fake clothing and accessories. These are being sold on online trading platforms. With buyers seeking bargains, many are misled to purchase golf equipment that is not genuine.

Some will buy the counterfeit produce knowingly in the hope it will deliver similar levels of performance (it won’t.) But the majority are seeking the real deal.

Counterfeit clothing has been around for decades and there are plenty of fakes out there when it comes to golf apparel and accessories.

How do you tell the difference between genuine and counterfeit golf equipment?

Online purchases

If you’re buying online, then it can be difficult to tell what you’re going to be paying for. If you don’t get the product in your hand, you’re always accepting a level of risk.

Is the price too good to be true? If it’s way cheaper than you can find a particular product anywhere else, it probably is too good to be true.

How is the photography? Counterfeit equipment will often be photographed poorly to hide the subtle differences. Or the photography will simply be substandard.

With clubs - Are there shots of the grips, the ferules, the sole plate? If limited photography is available, that is a red flag.

Make comparison if you can. Find an image on the manufacturer’s website and look for details. Do the graphics match, are the lines consistent, is the grip/shaft the same if it’s a club you’re looking at. Are the laces the same on a pair of shoes? Is the logo in the right place on a shirt or jacket?

Or has the seller just used a generic image? Is the image clearly lifted from a manufacturer’s site. If so, that could be a concern if it’s being sold on a trading platform.

Where are the products coming from? If they’re going to ship directly from China for instance, that should cause suspicion. When it comes to clubs, although the manufacturers use Chinese and East Asian factories for components, assembly and shipment occurs in the USA.

With equipment in hand

Look closely at the quality of construction. Do the materials look good of an appropriate quality?

With clubs - Are the ferules on cleanly? Are the grips of good feel and quality? Are the shafts from a recognised manufacturer and do they look real? Do the clubs come with the right accessories? If there is a headcover, does it look genuine?

Look for the serial number – Firstly, does the club have one? Secondly, is it clear and does it look genuine?

Does the club feel right in the hands?

If it’s clothing or other equipment – How is the quality of the fabric and stitching? Are the logos real or stamped on? Again – try to find an image to make a comparison – does it look the part?

If you have a chance to try the equipment

When it comes to clubs, performance will tell you all you need to know. If you’re looking to buy a new driver and you get a chance to test it – if it doesn’t produce the right results, you probably won’t buy it, and if it doesn’t produce decent results when claiming to be a product from a major manufacturer then it could well be a fake.

Counterfeit clubs will not have gone through the rigorous testing processes of real kit – they will not have the right weighting, they won’t feel good, they won’t deliver optimised ball flight and distance. Testing equipment is the ultimate way to spot a counterfeit.

In May 2025, Matt Fitzpatrick fell to 85th in the world rankings, his lowest position for almost a decade.

That unwanted moment came just two months after he had parted ways with his caddie of six years, Billy Foster, and weeks after making another change, when he split with long-time coach Mike Walker.

Soon after, Fitzpatrick began working with Alabama-based coach Mark Blackburn, and it didn’t take long for glimmers of the form that had seen him win the 2022 US Open at The Country Club of Brookline to emerge.

They included top-10s at both the PGA Championship and The Open, while he finished the year in style, beating Rory McIlroy at the DP World Tour’s season closer, the DP World Tour Championship.

Since then, the Englishman has found even more momentum, winning three times on the PGA Tour in 2026 to take his career haul to five titles.

Speaking exclusively to Golf Monthly, Fitzpatrick admitted that changing his coach had marked a turning point.

He said: “It's obviously difficult. I felt like I knew where I'd been to in the game at that point, and you're always trying to get back to that, particularly when you feel it slipping away from you.

“So it was a difficult time and I didn't feel like I was achieving what I wanted to achieve. Unfortunately, circumstances led to a change in coach and that's obviously had a big difference in the technical aspect of my game – and the results have come with that.”

But what part of his game has Blackburn helped Fitzpatrick improve the most?

“The biggest thing for me is the irons,” he explained. “The irons have been, technically, just very, very different from my past and I feel very comfortable hitting the shots that I want to hit now. That's been the biggest difference – just having that control of start line and shape.

“And then distance control on top of that has enabled me to give myself more chances for birdie. When you pair that with some good putting, then good things tend to happen.”

The most eye-catching title for Fitzpatrick in 2026 came when he defeated World No.1 Scottie Scheffler in a playoff to win the RBC Heritage for the second time.

That victory - his second of the year after the Valspar Championship - was one Fitzpatrick didn’t see coming 12 months earlier.

He said: “I think if you'd said to me on the Monday of the RBC Heritage last year that I'd be back here winning that tournament a year later I would have probably questioned it, but by the end of the week I saw some sort of direction in where my swing was headed, so it gave me some much-needed confidence.”

A week later, Fitzpatrick’s third win in a little over a month came when he teamed up with his brother, Alex, to claim the Zurich Classic of New Orleans title, a feat that earned Alex his PGA Tour card.

Fitzpatrick admitted that it had been particularly satisfying, adding: “It's hard to put it into words. Yes, it's still hard to believe. I feel like I still need to sit down and watch it ten times to believe it, to really take it all in.

“But just everything about the way we did it - how we sort of ended up grinding on the back nine to get it over the line in the end - it was amazing.”

Alex has grabbed his PGA Tour opportunity with both hands, producing a string of strong performances and reaching the Tour Championship.

His form opens up the tantalizing possibility of the pair teaming up again at the 2027 Ryder Cup, which will be held at Adare Manor.

He said: “Yes, hopefully I can start next year in Ireland. I've got a younger brother who's pretty good, so that would be fun.”

Rather like his recent career resurgence, Fitzpatrick's Ryder Cup career has followed a similar trajectory, with struggles in his first two appearances followed by a key role in Europe's victories at Marco Simone and Bethpage Black.

On the latter occasion, Fitzpatrick won 2.5 points from his four matches as Europe won 15-13.

Reflecting on that success, which was the first time Team Europe had won on US soil since Medinah in 2012, he said: “I described it at the time like winning an away football match against your biggest rivals and that's still how it feels."

“Rory emphasised how important it was, how big a deal it was, and to go and do it in the style that we did was very, very special. It's a week that I'll never forget - some of the experiences I had bonding with the guys, as well as the way I feel like I played in some of those moments in those big matches.”

Even with success that many pros could only dream of, Fitzpatrick still has some targets in mind to achieve, one being another Major title to add to his US Open win four years ago.

He explained: “I'd love another Major. Obviously, everyone wants Majors because they're the pinnacle of the game. But in a dream world, if I could get at least one more that would be a really nice feeling, and then just more wins overall.

“World No.1 is obviously something that I would want to achieve, too. But the Majors are the things, for me, that separate the greats of the game from everyone else.”

Whether or not Fitzpatrick achieves that, he is confident that, whatever happens from here, he will one day be able to reflect on his career with plenty of satisfaction.

He said: “If I could hopefully pick up more than one it would be incredible, but if I don't, I'd still look back on my career very fondly because I achieved a lot of things that I could have only dreamed of really.

"Hopefully, I've still got a long way to go but that would be the goal.”

There is less than a year to go until the Ryder Cup is up for grabs once again and Team Europe will attempt to win this old prize for the third successive time.

Luke Donald remains the captain of the Europeans as they put stability and consistency into the foundations of what they hope will be another successful tilt.

Meanwhile, Jim Furyk has returned as US skipper for a second stint eight years after his first, aiming to learn lessons from a highly underwhelming performance from his side at Le Golf National in 2018.

The Americans are out to claim a first Ryder Cup on European soil since 1993 but haven't appeared that likely to break said run in recent tries. Only twice in that period have they fallen within three points of victory.

But could things be different this time? A sparkling Presidents Cup debut from Jackson Koivun has offered plenty of optimism over the next generation. Meanwhile, many of the stalwarts of this team are only growing stronger with more experience.

On the other side of the tee box, it appears as though Donald will have to make a few tweaks in 2027 where he has been able to rely on a near-identical line-up for each of the past two editions.

With Team Europe's qualification period already underway, Donald recently gathered a large group of prospective players in Ireland to make early assessments on who could strengthen the home side's grip on the cup.

So how might both teams look in a year's time? We've listed our predicted rosters for the 2027 Ryder Cup - see if you agree and let us know who you might change in the comments box below.

Most of Team Europe speaks for itself, with the majority of this roster remaining as it was for Bethpage and Marco Simone. I am mildly concerned about the current form of Tyrrell Hatton, but for the most part, this side sort of picks itself.

But with Sepp Straka suffering a drastic loss of form and the Hojgaard twins hardly screaming 'pick me!', I think there are two open spots as it stands.

If I had to take a punt on who I think is most likely to replace Straka and Hojgaard, I'd go for Marco Penge and Alex Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick is certainly in excellent form and has shown what an ideal partner he can be for big brother, Matt.

Penge undoubtedly has the talent but needs to sharpen back up through the majority of 2027. If he can do so, I'd say the hosts are very well positioned to make it three in a row.

On the US side, I'm forecasting far more changes. I've made four myself, but I wouldn't be surprised if there were even five or six changes from Bethpage.

I'd hope Bryson DeChambeau would be in the side, and I hope Justin Thomas and Patrick Reed are picked as well - if only for the entertainment value. Both are playing well though so I can see that being a realistic proposition, especially if Reed kicks on upon his return to the PGA Tour.

As for the changes, I can see Patrick Cantlay, Russell Henley, Ben Griffin and Harris English missing out in favor of Wyndham Clark, Chris Gotterup, Reed and Jackson Koivun.

I think those changes make Team USA an awful lot stronger and would give the visitors a sniff of a shock victory in Ireland.

This was a very interesting exercise and I have concluded that both sides are completely wide open.

Starting with the US, I have at least four locks already (Scheffler, Schauffele, Morikawa, Young) and I believe the next eight will be decided by how their 2027 seasons go.

I think Patrick Reed could make his way in automatically if he produces what we know he can - albeit he needs to get into the Signature Events asap.

Regarding DeChambeau, it's unclear where he'll be playing golf in 2027 and his poor Major performances this season mean I can't confidently say he'll be on the plane to Ireland.

With Europe, I have eight locks (McIlroy, Rahm, M Fitzpatrick, Aberg, MacIntyre, Fleetwood, Hovland and Hatton) and the next four spots could go to anyone.

Rai, Rose, A Fitzpatrick, Straka, N Hojgaard and Reitan all have big advantages as they're in the Signature Events next year. Lowry, crucially, isn't, but I believe he will be able to make the team based on experience and I just can't imagine him not being there in his home country.

I also think the legendary Justin Rose will do enough for one final European appearance, and back Rai and Alex Fitzpatrick to impress enough Stateside next year.

I had a top 18-20 for each team, and my Americans to just miss out were DeChambeau, Brennan, Bhatia, Spaun, Bridgeman, Gerard and Knapp. My closest Europeans were Straka, N Hojgaard, Reitan, Chacarra, Puig, Detry and Ballester.

After trying to pick my teams, I am genuinely excited to watch the Ryder Cup race unfold as it could go either way. There is also the prospect of some surprise players who can have break-out seasons. Bring on 2027!

In my opinion, at least 80% of Team Europe is already confirmed for 2027 and, from now until then, it will come down to the form book of next season to decide who else joins them.

Europe's pairings write themselves and have been the key reason for their success. The two new additions I'm making, though, are Aaron Rai and Kristoffer Reitan, who have enjoyed excellent seasons in 2026 and continue to get better.

Both are strong drivers of the golf ball, meaning they'd suit a foursomes format well. What's more, both have earned big wins this year, showcasing that they have what it takes to perform on the biggest stage.

I'll admit some notable names miss out, such as Sepp Straka, the Hojgaards and Alex Fitzpatrick, but based off the big victories and all-round game, I think Rai and Reitan will join the remaining 10 European players.

In reference to Team USA, I'll admit there are some interesting choices in this side and, personally, this was harder to decide on than the European team, given the mix of names and varying form they all possess.

The Presidents Cup threw up some quandaries and, based off his performance, I think Jackson Koivun has shown he's ready for the big stage and a Ryder Cup.

Patrick Reed will be returning to the PGA Tour soon, which will be a help for the American side given his Ryder Cup record, while the likes of Chris Gotterup and Cameron Young impressed at Medinah a few weeks ago.

Bryson DeChambeau is perhaps the rogue choice. On his day, he makes the team easily but, with the ongoing saga with LIV Golf, that will be a key part of his future plans. Either way, when you're on away soil, you need inspiration, and a fired up DeChambeau is the player to do just that.

Notable names to miss out include Russell Henley, who seems to struggle in the team events. JJ Spaun has been superb of late, but I think he'll need to earn an automatic spot to be picked, while the old guard of Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler might be involved at the Ryder Cup, albeit only in a vice captaincy role.

Let us know who you think will be in both Ryder Cup teams in the comments box below, or share your thoughts on whose teams you think will be the closest.

Attempting to break 90 for the first time has been a long and arduous journey... but it's also one that is showing no signs of ending any time soon.

I've tried everything at this point, from a winter golf rebuild packed with fitness exercises to boost my clubhead speed to conducting putting grip experiments to see which method is best for my game, but no luck.

So, in an attempt to end the golf season on a high, I reached out to five of my colleagues at Golf Monthly who have each achieved this milestone (a number of times, in most cases).

A consistent theme emerged from their tips and it left me wondering why I didn't call on them sooner to help me in my quest. Below, I share their best advice for how to break 90 for the first time...

I think the key to breaking 90 for the first time is simply to know your limits and stick to them.

Too many players I see at that level take on shots that they feel like they should because it is what 'good players' would do, fail in the execution and scores spiral.

There is no shame in laying up short of a forced carry if it would take your Sunday best to make it, or chipping sideways round a bunker rather than trying the mega flop!

Play totally within your capabilities and not only will you score lower, you'll be much less stressed! Good luck.

My tip for breaking 90 for the first time involves limiting the big numbers, and the easiest way to do that is by playing safe whenever possible.

I like to think of an 'out-of-10' system, where if you would only be able to pull a shot off five or six times out of 10 it isn't worth it.

If you're offline and can get it over some trees four times out of 10 but can chip it out safely to the fairway 10/10, go for the safer option. To break 90, you can afford a few double-bogeys, but triples and worse are where the numbers really add up.

As a 16-handicapper, this is 100% my forte. I would strongly advise, through painful first-hand experience, that you should not count your score at any stage.

Take it one shot at a time and add the shots up in the end. You'll get there in the end.

The other hugely impactful piece of advice I would give is to take your medicine. Every. Single. Time.

Clip out of the trees and hit the centre of the green. It's not sexy but it's incredibly effective.

You hear this kind of advice all the time. It's a cliché because it's true! I'm now breaking 90 most of the time and my sights are set on doing the same with 80.

I know it sounds boring and unglamorous, but the way to break 90 is to make better decisions on the golf course. Chipping out instead of going for the hero shot only twice per round could make all the difference.

When you're trying to break 90, bogeys are absolutely your friend. You can even afford to slip in a couple of double-bogeys. But if you start racking up triples and above, you're in trouble.

For the record, I'm not suggesting you always chip out sideways if you're in trouble. If there's a sizeable gap and you're confident you have the shot in your locker, then go for it. If you're confident, you'll probably pull it off.

On the other hand, if you're standing over the ball and you're thinking 'I'm not sure about this' or have any indecision whatsoever, take your medicine. How you feel is instructive.

Golf is extremely psychological, and doubt almost always leads to poor execution. You know this, so have some conviction and commit to hitting the right shot at the right time.

I would say spend as much time on the practice green before a round as you can. Swing changes are a long-term thing, but putting and chipping can really improve if you take the time to get used to the greens and work on your touch.

If you can cut out the three putts and get it up and down more often then you're halfway there.

When I first considered this topic, the thing that popped immediately into my head was, “a hip flask, obviously!” That says more about me than the requirements of the average golfer, I guess.

I do think it’s sometimes useful to have a hip flask in the bag, for extreme moments of on-course celebration or desolation, but it’s not appropriate to suggest it’s an item “every” golfer need in their bag. Juniors, for instance, probably ought not to have one!

So, it’s an early one to include in the 'items golfers don’t need in their bag' section. Moving on to the essentials…

The Basics

Obviously, you can’t play golf without a golf club and a ball, so you definitely need at least one of each in the bag.

But let’s say that’s probably not quite enough. Golfers need a selection of clubs to help them navigate a course effectively from tee to green.

You might not opt to take the full allowance of 14 clubs. Some prefer to play with a half set (particularly if they’ve chosen to carry their bag.)

But, on most outings, you might as well start the round with a selection of clubs that will give you the best chance to score well.

So, a driver and a fairway club, a hybrid or long iron, a set of irons from 4 or 5 to 9-iron, a selection of wedges and a putter, or variation on that...

Then, you should take enough balls to see you through the 18, or more, or fewer holes you’re planning to play on your outing. You don’t need to take two dozen (unless you’re playing Carnoustie in a 40mph wind) but you need enough so you don’t run out!

That’s really it for the absolute basics – you need clubs and balls to play golf.

The Nuts and Bolts

There are certain items that hold your golf game together and these can make all the difference to your enjoyment of the sport.

Most people (sensibly) choose to play from a tee peg when they start a hole. So, it’s sensible to have some of those in your bag. There are plenty of options to choose from – the classic white wooden tee peg through to the plastic castellated options that give you different heights depending on what club you have selected. You need 10-20 tees in your bag.

On the greens, you will need a ball marker of some type (a coin will do) and a pitch mark repairer to care for the course.

A towel for cleaning clubs and ball can really improve your play, allowing you to remove excess dirt that might affect the quality of your strike.

You should have a couple of pencils for marking score cards and a marker pen for marking your ball.

Not all players choose to wear a glove, but most find that it helps with grip. Leather gloves are my favourite in decent weather and, for me – a rain glove is an essential. They provide grip in even the wettest weather and are a real “game changer.”

Rain gear is crucial if the weather looks dodgy. An umbrella and lightweight rain suit can help you to keep playing in challenging conditions.

Technology now means you can take some of the uncertainty out of golf. A distance measuring device DMD (either a laser rangefinder or GPS) will give you crucial information on yardage, so you can choose what club to hit.

If you’re out on course for four hours or more, you need sustenance. You should take some liquid and some food to keep you going.

The Extras

Conditions can change quickly on the course (certainly if you’re playing in the UK) … It’s good to be prepared. You should have a peaked cap and sun block packed for when the weather is good.

If the weather looks like it could turn, pack more layers to keep warm, also a beanie/bobble hat, a buff and some mittens can save your day. For extra comfort on colder days, pack some handwarmers so you don’t lose the feeling in your fingers.

Your distance measuring device is a key item – make sure you have a back-up battery, so it doesn’t let you down mid-round.

Many modern drivers and fairways have adjustability functions. Although you can’t alter them during a competitive round, you can fix them if the fitting becomes loose. It’s sensible to have a tool to do so.

Something for cleaning your grooves is a good idea. Some will take a brush, others might even take a special, sharpening tool for getting right in and removing all the dirt.

There are many other gadgets and gizmos on the market that you might consider adding to the bag but those above are what I think are the essentials.

What you don’t need

It is, of course, personal preference when it comes to filling your golf bag with accessories and ancillary equipment and who am I to judge what you take out? I will a little though…

Here are a few items I would never have in (or on, or around) my bag – Iron covers are wrong and can only lead to poor golf. Rubber tees tied together with string are not a favourite of mine. A manual score counter that clicks through as you go doesn’t look great. One of those squidgy ball cleaner things is rather naff.

Other things you don’t need – too many golf balls (as mentioned before.) Lugging around two dozen scabby old balls is a waste of time.

You don’t need thermal gear in mid-summer. What you also don’t want in mid-summer is old chocolate bars or bananas melting and rotting in your golf bag pocket.

Carrying old ball packets, empty containers or any golf card or course planners from courses you’ve previously visited is a waste of valuable space.

Basically – keep your bag organised. Think about what you need for the round or day ahead. Streamline where possible and carry the items that will help you play your best and enjoy your outing to the fullest.

The 17-13 scoreline in the 2026 Presidents Cup only begins to tell the story of what went down at Medinah Country Club last week.

Although the United States ultimately claimed an 11th consecutive victory in the event, Brandt Snedeker's team were made to work extremely hard for it.

The International team recovered from a 3-2 deficit in the opening session to build a three-point advantage with just singles Sunday to go.

And while their play in the team formats was exemplary at times, Geoff Ogilvy's charges were not able to sustain their form for as long as necessary and were swept aside in a historic final session.

In amongst the cold, hard points totals of each player were some fantastic displays and a largely entertaining spectacle on the course but yet more disappointing crowd behavior.

So with the dust having settled on the 15th Presidents Cup, some of the Golf Monthly team have shared their key takeaways on what we saw. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments box below as well.

I have plenty of takeaways from the 2026 Presidents Cup, from the excellence of Jackson Koivun to how impressive Tom and Si Woo Kim were in carrying an inspired International Team over the first three days.

But the first of my two biggest takeaways is that the Internationals might have just done enough to end calls for the Presidents Cup to change.

Yes, adding women or even Europeans might make things closer or more entertaining, but as a standalone product it was an enthralling watch all week.

Add Joaquin Niemann, Cameron Smith and Lucas Herbert to that side and they might have got over the line. Next time out in 2028 at Kingston Heath, the Internationals might have their best ever chance to win a second Presidents Cup.

My second main takeaway is sadness at where US crowds have now got to. Almost every shot of the Internationals was met with 'get in the water!' or 'get in the bunker!'.

It was a toxic environment for the away team to play in and it was no surprise to see what happened to Nico Echavarria. Scheffler is right that there is "no place" for that kind of behavior in the game, but I struggle to see it changing.

Golf is a respectful and honorable sport but we have lost the crowd, in American team events at least. I really hope the home fans behave at Adare Manor next year.

My key takeaway was that I felt a US win was inevitable, even with the three-point deficit heading into the singles. Brandt Snedeker's men had certainly underperformed in the team-golf formats and going alone is what they do best.

Plus, the Internationals had performed above expectations through the opening three days so maintaining it felt like a tough ask - especially once the US came out so hot on Sunday.

On a similar note, while the event as a whole was pretty close and entertaining enough, I couldn't help but feel the current eligibility rules and format will lead to almost exclusively US wins unless something changes.

Even if Joaquin Niemann and co. were allowed in, I'm not sure the level of uncertainty over the winner is anywhere near as high as it needs to be.

With that in mind, I had an idea for a significant (albeit unlikely) change I'd love to see at the Presidents Cup. Basically, it's the US Team vs the International team, but the latter is allowed to include Europeans.

But instead of effectively making it a second Ryder Cup, I'd limit the number of European picks to six out of the 12 so there is still a fair representation for worldwide PGA Tour members.

Again, it's extremely unlikely to happen, but how cool would it be for the International line-up to be: Rory McIlroy, Matt Fitzpatrick, Tommy Fleetwood, Viktor Hovland, Si Woo Kim, Jon Rahm, Ludvig Aberg, Ryan Fox, Hideki Matsuyama, Min Woo Lee, Tom Kim and Joaquin Niemann?

Overall, I think the Presidents Cup was a good event to watch as a neutral but, in terms of my takeaways, the US team have some serious work to do ahead of the Ryder Cup next year.

My first point is that a US win is the best outcome for Team Europe. Going into the singles, the US side were staring down the barrel but, with a comeback (which I and many others expected), everything now seems all fine.

What we forget is that the win came against an International team which was missing the likes of Joaquin Niemann, Lucas Herbert and Cameron Smith, to name but a few.

If the US team had lost the Presidents Cup, chances are there would have been inquiries into what failed. Now though, with the win, it's like the plan worked perfectly and they carry on as usual.

Captain Snedeker said: "I'm tired of hearing how we can't play team golf," forgetting that they only won because of the singles...

Speaking of the captaincy, and moving to my second point, I believe that the US captain and vice-captains needs a refresh. For me, Snedeker didn't cover himself in glory this week and, heading to Adare Manor, Jim Furyk's record in 2018 won't fill the Americans with much confidence.

They are great players but, unlike other US captains of the past, and I don't mean this in a negative way, the current crop don't appear to be as charismatic...

Following on from Adare Manor, it'll be interesting to see what the US does with the captaincy.

I liked the idea of having a younger player at the helm, like Keegan Bradley, but I feel the next generation needs to start stepping up if they are to switch their form around in team competitions.

Tell us your Presidents Cup takeaways in the comments box below.

Every golfer knows that horrid, ringing sensation that runs through your hands when thinning a wedge on a frosty morning. Six months later, there’s the effortless distance that seems to come naturally in the middle of the summer on a boiling hot afternoon in July.

But how much of that is the golfer, and just how much distance are we gaining or losing based on the temperature of the golf ball?

To find out exactly how much you need to be clubbing up in the cooler months or potentialy taking less club in the summer, I took it upon myself to head over to the Golf Monthly Performance Lab using a Foresight Sports QuadMax launch monitor to crunch the numbers with hot, cold, and room-temperature golf balls.

The goal was to quantify exactly how extreme temperatures manipulate spin, launch and speed across three different ball constructions - the 2-piece Titleist TruFeel, the 3-piece Srixon Q-Star Tour, and the 4-piece Callaway Chrome Tour X. Each ball was tested with a pitching wedge, 7-iron and driver at three temperatures: Cold (5°C), Room Temperature (17°C), and Hot (50°C).

Where Should Your Short Game Thrive?

Being able to preempt spin and launch is paramount to being able to shoot lower scores, particularly with your scoring clubs (wedges and short irons). While there are many external factors to consider when playing onto a green - slope, firmness, and grass type, to name a few - believe it or not, the temperature of your golf ball could be playing a big part in how it performs too.

In order to keep the balls as cold as possible for the test, each dozen balls was left in the fridge overnight until they were about to be hit. The same was done with the golf balls left in the oven at 50°, taking out each dozen only when they were ready to be hit immediately.

In cold weather (5°C), the 4-piece Chrome Tour X generated 7,883 rpm of spin with a pitching wedge, however, when heated to a blistering 50°C, that same ball jumped to 9,983 rpm.

A nearly 2,000 rpm difference is absolutely huge and could easily be the difference between having your ball dancing around the pin or landing and scuttling towards the back edge, leaving you with a troublesome two-putt.

The 2-piece Tru Feel experienced an even more drastic transformation. At 5°C, it produced just 4,466 RPM, but at 50°C, it nearly doubled to 8,791 RPM. While it’s more than likely golfers will face softer conditions when playing in cooler temperatures, this kind of spin differential is something that simply cannot be ignored.

Not only will you see a huge difference in how the ball reacts on the green, but I also noticed changes in its flight and launch when conducting this experiment.

The cold temperature will naturally harden the ball's cover and core, limiting the friction and deformation of the ball through impact required to generate backspin. Conversely, in the heat of summer, the ball cover will likely soften, allowing the grooves to grip better.

Not only does spin climb with the increase in temperature, but the launch angle actually flattens out (the Tru Feel's launch dropped from 30.5° in the cold to 26.5° in the heat). While 4° doesn’t sound like a lot, that’s a fairly big difference in ball flight and will make judging the ball flight and therefore distance fairly difficult.

The Mid-Iron Winter Distance Tax

Moving into the 7-Iron was where I really started to see just how much the temperature was affecting the carry distance of each ball.

At our room temperature baseline of 17°C, the premium Chrome Tour X carried a respectable 179.3 yards. When subjected to the 5°C cold test, carry distance plummeted to 170.2 yards, which is pretty much a club less for me, with my 8-iron yardage hovering around the 168-yard mark. This straight away backed up that feeling of needing to club up in the winter months here in the UK.

The 3-piece Q-Star Tour followed a similar trajectory of lacking distance when the balls were chilled at 5°. Dropping from 179.9 yards at room temperature down to 173.9 yards in the cold.

Interestingly, the 2-piece Tru Feel was the outlier here, actually maximizing its carry (180.7 yards) in the cold, compared to producing just under a yard less when tested at room temperature. This is likely due to the lower compression rating of this ball, resisting the extreme hardening that affects how multi-layer balls perform.

The old ‘club up in the winter ’ adage is something that I feel, for the most part, was proven correct during my experiment. I would put money on the fact that the majority of three-plus layer balls would react in a similar way to the Q-Star Tour and Chrome Tour X when faced with a 12° Celsius drop.

The next time you’re out on the course in the winter, make sure to give the ego a check, take a club more, and I guarantee you’ll start hitting more greens.

Unexpected Results From The Tee

Now this may be the part of the experiment that actually surprised me the most. When standing on the tee box in the summer, it feels like every bunker that’s typically out of reach is suddenly in play and that the ball travels forever. While we’ve already proven temperature affects how far a ball is going to travel, our test proves this is only true up to a certain point.

As expected, the cold weather killed driver carry. Much like with the irons, the ball is likely not compressing and exploding as designed, and crucial yards are left on the table.

The Q-Star Tour carried just 273.5 yards at 5°C, but jumped 10 yards to a more than respectable 283.5 yards at 17°C. However, when we baked the balls to 50°C for 2 hours, distance actually decreased with all three of our test subjects compared to when hit at room temperature.

The Chrome Tour X peaked at room temperature, delivering a massive 168.5 mph ball speed and 294.1 yards of carry. Yet, at 50°C, ball speed dropped to 165.6 mph, and carry fell to 287.1 yards - a loss of 7 yards was certainly not what I was expecting.

The Q-Star Tour (283.5 yards down to 279.6 yards) and TruFeel (282.0 yards down to 280.1 yards) both suffered the same fate when overheated, but why is this the case?

I can only assume it’s much like when the golf balls were chilled, and therefore the core and layers don’t perform as initially designed. However, this time around the golf ball's core is becoming too soft.

The powerful smash at impact with the face of the driver requires the ball to compress and rapidly rebound to generate maximum ball speed. At 50°C - a temperature easily reached inside a car during a summer afternoon- the core softens, failing to provide the deforming and explosive energy transfer needed to maximise distance.

Look After Your Balls

While all golf balls from the outside may look the same, there’s a reason manufacturers spend billions of dollars every year looking into layering, covers, and dimple patterns to make sure they perform year-round.

However, after this experiment, there’s no denying the golf ball reacts drastically differently depending on its temperature, and that’s something worth noting if you’re someone who enjoys testing themselves on the course in all conditions.

While ground conditions will have a big say on how far the ball is travelling from a total-distance standpoint, knowing roughly where your ball is going to land will have a big impact on how close your ball ends up to your intended target.

I think it’s safe to say that if you want to optimize your scoring year-round, you must manage your golf ball's temperature. While this is admittedly impossible to keep on top of while actually on the course, hopefully the above data will at least help you prepare for making adjustments when selecting what club you will hit off the tee or into the green depending on what time of the year you’re playing and the conditions you face.

There are, however, a few things you can do to help get your round off to a more predictable start.

When gearing up for a game in the winter, remember to pack your mittens and a beanie hat, but most importantly, bring your golf balls inside overnight as opposed to leaving them in the garage. Starting your round with a room-temperature ball will preserve your driver distance and help maintain wedge spin when needed.

Vice Versa, in the heat of summer, stop storing your golf bag and balls in your car, where they have the opportunity to bake for hours, if not, days on end. Once again, bring your equipment inside to stop that bleed in ball speed and distance off the tee.

Keeping your golf balls at room temperature is where I believe you have the best chance at producing repeatable carry distances and predictable results when your ball hits the green, giving you the balance of distance, speed, and control.

“Golf can be a fickle game.” I should probably have this simple statement from Callaway UK’s master fitter Keith Simmonds tattooed somewhere that’s visible every time I step on to the first tee or hit the driving range.

Why did Keith need to remind me of this universal golfing truth? Earlier this summer I’d visited Callaway’s European Performance Centre in Surrey for a full bag fitting.

Afterwards, I was sure that once I’d swapped my mish-mash of best package set hand-me-downs and second hand clubs, I’d be pulling out my Quantum Max driver and hitting one straight down the middle of Lansdown Golf Club’s first fairway. Or impressing my coach Josh Mayo with the unerring accuracy of my new Opus SP Chrome wedges.

The reality was different. A fully cognisant 53-year old high-handicap golfer who struggles with consistency, hits one in five (if I’m being generous) off the centre and whose club face is usually as closed as your local Woolworths, isn’t suddenly going to start hitting like Jon Rahm because they’ve got a set of golf clubs built to their exact requirements. The golfer, not the gear, is the problem here!

So, I returned to Callaway to ask their experts for some advice on bedding in new clubs and what I (and other improving golfers) should really be expecting with a new setup. Unsurprisingly, guaranteed eagles are not mentioned.

Difficult days are part of golf, new clubs won’t change that

“Patience and learning is required as you become familiar with your new equipment,” explains Keith. "But don't be discouraged if everything doesn’t click immediately. Changing an entire set of clubs is a significant adjustment, particularly when you’re still developing your game. There will be good days and bad days.”

“Don't expect every shot in your early sessions to be perfect, but try to understand how the clubs feel, how they perform and how they can help your game. The most important thing is to persevere and enjoy the process.”

“Before heading out for a round, spend some time getting comfortable with each part of the bag at the driving range,” advises Keith. “It can be tempting to try everything at once,” he says. “My advice is to keep it simple.

If you’re having golf lessons, then your coach or club pro can be particularly valuable in the early stages of using new clubs. They already understand your swing and can help you recognise and develop the new sensations that come with your equipment.”

Start with your putter

I have to admit, my Odyssey Ai-Dual #7 putter wasn’t the first club I’d imagine that Keith would suggest that I should pull out of my bag. But a ‘gentle’ introduction to your new gear, rather than going full swing straightaway, actually makes a lot of sense.

“I think a new putter is a great place to start when you have a new set,” Keith explains. “Spend some time getting comfortable with the new weight, balance and feel. Simple drills can help reinforce what you learn during the fitting and build confidence with one of the most important clubs in the bag.”

With hindsight, this makes a lot of sense. I just wanted to go and hit the new irons and woods. That was only going to set me up for disappointment. While the new Odyssey wasn’t going to make me Sam Burns, I would most certainly not have seen as many hooks.

Sweat the short stuff

For my first session with the new clubs, the logical starting point to me felt like the new wedges, so at least I was almost right! During my fitting, Keith paid particular attention to my pitching technique and we settled on Opus SP 54° and 58° wedges, both with 10 degrees of bounce.

“During the fitting we saw an immediate improvement in both contact and distance control,” recalls Keith. “That’s something you can continue to build on in practice. Focus on tempo and strike first, then start to understand how changing your technique can alter the trajectory and distance you get from each wedge.”

Iron out deficiencies

Once warmed up with pitching, the next step, advises Keith, is to work through the irons. During the fitting, I’d tried both steel and graphite shafts of different lengths and weights and settled on standard length, 60 gram True Temper Denali Silver shafts and Quantum Max heads.

“Start small and build gradually. Begin with half shots, focusing on strike and tempo, before progressing into relaxed full swings, advises Keith. “The pitching wedge is a good starting point, gradually working up through the set towards the 6-iron.”

“Give yourself three or four balls with each club rather than trying to hit a large number of shots. The aim is to understand the ball flight and distance of each club, rather than simply hitting as many balls as possible.” I’d actually been hitting a lot of balls with each club before moving up the bag, so point noted.

“Longer irons may take a little more time, and that’s completely normal. One of the benefits we saw during your fitting was the improvement in strike and speed from the graphite shaft, so with some practice, I’d expect those gains to become increasingly familiar.”

Into the woods

One of my most consistent clubs in my old bag was the 5-wood, a pre-loved Callaway XR, and on Callaway’s Foresight simulator the most fun I had was trying new woods. So much so, that I’ve ended up with a 3,5 and 7 Quantum Max Fairway Wood setup, with irons ending at 6.

“You produced some really good ball flights with the Quantum Max 5 wood and 7 wood,” says Keith, “I’d encourage you to spend plenty of time with these on the range. You’ll need to get used to the higher launch and carry distances, particularly when hitting into greens. As your confidence grows, you’ll start to see how these clubs can give you options that you didn’t necessarily have with your longer irons.”

Slow down your driving

Like many golfers, the driver is the club I struggle the most with - custom fitted or not. That’s something Keith recognises and his advice is simple.”There’s no need to rush it. You actually showed a natural ability to strike your fairway woods well during the fitting, so work with your coach and gradually become more comfortable with the driver which will help you turn it into a much stronger part of your game. But it will take time!”

Play around on the course

“I’d recommend playing a few social rounds before taking them into a competitive environment,” says Keith. In my case, competitive just means scoring rounds with my mates. I’m not using my high-handicap to help me win club competitions! Even though, what Keith says about ‘competition’ rings true.

“When you’re playing competitively, your focus naturally shifts towards scoring, which can make it harder to experiment and learn how your new clubs behave.”

“Casual golf gives you the freedom to try different shots and learn what works for you. For example, spend some time understanding how your new woods fly into greens from the fairway, and then experiment with them from the tee on a par three.”

“I’d also suggest experimenting with them from both the fairway and the tee. Try the 5-wood and 7-wood on a par three and see how the different trajectories and distances compare with shots from the fairway.”

Trey Niven's Tips

What's In My Bag

Since speaking to Keith and Trey I have spent more time on the range, had a couple more coaching sessions with Josh Mayo and, of course, played some actual rounds of golf and, I’ve got to say, things are starting to click with my clubs. Curiously, I think the new clubs are also starting to change my attitude to the game.

Firstly, from the driver through to the pitching wedge the Quantum Max set, with their standard length graphite TT Denali shafts – 50 gram Frost SLV for the driver, 60 gram for the woods, and 60 gram 26 Silver for the irons, have a consistent swing feel. Something that my previous mix of three brands and shaft types certainly didn’t.

Clearly, I am not qualified to really comment on how golf clubs perform, but the Callaway’s have a pleasing weight to them which, even if my swing doesn’t yet do them justice, does provide me with a lot more confidence and, for me, consistency.

When I had my fitting with Keith, we made the decision to top out at a 6 iron, and add a 7-wood. That’s not a decision I regret – it is quickly becoming one of my go to clubs and I’m finding it really versatile. At some point, I’m sure I’ll be removing the old 5 hybrid from my bag.

As Keith said, mastering the driver is an art in itself. Luckily, I’m finding that the 3-wood is serving me well from the tee. There’s context here of course, they aren’t all straight and long, but I’ve seen a marked improvement in my ability to get my first shot away safely.

I’m also a big fan of the Golf Pride MCC Grey +4 grips,with two fitting tapes, we settled on. I have to admit, before the fitting I hadn’t given the grips on my clubs much thought. “The grip influences everything from how you position the clubface to how you release the club through impact,” explains Keith. “More importantly, having that same familiar feel throughout the set will help you become comfortable with the new clubs more quickly.” He’s not wrong, and if I do use the hybrid the standard grip feels all wrong.

Of all the new clubs, and despite Keith’s advice, the Odyssey Ai-Dual #7 putter is the one I’ve actually spent less time practicing with than I should. It’s not a technical analysis, but it does have a far more solid feel than the two putters I’d used before, with a lovely weight as I swing. It’s yet to stop me recording too many three+ putts, but it isn’t the tools!

That said, last week I recorded my best ever score over 18-holes. Coincidence?

Over the last couple of months we’ve seen high profile Temporary Immovable Obstruction (TIO) rulings at the top of the men’s and women’s games. The first came during the final round of the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale, the second at Bernardus during the Solheim Cup. Both created more than a rumble of disquiet on social media, so now the dust has settled, I thought it was worth delving into.

Scottie Scheffler needed a strong finish to stand a chance of winning the Open. He went for the 17th green in the final round in two but tugged his approach shot. It missed the greenside grandstand to the left and crossed into a TIO area. Even though his original ball was never found, he was entitled to a free drop from the point at which it crossed. Scottie being Scottie, he took the drop, pitched onto the green and made the birdie putt to keep his chances alive. For the absolute avoidance of doubt, Scheffler did nothing wrong here.

The second incident came at the Solheim Cup in September. During the foursomes matches on the first day, the European pairing of Nanna Koerstz Madsen and Celine Boutier pushed their drive to the right on the 16th. The ball finished in a penalty area but to the right of a stream.

Boutier's path out of this area was blocked by a temporary bridge and as such, she was given a free drop to the side (but still in the penalty area). After the ball rolled into the stream twice upon dropping, she was allowed to place her ball.

Over the last few years, the biggest events in golf have grown beyond all comprehension and so too has the infrastructure. With this comes greater rules-related complexity as these vast, temporary structures loom large. What happens when a player hits a ball into one of these areas is not an easy problem to fix.

That's why I have sympathy with the officials tasked with marking out the course, and yet there was something about these incidents that made me feel uneasy. Notably that the pros are offered a significant advantage over regular golfers. Seeing a top pro given such favourable relief, I'm not sure is a good look for the game.

There's another problem too. As we all know, one of the greatest challenges of the game (for all levels of player) is overcoming the mental test it poses. A tight fairway with trouble on both sides is intimidating. If you knew you could miss on one side and get a favourable drop, that same shot suddenly becomes easier.

The problem is that with such generous TIO areas, there's a danger of ‘de-jeopardising' tournament golf. As a fan, I want to see dramatic highs and lows. With the pros performing at such an elite level, it can all too often feel as if there is no danger to catch out the best players.

Do the ruling bodies need to take a tougher approach? Could these spots be marked out as out of bounds or penalty areas? Honestly, I'm not sure where my own mind is on this one, so please tell me what you think in the comments box below.

Ben Griffin is firmly established as one of the world’s best golfers, but his route to the top has given him first-hand experience of the financial challenges facing many pros.

After a promising start to his professional career, Griffin struggled to establish himself on the PGA Tour Canada, the PGA Tour Latinoamerica and the Korn Ferry Tour.

In 2021, he decided to walk away from the game to become a loan officer for a mortgage group, and at the time, he had accumulated significant credit card debt.

He returned to the game later that year, and the rest is history, with Griffin winning three times on the PGA Tour and playing for the US in the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black.

However, speaking exclusively to Golf Monthly, he explained how costs can soon accumulate for players attempting to work their way through the system.

“I was honestly $20,000 in debt by the time I returned to the Korn Ferry Tour,” revealed Griffin.

At the 2025 BMW Championship, Griffin went into more detail about the period before he decided to quit, explaining that he was playing on mini tours and revealing: “I wasn't making any money. I had to step away and try something new just to pay rent.”

Griffin told Golf Monthly just how quickly those costs can leave players in significant debt.

He said: “On the mini tours you're betting on yourself. That's what you have to do in golf, unlike other sports.

“Just trying to qualify for the Korn Ferry Tour, you have to pay $5,000 or more in entry fees, travel costs are high, a lot of guys couch surf when they can, and on top of that you have to pay for practice rounds and cart fees, rental cars and meals.

“You can get to $17,000 of debt in a month easily. It's very common on the mini tours.”

Nowadays, those concerns are a thing of the past for Griffin, who has more than $22m in PGA Tour career earnings, but he still reflects on the period when he walked away from the game entirely.

Griffin, who got through qualifying to return to the Korn Ferry Tour in 2022, added: “In golf, things can change fast. You have to back yourself early on, and coming out of college I don't necessarily think I had the belief.”

Helping him establish himself financially was sponsor Doug Sieg, who is the managing partner and CEO of private investment management company Lord Abbett.

“When I decided to go back on tour, I had the support of Doug Sieg and Lord Abbett financially, to get rid of that debt.

“Doug is the reason I was able to get rid of those financial pressures and focus on playing, and to think about winning every time I teed it up. I play my best golf when I am freed up and loose and having fun, and most people say the same.”

Having experienced financial pressure, Griffin believes removing some of them could also help players perform at their best.

He explained: “Some people say that playing under pressure is a privilege, but how about we eliminate some of those pressures?

"That is something I work on mentally. I am going to pull off some pretty good shots if those pressures are not there, and if golf feels like it did when I was a kid.

"It has been a crazy journey and I have seen it all, and that has allowed me to have the perspective that I do today.”

In 2025, Griffin appeared to play without any of that pressure, claiming all three of his PGA Tour titles in a spell of a little over six months, while also winning a point for the US in the Ryder Cup.

Despite that remarkable breakthrough season, though, Griffin is refusing to get carried away.

“I am trying to let things happen, and want to continue to build,” he said.

“It's not like I am even sitting back and thinking about how cool it was last year; I am not thinking about it as a year, but I am looking at my career as a whole journey, and I am only just getting started. And I am going to continue to try to win."

A title hasn't come Griffin's way in 2026, while he also missed out on a place in the US Presidents Cup team, but he is realistic about the ups and downs that come as a professional golfer.

“There are so many peaks and valleys in this game and you don't know when they're going to come," he said. "I'd say I am really good at trusting the process and not letting the down times get to me too much.

"I'll just continue to get more and more experience and I know that my game can compete against the best. There's no reason why I can't do it in the Majors. It's just a matter of keeping on getting the reps in.”

Given where Griffin's journey began, few would bet against him reaching another peak before too long.

Ben Griffin PGA Tour Career Earnings

It would not be unfair to say the Presidents Cup has long been an event which splits opinion among golf fans around the world.

Some really enjoy the biennial team competition between the US Team and the International Team while others, to be frank, couldn't care less.

A considerable part of the reason for the general apathy in certain quarters is the lack of competitiveness.

Around a third of the contests so far have ended in a close scoreline, but ultimately the US side has almost always reigned supreme anyway and that has proved to be a turn-off for many.

Then there's the far more recent problem relating to team selection - certainly on the Internationals' side of the tee box.

Since the Presidents Cup is owned, controlled and operated by the PGA Tour, LIV golfers have been unavailable in each of the last three (including this one).

2026 International Team captain Geoff Ogilvy recently suggested a little more separation between the two sides involved in terms of their organization might benefit an event which has continued to grow in stature since its arrival in 1994.

Certainly a stronger level of competition would help the Presidents Cup, but if we're making changes, why stop there? What else could be tweaked? Let us know in the comments box below.

Meanwhile, four of the Golf Monthly team have shared their thoughts below ahead of this year's contest at Medinah Country Club.

There's a lot that could change about the Presidents Cup, like adding women or even Europeans, but that would completely change the identity of a match that gets a lot of criticism but does always make for entertainment.

In truth, I actually really like the Presidents Cup and it's clear the players do too. The PGA Tour is probably very happy with it, and until that changes it will stay exactly as it is.

I would perhaps like to see it be exclusively played internationally, but that does impact the integrity of the tournament as the Internationals will then always have a home advantage - that's fine as things stand but might not be in the coming years when the team gets stronger.

The Internationals were gutted when LIV fractured the sport and with LIV 2.0 maybe or maybe not going ahead, I can see the likes of Joaquin Niemann and other international stars returning to the PGA Tour ecosystem.

If or when that happens, the Presidents Cup will immediately become a better match, and that could be as soon as the next edition Down Under at Kingston Heath.

I think let's just leave it as it is and we will continue to be entertained as the likes of Niemann, Smith, Ancer, Herbert and co. make their way back into the fray.

The 2019 PC at Royal Melbourne was fantastic, and it hasn't been the same since following LIV's emergence. Now the rival tour is no longer a big threat, the Presidents Cup should be able to return to a tighter contest.

To be honest, I'd be tempted to make several changes to the Presidents Cup. Firstly, I'd trim it to three days and follow the Ryder Cup style of four matches in each session over the first two days before all 12 players go out on Sunday in the singles.

It's a format that also works so well in the Solheim Cup and I don't think what the Presidents Cup currently has is different or compelling enough to retain it.

Having said that, I know the PGA Tour wouldn't change the format and schedule of the week because they reportedly see around 200,000 people through the gates and they're not going to turn their noses up at all that extra cash, are they? Still, I can dream.

Similar to Geoff Ogilvy's point (mentioned above), I'd also love for the International Team to go out on their own, so to speak, and really run the process how they'd like.

If they want LIV golfers, so be it. The competition of what is still a game should be more important than politics. To me, it feels slightly farcical that the PGA Tour is effectively capping the limits and possibilities of the US Team's opposition.

Lastly, I wouldn't mind reducing the number of players on each team to 10 - but only if the contest continues to be governed by the PGA Tour and the Presidents Cup is reduced to three days of competition.

The International Team is currently fighting an uphill battle without some of its best players and therefore I wonder if a tighter roster might actually lead to a closer scoreline?

The obvious answer is to make it a mixed event or get rid of it entirely, but those ideas have been discussed at length, so I'll go for something else.

I think if it were to be shortened to two days, it might capture more interest around the world. The Ryder Cup and Solheim Cup are three days, but for some reason the Presidents Cup is contested over four days.

I'd mirror the format of the Walker Cup and cut it back to a Saturday and Sunday contest. That way there's drama right from the get go and every match is consequential.

Unlike the Walker Cup, I wouldn't have singles on both days, though. I'd have a four-ball and foursomes session on Saturday, then a full slate of singles on Sunday.

I also think reducing the number of matches makes an International victory more likely (I'm saying more, not very!), and a more competitive contest would certainly benefit the event.

The Presidents Cup's identity crisis is nothing new and is particularly obvious this year courtesy of two seriously lob-sided teams in terms of quality.

I'm happy to be proved wrong, but I can't see this international team being overly competitive, and the long-standing American dominance has put on a hard ceiling on excitement levels heading into this week.

To save the event from becoming a predictable exhibition, if it isn't one already, the PGA Tour should transform it into a mixed-gender tournament.

Incorporating LPGA players would instantly restore competitive parity, as international women's golf features immense global talent, particularly across Asia and Oceania where seven of the world's top ten female players originate.

Beyond elevating on-course drama, this change offers women's golf something it severely needs and richly deserves - the same spotlight as the men.

The women's game deserves more eyeballs on it, but the men's game can't even take a week off during the Solheim Cup to allow for this to happen.

Not only would converting the Presidents Cup into a mixed event turns a lopsided men's tournament into a compelling, globally balanced, and potentially riveting matchplay spectacle, it gives female golf the attention it needs and deserves.

The discourse around the World Handicap System continues to take place at golf clubs all over the world on a daily basis. While tools like iGolf have allowed those with no fixed abode to submit general play scores, there’s a clear divide developing between nomads and members.

Many who pay a membership believe handicaps should only be forged during competition rounds, some don’t see the point in nomads having official indexes at all and others believe the current system is more open to manipulation than its predecessor.

However, cheating isn’t solely confined to the unattached ranks, and some efforts to manipulate are more flagrant and offensive than others – like the one below.

I’ve personally witnessed a member play a casual round with no handicap pressure, shoot a good score, decide to submit a scorecard as a result and sit in the bar for a couple of hours afterwards until it was accepted. I’m sure many others have too.

I’ve also seen plenty of golfers not holing out on every green during general play rounds. Many members and nomadic golfers have stories of dubious submissions, ‘impossible winning scores’, handicap inflation and more.

I was recently contacted by a golf club member, who shared details of his friend’s duplicity.

“I don’t think I'm the only person who is sick of the World Handicap System,” he said. “Not the system itself, which is probably fairer than the old system! But allowing individuals to manipulate their handicap however they like by adding cards which are often played from the comfort of their home.

“My friend was cut to 21.2, but he then put in a card at his and my home club (he lives close enough to the golf course for that to work).

"He was at work and there was no booking on the sheet! It is ridiculous. If they are allowing cards for general play, another member must surely sign as verification.

“I’m a 62-year-old trying hard to keep his handicap down at 10.2 when his friend cheats to put his handicap up.”

Naturally, I followed up and informed the reader that someone has to attest your score when you put in a general play card. He’d never done one – being firmly of the belief that handicaps should come from competition scores only – so was unaware of the process.

I explained he must have been sending his cards to someone else to sign off, meaning another person was in on it. Whether that person knew he was submitting cards from the comfort of his own home or not is another matter.

Not an isolated example

I’ll admit to having attested friends’ cards in the past when I wasn’t playing with them, because I know they’d never cheat. While I acknowledge this is wrong – and it’s not something I’ve done since being investigated by England Golf – it shows how the system can be manipulated if someone is determined to artificially inflate or lower their score.

“I’ve never done a general play score so I don’t know how it works, but I do know that while playing in a four-ball with me and two others, he put in a card without the knowledge of any of the group.

“He put a wrong score in on 18 and, more importantly, putts were being given. He always does stuff like this to increase his handicap.”

Such blatant cheating would surely lead many to stop playing with the person in question, but I assume the bond of friendship in this case is strong enough to preclude that from happening.

I presume the same reason is why he hasn’t been reported to the club and formally investigated. Either way, it’s shocking behaviour.

“We tell him he’s a cheat to his face, but it’s water off a duck’s back.”

While particularly egregious, I’m sure it’s not an isolated example. I’d be shocked if others who live close enough to a club to trigger a potential submission haven’t done the same thing.

Hopefully it’s a very small number of people, but this sort of behaviour does happen, especially in the summer. You’ve probably seen WhatApp messages from someone at your club that are accusatory in nature.

I subsequently took to X in search of more anecdotal evidence. I asked our followers this question: “Are you aware of anyone submitting a general play scorecard when they’re not on the golf course but are in the vicinity for the purposes of handicap manipulation (could live/work nearby)? Some 68% replied ‘no’, but a startling 32% said ‘yes’.

Cheating, banditry and sandbagging in golf is nothing new, but has the introduction of the World Handicap System made these practises easier? You’d struggle to argue it hasn’t.

I know it doesn’t look like it, but I’ve been a sports journalist for just about 27 years. And in that over-a-quarter of a century I have been lucky enough to get ‘fitted’ for a few different things with the aim of making me better at the sport I was writing about. This has included custom-moulded insoles for running shoes and fancy road bikes.

I’d even include undergoing strenuous, vomit inducing scientific tests to help create running and cycling training plans as a form of ‘fitting’. Oh, and there was the time I undertook a ‘scrawny to brawny’ body transformation for a men’s health magazine. (Got a spray tan from the wife of an ex-England cricketer…)

The thing is, I went into all of the above – apart, perhaps, from the spray tan – feeling very much within my comfort zone. I can’t say that I carried the same confidence heading into my first ever fitting for a set of golf clubs.

As I’ve mentioned in my articles on the golf lessons I’m currently taking with Golf Monthly Top 50 coach Josh Mayo, I am a relatively new ‘serious’ golfer. I’ve only had my (high) handicap for a year or so and I’m struggling to lower it thanks to my incredibly inconsistent game.

As a result, I arrived at Callaway’s European Performance Centre in Surrey very much not in my comfort zone – surely a golf club fitting really isn’t the kind of thing a golfer like me should bother with. I should really wait until my handicap is far more respectable or that I’ve earned the right to call myself a ‘proper golfer’.

The fitting session is carried out by Callaway’s master fitter Keith Simmonds – who has years of experience fitting golfers of all levels, and is a PGA Professional coach to boot – in a state-of-the-art simulator equipped with Foresight hardware and software that uses sensors on the Callaway clubs to deliver more information about my golf than I thought possible.

All of this gadgetry doesn’t calm my nerves. Every time I go near a sim I’m convinced that’ll I shank a ball into the display on the wall or, worse, the £20k or so launch monitor.

So, was I right to worry? In the first of a short series on my fitting experience with Callaway, here’s what I learned…

A fitting is (mainly) all about you

Keith starts the session by talking to me about my golf and taking a look through my bag which is a mishmash of two package sets, a Honma driver and some wedges handed down to me by other GM team members, and a second-hand Callaway 5-wood that I recently purchased to replace one that I, erm, accidentally snapped.

“Fitting isn't just about looking at numbers,” explains Keith. “I follow a specific order when I’m working with someone and the the player’s feedback is prioritised at the top. Your personal feedback — how a club looks, feels and even sounds to you — is often more important than the technical data. The data is important of course, so your feedback is followed by analysing ball flight and strike data. This maintains the fitting process hierachy of player-ball flight-strike."

You definitely don’t need to be a low-handicap golfer to get fitted

During our initial conversation I mention to Keith that I’m worried that I’m not yet good enough to warrant a fitting. Thankfully he doesn’t buy this. “There is a common misconception that fittings are only for elite players, " he says, "The perception is, 'Oh, I'm not good enough to get a fitting.' But everyone, regardless of skill level, can benefit from having equipment that fits their individual build and swing.”

Golf is supposed to be fun, and using clubs fitted to you can only increase your enjoyment

I also admit to Keith that, like many newer golfers, I can get incredibly frustrated – angry even – with my golf. “The clubs in your hand should make you enjoy the game first”, he tells me. “Hopefully, as we go through the fitting process it’ll help you understand your game better and that will then make frustrating moments on the course more manageable.” As Keith cleverly pointed out, if you’re in the game for the long run – it’s got me, I am – then a fitting is simply “a long term investment in enjoyment!”

You get the opportunity to experiment with different equipment builds…

I wasn’t being modest earlier when I said I was worried about defiling Callaway’s fitting studio. And things didn’t get off to a great start when Keith asked me to hit some balls with the ‘trusty’ 7-iron from my bag. Keith uses the seven as the ‘control’ club on which to base all of the irons, so I was convinced that my spraying it around was going to make his life very difficult!

Luckily Keith is a patient man, and eventually I calmed down and the Foresight equipment could record some base numbers which would allow Keith to compare my current club with different combinations of Callaway heads and shafts – there are drawers and drawers of the brand’s hardware to sample in the studio.

…And that experimentation is eye-opening

As I said at the start, my core irons are a genuine ‘mixed bag’ – a combination of steel shafted MacGregors and Cleveland irons with graphite shafts. I tell Keith that I feel more comfortable hitting the graphite clubs. “That makes sense - generally, much less shock is transmitted back through a graphite shaft and they can help performance if you have a lower swing speed.”

However, Keith then explains that just because a shaft is graphite, it doesn’t mean it’s the right graphite shaft for you. “One of the biggest influences on the weight of a golf club is the shaft,” he explains. “If a shaft is too light for you it can lead to you releasing the club too early which will have a negative impact on your ball strike.”

Using the data from my 7-iron, Keith suggested that we tried heavier shafts. At the same time – and this is another benefit of a fitting – Keith swapped between Quantum Max and Apex AI clubheads. Being able, in real time, to feel the differences between the different combinations, and confirm genuine improvements was impressive.

A fitting can boost your confidence (and your ball speed)

After the irons, we moved to the woods. I hit my pre-owned Callaway 5-wood – coincidentally, considering my location, the club I’m most confident with – and started to find my groove. As with the irons, Keith tried combinations of shaft weights with different Quantum Max heads and I’ve got to admit I fell a little bit in love with the kit I was trying. From 3-wood upwards the trace on the simulator was making me feel like peak Xander Schauffele. And the data was backing up my feelings.

“Wow, look at the numbers on the screen,” said Keith. “They’re pretty impressive – you’ve increased the ball speed by 10mph, a pro would be happy with that kind of improvement!” Not only that, Keith pointed to my swing path numbers. “You're only one or two degrees either side of a neutral swing path. That’s a really solid foundation. Once you’ve got your new clubs, you can stop worrying about the mechanics of the path and work with your coach on stabilising the club face alignment at impact.”

Fitting isn’t a coaching lesson

While Keith is an experienced PGA Pro and offered some very welcome words of wisdom, he was keen to point out that his role wasn’t to watch me swing and then pick my game apart. “It’s very much about trying to fit you as a person,” he explains. ‘The goal of a fitting is to match you with the equipment that works with your current, natural swing, not to fix your mechanics.”

You might walk away surprised with what ends up in your bag

It’s always good to end on a cliffhanger right? Once my new set of clubs arrive, I’ll explain more but the findings from my time in the main fitting studio with Keith mean I’ll be carrying a bag with a slightly non-traditional make up, with the potential for me to - at a later date - really mess with tradition. And I haven’t even mentioned what happened when I went next door for a putter fitting!

In golf, there are several topics discussed on the fairways and in clubhouses all over the world, like dress codes, the professional game and etiquette. But, based on my experiences and those of others in the Golf Monthly team, the World Handicap System would be at the top of the list.

While many believe the new system is an improvement on what came before – particularly nomadic golfers – others feel it’s ruined golf for low handicappers and it’s the only sport that rewards mediocrity.

At the moment, there does appear to be a growing divide between club golfers and nomadic players, something I’m concerned about. The WHS definitely feeds into that.

But should golfers put a card in every time they play? It’s a complicated debate without an easy answer.

The R&A encourages submissions as often as possible, even in general play rounds, but many members understandably don’t want the pressure of playing with a card all the time. There have also been claims and cases of players misusing the system - including one 'blatant sandbagger' who entered cards when they didn't even play.

Below, six members of the Golf Monthly team give their views on whether we should have to submit a score every round.

If you have an opinion, join the conversation by leaving a comment in the box below the article.

While I appreciate the arguments against, the goal of the World Handicap System is to make handicaps as fair, relevant, accurate and equitable as possible. Surely the best way to achieve this is for every golfer to submit a card every time they play? It’s certainly the viewpoint of the game’s governing bodies.

I think there’s a real contrast in mindset between club golfers and nomads. Members generally play more seriously during an official club competition and perhaps take a more relaxed approach during casual rounds.

But many nomads, many of whom don’t play as often as they’d like, want to put a card in every round as they don’t have the luxury of weekly competitions and don’t know when they’ll next be playing.

Putting in a general play card doesn’t mean you have to act as if you’re in an important competition – you can still have fun, take on shots you perhaps wouldn’t otherwise and play with a more relaxed mindset.

Often, golfers choose not to put in a card when they’re not playing well and do so when they are, but does this really reflect their true ability? Everyone has peaks and troughs. You can't manipulate a handicap if you’re putting in a card every round.

Simply put, club members can put in a card every round – like most nomadic golfers do – but nomads can’t play the number of rounds club golfers can.

I used to be on the ‘yes’ side, but after some five years with the World Handicap System I am afraid I have full handicap fatigue right now. I miss the old CONGU system in the UK.

I loved the ease of how it worked and the buffer zone in competition play was genuinely additive. It felt like everyone was on the same page and getting your handicap down had real prestige.

Course handicaps, slope rating and everything else that comes with the WHS, including how open to manipulation it is, have really put me off - I don’t think it’s fair that higher handicappers get an extra 2-4 shots in every round they play!

Anyway, I do not think a handicap card should be put in every time you play.

I play a lot of social golf, with four-ball match play and three-ball skins our go-to formats where we play gimmes, so handicap cards are not applicable.

Outside of competition golf, I play the game for fun, challenge and to socialise, so handing in a card every single time just isn’t feasible.

I would be happy to do it myself, but I know that my friends and regular playing partners wouldn’t want to, and I fully respect that.

In an ideal world, I would imagine the WHS works best when you put a card in every time, but that is not happening and I’m not sure it ever will.

No, I don’t think you should put a card in every time you play.

The reason why I is because my whole thought process, and concentration level, varies whether I’m playing a social round with my friends or an 18-hole medal where every shot matters.

If I’m with friends, I’ll often try the miracle shot that comes off once in every ten as there’s no jeopardy.

In a medal, chances are I’m pitching out and trying to get up-and-down… That’s the difference between making a par or a double bogey.

I can understand the theory behind putting every card in but, quite simply, I think a competitive round is going to be more reflective of your genuine handicap than an 18-hole bash with your friends.

I do think golfers should put in a card every time they play, as it's the fairest and most accurate way to see the true ability level of a player, but sometimes the card-entering rigmarole or distractions on the first tee can be a barrier in my experience.

If I arrive at the golf club and have a quick warm up, catch up with friends and pop into the pro shop, sometimes I totally forget to declare that I will be putting in a card.

It's only when I am walking off the first hole that I either wish I had (or I am glad I didn't), but by then it's too late.

I recently played with a group of players I didn't know, which was a pleasant experience despite meeting for the first time ever on the tee box, but in between the introductions and pleasantries, I didn't feel there was an appropriate time to say, 'Oh by the way, can I ask you, kind stranger, to attest my round for me’'.

Whether it's the process or my laid back pre-round approach, I don't tend to put in as many cards as I would like.

Yes, under the current system, I think you should. I do it because I like to know how my golf game is currently faring and I feel if you pick and choose the rounds then the number beside your name is effectively inaccurate.

As a result of submitting a card every time, my handicap is a thoroughly accurate representation of my playing ability - albeit in a non-competitive setting - and has little to no effect on my thought process while I'm on the golf course.

Gone are the days where you think 'I have to play well because this round counts.' They all count and I've learned to deal with that.

But, regarding the fact that all of my rounds are effectively 'casual,' it's something I've thought about for a while.

As someone who has no real interest in playing competitively, I wonder whether it would be viable to have a purely competitive handicap and a general version (which could also include competition rounds).

Your competitive handicap would have to begin as your casual number, but with time they could be separated. However, for the time being, I think it would be best if everyone put a card in every time (or as often as you play a full round of stroke play) and stopped worrying about their handicap so much. Just play golf and enjoy it!

I don't think golfers should put a card in every time they play, in fact I believe we should go back to the old rules of a card can only be submitted if it's in a competition round because that is when you're actually playing under some pressure.

In my opinion, general play cards should not be allowed because there's plenty of talk about forging handicaps, whether that's to get low enough to enter tournaments or to go up so you win events the next time you play them.

I just don't believe the feeling of competition golf can be replicated in a general play round even if it's with your mates and you have announced that you're putting a score in prior to teeing off.

I also think it just takes the fun out of the game, having to focus and put pressure on yourself every time you go out. Golf is first and foremost a game we play for enjoyment and, unless you're playing for a living, that's how it should be, with the added element of a competition every now and then.

Whether you want to just play against your mates or just go out onto the course and practice, then that's up to you so I do not think you should have to put a card in every time you play golf.

I don’t think you should feel the pressure to put a card in every time you play, especially if, like me, it’s only once a week if that.

It’s not a case of protecting my handicap, if anything I should probably put more cards in to get a more realistic handicap, and that means going up!

It’s my leisure time, and often I just want to go out and play a four-ball better-ball, enjoy my golf and not think about an individual stableford or medal round.

What do you think? Join the conversation below.

Wouldn’t it be nice if we had a professional caddie to look after us whenever we played - to clean our clubs, keep us topped up with food and drink, and to give us an exact yardage prior to every shot?

Most of the time, however, we’re out there on our own. Caddies, if we ever have one, are a real treat. That said, you can learn a thing or two from experienced loopers without actually having one on your bag.

Caddies are the closest people to pro golfers and they get to see inside their minds, help plot their strategies and hear those crisp, flush strikes from inside the ropes. They're lucky enough to witness 300 yard drives, fizzed long irons, precise wedges, delicate chip shots and more birdies than they could likely ever recall.

Keen to understand a little more about how they operate on the course and how they can help us weekend warriors, we asked Top 50 Coach Alex Elliott, who caddied on the DP World Tour for nearly six years, what club golfers can learn from caddies.

His superb advice is invaluable and will surely help shave a few shots off of your scorecard - without the need for any drastic swing changes or expensive new equipment purchases...

1. Know your misses

I wouldn’t expect club golfers to walk the course prior to playing somewhere new, but there’s nothing to stop you making some notes in your home course’s yardage booklet - which you can then keep in your bag.

Start off by putting a series of ticks and crosses for the spots where you can and cannot miss on each hole, which can help you to keep doubles and big numbers off your scorecard.

I’m amazed more amateurs don’t actually do this - it’s so easy, and can really help improve your course management.

2. Making key notes

Shot tracking technology is great, but nothing can beat your own notes. Even the best golf rangefinders can’t compete with your own homework!

On the greens, I’d put loads of arrows to highlight where putts would generally move from. I remember writing notes like, "Spins this way a lot" with an arrow.

I’d also write down what club Tom [Murray] hit and how far it went. For example, 183 yards, 5i (5-iron) into the wind.

You don’t need to make loads of notes: distance, wind direction, club, and how well you hit the shot is enough.

3. Work out lay-ups

On a similar note, know where your lay-ups are on the par 5s - and mark them down in that yardage booklet.

Most club golfers aren’t hitting the green in two on a par 5, so pick a spot that you’re comfortable with.

I’d often ask the question, 'Is it really worth going for the green in two?' Sometimes you’ll have a better chance of birdie or par by laying up.

On these top two points, what you’re actually doing here is giving yourself confidence, helping you to clear your mind of doubts before you go up and hit the shot.

4. Knowledge of the greens

Often, referees would go out and put tiny little dots on the greens for where the next day’s pin positions would be, which caddies would be on the lookout for!

What can you learn from this? For me, it highlights the importance of getting to know the subtleties of each green.

If you can, use your practice rounds during the week to hit some putts from the toughest spots on each hole.

Come the weekend competition, which is often when the pins are placed in the most difficult positions, you’ll be well prepared.

Tom [Murray] would chip and putt to a rubber circle that I’d move around the green. Get yourself one of those - it’s one of the best golf training aids out there.

5. 'Swing bible'

I’d also write a kind of ‘swing bible’ for Tom, which is something club golfers could certainly do for themselves.

'Left shoulder low, don’t drag left side,' is one of the good swing thoughts Tom would have. I'd note that down.

You can forget what you’re doing when you’re playing well, so having these words written down to remind you can be a real help.

I’m not saying go and write a long list of technical terms in your yardage booklet, but noting down one or two good swing thoughts - and these might change over time - is a great idea.

6. Wind direction

I wasn’t one for throwing grass up in the air to judge wind direction. If I did do that, it was usually to confirm a few things.

You’re not allowed to carry a compass with you, but most scorecards have one on the back, which will probably come as a surprise to a lot of golfers.

Something else that I used to write down was how the wind direction would tend to change over the course of a day.

Again, this sounds so simple, yet it’s not something most club golfers would do. It can be so useful and make such a big difference.

7. Nutrition

Something to eat and drink every three holes - that’s what Tom and I stuck to. I was in charge of making the sandwiches!

Every few holes it would be, ‘Here, have a bite… have another bite.’ Staying hydrated and eating more of the right stuff is definitely something recreational golfers could be better at. It both keeps your energy and concentration high.

Tour players are well looked after, but at club level it’s easy to run out of supplies. Stock up before you go out so you know you have enough to last 18 holes.

8. Know your distances

Most players should know how far each club goes eight times out of 10. If it’s a bit warmer, the ball travels slightly further; and at altitude further again.

Over the course of a season, I’d compile notes on how far the ball would travel with each club at different times of the day.

Take Foshan in China, for example. That 5-iron at 6am in the morning isn’t going to carry 200 yards.

A lot of the time we’re not hitting balls on a Trackman, so it’s up to us to make notes.

9. Stay positive

One of my jobs as a caddie was to help Tom feel comfortable and good about his game.

This can be a hard game at times, as we all hit bad shots. However, you only have to look at Rory McIlroy’s win at the 2025 Masters to complete the career grand slam, where he had to respond to three setbacks in his final round, to appreciate how the best players in the world are able to put poor shots behind them.

I go back to what I said about creating a 'swing bible’. Often, just saying a word or phrase can help a player to step up and play the shot they need to.

This is something you can do yourself to help you focus on the next shot and to keep yourself feeling positive.

10. Pre-round warm-up

I was always made sure Tom stuck to his pre-round routine. The order was as follows: putting, chipping, iron play, and then driver last - for the simple reason that this would normally be the club he'd hit off the first tee.

If you finish off with putting, which is what a lot of club golfers do, you've really just warmed down by the time you get to the first tee.

Recap: 10 tour caddie tips

• 1. Know your misses
• 2. Work out your lay-ups on par 5s
• 3. Make some key notes on your home course
• 4. Learn your course's greens (and the toughest pin positions)
• 5. Create a 'swing bible' with 2-3 key thoughts you use when playing well
• 6. Know the wind direction and how it changes through the day
• 7. Make sure you eat and drink during the round (4hrs+ is a long time!)
• 8. Know your distances and how they change depending on time of day or weather
• 9. Stay positive, even if you've had a bad hole or hit a poor shot
• 10. Make sure to warm-up before your round, and it's worth practising the 1st tee shot last

The golf grip plays a huge role in the success or failure of any golf shot, so perfecting the position of the hands is a crucial step towards better ball striking.

Some of the best ball striking lessons link directly to fundamentals, as many amateur golfers struggle with a strong or weak golf grip that cripples their consistency on the course.

Below, in the instructional video and article, Top 50 Coach Alex Elliott shares a handy step-by-step guide that will not only improve your golf grip but also transform your ball striking...

Perfect Golf Grip: A Step-By-Step Guide

While there is some room for personal preference when it comes to how you grip the golf club, there are key fundamentals that will ensure your hands work in partnership effectively.

For beginners, the neutral grip is something you should be aspiring for, as this will help you to deliver the club squarely at impact and hit shots without too much side spin.

It's important not to get disheartened when working on your golf grip, as similarly to understanding how far to stand from the golf ball, it can take a little time to get used to and being resilient on the driving range will pay off in the long run.

Step 1: The Left Hand

Initially, I want you to focus on the left hand (or right for left-handed golfers). This should sit on the grip, holding the club only in your fingers.

To achieve this, start with an open hand and ensure the grip runs from the middle joint of your index finger through to the fleshy pad at the bottom of your hand (as demonstrated in the image below).

Finally, wrap the fingers round and roll your thumb into place.

With your left hand on the club, you will notice you've created a line between your thumb and forefinger which should point towards your right ear.

Ideally, you should see between two and three knuckles on your lead hand as you look at your grip from above.

This is a great checkpoint that you may notice professionals using, and is something golfers of all levels should adopt in their pre-shot routine to ensure their hands are in the correct position at address.

Step 2: Interlock or Overlap Grip?

This is where you have the choice of overlapping, interlocking or employing the baseball grip.

There is no right or wrong here, it's all down to personal preference. There is one key to remember, though: make sure you grip it in the fingers.

The interlock variation, famously used by Tiger Woods to pretty devastating effect, involves interlocking the index finger of the left hand with the little finger on the right hand, as shown below.

Arguably the most popular, the overlap sees the little finger on the right hand sit between the index and second fingers on the left hand whereas, as should be quite self-explanatory, the fingers underneath the club are completely separated in the baseball grip.

Step 3: The Right Hand

Whatever your preferred method, it's important to get the right hand in the appropriate position so the two can work together as a solid unit - this will help you get more power in your golf swing.

Place the fingers on the underside of the grip and then wrap the hand over so the left thumb is sitting cosily beneath the palm of the right hand.

Once again, a line will be visible between the thumb and forefinger that should point towards your right ear. The finishing touch is to shift the index finger down the grip slightly which will act as a trigger.

Put all this together and you have the perfect golf grip. If you can get this right and also find the perfect ball position with every club, you should be able to achieve a centred strike more often.

That's not to say that you can't play good golf without a neutral golf grip, however, as even some top professionals have a tendency to be a little strong or weak with their grip.

But, a word of advice, If you are going to play with anything other than neutral it's important to match your grip to the correct release style.

Matching A Release Style

If you are someone who wants to stick with more of a strong or weak grip, you will benefit from learning how to effectively release the club.

A strong grip favours more of a roll release, where the club face moves back a little bit open and then rolls through impact (right image below).

A weak grip favours a release where there is more flexion in the lead wrist, preventing the toe of the club head from rotating as much as the roll release through impact (left image below).

Matching a release style with your grip can help you to feel more in control of your swing and understand a little better where the golf ball will travel off the face - but there isn’t a one size fits all approach.

Think of it more as a sliding scale - a little experimentation can help to match your grip to the appropriate release for your swing.