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.

I played golf in a corporate fourball recently with three guys I’d never met before. After launching my tee shot down the middle of the 17th fairway (the last hole was a par-3, so no need for a driver) one of them said out loud, sarcastically: “Do you ever miss a fairway?”

The same chap had played three off the tee no fewer than six times that day. His male ego had refused to allow him to put the driver away, even though he was clearly struggling with the big stick. Using a fairway wood, hybrid or even an iron instead would have undoubtedly saved him a huge number of shots (and lost balls) but he stubbornly refused to accept that he couldn’t hit his driver straight that day.

The horrid hook he kept producing was unbelievably destructive. His hands just couldn’t control the clubface direction and he was swinging at top speed. All school boy errors. Had he simply slowed his swing down, focused on rhythm and balance, tried to find a flow and concentrated on catching the ball out of the middle of the clubface, he would have had infinitely more success.

I found nearly every fairway that day by harnessing my skill of control over power. It’s why I stood on the 17th tee two over par, and had it not been for a couple of near misses on a few short putts, nearly level par. This poor chap, on the other hand, had dropped dozens of shots. I’m not saying that my golf is as good as a professional - far from it. But I know how to manage my way around the golf course to shoot a steady score and it’s something a lot of men could learn from.

Take risk versus reward decisions for instance. If there’s a chance I can drive a short par-4, but missing the green means going into great trouble, I rarely go for it. I’d always choose the safer option to lay up and find the fairway, leaving a short approach shot into the green and still a birdie putt.

Too many guys I see take on the ‘hero’ shot. The big hit that if pulled off will be a talking point in the 19th hole over a pint, but if the target is missed it’s an uphill battle to score well. Best case scenario, the ball is found in trouble and they have to hack out. Worse case - lost ball - reload. A scorecard wrecker.

I’m not trying to offend every man that’s ever stepped foot onto the first tee with a driver in hand, determined to make it work that day, no matter what. There are plenty of brilliant male players who swing the driver very fast and can control their tee shots like Rory McIlroy, but most recreational male players can’t. The faster they swing the more they struggle. And that’s where you can learn a lot from playing golf with women.

We don’t have the natural genetic makeup to swing with the same ferocious speed and therefore rely on a more rhythmically flowing golf swing, good technique and timing, along with other elements of our game to score well. With the exception of the Nelly Korda and Charley Hulls of this world who have done so much gym work, speed training and have refined swing techniques from hours hitting balls at the range that they can drive the ball a long way, there’s virtually no ‘grip it and rip it’ mentality behind any woman I play with. When we walk onto the tee we’re simply trying to find the fairway, not hit it out of sight.

Like many low single figure females, my strength has always been the way I can navigate around the golf course cleverly. I take time to think about my club choice and the best way to keep the ball in play to maximise my chances of finding fairways and hitting every green in regulation. When I miss a green (because I’m only human, not a repeatable robot) I have really worked on my short game skills to get up and down and save my par.

I also know when to take my medicine. If I get into trouble I always use a sensible club like a lofted wedge to just get the ball back out into play. No matter how hard I’ve tried to convince my 12-year-old son to copy me, he still makes silly club choices out of the rough, insisting that he can pull off an incredible recovery shot with a club that’s not really designed to do that job. Nine out of ten times it fails, but I can see the fun it gives him trying.

In many ways, some men never grow out of this mindset. They play golf in the same child-like manner that rewards them one in every 10 attempts. I’m not saying that this is the wrong approach, I’m just saying that if you took the time to play golf with women occasionally then you’ll probably notice the subtle differences. The sensible approach we take helps us score better.

There are men who avoid playing golf with women because we’re shorter hitters and we play off the forward tees. This gives us an unjustified reputation for slow play because we don’t hit the ball as far. But the guys who play golf with me for the first time, not knowing my game, nearly always walk off the final green pleasantly surprised. Although I don’t hit the ball as far as them, I’m certainly not slow and they’re usually in awe of the skills I’ve demonstrated during my round that have allowed me to score low.

The experience of playing with normal women like me is definitely something I think all men could benefit from. I’m not just blowing my own trumpet. I experience it every time I join a men’s fourball. So next time a woman asks to join your group, take them on. Watching the way we swing, the shot-making skills we’ve had to develop to rely on scoring well and our sensible approach to navigating tricky holes could actually be worth copying.

The hot topic on almost every amateur golfer's lips at this time of year is the changing conditions out on the course.

Here in the UK, we are heading into a period of golf that promises rain, temporary greens, preferred lies and fairway mats - but other countries around the world would perhaps take that over the hand they are dealt.

Winter golf in Canada and northern USA can be pretty brutal, with sub-zero temperatures and heavy snowfall causing many golfers to pack the clubs away into the garage for the off-season.

In Norway and other parts of Scandinavia, you can add the long, dark nights that shut courses down for the winter period.

So, let’s play a little game of ‘would you rather’, because… who doesn’t love that!

If I offered you the chance to play once per month in your ideal conditions, whether that be blistering sun or mild tranquility, would you take that over playing once per week at the mercy of the changeable elements?

Before I share my thoughts with you, I’d genuinely like to hear how you’d respond to that dilemma.

Does this quandary become simpler for you based on your current geographical outlook? Is frequency more important than comfort? Drop me a line and let me know in the comments box at the bottom of this article.

Give Me Winter Golf Weekly Over Seldom Sun

While I love playing golf in the summer, especially when the evenings allow for a knock after work, I’d have to sign up for the latter.

I’m not a fair-weather golfer. In fact, I enjoy playing when the course gets a little softer. It’s a great time for high-handicappers to score well, in my opinion.

A cup of hot soup at the halfway house and a decent layering system is all the encouragement I need to get out when the clouds gather and the rain falls.

You might be thinking… does someone who has only broken 90 once in his life need any extra hurdles to overcome?

That’s a fair point, but think of the positives. The course is quieter, the ball stops almost where it lands (which is handy for my GIR percentage) and I can be more aggressive with my putts - which is exactly how I like it.

I realise that I might be a slightly strange outlier here, so I put the question to a trio of colleagues at Golf Monthly HQ, at different handicap levels, to understand where they stand on the matter…

I'd rather remain at the mercy of the weather. Don't get me wrong - there's nothing better than a game on a perfect weather day.

However, one of the most satisfying feelings is to play well in tough conditions. I grew up playing links golf and surviving the challenge of the wind was something I had to learn.

Also, there's something satisfying about playing golf on a terrible day when most others have backed out. Give me lots of golf, in lots of weather. The more the merrier!

Very little thought goes into my answer for this question.

Part of golf is fighting the elements, and although I love playing on a 'wonderday' like we call it at home, some of my favorite rounds around my home course of Royal County Down have been when I have been battling the conditions in addition to the golf course itself.

Also, if you shoot a good score in bad weather, it should boost your confidence and increase your chances of going low when the wind is down and the sun is shining.

If I were to play St. Andrews next summer, for example, I'd want sunny weather, but give me a 15-20mph wind to make it even more interesting.

It depends how bad the weather is!

I’m definitely a fair weather player, even though I’m a classic case of ‘Do as I do, not as I say’, I’m always encouraging people to keep their swing going during the winter months.

I never seem to have an opportunity to play once a week anyway, so I’m inclined to say once a month in guaranteed good weather.

What I hate most about winter golf is the faff of squelching around in muddy conditions, keeping grips dry, having to clean all the equipment when you’ve finished, making sure you’re wearing all the right layers.

All in all, bad weather makes for a miserable round.

The Consensus

Well, there you have it. A mixed bag from the GM team, but the overall consensus is... roll the dice and see what you get.

Winter golf brings its own unique challenges, but it also offers a great opportunity to improve your game, maintain and develop new social relationships, get some exercise and keep your swing sharp for the upcoming season.

Wouldn't we all prefer the sun to shine every single time we walk the fairways? Yes, but that's not golf - and I am ok with that.

As I said earlier, don't be shy in sharing your thoughts on the debate. Drop us a comment below and join the conversation.

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.

My golf club in Northern California has a large women’s group, and there are plenty of opportunities for the 120 of us to compete: member/guest days, holiday-themed tournaments, our big three-day invitational. We even have weekly 18-hole competitions.

When it’s a team event, a best-ball or scramble format, signups are generally good. There’s a decent showing. But, when the competition turns individual, like in our league’s match play or the club championship, the numbers dwindle – a lot. It’s the same women who sign up year after year, and the same women who win.

I've heard different reasons: I'm not ready; I'm too busy; I don't like competing against my friends; the whole thing just makes me uncomfortable. Trust me, I’m not judging. I’ve thrown out plenty of these excuses.

But the numbers don’t exactly add up: If the number of women golfers continues to climb to the highest levels in history, rising 45 percent over the past 6 years, why do the number of golf club tournament sign ups remain low?

Low participation rates are common at clubs nationwide, said Marcela M. Smith, a USGA certified rules expert and founder of Girlfriends Guide to Golf. Smith travels internationally teaching interactive rules seminars to thousands of women at all levels. She says it all comes down to a lack of confidence.

“If we didn’t grow up playing golf, we assume that everyone else has a great swing, knows what to do if their ball is lost, that everyone else shoots 80,” she explains. “But it’s actually not true.”

I’ve participated in quite a few of our club’s competitions, and I can assure you that most women shoot well into the 100s during these events. There are no professionals; everyone is still learning.

You might be thinking, Why even put yourself in an uncomfortable situation if you know you won’t do well.

I’ve struggled with this question on my journey to become a more consistent golfer. What I’ve found is that challenging yourself is the best way to become a better player – mentally, physically and even socially. Forcing yourself to be uncomfortable and most likely fail, and working through that to eventually see progress, builds confidence on and off the golf course. The experience is extremely rewarding.

Now that you’re thinking about taking that next step, here are my 5 top suggestions on how to prepare:

Talk To Women Who Have Won Before

These women, who are so unfazed by match play, didn't always feel that way. Ask them to share their stories, how they felt when they first started, what their best advice is for a beginner. More often than not, you’ll be surprised at how much this breaks down barriers, makes you feel more comfortable and develops relationships.

We all want more women on the course, and having these vulnerable and open conversations makes it easier for us all to play together and enjoy the benefits of the game!

Familiarize Yourself With Golf Rules And Etiquette

If you know how to act during a round, you can focus your energy on your golf game and not on whether you’re standing in the correct spot. Smith teaches women the etiquette of where to stand on the green, where to park your golf cart to speed up pace of play, and what to bring when you head to your ball (extra ball and maybe a few club choices), so you can remain on pace and prepared.

“When you know your options, and learn the rules, it puts you more in control,” she said. Don’t expect yourself to be a golf-rules expert, even the pros need to bring in rules officials during their tournaments. But knowing basic rules, like stroke and distance, which Smith refers to as the Louis Vuitton rule, will give you tremendous confidence – and speed up your play.

Play Games During Casual Rounds

During regular 9 or 18 hole rounds, play little betting games with your friends. I’ve played with a group of women who gamble quarters for lowest putts during the round. Another group awards $5 to the closest to the pin on all the par 3s.

If you get used to this feeling of having something, even as little as a quarter, on the line, it eventually gets easier to golf with that feeling of playing under pressure. It also normalizes playing against your friends and gives you a chance to practice a match play, or stroke play, format when the stakes aren’t so high.

Focus Practice Time On Short Game

We’re all busy and don’t have time for a full practice session every day. The time you do have to practice, focus on putting. If you have extra time, move onto chipping. This is advice that our former club champion gave me last year.

You will never regret spending extra time working on your short game and I’ve found that intentional practice is really rewarding on the course. Think about how many strokes you can cut off your score by eliminating most of your 3 putts. Here are some easy putting drills to help structure your practice time.

Accept That Getting Better Takes (A Lot Of) Practice And Time

Chances are you won’t go out your first, second, or third time and have the best round of your life. But, you will gain experience and confidence each time you put yourself out there.

I like to think about each round like this: Either I play well and enjoy a moment of success in this difficult game or things don’t go my way and it’s an opportunity to work on my reaction and ability to recover from a lot of bad golf shots. I’ve learned by now that bad rounds are part of the long-term game.

Each time you put yourself out there it’s an opportunity to work on something new, whether that’s part of your golf swing, etiquette practice, or just building relationships with fellow golfers for a few hours. And the best news of all: the more you play, the better it all gets.

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.

In mid-August, my golf hit rock-bottom. I can remember in vivid, high definition the exact moment when the last vestiges of a respectable game left me and all hope faded.

It came very early in a counting round. My opening tee shot was an ugly pull with a 3-wood (for safety) that finished perilously close to some out of bounds posts. My attempt at punching back out was so poorly executed that it went straight left, hit a path and trickled OOB.

I stood watching in disbelief at my own ineptitude. I'd turned a simple par 4, one of the easiest on the course, into a card-wrecking quadruple bogey.

At the time, I felt that my swing was to blame, but having reflected, I've come to the conclusion that my issue was mainly mental. For context, I had been struggling with my game for a couple of months.

My scores plateaued at first, then started creeping up. As the quality of my game nosedived, I started thinking in terms of resets, adjusting my goals and searching for new swing thoughts. Here are some examples of the swing thoughts I tried:

• Pause at the top of the backswing
• Push down into my left heel at the start of the downswing
• Hold the finish position
• Weaken my grip
• Retain my spine angle better through impact

As you can see, my mind was scrambling and yet I continued to think that it was purely a technical issue. Part of the problem was that, being in the thick of the competition season, I couldn't step away or hit the pause button.

The competitive rounds kept coming and all I had was the hope that a new swing thought would work. As painful as these moments are, they're only ever fleeting.

In September, I took a couple of weeks away from playing and went to the range. Without doing anything different, I started hitting the ball properly again. The knotted doom loop of destructive thinking was beginning to loosen.

The moral of the story here is that the mental challenge of golf is uniquely taxing. It is hopelessly optimistic to think that recent poor performances will suddenly change with nothing more than a new swing thought. And yet, it's a trap I still find myself falling into almost 40 years after I started playing.

A series of lessons to iron out my technical issues would certainly be sensible (I'm certainly not saying I don't have swing problems), but so too would working out my own approach to the mental game in general.

What I've come to realise was the list of swing thoughts I tried were born out of panic. They were often settled upon hours or even minutes before stepping onto the first tee.

Is Your Bad Golf A Technical Or Mental Problem?

Clearly, I should have been focussing on my performance skills but instead I was searching for swing fixes. The results were predictably awful but my mind was too frazzled to see the reality of the situation. I wasn't even asking: Is your bad golf a technical or mental problem?

What I would like to ask is - have you transformed your fortunes by exploring different mental techniques? There is a comment box below and I'd love to hear from you if you have. It could provide the inspiration to help other golfers who find themselves spiralling into negative thinking without realising, myself included.

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.

One of the most contentious topics when it comes to debating visual preferences in golf clubs and the subsequent performance tendencies is iron offset.

Generally speaking, the older generation tends to be a little more open-minded about having a lot of offset, while younger players tend to prefer minimal offset. Most of the iron sets that older generations grew up playing came with a ton of offset straight off the rack. We've seen manufacturers progressively offer less offset in certain retail iron heads over the years, but what exactly is offset, and why should you care about it?

What Is Offset?

Simply put, offset is how far the leading edge of the clubface sits behind the shaft axis. Typically, the best game improvement iron sets have more, and the closer you get to blades, the less the offset you see.

How Does Offset Impact Ball Flight?

There are a lot of misconceptions about what offset really does and how it impacts a golf shot.

Generally speaking, because the clubhead sits behind the shaft, the idea is that it gives you a little extra time to rotate and square the clubface through impact. Offset is also commonly associated with bigger and perimeter weighted clubhead designs that shift weight slightly farther back, which can increase MOI, launch, and forgiveness on a mishit.

Offset also typically encourages the clubface to rotate closed a little more easily than something with minimal offset, again promoting a right-to-left ball flight (as a right-handed player).

But that doesn't always turn out to be true for everyone. Whether or not you should have a lot of offset in your irons is a little more complicated.

If your natural ball flight is already a high draw, you might actually compensate for a large amount of offset by dragging the handle forward and holding the face through impact to prevent the ball from going left. Ultimately, that can cause you to hit the ball lower, which is contrary to what offset says it will do.

In theory, a clubhead design with more offset would help promote a higher ball flight, but depending on your delivery, it might actually do the opposite for you. Instead of helping you launch the ball higher and move it from right-to-left (for a right-handed golfer), you've actually just lowered your ball flight and probably pulled the start line even further left. Now you're hitting low hooks and about ready to give up on iron fitting altogether.

There really is no one-size-fits-all answer when it comes to offset.

Why Do Some Tour Players Prefer More Offset?

When it comes to professional golfers and offset, Scott Piercy is probably the first person I think about when I hear the word.

Piercy has famously continued using Titleist 680 MB irons, a model originally released in 2003, on tour today. This set of irons has a ton of offset, particularly compared to many modern blades.

In an interview Piercy did with GolfWRX a few years back, he described some of the reasons he likes seeing offset in a set of irons.

Piercy is a guy who likes to hit a true fade, meaning a ball that starts left and curves from left to right. He likes having offset in his irons because it helps him feel like he can square the face and start the ball left.

I think he benefits from the offset because it gives him a little more time to get the face square, or closed to his path, to make sure the ball starts left and curves away from the start line. The worst thing someone who plays a fade can have is a ball that starts right and continues going right.

Interestingly, Piercy has said that an iron set without enough offset can actually cause him to hit a ball that draws too much. This is likely caused by a start line that's too far right, which he then compensates for by getting his path further right to make sure the ball curves back toward the target.

There are lots of factors at play influencing the curve of the ball, and offset can both dynamically and psychologically cause different swing patterns and shot shape results.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, you have Rocco Mediate, a professional who predominantly hits a draw but also really likes offset. He's notoriously played Callaway X-20 irons with loads of offset and now uses Ping i210 irons, which also have a decent amount relative to other modern offerings.

Obviously, part of the reason he likes offset is probably because he grew up playing irons that had a lot of it, and is therefore comfortable and familiar. But I also think he likes the way it can help him get the ball airborne and encourage the face rotation that produces his preferred right-to-left ball flight.

His swing dynamics allow for the offset to help him. He doesn't react to the offset by dragging the handle, it just compliments his already shallow angle of attack and rightward path. From there, all he really has to do is manage his starting line, and he gets the shot shape he's looking for.

These are two great examples of how having a lot of offset in an iron set can work for players who move the ball in completely different directions.

We're getting pretty deep into the weeds here, and these are two anecdotal examples of professional golfers who like offset for different reasons, but I think they illustrate some of the more nuanced reasons people like or dislike offset.

So Who Really Needs Offset?

If you walk into most club fitting studios, you’ll probably hear someone say: “if you slice the ball, you need more of it and if you draw the ball you should probably stay away from it.” This is very similar to “high” and “low” launch shafts getting prescribed to everyone despite their specific delivery. We often see the “high launch” shafts create a lower ball flight. But I digress.

As I mentioned above, that's not necessarily the case. You can absolutely hit a fade with an iron that has a ton of offset, just like you can hit a draw with an iron that has almost none. I think it really comes down to how each individual player reacts to what they're looking down at and how that ultimately influences their delivery of the club.

If you're someone who's testing different iron sets, I'd pay particular attention to your starting lines and launch conditions. Are you consistently starting the ball where you want? Are you making adjustments to keep the ball from going left or right?

I also think it's important to remember that more offset doesn't automatically mean more forgiveness. There are a lot of other characteristics of an iron head that influence forgiveness, and offset is really just one piece of the puzzle. I'd argue that things like CG placement and sole design have much bigger impacts on so-called forgiveness.

I think at the end of the day, how much offset you like really comes down to your visual preference. There are obviously some meaningful performance implications that come with offset, but as I described above, you can ultimately achieve multiple different shot shapes with a lot of offset in your irons.

You have to like what you're looking down at and have confidence that the club is going to produce the shot you're looking for. That's ultimately what I think matters most when deciding how much offset you want in your irons.

In the first round of the 1925 US Open, Bobby Jones was preparing to hit a ball from the rough when he felt his club had moved the ball slightly.

Although nobody had seen anything untoward, he called a penalty on himself.

Praised for his sportsmanship after the round, he replied, “You might as well praise me for not robbing a bank.”

It’s a story that encapsulates the absolute importance of integrity in the sport of golf.

We expect golfers to be honest, decent and gracious and there are many examples of displays of those behaviours through the history of the game. Here we take a look at a selection, starting with a recent incident.

Scottie Gives A Long One

On the 14^th hole of the singles at the 2026 Presidents Cup, Scottie Scheffler was three-up on Nico Echavarria of Colombia.

The American played a good tee shot and then Echavarria stood up. Right in the middle of his swing, a fan yelled “Let’s go Scottie!”

The International team player miscued badly and dropped his driver in frustration.

Scottie shouted in the direction of the unruly fan, “There’s no place for that!”

Then, in a further display of sportsmanship, Scottie conceded a 30-foot putt to Echavarria, not wanting to win a hole in unfair fashion. As the commentator said, it was an, “absolute touch of class from Scottie Scheffler."

The Concession

Playing Jack Nicklaus in the afternoon singles at Royal Birkdale in the 1969 Ryder Cup, Tony Jacklin holed a lengthy putt for eagle on the 17^th to draw level and, with the overall score at 15.5 each, the whole Cup rested on the last hole.

Both men found the green in two and Jacklin putted first, ending two feet short. The American raced his birdie effort past before calmly holing for par.

Then, Nicklaus reached down and picked up Jacklin’s marker. Nicklaus said to the Englishman something along the lines of, “I knew you wouldn’t miss, but I didn’t want to give you the opportunity to.”

The conceded putt meant a halved game and a tied Ryder Cup. It’s gone down as one of the most memorable Ryder Cup moments and it’s regarded as an act of supreme sportsmanship.

Brian Davis Costs Himself victory

During a sudden-death playoff at the 2010 RBC Heritage at Harbour Town Golf Links, Englishman Brian Davis called a two-stroke penalty on himself, handing the title to Jim Furyk.

In a reed bed on the first extra hole, Davis felt he brushed a reed, moving it with his backswing.

Nobody else saw it but a slow-motion replay showed he was right to call it and Davis accepted the two-shot penalty.

Payne Stewart in 1991 and 1999

At two raucous Ryder Cups, the late Payne Stewart intervened to try and calm down the partisan home fans.

Playing against David Feherty in the singles at Kiawah Island in the “War on the Shore,” in 1991, the crowds became so unruly at the 17^th hole that Feherty couldn’t get to the tee and was actually held back by a marshal.

Stewart stood in and put his arm around Feherty and shepherded him onto the tee.

In 1999, Stewart once again did his level best to prevent fans heckling Colin Montgomerie. The Scot has often talked about what a gentleman Payne Stewart was on that day.

Roberto De Vicenzo Takes It On The Chin

In the last round of the 1968 Masters, DeVicenzo made a birdie three on the 17^th hole, but his playing partner Tommy Aaron accidentally marked down a four on his card.

Despite a bogey on the final hole, the 45-year-old had blistered round Augusta in 65 shots. It should have been good enough to tie Bob Goalby at the top of the leaderboard and force an 18-hole playoff.

Unfortunately, the Argentine failed to check his card properly and signed it with a four rather than a three at the 17^th.

The higher score had to stand so DeVicenzo finished one shot shy of the American. His response to the mistake was powerful and heart-rending in its simplicity: “What a stupid I am.” He said.

The grace with which DeVicenzo accepted this crushing blow was testament to his professionalism as a golfer and honour as a man, his conduct was rightly recognised by the USGA in 1970 as they awarded him the Bob Jones award for distinguished sportsmanship in golf.

Monty And Langer Share The Spoils

After tying on three-under-par through 72 holes of the 2002 Volvo Masters at Valderrama, Colin Montgomerie and Bernhard Langer went into a sudden-death playoff.

After two holes, the light was fading badly. Monty and Langer decided with the tournament officials that they could share the trophy. It was a nice act of sportsmanship by two European greats.

Launch monitors have changed the way many PGA professionals teach. Coaches can still observe a great deal with the naked eye, but instant data reinforces their analysis and helps golfers better understand their swing dynamics.

If you’ve invested in your own launch monitor (there are plenty of affordable launch monitors on the market), you might have a fairly good sense of what some of the numbers mean when they're fed back to you immediately after you strike a shot.

Maybe not. Maybe you’re still learning. Maybe your local range has a TrackMan or Toptracer, and you want to know more about what all the data means (let’s be honest, some screens look a bit like an aeroplane dashboard).

To help you understand the data, here’s a brief guide...

DISTANCE METRICS

Ball Speed

While this metric may seem self-explanatory, a high ball speed alone does not guarantee exceptional distance.

Quite simply, ball speed = clubhead speed x smash factor (see below).

A player can display plenty of clubhead speed and still produce moderate ball speed if they’re not finding the center of the clubface or the clubface is significantly open to the target.

For context, at the time of writing, Aldrich Potgieter leads the way on the PGA Tour with an average ball speed of just over 190 mph. Yes, that's quick - don't expect to see numbers like that any time soon.

Clubhead Speed

Clubhead speed is defined as the velocity of the clubhead at impact. More clubhead speed equates to more distance - but there is a caveat.

Clubhead speed only translates into more distance when it’s coupled with decent impact efficiency (see smash factor below).

The most forgiving drivers help boost speed and distance on off-center strikes, but you still want to find the center of the clubface to maximise your distance potential.

The average clubhead speed (also known as swing speed) on the PGA Tour is 116.92 mph.

Smash Factor

This is the efficiency metric we alluded to above. Smash factor = ball speed / clubhead speed.

The maximum legal smash factor is 1.5, which means no conforming driver can produce speed greater than 1.5 times the clubhead speed.

However, sometimes, launch monitors show readings above this number due to measurement tolerances, ball compression, or atmospheric conditions.

Put simply, this doesn't mean PGA Tour players with smash factors just over 1.5 are playing with non-conforming drivers.

A driver smash factor under 1.4 typically indicates frequent off-center strikes.

Most golfers should be in the 1.43 to 1.45 range, although with irons you can expect this figure to be a little lower because the heads are less efficient at transferring energy.

When working with a PGA professional to boost your distance, they will often focus on your smash factor rather than just raw swing speed.

A lack of distance is not always a swing speed problem.

Carry Distance

No prizes on offer here. However, we should stress that the number is taken from the moment the ball lands on the ground.

There’s a little more guesswork with total distance, where you take into account roll, because variables such as slope and the ground conditions underfoot play a part.

Carry distance is the number that every golfer needs to know - that’s carry for every club in the bag.

Here’s another helpful tip: focus on your average carry distance rather than your longest when it comes to informing club selection - you won't always hit your Sunday best.

DIRECTION

Face Angle

Face angle is the horizontal direction the clubface is pointing at the moment it strikes the ball. It’s a crucial metric, as it predominantly determines a golf ball’s initial starting direction.

For a right-handed golfer, if the clubface is closed, it will point to the left, and you’ll get a negative number. For example, -2 degrees.

Square would be zero (straight down your target line), and an open face would have a positive number, such as 3 degrees.

Face-to-path is the primary controller of curvature. We won't dive into too much detail on that here but essentially, the bigger the difference between your clubface and the direction the clubhead is moving, the more the ball will curve.

Club Path

Do get yourself clued up on this, though.

Anyone who’s had a lesson before will have heard the terms swinging “out-to-in” or “in-to-out”, and this is typically the club path that the pro is referring to.

Are you hitting a slice? This could be because you are swinging out-to-in (swinging left for a right-handed golfer). Your club path will be a negative number.

In-to-out will be a positive number, meaning you are swinging to the right of the target line - and this typically creates a draw.

The higher the number away from zero, the more shape the ball will likely have in flight.

Ball Flight

Launch Angle

Launch angle refers to the angle at which the golf ball leaves the clubface relative to the ground.

It is a crucial metric to monitor closely. Club loft, ball position, swing speed, and angle of attack all directly impact your launch angle.

Think about someone with a really low ball flight: this can regularly result in the ball dropping short and landing in hazards before reaching the fairway.

Conversely, a ball launched at too high an angle will reach peak height too quickly and drop out of the sky too quickly, robbing you of distance, especially into the wind.

Spin Rate

Measured in revolutions per minute (RPM), spin rate represents the total amount of rotation the golf ball experiences immediately following the strike.

A lot of club golfers spin their driver too much - as much as 4,000 RPM - which leads to a loss of distance (the PGA Tour average is currently just under 2,600 RPM).

Too little spin can also be detrimental. When a ball runs out of lift, you lose carry distance, and it’s difficult to control the trajectory.

Rather than focusing solely on minimizing spin, the primary objective during a custom driver fitting or a session with a PGA professional is to identify the ideal spin window tailored to your specific launch angle and ball speed.

Contact

Attack Angle

This number shows whether you are hitting down or up on the golf ball.

A negative number means you are hitting down, and a positive number means you are hitting up.

For driver shots, aiming for a positive angle of attack is ideal; this helps lower spin while optimizing your launch to maximize carry distance.

We talk a lot about compressing iron shots. A descending blow creates ball-first contact and proper compression, which is why a negative reading is preferred when playing irons.

So that concludes our look at the launch monitor data metrics you need to know. Still confused? Leave a comment below and we'll get back to you.

In the last few years I’ve seen an absolute explosion of padel tennis courts popping up all over the place near where I live in Poole, Dorset. The old Covid test site in Creekmoor - three giant marquee-style white tents that were erected in a disused car park for drive-through testing - has been converted to an indoor Cross Court Padel centre.

The David Lloyd Racquets & Health Club has invested in building three new outdoor courts, the East Dorset District tennis club has done the same, with a massive expansion of padel courts, there’s a big new Avantage Padel indoor centre in Christchurch… the list goes on. These are just a few examples local to me, but if you take a deeper look into what’s happening nationwide, you’ll find the same thing in every county around the country.

This isn’t just a flash in the pan sporting craze that’s taking over our spare time. People are investing big money in it. Padel tennis is becoming so popular that places to play are popping up everywhere to cater for the demand.

Compared to other sports, padel is still relatively new (it originated in Mexico in 1969) but in terms of participation numbers its popularity has really exploded in the last five years (see the startling US numbers trend in the table below). Playtomic's booking data shows the same trend: the number of players booking courts rose about 125% during 2025, and total courts more than doubled from 529 to 1,130.

According to the International Padel Federation participation numbers passed 35 million players in 2026 and it’s growing fast. Padel is still a long way behind golf global participation numbers, which according to The R&A exceeded 112 million in 2026, but it’s catching up. If the current upward trend continues, the gap between the two sports will narrow over the next decade.

The One-Hour Alternative

Personally, I’m seeing more and more friends who I play golf with choosing to play padel in their spare time, rather than try to squeeze in a game of golf, because it just takes much less time. They unanimously say it suits their busy lifestyle better.

Workers who struggle to fit a round of golf into their busy schedule, parents for whom squeezing a four plus hour round into the day is virtually impossible with so much going on with the kids, see padel as the perfect alternative.

It’s active, it’s competitive, courts are outdoors and indoors (so you can play all year round) and it only takes an hour. It’s fast and it’s fun. You can play it at any age. It’s also sociable too. Played in either pairs (singles) or teams of two vs two, you can join a club and meet like-minded people or just pay to hire a court and play.

In many ways, padel is the perfect participation sport. It’s great exercise and it’s less strenuous than full court tennis, which means you don’t have to run as far and as you get older, you can still play it with your peers at a slower pace. That’s where I always felt that golf was the winner.

When people retired from playing more vigorous sports like football, rugby, running and so on, they still wanted something to stay competitive and active to throw themselves into that was sociable, great exercise and fun. With padel, they now have a much cheaper choice. If you split the cost of booking a padel court between four players it’s less than a tenner. Compare that to a green fee and golf simply can’t compete. Even a basket of balls on the driving range can cost a tenner.

I’ve spoken to colleagues in corporate jobs who say that padel is really starting to take golf's place in some social business settings. In terms of networking, executives argue that padel is more convenient, thus carving out a similar role for a new generation of executives and entrepreneurs to the one golf has long held. It’s a great way to do business, but less time-consuming.

Smarter Land, Better Margins

Building padel courts is a smart investment for the entrepreneur because they take up little land space. A single tennis court can typically be converted into three padel courts, which brings in significantly more revenue. Now think of how much it costs to build a new golf course, the land cost, the design, the physical build. No wonder membership costs are so high and green fee prices can’t compete.

New golf clubs that are clever are catering for both golf and padel at the same place. I saw it when I attended the PIF Saudi Ladies Open last year at the brand new Riyadh Golf Club with its spectacular course, practice facilities, clubhouse and four floodlit padel courts right there on site. Members joining that club have a choice.

I know an extremely smart driving range owner who has added three outdoor padel courts at his complex this year. He’s always been ahead of the trend. He added Toptracer tech into every range bay before anyone else did and his participation numbers exploded. Now he’s added padel courts to his golf centre and he’s seeing the same thing again. It’s a cash cow.

There are a few members at my home golf club, Parkstone, who have been petitioning the general manager and committee to consider adding a padel court into the car park near the green keepers compound where we have space.

I think it’s very unlikely to happen. Like most traditional member clubs we struggle with space and then there are planning constraints to consider. All unnecessary costs that would take away from investment elsewhere in the club. However, if I was designing a new golf club from scratch I would be forward-thinking enough to put a padel court or two into some spare space - a relatively low-cost addition to the overall investment in the new facility.

In fact, there’s a company called Mad Swans that’s already doing it in the UK, with currently two stay-and-play venues. They claim to offer ‘a bold take on modern hospitality with eco-cabin stays, standout dining, and 12-hole golf that's fun, fast, and far from ordinary.’ The centre nearest to me in Hampshire has a 12-hole golf course, padel tennis and putting. Everything I love is all in the same place. Now that’s a smart investment.

A Wake-Up Call the Industry Can’t Ignore

Probably the biggest sign that padel has caught the golf industry’s attention is the fact that the PGA Show, the biggest golf industry show on the planet, added a racquet sports section in 2026. It cited strong recent participation increases across tennis, pickleball and padel as the reason. The reality? I think the powers that be realise that padel is stealing new players from starting golf. They can’t stop it, but maybe it can be offered alongside golf to complement it.

The start up costs are much, much lower. The cost to play is cheaper. Equipment required is just your racquet and some balls. It’s quick to learn. It takes less time. You can play all-year round. It’s sociable. It’s fun. But is it the same as golf? Absolutely not! You are not getting the joy of playing in a beautiful setting. Golf courses are some of the most scenic places, and the experience of playing golf compared to padel just isn’t the same.

Historically, golf has tended to sit on its laurels and trust that people will always choose to play our great sport. More recently, it has coasted on the pandemic-era boom, thriving when lockdowns left it as one of the few accessible sports.

Now it has a serious threat to take newcomers away from choosing it, so it’s time to do something about the speed of play. We need more fast-paced formats of the game and cheaper ways to play. Solve these problems and golf has nothing to worry about. But we need to act now to future-proof our great game.

Diksha Dagar

The deaf left-hander became the second Indian winner on the Ladies European Tour when she won the 2019 South African Women's Open at just 18 years old. She added a second individual title at the 2023 Czech Ladies Open after she had also won a team trophy at the 2021 Aramco Team Series in London.

Gaganjeet Bhullar

Gaganjeet Bhullar holds the record for the most Asian Tour titles by an Indian golfer with 11 victories. He secured his record-breaking title at the BNI Indonesian Masters in November 2023, which also placed him behind only Thailand's Thaworn Wiratchant (18 wins) and Thongchai Jaidee (13 wins) for total victories.

Anirban Lahiri

In his first Major appearance, in The Open of 2012, he carded a hole-in-one at Royal Lytham and St Annes’ 9th hole en route to his tied 31st finish. At the PGA Championship of 2015, he achieved the highest finish by an Indian in a Major, when he ended tied for 5th. That year he also became the first Indian picked for the Presidents Cup.

Shubhankar Sharma

Aged just 21, he won the European Tour/Asian Tour/Sunshine Tour tri-sanctioned Joburg Open in 2017. Two months later, in February 2018, his final round 62 secured him the Maybank Championship, his second and, to date, final DP World Tour win.

Later that year he became the youngest Indian to win the Asian Tour Order of Merit, at age 22. His tied finish at Royal Liverpool in 2023 marked the best-ever finish by an Indian golfer at The Open Championship.

Mukesh Kumar

He has won the Order of Merit for the Indian Tour six times. No-one else has won it more than three times. He won the PGA Tour of India Order of Merit for three consecutive seasons from the 2000/01 season, and then won back-to-back titles from 2004 to 2006.

He then won its successor, the Professional Golf Tour of India, in 2007/08. In December 2016, aged 51, Kumar won his first and only Asian Tour event, the Panasonic Open India, and his last Professional Golf Tour of India win was as a 53-year-old.

S.S.P. Chawrasia

Shiv Shankar Prasad Chawrasia has excelled on home turf. All four of his European Tour wins were co-sanctioned events with the Asian Tour, and all were won in India. He gets maximum value from his wins, as his six victories on the Asian Tour also include another co-sanctioned event, this time with the Professional Golf Tour of India.

He won the Indian Open in 2016 and 2017, having previously had four runner-up finishes in his national open, including two losing play-offs.

Jyoti Randhawa

He holds the record for the most Indian Open titles by an Indian golfer, with three. When he won the Asian Tour’s Order of Merit in 2002, he was the first Indian to do so. He has eight wins on the Asian Tour. He also played on the European Tour, with his best results on it being his five runner-up finishes.

Arjun Atwal

When he won the Wyndham Championship in 2010, he became the first and, to date, only Indian-born winner on the PGA Tour. He had previously lost a five-man playoff, won by Phil Mickelson, for the BellSouth Classic in 2005.

Between 1999 and 2014, he also had three victories on the European Tour and eight on the Asian Tour. He topped the Asian Tour’s Order of Merit in 2003.

Aditi Ashok

In winning the Hero Women’s Indian Open in 2016, she became the first Indian winner on the Ladies European Tour. She has won a further four times on it.

She represented India at the 2020 Olympics and was in the silver medal position after three rounds, but slipped down to fourth at the end of the four-round tournament, two shots behind gold medalist Nelly Korda.

She is the only Indian woman to break into the top 50 of the Rolex Women's World Golf Rankings, reaching a peak of 40th position in February 2024.

Jeev Milkha Singh

He pioneered Indian golf internationally. He was the first Indian to break into the top 100, and then the top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking, and in March 2009 went to world number 28, the highest ranking achieved by an Indian.

In 1997, he finished seventh at the European Tour Qualifying School, thereby becoming the first Indian to join the European Tour. His stellar season was in 2006 when he won twice on the European Tour, at the Volvo China Open and the Volvo Masters. He finished 16th on the European Tour’s Order of Merit and won the Asian Tour’s Order of Merit.

The following year, he became the first Indian to play in The Masters, and in 2008 he became the first to be placed in the top 10 at a Major, with his tied 9th finish at the PGA Championship at Oakland Hills.

That season, he won his second Asian Tour Order of Merit and, in earning $1.45 million, was the first player to win more a million dollars in single season on the Asian Tour. He also ended that season 12th on the European Tour’s Order of Merit.

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!

When I walk into almost any golf club, I notice one demographic missing: young mothers with babies. An obvious observation, perhaps, but consider that thousands of women play regularly before starting a family. Grassroots participation among young women is steadily climbing, yet the moment they have children, they vanish from our fairways and clubhouses.

I constantly wonder how inviting our golf clubs genuinely appear to new mothers. How many women would even contemplate packing up their newborn, heading to the club to hit a basket of balls, or slipping out for 3 or 4 holes? The unfortunate reality is that for most, the environment feels anything but welcoming.

A recent post in the 100,000-strong Women Who Golf community brought this issue into sharp focus. A member named Paige Ross headed to her local range in the US with her newborn resting quietly in a stroller. Shortly after arriving, she was approached by club management and flatly asked to leave.

The catch was, she wasn’t asked to leave because of the stroller. She was told to pack up because it was "Men’s League Day," meaning women were strictly forbidden from booking tee times, playing the course, or even using the practice range. In this day and age, that kind of blatant discrimination is staggering, especially when male members retain full access to facilities on ladies’ competition days at the very same venue.

Yet what proved even more astonishing than that archaic rule was what unfolded next. Paige went online seeking advice, solidarity, and practical support regarding the club's policy. Alongside the expected outrage over gender inequality, she was hit with an avalanche of criticism from fellow golfers simply for bringing her baby to the driving range. Comment after comment scolded her, questioning her parenting, her judgment, and her common sense.

That reaction stopped me in my tracks. It made me take a long, hard look at our sport and ask some uncomfortable questions. Is golf encouraging enough, or encouraging at all, towards new mums? Are our facilities, courses, and ranges fit for purpose, or are we actively shutting out the very demographic the game claims it wants to attract? I'd love to hear what you think in the comments box below.

Double Standards And Common Sense

At the driving range where I coach, I regularly see dads roll in pushing strollers. They park the buggy beside them in the bay, hit balls, get their practice in, and look after their children simultaneously. Nobody bats an eyelid. Nobody marches over to demand they leave, and no one questions their competence as a parent. In fact, people often stop to smile and praise them for being such hands-on fathers.

Why is the reaction so radically different when a mother dares to do the exact same thing? Of course, there are obvious objections. Yes, golf balls are hard, dimpled projectiles travelling at high speed. Yes, courses carry inherent risks. And yes, babies make noise, need feeding on demand, and require nappy changes at inconvenient moments.

The most important fact is that women have been having babies for thousands of years. We know how to parent responsibly. No mother in her right mind is going to position her baby under an overhead swing path, park a buggy in the line of fire on a blind hole, or leave a stroller exposed on a busy corner. Yet the vitriolic reaction directed at Paige read as if she had dangled her infant from the range rafters.

Every mother deserves the right to make choices for her child without being patronised. The wider issue here is that golf clubs and governing bodies are shooting themselves in the foot by treating strollers on fairways as a taboo liability rather than an incredible participation opportunity.

I firmly believe that virtually every club in the country could find safe spaces and quiet windows to get new mums back into the sport they love. More than that, golf could be actively championed as an extraordinary therapeutic tool to combat postnatal depression, ease postpartum isolation, and foster a supportive community of golfing parents.

Three years ago, I explored this exact topic with Lauren Prince, a pregnant golfer from Bath. We talked about what would happen once her baby arrived - would she pack her clubs away until school age, or get right back out with her baby in tow? For Lauren, it was a no-brainer: she was heading straight back to the fairways with her buggy.

For anyone in shock reading this, let’s be clear. Nobody is suggesting pushing a pram through a packed Saturday morning medal. That wouldn’t be practical, safe, or enjoyable for anyone. Newborns have short biological clocks; their window of contentment is small before hunger strikes, a nappy needs changing, or they simply want to be held.

What we are talking about is grabbing an hour or two during off-peak times. Stepping out into the fresh air and soaking up desperately needed headspace can be a lifeline for a woman who has recently given birth. We talk endlessly about how magnificent golf is for mental health and wellbeing, yet during those delicate first months post-birth, when a woman’s physical and emotional wellbeing needs the most nurturing, our sport effectively locks the door.

Instinct, Protection, And The Realities Of Modern Motherhood

Common sense will always be the foundation of this. A few years ago, Amanda Delhaas shared a post on Women Who Golf that captured the balance perfectly. She went out to play eight weeks postpartum, carrying her clubs and pushing her pram. She teed off at 5pm on a quiet weekday evening when the course was virtually empty, using a rain and sun shade to keep her baby sheltered from the elements and any stray ball from adjacent holes.

She assessed the environment and made it work. Protecting a child is maternal instinct, but prioritising your own self-care after childbirth rarely comes naturally because women are conditioned to put themselves last. What Delhaas did was responsible, safe, and deliberate, yet just like Paige, she faced fingers pointed at her from golfers branding her reckless.

Delhaas’s reply to those negative comments hit the nail on the head:

"I knew this post would stir the pot with a few people! Luckily, baby is an absolute dream and just sits in the pram quietly, so for now, I will continue going to the golf course with my baby, where I belong.

Thanks so much to all the supportive women and all your kind words! It’s about damn time we didn’t allow our lives to be restricted by motherhood. It ain’t the 1920s!"

She is entirely right. Looking back, three maternity leaves took a heavy toll on my career and sidelined my golf game for extended stretches. That is why I feel so passionately about this. Seeing modern women refuse to be erased from their passions gives me immense hope.

Those babies in prams are growing up viewing golf courses, open green spaces, and sports facilities as their normal everyday habitat. They are outside in nature come rain or shine, alongside a mother proactively caring for her physical and emotional health.

The developmental benefits for the baby are huge. Fresh air is one of nature’s greatest sleeping aids. When my own children were infants and vehemently refused to sleep inside their cots during the day, I would bundle them into the pram, take our dog on long walks, point out birds and trees, and within nine minutes out of ten, they would be sound asleep. That routine bought me hours of peace.

My only regret is that back then, I lacked the confidence to walk onto a golf course with my buggy. I genuinely assumed the club would never allow it. Seeing women today with a bag slung over their shoulder, their baby sleeping peacefully beside them, and their own mental health sitting near the top of their priority list is inspiring.

Breaking the Stigma: Professional Reality vs Club Culture

Look at the highest levels of the sport. The LPGA Tour provides fully funded, professional mobile childcare facilities at tournament sites. That initiative was born from necessity, allowing top players to pursue world-class careers without being forced to choose between motherhood and their livelihoods.

The critical issue is that at the grassroots amateur club level, that choice barely exists. The pathway for a club golfer to balance early motherhood with her sport is practically invisible. A substantial part of this problem comes down to outdated attitudes among existing memberships.

When I had my children, my mother-in-law was visibly horrified that I planned to continue working, let alone step foot onto a golf course with a newborn. That generational mindset is still pervasive in traditional clubhouses. It sends a toxic message that once a woman gives birth, her personal identity, athletic pursuits, and leisure must be shelved indefinitely. It reinforces the damaging idea that a mother’s place is at the bottom of the domestic priority list.

Consider the paradox of how golf treats animals versus human children. Over the past decade, dozens of clubs across the UK have rewritten their bylaws to become proudly dog-friendly. Clubs adapted because members wanted to bring their pets. If our sport can accommodate wet dogs that bark and pull on leads, how on earth can we justify turning our backs on clean, quiet strollers containing our future membership?

Not every mother will want to bring her baby to the course, many cherish their golf time as a solo sanctuary away from childcare, but for those who need to bring their infant along to stay connected to the game, the option should exist.

The Blueprint For Change: How Clubs Can Step Up

If you are currently sitting on a golf club committee, staring at membership figures, and wondering why you struggle to attract women under the age of 50; if you are watching your junior ranks dry up instead of expanding organically; if you are looking at an ageing demographic profile and wondering where your next generation of loyal members will come from, this is one obvious place to start.

Welcoming new mothers is not an operational hazard, it is the most natural, multi-generational growth vehicle our sport has. If your club is already leading the way on this, speak up, share your model, and help demystify the absurd notion that having a pram on site is an insurance nightmare waiting to happen.

Here is a practical, realistic roadmap for clubs ready to lead the modern era:

Golf-Centric Antenatal & Postnatal Groups: Partner with local parenting organisations to host casual social mornings. At clubs like The Caversham, regular parent-and-baby groups meet weekly. Introducing a short putting clinic or coffee morning alongside these meetups demystifies the club environment for expecting and new parents before they feel disconnected.

Dedicated Stroller Roll-Ups: Organise low-pressure, 9 hole or 3 hole roll-ups during quiet weekday twilight windows. Setting aside dedicated times creates safety in numbers, eliminates pace-of-play anxieties, and allows new mothers to connect with peers in the same life stage.

Pram-Friendly Range Facilities: Designate specific bays at the end of driving ranges with ample clearance for strollers out of the swing path, complete with safety netting. Simple additions, like access to a clubhouse microwave for warming bottles or baby food, turn an intimidating facility into an accessible one.

Basic Family Infrastructure: Install modern baby-changing facilities in main clubhouse restrooms and on-course halfway houses. Stocking healthy snacks, fruit, and hydration options at the pro shop or halfway hut benefits nursing mothers and adults just as much as growing children.

Cultivating Member Culture: Educate the wider club community to embrace young families. A supportive word from a senior member to a young mother practising her putting with a pram can be the difference between that woman renewing her subscription or walking away from the game forever.

Golf is a multi-generational sport that can teach patience, resilience, integrity, and focus. There is no reason why that education cannot begin while rolling peacefully along a fairway in a pram. It is time we change the narrative, strip away outdated stigmas, and make sure that having a baby marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter in a woman's golf journey, not the end of it.

David Ward’s golf clubs are packed. He’s ready for his 14th Simpson Cup, the annual Ryder Cup-style tournament contested by two teams of 13 injured Servicemen and veterans from Great Britain and the USA. This weekend, it’s off to Fort Worth, Texas. Shady Oaks Country Club. Bring it on.

The golf is important. We’re talking about 26 individuals who want to win. However, the Simpson Cup, which Ward has featured in every year since its inception at TPC Sawgrass in 2012, represents more than a golf tournament.

It's the reason Ward - a survivor of the Kegworth air disaster - takes such pride in his involvement.

“I can’t tell you just how much John Simpson and the Simpson Cup have done for injured ex-soldiers,” says Ward, 61. “It’s like the tournament has put us back in the military.

“It’s nice to be back with like-minded guys and give them something to compete for again. The Royal Marines, the paras… they need that competitiveness.”

Ward was one of 126 passengers on a commercial flight that crashed on the M1 motorway in 1989. He was returning to Belfast with his fiancée Judith, who also worked in the military.

Ward, who was 24 at the time, survived, but 47 people did not, including Judith. He was one of the last people rescued, and when he woke from an induced coma three weeks later, he discovered what his new life would look like.

“I’d broken pretty much every bone in my body, including my neck, everything apart from my right arm,” he says. “I had my right leg amputated too. When you lose your leg, you think you’re the only one who’s bad off.

“It’s an eye-opener when you see other guys, people with above-the-knee amputations and double leg amputations. You realise you’re not the only one in that boat. The On Course Foundation and Simpson Cup bring us together.”

Competing In The Cup

Ward says it took seven years to learn how to walk again. When he no longer needed a wheelchair, he relied on crutches, and when he no longer needed them, he discovered golf. He hasn’t looked back since.

“I played all sorts in the military,” he says, “football, cricket, tennis, basketball. Losing my leg narrowed things down a bit! My friend suggested playing golf, and I joked, ‘I didn’t play when I had two legs, so I can’t see myself playing when I’ve only got one.’” A round of pitch and putt changed all that.

Now a member of Boringdon Park in Plymouth, Ward, who has got his handicap down to as low as nine, describes himself as a “solid” 10.7.

The three-time Simpson Cup captain heads to the Lone Star State hoping Team GB can win for the third successive year, although more than anything he’s looking forward to catching up with old friends and making new ones.

“The US has got a good side. We’ve got a good side. It’s good to meet them on the other side of the pond, to catch up and see how everyone is doing with their injuries. I’ve made as many good friends playing golf as I did before I went into the military.”

"Game-Changing" Treatment

Beyond the friendly banter and golf talk, the event gives players a valuable chance to talk through their treatments. Wear and tear from years of strain on Ward’s left leg eventually left his knee 'bone on bone'.

However, a non-surgical hydrogel injection called Arthrosamid - which he received in 2023 - has “saved his game”.

More importantly, it means he can look forward to many more years on the fairways in the company of good friends. “It’s enhanced my life,” he says. “I’m still feeling the benefits today, and getting back to the things I love.”

Everyone competing in the Simpson Cup at the start of November has a story to tell. By sharing his personal journey, Ward hopes to emphasise the significance of both the tournament and the On Course Foundation, an organisation founded by John Simpson MBE.

“I’m not just saying it… the treatment has been an absolute game-changer for me,” he adds. “I can’t thank John and the doctors enough for what they’ve done. They’ve been absolutely brilliant.”

Winter golf gets a bad reputation because the common perception is that it’s the ‘hardest’ time to play the game.

I’m inclined to challenge that narrative and propose a counterargument. For some golfers, including high-handicappers like me, winter golf can be fruitful.

This is the arena in which we can thrive. Many will refute that claim and suggest that if ‘less competent’ golfers struggle when the sun is shining, they have little chance of performing when the elements fight back.

So, in order to make my case, I’m going to lay out three reasons why winter is the best time for high-handicappers to shoot lower scores, which I hope will provide a little inspiration for our community to attack the season…

The Golfer Who Broke 90 In The Absence Of Sun

Before I get into the finer details of my argument, I’ll start by telling a brief story of a 20-handicapper who recently broke 90 for the first time ever (spoiler - it was me).

This achievement did not materialise in the sun-soaked domain of spring or summer, it was forged on the wind-battered, rain-doused battlefield of late autumn.

Now, you might be thinking… that’s not winter. But, let me tell you, the conditions were reflective of that time.

Hollow tined greens, whipping winds and greens so soft that it was like throwing darts (albeit, not very accurately).

This success was possible due to three factors that allowed me to play my best golf, all of which I believe apply to high-handicap golfers everywhere and should serve as motivation to make hay while the… winter chill stings your face.

1. A Lack Of Roll Can Be An Advantage

Most golfers feel penalised by the lack of roll on the fairways in winter. The moisture on the ground saps distance and the yardages they are hitting into the greens is inflated compared to a few months ago.

We know that negatively impacts an amateur's ability to hit greens in regulation, but what if that lack of roll forces high-handicappers to play more strategically?

Rather than putting the pedal to the ground on a 4-hybrid into the green, which might have been the option I’d gone for in summer, I’m now forced to lay up to within 50 yards of the green and get up and down for par, or two putt for an acceptable bogey.

The avoidance of bunkers and other hazards around the green provides a better opportunity to take a score of seven or eight out of the equation, while adding weight to the skill of a consistent short game - which you can practice, by the way.

There is also the added benefit of the ball stopping quickly on the fairway. For a slicer of the ball who often hits the fairway but fails to hold it, the soft bounce is actually advantageous.

No more chopping out from the trees, which further helps in the preservation of shots and my newly adopted bogey-golf strategy.

2. Hold The Green More Often

On the occasion where the green is reachable in two, despite the seasonal distance tax off the tee, I am now far more likely to hold the green.

Whether I am hitting a long iron that travels in with a lower flighted trajectory or a scoring club that gives me the chance to be more creative, I love the fact that the ball tends to stop almost exactly where it lands.

I won’t pretend to be calculating yardages with misguided notions of being able to land it on a 50-pence piece, but the putting surfaces on most courses are fairly reasonable and landing it somewhere on the short stuff is an achievable task.

Playing your third or fourth shot with a putter is a great way to shoot lower scores and cut your handicap, so any help the ground can give me in avoiding the spin-less interactions I often see in summer is much appreciated.

Oh, and don’t forget to repair your pitch marks. It’s just common decency when you are firing darts in like a pro.

3. Slow Greens, Yes Please!

Perhaps this is the reason why some of my best rounds have come on links golf courses, but I am not ashamed to admit that I love slow greens.

As an unapologetic AimPoint user, I back myself to read the greens fairly well whatever the weather - but pace control is often a different matter.

Lightning fast greens are my kryptonite, often leading a number of swipes with the flat stick and ruining the hard work I have done to avoid common high-handicap pitfalls on the way to the green.

Slow greens are kinder and more forgiving, at least for the high-handicap community. As evidenced by my first sub-90 score last week, I prefer to be able to take aim and be aggressive with my stroke.

If I can leave the ball within 3ft of the hole, I’ve avoided something that has consistently killed my pursuit of a score in the 80s - costly 3-putts.

Some of the flatter putts, with less break, are significantly more hole-able too. At least to my eye, anyway. I can be positive without worrying about de-greening it, which is a formula that I have found produces some of my better performances on the green.

My 7-iron is my favourite club. It’s my ‘go-to’ for precision. When I hit a basket of balls at the practice ground or warm up in the net before I play, I’ll always hit it. There’s just something about this club that gives me confidence. It feels effortless and easy to use.

It was the one club I chose when Golf Monthly asked me to write about the experiment of playing a whole round of golf with just one iron and a putter.

Like many of us, it was also the first ever club I hit when I was a beginner. My dad bought me a second-hand set of irons when I started playing golf as a teenager and I always took the 7-iron to the practice ground with me when I was taking lessons and learning. So it became my practice companion, and as a consequence of the years and years of repeatedly hitting it when I started out, it’s now my most-trusted club.

We all obsess about the distance our driver goes but this season I’ve become obsessed with the carry distance of my 7-iron. It all started when I went for a custom-fit with PXG back in the spring and the fitter, by switching shafts and handing me a head with more modern tech, was able to boost my 7-iron carry distance by nearly twenty yards.

When I had to revert to my old set (because it was cost-prohibitive for me to afford the PXG irons) I couldn’t help but notice the shortfall of my own 7-iron, especially playing county golf in match week for Dorset.

At the second hole, a par-3 measuring 151 yards, nearly every opponent I played against was hitting a 7-iron into it. Not me. I needed a 5-iron, and I hated it. Not just because my 5-iron is the hardest club to hit that I carry in my bag. But because I realised that at the elite handicap level (scratch or better) I should be hitting my irons further - in-line with everyone else.

It got me looking into the statistical averages, offered by data capture specialists Shot Scope. Did you know that there’s a staggering 51 yards between the distance that a scratch handicapper hits their 7-iron (average 149 yards) and a 30-handicap hits their 7-iron (average 98 yards). In golfing terms this is so critical to accuracy and scoring. The shorter the club you hit in, the easier and the more accurate you will be.

The typical tour player hits it even further. World Number One Nelly Korda will carry her 7-iron an incredible 154-yards. But how many of you actually know how far you hit your 7-iron? If you don’t then you are missing out on some vital information that could help you improve.

According to Shot Scope’s data, the average female amateur golfer hits their 7-iron 119 yards, but how does that relate to your handicap index bracket specifically? Below are the average carry distances for players ranging from scratch to a 30-handicap, when hitting their 7-iron:

Women's 7-Iron Distance

Data from Shot Scope users (yards)

Average Distance

Scratch

149

5-handicap

138

10-handicap

126

15-handicap

119

20-handicap

107

25-handicap

103

30-handicap

98

037.575112.5150

Average Distance Data

Product	Value
Scratch	149
5-handicap	138
10-handicap	126
15-handicap	119
20-handicap	107
25-handicap	103
30-handicap	98

Analysing the data, as you might expect, better players carry their 7-iron further than high-handicappers, with scratch golfers averaging 149 yards. For reference, that’s similar to the distance that the average 20-handicapper carries a 3-wood, which highlights the role that improved ball striking and, therefore, distance plays in cutting your handicap.

Put simply, if you can increase your 7-iron carry distance you’re going to lower your scores. It’s now my goal this winter. I’m going to stop fixating over my lack of length off the tee and forget about crunching drivers endlessly on the range. Instead, I’m going to work on my swing technique using my trusty 7-iron, the one club I can hit consistently, and see if I can boost that carry distance number up

If you were to draft a dream Scottish links itinerary on the back of a scorecard, chances are it would look like this: Royal Dornoch’s legendary championship course, the coastal brilliance of Nairn, and the modern drama of Castle Stuart at Cabot Highlands.

Now, those three heavyweights of the Scottish game are joining forces to launch what is shaping up to be one of the most lucrative and ambitious events on the UK calendar: the inaugural Highland Golf Links Women’s Pro-Am, scheduled for May 3–5, 2027.

This isn't just another date on the calendar, it’s an elevated, three-day escape. Blending fierce competition with a luxury retreat feel, it puts the pure fun of a women's golf weekend front and centre.

Real Prestige, Real Stakes

Open to 36 teams of four (comprising three amateurs and one professional), the tournament carries a projected professional prize fund of roughly £12,000 for a full field. In the landscape of domestic women’s pro-ams, that’s a serious purse, making it one of the most lucrative women’s pro-ams of its kind in the UK.

For the amateurs teeing it up alongside them, the lure is obvious: three consecutive days tackling world-class layouts in pristine championship condition. Alongside the professional prize fund, teams will compete for significant prizes, with entry including welcome gifts, daily hospitality, nearest-the-pin competitions and amateur and professional sweeps.

The lineup speaks for itself:

Royal Dornoch (Championship Course): Consistently ranked inside the top five courses on the planet, with more than 400 years of golfing heritage carved into the dunes overlooking the Dornoch Firth.

Nairn Golf Club: A masterclass in traditional seaside golf since 1887 and former host of the Curtis Cup, where every single outward hole hugs the shoreline of the Moray Firth.

Castle Stuart Golf Links: A four-time Scottish Open venue where wide fairways, sea views, and infinity greens create pure theatre.

Beyond The 18th Green

Where this event breaks away from the conventional tournament blueprint, however, is its conscious embrace of off-course culture.

“We wanted to create an event that felt like more than simply arriving, playing golf, and heading home,” explains Neil Hampton, General Manager at Royal Dornoch. “The chance to play Dornoch, Nairn, and Castle Stuart is obviously a massive draw, but the Highlands has so much more to offer. We want the women who come to experience the food, the people, the landscape, and everything that makes this corner of Scotland so special.”

That philosophy is woven into the entire week. Partnering with three of the region’s premier boutique hotels - Links House at Royal Dornoch, the Kingsmills Hotel, and Culloden House - the event is actively encouraging players to linger a little longer. The off-course menu reads more like a luxury lifestyle travel feature than a golf tournament itinerary:

• Private tartan design sessions with Highland weaver Prickly Thistle
• Heritage textile discoveries at Johnstons of Elgin
• Wine tastings overlooking the River Ness and single-malt cocktails at Glen Ord Distillery
• Cold-water sea dips and outdoor wood-fired saunas right on the Moray Firth for the brave

The Details

When: May 3–5, 2027 (with optional Sunday practice rounds and a welcome drinks reception on May 2).
Format: 54-hole team Pro-Am (3 amateurs, 1 professional per team).
Field: Strictly limited to 36 teams.
Entry: £3,180 per team (£2,650 + VAT), inclusive of welcome gifts, daily hospitality, sweeps, and on-course competitions.

With women’s participation growing and an increasing appetite for bucket-list golf travel that delivers on quality without sacrificing atmosphere, the Highland Golf Links Women’s Pro-Am isn't just filling a date in the diary, it’s setting a high benchmark for what modern women’s golf events ought to look like.

For further information, visit Highland Golf Links

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.

I really, really love food. I was having a conversation with my other half recently and she definitely raised an eyebrow when I said my favourite thing about being alive was eating. I quickly corrected myself and put ‘loved ones’ at the top of the list!

But, over the last few years, I’ve been increasingly watchful when it comes to my diet and more aware of what I’m putting in my body, driven by a combination of health niggles and an awareness that, nowadays, I simply can’t eat whatever I want whenever I want.

Previously, golf was ring-fenced and exempt from my self-imposed dietary rules, and to an extent it still is. If I’m playing on a Saturday, for example, I’ll sometimes still eat what I want before, during and after.

However, if I’m playing on a weekday, I now tend to eschew a bacon sandwich, egg roll or sausage roll at the halfway hut, even though I really want to eat all those items.

If I’m acting unhealthily on, say, a Thursday, I’ll then continue that trend until the following Monday, convincing myself there’s no point sandwiching a healthy Friday in between a Thursday golf session and the inevitable weekend excess.

But things changed this year – not just in terms of my consumption during the day, but also my scores on the course. There’s no question in my mind the two elements are related.

I’ve not been a great sleeper historically and that doesn’t often mesh well with golf, as I’m up early in the morning to head to wherever it is I’m playing. I haven’t had a car for the last few years, so that often resulted in me picking up a snack for the train journey.

If I didn’t succumb on the journey, I’d almost certainly enjoy a sausage or bacon roll at the club before heading onto the course. Studies show you’re far more likely to crave or consume unhealthy, high-calorie food if you’re tired or sleep-deprived.

But it’s just a short-term solution. I’d always start to flag towards the end of the front nine – a combination of existing tiredness, poor nutrition, dehydration and physical exertion – just in time to replenish the stocks with a sausage roll, a flapjack or an egg bap.

I can’t tell you how often I’ve messed up the 10th hole because I’ve spent more time scoffing a sandwich and dealing with the resulting egg yolk clean-up than focussing on the shots I’m supposed to be playing.

I don’t fall into the same traps nowadays, however. When you’re tired, it’s so easy to slip into bad habits, but you'll thank yourself after your round if you show some discipline. Trust me. Better decision making, better clarity, better focus and better scoring await.

What I Now Eat

For the most part, my golf-day diet now looks something like this:

Breakfast: soaked oats with skimmed milk, chia seeds and blueberries. If you’re anything like me, you’ll want to stay in bed for as long as possible, so I prepare this the night before. It literally takes three minutes and provides you with fibre, healthy fats, energy and protein.

Snacks: While I’m playing, I’ll make sure I have a banana, some carrot sticks and a bag of healthy nuts (like almonds) or a crunch bag (which contains dried corn and peas etc). Some of the ‘healthier’ alternatives to chocolate and crisps, like protein bars, still contain a lot of added sugar, which can cause you to crash. This combination takes the edge off my hunger but doesn’t make me feel sluggish.

Lunch (if between rounds or I’m playing in the afternoon): a chicken and salad, egg salad or hummus and salad sandwich on wholemeal bread, an apple and some nuts. It’s best to avoid refined carbohydrates (white bread etc) if at all possible, as wholemeal is fibre-rich and provides slow-release, sustained energy.

The other really important element is hydration. Research published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning showed even mildly dehydrated golfers suffered a reduction in shot distance. Being dehydrated also forces you heart to work harder, making you feel more sluggish on the back nine, and can contribute to poor decision making.

I’ve no doubt some of you reading this will think ‘what a load of nonsense’, and that’s fine. You can absolutely still play a great golf if you’ve enjoyed a bacon roll and a couple of pre-round pints and scoffed down a flapjack and a sausage roll at the halfway hut.

However, as someone who used to do the above on a regular basis and now thinks more about nutrition and what I’m putting in my body, I’m telling you it can make a massive difference.

I’ve played some of my best rounds of golf ever this summer and I’ve been more disciplined with my diet than ever before.

If you’re struggling on the course or looking for the small details that could help take your game to the next level, I’d strongly recommend scrutinising your diet and seeing if you can make any changes, even if they seem small. It could be the difference between breaking 80 for the first time or coming in with yet another 81.

Scratch golfers are some of the most accomplished players in the game, so what can you learn from the data behind their rounds?

We sought to find out just how they compile their low scores and compared those with 10-handicap golfers to see where the differences lie.

Thanks to Shot Scope's huge pool of statistics, we've managed to get a great look at where the shots are picked up for scratch players and lost for 10-handicaps.

In this piece, we'll look through all areas of the game, from scoring to driving, approach play, short game and putting.

So, how do the stats compare between scratch and 10-handicappers? Let's take a full look...

Scoring

We know scratch golfers obviously score significantly lower than 10-handicappers, but the breakdown of the data makes for fascinating reading.

They average just 0.2 over-par for both par 3s and par 4s, and they manage 0.2 under-par on the par 5s for a total average score of +2.01.

For 10-handicappers, they drop 0.7 shots on par 3s, 0.8 shots on par 4s and play par 5s in 0.6 over-par for a total average score of +12.96.

This means they score 0.5 strokes higher on par 3s, 0.6 higher on par 4s and a huge 0.8 higher on par 5s than scratch golfers.

So, according to Shot Scope data, the longer the hole, the more of an advantage the scratch player has.

Scoring

How scratch vs 10hcp scoring varies:

< Prev

Average score to par

Next >

Scratch

2.01

10hcp

12.96

03.757.511.2515

Average score to par Data

Product	Value
Scratch	2.01
10hcp	12.96

Scratch

3.2

10hcp

3.7

01234

Par 3 average score Data

Product	Value
Scratch	3.2
10hcp	3.7

Scratch

4.2

10hcp

4.8

012345

Par 4 average score Data

Product	Value
Scratch	4.2
10hcp	4.8

Scratch

4.8

10hcp

5.6

0123456

Par 5 average score Data

Product	Value
Scratch	4.8
10hcp	5.6

1 of 4

Data: Shot Scope

For scratch players' average of 2.01 over-par, they make birdie 13% of the time (2.34 per round), par 64% of holes, bogey just 22% of the time and make double or worse on only 2% of holes - which equates to one double or worse every 50 holes, which is just over one in three rounds.

The average 10-handicap makes under one birdie per round and pars just 40% of the holes (7.2 per round). They make the same number of pars as they do bogeys but throw in a costly 2.88 double bogeys or worse in every round.

To simplify that, 10-handicappers make 1.62 fewer birdies per round vs a scratch player, 4.32 fewer pars, 3.33 more bogeys and 2.61 more doubles or worse.

Scoring

Scratch vs 10hcp averages per round

< Prev

Birdies

Next >

Scratch

2.34

10hcp

0.72

0123

Birdies Data

Product	Value
Scratch	2.34
10hcp	0.72

Scratch

11.52

10hcp

7.2

03.757.511.2515

Pars Data

Product	Value
Scratch	11.52
10hcp	7.2

Scratch

3.87

10hcp

7.2

012345678

Bogeys Data

Product	Value
Scratch	3.87
10hcp	7.2

Scratch

0.27

10hcp

2.88

0123

Doubles or worse Data

Product	Value
Scratch	0.27
10hcp	2.88

1 of 4

Data: Shot Scope

Distance

Next up we'll look at distance, and scratch players have that in abundance.

They average an impressive 285 yards off the tee with driver, which is a healthy 26 yards longer than 10-handicappers.

Their 3-wood goes 261 yards on average, which means they are two yards longer with 3-wood than a 10-handicapper's drive (259 yards).

With 7-iron in hand, they have a 17-yard distance advantage (178 yards vs 161) and a 14-yard advantage with their pitching wedge (141 yards vs 127).

A takeaway could certainly be that if you want to get your handicap down, it might be worth doing some speed training to try and gain some valuable extra yardage - as it might just lead to lower scores.

Another interesting statistic is that scratch players only hit 2% more fairways than a 10-handicapper (50% vs 48%), which suggests driving accuracy isn't the be-all and end-all.

Distance

How scratch vs 10-handicappers compare in terms of distance

< Prev

Average driving distance (yards)

Next >

Scratch

285

10hcp

259

075150225300

Average driving distance (yards) Data

Product	Value
Scratch	285
10hcp	259

Scratch

261

10hcp

227

075150225300

Average 3-wood distance (yards) Data

Product	Value
Scratch	261
10hcp	227

Scratch

178

10hcp

161

050100150200

Average 7-iron distance (yards) Data

Product	Value
Scratch	178
10hcp	161

Scratch

141

10hcp

127

037.575112.5150

Average PW distance (yards) Data

Product	Value
Scratch	141
10hcp	127

1 of 4

Data: Shot Scope

Approach play

Thanks to their longer drives, scratch players have an easier time when approaching the greens - and the data shows it.

The average scratch handicapper hits 59% of greens in regulation, which equates to 10.62 per round.

That is 4.86 more than 10-handicappers, who hit an average of 32% (5.76).

This means scratch players miss 7.38 greens per round while 10-handicappers miss a whopping 12.34.

Scratch players' proximity to the hole is unsurprisingly higher too, with an average approach shot finishing 39ft closer to the hole.

Approach play

< Prev

All approaches (ft)

Next >

Scratch

65

10hcp

104

037.575112.5150

All approaches (ft) Data

Product	Value
Scratch	65
10hcp	104

Scratch

68

10hcp

101

037.575112.5150

7-iron (ft) Data

Product	Value
Scratch	68
10hcp	101

Scratch

52

10hcp

67

020406080

PW (ft) Data

Product	Value
Scratch	52
10hcp	67

Scratch

37

10hcp

60

015304560

SW (ft) Data

Product	Value
Scratch	37
10hcp	60

1 of 4

Data: Shot Scope

Short game

On the occasions that scratch golfers miss greens, they are significantly better at getting their ball up-and-down than 10-handicappers.

Again, it's not a surprising fact but the stats do still make for interesting reading.

From inside 25 yards, scratch players only hit it 2ft closer on average (9ft vs 11ft), whereas from 25-50 yards the gap climbs to 7ft (17ft vs 24ft).

From 0-50 yards, scratch players get up-down over half the time (54%) vs the 10-handicapper's average of 39%.

It's not rocket science but if you want to shoot lower scores, work on your short game.

Putting

A key reason for a better up-and-down percentage is due to scratch handicappers' skills on the greens.

They take an average of 1.3 fewer putts every single round and three-putt less than once per round vs a 10-handicapper's average of 1.5.

Remember those greens in regulation and proximity to the hole numbers? These are certainly why putting is a little easier for the scratch golfer, as they're 39ft closer to the hole on average.

Putting

Scratch vs 10hcp on the greens:

Versus Comparison Data

Attribute	Scratch	10hcp
Putts per round	29.9	31.2
Putts per GIR	1.85	2.01
3-putts per round	0.9	1.5

Scratch10hcp

VS

Scratch10hcp

Putts per round

29.9

31.2+4%

Putts per GIR

1.85

2.01+9%

3-putts per round

0.9

1.5+67%

Data: Shot Scope

It isn't just their long game prowess that results in fewer putts, though, as the stats show they are undoubtedly better putters, too.

For example, from 3-6ft they hole 76% of putts vs a 10-handicapper's 65% and they're better in all key areas below 24ft.

Conclusion

These fascinating statistics show that scratch players are better than 10-handicappers in every single area of the game - which we already knew. But what are the key findings?

I think distance is clearly key, and scratch golfers averaging 285 yards off the tee makes the game far easier from there on in. It means they're able to take less club, hit more greens and ultimately finish their ball closer to the pin.

So, if you're serious about getting your handicap down then adding distance is clearly a good idea.

Whether that's from speed training, improving technique or upgrading to one of the best drivers for distance, or a combination of all three, it could certainly cut some shots from your handicap.

There are areas where distance isn't a factor, or at least as much, and that is around the greens. Scratch golfers might have more speed and therefore can create more spin, but improving your proximity from inside that key 100 yard range will undoubtedly lead to lower scores.

Improving your putting is a simple way to lower your scores, too. Scratch golfers make 49% of 6-9ft putts whereas 10-handicappers make 39%, so that is a small difference but makes a big difference over the course of a season.

Making use of some of the best putting drills, simply spending more time working on your stroke or upgrading to a zero-torque putter might be another way to shave off some shots.

We hope you found this statistical deep-dive interesting. I'm now off to work on my putting...

When Margaret Montgomery stepped onto the first tee at Hexham Golf Club in Northumberland to mark her 100th birthday, she wasn’t just celebrating a remarkable personal milestone, she was proving that golf is so much more than a game.

Surrounded by a cheering crowd of around 50 fellow members, Margaret pulled out a very special ball: the exact same one she used to score a hole-in-one on Hexham’s 4th hole 35 years ago.

“I had made an idle boast when I was 98 that if I lived to 100, I would hit a ball off the 1st tee, so of course I was held to it!” Margaret laughs. "I felt quite at home, really. It was nice to be back on the tee. I just hit the one shot. It didn’t go very far, but it was straight. I can't do a full swing now, it’s more like a hockey shot. I used my rescue club to make sure I didn’t muff it. That’s the only club I kept; when I stopped I gave the rest to the pro shop for beginners."

Her modest assessment of a hockey shot at 100 years old is classic Margaret. She genuinely doesn't seem to realise just how incredible she is. While most of us would be thrilled to make solid contact at any age, here she is at a century old, stepping up in front of 50 people and launching a straight drive down the fairway with total composure.

Margaret’s path to the tee was anything but ordinary. Growing up in Scotland, her local course was reclaimed during World War II. It wasn’t until her late 20s, while working for the Colonial Service as a PA in Nigeria, where she also met her Scottish husband at a party on New Year's morning, that she took up golf simply because she was “no good at tennis,” the sport most of the other European women played.

"In Nigeria, we putted on 'browns' - small, oiled sand greens, and played with schoolboy caddies who used their toes to give your ball a little nudge out of the rough! There were no rules or handicaps" she recalls. "I even played in the club championship while six months pregnant. My bump stopped me from over-swinging, and I got all the way to the final!"

After returning to the UK in 1964 and raising two sons, Margaret’s golf took off in earnest when she retired in 1986. She immersed herself in club life at Hexham, serving on the committee as Competition Secretary for seven years, Lady Secretary, and eventually Lady President.

Throughout her playing days, Margaret reached a 19 handicap, though she modestly points out she never quite made it down into the silver category, confessing that she could just never read greens! Still, she played well into her nineties, winning her last 9-hole club competition at age 96.

Beyond the silverware and her hole-in-one, which she credits as her favourite achievement, especially because she actually saw the ball drop into the hole, it is the profound human connections that defined her decades on the fairways.

When her husband Roy passed away, it was her son Graeme who took her straight out to play a few holes the very next day, knowing that if she didn't return immediately, she might never go back. The course became her sanctuary, and the members her extended family. "When I made guest lists for my 100th birthday party, the longest list was the one headed Golf," Margaret says. "It’s a wonderful game for making real, lasting friends."

When I asked her how club life has changed over the last 40 years, Margaret noted a big shift in tone and culture. "When I first went to play at Hexham, there was very much a hierarchy, and you sort of had to mind your p’s and q’s with the older ladies," she says. "And back then, when women got to 70, they stopped playing golf and played bridge instead. I never succumbed to that!" Her secret to staying so sharp, active, and inspiring? Margaret puts it down to her trusted formula: "I tell people it’s down to four Gs - Genes, Golf, Gardening, and God!"

Her advice for anyone considering picking up a club? "Just keep playing, no matter what your standard is. If you start and you enjoy it, that’s it for life. I think this is the great thing about the sport. With the handicap system, you can play against anyone, and you can just go on playing provided you're reasonably fit. Especially now with the buggies, you can keep playing for so much longer."

Every so often, an interview comes along that stays with you. It was a privilege to chat with such an inspirational woman and hear about her career and the sheer joy golf has brought to her life. Having only given up driving her car locally at the age of 99, Margaret joked after her birthday drive that the single tee shot almost made her want to rejoin as a playing member. If she could still drive herself to the course, I wouldn't put it past her for a second!

There’s no getting away from the fact that golf gets trickier in the off-season to varying degrees and for various reasons. As the temperature plummets and conditions become softer (or harder sometimes when the mercury hits negative territory!), this already testing game adds another string to the bow of its many challenges.

Let’s face it – some days you will decide that it just isn’t worth heading out, and on others, that decision will be taken out of your hands as courses close due to either saturated terrain or frozen conditions.

But when it’s merely cold, windy or just a little bit wet, how can you go about neutralising the effects of the elements such that there is still much to enjoy on your winter outings? Here are ten ways to keep things just a little bit easier during the winter months...

Wet-weather gloves

It’s hard to keep your grips completely dry when the rain is falling, but cold hands and damp grips are a bad combination. Your scores and frustration levels will rise if you’re unable to keep hold of the club.

The best wet-weather gloves can help ease the challenge as they’re designed to enhance your grip on the club as the rain is falling and trying to keep everything bone-dry becomes an impossibly forlorn task.

Wedges with more bounce

A big danger when hitting wedge shots - or indeed any iron shot – from soft terrain is catching it heavy, spraying yourself with mud and watching your ball travel a very disappointing percentage of its desired distance.

The more bounce you have in the sole of your wedges, the more forgiving they will be in the strike on soft ground. Not all golfers will be in a position to draft in a fresh squad of the best high-bounce wedges for the winter, but many of us carry wedges with different bounces, and relying more on your higher-bounce models in soft winter conditions is definitely a good idea.

Make good use of your hybrids

In a similar vein, the best hybrids offer a greater degree of forgiveness through the turf than long- and mid-irons. If you alternate between long irons and hybrids, winter is the time to put more of the latter in the bag. Their wide, forgiving rounded soles are far less likely to dig through impact.

If switching clubs is not an option, the ball travels shorter distances in winter so you can potentially hit your hybrids from distances that might normally be a long- or mid-iron for you. It’s even worth considering three-quarter shots with your hybrids rather than flat-out irons to reap the benefits of their extra forgiveness.

And you may well enjoy more success on straightforward greenside chips from soft or muddy ground with a wide-soled hybrid than your wedges or any other iron. But do practise the hybrid chip first as the hollow head means the ball comes off the face much faster than with other chipping clubs.

Layering

Layering has become a really big thing in recent years, although of course, we all did it to varying degrees long before.

Now it’s much more high-tech, with various performance-enhancing fabrics and technologies helping you achieve the warmth you desire via three or four thinner garments from base layer to outer jacket rather than having to rely on bulky clothing that can hamper your ability to swing freely.

Waterproofs with stretch panels

Continuing on this theme, some golfers are reluctant to don their waterproof jackets as they feel restricted when wearing them, particularly over those slightly thicker winter mid-layers.

If you want to play your best in the rain, you need a waterproof jacket that not only keeps the wind and rain out but also allows you to swing unrestricted. Many of the best golf waterproofs achieve this via the clever use of stretch panels or fabrics in the back, shoulders and perhaps sides.

If your waterproof jacket is quite literally holding you back, it may be time to invest if you want to play on through the winter.

Winter mitts

It’s hard to hit the ball well when you’ve lost all feeling in your hands and fingers, so something to keep them warmer when you’re not hitting shots (which is the vast majority of any round, after all!) almost goes without saying.

Some of the best winter mitts even have a pouch or slot for a separate handwarmer for double the warmth.

Manage expectations

We all know that golf can feel easier when you’re not trying too hard and winter is a good time to put theory to test on that front. When conditions are undeniably conspiring against any prospect of playing your best golf, why put too much pressure on yourself to do so?

Better to not expect too much of your game, at least from a scoring perspective, and focus on just being out there with friends enjoying yourself and maybe even experimenting with different shots and swing thoughts when the score really doesn’t matter.

Accept distances will be down

Roll distance will obviously be less in soft winter conditions but your carry yardages will be down too for various reasons. So, how does temperature affect golf ball distance?

First, the ball’s core and other layers will behave differently when cold. Then, cold air is denser than warm air, which creates more drag and resistance. Finally, layering up may still hamper your ability to swing at your normal peak-season speed even with today’s high-tech garments.

The end result is that you will hit the ball shorter distances, so the best thing to do is to accept that, stop thrashing at it to try and achieve your ‘normal’ distance and simply club up as required – not a bad year-round lesson for most of us anyway, as we invariably leave far more approach shots short of the target than long!

Spare ball in the pocket

One way you can help yourself on the distance front is to keep a spare ball in your pocket where your body heat will keep it warmer than it would be in your golf bag. Switching between warm and cold golf balls from one hole to the next could help you retain a little more of your normal carry distance.

However, while putting the ball in your pocket to keep it warmer doesn’t infringe the Rules, using a handwarmer or other device within your pocket to further enhance the warmth would, so avoid doing that if you’re playing any competitive golf over the winter.

Tee it forward

And finally, at many courses you may not get a choice over which tees to play from in the winter, but when various tee markers are still out, it’s time to forget machismo or bravado and tee it forward a little.

There’s plenty of time to really challenge yourself from further back if you so desire from March to September/October, but in winter, give yourself a break and play a course you can still cope with.

As mentioned previously, the ball doesn’t carry or roll as far in cold temperatures and soft conditions, so unless you want to be removing a headcover for nearly every approach shot, give yourself a head start from the tee.

At Golf Monthly, we get very excited when a new product appears on the Conforming List. It happens throughout the year, although some periods are busier than others.

Take ‘new driver season’ for example, which typically comes at the start of the year, as leading golf brands get ready to launch major new ranges and upgraded families of woods and irons.

For the equipment team, it’s like Christmas - new gear to test. Lots and lots of new gear to hit before it’s even released to the general golfing public.

No product makes it onto the Conforming List without being tested rigorously, which means a lot of work behind the scenes.

And it’s not just big brands innovating. Anyone and everyone can submit a product to The R&A, whether it’s an ultra-forgiving driver or a genius new golf tee.

“We get product from all kinds of people, from massive companies and global brands who everyone will have heard of, to an individual who’s designed a new product by themself,” says Dr Mark Grattan, Director of Equipment Standards for The R&A.

“A lot of time and effort goes into testing the equipment because the decisions that we are making are crucial.”

Anyone can check the Equipment Database to check whether a golf club has been submitted and evaluated for conformance to the Rules of Golf, and the conformance of golf clubs is covered under Rule 4.1 (“Clubs”) and in detail within the Equipment Rules maintained jointly by The R&A and the USGA.

Testing At Kingsbarns

So, what is the evaluation process for determining whether a golf club passes the test? Are we talking about robots on the range hitting hundreds of golf balls?

Not quite. While there is a main building facility where testing occurs, the procedure involves several technical layers.

Products are tested at The R&A’s state-of-the-art facility at Kingsbarns. Items are sent to Scotland from around the world for evaluation, with the vast majority originating from Japan (manufacturers headquartered in the US or Mexico mostly submit their equipment directly to the USGA).

At Allan Robertson House, not far from The R&A’s headquarters in St Andrews, a team of technicians, engineers, scientists and mathematicians tests the many products sent in for evaluation.

Take a driver, for example. Lots of regular golfers will know that the maximum volume of the clubhead must not exceed 460cc. However, there are lots of different technical criteria the club must meet before it gets put on the Conforming List, such as Moment of Inertia (MOI) and Characteristic Time (CT).

Don’t worry if you don't know your MOI from your CT. If you’ve bought one of the best drivers here, you can be sure that it's passed all the tests, as have your best wedges, best sets of irons, best fairway woods, and best putters.

“The major brands know the process very well,” explains Dr Grattan. “They’re submitting products to us well in advance so they’re ready for play well ahead of the release.”

Does this mean major global golf brands are constantly sending thousands of prototypes to Kingsbarns every week?

“The rough rule of thumb, if you want to submit a club for a conformance decision, is that you send one representative sample from the production line,” says Dr Grattan.

“It’s not a case that you have to submit 20. We make a decision based on how that representative sample conforms to the rules.”

With irons, that would mean submitting the whole set; for example, every iron from 4-iron to pitching wedge.

Right- and left-handed clubs are treated as different models, and so are different lofts of woods, hybrids and wedges. This means one of each must be submitted for testing.

Protecting The Game

“It’s a kind of ‘one and done’ approach,” adds Dr Grattan, “but is supplemented by occasional check testing.”

Ultimately, every part of this evaluation process exists to safeguard the integrity of the sport.

“We’re not stopping innovation; that’s not what we’re about,” says Dr Grattan. “We want to make sure product is innovated in the right way and that there’s not an advantage for a particular piece of equipment in some way.”

After a product is officially verified as conforming, it is placed on the Conforming List or Informational Database, giving golfers assurance that it is conforming.

Have you designed a product that could revolutionize the game of golf? Maybe you have, but is it conforming? Best get that sample sent to Kingsbarns...

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.

Hitting it straight and keeping it in play are important, but what if you are well and truly fed up seeing your fellow playing partners, who look no stronger or more powerful than you, bomb it past you, time and time again. Or you simply feel your driver just isn’t doing what it’s supposed to and appears to go no further than your fairway wood.

In desperation you start listening to others well-meaning advice, such as, keep your head down, swing it low and slow back, tee it higher, tee it lower. It can get very confusing fast, because what works for one person doesn’t always work for another.

The search for more distance is a common request I hear when coaching and one I love to take on, because often the biggest gains come from understanding what actually matters when it comes to hitting longer drives. Here are some of the most common myths I hear that are likely holding you back and what you should really be focusing on.

Longer Swing = More Power

Making your backswing longer doesn’t automatically mean you’ll hit the ball further. If you force a bigger backswing than your mobility allows, you will likely lose your balance, timing and ability to strike the ball consistently. Without good balance you cannot deliver power into the back of the ball and poor timing will mean you will be more prone to miss hits.

What You Should Focus On

A shorter, well-timed backswing that you can consistently get back to the ball will always send it further than an off-balance, poorly struck ball. Experiment hitting drives with different swing lengths to find the sweet spot for your strike and power, it might surprise you how powerful a shorter swing can be.

Keep Your Head Down

Ah yes, the old classic of keeping your head down. In 20 years of coaching I can count on one hand where this has been the root cause of problems. Trying to keep your head still, or worse fixed, can create unnecessary tension and restrict your body’s ability to rotate.

Tension is a killer for speed, which is ultimately what achieves more distance. Imagine trying to play any other racket sport with your grip and arm clenched – impossible and not only that, it increases your chances of injury.

What You Should Focus On

Your head will naturally move as your shoulders turn in the backswing, and your body rotates through impact. So instead of concentrating on keeping your head position fixed, focus on maintaining your posture, turning comfortably and allowing your body to move athletically.

Again, if you play a racket sport like tennis, once you’ve hit the ball you follow it and flow with the movement of energy. In the golf swing we want to control excessive movement, not eliminate movement all together. So, unless you are a meerkat popping your head up all over the place, swing freely and enjoy the feeling of more energy through the ball.

A Stronger Grip Will Send It Further

A stronger grip means rotating both hands further around the grip to your trail side. You will be able to see three or more knuckles on the top hand and your lower hand is more underneath the grip, sitting in the palm. This can make it easier for some golfers to square the clubface at impact, but it doesn’t automatically result in more clubhead speed.

Your grip placement has a huge effect on how the clubface behaves throughout the swing and how your body has to move in order to hit the ball. Changing it without understanding this can create more problems than it solves, as it is more likely to lead to a closed clubface through impact. Hello left side of the course, and if you are already struggling to get the driver up in the air…uh oh!

What You Should Focus On

A grip that suits your hand size and strength. When women start playing golf, they are often encouraged to use an interlocking grip because it is considered a good option for smaller hands. However, in an effort to make the grip feel less awkward and more comfortable there is a tendency to push the hands and fingers together too much, leading to an over-tense and strong grip.

In my coaching, I’ve had great success switching women from an overly strong tense grip to the more neutral, ten finger/baseball grip, which is easy to get right every time, reduces tension and having more fingers on the grip feels powerful!

You Need To Swing as Hard As Possible

When you’re standing on the tee and desperate to squeeze every last yard out of your driver, it’s tempting to throw everything you’ve got at the ball. But trying to hit it harder often brings unnecessary tension, which will make it difficult to generate any real speed. Add a loss of balance into the mix and all that extra effort can count for very little. After all, you can’t fire a cannon from a canoe! The key is to generate speed without sacrificing your balance, freedom of movement and quality of strike.

What You Should Focus On

Creating speed without tension. An athletic fast swing that allows your body to move naturally and accelerates the club through impact. I recommend working on swing speed for everyone I teach who is on the quest for more distance. Clubhead speed is not a gift you are born with and is a skill you can develop, along with making sure your swing path is on track.

Your Left Arm Must Stay Completely Straight

You’ve probably been told that keeping your left arm perfectly straight (right arm for left-handed golfers) throughout the backswing is essential for hitting the ball further. While a relatively extended lead arm can help you maintain the structure of your swing and create a wider arc, obsessing over it and locking your elbow rigidly can introduce our nemesis tension and restrict your movement.

What You Should Focus On

As long as you don’t excessively bend your left arm, having a bit of bend is better if it keeps your swing relaxed. Swinging within yourself and keeping your backswing comfortable and repeatable is what matters most.

You don’t need to completely rebuild your swing to find more distance off the tee. Sometimes, it’s about challenging the advice you’ve always followed and understanding what really moves the needle when it comes to generating speed and power.

A free swing, striking the ball efficiently and finding a technique that works for your body is the goal, rather than forcing yourself into positions that feel unnatural. The priority should be making the most of what you’ve got and if you need more, knowing that there are ways to improve. Try changing one thing at a time, and you might be surprised by how many extra yards you can find without changing your entire game.

I had one goal this year: to make my bad rounds better. For someone used to setting ambitious goals, this felt different. I wasn't chasing a handicap cut or a personal best score.

I wanted to narrow the extremes – to raise my floor rather than chase my ceiling. Because it's the bad rounds that cost the most. They're the ones that leave us walking off the 18th green feeling deflated, wondering how that just happened.

I've always been a rollercoaster golfer, with some of my lowest rounds made up of birdies, doubles and the steadier holes in between. That counterbalance can work but it makes shooting solid scores harder than it needs to be.

So my approach this year was what has always worked for me but kicked up a gear. When I cut my handicap from 34 to 9 in a year, I did it by finding the biggest leaks in my game and plugging them one at a time.

This season I wanted to go a step further. I wanted to understand the patterns behind my big numbers, so I could change the sequence of events that led to them.

Understanding My Patterns

Looking at my double bogey (or worse) holes, I noticed that most of them began in the same place: off the tee. A tee shot would find trouble and I wouldn't save the hole well enough from there.

That might be a chip out that didn't run far enough, leaving my next shot blocked by branches. Or a missed fairway turned into a missed green and the hole slipped through my fingers. And sometimes it didn't even start with a bad shot. A well-struck drive would reach a fairway bunker and I'd spend my next shot recovering rather than going for the green.

The common thread was that one shot put me on the back foot and the next kept me there. To pull out my patterns, I sort every dropped shot into one of three pillars: strike, strategy and scramble. After each round I ask myself:

Did the swing do what I meant? That's strike.
Was it the right shot to play? That's strategy.
When I missed, did I save myself? That's scramble.

When two of the three are working, you're on for a solid round. When all three come together, that's the score dreams are made of. But when only one is alive, it's a struggle.

Through that lens, my big holes made sense. A blocked drive was a strike issue. Taking on the bunker was a strategy slip. A missed green that wasn't saved was a scramble leak. When two or three of those stacked up on the same hole, that's where the doubles came from.

Dissecting my rounds this way also told me where to put my effort. Strike and scramble leaks get fixed in practice. Strategy slips get fixed on the course.

Breaking The Chain

So my first step was keeping those costly tee shots at bay. That didn't mean hitting every fairway. It meant being in play and giving myself a chance with my next shot, rather than needing one to recover.

For the ones that did find trouble, I had a strategy to stop the hole unravelling: when in trouble, don't make double.

That came together in what might be my highlight round of the season. It wasn't a round filled with birdies or even brilliant shots. Far from it. But it was my first competitive round without a double bogey.

As my patterns might suggest, my tee shots were wildly off that day. They found trees and bunkers and even came close to the neighbouring hole's fairway. It was a testing day off the tee. But what saved me was my strategy and scrambling. And I finished only a few shots off my lowest competition score. A number that felt far from how I was swinging it.

It was one of my best putting rounds to date, with 31 putts and no three-putts. And I got up and down five times. That’s why the one club that isn’t changing after my full bag fitting is my putter.

The hole I'm proudest of was the last. After making it through 17 holes without a double bogey, I swiftly sent my final tee shot into someone's back garden. Of course.

I won't deny that my heart sank at this point. I thought that was it – my run had come to an end. But I steadied myself, hit a decent second ball and made the quiet promise that I was still going to scramble a bogey. And I did.

That round and that final hole gave me something no round had before. A confidence that I can score well, even when I'm not swinging well. That if I stick to my strategy and back myself, rather than panic and chase the hero shots, my score will thank me for it.

Tracking Small Wins

My progress this year has come in steps. That double-free round made it clear that keeping my tee shots in play was my number one priority. It also left me curious to see what I could score when I wasn't on the back foot so much.

Now that I’ve plugged that leak, my next step is improving my accuracy into the green. Trail Golf – the platform I’ve built to help golfers understand the patterns behind their scores – has shown me that par-3s are my weakest area against my score goal.

That's what I enjoy about working this way – it gives me a clear focus for my practice and a measure of progress in my play. Each step is small enough to work on and track. And it gives me something to hold onto during a round. Hitting those par-3 greens.

Knowing This Winter's Work

So I go into winter with a clear plan. My fairway-finding is where it needs to be for my score goal but greens hit are not. That means I'll be working on my strike to hit more. And I know where my miss comes from.

I have a habit of getting stuck in my downswing and coming in with a shallower angle of attack than I'd like. That's when the high, right miss creeps in. And par 3s are where I feel it most, with an iron in my hand off the tee.

The exciting thing is I'm going into it with freshly fitted clubs. My new iron shafts have a stronger tip profile, which brings my high ball flight down and gives me more stability through the ball.

I love working on my swing, not because I'm chasing perfection but because I enjoy the puzzle. And as the cold sets in and short game practice gets tougher, winter is the perfect time for it.

Looking Ahead

As I reflect on this season, it feels like one of building momentum. I'm the lowest handicap I've ever been at 4.4, having started the year at 6.9. And that cut hasn't come from chasing it. It's come from understanding my game – where I'm leaking shots and what's leading to those big numbers – and then doing something about it.

What stays the same next year is the approach: understanding my patterns and putting my energy into plugging my costliest leak. Strategy and scramble carried me through this season. If I can bring my strike up to meet them, the rounds where all three come together might stop being the stuff of dreams.

Follow Jess’ work this winter on her Instagram and TikTok.

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.

Most club golfers would be able to tell me their handicap index in a heartbeat, but how many can confidently say if they sit in the low-, mid- or high-handicap bracket?

I recently wrote an article on progress suffocating me, where I confidently exclaimed my own status, but not everyone agreed with my analysis of my position in the handicap food chain.

Despite outlining that my handicap is tumbling down and I am playing off my lowest ever index, one reader was still less than convinced that I qualified for 'the mid-handicapper' band...

What Handicap Index Qualifies A Golfer As A Mid-Handicapper?

On my recent article, user 'Terryfwall' commented, "I have no idea what Baz's problems are but he should stop believing he is a mid-handicapper for starters.

"He is a high-handicapper, anyone worse than he is is just a beginner, or has something else that prevents him playing well."

Terry may well have a point. In my haste to become a better player and fuelled by my ambition to rid myself of the 'high-handicapper' tag that has stuck with me for years, I might have got a little ahead of myself.

In order to provide clarity and clear this matter up once and for all, I asked a number of the Golf Monthly team for their thoughts on the matter. I'd also appreciate your input, so drop me a comment with your verdict at the bottom of this article.

I would consider a mid-handicapper someone from 12-18. 12s are closer to low and 18s are obviously closer to high, so a tighter range would be 13-17.

I think anyone 11 and below can consider themselves a low-handicapper as they can still regularly break 80 on a good day, which is low-handicap golf to me.

Anyone above 18 is still in that 'high' handicap zone as, despite being able to call themselves a decent golfer, they're likely capable of the odd 100+ round still, whereas they're much rarer with players below 18.

Verdict: Baz is not a mid-handicap golfer

My first instinct was to say a mid-handicapper is anywhere between 10 and 18. That seems to make sense as a low-handicapper, in my eyes, is definitely a single-figure player while a high handicapper is anyone who receives more than one shot per hole.

Having said that, now that handicaps can rise as high as 54, perhaps the tolerance should be much higher? Would it not then make sense for the upper limit to be more like 27? Just a thought...

Verdict: Baz is not a mid-handicap golfer

I would say a mid-handicapper is someone between the handicap ranges of 12 and 19.9.

I did initially start at 10, but I think someone who can regularly shoot in the mid-80s and has presumably broken 80 at least once is in a higher bracket than 'mid'.

I also toyed with the idea of going up to 22, but people in that range will be failing to break 100 at least some of the time, so again I don't think that can be considered 'mid'.

If you're able to consistently shoot in the mid-to-high 80s, I think that makes you a mid-handicap golfer.

Verdict: Baz is not a mid-handicap golfer

The Results

It turns out, I am really going to need some of you to comment and save my argument here.

With three of my colleagues suggesting that I am, in fact, not a mid-handicap golfer - it appears Terry is correct.

My theory, which actually links to something Jonny said, is that with handicap limits now reaching the mid-50s, my mathematical brain tells me that a handicap of 20 is below the middle line.

Therefore, I am sticking to my guns - but I am also prepared to be told I am wrong by many, many more of you... if that's how you feel!

Last December I visited my family in South Florida, and my husband and I decided to make a golf trip of it while my mom watched our boys. We drove 2.5 hours to Orlando, checked into Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill Club and Lodge, and were both stoked for not only our first golf trip together, but time spent at a lovely course in beautiful winter Florida weather.

The morning of our tee time, the sun was shining, we had breakfast overlooking the practice area, and I was sinking warm-up putts like it was my job. It was setting up to be the perfect day. But, my perfect day didn’t last long.

We pulled up to the first tee where one of our playing partners was in a heated argument with the starter over the price of the required caddie. His twenty-something son quietly stood by, embarrassed. The four of us shared the caddie.

This may have been the son’s first time ever hitting a golf ball. He used a 1-iron on every shot, but either didn’t make contact or topped his ball. The father had the longest pre-shot routine known to man and then hit the majority of his balls into the many lovely lakes along the fairways. The poor caddie got his cardio in for the day.

Things got worse. The pair wasn’t picking up at a reasonable pace, we had groups waiting on us. At this point I was stressed and rushing (and we all know what that does to a golf game), and we ended up so far behind that the ranger tagged along for a large part of the round.

When you’re paying high greens fees and playing at a special course, is it unreasonable to expect your playing partners to at least be pleasant and conscious of pace of play?

I’ve thought a lot about this experience and what I could have done differently to make it more enjoyable, instead of silently being annoyed for most of the round. Here are the top 5 changes I came up with.

Call Ahead And Talk To The Pro Shop About Pairings

Whether you’d rather play the course as a twosome or enjoy any and all company, call ahead and ask the pro to make a note. There’s no downside to giving your preference, especially if you’re flexible on time and the pro shop can play around with your tee time.

During a different round in Florida at another course, the pro was so thoughtful, he paired us with another couple, regulars at the course, and knew they’d be enjoyable playing partners. It was great, and we ended up exchanging numbers and going to dinner with them when we finished.

Take The Pressure Off Having The Best Round Ever

I went into Bay Hill thinking I would score lower than I ever had. But, what I should have done was just take it for what it is: a vacation! You’re there to enjoy yourself while spending time outside in beautiful scenery, and it’s a bonus if you also play really good golf.

Go in with goals other than the score. Chances are, the memories you’ll bring home are the beauty of the course, the company, the feeling of being present and without your phone for hours – and not the missed putt on the 4th hole.

Set Some Ground Rules On The First Hole

On a more recent trip, my husband was waiting on the first tee, club in hand, ball teed up, for our chatty partner to wrap up a story about his cousin’s golf club’s dress code that changed five years ago. You can typically tell on the first tee if you’ll have a playing partner you’re excited about spending the next four hours with, or if you’ll be ready to cut out at the turn.

Without being rude, there must be a way to politely ask to pause the story or turn down the music while we take our turns. I’m still working on this one. It’s uncomfortable to ask, but is it worth potentially spoiling my whole round because I didn’t speak up?

Plan Other Activities Besides Golf

Even though you’re playing golf on your trip, the entire trip doesn’t have to revolve around golf. Our short time away from our kids was so focused on golf that we both felt kind of deflated after the round, almost like we didn’t take advantage, or make the most of, our time away. Next time, I’d plan some sightseeing or other activities that we are equally looking forward to, which would make the trip feel more well-rounded.

Stick To My Typical Routine

When I felt rushed, my golf game suffered. This was a year ago, and I have better skills to handle this feeling now, but at the time, I let it consume me. If I could go back, I’d tell myself to stick to my pre-shot routine and slow down my swing. I can’t control a lot of factors on the course, but one thing I can control is how I approach each shot.

I’d love to hear about your nightmare holiday golf stories, and if you haven’t experienced it, I hope this advice ensures that you never do. Or, maybe the best and safest tip I can give is to always travel as a foursome!

Before I get into the gear changes that have helped me to play my best golf in 2026, let me take you on a very, very short (I promise) jaunt through the torrid history of my golf.

After taking up the game in my 30s, I started life as a pure beginner with many of the common faults that high-handicappers.

While progress was made, thanks to a training programme that helped me drive the ball over 240 yards and shoot my best ever score, I still hadn’t been able to shake the high-handicapper tag despite trying tirelessly last year.

As we approached a new golf season in 2026, I decided that I’d take a different approach and focus intently on the gear and tech that I was using in the battle to break 90 for the first time ever.

In just a few months, I discovered that a series of simple changes yielded some pretty impressive results - and I am now playing off my best handicap index ever.

So, in a bid to help you round out 2026 in style on the golf course, I thought I’d share my newly-possessed wisdom in the hope that it propels you to a handicap cut…

3 Gear Changes That Have Helped Me Play My Best Golf In 2026

I'm going to start with a disclaimer.

I am by no means the sharpest gear mind on the Golf Monthly team, in fact... I'm probably down in the Tottenham Hotspur zone.

However, the tips that I am about to share with you are things that have genuinely helped me to shoot lower scores this season - which is the goal, right?

If you decide to take one, two or all three of these onboard - that's great.

If, however, you have some of your own lessons that have helped to improve your game that you'd like to share with others in the same way... even better.

Drop us a comment at the bottom of this article and let's shift the needle towards progress for the high-handicap collective.

1. Custom Fitting

This technically wasn't my first experience of a custom fitting, but the opportunity to be kitted out with the Benross RS line in April this year has certainly had a positive impact on my game.

My game, and my golf swing, had changed so much since me last custom fitting - so there were plenty of opportunities to see progress and yield those marginal gains.

As you can see in the video below, I achieved a 10 yard carry distance boost with the new irons and increased ball speed with the driver.

The process couldn't have been easier either.

I turned up and hit some shots with my old tech, had a great discussion with a very knowledgable fitter who helped to steer the journey towards something new and finished by accumulating some data while testing out the new gear.

As a high-handicapper, this is just as much about understanding the equipment and the role it can play in helping you to play better golf as it is about the excitement of a shiny new toy in the bag.

Confidence plays a huge role in success on the course too.

Knowing that these clubs have been optimised for my swing characteristics certainly boosts trust, but I have also noticed more consistent dispersion and (mostly) better ball striking with them in my bag.

Highly recommend custom fitting for anyone who is considering switching things up - find what's right for you and your game!

2. Picking The Right Golf Ball

Until this year, I'd never given any thought to whether or not I am playing the right golf ball for my game.

I typically played whatever I had accumulated in my golf bag, stocked through Christmas gifts and stray gems found in the trees, but those days are over.

After speaking to some of the very knowledgable gear people on the team, it turns out that your golf ball can do a lot for your game.

With that in mind, I decided to ask our new AI Gear finder to recommend my optimal golf ball - and it did a great job!

I picked up a dozen Srixon Q-Star Tour 2026 balls and took them straight out onto the course, where I shot my best round in months and finished second in the Golf Monthly Autumn Winter Test Day competition.

The benefits of a more controllable ball flight off the tee and extra spin on the greens, along with the work I've been doing at the driving range, propelled me to an under-par score for the first time in a while - so chose your ball wisely, people!

3. Practice Tech

If, like me, you spend most of your limited practice time hitting on a driving range that doesn't have a distance measuring device fitted on it - you are relying on a bit of guesswork when it comes to feedback.

That all changed this year when I decided to take proactive action and acquire some new tech - specifically the Shot Scope LM1.

This fantastic bit of kit fits neatly into your golf bag, charges quickly and is super easy to use - but more importantly it gives you accurate feedback on key metrics like carry distance, total distance, clubhead speed, ball speed and smash factor.

Adding the LM1 to my practice gave the whole thing a bit more purpose, but it also encouraged me to take on a little challenge over the summer.

As you can see in the video above, I started off by calculating my club carry distances in the scoring zone (150 yards and in).

This data highlighted some trends that I explored with PGA Pro Alex James, who helped me with a little technical swing work to tighten up those numbers and help me get dialled in from this crucial range.

Taking that feedback onto the range, with the LM1 in tow, I was able to work on hitting more greens in regulation from 150 yards and in.

This involved some great drills, like hitting a set yardage window three times in a row and working my way up and down a distance ladder with different clubs.

The key point is, none of this is possible (or at least not particularly useful) if you don't receive accurate data on your carry distances.

The result: I managed to double my greens in regulation percentage and hit around six per round on average - which is helping to nudge my handicap in the right direction.

When I speak to female non-golfers, there is still a huge amount of obvious stigma attached to the game that stops them from giving it a go. The usual excuses come up: “It takes all day,” “I can’t play golf until I’m retired,” and “It’s too expensive.”

For me, those are just standard excuses from anyone who isn’t yet interested in taking up the game. The real issues start once someone has tried golf, fallen in love with it, and wants to progress.

The real killers are the unwritten rules that many clubs still abide by, rules that stop beginners and new female golfers from progressing onto membership or regularly playing the course. Women don’t need golf made easier or more appealing; they need clubs to adapt and make the game feel fresh and inclusive.

Here are my top seven gripes that I hear all the time from both new and established golfers. I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments at the bottom of this article.

Now You Can Hit A Ball, You Should Join As A Full Member

A number of beginners give up simply because they are pointed towards a full membership that doesn’t fit their lifestyle. Straight out of lessons, many golf club members assume that a full or 5-day membership is the natural next step. But someone who has only had six golf lessons isn’t necessarily ready to commit to traditional club life or pay for a 7-day membership.

There needs to be a clear pathway, which is often missing. An ideal progression would look like this:

Try golf → Beginner programme → Social golf → Flexible membership → Regular membership → Competition

Not: Try golf → £££ Full Membership → Sink or Swim

England Golf’s 2026 workshops specifically identify time, accessibility, and value for money as major barriers. Clubs are being actively encouraged to create structured pathways rather than treating full membership as the immediate next step.

OLD UNWRITTEN RULE: After a few lessons, there’s an underlying expectation that you’ll upgrade to full membership.

NEW RULE: Membership should meet a golfer where she is, not demand she become someone else first. Every facility needs a visible pathway that caters to differing needs, even if that means local facilities working together to cover all bases.

You Need To Know The Etiquette Before You Turn Up

Golf rules and etiquette make many women fear going out on the course because they don’t want to get told off. This applies equally to junior golfers, and I firmly believe nobody should have to learn golf club culture by accidentally breaking it.

I make this a central part of my coaching. The fear of going on the course is removed because we spend lesson time on the course itself, answering the practical questions every beginner wonders about:

Where do I park and where do I go?
What tee do I use, and can I wear this?
Who do I ask for help?
What happens if I lose my ball or hold people up?
Do I shake hands at the end?

If we don't address these questions in lessons, every round becomes a test the new player feels she is failing.

OLD UNWRITTEN RULE: Learn our unwritten etiquette by trial and error (and risk getting scolded).

NEW RULE: Every club pro coaches etiquette as part of their lessons so golfers learn without feeling silly. Clubs should offer a simple "How this club works" orientation and make asking questions completely normal.

Ladies’ Day On Tuesday Morning

Ladies’ day is traditionally midweek, but why should golf only happen when the club has always offered it? When clubs complain they have no female members under 50, this is usually why.

Clubs cling to ladies’ day, but it often leaves working women with few competition options. If you can’t play on that specific weekday, you can end up feeling practically ostracised.

Every day should be member's day, and every member should feel welcome to play at any time. The "Saturday morning boys' club" shouldn't exist anymore - you know the one I mean! If I drive past the 1st tee of my local club on a Saturday morning, it’s a sea of men. Rarely do I see a woman teeing off or waiting to do so. It creates a male-dominated atmosphere that is easily enough to intimidate any woman looking to play on her weekend.

Unequal access to prime weekend tee times remains an issue. Men often hog the Saturday morning slots, partly because the existence of midweek ladies' day makes it accepted. It’s time to ensure working women and younger players get equal access to prime times.

If I were running a club, I’d encourage female members to get out there in those Saturday slots, showing others that they can enjoy a great game with any group without imposter syndrome.

OLD UNWRITTEN RULE: Female golf happens during midweek morning slots.

NEW RULE: A golfer shouldn’t have to reorganise her life around the club; golf must fit around women’s lives.

You’re Female, So You Belong In The Ladies’ Section

This assumption is too often the undoing of member retention. I strongly believe clubs need to mix up their membership regularly. Men, women, seniors, and juniors should play together and learn from one another.

I’ve seen mixed play work brilliantly, and I’ve also seen how damaging it is to young female golfers when it isn't an option. Women usually pay the same membership fees as men, yet often face far more restrictions, sometimes imposed by the women’s section itself.

It's time to normalise mixed golf and open competitions for everyone across both weekdays and weekends. Giving everyone the opportunity to play alongside female golfers, especially juniors, helps eliminate the casual sexism inherent in many traditional environments. Teaching the next generation to see mixed golf as standard is the way forward.

Furthermore, joining a club shouldn't force you into competitive golf. A new member doesn’t automatically want medal play, handicap pressure, or competitive rounds every week. She might simply want to:

Play 9 holes with friends and enjoy a coffee afterwards
Practise or play socially with her partner
Bring another beginner along without keeping score

The PGA has highlighted competition pressure as a key deterrent for new female golfers, recommending that clubs offer social playing options alongside competitive ones.

OLD UNWRITTEN RULE: You must join the ladies' section, play in Tuesday medals, and stick to your demographic.

NEW RULE: Mix it up. Play with whoever you like, and treat competition as an optional extra—not proof that you’re a "proper" golfer.

The Ladies Tees Are Down There

There is no such thing as female tees - tee markers don't have genders! They are simply the forward tees. While many women benefit from playing from the forward tees due to lower swing speeds, clubs should never assume this is always the case.

Women should play from whichever tee box matches their clubhead speed and hitting distance. If a golfer hits it long, she will enjoy playing further back (and likely take a few pounds off the rest of the group).

OLD UNWRITTEN RULE: Women automatically play from the red tees.

NEW RULE: Replace "What's your handicap?" with "Which tees fit your distance?" More often than not, it’s the men who would benefit from moving forward a tee box rather than grinding out a frustrating score from tees that are simply too long for them.

You’re A Beginner, Buy A Cheap Box Set

This drives me mad. While there are decent starter sets available, many of the best package sets contain too many clubs, are often far too heavy, and are completely inappropriate for the player using them. Beginners only need a few suitable clubs until they achieve consistent contact.

Beginners are much better off building a tailored "mini set" with guidance from their coach, adding clubs as their swing develops. I’d love to see pro shops offer custom-fitted mini starter sets, or even curated second-hand versions featuring older models paired with a lightweight pencil bag. When a professional builds trust early on, that golfer is far more likely to invest in a full custom set later.

The idea of a single ladies flex shaft is one of golf's biggest misconceptions. Women come in all shapes, sizes, and athletic abilities - a shorter senior golfer and a tall, athletic beginner do not share the same swing dynamics. Yet women are rarely fitted properly and are too often steered straight toward the pretty patterns.

OLD UNWRITTEN RULE: Beginners should buy an off-the-shelf, one-size-fits-all boxed set.

NEW RULE: Beginners should start with fewer, properly fitted clubs, guided by a professional who helps them build a set that matches their physical profile.

You Should Find Your Own Playing Partners

Breaking into established cliques as a new member can be daunting. Fixed fourballs that play together every week, often excluding newer, younger women on different handicaps, create an off-putting culture.

Clubs must take an active role in connecting new members by offering social roll-ups and organised functions. Starting golf alone is intimidating; starting alongside three other women who are also learning changes the dynamic entirely. Forming those tribes early allows golfers to transition into full membership as a group rather than a solo player trying to break into an existing group.

In my experience, the sooner women bond over a round and a coffee afterwards, the stronger their retention becomes. Practical initiatives that work include:

Beginner WhatsApp groups and buddy systems
Regular 9-hole social sessions and dedicated "New Member" tee times
Mixed beginner roll-ups and organised post-round coffees

The social side isn’t an optional extra, it is part of the core product. Research consistently shows that community and connection are what keep women involved in the game.

OLD UNWRITTEN RULE: You need to make your own friends before you can enjoy the club.

NEW RULE: You shouldn't have to bring a network with you to enjoy being a member, the club actively helps you find your people.

The Bottom Line

Golf clubs constantly ask, "How do we get more women to join?" Addressing these seven points is the single best place to start. Spending money to get 100 women through the door is useless if most leave because the next step feels confusing, expensive, intimidating, or socially isolating.

We need to stop measuring success by how many women attend an initial taster session. Success is how many of those women are still playing 6, 12, and 24 months later. That is the difference between recruitment and retention.

With women under 50 making up only around 2% of club memberships in England, despite broader interest in the game, there is a massive pool of potential golfers stranded between "I’d like to try golf" and "I’m a golf club member." Now is the time to change. The future of the game depends on it.

There was a time when you didn’t really get much choice: all golf shoes were spiked (quite literally). Now the options are plentiful.

Spiked or spikeless? What about slip-ins? Would a BOA model be more suitable?

You’ll often find us waxing lyrical about a new release, but rarely, if ever, does a golf shoe tick every single box. Every pair has its pros and cons.

As a result, many golfers keep multiple pairs on hand - especially those who play year-round, across various course terrains, and in all types of weather.

Below, we outline the pros and cons of each design to help you select the ideal golf shoes.

We’ve tested a host of golf shoes this year (watch the video above for more details), so we’ve also suggested a few different models you may wish to compare before parting with your hard-earned money.

Spiked - The Pros

In short, the best spiked golf shoes offer superior grip and stability. Soft cleats or spikes secure your feet during the golf swing and deliver enhanced traction.

The strategic placement of cleats helps stabilize golfers during their swing, enabling them to maximize power.

Spiked shoes also really come into their own in the winter season, when course conditions, particularly around tee boxes, can become extremely treacherous.

If you play a lot of golf on hilly courses, we would certainly recommend investing in a spiked model, too.

Some of our favorites in this category include the Under Armour Drive Pro Clone, FootJoy Premier Series Packard, and G/FORE MG4+ O2 G/Lock.

Spiked - The Cons

Although spiked shoes are nowhere near as heavy as they used to be, they are generally heavier than most spikeless models.

In summer conditions, when it’s dry underfoot and the sun is shining, a spiked model might not be quite as comfortable.

Cleats also require a little extra maintenance throughout the season, as grass, grit, and mud easily gather in them, particularly in wet conditions, and they can become worn and break.

Spiked models also lack a little versatility. No matter how good some of the latest models look, they’re not as well suited for off-course wear or those occasions when you want to pop out for a quick nine without changing your footwear.

Spikeless - The Pros

Many of the best spikeless golf shoes look more like sneakers, which is something lots of golfers find appealing.

You can wear spikeless shoes straight from the car to the course, and into the clubhouse before and after your round without changing shoes.

Instead of cleats, the outsoles are dimpled for extra traction. They’re lighter, which is why lots of golfers find them more comfortable.

For many golfers, these serve as the top choice in the summer months when the ground is firm. While debris can still accumulate in the outsole, the absence of cleats makes maintenance significantly simpler.

Some of our favorite spikeless shoe models include the Ecco Biom C5, adidas S2G SL, FootJoy Quantum, and Under Armour Drive Pro SL.

Spikeless - The Cons

Although the gap between spiked and spikeless shoes is closing in terms of grip and stability, the best spiked golf shoes still outperform the best spikeless shoes in this department.

This is not to say spikeless models don’t perform in wet or slippery conditions - that would be too much of a generalization. However, cleats/spikes do have a certain advantage.

A spiked shoe provides added assurance that traction and stability will remain uncompromised, even in soft, wet conditions underfoot.

From a performance perspective, if you do experience some lateral slide, you’re likely to lose power and accuracy.

Slip-Ins And BOA

There are a couple of other types of golf shoes that you may wish to consider.

Skechers' patented Slip-In Technology has been a big hit across its footwear range.

Designed with a reinforced heel that prevents crushing or bending when sliding your foot in, slip-in golf shoes deliver effortless, hands-free entry and maximum ease of use.

These designs aren’t just popular with senior golfers or players with back and mobility issues.

While Slip-In Technology serves as a key feature, these shoes appeal to a broad spectrum of golfers, including English professional Matt Fitzpatrick.

Many sought-after styles feature the BOA lacing system. This specialized mechanism evenly distributes pressure across your foot for a secure, comfortable fit.

Rather than traditional laces, a dial-operated winding mechanism tightens or loosens a network of wire laces across the shoe.

By spreading pressure across the whole foot, some players will find BOA shoes provide a more comfortable fit.

They’re also easy to slip on and off, and are ready to wear after just a few clicks of the dial.

As with Skechers’ slip-in models, they’re also popular with golfers who have mobility issues and back pain.

Typically speaking, the best BOA golf shoes cost $20 (£15) more than the laced versions.

And, yes, you’ve guessed it… There are BOA spiked and BOA spikeless shoes.

As a high-handicap golfer, I am willing to try just about anything to improve my game.

I have been trying to break 90 for some time now, but despite a rigorous winter golf training plan and plenty of lessons - I am stuck in the suffocating loop of shooting somewhere between 92 and 99 every week.

As we head towards the end of another golf season I had resigned myself to another off-season of tinkering, but then we launched an AI tool which has finally helped me to find the marginal gains I’ve been searching for.

I’ve recently been custom fitted for my clubs, so I know that aspect of my gear is completely optimised, but I have always wondered whether or not I am playing the right golf ball to help me shoot lower scores.

Enter the Golf Monthly gear finder tool… which is exactly what it says on the tin.

With a very simple query, outlining my high-handicap status, my moderate swing speed and my inability to generate spin around the green - I asked it to recommend the perfect golf ball for me… and man, did it deliver!

I Asked Our Product Finder To Recommend My Optimal Golf Ball

I have historically been a bit of a golf ball magpie. I usually play whatever I can get my hands on and, to this point, had never really considered the importance of choosing the right golf ball for my specific characteristics.

Without booking a golf ball fitting, which is something I will certainly consider in the future, the next best way to remedy that was seeking the advice of experts in this area.

I am in the fortunate position that I have access to a wealth of knowledge and expertise in the Golf Monthly team that I can draw upon at any time I wish - but that’s also the case for anyone who takes the time to read our best golf balls guide.

Every golf ball on the gear finder is rigorously tested by our experts and reviewed thoroughly to ensure you have the best possible steer on your next purchase - but the AI gear finder made that process simpler… even for me (who could feasibly type a message to the gear team any time I like).

By taking only the recommendations of our expert testers, the AI gear finder responds to simple prompts, like my golf ball query, and provides the user with a series of recommendations at different price points from our bank of robust reviews - saving you from scrolling to find the answer.

As you can see in the image below, the product finder tool analysed my cry for help and suggested I try the Srixon Q-Star Tour 2026 golf ball.

The theory behind this recommendation was very clear and well explained.

“The Srixon Q-Star Tour 2026 is ideal for moderate swing-speed players seeking premium short-game performance. It delivers a low launch with high spin on wedge shots, providing excellent greenside control without a hefty price tag.”

So, for my 80mph swing from the tee and the fairway (or the rough), and my penchant for a zero-spin endless releaser on the greens - this seemed like the perfect solution.

I snaffled a dozen and put the Srixon Q-Star Tour 2026 in play straight away - at the Golf Monthly Autumn Winter Meet, no less.

The ball's first real run out would be 18 holes at the fiendishly tricky Hadley Wood, but I did sneak in a little practice knock with the Q-Star Tour on my home course prior to travelling south.

The data, even from just nine holes at Sand Moor, immediately confirmed this was a promising match.

For context, I have played the same set of clubs since April. I have also worn the same shoes, used the same bag and trolley combo, the same glove and haven’t changed my grips.

The conditions at Hadley Wood were closely aligned with my previous rounds, recorded over the last six months, where I had only shot higher than 31 points three times in 11 rounds of golf.

When you consider that I hadn’t ever played Hadley Wood and I was under the immense pressure of competing against my far superior colleagues, I could have forgiven myself for coming in with a similar number.

I didn’t, however.

Not only did I shoot a summer 2026 high score of 37 points - I did so to finish in second place and narrowly miss out on the trophy by a back-nine count back.

I must admit, I was striking the ball well on the day. But, the flight and distance with the driver was some of the best I can ever remember producing.

My short game also felt sharp, with one memorable greenside bunker shot on the par-5 13th producing the elusive, rarely seen side spin that almost navigated the ball into the hole (albeit for double-bogey).

I’m conscious that all my prayers have likely not been answered by one decent round with a new golf ball, but it has succeeded in firing me up to pursue progress.

Golf is a game of confidence. I know that this golf ball has been recommended to me by real people who actually know what they are talking about.

Having that selection served to me by an AI tool that has read and digested all the expert advice of our testers adds further weight and I am not sure I could have achieved such an optimal switch on my own.

Instant results are nice, but more than that I now have the confidence to stick with it and enjoy the ride.

Perhaps I’ll even go back to the product finder tool and see what it suggests for my stone-cold putter problem.

Why not try our Gear Finder Tool for yourself? Like me, it could be the answer you've been looking for.

How can you improve around the greens? How can you lower your scores and convert bogeys into pars - or pars into birdies?

Lessons can help, of course, as will practice. However, sometimes a simple equipment change can make a huge difference, especially if your set-up isn’t working for you.

If you are throwing away strokes near the green, you may want to review your wedges - because sometimes it’s okay to blame your tools.

Discovering which wedges best fit your technique and typical course conditions can transform your game, yet it remains one of the most frequently neglected aspects of club selection.

Bounce And Grind

At this point, we must talk about bounce, the angle created between the leading edge and the lowest part of the sole.

Bounce facilitates smoother interaction with the turf or sand, preventing the clubhead from digging into the ground excessively at impact and producing heavy contact. During a wedge fitting, an expert will determine which bounce angle will suit your technique.

Generally speaking, the steeper your attack angle, the more you will benefit from one of the best high-bounce wedges.

Conversely, if you have a shallow angle of attack, you will probably benefit from less bounce, as ground contact is less prevalent.

The choice of bounce angle is also heavily influenced by the ground conditions and the specific playing surface.

Soft ground conditions generally call for a higher bounce wedge, whereas firm turf is better suited to a lower bounce option.

Then there’s grind, the process where manufacturers remove specific sections of metal from the sole of a wedge to customize how the bounce behaves.

In short, selecting the right bounce and grind is critical.

Soft Conditions

That said, certain models still suit certain playing surfaces. Our resident wedge guru, Sam De’Ath, has rigorously tested all the latest models in different conditions.

For example, the TaylorMade Hi-Toe 5 wedge has certain attributes that make it very handy in soft conditions.

Golfers looking for a forgiving club will appreciate its expansive hitting area, which inspires confidence at address and helps those struggling with solid contact.

The Hi-Toe 5 has five sole grinds, too, including the versatile ATS, our wedge guru's preferred model.

During testing, we were also impressed by the Callaway CB 12 wedge, which offered decent, well-rounded performance in a profile that will give confidence to players who need a little extra help around the greens.

The leading edge is designed to help players who often catch their chip shots fat by resisting digging into the turf, even on slightly heavy contact.

Another option worth considering is the Cleveland CBZ wedge, which features a large, confidence-inspiring footprint and a wide sole and high bounce combination for added forgiveness.

Firm Conditions

Sam highlights the Titleist Vokey SM11 and Ping S259 as his top recommendations for exceptional performance on firm, tight turf.

With the Vokey SM11, the latest Vokey model, we recommend the T Grind, which sits flush to the ground.

Designed specifically for firm turf, it is an ideal choice for inventive players confident enough to open the clubface and execute a range of shots around the green.

Meanwhile, the Ping S259’s compact head will suit a good player’s eye, while the overall performance will make it appealing to a wider range of skill levels.

In testing, we were also impressed with the spin retention, which is exactly what you’re looking for when trying to control your distance on partial shots.

This is a model you might want to consider putting in the bag if you play a lot of links golf in windy conditions, or simply if you’d like a little extra control over the ball flight.

Specifically, the T Grind is a low-bounce option that will suit firmer conditions underfoot, helping players to open the clubface and play more precise shots.

Sand And Wet Conditions

Generally speaking, low-bounce options are ideal for playing from wet, firm sand traps or bunkers that don’t contain much sand as it is easier to get the leading edge under the ball.

On the other hand, high-bounce wedges are generally more effective in bunkers with lots of sand, where you get a thick cushion beneath the ball. Certain models also have one or two design features that make them especially effective in the sand.

For example, the Cleveland RTZ 2 wedge features UltiZip technology, with sharper grooves designed to get rid of dew and sand, which is especially useful in wet conditions.

Elsewhere, we found the TaylorMade MG5 wedge also performed well in wet conditions.

Much of this is due to its saw-milled grooves, which feature steeper walls and a sharper radius. Combined with the soft face, players should be able to generate plenty of spin even from the wet rough.

Likewise, the Titleist Vokey SM11 wedges incorporate an updated face texture designed for enhanced friction.

In addition, deeper spin-milled grooves boost overall spin, turning these wedges into an effective weapon off wet, dewy turf.

This level of spin was also noticeable when we got our hands on the Mizuno Pro T-1 wedge.

Combining soft feel with Quad Cut+ grooves and Hydroflow microgrooves, it generates exceptional spin and delivers essential moisture control.

More and more golf clubs are moving to having their own proprietary house beers, and sometimes even their own on-site breweries. The motives for doing so are prestige and financial.

Clubs are looking to diversify their income streams, especially as the golf trade is seasonal and bad weather can close the club’s main source of income, the course itself.

The modern consumer often shies away from generic mass-produced beverages in favour of locally crafted ones.

So golf clubs having their own beers, or even breweries, makes the clubhouse bar or terrace a hospitality destination attractive not only to golfers after a round, but to non-golfers and craft beer enthusiasts.

Moreover, not only does this give clubs freedom over their tap lists, it can bring higher profit margins.

Golf clubs with their own breweries

The golf clubs below are among those with their own on-site breweries. Let us know in the comments if you know of any others.

Ironclad Golf & Beer Garden, Hampstead, North Carolina, USA

Belvedere Country Club opened in 1970 but closed in 2020 due to financial difficulties.

Ironclad Brewery bought the site and reopened the golf course as Ironclad Golf & Beer Garden, moving the business away from the exclusive country club model, which had failed here.

The golf course was redesigned, pickleball courts came in the stead of the tennis courts, and the swimming pool was filled in and replaced by a multi-level outdoor beer garden which can accommodate more than 500 guests.

This beer garden features a stage for live music, fire tables, lawn games such as cornhole, and fresh craft drafts pumped from a custom beer shack by the driving range.

Canyon Lakes Golf Course & Brewery, San Ramon, California, USA

This public course designed by Ted Robinson Sr. opened in 1986 overlooking the San Ramon Valley and providing vistas of Mount Diablo.

It has a reputation as an easy place to lose golf balls. But humour can be restored on the patio of the brewery, conveniently close to the 18th green.

Canyon Lakes Brewery’s ten-barrel brewing system opened in September 2017, and the following year its O.B. Brown Ale, a full-bodied ale boasting rich caramel and toasted nutty chocolate notes, won the gold medal at the Best of Craft Beer Awards.

The brewery now produces 18 revolving taps of craft beers.

Shawnee Inn and Golf Resort, Pennsylvania, USA

Then known as the Shawnee Country Club, this club hosted the 1938 PGA Championship, in which Paul Runyan defeated Sam Snead in the final.

On the banks of the Delaware River in the foothills of the Pocono Mountains, ShawneeCraft produces small-batch beers.

Using ingredients grown directly on the resort's on-site farm, it focuses on authentic European-style sessionability. Its Clubhouse Kolsch won first place in the Pale German Ale class in this year’s Pennsylvania Farm Show Beer Competition.

The Fairways of Halfmoon, Mechanicville, New York, USA

The club's 18-hole course opened in 1999 and there is also a nine-hole par-3 course here and a brewery.

Two local high school teachers had started brewing in the clubhouse basement in 2013 as a hobby. By 2018 this had snowballed into the Hank Hudson Brewing Company, and in October that year it officially opened its rustic, British-pub-inspired taproom.

Glendoveer, Portland, Oregon, USA

Von Ebert Brewing was founded in 2018 by father-son duo Tom M. and Tom S. Cook, in Portland. One of its three breweries is situated at Glendoveer Golf & Tennis, where it operates a functional seven-barrel brewhouse.

Glendoveer has two courses, the East, which has been celebrating its centenary this year, as has the club, and the West which opened two years later.

Remedy Oak, Dorset, England

In 2018 Stu Betts, a former Campaign for Real Ale branch chairman began using a pilot kit to experiment with flavour profiles and recipes in 100-litre batches (roughly 175 pints)

He did so in the corner of an old farm building within the 256-acre grounds of Remedy Oak Golf Club.

When it was time to scale up into a commercial business, Mr Betts teamed up with the owner of the golf club, Bill Riddle.

Mr Riddle allowed him to redevelop an unused barn in the golf club's grounds. The first commercial batch of the flagship amber ale 1552 was brewed in October 2020 there and named after the year King Edward VI visited the historic local Remedy Oak tree.

Fraser Edmundston Golf Club, New Brunswick, Canada

This golf club dates from 1926, when a group of golfers established a course on the Madawaska River basin. But the current course dates from a commission given to course architect Albert Murray in 1947.

Microbrasserie Ateepic opened in the clubhouse in May 2022, with the taproom serving craft beers from around the province of New Brunswick.

But later that year they began their own on-site brewery and launched their first four house-brewed beers. Golfers can now sample up to 21 locally hand-crafted beers.

Golf clubs with their own house beers

For those clubs without their own brewery, they can still have the prestige of having their own house beer.

Not only does it create a sense of exclusivity, it can also reinforce the club’s history or standing. Typically the names chosen for the beers reflect this.

A proprietary house product also gives a club higher profit margins as customers willingly pay more for a speciality beer.

Royal Cinque Ports, Kent, England

One of the members at Royal Cinque Ports, Alex Cork, co-founded Match Play Brewery, with Charlie Hood, who runs his own design company, and James Justin, a branding strategist. They concentrate on coming up with custom-crafted signature club beers.

Its first collaboration was with Royal Cinque Ports, for which it designed Hut Lager, a 4.2% ABV Pilsner named after the club’s famous halfway hut, with cans branded in the official club colours.

Other subsequent collaborations have included one with another Open venue, Royal St George’s, as well as with Worplesdon, and Hesketh golf clubs.

Oakmont Country Club, Pennsylvania, USA

In 2016, Jeff Becker began secretly experimenting – he did not even tell his wife – by making craft beer with small-batch brewing equipment and learning more about the process by attending craft fairs.

When attending the Masters Tournament in 2017, he was “blown away by the control Augusta National had over its brand.” This gave him the idea of combining his interests of craft beer and golf to make house beers for golf clubs.

The upshot was that he gathered partners and founded Links Brewing.

Oakmont’s official house beer, 1903 Ale, was launched in May 2020. The name reflects the foundation year of the club that has hosted eight US Opens, and is due to host the 2033 and 2042 US Opens.

Augusta National, Georgia, USA

The famously secretive host of The Masters does not say who makes the Crow's Nest wheat ale sold only during tournament weeks, only that it is “brewed locally”.

It takes its name from the amateurs’ lodging area in the clubhouse and is served in green souvenir cups. It debuted in 2021, replacing Blue Moon, which had been the club’s featured craft beer since 2016.

St Andrews Links, Fife, Scotland

The Home Of Golf has two custom beers – Road Hole Lager and Tom Morris Scotch Ale – which were launched by the St Andrews Links Trust and the St Andrews Brewing Company in September 2019.

In many parts of the world, including here in the UK, we enjoyed a summer of marvellous sunshine, months of dry weather and very little rain. While it was wonderful to play golf in a t-shirt, the dry course conditions widespread across the country made scoring extremely challenging.

Yet those who took advantage of the longer, lighter days by going out to practise late in the evening when the air temperature had cooled will have improved their skills over the summer. And now’s the time to reap the rewards of your hard work. With the colourful autumn leaves falling comes a change to the course conditions that is very advantageous to scoring.

Those firm summer fairways have softened, the greens that were super fast are more receptive. Its target golf now and although daylight hours are shorter the temperature is still mild enough to wear a t-shirt with maybe just a gilet or lightweight jumper so that you can still swing freely.

In my opinion, autumn offers the ideal conditions to shoot low scores. Analysing the scoring average from my handicap record shows a trend that doesn’t surprise me at all. I always shoot my lowest scores of the year in September, October and sometimes well into November. I play better golf now than in any other season of the year.

As a low single-figure handicapper, the autumn conditions suit my style of play. The accuracy of my approach shots is the biggest strength of my game. I tend to hit my irons with pinpoint precision next to the flag. I know my carry distance numbers accurately and when the greens are soft the ball spins and stops quickly so I get my club selection spot-on.

My putting average also improves. The greens have a little more grass growth so they are also usually running at a more manageable speed on the stimpmeter. The difference means that I can be more aggressive and attack putts that I would have lagged with caution on lightning fast greens in the summer. When the greens are slower, a miss simply means that the ball rolls just a few inches past the hole, leaving a make-able length return.

Shorter hitters may argue that they’ve lost the advantage of the firm fairway run out on the ball. It’s certainly true that higher handicappers can come in with remarkably good scores in the summer because if they hit the ball straight it can run a long way, but in my opinion, finding fairways off the tee is just as beneficial as an extra ten or twenty yards of run.

In fact, I played several courses this summer where the fairways were so firm, fast and links-like that the ball only stopped when it hit the rough. Good drives were punished for landing on the fairway. It’s one of the cruelest elements of summer golf.

A few weeks into autumn and courses have returned to lush green, allowing tee shots struck down the middle to stay on the short grass once again. Find more fairways and you’ll set up many more chances to hit every green in regulation, along with eliminating horror high scores from accidental bad bounces that led to lost balls in the summer.

The other big advantage of the autumn is that courses bring preferred lies into play. From October 1st until the end of March (sometimes later) the Rules of Golf permit you to lift and clean your golf ball from closely mown grass and replace it on a nice lie within six inches of that spot, no nearer the hole. You can effectively and legally use the rules to make the game easier. Choose your lie wisely and it can feel like cheating!

Fairway woods are far easier to sweep away when the ball is sat on a nice lush patch of grass than a tightly mown fairway or bare lie. Striking irons off softer grass is also easier. Cleaning the golf ball will ensure that it flies aerodynamically, so you’ll maximise your chances of hitting the ball with precision.

Conversely, think of how often the ball rolls out into a bad lie in the summer, something punishing like a divot in the middle of the fairway (the one remaining unchanged Rule of Golf I think is totally unfair). We have to take these bad breaks on the chin in the summer, it’s just tough luck.

On a crisp autumn morning you’ll often find tracks on the greens left behind from the ball roll of previous golfers putting through the dew. This gives you a great green reading advantage as you can see the break of previous attempts at holing a similar putt.

Although the days are shorter, sunlight isn’t as bright, so you’re less likely to struggle to see the ball. The heat isn’t so oppressive either. I saw many golfers walk in on really hot days this year, struggling for energy in the heat, suffering from exhaustion and dehydration. The cooler autumn temperatures put us in a peak physical state for playing well. Our bodies are more equipped to cope in mild weather than extremes. We feel fitter and more agile in the autumn.

I mentioned this to a medical friend and she added that our natural circadian rhythm is calmer at this time of year, as our bodies prepare to rest and slow down - like preparing to go into hibernation! So we play at a slower pace. You may not notice it but approaching the course with a calm mentality can encourage a more fluid, rhythmical swing.

In the summer there can be so many distractions, family commitments, holidays and other thoughts going on in your mind when you arrive at the golf course. Not conducive to a calm and ready to play state. I know that I juggle many different responsibilities as a parent in the school holidays. When the kids go back, golf becomes my ‘me time’ again, a weekly escape from the pressures of daily life and it’s far more enjoyable.

As cooler temperatures arrive, the grass doesn’t grow as thick so you get shorter rough. The brutal long grass we had to endure throughout the summer months has long gone. Greenkeepers tend to cut the grass down and give it an autumn hair cut. Shaving it short makes it both easier to find your ball in the first place (and quicker) plus much easier to hit the recovery shot back out into play. Win-win.

Many courses revert to playing competitions off forward tees as the nights draw in to encourage a quicker play and allow more golfers to get round in daylight. Greenkeepers also position tee markers forward of the blocks to protect the teeing grounds, give the grass a rest and make the game more enjoyable for the vast majority of players. Shaving 10 yards or more off every hole can really add up. Any distance you’ve lost in run-out on soft fairways is made up here. In a similar way you’ll see a lot more friendly pin positions in winter. Front pins also protect the greens.

If you are a lower handicapper your chances of winning are higher at this time of year, especially if you are one of the longer hitters who carries the ball further than other players, you don’t rely on those extra yards of run out.

In my experience, competition fields tend to be smaller as the ‘fair weather golfers’ drop out on rainy days, only a handful of hardcore players will go out and mark a card in bad weather. Less opponents means that the chances of winning increases. Playing well in bad conditions increases your chances of getting a handicap cut when others struggle and score badly, affecting the course index for the day.

Along with the colourful trees it’s actually the thing I love the most about autumn golf - the courses are just a bit quieter and some days I even get to play when no one else is out there. Pure bliss.

Over my years as a PGA Professional, I’ve custom-fit thousands of golfers, seeing virtually every swing type and equipment mismatch imaginable. But every now and then, a single tweak yields results so transformative it genuinely stops you in your tracks.

That exact scenario played out recently with my good friend and Kick Point podcast co-host, Dan Parker...

Dan is a fairly typical 8-handicap player with a pretty solid all-round game, but having played together on numerous occasions, I had long felt that the 120-gram steel shafts in his Ping i230 irons were just far too heavy for him. On the course, he always seemed to be struggling to catch his arms and clubhead up to his body turn through impact. The inevitable result was a frustratingly inconsistent strike and dangerously unpredictable start directions.

So, I decided to act upon my hunch, and calling in a favor through some industry contacts, I took an educated guess and sourced Dan a set of graphite Fujikura Axiom 95 S shafts, building them up in my workshop.

Firstly, they looked fantastic installed in those i230 heads - which might sound like a minor detail, but looking good over the ball never hurts! The really exciting part, however, was how instantly and massively this seemingly innocuous equipment change revolutionized his previously troublesome iron play.

Immediately, his sporadic strike vanished, replaced by repeatable, predictable, centered contact up and down his iron set.

A previously unplayable 5-iron that offered him zero confidence transformed almost overnight into arguably his favorite club in the bag. In fact, I can recall a couple of occasions when he has nearly holed out with that club since the switch!

From a custom fitting perspective, seeing that instant lightbulb moment is what it’s all about - and watching those gains hold up across an entire season has been even more satisfying.

To me, it reinforced just how vital shaft weight and loading characteristics are to a golfer's delivery. But while the data on my end spoke for itself, the ultimate test is how it felt out on the turf. Here is Dan to explain his side of the story...

“As a recreational 8-handicapper who spends hours every week talking golf equipment alongside a PGA Professional and former custom fitter, I’ve learned that when Joe speaks about gear, it pays to listen. I generally defer to his judgment on almost all equipment matters, and as much as I hate to admit it, he's almost always spot on. But without a shadow of a doubt, the most significant recommendation he has ever made for my game has been this shaft switch.

Before Joe stepped in, I was completely bereft of confidence with an iron in my hands. The top end of my bag - specifically my 5 and 6 irons - had degenerated into an absolute no-go zone of inconsistency. Every time I stood over a long approach, I was dreading the outcome, bracing for a thin, a chunk, or a wildly unpredictable start direction.

I had lost count of the number of times on the podcast I’d heard Joe waffle on about the benefits of lightweight graphite in modern iron setups. So, when he brought up the idea of pulling my 120-gram steel shafts and installing the Fujikura Axiom 95 S graphite shafts, I was more than keen to give them a run.

Mercifully, the improvement was instantaneous.

From the very first swing on the turf, that sensation of having to physically force the clubhead to catch up with my body turn simply vanished. The relief of not having to move such a heavy object through the air was immediate, but I could still produce the same (if not more) energy to the ball. Perhaps that was naivety on my part, but I thought lighter shafts might’ve meant shorter distance. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Centred, crisp contact became the default expectation rather than a sporadic surprise, and my confidence has just grown and grown. I’m hitting the ball as far as ever (not much more, but the better strikes have eked a few extra yards out of each iron), and I’m really thinking about how to execute my shot rather than worrying if I’m going to strike the ball properly.

What was arguably my biggest weakness on the golf course has genuinely transformed into the most complimented area of my entire game. Hitting high, holding shots into greens with a 5-iron - a club I used to view with pure dread - has become second nature over this summer.

If there’s any downside, it’s that the switch has created a bit of a localised crisis at the bottom of my bag. Because we only reshafted down through the pitching wedge, my wedges still have their original heavier steel shafts installed. Moving from my effortless graphite shafts down to the wedges currently feels like picking up a completely different set of tools, making my wedge play a glaring weakness by comparison. I'm currently on an active mission to source another three Fujikura Axiom 95 stiff shafts to try and weave that same magic all the way down to my lob wedge.

Joe has repeatedly stated on the podcast that at least 70% of the golfers he saw during his days in the fitting bay were playing shafts that were far too heavy for them. Experiencing that truth firsthand has been a massive eye-opener. If you’re someone fighting an inconsistent strike, or if your iron play feels like infinitely harder work than the rest of your game, I couldn't recommend trying graphite in your irons enough. It has completely revitalized my game, and it might just do the same for yours.”

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.

You can probably relate to this scenario - unless you are a high-handicapper like me.

You are standing in the middle of the fairway after bombing a drive down the par-5 and the questions crosses your mind... can I reach in two?

The answer for many is, sadly, no. But, how many could realistically find the putting surface... at least statistically?

Thanks to the latest 2026 Shot Scope data, we are able to make a very well-reasoned estimate and break it down by handicap index to help you formulate your strategy (and temper your expectations)...

How Likely Are Amateur Golfers To Hit A Par-5 Green In Two?

The key thing to point out here, before we go any further, is there are a number of factors that can impact a golfer's ability to reach a par-5 in two - outside of distance alone.

This feat is ‘easier’ to achieve in the dryer, warmer months, all the golf ball travels further and the roll out is more generous.

When the winter period arrives, this can often lead to distance-sapping wet and windy conditions that eliminate this an achievable option for many amateurs.

There is also the length of the par-5 to consider, which we will factor in below, in addition to the layout and design of the hole.

With all that in mind, the data provided by Shot Scope can help us to generate a fair estimate on how many golfers are able to reach a 450-, 500- and 550-yard par-5 in two…

Short Par-5 (450 Yards)

The average scratch golfer hits their driver around 285 yards, leaving just 165 yards into the green. This can be achieved with as little as an 8-iron for the second shot, so a 450-yard par-5 is well within reach for the best amateurs in the game.

For a 5- and 10-handicapper, this is also a strategy that could yield returns. A 5-handicap player could reach with a driver (261 yards) and a 4-iron (201 yards), while a 10-handicap golfer could reach with a similar combo (driver and 4-hybrid).

A 15-handicap is stretching themselves slightly further, but it’s still an achievable goal. A driver (236 yards) and 3-wood (215 yards) are required, however, and some very good strikes at that.

A 20-handicap and 25-handicap don’t really have much of a chance, statistically, so a lay-up would perhaps be the most sensible play to keep the big numbers off the card.

Mid Length Par-5 (500 Yards)

We are going to dismiss the 20- and 25-handicappers at this point, as their average distances meant they would struggle to reach a par-5 that was 50 yards shorter, but how do the rest of the pack fair?

A scratch golfer can, once again, comfortably reach. Driver (285 yards) and 4-iron (223 yards) are a great combination, with plenty in the bank to reach in two.

A 5-handicap would need two sensational strikes. They average 261 yards with driver and 236 yards with a 3-wood, so they could sneak onto the front edge with a favourable bounce.

A 10-handicap could be around 15 yards short, based on their driver and 3-wood averages, but a 15-handicap statistically has very little chance of getting anywhere near, according to the Shot Scope data.

Long Par-5 (550 Yards)

At this point, we are down to two.A scratch golfer can reach with a driver/3 wood combo - but would need a favourable bounce and wind behind.

With that being said, you can probably guess that a 5-handicapper has unfortunately come up short.

For most amateurs, unless the par-5 is particularly short, laying up and aiming to wedge it close for three is the right play.

Scratch golfers are able to combine their consistent ability to achieve a centred strike with a boost in clubhead speed, but for the rest of us mere mortals - don’t be a hero.

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.