The NCG Golf Podcast

This week Steve and Tom get stuck into the new pilot in Ireland giving clubs the chance to alter the Playing Handicap allowance in competitions. It’s coming to the rest of GB&I in 2026. What difference will it make? Will it help low handicappers? Will it finally stop some of the complaints about the World Handicap System? What do you think? Also, spring is coming, and so are the first events o...

Welcome to the Halfway House – our new weekly quiz and questions pod. Steve Carroll and Tom Irwin try to outdo each other with a trio of posers, they answer your questions, and go head-to-head in a quickfire debate. Whether it’s Rules Corner, our new Fairway or Foul feature (which this week asks if clubs should hand money back to members whose courses have been shut for extended periods), or if yo...

It’s a twin-pronged podcast this week. First Steve Carroll and Tom Irwin discuss the fascinating USGA statistics that reveal the probability of beating your handicap. What are the odds of shooting 40 points? We have the answers. And is The Players the moment when the golf season really gets under way? In the build up to the so-called 5th major at TPC Sawgrass, we get into the golf course, our expe...

World Handicap System guidance says regular informal events like roll ups and society scores should be classed as organised competitions and players have a responsibility to ensure they return their scores. But what if they don’t? With the principles surrounding social golf still cloudy five years into the new system, are we saying that those who refuse are breaking the laws of handicapping? Are t...

Trendy canvas bag or huge tour monstrosity? Are you a pencil lumper or someone who couldn’t get round the golf course without a trolley? In this week’s episode Tom Irwin and Steve Carroll delve deep into golf bags and how they can reveal a lot about who we are as golfers. Do you give yourself shoulder injury by bolting on  100 bag tags? Is a valuables pouch a must have accessory? Do you get giddy...

Tom Irwin has been spending a lot of time at the range. Co-host Steve Carroll hasn’t hit a practice ball in about six months. In this week’s podcast, though, the two come together to talk about the driving range experience. Is there an etiquette about turning up to improve our games? What should we wear? Should we block out the world with headphones or take in the whole community experience? Tom’s...

What do you really think of the World Handicap System? Tell the truth, because we now know the answer. We asked the question in our massive NCG Club Golf Survey, filled in my more than 3,000 of you, and what you told us was really surprising. Steve Carroll and Tom Irwin get stuck into the results, and analyse what they mean, and we also discuss dress codes – after you told us emphatically what you...

Planning a golf trip in England this year? Want to click off a trophy course, or just fancy a day out? Don’t do anything until you’ve looked through our new list of the Top 100 courses in England. Steve Carroll and Tom Irwin are joined by NCG’s Top 100s chairman Dan Murphy to assess the risers, fallers, and obviously reveal what we think is the best layout in the country. Who makes up our panel? H...

Have you had your emails yet? Membership renewal time is almost here. You’re either already being asked for cash, or your about to get the news ahead of the new season in April. But how many of you are planning to renew? How many of you think you’ll be quitting? Are your annual subscriptions going up? Do you think your golf club membership represents good value? We know the answers. As part of a m...

Have you thought about booking your summer golf trip? Are you keen to tick off a Top 100 course on your travels? Prepare to get your wallet out. Steve Carroll has been looking at the peak summer green fee prices for all the layouts listed in NCG Top 100s Great Britain & Ireland list and it makes for sobering reading if money is an object. So what does it cost? What is the most expensive course...

Welcome back! For our first episode of 2025, we’re joined by special guest Jason Fox. You’ll know him from the popular TV series SAS: Who Dares Wins. But the former Royal Marines Commando and Special Forces Soldier turned renowned author and media personality is also hugely keen on golf – having got into the sport after the Covid lockdowns. After partnering recently with clothing company Stromberg...

We’re not saying we’re in full on Christmas mode, but in this episode of The NCG Golf Podcast Steve Carroll and Tom Irwin reveal their must-read golf books. The pair go through all their favourites – the best fiction, non-fiction, instruction, and travel books. What are their perfect choices? Tom and Steve believe they’ve got something for everyone. So if you’re still looking for a great gift, or...

Reports the American players will be paid to compete at Bethpage Black next year have caused quite a stir. Is it beyond the pale, or is it a paradox that the people who the galleries flock to see don’t benefit financially from the massive biennial event? Steve Carroll and Tom Irwin get stuck into the debate in this week’s episode and, as you’d expect, they’ve got some firm views on the subject. Do...

Dynamic pricing has been in the news. Yes, we did pay over the odds for an Oasis ticket. But could it have its place in golf? We all know the weekend tee times that are the most popular, so what if you could pay more to guarantee a spot? What if 7-day fees altered depending on the specific time you wanted to play? In this week’s episode of The NCG Golf Podcast, Tom Irwin returns to join Steve Carr...

We’re joined this week by England Golf chief executive Jeremy Tomlinson. It’s a pretty action-packed episode as we discuss a host of club golf topics with the governing body’s chief executive. He addresses the ongoing criticisms of WHS, considers how golf club membership is looking and whether the post Covid boom is now peaking. We also look at whether traditional clubs are being more open to diff...

The weather’s getting colder and the days are getting shorter.  But don’t put the clubs away as winter arrives. This is a perfect time to get a grip on our golf game sand make them better. When it comes to using data to do that, we have never had it so good. And on these week’s episode, Steve Carroll is joined by NCG’s equipment expert Hannah Holden to show how you can use numbers to your advantag...

Ranking golf courses is risky business. One person’s heaven is another’s hell. Yet we all love a good list, don’t we? We’ve got another one for you at National Club Golfer and this week, Steve Carroll is joined by our Top 100s chairman Dan Murphy to talk about our review of the best courses in Great Britain & Ireland. You will find courses in positions that make you happy and courses in positi...

Steve Carroll is joined by Sam Cooper to talk about his new journal and website project – Links From the Road. Sam went on a road trip we all wish we could take. With a set of clubs, his partner, their dogs, and a van, he toured 225 links courses around England, Scotland and Wales. The journey changed his life. Now a well-known podcaster, and an associate golf course architect with Clayton, Devrie...

This week, Steve Carroll is joined by Jim Croxton, chief executive of the British and International Golf Greenkeepers Association, to talk about the governing body’s new issue of Your Course magazine. Your Course aims to give golfers a deeper understanding of what preparing and maintaining a golf course really involves and is available right now in your clubhouse. Focusing on how greenkeepers prep...

He has amassed a loyal and passionate band of followers with his focus on coaching, course vlogs, entertainment and fun. In this week’s episode of The NCG Golf Podcast, Steve Carroll caught up with Coach Lockey to find out all about being a content creator – it’s harder than you think! But he has also teamed up with England Golf on their iGolf scheme and has put together a series of videos on his...

We’ve got a special guest this week as Matt Chivers sits down with new PGA Tour sensation Harry Hall. Harry won the ISCO Championship in July – just a few days before he became a dad – capping an incredible rise that now sees him ranked around the top 100 in the world. It’s a remarkable story, from his home club West Cornwall changing their membership rules so he could join at just 6 (he was alrea...

We asked and you delivered. In a departure from the usual podcast theme this week, Steve Carroll answers your Rules of Golf and World Handicap System queries. Does the clock stop if you have to halt a ball search to let a group through? Can you manufacture a drop so you’re able to place the ball? Will the course and playing handicaps ever be combined? Steve will endeavour to tell you the answers,...

Justin Rose came oh, so, close but it was Xander Schauffele who picked up the Claret Jug – extending the barren run of English winners at The Open to 32 years! In this week’s episode of The NCG Golf Podcast, Steve Carroll is joined by Dan Murphy to discuss that and the fallout from last week's Championship at Royal Troon. Dan reveals why the Ayrshire layout was the star of the show and we talk abo...

It seems to have been the talk of Royal Troon this week – is it time for Tiger Woods to retire? The 15-time major champion delivered a six-sentence zinger after reports that Colin Montgomerie had questioned whether he could still win. Woods says his belief has never wavered and in this episode of The NCG Golf Podcast, Steve Carroll and Matt Coles debate whether this is fantasy or could still be a...

Where does Royal Troon rank in the Open rota? Which course should join the list? Should the playoff go to sudden death? We asked and you delivered your questions and so, as the best week in the golf calendar gets under way, Steve Carroll and Matt Chivers answer them all in a new episode of The NCG Golf Podcast. NB: This episode was recorded in The Open media centre and there is some background noi...