According to Rory McIlroy, he is approaching 2020 with a new mindset, one in which he plans to play carefree golf. But what exactly does ‘carefree’ mean in terms of playing the game? Consulting the dictionary carefree is an adjective meaning free from anxiety or responsibility. Checking the thesaurus, I happen to have to hand synonyms for carefree include ‘breezy’ ‘cheerful’ ‘jaunty’ ‘happy go lucky’.
Call us old cynics but are the latest set of changes at the Golf Hall of Fame just a dressed way to get Tiger Woods inducted into the Golf Hall of Fame a few years earlier and boost the quality of the list of possible inductees for the 2021 draft? The rules were only changed some four years ago to move the minimum age from 40 to 50 and now it is being edged back to 45.
Encouraging signs from the first event with the European Tour’s new regime on slow play. The toughened up four-point plan did not result in any penalties but the general consensus was that the pace of play was better. Even Bryson DeChambeau seemed to have responded positively – might the penny be finally dropping?
Berkhamsted Golf Club has decided to allow both sexes to compete in the Berkhamsted Trophy, a long-standing top men’s amateur in the UK. This is a world-first for elite amateur golf and has the backing of the R&A and England Golf. The event which is entering its 61st year – has transformed from being a men-only tournament, into one which invites both sexes to compete for the same prize.
Back last August the European Tour announced a four-point plan for dealing with slow play on the tour. They have now revisited the plan and beefed up the regulations and penalties. The new tougher regulations come into effect at this week’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship presented by EGA.
The FootJoy folk never seem to stand still and the latest iteration is the Tour X which seeks to combine all that was good from previous tried and tested FootJoy models. The new Tour X has been born from the synthesis of 3 Tour-proven models, the DNA, Tour-S and Fury.
Derek The Donkey, GolfPunk's grumpy horse-envier once again delivers his 'Joke of the Week'. As you know he likes nothing better than a proper good laugh as long as it's at someone else's expense...
It’s Manic Monday, so here is a very quick round up of all the main results and stories from the weekend!
We love a bit of luxury at GolfPunk, particularly if someone else is paying, but the idea that you could actually use clubs that cost the price of an average family car is not something which we could ever comprehend.
The 6:57 to East Grinstead trundles out of Clapham Junction. I’m on board with my Café Nero’s black americano in hand (other coffee brands were available) and a copy of City AM on the table in front of me. Today’s mission, to seek out a gem of a course that I have known about for years but never played. The course in question is Tandridge Golf Club and I have heard good reports about the course and, in particular, the famous lunch – more of that later!
Victor Perez became the first French winner of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship after one of the most exciting finishes in the history of the event, winning by one shot from England’s Matthew Southgate at St Andrews. Whilst, at the same time, Rory McIlroy, finishing tied for 26th place complains to the BBC that the European Tour is too easy.
It’s probably fair to say that amongst top golfers, elite or amateur, that the Titleist Pro V1 or Pro V1x ball is the market leader. Titleist also offer a range of more budget friendly options for the lesser mortal and are now replacing the DT TruSoft, their budget distance ball, with the TruFeel which, they claim, is engineered to deliver longer distance and excellent control.
