It’s no shock to announce that Rory McIlroy has been named the 2015 European Tour Golfer of the Year for the third time in four years. Having won the Race to Dubai three times in four years too, it was the least surprising announcement all season.
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.
England’s Matthew Southgate and Victor Perez of France take a two shot lead into the final round at the Old Course, St Andrews in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. Perez shot his second 64 of the week at Kingsbarns Golf Links to move to twenty under and was joined at the top of the leaderboard by Southgate who birdied his final hole at St Andrews to card a 65.
George Coetzee achieves a lifetime ambition by finally getting an audience with his favourite Golf head cover sock puppet, Valderrama. And when they met it was muydaahh....
GolfPunk Columnist, and former European Tour Chief himself, Ken Schofield CBE on the appointment of a new Chief for the European Tour
10th hole West Cliffs Golf Links, 372 yards, Par 4.
Poor old Bio Kim. The Korean who is leading the money list on the Korean tour, has been handed a three-year suspension for raising his middle finger at members of the crowd at the weekend. This seems a rather harsh punishment and will cost the young man a lot of dosh.
Businessman Jeremy Ord from South Africa's had an outrageous slice of luck when playing the short 13th hole at Kingsbarns Golf Links. Ord was playing alongside professional Branden Grace in the team event in Scotland when he came close to a hole-in-one following a number of lucky breaks.
Paul Casey has moves up to 14th in the world following his victory at the European Open in Hamburg. The Englishman shot a bogey free 66 that took him to 14 under and squeezed out Scotland’s Robert Macintyre, Austria’s Matthias Schwab and home hope Bernd Ritthammer by one-stroke.
Gleneagles 13th hole The Queen's Course. A par 3, 140 yard piece of GolfPorn!
With stunning views of the China Sea along with the city skyline Sentosa Golf Club is home of the Singapore Open and more recently has been the venue for the HSBC Women’s World Championship.
There was lots of concern that the new format of the Tour Championship was going to result in the FedEx Cup leader running away with things and there being a lack of drama at East Lake Golf Club over the last big weekend for the PGA Tour. Well things didn’t really work out like that as Justin Thomas, Xander Schauffele and Brooks Koepka all start day two tied on 10 under with Rory just one behind.
The finale of the PGA Tour season is upon us and already we have a leaderboard in the race for that crazy payout of $15 million to the winner. Thirty men, honourable and true, will tee it up at the East Lake Golf Club just outside Atlanta with dollar signs in their eyes. Justin Thomas already leads by two, crazy we know but then again, the whole thing is.
Local favourite Stephanie Meadow will take a four shot lead into the final round of the ISPS HANDA World Invitational. The 27-year-old from Jordanstown, Northern Ireland shot a six under par 67 to sit on ten under for the event, four clear of England’s Eleanor Givens. In the men’s event, Damien Perrier of France and Todd Clement of England lead the field by a single shot following another long day with rain delays at Galgorm Castle.
Reports indicate our erstwhile Prime Minister, The Right Honourable Boris Johnson MP, has been learning to develop his golf game as part of a strategy to help him secure a trade deal with the US and presumably other nations headed by golf addicted leaders.
It’s a hot topic and one that is not going to go away. Slow play is killing our game and GolfPunk for one will not stand idly by and accept that nothing can be done. We believe our manifesto can speed up play will go a long way to get the guys round quicker!
In 2018, Prince’s unveiled the newly-redeveloped Himalayas nine having undertaken a significant redesign by renowned international golf course architects Mackenzie & Ebert. A year on, the results are looking pretty impressive.
Ok we are not going to let this one drop. Slow play is killing our game and the lead must come from the professional ranks. In the second round of the Northern Trust, Bryson DeChambeau took it to another level.
How fast do you think you could play a par five hole? Well the world record stood at one minute and thirty three seconds when the European Tour decided to see if any of their boys could beat it. American Sean Crocker, Belgian Thomas Detry, Ireland’s Paul Dunne and Italian Guido Migliozzi to take on the record for the ‘Fastest hole of hole of golf by an individual’.
One of golf´s great masterpieces, severe, fascinating, beautiful and without weakness...... Continuing the theme of everything Ireland, GolfPunk looks back to one of its favourite courses south of the border, Waterville Golf Club - You Little Beauty!
Old Head of Kinsale Golf Links, Co. Cork, Ireland 12th hole (Courcean Stage) Par 5 564 yards
There is no other way to say this but last week was a killer. The workouts alongside a heavy workload and a couple of work functions were tough (its important at this point in case our other halves are reading to emphasis these soirees were work related and we really didn’t enjoy them!). However, we made it through to the other side and are looking forward to next week!
For the first time it feels like we are getting really serious about this whole programme as we start to see real gains physically and we appear to be getting fitter, faster at the exercises and stronger overall. Plus, this week’s WOD was both a killer and also immensely satisfying to boot, which are words we never thought we would say!
The Open is less than a week away and so what better than a fine bit of Golf Porn from the fantastic links at Royal Portrush. 15th Hole, Par 4, 426 yards
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...
Let’s start with an admission. We know that our Fitness Friday article is going out on a Monday and we kind of dropped the (medecine) ball but we have a good excuse honest. So, we’re a smidge late but following the maxim, better late than never, here you go!
Normally a round of mini golf is a rather relaxing and sedentary activity. You saunter around putting that ball through a few windmills or similar unusual obstacles often with a beer in your hand and not a care in the world as you watch family members miss that putt for the umpteenth time. In fact its supposed to be so safe that it’s become a drinking based activity with places like Junk Yard Golf or Swingers popping up everwhere!
So Muirfield or to give its proper title, The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers, has formally invited women to join the club as members for the first time since voting to change the club’s rules in 2017.
Derek The Donkey, GolfPunk's grumpy horse-envier delivers his 'Joke of the Week'. He likes nothing better than a proper good laugh as long as it's at someone else's expense...
The weather has been rubbish so far this year (on both sides of the pond it seems) and it’s got the team dreaming of sunnier climbs. The Maldives is always a luxurious option (especially if you're feeling flush), but there was never a need to take the wrenches….UNTIL NOW!
It’s often said that for brilliant break through musical artists that the second album is the difficult one. So too has been the second week of our six-week GOLF.WOD designed plan fitness plan as the initial giddy optimism of the first week gives way to the brutal reality living a more virtuous existence and the need for hard work and sacrifice.
Derek The Donkey, GolfPunk's grumpy horse-envier delivers his 'Joke of the Week'. He likes nothing better than a proper good laugh as long as it's at someone else's expense...
The maxim that you can’t teach old dogs’ new tricks has firmly been dispatched this week as the “Lab Rats” as we have affectionately been called have truly turned over a new leaf, at least for the next 6/7 weeks are concerned.
I think it safe to say that the GolfPunk team are not exactly regulars at their local gym. When it comes to preparing for a round of golf its usually a bacon sarnie, washed down with a few cups of coffee, a couple of swishes with an 8 iron behind the first tee and away we go.
It’s an early rise for us on day two and a slightly thick head, that Schnapps for the road wasn't a great idea after all! After an excellent breakfast at the hotel we are off to experience two more courses. It will be an entirely different experience from the first day as the courses are located in undulating valley landscapes.
“Fancy playing in Bavaria?” came the call. Visions of steins of beers and shouts of prost from froth moustachioed faces sprung to the mind as I nodded furiously. Ok grab your clubs you’re off to The Quellness Resort.
Welcome back to part two of our Friday Fitness feature as the GolfPunk team get back to working on improving their waistline and their game! This time we are going for the current GP Team's favourite exercise and one that has ramped up the competitive tension at GolfPunk Towers.
Last night at our team get together we were discussing all things golf and one of the team asked what our Top 5 golf related movies were sparking heated debate until the boss put his foot down and decided what they were and also the order (which was perhaps even more hotly contested as you will see!).
Its only two weeks until The British Golf Show which is the only free event for golfers this summer. Taking place at Wycombe Air Park, High Wycombe over the 17th and 18th of May, the event boasts over 150 exhibitors and plenty of fun both inddors and outdoors.
Welcome to GolfPunk’s latest regular feature - Fitness Friday - where we detail the exercises the team are doing in an effort to get both golf fit and ready for the looming summer golf tour where, god forbid, shorts maybe the order of the day!
The resident GolfPunk Tipster, Nick Fleming, picked 2nd place Julian Suri at last week’s event in Morocco. We are hoping he will go one better this week with his selections for the Wells Fargo Championship from Quail Hollow, Charlotte, North Carolina and the China Open. Both events will be on Sky and look to provide some good entertainment.
So, the Pro pairings at the Zurich Classic have had to select walk up music for their entrance on the first tee should they make the cut for the final two rounds. GolfPunk has not been that enamoured with the choices and so have come up with their own Top 5.
Etiquette - “The customary code of polite behaviour in society or among members of a particular profession or group.” There were certain sporting maxims when we grew up. Football is a gentleman's game played by thugs, and rugby is a thug’s game played by gentlemen. Cricket and golf were games for protaganists who played with a significant side order of honour.
I’m probably going to get shot down in flames for this one, but I am going to put it out there, Mr Woods is a lucky golfer. It may be golfing blasphemy akin to suggesting the Beatles, excluding their early stuff, were not that good or suggesting that David Beckham was actually not all that brilliant.
As the freshly blooming azaleas of Augusta National Golf Club mark the arrival of the northern spring, the golfing world’s attention turns towards Georgia, USA, for the first men’s Major of the year – the Masters Tournament, which has been supported by Rolex since 1999.
Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, has announced it will be offering free golf bag luggage on its flights to Abu Dhabi with immediate effect.
SRIXON® has unveiled its new state-of-the-art Tour Truck. The truck will be attending various demo days across the UK before making its Tour debut in May at the British Masters.
Seven lucky golfers are heading to this week’s Masters to battle it out for a million dollars – all hoping they can land another ace to change their life.
Over to GP's ace golf betting tipster, The Golf Spiv, (AKA Nick Fleming):
It's 2 more sleeps until the Masters!!!! We've put together a little Masters quiz to get you in the mood.
No matter what game you play, gambling is always fun, especially when played with friends. Imagine mixing the game of golf and gambling over it.
Olympic record-holder (shooting an incredible 61 in Brazil 2016) Maria Verchenova brings us the latest in her award-winning series of fitness videos for GolfPunk. It's time to stop being a plank and get your core, arms and everything maximised to the extreme!
Great to deliver a winner again for GolfPunk readers; nervy stuff but Paul Casey held on to win at 26/1 at last week’s Valspar Championship!!
Guests can combine world-class golf with an array of luxury lifestyle facilities when booking a golfing break at Portugal’s Quinta do Lago resort this spring – with three-night, two-round hotel packages available from €338 per person including buggies.
The 25th anniversary edition of the RMB 20 million Volvo China Open will once again be tri-sanctioned by the China Golf Association and the European and Asian Tours when the tournament is staged at The Genzon Golf Club in Shenzhen from May 2-5.v
GOLFBUDDY is introducing the latest generation of golf GPS devices this spring, as it launches the aim W10 GPS watch and the Voice 2 GPS.
The first four Professional Golfers’ Association, We Love Golf events for 2019, have been hailed as a huge success after 135 women and girls braved the wind and rain to take part in four golf taster events held across the Great Britain & Ireland.
We've all had a bad haircut or three over the years, but the pictorial evidence is probably buried deep down in some box of memories only to be opened when suitably drunk. The PGA Tour pros don't have it so lucky...
Great to see Rory McIlroy winning the Players Championship last week. Our selection Tommy Fleetwood led well into the final round but faded to finish 5th. Two televised events this week but the EuropeanTour event low key so we concentrate on the Valspar Championship on PGA tour.
The luxurious and picturesque Argentario Golf Resort & Spa (www.argentarioresort.com) has joined The PGA’s growing list of exceptional branded resorts as the ‘PGA National Italy’.
If you want t really REALLY good laugh, take a look at this brilliant compilaiton of golf fails from the 'cart jumping maniac' to the lake dancing bafoon!
Titleist is continuing its support of dedicated golfers across the UK & Ireland by rolling-out its Loyalty Rewarded promotion once again in 2019.
Whether you are cashing in $2 skins for Nassau team junk, two down presses or any other expensive or complicated golf game, playing golf is always a bit more interesting when there’s cash involved.
Introducing Belinda Whent, PGA professional and England amateur international. Belinda joins our GolfJunk Editor Daniel Owen in the golf-geekery department and will be bringing us her take on the latest equipment every issue.
It's back. They say that golf's '5th major' is the hardest tournament to win. It has the best field of the entire year and it all kicks off today at Sawgrass. Here we have all the best tips to turn your pennies into pounds...
Women’s Golf Day will return for its fourth year on June 4th 2019 in what promises to be the largest single-day celebration of Women’s golf that the world has ever seen.
Online ticketing is now open for this year’s British Golf Show, which takes place May 17th-18th at Wycombe Air Park.
One of Europe’s most high-profile golfers Paul Lawrie OBE will be taking part in this year’s inaugural Farmfoods European Legends Links Championship.
We all long to hear success stories of people in various fields. There are top professional golfers who have soared so high and The Golf Punk team sought to learn how they made it to the levels they are at today, and below are the betting stories of the best golf gamblers.
The great players won everything right? Well, not the USPGA they didn't. The USPGA proved elusive for many serial major winners. Here's the Top 7 players never to win the PGA.
Laguna Golf Phuket will become the first golf course to host a PGA TOUR Series-China event outside of mainland China when it hosts the Tour’s third and final Global Qualifying Tournament from March 5-8.
British golf trolley manufacturer Stewart Golf has delivered a fleet of 60 of its flagship X9 Follow machines to Taiwan’s most prestigious golf club.
The Argentario Golf Resort & Spa (www.argentarioresort.com), one of the most highly-regarded golf destinations in Tuscany, Italy, has opened a stylish new Club House in time for the 2019 golf season.
Following a series of high-profile events and after hosting some of the best players in the world from the PGA, European and Ladies Tours, Abu Dhabi is now looking forward to welcoming golfers from around the world for one of the best seasons yet in the Middle East region.
Unlimited golf in an idyllic setting is the mouth-watering prospect that awaits golfers taking up Verdura Resort’s invitation to book a stay-and-play break at the exclusive Sicilian venue this spring.
Today Callaway Golf Company (NYSE: ELY) announced that Francesco Molinari, the reigning Open Champion and 2018 Race to Dubai winner, has joined its Tour Professional Staff.
The most major revision of the rules for more than 30 years came into effect two months ago. Nevertheless, a lot of golfers do not seem to know enough about the rules changes yet.
A video has gone viral of a fight between two golfers in the clubhouse at a Gauteng golf club, and the club has now issued a formal apology.
When Padraig Harrington took one on the elbow whilst giving an amateur a lesson, he thought his career was over. In very ludicrous fashion. Padraig, you are not alone. Check out these Top 10 bizarre golfer mishaps.
In tribute to Arnold Palmer, Rickie Fowler will once again head to Bay Hill for the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, with special plans to pay tribute to The King.
During 2018 saw the rise of all-inclusive golf holidays abroad, and GolfHolidaysDirect.com have listed the top all-inclusive golf holidays valid throughout 2019.
Wilson Golf has launched a D7 iron Challenge, inviting golfers from major markets in Europe to put their own 7-iron up against its new Wilson Staff model to see how much more distance they can gain.
The nominations for the 59club Service Excellence Awards have today been revealed, with some of the highest-profile and best-loved venues across the globe in the running for a golf industry sales and service excellence ‘Oscar’.
The premier indoor golf academy in South Wales now has an additional attraction – the Zen Green Stage.
If you are already thinking ahead to playing golf abroad in 2019, here is a great all-inclusive golf holiday offer from Golf Holidays Direct for three nights at the Salgados Palm Village Suites in Portugal, with three Championship courses to enjoy. Knock yourselves out!
Two events this week. It's the Oman Open and the Honda Open. Here's where the action is......
The altruistic Golf in Society initiative, which delivers person-centred golf sessions for people with chronic illnesses, is the first recipient of a financial award from the new charitable arm of the not-for-profit Golf Business International.
All visitors to this year’s inaugural British Golf Show will receive a free gift which can be redeemed at almost 100 golf clubs.
British golf trolley manufacturer Stewart Golf has now added solar energy to its green credentials and flicked the switch on a £40,000 installation to make it more than self-sufficient in electricity.
Al Mouj Golf, one of the Middle East’s flagship golf courses, designed by Greg Norman, is completing its final touches ahead of the 2019 Oman Open, which takes place from February 28th to 3rd March.
Every year, PUMA Golf come up with a better, comfier and better performng golf shoe. The 2019 IGNITE PROADAPT is no exception, delivering Tour-proven stability, unparalleled traction and extreme comfort, in a superior, sophisticated package, designed with the world’s finest performing (and best-dressed) golfers in mind.
Flagbearers of golf hybrid footwear, ECCO GOLF, have unveiled several exciting additions to their iconic ECCOBIOM® HYBRID 3 family, with the GORE-TEX waterproof design now available in a range of eye-catching Spring/Summer 2019 colour combinations that feature the refined derby cut lacing.
Galvin Green, the leading premium performance golf apparel brand, has launched its most advanced collection of technical clothing for the start of the 2019 season, with a total of 368 ground-breaking garments and matching accessories.
Gleneagles, the world-famous Scottish hotel and sporting estate, has today announced Hannah McCook, as a new Golf Ambassador, supporting the iconic Perthshire venue’s plans to inspire more young people, school children and women to take up the game.
Golf Pride® today announced it is expanding its popular TOUR SNSR™ putter grip family with the new Contour Pro. The Contour Pro putter grip offers the leading Tour-preferred, pistol-shape in two oversized models for unsurpassed feel and feedback.
An association of consultants working within the golf industry has responded to national media coverage of a report which criticised a city council for spending £2,400 on golf consultancy services.
Canterbury Golf Club is gearing up for the staging of The Open Championship in July 2020 at nearby Royal St George’s by linking up with fellow Kent golf clubs in Visit Kent’s Golf in Kent Partnership.
After hosting Regional Qualifying for The Open Championship and the English Boys’ U16 Open Amateur Stroke Play (McGregor Trophy), during a benchmark year in 2018, Kedleston Park has been named as one of four finalists in the Championship Venue of the Year category of the England Golf Awards 2019.
PUMA Golf has introduced its Spring Summer 2019 apparel and accessories collection for men, women and junior golfers.
