If you want a proper golf escape then get yourself down to Prince's Golf Club, and lose yourself in the vastness of this beautiful part of Kent. And make sure that you stay at their fantastic lodges, which make for the perfect break from the hustle and bustle of modern life. (Hark at Gloria Hunniford! – Ed)
Kent and Yorkshire are showcased by Golf Tourism England (GTE), the membership body representing the golf tourism industry in England, in two more videos highlighting some of the best regions to play golf in England.
Broke Hill Golf Club is offering free junior membership after two assistant professionals decided to take matters into their own hands.
Five people have been hurt when an outside concrete staircase collapsed at a golf club in Kent. They included two elderly women and an eight–year-old boy.
Savills, on behalf of Leaderboard Golf, has sold Chart Hills Golf Club in Biddenden, Kent to a private operator.
A golf club near Sevenoaks in Kent has been put on the market for £1.75 million, which we think is a bit of bargain for the South East.
A sign has appeared at a golf course warning locals of a ‘disgusting pervert’ who has been trying to tempt fellow dog walkers – into dogging.
The R&A has announced that the 2020 Open Championship will be staged at Royal St George's, the scene of Darren Clarke's victory in 2011.
A letter has been sent to members of Chart Hills Golf Club revealing that the Leaderboard group are placing the club up for sale.
We must say we like the look of the new Stewart Golf HottMitt. Who wouldn’t want toasty warm hands on the golf course? The mobile phone or device holder and charger does look like a bit of techfoolery (Is that a new word? - Ed) but each to their own. But might there be other uses?
The guys at adidas are not known for being shrinking violets and their new limited edition Collection (Zero) will certainly raise some eyebrows. The collection will certainly push the boundaries on the definition of what performance apparel can look like on the golf course.
This weekend the biggest winner’s cheque on Tour were nabbed by Jon Rahm on the European Tour and Kim Sei-young on the LPGA Tour. Check out how both closed out their respective events and raked in a rather obscene amount of cash.
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...
GolfNow the biggest online tee time agency in the golf industry has grabbed an even bigger share of the market following the acquisition of EZLinks Golf by GolfNow owner, NBC Sports Group. Part of the EZLinks Golf portfolio is the online tee time booking platform TeeOff. So, what does this consolidation signal to the golf industry?
The folk at Galvin Green, in keeping with their name, are enhancing their environmental credentials by introducing a collection of golf wear using high-performance fabric that is left over from the production of its comprehensive core range. The UpCycle Edition collection consists of a limited number of garments for both men and women.
A golf club is counting the cost of a horrific attack on their greens by mindless vandals. Seven of the greens at Oldham Golf Club were hacked at with what appears to have been a golf club or clubs. The distressing pictures were posted by the club on their social media feeds.
Honma, that premium brand from Japan has just launched its first shop in Paris. However, it is no American Golf, or standard pro shop, and it would not look out of place on London’s Bond Street. In fact, we would not be surprised if we saw George Clooney walking out of it with a Nespresso in one hand and a Honma wedge in the other.
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...
There has been much talk about Eddie Pepperell’s Tin Cup moment at the Turkish Open at the weekend. For those of you who have not ready about it, European Tour joker Eddie had a minor meltdown at the par five 4th hole(his 12th). hitting four or five balls into the water. Pepperell ran out of balls, walked off the course and was disqualified.
Stop Press: Sweden’s Annika Sorenstam is set to become the first female professional to compete in the PNC Father Son Challenge. We’ve just picked the Brigadier up off the floor spluttering something about it never happening at West Hill or something. Yes, it is called a father son event but this is 2019 and actually the fairer sex has competed before.
Eddie Pepperell must have mixed memories of Portugal Masters after missing the cut and losing his card in 2016. However, this year he appears to have found an innovative way to motivate himself, wagering Martin Kaymer about appearing on the Television Show First Dates.
Jason Day gets in private jet, hot foots it from CJ Cup in China where he was 31st and then beats Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and home favourite Hideki Matsuyama to the spoils taking home $210,000 of the $350,000 pot. Happy Days then (do you see what we did there?)! Well perhaps for Jason but not really for golf as the inaugural 'The Challenge: Japan Skins' lived up to our pretty low expectations.
It's GolfPorn time! This time we're at the famous floating green at the 14th hole of the Coeur d'Alene Golf Resort, Idaho.
Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Jason Day and Hideki Matsuyama will go head to head in a globally televised skins game, the first in a series of annual competitions staged by GOLFTV. "The Challenge: Japan Skins" will take place on the 21st October ahead of the PGA Tour's Zozo Championship at Accordia Golf Narashino C.C. in Chiba, Japan, and we will not be watching.
Cobra Golf today unveiled T-RAIL (Transitional Rail) its first, all-hollow iron-hybrid set, taking super game improvement clubs to the next level. T-RAIL, so they say, combines the forgiveness of a Cobra Baffler hybrid with the precision of an iron in a one-of-a-kind set of clubs that are designed for anyone looking for a better game.
There has been much debate about parity for women golfers and there have been attempts to move in the right direction, for example the Jordan Mixed Open and the ISPS Handa World Invitational promoted by Niall Horran’s Modest media. With all respect to these other events, finally, there is a big one with some serious money attached.
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.
Cobra Golf today introduced its next generation of KING Forged TEC Irons, featuring a traditional muscle-back shape with a hollow design for softer feel and improved power preferred available in a variable or ONE Length set make-up.
A year after finishing tied for second in the Hero Women’s Indian Open, Christine Wolf enjoyed a much happier experience at DLF Golf and Country Club as she claimed her first Ladies European Tour title. The 30-year-old Austrian, who had led by three going into the 18th hole 12 months ago before a nightmare double-bogey wrecked her chances, was able to take care of unfinished business.
We love a good 14 club challenge at GolfPunk. We’re not very good at them but watching the pro’s go at it is always a scream, especially when they manage to hit the green with a putter or equally unsuitable club!
Australia’s Whitney Hillier carded a one-under round of 71 to claim a one-shot lead at the halfway stage of the Hero Women’s Indian Open. She leads by a single shot from Norway’s Marianne Skarpnord with Linda Wessberg of Sweden and Meg MacLaren of England a further shot back.
Christine Wolf shot an excellent five-under-par 67 in the third round of the Hero Women’s Indian Open to take a one stroke lead into the final round at DLF Golf and Country Club in Gurugram. The 30-year-old Austrian will be determined to make amends for last year when she dumped her third shot into the water at the 18th to take a double bogey and lose the event by two shots.
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.
As we head into October there is a definite chill in the air and those hopes of an Indian Summer might be waning. With this in mind the stylish, but practical, folk at adidas have introduced their Frostguard Collection. A new layering collection for both men and women that was designed to help golfers extend their golf seasons during the colder months of the year.
Not happy with having the most popular golf ball those clever chaps at Titleist continue to push the boundaries of ball technology. The Titleist Golf Ball Research & Development team were thrown into a room and told they could not come out until they came up with a new golf ball. The result, the Experimental EXP•01 Golf Ball.
Only a fortnight after playing her part in Europe’s Solheim Cup victory at Gleneagles, Carlota Ciganda claimed the Estrella Damm Mediterranean Ladies Open at Terramar Golf Club in Sitges, Spain to add another unforgettable moment to her remarkable career.
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.
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.
Nelly Korda shot a four-under 67 to win the Lacoste Ladies Open to take her first European Title. Blustery conditions made it challenging at Golf du Medoc and despite being in a final round containing two local favourites, Korda managed to hold off Joanna Klattern and Céline Boutier for her maiden win on this side of the pond.
Following the debuting of the Titleist 2020 branding at the FedEx Cup playoffs the rather sleek looking bags are being launched on the European Tour at this week’s BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth. We still want one!
European Captain Padraig Harrington has named Robert Karlsson as his first vice captain for The 2020 Ryder Cup against the United States at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin next September. Karlsson twice played in the Ryder Cup, in the victorious 2006 team that crushed the USA at the K Club and on the losing side two years later at Valhalla.
The teams were introduced, the crowds were bedecked in the colours of the teams and Sharleen Spiteri and Texas hit the stage to liven up proceedings. First points in the fashion stakes probably went to Europe with their mid length coats and Solheim Cup tartan scarves winning it out over the the not quite so flattering short jackets of Team USA. A real spectacle indeed and here are some of the best images.
Something for the weekend? Ooh suit you!
Gleneagles 13th hole The Queen's Course. A par 3, 140 yard piece of GolfPorn!
Two Foxhills members both hit a hole-in-one on the same hole with consecutive shots. Apparently, the odds of this happening are millions to one although we must confess, we haven’t a clue how that is calculated.
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.
Cleveland wedges are definitely always in the mix when you think about premium tour products and we loved their recent CBX 2 launch aimed at the slightly more regular golfers amongst us. What they aren’t as well known for are their top of the line putters and perhaps, with the new Frontline range, that is about to change?
The techies at Cleveland believe that the keys to success are control and feel which gives confidence in putting and their new Huntington Beach SOFT range does just that, so that we make more putts, "plain and simple!"
Something for the weekend? Ooh, suit you!
What happens when you pair one of the world’s biggest pop stars with the world’s number two golfer at a Pro-Am event? Well it’s no joke but what you actually get is a lesson in bunker play in the middle of the round, oh and a very near miss!
The Solheim Cup is just three weeks away and Team USA captain, Juli Inkster, used her picks to add some experience to her rookie Solheim Cup line up last night. This will be Stacy Lewis’ fifth Solheim Cup and Morgan Pressel’s sixth.
World number one, Jin Young Ko, walked arm in arm up to the 18th green at the CP Women’s Open yesterday with defending champion and local girl Brooke Henderson, as she cruised to a five shot lead over her nearest rival, Denmark’s Nicole Broch Larsen, to confirm that she is in her class of her own on the LPGA Tour this year.
Something for the weekend? Ooh suit you!
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.
Scotland’s Craig Ross and England’s Eleanor Givens are the first round leaders lead in the The ISPS HANDA World Invitational, both carding an impressive 6 under par. Ross shot an impressive birdie free round of 64 Massereene Golf Club while Givens had seven birdies and one solitary bogey in carding a 67 at Galgorm Castle Golf Club.
It has rather flown under the radar but yesterday the ISPS HANDA World Invitational event for both men and women teed of at Galgorm Castle Golf Club and Massereene Golf Club. A first for golf in Europe as women will play alongside (sort of) the men and will play for the same money.
Following the Ladies Scottish Open the first eight players have been confirmed for the 2019 European Solheim Cup team. This afternoon the Team Europe captain Catriona Matthew will break some hearts and delight others as she makes her four captain’s picks. But GolfPunk have it covered, so you can relax Catriona as these are the picks!
TaylorMade are on a roll, of that there can be little doubt and when the TP Patina Putter collection drops you can be sure it will cause more than a little stir. The marketing bumpf is all well and good, but well, just look at them.
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.
As we start the end of season scramble, which is the Fedex Cup playoff, starting first at Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City, the problem of slow play rears its ugly head once again. Both Rory and Brooks were asked in yesterday’s interviews about the problem and neither of them held back their criticism and the need for the governing bodies to take action.
As majors go, the AIG Women’s British Open was a classic. Hinako Shibuno, the 20 year old Japanese rookie, who had never set foot in a tournament outside of her home country holed, in some style we might add, a 20ft putt on the 18th to secure the title. Just moments before Lizette Salas had missed a much shorter chance in front of an amazing crowd.
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’.
South Korea’s Hyo Joo Kim holds a one-shot lead over compatriot Sung Hyun Park heading into day four of the Evian Championship. Indeed, Kim has no shortage of company from home as five of the top six players are from South Korea with the only interloper being Shanshan Feng of China.
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!
On the day that The Right Honourable Boris Johnson MP becomes the First Lord of the Treasury, or otherwise known as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, GolfPunk ponders the key issues of the day.
Ireland’s Shane Lowry produced what he called "one of the most incredible days of my life" shooting an eight-under-par 63 that gives him a four-shot lead going into the final day of the Open at Royal Portrush! Englishman Tommy Fleetwood is the closest rival on 12 under after a 66 with JB Holmes third on 10 under. World number one Brooks Koepka and Justin Rose sit one further back but there are tough weather conditions forecast for the final day.
The GolfPunk team love the game of golf and are big supporters of the idea of improving the etiquette on the course and in general. However, this week the big news running around social media was about the US amateur golfer that carded an impressively poor 194 for 18 holes and things got worse when the Florida State Golf Association confirmed it was actually a 131 over par 202!
Ok time for a rerun of our GolfPunk rant. The three-minute rule is a good one and it is intended to speed up play like the other good rule change, putting with the pin in. I am sure most pros did not expect to suffer too much from the rule change but then they are not playing Royal Portrush every day.
Who will win the Open? Vote now for your pick of the Top 20, as per the bookies, or do you think it will be more of an outsider who takes the Claret Jug on the shores of Northern Ireland?
It’s that time of year where some of our favourite kit suppliers go into overdrive launching some of the stuff we have seen the professionals use over the past couple of months or launch new gear ready for the last major of the year. GolfPunk has a look and there are few bits we wouldn’t mind getting our sticky mitts on!
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...
You know something is iconic when its value on the second hand market can be more than when it was new. It happens to some old cars, it happens to certain fine wines and expensive spirits and occasionally it happens to golf clubs that are owned by famous dudes but it doesn’t happen often to regular golf kit.
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!
Justin Rose shot a third round 68 to close the gap on leader Gary Woodland to just one shot, with the field a further three shots back. Looming ominously in the pair’s rear-view mirror is one Brooks Koepka who shot a bogey free round of 68 to continue his slow, but continuous, move up the leaderboard.
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.
Jordan Spieth was having a decent round yesterday. Level par for the first seven holes and all was well with the world, until the par four 8th. On a hole that requires precision and tidy positioning off the tee, Speith’s tee shot hit the fairway but then rolled too far, ran out of runway and dropped over the cliff edge.
The US open is returning to Pebble Beach with its magnificent views, tiny greens and changeable conditions. All factors that are taxing The Spiv’s brain matter as he sips on his port and peruses the field. But this year its all different as GolfPunk has a new algorithm and its going to make us all rich (necessary caveats and waivers apply of course).
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.
To hit a drive that bounces on the fairway and runs in to a divot is bad enough but if it runs in to an old pitch mark that really tries one’s patience. You curse your luck and play the ball as best you can – right? Not the Kooch who decided to try and invent a whole new sub rule!
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.
GolfPunk’s strap line and overall mission is that it is the “The golf site for the rest of us...” and as you know we have long been advocates to increase participation in our beautiful game, lest it becomes stuffy, stale and the preserve of the privileged few.
How do you come back from blowing a seven shot lead in a major? Well, fortunately for Brooks Koepka it is a question that he will not have to answer. Staring down the barrel of the gun and the biggest collapse in golf major history, Koepka dug deep, held his nerve and took the title.
Excellent interview with Tiger Woods speaking to GOLFTV’s Lead Tour Correspondent, Henni Zuel about the upcoming 2019 PGA Championship at Bethpage Black. He discusses the course, his preparations and his playing partners for the first two days - Brooksie and Franny!
As Matt Wallace thumped the green with his putter as another birdie putt slipped by the hole at the 18th he knew he had blown a chance to lift the British Masters crown. Step forward Marcus Kinhult, the world’s number 210th ranked player, to coolly hole his ten-foot birdie putt and complete Wallace’s nightmare.
