If you are looking for something a bit different on the golf holiday front this year, we have discovered this amazing house in Deal which you can rent, which is right on the doorstep of Royal Cinque Ports, Princes and Royal St Georges.
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.
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.
It is understood that Prince Andrew used a taxpayer-funded helicopter to fly Jim Yong Kim to the Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club at Deal on the Kent coast where he is official patron.
Today is the day we can all get back on the course after an almost insufferable seven weeks or so. Golfers have been rushing to book tee times and clubs systems have been crashing under the volumes.
Here’s a chance for golfers to take part in a world record attempt – without having to leave home! At 2 pm BST on 5th May 2020, PGA golf professionals around the world will take to Instagram Live in an attempt to give the world’s biggest golf lesson. GolfPunk is going to jump on board as out pre-COVID-19 putting was truly shocking.
Every year on the Tuesday of the Masters week the top golfers gather for the traditional Champions Dinner. Yesterday it would have been Tiger Woods as defending champion selecting the menu but 2020 is sadly no ordinary year. Woods instead spent the evening tweeting a message that he was sharing dinner with his family.
Italy has just gone into lockdown and around the world sports events are starting to be impacted by the Coronavirus crisis. All golf events cancelled to date have been mainly in Asia but now Europe and the USA are beginning to take action to stem the spread of the virus. The Masters is only a month away, and the signs are not promising.
Trial by television was with us again at the Bay Hill Classic on Thursday. No Patrick Reed this time but rather the squeaky-clean Justin Rose. Rose had a tricky chip from the back of the 11th which he ran some 10 feet past the pin but did he move the ball at address?
A careless error on his card has dumped England's Eddie Pepperell out of the Qatar Masters at the Education City Golf Club in Doha. The 2018 champion had hoped to find that form of two years ago and force his way into the world's top 50 in time to qualify for The Masters.
There was plenty of excitement at the last week’s events and plenty of great play. Here is GolfPunk’s pick of the best shots and we use the word ‘best’ in a rather loose way for one of them!
Our Bryson may not quite be ripping it up on the golf course but word has got to us that he made the Sports Illustrated Top 50 Most Fit Athletes. Quite excited to learn who had made this Top 50 ( 25 men and 25 women) we were somewhat disappointed to find the definition of ‘fit’ not quite matching GolfPunk’s.
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.
No one can ignore the terrible fires ravaging Australia and to help in the relief efforts of those affected by the fires, a number of LPGA players including the Korda sisters, Marina Alex, Australian Sarah Kemp and England’s Charlotte Thomas, have publicised that they will be making a donation.
Get ready folks there is a new handicapping system on its way. For those across the pond things will not be much different but for golfers in the UK, and to a slightly lesser extent Europe, there is a fair bit changing. The new World Handicap System will be introduced in the USA and dozens of other countries in January 2020 with the changes coming to the UK, Sweden, Portugal and Italy in November.
Tommy “Two Gloves” Gainey was arrested as part of a prostitution sting in Central Florida. Gainey has been a pro golfer since 1997 and joined the PGA Tour in 2008, where he became famous for wearing gloves on both hands when playing.
LET 2018 Rookie of the Year, Julia Engström, carded a two under par 70 at Vipingo Ridge course to extend her lead in the Magical Kenya Ladies Open to seven shots over the field. Esther Henseleit who needs to win the event for a chance of grabbing the LET order of merit title could only manage a 71 and sits in joint second.
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?
For the first time since 1955 there will be no live coverage of any golf on the BBC in 2020. The BBC has lost their rights to show any live coverage of the Augusta event which means that the UK pay TV Channel Sky is now the only place to watch live coverage of the majors. This is the end game for millions of golf fans who have seen the free to air coverage of their favourite sport fade and die in the hands of the BBC over the past decade.
We have reported a lot of lucky shots over the years but this latest one really must be up there. Thomas Detry was staring down the barrel of a disaster at the Nedbank Golf Challenge on Friday when lady luck smiled down on him. When we say smiled we mean totally beamed and showered him with lucky dust as what transpired will go down as one of the luckiest breaks in the history of well, lucky breaks.
It’s been a while since this fine course has featured a major event and it’s been even longer since GolfPunk played it. If we recall correctly you head south out of Dublin on the M9 and you can’t miss it – well you can as its in middle of nowhere, if we recall.
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.
10th hole West Cliffs Golf Links, 372 yards, Par 4.
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.
Laura Fuenfstueck of Germany shot a four under 67 to keep the lead but is being hunted down by home favourite Carlota Ciganda who is just two shots back going into the final round of the Estrella Damm Mediterranean Ladies Open at Golf Club Terramar, near Barcelona.
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.
Germany’s Laura Fuenfstueck produced back to back rounds of 68 to lead by three shots at the halfway stage of the Estrella Damm Mediterranean Ladies Open in Sitges, near Barcelona. The 24-year-old from Langen was out of the traps quickly, racking up four birdies in her first 12 holes and made just the one bogey, on the par-4 14th, at Terramar Golf Club.
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.
France’s Joanna Klatten made a strong push at the Lacoste Ladies Open de France with third round six-under-par 65 at Golf du Medoc Resort bringing her within one of World Number one Nelly Korda, setting up for an exciting final round.
World number ten Nelly Korda lived up to her favourite billing shooting a second round seven-under-par 64 to take a six-stroke lead into the weekend on 10-under-par at the Lacoste Ladies Open de France at Golf du Medoc, near Bordeaux.
They may have been looking to run up high scores in the Ashes over the summer but yesterday three of England’s heroes were looking to go low at the ProAm event at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth Golf Club.
Matt Fitzpatrick’s little brother, Alex, led the way for team Great Britain and Ireland at Royal Liverpool yesterday. Following a foursomes win in the morning, with partner Conor Purcell, Fitzpatrick took out world number one amateur Cole Hammer (great name!) in the top afternoon singles game to help The GB&I team to a 7-5 lead after day one.
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.
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 The European Tour has announced a concrete four-point plan aimed at tackling the issue of slow play in professional golf. The plan will be implemented at the start of the 2020 season and focuses on four key areas: regulation, education, innovation and field sizes.
After exhaustive reseach, including feedback from tour players, their caddies and PGA professionals, Titleist have produced their latest tour bag collection. This is a glimpse of what is to come from Titleist in 2020 and clearly the theme is a sleak jet black look.
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.
The AIG Women’s British Open is now set to follow Woburn Golf Club with back to back regal courses with Royal Troon added to the Championship roster for 2020 and Royal Porthcawl confirmed for 2021. It seems therefore, that that we are set for some quality golf on iconic courses now that The R&A has taken over the women's home Championship.
Hybrids are becoming a bigger component of all golfers’ bags. Titleist have always been at the forefront of design and technology when it comes hybrid clubs. The new Titleist TS hybrids represent a new standard in hybrid performance – combining the explosive speed and distance of TS metal woods with the advanced technology that has made Titleist the most played hybrids on the PGA Tour.
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’.
A front nine of such resplendent grace, your heart could stop and you would not notice... In the week the Open comes to Royal Portrush GolfPunk recalls its splendid neighbour Portstewart Golf Club - You Little Beauty
There were a number of rulings made by the R&A officials on day three of the Open but none was more interesting as that for Lee Westwood. And hats off to the 46 year-old Englishman who showed pure class and honesty in dealing with the situation.
There have been many an odd occurence at the oldest of all the majors but these are our pick of the top ten weirdest Open Championship moments.
The course the best in the world will take on this week will arguably be a stiffer test to that which faced Max Faulkner when he won the Open when it was last hosted by Royal Portrush way back in 1951. It will be a slightly tougher test than when a sixteen year old Rory McIlroy took it apart when shooting 61.
Each year the winner of The Open receives the famous claret jug which he must return before the following year’s event. But what is the history behind this iconic trophy?
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
GolfPunk legend John Daly has had his request to use a buggy at this year’s Open declined by the R&A Championship committee. The big man suffers with degenerative arthritis in his right knee and was recently allowed a buggy at the US PGA Championship.
Now we at GolfPunk are not averse to admiring the fairer sex both on and off the golf course but even our eyebrows were raised when we were given the heads up about an event called ‘The Sink the Pink – Big Boy And Bigger Golf Day!
Congratulations to Gary Woodland who stood firm under the pressure of a charging Brooks Koepka, the world number one and winner of four of the last eight majors he had played in. Others launched a challenge, most notably England’s Justin Rose, but all faded away as Woodland stuck to his task.
I just placed a bet on the US Open. I got odds of just shy of 6/1 on one Mr Brooks Koepka. My heart is with Justin Rose and, if his amazing short game continues, he may well win but my head says that Koepka will come through to make history.
Once upon a time what golfers wore on the course was not something that was talked about much. This might have something to do with the fact that they wore a standardised uniform of shirt, jumper of varying style and slacks. Oh, and of course the obligatory golf shoe which usually looked like something your grandad thought was cutting edge.
GolfPunk have long been supporters of the Longest Day Challenge. This year, once again, we are looking forward to putting together our own motley band of reprobates to test our ageing bodies to the maximum in support of Macmillan Cancer Support (more on our caper to follow!).
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.
Matt Wallace of England retained his lead of the British Masters at a windy Hillside. However, he was looking over his shoulder as the tournament host, Tommy Fleetwood, closed to within three shots. Fleetwood, who at one point trailed Wallace by nine shots, played the last eight holes in five under to close the gap to just three.
Matt Wallace, saw a return to form to take a one shot lead into the weekend at the British Masters at Hillside. Wallace’s new approach to the game, including the hiring of fitness expert Dr Steve McGregor, appears to be paying dividends as he added a 67 to his opening 65.
GolfPunk's resident tipster, Nick Fleming, picked 2nd place Joel Dahmen as an each way bet at Wells Fargo Championship at the weekend and sadly missed out on Jorge Campillo, who down as a winner, faded to finish third as Mikko Korhonen came through to see off France’s Benjamin Hebert at the first play-off hole.
You have to go back a long time to remember a Masters when so many players, at some point, were arguably in contention to grab that fabled Green Jacket. We know who ultimately prevailed but what happened to other runners who came up short when the chips were down? Here is GP's rundown of the how the main contenders finished.
As Tiger Woods holed the winning putt some time around 7.35pm on Sunday I was asked an awkward question: "Are you crying??", "Seriously, mate, are you crying?" "I've just something... sniff... in my eye, that's ... sniff... all..."
Tiger Woods signed a multi-year deal with TaylorMade back at the begining of 2017, with Woods set to play their driver, fairway woods, irons and wedges. And now it is pay back time for TaylorMade....
Lilac was the colour of the day at The Masters as the leaders appeared to have coordinated their wardrobes to don shirts of the same hue. The three players that lead in to the final round chose the colour for their shirt with Tiger again modelling a very snazzy mock turtle neck number. Ian Poulter, always one to be different, went instead for a lilac pair of strides.
The threat of bad weather has resulted in an early start for the whole field. Play will commence from both the 1st and 10th tees at 7:30 local time and will be in groups of three. Rather handy for UK and European viewers who can watch it after their Sunday lunch rather than having to stay up late!
Well, there you have it. After all these years it seemed to be written in the stars that Tiger would deliver once again among the azaleas and pines of Augusta. Yes, he rode his luck a little, but ultimately he was the player that held his nerve the best coming down the stretch.
We had everything on Friday at The Masters: A stellar leaderboard; birdies galore; storm threats; unbelievable recovery shots; a marshall slide-tackling Tiger Woods on the 14th hole (he still made birdie) and some truly comical moments starring Zach Johnson, Rory McIlroy and Kiradech Aphibarnrat.
This is the moment we've all been waiting for. Who's playing with who? When are they off and did they remember to put the cat out before hastily legging it to Magnolia Lane? All you need to know right here: How to watch, best odds, course guide, winning score predictor, everything...
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.
The Golf Scientist, Bryson DeChambeau, and one half of golf's Odd Couple, Brooks Koepka, lit up day one of the Masters with rounds of 66 to take a one shot lead over fellow American Phil Mickelson.
Harpenden’s Joss Gosling implemented a smart irons-only game plan in winning last weekend’s 60th Berkhamsted Trophy in association with Bushnell Golf, at Berkhamsted Golf Club.
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.
The unofficial start to golf season is upon us and we are excited to see the azaleas, dogwoods and green grass again! Peter Millar will outfit five players for the 2019 Masters.
Patrick Reed promises to “fatten those boys up a little” with his Masters menu. But what exactly did he serve up?
Remember when Europeans dominated the Masters? From 1980 to 2000, the tournament was won 11 times by European golfers. Since then, not so much, with only two winners in the last 18 years. It's worth noting, however, that those wins (Danny Willett and Sergio Garcia) make up two of the last three Masters. Maybe the transition of power at Augusta has already begun?
The weather conditions look a bit unpredictable this week so this is a tough one to call.
There have been some amazing moments at The Masters over the years and some incredible shot-making. We celebrate the 10 best shots ever here...
We love celebrating the truly great shots but nothing makes us mortal golfers feel better than seeing our heroes occasionally making berks of themselves. Especially at the Masters. In 2018... here are the worst offenders...
GolfPunk's unique Masters Course Guide & trivia special: Augusta uncovered...
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.
It's 1932 at Augusta and America is under prohibition. But people are still seeing things... aren't they?...
We featured the Titleist TS2 and TS3 models in our 7 Of The Best Drivers For 2019 article and Titleist are now introducing the next iteration of the TS design, the TS4. The Titleist TS4 takes the gains made with the TS2 and TS3 models and adds an ultra low spin driver which still delivers distance.
It's Masters Monday and to celebrate here we bring you the Top 20 Masters Dramas Ever...
Rory McIlroy has been installed as the favourite to win The Masters after making a blistering start to the year.
It'll be Champagne Verchenova every time you come face to face with a shot to the green over water, once you've had a look at Maria's great tip at the majestic PGA Catalunya...
West Cliffs Golf Links has further enhanced its reputation as one of the leading lights of world golf after claiming a leading accolade in Golf Inc. magazine’s prestigious ‘2019 Golf Development of the Year’ awards.
Rising Chinese Taipei teenage star Chang Hsin-chiao defied jangling nerves and an accomplished male opponent on a nail-biting final day at the 13th Faldo Series Asia Grand Final.
European golf legend Ian Woosnam has based his new indoor swing room around SkyTrak, golf’s most affordable launch monitor and simulator.v
PGA Catalunya Resort, one of Europe’s finest golf experiences, today begins a year-long celebration to mark the 20th anniversary of its iconic Stadium Course, the No.1* ranked layout in Spain for the last seven years.
Great debate abounds year-round amongst golfers and the golf media alike about which the top golf courses in England are, but less often the topic turns to which are the best value courses in a country boasting hundreds of good quality layouts.
Titleist is continuing its support of dedicated golfers across the UK & Ireland by rolling-out its Loyalty Rewarded promotion once again in 2019.
Drivers. Love them or loathe them you've got to, errm... love them. There's nothing better than smoking one down the fairway with a brand new big dog. And here we've picked 7 of our favourites for 2019. Grip it, rip it and have the best golf year of your life!
We all need a putter we can trust and, in time, even come to love and admire. Here are 7 of our favourite new birdie baggers for 2019.
Fancy going Pro V1 fancy? Join the likes of Bubba Watson, Zac Blair, Rory Sabatini and Mark Calcavecchia in using the new Pro V1 yellow golf balls.
Step forward Rickie, Bryson and Gary Woodland...
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.
Leading golf club rental agency Clubs to Hire is now offering Titleist products for the first time.
