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 of the 2025 club golf season. Whethe...

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 you’ve just got something you want to...

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 experiences of playing it, and hear fro...

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 they cheating?

Tom Irwin and Steve C...

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 about dividers? We’ll try not to ma...

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 also got some very funny stories a...

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 thought about those too.

While the...

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? How do we assess how one course is b...

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 massive survey of club golfers, fill...

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 on the list? What’s the cheapest? ...

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, he joins our Matt Chivers to chat...

Tom Irwin’s been on a journey this year. He’s somehow managed to blag his way round most of the courses on The Open rota.

In honour of the journey, he runs down his favourite holes from the 10 courses that have regularly hosted the Claret Jug.

It’s an eclectic – so the 1st hole on Tom’s list must also be the 1st hole at one of the venues – and so on.

It’s a meaty task so this week, Tom and host Steve Carroll run through his front n...

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 you just want to know what golf boo...

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.

Does it besmirch the competition, or ...

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 Carroll and debate this lively issue.

W...

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 different formats of play and get into ...

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 advantage.

We’ve got some fabulous Shot Sco...

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 positions that make you cross.

But join S...