Golf Monthly March 2025

neil.tappin@futurenet.com If we were to start again from scratch, how would the game of golf be different today? For those of us with a vested interest in the modernisation of the sport, this is a question that often gets asked. My own answer is simple: reduce the number of holes to 12. Time is the enemy of all those for whom golf plays an important social and sporting role. As a 40-something with two young kids, most of my golf outings involve fewer than 18 holes already and I play less competitive golf than ever. What’s more, when I look back at my own time as a junior, I can’t help but wonder how I ever started to take it seriously at all. My first ever scorecard is still lying…

TGL hits the spot I tuned in with anticipation for the inaugural TGL golf match with my golf-fanatic sons (eight and ten years old). It didn’t disappoint! Players entered with the stage presence often associated with pop stars, boxers and even darts players. The format was brilliant – alternate shot triples followed by singles. The pace of play was rapid and just about right; the technology wowed us, with rotating greens, huge screens and wildly imaginative golf holes (more of these please!); and the golf nerd in me would have loved to see more of the stats that only fleetingly made an appearance – swing speed, carry distance and spin rates. The boys loved the wacky hole designs with lava pits, canyons and island greens galore. Can we just make…

Rory, congratulations on winning at Pebble Beach. Can you talk us through that? I was excited to have a little bit of a cushion there on 18. Coming to the last hole at Pebble with a three-shot lead and being able to enjoy it somewhat was really cool. It was a great week for a lot of different reasons – hole-in-one, playing Cypress Point for the first time and obviously getting a win. I couldn’t have wished for a better start to my PGA Tour season. I’ve been on a nice run of form since last autumn. I’ve played some really good golf and continued that into 2025. It’s just a great way to start the year. How special is it to win at such an iconic venue? There are…

Score shot by Alexander Bjork in all four rounds of January’s Hero Dubai Desert Classic, good for T27th 23 LONGEST DRIVERS ON THE PGA TOUR THIS YEAR TO THE END OF JANUARY COUNTRIES WITH MOST INDIVIDUAL DP WORLD TOUR EVENTS FOR 2025 SEASON 6 Events before the Korn Ferry Tour hits America for the first time this year 2 Out of two for left-handers in the Korn Ferry Tour’s opening two events in 2025 PLAYERS WITH MORE THAN ONE DP WORLD TOUR ROLEX SERIES WIN 59 Length in feet of chip holed by Nick Taylor to make the Sony Open play-off, which he won 69 Holes Sepp Straka went in his American Express win before finally making his first bogey 1,308 Days between PGA Tour titles for Farmers Insurance Open…

“I THINK HE’S MADE ENOUGH MONEY TO HIRE A CHEF”Rory McIlroy joked that Scottie Scheffler should perhaps stay away from the kitchen after his freak injury “THE OLDER I GET, THE DOUBTS DO CREEP IN EVERY YEAR”Shane Lowry proved a few things to himself with his battling second place at Pebble Beach “IT WOULD BE A THRILL TO SEE TIGER COME OUT AND PLAY THE CHAMPIONS TOUR”Bernhard Langer is hopeful he’ll do battle with Woods again “I STILL FIRMLY BELIEVE RORY WILL WIN THE MASTERS. HE’S JUST TOO GOOD NOT TO”Jack Nicklaus backs McIlroy to complete the Career Grand Slam…

Shane Lowry has three career holes-in-one on the PGA Tour. They have come at the 17th at Sawgrass, the 16th at Augusta and the 7th at Pebble Beach. Five of the top six finishers at the Farmers Insurance Open played a Titleist golf ball. SOCIAL SCENE Full Swing returns for a third season Netflix has revealed a third season of Full Swing will be released on February 25. The streaming giant has confirmed that yet again all four Majors will be included, with the Presidents Cup also featuring. It’s unclear how many episodes there will be, but a release from Netflix stated: “Season three brings even more drama, with a lens on Scottie Scheffler’s history-making run, Rory McIlroy’s emotional rollercoaster in and out of competition, Bryson DeChambeau’s evolution from anti-hero…