Category: Opinion

Practical — and sometimes controversial –opinions on the state of golf

When opportunity knocks

A Matter of Perspective

It’s OK to admit you’re not OK

Finding the light amidst the clouds

What a Waste (Management)

Hi, Tech!

Study: Golfers have a unique personality profile
A current study by UK-based Sport Psychology Ltd (SPL) sheds an interesting light on the classic personality typology in golfers and the way it impacts their choice of equipment brand. The study is still collecting data, but SPL has released an early set of findings, which seems to indicate that golfers, as a group, make […]
New Odyssey Ten putters
When Callaway/Odyssey introduced the Odyssey Ten shape a few years ago, it immediately became a popular choice on Tour and with golfers who wanted to putt with more confidence. This proven head design puts an emphasis on alignment and high MOI, and the team’s engineers improved on those two key performance features dramatically. The new […]
Callaway Epic Speed, Epic MAX and Epic MAX LS Drivers
Callaway’s new Epic product line is framing the future of speed, with exceptional new technologies that are designed to deliver fast ball speeds for every type of player. Three new driver models are available – Epic Speed, Epic MAX, and Epic MAX LS. Exceptional ball speeds start with the Company’s new A.I.-designed Jailbreak Speed Frame. […]
Callaway Launches Supersoft and Supersoft Max Golf Balls
Supersoft has been one of the most popular balls for years, with golfers who like it so much that they won’t play anything else. Now Callaway have combined incredible cover, core and flight technologies to make it even better. Supersoft Exceptional Distance, Spin, Feel & Control A new Hybrid Cover features an innovative PARALOID™ Impact […]
Cobra Golf Launches Limited Edition Rickie Fowler Proto Irons
COBRA® Golf, a leader in golf club innovation, unveiled today its highly anticipated, limited-edition COBRA RF Proto Irons, a design collaboration with long time COBRA ambassador and five-time PGA TOUR winner, Rickie Fowler. The RF Proto Irons are a replica of the head design that Fowler plays to provide golfers with an opportunity to experience what it fee […]
Fore/Inside Golf Editor wins AGMA Award
The Australian Golf Media Association (AGMA) last night announced the winners of the 2019-2020 Australian Golf Media Awards, an annual event honouring excellence in golf media. Inside Golf editor Richard Fellner was awarded the highly-esteemed Best Photographic/Illustration Presentation award for his photograph of a burnt teemarker at Buchan Valley GC in Eas […]
Minjee Lee wins under lights in Dubai!
Australia’s Minjee Lee captured the OMEGA Dubai Moonlight Classic with a clutch birdie putt from 20ft at the first extra hole to beat France’s Celine Boutier in a thrilling shoot-out under the Middle Eastern moonlight. Following in the footsteps of previous champions including Annika Sorenstam, Lexi Thompson and Shanshan Feng, Lee came into the week […] […]
Vic Open cancelled for 2021
The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting border closures along with international travel restrictions have forced the cancellation of the Vic Open scheduled for February, 2021. This follows last week’s regretful cancellation of the summer’s other premier golf events — the Australian PGA Championship, Australian Open and the Women’s Australian Open. The three orga […]
Australia’s major golf events cancelled for 2020
Australia’s premiere golf events – the Australian PGA Championship, Australian Open and Women’s Australian Open – have been cancelled for 2020 due to Covid-19. PGA of Australia chief executive Gavin Kirkman, ALPG chief executive Karen Lunn and Golf Australia chief executive James Sutherland confirmed all three of the 2020 season events, which were recently r […]

When opportunity knocks
While COVID-19 has brought a lot of pain, suffering, chaos and confusion to the world, it has also (believe it or not) brought a potential shining light to the golf industry. There is a massive…and I mean MASSIVE…opportunity in golf at the moment. One of those “once in a hundred years” type of situations. Unfortunately, […]
A Matter of Perspective
SKY-High banana-slices out of bounds…fat/chunked chip shots…fried-egg bunker lies…tee shots landing in fairway divots…slow play…lip-outs…water balls…three-putts… …I enthusiastically cherished every single one of them last month. Following three months of government-imposed “prison time” here in Victoria, I was chomping at the bit to be able to (FINALLY) tee […]
It’s OK to admit you’re not OK
This is extremely difficult to say. In fact, it’s all but overwhelming, and one of the hardest admissions I’ve ever made. But it needs to be said. Over the last few months, I’ve not been “OK”. Not at all. COVID-19 has taken its toll. From the daily ritual of nervously flicking on the TV to […]
Finding the light amidst the clouds
It’s safe to say that 2020 is proving to be one of the most difficult years in living memory. As I write this (in mid-March), Covid-19 / Coronavirus is running rampant across the planet, with people either locked-down, quarantined or brawling in the aisles for bathroom tissue. This all followed the rampant bushfires and floods […]
What a Waste (Management)
Across the globe, a lot has been written and said about the PGA Tour’s Waste Management Phoenix Open. Most notably, the discussion has centred around the topic of the Stadium Hole, which is a grandstand/corporate box that surrounds the par-3 16th hole of TPC Scottsdale, and is purpose-built to house and entertain tens of thousands […]
Hi, Tech!
Last month, I made the trek to Orlando, Florida, for the massive PGA Merchandise Show. Over four full days, I walked the “miles” of aisles, and sampled hundreds upon hundreds of products. One thing I noticed while touring this behemoth of a golf show, is that the level of innovation in the golf products industry […]
The Cup Runneth (and now it’s over)
Well, another Presidents Cup has been run and won…by the Americans. (Sigh) Immediately following the event, I, like most of Australia and the non-American-viewing-public, felt more than a bit flat. Not just because the International team lost what was shaping up to be a thrilling (and, let’s face it, a much-needed) victory throughout the week, […]
Thanks for asking
Many of you will recall that I wrote an article in the March issue about member/player surveys (“A Question Left Unasked”). In that column, I mentioned how surveys and feedback are the lifeblood of any business, especially those in the hospitality industry. Yet it’s almost unheard of in golf (which is a hospitality/entertainment business, in […]
Virtually (un)certain?
DURING last month’s GMA National Conference—where general managers and industry professionals met to discuss and address the many issues affecting golf clubs—I was fortunate to chat with dozens of delegates about a variety of issues plaguing their clubs. One such issue was the proliferation of “Virtual Clubs”—online-based or remotely-based groups that often […]
Fixing slow play
Nearly every day, I read or hear reports concerning slow play in golf. Having played the game for nearly 50 years, I can attest that slow play is indeed one of the most frustrating parts of the game. And over those years, I have discovered the many causes (and many solutions) to this bane of […]