Tom Whitaker
Tracks the business of golf and the rules that shape it — and which kit it all trickles down to.
Latest by Tom
The ball rollback just got kicked to 2030 — and the USGA admitted it isn't enough
On 17 June the R&A and USGA backed off the distance rollback and pushed it to 2030 at the earliest. The delay is defensible. What replaces it should worry you more than the original rule ever did.
By Tom Whitaker
Under Armour HOVR Drive 2 Wide review: the golf shoe wide feet have been waiting for
A spiked, waterproof shoe built on a genuine wide last, at a value price. For broad feet, it solves a problem the big brands mostly ignore.
By Tom Whitaker
TRUE Linkswear LUX Pro review: the cult walking shoe that plays 18 then goes to the pub
A premium leather spikeless shoe built around walking comfort rather than a tour athlete's swing — for the golfer who walks and hates changing shoes afterwards, it's a revelation.
By Tom Whitaker
The fastest-selling golf clothes of 2026 may never see a golf course
Retailers say the pieces flying out of golf shops this year are the ones that work everywhere else too. That's not a fashion footnote — it's the clearest sign yet of who's actually joining the game.
By Tom Whitaker
FootJoy just wrapped a golf shoe in the only fabric with its own act of parliament
The FJ x Harris Tweed Premiere Series Packard landed on July 14 — the third and final drop of FootJoy's 2026 Legends Series, seeded to tour feet before the 154th Open. Here's what the fabric actually is, what's genuinely new underneath, and who should chase a pair before it's gone.
By Tom Whitaker
How to watch The Open like someone who actually knows gear
The 154th Open tees off tomorrow at Royal Birkdale, and the broadcast will spend four days telling you about grit and destiny. The real drama is in the bag. Here are the equipment storylines that actually decide links golf — and which bits of tour tech are worth buying and which are pure theatre.
By Tom Whitaker
Sunday Golf El Camino review: the featherweight bag that made walking cool again
At 1.8kg the El Camino weighs less than two dozen balls, yet it still carries ten-plus clubs, keeps two cans cold and stands rock-steady on the tee. For the walking golfer who's cut back to a half-set, it's close to perfect — as long as you're not trying to lug a full 14.
By Tom Whitaker
Where to spend and where to save: the dollar-per-stroke map of a golf bag
The golf industry has trained you to spend your money in exactly the wrong order. The driver and the tour ball give you the least improvement per dollar; the boring middle of the bag gives you the most. Here's the map, category by category.
By Tom Whitaker
The cheapest edge in golf is the one nobody wears
Golfers will drop a mortgage payment on a driver that adds a spreadsheet's-width of distance, then spend four hours a round squinting into glare that flattens every green they try to read. Proper polarised sunglasses fix a real problem for coffee money — with one honest catch the marketing never mentions.
By Tom Whitaker
July is the smartest month to buy golf waterproofs. Yes, really
Nobody shops for rain gear in a heatwave — which is precisely the point. Last season's stock is being cleared, the new ranges land at full price in September, and Open week is about to remind everyone that the best golfers on Earth carry waterproofs in high summer. Here's how to buy once and buy right.
By Tom Whitaker
Golf shoes stopped looking like golf shoes — and got better for it
The saddle-shoe uniform is dead. The best-selling golf shoes of 2026 look like running shoes and lifestyle sneakers, the upstarts that forced the change came from cricket and the minimalist-comfort school, and the real spec now is whether you can wear them home. That's progress, not decline.
By Tom Whitaker
The five most underpriced things in golf
Golf is famous for charging you three figures for a fractional gain. So here's the inversion: the five pieces of kit that cost less than a nice lunch and protect the most expensive technology in your bag. Tees, a towel, a brush, a divot tool and a pouch — the best value-per-stroke money in the game.
By Tom Whitaker
The best short-game facility in town might be your backyard
America just played one of its busiest golf weekends of the year — and most of those strokes were lost inside 60 yards, not off the tee. A chipping net, a bag of foam balls and a putting mat turn a garden and a long July evening into the practice station that actually moves your handicap. Bonus: it's how kids and partners get into the game without ever facing a range.
By Tom Whitaker
Wilson Staff Model X review: America's oldest golf company makes the ball nobody plays
Wilson has been making golf equipment in Chicago since 1914 and claims more majors have been won with its irons than any other brand's — yet its tour ball is invisible next to the wall of Titleist. The Staff Model X won a major 2026 robot test outright, costs meaningfully less than the big premiums, and deserves far better than obscurity.
By Tom Whitaker
Belek golf holiday guide: Turkey's value golf capital
Planning a Belek golf holiday? Here's why Turkey's Antalya coast is Europe's standout value destination, when to go, how the all-inclusive resort golf works, and what to pack for the heat.
By Tom Whitaker
Myrtle Beach golf trip guide: America's golf-trip capital
Planning a Myrtle Beach golf trip? Here's why the Grand Strand is America's buddies-trip capital, when to go, how many courses you can play in a week, and what to pack for warm, humid golf.
By Tom Whitaker
Ireland golf trip guide: links, legends and where to base yourself
An honest Ireland golf trip guide: the great links of the Southwest, North and East, touring versus basing yourself, when to go, and what to pack for the weather.
By Tom Whitaker
Scotland golf trip guide: where to play, when to go, what to pack
Planning a Scotland golf trip? Here's where to play, when to go, how the Old Course ballot works in general terms, and exactly what to pack for links weather.
By Tom Whitaker
The best golf trip destinations: where to play for every kind of golfer
A no-fluff guide to the best golf trip destinations worldwide, what kind of golfer each one suits, when to go, and the kit that travels anywhere.
By Tom Whitaker
Should you rent clubs abroad or take your own?
Renting clubs on arrival or hauling your own across the world is one of golf travel's recurring dilemmas. Here's the honest answer, and the kit you should pack either way.
By Tom Whitaker
How to choose a golf bag: cart, stand, or carry for how you actually play
The right bag is decided by how you get round the course — so match it to your real golf, not the bag the pros carry.
By Tom Whitaker
One round, three budgets: a full golf setup for less, for more, and no limits
Three coherent setups at three very different spending levels, and the honest case for stopping at the first one.
By Tom Whitaker
Flying with your golf clubs: how to protect your bag (and what it costs)
Airlines are hard on golf bags. A little planning — and a few quid of protection — is the difference between your clubs arriving ready to play and arriving in pieces.
By Tom Whitaker
What to pack for a golf trip: the kit that actually matters
The difference between a smooth golf getaway and a stressful one is mostly in what you pack. Here's the away-day checklist that earns its place in the bag.
By Tom Whitaker
Playing links golf for the first time: what's different, and what to pack
A links trip to the coast is golf's great rite of passage — and it punishes the unprepared. Here's what changes, and the kit that makes it playable.
By Tom Whitaker
How to plan a golf trip with your mates (without it falling apart)
The golf is the easy part. Organising a group of adults to actually turn up, pay and play is where trips live or die — here's how to run one well.
By Tom Whitaker
Resort, links or desert: which kind of golf trip is right for you?
Not all golf holidays are the same sport. Picking the type of trip that suits your game and your group matters more than the brochure — here's how to choose.
By Tom Whitaker
Shoulder-season golf trips: better courses, smaller crowds, lower prices
The same course costs a fraction in May or October as it does in peak summer — and plays better, with fewer people on it. Here's how to time a trip right.
By Tom Whitaker
AI swing apps and smart wearables in 2026: worth it?
App coaching and swing sensors can genuinely help — but only if you'll do the reps. The honest take on what moves your scores and what's just expensive data.
By Tom Whitaker
Garmin Approach Z30 review: the connected laser, if you're already a Garmin golfer
Garmin's first new rangefinder in years beams the pin number to your watch. Whether that's worth the money depends entirely on what's on your wrist.
By Tom Whitaker
Garmin R50 vs SkyTrak+: which premium home-sim brain should you buy?
The big home-simulator decision. One does everything in a single box; the other gives you sharper numbers for far less. Here's how to choose.
By Tom Whitaker
Galvin Green Dixon INSULA review: the half-zip you'll wear nine months a year
Thin but deceptively warm, and stretchy enough to swing in — the mid-layer that earns its place from October to April.
By Tom Whitaker
Sun Mountain C-130 review: the cart bag with a place for everything
Cavernous, brilliantly organised and built to lock onto a trolley — if you ride or push every round, this is the one.
By Tom Whitaker
PowaKaddy CT8 GPS review: the compact trolley with GPS baked into the handle
It folds smaller than almost anything in its class and puts a colour touchscreen GPS on the handle. Is the integrated screen worth the premium?
By Tom Whitaker
Garmin Approach R50 review: the all-in-one launch monitor with the screen built in
Three cameras and a 10-inch touchscreen in one box, so you can run a full sim session with no laptop, phone or projector wired in. Convenient — at a serious price, and with a few rough edges.
By Tom Whitaker
Will your golf ball be banned in 2030? No — and here's the 5-yard truth
The headlines want you scared into buying something. The reality: a tour-level rule that costs you about five yards no sooner than 2030, that keeps slipping, and that over 30% of today's balls already pass anyway.
By Tom Whitaker
Most of your range practice is wasted — here's how to fix it
Beating a bucket with your driver feels productive and changes almost nothing. The fix is unglamorous, proven, and takes half the time.
By Tom Whitaker
Motocaddy M5 GPS vs PowaKaddy CT8: the electric trolley to buy
The two brands that own the fairway, head to head — it comes down to the screen, the fold and how your course slopes.
By Tom Whitaker
TaylorMade TP5 review: the tour ball that asks less of your swing
Five layers chasing one promise — premium greenside spin without punishing you for moderate speed. It mostly delivers.
By Tom Whitaker
A cheap launch monitor will help your game more than any club you buy this year
We'll happily spend {{price:500}} on a driver we guessed at, but flinch at {{price:150}} of data that would tell us what to actually practise. That's backwards.
By Tom Whitaker
The launch monitor that broke the price floor
Personal launch monitors used to start in the thousands. This one moved the floor — and dropped the subscription.
By Tom Whitaker
The golf-ball rollback could land for everyone in 2030 — here's what it means for you
Golf's governing bodies are weighing a single, universal rollback date. Tour players could lose 10–14 yards; for the rest of us, it's nearer nothing.
By Tom Whitaker
SkyTrak+ review: the home-sim launch monitor that earns its price
Near sim-grade accuracy without the five-figure outlay. If you're building a serious garage setup, this is where the numbers get real.
By Tom Whitaker
What actually adds driver distance (and what doesn't)
Spin, speed, strike and fit — the four things that move the needle, and the marketing claims that don't. In plain English.
By Tom Whitaker
Launch monitors explained: what your money actually buys
Radar vs photometric, the numbers that matter, and where to jump in at every budget — in plain English.
By Tom Whitaker
Garmin Approach R10 review: the launch monitor that started the home-data boom
Portable radar, app simulator, on-course tracking — and a price that put real numbers in reach. Does the value all-rounder still hold up?
By Tom Whitaker
The personal launch monitor is now an impulse buy
Real radar numbers used to start in the thousands. A new wave of devices — no subscription, screen built in — has blown the door open.
By Tom Whitaker
Rapsodo MLM2 Pro review: the camera-and-radar unit that punches above its price
Video, real numbers and simulator play for the price of a posh rangefinder. The step-up launch monitor, honestly assessed.
By Tom Whitaker
How to build a garage golf simulator on a budget
Year-round golf in your garage is more achievable than you think. The honest shopping list, what to spend on, and where to save.
By Tom Whitaker
Is a rangefinder legal in competition? (The slope rule, simply)
Yes — usually — but one setting can disqualify you. The plain-English guide to using distance gear within the rules.
By Tom Whitaker
Garmin R10 vs Rapsodo MLM2 Pro: which budget launch monitor wins?
The two devices most home-data golfers agonise over. They're closer than the spec sheets suggest — here's how to choose.
By Tom Whitaker