The Open Special: We answer your questions!

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 Scope data that can get your golf into shape – without you necessarily having to spend hours on the range. So let’s get stuck in!

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 Steve and Dan as they discuss the countdown, pick out some of their favourites, and try to analyse the current trends in courses we all love to visit. Check out the list in full at nationalclubgolfer.com/top100  

Steve Carroll is joined by Sam Cooper to talk about his new journal and website project – Links From the Road. Sam went on a road trip we all wish we could take. With a set of clubs, his partner, their dogs, and a van, he toured 225 links courses around England, Scotland and Wales. The journey changed his life. Now a well-known podcaster, and an associate golf course architect with Clayton, Devries and Pont, he has branched out into writing. Talking with Steve about the first of a multi-volume set that retraces his steps and details the courses he played, it is quite the conversation. If you love golf courses, you have to listen… The first volume of Links from the Road is launched on October 16. You can pre-order it right now at linksfromtheroad.com  

This week, Steve Carroll is joined by Jim Croxton, chief executive of the British and International Golf Greenkeepers Association, to talk about the governing body’s new issue of Your Course magazine. Your Course aims to give golfers a deeper understanding of what preparing and maintaining a golf course really involves and is available right now in your clubhouse. Focusing on how greenkeepers prepare a course for winter, while also looking at the challenges presented by climate change, Jim and Steve get into everything from winter mats to the future of bunkers. They also talk about BIGGA’s new First Green initiative, which goes into schools to tell youngsters about the joys of greenkeeping as a career and ask you to pose your questions for future editions of the magazine.

He has amassed a loyal and passionate band of followers with his focus on coaching, course vlogs, entertainment and fun. In this week’s episode of The NCG Golf Podcast, Steve Carroll caught up with Coach Lockey to find out all about being a content creator – it’s harder than you think! But he has also teamed up with England Golf on their iGolf scheme and has put together a series of videos on his YouTube channel where he gained a handicap. Aside from finding out what it was, Steve also asks whether it has fired up his competitive edge and looks at the benefits of giving non-club members an official World Handicap System index. Is iGolf about to go viral? Pop your headphones on and have a listen! Please Note: Please be aware that Coach Lockey's Handicap Index was only for demonstrative purposes as his rounds did not comply with the Rules of Handicapping and have since been removed from his record.

We’ve got a special guest this week as Matt Chivers sits down with new PGA Tour sensation Harry Hall. Harry won the ISCO Championship in July – just a few days before he became a dad – capping an incredible rise that now sees him ranked around the top 100 in the world. It’s a remarkable story, from his home club West Cornwall changing their membership rules so he could join at just 6 (he was already that good!) to getting coaching from Butch Harmon and living in the bright lights of Las Vegas. You’ll learn: Why he’d rather win the Masters than the Open How Harmon is taking him to the next level And you’ll hear some controversial views on the golf ball roll back So sit back over the next half hour and check out what one of the game’s emerging stars has to say...

We asked and you delivered. In a departure from the usual podcast theme this week, Steve Carroll answers your Rules of Golf and World Handicap System queries. Does the clock stop if you have to halt a ball search to let a group through? Can you manufacture a drop so you’re able to place the ball? Will the course and playing handicaps ever be combined? Steve will endeavour to tell you the answers, and a bit more!

Justin Rose came oh, so, close but it was Xander Schauffele who picked up the Claret Jug – extending the barren run of English winners at The Open to 32 years! In this week’s episode of The NCG Golf Podcast, Steve Carroll is joined by Dan Murphy to discuss that and the fallout from last week's Championship at Royal Troon. Dan reveals why the Ayrshire layout was the star of the show and we talk about our own favourite course from the rota. We ask if Rory McIlroy can ever conquer the wind, consider if Tiger Woods should be allowed to use a buggy, and grumble about how quickly the major season now comes to an end!  

It seems to have been the talk of Royal Troon this week – is it time for Tiger Woods to retire? The 15-time major champion delivered a six-sentence zinger after reports that Colin Montgomerie had questioned whether he could still win. Woods says his belief has never wavered and in this episode of The NCG Golf Podcast, Steve Carroll and Matt Coles debate whether this is fantasy or could still be a reality. The duo also get stuck into shopping, ask whether the Open Arms should be the ‘Up in Arms’ because of its drinks prices and Matt – who is on a glorious run of picking the winners of recent tournaments – tells you who is going to lift the Claret Jug on Sunday. NB: Please remember to gamble responsibly.

Where does Royal Troon rank in the Open rota? Which course should join the list? Should the playoff go to sudden death? We asked and you delivered your questions and so, as the best week in the golf calendar gets under way, Steve Carroll and Matt Chivers answer them all in a new episode of The NCG Golf Podcast. NB: This episode was recorded in The Open media centre and there is some background noise.