From the Clubhouse: Are we too stuck in our ways to embrace different formats?
Medal, Stableford, fourball. It’s a holy trinity for golfers and makes up the vast majority of what we play at our clubs.
But Tom Irwin and Steve Carroll like to spread their wings a bit wider and, in this episode of the From the Clubhouse podcast, in association with TaylorMade Golf, they get stuck into their favourite golf formats.
Tom expounds on his love of foursomes and his days playing at Sunningdale, while Steve asks if some golfers are too inflexible about the formats they’ll play on a weekend.
He also tries to bamboozle Tom once again with a Rules of Golf question, while the two ponder whether the huge structural changes happening on the PGA Tour has any impact on what we think at grassroots level.
Go grab a cup of tea, something stronger, or settle in behind that wheel and prepare to be entertained…
Listen to our views on foursomes, fourballs, and everything in between on the From the Clubhouse podcast, in association with TaylorMade Golf
- NOW READ: What are the best golf formats?
- NOW READ: Golf clubs warned: Offer more than just 18 holes or lose players
- NOW READ: How to play foursomes
What’s your favourite format? Is medal, Stableford, or fourball the be all and end all, or do you enjoy mixing it up on a weekend? Let us know with a tweet.
More podcasts from National Club Golfer
Steve Carroll
A journalist for 25 years, Steve has been immersed in club golf for almost as long. A former club captain, he has passed the Level 3 Rules of Golf exam with distinction having attended the R&A's prestigious Tournament Administrators and Referees Seminar.
Steve has officiated at a host of high-profile tournaments, including Open Regional Qualifying, PGA Fourball Championship, English Men's Senior Amateur, and the North of England Amateur Championship. In 2023, he made his international debut as part of the team that refereed England vs Switzerland U16 girls.
A part of NCG's Top 100s panel, Steve has a particular love of links golf and is frantically trying to restore his single-figure handicap. He currently floats at around 11.
Steve plays at Close House, in Newcastle, and York GC, where he is a member of the club's matches and competitions committee and referees the annual 36-hole scratch York Rose Bowl.
Having studied history at Newcastle University, he became a journalist having passed his NTCJ exams at Darlington College of Technology.
What's in Steve's bag: TaylorMade Stealth 2 driver, 3-wood, and hybrids; TaylorMade Stealth 2 irons; TaylorMade Hi-Toe, Ping ChipR, Sik Putter.
