From the Clubhouse: We need to have a talk about 18 holes

The NCG Podcast

Aug 11, 2023

Is it time to review golf’s gold standard? The From the Clubhouse team consider why we play 18 holes and whether a modern game deserves a rethink

You think it’s always been this way – but you’ve been living a lie.

On this week’s From the Clubhouse podcast, Tom Irwin and Steve Carroll explore the origin of 18 hole golf, why it’s a completely random number, and whether we should think again as modern life – and family demands – impinge on our leisure time.

Do we need to take 9-hole golf more seriously, and should we offer a more varied competition structure at our clubs?

Elsewhere, slow play continues to rears its head as the row over Carlota Ciganda’s penalty at the Evian Championship rumbles on. Do we do enough at club level to get us round the course quicker?

And Steve has been on his travels again and has played the most insane golf course he’s ever seen. He gives you the lowdown on Bishop Auckland, in County Durham.

From the Clubhouse is produced in association with TaylorMade Golf

What do you think about 18 hole golf? Should 9-hole golf be treated more seriously? Is Carlota Ciganda right about slow play? Let us know your thoughts with a tweet.

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Steve Carroll

A journalist for 23 years, Steve has been immersed in club golf for almost as long. A former captain and committee member, he has passed the Level 3 Rules of Golf exam with distinction having attended the national Tournament Administrators and Referee's Seminar. He has officiated at a host of high-profile tournaments, including Open Regional Qualifying and the PGA Fourball Championship. A member of NCG's Top 100s panel, Steve has a particular love of links golf and is frantically trying to restore his single-figure handicap.