Thankfully there are no lumps and bruises this week as I arrive home from Austria after my latest outing on the DP World Tour. It’s possible I ran through my reserves of anger in Belgium and reset to a calmer place. Or maybe it was the regular use of the sauna at my hotel in Kitzbuhel. The aptly named “Kitzhof” hotel, had a wonderful spa with an extremely hot sauna! I do enjoy using a sauna, although not necessarily the ones where you get to witness Austrian men in their sixties wandering around this proudly... At one point a young woman entered the sauna, and as I sat there fully covered up in a towel, I didn’t really know where to look. Breasts or bollocks were on offer, so I just kept my eyes shut. The same could be said of my game too in Austria. As has been the case so often for me lately, and in particular with my irons, they are seemingly either cracking or lacking... The ball striking I had last Sunday in Belgium didn’t journey across the continent and before I knew it I was again working hard to find something, anything, during my opening round to help me hit a decent iron shot, or hole a mid length putt. But neither arrived, and the frustration inevitably boiled over. Once again my cousin, Derek, came to the rescue in the fescue, retrieving my Spider from the long grass. This particular specie of arachnid was replaced on Friday by a relative, though that too offered little in the way of bite. But enough of the nature references, let’s attempt to untangle this web. (crickets from Andrew)

Strokes Gained Total; +0.44 Per Round

Strokes Gained Off The Tee; +0.38 Per Round

Strokes Gained Approach; +0.09 Per Round

Strokes Gained Around The Green; - 0.14 Per Round

Strokes Gained Putting; +0.11 Per Round

As Jack Nicklaus said to Rory McIlroy before winning at Augusta last year; avoid the double bogeys! What Big Ron never mentioned to me was to avoid the triple bogeys. Big Ron and the Golden Bear so nearly share a birthday, only two days apart. Two great men, with seven green jackets between them. My dad’s win at the Maracana Masters in the CBF golf society so often forgotten, sadly. Anyway, this shot above on Thursday led to a killer triple bogey on the seventeenth hole, my eighth. To have gone from steadily cruising at one under par to two over in a heartbeat, on a relatively easy course when you’ve had a pretty cold putter was a dagger to the system, especially one that was already running fairly low on adrenaline. What was particularly interesting about this shot however was (again) the psychology behind it. Though it was a heavy lie, the grass was going with me and hitting the green felt achievable. What worked against me unfortunately were my fears of what could happen, due to what has happened all too often in recent times. I was afraid of snagging the club head (usually due to imperfect swing mechanics that often get highlighted in the long rough) which would have pulled it low and left into the hazard in front of the green. So I decided to aim further right, anticipating the leftward miss. In addition to that I almost overcommitted to the shot, as weird as that may sound. I think a sign of someone playing well with a lot of confidence is how effortlessly they play their shots. It’s not that they don’t hit bad shots, it’s just that they don’t have the worry in the recesses of their minds about what could go wrong. The shot above that led to my triple bogey was a classic example of really not hitting a bad shot, in fact it was almost exactly the shot I was trying to hit, I just aimed too far to the right, and over committed to striking the ball, not swinging and thinking freely the way you do when you’re at your best. These two things compounded one another and sailing right it went, deep into the “trees”. A triple bogey seven was carded, and a miserable walk to the eighteenth tee followed.

Ultimately, it was a costly error over the course of my two days on the course as I only missed the cut by one stroke. Missed Race To Dubai points, and £5,000 in costs down the drain, all pretty much due to one shot. These are the margins at which professional sport is played. It’s ironic that my playing partner over the first two days was Kevin Na, who has of course played on LIV in recent years. I’ll touch on Kevin in a bit more detail below, positively you might be pleased to read, but my week in Austria wonderfully illuminated what LIV Golf of course misses, and increasingly the PGA Tour too, in how these marginal failures that professional golf throws up with such ubiquity often lead to growth of the individual. Though it is painful when you are the one at the sharp end of it, it is important to try and use its potency as a fuel source to improve. Missing cuts suck, which I why they’re so central to golf as a sport and why the game command(ed)s such respect from fans around the world.

There was some overnight troubleshooting that occurred between the two rounds in Austria however and my ball striking on Friday was the better for it, in particular the opening twelve holes. It’s no exaggeration to say I should have been six or seven under par, instead of four. (Not the first time I’ve said that lately..) Me and Jamie again remarked on how well I’m continuing to drive the ball, and the simplicity with which I’m approaching my driving from a technical perspective is the reason. I’m not between feels, I’m simply responding to each tee shot by doing more of the same (as highlighted in my blog last week from Belgium), and it’s working. The frustrating part for me with my iron play has been how I’ve been unable to achieve something similar. As I eluded to at the top, nothing changed in terms of what I worked on from the Sunday in Belgium to the Thursday in Austria, but my iron play was not nearly as good. I therefore decided on Friday morning to do the exact same routine with my irons as I use for my driver.. and lo and behold, my iron play was excellent. I’m reluctant to say too much more on this, as there’s a lot of time between now and next Thursday when I’ll teeing it up at the KLM Open, but if I can maintain that simple relationship through the bag and it work as well as it did on Friday for me in Austria, then I shouldn’t clog the field up by making any triple bogeys in Amsterdam.

I mentioned Kevin Na above, I played with him 11 years ago at the 2015 PGA Championship at Whistling Straits. He would have been 32 years old back then, without kids, and without the LIV millions he now has (possibly) sat in a money market fund or (more likely) Tesla shares. He has mellowed a considerable amount in the intervening period. If it is the LIV money that’s made the difference, then something good has come from LIV. I suspect it’s more than just that mind. Back in 2015 if you were stood within 20 yards of him and dared even blink he would’ve scolded you for doing so. But in Austria I found him to be great company. We had open chats about LIV Golf, and he was very frank about its future and why he thinks it likely won’t survive beyond this season. There was also no animosity there towards the PGA Tour. He seemed quite conciliatory and accepting of the position not only he finds himself in, but the PGA Tour too. He is a smart, and very reasonable guy, and it goes without saying still a wonderful player, which wasn’t really a great surprise to me. As is so often the case with a player who has had as much success in their career as someone like Kevin Na has, they never lose their ability to get the ball in the hole in a number that is impressive.

Although it wasn’t the result I was of course after in Austria, I still enjoyed my time there. Kitzbuhel is quite a stunning place, and the event had a nice atmosphere with a great buildout around the eighteenth green in particular. It was something I forgot to mention last week about the Soudal Open in Antwerp; how great it is to see an event go from strength to strength, and that is largely down to the wonderful promoter they have in Belgium. For all the talk of the weakness of the DP World Tour, some of which I’ve been party to on our podcast, there is still genuine support and attendance at many of the events, and Austria was the same. No doubt that was helped by Sepp Straka’s appearance, again highlighting the significance of having the big home players play their home event. Credit to Thomas Detry too for playing in Belgium during what has been a very busy run of golf for him lately. Next week at the KLM Open will undoubtedly be the same, it is historically one of the best events we play, and although the weather forecast looks a little iffy to say the least, I’m sure the atmosphere will again be fantastic.

That’s it for Austria, I have two days at home to rest and practice, and walk the dogs of course. Gus isn’t going to walk himself….

Thanks as always for reading and subscribing,

Eddie.

Before detailing the week further, as usual let’s start with the statistics.

Strokes Gained Off The Tee; - 0.15 Per Round

Strokes Gained Approach; + 0.96 Per Round.

Strokes Gaines Around The Green; - 0.25 Per Round

Strokes Gained Putting; + 0.71 Per Round

This is the fourth time I’ve played at Rinkven in the Soudal Open. Never before have I used a driver around this course, so it was refreshing to say the least to feel confident enough using it on a number of holes last week. Three holes in particular would have historically given me the heebie-jeebies with a driver in hand; holes six, nine and ten. All three of these tee shots have trees and bushes lining the fairways and all are holes where a good start line is crucial, something I have not been very good at in the past with my driver. But thanks to the feel I have with my driver now, I feel as confident as ever on many tees. You may have seen a clip on social media of me doing a really silly looking routine… I’d say it’s moderate in terms of severity and style for me, but absolutely looks like I’m only months away from needing critical care. There is method in the madness though. My ‘feel’ both in that rehearsal and crucially the swing, is to feel my upper body side bend and head tilt towards the target while opening up my hips. Joaquin Niemann would be maybe the best or most extreme visual of a player who does this in their swing. This ‘feel’ stops me from rotating too hard with my upper body in transition. That is a killer move as the arm path moves too in front of me, which then puts my swing path too far to the left, thus creating major start line issues. By titling with the upper body in transition, the arms effectively lower first, which then enables me to work left into the ball, ensuring I can stop the ball from drawing left. I’d best describe the feel at impact as an uppercut fade. Using driver on these holes across the four days, and hitting the fairway most of the time, made the course overall feel as though it played easier for me than in years gone by. That’s why guys use a driver, I guess…

Read more

I think we should start with Alex Smalley. Maybe he felt more comfortable teeing off last yesterday with Maverick McNealy and feeling like somewhat of an afterthought, although given his opening tee shot and start to the round, it’s possible he didn’t. Irrespective of how he felt during the early throes of his round, he came back admirably to shoot a 68 and lead by two shots heading into the final round. I’ve found in the past Saturdays in contention to be almost as hard as Sundays, especially if you’re not used to being in the final group. Though Alex Smalley has been playing well recently, he would have unquestionably been ‘feeling it’ yesterday. So to come through that and extend his lead, should give him tremendous confidence. I would say given his finish last night, that Alex Smalley will likely remain atop the leaderboard deep into the final round. It’s a big day ahead for Alex’s caddie too. He has to try and keep his man in the zone, head down and hitting one shot at a time. Get into the flow of the round. When you’re playing and scoring well, I think it’s ultimately about immersing yourself into the rhythm of the round, whatever that rhythm might be. If he can do that, for long enough into the final round, he’ll have a chance at the end. Walking through the door will require a bit more, plus maybe some good fortune too. Ultimately I’ve not got him down as my winner, not because I don’t think he isn’t capable, just because I think one of the big guns sat just behind him will power through.

Let’s talk about some of those big guns;

Rory McIlroy; Whatever he worked on post round Thursday, it has seemingly worked. Watching him last night, that’s as good as I’ve seen him play for a while. Personally, I think Rory is at his best when he has the short and mid irons under control. He hit two beautiful shots into two of the par three’s yesterday, holes 8 and 14. He hit a great trap draw against the wind into hole 8. That pin looked impossible to get close to, but of all the shots I saw hit into that hole, Rory’s was the most impressive. He then hit a high towering fade into the 14th hole. When Rory is moving it both ways with his irons, watch out. His tendency is to get a little stuck sometimes, and miss if left as the body stops or leave it out to the right. He also showed good discipline with his approach into 12. With the back right pin, into a stiff wind, that required a heck of a shot to get close. He looked ok with the fact that 25 foot left was a smart shot and accepted his limitations. Overall he played offensively yesterday and I think of all the players chasing Alex Smalley, Rory is the most likely to maintain an offensive mentality.

Jon Rahm; Jon also looks to be playing well. His scoring is steady, and although he has shown moments of frustration this week, most notably covering an OAP with a hefty dose of fescue, he has generally kept his emotions in check. Quite ominous when Jon is (relatively) calm. I’m not sure I see Jon going out and blitzing the field with a 63, but I have a hard time believing he won’t go out there and shoot a 66 or 67. He looks in form, and this is the Jon Rahm we all expected to show up at Augusta. He seems to be swinging more within himself too. There were times at Augusta when it looked like he was just going way too hard at the ball, especially off the tee. This week he looks like the Jon Rahm of old, where he marries great flight control with speed. A benefit of having a naturally heavy frame and a strong club face.

Patrick Reed; He has hung around, and although he will have rued that missed birdie putt on 18 yesterday, he finished strong to shoot 67. So far this week, his iron play and short game have been his strengths, as is often the case with Patrick. Given that, I like his chances of also posting a score. Nothing unusual is happening for him, the weather looks set fair which should help him off the tee, he is fantastic at staying in the moment, and he has won twice already this year. I would be surprised to see Patrick Reed not in the mix with six holes to go.

Two notable mentions go to Xander Schauffele and Ludvig Aberg (O-berry). Xander is putting together another major performance we are so used to seeing from him. He is unbelievable at hanging around in the majors. He seemingly has no weakness, hits the ball plenty far off the tee and is gritty. He cannot be counted out. He looks a little low on confidence, so it’ll be interesting to see how that manifests should he get within one of the lead. As for Ludvig, I take my hat off. He was two over par after 28 holes of this championship and in some tough conditions Friday afternoon he produced a very good back nine. He is crushing it tee to green (statistical leader in fact), and this is a venue that could well turn out to be a perfect one for him. The last few holes require some big ball striking, and given nobody is holing putts, hence the condensed nature of the leaderboard, his ball striking prowess could prove decisive, should he keep it up. Recent history doesn’t bode well for him on that front, but he is a world class ball striker and he could be the one to continue the European success we’ve seen on US soil of late.

Quick note on the LIV golfers in the field. Cam Smith (-2) looks to be back playing some better golf. Have heard it said on the TV he has changed coach and is now working with Claude Harmon, so that seems to be working. Martin Kaymer (-2) has also looked very good. Although a tremendously disrespectful thing for the PGA official to have said at the champions dinner, it is forgivable when you consider none of us have seen Martin play for many years now. His caddie WeeMan is a legend, and of all the players that left for LIV, Martin is undoubtedly one of the classiest. Joaquin Niemann is also on -2 heading into the final round. A world class player, who simply hasn’t managed to translate his form on LIV over to the majors in recent years. It has crossed my mind this week whether the news, and it would have been shocking news to the LIV players that PIF is withdrawing their funding from LIV golf beyond 2026, has ignited something within these LIV golfers. All of a sudden their futures aren’t so certain, and that kind of shock can of course act as a bit of a rocket up the backside. One wonders if Cam Smith would’ve made the decision to change coach sooner if his career wasn’t on LIV. One has to wonder whether Joaquin Niemann would’ve featured more in majors in recent years if he wasn’t merely cleaning his rubber on LIV and instead sharpening his pencil on the PGA Tour. I don’t know. Either way, it’s good to see these guys back playing a level of golf we all admire.

Enjoy the golf, and thanks for reading.

Cheers, Eddie.

I didn’t pick up on too much watching the golf last night, outside of the obvious. It was refreshing to see everyone make their tee time and not opine on the nature of time. Garrick Higgo is either a genius or quite dim. I was impressed with Rory, coming back from a “shit” opening score of 74, to shoot 67 and get himself back in the hunt. Five shots off the lead with 36 holes to go around this course is entirely surmountable for Rory McIlroy. One thing that’ll be interesting to see over the weekend is how the course is set up. The forecast for Saturday suggests 15-20 mph gusts in the afternoon, which is plenty strong enough to present a tough challenge tee to green. With that then, I think Kerry Haigh should ease off a little on the pin positions and allow for great approach play to be rewarded with better looks at birdie. Those who struggle with their long game on Saturday are going to struggle regardless of the severity of the pins, so I think there’s an opening to ensure we see a bit of separation at the top end of the leaderboard to give us more of a short list of contenders heading into the final round.

I think holes 13 to 18 could be pivotal Saturday afternoon to enable some separation. They could decide to move the 13th tee forward, however I think with the wind forecast out of the south west, this still might remain out of reach. I would put a back pin in play, rewarding the guys who take the tee shot on with a driver, giving them a pitch up the green, while making a full shot tough to get close for those who play conservatively from the tee, laying further back. Hole 14 will again be tough, as it’ll also be playing into the wind. A naturally tough hole won’t need to be tricked up with a dicey pin location, just reward the guy who at this point in the tournament is striking it well. Hole 15 will be tough regardless, even if it does play down wind. Hitting the fairway will likely be the hardest part to this hole given the camber of the fairway. Hole 16 will play back into the breeze, making it most likely a fairly demanding three shot hole with hitting the fairway providing a big advantage. Hole 17 could be a hole where we see some significant dispersion in scoring, with the water hazard tight left. The wind should be quartering in and from the left, making this an already beastly proposition. Hopefully then we have a pin that is accessible, but punished if a poor shot is hit from the tee. Hole 18 appears to be a tough hole regardless of pin or wind. The dominant challenge of the final six as I think about them will undoubtedly be from the tee to the green, and at this point in the championship, that’s ideal as we’ll see which players are able to have complete ball control, alongside the ability to remain in the present and not think too far ahead.

Players of interest heading into the weekend for me;

David Puig; A brilliant young Spanish player, currently tied 9th. He’s 2nd off the tee strokes gained with historically a terrific short game to boot. Might be relatively unknown to many as his career is in its infancy and of course he’s played mostly on LIV Golf, but he has a massive future ahead of him and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him impress this weekend.

Justin Thomas; Has shot two rounds of 69, to also find himself in a share of 9th position. Already a two time PGA Championship winner, and a player with more creativity than anybody else. A wonderful short iron player, so should have a number of chances from holes 1 to 12 across the weekend. He’ll only need to convert a few of those chances and he will find himself in with a shout as we approach Sunday.

Aldrich Potgieter; Has been labelled on our podcast as king of the bomb and gougers. So far this week, he is proving us wrong. I’ll be interested to see how he fares in the third round, as the occasion heats up. He putted brilliantly on Thursday to shoot 67. Can he continue that over the weekend? Was a keen watcher of his putting routine yesterday. He’s taking the Brad Faxon approach (unsure whether knowingly or not) of taking a practice stroke by the ball then moving into his putt while never taking his hands off the putter. Apparently a good way to go, and something I was intending to try next week in Belgium ironically.

Jon Rahm; The big man has hung around. I don’t think he’s at his best, but looks primed to make a run at this. Data golf currently has him as the second best golfer in the world apparently, which Nick Dougherty agrees with. Paul McGinley doesn’t, and I’m in agreement with Paul, but either way, he’s a prodigious player and I think he’s done the hard part so far this week in getting into contention. Staying in contention isn’t something he finds difficult and so I would be surprised to see Jon not climb the leaderboard on Saturday and remind us why he is one of the best players we’ve seen in modern times.

Have a good weekend, and enjoy your/the golf.

Cheers, Eddie.

There had been talk of Aronimink not being able to withstand the pressures of modern day golf as it pertains to how far guys hit the ball nowadays, but boy was that misguided in hindsight. It did remind me somewhat of Merion, where the 2013 US Open was played. I actually played that tournament, shot two consistent rounds of 77 which put me in a tie for 124th after two rounds. Where Merion and Aronimink differ is that Merion was drenched, while Aronimink has some firmness to it. Where they are alike, is in their undulating greens. I recall three putting five to six times in my opening round alone back at Merion in 2013. The greens were monstrously unforgiving. I thought Aronimink looked similar last night watching on the TV. Excellent touch from long range putts was rewarded, and many short putts were missed. Players looked flummoxed on them, none more so than Brooks Koepka who looked at his very best from tee to green but looked like me from Catalunya once he arrived on them.

A few interesting stories for me were;

Jordan Spieth. He looked terrific off the tee and with his approaches. He’s often an uneasy watch as his fidgeting and general sense of anxiety somehow emanates through the screen. That being said, I thought he looked relaxed and outplayed both his playing partners throughout the day, which when you consider they were Jon Rahm and Rory McIlroy, is quite something. This unravelled however with the approach into the 7th hole, his 16th. From the middle of the fairway from around 105 yards, he pulled back from his stance, grabbed the towel to wipe his hands (couldn’t have been sweaty in those temperatures..), and proceeded to hit probably the worst shot he hit all day. He then three putted, made bogey, and followed that up with another bogey at the ridiculously hard 8th hole. I mentioned on a note how to me I this looked like a momentary lapse in self belief. I say this from experience, frankly. When you haven’t been at your best, and haven’t lived atop leaderboards for such a long time, it is very difficult to find yourself all of a sudden in that position. Especially when you are as engaged and aware as Jordan Spieth is. Confidence and self belief are not the same, though related. Confidence is more of a lubricant, whereas self belief is something more intrinsic to achieving great outcomes. Jordan Spieth said in his opening press conference how he thinks to “win the PGA Championship he needs to not try to, in a weird kind of way.” This is the strategy most guys take when winning hasn’t happened for a while. It’s not to say it isn’t effective, I think it can be, it’s just to say it’s the opposite approach to what Scottie Scheffler will be taking. Michael Johnson in his book Slaying The Dragon talked about this. How his mindset at the start of a race was accepting and readily acknowledging the significance of the moment, and meeting it. This mindset is only achievable for a realist like Spieth if he’s got something to call on from his recent past, which he hasn't. So you take the opposite approach which helps lower your state, avoiding the quickening heart rate and burst of cortisol, but likely means you end up falling short in the biggest moments when going up against a predator like Scheffler. Jordan Spieth’s game is back, he now needs some of that lubricant to trigger something more sustained. I really hope he can.

Rory McIlroy; Still way off his best stuff. Doesn’t have control of the driver, as we saw at Augusta. Was interested to hear him in his post round interview talk about how he thought he’d figured it out and that it had been good in practice, to then only see it let him down once the gun was fired. This is commonplace with even the best players, whereby something changes on the opening tee and sequencing runs amok. Technique is key to so much of ball control, but retaining the correct sequencing of the body and arms is governed quite often by pressure and competition. Undoubtedly Rory will figure it out, and his frustration will speed up that process.

Bryson DeChambeau; Very difficult not to come out with something pithy and flippant for me at the moment talking about this guy, given the absurd nature of some of his comments re YouTube golf etc… Something is changing for him from when he plays on LIV to when he plays the Majors at the moment. The thing that is maybe most striking, is his wayward approach play, which I think can be partly explained by the undulating fairways at both Augusta and here at Aronimink. Hitting off uneven lies is a challenge for all of us, let alone for a guy with longer length short irons than everybody else, fat ass grips and 3D printed face technology. Aronimink brought about an old fashioned test which frankly Bryson wasn’t up to yesterday.

Patrick Reed; Only player to go bogey free, extremely impressive. After seeing Aronimink on day one, and given the forecast over the weekend where the course will dry up and greens become even more challenging, Patrick Reed has exactly the skillset required to win this tournament.

Scottie Scheffler; The only player getting in everyone’s way. I watched him through his opening 9 holes. He looked to be driving it well, and putting nicely. His irons looked a little off, notably into holes 3 and 4, where he hit two slight pulls. I still don’t think he has quite the control we’ve been used to seeing him have with his approach play, but if the wind tails off a little bit over the course of the week then this should help him as he’ll be able to do less with the ball and hit more full shots. If the event becomes attritional in nature, which I think is fairly likely, then it’s very difficult to see past him winning this as I think his consistency across four days will be overwhelming for everybody else.

Enjoy the golf, thanks for reading and have a good weekend.

Cheers, Eddie.

Firstly, here is a link to a YouTube video that was posted back in August 2022, where he and his coach, Randy Smith, spend time with Chris Como discussing his game in some detail;

Skip to the 12 minute mark where he starts using the stick and pencil in the end of his grip, for it is that part that is relevant to what I’m going to discuss below.

Here is a video where I touch on the reason why I think Scheffler has become such a brilliant player from inside 100 yards;

There are evolutions to ‘feels’, and how they manifest in the swing over time is what needs to be carefully watched. As time has progressed since 2022, I think this ‘steepening’ move has become more apparent in his rehearsals. It’s one of the reasons I’m fascinated to see how how ball striking and pitching evolve over the coming years, as from my own experience staying the right side of a line with feels is critical for them to be effectively maintained in the long run. I don’t doubt Scheffler’s ability to achieve this, in no small part to the clearly great coach he has working alongside him.

Below you can see what I like to work on and feel when I’m chipping and pitching, and how marine life and golf relate…

Read more

There are always stories of redemption in golf. We are frequently overcoming failure to varying degrees week by week, whether that be you at your local course or guys like me out on Tour for whom our livelihoods depend on it. It is the fundamental building block of character development that makes the game of golf so useful and humbling for us all. Last week on the HotelPlanner Tour, I think we witnessed one of the game’s greatest ever comeback stories. Chris Wood, once a Ryder Cup player and BMW PGA Champion back in 2016, birdied the last hole to win by one stroke in Italy. He has spent this year playing on the MENA Tour, which is a satellite tour based out of the Middle East. He won three times out there in the 2025/26 season which earned him a pathway spot to the HotelPlanner Tour. He has acknowledged that playing on a Tour many rungs down the ladder wasn’t easy, yet he had to accept that it was necessary if he wanted to continue playing the game professionally. That’s quite a hit to the ego, and presumably that takes a lot for someone with such a storied career to do.

He has also been open about his struggles with anxiety. Last year after a top ten in Turkey on the DP World Tour he had this to say;

In 2019 I was working with my coach and I started to develop some severely wide shots, particularly with my driver, to the point where I didn’t carry a driver in the bag at Wentworth at the BMW PGA Championship in 2019, just three years after I’d won it, that’s how quickly it got from one point to another.

From then, I was just riddled with anxiety and fear and tension from the moment I left home for a tournament. It was 24/7 during tournament weeks, I was extremely anxious and not sleeping and it becomes a vicious cycle. You’re constantly draining energy but at that point I was hitting balls like I needed to do it more to make my swing better. I felt like I needed to do it more and there’s a saying with golfers: the secret’s in the dirt - golf is practice until your hands bleed. But I was in a point where I was not really connected to myself in my swing.

I’ve been starting to talk a bit more about my struggles I’ve been through the last few years. I’ve done a few interviews with people asking where I’ve been and since I did the first one where I felt I was ready to speak a bit more it’s really helped. I’m absolutely delighted to be able to feel like that because a few years ago being able to talk about my struggles felt a long way off. I now feel really comfortable with what’s happened.

Read more

If my start in Turkey was down to some rust and apprehension, then my poor opening salvo at El Prat was down to complacency. My warm up on Thursday before the round was quite possibly the best I’ve hit the ball for years. The sense of excitement between me and Mick was palpable. In addition to the ball striking on show, I also had expectations to match. I was feeling confident after Turkey and felt ready to hit the ground running. To then be two over par after six holes was a shock. I couldn’t hit my hat! Me and Mick looked at each other and just started chuckling with bemusement. I remarked how sometimes the worst thing that can happen to you during your warm up is to hit the ball too well. A few bad shots focuses the mind and reminds you of your faults that need constant attention while playing. Thankfully, as the round progressed some of that form I showed on the range started to peer through and I ended the day shooting a -2, 70, which wasn’t a bad score by any means.

Friday I play…

Read more

Let’s quickly touch on the course before getting into my own performance. Some of you may have played The National in Belek. I suspect maybe even some of your golf balls are for sale in the pro shop, where you can buy a bag full of lake balls for quite a considerable sum of mone…

Read more

Back in 2023 when I was on the DP World Tour (DPWT) committee, we had the privilege of having both the R&A and Titleist present their cases to us. As you might imagine, the R&A were proposing the rollback and which option they thought might work best, while Titleist were there to convince us why any sort of rollback would be detrimental not just for the game as a whole, but specifically for professional golfers due to the potential commercial implications. It was an enlightening hour or so of conversation and frankly, whichever side of the fence you sat on it was clear there would be both good and bad outcomes either…

Read more

As far as months go, the Fitzpatrick brothers have had a cracker. Five wins between them, across the PGA Tour and DP World Tour, plus a runners up finish for Matt at The Players Championship. It’s been a period of golf neither of them will forget in a hurry and one that both will be keen to maintain as we move into the meaty part of the season.

With The PGA Championship at Aronimink just around the corner and The US Open at Shinnecock Hills soon after, you’d be hard pressed to pick many, if any player, ahead of Matt Fitzpatrick to win right now. He has a complete game, and a winning mentality to boot. It’s been impressive to see him evolve over the years from the skinny kid we saw come out on tour back in 2014/15 to the man we now see going toe to toe with, and coming out on top of the world’s best. His prowess on the greens is well documented and continues to be a massive asset in enabling him to get over the line. As we saw again at the Zurich with him holing a key par putt on the 15…

Read more

Let’s start with a video of me hitting a 9 iron from three weeks ago;

Read more

Much has been written over the last week since reports emerged of PIF withdrawing funding from LIV Golf, and a lot of it fantastic too. Andrew Cotter mentioned a good piece on the podcast this week from Thomas Friedman in Golf Digest, I would recommend you check that out. But I wanted to come at this from a slightly different avenue and the most obvious one is what does this look like from a DP World Tour players perspective.

Separating emotion from logic has been one of the biggest challenges in all of this for me. It’s helped me understand parts of myself that I probably didn’t know existed before LIV emerged. "The Shadow” as Carl Jung talks about is a fascinating concept and reckoning with it can be tougher for some than others. Truthfully, I haven’t felt much bitterness or jealousy along the way as LIV offered players opportunities and indeed money well beyond their fair value. Where there may be more emotional difficulty for me however could rest in what lies ahead.

Read more

Before explaining what I’ll be offering over here, I want to touch on why I wanted to start writing again, and sharing in detail my golf, my thoughts and insights at age 35. Starting my blog back in 2012 felt a daunting prospect at the time, and re-reading some of my early articles, I was taken aback at my openness and honesty. Over time people at golf tournaments would occasionally come up to me and not congratulate me on missing another five footer, but instead say how much they enjoyed my blog. It became a nice outlet for me and for some, a nice insight into what life as a professional golfer was all (mostly) about. As I moved onto Twitter and started to write less, the feedback again rarely related to on course performances but rather my Tweets, whether they be about Bryson, having conversations with Fred Couples at Augusta, or even masturbating into socks… that one caused a stir. Eventually however, I matured, and broke up with X sometime around the time Elon Musk entered the chat. Then came the Podcast. The Chipping Forecast with Andrew Cotter and Iain Carter has been and will continue to be a weekly highlight for me, and it has been amazing to see it grow and how many people listen and hear tales of my on course mischief and Big Ron routinely falling short of modern parenting standards.

I feel as though now I may have even more to give. I could be wrong, but I want to try nonetheless. I enjoyed writing in the past and would like to rekindle that fire. It will be for you to judge as to whether I am truly adding value to your life or whether I’m just another professional golfer looking to make more money. Ordinarily I would say you know how that story ends but I trust you know me well enough to at least read on…

The subscription fee will be £5 a month. Why £5? Because it’s the least I could charge. If it were up to me I’d do it for less, say £4.95, but I can’t. (worth mentioning subscription cost is £7 per month via the app due to Apple %… so subscribe via desktop website to get it for £5)

So what will you get for £5 a month? At a minimum I will write a weekly recap of each week I play tournament golf. In that I will provide you with my statistics, alongside more detailed thoughts on what the reasons were for my poor, or hopefully good performance! Plus any other stories/amusing anecdotes from the week.

Side (yet relevant and timely) note *this passage contains references to strong language* - back in 2019 I played the WGC Mexico event at Chapultepec and on the final day I was paired with Alex Noren and Bryson DeChambeau. It was Sunday, and we were in the last group. Off the 10th. Earlier in the week, Bryson went birdie free, and after his long and miserable Thursday round he was filmed practising on the putting green. I think from memory it was Nick Dougherty presenting on TV and the camera inadvertently caught Bryson smashing his putter into the practice putting green. Well shit me, didn’t Twitter explode and within hours he was being put up for incarceration in most countries. Anyway, having seen all the backlash myself on Twitter over the course of the days that followed, I knew exactly how stressed Bryson would probably be. So it didn’t take me long, 40 yards in fact walking just off the 10th tee, to ask him how his week had been (I’ve always been a shit stirrer really). He said it had been terrible for him. I asked if he had been on social media at all… he said he hadn’t. Which led me to my moment of opportunity. I said, “ah, that’s a shame, as you wouldn’t have seen what I said about you then”. He asked what I said, to which I replied, “I just said you were a c*nt.”

Now that is a true story. Lee Warne (Alex Noren’s caddie at the time) was beside us, so he can back me up.

Alongside the tournament feedback, and stories of me abusing my fellow playing partners, what else might you be signing up for? In addition to the above, I will of course be writing regular blogs on all things golf and life. There will likely be a sprinkling of finance, dogs, even food too as all of those things I am passionate about. And of course with the LIV Tour in the headlines again, I suspect I’ll be busy writing about that too…

There could be more. Video content! I have considered YouTube, but truth be told it’s pretty crowded over there and plus, Bryson is smashing it so it would be a waste of my time. However I do intend to put out occasional videos of my swing on here and talk about what I am working on… Plus tips and drills to hopefully help you improve. Live video content could well be an option but that’ll depend a bit on uptake and me improving my technological prowess..

Not to mention I will also have access to the comments section, and will look to correspond with comments that catch my attention/get me thinking! Ask anything you like…

If you want to read some or even all of my old blogs, they are on my page for free so help yourself. But future content from here on will be for subscribers only.

Thank you for your support and whether it be on here, at events, or via the podcast, I hope to keep you entertained and hopefully, dare I say it, even enlightened!

Eddie.

One shining light this year has been doing the podcast. It is something I genuinely enjoy doing and think is good for me. Much like rest and the sun, it is truly additive in its restorative capabilities. It has been my therapy in many ways, and it is always nice to have people approach me, whether it be at golf tournaments or in shopping malls and say just how much they enjoy listening to the podcast. That phenomenon is something I’m used to, in that podcasting, like my Twitter before and my blogs before that, are often the things that get mentioned when fandom occurs. It has been difficult at times however, even for me, to be so open about my on course tribulations. At the Nexo Championship at Trump’s place in August, a sense of emotional nakedness was palpable. I knew I was acting up, self harming in front of folks who had heard such stories on the podcast, and I didn’t feel good about that. In fact I felt quite a deep sense of embarrassment and shame. At these moments I questioned my openness and still do now. I know those closest to me would be more protected if I was more private. I also believe that many other professional golfers and indeed other sportspeople likely go through similar moments, but due to them not having a podcast or being so open about it, it never becomes known. So the uniqueness is partly real and partly perceptual. Which serves me well, and sometimes does not, I suppose.

One thing that has been extremely refreshing about playing golf on the HotelPlanner Tour, is that you don’t have to have a caddie. Jen has carried my bag many times, and although she has been wonderful at keeping me fed and watered, she doesn’t have any input in decisions relating to playing golf. So I had to take that mantle on this year, and I have enjoyed doing that immensely. I would actually say it helped me massively last week at Q School coming down the stretch, as I took ownership of the moment and didn’t hide. That’s not to say Jamie (my caddie) didn’t play his part, of course he did, but ironically I felt he was most helpful in simply not getting in my way. (Which is actually quite a useful skill for a caddie to have) Of course however, like all things, getting the balance right is tough, and working as a team after spending so much time making entirely your own decisions isn’t easy. Compromising and not placing blame is one aspect of a player/caddie relationship that is hard to always get right. It is probably why so many partnerships break down. A camel is a horse designed by committee, and the longer time goes on where you make solely your own decisions it becomes harder to enact the committee the right way as to not end up with the camel. That could be one of my biggest challenges in 2026.

2025 hasn’t been a totally ‘coach-less’ year for me. I have sampled a couple, and spent a bit more time with an old coach, Mike Walker. I would say however, if being honest, I have once again driven nearly all of what I’ve ended up focusing on. I’ve been struck by whether in actual fact what is happening to me with regards to my time spent working on things is reflective of a wider, cultural phenomenon that afflicts most of us, but one that can’t afford to be present in skill acquisition. And that is around the sense of novelty and dopamine. I would never recommend spending two hours practising on four or five different things, and yet, that is quite often what I have done at home practising these last few years. So why do I do it? Is it due to simply lacking direction or is it also due to the poisonous, addictive nature of novelty. Progress is slow and boring, our culture is not. I fear I may have fallen foul and into the trap of this decaying feature of our times, where if the frontal lobe is not activated, you don’t feel activated. Whereas in truth, it is the slower, more cerebral actions that need to be taken in order to achieve genuine progress. There is one other aspect in all of this I find interesting. Over the years, my folly around coaching has led me to a place whereby a knowledge gap has opened up. Nobody knows, in my mind, how best to make me tick because I haven’t allowed that to ever truly occur, and so taking the leap of faith necessary to work with someone who could make me tick feels quite daunting. I should add I have taken these leaps in the past and it has failed miserably. This complexity around the ‘player-coach’ relationship I think is one big factor in my decision not to work and stick with one coach full time. Mind the knowledge gap kids.

I enjoy writing, it was one of the reasons I was hopeful I would be playing less golf in 2026, so I could open up more time and energy and do more of this sort of stuff. I’ve come to realise, that it is thinking that I enjoy. It is my hobby, as strange as that sounds, but that is why I value rest, as my mind quietens down, the brain fog disappears, and I feel much more energised in my own little world. As it happens, my finish at Infinitum hasn’t quite afforded me the opportunity to be who I would most like to be, but I shall do my best to give golf a good go in 2026, and keep you all as entertained as possible on the podcast. Hopefully with fewer stories of anger.

Wishing you a safe and pleasant night.

I’ve said before about how I’m not particularly bothered about the place in which I find myself playing. I care more for how I am playing. I have recently been feeling strangely invigorated by my new surroundings. Things have changed for me, I have had Jen caddying for me, we have been travelling far and wide, in economy I might add (I write this sat in seat 43A coincidentally) which is a departure from the glory days of business class! I have been marking my own golf balls, being more present with my bag set up and course strategy. Much, or all of this, might sound like small fry and of course it is in the grand scheme of things, but it has represented a change nonetheless and not only have I survived economy class but as mentioned, feel somewhat re-energised to get my game back to where I know it could be.

The wholesome appeal of travelling to Kolkata and Delhi to play on a Tour filled with young hopefuls and/or the weary fallen, whereby the chances of being out of pocket at the end of it have increased significantly, is as amusing as it is tragic as it is inspiring. But it is at least something. And I don’t know about you, but it’s the lack of something that has come to characterise my own relationship with the men’s professional game. An apathy. A disbelief. Call it the thing you can’t put your finger on, but the chemistry that once existed and now no longer does has become a depressing feature in my own journey with the game as a fan and observer.

And so it is I find myself working hard to retain a level of interest at one end of the game, helped in no small part to the connection with the podcast (which I should say I love recording with Andrew and Iain) and so a sense of duty to our listeners. While at the other end working hard to rediscover some form as to help me get back to a place I once was, and yet no longer feel much for. It is, quite apparently when written down like that, a bit of a personal quagmire. Therefore often in times like this, the natural and arguably best thing to do is to dial down into the minutia of the game, your game. To become immersed in an aspect that you find quickens your spirit. This response to failure can act as a death knell for some or indeed part of a recovery for others. At least one feels in control.

There isn’t a particular thread running through this, nor am I even attempting to create one. Truthfully, golf has felt so chaotic for me for so long that I really can no longer see the forest for the trees with much of it. I can only describe how I feel. As it relates to the game more widely, there’s a chance you might feel the same way as me, and of course a chance you don’t. I’m for disruption generally, though I don’t subscribe to the notion all disruption is positive. And I would argue that in golf, never has this been so evident. Call it playing chess if you like, but when the queen feasts on its own, you’ll have a hard time reorganising something as good.

Namaste.

I want to separate out the players in this and the organisations, and I think there are two often cited examples within game theory that illuminate us to why players have made the choices they have and why the Tours make the choices they do. From the players perspective, a “Prisoners Dilemma” scenario is somewhat apt, and from the point of view of PIF and the PGA TOUR, it appears we increasingly have a “Tragedy of the Commons” outcome.

Let’s start where this all began, and that is with LIV Golf, backed of course by PIF of Saudi Arabia. They decided to enter the world of golf, or disrupt if you prefer to think of it that way, with a clear goal in mind but more importantly in a position where they could affect great change due to the major resource at their disposal; money. They used this money to create a near term advantage and in doing so set in motion a cascading chain of events that have led to a tragedy of the commons type outcome, whereby we’ve ended up at a place which seemingly nobody wants, yet neither party felt at any moment they could choose otherwise. It’s a social trap, and it’s not unusual to have this outcome. We see it everywhere we look whether it’s climate change, war, business… Game Theory helps us understand why the world is the way it is. This is the main reason I’ve found it instinctively difficult to be highly critical of Jay Monahan throughout this process because this new game, which was largely thrust upon him, was only ever going to be met with a set of inevitable responses. That might sound somewhat fatalistic but in reality the degree to which the free will of any Commissioner could have been implemented in any significant way, was small.

If we consider the role of the individuals in this saga, as mentioned above, a Prisoners Dilemma picture emerges. For what it’s worth, I always thought the players were the ones with the power throughout this process, especially in the early days, for it was ultimately they who held greatest sway over what we often call “the product”. Over time it is the product that appeals most, and LIV knew who they could target. The word “defector” is often used to describe the early players who went to LIV, and that is a term which I think accurately depicts what we have seen when it comes to the behaviour of certain individuals. It is also why I was so disappointed in some for going across to LIV in the early days, as to me they didn’t fully appreciate the enormity of what they were choosing to do and the chaos it would potentially bring about, all for personal gain. Anyway, in a prisoners dilemma, the best outcome for the two people playing the game is to co-operate. But when uncertainty is added in, and each player knows not what the other might do next, the best outcome personally is if you defect and the other chooses to co-operate. In this scenario there is a clear winner and a clear loser. Unfortunately a chain of events and behaviours are set in motion, exacerbated by uncertainty, and ultimately across time what so often becomes selected for is self interest, not co-operation. Given the players had the power at the beginning of all this, and self interest was selected for early on, it isn’t difficult to understand how we’ve ended up here, with more players demanding more of what the first movers acquired; money, and a general disdain from the public in return, who are left watching this ugly game play out.

Predicting what the future will look like isn’t worth doing obviously. One thing I would say is it does appear co-operation between all of the major tours now seems more likely than ever, not because of any ethical considerations, but simply because there seems to me to be an increasing symmetry emerging between LIV and the PGAT in terms of their needs. I do not consider myself a good strategic thinker at all, and would say Machiavellian traits don’t run deep within me, thankfully, but I do think there might be an asymmetry arising between the DPWT and the PGAT in terms of what’s being given and what being taken, and I think this is something that the members of the PGAT will find difficult to stomach over the coming years. I think the leadership at the PGAT are aware of the degree to which the DPWT still maintains some strategic power however, as any alignment with LIV and DPWT would likely result in increased dislocation and more top players moving across to LIV, from the PGAT, and likely big European players too… (mentioning no names). This, if indeed seen this way at Ponte Vedra, might explain why the 10 cards remain from the DPWT while they cut down their 125 to 100. As Iain Carter rightly pointed out on our latest podcast, this is quite something. And possibly a signal which might be explained by the consideration that the DPWT could itself still defect and create a massive problem for the PGAT.

Games, who would play them.

I’m off to Q School where the simpler task of hitting fairways and greens awaits.

I wanted to try and explore my own comments regarding the caddie situation with Rory. It’s somewhat personally relevant too as I have just parted ways with Jamie, a friend and long time caddie. He has been with me for around two thirds of my time as a professional golfer and so I know how difficult it can be changing caddie. Each caddie comes with their own skills, Jamie had many, and even if it is simply the case that having a friend or girlfriend on your bag keeps you calm, or makes your overall experience of being a professional golfer more enjoyable then there’s nothing wrong in that. But of course at the top end, where majors are on the line, such luxuries tend not to exist. There’s a reason for that, and I would argue that’s because great caddies can make the difference at the margin and in circumstances like Rory found himself in at Pinehurst, it really is the finest of margins that ultimately define success and failure.

So what does that margin look like in a caddie? How does it present itself? I would say it lies predominately in the realm of intuition. We like to measure things, particularly in the modern world of golf. Everything is measured from club face at impact to angle of attack to the quality of sleep. No stone is left unturned at the summit, and Rory seems to be fastidious in this sense too. Extremely professional in everything he does. That’s why I’m ultimately of the opinion it would be wise for Rory to consider a change of personnel on the bag, because an experienced caddie doesn’t just come with major trophies or good stories, he, or she, comes with a level of intuition that can really only be attained through years of experience and in particular experiential knowledge of what it takes to overcome the pressures of a back nine on Sunday at a major championship. I wonder if because intuition is hard to measure, it sometimes gets overlooked? I don’t know. I do know from my own personal experience when I had Mick Doran caddie for me in 2017 through 2020, that in certain moments on Sunday’s, albeit not in major championships but in the heat of battle nonetheless, he brought with him a level of input that was carved from his many years of caddying, and he elevated my performance. Rory is arguably the most intuitive player in the game. Everything else he’s added over the years has enabled him to have the career he’s had. It seems odd to me he wouldn’t look to have someone his equal with him, in terms of mastery within their own craft.

Understanding criticism and its origin is a hard thing for us all to do. The more successful you become it arguably becomes tougher, given the likelihood of your own personal growth playing a key role in your achievements. Recognising and apportioning contributions by others accurately is not an easy thing to do, and I suspect it is likely the case that we tend to underestimate the impact others have on us and overestimate our own degree of mastery. I’m most certainly going through this myself at the moment professionally. I’m trying to spend more time with coaches, seeking help to improve. There is absolutely a time and a place to take ownership and actively take the load so to speak. But that can’t be done forever, particularly in a game like golf where the sheer weight of the challenges bear down on us all. That could relate to Grayson Murray and it could relate someone trying to hit a good chip or hole a putt under pressure. I don’t say that to trivialise mental health struggles, rather to recognise the lasting effects of persistent frustration and uncertainty. Golf seems to be all encompassing in nature.

I’m not sure why I’d write this last bit but it feels right, almost instinctively right to me, to say things tend towards chaos and disorder. The human condition seems to have that bent. It is on us to act accordingly to restore order and stability. And we have to really collaborate with others to get the best out of ourselves. No man is an island, I say that wearing a big guilty sign, and I wonder if sometimes Rory wears that sign too. Either way, I’m sure I’m off the mark on a number of observations regarding Rory (and life), but I think he will win another major.

I said as much at the dinner and I’ll write it here too; I have no real idea where professional golf is heading, but I do know what I hope for. I hope professional golf ends up at a place where it really should have started a few years ago with the emergence of LIV, and that looks something more akin to cricket with the IPL. I hope we find a way for LIV to reduce its schedule and it fit within a window, or two, where it has the opportunity to thrive. I would argue that strategically this has in fact been LIV’s major error, in that by going too big too soon, it missed an opportunity to garner a critical mass of support, principally via the leading players, where they could have become invested in the idea, seen it as a replacement of the lucrative World Golf Championships and seen the broader potential to expand globally. The brands, sponsors etc already existing within the sport would have likely followed, and LIV would have had the chance to grow and become more visible, and potentially more valuable in the way the IPL has in cricket. I occasionally wonder if it is indeed why Yasir Al-Rumayyan’s heavy involvement has been a hindrance. The deal that has just been done with the ATP Tour and PIF seems to me to be a more sensible one, whereas the LIV project at times feels like a pet project (speculative) of Yasir’s, furthered by the vengeance of Greg Norman, of course (less speculative).

I watched an interesting video on “Trophy Assets” this week. I wanted to understand a bit more on what constitutes one and how they are valued. It turns out, as you probably suspect, that they are often emotional purchases, and the price that is paid has very little to do with financial returns. Drawing the relationship between the price and value isn’t performed in the same way it would traditionally be done when considering another business venture. Take the NFL, the prices paid for this group of assets has grown substantially over the last decade, from around a multiple of four times revenues to seven times revenues. The NFL operates on average with a healthy operating margin and revenues continue to grow. That operating margin varies tremendously between different sports, with the average Premier League teams OM sitting around 8% (as per the research by Aswath Damodaran - 2012-2022). I mention these because even in spite of the economics behind the investments, whether good or bad, to the owners of franchises within these leagues it doesn’t matter a great deal, all that matters is they own the Trophy Asset. Now think about LIV golf. What do they (PIF of Saudi Arabia) own? As far as I can tell they don’t own much, if anything. If they think LIV golf is itself a Trophy Asset, I have something to sell them, and if they think LIV golf can become one anytime soon in its current form, then good luck with that too. All they ‘own’ is a player, for a set period of time, and even that has the potential to be watered down should the PGA Tour find a way of affording them the occasional appearance. This is something I cannot quite wrap my head around, that after spending billions of dollars they have no lasting stake in a valuable entity, and what they do have ownership in isn’t lasting and is falling in value due to a lack of prominence and visibility.

The SSG group, who have just invested into the PGA Tour Enterprises, now have an ownership stake in a Trophy Asset. Whether you, I, or Flushing It like it or not, the PGA Tour has history, prestige, inherent value, and therefore constitutes what could rightly be referred to as a Trophy Asset. An asset which incidentally makes money, which is more than can be said of many Premier League football clubs.

Maybe I’m just being a contrarian for the sake of it, or maybe I’m not, but I would posit that history shows us that the most likely outcome in all of this is that the PGA Tour survives and LIV golf doesn’t, unless it undergoes significant changes and seeks to fit in more cooperatively. The perception out there, I think largely fuelled by the strident pro-LIV accounts that exist on X, is that LIV is winning, or that LIV will win this war. We should be cognis(z)ant of who we listen to and the messaging we see. One thing I would ask all fellow professional golfers to realise and understand is that the money coming into the game right now won’t last forever. The money being funnelled into LIV golf also won’t last forever. Nothing lasts forever on that front. What does persist through time however, particularly as it relates to sport, are the foundational principles of open and fair competition, meritocracy, respect and passion. We should be asking ourselves what is sustainable at times like this, not what can we take for ourselves, and use history as our guide to understand what the most likely outcome will be. It will provide a sense of calm in these uncertain times, and help us decipher whether we are likely living with a lasting reality, or not.

Articles and videos below that may be of interest;

Japan’s Asset Bubble - https://internationalbanker.com/history-of-financial-crises/japans-lost-decade-1992/

Aswath Damodaran - Toys For Billionaires -

A Story on Brunei - https://apjjf.org/geoffrey-gunn/2696/article

It’s a good job LIV Golf isn’t being offered up publicly in 2022. The cravings for overpriced promises have sunk. When the Super League was touted a year or so ago in football, at least the teams involved were at the top of the game. The current golfing equivalent is tantamount to Chelsea, Everton and Newcastle seeking participation. I don’t want that to come across as overly rude to the names involved, I have been and continue to be an admirer of their achievements, it’s just at some point you have to recognise the current picture for what it is. This was my point in my tweet about ROI. I know the Saudi’s have an almost unlimited pool of cash. But I also believe they will not continue to fund an endeavour to the tune of hundreds of millions, unless bigger stars show up. It would surely be felt as such an embarrassment, and given the primordial nature of the source, reputation will matter.

In the interest of fairness, I am duty bound to see it from the eyes of those who have signed up. Particularly those who are of a similar age to me. Of course, I have a good friend who has chosen to play LIV Golf and we have had discussions about it. My biggest concern right now if I was someone breaking through over here in Europe would be; how do I get across onto the PGA Tour? The avenue has narrowed, and with the OWGR changes coming in, it will narrow further. One of Keith Pelley’s aims has to be securing a route to the PGA Tour as no CEO of any business should want to deal with ambitious individuals who feel curtailed in their future opportunities and overall career progression. This is something that so far hasn’t been communicated very well to the membership, and although I believe there are plans in the pipeline, it would be in the best interest of all parties involved to inform us sooner rather than later. But beyond this uncertainty, I don’t see a solid reason for heading across to play LIV Golf. Other than the money of course. But I’m more of the Bob MacIntyre mould.

One thing we can be sure of is that this is now about power. And during such times, relatively extraordinary things can happen, as we have all seen in recent times both politically and geopolitically. As an onlooker, it is clear to me that at the moment the major corporate partners of both the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour are committed to one another. Additionally, major companies have decided to cut ties with individuals who have moved across. This is another example of what we have seen happen in Russia. Big corporations wield enormous influence and are being upheld to the highest standards across society. Which brings me to ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance). Companies now have a duty to commit to ESG targets, and in some circumstances even if they wish to receive funding from certain quarters. It might come as no surprise to many of you that I’m no fan of ESG as a concept, but it is a reality we now have to live with. Over time therefore, I would say it is less likely major corporates will side with any endeavour that doesn’t have within it certain ESG targets. (let alone ones that pay out circa $30million a week to 50 guys, if wider economic upheaval persists) What this effectively ensures then is that LIV Golf will remain solely funded by the Saudi’s. And although the funding likely wont be a problem, it leaves the whole project reliant on the whims of a subsidiary of an authoritarian regime in the Middle East. Not making a moral judgement when I say that, just adding that volatility is something that probably accompanies such a regime.

One final point I would make, and this isn’t something I’ve not said before, but ultimately this is fundamentally something to be avoided as if it takes off, then over time it will have the effect of accruing almost all of the wealth in the hands of the very few. I am all for wealth creation, there aren’t many better feelings than earning a lot of money and I’ve been fortunate to do so at times (long ago!). But one thing I do believe is that money trickles down about as effectively as something else does down a sock… (remains maybe my only Twitter regret) Even Paul Krugman now acknowledges this. (The money part..) One major challenge all ecosystems face is to ensure inequality doesn’t run amok. A black hole will over time swallow everything that gets in its way, and though it might feel good about it, it won’t have much to show for it. One of golfs most enduring and endearing aspects is the breadth of wealth it has created at the top of the game, this has allowed players from all around the world to earn a good living, and to do good things with when they get back home. It is quite unique to golf, we should fight to keep it that way in my opinion.

Admittedly there are many other points and counter points that could be made and I know this is a fairly divisive topic at the moment in golf. Ultimately, I wish everyone well in their commitments.

I still haven’t got my luggage.