Golfing News & Blog Articles

 Introduction

Home golf setups are becoming more accessible than ever. While the focus is often on the launch monitor or net, the hitting and putting mat plays a crucial role in enhancing the overall experience.

This Forum Member Review of the BirdieBall 2-in-1 Golf Mat cuts to the chase, because let’s face it amid a plethora of options, choosing the right mat can be challenging. Factors like space and budget come into play but what if there’s a dual-purpose mat that’s highly durable and claims to be an all-in-one solution?

Enter the BirdieBall 2-in-1 Putting Green/Hitting Turf, aiming to be the ultimate home golf setup solution. With 11 size options and a range of features including drop-in cups, flags, U-bumpers, hole plugs and slope inserts, this all-in-one mat provides everything a golfer needs for an ideal home setup.

The Testing Opportunity

For this testing opportunity, BirdieBall provided three testers with a 2-in-1 putting/hitting mat in the size of their choosing. Applicants submitted a photo of their current setup and shared their experiences over an eight-week period with the BirdieBall setup. When the testing concluded, the testers got to keep the mat and the accessories.

What Testers Said: Setup and First Impressions

The testers were selected, orders were placed and anticipation for the putting/hitting mats started to grow. Universally, when the testers received the packages from BirdieBall, their reactions were similar: “Wow, this thing is big! And heavy!”

The BirdieBall 2-in-1 putting/hitting mat came in two packages—one with the mat and bumpers and another with the remaining accessories. Here is what the testers said upon receiving the packages.

This past year in golf brought eye-popping purses, extravagant player contracts and a jump in greens fees at Shadow Creek.

The post The country’s most expensive course inspired our best-read travel story of 2023 appeared first on Golf.

Three-putting is a surefire way to halt momentum in your round. Here's a system from Dave Pelz to improve your touch on the greens.

The post Short-game guru’s system to improve distance control — and stop 3-putting appeared first on Golf.

Actress Vanessa Hudgens recently went on a golf getaway with her husband — and she rocked this fashionable sun hat.

The post Vanessa Hudgens took a newlywed golf trip — and rocked this must-have sun hat appeared first on Golf.

Controlling the low point in your swing is key if you want to get the perfect "splash" out of the greenside bunker.

The post How to get the perfect ‘splash’ out of the bunker every time appeared first on Golf.

In a recent podcast interview, Rising star Ludvig Aberg explained why he turned down a multi-million dollar offer from LIV Golf a year before his first PGA Tour win.

The post ‘A number of red flags’: Star Ryder Cup rookie explains why he rejected LIV’s advances appeared first on Golf.

Brooks Koepka's LIV Golf major triumph altered the chemistry of pro golf — and maybe even accelerated what came next.

The post Brooks Koepka’s LIV major championship triumph turned golf on its head appeared first on Golf.

For $499, why wouldn’t you play Costco’s newest hit, Kirkland Signature player’s irons?

They feature a stainless steel body, an injected urethane insert and an internal tungsten weight. All of these features are comparable to the top brand names—at about a third of the price!

First Impressions

First, and this one is circling the internet, Costco’s iron bears a striking resemblance to TaylorMade’s P790. This is a fair comparison—except it is a shiny chrome version. A “chromed-out” iron is hit or miss for most golfers. I am not a fan and I’d argue most of our testers aren’t either.

Second, feel and sound go hand in hand. For $499, the Kirkland Signature player’s irons feel damned good and their sound is appealing. To me, it is on the more muted side with a distinct thud, exactly what I like. Feel and sound are perceived and subjective. What I perceive might be different from what you perceive. But from my perspective, these Kirkland Signature irons are impressive.

$499 Worth of Data

Premature accolades aren’t our style. I want to see how the Kirkland Signature player’s irons perform in our testing before passing final judgment. In the meantime, let’s see how the Kirkland Signature iron stacks up against my current pitching wedge, 7-iron and 5-iron.

We won’t forget what happened in the golf world this year. 

Our expectation was for a long, drawn-out court battle between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf. In the meantime, the tour’s designated events would get the best players together more often while LIV would go on quietly. 

But on one unforgettable day, everything we thought we knew about the pro game flipped upside down. It was so stunning that the date of June 6 requires no additional explanation. It was, without a doubt, the day everything changed. 

What happened between the PGA Tour and LIV was indicative of a dramatic year in golf. On more than a handful of occasions, something happened that few people had on their bingo cards. 

To remember the year that was, here are the seven most indelible moments the golf world witnessed in 2023.

The GOLF staff gets around, and so do our phones. Here are the best photos we snapped in 2023, and the stories behind them.

The post The best photos our staff snapped in 2023 — and the stories behind them appeared first on Golf.

Rules controversies and blunders were ever-present on pro golf tours in 2023. Here are the biggest golf rules incidents of the year.

The post 14 biggest rules controversies, mishaps and blunders of 2023 appeared first on Golf.

Rules Guy's most-read column of the year answered an interesting question about golf's holy grail, the hole-in-one.

The post Our most-read rules question of the year involved an intriguing hole-in-one conundrum appeared first on Golf.

Lee Trevino shared his strong opinions against the proposed universal golf-ball rollback during a recent appearance on GOLF's Subpar.

The post ‘Just leave it alone’: Lee Trevino takes aim at golf-ball rollback appeared first on Golf.

As 2023 draws to a close, we want to express our sincere gratitude to you, our loyal readers. It’s not lost on us how lucky we are to do what we do. And we never forget who this is all for. You.

Thank you for your continued support on our quest to put you, the consumer, first. Our mission is to provide you with the truth. That mission is what drives us as we navigate the daily grind and it’s at the core of everything we do, test and write.

While there is more cool stuff on the horizon, we felt it was only right to end the year by highlighting some of your favorites. Here are the articles you resonated with in 2023.

2023 Golf Ball Test

It comes as no surprise that our 2023 Golf Ball Test was our most-read article of 2023. It is undoubtedly the article we spent the most time creating, too. After spending an entire week in 110-degree weather in Phoenix, Ariz., to robot-test every golf ball under the sun, it’s only right that this glorious piece of work made its way to the masses.

We hope you learned as much about golf balls in this piece as we did. Man, is it insightful.

Here are 23 Christmas wishes for the golf world, including wishes for the Saudi deal, Tiger Woods — and the best random golf partners ever.

The post Saudi deal, Tiger and the best rando golf partners ever: 23 Christmas wishes   appeared first on Golf.

What are the best golf beers? Sit back and crack open the latest edition of our ‘spirited’ rankings across three categories.

The post 2023 best golf beers? Sit back and crack open our ‘spirited’ rankings  appeared first on Golf.

GOLF’S editors and writers discuss forgotten golf moments of 2023, NBC analyst tryouts, PGA Tour Q-School and more.

The post Tour Confidential: Forgotten golf moments of 2023, NBC analyst tryouts appeared first on Golf.

This year was full of excitement.

In some ways, golf became more divided. In other ways, golf became stronger and more united than ever. We had the pleasure of covering golf’s banner year from our front-row seat. As such, there were a lot of cool, interesting and even inspiring stories that we got to write.

Big or small, the impact these stories had on us go beyond the words on the screen. Here are the articles we loved to write (and share with you) in 2023.

History’s Mysteries: The Real Story of the PING Eye 2

Those of you familiar with the wonderful John Barba know that he’s a history buff. And, man, can he write! John took us through the curious mystery of the PING Eye 2 and how it came to be. This one is a must-read if you haven’t had the chance.

2023 Golf Ball Test

No article required as much work as our comprehensive Golf Ball Test. And I’ll be darned if we don’t toot our own horn a bit. This piece took the entire team to pull off. It’s the most informative, real and complete piece of work we’ve done thus far.

If you're a golfer who uses your smartphone on the course, there is one accessory you simply must have: the Desert Fox Golf Phone Caddy.

The post This must-have cart accessory is 20 percent off for a limited time appeared first on Golf.

Wallasey Golf Club in Wallasey, England, is the home of the Stableford, but also the site of a really, really good golf course.

The post Why this links course (where a piece of golf history was born) was my favorite of 2023 appeared first on Golf.