NGF Short Game: Golf’s Travel Boom and the Hidden Loyalty Engine

Whether buddy trips, couples’ weekends, short getaways, or destination golf experiences, more than 12 million Americans have traveled to play golf each year since 2022, up from an estimated 8.2 million in 2018. This appetite not only highlights golf’s popularity, but mirrors a broader societal trend toward experiential pursuits. And it’s being driven especially by the allure of aspirational courses and bucket-list destinations.

Over the past five years, more than 40% of new golf course openings have had resort ties or can be considered “destination” locations where golf is the prime focus. The former category includes recent debuts at high profile resorts like Bandon Dunes in Oregon (Shorty’s), Streamsong in Florida (The Chain), Sand Valley in Wisconsin (Sedge Valley), and Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina (No. 10), while the latter encompasses private or public getaway destinations such as Broomsedge, Old Barnwell and The Tree Farm in South Carolina, or GreyBull and Landmand in Nebraska.

Bridgestone Golf Releases The Quails Limited Edition Kit

Bridgestone Golf, the #1 Ball-Fitter in Golf, today launched its new limited-edition collection, The Quails, in celebration of the second major of the year. 

The creative concept introduces The Quails as a fictional, dominant AAA minor league baseball team. Founded in 1935 and based in southern North Carolina, 

The Quails are positioned as the most successful minor league team in history. 

Team Srixon Delivers Sunday Sweep on the PGA TOUR with Straka and Fox Wins

Team Srixon delivered a dominant week on the PGA TOUR, capturing two victories as Sepp Straka triumphed at the Truist Championship, a Signature Event, while Ryan Fox claimed his maiden PGA TOUR title in a playoff at the ONEflight Myrtle Beach Classic.

Straka emerged victorious in Philadelphia by carding a composed 2-under-par 68 in the final round to claim his second PGA TOUR title of the year and fourth overall. The Austrian-born star finished at 16-under-par holding off a tightly packed leaderboard in a pressure-filled finale at the historic Philadelphia Cricket Club’s Wissahickon Course while playing in the final group alongside fellow Srixon staffer Shane Lowry. Straka’s short game was a key differentiator all week ranking No. 1 in scrambling, consistently saving par from difficult positions and keeping momentum alive when it mattered most. 

Fujikura Wins in Philadelphia

Fujikura is thrilled to celebrate a monumental victory at the 2025 elevated event in Philadelphia. The champion trusted VENTUS to dominate the field. This win marks another milestone in Fujikura’s journey to equip the world’s best golfers with cutting-edge technology that delivers unmatched performance off the tee and beyond.

The 2025 championship, an elevated event, brought a fresh challenge to the tour with its debut. A par-70 layout designed by A.W. Tillinghast and restored to its 1930s glory, tested players with tight fairways, strategic bunkering, and slick bent grass greens. For the winner, precision and power were necessary, and VENTUS assisted in both.

2025 PGA Championship Airs Nationwide on SiriusXM

SiriusXM announced today its coverage of the 2025 PGA Championship, taking place Thursday, May 15th through Sunday, May 18th at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, NC.

Live Championship play-by-play, which SiriusXM will co-produce with Westwood One, will air starting at 2 pm ET all four days of competition. Veteran broadcaster Taylor Zarzour will be the lead play-by-play voice, alongside three-time PGA Tour winner Johnson Wagner, PGA as the lead analyst. Emilia Doran, Brian Katrek and Bill Rosinski will be the on-course reporters, following key playing groups during the Championship.

Clanton, Ford, and Koivun Names Finalists for the 2025 Ben Hogan Award

The top three players in the World Amateur Golf Ranking are the finalists for the 2025 Ben Hogan Award presented by Baird. In alphabetical order, Florida State’s Luke Clanton, North Carolina’s David Ford and Auburn’s Jackson Koivun were honored by the Ben Hogan Award Selection Committee and will attend a black-tie dinner Monday, May 19, at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, where the winner will be crowned.

The Ben Hogan Award annually awards the top men’s NCAA Division I, II or III, NAIA or NJCAA college golfer based on all collegiate, amateur and professional events over the previous 12 months. The joint announcement was made by the Hogan Trophy Award Foundation, the Friends of Golf (FOG) and the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA).

True Temper Sports Introduces Project X Red

True Temper, the leader in golf shaft innovation, is proud to announce the release of the highly anticipated Project X Red.

This next-generation shaft builds on the legacy of the original Project X, delivering enhanced performance with increased launch and spin to meet the evolving needs of modern golfers.

Get Your Golf Mom Something She’ll Love for Mother’s Day

Mom deserves the best. And if your mom is a golfer mom treat her to something special she’ll love this Mother’s Day.

You’ll find the latest and greatest in this 2025 Mother’s Day Gift Guide and don’t forget about your golfer dad as well with Father’s Day coming next month.

Say Hello to Wordle Golf

Golf has come to Wordle! And you can join the fun by playing Wordle Golf, a series of 18 puzzles curated by Tracy Bennett, the game’s editor.

Wordle Golf is a different way to play the game. The rules are simple: Grab some friends, solve a Wordle puzzle and mark your score. The player with the lowest score wins.

What It Really Costs to Attend the 2025 PGA Championship – New Data Unveiled

For the second time ever, Charlotte’s Quail Hollow Club is hosting the PGA Championship, with the course that George Cobb designed hosting one of golf’s premier tournaments from May 15-18. 

To get a sense of how expensive it is to attend the year’s second golf major (and a major golf betting event in North Carolina), BetCarolina.com broke down the numbers on how much it’d cost a local versus a visitor to make the trek to Quail Hollow for each of the four tournament rounds.

First Look: Under Armour Athlete Scripting for the 2025 PGA Championship

With the 2025 PGA Championship fast approaching, Under Armour is suiting up its golf roster in a head-to-toe showcase of innovation, precision, and modern style.

Here’s an early look at Under Armour’s PGA Championship scripting – featuring Jordan Spieth in his Grand Slam pursuit, alongside rising stars Maverick McNealy and Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen.

Foresight Sports Launches Collaboration with Vessel

Foresight Sports, the industry benchmark for professional-grade launch monitor and golf simulation technology, today announced a collaboration with VESSEL^Ⓡ, the leader in premium quality and design innovation for golf bags, to launch a deluxe, custom sling bag. Designed to transport Foresight Sports premium, state-of-the-art launch monitors, the sling bag is built with tour-grade materials and everyday functionality. 

 

Priced at $299, the premium sling bag is custom-designed to perfectly fit Foresight Sports' QuadMAX and GCQuad launch monitors, while also being compatible with the GC3. The bag boasts a sleek, minimalist design, crafted from durable, tour-grade synthetic leather by VESSEL®. A padded main compartment safeguards golfers launch monitors, while additional pockets provide convenient storage for accessories.

True Spec Golf Opens New Chicago West Location

True Spec Golf, the global leader in custom club fitting and club building, today announcedthe opening of True Spec Chicago West, which is located inside The Golf Practice, one of Chicago’s premier golf academies.

This is the latest opening in a growing number of partnerships that brings True Spec’s bespoke fittings and best-in-class customer service to prominent venues around the country. True Spec currently partners with The Golf Practice at their popular True Spec Chicago North Shore location in Highland Park.

PXG Launches Bat Attack ZT Putter

PXG, the brand known for pushing golf club design to the extreme, is proud to announce the launch of its all-new PXG® Bat Attack® ZT Putter, the latest addition to its revolutionary Zero Torque (ZT) Technology lineup. Combining one of the company’s most iconic mallet designs with advanced engineering breakthroughs, the Bat Attack ZT Putter delivers elite-level performance, total face control, and an unmistakable feel.

The second drop in PXG’s Zero Torque Putter collection, the Bat Attack ZT Putter builds on the momentum of the PXG Allan® Putter. The proprietary design is engineered to minimize face rotation throughout the putting stroke by aligning the shaft axis just above the center of gravity. This eliminates torque and helps golfers maintain a square face without manipulating their stroke.

ECCO Golf and Random Golf Club Launch Greenland-Inspired BIOM H5 Collaboration

ECCO GOLF, leaders in golf footwear innovation, is proud to unveil the BIOM H5 RGC, a bold new high-top silhouette created in collaboration with Random Golf Club and inspired by the untamed landscapes of Greenland. At $249, a very limited number of pairs will be available to U.S. customers exclusively through the Random Golf Club website starting today.

The BIOM H5 RGC merges ECCO GOLF’s style and performance innovation with RGC’s mission to unify golfers around the world through storytelling and community. The collaboration will be headlined in a special episode of Adventures in Golf, premiering on May 8, which follows Erik Anders Lang, Timo Vollrath (Global Marketing Manager, ECCO GOLF) and the RGC crew on an expedition to Nuuk Golf Club in Greenland – one of the world’s most remote golf courses.

Vokey WedgeWorks Introduces New Tour Toe Stamp Wedges

Titleist introduces Vokey WedgeWorks’ all-new Tour Toe Stamp offering, giving all golfers the opportunity to game Vokey Design SM10 wedges with a unique, tour-inspired look.

The new feature is based on one of the latest trends from the Titleist tour truck. In recent years, Vokey Tour Rep Aaron Dill began receiving requests from players looking to remove the loft, bounce and grind markings from the sole of their wedges and replace them with a stamped letter: ‘P’ for pitching wedge, ‘G’ for gap wedge, ‘S’ for sand wedge and ‘L’ for lob wedge. 

Anatomy of a PGA Championship Winner: Who Could Win at Quail Hollow 2025

By utilizing PGATour.com’s data, BetCarolina.com wanted to find the anatomy of a PGA Championship winner in order to give us an idea of who to look for at Quail Hollow next week for the 2025 PGA Championship. The data is just from the last 10 PGA Championships to keep the profile current.

BetCarolina has you covered on the latest odds just over a week out from the slam.

Odyssey Announces New Ai-ONE Square 2 Square Max Putters

Odyssey has announced the new Ai-ONE Max 1 and Max 1 Stripe putters.

These are an extension to Odyssey’s Square 2 Square line and are their highest MOI Square 2 Square Putters with an MOI over 6300 IZZ. 

Eastside Golf Signs Eugenio Chacarra

Eastside Golf, the lifestyle golf brand changing the perception of the game, today announced Spanish professional golfer Eugenio Chacarra as its newest Eastside Golf Athlete. As one of the most exciting and promising young talents in the sport, Chacarra and Eastside Golf’s relationship marks the union of two trailblazers working to move the game forward to its next chapter.

Known for his power off the tee and confident style of play, Chacarra brings a new energy to golf, both in performance and personality. After a standout collegiate career at Oklahoma State University, where he earned First Team All-American honors and reached No. 2 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, Chacarra turned professional in 2022 and quickly claimed his first win at the LIV Golf Invitational Bangkok. 

MBC Sports Will Present 400 Hours of Live Exclusive Coverage of USGA Championships in 2025

NBC Sports will present nearly 400 hours of live exclusive USGA championships coverage in 2025 across NBC, GOLF Channel, USA Network, and Peacock, beginning Thursday, May 29, with the first round of the 80th U.S. Women’s Open Presented by Ally from Erin Hills in Erin, Wis. 

This year’s presentation across NBC Sports’ platforms features coverage of nine USGA Championships including the 125th U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pa., (June 12-15); the 125th U.S. Women’s Amateur at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Bandon, Ore. (August 6-10); the 125th U.S. Amateur at The Olympic Club in San Francisco, Calif. (August 13-17); and the 50th Walker Cup at Cypress Point Club in Pebble Beach, Calif. (Sept. 6-7).