25 Things That I Want to Happen in Golf in 2025

As a new year approaches, what better time to look ahead? You know me - I like lists. So here are the 25 things I want to see happening in 2025 (did you see what I did there?).

Framework Deal

Donald Trump claims he could sort out the split in golf in 15 minutes. Of course we should all take that with a pinch of salt. But why is it taking so long for the PGA Tour and PIF to reach an agreement? LIV have actually announced an expanded schedule for 2025, which makes me wonder if we will ever see peace in our time. If the rival factions are not going to find common ground they should say so. We are sick and tired of it all.

Career Grand Slam 1

(Image Credit: Kevin Diss Photography)

Rory McIlroy won the most recent of his four majors in 2014. There have been agonising near-misses since then, none more so that the US Open in 2023 and 2024, where he missed out by one shot on both occasions. As you all know, he needs to win The Masters to complete the career grand slam. Let’s get it done in 2025, please Rory. PLEASE!

Career Grand Slam 2

And speaking of career grand slams…Jordan Spieth needs to win the US PGA to complete one of his own. Grand slams don’t come along very often but how good would it be to see two in one year? London buses and all that. Spieth’s world ranking has fallen but it emerged that he had been playing with a debilitating wrist injury. He has had surgery to put it right. I am a big fan of Spieth and would love to see him getting the job done.

Europe Win Ryder Cup

Europe’s last victory on American soil came way back in 2012 at Medinah. We routinely thrash the Yanks on home soil - Gleneagles, Le Golf National and Marco Simone were all embarrassingly one-sided. Luke Donald did everything right in the build-up to Marco Simone and that continued through the contest. Can he lead his team to a memorable victory in 2025? We normally go into these matches as underdogs but the world rankings making encouraging reading. I believe Donald will be hoisting the trophy aloft again. And I will love it, just love it!

Dry Weather

I have to say that I lost count of the number of times I played golf in the rain in 2024. I am lucky enough to play at a golf course that drains pretty well but nobody enjoys putting on waterproof clothing and battling for 18 holes to keep their grips dry. And I am not a huge fan of trying to keep clubs, shoes and my electric trolley clean. Is it too much to hope that the months ahead will be largely dry? I can cope with the cold. But we must be due a dry year, surely?

Better Behaviour

Tyrrell Hatton and Jon Rahm are two incredibly gifted golfers but their behaviour leaves me cold. I am tired of hearing TV commentators apologising for Hatton’s language. And I am sorry, but there is simply no excuse for breaking clubs in anger after poor shots. In fact, Hatton has been known to break a shaft as his golf ball comes to rest 15 feet from the hole. Childish behaviour has no place on the golf course.

Faster Play

I continue to despair at the pace of play within the game - at all levels. I have now accepted that it is going to take me four hours to play 18 holes. But there is no excuse for the world’s best golfers requiring five hours to complete tournament rounds - and, in some cases, six hours! I want to see the PGA Tour, LPGA Tour and DP World Tour imposing proper penalties for serial offenders. And I am not talking about fines. The ONLY way to end this curse is to impose one- and two-stroke penalties. And to do it on a regular basis.

Tiger's Last Hurrah

Even Tiger Woods would admit that his best days are long behind him. It defies belief that he is still able to play the game after everything he has put his body through. He has earned the right to call time on his career whenever he wants, but what I would love to see in 2025 is the 15-time major champion winning once more. And I would never rule that out.

An End to Moneyball

This one is wishful thinking. I love this sport and I believe that those who are the best deserve to be fairly rewarded. But the amounts of money swashing about in the men’s game are obscene - and the media seems to be obsessed with it. I want to see the professional game moving on and focusing on competition. In an ideal world, I would love to see an end to the obscene sums paid out in the end-of-season FedEx Cup. Enough is enough!

Healthy Women's Game

While the top men cannot keep up with the amounts of money they are playing for, the same can hardly be said for the women’s game. If you doubt it, just compare the prize money earned by Scottie Scheffler and Nelly Korda. And don’t get me started on the Ladies European Tour.

Appearance Money

I am still struggling to get to grips with the news that America’s Ryder Cup players are each going to be paid for the privilege of representing their country. Thankfully, Europe’s finest have made it clear they will still be playing for nothing more than pride. I would like to think that by the time we get to September the groundswell of opinion against the Americans will result in them all announcing that they are giving all their money to charity.

European Success

European golf has seldom been in a better place in terms of the talent it is producing. A look at the world rankings confirms that we are doing something right. Rory McIlroy, Viktor Hovland, Ludvig Aberg, Tommy Fleetwood, Robert MacIntyre, Tyrrell Hatton, Jon Rahm, Aaron Rai, Shane Lowry, the Hojgaard twins - the list goes on. And long may it continue in 2025.

Fleetwood Breakthrough

Is it really too much to hope that Tommy Fleetwood will end his drought on the PGA Tour? Colin Montgomerie finished his distinguished career without ever winning on the PGA Tour - much of that was down to his temperament. That is not something that can be said about Fleetwood. He has had countless near-misses and is obviously good enough. Let’s hope that 2025 is his year.

End to Joining Fees

I hate joining fees and I do not understand why so many golf clubs still apply them. They had largely disappeared but raised their ugly head again after the pandemic ended. Let’s hope they are kicked into touch in 2025.

Subscription Justification

Our recent membership survey revealed that almost every golf club in the land that increased annual fees did so without telling their memberships why they had done so. In this day and age, that is unacceptable. I want to see that changing in 2025. It is a racing certainty that our fees will be going up again and I believe most of us accept that but please, tell us what you are doing with our money.

Better Communication

This follows on from the above. Why are so many golf clubs so poor at communicating with their members? There is no excuse. I don’t care how they do it - email, Facebook, Instagram, X, TikTok or all of the aforementioned. Let’s get talking in 2025.

Better Club Websites

And don’t get me started on websites. There can be no good reason for clunky, old-fashioned websites in 2025, but hundreds of them are still out there struggling to get their way out of Noah’s Ark. An all-singing, all-dancing website says all the right things about your golf club and 2025 is the time to get this one sorted once and for all.

Modified World Rankings

It is quite clearly an absolute nonsense that players such as Patrick Reed, Talor Gooch and Sergio Garcia find themselves languishing outside the top 100 in the world rankings. Garcia is actually outside the top 400. In 2025 we need to find a way to deliver ranking points to LIV golfers. I am not suggesting that the winner of a 54-hole limited-field event should receive the same number of points as the winner of a 72-hole PGA Tour event with a field of 144 but there must be some kind of a compromise.

Move Over Scottie

Don’t take this the wrong way Scottie Scheffler but please don’t win so many times again in 2025. Nobody would begrudge you landing another major - if we are giving The Masters to McIlroy and US PGA to Spieth, that still leaves the US Open and/or The Open. But please give somebody else a chance!

Trophy Cabinet

On my return to golf in 2024 I reached the final of the seniors singles matchplay knockout, losing on the final green after missing a three-foot putt, won a monthly medal by two shots and represented the club at team level. In 2025 I hope to go one better in the singles, get my name on the honours board and the cup in my cabinet.

Two's Company

Some years ago I taught my wife to play golf. She then had proper lessons and got her hands on some custom-fitted clubs. In no time at all she had made her first par and was utterly hooked. Since then she has had some issues with arthritis. I hope to get her back out on the course in 2025. Quite apart from anything else, my golf club has a wonderful ladies section.

Keeping it in The Family

I had hoped that my son would live my dream and pick up the Claret Jug but, as hard as I tried, he was having none of it. Golf simply wasn’t for him. However, I have a new cunning plan…I have a granddaughter. She is a natural athlete. I haven’t told her yet, but she will be getting some golf clubs and by the end of 2025 I aim to have a new dream - namely, having the next Charley Hull in the family.

Learning My Lesson

Returning to golf was a shock to my system. I had always found this to be a reasonably easy sport to play and came back with high hopes. It soon slapped me in the face. Initially it was a horrible struggle. That was bad enough, but then came a dose of the shanks. And they wouldn’t go away. A lesson with a local pro I respect sorted it out in an instant. I have played some half-decent stuff but I will be heading back for more lessons early in 2025, and I would urge you to do the same if you want to get better at this game.

Practice Makes Perfect

I may be a bit of an oddball - I actually enjoy going to the driving range to hit golf balls, Lots of them. I am not a fan of aimless practice. If you have a fault and take it to the range and hit 100 golf balls then all you will achieve is to perfect that fault. The ideal thing is to have a lesson and then head to the driving range and work on what you have been told. But if you are happy with your game, sessions at the range will allow you to perfect the distance you hit every club in the bag.

Target Golf

I played Kingsbarns in 2015, ahead of that year’s Open Championship at St Andrews. It is the best course I have played in the UK, bar none. It helped that I played like a dream, hitting the middle of every fairway. It was one of those rare days. One of my two goals for 2025 is to return and sample the delights of this wonderful golf course. The other is to get through 2025 feeling happy and healthy - something I wish for everybody who reads this.

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