Things That All Golfers Should Be Looking Forward To

Depending upon which part of the country you live, you have either been experiencing extreme cold, with snow and ice, or torrential rain.

The days remain short and it may feel like the winter is never going to end. But the shortest day is behind us and it is staying lighter later - no, really it is!

And there is a LOT to look forward to in 2025. 

You don’t agree? Let me try to convince you. Read on…

When you go to bed on Saturday, March 29, you can do so in the knowledge that when you get up the next day the clocks will have changed and it will be lighter for longer. That means the return of twilight golf and, hopefully, a farewell to cold and frosty mornings. It is a time of year when we can all look forward to getting a bit of heat in our bones.

And just a couple of weeks later all eyes will be on Augusta National where, once again, Rory McIlroy will be attempting to win the Green Jacket and finally claim the career Grand Slam. There will be huge pressure on the Northern Irishman’s shoulders but we all know that he has the game to win here. There will also be much attention on Tiger Woods. He may be 49 years old now but when Tiger turns up to play anywhere he still moves the needle. I have a feeling that this could be year when Bryson DeChambeau brings this awesome golf course to its knees. But defending champion Scottie Scheffler may have something to say about that.

The Open Championship returns to the magnificent Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland. Lest you have forgotten, this is where Shane Lowry gave the world’s best a lesson in links play in 2019. You may also remember that McIlroy began the week as favourite on a golf course he had played dozens of times while growing up - and began his challenge with an horrific quadruple-bogey eight at the very first hole. He would go on to miss the cut. Six years ago, Tommy Fleetwood finished a distant second to Lowry - I fancy that he might go one better this time around.

The US PGA Championship is being played at Quail Hollow. Guess who loves this course? Rory McIlroy has won the Wells Fargo Championship four times here. If he could play one layout every week, this would be it. Guaranteed!

I cannot wait to see how Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre kicks on from his incredible 2024. Having initially struggled with life on the PGA Tour, everything changed for MacIntyre when, with his father on the bag, he won the Canadian Open and then, just a few weeks later, added the Scottish Open. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house. His self-belief has now gone through the roof. Look out for him having a huge year.

I look forward to seeing how the DP World Tour players who gained PGA Tour cards get on in America. European golf is in a really healthy place and I reckon that the Hojgaard twins, Nicolai and Rasmus, have all the tools to make a big impact on the other side of The Pond.

Who doesn’t love the Ryder Cup? Europe will be attempting to do something they have not achieved since Medinah in 2012, namely winning on American soil. Luke Donald, who did such an incredible job in leading his team to victory at Marco Simone in 2023 is handed the chance to repeat the feat. There are many doubts surrounding the make-up of his team. McIlroy, Fleetwood, MacIntyre, Viktor Hovland and Lowry are surely shoo-ins. When the match was played in Italy, LIV golfer Brooks Koepka made the American team. At the time, it was made abundantly clear that there would be no place in the European team for LIV golfers. Henrik Stenson was sacked as captain when he defected.

Since then, Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton have joined the Saudi-backed golf tour. Tom McKibbin is about to follow them. A European team without Rahm and Hatton would seem to be unthinkable. And if Donald’s team is to have any realistic chance of retaining the trophy they must surely play. The atmosphere is going to be something else - the match is being played at Bethpage Black, near New York, and the galleries are going to be raucous, to put it mildly. I can’t wait.

Is it too much to hope that we can all finally look forward to some kind of a peace deal in the world of men’s professional golf? We are all fed up to the back teeth with the split and everything that goes with it and also with the rumours surrounding certain players preparing to defect. It has harmed our sport but if there truly is a will then there must surely be a way to put this to bed once and for all.

I am looking forward to seeing if the incredibly exciting Charley Hull can turn all that wondrous talent into a long-awaited major. I also look forward to seeing an end to all the stories about her smoking cigarettes. This is NOT something that should be encouraged or promoted. And I don’t care what is said on social media - it is NOT cool!

I already have two golf trips in the diary, both with societies. And I am already looking forward to spending time away from home with like-minded individuals. The quality of the golf really doesn’t matter - it is all about having some fun and a few belly laughs. If you haven’t got anything booked, why not get together with some friends and put that right? There are some great bargains to be had.

I have set myself some golf targets for 2025, chief among them being knocking two shots off my handicap. I will be doing everything within my powers to achieve it but it won’t be the end of the world if I come up short. What are your targets for the year ahead?

I am about to become seniors vice-captain at my golf club. I am eagerly anticipating this role, and preparing for my year as captain in 2026. I have been a member at my golf club for less than a year and look forward to making many more new friends through this wonderful game of ours.

And finally, I look forward to a long, hot summer. I appreciate that this may be fanciful but you just never know.

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