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Nick Rodger

Nick Rodger

Herald Scotland

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Nick Rodger: The price of Ryder Cup admission does golf no favours in money-mad age

Nothing is cheap these days. In fact, even the word ‘cheap’ is now about five per cent more expensive in this sentence than it was in the previous...

22.10.2024 10

Herald Scotland

Nick Rodger

Nick Rodger: Alex Salmond understood and appreciated the value of golf to Scotland

It’s the October holidays, so what do you do to kick back and re-energise on a family jaunt with a five-year-old and a one-year-old? Yes, that’s...

15.10.2024 5

Herald Scotland

Nick Rodger

Nick Rodger: A bonfire of the profanities but golf has always been a four letter word

This week, we’re going to talk about swearing. So, instead of my usual rambling, meandering introduction to the column, which often leaves readers...

08.10.2024 10

Herald Scotland

Nick Rodger

Nick Rodger: Dunhill deluge reminds us that a greenkeeper's work is never done

Have you ever dabbled in that Artificial Intelligence thingamabob, ChatGPT? Of course you haven’t. If you’re anything like me – and by that, I...

01.10.2024 9

Herald Scotland

Nick Rodger

Nick Rodger: Clouds gathering again with course closures after Covid silver lining

According to our good friends in the behaviour and health research unit at the University of Cambridge, the British pint in the pub is officially too...

24.09.2024 10

Herald Scotland

Nick Rodger

Nick Rodger: Chaos and crass antics but women's golf wins again at Solheim Cup Nick Rodger: Chaos and crass antics but women's golf wins again at Solheim Cup

No matter what you do in life, there’s always someone telling you how you should be doing it. And I’m not talking about hectoring SNP ministers...

17.09.2024 9

Herald Scotland

Nick Rodger

Nick Rodger: Win, lose or draw? There's no need to tinker with team golf format

You have to be pretty flexible in this writing business. There have been occasions down the seasons, for instance, when circumstances have led to the...

10.09.2024 9

Herald Scotland

Nick Rodger

Nick Rodger: Things can only get better as women's game revels in champagne moments Nick Rodger: Things can only get better as women's game revels in champagne moments

Did you listen to any of Sir Keir Starmer’s speech last week? It painted such a bleak picture, I had to go and stare at that painting of The Scream...

03.09.2024 7

Herald Scotland

Nick Rodger

Nick Rodger: Can AIG Women's Open drive participation for new generation of girls

The golf writers do enjoy a regular, morale-boosting nibble to help keep the cogs of industry birling and twirling away during those long, seemingly...

27.08.2024 4

Herald Scotland

Nick Rodger

Nick Rodger: Women’s Open is rising up but needs big crowds to be big-time sport I tell you what, The R&A are a funky old lot these days. This week’s AIG Women’s Open at St Andrews, for instance, will be so infused with youthful energy and ‘get down with the kidz’ engagement, this increasingly decrepit correspondent will probably get turned away at the gates and laughed out of the Auld Grey Toun.

I tell you what, The R&A are a funky old lot these days. This week’s AIG Women’s Open at St Andrews, for instance, will be so infused with...

20.08.2024 6

Herald Scotland

Nick Rodger

Nick Rodger: Scottish Amateur Championship's silver lining loses its lustre It’s nice to feel appreciated now and again. The sports editor, for instance, thinks I’m the salt of the earth. Well, he did mumble something about wishing I was kept in a cellar.

It’s nice to feel appreciated now and again. The sports editor, for instance, thinks I’m the salt of the earth. Well, he did mumble something...

13.08.2024 5

Herald Scotland

Nick Rodger

Nick Rodger: Olympic golf provides a Sunday showdown that money can't buy Nick Rodger: Olympic golf provides a Sunday showdown that money can't buy

Loyal readers of this column – I continue to be in awe of your enduring powers of stoicism by the way – will know that I do like a national...

06.08.2024 3

Herald Scotland

Nick Rodger

Nick Rodger: Plenty of naysayers but Olympic golf can be worth its weight in gold Nick Rodger: Plenty of naysayers but Olympic golf can be worth its weight in gold

There’s just no escaping those five, interlocking Olympic rings is there? In fact, thanks to big companies having outrageously lucrative sponsorship...

30.07.2024 10

Herald Scotland

Nick Rodger

Nick Rodger: Blink and you'll miss it schedule does men's majors no favours Nick Rodger: Blink and you'll miss it schedule does men's majors no favours

I’m not sure where the time goes but I’ve just racked up my 25th Open Championship. I thought the R&A would’ve commissioned a limited-edition...

23.07.2024 5

Herald Scotland

Nick Rodger

Nick Rodger: MacIntyre could be the talk of the Troon toon as Open takes the stage

The golf writers are a learned old lot. When we’re not gracefully composing another prize-winning article, and letting our typing fingers dance...

16.07.2024 10

Herald Scotland

Nick Rodger

Nick Rodger: Timing is everything as Ferguson gears up for golf's big fortnight

It’s not been the greatest of summers, has it? Saying that, when I started composing this Tuesday tour de farce – yes, I meant to write farce...

09.07.2024 4

Herald Scotland

Nick Rodger

Nick Rodger: New chief Darbon perfectly suited to a constantly evolving R&A

I’ve never been particularly bothered about getting on in years. In fact, I view the ageing process as a sign of continued success. Congratulations...

02.07.2024 8

Herald Scotland

Nick Rodger

Nick Rodger: Scheffler's brilliance on the course is not enough to earn wider acclaim Nick Rodger: Scheffler's brilliance on the course is not enough to earn wider acclaim

The tingle of expectation, the giddy clamour of anticipation, the mouth-frothing frenzy of excitement and the inevitable, crushing anti-climax? And...

25.06.2024 7

Herald Scotland

Nick Rodger

Nick Rodger: One man's happiness is another man's heartache in US Open epic

Apparently, the golf swing is a complex, dynamic motion that requires a combination of skill, technique and co-ordination. Blimey, if I’d known...

18.06.2024 9

Herald Scotland

Nick Rodger

Nick Rodger: Naysayers are par for the course but MacIntyre does it his way Nick Rodger: Naysayers are par for the course but MacIntyre does it his way

There’s a heck of a lot of bumf to deal with in the build to an election.  Flyers here, pamphlets there, brochures and political paraphernalia...

11.06.2024 4

Herald Scotland

Nick Rodger

Nick Rodger: Next step the majors as MacIntyre proves himself on PGA Tour

I woke up yesterday in a lather, which was odd as I’d gone to bed in a wee Willie Winkie goonie. Anyway, having opened my eyes with a start, I...

04.06.2024 10

Herald Scotland

Nick Rodger

Nick Rodger: Clyde gets members on his side as Scottish Golf aims to move forward Did you ever own a Rubik’s Cube? Perhaps you’ve still got it and once you’ve finished reading this column – or whenever you get scunnered by it - you’ll pick the thing up and start birling and twirling away in the fumbling, footering and forlorn quest to get all six sides matched up.

Did you ever own a Rubik’s Cube? Perhaps you’ve still got it and once you’ve finished reading this column – or whenever you get scunnered by...

28.05.2024 20

Herald Scotland

Nick Rodger

Nick Rodger: MacIntyre's Valhalla validation can have him walking tall in US

I was reading some article the other day about mindfulness, which is the quality of being present and fully engaged in the moment. And then I got...

21.05.2024 50

Herald Scotland

Nick Rodger

Nick Rodger: Rory roars as we say farewell to a grandee of the golf writing old guard

Regular readers of this column will know that it tends to take on a wearyingly familiar pattern. There’s the initial meander, which is not so much...

14.05.2024 20

Herald Scotland

Nick Rodger

Nick Rodger: A game for all as disabled golfers take centre stage

This is the time of the year when the golf writers get to showcase their talents – and I use the terms ‘showcase’ and ‘talents’ extremely...

07.05.2024 20

Herald Scotland

Nick Rodger

Nick Rodger: Time goes by but same old golf issues remain in the game's cradle You’ll not be interested in the slightest to know that it’s my birthday tomorrow. To save you the bother of forensically examining that picture byline and counting the crow’s feet to work out my age, in the same kind of way you’d tot up the rings on the trunk of a felled tree, I’ll just tell you. I’m going to be, whisper it, 48.

You’ll not be interested in the slightest to know that it’s my birthday tomorrow. To save you the bother of forensically examining that picture...

30.04.2024 20

Herald Scotland

Nick Rodger

Nick Rodger: Korda and Scheffler continue to make a hard game look easy

The game of golf, particularly in the barren hinterlands where this correspondent ekes out a humdrum existence, can best be described as an endless...

23.04.2024 6

Herald Scotland

Nick Rodger

Nick Rodger: Women's Masters may be a pipe dream ... but never say never

Whatever it is you do in life, you can guarantee that some expert, guru, sage, swami or downright crackpot has written a smug, self-help book telling...

16.04.2024 10

Herald Scotland

Nick Rodger

Nick Rodger: Familiarity breeds contentment as Masters takes centre stage

I’m just back from a bucket and spade holiday in the sunshine. I just about kicked the bucket gasping at the cost and will probably need the spade...

09.04.2024 4

Herald Scotland

Nick Rodger

Nick Rodger: Humble pie on the menu as Rahm reflects on what he's missing

You’ll probably not be interested in the slightest to know that I do enjoy cooking. Saying that, I bet this modest revelation has now got you...

26.03.2024 8

Herald Scotland

Nick Rodger

Nick Rodger: In age of egos, grounded Scheffler is best man to be top of the world

Golfers, as we all know, can be a peculiar breed. My dearly departed colleague Jock MacVicar, for instance, used to possess a quite staggering number...

19.03.2024 4

Herald Scotland

Nick Rodger

Nick Rodger: Manassero's renaissance is a tale that lifts the golfing soul

I caught a glimpse of my golf clubs the other day, slumped forlornly in the corner like a Victorian class dunce, and thought to myself, “oh blimey,...

12.03.2024 10

Herald Scotland

Nick Rodger

Nick Rodger: Finding consensus amid the conflict? Don't hold your breath

Just for a change of scene, I toddled along to the local library yesterday and set up camp there to compose these weekly wafflings, while taking the...

05.03.2024 10

Herald Scotland

Nick Rodger

Nick Rodger: No escape for Charlie Woods in age of hype and hysteria

The young ‘uns seem to know everything these days. I’m dreading the moment, for instance, when I have to go through the mumbling,...

27.02.2024 6

Herald Scotland

Nick Rodger

Nick Rodger: Dark times as municipal golf courses face the cut

If you’ve ever worked from home, you’ll know that there are occasions when it can be about as mentally nourishing as a baby’s rattle. I mean,...

20.02.2024 10

Herald Scotland

Nick Rodger

Nick Rodger: Rowdy Phoenix party perfectly suited to golf's age of excess

I was leafing through a wonderfully smug Sunday newspaper magazine – you know, the kind that’s full of self-satisfied essays featuring people who...

13.02.2024 10

Herald Scotland

Nick Rodger

Nick Rodger: Are you staying tuned or switching off amid golf's on-going upheaval?

Well, did you watch any of LIV Golf’s 2024 season-opener in Mexico? If the idea of tuning in tickled your fancy, or at least lightly brushed...

06.02.2024 30

Herald Scotland

Nick Rodger

Nick Rodger: In too deep? Blocked merger underlines Saudi influence on golf

Life is full of hum-drum irritations, isn’t it? On this long list of largely insignificant inconveniences, one of my enduring peeves is that ‘tear...

30.01.2024 4

Herald Scotland

Nick Rodger

Nick Rodger: Golf's global strength gives us plenty to ponder closer to home

Our jolly old friends at the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists will reveal an update to the Doomsday Clock today in an eagerly anticipated announcement...

23.01.2024 10

Herald Scotland

Nick Rodger

Nick Rodger: In turbulent times, golf still provides heartening tales

Well, have you been sticking to those resolutions you made when the new year birled in? C’mon, tell the truth. You’re probably hiding a packet...

16.01.2024 10

Herald Scotland

Nick Rodger

Nick Rodger: LIV and let live as golf stumbles towards an agreement

I was reading something at the weekend – yes, I do read words and don’t just gaze witlessly at the pictures – and said article was all about the...

09.01.2024 4

Herald Scotland

Nick Rodger

Nick Rodger: 2023 heads off to the 19th hole with its annual awards

As we haul ourselves into a new year with about as much gusto as the three-toed pigmy sloth embarking on yet another futile mating ritual, it’s time...

02.01.2024 10

Herald Scotland

Nick Rodger

Nick Rodger: Never a dull moment in golfing year of triumphs and tumult

Stuffing a turkey is hardly one of life’s most dignified endeavours, is it? Funnily enough, that whole unwieldy, yuletide palaver reminded me of a...

26.12.2023 6

Herald Scotland

Nick Rodger

Nick Rodger: Small steps as Scottish Golf attempts to win hearts and minds

I was watching the tele the other night and an advert for a furniture company popped up to smugly declare that it was the “proud sponsor of...

19.12.2023 20

Herald Scotland

Nick Rodger

Nick Rodger: Small steps as Scottish Golf attempts to win hearts and minds

I was watching the tele the other night and an advert for a furniture company popped up to smugly declare that it was the “proud sponsor of...

19.12.2023 10

Herald Scotland

Nick Rodger

Nick Rodger: Money can't buy you love as men's golf counts cost of its riches

There was a time when Christmas lasted for 12 days. In this feverish modern age, of course, it’s now so bloated, it goes on and on for yonks. In...

12.12.2023 5

Herald Scotland

Nick Rodger

Nick Rodger: Golf ball roll back is coming as debate and division rolls on and on

I was back at the driving range recently with my four-and-a-bit-year-old son and I’m pleased to report that there are encouraging signs of progress....

05.12.2023 6

Herald Scotland

Nick Rodger

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