What makes a great golf club logo? Is it the design, the history, the story behind the badge – or simply the prestige of the name?

In this episode of the NCG Top 100s Podcast, host Dan Murphy is joined by George Peper, former editor-in-chief of Golf Magazine and author of The Best Logos in Golf, to explore the phenomenon of us golfers and our ever-growing collections of elite merch.

George explains what separates a memorable logo from the rest and how he helped compile a ranking of the best in golf.

George and Dan also discuss the etiquette of sporting your logo(s). What are the dos and don’ts when it comes to making sure your playing partners know where you have been? Is it acceptable to mix-and-match your logos? When does sharing your pride at playing a great course cross over into insufferable boastfulness? Is it ever acceptable to don a logo of a course that you haven’t played yourself – even if it was a thoughtful gift?

Oh – and why is the Masters logo reduced to footnote status in the book?

It’s a fascinating look at the stories, traditions and identities that make golf clubs special, and why a great logo can mean so much more than a name on a shirt.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dan Murphy and Tom Irwin jostle for hosting duties as the latter recounts his recent trip to the tip of the remote Kintyre peninsula in south-west Scotland.

They discuss the scale – and importance – of the journey to what could be Scotland’s most remote major golfing destination.

Tom then holds forth on his experiences at first Machrihanish Dunes, then Dunaverty and finally Machrihanish: three very different links experiences yet each of them stirring the soul.

Their evocative discussion covers Machrihanish Dunes’ outrageous green sites and gently roiling fairways, the sheer and elemental simplicity of Dunaverty and the front nine at Machrihanish that might just be the equal of any stretch of holes in the links canon.

Two of these courses date back a century and a half while Mach Dunes is yet to celebrate its 20th birthday – but you would not necessarily know it.

A trip to Kintyre goes well beyond simply playing these three contrasting seaside courses – the landscape, remoteness and sense of discovery all play a huge part in the experience.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

NCG Top 100s host Tom Irwin is joined by James Parker, Course Manager at Machrihanish Dunes, to explore one of Scotland’s newest links courses – but also one that feels like it could be among the very oldest.

Set on the Kintyre Peninsula in the very south-western tip of Scotland, Machrihanish Dunes is nearer to Antrim than it is to Ayrshire. This is a course that was discovered in the landscape rather than built from scratch.

James explains the philosophy behind its natural routing, how its architect David McLay Kidd approached the project and why so little of the original site was disturbed during construction.

Tom and James also discuss what makes Machrihanish Dunes so different from more polished modern golf destinations, the importance of its rugged landscape, and the role sheep and grazing play in managing the course and supporting biodiversity.

They also look at the wider Kintyre golf scene, the changing appeal of remote links destinations and how Machrihanish Dunes has found a place among the most spiritual of modern golf courses.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.