INSIDE GOLF turned 20 in 2025, a year in which we put out our first top 100 course list, albeit focusing on public facilities, Rory McIlroy won the US Masters for what was the fourth leg of his personal Grand Slam, and Australian women, led by Grace Kim and Minjee Lee had their moments on top of the golfing world.
When it comes to participation, golf continues to boom, with public courses chock-a-block and many private clubs having membership waiting lists. Away from green grass courses and clubs, business is also strong at driving ranges and indoor facilities.
It seems everybody is playing golf in some way, shape or form.
For 20 years, Inside Golf has attempted to inform and entertain, offering a mixture of content covering off on the elite professional and amateur scene, news about clubs, club golfers, social golfers and courses around the country and we attempt to keep you up to date on the latest and greatest equipment, the best places to take that golfing vacation, along with pretty much covering any topic we believe to be relevant to our readers.
We also occasionally have an opinion. Sometimes you agree, other times maybe not. That’s OK.
Our Top 100 Public Golf Experiences list was opinion. Yours and ours. It was a big job, but we hope we were close to getting it right.
This year Rory graced the Inside Golf cover, and rightly so in becoming just the sixth man to win golf’s Grand Slam. His Masters victory was a memorable one, as he is prone to do Rory kept it interesting right until he got the better of close mate Justin Rose in a playoff. Rory can be a polarising figure and for varying reasons many don’t love him, however whatever you think of him, he’s great for the game and can certainly play. Rory’s nearly there now, but when he’s done, he’ll be rated alongside the all-time greats.
By the time you’ve picked up this December issue of Inside Golf, Rory may have already teed off at Royal Melbourne at the Australian Open. Here’s hoping he brings his ‘A’ game and puts on a show.
Other highlights for me included the win by Tommy Fleetwood in the Fed Ex Cup. Unlike Rory, everybody seems to like Tommy and his victory in the US was long overdue and well earned. Scottie Scheffler also continues to amaze with his dominance of the PGA TOUR.
If you didn’t stay up and watch until the end of Grace’s playoff victory at the Evian Championship you missed perhaps the most exciting win of 2025, while Minjee captured the Women’s PGA Championship, becoming just the fourth Australian, after Karrie Webb who has seven, Peter Thomson five and Jan Stephenson three, to win a third major title.
Our old boys did us proud on the PGA TOUR Champions. Steve Allen won three times, Cam Percy was close almost every week and had an outstanding year finishing 10th on the Charles Schwab points list, while Richard Green got a win. Six Australians qualified for the 36-man Charles Schwab Tour championship.
Sure, there were some negatives during the year too. Why are they closing down courses when golf has never been more popular?
Let’s hope sense prevails and we start building more courses, more driving ranges, more indoor facilities to meet the demand, rather than shutting them down.
A little disappointing were the results of the Aussie men who struggled on the world stage, with Adam Scott, close to being considered an elder statesmen of Australian professional golf, the only one to seriously challenge for a major title at the 2025 US Open.
Min Woo Lee did manage a win in an up and down year for him in the US, as did rookie Karl Vilips. Marc Leishman claimed an individual title on LIV. The question now is how we transition more of our good kids into world class professionals.
The Ryder Cup, as great as the golf was, and I think most Australian’s celebrated the European victory, the crowd behaviour was disgraceful. The Bethpage Black course was also underwhelming. Without knee high rough it was a pussycat rather than a tiger, easily tamed by the world’s best players.
There’s probably more we didn’t like, but let’s not dwell on the negatives and look forward to what lies ahead.
Late last month, then during the first week of December outstanding fields were set to contest the Australian PGA then the Open, back at Royal Melbourne for the first time since 1991. I was in the field that year, didn’t manage to make the cut and still have nightmares about putting on those greens. With Rory and a strong supporting cast, the 2025 Australian Open could be one to remember.
While some courses are sadly closing, we have Seven Mile Beach in Hobart about to welcome golfers to what appears to be an outstanding layout, built on a spectacular piece of land. With Seven Mile already drawing comparisons to the two courses on King Island, as well as Barnbougle and Lost Farm in the north of the state, and as former tour player and current course architect Mike Clayton has said, who would have thought Tasmania could one day be home to five of Australia’s best 10 golf courses.
In my 60s now, they say my best golf is behind me, but I found something with my swing just the other day, a little trick with the putting stroke and I’m looking forward to my next round.
The year 2025 was fun, bring on 2026.
GET IN TOUCH: If you have an opinion on this or any other topic in the magazine, send your letter to the editor to rob@insidegolf.com.au and you’ll be in the running to win a dozen Bridgestone balls.
The post 2025 – The golfing year that was first appeared on Inside Golf. Australia's Most-Read Golf Magazine as named by Australian Golfers - FREE.
Article Link: https://www.insidegolf.com.au/opinion/2025-the-golfing-year-that-was/