A golfing sage

If you’ve watched tournament golf over the last 20 years, the soothing, learned voice of Butch Harmon will be very familiar to you. His knowledge and understanding of the game have hugely enhanced coverage of the sport in this country and we should count ourselves fortunate to have him.

Such is the humility of Harmon and his desire to talk about the tournaments, the players and the challenges they face that his own tremendous impact on the game is sometimes overlooked. Robin Barwick addresses that oversight in a wonderful interview with the great golfing sage on page 48. The piece reminds us that Harmon, now 77, has transcended generations of golfing greats, learning from each and passing on the golfing wisdom he’s gleaned.

From his early days on course with his father, accompanying the likes of Hogan, Snead and Palmer, through to his work with Norman, Woods and Mickelson, Harmon has been involved at the very pinnacle of golf. His memories and his philosophy on the game make for fabulous reading.

In this issue we welcome another star of Sky TV’S golfing coverage, Sarah Stirk, as she pens her first monthly column. We’re delighted to have teamed up with Sarah and her considered insights on the sport will add greatly to Golf Monthly’s offering. This month’s pertinent column focusing on the mental health issues faced by today’s top male and female players confirms it.

Sarah has spoken on and been an ambassador for the role of women in golf, both on course and behind the scenes. Her involvement in, and knowledge of, the male and female games puts her in a position to comment on and influence a route towards parity between the sexes within golf. We are committed to delivering more coverage of the women’s game, not because of a fainthearted effort at virtue, but because the quality of women’s golf merits it.

Online, we’re producing ever more women’s golf content, with extensive recent coverage of the Aramco Team Series a good example. In the magazine, this issue contains excellent features on Sophia Popov and the 1992

Solheim Cup and instruction with golfing legend Annika Sorenstam.

Golf Monthly aims to deliver golf coverage that is shaped not by gender, but by quality and significance.