Golf News September 25, 2025
In golf news this week are items from Honma, Northwestern Golf, the College Golf Experience, Ecco Golf, Stewart Golf and More.
Golf News September 25, 2025
Honma Golf’s Sakura Dance 2 Elegant Ladies Set
Second-generation luxury ladies’ golf club set available with extraordinary accessories.
Carlsbad, CA — Honma Golf, the leader in beautifully crafted luxury performance golf equipment, is pleased to announce the new Sakura Dance 2 ladies package set is now available in North America. The first iteration of the line was introduced in 2024, celebrating Honma’s 65th anniversary. The new collection of clubs, headcovers, golf bags, and a unique assortment of accessories is exquisitely adorned with white or pink Sakura (cherry blossoms). Sakura Dance 2 brings the magnificence of Japan in springtime to your golf game and prepares you for the course.
The Honma Sakura Dance 2 set is uniquely styled and engineered for effortless golf. Players will have confidence in every shot with clubs designed to hit a high trajectory and embrace forgiveness. This next-generation set features a further overall weight reduction, thanks to a low CG design and an expanded sweet spot, allowing for faster, effortless, and increased swing speeds. The sets are available in pink and limited edition white. The woods in the exclusive white model have white heads and shafts. Each item included in the set is elegantly crafted in soft pink, white, and gold tones with delicate cherry blossom accents.
“Playing the latest Honma Sakura Dance set of artfully crafted golf clubs puts cutting-edge design and generations of Japanese design expertise in your hands,” said Taylor Hull, Sales Director of North America. “If you’re ready for soaring ball flight, near-effortless performance, and striking beauty in your bag, these limited-edition sets are sure to inspire round after round of joy and great shots.”
The Sakura Dance 2 package set includes a driver (11.5 degree), two fairway woods (16 degree, 19 degree), one utility club (22 degree), 6-11 irons, a putter, headcovers for every club, and a caddie golf bag. With every purchase of the Sakura Dance 2 set, a specially curated accessory collection is included: rangefinder, mini golf bag, golf glove, one dozen golf balls, visor, and a hat. MSRP $8,000, available at Honma retailers on November 1, 2025. For more information on the Sakura Dance 2, click here.
Northwestern Golf Returns with New World Headquarters in Indiana
Fortville, IN – Northwestern Golf, at one time the world’s largest golf club manufacturer by production volume, today announced its formal reintroduction with a bold new leadership team, breakthrough innovations, and a new world headquarters located in Fortville, Indiana.
Founded in 1929, Northwestern Golf has manufactured more clubs than any company in history. After decades of industry leadership, the brand is returning stronger than ever with new executive leadership and cutting-edge designs.
“Our legacy is unmatched, but our future is even more exciting,” said Joseph A. Altomonte, Chairman of the Board. “We are combining Northwestern’s historic leadership in scale and manufacturing with breakthrough technology and design that positions us for the modern golfer worldwide.”
Mike Morgan, President and CEO, noted: “Northwestern Golf has always stood for making the game accessible. Today, we add cutting-edge performance, sustainability in materials, and advanced engineering. The golf industry has never seen a reintroduction of this magnitude.”
The company’s new headquarters in Fortville features a global distribution hub, establishing a strong base for domestic and international operations.
The brand’s upcoming innovations include:
• The Thunderbird Series, featuring advanced drivers, hybrids, and irons designed with aerospace-grade materials.
• The Thunderbird XD Set, engineered for revolutionary new distance and accuracy.
• The Thunderbird Performance Set, designed for the highly skilled advanced amateur and professional player.
• Proprietary SpeedFlex shaft technology, providing exceptional, revolutionary distance.
Travis Miller, Vice President, stated: “Golf has always been a game of tradition and passion. We’re here to honor that tradition, but also to change the way golf clubs are built, delivered, and experienced.”
With its relaunch, Northwestern Golf is positioned to reclaim its place at the top of the global golf equipment industry, combining legacy, scale, and cutting-edge innovation. Visit Northwestern Golf’s webpage at https://northwestern.golf
About Northwestern Golf
Founded in 1929, Northwestern Golf rose to global prominence as the world’s largest golf club manufacturer, delivering innovation and accessibility to millions of golfers worldwide. By producing more clubs than any other company in history, Northwestern made golf equipment available to players of every level. Today, headquartered in Fortville, Indiana, the company continues that mission with advanced product design, exceptional performance innovations, and a renewed commitment to global leadership in golf.
College Golf Experience Acquires The Universal Golf Rankings (TUGR)
Rankings platform revolutionizes how coaches, juniors, and families evaluate golf performance
Los Angeles, CA— College Golf Experience (CGX), the leading college golf camp company exclusively endorsed by the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA), announces the acquisition of The Universal Golf Rankings (TUGR). TUGR provides the most comprehensive, accurate, and transparent player ranking system in junior and professional golf.
“TUGR’s algorithm was created to solve one of golf’s biggest pain points – unbiased and inclusive rankings through a head-to-head methodology,” said Joshua Jacobs, CEO of CGX. “The result gives college coaches the most accurate analytics and transparent data to make informed decisions. TUGR ensures the entire junior golf and professional golf ecosystem has access to the most reliable and predictive rankings in the game.”
TUGR will be run and guided by three Boards of college coaches shaping the platform’s vision and direction domestically and internationally. Building value through additional features and partnerships, TUGR will deliver greater impact for coaches, competitive players, and parents – ushering in a new era of data and rankings.
“TUGR is the next greatest thing in rankings, stats, and data,” said Mark Hankins, Head Men’s Coach at USC. “It’s a critical part of our recruiting process at USC. We have thousands of recruits to compare, and TUGR’s technology allows us to customize our searches to prioritize what we feel is most important for predicting future college success. We use it every day, trust the head-to-head data-driven approach, and really appreciate the convenience and depth it provides.”
Unlike traditional systems, TUGR evaluates golfers through a strokes-gained, head-to-head model that accounts for tournament field strength, course conditions, and performance relative to peers. The platform breaks down performance across tournaments, states, and tours played, while advanced scoring analysis highlights everything from birdie and par percentages to strengths and weaknesses on par 3s, 4s, and 5s. Unique resilience metrics like bounce-back rate, give-back rate, and blow-up rate provide a true picture of consistency and mental toughness. Even weather is accounted for, with insights on how juniors perform in different temperatures, wind, and rain.
By ranking players across a wider spectrum – including 18-hole junior, amateur, and professional tournaments and qualifying events – TUGR offers a more inclusive and predictive measure of talent than other platforms. It also captures 30 percent more tournaments and 25 percent more players than any other junior rankings platform.
For years, junior golf rankings have been dominated by platforms that primarily evaluate players based on raw scores and the differential from par to course rating; measurements that parents and players have figured out how to game. By comparing performance relative to competitors playing the same course on the same day, TUGR produces a more pure and accurate ranking; one with no arbitrary assumptions. No scores are thrown out, and every shot counts, which encourages players to compete more often.
The result is a universal ranking that reflects not just who a player competed against, but how well they truly performed in context. For coaches, that means a clearer view of a player’s potential in college golf settings. TUGR also saves valuable time by offering customizable tools to filter, compare, and track players across thousands of rounds of data. Instead of relying solely on exposure through select tours, coaches gain insight into:
- Consistency and scoring ability across different course setups.
- Progression over time, showing each player’s development curve.
- Identification of hidden talent thriving in strong fields but overlooked on traditional lists.
For families, it delivers confidence that their junior’s achievements are fairly evaluated and provides the clarity they need to understand national standing and make smarter scheduling and financial decisions.
“We made the decision to move to TUGR because of the variety of data the platform provides our coaching staff,” said Golda Borst, Head Women’s Golf Coach, University of Kentucky. “We really like that we can see the players’ trends over time, and it has helped us tremendously as we make our decisions about future players for our program. I personally like how quickly the site updates its data so that when I’m out on the course watching a player, I can get the most up-to-date information. The value of TUGR has been tremendous for our coaching staff.”
Since its inception, CGX has become the leading organization connecting junior golfers and their parents with college coaches through educational camps, helping them and their families better navigate the complex college golf recruiting process. Incorporating TUGR into CGX will enhance a new college golf content platform, which will be launching in October. The three companies will present a one-of-a-kind data and education resource for college coaches, competitive players, and parents.
Click the video below to learn more about TUGR.
To explore the rankings or learn more about upcoming features, visit TUGR.org or collegegolfx.com.
About TUGR
The Universal Golf Rankings (TUGR) was born out of the clear need for a new system to rank golfers from professionals to juniors. With over 100 years of combined business, data analytics, and golf experience, the TUGR team created a ranking system that leverages player-to-player matchups and cloud computing to produce the world’s most accurate, understandable, all-inclusive, and unbiased golf rankings. TUGR Junior is the largest and deepest database of junior golfers available. Its mission is to help golfers make smarter decisions, shoot lower scores, and have epic golf days through better tools, data, and information. TUGR is bringing golf competitive rankings into the 21st century with unmatched rankings and analytics. Visit TUGR.org
About College Golf Experience
College Golf Experience (CGX) was founded in 2021 with the exclusive endorsement of the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA). CGX connects junior golfers and parents with College Coaches through immersive camp experiences focused on exposure, education, and preparation. Camps feature college-style practice and play, interactive seminars, and one-on-one time with college coaches. CGX is committed to helping players and families better understand the college golf landscape—and what it takes to find the right fit. Visit https://collegegolfx.com. Follow @CollegeGolfX on Twitter and Instagram.
ECCO® GOLF Unveils Contemporary Twists In New AW25 Collection
(SALEM, NH) ECCO GOLF, leaders in golf footwear innovation, have unveiled their AW25 collection, blending classic styles with contemporary, innovative new designs to create a range that caters to winter golfers worldwide. The new collection is headlined by the groundbreaking ECCO GOLF BIOM H5 HIGH TOP BOA – a winter-ready, performance focused golf boot that has been engineered to perform for the wearer in the very harshest and heaviest of conditions.
An evolution of the original BIOM H5, this new high-top offers enhanced weather protection, and dynamic comfort for golfers who play year-round. Crafted from ECCO Performance Leather and paired with a one-piece engineered knit sock, the boot offers a modern, sporty aesthetic and a glove-like fit.
The ECCO-TEX waterproof membrane keeps feet dry and comfortable even in the wettest conditions, while the BOA Fit System delivers micro-adjustable precision for all-day stability and support. In addition to the new HIGH TOP style, there are four new BIOM H5 colorways; two for women, and two for men.
Also included in the AW25 collection, there are two new styles in the highly-popular BIOM C4 shoe line, along with six new styles in the ECCO LT1 range.
Additionally, ECCO GOLF have introduced the new ECCO STREET RETRO shoe, for the modern golfer looking for a more old-school, casual look while still tapping into ECCO’s renowned hybrid technologies – taking inspiration from the very first hybrid golf shoe launched by ECCO 15 years ago
Finally, ECCO GOLF STREET 720, first unveiled in Autumn 2024, features three striking new designs, with two new looks in the women’s collection and one for men.
“Golfers who choose ECCO don’t have to compromise between performance and style.” said Timo Vollrath, Head of Global Marketing at ECCO GOLF. “Our AW25 collection empowers you to play boldly against the season’s elements with confidence while celebrating modern design as a true expression of your style on the course.”
With pricing ranging from $149 to $279, the collection will be available from today at selected retailers and online at ecco.com in both men’s and women’s styles.
ECCO GOLF shoes are worn around the world by Rick Shiels, Erik Anders Lang, Thorbjørn Olesen, Henrik Stenson, Thomas Bjørn, Erik van Rooyen, Lydia Ko, Esther Henseleit, Nanna Koerstz Madsen, Alison Lee, Lin Janet Xiyu, and Freddy Schott, among others. For further information about ECCO GOLF, please visit golf.ecco.com.
Design Boot Camp 2026
asgcafoundation.org/architects-boot-camp-2026
For the person who draws hole designs on napkins, Design Boot Camp may be just the high-end ticket you are seeking. The setting is the world-famous Pinehurst Resort, March 9-13, 2026.
The five-day session—a fundraising initiative of the Foundation—will provide aspiring golf course designers and architecture buffs the opportunity to work up close and personal with nine renowned architects on a special site. The curriculum will take participants from the classroom, where they will learn the foundations and principles of golf course design, out to Pinehurst Sandmines, adjacent to Pinehurst No. 10, for hands-on field work. The experience is $20,000 per person and limited to 16 students. Best of all? $15,000 qualifies for a tax donation.
Hilton Head: The Golf Island Iconic Lighthouse Logo Says It All
With Harbour Town Golf Links readying to reopen in November following a restoration by Davis Love III, apparel, headwear, and accessories sporting the iconic Harbour Town lighthouse logo will be in demand. Take your pick from a vast selection of merchandise in the online shop or, better yet, visit in person and take advantage of great shoulder season packages and stay-and-play opportunities.
Walk The Walk and Follow the Fun!
The latest evolution of Stewart Golf’s flagship model and the world’s best-loved follow trolley—the Q Follow—is now available in time for the holiday season. Stewart’s 8th Generation Follow technology offers more responsive, accurate, and intuitive performance to provide golfers with a seamless hands-free experience across all terrains.
Stewart Golf has also expanded its customization options with the launch of six new colors (copper, champagne, amethyst, aqua, red, and yellow) enabling golfers to personalize their trolley to reflect their individual style. The new Q Follow also features a built-in rangefinder mounting plate, allowing players to securely attach any magnetic device without the need for additional accessories.
Yule Love These Ugly Sweater Hats
A perfect holiday gift for any golf lover—or for someone with a great sense of humor— this original Ahead design features real sweater material with golf and winter motifs. The Yule hats are a structured mid-fit, in acrylic with a knit front, brushed twill back, and a self-fabric Velcro closure.
Buy them both as they are sure to be a fan—and fun—favorite. Look for style #M18SWR on the website. $35 MSRP.
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