Editorial standards

Accuracy comes first. We would rather be a little later and right than first and wrong.

How our articles are made

Our desks research every article from credible, current sources: tours and governing bodies, official results and leaderboards, manufacturers, courses, and reputable golf media. The sources behind an article are linked in it. Facts such as names, scores, results, rankings, rules, prices and specifications are checked against those sources before publication.

Most articles carry the byline of the desk that produced them, such as the News Desk or the Equipment Desk. A desk byline is not a person. Every piece is held to the written standards on this page before it is published. Pete, our founder and editor, is responsible for all of it. Articles written from firsthand experience, such as hands-on reviews and course reviews, say so and carry the name of the person who had that experience.

What our labels mean

Hands-on review: the product was used in person by the named writer, who explains how it was tested. We never call something a hands-on review if it was not.
Course review: written after a genuine visit or round. Everything else about a course is a Course profile, researched from reliable sources.
Comparison, Buying guide and First look: researched from manufacturer information, published data and independent sources. Manufacturer claims are presented as claims.
Winners' equipment: equipment verified for that specific win. If a specification cannot be confirmed, we leave it out.
News, Breaking and Winner report: reporting of facts. Analysis, Opinion and Column pieces add our view, and are labelled as such.
Tournament hub: one page per event with the preview, a report after every round and the leaderboard after the latest completed round. Times are shown in GMT. For shot-by-shot scores during play we link to the official leaderboard.
Round report: published the morning after each round: what happened, the leaderboard and what to watch next.

Rumours and reports

When a story is reported but not confirmed, we say so and say who is reporting it. We never present gossip as fact.

What we never do

We never invent results, quotes, interviews, product tests, launch-monitor numbers, course visits, qualifications or sources. If we can’t confirm something, it doesn’t go in.

Photos

We use photos we have the right to use: our own, official press images supplied for editorial use, openly licensed images credited to their photographers, and free stock photography. Captions describe what a photo actually shows. We don’t present an unrelated photo as a specific player, event or product.

Embedded videos and posts

In The 19th Hole and elsewhere we sometimes show videos and posts from social platforms. We only embed them with each platform’s own embed tools, so they stay on the creator’s account with their name attached, and we credit the creator in the article. We never download or re-upload other people’s videos. If you made something we embedded and would like it removed, tell us and we will take it down.

Corrections

If we get something wrong, we fix it promptly and add a note to the article saying what changed. See the corrections page to report an error.

How The Head Pro makes money

Some links are affiliate links: if you buy through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. Brands may send products for review, and we may publish sponsored content in the future. Anything sponsored or supplied will be clearly labelled. No commercial relationship decides what we write or how we rate something.

Review scores

Buy it: we’d recommend it to a friend without hesitation.
Try it first: good, but only right for some golfers.
Skip it: there are better options for the money.