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With the likes of Rory McIlroy, eventual winner Tommy Fleetwood and Shane Lowry teeing it up at the 2025 DP World India Championship, another PGA Tour star in the field flew under the radar: Brian Harman.

But the 2023 Open champion is receiving plenty of attention after the tournament. That’s because Harman uncharacteristically lost his cool and violently smashed a club in disgust during the final round… only to watch his ball end up right near the hole.

Harman contends at India Championship before Sunday swoon

Despite receiving second billing this week, Harman looked like he might win for much of it. At the halfway point, Harman had strung together a 68 and 65 to get to 11 under. That put him in a tie for second with Lowry, one shot behind Fleetwood with 36 holes to go.

But Harman, who won the 2025 Valero Texas Open in April for his first victory since the 2023 Open Championship at Royal Liverpool, took a step back in Saturday’s third round.

Two bogeys and only four birdies left him with a 70, putting him four shots behind 54-hole leader Keita Nakajima.

The biggest change on Harman’s scorecard from the first two rounds came at the par-5 1st hole. Harman birdied the narrow, tree-lined hole on Thursday and Friday. But on Saturday, Harman was forced to hit three tee shots at the 1st. He hit his first tee shot into the trees. When his provisional tee shot also found the trees, a mad search ensued.

Eventually, Harman found both balls. So he took an unplayable on the first ball, then zipped back to the tee on a golf cart to hit a third tee shot. Somehow, he came away with a bogey-6.

On Sunday, it would get worse.

Brian Harman sticks tee shot, smashes club in disgust

Four shots back to start the final round, Harman still had a chance to pull off a come-from-behind victory. But only if he went low early and often.

Unfortunately, those chances blew up at the 1st hole, where Harman hit his tee shot into a fairway bunker, then his second shot into the bushes to incur another penalty. A double-bogey 7 was the result.

Tour Confidential: Is Tommy Fleetwood primed for a huge 2026?

By:

GOLF Editors

Harman is known for his calm demeanor, rarely letting positive of negative emotions overtake him on the course. But the frustration from the 1st hole eventually boiled over on the par-3 5th.

The 161-yard 5th requires another careful tee shot through a gauntlet of trees beyond the tee. Making matters nervier on Sunday was a difficult pin cut close to the front of a tilting green. A bad tee ball could easily lead to a big number.

One over on the day and well off the lead, Harman chose his iron, stepped up and took a swipe at his ball.

In a video of the shot, Harman momentarily holds his finish, but then turns and violently tomahawks his iron into the ground, sending the club bouncing across the tee box.

A TV analyst can be heard saying, “I’ve never seen him do that before.”

Harman was apparently convinced that he’d hit another squirrelly tee shot. But he was wrong. Very wrong. Just after Harman smashed his iron, the camera cut to his ball, catching the end of its flight as it crashed down on the green, coming to rest 6’10” from the pin.

Check it out below.

In fact, it was Harman’s best shot on the hole all week. He hit it to 36 feet at in the 5th in Round 1, 18 feet in Round 2 and 23 feet in Round 3.

But Harman couldn’t sink his short birdie chance, settling for a par. He would trade three birdies for four bogeys the rest of the way, eventually signing for a two-over 74. His Sunday struggles dropped him into a T26-finish, 11 shots behind Fleetwood.

Oct 18, 2025, 03:40 PM ET

Harry Kane scored his 400th club goal of his career as Bayern Munich dealt Borussia Dortmund their first Bundesliga loss of the season by winning Der Klassiker 2-1 on Saturday.

Kane scored in the 22nd minute with a header to Joshua Kimmich’s corner. It was his 22nd goal for club and country this season and stretched his scoring streak in the Bundesliga to five games that have yielded nine goals.

The 32-year-old now has 104 goals in 107 matches with Bayern Munich since joining from Tottenham Hotspur in the summer of 2023. Kane netted 280 times for boyhood club Spurs, while his other club goals came during early career loan spells at Millwall (nine), Leyton Orient (five) and Leicester City (two).

– Kane is tearing up the Bundesliga. What’s next for England’s No. 9?

He also has 76 goals for England, after scoring twice against Latvia on Tuesday to secure qualification for the 2026 World Cup. Those goals extended his scoring streak for club and country to a career-best nine games.

Kane’s latest goal Saturday came despite playing in a deeper role behind striker Nicolas Jackson, on loan from Chelsea.

“Probably six, eight and 10,” Kane joked with ESPN when asked what position he played against Dortmund. “But I enjoy it, I enjoy a different side of my game.

“I know everyone’s used to me being up top and scoring goals but I feel like I can contribute a lot more and today was a prime example. I still managed to obviously get on the scoresheet, which was nice, but ultimately it was more about defending, about tackles, about picking up second balls and then playing the passes in behind, which worked pretty well.”

Harry Kane celebrates after Bayern Munich’s Bundesliga win over Borussia Dortmund. Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images

Kane launched the first good chance, while defending. He eluded two Dortmund forwards, and sent the ball forward. Michael Olise drew a save from Gregor Kobel, who then secured Luis Díaz’s effort from the rebound.

Olise grazed the left post with another shot. The only complaint Bayern could have at the break was that it was leading only 1-0.

Dortmund improved significantly after the interval when Felix Nmecha went close, Serhou Guirassy fired over, and Karim Adeyemi failed to capitalize on a rare Kimmich mistake.

It mattered little, as Olise sealed the win by sliding in to cut out substitute Jobe Bellingham’s attempted goal-line clearance in the 79th. That move started with a brilliant cross-field ball from Kane for Díaz.

Substitute Julian Brandt scored seconds after his introduction but Kane defended as Bayern held on for their 11th consecutive win across all competitions to deliver a statement to their closest rival after six rounds.

“It was a good performance,” Kane added. “I feel like after the international break, the first game back is never easy, a lot of players getting back late Wednesday, late Thursday and you’re playing against a good side.

“For about 50, 60 minutes I thought we dominated, we controlled the game. The first half we probably should have been two- or three-nil up but you give these types of teams a chance and it’s difficult.

“[We’ve] done well to get the second goal and to concede straight away was annoying but overall we can be really pleased.”

Information from The Associated Press and ESPN Research was used in this report.

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At Elk River Club in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, Jamie Jones has long been known as a tireless and punctual employee. But one Thursday afternoon a little more than a year ago, he told his boss that he’d likely be a no-show the next day.

“I just said if I’m not here by morning, you’ll know why,” Jones recalls.

Like many of his friends and neighbors, Jones expected to be hunkered at home, bracing for the impact of Hurricane Helene. The storm, which had touched down in Florida and laid waste to the Eastern Seaboard, was now on track for the rural region where Jones was born and raised.

At 55, Jones had experienced the outer edge of hurricanes before. But Helene was forecast for a head-on collision, and Jones had special cause for concern. His home stood in a designated flood plain.

As the assistant superintendent at Elk River, Jones was accustomed to early wake-ups. On this night, though, he didn’t sleep at all, sitting alert in bed with two alarm clocks set every hour on the hour in case he dozed. By midnight, heavy rains and gale-force winds arrived. Just before daybreak, the electricity went out. Checking outside, Jones saw that a nearby culvert was close to overflowing. Water was soon lapping at his elevated doorstep.

Jones turned to his girlfriend, Whitney. “This ain’t gonna work,” he said.

Grabbing their dog and a few possessions, he and Whitney escaped across the road to a school parking lot on higher ground. From there, as the sun rose, they watched the land beneath them transform into a lake.

“I knew that something like that was imminently possible,” Jones says. “But seeing it happen was surreal.”

***

THE IMAGE WAS A SNAPSHOTof wider devastation. The deadliest storm to strike the U.S. mainland since Hurricane Katrina, in 2005, Helene took more than 250 lives and caused an estimated $250 billion in damage. In Avery County alone, where Jones resides, six people were killed. Hundreds lost their homes, including Jones.

In the grand scheme, he considered himself lucky. His teenage daughter, who’d been staying at a friend’s house the night Helene hit, was safe, and he still owned a small trailer where they could sleep. He also still had a steady paycheck from a club where there was plenty of work to do.

At a glance, Elk River appeared to be a place apart, a private retreat with multimillion-dollar homes, a Jack Nicklaus Signature course and a gated entrance staffed by a security guard. But there’s nothing like a natural disaster to make a mockery of artificial divides.

Helene was indiscriminate in its destruction. It ravaged Elk River, washing out paths and bridges, toppling trees onto greens and bunkers, turning fairways into rushing rivers. More than half the course was severely damaged, along with a portion of the clubhouse. With most roads closed, it was another week before Jones could get back to his job. By then, the waters had receded and a stark reality had come into focus: Elk River would need to be rebuilt, much like the region around it. Little did Jones realize, as he scrambled to piece his own life back together, how closely all those efforts would be intertwined.

In Avery County, hundreds lost their homes.

YouTube/Todd Bush

“People around here are very self-reliant,” Jones says. “But one thing I’ve learned is that there are some things in life you can’t do all on your own.”

Turn right out of Elk River, and it’s a two-mile drive on a two-lane road to Banner Elk (pop. 1,186), a quaint community that proudly — and accurately — bills itself as a “one-stoplight town.” Along with that stoplight, Banner Elk has a collection of restaurants, art galleries, bars, boutiques and an economy built on tourism. When Helene struck, peak season was approaching. Fall foliage was just starting to pop. The town’s 47th annual Woolly Worm Festival, a celebration of a furry caterpillar of the same name, was less than a month away.

“We’re very laid-back and low key,” says Nancy Owen, Banner Elk’s director of tourism. “You can kind of come here and just take a deep breath. So for the storm to hit right when our busiest time of year was getting started, it was absolutely devastating for our small businesses.”

Owen was born in Illinois but moved to Banner Elk with her family as a young girl in the 1960s and never left. Knowing the geography of the region, she expected flooding in the wake of Helene. But the scale of the damage came as a shock. On the morning after, trees and telephone poles lay splintered. Sewer lines were broken, roofs caved in. Entire homes had been swept away.

“The weird thing was the amount of debris floating through [town],” Owen says. “It was, like, oh, there goes a picnic table and here comes a car.”

Jamie Jones revisiting the site where his home was destroyed by Hurricane Helene.

Connor Federico

***

IF THINGS WERE BAD in Banner Elk, Owen suspected that they’d be even worse in lower-lying areas of the county — fears that were confirmed a few days later when it was safe enough to conduct reconnaissance.

“What I saw just broke my heart,” Owen says.

The region was in tatters, and without power and water. To compound those problems, Avery County was cut off from outside aid. Offers of assistance were pouring in. The question was how to receive them. The main roadways were blocked, and there was no nearby airport. The best option was a single landing strip at a private golf club just down the road.

On the map, Elk River sits outside Banner Elk town limits. In reality, the town and the club are linked. This has been the case ever since Elk River opened in 1984 — the two locales enjoy a kind of symbiosis. Club members shop and dine in Banner Elk, and take advantage of its cultural attractions. Every year, the course hosts a charity golf tournament to raise funds for Banner Elk’s police department.

“We’ve always thought of Elk River as very much part of our community,” Owen says.

The day after the storm, Owen drove to the club to meet with Bob Littleton, the president of Elk River’s property-owners association. She had one request. Littleton consulted with his members, then reported back: the club was happy to oblige. The runway, like the course, was a muddy mess. But of course it could be used for hurricane relief.

In the days and weeks that followed, the skies above Elk River were crowded with air traffic. The National Guard winged in. More than 600 flights touched down, from cargo planes to military choppers, carrying food, water and other critical supplies. The club cleared its hangars to make room for storage: a distribution hub for county-wide relief.

In downtown Banner Elk, hurricane damage forced shops and restaurants to close, leaving many residents out of work.

Connor Federico

“It was like LAX,” says Toni Littleton, Bob’s wife, and Elk River’s general manager and chief financial officer.

Elk River’s contributions didn’t end with airlifts.

In August, a month before Helene emerged from the Atlantic, the club had established Elk River Helping Hands, a charitable arm aimed at helping people in the area through hard times. For all its rural beauty, Avery County and the surrounding mountain region are pocked with areas of extreme poverty. Sudden setbacks — illness, job loss, a death in the family — can be catastrophic for people who are already barely getting by. Helping Hands was founded with them in mind.

The storm intensified the charity’s sense of purpose. Helping Hands redoubled its fundraising efforts and channeled the money toward hurricane relief. To date, it has provided more than $1.4 million toward helping victims of Helene get back on their feet.

“Some of the first people we talked to lost multiple family members and were facing such sad situations,” Toni Littleton says. “It kept everything we were going through at Elk River in perspective. We knew we would come back. We knew it would take time and a lot of money. But we knew it would happen. Many people didn’t know where they were going to sleep that night.”

***

JAMIE JONES HAD THAT part sorted. Within days of the storm, he’d hauled his trailer to a hilltop and set it up as a makeshift home. Most of his waking hours, though, were spent at work. In recent years, Elk River had been chipping away at a master plan, pursuing small improvements incrementally. Helene altered that approach. As calamitous as it was, the hurricane created an opportunity. With so many repairs already required, the club determined that the moment had arrived. It was time for a full-blown renovation.

In his decades at Elk River, starting in his late teens in the bag room and moving up the ranks, Jones had done almost every job there was. Now, he was handed a fresh slate of duties.

“He was here all the time,” Toni Littleton says. “He learned everything there was to know about what was going on and he kept our crew doing what it needed to do, not just on the golf course but the clubhouse and on all the other landscaping at the club.”

As winter approached, Jones began searching for new place to live. But the storm had destroyed so much and displaced so many that housing was hard to come by.

“With a kid and all, I was scratching my head thinking I had to do something quick,” Jones says.

By then, word had spread around the club of Jones’s situation. No one was more bothered by the news than Stefan Smith.

Jamie Jones with Barbara and Stefan Smith, outside their Elk River home.

Connor Federico

A Memphis native, Smith splits his time between Elk River and Tennessee, where he and his son run a successful chain of luxury automobile dealerships.

“I’ve been lucky in life, and I like to try to share that,” Smith says. “I try to meet the locals. I try to make friends with the people who work at the restaurants and clubs.”

Smith considered Jones to be among those friends. Friends should not be left out in the cold. Smith called Jones, insisting that he move into his house at Elk River.

“I know Jamie and I know that he’s good at giving help but he’s not very good at accepting it,” Smith says. “But I told him he’d be helping me out. I was going to be in Memphis all winter. It would give me peace of mind to know that someone was looking after the house.”

Says Jones, “I accepted because I knew Stefan was sincere.”

For the next sixth months, Jones had a new home for himself and his daughter. He also had a much shorter commute, down the hill to the club he was helping revive. When spring arrived, and Smith and his wife returned to Elk River, Jones moved out, but not far. The club offered him the use of a condo on its grounds.

Even as it gave, Elk River got plenty in return. A few weeks after the storm, when the club’s generator died, Toni Littleton needed a place to work. She found one at Banner Elk town hall. Local contractors reached out, offering their services pro bono. Among them was Mike Eggers, 71, who’d been building roads around the region throughout his adult life. Eggers had been busy in Banner Elk, shoring up the town’s infrastructure. Now he did the same for Elk River, helping clear debris and rebuilding one of the club’s washed-out bridges.

“The club and the community really work hand in hand,” Toni Littleton says. “Any time we need something, they’re there for us. And we try to do the same for them.”

Any time we need something, they’re there for us. And we try to do the same for them.

Toni Littleton, Elk River Club GM

Says Eggers: “That’s just how we are around here. We’re mountain people. We help each other out.”

Fall has arrived once more in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, and a somber milestone has come and gone: the anniversary of the storm. A little more than a year later, the region remains scarred. Some bridges are still down. Some roads remain closed. And many residents are still struggling with loss.

But by some important measures, Avery County has regained its stride. Restaurants have reopened. Tourists have returned. The leaves have begun changing, brightening the hills with red and orange. In Banner Elk, the woolly worm festival is fast approaching.

Jamie Jones, meanwhile, is back to commuting. He has found an apartment across the border in Tennessee, so his daughter can be closer to her high school. It’s a roughly 40-minute drive to Elk River, where renovations are nearly complete. Jones is punctual. He shows up before daybreak.

His new living situation is temporary. This past year, a few Elk River members, including Stefan Smith, took up a collection, pooling their money — upward of $100,000 — to help Jones buy a plot of land. The property is four miles from Elk River’s gated entrance. The site has been graded. When his daughter is through high school, Jones plans to put a home there.

“Everything happens for a reason, or to get you toward somewhere better down the road,” Jones says. “The money these guys put together, it’s just amazing. I couldn’t have done it without them. The Lord blesses those who bless others. And he blessed me.”

October 16, 2025 | Chris Bryden

Bramford Community Table Tennis Club are celebrating being nominated for this year’s Active Suffolk awards.

The club, formed back in 2024 as a direct result of a Ping In The Community project, supported by both Table Tennis England and Active Suffolk through their Fit Villages initiative, have been shortlisted for the ‘Active Community of the Year’ award, with the winner of each respective category being announced on Friday 14th November at Trinity Park in Ipswich.

Since the formation of the group last year, the club has seen a surge in membership and an increased sense of belonging to those in the village.

With an ‘all abilities welcome’ mantra, Bramford Community TTC is helping to reduce social isolation by getting people out of the house and onto a table tennis table with the hope of developing a sense of community.

Table Tennis England earlier in the year worked alongside the club and Active Suffolk to produce a Spotlight On piece about the impact the group has had on the local community. This can be viewed below:

For a list of full nominations for the 2025 Active Suffolk awards, please see the link below:

A huge congratulations from all at Table Tennis England and best of luck to Bramford Community Table Tennis Club in mid-November at the awards evening!

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It’s no secret that some golfers prefer the traditional look of a blade iron. The small topline, sleek design, and the underlying implication that when you see a set of blades hanging out of a bag, that person is a good player.

However, all too often, someone comes into a fitting at True Spec saying they like the look of blades, or “I’ve always played blades,” but the numbers on the launch monitor tell a contrasting story.

These days, golf club manufacturers are blending the desired look and feel of a player’s style iron with the forgiveness needed for golfers who need it.

According to the USGA, the average handicap for male golfers is a 14.2 index, and 28.7 index for females. This average golfer will hit about 23 percent of greens in regulation, which is about four greens per round. When they do hit the green, the average proximity to the hole is about 35 feet. These two statistics, based on iron play and approach shots, indicate the average golfer needs more forgiveness with their irons to hit more greens and get the ball closer to the hole.

What is a blade iron?

A traditional blade iron, also called a muscle back, is designed for low-handicap, scratch and professional golfers who consistently strike the ball in the center of the face. Typically, blades are made from one solid piece of steel and pressed into shape.

The center of gravity design sits right behind the center for great feel and workability when struck properly. With little to no mass anywhere else in the clubhead, mishits result in loss of ball speed and control over the golf ball. These low-forgiving irons make it very difficult to hit consistently for the average golfer.

More forgiving clubs may lack the control and workability that a blade offers, but these clubs are designed for players who do not consistently strike the center of the face. The design of more forgiving clubs distributes weight around the entire perimeter, as well as toward the toe of the club to keep the clubface pointed to the target.

With the weight spread out, this allows the club to resist twisting at impact to keep the face pointed square to the target. Moving the center of gravity farther back away from the face is another key design component, as that helps launch the ball much easier with contact higher or lower on the face. These key design aspects make a club forgiving, but also increase the size of the club and look less appealing.

How are golf club irons making good-looking irons more forgiving?

Most manufacturers make a good-looking iron that is plenty forgiving for most golfers. One great example we can focus on to dive a little deeper into is one of the most popular irons on the market: TaylorMade’s P790.

TaylorMade 2025 P790 Custom Irons

REVOLUTIONARY FORGED FEEL

More Speed, More Consistency
Increased Distance with Improved Gapping
FLTD CG™ – Shaped for Elegant Performance

FEATURES

Enhanced Feel & FeedbackSubstantially improved feel was a key focus when designing the 2025 P·790. Individual head optimization and advanced modal analysis, combined with SpeedFoam™ Air, deliver best-in-class forged feel with an explosive sensation at impact.

Faster Face, Greater SpeedThe 2025 P·790 introduces an all-new ultra-high-strength, high-speed forged face material (4340M), which is 20% stronger than previous generations. This increased strength enables a thinner face, faster ball speeds, and a sweet spot up to 24% larger.*
*Comparison vs. 2023 P·790 7 iron.

Optimized CG for Precision & DistanceA faster 4340M face, individual head optimization, and FLTD CG™ technology precisely position the center of gravity (CG), delivering increased carry distances with ideal launch and spin for improved gapping throughout the set.
In 2025, the long irons feature an even lower CG for enhanced launch and playability, while the scoring clubs have a higher CG to improve spin rates and control. FLTD CG™ strategically shifts the center of gravity from low in the long irons to progressively higher in the short irons for optimal performance.

Refined Aesthetics & Turf InteractionThe all-new P·790 boasts a thinner topline for a cleaner look at address and an increased sole radius with a progressive leading edge. This design enhances turf interaction and promotes more consistent impact locations.

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ALSO AVAILABLE AT:PGA Tour Superstore, TaylorMade

In a recent roundtable discussion I sat in with another major golf manufacturer, the P790 was described as a “workhorse” for TaylorMade because it fits what a lot of golfers are looking for: an iron that looks good hanging out of their bag, while still delivering forgiveness and performance to help their game.

It is not the slimmest topline on the market, but it certainly looks more like a player’s iron than most game improvement or cavity back irons. Flipping the club over to the sole, the sole radius is increased and it also features a progressive leading edge design, which helps players get through the turf easier and more consistently.

The face of the P790 is made of forged steel to deliver the soft, pure feel players love about a forged iron. This is a multipiece construction, which includes TaylorMade’s SpeedFoam Air to help improve feel.

A cutaway of a 2025 TaylorMade P790 iron.

Jack Hirsh/GOLF

The other key aspect for the multipiece construction is the FLTD CG design and weighting. Each iron throughout the set features a different amount of tungsten placed in different areas of the club. The long irons feature the most tungsten, up to 40g, located lower toward the center of the club to lower the overall center of gravity, which increases launch and spin conditions, as well as forgiveness.

The mid irons feature less tungsten, more toward the toe of the club, to focus on club stability. This keeps the CG in the middle of the club for a good balance of forgiveness and workability.

The short irons feature no tungsten, which places the CG higher in the club for the most amount of control and ability to flight down shots as necessary. It is very similar to playing a combo iron set, more forgiving in the long irons and workability in the short irons.

With the forgiveness-focused technology packed under the hood of a player’s inspired look, the P790 is one of the most asked-for irons at True Spec.

What better player clubs are designed for forgiveness?

Manufacturers like TaylorMade make a forgiving iron look more appealing, but this can also apply to the opposite side of the spectrum. Let’s look at a player’s specific iron designed for more forgiveness: the Miura TC-202.

Miura TC-202 Custom Irons

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The TC-202 is the new version of Miura’s flagship TC-201 iron. It carries on Miura’s tradition of blending muscle back precision with cavity back forgiveness. This type of iron falls into the category of a player’s cavity back, which is for a better player, maybe a single-digit handicap, who can work the ball and still desire feel, but may not be a tour-level ball striker.

Miura prides itself on precision craftsmanship. The quality of the steel they use to forge their one-piece irons to the tightest manufacturing tolerance in the industry (+/- 0.5g for each clubhead) truly separates Miura from the rest.

Unlike the multipiece construction of a P790, the TC-202 is forged from one single piece of premium soft carbon steel, delivering the unmatched feel of a forged iron.

The critical enhancements in the TC-202 are the progressive T-Weight Bar system and Variable Depth Cavity. Similar to the idea behind the FLTD CG in the P790, these two design features move the center of gravity to redistribute weight gradually throughout the set for optimal trajectory and feel in each iron. The CG sits lower in the long irons for easier launch conditions, and progressively gets higher down to the short irons for more workability and control.

True Spec Golf Club Fitting

With 70,000+ clubhead and shaft combos, True Spec Golf will custom fit and build you a precise set of clubs.

Inspired by the toe grind in the Miura KM-700, the TC-202 sees a weight shift toward the toe to promote a square clubface at impact.

Miura’s Y-Grind sole helps deliver the leading edge through various turf conditions, without changing the effective bounce of the club. While the TC-202 does not feature the same subtle heel and toe relief as the Y Grind found on Miura’s Forged Wedge series, it still allows the club to rest in a neutral position at address. This instills confidence that the player can aim the clubface directly at the target before taking back the club.

Bottom Line

Whether it is a more forgiving club designed to look more like a player’s iron than cavity back, or a player’s inspired iron with more forgiveness than a true muscle back blade, manufacturers are blending the gap between looks and performance. Whichever type of club a player is looking for, it is always recommended to see a certified Master Fitter at True Spec to determine which irons will be best for you.

Want to find the best set of irons for your game in 2025?Find a club-fitting location near you at True Spec Golf.

October 12, 2025

(by Steve Hopkins)

With their location on Main Street in Port Washington, the Gold Coast Table Tennis Club is easily accessible to Long Island, Queens, and the Bronx in New York.  The club is just a block from the Port Washington LIRR rail station, and easily accessible by other public transportation.   The club is 3500 square feet with 8 tables, 14 foot high ceilings and a G-floor surface.

The club offers national and regional tournaments as well as weekly leagues, and lessons.  The club features group training sessions on Fridays with coaches Ahmed Elmallah and Fei Zhai, which are followed by a league.  USATT League is every Friday night at 7:30pm.

The goal of Gold Coast Table Tennis is to offer a modern, professional and friendly club that caters to beginners and advanced players of all ages.  The club is open every day – stop by and check them out.

Contact: https://goldcoastttc.com  |  GoldCoastTTC@gmail.com

Location: 52 Main St (Rear), Port Washington, NY 11050

Hours: Mon-Fri 3pm – 9pm, Sat 11am – 7pm, Sun 11am – 6pm

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Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly keeping tabs on a player Thomas Frank already knows well with a view to a potential transfer move.

The Spurs boss made the move across London this summer after seven years at Brentford, having led the Bees to promotion from the Championship and successfully established them as a Premier League side.

Frank enjoyed a reasonably productive first transfer window at Tottenham, with Mohammed Kudus and Xavi Simons among the high-profile arrivals – and he could now look to Brentford to bring in one of his former charges.

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Tottenham set sights on Kevin Schade

Kevin Schade celebrates scoring for Brentford (Image credit: Alamy)

Journalist Florian Plettenberg writes that Tottenham are among a number of sides currently keeping an eye on Brentford forward Kevin Schade.

The Germany international enjoyed a standout campaign last season, appearing in every one of Brentford’s Premier League games and claiming 11 goals in the process.

Kevin Schade has four caps for Germany (Image credit: Getty Images)

Schade remains an important player under new boss Keith Andrews, who has shifted the 23-year-old to playing at centre-forward more regularly this season.

His only strike so far this campaign came as he opened the scoring in Brentford’s 2-2 draw with Chelsea last month.

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At his age, there is seemingly a feeling that Schade’s best years are still ahead of him, with Plettenberg noting that he could be ‘one to watch’ when it comes to his transfer future.

However, as Frank will be well aware, getting Schade out of Brentford is unlikely to be easy, even if Tottenham were to wait until next summer – as has been reported.

EXCL | Tottenham are among the teams closely monitoring the development of Kevin #Schade.The 23 y/o left winger is under contract with Brentford until 2028, and #Tottenham have shown interest in a potential transfer in the summer of 2026.One to watch this season — he is… pic.twitter.com/SP4lnDVwlOOctober 10, 2025

In FourFourTwo’sestimation, Brentford are in a strong position to command a very hefty fee for Schade, if indeed they are willing to get him go at all.

Brentford have consistently been willing to drive a hard bargain for their best players, particularly when they still have plenty of time left on their deals.

Newcastle had to shell out £55m to secure Yoane Wissa on transfer deadline day, while Bryan Mbeumo commanded a £65m when Manchester United came knocking earlier in the summer.

Schade joined for a reported £25m in 2023 and his contract is not set to expire until summer 2028, which means come the end of this season, Brentford will be in what is generally regarded as the prime time to sell a player for maximum value.

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Cole Palmer and Ousmane Dembélé looked great when they were photographed sitting on Top of the Rock on the eve of the Club World Cup final but it is not being wise after the event to suggest that both might have been better off spending their summer lying on sunbeds.

Top players struggling with fitness issues was foreseeable before the first edition of Fifaâ€s expanded tournament took place. “The worst idea ever,†was Jürgen Kloppâ€s take, citing concerns over the long-term impact of squeezing even more football into an ever expanding calendar. “Last year it was the Copa [América] and the European Championship, this year itâ€s the Club World Cup, next year itâ€s the World Cup. That means no recovery for the players involved.â€

It was not the wildest of predictions. The schedule was already under strain because of fixture congestion caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the 2022 World Cup taking place in winter and the Champions League increasing in size. Fifpro, the global players†union, has repeatedly warned about rising injuries and player burnout. The response, though, has been more football than ever. The authorities do not take players and managers seriously. The danger is that the best have nothing left in the tank when the World Cup – expanded to 48 teams for the first time, remember – takes place in Canada, Mexico and the US next year.

Palmer is the obvious example. The 23-year-old was the inspiration for Chelsea at the Club World Cup, destroying Dembéléâ€s Paris Saint-Germain in the final, but he has barely been seen this season. The suspicion is that Palmer has played too much. He has been troubled by a groin injury for a year and although there is yet to be any indication that the forward requires surgery it is hard not to feel that he is, as Arsène Wenger used to say of Jack Wilshere, in the red zone.

That should be cause for alarm. A Chelsea or England game without Palmer is a diminished experience. He is an outrageous talent but everyone has physical limits. It is absurd that Palmer has gone three consecutive summers without a proper rest. He helped England Under-21s to win the European championship in 2023, was prominent when the senior side reached the Euro 2024 final and was still turning out for Chelsea until the middle of July last season.

When is it too much? Palmer played 57 games for club and country in the 2023-24 season, his first full year as an established international and Premier League player. He skipped the league phase of the Conference League last season but was involved in the knockouts and was man of the match when Chelsea beat Real Betis in the final at the end of May. The PSG game was Palmerâ€s 55th of the season. He had also represented England in their World Cup qualifier against Andorra at the start of June.

So donâ€t be surprised that Palmer has missed a host of games this season. His is a longstanding problem but it surely could have been dealt with if he had been allowed a holiday last summer. This is not a controversial point. There was no special treatment for Chelsea, who had a compressed, two-week pre-season. The PSG game was on 13 July and Palmer started when a weary, undercooked Chelsea opened the campaign by drawing 0-0 with Crystal Palace on 17 August.

Real Madridâ€s Trent Alexander-Arnold is out with a torn hamstring after playing in the Club World Cup following a draining season for Liverpool. Photograph: Sergio Pérez/EPA

Enzo Maresca was at a loss to predict how the extra workload and lack of preparation time would affect his players. By now, though, it is clear that Chelsea are struggling. Levi Colwill tore an anterior cruciate ligament on the first day of pre-season. Liam Delap ripped a hamstring against Fulham, Dário Essugo has had surgery on a thigh injury. Tosin Adarabioyo and Andrey Santos are injured. Moisés Caicedo, Enzo Fernández and João Pedro are playing through the pain barrier.

Fifproâ€s annual player workload monitoring report concluded that players who competed in the Club World Cup after completing a domestic league campaign were among hundreds at the top of the menâ€s game who did not have adequate pre-seasons, hurting performance levels and increasing the risk of injury. Last week Maresca said in relation to the volume of injuries at Chelsea and PSG: “Probably itâ€s some consequences from the Club World Cup.â€

Will anyone listen? Arsenalâ€s Noni Madueke, who left Chelsea after the Club World Cup semi-final, is out for two months with a knee injury. PSG were without Marquinhos, Kvara Kvaratskhelia, Désiré Doué and Dembélé when they beat Barcelona last week. João Neves and Fabián Ruiz have also had injury issues. PSG were back in action in the Uefa Super Cup on 13 August. The show goes on.

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Also not on the stage at the moment, though, are Real Madridâ€s Trent Alexander-Arnold and Jude Bellingham. Alexander-Arnold came off a draining title-winning season with Liverpool, signed for Madrid, featured in their run to the last four of the Club World Cup and is out with a torn hamstring. Thomas Tuchel was saying in May that Bellingham should have had surgery on a shoulder injury. The procedure was put off, though, with the demands of the schedule leading another young player to grit his teeth and keep going.

Why deny it? Some people have noticed that players not involved in the Club World Cup have also had injuries. This is not an adequate defence for the Club World Cup. Players will get injured. Injuries and fatigue have been on the rise. It still feels inadequate when authorities are shoving in more games, in essence jeopardising the product they wish to sell. The football, remember, is not better if the best players are missing or exhausted.

And yes, Igor Jesus played for Botafogo at the Club World Cup and has since looked promising for Nottingham Forest. Yet Botafogo had not played a full season before entering the tournament and went out in the last 16. They were done at the end of June. There is an obvious difference with Chelsea. Igor Jesus was not playing in as intense a league. The striker had not just come off a deep run in the Champions League. Chelsea are even at a disadvantage to PSG, who are by far the richest club in France and are not placed under as much pressure in domestic games.

There is a reason why Tuchel tipped Arsenal and Liverpool to have an advantage over Chelsea and Manchester City this season. City have not appeared to be suffering, perhaps because they went out of the Club World Cup in the last 16, but Chelsea look mentally and physically drained. They are a warning to others. The question is whether Fifa cares.

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Sevilla thrashed Barcelona 4-1 on Sunday, ending the champions†unbeaten start in La Liga and denying them an opportunity to return to the top of the table.

Hansi Flick, Barcelonaâ€s manager, said: “Today, I have to accept this defeat, and Iâ€m looking positive, in a way. We also see the negative points in our game, which we have to change. The first half wasnâ€t good … we had no solutions to play out, it was really not good. But in the second half, the reaction, I appreciate a lot. What we did, how we played, it was really good to see.

“With this defeat, this emotion … itâ€s important that we keep it, and when we start again after the break, we will fight. We will fight for every title.â€

Sevilla took the lead in the 13th minute, after Isaac Romero went down while jostling for the ball with Ronald Araújo near Barcelonaâ€s six-yard box. Alexis Sánchez sent former Arsenal teammate Wojciech Szczesny the wrong way to convert the spot kick.

Romero doubled Sevillaâ€s lead in the 37th minute, but Marcus Rashford scored from Pedriâ€s lobbed pass to make it 2-1 just before half-time.

Barcelona had a chance to equalise when Adnan Januzaj brought down Alejandro Balde, but Robert Lewandowski fired wide from the spot in the 76th minute before José Ãngel Carmona and Akor Adams scored two late goals, as the visitors remained two points behind the leaders, Real Madrid.

“Itâ€s one of the happiest days of my life. We deserved to win from start to finish,†said José Ãngel Carmona, who scored Sevillaâ€s third goal.

The Barcelona midfielder Pedri said: “We lacked intensity, we couldnâ€t get the ball out of our half, we didnâ€t know what to do with the ball … we were never at our best. We need to improve a lot of things so that we can start winning games again after the break.â€

Celta Vigo and Atlético Madriddrew 1-1 in the late game. Atléticoledthrough a sixth-minute own goal from Carl Starfelt before Clément Lenglet was sent off five minutes before half-time. The hosts took advantage midway through the second half when Iago Aspas equalised but Celta could not find the winner.

Christian Pulisic missed a penalty as Milan had to settle for a 0-0 draw away to Juventus on Sunday, denying the visitors a return to the top of the Serie A standings.

After Napoli and Roma, along with Inter, all registered wins over the weekend, the pressure was on Milan and Juventus to keep pace at the top, leading to a cagey game.

Massimiliano Allegri was back at Juventus as an adversary, taking on the club where he won five league titles in his eight seasons in Turin, but there was no happy return for the Milan manager.

The first half brought little in the way of entertainment, but both sides did manage to create scoring opportunities, with the hosts let down by the struggling striker Jonathan David.

David had the goal at his mercy when set up by Pierre Kalulu in the box but lost his footing at the crucial moment while for Milan, Santiago Giménez continued his Serie A scoring drought.

A corner shortly after the break gave Juventus a gilt-edged chance to take the lead but the Milan keeper Mike Maignan spread himself to keep out Federico Gattiâ€s shot from point-blank range. Minutes later, Milan had their golden opportunity when Lloyd Kelly bundled over Giménez in the box but Pulisic blazed his penalty over the bar.

Second-half goals from André-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Rasmus Højlund helped Napoli battle back to earn a 2-1 home win over Genoa.

Napoliâ€s perfect start to the league campaign was ended by a 2-1 loss at Milan last weekend, and Antonio Conteâ€s side risked a second successive defeat before a spirited fightback.

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Conte opted to rest Kevin De Bruyne, for the first 50 minutes at least, after the Belgian midfielder had started all seven games this season, bringing in winger David Neres, but it was Anguissa who proved vital to Napoli.

Napoliâ€s Rasmus Højlund (centre) celebrates scoring the winner against Genoa to cap a spirited comeback. Photograph: Alessandro Garofalo/LaPresse/Shutterstock

Genoa took the lead with an audacious piece of magic from Jeff Ekhator in the 33rd minute. Brooke Norton-Cuffy rounded Mathias Olivera, took the ball into the area and squared a pass which 18-year-old Ekhator finished off with a deft back-heel strike from just inside the six-yard box.

Leonardo Spinazzola also came on and it was his cross which led to Napoliâ€s equaliser 12 minutes after the break with their first effort on target.

Genoaâ€s Johan Vásquez got to the cross ahead of Højlund but the loose ball bounced kindly for the unmarked Anguissa to pounce with a header. Then, 15 minutes from time, Anguissaâ€s shot was parried away by the keeper and this time Højlund was there to capitalise with a low strike from the edge of the six-yard box.

Roma fell behind early but came away with a 2-1 win at Fiorentina, to leave the hosts waiting for their first league win of the season.

Gian Piero Gasperiniâ€s Roma had conceded just one goal in their five league outings but it was Fiorentina who were in front in the 14th minute when a ball over the top by Hans Nicolussi Caviglia found Moise Kean. Kean twisted and turned his way towards the area before rifling a shot from outside the box into the far top corner to net his first goal of the season.

The lead lasted all of eight minutes before Artem Dovbykâ€s backheeled flick from inside the box ended with Matías Souléâ€s first-time cannoned shot from the edge of the area which left Fiorentina keeper David de Gea with no chance.

Roma took the lead on the half-hour mark from a corner. Bryan Cristante lost his marker and powered a bullet header from outside the six-yard box.

Kean had another chance before the break but this time his effort smashed off the upright and in the second half Fiorentina substitute Roberto Piccoli saw his strike from distance bounce off the crossbar.

In Ligue 1 on Sunday night, Paris Saint-Germain were held 1-1 at Lille. Nuno Mendes put the visitors ahead in the 66th minute before Ethan Mbappé scored an equaliser against his former club five minutes from time. PSG stay top with 16 points while Lille climb to seventh.

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October 5, 2025

(by Steve Hopkins)

With their location just South of central Rochester along Hwy 390, the Genesee Valley Table Tennis Club is in a great location to serve the Greater Rochester Community of Northern New York.   The roots of table tennis in Rochester go back to the 1930â€s as not one but TWO clubs were founded in the year 1938.  The club moved a few times, and and some different incarnations through the 1950s, 60s, and 70s.

The move to the current location (RSG) occurred in 1986. The club is now full time.  They offer leagues on Monday and Tuesdays and open play is available all other days (when the Rochester Sports Garden is open).  Dustin Zemaitis and AJ Carney are club coaches and they offer private and group lessons for all levels.  Last year, the club installed professional table tennis flooring and upgraded the lights to enhance visibility on the courts.

Contact: geneseevalleyttc@gmail.com
Website: www.gvttc.com

Location: Rochester Sports Garden (RSG), 1460 E. Henrietta Rd., Rochester NY 14623

Hours: Monday -Friday: 3:30pm – 10:00pm
Saturday and Sunday: 9:00am – 10:00pm

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