Sporting Insights’ Tour Operations arm is rebranding as Inside Tour Golf for the 2026 season. The news follows the announcement that Sporting Insights has extended its contract as Official Equipment Census Supplier to the DP World Tour to 2030.
Sporting Insights has been undertaking the equipment census on the DP World Tour since 1995 – identifying the equipment, ball and shoes being used by all players at every Tour event.
SMS on Tour joined Instagram in 2020. The idea was to bring golf equipment to life and connect more fans (many of whom are also golfers themselves) to the players, Tour, and manufacturers they love. Since then, SMS on Tour has represented trusted, independent access to the world’s best golfers; delivered equipment expertise, and established relationships with players, caddies, manufacturer reps and coaches in the crucible of preparation for tournament golf.
In 2025, the launch of the website (now www.insidetourgolf.com) gave golf fans a historic library of club and equipment usage, as well as the chance to upload and share with fellow fans their own ‘What’s in the Bag’.
Inside Tour Golf is a renewal and evolution of that vision with greater ambition to tell deeper stories from inside the ropes. And there are stories aplenty. The equipment players choose and use, and how that impacts how they tackle new courses week-in week-out is a key part of what it means to be on Tour.
Whether it’s questions like how club manufacturers use player feedback to spec out changes; or what influences when players decide to put something new in the bag; or how they test setups before that point; or how bounces and grinds are tailored to swing patterns and course conditions, Inside Tour Golf will help fans get inside that process.
The DP World Tour has played a vital role in helping many of the world’s leading golfers establish themselves on the professional stage, and as ‘Golf’s Global Tour’ the ability to offer players so many varied courses in different conditions and climates has been instrumental in their success, alongside its enduring popularity with fans. Amending and changing what equipment they use to adapt to these different courses and venues is part of this development – and Inside Tour Golf has been going on the journey with the players.
Inside Tour Golf will mean more focus on enhanced multi-channel video content and coverage. Features such as interviews with players will help give an insight into the why as well as the what and when of equipment change.
John Whyte, Head of Tour Operations at Sporting Insights, reflected: “I’ve been working and travelling with the Tour for over 20 years, and probably the most fundamental change we’ve made in that time is making more of the information on who is using what equipment publicly available to help grow fan engagement. Inside Tour Golf represents the next stage of that evolution, and I’m really excited to bring that to life over the coming years.”