Eat Golf! 01

INTERVIEW WITH COURSE DESIGNER PERRY DYE. TEE-OFF FOR THE PERFECT CAREER... AS THE ALL PURPOSE GOLF PRO WE VISIT ALMERIA TO TAKE ON THE CHALLENGING DESERT SPRINGS. PATRICK BRADY PUTTS YOUR GAME TO RIGHTS

eat GOLF! Free - Issue 1 - Nov/Dec 2005

Nutritional Information: Digest news, reviews, fashion & interviews in the most stylish golf magazine on the Costa del Sol

THE POULTER APPROACH...

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

eat GOLF! COMPETITION

TURN TO PAGE 6

eat GOLF!

Cover image - Ian Poulter © Tag Heuer Issue 1 - Nov/Dec 2005

GOLF! is distributed in Golf Clubs, Golf Outlets and Luxury Hotels from Sotogrande - Málaga & Almería.

Please see pages 96/98 for details on how to find your preferred course or outlet.

EAT

The articles appearing in this publication represent the views of the authors and not necessarily those of the publisher.

No responsibility is taken for unsolicited manuscripts, pictures or artworks.

Any reproduction, either in part or in full, of written or photographic material contained in this magazine is prohibited unless permission is given by the publisher.

Printed by Jiménez Godoy S.A. Ctra. de Alicante, Km.3. 30160 Murcia Tel.: 968 851650. Fax: 968 852477

EAT

GOLF! is brought to you by

eat PUBLISHING S.L. CIF B92673359 PUBLISHING S.L. are: Nick Senior: nick@eat-golf.com Michael Denker: michael@eat-golf.com

welcome...

Welcome to the first issue of EAT GOLF! Our aim is to dig deep into the heart and soul of this great sport, and every two months we will release an issue packed with information, articles and exclusive interviews which we hope will become a collection you will treasure and share with others.

This month we start as we mean to go on by introducing one of golfs most charismatic performers, Ian Poulter. He is a great fan of Valderrama, and we have some wonderful images of many of the holes on this magical course.

We are also extremely excited about our collaboration with Dennis Shaw of the PGAsE. Dennis has won a British Sports Journalist Award, and this issue he contributes two superb articles.

Sponsorship in sport has grown significantly in recent years - but what is it that companies gain from investing millions into a golf event? As Andalucia opens its doors to the Volvo Masters each year, we examine how corporations use such an event as the new advertising media. Whilst on the subject, we want you to get as much satisfaction from reading EAT GOLF! as we do making it, and although a free magazine, we will always endeavor to keep our advertising relevant and to a minimum.

We have more interviews with the people normally behind the scenes in golf.

Legendary course designer Perry Dye gives his opinion on most golfing issues.

When we met him he had a lot to tell us about golf course design, and how to improve your game by changing tees. We caught up with Richard Boxall to ask him how he and his career are shaping up, and we have an interview with J Lindeberg, the golf fashion designer, as well as featuring some of his creations modeled by Jesper Parnevik.

EAT

www.eat-golf.com will hold further contact details for editorial contributions / advertising

For general inquiries / comments Email: postmaster@eat-golf.com Web: www.fairwaylife.com

Perhaps due to the Swedish influence in our fashion sections this issue, our musical companion has been Nordic Lounge Vol. 3, a smooth jazz inspired ‘lounge’ mix from the contemporary Scandinavian music scene.

Visit: www.dnm.se

PGA Professional Patrick Brady is the resident tipster at EAT GOLF! His knowledge of the game and its equipment should provide you with all the help you need to get your game on track. His modern teaching methods are a breath of fresh air, and he will have many more tips to help you over the coming months. This issue is all about putting - and for a little extra help we’ve teamed up with TaylorMade to offer you a chance to win a Rossa Monza putter.

We take a trip to Desert Springs, the first desert golf course in Europe, and discover a course up there with the best of them. Dramatic scenery and unusually large sand traps await lucky travellers in Almeria. If you don’t have time for travel and golf, then get into the new wave of Executive Golf courses designed for the busiest of people with only a couple of hours to spare - this issue we check out Magna Marbella.

There’s much more to get your teeth into, but when you’re finished reading please send us an email with your comments and suggestions. Your feedback will be invaluable in helping us to create a magazine that you want to pick up.

Contact us at: postmaster@eat-golf.com Join us in a couple of months time to digest much more of

EAT

GOLF!

e G! 003

eat GOLF!

EAT

GOLF! would like to thank:

Peak Performance www.peakperformance.com Ian Poulter. www.ianpoulter.com

eat this...

Tag Heuer for supplying images of Ian Poulter. Images ©Tag Heuer www.tagheuer.com

TaylorMade for supplying images of Ian Poulter, and for their generous contribution to our competition.

Images ©TaylorMade / Adidas www.taylormadegolf.com

www.valderrama.com

8. FASHION PEAK PERFORMANCE

14. INTERVIEW WITH IAN POULTER

Tom Bosch for his stunning photographs of Valderrama.

Images ©Tom Bosch

www.sponsorship.volvo.com PGA Professional Patrick Brady, resident EAT GOLF! tipster +34 607827021 Golf ‘US Marbella. www.golf-us.com

30. THE VALUE OF SPONSORSHIP VOLVO EVENT MANAGEMENT

38. GOLF TIPS PUTTING WITH PATRICK BRADY

Flamingos Golf Club www.flamingos-golf.com

Dennis Shaw and the PGAsE www.pgae.com

www.nikegolf.com

48. PGAs of EUROPE THE PERFECT CAREER

54. BEHIND THE SCENES NIKE GOES THE DISTANCE

Perry Dye, Taylor Zimberman, DYE DESIGNS www.dyedesigns.com Ken May, Rolling Greens Photography for supplying images from Dye courses Images ©Ken May www.rollinggreens.com Almanzora Group www.almanzora.com Magna Marbella www.magnamarbellagolf.com

58. INTERVIEW WITH PERRY DYE

72. AWAY DAY DESERT SPRINGS, ALMERIA

J. Lindeberg. www.jlindeberg.com EAT

GOLF! visit to Munich:

Munich Tourist Board www.muenchen.de

Richard Boxall and Sky Sports www.skysports.com

76. EXECUTIVE GOLF AT MAGNA MARBELLA

e G! 004

90. INTERVIEW WITH J. LINDEBERG

BMW. www.bmw.com Special thanks to family and friends for their help and support.

OMPETITIO

eat GOLF! IN ASSOCIATION WITH

WIN!

TaylorMade are giving away a brand new Rossa Monza Corza Putter to one lucky reader of EAT GOLF! in our exclusive competition.

HOW TO ENTER

Tell us the other name for what EAT GOLF! PGA Professional, Patrick Brady refers to as ‘the caffeine’ grip - is it? (a) Standard Grip (b) Cross Handed (c) The Claw Grip

The answer can be found within the pages of this issue.

Log on to our web hosts www.fairwaylife.com to post your answer.

The winner will be chosen at random, and notified by email.

We will print the winner in the next issue of EAT GOLF! EAT

GOLF! on-line is hosted by www.fairwaylife.com

FEATURES CNC-milled grooves: For distance-control & accuracy.

Soft polymer filling: Contributes to better feel.

Titallium insert material: Reduces twisting at impact for more on-line putts.

Steel wire-frame head: Gives greater forgiveness on mis-hits.

Movable Weight Technology: Makes it easier to aim the putter face giving increased confidence.

eat GOLF!

Per-Ulrik Johansson was born in Uppsala, Sweden, and has been a top player for over ten years. Since 2001, he's been in the PGA tour. Per-Ulrik went professional in 1990 and won his first tour in 1991. He is a very popular player worldwide, which only increased when he participated in the winning Ryder Cup team in 1997.

Peter Hedblom (right) was born in 1970 in G채vle, Sweden. He had several good years on the European Tour in the mid-90s, with a tournament win as the highpoint. Since 2003, he is on the European Tour again, after sitting out much of the 2002 season with a broken leg which he sustained playing ice hockey. Peter is known for his openness and warm smile, which has won him fans around the world.

e G! 008

eat GOLF!

peak performers

In 1986, while on a ski lift in Are, two of Sweden’s top downhill skiers - Stefan EngstrÜm and Peter Blom - talked about starting a new Swedish clothing company.

The founders wanted to create functional and attractive garments for the lifestyle they themselves lived and loved. Initially focused on skiwear, as the brand won increasing popularity the range was expanded to include sports wear for outdoor activities, and has been producing golf clothing since 1992.

e G! 009

eat GOLF!

e G! 010

eat GOLF!

As official clothing suppliers to golf events including the Omega European Masters held in Switzerland’s Crans Montana, and the Volvo Masters here in Andalusia, Peak Performance has an ever increasing presence on tour. Their involvement with golf continues to grow through its attractive Peak Performance Golf Team.

“We've extended the collection and focused hard on selected players and events...”

Jonas Ottosson CEO of Peak Performance

Suzann Pettersen from Oslo, was rookie of the year in the Ladies' European Tour in 2001. After winning the World Amateur Championship in 2000, Suzann has just gotten better and better, becoming a top player in ladies' golf in record time. Since 2003, "Tutta," - as Suzann is called has mainly played on the LPGA tour in the USA. Marlene Hedblom (right, top) won her first European competition in fall 2003, then took the step to the LPGA. Helen Alfredsson (right, bottom) is a golfer with an iron will. She has a straightforward style, which is reflected in her game. Helen has been a top player on the LPGA tour for almost ten years. Her 63 round in the US Women's Open in 1994 is one of the best memories of her career. Helen has represented Europe in the Solheim Cup no less than six times.

e G! 011

eat GOLF!

Including stars such as Per-Ulrik Johansson, Peter Hedblom, Mikko Ilonen, Suzann Pettersen, Iben Tinning, Helen Alfredson, Catrin Nilsmark and Marlene Hedblom, they are certainly well represented.

“Sponsorship of Volvo Masters Andalucia marks a key step for Peak Performance in establishing itself as a major clothing company in the global golf market.�

Jonas Ottosson CEO of Peak Performance

e G! 012

Peak Performance continues to bring functional garments to the golf course and offers pieces in moisture managing fabrics and UV protection which help to give the clothes a longer life. A newcomer for spring 2006 is a cardigan for men and women as well as a jumper with details that give the illusion of a shirt underneath. Whilst still producing golf garments in Argyle styles, if you are looking for a more sexy approach try the new golf skirt and the popular Golf Skort - a mix of a mini skirt and shorts. Another real eye catcher this year are the classy yet trendy pinstripe pants.

With such a mix of styles, and with top players modelling their clothes, Peak Performance certainly are peak performers.

eat GOLF!

e G! 013

eat GOLF!

the poulter approach...

EAT

GOLF! is at the BMW International in Munich on a rainy Tuesday to interview the

charasmatic and flambouyant character that is Ian Poulter. A confident and successful golfer on the world stage, Ian knows himself better than anybody. Feast your eyes on our collection of images from the mighty Valderrama by Tom Bosch, whilst Ian tells us what makes it such a special venue on the European Tour.

e G! 014

eat GOLF!

e G! 015

eat GOLF!

Hole 2 - El Arbol. Par 4. 385 Metres In the landing area a large Cork Oak dominates the middle of the fairway, but it can be a help, not a hindrance: a tee shot aimed at it and drawn slightly will give the perfect approach to the green because the fairway slopes slightly from right to left. If instead the first shot is to the right, the second shot will be difficult at best because of a group of trees that encroaches on the righthand side of the fairway.

“I think I am at a stage in my career where I want to be top 50 in the world and still getting better. To do that I need to be winning golf tournaments, and the Order of Merit.” e G! 016

Are you happy with the way your golf has gone this year?

So, so.. it’s a different year in terms of I've broadened myself playing a little bit in America. So I’ve split my season up into two areas really. One obviously being European Tour based, and the other being PGA tour based. That becomes pretty difficult because I'm not playing a full schedule either side of the pond - it beomes a bit more difficult to get up in the rankings on both sides. Although I am pretty high up in the European rankings, I'm currently 16th, which is OK, but it’s not acceptable in my eyes - I can perform a lot better than how I have. In America I'm currently lying 60th I think, which is OK but its not as good as I want it to be.

What ranking do you need to be safe for your card next year?

I am way in, comfortably in. I've got

a full exemption for the PGA Tour next year anyway - you have to be in the top 125. I'm comfortably in which is fine, but it’s not where I want to be, I want to be at the top end of the scale, not wondering if I'm going to keep my card or not.

I think I am at a stage in my career where I want to be top 50 in the world and still getting better. To do that I need to be winning golf tournaments, and the Order of Merit. That's where I feel I am right now - I've still got a number of tournaments left this year which I can perform well on, and I am looking to have the same good finish to this year that I had last year. Winning at Valderrama was a big help to last year, I was having an OK year until that week - which turned it into quite a nice year. So I'd like to continue on that basis and win a couple of tournaments before the end of the season.

eat GOLF!

Do you find it difficult on the tour - being away from home?

Well it is difficult, I moved into a new house a few months ago which has taken 18 months to build. I miss home, I miss my family, and I miss my kids. And that is difficult when you've been away from home for 3 weeks like I have been. But I do what I do and I need to play golf to keep things going. Its my job, its my life and that’s part and parcel.

“ They are both great tours.

The European Tour is where I've grown up, it's where I learned all my golf, and the PGA tour is an extention of what I have done through Europe.”

You have a week off next week...

Yes I am looking forward to going home and doing some more practice.

Which do you prefer, the European or PGA tour?

I can't say that I prefer one over the other. They are both great tours. The European Tour is where I've grown up, it's where I learned all my golf, and the PGA tour is an extention of what I have done through Europe. So I'm not going to say that I prefer either tour.

They’re both there and I am playing a global schedule.

e G! 017

eat GOLF!

e G! 018

eat GOLF!

Are you trying to prove yourself more in America?

I don't think I need to prove myself either side of the pond. Yeah, I have won six European Tour events yet I haven't won any PGA tour events, but I haven't played many events over there. When you look at the events I've played in Europe over the last five years I've played maybe 150 events, whereas I have only played 20 or so events in America.

That’s new ground, but I am trying to open my schedule up to playing a slightly more global season.

Hole 4 - La Cascada. Par 5. 516 Metres Robert Trent Jones classified this hole as one of his best par 5s, and described it as a delight to the eye. From the first landing area you look up towards a green that is about 120 feet long and 40 feet wide. Behind it, a spring sends water cascading down along the right side of the green, finally falling about 10 to 12 feet into a lake that sits to the right of the green.

Hole 6 - El Vallejo. Par 3. 149 Metres The view from the tee is dramatic: the player is 8 metres higher than the green, with a complete view of the six bunkers that encroach right up to the green surface itself. Though large, this green is difficult to putt, with an upper tier at the back that falls towards the front and right. The target area therefore is small. The green has the potential for some diabolical pin placements for championship play.

Do you find it difficult to adapt to the courses in America?

No. I go over there and practice during the late season anyway - so November, December is spent on those types of golf courses. It's too cold at home to practice. As I said we play a global season now, where we are playing in Hawaii, Florida, the West coast and China. It’s not that it is a different golf course to get used to because we play enough different grasses, and enough different tournaments in the year... It's just anjother golf course with possibly a different set-up.

e G! 019

eat GOLF!

Hole 7 - El Mirador Par 4. 495 Yards, 453 Metres Since its shorteneing and reclassification as a par 4, this is the longest par 4 on the golf course. The first landing area is nicely framed by the bunkers on the right side of the fairway, but the hole is a formidable one. The green sits out on a point that falls off into the valley below, and it is exposed to the full force of Valderrama's two prevailing winds.

The green is three-tiered and has subtle rolls that create a very difficult putting surface, which is intentional.

“...it doesn't have to be America to be quick greens, and it doesn't have to be America to have thick rough. The golf courses in Europe that we play on are set-up pretty difficult at times.�

e G! 020

The greens are maybe a bit faster in America?

No, no. Similar. Just because it's in America doesn't mean to say they have quicker greens than Europe.

You know, Valderrama.... 13-14 on the stint meter. They are probably some of the quickest greens we putt on globally. There you are, it doesn't have to be America to be quick greens, and it doesn't have to be America to have thick rough. The golf courses in Europe that we play on are set-up pretty difficult at times. You only have to look at the scoring to see that.

What's the secret to success of playing Valderrama?

You can't put one thing on it. What I will say is that you have to hit the ball very well. You do have to have a great week from tee to green - and on the green. It is a perfect venue to hold a finale golf tournament. It is difficult off the tee; it is very difficult to put the ball in position on the greens because you don't want to leave the ball above the hole as the greens are quick; and therefore you do need to putt well. You've got to play well: simple as that.

What's been your most rewarding victory?

Valderrama 2004. It's a five year exemption, it is our tour championship, and it holds great status. It is a great tournament for anybody to win - and there have been some great winners.

Are there any particular holes that you are wary of?

I love all of them... It's a golf course that I first went to a few years ago and I enjoyed it from day one - just because it's a great test of golf. When you go out on the course you know you can't hit a

eat GOLF!

bad shot and get away with it. If you hit a bad shot you'll have a bad hole, it's as simple as that. There's not one easy hole on the golf course. I mean you can't turn around and say that's a great birdie chance. Seventeen is a great golf hole. You'll make four out there at some stage of the week, and you could have a disaster as well - you can say that for most of the holes out there. Sixteen is probably the toughest tee shot all week - you've got to drive it perfectly on there to give yourself a decent second shot or you are staring a bogey straight

Hole 8 - El Bunker. Par 4. 321 Metres This hole, the shortest of all the par 4’s, is a slight dogleg to the left. The fairway is framed by Cork trees, so an iron from the tee is recommended. The green is slightly elevated and protected in front by a large semi-circular bunker whose contours are well emphasised, with the back left side nearly two feet higher.

e G! 021

eat GOLF!

Hole 10 - El Lago. Par 4. 356 Metres This is a dogleg to the right, with trees and bunkers at the turning point, 260 metres from the tee. A slight fade will help to find the best position. From there the view of the green, with its artistic trapping and its superb Cork trees, is a delight.

in the face. You look at the par 3, the hole before that. It's a seriously tricky three iron. If you miss the green left you're not getting it up and down. Every hole is the same, you can pull out the danger areas on that golf course pretty quickly.

“They know when they can have a go at a pin. They know when not to have a go, and they know when to take their chance with an opportunity.� e G! 022

Do you attack the course in a slightly different way, or just play your game and see what happens?

Everybody plays the game of golf how they want to play it. I play golf exactly as I see it. if I'm hitting the ball fantastically that week then I will have a go at quite a lot of the pins. If you're not playing that well, then you'll stay away from some of the pin positions - and everybody will do a similar thing. They know when they can have a go at a pin.

They know when not to have a go, and they know when to take their chance with an opportunity.

There was a certain sports commentator who made a passing reference to you as a 'mercurial, volatile and entertaining character'... Do you see that as an apt description of yourself as a golfer?

I don't know. Everybody is going to have their own opinion of how I play golf, and how I am on the golf course, and what kind of a person I am. You could speak to many different people and get many different answers. Personally, I don't mind what people think to be honest.

You seem to us to be very professional and with high expectations of yourself. Have you always been that way?

Yes, absolutely. I expect to win.

I will only accept a win, and I will keep working until I win. Simple as that - I will never accept second

eat GOLF!

best. I will never accept the words 'You play to take part and not to win'. I was told that when I was a kid, and I never believed it then, I don't believe it now, and I'm not going to get anybody in the world to convince me otherwise! I play a sport and I play to win. Whether it be snooker, tiddlywinks, or a game of cards, I'm playing to win. I'm not playing to finish runner up!

Is that where your enjoyment of your sport comes from?

That's why when I am winning I get massive enjoyment out of it because I'm succeeding, and I'm doing what I want to do, and when I finish second I'm not happy! It's not good enough in my eyes.

You don't get nervous when you're leading?

No, it's part and parcel. I've won six times on tour, I'm comfortable being in that position. People use

their nerves in different ways. I get nervous at times, but I try and change that and put it into adrenaline. Some people use their nerves and get 'over nervous' everybody's different. I try and use it as a positive and not a negative.

It's good to be nervous, but just try and use it in the right way.

Do you see the advantages of having a sports psychlogist?

Sorry? - I don't understand who they are, what they are or what they do!

Players such as Thomas Bjorn seem to benefit from them...

I think with the words I've just said - I believe in what I do, and I always will do - that's good enough psychology in my eyes to keep doing what I'm doing. I've been playing successfully for the last six years. Why do I need to search for something?

Which designers clothes do you enjoy seeing or wearing the most?

I won’t name a brand. There is no brand that I will say I like wearing.

I just like wearing nice, funky clothes that catch my eye - and stuff that catches my eye is different from the norm. I don't like wearing normal jeans or normal t-shirts - I like to wear something that's a little bit different. Obviously on the golf course I wear William Hunt trousers, and am contracted and sponsored by Adidas and TaylorMade which are fantastic great products. I blend the two together to be able to be spotted.

But I do like fashion, and I like being able to look a bit different.

Is it a personal choice to look different, or do you realize that by looking different you may be encouraging younger players to take up the game?

It's something that I've always

“I will never accept the words 'You play to take part and not to win'.

I was told that when I was a kid, and I never believed it then...”

e G! 023

eat GOLF!

wanted to do, but I haven't been able to do it until the last couple of years. When I was growing up I always wanted to wear different stuff, and look funky even when I was going out. I have just expressed that on the golf course now. I am using my profile in golf to be able to express myself more than I used to, and I'm getting a good response from the juniors. I looked up to golfers when I was growing up, and I had great fun taking interest in

“I feel as if I'm doing my part in expressing myself, and if somebody likes what I'm wearing or doing and then they take an interest then that's fantastic. The more juniors in the game of golf the better.”

certain golfers. If the children - and juniors in the game of golf are going to do the same - take a following in somebody who's wearing something funky, or they can express themselves, or find where they are, then that's fantastic. I feel as if I'm doing my part in expressing myself, and if somebody likes what I'm wearing or doing and then they take an interest then that's fantastic.

The more juniors in the game of golf the better.

How much work do you put into your practice?

People ask how many hours do you hit golf balls for? I don't know how many hours. If you look at Vijay Singh, or John Daly... both unbelievably talented. But you might find that Vijay may spend twenty hours a week on the range more than John Daly will.

Everybody practices different amounts. I practice hard, I can practice harder, and will endeavour to practice harder because I want to get better. In a week off sometimes I might just take a week off. If I've been on the road for four weeks and I've played golf for four or five weeks without a break, I might have a week off and not pick a golf club up. Yet if I've had two weeks on, I've got a week off and then another three weeks on - I might hit balls everyday for a couple of hours a day. It all depends how I feel - you need to take your rest time as much as you need to practice. I don't work on a nine to five basis. I work myself hard enough, and I can work harder.

What is the best practice tip you have ever been given?

Enjoy yourself. If you’re not enjoying yourself while hitting golf balls why are you hitting golf balls?

If you’re not enjoying yourself on a golf course why are you there?

You must enjoy yourself. As far as tips go I've been given lots of tips and bits and pieces, but I don't know which one is the best one to be honest.

Have you played any other courses on the Costa del Sol apart from Valderrama?

I've played quite a few, but I couldn't name them all.

e G! 024

eat GOLF!

Hole 12 - Las Camelias. Par 3. 194 Metres This is considered by some to be the most difficult hole on the course (but the 16th is also a strong contender).

A thick forest surrounds much of the green, with out-of-bounds on the right and a severe drop down into trees on the left. The rear of the green has a slight ridge in the centre.

“I might hit balls everyday for a couple of hours a day. It all depends how I feel - you need to take your rest time as much as you need to practice.”

Hole 11 - El Sueño. Par 5. 500 Metres This is a straightaway par 5 with a series of bunkers down the righthand side. The second shot should preferably leave the player somewhere to the left.

The green above is visible because the flag stands out and waves on the skyline, and the reward for getting there is one of the most glorious all-round views to be found on any golf course: a panorama of the Mediterranean and Puerto Sotogrande, with the Rock of Gibraltar to the South.

Looking in the other direction there is the magnificent backdrop of the Serriana de Ronda mountains.

With the Poniente, the long hitter can reach this green in two, but their second shot will have to be accurate as the entrance to the green is narrow and well flanked by bunkers. With the Levante there is no way to reach the green in two.

e G! 025

eat GOLF!

Do you have a favourite?

Favourites globally - Valderrama will be in the top 5. So therefore that will be my best course in Spain. Augusta is in my top five, Loch Lomand is in my top five... then there's only a couple more I would rate that highly. It is a magnificent golf course, everybody knows that!

Who would make up your ideal fourball for a round of golf?

Mohamed Ali, Nelson Mandela and Jack Nicklaus.

Have you met Jack?

Yes, absolutely. he is a very nice man. Jack is one of the best. Hard to say whether he's the best of all time, I probably think he is right now. Well he definately is right now, unquestionably. When Tiger is the same age as Jack then that might be different, who knows?

But he is somebody that I highly respect because of his achievements and what type of golfer and person he is.

You hope to be as successful...

Hey, absolutely! If I'm half as successful as he is then I'll have had an unbelievable golf career.

Obviously I always aim for the best, and if i can be as successful as him then I will be a living legend because that is what he is. That would be unbelievable.

“...it's nice to do a track day, 'cause I want to win on the race track as well! I want to better my time every time I go round a lap...�

Hole 17 - Los Gabiones. Par 5. 490 Metres This is a born-again hole, the outcome of much agonising and deliberation plus the inputs, separately, of Seve Ballesteros and Roger Rulewich, not to mention prodigious feats of engineering.

The hole used to be not much more than a long, long par 5. Now the second shot presents the player with a tantalising question: should he try to carry the water for a birdie or eagle, or should he lay up? (In the 1995 Volvo Masters, Miguel Angel Jimenez scored the first albatross of his life here, and the first that Valderrama had ever seen.)

The high stone wall to the right of the second landing area is a true gabion, just as they were built centuries ago, usually as part of a fortification. It acts as a retaining wall and also provides a spectacular viewing platform.

e G! 026

eat GOLF!

Do you get the opportunity to play a relaxed and friendly game of golf?

I do. I play with my brother, my Dad and friends - not that regularly because I'm away on tour all the time. But I do like my down time, and I do like social practice golf. We don't get enough time to do much of it, but it is nice when we get a bit of time to relax.

Do you ease up on yourself when you're playing those games?

No. I want to win, as I've said before. I don't care whether its a friendly - I will not lose! I do lose though, because that's part and parcel of the game. But I'm playing to win even if its against my Dad, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, anybody. That's me, that's my competitive edge, and that's how I am.

What handicap do you put yourself off when you play against your familly?

I'm always plus 4. I give them enough shots! Enough so that its a decent challenge for me. If they have a bad day I'm going to win comfortably, but if they have a good day I could still win. If I give myself a stiff competition - in fairness give them more shots then it makes it more difficult for me and its a better challenge.

What sort of music do you enjoy?

Everything. I do like some mainstream, when a song goes to number one but its not the norm, but if it’s a nice funky tune, I like it.

It doesn't have to be an Oasis or Coldplay tune, I like a whole mixture... Jamiroquai, Justin Timberlake, Bob Marley, U2... a massive mix of decent music. I can't say I only like R&B, or I just like Jazz - I do like some Jazz music and I do like some R&B. I have a broad range of music in my car.

What would you do if you weren't a golfer?

Racing driver. I've got a few cars. I have had a Ferrari, but got rid of it last year. There's several cars I'm driving now - Aston Martin, BMW...

Which do you enjoy the most?

Hard again to say. There are too many good cars on the market.

They're all good!

It's good to be winning the competitions to get the cars...

Yeah, and it's nice to do a track day, 'cause I want to win on the race track as well! I want to better my time every time I go round a lap I'm thinking where I've lost time. I go around Donnington, Silverstone...

Have you done the Nurburgring?

No, never. I will do that - absolutely!

You are a big supporter of Arsenal. How are they going to do this season do you think?

Well I don't know. Chelsea seem to have bought the Premiership pretty much. Vierra was an awesome player, but he's getting on in his career, he's only got a few years left - was it the right thing to do in selling him? I don't know - in two years time Wenger wouldn't be able to get 2 million quid for him, because he'd only have a year left.

I hope Arsenal have a great season because I follow them, but Chelsea have got an incredible side and they are obviously the team to beat.

Have you ever thrown a golf club in rage?

Obviously! No idea when, but we've all been there. Everybody's done it.

You keep yourself relatively calm?

I'm passionate, and I show my anger sometimes on the golf course.

Are you aware of the cameras when you're on the course?

Yes. Does it put you off?

No. The more cameras the better - it doesn't matter. They are part and parcel of playing good golf. If there's no camera near you then I'd be a bit worried because I wouldn't be in contention.

e G! 027

eat GOLF!

Do you feel like you missed out on your youth by getting into golf so young?

No. I'm having the best time of my life. What else would I have liked to do? Nothing.

Do you get to see much of the cities that you visit whilst playing tournaments?

Not really, no. It's just hotel, golf course, hotel, golf course. I'd quite like to look around some places, but if I'm in a certain city I don't want to go and spend three days walking around the town looking at a lovely building.

What will you be doing for your 30th birthday?

Probably practicing. I'll probably be in America hitting golf balls. It's just

e G! 028

another year. I have my celebratory times during the year anyway, whether it be a birthday or not.

I enjoy my time with my familly.

I don't do huge party bashes and all that kind of stuff. To me it’s another year, and so long as I'm working hard and winning golf tournaments - that's what means the most to me.

Who would you like to see as a future cover star of EAT GOLF!?

Sergio Garcia. He's young, got a massive following - a world class golfer - and he also likes to look good on the golf course.

Who is the worst dressed golfer?

Wouldn't say! Even if you paid me I wouldn't tell you! - No need to do anything silly like that!

Hole 18 - Casa Club. Par 4. 415 Metres The trees on the left-hand side of the fairway, together with the bunkers on both sides of the entrance to the green, provided a final backlash from a course that is not intended to be forgiving.' So wrote Robert Trent Jones. You cannot afford to duck the challenge of the tee shot, as a player who takes an iron may have too much to do with a second shot that needs careful placing.

Design ©Eat Publishing S.L.

HEAD TO TOE IN GOLF

G O L F E R ’ S PA R A D I S E F O R FA S H I O N , E Q U I P M E N T & T E C H N O L O GY

Centro Comercial Mar y Sol. Km. 131 Sotogrande (San Roque), 11310 Cadiz, Spain (Just around the corner from Valderrama) Tel.: +34 (956) 785 101. Fax: +34 (956) 785 102

eat GOLF!

the SPONSORSHIP value of The history behind Volvo’s sponsorship of golf and how it has benefited both the game and the company is an interesting one. In 1987 Volvo Event Management was created - a separate division of the company solely for the management of events - with offices in Belgium, Sweden and the United Kingdom. So what exactly is involved in sponsoring a sport, and with so much money at risk, what are the gains? investigates.

e G! 030

EAT

GOLF!

eat GOLF!

It would be easy to question the motives of such a large corporation, but the importance of Volvo’s role in golf sponsorship cannot be underestimated.

Professional golfers will always be grateful for Volvo´s decision to become the first ever corporate sponsor of the Professional Golfers European Tour in 1988.

They were pioneers in transforming the tour into what we see today by introducing such facilities as players’ lounges, courtesy cars and most notably larger prize funds. Indeed, the words of Colin Montgomerie speak volumes on the subject:

“When each and every member of the triumphant (2004) European Ryder Cup team lined up for the Volvo Masters, and the Pro-am just a few weeks after our victory over the USA, that was a mark of total respect for the company that has led the way in elevating golf in Europe to its current status.”

So what are the reasons for sponsorship? The need for companies to communicate with its customers on a more personal level is becoming increasingly important.

With so much choice on offer, we now demand a level of service perhaps lost since the smaller privately owned shops were out gunned by the multinationals - and the better corporations are acknowledging this fact. It can be clearly seen through the recent shift in Volvo’s involvement in golf from professional to amateur (potential cutomers). But that is not to say that they have left professional golf behind - their groundbreaking collaboration with the European Tour is now in its 18th year, whilst in Asia, Volvo’s commitment to the Volvo China Open represents one of the longest-term partnerships in golf going forward.

Brand value is quickly becoming a company’s greatest asset and sponsorship is playing a vital role in building this. In 2000 for example, the Coca-Cola brand was valued at $72 billion - 50% of their total stock market value! Sponsorship gives the brand a personality with which people can associate themselves.

Not only that, it crosses language and cultural barriers whilst engaging people’s passions, generating goodwill and community. This is well demonstrated by the creation of the Volvo Maters Amateur Golf Club which Mel Pyatt, President & CEO of Volvo Event Management, describes as “an on line club which offers the possibility of 365 day contact with members, based not on product, but on a shared passion for golf.”

e G! 031

eat GOLF!

The benefits continue in that sponsorship is integrated with the sport you are watching - the logos on the shirts of players, the signage that guides you to your destination, or the car that can be won by making a hole-in-one.

Unlike the magazine you are holding now, where you can voluntarily turn the page, or when watching television and change the channel during a commercial break, the sponsor is integrated with the event and cannot be switched off.

Sponsorship is therefore an assured way for the future of companies.

And the advantages of sponsorship to the end customer, namely, you?

Funnily enough you benefit through

similar reasons to how the sponsor does. Because of such a close association with the event the company is directly on show. You are able to immediately evaluate their brands performance, and if bad - their qualities and values could be threatened. Therefore we see a professionally organised event that runs like clockwork.

Players and spectators alike are treated to every service imaginable, from the courtesy bus that picked you up from your car to the leaflets and scoreboards that keep you up to date with what’s happening. The difference with sponsorship is that you are involved with, rather than being confronted by unwanted media - and that can only be of benefit to everyone.

“...the sponsor is integrated with the event and cannot be switched off.

Sponsorship is therefore an assured way for the future of companies.� e G! 032

eat GOLF!

home of the stars

NH ALMENARA

The area of Sotogrande has become world famous for hosting international golf tournaments to rival any of the best on tour.

Perhaps lesser known are the details of where the players stay whilst participating in competitions, and what such a place can offer to its star guests.

e G! 034

GOLF HOTEL & SPA

eat GOLF!

GOLF! discovers that the NH Almenara has all the necessary attributes and more - now sponsors of the Volvo Masters for the third consecutive year - they proudly look after every need of the top 60 competitors on the European Tour.

EAT

Since winning the prestigious Condé Nast Johansen’s award for ‘Best Hotel & Spa in Europe’ in 2004, NH Almenara has not stood still. During the first half of this year the hotel spent five months updating almost every aspect of its establishment, and has recently earned the title of ‘Spain’s Leading Golf Resort’ in the 12th edition of the Annual World Travel Awards.

“...surrounded by countryside of exceptional natural beauty and with breathtaking panoramic views.”

Aimed at the connoisseur with high expectations of exclusivity and luxury, there is everything one could possibly need here. Built in the style of a traditional Andalusian villa, surrounded by countryside of exceptional natural beauty and with breathtaking panoramic views, the hotel is equipped with large rooms, conference facilities for holding business meetings and social events, and a quality of service to satisfy all.

The golf course features a fascinating mix of 27 holes designed

by Dave Thomas, whilst the golf academy is considered to be one of the best in southern Europe and has been designated as a Centre of Excellence by the Autonomous Regional Government of Andalusia.

The hotel also provides indoor and outdoor practice facilities, an area for practicing chipping, bunker shots and putting, and video analysis screens.

Another area the resort takes great pride in is the Elysium Spa - a modern health centre containing the most advanced equipment and offering the most sophisticated range of body care treatments. The Spa has gone through a miraculous transition, having grown since the renovations from 1,000 m2 to 1,700 m2. Personal trainers can advise on how to avoid those stiff necks after a hard day working on the golf course, and guests using the Spa can also enjoy the facility’s indoor and outdoor swimming pools, sauna, gym, Turkish bath and Jacuzzi.

Their two restaurants offer first-rate cuisine in association with the prestigious restaurateur Ferran Adrià, creator of El Bulli restaurant.

Gaia offers a sophisticated and very Mediterranean-style cuisine, whilst Veinteeocho, with its large outdoor terrace, provides spectacular views and a more informal light meal or an a la carte dinner.

With so much on offer, staying the night can easily become a whole weekend. Whether on the golf course, taking private golf tuition, doing a bit of shopping or having a well earned break in the health resort - it is easy to understand why the stars of golf are happy to stay here.

e G! 035

eat GOLF!

Almenara GOLF

NH Almenara Golf-Hotel -SPA Avenida Almenara, s/n, Sotogrande Bookings: +34 956 582054.

Email: nhalmenaragolf@nh-hotels.com Web: www.sotogrande.com

“As you make your way around its twist and turns you cannot help but appreciate the imagination of Dave Thomas’ golf course design.”

Almenara is a 27-hole complex divided between Los Lagos (The Lakes), Los Pinos (The Pines) and Los Alcornoques (The Oaks) - each very special for their individuality.

Los Lagos is a stunning part of the course and a true test of golf. As you would expect from the name, water comes in to play on four of the holes. The tricky par 3, 7th is a challenge rewarded by its setting a long iron or wood over a lake to the green which is protected by a bunker at the front. Leaving the water behind, the 8th is a great par 5 dogleg left where the course begins to work its way back up to the club house. The 9th is a testing par 4 straight uphill with a blind second shot to the green at the top. Also well guarded by bunkers, club selection is vital to keep your score intact.

Los Pinos begins with a Par 5 leading straight downhill before

e G! 036

winding its way through a series of superb holes more representative of a parkland course. This provides a good contrast to Los Lagos, yet retains the need for excellent course management. There are some really special holes amongst this nine which can pose quite a challenge. As you make your way around its twist and turns you cannot help but appreciate the imagination of Dave Thomas’ golf course design.

Los Alcornoques is perhaps the most exposed to the elements of the three sides, and mixes up a selection of holes to test your nerves and accuracy. Club selection is vital on both Par 3’s, and depending on the wind the whole character of this course can change. The Par 4, 7th requires a solid drive before a second shot over a stream which cuts diagonaly between the fairway and green one of our favourites!

The greens are usually very quick with a true roll and provide a test which can often require some creative thinking and feel to navigate. Almenara is a quality golf course which remains truly glorious and unspoilt.

eat GOLF!

...putt your game to rights!

Each issue of

EAT

GOLF! will

bring you a feature with ways to improve your game.

In this issue PGA Professional Patrick Brady breaks down the art of putting into a few simple steps. Without over complicating what should be the simplest part of golf, Patrick explains your aim, grip, stroke and feel.

If you want to avoid the dreaded ‘yips’, read on...

Special thanks to: Patrick Brady for his contribution to this feature.

You can book private tuition with Patrick by calling 607827021.

Golf ‘US, Marbella for supplying putters from their extesive range.

Flamingos Golf Club for the use of their practice facilities, which as always were in impeccable condition.

e G! 038

eat GOLF!

e G! 039

eat GOLF!

choice...

If you know what suits you, fine - if not - seek advice from a pro Selecting a putter is a personal process. We each have a different way of feeling and seeing a putt, and for that reason there are many different putters available to choose from. Some putters sit flatter and allow your hands to be lower at address, whilst some of the more modern putters tend to be more upright, forcing higher hands at address.

Ideal for the beginner and intermediate golfer, a face balanced putter can stabilize the stroke, encouraging you to take the club straight back and through.

A more skilled player who likes the putter to rotate around the body may prefer a heel weighted putter that is not face balanced.

We are looking for a lie angle that is parallel to the ground - this means that the base of the putter sits flat on the putting surface.

“Ideal for the beginner and intermediate golfer, a face balanced putter can stabilize the stroke�

A face balanced putter forces your hands higher at address

e G! 040

eat GOLF!

grip...

Correct grip and address position The standard grip (right) should suit most players. My eyes are over the ball to target line, with the ball slightly forward in my stance to promote a good release whilst maintaining an arc in the right wrist which I will go into in more detail later.

Below I demonstrate some alternative grips, with correct ball position, which are now becoming more common on tour.

Experiment with a Belly putter.

The ball should ideally be positioned directly underneath the belly button.

Cross handed, with left hand low, promotes a firmness of the wrists leading to better control of distance and helps square up the shoulders.

The Claw (or Caffeine Grip as I like to call it!) stops any twitching of the right wrist, which allows you to accelerate through the putting line.

If your normal putting stroke is twitchy - especially in your practice strokes - trying one of these variations can help.

In all positions getting your eyes directly over the ball is preferable.

e G! 041

eat GOLF!

aim...

Finding your target line is the most important fundamental (and often overlooked) part of putting Trusting your aim is key to success.

Many times I will see golfers shuffle around a putt at address after aligning themselves correctly.

From the side of the ball it is easy to aim further right than is correct.

Below I show you a typical reaction of somebody who aims to the right of the target. I am rotating and almost letting go of the putter to compensate for bad aim. Many golf professionals believe this is where the ‘yips’ originated from.

Poor aim is usually the root cause of bad habits we develop on the greens. Next I will show you how to help eliminate this problem with some simple techniques.

“...I am twisting and almost letting go of the putter to compensate for bad aim. Many golf professionals believe this is where the ‘yips’ originated from.”

“Finding your target line is the most fundamental part of putting.“

e G! 042

eat GOLF!

stroke...

You can aim your selected line by using the logo or stripe on a ball as I have here. You may consider a putter that exagerates your line with markings on it.

Set a target other than the hole.

That point could only be five cm from your ball - the closer your mark is to your putter the easier it is to line up.

Using the logo of the ball is almost the equivalent of aligning the clubs as I did earlier.

Once set up concentrate only on making a stroke through your target line rather than at the hole.

“You can aim your selected line by using the logo or stripe on a ball as I have here.”

“Set a target other than the hole. That point could only be five cm from your ball - the closer your mark is to your putter the easier it is to line up.“

e G! 043

eat GOLF!

arc...

Whenever I teach a student, the first thing I look at when putting is their right wrist I like to see a cupped right wrist being maintained throughout the stroke. What I usually see in anybody struggling with putting is their right wrist breaking down.

This can be for a number of reasons, but usually it’s bad alignment - where the student is aiming too far to the right of the target line, or a bad tempo of putting stroke. If the hands are setting up behind the ball at address they are already in a bad position. You can see from the pictures below how I maintain the shape of the right wrist from start to finish. You can feel that angle by practicing solely with the right hand. This will give you far greater control of speed while maintaining a square face on the stroke.

“I like to see a cupped right wrist maintained throughout the stroke.”

If you are unable to maintain the arc in your wrist, take a look again at your alignment as you are most probably over compensating for mistakes in your initial set up.

e G! 044

“What I usually see in anybody struggling with putting is their right wrist breaking down.”

eat GOLF!

feel...

Good putting comes from good feel and experience - an art learned through creative practice Being productive in a practice session is a difficult discipline.

Unless you are the most determined of golfers, taking hundreds of putts from six feet is not going to encourage you to practice for long. So rather than aimlessly knocking putts around the green, go and find the most difficult putt on your course.

Here I am on the 9th green of the practice course at Los Flamingos.

I have chosen a ridiculously fast downhill right to left breaking putt.

Now I have a challenge! Were I in a match I would be happy to get down from here in two. I could happily play the game of trying to hole this putt for an hour, and in doing so I am practicing my aim, alignment, stroke, touch and feel.

Start by looking from behind the ball and assessing the break. Find a spot that you want to aim towards.

Then forget about the hole and hit your putt towards your new target.

Don’t be afraid to practice opposite breaking putts as these are commonly the hardest putts to hole.

e G! 046

“Were I in a match I would be happy to get down from here in two. I could happily play the game of trying to hole this putt for an hour...�

eat GOLF!

Tee-off for the Perfect Career ...as the All-Purpose Golf Pro

By Dennis Shaw, PGAs of Europe

The scene is a familiar one. Mother, or father, asks a starry-eyed teenaged off-spring who plans to spend his or her lifetime trying to earn a living in sport: “Why don’t you go and get yourself a proper job?” Such parental concern is both natural and understandable. To them, learning how to play football or rugby, how to shine on the tennis court, how to swim faster, or even how to fight bulls, is fair enough for spare-time recreation. “But you’ll never earn a living that way, will you?”

Well, actually…while I’m not qualified to speak for other sports on the subject of career opportunities, the reality is that for those young people with the necessary basic aptitude, golf is not only a proper job, but one with glittering prospects.

e G! 048

eat GOLF!

True enough, only one young golfer in every few hundreds of thousands or so is going to make a lucrative living as a player. But golf’s gradual elevation to its current status as a lifestyle asset and tourist attraction has transformed it from a sport into an industry, and a booming, beckoning one at that. Career opportunities are there for those young people prepared to undergo a quite rigorous programme of education, and here’s a spot of proof. Consider the following six examples, though it could be a hundred and six, or a thousand and six: Ian Poulter: engaging, modestly extrovert young man, wealthy at 29 and destined to get wealthier by the year. He moved golf from the back to the front page by means of the colourful lead he took as a golf fashion role model, winner of the Volvo Masters at Valderrama in October 2004 and a member of the European Ryder Cup winning team at Oakland Hills, Detroit USA. Paul Dellanzo: clearly at first glance a mature, top business executive, mobile telephone and laptop computer at the ready, another flight, another destination on the agenda in his role as Vice-president of Operations Europe for Troon Golf, international property developers.

Donato di Ponziano: a leading coach and administrator, president of the Italian Open Championship, joint deputy chairman of the PGAs of Europe, a travelling R&A Golf Development Consultant who has played a significant role in the remarkable progress of the sport in India, and also is an author and commentator.

e G! 049

eat GOLF!

Pia Nilsson: has been a successful international tournament player, was Captain of Europe in the Solheim Cup, has been a leading administrator in Sweden, has written books on her specialist subject, is an entertaining afterdinner speaker and is currently coaching in the United States.

Dave Thomas: has left his signature across large swathes of this planet’s most desirable landscapes, not written in boring old biro, but carved out in verdant fairways and greens for this and subsequent generations to enjoy and admire in pursuit of competition and healthy exercise. As one of the world’s outstanding designers he has been involved in the creation or improvement of more than a hundred golf courses.

Doug Poole: managing director of the European arm of two international companies, Snake Eyes, who manufacture and market golf clubs and other equipment, and Golfsmith, who supply components for clubmaking and fitting and also stage educational seminars.

They are, indeed, a diverse selection in terms of age, nationality, specialist subject and range of occupations, yet they have one thing in common: they are all PGA qualified professionals. An indication of the sheer depth of knowledge and expertise available to those who set out as a trainee on a PGA training course, (usually over an initial three-year period), in any of the 34 countries who are members of the PGAs of Europe, is contained in an annual scheme known as the Five Star Professional Awards. In a slightly tongue-in-cheek way, but

with a serious message, Lawrie Thornton, previously general secretary of the PGAsE, explains that in seeking nominations for the awards from national PGAs, the judges are looking for the perfect, all-purpose pro.

He or she has the playing skills of Tiger Woods or Anneka Sorenstam, has earned a David Leadbeaterstyle reputation in teaching, communicates with Peter Alliss panache, has a shop to rival Harrods, creates golf courses of Dave Thomas quality, designs golf clubs to Karsten Solheim perfection, and runs a golfing operation such as St Andrews. No such superhuman species exists, of course, but a glance through that lists illustrates the point made earlier: that pursuing a career in golf is well worth the effort.

OK, so how does a young, or maybe not-so-young individual, (there is no age barrier), acquire the sheer depth and breadth of knowledge on so many diverse subjects, to contemplate striving for PGA qualification?

To become a trainee at one of the national training academies a student has to acquire a playing handicap of around four (it varies from country to country) and to have achieved a reasonable standard in general education. Then, during the next three years, they undertake such subjects as the mechanics of the golf swing, business studies, merchandising, basic agronomy, sports sciences... virtually everything required for a career as a club professional. After that there are opportunities to continue with

“Members of the sporting public who simply enjoy watching the major golf tournaments on TV must marvel at the procession of newcomers whose names arrive on leaderboards around the world, of whom they had previously never heard...”

Ian Poulter

e G! 050

Paul Dellanzo

Donato di Ponziano

Pia Nilsson

Dave Thomas

Doug Poole

eat GOLF!

Advanced or Further Education towards the ultimate goal of being acclaimed as a Master Professional.

Is that a proper job, or what?

At the risk of making this appear to be a recruiting campaign for the golf industry, I would point out here that each national PGA has its own training programme while the PGAs of Europe has an experienced Education Committee whose function is to act in a consultancy, advisory and supportive capacity.

Explaining precisely how it all works would require an article all of its

own, but suffice it to say that the Education Committee is totally European as can be seen by its make-up, i.e., Leif Ohlsson (Sweden) chairman, Filippo Barbe (Italy), Jonathan Mannie (Austria), Kyle Phillpots (GB & I), Martin Westphal (Germany), Jim Van Heuven van Staereling (Holland), Tony Bennett (Portugal), and Nicky Lumb (GB&I). Leif Ohlsson – who is not a PGA pro – is a distinguished educationalist at the famous Bosön Institute, dedicated to sporting excellence in Stockholm, where Sweden’s Olympic athletes prepare.

Members of the sporting public who simply enjoy watching the major golf tournaments on TV must marvel at the procession of newcomers whose names arrive on leaderboards around the world, of whom they had previously never heard yet who seem to have golf swings to rival the established superstars. Not only that, but many are from countries not previously known for their involvement in the sport.

Another admirable quality is that golfers dress smartly, conduct themselves courteously, often act

e G! 051

eat GOLF!

Paul Dellanzo & Lawrie Thornton

Eddy Eriksson

as their own referee or umpire, accept the judgment of authority and uphold the finer traditions of their sport. How very old fashioned! Not like that in certain other high-profile sports, is it…?

The reason for this wholly desirable state of affairs, I submit, is that the amateur federations who find the young talent and advance it to professional level, helped by professional coaches, and then the PGAs who provide the training programmes and the various Tours, have a burgeoning philosophy of “working together”.

It can be summed up in one allembracing word: ‘education’. As someone who has been fortunate enough to provide a media service within professional golf for a number of years, one of the many uplifting features of the sport, for me, has been the number of engaging individuals and golf pros whose horizons are wider than simply teeing up a golf ball and blasting it down the fairway. Some have excelled at more than one activity. There’s a Swedish club pro, Eddy Eriksson, who was an Olympic ice hockey player before switching sports. Yet to me, Eddy’s greatest quality is that whenever you see him in a group of people, everyone is laughing… he has that sort of personality. Tom Selmer, from Norway, was an international footballer and then national coach before taking up golf comparatively late in life.

And then there’s David Clare…

David, originally from Chesire in the UK, is the Director of Golf at Kemer Golf & Country Club, Istanbul, Turkey. In his younger days he earned his card to play on the European Tour and was preparing for the career of his dreams, playing among the best in the

e G! 052

Tom Selmer

David Clare

Ted Hagelborg

business. During a break, while practising on the range for his big chance in life, he spilled a cup of scorching coffee down his leg….and never felt a thing. David had tumours on his spinal chord.

They were non-malignant, mercifully, but during their removal damage was caused which left him without the proper use of one leg and a very distinct limp. No more golf? You’re joking… six months later he started playing again and won some lesser tournaments, but he’s now making a magnificent job of furthering golf in Turkey where, along with sponsors Beko and Conrad international, he hosts the PGAs of Europe International Proam each year.

There’s Ted Hagelborg of Sweden who carries out two very different jobs. For part of the week he flies Boeing 737’s as an airline pilot and then he sheds his pilot uniform, dons his golf gear, and becomes a PGA-qualified coach. Mike Waldron is a high-flier, too, though not those huge passenger jets for him. He flies an exact-replica World War 1 SE5, from the era of the Red Baron, but not only that, he built it himself in-between giving golf lessons! Does any professional sport attract more ‘rounded’ and worldly characters than golf?

I doubt it. So why is this? The answer has to be that word again… here is a profession that offers its practitioners more and more education. And with that education comes an olde worlde virtue: respect.

“He flies an exact-replica World War 1 SE5, from the era of the Red Baron, but not only that, he built it himself in-between giving golf lessons!”

Mike Waldron

eat GOLF!

the power behind TIGER

Golf club design and innovation is an ever competitive industry, with millions invested in creating new clubs that go further, straighter and are easier to hit. EAT GOLF! goes behind the scenes at Nike’s state of the art golf club research and design facility to find out how, with Tiger Woods’ cooperation, they are able to take your game those vital extra yards.

e G! 054

eat GOLF!

“Every ball that I have played so far on Tour I have had a direct hand in it.... as the guys can attest, I am very picky about my equipment and we would go through testings again and again.”

A quick glance at Tiger’s driving stats over the last few years tells an interesting story. Consistently around the 300 yard mark from 2000 to 2004, there is then a sudden increase of almost 15 yards from the tee this year. In a recent interview with Kelly Tilghman on the Golf Channel, Tiger admitted to finally stepping up and using technology. “I decided last year at the Tour Championship to go ahead and make the switch. I went to graphite, went to 45 inches, and I went to the 460 head.”

It is not just the clubs providing the benefit however, golf ball design is a major factor in generating more distance and carry. “I stuck with a

little spinnier ball. I tell you what, I am hitting it further than I have ever had. I carry balls over bunkers that I couldn't carry over a year ago. I don't feel I am any stronger but technology certainly helped my game a lot” says Tiger.

In 2003 Nike Golf unveiled its first full-service and dedicated research & design facility for the development of performance golf clubs and the testing of both golf clubs and golf balls. Located in Fort Worth, Texas, this 28,000 square foot facility is home to more than 100 on-going club projects in varying stages of design and development. Inside the building, computer-driven machinery sits in

e G! 055

eat GOLF!

stark contrast to turn of the century milling and grinding stations. With areas to check every conceivable variable the game of golf can conjure - pneumatic club-testing machines, launch monitors, CAD rooms and numerous testing facilities - they are also conveniently located adjacent to Leonard Golf Links, a world-class public practice facility.

“Advances of technology are just amazing. It's certainly going to help the average golfer. They don't have a chance to practice like we do...”

Tigers involvement at the design stage is crucial to his trust of the new equipment. “Every ball that I have played so far on Tour I have had a direct hand in it.... as the guys can attest, I am very picky about my equipment and we would go through testings again and again.” But is there really any comparison between the clubs Tiger tests and what your average golfer plays? Well apparently more than you might imagine. Tiger has revealed his consideration of using hybrid clubs due to the advantages of a higher ball flight from his usual 2 iron. “I think that's one of the things I am going to be testing over this winter, is trying to find one I can put in play for certain golf

e G! 056

eat GOLF!

courses. It would have been nice to have one at NEC this year... but I think it is something down the road I will definitely have in the bag.”

One of the most important aspects of equipment Tiger highlights is actually required after manufacturing. “Proper fitting.

I think the ultimate key is to have the golf clubs fit you... In basically 20 minutes you can get a club fitting done, over and done with, get a club right there on the spot...

I think that will help their game tremendously.”

to have the equipment to help you out, to get the ball in the air. You don't have to help the ball get in the air, the equipment does it for you. It's just amazing to see the amateurs that I play with in ProAms, the swings that they have, hit the ball as far as they do, trust me, they are not going that far with that swing!”

All these advances in technology may be having an impact within the professional game, with officials worrying that courses which cannot be extended will become redundant on tour. But there is no doubt that technology is appreciated by the weekend golfer, as Tiger recognises. “Advances of technology are just amazing. It's certainly going to help the average golfer. They don't have a chance to practice like we do, spending hours and hours trying to ingrain a golf swing. It helps to have forgiveness, and it helps to have the opportunity

e G! 057

eat GOLF!

e G! 058

eat GOLF!

Perry

DYE Photographs courtesy Ken May. www.rollinggreens.com

Perry Dye is the elder son in a family whose contributions have become an integral part of the history and tradition of golf course design and construction. In 1922, Perry’s grandfather designed and constructed a nine hole golf course in Urbana, Ohio. This is where Perry’s father, Pete Dye, grew up and received his early training. This heritage, which began in the Midwestern United States, has been carried from generation to generation and has provided the foundation for the creation of some of the world's finest golf courses. In this exclusive interview, Perry talks about his life and career, design dilemmas and successes, and how it feels to play alongside Freddie Couples...

Launa Hills Country Club, Oahu, Hawaii Designed by Perry Dye, Luana Hills measures only 6,500 yards but is characterized by forced carries off the tee, narrow landing areas, undulating fairways, and small crowned greens.

The back nine here plays through a spectacular tropical rain forest that locals refer to as Jurassic Park.

e G! 059

eat GOLF!

“Its hard to say how lucky I am, but my whole life has been very fortunate to have revolved around golf.”

“30 years on and we’ve built 300 golf courses all over the world… the sun never sets on a Dye course.” shaping and that sort of thing on a golf course called ‘Crookey Stick’ and that’s where John Daly won the PGA. 30 years on and we’ve built 300 golf courses all over the world… the sun never sets on a Dye course.

Can you tell us a bit of background about yourself and how you ended up designing golf courses?

My father took some time off from working as a very successful insurance salesman to repair a couple of holes his local country club lost in a storm. When he was doing that work somebody came up to him and said they wanted him to design 9 holes in the South part of Indianapolis, Indiana. That was 1959 and I was about 8 or 9 years old, and like any child, you’d be fascinated with tractors and bulldozers. So I learnt how to operate all the equipment at a very young age. By 1962, at 12 or 13 years old, I was doing green

e G! 060

Now my father is virtually 80 years old. He is still active and plays a lot of golf and still does some design work. My brothers are getting into the business. So when I am asked how I got into the golf course architecture business – I grew up in it. It is a family trade. We weren’t tour players or anything like that, we just grew up building golf courses. The golf course industry has had such a hugely successful growth in the last 10 years that my schedule is very busy, and I have opportunities to work all around the world. We have merging companies in places like Hungary and Vietnam, and they all want to have a Dye course, a Nicklaus course, and so on. So I’m fortunate to have a name that has worldwide attention, and be popular and be healthy enough to do the work. It’s hard to say how lucky I am, but my whole life has been very fortunate to have revolved around golf.

Every once in a while I’ll catch a fish or maybe go skiing, but typically my life’s revolved around golf and trying to make golf resorts. One of the great things about golf courses is we don’t build them in bad places.

So I have got to know people around the world and they are all

“One of the great things you get to do is you get to build and design golf courses that are like pieces of art and people want to pay a premium for them.”

Lost Canyons Golf Club, California.

The Shadow Course was designed by Perry’s father, Pete Dye. The ever changing combination of light and shadows add to the beauty and enjoyment of this challenging course.

nice people that are involved in golf courses. That’s kind of my life. I’ve got two very successful children now – who are 23 and 26 – and both graduated from college, I’ve been married for 30 years, I’ve survived international travel, and that’s not always easy to do. Right now at age 52 I wouldn’t say I’m more popular, but I’m more in demand than I can remember. One of the great things you get to do is you get to build and design golf courses that are like pieces of art, and people want to pay a premium for them. Of course there’s always your critics and everybody’s got an opinion about you and every golf hole you ever built. Just like anything, if you really ask the people

eat GOLF!

“I remind my developers that even though we love Seve Ballesteros and Tiger Woods, they don’t pay green fees.”

that really enjoy the game, once you’ve played a golf course a couple of times, or won a tournament on it, it becomes their favourite piece of art, and I like to listen to those people a lot more than I do my critics. But I do like critics!

Dye clients recieve more than just golf course design. We understand you also offer technical assistance. What other expertise do you offer?

When you’ve grown up in the golf industry, you’ve been around membership sales, maintenance, the ups and downs of good and bad weather, and I’ve made every mistake at least three times. So we’re trying to help our clients

avoid some of the pitfalls of golf course design, of construction, of marketing. You know Spain will always be Spain, and Vietnam will always be Vietnam, so there is some very local knowledge that you need. But also golf is pretty much an international sport and we all play the same golf ball – there are some variations in the rules between the R&A and the USGA – but its a game. So you’re trying to build a field of dreams for this game. It is pretty common.

A tee is a tee no matter what country I am in. A fairway is a fairway, a green is a green.

Considering that this art is based on a game, there is a common thread around the world.

We have a huge amount of women players, and it’s growing every day, and nobody really knows how to put a pulse on that growth. You always tend to think of golf as a male game, but it really isn’t. In our country 48% of players are women. When my mother started playing 30 or 40 years ago (and she is a very good amateur player), we had about 7% women. So its gone from 7% to 48%. And in Japan, when I first started working there in the mid 80’s, it was 12-13%, and now its 27%. So it is a growing market no matter where you are.

We have to do things in design, where women don’t hit the ball as far, typically they’re not as athletic, because they often come to our

e G! 061

eat GOLF!

game over age. It is a big market, and not to get personal, I refer to them as the chief purchasing officers for the family. I mean basically they choose where they go on vacation, and sometimes they are heavily involved in the selection of the condominium. So if we are to attract people to a golf course to buy residential properties or condos or whatever it is, you really have to appeal to this person.

The experience that they have starts in the locker room, and it works all the way through to the first tee, through 18 holes. In my mind, as we can tell, we have overlooked that market, not as much as some of the markets, but it is a huge potential market for us.

We have Tiger Woods, we have a really huge young bubble playing golf that is in the sytem right now.

Growing up with these newer golf clubs and better golf balls, hitting it further, we have this huge variation of talent on the golf course. So we have to design to accept our customers. We have Seniors, we have Juniors, we have ladies, so it’s really how to build the perfect golf course for every cutomer. That is what we have to focus on.

“I had an ocean side golf course in Thailand that got hit by the Tsunami, which was one of my favourites...”

Pete Dye Golf Course at Promontory, Utah. Near three legendary ski mountains, the championship Pete Dye Golf Course features breathtaking mountain views, six sets of tees (including one for juniors), ample fairways and vast greens.

Trump National Golf Course, California. Noted as the most expensive golf course ever built, over $250 million dollars has been spent to ensure its prominence. The Pete Dye course design tempts golfers to take risks and rewards well-placed shots.

e G! 062

…And one of the ways that you do that is the five tee system…

Five is always kind of a funny number. I remember when we started building a fifth tee. The question was “Do we put it further back or further forward?”. But it is not only the tee, it is the angle, the approach and the access if you’re walking or riding in a buggy. It is the whole concept of trying to make a golf course move more quickly and use less time. So in some places because of wind conditions you could have seven tees, and in some places where the hole is shorter you only need a couple. So yes it is labelled the five tee system, but when I look at it today in some of the stuff we’re doing, most people are putting the fifth tee further back.

But that’s really not our clientel. I remind my developers that even though we love Seve Ballesteros and Tiger Woods, they don’t pay green fees. They show up to a course for a tournament one week a year. They just slaughter the golf course, and that’s O.K. But you can’t design a golf course for tour players unless the tour players want to own it and pay for it.

eat GOLF!

So you don’t have a problem with the Tour players coming in with such low scores?…

That is their game so to speak.

Yes of course. Design-wise you think that right now there isn’t such a thing on the tour as a par 5. So you take your common par 72, and par is really 68. How many times do we see the professional players hit a par 5 in two? About 80% of the time. Well to me that’s a par 4, I don’t care how long it is. The fact is if it’s 515 yards, they’re hitting in a 7 iron. So you have to put it into perspective. They are out there to perform for their fans and they should be shooting birdies. Right now with the equipment completely out of control there’s no distance barrier. I mean take Tiger Woods for example. I don’t remember where it was but he hit it on the green in two on a hole that was 605 yards!

Environmentally you can’t afford to chase the tour players, because we’d have golf courses of 8,000 yards, and it would use too much water, require too much maintanance and it would be crazy.

We cannot chase distances, so we decided not to worry about it.

If they start hitting it a thousand yards, just forget about it because it doesn’t really affect what we do in our business. Let the T.V. company worry about the distance of the ball. We’re not going to stop them because we don’t know how.

If we get the technology to try to figure it out, somebody is going to buy more technology to figure out how to figure it out to figure it out!

When you design a golf course as an architect we have to design it for our common product: average players, and people who buy real estate. Period. So when you ask about designing for tour players, yes the golf facilities are accomodating, but they are not our market.

“I watched him play a couple more holes... he could drive about 150 yards, he was about 9 or 10 years old, and all of a sudden that golf course was his. He had his own tees!” tomorrow and says “We are going to build the tour killer”, and O.K. we would know what to do and how to go about it. But I would not advise that to any promoter that is interested in selling his condominiums! In the United States we have come to that conclusion very quickly. It is a familly market. Most of the people who buy residential want to live on a course they can play. Go and watch tour players on T.V.!

San Roque Old held up pretty well against the Tour players at the Jaztell Open de España this year…

One of the great things about San Roque is the wind. It is like many British couses and our courses like Kiawah island – anything that is on the ocean, near the ocean, close to the Mediterranean or on a hillside.

You have the wind and it’s difficult for the players to play through.

When we had some windy days at San Roque the course held up really well… the wind is a huge factor.

You obviously took all this into consideration when building San Roque New, which is a very different course to San Roque Old. I think you’re being very polite calling it different! The architecture there is very different. Southern Spain is heavily influenced by Robert Trent Jones, Jnr & Snr. This great family are good friends of ours, but they have a very specific style. There are a lot of people who worked for Robert, say Cabell Robinson, who continue that style.

Our style is different to begin with.

A lot of people that go there look at our style and find it very intimidating. In all honesty the golf course there was to be relatively difficult, because in the market place in Sotogrande area a lot of the golf courses are kind of like playing polo fields, and that’s not fair. We had trees there, we had a relatively small piece of ground, and we had unbelievable panoramic views of the Mediterranean, so I

Wolf Course, Las Vegas Paiute Golf Resort. From the beauty of its natural desert surroundings to the stunning island green of the signature fifteenth hole, the Wolf Course brings a dramatic golf adventure to life. Designed by Pete Dye.

It’s interesting to hear your point of view on that subject, because as a golfer and golf viewer, you only hear what the TV companies have to say on the matter. But obviously as a designer you are, as you say, looking at it from our point of view, which is good to hear!

Well yes, because time is of value.

Shorter courses fit the market place. Somebody calls me

e G! 063

eat GOLF!

“I like my first holes – they can be intimidating right off the bat, and there it is! Here’s what your day’s going to look like!”

Glenmoor Country Club. The design and construction of this golf course was challenging due to the site size and a natural waterway that bisects the golf course. In order to provide safe play and protection to the residential areas, a large quantity of earth was moved to shape a "target" style golf course. Today, Glenmoor Country Club is recognized as one of the top private country clubs in the Denver Metropolitan area.

felt that it was the seaside golf experience that I was trying to portray there. I knew that it would be percieved as different, but my golf course, once you play it (as long as you’re not having the worst day of your life, because if you have one of those day’s you’re not going to enjoy any golf course!) it plays relatively easy from the correct tee.

“I dont think that in the history of my career have I ever had environmentalists turn to me and say ‘This place needs a golf course!’” e G! 064

We are always working with the management to try and adapt, so we will probably adjust some of the bunkers and change a couple of other things. You’ve got some of the most beautiful Oak trees in the world on it, like Valderrama, all that sort of thing. There are lots of obstacles out there! And I left a couple of them on a fairway or two!

Do you have a favourite Dye course?

The correct golf course artchitect response to that is “It’s the next one I’m working on!”. It’s hard not to have some favourites, because some courses fit our game. I had an ocean side golf course in Thailand that got hit by the Tsunami, which was one of my favourites, and I’ve built a couple in California that are inland courses that I really liked. It’s hard not to add my home course, Crooked Stick.

What I like is the variety and the people. I mean when you get to San Roque, and its a beautiful seaside operation with a beautiful hotel, and managers from Japan that are absolutely magnificent: you’ve got everything from the

eat GOLF!

about three and a half hours because they are playing on the correct tee. Sometimes they get a little bit mad because the men are playing too slow in front of them.

It is kind of the opposite of how we visualise it. If we were just building difficult golf courses we would have no market. So inside of our very difficult course is another course that’s playable for Juniors, Women and Seniors.

If you go out and have a bad experience on any of our golf courses or any other golf course, I dare you to go back the next day and move up a set of tees and play the same golf course, and tell me you’ve had another bad experience. Because it won’t happen. After you play from the very difficult position and move to the easier position, all of a sudden that golf course to you will be easier to play, 90% of the time.

Golfers like a challenge….

What they don’t understand, and as an architect you really have to think this through, is if I’m a player that is playing at a distance that is too difficult for me, I typically have to take two woods and a wedge to a par 4. Now that makes it a par 5.

That is usually how women have to play the golf course. So instead of playing women’s golf as a male, why don’t we play professional golf? We’ll move to the very forward tee, and we’ll hit drives and wedges to par 4’s, and we’ll hit every par 5 in two! So our image of ‘I’m gonna play a more difficult course, ‘cause I’m gonna play like the pros”….. no you’re playing like a woman! You wanna play like a pro, go to the red tee!

How do you get that message accross?

I talk to people like you! I was on the golf course a few days ago with a British family, and the son was playing from the back women’s tees. Let’s not call them women’s tees. If I were to label it I like to call them front, middle and back – anything to make them nongeneric. I watched him play a hole and said to him “Do you realise there is another tee up there?”. He replied, “No I always play the women’s tee.” I explained that we have another set of tees in front of the women’s tees, and said those are the Junior tees – they are for you. I said specifically, “Those tees are for you”. He then had a big smile on his face, and I watched

“I think that 2,000 years from now when they uncover Las Vegas from the sands, people will say ‘wow these were the most creative architects in the world!’.” clubhouse all the way through to the golf course. I really think that like all golfers, it’s the day that we play, the sunshine, the condition of the course. All those things give us the emotion of our favourite golf course.

To me it’s the old style golf course that I grew up on as a child. I’ve got a couple of new projects that I’m working on with some great views of the vineyards in Barcelona. What a terrific place to build a golf course as an American in Barcelona. It is a beautiful town.

A lot of what we try to do is incorporate the charisma of the area into our design. We did PGA West which is probably rated as the most difficult course in California. The girls play there on Tuesday and they go around in

San Roque New, Andalusia

e G! 065

eat GOLF!

him play a couple more holes and he was hitting next to the green in two. He could drive about 150 yards, he was about 9 or 10 years old, and all of a sudden that golf course was his. He had his own tees! Just a different attitude, because I told him that I am the golf course architect and I built these tees for him. I have tees that are built for you – you just have to find them!

So its a dilemma that you face when constructing the course?

Oh yes, it’s a biggy, it’s a major dilemma. It is what we do everyday to try and make the courses more playable for the customer. Even though we do it our games change with our age, etc. How many times do we have absolutely dreadful experiences when we’re playing with three other really good players and you’re the bad player. It happens to me all the time because I have to play with the gentlemen tour players, and they outdrive me by 70 yards!

e G! 066

“Oh yes, it’s a biggy, it’s a major dilema. It is what we do everyday to try and make the courses more playable for the customer.”

Once I was playing with Freddie Couples and he outdrove me through 13 holes by about 100 yards. I think to myself, “I’m not a bad player, but he’s outdriving me by 100 yards!”. He’s hitting completely different clubs than I. Now if I had gone up two or three tees I could have kept up with him.

Most of us when we’re playing with a group of friends, we’re not playing in a PGA event! If you’ve got one person whose not so good let them tee it up a couple of times and give them a few free drops out of the scrub, so instead of shooting 120, they shoot 105, it makes it a more delightful day. Golf is a social game and not about having a miserable time.

“I really think that like all golfers, it’s the day that we play, the sunshine, the condition of the course. All those things give us the emotion of our favourite golf course.”

OK, so on the topic of “a miserable time”... as a designer – ‘Out of Bounds’. Do you see it as an integral part of the make-up of a course, or is it an unneccesary evil? When you design a course do you try to avoid it?

On the right side of every golf hole, where a lot of players play, I try to balance it by giving a little bit more room for error. Do I believe that every rule that the R&A and USGA have come up with make sense?

Stroke and distance really doesn’t

make any sense to me versus a lateral, or stroke and drop and play.

For one I think it works against the speed of play. Trying to determine where a ball went out of bounds versus a lateral. I don’t think its one of our better rules for time.

I also don’t like people to hit it out of bounds, or hit a fairway and roll out of bounds. I do everything I can to stop that happening. Sometimes I put bunkers there. Then you hit it in the bunker, and say “I hate that bunker”. Well it saved your golf ball and saved you a shot! They serve a purpose.

That is why you see my longer bunkers running up the fairway where there is potentially out of bounds. We call them waste bunkers. They are long and they’re

eat GOLF!

“Then you hit it in the bunker, and say ‘I hate that bunker’. Well it saved your golf ball and saved you a shot! They serve a purpose.”

Walkabout Golf & Country Club, Florida. A challenging venue for all levels of play.

Rich, lush, rolling fairways weave throughout undulating landscape, surrounded by serene lakes, native vegetation and wildlife. The course features a bonus 19th green, par 3 shaped like the continent of Australia.

intimidating, and people hit into them two or three times, because you always think you can hit it out of the bunker and into the hole, instead of like with the links-style pot bunkers where you just hit it out and get back on the fairway.

When you are in it and you hit it three times you’re not going to like it, and I really have to teach my children the meaning of “Damn Dye!”.

I like my first holes – they can be intimidating right off the bat, and there it is! Here’s what your day’s going to look like! You really need to let your client or customer know what they are in for and get them to the right tee.

You mentioned the Scottish links style bunkers… you created the

Royal links Golf course in Las Vegas.

You’ve been studying me! Yes I did.

Did you select the holes that you wanted to recreate?

I was always lucky – I’d played them. I played a lot of golf in Scotland. I love the golf courses, the bad weather, I love it all I really do – it’s one of my favourite places.

But that particular owner came to me and said “I want you to make 18 holes all from British Opens”.

I did a lot of studying of the British Open Golf Courses. I looked at each one. The most difficult was trying to pick out which holes I could combine into an 18 hole course. I probably would have never done that project unless it was in Las Vegas, where you have

New York, the Eiffel tower and the Pyramid. I have respect for the history of the game, but duplication really is part of the fantastic architecture of Las Vegas. I think that 2,000 years from now when they uncover Las Vegas from the sands, people will say, “wow these were the most creative architects in the world!’.

So I figured out how to put all those on that piece of ground in Las Vegas. It is one of the funnier things, some people say that I did too good a job replicating the holes! You’re talking about 18 British Open golf holes, I mean those are pretty difficult holes! But a couple of weeks before a British Open you can stop by there and you’ll see about a half a dozen tour pros out practicing, getting ready to

e G! 067

eat GOLF!

Hideaway Golf Club, California.

The Hideaway is a links-inspired golf course. Each hole is a journey down a rolling fairway bordered by native grasses that gives way to wide strips of sand or to strategically placed streams and ponds. Sand and water begin or end each hole, lining the edges of the greens or expanding in front of elevated tees.

“It is a family market. Most of the people who buy residential want to live on a course they can play. Go and watch tour players on T.V.!” go to Europe. So I am really proud of that part of it. It’s as close as you can be in a warmer climate.

What surprised me was that there were only about 13 or 14 courses that have held the British Open in its entire history.

You are known for golf courses that are environmentally sensitive. How important to you is the environment when it comes to golf course design?

I make the statement that in the history of golf we have made some mistakes. It is well publicised in the U.S., but today our golf courses are the keepers of the green. We are in charge of cleaning the environment, cleaning the water and keeping it safe. We now have the technology to do that, and our

e G! 068

golfers demand this from us. That is why they are outside, and that’s why they are enjoying being outside… they want to see the birds, they want to see the foxes, that’s what they are there for. That is part of golf. We have taught ourselves how to take care of the environment. We have examples and we’ve shown our government and done testing for 20 years. We know for a fact and have scientifically proved that we are doing a good job. Where we are doing a bad job is with our public relations outside our country.

come to you because you know how to do it”. That was not true 15 years ago. Environmentalists came to me to say, “We don’t want your golf course”.

I now have environmentalists coming to me inside my country and saying, “Perry we want to change this area, and we’re going to work with this habitat, we have

Do you think attitudes are changing?

We are working side by side with all creatures of the world including environmentalists, and have proven

I was walking around a piece of ground two weeks ago with a couple of environmentalists who said, “This piece of ground needs a golf course, because it is not taken care of; a vacant piece of ground going downhill”. I dont think that in the history of my career have I ever had environmentalists turn to me and say, “This place needs a golf course”!

eat GOLF!

and have case studies on just about every issue from tourism up to the endangered species. So we’re there with the environmental understanding in the States. Now it is time to export those examples, and to bring them into places like Europe and Vietnam, and other places to show them how it works.

So exporting that technology is a key part of what I do. We are so used to doing it in the United States. I was talking to some golfers in Spain recently. I said that it was important for them to talk to their government about their successes. One of the mistakes we made in the U.S. was where we had successes we didn’t promote them. So now when we go to all these different countries we show how we are helping the environment. We always want to photograph the most beautiful golf course in the world. Its bright green and the sand is bright, but there’s usually birds that are off there to the side that never get photographed. But you can go

around early in the morning and you can see birds and all sorts of creatures on the golf course. We need to have more focus on that.

How often do you get to play golf?

When I play I like to play a week at a time, because it takes me a couple of days to get what I consider “my game” back. I play a lot of one time, fun games, but I usually take a couple of weeks off a year and just play golf. It is always difficult to step off an airplane and swing that driver, and especially to open new golf courses. Those are long days as I never know which game is going to show up, or if I left it on the plane. When I hit the opening drive with Seve Ballesteros at San Roque New, we had all the cameras to the right. Seve and I had to tee off at the same time so I said, “I’m going left! We’re not taking out a camera man right here in front of everybody! Swing slow, swing sweet!”

“Seve and I had to tee off at the same time so I said ‘I’m going left! We’re not taking out a camera man right here in front of everybody! Swing slow, swing sweet!”

San Roque New, Andalusia. A joint venture between Perry Dye and Seve Ballesteros, who says: “I am proud of what we created here at San Roque. This masterpiece combines the best of links golf with a TPC Stadium feel. Its challenge will entice you back, time and time again.”

e G! 070

eat GOLF!

desertSPRINGS GOLF! goes on an ‘away day’ to Almería in search of the first desert golf course in Spain to see if we are up to the challenge...

EAT

With so many golf courses being built around the world, it is becoming increasingly difficult for designers and constructors to carve themselves a niche in the market. Golfers will normally choose where they play based on price, location and course design, and Desert Springs scores a very rare ‘Albatross’ based on these three requisites.

Located in Almería, Spain, this is an area where many Western movies were filmed due to its desert landscape. So it seems fitting that the Almanzora Group should decide that this is the ideal place to stage a world class Califonian style resort, and like any great Hollywood movie, nothing is left to the imagination.

e G! 072

eat GOLF!

e G! 073

eat GOLF!

Desert Springs Golf Club Cuevas del Almanzora, Almería, Spain Luxury Villa Rentals & Golf Resort Tel: (+34) 678 679387 Email: desertsprings@almanzora.com Web: www.almanzora.com

“...during our two rounds, not once were we faced with anything other than a perfect lie whilst grass was under ball.”

Quality oozes in every corner of Desert Springs, from the impeccable practice facilities – surely partly responsible why the English Golf Union chose Desert Springs as its overseas home – to its perfectly manicured fairways, greens and rough. Perhaps ‘rough’ is an unjust word here, for as far as we could tell its primary function was to catch any shot heading slightly astray of the course from ending up in the desert - which provides a unique challenge as well as a stark and beautiful contrast of colour to the vivid green. This is also the only area of the course where you might get a bad lie – as during our two rounds, not once were we faced with anything other than a perfect lie whilst grass was under ball.

e G! 074

Yet this is not to say that Desert Springs is an easy course – the desert is almost always in play to a wayward shot, not to mention the many strategically placed bunkers, streams and lakes. Designed by award winning Walker Cup captain Peter McEvoy, every hole requires strategic planning and accurate execution. Attacking at the wrong time (most notably from the tee on par 5’s) could cost you dearly.

The greens are as immaculate as the rest of the course, and though we would not call them generous in size, once on they are very true and honest if studied carefully.

Missing greens on the wrong side however tells a different story – we found it surprisingly easy to ‘short-side’ ourselves, and were left wishing we had the short

game of Phil Mickelson to escape from certain situations with an ‘up and down’; best to take your medicine and remember not to make the same mistake again.

And you will surely wish to return – we cannot remember the last round of golf that required the use of every club in the bag, or where we teed up a ball at 18 perfectly flat tee boxes with grass that would put many courses greens to shame.

Full credit must be given to all involved with this course – being unique in Europe it could be easy to sell golf based on its desert setting alone, but Desert Springs is maintained to the highest standards set by its Californian inspiration, and all to our benefit.

eat GOLF!

“...we were left wishing we had the short game of Phil Mickelson to escape from certain situations with an ‘up and down’.”

Great deals on golf and accomodation are available all year round, and the course is easily walkable at this time of year.

Buggies are at hand, especially for the searing desert heat of the summer months. EAT GOLF! were informed after playing that in the ‘hot’ season the flowers that are planted around the course fill each hole with colour much like ‘Augusta’. Another reason to return!

If you have not yet sampled desert golf, now is a perfect opportunity to do so. As with any of the classic ‘Westerns’, Desert Springs is an unmissable experience. Not to be tackled in a ‘gung-ho’ fashion – to succeed you must defend your handicap against the course in a modern day golfing ‘shoot-out’.

e G! 075

eat GOLF!

executive golf THE 9 GREEN JEWELS OF MAGNA MARBELLA

With Andalusia being such a relaxed part of the world - ruled by a ‘mañana, mañana’ attitude - it may be hard to believe that people do actually work here as opposed to just comming on holiday to play golf!

For those people with little time to spare to play golf there are many new courses springing up to cater for their needs. Got a couple of hours? Play some executive golf!

Magna Marbella Golf C/ Calderón de la Barca s/n 29660 Marbella Tel: (+34) 952 929249 Email: info@magnamarbellagolf.com Web: www.magnamarbellagolf.com

e G! 076

eat GOLF!

“Situated on the top of Golf Valley, should Magna Marbella be an ordinary course it would certainly have some stiff competition...”

EAT GOLF! will be looking into some alternative short courses in future issues, but here we start with the recently opened Magna Marbella Golf - a nine hole, par 29 course including excellent practice facilities and driving range with golf school.

Situated on the top of Golf Valley, should Magna Marbella be an ordinary course it would certainly have some stiff competition - Los Naranjos, Real Club de Las Brisas, La Quinta and Aloha Golf are all just around the corner. Although Magna is ultimately catering for a different market - where time is valuble they have not economised on the quality and services they offer.

The club house is elegantly furnished, and has a cosy atmosphere. It comprises the caddy master, changing facilities and the excellent Magna Cafe featuring a

terrace that overlooks the golf course. Catering toward all tastes the food here is superb - as can be seen by its sudden popularity with local residents and visitors alike.

From the car park area - the management say that you can arrive, unload your clubs, play nine holes of golf, and be back in your car in about an hour and three quarters.

Although new, the course is in immaculate condition. The greens are Magna Marbella’s pride and joy irrigated with water which is distilled via their own plant. This will ensure that they are well protected from disease and should be in perfect condition whenever you visit.

If you only have time to get a quick round in, enjoying Magna’s nine green jewels could prove an ideal way to spend it.

e G! 077

eat GOLF!

SantanaGOLF “Stood on the fourth tee you are faced with breathtaking views as your eye is drawn through the course and to the mountains beyond...”

Primarily a parkland course in what was an old avocado plantation, Santana Golf was opened in November 2003 and designed by Cabell B. Robinson.

Santana is surprisingly mature for what is a relatively new course – many of the avocado trees are still present, complimented with eucalyptus, orange and lemon trees, cactus, pine, fig, olive, mango and cork trees. The valley which contains the front 9 is truly majestic. Stood on the fourth tee you are faced with breathtaking views as your eye is drawn through the course and to the mountains beyond - it really is like a picture postcard. The back nine is more American in style and makes a good contrast by utilising water on four of the holes, and in a different way provides some equally memorable moments.

Fortunately the golf matches up to the views - Santana has 18 superbly

e G! 078

designed holes. The course is carefully balanced between length and accuracy ensuring any player is likely to find a favourite hole which matches their playing style. Whilst par 4’s are generally short with doglegs and well protected greens, Par 3’s range from 143 to 184 metres from the yellow tees. The Par 5, 8th weighs in at a hefty 575 metres from the yellow tees and over 600 metres from the championship tee! Note that much consideration has been put into the different tee boxes, with ladies given a generous advantage over the yellow tees, and then again over the white and championship.

This is course layout at its finest, designed for golfers of all levels to get as much satisfaction from their round as possible. As much a joy to play as it is to look at, once you have seen Santana for yourself you will appreciate that this is a great compliment indeed.

Santana Golf Carretera La Cala-Entrerríos, s/n, Valle del Golf de Mijas, 29649 Mijas Costa, Málaga.

Tel.: 902 517700 / +34 951 062560 Fax: 902 518800 / +34 951 062562 E-mail: info@santanagolf.com Web: www.santanagolf.com

Monte Mayor Golf & Country Club Edificio Monte Mayor, Avenida de Monte Mayor, s/n, Apdo. de Correos 962, 29679 Benehavís, Málaga, Spain Tel.: + 34 952 937100 Fax: + 34 952 937130 Web: www.montemayorgolf.com

eat GOLF!

Monte Mayor GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB “This is a true mountain setting where the course integrates into the hillsides and valleys.”

Opened in 1989, and designed by José Gancedo, Monte Mayor is a miracle of golf course design. This is a true mountain setting where the course integrates into the hillsides and valleys leaving you in wonder and awe at who in their right mind would conceive and take on the creation of such a course.

The fact that buggy rental is included in the green fee should be a clue as to how hilly this area is, yet it provides a truly playable and breath-taking round of golf that every golfer should experience.

Make sure you have plenty of balls though, you’re going to need all of them on this 5,652 metre, 18 hole par 71 layout.

The first hole starts at the bottom of the valley, and lets you know immediately the kind of ride you’re in for. A challenging par 5 of 471 metres with the green hidden from view - it takes two very well struck and carefully placed shots just to get a look at the green for your third. The greens in general have plenty of undulations and make a superb putting surface – closely mown with a very true roll. The first of the four par 3’s is 193 metres from the white tees. You will hopefully be playing off the yellows, as it is all carry with a mid to long iron accross a valley to the green nestled slightly below. This, as are many of the holes at Monte

Mayor, is a very tranquil place occupying its own valley within the sheltered hillsides in which the course sits as a whole.

The exquisitely designed par 4 10th is 369 metres. A slightly uphill drive on this hole leaves you in perfect position to view the reasonably generous green which could be a good long iron away. With a ravine protecting the left side and bunkers behind and to the right, this is a great hole that any golf course in the world would be proud of.

With few birdie opportunities (certainly the first time you play the course at any rate!) the 13th gives you a slight breather. An elevated tee leaves a short drive to the corner of a dogleg left, just leaving a pitch in to a small but flat green.

Difficulty then builds towards the par 4 15th (only 337 metres, but straight uphill), and a great downhill par 5 at the 16th. Perhaps this reads like a rollercoater ride, and it certainly is just that. But it is also a delightful and inspiring golf course where every shot is going to test your skill, but every view is going to leave you breathless.

e G! 079

eat GOLF!

THE ‘GREEN’ LIGHT FOR GOLF During a four-day spell in a June, virtually out of sight to the golfing community at large, and in an area of Spain where flamingos fly in abundance, but international tourism is at a premium, a tournament took place that confirmed the sport’s commitment to ‘green’ policies.

By Dennis Shaw, PGAs of Europe

The Spanish Federation’s Professional Championship was staged at Golf Dunas de Doñana, Matalascañas which, when taking into account the wealth of superb courses that exist along the stretch of coast a couple of hours drive east of there, on the Costa del Sol, begs two questions: Where the heck is Dunas De Doñana? And why was it selected as the venue for the important process of deciding on a Spanish professional champion?

Very few Spaniards, let alone foreigners in Spain, would claim with hand on heart to be able to place Matalascañas on the map.

Indeed, anyone travelling west,

e G! 080

from such well-known places as Seville, Cadiz, Gibralter or Jerez de la Frontera would be little more than an hour from the Portuguese border before they spotted the name on a signpost pointing towards the Océano Atlántico.

Even then, to find the golf course, they have to drive through mile after mile after mile of… well trees, actually, and not a lot else. There are no hills, few bends in the fast roads that are straighter than most motorways, a reducing number of vehicles and no pedestrians.

The reason for this seductive sense of solitude is that Doñana consists of more than 100,000 hectares of protected land and is considered to be not only one of the most valuable natural landscapes in the whole of Europe but has been designated as a World Heritage site. For there to be a golf course located here at all, and one of sufficient calibre to stage a national professional championship, is really quite something, and is part of the answer to the second of those

questions.... namely that the Spanish Golf Federation was wholeheartedly in favour of promoting the concept of golf courses blending with their surrounding ecology.

Here I must hasten to assure readers that the golfing authorities in general, and the European Institute of Golf Course Architects in particular, care as deeply about preserving our planet as the next person. This was reflected emphatically in December 2003 when the EIGCA joined in with the PGAs of Europe’s Annual Congress at Atalaya Park Hotel, Costa del Sol to discuss many issues, including golf and the environment.

It was further illustrated more recently in Brussels when the main European golf organisations, including many national federations, turned out to support the launch of the new European Forum for Sustainable Golf by the Committed to Green Foundation.

Also in attendance were the

eat GOLF!

WHERE PINK FLAMINGOS FLY “...but the message to golf course managements remains the same: abide by searching ecological guidelines, or you may have problems ahead with the authorities.“

European Commission, WWF, United Nations Environment Programme and Birdlife International. The Forum is designed to bring golf organisations together on the common theme of environmental sustainability, which is going on within the golf sector.

the staging of an important domestic tournament at the greenest of green venues was a valuable statement in support of golf’s policy of working with the environmentalists not against them. Or, to put it another way, to be ‘environmentalists’ themselves.

The Federation of European Golf Greenkeepers’ Assocation, a lead organisation in the Forum, comprising those who actually keep the courses in pristine condition without resorting to treatments that are designated as ‘anti-green’, are equally committed to enlightened methods. The difficulty is that some sections of the ‘green’ lobby are not convinced.

Awareness of this principle is enshrined in formation of the new EU constitution, as it relates to sport in general and to golf in particular, by its placing of heavy emphasis on ecological protection and preservation, and to stringent restrictions on the use of water. The said ‘new constitution’ is currently in a period of ‘pause’ following ‘no’ votes by Holland and France, but the message to golf course managements remains the same: abide by searching ecological guidelines, or you may have problems ahead with the authorities. Not that the staff of Dunas De Doñana need any such reminding. When a new nine holes was added to the established nine some five years ago it was built on

Any programme of deforestation, the destruction of wild life’s natural habitat, the application of pesticides and herbicides - indeed, any harmful chemicals - the usage of valuable water supplies, is rightly frowned upon and, indeed fiercely contested by them. For this reason

the site of a former refuse dump which had become a blot on the landscape.

Planning permission was granted only on the understanding that the well-being of the El Acebuche (the Wild Olive Tree), the cork trees, the junipers, the heather, the cistus and the rest of the flora was accepted as being far more important than striking a golf ball.

Why, even the golfers themselves would play second fiddle to the scurrying newts, insect life and fauna in general.

Vicente Muñiz Baum, the Director of Golf, believes that ‘no golf course in Spain is more ecologically aware than here’.

The man-made lakes around the course are there to collect rainwater for recycling into the irrigation system and at times of drought, such as that leading up to the Spanish Federation Professional Championships, the levels fall and difficulties loom.

e G! 081

eat GOLF!

“Anyone with fears that golf courses and golfers invade parts of the terrain to the detriment of its eco-systems and its wild life would disperse those fears by visiting Matalascañas...”

Permission to use water from the mains supply is required from the local authority and not easily granted. Before the Championship began the contestants were given firm instructions that, in executing their swing while in the rough, not one single branch on any bush or tree was to be damaged. Carlos Marin Rodriguez, Director of the professional department of the Spanish Federation, explained that while Dunas De Doñana was by some distance ‘not the most suitable course in Spain’ for the tournament (bearing in mind the glittering alternatives), the decision to play there sent out a valuable message about golf’s ecological awareness.

It is an enjoyable course, with a nice cushion of grass on the fairways leading to greens that are easier to read than some of those elsewhere in Spain, and while very well maintained, not as slick and scary as the classic courses. Dunas De Doñana is absolutely ideal for holiday golf, since it is not too taxing, but challenging enough for the handicap player. The 72-hole championship was won by Carlos Garcia with a score of eleven under par but many of the professionals failed to beat par, an indication that a significant test of golf is provided by this pleasant, very natural golf course that has been woven into the surrounding countryside with minimal disruption to the existing landscape.

And what a landscape! The course is linked to the excellent four-star Golf Tierra Mar Hotel, some 500 yards away located on the edge of

e G! 082

a 30 km stretch of beach that is as perfect as nature can make it, and is partly washed by a surprisingly warm Atlantic Ocean. Most of that beach is inhabited only by birds, many of them rare species of gulls from around the world for whom it is their wintering ground and stopping off place for breeding.

Because it is so remote once the holiday development has run out, virtually the only people who use it are professional cocklers who eke out a living by sifting out the shell fish on the edge of the tide using specially designed implements that appear to be a large wooden ‘spade’ and a net, rolled into one.

airports such as Seville, Cadiz, Gibralter and Faro in Portugal.

The vast unspoiled area of protected environment, with differing eco-systems, around the golf course consist of forestry, marshland areas (that at times are lakes covered in pink flamingos) and enormous, shifting sand dunes that were used in the filming of Lawrence of Arabia. Thirty-three species of mammals live there, some of them wandering on to the golf course area. The guides on the Safari-style conducted tours, undertaken in vehicles with huge wheels necessary to negotiate the terrain, know where to find many of them, including the deer, with their ‘bambis’ galore.

Dunas De Doñana’s greatest of many strengths is the way that, while not perhaps a links course as such, it confirms as many others have done, that golf can and usually does, blend naturally with its environment. As a key player in the ‘green golf’ campaign, Jonathan Smith calls for others to ‘take a leaf out of their book’ and he adds: “All golf facilities, similarly, can become recognised as stewards of the environment.”

This Huelva area of Andalucia seems to depend mainly on Spanish visitors with some from Germany and elsewhere but very few from the UK, (though Thomas Cook plan to include Golf Tierra Mar Hotel in their future brochure).

Matalascañas is accessible from

One or two new courses are in the planning stage. One major plus is that food, drink and the other things that holidaymakers buy are considerably less expensive than in the areas of Spain that attract more international tourism. As a golfing destination it is not an extension of the Costa del Sol and doesn’t set out to be, but it has a special appeal all of its own for families who seek the perfect beach along with tranquillity, an enjoyable round of golf and the use of an excellent, welcoming club house.

Full information can be found on www.committedtogreen.com.

Anyone with fears that golf courses and golfers invade parts of the terrain to the detriment of its ecosystems and its wild life would disperse those fears by visiting Matalascañas and whilst there, take the National Park Tour. They should also visit nearby El Rocio, the Village of the Horses….but that’s another story of unspoiled Spain, all of its own.

eat GOLF!

PROPERTY

with a big back garden

By Sarah Drane

All year round Andalucia is positively teeming with golfers. Gaggles of men and clusters of women sporting enough Ralph Lauren, Pringle and Cutter & Buck to fill a department store, spend long weekends tackling as many of the 80 plus courses as they can, with the majority of them choosing the Costa del Sol. The Province of Málaga has 42 courses alone, although that figure is almost impossible to keep tabs on as many more expanses of land are being transformed into green, 18-hole paradises seemingly by the minute.

The allure of the best variety of fairways under endless sunshine becomes too much for some and they simply have to buy a holiday bolt-hole within putting distance of their favourite course. More and more property developers are catering to the buying public’s insatiable appetite for golf property and there are now dozens of projects along the Costa del Sol, ranging from cosy one bedroom apartments to opulent five bedroom villas, where golf is the main focus.

A property on a golf course has immense appeal to the avid amateur for obvious reasons. Direct

e G! 084

access, privileges, discounts or rights of play included in the purchase price and the bonus of driving the buggy off the driveway straight to the tee. However, even if you have never picked up a six iron in your life, there are further advantages for the purchaser with a distinct disinterest in golf. Golf properties are surrounded by their own guaranteed mini green-belt that nobody can build on, something of a rarity on the Costa del Sol and this means that the verdant views you have today will be the same in ten years time. Golf developments also tend to bring the benefit of security, often 24 hour and often gated or patrolled, as well as a social hub in the form of a Clubhouse, ensuring you’ll always make friends, always have a cold pint of San Miguel on tap and maybe even a tennis court or gymnasium to make use of.

T5 Estates is a real estate agency with offices within Estepona Golf Course and claims to be ‘the golfer’s choice’ by specialising only in golf related property. The Directors, Darran Clark and Andrew George, are both heavily into golf and brimming full of Spanish property expertise. Darran is a PGA golf professional who has participated in the Canadian Tour over recent years. He hails however from Kent rather than Northern Ireland and certainly does not have the bank balance of his namesake Darren Clarke, especially with a wife and six year old daughter with expensive taste. Darran was

employed as Head Teaching Professional at Estepona Golf Course before becoming Sales Manager for a large Costa del Sol real estate agency and then setting up T5 Estates. Andrew has an 'average' handicap hovering around the 15 mark and although could by no means be described as a golf professional, he is without doubt, a golf nutcase. As often as wife and two year old son permit, Andrew can be found driving and putting on each and every course on the Costa del Sol, his favourite being Los Arqueros. After 13 years as a small business adviser for a well known high street bank, Andrew fell into estate agency for a small company based in Cardiff and has been plugging property ever since. He and Darran met when they worked for the same Costa del Sol real estate agency where Andrew held the title of Investment Manager.

So, if you’re a golfer desperately seeking the perfect second home in the sunshine for you and your Taylor Mades, T5 Estates, with their vast portfolio of homes with big green back gardens, could be the ideal partner to help you get on that fairway to heaven. Just make sure you spend some hours down the driving range before accepting an invitation to a round of golf from Darran…

T5 Estates can be contacted on +34 951 319 204 dclark@t5estates.com www.t5estates.com

eat GOLF!

metal dealer, hit the headlines at Royal Birkdale in 1991.

In contention for the Open he suffered a broken leg - a stress fracture - after driving at the ninth hole of the third round.

Now a Sky Sports commentator, EAT GOLF! caught up with him for a quick chat.

Things have changed a lot since you were on the tour.

What do you think has been the biggest change?

There's many things. I joined the tour in '82 and started playing at the beginning of '83. In those days there was no such thing as courtesy cars, no such thing as range balls. You used to pay your caddy 25 pounds a round, and if you missed the cut you never used to pay him. So that's a few changes, also the prize money.

When I started I think it was about 1.4 million for the whole season, and now I think its about 40 odd million, or maybe a bit more than that. Just to give you an idea, 11th

“On the course you've got to set the shot up. If there's something amusing to say, say it - if there isn't don't say anything.” e G! 086

BOXY

Richard Boxall, son of a scrap

on my own in the French Open was a net cheque of 700 pounds, in '83, whereas now I think its about 38/9 thousand pounds.

You gave up golf as a result of breaking your leg, is that right?

Not really, I broke my leg in 1991 and then I didn't play for 10 months.

Then I came back and all I did when I started playing again was try to make the cut, and I realized you've got no chance playing that way.

So how did you get into the sports commentary?

Well I did a bit of commentating in '91 with Peter Alliss, when I broke my leg. I quite liked it and then Sky asked me to do a World of Golf.

Then in '98 I missed my card, went back and got it, and then '99 I couldn't really play much of the year so as I was going to miss my card again I thought 'that's enough'. So I said to Sky, (the hardest thing was to say that I'm not going to play any more tournaments) So I wrote to Sky and had a chat with the people involved, and said I'd give 101%, won't play tournaments any more, and have you got anything for me?

So they said yes, come and do a few World of Golf's. My main objective was to do either on course or in the box commentary eventually. That was six years ago.

So I'm very happy about it, thoroughly enjoy working for Sky it's good fun.

Are you happy being on course as opposed to being in the box?

I like both and they're both very different. On the course you've got to set the shot up. If there's something amusing to say, say it if there isn't don't say anything. In the box is a little different, because you've got to keep going a bit more. A lot of the time pictures tell the story, so if you haven't got anything to say shut up!

But you get made fun of a little bit on the course...

Oh yeah they call me a ‘little fat boy’ and all that kind of stuff, I'm not exactly slim... I'm just about able to iron my shirts in a wok now! Yeah but if you don't play anymore and you don't walk round all the time you're going to put a bit of weight on, especially if you like the occassional coca-cola.

And being on course, does that allow you to get closer to the players and create more of a rapport with them?

The great thing is, OK I've been out of the game for 6 years, and there's a lot of new players come into it, but a lot of the players I knew already from when I was playing.

The hardest thing was actually interviewing the players I used to play with because I like to laugh and joke and mess around. To start

eat GOLF!

with I don't think they were sure when I was messing around. But I don't really chat to them when I'm on the course, I might do if they come to me. It's nice to know that they are aware you’re still around , I've done it for a long time, playing especially, so you do actually know what the player is trying to do when he is in the rough, on the fairway or whatever. There is a massive difference in yardage off the tee now though, an that's obviously the driver and balls.

Do you see that as a problem?

I don’t know how much further they can go to be honest... I think you can shape the fairways a bit and harden the greens up, and grow the rough up to make it paramount on hitting the fairway.

I suppose that's what you can do.

But then people say that and they'll

“Oh yeah they call me a ‘little fat boy’ and all that kind of stuff, I'm not exactly slim...

I'm just about able to iron my shirts in a wok now!”

e G! 087

eat GOLF!

take the driver and belt it, pull out a sand iron into the green. But if they could make the greens a little bit harder, and tuck the pins away I think that could help.

“...in the early 80s there were red trousers and lime green trousers with white belts and stuff like that. That was more the trousers whereas now its the trousers and the top.�

Statistically score wise things aren't going down that much.

No I think what happens though is that it brings the bottom players upward and bunches up the scoring. Cuts are certainly different, there's no question about that. When I started if you broke 150 on most courses you made the cut. Where now if you don't break par then 7 times out of ten the chances are you're not going to make the cut. So that's quite a big difference I've noticed.

But that actually was happening when I was playing.

Who do you see as the up and coming players at the moment?

There's a few good ones coming along now. You've got Luke Donald, Paul Casey, Ian Poulter. There's a lot of young chaps sometimes you have to say 'who's that over there?' I think we've got a fairly good breed now with the likes of Lee Westwood and Darren Clarke, when I came on the tour they were just starting, whereas now they are becoming the older members of the tour. The wheel always turns, and people fall off and go and do other things, and my turn to fall off was 1999!

What do you think of the fashions that the new players are bringing to the game?

Well, you've got to be able to play the game, with the colour schemes they are wearing these days. But when I was playing in the early 80s there were red trousers and lime green trousers with white belts and stuff like that. That was more the trousers whereas now its the trousers and the top. I think it looks very smart, I think it's great for the game and I think it promotes it to be quite honest.

What else do you think we could do to encourage more younger players to take up the game?

e G! 088

I think TV coverage is making them play. You get a lot of tournaments now, especially in the school holidays, and you see a load of kids down there. It's a good family day out. You take them down the range, and also with the fancy clothes, and you've got kids now that follow the Ian Poulter hair style etc. They are all fantastic for the game.

What would you have done if there was no golf in the world?

I think I probably would have been a salesman!

eat GOLF!

j

LINDEBERG

e G! 090

Johan Lindeberg is a man who doesn’t stand on tradition. The Swedish fashion strategist could easily be described as the rock n’ roll revolutionary of the fashion world. He is the man currently revolutionising the traditionally stuffy world of golf with trendy, slim-fitting and colourful golfwear replacing god-awful plus-fours and checked v-neck sweaters.

After revolutionising today’s contemporary fashion world as CEO of Diesel USA, Lindeberg has branched into the world of golf, as well as operating his own successful brand of daring, modern clothing. He creates for, as he puts it, “the 21st century citizen”. Attitude and the guts to break away and do what he believes in is the genuine rock n’ roll quality that lifts him above what any other fashion designer out there is doing right now.

Here, “the guitarist who left to create (his) own music” talks to EAT GOLF!

eat GOLF!

Firstly, can you tell us a bit about your background?

I was born in Lund in the south of Sweden. I have no formal education. I was inspired by my sister, who was a fashion designer.

I am married to Marcella, an Italian, from Milan. I have a 3 year old daughter called Blue. We live in Notting Hill in London and I commute to Stockholm during collection time.

How daunting was it to leave the prestigious position of CEO of Diesel USA, one of the world’s top clothing brands, to go ahead and launch your own line of clothes? Was it a difficult task?

It was a brave step, particularly to risk status and my big salary! I had made my contribution to the success of Diesel and I just felt like doing my own thing. I usually say: ‘If Diesel was a rock band, I was the guitarist who left to create my own music’.

What drives you to do what you do?

I just want to create a 21st century lifestyle, to do things that I love myself and try to do things that no one has done before. And I want to build the ultimate brand for a conscious and modern consumer.

Do you follow a strict philosophy when it comes to your vision and work?

Yes. I just do things I love to wear myself and hopefully other people like it as well.

What sort of person is the typical J Lindeberg customer?

Anyone who wants to be modern and a 21st century citizen, who wants to drive a modern car, loves Ipods, and who loves to enjoy a modern lifestyle.

You have quite a formidable team behind you, with a wealth of experience between them.

This must be extremely important when it comes to your line of work?

Yes. I love to collect people with great potential and to create a natural environment in order to get them to work to their full undiscovered potential. The only

way for me to accomplish my complex vision is to surround myself with very skilled people.

Regarding your line of golf clothing, you have been quoted as saying you have a “determined strategy to modernise the golf world”. Where does this outlook stem from?

I seriously think that I can modernize the world by modernizing golf. It is actually our golf-line of clothing which is most rock n’ roll in JL. We are challenging the 80s establishment by changing golf. If a decision maker dresses more modernly on the golf course, he will probably start to think more modern.

The golfers who wear your clothes – Jesper Parnevik, Fredrik Jacobson, Aaron Baddeley – are young, slim and trendy and not exactly the stereotypical golfers.

Do you expect the older, robuster generation of golfers to go for the JLOC (J Lindeberg On Course) line of clothing?

Absolutely. I just heard that Raymond Floyd will wear our belt at the US Open. I love to inspire the established guys.

In your expert opinion, who are the best and the worst dressed golfers in the game?

Davis Love III… always very classic, an untouchable look. Kenny Perry and Scott Hoch wearing that tabasco stuff could need some help to dress better.

e G! 091

eat GOLF!

Belt Quarter Tuxedojacket Sean Trousers Ivar

e G! 092

eat GOLF!

JesperPARNEVIK Model: Jesper Parnevik. Photos: Greyham Kuhn. Location: Jesper Parnevik’s house in Florida. Styling: Johan Lindeberg.

“Golf fashion is stuck in a 1980s sand trap. Remember how Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan and Walter Hagen dressed? Everything they wore was stylish and fashion conscious. Today’s golfers don't seem to care. I care. With my sportswear range I aim to ‘take ownership of modern golf’. I want to change the whole establishment through the world of golf. Golf is damned stylish. Somewhere in the 80s it all got so boring.” – Johan Lindeberg Top Lincolm Trousers Troy Belt Slater

e G! 093

eat GOLF!

Top Reade Trouser Troon Belt Slater

e G! 094

eat GOLF!

Top Reade Trouser Troon Belt Slater

e G! 095

eat GOLF!

Course Guide & Distribution Points EAT

GOLF! is distributed in over 40 golf courses on the Costa del Sol from Alcaidesa to Málaga and Almeria,

as well as many luxury hotels and golf retail outlets. If you are a reader and experience difficulty locating a copy of the magazine, or if you offer a golf related service and would like to stock the magazine, please let us know by sending an email to: postmaster@eat-golf.com

Albayt Golf Academy (3) Avda. de Costa Galera, 34 29680 Estepona, Málaga Tel.: 952 804702 / Fax: 952 808942 Email: comercial@albaytcountryclub.com Web: www.albaytcountryclub.com Alcaidesa Links Golf Course (18) Ctra. N-340, km. 124,6 11315 La Línea de la Conception, Cádiz Tel.: 956 791040 / Fax: 956 791041 Email: golf@alcaidesa.com Web: www.alcaidesa.com Designers: Peter Allis & Clive Clark Alhaurín Golf (18) Crta. MA-426 Fuengirola-Coín, km. 15,1 29120 Alhaurín el Grande, Málaga Tel.: 952 595800 / Fax: 952 594586 Email: reservasgolf@alhauringolf.com Web: www.alhauringolf.com Designer: Severiano Ballestero Almenara Golf (27) Avd. Almenara, s/n.

11310 Sotogrande, San Roque, Cádiz Tel.: 956 582054 / Fax: 956 582024 Email: nhalmenaragolf@nh-hotels.com Web: www.nhalmenara.com Designer: Dave Thomas Aloha Golf Club (18) Urb. Aloha, Nueva Andalucía, 29660 Marbella, Málaga Tel.: 952 907085 / Fax: 952 907086 Email: office@www.clubdegolfaloha.com Web: www.clubdegolfaloha.com Designer: Javier Arana Los Arqueros Golf & Country Club (18) Ctra. Ronda, s/n. km. 166,5 29679 Benehavís, Málaga Tel.: 952 784600 / Fax: 952 786707 Email: caddiemaster@es.taylorwoodrow.com Web: www.taylorwoodrow.com Designer: Severiano Ballestero

e G! 096

Cabopino Club de Golf (18) Artola Alta s/n. Aptdo. de Correos 2119 29600 Marbella, Málaga Tel.: 952 850282 / Fax: 952 837277 Email: reservas@cabopinogolf.com Web: www.cabopinogolf.es Designer: Juan Ligués Creus

Flamingos Golf (18) Ctra. N-340, km. 166 29679 Benahavís, Málaga Tel.: 952 889157 / Fax: 952 889159 Email: info@flamingos-golf.com Web: www.flamingos-golf.com Designer: Antonio García Garrido

La Cala: North, South & Europa Courses (52) La Cala Resort, La Cala de Mijas 29649 Mijas Costa, Málaga Tel.: 952 669033 / Fax: 952 669034 Email: golf@lacala.com Web: www.lacala.com Designer: Cabell B. Robinson

Greenlife Golf (9) Avd. Las Cumbres, Urb. Elviria Hill 29600 Benahavís, Málaga Email. golf@greenlife-golf.com Tel.: 952 839142 / Fax: 952 839082 Web: www.greenlife-golf.com Designer: Greenlife Estates

Club de Golf La Cañada (18) Crta. de Guadiaro 1 11311 Guadiaro, San Roque, Cádiz Tel.: 956 794100 / Fax: 956 794241 Email: cgolflacanada@telefonica.net Web: www.lacanadagolf.com Designers: Robert Trent Jones & Dave Thomas

Guadalhorce Club de Golf (18) Ctra. Campanillas, km. 7 29590 Campanillas Email. reservas@guadalhorce.com Tel.: 952 179378 / Fax: 952 179372 Web: www.guadalhorce.com Designer: Kosti Kuronen

El Chaparral Golf Club (18) Urb. El Chaparral, Ctra. N-340, km. 203 29646 Mijas Costa, Málaga Tel.: 956 794100 / Fax: 956 794241 Email: jlaranguren@aymerichgolf.com Web: www.golfelchaparral.com Designer: Pepe Gancedo

Guadalmina Golf: North & South Courses (36) Urb. Guadalmina Alta.

29678 San Pedro de Alcantara, Marbella, Málaga Tel.: 952 883455 / Fax: 952 883483 Email: info@guadalminagolf.org Web: www.guadalminagolf.org Designers: Javier Arana (South) Folco Nardi (North)

Golf La Dama de Noche (9) Camino del Angel s/n. Río Verde 29660 Marbella, Málaga Tel.: 952 818150 / Fax: 952 818413 Email: reservas@golfladamadenoche.com Web: www.golfladamadenoche.com Designer: Enrique Canales Desert Springs - Indiana Course (18) Ctra. Las Cunas-Palomares 04610 Cuevas del Almanzora, Almería Tel.: 637 861591/92 / Fax 647 478014 Email: desertsprings@almanzora.com Web: www.almanzora.com Designer: Peter McEvoy

Atalaya Golf: Old & New Courses (36) Ctra. de Benehavís, km. 0,7 29688 Estepona, Málaga Tel.: 952 882812 / Fax: 952 887897 Email: info@atalaya-golf.com Web: www.atalaya-golf.com Designers: Bernhard Von Limburger (Old) Paul Krings (New)

La Duquesa Golf & Country Club (18) Urb. El Hacho, s/n. Ctra. N-340, km. 143.

29692 Manilva, Málaga Tel.: 952 890725 / Fax: 952 893005 Email: gduquesa@arrakis.es Web: www.golfladuquesa.com Designer: Robert Trent Jones

Real Club de Golf Las Brisas (18) Apdo. de Correos 147 29600 Nueva Andalucía, Marbella, Málaga Tel.: 952 813021 / Fax: 952 815518 Email: info@lasbrisasgolf.com Web: www.lasbrisasgolf.com Designer: Robert Trent Jones

Estepona Golf (18) Autovía A-7, km. 150 29600 Arroyo Vaquero, Estepona Tel.: 952 937605 / Fax: 952 937600 Email: proshop@esteponagolf.com Web: www.eteponagolf.com Designer: José Luis López

Lauro Golf (27) Ctra. A-366, km. 77 29130 Alhalurín de la Torre, Málaga Tel.: 952 412767 / Fax: 952 414757 Email: info@laurogolf.com Web: www.laurogolf.com Designer: Folco Nardi & Mariano Benitez Magna Marbella Golf (9) Ctra. Calderón de la Barca, s/n.

29660 Nueva Andalucía, Marbella, Málaga Tel.: 952 929249 / Fax: 952 929249 Email: info@magnamarbellagolf.com Web: www.magnamarbellagolf.com Designer: José María Elguzábal Marbella Club Golf Resort (18) Crta. Benahavís, km. 3,7 29679 Benahavís, Málaga Tel.: 952 889101 / Fax: 952 889102 Email: reserv.golf@marbellaclub.com Web: www.marbellaclub.com Designer: Dave Thomas Marbella Golf & Country Club (18) Ctra. N-340, km. 188 29600, Marbella, Málaga Tel.: 952 830500 / Fax: 952 834353 Designer: Robert Trent Jones

SUMMER OFFER JUNE 1ST - SEPTEMBER 14TH 2006

ANY TIME, ANY DAY 2 PLAYERS, INCLUDING A BUGGY

ONLY 78.00 EUROS

ESTEPONA GOLF Arroyo Vaquero, Ctra. de Cรกdiz Km 150. Aptdo. 532 Estepona Tel: +34 952 93 76 05 / Fax: +34 952 93 76 00 www.esteponagolf.com / information@esteponagolf.com

eat GOLF!

Course Guide & Distribution Points Mijas Golf: Los Lagos & Los Olivos (36) Camino Viejo de Coín, km. 3,5 29649 Mijas Costa, Málaga Tel.: 952 476 843 / Fax: 952 467943 Email: info@mijasgolf.org Web: www.mijasgolf.org Designer: Robert Trent Jones Snr.

Golf Río Real (18) Urb. Rio Real, Ctra. N-340, km. 185 29600 Marbella, Málaga Tel.: 952 765733 / Fax: 952 772140 Email: reservas@rioreal.com Web: www.rioreal.com Designer: Javier Arana

Valderrama (18) Avenida de Los Cortijos, s/n.

11310 Sotogrande, San Roque. Cádiz Tel.: 956 791200 / Fax: 956 796028 Email: greenfees@valderrama.com Web: www.valderrrama.com Designer: Robert Trent Jones

Miraflores Golf (18) Ctra. de Cádiz km. 191,8 29647 Mijas Costa, Málaga Tel.: 952 931960 / Fax: 952 931942 Email: miraflores@computronx.com Designer: Folco Nardi

The San Roque Club: Old & New Courses (36) Ctra. N-240, km. 127 11360 San Roque, Cádiz Tel.: 956 613030 / Fax: 956 613305 Email: info@sonroqueclub.com Web: www.sanroqueclub.com Designers: Dave Thomas (Old) Perry Dye and Severiano Ballesteros (New)

Club de Campo La Zagaleta (18) Ctra. Ronda, km. 38 29679 Benehavís, Marbella, Málaga Tel.: 952 855453 / Fax: 952 855419 Email: club-lazagaleta@mercuryin.es Web: www.lazagaleta.com Designer: Bradford Benz

Monte Mayor Golf Club (18) Avenida de Monte Mayor, s/n.

Apdo. de Correos 962 29679 Benahavís, Málaga Tel.: 952 937111 / Fax: 952 937112 Email: reservations@montemayorgolf.com Web: www.monemayorgolf.com Designer: Pepe Gancedo La Noria Golf Resort (9) Llano de La Cala, s/n.

29649 La Cala de Mijas, Málaga Tel.: 952 587653 / Fax: 952 494407 Email: lanoriagolfresort@hotmail.com Designer: Francisco Navarro Collado Los Naranjos Golf Club (18) Nueva Andalucía, 29660 Marbella, Málaga Tel.: 952 812428 / Fax: 952 811428 Email: teetimes@losnaranjos.com Web: www.losnaranjos.com Designer: Robert Trent Jones El Paraiso Golf Club (18) Ctra. N-340, km. 167 29600 Estepota, Málaga Tel.: 952 883835 / Fax: 952 885827 Email: info@ elparaisogolfclub.com Web: www.elparaisogolfclub.com Designer: Gary Player La Quinta Golf & Country Club (27) Urb. La Quinta Golf s/n.

29660 Marbella, Málaga Tel.: 952 762390 / Fax: 952 762399 Email: reservas@laquintagolf.com Web: www.laquintagolf.com Designer: Antonio García & Manuel Piñero Parador Málaga Golf (18) Autovía Málaga-Algeciras, Salida Coín-Aeropuerto. 29004 Málaga Tel.: 951 011120 / Fax: 952 388963 Email: malaga@parador.es Web: www.parador.es Designer: Tom Simpson La Reserva de Sotogrande Golf Club (18) Avd. de La Reserva, s/n.

11310 San Roque, Sotogrande, Cádiz Tel.: 956 785252 / Fax: 956 785272 Email: lareserva@sotogrande.es Web: www.sotogrande.es Designer: Cabell B. Robinson Director: Jaime Anabitarte

e G! 098

HOTELS Santa Clara Golf (18) Ctra. N-340, km. 187,5 29600 Marbella, Málaga Tel.: 952 850111 / Fax: 952 850288 Email: reservas@santaclara-golf.com Web: www.santaclara-golf.com Designer: Enrique Canales Busquet Santana Golf & Country Club (18) Ctra. La Cala-Entrerríos, s/n.

Valle del Golf de Mijas 29649 Mijas Costa, Málaga Tel.: 951 062560 / Fax: 951 062562 Email: info@santanagolf.com Web: www.santanagolf.com Designer: Cabell B. Robinson Santa Maria Golf (18) Urb. Elvira, Ctra. N-340, km. 192 29600 Marbella, Málaga Tel.: 952 831036 / Fax: 952 834797 Email: caddymaster@santamariagolfclub.com Web: www. santamariagolfclub.com Designer: Antonio García Garrido Real Club de Golf Sotogrande (18) Paseo del Parque s/n.

11310, Sotogrande, Cadiz Tel.: 956 785014 / Fax: 956 795029 Email: info@golfsotogrande.com Web: www.golfsotogrande.com Designer: Robert Trent Jones Golf Torrequebrada (18) Ctra. de Cádiz N-340, km. 220 Apartado de Correos 120 29630 Benalmádena-Costa, Málaga Tel.: 952 442740/1/2 / Fax: 95 2561129 Email: bookings@golftorrequbrada.com Web: www.golftorrequebrada.com Designer: José Gancedo Golf Valle del Este (18) Autovía E-15, salida 529 04620 Vera, Almería Tel.: 950 398743 / Fax: 950 398214 Email: clubdegolf@valledeleste.es Web: www.valledeleste.es Designer: José Canales Gálvez

Hotel Kempinski Ctra. de Cadiz, km. 159, Playa el Padron 29680 Estepona, Málaga Email: info@kempinski-estepona.com Web: www.kempinski-estepona.com Gran Hotel Elba Estepona and Spa Ctra. de Cadiz (Urb. Arena Beach) km. 151 29600 Estepona, Málaga Hotel Selenza Thalassa Wellness Ctra. N-340, km. 166 29680 Benahavís, Málaga Marriott Playa Andaluz Ctra. de Cadiz, km. 168 29680 Estepona, Málaga Tel.: 952 880495 / Fax: 952 888436 Email: marketing.playa@vacationclub.com Web: www.marriottsplayaandaluza.com GOLF OUTLETS Golfriend’s Shop CC Mustang, locales 11-13 Urbanisation El Pilar, 29680 Estepona Tel.: 952 882523 / Fax: 952 880314 Email: golfriends@wanadoo.es Web: www.golfriendshop.com Golf Clubs Direct CC Costasol, Ctra. de Cádiz, km. 166 29680 Estepona, Málaga Tel.: 952 885309 / Mob: 639 729538 Email: info@golfclubs-direct.com Web: www.golfclubs-direct.com Golfer’s Paradise CC Mar y Sol, km 131, Sotogrande (San Roque) 11310 Cadiz Tel.: 956 785101 / Fax: 956 785102 Golf 'US Marbella CC Azalea Beach, Ctra. N-340, km. 173 29660 Nueva Andalucía, Marbella, Málaga Tel.: 952 908850 / Fax: 952 907285 Web: www.golf-us.es Marbella Classic Golf C./ Via 1b, Conjunto Casano, local 5-6 29660 Nueva Andalucía, Marbella, Málaga Tel.: 952 818875 / Fax: 952 812677