GOLF INTERNATIONAL IN ASSOCIATION WITH
Circles &
Motion Scott Cranfield on the secrets to making a more natural golf swing
G20 SUMMIT Full review of Ping’s latest clubs
Play by the book
We reveal the most common rules infringements
Captain America
Make no mistake about it – Davis Love has his sights set on winning back the Ryder Cup Issue 105 • sePT/OCT’ 11 • £4.25
05
9 771368 402034
PROPERTY: BUYERS’ GUIDE / RANGE ROVER EVOQUE / ONYRIA PALMARAS
/ MEMORABILIA
GOLF INTERNATIONAL
RICHARD SIMMONS
MAGAZINE
FIRST UP
ESSENTIAL READING FROM THE BEST IN THE GAME
10, Buckingham Place, London sW1e 6HX Tel: +44 (0)20 7828 3003 editor:
richard simmons richard@golfinternationalmag.com
editor in Chief:
robert Green robert@golfinternationalmag.com
equipment editor: dominic Pedler dominic@golfinternationalmag.com design:
Tony seagrave design@golfinternationalmag.com
Professional Teaching Panel: robert Baker, Tim Barter, Pete Cowen, Jim Christine, dan frost, Andrew Hall, simon Holmes, Paul Hurrion, stuart Morgan, denis Pugh, stuart smith, david Whelan & Jonathan Yarwood regular Contributors: Clive Agran, Peter Alliss, Colin Callander, Jeremy Chapman, Tom Cox, richard Gillis, Anthony ffrench-Constant, Michael flannery, John Hopkins, Tony Johnstone, kevin McGimpsey, david Purdie, ronan rafferty, sarah stirk, Jayne storey, Paul Trow & Jake ulrich Photographers: david Cannon, Peter dazeley, Phil Inglis, ross kinnaird, Andrew redington, Getty Images, Charles Briscoe-knight, Matthew Harris, Mark newcombe, eric Hepworth, steve read regular Illustrators: Peter Clark, Harold riley, dave f. smith, Tony Husband Overseas correspondents: karl Ableidinger Austria Jan kees van der Velden Holland Hong kong spencer robinson Mario Camicia Italy Andy Brumer usA
An issue packed full of bright ideas Our cover story this issue features a teaching professional new to the pages of Golf International but certainly not to the demands of standing in front of a camera and getting his message across. Scott Cranfield has forged a career through a desire to understand the bigger picture as to what it takes to learn to play better golf and he makes a sharp debut with a highly visual lesson designed to get you thinking more about what the club should be doing and less about what it actually takes to make that happen. The delivery is polished, the knowledge behind the reasoning considerable; not for nothing was he made a Master PGA Professional in June this year. The impact of the lesson – which runs from page 60 – is all the more forceful for the quality of the photographs Kevin Murray was able to produce on what was a (rather typical of this summer) pretty dank, grey and blustery August(!) afternoon. Truth be told, I was not all that far way from calling off the shoot and repairing inside to the warmth and comfort of the London Club’s snug, where we could busy ourselves with at least talking a good game. Murray saw things a little differently. Rigging a couple of flash units on an exposed tee the surreal studio-like results represented a feat of considerable skill and creativity – we had pros on either side of the lens.
Advertising/Publishing director: Peter simmons peter@golfinternationalmag.com Tel: (020) 7828 3003 • Mobile: 07827 995 080 Advertising director: nick edgley nick@golfinternationalmag.com Mobile: 07774 703 491 Advertising Consultant: Ian Harkness ian@golfinternationalmag.com Tel: 01702 558512 • Mobile: 07980 464 378 us Travel representative: Gary edwards gary@coastalsc.com Tel: (00) 1 843 849 1308 special Projects: Brosnan event Management Tel: (020) 8691 6836 Printers: Wyndeham Group // Tel: 01726 892400 distribution: Comag // Tel: 01895 433600
Regular readers will appreciate that instruction is a mainstay of the magazine’s editorial and I am delighted to announce that from the next issue Sir Nick Faldo will once again be a regular fixture with lessons aimed at helping juniors get the most out of their games – indeed the lessons feature the stars of the 2011 Faldo Series and were shot on location at Lough Erne during the recent Grand Finals. Hard to believe it is now over 16 years since I worked with Nick on his book A Swing for Life. Time spent with the six-time major champion in distilling his thoughts and exploring the techniques he applied to his own game provided a privileged insight to the abilities of someone who truly mastered his art. The majority of the juniors who each year compete for the title of Faldo Series Champion can perhaps be forgiven for not realising just how lucky they are to be given the opportunity to learn from one of the game’s greatest thinkers. But for those of us old enough to remember Faldo’s first major victory as clearly as we do his last, the chance to listen to and learn from one of the true greats is golfing gold.
ALLIAnCe MedIA
Enjoy the issue – and the next one!
Tel: (020) 8950 9117 e-mail: golfsubscriptions@alliance-media.co.uk
ISSUE 105 • SEPT/OCT 2011
SUBSCRIPTIONS
uk: £34.99 • eurOPe: £44.99 • resT Of THe WOrLd: £49.99
richard@golfinternationalmag.com
Essential reading from the best in the game
GOLF INTER NATIO
NAL MAGA ZINE
SEPTE MBER
/OCTO
BER 2011 A ROU ND WITH ROB ERT TREN T JON ES JUN IOR / RAN GE ROV ER EVO QUE // MEM ORA BILIA // PRO PER TY...
ISSUE #105 // SEPT/OCT 2011
Regulars 12
LeTTers do you have an opinion you’d like to share? Why not email us? You could win the latest footJoy shoes and wind-shirts
17
PLAneT GOLf Perfect swiss timing: a treat on the banks of Lake Geneva with Audemars Piguet ambassadors darren Clarke and Miguel Angel Jimenez...Latest equipment news with Gi’s dominic Pedler... ChiPower Golf...more advice from dr felix shank... 2Minute Lesson - nick Bradley...The Leuka Mini Masters... Major!..divots...next issue
SEPT/OCT 2011
154 WOrLd TOurnAMenT neWs Andy Farrell has all the latest news from the world of professional tournament golf, including keegan Bradley’s history-making victory in the us PGA , Thomas Bjorn’s fast start to the ryder Cup qualifying season and Yani Tseng’s continued dominance in the women’s game with her British Open win at Carnoustie. Plus our regular round-up of results, stats and money-lists
130
74
A rOund WITH rTJ2 On a visit to the newly-renovated Onyria Palmaras resort in Portugal, Gi’s Clive Agran found himself paired with none other than the man who redesigned the course, robert Trent Jones Jr
114
MeMOrABILIA Gi’s Kevin McGimpsey identifies and values more of your golfing ephemera
114
BusIness royal st George’s saw the beginning of a new partnership between the r&A and MercedesBenz. richard simmons talks to the car-maker’s head of global marketing Lueder Fromm
118
PrOPerTY Gi’s Peter Swain takes a look at entry-level apartments and shared ownership opportunites at some of europe’s finest developments
122
MOTOrInG Anthony ffrench-Constant gives his verdict on the super-styled range rover evoque
Features 54
CAPTAIn AMerICA John Hopkins found America’s ryder Cup captain davis Love in relaxed and talkative mood when he sat down with him during the recent us PGA Championship in Atlanta
74
PLAY IT BY THe BOOk The rules of Golf are complicated – that much we do know. And without a solid grounding in the laws governing the game it’s all too easy to fall foul of a specific rule in general play. PGA rules Panel member Ashley Weller highlights some of the more common mistakes and explains the correct procedure in each example
98
G20 suMMIT equipment editor Dominic Pedler has been trialling Ping’s latest G20 range during what passed as ‘summer’; here he gives his verdict (on the gear, not the weather)
Columns Travel 130 rOYAL & MOdern The fairmont st Andrews resort adds a new dimension to your visit to the Home of Golf – not to mention glorious championship golf of its own from its enviable perch overlooking the ‘Old Grey Toun’. Dominic Pedler reports
6 40
142 YOur GOLf TrAVeL In association with our travel partners at Your Golf Travel our showcase destinations this issue include Portugal’s dona filipa resort and the Grand dame of scotland, Gleneagles. There are also details on how you can save money on your 2012 golf package
And AnOTHer THInG... There’s an Olympic decision looming for some, while decision makers elsewhere may well be rueing their own legislation, writes Robert Green
42
On THe AIr Peter Alliss laments the passing of his great friend and BBC colleague, Alex Hay
136 nOrTHern LIGHTs If you found yourself inspired by images of the 2011 Walker Cup matches at royal Aberdeen then pay attention as Mark Alexander reveals what other great golf awaits in the vicinity of the Granite City
fIrsT uP editor Richard Simmons tees up the new issue
44
19TH HOLe There’s much strategy required to hatch a golf trip with the lads – and Clive Agran is a master
46
BeTTInG And so the race is on to qualify automatically for Jose Marie Olazabal’s ryder Cup team. Jeremy Chapman reports
162 THe LAsT sHOT Where next for the former world no. 1 Tiger Woods? John Hopkins ponders a number of possible scenarios
109
109
86 THe AMATeur sCene After six years at the helm of the eGu’s elite Training programme, Peter Mattsson is leaving to return to his native sweden. Adam Hathaway reflects on his legacy. Plus we bring you a roundup of the very latest amateur tournament news, while Colin Callander reflects on Harrison Greenbury’s success in the Boys’ at Burnham
GOLFINTERN ATIONALMAG .COM
Subscribe today... subscribe TOdAY and you will receive a dozen srixon golf balls with your order. It’s a no-brainer – for just £39.99 you will have all eight issues of Gi magazine delivered to your door PLus receive a dozen Srixon Z-Star premium golf balls (which on their own retail for £45.99 per dozen) For details, see page 96
Probably the best instruction on the Planet! ISSUE #105 // SEPT/OCT 2011 // MORE GOLF WITH THE EXPERTS...
WITHIn PLAneT GOLf
30 Feel it in your fingers Nick Bradley's book The 7 Laws of the Golf Swing became a best-seller thanks to ground-breaking graphics and a willingness to challenge orthodox thinking on all things related to the swing. Here, the man who took Justin rose into the world’s Top 20 kicks off a new series in Gi with a look at the all-important ‘lag’ in the swing – and shows you how to get it
36 How to release your inner power Tiger Woods’ understanding of eastern philosophies on how the body best generates speed and power has always been one of his strongest assets. Here, Jayne Storey explains how you, too, can learn to draw on inner strength with more lessons based on the art of T'ai Chi
51 Down the line with Adam Scott Having recently turned 30, Australia’s Adam scott is in the prime of his golfing life, his enviable swing as good as ever. Here, european Tour coach and regular sky sports analyst Denis Pugh explains the key points that make his technique a blueprint for the modern player
60 COVER STORY: Circles & Motion We are delighted to welcome PGA Master Professional Scott Cranfield to our panel of esteemed instructors – and he wastes no time in penning a comprehensive lesson based on the benefits of making your swing movement more natural and instinctive.
82 Are you making the ‘connection’? If you want to repeat a sound putting stroke you have to unite the movement of arms and torso. Jonathan Yarwood shows you how to do just that
104 A fresh approach to an age-old problem A second helping of Nick Bradley – this time turning his attention to sand play, and what at first may seem a radical switch from the norm when it comes to setting up to play a regular greenside sand shot
126 The ‘Mechanic’ ryder Cup star Miguel Angel Jimenez seems to be enjoying his golf more than ever, and wins this year in dubai and at the french Open prove that his somewhat unconventional pre-shot routine indeed does the trick of giving his real swing the green light to go. Here, his longtime coach Stuart Smith explains what it’s all about
150 Exactly who is hitting your golf ball? european Tour mind coach Dr Karl Morris challenges you to think hard about who you actually play golf for in a fascinating essay on how our behaviour and personality affects performance on the golf course
Closing your eyes as you set-up to putt can help to enhance the feeling of the arms and body working 'together' to produce pendulum action – find out more about 'connection' on page 82
SUBSCRIBE TODAY £39.99
8 ISSUES OF GOLF INTERNATIONAL delivered direct to your door
PLUS YOU WILL RECEIVE A DOZEN SRIXON Z-STAR BALLS Srixon Z-Star premium golf balls RRP £45 per dozen
INTRODUCING THE NEW ALL SRIXON Z-STAR GOLF BALL
£24.99
8 ISSUES OF GOLF INTERNATIONAL delivered direct to your door
(MAGAZINE ONLY)
Call our subscription Hotline on (020) 8955 7018 ...or click on the SUBSCRIPTIONS button online at:
www.golfinternationalmag.com PLEASE QUOTE SOURCE CODE: GiSEPT105 Offer applies only to mailing addresses within the UK only and whilst stocks last
SUBSCRIBE TODAY £39.99
8 ISSUES OF GOLF INTERNATIONAL delivered direct to your door
PLUS YOU WILL RECEIVE A DOZEN SRIXON Z-STAR BALLS Srixon Z-Star premium golf balls RRP £45 per dozen
INTRODUCING THE NEW ALL SRIXON Z-STAR GOLF BALL
£24.99
8 ISSUES OF GOLF INTERNATIONAL delivered direct to your door
(MAGAZINE ONLY)
Call our subscription Hotline on (020) 8955 7018 ...or click on the SUBSCRIPTIONS button online at:
www.golfinternationalmag.com PLEASE QUOTE SOURCE CODE: GiSEPT105 Offer applies only to mailing addresses within the UK only and whilst stocks last
GOLF
DARREN & JIMMY // 2-MINUTE LESSON - NICK BRADLEY // DR FELIX SHANK // NEW GEAR // THE MAJO
PERFECT SWISS TIMING At royal st George’s his swing ran like clockwork – hardly surprising, then, that Open Champion darren Clarke was quick to nominate his Audemars Piguet royal Oak Tourbillon Chronograph in a personal Top-10 of the finest Things in Golf. for the watch-techies among you Clarke wore a specially designed ultra-lightweight prototype titanium royal Oak on the course all four days at sandwich – as did fellow AP ambassadors rory McIlroy, Lee Westwood and Miguel Angel Jimenez. Guests of the luxury watchmaker enjoyed the company of two of golf’s great characters in switzerland, where the quick-witted banter matched the quality of the shot-making. Timing, naturally, was of the essence. audemarspiguet.com
SEPT/OCT 2011 GOLFINTERNATIONALMAG.COM 11
planet golf
ON THE LESSON TEE WITH DARREN & MIGUEL
ON THE PRACTICE TEE WITH
DARREN & MIGUEL There are corporate days and there are corporate days – and for clients and distributors of Swiss master watchmaker Audemars Piguet, the inaugural European Grand Final at Golf & Country Club de Bonmont – situated at the foot of the Jura mountains with sweep views across Lake Geneva to Mont Blanc – was clearly in the latter category. AP ambassadors Darren Clarke and Miguel Angel Jimenez entertained guests with a repertoire of shots as they shared some of their trade secrets and answered questions. Editor Richard Simmons was there to record procedings for prosperity.
DC: “Let me kick this all off by saying that when you watch pros warm up you may notice that we usually start with the short irons and gradually work up through the bag – I’ll go lob wedge, then 9-iron, 7-iron and 5-iron and so on. And the one thing you will
12 GOLFINTERNATIONALMAG.COM SEPT/OCT 2011
notice more than anything when you watch good players hit balls – one of the key things you can learn – is the balance they maintain on every shot. Look at Miguel here in action – not at all bad for an old man. And you can see how simple he keeps it all – there
is no real lateral movement, no swaying off the ball or towards the target. The most important thing in the swing is to keep your balance intact. A good golf swing is a turn back with the shoulders and a turn through again to face the target. There is not this random lateral movement off the ball that you tend to see so many amateur players struggle with. If you lose balance you lose posture angles and the club is destined to approach the ball at a different angle & direction – you strike the ball inconsistently. “Miguel has changed clubs two or three times while I’ve been rattling on up here but have you really noticed much change in the swing? No. We use the same swing through the bag. It’s the same motion, same thoughts, same basics. The clubshaft gets a little longer and because of that the swing becomes a little longer as you go through the set, obviously. But that is an automatic development, not a concious effort on our part. “Anyone have any questions or is
that all far too easy so far? [Silence]. “It should be easy! The fact is most amateurs make the game a lot more difficult than it should be. There is this tendency to want to throw yourselves at the ball when all you have to do is focus on making this turn back and turn through. “Notice that Miguel is hitting down on the ball. That’s how you compress the ball and get the desired ball-thenturf strike, which is the key to imparting the spin that keeps the ball in the air and under control. Make the mistake of trying to hit up on the ball and you will always struggle – you’ll hit the big ball before the little ball, as my dad used to tell me. Miguel Angel Jimenez: “What is it that you think is in control of and influences the clubface? “Anybody know? It is the hands. At the moment of impact you want the palm of your right hand square with the clubface and the back of the left hand to the target – it really doesn’t matter how you make the swing. Try this the next time you play; this is why it is so important that you place your hands on the club correctly. “All that Darren says about balance is very important. The relationship between the clubface and the hands, well, that is one of the secrets to good golf. If you turn nicely and allow your arms to swing freely you will make a good golf swing. I don’t like to make it complicated. If you adopt a strong grip, with the right hand turned to the right (i.e. underneath the grip), look what happens when the hands return to impact – as they naturally square to the path of the swing the clubface is closed down and the ball goes left. If you have a weak grip you will leave the clubface open. So, the grip is the
In full flow: two of golf’s great characters, Clarke and Jimenez share in a masterclass
greens a round in regulation – and yet still shooting those ridiculous scores. We all tend to think that the best players hit every fairway and every green – they don’t. We rely on the short game to save the mistakes we make in the long game. Q: How do you get backspin? DC: “You have to have a crisp, clean strike to control the spin. But you know, while amateurs are obsessed with backspin, most of the time we don’t want too much backspin. We play shots where we are trying to take the spin off the ball. If the ball is spinning back on the green on approach shots it’s out of control.”
basic that will influence the clubface in the golf swing. Simple, no?” DC: “A quick question for you: how much time do you think we spend hitting balls on the range and how much do we spend working on the short game? “The answer is going to surprise you: we spend the vast majority of our time chipping and putting. I’d say it’s 90% short game. We go to the range to loosen up and figure out what we’re doing with our swing that day. We spend the rest of the time chipping and putting. Even when Tiger was playing his best golf, I think he was averaging something like 12.9
Golf & Country club de Bonmont – highly recommended if you’re ever at a loose end in Geneva...
Q. How do you adjust the flight of the ball, to hit high shots and low shots? DC: “Good question – and I’m going to surprise you with the simplicity of the answer. All I do to hit it low or high is adjust the ball position. I make the same swing. Trajectory is controlled by where the ball is positioned within your stance. Move it a little back and your hands are ahead of the clubface, you deloft it and the ball flies lower (I may play this shot with more of a cut-off follow through); move it forward and your hands are a little behind the ball, adds effective loft at impact. “Let me hit a couple of drivers. As you will see , I’m not swaying either this way or that way – I’m turning away from and then towards the target. If I want to hit it lower I move the ball back towards the middle of my stance, for a higher drive it moves forward. I relied heavily on the low shot at Royal St George’s. “In fact my favourite shot is probably a driver off the deck. I grew up
SEPT/OCT 2011 GOLFINTERNATIONALMAG.COM 13
planet golf
NICK BRADLEY
Return to your set-up position, with a regular grip, and then rehearse your first move to this point, again lifting both thumbs up off the shaft as your hands reach waist high. Bounce the club a few times, then repeat
Start with your regular grip, then lift both thumbs right up off the shaft – immediately the club should feel heavy in your hands
Feel it in your fingers Try this hands-on (and thumbs-off!) drill to get a real sense of the way encouraging ‘lag’ in your swing unlocks your potential for generating clubhead speed. By Nick Bradley
14 GOLFINTERNATIONALMAG.COM SEPT/OCT 2011
Keep the thumbs up off the shaft until you change direction and feel the club drop as lag is created
THUMBS OFF THUMBS ON - FOR EXTRA LAG AND SPEED If you could distil the ingredients of great ball striking with an iron in your hand it would probably come down to two elements; lag and speed. You see, lag has the ability to produce a great angle of attack with an iron, complimented by the added bonus of increased clubhead speed. Hands up who doesn’t want to hit it better and hit it farther? Lag is often a mystical concept in golf – many golfers have tried to create ‘lag’ or a ‘late hit’ position only to find themselves even slower through the ball than before. Lag is not a static position, in fact it’s probably the least static and slow position we can have during the swing due to its dynamic forces. The moment you try to replace ‘motion’ with ‘position’ you generally kill speed! Lag is nothing more than the increasing of the club’s swingweight through angular momentum. That sounds like a mouthful but essentially all this means is the wrists cock or flex a little more during the downswing due to the pulling weight of the club. All we do to lag the club is to allow this sense of ‘heaviness’ to happen through the pliability of the wrists – yes they must feel soft and receptive to a dynamic change of direction in which the club feels really heavy.
Improving your fluidity and ‘lag’ will help you not only to generate clubhead speed but it will improve your ballturf strike
Heighten the sense in your fingers This drill (illustrated in the sequence along the top of these pages) is going to give you that sense of weight, change of direction and speed. The way to get this message through is to first take your regular grip; you are then going to lift both thumb pads off of the grip just as you see in this close-up picture (1). As you do this you will immediately gain a sense of the handle of the club increasing its weight into the fingers (which is why you should grip the handle there – i.e. low in the fingers – to begin with!). Take the time to get used to this dense heaviness, a feeling I doubt you would
ever of had if you have been guilty of casting the club. Let the grip end bounce a little in your fingers as if somebody had asked you, ‘How much do you think that weighs?’ Only now will you begin to create the right feelings. Thumbs off in motion – and repeat The trick to this is plenty of practice swings and rehearsals! Start to make a backswing but keep the thumb pads off of the grip handle until you reach the top of your swing and initiate the change of direction. When you sense your downswing has started let the handle of the club drop back onto the thumb pads; as this happens time and time again you will start to pick up on the rhythm and the physiology needed to create lag. Lose control to gain control... What do I mean by physiology? Any golfer I have ever seen in my 20-year career that has created little in the way of lag always demonstrated a tightness in the hands that severely altered the bodies ability to create lag and this extra angle into the ball. The most common example can be found with lady golfers who grip the club tightly to support its weight and motion but in doing so kill the swings ability to create leverage. The paradox is that if you want lag, speed and distance you have to ‘let go’ of control (CEO’s and CFO’s take note!) and give the club a little life of its own; let it bounce a little and have some motion! So, I want you doing this time and time again: ‘thumbs off…thumbs on’….. ’thumbs off….thumbs on’. When you feel you have that down just clip a few half shots away trying to replicate that same softness the hands during the drill. you will be amazed at the pop the ball seems to now as it leaves the face. So, whenever there’s a lack of fizz from the ball and your strike pattern has become a little ‘uncompressed’ go back to ‘thumbs off, thumbs on’. In a short time
SEPT/OCT 2011 GOLFINTERNATIONALMAG.COM 15
SUBSCRIBE TODAY £39.99
8 ISSUES OF GOLF INTERNATIONAL delivered direct to your door
PLUS YOU WILL RECEIVE A DOZEN SRIXON Z-STAR BALLS Srixon Z-Star premium golf balls RRP £45 per dozen
INTRODUCING THE NEW ALL SRIXON Z-STAR GOLF BALL
£24.99
8 ISSUES OF GOLF INTERNATIONAL delivered direct to your door
(MAGAZINE ONLY)
Call our subscription Hotline on (020) 8955 7018 ...or click on the SUBSCRIPTIONS button online at:
www.golfinternationalmag.com PLEASE QUOTE SOURCE CODE: GiSEPT105 Offer applies only to mailing addresses within the UK only and whilst stocks last
For many commentators Adam Scott’s golf swing could well be the blueprint for the modern era. The posture, the angles, the line and the rhythm... all fantastic. Now just into his 30s, Adam is still only a young man but he has been around for a long time and has a ton of experience. He’s a player all of us expected to move up to a major level and with the partnership he has forged with Tiger’s ex-caddie, Stevie Williams, that transition would now seem inevitable. The winning structure comes from managing himself and his game on the golf course and that’s where Stevie – an excellent motivator – has been helping him. Adam once had a tendency to get down and despondent when things were not going his way; Williams does not let that happen. He has the ability to instill in his players a firm belief as to how good they are – and Adam Scott is world-class in every department.
Analysis by Denis Pugh PHOTOGRAPHY: DAVID CANNON / GETTYIMAGES.COM
Down the Line
wıth
Adam Scott SEPT/OCT 2011 GOLFINTERNATIONALMAG.COM 17
INSTRUCTION ADAM SCOTT
‘BODY SPRING’ Key to speed is coil and release My general appraisal of Adam Scott’s swing would be that’s it’s been a job in progress for 10 years – and right now probably better than its ever been. Adam has worked extensively with my Sky Sports colleague, Butch Harmon, and, more recently with his brother-in-law Brad Malone (albeit on the methods I know Butch would endorse). The thing I notice most of all in this terrific mid-iron sequence is the way in which (from a perfect set of posture angles) his arm plane now is a little shallower than it used to be while his wrist plane is definitely flatter; the shaft looks more under control at the top. To me, the swing is tighter and shorter than it used to be but it hasn’t lost any of its beautiful rhythm. Tempting though it is to spend time analysing the plane of this swing, more valuable to you in terms of learning a more dynamic technique is to focus on what I term the ‘body spring’ – i.e. the way he utilises the lower body from the holding position as he changes direction to the ultra-fast rotation of the hips through the ball. Pay particular attention to the way in which the right knee stays in position in the backswing, acting as a ‘post’ about which Adam turns and winds the spring. Note also that there
One of golf’s great motivators, caddie Stevie Williams has had an immediate impact on Adam Scott’s fortunes in world golf – including victory at Akron (right)
18 GOLFINTERNATIONALMAG.COM SEPT/OCT 2011
Perfect set up angles –and notice through the sequence how well Adam maintains his height
Note the position of the right knee, stabilising and resisting the rotation of the upper body into the backswing. Left arm is in front of the body, so he is able to swing the club freely up
Knees are holding the body position beautifully as Adam allows the club to fall unhurried into the delivery position
Tremendous rotation of the hips (the ‘body spring’) is the key to Adam’s power through impact – note the hands are passive
ANALYSIS / DENIS PUGH
Hands perfectly in the middle of the sternum – wrists hinge the club up so the shaft cuts through the right shoulder
Right had/forearm climbs over the left as the club exits into the followthrough
Left arm has now travelled up and across the rib cage to a great position at the top, on to the plane of the turning right shoulder
Adam’s classic follow through pose is the result of all the good moves that wwent before
is very little movement in the left knee – he doesn’t allow the left knee to jump about all over the place, it’s a very stable left knee action). Moving to the transition and downswing, focus on the manner in which Adam effortlessly reverses momentum from the top to halfway down; between frames 4-5 there is a significant shift across in the knees – they have changed position and settled the lower body – while the the shoulders are held for a split second. As he moves into the next frame (6), we can see the tremendous rotational spin of the hips through impact. The hands and clubface are passive as the body spring essentially unloads the speed and power on the back of the ball. Through to frames 7 & 8 we can see how the unwinding body turn simply carries the arm swing into the finish. So a very good example of how the body loads the levers through the ball, which explains Adam’s consistency. Blessed with the fact that he has such an athletic build, the length of his arms in the swing gives him terrific leverage while the athleticism and spring in his body gives him excellent power. For me, the impact position is the pick of the images in this sequence – as it should be. You can see how much hip-toshoulder rotation there is through the ball. The momentum of the swing then sees the right arm climbing over the left on the way to the finish. That’s a natural feature of this swing, while the finish is simply the result of a great sequence of movement. This is not a position you should try to pose, incidentally. If it happens that you finish your swing like this, great. But you are better off copying picture 1 – the perfect example of how to set up to the ball and create a great set of body angles.
SEPT/OCT 2011 GOLFINTERNATIONALMAG.COM 19
FEATURE
DAVIS LOVE III
CAPTAIN
AMERICA
Ryder Cup captaincy would seem to be agreeing with Davis Love III – since he accepted the role in January he has been playing some of the best golf of his career. In a far-reaching interview with John Hopkins during the US PGA Championship in Atlanta, Love stops short of including himself in the likely squad but reveals enough to suggest he will be a wily opponent in 12 months’ time PHOTOGRAPHY BY GETTYIMAGES.COM
Big hitter: Davis Love III is not only one of the game’s great drivers of the ball but is shaping up to be a great leader of men as he lays the strategy for America to reclaim the Ryder Cup next September 20 GOLFINTERNATIONALMAG.COM SEPT/OCT 2011
THERE IS SOMETHING DISTINCTIvE ABOuT DAvIS LOvE III. It is not the Roman numerals at the end of his name nor that he is tall, with the legs of a stork and a jerky walk and a slightly aloof manner. It is that Love, the 1997 uSPGA champion is a member of uS golf’s aristocracy, the son of a popular club professional who often went to the expense and effort of travelling to Britain to compete in the Open. Davis Love is the face of Ralph Lauren, a multi millionaire who loves boys’ toys, and who at 47 is not only one of the longest hitters in the world but one of the best with 20 victories on the PGA Tour to his name. And in a year he will lead his uS team into action at the Ryder Cup at Medinah, Chicago. For an American, Davis Love is strikingly British in much the same way as are Tom Watson or Ben Crenshaw. Just as Watson understands warm beer and driving on the left and that the rhythms and rituals of another country have to be experienced to be appreciated, so Love understands the appeal of having to hit a 3-iron from a bare lie 190 yards into the teeth of a nor-wester while rain is dribbling down the back of his neck, the grip of his club is sodden and knowing that the water in the showers in the locker room of the clubhouse will probably be cold when he eventually gets there. Love gets the Walker Cup in a way few modern professionals get it. He competed in it, watches it and a lifelong affair with the biennial competition would only be completed if Dru, his 18-year-old son were to play in it and Davis could caddy for him. “I have a sense of history,” Love said. “Those kind of competitions are what makes our sport so great. Competitions that aren’t for eight million dol-
SEPT/OCT 2011 GOLFINTERNATIONALMAG.COM 21
INSTRUCTION COVER STORY
& motion
Circles By Scott Cranfield PGA MASTER PROFESSIONAL
PHOTOGRAPHY: KEVIN MURRAY SHOT ON LOCATION AT THE LONDON CLUB
Welcome to what I hope you’re going to find is an enlightening introduction to the golf swing as I have taught it to students now for over 25 years, an approach I call “Linking Mind & Body”. This approach is based on true laws of how the human mind and body function, which means that when applied to the way you work on your golf swing it will feel natural and uncomplicated – and, most important of all, repeatable! This is a user-friendly guide to getting the most out of your game based on research that has been proven through the ages. Over the following pages I will introduce you to the concept I call the Cranfield Golf Academy (CGA) Circle Swing – whenever I am looking at a golf swing from a technical perspective this is the approach I use. In essence I see the golf swing as three circles (1) the circle traced by the clubhead; (2) the circle traced by the hands and (3) the body rotation circle. Over the pages I will show you how to bring these 3 circles into perfect harmony thus providing you not only with consistent timing but also great mechanics to hit solid shots – the real ‘win’ here being that it will feel natural (i.e. no complicated swing thoughts!). A big factor to why the Circle Swing concept works is that it encourages you to adapt to an external focus (more on this later) which enables your body to move subconsciously, exactly the way nature intended. With your mind focused on the circle concept I think/hope you might be surprised at how well your body responds with perfect mechanics, which in turn might lead on to your biggest challenge yet – playing without a long list of swing thoughts! If your brain is conditioned to having traditional swing thoughts you will have to let go of these and learn to trust your subconscious. This can be quite a challenge – but a rewarding one. At the end of the feature you will find a handful of Faults ‘n’ Fixes, using the CGA Circle Swing. But first let’s look at adopting an overall concept to link mind and body.
22 GOLFINTERNATIONALMAG.COM SEPT/OCT 2011
Prepare to let go of all your existing swing thoughts and focus on external factors – circles of motion – that automatically reward you with good mechanics
FEATURE DO YOU KNOW THE RULES?
We all know the Rules of Golf can be complicated – even the best players in the world fall foul of innocent infringements and there have been several high profile cases this year where a player has incurred a penalty without even knowing they were in breach of a specific Rule. As Golf Operations Manager at Nizels Golf Club, in Kent, and a member of the PGA Rules Panel, I deal with issues on the Rules at all levels in the game. So let me present a selection of typical situations in which it is all too easy to make an innocent mistake, explaining the correct procedures and how to follow them. If you have encountered a bizarre situation and a tough Rules decision at your club, email me with all the details at a.weller@theclubcompany.com. I’ll do my best to include the ruling in a future issue – Ashley Weller
t i g n i Play the book by PHOTOGRAPHY BY KEVIN MURRAY SHOT ON LOCATION AT NIZELS GC Thanks to Nizels’ attached Professional Greg Hazelby www.ashwellergolf.co.uk
Removing an Out of Bounds Stake Here, our player’s area of intended swing is affected by an out of bounds stake. An object defining out of bounds is not an obstruction, and therefore relief is not freely available. By moving the stake he is in breach of Rule 13-2 (Improving Lie, Area of Intended stance or swing or Line of Play) and would be subject to a penalty of two strokes in stroke play or loss of hole in match play. The ‘do’s & don’ts’ involving stakes around the course is a key area of the rules that every golfer should avail himself of – red (lateral) and yellow (water hazard) markers are commonplace about the golf course and you need to know what you are allowed to do should you find one interferes with a shot. Hazard stakes are classed as Obstructions and relief is available under Rule 24. Marker posts denoting the line on a hole are similarly classified and can be lifted out of the way before a shot.
24 GOLFINTERNATIONALMAG.COM SEPT/OCT 2011
Sand & Loose soil, Rule 23 (When is a loose impediment not a loose impediment?) In this example our player’s ball lies just off the putting green. some sand lies between the ball and the hole, some on the green and some on the fringe. As sand and loose soil is a loose impediment only when it lies on the putting green the player may only remove the sand that lies on the green. Be very careful in situations like this – a lot of golfers make the mistake of brushing away the sand that lies on the fringe – which contravenes the rules.
Congratulations – that’ s a 2-shot penalty in stroke play, loss of hole in matchplay. There’ s no point replacing the stake – the penalty has already been incurred! Read up on Rule 13
SEPT/OCT 2011 GOLFINTERNATIONALMAG.COM 25
INSTRUCTION THE JY ACADEMY
Are you making the
‘CONNECTION’? Notice that the long ‘V’ formed by the arms remains intact throughout, hands passive, while the putterhead remains low to the ground
A good set-up places your body, arms and putter in position to initiate a smooth & easy pendulum motion
By Jonathan Yarwood PGA Master Professional PHOTOGRAPHY: DAVID CANNON/GETTYIMAGES WWW.GOLFJY.COM
The shortest club in the bag also happens to be one of the most important – it’s no secret that the pro’s practise this part of the game more than anything else. Whatever your handicap, the quickest route to lower scores is to go out and improve the quality of your putting stroke. This quick lesson will help... 26 GOLFINTERNATIONALMAG.COM SEPT/OCT 2011
THE CASE FOR THE ‘LONG-V’ Arms hang for pendulum motion Tour players today tend to work on what I would term a ‘long V’, the arms hanging comfortably to
here and over the page. note here how my chest has turned slightly in
place the hands directly below the sternum. The
the finish. This allows the putter to follow the
upper part of each arm is nicely ‘connected’ to the
natural arc again, the long V encouraging a
upper body, and this shape – and indeed that con-
taller posture, which in itself encourages a more
nection – is maintained throughout the stroke. The
rotary motion of the shoulders.
result is a repeating pendulum motion – the most
When you go out to work on your putting
popular type of stroke that we see on tour in mod-
before a game, spend at least 10 minutes think-
ern professional golf.
ing abut the structure of your stroke (using the
Let me stress up front that the shoulders rotate slightly in a good putting stroke; they do not rock. They turn slightly back and through, as you can just detect in the sequences you see
drill you see above and opposite to ingrain that sense of connection and repeatability). Placing two tees in the green as I have done here (above) is a simple first step that reminds
PRACTICE POINTERS
As the shoulders gently rotate, the unit of the torso & the arms can be seen to work together, producing a perfect pendulum stroke
In a good set-up, with the arms extended to form the long ‘V’, sense that the pressure of the upper arms on the chest keeps the towel in place
Note that the chest opens to the target line as the putter is released and the ball sent on its way
HOW TO REALLY FEEL THE ‘CONNECTION’ Trap a towel to keep arms and body ‘together’ All you need to work on ingraining a
the basic chipping action – as we’ve
‘connected’ putting stroke is a decent-
covered previously in the magazine).
sized towel. One that is long enough
Let me emphasize again, the secret
for you to trap the ends under each
to being a good putter lies in the ability to
arm – just as I have done here.
control and repeat a consistent motion,
Because in doing that you set up
and you will do that effectively when the
what is probably the best drill with
arms and the upper torso work together
which to groove a pendulum putting
as a guiding unit. Trapping the ends of a
stroke (it’s also great for developing
towel under each arm immediately gives you a feeling of the upper arms being
Oops...
‘connected’ to the upper chest – and that’s exactly the sensation you want to have throughout the stroke. keep that pressure constant to keep the ends of the towel in place. Any tendency for the arms to work independently of the torso (i.e. to ‘splay’ about in the fashion I mentioned earlier) will result in the towel falling free (left). so that’s a simple but effective training drill that you can rehearse anytime. Out on the course, you can
‘Splaying’ the elbows is a common fault and one that leads to inconsistency, as the arms will tend to operate independently of the upper body during the stroke. To remedy the problem, work on achieving the symmetry of the longer ‘V’ in your set-up position (as per the towel drill), the upper part of your arms resting on your upper torso, the shaft of the putter falling nicely in line with your forearms. Have the length & lie of your putter adjusted to accommodate this set-up.
improvise by tucking your shirt SEPT/OCT 2011 GOLFINTERNATIONALMAG.COM 27
AMATEUR
Swede success These are changing times at the English Golf
Home Internationals and in the last four
union with the Director of Coaching Peter
European Amateur Team Championships has
Mattsson leaving at the end of September to
won one and been second twice. Add in players
return home and start a job as Director of Elite
such as Jack Senior, Tom Lewis, Stiggy
Performance for Swedish Sports.
Hodgson, Andrew Sullivan and Darren Wright
The legacy he leaves behind is notable for
filtering through the system and the likes of
the transformation in coaching practices that
Chris Wood, Jamie Moul and Tommy Fleetwood
have taken place in the six years of his tenure
out there earning a crust with the big boys, and
as National Coach at the EGu and the produc-
Oliver Fisher winning a first pro event recently
tion line of exciting young talent to emerge
all looks rosy.
frpom the operation at Woodhall Spa shows no
But there is one thing that even Mattsson has
sign of slowing down.
not been able to fix and according to Petrie the
Mattsson will still work on a consultancy
EGu is operating with one hand tied behind its
basis and is part of the recruitment process for
back as it seeks to develop the professionals of
his successor along with the EGu Chief
tomorrow.
Executive John Petrie although the latter admits
Petrie’s theory is that many amateurs turn
there is no deadline on the appointment as
professional a year or two early than they
long as they get ‘the right person’.
should and if the EGu had more spots available
Petrie joined the organisation in 2007 and, hav-
in tour events to hand out to their squad they
ing seen Mattsson at work, knows exactly what
stand what is needed to compete at that level.
may hold off taking the plunge until they were
a hard act the Swede is to follow.
We have quite a conveyor belt coming through
completely ready.
Petrie says: “When people look back at this
and that would not have happened without
The lack of European and Challenge Tour
era I think they will all speak very highly of him –
Peter. He has won the respect of so many people
events in England makes it impossible for
and they will think even more of what he
across the country involved in golf and has been
many top amateurs to mix it with the paid-boys
achieved. What he has done is to put in place a
a terrific ambassador for the EGu.”
modern structure for English golf that will
In the past few years graduates of the EGu
endure long after he has gone. He has changed
elite system such as Chris Wood and Tom
the way in which elite golf is perceived and that
Lewis have hit the national consciousness with
now and then, or even for youngsters to see them in action, as Petrie explains. “If we had more invites to Tour events we could give them another season as amateurs to
is a measure of the quality he has and brought
prominent showings in the Open
develop their games,” says Petrie. “In European
to this role. People at a national level now under-
Championship, England has won the last three
events the amateur body gets six starts – and
28 GOLFINTERNATIONALMAG.COM SEPT/OCT 2011
TOM WARD
After six years at the helm, English Golf Union’s Director of Coaching Peter Mattsson is stepping down to take up a role in his native homeland. Having led the restructuring of England’s Elite Player training programmes his has been a job well done – and the pressure will be on his successor to keep the momentum going. Adam Hathaway reports
NEWS IN BRIEF...AMATEUR SCENE...NEW TOM WARD
GETTYIMAGES.COM
THE AMATEUR SCENE
VICTORIA MALLETT
Warwickshire’s Victoria Mallett won the Midlands south regional girls’ championship by an impressive eight shots with a four-under par score at Coventry Golf Club. The 13-year-old from sutton Coldfield Ladies’ scored 70, 72
GETTYIMAGES.COM
to finish well clear of her closest rival, Charlotte Hartshorn, (Atherstone, Warwickshire), who returned 72, 78. The u15 scratch champion was Charlotte West (Harewood downs, Buckinghamshire) with two rounds of 76. Ciara kelly (Hagley, Worcestershire), the Abraham Trophy winner, was runner-up with a total of 157. America’s Chip Lutz went one better than last year when he finally landed the Seniors Open Amateur Championship at Royal Portrush overhauling Frank Ford III and holding off the Arthur Pierse in the final round. Lutz’s 71 was good enough for a two-under par total of 214 and gave the 56-year-old a one shot win over the Irish international Pierse, who finished with a 70. (Main image): Mattsson with a victorious England team; (above) Former Elite Squad members Tommy Fleetwood and Oliver Fisher have made an impact in the paid ranks – and will soon be joined by Welwyn’s Tom Lewis (top right)
And of course some of the top amateurs
at one point, but his challenge unravelled with his closing
may not be champions of the future so part of
77 and he had to settle for third place.
Mattsson’s brief has been to prepare them for real life as well.
that is a huge disadvantage for us compared
Ford, 59, had led for the first two days, was four in front
dreaming of lifting Claret Jugs in the future
“The amateur game is a stepping stone to
Lutz, a plus four handicapper, who plays out of Ledge Rock Golf Club in Pennsylvania, got off to the best possible start after making an eagle three at the par five second
to other countries. The youngsters also need
something else,” says the Swede. “And that
the chance to see the icons of the game – the
was always going to happen. You are not
ate pressure on Ford, who at the same time opened with
Luke Donalds and Ian Poulters. It is the big
going to see players like Gary Wolstenholme
three straight bogeys which set the tone for the day.
names of the game who really make an
being around for as long as he was. The ama-
impact. We have got the world’s number one
teur game has developed so much.
and two ranked golfers and we don’t have the
before following up with a birdie at the next to put immedi-
American Vinny Gilles closed with a 77 for a nine-over 229 aggregate to win the over-65 category by four shots.
“Amateur golf is developing players but not
tournaments in England. We need there to be
all of them will be able to make a living and
Bradley Moore of kedleston Park turned the english Boys’
three European Tour or Challenge Tour event
we have to look at the ways we can integrate
under-14 stroke Play Championship, for the reid Trophy,
that would give us 18 starts to play with to
education and golf and the ways that some
into a procession at Hertfordshire’s Porters Park.
give the senior amateurs a chance.
golfers will benefit from staying in education.
The derbyshire teenager finished ten ahead of his closest
“I am pleased with how we have been able
rival, Marc Tillement from france, after a closing 65 gave him
“Part of the reason players turn pro it is the perceived glamour and people think they are
to improve the organization in terms of golf
ready. A lot of our players don’t come from
and the responsibility of those involved. We
wealthy backgrounds and it costs around
have given the coaches more responsibility in
who had lost out in a play-off for the Midland Boys title and
£15,000 in travel, accommodation and entry fees
terms of allowing them to do the job that they
finished fifth in both the McGregor and douglas Johns
to play the full amateur circuit and a lot of peo-
are good at. It brought them forward developing players but developing players always needs to go hand in hand with developing
money back. Peter says you should not turn pro-
coaches. To develop world class players you
fessional until you have got the right card.”
need world class coaches.”
This may change in the New Year when Petrie
Victory ended a barren summer for Moore, 13 (below),
TOM WARD
ple can’t afford to do it for an extra year. There is pressure to turn pro and start earning some
three-round aggregate of 205, five-under par.
Petrie’s contention is that the system that
hopes some relaxation in the rules on amateur
Mattsson has put in place in terms of player
status will allow players to earn some funds
development means that it will bear fruit for
towards subsistence on the amateur circuit so
many years to come and we may not even have
he has his fingers firmly crossed on that one.
heard of some of the players – possibly aged
BRADLEY MOORE
continued overleaf...
SEPT/OCT 2011 GOLFINTERNATIONALMAG.COM 29
EQUIPMENT
PING G20 - FIRST LOOK
Ping G20 A force to be reckoned with
Following our news taster last month, we bring you full details on Ping’s latest range of G20 driver, fairways, hybrids and irons, along with the long-awaited Anser wedges. Having spent the summer trying out the new clubs, Dominic Pedler brings you his verdict.
f
or a company that has pioneered so many areas of equipment technology one forgets that Ping were relative latecom-
G20 DRIVER
ers to the metalwood market,
early reports from industry spies and unoffi-
only debuting their first non-wood driver in
cial websites had suggested that the G20
1994 when the bandwagon was already
driver would feature only minor incremental
several years underway.
changes from the much revered G15 but, in
But they soon made up for lost time,
the event, we were surprised at the extent
while, for the last seven years now, their G
of the differences in looks, construction and
series of titanium drivers have put them firm-
performance.
ly on the map where their putters and irons
Having played the G15 driver extensively
have always been. As with the most of their
over the last 12 months I was particularly
products, these metals have embodied a
keen to make my own hands-on comparison.
game improvement philosophy that seems
for a start, the two heads look very differ-
to work equally for their growing ranks of tour
ent when placed side by side - and not just
players as for the mid-handicap masses. But
due to the dark grey metallic finish of the
after a steady evolution through G2, G5,
G20 compared with the shiny black crown
G10 and G15, the question is does the new
of the G15, and the now more visible ver-
G20 series genuinely represent an advance-
sion of Ping’s trademark alignment aid.
ment or merely some cosmetic tinkering for the sake of modern marketing? We got our hands on the clubs in late
despite both being at the 460cc volume limit, the G20 has a reassuringly larger face and actually manages to look deceptively
July and have been giving them an extend-
larger overall thanks to a cleverly reshaped
ed workout ever since.
crown that is both more contemporary looking and aerodynamically designed than its
30 GOLFINTERNATIONALMAG.COM SEPT/OCT 2011
EQUIPMENT LATEST
Working with a lighter density alloy (Ti 8-1-1), with its high strength-to-weight ratio, enabled Ping engineers to strategically position added weight within the G20 head to increase the MOI on both the vertical and horizontal axes
more traditional predecessor. Yet nor is too geometrically ambitious to put off the purist; Ping thankfully never went down the ‘square’ route and have also learnt from the limited appeal of the overly exotic head designs of various rivals. The sound of the G20 at impact seems, to these ears at least, both brighter and slightly louder than the G15 – but in no way piercing, shrill or clunky like the some on the market. This new timbre could be down to the use of Titanium 811 as the choice of clubhead material – a lighter, lower-density alloy favoured in jet engine turbines – in preference to the more commonly used Ti 6-4 of the G15. Being 2% lighter and with both a higher strength-to-weight ratio and allegedly faster ballspeed, the Ti 811 could also explain what Ping claim from robot testing – and which I found anecdotally – to be a small but significant improvement in both the G20’s distance and dispersion. The theme of getting the centre of gravity lower and further back in the head may have a become a cliché in the industry but this has been a central theme over the evolution over the G series, with G20 now boasting a CG some 18% further back from the face and 16% lower in the head than the original G2. [do note, however, that there is no overt weighting bias in the G series: if you want some extra ‘anti-slice action’, then consider the k15 model elsewhere in the Ping range.] In another recurring theme of trying to get more mass behind the ball, the new material allows the head to be some 4g heavier than even the G15. It’s not much but, perhaps more to the point, that extra weight is also strategically placed to increase the MOI of the head both horizontally (i.e. for stability in the heel-to-toe plane) and vertically, SEPT/OCT 2011 GOLFINTERNATIONALMAG.COM 31
INSTRUCTION
NICK BRADLEY
From the address position, simply take your left hand off the grip and extend the arm, palm flat, toward the ball. Try to match the angle of the arm with the shaft angle of the club as I am doing
What you see here in this sequence is a really easy way to picture the plane of the shaft back and through. Start right here, in a good set-up position, with your feet nicely square to the target line, upper body fractionally open
Try this fresh approach to an By Nick Bradley
PHOTOGRAPHY: KEITH JACOBS • WWW.NICKBRADLEYGOLF.COM
age-old
problem 32 GOLFINTERNATIONALMAG.COM SEPT/OCT 2011
have an unhealthy fascination with bunkers – I love the variations in design, I love all the different textures of sand and I love the strategy they dictate when correctly positioned. The origins of this can perhaps be traced to the fact that the course I grew up on had one solitary bunker, on the 2nd hole, and at the end of a day’s play I would sneak out there and hit bunker shots until I couldn’t see the ball anymore. I remember having a sand-wedge with little
A FRESH APPROACH TO SAND PLAY
What you have now done is create a reference point from which the shaft angle of the club can follow into the backswing – so just allow the wrist to hinge as you swing the club back and match the shaft angle with your outstretched left arm. This should give you a terrific sense of where the shaft should be going and a genuine reference point for your backswing position
bounce and a sharp leading edge and because of this I had to really control the low point of my strike and the angle of attack; looking back, as a pretty decent bunker player today, it was probably better training than I then realised. With the equipment available today, the facility to grind and shape the sole of the sand-wedge to suit different types of sand, becoming a good bunker player becomes a matter of having the right concepts and some time practising them. This article is designed to give you a basic starting point from which most bunker shots can be learned and developed. It revolves around three basic laws I believe are all you need to employ to get started: 1. You don’t need to radically open your stance to bunker shots 2. To become a master bunker player you must feel the shot through the sole of the clubhead 3. Learn a simple one-planed action and evolve from this point
The Modern Stance for Bunker Play In days gone by a typical bunker lesson involved being told that the best way to play a greenside sand shot was to set-up with a noticeably open stance, body aiming well left of the target, then pick the club up steeply and wipe across the ball in a ‘cut-up’ style of action. This one-shot-suitsall type of approach gave you a get-out-of-jail free card that worked pretty well every time. One aspect we need to control in bunker play is the LOW POINT of the strike. We cannot have this aspect moving too much whilst trying to hit any type of bunker shot because nothing about your technique will be bankable until this critical feature is stable. As you can see here, I have adjusted my stance so that while my shoulders are just slightly open in relation to the target my feet are more or less parallel with the line to the flag. There are two good reasons why I believe you, too, should
In this frame you can see that this plane theme is now extended into the followthrough. As the shaft exits the other side you can see that it has virtually mirror-imaged the profile it took during the backswing. This shows us that no crazy path ideas have been employed assisting in that low point staying the same
adopt a philosophy that gradually moves away from the seriously open stance. (1) To control that LOW POINT in the swing you must anchor your weight onto you left side or lead foot. (Things get interesting when you try to do this with an open stance – you can’t! Effectively an open stance takes away your left side and makes the task of settling into a stable position over the ball virtually impossible. In fact, the more open your stance becomes, the more you fall back into your right side…try it, you’ll see what I mean.) With your stance and foot positioning taking on a more square to shut position you will immediately have a ‘left side’ to lean in to (Ben Hogan used to do this with his long game so he could rotate and collide into a closed left side and not fall back from an open one). (2) The second point also has its roots deeply in SEPT/OCT 2011 GOLFINTERNATIONALMAG.COM 33
SUBSCRIBE TODAY £39.99
8 ISSUES OF GOLF INTERNATIONAL delivered direct to your door
PLUS YOU WILL RECEIVE A DOZEN SRIXON Z-STAR BALLS Srixon Z-Star premium golf balls RRP £45 per dozen
INTRODUCING THE NEW ALL SRIXON Z-STAR GOLF BALL
£24.99
8 ISSUES OF GOLF INTERNATIONAL delivered direct to your door
(MAGAZINE ONLY)
Call our subscription Hotline on (020) 8955 7018 ...or click on the SUBSCRIPTIONS button online at:
www.golfinternationalmag.com PLEASE QUOTE SOURCE CODE: GiSEPT105 Offer applies only to mailing addresses within the UK only and whilst stocks last
GOLF INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2011
A ROUND WITH ROBERT TRENT JONES JUNIOR / RANGE ROVER EVOQUE // MEMORABILIA // PROPERTY...
SEPT/OCT 2011 GOLFINTERNATIONALMAG.COM 35
ONYRIA PALMARAS, PORTUGAL – IN THE COMPANY OF ROBERT TRENT JONES JNR
A round with RTJ2 For the official opening of Onyria Palmaras Clive Agran found himself in a fourball with the man who designed the much-talked about course – so there were no excuses for poor yardages...
I
f you ever cut your approach to the tricky
11th at Onyria Palmares and finish up 50 yards short and right of the green, it is me you will have to thank for not being in a bunker. Instead of stuck in nasty sand, your ball will be resting on friendly grass and among pretty yellow flowers in what I sincerely hope will come to be known as ‘Clive’s Hump’. Given that at 62 the chances of my winning a string of majors is receding faster than my hairline, having a modest earthy protuberance on the western end of the Algarve named after me is, sadly, the closest I’m ever likely to get to achieving golfing immortality. The extremely welcome opportunity to leave a more or less indelible mark on golf’s great landscape came when the rebuilt course was opened recently. Perhaps consumed with guilt at denying me the talent to fulfil my dream of becoming world number one, the golfing gods chose me from amongst the many worthy
36 GOLFINTERNATIONALMAG.COM SEPT/OCT 2011
guests attending this happy and historic occasion to not only put me in his fourball but also to sit me in the buggy alongside the legendary Robert Trent Jones II. Having previously approached his handlers and pleaded for 10 minutes with him, I was now looking at somewhere in the region of five hours in the company of the man who, more than anyone in the modern era, has literally shaped the golf courses we love. What was already fast developing into a (Above): The original Palmaras layout has been transformed by RTJ2, while sweeping views to the Atlantic are as stunning as ever. (Right) Best buddies: one of them is an internationally renowned course architect with over 250 designs to his credit – the other masquerades as a golf writer
truly great day, acquired an almost surreal state of perfection when I learnt that my group was to commence the shotgun start on the 19th. Sadly, the vision of a couple of swift beers to kick-start the round evaporated in the Portuguese sunshine when I discovered that there was, indeed, a 19th tee on this 27 hole layout. Having played here a number of times when it was just plain old Palmares, was of no help whatsoever as the place was unrecognisable. Only the bar, terrace, pro shop and locker
PORTUGAL
rooms have survived and their days would appear to be numbered as the ambitious plans of the wealthy owner for a hotel et al are fulfilled. A smiling figure approached that was surely able to locate the 19th tee quicker than most. “Robert Trent Jones,” he announced, proffering a hand. Famous people, I suppose, have to introduce themselves just like us ordinary folk or risk appearing somewhat presumptuous. He was relaxed, cheerful and friendly and, despite the innumerable hazards he’s created in the nearly 300 courses he’s built in more than 40 countries around the globe, I instinctively liked him. Standing on the elevated tee as we awaited the gun, he explained to me and our two playing partners, Dave and Nick, that the project here was a ‘blow-up’, which is architect-speak for starting again. As he surveyed the breathtaking panorama of hills, beach and Atlantic, he declared with the relish of a victorious fieldmarshal looking out over a battlefield, “Nothing survived.” The only downside to playing in the ‘stand out’ group was that we attracted more attention in the way of spectators and cameramen than my dodgy swing could comfortably handle. Despite the pressure, I struck a tolerable drive down the 19th and scrambled a creditable double bogey, only one shot more than RTJ2, who was once a very serious golfer and is now a steady 13 handicapper. We crossed one of the only features that has survived the ‘blow-up’, the railway line, and began a delightful stretch of lovely links. The four holes that were there before were pretty but rather flat and unremarkable. The two par fives and two par threes that RTJ2 has created are beautiful and dramatically demonstrate what can be done if you know what you’re doing. Thousands of tons of sand have been shifted to give shape, create interest and produce attractive holes that are both aesthetically pleasing and genuinely challenging. Although somewhat preoccupied in looking for my ball, I was nevertheless able to appreciate their appeal. What I might have missed, however, had the course architect not been sitting alongside me, was the unusual appearance of the teeing grounds. Instead of rectangular, perfectly flat and with straight sides, they were much less regular, sloped slightly in places and were a bit rough around the edges. RTJ2 described them as “crumpled ribbon” and explained they were in keeping with what he called the more
(Above) The man responsible for the redesign admires his handiwork off the tee at the par-four 13th. (Left) Natural bunkering is a strong feature of Trent Jones Jnr’s work, wonderfully showcased here at the, er, 21st!
‘informal’ section of the course. As the round progressed and RTJ2 explained, my appreciation of the art of course design grew even as the tally of lost balls rose. For example, I don’t think I would ever have been consciously aware of what is known as the principal of harmony where, for example, the outline of the mounding behind the green mirrors the silhouette of the mountains in the background. And how the use of diagonals creates greater visual appeal and more interesting holes than does straight lines. Like me, RTJ2 is a sensitive and creative individual but, unlike me, he likes poetry. Evidently passionate about what he does, he explained the rhythms and rhymes that he endeavours to develop when creating a course. He’s a sort of landscape poet crafting stanzas within the parameters laid down by nature and the discipline imposed by the rules and conventions of
golf. And because he likes rhymes, he took pleasure in the fact that the four links’ holes went 5-3-5-3. The only character flaw I detected in him was his evident delight when one of our group (including him!) hit into a bunker. It was a sort of vindication, I suppose, of his decision to put the bunker where it was. But did it reveal a slightly sadistic streak in an otherwise extremely friendly and charming man? “No, my brother inherited the sadistic gene. Bunkers act like lighthouses. They tell you ‘don’t go there’. They aren’t always hostile,” he explained. “When sited on the edge of a ravine, for example, they can stop you’re your ball rolling into deeper trouble. And there are other problems besides the ones we designers create. The wind, for example, is an invisible hazard.” Somewhat surprisingly for an American, he SEPT/OCT 2011 GOLFINTERNATIONALMAG.COM 37
MERCEDES-BENZ ADDS THE OPEN TO GOLF PORTFOLIO
This year at Royal St George’s saw luxury car-maker Mercedes-Benz add the Open Championship to its existing patronage of the Masters and the USPGA as it continues to ramp up its involvement in a sport that has been identified as delivering the perfect target audience of youth and experience. Richard Simmons talked to Lueder Fromm, Director of Global Marketing and Communications
Mercedes-Benz in pole position Gi: Signing of a 5-year deal with the R&A at Royal
we have the bottom-up credibility with our ama-
ness that you find elsewhere, it’s more a cultured
St George’s this year, Mercedes-Benz is now a
teur tournament, for which we offer our winners
sportiness, which golfers have. So it’s a perfect fit
patron at three of the game's four majors – golf is
money-cannot-buy opportunities through our
for us and at the same time one that allows us to
clearly a key part of your marketing strategy.
multi-year association with these major champi-
give something back to our customers.
LF: Mercedes-Benz changed its global sponsorship
onships.
strategy at the end of 2007. Having been heavily
Gi: Recent advertising campaigns have been designed to appeal to a lower age profile – it almost
involved in tennis, with the ATP Tour, we decided
Gi: What are the core values in golf at this level
seems to go against the traditional model to think
to step into the world of golf. We have operated
that attract Mercedes-Benz?
golf accesses that market?
the biggest amateur golf tournament in the world
LF: Quite simply, for Mercedes-Benz, the key to
LF: What is most interesting, we believe, is that
for the last 20 years, on a local level with dealers,
every decision we make involving global invest-
there is taking place today a generational change
which brings us face to face with our customers.
ment is that we are buying in to a part of a world
in golf. And we have seen this in our target group
When we decided to step in to the real world of
where the values of the sport match exactly the
as well. We have the established generation of
golf we followed the same core beliefs that under-
values of Mercedes-Benz. The way we look at the
Mercedes-Benz customers and then there is a
pin Mercedes-Benz – ‘the best or nothing’. And so
game of golf is that it’s perfection and fascination;
younger generation who are interested in those same values. Golf on the world stage is fascinating
we have to aim at the majors. The first one was
for Mercedes that perfection is measured in com-
the Masters at Augusta, which we negotiated in
fort, quality, safety – fascination is the unique
right now with very young players challenging the
2008, then the PGA in 2009 and now the Open,
design, the style and a certain kind of sportiness
more established figures. The game is rich with
the only major championship in Europe. We feel
that Mercedes have. It’s not an aggressive sporti-
talented young characters challenging to win golf’s
38 GOLFINTERNATIONALMAG.COM SEPT/OCT 2011
BUSINESS
biggest prizes – to be the best or nothing in the future – and of course there are the older ones who have proved they have the game to be the best. Golf is better for us than a trendy sport like kite-surfing, where there is no real fit with our brand . Especially, we see golf as the perfect fit to reach a younger target audience. We talk about guys like Rory McIlroy or Rickie Fowler, Martin Kaymer, Ryo Ishikawa – tremendous role models for the younger generation. Gi: Do you see golf as entering a new phase now in the wake of Tiger Woods? Has the way he has impacted upon the game changed the attraction of golf for Mercedes-Benz at a corporate level? LF: This, again, is a fascinating point of debate. Tiger is in the consciousness of everyone in and around golf. And the new dawn some people may talk about has been compounded by the fact that
– and right now more than at any other time in
we have seen Louis Oosthuizen, Charl Schwartzel
recent years. Real characters is what appeals to
and Rory McIlroy win recent majors. My opinion?
Mercedes-Benz; we like to communicate that via our
I am new in the world of golf but I have clearly
brand.
seen the effect of Tiger when he is playing. I saw this in April at Augusta. No doubt he is one of the
Gi: What next for Mercedes-Benz – any other plans
greatest and, who knows, he may be again. Real
in golf at other levels?
heroes of a sport fill up the space they inhabit. We
LF: Looking at the global market, purely from an
have seen this with Tiger and also with Phil
marketing stance, which is obviously my area, this
Mickelson. What I like is they all have their own
is perhaps the greatest challenge golf faces. That
characters. I compare it a little bit with our cars –
there are so many different tours – the European
they all have their own character, whether its the
Tour, the Asian Tour, the Australasian Tour, the
CLS or the SLK – young kids in the family are like
PGA Tour – plus all of the fledgling tours, which
the young kids in the golf family. In tennis you
are hugely important. Speaking purely as a spon-
have machines, in my opinion. Golf has characters
sor I would be interested in there being a truly international tour featuring the best players in the world – something along the lines of Formula 1.
(Clockwise from above left): The conditions at Royal St George’s proved to the liking of Darren Clarke, one of the game’s most experienced links campaigners; R&A secretary Peter Dawson was among the first to welcome the 2010 Open champion Louis Oosthuizen to Kent; two-time Masters champion Bernhard Langer has been associated with Mercedes-Benz since his first Augusta win in 1985 – a new deal extends that relationship through 2014
Golf is very strong right now and the way it is set up works well, but purely from a sponsor’s perspective I would be attracted to a global tour, the leading players competing in just 15-20 events a year plus the majors. Think about it: we would witness a fabulous circuit. The game has the characters right now – you have a young generation of talented golfers who fill this space and who would essentially market the game of golf to the world. If different tours decided to stick their heads togeth-
“When we decided to step in to the real world of golf we followed the same core beliefs that underpin everything we do at Mercedes- Benz: ‘the best or nothing’. And so we have to aim at the majors”
er we would listen. Gi: Tell me more about the Mercedes-Benz amateur tournament? LF: The MercedesTrophy is an international amateur tournament involving our golfing customers in 43 different markets around the world – this year it attracted 60,000 participants. The event is operated through our retail network and here in the uK it is very strong. Regional events lead all the way to the annual world final in Stuttgart. It’s been running for 20 years now and is regarded as SEPT/OCT 2011 GOLFINTERNATIONALMAG.COM
RANGE ROVER EvOQuE
Traditionalists may balk at the Evoque’s provocative styling but make no mistake, this is a minisport utility vehicle that carries the Land Rover heritage with pride, as Anthony Ffrench-Constant reports after a unique road-test
Style with substance intact
G
iven that a unique combination of battle cruiser-imperious boulevard behaviour and leaptall-buildings-at-a-single-bound off-road capability remains an
absolutely mandatory requirement of anything sporting a Range Rover badge (even if most owners would never contemplate the latter for fear of scuffing the paintwork or giving the Shitzhu undue cause for queasiness), a certain frisson of excitement always attends the impending gleam of a new model launch. So, which exotic proving ground awaits…? Iceland? Borneo? The Australian Outback? The banks of the Brahmaputra? Tierra del Fuego? Nope. None of the above. It’s Liverpool. More specifically, it’s a good hundred feet or so under Liverpool… But where are the rats? Barging the new Range Rover Evoque tentatively through a flooded section of a disused victorian railway tunnel that runs arrow-straight for two miles beneath the very heart of the city – water of a suspiciously revolting hue so deep that the
Liverpudlian, the words ‘rat’ and ‘smell’ must
resultant bow wave somewhat shackles the effi-
spring to mind on a regular basis.
cacy of the headlamps – I’m struck by the total absence of rats.
Because, speeches long consigned to the cir-
context of such reeking rodent musings. Lest we forget, the company first set about re-evaluating the brand with the irritatingly suc-
cular filing tray, ribbons snipped and mayoral
cessful Range Rover Sport; a cocksure mongrel
robes re-draped in mothballs, the enduring evi-
disguising Discovery underpinnings beneath
smelling, sewage-sleek, tombstone-toothed
dence of endless suburban streets lined with
gently brash detailing and marketing-lie badg-
rodents the size of badgers, whiskers twitching
row upon row of sternly shuttered, long-vacat-
ing – Ranulph Fiennes disguised as Robbie
in anticipation of the merest whiff of mechani-
ed shops suggests that the overwhelming
Williams. And now we have Round 2; what
cal failure…?
majority of those whom actually live here have
started life as the next Freelander has now been
not benefited from said vast injections of cash
upgraded to Range Rover status – if only (a
in any way whatsoever.
cynic might mutter) to justify the price.
Surely the place should be heaving with evil-
Then again, I suppose I shouldn’t really be surprised, because there’s precious little sign of life above ground either. Dubbed European
Now, though Land Rover actually chose
So, is this a true Range Rover, or merely the
Capital of Culture in 2008, noble Liverpool has
Liverpool as the Evoque launch venue because
boastful bearer of what some might consider an
seen a small fortune spent on tourist-enticing
the car is built at the company’s nearby
increasingly devalued brand badge?
urban regeneration along the east bank of the
Halewood plant, it is, perhaps, an equally appo-
murky River Mersey. However, for the average
site venue at which to consider the car in the
40 GOLFINTERNATIONALMAG.COM SEPT/OCT 2011
430mm shorter than a proper Range Rover, with enormous door mirrors the size of kayaks
MOTORING
that wouldn’t look out of place on a Scania truck, the Evoque certainly is, viewed from any angle, a fabulous looking machine. In the gently depressing context of Liverpudlian suburbia, it stands out like a butterfly in a bomb crater. Much has been made of how closely the new car resembles the stunning 2008 LRX concept from which it is spawned. And Land Rover has been furtively perpetuating this perception by refusing to allow concept and finished article anywhere near each other within range of the automotive paparazzi’s lenses. Why worry? Even if differences did prove greater than feeble memory might allow, the Evoque is still so adroitly evocative of the concept that such a reality check would be most SEPT/OCT 2011 GOLFINTERNATIONALMAG.COM 41
MECHANIC
INSTRUCTION MIGUEL ANGEL JIMENEZ
WIDTH&TURN
The keys to Miguel’s pre-shot warm-up
This is Miguel’s starting point in his preshot practice routine. With his right foot drawn back from the left (to help encourage an active hip and upper body turn) he moves his arms and the club ahead of the ball, from where he then gathers up momentum as he swings the club, hands and arms back over the ball, hingeing the wrists to create the exaggerated backswing you see opposite
The
At 46, Miguel Angel Jimenez is perfectly aware that he has to stay ‘loose’ to make the quality of swing he needs in order to compete with the young guns on tour today. And it speaks volumes for the talent of one of the game’s great characters that he has this year enjoyed one of his finest seasons on tour, with two victories in Europe and a starring role in that epic Ryder Cup match. Miguel’s distinct pre-shot routine is much talked about and it’s something we have worked on now for the better part of six years. Rather like the way in which Corey Pavin makes an exaggerated rehearsal to neutralise the natural tendencies in his swing, Miguel focuses on creating early width combined with a full turn of the upper body. Left to its own devices, his backswing tends to see the arms and the club wander too far to the inside with the result that he is prone to getting stuck, and forced into a sliding move with the lower body and then having to rely on hand action to recover, which is never consistent. Miguel starts the sequence with the club a few feet ahead of the ball and then gathers his momentum as he swings the club, hands, arms and body together into the backswing sequence, at the same time cranking his wrists back to open up the clubface. Doing that helps him to guard against getting the face too shut – another tendency he is aware of and works to neutralise with this routine.
There’s a very good reason for Miguel’s nickname out on tour – and it has nothing to do with his beloved Ferrari’s. Miguel Angel Jimenez is one of the hardest working players in world golf and a player who totally understands his swing and the tendencies he has to be wary of
Analysis by Stuart Smith EUROPEAN TOUR COACH PHOTOGRAPHY: RICHARD HEATHCOTE/GETTYIMAGES.COM SHOT ON LOCATION AT VALDERRAMA GOLF CLUB
42 GOLFINTERNATIONALMAG.COM SEPT/OCT 2011
As the clubhead gathers pace Miguel works on rotating his left forearm and really cranking the wrists to get the clubface open, as you see here. He wants to see his arms ‘in front’ of him – i.e. opposite the middle of the chest. This is designed to neutralise a tendency to (1) get his arms too ‘deep’ and (2) to close down the clubface. The result is that he gets it somewhere in between the two extremes when he makes his swing for real on the course (although you can see that he does err on getting that left arm deep across the chest)
Arms and club away together
It could be argued that once you reach a certain standard the sole purpose of practising is to reinforce the swing feelings that neutralise whatever your personal swing tendencies might be. For Miguel, that means constantly reminding himself of the need to create width in the first stages of the swing away from the ball (left) and also on turning and ‘covering’ the ball with the right shoulder as he unwinds to a finish. The overriding thinking in our work together is that Miguel plays his best golf when he is focused on the movement of the bigger muscles in the body, and not relying on the smaller reflexive muscles in the hands.
Right shoulder rotates to a full finish, facing the target
SEPT/OCT 2011 GOLFINTERNATIONALMAG.COM 43
TRAVEL FAIRMONT ST ANDREWS
Royal & Modern With four of St Andrews’ finest new golf courses right on the door step – and a royal connection to boot – the lavish Fairmont Hotel is making headlines as a luxury base for visitors to the Home of Golf. Following in some illustrious footsteps, Dominic Pedler checked in with his gym shoes as well as his golf clubs.
S
t Andrews may be affectionately known as the Auld Grey Toun but some its finest golf attractions are neither old nor grey – nor, strictly speaking, within the town boundaries. For while the Old Course, the R&A clubhouse and those stunning views of the West Sands will always be the Kaaba for any pilgrimage to this Scottish golfing Mecca, the growing reputation of four relatively new courses – all built on the bracing coastline to the south-east of the city since the turn of the millennium – has created an essential annexe at the Home Of Golf. The prime land at St Andrews Bay, right on the city limits and with spectacular views into town and across the sea to Carnoustie, was snapped up by an American entrepreneur with a vision for a luxury hotel with its own 36 holes of golf. A decade on and the imposing Fairmont Hotel is drawing discerning golfers looking to escape the immediate hubbub of Golf City while still being just a five minute drive from the historic centre. Snaking around the hotel over 520 acres of ‘oceanfront’ property are the fairways of The Torrance and The Kittocks courses which have been reinforced as worthy additions to St Andrews’ golf portfolio by the resort’s recent £17m makeover. Being also sandwiched between the world-renowned Kingsbarns, a few miles further out, and St Andrews’ newest course, The Castle, back towards town, the Fairmont has become an obvious draw for golfers – while not forgetting its roll call of celebrities, world
44 GOLFINTERNATIONALMAG.COM SEPT/OCT 2011
WORLD
NEWS
Clinching victory in a three-hole playoff at the Atlanta Athletic Club, Keegan Bradley became the fourth first-time major champion this season
One for the
history books Keegan Bradley’s playoff victory over Jason Dufner to clinch the US PGA Championship in Atlanta was remarkable on many counts – not least for the major breakthrough it gave the much-maligned long putter
46 GOLFINTERNATIONALMAG.COM SEPT/OCT 2011
EDITED BY ANDY FARRELL
PGA Tour Deutsche Bank Championship TPC Boston, Norton, MA // 02-03 September 1 Webb simpson -15 69 68 67 65 2 Chez reavie -15 67 68 68 66 -13 67 69 67 68 3 Jason day -13 66 70 68 67 3 Luke donald 3 Brandt snedeker -13 69 64 72 66 6 Jim furyk -12 69 69 66 68 7 Bo Van Pelt -11 73 68 66 66 8 Hunter Mahan -10 68 71 69 66 -10 69 63 71 71 8 Adam scott 10 Phil Mickelson -9 70 73 63 69
It really was the strangest of uSPGA
left, the opposite side to the frequently visited
Championships. Tiger Woods flailed away in
lake, but then chipped into the water. He took a
the first round and missed the cut for only the
triple-bogey six and was five behind Dufner,
fourth time in a major. Rory McIlroy injured his
who was waiting on the tee.
wrist on the third hole of the first round attempting what many regarded as a reckless
“I just kept telling myself, ‘Don’t let that hole define this whole tournament,’” Bradley said. He
recovery from up against the root of a tree and
birdied the next and then holed a brilliant putt
although he soldiered on, he never got into
at the 17th. A par at the last and he was in at
contention. Luke Donald and Lee Westwood
eight under. Dufner, who led by four from
were right there but never played with the
Hansen on the 15th tee, found the water. He
authority to claim the Wanamaker Trophy.
took a bogey but then bogeyed the 16th and the
Robert Karlsson and Anders Hansen got close
17th. In the first three rounds, Dufner had been
but the Atlanta Athletic Club – with all those
three under for the last four holes, a stretch
water hazards and that rough and par-threes
that was producing bogeys and worse for most.
that were really short par-fours and a par-five
On the last day, it caught up with him. Dufner
18th that was a par-four on the card – seemed
and Bradley went to a playoff and Bradley
to get to everyone in the end.
birdied the 16th again and then led by two
Phil Mickelson flattered to deceive and a few weeks later turned to a belly putter. He was only following the example of Keegan Bradley,
when Dufner three-putted the 17th. A birdie at the last only brought the deficit back to one. Bradley, the son of a PGA professional, is the
the first man to win a major with a long putter.
nephew of LPGA great Pat Bradley, who was one
His was the belly version and he has used it for
of the most tenacious players of her generation.
two years. A rookie on the PGA Tour, the 25-
It must be in the genes. His aunt texted: “This is
year-old had already won once this season but
the first of many majors and I’m so proud of
this was his first attempt at a major and only
you. Way to go.” She also said her advice when
Ben Curtis had won one on his first appearance
he was in high school was: “‘For every hour you
since Francis Ouimet. How he won was even
spend on the driving range, spend two hours on
more extraordinary when he fell five behind
the short game. For every hour you spend chip-
with three to play.
ping, spend an hour-and-a-half on your putting.’
In truth, with the world No 108 taking on the world No 80, a 34-year-old who had never
He knew how important it was to save par. He’s a master at par putting.”
won in Jason Dufner, it was only the drama of
Bradley said: “I don’t want to be one of the
the closing stages that gave this championship
guys that kind of disappears. I would love to be
anything to recommend it. At the 280-yard par-
up in a category with the best players and be
three 15th, Bradley missed the green on the
mentioned with Phil Mickelson, one of my
269 269 271 271 271 272 273 274 274 275
$1,440,000.00 $ 864,000.00 $ 416,000.00 $ 416,000.00 $ 416,000.00 $ 288,000.00 $ 268,000.00 $ 240,000.00 $ 240,000.00 $ 177,333.34
The Barclays Plainfield Country Club, Edison, New Jersey // 25-27 August 1 dustin Johnson -19 66 63 65 194 2 Matt kuchar -17 63 65 68 196 -16 65 64 68 197 3 Vijay singh 3 Brandt snedeker -16 70 66 61 197 5 Jonathan Byrd -15 65 66 67 198 6 Brian davis -14 69 66 64 199 6 Justin rose -14 67 65 67 199 6 Camilo Villegas -14 68 66 65 199 6 Y.e. Yang -14 70 66 63 199 10 Charley Hoffman -13 66 66 68 200
$1,440,000.00 $ 864,000.00 $ 464,000.00 $ 464,000.00 $ 320,000.00 $ 259,000.00 $ 259,000.00 $ 259,000.00 $ 259,000.00 $ 200,000.00
Wyndham Championship Sedgefielf Country Club, Greensboro, NC // 18-21 August 1 Webb simpson -18 66 65 64 67 262 2 George Mcneill -15 65 70 66 64 265 -14 63 65 69 69 266 3 Tommy Gainey -13 69 65 66 67 267 4 Charles Howell III -13 67 66 69 65 267 4 Jerry kelly 4 kyung-tae kim -13 69 67 65 66 267 4 Carl Pettersson -13 65 70 63 69 267 4 Vijay singh -13 65 69 68 65 267 9 Jim furyk -12 65 67 69 67 268 9 Chez reavie -12 66 69 68 65 268
$ 936,000.00 $ 561,600.00 $ 353,600.00 $ 196,040.00 $ 196,040.00 $ 196,040.00 $ 196,040.00 $ 196,040.00 $ 140,400.00 $ 140,400.00
US PGA CHAMPIONSHIP Atlanta Athletic Club, John’s Creek, Georgia, USA // 11-14 August -8 71 64 69 68 272 € 1,028,126 1 keegan Bradley 2 Jason dufner -8 70 65 68 69 272 € 615,452 3 Anders Hansen -7 68 69 70 66 273 € 387,771 4 robert karlsson -5 70 71 67 67 275 € 235,508 -5 72 71 65 67 275 € 235,508 4 david Toms 4 scott Verplank -5 67 69 69 70 275 € 235,508 7 Adam scott -4 69 69 70 68 276 € 184,280 8 Luke donald -3 70 71 68 68 277 € 159,733 -3 71 68 70 68 277 € 159,733 8 Lee Westwood -2 72 69 70 67 278 € 133,763 10 kevin na 10 d A Points -2 69 67 71 71 278 € 133,763 12 sergio Garcia -1 72 69 69 69 279 € 94,478 12 Bill Haas -1 68 73 69 69 279 € 94,478 12 Trevor Immelman -1 69 71 71 68 279 € 94,478 12 Charl schwartzel -1 71 71 66 71 279 € 94,478 12 steve stricker -1 63 74 69 73 279 € 94,478 12 nick Watney -1 70 71 68 70 279 € 94,478 19 Brian davis PAr 69 73 69 69 280 € 57,784 PAr 71 71 68 70 280 € 57,784 19 Matt kuchar 19 Hunter Mahan PAr 72 72 66 70 280 € 57,784 19 Phil Mickelson PAr 71 70 69 70 280 € 57,784 19 ryan Palmer PAr 71 70 69 70 280 € 57,784 19 John senden PAr 68 68 72 72 280 € 57,784 PAr 69 68 66 77 280 € 57,784 19 Brendan steele +1 72 70 71 68 281 € 36,331 26 robert Allenby 26 Brendon de Jonge +1 68 72 69 72 281 € 36,331 26 Charles Howell III +1 72 68 73 68 281 € 36,331 26 Jerry kelly +1 65 73 74 69 281 € 36,331 26 spencer Levin +1 71 70 68 72 281 € 36,331 World Golf Championship – Bridgestone Invitational Firestone Country Club, Akron, Ohio // 04-07 August 1 Adam scott -17 62 70 66 65 263 2 Luke donald -13 68 69 64 66 267 2 rickie fowler -13 68 64 69 66 267 4 Jason day -12 63 70 66 69 268 4 ryo Ishikawa -12 67 68 64 69 268 6 Zach Johnson -10 70 68 64 68 270 6 kyung-tae kim -10 66 72 66 66 270 6 rory McIlroy -10 68 68 67 67 270 9 david Toms -9 68 68 68 67 271 9 Lee Westwood -9 67 71 68 65 271
$1,400,000 $ 665,000.00 $ 665,000.00 $ 332,500.00 $ 332,500.00 $ 215,000.00 $ 215,000.00 $ 215,000.00 $ 152,500.00 $ 152,500.00
Reno-Tahoe Open Montreux Golf & Country Club, Reno, Nevada // 04-07 August 1 scott Piercy -15 72 70 61 70 273 $ 540,000.00 2 Pat Perez -14 73 68 65 68 274 $ 324,000.00 3 Blake Adams -13 67 72 67 69 275 $ 174,000.00 3 steve flesch -13 68 69 70 68 275 $ 174,000.00 5 Jim renner -12 74 69 65 68 276 $ 120,000.00 6 steve elkington -11 73 65 68 71 277 $ 97,125.00 6 Ben Martin -11 68 72 68 69 277 $ 97,125.00 6 Matt McQuillan -11 71 69 71 66 277 $ 97,125.00 6 nick O'Hern -11 65 72 69 71 277 $ 97,125.00 10 Hunter Haas -10 70 67 72 69 278 $ 69,000.00 The Greenbrier Classic The Old White TPC, White Sulphur Springs, W. Vaginia // 28-31 July 1 scott stallings -10 70 65 66 69 270 $1,080,000.00 2 Bob estes -10 69 72 65 64 270 $ 528,000.00 2 Bill Haas -10 71 67 65 67 270 $ 528,000.00 4 Brendon de Jonge -9 66 67 72 66 271 $ 226,200.00 4 Andres romero -9 71 69 66 65 271 $ 226,200.00 4 Cameron Tringale -9 70 67 67 67 271 $ 226,200.00 4 Jimmy Walker -9 69 72 62 68 271 $ 226,200.00 4 Gary Woodland -9 65 70 67 69 271 $ 226,200.00 9 Webb simpson -8 65 68 69 70 272 $ 168,000.00 9 kyle stanley -8 66 75 65 66 272 $ 168,000.00
SEPT/OCT 2011 GOLFINTERNATIONALMAG.COM 47
SUBSCRIBE TODAY £39.99
8 ISSUES OF GOLF INTERNATIONAL delivered direct to your door
PLUS YOU WILL RECEIVE A DOZEN SRIXON Z-STAR BALLS Srixon Z-Star premium golf balls RRP £45 per dozen
INTRODUCING THE NEW ALL SRIXON Z-STAR GOLF BALL
£24.99
8 ISSUES OF GOLF INTERNATIONAL delivered direct to your door
(MAGAZINE ONLY)
Call our subscription Hotline on (020) 8955 7018 ...or click on the SUBSCRIPTIONS button online at:
www.golfinternationalmag.com PLEASE QUOTE SOURCE CODE: GiSEPT105 Offer applies only to mailing addresses within the UK only and whilst stocks last