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GOLF INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINE
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CRUSH IT LIKE QUIROS How to give your game a power boost, with expert analysis by Denis Pugh
You gotta roll with it... Putt like a tour player, with Rory McIlroy & Dr Paul Hurrion
Perfect chips, every time! Jonathan Yarwood introduces you to the modern method
THE Gi INTERVIEW Straight talking with sports supremo Barry Hearn
GEAR & GADGETS Equipment editor Dominic Pedler gives you the inside track on all of the latest kit, including new sticks from Adams, Benross, Callaway, Cleveland and Cobra
TOP WRITING Peter Alliss Robert Green Sarah Stirk Jeremy Chapman John Hopkins Richard Gillis Dr Felix Shank The Major!
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GOLF INTERNATIONAL
RICHARD SIMMONS
MAGAZINE
ESSENTIAL READING FROM THE BEST IN THE GAME
10, Buckingham place, London SW1E 6HX Tel: +44 (0)20 7828 3003
Don’t you just love it when a plan(!) comes together
Editor:
Richard Simmons richard@golfinternationalmag.com
Editor in Chief:
Robert green robert@golfinternationalmag.com
Equipment Editor: Dominic pedler dominic@golfinternationalmag.com Design:
richard@golfinternationalmag.com
Tony Seagrave design@golfinternationalmag.com
professional Teaching panel: Robert Baker, Tim Barter, peter Cowen, Jim Christine, 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, Ross kinnaird, andrew Redington, getty Images, Charles Briscoe-knight, Matthew Harris, Eric Hepworth, Steve Read Regular Illustrators: peter Clark, Harold Riley, Dave F. Smith, Tony Husband (www.tonyhusband.co.uk) Overseas correspondents: karl ableidinger austria Jan kees van der Velden Holland Spencer Robinson Hong kong Mario Camicia Italy USa andy Brumer 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: St Ives Web Ltd // Tel: 01726 892400 Distribution: Comag // Tel: 01895 433600
COVER pHOTOgRapHY BY GeTTYIMaGeS.CoM
Having survived the inevitable hangover following the publication of our 100th issue, so carried away were we by the fact we actually achieved the magical ‘ton up’ it was something of a shock to discover the speed with which the deadline for this spring edition loomed on the calendar. As we cleared away the empties here at Gi Towers, the only question that really mattered was ‘what can we pull together – and fast – for 101?’. Through the fog of excess, ideas began to suggest themselves: and it is at moments like this when I get to fully appreciate the network of contributors and contacts that we have established in our quest to deliver the essential read in golf. As Wentworth owner Richard Caring points out (in a rare interview, page 112), the secret to success in business lies in surrounding yourself with high-calibre people – well, that and good timing. Right on cue, our friends at Callaway Golf asked if we’d be interested in a fabulous sequence of the 2011 Dubai Desert Classic champion Alvaro Quiros. A call to leading coach Denis Pugh quickly took care of our cover story – he was en route to the States and could track down Alvaro at Doral, where a rain delay provided the perfect opportunity for the pair of them to sit down and look at the images on a laptop. You can enjoy watching – and learn from – one of the game’s longest hitters starting on page 48. We had enjoyed another piece of good timing when renowned sports biomechanist and putting expert Paul Hurrion invited us to drop in on a lesson he was giving Rory McIlroy during the Middle East Swing. Photographer David Cannon captured the two of them working on the surely the only part of the game Rory needs to nail consistently to win his first major title (by the time this issue appears he may even have done just that). Based on his own detailed research into the biomechanics of the putting stroke and analysis of ball roll, Hurrion’s sound advice can similarly help you to putt like a tour player (and look out next issue for a report on the latest Quintic Ball Roll Putting Analysis Software that takes putter fitting to a whole new level). Jonathan Yarwood (above) has been a great supporter of Gi since its launch, and over the years has continually sought to provide innovative lessons (find out how to transform your chipping skills from page 72) and creative photo-shoots, such is his passion for teaching and helping golfers understand their golf game. With three successful academies – two in the UK (at Stoke Park and Donnington Grove) and one at The Concession, in Sarasota, where he has lived for the past 15 years – JY has reaped the reward for the sheer professionalism he applies to every aspect of his career. And that dedication has been recognised by his peers with the announcement that Jonathan is to be made Master Professional – the highest accolade from the PGA. At just 41, he joins an elite band of pro’s across the globe, including his former mentor David Leadbetter, Pete Cowen and John Jacobs. Rounding out the instruction package this issue is a valuable ‘first’ lesson on the fundamental role of posture and body rotation by Jim Christine (featuring Sky Sports’ Charlotte Jackson - page 130) and a terrific essay on the ‘Comfort Trap’ by leading European Tour mind coach Dr Karl Morris (p136). Elsewhere, equipment editor Dominic Pedler highlights the latest new products to have caught his eye (p68), including a look at some fascinating new high-tech gadgets to tempt you (p96). Add to all this a major interview with sports supremo Barry Hearn – and much more besides – and we hope you agree it’s a pretty decent sequel to the blockbuster 100th issue. Right, what now for 102... Enjoy the read,
ISSUE 101 • MAY 2011
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The guv’nor: sports supremo Barry Hearn tells it the way it is, starting on page 80 PHOTOGRAPHY BY STEVE READ
RNA GOL F INTE
RIC HA RD
Essential reading from the best in the game ISSUE 101 // MAY 2011 Regulars
Columns
Features
18
6
FIRST Up
54
to
One of the great things about this industry is the eclectic mix of interesting people you get meet. For this issue, in the shape of Barry Hearn and Richard Caring, richard Simmons
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
23
pLaNET gOLF 19th Hole Q&a with Sir Nick Faldo...Top-10s extra – yet more of the Finest Things in golf... ...Fluid motion – Jayne Story and Chi-power golf...more advice from Dr Felix Shank... introducing Lynn McCool, and a new instruction series for the summer...The Major!...Tom Fazio is raring to go in portugal...Divots..!
40
Italian sensation Matteo Manassero is quickly becoming one of the finest young players in world golf. robert Green caught up with him
66
80
THE aMaTEUR SCENE London is Calling! The unique golf LIVE experience will this year be staged at the London club between May 20-22 and it’s an event not to be missed as guests are invited to get up close and personal with many of the game’s leading players; Colin Callendar reports on the worrying plight of a number of Midlands golf clubs caught in the line of fire following the government’s plans for a highspeed London-Birmingham rail link plus a round-up of major amateur tournament news
152 WORLD TOURNaMENT NEWS Wentworth to crown a glorious spring for European golf – andy farrell reports on the quality events lined up in the weeks immediately after augusta, including the Volvo World Match play at Finca Cortesin, and of course the European Tour’s flagship event, the BMW pga Championship at Wentworth. plus there’s a round-up of the latest tournament results from the world of professional golf
It’s all changing at the top: it’s not only the golf ball that is undergoing revolutions in the game right now – on the course and off it, all sorts is happening, writes Peter alliss
44
TOUR TaLk Martin Laird proved to a lot of people that he has true grit with his stoic victory at Bay Hill. Sarah Stirk was suitably impressed
46
BETTINg as this issue went to press the week they were teeing up at augusta, gi’s betting expert Jeremy Chapman looks beyond the first major of the season for signs of who is likely to challenge for the honours at the players’ and the BMW pga Championship
162 THE LaST SHOT a long-time fan of Spain’s Sergio garcia, John Hopkins hopes that the charismatic player can build on some encouraging early performances this season and find his way back to the top
BEINg BaRRY HEaRN There are few bigger characters in the world of sports promotion than Dagenham-born Barry Hearn. richard Simmons talks to the man who nurtured Steve Davis to six world titles and who has added golf, in the shape of the pga Europro Tour to a long list of interests
42 ON THE aIR 90
EQUIpMENT 2011 Following on from his pga Merchandise Show report last issue, Dominic Pedler selects another essential dozen of the latest new products from the leading manufacturers
aND aNOTHER THINg... Playing a major game of ‘if only’: rewinding to what Jack Nicklaus achieved at augusta in 1986, robert Green ponders how the course of golfing history could have been so different
TEEN SpIRIT
98
gaDgETS // TECH kNOW Radar, lasers, gpS, radio frequency ID, infrared sensors, 3D cameras and iphone ‘apps’ are just some of the concepts covered in our special round-up of the very latest golfing gadgets and gizmos out there for all types of golfers. Dominic Pedler is your geeky guide
106 CUp FEVER as the day of reckoning nears, richard Gillis looks at the bidding process in the race to stage the 2018 Ryder Cup – and poses 10 questions the senior officers of the European Tour will have to answer
106 DEaLS ON WHEELS Whether you are in the market for a powered version or a humble push/pull trolley there has never been a better selection of models to choose from. Time to lighten the load? Roll on...
124 SURREY'S HIDDEN TREaSURE
WIN
ATIO NAL
MAG AZIN
CA RIN G
2011 E MAY
/ CO WO
RAB K / ME MO RTH PAR
OR ILIA / RES
T SPO
RIN / MO TO TLI GH T
RE. G & MO
112
THE LEaDER IN HIS OWN CLUBHOUSE richard Simmons talked to Wentworth owner Richard Caring
116
BECaUSE YOU’RE ‘WORTH’ IT Two minutes from Wentworth, Coworth park is setting new standards of luxury in country hotels, writes Dominic Pedler
..
MAY 2011
OM NALMAG.C ERNATIO GOLFINT
111
THREE MOTOCADDY’S MUST BE WON SEE PAGE 88
118
MEMORaBILIa auction-room expert Kevin McGimpsey answers more of your letters
120
RESORT SpOTLIgHT grand Mer is the club phil Mickelson calls home when he finds himself with a week off. Naturally, it’s sublime, as Carly Cummins discovered
138
MOTORINg Motoring correspondent anthony ffrench-Constant takes to the wheel of the Lexus CT 200h
With such illustrious layouts as Walton Heath, Worplesdon and St george’s Hill all within half an hour of this gloriously leafy west London enclave, it’s perhaps not surprising that one of Surrey’s finest classic courses maintains a relatively low profile. But as Coombe Hill celebrates its centenary year, Peter Dazeley throws the spotlight on a. F. abercrombie’s masterpiece
146 TRaVEL pagES In association with our partner Your golf Travel we reveal the latest stay-and-play deals at home and abroad
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 95
Probably the best instruction on the Planet! ISSUE #101 // MAY 2011 // MORE GOLF WITH THE EXPERTS...
WITHIN pLaNET gOLF 30
Chi-power GOLF: Jayne Storey has more practical advice relating to the way in which exercises developed in the martial arts can help you to improve your golf
34
NEW SERIES: Introducing lynn McCool, Director of golf and head professional at the stunning Lough Erne Resort just outside Enniskillen in Northern Ireland (Rory’s favourite hang-out when he’s at home). With the help of gi’s Carly Cummins, and photography by Matthew Harris on location at this fantastic Nick Faldo-designed course, the series promises to be something special – helping you to get your game in shape this summer 48
CRUSH IT LIkE QUIROS Spain’s alvaro Quiros, winner of the Dubai Desert Classic, is one of the game’s finest – and longest – ball strikers. Here, in a sequence provided by Callaway golf, top European Tour coach Denis Pugh takes you through the action, highlighting the key power moves that can help you find a few more precious yards
60
ROLL MODEL as this issue went to press, the world’s elite were heading to augusta National for the first major of the 2011 season. rory McIlroy was among those fancied to do well – and for good reason as he continues to bring his putting up to the standard of his long game. Here, leading biomechanics and putting guru Dr Paul Hurrion provides a glimpse of the way he has been helping Rory to make and repeat a perfect stroke
72
OUT WITH THE OLD...IN WITH THE NEW In order to take advantage of a modern technique that allows you to enjoy full versatility in the arena of chipping (and indeed pitching), you need to shed some of the ‘old school’ teaching ideas that may be holding you back – Jonathan Yarwood explains
130 STaRTINg pOINTS... Bearing in mind this was her first real golf lesson, Sky Sports’ Charlotte Jackson displays real talent and a natural athleticism – to which gi teaching professional Jim Christine enhanced with a few vital basics that all golfers need to take on board 136 MIND FaCTOR gOLF The Comfort Trap: why is it that we can often burn up the front nine holes, playing well under our handicap, only to then fritter away handfuls of shots on the way in? Dr Karl Morris examines the phenomena of the ‘comfort zone’, and suggests ways in which you might escape it...
Get on a roll with Rory and putting doctor Paul Hurrion – see page 60
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planet golf
19th hOLE Q&A
19TH HOLE Q&A
SIR NICK FALDO Sir Nick Faldo is a man who likes his cars. In fact, he likes them a lot, so the Goodwood Festival of Speed Press Day on an albeitslightly nippy spring day was definitely his kind of gig. In between rapid runs in a vintage Jaguar E-Type racer (speedy), the divine Ferrari 458 Italia (warp speed) and the new McLaren MP4-12C (light speed), the six-time major champion took a breather and spoke to Golf International about his first love, golf. He may have hung up his spikes, but Faldo has never had more to say on the game…including a revolutionary idea banning tee-pegs in order to bring back the emphasis on pure ball striking!
I admire anyone who has devoted their
A dream fourball – who do you invite?
Probably my 3-iron to the last green at
In 1995 at Oakhill, my up and down from
My dream four ball? Definitely Ben
Muirfield in 1992.
life and career researching and developing something to enhance the lives of others, particularly those who have made significant medical breakthroughs. If you were in charge of the game for a day, what Rule of Golf would you change? I’d say “no tee pegs.” It would be all about ball-striking. Wow! What is your all-time favourite Ryder Cup moment?
Hogan, Sam Snead and Lee Trevino.
93 yards to beat Curtis Strange in my singles match on Sunday; and of course
And one shot you would love to be able
being part of the 1987 team which
What’s your all-time favourite golf
to have over again?
earned the first win ever in America at
course?
I would love to be able to play the par-
Muirfield Village.
That’s easy! St Andrews Old Course.
three 16th at Brookline in the final round of the 1988 US Open. It was a 6-iron and
Your worst Ryder Cup memory?
Name a golf course you would most
I pushed it right into the bunker.
In 1985 at the Belfry, I played so bad that
like to play, but haven't yet?
week that I wasn’t part of that victory.
There are quite a few. Bandon Dunes,
Who do you most admire in golf?
Oregon is one spot.
Jack, Arnold, Gary.
What’s your favourite meal? I am a happy eater. Ideally anything
What’s the greatest shot you ever hit? 8 GOLFINTERNATIONALMAG.COM MAY 2011
And outside golf, in life generally?
Japanese or Italian, but I like anything with more than 1,000 calories and a dangerous sauce! Favourite drink? Depends on the occasion. I like a nice glass of red wine. Also love a rare whisky, or chilled Russian Vodka, or simply a lime and soda. What do you do to relax? I’m a fly fisherman. I love to stand in a river waiting for the rise of the trout or quietly stalk the flats for bonefish. How frustrating is it to be sat up in that booth when surely you’d really like to be out there playing golf? If you could wave a magic wand over a golfer, like any athlete, sure we’d all like to freeze time and maintain the highest level of skill on the world stage until we die. But that is not life. So in actuality, I am very happy with my role in television and to still play a part in this game and to watch the youngsters and the game evolve and entertain us. I enjoy telling those stories. When Tom Watson could’ve/should’ve won at Turnberry, was there a part of you that wondered why you ever packed in playing?
Right now, on my books, I am very ex-
No, not really. There was no room to do
cited about La Vassa Hill City project in
anything but admire Tom Watson on
India. It has a stunning view with what
that week and that day. Unfortunately to
must be at least a 1,000-foot drop at the
come that close, maintain that level day
end of the site.
after day and come up just short – for me, honestly, that tremendous effort and
Your golf courses aside, which course
devastating result would have emotion-
designer’s work do you admire the
ally scarred me from the experience.
most?
For the Hill Climb at Goodwood what
stood the test of time and impact on the
The Golden Era architects have really game; Alister MacKenzie and George
would be your choice of car? I think I did pretty good in the Ferrari
it is important for him to get that tourna-
458 Italia. The Bentley Le Mans car was
ment feedback.
something else – unfortunately, there is only one seat!
Are you satisfied with six majors – should you have won more?
Do you think Tiger will surpass Jack
Should is not the right word. Of course, I
(from left to right): Goodwood’s Director of Golf, eddie Bullock, Sir Nick faldo, lord March and Savile row tailor William Hunt – the Trilby Tour is making its first visit to Goodwood this summer
Thomas are probably my two favourites. Favourite holiday destination? My favourite holiday destinations all include water, the river or the sea. I enjoy fishing and jet skiing and seascapes; just the peace of being waterside.
Nicklaus's record of 18 majors?
would like to have won more; we all
Short answer, no I don’t.
would like to win more. Looking back it
If you were Tiger's coach, what would
four. Having said that, I am quite proud
I guess it has to be my Blackberry. It
you be telling him?
of my ‘pair of threes’.
keeps me in contact with family and
would have been nice to win the Slam, all
What gadget could you not live without?
business. I’m a tweeter like so many play-
Wow, I have plenty of drills I did in my day, which I think would help him. For
What’s the best piece of property you
ers on Tour. It is really a great source of
starters, right now, I would like to see
have ever been involved with, design-
news and entertainment and I can always
him play a week, practice a week. I think
wise?
snap a picture to share with my kids.
MAY 2011 GOLFINTERNATIONALMAG.COM 9
planet golf
MORE tOP 10’s
The finest things in golf CoNTINueD...
Luther Blacklock PGA MASTER PROFESSIONAL & Gi CONTRIBUTING COACH
1. Links golf – the purist form of the game. 2. The Open Championship – the July dates are the first in my diary every year 3. public access to great venues – a tennis player may never play Wimbledon, or an amateur soccer player not make Wembley. Yet, for the most part, the humble golfer can still get to visit and play the likes of St. andrews, Carnoustie, Sunningdale or, my favourite, Woburn. 4. Diversity of skilled people who work in or play golf – the fascination of encountering agronomists, green-keepers, tour players, amateur golfers, teachers, historians et al. golf provides a huge variety of fields that one can spend a lifetime studying and enjoying. 5. Teaching golf – I have been teaching this game for 37 years and enjoy it as much today as I did way back then. It is fascinating to meet, teach and get to know so many differing types of pupil: each is like the challenge of a new Rubik’s Cube and so many become good friends. 6. The golfer’s code – golf is one of the last bastions of good sportsmanship and integrity. poor or dis honest behaviour is rare: what other sport nurtures such good conduct and courtesy? 7. The handicap system – the ingenius sliding scale that enables golfers of hugely differing abilities to compete on level terms: impossible in other sports such as tennis or squash. 8. golf in the USa – golf across the pond is mainly accessible, affordable and offers great variety compared to many European destinations. It is friendly, hospitable and the answer is always “Yes”! 9. The US Masters – the nervous adrenalin rush of anticipation after a long winter that heralds the first signs of Spring. Every Masters seems memorable. 10. Tiger Woods – whatever the future holds, you are pele, ali and Borg in one body. I want to say thank you for an amazing fifteen years as we have watched you re-write history. It’s been a privilege and a total blast! Expanding on Tiger: if you had asked me 3 years ago if I thought Tiger would surpass the great Jack Nicklaus’ record in the majors. I would have said “Yes” in a heartbeat. Sadly, I now think that his chances are less than 50%. Sean Foley is a renowned and respected coach, but, like every other coach (with the exception of Butch Harmon), he is not needed. Every time Tiger tries to “make a swing” on the course, rather than hit a shot, he is going backwards.
Our 100th issue attracted a great deal of correspondence, with a number of readers writing to say how much they enjoyed the features on the Top 100 Finest Things in golf, and especially the personal Top-10s that ran throughout the magazine. Thanks to all of you who have emailed your own Top-10 list – look out for a collection of those in the next issue. In the meantime, here are a few more from a various assortment of writers and contributors to gi, plus one or two special guests... Email your top-10 list to richard@golfinternationalmag.com
GOLFINTERNATIONALMAG.COM MAY 2011
You don’t need to tell a salmon how to swim or a Collie dog to herd sheep – it’s in their nature! Bubba Watson is overwhelming evidence that swing technique is NOT the be-all-and-end-all of winning tour events. Please, please, please, leave Tiger alone. Just check his set-up, posture and grip and tell him to go and play golf. Tiger’s swing was regarded as being at its best in 2000, a short period compared to the overall time spent under Harmon. The main reason that Tiger succeeded under Butch is that, first and foremost, he teaches people how to score and play. Look at his success with so many unorthodox pupils like Corey Pavin and Natalie Gulbis, not to mention the nurturing of Adam Scott, Darren Clark and Nick Watney It is tragic to see Tiger being “cloned” into yet another stylised and unnatural golfer with a methodology that is so obviously suppressing his ability. Come on Tiger, trust yourself and go kick some butt! I want to enjoy watching you for the next 15 years, God willing.
Tiger’s swing is a work in progress with coach Sean foley (left); at Bay Hill, playing partner Pat Perez gave his opinion
PLANEt GOLF
Zane Navie
Peter Simmons
CUSTOM FITTING EXPERT, URBAN GOLF
PUBLISHING/ADVERTISING DIRECTOR GI
MY PERSONAL TOP 10
MY PERSONAL TOP 10
1. The Open Championship (say no more!)
1. as a kid (and I still do!) hours spent looking for golf balls around the tree-lined fairways of Tehidy park (and in those days finding a Slazenger B52 or Dunlop 65 in good nick!)
2. Seve’s short game! 3. playing the Ocean Course at kiawah Island in South Carolina. Just spectacular 4. Loch Lomond in the summer 5. While in Scotland taking a trip to Machrihanish golf Club to play the best opening hole in golf 6. get fit for and play a set of Japanese forged hand made blades and adding a set of custom-ground Scratch Wedges by Hall of Famer Don White (Oh, and for good measure have a putter designed and made for you by Tom Slighter) 7. Indoor golf at Urban golf in the winter 8. Enjoying a pint of St.Mungo as the sun goes down at Turnberry 9. play New South Wales golf Club in australia – stunning views! 10.Reading the book The Amateurs by John Niven
2. Evening golf at Tehidy park – one of Cornwall’s loveliest parkland courses 3. Sneakily practising all sorts of shots on the course which are out of view of the clubhouse! 4. Holing any length of putt which is crucial in a match – preferably a winning one 5. Walking into augusta for the first time last year – a childhood dream! 6. playing golf with my Dad – he’s even more competitive than I am! 7. anytime I beat my brother (Richard - Editor). With £1 bits & pieces! 8. playing for the Cornwall County golf Team 9. Staying & playing at Turnberry, Trevose and kiawah Island (below) 10. Beating any young kid who hits it 300 yards plus!
Ronan Rafferty FORMER EUROPEAN NO. 1
MY PERSONAL TOP 10 1. Staying at the Royal Champagne Hotel, right in the middle of Champagne, surrounded by some of the finest vineyards in the world and enjoying quite possibly the finest Champagne known to man. There’s no golf, but who cares after three bottles of bubbly! 2. Taking wine and food with some of my best friends at Brancaster, Doonbeg, Machrihanish Dunes, Brora, Les Bordes, the New Zealand golf Club, augusta and, of course, Royal County Down (above) 3. Standing on the 1st tee at Royal County Down knowing that I’m about to spend four hours on the finest course in the land 4. Three hours & 50 minutes later, standing on the 18th tee having enjoyed taking on the finest course in the land 5. Spending time over the rest of the season working with the Orange Whip, a golf swing training device which improves your clubhead speed. No impact, just swishing the orange ball on the end of the shaft 6. playing golf with my son Jonathan 7. Just being a pro golfer 8. playing in the Masters (1990 and '91) and having great golfing memories. The greatest? probably holing the putt to win the Volvo Masters and the Order of Merit in 1989. The exclamation point on a fabulous year 9. playing in the Ryder Cup just as things were changing. Being part of the era that won in 1985 & ’87 and defending in ’89. Being part of the changing of the guard of the Ryder Cup 10. Being able to watch the Ben Hogan videos on YouTube. Having never been around in that era, never seen a shot, through new technology being able to access and see the great Ben Hogan in action
Robert Baker INTERNATIONAL GOLF COACH
MY PERSONAL TOP 10 1. Talking to Jack Nicklaus and gary player about the swing 2. playing the Old Course, St andrews 3. Hitting a very solid long iron 4. Watching the highlights of previous Open Championships 5. Standing next to Seve as he pitches and chips to the fast greens at the short game area of augusta 6. Eating biltong and looking out at holes 9 and 18 from the Leopard Creek clubhouse 7. The touch and feel of a Dunhill mercerised cotton shirt (and evenings in the old Course bar during the dunhill links championship) 8. Listening to Nick price tell jokes (and hanging out with him in his workshop) 9. playing the National golf Links in Southampton 10. Having a serious match on a serious golf course with competitive opponents MAY 2011 GOLFINTERNATIONALMAG.COM 11
PETER ALLISS
ON THE AIR
It’s all changing at the top It’s not only the golf ball that’s undergoing revolutions in the game right now. Both on the course and off it, all sorts is happening tree (identified through a pair of binoculars, no doubt taken off a U-
the world of golf administration has definitely got
boat commander), a few putts holed and a few putts missed – all
off to a shaky start. The first big shock came with
very exciting. Quiros is a talented player has won a handful of tour-
the walk-out by David Fay, the executive director of
naments and could be in the next Ryder Cup team, but he, like
the United States Golf Association, a famously good
many others, still needs to learn how to play – when to attack, when
chap and wearer of bow-ties. It is the USGA, along with the R&A, which is responsible for most things in the world of golf, both professional and amateur.
to defend. He was not alone. There were plenty of others trying to play shots which would have walked straight into the Guinness Book of
Then blow me but in March it was announced that David Hill, the R&A’s Director of Championships, had resigned with immediate ef-
Records if successful, while their caddies looked on, powerless to stop their man committing golfing hara-kiri.
fect. What’s this? – such turmoil in the upper echelons of the game. If golf is widely regarded as a conservative sport, then you can make that tenfold when it comes to the perception of golf’s governing bodies. I have often said that it only needs two or three new people on a committee, with different ideas and strong personalities, to force through changes in legislation, particularly when money is involved. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t, but they seem to operate on the theory that if it doesn't work out, they can always go back to the original parties who gave such good service before they were jettisoned. But how I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall at the USGA’s offices in Far Hills, New Jersey, and/or one similarly located in that grand R&A clubhouse at St Andrews. But then nothing is sacrosanct. That has been witnessed by the slow strangulation of BBC Sport, and particularly its involvement in golf. Looking back, how often did I hear people say: “The BBC Sports Department? That's impregnable.” Oh no it’s not. Gradually it has been eroded. That’s not to say the present incum-
After providing some extraordinary golfing fireworks in the final round of the Dubai Desert Classic, Alvaro Quiros got to pose for a picture with a few hostesses. He’s the one in blue.
bents don't wish to display golf to the public in the most brilliant way, but there are now half-a-dozen dedicated sports
I watch a lot of televised golf and although the game is now more
channels running pretty much 24 hours a day against the BBC's out-
sophisticated, players repeatedly make the same elementary mis-
put, so it is easy to see how they have been overtaken.
takes and the commentators don’t help much. They’d have us believe
Back to the sport itself. I remember that after he had come to the
the players are using rifles instead of golf clubs, and they are always
end of his great cricket career, Fred Trueman spent many hours, mi-
“holding it up”, “fading it in”, “leaving it below the hole”, “leaving it
crophone in his hand, extolling the virtues of that wonderful game.
on the upslope in the greenside bunker”, “controlling the spin” and
When anything untoward happened out on the pitch, one of his
so on and on.
favourite expressions was: “I just don't know what’s going off out
I maintain that a ball struck straight into the middle of the green
there!” As I have watched some recent golf tournaments, I have un-
stands just as much chance of getting close to the hole as one where
derstood exactly what he meant.
the player attempts the shot of the year. No matter what they say,
Please don’t run away with the idea that I’m a dyed-in-the-wool
you never know how much spin the ball is going to take, or whether
Luddite who can see nothing good in the world today. I have tried
it will take spin at all. Will it go left or right, will it stay where it lands,
hard to move with the times but you can’t change every idea drilled
or will it bounce through? Much of golf is in the lap of the gods, and
into you when you’re young. So let’s take Alvaro Quiros and his vic-
in my view it’s all the better for that.
tory at the Emirates Club in Dubai.
My biggest disappointment lately has been watching Tiger Woods.
The Spaniard was his usual mercurial self, playing his typical
I must say that he doesn’t seem to be making much effort to improve
crash-bang-wallop golf when suddenly, during the last round, ex-
his professional persona. When interviewed, his answers to relatively
traordinary things began to happen. He had two eagles, a hole-in-
sensible questions are met with a stony face, a sharp tongue and a
one, a handful of birdies, bogeys in assorted sizes, a ball stuck up a
look of complete boredom.
12 GOLFINTERNATIONALMAG.COM MAY 2011
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INSTRUCTION ON THE TEE WITH ALVARO QUIROS
King Quiros Spain’s latest superstar provides a model to all young players of how to manage exceptional power with balance and athleticism. He also happens to be one of the game’s finest ambassadors
By Denis Pugh LEADING EUROPEAN TOUR COACH & SKY SPORTS ANALYST
What’s in the Bag? Driver:
Callaway RAZR Hawk (9.5°)
Fairway Wood:
Callaway Tour X (15°), Callaway X (17°)
Irons (3-PW):
Callaway X Prototype
Wedges:
Callaway X-Forged Vintage (52° and 58°)
Putter:
Odyssey Black Series i #1
Ball:
Callaway Tour iZ
14 GOLFINTERNATIONALMAG.COM MARCH/APRIL 2011
CALLAWAY PROMOTION
Power Posıtıon #2
Power Posıtıon #1
Frame 6 down the line, this impact position shows how the arms fully release with no flicking of the wrists. This is the result of fantastic armspeed that originates in the coil and recoil of the upper body.
Studying a sequence face on always reveals the way in which a good player coils his upper body over the resistance of the hips and legs, and Quiros does this beautifully. I have identified frame 5 in the face-on sequence as one you should give special attention to, as it not only screams ‘coil!’, but also exceptional width in the arms.
Thanks to the wonders of modern technology I sat down with Alvaro Quiros during the rain delay during the WGC at Doral and showed him the driver sequence you are about to enjoy on my laptop. Overall he was pretty happy with the look of his swing, and particularly the poise and balance displayed throughout which, as he was quick to acknowledge, is what enables players of his calibre to recover and hit good shots even when the swing is not technically 100% where they want it. Quiros works with Jose Rivero, the former Spanish
Ryder Cup player who himself was known for the silky rhythm and tempo with which he swung the club. I see this quality in Alvaro’s incredibly powerful swing; from start to finish he exhibits exceptional athletic balance, which is the first thing I would hope all the young and ambitious golfers out there would seek to copy. Looking at the sequence face on, particularly, the early moves in this swing certainly reveal the benefit of being supple and athletic as Quiros winds his upper body over the stability and resistance of the hips and
legs; he is notably limited with his hip rotation, while the shoulders move through a full 90 degrees and the arms arrive at a compact, almost three-quarter position. He then explodes through the ball, maximising his speed with long levers that give him such tremendous clubhead speed. You cannot become a long hitter copying all that Quiros does, but you can certainly be the longest YOU CAN BE if you pick up on four key positions that I have highlighted here and through the copy. Ok, now let’s go and enjoy the sequences in full.
Power Posıtıon #3 Moving to frame 9 in the face on sequence, this release of the arms towards the target as he continues to rotate his body left is fantastic to copy – note the gloved left hand clearly visible beneath the right. This is a position you should actively try to replicate, and one that will help you to enjoy a fuller release
Power Posıtıon #4 The follow through is always tell-tale sign of whether or not a player has managed to keep it all together and in control to the end. There are a lot of golfers who pose this position as if it’s an afterthought, but in Alvaro’s case it looks to be the perfect conclusion and is one that results from the momentum of what is a very good golf swing.
MAY 2011 GOLFINTERNATIONALMAG.COM 15
FEATURE MATTEO MANASSERO
Italian golf’s young sensation has a precious talent to go with his precocity. Robert Green reports
teen
spırıt IT’S A GLORIOUS AND ENIGMATIC COUNTRY, ITALY, eternally full of surprises and contrasts. As politicians go, it presently has arguably the oldest known lothario in public life. As sportsmen go, it has – 57 years younger than Silvio Berlusconi, so almost old enough to be legitimately invited to a bunga bunga party – one of the world’s most prodigiously talented prospects, golfer Matteo Manassero. After Manassero, then 16, had received the silver medal for finishing as low amateur in the Open Championship at Turnberry in 2009, Stewart Cink stepped up to receive the claret jug. The luckless Tom Watson, as runner-up, was standing with his playing partner of the first two rounds. “One day you’ll be here again,” he told the young Italian. As we know so far with Andy Murray and the “Oh, he’s bound to win a Grand Slam some time”, there is no such thing as a certain future champion in sport. Twenty years ago, who would have predicted no majors for Colin Mont-
Westwood. So Manassero is no cert. But it would be shocker if he was seldom a contender. He was born on April 19, 1993. Until the 2013 Masters Mickelson drives at 18 last year en route to his third green jacket. For fans everywhere, the opportunity to see Augusta in 3D will this year turn it into a whole new ball game
has been and gone, he will have a shot at becoming the first teenager to win a major championship since Young Tom Morris did the trick aged 17 in 1868. (Annoyingly for analogy purposes, Young Tom’s birthday was April 20.) Manassero was officially the world’s No.1 amateur golfer for the last 18 weeks of his career in the unpaid ranks until he
16 GOLFINTERNATIONALMAG.COM MAY 2011
PHOTOGRAPHY BY GETTYIMAGES.COM
gomerie? Ten years ago, who would have said there’d be none for Sergio Garcia? There may never be one for Lee
MAY 2011 GOLFINTERNATIONALMAG.COM 17
INSTRUCTION THE PUTTING DOCTOR
Here’s a question for you: how can you realistically hope to reduce your handicap if you don’t seriously practice with the one club you use most often in every round of golf! It’s time to change. Get yourself a putting mirror, like the one Rory is using here, and commit yourself this season to working on the same drills and practice routines that I use with one the world’s most exciting young golfers. The return on your investment will be worth it...
Analysis by Dr Paul Hurrion BIOMECHANICS EXPERT & EUROPEAN TOUR COACH WWW.QUINTIC.COM PHOTOGRAPHY: DAVID CANNON/GETTYIMAGES.COM
RollModel Mirror, mirror... If I had to choose just one training aid for the players I coach to use regularly in their practice routines it would have to be a putting alignment mirror. I believe it is the simplest and most effective piece of equipment you can buy when it comes to working on all aspects of your aim, set-up and stroke. The graphics on the top of the mirror have certainly helped Rory to make consistent both his eye position and the square alignment of the putterface behind the ball on every putt. It is easy to use for a quick practice indoors at home or in the hotel room as well as on the putting green.
Non negotiable... That the putterface is aimed square to the initial line on which you want to roll the ball is one of the ‘non-negotiable’ elements of good putting technique. Simple, you might think, but you would be surprised at the number of leading professionals I have worked with who fail to take care of this most basic of laws at the set up. It’s that old issue of perception versus reality – what we think we are doing in golf is often a long way from what we are actually doing. Which is why it is vital you check this element regularly. Rory uses the solid transverse lines directly behind the ball as his reference point. He is then able to see the line directly in front of the putter blade, which is at 90 degrees to the target. Rory
18 GOLFINTERNATIONALMAG.COM MAY 2011
Routine practice with an alignment mirror enables you to build solid set-up fundamentals...
Precision alignment to the target – that’s Rule No. 1 The first steps you see Rory running through here are designed to confirm perfect alignment of both his body, eyeline and the putter face. We generally like to start off a practice session with a straight 10-foot putt – Rory will get down behind the mirror to check that the centre line is aimed exactly down the target line. By using the alignment guides on the mirror, Rory can then check his eye position
Stay focused – fixing your eyes on the back of the ball and keeping your head still ensures that you ‘stay in the putt’ and keep the putterface running square to the path of your stroke
(for him just inside the middle line), square the putterface to the target line and confirm that the key body lines (feet, hips and shoulders) all run parallel. With the mirror fixed in place, aimed at a straight putt, I would expect Rory to hole putt after putt from 10 feet. And one of the vital checks I make as he hits these putts is that Rory’s eye-line is maintained from the set-up all the way to impact – this helps to ensure that he ‘stays in the putt’. (You don’t ever want to peek too early – that throws the whole stroke off line). I also like to film all of the putts and drills so I can review them in the Quintic video analysis software; we have created a substantial library of good putts and this is always very useful to refer back to. Once Rory is confident and rattling in the majority of the putts he hits I then remove the mirror and continue to film his stroke from the same spot on the green. Doing this introduces clubface alignment into the equation – i.e. Rory has to square the face without the benefit of the lines on the mirror. If the percentage of holed putts drops below 80% we need to address the failure of being able to repeat correct alignment. Once Rory is achieving 90% we repeat the drill with varying length putts, and finally we find a slope and repeat the drill with breaking putts. This drill examines and improves Rory’s pace control, which has to be correct for the ball to take the break and find the hole.
...all designed to help you return the putter squarely to the back of the ball and start it rolling on your chosen line
MAY 2011 GOLFINTERNATIONALMAG.COM 19
EQUIPMENT
2011 Equıpment Following on from his PGA Merchandise Show report last issue, Dominic Pedler selects another essential dozen of the latest new products from the leading manufacturers.
Benross Quad driver The Quad term here refers to the exaggerated corner weighting in this contemporary styled, 460cc titanium head that helps to make this Benross’ most stable metalwood offering to date. The high MOI performance is further helped by the modern ‘wide footprint’ that extends the body back from the face, and also the choice of aldila High Launch graphite shaft that complements the overall head dynamics. Special mention should also go to the company’s exclusive Quad-Fit custom fitting system currently being rolled out at some 100 retail outlets across the Uk. Featuring a special Twist-Fit hosel that allows the fitter and consumer to be guided quickly to the correct ‘spec’ without resorting to hundreds of individual demo clubs, the technology and fitting process is up there with some big brand rivals – but at a fraction of the price. Guide: £129.99 www.benrossgolf.com
20 GOLFINTERNATIONALMAG.COM MAY 2011
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NEW SEASON
Cobra S3 and S3 Max irons
Tour edge exotics XCG-4 driver Here’s the follow up to last year’s XCg-3 which pioneered a special fusion process for multi-material metalwoods that eliminates all the excess ‘beading’ typically associated with traditional welding. This time the titanium face and sole is combined with a carbon crown and sole inserts, as well as two tungsten sole weights. This driver head construction, together with a graphite Design Tour shaft and a 26-gram WinnLite grip, allows for a super-light overall weight of 276g that follows a new trend in
lightweight drivers also adopted by Cleveland, among others, this season. [There is also a 310g XCg-4 edition with a Fujikura Motore shaft.] Distributed in the Uk by Foremost golf, the XCg-4 also boasts a Boomerang face (multiple levels of variable thickness that maximize the rebound effect from more points on the clubface) in what is one of the most high-tech metalwood ranges of the season. Guide: Driver £299 (Fairways £249, Hybrid £175). www.exoticsgolf.com www.foremostgolf.co.uk
Behind the fashionable dusky finish lies some highly progressive thinking in terms of sweetspot design. In particular, the latest evolution of the ‘9points’ face concept that aims to match the shape of the effective hitting area through the set to the actual strike patterns of most golfers. according to research, it’s only in the short irons that the expected circular sweetspot is relevant, with the ideal ‘highCOR’ zone morphing to a more horizontal pattern as we move down through the set, with an almost elliptical ‘high toe’ shape for the longest irons. “Each S3 irons is optimized based on these results, so golfers know they’ll be getting what they need from every club,” explains Tom preece, Cobra’s Vice president of R&D. Cobra’s first techie-yet-trendy offering since its high-profile tie-up with puma certainly lives up to its hype – and includes a super-forgiving S3 Max version in a choice of irons or hybrid/iron combo set. Guide: S3 £499/£599 / S3Max from £399 www.cobragolf.co.uk
MAY 2011 GOLFINTERNATIONALMAG.COM 21
INSTRUCTION
OLD SCHOOL: Excessive angles as hands push forwards What I regard as the ‘old school’ of coaching in the chipping arena typically sees this type of set-up: the ball is back, hands forward and weight forward. It’s a set-up that leads to a one-dimensional type of chip shot and, as such, restricts your options around the green. What you need in chipping is creativity and in order to achieve that you need to control three key elements: the strike, the spin you put on the ball and and the trajectory of the shot. Fine tune those three and bingo! You have control of your landing distance and the behaviour of the ball on the green. One other point I must make regarding the ‘old’ method is that it usually advocates keeping the angle in the right wrist for as long as possible. That effectively traps the clubhead behind the hands, making the club ‘bottom out’ early. To compensate for that the player invariably has to move the ball further and further back, so producing a lower shot. What you often see is the lower body leans forward, the upper body weight leans backwards; in the modern way, everything is designed to be more neutral – just the opposite of ‘old school’.
See how the angle in the right wrist is maintained as the hands lead the clubhead
OUT WITH THE OLD... By Jonathan Yarwood WWW.GOLFJY.COM • PHOTOGRAPHY: KEVIN MURRAY SHOT ON LOCATION AT THE CONCESSION • WWW.THECONCESSION.COM
At a recent teaching conference with the short-game guru Stan Utley I was pleased to recognise a lot of similarity in the way we view chipping. The golden rule for both of us is that the shaft should be encouraged to speed up on the way down and through the ball so the clubhead can catch up with the hands and the natural loft on the clubface delivered freely. That way you can expect to hit a variety of good crisp chip shots as the bottom of the arc is fractionally ahead of the ball. But in order to take advantage of this you do need to shed some of the old habits you may have been taught over the years – so let’s bring your short game up to date.
22 GOLFINTERNATIONALMAG.COM MAY 2011
Ball is squeezed forward, and mishits are common
JONATHAN YARWOOD
MODERN APPROACH Create a neutral set-up that puts the natural loft on the ball The modern way I recommend you go out and try revolves around a noticeably more neutral neutral set up, the lower body weight actually more on the right heal, so the upper body weight can get more forward and more open. You can see here that the shaft ‘lean’ is much less, the hands only marginally ahead of the ball, and I’m also standing much closer to the ball. From here, the actual swing motion requires a little turn of the hips, abs and thighs – they represent the engine room and generate the energy. It’s the smooth turning motion of that area back and through, along with a subtle hinge in the wrists to keep the clubhead flowing as it swings and changes direction that enables the club to catch up and release. In the modern method the club is never trapped behind the hands; it will bottom out ahead of the ball and produce crisp, consistent and neutral chip shots.
Right hand is released so that the natural loft is returned to the ball at impact
IN WITH THE NEW...
MAY 2011 GOLFINTERNATIONALMAG.COM 23
FEATURE BARRY HEARN
BEING
BARRY PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY BY STEVE READ
One of life’s charmed entrepreneurs, Barry Hearn is the all-conquering Essex boy done good. Born in Dagenham and educated at the Buckhurst Hill County High School, he qualified as a chartered accountant in 1974 and quickly put to use a natural flair for taking risks and brokering deals, his first business interest in a chain of snooker halls timed to perfection as the UK went snooker loopy in the late 1970s. Hearn's reputation was secured with the nurturing of Steve Davis into a six-times major champion and the snooker world’s answer to the pioneering McCormack/Palmer model transformed the fortunes of all involved in the game worldwide. Recognising the audience potential for what he describes as the ‘blue collar sports’, Hearn’s Matchroom Sport promotion and TV production company has capitalised spectacularly on the arrival of pay TV and today he delivers over 2,000 hours of live action to Sky Sports. With boxing one of his life-long passions, a move in that direction was inevitable, his first promotion being the Frank Bruno vs. Joe Bugner bout at White Hart Lane in 1987. He has since promoted many of the leading British and Irish boxers, including Chris Eubank, Nigel Benn and Lennox Lewis while the current Prizefighter series on Sky Sports provides the perfect example of Hearn’s ability to deliver creative entertainment in a way that maximises TV interest. Darts is another niche sport that has been lifted beyond recognition in recent years, while other Matchroom interests include pool, tenpin bowling, fishing (Fish O’Mania) and – latterly – golf. In 2002, Hearn forged a partnership with the Professional Golfers Association to create the PGA EuroPro Tour, with the aim to provide a circuit for up-and-coming stars of the game. This year's schedule will comprise 16 tournaments culminating in a Tour Championship in September. Graduates include Graeme Storm, Richard Finch and Ross Fisher, while Loius Oosthuizen went on to claim the biggest prize in the sport with victory in last year's Open at St Andrews. But it is in his capacity as chairman of Leyton Orient Football Club that Hearn has recently been in the headlines in the much-publicised legal saga with West Ham United over the decision to award his East London neighbours tenancy of the £530 million Olympic Stadium after the 2012 Games. Just a single tube stop from Leyton’s Brisbane Road ground, such a move has the potential, argues Hearn, to threaten the very future of a club with a 135-year history. It’s a case likely to run and run; Jonathan Tehoue’s 88th minute equaliser against Arsenal in the fifth round of the FA Cup secured Leyton a £1 million replay at the Emirates – a windfall the chairman is more than willing to spend on legal fees. Richard Simmons caught up with one of sport's most enigmatic characters.
Gi. How much do you owe Steve Davis and vice versa?.
of good luck with the acquisition of a chain of snooker halls.
BH: Well, I probably owe God more because as you get older, and closer to Heaven, you become more of a fatalist, and you realise
Gi: The Lucania Temperance Billiard Halls London Ltd.
things happen in life for a purpose. My life has been blessed with
BH: Exactly. I was from a working-class background, had no money
some incredible pieces of luck – it’s better to be born lucky than
at all. After training as a chartered accountant I did a stint with a
good-looking! And timing, as we all know, is everything in life. When
good firm but I always knew I wanted to work for myself. I had the
Steve Davis walked into that snooker hall in Romford in 1976, well, I
opportunity to take over this chain of snooker halls – no one else
knew straight away he was something special. But you have to go
could cope with the aggravation that you got with halls in those days
back a little before that to appreciate that, actually, I created that bit
(when I was younger I could cope with aggravation; in fact, on a good
24 GOLFINTERNATIONALMAG.COM MAY 2011
HEARN
COMPETITION
WIN Leading trolley supplier Motocaddy is offering Golf International readers the chance to win a fantastic top-of-the-range S3 Digital electric trolley with Lithium battery plus a number of its top accessories including Pro Series cart bag, drinks holder, scorecard holder, umbrella and flight cover.
26 GOLFINTERNATIONALMAG.COM MAY 2011
The S3 Digital took the electric trolley market by storm last year with its sporty looks and ingenious features. These innovations, which are exclusive to Motocaddy, include: n A ground-breaking USB port that allows a GPS unit to be charged directly from the trolley’s battery. n An exclusive "CartLock" security device that enables the owner to set a pin code to render the trolley useless to a would-be thief.
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n A multi-functional display screen and digital control panel that make the trolley incredibly easy to use. n A multi-platform battery tray that is capable of holding the long-lasting and super-lightweight Motocaddy Lithium or Standard and Extended range Panasonic batteries.
To enter, simply answer the following question: Which system renders the S3 Digital useless to a would-be thief?’ Answer A: CartLock B: MotoLock C: CadLock To enter visit: www.golfinternationalmag.com/competitions or answer on a Postcard to: Motocaddy Competition, Golf International Magazine, 10 Buckingham Place, London, SW1E 6HX COMPETITION CLOSES AT MIDNIGHT ON 31ST MAY 2011
The winner’s trolley will include a Motocaddy Lithium battery and a Pro-Series cart bag that features 14 full-length graphite-friendly club dividers, spacious pockets, external wells for putter and umbrella and an exclusive anti-twist base that keeps the bag firmly in place on the trolley. A runner-up will receive an S1 Digital trolley complete with Lithium battery, while third place sees another lucky individual take home the S1 model accompanied by an 18-hole battery.
MAY 2011 GOLFINTERNATIONALMAG.COM 27
AMATEUR
London is calling! A date for your diary: the organisers of the second staging of Golf LIVE expect more than 15,000 enthusiasts to flock through the impressive gates
The magnificent 36-hole facility that is the London Club is gearing up to welcome guests to Golf Live, the one-of-a-kind experience that gives club golfers an up close and personal view of the elite professional game. Adam Hathaway sets the stage
of the exclusive London Golf Club, near Brands Hatch, in Kent, when the three-day event tees up for three days of unique golfing entertainment from Friday May 20. The unique event offers golfing enthusiasts of
Champion Jeremy Dale will dazzle audiences with
Billed as ‘The Ultimate Golfers’ Day Out’, Golf
his repertoire of shots. And to keep the pace of
LIVE will also have a Hub Stage LIVE which houses
all age and ability the rare opportunity to observe
play running smoothly, the ‘Voice of Golf’ himself,
over 100 exhibitors, retail outlets to lighten your
and learn from a number of the game’s elite stars
Peter Alliss, will be present, sharing ceremonial
wallet and the all important refreshment vendors.
at close quarters while at the same time taking ad-
duties with Andrew Cotter, Iain Carter and John
vantage of the opportunity to trial the very latest
Hawksworth.
equipment and interact with tour players and
So what makes Golf LIVE different to all the
But it is the fact that golfers can get up close and personal to the tour stars – and at a real championship venue – that really is the selling
leading names from the world of coaching via one
other golf shows featuring celebrity appearances
point and the key attraction of Golf LIVE accord-
of a number of live staged shows. The organisers,
and bag-loads of gear to hit? Well, for a start Golf
ing to Event Director James Goode.
Brand Events, have again secured the presence of
LIVE takes place on a golf course – and not just
a galaxy of star names, including Europe’s magnif-
any old golf course, either. With Jack Nicklaus-de-
close to players of this calibre,” says Goode. “They
“There is tremendous excitement in getting
icent Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie, Dar-
signed Heritage layout its centrepiece, the London
are not just there to hit shots at a distance – the
ren Clarke, Paul McGinley, Thomas Bjorn and
Club promises a fantastic spectacle. The profes-
audience is encouraged to participate and quiz
former US Open champion Michael Campbell. On
sionals will be giving a range of clinics – including
them. To get into the minds of these world class
hand to help answer questions and provide valu-
Monty's Masterclass – and every facet of the game
players. And if you are hitting shots or rolling
able insight into what makes these players tick
will be covered in a variety of live theatres where
putts, you are doing it on grass, not on a mat. All
will be top European Tour coach and Sky Sports
visitors can ask questions and pick the brains of
of the feedback we had following last year’s inau-
analyst Denis Pugh, while the World Trick Shot
the professionals.
gural event raved about that aspect of the experi-
28 GOLFINTERNATIONALMAG.COM MAY 2011
THE AMATEUR SCENE
NEWS IN BRIEF...AMATEUR SCENE...NEW Cumbria’s Seb Crookall-Nixon and James atkinson started their domestic season with a bang by winning the Sunningdale Foursomes. The pair survived five rounds against professionals and amateurs with 17-year-old CrookallNixon holing a 45-putt to secure a one hole win over 18-year-old Hayley Davies and Scott godfrey in the final. atkinson and Crookall-Nixon were not hopeful of success and had to re-book their accommodation after two days having expected an early exit. The pair are the third Cumbrian partnership to win the title following on from gary Lockerbie and paul Jenkinson in 2005 and Bill Sharpe and Syd Scott in 1955. Crookall-Nixon, a two-times winner of the England Under-16 Championship, is an experienced campaigner and aiming for a Walker Cup spot later this year. He said: “It was an advantage for me knowing the ropes of big tournaments so I knew what was expected.”
ence, while the participation of the professionals and the coaches was overall the most important element. The fact is, at Golf LIVE you can watch, learn and be entertained at the same time.” Goode also reports that 65 per cent of last year’s exhibitors have already re-booked space at the London Club, surely an encouraging sign in the current economic climate. Given the quality of the Heritage Course, which in 2008 staged the European Open, the head-tohead three-hole matches are guaranteed to be fascinating. “Listening to the pros talk you ToM WarD
through their thought process as they approach each shot is fascinating,” says Michael Moore of Dorset, who attended the event last year. “And what a revelation to witness a jovial Monty – just brilliant!” Details of ticket prices can be found via the website address at the foot of this page, and it’s worth noting that children under 16 get in free with a paying adult. What’s more, there is a dedicated junior area run by the Golf Foundation and the Lee Westwood Academy, where among the activities on offer you will find Tri-Golf, a miniversion of the game specifically for youngsters, a Grass Roots Challenge where juniors can compare scores against the professionals and the opportunity to take advantage of free lessons with a PGA pro. One lucky junior golfer will win an exclusive ‘money-can’t-buy’ competition prize to play with world No.2 Lee Westwood, and there will be plenty more merchandise and goodies given away throughout the action-packed weekend. Two of the world’s top emerging talents, Rhys Davies of Wales and Spain’s and Pablo Larrazábal, will also be appearing in the ‘Growing the Game’ area aimed at encouraging participation among juniors – if you have young children and want to inspire them there’s no better place to be in May. After enjoying last year’s inaugural event, Davies is thrilled to be able to return to Golf LIVE.
Drayton Park’s eddie Pepperell (above) claimed his first title of the year by winning the weathershortened Portuguese amateur Championship at Montado Hotel and Golf resort. The england international sank a 40-foot birdie putt on the final green to finish on sevenunder-par 209, a stroke ahead of Jean-Pierre verselin of france with three players on 211. Pepperell, 20, led by two at halfway after rounds of 68 and 69 from the oxfordshire’s Craig Hinton and andrew Cooley from Chobham. The third round was washed out before Pepperell finished the job off after 54 holes. Hinton finished with a level par 73 for joint sixth place and Tyrrell Hatton from Harleyford handed in a 71 for 213 and equal ninth to make it three players in the top ten for england and Berks, Bucks & oxon. Leading final scores: 209 e Pepperell (eng) 68 69 72; 210 J-P verselin (fra) 70 73 67; 211 D Geminiani (Ita) 71 73 67; 211 D Huizing (Ned) 72 70 69; 211 e espana (fra) 74 73 64 Selected English scores: 212 C Hinton 69 70 73; 213 T Hatton 74 68 71; 215 J Bell 69 73 73; 217 a Cooley 72 68 77; 219 l Canter 71 73 75; 221 C Shinkwin 69 82 70; 221 a Christie 72 73 76 Dave Coupland from Boston, Lincolnshire, just missed out on another big win ‘Down Under’ for England squad members when he was runner-up in the australian Men’s amateur Stroke play Championship at the Victoria Club in Melbourne. The 25-year-old agonisingly missed out in a play-off after carding a last round 65 to tie with Queensland’s Cameron Smith on 275, 13-under par. However, the australian, who had led after continued overleaf...
MAY 2011 GOLFINTERNATIONALMAG.COM 29
EQUIPMENT
tech know Radar, lasers, GPS, radio frequency ID, infra-red sensors, 3D cameras and iPhone ‘apps’ are just some of the concepts covered in our special round-up of the very latest golfing gadgets and gizmos out there for all types of golfers. Dominic Pedler is your geeky guide, starting with a golf ball finder that really works...
30 GOLFINTERNATIONALMAG.COM MAY 2011
LATEST GADGETS // TRIED & TESTED
Not counting fore-caddies, which date back hundreds of years, man’s eternal quest to keep tabs on his golf ball goes back at least to the late1970s when New Scientist reported on Japanese attempts to install a micro transmitter ‘homing’ device inside the pesky sphere. While those early prototypes suffered from having little room left for the innards necessary to make the thing actually fly, variations on the theme have preoccupied the R&D men ever since, with the RadarGolf transmitter and the camerabased Scout just two of the more recent offerings. But the Prazza Golf Ball Finder takes things a stage further with a hand-held de-
times trigger-happy arrow and be prepared
vice that detects a signal from a micro-chip
to retrace your steps. Even when the unit is
inside a specially made golf ball and guides
registering ‘full ball’, you may still not imme-
you to it – or at least the immediate vicin-
diately see your ball lurking in long grass or
ity – fairly well within a range of about 100
under leaves, but at least you will have dra-
yards. The visual display on the unit fea-
matically reduced your area of search to
tures an arrow to point you in the right di-
perhaps a few square feet.
rection and a graphic of a ball that gets larger as you get closer, along with a choice
Prazza is a certainly an intriguing breakthrough given industry estimates of some
of bleeps or vibrations that steadily increase
500 million lost balls a year, worldwide,
in frequency.
though it also represents something of a
Developed by scientists in the Netherlands, the Prazza improves dramatically on the RadarGolf system in terms of both technology and range, by having a chip that op-
Pandora’s Box and raises as many questions as it answers. For a start, the £299.95 kit comes far too frugally with just two balls, with replace-
erates though ‘active’ rather than ‘passive’
ments currently costing a mighty £39.95 for
Radio-Frequency Identification. You simply
a sleeve of three. For while you’re not sup-
calibrate the ball to the handset at the start
posed to lose any balls, you surely will –
of the round and it remains in continuous
whether in a lake (beneath the 8 inches of
contact for 30 minutes after your last strike.
water in which the system still works), deep
For an instant demo, just checkout the YouTube clip of master coach and Sky
into a sea of gorse, or (as I did, mortifyingly) over a barbed wire perimeter fence. You
Sports analyst Simon Holmes (just one of
know it’s in there but just how determined
the big names impressed by the device)
are you to raze the area to retrieve it in front
finding his ball in the trees at Mill Ride.
of your smirking fourball?
I’ve tried it, too, and the thing does actually work, helping me to find my ball in some
Yes, the Prazza has fantastic potential to speed up play, but only providing the spe-
seemingly hopeless situations as well as
cial ball prices plummet sufficiently to dispel
being regularly in use on one test day when
that find-it-at-all-costs mentality. In the
the horizontal winter sunshine made for
meantime, the concept is probably not so
challenging visibility.
much about saving money over the long
But potential purchasers should note
term but the simple pleasure of finding your
that the device rarely guides you ‘as the
ball far more often than you would normally.
crow flies’ as you might expect: you need to walk slowly, react patiently to the some-
Meanwhile, beyond the fact that it’s not approved for competition, there’s the issue
MAY 2011 GOLFINTERNATIONALMAG.COM 31
FEATURE WHO WILL GET THE RYDER CUP?
Cup fever As the day of reckoning nears, Richard Gillis looks at the bidding process in the race to stage the 2018 Ryder Cup – and poses 10 questions the senior officers of the European Tour will have to answer he right to host the 2018
T
Ryder Cup is being contested by five European countries – France, Germany, Holland, Portugal and Spain. (Sweden
dropped out of the race early on.) Each has spent the last year putting their case to the six men of the European Tour’s Ryder Cup selection committee who will announce their decision on May 17. The betting money is evenly spread between the Germany, France and Spain, with Portugal recently making a late run. This is an expensive business, as Sir Terry Matthews and Michael Smurfit can testify. These two men both spent in the region of £100 million to secure the Ryder Cup for Celtic Manor and The K Club, respectively. This money helps fund the less popular areas of the Tour, keeping less popular events afloat across the European, Seniors and Challenge Tours. “There is an element that the Ryder Cup is the financial locomotive of the Tour,” said Richard Hills, the Ryder Cup director. “We also want to make sure that the golfing facilities, either off plan or existing, are of the highest quality. It will be a balanced scorecard where we will be judging all the criteria.” Sounds straightforward, doesn’t it? Simply select the best course and away we go. But as everyone knows, golf doesn’t work like that. And below we ask ten questions that the Tour would prefer us to keep to ourselves. 1. Why is there a bidding process for the Cup? The story goes that the deal to award Celtic Manor the 2010 Ryder Cup was sealed over cocktails at Annabel’s nightclub in London, between Ken Schofield and Sir Terry Matthews. This may be mere rumour, but certainly the process of awarding the Tour’s most valuable prize has always been shrouded in secrecy. The 2018 bidding process demonstrates the ambition of the Tour. The money behind these bids comes mainly from big business and government rather than individual billionaires such as Matthews, Smurfit and Jamie Ortiz-Patino, owner 32 GOLFINTERNATIONALMAG.COM MAY 2011
RYDER CUP // 2018
of Valderrama, host in 1997. Now, say the bidding teams, at least we have a chance. Hills, one of the Tour’s six-person selection panel says: “We’ve codenamed this internally ‘Operation Even Playing Field’ and each bid is evaluated on an open basis.” Each of the bids have signed contracts running to 250 pages, full of details as to what they will promise the Tour in terms of money and other guarantees. These contracts are similar to those insisted upon by Fifa and the IOC for countries bidding to host the World Cup or Olympics. 2. Why are the Dutch bidding? Before they can even think about the cost of hosting the Ryder Cup, each country has paid from £500,000 to £3 million (higher in some cases) merely to be in the race. “There were guidelines as to budgets,” says Hills, “but the bidders made up their own mind as to how the process would pan out. Each of the bid teams has gone in with their eyes wide open.” This money mainly goes on PR, marketing and lawyers, who are employed to put the contracts together. Given this outlay, the bid from the Netherlands, the rank outsiders in the race, seems on the face of it to be a waste of money. But the strategy is aimed more at building the profile of golf in Holland as well as giving the local federation a reason to lobby government for more money. In Fifa circles, this strategy was known until recently as ‘the Qatar Strategy’ after the small Emirate which for many years would bid to host football’s World Cup, using this to generate billions of pounds of revenue for sporting infrastructure. They were largely patronised by the bigger nations like England, until Sepp Blatter opened the envelope for the 2022 event.
Celtic Manor 2010: the economic impact a comprehensive Economic Impact Study of The 2010 Ryder Cup at The Celtic Manor Resort, City of Newport, Wales, has found that the economic impact on Wales as Host Nation was £82.4 million. Thousands of visitors – the total attendance for the week of the match was 244,000 – helped focus the sporting spotlight on Wales as the event attracted global television and media coverage. The study, which was jointly funded by the major partners involved in the match, took into account the money spent on local travel, on-site spend, offsite spend, any extension to a visitor’s stay (excluding the unexpected extra Monday) and any associated additional spend. The total spend, including multipliers, was £82.4 million spent across Wales during the week of the event and this included South East Wales drawing an impact of £74.6 million and Newport £28.3 million. First Minister of Wales, Carwyn Jones (pictured here with Richard Hills) said: “The Ryder Cup gave a very substantial boost to the Welsh economy during the week of the event and it will continue to deliver lasting benefits in terms of tourism, golf development and awareness of Wales as a place to do business. It’s particularly pleasing that, as the Host Nation, we rose to the occasion and gave the tens of thousands of visitors a very warm Welsh welcome which will form part of their memories of what was a thrilling event. “The study sits alongside the recent announcement which shows that the
economic impact of golf tourism in Wales during 2010 was nearly £42 million. This represents an increase of 21% from 2009. 2010 was the seventh year since we started collating figures and in that period the total expenditure generated through golf tourism amounted to £203 million. The number of golfing visitors across Wales has increased 82% in the same period. This emphasises the Ryder Cup effect.” Richard Hills, the European Ryder Cup Director, said: “Major sports events consistently deliver considerable direct and indirect benefits to the Host Nation and venue. This is confirmed by the results of this Economic Impact Study, the increase in revenue brought into the Welsh economy by golf tourism and golf events and the massive coverage the event achieved globally. all of this highlights why the Ryder Cup is considered by many observers to be one of the top ten global
sporting brands.” The Celtic Manor Resort itself withstood all the elements had to throw at it to provide a wonderful stage for the dramatic conclusion to the 2010 Ryder Cup, fulfilling the bold vision of owner Sir Terry Matthews and enhancing the resort’s global reputation. “The Celtic Manor Resort made an enormous investment to bring the Ryder Cup to Wales for the first time but these figures demonstrate that the event brought considerable returns for all the partners involved,” added Celtic Manor’s Russell phillips. “We experienced substantial increases in golf and leisure revenues in 2009 and 2010, and we’ve seen a further rise in bookings for 2011. as a nation, Wales has undoubtedly gained huge benefits not only through the direct revenue injected into the economy but also in terms of recognition of the Wales brand globally.”
3. Will George O’Grady’s car ruin Germany’s chances?
“Both automotive companies were aware of the
advertise itself as ‘the course that held the Ryder
George O’Grady drives a BMW. As does Richard
German bid and what was involved, and will all be
Cup’. European Tour Properties already has a
Hills and David McLaren. In fact, the car park of
part of the evaluation of the German bid,” says
share in the London Club in Kent and licenses its
European Tour HQ at Wentworth is full of BMWs,
Hills, adding that “both parties have been very
brand to several courses across Europe. Perhaps
from sleek executive 7 series down to sporty soft
grown up about the issue. We know it’s there and
they will add the course that held Portugal’s first
top 325s. Strange as it sounds, this is a major
the bid will be evaluated accordingly”.
Ryder Cup to the list? (See also Question 7 below).
Langer and his brother Erwin have put together a
4. Does the Tour have a financial stake in any of
down as well as up and tying the Tour financially
business plan that relies very heavily upon fund-
the bids?
to a new course may be a high-risk and/or high-re-
ing from Audi, Germany’s other big car company
A feature of at least two of the bids is that the Eu-
turn option.
As we all know, the value of property can go
problem for Bernhard Langer and the German bid.
and BMW’s arch rival. Will the Tour dare risk the wrath of one of its
ropean Tour will part own either the course and/or surrounding property. This was confirmed
5. Why did Colin Montgomerie back France?
biggest financial supporters by taking the Ryder
by the head of the Portugal bid and by Hills, who
A feature of the bids has been the wide range of
Cup, which BMW sponsors, to an Audi-branded
responded when questioned about it: “There are
celebrities being used to endorse them. Jose Mour-
course? It gets stranger still. Golf International has
elements of that. It’s one of the areas where we’ve
inho is backing Portugal, Seve Ballesteros is natu-
also learnt that BMW has promised the French
allowed the bids to be creative in the a la carte de-
rally supporting Spain and Johan Cruyff and Ruud
their commercial support if the Paris-based bid
tails in terms of what they have put in their bid.”
Gullitt are fronting the Dutch bid. This strategy
wins, freezing out national car maker Renault,
It’s been a long held ambition of the Tour to
shows the value of a famous face. It gets the bids
which has also been in discussions. Is this a first
plug the leak in money not just around the Ryder
more exposure because newspapers and televi-
we wonder? Has BMW ever supported Germany’s
Cup but other events on the Tour. Why let Celtic
sion will agree to interview such well-known peo-
opponents in a major event bidding process?
Manor have the long-term benefit of being able to
ple whereas they don’t tend to want to devote MAY 2011 GOLFINTERNATIONALMAG.COM 33
Gi: Gareth Edwards tells me you were a good enough player to earn a golf scholarship to Millfield School in Somerset? RC: A 10 shillings-a-week golf scholarship, to be precise – and that was the best four or five years of my life. I had been expelled from another school, can’t remember why. I was only 11. My father saw the Millfield scenario and fixed up an interview for me. We met with Jack ‘Boss’ Meyer, the founder of the school and headmaster at the time. He asked to see my golf swing. He then took us to a short-game area, gave me 30 balls and a 7-iron, and said that if I holed one chip shot from 20 yards or so I was in. I think it was the 22nd ball I holed. Gareth and I shared a room for three years. I remember he came to find me one day and said we were playing inter-house rugby. He told me I was playing hooker – I had no idea what he was talking about. I lost all my front teeth when the scrum collapsed. He still laughs about it, I didn’t think it was so funny. Gi: How big a part of your life was golf at that time? RC: I started playing at 5, and when I arrived at Millfield I was off good single figures, around 12 years old. I grew up playing golf with a gentleman called Tony Jacklin – you may remember him?! He was the assistant pro at Potters Bar Golf Club, in Hertfordshire. I used to play him on Saturday and Sunday afternoons and pretty much all week in the school holidays. I must have played with him a thousand times. And we have remained good friends. In fact he came and played with me in the Chairman’s Day at Wentworth last year and we won! I played county golf for Middlesex, lowest handicap I achieved was 1. From Middlesex I went to Coombe Hill, a fantastic courses where I was a member for many years. After that, when I properly immersed myself in the family clothing business I went to live in the Far East and joined the Royal Hong Kong Golf Club at Fanling. As business took over I drifted away from golf and haven’t really played much since, although I am starting to get back into it. Gi: Presumably you took advantage of Millfield’s location and played regularly at Burnham? RC: I could talk you through every single hole on Burnham & Berrow and I want to go back and play it again. When the wind blows there, you know you are on a golf course. They were happy days. And they used to do a great eggs on toast as well. 34 GOLFINTERNATIONALMAG.COM MAY 2010
The leader in his own clubhouse After making his fortune in the clothing business, Richard Caring, did exactly what any self-respecting gazzillionaire would do – he bought a golf club. In his case Wentworth, and it was a decision that would lead, one way and another, to the 61 year-old Londonborn tycoon becoming an accidental restaurateur as the acquisition of a string of London’s finest restaurants (The Ivy, Le Caprice, J Sheekey, Scott’s) and nightclubs (Annabel’s Soho House) followed. From a vast and quite fantastic office on the 4th floor of an otherwise nondescript Fitzrovia office building, the man with an estimated wealth put at £600 million has his world on speed-dial. Editor Richard Simmons went to meet him
RICHARD CARING thing I enjoy. I’ve always wanted to go back to playing golf but never have; you know, if you have played at low single figures and know what it’s like to hit a ball properly you just get so upset when you hit it like crap and ask yourself what you are doing out there? You don’t enjoy it. Anyway, out of the blue a friend of mine called me up and asked if I might be interested in buying Wentworth. I said absolutely – that has to be the icing on the cake. I can still remember the first time I ever played golf at Wentworth in the Wentworth Foursomes when I was about 12 or 13. I played with the pro from Potters Bar, an Australian called Bill Shankland, great character. In the first round Ted Dexter was one of our opponents – he seemed about 6’ 8” and I was 3’ 4”! I came up to about his waist. Bill kindly invited me to take the tee-shot at the first hole....I didn’t carry the heather. Gi: How difficult has it been to implement your own vision for the Club onto an established membership? RC: The first AGM was difficult. As you say, it’s a well established club and has a loyal membership,
Gi: Finishing school, what was your career path? RC: After a spell with a property company I joined the family clothing business in the late 1960s. This was as times were changing in the industry and we needed to innovate. I first went out to Hong Kong in ’69, and then Shanghai. We developed a
That ‘you’re only as good as the people you work with’ is one of the mantras Richard Caring lives and works by. For the redesign of Wentworth, Ernie Els was invited to provide the input from the tour players perspective; (below) Caring nominates the 8th as his favourite hole on the course, danger everywhere on the second shot to a plateau green
and then this character most of them have never heard of just comes in – for all they know I’m going to add a race track, build a casino and turn it into a lap-dancing joint. So they were defensive to begin with, even though I promised them I would do my best for the Club. Over the years they have recognised where I am taking it and a level of trust has developed. Because we under-
worldwide distribution supplying high street
stand what Wentworth is about and we are very
stores in the United States, Europe and Scandi-
honest about it. We haven’t tried to look at it as a
navia. In those days it was a vibrant market – I’m not quite sure what’s happened to it today. I’m still involved in the industry [his company International Clothing Design employs 250 people and still supplies a high percentage of volume to the high street] although not personally. We have various divisions in that area. Gi: Talking to Barry Hearn recently he mentioned that everyone needs a lucky break in business – what was yours? RC: I totally agree with Barry – you do need that bit of luck. I cannot pinpoint one specific example or situation that was a turning point for me but I do know it was an awful lot of hard work. I think I was fortunate that I understood clothing from a young age, it was my father’s business but I had a real passion for clothes. A good eye. I got very involved in creating product at the time, which is very much what I like to do. Gary Player said it about golf: ‘the harder you practice the luckier you get’. I believe in that in business, too. Gi: You bought Wentworth in 2005 – had golf been on your radar up to that point? RC: I wasn’t going around thinking that I wanted to buy a golf club, I simply wanted to do someMAY 2011 GOLFINTERNATIONALMAG.COM 35
LEXUS CT 200H
The luxury of Lexus (batteries included)
H
atched as a result of Lexus and
Aston Martin sharing a pit lane
In the shape of the CT200h, capable of operating in full electric or petrol engine modes alone, Lexus has produced a worthy eco-friendly alternative to the leading players in the hard-fought ‘compact’ market. Anthony Ffrench-Constant reports
garage at the Nurburgring 24 hours
race for two years running, a proto-
type Aston Martin Cygnet glimpsed
judges: www.caroftheyear.org/voting-
Ascot-worthy member of the Aston Martin stable,
recently out and about in my neck of the woods
grid/2010_1/coty. Odd; I was always led to be-
it’ll never in a million years sound like one, go like
does at least confirm that the company is pretty
lieve the Portuguese hated the Germans… The
one, or, with iQ underpinnings unfettled, handle
much spot on with the name. After all, save for
words ‘rat’ and ‘smell’ spring to mind.
like one.
that ballerina neck, a junior swan absolutely does not possess one iota of the grace inherent in its parents… I might, however, have to take issue with the
With stand-alone Aston Martin having no affiliates offering small car-salvation to help lower
And I mention all of this because, albeit keeping the whole affair in-house, this is pretty much
overall emissions (as VW’s Polo does for a Porsche
exactly what Lexus has done with sister company
911), the Cygnet must, surely, be first and fore-
Toyota’s Prius in launching the CT 200h. How-
adjudication of a caustic chum who stomped
most an exercise in assuaging the company’s
ever, though the Cygnet is instantly identifiable as
once around the Cygnet before opining: ‘Well, you
whole fleet CO2 legislation issues. However, I still
an iQ from almost any angle except, perhaps,
can’t polish a turd… But you can roll it in glitter.’
don’t get it.
dead ahead, in the case of the new Lexus, you’ll be
Not because, all stubby and, erm, David Brown,
If Aston had stuck to the Buy One Get One
hard pushed spot the donor car.
the poor thing could in any way be described as
Free, his ‘n’ hers garage principle which, I’m led to
good looking, but because not even the shoehorning
believe, presaged the whole affair, it might make
UK brand ambassador Kylie Minogue draped all
Never more striking than with newly appointed
of every single key Aston styling cue onto that
some sense; having spent upwards of £150,000
over it, the CT 200h is perfectly good looking
diminutive bodywork can disguise the impending
on a new Virage, you’d hardly say no if they
enough to take the fight to premium compact
gleam of Toyota iQ as pantomime dame. Oh yes it is.
bunged a freebie biffabout into the equation. But
segment rivals such as Audi’s A3 and the BMW 1
Thing is, far from faecal, the iQ’s really quite a
are we seriously expected to believe that there are
Series, with not so much as a whiff of Prius on offer from any angle. With more layers than a
clever car. Indeed, were it not for some hilariously
enough people out there rich and stupid enough
blatant tactical voting in the manner of the Balkan
in equal measure to pay 31 grand for a face-lifted
Black Forest gateau, the rump is, perhaps, less
states in a Eurovision Song Contest, it, and not
Toyota city car to make the whole deal worth-
successful than the bows, and the whole is sur-
VW’s Polo, would have been crowned European
while for the company?
prisingly colour sensitive; looking classiest in
Car of the Year for 2010. And if you don’t believe
Let’s face it, even if, say, Ray Charles can be
svelte silver rather than brash blue or red finishes.
me, check out the Austria, Germany and Portugal
persuaded that a Cygnet really does look like an
And on board, it’s all Lexus too, which means
36 GOLFINTERNATIONALMAG.COM MAY 2011
MOTORING
that, with the company’s fanatical attention to detail, fit, finish, build quality and even switchgear tactility, the CT 200h is an instant contender for the finest-interior-in-segment gong. Have a care though; frill-free and fabric upholstered, you can buy the new Lexus for as little as £23,485, but you’ll really need to afford the £30,635 top-of-the-range model to cosset yourself in the full leather, rampant high-technology and blistering Mark Levinson 13-speaker high fidelity surroundings we’ve come to associate with Toyota’s luxury wing. Predictably, the driving position is superb, and my only real criticism of the interior is – as discussed with the RX 450h – the replacement of Lexus’ outstanding, stab ‘n’ go touch-screen multimedia control system with a gently fiddly, computer mouse-style offering called Remote Touch, sited where you’d normally expect to find a gear lever. With the driver’s forearm not quite comfortable due to the unwelcome presence below of twin, un-lidded cupholders (a rare detailing glitch), the system does work well enough. But the alleged benefit of putting the multi-information screen more readily within the driver’s line of sight does seem to be neatly negated by the need to take one’s eyes off the road for far longer as you chase the cursor round the screen. The Japanese engineering penchant for gratuitously replacing fundamentally sound, wholly intuitive technology with something that doesn’t necessarily constitute an improvement aside, however, Lexus’ full hybrid technology remains a technological tour de force. Nonetheless, having established that you’ll be hard pushed to spot the donor car on first acquaintance, it must be said that it does surface, more than somewhat, when you take to the road in a CT 200h. Because, despite engineering efforts to fettle it senseless in an attempt to elevate it
packaging, with all the CT 200h’s highest tech’
...this really is a masterpiece of packaging, with all of the CT200h’s highest tech housed in a transmission casing no larger than a conventional gearbox and the raft of system batteries snugged under the luggage compartment...
ogy, the CT 200h is a full series/parallel hybrid,
and electric motor; the petrol engine holding sway at cruising speeds, with the electric motor joining in to boost acceleration as required. This is the first Lexus to come to the launch pad armed with full hybrid drive, previous models only acquiring the technology later in life. And this, accidentally on purpose, does get the company out of something of a hole: Every previous hybrid Lexus has been the high performance model of its range, wantonly outpacing even the lustiest conventionally aspirated powerplant on offer. In this case, then, the absence of a standard
above mere Toyota status, the powertrain re-
engined alternative is a relief because, with the
mains blatantly Prius. For those still unfamiliar with hybrid technol-
Under normal driving conditions, allocation of power is automatically adjusted between engine
housed in a transmission casing no larger than a
best will in the world, it doesn’t take much poke
conventional automatic gearbox and the raft of
to outpace a Prius. Predictably, the CT 200h’s performance figures
capable of operating in both petrol engine and
system batteries snugged under the luggage com-
electric motor modes alone, as well as a combina-
partment. Though rear seat accommodation is
of 0-62mph in 10.3 seconds and a top speed of
tion of both.
unaffected, you do lose a degree of boot space.
112mph can hardly be catalogued as startling. Conversely, highly tax-efficient and London con-
As with the Prius, the 134bhp drive unit fea-
Switch on and the instruments wake up, but
tures a 98bhp 1.8 litre petrol engine, an 82bhp
absolutely nothing else happens. Silence. Press
gestion charge-exempt CO2 emissions of just 94g/km most certainly are, as would be an aver-
electric motor, a generator, a high performance
the throttle gently and the Lexus moves off under
battery, a power control unit, and a power split
electric motor power alone. At speeds below
age fuel consumption of just under 70mpg, were
device which employs a planetary gear set to
25mph, the petrol engine only cuts in if you
it not for the instant readout on the specimen I
combine and re-allocate power from the engine
stomp the throttle with sufficient vigour or, after
drove consistently registering something more
and electric motor according to operational re-
a couple of miles, battery charge becomes low
akin to 42.
quirements.
enough to require that it runs, merely to power
Lest we forget, this really is a masterpiece of
the system generator.
Arguments as to just how fuel efficient full hybrid drive systems actually are under real world MAY 2011 GOLFINTERNATIONALMAG.COM 37
FEATURE COOMBE HILL • 1911-2011
Surrey’s hidden With such illustrious layouts as Walton Heath, Worplesdon and St George’s Hill all within half an hour of this gloriously leafy west London enclave, it’s perhaps not surprising that one of Surrey’s finest classic courses maintains a relatively low profile. Most of the time, that’s the way the members at Coombe Hill like it – but as the club celebrates its centenary year, Peter Dazeley throws the spotlight on this A. F. Abercrombie’s masterpiece PHOTOGRAPHY: DAZELEY
38 GOLFINTERNATIONALMAG.COM MAY 2011
Pretty as a picture...but danger everywhere! The approach to Coombe Hill’s 9th hole
MAY 2011 GOLFINTERNATIONALMAG.COM 39
INSTRUCTION STARTING POINTS
STARTING POINTS
As you can see in the mini-sequence above – and bearing in mind this would be her first proper golf lesson – Sky Sports’ Charlotte Jackson is a natural sportswoman with a great deal of potential. All she needs to experience an improvement in her basic swing shape – and to significantly rev-up the dynamics of her motion – is a better understanding of the set up position and the way it is designed to help the body create the rotary action we look for in a sound, repeating golf swing
By Jim Christine PGA PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY ANDREW REDINGTON GETTYIMAGES.COM
A tendency to ‘sit down’ at address, with too much weight on the heels, is a fairly common problem – and in Charlotte’s case it’s one reason why she fails to utilise her lower body correctly in driving her downswing 40 GOLFINTERNATIONALMAG.COM MAY 2011
Though she was unaware of the problem, Charlotte’s ball position is too far back in the stance, a fault symptomatic of a player who feels they have to help the ball up into the air. As we work on improving her body motion, so she will be more comfortable playing it forward of centre
WITH JIM CHRISTINE
Find your balance point as you tilt your upper body forward to engage with the ball
Engage with the ball to find your natural balance point in a ‘ready’ posture as a coach the first thing I’m looking for in a new student is evidence of hand-eye coordination – the potential to swing a golf club – and, as confirmed by the mini-sequence opposite, there’s no doubt at all that Charlotte has that ability. What she lacks is a basic understanding of the way the body works in order to both support and empower the action of a good swing – and focusing on that area will be the main subject of this lesson. at first glance, Charlotte’s backswing position (opposite) doesn’t look too bad – she’s clearly supple and makes a pretty good job of turning her body. But from the top of her swing the arms and hands take over as she tries to help the ball up into the air – there is no rotation of the body in the downswing to generate speed, no real dynamics at work here to accelerate the clubhead. She is noticeably flat-footed through the ball as her body comes to a virtual standstill; it would actually be just as easy for her to stop her swing immediately after impact – the move she makes into the follow-through is for show. It’s what she thinks she should do. There is no way around the fact that if you want to build a solid swing you have to start with the foundations – i.e. the structure of the set-up position. and so the first thing I brought to Charlotte’s attention was posture. as you can see on the page opposite, her tendency is to want to ‘sit down’ at address, with her weight back on her heels. and that explains why she is unable to create the athletic lower body action that you need to unwind a good golf swing; at the set up, it is vital that you balance your weight on the middle of your feet, which Charlotte achieves with a little less flex in her knees and a more distinct forward tilt from the hips (inset above). Once she found her balance point, all she then has to do is let her arms hang comfortably from the shoulders to get into this ‘ready’ posture position (main image). Compare the body position here to the set up at the start of the sequence opposite and I think you’ll agree there’s a big improvement in Charlotte’s posture, notably in the way she angles her upper body forward from the hips and enjoys athletic balance in her lower body. To complete the picture we simply need to gel the arms and hands with the golf club – details on how we do that over the page.
JAN/FEB 2011 GOLFINTERNATIONALMAG.COM 41
EQUIPMENT
Whether you are in the market for a powered version or a humble push/pull trolley there has never been a better selection of models to choose from. With ingenious folding mechanisms and lightweight yet robust construction these machines are designed to make the game more enjoyable – so here we provide a selection of the best, highlighting the keys specs and suggested retail price. Time to lighten the load? Roll on...
DEALSON
WHEELS PowaKaddy SPorT Guide: £429 (lead acid battery) £649 (lithium) £729 (lithium brake) From the original pioneers in powered trolleys the very latest model from powakaddy packs years of know-how and expertise into this sleek and lightweight package. The compact 3-way folding aluminium frame collapses to fit in even the smallest boot space and is easily assembled in just a matter of seconds, while universal bag stays and soft-grop straps fix your luggage in place. The 200W motor is controlled via a soft-touch grip handle housing the high-contrast LCD screen, with features including a speed setting display, battery level indicator, digital clock and a digital distance function that enables the user to send the trolley 15, 30 or 45 yards ahead on automatic. Lightweight sport wheels add the finishing touch to a smart package. Lithium battery model available in graphite (pictured) or white. Lead acid battery available in black or white.
With this shot in Abu Dhabi (below) TaylorMade staff player Martin Kaymer launched his assault on the Race to Dubai 42 GOLFINTERNATIONALMAG.COM MAY 2011
www.powakaddy.com
POWERED TROLLEYS
PowaKaddy TouCH Guide: £399 With an intuitive and responsive handle featuring TOUCH ‘n’ go Technology, the revolutionary and lightweight powakaddy TOUCH automatically adjusts its pace to reflect yours. Ease of stowage comes courtesy of a single action folding front wheel and lower bag stay, and the unit stands upright when folded. The ambidextrous universal controlling handle can be adjusted for height, while a powerful 200W motor provides more than enough oomph to navigate the oversize aluminium frame and ensures this efficient electric trolley can tackle even the hilliest of courses. a versatile grip secures and holds your golf bag firmly in position, while the key-lock front wheel housing provides a locking mechanism for all powakaddy bags from 2006 onwards. available in white or bronze. www.powakaddy.com
Hill Billy TerraIN Guide: £289 The compact Terrain electric trolley features a three-way folding frame, making it easy to fold and store, while the robust construction makes this a reliable work horse, powered by a 200W motor that makes light work of even the most demanding course. a pre-set distance function allows you to send the trolley ahead, a neat feature that can often save you time. available in black and green accents, the Hill Billy Terrain comes with a 2-year guarantee (battery – one year) and is backed with Hill Billy’s renowned after-sales service facility. www.hillbilly.co.uk
Motocaddy S3 Guide: Standard battery £399.99 extended range £429.99 lithium Battery versions £599.99 The brand’s flagship S3 Digital model incorporates several pioneering features new to the fast-growing powered trolley market, including: USB port in the handle that allows a gpS unit to be charged directly from the trolley’s battery without impairing performance, exclusive CartLock™ security device that enables the owner to set a pin code to render the trolley useless to a would-be thief. The S3 is powered by a 200W motor and either small, lightweight panasonic batteries that can easily cope with 18 or 36 holes, or a more powerful, super-lightweight Motocaddy Lithium battery. Further features include ergonomic handle grips, sporty low-profile wheels, multi-functional display screen, digital control panel and adjustable distance control. available in alpine White, black or titanium colour options. www.motocaddy.com
MAY 2011 GOLFINTERNATIONALMAG.COM 43
WORLD
NEWS
Wentworth set to crown a glorious spring for European golf Already with a spectacular new home, the
top-class golf. First there is the Quail Hol-
Volvo World Match Play now has a new
low tournament at one of the best new
date which organisers and players alike
venues on the PGA Tour, where Rory McIl-
hope will re-establish the title as one of the
roy is the defending champion. Then
most significant on European soil after the
comes the Players Championship, moved
Open. It has taken a while since the much-
from its previous pre-Masters date to give
loved but ultimately tired tournament
the PGA Tour’s most significant tourna-
ended its long tenure at Wentworth (seem-
ment a place of its own on the schedule.
ingly always at its autumnal best) – no
It is in danger now of being crowded out
Finca Cortesin will be at its best in May, it The fine-tuning of the remodelled 18th hole on Wentworth’s West Course has been the subject of much debate – owner Richard Caring is convinced he has struck the perfect balance for a dramatic finale (see page 112)
is also, as we have seen, a crowded part of the schedule but Guy Kinnings, of IMG, who promote the event as well as managing many of the leading players, believes it will work well. Other agencies such as ISM and Horizon have also embraced efforts to ensure a strong field, while Volvo has stepped up to transport players di-
events were played in 2008 and 2010 – but
again for immediately after the Players and
rectly from Ponte Vedra Beach to the
the hope now is that the May date at Finca
before the BMW PGA is the Volvo WMP.
Costa del Sol.
Cortesin on the Costa del Sol will again
The decision to move the World Match Play
“Tournaments work well in bunches
prove an exciting combination.
from the autumn started with weather con-
and instead of just coming back from the
May used to be a relatively quiet month in the golfing calendar, a lull between the
siderations given the schedule of round-
States for the PGA, players can now play in
robin and knockout matches has far less
two of the best European Tour events
Masters and the majors of mid-summer. A
flexibility than a limited-field strokeplay
back-to-back,” Kinnings said. “But, more
first event on British soil at the start of the
event – the old Volvo Masters at nearby
than that, the players have embraced the
month always seemed a bit early, Tiger
Valderrama regularly suffered weather de-
concept of what we are trying to do with
Woods once graced the Deutsche Bank in
lays. With other events in Spain at the time
the event. They liked the format in 2009
Germany, but only at the BMW PGA Cham-
and the big tournaments in Asia on the
and they especially liked the course and
pionship at Wentworth did it feel like the
horizon, there were other good reasons
the magnificent facilities at Finca Cortesin.
gears were being tightened.
why the October date did not work.
They have been selling the event to other
Not now. May positively overflows with
44 GOLFINTERNATIONALMAG.COM MAY 2011
But while the superbly-conditioned
continued overleaf...
EDITED BY ANDY FARRELL
MAY 2011 GOLFINTERNATIONALMAG.COM 45