GolfNews August 2014

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Issue 235 | August 2014

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August 2014 / Issue 235

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Issue 235 | August 2014

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Cashing in on Rory’s glory

W

hile Tiger Woods was undoubtedly the inspiration for a generation or more of pros to push themselves harder in an attempt to get somewhere even close to his ability, it’s hard to quantify what the Tiger-effect had on golf participation among the wider public.

Hard to relate to, and possessing a swing that few could replicate, let alone coach, Tiger has been almost untouchable in all senses of the word over the last 20 years.

And while we have all used the expression ‘Taking the Tiger-line’

     

whenever we attempt to hit one over a dog leg, I’m not sure many of us could say he inspired us to take up the game, join a club, or play more often.

I say this by way of a warning to golf’s governors about the potential impact of Rory McIlroy’s meteoric rise to the top, and his heralding as the ‘saviour of golf’. The lad can play, of that there is no doubt, but to lay the responsibility at his door for kick-starting the next generation’s interest in the game is asking too much, even for a man of his talents.

Few kids in the UK will have been able to watch

his extraordinary victory at Valhalla, and not many more will ever get to see him live or watch him on television. And while Rory certainly seems to have got the junior section at Holywood Golf Club in Northern Ireland buzzing with youngsters wanting to follow in his footsteps, translating that excitement further afield will require far more effort to compete with the infinite demands on kids’ leisure time these days. So by all means let us bathe in Rory’s reflected glory, but let’s not kid ourselves that he’s the answer to golf’s current ills.

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August 2014 / Issue 235

Johnston on course to secure Tour card

The finest downland course in Sussex...

North Middlesex golfer Andrew Johnston says the pressure is off after winning his second Challenge Tour event and moving to the top of the rankings.

Twenty-five-year-old Johnston won the Le Vaudreuil Golf Challenge in France, finishing with a four-stroke lead over Clement Sordet to net €32,000 in prize money.

And Johnston, who only recorded his maiden victory at the Scottish Hydro Challenge at the end of June, sits top of the rankings after becoming the first player to earn in excess of €100,000 in prize money this year.

Finishing in the top 15 will guarantee Johnston, who joined North Middlesex Golf Club at the age of eight, his European Tour Card for 2015, while a third victory will gain him automatic promotion to the top tier, regardless of where he finishes on the rankings.

After his latest success, Johnston says the pressure is off, with the job of securing his card for next year as good as done. He said: “It’s massive. I’ve got nothing to really worry about.

I can go into events and really enjoy, and have no pressure.

“You never think at start of the season you are going to end up like with a European Tour card this early,” he added. “I knew the work I have done was really good. I just keep trying the work every week and keep doing the same thing and see what happens out there.”

‘Beef’ as he is known to friends and family, trailed by three shots going into the final round in France, but rapidly made his way through the field, with six birdies and an eagl in the last 15 holes to claim victory with a 16-under-par score.

But Johnston, who turned professional in 2009, insists he refused to put himself under any

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Johnston can look forward to playing on the European Tour next season

extra pressure as he began the round. He said: “I did not put myself under any pressure to go out and try and win it. I just wanted to try and put myself in a position to get it up there and see what happened.”

Johnston puts his recent upsurge in form down to an intensive early season training camp in Portugal, where he spent many hours on the driving range. “I just put it down to training and good preparation,” said Johnston, who missed much of 2013 with a shoulder injury, “I went to Amendoeira in Portugal, and I just practised and practised. My coach came over and I also worked with a personal trainer, so I’ve done a lot more fitness work and just put a lot of work in over all.”

Johnston admits his two recent wins will afford him the luxury of being able to be more selective about which events he enters for the rest of the season. “I can pick and choose, and hopefully I’ll get some European Tour starts as well, because they’ve opened up the lower categories for that,” revealed Johnston. “I can go and play them, because it doesn’t matter if I miss a couple of Challenge tournaments.”

Brewerton stars at Redbourn ladies’ day

The true insight and stories of the golfing world.

With a Q&A and meet & greet

Becky Brewerton (centre) with Redbourn’s ladies

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Redbourn Golf Club welcomed Ladies European Tour professional and former Solheim Cup player, Becky Brewerton, to a clinic and golf day on August 1.

The welsh-born golfer provided guests of the Ladies Yonex Golf Day with a display of her skills and answered questions about her career, which includes three tour victories and two Solheim Cups. The 31-yearold talked visitors through basic shot-making, the long game plus chipping and putting, utilising the extensive practice facilities at Redbourn, which include

a 20-bay driving range, short game area and putting green.

The event also included an opportunity to try, and be custom fitted for, the latest equipment from Yonex, the day’s sponsor.

In the afternoon there was an opportunity for a number of golfers to take part in a 9-hole competition on the Ver Course, where each fourball was joined for one hole by the four-time Women’s World Cup of Golf player.

Speaking about the day, Becky said: “Yonex is committed to developing the ladies game, and it was great to visit a club which boasts

such a thriving and active ladies ‘section.”

Ian McDowell, Redbourn’s general manager, said: “It’s rare to have the opportunity to get up close with professional sportsmen and women, so it was exciting to be offer the opportunity for people to come and listen to, talk to, and play with a professional golfer.

“We have seen an increase in lady members and visitors at Redbourn since we enhanced the ladies’ section within our pro shop and it is our hope to continue this trend and give more women access to the game.”

August 2014 / Issue 235

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Tenterden twins celebrate ‘joint’ ace!

Kent club golfer Kevin Steele and his twin brother Keith enjoyed a welcome boost to their respective bank balances last month, after bagging a hole-in-one during a charity golf day at Tenterden Golf Club.

The 55-year-old twins have always shared everything – and that now includes an £8,000 prize for achieving an ace, which was bagged by Kevin on the club’s parthree 18th hole during the Pilgrims Hospice annual golf day.

Mr Steele, a retired fireman, said: “I

caught the ball absolutely in the middle, and I heard people cheering from the club balcony. When I walked up to the green and saw the ball nestled in the hole, I couldn’t believe it had gone in. I was crying when I rang my wife Lynda to tell her about the hole in one – crying because I had already agreed to split any winnings with my twin brother Keith.”

The brothers, who are both members of Tenterden, treated everyone in the bar to a celebratory drink and gave a generous donation to the day’s charity.

Barham sinks Henley rivals Kent hot shot Benn Barham shot a spectacular six-underpar 64 to take the top prize of £3,000 at the Henley Pro-Am and re-stake his claim in the PGA South Region’s Order of Merit race.

Barham, who had never played at Henley Golf Club before, was two under par at the turn, and then birdied the 10th, eagled the 14th, and birdied the final hole to compile his winning 64.

“Although I had never played Henley before, the prize fund was quite an incentive to come and given it a go. Thankfully I had a great team of local members to play with, who gave me some idea of how to get round the course. Henley’s head PGA professional, Mark Howell, deserves a lot of credit for all the work he does with the Pro-Am committee – there aren’t many Pro-Ams with a grandstand at the 18th green, a calypso band and a hot air balloon!

Winning at Henley took Barham into second place behind Chris Gane in the PGA South Region’s money list, with Jamie Harris close behind in third spot.

Your Golf Day at Farleigh

Collins captures Tillman title at East Sussex Chart Hills’ Mark Collins won this year’s Tillman Trophy by a single shot, after coming through four challenging rounds at East Sussex National’s 7,000-yard East Course.

A total of 124 elite players boasting handicaps of plus one or better came from all over the UK to take part in the event, which first began in 1980.

The first round saw some fine scoring on the fast-running fairways, with Midlander Richard Mansell and Surrey’s Oscar Granström-Livesey leading the way with scores of 70 and 71 respectively. Surrey’s Granström-Livesey took the led after a second round 72, and maintained it with a third-round 71, but a nightmare 79 in the final round put paid to his chances, as he was overhauled by Devon’s Ryan Fricker, Bristolian Alister Balcombe, and the eventual winner, Collins, who posted a final round 71 to take the title by the minimum margin.

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8/

August 2014 / Issue 235

News in Brief GREGORY BAGS SURREY COLTS TITLE AT BURHILL Michael Gregory (Chobham) won Surrey’s U21 Championship after shooting rounds of 70 and 68 over Burhill’s New Course on July 30. He finished two shots clear of Danny Cullen (Walton Heath), with Arrun Singh-Brar (Foxhills) a shot further back in third after a best of the day 67.

ALEX’S ACE SEALS DOUGLAS JOHNS VICTORY Alex Fitzpatrick (Hallamshire) aced his 35th hole en route to winning the Douglas Johns Trophy by one shot at Harewood Downs. The youngster holed out at the eighth hole with a three-iron to win the title by the narrowest of margins from Jack Ainscough (Castle Eden), who double-bogeyed the last after witnessing Fitzpatrick’s ace from the adjacent ninth tee. Fitpatrick compiled rounds of 70 and 66, to the runner up’s 69 and 68.

Revamped Tandridge proves a cut above Tandridge Golf Club in Kent has reopened all of its 18 holes for play following the completion of a four-year restoration project.

The design for the renovation was undertaken

by Dutch golf course architect Frank Pont of Infinite Variety Golf Design, while work on the course was carried out by contractor John Greasley Ltd, with significant assistance from the club’s greenkeeping team.

Tandridge was originally designed by Harry Colt in the 1920s, but is extremely unusual among Colt’s courses in that it originally boasted close to 300 bunkers, many of which were very large.

“No other Colt course, before or after Tandridge, had so many bunkers,” said Pont, who has a reputation for sensitive renovations of Colt courses. “The other striking feature of the course is the rather extreme topography that holes 13-18 occupy.

“The overall focus of the

Epsom to host open competitions

Tandridge has reinstated Colt’s bunkering style

works was to bring back original playing strategies to the holes, restore Colt’s original flashed up sand bunker style and renovate most of the teeing areas.

Fairways were widened on many holes, short grass run off areas were reintroduced around the greens and trees were removed in many spots to bring back the original playing corridors.”

Mark Elliott, chairman of the club’s course improvement committee, said: “We received amazing support from the members to undertake this work, and it has produced all and more that we could have hoped for. The course improvements have been a resounding success,

reflected in comments from members and their guests, and in significantly increased numbers of society green fees.”

Pont concluded: “I am very proud of the work we have done at Tandridge to bring back the spectacular bunkering that makes this course truly unique in Harry Colt’s oeuvre. The club showed great vision in its decision to restore these unusual but unique features to its classic Colt golf course.”

The restored course underwent its first test when it hosted the English Women’s Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship during the first week of August, which was won by Dorset’s Hayley Davies.

Epsom Golf Club is hosting three open competitions in September, which are open to all local golfers with active club handicaps.

A Seniors’ Open is being held at the Surrey venue on September 18, a Men’s Open on September 19, and a Mixed Open on September 20.

Epsom is also hosting an open weekend on October 11-12, where all golfers are invited to discover what the club has to offer, and to take advantage of a free round of golf.

As well as playing the course, golfers will be able to talk to members and staff, and find out about the latest flexible membership packages, including a new winter membership,

which costs just £450 for six months’ full membership from October until the end of March.

Boasting 125 years of history, Epsom’s 18-hole parkland course enjoys a stunning position on the top of the downs.

Renowned for its undulating greens, as well as its superb views over London, the course is full of character and challenges golfers to use a full repertoire of shots, while the chalky subsoil ensures that it remains open for play when other courses are closed.

To enter any of these events call the pro shop on 01372 741867 or email stuartwalker@ epsomgolfclub.co.uk.

New Lane, Sutton Green, Nr Guildford, Surrey, GU4 7QF Tel: 01483 747898 email: admin@suttongreengc.co.uk

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August 2014 / Issue 235

Pietersen finds form at Wentworth

Martin Woodbridge

Spoils shared at new-look Copthorne Ian Golding (Banstead Downs) and Martin Woodbridge (Bearwood Lakes) both shot two-under-par rounds of 70 to tie for victory in the Copthorne Pro-Am. With temperatures soaring to the high 80s, and the breeze swirling around the tree-lined Surrey course, maintaining focus and keeping one’s cool was demanding, yet both players produced the goods. Golding shot five birdies in nine holes from the fifth onwards, spoiled only by two dropped shots on the trot at the 14th and 15th, while Woodbridge got off to a flying start with an eagle at the second, and two more birdies on the front nine, but then stumbled with bogeys on 15th and 16th to drop back to tie with Golding on two under par.

“I’m not playing very often now, but I’ve enjoyed playing in this event for the last three years, so I’m delighted to have claimed a victory along with Martin,” said Golding.

“I three-putted a couple of times, but still managed to finish in front, and to do that in a strong field is very satisfying.”

All the competitors enjoyed the new-look Copthorne, with its brand new 17th hole, and the second hole being turned into a par five, returning the course to its original layout.

Ian Golding

Former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen has had a little more time on his hands to follow his passion for golf following his exile from the international squad – and it looks like its reaping its rewards, with the 29-year-old South Africa-born player enjoying better form with his clubs in his hands than his bat in recent weeks.

During a round at Wentworth on August 1, Pietersen bagged a rare eagle after holing his second shot on a par-four.

Pietersen celebrates his eagle at Wentworth

The effort was captured on camera by his playing partner talkshow host Piers Morgan, who posted

it on a social media site.

Tagged with the caption: ‘BOOM! Pietersen holes a 120yd wedge for an eagle. #ShowPony #Wentworth ps Morgan & @KP24 go 4 up after 4,’ Pietersen is seen celebrating his feat.

Earlier in the day, the Surrey batsman uploaded a picture of himself via his Instagram account with the caption ‘Don’t hate the player, hate the game,’ while posing in an-all white buggy at the Surrey club.

Ashdown launches hunt for junior champion Ashdown Park Hotel & Ashdown Park’s par-three course Country Club in East Sussex is calling on all budding young golfers to join them in a newly-launched under 16s’ tournament taking place on September 21.

From 9am on the Sunday, juniors can compete in the hotel’s first ever under 16s’ tournament for the chance to be crowned the first Ashdown Park Hotel & Country Club junior champion.

Competitors will play on Ashdown Park’s 18-hole, par-three course, which winds its way through undulating woodland. The price for entry is £8, which includes green fees and welcome soft drinks and pastries on arrival.

Ben Booker, general manager at Ashdown Park, said: “There are a lot of young, talented golfers in Sussex, and this is the perfect opportunity to compete in what we hope will become a regular fixture in the junior golfing calendar.”

To book, call 01342 824 988 or for more information, visit www.ashdownpark.com.

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News in Brief ESSEX WINS BERKS STAG The Essex Colts team won the East Berkshire Stag held at East Berkshire Golf Club. The trio of Elliott Oxlade (Chelmsford), Jonathan Hewett (Clacton) and Alasdair Plumb (Chelmsford) took the team title by one point from BB&O.

GARDNER DIGS DEEP TO WIN BB&O TITLE Castle Royale’s George Gardner won the BB&O Junior Championship with a record five-under par score at The Buckinghamshire. He shot rounds of 72 and 67 off a plus-two handicap to beat 15-year-old Kristian Tannum-Donaldson, who had the consolation of winning both the U16 and junior handicap trophies, with rounds of 75 and 69 off a four handicap over his home course.

10 /

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Tommy Bentley won the Surrey U16 Championship by five shots with rounds of 68 and 74 at Tyrells Wood on August 4. The West Hill youngster finished clear of Max O’Hagan and 15-year-old Harvey Byers, who won the U15 title, which was run concurrently.

TWINER TAKES KENT TITLE The London Club’s Bobby Twiner won the Kent Junior Championship by four shots after shooting two rounds of 67 at Royal Blackheath Golf Club to finish on six under par. George Mullins (Langley Park) finished second, with club colleague Tom Jordan finishing third on oneunder par for 36 holes.

HIGH ELMS BLAZE Fire brigades from Biggin Hill, Addington, and Woodside were called out to High Elms Golf Club in Orpington last month when a fire broke out on grassland at the Kent venue. An area of grass equivalent to two football pitches was damaged by fire on July 24 before firefighters were able to put out the blaze.

CARTER CLAIMS ESSEX BOYS’ CHAMPIONSHIP Taylor Carter (Rochford Hundred) won the Essex Boys’ Championship after a play-off with Elliot Fullalove (Braintree) at Thorndon Park Golf Club on July 29. The pair tied on 139, with Fullalove firing a closing 69 to add to a 70, and Carter shooting a 68, and 71.

MULLINS GOES LOW ON MOOR PARK’S HIGH COURSE Langley Park’s George Mullins won the South East Junior Championships at Moor Park Golf Club by three shots, after firing rounds of 72 and 68 on the high Course for a four-under par total of 142. Mason Banger (Meon Valley) was second, with George Gardner (Castle Royale) in third. The highest-placed U16 competitor was Jack Slater (149).

This staggering collection of golf bags and equipment assembled at Blue Mountain Golf Centre in Berkshire is just a small slice of the equipment so far donated to Crown Golf’s ‘Bag Amnesty’ initiative, which was launched earlier this summer with the help of Golfnews.

In this picture alone there are

368 golf bags and 2,100 individual golf clubs, all of which have been donated by golfers all over the south. After this picture was taken they were immediately shipped to the Caribbean island of Grenada, where they will be used for golf projects in schools and community settings. Other equipment shipments will be sent to projects

further afield in India and Romania, while the Golf Trust will also redeploy the unwanted gear to projects in the UK’s inner cities.

After just four weeks of the campaign, over 1,400 golf bags and more than 8,000 clubs had been handed in at Crown Golf clubs, with the organisers expecting over 4,000 bags and over 20,000 clubs

Bennett to coach England Boys England Golf has appointed former Surrey county coach Jeremy Bennett as the new lead coach for the national boys’ squad.

Bennett, who played on the European Tour for 11 years, has been the Wales ladies’ coach for the past six years, and will take up his new post in September.

Bennett is an Advanced Fellow of the PGA, and is based at Windlesham Golf Club in Surrey. During his impressive coaching career, he has worked with Major winners Nick Faldo, Seve Ballesteros and Bernhard Langer, as well as nuturing the likes of Rory McIlroy and Oliver Fisher while they were part of Team Faldo and the Faldo Series.

Nigel Edwards, England Golf’s Performance Director, commented: “England Golf is committed to providing excellent coaching to help our players develop the skills they need to perform at the highest level. We are delighted to welcome Jeremy to our team and look forward to working him to achieve even greater successes for our players.”

Bennett, who has steered Walses to three

Home Internationals wins over the last six years, said: “I have enjoyed every minute with Wales, bringing tears of joy and creating history, which is my main goal. Now I am looking forward to the new challenge with the England U18s, and I relish the chance to create more history with them.”

Bennett was an England international in his amateur days and went on to play on the European Tour for 11 years and was Rookie of the Year in 1981. Since specialising in coaching, he has worked with the Surrey county men’s team, steering them to two national championship wins.

St George’s Hill day raises £22k for disabled charity National disability charity Motability raised over £22,000 at its annual golf tournament held at St George’s Hill Golf Club in Weybridge on August 1, where raffle prizes included donations by world no.1 Rory McIlroy and former US Open champion Justin Rose, with funds going to support

The winning team from Nationwide Repair

disabled people with their personal mobility.

Nationwide Accident Repair Services won the competition, with Fiat in second, and RSA Motability in third. Other organisations that took part included Enterprise Rent-aCar, Finance Mitsubishi, Kwik-Fit, Quindell and Volkswagen.

“We would like to thank all the organisations who entered teams in the tournament, as well as those that donated prizes for the raffle,” said Aine Canavan, Motability’s events executive. “Although it was competitive, everybody had a great time, and raised lots of money. The funds raised will be used to support Motability customers with charitable grants who cannot afford the right car or adaptations for their needs, and to provide driving lessons in standard or adapted vehicles.”

to be donated by generous golfers by the end of the campaign on September 28.

Golfers can donate at any one of the 25 Crown Golf clubs before that date (see list on www.crown-golf. co.uk), and all donors will receive a voucher offering £20 off the price of a Callaway golf bag bought from a Crown Golf pro shop.

South Bucks unveils new clubhouse

The new clubhouse which opened at South Buckinghamshire Golf Club in February is already paying back some of the £1.8 million investment in the facility after hosting a number of prestigious events this season.

The impressive new building, which is capable of hosting a wide range of social and corporate functions, staged its official opening day last month, with proceeds from the event – £6,400 – going to Macmillan Cancer Support.

The clubhouse opening celebrations included ex-England and Tottenham Hotspur player Darren Anderton playing on the 18- hole course, and a match between South Buckinghamshire and Farnham Park for the Challenge Trophy, which the home team won. Green fees were reduced for the day, with golfers invited to give donations to Macmillan Cancer Support throughout the day.

Rishi Sidhu, club vice-captain, said: “It was a wonderful event – a fitting launch. It was an enjoyable day and we’re pleased so much money was raised for a great cause. It was an eventful and dramatic golf match, and I am looking forward to more competitions in the future.”

Cllr Santokh Chhokar, chairman of South Bucks District Council, said: “I am very much looking forward to the next fundraising event at The South Buckinghamshire. The club is fast becoming an important part of our local community.”

October will see the Stoke Poges-based venue host the South Bucks District Council’s chairman’s charity golf day on October 10 in aid of local charities. Anyone interested in putting a team together for this event, or wishing to sponsor it, should contact the council at golfenquiries@ southbucks.gov.uk.

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News in Brief

No.1 Golf Pap er

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August 2014 / Issue 235

Nessling returns to winning Dimmock receives ways at renovated Richmond Ryder Cup call-up Paul Nessling (Cooden Beach) and Jamie Harris (Nevill) shot three-under-par 67s to split the prize fund at The Richmond Pro-Am, each taking home a winner’s cheque for £700.

Their scores edged out the 68s of David Osborn, James Ablett, Russell Buxton and Chris Gane.

Playing Richmond for the first time, and starting at the fourth, Nessling opened with a bogey and bounced back at the sixth with a deuce. He charged through the next 11 holes making five birdies at the ninth, 10th, 11th, 13th and 16th to reach five under par, only to drop two calamitous shots at the 18th through taking the wrong club off the tee.

Nessling bounced back again at the first with another birdie to get back to four under, but one more dropped shot on the second, his penultimate hole, finally shot away his chances of a solo victory.

Starting at the 15th, Harris had six straightforward pars and then went on a see saw ride for the next five holes, going birdie at the third, then bogey, birdie, bogey, birdie, coming out relatively

Paul Nessling

unscathed at one-underpar. The same happened when he birdied the 11th and bogeyed the 12th, but with two holes to go Harris dug deep to make two more birdies at his last two holes, the 13th and 14th and get home in 67 to tie with Nessling.

Nessling was again delighted to find he’s maintaining his winning form, as he commented: “The late-night coaching session with my head PGA professional Jeff Sim before the Kingswood Charity Pro-Am has made all the difference, and I’m swinging naturally without any confusing swing thoughts.

Nessling echoed what many others felt about the presentation of the

Richmond course, adding, “It’s a really lovely golf course, and one of the best presented in terms of the way it is cut. The renovation is first class.”

He referred to the club’s decision to follow six-time Open Champion Peter Thomson’s advice to return the bunkers to their traditional appearance as designed by Tom Dunn in 1891, with jagged edges and long grass surrounds dramatically enhancing the course’s visual impact.

Despite a limited budget, and most of the work being done by the club’s greenkeeping team, the course renovation won the prestigious Golf Inc. magazine’s Renovation Of The Year award in 2013.

Surrey’s Annabel Dimmock has been selected for the European team for the Junior Ryder Cup, which takes place at Blairgowrie in Scotland from September 22-23.

The 17-year-old Curtis Cup player is one of 12 amateurs who will take on the USA. The match takes place just before the Ryder Cup, which will be played at Gleneagles the following week.

Dimmock, from Wentworth, is ranked in the world’s top 30 amateurs and will also represent Team GB in the Summer Youth Olympic Games in China later this month. This season she has won the Helen Holm Scottish Open Stroke Play title and the matchplay Jones Doherty Cup in the USA. She was also runner-up in the Welsh Open Stroke Play, the South Atlantic Ladies’ Amateur, and the Spanish Amateur.

The team was announced by captain Stuart Wilson at the conclusion of the European Young Masters in Germany. It also includes amateur champion Bradley Neil from Scotland, who will be playing at his home club, and British ladies’ champion Emily Pederson, who will be taking part in her second Junior Ryder Cup.

ROYLE RESULT FOR GOUGH

The rest of the team comprises: John Axelsen (Denmark), Mathilda Cappeliez (France), Alexandra Försterling (Germany), Virginia Carta (Italy), Linea Strom (Sweden), Max Schmitt (Germany), Ivan Cantero (Spain), Marcus Kinhult (Sweden) and Renato Paratore (Italy).

Stuart Wilson said: “I know that they will have an unforgettable week made up of great golf, lots of memories and new friendships. Hopefully their selection will be a stepping stone to further success in their golfing careers.”

Notable past Junior Ryder Cup players have included Rory McIlroy, Matteo Manassero, Suzann Pettersen, and Hunter Mahan. The USA retained the trophy in 2012, and are aiming for four wins in a row.

Wentworth unveils hotel plans FootGolf kicks off at Hoebridge

Wentworth Club has unveiled plans to build a 56-bedroom hotel and conference centre in order to widen the range of facilities and services on offer at the prestigious Surrey venue.

A spokesman for Wentworth, whose majority shareholder is entrepreneur Richard Caring, said: “A planning application has been submitted for a sensitively designed and unobtrusive three-storey extension with overnight accommodation that will predominantly be for those members already visiting the club for golf, charity fundraisers or weddings. The extension will be accessed via the club, thereby not causing any additional disruption. We have been in

consultation with the local authority and residents for the past 18 months, and the plans have been on display in the club.”

The club, which Mr Caring has owned since 2004, is currently in the process of being sold, although a sale date or the names of the potential buyers has yet to be revealed.

The plans to extend the services at the private members club, which is also home to the European Tour, have not been well received by residents living on one the country’s most exclusive private estates, with many expressing fears the peace and quiet will be disrupted by increased traffic and noise from public events.

One homeowner, Russian businessman Kirill Klip, who

has lived on the estate for over 10 years, has set up a campaign group to fight the plans. He said: ”A lot of residents are appalled that this kind of development may be allowed on green belt land. Construction of this hotel will not only increase population density and traffic volume, but will also increase noise, with the building itself becoming a blot on the landscape.

The historical heritage of The Wentworth Club will change forever. There will be no going back. Instead of building upon its prestige, the estate will become just like any other golf resort.”

If planning permission is given, the new building will consist of 56 guestrooms, four conference rooms, and a roof garden.

Hoebridge Golf Centre is offering Surrey golfers the opportunity to have a go at new and increasingly popular hybrid sport, FootGolf.

Launched on August 2, Hoebridge joins an elite group of less than 50 golf venues in the UK to offer the new sport. Playing to an enlarged hole on the fringe of each green, FootGolfers at the public pay-and-play centre will need to negotiate the front nine holes of the Short Course, featuring holes from 78 to 167 yards long, in as few kicks of a size four

News in Brief

or five football as possible.

Mike O’Connell, Hoebridge Golf Centre senior general manager, said: “We are committed to providing everyone with a fun and enjoyable opportunity to try golf, in any of its many guises. Our Pirate Island Adventure Golf Course has already proven to be popular, and I expect FootGolf to be just as busy with family groups, as well as friends and co-workers.”

FootGolf is available at Hoebridge from 3pm every day and costs from £5.99.

At just 11 years of age Conor Gough became the youngest player to win the BB&O’s Under 14s title after shooting a gross 76 at Castle Royle on July 29. The talented six-handicapper from Stoke Park finished one shot ahead of Nick Elmey (Frilford Heath) and Harry West (Calcot Park). Gough also won the BB&O U12s title a week earlier at Beaconsfield, beating Thomas Gregory on countback.

ROB LEONARD COMES GOOD AT COLCHESTER Harpenden Common head pro Rob Leonard returned to top form with a two-shot triumph in the PGA in England (East) region’s Weston Homes plc/ Colchester Golf Club Classic. The 29-year-old, whose last win was in 2010, came from off the pace to shoot a second-round 66 and finish on a six-under-par total of 134.

MASON BREAKS COURSE RECORD AT TADMARTON European Senior Tour legend Carl Mason warmed up for another tilt at the Senior British Masters title by breaking the course record at Tadmarton Heath in Oxfordshire. The 61-year-old star shot a nine-under par 63 during a pro-am event at the club, where he is a member. His record-breaking round included six birdies and an eagle.

TICKETS ON SALE FOR BRITISH SENIOR MASTERS

The Travis Perkins Senior Masters takes place at Woburn Golf Club from August 29-31. Daily tickets cost £15 on the gate. A record 23,250 people watched Colin Montgomerie triumph last year, and another large crowd is expected this year, with the two-time senior winner back to defend his title.

SPOILS SHARED AT SHIRLEY Guy Woodman (East Berks) and Jordan Godwin (Barnehurst) shot four-under-par 67s on their way to winning the Shirley Park Centenary Pro-Am. FootGolfers in action

12 /

News in Brief TEMPLE LAUNCH NEW MEMBERSHIP Temple Golf Club in Berkshire has created an entirely new membership structure to attract and retain golfers all ages and abilities. Doing away with all the previous categories, the new memberships comprise Platinum, which is an unlimited seven-day membership and costs £1,500; Gold, which offers 52 rounds a year for £1,100; Silver (32 rounds for £775); Bronze (20 rounds for £500); and Blue (9 rounds for £270). For details visit templegolfclub.co.uk.

DAVIES TAMES TANBRIDGE TO WIN STROKEPLAY Dorset’s Hayley Davis won the English Women’s Stroke Play Championship by an impressive six shots at Tandridge Golf Club in Surrey. Davies was the only player to finish under par, with her win set up by a seven-under 64 in the third round, which gave her an eight-stroke lead with 18 holes to play. A final round 72 was good enough to see off the challenges of Welsh international Becky Harries and Truro’s SarahJane Boyd, who shot a closing 65.

EASTWOOD WINS ABRAHAM TROPHY Yorkshire teenager Charlotte Eastwood swept to a four-shot win in the Abraham Trophy final at Copt Heath in Warwickshire, and claimed the title of ‘England’s most improved girl golfer’.The 14-year-old from Woodsome Hall, near Leeds, returned a net 68 playing off a 16 handicap to finish four shots clear of runner-up Julia Warke of Stoke Park, Buckinghamshire, a six-handicapper who returned a nett 72.

WHO’S THE STAR IN YOUR BAR? The English Golf Union and Fuller’s London Pride are looking for the person who goes that extra mile for customers at their club bar. To nominate your favourite club steward go to www. englishgolfunion.org. Everyone who nominates a candidate will go into a prize draw to win a case of London Pride and a London Pride rugby shirt.

August 2014 / Issue 235

Evans launches ‘iconic’ coaching school Former European Tour player Gary Evans is to pass on what he has learned during his 15-year career as a tour professional with the launch of a series of residential golf schools that aim to offer golfers of all levels the opportunity to improve every element of their performance on and off the course.

The 45-year-old, who was originally born in West Sussex, but is now based in Florida, has set up Iconic Golf Schools with former Worthing head PGA professional Steve Rolley. The schools will take the form of residential tuition courses where keen amateurs, and those exploring a professional path in the game, can immerse themselves in a comprehensive and professional coaching experience.

As an amateur, Evans won the Brabazon Trophy twice and represented GB & Ireland in the 1991 Walker Cup, before turning pro later that year. He was a consistent performer on the European Tour throughout his career, finishing inside the top 100 on the order of merit every season he played from 1992 through to 2004. The highlight of his career came at the 2002 Open Championship at Muirfield, where he was in contention on the final day and finished in a tie for fifth, just one stroke outside the four man play-off, eventually won by Ernie Els. A student of legendary golf coach John Jacobs, who had a very

Gary Evans (right) with Steve Rolley and Ryan Fenwick at Goodwood

individualistic and holistic approach to the game, Evans says he is keen to deliver ‘practical golf coaching delivered on an individual basis’.

To help achieve this goal, Evans is working alongside experienced PGA professional Steve Rolley, also a pupil of Jacobs’s, who has recently retired from his role as head professional at Worthing Golf Club, while Ryan Fenwick, lead coach for the Sussex PGA and a teaching professional at Golf At Goodwood, is also going to be involved on the coaching side. Both men have also coached the Regional England Amateur Elite Squad.

The first two courses are being held at Goodwood in West Sussex from September 22-24, and at The Buckinghamshire Golf Club from October 13-15, with more planned

for spring next year. The courses, which include accommodation and hospitality as part of the package, will cover all aspects of the game, and will use state-of-the-art Trackman launch monitors as part of the teaching methodology, as well as providing students with online follow-up support to help them take their game forward.

Speaking to Golf News at Goodwood earlier this month, Evans said: “The concept is about offering bespoke golf schools at iconic venues, hence we have chosen to host them at two outstanding clubs, where the facilities on and off the golf course are superb. The schools

will have no more than 25 pupils per course, with one coach per five or six pupils to ensure a personal experience, where coaches get to really understand what each player is trying to achieve and to help them get the the most out of the programme.

“As well as suiting individual players, these courses will be ideal for corporate entertainment and team building, or junior summer camps for serious youngsters. I’m keen that golfers see this as a journey, rather than a one-off experience, as it’s vital to maintain momentum if you’re really serious about improving your game.”

To find out more, or to reserve a place at an Iconic Golf School, email info@ iconicgolfschools. com

WIN A PLACE AT AN ICONIC GOLF SCHOOL Golf News has teamed up with Iconic Golf Schools to offer one lucky reader the chance to attend the 3-day golf school being held at The Buckinghamshire from October 13-15.

To enter, simply answer the question below, and email your name, handicap, address, and telephone contact details to info@golfnews.co.uk, with ‘Iconic Golf Schools Competition’ in the subject line. The closing date for entries is Sept 15th.

Question: In what position did Gary Evans finish in the 2002 Open Championship at Muirfield?

McCullen pips Moore at Moor Park to claim Carris Trophy England international Haydn McCullen pipped his teammate Bradley Moore to the coveted Carris Trophy after winning a play-off at Moor Park Golf Club in Hertfordshire.

The 18-year-old from Cheshire shot rounds of 71, 75, 72 and 70 over Moor Park’s championship layout to finish on level par 288.

That score was matched by Moore, who birdied the short 18th hole to tie with his England foursomes partner.

The final round was suspended for 90 minutes in the afternoon because of thunder and lightning, although heavy showers helped to take some of the sting out the fast-running course.

McCullen and Moore finished five strokes ahead of second round leader George Gardner,

who closed with 74, and six clear of the fast-finishing Jamie Dick, another England boy cap, who returned 70.

In the play-off, Moore was

unlucky to see his approach on the 400-yard first hole take a bad bounce and finish in sand close to the lip of a bunker. With little room to spare, he played a magnificent recovery only to miss his ten-foot par putt, after McCullen’s birdie chance had shaved the cup from a similar distance.

“Winning doesn’t feel as good as it should because it was against Bradley,” said McCullen, who is based at Delamere Forest Golf Club. “We are close friends and foursomes partners for England.

He also got unlucky on the play-off hole, but I’m pleased to have won.

“I’m only playing four boys events this year. I won the McEvoy Trophy, finished fifth with Bradley in the European Boys qualifying, and now I’ve won the Carris.

There is just the British Boys to

come, so I have a good record and hopefully this will get me picked for a few more things.”

McCullen, who started the day one behind Moore and found five birdies, added: “I went out just to hit the greens and hole a few putts. Conditions were a bit softer after the stoppage, and you could attack the pins more. Overall, it’s been a good week.”

McCullen also collected the Malcolm Reid Trophy for the best aggregate from the McEvoy and Carris Trophies on five under, again pipping Moore, who finished on three under.

The Hazard Salver for the best performance by a player aged under 16 went to Malaysia’s Bryan Teoh Wiyang on 297, who beat Ryan Cox from the Warley Park in Essex by a shot.

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14 /

News in Brief LEE EASES TO ESSEX AMATEUR Rayleigh Club’s Ricky Lee secured a five-stroke victory in the Essex Amateur held at Wanstead after shooting a three-under par 72 hole total of 273. The tournament, which was celebrating its 90th anniversary, attracted a field of 82 players from all over the county, with 45 making the half-way cut.

Lee fired four rounds in the 60s to take the title, ahead of James Allan (Chelmsford), and Scott Hudson (Braintree).

CULLEN’S ON COURSE TO CLAIM KENT OOM TITLE

Kings Hill youngster Scott Cullen is on course to win the Kent Golf Union’s Junior Order of Merit, after bagging a maximum 20 points in six of the nine events he has played in this season. With just four events left in the series, the 17-year-old is 51 points clear of his nearest rival, North Foreland’s Harry Walton.

IT’S THUMPS UP FOR SCADE!

Ingrebourne Links professional James Scade drew upon all of his local knowledge to bag a longawaited win in the second PGA in England (East) Par 3 Championship on his home course. Scade fired a three-under par round over the par-three course at Ingrebourne Links, making birdies at the final two holes to overhaul a group of four players. Scade, who has only recently returned to competitive golf after suffering a thumb injury, said: “My thumb injury has meant that I have had to alter my grip. I now play with an unorthodox grip and it has been hard to adapt.. This par-three course is in brilliant condition, and it was nice to win on my home track.”

SOUTHERN STARS SHOW THEIR SKILLS Chesfield Downs in Hertfordshire hosted 24 boys and girls for the England Golf South East Regional Skills Final, supported by FootJoy. The winners from each age group qualified to attend the Skills Challenge National Final on September 6 at Woodhall Spa. They are: 8 & under: Jamie Burchell (Cranfield GC, Essex), Saskia Jones (Farnham, Surrey); 9-11: Harry Wood (Langdon Hills, Essex), Molly Dixon (Betchworth Park, Surrey); 12-14: Joe Platt (Aspley Guise, Beds), Maura Burns Zaragoza (Fairlop Waters, Essex); 15-17: Harvey Platt Aspley Guise), Clare Wilkie (Aspley Guise).

August 2014 / Issue 235

Top Southern clubs to host Senior Open qualifying Three of the South East’s leading clubs have been announced as host venues for the qualifying events for next year’s Senior Open Championship, which takes place at Sunningdale from July 23-26.

The Berkshire, Camberley Heath and Foxhills are to host tournaments on July 20, the Monday before the Open begins.

This year’s qualifying events proved extremely popular, attracting nearly 400 players, with a similar number expected next year, as the Senior Open heads back to Sunningdale for the first time since 2009.

They will be vying for approximately 30 spots in the field for the championship, and the chance to play alongside some of the game’s great names, such as Miguel Angel Jiménez, Colin Montgomerie and

defending champion Bernhard Langer.

The Berkshire, designed

by Herbert Fowler in 1928, previously hosted the English Amateur and was one of the qualifying venues for the Senior Open in 2009.

Camberley Heath, a classic Harry Colt design set in 135 acres of Surrey heathland, celebrated its centenary in 2013, has previously hosted regional qualifying for the Open Championship, and was also one of the qualifying venues for the Senior Open five years ago.

Meanwhile, Foxhills will host qualifying for the first time on its Bernard Hunt Course, which was named after the former Ryder

Bearwood win books Hewson’s ticket to Barbados!

Foxhill’s Bernard Hunt course

Camberley Heath

The Berkshire’s Red Course

Cup player and captain. It has previously hosted the Players’ Championship of Europe on two occasions, as well three editions of the European Tour Qualifying School – notably in 1977, when Sandy Lyle was the winner.

Johnnie Cole-Hamilton, executive director of championships at the R&A, said: “Local Monday qualifying has become an integral part of the Senior Open Championship and attracts an increasingly large number of entrants.

We are delighted to have three more superb courses in the Berkshire, Camberley Heath and Foxhills as host venues for 2015. All three will play a crucial role in next year’s championship and we look forward to working with them.”

Open day success for Tilgate

James Hewson action at Bearwood

The Virgin Atlantic Flying Club recently held its gold members’ event at Bearwood Lakes in Berkshire, one of the country’s premier clubs.

Over 70 players took time out to join Virgin Atlantic CEO Craig Kreeger on the beautiful course, as members battled it out for a coveted spot in the Flying Club Swingers European Team this November.

After a cooked breakfast and armed with goody bags consisting of Srixon, Trendy Golf, Avis and Virgin Atlantic products, the gold members headed to the tees to begin their quest. The team competition proved very competitive, with the team of Paul Wilde, James Hewson and two former finalists, Sam Loxton and Keith EustacePedlar, winning with a total of 89 points.

In the individual stableford, the field was split into two handicap divisions - 0-17 and 18 plus. The winner of the 0-17 division was Paul Wilde with 37 points, but it was James Hewson in the 18-plus division who took the overall first place, with a stunning round of 41 points to book his spot in Team Europe.

James, along with Peter Parker, who qualified from another gold day at Goodwood, and 10 other Swingers, will be jetting off to Barbados to take on the Rest of the World team at Apes Hill and Royal Westmoreland.

However, the day wasn’t just about qualification for the final, with prizes from the likes of Cleveland Golf, Skycaddie, SunDog Eyewear and SuperStroke all up for grabs. Following the prize giving, a raffle for Virgin Atlantic’s chosen charity, Free the Children, helped raise £385.

Planning for this year’s final is well under way, but before that there’s the Golf News Links Championship, which Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Swingers is supporting this year.

The event takes place at Princes Golf Club on Monday, September 29, and this will be an opportunity for Golf News readers and Flying Club Swingers alike to play one of the finest links courses in the south-east of England. For just £85, players will receive breakfast, lunch and a competitive 18 holes, with the winner receiving free entry to a UK Swingers’ society day of their choice in 2015. What’s more, all registered Swingers will have their scores from the day automatically entered into Swingers’ Season 12, making sure they are one step ahead of the pack in the race for a place in the Season 12 Final.

To sign up for the Golf News Links Championship, visit www.flyingclubgolfleague.com/ societydays_princes.asp.

Over 300 golfers poured through the gates at Tilgate Forest Golf Centre in West Sussex over the weekend of July 26-27 to take part in the venue’s annual open day.

The publicly-owned course in Crawley, which is managed by Glensale Golf, has recently undergone a massive investment programme with a view to regaining the crown of the ‘Best Pay and Play’ golf course in England. As well as renovations to the course, the club unveiled a brand new clubhouse last year, which has also helped to raise Tilgate’s profile.

The open day event saw members, as well as new and old players, take part in a wide range of competitions and challenges, including a round of golf for £1, a ‘million dollar’ holein-one competition, a ‘double your money’ par 3 challenge, and a ‘find

the golden range ball’ competition.

Players who didn’t manage to hit a hole-inone were in for a surprise as they found discounted green fee vouchers hidden among the trees beside the fairways. In addition, there was an all-day barbeque and membership and retail deals to take advantage of.

Dan Lucking, Tilgate Forest’s centre manager, said: “We’re delighted with the response to our annual open day event.

There were so many new faces, it is great to know that so many members of our local community now know what Tilgate Forest Golf Centre has to offer. The new clubhouse is a fantastic facility for the whole community, with its purpose-built function room and café, and it’s great to see that it has become a community hub with access to golf for all.”

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August 2014 / Issue 235

Woodman cuts down Bearwood rivals

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bogeys, Woodman made eight birdies on a course where only three players broke par.

“While I haven’t played as many regional events as I usually do, I’ve now had two wins and eight top-ten finishes out of 13 events played, and I certainly found top gear here,” he said. “Bearwood Lakes was in terrific condition, and it was great to make a good score, even if Chris had to wait all day to find out he’d come second!”

Nothing Bland about Richard’s record 62

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East Berkshire’s Guy Woodman shot a superb five-under-par 67 to win the Westcoast Pro-Am at Bearwood Lakes, snatching the title from six-time winner Chris Gane.

The newest Pro-Am on the PGA South schedule for 2014, the event showcased Bearwood Lakes’ challenging course to the full. The 52 teams found it a very stiff test, with greens running at twelve on the stimpmeter, and the whole course manicured to perfection.

Thanks to the fantastic support of sponsors Westcoast, Woodman walked off with the season’s largest winner’s cheque of £3,500, and also a 48-inch Samsung LCD TV. Gane was delighted with his £1,600 and iPad Mini, while third-placed Rob McGuirk (Prince’s) took home £1,250 and a pair of bespoke Left Shoe Company shoes for his two-under-par 70.

Woodman underlined the form he’s found since winning with a 62 in a Swiss Pro-Am event, sharing the West Hill Pro-Am win a few weeks ago, and racking up three top-ten finishes in between. Despite making three

entary Co

py

Stoneham’s own Richard Bland shot an astonishing ten-under-par 62 to grab victory in the Stoneham Pro-Am, setting a new course record in the process.

Matching the heat on the warmest day of the year so far, the European Tour player’s hot round still included one bogey. Nonetheless, it was more than enough to snatch one of the largest cheques on the schedule, £1,500, from the hard-charging Benn Barham, who shot a seven-under-par 65 for second spot, with seven birdies coming on the back nine.

Bland started with an eagle and never looked back, birdieing the third, fifth and eighth to be five under par at the turn. Two pars followed until Bland’s birdie streak kicked in

again, making them from the 12th to the 18th, pausing only once to make a bogey on the 15th on his way to setting a new professional course record.

Speaking after his record-breaking round, Bland said: “Stoneham was in good nick and the greens suited me very well, but the heat and the breeze amongst those trees was quite a challenge. Nonetheless, it was terrific fun, and given I was five shots ahead of him at the turn, Benn’s seven-under-par back nine was spectacular.”

Barham was happy he’d given Bland a run for his money, saying, “By the end of the front nine I’d put myself in a pretty poor position to have a go at Richard’s score, but the ride on the final seven holes was great fun.”

2014

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Jamega joy for Whitnell at Aldwickbury

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Essex professional Dale Whitnell has moved to the top of the Jamega Tour’s Portugal Masters Order of Merit following a win at Aldwickbury Park Golf Club.

More than 60 touring professionals battled it out at the two-day Jamega Pro Golf Tour event staged on the 18-hole Park Course, with Whitnell requiring a birdie on his 36th hole to join the top of the leaderboard on six-underpar.

With nothing to separate the former number one English amateur golfer and fellow competitor Ricky Brackenbury after two rounds, both players teed off again down the par-four 10th in a sudden death play-off.

Brackenbury found the water, which enabled 25-year-old Whitnell to emerge victorious with a regulation par.

Aldwickbury Park has now hosted the Jamega Pro

Golf Tour - the first stepping stone in tournament golf and a feeder to the European Challenge Tour - on four occasions, but, for the first time this year, staged a pre-event Pro-Am featuring teams of four, including one tour professional. The winning team, scoring 88 Stableford points, comprised Conor O’Grady, Jamie Knight, Jack Stevens and professional Eddy Koracevic, who scored a stunning seven-under on the day.

/ 17

August 2014 / Issue 235

De Vere Mottram Hall

American golf launches junior championship Golf equipment retailer American Golf is launching a national tournament aimed at uncovering the next generation of talent.

The American Golf Junior Championship is being held at De Vere Mottram Hall on August 27, with the inaugural event held in association with PING, which will be providing all the prizes for the competitors.

The event is open to anyone aged under 18 as of January 1, 2014. Entries will be limited to 100 people on a first come first served basis, and will cost £5 per person.

The main competition will see one player crowned overall American Golf Junior Champion, but there will be a numerous awards to win on the day, including nearest the pin, the longest drive and a putting competition. No entrant will go home empty handed, as every attendee will receive a great goodie bag.

“After the resounding success of last year’s ‘Most Improved Junior’ competition, we wanted to try and give more of a championship feel to this year’s event”, commented Daniel Gathercole, head

of marketing at American Golf. “Junior golfers are the future of the sport, so it’s important that the whole industry embraces younger players. We’re delighted to be working with Ping on this event. Not only do they have a great range of junior clubs and clothing, but they also share the same vision as we do regarding the future of golf.”

Juniors wishing to enter can apply online at www.americangolf.co.uk/ juniorchampionship, or can visit their local American Golf store to sign up.

Golfing students graduate with top honours

Hats off to the latest golf graduates from Birmingham University

The latest crop of Golf Management Studies students have raised the bar, after the class of 2014 graduated with flying colours – including a record return of four with first class honours.

All were reunited at the University of Birmingham in July to collect that cherished piece of paper acknowledging their three years of hard work.

The AGMS course, run jointly by the University of Birmingham and the PGA, arms graduates with a comprehensive knowledge of golf, including business and event management, equipment technology, coaching theory and sport science.

Leading the graduate grades was Johanna Murauer, who has the double honour of being the first German graduate and first overseas student to attain the highest level.

She was joined by Tom Owen, Chris Dunsdon and Sam Townend.

Reflecting on her achievement, 21-year-old Murauer, who found out about the course from former graduate and Ryder Cup 2018 employee Eleanor Woodhall, said: “It’s nice to just get something for all the hard work. The three years haven’t always been that easy,

so it’s a nice reward at the end. Doing the degree has enabled me to meet a lot of great people and live in another country. It has also given me great placement opportunities, including the BMW Open in Munich, and a lot of good contacts.”

Echoing that sentiment was Townend, whose father Simon is a PGA Professional.

He said: “I gave up the playing dream when I was younger, but still wanted to work in golf and this was the best option. It’s been a great three years. The placements are fantastic and a great opportunity to get out into the golf industry and go to some weird and wonderful places.

Gary Jackson, AGMS Programme Manager for the PGA, praised the group, a number of whom already have roles in the industry and are set to become PGA professionals.

“The history of this course shows that it isn’t easy to achieve a first, so the four students who achieved this have done extremely well.

Many of them have already started in their first jobs either in the UK or abroad, others will be starting in a few weeks’ time, and I wish them all the best for their future careers in the golf industry.”

Smith secures recordbreaking Goodwood win Five handicapper Carol Smith etched her name in Golf at Goodwood’s history books last month after winning the club’s Ladies Championship by a record-breaking 24 shots.

Smith fired a 75 on the club’s Park Course for her first round to put herself 12 shots clear of the field, and then an 87 on the more challenging Downs Course to finish the tournament on 17-over par – 24 shots ahead of her nearest rivals, Maggie Hedley and Diane Simpson.

The two-day tournament attracted 33 players to the West Sussex-based club – which was a dramatic rise in last year’s field, which drew just eight competitors. The surge in ladies’ participation has also resulted in the club developing a formidable competitive team, which has recently qualified for the semi-finals of the Division III Sussex League.

Amy Yeates, assistant manager of Golf At Goodwood, said: “Unlike the majority of clubs, we allow women to compete in all club competitions, with over 40 competing regularly each weekend alongside fellow male and junior members. We are seeing fantastic results in female competition participation, with twice as many entries versus last year.”

Alongside encouraging its existing female members, Goodwood is striving to open the game up to new local players, with its Friday ‘Ladies Get Into Golf’ sessions proving very popular.

News in Brief HUTTON HOLDS ON FOR U12 TITLE Alfie Hutton from Pyecomebe Golf Club won the Sussex U12s championship after netting an impressive 49 points at Cuckfield Golf Centre. Playing off a 16 handicap, he beat Josh Dance (Cottesmore) by three points, with Littlehampton’s Joe Sykes in third with 45 points.

SHEPHERD SEALS SUSSEX BOYS Laird Shepherd won the Sussex Boys championship after shooting scores of 68 and 72 around Worthing’s Upper and Lower courses to win by three shots from Thomas Bailey (Chartham Park), with Tom Harrison (Nevill) a further shot back in third.

TIKI ON TOP AT CHELMSFORD Ladies champion Carol Smith

Newbury joins forces with Northcroft Golf to save lives Newbury & Crookham Golf Club has recently installed a defibrillator, which was kindly donated by locallybased business, Northcroft Golf.

The golf club was keen to support the Bernard Gallacher Defibrillator Campaign, which hopes to ensure that every club in the UK will have a publicaccess defibrillator by the end of 2014. Currently less than a third of clubs have one of the machines.

Lady captain Liz Draper and club captain Kevin Dunks (pictured centre and right) were instrumental in pushing forward the project. “We had been keen to install a defibrillator this year and thanks to the very generous support of Northcroft Golf, this had been possible earlier than we had envisaged. Hopefully we will never have to use it, but it is there just in case,” said Mrs Draper.

The staff and committee have received training on using the device, as well as CPR, and it has been installed in the reception area of the club, in order to provide quick access to the golf course if required.

Sam Torrance, ambassador for Northcroft Golf, who played in three successive Ryder Cups captained by Bernard Gallacher in the 1990s, was delighted to add his support.

“Bernard’s is a great campaign – one of these devices saved his life – and he and his wife Lesley have set up this campaign, which Northcroft Golf are proud to be part of.”

Kevin Bailey, managing director of Newbury-based Northcroft Golf, which is based near to Newbury & Crookham, said: “This is a great campaign and will hopefully save lives across the country. We hope that many other clubs are able to do what Newbury & Crookham have done and have one ready, just in case.”

Tiki Hadjioannua (Maylands) won the Essex Seniors Championship at Chelmsford with scores of 68 and 71, for a gross three-under par total of 139. Chelmsford members Peter Cumberworth and Graham Bennet came in second and third with 148 and 150 respectively.

MAIDENHEAD HIT

BY VANDALS Greenkeepers at Maidenhead Golf Club in Berkshire spent an entire day repairing the course after vandals struck the Berkshire course on July 30. Parts of the third hole were dug up and the green was flooded.

ROUND TO LEAVE FOUNDATION

Mike Round, the chief executive of the junior golf charity the Golf Foundation since 2000, is to leave the organisation and join the Ladies European Tour as director of development and membership.

TONY JACKLIN TOUR BEGINS

Ryder Cup legend Tony Jacklin is soon to begin a 21-date theatre tour of the UK and Ireland. Over the next two months, the twotime major will take to the stage with his good friend and snooker legend Willie Thorne as host and question master. The dates for shows in the South East include Worthing Pavillion on September 4 (01903 206 206), The Gordon Craig Theatre in Stevenage on September 10 (01438 363 200); The Civic Theatre, Chelmsford on October 12 (01245 606 505), and Camberley Theatre, Camberley on October 15 (01276 707 600).

18 /

News in Brief

BY GEORGE, IT’S A NEW NEVILL RECORD!

Fifteen-year-old George Ounstead became the youngest ever winner of Nevill Golf Club’s men’s championship after shooting rounds of 71 and 78 at the Tunbridge Wells-based club, which celebrates its centenary this year. The youngster, who plays for Sussex’s U16 team, won by one shot from previous club champion Richard Fung-On, and scooped the prizes for both the best gross and best nett scores.

The trophy has previously been won by European Tour players Jamie Spence and Paul Way.

MARSH TAKES ENGLISH TITLE

Yorkshire’s Nick Marsh was the English Amateur Championhsip after beating Scott Gregory’s 2&1 at Saunton in Devon. The 19-yearold was never behind for the 35 holes played.

BERRINGTON SHOWS CLASS

Golf College student Piers Berrington fired a seven-under-par total of 129 to win The Golf College Challenge at Lindfield in East Sussex. The young amateur, who is a member at Kingswood Golf Club in Surrey, shaded the efforts of professional Alexander MacGregor (Addington Court), the only other player to break par round the challenging Lindfield course.

NO CATCHING CHASE

Stapleford Abbotts assistant professional Chase Davis made it two victories on the bounce when he triumphed by a shot in the Stock Brook Country Club Pro-Am in Essex. Davis shared his win with Charlie Luther a week earlier at Saffron Walden, but at Stock Brook he stood alone at the leaderboard summit, after firing a four-under-par 68.

OPENING DATE FOR SEAFORD CLUBHOUSE Work on the new clubhouse at Seaford Head Golf Course in East Sussex is expected to be finished by November 7, according to Seaford Town Council. Construction on the £1.7m project began in January, but has been slowed down by the bad weather at the start of the year. Temporary accommodation is in place so that the day-to-day running of the club can continue during the construction process.

August 2014 / Issue 235

England Golf launches plan to revive golf The body that runs amateur golf in England has launched a three-year plan to turnaround the decline in golf participation.

Weekly rounds have dropped by 12 per cent since 2005, and the authority has now revealed that memberships at England’s 1,900-plus clubs have fallen from 882,640 in 2004 to 675,000 in 2014. This spectacular drop has meant that several golf clubs have closed down since 2007, while many more have struggled financially.

Launched at Moor Park Golf Club in Hertfordshire, Raising Our Game: The Strategic Plan for England Golf 2014-2017 aims to increase the number of people playing golf at least once a week from 750,000 to 910,000, stop the decline in membership numbers, and provide an improved image of golf.

The plan calls on clubs to forge stronger links with

Club membership has fallen by 200,000 in the last 10 years

schools, businesses and community groups, attract more women to their venues, carry out more surveys of their members, and provide more flexible membership options.

The plan also has recommendations for both England Golf itself to change, which includes improving data collection and its relationships with clubs, and for county golf partnerships to change, which includes providing more programmes that introduce people to golf.

The three-year plan is the result of over 12 months’ work by the organisation

Gane claims Surrey crown at Kingswood

Chris Gane shot rounds of 66 and 67 at Kingswood Golf Club to win the PGA Surrey Open by six shots.

Gane’s 11-under-par total of 133, saw him take home £2,111 – one of the southern schedule’s largest winner’s cheques.

On a perfect day with warm temperatures, firm fairways and holding greens, Gane was in top form in the opening round, shooting six birdies in a flawless 66.

However it was only enough to lead the first day by one shot from James Ablett’s 67, with Adam Wootton close behind on 68.

The breeze picked up on day two to make several holes more challenging, but Gane shot two birdies and an eagle on the ninth to stretch his lead to five, while his nearest rivals succumbed to Kingswood’s heavily bunkered and tree-lined course. On the back nine Gane stretched his lead, birdieing the 11th and 12th,

and while dropping one at the 13th, he made up for it with yet another birdie at the par-five 14th to leave his rivals a long way behind.

Explaining his impressive performance, Gane said: “I drove really well, missing just one fairway over the two days, setting up the second shots where I could get close to the flag. With the greens holding, I could pepper the pins where appropriate.”

Leading both the PGA South 2014 Order of Merit with just three events to go – the PGA Southern Pros Championship at Kings Hill on September 9-10, the Tylney Park Classic on October 8-10, and also the Keith MacDonald PGA South Match Play Championship, Gane is up for the fight to grab a place to Turkey. He added: “I’m really happy with my swing and form this year, and provided I can keep it up, then maybe I can earn myself one of those places to the PGA Play Offs.”

since its chief executive, David Joy, took over the position in 2013.

“It’s estimated that 2.8 million people play golf at least once a year,” said Joy. “But the sport is also facing significant challenges, with declining numbers of club members and a drop in overall participation. “We ignore these trends at our peril, and we all need to work together

to raise our game and make the most of the opportunities that exist for golf. What we are planning to do certainly isn’t easy, but it is important and by working together, by raising our game, we have a real chance of success.”

He continued: “We have much to do over the next three years, but we will be rewarded with a much better understanding of what golfers really want, whether they are club golfers or independent golfers, men or women, young or not so young. That knowledge will help us, collectively, to offer golf in the way golfers want it. This plan provides us with the opportunity to really work together, to combine our efforts for the good of the game.”

The launch event highlighted a host of success stories from clubs across the country, including Stonelees

Law in charge at English Amateur Teenage international Bronte Law won the English Women’s Amateur Championship, following a typically tenacious performance at St Enodoc in Cornwall.

The 19-year-old form Cheshire finished the 72-hole event three shots clear of her nearest rival, Wentworth’s Inci Mehmet, following rounds of 73, 73, 69 and 76 for a seven-over par total. The foundation for her victory was set up on the back nine of the third round, when she reeled off five birdies over the final six holes to gain a narrow lead.

The final round saw strong winds play havoc with the scoring, although Ferndown’s Hayley Davis made light of the conditions to score a 70 – which was 10 shots better than her third round – to finish sixth. Defending champion Sarah-Jane Boyd (Truro) and Alex Peters (Notts) were three further shots back, one ahead of Bethan Popel (Long Ashton).

Golf Centre in Kent, which has engaged with local disability groups to offer golf to over 100 disabled people, while Warley Park Golf Club in Essex, which attracted over 80 ladies to the club in a sixweek period, was also picked out for special praise.

Graham Yates, chairman, England Golf “By working together in this way we will be better equipped to support golf clubs in these testing times.”

Jennie Price, chief executive, Sport England “This strategy is very encouraging and will help to focus attention on the importance of increasing participation in golf.”

Sandy Jones, chief executive of the PGA said: “The PGA welcomes and endorses the launch of the plan. It is vital for the game that we do all we can to welcome new people to the game, entice lapsed players to return, and also encourage our existing golfers to play that little bit more.”

Bronte Law

Law, who is a student at the University of California, has won events all over the world, but an England title had been frustratingly elusive. “I have been waiting for a long time to get my hands on an England trophy, so for me this is huge,” she said. “I’ve been playing well since I came back from college and I felt something was close. I couldn’t have prepared any better and I have played really solidly all week, and am delighted that all the hard work has paid off.”

She added: “Going to America to advance my game and being away from my family isn’t easy, but you have to make these sacrifices to get better – and it’s really nice to get something back to keep pushing me on.”

Rivenhall hosts first Essex disabled golfers’ event The Essex branch of the Disable Golf Association held its first ever event at Rivenhall Oaks Golf Club last month, with 16 disabled golfers taking part in an event alongside a group of able-bodied members at the Witham-based venue.

The new group is being organised by voluteer Paul Haughton, who put in a lot of time with other organisations including Limbcare, The Social Golfer, and Dancing Giraffe to get the day off the ground.

Most competitors played

Rivenhall’s nine-hole course twice, while others enjoyed coaching on the superb short course, and took part in a putting competition.

The 18-hole Stableford competition was won by fibromyalgia sufferer Mike Lloyd with 38 points, who finished one point ahead of Keith Dolman, an abovethe-knee amputee from

Southend, while Paul Haughton took third.

Before the prize giving, members of were inspired to hear quadruple amputee Ray Edwards speak about his incredible adventures raising money to help other amputees. Ray also took part in the golf day, swinging a club for the first time in over 20 years.

For more information about events for disabled golfers around the country, visit disabledgolf.org. uk or email enquiries@ disabledgolf.org.uk.

August 2014 / Issue 235

/ 19

DAAN’S THE MAAN Few Dutch golfers have made much of an impression on the professional circuit, but that could all change if new recruit Daan Huizing manages to build on his impressive amateur credentials

DAAN HUIZING FACTFILE AGE: 23 (October 22, 1990) TURNED PRO: 2012 LIVES: Soest, Netherlands HEIGHT: 5ft 10in WEIGHT: 10st 3lbs AMATEUR WINS: Lytham Trophy (2012), St Andrews Links Trophy (2012) PROFESSIONAL WINS: 2013 Northern Ireland Open Challenge, 2013 Kharkov Superior Cup

WORLD RANKING: 240 RACE TO DUBAI: 133

WHAT’S IN DAAN’S BAG? DRIVER: Mizuno JPX EZ (9.5) FAIRWAY WOOD: Mizuno JPX825 (15, 19) IRONS: Mizuno MP-69 (3-PW) WEDGES: Mizuno MPT-4 (54, 58)

Words by Alistair Tait The Netherlands might be world class The 23-year-old first came to international when it comes to producing footballers, prominence in 2012 with victories in the Lytham but any web search of Dutch golf success Trophy and St Andrew Links Trophy, two of British won’t take long. amateur golf’s bona fide major championships, along No Dutch player has played in the Ryder with the Amateur Championship and Brabazon Trophy.

Cup. No Dutch player has won a major Huizing didn’t just win those two prestigious amateur championship. In fact, it’s hard to think of a Dutch championships, he ran away with them. He won the player who has contended in a major, let alone won Lytham by 11 shots, and the St Andrews Links by 14. one. Daan Huizing hopes that’s about to change.

In fact, he compiled 12 amateur wins in just two years, Joost Luiten is, of course, currently the leader in the including the Dutch, Argentine, Turkish and German clubhouse when it comes to Dutch golfers. With three national titles. Not bad for a guy no one really knew.

European Tour wins to his name and an outside chance Normally American college coaches are quick to of making this year’s Ryder Cup team. However, identify young talent, but Huizing was playing so far Huizing might be the man to really put Dutch golf on below the radar as a teenager that nobody offered him the map. a scholarship.

Quite why Dutch golfers haven’t featured on the “When I came from high school I wasn’t that good, European Tour before is a bit of mystery. After all, this is so college golf wasn’t really an option for me. I was a a nation that claims to have invented the game. Much late developer,” admits Huizing, who gained a degree to the chagrin of Scots, the Dutch game of ‘Kolven’ is in economics from Utretcht University and was playing often put forward as the origins of the Royal & Ancient off plus-five handicap. “By the time I won at Lytham game. Dutch golfers Rolf Muntz and St Andrews, I was in my third (1990) and Reinier Saxton year in college in Holland, and I was (2008) are former Amateur in the process of finishing that. So Championship there was no point in switching.

“College golf wasn’t winners, yet Besides I had a good base at home Muntz with lots of support, so I’m not sure really an option for went on I’d have gone to America, even if I me, as I was a late to win just once had been given the chance when I developer” on the European Tour, was younger.” while Saxton has never It didn’t take Huizing long to really kicked on. find his feet in professional golf.

Aside from Luiten He turned professional at the and Muntz, Robert end of 2012, and then played the Jan Derksen and Challenge Tour last year. He Maarten Lafeber won twice on that circuit – the have also won on the Northern Ireland Open European Tour – twice Challenge and Kharkov and once respectively Superior Cup, earning him – bringing the total sixth place on the Challenge Tour number of Dutch order of merit and a ticket to this victories to seven year’s European Tour. in European Tour “Last year was good progress,” history. Huizing has he says. “To play a season on the the talent to surpass Challenge Tour and come through that number of wins that was pleasing. It got me ready for on his own. this year.”

However, the Ajax supporter has his feet firmly on the ground. He began this year knowing he was in for a much stiffer challenge than he’d faced on Europe’s junior circuit.

“The standard is just so much higher on the main tour. You have to raise your game, because if you don’t then you get punished. There will probably be a lot of tough weeks out here. I’ve just to bite through those, keep working hard on my game, and keep improving.

Through the first half of the season, Huizing only made the cut in half of the tournaments he’d played, going eight for 16. A top-12 finish in the Spanish Open was his best effort. He posted one other top 20 finish, 17th in the South African Open.

“This is going to be a tough year with all new courses, all new settings,” he says. “Every week is new to me, which is exciting, but it’s something I have to adapt to and I just need to keep making progress.”

Fortunately Huizing is well grounded. He’s not one to shout from the rooftops about his talents, or make grandiose announcements about becoming a world-beater. He didn’t arrive on tour expecting Lytham or St Andrews-like results.

“My primary goal is just to keep my card and learn to compete out here. But the most important thing this year and every year is just to keep improving as a player. If I can do that, then I should be good enough.”

Huizing is mature enough to know he doesn’t have to do anything really special to make this year a success. “I just have to have a few good weeks, get a few good finishes to give me confidence and keep building on that. The thing I’ve learned is that consistency is important. It’s not about shooting a lot of really low rounds, but about making sure I don’t shoot a lot of high scores.”

After finishing 12th in the Russian Open at the end of July, Huizing is currently lying 133rd on the European Tour’s money list with €110,000 in earnings. He needs to get into the top 115 by season’s end to keep his card. He’ll have to earn in the region of about €220,000 to do that. He has more than enough talent to reach that milestone, but more importantly, he has the right stuff to put Dutch golf on the map.

20 /

August 2014 / Issue 235

Golf mourns death of ‘Swing Doctor’ Torrance

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Summer golf days

DOWNSHIRE GOLF COMPLEX

The world of golf lost one of its most popular characters and most influential coaches last month, with the death of Bob Torrance from a cancerrelated illness on July 19.

The 82-year-old Scot passed away, somewhat fittingly, during the middle of the Open Championship at Hoylake, which resulted in many of the players wearing black ribbons in tribute to Torrance’s contribution to the game.

Torrance was best known for his work, not only with his son, Sam, but also two-time Open champion Padraig Harrington, whom he tutored to both his claret jugs in 2007 and 2008. The pair were so close that Harrington used to stay at the family home in Largs with Torrance and his wife June, and following his first Open victory at Carnoustie, the Irishman rang his mentor within 30 minutes of walking off the 18th green.

On hearing of his death, Harrington said: “He was the greatest golf coach in the world, and he was a father figure to me after my own dad passed away. Every single player he worked with was a ball-striker and they won tournaments. My majors would never have happened without Bob. Not a chance. He was absolutely a critical part of me winning major tournaments. He spent his whole life examining the golf swing, and his knowledge of cause and effect was just incredible.”

European Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley, who was coached by Torrance for over 20 years, said: “I feel blessed to have known Bob for many years and to have had him as my coach since 1992. Not only was he a worldclass golf coach, but he was also one of my very favourite people in life. I will dearly miss his teaching and his wit.”

Torrance was a relative latecomer to golf, and did not swing a club until he was 16. Four years later, he was playing off scratch, turned professional at 20, becoming assistant to Jock McKellar at his local club Largs in Ayrshire. At the age of 27, he was appointed professional and head greenkeeper at Rossendale, a ninehole course in Lancashire.

It was in 1953 at the Open at Carnoustie that Torrance watched the legendary American Ben Hogan sweep to victory. Hogan became his hero, and although he was no mean player himself, Torrance determined to learn the art of coaching, just as Hogan had coached himself to greatness. Thus began his lifelong devotion to the analysis of the golf swing, a science at which he eventually would

Bob Torrance with Harrington and Donald

have no peers.

In 1963, he returned to Largs as professional at Routenburn, where he began his teaching career in earnest.

Torrance’s career as a coach really moved up a gear when he wrote to Ben Hogan and to his amazement was invited to the great man’s home in Texas. They became friends and Hogan imparted some seminal lessons to the Scot, who was already becoming known for his ‘doctoring’ of players’ swings, and for his dedication to his craft – he would spend many hours with a player if that player wanted his time and attention.

“All modern teaching comes from Hogan,” Torrance once said. There are just as many people now who would credit Torrance himself, along with John Jacobs, as the fathers of European coaching.

His feat in coaching his son Sam to become a leading member of the European Tour brought Torrance into contact with some of the greatest players of the era, and it was not long before he became known as the ultimate ‘swing doctor’. The very first tour professional other than Sam who came to seek his help was Sam’s friend Derek Cooper, who promptly shot a 57 in his next tournament.

The list of those coached or assisted by Torrance also included Ian Woosnam, Darren Clarke, and this year’s Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley, while Seve Ballesteros took his advice, as did Tiger Woods and many other top Americans. Torrance was just as dedicated to helping Scots, young and old, to improve their golf. He was national coach with the Scottish Golf Union for eight years, and numbering among his more famous pupils was the actor Sean Connery.

Torrance kept coaching even after his retirement, and was often seen at Routenburn or at the national coaching centre at Inverclyde, which was renamed the Bob Torrance School of Golf following its refurbishment in 2009, with the man himself performing the naming ceremony.

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The members at Farleigh Golf Club in Surrey are used to being treated like royalty, with the much-improved venue offering levels of service more commonly associated with a high-end hotel, but earlier this month saw some true blue-blooded golfers make use of the Croydon-based club’s facilities.

The King and Queen of Malaysia were the special guests for a golf day hosted by Malaysia’s high commissioner, which was attended by over 80 guests, and a large contingency of the Malaysian press.

Oxford-educated Sultan Abdul Halim, who is 84 years old, is a keen golfer, and both he and his wife enjoyed 18 holes on the parkland course before attending a formal dinner held in the clubhouse.

Farleigh’s head chef, Ray Frank, had just returned from the Commonwealth Games

in Glasgow, where he had been providing high-energy food for the athletes, but he switched his skills to delivering a fine dining menu for his royal guests at the banquet.

August 2014 / Issue 235

/ 21

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August 2014 / Issue 235

Storybehindthepic YE Yang, Tiger Woods 2009 US PGA Championship, August 16, Hazeltine National, Minnesota

A

ugust 16, 2009 was the day that YE Yang, and the rest of the world, realised that Tiger Woods was, after all, just an ordinary human being. Prior to that that date, he had been a major-winning machine with victory running through his veins. But his shocking defeat at Hazeltine set in motion a chain of events that, six years later, golf is still struggling to come to terms with. The Tiger Woods Era is over.

In winning the US PGA Championship, YE Yang didn’t just become the first Asian man to win a major championship, he also became the first person to topple a 54-hole Woods lead in a major championship.

On that fateful Sunday afternoon, Yang out-Tigered the Tiger. Never before had we seen Woods play as timidly as he did during the final round. Never before had we

seen a player so unfazed by the prospect of going head to head with Woods; and never before had we seen a player play more like Woods than Woods.

Perhaps the signs were there on the Saturday, when a conservative Woods shot 71 by hitting the middle of greens and lag putting, comfortable in his lead and confident that being the best finishers the game has ever seen would see him through on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Yang was going for broke. Six shots adrift with nothing to lose, he fired a 67 to join Tiger in the final group for day four.

Tiger still began with a twoshot lead, and while the day would inevitably come where he would flinch, no one was predicting it then. Yet flinch he did, and it wasn’t just a ripple on the surface, it was a tidal wave underneath, and when it hit land the effects would be

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life shattering and enduring.

The signs were there, as Yang had already beaten Tiger at the HSBC Champions in 2006. He started strongly, Tiger stuttered, he closed the deficit by the fourth hole, and when Tiger made a bogey on the eighth, it was a lead the Korean wouldn’t relinquish.

The turning point was the 14th, where Tiger scrambled a birdie, but only after he had watched his opponent chip in for an eagle two.

By the 18th Yang had a oneshot lead after another bogey

by Woods on the 17th, he then split the fairway with his drive, hit a hybrid to the green, and rolled in the winning putt. By contrast Tiger could muster only another bogey, playing in a manner to which he had subjected each one of his opponents in each one of his 14 previous major victories.

When asked how it felt seeing his name on the

Wanamaker trophy, Yang proudly said: “It feels like someone else’s name. It is hard to believe that I did accomplish that feat.”

During the press conference afterwards, Yang said: This might be my last win as a golfer, but it sure is a great day’. So far it is his last win, but it’s a major win more recent than anything Tiger has achieved since.

Yet in golf, nothing is more painful, or precious, to Tiger than his major record, frustratingly stuck in neutral. During 2009 he was still enjoying unparalleled success, ending the season once again as the PGA Player of the Year. Five years later, injuries and a new breed of golfer, epitomised by Nike stablemate Rory McIlroy, are building a wall between him and Jack’s record. Eighteen majors looks unlikely, while even 15 is looking extremely uncertain.

Bernard Gallacher

Golf Care Ambassador

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August 2014 / Issue 235

/ 23

NickBayly

GNeditor reveals what has caught his eye in the golfing headlines in recent weeks

Crack down on the silent majority Lifting the lid on Given my consistent waywardness with a driver in my hand, I have more reason than most to make a lot of noise on the tee, with the air often turning various shades of blue with expletives as I carve yet another ball into the trees.

These howls of psychological – and often physical – pain – are in some circumstances also followed by a more useful utterance along the lines of ‘Fore!’, as I warn fellow golfers on other parts of the course of a potential incoming aerial attack.

Generally this leads to acute embarrassment on my part, as the ball trickles tamely some 100 yards short of where the players supposedly in harm’s way actually are, leading to some quizzical looks in my general direction. However, on the odd occasion, the ball does indeed scuttle close to someone’s trolley, or zips across an adjacent green where others are innocently attempting to

Pros owe it to their fans to warn them of errant tee shots with more than just a wave of their hands

hole out. In these instances the shout of ‘Fore!’ does at least give potential victims a chance to react, albeit if their only movement is to look up vaguely in the direction of the voice and carry on regardless, rather than to adopt the brace position or dive into the bushes for cover.

Although advance warning wouldn’t prevent a charge of negligence if you should happen to hit a shot in the knowledge that it might injure someone (e.g. hitting a tee shot when the group in front is

still in range), it’s the very least you should do when playing on a busy course, as you can’t always see the person you might hit.

Which makes it all the more frustrating that tour pros seem so averse to issuing verbal warnings when they misfire off the tee. With the fairways often lined with spectators, many of whom are too busy taking selfies or eating hot dogs to notice a ball travelling at 160mph in their direction, it’s amazing more people aren’t put in hospital after a

visit to a tour event.

Only last month, Ernie Els carved one into the crowd on the opening hole at Hoylake without so much as a word to the wise. The result? A man in his 60s gets hit in the face and ends up in A&E, while Ernie ended up with an equally damaging, if slightly less painful, triple bogey.

Rather than shouting ‘fore’, as etiquette dictates, pros presume that because fans are there to watch their every shot, they need only wave their driver airily like some sort of golfing semaphore in order to devolve themselves of any responsibility for their actions.

Pros obviously don’t want the world to know that they’re struggling with the big stick, but unless the tours start cracking down on the silent majority who refuse to give warnings of errant efforts, we are going to see more and more fans ending up on stretchers, or worse still, in the morgue.

golf’s drug problem With all professional sports having developed strong anti-doping policies in recent times, cracking down on those who cross the line is paramount if the integrity of sport, and its participants, is to be maintained – or, as in most cases, regained.

While Dustin Johnson’s thinly-disguised brushes with recreational drugs crossed that line as far as the PGA Tour’s list of banned substances is concerned, it’s safe to say that none of what he has been reported to be taking will have had much of a positive impact on his game in quite the way that, say, human growth hormone would have, for example.

With injuries among top golfers almost as common as eagles on par fives these days, it would be churlish to think that there aren’t players out there who have at least experimented with steroids

or muscle-building creatins in order to speed their return to competition or bulk up their biceps.

While these activities may have been curtailed since the tours introduced random drugs testing in 2008, it’s a fact of life that there will always be those who will seek to gain an advantage, however small, and to believe that golf doesn’t have it fair share of miscreants is pure head-in-the-sand thinking.

So while Johnson recovers in his rehab clinic, let’s focus on catching those players who are taking things that will have a more unethical impact on their game; and while we’re about it, the tours need to lift the lid on their reasons for player suspensions, so that everything is black and white, rather than a murky shade of grey.

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INTERVIEW IN ASSOCIATION WITH VISIT SCOTLAND

August 2014 / Issue 235

With just over a month to go before the Ryder Cup gets under way at Gleneagles, Golf News catches up with European captain Paul McGinley to find out how his team is shaping up for the eagerly-anticipated matches, and his thoughts on those difficult wildcard picks

SPOILT FOR CHOICE

August 2014 / Issue 235

How pleased are you to have not one, but two current major champions locked into your team?

I think it’s great for the European team, and it’s certainly created a big buzz around the European Tour. For both Martin [Kaymer] and Rory [McIlroy] to lead for every round of a major was very impressive. Both tournaments presented a real test of golf, but also a real test of mental resilience to lead from the front, and I think that was what impressed me the most about their respective performances. Hopefully that confidence will feed down into the rest of the team.

Certainly there’s a real element of peer pressure in golf, and I think the fact that Martin and Rory have won three majors between them will give a bit of a boost to the other guys.

Do you think that Kaymer is a stronger individual player following his performance at the Ryder Cup at Medinah?

There’s no doubt that holing the putt to win the Ryder Cup was a great thing for him. He’d gone through a bit of a trough, as we all know, and came into the matches struggling for form. You often need something to ignite you to get some momentum going, and I guess that provided it for him. We all go through peaks and troughs in a career, and right now Martin’s going through a peak, and long may it continue.

You’ve consistently backed Rory to come out of his so-called slump – do you feel vindicated by his recent results?

No I don’t. Rory was always going to turn it around.

You don’t win two majors and then suddenly forget how to play. He had a few issues to sort out, which he has done, and now he’s showing us what we always knew he was capable of. His display at Hoylake had shades of Tiger about it, and he’s going to win a lot more majors before he’s done. He’s going to be a key member of the team, no question, but so are all the others.

Are we getting to a stage where European teams can start intimidating American teams a little bit, as they did to us 20 years or so ago with all their major winners?

I don’t think ‘intimidation’ is the right word. I think what you’re seeing is a raising of the bar. We are becoming equal to them, and I think there’s very little between the two teams now. If you add up all the world ranking points, there’s very little between us. It just shows you how much European golf has risen in recent years. We are very much on a par with them now.

Despite the recent run of results, I still think America is going to be a very formidable team. They have a nice mixture of youth and experience, and a lot of players starting to show form; people like Rickie Fowler and Jim Furyk. We have won the last two Ryder Cups by a point, and I have no reason to believe that this one is not going to be just as close. It could be one point that separates the two teams again and I wouldn’t be surprised if it was.

How disappointed are you that Tiger Woods has ruled himself out?

We all have to recognise that Tiger is box office and all tournaments are better with him in them. The Ryder Cup, in particular, deserves to have the best players and the ones of the highest stature playing in it, and if Tiger had been fit and available for Gleneagles it would have been great. Sadly he’s not. With or without Tiger, the Ryder Cup will be buzzing. The support will be huge and it is important we take advantage of that and enjoy the fact we are playing at home. Ryder Cups, in general, have always been very passionate affairs, not just among the players, but among the crowd and as we will be in Scotland, the home of golf, I expect this year to be no different. I hope to see plenty of European fans there cheering us on.

INTERVIEW IN ASSOCIATION WITH VISIT SCOTLAND

What’s it like balancing playing and keeping an eye on the Ryder Cup planning?

It’s been difficult. Obviously, every previous captain has told me how difficult it is to do, and the preparation is the problem; getting prepared to come out and play. There’s so many things going on, and there’s so many things going on in your head.

But it’s fun. It’s been a challenge. I’ve only played six or seven tournaments, but I’ve played quite decently.

It’s been very stop-start though, and I’ve missed having a decent run of tournaments to get myself into form. Most of my Ryder Cup duties ahead of the matches have been done now, so it’s a question of letting things evolve towards September. The big job that I have at the moment is maintaining communication with the players, and the best way is to be out on Tour, having a little five minutes with them here or there. However, I don’t want to distract them from the job they have at hand, focusing on their own games and winning their own tournaments and playing well – as I think that’s the best way that they can prepare for September.

Can you explain the kind of pressure you’re feeling to pull off another win?

Do I feel under pressure? Of course there’s pressure – there’s huge expectation. There are huge responsibilities as captain and there are a lot of important days ahead. But it’s more excitement really, rather than pressure. I’m relishing the challenge and I’m looking forward to all the talking stopping and the playing beginning. I’m looking forward to the opportunity of pitting my wits against Tom Watson and leading what I know will be a very strong European Team against what I know will be a very strong American Team. So I think ‘looking forward to the challenge’ would be the answer to that question.

There are going to be some new faces in the team, and possibly some older ones, with players like Miguel Angel Jimenez and even Bernhard Langer playing so well. Would you be adverse to picking a player who is competing on the Senior circuit?

Miguel’s enjoying a real purple patch this year. It started at the EurAsia Cup in Malaysia in March, where he was the strongest player, and he then went and finished fourth in the Masters, won on his debut on the US Senior Tour and then came back and won his national title in Spain. Miguel would certainly be a welcome addition on the team, and I have absolutely no issue with him being 50. It would be a great story, no doubt. But I’m not here to write a fairy tale; I’m here to pick the best team to win the Ryder Cup. It would be tremendous if Miguel makes it – but if he doesn’t, he doesn’t. The same applies to Bernhard. His win at the Senior Open was impressive, but he’s still some way behind in the points list.

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RYDER CUP TEAMS (BASED ON STANDINGS AS OF AUGUST 16)

EUROPE USA Rory McIlroy Bubba Watson Victor Dubuisson

Jim Furyk

Jamie Donaldson

Jimmy Walker

Henrik Stenson

Rickie Fowler

Sergio Garcia

Zach Johnson

Justin Rose

Matt Kuchar

Martin Kaymer

Jordan Spieth

Thomas Bjorn

Jason Dufner

Graeme McDowell Phil Mickelson

Can you talk about the decision-making processes involved with your three captain’s picks?

In the formulation of the team, we all know it’s starting to take shape, and there’s some players already guaranteed on the team. My focus at this stage is on form. Who is playing well and how guys are performing with a view to possibly who the picks could be. I don’t know where I will go with the picks until I can see which nine players are definitely on the team. Obviously form is not going to be the only prerequisite, but it’s a big factor. So the next few weeks are going to be important for that. I’ll announce my decision on September 2.

Some of Europe’s key players in recent years – Ian Poulter, for instance – are short of form. Have you had a chance to speak to him?

We’ve had a few good chats and he knows he has my support, like all the players do. He’s determined to be there, but I told him he has to earn his place.

He knows that. He’s got to have a good run of form in the run-up to the matches like everybody else. He needs to improve. But he’s making cuts, and he’s not a million miles away. He felt he got his schedule a bit wrong earlier in the season, but he has had a run of tournaments to get himself back on track.

You’ve already announced two vice-captains in Sam Torrance and Des Smyth. What will they bring to the party, and when will you announce the remaining vice-captains?

I’ll be announcing the other vice-captains after I’ve made my wildcard selections, as that will obviously have a bearing on it. As far as Sam and Des are concerned, everyone knows Sam made a big impression on me when he was Ryder Cup captain at The Belfry in 2002, not just because we won, but in the way he managed the team and created an environment. He was very astute with his tactics, and he lives and breathes the Ryder Cup. He will bring a great surge of energy into the team room. As for Des, I first met him when I was about 16, and he has become a great friend of mine. When I came on Tour he was very much a mentor, not just to me but all the young guys, and he has been proved correct on so many occasions with his views regarding players and Ryder Cups. He has sound judgment and is somebody I can really rely on.

What has been the most enjoyable part of your job as captain so far?

I have enjoyed the whole journey of being Ryder Cup captain, which has had different stages. Firstly, I had to get my head around the job and its requirements, and then I had to have meetings about logistics, uniforms and hotel rooms. Then the ‘One Year to Go’ celebrations were upon me, and now were down to the last few weeks. It’s a really complete journey, and I have enjoyed ticking off all the milestones.

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August 2014 / Issue 235

RORY SETS UP THE MCSLAM A gutsy display at the US PGA Championship has taken Rory McIlroy one step closer to golfing immortality Words by Nick Bayly

If there were any cynical types still harbouring doubts that Rory McIlroy was the real deal, the 25-year-old from Northern Ireland silenced them in impressive fashion with a winning performance full of guts and heart at the 96th US PGA Championship at Valhalla.

While McIlroy’s three previous major victories had been set up by impressive 54-hole leads, his fourth was achieved with a slender final round one-shot advantage over a field that included a roll call of experienced major champions, and a group of pretenders aspiring to replicate McIlroy’s success.

And after a somewhat flat start to his Sunday round, which saw his lead wiped out and reversed within just four holes, McIlroy had to adopt the unfamiliar role of hunter, as he tried to play catch up with first Rickie Fowler, then Phil Mickelson and Henrik Stenson, all of whom had a lead or a share of it over the closing holes of the season’s final major.

With a two-hour rain delay exerting a concertina effect on the field, McIlroy had to draw on all his powers of concentration and nerve, as he was made to wait on almost every shot of his five-hour

round. Such was the concern that they wouldn’t get the tournament finished before darkness descended, that Mickelson and Fowler, playing in the penultimate group, allowed McIlroy and his player partner, Austria’s Bernd Weisberger, to play their approach shots into the par-five 18th before they’d holed out themselves.

Consistently hitting his Nike driver over 320 yards on the rain-soaked fairways, McIlroy bided his time until the seventh hole, where a birdie took him back to where he had started the day, at 13-under par.

Standing over his second shot on the 590-yard, parfive 10th, he was three shots behind Fowler, after the young American had birdied the hole, and his chances of adding to his major tally were looking slim. However, he ripped a 3-wood 290 yards to the centre of the green – the only person to reach it in two all day – and bravely holed the 10-foot putt that put him back in front.

With a birdie at 13, and another crucial one at 17 from a fairway bunker, McIlroy could play the par-five 18th knowing that a par would give him a play-off at worst. Although Mickelson and Fowler’s eagle attempts both went begging, McIlroy made his fans sweat a

US PGA CHAMPIONSHIP LEADERBOARD -16 Rory McIlroy -15 Phil Mickelson -14 Rickie Fowler, Henrik Stenson -12 Jim Furyk, Ryan Palmer -11 Jimmy Walker, Ernie Els, Victor Dubuisson, Mikko Ilonen, Steve Stricker, Hunter Mahan Mickelson came close to a sixth major

Fowler had top-5 finishes in all four majors

little when his approach found the greenside bunker. But a sensible escape, followed by a 25-feet two-putt par sealed a one-shot victory over a resurgent Mickelson, and took the youngster from Holyrood one step closer to golfing immortality, if he hadn’t already reached that point.

After securing his second major in as many months, and winning three tournaments in a row for the first time in his career, McIlroy said he was playing ’the best golf’ of his life and enjoying a summer ‘beyond his wildest dreams’.

“Winning the Open was huge for me and I said I wanted to back it up,” said the Northern Irishman. “I didn’t think in my wildest dreams I would have a summer like this. I just played the best golf of my life. To win my second major this year, and a fourth by the age of 25, is just incredible.”

The last eight months have been a marked contrast to McIlroy’s form of 12 months ago, when he was winless at the same stage of the season. After a highprofile split with tennis-star fiancée Caroline Wozniacki in May, he won the BMW Championship at Wentworth within a week, and his sensational form since has seen him reclaim the world number one spot.

Victory at Valhalla means that he has equalled the number of majors won by Jack Nicklaus at the same age, although he has some way to go to threaten the American’s record total of 18. Asked whether he is starting to look at chasing down that total, McIlroy said: “I think the two next realistic goals are the career grand slam, and trying to become the most successful European player ever. Nick Faldo won six majors, and Seve had five. They are the next goals. And hopefully, if or when I achieve those, I can start thinking about other things.”

In the meantime, there’s the FedEx Cup, and a rather important team event to be won in Scotland…

August 2014 / Issue 235

/ 27

“I’ve got the belief that I can turn up at any tournament, anywhere in the world, and know that if I play my game, I can walk away with a trophy”

Your previous major wins had been pretty comfortable, so how did it feel to have to really battle it out and come from behind?

It wasn’t easy. I didn’t get off to the best of starts, and the other guys came at me pretty quickly, and I just couldn’t really get anything going.

So I needed to stay patient and wait for something to click. I made a birdie on 7, and then eagled the 10th, and from there, I kicked on and played some great golf down the stretch.

So would you say it is the most satisfying win of your four majors?

It definitely is. To win it in the way that I did means an awful lot. It means that I know that I can mix it up with the best players in the world down the stretch in a major and come out on top. To be able to beat Phil Mickelson on the back nine on a Sunday is a great achievement to have in the memory bank going forward.

It must have been hard to focus with all the noise around the course in front of you, seeing the other players making birdies. How did you cope with that?

Rory McIlroy reflects on the stunning few months that have seen him win two majors, his first WGC title, and the BMW PGA Championship I told myself that I just needed to make one birdie to settle things down. I was trying to get back to even par for the day after nine holes. I didn’t mange that on 9, but then the eagle at 10 kick‑started my momentum.

green on 12, I thought that was for birdie and it was actually for par. That’s why I took more of an aggressive line on my second shot, just to try and follow him in. But yes, I was fully aware of what was going on out there.

Were you watching the scoreboards?

Yeah, I was fully aware of what was going on. When Rickie held that long putt on 10, he went three ahead of me, while I was standing on the 10th fairway. I knew I needed to make some birdies, and again, that 10th hole was huge. When Phil held his putt across the

How hard has it been to be contending for big titles for the best part of a month?

To be up there with the lead week in and week out, trying to win these big tournaments, is tough, both mentally and physically. It has certainly made me appreciate more what Tiger has achieved in the past in getting on these runs, and being able to keep it going for months on end.

Winning four majors at this stage of your career puts you among the very best the game has ever produced. What does that feel like?

I said I thought winning the Open had put me on a higher level, but then to win a fourth major, to be one behind Phil, one behind Seve, level with Ernie [Els], level with Raymond Floyd; I mean, I never thought I’d

McIlroy plays his approach to the par-five 18th in the gathering gloom at Valhalla

get this far at 25. It’s something that I’m just going to have to come to terms with. I was happy being a two‑time major champion coming into this year, and all of a sudden I’m a four‑time champion and going for the career grand slam at Augusta in 242 days’ time – not that I’m counting! It’s just been an incredible run of golf, and I just couldn’t be more proud of myself or happier with my game.

Will there come a point where you start looking at the record books and chase Jack Nicklaus’s record?

I think the two next realistic goals are the career grand slam, and trying to become the most successful European player ever. Nick Faldo won six majors, and Seve had five. They are the next goals. And hopefully, if or when I achieve those, I can start thinking about other things.

You’ve got the FedEx Cup and the Ryder Cup still to play for – how hard is it going to be to keep it all going?

I feel like my game’s in good enough shape that I can keep this run of golf going and try and win the FedEx. I want to go into the Ryder Cup in the best possible form that I can, and then hopefully finish the season off well. I’ve got a couple of tournaments in the Far East, Race to Dubai, and then I’m going to defend the Australian Open, and then that’s going to be me shutting it down for the year. There’s still a lot of golf left to play, but I’m also going to try and enjoy what I’ve done over the past month.

Do you feel now like you can pretty much win any tournament on any golf course if you play your best?

Yeah, I’ve got the self-belief now that I go into every tournament I play knowing that I can win. It’s a great feeling to have. I think I’ve always had that sense, but after this run, it’s just sort of confirmed that I can turn up at any tournament, anywhere in the world, and know that if I play my game, I can walk away with a trophy.

What do you prefer the sound of, a ‘McIlSlam’ or a ‘Rory Slam’?

I’ll take any slam I can get. Yeah, I don’t know, I said whenever I won The Open, I said that there would be a lot of hype going into Augusta, which there obviously will be. And if I was somehow to win there, it would obviously be a lot of hype going into the US Open. We’ll take it one step at a time. I’ve got a lot of golf left to play this year, and I’ll try and take care of that before turning my attention to Augusta next year.

Your driving has been off the charts this summer. Has that been the difference this year?

I certainly feel that I’m a better driver of the ball than I was in 2012. I’m not as one‑dimensional. I can hit the ball both ways. I can flight it down, I can flight it up. I’m a little more confident with it. My lines are tighter, and I know that I’m not going to hit those big misses, which I used to do, which is very important.

There’s been a lot of talk about the torch being passed from Tiger Woods to you. Do you feel additional pressure to live up to that?

No, you have to accept that when you have a run of results like I’ve had. I don’t think you can see it as a burden. It’s a great place to be in. To be the face of golf, or one of the faces of golf, is a big responsibility, but at the same time I feel like I can handle it. It’s a great position to be in and I definitely don’t have a problem with being one of the faces of golf.

Are you aware of the influence you might be having on the next generation of young golfers?

Yeah, I understand the responsibility of being a role model, and it’s great to be able to inspire kids to pick up a club, and to get them started in the game. I’ve already seen a big change when I go back home to Northern Ireland and see how many juniors are out there playing at local clubs. To have some sort of involvement or role in that happening feels very special. I remember what it was like when I was a kid, looking up to Darren Clarke and Pádraig Harrington, and obviously Tiger and Phil. I still remember how I felt when I met those guys, so whenever I meet youngsters, I always try and be as nice as I can, and sign whatever they want signed, and to be some sort of good influence on their life.

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August 2014 / Issue 235

PEPPERELL REIGNS SUPREME Records tumbled at the Farmfoods British Par 3 Championship held at Nailcote Hall

After four days of outstanding entertainment, that saw the course record broken and hole-in-ones galore, young European Tour star Eddie Pepperell secured the 2014 Farmfoods British Par 3 Championship title after a tense play-off with TP Tour Qualifier Jak Hamblett.

Both players finished on scores of seven under par, before Pepperell chipped in on the third play-off hole to take home the cheque for £25,000, and cap off a superb performance.

In a record-breaking year, spectators flocked to Nailcote Hall to watch golfing legends, top professionals, and top celebrities compete at the country’s foremost Par 3 event.

Leading this year’s all-star cast of golf pros, and hosting the event for the sixth year running, was the most successful Ryder Cup captain of all-time, Tony Jacklin. Jacklin is the face of the championship, and has been instrumental in raising the profile of the event each year. He welcomed back another former winning Ryder Cup captain Ian Woosnam, as well as former Open Champion Paul Lawrie, who made his debut at the championship.

Organised by Champions (UK) plc, headline sponsors Farmfoods once again pledged a £100,000 prize fund to attract a field of elite players. As the

Sky Sports cameras captured the action as it unfolded, a host of celebrities dusted off their golf clubs for the first CelebAm on Tuesday, including the great cricketing all-rounder Sir Garfield Sobers; former Olympic swimmer Mark Foster; comedian Jasper Carrott; Strictly Come Dancing judge Len Goodman; and Asheswinning cricketer Matthew Hoggard.

European Senior Tour star Gary Wolstenholme emerged triumphant after the first day of action with an impressive round of four under par.

Inspired by the performance of Wolstenholme, the Farmfoods

Paul Lawrie was in record form

2 team were the winning team on the day, with a combined total of 14 under. After the day’s play concluded, Nailcote Hall hosted the first of three gala balls to raise money for Midlands’ charity Rainbows Hospice for Children and Young People, and Jacklin welcomed all guests to the championship with his inaugural address.

There was a delicious threecourse meal and entertainment was provided by Tony Christie, who gave a rendition of his

Ian Woosnam

Charlie Hull made a welcome return to Nailcote Hall

hit song ‘Is This the Way to Amarillo?’.

The Professional Championship began on Wednesday, and was a closelyfought contest between golfing icons and current professionals. As well as Jacklin, Woosnam and Lawrie, the field featured Tommy Horton, Wolstenholme, DJ Russell, Peter Baker, Paul Broadhurst and Eddie Pepperell. After the first day’s play, talented young golfer Jak Hamblett led by a single stroke, with three past winners hot on his heels in Mark Mouland, Baker and Russell.

Always one of the highlights of the week, the Players’ Ball, hosted by cricket legend Geoff Miller, took place on Wednesday evening and featured a Q&A session with Sir Garfield Sobers. The celebrated cricketer discussed his illustrious career, which has seen him universally recognised as one of the greatest players of all-time for his skill and versatility.

Huge crowds gathered on Thursday for the conclusion of the Professional Championship, and they were treated to an incredible golfing spectacle.

With Hamblett leading at the start of play but yet to tee off, Wolstenholme and Lawrie stormed into a joint lead at-6.

Lawrie’s incredible round of eight under was a course record at Nailcote Hall, and it is easy to see why he has the nickname ‘chippy’ for his

Eddie Pepperrel with his prize haul from the Par 3 Championship

immaculate short game!

As the day wore on, a battle for first place ensued, before Hamblett eventually tied the lead with Pepperell to force a play-off. Aspiring young talent Pepperell eventually came through on top by chipping in on the third play-off hole. In his victory speech, he paid tribute to the sponsors, the quality of the event, and his supporters.

The day also saw an incredible four holes-in-one for Wolstenholme, Horton, DJ Russell and Raymond Russell, to take the total for the championship to six, after Tom Reid and Gary Emerson achieved the feat on Wednesday. The leading team was David Nelson partnered with former Masters champion Ian Woosnam. Carl Mason won the prize for the Super Seniors contest, winning £5,000 for the second year running, and Luke Turbutt won the Norma C Herd Silver Salver for leading amateur, closely followed by Tom Charley and Sarah Herd in second and third respectively. ​ Friday was the final day of the championship and the second Celeb-Am tournament.

The celebrities teeing off included Coronation Street star William Roache; Rugby World Cup winner Neil Back; mostcapped England footballer Peter Shilton; BBC presenter Dan Walker; and Layer Cake actor Jamie Foreman. This time, former Ryder Cup Vice-Captain Peter Baker was the winner, to cap off an impressive four days on the Cromwell Course.

The final charity gala ball concluded proceedings in what was a truly first-class week of golfing action at Nailcote Hall.

The Farmfoods British Par 3 Championship excelled itself once again, and kept its place as one of the summer’s most enthralling sporting events.

Look out for the highlights programmes on Sky Sports and Challenge TV. It has been confirmed that the 2015 Championship will take place on August 11th14th next year.

For further information about the Farmfoods British Par 3 Championship, call Champions (UK) plc on 08453 313031 or email blawrence@ championsukplc.com.

August 2014 / Issue 235

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MEET THE PRO PGA Professional Lloyd Walton reveals what makes Marriott Tudor Park Golf & Country Club stand out from the crowd in Kent

How long have you been a PGA professional?

I turned pro in 2012. After graduating with a degree in Golf Management from Birmingham University, I worked as an assistant pro in Egypt and then Sri Lanka, before returning to my home county, Dorset, to work on the retail side of the operation at Parkstone Golf Club.

What is your day-to-day role at the club?

Teaching, tournament hosting, retail, customer service to members.

What’s the best thing about your job?

Engaging with guests and members, improving amateur golf swings and growing the junior section at Tudor Park.

Currently for 8-12 years it is £49 per year, and for 13-18, £99. Membership has nearly doubled in 2014 due to the above activity.

How much time do you spend teaching?

On a typical week day, generally four to six hours, and more at weekends with junior and resident clinics.

What’s selling well in the pro shop?

With so many tour pros moving to the spikeless shoes, this has resulted in many amateur players buying the more comfy option and in particular the adidas Adicross shoe. Calvin Klein apparel have produced a fantastic summer collection, which has sold very well, in addition to Lyle & Scott, Footjoy and Under Armour clothing.

And the worst? Nothing, I love it!

What can you tell us about the golf facilities?

Tudor Park is a 6,085-yard, par-70 course based in the heart of the Kent countryside, near Bearsted. The course is tricky, due to narrow fairways and small greens, and requires accurate plotting rather than brute force to score well.

The greens are in superb condition all year round, due to excellent drainage. We recently hosted the Kent Championship of the William Hunt Trilby Tour, which is testament to the facilities. The level of service is also exceptional, with the resort being shortlisted for five awards at this year’s 59 Club awards, and we won Marriott Golf Country Club of The Year.

The property also has a golf academy, driving range, 120-room hotel, spa, leisure club, and two restaurants.

In a tough economic climate what have you done to keep existing members and attract new ones? We have continued to invest in the golf product. During tough times it’s easy to reduce costs and expenditure, but we have done the opposite and are reaping the rewards, with new members and member loyalty. This year, in addition to purchasing new machinery to improve the course, we will be buying new course furniture, tee markers, a practice net, additional driving range bays, building a new entrance, and renovating the pro shop.

What is the club doing to attract junior golfers? Hosting junior open weekends, junior summer camps, and offering free golf scholarships to those meeting the standards.

We are also contacting local schools for activity weeks and have reduced membership fees.

Don’t miss out...

Read Golfnews online at www.golfnews.co.uk World Golf Teachers Federation

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GASP video analysis.

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What’s the best tip you’ve ever received?

Watch the club hit the ball to improve ball striking. Many amateurs are so eager to see where the ball has gone that they are looking for it before they have hit it, which causes inconsistent ball striking.

• Turn-key marketing strategy guaranteed to bring you income • Full technical back up service, meaning you will always coach correctly • Membership of a worldwide organisation with over 20,000 members

What has been your highlight as a player?

Representing and captaining my home county (Dorset), and helping take my university (Bournemouth) to two national finals.

Visit www.becomeagolfcoach.com or call 08450 949445 to receive your information pack

What’s your favourite course in the UK and the world?

The Nicklaus Course at St Mellion in Cornwall, and Katameya Dunes in Cairo, Egypt.

Who is your golfing hero and why?

Tiger Woods, for his ability to hit almost any type of shot and his mental strength under pressure.

Who inspired you to take up golf?

My dad. He played off a four handicap.

Which three other people would be in your dream fourball?

Ernie Els, Tiger Woods and Natalie Gulbis.

What would you have done if you hadn’t become a golf pro?

I represented Dorchester Town at football, so I would have tried to improve through the football ranks.

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August 2014 / Issue 235

TOM LEWIS TIPS FROM THE TOUR

Tom Lewis is a brand ambassador for Marriott. The photographs were shot at Marriott Hanbury Manor in Hertfordshire.

For details visit www. marriott.co.uk or download the Marriott app from iTunes.

Good posture is one of those things that is absolutely essential if you are going to play the game well.

It is something which professionals work hard to master, but is often overlooked by amateurs who are not aware of how important it is to a sound and repeatable golf swing.

Good posture is important, because without it you will not be able to make a proper turn, or swing back on the correct plane. It’s also vital if you are to maintain your balance both during the backswing, and as you accelerate down and through the ball.

There are certain angles which you have to get right at address in order to enable you to swing the club correctly, but the good news is that getting into the correct position is relatively easy to do once you know what to look out for.

What I suggest is that you concentrate on addressing the ball so that your toes, knees and the backs of your shoulders are all in one straight line down to the ground (see main photo). This will help you to feel as if you are standing tall to the ball and you should also make sure that your chin is away from your chest, so that you can turn your left shoulder under it during the backswing.

To start with, you might need a friend to check you are in the correct position, but once you are, you will feel that you have a good centre of gravity and you will be able to keep your balance during the swing. It also means your hands will hang naturally under your chin (see insert), which is another key to swinging freely without constraint.

The golf swing is basically two turns. You turn back and then you turn down and through – but you won’t be able to do that effectively if your posture is wrong at address. So stand tall. Get your toes, your knees and the backs of your shoulders in line, and then you will be ready to go.

HOW PERFECT

TO

YOUR POSTURE

August 2014 / Issue 235

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STANDING TALL Despite a faltering start to her professional career, Michelle Wie is finally getting into her stride, as her confident victory at the US Open at Pinehurst clearly showed

What does it feel like to finally be able to call yourself a major champion?

I’m just unbelievably happy. I’m so honoured to be part of the history of the US Women’s Open, and to have my name on the trophy.

Did you know that you are the same age now as Annika Sorenstam was when she won the US Open for the first time in 1995?

I don’t think age really matters. You can win the US Open when you’re 34 or 24, it doesn’t really matter. It’s just the fact that your name is on the trophy.

Winning the US Open means a lot in any year, but does doing it at Pinehurst straight after the men’s US Open hold any more significance?

I think it does. Ever since I was told that we were going to do this I was really excited.

I think we made history by playing on the same stage as the men. Winning on the same course where Payne Stewart won also means a lot to me. There is just so much history to Pinehurst. I think it’s a great idea and I hope they do it again – it’s fun.

Do the trials and tribulations that you’ve gone through over the last 10 years make this win all the sweeter?

I think it just means so much more to me.

Without the hardships, I don’t think you appreciate the ups as much as you do. I think the fact that I struggled so much, the fact that I went through a hard period of my life, means so much more to me than it ever would have when I was 15. I remember at my first US Open I tried to drive the first hole.

I’ve learned not to do that now – I’ve learned a lot.

Can you isolate some of the biggest lessons you’ve learned, whether it’s on the golf course or in life?

I think one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is to just really stay in the present and not to try and control everything. I think when, growing up, I was kind of a control freak.

I just wanted to control everything. Have the perfect swing. Have the perfect putting stroke. And if something wasn’t perfect, then I would start to freak out. I think over the years I started to learn that you can’t be perfect. I started to look at other people’s swings. There are so many different swings that win golf tournaments. There are so many different putting strokes. I decided to let it go, just to have fun, and try to get better every day.

no matter how hard I worked, there was a point where I just wasn’t getting any better.

But David [Leadbetter] talked to me, and he said that hard work sometimes gets results overnight and sometimes it takes a couple of years. I think I was on the ‘couple of years’ track. I was really impatient, and I just wanted things to happen overnight. I got down on myself when I didn’t see things moving forward. Thankfully, my parents got me out of that way of thinking and things began to improve.

Mine at last: Wie clutches the US Open trophy

How much have your recent individual performances been motivated by last year’s Solheim Cup defeat?

I definitely think the Solheim Cup has motivated a lot of the players in that team to dig deeper. We were angry after the defeat. We were angry at how we played.

It definitely motivated us. No one likes losing. No one likes losing twice. And we’re especially motivated. I think all of us are really looking forward to next year’s matches. We have a great group of American players – we’re all young, and we’re very hungry.

Wie’s parents have supported her all the way

Talking of putting strokes – you had no three-putts this week. Was that down to your putting stance?

I’ve been putting like this for 18 months or so and I feel really comfortable with it. I haven’t had a plan to keep with it or not keep it.

It just feels comfortable and I see the line better. The ball is also coming off the putter face a lot more consistently than it was before. I practise putting a lot, especially lag putting, and it really paid off at Pinehurst.

Can you talk about the role your parents have played in your career?

Yeah, they obviously play a really big role. When I had my downs, when people doubted me, my parents would never let me doubt myself. If I even showed an ounce of doubt, they just told me that they believed in me so hard that I started to believe in myself again. And I owe them everything in my life and in my career. They’re my No. 1 fans. We get into a lot of fights, but through all the ups and downs, they’re there for me every single day.

What was the lowest point for you, when you struggled to believe in yourself?

There’s obviously a couple. I think there was a big stretch of time where I was injured.

My health was not very good. And I worked hard. I never stopped working hard. And

Wie at the Empire State Building in New York

32 /

News in Brief HORSEY HOLDS HIS NERVE IN RUSSIA David Horsey secured his third victory on the European Tour after beating Damien McGrane in a play-off to win the M2M Russian Open at Tseleevo Golf & Polo Club.

The 29-year-old from Manchester chipped in for eagle at the 17th to tie on 13-under par with McGrane, and then won the play-off with a par four at the first extra hole.

Victory saw Horsey’s Race to Dubai ranking rise from 198th to 50th.

August 2014 / Issue 235

TOUR NEWS

McIlroy regains top spot after Bridgestone blitz Prior to his vicotry in the US PGA Championship, Rory McIlroy returned to the top of the world rankings after winning the Bridgestone Invitational in Ohio by two strokes from Sergio Garcia.

The Northern Irishman trailed the Spaniard by three shots at the start of the final day in Akron, but clawed back the deficit inside four holes.

The Open champion signed for a final round four-under 66 to finish on 15 under par, while Garcia closed with a scrappy 71.

McIlroy’s first WGC title saw him overtake Adam Scott at the top of the world rankings, regaining the position he last held in March 2013.

The 25-year-old was keen to show there would be no hangover

CHALLENGE TOUR CANCELS UKRANIAN EVENT A Challenge Tour event scheduled to be played in Ukraine next month has been cancelled due to the unacceptably high risk to players, caddies, staff and spectators. The Karkhov Superior Cup was due to take place at the Superior Golf and Spa Resort in Karkhov from September 11-14, but has been postponed because of the recent outbreak of hostilities in region.

KO KO’S RIVALS New Zealand’s Lydia Ko became the youngest woman to win over $1 million in LPGA Tour history when winning the Marathon Classic in Ohio. The 17-year-old bagged her fourth win on the tour since turning professional in April, after firing a closing 65 to finish on 15-under and hold off Korea’s So Yeon Ryu.

GRECIET BAGS FIRST LET WIN France’s Julie Greciet collected her first Ladies European Tour title at the Sberbank Golf Masters in the Czech Republic. The 27-year-old from Biarritz fired rounds of 66, 64 and 66 at Golf Park Plzn for a 17-under-par total and a twostroke victory over South African Lee-Anne Pace, with Welsh rookie Amy Boulden posting a career best finish of third.

ERNIE BECOMES EUROPE’S FIRST 30M EURO MAN!

Ernie Els has become the first man in European Tour history to break through the €30 million mark in career earnings. The landmark figure coincided with the 44-yearold South Africa playing his 300th European Tour event. The three-time major winner remains the all-time leading money winner, with prize money of €30,253,543, although he is just €120,000 ahead of Lee Westwood.

from last month’s Open Championship victory and proved that in fine style, with a come-frombehind win that was full of swagger.

“I’m really proud of following up the Open with a performance like this,” said McIlroy. “It’s great to come to one of my favourite tournaments and to perform like this, I am pretty satisfied.”

McIlroy opened with three straight birdies to take a one-shot lead, before taking the lead for good with an eight-foot birdie on the 11th. Garcia’s final-round fell some way short of his exploits on the second day, when he played the back nine in just 27 shots in his record-equalling second round of 61. But his failure to press his advantage home on Sunday means the 34-year-old has won just three times on the 16 occasions he has held the 54-hole lead.

Langer pounds senior rivals at Porthcawl Bernhard Langer completed a recordbreaking victory in the Senior Open Championship at Royal Porthcawl, carding a closing round of 67 to win by 13 shots from Colin Montgomerie.

The 56-year-old German began the final round with an eight shot advantage over Canadian Rick Gibson, and despite considerably windier conditions than the previous three days, extended his advantage by a further five shots, setting a new record for the biggest winning margin in the Senior Open, and beating Bob Charles’s 1989 benchmark by six strokes.

He also equalled the second biggest winning margin in major championship history, just two shy of Tiger Woods’ record 15-stroke triumph at the 2000 US Open, while his winning total of 18 under par 266 was the lowest in the 28-year history of the Senior Open.

In a week when records tumbled, a crowd of 10,539 watched Langer’s final round victory march, taking the total attendance for Wales’ first Senior major championship to 43,503 – the second highest in the history of the event, just short of last year’s record of 45,575 at Royal Birkdale last year.

They witnessed a player at the very top of his game, with Langer’s incredible winning total made even more remarkable given that only four other players broke par, with Montgomerie, who was chasing a third senior major, finishing a distant second on five under par with a final round 69.

“I’ve won a tournament by 17 shots before, but that was at the U25s World Championship,” said Langer. ”This just doesn’t happen in a major, when you’re up against

Injured Woods misses Ryder Cup as back pain flares up again Tiger Woods has ruled himself out of next month’s Ryder Cup because of injury. The 38-year-old American, who failed to qualify automatically for the Gleneagles event, has been suffering from a persistent back problem. He had surgery in March and has been told not to play by doctors.

“While I greatly appreciate Tom [Watson] thinking about me for a possible captain’s pick, I must take myself out of consideration,” he said in a statement issued on August 12. “I’ve been told by my doctors and trainer that my back muscles need to be rehabilitated and healed. They’ve advised me not to play or practice now. I’m extremely disappointed that I won’t be ready for the competition. The US Team and the Ryder Cup mean too much to me not to be able to give it my best.”

Woods has played in seven previous Ryder Cups, but has only been on the winning side once.

Dustin Johnson suspended for drug use

such strong competition – so it’s been an amazing week for me, and I am just very blessed to be able to play such good golf.”

Asked whether his form was good enough to earn himself at wildcard pick for next month’s Ryder Cup, Langer responded: “I’ve been playing some really good golf the last six or seven years. I’m not sure if I’m on Paul’s radar, but I certainly feel my golf is up to Ryder Cup standard at the moment.”

Montgomerie, who was bidding for his third consecutive major title, said he would be considering Langer for a wildcard if he were in charge. “Bernhard’s a great team man, and I’d be thinking very seriously indeed if I was Paul McGinley, because even if the young guys had been here, they wouldn’t have beaten his score.”

Speaking about his own performance, the Scot added: “The rest of us were playing for second place, and I feel that I won the battle. There were 144 in the field and I beat 143 of them, so I’ve got to take some satisfaction in that.”

American Dustin Johnson will miss next month’s Ryder Cup and the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup after being suspended from the Tour for recreational drug use.

Johnson will serve a six-month suspension from the PGA Tour after testing positive for cocaine, although the Tour itself refused to give details of the offence or the time limit of the suspension.

Johnson has failed three drug tests: one for marijuana in 2009, and two for cocaine in 2012 and 2014. He was previously suspended for the 2012 failed test, but that suspension was never made public. Under the PGA Tour’s drug-testing policies, the Tour is not required to announce any disciplinary actions against players who test positive for recreational drugs.

The 30-year-old from South Carolina, who was lying fifth in the Ryder Cup

standings, will now miss the matches at Gleneagles, and the rest of the 2014 season, as he seeks help to overcome what he describes as ‘personal challenges’.

In a prepared statement, Johnson said: “I will use this time to seek professional help for personal challenges I have faced. By committing the time and resources necessary to improve my mental health, physical well-being and emotional foundation, I am confident that I will be better equipped to fulfill my potential and become a consistent champion.”

In response to requests for details regarding Johnson’s immediate withdrawal from all forms of competitive golf, the PGA Tour said: “We have nothing to add to Dustin’s statement, but we wish him well and look forward to his return to the PGA Tour in the future.”

August 2014 / Issue 235

/ 33

RETURN OF THE MACK

Roger Cleveland has been the inspiration behind Callaway Golf’s wedges over the last 12 years

Roger Cleveland, Callaway Golf’s chief club designer, discusses the company’s Mack Daddy 2 wedges and its latest innovation, the Tour Grind, and explains why having the right wedges can take shots off your scores Where did the ‘Mack Daddy’ name come from?

Mack Daddy was, at first, a nickname given to a wedge groove that we created some years ago, with input from Phil [Mickelson].

When he first became a Callaway player he asked me to design the biggest, most aggressive grooves possible, which would still conform to the Rules of Golf. I came up with a groove that I was happy with and when we manufactured this into a club head, and asked Phil to give it a try. I clearly recall Phil hitting his first lob wedge featuring the new groove. It was a shot of about 30 yards, but such was the ferocity of the spin, it left a large white mark on the face of the club, a bit like a tyre track, where it has impacted with the ball. The ball ripped back about 30 feet and Phil immediately said, ‘Now, that is my Mack Daddy groove!’ Phil had come up with a pretty cool name, and we subsequently stamped ‘MD’ on the hosel of our X Forged Wedges, the first Callaway clubs to feature this groove in 2009.

Moving forward to 2013, we decided that the Mack Daddy 2 range would also draw on this performance heritage.

In Mickelson, you have the world’s best wedge player to work alongside. What influence did he have in the development of the Mack Daddy 2s?

Phil is hugely interactive with Callaway. He lives very close to our test centre in California and visits quite often. He is always full of ideas and works to improve the clubs he has in his bag.

He had a lot of input into the sole design of the Mack Daddy 2, and specifically the version that has a concave appearance, the U-Grind.

He really liked that. In this particular model, the toe and the heel are quite relieved, and even though it has a relatively wide sole, Phil is still able to open it up without too much heel sticking out, and effectively remove the bounce. This makes for a club that is very adaptable, which was a really important feature for Phil.

What are the key features of the Mack Daddy 2 wedges?

These forged wedges are all about the performance of the grooves and how they manage spin, trajectory and distance. They are available in two different finishes – slate and soft chrome. The slate head looks like it has just emerged from workshop; the milling pattern on the back of the head and its beautiful patina of ‘gunmetal blue’ is something our staff pros really love. We also offer a more traditional chrome appearance that has a satin finish

that, like the slate model, resists glare in bright conditions.

Another important touch is the addition of laser-milled micro grooves on the surface of the face – this ‘rough’ finish further enhances spin and also helps focus the eye on the hitting area of the clubface. This complements the face grooves that, in our own tests, generate 25% more spin compared to our previous X Forged wedges.

Each loft option has a beautiful ‘tear-shaped’ appearance that is as much about function as it is about looks. Of course, it was imperative to create a wedge family that was visually appealing and looked confident at address, but we also needed to have the performance to match.

Can you explain the different bounce setups available?

The three different geometries available are Standard, U-Grind and C-Grind – and I would always recommend golfers be fitted for a wedge and grind that matches their specific swing characteristics. If your swing path is steep, and you retain this angle into the ball, you will require additional bounce to stop the club digging into the turf. The standard Mack

“The ball ripped back about 30 feet and Phil immediately said, ‘Now, that is my Mack Daddy groove!’

Cleveland enjoys working closely with players

Daddy 2 wedges will help the majority of steep-swinging golfers alleviate this problem, and generally perform well in most conditions, and for all golfers.

However, if you predominantly play courses that feature soft bunker sand, the wider soles of the U-Grind would be really helpful.

Golfers can open these wedges right up, effectively creating more bounce, so the club has the ability to stay on top of the sand more easily, giving consistent performance.

If you play courses where the turf is firm around the green and the bunker sand is also firm – a links course is a good example of this – the narrower sole of the ‘C-Grind’ works better, as the leading edge gets into the back of the ball more quickly.

You’ve just introduced a new Tour Grind to the Mack Daddy 2 line up. Can you explain what this adds to the range?

The new Tour Grind is forged wedge based largely on the original Mack Daddy 2 wedges, but with a new sole grind and shape inspired by the X Forged wedges. So what you get is a sole design that gives additional relief in the heel and toe of the club, allowing players to hit ‘open face’ shots without having the bounce come into play, and a slightly straighter leading edge, which creates better turf interaction through the ground. With the same groove pattern as found in the MD2s, you have a forged wedge that offers lots of controllable spin, which good players will love.

How have they been received on tour?

We seeded them on tour in April and May, and I would say that at least half of our tour staff has them in play, maybe a bit more. That’s quite a large uptake for a new product.

How did the changes in groove rules affect the design of the original Mack Daddy 2s?

The folks that govern us are trying to protect the game and a few years ago they changed the groove rule, putting more emphasis on golfers being rewarded for keeping the ball on the fairway. The original Mack Daddy grooves we created wouldn’t have conformed to the rules we have now, but with Mack Daddy 2 we have gone right to the limit of what’s possible – and legal – and have brought back almost all of the spin we had with the original Mack Daddy groove. Technology plays a huge part in this. We mill the face, we mill the groove, and we have an edge radius cutter that machines the exact radius of each groove to make it as sharp as we possibly can.

Is there such a thing as too much spin in a wedge?

It is always a fine balance. We have the maximum spin in our lob wedges, and this drops slightly as the lofts decrease. What we don’t want to do is create a club that helps a player fire a shot into a back pin position, for example, only to see the ball spin back way too far, and away from the hole. We’ve put a lot of work into this part of the Mack Daddy 2 performance, and we think we’ve got the spin rate calibration just right throughout the range.

You’ve been the public face of Callaway’s ‘Wedgeucation’ programme via Callaway’s website. How much do you enjoy this public role, and how successful has it been in getting the message across to amateurs?

It’s really a lot of fun. I enjoy getting out on tour, and I enjoy interacting with Callaway’s sales team and, of course, meeting with the public. I’m doing lots of clinics, teaching people, and generally getting the message out there about the short game. Not everyone can hit a 300-yard drive, but most people can learn to play a decent wedge shot, I enjoy helping people try and achieve that.

How did you get into the club-making business?

I was a pretty good junior player in my youth, but used to miss my fair share of greens.

Because of this, I always loved to tinker and work with wedges and I found myself grinding club heads and trying different things. I learned a lot about how wedges work, and from the great feedback I also got from top players, I managed to convert this knowledge into my designs. Wedge play is one of the great satisfaction areas in golf.

There are few better feelings than when you hit a shot over a bunker, stop it on the green and save par.

34 /

PROMOTIONAL FEATURE

August 2014 / Issue 235

XXI0 TOU

DOWN IN THE UK

British golfers now have the chance to get their hands on Japan’s best-selling range of premium clubs, following the launch of the award-winning XXI0 metalwoods and irons at selected UK outlets Japanese premium equipment brand XXIO is hitting the UK’s pro shops for the first time this summer, with a range of products going on sale at select venues across the country for the remainder of 2014 and beyond.

The iconic brand, which has been the leading metalwood and iron model in Japan for 13 consecutive years since 2000, launched the XXIO 8 range of woods and irons back in June, and is now offering a free XXIO cap and towel to anyone who books a custom fitting or product test at one of three selected stockists in the south of England.

XXIO: THE CHOICE OF CHAMPIONS The XXIO brand has enjoyed incredible success on the professional global circuit, with players on the LPGA, JLPGA and JGTO Tours all winning with XXIO equipment in their bags. The XXIO 8 range is currently endorsed by XXIO staff player Inbee Park (pictured right), who picked up three major

titles last season. The XXIO range enjoys around 40% market share in Japan in both the metalwood and iron categories, with its products being suited to golfers who tend to swing the club at lower swing speeds.

Since the launch of the first XXIO driver in 2000, distance capabilities have increased by 30 yards, with the XXIO 8 the longest model yet. The original XXIO was voted the world’s longest driver by Golf World magazine in 2003, adding further emphasis to the brand’s credentials in the hardware market.

SUPERIOR PERFORMANCE FOR ALL GOLFERS The product range coming to the UK is the strongest XXIO line up to date, and is sure to help improve golfers’ games, whatever their level of ability. The brand prides itself on its craftsmanship and technological innovation to promise golfers a product like no other, with the XXIO offering three distinct shaft models tailored to suit golfers’ individual swing characteristics across the different ranges of products.

XXIO 8 DRIVER The XXIO 8 driver promises superior performance from lower swing speeds. A thinner crown on the driver’s 460cc head allows weight to be distributed to the rear of the sole, helping to create a deeper centre of gravity, and resulting in a higher launch angle and lower spin rates. The driver also features a low-density titanium face, allowing for an expanded sweet spot to deliver faster ball speeds even on off-centre strikes. The result of these two combined factors is more distance for golfers of all abilities.

XXIO FAIRWAY WOODS Easy swinging and long hitting, the XXIO fairway woods feature a newly-designed cup face structure, which results in an expanded sweet spot coupled with a thinner peripheral area lower down the face. In testing, the design has been shown to be incredibly effective at increasing both distance and accuracy on miss-hit shots.

XXIO HYBRIDS The expanded sweet spot is also a feature of the XXIO 8 Hybrid, offering golfers increased accuracy. This is achieved in the Hybrid by virtue of its cast maraging steel construction, allowing for the face to be thinner, which in turn enables the sweet spot to be made larger to match golfers’ typical strike patterns. Accuracy is improved further through the XXIO Hybrid’s gooseneck design, while confidence and alignment are boosted through the bladed crown design.

XXIO 8 IRONS XXIO irons are crafted from a composite construction that sees a tungsten-nickel sole weight blended with a low-density titanium club face. This produces a high launch angle and low spin to give the XXIO 8 irons more distance than previous models.

Distance and accuracy are increased further by an expanded sweet spot and thinner face design, as seen in the XXIO 8 Hybrid.

August 2014 / Issue 235

UCHES

TRY BEFORE YOU BUY Golfers looking to get their hands on the first XXIO products to hit shelves in the UK can do so at one of three venues in the south of England – Silvermere, Stoke Park and the Buckinghamshire.

To view the full range of XXIO products and to learn more, please visit www.xxio.eu.

Book your XXIO session today: Silvermere 019232 584 323 silvermere-golf.co.uk Stoke Park 01753 717 171 stokepark.com Buckinghamshire 01895 835 777 buckinghamshiregc.com

PROMOTIONAL FEATURE

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August 2014 / Issue 235

TaylorMade TP Ultimate Driving Iron RRP: £149 Contact: taylormadegolf.eu

Jaermann & Stübi Faldo Series Watch RRP: £18,200 Contact: jaermann stuebi.com If you’ve got the cash, and happen to be a big fan of Sir Nick, then £18k is a small price to pay to own one of just 72 watches bearing the six-time major winner’s signature. In addition to the obvious historic and nostalgic significance, the watch also possesses some unique golfing functionality, patented by its Swiss manufacturers, Jaermann & Stübi. These include mechanisms for recording the strokes per hole and per round, and the ability to compare scores against handicap. A range of 50 watches that were made from the actual golf clubs used by Faldo to win the 1997 Los Angeles Open – his last tournament win as a pro – sold out within weeks, so we expect these will also be hot property.

Mizuno MP-15 Irons RRP: £115 per iron Contact: mizunoeurope.com The new MP15 irons, which go on sale in September, are a direct replacement for Mizuno’s MP-59s, which were known for their workability, as well as their classic shape, look, sound and feel. The new 15s maintain those characteristics and add 20% more forgiveness to the design.

This has been achieved by removing 38g – roughly 15% of their total weight — from the cavity, and replacing it with a 7g titanium insert behind the impact area, which was blended with 3g of polymer to improve feel. The rest of the weight is placed around the perimeter of the clubs to boost their moment of intertia (resistance to twisting).

To enhance feel, Mizuno has also employed Harmonic Impact Technology, which measures feel and sound based on frequency and decibel-readings, to ensure that the MP-15s closely replicate the feel of its MP-64 irons, which are known to be among the best-feeling irons Mizuno has ever produced.

Used by Justin Rose during his victory at the Scottish Open, TaylorMade’s new Ultimate Driving Iron joins a growing list of utility irons designed to help good players keep their ball flight down off the tee when the fairways are fast and hard. Outwardly, the UDI looks very similar to TaylorMade’s MC long irons, which feature a small cavity behind the face. However, the UDI has a hollow body and is available only in 1-iron (16°), 2-iron (18°), and 3-iron (20°) versions. All three clubs feature an internal dampener within the top of the face that works to improve sound and feel, while a slot cut into the sole allows the face to flex at impact, especially on shots hit low on the hitting area, which TaylorMade says increases ball speeds and launch. It comes with a KBS Tour C-Taper Lite steel shaft as standard, which is lighter than the equivalent long-iron shaft.

SHOP Mizuno MP-T5 Wedges

RRP: £110 Contact: mizunoeurope.com The new MP-T5 wedge range boasts a dizzying 50 loft/bounce/sole combinations – eclipsing its nearest competitor by eight options – in order to cater for all techniques and turf conditions. They are available in 25 different loft and bounce combinations, in lofts ranging from 49 to 62 degrees, and two sole configurations. The gap wedges (49-53) have a C-grind with soft trailing edge relief. These wedges are mostly played from the fairway or rough using full swings, where golfers don’t need aggressive grinds. They have narrow, deep grooves that are designed to perform best on full shots.

The 54-58 degrees models have two different bounce options. The low-bounce wedges have an aggressive C Grind for more versatility, while the high-bounce wedges have a soft trailing edge and a significant heel grind to aid performance on open-faced bunker shots. These wedges have wider, shallower grooves that perform better on open-faced shots around the green.

The high-lofted wedges (58-62) also come in two options: high bounce and low bounce. The high-bounce wedges have an M Grind that stands for max bounce and max heel and toe relief, and which helps prevent digging while still providing the versatility golfers need to hit delicate shots around the green.

The lower-bounce models add more trailing edge relief and more grind on the heel. They also have wide, shallower grooves for more touch around the greens.

The T5 range is manufactured using Mizuno’s renowned Grain Flow Forging construction, for soft feel and consistent distance control, and is available in two finishes: black ion, which won’t rust over time, and white satin.

August 2014 / Issue 235

Motocaddy M1 Lite RRP: £149.99 Contact: motocaddy.com Motocaddy’s new M1 Lite push trolley weighs only 6kg and includes a newly-styled ergonomic handle, developed to make the trolley comfortable to hold and easy to push. It also boasts an integrated accessory station – for attaching up to four accessories to the handle – a drinks pouch, and a footoperated parking brake. Based on the twin-tube frame design of M1 PRO electric trolley, it has a triple-fold mechanism that allows it to reduce down to over 50% smaller than previous Motocaddy push trolleys. It is available in black or alpine matt finish.

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Callaway Big Bertha V Series Driver RRP: £299 Contact: callawaygolf.com There are many ways to find distance – one of them is speed. And speed – and lots of it – is exactly what Callaway is bringing to the party with the newest member of the re-launched Big Bertha family – the Big Bertha V Series driver.

Built from lightweight materials, with better aerodynamics and refined components, the 460cc V Speed aims to translate increased clubhead speed into faster ball speeds, leading to longer distances through the air.

The clubhead tips the scales at just 290g, and when combined with a low-drag carbon composite crown and sole, Callaway’s Hyper Speed Face technology, and a 42g graphite shaft, you have a driver that is capable of producing significantly faster swing speeds for all levels of golfer.

Although dispensing with the sliding weight rail found in the original Big Bertha driver, the V Series has an adjustable hosel that offers a combination of eight different loft (-1, S, +1, +2) and lie angles (draw or neutral) to optimise trajectory and shot shape.

The 9-degree head comes with a Fujikura Speeder 565 shaft as standard, while the 10and 13.5-degree heads are fitted with Mitsubishi’s 42g Bassara shaft to further encourage fast swings.

The V Series fairway woods follow the same principle, with a reworking of the Warbird soleplate for versatility from different lies. The range comprises 3 (15.5), 5 (19), 7 (22) and 9 (25) woods, and sees the return of the Heavenwood, which has a loft of 20.5 degrees, slotting in between the 5- and 7-wood.

TRIED &

Sportviz XTS Sun Core Sunglasses RRP: £49.95 Contact: sportviz.com Golfers who need glasses to play golf, but don’t have a prescription pair that meet the demands of the game, should check out the latest range of golf-specific eyewear from Sportviz, which specialises in offering sports-prescription lenses at affordable prices. The XTS Sun Core can be bought with or without its patented Inzert lenses, which allow the wearer’s unique lenses to be clipped into the frame to ensure 20:20 vision. Single, bifocal and varifocal lenses are available, as are three different coloured lens tints – brown, grey and blue – and four different frame colours. The polarised lenses are coated for glare-free vision and 100% UVA and UVB protection. On top of the price for the frames and sunglasses, prescription lenses start from £25 for single vision.

Big Max Terra 5+ Cart Bag RRP: £129.99 Contact: bigmaxgolf.com With a 14-way divider top and 10 pockets, Big Max’s Terra 5+ is a carthorse of a cart bag. With additional features such as an internal putter holder, glove and towel holder, waterproof valuables pocket and cooler pocket, it is both practical yet surprisingly light, with the empty bag weighing just 3.5kg. It is available in white/red/ navy, red/black, black/navy and black.

TESTED Ping G30 Irons Rating: RRP: £86/£100 per club (st/gr) Contact: ping.com A mainstay of Ping’s iron range for over 10 years, the G Series has always been about forgiveness, and in that respect the seventh generation G30 was never going to stray too far from this tried and tested formula.

However, Ping followers won’t fail to notice the subtle tweaks to the design that take the series forward another step on the road to offering golfers easy-hitting irons that remain on the player’s side of extreme game improvement clubs.

In both looks and performance, G30 irons share similarities to two of Ping’s current irons, the i25 and the Karsten. While the Karsten is towards the forgiveness end of the spectrum, and the i25 is more geared to better players, each has attributes that appear in the G30’s head. So what you end up with is a slightly oversized head that delivers on forgiveness, distance and height that is the Karsten trademark, combined with the sole contours and bounce profiles of the i25, which offers the ability to keep the clubhead moving forward as you strike the ball regardless of the angle of attack, reducing the digging that you might get with more of a players-type club.

Ball speeds are enhanced by the introduction of a thinner face on the longer irons (4-7), which also feature a slightly longer blade length to increase stability on off-centre hits, while Ping’s trademark custom tuning port in the back cavity is positioned lower to help increase launch angle, as well as improve feel.

The set is progressively offset from 0.29 inches in the 4-iron, to 0.08 inches in the LW, and features loft gaps to offer ideal distance increments, with the 4-, 5- and 6-irons being two degrees stronger than the G25, the 7-iron 1.5 degrees stronger, the 8-iron a degree stronger, and 9 and PW matching the G25.

The longer blade lengths can’t fail to inspire confidence in shaky long-iron hitters, while the springier faces put the G30 right alongside a host of distance-orientated irons that the G25s couldn’t really compete with.

Nike Golf Hyperadapt Storm-Fit Jacket RRP: £200 Contact: nikegolfeurope.com Nike is so confident that its new Hyperadapt StormFIT jacket will allow golfers to swing with complete freedom that it has set up trial stations at 300 retail outlets around the UK that will allow golfers of all shapes and sizes – and swings – to test out its hyperadaptive qualities for themselves.

With no-sew technology throughout the jacket’s inner layer, Nike has added a new four-way stretch component to the material around the shoulders and arms which maximises mobility and eliminates restrictions during the swing. This woven, stretch knit laminate combination is noiseless and offers a sweater-like feel, rather than the crinkly feel offered by some waterproof jackets.

Offered with a lifetime waterproof guarantee, it is available with a half or full zip, and comes in black/volt; cool grey/hyper cobalt or action red/black.

There is also a matching pair of black Hyperadapt Storm-FIT trousers (£170).

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August 2014 / Issue 235

1.Adams Pro DHY

3.Mizuno JPX FLI-HI

5.PING G30

RRP: £159 Contact: adamsgolf.co.uk

RRP: £80 Contact: golf.mizunoeurope.com

RRP: £175 Contact: ping.com

Adams’ Pro DHy features the brand’s high MOI upside-down head shaping to help launch the ball with ease. Velocity Slot Technology on the crown and Cut-Thru Slot technology on the sole combine with an ultra-thin face to add forgiveness and flex, making it easier to catapult the ball towards its intended target. Repositioning the centre of gravity behind the centre of the face enhances the workability of the club.

Loft options: 18°, 21°, 24°, 27° Shaft: Aldila Tour Blue

Mizuno’s latest addition to its popular Fli-Hi family is designed to flow into a traditional iron set, and distances are engineered to match a solid strike with the long iron it replaces. The stainless steel head features a ‘face forward’ profile that allows the leading edge to glide under the ball – enabling clean contact, while a drop down crown creates the low centre of gravity needed for high launch and a steep landing angle. A thin sole portion eliminates the slower ball speeds normally produced from strikes low in the clubface.

Loft options: 19°, 21°, 25°, 28°, 32° Shaft: True Temper XP 105

The G30s have been designed to produce faster ball speed for longer distance and a higher ball flight. To inspire confidence at address, the top rail is flatter and the heel section higher, which creates a squarer face to help with alignment. The face has been constructed from heat treated stainless steel, which not only makes it strong, but also thin, maximising face deflection to increase ball speed. Weight pads in the heel and toe areas increase MOI and offer more forgiveness on off-centre hits, while additional weight in the sole creates a progressive low-back centre of gravity that helps launch the ball high.

Loft options: 17°, 19°, 22°, 26°, 30° Shaft: PING TFC 419H

2.Callaway X2 Hot

4.TaylorMade SLDR 6.Cleveland 588 RRP: £169 Contact: taylormade.eu

RRP: £129 Contact: clevelandgolf.com

RRP: £169 Contact: callawaygolf.com

Similar to the SLDR driver, each of the four models in the SLDR Rescue range combines a low and forward centre of gravity placement, which results in a higher launch angle and a lower spin-rate.

However, because of their smaller head size none of them feature the sliding rail in the head, which makes the ‘SLDR’ name somewhat irrelevant.

However they are adjustable for loft by 1.5 degrees up or down.

Loft options: 17°, 19°, 21°, 24°, 27° Shaft: Aldila RIP Phenom 80

Building on technology found in Cleveland’s earlier hybrid options, the Mashie and the Classic, the new 588 is the brand’s longest ever hybrid. It retains Cleveland’s traditional sole keel and gliderails for improved turf interaction, but the clubhead is more compact than previous models, with noticeably less offset. The biggest improvement is in the use of variable face thickness in the face for the first time, which creates a hot clubface, which generates more ball speed. Combined with a rear sole plug, advanced wall construction allows more weight to be positioned low in the club head for a higher launch.

Loft options: 18°, 20.5°, 23°, 26° Shaft: Matrix OZIK Altus

The X2 Hot hybrids feature forged steel cup faces which, Callaway claims, bring driverlike performance to the hybrid category for the first time.

The cup-face design, which is thinner, lighter and more robust than the previous X Hot hybrid, produces faster ball speeds across the entire face for longer, more consistent distance. The X2 Hot ‘characteristic time’ – which is the measurement for how spring-like a clubface is – is up 22% on centre hits when compared to the X Hot, and by as much as 40% on off-centre hits, which translates to distance gains of up to 15 yards over its predecessor.

Loft options: 19°, 22°, 25°, 29° Shaft: Callaway Ultralite

HOTTER HIGHER

Take on more flags with the latest highlaunching hybrids

7.Nike VR S Covert 2.0 RRP: £159 Contact: nikegolf.com The second generation Covert hybrids feature some significant changes to the launch model.

The signature cavity has been reinforced with Nike’s Fly-brace technology, which increases stability, improves energy transfer to the ball and reduces twisting at the moment of impact. Nike’s NexCOR face technology has also been re-engineered to deliver faster ball speed and increased distance, even on off-centre hits.

The heads are slighter heavier and deeper-faced than the original, but get progressively smaller as loft increases.

Loft options: 17°, 20°, 23° and 26° Shaft: Kuro Kage Black 70

4 6 2

1 3

5

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August 2014 / Issue 235

EQUIPMENT NEWS

BUSHNELL LEADS THE WAY AT THE OPEN

American Golf open flagship City store American Golf, Europe’s largest golf retailer, has opened a new flagship store in the heart of the city.

Just a pitching wedge from Monument, the newest addition to the company’s 105-strong portfolio of retail outlets is in a prime location on Fish Street Hill and has been kitted out with the very latest custom-fitting technologies on the market.

To celebrate the opening of the new store, American Golf has also put together a series of promotions in conjunction with some of the leading manufacturers, including special events hosted by TaylorMade, Ping, Titleist, Garmin and Nike.

“The location of our Monument store is fantastic,” said Tony Walsh, American Golf’s retail director. “Golfers in the City will easily be able to take advantage of the great services that we offer to customers right on their doorstep. They can pop into the shop, try out clubs and, once they have chosen the right ones, they can have them delivered to their home or office for free.”

As well as a free delivery service, American Golf offers a free in-store custom fitting service, while golf lessons can be booked with its in-house team of PGAqualified professionals.

The store is open from 8am until 8pm during on weekdays.

Direct Golf teams up with Sports Direct Online golf retailer Direct Golf has sold a stake in its business to high street sport retailer Sports Direct as part of a move to expand its market share in the UK. The new collaboration will aid the Huddersfield-based company, which currently has 20 stores in the UK, in its quest to become Europe’s number one golf equipment retailer.

John Andrew (pictured), owner and founder of Direct Golf, will retain majority ownership and day-to-day control of the business he first set up in 1991.

Andrew, a Class AA PGA professional, said: “Teaming up with Sports Direct is a fantastic opportunity for us, and will give Direct Golf access to many new and attractive market opportunities. This deal gives the company the funding to expand our existing store portfolio with the roll-out of a golf superstore concept, with eyes on acquisition to accelerate growth. The opportunities with the Sports Direct group are endless, and being close to such a successful retailer fills me with great excitement.”

While Rory McIlroy was dominating all four days of the Open Championship at Hoylake, distance measuring device manufacturer Bushnell was celebrating a victory of its own, after winning the battle for market share for player and caddie usage ahead of the tournament.

Research carried out by Sports Marketing Surveys during the championship revealed that 90% of players and 83% of caddies who used a DMD in their preparation for the event relied on a Bushnell laser rangefinder.

“The results of this survey clearly illustrate Bushnell’s superiority in the market and domination on the European Tour,” said Ghislain Mautin, sales and marketing director at Bushnell Europe. “Even though the results exceed last year’s 78%, they do not come as a surprise to us, as each year the best players in the world rely on our commitment to innovation to help them prepare to face world-class competition, and this year the introduction of the Pro X7

JOLT made our domination increase by 12 points among players and 17 points among caddies.”

Bushnell recently introduced the Pro X7 JOLT laser rangefinder with Slope, which features ranging capabilities of over 550 yards to a flag and gives a short vibration to the user when it has locked onto the target.

The Pro X7 provides yardage five times more quickly and boasts half-yard accuracy from five to 125 yards, with distance displayed to 1/10th of a yard. Priced at £379, the Pro X7 Jolt is also available in a tournament legal, non-slope version.

the polo, Puma has designed a quarter-zip top and wind jacket, each detailed with Arsenal’s logo on the sleeve.

For £175, the loyal Gunner’s fan can tread the fairways in a pair of Puma NeoLux shoes. Featuring the same performance materials as the in-line football boot, the pair comes with one red shoe and one white shoe, both emblazoned with Arsenal graphics.

And for the golfer who wants to play a quick round on a Saturday morning and immediately head to the Emirates Stadium without changing shoes, there is the Arsenal Monolite. The lightweight, spikeless design is engineered to improve stability, comfort and support on and off the course.

Available in either red, blue or white, the

the practice day for the English women’s amateur championship. Another fleet was presented to the England Golf men’s squad at the Brabazon Trophy at Seaton Carew in June.

PowaKaddy is the official trolley supplier to England Golf, and marketing manager Mei Tierney commented: “Our aim is

TIM CLARK Canadian Open DRIVER: Titleist 913D3 (9.5) FAIRWAY WOODS: Titleist 913F (15), Callaway Big Bertha Steelhead Plus (18) HYBRID: TaylorMade Rescue Dual (19) IRONS: Titleist CB (4-9) WEDGES: Titleist Vokey Design SM4 (48, 56), Titleist Vokey Design SM5 (60) PUTTER: Odyssey 2-Ball Long BALL: Titleist Pro V1 DAVID HORSEY Russian Open DRIVER: Callaway X2 Hot (9.5) FAIRWAY WOOD: Callaway X2 Hot Pro (16) HYBRID: Callaway X2 Hot Pro (18, 21) IRONS: Callaway X Forged (3-5), Callaway Razr MB (6-9) WEDGES: Callaway Mack Daddy 2 (46, 53, 58) PUTTER: Odyssey PT16 BALL: Callaway Speed Regime 3

DRIVER: Adams SpeedLine Fast 12 LS (8.5) FAIRWAY WOOD: Adams Insight (12.5) HYBRID: Adams Idea Pro (18, 22) IRONS: Ben Hogan Apex (4-5), Adams Idea Pro Black MB (6-PW) WEDGES: Cleveland 588 RTX (56), Titleist Vokey Design SM5 (60) PUTTER: Odyssey White Hot 2-Ball long BALL: Titleist Pro V1 LYDIA KO Marathon Classic

Monolites will feature Arsenal’s logo on the tongue.

For the ultimate show of faith, true Gooners can buy one of 500 Cobra BiO Cell drivers that have been customised with Arsenal colours. For £279, this red, white and black driver features the Arsenal logo on the toe and canon on the crown, and comes complete with a white shaft and Arsenal headcover.

The collection, which also includes bags, hats and gloves, will be available from September. To view the complete range, visit cobragolf.com/pumagolf.

PowaKaddy rolls out trolleys for England’s top amateurs PowaKaddy presented a fleet of its latest FW7 model to the women’s Performance squads, as part of its support for England Golf’s elite amateurs.

The trolleys, which have been customised with allwhite frames, that feature the England Golf logo, were presented to the team at St Enodoc in Cornwall, on

WINNERS’ BAGS ON TOUR

BERNHARD LANGER Senior British Open

Puma launches Gunners’ golf collection Golfers who support Arsenal Football Club will be able to show their allegiance on the golf course in time for the new season, following the launch of a range of Arsenal-inspired golf clothing, equipment and accessories by Puma, which has just signed a five-year contract with Arsenal to supply kit to the Premier League team.

The apparel collection features three different tops available in either red or blue. The Arsenal Tech polo features Puma’s breathable, coolCELL mesh panels on the back, designed to keep even the most hot-underthe-collar football fan cool on the links.

In addition to

THE GEAR EFFECT

to ensure that the best equipment is placed at the fingertips of the country’s elite amateurs and give them every chance to succeed. Technology is a key part in the game at the highest level, and I believe our top-of-the-range FW7 model will help the players to keep one step ahead of the competition.”

DRIVER: Callaway X2 Hot Pro (8.5) FAIRWAY WOODS: Callaway X2 Hot (15), Callaway Big Bertha (18) HYBRIDS: Callaway X2 Hot Pro (20, 23, 25) IRONS: Callaway Apex Pro (6-PW) WEDGES: Callaway Mack Daddy 2 (52, 60) PUTTER: Odyssey Tank Cruiser V-Line BALL: Callaway SR3 RORY MCILROY WGC Bridgestone Invitational DRIVER: Nike VRS Covert 2.0 Tour (8.5) FAIRWAY WOODS: Nike VRS Covert 2.0 (15, 19) IRONS: Nike VR Pro Blade (4-9) WEDGES: Nike VR Forged (46, 52, 56, 59) PUTTER: Nike Method 006 BALL: Nike RZN Black GEOFF OGILVY Barracuda Championship DRIVER: Titleist 913D2 (9.5) FAIRWAY WOOD: Titleist 913F.d (15) HYBRID: Titleist 913 H.d (20) IRONS: Titleist MB 712 (39) WEDGES: Titleist Vokey Design SM5 (48, 54, 60) PUTTER: Titleist Scotty Cameron Select Newport 2 BALL: Titleist Pro V1x RORY MCILROY US PGA Championship DRIVER: Nike VRS Covert 2.0 Tour (8.5) FAIRWAY WOODS: Nike VRS Covert 2.0 (15, 19) IRONS: Nike VR Pro Blade (4-9) WEDGES: Nike VR Forged (46, 52, 56, 59) PUTTER: Nike Method 006 BALL: Nike RZN Black

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August 2014 / Issue 235

BREAKS Royal North Devon is the West Country’s oldest links

Follow England’s Atlantic trail for great links and warm hospitality The Royal North Devon Golf Club, founded back in 1864, celebrates its 150th anniversary this year, a landmark that will highlight the history and tradition of the Atlantic Links, a collection of some of the oldest and most revered links in England.

The six courses that form the Atlantic Links trail along the dramatic backdrop of the north Atlantic coastline boast a combined age of almost 700 years, with both Burnham & Berrow and St Enodoc founded in 1890, Saunton East in 1897, while the younger members, Trevose and Saunton West, were established in 1925 and 1937 respectively.

Royal North Devon, or Westward Ho! as it is fondly known, is not only the senior citizen of the Atlantic Links, but is also England’s oldest golf course. Indeed, this unique links course, set on common land on which livestock still graze today, has hardly changed in 150 years and to play it is like taking a step back in time and seeing how golf was played in Victorian England.

The club is steeped in history: it was on this

course that JH Taylor, born in the village of Northam that overlooks the course, started his career as a caddie. He went on to win five Open Championships and formed one third of the great triumvirate, with Harry Vardon and James Braid, who dominated the game for some 30 years. The club honoured Taylor with club presidency in 1957, and his portrait and some of his clubs are still proudly displayed in the clubhouse. In fact, the clubhouse is a veritable treasure trove of golf memorabilia, second only to that owned

by The R&A. Royal North Devon will be marking its 150th anniversary with a number of competitions during the year, including the inaugural World Hickory Masters in August and the English County Finals in late September. Breaks start from £318 per person to play three courses, rising to £688 for all six courses, and include all tee time and accommodation reservations, making a trip both hassle-free and extremely good value.

For more details and bookings, visit www. atlantic-links.co.uk.

De Vere launches new tee booking system De Vere has launched a new website which allows golfers to book tee times at any of the eight venues within its UK portfolio. The new dedicated pages De Vere Slaley Hall’s Hunting Course provide a simple booking process where golfers select their preferred resort, course and tee time, while also being able to search for their next tee time through www.dvteetimes. exclusive offers at each resort and enter unique com before September 30. Golfers simply need promotional codes, ensuring they play for the to quote ‘Golf14’ when booking to redeem lowest possible prices. the offer at any of De Vere’s golf resorts, which To celebrate the launch of the new website, include Belton Woods, Carden Park, Slaley Hall, De Vere Golf is offering an exclusive online offer Cameron House, Oulton Hall, Dunston Hall and of up to 75% off a round for those who book Mottram Hall.

Lodges add a touch luxury to the Manor

The Celtic Manor Resort has opened the remaining lodges that complete a complex of 10 rental properties at the popular Welsh resort.

The luxury lodges provide the best of both worlds – a private home-from-home in the peace and tranquility of the South Wales countryside, yet with Celtic Manor’s five-star amenities on their doorstep.

The Hunter Lodges enjoy views of the Twenty Ten Ryder Cup course and the Usk Valley beyond. Sleeping up to 10 people, the large

you find yourself standing in Robert the Bruce’s back yard.

friends on spa breaks, and corporate incentive trips.

Celtic Manor’s CEO, Ian Edwards, said: “The Hunter Lodges are the first phase in a potential development of 60 luxury lodges. All the lodges are equipped for self-catering, but guests will be able to use the restaurants at the hotel or order a hamper or takeaway delivered direct to their door.”

Prices start from £48 per person, per night. For more information visit www.celticmanor.com or call 01633 410262.

Dartmouth joins Best Western group One of the South West’s leading golf resorts has joined the world’s largest group of independentlyowned hotels and will now be known as Best Western The Dartmouth Hotel, Golf and Spa. The 35-bedroom hotel, and seven self-catering lodges, will continue to remain independently owned, but are now part of the Best Western family, which currently boasts over 4,000 independently owned and operated hotels located in more than 100 countries.

Best Western The Dartmouth Hotel, Golf and Spa nestles between two golf courses - the 18-hole

WIN

The moment

Scandinavian-style log lodges all have four double or twin bedrooms, spacious dining and living areas, and fitted kitchens.

They also boast outdoor hot tubs and indoor saunas.

Hosting three-, four- or seven-night stays for guests, the lodges are primarily aimed at the family and leisure market, which is filling Celtic Manor’s 400-bedroom hotel on weekends and during school holidays. The lodges are also designed to appeal to golf groups playing Celtic Manor’s three championship courses,

A GOLF BREAK IN DUMFRIES & GALLOWAY & 2 TICKETS TO THE RYDER CUP

VISITSCOTLAND.COM/GOLFNEWSDUMFRIES

Championship Course and nine-hole Dartmouth Course - in 225 acres of an area of outstanding natural beauty, just outside the beautiful town of Dartmouth. And the recently-opened Dartmouth Spa, the jewel in the crown of the relaxation-focused resort, includes an indoor pool, sauna, steam room, Jacuzzi and fully equipped gym, and one of the

few Rasul mud experiences in the South West.

Jamie Waugh, managing director of Best Western The Dartmouth Hotel, Golf and Spa, added: “For guests, the biggest change they will notice is simply the name and some branding around the resort. Guests can still expect the same high standards as they have already experienced but now with the added reassurance of one of the world’s biggest hotel brand names attached.”

For more details on the latest golf breaks to Dartmouth, call 0800 043 3669 or visit www.dgcc. co.uk.

The moment has come. In 2014, The Ryder Cup will return to Scotland, the Home of Golf, for the first time in over four decades. Amongst Scotland’s golfing regions, Dumfries & Galloway is famed for its selection of courses on the great value Gateway to Golf Pass and three golf trails for visitors looking to find Scotland’s best kept golfing secrets.

So whether you’re relaxing in the clubhouse at Thornhill or even exploring the 200 mile long coastline, you’ll find plenty of moments to treasure forever.

To find out more, go to visitscotland.com/dumfriesgalloway-golf Aston Hotel, Dumfries

Lochmaben, Dumfries & Galloway

Dumfries & Galloway. A place of brilliant moments.

visitscotland.com/brilliant #brilliantmoments

August 2014 / Issue 235

/ 41

BREAKS

Count on Cottesmore for relaxing golf breaks Awarded 5 Star Gold Award by British Tourist Board

Pack your bags for Patshull Park

www.dorsetgolfresort.com THE DORSET GOLF HOTEL AND LUXURY LOG HOMES FOR RENT

In addition to the golf course, there are numerous other health and fitness facilities, including a large indoor pool, Jacuzzi, steam rooms, saunas, solarium, beauty treatments and a well-equipped gym.

Diners are spoilt for choice, with the Lakeside Restaurant serving imaginative dishes made from fresh local produce, while less formal meals are available throughout the day in Earl’s Brasserie..

Stay and play packages start from £99pp for a one-night break and two rounds of golf, rising to £139 if you’d like to add another night to your stay. To book, call 01902 700100 or visit www. patshull-park.co.uk.

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Patshull Park Hotels, Golf & Country Club has long been a favourite for golf and leisure breaks, with the three-star hotel sitting in a magnificent setting among wonderfully mature trees, rolling parkland and expansive lakes that was designed by the renowned 18th century landscaper Capability Brown.

The beautifully mature par 72 parkland course is an enjoyable challenge that will test the best, as it winds it way through majestic old oaks, elms and Lebanese cedars. Designed by John Jacobs, the layout is not long, but it’s relatively tight, especially on the heavily tree-lined holes around the turn. The 459-yard par-four 12th hole lives up to its stroke index one billing, and a par here definitely feels like a birdie! Elsewhere, elevation changes, and a few ponds, ditches and well-placed bunkers ensure golfers have to keep their concentration at all times, while the true greens are a pleasure to putt on.

After a round, players can relax in clubhouse before retiring to one of the hotel’s 49 well-appointed bedrooms, all of which tastefully furnished, with many commanding stunning views over the golf course or the lake, which are well worth upgrading to when making a booking.

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Additional Facilities FREE to residents of our hotels Family Racket Sports Leisure Bowls Funhouse Swimming Tennis Table Tennis Badminton Spa & Sauna Gamezone 5-A-Side Waterslides Snooker Squash Basketball Short Tennis Play Area Ten-Pin Sports

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and enticing doglegs, it’s a course that requires you to think off every tee, rather than blindly reaching for the driver every time.

Cottesmore’s second course, the Phoenix, lacks the length of the Griffin, but is nevertheless an ideal course for those looking for a confidence booster, and appeals to a wide range of players. Laid out in the same mature parkland, its tree-lined fairways call for straighthitting and accurate approach play, and at just 5,550 yards, with fewer bunkers, it is very manageable for shorter hitters. It can also be played in just over three hours, which is a bonus for time-pressured golfers.

The assorted buildings that contain the clubhouse, hotel and health club are based upon a French period farmhouse design, and provide a welcoming home from home for members and visitors alike. With a reputation for good food, the club is the perfect venue for golf breaks thanks to its on-site accommodation, with a variety of stay-and-play packages starting from £85pp for one night dinner, B&B and two rounds (one on each course).

For more golf break packages call 01293 528256 or visit cottesmoregolf.co.uk.

H

With two beautiful courses, a hotel, and a thriving health club, Cottesmore Hotel, Golf & Country Club has something for everyone.

Located just outside the village of Pease Pottage, close to the M23 and handy for Gatwick airport, Cottesmore has been part of the golfing furniture in this leafy corner of Sussex since opening in 1975.

Built by a local farming family, which has recently taken back ownership, the parkland setting is simply stunning, and the club rightly wins plaudits for its beautiful and tranquil surroundings, which were originally designed by the landscape architect Capability Brown.

Facilities include a 21-bedroom hotel and a modern health club (including a large swimming pool, a gym and two tennis courts), as well as 36 holes of golf – the Griffin and the Phoenix courses.

Landscaped around two lakes, the Griffin requires shots over water on four of its holes, which only serve to add to the excitement of a round. The 2nd and 17th holes are both standout par threes, which will have the knees trembling as you stand on the tee, while the par-five 14th and 15th holes are equally challenging and hard to par. With several elevated tees, forced carries

PLUS unique Craft Centre featuring 17 tutored crafts, including Pottery, Woodwork, Glass Engraving and Hot Press Printing.

“The food in the restaurant was good quality with a great choice.” ARH0lland -Trip Advisor

0800 389 9892

ashburygolfhotel.com

All rooms en-suite • Full board • Child rates • Party discounts

42 /

August 2014 / Issue 235

News in Brief

TRAVEL

Treat yourself to Las Colinas this winter

HIT THE AZORES WITH ARCHIPELAGO Archipelago Choice is offering a week-long golf holiday to Sao Miguel in the Azores from £1,198 per person. The price includes direct return flights with SATA International from Gatwick to Ponta Delgada; seven nights’ accommodation at the four-star beach-front Hotel Caloura on a B&B basis; four rounds of golf at Batalha and/or Furnas courses, as well as seven days car hire. SATA is offering free travel for golf equipment up to 15kg per person. For bookings, call 01768 775672 or visit azoreschoice. com.

HOLE UP AT PENINA Driveline Golf is offering a threenight break to the five-star Penina Hotel & Golf Resort in Portugal from just £184pp for stays between now and October 31. The package includes three nights’ B&B accommodation in the hotel and three rounds of golf on the hotels championship course. Flights are not included. For enquiries, email clubhouse@drivelinegolf.com.

Brittany Ferries expands choice of long-stay winter golf breaks Consistently ranked amongst the top 100 golf courses in Continental Europe, Las Colinas Golf & Country Club is a destination that is on the wish list of most golfers, and following the launch of its winter stay and play package now is the perfect time to book a break and hit the pristine fairways at this Spanish gem.

Located just south of Alicante in 330 hectares of stunning woodland, the impeccably conditioned Troon-managed Las Colinas Golf Club provides a tranquil setting for the perfect golf holiday experience.

Regarded as one of the best modern courses in Europe, Las Colinas’s 18-hole layout has built a formidable reputation for its yearround championship-ready conditioning and pristine putting surfaces. Designed for players of all levels by acclaimed architect Cabell B. Robinson, the course blends naturally into the surrounding landscape, running through valleys between the hills to deliver a truly captivating and unforgettable golfing experience.

Away from the fairways, La Colinas offers

a myriad of other attractions, including a tennis and paddle tennis academy, a gym, enso sushibar, the International School of Falconry, a Mini Supermarket and a host of days out to the surrounding region, including sailing, fishing and diving excursions on the Mediterranean Sea and Mar Menor to an unforgettable hot air balloon trip taking in views of Alicante and Murcia.

Available from September 1 until the end of May, the winter package comprises a three-night stay in a two-bedroom Las Colinas Residences apartment (based on four people sharing), breakfast, two rounds of golf per person for €235. Guests receive a 20% discount on any extra golf rounds, as well as 10% reduction on food available in UNiK Café and enso sushibar. To book, visit www..worldapart.es , email residences@ lascolinasgolf.es or call 00 34 965323786.

Following the success of its ferry-inclusive apartment rentals in southern Spain, Brittany Ferries has now added the Algarve, as well as more of the Costas.

Golfers can enjoy a cruise and a four-week stay in the sun this autumn, winter or spring from only £559 per person, with your car.

Brittany Ferries has selected some high quality apartments in eight different resorts in southern Spain and two in Portugal, each with its own character and range of activities. For golfers, La Manga on the Costa Blanca or Vilamoura on the Algarve are ideal, and the former even includes up to 16 vouchers which can be exchanged for either rounds of golf, tennis, three-course dinners or spa treatments.

CORNISH CREAM

Others, such as the Crown Resort in Marbella, are ideally located for travellers who want to enjoy a more cosmopolitan stay, with Puerto Banus, Fuengirola and Marbella within easy reach.

The holiday begins and ends with a cruise in a fourberth cabin between either Portsmouth or Plymouth and Santander or Bilbao in Northern Spain. Guests take their own car, avoiding excess baggage charges and allowing them to pack as much as they want for a long stay. All utilities, plus a weekly cleaning service and linen change, are included in the rental price.

For bookings, call 0871 244 0633 or visit brittanyferries.co.uk/ holidays/wintersun.

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August 2014 / Issue 235

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SarahStirk

Sky Sports golf presenter Sarah Stirk suggests that you plan ahead to visit the tiny Caribbean islands of Nevis & St Kitts, where a host of world-class courses are on the cusp of opening

PACK YOUR BAG FOR ST KITTS “Take the best holes at Pebble Beach, and put them on cliffs about 100 feet above the sea” Tom Fazio on Christophe Harbour

Kitttitian Hill will add to St Kitt’s appeal as a golfing destination

St Kitts Golf Club was the island’s first course

It may only be August, but for many sun-loving golfers thoughts have already turned to exotic escapes over the winter months. In my column I always like to write about venues I’ve visited as part of my Sky Sports role, as well as up and coming must-see destinations. This month I’ll focus on the latter, and the Caribbean’s new leading light, the lush and luxurious West Indies island of St Kitts.

The Caribbean isn’t short on quality – superb layouts exist in the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Barbados and the Bahamas – but the tiny island of St Kitts is seemingly punching above its weight.

Within the next year, its number of golf courses is set to treble.

Golf on the island dates back to 1976, when architect Robert Trent Jones first brought the game to its shores with the opening of the Royal St Kitts Golf Club. Back then, visitors only had one option, but things are changing.

Kittitian Hill, an upscale residential and opulent cottage hotel property, plans to unveil a dramatic golf course designed by Masters champion Ian Woosnam in December this year. Another spectacular project, Christophe Harbour, is also underway. It will combine luxury residential properties with several five-star hotels and a mega-yacht marina – all complemented by a Tom Fazio-designed golf course. It’s set to open next year.

“We realise now how important golf can be to the total tourism capability here on St Kitts,” said Ricky Skerritt, the island’s minister of tourism.

“The beauty of the island is the main attraction, but playing golf in such a beautiful place is very appealing to a lot of people.”

In advance of the new developments, the original Royal St Kitts didn’t want to get left

behind, and has undergone a major renovation project to re-establish itself as a world-class golfing resort.

There is a links-style feel to the course, with the trade winds a constant factor on the back nine, but crucially for a resort course, it’s inherently playable. It’s a factor that helps the pace of play, often a bone of contention with ‘holiday’ courses, which should always be designed with the casual club golfer in mind.

The new Kittitian Hill layout should be quite the opposite. Located on a former 400-acre sugar plantation, the course has more than 200 feet of elevation change, and is characterised by numerous ravines, meaning golfers will have a total of ten forced carries across the hazards, which are always guaranteed to add a bit of nervous energy to your laid-back holiday vibe!

The course plays up the side of a mountain, affording spectacular water views and panoramic vistas of the countryside, but as is typical nowadays, it is being planned with the environment in mind.

Gary Johnston, from European Golf Design, is the man behind the project. “The views from the site are quite amazing. With sea views on every hole, the course promises to be an exciting and beautiful development that blends harmoniously with the local surroundings.”

At Christophe Harbour, the scale of everything is grand and ambitious. The project covers 2,500 acres of cliffs and waterfront on the southeast tip of St Kitts. “This is one of the most spectacular projects I have ever been involved in,” said renowned golf course architect Tom Fazio, the brains behind the redesign at Augusta National.

“The only word you can use to describe every phase of Christophe Harbour is ‘spectacular.’ It is

An artist’s impression of the soon-to-be-opened Fazio layout at Christophe Harbour

absolutely breathtaking.”

Regarding the golf course, which is currently under construction, Fazio said: “Take the best holes at Pebble Beach, and put them on cliffs about 100 feet above the sea,” said Fazio. “That’s what the entire course will be like.”

It’s the pace of life that everybody raves about and with that quality of golf situated on a small piece of land, the benefits are obvious. Plus, if you want more, don’t forget the sister Island of Nevis just a short ferry ride away. A Robert Trent Jones II course, with stunning views of the Caribbean and Mt Nevis, is located at the impressive Nevis Four Seasons Resort.

With its volcanic origins, comparisons are often made to Hawaii, but where St Kitts and Nevis excel is the charm of the people. Right now, not enough people are aware of their potential as first rate golfing destinations, but all that is about to change. When the new layouts open, be among the first to visit. Direct flights from Gatwick make the journey stress-free, and once on the islands, your mode of transport will be a golf buggy from course to course. With a rum and coke in hand, of course! Bliss.

Follow Sarah on Twitter @SarahSkySports

44 /

August 2014 / Issue 235

TRAVEL

Enjoy la golfing dolce vita in the Italian Dolomites The Adler Dolomiti Hotel has joined forces with Golf San Vigilio Siusi to offer an autumn holiday that combines golf and relaxation in the heart of Italy’s scenic Dolomites.

The package includes either four or seven nights’ half-board accommodation at the Adler Dolomiti, one green fee (including use of a cart) and a 30% discount on additional green fees played at Vigilio Siusi, as well as free access to the Adler Spa. Set in Val Gardena, the luxury five-star Adler

Dolomiti is just 11km from Vigilio Siusi, recognised as one of the best courses in northern Italy. For those willing to travel a little further afield, Carezza Golf Club is 55km away, while layouts at Monte San Pietro and Ladinia are both less than an hour away.

Prices for the four-night package start at £375 per person, based on two people sharing a double room, while the seven-night package starts from £690.

To book, call 00 39 471 775 001, or visit www.adlerdolomiti.com.

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Enjoy the best of Bulgaria at Thracian Cliffs

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The most iconic golf destination in Italy Enjoy your “Golf Full immersion” in Lake Garda!

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It is the virtuous combination of antique and modern that makes the Chervò Golf Hotel Restaurant Spa & Resort San Vigilio so unique. Our efficient services and features work in partnership with nature, comfort and enhancement of your body and spirit on your quest for wellness and relaxation. Our resort is in Pozzolengo, just south of Lake Garda, between Sirmione and Desenzano, in the center of the most important cities in northern Italy.

At its heart is the ancient Benedictine abbey of San Vigilio built in 1104. New buildings and historic residences have been constructed around the abbey in a harmonious fusion of line and form, providing facilities for the hotel, restaurant, spa, resort and the 36-holes golf course.

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Enjoy time with family and friends in sunny Italy with these golf packages and special offers from Chervò Golf Hotel Spa & Resort San Vigilio. * Rate for day, 1 person in double room and includes: continental buffet breakfast, 1 dinner with half board treatment, unlimited green fees, complete wellness pathway, 10% discount on wellness treatments and 20% discount on spa products, free Wi-fi, free parking place or garage. Minimum Length of stay is 3 nights.

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Loc. San Vigilio, 1 - 25010 Pozzolengo (Bs) N. 1 ITALY GOLF DESTINATION Lago di Garda - Italy TOP 20 GOLF & HOTEL RESORT Tel +39 030 91 801 - Fax +39 030 91 80 999 IN THE WORLD

One of the world’s most spectacular golf resorts, Thracian Cliffs, is offering unlimited golf during three-night breaks this autumn.

The bed-and-breakfast breaks at the world-class resort on the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria cost from just €395 per person during September, October and November.

And that cost includes unlimited golf and a shared golf buggy for each round, return transfers from Varna airport, free use of the driving range; free wi-fi; access to the Thracian SPA and fitness area, with hammam, steam room and Jacuzzi; and a welcome drink on arrival.

The luxury venue has gained many admirers since opening in 2011, with images of the sensational clifftop, Gary Playerdesigned golf course being transmitted around the world. It also hosted the 2013 Volvo World Match Play and scooped IAGTO’s European Golf Resort of the Year awad in 2014.

The beautiful clifftop course offers stunning sea views from every hole, with the signature 231yard sixth providing particularly incredible vistas as you look down to the green.

With two residential villages, panoramic sea views, gourmet restaurants, a spa, and its own beach club, Thracian Cliffs offers plenty for both golfers and lifestyle seekers, all within the unique environment of the Cape Kaliakra coast, which benefits from plenty of autumn sunshine, lying, as it does, further south than Florence, Monaco or Marseille.

Thracian Cliffs’ general manager, Claudio Marini, said: “We believe the autumn package we have put together for golf at Thracian Cliffs offers the best value you’ll find anywhere in 2014. Unlimited golf on a proven European Tour course - and luxury accommodation - for less than €132 per night is as good as it gets.”

To book a break call 00 359 570 92222, email reservations@ thraciancliffs.com or visit www. thraciancliffs.com.

August 2014 / Issue 235

/ 45

EVIAN ADDS

SPARKLE TO ITS ENDURING APPEAL Following a major redesign of its championship golf course and the refurbishment of its hotels, the Evian Resort has reclaimed its status as France’s most elegant golfing destination, says Matt Nicholson

Following in the hands of stars

Sitting out on the terrace of the Hotel Ermitage at the Evian Resort, sipping on a glass of something cold – although not the eponymous water – it’s hard to imagine a more beautiful place to be.

Set in beautiful flowering gardens, with glorious views in every direction, including the fabulous Lake Geneva, it’s La Belle France at its finest.

Not having had the good fortune to visit the resort before its recent renovation, I had few preconceptions about what to expect on and off the much talked about golf course, but needless to say, with the sun on my face and two days of golfing, pampering and five-star hospitality to look forward to, there wasn’t much to complain about.

As host venue for the Ladies European Tour’s flagship event, the Evian Championship since 1994, the Evian Resort has been on the world’s golfing map for many a year, and has enjoyed a steady stream of visitors from all over the continent, attracted by the relaxed atmosphere and effortless service that the French do so well.

The bulk of male-orientated British golfers have perhaps been reluctant to avail themselves of the resort, given its more feminine attractions – spas, pampering, shops and mineral water – but for golfing couples I can’t think of a better place for a relaxing short break, with Geneva being just a 75-minute flight from London.

After checking into my luxury room at Hotel Ermitage – one of two hotels on the resort, the other being the Royal, which has just reopened after a multi-million euro refurbishment

I headed down for lunch at La Bibliotheque (that’s the library, if my GCSE French serves me well), a relaxed eaterie where a Caesar salad and a trio of mini hamburgers sourced form local charolais cattle went down far too easily.

Diners are spoilt for choice at Evian, with no fewer than 11 restaurants on site, as well as a variety of bars and pubs. You can eat healthily at L’Oliverie, sample delicious cocktails in Tony’s Bar, or indulge in a choice of eateries at Europe’s biggest casino, which is located on the shores of Lake Geneva. The main formal restaurant in the Ermitage is Le Table, while La Suite performs the same role at the Royal, and offers a choice of conceptual dining or simple traditional cuisine along with stunning views over the water.

After a relaxing lunch, we were transported to Evian-Les-Bain’s renowned thermal baths, which offer a tantalising array of activities and treatments for body and soul. Recently renovated, the facilities are second to none, and after perusing the wide selection of treatments on offer, I opted for a rain massage, which combines water jets with a regular massage to loosen tired muscles.

It certainly did the job, as after a stunning meal at Le Table later that night – highlights of which included sea bass and a rib of beef – I retired to bed reasonably early – after a few drinks in the bar, of course – in preparation for the golfing action that lay ahead.

Following a light breakfast, I headed down to Evian’s superb golf academy, a magnificent 37-acre site where golfers can hone their skills in a real golfing environment on a four-hole course. There are up to five different tees on each hole to suit varying skill levels, with two requiring carries over water. Free to use for guests staying at the resort’s hotels, there are also pros on hand to offer lessons, with state-ofthe-art Trackman launch monitors available to offer key swing data. After a useful half-hour lesson with instructor Patrick Terru, I headed out with a fellow

unning eva are st Lake Gen r ve o s The view

Evian’s new par-three 16th

The new-look 18th hole

The Hotel Ermitage

journalist to take on the mighty Evian Resort course.

Originally created in 1904 as a 9-hole course, Evian was only extended to 18 holes in 1988 by American architect Cabell B Robinson. And although he did a fine job, his work has now been superseded by that of European Golf Design’s Steve Smyers and Dave Sampson, who completed a major remodeling of some key holes at the beginning of 2013.

The new-look design was put to the test by the world’s leading women golfers at last September’s Evian Championship – which, incidentally, was its first as golf’s official fifth major – to huge acclaim.

Norway’s Suzann Petersen was the first winner under its new major status, and the popular Solheim Cup player will be back to defend her title from September 11-14, when the $3.2m tournament returns again.

The revamped course was changed as much to make it a more spectator-friendly design, as it was to ramp up the challenge for the players, while all 18 greens have been rebuilt with more contours. The last four holes, known collectively as the Evian Puzzle, have all been remodelled to increase the drama over the closing stretch, and offer better viewing for the galleries, with raised grass banks providing natural seating areas from which to watch the action unfold.

Despite the banking, the 6,428-yard course has quite an open feel to it, with a number of holes offering stunning views across Lake Geneva.

Although the majority of the previous routing remains in place, the fifth hole is now a picturesque par-three played over water, as opposed to a par four, while the tee at the 13th has been moved back to make it a par five. A new par-three 16th plays over an attractive water feature with three ponds, while the 17th is now a par four, played in a similar position to the old 16th hole. The final hole is now a 442-yard par four, which features a large lake protecting the right side of the green. It’s a demanding finish, and one worthy of deciding a major title.

On first play, there’s no doubt that the new-look course has the drama that is required of a major championship venue, while the large, undulating greens – which have been enlarged by up to 40 per cent – give plenty of opportunity to introduce a variety of pin positions. The water features heighten the excitement, while the breathtaking views all combine to make a round at Evian an extremely memorable experience. The course is generally only open from March through to November, depending on when the snow arrives, so you need to time your visit right to enjoy the best playing conditions.

For details of breaks to the Evian Resort, visit en.evianresort.com or call 00 33 0450 265050.

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August 2014 / Issue 235

Home&Away Golfbreaks.com has selected two great venues for you to consider when thinking about your next golf break. Whether staying at home or heading further afield, there is a stunning range of destinations to choose from...

Golfbreaks.com provides a one-stop service that makes booking golf breaks as simple as possible. ABTA and ATOL-bonded, it is the only golf travel company to reward customers for their loyalty through its Breakpoints rewards programme, which earns money off all future bookings made with Golfbreaks.com and sister companies Teeofftimes.co.uk and BookaSpa.com.

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LIGHT UP THE FAIRWAYS AT LUMINE Located an hour south of Barcelona, on Spain’s little known Costa Dorada, Lumine Golf & Beach Club has taken the golf offering in the region to a new level since it opened five years ago One of the rising stars of the Spanish golf scene, Lumine is the ideal venue for a long weekend away. With two top-notch championship courses, and an excellent nine-hole layout – all of which are managed by the world renowned Troon Golf – golfers can be assured that the standard of service and golf will be nothing short of superb from the first tee to the 19th hole.

The Greg Norman-designed Lakes course is already ranked 31st in Spain, and is every inch a tournament venue. It recently hosted the Golfbreaks.com PGA Fourball Championship, won by former Ryder Cup player Paul Broadhurst, and is a complete test of golf, with extensive bunkering and water features that demand accuracy. Fortunately the landing areas on the immaculate fairways are quite generous, making it a very playable course for golfers

Lumine Ruins Course

Lumine Hills course 10th

of all standards. The course is also a great example of environmental sustainability, with recycled water used for irrigation, and the seamless integration of the Sequia Major wetlands leading to the award of the prestigious Audubon International Gold Signature Sanctuary Certificate.

Set among olives and pines, The Hills course, meanwhile, has a very different feel to its somewhat flatter sibling. As the name suggests, the course has some serious elevation changes, with holes running through

beautiful plantations and flanked by some amazing rocky outcrops.

Once the high points have been reached, the panoramic views across the Mediterranean are something to behold. Stretching to almost 7,000 yards from the back tees, this course might be very pretty, but it’s got plenty of teeth and requires excellent distance judgement for players to score well. Whichever course you play, the conditioning and presentation will always be to the highest standard.

Lumine is also blessed with the superb nine-hole Ruins course – also designed by Norman – which is perfect if you just want to enjoy a few holes. Laid out among Roman archaeological remains, the Ruins is a fun way to spend a couple of hours.

And after a memorable day on the course, there are plenty of options for a post round drink or bite to eat.

Both 18-hole course have their own clubhouses, where drinks and snacks can be enjoyed overlooking the 18th.

And then there is the fabulous Beach Club & Restaurant, where beachfront dining, pools, bars and a relaxed atmosphere can be savoured.

Just a 15-minute transfer from

Barcelona’s Reus airport, Lumine has already made a big impression on the Spanish golfing scene in a very short space of time. Stay in nearby Cambrils, and you’ll see a whole new side of this golfing country.

PACKAGES: • Three rounds on Lumine Hills & Lakes course, including three nights’ B&B at Hotel Monica 4* from £245pp (1 in 8 Free).

• Five rounds on Lumine Hills & Lakes course, including seven nights’ B&B at Hotel Monica 4* from £449pp (1 in 8 Free).

For details visit www.golfbreaks. com or call 0845 543 6673.

DISCOVERING DE VERE’S DELIGHTS De Vere Staverton Park

With everything in one place – including golf, accommodation, restaurants, bars and leisure facilities – it’s easy to see why single venue breaks are so popular with golfers, and particularly with groups. De Vere Venues fit the bill perfectly, with a range of superb golf properties across the country.

And with one in 12 golfers going completely free, there’s never been a better time to experience a De Vere Venues golf break for yourself.

Ideally placed in rural Berkshire, and occupying a 250-acre stretch of beautiful land, Wokefield Park offers all the modern amenities required for your group stay. In addition to a range of accommodation options, there is a great choice of places to eat and drink within the resort, whether you want a post-round pint or fine dining. At almost 7,000 yards in length,

With top-class golf resorts scattered all over the UK, you can count on finding a De Vere Venue to answer all your golf break needs the course features numerous water hazards, with streams coming into play on several occasions. The venue also offers a spa, pool and a number of outdoor adventure activities, ranging from woodland laser combat and archery to driving mud buggies and segway tours.

Set in glorious Cotswold countryside, Heythrop Park is a three-star hotel, offering standard bedroom accommodation attached to the stunning Grade II listed Main House, where the bar, restaurant and lounge are located. The golf course is very highly regarded, with respected architect Tom Mackenzie having created a typical English layout set in serene woodland. At more than 7,000 yards from the back tees, it’s a real test of your game, with the holes weaving through the undulating terrain of the estate, featuring numerous lakes,

streams and strategically-placed bunkers to add to the challenge of this new, enjoyable golf course. With great leisure facilities as well, it’s little wonder that this resort is so popular.

The Midlands resort of Staverton Park Hotel is a superb venue for a golf break, offering guests a warming, relaxing atmosphere, and many wonderful leisure facilities and amenities. Annual host to regional, county and Midland PGA events, the 6,583-yard layout is a fantastic parkland course set in the undulating countryside of Northamptonshire.

Many of the hotel’s rooms have been redesigned to a very high standard, and offer stunning views of the surrounding grounds. With fantastic spa facilities to boot, this resort offers guests a perfect complete golf break package.

Further north lies Wychwood Park,

which offers contemporary accommodation surrounded by world class golf.

Constructed in 2001, the course has matured into a lovely layout, with large greens to home in on, and great parkland scenery to enjoy on your way round. The course measures in at 7,191-yards off the back tees, and this PGA-tour standard layout will prove challenging for players of all standards. To complement the course, there is an outstanding clubhouse, a great practice area, and a large pro shop to explore before your round.

The modern hotel has all the amenities you would expect, and being so close to Junction 16 on the M6 and Crewe

Wokefield Park

6th hole Heythrop Park

railway station offering direct access to Manchester.

Golfbreaks.com enjoys an exclusive partnership with De Vere Venues, giving golfers a range of special offers, including one-in-12 stay and play for free, while groups of 12 or more receive half a bottle of wine per person with dinner for travel in 2015. Prices start from £79.

For details visit www.golfbreaks. com or call 0845 543 6673.

August 2014 / Issue 235

/ 47

Me&MyTravels BBC Breakfast presenter Naga Munchetty enjoys the jet-set life, travelling to all corners of the globe with her husband in search of golfing nirvana My most recent holiday was to...

Bermuda. My husband James and I took a 10-day golf holiday and played some fabulous courses including Port Royal, Tucker’s Point, Mid Ocean, Turtle Bay and Belmont Hills. From a sporting perspective, the highlight came at Belmont Hills, when James, who had clawed his way back from five down to be one down on the 18th tee, proceeded to hit six consecutive drives out of bounds. I didn’t gloat – much.

earlier behaviour, an assessment as to whether they’ve been portrayed accurately.

were absolutely relaxed. It’s so luxurious, we were there for seven days and loved every minute.

My most memorable ever round was... when, for the first time, I was allowed to join my husband’s

Bearwood Lakes Golf Club

regular swindle. Playing off 13, I went round in three over par and took all the money – which was about £80. They didn’t let me join in again for a while.

Tucker’s Point, Bermuda

My favourite golf course is...

Bearwood Lakes in Berkshire.

All golf courses are lovely, but Bearwood Lakes is my favourite.

My ideal holiday fourball would include... Mahatma Gandhi, Caligula and Genghis Khan. We’d play fourball better ball, and it would be interesting to see if we made it to the 18th. I’m fascinated by the peacemaker/warrior combination, and would like to hear their take on current world problems, their justification for their

My favourite golf resort is...

Fancourt in South Africa, if I had to choose one, but I don’t particularly like resorts, especially if they’re too ‘corporate’ or too big.

I always travel with... genuine excitement, as each trip constitutes a little adventure.

The best hotel I’ve ever stayed in was... Grasmere Lodge in South Island, New Zealand. From the moment James and I arrived we

Grasmere Lodge, New Zealand

My favourite city in the world is... Los Angeles. London, Paris and Barcelona all come close, but LA just nicks it.

My worst holiday experience was... finding a snake in our room in Gozo. I always believed there weren’t any snakes on islands, because they couldn’t swim out to them. But this big black thing somehow managed it. I rang reception, but they wouldn’t let us change rooms. Although we searched under the bed and all over, we couldn’t find it again, so spent our most uncomfortable night ever.

I’m planning a golf trip to... Castle Stuart in Scotland.

My top travel tip is... put socks over your irons and wrap towels around your clubs to protect them.

NORTHUMBRIA GOLF BREAKS FOR THE BEST GOLFING HOLIDAYS UNDER THE SUN Spain • Portugal • Turkey • Tunisia and many other destinations

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We’re the golfing holiday experts.

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5* Moon Palace Resort Tel: 01207 562322 or Mob: 07889 943753 Email: brian@golfnorthumbria.com www.golfnorthumbria.com Northumbria Golf Breaks, The Office, Ravenside Farm, Hedley, Stocksfield NE43 7SX

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